I Drink I Will Have a Think and Iron Some

Now this is not really what I would call 'top shelf' vodka. Actually, it is pretty cheap...and let me tell you why it is on the top shelf in my sewing room, and not empty on the floor under my sewing chair. First of all, when it comes to vodka, I have acquired a taste for more distinguished brands. I am perfectly fine lowering my snobby standards; however, if the lower quality alternative is mixed into a Mexican Martini. Secondly, my 'good' bottles are not the size of Napoleon. What I use the vodka for is to mix into my spray bottles with distilled water (and lavender if you so choose). This is a much cheaper alternative to those expensive brand-name linen sprays that you keep around your iron when pressing all of your lovely blocks. Vodka is usually made with potatoes, wheat, rye or similar grains. It has a light starch to it for this reason. Vodka is also colorless, and odorless for the most part, so it is the perfect thing to use on your laundry, linens, or fabric when you are looking for a nice, light crisp feel to it. As always, I highly recommend testing it in an inconspicuous area before spraying away. (CYA) I have never had a problem with any of my fabrics bleeding when using this spray. Or maybe I just can't see the fabric any more after a few blocks. Two sprays for me, one for the churn dash, Two for me one for the durn chash. For those who want to throw Carrie Nation back into the closet where she belongs...here is the chemical solution:

Monica's Linen Spray and Quilt Room Refreshment

• 2 Cups distilled water
• 1/4 Cup Vodka
• 10 drops of lavender essences (optional, and whatever scent you like)
  

Carol is worth every stitch

I have posted before about this quilt top. It was initally supposed to be a round robin quilt top, but the sweet gal who got this top back at the end of the rounds got the short end of the deal. Her top only had the center, the sawtooth border and the applique border, with the 'plaid' border being incomplete. Carol is an excellent piecer. When I look at her work, I just can't believe that it was made by human hands and not a robotic machine. The back of her work could just as well be the front because of how perfect her seams lay. They are trimmed of any flyaway threads and the dang blocks actually measure a square shape. I love knowing people like her because it makes me strive to make my blocks better. With all of this being said, it was sad to see her quilt had been returned to her in the state that it was in; especially after she had put so much work into everyone else's borders. When I saw her at my last retreat, I wanted to just cry when I saw it. I was disgusted with it. I asked Carol if she would let me fix the plaid border and add an extra one. I told her that I was not sure how long it would take me but I would work on it as quickly as possible. She was happy to let me take it. The only way I could fix the plaid border was to take each little piece of fabric apart, pick off all of the little threads, press them, cut them to the correct size, resew them together, then reassemble the blocks. I designed the final border to compliment the prior borders and center, keeping in mind that she may want to add extra borders past mine. I hope that all of her patience with me is worth it in the end, because it was definately worth it for me to do it, knowing that she will finally get the quilt that she very much deserves.

M.I.A.

I see that I haven't been blogging since December...I have been knocked into a social coma for a few weeks. It has been so long that when I ventured out to get groceries the other day, my neighbors stopped me and introduced me to the neighborhood, again. I really like disappearing every once in awhile. It gives me a break from the 'rules of etiquette'(not that I ever read that book). Also, when I am able to climb in a hole, I get to work on projects that need to be finished. Playgroups for Connor, ladies night out, and other social gatherings go on hold too. Every now and then one of these groups will drop-in on me to see if I am O.K. and I will just tell them that 'The U.F.O.'s are attacking me!'...and they usually quickly disperse and leave me alone for a long while. It also helps if when you are walking out to your mailbox everyday, you mutter to yourself (out loud) your 'quilts of the undone' list. Shoot, go ahead and wear your bunny slippers, too. Midway through my leave of absence, a dear friend of mine named Delona, called me to ask if I wanted to go on a quilting retreat with her to the Compass Centre this weekend. I really don't know how I was able to pull it off, but here I am, quilting with a bunch of sleep-deprived, coffee-and-chocolate filled, crazy ladies. I will be blogging again in a few hours with pictures of the festivities. It will give me a chance to re-touch the photos to make us look like Stepford Housewives instead of Twisted Sisters.

Go Have a Mug of Chocolate Cake

Oh, my God in heaven. I am forever thankful to Granny G for posting her 'Chocolate Cake in a Mug recipe' on her web site. I am sitting here enjoying a gooey, hot, melty, chocolate cake out of a mug. It was made in 3 minutes. Go get the recipe here: www.grannieg.com, and then run to your pantry right now! It is an emergency. No measuring cups needed, just a 1 Tbsp. Run, I tell you, Run. I would have taken a picture of mine and posted it, but the drool broke my camera.

The Calm After the Storm

Here are the 'after' pictures of Chris' office. If I had more money, I would do the dining room next. Thank God I don't have any more money.

I didn't have enough funds to get him a new desk so I had to 'recreate' his current one. Since I wanted to place his desk in the middle of the room, and it was (is) an open front desk, I built a wooden 'skirt' to go around the two sides and back so that you dont see all of the ugly cords. To bring the cords to the desk, I bought a large area rug. I ran the cords between the area rug and the carpeting. I cut a 4 inch diameter circle out of the rug under the desk to bring the cords up. If the rug is ever to be used for another purpose in the future, the circle that I cut out of the rug can simply be duct-taped back into place from the back side.

I wanted to hang a big picture on this wall. I found a perfect one of Paris, France for 60 dollars. (we spent a few weeks there on our honeymoon, so it is sentimental as well as the black and white scheme that I was trying to follow)Chris likes to enjoy an occasional adult beverage in the evening. He used to keep this stuff in my kitchen pantry and cart it into his office. I figured, why not just make a spot for it in his office since it is locked anyway. I found the drink tray at Hobby Lobby. (Thanksgiving, half-price). It had a painted pumpkin design that needed to be covered so I cut a waterproof place mat to the exact size and placed it in the bottom of the tray. The dresser had to be built, but it was a cinch. The floating shelf was a snap also. I will eventually put a couple of small lights under the shelf that light the dresser.These shelves had to be built also. In addition to the four shelf units, I assembled two height extensions, added four doors, and four drawers. I still had room on this wall to hang his patent and college diploma. A floor plant will go by the window in the back corner.

Really, these curtains on his doors are only pinned up for now. I wasn't sure if he was going to like them so I didn't finish them until I got the "O.K." this step should only take a few minutes. The pictures above the doors are regular photos that I had made into black and white, then blown up to a 11x14 inch size. Ritz was able to print them in a matter of hours. I found the 16x20 inch frames with mats included at Michaels for 13 dollars each. The first night of my project I cleaned out his office and painted. The blue dot on the wall that you see is actually a piece of blue painters tape. I always go back and look over the walls when I am finished painting. If there is an area that needs touch-up, I place a little piece of blue tape there so that I don't forget where to go. Luckily, this is the only little spot that needs attention.

I screwed knobs into the wall; four on each side of each window so that I could hang decorative curtains without spending money on two rods. These shutter blinds swing open, so hanging functional curtains would have been more expensive and stupid.

I hope that I didn't bore you all to death with my project...but I figured someone may get some ideas from it. Now on to my quilting room!

The Calm Before the Storm

Here are a few "before" pictures of my husbands office. I will post the "after" pictures on the next post.

The Race of 50 Million

Does anyone else out there feel like they are constantly running towards a finish line, only to have the race coordinator tell you that you actually have a whole lot farther to go? I feel like I am in this race every day. There are fifty million other runners lapping me while I am going at life with a constant stitch in my side. Why is it that I can't reach my (not too far set) goals?Laundry is never "done". I mean it could be, but the whole house would have to go up in flames for me to see that. Dishes are not too much trouble, but I like to not have anything icky or sticky to look at in the morning so I try to tackle those as often as possible. The fridge has leftovers in it from the Clinton administration and my desk still is not cleared off...but duct tape is holding it all up like a charm! Making my bed in the morning is the only big sense of accomplishment that I normally have in a day. (I should take pictures since I really am proud of that one.) I have figured out that I love to plan and start things. A lot of things. I like to finish them too, but not as much as I like to start them. In quilting, my bindings are few and far between, but at least I set realistic goals with quilting. Maybe I should wash all of my socks today and call it quits on laundry; then wash only the forks for dishes. Hey, in a week I could have half of it done! More time for quilting. One of the most lofty goals that I have set recently is re-doing my husbands office. I decided to wait to do this job until he went out of town for a weekend (apparently, that is like...two days) so that he would be surprised when he came home. Well, long story short...I did it. I cannot believe I did it! There were a few minor loose ends that didn't get done in time; but for the most part it is done. I think that making this outrageous goal, then reaching it was exactly what I needed to start getting my second wind to sprint towards the finish line on my other goals. Before I know it, even my vacuum cleaner will come out of hiding. Kidding, Kidding. Let's not get too crazy.