Brain Teaser

Just a quick brain teaser for you to wrap up your weekend.  Excuse the fact that it isn't exactly related to quilting.

Anybody out there recognize this object?  

Clue: I ran into it recently in Southern California.

If you live there, you can visit it too but only through April 21st.  My boys (even the adult one) got a huge kick out of this exhibit.

Brain Teaser

Ok fancy pants...think you know your quilt destinations?

Well, leave a comment if you can guess where I was when I took the above photo.

More stories coming soon about what I did there, and what I could have done in the general area (and didn't! AAHH) and you'll also know what part of the country I spent my summer vacation.

Hope your week is wrapping up well. I have a huge and very quiltish weekend in store!

Brain Teaser: What is this cool kid project?

In the last week I have been:

- Snowed on (which would not be a big deal to a lot of people, but since I live in a pretty warm climate it was pretty cool to see it)

- Taught to make 'HookEm' horns

- Spoiled while trying to shake off a nasty head cold by not only my incredible husband but also by my beloved sister

- Kissed by all my favorite kids on the planet

- Amazed that at 17 months old anybody could be smart enough to count to the number 9

Hope your life is going at least this well. Even with a cold getting me down, I still feel like the luckiest girl just by being around my loving family.

The above project I made to share with my son's class of 4 yr old kids.

What could it be? Is it a science project? Abstract art? Got any ideas? Usually some of you get my brain teasers spot on.

Meanwhile, have an awesome weekend. I'm thinking a healthy thought for you, me, and the rest of the folks who could use one.

What is this amazing thing? (brain teaser)

If you're smart enough to read blogs on the weekend, I figured I'd give you a real special treat here.

Can you tell me what the above is?

Is it...

a) a bow tie for a very large hamster

b) a rare specie of butterfly usually found in the Tambopata Candamo nature preserve in Peru

c) a deadly weapon usually thrown by ninja warriors, similar to shuriken used in the Edo period

d) the best new quilting invention since sliced bread, perhaps Marisa should post a tutorial on what this thing is all about

Hm....any smarty pants out there wanna take a guess?

Brain Teaser: Who is this superwoman?

Ok, the above photo is of somebody you probably know. Got any guesses you brainy folks? Could it be Madonna? Lucinda Williams? Patricia Clarkson? or.....maybe somebody I ran into at AQSG?

And the 2nd part of the brain teaser is an acronym that I recently became aware of: "WAF"

Any guesses on what that one means? If you have no idea, ask your husband, he probably knows.

Meanwhile, I am hand quilting up a storm on that quilt top I mentioned back in August. Out of 9 blocks I have 6 quilted and hope to have them all done this weekend. Lofty goal, I know.

I'm also thanking my friend in Singapore for emailing me DVD's with Yoko Saito videos. Working on viewing them as they have a different country code on them than the US and will require a bit of fancy work to view. Thank you Mona, I'll let you know as soon as I figure out how to watch them.

Also, to drool over, is the incredible dress that Karyn made over at Make Something blog. She used Nani Iro fabrics (to die for, seriously beautiful).

Brain Teaser and zillions of cool links

OK Braniacs: Got an idea of what the above is a photo of?

I'm sure some of you can guess it!

Our little almost 6 month old got his first cold and is really suffering, so think a happy though for his quick recovery...poor little dear.

If you have not seen this video/song by Oren Lavie on you tube, please look at it - you WILL smile. I beg you to view it. Just beautiful.

I cannot resist giving you guys some info that I gathered while at Stitches West. Even though I'm not really a knitter, I learned of some cool shops out there:

Asciano Fiber Art Tools: This booth was scary amazing beautiful tempting. They specialize in hand crafted (read works of art) tools such as knitting needles, crochet hooks, drop spindles. All to DIE for. So, if you need a gift for that knitter/crocheter in your life, or if you're married to Ms. Quilt Otaku and you have no idea what to get her for her next birthday...this shop is a must check out.

Toots Le Blanc & Co.: If Yoko Saito could knit, she would love this shop. All natural colors, muted, taupes, awesome yarns. Really beautiful and classy.

Sheila & Michael Ernst: These guys make BEAUTIFUL glass knitting needles. So artistic that you won't drop any stitches because you'll be busy looking at your needles with admiration.

Carolina Homespun: Not much that the booth didn't have, but I got some adorable little tiny crochet hooks from here - called "Hook/Point 'Wanda' "

Serendipity Spinners: A local spinning guild in San Jose. I have no idea how to spin yarn, but they seemed eager to teach anybody interested to know, and meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month 10am to 4pm in the San Jose History Park, 1650 Senter Rd. under the big oak tree. Sounds like fun.

It's dark here...

Well, as much fun as it it so conduct your evening activities by candle light, I must confess this power outage is getting old. We have been down for over a day now and I'll admit that I miss my heater more than my lights or washing machine.

Thank goodness for Panera bread just down the street. They've got a nice hot soup, a good fast free WiFi connection for us bloggers, and heating!

It looks like more rain for the rest of the weekend, so we will lay low and potentially stash a couple of frozen chickens in a friend's freezer.

Think a happy thought for PG&E to get their act together! I'll be back when they turn the lights on.

Oh, and yes, you all did guess it right - that is Kaffe Fassett from my last post. My parents ran into him in Big Sur, California at Nepenthe. It's a restaurant owned by his family and he is staying there for a while.

He was super cool to my mom and even gave her a little tutorial on how to make these paper fans (he was selling in the gift shop. ) oops - EDIT/CORRECTION HERE....fans were on display only, not for sale you shop-a-holics, sorry!

Last list - 10 things to complete in 2008, and a homo sapien brain teaser

Serious star sighting alert! This picture is from my mom's digital camera and she ran into this mystery knitter over lunch today.

I know you know who he is...right? Can you guess!?! He also makes quilt fabric (this is a HUGE hint!). Bonus points to brainiacs that guess!!


So here's my last list for a while.

10 things that I want to acomplish in 2008. Yes, this year people. Not this crazy list of 43 things to do before you die (too sad for my taste and 43 is WAY too few for me) but 10 things that in a pinch could actually be acomplished in the next year.

Let me know if you post your list...I'll have a follow up post on 1/8 (my blogiversary) with links back to your cool list!

Here goes:

1. Devote more time and energy to our family (my favorite thing to do, this one is a gimme)

2. Finish my sister’s Dear Jane Dear Hannah wedding quilt (this will be a HUGE stretch)

3. Fine tune my humble little blog, have a freebee section of patterns and handful of some small things in a little shop section

4. Write in permanent ink on my Baltimore album quilt blocks

5. Hit the gym more

6. Do something special for our house that it well deserves (new light fixtures? Paint the scary ugly kitchen?)

7. Become a certified quilt appraiser

8. Attend at least 2 major quilt shows, photograph them, and post comprehensive flickr sets for all to all enjoy

9. Be more green: seek out a CSA source for our family, grow more of our own food in the garden, and make an effort to buy locally as much as possible

10. In another environmentally friendly vein - Keep my over 10 yr old, 115K+ mile, beloved car even though it’s totally impractical doesn’t have a trunk and only holds 4 people

Brain teaser

What comes out only once a year, but is an old faithful part of our family tradition?

Bet you can't guess what this is a snap shot of...

This one is really tough. I'll fall out of my chair if any of you brainiacs get it right.

Oh, and did I mention that we baked (thanks for the help Sharon!) around 20 dozen cookies today? The grocery checker was alarmed at the number of butter sticks in our cart.

The co-worker cookie recipients will be oh so filled with holiday glee.

Brain Teaser

Ok, mystery picture fans...what is this strange item? Got any guesses? Little hint - it is probably one of my top 3 favorite things to use.

Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week.

After work, my husband and our 2 year old scamper off to swimming lessons.

We fight over which parent gets to go into the water, because we love it so much despite the somewhat suspicious salty flavored water.

Tends to make for a busy night though. We got some un-romantic taco take out dinner, and had a very quiet night at home.

It is our 10 year first date anniversary tonight, so I gave my husband a few little music CD's that I thought he might enjoy.

Before he got a chance to listen to any of them, he fell asleep in our breakfast booth, and is still sleeping there like a baby.

Happy 10 my love. Hard to believe it's been that long.

Brain teaser

A quick brain teaser for you.

What is this? Any ideas? Answer coming in next post....

And while you're at it, what are you planning on doing for fun this weekend?