Checking in with my camera...

In case you were curious what I've been up to, I figured I'd see what my camera has to say - in chronological order of recent history, I went to a TangoHeart concert, and they lost my reservation, which was the best thing that could have happened! I ended up in the best seat in the house - here's my view, without zooming:
I've done several trips to and from Bellevue (been going to 24/7 for a year now) and the weather was beautiful on many occasions:

I threw a totally awesome baby shower, complete with the most delicious cupcakes I've made EVER. I don't even have a picture of the best ones, but here are the chocolate:

(The best were vanilla - funfetti with lemon buttercream frosting and I LOVED the frosting. I usually don't like frosting.)

One Saturday night, mom and I went out and got in touch with our southern rock sides and checked out the band "Kane" at a free concert on the beach. The lead singer is an actor on Leverage, a show that I watch pretty regularly. The concert was pretty good - and we looked hot, for being so cold.

Most recently, a group from 24/7 came over to visit me and we finished the day at Elevated Ice Cream. I had Swiss Orange Chocolate Chip and Amaretto Hazelnut with hot fudge, almonds, whipped cream, and jimmies. YUM.

So, that's me checking in. How have things been with you?

More Loot - and what I plan to do with it...

Since you know me pretty well, you know I did not limit myself to the Neptune purchase while I was shop hopping. I also bought a layer cake - also a Tula Pink design, but this is her latest - Plume. I got it at the Bellevue shop, Quiltworks Northwest, which I liked very much.

I bought the layer cake with this quilt in mind - I like the fun circles - although I'm not sure if I'll be able to let myself do raw edge applique. I may end up modifying the pattern a little bit. I haven't gotten the binding or backing yet - but all in good time. :) Suppose I ought to get some sewing done. ( I know, right!?!)

My camera battery died, so I can't show you all the fabric I got a Quiltworks - but this is part of it. One fat quarter, and one quarter yard that I'm planning to use for another coin purse from the pattern I got in Sisters, OR.

Fun stuff!

Smooth sailing... sort of.

If I've never told you about the time I got stranded at sea - let me summarize: Small boat, no motor. We got in the water around 5 on a Friday - followed the big boats around, but when the wind died they all went in and we were stuck with one paddle. Then, the tide changed and the sun went down, and I don't know how to sail. The man I was with was wearing prescription sunglasses and had nothing else. I did make it home around 11:30, freezing cold, quite hungry, and wet.

So, I'm telling this story to a couple guys after work last week and one asks, "Do you want to go sailing Friday after work?" I was like "Yeah!" "Wait! Do you have a motor?" "Yes? Okay!"

Friday did not disappoint in the weather department. It was beautiful when I arrived at the (just go ahead and pardon my lack of boat jargon knowledge) boat parking area.

I headed over, reminded the guy that I can't sail for my life and he said I was still invited, so off we went. It's what I call "the Friday night saily thingy", but turns out, it's a RACE! I totally looked the part.

Scott, boat owner and man in charge, had two helpers - the young woman you see below, and the young man in the next picture. I did very menial things like "pull on the red and white rope", while they jibbed and hoisted and reefed and did all manner of sailor-y things.

I did learn the difference between the three sails, although I'm having trouble remembering their names now... there was the main, the jib and the spinnaker (thank you, wikipedia!).

So, the race... What happens is, you head out into Port Townsend bay and there is a committee boat with "directions" on the back (in this case 2SWYF, or something) and then you follow the directions, and I'm not really sure what you win besides the bragging rights. In our case, the W meant this yellow thing:

So, we had to start, go around the yellow thing, go around another thing, then finish. Then, the 2 meant we'd do it all again with another start and everything. Well, we had a bad start the first time (and by that I mean we started last) but finished near the middle of the pack. Then, the wind died. So we sat around for a while. All of the sudden, the wind came back with a vengeance! So, we reefed the sail (by we, I mean they) and while that happened Scott fell which was not cool. Then, we were going really fast and tipped over way far and sitting all up on one side of the boat, and you have a blind spot - as you can see from this photo:

So, imagine our surprise when we're flying along and all of the sudden hear a crash as we hit another boat traveling perpendicular to our boat. Needless to say, I discovered that sailors really do swear like sailors! But, the people involved were super chill about it and went to work on straightening it out. There was some damage to each boat, involving things like a bulkhead and a cleat, so I took my limited sailing knowledge and headed for home, where I had trouble calming down because it was so exciting!

Before any of that ever happened, I was thinking, the phrase "leisurely sail"? Not really possible. Because either you're constantly adjusting the sails and ropes and this and that, or there's no wind and you're not really sailing.

That being said, I loved it, and I think I can't wait to go again.

You thought I was gone? Nope, just shop hopping...

Last weekend I participated in the Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop. Before I set out, I thought to myself, "what would I really like to get, besides all the free block patterns?" and the answer was "a precut strip set." At first I was thinking something like a Bali Pop set, but then I happened upon this:

A honey bun! On 30% off clearance. I couldn't resist. (Cuz it turns out those Bali Pops are expensive. But have no fear - I will eventually buy one.)

So then I had this honey bun and I was thinking "what will I do with it?" Now, to make this story interesting, I need to tell you that I love diamond quilts and have been wanting to make one, so when I stumbled across this pattern:


It was decided. Then, I just needed to find yardage. The honey bun was on sale because it's older fabric - but I was in luck. I found yardage at two stores that I hopped afterward, and who knows what I would have found if I had started the shop hop looking? So here's the plan... The palest turquoise blue will take the place of the white on the pattern. The darkest piece laying across the bottom is the border - and the peachy/pink is the setting triangles.


Now I just have to find a charm pack. There is one on etsy (as pointed out to me by the lovely firefly) which I may buy, because even though it is overpriced, it'll be cheaper in the long run than buying half yards of a bunch of different fabrics and then having a ton left over.

My adviser in the picture taking process was so kind as to also warm my spot in the bed. Now I think I will go curl up in it and dream about fabric.


Sweet dreams of whatever your heart desires!

Mother's Day Brunch in 4 Photos

This year I made a gluten-free brunch for my parents for Mother's Day. It was a triumph and a success, if I may say so myself.

First up, bird's nest shells that have been 6-7 years in the making. (I've had the giant muffin tin with the intention of making this for that long...)

Filled with creamed eggs... Mmmmmmm!

Roasted vegetable "pizzas" with rice crusts. This is the best part, in my opinion. Fresh thyme, roasted tomatoes, chevre, leeks, what more could you ask for in one dish? And, it's pretty.

Finally, a beautiful fresh fruit salad. Big kudos to my dad for making the fruit salad. It was so yummy.

All in all, a mother's day brunch that I'm proud to have been a part of.

Monterey Highlights

So I went to Monterey... I took the train again (which you know I love!) so I'll spare you the pictures this time.

First day we spent doing the mountain bike thing. It was the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca. It was a beautiful day, and I find bicycles pretty interesting, so not a bad way to spend a day. In the evening we went to the premiere of a mountain bike movie - lots of young men there. Not a bad thing.

Next day we went to San Francisco - Golden Gate, Sausalito, Ghirardhelli, Pier 39, you name it!


On the last day there, we hung out with some friends of el Bro. They're funny people! Then, I climbed back aboard and headed home. I met some great people on the train, and came home feeling quite relaxed.

Birthday Extravaganza!

For my cousin's 30th birthday, we made our way to Las Vegas for the party of a lifetime. But you'll never know what we did, because of course, what happens in Vegas...

Okay, I'll tell you a little bit. Mom & I got there before the rest of our party, so we had dinner at Margheritaville and let me tell you, the food was wonderful! I had chicken tortilla soup and salad and I loved it, which is surprising because I had a migraine and it was quite possibly the noisiest restaurant I've EVER been to.



We spent a lot of our down time by the pool (as it should be) but went out for a fancy dinner to celebrate the big 3-0. We had cute waiters, delicious food, and tasty desserts. It was wonderful!

We also saw several showings of the fountains at the Bellagio.





The other big event of the trip was seeing Cher in concert!!


It was amazing. She changed outfits for every single song and there were fun video clips and montages which made me want to check out the Sunny and Cher show. Looks like it's on amazon...