An evil alliance...

so, election drama aside today...and it was a lot of drama, no matter who you were rooting for...
I came home from work to an incredibly gross surprise.

The evil tuxedo kitty had taken the pill pockets (that i forgot to put upstairs) off the counter.
Her intention was to eat them.
The cocker spaniel intercepted her.

AND ATE THE PACKAGE.  WHICH WAS NEW.

What followed must have been like a scene from the Exorcist because he threw up:

on the cat scratch tower,
in the kitchen,
in the hallway,
on the living room rug....
and on the quilt and blanket on the bed upstairs.


He appears to be ok now.  He had to get bathed.  He'll have to have his teeth brushed tonight.

So..the quilt I thought I'd finish today didn't get finished.
Tomorrow will hopefully be picture laden...with blocks AND a quilt.

Yup, I said it.

Other random updates:
No knee surgery needed.  Just P.T.
Killed the car battery on Halloween.  Totally lucked out that it was just the 12v that died and that the hybrid battery was ok.  Downer, had to pay for a new one and my car still smells like stinky lemon pledge.
Also, I have eaten all the M&Ms I had hoarded and have regained 2 lbs as a result...I have to get back on track.

How are y'all doing this week?

Blogger's Quilt Festival...

So I'm making it a little under the wire.

I put off of posting my quilt because I actually had another quilt in mind, but I couldn't get it done in time.

Here's the one I picked.  I dug into my beloved stash of Parisville to make this one.  I really really love it.  Over the summer, I took Rachel's Handstitched class over at Stitched in Color.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an uber patient person.
I like things to be done...and hand quilting takes a lot of patience.  This was, in fact, the first (but not the last) quilt that combined both hand quilting and embroidery.  It wasn't fast, but I'm really happy with the results.




I did my first EPP and embroidery on a quilt:



Lots and lots of hand quilting with perle:



Even some applique!



I felt like I had a huge learning curve on this one....but I have major quilty love...and I hope, more patience?  Well, maybe not.  But I'd do it again....and this one is all mine.

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats

Finished quilt measures : 60″x 60″

Special techniques used : paper piecing, applique, hand quilting

Quilted by : me

Best Category : throw quilt, hand quilted quilt

Catching up on How Far Will You Go QAL...

Not much to post today.  I've not been sewing on the regular.
I think I'm fighting a cold and some general blues.
MRI tomorrow.
Just discovered a bird? has punched holes in the stucco on my house, which I'm going to have to deal with tomorrow as well.

I've been working a bit on my Travelin' Pics, but not enough to show anything here yet.

I tried to catch up on my do.good quilt, but I couldn't pin baste, so the top hasn't been assembled yet.  (This weekend even moving to layout the top wasn't going to happen.)

Instead, I tried to catch up on my QAL blocks.  I was, I think, 14 blocks behind.  I'm still a week behind, but almost there...


< /a>

The last block isn't the right size, so it's getting a green frame. (Stupid printer apparently likes to resize things.)

 Anywho...that's pretty much it. I'm hand sewing this week, just nothing I can show yet.

oh, and here's the bag I made for Mouthy Stitches:

Sewing Summit recap...

Okay.  Let me start with the fact that I'm still processing this, that I still have epic loads of swag, projects and purchases in bags and/or piles in my Sewing Room and various locations around the house.  (Ugh.  Which reminds me how much I need to clean....ignoring ignoring.)

Just as a quick knee update.  My MRI is slated for Wed.  Thank you, Allegory, for making my day brighter with coffee yesterday.

Okay (what is with me and saying ok today?), let me start off by saying I have never before been to Salt Lake City, UT.  It's a weird mix of flat and mountains.  Next time, I really want to explore more.  I, honestly, pretty much stuck to the hotel save for a meal or two and the mixer Friday night. My leg wasn't making me feel uber-explory and the time change wore me out more than I anticipated.

Words of advice to East Coasters that go/General Words of advice:
*BRING LOTS OF SNACKS.   I kept crapping out because I let my blood sugar get too low relative to when I normally eat, which reduced me to unfocused ADD/rambling idiot phase, rendering me useless in terms of absorbing some of the gems thrown at me.  (Hint:  Schedule the classes you REALLY need to pay attention for in the period right after breakfast or right after lunch.)
*Bring an extra suitcase.  Seriously, the quantity of swag was insane.  I had to check my carryon and was only able to drag everything back because of the Mood bag we were given, which I think I could fit our Cocker Spaniel and the cat into.
*Caffeinate.  I think I was quieter at times and less social than I could have been.  I ran the gamut from introvert to extrovert (more introvert when I am tired or feeling overwhelmed) and I didn't say hi to a few people I really wanted to because I was overwhelmed.  It's A LOT of people.  I kind of felt like a dork at times and bounced into wall flower mode....which meant I missed out on some cool hang out times.
*Get a roommate.  I didn't.  Which felt, at times, kind of lonely.  I forget that I live with someone and have animals, so I'm used to company.
*Let go of finishing things.  Most of the classes I was in weren't long enough to actually finish some of the projects.  Which resulted me in going all OCD and panicking/rushing.  Which generally meant I screwed stuff up.  I'm going to have to take apart the Ship Shape Tote and redo a handle.  I sliced a piece of fabric off a foundation paper piecing star segment...and didn't bring extra fabric.

Enough advice.

There were super cool folks there.  Some were people whose blogs I've followed or folks I'd emailed/chatted with before...and some of the people I had the best conversations with there were just random folks I met up with at the airport or sat down next to on the Shop Hop.  Unfortunately, because of my aforementioned geeky lameness, I don't have pictures of many of them...or many pictures period.
Here's what I have:



The shop hop had a cool Halloween village at the 2nd shop we stopped at:

Utah's flat, flat, then mountains was trippy:



Partial Swag just from checking in:



Some purchases:



Some (this is only some) of the stuff I won/was gifted:



Dinner with peeps (esp Lisaleh!):



Hanging out with Karen (capitolaquilter) and Nydia (the ADD-Crafter)
 

me (blinking) with Rachael of Imaginegnats:



Hanging out at the Mixer:



Joel Dewberry and Heather (Fiberosity):



Laura (quokkaquilts), Katy (thelittlestthistle), and me



More stuff that came out of my clown car like carryon bag:



An informal embroidery class from Rachael (I want a flat Rachael to carry with me around town).
That's not being a stalker, people, that's being a fangirl.



Evidence I cannot sew in a straight line when I am tired:



The shipshape tote I finished (but have to take apart to sew it correctly):



My frame purse, which I did finish in Kelly's class:



Yes, I will shake my ass for Anna Maria Horner.  Tula, too, if you have it.




That's it......I wish I had a photo of everyone I met, Karen's bag (which was gorgeous in a block she designed), other people's projects, Darcy (who shared a serger with me), the fireside chats, the setting....I don't think I'll be able to go next year (wedding bills, y'all), but I'm glad I got to go at least once...

I promise to try to return to my crafty, overachiever self once I get over my knee anxiety.

My Sewing Summit post postponed...

Today hasn't been a great day.
Some of y'all know since you've been picking me up online.

I went to the orthopedic for a sore knee.  It's been bothering me for a while, but I assumed it was a muscle issue.
Instead, I have to get an MRI because the doc thinks I may have torn the miniscis.  (not even sure how to spell it.)

That would mean likely surgery.  Which I really (still) don't want to have to deal with.
But, it is what it is.
I'll know after the MRI.

So, I'm sorry there aren't any pics and that I'm a tad of a Debbie Downer today.
Thanks to all y'all that sent me love when I needed it today.

Sewing Summit post coming when I can be in the mindset to enjoy it more.

Home from Sewing Summit...

So tired.  So missing so many amazing people.
I didn't take hardly any pictures.  (I felt like a dork asking for pics all the time.)
So, I'll share what I have tomorrow, but just know that are tons of you I wish I had gotten pics with that I didn't.
So many ideas.
....and I have work tomorrow and an appointment to get advice on my right knee (and clearance to Zumba on Wed).


Gah.
Home is great.  But I wish some of you lived closer.  :(

Prepped for the Summit!

Today, in general, was sucko.

Started my morn off by hitting my head on a rafter in my classroom.  Hit it hard enough to see stars.
Computer wouldn't start.  It spent the day in time out in the Tech office.  They got it to start, but no one can figure out why it was not starting for me.
Had our class pizza sale.  Ran out of pizza.  Crazy OMG call into Papa John's to ensure kids got fed.
Made the run to the dentist.  Yes, it's a cavity.  No, it couldn't get fixed today.
Going in next week.  Gonna live on Tylenol when it gets hurty and no gummies for me.

Finished last minute projects for Sewing Summit.  (No, I didn't finish them all)

1.  Green skirt done.  I, um, lost the directions, so I kinda winged /wung? it.  How can you go wrong if you put a frog on it?!



2.  Pouch for me.


3.  Pouch for swap.



4.  Working pouch/sewing travel kit.  (MOAR FROGS)



5.  Mostly done packing...I hope.  I have a list for stuff that needs to go in the bag tomorrow.

6.  Printed my boarding pass.  Eep.  So excited.  So nervous.  Twill probably be hivey from flying.  Blarg.