cocovelocity

Mine!

2008-08-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

I finished my clutch bag this week!

It's the most complicated project I've done yet. I got the pattern from Amy Butler's In Stitches.

The bag didn't come out quite like I expected it to. The sides aren't as stiff I thought they would be, but I love the fabric and I can't get enough of the flower. It's my favorite detail.

I have to repair the Velcro closure. I accidentally ironed it while finishing the bag, and that makes it not sticky. Also, it ruins irons.

But now I just need the right occasion to bring this baby out!

Slowing it down

2008-07-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

I went to Montana to visit Melissa and crew for 4th of July weekend. As usual, my trek to the north was relaxing and inspiring. Highlights

Meeting 4 month old Ella. She is full of smiles.
Playing with 3 year old Aspen. He’s charming, sincere, imaginative, curious and pushy all at once. I even got some cuddle time. I had a blast with him, and it required several naps.
Making enchiladas for 20.
Drinking cocktails and talking with Jay, Mel and their amazing friends.
Sharing the RV in Jackson with 7 other people and 2 dogs.
The amazing weather.
Soaking in the Jackson Hot Springs.
4^th of July fireworks.

See all pics on Flickr.

2 more down

2008-06-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

I've been on a sewing rampage this week. After all that time off, I finished 2 projects this weekend.

First are the place mats & napkins from Amy Butler's In Stitches book that I started working on last week. I finished them on Friday, and am really happy with how they came out.

This is the biggest project I worked on. All in, I spent 10-12 hours on these - maybe more. I learned I have about a 2 hour threshold to work before I get tired and need to do something requiring less concentration. I also learned if I push it, I make mistakes.

I worked with a new type of interfacing. It is material you sew or iron onto the back of fabric to give it shape and comes in many variations of strength/thickness. I did a bit of improvising for this project, which came out fine though next time I will use thinner interfacing that doesn't require ironing.

I finally feel like I am getting an intuitive knack for interfacing use, which is nice. I'm collecting me some sewing knowledge!

So the place mats have the same fabric on the back as in the front middle (Amy Butler pattern).

The napkins are reversible.

For the first time ever, I like these so much I actually want to give them away. Usually, I am sad I am being so generous with making items for others!

Yesterday, I took the Monsters, Dolls and Plushy Toys class with the fabulous Leslie at Stitch Lab. I haven't had such a fun 3 hours in a long time.

I made this Owl!

And I am very sad I am not keeping it. The class was great because the options were endless. I basically showed up with a bag of fabric. Leslie had lots of felt and buttons for us to use, and more patterns and ideas for stuffed toys than I thought was possible. This class really was all about imagination. And I definitely will be using this inspiration for new projects.

One woman drew her design from scratch. Another woman did a very adorable 2-headed dog, and the fourth woman did a camouflage squid for her son that was just amazing.

I totally want to have a plushy doll party! Like that place in the mall where you make stuffed animals, but they will have more personality. Cause you can't get eyes like this at the mall.

As for my plushy owl, she is destined to watch over a cute little Montana baby girl... if I don't try to sneak her home with me, of course.

Next up is a clutch bag from the Amy Butler book. A bag I have every intention of keeping, and assuredly won't change my mind when it's finished.

Productive!

2008-06-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

So I bought myself a brand spanking new Kenmore last week after my night of frustration. The problems are very possibly user error, but I need to give Liz her machine back soon, and Sears had the model I wanted on sale. It was just time to get it.

I love my new machine!

It has speed control, a feature I apparently desperately needed. I can sew straighter lines when my lead foot doesn't take over. And it's working like a dream!

Thursday, I hemmed up some of Brian's curtains and finally finished my pillow for my couch!

This project was fun because I really didn't follow directions. I combined a couple of sets of instructions to make what I wanted, which of course gave me lots of opportunities to make mistakes.

I started this pillow with a red trim. Corners are tricky! However, I also mis-measured the pillow form, and the pillow case ended up being too big. Whoops.

So I cut it down and decided to make it with a zipper instead. I had no more trim, and didn't love how it looked anyway.

I love how this pillow looks on my couch and in the room!

Yesterday, I got started on a new project. Placemats and napkins from the Amy Butler: In Stitches book. With such detailed instructions, this round should go better than last year's attempt.

I fell in love with the fabric, and think it will make great placemats. They won't match a single thing of mine, but they sure will be pretty!

Yesterday I cut out all the fabric, and today I hope to finish the machine sewing of the placemats.

Sewing, Interrupted

2008-06-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Two months ago I bought a lot of fabric for new projects and not a single one is complete yet. This is mostly due to travel and tri training, but a recent sewing machine malfunction contributed.

So last night I got back to the sewing. Everything was going smoothly... right up until it wasn't. The machine suddenly started jamming again in the exact same way I just spent $50 to fix. The bottom thread bunches up and doesn't sew at all. This makes sewing impossible.

Tonight, I tried a new bobbin hoping it would fix it, but it didn't. (The guy at the repair shop indicated it might.) These constant problems with sewing machines are unbelievably frustrating. I just walked into Kent's house and dumped a slew of curse words on him. I bet Martha Stewart doesn't drop f-bombs when discussing her projects. Well maybe she did in jail. To be tough.

I just don't know what is going on. I got rid of the first sewing machine assuming it was a bad apple, but now I've had the same problem twice on the second (which is actually a loaner).

Am I doing something wrong? Is there some special threading trick I am just missing? Do I just need a better machine? Is there some magic wand I need to wave to get through more than 10 minutes of sewing at a time?

Tell me sewing god(dess), why is this happening?

Am I being punished for that stuffed animal I refused to finish in 7^th grade Home Ed just because it was expected of me? I was 13, just discovering my angsty defiant self (and punk music).

But now those numbers are reversed, and defiance holds less thrill. Sewing god, I would like to finish my accent pillow, and I have more onesies on deck. Oh, and I have that stuffed animal sewing class coming up next week.

At this point, I am favoring the option where I throw money at the problem. Tomorrow, I am most likely going to buy a brand new mid-range Kenmore that comes recommended by Leslie, my local sewing teacher/expert. And if that one has trouble, I am putting out a call for hired guns. There will be a sewing god with a bounty on her head.

Finished!

2008-06-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

I completed my second Danskin Triathlon this morning, though I didn't do it faster than last year's 1:58:51, as I hoped.

I think this was for 2 reasons.
- WIND! My tailwind had me cruising up at 26 mph. And the headwind had me fighting to get up to 10 mph. Going downhill.
- I pegged my heart rate really high, really early and it just stayed there. By the time I started then run, I was tired! Usually I try to stay in my aerobic zone of 155-165. I hovered between 170-192.

Of course, I finished, and it was just as awesome as last year, but I was more wiped out from this race. I barely could stay awake to eat brunch!

We were totally fortunate to not have blazing hot weather. All that wind came with some clouds, and that was definitely a good thing.

I'm not sure how much my extra training helped me out today. I don't think I've ever biked in wind like I saw today. But it did get me into better shape overall, so I'll take that.

If I do Danskin next year, I might join a training group to really push my time, and have some event buddies.

My times this year were
Overall: 1:59:38
Swim: 25:07
Transition 1: 6:49
Biking: 48:35 (Avg: 14.8 mph)
Transition 2: 2:54
Running: 36:11 (11:40 min mile)

Best part about today - 80 year old woman competing. I passed her (barely) on the run. I hope I am in good enough shape to think about doing a tri when I am 80!

Almost. There.

2008-05-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Danskin Triathlon is next weekend! After getting into great shape for it last year, I followed it up with a slow decline into the worst shape I've been in years. Without a goal, I floundered, then got bored, then got busy, and then just stopped.

So I started pre-training in Jan, and actual training in March. I modified last year's program to be harder. Frankly, it was a little too easy for me. This year, I took the training and basically doubled distances and ramped intensity faster, with time off for my travels last month.

And at this point, I can kick your ass. Well at least if you are small and exercise less than me. OK, so maybe I can kick a pre-teen girl's ass. Or that small grandmother I see at the gym, but I'm not down with grandma beatings.

I digress.

My point is not beatings. My point is that I feel really fit and healthy, and it feels great. I thought I was in the best shape ever last year, but I have definitely progressed this year. I bike faster. Swim faster and longer. And hate running less, though haven't made much headway on increasing my plodding 12 minute mile. I don't get wiped out by my work outs, and they are long.

Last week, for example.

Tues - Ran 3 miles than swam a mile intermingled with funny dances to shake out a crippling Charlie Horse in my foot.
Wed - Biked 16 miles home. It took too long, but I hit like 40 lights and some headwinds.
Thurs - Swam a mile. Skipped "walking" portion cause that is boring.
Ended up taking Friday, Sat and Sun off due to camping and camping recovery so....
Monday - Did 15 mile hilly ride on stationary bike in 50 minutes, followed 4 mile run. It would be really nice to do a tri in the A/C. Also I would appreciate if the Texas rain would be more attentive to my training schedule.

Today I biked home from work again. This ride was a million times better. Longer - 18 miles - but better roads and less lights so I finished significantly faster than last time. I averaged 12 mph, which Brian tells me is really good for that route.

I'm not going to end up on the cover of any fitness magazines any time soon, but I gotta say, I look (and feel!) pretty damn good. Though I am really, really looking forward to having my evenings back. And dialing back this work out routine. Think I can keep this well sculpted ass with a a diligent routine of aimlessly trolling the Internet in the evenings?

My goal for next Sunday is to beat my time from last year - I need to swim 1/2 mile, bike 12 miles and run 3 in less than 1:58:51. I feel ready!

Packing it up

2008-05-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

Australia and the US share similar histories. In the grand scheme of things, we are young countries. We do not have centuries of protecting our land and people from warring neighbors. We were founded by white Europeans determined to crush indigenious people. The expanse of our land is vast. Waves of immigration have shaped our populations and diets.

And in many ways, my time in Sydney and Melbourne has felt familiar. There are no cobblestone streets leading to decrepit castles here. Many people have cars. The cities sprawl and lead to vast suburbs with big houses. There is no lack of good Italian or Asian food. I see Weber barbeque grills on many apartment patios.

But Sydney is distinctly different than say New York. It’s cleaner & safer. The people are much more friendly, and don’t carry that grim determination of bustle and rush that American’s tend to have.

And of course there is the lovely accent, the backward driving and those pesky doorknobs, which I’ve narrowed down to possibly being an attribute of this cool old brownstone Liz lives in.

New cities and countries are always measured with the “how much would I like living here” stick? I think Australia would feel most like home, which puts them pretty high on the stick.

While I barely had any time in Melbourne, I think I would prefer it over Sydney. It’s smaller, and has a pronounced streak of community around art and music that is specific to the city. Like Austin, but bigger! Though Sydney has miles and miles of swimmable ocean beaches, which is awfully tempting.

Sydney

2008-05-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

Any band who says that Austin is their favorite city to play in (and there have been many) are lying. Or haven’t played in Sydney.

Sunday night, Liz and I went to see Architecture in Helsinki at Metro, a medium sized venue with good sound. When the band came on some people screamed and ran in from the bar. And the dance floor was teaming with bouncing, joyful, dancing kids. The reckless abandon was infectious, and makes a much better show then the overly-reserved self-conscious head bobbing hipsters at Austin’s indie rock shows.

My time in Sydney was fantastic. We had perfect weather and my jet lag wasn’t crippling at all. I got home last night, and still feel mighty out of it, but that’ll pass….. eventually.

Friday night, Liz and I grabbed tapas in the Sydney Harbour and ogled the bridge and opera house. Saturday morning, we went running in a gorgeous city park complete with an equestrian area and several sport fields. We followed this up by stuffing ourselves silly at a packed dim sum restaurant.

We headed back to the harbor to catch a ferry to north Sydney to go on a gorgeous walk along the coast line, and followed that up with more eating, and then some drinking in Newtown. Liz’s hottie boyfriend met us out for a bit and watched me shove falafel in my mouth on the street. It was lovely. Really.

Sunday, we had a leisurely breakfast over some Internet, and then headed down to Bondi Beach for the market, lunch and another gorgeous coastal walk.

Monday, I hit up a local breakfast spot for some coffee and a tasty ricotta, pumpkin, sun dried tomato omelet, and then stared at tall buildings on my way to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. I was lucky enough to catch the exhibits for 3 annual painting prizes. One was for portraits, and was endlessly fascinating. Afterwards, I wandered through the immense Botanical Gardens mesmerized by sizable spider webs and wombats!

Tuesday, Liz and I hit the Fish Market, which is the biggest market outside of Tokyo. We got ourselves some fresh off the boat sushi at 10 am, and then headed to The Rocks to wander around. We hit up the Modern Museum of Art. After lunch we headed to Paddington for window shopping and dessert. My time was cut short by an urgent need to hang out in the bathroom. We missed our fabulous dinner at a Thai place, but otherwise I was fine. At this point, my various travel illnesses are comedic.

Quick

2008-05-13T04:50:00.001-07:00

Coffee shop is getting ready to close so here is a quick post.

PICTURES!

I fly back tomorrow. More then.

Doorknobs

2008-05-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am here.

To open a door you turn the door knob to the left, not the right. Stay tuned for details on this and other bizarre southern hemisphere quirks. Coming soon.

Melbourne

2008-05-07T01:52:00.000-07:00

I am here after 6 hours at SFO, an impromptu dinner with Randy in LA and a 15 hour flight. I am getting good at these obscenely long flights. I didn't take drugs. I didn't sleep the whole time and I didn't get stir crazy. Thank god for on demand movies in the seat backs.

I spent much of today wandering around Melbourne city center. It looks like this.

There is a great combination of Victorian architecture with hyper modern buildings. I liked the juxtaposition. While there are the clear homages to their British heritage, the city itself feels more like home. It's big. Not L.A. nightmare sprawl, but definitely not crammed together like a small European village.

I didn't get to see a lot of the city today, but I was just so glad to be walking outside.

I grabbed a bowl of Pho (chicken soup) at a super crowded Vietnamese place for lunch that just hit the spot, checked out the artsy Fitzroy district, and the art centers down by the river.

2 random observations
- Australia is expensive. Bottled watter is a minimum of $2.50. Cheap clothes were hovering around $50.
- There is no lack of good looking men to oogle at down here. Yummy eye candy.

Perfect: The Roundup

2008-05-07T01:24:00.001-07:00

So our Napa trip was basically perfect. Amazing food and wine. Great company. Spectacular weather. I am freshly arrived in Melbourne, Australia and trying to stay awake the ungodly hour of EIGHT PM. But more on Melbourne later.

So, Napa. Pictures!

We stayed at Rancho Caymus Inn in Rutherford, which was build from a 80-year-old barn in Ohio that was dissembled and moved out to California.

It is also home to La Toque, the fabulous restaurant where we had dinner Friday night. Sadly, I was feeling a bit under the weather so I skipped the wine pairing, but the food was amazing.

Saturday we hit the already mentioned Larkmead and Barnett vineyards.

Sunday we had lunch at Auberge du Soleil, which was my favorite part of our vacation. It's a secluded hotel/restaurant up on one of the hills in Napa. We sat in the sun on the deck and had a long leisurely lunch and some delicious white wine. The food presentation was as gorgeous as the view!

After that, we hit up the ornate Darioush and Del Dotto wineries. Del Dotto built their new facility in the past year. Personally, I wasn't that impressed. It is ornate Italian that is too clean and obvious. It doesn't have the charm of their cave space.

All of this amazingness was followed by an epic nap and a raging hangover that kept me from pigging out on our light dinner - a delicious collection of Oakville cheeses, breads, salami and olives.

But let that not detract from a fabulous vacation. I didn't want to leave, and I was heading for Australia!

Perfect

2008-05-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

I am in Napa. It's basically perfect here. Today we visited the Larkmead & Barnett Vineyards. Barnett is up top of Spring Mountain, which has a very fun, windy road to get there.

They got themselves some nice digs, huh?

At both places we were graciously hosted by recent Austin transplants. The husband at Larkmead & wife at Barnett. They seem quite happy with their new Napa Valley life....It's just so tempting.

Upcoming

2008-04-26T16:38:00.001-07:00

At the end of next week, I leave for a long weekend in Napa Valley with Kent and his dad. We will sample wine and food, and be merry. I expect it to be fabulous. From San Francisco, I take off for Australia, where I will do a couple of days of work, and then spend a few days in Sydney with Liz. I can’t wait for my epic trip, even if it involves entirely too much time in airplanes.

Kent leaves our Napa trip and heads straight to Rome (well via NYC and London) for work. Aren’t we so very cosmopolitan?

Stay tuned for many pictures. Hopefully I won’t look as tired as I expect to feel.

On June 8th, I will be doing the Danskin Triathlon again. I’d like to beat my time from last year. I’m just about midway through training, and I’ve modified the training program I used last year to be a little harder. At this point, I am just about swimming/biking/running the tri distances. (1/2 mile swim, 12 mile ride, 3.1 mile run)

I’m trying to double all the distances before June. My upcoming flurry of travel involving more time zones than human fingers may put a damper on that plan. But I’ll do the best I can. Regardless, I am getting stronger. My underarm skin no longer sways when you poke it!

Tipping my nerd hat

2008-03-27T18:12:00.001-07:00

So I find economics interesting. I find the cross section of economics, the financial industry, government and human behavior totally fascinating. I got hooked the first time I wrote a news story, as an intern, where the headline dropped a stock price in a matter of minutes. The

So my nerdiness is a fascination with these types of dry, academic matters. And there has been lots reading to satisfy my inner nerd lately.

Alarmist news stories aside, there is a lot to be learned right now. This NY Times article explains our current banking/housing situation is A) well written B) totally enlightening. Check it out!

#*&!%$! Finished or Sewing Projects 6 & 7

2008-03-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

After 3 months, much frustration, a sewing machine replacement and 47 miles of thread, I have finally finished sewing projects 6 & 7.

Project 6: The Sewing Machine Cozy
It's amazing I haven't quit sewing after this. For this project I had to use a Teflon foot with vinyl, and let me tell you my new-to-me sewing machine was not a fan. Said machine is now chilling at Goodwill, and I have Liz's much more competent Kenmore. This is the second pattern I made from Diana Rupp's Sew Everything Workshop In addition to new material (vinyl!) & the foot, I got to use bias tape. Now that I understand how it works, I think it's great.

I don't love this cozy, but I can't begin to express how excited I am that's it finished. It will sit lovingly on a sewing machine until that vinyl disintegrates.

Project 7: The Onesies
I got the idea for this project months ago, when my friends were all barely pregnant, and I saw some very cute, albeit pricey, onesies on So Congress. "I can sew this!" I said as I fingered a onesie with an adorable rocket ship patch. I printed out pictures of cowboy boots, rocket ships, cupcakes and ducks to use as patches.

Suffice it to say - my original vision of cute boot patches didn't quite match my beginner sewing skills. Months later, Rita's excellent advice got me to my 3rd and final version.

Clothing for little people is pretty adorable, even when it only involves very simple shapes.

Step 1: Cutting
I traced a CD for the bottom round patch and the interfacing on the back of it.

I drew a heart by hand. Cause I'm a bad ass heart drawer like that.

Step 2: Sewing
I sewed the patches together, after I ironed the interfacing to the circle. This made the fabric sturdy. The heart fabric for both the girl and boy version was corduroy so it was fairly thick.

After the patch was together, I sewed it to a onesie. The stretchy material made this trickier then expected. It was easy to misalign the patch due to the the stretch of the fabric and trying to manipulate that tiny thing around the sewing machine.

But 4 of the 5 came out great and are en route to new babies!

Another SXSW down

2008-03-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

As usual, my hearing is slightly worse than it was this time last year. What was unusual about SXSW this year was the awesome new technology involved in planning for it, and the number of good bands I went to see. 15 of the 28 bands I saw were fun, interesting shows, and I will now begin the quest to track down albums. I didn’t kill myself to go to shows in every slot, which cut down on the number of bad bands.

This SXSW was all about embracing Web 2.0, which basically means being a communication connection obsessed teen with the attention span of a goldfish. First off, some bored programmers/SXSW attendees finally built the perfect web-based scheduling tool for SXSW. This saved me 4 billion hours. Secondly, I did most band research on MySpace. Seriously, I think I found my Dad's band's page.

Lastly, I attempted to utilize Twitter for downtown communication with friends about show attendance. But more often than not my Internet-equipped phone failed to connect. Damn you T-Mobile! Thank god for old fashioned text messaging.

Anyway, the band reviews.

The Top 4

Yeasayer - Hippie-esque band, but none of that long-winded jamming. Super tight, layered music by 3 very competent, if unfashionably dressed, musicians. This was the best show I saw by a long shot.

Fuck Buttons – Yet another band with a stupid name. Their show was far better than expected. Super loud wall of sound electronic noise. Not unlike Holy Fuck in that respect either, but more drone, less dance.

Cloud Cult – I am pretty sure this album is going to go into heavy rotation when I get it. Many band members, strings, keyboards. And you can see Steve & me in the video from their day show!

White Rabbits – Followed Steve & Kent here and so glad I did. Fun indie rock band of short men with 2 drummers. Seriously, I think the lead singer was my height…. On stage.

Enjoyable, but not tops

Shout Out Louds – Swedes! Who rock! With the pre-requisite hot blond girl on keyboards!

Grand Ole Party - Drum kit is set up front and center stage. Girl gets behind drums and puts on headset microphone. There are some ornamental hot men on some guitars or something. Who cares? The girl drummer is singing with a smoky voice from the 30s and making awesome faces. I was mesmerized!

The Big Sleep – Angsty rock band that Kent loves. . Live show had lots of energy so I totally enjoyed that.

Portugal the Man – 40 minute jam fest that didn’t get boring or derivative. Nice work rocker boys.

Lykki Li – Cute, poppy Swedish girl with quaint lyrics. Played 4 million day shows.

Bon Iver – Once every 5 years, I tolerate and then love the heartfelt crooning of a singer songwriter with a guitar. Bon Iver should hold me over until 2013.

Sea Wolf – The only band besides Yeasayer that I heard before SXSW. This is because my childhood friend’s brother is the bassist, and Diana keeps me up to speed on the local Hillsborough musicians. But they were great live, and I’m not just saying that cause of Ted!

Team Robespierre – Their MP3 lead me to believe I was going to see an electronic band. They managed to hide their punk roots for at least 30 seconds. Great punk band with a ton of energy, duck taped ankle braces, and none of the super simple repeatative drums that bore with me some punk.

Back Ted N Ted – Saw them at a super tiny theatre with seats so their show was decidedly low energy, but they were great poppy/electronic indie rock. The guys were like a trio of Buddy Hollys. I had a crush on the red headed lead singer with the cute dance moves in a suit.

The Deadly Syndrome – The band we were meant to see just didn’t show up so we saw this one instead. Considering they weren’t screened at all, they were pretty fun. Best encore ever. The entire band started playing the drums together.

Not so bad as to ignore the friend/water/seat option here

DJ Rhettmatic – Look I play records of songs other hip hop artists, and occasionally I scratch the record.

Scissors for Lefty – Skinny, pasty lead singer takes of his shirt and women swooned. It was troubling. I saw them a couple years ago, and thought they were great live. This time they were boring, even shirtless.

Evangelicals – Been done a million times before pop rock.

Santogold – More stage presence then MIA, but clearly a rip off, with really boring songs.

This Will Destroy You – Post rock. But boring.

Radar Bros –Not my cup of tea - twangy alt country singer songwriter type – but not an offensive way to spend 30 min in the Parish while waiting for the Shout Out Louds.

Tokyo Police Club – I was super excited to see this band. And the 4 song acoustic set by the singer was fine, but not what I wanted. Also, he’s like 19. The lead singer of a fairly successful indie rock bank was born in 1987! No worries, I’ve already pick out my coffin.

The Dodos – More indie rock. With a hint of Irish? Or interesting percussion? Good live show, but I can’t remember why I liked it so it’s been relegated here.

OMG, I must get the hell out of here

Indian Jewelers - It was so bad I already banned the specifics from my memory. Cow bell? Growling? A synth on repeat? AWFUL!

Toxic Avenger/Totally Michael – I was early for Shout Out Out Out Outs and had a comfy seat in air conditioning. They were so bad they chased me out of my chair and I never came back for the band I liked.

Tokyo Sex Destruction – Red Eyed Fly was running behind. Saw 2 songs and left. Boring and bad.

Dandi Wind –I went to this show on purpose. Apparently I hated them last year too. While I credit the girl’s relentless energy and fake blood on her shirt, the annoying techno and screaming felt more like “punishment” than “musical performance.”

Duchess Says –Dandi Wind, but with screeching & instruments. Just say no to experimental electronic music from Montreal.

San Francisco

2008-02-26T18:52:00.001-08:00

I made my annual trek to San Francisco last week for work. In addition to the conference, I saw friends, went shopping in the rain, ate several good meals, spent hours taking pictures at the Farmer's Market, broke my phone, and got a mild case of food poisoning.

Other than the last 2 items, the trip was great. There are only pictures of the Farmer's Market outing. Fruit doesn't complain when you take out a big camera.

Refusal

2008-02-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for the free service at Calalog Choice where you can unsubscribe from all the mail order catalogs in one place.

It's a great site. Easy to use, nice UI, a database full of catalogs. I am excited to de-clutter my mailbox. I am a proficient Internet shopping. I do not need catalogs.

Today, I logged in to find out that Performance Bicycle refused my request to cancel my subscription I didn't ask for and don't want. I called customer support to complain about this crappy policy and ended up in looping voice mails that never connected me to anyone.

Nice work Performance Bicycle - I will never shop with you again and now have posted on the Internet why you suck!

Project 5: Pillows

2008-02-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas, I've collected a proper sewing tool collection. I have chalk, *really* nice dress shears, a bobbin holder case, some fancy feet for my machine, and, and and... the list goes on.

I've flipped through my 2 sewing books earmarking projects several times. I've found 65 places to buy fabric online. Everything is perfect... except the sewing. I've worked on a couple of projects over the last couple of weeks that either didn't turn out how I expected, or didn't turn out at all.

But this weekend, in a project completion frenzy, I was determined to finish something I liked.

Pillows!

I followed the instructions from Diana Rupp's Sew Everything Workshop to make a pillow with an envelope back.

The first pillow took about an hour - I spent about 20 minutes measuring and cutting fabric, another 20 minutes dealing with a jam, and another 20 sewing and ironing. The second pillow took about 20 minutes total.

I bought the fabric a couple of months ago with no specific ideas on how to use it. I have no idea if they will match with anything the recipient owns, but she'll love them anyway (I hope).

I think they are adorable, and best yet, they are machine washable!

I am still getting the hang of my machine. I really like how easy it is to control speed, but I do get jammed pretty often. I haven't figured out why yet, so that pretty frustrating. Oh, and it's European so the metal plate ticks off centimeters. I am going to have to mark my 1/2 inch seam allowance in marker.

Later this week, my friend Tara is hosting a craft night. For that, I am going to work on a cover for my sewing machine - also from Diana's book. And hopefully collect some advice to move forward on my so-far-unsuccessful "onesies" project. There are no less than 7 babies slated to receive said onesies!

Shopping = happiness

2008-02-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

I've had a couple of good weeks on the collecting material posessions front.

I got this awesome necklace from Sprout on Etsy. Dangerously, my Etsy favorites items list is growing by the day. Some prints are up next.

Also, I finally got an SLR camera!

I got a great deal on used Canon EOS 20D & 50 mm lense from someone at work. The camera is pretty intimidating, but I am excited to have it! And my 17mm-85mm lens is on the way. I expect this to be my primary lens.....friends, get ready to smile. Here's hoping I get the hang of this thing before 2009.

2007 Ends In 21

2008-01-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

I am not usually an end-of-the-year mix type. Typically, it's too much bother for me to put together what is ultimately a mix of music that only I will love.

But last year's music buying was unprecedented, and really why shouldn't I make the ultimate mix for myself. This mix is notable in the number of new albums that didn't make the cut. The cut being a totally artificial 80 minute CD limit. I have no intention of burning this to CD. But what can I say, I like the constraint.

I figure that there is at least one song on here that at least one friend will like, so I'm sharing it. If not, I can use it as the foundation of a loathsome "my music taste is better than yours" debate.

2007 Ends In 21 can be downloaded here

Here's the track list.

1. Nature Of The Experiment - Tokyo Police Club, A Lesson in Crime
2. Conquest - The White Stripes, Icky Thump
3. Sick, Sick, Sick - Queens of the Stone Age, Era Vulgaris
4. The Greater Time - Electrelane, No Shouts No Calls
5. Mystic Song - The Berg Sans Nipple, Along The Quai
6. Anti-Anti - Snowden, Anti-Anti
7. Free Stress Test - Professor Murder, Professor Murder Rides the Subway
8 Metric - Ellen Allien & Apparat, Orchestra Of Bubbles
9. Someone Great -LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver
10. 10 x10 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Is Is
11. Past In Present - Feist, The Reminder
12. it's because... we've got hair - tunng, comments of the inner chorus
13. Back In Your Head - Tegan And Sara, The Con
14. Midnight Coward - Stars, In Our Bedroom After The War
15. The Subtleties That Count - Yppah, You Are Beautiful At All Times
16. Knock 'em Out -Lily Allen, Alright, Still
17. Dang - Buck 65, Situation
18. Running out - Stateless, Stateless
19. Frau wav - Clark, Body Riddle
20. Intervention - Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
21. Tell Me in the Morning - Cold War Kids, With Our Wallets Full

(In case you are curious why the beloved on-ever-best-of-'07 Radiohead In Rainbows album isn't on here, it's because I didn't actually possess it until Jan 3rd)

Sewing Projects 3 & 4

2008-01-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

I made my sister and my mom handbags recently. Kelly's was a very late birthday gift, which I did in a sewing class with the fabulous Leslie at Stitch Lab/Glitzkrieg.

(Seriously, if you live in Austin, I highly recommend Leslie's classes. She's preternaturally patient, and focuses on teaching details that made my bags look really professional.)

Anyway, Kelly's bag was a variation of the one I made myself earlier this year. It was slightly longer with a pocket.

I made my Mom the same bag I made myself for Christmas. I added the pocket to this one too. I made this at home without Leslie looking over my shoulder. There are a couple of mistakes that I didn't catch until too late, but it still looks pretty good. I was excited about the fabric pairings for this one.

This was my first project on my new-to-me sewing machine. It was made in the 70s so learning how to thread it was an exciting standalone lesson.

I already have the fabric for my next project, which I will tackle later this month. I recently bought some basic supplies and Amy Butler's In Stitches book, and have a couple more projects earmarked. So I think this sewing thing might stick around.

Nap a day

2007-12-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

I spent my Christmas holiday in Cozumel with my family. The beaches are beautiful. The snorkeling with a blast. The island was, well, a cool little island full of mopeds, huge expanses of desert jungle, and a crowded town center of colorful buildings. The family had a great time. We had a strict schedule of daily naps, long beer lunches and early cocktail hour.

Pics are on Flickr!

The only downside was the food poisoning/Mexican sickness I picked up on Christmas. Shockingly, airplane toilets are not the best place to get comfortable for some puking.

Now, I am in the rainy North Carolina mountains with Kent and Steve until after New Years.

Yesterday started with a trip to the doctor's office and some prescriptions to ward off the last of the Mexico sickness so I'm feeling great.

I have another 3 days of daily naps, blissful eating, and hot tub trips in front of me. I plan to enjoy every minute of it!