Happy Zombie

Recently I got an unwelcome hello from my now soon-to-be-gone gallbladder. I’m all good and in good hands… but I’m out of comission for a while longer and am unable to answer my email. If there’s anything urgent that requires my attention - or that maybe they can answer - please contact Pam (pamkittymorning) or Mo (lime gardenias). Thanks bunches! Monica

I love, love, love those plastic webbed lawn chairs. Even that creaking aluminum sound they make, I love. When I was a kid, we belonged to the Orinda Park Pool - every day of our summers were spent here.  My mom and her friends had super cool low-rider lawn chairs, and would sit in the sun and play gin rummy and bridge on the lawn.  This was in the pre-melanoma and pre-mom’s-had-to-go-to-work era.  Priceless childhood memories.   (in the “1960’s Stingers” [color] photo… that’s me, 4th on the left in the front - the one fiddling with her bathing cap - twas the height of the Pixie cut era!)

Oh for the love of lawn chairs, quilts and Moda… I have a Lawn Chair quilt tutorial at the Moda Bakeshop.  One Jelly Roll of MoMo’s It’s a Hoot (I’m so madly in love with this line!!!) and two Jelly Rolls of Moda Bella solids will make TWO 48″ x 75″ lap size quilts (or one 75″ x 96″ quilt).

I started playing around with a Honey Bun (1½” wide strips roll) of Urban Chick’s Sweet (one of my all time fave lines… along with Swell… hoping the Urban Chicks are working on a Savory for me next!!) - and putting the solid in the center.

I’m still in playing mode (which is one of my favorite modes) - and adjustments in the measurements have to be made for the 1½” striping - cutting the 3-piece units into 3½” x 3½”, 3½” x 6½” and 2″ x 3½ units.  I don’t know yet what I’m going to make… or what my finished size will be… I’ll probably figure it all out (and post it) when I finish what I started next week month year.

I secretly refer to the Lawn Chair quilt as the UPS quilt.   Last July, during a freak NW Oregon heat spell - Violet made a tweet the about the heat and her UPS man JUST as I had finished making the Lawn Chair quilts.  I will forever think of Violet (and Melissa too!) and a hunky hot UPS man when I think of this quilt.

[/barry white music]

Holy schmokes… I’ve shanghaied one of the blog posts on the Where Women Create blog!  Actually, I was asked if I would like to be featured on their Fabulous Friday feature.  It didn’t even take me a nano second to say yes.  Holy schmoly… what an honor for me!

My post is here, and naturally I ramble on as I always do.  Added way too many photos.   I even swiped (or rather, schwiped) one of their graphics and happyzombied it.  I’m feeling rather shanghai-ish at the moment.  Dare I even say schanghai-ish?

In celebration of my WWC shanghai my WWC post, I’m giving away a 25 fat quarter bundle of my Holiday Happy fabric.  That’s 6.25 yards of fabric!  Leave a comment on the WWC post, and WWC will draw/announce the winner after their Tuesday, August 24th at 12:00 Noon (MST) drawing closes.

I’m so touched by all the kind comments left for more me there. I’m unable to reply to them, so please know how deeply touched I am by the kindness everyone has bestowed upon me! Thank you!!!

PS to WCC - if you have a couple thousand extra visits on your blog… that’s just me coming back over and over and over again reading all the wonderful comments!

Yaaaaay!  I’m a Camp Counselor at Lizzy’s Castle Peeps Summer Camp!  Me… a camp counselor.  Whodathunk.  I’m usually the one sent to the counselor for bad behavior.  My only camp experience ever was on our 5th grade 3-day trip at Camp Silver Spur in Tuolumne, CA.  And it was a blast.  My youngest son got to go on the same type of trip in the 4th & 5th grades… “Outdoor School” it’s called in Oregon.  One year he got to go to Outdoor School in Vernonia, OR… and one year it was a trip to multiple locations in Central Oregon (Bend, Sisters and Kahneeta).   Now I get to relive some of that fun (as a kid and as a parent), through Lizzy’s summer camp.

Using Lizzy’s beautiful new line of Castle Peeps by Andover, I wanted to make something fun and useful.  Something that sang to my inner 5th grader, full of adventure and discovery.
And mischief.
My inner mom screamed not to get dirty. My inner quilter shouted to keep the beautiful fabric pristine. My inner recycling bin complained it was too full to hold one more milk jug.

And then it all came together.  My Dragon Slayer Satchel will pull double duty as my berry picking tote.  I wanted to make my strap adjustable so I can wear the strap across my chest (half a cross-my-heart), so I used a 1″ Dritz Center Release Buckle on the strap.  I LOVE THAT BUCKLE.  So easy to attach, and so very inexpensive (I got mine for just over a $1 at Joann’s with my 40% off coupon). I only wish it came in assorted colors.  Having a buckle also allows for attaching the satchel to things like big honkin’ tree branches and [insert your favorite difficult to hang stuff on object here].

I ramble… and here’s the link to the PDF pattern. Please respect my terms of use disclaimer at the bottom of my free pattern. Go forth and slay, and forage… and have fun.  And get a little dirty.

Recently I came upon a new blog on tumblr called Catalog Living - the life and times of fictional Gary & Elaine who live in the pages of our catalogs.  Yeah, like who knew Gary & Elaine were even there!?  Catalog Living is the hysterical brainchild of Molly Erdman (the  actress who plays the “wife” from the Sonic commercials).   It’s genius.  GENIUS.  There’s a great article at the Chicago Tribune about Catalog Living - my favorite part was the quote from Molly, “Wouldn’t it be funny if I put these pictures up and made little captions for them?”.  I love that.  When I think all the way back to mid-1970 and being in the 7th grade - and we would write naughty captions in the photos of our ancient 1950’s school books - and could now be a success at it?  Holy schmokes… it’s like a dream come true!

So now I’m thinking, as Catalog Living skyrockets into internet and twitter superrockstardom… it’s probaly too late to ask Molly Erdman if she could “Catalog My House”.   Kind of like Pimp My Ride, or like asking James Earl Jones to record my outgoing voicemail message… but what would Gary & Elaine say/do if they lived in my house.  WWG&ED.

If you make house calls, Molly… my door is open. I may have to resort to trying my hand at it. In the last photo, “Liberty and Madison fear being plucked out of the audience during Bob, Triskit and Mother Clucker’s ‘In Hot Water’ performance“. I think I better leave it to the professionals.

I’ve been saying forever that cameras should come with an “Oregon button”. A magic button that turns dark Pacific Northwest daylight (that murky damp Twilight-ishy gray)… into happy pretty sunshiny brightness. Thanks to the Pioneer Woman - she wrote about the aperture button on a DSLR camera. Aperture… aka The Oregon Button. And the OB was staring me in the face all this time.

I had to test it out asap. I went a little extreme and over exposed myself a little too much (THAT’S gonna garner me some unwanted spam). Because I’m a PCP photographer (point-click-pray), I have no +/- numbers or metered levels to recite. I just watched my little aperture bar move up and down as I fiddled with the button. I did make this sound as the meter bar increased… [low pitch] blooooooooop [high pitch]. Decrease on the meter bar… [high pitch] bloooooooop [low pitch].

My before and afters.  Because I had the aperture set to steroid levels… reality is somewhere in the middle of the before and afters.

My kitchen and front entry:

My morning joe:

My phone I never answer (I hate talking on the phone):

Throne cam:


Edited in: I was on the throne… not *on* the throne.

I’m sooo happy to have learned about aperture.  Thank you Pioneer Woman - I can now make every day a happy pretty sunshiny day in Oregon.

All this week I’m at a work related seminar with my husband at the BEAUTIFUL Naval Base Kitsap - Bangor (Washington). Of note… there are about 35 males in the class… and I’m one of four females. And this is what’s called justice…

Sashay.
Sashay.
Sashay, sashay away - it’s good to be a girl today.

Thank you to everyone who played in my Holiday Happy give-away.   Like getting 506 love letters!  I’m awed by the such kind responses - almost to the point of embarrassment (I did pee my pants a little).  I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy.  I quickly got over the embarrassment - and hopped on the gratitude train - and I’m never getting off it (besides - my gratitude train has a dining car and a sewing car and…).  Not only do I feel like the sixth winner - but I’m by far the super duper mega grand winner!  Thank you everyone for your kindness and excitement.  Hands down.  I win.

I’m so happy to say…
here are the other 5 Holiday Happy winners!

Grand Prize winner of Holiday Happy Fat Quarter bundle:
#98 - Nikki of The Girl Who Quilts

The wee little Holiday Happy Fat Quarterlettes winners:
#237  Sandy McClay of 521 Lake Street
#215  Nadra of von kleinen dingen
#452 Rebecca Woods (no blog… and it’s her birthday today!)
#38 Natalie VV of Chicken Blog (winner winner chicken blog dinner)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love and kindness comments!   If anyone is making anything with Holiday Happy, or spots it some where, or just has a stash of it, or is seen frolicking on the beach with it… I would love to see it!  Like seeing what my little kids are up - it’s like Mother’s Day every time I see a photo in my HH flickr group.  Momma’d be so happy if you’d join the Holiday Happy flickr group - and added any ‘baby pics’ of HH.  I don’t except flowers or candy, to be taken out to brunch… or even a phone call on Mother’s Day.  Just photos.  It’s all I ask.   That’s not too much to ask, right?   xoxo

GOOODIES!
For dessert.  Not until after this post is finished.

Now boarding, Alaska flight 38
Good-bye Seattle. Hello Minneapolis.
Waiting for me below… AlmostUtopia. If only MN had an ocean - it’d truly be Utopia.  What a beautiful state filled with beautiful people.  Beautiful, friendly, nice people.  Minnesota Nice people.

I was just getting over a cold, and then I got hammered with it while in MN (I blame my flight) - so I’m missing lots of bits and pieces of market.  Missing photos, missing people who I wanted to see but didn’t/couldn’t.  An abbreviated, prescription drug induced snapshot of my trip to Market.  I could not have made it through Market without my Nurse Nightingale when I was so sick, and my interpreter when I lost my voice - Pam.  And to my roomie Karen - you took such great care of me and made me feel so loved and cared for.  Thank you Pam & Karen - from the top, bottom, sides and middle of my heart!!!!!

Twilight on Crack Hotel
Or to someone who’s hip, young, trendy, cool and likes sleeping in a black box and showering with a wall of window to the bedroom - and showering with essentially a shiny garden hose for a shower head, (or has a really cool suite like The Pioneer Woman did)… then you must give The W Hotel in Minneapolis a go.  Bottom right) ME: Hey Karen, what’s the weather like today?  KAREN:  Sunny with a chance of brick. 

Sample Spree
Clockwise:
1)  Showin’ off her bling - cuter than cute Lizzy.
2)  For YEARS we’ve been blog/flickr pals… I FINALLY get to meet The Adorable One - That silly lil Doe.
3)  Funny-girl Kathy of Teacher’s Pet.  Are those boxes for meeeeeeeee?!
4)  Another one of my blog/flickr pals… me and Miss Minnesota Nice Mary of Mary on Lake Pulaski fame.  Mary was as nice as I imagined her to be + 1000 times more.
5)  Cara - we met over having some words. Words with Friends, that is! Cara’s first time as an exhibitor. Yay Cara!
6)  All around sweethearts and Sample Spree queue entertainers…  Jennifer, Kaye, Stefanie, Doe & Cara. Are Stefanie and Doe just not too cute?! If I were Paula Abdul I’d want to squish them/squeeze their heads off and dangle them from my rear-view mirror. But I’m not Paula - so I’d like me a set of Stephanie & Doe salt and pepper shakers. Or S & D bobble heads.
7)  No photos, I only heard rumors… that Carrie saved the day for Vickie at the Lecien table and snagged her the last bundle of Holiday Happy for her.  Carrie is not just a rockstar and Schnibble Queen… but she’s my hero too!

Breakfast
Karen, Pam and Flat Nat - amazing breakfasts at the Key’s Bar & Grill at the Foshey.  Amazing Gin Fizzes and finger lickin’ ooie gooie make-you-weep pecan rolls.

Lunch
Brit’s Pub… on EVERYBODY’S list to eat at. Pam and I are able to snag a table in the much coveted shade at Brit’s Pub. Outdoor eateries in Minneapolis are plentiful and wonderful.  A foodie’s paradise.

Cake Party!
Mother/daughter dynamic dynamo - Cherri & Lizzy’s Cake Party to celebrate Cherri’s breathtaking new book City Quilts and Lizzy’s adorable newest fabric line Castle Peeps from Andover.
Clockwise:
1)  Yes, I’d love a piece of that one, Lizzy.
2)  Melissa’s friend Unicorn tries to french kiss Flat Nat… and Jana (aka Carol) behind her does nothing to stop it.
3)  Scott brought me an RX all the way from Seattle.  I heard whisperings that he brought a bag for Patty, too.
4)  Who’s this?  OIC… it’s Caroline of jcaroline.
5)  The cool kids table - smile and say “Glee!” -Beth, Melissa, John and Scott.

Eat, again? Ok!
L to R:
1) Me with Flat Nat toss ala Mary Tyler Moore.  It’s Minneapolis.  It’s the law.
2) Pam, Cyndi and I have the best salads for dinner at the News Room.  And lucky Cyndi gets carded for beer.  I got offered the senior menu.
3) On Radio KPKM I said I was going to be Pam’s weather girl.  So here it is.  Minneapolis was hot.  Not unbearable hot… but hot enough to want to traipse in the fountain.

Maybe just a nibble for now?
Nope. Not yet.

Lecien
Goodness in the Lecien booth - Flower Sugar II, my Holiday Happy (pinch me) and Brenda’s beautiful Durham “Anew“.
In the line-up… aaaaah-dorable sweet Kate, me (apparently I either forgot to do a mirror check - or - my goal for the day was to look like a gaucho from Fogo de Chão.  Steaks anyone?), Brenda, Pam and Nireko.

Karen, Pam, Elizabeth, Keiko, Brenda, Meg, Jennifer, Nireko and Tracy made some of the most AMAZING samples for the Lecien booth - check out their blogs and see what they made - the booth was oozing in cuteness thanks to them.  (I hope I didn’t leave anyone out!!! Please let me know if I did).  Cover your keyboard with a drool towel.  

Izzy & Ivy
Oh. My. Gosh. I love Team Izzy & Ivy!  I called my mom and asked if I could keep them.  She said no.   Too cute for words… so they get four pics. L to R: Jana, Shasta and Jenny.  My new BFF’s + medical team + everything.  By far the coolest, hippest (I bet they would like the W), funnest, darlingest peeps at Market.  I can’t wait for SLC next year.  I think Team Izzy & Ivy is going to turn Utah upside down and back up again.  As if they haven’t already.

Vegemite not included
The Roo Crew from Down Under!
1)  Lynette from Lynette Anderson Designs.  Not just a friend, but a twitter and Word with Friends pal.  It was so wonderful to finally meet her.  And she’s so lovely and fun - as I knew she would be!
2)  Anni from Hatched and Ptched.  Lynette intoduced me to her - and like every Aussie I’ve ever met… so friendly and nice.  Australia… the Minnesota of the southern hemisphere.   Aussie Nice.
3)  Kellie and crew from Don’t Look Now!  Who is that pulling a Wilson behind that pillow?!  Hey, it’s my lovely sister-wife Anna!  Well if Anna is in Minnesota, and I’m in Minnesota… then it must be sister-wife Sarah’s turn to be with hubby.
4) Aussie, Aussie, Aussie… oi, oi, oi - wish you were there Natalie Lymer (aka Flat Nat’s mum), Rosalie and Natalie Ross too!

Don’t look now…
But there’s a constant, HUGE crowd at the Don’t Look Now booth.  No suprise - jaw dropping gorgeous, happy and unique.  You can’t help but smile when you see the amazing quilts of DLN.   Even the rockstars come to see DLN.  I’m sooooo in awe of the masterpieces cranked out by Kellie.  Awe.   If Don’t Look Now comes to a show near you… RUN, not walk to it.

From the Land of Tall Trees
My Oregon, Washington & Montana friends. Clockwise:
1)  My sweet friend Mo of Lime Gardenias.  Just over the hill from me -  why we’re practically neighbors.  If we were crows.  And we flew.  Mo’s big debut of her gorgeous Party Dress line with Blue Hill Fabrics.  I sure wish Mo could have been at Market!!
2)  Also in Mo’s neighborhood is Michelle from Busy Bee Quilt Designs.  Michelle was MIA while I was at her booth, but luckily I caught her mom Birdie.  I’ve been lucky enough to sew with Michelle and Birdie.  Well… they sewed… and I  danced with my chair.
3)  Just up the river (the Columbia) in SE Washington is Crabapple Hill.  I love Crabapple Hill and have made countless embroideries using CH patterns.  I even won a blue ribbon on my quilt with the Crabapple embroidery on it.  I finally got to meet Meg… the genious behind CH and fellow COSMO floss user!
4)  Sandi, Sandi, Sandi… my dear and amazing friend and my milk buddy for life.  Or as Sandi calls me… her milk soul mate.  Yea… we both love milk THAT much.  I have photos of Sandi… but saving them for my [future] Iowa post.   Oh, and DYING over Sandi’s chairs.  Montana monschmana… those chairs look like they’d much rather go to Oregon.
5)  The Anne’s!   L to R, Anne B. of Cottons n’ Wool and Anne S. of Bunny Hill.  I’m *related* to The Anne’s by both our Oregon and Walnut Creek connections.   And because I’m Super Fan #1.  I’m so excited for Anne S. - who has joined the Moda family - and joined in a big way with the debut of her oh so yummy Lily & Will.   YEAY Anne!  I heart The Anne’s soooo much!  If you’re counting… I typed “Anne” seven times.   Eight.
6) My pal, my sistah-friend, my neighbor, my lunch buddy, my roomie, my travel pal, my personal shopper… Karen is like having a dozen friends all lovingly wrapped into one awesome friend. Karen’s latest beautiful line Dear Dorothy debuted at the Timeless Treasure. And just look at the sample in her fabric… it’s an Izzy & Ivy pattern!
7) My oldest and bestess and dearest and funnest friends Leslie. We were neighbors at one time - like only a block from each other neighbors.  We were inseparable, from sun -up to sun-down… until she moved back to Michigan.  There were rumors we wanted to start our own commune - but instead - Leslie’s mom opened up Hearts to Holly quilt shop.  Leslie is the person responsible for putting a rotary cutter back in my hand somewhere around 1999.   When Leslie and I do get to see each other, there’s a photo we take to show her kids that Leslie is growing taller and I am shrinking.  If anyone saw me bawling at the MCC… it’s because I had to say good-bye (again @#$!) to Leslie.

Mi amore, those who I adore
1) Clockwise: Elizabeth “MacGruber” Stumbo (my BFF, my mug-arita buddy and super stylist for all things APQ/Quilt Sampler/Q&M), Jill Abelo Mead (my Quilts & More editor and my cheerleader and she’s got a sassy new hair-do!), Karen, Linzee (freelancer to the House of Meredith - she’s like me… but she quilts with letters and writes beautiful profiles in American Patchwork & Quilting and Quilts & More), Pam and me.
2) Sherri of Sherri Falls of This & That fame. Pam (who knows EVERYBODY) introduced us - we would soon be going to Iowa together, so Pam and Roseann both thought I should meet her right away - not to waste ONE MINUTE of not knowing her. To say I adore Sherri is an understatement. More on Sherri in a future post.
3) Bonnie and Camillie - another amazing and adorable mother/daughter dynamic dynamo! A. Dor. Able.

I spy - some happy for my eyes
Clockwise:
1)  I love Riley Blake.  Love them!
2)  Pillow & Maxfield.  Loved their booth, loved them.
3)   Cara’s first time as an exhibitor. Yay Cara!
4)  Lakehouse Dry Goods… I love all things Lakehouse.   Every market I tell Holly I want to move into her booth.  One day I will be sucessful.
5)  Hemma Design… a Swedish inspried company from Minnesota.  Really caught my eye (and Karen’s too).  Love the simple happy look of Kathy’s [Kathy on right, Mary on the left] that’s oh so Swedish.
6)  Last but not least… check out the delicious yummies fo dear sweet wonderful Nanette of Freda’s Hive fame made for the RJR booth.  Darling!   The only thing better than seeing Nanette’s yummies… would have been to have had Nanette there with them!

Checking out… Checking in
Good-bye Minneapolis (and the crazy Twilight on Crack hotel)… Hello Des Moines (and your beautiful vintage hotels filled with light and brightness).   Lots to show.  Lots to tell.  I’m still on a Cinderella high - I’ll be blogging my Iowa trip after I rest up.

Now it’s time for dessert
Fresh from the oven… a little Holiday Happy to go around. I was going to do a give-away with 2 fat quarter bundles of my Holiday Happy - but one of the fat quarter bundles had unprotected sex and gave birth to 4 little fat quartlettes (9″ x 10½” cuts).  So 5 winners instead of 2.  One comment per person - no fuss no muss… just leave a comment by noon PST on 6/14/10.  I’ll have random.org pick the winners. EDITED IN: Contest is now over - anything past comment #506 is too late (sorry). Winners to be announced shortly.

I still need to add who I wanted to see but couldn’t make it… and who was there but somehow missed them… and who I saw but didn’t get a picture of  (need to draw my pics) - but It took me 3 days to finish this post/edit the photos - so I’ll write a part two-er to this.  I really should double check for typos and make sure all the links are correct…. I’m taking a nap.

Amy’s Mr. Linky says I have 10 hours to post - and then he’s gone. Wham bam thank you Mr. Linky man. So squeaking in under the wire and getting this post done before my market and Iowa posts… here’s my Blogger’s Quilt Festival entry.

My Anne Sutton of Bunnyhill BOM. My “Dude, Where’s My BOM” quilt. My favorite quilt I ever made. More info on Anne’s A Tiskit A Tasket BOM here. More info on my process here here and setting here.

On a side note, THANK YOU to EVERYONE for the kind, sweet, funny and made-my-day-with-a-cherry-on-top comments on my previous posts. I haven’t been able to reply to all the comments - please know that I’m soooooooo very touched and honored by everyones kindness. THANK YOU! xoxoMo