Belated Spring Cleaning

No sewing for me today. I broke down and did some big housecleaning tasks. After working at SBux this AM, I came home (and did not sit down or else I wouldn't get back up) and did some projects that hopefully will help with allergies. I moved all the furniture and vacuumed and then steam cleaned the carpets. The cats are going to have to take an extra nap or two since they missed their late afternoon nap with all the noise of the Big Scary Vacuum Cleaner and even scarier machine that made noise AND made the carpets wet. So after all the wide-eyed looks and much tiptoeing around the cats were happy to have this task over. Now to get to that Mt. Everest-sized pile of quilts, cat blankets, and linens to wash. After all this housework, I'm going to let my self have extra, extra sewing time this week.

Sewing with the bloggers

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. I had the summer doldrums all week--horrible allergies, hot humid weather, and bad air quality make me a miserable person (I want to go back to Seattle!!!!). Anyway, today was a fun day sewing with my sewing group, most of whom are fellow bloggers--Karin, Becky, Pat, Kristie, and Cindi were there. Kristie was working on a quilt from the "Jelly Roll Quilts" book and she is hooked on this book too. I bet we both end up making all 17 quilts from this book. Cindi was working on "Honeyberries" Becky and Karin were working on a great charm square pattern called "Firecrackers". Pat was making cute bags for her daughter's bridesmaids and trying to steal Kristie's cool handle turning tool (if Pat succeeds in stealing it--I'll have her post a photo).

If you really want to know the meaning of quilt insanity, check out Pat's post about our Stitch-In week (12 hours of sewing for 7 days straight). Unfortunately, I have to work so I can't participate this time but it is so much fun that it really should be illegal. You can get a lot of UFOs done in a couple of days of nonstop sewing.

I dropped off three quilts to the longarm quilter today. So I better get busy making miles of binding.

Prairie Paisley Peer Pressure

After seeing the great quilts being made with Moda's Prairie Paisley line (on Michelle's blog not one but two projects, on Vicky's blog her nearly completed quilt with some gorgeous applique, and Kristie's Chippewa Nine Patch quilt [she doesn't have a photo on her blog but here is the pattern])

I decided that I *had* to start my project with this fab fabric. I finished the top this afternoon and pieced the back.

Here's a detail

The pattern is "Garden Trellis" from my new favorite quilt book "Jelly Roll Quilts" (if I ever get to England I'm definitely going by their shop and telling them thanks (????) for making me want to make 17 more quilts). Yea! Another quilt top finished. My new goal is to finish the projects stacked up on my sewing table so I can actually find the bottom of it. Wish me luck!

. Here's a photo of Gomez Mega-bux hard at work overseeing the quilt making this afternoon. Stella on the other hand....

well you can see for yourself what she was busy doing.

Where have I been????

Working....I'm feeling guilty about not posting this week but I am on my third 76-hour work week and am just a wee bit tired. From now on, I'll be working a more respectable 60-65-hour work week and back to more blogging. I am off to sew for the rest of the day and hopefully will have a completed quilt top to show you.

In the meantime, check out Jodi's blog here. She is making a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt and doing a giveaway if you send her strips of fabric to make a flower. How cool is that? Little flowers from quilters all over the world. I found Jodi's blog after she emailed and asked if she could quote something I posted. I was so honored! (here is her post).

OK my sewing machine is calling....more later

Signs and Silliness

Still not much going on here. I did sew most of the afternoon yesterday and hope to get another quilt top done by the end of next weekend. I started to watch the movie "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" but I guess I worked too much this past week and even Brad Pitt couldn't keep me awake and I fell asleep during the first 10 minutes. Has anyone seen this movie? Should I attempt to watch it again?

It was nice and rainy and cloudy earlier today which reminded me of...

can you guess...

Seattle!

I keep forgetting to post these funny signs for my friend & fellow Starbucks partner David. Every time I talk about moving to Seattle, David cautions me about the Big Tsunami that is supposed to hit Washington State sometime in the next billion years. I think David has watched Mega-Disasters about 20 too many times. Anyway I took this picture for David to show him that Washington State has the tsunami danger under control. If a tsunami comes, you do this:
I can't tell if you should run or climb...but the directions are clear.

There was this helpful sign on the ferry boat. In case you fall overboard or are swept out to sea by a tsunami, this is how you are rescued. By being grasped and pulled up by your neck and apparently only a small, short boat can help you. The boat on the sign looks nothing like the huge car ferry so I'm not sure what you do in that case....

Also, on the Pacific coastal beaches I saw this sign:
Wow! Beach logs kill! I had no idea there were vicious beach logs there. I used extra caution and stayed away from the logs and thankfully no beach logs sneaked up on me from behind. Click on the photo for a close up of the crazy-scary drawing on this sign. Love it!! Looks like 50s drive-in movie poster Killer Beach Logs!!!!! When Beach Logs Attack!!!!

Chillin' on the Fourth

Until I have to go to SBux tonight (no fireworks for me), I am spending the 4th chillin' at home. I slept in, read the NY Times and drank coffee in bed, and have just been all around lazy. The cats are fully taking advantage of their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by alternately lounging around in their favorite spots and asking for attention and belly rubs.

Happy 4th everyone!

Quoth the Raven

What I'm reading: I am finishing up a fascinating book called The Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich.

I am a nature-lovin' girl at heart and I have been fascinated by studies of animal behavior since I was a kid reading Born Free and Never Cry Wolf and every other possible living-out-in-the-wilderness-studying-animals book I could find. Ravens and crows have always fascinated me and I happened to come across this book at Borders and picked it up to read on my trip. If you are interested in these kind of science/nature books, run out and get a copy of The Mind of the Raven. Bernd Heinrich is a great scientist and a wonderful writer and I found myself getting as excited about his behavioral experiments and observations with ravens as he was. Ravens are really amazing birds--very intelligent, playful, and great at solving complex puzzles. For general info about ravens or other birds, check out the really cool website by Cornell University here.

During my recent trip to Washington State, I was able to see and photograph some ravens. This one was looking fluffy and sassy in a tree on Whidbey Island.

And this one was walking around and hanging out at the ferry from Victoria back to the U.S.

I'm thinking there's a raven quilt somewhere in my future. Maybe a looooong time in the future, but it's something to ponder and doodle.