The Infinity Dress!

I knew that the Craft Gawker website was going to be trouble the first time I saw it! And sure enough, right when I had every intention of going home last night and finishing up a quilt project, I stumbled across a new project that just HAD to be started last night!

I had heard about the Infinity Dress before. My friend Amanda told me she bought one from the Earthbound Trading Company down on Broughton Street. But we all know I'm cheap and wouldn't buy something that I could make (and the fact that I rarely buy new clothes regardless of the price). I think I may have even seen her wear it once and thought, that's pretty cool, but not my style.

Well, I saw a snapshot of an Infinity Dress on CraftGawker that took me to this very well explained how-to link. The pull was irresistable. It looked so easy. And it looked like something I would/could actually wear. And just that very morning I was wishing that I had a summery, stretchy dress to wear.

So I swung by Jo-Ann's and picked up some stretch-knit fabric and skipped home, envisioning that in about an hour I would have a fun new dress. And it almost happened that way. However, since I didn't really have a pattern, and I was basically winging it, there were a few little stumbles along the way. The most frustrating part is that the stumbles were caused more from me rushing than the fact that I didn't really know what I was doing.

Long story short: I have an awesome new dress!

Supposedly you can wear this thing a thousand different ways. But for a tom-boy like me, I will probably not experiement that much. As it is, I'm still getting used to having that much of my back exposed!

Now that I have done it once, I'm sure I will be make a few more. I found some very pleasing mossy-green fabric that would look cheerful and spring-like paired with the blue. And the next one really should only take me an hour!

Yes, it was a Happy Birthday!

I'm not really a big fan of birthdays. It's not that I have a problem with getting older, I just don't particularly like all the attention that goes along with my birthday. Ironically, I LOVE making a big deal out of other people's birthdays...but that's because the focus is not on me!

This weekend I turned 31 and had a nice, relaxing, low-key time of it. Joy came to spend the weekend with me and we had a great visit! She went with me to my workshop for the awesome folks from the Statesboro Habitat for Humanity, we had yummy food, went to see the new Sex and the City movie, laughed and cut up as sisters should, and even went for a stroll on the beach. I think the walk on Tybee was my favorite part of the whole weekend (until it got too hot to think and I nearly melted into the sand).


The last time that Joy and I took a leisurely stroll on the beach like this was probably our trip to Block Island (which I think was back in 2006). We've been to the beach since then, of course, but not solely for beach walking. I prefer walking, while she's happy to roast in the sand...


Two very nice ladies offered to take a picture of us together, and asked if we were twins! It seems like Joy and I are the only ones who don't see the family resemblance (we must be in denial).


So, there are several things that I loved about this little beach trip:
1. I love to honor special moments by spending time in nature (my last stroll on the beach was on New Year's Day).
2. I loved spending time with Joy, just walking and talking and being outside on a beautiful day.
3. I love the way my new tankini top from Land's End fits (and I really love the fact that I got it on clearance!).
4. I loved to see what 8 months of Pilates has done for my health! Seriously, not to brag or anything, but I feel great!
When Joy and I got back from the beach, my new roomie had left these beautiful roses on the counter for me! Jessie is going to be my roommate for the summer and I'm so excited to have a crafter around to keep me motivated!

Oh the temptations...

Having found myself with a wee bit of free* time, I poked around on a very VERY dangerous website: Craft Gawker! But wait! Don't click that link just yet... If you have any inclination towards crafting, be it knitting, photography, quilting, printmaking, painting, jewelry making, sewing, paper crafts, etc consider yourself warned. This site will suck you and and swell your crafty soul with so many ideas for wonderful projects that you will be tempted to quit your job, bid your friends and family goodbye and lock yourself in your craft room for days at a time! If you think you're strong enough to resist this temptation, or at the very least manage your impulses, then by all means grab a cup of tea and gawk away at some beautiful crafts. I, for one, pretend to believe that I can manage my entirely unreasonable number of projects-to-be, and have now added yet another to the ever-expanding list: quilted wallets!

I've also stumbled across a few other fun crafty blogs and sites, and added them to my "Craft Related Links" in case you're interested.

*by "free" time, what I really mean is: time that is not spent on 1. one of the several projects that I have started but not yet completed 2. contemplating the many projects that I have considered but not yet started or 3. all those other things that I could/should be doing to maintain some sort of normal life (such as laundry, sleeping, playing with Harley... oh, and working).

Care Package 27 & 28: Slacker....

I have to say, I'm somewhat disappointed in my performance for the last two care packages. They lacked my usual creativity and flare. However, in my defense, I do have fairly reasonable excuses.

On Saturday, May 8 my sister came up to visit me. We had a great time hanging out and catching up Saturday night. On Sunday my back was feeling much better after two chiropractic adjustments and I decided that Harley was in need of her usual Sunday morning bath. Unfortunately, lifting a 65 pound reluctant dog into a bathtub and spending 20 minutes hunched over bathing said dog effectively killed my back.

Now, I have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but I have never felt pain like this. Ripping all the soft muscle tissue in my foot while jumping off a 50 foot bridge and cannon-balling into nearly-freezing water was a mild discomfort compared to this (hey, it was college, what can I say?). Having a wisdom tooth cracked out of my skull before the Novocaine kicked in was nothing compared to this. Spending over an hour with a tattoo gun grinding on my spine would be considered tickling next to this.

My wonderful, awesome and totally amazing chiropractor actually came into his office on Mother's Day for an emergency adjustment that knocked the pain down from "excruciating" to "just about bearable" and I was able to spend the rest of the night flat on my back without crying constantly. As such, putting around the kitchen to whip up some goodies was out of the question. Not to be discouraged, I did manage to pack up a handful of Nature Valley granola bars into a box and get it in the mail on Monday after another round of chiropractic care. As they say, it's the thought that counts, right?

As for this weeks care package, I was in Connecticut this weekend and didn't have access to my kitchen until late Monday evening. I did have lofty plans to try a new oatmeal cookie recipe, but was short a few key ingredients. So another trusty package of Trail Mix is on its way to Brian as I type. This batch of trail mix, however, has a very special addition: chocolate covered sunflower seeds!! These are one of my all-time FAVORITE snacks and it took an amazing amount of self control not to eat every last one of them. Seriously, I would make myself sick on these things if I had just a wee bit less self-control.

So there you have it: my somewhat reasonable excuses for being a slacker in the creative care package department. Brian will be heading home soon for two weeks R&R, so I may be taking a bit of a hiatus in the baking arena. But stay tuned, I have a really great idea for what to send him when he ships back out!

Connecticut Revisited

I didn't think that I would be able to get back to Connecticut to visit my friends anytime this year. Scheduling and money were the big barriers, certainly not a lack of desire. However, fortune smiled on me and I was invited at the last moment to participate in a Cities for Financial Empowerment meeting in Providence, RI. These people do amazing work and I was very excited to join them. And, since I was going to be in the area anyway, I decided to spend a few days trying to catch up with some of my friends!

I had breakfast with the Chominski clan. Nolan is the latest addition and at 4 months he's a handful!

Do these three look like trouble or what? I describe Jenny and Karen as two of my oldest friends: the kind of friends you'll never let go...because they have too much dirt on you! We spent hours talking and laughing and picking on each other. It was like I never left.

Reagan, Sammy and Hannah kept each other occupied while the girls and I caught up. It never ceases to amaze me how fast kids grow...

Julie and I got to catch up over dinner and enjoyed a stroll through Wilcox Park. I dearly miss living just a short walk away from her and all the fun times we shared. Thankfully, Julie is great at keeping in touch and, again, it's as if I never left.

I also got to visit with Diana and Carolyn, two of my former co-workers. These ladies always make me smile, and hearing about all the changes around the old office made me so glad that I took this job in GA! And there's no way I could come to CT and not go home to the Saporita's. A part of me feared the visit would be bitter sweet, scratching the scab off of our losses. But I should have known better. Though it will always stir up the memory of Jen and mom, I can never feel anything less then joy and love when visiting my adoptive family. On the way out of town I got to check in with my friends at the Inn at Stonington, which I'm happy to say has not changed a bit! There were far too many people that I didn't get to see this trip. Hopefully next time I'll have more than two days...

I couldn't have asked for better weather for my weekend getaway. Spring was in full bloom and I got to sample a taste of one of my favorite New England seasons.

What trip to Connecticut would be complete without a visit to Bluff Point? I've spent so many hours here over the years: whether walking, biking, journaling, bird watching, meditating or laughing with friends, Bluff Point is a touchstone in my life. When I needed to clear my head, lift my spirits, or struggle with my demons, Bluff Point was my refuge. Since my back was still very sore and time was tight, I could only manage a quick stroll. But it was still enough to refresh and recharge me.

Care Package 26: Belated Cinco de Mayo and a new quilt project

Cinco de Mayo is one of those semi-holidays in my book. Not to detract at all from the historical significance that this day holds for many people. I was just at a bit of a loss as when trying to come up with an adequate Cinco de Mayo themed care package. Salsa and chips was the easy choice...except that the salsa jar might break and the chips almost certainly would. I even thought about sending all the fixings to make burritos (wraps, salsa, refried beans) but again with the jar breaking. And something told me that tequila and limes wouldn't be such a great idea either. My problem was solved when I stumbled across these Jalapeno flavored peanuts from the Carolina Nut Company! I was too wimpy to try them myself, but thought Brian would probably enjoy them.

I've also been making some progress on an really cool quilt pattern! I am using a bunch of the batik fabrics from Mom's stash to make a cracker box patterned quilt. Below is a picture of the work in progress. I absolutely LOVE strip-piecing quilts! Not only does it seem to go together so much quicker, but it also allows for an almost mindless meditative repetition. Plus, it helps me stay focused by working on just one step at a time. When it comes to me and projects, focus means less room for mistakes!

Savannah Scavenger Hunt!

So, I have had this great craft project idea in mind for months: take pictures of things around Savannah in the shape of letters, then use those pictures to spell things out. For example, this dragonfly door knocker would make a great capital letter T.

The only problem is I have never found the time to take enough pictures to make this project happen! In a rare moment of genius, I figured out an excellent solution: have my very fun and creative friends do the bulk of the work for me!

Today was a gloriously beautiful Savannah Sunday, and 8 of my awesome friends showed up for a light brunch and a Savannah scavenger hunt. Armed with cold water (did I mention that it was nearing 90 degrees today?) and digital cameras, they had an hour to try to find as many letter-shaped plants, buildings, fences, etc. I'll still need to do some editing and PhotoShopping to cobble the projects together, but here are a few of their finds:

See, it's never too early for a crafter to start thinking about Christmas presents!