Friday, October 29, 2010

Question of the day...

I work in the public eye.  Sometimes, being the smartass that I am, this is extremely difficult.  Difficult in that I can't always say what I'm thinking.  ESPECIALLY when asked a stupid question.


This sign, and about 20 others exactly like it are posted in the circular drive right outside the lobby that I sit in.


So here was the question that was presented to me today:








"How long can I park in the 15 minute parking area?"












REALLY?????????????


(Sadly, this is NOT the first time this has been asked, and is not even the dumbest thing that has ever been asked of me....)


Thoughts anyone?


AMW

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Quick before and after...

Today, I decided to pull up the carpet in the office.  I didn't immediately think of doing before and after pictures.  Shortly after starting, it hit me, and I ran off to grab the camera.  The batteries were dying, and honestly, I just wanted to get back to ripping things apart/up to bother with something like batteries.....

 

Yes, that is greenish/brown shag carpet.   That has probably been down on this floor for 30-40 years.  So, what do you think was underneath??


Here ya go!




The carpet apparently did a FABULOUS job of protecting these hardwood floors. Really makes a HUGE difference in this room.  

We will put some kind of rug down, to protect the floors a bit, since it's an office, with a rolling chair, and all, but for the moment, I'm enjoying walking in and seeing these beautiful wood slats all aligned perfectly....

I'm sore as hell, and would love to get in the hot tub to relieve the pain, but I'm too tired to lift the lid!  But it's worth it...  I think......

AMW

Monday, October 18, 2010

Candy Corn Addiction

I love me some candy corn.  I try to buy only one bag per holiday season, and stretch it to make it last.  


I don't like the mix bag with the little pumpkins in it.  Just the plain old candy corn.  And not the store brand, either.  It has to be Brachs.  


And you know what's even better?  Put a few pieces in your hand, and hold it for a couple of minutes until they are just a little warm, and they are even yummier.  Yes, I said yummier.  And, yes, I know it nearly impossible to just hold them in your hand without eating them, but trust me...  it'll be worth it.  


Do you have a favorite holiday treat?


Now quit eyeing my stash up there, and go get your own bag........


AMW

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Feast or Famine

It seems here lately, it's been either feast or famine in the rain department. We went for months when we were in such a drought, and then it rained heavily for days and days.  Same with today. It hasn't rained for two weeks, and today, torrential downpours with thunder and lightning.  


The biggest problem with this, is that we are in a VERY tidal area, and either with the wind, or heavy rains, we'll get street flooding.  It actually doesn't take a LOT of rain, just a LOT of rain in a short amount of time.  


I've been watching out the front of my building (with my now VERY limited view) and was surprised how HARD it was raining.  You almost couldn't see, it was coming down in sheets.  


Not complaining.  We need the rain.  


And I'm glad it's on a Thursday and not the weekend!  


Off to a local quilt show tomorrow........  


AMW

Monday, October 11, 2010

Sneak Preview Revealed!!

OK so here is FINALLY the reveal of the sneak preview from a couple weeks ago nearly two months ago.

Here is the sneak preview picture.

One of three focus fabrics.

Another of three focus fabrics.

Last of three focus fabrics.

Just a view of the corner.

Notice the decorative stitch on the binding????
The back.


And Finally, the finished quilt!
Not sure what is to become of this one.  We may keep it, or it may become a give-away of some kind.

BONUS QUESTION:  Can you identify the quilt pattern used in this one???

AMW

Thursday, October 7, 2010

OSQE

In my last post, I promised to expand on the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo that I attended last Wednesday to Saturday.

We drove up Wednesday night in the rain, late, because we had both signed up for an 8:30 am class on Thursday.  Since it's a 4 hour drive, we really didn't want to get up and do that on Thursday morning.

My first (of 6 classes for the weekend) was a machine quilting free motion class.  Hmmm...  now that I think about it, I think I will review this one LAST!

There were many classes available and tons of vendors!  I love going to quilt shows with all the vendors...  So many neat ideas and gadgets and fabric and, well, you get the idea.

My second class was called "No Stress Color Theory" by Marty Moon.  I really liked her, but made the mistake of taking this class at 6:30 in the evening after a loooooong day.  So I was actually a little stressed.  The class itself was helpful, since I'd never really paid attention to the color wheel, much less used it in a practical setting.  This class had me walking away with a better understanding of colors.  Now I can break the rules!

Friday morning, I took another color class called "Get Creative with a Color Activist" by M'Liss Ray Hawley.  I was glad to have taken Marty Moon's class the night before, cause now I understood when they were talking about tertiary colors, shades, tints, analagous, and so many other terms that were thrown out.  But again, I learned a lot about color and how to break the rules!  I didn't know I was breaking so many to begin with!

Friday afternoon, I took a class called "Laptop Case or Project Portfolio" by Cathy Gandy.  This class was outside my comfort zone, but hey, isn't that what classes are supposed to be for?  Learning new things?  I'll also say that when I got there and saw the fabric selection, these weren't colors or fabrics I would have chosen.  But somehow, it all worked, and turned out kinda neat.  Mine isn't technically complete, as I ran out of time, but it's close enough.  And I don't think I'm going to finish it the way it was intended.  I usually do have to put my own spin on things.  To steal a line from American Idol, "I have to make it my own"!

Here's a couple pics:



At the end of my Friday class, I had to run out to the daily drawing to see if I won one of the Super Grand Prize drawings.  I'm sorry to say that I did NOT.  Although I did win one of the consolation prizes which was a tote bag full of stuff.  Fat quarter bundles, patterns, kits, etc....

Three pics of some of the haul:




Saturday morning, I took another class with Marty Moon.  It was "Easy Microwave Fabric Dyeing".  It wasn't really a "hands-on" class, since it was only an hour, but man was it cool!  Of course, I had to leave and go straight to buy fabric dyes.  I CAN'T WAIT to try this out!!  This may, in fact, have been my favorite class, which is ironic since I signed up for it last, kind of as a whim.  I haven't really ever had any interest in dyeing my own fabric.  Go figure.  I'm thinking that will be a post of it's own when I give it a shot....

The dyes I bought:


Also Saturday morning, I took my last class, which again was more of a lecture, in a very loose sense of the word.  It was called "Notions Commotion" by Kim Montagnese.  Kim went around to all the booths before the show started and looked for the all of the cool notions or gadgets or things that would otherwise be looked over.  So, of course that called for yet another trip to some of the previously visited vendors!  

Now back to that first class.......  The dreaded "Machine Quilting: Basics and Beyond" by Debbie Kratovil.  Now first off, I have to say that Debbie is a very talented quilter and a great teacher.  I also have to say that I learned a great deal and a valuable lesson in her class.  The main thing that I learned is that I'm not cut out for free motion quilting.  At least not in the traditional sense.  And after demo-ing products at different vendor booths, I am GREAT at free motion quilting on a long-arm machine, or something similar.  I have to move the machine and not the quilt while free motion quilting.

Here are my to practice pieces.  Ignore that one really good section in the upper left of the first pic.  That was done by the sewing machine SALESMAN after he re-threaded the machine.  Again.



I test drove every single long-arm machine at the show, and managed to do great on every single one.  From the cheapest to the most expensive.  

So now you see why I have to save my pennies, and decide which one to work toward.  

I also picked up some little tips and tricks throughout the show.  One teacher suggested using kid's washable crayola markers for marking pens.  Since they're washable, they rinse right out of fabric, and they are a LOT cheaper than traditional marking pens.  Someone else suggested using a decorative stitch when attaching your binding.  I think that's one I'm going to use almost immediately.  And on that same subject, I thought, since I "stitch in the ditch" so much for my quilting, why couldn't I do some kind of simple decorative stitch for the quilting too?  I think I'm gonna have to try that one real soon as well.

I think that about covers it.  Lots of ideas, tips and a few projects came out of this show.  I can hardly wait until the next one!!

AMW

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Whirlwind of Activity

Well, the last couple of weeks have been hectic, but are settling down just a bit.  The fish tank is now listed on Craigslist and will hopefully be gone by the weekend.  


The painter that we had scheduled a few weeks ago has come and gone and now one room has been COMPLETELY repainted from ceilings to walls to even the inside of the closet!  It looks FANTASTIC!  It's a slow process getting it put all back together, but we're even decorating in the process.  It will be kinda cool to have one room decorated.  All it REALLY needs now is a QUILT!!!!  Gotta get to work on that......


Last weekend, Wednesday through Saturday, I went to the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Chantilly, VA.  It's about a 4 hour ride.  A lady where I work told me about it, so we decided to go together.  She was thrilled that she didn't have to drive up there and back.  Just realized that I have a ton to say about this trip, so I'll do another post....  (And I promise, you won't have to wait tooooo long for it....)


And the Sneak Preview post from a few weeks back is 97% complete.  It is down to the binding, which has been put on the front, and I'm toying with the idea of finishing the binding with a decorative stitch.  I saw it done at the Expo, and it looked REALLY cool.  Just need to see if I can step out of the box enough to do it......


No trips or anything major planned until the first weekend in November.  But around here, you never know....


What have you been up to?
AMW