I want to quilt today, I really do. But I spent nine hours on my feet both today and yesterday and somehow, I just don't think it's gonna happen. Tomorrow though, tomorrow I don't work until late in the day, meaning I can spend a fairly long period of time quilting to my heart's content.
In the meantime, there's a new GO! Giveaway on the horizon. Linda over at Lavender Ridge is giving away one of these fabulous cutters and three dies to use with it. If anyone happening by here would like the chance to win one, head over to her blog sometime before November 10th. Good luck to us all!
And now, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy being off my feet for a good, long, enjoyable period of time. ^_^
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Paychecks and Peaks - NaBloPoMo Day 6
There's a certain magic about being officially employed. It's not about the nametag (although mine is nifty), it's not about the benefits (although that loan program is ridiculously sweet), it's about a little thing known as a paycheck.
And now I have one!
*happy dance of the employed* ^_^
In other news, here's a little sneak peek of a project I'm working on right now.
PS> This very much counts as my Friday post because hey, this is the first time I've been on the computer the entire day. Yeah, it was a long day. Also, Daylight Savings Time basically makes it technically before midnight. Woo!
And now I have one!
*happy dance of the employed* ^_^
In other news, here's a little sneak peek of a project I'm working on right now.PS> This very much counts as my Friday post because hey, this is the first time I've been on the computer the entire day. Yeah, it was a long day. Also, Daylight Savings Time basically makes it technically before midnight. Woo!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Fabric Buying - NaBloPoMo Day 5
We had good intentions today, especially in regards to the buying of fabric, but our intentions stopped meaning anything pretty much the moment we walked into the quilting store this morning.
A new area guild, one that we're kind of even members of, had a little quilt show of their own in Castroville today - their "We're Not in Houston" show. It was adorable, with about 45 really delightful quilts of all sizes and tasty cookies. And to help draw people in to the show, the store was also having an end of the bolt sale. Opportunity calling my name!
The plan was to look at the quilts and then see if there was a pale gold/cream fabric that would work for both the Oriental quilt I'm starting and the sale. Well, as I was realizing there wasn't one, Mom started picking out end-of-bolt blenders.
And then she found a pale green. And a periwinkle. And an orange. And a-oh honey, you might as well see if any of their Orientals are nearing the end while I go check out the purple.
Needless to say, we didn't exactly make it out of their in a timely, and cheap, fashion. ^_^
A new area guild, one that we're kind of even members of, had a little quilt show of their own in Castroville today - their "We're Not in Houston" show. It was adorable, with about 45 really delightful quilts of all sizes and tasty cookies. And to help draw people in to the show, the store was also having an end of the bolt sale. Opportunity calling my name!
The plan was to look at the quilts and then see if there was a pale gold/cream fabric that would work for both the Oriental quilt I'm starting and the sale. Well, as I was realizing there wasn't one, Mom started picking out end-of-bolt blenders.
And then she found a pale green. And a periwinkle. And an orange. And a-oh honey, you might as well see if any of their Orientals are nearing the end while I go check out the purple.
Needless to say, we didn't exactly make it out of their in a timely, and cheap, fashion. ^_^
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Fabric Love
Well, I'm cutting it a bit short for NaBloPoMo today, but it's been a very non-computer day up until about an hour ago, with some fabulous reading and a visit from a friend. But now that the busyness has wound down, I can get back to my love affair with Oriental fabrics.I started cutting into some of my fat quarters the other day, distracting myself from book impatience by playing with things I love. But there was a problem for me. I love my Oriental fabrics so much that it's very difficult to start cutting into them. As in I'd almost rather just hoard them indefinitely (which would be a very bad idea, heh).
And then I found a solution - my fabulous little digital camera!
So here are some of my gorgeous Oriental fabrics, soon to be featured in a sashed Turning Twenty quilt, which I will start, just as soon as I find the right pale creamy gold to sash them all with. 
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Happy Day Montage - NaBloPoMo Day 3
Today has been a great day. Probably a fantastic day.
The only problem is that I don't have a song for my montage! Which sounds silly, and probably more than a little bit weird. Let's follow the thought process here to show that my logic is mostly like our normal Earth logic.
In one of the least beloved episodes of the new Doctor Who, there's a portion where that episode's main character has a good day montage. Well, it's really more like a good series of days montage, but the point is that it's set to music. It's set to this one really catchy song that is currently stuck in my head, but that I also completely don't know.
Here's the kicker. That song also gets confused with a happy day song from an episode of CSI. The trace tech Hodges has an especially lucky day, tries to use his luck to help Grissom analyze clues left by a killer, and then has a great montage when he explains his reasoning to one of the other characters.
So now I need a happy day song for my montage. This montage will go over today's high points
- getting to wear my new trousers to work
- The Shepherd's Tale coming out at the comic book store
- getting to work the information desk
- seeing my name on the bulletin board as last week's mvp of membership sales
- being complimented on my good bookseller potential
- getting to check out a copy of Towers of Midnight, so I can read it now without having to wait for my brother
- picking up dinner from one of my favorite Italian restaurants
- and continuing to work with my pretty pretty Asian fabrics.
Yup. It's been a good day ^_^
The only problem is that I don't have a song for my montage! Which sounds silly, and probably more than a little bit weird. Let's follow the thought process here to show that my logic is mostly like our normal Earth logic.
In one of the least beloved episodes of the new Doctor Who, there's a portion where that episode's main character has a good day montage. Well, it's really more like a good series of days montage, but the point is that it's set to music. It's set to this one really catchy song that is currently stuck in my head, but that I also completely don't know.
Here's the kicker. That song also gets confused with a happy day song from an episode of CSI. The trace tech Hodges has an especially lucky day, tries to use his luck to help Grissom analyze clues left by a killer, and then has a great montage when he explains his reasoning to one of the other characters.
So now I need a happy day song for my montage. This montage will go over today's high points
- getting to wear my new trousers to work
- The Shepherd's Tale coming out at the comic book store
- getting to work the information desk
- seeing my name on the bulletin board as last week's mvp of membership sales
- being complimented on my good bookseller potential
- getting to check out a copy of Towers of Midnight, so I can read it now without having to wait for my brother
- picking up dinner from one of my favorite Italian restaurants
- and continuing to work with my pretty pretty Asian fabrics.
Yup. It's been a good day ^_^
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
It's finally here! - NaBloPoMo Day 2
Today is the day I've been waiting for. The one I've been looking forward to for at least a year now. Really for longer, since we're getting close to the point we've all been waiting for ever since this whole journey began.
That's right! My book came out today!
Wait, what? A book? This isn't about a quilt? No, today we're taking a break from quilt talk to highlight a book that has sent me into literary jubilation.
Or, I suppose that will send me into jubilation once I get to actually read it.
This is Towers of Midnight, the thirteenth book in the Wheel of Time series by the now deceased Robert Jordan. Yeah, he's dead. And still being published to boot.
Or at least kind of. See, Robert Jordan died three years ago, after battling cancer for a long time, and with only one book left to go in his epic series. One very long, very involved, and very dramatic book that was already planned out in detailed notes and probably about half written.
Luckily for the thousands of fans around the world, his wife and editor decided to get in touch with an up and coming epic fantasy author named Brandon Sanderson in order to ask him to finish the series. He said yes, broke the one enormous volume into three books comparable in size to the rest of the series (ya know, only about 800 pages each) and got to work.
The first of these final volumes, The Gathering Storm, came out last year and was amazing. In a series of over 11,000 pages, lag is pretty much inevitable. There's going to be a few slow bits. There was a good chunk in the second half of the series that kind of fizzled, lacking the punch of the earlier novels. But an explosive event at the end of the 9th book got the train rolling again, and it's been widely acknowledged that with last year's Gathering Storm the series once again reached its highest peaks.
But today is even better, because the majority of Towers of Midnight revolves around one of my favorite characters and his quest to rescue a character we've all thought dead since the fifth book. She's not dead! Nope, in fact Mat (the character I really like) and Thom (a minstrel made out of bad-assery and song) are going to go save Moiraine and make sure she's there to keep main character Rand from destroying the world in the next book. Not to mention the fact that Perrin, the third of the main male characters and the one who I've thought has been a sappy git for the last few books, is going to return to the days when he was awesome with wolf powers. And Loial gets to-yeah, I should probably stop before I start writing an essay about the reasons I'm excited for this book.
The only problem is, I have to wait. Not because the bookstore didn't have it or anything like that, but because my brother has to read our copy first and he's kind of a slow reader. He actually bought our copy, so he gets first reading rights. Just like with the Harry Potter books, except opposite since those are all mine and everyone else had to wait to read them after I did.
Oh, if only my brother read with the same kind of speed I do! But, until he's done, I'll just be sitting here, bouncing in anticipation, occasionally shooting the book longing glances. Oh to have money to spare on a second copy!
That's right! My book came out today!
Wait, what? A book? This isn't about a quilt? No, today we're taking a break from quilt talk to highlight a book that has sent me into literary jubilation.
This is Towers of Midnight, the thirteenth book in the Wheel of Time series by the now deceased Robert Jordan. Yeah, he's dead. And still being published to boot.
Or at least kind of. See, Robert Jordan died three years ago, after battling cancer for a long time, and with only one book left to go in his epic series. One very long, very involved, and very dramatic book that was already planned out in detailed notes and probably about half written.
Luckily for the thousands of fans around the world, his wife and editor decided to get in touch with an up and coming epic fantasy author named Brandon Sanderson in order to ask him to finish the series. He said yes, broke the one enormous volume into three books comparable in size to the rest of the series (ya know, only about 800 pages each) and got to work.
But today is even better, because the majority of Towers of Midnight revolves around one of my favorite characters and his quest to rescue a character we've all thought dead since the fifth book. She's not dead! Nope, in fact Mat (the character I really like) and Thom (a minstrel made out of bad-assery and song) are going to go save Moiraine and make sure she's there to keep main character Rand from destroying the world in the next book. Not to mention the fact that Perrin, the third of the main male characters and the one who I've thought has been a sappy git for the last few books, is going to return to the days when he was awesome with wolf powers. And Loial gets to-yeah, I should probably stop before I start writing an essay about the reasons I'm excited for this book.
The only problem is, I have to wait. Not because the bookstore didn't have it or anything like that, but because my brother has to read our copy first and he's kind of a slow reader. He actually bought our copy, so he gets first reading rights. Just like with the Harry Potter books, except opposite since those are all mine and everyone else had to wait to read them after I did.
Oh, if only my brother read with the same kind of speed I do! But, until he's done, I'll just be sitting here, bouncing in anticipation, occasionally shooting the book longing glances. Oh to have money to spare on a second copy!
Monday, November 1, 2010
What's the Japanese word for ladder? - Blogger's Quilt Festival
Blame it on my grandma. Not just this quilt, the whole thing really. The story of how she got me hooked on fabric is one for another time, but the story of this quilt starts with her, and with boredom.
We go up to Washington a lot for special occasions, but once my cousin's wedding festivities were over this past May, my mom and I decided to stay with my grandma for an extended visit and sent the boys home to get a bit of work done. Unfortunately, after a few days of staying at her home doing nothing, I got bored. Very bored.
 |
| My marker-ed plan |
Oddly enough, without even trying to make it so, the (mostly Oriental) fabrics I ended up picking out for the quilt match my markered plan almost perfectly. Weird.
I put the quilt together once I got back to Texas, first at home in between trips to Austin, and then in Austin, in between trips home. It's been sitting at the front of the house for a couple of months, waiting to have its picture taken, but it's just about time to send it off now.
I absolutely love these fabrics - a pale yellow ridiculously small check, a blue/green bamboo, a purple wood grain, and the fabulous red Oriental from which all the other colors were derived. Plus, I was able to find the same print in a different color wave for the back!
I hope y'all are enjoying the Blogger's Quilt Festival, and I hope you come back to visit some time in the future. Happy quilting!
PS> If any of you have helpful tips for getting color spots out of a quilt, I would dearly appreciate the advice. Despite the fact that I pre-washed all my fabrics, when I went to wash the completed quilt, hoping to get as much cat hair out of it as possible, I ended up with blue/green/purple spots on a fair portion of the quilt. Help please!
> NaBloPoMo Day 1 Complete :D
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