no way to finish something

for the last year and a half i've been on a slow and steady mission to clear out some of my languishing craft projects and use materials i have in my apt. this really is the m.o. i've been applying to my entire life. i'm chipping away at the list of tasks, chipping away at the piles of paper, chipping away at debt, chipping away at clutter.

it's been working well, but the urge to start new projects is strong. about a month ago i stood staring into the closet of fabric and yarn, wanting to start a new sewing project. i pulled out a plastic container filled with cut fabric and scraps left over from more than a decade of quilting projects. i started sewing together all the pre-cut squares and cutting more from the fabric scraps.

even if i pack all these bits of fabric back into that box and put it back in the closet i've done enough piecing to reduce thier number by 75%. what was once 4 pieces is now one.

this may not be any way to finish a project, but it's a great way to get something started. :)


fun facts: among the fabrics in these pix: there are pieces from a quilt i made my brother during President Clinton's impeachment trial, a quilt made for Vinnie's baby son --who is now a junior in high school, another quilt made for a friend when i was cutting Animal Planet shows.

surprising the little bits of personal history and context that bubble up with this kind of stuff.


in this pic: bowling pin & candy corn fabrics!
these pix are representational of conditions in my dining room: both desks and two chairs covered in fabric stacks and sewing equipment. if my bicycle wasn't dirty i'd likely have fabric piled on it, too.

further craft note: am also in the midst of a knitting hanger marathon. will have used 8 balls of yarn from my stash, and 10 hangers from the box in the closet when all is said and done.

HELL.
YES.



snack of note: while sewing: leinenkugel's amber ale, pita chips & hummus quartet; while typing: triple vanilla late and mango slices.

HO-LEE TOLEDO.

this site may be The Coolest thing that i've come across. ever.
spoonflower: custom printed fabric

i had to pull myself away from their website. just knowing that this service is out there is crazy exciting for all sorts of sewing shenanigans.

i may have to order a swatch or two to check out the fabric and feel of printing.

thanks to jen, for the link!

food related: coffee, orange slices

if this love is wrong, i don't want to be right.

**letter written while sitting in the front cafe section of "stories" bookstore in echo park." it's on some well traveled green lined paper that i carry around just in case the letter writing mood hits. also: i JUST figured out how to put links in the text. look out!**

sunday 2.15.09 5:30p
mostly cloudy sky, dusk, lighted signs getting turned on.

i am in love.

i am in love with this bookstore. last weekend i noticed it for the first time. it's on sunset blvd in echo park, near the echo. it's a bookstore and cafe. the front of the long, narrow shop is all glass. there are tables and a long bench up here. i'm sipping an americano, that, when it was hot, was quite good. :)

the shop sells new and used books! it's not a big space, so you can imagine the selection is...select. (damn, painted myself into a language corner there...) there is a small craft section with good & interesting books on sewing, knitting and needlework. including a book from "subversive cross stitch", of whom i am a fan. :) )
the cafe counter is in the back of the shop along with...a back patio.
patio.
number two on my list of wonderful cafe attributes, second only to remarkable coffee. it's too cold out this evening to sit outside which is how i came to be here. now that i know about the patio. well.

this stretch of sunset blvd is also part of my favored bike path route in the summer. used to be: bike to millie's, eat, then bike to sea level records. since sea level shut in 2007 i've ridden down here, but only to turn around when i get close to dodger stadium and head back.

consider all these attributes--independent book store, new & used books, coffee, tables that look out onto echo park foot traffic, the patio, bike route--and put them all in the space that used to be sea level records. yup. same store. well. what's not to love?

bonuses: they are playing velvet underground and have free wi-fi. so. for now, until all the screenwriters & students discover this spot, i have another cafe to add to the rotation.

before writing you i was reading (oh! i hear the coffee grinder from the back of the store!) michael chabon's book, "Maps & Legends." i've just started the first piece (it's a collection.) this line made me laugh out loud:
"An entertainer is a man in a sequined dinner jacket, singing "she's a lady" to a hall filled with women rubber-banding their underpants up onto the stage."
this in the same piece in which he mentions nabakov, nurse romance fiction, and star wars. i love his writing. (i was going to write, "i love him, too." would have added symmetry to this letter but just seems a little too familiar. :| )

additional cool things about this book store: the guy sitting at another table was just served a salami sandwich. the bread is really crunchy. sounds terrific! and: a woman just sat down at the table next to mine and struck up conversation about the m. chabon book on the table.

ahh! and randy newman is playing now! good lord. how do i keep from spending all my time here? (oh brainstorm! back patio may be ideal for a knitting group!)

alright. it may be time to head home. before coming here i was @ orchard supply. bought a sheet of screen to install in my door. Believe it! and a new broom. it's time. :)

**as i transcribe this i realized i haven't properly finished this letter. well. i packed up, headed home. i didn't get the screen installed last night. wanted to wait until daytime to do it. {black door, black screen...just easier to see in the day} i spent a considerable amount of time standing on a stool in my kitchen re-arranging the glassware that belonged to my grandmothers, and great grandmothers. this put the sangria pitcher is a more accessible spot. key for summer!
also: my hallway is FULL of containers of fabric and yarn from the closet. found just the right fabric in there. :D

it's monday morning. i've spent it sewing in my pajamas.**

why i didn't see grant-lee phillips on saturday.

saturday morning i drove up to the greek theatre to buy some tix for a show. turns out the box office there is closed for the season. so. decided to use the out and about early on a saturday momentum to visit the DMV to replace my stolen (grr) car registration sticker. had to stop by the apt to look up the saturday hours. the information i found on their website stated that saturday DMV hours have been discontinued b/c of california's budget, which has yet to be set.

now. i remember that i can get this DMV service at AAA, so i head out. from the time i pulled out of my drive way, to the time i was pulling out of the AAA driveway: 45 min. done! easy!

back at the homestead i worked on a few things including the Never Ending Screen Door Project.

yes! (for those of you familiar with said screen door, it is, at present, lying on the floor of my dining room, torn screen and moldings removed, fresh coats of paint covering the scratches and dings from The Incident {sigh})

decided to walk to kaldi cafe in atwater. it's a great walk that takes me around the reservoir on rowena, over hwy 5 and the los angeles river. i really wanted to see the state of the river after two days of heavy rain.

armchair birder note: no birds on the reservoir. hmm. there was a flock of what looked like geese on the bank of the river. it was a bit far from the hyperion overpass to see.

at kaldi i had a rich americano, sat outside and read some roy blount. it was cool, but not raining and the sky was full of dramatic cloud formations. when it got too cold to stay out i got another americano and headed to the little knittery. .

i hung out there, did some knitting, chatting. when i got up to leave it was about 6:30. as i put on my sweater i looked out the window: downpour. i reflected on the decision i'd made hours before to wear a fleece jacket, instead of a rain jacket. to carry a wool bag, not a nylon backpack. to wear hiking shoes instead of my impervious muck boots. to bring my dinner-plate sized travel umbrella instead of my full sized, morton's salt girl umbrella.

when i headed home from atwater on foot, it was pouring rain. this was the heaviest rain i've ever walked in. and i lived for six years in humboldt county without a car. i've logged a lot of time walking in the rain. as i was walking over the hyperion bridge back to los feliz huddled under my umbrella, a car drove by, through the rain running down the gutter of the overpass and DRENCHED me. instantly. it felt like someone threw a bucket of water at my back. i turned to look down the road and saw the traffic light change, and watched two lanes of traffic headed my way.

it felt like someone was hurling buckets of water at my back in 2 second intervals for the next 2 minutes. a couple times, i put my umbrella down to cover my back, but it was raining so hard my head was getting soaked.

i was able to keep my head, and therefore headphones dry, so at least i could listen to music as squished home. there is never a bad time to hear ray charles.

when i got home i went straight into a hot shower. just out of the shower: lightning. decided to stay in, listen to some sarah vowell's "partly cloudy patriot" and continue on my crafting jag.

beer of note: mendocino brewery's eye of the hawk
snack of note: trader joe's mini dark choc. covered graham crackers.

i did miss grant-lee's little room show. again. dammit.

photo is of me during happier rainy times: june 2004, bonnaroo. pic taken by suzie. :)

i'm working a little later than expected tonight. nothing dramatic, but it made me think to update the desk posts...
changed the desktop images on my avid last night: on the left: allison (of SUPERSCHEIN) and brian standing in line outside the riviera in chicago last february during the wilco residency.
on the right: jeff tweedy during one of last year's letters to santa living room shows. that white square hanging from the mic stand is one of the printed pot-holders i made as a souvenier of the potluck & musical revue. :)
you can also see a "rampant badassery" sticker taped to the bottom of the left monitor. WORLD WIDE, YO!
both pics taken with my analog cam, by the way.

b/c it's a cool visual, here is a pic that is an overview of how i constructed the potholders:
from left to right:
1. gocco printed square (kind of lo-fi screen printing)
2. example of backing fabric
3. printed square, batting and backing during quilting process
4. a finished quilted square trimmed up
5. cloth strip to be used as binding
6. potholder with binding being turned to front & pinned
7. done! it's even got a loop at the corner.
the back row shows many of the different fabric combos i used. they're all pinned, waiting for the top stitching on the binding. i all i made 40 potholders in 16 different fabric combos. i took this pic standing on a chair in my sewing room.

for the potholders i used the same binding technique i use for my quilts. SEGUE! last night i made considerable progress sewing the binding on a kids' quilt that's been kicking around unfinished for about six years. i am THIS close to finishing it. last night i laid on the couch under it watching the colbert report. (if i've ever sewn or knit something for you, i have tried it on, or slept for a night or two with it on my bed. i just like to enjoy the finished project before sending it out in the world. note: i do NOT try on the baby stuff i make. nope.)

i've been laying pretty low the last few weeks: i was too sick to go out for awhile so i just got into the habit of spending evenings at home. all day yesterday i was thinking about going home to sew and check the blocking of roberta's scarf. tonight, i'm having to stay a little later at work, but i'm pining for the knitting needles. (say what you will.)
the only thing left to do on the aforementioned kids' quilt is to embroider a phrase, my signature, and the date on it. i like to use a phrase that is related to something going on when i finish the blanket. past phrases:
-"we can swim any day in november." from the postal service song, the district sleeps tonight. i finished the quilt right after thanksgiving. a thanksgiving i spent swimming in my friends' pool until 2am. brilliant. :) this was for nora.

-"this is the new year." from the death cab for cutie song, "the new year." i dated the quilt jan 6, 2006. it's not as obvious a choice as it sounds: jan 2005 started off with my sister in the hospital on life support. it was a statement of reclaiming the new year, dammit. i kept this quilt.

-"churro of understanding" is a reference to my friend moe's short film, "corndog of tolerance." i sent him a letter addressed to moe "churro of understanding" g. then i wrote a postcard to our mutal friends tiff & duane explaining the whole joke. this quilt went to tiff & duane for their son, barrett.

those might be the only ones...i used to just embroider them with the date and "Yvon."

totally unrelated, but truly cool: last weekend the western regional barista competition was held in l.a. (i was working, wtf?!). the top three spots were won by three of the guys who pull shots at intelligentsia. WOO! i am such a fan girl. i believe i blush when they slide those cappuccinos across the counter. *swoon* GO TEAM! last year's national championship was won by a barista at the los angeles branch of intelligentsia. (recently noticed that they've expanded their late hours to thursday! if i get out of here before 9:30p, think i'll head over. dude, it is 9pm now. there is no way i'm getting out of here in time. ahh, well: overtime, yo.)