JacquieG's July SewConnected Block

I finally finished JacquieG's July SewConnected quilt block. This was BY FAR the most difficult block I've made for this group. And, it wasn't that it was THAT difficult, but it really, really made me stretch to figure out how to do it.

I wish I'd added more of the aqua color blocks.

IgPost.com

Hmmm...

You know what I ABSOLUTELY HATE!??? I HATE posting something on a message board and then feeling like I have to JUSTIFY what I've written or write "IMHO" to prevent being visciously ATTACKED by those who think they know better then I do about whatever it is I'm writing about.

I've always thought alot of the members on IgPost.com are entirely too opinionated and so I read the topics, but I usually don't post responses.

I had to laugh yesterday when I saw someone had written: "...before someone chews my butt off this is just my opinion..."

I think there needs to be a new acronym: DCMBO: Don't Chew My Butt Off!

July SewConnected Block

I'm totally freaking out about this month's SewConnected block.

#1. This is JacquieG's month, and she is the very JacquieG from Tallgrass Prairie Studio (BTW, I always have to look up how to spell "prairie") who does some of the MOST OUTSTANDING work I've ever seen and therefore am completely intimidated by her. Here's her blog: http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/

#2. She wants us to make a block that is inspired by a drawing her son made for her which is very Frank Lloyd Wright-esque. I'm trying to get my head around this, but I guess THINKING about it just isn't cutting it (ha! ha!)... I need to go start cutting some test fabric and see if I can figure out what I'm doing...?

Here's the SewConnected Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sewconnected/

My New Car (YAY!)

Okay... the LLBean Subaru Outback that we bought in 2001 with 189,000 miles on it finally bit the dust. I've been nervously holding my breath every time I drove it for the last month. I wouldn't start in the Walmart parking lot three weeks ago. And two weeks ago--at a busy stoplight--it started to chug and buck and shake before totally sputtering to death. Not good.

BUT... Brian wanted to do all this research before we bought another one, and he spent three weekends buying different New Car Price Reports and assessing how much we could get for the trade-in and blah, blah, blah. Finally, he decided he had it all figured out, and we went to the car dealership armed with his folder of information and a calculator.

We test drove a really, really nice Outback that was the prettiest color: seacrest green. However it was a 6 cylinder (like I even know what that means). Consumer Reports says that the 4 cylinder, turbo engine has the same power as the 6 cylinder, is cheaper and gets better gas mileage. But they didn't have any of those on the lot.

So, the dealership had to order it for us. Unfortunately, the 6 cylinder that we looked at is a top-of-the-line car, and those come in exclusive colors, seacrest green being one of them. We couldn't get that color in the 4 cylinder. I had to pick out another color, and I wasn't real thrilled with any of my choices. I half-heartedly picked out blue and silver. However, when we picked it up, I decided it looks really nice.

Here's the car. It now has 32 miles on it!

Fate of the baby ducks...

The Fish and Wildlife guy called me back yesterday morning. He told me to take the baby ducks to the nearest water source and pitch 'em in! Well... he didn't actually say "pitch" but "release" them--which translates to "pitch" in my book since I think that is a TOTALLY uncaring/unconcerned/thoughtless way to handle the situation. Probably most people would say not to interfere with Mother Nature of survival of the fittest or what ever, but I'm too sympathetic (or maybe the naysayers would say "pathetic" instead?). The closest water source is the canal that runs beside the exercise path in front of our subdivsion (which, by the way, is right beside a four-lane, 50 MPH road so besides starving to death or drowning, they could have gotten run over).

I didn't know how to get down the the water because there's a steep bank down to it. I e-mailed Brian to see if he would help me when he got home last night.

Meanwhile, I was going to a movie with Judy yesterday afternoon and since I'm still driving the clunker around, I asked for her cell phone number (because if I broke down, I was going to call her to come pick me up). Anyway, she had a friend who once found a seagull with a broken wing (I'll bet Fish and Wildlife would have told her to wring it's little neck and pitch it in the trash!). The friend found a bird rescue group to take care of it. So Judy called her friend and got numbers for me to call!

I got in touch with a woman named Laurel, and she told me to drop the ducks off at her office and she would take care of them. YAY!!! Whew! I didn't want them to die, but I didn't want to take care of them either!

Mini Art Quilt for RyverChyld

RyverChyld received the art quilt that I sent her so I can finally post photos of it!

I was so afraid that RyverChyld would be disappointed in it, but she posted photos of it in the gallery, and wrote some really nice things about it. It IS cute; it's just not up to the standards of her quilting!

#1. This is the first art quilt I've ever made. It really sparked my imagination, and I can't wait to make more!
#2. Quilting is NOT my strong point. I really need to work on that!
#3. This is the first time I've sewn the binding on. I usually flip it over and stitch it down by hand. I saw a really cool Elmer's glue trick on the internet, and I tried it to tack down the binding on the backside so the stitches would catch it from the front. Worked like a dream!
#4. Speaking of glue... I used glue stick to tack down the rick-rack around the border. Also worked like a dream!
#5. I had NO idea how to add hanging tabs on the back. I kind of winged it (and it shows!!!). RyverChyld's quilt to me has perfect hanging tabs--a real "ah ha!" moment for me. Now I know how to do them!
#6. This was FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

Completed ABC ATC set!

I've been participating in an ABC ATC swap on Craftster.org for a year or more. The alphabet just finished. I am sooo happy with my set. Here they are:

Quack, Quack, Quack!!!

Four little ducks went out one day,
Over the hill and far away.
Mother Duck said,"Quack, quack, quack, quack!"
But just three little ducks came quacking back!

AND THEY'RE IN MY BACK YARD!


Please explain to me how things that are completly bizarre always happen to me!

So... Mylo starts madly pawing at the door which makes all of the other dogs go running to see what he's worked up about, and then they start freaking out so I knew something was in the back yard. And what do I spot? Three little baby ducks racing it back and forth along the fence. No momma duck anywhere to be seen.

So... I found a big box in the garage and went and scooped them up. Of course they were terrified and were peeping as loud as they could. I couldn't leave them in the yard because the dogs would rip them to shreds and I couldn't just put them out the gate and leave them to fate, could I?

So... they're in the garage. I called Brian. He said feed them some bread. I called mom. She said feed them some oats. However, I looked up "how to feed a baby duck" online, and it said DO NOT feed baby ducks bread, whole grains, onions or bird seed. Instead, I can feed them fruits or vegetables that are cut up really, really small. I mushed up a cherry and shredded a baby carrot and tried to pinch up a lettuce leaf really small, but it's not that easy.

I called the local Fish and Wildlife guy, but he hasn't called me back. He'd better call soon because I don't want these silly things!!!

I'm REALLY famous! The bib's on TV!!!

Oh, my gosh!!! I can't believe what I tripped over this morning! The baby bib I designed and sewed for publication in the June/July issue of "Simply Handmade" was featured on the Simply Handmade Blog (http://northridgemedia.net/blogs/simplyhandmade/?cat=12) and as a segment on Salt Lake City's KSL Studio 5 TV station (http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=61&sid=6900661).

I'm FAMOUS! Baby Bib for June/July 2009 "Simply Handmade"

OH, WOW!!! I am so excited that the June/July issue of "Simply Handmade" came out last month. A baby bib that I designed and sewed was chosen for publication in that issue. I had to wait six (long) months to finally see it in print!

I wasn't allowed to post any pictures of it in my blog until after it was in print. Well (drum roll please!)... here it is!!!

They dedicated five pages to it: two feature pages, two pages with step-by-step directions on how to make the bib and one page with the template. That is WAAAAAYYYY cool!

The whole process was really kind of neat. I checked out their "call for submissions" website then e-mailed them a picture of the bib. The deadline came and went, and I never heard from them so I ALMOST pitched the thing in the trash. Really and truly... I don't know what stopped me from doing so.

Anyway, one day in January, I got an e-mail from Paige Evans at Northridge Media saying my bib had been selected for publication!!! I had to fill out a questionnaire with the types of products I used for the project. I also had to include all the details for how to make the bib. Then I packed it up and sent it in.

And then I waited... and waited... and waited... and six months later, I am tickled to death to find that the bib actually fits a baby (I wasn't sure since I don't have kids).

Check out my next post for even more really, really cool news about bibs!

My Book List

I have been reading like a mad woman for the last month or so. I made it through all of the books that Brian bought me for Christmas and had to buy another $100+ worth from Amazon. I only have four of those left so I'll be ordering more soon. What I do is try to pick out 4-1/2 or 5 star books on Amazon or I read the reviews for Pulitzer Prize winners (or other kinds of prize winners). I've bought a few of Oprah's books (but typically find them too depressing). And, a couple of years ago, I bought most of the Today Show book suggestions.

I looked up my order history on Overstock.com and Amazon.com, and these are the books I've read over the last couple of years:

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards: a good read with an interesting plot though it's sad

The Kite Runner by Kahlid Hussein: I put off reading this for two years because it takes place in Afghanistan, and I thought that would be too depressing. I finally picked it up, and (I hate to admit this, but...) it's a really good book. It's also very sad (WHY are they all sad?), violent, very disturbing, but worth checking out.

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett: this is another one I put off reading simply for the sheer volume of the stupid thing. It's almost 1000 pages long! GREAT book! It's a real page turner. I couldn't wait to find out how that monster (Richard, I think--I forget) would meet his end! This has almost 1400 customer reviews on Amazon.com!

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Ugh. That's all I can say about this AWFUL book. I managed to trudge through it, but I was NOT impressed. It's a piece of garbage.

Foul Play by Janet Evonovich. Anything by this author is a fun, light read!

The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz: 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner. This is another sad one. It is laden with Spanish phrases. I sat in front of the computer with a translator website for some of it, but for most of it I was left in the dark. That said, though, it is a really good book.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Wonderful book. It takes place in 19-century China and is an interesting peek into the culture of China--the excrutiating practice of foot binding ("golden lillies") where a 3" foot was desired; nu shu; laotong; arranged marriages... great read!

The Road by Cormack McCarthy: OMG! What a very, very sad and freaky book. Really makes you think. Odd for sure. 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner.

Empire Falls by Richard Russo: 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner. Enjoyable read! I'm surprised it won a Pulitzer, though, since it's just a regular ol' fiction book.

Cane River by Lalita Tademy. This is a really good book about four generations of French slaves in 1800s Lousiana. It is a piece of fiction based on the author's family. I liked that it has pictures of the real life characters. Slavery is very difficult for me to read about, but this is an excellent book.

The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living by Martin Clark. This is touted as being the "drinking man's John Grisham" and got lots of rave reviews on Amazon.com and from book critics all over the place. After reading so many sad books, I wanted something funny! Well this is a piece of crap. There is NOTHING funny about it. The plot is stupid (what is up with the "white tears" part???) and the characters drink and drive. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Total waste of money.

The Book Theif by Markus Zusak. LOVED IT!!! Okay... this book takes place in Nazi-occupied Germany (which is also hard for me to read about), but is such a wonderful book I couldn't put it down. The publisher is Knopf Books for Young Readers, and is recommended for grades 9 and up. Hmmm...??? I really don't think of this is a book for high schoolers. It's narrated by Death which is very interesting.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows: this book takes place on the channel island of Guernsey after World War II. Guernsey was a strategic location for the Germans to overtake Europe, and the island was occupied for five years with no contact with the outside world. The islanders formed a book club during that time, and the main character of the book (Juliett Ashton) travels to Geurnsey to write a book about the occupation. This is a really good book.

The Book of Bright Ideas by Sandra Kring. Great book! Hmmm... I think of the 1950s as a bunch of prudes for some reason. Maybe because my mother always tells me that the 1950s were the "perfect" times which makes me think of innocence and, well..., PRUDES! Not the case in this book; Freeda's got the mouth of a sailor and they don't go to church on Sunday! Loved it!

Some Things that Stay by Sarah Willis: five star book with 51 reviewers on Amazon.com. Another great read, but (again) it has an air of sadness: the dad is an idiot, the mom has TB, the cow gets killed, and the family is moved to every year (because the dad is an idiot). It is a really, really good book, though.

What Comes After Crazy by Sandy Kahn Shelton: Okay... this one has a quote on the cover by People that says "Plenty of laughs here." Again, after reading some many "heavy" books, I wanted a light read. I liked it, but I didn't think it was funny at all. I thought the Madame Lucille was flat out TRAGIC (why is everything SAD, SAD, SAD???) and Maz (the main character) is totally spineless. If somebody stole my kid, I would at least make SOME effort to get her back (call the police, you big idiot!!!).

Cold Rock River by J.L. Miles: This is just a great book. It's a story-within-a-story; half about slavery, half about 1960s Georgia.

Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen: it's about that bitch (!), Troo (funny I could think that about a 9-year-old, but I did!), and her sister, Sally (the narrator). Another good book. (P.S. I figured it out as soon as the bad guy was introduced!).

The Ballard of Frankie Silver by Sharon McCrumb: I got this book in the library on Johnston Island before I left. It's a good book, but (once again) SAD! It's about the first woman to be hanged in North Carolina.

The Old Fox Deceiv'd by Martha Grimes: Another one I got on JI, but didn't get around to readying for 8 years! Okay, for once, NOT SAD! It's a good little "who-done-it?" mystery.

A Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George: Funny thing is: I read this once before, but I must have only made it partially through because I totally didn't remember the ending. It's not bad.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT! How very, very original. The burbing, farting bookworms are just too clever. And best of all: NOT SAD!!!

The Dogs of Babel by Carlyn Parkhurst: Hmm... I read it... I'm not sure I liked it. The guy tries to teach his dog to talk--but "ruff" isn't good enough; he wants human language. I know I'm supposed to use my imgination, but I just wasn't that inspired. And, I thought the wife was a total nut-case. She made love to the husband while wearing a papier-mâché mask she made from a dead girl's face. Too damn creepy!

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende: I really enjoyed this book. It takes place during the California Gold Rush of 1849 of which I know nothing. It's a great story of an unlikely friendship. What I really want to know is how people could write letters back and forth across the country to each other, and the letters actually made it to intended recipient...??? NOT SAD!

That Quail, Robert by Margaret A. Stanger: Okay... out of all of the sad books I've read this year, this one absolutely takes the cake. Despite being a WONDERFUL book, this one made tears stream down my face.

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz: I guess if you like laughing at schizophrenics then you'd think this is funny, but otherwise, IT'S SAD! There were some really good philosphical-make-you-think parts, but as a whole, I had to trudge through this book because it didn't really hold my attention.

RyverChyld's Art Quilt For Me!!!

Last week, I received the art quilt that RyverChyld made for me!!! WOW! It is really, really cool. She did lots of techniques on it: the sky is crazy-pieced with silver embroidery; the grass is made from layers of pleats; the trees are appliquéd; the corners have folded fabric roses; and "live" "laugh" "love" is embroidered across the top!

It's bigger than the one I sent her--I think she said it's 20x24. The one I made her is 14x18.

Anyway, she did some beautiful work. I hope she's not disappointed in the one I sent her. I spent alot of time on it, and I learned SOOOOOO much making it, but it looks so Plain Jane and simple compared to what I made for her. It's too late now since I already put it n the mail!

Seizures, seizures, seizures!

Seems like all I do is write about seizures, but I guess this is a good a place as any to keep track of them.

Last week was a bad week. Mylo had a seizure on Thursday--his first since April! They're always awful, but at least it didn't last very long (20 minutes or so). He's doing really well since being on potassium bromide AND his thyroid pill.

Next... Truman had two seizures on Friday--his first since June 11. That's really good for him! We thought he was over his first one because he was up and staggering around, but then he went into another one.

Actually, I was really pissed at Brian because he was in the garage smoking, drinking coffee and playing solataire on his stupid Blackberry when I woke up. I went out there to tell him good morning, and he said "Truman's on the couch recovering from a seizure." WHAT???!!! I cannot believe he left poor Truman alone to recover from a seizure! What if he'd fallen off the couch? What an IDIOT (Brian that is; not Truman). I ran back inside and cuddled Truman.