croque-choux

ATC japonais

After seeing Memoirs of a Geisha the other night, I had to dig into my stash of Japanese fabrics and make something quick. I came up with this little ATC. The last asian inspired ATC I did actually made it into Quilting Arts magazine a year and a half ago, much to my surprise! I am such a dimwit though that I didn't even take a photo of my card before mailing it off to them. But that's okay because I got this pink Artist's Trading Card in exchange. Remember that challenge Quilting Arts did? "Send us an ATC and you'll get one back from us"- damn, they must've gotten bombarded with ATCs! The one I got is signed Deb Young- Oct. 2004, and has a cute vintage photo on it.

Things I love on the www.

krazy dad.
Flickr color picker & more.

isketch.
I finally have people to play Pictionary with!

odeo.
share your voice - send an Odeo!

zefrank.
a one man amusement park :o)

Bembo's zoo.
...font animals? yes.

beaded dragonfly

...made to keep my hands busy yesterday and because I didn't feel like tackling anything bigger just now. I think this bug wasn't feeling my energy either 'cause it really needs a better wing job! Maybe I can still fix it. The other dragonflies I made came out better, but I like this one's colors.

Socks (other people's)

Since we're still kinda sorta on the subject of socks, here's a photo I took around Christmas time.
The Printemps department store in Paris had an animated window of sock people watching television (complete with faux snacks). Cute :o)

it's Spring, so use your Noggin

Happy SPRING! It's a new season, so I wanted to try something new today- new for me anyway :o) I was trying not to think about it too much and just jump in and do it, but it's funny how my mind kept trying to throw me a monkey wrench the whole time I was sewing this. First I was wondering why I was actually cutting up one of my husband's socks to make this creature, then my mind kept telling me that it wouldn't come out right and that I should scrap the project before inevitable disappointment ensued. Then I started to worry that my son wouldn't like it because it didn't look exactly like his drawing. That's where the whole idea started: I wanted to make Miles a doll from one of his drawings. He draws lots of quirky people, robots, animals, etc. so I wanted to surprise him with one of his own creations. Few things are more amazing than the mind of a 7 year old boy! (His mind usually throws him monkey wrenches at school, sigh...) Anyway, I finished sewing this as fast as I could, before the sensible part of my brain caught up with the rest of me. The reward was huge: Miles LOVES his sock creature! He named him Noggin (probably because he's been playing around on here lately). So, this project was good for both of us: self esteem because I finished it (bwahaha!) and because Miles knows that Mommy thought his design was that good, so now we both feel creative :o) Last I saw Noggin, Miles was showing him around the place (yes, my son talks to sock people- doesn't everyone?), and then he tucked him in his bed next to his favorite monkey. I still have a sock left, and Miles has lots of ideas... if we can keep the monkey wrenches at bay something may come of it!

Quilty wayback machine

Wasn't sure what to write about today, so here goes the wayback machine: vroom! 1994... 95? Here's a miniature quilt I made that got it's start at the end of 1994 I think. Not sure, but anyway I know that I was finishing up little 3 inch blocks at the very beginning of 1995. Hey, this was my very 1st internet quilt swap by the way! I didn't have my own e-mail address back then and there was no Flickr to share pictures with either, but I somehow swapped 3" mini paper pieced quilt blocks with a bunch of other ladies. The theme of the swap was purple and green- very 90's I know :o) I remember that my faithful Husqvarna (Viking) sewing machine died on me in the midst of the swap, and that I ended up sewing 3" mini appliqué blocks. Gosh they were tiny! I wish I could see some of them now. One block I made was a tiny appliqué castle. I really would have liked to keep that one. Anyway, I got lots of great little paper pieced blocks back in echange, except for the boat on the lower left which is mine (made to make an even number and finish the quilt). I put the quilt top together, and then this little thing sat in my UFO box for years. I finally finished it in 2002 for my daughter, as you can see by the label I made. This quilt made me think of my mother, whose nickname was "Bee", hence the name of the quilt. This was the 2nd and last miniature quilt I made. After that, I was on to something else, and no longer subscribing to Miniature Quilts magazine. I really need to get a grip on my UFOs though... too many unfinished projects are haunting me and too many new ones are begging for attention.

Current mood: Green

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I for one am feeling green- green around the gills that is. Touch of the flu? Sinusitis? Another migraine? Who knows what this is and who cares. I feel like orc shit.
So I'll send you off somewhere else... like here or here to my Flickr page which I update whenever I think about it...

Or how about this cute idea for Saint Patrick's day- make this adorable little crochet trinket box from Irish linen thread (you can use cotton I'm sure, don't worry). You can download the pdf pattern for this from the Japanese CLOVER website, where they also have other free patterns you might like. The catch is that the patterns are in Japanese, but you're such a crafty bunch that I know you'll figure them out ;o) Okay, now off you go. Merci croque-choux!

Crochet house photo courtesy of CLOVER.

Not posting

Just made up for several days of not posting anything by adding some links and a few thoughts about putting things off :o)  Oh, and you're right Michele, I did have another migraine. And the kids were sick. And the weather sucked. Which is why I missed going to this craft show near Paris. I had even pre-registered for a conference given by Kaffe Fassett, the master of color himself, and I blew it! Duh, it's not like there's a craft, quilt, or needlework show every day around here. Far from it. Looks like I'll have to pacify myself with a random craft purchase and the latest issue of Quilting Arts...

PS/ March 14th: Apparently the other day I didn't miss out as much as I thought, and the weather wasn't the only thing that sucked- Ay ay aye! Sorry this is in French, but the general opinion seems to be that the conference was awful... I can imagine the headlines had things gone any worse: "Crowd of furious and disappointed French women lynch Mr. Fassett". Sounds like it was a blessing in disguise that I didn't go!

Late night links

ISBN 1851774408

pretty! eye candy

very vintage: sewing machine designs

are you into crochet?

I love pixelgirl presents.

Depends on how you look at it...

"Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday." - Napoleon Hill

“Procrastination gives you something to look forward to .” - Joan Konner

"Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." - Lord Chesterfield (1694 - 1773)

“It isn't procrastination if you put it off right away.”- Unknown

PS: Yes, I know this is in direct conflict with my previous post.