Linen

New Blog

2010-11-28T17:34:00.001-06:00

SHUTTERSANDSHUTTLES.COM

New Temporary Blog

2010-11-28T16:41:00.000-06:00

I deleted several picture heavy posts on here, resized my images and alas, Blogger is still resisting my photo uploading. Since I am in the process of getting my website built and a new blog up anyways, I am going to just go ahead and move over to WordPress now for a temporary fix. I am going insane with not being able to upload pictures! Anyhow, I'll leave this blog up so you can reference my archives (ahem, christmas list!!) but all my new posts will be at shuttersandshuttles.wordpress.com

Christmas Tree

2010-11-27T19:27:00.002-06:00

I can't even tell you how much I love this song. It's going to be my new ringtone whether you like it or not. I'm lovin' me some Lady Gaga lately!

A wee rant

2010-11-27T15:08:00.000-06:00

The automatic follow-up question to "are you married?" is "do you want to have any kids?" My answer is generally "No, we're not planning to. We really have no interest in having children" or something similar to that. In the past week or so I've had this conversation with around 3 different people and they always say "Well (huff). You are just too young to make that decision." I really think that if I am old enough to have kids, I am certainly old enough to choose not to. Plus, I never say "NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. NEVEREVER IN A MILLION YEARS!" because things change, I know that! That doesn't mean I'll ever change my mind, but it doesn't slam the door shut forever. So really, just lay off!

Some Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T18:31:00.000-06:00

J/K J/K I went to post some pictures and apparently I've reached my storage limit. Since I am in the process of getting a new blog set up with my website, I am sure not going to buy more room. Hopefully I'll be able to fix this situation soon, but in the mean time, no more pictures! To quote Eryn: Sad face!!!

More weaving progress

2010-11-24T20:59:00.000-06:00

More weave-a-long progress pictures! I finally got started weaving. I used white thread for my tabby which makes the whole thing look a lot more pastel. I really like it though! I may tie-on to the end and make another one. My next one will have more color variation, i.e. alternating colors on the wide vertical and horizontal stripes. Anyhoo, enjoy!

2010 Christmas Wishlist

2010-11-23T13:32:00.001-06:00

Parallel Highway $22

January Bear Print $19

St Tropez Earrings $19

Tall Art Tumbler Shark $35

Vintage Wooden Arrow Set $28

WEBS Yarn gift card $50-$1,000

Artisan Tee $19.50 Size M

V-neck Pocket Tee $19.50 Size M

Madewell Gift card $50-$1,000,000,000,000

Purple Pastel Oxford Flats $38 Size 9.5 or 10

The Handweaver's Pattern Dictionary $23.07

Klepto Top $62 Size M

Alliance Necklace $80

Blue Argeratum Oval Locket $72

Weave-a-long progress

2010-11-22T14:52:00.000-06:00

This is ALWAYS what happens when I put Roger in charge of the camera!

All threaded, woohoo!

Roger cranking it for me while I untangle the yarn on the other side

All tied on and tensioned

I am so happy with my warp colors!

My threading sequence (only because JoAnna posted hers :-p)

Artsy shot!

Check out one of my fellow weave-a-longers: JoAnna!

Nashvegas

2010-11-22T14:37:00.002-06:00

Ready for some pictures?!?

Marche- one of the best places I've ever eaten in the states

Eryn with her milled apple cider

Mouthwatering pastries

Almond croissant- so delish!

They opened at 9, we got there at 9:30 and already had a 30 minute wait, that's just how popular it is!

It was SO worth the wait though!

I ordered a blood orange mimosa and she said I had to wait until 10 to get served alcohol, lol. I felt like such a drunk!

Pomegranate lemonade

Isn't the whole restaurant adorable?!

My cheesey eggy sandwich goodness

Eryn's eggs, bacon, and cheese over polenta

A cute paper store

An adorable dress from UAL. It would have been perfect without the sleeves.

Nom nom nom

Eryn got a classic chili dog

I got this bacon wrapped, cheese covered deep fried hot dog. MMMmmm!

Haha, Eryn ended up changing her entire outift based on purchase she got that day. This is her man shirt that she totally rocks it with her adorable new shoes!

We hit up UAL, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters for some shopping, plus 2 delicious meals, Grimey's, and an antique store made it into one wonderful and much deserved day off!

cuppity cakes

2010-11-20T19:05:00.001-06:00

Eryn making tons of boxes!

Hannah posing with her boxes

I am so sad I'm not closing with these girls anymore. They are a blast to work with.

Mmmmm cupcakes!

I've been working there for nearly 3 months and I still think they are so pretty!

Pretty, right?

The cutest mini cupcakes I've ever seen. They are only about the size of a silver dollar and have marshmallow cream filling.

I got to work at 3AM this morning with my manager Michelle and together we made over 1,000 mini cupcakes and probably about that many regular sized ones as well! You can't really see in this picture but the racks behind Michelle are FULL and there are cupcakes on every surface. We had to let some cool in the turned off oven because we had no space! I made some of the yummiest pink peppermint ones, unfortunately I didn't get pictures of those.

Tomorrow I have a day off that I am spending in Nashville with Eryn. Be ready for pictures galore!!

HP7 Premier (Finally!!)

2010-11-19T13:30:00.000-06:00

Roger and James

Taylor and Rebecca

Matt and Lucy

Zach and Beth

Yummy brownie!

Walking shot!

Pretty tree

Rebecca and me

The girls

The movie was amazing, I laughed, I cried, wow, I won't give anything away, just go see it! I will say, this was one of my all time favorites and the final movie is going to be epic!!

Dinner was rather disappointing, something didn't quite taste right in my Buddah's Feast and sure enough, what little bit I did eat made me feel pretty sick. That meant I couldn't drink in the VIP section though! Luckily I had some Pepto on me :)We got home around 3 and finally got to sleep around 3:30 only to wake up at 4:30 and leave for work. I thought I was on a roll this morning baking, but it turns out I screwed up 151 strawberry cakes... woops. They seemed cool with it though and said it happens to everyone once. I felt like such and idiot and had to redo them :( At 9 I went home and passed out for a few hours, although I could have slept straight through till tomorrow. Instead I have to go back to work at 3. For now, it's ramen time, I think chicken soup will do me some good!

Ornaments

2010-11-19T13:13:00.002-06:00

Pretty pretty cane!

Ornaments

Allison using the pastorelli to move the kiln shelf back and forth from the glory hole

Smooshing the cane together so it sticks

Last heat!

Sue completing the cane wrap

Brushing it off

Unfortunately I had to leave to go to work at this point :( but I'll take a picture of the finished cane ornament the next time I go in.

Weave-along Progress

2010-11-18T09:21:00.002-06:00

Yay! All done threading the reed, now on to the heddles.

More Hair Ideas

2010-11-17T10:52:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the crappy quality, I was too lazy to use my scanner.

These last 3 are courtesy of Eryn, because she's amazing and dedicated an entire blog post to my hair :)

I'm totally feeling Keira Knightley in this last picture, but I'm afraid I'll look too much like a boy.

The biggest question is whether or not I get bangs again and if so, what type! Oh, and also how short I really want to go. My appointment is a week from today!

P.S.

2010-11-16T22:39:00.000-06:00

Here is the color scheme and drawdown for the weave along table runner I am working on. This'll give those of you who aren't Emma and JoAnna some sort of idea of what I am working on. There are going to be 5 blocks of this pattern across and I'm not sure how many down, like 7 I think? The navy and dusky purple are what I just got done dying. The light blue is actually much more grey/silver and the last color is a brighter sienna color.

(P.S. this is in the weaving program Roger wrote me!!!)

More yarn dying

2010-11-16T22:29:00.001-06:00

Alright, after overdying the pink yarn, here are the results:

(It's crazy how much dye rinses out!!)

Here are both the purple and navy bouts drying:

That's all you get until I start threading tomorrow!

Some yarn dying

2010-11-16T21:25:00.000-06:00

What looked exactly like the dusty purple I was looking for, turned pink when I rinsed it. ALL of the blue washed out!

Now I'm overdying it in a royal blue/new black solution. Fingers crossed!

Looney Luna

2010-11-16T15:57:00.002-06:00

Oh Luna, you silly dog you.

Best. Commercial. Evar.

2010-11-15T20:40:00.002-06:00

1. Sorry Eryn for posting so much today and filling up your inbox :)
2. Today is a day for videos apparently!!!
3. JoAnna: I think you will appreciate this as much as I do

LOVE:

TeePee

2010-11-15T20:13:00.000-06:00

I want to build a teepee. Who's with me?

Another video

2010-11-15T12:36:00.000-06:00

Hear me out. I hate videos online. I usually don't watch videos other people post so I won't blame you for not watching mine. But it just goes to show how much I liked this one and the last one enough to actually repost them.

Lost Things

2010-11-15T11:49:00.002-06:00

6 hour scarf

2010-11-14T20:44:00.000-06:00

From start to finish in T-6 hours. The yarn is undyed baby alpaca/baby merino blend sett at 6 epi. I treadled for twill.

I'll take some better pictures later, but this gives you the general idea :) The yarn is some of the softest I've ever touched and it's wool so it'll be super warm. I can't wait for a cool enough day to wear it!!

My night

2010-11-14T19:01:00.000-06:00

This is what my night is consisting of:

Across the Universe, pretzels, Dr. Pepper, and weaving :)

Past Present Future

2010-11-14T09:53:00.000-06:00

No one is blogging!!! Lame! I haven't been either, so I'll fix that:

Past: This past week has been exciting, to say the least! Teresa quit and they offered me a part time baking job. I went in and trained at 5AM a few mornings and still had to work my old schedule so I feel like I didn't get to see Roger for more than 10 minutes at a time. It was a lot of fun though, despite the exhaustion :) Other big news, they may be offering me the full time baking position! My hours will be pretty regular: 5AM-1PM--- well after the holidays, that is. The holiday time is going to be nutso!

Present: I am spending the day weaving because I have tons to do! I need to get the piece off my loom so I can get a yummy scarf onto the loom then off the loom to make way for the weave along!

Future: I WANT IT TO BE CHRISTMAS TIME!! Soooo badly I want to start decorating! I think I am going to try and convince Roger to get a real tree. I wish we still had a fireplace and mantle to hang stockings and decorate.

Schedule Edit

2010-11-12T13:25:00.002-06:00

Ok, what I forgot to add to that great schedule next week?

Thursday: 3-close HARRY POTTER premier @ midnight
Friday: 5AM-9, 3-cl
Saturday: 3AM-?

I am going to be deliriously tired.

Schedule

2010-11-11T10:02:00.000-06:00

It's not even 10AM. I should be waking up. Instead I just got home a little while ago from work. I got trained as a baker and rocked the pants off that place! They want me to be able to bake on my own as soon as next week! Speaking of next week, wanna know what my schedule looks like?? Well, you're reading my blog, so obviously you do :)

I go back in at 3 tonight
Tomorrow: 9-1/2-cl
Sat: 5-9 then 3-cl
Mon & Tues: 5-1
Thurs: 3-cl
Fri: 5-9 then 3-cl
Saturday: 3*-?

*3AM until we're done....

Just thought I'd let you know that I'm going to be exhausted for the rest of my life, but that's ok because I'm a fucking baker. I'm going to say that again:

I'M A FUCKING BAKER!

Thursdaily Dose

2010-11-11T09:45:00.000-06:00

Kitchen love

2010-11-10T21:10:00.002-06:00

Some cute stuff:

News

2010-11-10T20:12:00.000-06:00

I'm exhausted, and it's going to be a looooong day tomorrow. An early one too. Why, you ask?

BECAUSE I'M A FUCKING BAKER!

Or at least training to be one at 5AM tomorrow morning. Then I still have to work till close. But it'll be fun because I'm working with Eryn then going to Surin with her and a show at the Mill afterwards. Girl date- woot woot!

Striped

2010-11-09T21:32:00.001-06:00

Take a page from my sketch book:

See that West Elm pillow at the top? I've admired that for nearly a year. I've considered trying to weave it, but the stripes have to be diagonal so that wouldn't work so well. Since I am on a roll making pillows I figured I'd give dying it a go.

I measured out some stripes and got to painting!

Can't wait for it to dry so I can add some more color. I'm thinking Aquamarine to go with the Brazilnut?

Phew, it's been one Loooooong and productive day. I'm off to bed! (Well, as soon as this episode of Gilmore Girls is ovah!)

Belated Past Present Future

2010-11-09T18:58:00.000-06:00

How Luna likes to perch to chew her bone:

What's on my loom right now:

I set up the table runner warp that was going to be for my mom and I just couldn't get results I liked. I ended up pulling some stripes out, tying on and replacing parts of it. I still couldn't find weft that I liked well enough, the pattern was either WAY too bold and incorrect or nonexistent. Either way, JoAnna said something on her WONDERFUL blog that if the project on your loom is keeping you away from it, just trash it. I KNOW I can make my mom a table runner I am proud of so this warp is just going to go for practice. I am going to dye it with coffee once it's done and see if I'll be able to use it for anything at all. Then I am going to make a scarf with some wonderful undyed baby alpaca/merino wool and then start a weave-along! All the while, I'm going to be brainstorming/yarn shopping for a successful table runner.

I spent most of the day in the hot shop with Sue and the Other Allison making chili peppers. It. Was. A. Blast. I haven't spent that long or had that much fun blowing glass since probably high school. Plus, I got paid for it and felt like I actually earned it this time! We were dancing around each other like we all knew what we were doing, I loved it!

Chicken nuggets are in the oven right now, Roger is playing Black Ops and I'm going to spend my night perusing Forgotten Bookmarks. Tomorrow will consist of hopefully sewing up some pillows and then Gigi's 3-close.

Oh check out Joanna's new design blog. I am really excited about it!

Screen printing

2010-11-09T18:42:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures of the pillows I am working on. Remember that I am printing on that white cotton handwoven fabric I did a few weeks ago.

My setup:

All measured out and ready to print:

Yay for ironing boards turned into tables:

First two prints:

Found this old screen from a few years back:

3 prints soon to be 3 pillows:

(the bee has baking soda sprinkled on it because I forgot to activate the dye)

I haven't actually finished one yet, so hopefully they will look as good in real life as they do in my head...

PROCRASTINATE

2010-11-08T21:20:00.004-06:00

I need to make at least 4 pillows for the artist market this Saturday... I'm watching the new Hoarders and online window shopping and eating Belgian chocolate instead. Woops.

Meow

2010-11-08T13:53:00.000-06:00

When I get a studio/store, I want a studio/store cat.

Or maybe it's just this cat I want.

Stool Source

2010-11-08T13:14:00.000-06:00

I found the source of these lovely stools!!!!!!!! Remember?

Only 80 euros apiece but totally worth it- look at this detailed photo:

Ten Things Monday... yeah

2010-11-08T12:48:00.000-06:00

I've been looking at blogs ALL morning. I got up SUPER early because Joanna is a whore and needed my help picking out boots. Now I'm exhausted and giving her something else she wants: TTT! What does she ever do for me!? Oh, right, my website, business cards, design help...

I figured if I don't post the 10 things today I wouldn't do it tomorrow and it'd never get done. Better early than never! (PS I even linked to most of them in case you needed Christmas gift ideas!)

LOVE this dress:

I WANT THIS HAIR.

The little boat rides the waves when you crank the handle, too cute!

Storm in a Tea Cup

OMG, I want these hand made boots:

Buy me this:

These boots are only $575... not too bad, right?

I love the idea of printing on vintage fabric:

Unbelievably GORGEOUS locket.

I can't find where these are for sale :(

Love this dress, I have fabric similar to it that I got at Sirs and had no idea what to use it for- well, here is one option!

Inspiration

2010-11-07T17:40:00.000-06:00

Some more wintery spirit:

OMG Check out this blog. I LOVE IT! I also just realized that the 3 samples I picked to show you are all in the same color family, lol.

Nov 7, 2009

2010-11-07T10:12:00.000-06:00

1 Year ago today:

Today:

Unicorn poop

2010-11-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

Looookit my cupcake!!! Cotton candy unicorn poop cupcake. Yummm.

(Eryn totally hated on it at work, but that's ok because she's lame)

[She's not really that lame, Check out her cute blog!]

2010-11-06T11:49:00.001-05:00

I want to be this girl:

I also want this to be my studio space:

We only had 3 customers by 11 o'clock so they sent me home early. I have to go back in at 3 though.

Winter

2010-11-06T11:47:00.000-05:00

It's cold. There was frost on the ground this morning and I wore a scarf. I'm ready for the winter, snow, cozy socks, and warm drinks:

Then again, I live in Alabama. That means what I'll get is rain. I want to live up north.

I need some coffee.

2010-11-06T08:27:00.000-05:00

I just ordered 15 boxes of Dristan because it is a miracle drug and will make Roger and me not want to shoot our faces off due to sinus pressure and pesky colds all winter. You can't get it in stores for some (probably valid) reason, so I am left to bulk order it every year.

I am working all day today- open to close. I'm gonna drop by and give Sue some cupcakes though because she let me come in yesterday and practice gathering. Plus, we both realized that she hadn't yet benefitted from my working at a cupcake store.

I can't wait for my morning shift to end and for 3 o'clock to roll in when Hannah and Eryn get there, they are so much fun to work with, plus I may get to decorate again tonight! Yippee!

Off to Starbucks and then workity work.

Squibbles

2010-11-05T20:24:00.000-05:00

Fun at Gigi's :)

Sad sad day

2010-11-05T10:19:00.000-05:00

I forgot to tell you!!

My life is over. The world came crashing down on me this past weekend.

I went to Belk, saved my favorite department for last: Free People.

I hated it.

All of it.

It all looks like it's made for a 12 year old. The prints are too bright, the shirts are too baggy, the dresses are too short.

I LOVED Free People. It was MY brand. MADE for ME! No more :(

I'm depressed.

It wasn't just a bad season for them, I feel like this has been a long time coming. They are aiming younger and I am getting older.

*sigh.

I decorated!!!

2010-11-04T22:50:00.000-05:00

YAY!!!

Thursdaily dose yo!

2010-11-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

Hairspray

2010-11-03T22:48:00.000-05:00

I'm getting my hair cut in a few weeks and I don't know what style I should go with. I still hate my perm and ideally I would like to cut it all off... but that may be a little too short... Whatcha think? I'm also thinking I don't want bangs, but I may have to for the style to look right:

Maybe I'll just do this:

But for real, I'll probably do something like this with chunky layers and whatnot:

I'm watching hairspray right now so I thought this was most appropriate :)

A few happy things

2010-11-03T21:42:00.002-05:00

The funny story

2010-11-02T15:55:00.000-05:00

So, here's the funny story:

Remember when I told you about the credit card company calling Roger and almost giving away what his anniversary gift was? I was able to keep him in the dark, the package came and Roger was clueless. Well the mail man left a note to pick up another package. On the way to the post office, Roger texted me and told me that if a package came I couldn't look at it or shake it or anything since it's supposed to be a surprise. I told him I was going to pick it up but wouldn't look at it. Well I didn't even have to look at the package, as soon as she walked around the corner I recognized it.

Sho 'nuf, we both ordered each other chocolate from our own little chocolate shop in Antwerp! What are the odds!? Well it all works out because we forgot to get ourselves chocolate after picking out the chocolate for all of our souvenirs! PLUS- we don't have to share!!

We were meant to be :)

HP7 SEATS lol

2010-11-02T14:19:00.002-05:00

Haha I was just too lazy to point out our seats but here they are. They are the 6 in the front row that I marked. It's on the balcony in the VIP section so it's not like the screen is inches from our nose :)

HP7

2010-11-02T14:11:00.000-05:00

So friggin' glad I got our HP7 tickets last week, It's all sold out!!

Past Present Future

2010-11-02T14:06:00.000-05:00

Only a tad bit late...

Past: The Halloween party was wicked awesome. We had so much fun! I loved seeing everyone and it seemed like everyone had a blast. We took Mark and Joanna to Lowe Mill and the vintage store there and then Joanna helped me a whole bunch to prepare for the party.

Present: My mom just left, we had a really great visit. We did a little shopping and she helped a TON with yard work and various chores. We ate some yummy food too. She's the best :) We watched Hoarders last night, it was a good episode. I'm watching Intervention right now.

Future: I am off today but I work Weds-Sat. Hopefully Sue will let me come in and practice gathering so I can help her blow glass more often. Also, Sunday is my and Rogers 1 year anniversary (Funny story about that, remind me to tell you later) :

Thanks Facebook..

Leaves!

2010-11-02T13:59:00.000-05:00

sooooooooooo many leaves!!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T13:49:00.000-05:00

Some pictures from the par-tay:

2010-10-29T21:58:00.000-05:00

Too busy to blog. Halloween party tomorrow. Worked ALL day today.

Let's play catch-up in a few days!

<3

Neon

2010-10-27T11:03:00.000-05:00

Check out THIS post on ML4U. Makes me want to get into neon work!

Quick updates

2010-10-26T20:58:00.000-05:00

Half of Gigi's was sick today and there was hype about tornados and storms so the other half had to pick their kids up from school. That means I had go in nearly 3 hours early. I have been working so much lately, I just know I am going to get burnt out. Luckily I have Saturday off to spend with friends and my mom is coming down on Sunday. It'll help keep me sane.

I am watching a movie on LMN called "I know who killed me"with Lindsey Lohan in it. It's sooo weird. It also has the tinman from Tin Man in it.

I am going to lunch with a friend tomorrow who I haven't seen in a while. It's going to be fun :)

Lunas foot is feeling better, luckily. We almost took her to the vet today but she wasn't limping as bad.

I haven't slept through a full night in practically a week. It sucks. Last night I had Roger go to Walmart at 2:30 to get me some pepto bismal because I thought I was going to be sick. Then when I found out everyone at work is sick my hypochondriac tendencies kicked in and I started feeling sick again.

CRAP CRAP CRAP. I just remembered today is Tuesday and that means a TTT is due... I probably won't do it, sorry. I have been blogging pretty regularly lately so I don't necessarily need a schedule anymore... Go me!

Some weaving

2010-10-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

I put more white cotton warp on the loom to screen print and it wove up pretty fast. I finished it yesterday and it's about 3 1/2 yards long. Perfect!

It's so fall out! :)

Business cards!

2010-10-26T11:27:00.001-05:00

My business cards came in the mail on Saturday (over a week sooner than estimated!) Kudos to Joanna for the wicked design! Whatcha think?!

Monday Update

2010-10-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

Luna's limping. She hurt her foot or toe or something yesterday morning and now she can't walk on it. She's pathetic. Bermuda broke her toe when she was a puppy.Well I paid $88 for an x-ray and they said the bones were too small to tell if she actually broke it. They put her in a cast and gave her a cone to wear for a few weeks. She hated it. I'm going to go to the vet tomorrow if she's still limping.

HUGE storm last night. We kept the blinds in the bedroom open and I was seeing bright flashes of lightning all freaking night.

Roger and I worked on our Halloween costumes last night. We actually figured mine out so I am excited about finishing it. I just hope it fits! Here are some progress pictures:

I forgot to get an "after" picture so you'll just have to wait.

When I let the dogs out this morning there were a gazillion yellow leaves on the ground from the storm last night. I have been slacking on my fall pictures so I took the opportunity. Enjoy:

Past Present Future

2010-10-23T23:46:00.000-05:00

I have a TON to do tomorrow, so I am going to post the newly revived "Past, Present, and Future" tonight and it will count towards tomorrows blogging.

This past week was equally stressful and amazing. The shift leader got fired because she didn't show up so I had to take on some of her hours and work with only one other person last night and tonight doing a job meant for 3 people. But I can't even tell you how happy I am that she's gone. I liked her as a person but working with her wasn't so great- I won't get into the details. Either way, good but stressful week. Oh, I also got to work with Sue in the hot shop on Wednesday which was AWESOME!

Tomorrow (ahem, today) is going to be a day full of cleaning in preparation for the Halloween party next week. We're also going to Anthropologie because I have a birthday coupon :) I would love to get some weaving in too.

Next week I am working every single day since I asked for Saturday off. It is good and sucks at the same time because I won't have time to blow glass again. I plan on weaving a ton because I am putting off making my Halloween costume until the last minute (which was 2 weeks ago!) I really can't wait to see Joanna and Mark and maybe even my mom on Halloween day! Yippee! More on that later :)

This one's for you, mom

2010-10-23T23:15:00.001-05:00

Remember that time I posted pictures of my mom crawling out from under the dressing room door? I stood there laughing and taking pictures instead of helping her... well tonight, I got mine. I was going to sit down on the couch (easier said than done) and I had a little mishap. I knelt on the footstool which immediately slid out from underneath me... when I called Roger in to help, he took a picture instead. The jerk. I suppose I can't blame him though :)

That's Luna on my back holding my slipper and trying to help me up, while Bermuda was pissed because I landed on her. I promise, this was BEFORE I went to the bar. Oh and the cupcake in my hand made it out alive :)

2010-10-23T20:29:00.000-05:00

I barely got even an hour of sleep last night... it was awful. I had to work a split shift today which meant going in at 9am, lunch for an hour and staying until 7:30pm. I am soooooo tired. Instead of going to bed I am going out with some people from work. Should be fun, as long as I can keep my eyes open, that is. Oh, and since the shift leader got fired yesterday, I get to work every single day next week. Yippee.

Yippeeee!!

2010-10-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

This is me jumping for joy!

The evil one is gone!!!

Thursdaily Dose- REVIVED!

2010-10-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

Bow wow wow

2010-10-20T23:22:00.000-05:00

I sent and email to Laurie (the director of the shelter we got Luna from) and included a ton of pictures of Luna and Bermuda playing. She really appreciated seeing the pictures- nearly as much as us adopting Luna in the first place. Here are a few words from her response:

"Thank you so much for adopting another homeless pet. I am of the belief that they know where they came from and they know how great they have it in their new home. There's a saying you may have heard: You can't change the world, but surely the world will change for one pet. Thank you for changing Luna's and Bermuda's world."

It brought tears to my eyes. Every day I am so happy that we were able to give our dogs another chance and the love they give us in return is so rewarding. *sniffle*

Movie

2010-10-18T20:28:00.000-05:00

Yeah. You're a horrible person. You want to honk your butt off at me when I am on my way to the hospital to deliver cupcakes to terminal cancer children. It was their last wish and you honked at me and wished me dead. Karma, my friend. Just you wait.

Maybe that was a little dramatic, but I for cereal had 7 boxes of left over cupcakes that I was delivering to the Women and Children's Hospital ER when some jerk decided I cut him off (which may or may not have happened since I didn't know where I was going) and he honked at me for like 5 minutes then sped past me at 80mph. It was obnoxious and unnecessary.

I sometimes wish my life was like a movie. I want to give a cupcake to an adorable child who has cancer yet still has a great outlook on life and then we become best friends and then the chemo works and the kid is cured, all because I brought them a cupcake :)

2010-10-18T10:25:00.001-05:00

I have a HUUUGEEE bowl of Halloween candy already... Bad bad bad thing that is.

Day Off

2010-10-17T10:14:00.000-05:00

I have a ton of stuff I wanted to do today but I feel like absolute crap so I'll probably just lay around. Lame. We're watching Death Tunnel on SyFy right now. It's like Saw but with girls in lingerie. I'm going to have some tea and maybe it'll wake me from the dead. Bleh.

Thief!

2010-10-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

SOME JACKASS STOLE A PUMPKIN OFF OUR FRONT PORCH.

BASTARD.

Saturday

2010-10-16T11:05:00.000-05:00

I just checked all my usual blogs and there was NOTHING new! What a disappointment! I'll get the Saturday blog ball rolling.

My manager was super cool when I asked for the equivalent of a smoking break so that made me happy. I got trained on how to close the back which meant 4 hours a dishes in place of 4 hours of customers... hmmm tough one. I did get to practice my swirl though, I'm a lot worse than I had hoped, lol.

We didn't get the new cable yesterday, but it should be today. I'm excited I get to record every episode of hoarders that's ever on and have marathons :)

Birthday cake for breakfast again- yummy!

I am weaving up that white fabric really quickly, it looks great and I am happy I finally like something I'm weaving. I coated a screen last night and am going to burn it today. I'm going to print one on the woven fabric when it's off the loom and print another on the warp on the loom then weave it. We'll see how each goes but I think at least one will turn out. I'll post pictures!!

We are giving the doggys a bath today because whenever we touch them a cloud of dust comes out of their fur.

Some Jehovah's witnesses came to the door this morning. Bermuda was a really mean guard dog. The lady didn't want me to open the glass door. I don't think they'll be coming back any time soon :-D

Work tonight then I have Sunday off.

That's me!

2010-10-15T14:13:00.000-05:00

I am totally going to be one of those people at work today who asks for a 'fresh air' break because I am SICK of being the only person there who doesn't get any breaks since I don't smoke. Well, that's going to change.

White warp

2010-10-15T10:21:00.000-05:00

Here is just a preview of the white warp on my loom. It's going to be very tightly woven and we're going to try out screen printing!

My birthday cake

2010-10-15T10:12:00.000-05:00

Roger made a birthday cake and it was so yummy! Take a gander:

Before the sprinkles. Yes. that actually says "Happy Birhtday Allison"..........

SPRINKLES!!!

AND OWLS!!! AND PUMPKINS!!!

He spelled out "Fall" in the candles, lol. He knows me too well.

Making a wish.

MORE F-ING SPRINKLES!!!

So yeah. Good cake. Speaking of which. I'm going to go eat some for breakfast.

A few updates.

2010-10-14T23:36:00.001-05:00

I still haven't started glass blowing which sucks. I don't want to keep messaging her and annoy her into not wanting me but I don't want her to forget!! I want to get started!

I get trained on the back at Gigi's tomorrow. In my head that means I'll get to decorate. In actuality it means I get to wash dishes and have more responsibilities to get in trouble for. Also, some one scribbled out where I had written "Allison's Birthday" on the calendar. WTH.

I really want to show in the Anti-fashion show at Lowe Mill this year- or whenever the heck it is. It was my goal last year and I really really hope I don't miss it!

I have some white cotton-like yarn on my loom that I'm threading up. I am doing 20 epi and am going to screen print on it. I'm still in the process of threading the 260 ends- I should finish that tomorrow. Now that I'm weaving more I want to do ONLY that and not work... But I'm afraid that if I don't work I'll not be motivated to do anything at all.

We get digital cable tomorrow. WooHOO! And maybe our internet will stop sucking too.

I have to make my Halloween costume from scratch and I haven't sewn in since May. I am not feeling motivated. Maybe I'll just be a pirate after all.

Luna gets the hiccups EVERY morning and they are super violent. If it wasn't so cute I'd be annoyed to death. She's hiccuping right now with my bunny slipper in her mouth.

I stopped using that SkinID stuff and guess what? My face looks like 65% better. Weird.

I bought some dry shampoo that Joanna got. Maybe it'll work, then we'll both stink.

No matter where in my house our stupid dining room chairs are, I'll stub my toe every time I walk within 5 feet of one. EVERY time. NO exceptions. Both of my pinkie toes feel broken.

I bought Roger his anniversary gift today and had to use a rarely used credit card so he wouldn't see the charges and find out what I got him. Well the card is so rarely used, they called him asking about this random charge. Way to be sly, Allison.

Well that's enough blogging for one night, Roger's super tired so I guess it's bed time. I solemnly swear to revive the Thursdaily dose of cute next week. Pinkie promise.

Yup yup yup

2010-10-13T21:26:00.001-05:00

Here's the story. 3 is my limit. I had 4 glasses of free wine at macaroni grill and it was yummy. And I found out 3 is my limit. For anyone that called me after dinner, I apologize.

I also have to say that my birthday was wonderful. Roger got me a cardboard birdhouse, totem pole mugs that stack, and wicked awesome cigarette holders that I can put my business cards in. They have doggys on them!! He also made me a cake with sprinkles, or should I say he put candles in a pile of sprinkles with a side of cake. YUM! (pictures to come when I'm not under the influence)

Zach and Beth gave me a reserved copy of the new Taylor Swift album, which rocks.

Mark was mean to me. I told him I would tell you. He is a meanie. Joanna is nice, Mark isn't :) Bermuda and Luna gave me love. All in all, it was a great night.

Oh, a guy came to our door selling comcast so we changed out our cable. We get 6 months of intro rates and after that it's about $10 less a month than what we are paying for Knology except for we get digital cable- which hopefully means we can DVR stuff. That's my story.

2010-10-13T10:35:00.002-05:00

I'm 23!

YAY!!!

2010-10-12T15:19:00.001-05:00

2010-10-11T10:54:00.002-05:00

Spoiled rotten.

2010-10-11T10:03:00.001-05:00

Me 'n my boots.

I asked if Roger's gifts would top those and he said no. He said vintage Frye boots were like my soul and no one could top those, lol.

Frye

2010-10-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

Happy pre-birthday to me!!!

On top of a wonderful hibachi dinner at Mikato and cheesecake afterwards, Mark, Joanna, Rebecca, and Taylor all went in and bought me the cutest vintage Frye boots. Not only are they vintage, Frye, and boots, they fit PERFECTLY!!!

Kay and Dexter also got me some adorable hair clips made from vintage kimono fabric. They are adorable and perfect because I hate my half-bangs and wear a clip every single day of my life.

All of this on top of what my mommy and daddy got me- the vintage pyrex and milk glass I posted about a few weeks ago. I think the theme is "vintage" this year- think they're telling me I'm getting old?

Can't wait to see what Roger got me, he's taunting me with some boxes in the office that he won't even let me shake! The jerk.

Work tomorrow then 2 days off. Woohoo!!

Wool Accent

2010-10-07T14:44:00.000-05:00

Finally finished the piece I had on my loom the last few days. It's fairly thick wool warp. I threaded it at 5 epi in a 10 dent reed. It's treadled for twill and I reversed it after every 12 weft passes. The weft is a similarly thick wool combined with a very fine 2 ply wool.

Wool warp

Dealing with some breakage

Luna keeping me company. Notice the blankets piled up on my loom bench. After 2 full days of weaving my butt hurt so bad!

Final product

I wanted it as an accent piece on the footstool I reupholstered and when I got up to take the pictures Luna decided she really liked it.

She wouldn't get up! So I had to resort to taking it outside for the pictures.

Some close-ups

Whatcha think?

Weeeeird

2010-10-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

My landlord just called me in tears because the heating guy came this morning and didn't tell her when he got here so she couldn't tell him to check the other house's heating as well. I am completely weirded out. Seriously though, she was crying at the end of our conversation...

Just today

2010-10-06T14:30:00.000-05:00

Today is one of those days when I'd much rather stay at home all day weaving with my puppies than go in to work.

Who am I kidding- I'd rather do that EVERYday!

2010-10-06T10:44:00.000-05:00

Is it really that unreasonable to send a coupon through email and expect you to print it out instead of just flashing your iPhone?!

2 people got mad at me yesterday for telling them I need the actual physical coupon instead of just showing me their email. One guy fussed so much about it saying how unreasonable it was then asked me for a coupon to just give him. Hell no! The other 2 girls walked out. But really, tell me what store that will actually work with! My goodness!

Pandora had an offer that you 'Like' a credit card on FB and they'll give you 5 free days of PandoraOne (their advertisement free, paid version) It comes with an application so you don't have to even have your web browser open. I totally love it. I wanted to buy the paid version for like a year and just never did. Now I'm not going to be able to go back!

LOVE!

2010-10-05T20:24:00.001-05:00

I experienced my first counter-balance loom shortcoming today.

I threaded for this pattern and the tie-up was causing all the vertical blue to actually be horizontal. Essentially I wanted warp floats and I was getting weft floats. I realized this was because when I step on a treadle, the shafts go down instead of up like on a jack type loom. The weaving ended up being upside down. I altered the tie-up and since my loom is a counter-balance it does NOT like to be unbalanced.

That being said, I had to cut it off, re-thread it and tie back on. Sucks but that's what I am going to work on now. I also had to change out the reed. The yarn I am using is SUPER thick and it was causing too much friction in the 12 dent reed. The smallest I have is a 10 dent- hopefully that'll work a bit better! I'll post pictures :)

TTT

2010-10-05T11:08:00.000-05:00

1. I think I finally know what I am going to be for Halloween. I just hope it turns out good enough to wear!

2. I have been weaving a TON and I have so many ideas for new projects! I love it!

3. I cannot wait to start glassblowing again.

4. My birthday is a week from tomorrow!!

5. I LOVE the business cards Joanna designed for me and I need some time to actually print them.

6. I wanted to turn the heat on in the house to take the chill off, guess what: It doesn't work... not too surprised, half of the stuff in this house was done by our landlord who shouldn't be allowed near a screwdriver.

7. My puppies are playing with each other now and Roger actually said he's SO happy we got a second dog. The fact that he admitted it without any prompting is HUGE!

8. Eggo cereal is the best creation ever.

9. I have to work at 1 today instead of 3 and it's amazing how much those 2 hours matter. I don't have time for ANYTHING today!

10. I HATE getting out of the shower when the house is freezing.

2010-10-04T10:44:00.000-05:00

Last night was soooo cold! I loved it! At 5 AM Luna woke up and I made Roger get up and take her out. In the meantime, my face was wrapped in a blanket with only my nose sticking out and that just wasn't working for me. I stuffed my face under the blanket- which normally suffocates me. Anyhow, long story short, I didn't wake up when Roger's alarm went off, when he took a shower, let the dogs back out... not until he sat on the bed to say goodbye. It was wonderful!!! Some of the best sleep I've ever gotten. Although I was nearly blinded when I poked my head out because it was suddenly so bright.

Right now, the thermometer says it's 55 degrees in here. I am wearing leggings with PJ pants on top, a t-shirt, hoodie, fluffy robe, and bunny slippers. I am drinking hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows, eating cereal, and watching Gilmore girls.

I LOVE THE FALL!!!

The reason...

2010-10-03T19:26:00.000-05:00

....I haven't blogged all day today is because I was busy weaving. Yup! I took the leftover warp from the rugs that I was going to tie-on to off the loom so I could start a different project. I NEVER would have finished 3 more rugs and the loom would have been sitting there unused- just like my ideas.

So here is my progress so far:

180 ends at 20 epi which makes 9" wide. I measured my warp 3 yards long so, with take-up I should get around 2.5 yards for whatever the heck I'm gonna use this fabric for.

I don't have a 10 dent reed and with such small yarn you would be able to see the gaps if I used a 15 dent reed. So, I pulled out my 20 dent reed-- the hook barely fits through! Also it was super old and rusty when I got it with my loom so I scrubbed it as best I could. Since I'm not using some super clean white yarn I am not worried about a little residual rust.

Luna chilling out and watching me.

Threading the heddles.

My warp!

Started weaving

Kinda metallic but not really

Can you guess what I'm weaving with?

It looks like a scarf but I don't know the end product yet.

Betcha can't guess what I am weaving with!

Off to weave some more!

Yup yup yup

2010-10-02T21:40:00.000-05:00

I HAVE BEEN INSPIRED!

Roger encouraged me to not get burnt out on the rugs and when I said I wanted to weave something else he said I should! So I am.

I've been looking at weaving blogs ALL day today and instead of getting discouraged like I normally do, I actually had some great ideas and can't wait to get some different yarn on the loom. Plus, the way JoAnna goes through projects makes me want to get experimenting! So, stay tuned for some new work!!

2010-10-02T14:29:00.002-05:00

I want to start dying with wood chips!!!

Oh my goodness

2010-10-02T09:30:00.000-05:00

I cannot even describe to you how much I LOVE all of these colors. This lady has some crazy 20 shaft computerized loom that she weave photographs on. Anyhow, I think her husband is a woodworker (ahem JoAnna!) so she gets all different kinds of sawdust from him like walnut, redwood, and black locust that she uses to naturally dye her 30/2 tencel.

First off, tencel is some of the softest yarn in the world. She's using some pretty fine stuff which makes it even more luxurious. Then she's dying them naturally to get some beautiful earth tones?! Holy smokes! I want every single one of these bouts!

Nicole and Joel are wanting naturally dyed linen and cottons in earth tones for their wall hanging so maybe I can convince them these are the colors they want, otherwise I'm not going to have an excuse to go chop down some trees.

P.S. JoAnna- I am just DROOLING over this lady's work, tell me what you think!!

Some things

2010-10-01T13:02:00.001-05:00

I wish today was the start of the weekend, but it's not. I have to work tomorrow. I really want to craft. I want to be done with those rugs so I can make fun stuff on my loom. I also want to print my business cards, make Roger's Halloween costume, shop for the dogs costumes, go grocery shopping, get my Etsy shop started, work on the commissioned piece, get back to glass blowing, sit outside and watch my puppies play, have a clean house, take a walk with my husband, actually see Roger for more than a couple hours on any given day, screen print some fabric, sew, bake, and enjoy this fall weather before it's gone.

What am I actually going to do? Sit inside reading a book or watching TV, eating Ramen noodles because we don't have any food, go to work, come home, go to bed.

Maybe not. Maybe I'll actually be productive on my days off. We'll see.

2010-10-01T09:57:00.000-05:00

HAPPY OCTOBER!

PS my birthday is in less than 2 weeks!

(October 13th)

2010-09-30T22:48:00.000-05:00

I'm not posting a Thursdaily dose of cute today. Suck it up. I'm going to bed.

2010-09-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

A customer complained about me because I sighed when they came in and apparently rolled my eyes at them, lol.

Remember

2010-09-29T20:03:00.000-05:00

Hey. Do you remember how I said this was going to be an epic week? Well it has been so far. First getting to see my mom this past weekend, then getting Luna on Monday. Last night I had a great talk with Nicole and Joel about the HUGE wall hanging they want to commission from me- they also want several of my rugs (!!!! it was nice to have an outside opinion of them). Today I had a meeting with someone at Lowe Mill for a potential job. Well, I got it and I can honestly say I have the 2 BEST jobs in the whole entire world. Gigi's, obviously, and now I am going to be assisting resident glass blower Susan Knecht! Can't get much better than that! I am going in on Friday to play around and hopefully I won't be too rusty after 4 years of not setting foot in a hot shop. Well, I'm off to sell some cupcakes. Hope your week is equally fantastic!

2010-09-29T08:29:00.001-05:00

:-D :-D :-D :-D

2010-09-29T08:04:00.002-05:00

What day is today?!??! Don't ask me because I have NO idea! I went all day yesterday thinking about TTT TOMORROW (today) and when I woke up today I was like "crap- it's Wednesday, wth"