I said there would be sewing and knitting again on this little blog, and so, here you go! I’ve had this fabric for quite a while, it was an eBay find, and it’s old and I’m pretty sure it was originally intended for pillowcases. Doesn’t that just look like a pillowcase border?

And while it would, in fact make very charming pillowcases, I don’t currently have a room decorated in yellow and lavender in need of pillowcases. What else could I do? I had to make a skirt. So I just cut off a bit to use for the waistband, sewed a seam at the back with an invisible zipper, pleated it up, and stitched it to the waistband. Easy-peasy!

I did want to mention that I’m feeling pretty brave with this picture. I appreciate all the comments about the 20 pounds lost, but as you can see, I still have quite a ways to go. Not that I’m belittling those 20 (now 22!) pounds, I’m darn proud of myself for accomplishing that kind of weight loss, especially since I’m doing it in a healthy way, and very slowly, but it’s just the beginning, and I’m working on getting rid of another 40 pounds by the end of the year.

Oh, and I also had to mention, the long-sleeved t-shirt? In the exact same shade of yellow? I found it at Old Navy this past weekend for $1.99! And I also found a green one for $5, and the two together perfectly match my completed Lace Ribbon Scarf.

This was a fun scarf to knit, until the last third. At that point it seemed to stop getting longer, and the ball of remaining yarn stopped getting smaller, and the knitting just went on and on and I got irritated and then made a series of mistakes which required unknitting several rows. Of course it did end eventually, and I rather like it. Even though it’s wool, it’s rather light-weight, and perfect for this crazy Spring weather we’re having. I was so looking forward to this past long weekend, but it was cold and grey and rainy the whole time. Of course Tuesday morning, when I had to go back to work, was all bright and blue-sky-ed and lovely, which put me in a very cranky mood. We’re almost to the next weekend, and I’m still bugged about the whole thing.

I better add something cheery to end with. This is my dog Winston, who likes to snuggle. He gets in bed with me every morning around 5:00, and then doesn’t want to get up when I decide it’s time to get up. He won’t budge and I have to physically push him out of bed. Silly boy! Doesn’t he look comfortable?

He doesn’t have his Summer haircut yet, because of the yucky weather. I just can’t let it go.

I have entered phase two of my new healthy living plan. That’s right…exercise. It wasn’t easy to find an activity that I enjoyed doing, that I could fit into my day, and that wouldn’t involve spending large quantities of money, but I finally figured it out. I’m going swimming a few times a week, on my lunch hour, at a nearby rec center pool. Before now there were occasional walks, and visits to the tiny gym at work to use the elliptical machine, and I even use the stairs rather than the  elevator a few times a day, but I knew it wasn’t nearly enough. So now I’ve gone to the swimming pool several times, and it feels really good. The only thing is that I am so very tired at the end of the day. I thought exercise was supposed to energize you, when does that start happening?

I’m going to pretend that these are my reward for exercising and eating better, even though I ordered them weeks ago, and they were on back order. They just arrived, and they’re just as cute as I thought they would be:

See how big my feet are? Still, with art by Camilla on them, they look pretty cute.

Quilting continues in earnest, and I thought I’d share some of the music I’m enjoying right now, to get me through. I love the new Rogue Wave album, particularly this song (I couldn’t embed this one, so you have to click the link).

I can’t get enough of this song, and the video is so great too:

Here’s a conversation between me and my brother:
"Have you seen the video for (some random song, I don’t remember now)?
"Oh yeah, that was really good, I found it on youtube.
"Wouldn’t it be so cool if there was a TV channel that played nothing but music videos all day?
Melancholy silence as we remember what MTV used to be like.

This song is for all of you peeps who still have snow on the ground. I really, really hope Spring gets to you soon. "Hello blackbird, hello starling, winter’s over, be my darling!"

I think this is now my favorite Bright Eyes song. It was recommended to me by my 3 year old niece, who has the best taste in music. We should start a music column somewhere and call it "Mimi’s Picks". I’ll have to talk to her about that.

My favorite verse:

So the doc came with his black bag
I said you know doc I don’t feel swell
If you had a blue bag I think I’d get well
So he came right back with a blue sack
He said will this do?
I said why not, yeah

The whole thing is so clever, just watch it, please.

Sheesh, I finally did it. I sewed the darn pocket on.

I was hoping it would look like a tulip. It sort of does, right? I’m okay with it, I think.

I’m getting pretty good at sewing binding to things. Here’s my helpful hint for seam binding: if you’re going to be going around curves, make sure you use bias binding. Sure, it’s more of a pain to cut out, but there’s no way I could have used straight binding to do this.

Another project I’ve been working on is up and running. This one is a collaboration with my sister. We both have new cameras and new-(ish) versions of Photoshop that we want to learn how to use, so we decided to share the process with everyone. Each week we’ll exchange pictures and then play with them in Photoshop-she has Elements, and I have CS2, so there should be something for everyone. We’ll also share links and resources and other fun stuff relating to photography and Photoshop. I thought it would be kind of cool to have a site for those of us who don’t really know what we’re doing, but want to learn. We’re posting step-by-step what we do, so you can follow along at home. And of course, participation in the comments section is highly encouraged. So please visit, and spread the word!

And lastly, if you need a song for your Valentine on Thursday, I must admit to being partial to this one. You can buy it on Cary’s Myspace page.

So many unfinished projects and so little inspiration. That’s how it is around here right now. Above is an apron I started in December. All I have to do is add a pocket, but I just can’t seem to get to it. Here’s the pile on of unfinished projects on the sewing machine:

And speaking of unfinished, I still haven’t painted this room, although the great de-cluttering project of 2006 and 2007 continues into 2008, and I did get a little more cleaned out of there last weekend.

What do you do when you get like this? I have so very little inspiration, and zero motivation. I feel like I’ve been coming home from work and staring stupidly at the TV, and there isn’t even anything good on. I hope this rut doesn’t last much longer.

I have continued taking pictures, however, and since January is yearly bonus time at my place of employment, I treated myself to a Photoshop upgrade (from v6-super old skool-to CS2)! And I have been playing around with it a bit, because I can do that while stupidly watching stupid shows on TV, so I guess that’s something. I picked up The Photoshop CS2 Book, which I highly recommend. So far I have learned how to apply a vignette, and to lighten too-dark photos using Curves, and create a dreamy glow-y effect. And some color adjusting stuff.  Reading Pioneer Woman has introduced me to the world of Photoshop actions, which are just brilliant, and now I want some. Better yet, I want to make some. I better go learn how to do that now.


My pins and needles are ready and waiting for me to get my mojo back. Even the addition of a squirrel lamp isn’t enough to get me going.

Santa came early, and I must have been really really good this year, because I got something I’ve been wanting for a very long time. Santa also said that I could start playing with my new toy right away, so I have been. So far, I’ve just been using the auto settings, but the results are pretty darn good. My little Olympus point-and-shoot has served me well the past four years, but this little baby is just amazing. I took some pictures last night, which I never would have attempted before, and then this morning, it was grey and drizzly, but I still couldn’t stop myself from snapping away. I can’t wait to try it in full daylight. Click on all the pictures to see them big!

This is a cross-stitch I did years ago, and always pull out for Christmas.

A light supper last night, under the Christmas tree. I got my swap package from Yvonne yesterday, and did I rip open the caramel-ly stroopwafels? The spicy-sweet speculaas cookies? Oh no sir-ree, it was the beautiful wedge of cheese that I had to dig into right away! When Yvonne asked if I had any special requests, I jokingly told her Leidsekaas, please! And she sent a nice big chunk of a similar cheese from her home town. It is so good! There was much more in that pretty pink box, but it will have to wait until I can take some daylight pictures to truly do it all justice.

Today is our secret Santa gift exchange at work, and I was lucky enough to draw the name of a fellow knitter, so I made her a needle roll, the first one I’ve ever made. It came out pretty cute, I think. I hope she likes it. There’s also a yarn store gift certificate, so even if she hates the needle roll, she should be pretty happy with the rest of the gift.

Last week I picked up a frame at Ikea for my poster from Victoria. I was going to hang it in my laundry room, because I could use a little reminder not to get all worked up when I have to spend my Saturday doing five loads of laundry, but it looked so good in the guest room, that I think I’ll leave it in there. I do need to take it in and get the mat trimmed down a bit.

And one last picture. Every time it rains, the logs from the tree we cut down a couple months ago get all mossy and green. I love that color.