Happy Birthday, Daddy-o!

Sixty years ago, my father was born. The big six-oh! Today, he's sure to get a card from his sister harassing him about his age (despite the fact that she's older), a cup of leftover coffee brewed the day before, and the chance to get a senior citizen's discount.




Yesterday, he asked if I knew of a place that will give him a free meal for his birthday. I'm sure he'll ask me the same thing today, not remembering yesterday's conversation. I'll suggest Sips - you might have to work as "CFO Dad" for your meal, but it'll be free. I still think you should celebrate at the DER (for those of you who don't know, this stands for "The Diner at the End of the Road" which is a greasy spoon at the end of the road my parents' house is on.)


So cheers to you, Dad. May your day be filled with sunshine, birthday cereal, and a day off from vacuuming up dog hair!

What a busy weekend!

I finished the table runner quilt! I'm fairly happy with the way it turned out - and I LOVE the backing! I'm already onto my next 5 projects!

I had the first soccer practice with my new team - no flag football for me this fall, it's soccer all the way! What better to start a season than by getting some nifty bruises? You'll see one is an imprint of the ball on my leg, and the other is below my toenail - someone decided to use their cleat right on my big toe.

I attempted to make mini cinnamon rolls. Let me tell you, Lauren will not hire me any time soon to bake for her shop, and I'm pretty sure my mom will ban me from the kitchen Christmas morning when she bakes them. Of course, they looked great when you apply my baking theory that any kid will agree with: if you add enough icing it'll look & taste great!

It was a good run, Triple Stars

Last night, my kickball team had an embarrassing loss in the semi-finals of the kickball league. BUT seeing as how none of us have played before, I think we did fairly well. I manned second base - the coach had a LOT of faith in me! I even assisted in an out - and tagged one of their key players out. I'm such a good runner that I tagged the actual person with the ball, none of that throw it to the base nonsense - that, and I was on the base line and he was 2 steps away from me.

Last week, I got a small bruise on my right leg from kicking the ball. Yesterday, I happened to kick it in the exact same spot and sure enough, my bruise went from light blue to brown. But hey - at least it matches my shirt today.


PS - I bought those shoes at Zumies for $5. Who knew I'd find something inexpensive that I like at an Alison store?

Happy Birthday Elizabeth Rose!

My cousin turns 15 today (she's the tall one) and she has a great creative side to her. Yes, I bask in the glory when she asks me sewing advice - even though they called me a "new sewer" at JoAnn's yesterday. I didn't want to brag to them that I sewed neon green PJ pants when I was in middle school.

For you, Liz, I will show you details about my free-motion quilting since I mentioned it to you the other day. This is what I did to quilt the words into my black/white/hot pink table runner:

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(1) I printed everything out from the computer so that the words would be uniform. I used a cursive font so I wouldn't have to cut the thread between each letter.

(2) I traced that onto tracing paper with a special marker whose ink will disappear. I've been told if I sew over the computer ink, the thread can pick it up and be permanently stained.

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(3) I put the pedal to the metal and trace the words I have on the tracing paper. (Oh, so THAT's what tracing paper is used for.)

(4) Rip away excess paper, cut threads, make sure i's are dotted and you're done. PS - the white letters are part of the fabric. Don't get too excited that I sewed the alphabet into my quilt!

Block of the Month

I have a co-worker (perhaps you know the story about how Mimi thought we were dating) that has been quilting for years. As a welcome-to-quilting gift for me, he bought me the first block in a block-of-the-month club a local sewing shop hosts. The rules are simple: it's a $5 buy-in, on the specified day the following month, you bring it in, show your creation, and get the next month's block. If you're late or you skip a month, it's another $5 for the next block. Despite the fact that I have a whole month to do it, I usually end up working on the block the night before it's due. I was lucky yesterday - because I've been getting into work early, I sewed most of it after work and before choir & kickball. I finished it up this morning while drinking my morning coffee. Did I remember to turn off the iron?

The two big things I've learned by doing this is to choose your fabrics wisely, and that I hate sewing triangles together. They look good from far away, but if you look closely, you'll see they're not all the same size! (Look at the bottom right corner.) I'll have to be creative when I figure out how I'm going to sew them all together.

Presbyterians can't bowl

This weekend was full of fun, adventure, and not sewing. Saturday, a Hokie friend had a garage sale and invited friends to bring their not-trashy stuff to get rid of. I brought a few things to make a few bucks. I was able to make more than what I spent - that's always nice! Since I was in Cleveland, I've been big on artwork. I love the modern, bright musical instrument painting I bought up there. This one blows the cake. It's so mathematical, I can die happy. Not only that, but Matt (the garage sale host) made it. To understand the math behind it, look up the golden rectangle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rectangle . And try this link to get an idea of where the spiral came from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logarithmic_spiral

I went bowling last night with the young adult group from church. The biggest conclusion I made from the groups skills is this: Presbyterians can't bowl. They should make a movie out of it, like White Men Can't Jump. My left wrist starting hurting me last week - I don't know what I did. I assume I slept on it funny or strained it while working out. Regardless, I only bowled one game, and my best bowling stance was via Granny Bowling: use both hands to shove the ball down the lane. I ended up with a 37 - I treated it like golf: the lowest score wins. I also have to comment: do you see the American flag on the wall? On the other side of the bowling alley, there was a giant Texas flag. Only in Texas bowling alleys would they think to hang them both!

Fabric for a new Runner

I made a test block to see what my bubblegum pink thread would look like on black & white - I think I like how it came out. I remember when I first learned how to write my name in cursive when I was in kindergarten (almost -I didn't make the l's into loops - they looked more like t's that weren't crossed). It was exciting - and I liked writing it. I feel the same way when I write it with a sewing machine! When I do the real quilt, I'm going to write a bit larger and more uniform. I'll print off words on paper via Microsoft Word and a fun cursive script. More to come on that next weekend, I think.

Friday night was rather relaxed for me. I wasn't feeling too well during the day, so I was more than okay when plans with a friend didn't work out. I went home, had some leftovers, washed and cut my fabrics for quilt #4. Since I went with modern fabrics for the last one (I had many questions from many old ladies at JoAnn's - why would I want to QUILT with SKULLS??), I thought a dark red and tan would be great. That, and college football games are just around the corner. I wouldn't consider these fabrics maroon, but I'd say it's in the same color family. Now I can quilt and think about cheering on my Hokies! I will start sewing this next weekend at the earliest. I want to quilt some words into the black & white runner first!

My First Skirt

This is the finished product. It was supposed to be about 2 inched longer, but after I cut my fabric, I thought I cut it too narrow. I was wrong, because I ended up narrowing it down a bit. There's always next time. I added a better waist - the directions just had a little fold-over, but I didn't like that. That's one thing I don't like with the few skirts that I have now - they don't sit well on my belly (usually they end at a weird place and the elastic cuts the tummy in an un-flattering way). I added some extra fabric on the waist for an eye-and-hook clip, but I'm going to cut that a little shorter tonight so it sits a little better. Otherwise, I'd have to probably make a button hole & sew on a button.

This is my first attempt at a skirt. I think I'm going to avoid using a pattern for the next one. I'll to pick apart what I like about the skirts that I currently have and create something off of that. If I attempt this one again, I'm going to make it a little longer, and have it hug my hips a little more before it flows out. I don't know if you can tell in the picture below, but it cuts off right above the bottom of my knees.

Two haircuts in two days

My hair was getting long, and weighted down. I first thought I just needed a trim, but my hairdresser escalated my concern and thought my hair needs to remain short. I forgot about my goal of growing my hair long enough to be able to donate it again. I only told her that I wanted to keep the length.

So I got my hair cut. The top layer was cut really short, and the bottom touched my neck/shoulders. That drove me nuts. I felt like it was an almost-mullet cut from the 80s. I've never gone into detail about my hair before, but I can assure you that the bottom layer is coarse, something I want to keep hidden, and nothing I would ever want to be the only strands to brush my shoulders - especially in the summer - especially in the Austin heat.

So exactly one day after I went to the hairdressers, I cut my hair myself. Not all of it - just the bottom layer. It's lighter, it's easier. I actually put far less gel in it than before - too much gel will weigh it down.

I'm sure you now know more than you've ever wanted to know about my crazy hair that has a mind of it's own. I promise I'm not usually this self-centered.

Shorts & Skirts

Yes, that is my skinny waist. After getting out of work early yesterday (since I was at work before 7am), I did some shopping at JoAnn's to pick up elastic, a zipper, and a hook & eye (actually 14 of them)- I'm making clothes!

Getting elastic for the Elvis shorts means I was able to finish them last night! I should have strayed from the pattern and made Bermuda shorts. Oh well, there's always next time. The pattern called for draw strings, but I'm not a big fan of it. Elastic is good enough for me!

This is my next non-quilting fabric. The thread of the flowers is tan, with a small gold strand in there too. It gives it a little shimmer, but not too much. I bought a pattern for a skirt a month or so ago since I like wearing skirts in the hot summer days. (SO much better than shorts!) I'm a bigger fan of the casual skirt look: paired with sandals and a tank top. If I like the pattern & fit, I might end up making a few skirts. This one is probably a more costly one: I ended up spending $17 on the fabric AFTER the 40% off JoAnn's coupon. I'm hoping to get it done by this weekend (maybe even tonight since I'll be leaving work around 3:30 again!)

Cleveland Sports: Bull Riding and Baseball

I was in Cleveland for most of last week. Despite my pictures, it was for an Analyst Conference - not to go mechanical bull riding and to a baseball game. The bull riding came from a pub that the out-of-towners had dinner. Entertainment for the night was pool and mechanical bull riding. I'm willing to try everything once, so I jumped on the bull. I figured the two times I've fallen off a horse would help - and the fact that I've been working a lot on my legs at the gym should both help me stay on. I stayed on for 13 seconds - which was one of the higher numbers of the group. If I had to do it again, I'd think back a little bit more to my days of horseback riding lessons.

Any fun group activity in Cleveland is usually at Progressive Field... I wonder why. Dinner was the usual ballpark catered food: hot dogs, pulled pork (that was delicious), corn on the cob, fried chicken, and watermelon. Last year, at the ballgame, I learned how to do the really loud whistle by sticking 2 fingers in your mouth. You know - the "hail the taxi" type of whistle. I have to admit, I didn't practice since the last game, so to get out and do it again was exciting. We also met Slider, the Indians' mascot.

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There wasn't any Trouble, Trouble, Trouble...

Eek! I have a lot to blog about. Last week, a few friends and I saw The Music Man on the Zilker Park Hill. I guess they do a different (free) performance every year. Zilker is known to charge $3 for parking on the weekends - somehow we managed to get there just in time for them to stop collecting money! (Do they only collect sunrise to sunset?) There were still cars pouring in when we got there. The Music Man brought be flashbacks to 2nd grade when I was a little towns girl in Robert's production. The boy who played Winthrup wasn't as chubby and cute as my brother (I mean cute in a little boy cute way, I am NOT complimenting my brother) was when he played the role.

That's it for right now. I might blog again later tonight if I need a break from work. Yes, I'm working today. Yes, I know it's Saturday. I've been in Cleveland all week, and although I did a lot while I was there (for work), my boss's business review is next week, and I still have a lot to do to prepare for that. There are a few things that he's asked for and I want to get them to him by Monday morning because I have this feeling he'll ask for about 10 more things the second I step into the office on Monday.

Protests, Rallies, and Large Signs

I didn't quilt at all on Saturday. I got my haircut, went to JoAnn's and got ALL of the fabric (excluding the backing) for my next table runner quilt, and as I was driving home, I noticed some form of protest going on outside a local grocery store, Randall's. (Don't come home early from France, Mom and Dad - I didn't participate and I didn't get arrested.) Now, to give you an idea of Randall's, when I moved to Austin a year ago, I was given the impression that it was one of the more expensive grocery stores, and I noticed a lot of fancy cars and business-suit wearing shoppers. In order to snoop at my first ever sighting of a protest, I couldn't find a spot and the crowd decided to move down my parking aisle! After a little bit, I found out what they were doing: they were shouting "Just say no!" to some form of politician or another. I couldn't figure out if it was planned that the man would be there, or if word spread fast that he shops at Randall's. The whole rally had to do with governmental health care. It would make sense that the rich(er), more conservative part of town would be against this, but I still chuckle that it was outside of a Randall's!

The only other "protest" I went to was when the students at Virginia Tech were mad about Virginia's college budget cuts. Everyone wore orange and maroon, and spelled out "CUT THIS?" on our Drillfield (large, open grassy area), we took a picture and sent it to the governor. I was the inflection point of the question mark. So exciting - I know.

The last time I've seen that many poster board signs with a large crowd would have to be ESPN's pre-game day when they filmed on the Virginia Tech campus. I'm pretty sure the Randall's crowd wasn't already drunk at 11am, and they didn't have moving parts on their signs. Nor did they have their faces painted, or were wearing wacky clothes to try to get on TV.

They also have "Rally Day" at church, but I'm pretty sure it's just a label that means "Summer's over. Y'all better come back to church soon."