Really Random Thursday, 5/16/13

It's a short one today, as I'm in Portland.  The theme is music.

Charlotte was a flower in a delightful ballet version of the Wizard of Oz.

 (There she is in the center, in the dark pink dress)

I hope you take the time to watch this to the end. It's amazing! Here is the link in case it doesn't open on your iPhone or iPad.

Your turn.

The Name Game: Felicity Quilts

I can't tell you how excited I am to have Felicity here today. I have been a huge fan of hers since I read her first blog post. One of these days we must meet in person. Even just seeing her face on my computer screen cheers me up. 

(Felicity let me choose the pictures for this post--now YOU want to meet her in person, too, right?)

How did you choose the name for your blog?

I was deciding on a name as I was registering for a Google account so I kind of felt under the gun to just decide already! I tried to think of something clever yet memorable, but I'm not really that good on the fly. I started the blog as an online journal to document my work so I was focused on making it about me, but keeping it simple. I landed on Felicity Quilts. Since my name means "happiness", my blog name is a bit of a double-entendre in that it's me, Felicity, and my quilts, but it's also about the happiness that quilting brings to my life.

 Were there other names you considered, and can you share any of them with us?

Easy Going Modern--an original pattern

I thought about Quilty Spice in reference to the Spice Girls (which just aged me quite a bit, I think), but I wanted a bit more of "me" in the title. When I was playing around with the meaning of Felicity, I thought about incorporating the word Joy or Bliss into my blog name, but Felicity Quilts just seemed to fit the best. And for some reason, I also like that the initials FQ also mean Fat Quarter (quilt nerd alert!).

 (These quilts were both ribbon winners at QuiltCon)

Now that you are recognized by Felicity Quilts, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?

Well, I don't know that I'm all that "known" but I'm still happy with my blog name. Were I to start fresh today, I'd still choose it so I guess that says something!

 (I won't lie--this is my all-time favorite. It showed up in my mail one day. Unbelievable, right? It lives happily in my sewing room where it brings me so much joy each time I look at it. It is also on my blog side bar.)

Did I mention Felicity loves shoes? I might be a tiny bit envious of this pair. 

Please stop by Felicity Quilts and say hi. Spend some time looking around. There is LOTS to see. Each Friday, she hosts Friday Felicities, where she posts a little bit of something making her happy and has a linky party where you can share as well. 

Thanks for playing along this week, Felicity!

Coming up:

Jake, Generation Q

Me (yes, Simply Miss Luella will host)

Sheila, Bluepatch Quilter

Carly, Citric Sugar

Susan, Patchwork and Play

 

SMS Giveaway Winner

Over 500 comments! The number totally flabbergasted me. I read every single one. Thank you for everyone who took the time to tell me your current favorite color combination. It was fascinating. I'm thinking of doing a rough estimate and list the top five color combinations. Anyone interested in that?

And the winner is:

#21, Angela Bullard, who said:

That's a tough one! Anything with gray :) Thanks for a chance to win! 

Well, Angela, I hope these will work with gray.

I was shocked to find out I was a winner as well!  Shocked because Mr. Random Number Generator has a track record of passing right by me. And shocked because I was the first commenter for Sarah's giveaway, and that always seems to increase the degree of difficulty. But not this time. I won these fabulous patterns. She also has some examples of the blocks she has sewn.

Thanks, Sarah!

Giveaway Day is such a great way to discover new blogs. So both Angela (Sewing with Squeak) and Sarah ({no} hats in the house) will be playing the Name Game later this summer. There are some really great bloggers in the line-up--you won't want to miss them!

Really Random Thursday, 5/9/13

During the week, I keep a post-it note beside my computer and jot down "random" stuff. Otherwise I wouldn't remember anything and would have nothing to post on Thursdays. Sometimes I look at my list and can't figure out what my little "prompt" even means. Please tell me that happens to you sometimes too...

Anyway, thanks to our son and daughter-in-law, we are big fans of the NRP radio show, "Wait, wait, don't tell me..." The show is based out of Chicago, but they were going to film the recording of last week's episode in New York so you could actually watch the show in your local theater before it was edited for airing on the radio. So cool.

It was nearly as good as being in the radio audience. The show was two hours long, and they had to edit it down to a little under an hour. If you aren't familiar with the show, it's a weekly news trivia show/game show combination.

It was lots of fun to "watch" a radio show being taped, so if you are looking for something great to listen to while you are sewing, subscribe to their podcast.

Our friends went to visit their son in Texas, and as they were leaving a restaurant one evening, someone came running over to our friend and handed her a caricature he had drawn while they were eating. How fun.

Have you ever heard of Ida Frosk? I learned about her from our daughter-in-law. She is from Norway and has the most amazing food art blog. Seriously amazing. Christa has made that banana airplane with the cottage cheese clouds and the kids love it. You need to check out  her blog AND instagram (@idafrosk) where she just passed 100,000 followers!

 So I love typography. I occasionally download free fonts. I don't use them very often, but it's nice having them anyway. And then I fell hard for a font called Marlowe Escapade. It has a mid-century modern vibe that I just love. It is not free. But I'm already designing something in my head, like maybe a new blog header or something. Can I count this as a business write-off?

Saturday, our next-door neighbors had a Kentucky Derby party, the second annual.

 Everyone needs a wine bottle stopper and napkins like these

The women all wore hats.

I went with the "run for the roses" theme and even won a vase of red roses.

I'll close with a little public service announcement. I was reading a Redbook magazine that I "borrowed" from the doctor's office where I pick up my dictation tapes each morning.

It said that looking at something up close for long periods of time (think computer screen, iPhone, etc.) can lock the visual system into that distance and cause eye trouble. So remember the 20/20/20 rule: "Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second pause from staring at your devices and gaze at a spot 20 feet away." Did you know that? I asked my optometrist son. He said, "Yeah, I tell that to my patients all the time." Who knew?

There is still time to enter the Sew Mama Sew giveaway.

Your turn.

The Name Game: Owen's Olivia

I'm so happy to have Nancy here from Owen's Olivia.

How did you choose the name for your blog?

When I  decided that I would start blogging, picking a name was a bit tricky and difficult.  I knew my blog would not be for my family to keep up with the going ons in my life, and I knew it would serve a purpose to share with others my creative adventures.  I had just begun to sew, and I did not realize that almost two years into blogging I would take such a focus on the craft.   I dreaded home economics in middle school!

Blogged here

owen's olivia is unique.  I share with readers sewing projects and home projects.  They are the two most important crafts in my life.  I cannot watch enough HGTV (when it's available) or browse enough interior design magazines,  but I also cannot stop buying or drooling over quilting cottons! On my blog, most of the time the two are not related, as in I am not sewing something specifically for my home.   I knew I could not choose a name like "Sew Trendy" or "Nancy's Interiors" that reflected specifically what I was doing because I was doing both!   I have always been fond of the name Olivia.  It's my middle name.  (I'm actually Nancy-Jean Olivia.) I've never enjoyed having the name Nancy, and I always dreamed of changing it to Olivia.  Owen is my three year old son's name, and when I was figuring out names for my blog, I worked with our names.

Blogged here

Were there other names you considered, and can you share any of them with us?


Owen and Olivia, Olivia and Owen,  and Olivia and Kate  (Kate being at that time what I wanted to name a daughter)

Honestly, I just wanted a cool name that was easy to remember.  Something with words or names that just fit well together but left it open to interpretation like Skinny laMinx, Westwood Acres, Lulu DK, or Zak + Fox.  I'm not sure if I accomplished that with owen's olivia, but I just lack creativity in the naming department.

Blogged here

Blogged here

Now that you are recognized by your blog name, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?
Maybe for the first year I was little unsure about my name.  Some days I like it, some days not.  I cannot tell you how many times people have called me Olivia.  (I guess my wish is coming true :)  

I think now that I am becoming more known, I feel this is the name that will stay with me for the duration of my blogging time, and I am okay with that.  I would definitely like to change my business name into something more like I mentioned above, but I am terrible at coming up with names!

I am so thrilled that I started blogging.  I have many friends, maybe even some family members, who do not take my blogging (or my sewing) seriously.  It is so nice to be able to connect with those who understand this crazy life of blogging and respect what I am doing while I stay at home with Owen.  I have met so many wonderful people through blogging, and the internet has really helped me to showcase my talents.  

Thanks for having me today!  Feel free to follow along with me as I share my sewing and home projects.  You can find me on Facebook, Bloglovin', Etsy, and of course on my blog.


 
Thanks so much, Nancy, for sharing with us today.


Coming up: Live a Colorful Life.

Yes, it's true. Next week I am playing the Name Game!  Simply Miss Luella will be hosting and there might even be a little giveaway. I hope you will check it out!

Thanks for stopping by. I'd love to have you visit again soon.

Cindy

Really Random Thursday, 5/2/13

After several days of computer/cable problems, which were finally solved by our cable company sending two trucks out to work on the cable box in the front yard, everything is working again. So I'm a little slow in responding to all you great readers who linked up last week. But I'll get there.

Our roses are blooming.

 I'm sorry for all you people still under a new blanket of snow. Did you see this video of "ice needles" from Medicine Lake, Minnesota? So cool cold...

(Here's a link if it doesn't come up on your iPad or iPhone)

It's T-ball season.

You might remember that I have been wearing a splint on my right hand for tendinitis. The occupational therapist says surgery is the answer. I say it's not an option I have too much quilting to do. But...have you ever had a paraffin dip? I dipped my hands four times in melted paraffin, then she wrapped them with plastic, and then in a white towel. The heat felt soo good. When she unwrapped it, she said the wax would come right off when I pulled on it. (Levi would have loved doing this part...). Anyway I told her I was going to take a picture for my blog. Right away she said, "Oh, wait. You can't take a proper picture of the wax against a white towel," and promptly slid a piece of lavender paper underneath. Awesome.

One of our dearest friends just retired last Friday. I'm leaving at the end of this month to celebrate with her, where she and her husband live in western Kansas. This is their home.

Yes, it will be difficult spending time in this beautiful home. But I'll do my best...

So I asked her what she was doing on her first morning of retirement. Gardening.  And she even had a little helper.

I love it when my friends dress to match their iPhone:

Pure joy:

Your turn:

Really Random Thursday, 4/25/13

Let's get right to it. Mark and I were at the coast over the weekend. We had a little adventure Friday morning. I wanted to deliver a couple of quilt tops to Krista, who was visiting her family in Los Osos. She gave us great instructions on how to drive from Pismo Beach to Los Osos. The adventure became actually getting to the house. The city was doing a lot of sewer work on that street. We decided to park on the next street and hike behind all the houses, then walk around all the heavy equipment. We made it, and the quilt tops are safely in her hands.

That afternoon we saw "42." We highly recommend it.

An interesting sculpture in San Luis Obispo:

Seen in the local quilt shop in Pismo Beach:

Mark happened to take a fairly good picture of me. That is really rare. So I have changed my profile picture.

We had really lovely weather all weekend. We woke up on Monday morning to a grey sky. Which meant, as suspected, that the weather was going to be hot in Fresno. And it's only April!

But I came home to some amazing mail!

Stephanie   sent some orangey goodness for a little pick-me-up. It totally worked.

The quilt that will be in the Modern Bee book arrived back home, along with some goodies from Lindsay.

A cool pouch I ordered from Terri arrived,

along with something totally unexpected from her as well.

Seen in the parking lot by the local Barnes and Noble:

Speaking of Barnes and Noble, I had a great play date with these two the other morning. Nothing better than boys, books and baseball.

And later in the afternoon, time with this little ballerina.

I have an opportunity to contribute to a collaborative project. I'm a little nervous about coming up with something good enough to contribute.

Yep, that sounds about right...

Your turn.