On the Go.

On Sunday, we were on our way to a birthday party and my dress was driving me crazy!  So I threw in a quick stitch to keep the neckline the way I wanted it.  I figured that was a better option than my guy's offer to staple it.  Although that did result in a laughing fit and a new business proposal, Easy Squeeze Alternations- The quickest alterations in town.  You wear 'em, while we repair 'em!  (You heard it here first, folks.)

 I managed to hide a tiny little stitch in a black part of the pattern and I was good to go.  So, yep, this is how I do it.  Altering my clothes while I wear them.  I'm not sure if I would say this is always a good idea, but it worked out this time.

Anyone else do weird stuff like this?

Quotable

Guess I should have made this a "Words on Wednesday" post, but you guys have waited long enough for me.

As promised, this is the quote I'm stitching techni-color dream style for my shop.  I laugh pretty much every time I think of it.

The lighting is a bit off since it's late here.  So, in case you can't read it well it says, "It's hard to stay sucker free in the land of the lollipops."  My guy and I were watching a prison documentary, one of those terrible "behind bars" type reality shows on MSNBC or Discovery when I heard this.  (And this is why I watch TV with my notebook.)  The interviewer asked an old pimp how he ended up in prison and that was his response.  I couldn't help but think it was hilarious and terrible, all at the same time.  Pretty much classic.

Yeah, I guess I'm pretty ridiculous for stitching the wisdom of a crazy ol' pimp, but seriously.... I love this quote.

Caturday!

It never fails.  When you are trying to get something done around here, a cute little kitty will come along and distract you.  Or in this case, jump into the laundry you're trying to take care of.

 

Or two may come along.  Either way, their cuteness is getting in the way of progress.

Sorry about the Instagram photos guys, I couldn't resist the convenience factor.  I can smell a pizza in the oven and it's calling my name.  Oh, I'm Mafiosagrrl on Instagram.... like that's a surprise, just call me "Captain Obvious!"  Are you on there too?  Lemme know!

Words on Wednesday

Have I ever mentioned how amazing Scrabble Cheez Its are?!  I love them.

This should totally be my new blog header!

Are you for or against playing with your food?

Snapshot Friday!

There's something wrong.  Maybe I'm in some sort of alternate universe or I'm coming down with an illness.  I'm not myself today.

This evening I left a craft store empty-handed....on payday!  And I also picked this beverage on our trip to the grocery store.  I don't know what's going on, but I'm not sure that I like it.  I'm going to have a shot of whiskey and watch some violent mobster or zombie movies in the hopes of finding the old me.  I stitched all afternoon so my wrist is killing me, time for a break.  Nighty-nite, folks!  See you tomorrow for Caturday!  Meow!

Snotty.

Howdy, folks!  What have you been up to this past week?  I've been a stitching fool, but that's not really out of the ordinary for me.  All current projects are put on hold pending the completion of a super secret wall hanging I'm working on.  Nothing like deadlines to motivate, right?  Sneaky peek later tonight. 

Oh, speaking of motivation.  There's nothing like being called fat by two different people, on two different occasions in one week to motivate you to get back in shape.  No?  Oh, I'm sure that's what they thought they were doing when they said such random things.  And I should mention they were two complete strangers!  I wouldn't mind so much if it was someone I knew,  I mean, it's sort of true. But geez, a stranger?  Jerkfaces.

Anyway, it got me to thinking, I haven't always been fat.  Well, I was really skinny and then really fat, then skinny again.  You can see where this is going, think Oprah. So out came the photos.  It was either that or a snack to make myself feel better.  And since my pity party was started after being called a fatty, I just thought the irony of that would have been too much.

I saw this one and thought, hey- that looks really familiar.  Which led to more photo searching.  Apparently, I've been perfecting this look for many years.

So, while I haven't always been big, I've always been snotty.  This proves it.  I found this coincidence to be hilarious.  Laughing, I quickly gave up on being upset about what totally rude strangers think about me.  Eff 'em.  Right, Dude?  I'm smiling now just thinking about the whole ridiculous situation.  I'd rather be a jolly fat person than a skinny (insert pejorative term here)  However, that being said, I do reserve the right to express my snotty side occasionally...preferably for photographs.  Thank you and good day, sir.

Snapshot Friday!

Hi, guys!  How are things out there?  Anyone melting from the heat?  Here in CA it's been pretty ridiculous lately.  I'm not a heat person.  Oh well, got to take the good with the bad, right?  

So I spent a bunch of time last night writing a Words on Wednesday! post before I realized it was Thursday.  Uh, yeah, that should be an indication of how my week has been going so far...crappy.  Now that I know what day of the week it is, I figured I'd start up Snapshot Friday! again, remember that oldie but goodie?  Today is Friday, right?!  Phew.  I know it used to be all vintage shots, but I'm throwing off the restraints and mixing it up from now on.

Therefore, I give you this shot of a pickle!  Why?  Because I freakin' love them.  Especially Nathan's.....YUM!  What's your favorite snack?

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any pickles right now, but that's ok because I have Jeopardy.  I'm off to relax after work.  Hope that you've enjoyed the resurrection of Snapshot Friday!  See you soon.  Have a craftastic weekend, I'll be back tomorrow with Caturday...meow.

PSA

Hey there, folks!  Today's Public Service Announcement is brought to you by the letter, S!  S stands for Sunblock.  Remember to use it if you are roughly the color of paper.  Trust me when I say, it's a lovely shade of red.  This photo really doesn't do it justice.

Other than sitting around being burnt, I'll be stitching.  I have today off and will be taking full advantage of it.  It's my last before 7 work days in a row and I'm tired just thinking about it.  I don't have much desire to move at all today.  If you need me, you can find me here. 

I made those pillows with the fabric I got when I was duped by Ikea, remember?  I realized I had never shown them to you.  They were super easy and quick to make, thanks to my honey.  I had some complicated design in mind that was intimidating me quite a bit.  There were multiple pieces of fabric, all different sizes....zippers, I was out of my league.   Then the guy spoke up and offered up an easy solution, what would I do without him?!

One piece construction and the pillows slip right in.  I think it took longer to iron the edges than it did to sew these babies up.  

I adore this fabric!  The only problem is, I can't decide which little section I like better.  The goats or the mountain man?  I have a few swatches left and I can't wait to turn them into little stitchy pieces.

Well, I'm off to the couch, with embroidery supplies in hand.  The guy finally saw the light about Netflix- Hello, streaming SVU! Aww yeah.  Nerding out for the rest of the afternoon, bye!

Caturday Cinema!

Hey, guys!  How are you on this fine Caturday?  I'm great, enjoying a little family time before work this evening.  

Today I have something a little different for you...it's a video!  Of my crazy cats!  It's my first video post, too.  How exciting.  It was taken quite a while back, March 2010 in fact, but it's too funny not to share.  The quality is not the best but now we have some kick-ass cameras and amazing future phones, so I have a feeling better movies will follow in the future.

I do have a disclaimer though, I sound like a creeper in this.  Totally sick at the time, I'm breathing like a crank caller from a bad horror film.  Enjoy!

 

 

So, yeah, these are my little crazies.  Doing what they do best, trying to one-up each other for the more interesting spot to sit.  That is, until someplace better comes along 5 minutes later and the game starts all over again.

Have a great weekend!  I'll check in again very soon...sooner that you might think.  Happy crafting!

Couldn't Resist.

How could I pass this up?  $2 in the remnants bin!  Yes, come to Mama little fabric, I'll give you a forever home.

I did feel a bit guilty though.  As I got out of the car I had said, "I swear, I'll be quick....I won't even get any fabric!"  However, I justified it as it was already cut and priced....and even cheaper than a fat quarter for 1.5 yds.  My guy didn't mind though...it's beer, how could he?  In fact, I think he mentioned something about making something for him.  Guess he likes the craft store sometimes after all!

Any suggestions for me?  I need ideas!  

Words on Wednesday!

I used to do a lot of weekly posts, so I'm going to try to get back into that habit.  That being said, I'm going to do "Words on Wednesday."  As most of you know, I'm a quote freak, so it seems more appropriate than the usual "Wordless Wednesday" don't you think?  I used to do, "Words to Live By!" but now I don't know which sounds better.  What do you think?

Getting back into the swing of it, this first one is dedicated to Magpienight, we both have a tremendous amount of love for Golden Girls and Betty White.  I saw this return address and immediately thought of Rose Nylund.  If you're a fan, you'll know why.

 

Doesn't it seem like a street in St. Olaf?! Or at least the last name of one of it's inhabitants?

Anyhow, it's the little things like this that amuse me.  I hope you get a kick out of it, too!  See you soon, hope you have a craftastic time until then.

Full of It!

Last weekend I was lamenting the fact that I had a "new-to-me" vase, it was nice out, and we couldn't spruce the place up with some fresh flowers. My guy said he would take care of it in no time at all. I huffed and puffed and quickly gave up, given our budget.

A few minutes later, I saw this... A full vase.  Full of good intentions, that is.

Well, I can pretty much admit that my heart melted.  Yeah, they aren't the prettiest and to most people they are weeds.  But, to me, they are the flowers that turn into wishes.  And you know what?!  They brightened my kitchen for a whole week.  Yellow, full, and going strong the whole time.  I finally tossed them out today because they weren't as bright as they started off and didn't open so wide anymore.

It reminded me that it's not what you have, but who you have it with.  I'm sure we all know this, but sometimes we need something bright and in your face to remind us.  Thanks, Cakes, for always showing me what's important.

I admit, I have tunnel vision sometimes.  I look right past the real stuff, nit-picking silly things.  So I savor the moments that make me stay grounded.  What do you do to help keep things in perspective?  I'd love to know how you guys get it all together.

Ton's of new stuff coming at ya, see you again tomorrow.  Hope you have craftastic weekend!  Talk to you soon :)

Am I the Only One?

I can't be the only person that does this.  After a long stitching session, when I finally take a break, I paint my nails.  Not really sure why.  Perhaps it's that I've spent the last few hours having to look at my hands constantly.  Or maybe I just have to be doing something.  It's hard for me to take a break and do absolutely nothing.

I think part of it is, I'm forced to set down my project while they dry.  Otherwise I would sit there, examining it and wanting to fix every little thing about it that bothered me.  Stitching and stitching until it was finished or until my arm fell off.  So, whatcha think, do I seem wacky enough for you?!  Just keeping it real.

Caturday!

Whoops, had planned to schedule this for Saturday, but apparently, uh, didn't.  Some day I'll get my act together.  Someday.

This is how Boris likes to eat his food.  Hence, the plastic deli container.  Many a cute ceramic dish and plate have been chipped due to his constant battery.  In the morning or when they're empty, he flicks at them over and over again, to make a ton of noise & show us where the food goes.  Sometimes he completely flips them over and pushes them all the way into the bedroom.  You know, just in case we didn't realize it's time to get up for the day. 

Then as soon as you pick it up, off he runs to where we keep the food.  Meowing, saying "Follow Me!!!" the whole time.  It's pretty funny how obviously demanding he is.

As cute and quirky as it is, there are downfalls to this way of eating.  The other kitties have to deal with these ugly bowls until we build a rack to hold all three bowls.  Because, of course, Boris can't claim one bowl for himself.  He prefers to sample from all three.  Therefore, all are subjected to the flick, flip, and dump method of eating.  

Also, the dog has been scolded so many times for sneaking kitty food that he sticks to stuff on the floor....well, for the most part.  So, anything that Boris leaves behind is fair game.  And that's a lot, because rather than chow down, he'd rather flip it over and have two bites.  

Silly kitties, I'll never understand 'em!!  Do your kitties have strange eating habits?

A Silly Set of Stitches.

After working on so many time consuming, on-going projects lately, I needed a break from that type of stuff.  I wanted some quick little projects that I could make just for fun.  Nothing too precious, nothing too big... you get the idea.  Not sure what I'm going to do with them but I guess I'll deal with that later.  Besides mounting them on boards, I'm stumped.

A little tribute to the one and only, Leslie Hall.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I freaking love that woman.  For some strange reason, I can't get her song Craft Talk out of my head lately.  Singing it constantly has even lead to Dillon occasionally mumbling, "You can build it however you want."  Poor guy.

The second was inspired by an online conversation about the ability to offend people by simply being who you are.  It basically means that your awesome level is set too high.  ("Awesome Level" being the phrase used by Maggie.  Isn't it great?!)  I realized that my level is set pretty high, and occasionally it goes even higher.  To the "Kill" level.  Not often, but it does happen.

I used a freebie pattern from Urban Threads for the dial and Sublime Stitching's Glow-in-the-dark thread for the numbers.

I'm using this Light Effects Floss in everything lately!  These last projects went a little haywire though, see how the metallic floss bunched up like crazy?  Well, I can't smooth it out for the life of me.  Not even with an iron!  Any ideas?  It's going to drive me nuts if I can't fix it.
 
Thanks for looking!  Have a craftastic day.