Turtles! And farm!

Turtle pattern.  Come and get 'em.

Also - pretty great farm weekend.

Beginning to look like Christmas

The annual Cavanagh Christmas Wall is hung with care.  It's really amazing how important this collection of felt, fabric, ribbon, cross stitch, ceramics, paper and who know what else is to me.  Now that I have manufactured a small person, I'm looking forward to the day when we can take part in this tradition together.

Speaking of that small person, here's a gratuitous cute shot:

And in crafty news, here is my latest undertaking:

It is to be a prayer shawl for a friend of my sister-in-law, who recently found out that she has the big C.  Neither she nor I are particularly religious, but there is something about these shawls that is so cozy and comforting that I could not resist.  You hear news like this and it just makes you feel so useless, knitting or other kinds of crafts feel sometimes like a grasp of control over something when it seems like the world is full of chaos. 

 

How I Spent My Hurricane Weekend

Is that like a vampire weekend?  Dunno.  Anyway I pulled out a project from the Momma pile.  This was one that she bought but hadn't started yet.  My brother and his wife have announced that they will be expecting another Ray bundle of human in June, so I thought why not get a jump on my Very Thoughtful Baby Gift.  Here's the top:

One strange outcome: everything measured perfectly and the star squares have nice sharp points, and yet those parts of the top are a good 1/2 inch longer than the panels turned out.  Either I did something wrong or the measurements in the directions are wrong.  And we'll never know because there's no way I'm spending time figuring it out.  There are a few more layers of borders left to do, but it was amazing that I managed to get this much done this weekend.

And we came out of the storm unscathed, for which I am very grateful.  A small leak in the wall.  I'll take it.  Looking at the devastation other have experienced breaks my heart and I just hope those people can find some peace and can move on with their lives as quickly as possible.

Also, the Rupper is cute.

Happy September

August went by in a bit of a blur.  John spent a week in London for work, so I got a taste of single parenthood.  Luckily the Rupper stayed healthy and I didn't have to work too hard.  And maybe it wasn't the worst thing in the world to have quiet evenings to myself for a few days.

Then we went on sweet sweet vacation.  A road trip to New Hampshire, emphasis on the road.  So much time in the car.  First up was my birthday, which I was able to spend with my dad, brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew.  Which was wonderful. 

Photo credit to John, who has a real knack for catching me at moments where I look batshit crazy.

Next up was Soda Pop's wedding, a wonderful affair for a lovely couple.  Not to be forgotten is the priest's homily, which heavily referenced the happy couple's need to maintain eroticism in their relationship.  Eroticism.  Did I mention the priest is Soda's cousin?  Eroticism.  Soda, if you ever read this, I loved everything about your wedding.  But that made me a little uncomfortable.

My outfit was provided by Pittsburgh Girl.  My first foray into pumps.  The worked!  I wore the for the whole cocktail hour, which is a huge victory for me.  It's John's turn to look a little touched in this photo.  Also to be noted:  I spent an hour curling my hair.  An hour.

A spontaneous play date broke out on Monday.

The Rupper provided his usual creepy staring at the other babies.

Monday night we visited Uncle Thom at Rudi's in Portsmouth and also met up with our friend Drag.  It was a twofer and a great time.

Tuesday we headed up to our family's camp on Lake Winnipesaukee, with only a slight (2 hour) detour so that we could take a little hike.  It was my first outing using the Ergo as a baby backpack.  Pure brilliance. 

The Rupper loved it.  He did not, however, enjoy the beach.  Maybe next year.

On Wednesday, we met up with Roommate For Life & Co.  In a stroke of good luck, they were out visiting from Chicago and were staying at a friend's island on the lake, an island that was only a 10 minute boat ride away.  So the Maxster got his dose of the Rupper's staredown.

 Obligatory kitchen sink bath at camp:

 Back to North Hampton on Friday, took the opportunity to take another little hike.  Waterfalls!

Friday night, Dad and Jean took over baby sitting duties so that John and I could take in a baseball game at Fenway park.  What a treat.  At this point in the week, I was tired of taking photos.  So there aren't any more.  The Red Sox are terrible right now so the atmosphere was something less than electric.  But they did win, so that was something.

Saturday brought another play date with the Rochester Rays.  So cute to see the cousins chase each other around.  You'll have to take my word for it.  There are no photos.

A great vacation.  I would improve on very little.  New Hampshire in the summertime is such a lovely place.  Even at it's hottest and muggiest, it pales in comparison to the DC oppression.  It was so nice to go outside and not immediately burst out into sweat.  Lots of friends, lots of family time.  Can't wait for Christmas until I can go home again.

When the Cat's Away the Mouse Will Sew

Here is this week's addition to my How Far Will You Go QAL project - the Weathervane block.  Pretty smart looking, though I'm a little worried about how the edges line up - or don't, as the case may be.  But worrying is about as far as I'm willing to go to fix it.

Here is a heap of blocks that are to be the basis for my contribution to 100 Quilts for Kids.  They are string blocks that are being made out of leftover fabric from a quilt that I made for Priest Girl when she left for her priestly studies in England.

And this is the latest block for my t-shirt quilt.  I went to Park City, Utah with College Boyfriend.  We visited his brother who was playing ski bum for a year (something I will totally do in my next life).  Ski Bum worked 2 days a week at Texas Red's in order to fund his bumming.  It was a nice trip.  I remember drinking Rumplemintz and playing beer pong.  And meeting a Mormon who didn't know what AAA was.  I never much liked this shirt, the decal has a strong rubbery smell that hasn't washed out over the 11 years that I've had it. 

I made a whole bunch of strip sets from this super cute and cuddly flannel fabric in the hopes that someday soon I will turn them into a cozy little quilt.

And here is The Rupper looking Very Serious.  It's just me and him this week as John has been called away on very important business in London.  Not Olympic related.  Which explains why I've had so much time to sew.  And yet it's still never enough, is it?

Family Fun and Some Blocks

First up: the family fun.  We went up to Baltimore yesterday to watch John's beloved Liverpool play a soccer match against Tottenum Hotspur.  Which would have been the most fun, had it been 30 degrees cooler.  95 degrees and blazing sun do not make for a happy baby.  So the Rupper and I watched the majority of the game from the concourse.  We were not alone, however.  There were plenty of other mothers with infants and other infirm types hanging out there.  John enjoyed himself even though he had to watch by himself.  I guess it reminded him of watching at home, an activity he also does mostly by himself. 

This morning I completed the first two blocks ("Susannah") for the How Far Will You Go QAL.  So far so good.  I'm going to use a bunch of blue fabrics culled from the Mumma stash, with white as the background.  I think they are going to look very handsome together. 

Looking Real Smart, Kid

Love this pic of the Rupper.  Even when he mouth breathes, he is the cutest damn thing.  The end.

Guitar pants

 

Well they are just as amazing on him as I imagined they would be.  I should have made them 2 weeks ago, because now that he's crawling it was near impossible to get a decent shot.  Going have to have another go when John comes home.

Update:  much better.

It would be wrong

to wake up The Rupper to put him in the pants I just finished sewing.  But it's taking nearly all of my self control not to do so.

Weekend Tidbits

I managed to not give two thoughts to my blog name over the weekend.  I did, however, go to a crab fest!  And Father's Day Brunch, and a Bayside Tigers softball (playoffs!).

The Rupper was a superstar.  We try to make having a baby look like the easiest thing in the world - hoping maybe our friends will have some kids themselves.  The Rupper gonna need some playmates once he understands how to play with other kids without just lunging at their eyeballs.

Crafting was kept to a  minimum - despite the fact that I had both Friday and Saturday nights to myself.  I finished the binding on 2 of my 3 Bad Idea Quilts.  So close.  So freaking close.  I'll explain more about these quilts later.  I have dreams of finishing BIQ #3 this evening.  Maybe just writing about it will make it so...

Ali finally finishes something

2 things, actually.  Here's the first:

 

This here pacifier clip is going to go with the blue and yellow quilt currently in progress for the yet to be born Swets Thing 1.  Progress on that quilt and the pink and green quilt for Swets Thing 2 has been laughably slow.  They were starting in April.  They are not complicated. Ah well.  I'd been wanting to make a paci clip for a while, since it is one of the most useful inventions of all time.  It took some doing to figure out what I could find to make the loop.  Since I don't get out to brick and mortar stores all that much anymore, I relied on internet descriptions and ordered a few products that weren't quite what the doctor ordered.  Finally I happened upon some silk rat tail cord which seems to be doing the trick.  Unfortunate name for a nice product.

Before I share the 2nd thing I finished, above a few happy pics of cute guitar fabric that I Amazon'd while working last Saturday (Treat Yo Self), a few scraps thrown in by the good folk at ShuShu Style, and Angry Cat making use of The Rupper's playmat.

This item can be filed under the good new/bad news category.  Good news:  I finished this beautiful quilt.  Bad news: The top to this quilt was created by my mom and left unfinished.  It's just one of so many projects that I found in her craft room after her memorial service.  Half a dozen were in progress, and she had bought fabric for at least another dozen projects of various sorts.  I remember one day hanging out with her in that room (which used to be my bedroom, before that my brother's room, before that my parents' bedroom) and she said half joking, this will all be yours when I'm dead.  And so it is.  I've committed myself to finishing each and every project she set out to make.  An honor, a legacy.  This is the second thing I've finished - for Christmas I made a little cupcake mini quilt for my sister-in-law.  There was no indication that she had meant it for Kim, but there was no doubt in my mind.  So back to the good news: I had an epiphany today that I would send this quilt to my Uncle Jim (my dad's brother).  Bad news:  I thought of sending this to Jim because he's stuck in the hospital with hepatitis.  Dragsville.  But hopefully the quilt will cheer him a bit, and it makes me feel good that it will go to a good home.

I'm new to the quilt labeling game.  Needs improvement.  A well placed little star helps balance out the poorly centered inscription.

Here is my latest finished work.  It is the first thing that I've cross stitched in a while - I really quite enjoyed it.  Adding the fabric border was super easy, and I just put it in a simple frame.  I wish I'd gotten a photo of the back - all sealed up with duct tape.  Worked like a charm.

And here's a shot of me and The Rupper at the beach in New Hampshire.  You haven't lived until you've made your baby cry by dipping his toes in the freezing cold ocean.

Ali Reads Blogs

I am a video editor, which means that I am best at taking other people's work (soundbites, b-roll) and picking out the best stuff, repackaging it and making it something new. Here I am, diving into a blog called "A Blood Recollection" (http://bloodrecollection.blogspot.com) and in the first post I am finding tidbits that I looooove. So I'm going to lift them, to add them to what I like to think of as the scrapbook of my brain (an extension of pinterest). It's a way to start, anyway.

 "I seem to have inherited something of an almost biological imperative to craft, and now quilt."

I should have started this years ago. Years and years and years. I am by no means a prolific crafter, but I never stop. There's always some project that is in progress, or ideas for projects floating around in my brain. I should have documented all of my work instead of the small and haphazardly organized collection of flickr photos that I have managed to cull together.

Here is my first quilt. Cuteness. This photo was take on January 16, 2005 (thank you, metadata).

T-Shirt Quilt: Will I ever make one? I've pulled the t-shirts, they sit in my closet. Some day... Some day... That's all for now. Off to pick up the Rupper from daycare, followed by Wednesday Night Dinner at Grandaddy and Papa Tom's house.