Match Books

Look, I have a post that isn’t about quilts or books I have read or how cold it is (which I have been complaining about a lot lately because, oh my god, I am sick to death of this cold weather. But I am also boring myself with my complaints). Although I do also need to update about my upcoming holiday (Thailand! In two weeks! I will escape this evil freezing country) and my toe operation. There have been a few posts about my poor feet over the last year or so and I am hoping that this will be the last I have to say about it.

But, this is more interesting than all of that! Promise. It is still book related, because I love books. Please let me introduce Match Books. This is a new publishing company I am a part of. It was something I couldn’t say no to given the opportunity to work with awesome people and fiction. I have worked in publishing for around eight years now, but I work in academic publishing. It is very nice to have a break from that and see the other side.

So, if you’d like to, it would be nice if you could go like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And check out the awesome website and the pretty book covers. Oh, and if you know writers (or you are one) interested in fantasy and romance and a slightly different way of doing things, send them our way. We have two special calls right now, one for an Urban Legends anthology and another for Second Chances (romance).

It’s early days and there’s still lots to do, but I’m really happy to be part of it.

Hey There 2013

2013 seems like an insane concept, so I am ignoring it and how old I am.

Am I making any resolutions? No, I don’t think so. There are things I would like from 2013, but then if I don’t get them I’ll probably just feel bad. Although I’ll probably feel bad anyway so…I’d like a new job. I would like a job where I look forward to going everyday instead of just getting through it so I can come home. And I am very lucky in some respects, especially with the people I work with, but it’s more than time I did something else. I have some possible projects brewing this year that make it more likely I’ll be doing something else by the time 2014 (oh god) rolls around, but there are no guarantees.

I’d like a really good holiday. I owe Max an adventure, so hopefully we’ll come up with something we can both enjoy.

I need to get creative with words and not just crafts, although I do intend to carry on quilting. I am going to buy a sewing machine to help with that, and my next project is a quilt for my niece. I also owe a post about my last quilt, and I’ll do that soon. But I really do need to spend more time writing, I’m trying to get back into that. Only by doing will I…well, do it, and will it feel easier to do it, so I’m trying. I should be doing that now but this sort of counts. Maybe.

Then there’s roller derby. I missed a lot of practice at the end of last year due to life and bad toes and other stuff, so I need to get back into a proper routine. I am not really feeling it at the moment though. This sort of slump happens when people move up to main league and I am left behind, it takes a while to feel right again (not helped by my absence, obviously). So I need to put some effort in and fall in love again. If for no other reason than I got five pairs of derby socks for Christmas! Also, new wheels, hurrah!

I also need to get a new laptop, since my current one is over six years old and you can get iPhones with more memory. It is very slow. I don’t need it for much, just internet use and Word. Oh and iTunes. So I don’t think I need to break the bank, I just need something that’s reliable. This one has been pretty good, given its age.

There you go, not really a plan or resolutions but just stuff that needs to get done.

 

Still Here, For Now

It’s been a while since I wrote anything here. I’m at that stage again of wondering whether to bother with this blog, seeing as I hardly ever update and when I do it’s about books (which I could do on Goodreads instead). I feel I am mostly sending words out into the void and what is the point? But until I make a decision about that, here’s a life update.

At the end of October I tried out for the main league again. It was a much better experience this time, but I still didn’t make it in. I am not a stand out, although they said my skills were good. It is fine, and they are probably right that I am not ready, but it sucks to lose yet more of my buddies from rec league. Really proud of them, but wish I could still skate with them. We also had another rec league bout on the same day and my team lost by one point. Ugh. We did play really well though, and the standard overall was great.

November 11^th was Nin’s birthday, so we went as a family to Robin Hood’s Bay to scatter her ashes. We spent a lot of time there when we were kids and that’s what she wanted. We’d meant to do this in summer but that just didn’t happen. Thankfully it was a beautiful sunny day and we all enjoyed each other’s company, and I think Nin would have been happy with that.

I was also an extra in a film, for the company Max works for. I don’t know if I will actually end up in the final cut, or if, even if I do, you’ll be able to see me or tell it’s me, but it was fun. I felt like a right prat for a lot of it, since it was all done on green screen, but I did get to fall about on some crash mats and attempt to look scared. It’s a good job I don’t want to be an actress, because I am terrible.

I attempted to do NaNoWriMo for the first time this November, and I made it to 20,000 words or so before life got in the way. But that’s 20,000 more words than I had to begin with, and I did like that NaNo forced me to sit down and write and just get words on the page without over thinking it. Just get the first draft done and fix it later. Usually when I write things it is just notes and ideas, like I have to wait for inspiration to strike before I can do anything, and this just means I don’t really get anywhere. So for that it was a good experience and I hope to continue with my book. And I would definitely try NaNo again, maybe just when I am not as busy.

And then I went to Berlin for four days, with Max and a bunch of rollergirls. We did some touristy stuff and a day of watching roller derby, as it was a tournament weekend. Berlin is a wonderful city. I’d never been before but it’s really cool to wander around. We did an alternative tour, being guided around for three hours looking at graffiti and getting a bit of history about the city. It was very cold though, and we abandoned our attempt to see a broken down theme park. We intend to go back when it’s a bit warmer and see more stuff.

And I’ll end with babies, since there are now two new ones in the world. My niece Isla was born six weeks premature last week, but she’s doing really well, she’s just very small. Her middle name is Betty, after my grandmother. It’s perfect. I am going up to Yorkshire to see her tomorrow. And then, on the same day, my friend had Annie, who is not tiny at all. I look forward to many cuddles.

Life is good.

Finished!

It’s only taken me about nine months, but I have finally finished my quilt! I am very pleased with it. OK, there’s some dodgy stitching going on in places, but overall it’s lovely and I think I’ve done a good job for my first try. Here are yet more iPhone photos:

It’s now on our bed, since it’s dropped cold these last few days. It doesn’t quite fit the king size bed, but it still looks very nice. So, a successful first attempt!

Almost There

The quilt I started in January is almost finished. I have pieced the second half together, basted it, quilted it, and now I am making the binding and once that’s done, and sewed, that’s it! I am all kinds of impressed with myself. It is definitely not a perfect quilt, but I’ve done this all by hand and with the help of online tutorials, so I think it’s ok to be a bit impressed. I was expecting lots to go wrong and have to rip out stitches and all sorts, but actually it’s been pretty smooth. I am sure I’m jinxing myself now, but never mind.

Who wants to see bad iPhone photos of the quilt so far?

This was pre-basting.

And during the quilting. I may have stabbed myself a million times doing this.

Here’s an attempt at a close up after quilting.

And another.

And its current state.

So there you go. I think it’s safe to say I’ve got the quilting bug. However, my next attempt will be much smaller. As much as I’ve enjoyed this, it’d be nice to get one finished in less than six months.

Domestic Interlude

When I moved in with Max his mum sent me these cute post it note things with text like ‘Looking for this?’ and ‘It’s here!’ written on, with big green arrows. I forgot about them until the umpteenth time Max couldn’t find something that was right in front of his face. He sort of accuses me of moving things without really accusing me, even though I can plainly see what he’s looking for and it hasn’t moved from where he left it. Recently he lost his nail clippers. I hate the things so it’s not surprising he thought I might have ‘accidentally on purpose’ lost them. But I hadn’t. Days and days this went on, ‘I can’t find my nail clippers!’ Too bad, you’ll have to turn into Wolverine or use scissors like the rest of us. But not my sewing scissors!!

Anyway, I was tidying up the other day and I found the clippers. Not hidden anywhere, just sitting on the shelf under the coffee table, minding their own business, as they probably had been doing since the last time Max used them. And then I remembered the post its and this was the perfect time to use them. I stuck them on the mantelpiece like so:

I was really looking forward to the moment he saw them, and then I could laugh at how funny I am. I basically live for those moments. But then he came in and chatted to me and walked past the mantelpiece half a dozen times and he didn’t see them! Why I’m surprised given how this whole thing started I don’t know, but he was robbing me of my moment. So then I had to point out that I was waiting for him to notice something, which sort of defeats the point, and finally he got it. I count it as a victory, even though I wanted more.

And this is how we live, with point scoring and one-upmanship*. Isn’t that how all the great romances lasted?

*To be completely fair to Max, it is more how I live, and he just puts up with it. Because he’s a lovely patient man who lives with a lunatic.

First There Was The Knitting

After my last post about the quilt I decided to change things around a little bit (also because I’d aligned the ‘bricks’ the wrong way, and so when I moved them it threw off the layout even more). It will now look like this when put together, with a cream line between each row:

I still think there are probably better ways for it to be arranged, but then I’d be stuck on this part of it forever and it’s time to move on to the actual sewing. I grouped my rows into nicely organised and numbered piles:

And I’ve spent quite a few happy evenings in front of the telly sewing them together. I’ve still got a couple of rows left to do, and then I can move on to adding the long strips that go between the rows. But there are worse ways to spend time than on a comfy sofa with tea (and biscuits) and a bit of sewing. Yeah yeah, I am an old lady, sue me.

The Quilt Continues. Slowly

I started my New Craft Project at the end of January, and although I am still very enthusiastic about it I haven’t got very far. I managed to cut out the ‘bricks’ without accidentally slicing through the fabric the wrong way, and I have added the right hand border to each one. I did make a mistake by buying a cheap rotary cutter which didn’t really cut at all and within about half an hour had, no lie, exploded into little pieces all over the kitchen. I bought another, better, one, and found it much easier and there was less swearing from me. And fewer heart attacks from projectile saw-like objects hurtling round the kitchen.

Anyway, here is a (really quite terrible quality picture) of my quilt so far. My iPhone doesn’t do a great job capturing it, but hopefully it gives you the idea.

I spent more time than I probably should have moving the bricks around to make it look the best it could possibly be. This was harder than I thought it would be. I kept getting too much purple in a corner, and I have a lot of blue, and it just didn’t look even. I thought I had it, but looking at the photo I still see clumps of yellow and blue, so will have another go with the arranging.

Once I’ve decided on the layout I can then even up the sides and sew the rows together, then it’s adding strips of the natural cotton in between the rows and sewing it all together. Then the hard part (ha!), quilting and backing and putting it altogether so it looks nice and feels mega comfy.

I am expecting lots to go wrong with this project, but that’s ok, it’s my first one. I’ll learn a lot and be proud of whatever I end up with when I’m done. I’m really enjoying working on it, no matter how slowly it’s going.

Herman

This week I have been looking after a German friendship cake called Herman. (Wiki tells me it is also known as Amish Friendship Bread.) The gist is you get given some mixture and instructions, and when the time comes your separate off more mixture and give it to friends and on it goes in a lovely vicious cycle. It’s the cake version of a chain letter and it comes with its own levels of guilt; guilt about keeping it alive, guilt about not enjoying the process as much as you should when a loved one has given it to you. It’s possible I took this whole thing far too seriously.

My mum gave me Herman when she was visiting last week. I can totally understand why she did. She’d made it and liked the cake, she knows I like baking, why wouldn’t I like this? And initially I did. I dutifully put Herman in my most favourite (and only) mixing bowl. I set him on my work top and covered him in a tea towel and for the next ten days fed him and stirred him and did not put him in the fridge because allegedly this means DEATH to Herman. And I only screamed a little when I came home from work one day to find he’d exploded all over my worktop/cooker. Seriously, it’s been like looking after a frickin Gremlin.

Yesterday, finally, it was the day to bake. I added the rest of the ingredients, stuck him in the oven, and waited. This is the end result:

Actually, that’s a lie. The end result is in several pieces/crumbs in a tin, since Herman saw fit to dissolve the moment I tried to get him out of the tin. Clearly I had done something wrong. He tastes ok. Ten days worth of faffing about and cleaning up after him ok? Not really. He smells amazing though and if I ever a) own a house and b) sell said house I will be sure to bake him the day we have viewings, but I am a little disappointed. He could at least have tried to hold his shit together and look presentable, just a little bit.

I handed my extra mixture over to someone at work. Hopefully they will have better luck, but if Herman tries to get in my house again, I’m not home.

(Pea) Pod Person*

Over the last couple of birthdays and Christmas I have accumulated a fair few book tokens. These moved with me in October and lay forgotten in the bottom of a drawer until I discovered them with a cry of glee! But oh, what to spend them on? The number of books I want to read made the choice too overwhelming, so again the tokens went unused, this time sitting in my purse. And then I realised I didn’t have to spend them on fiction, I could get a cookbook. So I bought Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Veg Everyday.

Cue the stunned silence from anyone who knows me.

Yes, it’s a cookbook that focuses on vegetables. And I bought it. And there’s stuff in it I would like to eat. In fact, I have already made one recipe and it was delicious. I understand the surprise. I am the ‘white food girl’ after all. Even the director of the company I work for, who is based in the States, knows I only eat white food. Only I don’t do that any more. OK, I am still fond of potatoes and chicken and cheese and cauliflower and other pale food combos, but I am trying to eat more healthily and try new things. This all started with the humble cherry tomato. I can’t tell you how much I used to hate tomatoes. I’d eat tomato flavoured things (sauce, soup) but anything that resembled a tomato could frankly bog off as far as I was concerned. I’d even pick the sliced ones off my margarita pizza. Eww. And then I ate a cherry tomato (I do not remember how this came about) and fell in love and now can’t get enough of them. And it seems since then my previously fussy palate has become adventurous and keen to expand its repertoire. Also known as eating things normal people like.

The first thing I made from the book wasn’t amazingly adventurous, I will admit, but I am building up to lentils and polenta. It’s baby steps. But I made a tomato and mozzarella tart. With SALAD! I don’t do salad. It always seemed pointless to me. But then in would, since I didn’t eat anything that went into it. My salad had cucumber in it, another previously detested food. And don’t get me started on the whole leaf thing…I really don’t know what’s happening to me. But that’s ok, long may it last.

 

*Actually I hate peas. Still.