Thursday, March 27, 2008

Just a little "yarn..."

No, not that kind of yarn.

Nothing to do with Quilting or the Shop today, either.

Just a funny little story that I thought was very blog-able...

For the last week or so the "Return" key on my laptop was not responding when I struck it. At first I thought, well, my computer is nigh on 4 years old now (which is, like 80 in computer years) and I'm just going to have to live with the fact that if I want to hit "Return," I have to strike the key very, very, VERY hard.

Then it occurred to me that not only is striking the "Return" key very, very hard also very, very annoying, but it in addition, it is probably not the most healthy behavior on my part towards my computer. I mean, I use the "Return" key a LOT. That's one of the biggies. And eventually hitting it so hard might perhaps damage the computer.

Then it occurred to me that the key was so hard to strike, it was almost like something was jammed underneath it, in that little tiny crack. Anyone with a cat knows that said cat MUST stay away from computer keyboards or else their little tiny claws get in there and pry the keys loose. Well, I don't have a cat, so I can't blame the condition of my "Return" key on anyone but myself.

Upon further inspection, which involved me getting up close and personal with my laptop, I realized that there was indeed, a teeny, tiny little pebble wedged underneath the key. It was the size, shape and color of one of those plastic pellets that people sometimes use inside of stuffed animals. In other words, very, very small.

Being a fabric store kind of gal, I just happened to have a glass-head pin on my window ledge (and really, now, who doesn't?). I poked said pin underneath the "Return" key, being very careful and very cognizant of the fact that I could quite possibly be doing more harm than good. I succeeded in getting the little pebble to the corner of the key and congratulated myself on being a brilliant computer surgeon/ MacGuyver type person. Then I realized that extracting the pebble from under the corner of the key was not as easy as the rest of the surgery had been. In fact, it was quite hard.

I attacked the pebble from every angle, all the while keeping my face within millimeters of the keyboard, determined to come out the victor. Well, I should have realized that the little pebble would also wish to make a similar effort. As a last stand, as I finally dislodged the rock from it's spot underneath my "Return" key, it catapulted off of the glass-head pin... and hit me smack dab in the middle of my forehead.

True Story.

Brought to you (with my sincere appreciation) by my recently liberated "Return" key.

XOXO

Rhea

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

What are ya gonna do?



What are ya gonna do?

You're going to crochet a round rug, that's what you're gonna do.
AND you're gonna use batik ribbon to do it with.
It's kinda the new thang around here. Anything to do with fabric and the floor, actually. First it was floorcloths. Then, it was the braided rag rug. And while those two projects are still going strong, the new kid on the block is the crocheted round rug.

Scared of the word "crochet?"
Oh, no, you're not.
And do you know why you're not scared?
I'm gonna tell you why:
Because crocheting takes, like, five minutes to learn how to do.
Five minutes. Literally.
AND it's practically impossible to screw up.
AND its FUN!!! Its also portable and kind of brainless. Not unlike putting the binding on a quilt. Not unlike handwork. You just need a hook and some scissors and your batik ribbon and look at you go!

This is my rug that I made for my bathroom floor. It took about a week and about 8 yards of fabric, cut into 1/2" "ribbons." Very fun. We've gotten in several colors of pre-cut ribbon from Princess Mirah Batiks and we've also started making our own "skeins" of ribbon. They are very addictive, like little scoops of ice cream. A great, new way to use up fabric.

Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Alewives.

And tres speciale thanks to my good friend May Mitchell who taught the class, which was so full I couldn't take it :(, but who is such a sweetheart that she hung around afterwards and taught me how to do it, anyways. In FIVE minutes. (Did I mention that it only took 5 minutes? TRUE STORY).

May, you don't know it yet but now that I have you in my clutches I see you teaching this on a regular basis! You've created a monster! I owe you a glass of Kir, okay?
See you all soon and hope you're having a splendid week.

XOXO

Rhea

PS There is a TON of new fabric at the store, including NEW AMY BUTLERS!!!