mmm.... coffee.....

steamers, calamari & clamcakes

oh hello dream coffee maker!  my sister & her husband received the dream coffee maker when they got married & i am so very jealous of it.  you may (or not) have noticed that i added :edit: thingie to the lower left of my journal.  :edit:  because when you do i make a little money.  a very little money.  but it adds up - i already have enough to buy a cup of coffee!  Abby is moving out (still haven't found a new roommate...) and the coffee maker i've been using belongs to her.  she's leaving tomorrow.  the plan is that you all :edit: & help me raise some money to buy a lovely new coffee maker!  maybe not the dream coffee maker, but really anything would be nice since by morning i will be wandering around bleary-eyed & depressed & desperately in need of some coffee.  so please help & maybe buy some discount yarn or a magic scarf... or just mindlessly click on it. i don't care, i just want a coffee maker.  so i can make coffee.  mmm... coffee...

green grass of tunnel - Múm

here are some beautiful photos i took in maine.  i love the limited color pallette, rich green leaves, bold blue sky & natural rocks...  these are begging to be quilts, i definitely have enough blues & greens, but i would need some grays...  it's hard to keep my mind focused on boxes & mats today with all these lovely ideas swirling around!

the cheerleaderening begins

  so i have returned.  well, i actually came back sunday night, but the last few days have zipped by.  maine was gorgeous, as always, the weather was perfect & the people were wonderful.  teresa & i drove up on tuesday, heading straight for my favorite fabric store the Busy Thimble, Litchfield, Maine & then on to dysarts the trucker diner where i was mocked by an unusually large platter of onion rings.  there was also a yarn store & some crabmeat sandwiches along the way...
  i don't know what to do about the computer since, as i realized after buying all that fabric, i'm broke!  wow.  i haven't been this broke in... years.  i will try to stay late at work to load some pictures for you, but i'm not sure when since i'm itching to finish those quilts i started before vacation.  suddenly there isn't enough time!  it's my fault, really, for having so much fun this summer: i was lazy & relaxed & now, as a result, i am penniless.  i guess i'm not too sad about it, i can pay my rent & eat food & i love my job - so i'm still pretty damn lucky!  now if only my roommate abby wasn't moving away, then i could sleep better at night...

"old israel's arid plain, it's magnificent, but so's maine"

i'm giving you lots of photos to look at since i have finally exhausted the tiny blue laptop!  who knows what it's fate will be, poor sad little limping laptop.  (it barely qualifies as one since it has to be tethered to an outlet at all times)  it had become a storage facility for my digital photos, but as of this evening it has less than 200MB left!  my camera has more memory than that.  i was hoping it would last until my birthday/christmas when i could ask for assistance in buying a real computer...

mm, apple coffee cake & coffee.  apple cake made from aforementioned translucent apples from the farmers market down the street.  awesome diner-style mug from maine & second only to the hand made one by Carole Beal.  mod little plate from my collection of Taylor Smith & Taylor dishes.  and how could i resist a little skein of recycled silk yarn from Nepal?  any suggestions on what to knit with it - i hear it's quite a bitch to handle...

i got this cool robot cuff from Jill Killjoy at Renegade & wear it constantly - it has survived being caught out it a couple rainstorms including the one that lasted the exact amount of time it took us to pack the car & leave Manhattan the monday after the sale. the adorable fetal skull is by allie's oddities & i also got it from a trade that weekend.  i keep it at work - hopefully it will frighten away anyone who even thinks about touching something on my desk!  it is photographed beside my hand-carved bone folder.

another at-work photo: a super cool chair i found in a corner, buried beneath spiderwebs & mouse poo & other old furniture.  (can you tell where the lab desks were ripped out?)  i think it looks quite lovely in my room & will be the perfect spot for taking a break & sipping some coffee!  here's my little head with my mohawks crappily fanned out for the first time!  (i usually use elmers to spike them up)

i frogged an old sweater of mine, a wool/cotton blend, & played with koolaid dyeing since it was too hot to iron little silk origami flowers Friday.  the yarn is wonderfully soft & i already knit some of it into a delicate scarf pictured somewhere below.  (hey, anyone notice the swanky new knittermeter on the right?)  now i understand, it's really hard to take a photo of yourself modeling scarves!  many many scarves...  especially when one is allergic to the scarves...

manos del uruguay variegated wool knit on giant heirloom needles,
berroco hiphop needing blocking & weaving in,
first FO ever scarf in noro silk garden.

infamous evil alpaca scarf - alpaca blend with berroco optik,
misty garden from scarf style, again, recycled sweater,
neat woven thread scarf neighborSusan bought in SanFran.

still here?  well, i'm finally off to Maine in the morning.  as you can see, i have shaven off the mohawks.  i was kind of sad about it, but i can't be bothered with doing my hair when i'm in maine.  MAINE!  i love maine.  gotta pack, i'm going to maine.  bye.

dumdee dumdeedum dumadum day, oh-oh new england. 

translucent apples

i've been ignoring you, i know.  instead of being crafty & staying in touch & mailing away merchandise, i've been having a summer.  it's the first time in years that it feels like summer: i've been barbequeing, swimming in Art's pool, walking around, hanging out, just being relaxed!  the lesser money of my better job is dribbling away fast & i'd better get back to sewing soon or i won't be eating very well...  pictured above & below is what's first on my to-do list, quilts for gifting that my sister has requested.  the first one is all cut out, but these photos are from the planning stage.  (that involves taking over the living room & spreading out across the rug)  the squares above that are on point are the silk dupioni that will be ironed into origami flowers.  ooo, pretty colors:

  this weekend was so much fun (since i live in RI it was a 3-day weekend, too.)   i got past the frustrations of my week pretty easily since they are nothing compared to the frustration i felt working at the bookstore.  i called up kristen when i left the library on thursday, we went shopping & ate delicious sushi.  Art & i ate crabs & quahogs friday night & went swimming.  i went in to work on friday for a day of fun, we taught ourselves how to use the leather handtools.  saturday night abby had some friends over & later scummy came by with ryan - i was so excited to see scummy, he's the best, i really miss him since he moved to LA.  art had a bbq on sunday & i got to go swimming again & i made veggie kabobs. 
  i worked on my quilts all day yesterday, taking a break to talk with my neighbor kim & then rearranged neighborSusan's furniture all night with her friend steve.  when i arrived at work today the facilities guys already had one of the old lab desks removed!  i got permission to throw something away & actually got a few foldered items to leave the room.  i know, it's unbelieveable.  it's wonderful.  now i'd better get home & get ready to go to craft night. 
  hey, teresa comes home today!  her kitty will be so happy, i've been looking after him, but i think he misses her...

canned heat?

i think it was pre-determined that i would be frustrated at work today.  despite a very pleasant walk in with neighborSusan & her lovely dog Hollow, i don't feel like i'm handling things well.  i keep thinking i'll get something to leave the room, but them i am thwarted.  again.  i am overwhelmed by the amount of large fragile things that cover every possible workspace & even the floor & it's always someone else's job to decide where it belongs!  & teresa is not here.  she is in california, normally i would call her & we would get lunch & grumble about work.  i need to tell teresa about the large warp in time & space that is occurring in my dining room that only she & her dad would understand...

it's freezing in here again, the thermometer claims it to be 67 degrees,  but i think it lies.  how does one measure the wind chill?  i'm sorry, i'll stop.  instead of more complaining, here are some pictures i've been keeping in my digital camera for one reason or another, but mostly because they make me smile: