Tagged! Some Stuff about Me

A while back, I was tagged by the awesome Pat at Color Me Quilty with some questions to answer. Pat sews beautiful quilts, including embroidery, free motion quilting, and most recently some fabric painting. She is also a gardener whose place has a beautiful view. I look forward to seeing it in full bloom this summer.


1.) What is your favorite dish/dinner meal?
This is really hard! I will have to go with my dad's spare ribs and Sam's stews.

2.) Is your favorite color used in most of your quilts?
Orange doesn't show up in most of my quilts, not sure why. I did use it recently in my rainbow star quilt, and my current wholecloth project is 100% orange.

3.) Do you live near where you grew up?
Until six months ago, I did live in my hometown. In August we entrusted all of our worldly possessions to a moving company and flew to a new home several thousand kilometres away, bringing only two suitcases and one cat. For a few weeks, it was like camping indoors. Then our moving truck arrived in mid September and we were able to settle in. So far, I've been enjoying life on the Prairie. Looking forward to my first summer here!

4.) What would be your dream job and are you doing it?
At some point I realized that I was officially too old to become an astronaut. That was a sad day. Being a housewife turns out to be pretty awesome though! (Seriously, according to the census worker who came to the door last week, I am a "homemaker", and not "unemployed". She wrote it on her clipboard and everything.) I have no idea what I will be doing next, but look forward to finding out.

5.) Do you have any pets?
We found a starving emaciated kitten one Thanksgiving day and won his heart with pork chops. Sigmund is now a healthy, slightly spoiled, 5 year old cat.

Best kitty ever

6.) Do you have a nickname?
'Slair' as the banner at the top of the page indicates. The grade 3 bullies thought they were being very witty combining my first and last name. It used to make me cry. My high school friends, on the other hand, thought it was pretty cool, so it stuck.

7.) What hobbies (other than sewing/quilting) do you have?
Reading, walking, drawing, painting. This year, for the first time ever, I plan to try gardening. There will be pictures, whether I succeed or fail. I'm really grateful for the snow storm that's allowed me to put the whole thing off for another week. 

Front lawn, three days ago

8.) What would be your dream vacation?
I would spend a month wandering around South America to see the Pampas, the big cities, and the ruins left behind by native civilizations.

9.) What is your favorite time of day?
Eleven in the morning is the best time of day. The tedious morning routine is done with, you're wide awake and at your most productive, plus it's time to start thinking about lunch.

10.) Do you buy fabric without having a project in mind?
In the past I did, but this led to owning a lot of fabric that I didn't like anymore by the time a project came up. Now I buy only what I need, to the inch... even if it means I get home and kick myself over something I wasn't sure I needed, and then have to return to the store.

11.) What is the last book you read?
For 2012, I've joined The Proust Society of Edmonton. Our reading group focusing on Marcel Proust's modern oeuvre 'A la recherche du temps perdu'. We've just finished 'A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs' and started the third of seven volumes 'Le Cote de Guermantes'. Also, currently on my nightstand is Alan Moore's 'V for Vendetta', and on my laptop is the audio version of John Banville's 'The Sea'. I'm definitely a book geek.


I am not super good at following rules, as you may know, however I would love to hear more about you all, especially where you live, what makes you happy, and your books and hobbies of choice. Consider yourself tagged!