quilting obsession

So I'm obsessed with the thought of quilts this week. I don't know why, but I can't stop thinking about quilts. This morning when I should have been getting ready for work I was drawing sketches of quilt squares. The whole time I'm obsessing I'm also struggling with confidence. The classic artist syndrome of putting down one's work before it is even created. I hate that! It's so frustrating! For each idea I think of my brain comes back with 50 reasons why it's awful and won't work before it even hits paper. Ugh...

I'm really interested in going to this quilting camp... 1. because this couple makes AMAZING quilts and 2. because the retreat focuses on design, not construction. I have a lot of ideas but I'm getting frustrated because I can't figure out an easy way to convert them to an actual pattern. Tiny graph paper is just not cutting it anymore. I did look online today for some quilting pattern software and found this program. Unfortunately it's $100 and I just don't feel like spending that much right now. Not to mention how much I've spent on other craft supplies that I haven't used yet. The other bad news is that the quilting camp is immediately following a friend's wedding..so I'm not even sure if the timing is an option. I would probably miss the first day of the retreat. Not a good starting point.

I'm dreaming of buying a house and having a bigger art room that is all my own where I can create a felt wall to hang quilt pieces.

More inspiration... Hawaiian quilts.

Not only am I frustrated with myself for having no artistic confidence, I'm also frustrated with myself for not getting anything done! I've complained to Andrew about how I want him to give me more time alone in the apartment so I can work in my art room and get more done. He's been in NY alot recently for work, so I have the place to myself, but am I working.... no, I'm in front of the TV. It appears that my brain wanted one thing but my spirit wants something else entirely. When Andrew is not here I get lonely and sad and unmotivated. A compliment to Andrew I suppose but I wish I could get myself into the art room to work.

I just have to add how excited I am that Jay won Project Runway last night. His collection was fabulous! Modern design with traditional crafting. Almost every outfit incorporated quilting, applique or knitting! Love, Love, Loved it!!

Quilting and Knitting, Part Two

I came across the art work of Amy Thompson (via Tania) the other day. I really love her stuff. I sent her an email asking about material sources and copyright. Turns out she doesn't worry about copyright and she didn't mention where she gets her stuff. So I'm still at square one. I really want to work on some collages but I feel like I don't have enough materials. I'll have to work on that.

I also stumbled upon Lori Mason's quilts (via WeeWonderfuls). I really love her work too. Since I am working on my own quilt right now it was really inspiring. It made me feel like exploring quilting again. We will have to see how well I get through this first quilt I'm making. I was so frustrated yesterday I never wanted to see a quilt ever again! Andrew kept reminding me that it is ONLY my FIRST quilt. I should expect some hiccups...that's how you learn. Maybe I should find a quilting class? I'm curious about machine quilting because I definitely don't think I have the patience to do it by hand.

My friend Cate told me about a knitting store in town, called Knitorious. I'm excited to check it out because I've only found one other knitting store...and it wasn't that hip. Hopefully this one will deliver.

Quilting and knitting

Spent the weekend working on my quilt. What a nightmare! I am not doing such a great job on my first quilt. Lesson learned: it's all in the planning. I should have drawn a better pattern and done a better job of planning out all the pieces I needed ahead of time. I'm getting close but it is just taking forever... I went to the fabric store to buy backing fabric and batting for the quilt. I bought cotton batting thinking I'd rather go natural. When I got home and read my Quilting for Dummies book it mentioned that a disadvantage of cotton is it can shrink. It suggested pre-shrinking the batting. My gut told me not to do it... but I trusted the book. Sure enough the batting was ruined in the washing machine, even though it says 'washable' on the packaging. Andrew insists I should take it back....but I hate confrontation so I haven't decided what to do yet. I'm not sure if Hancock Fabrics will refund my money or try to convince me that I didn't use the batting correctly. Oh well....there goes $25. The whole cotton batting incident but me in a really foul mood yesterday. I haven't even mentioned how my quilt backing fabric is now covered in cotton lint. Getting it off should be lots of fun. ugh...

I did find this super cute fabric on sale at Hancock. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but I had to have some.


I also finished my first knitting project! A baby blanket for my friend Stefanie. The pattern is out of the Stitch N Bitch book; Big Bad Baby Blanket. I used 8 skeins of Dale of Norway Baby ULL 100% merino wool that I got from Halcyon Yarns. Since you hold two skeins together I used one colored cream and one colored tan to get a varigated pattern. It worked really well, I am very happy with it. Stefanie is due any day now so I must get it in the mail. I hope the new baby likes it.


I've started knitting project #2... but I'm not going to tell you what it is...it's a surprise.

Last night Andrew and I watched Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It was a fun movie and artistically very interesting however it often seemed like a rip off of multiple sci-fi movies...like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Matrix, etc, etc. I give it one thumb up.

Recovering

Valentine's Day turned out to be not so bad considering Andrew and I were both feeling under the weather. In the morning I made Andrew a Valentine's day card. It was nice...I haven't made anything with paper in awhile. I was really happy with the results, I think it is super cute! You can see a little Kula and Della down in the corner. =)

Andrew came home at lunch so we got to hang out in the afternoon. Really he worked and I slept on the couch. In the evening Andrew made me a nice dinner, we cuddled on the couch and had ice cream with Magic Shell for dessert.

My friend Bob who just bought a house is thinking of getting some chickens so I had to call and show him the Eglu I saw in my latest Dwell magazine.

I think it is so cute! Now I want to have some chickens of my own. I wonder if Kula would try and eat them?

Remember how Andrew got me a trip to Yosemite for Christmas?? Well it looks like we are going to take a couple other trips instead. I just wasn't feeling Yosemite so we decided on some other places we wanted to go. One trip will be a long weekend to Madison Wisconsin to see Prairie Home Companion and stay at a beautiful organic farm. The other trip will be to Holden Beach, North Carolina for a week of relaxation and sun tanning with family and friends. I'm really excited about both trips so I hope our plans work out.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well it has been a very long 5 days.... Last Tuesday evening I came down with the flu..and a nasty flu is has been. I have been in bed for 5 days and I have total cabin fever!! I'm tired of sniffling, coughing, aching, and sleeping! I'm tired of tissues, tv, magazines, and soup! I want to go to work and get Valentine's Day flowers!! Andrew came down with the same flu while he was in NY so we spent the weekend in bed sleeping, watching tv and sharing a box of tissues. I tried to go to work today but I had a scary dizzy spell on the highway... and decided it was safer to turn around and go back home.

Valentine's Day isn't a total loss though. I got a package from Australia!!


Thank you Andrew! Surprise, surprise it's the bag that I hinted about. It is even more fabulous in person Laura!! I love it! I'm such a lucky girl.

Well I better go lay down and try to get over this flu. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Valentine's day!

On my own

Well I've finally got the place to myself... (just kidding sweetie). Andrew is off to NYC for work this week so I'm on my own. This always means lots of bad cooking or as I like to call it "all of my favorites". Tonight was Velveeta Mac and Cheese night. I ususally feel awful afterward...but something about it is totally addictive for me. Tomorrow will probably be pasta with goat cheese and Thursday is DiGiornio pizza for my Stitch and Bitch party. By Saturday I'm sure my digestive system will be screaming for joy at Andrew's return.

Hilary has renewed my interest in the quilt I started about 2 years ago. I dug it out last night and started calculating the last few pieces that I need to cut out. I'm hoping I will have time to work on it tomorrow.


Tonight is the finale of The Amazing Race! This is one of my favorite shows that I watch faithfully but good thing it is ending because March 2 is the beginning of my other favorite show America's Next Top Model!

Work is super busy and super stressful which also always seems to happen when Andrew goes to NYC. Tomorrow I get to present to a bunch of people from Nigeria.... I hope it goes ok.

Here are some things I have been obsessing over lately:

• the cutest shoes in the world
• fabulous art

Making Whoopie

This is how I spent my Saturdy night... making whoppie pies. They are an incredible cookie from The Good Cookie cookbook. They are like homemade oreos on steroids...SO Good!! I should have taken a picture of the final product but alas...I was not that on the ball. I'm still getting used to the idea of documenting my life on the digital camera. Sometimes it still feels silly/weird. You can see here my Valentine's Day gift from Andrew from last year...a Kitchen Aid mixer. I love it! Mine is in the color Caviar which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It's black with glitter which equals lots of fun.

Saturday also resulted in a trip back to my favorite antique mall to pick up some goodies I saw last Sunday and then dreamt about all week. I got this great enamelware tub for only $8.50! It has one rust spot in the bottom but I'm going to try and find some way to seal it. I want to use the tub for dying fabric...it's part of my grand plan to learn how to batik. I also purchased an electric skillet on ebay this week for melting my wax...but it hasn't arrived yet.



The magazines are in the tub because I have been day dreaming constantly about how to decorate my friend Bob's new house. Crazy I know...because I'm not a designer and it's not my house...but what can I say...I like to dream. I think on Thursday when Steph is here I might show her some of my ideas and see what she thinks. The better idea would be to get my own house and decorate that but...who knows when that will happen. There was a house at the end of the street that Andrew and I really liked but it turns out they want like $320,000... a tad out of our price range!

Friday night we watched Garden State. It was really good! I recommend it. Last week we watched The Village which was also really good. It got terrible reviews but I thought it was a really good story, very well done.

In case anyone is curious I posted some pictures of the bags I sewed last summer. I had some ideas for new bags the other day...so maybe I'll get in the mood to start sewing again soon.

Collage

Bags Down Under

I found a great artist via Loobylu this morning.

Her name is Laura; her store is Laura's House of the Red Shoes; and her bags are fabulous!

I particularly like this one... and this one. I bet one of these (especially the first) would make a girl melt as a Valentine's Day gift... hint, hint...

I went antiquing yesterday afternoon and found that I have developed some collecting obsessions.... vintage sewing books, linen napkins and tablecloths, and vintage purses. I actually didn't get a purse but there were several that I really wanted....but I was trying to behave myself.

Speaking of bags...I'm also enjoying The Bag Blog via Alex, the Girl.

What about Bob?

Saturday was spent visiting with my good friend Bob and his wife Stephanie (I was in their wedding back in October.) They just bought their first house! Andrew and I showed up with a castiron tea pot and some floursack tea towels for their new home and then helped them unpack their kitchen. The house was great (as most in that neighborhood are) it was big, old and had lots of character.



Bob and Steph are the third in our cirlce of friends to move into this neighborhood. I must admit it is hard to not think about moving to that neighborhood too. I drove there Friday night and Saturday morning to be with my friends. It's about 15-20 minutes from where I live in the 'burbs'. The problem is that it's a little more city than I like... some of our friends have had their cars stolen (more than once) and one friend was mugged. It's just not the kind of place I can think about walking Kula in the dark without feeling pretty nervous. The neighborhood does have good points. A great park, a main street of restaurants and shops, the Missouri Botanical Garden and you can get a really BIG house for a good price. Well for now I guess I will live vicariously through my friends.

For fun I wanted to show you how Bob has changed over the last year..... Feb 2004 Bob abandoned me in Corporate America. He is now living the life we all dream of...selling used books on Amazon and...just enjoying life. I think the difference in spirit is obvious. See below.

Sick Pets...Part 2

So it just doesn't end....with the animals. Really, who needs children when you have a dog and a cat?

Like Della, Kula has been going through her own health issues...hmm...let's see....probably since the day I got her! (really Tony...you should be paying dog support...she was your idea...) I swear I am taking this dog to the Vet every other week. They know her by name now. We joke with Dr. Holt about how I should just get a job there because I'm there all the time anyway.

About 2 years ago Kula was having lots of problems with IBS..Irritable Bowel Syndrome (a.k.a. diarrhea). I mean, come-home-from-work-and-kitchen-floor-covered diarrhea. It was not pretty. After lots of begging and pleading with the Vet to actually think of a solution instead of just giving her pills they suggested changing her food. We started her on Science Diet Sensitive Stomach and lo and behold it worked! Kula was IBS free for almost 2 years! Then....the peeing started....

Late last year we would go to get into bed and there would be a big wetspot on our bed... (I think we have dry cleaned the down comforter 3 times now...) Then there was one in the armchair...and then one on Kula's own bed. These wet spots kept appearing so back to the Vet we went.... Turns out she had crystals in her urine. A sign of worse things to come if we didn't increase her pH. First we tried Urinary track infection antibiotics....then we tried incontinence pills crushed on top of her food.... then we tried changing her to prescription dog food AND incontinence pills. She has been on the new food for about a month....and so far so good.... Until today.

The diarrhea is back, which is what I feared the most. Thank God Andrew was home today to let her outside. But now I am a total mess at work...wondering what will come next. Are there other prescription foods to try? Are they more expensive? Will I have to learn how to make home cooked meals for my dog when I can't even cook for myself!? What else is going to go wrong with this dog!? It's kind of ironic really.....Kula's sensitive stomach...Andrew's sensitive stomach..... My bladder problems...Kula's bladder problems... This dog seems to pick up the sickness of anyone around her.

So I will head home tonight and take a urine sample from my dog to test her pH...and then I will call the Vet and tell her the bad news... Let's see if she says, "let's throw out that 60 dollar bag of dog food you just bought and try an 80 dollar brand." You are lucky you are so cute Kula....very lucky. (Tony..I will take checks..)

Della

Della is not an outdoor cat. She is a very talkative indoor princess. (Seriously...Andrew used to have pink glitter pillows for her..) When we got back from walking Kula this evening Della was there to greet us...outside...on the second floor landing. Apparently the door had popped open, which has happened before, but Della has never ventured through the door before. Tonight was a different story.

See that shaved patch of hair on Della's leg? It's from the IV she had a couple weeks ago when she had "a dental" at the vet's office. She had a rotten tooth (so much for being a princess). Anyway the vet runs a bunch of test to make sure it is ok to give Della anthesia. Turns out her kidneys aren't working as good as they used to. So now Della is on prescription cat food. (Did I mention how every living being in this apartment is now on a prescription?) The prescription cat food is dry...Della is used to gravy. Now the rath of Della is overtaking the house. She keeps us up all hours of the night tickling our faces with her whiskers, stealing my pillow and humming in our ears.

Now she is apparently trying to move out of the apartment. I can only assume it is over the gravy. Andrew is ready to give in...but I'm trying to stay strong. We can't give in to her demands or she will never give up the gravy and the rest of her teeth will rot and fall out. Wish us luck...

In other news:
* the cute purple multi tweed shoes absolutely Killed! my feet at work today. It never fails...I try them on in the store and they feel great. I get them home and they feel awful! Why must it be so hard to wear cute shoes?!!!
* Congratulations to Bob and Steph who moved into their new house today. Andrew and I should be there in the next couple days to help carry items down the block.
* Saturday evening Andrew and I attended our first Trivia night fundraiser. These events are HUGE in the midwest and I can't believe I've lived here for 7 years and never attended one. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun and it was all for a good cause.

It's never too late to learn about fashion

Fashion blog night. I've gone cashmere crazy! Andrew got me a black cashmere turtleneck for Christmas and this weekend I bought myself three more cashmere sweaters. Mostly because there were some really good clearance sales...but also because I am in love with cashmere!



I also got my first pair of "kitten" heels tonight! I am very excited. Actually this is also related to Andrew and Christmas because he got me a pair of Steve Madden shoes but they were too big so I had an I.O.U. for another pair of shoes. These new ones are also Steve Madden in purple-multi tweed. Not really what I would usually look at but when I tried them on they looked super cute. I think it is so sad that it has taken me 30 years to appreciate what a big difference shoes can have on an outfit. No wonder so many women have shoe fetishes. The kitten heels don't work so well on the carpet in the house....but hopefully they will look smashing at work!

See watching all those episodes of America's Next Top Model, Project Runway and What Not to Wear have actually been worth while. I'm learning how to dress myself. I'll post visuals as soon as I can.

Kula

Bags I Made

This is the first bag I made. I created my own pattern based on what I had in my head. I wanted something for work that I could carry my lunch bag in...so I didn't have to look at the ugly insulated lunch bag. It's made of wool boucle on the outside and cotton on the inside.






This bag I made from vintage fabric that I purchased on ebay. I was a little disappointed when I got it in the mail because it was a knit fabric and it was much more pink than I thought it was going to be. I didn't like the bag when I first finished it but it has grown on me. For now I keep all my extra knitting supplies in it.


This is my favorite bag by far. I also made this pattern myself. The idea was based off a vintage bag that I had. It was also the first time that I used VERY stiff and thick interfacing. It is made of cotton denim on the outside and white cotton on the inside. Right now I'm using it to hold my knitting project.


This is my second favorite. Another original. I am currently using it to hold my mini ipod and ipod charger cord.


This bag I made for my friend Bob's wedding. I was a bridesmaid and the wedding was in fall colors. Our dresses were brown. I have had this fabric for a long time. It is some kind of silk. I LOVE the pattern on it but could never think of what to make with it that was worthy of how fabulous it was.

Caution: Life in blog may appear more spectacular than normal

I’ve been struggling lately with a severe case of “the grass is greener on the other side.” It’s really making me crazy. It is making me crazy because there is no reason for it. I live a very wonderful, safe, and comfortable life. What could possibly be greener about it?

Unfortunately this feeling isn’t anything new…I would say it’s something that has plagued me my whole life. Even though I try and tell myself I’m really one of those confident people who doesn’t like to be a cookie cut out and be like everyone else… yet I constantly compare my life to others and wonder…why don’t I have that?

I know I’ve talked about my community of blogs a couple times here and how beneficial and important they are to my life. However, I am beginning to think that maybe I am totally brainwashed by these blogs! I have been sucked into a blog culture cult! I seriously think that reading about 17 other peoples’ lives for 5 years has begun to take it’s toll on me. Instead of using them for inspiration I’m just comparing my life to theirs….and then feeling like the loser.

I do think that blogs, your own and others, can be a great source of support, creativity and inspiration but I think maybe it’s time I took a vacation from other’s blogs. I think it would be an interesting experiment to see what happens when I eliminate blog reading from my life for a week….or 2 weeks… or dare I say a month? What would happen?

1. I think I would be bored out of my mind!
2. I would miss all of these “lives” that I’ve been following for so long. What if I miss something important!?
3. I think it might bring me back to living in the moment… of my own life. Maybe I’ll be more observant of what I’m doing instead of what other people are doing.
4. Maybe I will be more creative and find my own sources of inspiration.
5. Maybe I will figure out what I really want to do with my life…

Hmm… it’s scary to give up something that you have grown attached to…

On another note there are lots of things I want to do with this blog. Now that I have had a taste of being able to post pictures and be more creative with my design there are so many things I want to try. Unfortunately I’m not sure I can do them here….in this ‘free’ blogger environment. There might be a lot of moving, changing, stretching, and creating this year. I hope you can all keep up with me.

Congratulations Denice and Stephen

Saturday night I helped host a wedding reception for my best friend Denice. She was married in Mexico on January 6, 2005 and most of her good friends here in Missouri and Illinois were not able to attend.

The party went really well with a little fiesta glitter on the tables, candles, fresh flowers, a wedding cake and wedding presents. The King and I Restaurant was fabulous. We had a private room upstairs and they gave us everything we needed.

Denice and Stephen brought lots of pictures from their big day and they looked SO HAPPY..and TAN! No really, I was overwhelmed. I've never seen Denice look so happy and so beautiful. It made me very sad that I was not there to see it in person.

Here's to you, Denice and Stephen... I wish you both the very best. I love you both lots and lots.

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction."
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Here's my man...

or rather his alter ego. I thought you would appreciate this Chasmyn.

i luv robot

I am so in love with this robot I am just beside myself. This is what I mean when I talk about inspiration. Hillary is amazing!

Missouri Loves Company

With the new year and this new blog it is hard not to reflect on where I've been and where I'm going. Looking through the old blog it would appear that this all started way back on February 5, 2003. It's almost been 2 years! The bad news is my first few blogs were short, boring and lame. The good news is I think I've come a long way. I hope some of my faithful readers agree.

As I started to think about when this crazy adventure began I also started to think about why this crazy adventure began.

I think I was drawn to starting this blog because "misery loves company". (or as my t-shirt says above..."Missouri loves company" haha =). I love that Illinois is holding a piece of pizza. lol ) Now some may think that the phrase "misery loves company" is a pretty depressing, negative way to look at things. But I look at it from another perspective. What it really means is "individuals trying to live their best life seeking inspiration from others going through the same experiences." This is why I started a blog. I read many blogs... everyday... and I have been for probably 5 years now. I read these blogs to be inspired. I read these blogs so I can know that I am not the only one out there feeling lost, in a creative rut, searching for a better career, a better life. I read blogs to keep my dreams alive, to learn, to grow, to think, to be challenged.

Writing a blog helps me be creative. It forces me to think in new ways; to think of creative things to say; to get out there and live and then come back and share it with the world. I don't really think that my blog is necessarily inspiring anyone out there yet... but maybe someday it will. Maybe someday a young girl as lost and confused as I am will read my words and it will help her find her own path.

I am still searching for my path but my little blog community actually helps me to remember to live in the moment and to enjoy the journey. For this I am grateful.