Marc and I spotted this painting in "The Wine Bar" in Portland on Saturday night. That cat looks exactly like our cat Max! The waitress referred to him as "Party Cat." This cat clearly has some big things on his mind, despite his irreverent choice of headwear.

Portland, Maine

I learned something really interesting about human nature on our trip to Portland, Maine yesterday. And that is: people will take a picture of anything if a tour guide points it out. Seriously! We took a 90-minute harbor cruise, and the weather was beautiful. Any time the guide pointed out a landmark, animal or even a large rock, the amateur photogs were snapping away. For example, there was a small island with a large pole and sign bearing the number 9. Apparently, there are two ospreys living there. Great, but they weren't there at the time, yet everyone felt compelled to capture the "exciting" pole and sign.

I think the guides probably have contests among themselves to see who can come out with the most outlandish thing to get people to photograph ... "And here we have a port-o-potty used by workers who are repaving the sidewalk about 1/2 mile from a historic lighthouse ..."

Anyway, Portland is a very cool city, and we had a blast.

New Projects Ahead

I'm working on this project by Sandy Gervais. Some of her patterns are a little too folky-primitive for me, but I like quite a lot of her work. It's called "On a High Note." I'm making it in honor of my Grammy, who died last week. She loved birds, and cardinals were particular favorites of hers. I think she would have really loved this wall-hanging.
Here's my latest table runner, which I completed a couple of nights ago. Here, you can see my Lead Quality Control Technician Max checking out my workmanship.

I think he's pleased with the end result, but I caught him looking concerned at several points during the production process. He's a valued member of the Sealy Girl team.

Hair Affair

I cut 10 inches off my hair today! I'm going to be donating the hair to Locks of Love. I've done this once before - it's a great organization. My head feels about 10 pounds lighter, which is especially nice now that we're finally having some warm weather here in New England.

I was super excited to see a package from http://www.fabric.com/ on my doorstep this afternoon. Let the Christmas projects begin! I bought this mini honey bun kit, which comes with a pattern to make those cute little Christmas stockings. How sweet are those? Those Moda people are brilliant - naming pre-cut fabrics after food (e.g., turnover, jelly roll, layer cake).

Applique Adventures

I've decided it's time to try applique. I've been frightened of it for long enough. I don't even think it's that hard to do, but I haven't yet taken the plunge. My applique of choice will be freezer-paper applique. I bought the freezer paper the other day, so I'm theoretically ready for action. I'm thinking of making something like this.

Or this. I know, I know - this looks surprisingly like the chicken-inspired projects the "krafters" like to make. But no! Not so! Besides, I will not be wearing a holiday-themed sweatshirt while I make it, and I certainly won't be encouraging people to "ask me about my grandchildren," so you see, it's totally different than a "chicken kraft"!

Mini Quilt Madness

I finished the mini quilt, then lost it in the parking lot at work on Tuesday. This is a huge parking lot, or lots, actually. It was pouring rain and I dropped it somewhere along the way. I was ecstatic to see the little quilt at my desk today - a colleague I had shown it to found it and returned it. How nice! It didn't even appear to have been run over. It was pouring rain, though, so it did get soggy and a little dirty but not bad.

Piano-playing Spouse

My wonderful and talented husband has been teaching himself to play the piano (with just a little help from me). He's doing such a great job! And look how cute he is with his headphones! He's so diligent with his practicing, which I never was during my (14!) years of lessons.

I finished my mini quilt last night, but alas, the camera batteries are still dead so I am unable to take a photo. I would describe it as "lopsided, but loveable."

Mini Project

My latest project is a mini quilt (about 9x12 inches) and I'm loving it, because I can play around with fabric without having to commit to a large project. How fun!

This is, unfortunately, a horrible picture, but I could only snap one before the camera battery died.

On a different note, here's an author I've really been enjoying lately: Diane Mott Davidson. Her mystery series about a crime-solving caterer in Colorado is lots of fun, and will make you verrry hungry (don't say I didn't warn you). Goldy, the protagonist, is one of those plucky detective-types who keeps finding herself at the center of the action (finding dead bodies in closets, stumbling over them in office buildings, you get the picture). Add a colorful cast of her (real) detective husband, teenage son and best friend (who just happens to be Goldy's ex-husband's second ex) and you've got yourself a tasty read!

Gimme a Break

I've been thinking a lot about 80s TV lately (maybe related to Michael Jackson's death, mabye not). This has nothing to do with the quilt pictured here, other than the fact that the pattern is called "Holiday Break" and I was inspired to title this post "Gimme a Break" like the 80s sitcom.

The original pattern called for Christmas fabric (hence the title Holiday Break) but I chose these jungle-ish fabrics from my stash. The frog fabric is left over from the quilt I made for my nephew Colin when he was born. Here's a close up of one of the blocks.