what a way to start the day!

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Yes, yes, and YES!

throwback

It's Busy Season once more at the book warehouse which can only mean one thing. Actually it means a few things. But mainly it means longer working hours and higher intensity work days. It also means I'm spending more time with my MP3 player than I have for quite some time.

I'm not the most technically savvy person, which was proven today when I figured out how to create a play-list right on my iPod! I started bragging to some friends about my discovery, but apparently they've known how to do it since like 2004. Which is ironic really, because 2004 is just about the time I was listening to the song I would like to share with the world today. Over the Rhine was a band that largely influenced my college experience serving as a soundtrack to some very formative years. I added this song to my play-list today and reminisced for a while.

It just so happens that the lyrics themselves are just beautiful, so I will leave you with that:

Born
Over the Rhine (Drunkard's Prayer)

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I'm gonna learn to love without fear

Pour me a glass of wine
Talk deep into the night
Who knows what we'll find

Intuition, deja vu
The Holy Ghost haunting you
Whatever you got
I don't mind

Put your elbows on the table
I'll listen long as I am able
There's nowhere I'd rather be

Secret fears, the supernatural
Thank God for this new laughter
Thank God the joke's on me

We've seen the landfill rainbow
We've seen the junkyard of love
Baby it's no place for you and me

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I'm gonna learn to love without fear

all shall be well

"…All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well" Julian of Norwich

I have officially decided to consult a professional regarding my dress alterations. Ideally I'll be able to ask a slew of questions and learn a thing or two (in turn avoiding hacking apart my little black dress). So I am scheduled to meet with a local seamstress/tailor tomorrow morning, and I'm feeling a bit of a sense of relief.

Throughout this journey we call life many of my loved ones have chided me for my anxious and worrying personality. If someone is upset with me I can obsess over it and analyze it for ages. During significant life changes or decisions I'm effectively rendered useless for normal conversation or everyday routines. Even this dress-making/sewing process (which I love and it invigorates me!) left me feeling drained and unable to focus at various points this week. Sometimes fear or worry can paralyze me it seems, and honestly this is not the constant state of emotion I'd like to have in my life. I'm earnestly trying to discern real situations from the made-up hypotheticals in my head. And also trying to let go of things I a) cannot control or b) do not need to control. As my dear friends like to say "life is life", "tranquilla", "pura vida".

I'm looking forward to a slow-ish weekend and some time to step back and breathe. Perhaps these wonderful songs will also usher you into a calm and relaxed weekend:

a nice cover of a nice song:

suggested by Kat:

sent by Kristen ages ago:

love:

Me and You and You and Me

"Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help." Alex Haley














I consider this colorful and somewhat haphazard quilt an ode to friendship. Symbolically speaking, all of this fabric was either given to me from good friends, or left over from past gifts for friends. In that spirit it has been named "Me and You and You and Me", from the Turtles' song "Happy Together" (also notice the sweet correlation between the name of the band and the main characters of this particular quilt)!

"Me and You and You and Me" has three characteristics that make it unique compared to my other projects: 1) It's much larger than any of the rest of my quilts (which have been designed with babies in mind). At 56" x 56" this one could certainly be used as bedding for a toddler or child, and could even keep an adult warm on a chilly winter's eve. Heck, you could even use the thing as a picnic blanket! 2) Rather than sewing the pieces together in strips I decided to iron 1/4" under on each side of the squares, and then layer the squares on top of one another, sewing around the edges of each. For this method I used an old table cloth as a base/stabilizer and sewed the entire quilt top to it. In the end it is a heavier quilt that lays very nicely (again, perfect for a cozy winter night). 3) To attach the layers together I decided to use my free-moving quilting foot and sew various sized circles (as opposed to the straight lines I generally use). I'm not a superb drawer, so I took a cup, a bowl and a plate, traced their edges with a chalk pencil, and followed the lines with my machine. I love how these big quilted circles resonate with the various circles and dots represented by the other fabrics used.

I characterize this project as a somewhat-moderately-crazy-quilt. It was a fun and experimental way to reuse some materials, and it will be quite effective as a sturdy and warm blanket. Also, the turtles are just plain adorable.