Favorite Things Friday - Trifecta

I've got a triple play of favorites to share with you this week, as I link up with Quilting in My Pyjamas' Favourite Things Friday.  Each of these things made me smile and/or laugh out loud in the past few days.

1.  You may recall me mentioning in a previous FTF post that my favorite TV comedy is Parks and Recreation.   Imagine how delighted I was to visit completely cauchy this week and see how she translated into embroidery some quotes of our favorite character, Ron Swanson!

By completely cauchy.

Click the link under the photos for all the fun details in her original posts.

By completely cauchy.

The one above is based on this segment.  Apparently, Ron and I both love a good vintage typewriter! 



2.  My friends Kathy and Marie and I are watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (starring Colin Firth) when we get together for breakfast once a month.  We're two-thirds of the way through the DVDs.  

Kathy and I are very familiar with the story, but Marie was not.  Apparently, she could no longer stand the suspense until our next meeting on April 9 and the conclusion of the series.  She sent this letter via email the other day, which completely cracked me up!  Especially the third paragraph (she had asked for our advice on what color to paint one of her bedrooms).

To my dearest friends, Mrs. P. and Mrs. K, I send this with deepest regards and beseech you to read it with the inflection intended as from one Ms. Elizabeth Bennet.

For I have with liberty undertaken the perusal of one writing entitled Pride and Prejudice and have accomplished the entirety of it from beginning to end.  But let me further expound that in my endeavor to obtain aforementioned manuscript, I did most obligingly come across the recording of said work and thus had the satisfaction of having it read to me over a period of not less than eleven and one-half hours filled with unmitigated enjoyment by a most accomplished reader in the person of Ms. Josephine Bailey.  My intent, I must confess, was only to lend an ear as far as the enjoyment of the series had brought us thus far, but I could not contain my approbation and eagerness to hear the entire tale and thus was desirous of its conclusion.  I now know all, and it is with heightened anticipation that our next engagement can come none too soon!

In another direction entirely, I also wish to impart my immense satisfaction with the advice of Mrs. P. in the selection of a hue for the bedchamber at Marilaine Manor.  I deigned to acquiesce to the color suggested by Mrs. P. and have been none the less gratified by said choice.  The color is exquisite and blends rapturously from the hall to the chamber.  Your suggestion, therefore, was of the utmost satisfaction to me, unlike that given by Mrs. K. which, it pains me to relate, fell far short of anything of which I could have had the advantage.

But to both of you I owe a debt of gratitude for the delight of a novel well read and a color well chosen.  Until such time as we can once again engage in each other's most desirous of company, I close with hearty felicitations to all.

Yours etc.

Lady Marie

3.  My third and final favorite this week is a photo posted by Jeni at In Color Order of her bunny George in the basket of her awesome new bike.  

George

Cutest bunny EVER!

Thanks for visiting, and happy Favorite Things Friday!

Progress Report

Time to check in with the 15 Minute Challenge of spending said amount of time per day in the sewing room.  I didn't make any notes this week, so I don't have a day-by-day breakdown, but I do know that I spent at least 15 minutes in the sewing room 4 out of 7 days this past Monday through Sunday, mostly on this: 

Time was spent cutting and sewing together these blocks for a sudoku quilt.  I had intended to get the sashing sewn on as well, but the turquoise Kona solid I thought would look so fabulous...didn't.  So I'm mulling over the options.  I'd like to use stash, if I can find something that will work.  I'm even considering a scrappy sashing.  Not sure how that would look, but then again, this is just something I'm going to throw over myself while I'm watching TV, so who cares? 

Well, maybe a few who might happen upon a picture of it on this blog and think, Hoo-boy, what was she thinking? and recoil a little bit.  But that's what they make those little mouse clickers for, so that one can move along before one gets a migraine or urps lunch.

I wish I had more in the way of sewing/quilting fabulousness to show for the week, but work is still kicking my rump and making me feel a little off to boot*.  Escaping to the sewing room for a while does help.  I only wish it could be for longer. 

It's interesting that I am applying the 15-minute process to other endeavors as well.  For instance, on the way to get groceries on Sunday, I swung by Goodwill for a quick run-through and found a lime green Pyrex casserole (top right in the photo below).  

*or it could be the Reese's Pieces eggs I bought to go in my mouth blue candy dish, even though they contain milk and I should therefore not have them in the house.  Not to mention the carton of Greek yogurt.  I totally caved to advertising.  I hope my GI tract will eventually forgive me. 

New Cuts

Those fifteen minutes in the sewing room really do amount to something.  Today they amounted to an hour, during which I cut squares for a sudoku quilt.  

Quite a variety of different prints, but I think that's the charm.  I'm using four of the five FQs that were in the pack I found at Goodwill a week or so ago.  The others are pulled from stash.  We've got some Cosmo Cricket in there, second from left above, some Born to be Wild by Hoffman on the far left, and I wish you could see in person that rust print with the metallic details in the center.  The photo does it no justice.  It's by Robert Kaufman, Imperial Fusions:Kyoto.  Very luxurious.  It almost feels like a decorator weight fabric.  The print reminds me of pheasant feathers.

Yep, it's an eclectic mix, but I'm looking forward to sewing it up.  This one's for me, just going to be a throw.

I discovered The Avett Brothers last night when I clicked on a music recommendation for me on Amazon.com.  As it turns out, I've heard one of their songs on the radio during the past few months (the second video) but didn't know who sang it.  I really like them a lot.  Maybe you will (or already do) too.  I like when music moves me, physically or otherwise.  There's just something very compelling about this band from North Carolina.

Fifteen Minutes

"Busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest..."

That expression has always made me giggle.*  When it applies to me, though, not so much.

Working three jobs with but a rough framework of a schedule sounds like a flexibility lover's dream, and for the most part, it is.  When one or two jobs are status quo or slack, the other often picks up.  When all three get a little busier at the same time, however, it becomes more of a logistical conundrum.  Sit down to do one thing and another brushfire pops up.

And so it goes.

Flowers from a thoughtful employer on my five-year work anniversary this week.

That's why Kate's idea of carving out 15 minutes of sewing room time per day appealed to me.  Fifteen minutes seems manageable even under the busiest of circumstances, and allows me to keep moving forward, even if in baby steps.

I've been trying to do that since last Monday, and I fully intended to report on my progress through the linky on Kate's blog on Tuesday.  But since blogging about anything takes me longer than 15 minutes, the post didn't happen...until now.

Monday 3/14 - Create and post tutorial for St. Patrick's Day mug rug.

Tuesday 3/15 - Trim fabric for a friend's planned Sudoku quilt and get ready to mail.

Wednesday 3/16 - Look through fabric stash for Paper Piece Quilt Along fabrics (nothing suitable found...put "shop for fabric" on to-do list).

Thursday 3/17 - Pull and cut fabric for Just One Star block.

Friday 3/18 - Make Just One Star block.

Saturday 3/19 - Fabric shop for PPQA fabric and fruit & veggie prints for Mom Wald's quilt project.

Sunday 3/20 - Prewash fabric and cut blocks from fruit & veggie prints.

So there you have it.  Nothing mind blowing, but action I'm happy about nonetheless.  I plan to keep it up.  Whether I get around to posting about it every week, I can't say for sure.  So far this week, I'm only one for seven; two if you count the post office run to mail some fabric and a quilt block. 

Next on the agenda is to get another PhD (Project Half Done) finished.  I intended to quilt the cross stitch veggie wall hanging for my sister in time for her birthday.  That didn't happen.  Today is her birthday.  Happy Birthday, Nita!  I promise to get it done before anyone plants a garden around here.

That may be a while.  Winter came back for a visit this week.  

There is a frozen sap-sicle on the river birch in the front yard.  We had the tree trimmed last fall, and when it was warmer last week, the sap fell like raindrops from where a branch had been lopped.

Speaking of things on hold, like springtime in Wisconsin, Sunday Sundry will be doing likewise for a while.  Since I'm having to work more on weekends, I'd like to spend the free hours I do have away from the computer and in the sewing room instead (or the thrift shops, or with family).  When the wave of work passes and things have smoothed out again, Sunday Sundry will be back.

Did I ever show you this crocheted apron I found at the thrift store a couple months ago?  

I love the rickrack and ribbon waistband.

It reminds me there's green grass under the white stuff outside, new green underneath the pile of paperwork, lovely things waiting to pop and grow.  

All that from an apron.  Who knew?

*I thought about cleaning up the language, but it just doesn't have the same effect.  Thanks for reading, if you made it this far without taking offense.  Now go kick some ass!

Mint Green Beauty

I have been editing photos for an hour or so this afternoon, and my head is all swimmy.  In a good way, though, like when you've had a nap and woken up in that calm, semi-dreamy state, and now all you want to do is stand in front of the refrigerator and eat a few grapes.

Hey, what do you say I snap out of it and write a blog post already?

So here is the object of my affection, the heaviest thing I put into my cart at Goodwill a couple days ago (but don't hold that against it).

When I saw it, I had that rush of instant happy recognition, like when you run into a childhood friend you haven't seen in a couple decades.  Your entire countenance changes.  Bells ring.

I took a brief moment to moon over it there in the store aisle with my husband.  He knew it was a great find too (super clean, no nicks or scratches, complete with original manual and brushes!).  

Very soon, however, that giddy feeling dissolved into the next:  This is too good to be true; let's load this baby up, pay, and haul ass!  Fellow thrifter Vonlipi has a phrase for this kind of moment:  Start the car! 

Friends, allow me to introduce you to the Hermes 3000 typewriter from probably the mid-1960s.  Mint green, mint condition.

I know this machine.  I learned to type on this machine, i.e., one exactly like it.  (I had thought all along it was an Olivetti, but when I saw this one, I recognized it instantly.)  I know where everything is and how it all works.  This is the one!

Okay, so I'm a bit of a dweeb.  I taught myself to type one summer when I was in middle/junior high school (the things we did before the internet...).  I set this baby up on my study desk in the corner of the bedroom, propped up my mom's 1950s typing manual, the kind that's hardbound at the top, and pounded away.

f f f space, j j j space...

I typed up stuff like these recipe cards.  Dweeby and domestic.  Qualities every middle schooler wants to cultivate.

Please forgive the typos (chortening?).

In high school, my guidance counselor asked what I wanted to be.  Answer:  A secretary.  He thought I was aiming awfully low.  Perhaps he was right.  So I went to college, partied, and got a BA in Psychology with a minor in Office Administration.  Then I went to work as a secretary.

My best friends are secretaries (admin assistants, legal assistants, paralegals, whatevs).  They are some of the smartest people I know.

The Hermes 3000 is a Swiss-made typewriter.  It weighs probably close to 30 pounds.  I think the word "portable" is applied loosely.  You wouldn't want to be lugging this baby up the Alps.  Though if you did and managed to reach your secluded cabin without herniating a disc, you could type your novel with it, like Jack Keruoac did.  His Hermes 3000 sold at auction for $22,500.

I mentioned yesterday that this makes the third vintage typewriter I've bought in a year.  I think that makes it an official collection, at least until I decide to sell one or more of them.  Here are the other machines I thrifted in 2010, each of which I love only slightly less than the aforementioned.

This is a Royal typewriter, and the model is called Parade.  Made in the 1960s, I believe, in Holland.  

Such a pretty blue.  Well-made, solid, yet substantially lighter in weight.

If I were in the habit of naming typewriters, I might name this one Kate, after the woman who will have her own royal parade when she marries Prince William. Quite photogenic too, no?

Don't judge the next one by its cover.

The Olympia is a German-built tank of a typewriter.  And yet it is a thing of beauty, in an Arnold Schwarzenegger kind of way.

Slightly intimidating, what with the military green metal and spit-shiny black keys.  

Not to mention the upper body strength needed to heft it up onto the desk.  Bench press this machine regularly and you can probably drop your gym membership.  You will no longer be a girly-man.

You can read more about the Hermes 3000 and the Olympia HERE and HERE.  I don't pretend to be an expert on typewriters.

I just think they're sexy.