Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes! And Bacon!

So. I have not posted anything in a long time, but I have spent the past few months embarking on quite a few ridiculous projects, and with the other (and better blogger) half of this here situation jet setting around the world at the moment, I figured I should step up my so far paltry contributions and bring it. Or something. For everyone unlucky enough to not live in New Orleans, you've probably had a pretty standard week. Work, school, ordinary schedule. I, however, spent all of Tuesday marauding around town wearing a silly costume and drinking on the street for several hours, because it was Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras! The most magical and exhausting time of the year! The first year I lived here I had no idea that people actually dressed up, and was sort of embarrassed to be out and about among so many people dressed to the nines while I was wearing my street clothes. For most ladies, the outfits tend to veer towards the glitter and feather realm, while men with bad senses of humor like to dress up as penises or whatnot. And there's a smattering of things in between- this year I saw a few people dressed as octopuses, giant skeletons, and animals of all sorts. A lot of people do large group costumes; I saw an entire collection of people who were elaborate playing cards like the Jack of Hearts and Queen of Spades. I, however, went as pancakes. Yes, pancakes! One of the best breakfast items of all time! I constructed the whole thing out of felt, and stuffed it with polystyrene filling. It has a hole in the middle, so I could just wear it around my waist, which produced a hilarious waddle that I was kinda self-conscious of. The butter pat is two boxes of tea with yellow fabric glued on top. And I also knit and felted my bacon scarf! Standing next to me is my breakfast companion of eggs, aka my friend Drew. His costume took 30 minutes to assemble and garnered far, far more complements than mine, the lazy bastard. I now feel fairly confident that I could make all sorts of 3D objects, which was not the case before this project. The mere idea of pillows scared me before. But not now! Now I can burst forth and seize the plush in life! Ridiculously cute stuffed animals, here I come! As a side note, I actually managed to stay upright and cognizant from 9am until 9pm, which was a feat indeed!

Quilt Top Finished

I have finished my quilt top! Whenever I start a crafting project, I can't relax and do a little at a time, like some people. I make a schedule and try to finish as fast as possible. But to me, racing myself to finish is relaxing and (more importantly) satisfying. It doesn't matter how knotty my shoulders are from hunching over the sewing machine. I just like seeing my beautiful quilt top brightening up my bed pile (no bed, just a pile of blankets) in the middle of a gray winter.