Sewing....

I finished piecing the middle of the yo-yo flower quilt I've been making up...and realized that I needed to actually go *buy* fabric to do a border before I can get any farther. I'm thinking white with black polka-dots or swirly bits, but we'll see. So far I think it's going really well--there are a couple mistakes, but hopefully not too many. After I took the photo above I realized that I had only made 9 yo-yo flowers and I'd planned the quilt out for 12 flowers...So some rearranging has taken place since Artie helped me with the photoshoot.

When I realized I wasn't going to get any farther on the piecing right now, I moved on to making this little catnip cushion. It's stuffed with catnip, fiberfil, and rice so I can stick it in the microwave and make it smelly and warm. So far they seem to enjoy it... :-)

Better than Paying to See Slumdog Millionaire

Not that I've seen Slumdog yet, but since I can watch that at home (and there is no way I can watch Open Circle Theater at home) this was by far a better way to spend Saturday night. The performance(s) were slightly choppy, but it's such a low key production that it was forgiveable. The pantomime-interpretive dance rendition of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde even made it into my dreams Sunday night. School of Whoredom...was made fabulous pretty much by the fact that 3/4 of the actors were in drag--the added element made a play reliant on it's sex jokes far more memorable than it would have been otherwise. If you are in Seattle and feel like seeing something extra-ordinary, I recommend plunking down your $15 and spending another $5 on a drink. :-)

Recently Finished Book Archive

In the Time of Butterflies -- Julia Alverez (This book makes me feel bad for not knowing enough Spanish to read it pre-translation. It's not my favorite book in the world, but it brings to life the terror and desperation of a place & time I've never known and makes me so thankful that I haven't had to go through revolution, widespread government terrorism, starvation and etc. A good book. 3/10)

Spindle's End -- Robin McKinley (A pretty basic re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty story, but I like McKinley's style. Good characters with some pretty decent plot twists toward the end. 3/6)

Interworld -- Neal Gaiman (Definitely written for a young adult audience, but the story was good. Best part was Hue--who wouldn't love to have a lovely multi-colored bubble floating along protecting me from bad guys. 3/5)

Whipping Girl--Julia Serano (I can't renew this any more from the library cuz someone else wants a chance to read it, but I'm really glad I got the chance to at least skim through this book. I definitely recommend it to anyone remotely interested in a) being a better person or b) feminist theory. Serrano's got a good style--academic but approchable, and she tackles stuff that definitely needs taking down. 3/4)

A Thread of Grace --Mary Doria Russell (This book was not pleasant to read. It was well written, the characters felt true, and it caused me to cry more than once. However, the plot is the book, and the plot is the plight of Jewish Refugees and Italian resistence fighters in Northern Italy in WWII. The framing of the first and last chapters makes my throat close up. Tough stuff, but I do recommend reading this if it falls in your lap. 3/1)

Baby Booties

Yay! Little soft shoes for baby toes! These are pledged for a certain little baby that just had a one month birthday, but now that I know how to makes them I'm sure lots of other little feets will be clad in similar soft shoes soon! :-)