Survived!

So I made it through the end of my first semester of school. I am pretty sure I've never had to work so hard as I did over the past 3 months. Architecture school is serious business. I like it, but I am a little sad that I don't have time to enjoy the primary reasons I stayed in Chicago: my friends. There isn't much I can do about it, I try to emerge from my Architecture world as often as I can to meet up with them, but even when I do I'm really out of the loop and out of place. Oh well.

Since Monday I have spent time with my cousin who was visiting and then today I spent all day at home. Lazy? Maybe. But I did almost 75% of the things I said I wanted to do when I had time during break!! I sorted and filed my important documents, wrapped some presents, and made a cover for my all important Moleskine notebook. The first sewing I've been able to do in 3 months, it was a really quick and simple project and so so so enjoyable!! I used the tutorial here by Mr. Monkeysuit and some Floragraphix fabric I've had for almost a year for both the cover and lining. I really like how it turned out. My other to-do is to craft more over the next month of my Christmas break and tell you allll about it!!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

As you may be able to tell, I have been too busy to do much of anything except schoolwork. I love architecture, but architecture school is hard!! My friend Alex put it best, "it looks like this is one of those situations that what doesn't kill you is going to make you stronger." Fortunately I have a lot of people who are supporting me in the wings, I don't know what I would do if they weren't at the end of the phone line when I needed them! (thanks!) With about 7.5 days until the end of the first semester I thought I would take a small break from my Theory Final to post some pics of what I managed to finish craft-wise BEFORE I was too busy! This is the quilt I made for my friends now 4-month old, Helen. She is the most adorable, mellow, awesome baby and this quilt is perfect for her (if i do say so myself). I finally gave it to them on Thanksgiving (since I stayed in Chicago they invited me over) and even Helen's dad said "I love it! Grey and green is AWESOME!" = SUCCESS!!!

I'm going to make an identical one for myself over break and I can't wait to get back on the sewing machine ;)

Zig-Zag Quilt from CrazyMom Quilt tutorial, Erin McMorris Wildwood and Kona Cotton Solids

A long Time

Since I posted last almost two months ago things around here have been SUPER busy. First of all I had my last day of work, then headed off visit my grandparents and uncle, and cousin in Sacramento, then I moved to a gorgeous HUGE new apartment (WITHOUT a moving truck and only a little zip car, well and a few large guys to help), took another trip, this time with a few friends, up to the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and finally, I started Architecture School!! Im now in week 5 as an architecture student and I'm exhausted!! I can't tell if I "like" it yet, mainly because my brain is going to be adjusting to the college life and architecture in general for awhile. I've spent several 10+ hour days in the studio, but its a good feeling to be busy and to be doing something that few have done before me, and even fewer have done well. Here are some pics of things I've seen and done in the past few weeks. Enjoy!!!

Love, Jenny
Sacramento, CA
Chicago, IL on the Chicago Architecture Boat Tour (amazing a must do in Chi)
Odessa Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
New Baby quilt in the work for a dear friend and baby Helen!!

Been Gone So Long....

I know I know, I'm such a bad friend. I just leave for a month without even a good bye or a reason why. If anyone happened to notice, I am SO sorry!! Things have been pretty busy around here. I finished two quilts (see below), went to an AMAZING wedding in St. Louis, made a dress to wear (also see below), lost an apartment and a roommate, and finally today found a new apartment!! If you scroll to the bottom you will see some brand new arm candy I just got.

Me with the beautiful bride and my amazing teal dress (favorite color by the way) :-)
And finally......

Amazing fantastic new watch by NIXON. My most favorite-ist watch company ever.

Architecture Tour Chicago

I see buildings I love (and hate) around whenever I'm traveling and of course walking the streets of my city of Chicago. Now that I'm headed off to architecture school in the fall I've decided to start photographing and keeping a record of these notable structures. Today I went on a walk (because it was FINALLY sunny and warm!) and made a point to go by this amazing home on Burling Street in Lincoln Park. I need to look up who the architect is (uhm, internship please??) but in the meantime I will share what I like about it. First and foremost is the beautiful woodwork paneling going up the facade. The wood is placed horizontally which perfectly opposes the strong linear vertical-ity of the rest of the facade. The dark color next to the greenish tint of the large windows gives it a very "natural" feeling, like a forest and stream. The concrete finishes the look for me. I love it. I want to live there.

Oh and I really dislike this one. I don't think you all need me to explain the reasons why...

Stay Tuned

Gilbert Lake, Wisconsin

I'm currently at the end of a "semester" which I know only included one class, but I still have some final term work to finish up. On top of that I started ANOTHER class which is requiring time and effort away from my more crafty endeavors. PLUS, work is taking me down to Indianapolis in the midst of all this, so I haven't been doing much else. Please look at my older posts and I will be back before too long with a dress (made by ME!), completed wedding quilt, and maybe a peek at my new amazing apartment (with my new amazing roommate/friend Lauren) in the West Loop. Like I says, stay tuned!!!
Love, Jenny

oh darn my arm.

Does anyone else burn themselves when ironing? And I'm talking not just once or twice but on a fairly frequent basis? Hmm...anyone? Well, its not just ironing, I seem to have something with hot metal. Ovens, oven racks, baking sheets, and hot irons (im sure if i had a hair curler that would do it too) all seem to attract my fingers, hands and arms. While I admit that a year ago I got this weird equal sign-looking scar on my arm (cooking pizza) that I think is kinda cool looking (gives me street cred haha), I think I am over this burning thing. In the past week and a half I got a burn on my upper left arm (broiling steak), top of left hand, and wrist of right arm (iron). ow, ow, and ow, im that girl getting neosporin over everything. Also, my doctor looked a little concerned that I have burns and scars all over my arms and hands. Gosh darn.

Meet Me in St. Louis

Phew, I finally got the quilt top done for the wedding I am going to in June. My friend Jessie from Colgate is marrying her lovely fiancee Alex in St. Louis and obviously I couldn't show up with any old gift from the registry. After many months of searching for the right fabric I finally found some to use in the zig-zag quilt pattern shared by Crazy Mom Quilts. I should mention that I really struggled in the middle of this and couldn't seem to get the right squares in the right places. I blame my lack of space to lay the whole quilt out. Anyway, now I need to figure out how to get to Joann's to pick up some backing fabric so I can get this sucker quilted!! Maybe I can sneak away with the car this weekend when my girlfriends Anna and Ruthie are enjoying the sun by Gilbert Lake, WI. ;)

May Weekend

Spring time here in Chicago is heartbreaking. One day its sunny and seventy degrees, the next it is torrentially downpouring, and the next its cloudy and 40 degrees with wind chill. The last one is what the weekend has been like here. After a chilly early morning Dragbies softball game yesterday I came home and worked on finishing up the quilt I am going to give my brother for his 24th birthday in July. He lives in Alaska and likes to camp and be outside so I think it will be great for him to take with him in his truck. The back and binding is a cozy blue flannel. I just need to sew the binding but I have plenty of time for that.
Now I have to make the wedding quilt for my friend Jessie and her fiancee Alex who are getting married June 20th in St. Louis. She requested blue and yellow and is "traditional". Uh, I am NOT traditional. I don't really like flowery fabrics, usually they seem cheesy to me. So I attempted to find the perfect fabric online for about three months. Finally last week I bit the bullet and started to order these frenchish flowery blue and yellow prints, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't work on a quilt for the next month without liking the fabric. So I found these fabrics from the fabric shack. Now I'm going to make them into a zig-zag quilt!! Ill post updates as I move along. Have a great Sunday!!!

I need these.

I browse the Shopbop website everyday. For about 5 years I've done this now. And I haven't purchased a single thing. Its horrible, its like the worst kind of shopping torture. Especially when you need retail therapy and you come across something like these shades. 1. Ray Bans. 2. rounder wayfarer shape. 3. NEON. OMG I want. I'm a nut about sunglasses, I will go for just about any look, the bigger the better. And they match the watch I mentioned a couple weeks ago. Too bad noone reads this who would buy me these things (actually im sure noone would buy these even if they were reading this), but I really want them. Please style gods please??

Such Inspiration

This dress is from Myne, the designer I met in LA when I went there in February. I am going to sound very cheap but I can't afford this. And despite the fact that I LOVE the design, and the elastic gathered empire waist, the Ikat pattern, and the grey and yellow colors, I just don't have the funds!! BUT, I do appreciate quality craftsmanship and beautiful design. If you need some inspiration or a new dress for the summer head over to Shopbop.com and check out the rest of Ashley Ann's Designs.

*Blushing*

thank you everyone for your comments on my quilt festival entry. They have really made my day. :-)

Also, I started a new quilt with some blue blocks of fabric I cut out many years ago for a quilt for an ex-boyfriend (haha).

Blech.

It is raining today, I guess it is spring but I am in desperate need of at least 1 week of sunny beautiful warm weather. Do you ever feel like everything you do is wrong? Like you aren't really in control of things and when you try to get in control nothing works. In general things are pretty great, mainly I am headed to UIC for architecture school next year. And while I love Chicago and I've been fortunate to have wonderful friends here, it just seems like things are drifting apart. I decided to stay here because there really is no better location to study architecture but the world capital of architecture (it's true), but maybe I needed to make a change. Maybe Chicago and I have run our course? Or maybe I am just socially incapable of figuring out rough spots and lulls and boredom. Who knows what the answer is, maybe there isn't one, or perhaps its far beyond any comprehension, either way I guess I will be staying here no matter what so I will have to figure it out. But in the meantime, I am just not feeling RIGHT. Blech. Not even sewing is making me feel better or even distracting me.

My Second Favorite Quilt

I have decided to participate in the online quilt festival. I love to read people's stories of inspiration, so I thought I would contribute mine too. Unfortunately my camera died completely yesterday so I wasn't able to get a pic of my first quilt, which is my favorite because of the sentimental value. I will write about it here sometime. just not today.

My second favorite quilt is the one I made for my best friend Jennifer. Her and I have had a tumultuous friendship, and somehow despite the hardships she has endured and I have tried to help her with, we made it out on the other end. I call her just to call her, and usually she doesn't answer but I usually just feel better after the action of dialing the phone. When I do talk to her, she instantly gives me the best advice because she KNOWS me and she loves my little quirks. She calls me Martha as in THE Martha and we make jewelery together and explore and shop and hike and eat and I love her. I never know if the people I love know how much I love them. So in this case I decided to make her a quilt as a housewarming for the new abode that her and her BF Robbie bought in LA.

I am pretty modern and wanted to do something with solid colors and used a pattern I had purchased to make a batik quilt for my mom, but I thought it would look amazing with greys and purples. Also a perfect color combo for Jen. It was a long process and a lot of cutting, and there was NO grey fabric out there, but oh man. I LOVE this quilt. i can't even express how much I love it. Without further ado, here it is. I hope you enjoy it!!


Thanks for looking!! Join the fesitval and the FUN!! Quilt on!! ;)

Online Quilt Festival!

I am so excited to join this online quilt festival. Everyone should check it out. You take some pics of a quilt project of yours, then you post them and share the story. I know exactly what quilt I am going to write about. My very very first one. I love IT. Ok, I'm going to take some pics and be back to talk about it.

Note: Just realized my camera display is BROKEN!! That dinky viewfinder is WORTHLESS. grrrr unhappy Jenny.

PS: the host of this festival is ParkCityGirl...I haven't figured out what Park City she is talking about, but I am hoping its Utah so we can chat about my hometown!! (I doubt we will chat but at least be like "hey don't you love.....(nacho mamas, baja cantina, the mountains)?")

I want this.

Awesome. I want some neon in my wardrobe, ASAP. Baby-g-Shock via ShopBop.

So this is architecture school

I'm off work today because I have an admitted student event at University Illinois - Chicago (UIC). I'm very excited to see what the deal is, since I pretty much have no idea. Today we are going to be at the school, with tours and talks and meeting people (eeek I always get nervous for that!), then tomorrow we are getting taken to several alumni architecture firms (SOM, UrbanLab, etc). This is IT!!! I am hoping this will help me make my decision between UIC and IIT soon, because I want the decision to be over!!!

Quickie

On Sunday I made another skirt, using the same "pattern" as the other one...BUT this one was NOT silk. Everyone can exhale now in case you were holding your breath. Anyway, remember how I mentioned my obsession with Ikea, and how I'm mostly Swedish, and love modern design? Well, Marimekko has alot to do with all of the above (well except for making me part Swedish, that's because of my greatgrandparents) N-E-ways, my amazingly crafty and stylish Madre has been talking about this Marimekko person since forever. Madre loves to sew, loves Scandinavia, and loves design, and Marimekko was synonymous with all of these. Of course I find out that Marimekko isn't a single person much later in life (I still refer to Marimekko as a her), but have been drawn to their textile design since forever. Along with my introduction to FLW and The Fountainhead, Marimekko textiles were the catalyst that transformed me into a architecture and design fanatic. Not only that, but a modern one at that. Note: I don't like unnecessary adornments FYI EVER.

Ok, so I said this would be a quickie, and here it is. The skirt I made out of Marimekko LELO fabric (first designed in 1991) from the Crate and Barrel outlet here in Chicago. For....wait for it......4.5o a yard...and I used less than a yard for this skirt.
And the buttons were from the DIYODS show last weekend via the Chicago Craft Mafia, approx 5 cents a button. Wish you could tell how awesome they are....

Sewing 102

My friend Kristen was my first friend here in Chicago. I moved here for a job without knowing anyone but the people who hired me. Kristen was a Notre Dame grad my same age and her cubicle was right next to mine. Before too long she decided that she needed to take me under her wing and bring me into her circle of friends. Well I was so flattered, and in desperate need of some company, and it wasn't too long before we discovered our joint love for baking, traveling, and judging ;). So here we are more than three years later, she is no longer my coworker but a best friend nonetheless, and I can generally count on her to go on adventures with me.
About 2 months ago I convinced her to take a trip to the burbs with me to go to Ikea. A staycation as my friend Anna pointed out. I have this extreme obsession with Ikea, largely because I am mostly Swedish and adore modern design. Anyway, after Ikea we stopped by Joann's in the burbs, and Kristen found this bolt of home dec fabric in the red tag section. It was awesome, and somewhere in between the fleece, and zippers, and buttons she decided she needed curtains. So we dug through the patterns and found a great one as a guide for tab top curtains. She went up to get it all cut and it turned out that the red tag fabric she wanted was only $1 a yard. $1 are you kidding?! I wanted to rip it from her hands and steal it.

The next weekend she came over and we started to put together the drapes. Just like a good teacher I had her cut and iron and cut, etc. The fabric was silky and slippery and the drapes were long, 6 YARDS!!! We didn't finish them that first day so she came over the next Friday night. She made me some homemade pizza, perhaps to bribe me to help her finish the drape project, but then we got to work. From 8 to 10 things were going well. Then it was that time we all experience, where you know you should stop. Your concentration and patience is GONE and you're mussing up everything and the seam ripper is on hand always. Well, we pushed through until FINALLY at about 12:00AM she finished. And I have to say that they are AWESOME. I mean they really are people, some might think they are "loud" or "busy" but they are gold and fuchsia and flowery and amazing. Trust me. So ended my first sewing lesson. And another reason Kristen is a BFF. I'm so lucky to have such creative and goodnatured people in my life!!!


This is the process, see Kristen working hard to get things straight? She was very careful about her seams and ironing!! I taught her well HA!

And here is the final product, 100% by Kristen:

Spoiler Alert...

If your name is Jackie Canty, do NOT go to my flickr page.

Tonight I finished the baby quilt for my BFFL Jackie and her baby boy. He hasn't arrived yet, but I am pretty sure he will be here any day!! (Editors Note: Just found out I was off on the due date by 2 months, NO I am not a bad friend I swears). I have been working on this quilt for almost 3 months now and the first time around I started with a pattern I drew up. I was inspired by Jenny's quilt which I think is a version of a Denyse Schmidt pattern. It was a pretty great idea I thought, but using a fabric with directional images didn't work how I wanted it to.

So after I put it away for a few weeks I decided to scrap that idea and go with another Denyse Schmidt inspired pattern, the chinese coin quilt. I used the dimensions for the blocks based off of Handmade by Alissa's coin quilts (ps don't you just love her quilts?). I used what I had left of the David Walker Robots, picked up some basic colored prints from Joanns, and some sashing fabric there too. I have been hearing about the wonderful benefits of using linen for quilting, and I was very skeptical. I didn't like cutting it, and you should know that I am an iron, cut, iron, sew, iron, iron girl, and obviously linen isn't as conducive to that. But once I cut it, and sewed everything together, I began to appreciate how soft and cozy the linen is. I can't wait to see how it gets after washing again. The top came together really fast and then it was off to Joann's for some backing and batting. I decided to go with the coziness theme and found the perfect flannel for the back. Heather was worried it was a little busy and might make the baby sick (I could see what she meant, but it may have been the overtired state I was in at the time), but I thought it was too perfect color wise to pass up. I pieced a strip of fabrics from the front and sewed it off center with the flannel, and I might like the back just as much as the front!! I am definitely making myself a flannel quilt for next winter. Anyway, used some David Walker planets and the yellow stripes from Jo's for the binding (love using pieced and striped binding!) and slapped it all together. I did very little quilting to put it all together because I just didn't want to detract from the linen and the simplicity of the pattern. I hope it works out in the long run. I am still a newbie at machine quilting. So that is the basics.

Here is a sneak peek...

I can't wait for Jackie and her hubby Brian to get it, I really think and hope that they love it as much as me. I think all children should be taught to aim high and follow their dreams, and I think a planet and space robot quilt is perfect for that.

Jackie is my oldest friend, from back in the third grade, and we had some great times growing up. One time, in 3rd grade, we wore the same clothes and no one could tell us apart. Well, she quickly grew several inches and the most beautiful hair and we didn't look anything alike anymore but we still LOVED watching Goonies, and singing along to Newsies, playing capture the flag, snowboarding, and of course playing soccer together. She was a soccer stud all the way through college and I don't know if she knows how much I admire her work ethic and dedication, as well as her compassion and love. I wish I knew Brian better, but I know that she is happy and they have the most beautiful daughter, Tillie, and I can't wait to see her all grown up.
Love, Jenny

Smooth as Silk

First off, after taking these pictures, I realize that I apparently still have my swimmer legs. oh and I am pale. Please ignore everything BUT the skirt.

grey houndstooth silk!

see those buttons?

This is the skirt I made based on a skirt I bought in LA last month. I had been thinking about this project ever since then. I realized that it couldn't be THAT hard to come up with my own pattern. Well, to be honest it really wasn't. I made up a muslin trial skirt one night in about an hour and a half then tried it the next night in the silk. As you may be aware, sewing with silk is like jumping up to skiing a black diamond after your first run on a blue. Just as you are feeling confident, you step a little too far out of the comfort zone and have to side step a few of the steepest slopes. And that is what happened to me.

Enough ski analogy, the cutting was hard, the fraying was unbelievable, and I was deathly afraid of snagging something. Plus I momentarily blacked out and sewed the waistband wrong and had to take out stitches (EEEK) and do it again. I also used this project to make my first buttonholes. Who does that? Obviously me, like I always say...Go big or go home.

Well, I am hooked, I loved when people complimented my skirt and I said "I MADE IT!! and its REAL silk, and its Ferragamo, and I got it for 6 dollars a yarddd!!" While that was more than 99% of the people wanted to hear, I loved the feeling. So hopefully there will be more skirts and hopefully a dress or too before summer!! :-)

Quick Mid-week Update

I was all ready for bed, but I've been having some scary dreams lately and just wasn't ready to turn things off around here. Then I realized I hadn't shared the pictures of my amazing St. Patrick's Day purse. It was made from the pattern available on the MadebyRae website. It is really the most amazing pattern, perfectly put together and so easy to make. I wish all patterns were like this!!! Thanks sooo much Rae for posting the free tutorial and pattern. I will definitely be making many more of these bags. Perhaps in clutch form as well...

Made out of that Echino fabric I love SO much!! (ps please forgive the icky pics and shots taken on the radiator)

I also made a skirt out of a pattern I came up with myself. Its silk, and let me tell you that I can't believe it turned out. It was my first experience with sewing silk, making a pattern, AND making buttonholes. Phew. I will take some pics soon so y'all can see it. Did I mention it was FERRAGAMO silk. woot.

Here are some pictures in closing. One from a recent trip to Joann's. I was being an enabler and tried to talk Heather into buying this fabric. Because she really needed to make a MUUMUU for the summer (I mean who doesn't)..............thank goodness she didn't buy it. But hysterical at the time.

And finally, the maid in my hotel in Lansing, MI had left this little towel creature in my bathroom. It was too adorable to use. Can you tell what it is?????

Final FQ

My last FQ came in the mail!! Such a sweet surprise yesterday. Its from Rebecca in Kansas City, MO, she insists there aren't many fabric stores there, but I think she did a great job finding some. Well, anyway, you can decide, but I cant wait to use this and the goodies that came along with it!! Thanks Rebecca!!



Ok I'm off to celebrate St. Patricks Day with the rest of Chicago!! Slainte!

Monday Monday

Why is it that Mondays seem so much worse than any other day?

Anyway, just a quick post before I'm off to bed.

The "missing" FQ from my swap sister in Germany. The truth was it was "missing" in the package it was sent in. Yes, this is the second time this has happened to me. They apparently make their padded envelopes with more than one pouch (probably not intentionally to hide things). On to the goods!!

It came with a pretty springy fat quarter, some German chocolate and a great postcard. I'm not sure what I will do with the FQ yet, I need some suggestions for a good easy project. Especially after the Weekender Bag fiasco!!
Thanks so much Karin!! PS I'm So glad you like the package I sent!! :-)

Also, here is a peek at the fabric box I made about a month ago for my linens, I had had it stored up in the high reaches of my closet on the precarious shelf my management company installed. But once I put together my new Ikea bookcase and it sat in my closet for a week, I realized it was the perfect size to fit!! How smart am I ;) ? haha.
Well everyone have a great week, one down, four to go!!

Finally...

Weekend, originally uploaded by Carson.J.

Just wanted to send a shout out to my FQ swap partners. The two FQs on the left are from my partner for the Spring FQ swap, she sent two perfect fabrics for me!! We should all know by now how much I love that AB martini and also grey, wink!! The one on the right of that shot is from my Sew Mama Sew! FQ quarter swap, she even sent it along with some Winnie The Pooh stickers (I love Eeyore!). The one on the right is a package I got all the way from Germany, awesome red vintage reproduction fabric, even the selvedge is in German!! I got another package from Germany, but I admit that its currently missing in my little apartment. I will find it and post it ASAP!! Still missing one FQ from the SMS Swap, so that's strange...
Then the bottom four pics are the FINISHED product of the Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag pattern. I'm sure we are all sick of seeing this bag on my blog!! Like everyone has said this bag is a bleeeeep to sew. But whatever, its done, I'm just hoping it doesn't fall apart when i use it the first time. There are alot of seams on this thing! Also made a label for the inside, I really like it. I used a download from A Print A Day, I lovvveee her work. Cheers everyone. Have a Great week!

words of wisdom

Sometimes a few words of wisdom puts things into perspective, that and a cup of tension tamer:

"when I have a really messy place and it's stressing me out, I set my time for 15 or 20 minutes and just clean clean clean for that time and it's amazing how much you can accomplish in that little time plus it's like a mental vacation from whatever else you were doing. A little psycho sounding, I realize, but it works for me!"

-from my fab friend Heather. I can't stress enough what a great friend she is. Thanks buddy!!

Weekender

A picture is worth a thousand words. Spent tonight with my thimble, needle, and thread to reinforce the corners. I LOVE it. How awesome is that grey and hot pink combo?? Ikea and Kona Solid fabrics. Just need to add the lining now!! That probably won't happen until the weekend. No hurry though, no trips planned in the immediate future! xoxo

PS this is going to need a few more hours with the needle and thimble, I didn't get any of the layers sewn all together apparently!!! ARGH.

I'm Pooped.

This weekend was so busy!! Yesterday Heather and I made an impromptu trip to Ikea following another trip to Vogue fabrics. I further dug myself into a hole by buying more fabric for dresses. Honestly, who am I kidding?? I don't have a good track record with making clothes. Mainly because I know myself and my inability to follow directions. Ask my mom to dig out my old report cards, there are comments on almost every single one that say "very bright (hehe), but has a difficult time following directions". But on the bright side, the exterior of my

Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag is pretty much done. There is some hand sewing around the corners that needs to be done, but besides that it looks FABULOUS!! Well you can decide for yourself:

I guess these pictures aren't very good, but I hope you get the idea. Once it is all done I will be sure to add to the tips and tricks of lots of fellow crafters out there. I just hope it stays together........

Spent time with my cousin last night then made some cookies today as well. OH and I had to assemble my new Ikea bookshelf. I am hoping it will help to rein in my mess. HA only a miracle could do that. Or maybe my mom. Mom, can you please visit and help me clean/organize!? Oh messed up putting the bookcase together too, see those darn directions again!!! Happy week everyone!!