Happy Zombie

I haven’t posted a Sew & Tell in a while… maybe because I haven’t sewn in weeks (talk about being too ill if I’m not quilting!). A few quilts from recent past… pre-blogging stuff! There’s a designer I discovered a little over a year ago I just love, and her name is Lori Smith. I can open a magazine or my favorite catalog (Keepsake Quilting, the “Victoria’s Secret” for quilters!) and see a quilt and I just KNOW it’s by her because it’s something that makes me want to run and make it. And that’s saying a lot because I find more pleasure in designing my own.

Anyhoo… Lori has a really cute pattern pack called Fat Quarter Quilting: Four Fabric Quilts. These quilts I made are the finished size of a fat quarter. All you need are four fat quarters (five if you use a FQ for the backing). The first two I have made were samples for the shop, so I kind of stuck with the fabrics/colors like in the pattern (though I do dig the black & white with the birdie toile) .

I hope I don’t sound like an infomercial… I just want to pass on something fun, fast and pretty. These little patterns are a great way to use some FQ’s you just love but don’t know what to do with (plus you get six patterns in a pack - talk about bang for your buck!). From start to finish this is a nice little weekend project. Piecing, quilting and binding…. HUGE satisfaction in getting a quilt done fast! The quilts finish nice and “square” (I know, I know… they’re rectangles!), though my photography is not (ugh).

The third was purely for me. It’s the same quilt as the second one but made with some of my all time fabric. I love, love, love this fabric collection by Linda Hohag for P&B Textiles. Did I mention how much I love this fabric??? This quilt took a little longer since I hand quilted it… but boy was it fast to quilt compared to quilting a bed size quilt! Satisfaction!

It is not uncommon for my friends to have to wait for me. My parents, my doctor, my dentist, my guild, people behind me in line at Safeway or on an airplane, you name it… all have had the unfortunate opportunity of having to wait for me. So here’s the thing… I took this photo of DS and Kathy Griffin last night at about 8:10pm. Kathy’s show was supposed to start at 8:00pm. So to all the nice people in the sold out and packed Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall last night… I’m really sorry you had to wait for Kathy because of me DS and I got to go backstage to meet Kathy and you didn’t! Ok, so I’m kinda sorry you didn’t get to meet her too… because she’s so sweet, friendly, gracious and warm IRL. HUGE thanks to my cousin Bobby for hooking us up!

Kathy’s show was so funny and she really is a comic genius. But the funniest thing happened when she spotted the sign language interpreter signing some of her colorful language… which ended up being a show in itself. Kathy started feeding the interpreter all kinds of deliciously bad and naughty words and phrases. If you know me IRL… you’ll know that I’ve increased my wordpower to a new level! Watch my hands friends… watch my hands!

And speaking of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall… While EVERYONE is so friendly who works at The Schnitz (actually, ALL of Portland is sooo friendly), there is this one lady usher who just shines and oozes kindness and joy. This usher is Phyllis and she’s got a smile and grace that just warms your soul. We’ve been seated by her a few times now and last night I told her how wonderful I thought she was. Phyllis is warm apple pie served on the very best china. I told her I was going to blog about her… so here it is Phyllis!

Because I’m so obsessed with our snowfall last Wednesday night… I of course have more to show! This was this morning on Hwy. 30 heading west into Astoria. Photos can’t convey the enchanting and breathtaking beauty of this winter wonderland. If you’re inland missing your now melted snow… head on over to Astoria for a magical treat! Some of the trees looked like lace or that they were spayed with marshmallow fluff. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Enchanting.

This postal goodness comes via my own hands. My dear friend Cindy was blogging about things she misses in the Pacific Northwest. Since I’m in the Pacific Northwest… I miss things from the C-word (California) and the Bay Area. I don’t care to argue with anyone (don’t even try… I don’t wanna start a Rosie/Donald thing over bread), but there is no better bread in the US that is as good as bread baked in the Bay Area, more specifically the East Bay and Sonoma County. Canada… I give you the butter credit, especially butter from BC (OMG… YUM!).

So anyhoo… When ever my folks come up to see me, they ALWAYS bring me German Farm Bread from Beckmann’s Old World Bakery. Likewise, when I’m visiting my folks, I always bring this bread back up with me. Shout out to my mom: What gives… only one loaf when you came up? Ok, ok… not like you and Dad didn’t shower me with love and gifts when you came… but only one loaf? I could sit back and pout, or I could do something. I Googled Beckmann’s, got a phone number, called, and asked if their bread was retailed anywhere in the Portland or Seattle area. No… but they do UPS! WHAT… UPS me the bread… right to my front door??? I don’t even have to get dressed and drive 2 or 3 hours? OMG… I’d like six loaves of “oval” German Farm Bread please! A few days later… I’m in bread heaven! BTW… Beckmann’s number in Santa Cruz is (831)-423-2566 and you can find it at better grocery stores in the Bay Area. Now if I could only get a Nation’s Giant Hamburger or an In-n-Out burger UPS’d to me!

I’ve been waiting since JUNE when I first got my chubby little hands on these tickets for tomorrow night! My cousin Bobby hooked me up and tomorrow night is going to be an “A List” blast. I’m sure it will be a night I won’t soon forget! I think Kathy Griffin is so funny, witty and smart… even if she doesn’t read my blog.

And last but not least… I got my Summer Stitchettes to go with the Fall Stitchettes from Hillary Lang. I have no plans yet… maybe a quilt. Maybe tea towels. Who knows, but one thing I do know… these are sooooooooo fugging cute! Anyone with some ideas?

Taking a break from playing in the snow, just a few pics I took of BEAUTIFUL Astoria. It snowed buckets of snow last night! Needless to say, it’s a Snow Day here in Astoria. I won’t bore anyone with too much blah, blah, blah about the snow… but I’ll post all my pictures to a gallery later (if you’re interested). But for now… there’s a sled calling my name! (
Wende has some awesome photos on her blog too! What’s really funny is that she has a photo that looks like one of my photos. I was half expecting to see me taking a photo in one of her photos!

Hey Wende… next photo shoot we should meet up so I can shoot you shooting me shooting you shooting me. What? Um… you know know what I mean, right?

Night time is play time!

These last two photos were taken at about 1am. One is looking up our street (no flash because it was really that bright out). The other one is of DS checking out the snowfall in our backyard.

I’m running around the house jumping up and down with joy… The iPhone is here, the iPhone is here! OMG… THE iPHONE IS HERE! The dream has become a reality. Sigh… now I’m counting down the days until it’s for sale (and I have no idea when that is).

For YEARS I’ve been saying how I wanted Apple to have an iPhone. Oh I’d hear rumors it was “being worked on”, but they were just that… rumors. Oh I’m so happy! My excuse for not being organized has been that I can’t completely sync my Treo to my Mac. Will the new iPhone change my life? Unless it can vacuume, cook and do laundry… sadly no. But I KNOW it’s going to help me keep on top of things thanks to a sync’d iCal. Good-bye Mac-unfriendly Treo… Hello iPhone and synchronistic joy!

No… not THAT F-word… the one that’s far worse. Way worse. Fear. So this post about fear evolved after reading Jackie’s BEAUTIFUL post called New Beginnings (BTW… it’s THE Best New Year’s Post Ever). It was as if Jackie wrote it for me and put into words the beehive of jumbled thoughts swirling around in my head. Yes… a light bulb moment for me!

I’ve already taken the steps last year to put aside fear and take some plunges. Some steps resulted in success (you’ll have to wait until summer to find out! Hint, hint… at your newsstand!), and some not. I had some steps that ended at a dead end (rejection), and you know what… it was NO big deal! The fear of rejection is by FAR worse then the actual rejection and I honestly can’t remember what was even rejected.

Sometimes I have fear when I blog my “Sew & Tell” that I’m bragging. I get that little voice in my head (and she sounds just like Courtney Love BTW) who says, “It sounds like you’re bragging”. Yet I tell myself over and over how much I enjoy other bloggers who share… why be so stubborn with my sharing? The Courtney Love voice nags me over on the other shoulder, “Do it, do it… people want to see your creations like you want to see their creations”. What if nobody shared? How awful that would be and how dull the Crafty Blogging world would be! I love blogging and have made many new friends blogging. I don’t want fear to be a part of something I love so much and I have taken a vow to kill the fear. RIP fear. You are dead to me.

So my message is to you my friends, you know who you are. You’re the ones who fear of having a blog, or even leaving comments. Yes… it’s not only ok to comment of people’s blogs… it’s welcomed! And if the Courtney Love voice is saying to you that you have nothing to write about or you don’t have time or no one’s going to read it… well she’s full of crap and she’s got a hypodermic needle filled with liquid fear waiting to inject you with it. Just say no.

Thank you for the new mantra Jackie and Happy New Beginnings to you all!

I love Bonne Maman jam. Like getting a free toy inside, I buy this jam because of the jar. Oh I guess for the jam too, it really is yummy. I must have two dozen of these jars, all holding some sort of treasured gem, buttons, address labels, safety pins, tea bags, sugar cubes, postage stamps, m&m’s, thimbles, embroidery floss, paper clips, yada, yada, yada. If it were not for Bonne Maman, I’d be totally without any organization what so ever (and my toast and waffles would be dry).

I almost always buy the strawberry because it has a red lid. What… you’d like a peanut butter and blackberry sandwich??? Here… enjoy a strawberry PB&J. Actually, I’ve tried all the flavors and they are all yummy and taste like Aunt Ethel’s been canning in her farmhouse kitchen.

Catching up and long overdue… Part One of my recent postal joy. A few weeks ago my best bloggy pal Pam sent me a box of joy. Of course what was in the box rocked my world, but because Pam sent it out of the blue and from her heart made me tear up. It was one of those moments that made me exhale and reflect with a warm-fuzzy-goodness-joy about my life since I’ve been blogging. Oh that sounds so corny, but I KNOW many of you can relate! There’s something very magical about crafty bloggers… just like gardeners and quilters. Very giving, very fun, very inspirational, very warm, very creative… a goodness that’s not defined by one word. I’m searching for The Best Post Ever for the blogger who can describe this good bloggy-love-drug that has no bad side effects or doesn’t give you a hang-over.

So… back to the box from Pam. OMG… look at the little birdie in the mailbox! I had commented on that birdie in one of Pam’s posts… and look what she sends me! I about died with joy (death by kindness)! I’m sure this is supposed to be a Christmas ornament, but I see this as a year-round goodie on my shelf. Pam also sent me “pretty socks” and a mug from In Between Stitches. Just darling and the mug has extra special meaning (our Sisterhood Of The Coffee On The Patio Table Photo). Is Pam awesome or what!

I was so tickled to see Wee Wonderful’s Hillary Lang’s Stitchette’s take on an elfin life! The über talented Hillary has these two lovelies in the freebie section of her store. I was so excited over these cuties I had to make them right away! So cute, so cute, so cute! Thank you Hillary!

I decided I wanted the Stitchettes to be the star of the show, so I did just a simple white on white (snowflake) and solid red. I thought about doing some star blocks in the setting, then thought of doing some pinwheels, and then thought of doing some prairie points. I crumble up and tossed my graphpaper notes (no, not really… into the recycling bin it went) and went Simple to showcase the elfs. A case when less is truly more. I enlarged the patten, so each Stitchette block is 16” tall (finished).

I echo quilted (by hand) around the Stitchettes, then did a cross hatch on the rest of the quilt. Hard to tell by my cruddy photos, but the Stitchettes just kind of pop out by doing this. Click on the photo and you might be better able to see them “poof”.

Now my only problem is having to wait until Christmas to hang this. Though as one to break rules (even my own), I think my little Elf Stitchettes have a perfect year-round place in my office right next to my redwork Roly Poly Circus.

The last movie of 2006 I saw was Little Miss Sunshine. It was also the best! I’m not a movie reviewer and don’t know the appropriate things to say, so you’ll just have to pretend you’re reading a great movie review.

I love little indie movies (or what seem like indie movies). I can do without the CGI, the big score, the multi-million dollar wardrobe and the “it” actors (though I think Steve Carell is an It Kinda Guy). I don’t want to give the story/plot away, but this movie was so refreshing and the characters so interesting… you can’t help but get sucked into this movie and cheer for this family. It was like a good book for my eyes. I even watched it a second time when DS watched it (and he really liked it too).

Added to my material wish list… I want a Vee-dub bus. Mmmm, yes… Aqua on white. One with a functioning transmission.