Out of trouble

I know there's been a sad lack of blogging going on here lately. I have been keeping out of trouble, mostly. I finished a whole bunch of scrub caps for my dad (6!), despite still not having my sewing machine back. Of course, that feat loses something when I admit that I borrowed my sister's machine. Not quite as clever, I know. I've been working on some other unfinished projects, too, and I started substitute teaching. There's nothing like being with middle schoolers all day to make you appreciate a conversation with grown-ups. Anywho, I'm gearing up for a trip out West, so if I disappear for a longer period of time, you'll know why.

Update

It's official. The Focus has passed on to something else. In memorial, here are more pictures:





So I guess I'm in the market for another car. Any suggestions?

Smashing times

Saturday was a night of firsts. . . First major accident. . . first time calling emergency services . . first time having to actually talk to my insurance company.

I'm okay, but the car's not. I'm guessing it's going to be totaled.

Here's a preview:



I'll keep you posted with the details. Fortunately, I'm not at fault for this accident (I got hit by somebody running a red light), but it still makes for a crummy weekend!

In withdrawal

I am in withdrawal. Less than 24 hours ago, I had to take my faithful old Wilma (my sewing machine) in for much-needed cleaning and servicing, and I'm not handling the separation well. It's funny, since I haven't been able to use Wilma for a week or two, but not having her here is making me nervous. My sister offered to let me use her sewing machine (my mom's is having issues and will be going in when Wilma gets home), but it's just not quite the same.

Of course, in the absence of my machine, I have been making progress in ironing/pressing and cutting more pieces for the projects I already have in progress. Seeing as how one of them has a deadline in a few months, it's about time I got the sewn strips cut. In an attempt to channel this domesticity, I have already invited friends over to dinner tonight and made both chocolate chip cookies and seven layer dip. I will start on enchiladas in a couple hours, but in the meantime, I'm trying to deal with too much nervous energy. I guess it's a good thing the sun is shining and the snow is melting. I think I need to go run around the block!

More quilty stuff

Well, since my last posting got such a good response, here are a few more of the quilty things I've been doing in the last few months.

First, I fixed the borders on this quilt. I thought I had this one finished before (especially since I've blogged about it), but it needed a little extra work that involved taking both borders off, fixing the quilt, and sewing the borders back on. However, it was worth it in the end. This quilt still needs a name, so if you think of one, let me know.



Of course, since I had leftover fabric from that quilt, I started on this one:


(the pattern for the front comes from a wonderful quilt maker named Bonnie Hunter and can be found on her website at http://quiltville.com/smokeymtstars.shtml)

I actually finished the piecing of this quilt last June or so and bought the border fabrics in an Orem quilt shop before I came home, but it was only in the past few months that I finally got the borders sewed on. Did you know that there were three specialty quilt shops within a mile or two of my apartment in Utah? Yeah, it was a good thing I had a thesis to write.

I pieced a back for this quilt from my leftovers and remaining yellow stash. You can't tell from the picture, but the strips are in the middle of the quilt I think I like this side, too! I'm still trying to think of a good name for this quilt, so if you have any ideas, let me know.




Of course, with the borders on these two quilts, I needed a new project. So, here is the reason I now have a limited selection of fabrics in my purple stash. I have named this quilt "Purple Patch." It's hard to tell from the picture, but this quilt finishes at 66 x 74 inches. I had a hard time getting enough of a wingspan to hold the quilt properly.



(if you're interested, the pattern is from another great quilter named Mary Johnson [no relation] and can be found at http://maryquilts.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/double-4-patch.pdf)

For graduation in August, my aunt and uncle and their family gave me a gift card. This quilt is what it turned into.



We call this one the Newspaper Quilt, since it's Black and White and Red all over. It's another pattern from Bonnie Hunter (http://www.quiltville.com/starstruck.shtml), and I love it!


Of course, we can't forget the small projects, either. You've seen a few finished ones, but I have one more. Here we have a table topper/wall quilt made with a Disappearing Nine Patch. I'm thinking of calling it "With a Cherry on Top." What do you think?




With all these tops done, I can continue on. My personal rule of not starting a new quilt until I've finished piecing another one seems to be keeping my in-progress pile down to four or five. I'm not going to count; it would be too scary. And yes, I've already begun on the replacements. :)

So what's next? Well, I have to quilt all of these completed tops, for one. Of course, there's always piecing the back for the queen-sized top I finished right around the time Andrew went into the MTC. My sister dubbed this the Caramel Quilt, and, in the unlikely event that I decide not to keep it (not going to happen!), laid her claim on it.



(the leftovers from this quilt found their way into the purple patch quilt. I'm detecting a trend here; are you?)


So, having been this productive, what are my options now?

I could do the actual quilting on this Christmas runner which I finished piecing last May. It's prepped for quilting; I just have to do it.



I could work on the three quilts for which I have pieces cut and/or partially sewn (Remember the pictures previously posted?). I could wash and or cut the fabric for the other quilts I have planned. I could work on the Grandmother's Flower Garden (all hand-done) which is going on its twelfth year of production. I could work on my knitting (that's my entire yarn stash pictured previously. I'm doing well in that, at least) and show you pictures of the dishcloths I've made. I could finish a cross-stitch I've been working on sporadically for the past seven or eight years. I could finish the embroidered pillowcase set I started this summer (I've got one of them done, and the other has been started!). I could start and/or finish any number of projects. I've never claimed to be un-domesticated, after all.

Or, I could pray to find a real full-time job.

Personally, that's my favorite option of all.

Mail's here!

Well, this envelope arrived in the mail today:


As you might surmise, I am doing a happy dance to have the paper copy in my hands. Now, off to find a job. . .

It's here!

Well, I am happy to report that my provisional license FINALLY got approved on Friday. I'm waiting for the printed copy, but it means I can move on. Yay! I have a year to take the exams and classes Minnesota requires, but this license will enable me to actually teach in the interim. In the meantime, since I've coordinated my camera and my camera cord, here are a few pictures of what I've been doing in the past few months.

Leaf Quilt: done done!


Close up of quilting. I hand-quilted this baby!



I bought the fabric for this quilt one Thanksgiving when visiting Amy. I finished piecing it a year or so ago, but I finally quilted it and bound it in January. Not bad for a first strip-piecing project, eh?


Purple table runner

(I know it's not on the table, but I had other stuff on the table at the time)


This runner was made out of scrap fabric and batting left over from other projects. It's the very first time I ever stippled and used free-motion quilting on the sewing machine. I think it turned out fairly well, considering. It also has the binding on, so it heads onto the done-done list.

And now, in honor of the cold February weather, a tribute to our Northern neighbors.




This was another piece made out of scrap materials. I had fun paper-piecing the maple leaf, and I'm tempted to make more!


A (fuzzy) picture of the back


(Yes, that is a wooden spoon holding it up. I wanted to photograph it and couldn't be bothered to go find a real dowel).

Okay, these are just the finished products. Here are some tantalizing photos of what else I've been working on:




More details to come. . .

Make way for pants, or why I love taxes.

For once in my life, I did my taxes early and submitted them in the early part of February. Low and behold, my refund came last week. So, being the good American citizen that I am, I promptly went shopping. I put over half of the refund into savings, but then, remaining refund in hand, I went questing.

Now, before you think I am a complete spendthrift, I must say that I have managed to lose some weight in the past few months. I am perfectly able to justify clothes shopping when the trousers that I have on threaten to fall down at a moment's notice. It's not really conducive to a productive anything, after all, if you have to pull up your pants beforehand.

Anyway, I made my way over to a favorite clothing store and found that my luck was continuing. They were were having a sale on their already-clearanced items. I love it when that happens. Much to my delight, I found options. I suppose there's probably some fashion rule about not buying a pair of corduroy pants when it's February, in anticipation of spring, but since it's still snowing here in Minnesota I went right ahead and bought some. Inspired by my success, I kept looking around. An hour later, I had five pairs of pants and money left over. So, doing what any girl would do, I went over to the shoe store. I found success here, too, and brought two pairs of shoes home with me. Again, thanks to my clever bargain-hunting, I had money left over to go play with my quilts (yes, I bought some fabric). Thank you, Uncle Sam. I am happy to report that I have, indeed, learned this great lesson of life: if you pay your taxes, you, too, can have pants. And what a powerful thing it is.

Ipod Shuffle, or Two Posts in One Day

Here's yet another Facebook tagging, but this particular list makes me laugh. You have to love my life ambitions!

If you got tagged for this note, you need to copy/paste this into your own Facebook note, delete my answers, and answer the questions using your own iPod or copy of iTunes.
1. Put your iPod/iTunes on shuffle (you can select Party Shuffle in iTunes)
2. Use the song to answer the question
3. Hit “next”
4. Try not to cheat
5. Tag some of your friends so they'll do the same
AND TAG ME BACK SO I CAN READ YOUR ANSWERS. :)

1. How am I feeling today?
Some Say, Rascal Flatts

2. How far will I get in life?
Oh, My Dear (Something’s Gone Wrong), Harry Connick, Jr.,

3. What is my best friend’s theme song?
Peace, Norah Jones

4. What was high school like?
I Pledge Allegiance, Janice Kapp Perry

5. How will today be?
The Gambler, Kenny Rogers

6. What is in store for me this weekend?
God Is Good, Trek: A Nashville Tribute

7. What is the best thing about me?
Thankful, Josh Groban

8. What song describes my parents?
Going to School (Live Version), Yo-Yo Ma

9. How is my life going?
Big Rock Candy Mountain, Harry McClintock

10. What song will they play at my funeral?
The End of a Perfect Day, Children of Eden

11. How does the world see me?
Infatuation (Bonus Track), Maroon 5

12. What do my friends think of me?
Satellite (Live), Dave Matthews

13. Do people secretly think I’m good looking?
Good Morning Sunshine, Aqua

14. How can I make myself happy?
My Friend, the Brachiosaurus, John Williams (Jurassic Park)

15. What should I do with my life?
Red Red Wine, Neil Diamond

16. What is some good advice?
Through the Rain, Mariah Carey

17. Will I get married?
Push It, Salt N Pepa

18. Where will I go in life?
Curbside Prophet, Jason Mraz

19. Will I have kids?
Scene: Ballroom, from The Secret Garden

20. What is my current theme song?
Everything, Eclipse

25 Random Things About Me

Since I've been tagged with this list so many times on Facebook, I figured I could post here as well. Yay for having a blog entry!

25 Random things about me

25. I have a metal plate in my face from having jaw surgery my senior year of high school. When it gets really, really cold outside (i.e. a Minnesota winter), said plate tends to get cold and freeze my face. There is a valid reason why I’m always having to wear a scarf!

24. I love to read other people’s blogs, even though I’m awful at doing my own. For example, I have a list of about 10 to 15 quilting blogs that I like to read, even though I have never met these people. I have learned quite a bit about their lives; it’s kind of fun.

23. If I could have any talent, I would love to learn how to sing. Currently, I can manage the hymns at church, but only if I’m sitting by somebody who is singing the same part. It really throws me for a loop when I’m sitting by Caitlin and she insists that everyone sing a different part.

22. One of my favorite things about Caitlin is that she has seen mostly the same random assortment of movies as me, and she can recognize almost any movie quotation that I throw out. Quotations just aren’t so funny if nobody recognizes them.

21. One of my favorite things about my little brother Andrew is that he can make me laugh like no one else can. All he has to do is look at me and lift his eyebrow a certain way and I dissolve into the giggles. Of course, he also knows exactly what buttons to push to annoy me, but he makes up for it by being such a kind man.

20. I love to travel. I don’t necessarily enjoy the packing or the actual process of getting from one place to another (cramped airplanes aren’t my thing), but I love getting to see new places. I would love to go to Greece someday; it looks like a cool place to go.


19. I am not a fan of cold temperatures (see item #25). Ironic, given my current location, but it’s not really my thing. I don’t mind snow if it’s not in my way, but I’m not such a fan of shoveling. And frostbite, while entertaining at first, kind of looses its appeal quickly. I’m still waiting for global warming to hit Minnesota.

18. I love playing ice soccer. People from non-winter climates think I’m insane when I tell them of this game, but it is actually quite fun. You are basically playing soccer on an ice rink while bundled up against the cold. What can I say? The cold does funny thing to your definition of fun.

17. I am allergic to kiwi and cats. Fortunately, kiwi is a fairly easy fruit to avoid, and Americans don’t generally eat their cats.

16. I drive more slowly than either of my grandmothers. Seriously. If you ask any of my former roommates, they will always tell you that they would prefer to drive their own cars rather than having to ride with me.

15. Apparently, people meeting me for the first time, or those persons who don’t know me very well, think I’m quiet and shy. Everyone I do know, however, would snort their brains out to hear such a thing.

14. Once in graduate school, after I finished giving a class presentation, the first thing the professor told me (in front of the class) was that he was appreciative of my lisp because it made me seem approachable. I have never in my life seen so many people look so dumbfounded all at the same time. Fortunately, no one made eye contact with me, so there was no snorting (nor snickering) involved.

13. There are very few hymns I can sing with a straight face. For example, my freshman bishop’s favorite song was “Scatter Sunshine.” He told us one Sunday to imagine him, and his counselors, dressed up in fluffy pink tutus and toe shoes, holding baskets of flowers and scattering sunshine from their baskets. Needless to say, I have a hard time with that one. There are plenty more, but I won’t spoil them for everyone. If you want the stories, however, just ask.

12. Technology hates me. I had a hate-hate relationship with the copy machine in the psychology department office; it worked fine for everyone else until I happened to walk into the room. I don’t know if I have some sort of weird polarity in my bloodstream or something, but computers and electronic machines all seem to crash if I’m around. So, being the intelligent person that I am, I can only conclude that it’s me.

11. I had at least one roommate get married every year I was at college. I’m not claiming any responsibility, since most of those couples were already dating before they met me, but I consider myself an extra good luck charm.

10. I get lost very easily. I have gotten lost in small towns (as in blink-and-you-miss-them) and big cities (Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City) alike, so I am very seriously considering buying a GPS system for my car. I think at this point, it’s becoming a necessity.

9. I’m constantly amazed by how much I’ve forgotten since high school. Once upon a time, I could diagram the Krebs cycle and tell you how to calculate the arcsine of an angle. These days, all I can do is tell you how I feel about them.

8. I <3 fabric. ‘Nuff said.

7. I tend to name inanimate objects. My sewing machine is Wilma (I think), my serger is Flo (short for Florence), and my hand-held mixer is just asking for a nickname.

6. I am a rotten liar. Something in my face and/or voice always gives it away when I’m trying to pull something on someone. I once convinced my roommate (courtesy of instant messaging), that I had chopped off all but an inch of my hair over Christmas break. However, my mom and sister made me feel so guilty about lying that I had to confess the truth the next day. My roommate still hasn’t forgiven me (although I’m not sure if it’s because lied or because I actually succeeded in pranking her).

5. I prefer the great indoors to the great outdoors. Of course, since I’m allergic to smoke, dust, pollen, ragweed, dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, perfumes, scents, and most other animals with hair, there’s a very good explanation why I prefer a good mattress and hot shower to camping outside. I have gone camping and enjoyed it, but I’m not such a big fan of the campfire smell.

4. Opinionated isn’t a strong enough word to describe me.

3. I’ve never had a cavity. I’ve had plenty of orthodontic work done, but never a cavity. Yay me.

2. I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was seventeen (almost seventeen-and-a-half), and even then, it was under duress. What can I say? I don’t particularly care for driving, even if I am a slowpoke.

1. If everyone jumped off a cliff, I probably would, too. After all, by the time I got there, there would be lots of padding for me to land on and I would mostly likely walk away.