This made me giggle.

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

A new quilt!

I started a new quilt a couple weeks ago. Same style as my others, but a totally different color scheme. I usually go for bright, spunky colors and prints (especially the batiks) but this one was inspired by a blue silk bathrobe that I've been dying to cut up and a whole bunch of blue and brown vintage floral prints. The silk is proving to be difficult to work with, especially since I've only worked with cotton before, but I like the challenge. And I love how it looks.

I've been messing around with the layout of this for a few weeks and finally ended up with one I liked. So for my first official Project Thursday, last week I finally unpacked all of my sewing stuff (which had been untouched since the move home) and got to work. It's been over a year since I made one of these quilts- the last one I made was a baby quilt for my best friend, last summer. Pictures of that will be up soon.

I was a little intimidated about starting another big, crazy quilt, because I was having such a hard time picking fabrics and laying it all out, but it got easier once I started sewing. Unfortunately, it is 10pm and this Thursday has been fairly uncreative. (Not to say that it hasn't been productive, though.) I guess I'll have to have Project Friday this week, instead.

In other news, I think I've finally got everything unpacked from the move. And almost all of it is organized. (I'm such a Virgo.) It's been so satisfying to go through everything, again. I'm up to 8 full trash bags of things to sell at the family yard sale this summer. It looks like my entire family is going to be contributing to the sale- it's going to be huge. We're aiming for Saturday of Memorial Day weekend...more on that as it gets closer.

New favorite song: When I'm With You, by Best Coast. Check it out.

Three Quilts for Christmas.

For Christmas gifts in 2008, my sister and I made a total of five quilts. We finished three of them on Christmas eve. My sister made one for her boyfriend and we each helped out to make one for our mom, one for mom's boyfriend, and one for our dad. I also made one in the fall, for my boyfriend. It was the most awesome feeling to watch as they all opened their presents and know that we had made them. I'm really looking forward to giving more of these as gifts.

I chose the colors for my mom's quilt based on the six chakras: Root (red), Sacrum (orange), Solar Plexus (yellow), Heart (green), Throat (blue), Third Eye (purple), Crown (white). I really didn't want a bright rainbow quilt, though, so I used more earthy, muted colors, and I love the result. It's backed in maroon flannel and filled with all natural cotton batting.

I made this quilt as a present for my boyfriend, using his favorite colors. It is queen sized and backed with soft flannel, a new idea because it was made when the weather was turning chilly. I unfortunately never got a better picture of the finished quilt. I hope he kept it.

Pictures of Rose's quilt for Tyler can be found on our other quilt blog, here:

http://mrejdecrazyquilts.blogspot.com/

As of right now we seem to be missing pictures of the quilts we made for Rick and our Dad. If I come across them though, I'll be sure to post them.

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New music recommendation: Shpongle.

Blue crazy quilt

This is the second quilt I made, which is twin sized. It took a considerable amount of time to make the front because of the sheer number of 6" long strips of material that had to be cut. It was worth the effort though- I really like the busy look of all the strips. I made this the summer after my first year at college and took this picture before the edging was done. Unfortunately, two years later, the edging is still not done. My only UFO... maybe this will be the summer that I finish it?

Crazy quilt.

Finally! A post about quilts! Here is a picture of the very first quilt I made. I just put it back on my bed this week and it instantly felt like summer (despite the un-summerlike weather).

I made this quilt during my senior year of high school, about three years ago. I got the idea after I found a quilt that I had helped my mom make when I was really little. The color was obviously inspired by the orange wall in my room, and I really love how the green contrasts with it. It brightens up the room instantly.

I worked without a pattern, and found that I really liked not planning it all out first. It took several months to make the front, a few days to make the back and assemble the layers, and then another few weeks to get through handstitching all the edges.

Moving.

It's been a tough week.

I moved out of my boyfriend's apartment on Wednesday. Back into my mom's house until the fall, when I'm moving back out to Rochester for school :) As I was unloading my second carload of belongings into my way-too-small bedroom at home, I realized two things:

1. I can fit an astonishing amount of stuff in my little Saturn.

2. I definitely do not need all of those things.

I have 6 bags of clothes so far, for the yard sale this summer. And another bag of books and little things. I really can't wait to go through the rest of my boxes...I haven't had enough free time lately, between all the homework and now having a longer commute. All I know is that the big spring cleaning has to happen soon because I can't see my floor, and I've taken over half the living room.. It's driving me nuts.

Rose and I just discovered that our Dad's cat loves blueberries. Morning entertainment has been provided.

I stole this from Red's tumblr.

10 things I want:

To go to another concert with Dustin.

A horse. And a place to ride every day.

Cheese pizza.

A studio. A big one.

A house.

New cowboy boots. And a cowboy..

A scary movie marathon.

A drink.

New York style Cheesecake. And rice pudding. Yum.

9 musicians/bands I love:

Tegan and Sara.

Muse.

DJ Tiesto.

The Bravery.

Massive Attack.

Fever Ray.

Morgan Page.

ZZ Top.

ATB.

8 things I do everyday:

Shower.

Eat.

Smile.

Talk.

Write.

Read.

Study.

Study.

7 things I enjoy:

Listening to music.

Art projects.

Laughing.

Kissing.

Cuddling.

Long walks.

Adventures.

5 favourites:

Movie: Fight Club. Pulp Fiction.

Song: An Honest Mistake. Empty Streets. UR. (I can't pick just one).

Book: Shantaram.

Food: Spaghetti. Pizza. Rice pudding.

Season: Summer.

4 scents or smells I enjoy:

Vanilla.

Abercrombie cologne (after it's faded for a day, not when it's so strong).

Rain.

Fresh bread.

3 places I want to go:

Hawai'i. (Again).

Greece.

Australia.

2 Favorite Holidays:

Christmas.

Halloween.

1 person I’d marry on the spot:

Nobody at the moment.

Re-evaluating.

Last night I got back from an AMAZING week in Hawai'i. Let me just say the New England weather was an unwelcome sight.. My sister, my mom and I stayed with some relatives on the Big Island and we spent every day on the beach. Talk about relaxing! Which is just what I needed after the stress of midterms last week. Ugh.

I also really enjoyed living out of a suitcase for a week. Well. I enjoyed having such a small amount of things for a while. I wouldn't mind living out of a bureau though, instead of a suitcase..

But it really made me think of what I need for clothing, which makes up at least half of my 600+ possessions. If you recall my earlier posts where my shirt count was at about 55..well after doing all my laundry and dragging out my summer clothing, I'm estimating at least 100 shirts. Oh.My.God.

The first thing I did when I got home last night (after showering off that I-just-spent-all-day-traveling feeling) was start getting rid of more things. My sister and I are planning a killer yard sale this summer, with everything we're getting rid of, as a reward for all our hard work. Should be fun!

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I'm realizing I may not make it down to 100 possessions, but I'm okay with that. I saw a video of someone giving a tour of their apartment with their 100 things. And god was it boring and empty.

So I'm updating my challenge.

I love photos and art, and I love displaying lots of them all over my walls. I strive to create a welcoming, clean, bright space.. So my new challenge is to determine what I really need and to only have possessions that are important to me and that I use. While that might not be a specific number, I'm still keeping with the idea of the challenge: to avoid buying things just to buy, and avoid shopping as a means of entertainment.

Know what I mean?

Speaking of buying things that I use frequently: I just got the new Morgan Page CD, Believe. I've been listening to it all week. It's incredible. His album Elevate is another one of my favorite albums. So if you're looking for some new music, I highly recommend checking those out.

The Challenge.

I've found myself facing a dilemma. I want to get down to 100 possessions, but I'm also really into this 'reuse/recycle/refurb' mindset, so it's hard to let go of things. But that's what most of it is: things. And I'm starting to be able to take a step back, and ask myself if I really need that 55th shirt, or would 54 maybe be ok?

I know I said I was going to post my original list of things, and I could, because I typed it all up. However I'm up to about 600 things right now, which would make for a disgustingly long post. So I'll just summarize and say that I'm estimating I have close to 100 shirts (?!) and 500 other things that I probably don't need.

Wow.

But I've already gotten rid of over 50 things.

Progress feels good.

In other news, I finally organized pictures of my quilts! I'm still missing pictures of my very first quilt, so as soon as I get those I'll start putting them all up!

What inspires you?

I have saved hundreds of pictures of things that inspire me, things that I like, projects to do someday...and now I can (finally) share them.

These are (some of) the sites I get ideas from:

http://www.designspongeonline.com/

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http://carpenterant.blogspot.com/

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http://www.feelingstitchy.com/

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http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/

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http://www.quiltdad.com/

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http://muchomuchobuenobueno.blogspot.com/

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http://blog.polkadotrobot.com/polka-dot-robot/

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What, or who, inspires you?

A new year.

I started this blog last year intending to blog about all the creative things I do, especially quilting. But as you can see, this is my first post. And it's not about quilting.

But it is about being inspired.

This year I made two resolutions. Now, I normally don't make resolutions because I feel like if I want to change something, I'll just do it..I don't need the excuse of a new year. But this year I really thought about what needed to be changed and decided to give it a try:

1. Nothing unnecessary. This is pretty vague, but I'm trying to apply it to every area of my life: no unnecessary shopping/spending, time wasting, stress, and-especially- no unnecessary talking. I talk. A lot. I often find silence uncomfortable and I end up talking just to fill the void. And I'm realizing that I don't always say the smartest things when I start to ramble.

2. Completion. Another vague one. This one mostly applies to my creative projects, and finishing what I start. First on the list? This blog post. Finally.

Last week I was reading through some blogs and I found this: http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html

I love a challenge, so I was hooked as soon as I read the title. I am so inspired by Dave's goals, and his reasons for doing it. So I guess you could say I'm adding this as resolution #3.

I started the challenge on Thursday and tried to make a list of everything in my room. I haven't tallied it all up yet, but I'm already starting to realize just how much stuff I have. To give an example of what I'm up against: I counted 55 shirts in my closet. Not including my three loads of laundry that still need to be done. And not including all of my clothes in storage at my mom's house. 55 shirts?!

This is going to be a long process...

I'll post lists eventually of what I have, what I keep, and what I don't.