So…I Finally Met Her

“Good GOD, Lizzie. What are you blathering on about now?” you say while rolling your eyes. Man, you guys can be total wangs sometimes. I told you all about it! My quilting class with Elizabeth Hartman!!! DUH.

The big class was on Saturday and it was awesome. I’ll admit, I was sweating bullets about it. First off, I’ve never been to a sewing class and I was very nervous that everyone would be all “What do you mean you don’t know how to [insert some well-known, yet unknown to me, sewing technique here]?!” That plus the long list of supplies I needed to bring. Granted, I already had all but one thing, but what if I forgot something? What if I forgot to bring my sewing machine? What if I was late? What if everyone knew each other and laughed at me like an outsider (can you tell junior high weree some tough years for me?). Well, none of those things happened. The women were all very nice. Of course, most of them DID know each other, but they were still very nice. No one laughed at me either and I didn’t forget anything. In fact, I even brought extra things that I didn’t end up needing!

Now…Elizabeth Hartman was awesome. Super nice and her class was awesome. She’s a VERY good teacher. If I ever teach a class, I know that I’d be all fumbly and forget half of the steps for the project. Oh, and the things she makes are super cool. I love them. I was a little star-struck. In all honesty, I think she thought I was weird. I didn’t act TOO crazy until the last half of the class. I asked if I could take my picture with her and she looked at me like I had lobsters coming out of my head. She said something like “Me? If you want…” with a face that made me instantly feel like a stalker. At the end of the class, I went up and finally asked for the picture and said something like “Sorry, I know this might seem weird. I’d just love to post it on my blog.” I say sorry a lot - even when it’s not really necessary. Anyway, she proceeded to say several times “It’s okay…it’s okay…really…it’s okay.” It was something you’d say to a crazy homeless person. I think she may have been frightened of me.

Side note - isn’t that fabric in the background pretty? This fabric store, Sew Modern, is UH-MAZE-ING!

We made two projects. I wasn’t all that crazy about the first one (applique quilted letters), but the second one…GAH! I bought the pattern a while ago and have been DYING to give it a go.

Needless to say, I made a lot of mistakes, so this is all I was able to finish in class. BUT, I finished up the entire project over the weekend.

I have NO idea what I’m going to do with it, but I LOVE it! It’s not a hard technique, but it’s not a quick one either. Now I just have to think up uses for it. I need another pillow like a hole in the head. Maybe I’ll make a duvet cover! That’s a good idea, if I do say so myself!

OH, and we did a dry run with Joon this weekend. I know you have no idea who Joon is. She is my sister-in-law’s kitten.

Isn’t she adorable?! She (my sister-in-law, obviously) is going to be cat sitting Ralph and Ted while we’re in Ireland in September (did I tell you guys that?) and was hoping to be able to bring Joon with her. I figured we’d better try a practice run while I was here in case the wheels fell off while we were gone. Ralph can’t wear his Thundershirt for an entire 2 weeks. There was a little hissing initially, but then stuff like this happened:

And eventually:

SUCCESS!!!! Ralph and Ted are seriously the best. I don’t know many cats who would accept a kitten in one day. I’ve taught them kindness, obviously. HA! If that were even possible. I don’t have any kindness to bestow. Elizabeth Hartman could probably smell that.