My Ravelry T came!

I was dutifully packing up things on Saturday, sorting and deciding what I needed to take, and as I passed by the front door, I peaked out to see if there was a package... possibly my ravelry T-shirt? But no, there was no package by the door. *sigh* It's okay, I thought, they have a lot of orders to get out, it'll be here by Tuesday.

So I just grabbed what was in the slot, and low and behold I actually did have a package! It came! It was in one of those soft envelopes, and the mailman had just folded it in half and stuck it in the slot. Yeah!! Here is a simple picture of me modeling it - self portrait, so no judging! :) They did run a bit small, so I'm glad I ordered the medium.

I ordered three buttons as well, aren't they cute?! The pictures are a little dark though.










It wasn't until I read them off to my roommate that I finally got the "where my stitches at?" reference. I didn't realize it was a take-off of the "where my b****** at?" comment. O.K. I'm a little slow sometimes, but I'm still glad I opted for the shirt with the other logo. I just don't feel right wearing a shirt with bad grammar on it. I speak and write badly enough that I don't need any help broadcasting it.

On Packing

This whole decision process and itemization of things I want really has me thinking a lot about the amount of stuff I have and use and waste. Neither Mike or I like to buy something we already have, or get rid of something that is still useful. It just feels wasteful. But how do you balance that out between cost, time and space? Especially when your stuff is in two different states, 8 hours apart. For example, when Mike headed to SC with the first batch of things, it was August and 80 degrees out. So a simple sheet and a couple of small lap throws for the couch did him just fine. Fast forward 6 months, and it's gotten pretty cold at night in SC, and he still has no blankets for the bed! Does he buy something new or suck it up until I get there? I even offered to mail him a comforter, but he's making do with the throws. What a trooper :)

See, my birthday is coming up, and Mike was asking me what I wanted. Right now, the only thing I really want is the house to sell, but unfortunately, that's not really something in his price range or abilities. Other than that, there's really not that much that I need and I think that's part of the problem. I'm looking at it as a "what do I need" kind of thing.

I just feel like I've got so much stuff that I'm not using as it is. Especially as I pack up. I've got a limited amount of space this time (just my car) so I keep separating things into 'must take with me', 'can live without/leave behind' and a 'would be nice, but not necessity'. Everything in the last group will be the first to go if I can't fit it in my car.

So when I think about the few things I do kinda want for my birthday, the definitely fit into the 'would be nice, but not necessity' category. But as Mike pointed out earlier, your birthday is for things you want not things you need. I guess I need to keep that in mind too.

Oh, and if you really want to know, I'm thinking I'd enjoy a set of these, or these - I'm not picky. I've used a pair from someone else at knit-nite and I really like them. The wooden ones aren't nearly as garish as they seem in the photos and are super slick just like the nickle plated set. Then, I'd only be a few sock needles away from a full set of needles! I guess the smaller sizes (4 and under) don't come in the interchangeable set, you have to buy those separately - but there's always Christmas!

the final countdown...

I wish I had the music for this! the link will have to do. Man, what great hair!

2 weeks left for the final countdown! Just 2 weeks until I get to see MIKE!! YEAH!!! Although I will be sad to miss some things and people here :( But i get to see Mike!!! And I'm going to stay in SC with him - whoo-hoo! Now, if only I could get this silly house to sell. ...

In two weeks, I am packing up my car and leaving with everything I can fit, and might possibly need, to move to SC. I'm a little worried about having the time to pack it all, partly because I'm also trying to make sure I get to see and say goodbye to everybody, so I'm trying to spend more time with them before I go. But I am so excited about finally moving! And I know I will have to come back at some time to finish moving all the furniture and non-essential stuff I left behind, but I have some great roommates to take care of things in the meantime, and sometimes you just have to let things go and hope have faith that they will all work out. So that's what I'm doing. I'm putting it in someone elses hands (my realtor mainly) and going to where I need to be - with my husband.

I think this will also help with the job search as well. It's hard to look for a job, do follow up and really put your best foot forward when you are only there for one day or are still in Chicago. Now... the monumental job of deciding what to take and making sure it's going to fit in my car!!! Not looking forward to that much.

improv vs. pattern

Last week, I was sitting in front of my computer, trying to catch up on all my Thurs. night shows and I just picked up the yarn and started knitting. I started with a vague idea of making a pair of simple ribbed fingerless hand-warmers with some SWS that I had. As I went, they spontaneously turned into a pair of ribbed mittens (that now need have a thumb). My knit nite friends were not surprised. They said "You're always knitting without a pattern and making up projects!" What? This is news to me.

So I started thinking about this a bit... First, I looked back at all the things I've made and realized that I have made up a few here and there, but most are pretty spontaneous rather than intentional shun of a pattern. I don't dislike using patterns, I actually love the idea of following instructions and knowing you'll get the results you want. I'm the same way with cooking, I'd rather follow a recipe than have to forage through the fridge. I think the reason I end up "making up" my own knitting comes from just taking advantage of the situation. Let me explain.

Take these mittens. I currently have 3 projects on the needles right now, the baby sweater for Gabriella, a sample ruffle scarf for SASI, and my Wyvern socks, all of them are at least half way done or not that far from finishing. Why start a completely new project? I'll tell you - the other three projects all have patterns - patterns that I can't or haven't memorized. This means I have to have the pattern out and ready in front of me, know where I am in it, and have the quiet to focus on reading it. That means if working from a pattern, I need to plan out a lot more before I even start knitting!

If I'm making up the pattern, it's something I don't have to think about. I can just pick it up and go. As I'm shaping it or going into something more complicated than stockinette, I just fiddle with it until I get the results I want. That's why I think it's so hard to write a pattern, - while I'm working on it, I'm not really thinking about it, I'm just improvising. Which means afterwards, I have to try and remember, what did I do exactly...??

This is very similar to what I do at work. My job is to lead a group of youth or adults through a variety of activities to enable them to work through some pre-determined issue (i.e. lack of communication, trust issues, being accountable for their actions etc. etc.) and also enhance their cohesiveness. Every day, I facilitate a different group. Different sizes, different ages different objectives and different lengths of time to work with them. I usually get the information about my groups about 5 minutes after I've met them. As my day continues, the activity I choose to introduce to my group next depends on where they are at that point in the day. I couldn't map out a day with a group if I wanted to, because it depends on what they give me. It works the same way with the mitten, depending on the yarn, and the stitch I'm doing, what size or shape I need it to be, I have to adjust as I come to that part.

Now the problem with making up a pattern can be that it can cause a pretty simple thing to take much longer. When I was making the giraffe, I ripped out the legs (each one) 3 or 4 times to get it how I wanted it. Partly because I wanted them to look the same, but also because I was trying something a little different, to tweak it, and get it just right. With a pattern you don't have this issue. Someone has figured that part out, and you just need to follow their directions. If it doesn't match what you intended, you can then alter/adjust it to make it work, but you at least have a foundation for your intended path. That is one of the advantages of a pattern. You know if you follow the pattern it will (or should if it's written well) work, and it will look nice and unless you mess up there's no need to rip back or do it over. If you look at the pattern in advance you can plan for the techniques you don't know as well and have all your materials at hand. In the same way at work, I can rely on the activities themselves to stabilize me. This activity is supposed to be set up for a group in this way. If I present it to my group in the basic way, it will (or should if I present it correctly) work, and it will still get my group to interact and work together and communicate and etc. etc.

So what it basically comes down to is, I need to have the prep time and quiet before I start or work on a pattern project, and that things might take a little longer if I wing it, but it'll be better catered to what I'm looking for or expect. Now.. the next question is how to I apply that to my life?? yeah yeah, I know I'm not supposed to bring my work home with me *grin*

Here are some more shots of the mittens:

Here's me knitting the thumb on, I had just cast off for an opening for the thumb, but then when I changed my mind and decided to make them into mittens, I just went back and picked up the cast off stitches and used the 3 DPN's to add a thumb.
I do really like the way the ribbing looks inside out, but I don't weave in ends well enough to turn them inside out.

Pulling it together

Ok, I think I'm done with my pity party of late. It does no good to dwell on it, so ... I've been cleaning, and packing, and cleaning, and trying to get organized. Thanksgiving I'm on my way to SC to be with Mike, house sold or not.

Over the weekend, my housemates and I hit a friends Halloween party, and I pulled out all sorts of boxes and things that I had neatly packed up months ago, assuming I would be in SC before I ever needed them. Oh, how wrong I was. Anyway, we ended up with one bellydancer (moi), a Rastafarian, 70's chica, G.I. Jane, a plumber and a bug. Over all, with about 2 hrs. notice for 3-4 of those costumes, I think we did pretty well! Most of what was pulled out was makeup and jewelry - a couple of necklaces can go pretty far to make a costume perfect. And did you know liquid eyeliner is a great means for making a non-permanent tattoo? I didn't use my camera, so I don't know if i'll get to post pictures of the costumes -
But, I do have pictures of my current projects. I was able to retrieve the pictures from my camera, it turns out it was just a low battery that was holding me back.
First a few more shots of the giraffe -















I wish I had taken more pictures, but I guess I'll have to wait until Gabriella is old enough to actually hold it.

Then the sweater:
First the two front panels:

I really like the way the pink shows up against the purple, I think it looks really cute! And I'm pretty happy that both sides look the same - symmentry in a sweater is always a bonus.

Here are the sleeves, I forgot to start with the contrasting color on one but I'm thinking I can add that later with a crochet edge. I'm just hoping it won't make it too long.

This is the back, and compared to the front panel, and it's looking a bit small. Hopefully that's because of the stitch holder, or maybe it'll grow with however it's added to the front panels, or the colar or something, I dont' know, I'm just going to keep going and see. Perhaps I''m in denial., but worse case scenario, .. I have to re-knit the back, I'm okay with that.

Next comes seaming - uugh. I don't like doing it, but I think that's because I don't feel I'm very good at it. I've got a book, "All stitched up", that I'm going to look over to get some tips, but let me know if anyone has a better reccommendation for finishing techniques. I may have to hit up some video blogs to check out some good ones.

I do need to get going on the stuffed animal for Gabriella too. I can't believe how quickly the months keep going by. I am amazed that it's already almost November. But that just means I'll be seeing Mike anytime now, and that's good news.

Moving.. all too slowly...

This moving, but not moving thing is really beginning to get to me, and Mike too. In some respects, I guess we should get used to it, as his school requires a (paid) summer internship in his craft, which may mean we're apart again for the summer. But before that happens, I'd like to be together for longer than a weekend.

At the moment, the next time we will get to see each other will be Thanksgiving. We're both going to head to KY and hang out with his parents, which I think will be nice - we'll have some family support, and I've been blessed with great in-laws, so it works out well for both of us. Then for Christmas, we're off to CA to spend the holidays with my brothers. I'm having a hard time booking tickets though, because I'm not sure where Mike and I will be. Will we both be flying out of SC? or will I leave from IL? Or perhaps we'll both drive to KY and fly out together. *sigh* I just don't know at this point, but I know I need to get some flights soon, before they get too outrageously expensive.

The house has a contract, but it's contingent on the sale of their home, which now I feel as if we have two houses to sell. I keep reminding myself, it'll all work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out yet, it's not the end. But do you ever worry the end is not going to come?

Mike and I are discussing the option of me just packing up the car with as much as I can and just driving out to SC, and worrying about a job when I get there. It's an option, although I'd rather have a job before I go.

As far as my knitting goes, I've finished the two front panels and the back of the Summer Tweed Cardigan, but I don't have any pictures yet. I left my camera at my brother's house, and for some reason the pictures I had on it won't upload to my computer. This might be because I downloaded them once already to his computer while I was there, but I'm hoping it's because the battery needs to be recharged. So right now, I'm recharging it, and then I'll be able to take more pictures.

Keep your fingers crossed and hopefully the next time you 'find katerina', you'll find she's in SC!

Yarn Con !

This weekend I went and worked at Yarn Con - a 'yarn convention' for Chicagoans. It was so great! I met so many wonderful people and saw so many cool things. I was there early to set up a table for Sister Arts Studio, and was right as you walked in the door. Donna had me bring a little smattering of a bunch of the yarns in the store and it was nice to have the variety. Christina joined me about halfway through the day (she was the creator of all the cute little critters on the table), and I was able to dash around to see all the vendors and get something to eat. I wish I had my camera with me, so I could show pictures, but alas, websites will have to do.

My top three favorites were Pattern Tamers magnetic place holders, to keep track of where you are in a pattern. - I've heard of these before, but I really like her design - they magnetically wrap around the paper so you don't lose your place, or the placeholder! I couldn't find her on the web though :( does anyone know where she sells her tamers?

Then I was amazed by the pictures created by Mary Hoyer of RikiWeave. My table was directly across from hers, so I got to look at the pretty pictures all day! I just loved the colors and textures and designs. Way out of my price range, but someday!! someday I'll be able to afford such things :) Sedona Sandscape was my favorite.

And on my way in, I chatted with another Donna from My Small Wonders who had some really pretty yarns and was wearing a beautiful shall! I didn't look too hard at her yarns because I didn't want to have to resist buying anything. The quicker I walked around, the less tempted I was to buy things ;) But I did grab cards for gifts for my birthday and the holidays!

Other things I had to resist were some beautiful bags from Piddleloop, but I do love the needle case I already have - of course... hers would be great for small sock projects...and the felted earrings from Biggie - they made me laugh, they were cute! The ones on her website don't do them justice. And I want the Knitting America book by Susan Strawn too. OK, okay, I know that's more than 3 but there were just too many cool things to look at!

I also got to see Franklin again for his 1000 Knitters project - he almost has 200 people!! He of course didn't forget his camera, and told me I looked like a 'rock star' - I felt all special :) And I met a bunch of people that I had chatted with on Ravelry - it was neat to see them in person :) One of them even lives near me in Homewood, and I think she's going to join us for knit-nite way way down here on the south side. I hope some of the others will be there on Thursday night for the one at Sister Arts.

Overall - great people, great event, great time! I think it would be nice if it was more than just once a year. the thing I liked most about it was that they were Chicago people. Stitches was cool and you got to see really neat things, and meet people from everywhere, but this was local, and I think it gave it a better - more 'close-knit' vibe!

Presenting....

Gangly or "G" the giraffe!!! Yeah! she's done. It wasn't exactly on time, as I was still putting some finishing touches on her when I got to my brothers' house, but I was able to present her before my brother left for his flight on Sunday.

I'm tried taking the yarn I used for the hair along the neck and making some spots on G's back to make it more cute and fuzzy - but they ended up looking like furry moles so I cut them off - I like the simplicity now. I also am not crazy about her eyes - I think they're too small. I'm thinking of embroidering new ones over the top in a thicker yarn. But I really like the way she sits up, it's cute in a gangly sort of way. Over all I'm pretty proud of her.

In the meantime, I am getting quite a bit of knitting done here. I've finished a seed stitch headband I was working on - (pictures to come later) and a cardigan that I am already 5" into:

It's the "chunky tweed cardigan" from Erika Knight's book Knitting for two. I found the yarn it calls for on sale in the cutest colors:

I really like this book. I wouldn't mind having/knitting almost half of the patterns in this book, it's super cute for both child and parent. I've already put it on my wish list.

We were talking about a teddy bear that a friends mom made for Gabriella, and Kristin mentioned that a floppy-eared bunny would be really cute... hrmmm.. I haven't gotten that far on the bear, perhaps I should switch to a bunny. She doesn't have many of those around. I'll have to start searching for patterns. Here's a shot of the bear:

I think I can do something just as cute, if not cuter - ahh, my next challenge. Due: before I leave for California for Christmas....

Getting on with the giraffe

As my deadline quickly approaches (this Friday), I have finally made some headway on the giraffe - he/she/it finally has a head! Wheee! Yea!

Now, I just have to figure out how I'm going to make it connect to a neck.. hrmm... not so easy. I haven't sewn on the legs yet, but I attached them with stitch markers to see what it looks like.
Here's what I've got so far:

I figure worse case scenario I will have to finish on the plane, and I am bringing and extra gift too. Although, I was hoping to finish a pair of booties on the plane, but that might be a bit ambitious.

Sadness

My friend's dad died yesterday. We knew it was coming, cancer - brain tumor, but it still sucks. You can plan, and prepare and try to be strong, but when it hits it always knocks you out flat. Even though it's been over 5 yrs. since both my parents passed, I still don't know what to say except, it sucks and 'I'm sorry you had to join the club'.

I was able to clear my schedule and am heading down to KY to see her for the weekend. I wish I could stay longer, but I know right now she'll have plenty of support. In fact, it'll probably be a bit smothering for her - in a good way. It's the later part I worry about. I know people say it gets easier with time, but sometimes it's the time that makes things harder. 4 or 5 weeks or months or even years down the road, everyone elses lives have gone back to normal and you're still wondering when the big hole in your life is going to be filled.

With my life being so up in the air, I don't know when I'm going to be able to visit her again in person, so I'm really glad I'm getting to visit her now. I just wish there was some way I could make this easier for her.

haircuts and bonfires

While Mike is gone, I've got a couple of friends living with me here in the house to keep me company. One of which has always had long beautiful hair, that came down to about her waist. She and her friend had been growing it out since they were little, and finally decided to cut it off and donate it to Locks of Love.

Here are some before pictures:



and...





wait for it....





wait for it.....





some after pictures:




I really love it! I think it brings out her face and looks super cute. From her expression, she totally agrees:



It makes me want to cut my hair shorter. I had often heard that once you cut, you just want to keep on cutting. Now I know... it's true.





Last night was supposed to be knit-nite in Homewood, for my group here, but we had some brush at work that needed to be burned, so we decided to have a bonfire instead. It got pretty big, and we went through a lot of the wood, but there's still plenty left. You can see some of it piled up in the background:









In the meantime, I was trying to make sure the spirit of knit nite was still there, and brought my knit-lite needles with me. It's actually the first time I've really used them. Because of the flash, you can't see that they're lit up, but, Man! they're bright! especially the tips... note to self - don't point them directly in someone's face....especially your own. I learned the hard way, but only after my friends sitting beside me had to shield their eyes and remind me to point them to look where I was pointing them while knitting.




We had food:
and water,
but forgot cups - ah well - we made do.

Overall, little knitting was done, but it was a good evening nonetheless!


An update on other things on my needles.. I can't seem to get the head right on the giraffe. I'm going to try one more time, and then change the concept a bit. Right now, I can't get the sizing right, and it's not matching with the rest of the body. Once I have something I like, I'll post more pictures. But while I was visiting Mike, I did get the foot of my second Wavryn sock done - yeah!


Oh, and no word on the job yet. No news is good news right? right?.. right.

I love my husband

But I've missed him.

I finally got to see my hubby this past weekend, and it was sooo nice.

It didn't start out so well, with a 2-hr delay in Chicago, (because of bad weather in Atlanta) and then another 2-hr delay Atlanta (because of more bad weather in Atlanta), so I arrive in Charleston at... 3am. But other than that (and the fact it made me miss him even more) it ended well, and really was a wonderful, perfect weekend so I can't complain too much.

Saturday we went to the beach, played a little bocce, and went out for a great crab dinner. That's something I'm really looking forward to in Charleston - eating more seafood!!!

On Sunday we took it pretty easy. Mike wanted to use his grill, so we planned a steak and asparagus dinner, and headed to the grocery store to pick up what we needed - it's amazing how much more you spend with 2 people - we got cheese, and salami, and crackers, and...lots more. I kept having to remind Mike that although I do have a hollow leg, and I know I eat more than my fare share of food, there's only so much I can possibly eat in the next 2 days! Then we hit church and on the way home realized we had forgotten a few things in our first trip. As we were checking out of the grocery store, the lady behind us couldn't keep from laughing as she looked at our loot ... a red onion, a wine opener, a stick of chap stick and a pint of ice cream.

"I don't think I want to know what you guys are having for dinner - that's the oddest assortment of things I've ever seen!"

We weren't sure if was worth explaining the meat back at the house or the fact that I have our wine opener back in Chicago - so we just smiled and let her guess :)

The giraffe marches on...

without a head at the moment :)

I've finished all four legs of the giraffe and the body. Each leg got progressively better as I made it, which makes me want to go back and re-do the first one. I'm resisting, and waiting till I have the neck and head done, and then seeing how much time I have left. My deadline is Oct. 5th - not too far off, but close enough to put me in high gear. I know I procrastinate.

I had a basic idea for the body, egg shaped, perhaps kidney bean as well, and here's what I ended up with:

I ripped it out a few times before I was satisfied with this version. One was too long, another too kidney-bean-ish, too narrow in the middle... you get the point. This one is not exactly what I envisioned, but it's acceptable to me. I will need to pull that point in - or turn it into the tail or something.

That's one thing I don't have a problem doing - ripping out. Both of my knit-nite groups always make fun of me because I'll be going along, and then riiiipp, I'll just start pulling something out.

"What?! Wait, what are you doing?"

"It wasn't going like I wanted it to." *shrug*

It just doesn't bug me. I think it's because I know if I get it done and I don't like it, I won't wear it - or even give it as a gift, so I might as well fix it now. I had that problem with a Debbie Bliss hoodie I made, and I almost didn't give it away, because as I seamed the hood itself, it created a point at the tip. I ended up fiddling with it for a while and my friend convinced me it was cute, so I gifted it.

That's also why I don't have any pictures of the head yet - I've been crocheting, and frogging and crocheting and frogging. Now I don't always pull it all the way out, sometimes I just go back part way. I'm pretty good about checking as I go along to makes sure it's turning out like I expected. That's part of the fun for me.. OK, this isn't working, but if I go back and add some stitches here then maybe.. no, now I need to add some here, but crochet some together here... So that's how my process works. The only problem with this is, I don't take notes (because I'd be changing them constantly) so if I ever wanted to repeat it,or write out a pattern, it'd be hard. That's probably why the legs are all different!

I am shortening two of the back legs. I'm making it a bit realistic, and a bit cartoonish. I like the "realness" of the knees, but the head is pretty exaggerated at the moment. This whole process makes me really appreciate artists out there a whole lot more.
I guess I'm just lucky that my critic is only 3 weeks old!

Schedule - time, deadlines, travels

I'm finally going to go see M!!!! It's been about a month and a half and I really miss him. I'm heading out next Friday, and will be there for the weekend. It totally makes my week! I can't wait to see him, and his school and where we live! I've been so focused on selling this place that I forgot I have a home in SC too.

I've also set a deadline for both the giraffe and and bear. In October, I'm heading to DC to see my brother my sister-in-law (Kristin) and the baby. My brother will be out of town, so I'll be able to help Kristin out with the baby. Therefore, the giraffe has to be done by then. I've got the body and all 4 legs done, but I'm having a little bit of trouble figuring out the head - pictures to come...

Then it's my family's year for Christmas, (we alternate every year) and my 3 brothers and I are all going to San Fransisco to see brother #2 (Alex) for the holidays. So, I'm thinking the bear needs to be done by then before then. I'm thinking it'll be the perfect Christmas gift, and I like the idea that all my brothers will get to see it.

I think I've narrowed the choices down to the pink series and the black/white/red series. But right now, that project is on hold as my sewing machine is broken - the tension knob came off. *grr* I hope it's fixable, but I'll have to wait until the repair books I ordered from the library come in and see if I can fix it.

Creepy Creepy Spider...

I work outside with groups in a pretty woodsy area, and I love my job. I enjoy being outdoors, the bugs don't bother me too much and when the weather is nice, it's the perfect place to be. Now it has it's moments - standing in the rain for 2 hrs belaying kids in tee-shirts is not the best part of the job, but I don't do my job for the perks.

A couple of weeks ago, we had weather just like that - 80 mph winds and torrential downpour all week long. It also happened to be the week I was working doubles all week long. I came out pretty unscathed, although a bit water-logged and thought the worst was past. But I've noticed there's been some residual effects. The worst of it being the mosquitoes! Normally, they don't bother me much. I don't know if it's my diet or the fact that I don't have much meat on my bones, but I can stand with a group outside and have one person get 10 bites in the first 5 minutes, and I won't have but one by the end of the day. I don't question this, just count my blessings and try to refrain from eating bananas right before I go to work.

So, last night A (my roommate while M is away) and I decided to hang out with me and watch a movie I had rented. Just as we were getting settled down to watch it - we kept finding all these mosquitoes in the house! We don't know where they came from. We've surmised that we must have left the door open a bit too long, but it was really irritating. I spent the whole movie swatting myself because I kept feeling them land on me. I think we managed to kill them all by then end of the night. This morning, I woke up with three new bites on my arms. *grrr* And of course, every time I itch, I'm sure it's another.

The other phenomena brought on by all the rain is the influx of outdoor insects...inside. My rule is, if I'm on your ground (outside) - you win. I leave you alone. I walk away. You live. If you're on my ground (the house) - that's a whole other ballgame. This week, I've been finding more spiders in the house than I have in the past 3 months - and that's with all the cleaning I've been doing for showings!
I am truly not a fan of spiders. Usually if I find one, I calmly talk to it and say, "I will be leaving the room for a while, and when I return, I expect you to be gone or deal with the consequences." and then, I leave the room. If it doesn't listen to my warnings, then I feel I am not responsible for my actions... If I return, and the offender has not removed itself, then I usually call to M. When he was here, it was pretty easy - I'd call for him and he'd remove the spider (He thinks it's bad luck to kill a spider in the house), gently taking it outside. Now that he's in SC, I have to be tougher.

With the small ones, I find something that keeps my fingers/foot/body part as far away from the spider as possible, and smoosh it, (hopefully with no guts left behind on the carpet/floor/wall) and then throw it in the toilet. I'm always afraid I didn't REALLY kill it, and if I throw it in the garbage can, it'll crawl back out and extract revenge on me. A good flush of the toilet make me feel much more comfortable, but I really don't like dealing with them either way.

With the bigger ones.. well I've only had to deal with one, I think it was a funnel web or grass spider. I don't know how it ended up in the house. It was BIG. I sang to it:

"creepy creepy spider...
I don't want you here any more
Creepy creepy spider...
pleae crawl out or towards the door.."

But it didn't leave. I even tried vaccuming near it (couldn't vaccum it up - see garbage can comment above)
Luckily A was here, and she scooped it up in a jar with a postcard and took it out to the end of the backyard for me. It's nice to have another spider-guard around. But even so, the influx of spiders is freaking me out a little. The only thing worse to me is what I call the house centipedes, which enjoy - guess what..dampness. *sigh* I guess it's a loosing battle until it dries out a bit. In the meantime - spiders beware!

Quilter I am not.

So, I had this great idea for a softie/stuffed animal for Gabrielle, and have decided on a bear. I didn't want to waste the fabric that I have trying to make my first teddy bear, so I went to the thrift store an picked up a few scarves and a cotton button-down shirt to practice on.

This has been enormously beneficial, as I don't have any guilt when I mess up that I'm ruining or wasting or using up all the fabric I so carefully collected. It's going well, and I'm able to adjust the templates if I don't like them. Here are a shot of the practice piece so far:
I think I'm about ready to start with the "real fabric". Now my problem is choosing which pieces to use. See, I just collected the clothes that "if I closed my eyes and pictured my mother, these are the things she would be wearing". There was no contemplation of design or even a whiff of a thought about color, or fabric, or how they would work together - especially for any type of quilt.

I am so not a quilter. I'm not really even any type of artist in my head. That's what M is for - he's got the eye for color and design, and he did help me before he left. I pulled all the clothes out, and he separated all that I laid out into groups that went together. Now, I have to choose a pile. This shouldn't seem daunting, but to me it is.

I want all the fabrics to go together.

I want it to be worthy of a family heirloom.

I want Gabriella to love it.

I want it to be special and perfect.

I want my brother to realize what it is at first glance, to recognize 'mom' in it.

I also want it to be fit for a little girl.

I'm having trouble picking which lot works for all the things I want.
So I sat down today with my camera, and pulled all the groups out, and spreading them on the floor, took pictures of the combinations. This helped some, because I didn't have to keep moving the fabric around to see how they looked.
I think I'm just afraid of it not being perfect. ....

Any quilters out there? or anyone just good at color and design? Lend me your eye - tell me what you think:

I call these the blue/purple florals:

The blue/purple/green on the left is a scarf, and was made in Hilton Head on vacation - we all made our own shirts, and she of course, made a scarf. The third fabric down, the pastel floral one, I remember her wearing to my brothers' college graduation and Easter. And I'm not all together sure I like the coral shirt in with these.
In my mind, these are really girly-girl fabrics, and although they have a vintage feel/vibe, they might be a little overwhelming together.


These are the green blue series:

I've always love the black, blue and coral dress, I think because of the pattern, and the other two patterned dresses are just 'old-school mom' to me. The green is a simple silk blouse. Once again, there's the HH scarf, (there is another one further down, in blues with a little bit of black)
I like this combo, but I don't know if it's right for this project, but I can't put into words why.


The pinkish series:

This "series" is the one Mike liked the most color/combo wise, but I'm not sure it's girly enough. Then again, I'm not all about super-girly. And I did call it the pink series... It's growing on me.

The top fabric (right) is another one where I think of my mother instantly when I see it. That would be the type of pattern I would look for when buying clothes and gifts for her. Mom's style has it's own "classic" category in my head.

What's weird is - as I look at all these fabrics, and group them all together, and rearrange them and describe them in words, they kind of contradict the image of my mom that I have in my head. If you had asked me before tonight if my mom was a floral person, I would have said Definitely Not. I don't think of her or her style as 'flowery' at all, but I've noticed that in every grouping, there is at least one flower pattern. It's really strange when you are the one to contradict the image you've had in your head all you're life.

These are, in my mind, 'Classic Mom' - black, red and white. I know I pulled out a lot of colorful patterns and dresses, but she did wear a lot of the basic colors too.

I'm thinking these are too similar or .. there's not enough contrast... or something. And yet, I do like them together - I think it's because the fabrics on these dresses are really nice and would make great softies. Plus, they are clothes she wore later in life, so I have stronger memories of her from them.


The last few pictures are left-over bright fabrics that I threw together, but I think they're too bright. Plus the green doesn't go as well as it looks on the computer. It's a bit more.. new grass green, and to me it looks more sea-foam-ish in the picture. The pink is the same fabric in both pictures, and that blue is a really bright blue.


I realize with all the different fabrics I'm going to have to back some of these, but in playing with the scarves from the thrift store, I used some iron on interfacing that worked really well. I've think I've got the technique down well enough... now it's just making a choice.

The Giraffe ... legs

Ok, since the baby Gabriella (since she finally has a name) is now over 2 weeks old, it's about time I get her gifts done. So far, I am 3 legs into the giraffe, and a sample head, leg and body into the bear. Here are some pictures of what I have so far on the giraffe - he too will need a name soon... I'm thinking
Gangly Ggsomething Giraffe - George perhaps?

I love the way the little legs twist...it's my favorite - and their knees! - they make me laugh. They aren't turning out exactly how I imagined, but I found a pattern for what I had in my head here, so it's been fun seeing what I come up with, without one. I just hope the body in my head matches the legs when it comes out on the hook!!