Stashin'

Some time ago I had put myself on fabric-buying restrictions. I had gotten into a habit of just buying and buying with no real idea for how I was going to use any of it. At some point I ended up feeling overwhelmed by it all. So I purged a ton of it, giving some away here and there, and donating some to charity places. It felt good. I stuck to my rule of buying fabric for custom orders or for a specific project that would happen in the near future, and only for those two purposes. I did really well. And I especially felt good last week when I cut into that long-sitting stack of Winterkist to get it ready for this week's stitching marathon. So I rewarded myself. With fabric. But not without a loose purpose in mind...

I tend to stay away from quilt alongs. I did a skill builder quilt along, those blocks which are still tucked on a shelf. I enjoyed new skills but grew to dislike the 'due date' feeling of everything. For the past couple years there have been these massive sew-alongs happening on Instagram. Last year was the Scrappy Trip Around the World, and this year is the Economy Block Along. I wasn't going to do anything. But then I saw some of the blocks showing up, and decided that playing along, in my own time and in my own way, would be a fabulous opportunity for some fabric play. I perused my stash for some fun prints, and learned I have a nice stash of basics but not much else. So I shopped. And now I have a great stack I'm excited to cut into. At some point. No pressure. And these will go great with the very few novelty prints I already have. So I stash build and stash bust at the same time. Win win. So here's what I bought recently.

Everything pictured here came from Fabric Paradise, Sew Me a Song (on Etsy), and Joann's (who has nicely stepped up their novelty section).

I stuck to quarter yard cuts of everything, whether fat or skinny cuts. I've got visions aplenty swirling in my brain, so I'm pretty sure I will be able to make a nice dent in these. I set myself a budget per cut (otherwise I'd have had to get a second job to pay for all the adorable Japanese prints out there), and don't really feel I went too bonkers that way. Anyway--here's a closer look at what I bought.

I have a special love for kitchen-themed prints. You see that retro print in the lower left? I want to make curtains out of that one. But I'm going to fussy cut the dickens out of it, perhaps to go with some cookie jars or baking instructions, or that chicken soup recipe and so on.

Aren't these sewing prints cute? These all came from Joann's, believe it or not. 

These school-themed prints will be fun to play with. Fat quarters don't seem like much, but when you're only cutting some bits and pieces they last much longer.

I am very aware of how weird this next sentence will sound. I have wanted postal-themed fabrics for a while. Right? That's weird, I know. The red looks like it has some good fussy cut bits, and I just loved the vintagey car one on the right.

And here are just a few random ones that didn't fit in any category. 

I always feel guilty when I splurge on fabric for no reason. I've taken great pains to buy just what I need so I don't get encumbered by numerous scraps I might never use, but feel too guilty to toss. But there's only so much you can do with polka dots and solids, and I do have a loose plan to use these, which means these weren't pointless purchases. Which means I shouldn't feel guilty. But I'm Catholic and half-Italian. Guilt is what I do.

I have some cute texty prints I've been accumulating (as they can be very hard to find) that will go great with these. Having a pretty stack like this next to your sewing machine, taunting you, is great motivation to finish the quilt top you've been working on. Even when that quilt top is endless triangles and bias edges, and two rows that were nothing but errors that needed to come out. I'm not allowed to cut into this stack until I have a totally finished quilt top, so I will just be trucking along to get that done. Frigid temps and snow make for great quilting weather, but horrible getting out of bed weather. Which is where I guess I should be heading right now. G'night!

Zip Zoom

Zip zoom surely describes the kind of weekend I had, but I do so love a productive weekend. My list of accomplishments includes: replacing a jacket zipper, cobbling together cotton batting to make a bigger piece of cotton batting, taking my car to get new windshield wipers since necessary rubber pieces froze to the windshield and came off (I could have done it myself but it's under warranty so why not let them?), ran a few errands, did some blog upkeep, dusted and cleaned the bedroom, knitted a little, and made the babycakes a little gift. Throw in a birthday dinner for my dad and that tops off a very busy weekend. One that I'm quite pleased with.

First off--I pootled around on my blog to add some social media icons without having to resort to understanding extensive code or paying someone to help. I found a really helpful write-up that linked to a few helpful sites (click here) and voila--a few little tidbits that will make it easier for us to connect. If you click on each one you'll be able to send an email, see my Facebook page, Instagram feed, Pinterest boards, and sign up for my feed. I realized I would mention "Oh I have this now" and never really provided a way to connect outside of that post, so there they are now if anyone is interested. When I don't have much to write about I tend to post photos or share links or other tidbits there, just in case you start to miss me :)  If you'd like to do the same for your blog it was really quite simple and took me maybe half an hour tops to do it.

OK, enough of that. Last weekend I was avoiding doing something, I'm sure, and looking at fabric online. The A-train is madly in love with transportation--trains, planes, helicopters, motorcycles, etc., so when I saw a link to a playmat kit I immediately clicked. I saw the price and thought "Um, no" but did buy a little bit of yardage to make essentially the same thing for about a third of the price. Throw in a snowy afternoon, some tea, and some light curvy quilting and you've got a recipe for a playmat.

I still possess way too many pairs of toe socks for any sane adult to have, but I still love them. Oh, and there's the playmat.

I needed to add some quilting to this as there's batting in there, but I didn't want to override the cuteness of the print by throwing in too many stitches and making it too quilty. So I went for outlining the roads and that's it. The spacing is fine as per the batting instructions, and you don't really notice it, which is what I wanted.

Can I just tell you that curvy quilting is not easy? There was so much quilt wrestling you would have thought this was a much more intricate design. My stitching is not marvelous in some areas, but for something to go on the floor I'm not really minding too much. It gave a really nifty look to the back--

I didn't want the quilting to be seen much on the back, either, and it's not. I thought that this could be flipped over and this could be the landing strip side for when they're landing helicopters and doing other important playtime tasks. I bound this with a plain black and white stripe as it reminded me of road signs, as well as the streets themselves. 

I opted again for a fun stitch for the binding. This one made me think of railroad tracks so I went with it (more for my own amusement than the baby's). I'm still loving putting on my bindings this way, so I'm going to keep at it. It makes the least enjoyable part of making a quilt (for me, anyway) much more fun.

If this might tickle the fancy of someone you know, I got my fabrics from the Fat Quarter Shop (except the binding, which was in my stash). The main print is 'Zip Zoom Playmat Multi' and the back is 'Madrona Road Haystack in Graphite.' This was a great Saturday afternoon project, and quite satisfying. The nephew got quite a kick out of it, too. He'll probably be more interested when he's home, as opposed to in the middle of a crazy house where there are bookshelves to clear and soccer balls to roll around.

I am quite tuckered after a long, busy day so I'm calling it a night. Have a good week! I'll be in meetings at work all week. Trust me, they don't make words to adequately convey how exciting it will be...

Linking up here:

Sundays: Sunday Showcase, Think Pink Sunday,  Submarine Sunday

Monday: CraftOManiac Monday, Making Monday Marvelous, Market Yourself Monday, Made By You Mondays, 

Tuesdays: Take-a-Look Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got, Homework

Wednesdays: Your Whims Wednesday, We did it Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday

Thursdays:  Catch a Glimpse, Craftionary

Friday: Link Party Palooza, Frugal Friday, Weekend Bloggy Reading

Saturdays: Show and Tell Saturdays

Today

Today we had a pretty major snowstorm. It's actually still pouring down snow right now...

I think we were at about a foot of snow around dinnertime. My workplace let us out early, which was dandy, because driving was mighty slow. I used to have all wheel drive, but when I bought my Mini Cooper I got front wheel drive and traction control instead (not by choice--that's just what they come with). I was a little nervous about how it would handle, but so far it has been a real trooper. My real concern is if it's too deep I won't be able to get through it since it's such a shorty, but for regular snow driving I'm satisfied. Aren't you glad you asked? Oh, wait...I don't think you did.

The early out from work was a fab opportunity for finishing up the slice and dice I was doing on that stack of Happy Zombie's 'Winterkist' that I bought last year because I absolutely had to have it... I've got everything cut (might need to throw in some solids) and ready to lay out and sew up. I'm not looking to make this a huge quilt, so it would be nice and serendipitous if I had the perfect amount for the throw I have in my head. After an afternoon of that I finally had a chance to flip through this magazine--

Yes, it's blurry. No, it's not on purpose. And yes, it's the Christmas issue...I'm a little behind. It's not as much fun to flip through a crochet magazine with everything oriented towards Christmas when Christmas is now just under eleven months away instead of one month away...

I didn't want to devote a whole post to the valances I made for my parents, but I wanted to show you anyway. They're perfectly straight, I don't know why I can't manage to take a picture of a straight thing that looks straight... I did the ruffly bit a little different this time--usually I lay it on top of the main piece and have the ruffle visible, but this time I sewed it on the way you would a normal seam--both pieces right sides and raw edges together--

I used my ruffler foot, which is a marvelous attachment. I did a few practice bits, and the super ruffled one was great, but that would have been a huge amount of fabric sewn in there, so I went with more of a pleated look. I used my serger on these. I had to use three threads instead of four and it was just not the same. I know you can do fancier things with sergers, but I use mine only for finishing raw edges. The four-thread finish is my favorite, so in the future I'll have to make sure I have four full cones of thread... And then the threading of the thing...just...ugh. Have you ever threaded a serger? I'm not even going to get into it. It definitely takes practice. Which is why I use the tie-on method. When I remember not to cut the stinkin' threads and pull them out before putting on the new thread cones. Just...ugh. Sorry. Again, you didn't ask...

And finally--in this post I mentioned a hoosier cabinet. They must be more of a local-ish sort of thing as there were a few "Huh? A WHAT?" sort of comments. So a hoosier is a piece of furniture, originally made by the Hoosier Manufacturing Company (and a few others) in Indiana, that is traditionally used in the kitchen to hold kitcheny things (duh, right?). Here's a picture of ours:

We use it for big hot chocolate mugs and boxes of tea that overflow the regular cabinet, and underneath are my mom's large serving bowls and platters, but they were originally used to hold various kitchen...things...as kitchens used to be built without a lot of cabinets, which proved to be a problem. Furniture such as this was a way of dealing with a lack of cabinet space as well as providing a work surface. The center vertical cabinet in the top half used to hold flour--

We now store napkins in there. You know, those big rectangular sleeves that never seem to fit anywhere fit perfectly in the flour bin of an old hoosier. Anyway, if you want to read slightly more here's a link.

So that's that. A varied day, the kind that I love. I guess I best be trotting to bed as I have a sinking feeling I'll be clearing off and digging out to get to work tomorrow. If everyone could just cross their fingers and close their eyes and sincerely wish that my work would be closed tomorrow I would super appreciate it :)

Twigs and Berries

I've been doing a really super job of not buying fabric that isn't for something specific, instead trying to use stash fabrics. That whole thing went out several windows this week, but that's for a future post. Anyway, the new Joann's right down the road from my work has been quite beneficial--it's so easy to stop in and grab just what I need instead of trying to offset future journeys by stocking up on things I might not (and usually don't). They have had a certain fabric there in a collection that is right on the edge of the rack, so every time I would walk by I would see it and it would call to me, but I'd have no immediate vision for it so there it sat.

OK, so hang on, I have to veer off course here. Several years ago my dad rescued from my grandma's basement an ancient hoosier that was practically falling apart. He hauled it home, and completely reworked that thing, making it look almost like new. He painted it a deep country red with cream accents. I love that thing. Fun fact: I don't know why Indies are called Hoosiers, but I know that hoosiers are hoosiers because they were mostly made by the Hoosier Manufacturing Company of Indiana. After all the Christmas things were put away, I noticed my mother put a runner on the top of it that was all spring colors. This bugged me not because it didn't match at all, but because the season didn't match. I needed to remedy this. So I bought the fabric mentioned at the end of the first paragraph. Got all that?

Last weekend I made an easy peasy wholecloth runner out of this fabric. Wholecloth quilting is my favorite for when I want to make something and also be a little lazy at the same time. Using my hera marker and a walking foot it took no time at all to stitch a simple diamond pattern--my favorite.

Due to the busy simplicity (how's that for an oxymoron?) of this print, you can hardly see the quilting, which is fine. I used matching thread and a larger diamond than usual to keep the stitching a bit more low-key. I love bare twigs with red berries, especially against white. It makes me think of how, even in the bleak midwinter, there is still color and life. If we zoom in closer still you can see the subtle texty background--

An effect I hadn't anticipated but that I absolutely love is what the horizontal "stripes" created by the text gives an illusory effect of close horizontal quilting. I was pondering doing that myself but wanted to keep it simple. But now every time I walk by, even though I made the thing, my eyes are temporarily tricked into thinking this is densely quilted (though it's hard to see in the photo). 

In an effort to use fabric I've been saving for just the right purpose I used a nifty wood grain fabric for the back--

I was originally going to use a cheater binding on this, but even with measuring and pinning and using a walking foot my layers still shifted a little. I was going to need to trim for my own sanity, so I trimmed as usual, and went looking for a binding as I didn't want to make any. I didn't have just the right red, and I wanted something a little more contrasting against the wood grain anyway, so I went with some brown that I had from a previous project. The brown echoed the twigs on the front, and made me think of the bark of a tree on the back. 

I used a fancy stitch again on the binding, which I love. I was having minor palpitations as I was thinking the timing was off on my machine, but I was pulling on the fabric without even being aware of it. Fun fact: if you want to check the timing on your machine sew a zig zag stitch. If it misses a few you might need an adjustment. 

Doesn't it look much better with the red and cream than the pastels? Especially for right now? I love how it looks. Though I've had new curtains promised to my mom for weeks I had to get this out of the way first as odd things bug me. And since one of my resolutions for my blog was to try harder to list the names of fabrics I use, this one is available from Joann's, by Tim Coffey, and it's called Berry Vine. Let's see how many more times I remember to do that this year... 

Schmutzin'

I'm a person of simple tastes. Little things that I love mean more to me than fancy junk. For example, if a man asked me to marry him with a gazillion carat diamond ring, I might be like 'Eh, I dunno.' But if someone asked me to marry them by presenting me with an array of glitter pens, I'd be like "I do. Right now." This is probably not a literal scenario, but you get what I mean. Case in point--or I suppose I should say can in point...

My cousin Dee brings her homemade snickerdoodles to all of our family functions (they're a cookie--I think that's the real name, but if it's not I have no idea what else they would be called) and she puts them in this adorable Amish-y tin. I've always loved that silly thing, with its dings and flaws and all that jazz that goes with a well-used cookie tin. I once mentioned to her that if she was ever going to throw it away to please not do so because I would take it.

Well, this past Saturday she stopped by to drop off a jacket that needs a new zipper, and in the bottom of the bag I saw something familiar... She said "Oh, and that's the tin. It's yours now." I made extra extra sure and then hugged her and giggled like a little kid. Over a used cookie tin. Because that's how I roll. Anyway, wanna see it?

That's the top (duh, right?). I love that is says 'schmutzers'--that's one of 'our' words around here when you've got a little somethin'-somethin' on your chin ("Hey--you've got some schmutz"). It's a nice deep tin, and the sides are decorated with cute little scenes like the one on top.

Cute, right? Every time I've been in a thrift shop or antique shop or at a flea market I would look for something similar, but had no luck. And this was a quite timely little gift, too. I was looking for something to put scraps in without having to buy something, and this is just the mostest rightest thing ever.

So yes, if you made it this far you just read about how an old cookie tin made my day. I'd rather fall in love with little everyday bits than wait for the big things to come along to get excited about. They're few and far-between. Here's hoping you have an Amish cookie tin sort of day!

Tetris Afghan Ta-dah!!

This past week the weather was cold and gloomy, with Tuesday being bone-numbing cold. I couldn't fathom being anywhere but curled up in a corner of the couch under an afghan. It just so happened that I was on the home stretch with Z's afghan, and self-imposed sofa hibernation was the perfect opportunity to finish it up. I had one blanket to snuggle under, with the one I was working on atop that for maximum warmth. Stitching and stitching, round and round, weaving in ends and sipping on tea was a cozy winter activity. I worked in the very last end on Thursday night, and it got its trip through the washer/dryer, and now it's folded and waiting for a certain nephew to come 'n get it.

I tried to think of the last time I made Z a blanket (not counting the giant piece of fleece he had me cut straight and that qualifies as a blanket to him). It was when he was about two. And it was made to fit a two year old. He told me recently he went through his things and got rid of old stuff, but he kept that because I made it (even though he probably doesn't use it). I love that he kept it. Anyway, while Z is a kid who loves his sports and can repeat stats back to you (like his father) until your eyes glaze over and you start thinking about cake, he adores video games.

After pondering his favorites, and considering my "skills," I decided anything that could be replicated in stripes or squares would be best. One classic game sprang to mind--Tetris. All squares, bright colors, and easily identifiable. Once I figured out the measurements of everything, I practiced with a few different kinds of granny squares. I didn't want one that was loose and floppy with big gaps. This one here, the perfect granny square, ended up being...well, perfect. It kept a lovely square shape instead of getting pulled and wiggly, and had gaps just the size I wanted. Once I had made a sample square in the size that I wanted it, I pulled it apart and measured how many yards it took to make one square. Then I figured out how many squares per skein I could get, and how many squares of each color for the design I had (which came from Google Images), and so on and so forth so I could order just the right amount of yarn. It worked out perfectly. I have a few teeny wads of some colors, and more of others, but not a single skein went untouched. The moral of this paragraph is--sometimes I can do math.

One reservation I had was that all of the yarn was of one type, except for the charcoal gray that makes up the background. It was a bit differently textured, which is fine as it was the background and it helped differentiate it, but I was worried about it working up too large or small even though gauge was similar. All worked in the end, and you can barely see the difference, but the gray is a weensy bit rougher in texture.

OK, enough blathering. Ready to see it?

Didn't that turn out pretty stinkin' cool? The colors are so vibrant, and almost exactly match the picture I had (except for the purple, which looked darker online, but I ordered it from Deramores in UK--it's their King Cole DK weight yarn--and I wasn't getting into more shipping and all that jazz so I went with it). I think my favorite thing is that when it's slung across you, it looks like a random rainbow granny square blanket, but when you have it laid out flat it's very obvious that it's a Tetris board in progress. There's even that bit next to the strip of blue that gives me angst to look at--

-- and then that strip of blue that came just in time so that things wouldn't stack up crazy fast and end your game--

As I made square after square (150 in total) I wondered about the border. What was the best way to go? I knew it would be the same method of doing a granny square, but what colors? Should I do colors? Just black and gray? Thick? Thin? I decided to just go with it and see how it worked out. I had a lot of red and yellow left, so I threw those in, and then the gray and black to tone it down a bit. I didn't lay it out and take a look until the last end was woven in. I can be really reckless and adventurous, y'know. Happily, it looked just how I wanted. It was a pure Goldilocks moment--not too bright, not too light, not too dominant/submissive. It was almost its own element and reminded me a bit of another game (remember Centipede, anyone? Or am I dating myself by letting you all know I had an Atari that didn't come from eBay?).

I couldn't believe how much fun I had making this. Whenever I make something for boys/guys, I worry as my inclination is towards pink and flowers and more girly things. But some of my favorite things I've made have been guy-oriented. I think it's because I don't have to worry about embellishments and ruffles and how to make it sweet and precious. While colorful and fun, it's still kind of minimalist in its construction. I already know what my next blanket will be and I'm excited for it, but it's super secret so you'll just have to wait :)

OK, so here's the skinny on the whole thing:

• 150 squares, each made using this pattern and being joined with this technique, achieving a lay-flat border with this tutorial. 
• The image I followed was from Google Images (I searched Tetris and found this). I hacked off a few rows at the top but the rest is the same.
• The yarn I used is from Deramores--King Cole Pricewise DK for everything but the dark charcoal, which is King Cole Big Value DK. Though different yarns the gauge did end up being the same, though the texture is a bit different. I also used a G-hook.
• I put this in the washer and dryer and it came out very soft. Acrylic won't shrink up as wool and cotton do, and the process actually helps to relax the fibers. Pre-wash it had a crinkly look in some parts as sometimes I have a tighter hand, but post-wash was perfectly flat and straight.
• It finished up at about 45 x 65 inches, give or take--a great couch snuggler size.

So that's that! Kind of fun, right?

Linking up here:

Sundays: Sunday Showcase, Think Pink Sunday,  Submarine Sunday

Monday: CraftOManiac Monday, Making Monday Marvelous, Market Yourself Monday, Made By You Mondays, 

Tuesdays: Take-a-Look Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got, Homework

Wednesdays: Your Whims Wednesday, We did it Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday

Thursdays:  Catch a Glimpse, Craftionary

Friday: Link Party Palooza, Frugal Friday, Weekend Bloggy Reading

Saturdays: Show and Tell Saturdays

There Are Six Sentences In This Post

Hehehe...reminds me of this one.

Anyhoodle--I've spent this week, with its frigid temperatures, curled up on a curner of my couch, crocheting like a mad woman to finish Z's afghan. It is done. It needs a wash and dry and its picture taken, and then you'll get to see it. I LOVE how it turned out. Can't wait to share with you! Later, taters!

Valentine Tree

Weekends sure do scoot by, don't they? They're just as long as say, a Monday-Tuesday combination, but they move on a lot quicker. I hate that. There's a desire to catch up on sleep, but also that niggling voice that keeps saying "Um...shouldn't you be doing this, that and the other?" I did get a couple of things finished, though. I completed the alterations on a pair of pants for my sister. Oh. My. Heavens. That may be one of the more difficult things I've ever done. They were really well made, which meant lots of bits to unpick and alter and resew. The actual taking-in part was a piece of cake. The reconstructing of everything was hard. It should be good practice, though, because I know she's got more coming my way. I wish I could lose enough weight to necessitate alterations on my own clothes.

I also did some work on Z-man's afghan. I have all the squares finished and joined, ends woven in and all that jazz. Last night I started on the border. That bit should just zoom right along, and I'll hopefully have a reveal post for you soon.

After some intense crochet and very intense sewing, I wanted to do something easy and crafty. I feel like the house is naked after the Christmas decorations go away, so I develop this need to pop up bits of color and sparkle. It's a bit early, but I went in for Valentine's Day pizzazz. This morning, after waiting a bit for the icy roads to melt, I headed to Joann's for a zipper (didn't get it), some fabric (got it), and the bits for my craft. I had these faux branches from back in the fall, and I decided to make a Valentine's tree. Because why wouldn't you? I'm sure they exist somewhere. It might be another galaxy, but that qualifies as somewhere.

The punch was forty percent off, so I splurged on the glitter foam sheets. I bought one sheet each of red, pink, and white. It was a bit of a chore squeezing the foam into the punch (and I'd probably go for glittered card stock next time) but I worked it out.

After the punching, my mumsy and I threaded some needles and made loops to hang them by. The skinny thread was a bit annoying, and I probably should have just gotten out my box of thicker threads that I keep for purposes just such as this, but I'm lazy in weird ways.

The bright pops of color bring some life to those plastic branches, and they flutter so nicely when you walk by. Or blow on them. Because that's fun, too. I didn't have anything that would look good to fill in the base of the tree (there's newspaper stuffed in there to keep the branches straight) so we used the leftover bits from cutting out the hearts to serve as glittery confetti filler. Any hearts we couldn't fit on the tree we stuck there too.

Here's a bad picture of the whole thing. I don't know why I didn't stand at a better angle--you can't see the hearts at the top of the tree very well, but it's all decorated evenly, I assure you (because I know you were worried).

The pictures have that evening light look to them, but I figure you all know what red, pink and white look like enough so that I didn't have to wait for daylight to take photos. That soft purply-blue light is my favorite part of winter. There is something about that particular glow on the snow during winter twilights that makes me happy. Weird, I know. Everyone else is waiting for flip-flop weather already, and here I am in love with winter.

I'm glad I went with the crinkly edged punch instead of the plain heart. They remind me of wee little sugar cookies. I love quick and easy projects like this. You get a quick craft fix and end up with something adorable for not a whole lot of effort. I feel a bit geeky working on Valentine's Day stuff already, but if recent experience is any indication time flies, and one must make hay while the sun shines...or the snow falls, whatever the case may be.

Tomorrow starts the first full week back to work, and it's promising to be a doozy, so I'm going to go rest up for it. Have a happy Monday, kids!

Linking up here this week:

Sundays: Sunday Showcase, Think Pink Sunday,  Submarine Sunday

Monday: CraftOManiac Monday, Making Monday Marvelous, Market Yourself Monday, Made By You Mondays, 

Tuesdays: Take-a-Look Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got, Homework

Wednesdays: Your Whims Wednesday, We did it Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday

Thursdays:  Catch a Glimpse, Craftionary

Friday: Link Party Palooza, Frugal Friday, Weekend Bloggy Reading

Saturdays: Show and Tell Saturdays

Bee Goes Blah-de-Blah-Blah

I got the worst gift ever for Christmas. A Kindle Fire. I had a Kindle reader, but I liked playing around on my mom's Fire so I asked for one. This has been my internal dialog since Christmas: "It's only a couple dollars to unlock the rest of the game...I'll just play for a half hour at a time...wait, if I just get the key really quick I think I'll finish the level...I have to be almost finished, I may as well continue. I can feel this frying my brain. This is the last game I'm playing. Wait, I remember seeing the lantern waaay back in the mansion... Grr, this is tedious... Ooo, bonus levels!" and pretty much repeat ad infinitum. I haven't read a book on it yet. But I downloaded two. I think I have a problem. The funny thing is that if you asked me I'd tell you I hate technology and that I wish we could go back to the days before the gadgets and apps took over and I'd be perfectly serious about that.

Today was the post-holiday return to work, and I welcomed it. I'm a creature of routine, and too much lazing about with nothing to do is terrible for me. I actually start to feel depressed, so I'm best kept busy. Good thing I've got a new sewing list going already.

I really have nothing to share with you. I haven't made anything. I replaced a zipper in a coat and am taking in a pair of pants for my sister. It doesn't get more exciting than that. No, I'm serious. That's the most exciting thing I've done this week. After work tonight began the task of deconstructing Christmas. The worst day of the year. Good thing it gets out of the way early.

Everything is down, but not yet packed up. All of the surfaces in the house that had previously looked like Christmas came in and vomited all over now look more like this:

And for added fun, tomorrow is supposed to be the coldest it's been in years, and windy. Oh, and with a bunch of this thrown in:

Normally I look forward to snow. But I'm not in the mood for this just yet. If this could go away and come back in a couple weeks that would be great.

So that's all that's going on in my quiet and boring little corner of the woods. But I do feel relaxed and refreshed for how little I've done over the past week or so. I guess I just needed to completely relax and recharge. Now if I could just muster up the motivation to do the last few rows of squares on my nephew's afghan...

And two last little bits: I joined Instagram (finally!!) after much prodding from my sisters. If you'd like to follow me there I'm Flybybethy. And I have a bit of a sale still going on in my shop through Saturday--25% off everything! Things have been moving, so you if you want something take a look (there's a widget in the sidebar). I guess that's all I've got for now. How much more nothing can you stand, right? Anyway, have a good weekend! I'll try to be more interesting in future posts :)