weekend update, with Norm MacDonald

No, no Norm here. Just me. But this post should promise to be just as random and confused as his updates used to be. Remember how I was saying "Ohhh, it's going to drizzle fo'rizzle outside today, which means I'm going to craft!" this past Friday?  Well, unbeknownst to me, the weather perked up. Which meant that I didn't do a lick'a quilting that night. Instead, I downed wine and Marchiano's with awesome friends around a fire on our patio, relaxing the night away. Socializing: 1. Crafting: 0

I had better luck crafting over the rest of the weekend, which makes me think that I might (MIGHT) be able to craft in the nice weather... I repainted a birdhouse in bright tropical colors outside and hung it up in the yard. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get little birdy inhabitants. I also sewed three more wine bags, and cut out all the glass for window #1! Pictures of that will be coming soon! Not too bad for someone who was previously unproductive in 60+ degree weather. Weather: 1. Me: ... 1? Everything: 1. That's better.

Which leads me to one thing that's been bothering me: About two weeks ago, I bought clay so I could start working on my tree bark sculpture. And I CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE. This is a common Jill-Problem, since I can't seem to put anything back where it really belongs. I'm hoping I didn't accidentally throw it out when I was cleaning my crafty space... Clay: 1. Jill: 0.

the balancer

Spring is a finicky season: You get luxurious bright and sunny days, mixed in with sporadic rainy dreary days. I think it's kinda funny when people complain about the rain. Is it really all that terrible? Sure, you can't do everything you wanted to outside... but what about all the things that you can be doing inside, besides complaining? And if it didn't rain, well... s***, we'd all be a little parched, wouldn't we?

When I look the big picture, the weather seems like a natural balancer for me. When it's sunny and beautiful outside, I spend all my time out in the garden. Or thinking about being outside. Or, ironically, watching HGTV shows about being in a garden. Which doesn't make any sense, because I'm inside the house watching a show about being outside the house. Any hopes of working on bags, sculptures or the quilt flies right out the window. My mind is filled with transforming the outdoors.

But on days like today where it's overcast, drizzly, dark and stormy, the reset button in my mind is clicked and I think about all the things that I can do inside. I want to race home from work, jump into comfy pants, and start on projects that will keep the wheels in my mind spinning like... well, wheels. There are three more wine bags I have cut out that need to be sewn together. There's a basted quilt that's begging to be sewn together. And there's tree bark that's sitting, waiting to be transformed into a sculpture.

Is there a point to all this? Eh, not entirely. I'm just excited to get home and get to work. If I have to depart with a point, it'd be to make the best out of every situation. I can't wait to take pictures of my weekend projects! Here's to the rain!

new design + 150 sqaures.

Do you like my new design?  I'll keep tweaking it here and there until I... don't... well, until I like it I guess.  But I like the new header I did.  See what an extra free twenty minutes at work and an old magazine can do?  I took a photo of my cutout letters and manipulated some of the brightness and contrast in Photoshop. 

In other exciting news...

I tried to make myself look nice, but that doesn't work at 9am.

I finished a total of 150 squares!  Only ONLY 74 to go. I couldn't be more excited!  Actually I could, if I had 210 done and only 14 to go.  But I'll get there!  And I could this weekend, seeing that the Philajerseynewyorkeverywhere area is supposed to get pounded with a Nor-Easter like whoa.  I don't think it'll be too bad here, but it'll be enough to keep me productive and warm inside the confines of my home. 

Different hair!  And... braaaaaaaaaainssssss...

It's Halloween weekend too.  I had high hopes that this year would be the year that I got off of my crafting butt and created a bitchin' costume.  Alas, my quilt making and zombie run made it a daunting task.  So this year... I go again as a zombie (like I'm complaining).  I'm banking on my liquid latex and makeup to make it look good this year, better than my zombie from three years ago.

Here were my awesome ideas that didn't materialize:
The "morning after" girl, present on every Saturday and Sunday morning Septa route
A #2 pencil
A box of Summers Eve
Lucile Bluth
It's Pat from SNL

day #1: for lack of better titles.

Success!  Even though mural-ing was postponed for the evening due to rain, I decided to head downtown anyways to spend some quality time with myself... away from the Food Network.  First stop, a Vietnamese noodle soup joint.  NOM.  The flavors and aromas reminded me of when I lived around that section of town.  I jumped back in my car after I was finished stuffing myself and noticed that it was starting to drizzle.  Instead of hurrying on my way, I decided to sit and listen for a couple of minutes.  The rain was just starting and it sounded like dust on an old record being played.  Awesome.  Next stop was the fabric store... 50% off ALL FABRIC?!  Don't mind if I do!

I found 10 different fabrics!  All different patterns, colors and textures and all for me!  All of that fabric reminded me of the purses I started cutting out months ago.  Is this what I needed to slap myself back into shape?  Only time will tell.  However, I did decide to set myself a goal:

I WILL FINISH THE TWO PURSES I STARTED SEWING TONIGHT BY AUGUST 3RD.  Let's see if I can do it... When I'm finished, I'll post pictures of the final outcome.  Inspiration, here I come!

Oh, and I took this picture of myself with my new phone app.
... You're Welcome.