Free For All

I love DC. Where else can you find a theater willing to give away tons of stuff for FREE? Warehouse Theater is in the process of renovating their stage area and needed to get rid of a lot of "junk." Someone there had the brilliant idea to "give it away." And so they did. I was the first person there and Paul, one of the owners, politely suggested that I sit right next to the door. At 5pm the door opened and thus began what I'd like to call "civil chaos." People behaved themselves, but it went by so quickly!

I was there on a mission: to pick up 3 identical chairs one I picked up at Community Forklift, an architectural salvage store. Anything else would be a bonus, and it was:

2 work horses (ikea table legs)
1 sheet of plywood for the workhorses
1 typing table (perfect for my sewing machine)
1 lamp stand
1 large lamp shade
1 vase

...and the chairs are under there somewhere.

A Special Anniversary pt. II

So the "news" that needed to be shared at that staff meeting I mentioned in my last post was that yes, we are getting busier, but no, clients still aren't ready to start real, profitable projects, so now it's time to work your butt off so we don't lose the standing we have, but you won't be compensated for it.

Yes I know this is a good problem to have, but honestly, it's a problem nonetheless. We always hear in the news about the jobless rates, but we don't know how many people are underemployed. I'd personally like to know what it's doing to everyone's morale. In the meantime, I'll keep telling myself that this won't be forever and it will get better eventually.

A special anniversary

One year ago this week, my office enacted a 20% pay decrease to survive the recession. I just checked an email saying that we'll have a staff meeting next week.

Is God going to answer the prayers of I and my employees? We shall see.

Drool, Swoon, and Drool some more...

First, let me wish you a Happy (belated) New Year! I hope 2010 has treated you fairly so far. For me, it's kind of kicked things into this weird overdrive. Work has gotten busy (yes! I still have a job), although our hours and pay have not yet been reinstated. I gotten so used to a 32-hour workweek: sleeping in an extra hour or two, being able to take care of errands without the weekend rush, and being able to decompress for an extra day. Lately, my schedule's been so funky; for the last couple of weeks I keep hearing in my head, "gotta work, gotta work." I just need to take a breath...

On another note: 2010 seems to be the Year of The Wedding. Not mine, but a lot of my friends are getting engaged/married lately. I'm uber excited, especially for my college roommate who made the leap into planning her wedding this weekend (yay!). While working at home yesterday, my sleep pattern got screwed up (word of advice-don't try and do your work sitting on your bed if you can help it). I ended up waking at 2 am. After lying in bed for awhile, I decided to hop on the interwebs. Checking out D.I.Y. wedding stuff (because my friend actually has a budget), I came across two items that have been sent to Earth by the craft gods: The L Letterpress Kit by Lifestyle Crafts and Yudu's Screening System, two machines that, by the looks of the demo videos, are making me drool, swoon, and drool some more. I'm not kidding, I had to wipe my chin at some point. I'm quickly becoming a fan of letterpress through one of my favorite blogs who regularly features paper crafts. You have to check the videos for the letterpress and the screen printer. They've made these media so accessible and look so easy, I'm practically bursting with excitement. Might start making greeting cards (and maybe some invitations if requested) after this next paycheck...

SNOWPOCALYPSE NOW!!!!!!

The last shopping weekend before Christmas and the entire DC Metro area is snowed in! No problem for me, I finished my shopping earlier this week, so all that's left for me to do is get rid of my cabin fever, enjoy the snow tomorrow and wonder if I have to go to work on Monday.

It's still coming down; we're seeing about 2 feet around here so far. I still can't believe we've had a snow shower and blizzard and it's not even winter yet. I know we're in store for a helluva lot more. We'll see, we shall see.

Time to Play Catch Up

Hey...long time, no type. I apologize, once again, for not posting anything in a VERY long while. I still haven't gotten used to this blogging thing, primarily how it's only really effective if I post something regularly. I've considered making it a New Year's resolution to post at least once a week, whether it be about crocheting, my learning how to knit (gasp!) or general design eye candy. I'm working on it, honestly.

Well, since my last post I'd be lying if I said nothing happened. First bit of news (drumroll please) I finished a project! A-thank you, thank you. Two, actually, for my favorite little girl. I made her a blankie and bunny.



The blanket pattern is slightly modified from the original. And her bunny is a hybrid/modification of Ana Paula Rimoli's Valentina Bear and Rabbit. I thoroughly enjoyed making these gifts and can only hope that she enjoys them.

Secondly, my boyfriend and I have started making/repurposing furniture. I'll post more on that later. Thirdly, and quite unfortunately, a week before Thanksgiving my parents house was broken into. They stole a lot of electronics, particularly gaming entertainment systems. They even snatched a couple of remotes. It totally blows, but the circumstances could have been so much worse, and it stuff that can be replaces so my family and I are very grateful.

Well I suppose that's a solid update. Stay tuned for furniture projects and more needlework!

Arcade Fire...Music to craft to

I'm sitting here making a blanket for one of my favorite little girl's 1st birthday, listening to this band, Arcade Fire. I've been hooked on this band since early spring and figured I should share it. Be forewarned if you don't like it, though; I've been told I have strange taste in music. Below is a performance of my favorite song of theirs, which is also featured in the trailer for Where The Wild Things Are. Enjoy.