Yes!

Well, I have to say this week started out on a bit of a frustrating note. Nothing major, just one of those weeks were nothing is working out quite right. Every day I needed something that I COULD NOT find. My apartment is not large, nor is it messy, so I feel like I should not be losing things this often. Of course, when one thing I was looking for ended up being found 2 days later taped to a bag of chips in my pantry, maybe I should really start to wonder about what exactly is happening here!

I was also a bit emotional surrounding the issue of birth control pills. I wont get into it here, but I am basically thinking they have kept me from being who I want to be. I will no longer be taking them. I was off them for a while and recently went back on them. Then I went insane again, and started feeling sad and nervous and anxious and jealous and lazy and lethargic. Crying for no reason at all. Unable to have conversations without breaking down in tears. Basically, how I felt all of my last year in Indianapolis. It was awful, and feels upsetting when I think about it too much.

Today I was lazily looking through Facebook photos someone posted of a movie in the park night that i went to on Sunday. From there I clicked through to a blog, and read a bunch of posts. There was a post on fun things to do in Nashville, and a list of lots of things but for some reason a place called Mercy Lounge just stood out to me, so I looked it up. It is a concert venue, so I checked out their calendar. Turns out tomorrow night is a Vandaveer show. Vandaveer is a band I have on a burned cd my friend Martha made me back in 2007. Back then I looked for tour dates, but they were in Europe, and then I never really thought of it again, though I do still listen to that cd. It was just so weird to see that they were playing here, and not only that, that I found out about it, and not only THAT, but I am not working tomorrow so I can go! I probably wont know any songs since I only have their 2007 album, but I am really excited about it for some reason, I guess because it seems so random that I know about it at all. Like destiny. 

So maybe this week is starting to turn around. Leaving for Chicago Friday and that will be a great weekend with delicious food and drink and old friends and new friends and I’m super excited!

 

(Photo credit)

 

New Job Update

Cool old wood floors in the “stables”

Yesterday I mentioned a new job. I got hired at new restaurant in town. I probably shouldnt mention it by name here because it’s got its own PR firm and those people hunt down everything anyone writes about it, so just in case, I’ll be vague. It’s a place that gets a lot of press (Vanity Fair, New York TImes, New Yorker), and the chef is really well known too (Iron Chef, James Beard awards, etc). We got to mee the chef last week and he talked to us about what he is trying to do, which is not only cook in a way that relates to Southern cuisine, but to actually rebuild a lot of what the south was built on, like finding heirloom seeds that used to thrive in the South, and start planting, growing, and cooking with them again. He was really interesting to listen to, and he gave me a lot of ideas that relate to my own work, which was pretty cool.

So many wines!

On Monday and Tuesday this week we tasted the whole wine list. It started out fun but became pretty exhausting, as we were tasting like 25 wines per day. The first day we tasted whites and I was drinking the whole taste that they poured us. It was funny, some managers had extremely light hands when pouring, and then one guy was giving us way way too much.

BBQ

I got a bit tipsy on Monday (and towards the end I did start spitting, and then on Tuesday I dumped out extra wine throughout the whole tasting) and decided to eat some BBQ that they provided for lunch. for 5 years I was a successful vegetarian up North, and in 2 months in the South I ate meat. Well, it was a combination of being starving, being tipsy, and loving pulle pork, and wanting to try some Southern BBQ after a week of training and hearing all about southern cuisine. And it was soooo yummy. I am not hanging up my vegetarianism, but, especially at the new place I’ll be working, I think there will be a lot of opportunities to eat responsible, ethical meat, and I’ll just decide on a case by case basis what I want to do. (For instance, some of the meat we use here is raised by the best friend of the chef on his small farm in Virginia.)(There is also a garden in the yard of the restaurant, which is in an old Victorian house just one block from my apartment!)

Anyway, I have my first shift at the restaurant tonight, although they are not actually open yet and its just a fancy investors dinner or something. But I havent seen the restaurant with the tables set up and the dust wiped away and the chandeliers and artwork hung up, so that’ll be fun. Wish me luck!

 

This Week

Last week I found a used book store to check out. I just checked out their food writing section, because I was inspired after meeting the new chef at my restaurant. They had a bunch of books that were right inline with what I was interested in. I only bought for of them, but then it turned out they were all 20% off. Meant to be!

Also for my new job we had to get jeans from this awesome jeans store here in Nashville called Imogene + Willie. The store is half merchandise and half people sewing jeans, so they are made right here in town. It was fun to get jeans I would never be able to afford otherwise. These are all their jeans patterns hanging from the ceiling.

Stopped on afternoon for a beer and some free time to read and write on the patio at 12 South Taproom.

I saw this bright yellow bird when I was walking to work one day. I dont know what kind it is but it was really cute. Then the next day I saw  blue jay, but he was too elusive for photos.

I snapped this picture on my way back from a run the other day and I thought it was just sorta funny because its the horse and buggy and its in front of that old building that looks like an old outpost or something. Really doesnt make Nashville look like a very modern city, but I promise it is!

Modern Patchwork Wonky Star Quilt

Red and Aqua Star Patchwork

I showed a little sneak peak of this quilt a while ago but here she is in all her glory. I did alternating blocks where  there was either aqua squares and a white/red star or white squares with an aqua star. It didnt take too long to piece together.

Closer

I also discovered that I can stick whole finished quilts to my design wall, and since my apartment is so sunny during the day it makes it a bit easier to take photos of them. Though I still find it pretty tricky to take a good picture of a quilt, which is frustrating.

Detail Shot

Here is a close up of some of the fabrics I used. There are some of my favorites that I’ve had for a while, like those funny red bunnies, some turtles, lobsters, star bursts.

The back

The back is two Aneela Hoey fabrics that I got at French Seam a long time ago. I think they’re really cute and cheerful and perfect for baby/kid quilts.

Quilting lines

To quilt it I just did straight lines down the seams of each large block containing the stars and then around each star. I think it gives it enough texture without making it too busy, which I feel like might have happened if I had done free motion quilting.

So now I’m working on a few gifts and an Etsy order but I’ve been so busy with other things that I’ve been pretty bad this month about sewing. But I’m just doing what I can and hopefully my schedule will settle down and I can get a set schedule and have, hopefully, lots of time to sew again! And maybe even get a workout or two in as well.

Around Here

Quilt Pieces

Well, I’ve just been sewing, and working, and entertaining guests! Last week I started working on a quilt for Carrie’s new baby girl! I wanted to make it super pink and girly so I chose the “Retro Flowers” quilt pattern.

On the wall

I was trying to get it finished before Carrie visited but it didnt happen. I think that I will try some handquilting, now that I have some extra time since the baby isnt due until Sept. I’ll keep you posted!

Work Shirt

I also found this cute shirt at Anthro to wear to work. It looks good with colored skinny jeans too, for when I’m not at work. It’s in the sale closet now! I also got new jeans and a purse. Mini shopping spree!

Wine and cheese

Afternoon snack of blue cheese and crackers with a little bit of white wine. Yummy! I like to pretend I’m French when I drink wine during daylight hours.

 

Out on the town

Carrie was here over the weekend and we ate lots and lots of good food, did some fabric shopping, and hung out. Our favorite things!

Robert’s Western World

This bar is supposed to be the best on Honky Tonk row. The band we saw was really fun and the guitar player was this 18 year old kid who was so amazing! He also looked like he should have been on That 70s Show. It was really fun.

Alissa and me

Alissa also joined us for dinner, so I had to do triple duty on drinking since neither one of them could. Just kidding, I only had two glasses of wine! And yummy salad and pizza and chocolate chip cookie desert.

So pretty!

We also did a little bit of shopping and found this wedding dress that I love. I know it’s really simple but it’s what I’ve always imagined wearing. Not that I’m getting married anytime soon!!

So that’s a little of what I’ve been up to. This week I start training at a new restaurant so Im sure I’ll be busy but will hopefully still have time for some sewing. I am working on a dress that now needs to be ripped apart and resewn. Fun! I really wish I could find my seam ripper.

More soon! Hope everyone has a great week.

Quilt for Abby

Over the weekend my chilhood friend Abby had a baby shower for her first baby, which is going to be a boy. I couldnt make it up to Chicago for the party so I made sure to send a quilt in my place.

Abby’s style is very preppy and traditional, lots of navy and nautical themes. I did a bit of stalking on her baby registry as well to see the style she was going for. I knew I wanted something with bright colors, straight lines, and nothing super baby-ish. I’d seen this kind of linked-looking pattern before but had no idea what it was called so I just kind of winged the pattern.

Linked boxes

It is essentially just squares and strips but I think they come together in an interesting way, and it was different than other quilts I’ve done so it was fun for me too. I included some madras plaid, alligators, and whales, which were also on her registry.

Close up

You may recognize the plaid binding fabric from my sewing injury post, I was sewing late into Sunday night in order to finish and mail this on Monday. Im trying to rush to finish a quilt this week too, but I’ll be more careful with the rotary blade this time.

Quilting

The quilting lines dont show up much on the front of this one, I just followed the seam lines and did stitch in the ditch along the “chains” and also around the small squares in the middle of the box.

The back

You can see the quilting a little bit on the back, which I was almost able to make out of one piece of farbic but it didnt quite make it, so I patched a row of squares along the top and bottom. As you can see, the bottom row got cut off a bit, but oh well.

Overlooking LP Field

And here is one last picture before I sent it off. This is a cool stone wall the borders the parking lot at my building, which looks towards downtown and the stadium where the Titans play.

I hope Abby liked the quilt and I can’t wait to meet the new little baby, who is due in July!

Nashville Fabric Shop Adventure

I finally ventured to a fabric shop called Stitcher’s Garden last week. It is in Franklin, TN, a town about 25 minutes south of Nashville. I learned about it when I checked out a quilt guild meeting i n Franklin last month. The ladies in the meeting were very excited that we hadnt been there before and were anxious to hear our reactions to it. Apparently the woman who owns it is a hoarder and in addition to the fabric in the store, she also keeps a fat quarter of every fabric she stocks for herself. I can only imagine what her house looks like.

Fat quarter anyone?

 

Actually, it probably looks a lot like this! This is about one third of the fat quarter wall. You can barely get to the shelves and its hard to find fat quarters because you cant really see them since they are rolled up instead of folded. I suppose they are color coordinated, but it’s still crazy.

Bolt madness!

 

And this is a view from the front of the store. To the left are very claustrophobic aisles of fabric with bolts stacked up ten high on top of the shelves. It can be kind of hard to get what you want if it’s on the bottom of the pile. The far left wall is all organized by color.

“Cutting” counter

Their cutting counter is also completely covered by bolts of fabric, so they dont actually cut your yardage for you they rip it, which is somewhat common. Some people dont like this method but it doesnt really bother me. I wonder if they always ripped fabric, or did they start doing it out of necessity because there was never any room to lay out and unroll a bolt?

 

My loot

Despite all the craziness of their inventory they do have a decent amount of good quilting cotton, and a lot of different designers and lines that I love. I also heard they dont do sales, so some of the fabric sticks around for a long time. It was like walking down memory lane, and I was seeing a lot of fabric I had used many years ago. I ended up finding some fat quarters of a comma print I’ve been eyeing, a bright pink solid, a red to pink ombre cotton, some yellow tiles I almost bought on sale like a year ago but which then sold out, and some Kaffe Jasset polka dots in my favorite colorway to use as binding on my quilt I’m doing for my bed, if I ever finish quilting it…. ANd some white with pearly dots for a different quilt. Overall a successful, though slightly overwhelming trip. But I’d definitely go back! I just wish it wasnt so far away. Their prices are much better than the quilt shop by my house.

My First Sewing Injury

 

 

 

I guess I can be sort of a clumsy person. I think it’s mostly just lack of paying attention to what I’m doing, and also hurrying too much. It really doesnt bother me, although Aaron used to always tell me I was going too fast and that I should pay closer attention to things. Anyway, last week I was sewing and I thought to myself, it’s weird that I havent injured myself sewing yet. (I often cut myself with knives, or run into things, or drop things on my feet). I once read about a person who sewed through their finger with their sewing machine (OWWWW) and that always pops into my mind now. (Turns out my sewing friend here did that and the needle broke off inside her finger. Icky!)

The cut

Well I couldnt really get any good photos of it, but Sunday night I sliced the side of my finger with my brand new blade, super-sharp rotary cutter. I was sort of rushing through making some binding for a quilt I wanted to finish by Monday (and I still did!) and it was late at night.

The scene of the crime

It was amazing how much blood was pouring out so I kinda freaked out. I had also had two drink earlier that night so I was nervous my blood was too thin! I dont think going out to see a show and then coming home to sew at midnight is the best idea I’ve ever had. (But the show, my first live music outing in Nashville, was awesome!)

Owie

I got the bleeding to stop after about 30 minutes of squeezing my finger, so that was good. It seems to be healing up pretty quickly. I wonder if I’ll have a scar? Eventually I’ll have one on every finger of this hand! The pinky has one from using the “Super Slicer” many moons ago without the holder thing, and the thumb has a scar from where I shredded it on a cheese grater. This is all on my left hand….maybe I’m not left handed afterall?? I certainly dont seem to be very accurate with my left hand!

I”ll post picutres of the quilt soon (which I managed NOT to get blood on). It is a gift that wont be opened until Saturday, so just in case that person reads this blog I’ll keep it under wraps for now.

Good Find

Trader Joe’s Granola

I discovered a most delicious cereal at Trader Joe’s last week. First of all, it is called granola, but it isnt really. It’s got these yummy shell-shaped flakes like cereal, then some weird little crispy dots, lots of yummy nuts, and the bare minimum of dried fruit, which it turns out is exactly how I prefer my granola! It also comes in a bag which I think is cool. It’s very filling and yummy. Try it!

Dressmaking Adventure

I am now, finally, finished with the top and back for the quilt I am making for my bed. I just need to order some batting (JoAnn Fabrics is so far away from me! Highly inconvenient). (I mean, like 25 minutes, but still.) So while I wait for that (and I’m also waiting on inspiration to strike in terms of exactly how I should quilt it) I am going to break into my box o’ fabric that has been marked for clothing.

I have a habit of seeing a pattern I like, buying fabric for it, and then never making it. But I really want that to change so I am slowly going to be working through my list (of like 20 projects) and really try not to buy MORE fabric for MORE patterns until I make some of these. (Yes, last week I did buy some awesome skirt fabric, and some great polka dot fabric for a top. My resolve is not super strong.).

I’m hoping I’m starting off pretty easy. I’ve picked a dress from Burda’s website that is really just 4 pieces. This is what their model looks like wearing it, and I am sure I will end up looking just as good.

Basking in the sun

I actually already have a few white dresses so I am going for a different look and using some kinda bright circle fabric I found. I think it will hopefully look cute with my brown boots and maybe this bright neon belt I have.

So I will keep you posted and let you know how it goes! Darn, I just realized I havent prewashed my fabric yet and I just did laundry yesterday.

I am also going to try out the method of tracing your pattern onto the fabric instead of pinning the pattern to it and cutting out around it. So I have to read up on that a little bit still.

Also in the works for this week: Binding the two baby quilts I finished last week, starting on some baby shower gifts, and finally making the pillow covers for my couch with the fabric I bought at Mood!