Sunday, August 27, 2006

Book list

A while back I put up a booklist I got from Lolly Knitting Around which has garnered a few interesting comments. Today I watched the movie version of one of my favourite books - "On the Beach" by Nevil Shute. If you've never read the book or seen the movie, I highly recommend both. The story is incredibly heart wrenching and the performances in the movie very compelling -- especially Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Anthony Perkins. Anywho, I think this book ought to be on the required reading list for all high school students around the world.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Well, I guess that about covers it....


A belated birthday present from my mother - the fabric to cover a chair I've come to call my throne. It's a late Victorian mock-Jacobean reproduction that I like to think might have been saved from the fire at Manderly. The fabric is a nice plain plum-coloured velvet which I'm hoping beyond all hope that Charlie thinks is too pretty to scratch. With the fabric I take off the chair, I'm going to make a nice, excessively textured wallhanging with some lovely felinesque shredwork.

Pictured here on top of the fabric is a scarf I knit using yarn from Three Waters Farm
and following the instructions for learning how to knit lace in the summer issue of Interweave Knits.





Monday, August 21, 2006

Baby did a good, good thing.....

The Chris Isaak concert at Wolf Trap was WONDERFUL last night despite the seemingly 300% humidty. If I have 1/2 the energy he has when I hit 50 I'll be on top of the world. Not only that, the man can sing like there's no tomorrow. I'm sure if they'd given him another couple of hours he'd have gone right on. As it was, he closed with a beautiful rendition of my fave - "Blue Spanish Sky" -- a song I had wanted to play for my dear grandmother but unfortunately never got the chance. It always makes me think of her and brings a tear to my eye when I hear it.
On another, much lighter note, we met a couple of very nice gentleman last night at dinner who made sure we got to the concert in one piece and got back on the highway headed in the right direction after the show. For that I am eternally grateful. As it happens, they were also great company. Thanks Ben and Blair! (to be continued.....)

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Crazy jeans

Tonight I'm going to see Chris Isaak at Wolf Trap with friends. I was going to wear these jeans which I've been working on but decided that since it's so hot and humid, I'll wear something cool and linen instead.

In the meantime, here's the newest of spider webs. All it lacks is a crazy little spider!
So, instead of wearing these jeans and goodness only knows what else, I decided to wear some black linen pants, a glittery red top and this (Simplicity 4132).

I'm not at all thrilled with the way the neck turned out mostly because the fabric I used - a sort of satin-backed brushed twill - is a bit too thick. Perhaps when I have a bit more time I'll take it off and replace it. Otherwise, it fits very nicely and was very easy to put together so I'd definitely make it again.

Oh, and before I forget, since we're going to be in the area this afternoon, we're going to G Street!

Monday, August 14, 2006

Tired of being green....

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded.
You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.



Now that's more like it!

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The Ultimate Crazy Spider






I don't think I've ever quite explained the reason I call this blog "The Crazy Spider". I'm sure most of you who enjoy crazy quilting know that the spider is considered a symbol of good luck and many times takes the center stage on an elegantly stitched patch. It also happens that I went to the University of Richmond which lays claim to the only arachnid mascot in North America. So it was only a matter of time before I stitched up a little patch in the school colours - red and blue - with a lovely little crazy spider in the middle. I have plans to make a large wall hanging which would encompass all the things I did while I was at school. My BA is in history, so this should be a fun project to work on. So without further ado, here is the UR patch:

Crazy Little Spider


Phew.... what a day... what a day.....

I finally got everything loaded into the computer, cropped and sorted so here we have a smattering of what I've been up to for the past few months.

I completed the patch for my mother just in time for Mother's Day. I was right pleased that she was impressed as her handiwork is quite fine. I have also decided since then that the size I made her patch -- roughly 8x10 -- is a very good size to work with. I finished it before Sharon started her "100 Details for 100 Days" or I'm sure I would have gotten a lot fancier stitch-wise. As it is, this piece has really served as a springboard.

Here it 'tis:

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Where am I?

It's been a long, hot summer and it looks like we're going to get a break in the heat tomorrow! YEEEEEEEEEHAW! Perhaps this weekend I'll feel a bit more enthusiastic about updating this blog. If you scroll down a few posts, you'll see that back in March I hit my arm and suffered some damage. Unfortunately, it was the straw that busted up the camel's elbow(didn't know they had elbows, did ya...). I've got nerve damage in my left arm that has rendered it somewhat painful to spend any length of time typing. Since I have to do that all day at work, I've been taking a break from doing it here.

I have managed to finish a few things in the past month and hope to have some pictures up at some point over the weekend.

See ya soon!