My Best Enemy

Jaxon gave me a big hug today and said in the sweetest voice, "AWWW, you're my best enemy." I have no idea...

We've spent the week at the pool. Jaxon had his first swim lessons, and although he started the week full of fear, by the end he was willing to go down that giant water slide (the one there in the background)...

...about ten times (with mommy of course). Just in time, as we leave for the beach tomorrow. Which means I had a big to do list for the week.

I got all my work stuff done, plus:

• Made two more blocks for Around the World. The one on the left was an experiment in free piecing (I'm not sure how successful) and the one on the right, friendship stars and snowballs.

• Completed my hexagon top.

• Began ideation for the next Hoop Up. Here's what I've come up with so far. None of them are singing to me. Ideas?

Hoop Up Round 2: Portholes?
Originally uploaded by modernjax

Hoop Up Round 2: Kawaii Halloween
Originally uploaded by modernjax

Hoop Up Round 2: Tikis
Originally uploaded by modernjax

Things still to do:

• Finish packing.

• Return phone calls (really, really bad at this).

*sigh*

"I don't understand what you are talking about."

Title: I am a satellite radio junkie. Half the time I don't realize I am singing along. Yesterday Jaxon asked why I was saying those silly words during an MC Hammer song. My response: Because you can't touch this. Jaxon could not comprehend why I wouldn't want him to touch me. This went on for a few minutes (like a bad comedy routine) at which point Jaxon decided he just doesn't understand what I am talking about. As matter of fact as that.

While looking for the above link to "U Can't Touch This" I totally got sucked in to watching old Hammer videos on YouTube. Stupid interwebs.

This week we celebrated a friend's third birthday. I went a bit wild with the theme, Little Red Riding Hood.

I made a tote bag from some super cute Japanese fabric...

...a little red riding hood cape (trimmed in said Japanese fabric because I was a bit short of red in my stash), with my first French seams...

...and a big bad wolf in grandma's bonnet that flips to...

...Red (with strangely long arms).

Happy Birthday, Evie!

"I use my body as a garbage can!"

Title: Uttered by Jaxon during dinner. Charlie made Japanese, and Jaxon was peeling the red outer layer off of his crab stick. He tasted it and decided it wasn't trash after all.

We have been having some crazy heat, and my flowers are really hating it -- but the vegetable garden loves it!

Every day we check the garden and find 2 or 3 more zucchini. I already have 10 cups shredded in the freezer, and I am the only one in the house who will eat unless it's hidden in something else.







This is the first year I've grown Thai chili peppers. I'm going to attempt to dry them. We'll see how that goes.







And after 5 years, our lime tree is finally yielding some fruit! I'm excited for these to mature. Key lime pie? Margaritas?







And now that we survived Jaxon's birthday, I've had a chance to make an iPad cover for our neighbor, Renee...







...and finish this Project Improv triptych. They hang in our foyer, so this is the view I get when I come in the front door. Which, by the way, is much easier to do now that our front steps are done. Photos to come!

-- Post From My iPad

Doot doo doo, doo doo doo doo

That was my rendition of the Super Mario Bros. theme song, which gets stuck in my head *all* the time.

And this doesn't help:

I finished this Saturday, just in time to take a shower and get to a wedding -- and this was the gift. I think the groom will love it -- the bride, not so much.

See those little tootsies at the bottom? Jaxon would not stay out of the picture.




I found the perfect polka dot for the back (so thrilling when I came across it), and I wrote the "label" in one of the white strips.




All boxed up and ready to go, I decided it needed something extra for the bride.




The first time Jaxon met the happy couple he kept running between them. Finally he stopped and exclaimed "You guys make a great bridge!" That's what the pillow says, along with a credit to I'm going to try to get a better photo today when I get to watch them open this!

The pattern for the Mario quilt is from Carolina Patchworks. It was really tedious to make, but worth it in the end.

Also, thanks for all your encouragement on the Heather Ross class. I couldn't find airfare cheaper than $600, and the total for the trip was going to be $1500, or $500 per day. So I am not going, but I have something just as exciting in the pipeline so I am trying not to dwell. And this rainbow popped up after I made the decision it wasn't going to happen, I like to think confirming my decision.




-- Post From My iPad

Progress, Angst, and Events

I mentioned a while ago that we are attempting to improve the curb appeal of our house. The next step is new steps (ha!). Last week the front of our house looked like this :

A 4 year old's fantasy come to life!

Now it looks like this:




Progress! It has regularly been in the 90s this week, so I've been providing our "working guys" (as Jaxon calls them) with lots of popsicles!




A few weeks ago, I visited Cincinnati to see a concert with a friend. On the way back home I stopped at the outlets and got a great deal on this lamp -- with no shade. I spent about a week waiting for the perfect funky-fabulous-but-not-overpriced lampshade to find me. It didn't happen. So I headed to town armed with a coupon for JoAnn and came home with an adhesive lampshade. I pulled a few fabrics from my stash and let Jaxon make the final decision. He chose the octupus print by Heather Ross.




I just happened to have orange ball trim in the closet. The lamp was the finishing touch to this little corner of my sewing room. The dresser is a craigslist find painted orange (the last few pulls are somewhere in the garage). I'm quite pleased...

...but not about THIS news, and apropos that Jaxon chose Ms. Ross's fabric...You may remember back in January when I babbled on about Heather Ross teaching a fabric design course. When I called about the class it had already filled. I got on the waiting list, but with only 18 spots in the class, and me being 9th on the list, I hadn't given it any more thought (or saved my pennies).

Fast forward to two weeks before the class starts, and I get an email telling me a spot has opened up. Oh, I can't tell you the emotional roller coaster I am on! The dreamer: Fabric design as a career is a dream, and to learn from the master, WOWZERS! The practicalist: Airfare and hotel two weeks before an event?!? MUCH too expensive. So I'm torn. Had I been anticipating the trip, and planned ahead for travel, I'd be packed and ready to go...but I have had a good distraction:



...this not-so-little guy turned 4 yesterday. It's hard to believe! Today was his party, and we are all recovering from sugar shock!

-- Post From My iPad

"Take Me To Your Meter!"

Title: what Jaxon believes aliens say.

Whenever I travel I get the urge to make something to take along. I decided I *needed* a bag that would fit my laptop, iPad, dSLR, etc. This one fit the bill...

...almost too well. I overfilled it and popped the cheapy grommets. Totally fixable. I had bought the fabric for a table runner, but it seemed too perfect for a trip to Louisiana. I think I will still have enough for a runner.

I have lots of projects going on right now. I've probably overdone it in the gift department for a wedding I'm attending in mid-July, and Jaxon's birthday party is this weekend. But I did find the time to make the next block in the Quilt Around the World Bee. This one is a little out of my comfort zone, but I thought an Ohio Star would be appropriate.




-- Post From My iPad