Español and embroidery?

I'm in the process of teaching two people how to quilt and three people how to knit. The three knitters-to-be were surprised that I was able to teach myself how to knit in one evening with a few YouTube videos. It is a pretty complicated craft, especially the start of a project. 

This got me thinking.

Are learning different sewing crafts similar to learning foreign languages? When I was in high school spanish class, our teacher - Señora Michaels - kept us motivated by saying that the first foreign language you learn is always the hardest. It's the most difficult because so much is new - from the concept of verb conjugation to the massive amount of new words. Similarly, is the learning curve for the first sewing craft steeper than the second of third? I believe so.

I learned how to quilt when I was a sophomore in high school, thanks to my high school boyfriend's mom (hello Mary Jo!). Last summer, when I learned how to hand embroider (thanks to my bonus mom, Andrea!), I already knew a few basic stitches and was familiar with needle and thread motions (thanks to quilting). When I learned how to knit, knowing basic knots (embroidery) and being familiar with how patterns are written (quilting) were instrumental in my understanding knitting.

So for all those that might be getting frustrated with learning a sewing craft for the first time ... keep going! It will only get easier. Learn another sewing craft when you master this one. 

--- 

Since I claim to be a sewer (ha!) ... here's what I worked on this weekend ...

A diagonally-knitted blanket - with stripes! I had started this previously, but had to take it out because I skipped a few stitches. It's two-tone pink with white and dark gray. Pattern here.

I'm plugging away at my improvisationally-pieced red/black/white quilt. 

I'm at a deciding point. To border in white? or not (see below)?

I made the bottom right corner block this weekend and I like the wider, simpler borders. Maybe I should make more like this? Or maybe I should scrap all the blocks (use them for the back of the quilt) except this one and make all the remaining blocks with this 'look'?

Any ideas?

Sorry for the horrendous photos.

WNDF: Puppy Chow

In this installment of Weird North Dakota Food (WNDF), I'm featuring puppy chow.

The name of this sweet snack has always deterred me from trying it. Puppy chow? As in dog food? No thank you.

Today at work, (I work at a university) a student club was having a bake sale. At the bake sale was this authentic North Dakota food. My coworkers said it was delicious. How could I pass it up?! I had never tried it but I figured that if I didn't like it, Corey probably would. And even if Corey didn't like it, it could make a debut on my blog as a WNDF.

Turns out, it's not bad. It's a bit too sweet for my taste, but it's pretty addicting in small amounts. However, to eat this as an authentic North Dakotan, I think I'd have to eat it by the handful.

I don't know that this food actually originates in North Dakota, but it is so popular here, it might as well be from here. It kind of looks like dirty snow. We have plenty of that around here right now. How seasonal.

Here's a recipe.

Another day

There was a beautiful sunrise this morning. Beautiful, that is, if I was inside. Safe and warm. The frigid temperatures quickly ruined any beauty once I stepped outside to take this photo. It was -13°F and -33°F with windchill. It was darn cold. Especially for mid-March. I was lucky though, I only had to go outside twice today - first to get to work and secondly, to get home. 

I though for sure that there would be some fabulous sun dogs out today. But nope. No such luck.

Today after work, at work, I had my first session of yoga. A woman I work with was kind enough to share her knowledge of yoga with a few of us gals in the department. It was so much fun. I was happy to learn that I didn't have to twist my body into any crazy pretzel shapes ... or at least not yet. We'll be meeting every week through April. Once the weather gets nice enough to venture out of central heating, we may switch to some sort of activity outside. 'Till then, I'll be working on perfecting my lotus.

North Dakota

Today was a big day for North Dakota.

We made headlines for our winter weather. Blizzards, lots of snow and frigid temperatures. It's March? Really? I'm 99 percent sure we had the coldest temperatures in the nation today, with highs near 0°F and windchill temperatures down to about -30°F. Burrr.

And tonight in sports news ... in its first year of eligibility, North Dakota State University (Corey's alma mater) is going to the men's NCAA basketball tournament. Way to go Bison! I especially like their mascot, surprise, surprise. Pick the Bison when picking your brackets for the tournament :)

Today, I found out that North Dakota is the only state to have never had an earthquake. This is only true when you factor in the age of the state and what magnitude of ground shaking qualifies as an earthquake. But, regardless, I find it to be a nice (and comforting) fact. I'll take blizzards in March if it means no earthquakes.

Corey, the baldy

My sweetie pie husband is shaving his head for charity. Yep, he'll be shiny and bald as of February 17, St. Patrick's Day. He joked that he "doesn't have far to go" ... I would disagree. I'm sure going to miss his hair.

Anyway, the charity is called St. Baldrick's. It's a great organization. Their mission is to raise awareness and funds to cure kids' cancer by supporting cancer research and fellowships.

If you would like to donate Corey's campaign, click here.

Thanks so much!

After the event, I'll definitely post a photo (or two) of him as a baldy.