A Change of Perspective

I have a tendency to get “stuck in my head”. In those moments I start to over-think things, worry too much and become anxious. Sometimes I just need a little change of perspective to help me snap back to reality. My favorite go-to videos: Steve Jobs’ wise words and Leslie Hall’s body rolls and high kicks.

Outer Space & Sewing!

Me and Jesse went to see the movie Gravity this weekend. I was somewhat skeptical about seeing this film (I mean, how long can you watch someone stranded in space?) but it was the only movie that looked interesting, and it has a really high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Jesse suggested going with the 3D version, and I’m so glad we did. It seems everything is going 3D, but it worked great for this film. I loved this movie despite the fact I was hyperventilating right along with Sandra Bullock the entire movie. I think space is absolutely amazing/beautiful and terrifying at the same time, and the plot of this movie totally freaked me out. There are several key plot points that are completely unrealistic, but I didn’t mind. The emotions of the characters and the zero gravity movements all seemed believable to me.

I can’t stop thinking about this movie and outer space. So, here are some photos of space from the NASA website. They have an image gallery where they put up a new image each day along with information about the photo. Also, check out this amazing print I purchased a few weeks ago. It shows all the layers of Earth and the atmosphere – it’s fun and cute (the layers have happy faces!!) AND educational.

After I wrote this post, I continued my space and astronaut research, and came across this amazing woman, Karen Nyberg (photo above in her “sewing space”) who is currently in space on the International Space Station. Not only is she an astronaut, but a quilter as well! And she has been doing some zero gravity sewing while on board (check out her Twitter page – which has lots of fun space photos too). Watch the video below! She is hosting a quilting bee from space – which I think is one of the coolest things ever!! To participate, create a 9.5 inch squared star-themed quilt block. She will sew them together to enter at the International Quilt Festival in Houston next October (2014). You can find more information here.

Happy Halloween from Whazzat Kangaroo!

Happy Halloween from Whazzat Kangaroo! Since the age of 3 I have wanted to be the pink kangaroo from Zoobilee Zoo. Today, me dream came true! And somehow five of my co-workers were convinced to join the Zooble pack too! I’m fortunate enough to work at a company that allows you to dress up for Halloween AND has a costume contest. We spent many weeks of costume preparation, and even rehearsed the intro of the show to perform at the contest. It all paid off because we won first place! We had some tough competition this year, but I’m so glad that people recognized who we were and the time we put into our costumes. 

I had to make the majority of my costume. You just can't find pink kangaroo costumes, and 80's bib vests these days. I'm not sure how many times I'll wear this costume again, but realized how great a full body fleece outfit would make for winter pjs, and the importance of having a pouch to carry around important things like a phone or chapstick!

Happy Halloween! I will now sit and wait for trick-or-treaters that probably won’t come:(

UPDATE: Find a little tutorial on how I made this costume here:)

Fractal Radiance Quilt & Pattern

I’m very excited to announce this next quilt, as it’s the first pattern I have ever written! It started with a pillow I made for my friend Lindsay (photo below) which I turned into a small quilt for myself (photo above). It gets so cold at work, and I need something to bundle up in! About the time I finished the quilt, the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild I’m a part of announced they were hosting a pattern contest. Anyone in the guild could submit a quilt idea, and they chose mine! It was such a great learning experience, and I was just one of many, many people who helped get this quilt pattern out into the world. I’m so grateful for each person’s help, advice and feedback.

You can check out more information here, on the KCMQG site. The pattern includes instructions for a small and large lap quilt, and a small pillow. I hope people enjoy it, and I can’t wait to see what quilters create with this pattern!

Halloween Inspiration: Historical Gravestones

Somehow last year, I ended up visiting three cemeteries in three different states. This was completely unplanned, and to be honest, I’m not exactly sure how it happened. I don’t seek out old cemeteries, and they aren’t normally places I enjoy spending my vacation time. But when you are visiting old cities with lots of history, it inevitably becomes a part of your trip.

I was actually surprised at how unique each cemetery was, which tells a lot about the city and the people that lived there. New Orleans has above ground tombs because they’re below sea level. Many of the gravestones in Granary Burying Grounds in Boston have skulls with wings. The ones in Savannah are elaborate, and the cemetery is almost like a beautiful park with large trees with Spanish moss and gardens. There's not many places that can be slightly creepy and beautiful at the same time!

Movie Foodie: Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus is one of my favorite Halloween movies! Even though it celebrated it’s 20^th year, it still feels just as relevant today as it did when I was 9 (though I understand a few more of the jokes now). This one was a little tougher to create a menu for, but "Life Potion" plays a big role in this movie, and that can count as a foodie item, right?

I had to stretch the concept on this one a little bit, but ended up with five food/beverage items. 

Life Potion: Sierra Mist + Lime Sherbet. Makes a lovely, bright green color. Add dry ice to make it nice and bubbly. 

The Children of Salem: pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. I really wanted to do pumpkin bars, so I used a gingerbread cookie cutter to cut them out, and called them “children”. 

Apples: a healthy option, and a small reference from the movie. If you want to turn it into a game, you could bob for apples – but do people still do that, and is it even sanitary? 

Dead Man’s Toe; with Oil of Boil, a dash of Pox and Newt Saliva: breadsticks, and olive oil, paprika, balsamic vinaigrette for dipping. This is pulled from the spell ingredients for Life Potion. The Dead Man’s Toes recipe was an alteration from this Witch’s Fingers recipe. 

Halloween candy: pick your favorite! I think Reese’s are the best:) 

Apple Cider: Not many people drank this since Life Potion was the main beverage, but it’s nice to have an alternative option.

For decorations I tried to recreate Billy Butcherson’s gravestone out of cardboard. My illustration skills are lacking, so this was really frustrating for me. They didn’t turn out like I had hoped (the skulls “wings” look more like alien tentacles) but it made a good backdrop for the table set up. Black tapered candles (a connection to “the black flame candle”) add to the décor and create mood lighting. The rest of the items were things I had around the house: old books, crusty bottles, an old crate and a few serving dishes.

Halloween Decor Kit

I put this together a couple years ago as part of a Halloween swap at work. I still kind of wish I had kept it for myself:) It was pretty easy to put together since I already had some of the materials to work with. I had several crusty bottles left over from our wedding (you can find these at antique shops – I try to spend less than $2.50 a piece, but they can be priced much higher if they are in good condition – so stick with the dirty ones), and had a collection of solid and vintage fabric. The fabric pumpkins came from this tutorial and were fun to do. They are pretty easy, but it does take some hand strength to get the yarn nice and tight for the pumpkin indentions. I found the tapered candles at William Sonoma. They don’t have the exact ones from 2 years ago, but I think these ones are pretty similar. I had to cut them down (using a warm knife to cut the wax) and had to melt the ends a little to get them to fit and be stable in the bottles. The crate box was found at an antique shop and the gravestone place cards were made using a laser cutter (you could cut them out of paper for a simpler option). I painted them with chalkboard paint so you can write/erase and reuse them each year. I quilted a little mini quilt as the runner, using fabric I already had and that was leftover from making the pumpkins.

These are just a few ideas to make a cute holiday centerpiece for your table, or as a little Halloween kit for a friend. A few of the items could even work into Thanksgiving, depending on the fabrics you use.