245 12 $a A burst of pure energy : [entries|friends|calendar] 100 0# Ivy $d 1979- [ website | Archivy ] [ userinfo | livejournal userinfo ] [ calendar | livejournal calendar ]

You are now sufficiently updated. [04 Nov 2009|09:11pm] So every so often I remember that people, like, read this thing and whatnot. The blog itself is not out of my mind; I'm just going through one of those phases where I don't feel like posting much here (although I do still follow my friends' blogs here on a pretty regular basis). Usually that's a good thing--it means I'm so busy and happy with my life that I don't have time for updates here. For anyone who doesn't know and/or is interested, I'm actually currently keeping two other blogs. One is about my move to the Brewery and my attempt to be an artfuck there. It's more of a "crafty" blog, with lots of pictures and descriptions of stuff I make, or try to make, and the occassional angst about the quality of said stuff. The other is an attempt at a more professional blog, if only in that it tackles my opinions and experiences in the profession of library cataloging, not as much in that I write "professional" posts--I'd say a good 75% of it is ranting, but then, what else is a blog for, really? If you're not into library science, this might not be for you. That's cool. You might occassionally see something crossposted here from my website as well. Honestly, I'd crosspost the other two blogs also, but they're hosted by Wordpress.com and not by me, and so that option is currently unavailable. (I may migrate to hosting them myself someday. I may not.) I'm still investigating options I like for importing my blogs into Facebook, where you can find status updates on a much more regular, if more esoteric, basis. There are a few other updates. I'm applying to do a Ph.D. next fall, either at the University of Washington iSchool or the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. My TMJ and jaw injury form ~10 years ago has been really bothering me lately and so I'm investigating MRIs, slints, drugs, and even possible jaw surgeries. The other thing is that after many years of close friendship, hoozatdere and I have decided that we'd rather plan our future together as more than friends, and so are proceeding accordingly. That's all the news that's fit to print. You may now consider yourself sufficiently updated. 10 comments|post comment

You Are Here: Brewery Artwalk Fall 2009 [17 Oct 2009|07:28pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. You Are Here: Explorations in textile art inspired by architectural details at the Brewery Arts Complex in the atrium at the Brewery Artwalk 2100 N. Main Street A2 Los Angeles, CA 90031 October 23-24, 2009 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 2 comments|post comment

Ta-da! [29 Jun 2009|08:36pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. All done! Kinda anticimactic after the previous update, where I guess people had assumed the whole thing was done. At that point I still had to do the binding, which I actually finished about 2 weeks ago, but wanted to wait until after I threw it in the laundry to take a photo, so I could show that nice crinkly effect. I used an 80/20 cotton/poly blend batting this time (I've only used 100% poly in the past) and I have to say I love it, and probably won't go back unless I have good reason. Close up of the crinckles: And here it is in its new home, on the back of my new couch: I have to say, I really enjoyed the quilt-along, even if it did take me so much longer than many of the other folks. Choosing a color scheme from scratch was a little difficult for me, since a lot of times I make decisions based on using fabrics or scraps I already have and using them as a jumping-off point. To start with a tabula rasa and virtually no limitations seemed much more challenging to me. I learned some great stuff, like the freezer-paper trick and the knotless start (I've been using that on all my hand sewing projects since I read about it). I've also started pressing my quilting seams open, rather than to the side as is traditionally stipulated, and find that works better for me. I'm going to write a sonnet about my newfound love for basting spray. There were lots of great tips and Elizabeth's directions were clear and thorough. The only thing I thought might help would be a little bit of elaboration on how to make sure the horizontal lines in the pieced back line up with the front--mine came out crooked and I'm not sure why; I even went back to re-read the instructions and didn't find anything pertaining to that. But all in all, it was a great experience and a well-written tutorial. I had a lot of fun not just making the quilt but also attempting to photograph and document the process along the way. It got me inspired about quilting again and led me to a < a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/1120888@N21/">new quilt block swap,</a> partially inspired and even got the ball rolling on some new quilt-art projects that I hope to write more about soon. Until next time... you can find me on the couch snuggled under my new quilt! 2 comments|post comment

The end is near! [07 Jun 2009|05:41pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. Does that mean what I think it means?? Yes! This morning I finally finsihed the free-motion quilting on my Mod Sampler. Oy, what an ordeal. I seemed to have had the worst time with this and I can't really figure out why. I'd done free-motion before, on a jerry-rigged machine without a darning foot or anything and never seemed to have a problem. I also don't seem to have any problems with the free-form stippling design-on-the-fly like some people do--I'm actually fairly good at it (if I do say so myself) and enjoy that part of the process. So why, this time around, with the propfer feet and instructions and techniques, did I encounter so many problems? In addition to the whole bobbin debacle that stalled me about halfway through, I had constant thred breakage the whole time. I tried several different types and brands of thread, as well as changing out needles and cleaning that machine, but the problem never stopped. Just from trimming threads I counted a minimum of at least 50 breaks during the process. That's pretty unacceptible and I'll have to figure out what the issue is before I attempt this again, because not only is it toally inefficient, but it looks bad on the finished project. Also, because of all the stops and starts, both due to the thread breakage and just taking breaks, working on it some each day, I'm pretty sure my stippling style changed from the beginning to the end. But by this morning, when I was on the last row of blocks and could see the light at the end of the tunnel, I just didn't care any more. All I wanted was to be done. It's certainly not my best work, which is a little disappointing, and it'll never make it into a quilt show, but I'm happy enough with it to put it on my couch, and that's really all that matters. 10 comments|post comment

Hungry for sandwiches [26 May 2009|08:52pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. After a couple of false starts, I finally sandwiched my quilt top, batting, and backing. The first issue was finding a place to work on the whole project. I have plenty of floor space in my new studio, but it's not necessarily a place I want to work, especially when I'm working on a predominently white quilt. Yes, that's my dirty foot. That's what my feet look like on a regular basis after walking around my studio. There's no way I want to put a quilt on a floor like that. People have suggested that I could mop, but who wants to mop 1300 sq. ft. of painted concrete floor, especially when it's that dirty? I envision it turning into puddles of muddy sludge everywhere and not really solving the problem. Anyone who thinks mopping is a good idea is more than welcome to come over and do it themselves. In the meantime, I bought some old sheets at the thrift store and just used them as dropcloths. After a trip to JoAnn's to procure some spray baste (a first-time experiment for me), I laid out the back on the dropcloths and srayed it. Then I went to lay the batting on top, when I discovered that the batting I had was too narrow. Aargh! The JoAnn's was already closed, putting the project on hold. So in the meantime, I made a new cover for my ironing board. I had some brown cotton with little dressmaking tools printed on it that I was never going to use for clothing or piecing, and I needed something on which to practice my freemotion quilting and this seemed like as good a project as any, expecially since my old ironing board cover was looking pretty sad: Next time, I'll just pay the $7 at JoAnn's for a new cover, as this turned out to be a PITA and take up far more time than I'd really wanted to spend on it. Close-up of quilting: My quilting is not as good as I would like; I haven't done stippling in several years, plus I was getting used to a new darning foot on a different machine, as well as working directly with the batting as opposed to a fabric bottom. The tension on the underside is pretty bad. It's not a big deal here, since the back isn't exposed, but I'll probably have to practice again and figure out the problem before taking on the mod sampler. Finally the next day, I was able to get back to the (now-picked-over) JoAnn's and get some batting. The selection wasn't very good (I don't know why I'm even surprised) but I found an 80/20 cotton/poly blend that I'd never worked with before but it seemed nice. I also happened to acquire some tables from my parents, so I was able to work on those instead of the dirty floor. They're not quite big enough, so i had to sandwich in shifts, which was way more challenging than it seems like it should be, but hey, it's sandwiched now and that's what matters. 7 comments|post comment

Back on Track [19 May 2009|04:58pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. I'd hoped to get more work done on the quiltalong last week (read: finish the darn thing) but life, work, etc....you know how it goes. But yesterday I finally pieced the back, so now I'm all ready to sandwich and quilt! Because the fabric for the lower back is actually 2 pieces, I wanted to match that great art nouveau print as best I could so the seam wouldn't be glaringly obvious. I matched the prints for the lower bottom backing fabric using Oh, Fransson's instructions. This print looks complicated but was actually really easy to match due to the design. I left a little bit of the edge in the photo so you can see where it was pieced. Not really noticeable at all, eh? My next challenge is not the actual quilting, but finding a place big enough to snadwich the layers. "But you just moved in to a giant studio," you say? Yes indeed. A giant studio in an industrial building with concrete floors so dirty they turn the soles of my feet black to walk on them. While I do plan on remedying that at some point (or harnessing alternate options, like acquiring a large cutting table), I'd like to get this quilt done before then, and I don't think putting a heavily white quilt on the dirty floor is such a great idea. I've also been thinking about trying to spray-baste this quilt, and so I apparently need to find a well-ventilated area in which to spray. Hm. 5 comments|post comment

Backing fabric [14 May 2009|03:01pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. After a short moving hiatus, I am finally back on track with my quiltalong. I pieced the strip of blocks for the back, but then hit a raodblock when I realized I hadn't yet bough the backing fabric. A quick trip to Michael Levine's yesterday remedied that: Once more into the wash, my friends! 2 comments|post comment

Packing...who needs it? [28 Apr 2009|02:56am] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. T-6 days until the big move. I should be packing up the last of my belongings. What am I doing instead? Yep, finally putting the sashing on my Mod Sampler Quilt. (Sorry for the bad photo, but the curtain rod was convienient after I packed the curtains.) I stalled for a while, trying to decide on sashing color and whether or not I should put all the bloacks on the front. But I wanted to get the top together just to keep the pieces from getting separated and lost in the move, so I just went with the default layout according to the pattern and the white fabric I already had for the sashing. I really wanted to get the back pieced, too, but I waited too long. I left the ironing board set up this whole time and totally in the way of everything. It almost makes the whole move seem unreal--it makes it look like I'm still living here. It wasn't until today, when most of the curtains and the pictures on the walls came down that it really began to look like leaving. I've been in this apartment almost 5 years, and while I know I wasn't going to be here forever, it still feels a little weird to be leaving. It's also because I've never really lived anywhere else but Long Beach--I was born here, went to school here, attended college here, got my first job here, volunteered here. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in and we still go to the same restaurants for breakfast. I know where all the stores are, what the traffic patterns are like, where the best coffee and the worst dive bars are. I'm not unfamiliar with Los Angeles, but I certainly don't know it like I know Long Beach. I'm excited, though, as much as I am intimidated. I'm going to live in an awesome space in a community of artistic people, closer to many of my friends while still being not too far from my family. The next time you see a photo of this quilt, it'll be in my new space. And hopefully it'll have a back on it. 7 comments|post comment

so there. [15 Apr 2009|01:45pm] [ mood | immature ] I didn't want your stupid carrot anyway.

Decisions, Decisions [12 Apr 2009|06:17pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. So I laid out all the blocks accordin to Oh, Fransson's layout. I did switch around some blocks, trading what was formerly my "2" fabric for my "5" fabric and it looks much more balanced now: Oh, Fransson has you save the remaining 6 blocks not used in the layout to place on the back of the quilt. I liked this idea until a few days ago, when all of a sudden I noticed that blocks on the back were cut off on the sides (to make 6 blocks fit across the space of 5) and I didn't really like the effect. Okay, that's not true: I did like the effect, I just didn't really want to cut my blocks. I'm sentimental or something. So I've been denating other options, and one is to make another row of 5 blocks on the front, and just place the single remaining block on the back. I like this idea because it makes the quilt larger and therefore more practical to me. The only problem is that I'd probably need new sashing, since I already cut the grey in anticipation of the smaller size. But I'm not all that bothered by that, since I'm still not entirely sold on the grey: It's okay, but I don't LOVE it. As I laid out the blocks, I was once again drawn toward using a really stark white, so I tried to see what it would look like and I almost like it better (the fabric in the photo is actually slightly off-white, but it's all I had): The third option would be to search high and low for a very, very, VERY pale yellow, which might just involve a lot more work than I really want to do. Any thoughts? I'd like to make a decision soon so I can get back to work (and pick all these blocks up off my floor...) 5 comments|post comment

Overcoming Obstacles [11 Apr 2009|04:56pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. So I overcame the obstacle of the shrunken fabric and the too-short quilt block. I even overcame the obstacle of finally finding a good grey color that I wanted to use for sashing. Then came the obstacle of the website crash. "Less internet, more art" indeed. Blocks E and F have been done for almost 2 weeks, and I was all ready to write up a little blurb about them and post some photos. I went out of town for a few days, and then when i came back last Monday I tried to run a Drupal ugrade and the whole site went kaput, well beyond my scope of knowledge to fix. I put in support ticket, and while the ITards are polite and eventually did get the backup restored, it took almost 5 days to do so. That's 5 whole days with no access to my own website. Now I know I'm not a big popular muckey-muck or anything, but I just didn't realize how much I used my own site until it wasn't there anymore. Heck, I couldn't remember the URL for the quiltalong because I always just use the link I posted in the sidebar! Anyway, what ended up saving the site was to wipe it clean and reload it from a backup. Thankfully I myself had made a local backup just before attempting the upgrade. My service provider backs up everynight, but by the time they bothered to get around to addressing my ticket, it had been more than 24 hours and so their backup only contained the error site, and not anything useable. So if there's a moral to this story kids, it's that it paids to be radically self-reliant, as well as a bit paranoid, and take personal responsibility for backing up all your own data. Go do it now. Once you've backed up all your stuff, you can look at my pictures of Blocks E and F: I have an older project (I realized yesterday that it's almost 5 years old, eep!) in the queue that I'm finishing up--I just couldn't justify quilting the Mod Quiltalong before I finished that one. Hopefully I can bind that today or tomorrow and then movealong to quiltalong. 2 comments|post comment

we are what we pretend to be. [09 Apr 2009|10:21am] The world is a positive place and I love everybody.

uh oh. [01 Apr 2009|08:00am] Where can I squeeze in time for this?? 1 comment|post comment

Everybody's Working for the Weekend [28 Mar 2009|07:41pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. Haven't made much progress on the quiltalong this week, mostly because of a pesky little interruption called "my day job." I was at an impasse because of one Block B where I'd cut the pieces too short. I debated just replacing it with a different fabric, or trying to piece a new block together from the scraps, but I'm just anal-retentive enough to go all the way back to the quilt store to buy more. And this time I was able to bully one of my coworkers who joined the quiltalong with me so she could finally get her fabric. The trip was fun, even if I did get into a debate with the saleswoman, who was almost as pushy about not prewashing fabric as the yarn lady at Michael Levine's is about knitting with the Magic Loop method. I confess some smugness at being able to halt her in her tracks by telling her that the whole reason I was buying fabric that day was because the previous piece I'd purchased (at that store, off that same bolt) had shrunk enough in the wash that I ended up short. Hey, it's all a personal choice, but I've had enough sorries that I'd rather be safe, personally. They didn't have any colors I liked for sashing, so that meant another trip to Michael Levine's later in the week, where I was able to procure a nice light grey for sashing. I tried some other colors, but I think the grey will work best. Still not sure about the backing; I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, same as the sashing, I guess. In the meantime, while I was waiting, I got all inspired to work on other quilt projects. I pulled one top I've had on the back burner for a while and started adding the borders. (Sorry, no photos, as it's a gift.) Since I apparently have two new second cousins, or first cousins once removed, or great-nieces and -nephews, or whatever it is you call the children of your cousins, I started a quilt for each of them. I had some scraps leftover from The Very Hungry Caterpiller quilt I made my mom for Christmas, so inspired by Project Improv (which I stumbled upon by reading quiltalong blogs), I thought I might try some more improvisational blocks with the fruits and foods at the center: They're not exactly how I imagined them; I think the colors drown out the foods. If I did it again, I might surround the center images with some white colored fabrics first (maybe with a piping outline to match the block color?) before starting to build the colored fabrics around it. Next time. In order to work on the monochromatic blocks, I needed to know what colors of fabric scraps I had. I used to keep them all in Ziploc bags by color, and just toss those into a big brown paper shopping bag under the table. Sp I pulled them all out, ironed them, and sorted them by color and put them into tubs: (There are a couple colors in each tub; I thought about buying more tubs, but them I heard a rumor that someone might offer me an old library card catalog after I move and I thought that might be perfect...) I also had a bunch quilting cotton samples (mostly Robert Kaufman) that I got from work a while back. So I took them all off the headers, washed and ironed them: Which was really helpful, since when I sorted my scraps I was heaviny on the yellows, greens, and browns, and low on reds, oranges, blues and purples. Those headers were chock full of blues and reds, so now I just have to keep my eyes out for oranges and purples. If anyone has any scraps from their quiltalong that they don't want... I also discovered that I now have quite a sizeable amount of black-and-white prints, which is awesome, because I've been mulling over an idea for a quilt using that theme. (I also learned how to take photos with my iPhone and upload them directly into Flickr...) Now I just have to keep myself from getting so distracted by these other projects that I don't finish the quiltalong! 6 comments|post comment

less internet*, more art [23 Mar 2009|01:25pm] So I finally decided on a New Year's Resolution. (No, March is not too late for that. It's actually pretty close. Shut up.) "Less Internet*, More Art." I want to spend less time futzing around online and more time Making Stuff. I've already done a few things to get me staretd in the right direction. I disabled my Facebook account, which was eating up a scarily extraordinary amount of my time. I confess I do miss it, especially the people for whom that was my only method of staying in touch. But it was a serious time suck. I've also started Making Stuff again, starting with Oh, Fransson's Quiltalong, which has inspired me to quilt again. I'm already full of more ideas. Thirdly (the biggest change of all), I'll be moving into a space that's more conducive to Making Stuff. My current apartement is nice, but small, and it's been time for me to move on for a while now. I'd been holding out hopes for an out-of-state move, but since that didn't pan out... I signed the offical paperwork today, and as of May 1, I will be living in an awesome space at the Brewery Art Complex. That's right. Me and my half-dozen mannequins and my four sewing machines and closets of fabric and tubs of yarn are going to attempt to fill 1300+ square feet of art studio goodness. (It shouldn't be too hard.) I think I might have to pretend to be an artfuck now, though, and make Art-with-a-capital-A. That's pretty scary. But what's life without adventure? *Yeah, yeah, I know that blogging about a resolution to spend less time on the internet is oxymornic and hypocritical. but heck, it's not like I've been blogging all that much lately anyway, and it is, after all, "less internet," not "NO internet." 11 comments|post comment

First Four [23 Mar 2009|09:12am] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. I present the first four blocks: Block A: Block B: Yes, there's a block missing: One of the pieces was too short. So short that I don't think Oh, Fransson's freezer paper trick will work. And I don't have enough of that fabric left over to cut a new piece. So that block is currently in a holding pattern while I decide what to do about the situation. Block C: Once I started piecing, I was little worried that there wasn't enough contrast in fabric pair #5 (middle bottom). If I had to do it again, I'd switch the dark from that set with the dark from the block above it (the dark yellow vines). Enough that I actually thought about taking all those blocks apart and switching them out(!). But after I looked at the photos, the contrast looks more apparent and I'm not as concerned. Block D: I also have the first squares for Blocks E & F done. Time to square! 1 comment|post comment

Measure Twice, Cut Once [22 Mar 2009|10:11pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. So after the fabric debacle, it took me a while to cut the pieces out. The actual cutting didn't take all that long, but it did take me a few days to get to it. First, I tried cutting with the mat and rotary cutter I had. The mat and the rotary cutter that I've had for, oh...about 15 years. The rotart cutter had a new blade, but the mat was warped and riddled with cuts and slashes (I don't care how "self-healing" they are...those mats give up the ghost eventually). I'd been wanting a bigger mat anyway, so armed with my 50% off coupon, I headed to JoAnn's and ended up with a new mat and a new rotary cutter (hey, they were on sale for really cheap and it has a much bigger blade and more ergonomic handle). When went to peel off the label on the new mat to begin using it, I noticed that it said "reversible." My old mat was the same brand, was it possible...? Indeed, my old mat was a little dirty on the reverse side, but other than that, it was perfectly fine. Hooray! Now I have two rotary cutters and two mats. I like to be prepared. So I started cutting. I didn't bother with the cardboard organizers suggested by Oh, Fransson. I'm anal-retentive and organized enough that I figure I can keep enough track of my pieces without cardboard grids. I *am* a cataloger, after all. So here's my organization system (a.k.a. "piles on my floor"):   Here's a closeup of the first four blocks, all organized "pretty side to pretty side" and ready to speed piece in the machine. Left to right: blocks A, B, C & D:   And here are the pieces for Blocks E & F; the way they are constructed doesn't really lend itself to prepping them in the same way. So they're just hanging out until I'm ready for them:   So normally I'd be all ready to start sewing...but I have this weird thing when I have a different color thread in the sewing machine for another project: I don't want to change it, even though it's really no big deal and takes like 30 seconds (or that I have a whole other machine I could actually use...). I think it's more about continuity and some subliminal fear that if I take that project's thread out, I'll have less momentum to finish that project or something. That was the case today, in fact. I had the machine threaded with red for a dress I've been (avoiding) working on. Working with the fabric was more fussy than I remembered from the previous project for which I'd used it, and the hem was just not cooperating. Strangely enough, I stumbled upon a blind hem tutorial in a blog post by one of the other quiltalong participants--there is a discussion in the Flickr group where members can share their blog links, and I've been looking through most of them. I saw the blind hem tutorial and thought: "that's what I should try for that red dress." I have a blind hem stitch on my machine, but I'd never used it, because I could never puzzle out how it should work. I can't believe I never knew there was a special technique. So today, I went back to tackle the dress so i could get it out of the way and start sewing blocks, and of course I couldn't find that participant's blog post again! Not to be discouraged, though, I simply found another tutorial via Google and it worked great. Well, as great as could be expected for a first timer on some slippery fabric, but hey. Not my best work, but that's not the fault of the blind hem stitch, and now that I know how to do it (and how easy it really is!) I'll be doing it a lot more from here on out. And now that that's done (except for a bit of hand tacking), I can start on my blocks!   3 comments|post comment

Hello my Brewery-dwelling friends [20 Mar 2009|08:54am] Anyone reading this who lives at the Brewery able to answer some questions this weekend about living there? I would love you forever and maybe even give you a $1 or buy you a coffee or a beer or something. Thank you mucho. 2 comments|post comment

Fabric Foibles [16 Mar 2009|04:53pm] Originally published at archivy.net. You can comment here or there. So I ordered my fabric online last week, and received it on Saturday. Just in the nick of time, as the quilt-along is already on the second and thrid blocks! I opened up the package to sort my fabrics into darks and lights, like the quilt pattern calls for. I knew I would end up with some middle-value fabrics that wouldn't work as lights or darks, but I wasn't worried, becuase I only needed 12 fabrics and the kit came with 16. Or did it??? Black and yellow fat quarters: Fat quarters for the Mod Quilt-Along, 2009. As I was sorting out the pieces on my desk, pairing them and re-pairing them, it suddenly dawned on me that I only had 12 fabrics. I could swear the kit I ordered online said 16, so I went back to the website, but no dice: it read 12. I pulled out the invoice included in the shipping package. There was a note from the seller about how one of the fabrics was an inch short, so she sent me extra...and was nice enough to charge me for that extra bit, too. But wait, even with that extra fabric charge, the total was still like $15 less than when I checked out online. I didn't have the receipt email with me, but when I got home, I checked it, and sure enough, I originally paid $44.00 plus $4.99 shipping, and this invoice read $33+shipping. Not cool. I care less about the money than I did about getting matching fabrics that would work for this project. Obviously I was willing to pay more for the set; I essentially said as much when I agreed to the original purchase total online. Unfortunately, while my original email receipt lists the higher price, it only lists the product description as a fat quarter packs, with no specicfication of the number of fabrics included, and since the store already changed the website, I don't have much evidence to back up a claim. I assume that the sellers maybe ran out of the variety of fabrics, and so changed the website, maybe even before my order was pulled, which might explain the lack of notification. But still. I'm really disappointed, and won't be purchasing from them again, no matter how much I like the fabrics. And I do like the fabrics that I got. But as much as I liked them, there were still two cuts that just didn't work for this project, so I went to a local quilt store in Pasadena with a friend (who I suckered into joining the quilt-along as well) to find some matching fabrics. I really like this store, they always seem to have a great selection, and the woman working was very friendly and helpful. Now, black and white prints are pretty popular. Picking something out from the variety of those offered was not hard. But black and white and yellow prints? Non-existant. I tried for yellow, but it's not the most popular color, and bright yellow is actually a very difficult shade to match. I wanted something yellow and white--most prints had yellow and white and something else (not black). I found a yellow gingham that was the correct shade, but the geometric print really fought with the fluid designs of my other fabrics. I was feeling pretty demoralized and seriously considering just putting these fat quarters in the closet and starting over with a whole new color scheme when my friend pulled out a yellow and white daisy print. It wasn't my ideal fabric, but it was yellow and white, the right shade, and at least the flowers were fluid and rounded, rather than the stark grid of the gingham. It doesn't match exactly, but once the pieces are cut I think it will blend fine. 5 comments|post comment

stupid question time: us passport edition [06 Mar 2009|09:46am] Has anyone ever renewed their US passport by mail? I am trying to figure out if I'll get my old passport returned to me after I send it in for renewal. 7 comments|post comment

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