I'm back from visiting family for the holidays, and I have so much to show and tell. I also had a long day at work, so I'm just popping in to share some pictures of the quilt that was worked on, although not finished, and I'll catch up some more very soon.

I took the four-pointed star quilt with me, and my sister, sister-in-law, and I put it up. Cary didn't like the way the corner was looking, so he decided to fix it for us.

Please notice that he is wearing a wrist pincushion. Maybe I should add this to his mySpace. I'm sure his fans would be impressed.

We didn't get a ton of quilting done, but it's well underway and I hope to finish it soon.

Read More

It's a Christmas Miracle! Well, maybe that's a little dramatic, but still, it looks like I'll actually manage to send out Christmas cards this year. This is quite an accomplishment for me. I always start December with the best intentions and plans for handmade, spectacular cards with long, personalized letters for each recipient. And then reality sets in, and not only do no cards get made or letters written, I can't even manage to send out boxed cards with just a signature. So this time I decided to try something a little different. I've been enjoying Christmas music so much this year that I made a nifty mix CD, and that's what I'm sending. Of course I had to make special, festive envelopes, but there won't be any long letters, just a signed CD that I hope will be enjoyed by those who receive them, as much as I have enjoyed listening to lots of great Christmas music while making them.

I want to share the music with all you lovely blog visitors too! I've got a dozen or so extra CDs to share, so the first twelve comments will get one. If there are more people interested, I'll probably be able to draw a few names from the additional commenters to receive CDs too. There some traditional Christmas songs, some original songs, some Winter songs, and maybe some irreverent songs, the common thread is that they are all songs I just love, and they are Christmas-y.

This is one of my favorite hymns from my favorite Christmas album right now:

Excuse the slightly cheesy video. And I know it's not really a Christmas song, but the message still fits the season.

But wait! There's more! Not a lot more, just a little thing. I made a Pandora Christmas radio station, based on some of my current favorites included on the CD, so if you'd like a little taste, click the Christmas link under HeyLucy radio to the left, and listen right now on your computer! Nifty, isn't it?

Here's a new game we've been playing at our house lately. It's called 'Where's Lucy?' If we make it until January without the tree falling over it will be another Christmas Miracle!

Read More

I'm back to normal! I was so disappointed to get a cold last week, it's been about two and a half years since I've had a bad cold or flu. I was going for a new record and instead I got sick twice in a month. That's just dumb.

I feel terribly behind, but I'm not going to worry about it too much. I have e-mail and comments to respond to, and I will get to it soon, promise! I'm not ignoring anyone, just trying to get all caught up. Meanwhile I promised to share quilt tops, so here is a little glimpse:

It was dark and gloomy this weekend, so this is the best I can do for now, but I think you can see that I've got quite the bonanza here. I think my New Year's resolutions for 2009 will involve finishing a couple quilts, starting with the Double Wedding ring quilt.

I need to do a little research first. I'm somewhat concerned about the stitching. It's all done by hand, and I'm not sure just how sturdy it is. There are a few places where pieces need to be restitched. I think the fabric itself is still in good shape. Also, the rings are actually the edges of the quilt, it's not square, so I think I have to turn the edges under and sew it by hand? Or can I bind it normally? It would be a pain, but it's doable with a bias binding. I'm just not sure if that's how it's traditionally done. Any expert quilters out there? Mom, what do you think? Either way, it's going to be so cute when it's done.

The four-pointed star is fun too. I haven't looked too carefully, but I don't think there are many fabrics repeated. I think it might have been made from the family's old clothes. These quilts have been in the family for a long time, my mother-in-law doesn't sew or do any kind of handicrafts, and she doesn't really know who made what or when it was made. I think the fabrics look like they are mostly from the 1930s and 1940s.

I feel like I hit the lottery with these quilts. There will be periodic updates, I'm sure. I'd really like to finish and use them. That seems like the best tribute I can give their makers.

Despite the gloominess outside, it was warm and cozy inside our little house, and I put up the Christmas tree last night while the fire was roaring in the stove (thanks to Mr. HeyLucy, fire-builder extraordinaire). Between the tree and the fire the cats were in heaven. At one point I found Lucy sitting in the middle of the tree, precariously balanced across several branches. Oi. They especially like it when the lights are on. I still have all my glass ball ornaments to hang, but that should be done sometime over the next couple days. I wire them to the branches with florist wire, so the cats can't easily bat them off, although they will try.

I also made the most delicious hot chocolate ever, to sip under the Christmas tree lights. Here's the recipe, if you want to try it yourself:

For each serving mix together in a saucepan: a generous teaspoonful of good cocoa powder, an equal (or slightly more if you want it sweeter) amount of sugar, a tiny capful of good vanilla and some finely grated Belgian chocolate (about one square inch). If you're feeling adventurous, add a pinch of cayenne pepper. You won't taste the pepper, but you'll feel the heat when you drink it. It's quite nice. Add a little milk, and stir until all the powdery bits are well incorporated into the milk. Add more milk to make a big mugful. Heat gently, until piping hot, but don't let it boil over! I speak from experience when I say that you will have a big mess that is not fun to clean up if it boils over. And here's my top secret weapon to make it truly the most delicious hot chocolate ever: get yourself one of these little gadgets, and whip up each cup for a minute or so before serving. I found mine at a local Ace Hardware store for $10 or $15 I think, which is a little extravagant for a tool I use for only one thing, but it doesn't take up hardly any space and it really makes all the difference, so I don't regret purchasing it at all. Serving it in a pink café au lait bowl, and sitting down with some knitting and a feline companion will make it just perfect.

There will be more Christmas-y stuff here this week, and a special Christmas gift for my lovely blog readers, so be sure to come back soon, I don't want you to miss out!   

Read More

Today's nonsense is brought to you by my fuzzy head cold. I fear I may be about to ramble incoherently. Sorry in advance. At 3 p.m. I realized that I forgot to apply deodorant this morning. I was going to say that it's been all downhill from there, but I'm pretty sure the downhill slide started on Friday morning, when I woke up with the runniest of runny noses.

I had big plans this past weekend for Christmas tree decorating, Christmas gift making, and the continuation of the great studio clean out. I was also going to write virtuously about how I had a good attitude towards Thanksgiving despite the fact that I had to spend it a day late at the home of my mother-in-law, eating the re-heated Thanksgiving Dinner for Four in a box from the local grocery store, listening to her complain about everything from the cost of paper towels to how difficult it is to find quality blouses at her local thrift store these days. I managed to help her balance her checkbook, and ignored the usual comparison of my obsessive sock knitting to that of Madame Defarge. She wasn't too bad this visit, and she was even quite pleasant at times. She sent me home with several vintage, pieced quilt tops, which I will photograph and share sometime soon. The quilt tops are, I believe, from the 30's and 40's, and include a gorgeous double wedding ring quilt-it's double or maybe even queen-sized! They are all hand-pieced, and there are a couple spots in need of repair, but otherwise all they need is batting, backing fabric and quilting!

She also gave me this sweet little bird that her aunt always had on her Christmas tree.

Instead of all those wonderful activities for what was a beautiful weekend weather-wise, once I got home late Friday night, I blew my nose every 10 minutes, rearranged the pillows to the proper angle for prime sinus drainage, counted off the hours until I could take the next dose of Theraflu/Benedryl/Airborne/Tylenol, none of which did much to alleviate my symptoms, and carefully maneuvered so as not to disturb the two cats curled up on either side of me (and the occasional dog, too). I am thankful for my lovely laptop, which kept me entertained for the last three days. I found all sorts of fun and interesting things out there on the interwebs. I watched movies on hulu.com (Master and Commander (one of my favorites) and 24: Redemption (Yay! a new season, finally!)) and Netflix (Dan in Real Life (meh, it was alright), Gone Baby Gone (pretty good, but sad)), played zilch and Bloon Tower Defense III and various escape from a locked room puzzle games (I think this was one of my favorites, and easy enough that I didn't have to cheat and get a hint), and found funny t-shirts that I think I need and lovely little videos of what look like miniature worlds, but are actually real life-sized ones, thanks to a little tilt-shift action (try this one, it's especially lovely, although the monster truck one is cute).

So, it wasn't the best Thanksgiving ever, but it wasn't the worst, and I still have a lot to be thankful for and one day soon when I'm feeling a little less fuzzy and incoherent I'll make a gratitude list. Although I suppose I could start by pointing to that list of links over there on the left under Family. I am thankful for family, even though I didn't get to spend time with them and they are all far away. And for Mr. Heylucy for getting me cookies when I'm sick. And for cats and dogs who will curl up next to me to keep me warm. I hope you all had lots of delicious turkey and that you're not sick of the leftovers yet!

Read More

I have some more colorful things to share, which is especially good because it's dark and gloomy out around here today, and that means my drive to work is probably going to be excessively long. We Californians tend to come  a little un-glued when it rains. Once there was a huge, unexpected rainstorm on a Friday afternoon and it took me three hours to get home. Not even kidding. That was like two years ago and I still remember the horror. But that's another story for another day.

Do you have a uniform? You know, not an actual uniform, but a set of clothes you regularly wear with interchangeable components? Mine is jeans, t-shirt, cardigan sweater, flats. I try to keep it from getting boring by doing interesting things to my t-shirts, and buying things like green pants and cute flats. I wonder if I should be embarrassed by the number of cardigans in my closet. It's like I'm channeling Mr. Rogers. Anyway, back to today's colors!

I didn't realize that I needed yellow shoes until I saw these at Target, but I think they are going to turn out to be this Fall's must-have accessory. Thank you Target for now carrying shoes in size 11 for my ski's-for-feet! Stinkin' cute, right? I didn't get the little ankle strap in the pictures, but you can see the little heels below.

I am modeling them with my new $15 Old Navy grey cords. I had to give up on the idea of winning that weight-loss competition. That was a stupid idea for me to join a weight-loss competition with a bunch of guys. So, since there was no chance I would be taking home any prize money, I've obviously been pants shopping. And it it nice to be able to walk around without constantly tugging at my waist band to pull my pants up. Plus, you know, you can look pretty cute for not a lot of money, I'm discovering.

Another Target find that I am enjoying:

I generally hesitate to decorate with mass-produced 'art', but I just really love this tray, and the colors were perfect for my living room. Plus it is functional, I can always take it down and actually use it as a tray. Trays are good things to have around.

I'm knitting more socks, pink this time! This is my first time using Knit Picks Essential Sock yarn. I wasn't too sure I would like it, it's so inexpensive and I am partial to Lorna's Laces, but I think it's a nice yarn for the price. Sure, it's not hand-dyed, but I bought a few colors, and they're all pretty nice. Sometimes you just want a good, solid color, you know? And it's washable, and quite soft, so as long as I'm on this sock knitting bender, I'll keep using it. Has anyone knit socks with it? I'm curious how well it wears.

And I'll leave you with not color, but a black and white cat and a short list:

1. I watched Lars and the Real Girl this weekend. It was so sweet.
2. I can't stop playing Zilch. Don't click that link, I'm warning you, you'll start playing and won't be able to stop.
3. For my fellow Americans, take this quiz and see how much you know about our history and government. I'm embarrassed that the average is so low. We need to know this stuff, people! Politics is beyond the scope of this blog, but I think it's important to know this stuff (I was in the 80% range, if you were wondering, and I think I should have done better). 
4. You would never know that 10 minutes before the picture below was taken there was a black and white blur flying from one corner of the house to another, bouncing off window sills and jumping on the kitchen counter, which is absolutely NOT ALLOWED in our house. It is against the rules, I tell you!

Read More

When I went on my little shopping trip last week I didn't find a whole lot of stuff that I really loved. Mostly because it seems that all the colors for this Fall are black, grey, or dark plum. I have no problem with those colors, but seriously, how many days a week can you wear dark plum? I have plenty of black and grey in my wardrobe already, and I know it's technically Fall/almost Winter, and my brown sandals have been put away until next Summer, but still, I want to have some color in my life. I started out with flowers for my desk last week. They're still looking pretty good, for cheap grocery store flowers:


They definitely helped satisfy my need for color, but I still wanted more. A trip to Old Navy helped, when I found a pair green pants ($15!) and a stripey blue t-shirt (2 for $15!). I decided to take it just a bit further, and added some big, flowery appliqués

I know, it may be a little much, but I don't care, when everyone else is looking dreary in their black and grey and dark plum, I'm going to be feeling bright and cheery. I added another flower to the hem:

I think I've got a thing for carnations lately.

Here's the how-to, just in case you need a little color too:
I just cut out the flowers from some cotton fabric in my stash (Kaffe Fassett Flower Lattice, which I cannot find anywhere online) and cut out some Wonder Under roughly the same shape. I carefully ironed them in place, and then just did a plain running stitch around the edges. They'll fray a bit around the edges when I wash it, but I think that will look cute.

I have lots more colorful ideas and things to share this week, so check back soon!

Read More

I had big plans for a productive weekend, but then I decided to do some knitting and the laundry is not done, the chicken coop is still in need of cleaning, and we won't even discuss the state of the bathroom. It was necessary, you see, when I went in search of some new pants the other night, and found a cute little jacket on the sale rack at Macy's. Regularly $89, marked down to $19.99! So I had to get it, but it only has 3/4 sleeves, and it's chilly up here in the mountains, and in my air conditioned office, so I thought some arm warmers were called for. I used this easy-peasy pattern, but made a few adjustments. I know my arms are a little larger than average, so I cast on 42 instead of 34. I never did check my gauge, but that ended up working well for my arms. I also made them pretty long, because I have gangly monkey arms, and I wanted them to go nearly to my elbow. Then I finished off the finger-tip edge with a little scalloped crochet border. I think they are quite cozy, and they were super easy and fast. If you haven't knit in the round before, they're a great little project to learn with, since there's no shaping, just straight knitting.

Here's the scallop edge pattern, in case you want to try it: single crochet all the way around the edge. On the next round slip one and in the next stitch, single crochet, double crochet and single crochet. Repeat these two stitches all the way around. I am probably not using the correct crochet lingo, but I'm still a novice, and probably the world's slowest crocheter. I'm getting the hang of it though.

Oh, and I did manage to find one pair of pants. They're a size smaller than I've been wearing, and fit pretty well, so that made me a happy shopper. And they were also on sale.

Since I blew off all my other responsibilities I decided to play around with my macro filters again. I can't get the 10+ one to work, but the 4+ is nice. Here is a tiny, 2" tall meerkat:

He reminds my of a trip to the zoo with my sister and brother-in-law at the beginning of the year. We had our new cameras and took a lot of pictures of the meerkats, because they were so darn cute. I've watched Meerkat Manor a time or two, but they were kind of mean to each other, so I prefer to think of them as the cute little critters we watched that day at the zoo.

And how cute are these tiny mushroom dishes?


They were a Re-ment purchase, and I got pretty lucky to get this little set. Re-ment are the Japanese version of Cracker Jacks, except with these you get one tiny piece of candy, and a really great prize, such as a set of mushroom dished, complete with 1/2" tall salt and pepper shakers.

What is it about tiny things that makes them so endearing? I loved doll houses and miniatures since I was little. I even got a doll house kit one year for Christmas or my birthday. It had all the pieces stamped into thin plywood, and theoretically you would just pop them out and glue them together. My dad helped me with it, and I did my best, but inevitably the pieces would splinter when you popped them out, and they never fit together quite right. I don't think we ever finished it. I still think it would be fun to decorate and furnish a doll house.

Read More