No Fat Pigs were involved in the production ...

So ... you're thinking about going to Market, are ya? (I'm talking Quilt Market in Houston at the end of October, but Safeway in August works just fine too.)

If you want to be the belle of the ball and make an ecological statement* at the same time ... you might just want to pick up one of these babies for all your shopping needs. You can find them here. I mentioned my status as president of the Riley Noehren fan club here. My partiality has nothing to do with my love of her products.

I also bought this print of a masted ship in the San Francisco Harbor. My partiality toward ship prints (see here) has everything to do with that purchase.

Check 'em out before Market. You'll be doing a jiggety Jig.

* if Vespas aren't green enough for you, they also come with horses on them. Doesn't get much greener than that.

Whale Rider

So ...

are you beginning to see a theme developing here?

Sibling Revelry

So ... here are some pictures of my perfectly precious grandchildren, showing some sibling love. In the above pic, we have Miss Dub1 and Miss Dub2 holding hands, with their fingers intertwined. (Mrs. Dub did point out that this pose is likely to lead to Miss Dub2 trying to bite Miss Dub1's hand) ... but for the moment, let's just enjoy it for what it is ... perfection.

And here we have L'il Gee striking a "this is how big my pregnant belly is" pose. For now (and for the next 6 weeks) this is the best kind of bonding I am going to see between L'il Gee and his L'il Sis.

They both make me just a L'il Teary-Eyed. How about you?

My Hand Basket Awaits ~

So ... I lied. Eh, it's probably not the first time. In my last post I made a big deal about how much I love hand applique and planned to do my next sample with just such a technique. It took me 2 hours to trace and cut out the pieces and about a minute and a half to figure out that this was not the project for beginners at hand applique. I immediately went upstairs and traced and fused the machine applique pieces in less than 45 minutes. The following day I sewed them on while in some sort of applique-ic trance. I am really thrilled with the results, but I am truly sorry/embarassed about having lied to you.

So, how big do you think this hand basket will need to be to transport me ... um ... you know where?

I may have also lied about the fabrics being bright and happy. It turns out they are more like ... pastel-ish ... and happy. But, by golly they are happy.

How about you?

Project: Every Which Way

So ... I have one or two (or three) projects on the table (and the floor.)
They pretty much all make me happy.

#1: Project Fun-Way: My next sample for BC Quilter's Club for September and October. I will be using hand applique. What makes me happy about this is that a) it's a very traditional pattern (normally seen in Civil War fabs and such) but I'm using some bright happies, and b) I really love hand applique.

#2: Project Stun-Way: I bought these new nautical looking sheets, and already had a duvet cover and shams (in foreground) with similarly matching stripes. Today I bought this (rather cheap-o) dust ruffle (on left) that I will now add some blue satin-stitched stripes to, which will complete the ensemble. Not so cheap-o anymore. (Ergo: happiness.)

3#: Project Un-Done-Way: I spent over 2 hours on Saturday adding these sashing strips to another quilt in progress. I wasn't thrilled. Today when I walked up and saw it on my wall and found myself still without thrill, I ripped those puppies off and will be starting anew with sashing that thrills me. What makes me happy about this? That I had the guts to just rip 'em off like a band-aid, before I went any further.

How about you? What Projects are sending you Running this Way and That?

Get Crafty this Weekend!

So ... if you are from the Bay Area, or are in the Bay Area this weekend or will pick up and move to the Bay Area today*, just because I told you to ... then you need to head on down to the Renegade Craft Fair and take a gander at all the wonderful offerings, soak up some creative vibes and drop some pocket change** so you can come home with a smile on your face.

While you are there, make sure (seriously, make absolutely sure) to stop by (and purchase from) Riley Noehren's booth. She does wonderful screen printing and makes them into fabulous totes, purses and ... prints.

The fact that I gave birth to her*** is not influencing my comments at all, believe me. Her work is just so splendid that I need to point you in the right direction.

So ... get going all ready. Make those plans, put on those comfortable shoes ... say "hi" to my baby girl for me ... will you?

*if you are actually moving, I really hope you have already started packing
** it would be best to have big pockets
*** Riley Noehren is actually not her real name, so you are actually not any closer to discovering my true identity ...

Whale Watch

So ... I finished my whale quilt. I actually finished it a couple of months ago. It took me almost a year. It's been a long year.

My whale quilt makes me happy.

How about you?

A Color Explosion

So ... please wake up long enough to view one more post from my trip, which frankly is just a blur to me at this point, let's be honest. One of my favorite days was our trip down to Santa Cruz. For starters we were mesmerized by the beautiful ocean vistas not to mention the lobster we had for lunch at a chichi restaurant on the pier. But this day was all about the color. Shockingly beautiful color.

Santa Cruz is home to a traditional boardwalk complete with rides, cotton candy and ... yep ... deep fried Twinkies.

All of this is right on the beach. And no, no, there is no entrance fee. Yes, you buy tickets for the rides and you pay for the cotton candy, but the eye candy is free for the taking.

So ... I took some and I am not giving it back.

Guest Who?

So ... I must interrupt my absolutely riveting account of my summer vacation, to let you in on a big fat secret:

I am a guest blogger today over at Be @ Home, a fun website devoted to Fun Stuff to Buy. For your home and other interesting places. In my debut as guest blogger, I am expounding on the glorious blessings of pillows. You know I love pillows! Heaven knows I have blogged about them here and here and here.

Take a look-see and let me know what you think. And then buy some pillows for goodness sake!

You know you want to.

Blue Skies in the Big City

So ... our first day of unstoppable sigh-seeing took us ... naturally ... to the Big City by the Bay. Why ... I believe that's the Transamerica Tower peeking through the trees. Yes, it is indeed.

Pier 39. Full of seafood sandwiches, delicious chocolate and a very colorful flag.

From a Harbor Cruise going under the big ... golden ... bridge. Later we would drive over that same bridge. We like our bridges from multiple angles.

Cruising by Alcatraz. Enjoying hearing about the history ... grateful to not be living it.

Do tell. What is your favorite Treat (edible or not) in San Francisco?

(Is it Rice-a-Roni? Because I seriously do like Rice-a-Roni.)

Ridin' the Rails

So ... the next leg of our trip involved getting ourselves from SoCal where the Gees live to NorCal where Ms. Gee lives. When I helped move her into her new place last January, I couldn't help but notice that a train ran directly behind her uber hip apartment building. The idea for this Amtrak ride was hatched at that moment and carried to fruition last week. We paid (not a whole lot more) to get a "sleeping berth" even though we weren't spending the night. This was well worth it. We had our own little space, plenty of leg room, free meals in the dining car (where we held our pinkies out as we ate) and were basically treated as royalty. In fact, when we first got on the train, they kept trying to give us our complimentary bottles of champagne, and when we refused the third time, we got a little bitty bottles of Martinellis. When we arrived at Union Station in L.A. (above) we did not have to wait in any lines because the conductor came to us to take our tickets. To us. This may have raised my expectations of travelling to a level I can no longer (or ever did) get while flying.

sigh

For the entire "coastal" leg of the journey, we did not see the sun, but that was not a problem until I saw these grayish pictures. Who cares! It was gorgeous, interesting and engrossing. Neither of us cracked open a single one of the plethora of books/crosswords/electronic game devices that we carried with us. We just stared out the window and soaked up America.

sigh

Thanks Ms. Gee for being a fine travelling companion and for living somewhere that could plant the seed for this trip. Once we were in the Bay Area we hoofed it like professional tourists and continued to enjoy every second. And that, as they say, is ...

... to be continued.

How I Spent my Summer Vacation, Part I

So ... I have been away for almost two full weeks on a magical, marvelous, magnificent trip. Since my life now that I'm home is basically snores-ville, I will draw out the story of my adventures for posts and posts to come. Sorry. If that is also snore-inducing, at least help yourself to some scenic views.

These pics are all about the So Cal part of the trip which involved The Gees which includes the Mr. & Mrs. but most especially the L'il one. Ms. Gee (related to Mrs. Gee, but not by the "G") joined us before she and I continued on our own part of the tour. The picture above is from Newport Beach. The footprints belong to L'il Gee.

The pier belongs to the State of California I believe ... although PDaddy always claimed any pier as his own.

Here's the little guy playing with Auntie Gee's iphone which was a constant (and effective) source of blackmail and bribery. It's a little scary how adept he is on his own without any coaching. It doesn't hurt that his Auntie has several kid friendly apps.

I celebrated a birthday while I was there. If you are wondering how old I am then ... simply count the candles ... duh. Don't get so caught up in that delicious cake that you miss that grin on L'il Gee.

Stay tuned for our train ride from So Cal to Nor. Please try and stay awake.