Summer, So Far

Summer in Galveston has been, well, less than pleasant so far! We've only had rain on three days the last two months, which has led us into a drought, which has brought on a ban - usually we're used to these guidelines, but this time it's worse! At the moment, it's 92 degrees, but when you add in the humidity here it feels SO much worse. The only way it's bearable is to be in your swimsuit at the beach!

Which is exactly how we plan to spend our spare moments this summer ;)

The last few weeks after getting back from Wichita have been busy! Sliding back into the work groove, getting everything in place at work for summer, etc ... it's gonna be a busy one, folks.


- We have, as previously mentioned, gone to the beach many a time! The last time we went, there was way too much seaweed, so we just sat on the shore where the waves lap at you and watched the gulls. And picked up some seashell pieces for my RenFest costume this year!



- I think I've seen more movies this year than ever before: Thor, Green Lantern, X-Men: First Class, and Super 8 to name a few ... that last one is definitely a MUST see! It had me ENGROSSED. Of course we're going to see Transformers 3 and Harry Potter, too ... as well as Captain America ... I'm saving all the tickets to put in a journal!


- Started a log cabin quilt from "Modern Log Cabin Quilting" with Tula Pink's Prince Charming! I have to say that I'm officially in love with these blocks ... they're quick, easy, and impressive! Two (and a half) down, twenty two (and a half) to go!

- Picked up two out of print charm packs for my hexagon quilt - Arcadia and Pampered Pooches! These two were SUCH steals. And I love them so much! Consider them already cut into 2.5" squares!

- Snagged myself a bundle of 1001 Peeps. I'm debating between making a separate quilt for each Castle Peeps and 1001 Peeps ... or waiting to see what lovely quilt pattern Lizzy House has in store for us in August ... I just don't know!

- One of my other summer loves, Far Far Away 3, is headed to yours truly this week :) I can't wait! I already ordrered a 1/2 yard of two of the prints, and if you're getting the Snow White/Wildflowers/Laundry line, the drape is much more lovely than Far Far Away II (although I love them all). I haven't felt any of the girls with horses prints yet, but I imagine they'll be more similar to FFA2 than the others. I'm also not planning to use the "girls with horses" in my far far away quilt, simply because I think they don't mesh well with the rest of the lines, and I feel like they'd be better used in another, different quilt.

- Visited the Rainforest Pyramid in Galveston! This place is truly special. If you ever visit Galveston, you should make it a point to check out both the Rainforest and it's sister pyramid, the Aquarium. In the same area, there's also an I-Max theater, a few other exhibits, as well as Palm Beach, which is a three-tiered pool area with concessions and lovely white sand. Moody Gardens is a huge tourist destination on Galveston. It's also a non-profit organization and does a lot of great things in addition to providing fun, informative entertainment. Definitely a must-see!


I'm headed off to work now (it's a half-day, which means I work about as much as folks who work a 9-5 do normally...), and then off to complete yet another list of things-to-do! Have a great-day!











-

d is for delivery, that's good enough for me!

I GOT MY FABRIC!

An fat quarter bundle of the entire line of "Loulouthi" and "Prince Charming". YUM! I'm so excited. I am really, truly in love with both of them - I love how bright and cheery LouLouthi is! It's gorgeous. And I love the colors in Prince Charming as well as the details in the prints!

Other things lately ...

- Still waiting on 1001 Peeps to be in stores! (Plz to have peeps? Kthnx!)
- Also waiting on Wrenly, Far Far Away 3 (in June - UGH) and Peacock Lane!
- Ordered "Modern Log Cabin Quilting"! I'm excited to see what patterns lie within its lovely, lovely pages. I'm very grateful for the influx in contemporary quilting books on the market lately. Planning on buying myself a copy of "Block Party Quilting" as well!
- Bought myself a copy of "Witches of Eastwick"! I couldn't find it in stores, not even at Fry's or Barnes and Noble! I've only seen this once, not even in its entirety, but I definitely want to watch it again :)
- Been doing a lot of of spring cleaning lately! I have two full boxes for Goodwill ready to go, much less craft miscellania, and my fabric stash is much more organized at this point. I got rid of a lot of pieces I was never going to use, and I cut some larger, more cumbersome pieces into fat quarters so I could save some of the print without having a yard or more of a print I was never (realistically) going to use.


And some plans ...

- Going to purchase some of the solid line fat quarters from "Just Wing It". Seriously some of my favorite accompanying prints ever.
- Download some more books on my Kindle! So far: "The Great God Pan" and "Beauty and the Beast". To come: "Who Goes There?" and perhaps some Jane Austen.
- Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" comes out tomorrow! Guess who's totally all over that? I'll give you a hint: it starts with "me" and rhymes with "me".
- More stash organizing and some ironing and folding of my new lovelies!
- Getting stuff ready for my trip in June! I'll need - hexies, Kindle, clothes, everything but the kitchen sink...
- Pirates of the Caribbean 4 with my little brother! (And Thor again if I can help it...)

I'm off to clean and tidy and be a productive member of society! Later days!

- Kait

but hey, I got my new shoes on

So far, it's been an awesome week. And today is even MORE awesome - because (drumroll) it's my birthday!

I'm officially 24! :)

So far, this week's highlights have been ....

- Watching Priest with my best friends and my brother ...

- FINALLY ordering Prince Charming and LouLouthi as presents to myself! :) I'm hoping they're here monday! As well as some sweet vintage sheets, lovely japanese prints, and a charm pack of Sherbet Pips!

- I GOT A KINDLE! My boss - who became my godfather, too - bought it for me, knowing that I am constantly complaining that there's no available bookshop on the island. Definitely the best!

- A sweet customer came in and gave me some lovely lotion, body spray, and body wash from Bath & Body works! And the scent was perfect, just right!

- Discovered words with friends and it is awesome :)

- Four more blocks for my "Innocent Crush" string quilt! Now up to twelve!


I've had a wonderful birthday so far (despite working) and I'm very excited about this coming week, too. Hopefully 1001 Peeps will be in stores soon - fingers crossed, it's been driving me nuts that it's not here yet! - and Far Far Away 3 won't be too far away in June. Much love to everyone who wished me a happy birthday - you definitely made it sweeter :)

Saturday Catch-up!

It's been a busy week, as usual, punctuated by a messed up sleep schedule and rage at the centipedes that are currently usurping my house.

-Went and saw Thor. This is when I get my nerd on, but seriously, that movie is AWESOME! :) I'm buying it when it comes out for sure. And did you know that, in mythology, the eight-legged horse Sleipnir - which was considered the horse to end all horses, he was that good - was the son of a stallion and Loki? (As in, Loki turned into a mare and got knocked up?) Damn Norse Mythology, you scary!

- Finished my donation quilt! There'll be a later post about that :)

- Bought some more charm packs for my hexagon quilt! I haven't counted my hexies in a while, but I know their numbers are well over 2000. It'll end up being a queen size when I'm done with it, but at the moment I'm just trying to finished getting them all basted ... I ordered Jovial and Watercolor Garden by Benartex, and I'm in the market for some Sherbet Pips and some new charm packs coming out soon.

- Two more blocks for my Innocent Crush quilt! This one really makes me happy. And now that I've got one obligation out the way, I can work on it more! The picture above is six of the blocks I'd already finished :)

- Cleaned my apartment. Somewhat. I still have a LOT to do, but it's getting there!

I'm off to actually do some work I'm paid for. Later days!

tuesday and happenings

I wish I could come up with some very catchy words for my blog post titles. I'm just not very inspired by titles. Maybe I'll be a smart kid and stick with phrases or song lyrics, if I can remember any.

In any case, this has been a very busy weekend...


- Mother's Day came and went. I worked many hours, all weekend, and am now very glad that it's over and that there's no holiday this Sunday.

- I busted my butt and tried to finish the hand-quilting on my donation quilt, but I'm still working on it as we speak. I didn't realize the deadline had changed from Thursday to Tuesday PM, so I'm really in a bind today! (No pun intended, but that's kind of ironic consider I need to bind the damn thing, also). I'll be glad to cross this one off the list!

- Pulled out all my fabrics for my friend's Wedding Quilt, and with any luck I'll be started tomorrow.

- Cleaned my dad's house! Kind of. I washed the laundry! Sometimes I don't know how my mom managed it all - then again, she wasn't trying to do the major overhaul of the house we were, but I bet she would have been able to complete that better, too.

- Got five more "Far Far Away" Fat Quarters in! I -love- this line. The double gauze is precious. I'm only missing one print ... the snails in orange and pink, which I intend to buy in a week or so. I'm also loving the West Hill Frogs print that I bought (and plan to hoard)!

- I have more vintage sheet fat quarters on the way! I was so glad to see that there were more available in ironsea's shop - Jeni seriously has some of the best, prettiest fat quarters around! She even had some purple ones, which I HAD to snatch up! Other great sources for vintage sheet fat quarters are sosovintage and whimsiedots, both of which I love to buy from! I've got a bundle coming in from whimsiedots later this week :)

- The Lonely Island's new album, Turtleneck and Chain, comes out today!!! Can you guess where I'll be this afternoon? At Target. Buying it. And then, for the next forever, listening to it because if you could marry a band and not just a person I would marry the Lonely Island and live in their studio.

I think I'm going to put that picture of them on the album cover in my kitchen. <3<3<3


What are my goals for my off day?

- Clean my weird apartment. There are these millipede-things that are invading my lovely abode and I'm going to go Rambo on ALL OF THEM. Also need several air filters/light bulbs changed.
- Hit up the Super Duper Goodwill in Webster with my best bud and her fiance. I'm in the market for more vintage sheets!
- Finally take some of those non-useful, space absorbing things to Goodwill like I was supposed to. That includes several organizers/etc, books, and movies, because they are cluttering my small space UP!
- Complete five or six blocks on my friend's wedding quilt.
- Sew a couple blocks on my Innocent Crush quilt (six down; only 42 left to go! Sounds simple, right? Right?)
- Watch the Korean drama "You're Beautiful" in its entirety. Maybe that's a "this week" kind of thing, but seriously, if you love sappy, funny love stories, that's the one for you. Go Mi Nyeo is a nun-to-be in an orphanage, getting ready to leave for Rome. But she's contacted by the manager for the super-hot and super-popular group AnJell, whose new member - Go Mi Nam - happens to be her twin brother. Turns out that big brother got some minor plastic surgery with not-so-minor issues, so he's out for the month - and the manager wants HER to fill in. (Of course she falls in love with the band's surly, demanding leader, Hwang TaeKyung). Check it out on mysoju or dramafever!

Later days;)

Mother's Day

mama,

mama, you know I love you

mama,

mama you're the queen of my heart

your love is like tears from the stars

mama i just want you to know

that loving you's like food to my soul

to my mom

who is miss very much

and who was really
(truly)

the very best mom in the world.

love, katie

busy, like a bee

I love getting things accomplished. Cleaning the house - throwing away unnecessary things - making the house look neat, tidy, and much less cluttered. All of these things make me feel incredibly happy and fulfilled!

I left work around 9:30 p.m. last night and even though I'd been tired all day (and my allergies are really kicking my butt!), I decided to go to my dad's house and do some much-needed cleaning for my guys! I did a load of laundry (as much as I could), folded another load, cleaned up a plastic organizer for my little brother, washed and put away their dishes, and threw away another slew of things that I'll never use and -they'll- never use either. I'd been dreading going back over there - just because it seems like so MUCH, but once I did, and really started cleaning, I felt much betetr! And less tired, actually; my dad always says that "dreaded anticipation is worse than present actuality," and I have truth in that statement time and time again.

After my dad's house, I went home to my own - and started pulling out things I KNEW I wouldn't use, wasn't ever going to use. I kept a bunch of felt I'd bought - mainly because I do make needlebooks from time to time, and sometimes softies, and it's always useful to have on hand.

But I threw away some old fabrics that were cut up for a quilt I have no intention to make, and took all my paints out of my pretty Liberty of London boxes and put my vintage sheets there, instead. I really love the contrast of those two! I have another Liberty box I'm planning of taking the paint of, but that's a job for later.

I also ironed and neatly set up all of my strips for my Innocent Crush Strip Quilt, and cut out another twenty or so white strips for the centers of my blocks. It's a lot more inspiring than having them in a trash bag, that's for sure!

I even quilted on my donation quilt, which I should have been doing the whole time, but hey! I finished one block of quilting and started on another, and I hope to be done in the next few days and get this puppy bound.

My goals for today?
- Finish the rest of my laundry.
- Quilt at least two more blocks for my donation quilt.
- Pull fabrics for a needlebook, ala Sew She Sews tutorial here!
- Put up all that pesky laundry I haven't touched.
- Actually make the bed? I kind of have a "thing" about making beds - as in, I don't really ever do it, because it's a waste of time when I UNmake it - but I'm going to try so that my bedroom looks nice and pretty.
- For that matter, remember what's in those bags on the floor by the bed and either throw them away or put them away
- Go through my movies. Never gonna watch it again? Put it in the donation box!
- Actually GET a donation box.
- Indulge myself and sew a few more Innocent Crush string quilt blocks before I start on my bestie's wedding quilt!

Is that a list or what? Considering that I've got about ... three hours to do it, once I get off work, I'd say so :)