Shop Hop Giveaway link

Hop on over to the Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop Blog and comment for a sweet giveaway. Even if you will not be in the Atlanta area, Melisa from Sweet Home Quilt Co. is looking for ideas for a shop hop. (Pssst ...tell her I sent you because I really want to win one of those oh-so-cute Moda bake shop boxes.)

Couch Potato-y

We have all been feeling very couch potato-y here at Chez Crazy Cat Lady. The confluence of dreary weather and scary economic news makes us just want to curl up on the couch and take a nap.

I think this would be called Couch Mashed Potatoes.....

Is it really Sunday evening???

Where did my weekend go? Not much happened around here this week and I was so looking forward to getting a lot done this weekend. Of course weekend days somehow are much shorter than week days (I think week days seem to be about 34 hours long and weekend days about 14 hours long don't you?)

I did get some sewing time in and finished the top and backing for E.'s flannel quilt. It is a BIG quilt (for me--about 72 X 93") and I have no where in the house to lay it out flat so here it is folded up. It is all ready to go to my long arm quilter once she gets back from Florida.

I also worked on Bonnie Hunter's Orange Crush (aka my Mardi Gras quilt). I was farther along than I remembered and finished up the 30 spinning star blocks. I have to square up the pieced part of the album blocks and get those sewed together. Maybe I will finish it up by the end of the month.

This quilt is a lot of fun to make and I'm using all stash except for the main yellow.

The new "Irish Quilting" magazine I ordered from Pat Sloan's website came in the mail. It's a really great magazine with lots of projects I would like to make someday. Although I need another magazine subscription like I need a hole in my head, I may check out the subscription price....

It's a Beautiful Day!!!

Today has been an incredible, momentous day. I took a personal day to stay home and watch the Inauguration with S. (and the cats--who napped through most of it). What an amazing day!

(photo courtesy of CNN.com) No matter who you voted for, you have got to be proud of our country seeing millions of people cheering and smiling. It was fun seeing all the places I visited just a couple of weeks ago. In honor of a day staying home, watching TV, and staying wrapped up in quilts (it's freezing here in the ATL), I brought out some special coffee.

Pike Place Special Reserve that you can only get at the original Starbucks in Pike Place in Seattle. This is some awesome coffee. A nice bold roast, great for celebrating.

I also enjoyed some time sewing while watching the Inaugural parade. I finished the top for my Valentine's Day table topper. The pattern is "Holiday Charm" by Bloom Creek. The fabric is Moda from a year (or two?) ago.

I hope I'll get this quilted and on the table before next month. I am now working on the borders for E.'s flannel quilt and hope to get that finished this week.

PS: check out the new White House website. Very cool! And with a blog too!

Three Day Weekend

I love three day weekends. I get to fit in quilting, working at Starbucks, a couple of naps, some shopping, some cooking, movie watching, and errands as well as the usual laundry, vacuuming etc.

Saturday was our first official Silver Thimble Quilt Club meeting (Karin and Pat both have photos on their blogs. I worked on a Valentine's Day table topper (which I hope to finish up and post tomorrow). Kristie worked on one of her (hundreds?) of BOMs (she does absolutely beautiful work!).

Sunday was Starbucks/Whole Foods/cooking/naptime/movie watching day. I made an herbed pork loin roast, steamed broccoli, and Parker House rolls (I buy a big roast to last for several dinners and just change the veggies each night). S., E., and I watched Appaloosa (a good Western but not as good as Unforgiven). I finished sewing the binding on my Vintage Charm quilt (fabric line is Roman Holiday by Moda).

Here is a detail of the backing fabric, which is just yummy and the fabulous job Peggy did on the longarm quilting.

Today, I took Gomez (aka Gomez Megabux) to the vet for his check up. He is A-OK and complained the whole time as usual. I dropped him off, grabbed my Bad Melisa bag and went to Sweet Home Quilt Co. to see what was left after Becky and Karin's recent visit. Lo and behold, Kristie was there with her own stack of goodies. I picked up a couple of goodies too.

A jelly roll (of course) to make yet another project from the book Jelly Roll Quilts (the fabric line is Flag Day Farm by Moda) and a Moda Honey Bun (40 - 1 1/2" strips) from the Hello Betty line (really neat 1940s colors) and pattern. I can't wait to get started on these projects! Just as soon as I finish a couple of UFOs.

Happy Birthday Mr. Poe and Dr. King

Along with Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, today is Edgar Allan Poe's birthday. Poe is one of my absolute favorite authors (just ask and I can recite "The Raven"). So much so that I named one of my cats after him.

See the resemblance? (left, Edgar Allan Poe, author; right, Edgar Poe, troublemaker)

Both Richmond, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland, are celebrating Poe's bicentennial birthday all year. I don't know if I will make it to one of these cities for the events but it will be a great time to dig out The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe and reread some of America's best short stories and poems. Cheers to you Mr. Poe on your 200th birthday!

A mental health day

I called in sick to my day job today because I have had a headache since last Tuesday when my truck was stolen and I really needed some rest and some time away from people and some peace and quiet for a bit. I have been really angry for a week now and need to get away from all that. My truck is repairable and the insurance will take care of it after I fill out tons of paperwork and pay my deductible ($500 thank you very much!). But I am just mad that someone out there decided to take my truck for a joyride and to steal other people's stuff and cost me lots of time and money. And cause me to be mad as hell for over a week now. I work two jobs and pay my bills and eight years ago I bought this truck new and it was the first new vehicle I ever had. And soon I will get it back fixed but always knowing that someone took her and drove her badly and it just makes me mad. I also will have to get a car alarm for it because I will have to park in the same deck everyday and if I don't, the thieves could just take it again.

I went on Monday to the impound lot and got my belongings out of the truck. The interior was a mess--dirty and spilled drinks--papers and maps from my glove box all over the place and random other people's stolen things (a car stereo, CDs, a checkbook, junk) in it. The ignition, steering column, door handle, front tire and rim, back bumper, and various other small things were damaged and will be fixed. I am over this now and back to better things on this blog (knock on wood).

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I thought I would finish posting some photos from my New Year's trip to DC. Better things to think about.

There is a statue of Ulysses S. Grant on a horse surrounded by 4 lions that overlooks the Capitol. I loved these lions--a vision of noble grace and courage.

Here is the Capitol building on a beautiful day--look at that blue sky! Work was still being done on the stands where President-Elect Obama will be sworn in next week. You can see Grant's statue in the right foreground.

We walked Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House and saw all the viewing stands and bleachers being set up for the Inauguration.

Here is President-Elect Obama's viewing stand for the parade under construction. This must be the most photographed bunch of plywood and construction workers in the US since everyone else was taking photos too.

There is the White House in the background. In my mind (only in my mind cause it was cold), I threw a bunch of shoes over the fence. Take that and good riddance! (Ooops need to watch that whole anger issue).

This is the Hay-Adams Hotel where the Obama family is staying until today when they get to move into Blair House. I'm in a better mood now are you?