Crafts featured knitting music quilting sewing: amy karol angry chicken gems on the web heather ross Indigo Girls Poseidon and the Bitter Bug quilt retreat sewing
by Blabby

1 comment
Look at these!
- Amy’s undies
- Rebecca’s slippers
- Heather’s new book!!!
- New Indigo Girls CD
I’ve pre-ordered Heather’s book and the new Indigo Girls cd already…I can’t wait for their arrival!
This weekend is my quilting retreat! I thought it was Thursday for a few minutes this morning and I got so excited that my retreat was tomorrow. Then I realized it’s only Wednesday :( Crushing sadness. But then, I thought, it’s already Wednesday! Only one more day to go! How’s that for glass-half-full?
Speaking of retreat, I need to go purchase my wine contribution today!
blabbery Crafts featured music quilting: brandie carlile denyse schmidt fabric Indigo Girls moda snake charmer starry night hollow YouTube
by Blabby

3 comments
oh, blog, how I’ve missed you
Man, it’s been a whirlwind around here. My job has been a little busier than normal, my guild has been requiring a lot of time, by the time I have a minute to blog, I just don’t want to look at the computer. So anyway, I thought I’d give you the low down on my concert real quick, and then jump to today.
Instead of going on and on about the great harmonies, the awesome musicianship, the surprises, I think I’ll just use a youtube video to show you the awesomeness. This is from a different show, but it’s a great recording of my favorite song they sang, Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice.”
There are tons of great Indigo Girl videos on You Tube. So, if you’re a fan of good singer/songwriters that can play a mean guitar/banjo/mandolin/piano/harmonica, check them out.
Okay, enough of that. I’ve been reading quite a few Harlequin Sillhouete Romantic Suspense novels. Mostly June and July 08 books. I couldn’t tell you the titles or authors. None have been so remarkable that I remember those things, but they’ve all been pretty good. No stinkers in the bunch.
I got a big bunch of fabric this weekend. Starry Night Hollow Quilt Shop in Encinitas had a good sale this weekend. I’ll post some pics later today. I also finished all the blocks for a new quilt - Denyse Schmidt’s Snake Charmer pattern. I’m using Moda’s Peas & Carrots. Its coming out pretty nice. Not sure how I’m going to quilt it yet. I like that Denyse tied it in the pattern.
Crafts fabric featured music quilting sewing: applique applique patterns compai concert t-shirt Crafts craftster deconstruction diy Indigo Girls inspiration sewing susan prioleau tshirt surgery tutorial
by Blabby

2 comments
Applique and t-shirt surgery
BettyNinja left me a nice comment saying I should write a tutorial for my appliqué aprons. Betty, I’m afraid the only tutorial I’m qualified to write is to say that I think everyone should take an appliqué class at a local quilt shop. I took one class, and the teacher (Susan Prioleau) taught a great technique and answered all my questions. Now I feel like I can follow any pattern, and I’m even working on my own designs. I seem to see appliqué everywhere.
I was in a used book store the other day, and I saw this great book of stories with all these fun medieval illustrations. Here’s one - I think it would be a very cool appliqué design.
My other current love is t-shirt surgery. Indigo Girls are headed to Humphrey’s in San Diego next week, and I really wanted to wear one of my old concert t-shirts, but they’re all awful. They’re huge men’s shirts that look terrible. So, I took my favorite one (sorry for the inappropriate picture on the front), resized it, added better sleeves and a hood! It’s not perfect, but it fits great, and it’s much better than it was before. I read a lot of tutorials on craftster and on other blogs before I got started, but it was pretty straight forward.
(Pictures after the jump)
Step one: lay a shirt that fits you on top of one that doesn’t. Trace around it. Pin the shirt and cut away the excess.
Step two: cut out your pieces - sleeves, hood, extra pockets, whatever you’re adding.
Step three: sew your extra pieces (close up the sleeves, hem the hood).
Step four: attach new pieces to your old shirt.
Step five: sew up sides of your old shirt.
There was a lot of debate about the best stitch to use on stretchy fabric if you don’t have a serger. I just used a straight stitch to join things, and then topstitched the seams open with a straight stitch using a twin needle. It worked great, and allowed me to add in some contrasting thread. Let me know if you have questions.
for pictures, click here… more »
music: Amy Ray Brandi Carlile Emily Saliers Indigo Girls YouTube
by Blabby

leave a comment
Brandi Carlile
I tivoed the Viva Las Vegas Elvis special the other night just to watch the Brandi Carlile and Chris Issac performance. Man, that girl never disappoints. If you’re not listening to her, you should be. I’ve already said it, but the concert I went to this summer where she opened with and then sang with the Indigo Girls was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Those girls wail.
On You Tube, there’s a wealth of bootleg videos - presumably made by people much braver than me, sneaking their camera phones and camcorders into concerts. Here’s a great version of Brandi’s Cannonball.
music: Amy Ray Brandi Carlile Emily Saliers girls with guitars Indigo Girls Susan Wiggs Thao
by Blabby

1 comment
Super Awesome Music Weekend!
This weekend, I went to not one but TWO Indigo Girls concerts. The first one I have had tickets for for months. I went with four friends. We went out to dinner first and made it into a fun girls’ night out. I even stayed and won a little money at blackjack (concert was in a casino) after the show. It was awesome. Both concerts were acoustic - just the girls and their guitars/banjos/mandolins.
Sunday night’s show opened with a band called Thao. They were good musicians, and I liked the lead singer’s voice, but I couldn’t understand what she was singing. This was particularly disappointing because when she spoke in between songs, she was really funny. Then she’d introduce a song with something like, “This is our most controversial song,” and then I couldn’t understand a dern thing she was being controversial about.
When the Indigo Girls came on, it was non stop singing/playing-their-asses-off music. I wonder just how many guitars they really have. Because their guitar-handler (not sure what the real title is there) would bring out a different one in between every song.
Basically, I loved every minute of it. So much so, that I broke down the next morning and bought another $50 ticket to see the next show a few towns away. (Thanks, sweet husband, for watching the baby again, so I could go rock out to my favorite band!) I decided to go to this one alone, so I could stand up and sing the whole time without feeling like I was annoying or embarrassing anyone.
This is a long post, so read the rest after the jump. more »
Democrats music presidential candidates republicans ridiculous people: George W. Bush Indigo Girls Presidential Debates tolerance
by Blabby

leave a comment
Election coverage, already?
Lots of people have voiced annoyance at the early debates, the huge amount of candidate coverage already happening. I feel like this country is so ready for change, it’s seeping out of our pores. We’re already getting fired up to bring in change. Hopefully, positive change.
I know that in both 2000 and 2004, I felt so let down. How could an entire half of my country feel SO differently than me? For the first time in my life, I wanted to live somewhere else. But my hope is alive again…I’ve cried my last tears.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er6du7KEQhA]
I considered posting this on my other blog, InformedVoter2008.com, but I’m trying to keep that one a little less biased. This is very difficult for me, because I am very biased. Which is probably why I haven’t been updating that blog as much as I should.
The secret to fitness…
…must be proper motivation. I’ll be the first to admit it - I’m no runner. I’m hardly a jogger. I’m best categorized as a waddler. That’s right, it’s a sort of sad version of March of the Penguin (minus the belly slides, if I’m lucky) every day on the treadmill. But today, I ran 1.5 miles! That’s right - I ran 1.5 miles because I changed the music in my iPod.
So here’s the secret to my success - CADENCES! I don’t know if it’s just bringing back happy memories of my time on Active Duty (wait, I don’t remember happy times…), but there is nothing more motivating to me than someone yelling, “C-130 Rolling Down the Strip…” and hearing a bunch of tired voices repeating. I can run to Georgia just like that. (That’s also a cadence. That was just a joke. I really can’t run to Georgia.)
So my new iPod mix is this:
- Dance Dance by Fall Out Boy
- Candy Man by Christina Aguilera
- Run to Cadence with the Army Rangers (about 40 minutes of different cadences)
- Dear Mr. President by Pink with the Indigo Girls
- The Wood Song by the Indigo Girls
It worked perfectly. The first two songs got me warmed up walking, then I put the treadmill at 5.3 and jogged to cadences for 25 minutes. Then I did situps and pushups to my girls Pink, Emily and Amy sticking it to George in the best way. That last song, The Wood Song, is just my all-time favorite Indigo Girls song, perfect for stretching, and it always makes me happy.
Now if you do that math, 1.5 miles in 25 minutes is pretty terrible. But jogging for 25 minutes straight? Without walking? Without quitting? I smell accomplishment, and it smells great!
Last week, I bought a $50 iTunes gift card at COSTCO for $44.90 - excellent deal. I highly recommend it if you purchase a lot of music. That’s five free songs!