Happy Saturday

Last Saturday was wonderful. I started the morning with farmer's market, brunch, and fabric shopping with one college friend and ended an afternoon of music and beer at the Ankeny Unplugged concert series with another. 

My friend Hillary is a sewing fiend. I've tried sewing myself bags and purses before, but they are generally 2 squares of fabric with a strap stitched on at the end. But Hillary makes these gorgeous, structured bags with fancy things like pockets and magnetic closures. She also has great taste in fabric. She took me to a local fabric shop, and although I don't own a sewing machine, I still came home with fabric. . . chalk fabric!

Another friend of mine is in the process of moving into a new home, and I wanted to use the chalk fabric to make her a fun framed chalkboard as a house warming gift.

You have to "cure" the chalk surface first by covering it entirely with chalk, wiping it down, and doing it again. This apparently helps the chalk surface stay eraseable and prevent permanent chalk marks.

I didn't take any more pictures of the process, but it was quick and simple. I just sewed a few colored buttons to the fabric and then placed it in an empty frame. I think it turned out pretty well.

Good things do come from reality TV

I'll unashamedly admit that I love trashy reality television. Maybe watching women compete to be prettier than Bret Michaels or anything about The Situation makes me feel better about my own life. Or maybe I just need a brain break. However, I'm not usually a big fan of the talent shows. I have only ever watched one full episode of American Idol, and that was one too many.

But then, I got sucked into The Voice. I started watching because I love Cee Lo Green and my guilty pleasure is Christina Aguilera's album Back to Basics. (I don't care that she did "Dirty" or that those high-waisted short shorts were an incredibly poor wardrobe choice on the episode last night, that girl can sing.) I did not used to be a fan of Adam Levine. At one point in the show, he says that he sounds like a girl when he sings, and he's right. But he's growing on me. I'd make a comment about Blake Shelton, but I'd never heard of him before I started watching this show. Very neutral about country.

Anyhow, I certainly never expected to hear something I'd ever want to hear again. But then I did.

Dia Frampton covered Kanye's "Heartless", and I loved it.



After a cursory YouTube search, I found that she's part of a group, Meg & Dia, a little more rock, and also not bad so far.

Worth the wait

I have a soft spot for scruffy British bands, and one of my favorites is The Wombats. I've been waiting impatiently for them to release their sophomore album since 2007's Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation. (See evidence of my impatience in my previous posts here and here.) Finally, finally, finally, This Modern Glitch was released in the US last month. . . and I am not disappointed. Definitely worth the wait.

Here are a couple of my favorite tracks:

Walking Disasters


1996

Altered Book: May

Altered book round robin, book 4!

This is a cute book with a story of a little boy who befriends a wild goose. It is beautifully illustrated, and I loved this drawing of the little boy waving good bye as his goose flies away.

Judging by my previous altered book posts, I like color and particularly texture. I didn't have any particular thoughts behind what I did this time, just started cutting and layering, and there you go.

And, as you can see, I like to work on my floor. Glue and my oriental rug, even if the orient is really Home Depot, are probably a poor combo, but I've avoided catastrophe thus far.

Lollapalooza

I bought my 3 day pass for Lollapalooza about a month ago, and I can't wait. I bought the tickets before I even knew the line-up. Of course it's about the music, but more about who I experience the weekend with.

Music is always better with people who appreciate it! (And don't mind being a bit damp or sweaty along the way.)

Summerfest

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2003

I still have this T-shirt, wore it last week.

A very blurry photo of Jakob Dylan.
We thought the Wallflowers were great.

The Wallflowers, 6th Avenue Heartache

Dave Matthews Band

Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, 2003

At least I think it was 2003.

Dave Matthews Band, Satellite

Bonnaroo

 Manchester, Tennessee, 2007

Yep, we were just as hot and sweaty as we look.

The Flaming Lips!

The Flaming Lips, Fight Test

Lollapalooza

Chicago, IL, 2009

Drizzly the first day

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Shame and Fortune

Lollapalooza

Chicago, IL, 2010

The National. My favorite concert of the weekend!

The National, Fake Empire

Definitely looking forward to Lollapalooza 2011!

Altered Book: April

I know it's May, but better late than never. Book number 3 in my altered book round robin.

I was incredibly excited when I received this book in the mail (and also nervous!). I was excited because this book was started by a college friend of mine who is truly wonderful and nervous because she is incredibly talented. I sincerely hope I did her book justice. Her book cover is an outline of her silhouette and the sign-in page is a map were each person identifies their city (clever, of course). The next artist tried to incorporate the map idea, and I wanted to try and combine both the map and silhouette.

You don't have to know me for very long to know that I have an intense love for my home state of Wisconsin. (Entirely justified. . . the entire state is built on cheese and beer. Be still my heart.)

I went back to my newly acquired X-acto knife skills developed here. I made a cut-out silhouette of Wisconsin. (Definitely traced. I wish could make a perfect free-hand outline of the greatest state in the union.)

I made a few patterned Wisconsins to fill in the cut-outs, and chose to fill the last one with a map of my home town.

They turned out ok when layered, but was hoping to be able to see the map more clearly. I made a tedious decision to cut out all the counties. (I thought it looked pretty good when I got half way through, so called it a day.)

The final product. I think this may turn out to be one of my favorites.

It might kill me

This has been a relatively painful month. In a matter of too few days, I will have had my yearly in-training exam, two major presentations, a certification course, and a weekend of call. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be done draining myself in obligation to my education. Probably not. . . However, at least for this stretch, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm excited to have gotten another book in the altered book round robin. This one was started by a college friend, one of the most wonderful and creative people I've ever met. I only hope I can do her book justice. (Especially since it will be tight getting it finished and passed on by the end of the month.) So, that post will be coming.

For now, here's my theme song: