Patchwork Planet

Good news

Jennifer — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:13:41 +0000

Shawn got some good news a few weeks ago!

Never a dull moment

Jennifer — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:42:18 +0000

After coming home from what is usually a crazy morning at work each day, here’s what I have to look forward to:

Keeping these two out of each other’s space is a full time job.

Almost ready

Jennifer — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:22:56 +0000

We’re going on a mini-vacation this weekend. It looks like our first batch of tomatoes may be ready to be harvested when we get back!

Quilters unite!

Jennifer — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:25:41 +0000

I just got home from my first Quilting Guild meeting. That’s right, there’s actually a guild here! I am so, so excited. Not only is it a great way to share my love of quilting (crafting is WAY more fun when it’s done in groups), but these ladies really know their stuff. They hosted a quilt show last week and I’m seriously impressed by some of their work. Maybe some of it will rub off on me — fingers crossed. On top of all that, it’s a great way to meet some new people, most of which have lived on the island for a long time. I’m already excited for next week’s meeting!

Mail call

Jennifer — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:44:40 +0000

It’s been a tough week - both at work and at home. To give you an idea of what I mean when I say a tough week at home: I slept in the guest room last night because the dog decided to pee all over my side of the bed while Shawn and I watched the State of the Union Address. Precious. (I tell myself that she’s not smart enough to actually mean anything by that.) But today was brightened by the arrival of my order from Fabric Depot!

Fabric Depot sales are one of the many things I miss about living in Portland, but I picked up a few things on sale online recently.

This box of 50 spools of thread totally makes my day. And I love how orderly it looks all lined up.

And some charm squares: Kona Cotton (on the bottom in bright and dusty palettes) and Love U by Moda, which I’ve had my eye on for a while. I’ve got no plans for any of these, but couldn’t resist when I found them on sale. Just look at those snails and turtles!

So that’s what’s keeping me happy this week. Well, that and the promise of a Miami Vice daiquiri (with rum, of course, but you have to specify) tonight at Twin Brothers. Mmmm.

Population boom

Jennifer — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:08:55 +0000

Every year or so, it seems that suddenly almost every married friend I have around my age is pregnant. Right now is one of those times: I know 7 pregnant women and 2 women that have had babies in the past two months. Luckily, I love making gifts for babies. And while I can’t make gifts for everyone, obviously, I do try to make gifts for close friends.

Here’s my most recently completed baby gift:

These pictures were taken before washing and drying. Unfortunately, when it came out of the dryer, the lovely (and very time-consuming) running stitch lines had shrunk more than the rest of the blanket, pulling it into a wonky mess. So those are no more. I think it looks okay without them - not quite as cute, but oh, well. Being machine wash/dry -able is more important than looks and those lines kind of seemed like baby fingers might get stuck in them anyway.

And when I’m not making gifts for other people, I’m working on ones for our “baby.” Here’s Laika enjoying her new homemade bed and granny square blanket:

2010

Jennifer — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:43:58 +0000

Twenty-ten. Two thousand-ten. Whatever. I don’t know what’s up with me, but I’m not really in the mood to start a new year. Can’t we just slow down a little? Maybe take a nap instead?

I can’t remember if I explicitly discussed this, but I’ve started working at the Embassy. It’s been almost two months and it’s nothing if not interesting. I find myself getting frustrated at things during the day at work, but then I’ll tell Shawn stories about my morning on the way home for lunch and realize that it’s all just a little silly. Sometimes I wish that everyone knew how to take a step back and look at their “issues” from another perspective. I think we’d all be a little happier.

But work is only four hours a day. And it gets me out of the house. To be honest, I was going a little stir crazy before I started working. Of course, Witty Designs has suffered. Production has, well…not happened at all since we got to Nassau. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I am going to try and get started working on bags again. Soon. I mean it. Right after I take that nap.

A long week

Jennifer — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:53:03 +0000

Shawn’s been in Washington since last Sunday for training. I was supposed to pick him up at the airport yesterday, but then this happened. So he can’t get a flight back to Nassau until Monday morning. It’s been a long week without him. I’ve tried to keep busy, but seeing as I’m kind of a homebody anyway, it takes a lot of effort to go out.

With it being so close to the holidays, there was at least an Embassy party to go to on Friday night. And last Sunday, I got together with a couple of friends to go and see Johnny Depp receive a lifetime achievement award at the Bahamas International Film Festival. Yes, that Johnny Depp, of Sexist Man Alive status.

It was a very Bahamian event - including starting 45 minutes late (while we sat on hard chairs in the dark), and check out the soundtrack:

Oh, did I mention that Sean Connery presented the award? He lives on the island, though, so it wasn’t a big deal for him to swing by.

And here’s a clip of Depp talking about researching roles, the Mad Hatter in particular. (I’m so excited about this movie, by the way. Shawn said he got to see a preview in 3D!)

Recently witnessed

Jennifer — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:47:35 +0000

There have been moments over the past three days during which Laika and Peema have appeared to actually get along. Laika nuzzles Peema’s belly, while Peema purrs and kneads her claws into Laika’s face. (Yes, this is Laika’s idea of a good time.) I just heard some soft meowing and purring coming from the next room and walked over to find this:

I have only one thing to say: The end is near, my friends, very near.

Homemade

Jennifer — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:14:45 +0000

We made pizzas for dinner last night. It was a new crust recipe and it came out a little more bread-y than I expected, so we really could have shared one pizza, but that would have meant that we had to agree on toppings. Instead, we were both just really full.

I was going to share some pictures from my trip to Florida last week (training for work), but I realized that I downloaded them to the laptop last night, which is currently with Shawn, who is on his way to DC (training for work). So those will have to wait.