Sunday Sundry - Vol. 25

I'm feeling a bit guilty.  I have been on a binge.

Not that kind.  (That was last night's gluten-free, dairy-free baked pasta in vintage Pyrex. Yum!)

A fabric buying binge, is what I'm talking about.  Sure, I've got a couple half-baked ideas for what to do with some of the yardage, but it's more than that.  It's about craving color in the midst of a snow-white winter, and interesting patterns, and beauty...something that gets the heart racing.  I suppose a run around the block would do it too, but where's the fun in that?

The guilt comes in because I am a frugal person by nature.  I like shopping thrift stores.  I pinch pennies and don't mind, most of the time.  My income is half what it was a few years ago, which I'm not complaining about; it was my choice to make the changes I did, and I've not regretted it.  The upside—and it's a big one—is that I have more time to do the stuff I love to do.

Like online fabric shopping, apparently.

So I went a bit overboard.  But you want to know what I bought, right?  For starters, this:

I don't know what I like more, the fabric itself or the name, April in Paris.  Oui!

Sidetrack:  When my daughter was barely two, there was this TV commercial for something—I can't remember what...perfume? not-butter? feminine hygiene products?  Anyway, there was a shot of a narrow, romantic-looking, Parisian street with billowy curtains fluttering over flowery window boxes, and a woman running just as breezily over the cobblestones below.  My daughter was completely enraptured by this commercial and would say in her tiny toddler voice, "I wanna go there."  Now why would a two-year-old feel compelled to visit France?  Was she recalling a past life, I wondered, or just responding to some mighty fine marketing?

Anyway, back to fabric.  Also these:

 

And these (this only shows part of the order):

There's a black and white quilt to be made, as well as a kaleidoscope quilt (if I can ever figure it out), and this pattern from Diary of a Quilter.  Now, please help hold me accountable for those promises!

In Other Rump-Sitting News...
I started watching Band of Brothers on DVD last night.  And there went four hours of my life.  But seriously, this HBO miniseries is good.  It's also 10 years old, so I'm sure many of you have seen it before (I hadn't).  It's the story of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division during WWII.  

My father-in-law was a tank driver in the 7th Armored Division during WWII and saw firsthand the kind of action in similar locales during the same timeframe the miniseries documents.  He passed away in 1999, but he kept some records of his service, which I spent part of this morning re-reading with different eyes.  We had talked about it occasionally, but it wasn't a subject he liked to discuss much.  I can certainly understand why.  We owe so much to our service men and women.

Well, I'm sort of at a loss for words after that, so I think I'll wrap it up for this week with a little music to lift your spirits.  I listened to an older Nikka Costa CD while I quilted the Climbing Lanterns wall hanging.  Here's one from that CD, as well as a newer song.  The lyrics on the second song really make me smile. 

Have a good week, all!  The Men's Shirt Sew-Along starts on February 1, and I'm excited about it.  Stay tuned for progress updates!