Briefly, I gave up the studio on May 31 and put everything in 9′x10′ storage. Everything? Hardly. I farmed out all the paintings, gave away tons of stuff, sold a few things, threw away everything else. I’m staying with my mom.

I went to Mexico for 2 weeks to relax and clear my head, it was nice and incredibly hot. Everyone I hung out with was cool and I will probably return in 2 months.

Not much else. I’m ok, somehow.

Pure selflessness. And greed.

Here is what I’ve started and can’t stop now:


It will eventually be a 60″ square quilt made of navy+assorted pinks. I have made 455 half square triangles so far and need another 345 to start putting it together. I have a bunch of pink fat quarters in my stash and while I don’t mind cutting into them (well, sort of, like a lot of quilters my stash is almost as important as any finished project) I feel like it might be nice to have people give me pink scraps to use, that way they become part of the quilt.

I most probably should start going to the Toronto Modern Quilt Guild meetings again but they happen on the last Sunday of each month and somehow I’m always busy that day. Or forgetful.

Anyway, about the original thought, the fabric swap. Does anyone think this might be fun? Would straight up trading be good or would a point system work better? Can we make requests for specific fabrics? I have a couple dream things I’d like (hello, Heather Ross’ Far Far Away II!) if you have that. And I have the space to do this, who is with me?

Of course, I’m super reluctant to ship anything, so pick up is best. Plus then I’d hug you, win win.

Anyway, I did lots of stuff, I will post pictures of that another time. This entry is for the awesome things I bought while there!

Seriously, yes, I did bring home toilet paper, haha. Call me crazy, but you can not buy this here in Canada. How sad! As you can see, one pack is floral and somewhat old lady-ish and the other has silver stars and makes me feel like partying. I don’t know when I will get around to opening and using these, maybe never. I also always bring home GB Smarties-they are highly superior-and Polo Mints. And there were 2 Flakies but one seems to have disappeared. Other candy, not pictured, that I brought back were marshmallow shrimps and pig snouts and gummy pig tails.


I also brought a pile of gifts for Ari that included pajamas, magazines and crystals that grow in vinegar.

My uncle, who is 84 this year and is still working on a farm, gave me this rock which is a bit of a mystery to all of us. He says that when plowing fields (in southern Kent) he occasionally comes across a round rock and will put it in his pocket. His collection was small, maybe about 40 all together, and were varying sizes and colours. A couple were broken in half and appeared to have a thin outer layer covering a white stone (maybe chalk?) and hollow right in the middle. The one he gave me, pictured here, is dark green but it was the only one like that, most were sort of brown. Kent is covered in flint, but they are not that. If anyone has any insight, like maybe they are fossilized poo? Feel free to tell me.

Here is a small portion of my carry on, a patchwork zippy bag I made this morning to hold small knitting things. I’m making more necklaces, I really love how they turn out and it’s something to keep my hands busy while I’m listening to books on tape.

Anyway, I’ll write when I get home, stories and pictures.

As you can see, it’s another Janome but it’s an enormous step up from my last machine (which they took as a trade in at full price after being used almost daily for 2 years!). This model is a 3160 QDC and it has all the bells and whistles any sewist could want. Some bells that make me happy are:

1. I can sew without a foot pedal. Seriously. I can unplug the pedal and just use the start/stop button. The speed is controlled by a slider. While I’m not entirely used to this type of sewing yet, I’m more than willing to practice at it and do this a lot.

2. While sewing with the pedal I can tap it and it will do just one stitch. I never hand crank it. Never. This makes quilting a breeze, to get to the marks I have to meet.

3. Even while using a foot pedal it won’t fly away from me if I press too hard because I can set the speed on the slider and that’s as fast as it will go. Like cruise control. For me, I’m sure it will mean fewer mistakes.

4. Automatic thread cutters snip both threads. SNIP.

5. One of the stitches automatically does a lock stitch at the beginning of the row. Oh, how I love this.

6. Drop in bobbin with a clear case so I can SEE when my bobbin is about to empty. This.

There are about a million other reasons I love this machine and I hope it lasts me a lifetime. For a person who’s always maintained that all a sewing machine needs to do is go forwards and backwards quickly, I am completely converted. Now to think of a name for it.

It’s ok, I had such an amazing week so full of love and support I can’t complain. It technically started on Tuesday when I took Go to St.Catharines to hang with my super awesome parents. My mom had asked what special birthday supper I wanted and I requested bouillabaisse. I’m sure her heart sank and she yearned for the days when I asked for hotdogs. It turned out so well and I hope she feels it was worth the effort. Possibly the best meal I’ve had this year! And wine! Wine, wine, wine, so good. The next day we went shopping stateside and that’s always a treat too, despite the disappointing nail polish situation.

I worked Thursday and Friday (my actual birthday, poorly planned I guess), and Shannon took me and my boss out for sushi. That was fun, especially taking T out to celebrate. Shannon had already given me my beautiful ring, made from one of my wisdom teeth that had been extracted 12 years ago.

I love it.

Yesterday my best friend and quilting mentor, Libs, took me out for birthday pho and gave me the most beautiful gift, a quilted pillow sham.

See that? My initials? I’m here to tell you that Libs is a genius. Further proof, the card she made me. I’m definitely ripping off this alphabet for future sewing projects.

Thank you Mum and Dad, Shannon, Libs, Therasa and all the love on Facebook for making this the greatest birthday yet!

Practice wearing them reminds me that I can’t see myself in the bathroom mirror any longer.

That is pretty much all of them. I know it looks like a lot, but when you break it down, it’s pretty obvious that I’d better stop at Shopper’s on my way out tonight just to check to see if there is anything new or on sale. Or both.

All my colours laid out:

Pretty, huh? All those blues and I don’t even like blue on my nails. Here are all the glitters, base and top coats, black, grey and white:

I put the zombie finger puppets on my most used base and top coats. If you ever need top coat, get Seche Vite, it is the best. Smells awful but holy man is it shiny. Also, if you notice I have two bottles of Essie, Shine of the Times. It is the very best glitter in the universe, I use it more than any other polish I own and I dread the day when they stop making it.

Help?