Well. According to the calendar it is supposedly fall. And people here keep telling me that it does get cold. They say that one day I will actually want a blanket on my bed. Rumor has it that long sleeves might be required. I'm not so sure if I believe them yet, but I did start work on a small lap quilt a month or two ago.
If you have ever seen me start a large crafting project you probably know that my routine is something like this:
Step 1: See super awesome project on Pinterest or some other crafty website.
Step 2: tell myself I am going to find a way to complete said project without buying a ton of expensive things.
Step 3: Still end up spending too much money on said project.
Step 4: Go absolutely ape on project for a few days. Accomplish much more than should be accomplished at a normal pace. Lose much sleep.
Step 5: Become tired of said project and shove it in a corner.
Step 6: Listen to roommates' attempts to encourage me to finish project. They use kind phrases like, "It's going to be so awesome when you are done." Or after I say things like, "I just really feel like I need to do something, but I don't know what I want to do..." they say things like, "What about that enormous project you started weeks ago...It is going to be so awesome when you are done." This does nothing to motivate me. I play Farmville and let the restlessness pass.
Step 7: I decide that I will finish entire project immediately. (I finish a few more things. Shove project back in previous corner, or a different corner.)
Step 8: Repeat steps 5&6.
Step 9: Go back into crafting frenzy mode and finally finish project and possibly complete 3 other small projects.
I like to think that in the grand scheme of things the balances out to a normal person's timeline for projects. Probably not. In the meantime, here is a photo of my almost finished quilt I started this summer.
If you have ever seen me start a large crafting project you probably know that my routine is something like this:
Step 1: See super awesome project on Pinterest or some other crafty website.
Step 2: tell myself I am going to find a way to complete said project without buying a ton of expensive things.
Step 3: Still end up spending too much money on said project.
Step 4: Go absolutely ape on project for a few days. Accomplish much more than should be accomplished at a normal pace. Lose much sleep.
Step 5: Become tired of said project and shove it in a corner.
Step 6: Listen to roommates' attempts to encourage me to finish project. They use kind phrases like, "It's going to be so awesome when you are done." Or after I say things like, "I just really feel like I need to do something, but I don't know what I want to do..." they say things like, "What about that enormous project you started weeks ago...It is going to be so awesome when you are done." This does nothing to motivate me. I play Farmville and let the restlessness pass.
Step 7: I decide that I will finish entire project immediately. (I finish a few more things. Shove project back in previous corner, or a different corner.)
Step 8: Repeat steps 5&6.
Step 9: Go back into crafting frenzy mode and finally finish project and possibly complete 3 other small projects.
I like to think that in the grand scheme of things the balances out to a normal person's timeline for projects. Probably not. In the meantime, here is a photo of my almost finished quilt I started this summer.
I also had some time to play with my watercolors this week. I painted some doors that our country here is known for. Our city doesn't have a ton of them, but I am hoping that on an upcoming excursion I can try and take some good pictures and then paint from those. I think it would be cool to have souvenirs of my own creation.
Door number 1
So I went a little crazy with color on this one. The photo I was working on had such deep rich colors in it. I didn't exactly translate that well with watercolors. That isn't a bloodstain on the door. I was trying to paint this rusty effect. It does time well for Halloween I suppose.
Door number 2
So for this one I chose a picture that wasn't straight on. It is really hard to paint perspective. But I was pretty pleased with how this one came out.
Playing around with watercolors makes me want to take some classes when I get home to see if I could understand some of the mechanics behind how to draw and paint. I don't think I will ever be a magnificent artist, but it is one hobby that I fully just enjoy as I go. Whether it turns out like I hoped or not I enjoy the process of just messing around with different things. I met a guy from up north in our country who was art education in college and he was showing me some of the pieces he has done since being here. Living where you don't speak the language and aren't familiar with the supplies adds some extra creativity to the whole process I think.
The reason for having so much time on my hands to paint and sew this week is because we had a major holiday this week. I only had class on Monday and Friday. I'm not the only one who has been super productive lately. B&B have been working hard around the house on various projects. I can't show you all of their work because some of it is being saved for gifts, but here are a few pictures from around the house.
Beth baked some bread with pumpkin. I'm not completely on the "PUMPKIN EVERYTHING" fall bandwagon, but this bread is pretty delicious.
This is some concoction Brandi found on the internet to cook and make your house smell like fall.
Today Brandi started the wall of Thanksgiving.
I actually managed to do some laundry.
The cats have been scratching on the back of the couch, so Brandi made this awesome and colorful slipcover for the back. She made a pillow to match as well.
We finally got foam cut for this chair that is on our porch.
Soon to follow will be some covers for the cushions.
We have all gotten a lot done and it is always fun to make a rented place feel more like your own.
A few weeks ago we went to Paris. I am working on a blog for that trip but the pictures take entirely too long to load. However Brandi already blogged about it a little. You can see her version here ->http://www.lifealongthemed.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-starbucks-tour-of-paris.html She is a much more faithful blogger than I am.
