Still Without Laptop...

Does anyone else have trouble coming up with what to post on your blog? I'm a sloooww quilter, so what else do I want to post about during the week where I accomplish nothing? Most of the time, I have ideas, but I'm too busy or lazy to write up a post. I don't use my schedule button like I should, I know. I bet it's a God-send to millions of bloggers our there...

Of course the week without my personal laptop, is the week where I could have posted about a million (10) posts. It's how it goes, I guess.

Even though I'm a day late, there was an awesome link up at Ellison Lane Quilts, where everyone linked up their studio/sewing rooms! Some are SO great, with mountains of rainbow fabric calling my name! I'm so jealous. I've actually been meaning to post my sewing area for a few months, but I was so tired yesterday that I forgot to link up and win some awesome prizes. GRrr.

So that will be up on the blog one of these days.

I'm exactly half-way done piecing (sewing together the different fabrics to make a design) a quilt top from a fabric bundle that came with a pattern called "Flutter", that I bought over a year ago from a quilt shop about 30 miles away. It's a spin on the log cabin block. But I am SO OCD. I know that with quilting there are minimal rules...basically you need a 1/4" seam allowance, but there are no rules to creating a quilt. My fabric bundle came with 8 fabrics: 4 solids and 4 prints. I figured out what color/pattern was used in the pattern, and I followed the instructions EXACTLY. I have always been a green grass/blue sky kind of girl. I'm awesome at paint-by-numbers! When I see a pattern of a copy of something, I want to make it Exactly As. I'm so weird! I guess I'm scared of being creative. I really don't know what it is. I know what I like, and I know what I don't like, and i feel that not many things fall in the middle. Of course, this only is reflective of material things. I would like to think I'm a very open-minded person that tolerates almost everyone/everything. For example, I don't like red, orange or yellow very much. I'm a natural redhead, and I know these colors don't look good on me, at all. I tend to stick to blues and gray. I guess this could be a positive thing, because it gives me a chance to *really* grow in the future?

I'm making a surprise for my blog friend, Allison +Allison Kennedy  (Okay, Allison!). She has been kinda down lately, and when I saw the 2 surprise objects back-to-back, I had an awesome idea.  Unfortunately, my car is also being fixed at the SAME time as my laptop, and I have to get materials for my present tomorrow. I want to ship this out by Monday. She loves to show off her awesome fashionably finds from homemade artists and independent designers, and she looks so cute doing it! I think the accessory I'm making for her will be perfect for her. I hope she thinks so too!

September GOALS 
1. Finish up my Staple Dress #theStapleDress by April Rhodes;

*** if I run into trouble, I can join up at the next Southeast Michigan Crafty Meetup (SEMI) at Pink Castle Fabrics, on the 1st Thurs of the month. My teacher Karen (One Girl Circus) will be there to help any problems I have. Which in all honestly, I probably will. I think I should just go to meet new people. I'm at a weird stage in life where all my friends either live too far away, are partying, or starting families. I'm done with partying and my "family" will be all adults next year. Plus I love sewing, and everything seems so nice!

My Staple Dress, so far

1a. Make it to SEMI in September (see #1)

2. Finish Flutter AND quilt it!

3. Check out an Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild meeting; (either this Wednesday or Sept 25). I haven't even made an entire quilt yet, and I'm super nervous around new people-especially when I feel incompetent-so this one might wait a few months. This meets the last Wednesday of the month.

5. Sign up for the skirt class or Washi dress class (again at Pink Castle Fabrics) with Rae Hoekstra (Made by Rae)! She's the one who PUBLISHED this pattern. It's super popular! Plus she is super good friends with Karen, my teacher for #theStapleDress!!

Washi Dress. Made by Rae

6. Send out Allison's surprise
7.Try to blog at least twice a week

8. Look for a new NURSING job (this will take some time)

9. Get my hair chopped AND donate to somewhere

HAH! If it only looked like this, then I wouldn't have to do this one:
*I wish I had the original source to this pic*

9. Find something to do with #nordika. I wanted to do my version from Maureen Cracknell's zig-zag pattern she used to do her nordika quilt! A tutorial was supposed to be on Bernina's (i think) website, but so far I haven't seen it. There is another idea I have to make this, but I basically have to make a pattern with math. That is complicated! (i think)

Sweet, beautiful Norkida, Oh how I love thee!!
 By Jeni Baker (In Color Order)
designs for Art Gallery Fabrics
This is my first fabric obsession!

 ***10: Fix my blog buttons. Apparently the code is wrong, and goes to my Photobucket page. WTH. Sometimes these tedious blog things are a pain in the ass. This one I'm working on as soon as I hit Publish!

11. Figure out how to make a Watermark and use it.
12. Clean up my Pinterest page
13. Clean up my blog and make sure everything WORKS.

I really hope to accomplish all of these. Maybe the Modern Quilt Guild can wait awhile though.

The Staple Dress class I took was SO AWESOME. First, it was at my favorite fabric store. I got to take the first class they offered (I think). Learning new skills is so awesome. (sorry, awesome is my go-to exclamation)  I learned how to make a pattern, copy it, cut it out, and make a dress from the pieces.  It's very different from quilting, but at the same time, I'm pressing fabric and using my sewing machine, so some of the basic concepts are the same. I'm just adding to my knowledge base! I love it!

Now I can do basic adjustments to my clothes, such as fitting my measurements and hemming! And I'm talking basic. The Staple Dress pattern is so versatile. You can make a dress with or without pockets, with a straight or dropped hem. From there you can add a collar, change the neckline, or even make it into a tunic. You need to check out the hashtag link #TheStapleDress to Flickr that shows all the awesome dresses that people made!

My teacher was so inspiring! Karen is SO NICE. I was a nervous wreck with my rotary cutter, and I knew at some point there was going to be blood shed, and I was right. I'm just glad I got it out of the way. I was the one who gave Brenda (the owner) to get a first aid kit, haha. Brenda is awesome too. She was super funny when we were the only ones in the store. I can tell she has a really great sense of humor. What's really funny, is the day before my class I found her website from a blog hop that was featuring a kid pattern. I immediately book marked it "READ NOW" because I saw so much info that would be useful for sewing. I didn't realize it was her, until about a week later. If you ever have a chance to take a class from her, DO IT. She is so calm, positive, and caring. She nurtures you through the process. I'm a visual learner, and she adapted her skills to show me, then would watch me do it. I'm lucky because there was only another girl in the class, and I know when word gets out, that there will be a ton of UM girls coming to learn to sew. Karen was able to spend a lot of individual time with me. While we were all working, we would talk and get to know each other. Women that sew, are generally super nice, caring, funny people. So far, I haven't came into drama that I know probably exists, so it's shiny and new to me.  I hope it stays that way forever!