I can’t control myself

I started on quilt number four  (consider this the sneak peek)… number three is basted and awaiting quilting and binding.

Nature vs. Nurture integrated into a work of fiction

I thought this book was written just for me (I studied science/genetics in college), but it kind of dragged on without ever fully capturing my interest. During my week of sickness, I finished reading A Taxonomy of Barnacles by Galt Niederhoffer.

I usually enjoy a lot of character development, but there were so many characters to develop that you kind of get lost in all the details. There are quite a few interesting relationships, but again, there are so many that as soon as you become curious, the story line shifts to a new one. This isn’t a “bad” book, it just needed to be given a specific focus and direction.

my 50 in 93… #27. Read 5 literary accomplishments that have been sitting unread in my bookshelf. Book #4, purchased about two years ago with B&N gift cards along with a bunch of other books. It was picked up many times but I this was the first time I got past page 20.

My mini treasure chest…

my 50 in 93… #49. Spend all of our gift cards. A collection of gifts from our wedding and my students. Looks like I have some shopping to do!

• I’d like to buy a back-to-school gift for myself with the Bloomies and Macy’s cards; even if it’s just underwear, I’ll be happy!
• The VISA gift cards are usually used up at the grocery store, along with the VONS card
• Most likely will purchase bedding or lamps with the Jonathan Adler card
• We’ve never been to Portland or Austin and would love to use the Southwest cards for a long weekend trip (we also have another Southwest e-giftcard!)
• Never got the steak knives from our registry so the Williams-Sonoma cards will cover those; if there’s any extra, we need a kitchen thermometer and more spatulas

Who knew I’d venture out so soon

It’s not a quilt, it’s a handkerchief! Sean and his horrible sinus predicament could single-handedly destroy the rainforest – so rather than go through a box of kleenex a day, he prefers to carry a handkerchief, or two, with him. This becomes difficult for multiple reasons: they are very hard to find in stores (apparently they aren’t very trendy, who knew ), they tend to only come in white, they are much smaller than needed, and they seem to disappear within days. Here’s my solution…

a perfect little square of brightly colored thin soft cotton!

To make: cut a 17″ square of the polka-dot fabric and a 16″ square of the blue flower fabric, place the fabric wrong sides together, then center the smaller square on the larger one. Fold the edge of the larger piece towards the smaller piece and iron into place (between 1/8″-1/4″), then fold it over again the same amount and iron into place. I used a new foot that came with my machine to sew down the hem, I believe it’s called an overcasting stitch, and I love the extra detail it adds. However, my hand sewing in the corners leaves a lot to be desired. Next time I will take the machine stitching closer the the ends and then just use teeny-tiny stitches to finish off the corners. Just look how adorable these fabrics are!

I also bought the same flower fabric in red/grey with some plain grey to back it with… will show you those soon.

I think I have a fabric obsession… shhh

I’m a little scared about where all this is leading, but if a girl’s going to call herself a quilter, then she’s got to build a fabric stash, right?!? My college roommate, bridesmaid, and dear friend, E, was in town for a short visit this past weekend. She’s all excited about my new hobby, so we hit the local quilt shops.

After making three baby quilts, I think it’s time for me to start a more modern grown-up quilt (I’d like to keep one of my creations, thank you very much!). This stack started with the royal blue concentric circles on a white background and grew from there. I keep pulling them out to admire, but am stuck when it comes to deciding on a design. There are so many inspirations out there – I was thinking of tackling some triangles but Sean wasn’t feeling the examples I showed him. Maybe I’ll attempt my first improvisational quilt. Any ideas? What do you guys think of these fabrics together, do they work?

Sneak peek at quilt number three

My goal is to complete this quilt by the end of the month. All the cutting is finished, but the sewing has yet to commence.

Venting about car ownership

First of all I must admit that I LOVE my car… I have a 2005 Toyota Prius and it’s the best purchase I have ever made! I will post later about why my car is amazing and why everyone should buy a Prius, but this post is about yesterday’s car “errands” and why I sometimes hate owning a car. I had two tasks to complete: get a spare key and replace the left headlight. Sounds simple, right?

Let’s start with the key. The Prius has a SmartKey system that allows the engine to start if the key is inside the car. It also stops the car from locking if it senses the key is still in the car, and lets you lock and unlock the car even when the keys are buried at the bottom of your purse. When I first picked up my car from the dealership five years ago, the salesman repeated multiple times, “Here are your two keys… do NOT lose them, and certainly don’t lose both of them!” What’d I do within the first year of owning the car – I flushed one of the keys down the toilet! I called the dealership freaking out, because I had been warned, and knew I had done something very bad. They told me that a replacement key would be $380, and if I lost the other key too, they would have to tear apart the dashboard and replace the computer system, which would cost $3500. Being the risk taker that I am (kidding, I’m just super cheap) I decided that $380 was ridiculous and I would never lose my second key. Somehow I have held onto it this long, but we do need a spare key around, and the price of the key has gone down. I did some online snooping for the dealership with the best coupon deals and decided to bite the bullet and get it done yesterday. Two hours later (seriously, it takes me two seconds to program a remote control), $166 out for the key, and $98 for the programming labor, I walked out of South Bay Toyota with this…

my 50 in 93… #35. Replace my lost spare car key

My parents taught me the art of being self-sufficient, so I have always been one to learn and then do it myself. One of my car’s headlights went out a few weeks ago and I went to Kragen to pick up a replacement bulb. The guy that helped me was wonderful and I left with two bulbs for $30 and new motivation to get it done ASAP. The manual instructions looked very straight forward until I opened the hood. The first step was unnecessary – it had me remove a part that wasn’t even in the way. Once I’d figured out where the bulb went, I couldn’t see anything without a flashlight and all the parts were crammed very close together. I have small hands and it was really tough. I cursed through the thirty minutes it took me to blindly twisting and yanking. This is why people end up paying their dealership to do “simple” tasks, because they make it not simple. I just don’t understand how the guys at the shop would do it; if my hands barely fit, then I’m sure they must have special tools (not mentioned in the manual!). I persevered, and I now have a fully functional headlight and the pride of doing it all by myself!