Quilt!

My latest BIG project is a queen-sized quilt for my bed. This picture doesn't really do the fabric justice--it's a mixture of peachy pinks, aquas, and cheerful purples. A tad little girl-y, but that's just how I roll. The quilt pattern is the "Ollalieberry Ice Cream Quilt Pattern", by Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy. Buying the PDF was definitely worth it--the instructions are clear and easy to follow, even for a novice quilter like me.

Sewing the quilt top together was easy-peasy, since I'm fairly experienced at garment sewing. The actual quilting, however, is another story. I've been struggling a bit to keep all the layers of the "quilt sandwich" aligned and smooth. I'm just hoping there aren't toooo many visible mistakes when I'm done! I find that putting on the local 50s & 60s oldies station helps a lot with the quilting process.

Winter Hibernation

I've had kind of a hard time getting back on my feet after the holidays this year. This isn't so much because of post-holiday letdown--I'm not a huge "Christmas" person--so much as it's just a result of the fact that I'm sort of unmoored right now. I'm floating between jobs and obligations, and have been mostly taking advantage of my copious amount of free time by reading and sleeping and baking pies.

Christmas this year was defined by a surprise blizzard on Christmas eve which left me and my family stranded at home when we should have been driving to visit family in St. Louis. We finally got there, though, after a looooong and snowy drive across Missouri. Christmas was quiet this year, if a little rushed by weird weather and such.

Now I'm trying to throw myself back into the day to day. For me 2010 has had a slow beginning. I'm going to try to hold myself accountable more, though. I might start posting book reviews to this blog, or (gasp) spending a little more time and thought on my posts. I have many New Year's resolutions, but right now the one I want to focus on the most is living more intentionally, and taking more pleasure in the quiet moments in my life.

Little Things

Just a couple of things making me happy right now:

Weather warm enough for Chacos and a sundress, even when all the leaves have fallen:

And a kitty asleep on my bed on a lazy Sunday morning.

Red Red Red

Today I went for a hike on the grounds adjacent to the Gilcrease Museum. It's still warm here, but all the leaves are off the trees, making for a dismal backdrop to the unseasonably gorgeous weather. There were hints of color once I started looking, though.

Halloween Weekend

Autumn has been treating us well, with mild temperatures and the best fall color anyone can remember.

Fall means: layering
Chrysanthemums
Halloween!

Crazy Lady Alert

Sometimes, you just need to put pictures of your dog on the internet. This is not my dog, however. This is my friend J's INCREDIBLY CUTE new great dane puppy, named Macey:

She came over and had a playdate with my dog, Lucy (a year-and-a-half year old cocker spaniel mix):

There was a little hesitation at first, but they got along famously! And once Macey is done with puppy kindergarten, maybe Lucy will join her at some much-needed training classes.

Tulsa State Fair: The good, the bad, the bizarre

Way back at the beginning of October, I made my annual pilgrimage to the Tulsa State Fair. (Why a state fair if it's just for one city? Only one among the many unsolved mysteries of the fair.) Anyway, by far my favorite thing about the fair (besides fried cheese on a stick) is the crafts. I saw some amazing quilts:

I'm still not quite over this quilt, which featured embroidered presidents of all the presidents (minus the current one):
Mysterious antique cameras--what were they winning awards for?

True story: I once made a hooked cat pillow very similar to this. Unfortunately I gave it to my friend Meggie for her birthday. If only I still had it!
And then, there was what can only be described as the sublimely bizarre.