Dear Shell,
Due to issues with people not being able to leave comments, issues with not being able to post pictures or working links, and other issues...I am leaving blogspot/blogger and moving to wordpress.
My new blog, Inside My Imagination, can be found at http://insidemyimagination.wordpress.com/
I hope you join me and follow my new journey.
Shell
Monday, August 16, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Fiber Cult
Dear Shell,
The title probably is making you go "What the hell! What is Fiber Cult? Is it a cult of people increasing their fiber intake? Who would join a club like that?"
You'll be glad to know, Fiber Cult is not about increasing your fiber intake. A Fiber Cult is actually more of a craft club, the actual name of it is Eye For Fiber. A group of women, including my mom and now myself, gather once a month to compare craft projects, talk about crafting, and offer suggestions if needed. Most of the crafting involves fabric and what you can put on fabric, from what I understand of it. I've only been to one meeting so far.
And the funkier and brighter, the better! Why use tan when you can use orange? Why use soft blue when you can use neon green? Why not add sparkly rings and fuzzy yarn?
A few months ago they decided to start a fabric challenge based off an idea in a magazine (I'm not sure which magazine it was though). Each person starts with a roughly 18" x 22" fabric piece of their choice. Whatever color they want. Each month, a piece of paper is pulled from a cup with a prompt on it. The prompt tells what needs to be added next to the piece of fabric. One month's prompt could be completely different from the month before, resulting in a very interesting end piece once all the prompts are done and the challenge is called to an end.
I joined the group on the meeting where they pulled the 3rd prompt for the challenge, so I've been trying to get caught up on my fabric piece so that I'm at the same point as everyone else. It's been interesting so far. I almost have the 2nd prompt done and am trying to figure out what to do for the 3rd. 'Add something unusual to add texture'. Hm, this could be...very strange!
Well I have dishes to do and dinner to plan, then a challenge prompt to finish, so I'm going to sign off for now.
Shell
p.s. Mom... look! a new blog post! :P
The title probably is making you go "What the hell! What is Fiber Cult? Is it a cult of people increasing their fiber intake? Who would join a club like that?"
You'll be glad to know, Fiber Cult is not about increasing your fiber intake. A Fiber Cult is actually more of a craft club, the actual name of it is Eye For Fiber. A group of women, including my mom and now myself, gather once a month to compare craft projects, talk about crafting, and offer suggestions if needed. Most of the crafting involves fabric and what you can put on fabric, from what I understand of it. I've only been to one meeting so far.
And the funkier and brighter, the better! Why use tan when you can use orange? Why use soft blue when you can use neon green? Why not add sparkly rings and fuzzy yarn?
A few months ago they decided to start a fabric challenge based off an idea in a magazine (I'm not sure which magazine it was though). Each person starts with a roughly 18" x 22" fabric piece of their choice. Whatever color they want. Each month, a piece of paper is pulled from a cup with a prompt on it. The prompt tells what needs to be added next to the piece of fabric. One month's prompt could be completely different from the month before, resulting in a very interesting end piece once all the prompts are done and the challenge is called to an end.
I joined the group on the meeting where they pulled the 3rd prompt for the challenge, so I've been trying to get caught up on my fabric piece so that I'm at the same point as everyone else. It's been interesting so far. I almost have the 2nd prompt done and am trying to figure out what to do for the 3rd. 'Add something unusual to add texture'. Hm, this could be...very strange!
Well I have dishes to do and dinner to plan, then a challenge prompt to finish, so I'm going to sign off for now.
Shell
p.s. Mom... look! a new blog post! :P
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Dance Exercise
Dear Shell,
Recently I picked up a dance exercise video. Hip Hop Dance Mix, in the 10-Minute Solutions family of videos. Wow... after one 10 minute session I was ready to collapse! I think my body forgot how to move for more than walking and other daily activities. Worked up a good sweat with that session as well.
Today I picked up Dancing With The Stars - Latin Dance Mix (something like that). Some of the dances on there, it was hard to get my body to move like that. The Samba wasnt too bad. I only tripped myself, oh, a few times. :)
This is the type of exercise I think I can stick with. It works out my body and teaches me something fun at the same time. Eventually, I'll be able to pick the exercise with music only option instead of instructions option (this is on the Dancing With The Stars video).
Here's to hoping I can "dance my ass off"...literally!
Shell
Recently I picked up a dance exercise video. Hip Hop Dance Mix, in the 10-Minute Solutions family of videos. Wow... after one 10 minute session I was ready to collapse! I think my body forgot how to move for more than walking and other daily activities. Worked up a good sweat with that session as well.
Today I picked up Dancing With The Stars - Latin Dance Mix (something like that). Some of the dances on there, it was hard to get my body to move like that. The Samba wasnt too bad. I only tripped myself, oh, a few times. :)
This is the type of exercise I think I can stick with. It works out my body and teaches me something fun at the same time. Eventually, I'll be able to pick the exercise with music only option instead of instructions option (this is on the Dancing With The Stars video).
Here's to hoping I can "dance my ass off"...literally!
Shell
Thursday, May 20, 2010
5 Years Ago...
Dear Shell,
5 years ago tomorrow, May 21st, I did something very special, and in a unique way. I got married to a wonderful person, and we had the wedding ceremony on... a train! Yes that's right, J and I got married on a train. Not just any train, but the Michigan Star Clipper dinner train.
5 years. 5 years is not very long in the scheme of life overall, and it went by in a flash, but a lot happened in the last 5 years. I'll just touch on a few items here.
J had a few changes in the work end of things, finally ending up at a place where he seems to really like his job. He quickly moved up to being a team leader, proving to his team and his employer that he was highly knowledgeable in his work.
I quit working at one job to finish college, and saw my health improve drastically from what it was while I was working there. I went from having obstructions in my lungs and very poor breathing to having low-end of normal breathing with no obstructions. Finished college, with a bachelors in Management... a field I have no interest in anymore. Now I'm back working for a place that I worked at when I was 19. And I'm really liking the place. Different duties now than I had then, but it's a good job.
A year ago we lost a beloved pet. It was difficult getting to the point of being able to think about Junior without crying. Even now, I still miss him.
A few months ago, we bought our first "real" house. A 1700 sq foot ranch with a basement and garage, and 1 1/2 acres. We moved from a double-wide trailer in a park, which was a good home, but didn't fit what we really wanted. This house, while it needs work, is just what we wanted. We're learning a lot while we find things here that need to be fixed or updated, and it's been fun.
A few months ago we also acquired a new pet. A black and white kitten that we named Penelope. She's quickly become a very affectionate, very loved addition to the family. She loves to cuddle, especially with me.
What will the next 5 years bring? Hopefully a child or two. Our house becoming more of what we want with the updates. More knowledge of apple trees...(our house came with an apple orchard, we're hoping to not kill the trees off haha).
Whatever life brings, we'll face it together.
Looking forward to the next 5, 10, 50 years,
Shell
5 years ago tomorrow, May 21st, I did something very special, and in a unique way. I got married to a wonderful person, and we had the wedding ceremony on... a train! Yes that's right, J and I got married on a train. Not just any train, but the Michigan Star Clipper dinner train.
5 years. 5 years is not very long in the scheme of life overall, and it went by in a flash, but a lot happened in the last 5 years. I'll just touch on a few items here.
J had a few changes in the work end of things, finally ending up at a place where he seems to really like his job. He quickly moved up to being a team leader, proving to his team and his employer that he was highly knowledgeable in his work.
I quit working at one job to finish college, and saw my health improve drastically from what it was while I was working there. I went from having obstructions in my lungs and very poor breathing to having low-end of normal breathing with no obstructions. Finished college, with a bachelors in Management... a field I have no interest in anymore. Now I'm back working for a place that I worked at when I was 19. And I'm really liking the place. Different duties now than I had then, but it's a good job.
A year ago we lost a beloved pet. It was difficult getting to the point of being able to think about Junior without crying. Even now, I still miss him.
A few months ago, we bought our first "real" house. A 1700 sq foot ranch with a basement and garage, and 1 1/2 acres. We moved from a double-wide trailer in a park, which was a good home, but didn't fit what we really wanted. This house, while it needs work, is just what we wanted. We're learning a lot while we find things here that need to be fixed or updated, and it's been fun.
A few months ago we also acquired a new pet. A black and white kitten that we named Penelope. She's quickly become a very affectionate, very loved addition to the family. She loves to cuddle, especially with me.
What will the next 5 years bring? Hopefully a child or two. Our house becoming more of what we want with the updates. More knowledge of apple trees...(our house came with an apple orchard, we're hoping to not kill the trees off haha).
Whatever life brings, we'll face it together.
Looking forward to the next 5, 10, 50 years,
Shell
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Decaying Flesh...
Dear Shell,
No, I'm not talking about a disease. I'm talking about the color, former color that is, of the spare bedroom in our house. It was a godawful orangy-peachy-salmon-icky color that wouldn't look good on anything, especially not bedroom walls. I'm not talking about the nice salmon color you see on shirts or other fabrics. This was.. horrible.
But, it is now a soft and pretty blue called Ocean Dream. We only have the first coat done so far but it is a huge improvement on the room. One wall, an accent wall, will end up a shade or two darker tomorrow when we put the second coat on. Then once everything dries, we put the curtain rod back up, put the bed back in and together, and get the decor set up.
I thought about going with a beach theme, with stenciled seashells and such. But there will be a very special quilt on the spare bed which my grandma made for J and I as a wedding gift. It is several shades of blue and has flowers scattered through the fabric. Since the quilt is very special and I chose the blue for the room based on the quilt, I will end up stenciling in some flowers and doing the decor along those lines.
The curtains that were in the room, Mom and I are going to see if we can maybe alter them slightly to make them fit. They have burgundy on them but also have flowers embroidered into the fabric. I think if we can figure out a good way to add some blue to the curtains, then they'll fit nicely into the room and I wont have to buy new curtains.
Well it's late and I have to work tomorrow so I better get to bed so I can get a good night's sleep.
Slightly high from paint fumes...
Shell
No, I'm not talking about a disease. I'm talking about the color, former color that is, of the spare bedroom in our house. It was a godawful orangy-peachy-salmon-icky color that wouldn't look good on anything, especially not bedroom walls. I'm not talking about the nice salmon color you see on shirts or other fabrics. This was.. horrible.
But, it is now a soft and pretty blue called Ocean Dream. We only have the first coat done so far but it is a huge improvement on the room. One wall, an accent wall, will end up a shade or two darker tomorrow when we put the second coat on. Then once everything dries, we put the curtain rod back up, put the bed back in and together, and get the decor set up.
I thought about going with a beach theme, with stenciled seashells and such. But there will be a very special quilt on the spare bed which my grandma made for J and I as a wedding gift. It is several shades of blue and has flowers scattered through the fabric. Since the quilt is very special and I chose the blue for the room based on the quilt, I will end up stenciling in some flowers and doing the decor along those lines.
The curtains that were in the room, Mom and I are going to see if we can maybe alter them slightly to make them fit. They have burgundy on them but also have flowers embroidered into the fabric. I think if we can figure out a good way to add some blue to the curtains, then they'll fit nicely into the room and I wont have to buy new curtains.
Well it's late and I have to work tomorrow so I better get to bed so I can get a good night's sleep.
Slightly high from paint fumes...
Shell
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Overtime, Crafts, Writing, and ME
Dear Shell,
Work has been going well. Lots of overtime, but I expected that when I hired into the company. The work is easy and my team has been great. My boss was pretty cool about letting me take this weekend off to recover from exhaustion and an ear infection/sinus infection.
The downside to working all the overtime... I haven't had much ME time, for my crafts or my writing. I think I've only dedicated 2-3 hours total to writing since I started working again, and some of that was on editing not new writing (although the editing seriously needs to get done). The past two weeks I haven't done much with crocheting either. I'm still at the 2/3rds mark on the 3rd lap blanket. I tried to crochet some last night, but ended up napping instead. Really needed the nap though.
I woke up this morning with a scene for one of my novels running through my head. So far I've been awake 4-5 hours and I have three sentences of it written down. Oops.
I miss writing. I miss my writing group. I've missed all meetings since NaNo ended. Its hard to head to Flint at 6pm for a meeting on a Sunday though when I've been up since 3am and already put in 8 hours of work and have to be up at 5am the next morning. Hopefully next weekend when the next meeting is scheduled I'll be able to make it, since I had this weekend off to recover and catch up on some sleep.
Well, I'm going to try to get the rest of this scene written down while it's still running through my head.
wondering where her sanity is,
Shell
Work has been going well. Lots of overtime, but I expected that when I hired into the company. The work is easy and my team has been great. My boss was pretty cool about letting me take this weekend off to recover from exhaustion and an ear infection/sinus infection.
The downside to working all the overtime... I haven't had much ME time, for my crafts or my writing. I think I've only dedicated 2-3 hours total to writing since I started working again, and some of that was on editing not new writing (although the editing seriously needs to get done). The past two weeks I haven't done much with crocheting either. I'm still at the 2/3rds mark on the 3rd lap blanket. I tried to crochet some last night, but ended up napping instead. Really needed the nap though.
I woke up this morning with a scene for one of my novels running through my head. So far I've been awake 4-5 hours and I have three sentences of it written down. Oops.
I miss writing. I miss my writing group. I've missed all meetings since NaNo ended. Its hard to head to Flint at 6pm for a meeting on a Sunday though when I've been up since 3am and already put in 8 hours of work and have to be up at 5am the next morning. Hopefully next weekend when the next meeting is scheduled I'll be able to make it, since I had this weekend off to recover and catch up on some sleep.
Well, I'm going to try to get the rest of this scene written down while it's still running through my head.
wondering where her sanity is,
Shell
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Lap Blankets for Cancer Patients
Dear Shell,
Mom and I are crocheting lap blankets (36"x36") for one of the cancer centers that Mom's friend goes to. Karmanos Cancer Institute (Michigan). If I understand correctly, when a new patient comes into the cancer center, they are given a lap blanket that becomes their blanket to use. They take it home, bring it back for each of their appointments, etc. It's something to give them something to fuss with with their hands, something to give comfort, something for warmth. Right now, Karmanos Cancer Institute is low on lap blankets. They need more.
Wouldn't it be great if they had an excess, because they didn't have any need for them due to patients being cured? Unfortunately, that's not the case. They have more patients than they have blankets to give.
I know people out there besides Mom and I know how to do these crafts. The blankets can be crocheted, knitted, quilted. They don't need to be super fancy with all the frilly trim and delicate time-consuming stitches, but they do need to be warm. Cheerful colors are good as well, something to help brighten an otherwise dismal time.
Please, if you know how to crochet, knit, sew... please help us with making lap blankets for Karmanos, and possibly other cancer centers once Karmanos has extras saved up. The Lapeer Cancer Center is good on blankets right now, but they may run low at any time, so they will be kept on the list of potential recipients.
For those followers who know me, you can contact me through email, phone, Facebook, or a comment here, whichever is the best way, if you are able to make some blankets to help out. If you can have some made and ready by the end of each month, I can get them to Mom so we can get them delivered during the first week of the next month.
Thank you to everyone,
Shell
Mom and I are crocheting lap blankets (36"x36") for one of the cancer centers that Mom's friend goes to. Karmanos Cancer Institute (Michigan). If I understand correctly, when a new patient comes into the cancer center, they are given a lap blanket that becomes their blanket to use. They take it home, bring it back for each of their appointments, etc. It's something to give them something to fuss with with their hands, something to give comfort, something for warmth. Right now, Karmanos Cancer Institute is low on lap blankets. They need more.
Wouldn't it be great if they had an excess, because they didn't have any need for them due to patients being cured? Unfortunately, that's not the case. They have more patients than they have blankets to give.
I know people out there besides Mom and I know how to do these crafts. The blankets can be crocheted, knitted, quilted. They don't need to be super fancy with all the frilly trim and delicate time-consuming stitches, but they do need to be warm. Cheerful colors are good as well, something to help brighten an otherwise dismal time.
Please, if you know how to crochet, knit, sew... please help us with making lap blankets for Karmanos, and possibly other cancer centers once Karmanos has extras saved up. The Lapeer Cancer Center is good on blankets right now, but they may run low at any time, so they will be kept on the list of potential recipients.
For those followers who know me, you can contact me through email, phone, Facebook, or a comment here, whichever is the best way, if you are able to make some blankets to help out. If you can have some made and ready by the end of each month, I can get them to Mom so we can get them delivered during the first week of the next month.
Thank you to everyone,
Shell
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