30 March 2009

crafts!

Apparently Portland has a Museum of Contemporary Craft! Awesome. I also keep reading all these things that refer to Portland as a crafty city. I think I have figured out where I'm going for my next vacation. I wonder if I could fly to Portland, then take the train to Seattle and then Vancouver and fly home from there. I could probably do that in two weeks, right? I bet there are hostels there.

In other news, I am making steady progress on two different quilt tops. I think they might both turn out awesome. I read about this super quick way to bind quilts on the purl bee. You basically just make the backing slightly larger than the top and then fold over the back and stitch it down. The directions are toward the end of the project journal. The directions for tying off a quilt seem pretty clear too. Now I just need to finish off those quilt tops.

28 March 2009

snow.

Yeah. It's snowing. Hard. There's a Winter Storm Advisory in effect until tomorrow morning. I find that completely unfair and illogical, as it is spring dammit.

My back is slowly getting better; emphasis on slowly. Fuck fuck fuck. I've been trying to catch up with all of my work today, the computer work I haven't been able to manage since Tuesday. I have been kind of down about how much work I have to do for the next month, and this snow nonsense is not exactly helping my mood. Everything seems to be very hard lately. That's a very nonspecific variety of whining, isn't it? "Life is hard." I am full of clear and trenchant insights.

This is all very whiny and annoying; no more of that. I bought a basil plant at the grocery store; I'm excited about that. And I guess things can only get better from here. Snow at the end of March is pretty lame, but soon it will be warm for real. And while it is killing me to not be able to sew, once I actually can, I will have so much fabric to sew with. Did I mention that I finished that skirt? I'll post photos soon. I have enough fabric to make at least four more skirts; there's something to look forward to.

25 March 2009

i broke my back!

Alright, not exactly, but I pulled a muscle (at least one, possibly all of them) in my lower back, and it hurts to move. Also, standing. And sitting. And laying down. AND EXISTING.

Okay, I'm sorry, I don't like to whine. Seriously though, I hate this. I can't move without wanting to cry. The doctor prescribed muscle relaxers, which seem to do nothing but make me super drowsy. I can't do anything! I was all psyched up to start working out this week, which is not going to happen. I bought all of this new fabric that I was going to turn into pretty things, and I'm behind in the class that I actually like, but I can't sit at the computer or the sewing machine without being in massive pain. And the doctor said that I'll probably be sore for a week. A week!

Ugh. Whine whine whine. FEEL SORRY FOR ME.

20 March 2009

this could be interesting

I am going to make a skirt today.

I am sort of afraid of how badly I will screw this up, but I bought enough fabric for at least four skirts yesterday, so I will have to just figure it out.

Wish me luck!

19 March 2009

decisions decisions



Which (if any) of these makes you think "yes, I will buy some of her crafts"?

15 March 2009

i am going to make my own butter


shepard's pie, originally uploaded by marinatina.

Seriously, I'm gonna do it. Probably not immediately, as it will involve the mixer, and I'll be away from the mixer for most of this week. But I read about it at Amy Karol's blog, and she was totally right on about homemade bread, so clearly she must be onto something with this homemade butter thing. Apparently you use just good quality cream and whisk it for a long time until it turns into butter. There are some other steps, including a very messy part where the buttermilk suddenly escapes from the bowl (seriously, read the article, it sounds crazy. of course, i am a little drunk, so who knows.), but yeah, it seems like a pretty straight forward (and delicious) way to get more use out of my mixer.

[On an entirely unrelated note, OBVIOUSLY, I have reached that point where I can no longer convince myself I haven't gained weight. Fuck, double negative. Seriously though, I am fat. (ter.) Must do something about that. Preferably something that will involve both fitting into my skirts for spring AND eating homemade bread with some homemade butter.]

Oh, and the photo has nothing to do with homemade butter--I just wanted to mention that I made Shepard's Pie a couple weeks ago. Heavily modified, but still delicious. Definitely going to make it again soon; that pan of food right there cost less than $10.

09 March 2009

07 March 2009

busy like a bee

zip coin purses

It's a strange thing to be busy constantly and yet not be crazy anxious. For me, I mean. The past two weeks have been this steady parade of work that I don't really want to do (and yet don't absolutely hate, mostly), and I have been handling it. I realize for most people that's pretty normal, but I am amazed by this thing I'm doing, this thing where I just get things done. I'm only barely keeping up with everything, but I am actually keeping up. I started to get anxious earlier because I hadn't finished this assignment that I had to upload today, so I finished it. It's done. I have already finished all the things that I have to finish today, and it's only 5:30.

I don't really know what my point is or where this is going. I'm just feeling pretty good about myself right now.

Also making me feel good: I've been sewing steadily for the past few weeks, even though I've been crazy busy. Pictured above are some of the zip pouches I made. (Isn't that a terrible word? Pouch. Gross.) I've never felt great about my ability to make the top-zippered variety, but I decided to try again after doing pretty well with those front-zippered ones. I seem to actually be improving at sewing, because they all turned out pretty well. I'm really into the stitching-as-decoration thing, though it made me realize that my machine's tension is definitely out of whack.

Oh god, this is boring, isn't it? I sold a bag this week; that's pretty exciting. This bag, which is probably still the best thing I've ever made. I was very sad to let it go; hopefully it will be enjoyed.

02 March 2009

in which i am cautiously optimistic

Soo remember how I was complaining about all the crap I have to do, how I'll be busy for a week straight? Well, I will definitely be busy every day through the weekend, but I've done fairly well so far at actually getting things done. I've gotten stuff done every day, I've been getting to work right away in the morning rather than procrastinating for nine or ten hours, I'm basically on schedule, and for the most part, I'm not freaking myself out about any of it. For example, I did some work at home this morning, and then I decided I didn't really need to go to campus. I felt guilty about not working on my campus-centric to do list, but instead of letting that guilt fester, I decided I would just write a response paper and do a load of laundry and then be done for the day. And then, instead of dicking around for a few hours, putting off those two things, I just did them. And now, my day is completely my own, aside from putting that laundry in the dryer.

Was that boring? It was, I think. I don't care though, because I have apparently become this person who reacts to growing worry by doing something about it, rather than, you know, having a panic attack. So yeah, awesome, I am not having a panic attack, I can write as many boring paragraphs as I want.

(Oh, also, I think that once I get caught up on everything, I'm going to buy myself a new sewing machine. Exciting!)