pre-surgery update, nombre dos

Hello, weekend. Glad you could make it.
What I'll be wearing...

And what I'll be playing with before-hand...

More 'wall' pics, but these are pre-glut, so bear in mind Clementine has way too much fabric and you should prolly come buy some. That's not a shameless plug for your hard-earned cash. I seriously just don't want to be crushed by bolts of cloth when the shelves give way...

pre-surgery update, numero uno

So, I've been a busy Frau Becher these past two days. The wonky log cabin was not just a passing fancy... it appears to have taken over my free time, as seen here:

this is 20 center blocks plus one round of wonk. I have since added the beginnings of round two. Looking like I might get it done this weekend, if tomorrow night's super-fun outing doesn't put me out of commission too long into Sunday, though I refuse to admit to ever getting hang-overs. Down here, we have the Paula Prass "flights of fancy" feature fabrics that finally arrived at the shop the other day. Good grief, but they were a long time coming...

totally worth the wait, though. I'm planning another quilt to show them off to their best advantage... maybe one of those 'candy bar' quilts...
Down here you'll see some specimens of the 'Timber' fabric collection. I was apparently having a retro, 1920's moment, because they are a whole lot of Arts & Crafts style wallpaper-inspired prints. Cuteness, though. Especially the tiny birds in the trees. How cute for wee baby things. Oh, you know you want some bird fabric...
don't even think about ignoring it...

I'm off to hit the sack now. Last night was a wash. A monster headache kept me from belly dance class last night *gasp* and tonight Herr Becher thought it sporting to take me out bar-hopping, then put me on the elliptical trainer whilst still tipsy.
Okay, it was way funner than normal, but really, is that a viable exercise option? We shall see...

snickity, snickity

ok. lots to get done before 'surgery day' on monday. just a quick little update to appease those of you sitting at your workstations trying to look busy whilst catching up on all your favorite crafty blogs. i am currently covered in thread snippets and have found an answer to my quilt block quandary. a man in north carolina has provided the visual i needed to push myself into getting a wonk cabin going. i'm using heather baileys's "nicey jane" fabrics in blue/green/yellow. young master eli saw the stack of fats and informed me, in his most solemn voice, that they needed to be on his bed, in 'a warm and soft quilt'. so, you look around over at mr.cary's blog; i have a pile of strips waiting my attentions...

Chez Moi?

C'est la chose que j'aime le plus.
The 'French-phrase-a-day' calendar Mandi's torturing me with this year informs me that that's the way to say "It's the thing I like the most". Right now, it seemed relevant. So many pretties here... the new 'Boutique' collection from Chez Moi...

It's Moda fabric, so bear in mind it cannot be re-ordered. Perfect for stashing, or for the stack&whack class Miss Deb's teaching in February.

Below, you will find a small sampling of Anna Griffin fabrics from the 'Isabelle' collection. Hoping to add more as space allows, but walking past the shelves makes me a little flinchy... full to groaning they are. I have one intrepid customer already planning to sew Amy Butler's 'Liverpool' dress in the pink/red/orange stripe. It's gonna be fabulous!

Here's a 'Serendipity Scarf' update. I tried to get it to pose with the new skully black & white fabrics that arrived two days ago, but there was pouting, and it threatened to drag itself along the floor and get full of dried slush-muck in front of the door. *deep sigh*
Just two more 'rows' to go, though I'm thinking of using up the wee bits and bobs of the sock yarns to grow it a little longer. One can't ever have too much color...

And, lastly, a peek into one of life's little mysteries. No longer will I need to question why my knitting sets off my allergies...

I'm going to need the super-sized sticky roller to clean that up...

Moving forward...

I proclaimed last year as my 'year of living dangerously'. Travel, yoga, pub-knitting with whiskey (NOT for the faint-of-heart, trust me!), and belly dancing were the add-ons to my sedate life last year.
What? You think yoga clothes weren't frightening? Shows what you know. I scare myself in those gawd-awful pants!
Anyway, I'm continuing the theme for 2010, 'cuz there's more pub-knitting to be done, and more muscle groups to master. I found a truly awesome spectacle on youtube today, so now...
I have BIG plans for 2010. Check it out.
I've also decided to branch out in the knitting arena. Though I hope/fervently pray to finish up the countless pairs of socks currently on needles, I decided I'd commit to an actual 'garment'. So, the day after Christmas, while the kids were still jacked up on cookies/candy/new video games, I busted out the frogged 'February Lady' sweater, reclaimed the yarn, and casted on this...

Sporting not one, but TWO of these Celtic beauties, and stretching my attention span far more than is comfortable, or even safe, the reclaimed yarn is becoming a freakishly soft knitted 'sweatshirt', with the cables providing shaping at either side of the waist...
Yeah, like I have one of those...*snort*
But there you have it. A sample of what's up with me this year. Oh, and since I have to turn 40 (shudder) this year, and my favorite local band ever is playing a mere 4 days before the dreaded event at The Juke Box in town, I might even find myself up on stage belting out a country tune.
Nothing like a little stage fright to keep it real.

little bits of happiness

I spent yesterday dusting and rearranging bolts of fabric. Robin aka 'Austen'(currently of 'why is the rum always gone?' fame) came in to assist and succeeded in convincing me to overhaul every single shelf-full. Seriously a slave-driver, that little missy. In a few days I might put up fabric wall pics. If you are a well-behaved lot of ruffians.
In the meantime, here's a photo-essay of the happy that has come in the past week. They are (top to bottom) Denyse Schmidt's 'Hope Valley', ibid, Heather Bailey's 'Nicey Jane', and more of the same. The Hope Valley collection is complete. The Nicey Jane is slightly over half here... where the hell is my super-cutie UPS man, anyhow? He may be toting the rest around. Stay tuned, crafty chicas...