Our Nephew's Coat - one little monkey

Well after mentioning it in April- it finally happened for our nephew's 2nd birthday - in August!

We hope it fits him- if not he has a younger brother, so we know it won't go to waste....

I'm back with 200 blocks

well I never really left- I just forgot to blog. I have made a few things since April, but I wasn't as productive this summer as last. I had a "part-time" job that was sometimes 12 hours/day.

Anyway... in case you ever wondered what 200- 8.5 inch squares looked like, here it is! My cats are guarding them closely (or rather sniffing to see where they've been). This is a project for my God Daughter, consisting of some 18 + receiving blankets. Soon to be homemade chenille. (NO, I didn't realize how much work this was until I really got into it, but hey it's fun!) 40 of the blocks you see here are 4 layers deep- otherwise they would not fit in my living room!

Spring Fever

I know that I have been bad... but I am here to post again. I revisited the project started the last time Marge was here and actually managed it by myself. I only had to call her three times to translate the pattern lingo! Next will be a boy's jacket I think for the nephew... :-) We know cute boy's clothing is hard to find!

Neglect, Pure Neglect

I admit- I have been missing in action. There's been a lot of action- working long hours, tutoring and yoga classes. Can't say that I have done much art though. I did finally complete a quilt for a friend who had a baby girl this weekend- it was a quicky! Also I wanted to post a couple photos of the outfit on parade. As you can see, it's much cuter on the model...

Coffee Talk and Caterpillars

So I have been meaning to try out this idea for some time, but never quite seem to get there! It's something I saw in my Quilting Arts Mag and originally I thought it was dumb... but my greener side kicked in and said, "why not? -People who care about the environment might hang on to a nice, personalized Coffee Cuff!" So here's my first attempt at one. It was a good learning experience- the next will be even better (especially if I EVER get my fabric mover working).

Yes, the new machines were bought 12/19/06 and I have yet to try out the machine that allows me to free motion quilt with ease! Arg. I have to call the shop tomorrow because I can't seem to figure out one little detail- even after watching the set up DVD 3 times and reading the entire manual....

Then inching right along... inspired by the beetle seen on this site. My friend Mol asked for a caterpillar Mmm... Mmm Blankie or Tag Blanket. I wasn't sure if it could be done, but it turned out pretty cute. Seen here in yummy green minky fabric and yellow flannel on back!

Custom Cute!

So Marge was down here for a few weeks and we managed to find a small, but cute quilting shop. We came across some fabric we couldn't resist and a baby coat pattern to die for... here's the results of many hours x 2 (there was two of us working on it)! Schatzi may have a new product soon!

New Mmms

Well I got a little more etsy crazy this weekend. I actually had a few, quiet minutes to myself, for a change. The new sewing machine glitch is fixed (it was set to German power wattage)! and it is up and humming like a champ! I have yet to try out the fabric mover. Still gun shy but now that the machine is working fine, I have no more excuses.

Two new (well repeated) Mmm...Mmm Blankies were posted to etsy.com today. I intended on making a few Valentine quilted cards but decided to stick to the familiar. Maybe tomorrow?

etsy bitsy

I am now etsy- well not little but on etsy.com

That was my goal for January, so I am glad I stuck to that! I only added a few older pieces; sorry nothing new, but I established the account and got started. I was nicely surprised how quickly I was getting views. Now we just need to sell something. FYI: you can find me under schatzibaby there too! Cool.

Ahhh! Where does the time go?

So apparently, I am cured from watching tv- (it has nothing to do with the fact that I am almost too busy to brush my own teeth lately)! I haven't really had any urges to watch more than 30 minutes to an hour a week, so that's good. Now if I could just be a little more productive!

It's been awhile since we last took a creative inventory... Since the last post I finished and mailed the 100 wishes quilt to our friends and God daughter. That was cool. I've filled an order for a Mmm...Mmm blanket and created a new proto-type for a beetle shaped Mmm blankie. I think little E, our Goddaughter will also get that one. I sold a quilt from the website shop. Marge, my mom has been down here and we created an uber cute toddler quilted jacket and bloomers. So it hasn't been a completely uncreative period- I just haven't posted. So there! - I can stop feeling guilty now.

I came very close to posting an item on etsy today, but ended up job searching online instead for a good hour or two. I was waiting for a friend, Miss C to create my logo before I went public there... but she has struggled to be faithful on our Creativity Conspiracy Wednesdays thus far where we vowed to bring in something creative each week. She teased me the first week with a preview of the schatzi logo and then - notta, nothing, nichts. The etsy.com show must go on with or without a logo design for the banner. My goal was to have it up by the end of January...I still have two days!!

So Bad, but yet so Good...

The transition from being a t.v. addict to a non-tube head had been easier than I had expected. Lots has been going on with friends and family around. I slipped a tiny bit this weekend with the boy (maybe a half hour of Court TV) but I think I fell asleep as he enjoyed one of our favorite's, The Princess Bride on t.v. Another guilty pleasure was, our Netflix of the week, Little Miss Sunshine. I almost lost the boy on that one, but he hung in and finished it with me. I rolled on the floor laughing- "sweet sweetness"! (You'll have to see it for that line alone)!
Super Freak...she's super freaky awww!

On a creative note- well it hasn't been a very productive week. I picked up an after school gig for the $ greenbacks. It's been surprisingly enjoyable, but it doesn't leave much "me-time" at the end of the day.

Marge was very disappointed to hear that I didn't even test drive my new machine- soon to be romanced. It's a Pfaff- amazing machine and I bought the Fabric Mover to go along with it. Unbelievable technology for those of you that understand free motion quilting! I am very excited to try it out - a little intimidated at the same time. Essentially I will be able to draw with thread . Very, very cool. I have some project ideas, but that would require me setting it up and plugging it in first. Maybe tomorrow? Tonight I have some research I need to do for work- Friday was rough.

http://www.pfaffusa.com/8574.html
The ultimate machine to romance... art ala the mover coming soon

Sabrina brings inspiration

I am draggin today and after an eleven hour day, I feel like flopping on the couch more than anything! I heard on the news today that there's a t.v. out there for auction that has some 20,000 (give or take a 0, it was the morning news) diamonds on it! I guess I haven't created a shrine out of my t.v. like that!

Marge, aka "the mom" comes in 7 days, so I should be inspired to clean the house... But today was a bummer. I did enjoy having a cool co-worker coming back after a maternity leave though.

In case you need inspiration, go to Sabrina's website. Love her work. I was sad to see her moving away from her old website. But it's all good.

http://www.sabrinawardharrisonphotography.com/home.html

It yelled at me!

Somehow the times still flies by without "accomplishing much". But I have to say it was probably a more productive day than if I had sat in front of the t.v. guiltily watching Lifetime movies while folding laundry! (Don't worry: I still managed to wash and fold the laundry)! I completed the "sandwich" of the 100 wishes quilt* for our good friends that are adopting- very exciting! The next week will consist of hand sewing the binding on... which I will start tonight, while watching one of my approved shows, Desperate Housewives. Gotta do it.

On a strange side note...Last night when I turned on the t.v. it gave out a strange squeal/high pitched screech- another sign? My husband and I laughed, watched a little of Cold Case and didn't end up completing our 1 hour allotted t.v. time. Sorry it was a Cold Case...and I couldn't stop thinking that my t.v. had yelled at me in an abondoned tone.

Speaking of my husband, aka, "the boy" or "Mr. Vanilla" took one quick look at my blog (mind you from the floor behind me as I was typing) and read the name of it aloud in a tone that was not very approving. Immediately I leaped to defend my strange ways of thinking- that seemed obvious to me at the time, but then realized maybe "people won't get it." The romance (or all the time) that once was with my t.v. is now being channeled to my artistic endeavors. The t.v. has been put on mute for awhile...but I still like the noise or sounds of music, so tonight's inspirations were the sounds of Jess Klein, Bob Dylan and Radiohead. It was a fine cocktail!

Hopefully the rest of you aren't so quick to judge "what is in a name!"

*The 100 Wishes Quilt or Bai Jia Bei is a tradition from the northern part of China that celebrates the birth of a child. It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric.

So far so good...

So far I am coping with the lack of t.v. Although last night, after a long day, I was tempted to come home and flop on the couch.... and, well, you know! But I didn't. The boy and I went out for some eats and beers. Then our Frenchy neighbor opened a Primiere Cru bottle of wine from the Beaume region (Wow!) and the rest of the evening was spent, sitting by her outdoor "fire pit" *Grin*

I've been toying with the idea of entering a contest from a Quilting zine. The challenge is, "What's in a Name?" You get to pick which title inspires you and then it's open creative season from there (other than the size). I was playing around with the title, "A Leap of Faith", so of course today I received an email: "The Fool, a leap of faith" from a fun tarot site I recently checked out. Hmmm...maybe it REALLY is a SIGN?

My right and left brains have already battled "The Creative Knock-Out Roy ale" over the idea of actually entering a national- no wait- a worldwide contest!

Insert contrasting voices-
L: "You can't even think of a good image, let alone execute a beautiful art quilt!" R: "Now wait a minute, I think I have a shot at this; give me some time to doodle over this and brainstorm only on my side!" L: "Give it up now! You don't have time for this stupid contest!" R: "But, but...I have until March 1st"

To be Continued...

the bad break up

Ok, i'm gonna do it; i decided at approximately 8:55, five minutes before the 9 o'clock slot, that I was ending my dependant relationship with my t.v. well at least for this month and we'll reassess the status of our relationship in one month's time.

i had to come to terms that it was taking up way too much of my life, my creativity, and energy. i was never a "t.v. person" or the type to discuss what happened on ER or Survivor last night. (nothing against those shows, but i had a life that was entertaining and keep me busy). after moving, things have changed; it's quiet and i have found the t.v. to be my dinner companion, as well as the one to tuck me "in" many nights.

it's not so much about t.v., per say, as it is about being creative again- while the t.v. provides voices in a quiet house, i think all the noise has been clouding my ideas. even when i drag the sewing machine into the living room things are not from that authentic space. how's that for an art therapist throwback statement? we hush so many joyful sounds and catch ourselves too often mesmerized by commercials and reality t.v. ( oh yeah)! don't get me wrong, i will be lamenting tonight's new top chef in a few minutes. but i would like to see what can be done in the next month if i listen to the hum of my loyal sewing machine, maybe with a little deb talan in the background? the something burning will be my machine, tearing down the quilt ditches!

it is not a perfect relationship, but at least it is giving. my sewing machine loves me, she loves me not, as i stop to re-thread my needle again. my anxiety about going to sleep without my other lover, the t.v. increases... goodnight