a bit of kindle

I have been making good use of the Kindle I was gifted for my birthday, and I have to admit I had some trepidation about it to start out with. I had been longing for an e-reader but I was afraid I would incur too much extra expense with using it. I try to keep myself on a pretty tight budget, but that's a whole other story. I had the mistaken assumption that possessing an e-reader would be like falling down the rabbit's hole of online book expenses. Not so! I have, indeed, purchased one or two "normal" priced books, but for the most part I have been making good use of the free and/or bargain books available on Amazon. I have found more than enough good reading that way, and have started accumulating enough of a digital library that I am going to have to do some organizing and prioritization of the list. And maybe try to stay awake at night longer than the time it takes to read 1 page! I signed up for a daily deal email from Amazon with bargain books to consider. It's amazing how far I have stretched the Amazon gift certificate that accompanied my kindle. In fact, I am still using it 4 months later! Today's book caught my attention and for $.99 I think it will go into my library list.

I have no training in fashion design and scant experience in drafting anything resembling clothing. But I do have a long time, far removed interest in famous designers. The question I have is which comes first--
A., the designer's ability to predict and create hot new fashions and develop a worldwide reputation,
or B., a worldwide reputation gained by hook or by crook with a following that makes everything they design an instant hot new fashion?
This feeds right into my mini-obsession with Project Runway (and now Project Accessory!) and the experiences the struggling designers must go through to come out on top. I always wish I could know more about the critique by the judges, because they are supposed to be the people in the know, and sometimes they flat out don't fit with what my own critique says! Even if you don't get the program on your TV selection, if you are reading this page then you have access to the shows on their website. So I invite you to watch an episode and see who you would kick off the island (or toss off the runway).

On another related note, I want to give a little testimonial for the Kindle cover that I am using. I showed you this before when I shared pictures from a September retreat, but it is worth revisiting now after some time to use and test the design. I make and try out a lot of patterns and projects for classes and displays at Bear Patch, some with better success than others. This was the second pattern I made for an e-reader cover, and this one is a keeper!
It is the Reader Wrap from Atkinson Designs. It is a well-designed and very functional cover. Honestly, what else would I expect from Terry Atkinson? So if you are looking for help for your naked e-reader, this is the one to try!

I've been kindleized

Last week we had a special occasion here. On Thursday night we had a dinner table surrounded by family--Brita, Ben, Jan, Serra and Aurora! It was so fun to have them all here from near and far, and I sort of forgot about the fact that the next day was my birthday. But they didn't let me forget, and brought cake and presents! Jan brought me buttons, very special ones from Britex, she knows me like only a sister can!
And Bob and the kids totally surprised me with a Kindle! Something that I had been lusting after, and it's not even a textile! So I lost some sleep time that night while figuring out how to make use of the various features. So far I am learning on just the free stuff, which includes a lot of classic books and many games. Did you ever play that dots and squares game? I remember doing it during church on the back of the bulletin, working out a grid of dots and then challenging whoever was sitting next to me to connect the dots and claim squares. Well, that is now in the electronic version on my Kindle! Who would have thunk it?

Today I am watching the rainstorm, the second day in a row of big storms. Everything is very well watered. And I am up and down to the basement between quilting and checking the weather. This is what I call the Katy Quilt, and this is why I love quilting! Can you say Marimekko?!

If you don't know what Marimekko is, you need to read about it here. When I think 'Marimekko', visions of the 70's come to my mind. I'm not sure why, but I have always been a big fan of the designs and colors from that company. I think it is partly related to my time in Sweden in 1971-72 and living in the midst of the Scandinavian design style. Plus Elna, my Swedish mom, was an interior decorator and had lots of beautiful fabric swatches that I loved to look through.

So when Katy of Mammoth Lakes inquired about making a quilted wallhanging from a panel of Marimekko fabric, I was immediately interested. Turned out she had in her possession a vintage piece (1975) of classic fabric by a Japanese designer. Katy is a graphic artist/designer who works with my son, Dan, and he brought the fabric to me on his trip home at Christmas. I found out what Katy had in mind for this project, and put a simple border around the panel. We both agreed that the printed selvage edge should be part of the picture, kind of like the artist's signature.

So today I have it on the quilt frame and will finish up the quilting. My goal is to have the binding finished in time to personally deliver it to her in 2 weeks when we go to Mammoth for a vacation. She said she likes yellow, so there is lots of that!