Sunday, January 31, 2010

Weekend Progress

Today was quite productive...definitely a change from yesterday.

I played with this fabric today and finished a project for Jackie. I'll post a picture of the finished project when she comes to visit and can model it for me.



Some more of my AMH fabric came in on Friday so I made a little more progress on that quilt. Here is what I have so far!


Saturday, January 30, 2010

Girl Date

My friends are some of the best in the world. Laura gives the most amazing hugs. She hugs you like she hasn't seen you in years, even if it's only been a day. MyLindsey and I share something that I don't share with anyone else, we were roommates in Costa Rica. It was such a huge experience for each of us and it made such a strong bond between us. Lindsay is my quilting friend. No matter what the project, I can easily talk to her about it and she will know exactly what I am talking about. Jackie is my honest friend. Even if the truth hurts, I know that she will tell me the truth. And she is an amazing host...that girl prepares amazing breakfast for her guests! And Kasie is more than my friend; she is another sister to me. But as great as my friends are, they each have the same huge flaw: they all live too far away!

It's difficult making a life in your college town after graduation. All your friends move away to begin that next chapter of their lives. But not me. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying where I am in life. I enjoy my job, my home, my boyfriend, and hanging out with his roommates, but I miss having girl friends around. That's why I was so excited when last night's opportunity came up.

A classmate of mine from college invited me to dinner. She's still in Manhattan and for some reason we don't hang out as often as we should, but I was so excited to accept the invitation. It was great to spend the evening meeting new women (two other friends of hers joined us), talking about our pets, our various stages of relationships, traveling, etc.

I joked with Jacob about this being a girl date, but in reality, making new friends is just like dating someone new. You make polite conversation, try to find similarities, make jokes you hope the other person laughs at. And when the date is over, you hope the other person had as good of a time as you had. And then you hope your boyfriend doesn't mind if you start cheating on him with your girl dates!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Gummy Bear Drunk

We took regular family trips to Branson when I was younger. I was a fairly easy going passenger on these road trips; all I required were some good books, a few bags of gummy bears/worms, & my sister to keep her feet out of my face! This love for gummy candies has carried on - as has my dislike for my sister's feet in my face!

Friday night Jacob & I went out to dinner with Bear & Zac. We were a little late for our reservation which just meant zero wait time for food...which was great because I was HUNGRY! We quickly ordered our drinks & dinner & imagine my surprise when my Asian Pear Mojito from PF Chang's tasted just like my favorite gummy bear! I easily could have drank way too many, but was a good girl & stopped at one...dang things were $8!

We got our food & continued visiting until Zac found a bone in his (supposed to be boneless) chicken. Poor Zac couldn't finish his dinner & he looked a little sick as we waited for the waitress to come by so we could tell her about the issue. Each person at the table ended up getting a free appetizer for their next visit & they got a gift card for their next visit as well. But I think if Zac had ordered the same as me there would have been no problem...either because the Asian Pear Mojito was so yummy he wouldn't have cared about anything else, or because it's impossible for a chicken bone to be in tofu...

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Kansas Winter...

The other day MyLindsey asked me how we can tolerate living in a place where it gets so cold for so long. I told her that we live in a depressing hell for several months & seriously contemplate moving to Costa Rica. Then something happens between those months of cold. It gets incredibly hot and we forget just how bad the previous winter was; we think that maybe we can maybe tough it out for another year. Once that first snow hits though, we are back to cursing the winter & looking up the phone numbers of moving companies.

The thing about this year is that the reminders from the first snow still haven't melted. They have just been added to by the second, third, fourth snows. There has been a healthy covering of snow and ice blanketing Manhattan since before Christmas. Because of that, I've tried not to leave the warmth of my apartment except to go to work. Grocery store trips are carefully planned so I don't have to go out once I am home & into my sweats & under blankets. Thankfully, there has been plenty to keep me busy. Sewing projects, quilting, continually picking up the apartment (if I'm going to be spending so much time there, it needs to be neat & tidy), reading, playing the wii, & watching crap tv.

Sunday I met up with Jackie & Laura. Because the day's high temperature was supposed to be a blistering 20, we decided we'd head to Mass Street. It was great to be able to go outside without bundling up like Ralphie's little brother. The past two days have been gorgeous & I haven't even needed a jacket. I can feel myself being lulled into that false sense of security...

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Good Folks Quilt

As a Christmas gift, I got a set of AMH fat quarters (thank you, Jacob). I don't know what it is about the Good Folks collection, but I really love this fabric!

After working on projects for others lately (& with this ridiculous cold weather), I am anxious to begin making a big comfy blanket for my living room with this fabric. Because I want such a large blanket & because the patterns in the collection are so bold, I want to keep my pieces large. I was browsing through flickr.com & found this quilt (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahall/4026281132/) as my inspiration.


Like my inspiration quilt (that is also made out of the AMH Good Folks collection), I plan on using some entire fat quarters, but I also want to incorporate smaller pieces.

With this quilt I am having a rough time determining the placement of each piece. It is entirely too big to put on my felt wall so I guess I'll just have to move furniture & lay it out on the floor. Of course I have made an Excel spreadsheet to create my pattern & of course I have copied pictures of each fabric into that spreadsheet so that I can get an idea of what the finished product will look like (of course I have), but I'm not yet satisfied with it. Hopefully by this weekend some inspiration will hit me so that I have major progress to report next week!

Free Hugs

In the past 7 1/2 years, I have seen some interesting people wearing some interesting things on this campus. Tony the Tiger, a leprechaun, a professor wearing a Papua New Guinea gourd (Anth200), & Jesus with his cross..

A while back I saw a girl dressed head to toe in Victoria's Secret Pink University clothes. Sweats & t-shirts are nothing out of the ordinary, but what caught my eye was that the t-shirt said "Free Hugs." I wondered what she would do if anyone actually walked up to her & asked for a hug.

I think if I saw her today I would find out. Today is a day that a lot of us need all the hugs we can get. Since I can't be with those of you today, just know that I love you & am thinking of you. *hugs*

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Starving Non-Artist

I always thought that my dad's artistic genes were lost on me. It's not that I didn't try to find the artist within. My mom (who is quite creative in her own regards) encouraged each new project I dreamed up. Pottery classes with my best friend in elementary school, paintings that - if you squinted - turned out somewhat like I had imagined, jewelry made with whatever beads & threads I could find at the craft store, ceramics with my sister, & 5 years of playing the cello. I was marginally successful at some of these endeavors, but no activity ever really stuck. Hundreds of dollars of scrapbooking materials lay under my worktable with only two books partially completed, I have no idea where that little blue jewelry dish is, & one of my biggest regrets is that I quit the cello in high school.

After last winter, I realized that I needed something new in my life. For my 25th birthday I asked for a sewing machine - nothing fancy, something good for me to learn on. And so I started at the beginning. Step one: pull thread through the eye of the needle - how does anyone see that?! Step two: thread the bobbin - had to call a friend for help on that one. And I'm still trying to figure out exactly what "notions" are.

Several months later, here I am with a few bags, several pillowcases, a Christmas tree skirt, a cribbage bag, & two quilt tops under my belt. I am still going strong - still anxious to learn more - still falling asleep imagining all the fabrics I looked at that day & what I could create with them.   

I am always telling family & friends about new fabric & projects I am starting. Hopefully this blog can help them stay up to date on what I'm working on as well as what's going on in my oh-so-exciting life. Maybe it will also help me stick with this new creative outlet!

Holy cow, it's almost 1:30 & I haven't eaten lunch...better get on that!