Well, it seems our local weather people got the forecast a bit wrong.  You know that big snowstorm headed into the midwest (Kansas, MO) - well we were only supposed to get a light dusting here in the metro area of Iowa - maybe 2 tenths of an inch.  Then on the morning news at 5:00 AM I hear now we could get an inch.  Next thing you know Keith and I are up and getting ready for our day and the snow starts falling - I mean really coming down.  Before you know it Keith and I are out standing in the snow waiting for his bus in snow up to our ankles.  I've heard so far we've had 5 inches.  Then I see on the noon news that we are having a little "break" and we are to expect another 3 to 4 inches.  Well it has started in snowing here again and I'm praying my guys get home safely.  Snowblower is still broke so I spent a good part of my morning out shoveling and can see I will have to do same tonight.  Thank goodness Bill bought me own set of Carhartt bibs a few years back.  They certainly do keep me warm while clearing snow.

My cold has improved a bit since last I wrote.  I no longer feel like I have concrete in my sinuses which is a good thing.  Now if I could get rid of this non-stop coughing.  I have muscles I didn't know I had sore from coughing so much.

On a good note yesterday I received this little heart shaped pottery bowl I ordered from Etsy.  It is only 3 1/2 inches total in diameter.  Is the cutest little thing and is perfect for putting rings in when working in the kitchen.  Would also make an adorable "snippets bowl" for those thread tails.

As hoped, I managed to put a few stitches in something last night.  I started this new little freebie pattern that I got on Pinterest.  I love that when turned sideways the tree spells Boo.  Just didn't trust myself not to make a mistake on one of my large more labor intensive pieces.  I'm looking forward to working on this piece again tonight as it is turning into a very quick stitch.

Cooties - A Good Word For It!

I wish I had some great photos to show of all I have accomplished over the weekend but trust me wadded up kleenex is not that exciting.  I have decided, however, to put in photos of making my homemade egg noodles.  Teresa (At Willow Tree Pond) asked how I made them and I'm afraid I've been a bit slow in putting up the recipe.

The word chosen by a new visitor to my blog (quiltin cntrygrl) best describes what I have COOTIES!  I'm afraid my little irritating sinus drainage cough turned into a full blown my head is ready to explode cold overnight Saturday to Sunday.  I can't remember the last time my head was so "stuffy" that it feels more like concrete in my sinuses.  I've spent the last 3 nights sitting on my couch instead of sleeping trying to keep my passages a little clear and the cough at bay.  It is like all the times I've nursed my son and husband through the viral stuff this flu season and not gotten sick was so I could save it all up for one miserable cold.  I'm hoping the guys don't get it again from me which will be a miracle as I do the cooking, cleaning, etc.  To that end I spent my day yesterday laundering all the sheets, pillowcases, blankets, etc.  Once I got both guys out of the house for the day I've turned the heat way down and opened windows in every room of the house and sprayed the Lysol.  If the cold doesn't kill the germs, maybe they will blow out of the house.  Whatever it takes to keep from passing it on to the guys as they have suffered enough already this flu season.

Homemade Egg Noodles

You will need eggs, flour, salt.  Mixing bowl, fork, rolling pin, waxed paper, newspaper.

The first thing I do is getting my rolling surface ready to go.  I spread newspaper out on my island and then top with waxed paper.

I crack 2 eggs and put in my bowl.   Add 1/4 tsp. of salt and then beat the eggs with a fork.  DON'T SKIP THE PINCH OF SALT!  I then add enough flour to make the dough a good consistency for rolling (I would say 2 cups).   Once the dough is mixed flour your waxed paper surface and then put your dough on surface and knead until elastic and ready for rolling - you don't want a sticky dough so add flour until a good consistency for rolling during this kneading process.  Very important to keep flouring your surface so your dough doesn't stick as you would for pastry dough.  Roll out your dough to the desired thickness you want 1/8" to 1/4".  Let your dough dry slightly at this point.  Once your dough has dried you can choose one of two methods for cutting your noodles.  Method one is to roll up dough into a long tube (like when you roll up dough for cinnamon rolls) and starting cutting 1/4 inch strips.  This method will give you long noodles.  The other method is to cut into rectangular strips about 1/2 inch wide by whatever length and stack them on top of one another.  You will again cut 1/4 inch strips but will have a much shorter noodle.  I again let dry until ready to cook.  To cook I drop by the handful into boiling broth of your choice and then turn heat down to simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Adding cooked diced chicken, turkey, beef just makes it better.

At least my Cooties had the decency to wait until date night was over to attack me.  Enjoyed a lovely evening out with Bill.  We had a nice dinner at Johnny's Italian Steakhouse.  We had time for a quick trip through the book store and to buy Starbucks drinks before heading into the movie Silver Linings Playbook.  I really wasn't sure what to expect of the movie as I've had not heard much about it but found it to be a very good movie.  Bill and I find we tend to enjoy the movies more if we've not heard much about them.  On the times we've heard how awesome they are we end up being disappointed as they never live up to the "hype" we've heard.  We were both very surprised at how packed it was at the theater.  Honestly the movie has been out for quite some time and thought there would only be a handful of people there.  By the time the movie started people were taking seats in the front row as that was all that was left.  Unfortunately for me, I again got to sit next to the couple who talked through the entire movie.  Grrrrr!

I have decided that I'm not leaving the house today in hopes of just resting.  I do think, however, I will listen to the audiobook for the book I must lead the discussion on in less than 2 weeks and pick up needle to put thread to fabric.  Hopefully I will have some progress to show very soon!

Have a great day!

How Exciting!

I'm just going to say right off that as hard as I fought I've finally succumbed to one of the viruses brought into the house this Season by the guys. It was bound to happen and I have Keith to thank for this. I don't have a stuffy head but my sinuses re sure draining down my throat and coughing is the activity of the day. Can't say which I would rather have the cough or stuffy head as they re both awful. Right now it feels like cough is the worse evil as I've been up since midnight doing just that.

We lucked out with less snow than forecasted Thursday to Friday. Still 6" is a lot of shoveling on a 3 car driveway when your snowblower won't run. It was an early 5:30 AM start to this big job as I need to at least clear a path to the road for Keith to get on his bus and I have only until 6:15 before I have to wake him and get him ready to go. Managed to get 3/4 of it done encore I had to take a break. Finished it up after Keith was on his way. Gotta say it sure wakes you up in a hurry that early in the morning. Kind of felt like I had done a days work by 8:30 AM.

A little later in the morning I slipped out to my LNS to pick up a couple of threads I need for The Primitive Hare's Red Riding Hood I started the other day. It is coming along quite nicely. I've stitched the top rows across the top. I know it doesn't look like much yet but those rows are 155 stitches each so a good amount of stitching has been done. I'm looking forward to getting to Red Riding Hood's cape. I purchased a piece of Isabella's Old Massachusetts linen (40 count) to stitch it on. It is a dream to stitch on so if you have considered buying a fat quarter of it I would. I did decide to use the Gentle Arts colors for the red and brown rather than the DMC. I though the movement in colors would be more realistic.

Keith and I have already been out on this sunny Saturday to my hair appointment and then the coffee shop. After emptying the dishwasher and setting a load of laundry to wash decided to see if there was an app to be able to update my blog on my iPad. Was thrilled to see Google does have a free app to use so I downloaded and decided to give it a try. I have a feeling I will still want to use my computer for picture heavy posts but think this will be a great option for short updates.

Tonight is date night and our plans are to see Silver Linings Playbook. I'm surprised it is still playing in the theater as it has been out for quite awhile. Looking forward to seeing it.

Well, of to get the "must be dones" accomplished to I can enjoy my night out.

I Wished For It!

Everybody keeps telling me to be careful for what I wish for -- well I wished for snow and we are expecting to get it tomorrow but good.  The picture on the left is out my back window today and I expect the picture on the right will be my view tomorrow after 8+ inches of snow.  In all honesty the amount doesn't seem quite so bad when you consider SW of us will be getting 16 to 20 inches!  I think the worst part of this storm will be the blinding snow when it comes down 1-2 inches in an hour.  It will make for terrible driving conditions.   We have made the decision to keep Keith home tomorrow.    I'm sure he won't mind a day home with mom.

I dropped Belinda's birthday gift off yesterday and am so disappointed that I did not remember to snap a photo of the scissor fob I made for her.  I did not get a photo of the fabric bowl I made either.  I will say the fob looks just like mine only I stitched the letter "B" in the center.  Her fabric bowl looks like the small one on the right in the picture.  I used 2 fat quarters and made 3 bowls.  They are reversible so she can display it with whichever fabric she wants on the outside.  The fob on the right is one I made for someone else to give as a gift.  You will notice on this one I thought to put a heart charm between the clasp and the chain.  I really like the look of this and think I will add one to mine.

I had a nice laugh when my son came home after I made the fabric bowls.  I had the larger one sitting on the dining room table and he immediately looked at it and thought "hat".  It did fit perfectly on him for a hat.  My son really does "think out of the box" just like his mother.  How many times I've seen an item and thought I would use it for other than its' intended use.  

Last night I finished this little freebie by Isabella at The Primitive Hare.  I was a very quick stitch once I sat down for some serious stitching.  I've decided to start Isabella's latest design called Red Riding Hood.  I have my fabric and threads all set to go.  I know I should be working on Birds of a Feather by With Thy Needle but the colored pattern is seriously driving me crazy and I can only take working on it in short bursts.  

I'm afraid last night before going to bed I noticed myself with a bit of a sore throat.  It is still with me today but am praying it doesn't get any worse than a wee sore throat.  I don't know what it is about feeling like I'm coming down with something but I get a sudden burst of "have to get everything done and right now" when I probably should be resting.  I've planned meals for the next several days and shopped for them, gone out purchasing things on the list "of when you get a chance could you get" and I've gotten every piece of laundry in the house caught up.  I've also started tidying things up around the house and putting things in their proper places.  I even topped off the gas tank in the Jeep as I like a full tank at the start of any storm or illness.  Believe me I've had a few emergency trips to the hospitals in the middle of the night over the years and there is nothing worse than having a tank with less than a 1/4 of gas in it.

I'm a bit proud of myself this week as I managed some success on another of my 2013 goals.  I've managed to grow my nails out long enough that I splurged and bought nail polish to polish them.  You guessed it when nervous/stressed I tend to be a nail biter.

It All Started With One Gift!

My newest project to try started with this one little gift I received from my friend, Allison for Christmas.   While on a business trip she happened upon a shop where someone made bowls out of vintage hankies.  Well, me being me I figured there had to be a way to recreate this for myself.  I will tell you I was not brave enough to use one of my vintage hankies just yet.

First attempt on left - second on right

Instead I found some unclear instructions for making a round bowl so pulled out some fabric to give it a go.  My first hurdle - figuring out how to adhere the double sided fusible to the "left" side.  I will admit to being a bit slow when I started this project and then the light bulb went off that "left" side was the same as "wrong" side. It seemed like it could only go up from there.  I managed to make all my markings, cut outs and started my zigzag sewing.  It really was going pretty well right up until I started zigzagging my cut outs together.  It was a little tricky there but by the last seam up the side of the bowl (there were 8) I had figured out how to manhandle maneuver the fabric to get a nicer seam.  Whew!

As always, my first attempt is my test project and I make adjustments based on my disasters difficulties. I did go ahead and make a second bowl and am so much happier with the results.  I cut the size down a bit and my cut outs came together so much nicer.  The cool thing is the bowl is reversible.

  

Onward to vintage hankies!

I'm Curious!

I've been pondering this question for awhile now and finally just have to put it out there.  How much time on the average day do you spend stitching?  I ask this question as it seems everyone has much more time available for stitching that I do.  Every time I take a minute to check into favorite blogs they have pictures of 3 or more finishes.  Really do you women just not sleep?!  I will admit that I enjoyed a couple of hours of glorious stitching on Friday but here it is Sunday afternoon and have yet to put needle to thread.  If all goes according to my plan, which it rarely does, I expect a relaxing Sunday evening of stitching for 3 hours - laughing in my head as I type that one.  Three hours really what am I thinking!  Mama also told me if I was going to dream - dream BIG!


Date night did not turn out as anticipated.  It has been awhile since one of our evenings went astray but thankfully not as astray as the movie "Date Night".  We did get to see Identity Thief and it was just as funny as we anticipated.  The only bad thing was the family sitting next to us who decided to bring 3 small children.  I'm talking 1 baby and 2 under 4.  The adults were interacting with the baby and small children talking as if they were sitting in their own living room.  Grrrrrr!

After that we decided we didn't have enough time to eat at the Food Court and then see a second movie so thought we would go somewhere to have a nice sit down supper.  BIG OLD WRONG!!  Every place we tried had people waiting out the door for a table.  Ended up at a small south side Mexican Restaurant with immediate seating.  It was an early evening as we were home by 8:30 PM.  Oh well it was just nice for me to  have a break from nursing the sick.  BTW Keith is doing much better.  Still has a bit of a cough and drippy nose but let me tell you his activity is certainly back to normal.

I spent this morning getting all the information together for our appointment this week with our accountant to do taxes.  Ugggh!  It is one of the tasks I detest but unfortunately must be done.  Now that I have removed that big old weight from my shoulders I can now move on to laundry - yippee!  I'm saying that sarcastically in case you are wondering.

The picture is from Fons and Porter.  It was a huge double sized wooden cubby where they store fat quarters.  I would settle for a one sided one of my very own.  One of these days I will be at the lumber yard picking up the wood to make one of these.  I wonder where Bill keeps the saws?

This morning I also gathered my supplies together to roll out a batch of egg noodles.  My local grocery store has started selling a Turkey Roast that is just perfect for making delicious homemade turkey and noodles.  I'm afraid I'm a bit of a noodle snob.  My mom always made her own homemade noodles and there is no worthy store bought substitute as far as I'm concerned.  See I told you I was a noodle snob.  Just like previous generations of women in my family I received my rolling pin from my mom when I got married and have been using it every since - 31 years to be exact.  I learned the "art" of making noodles from my mom while still in elementary school.  I think it is another one of those home skills like needlework being lost as the younger generations just are not interested/don't have time.  Some of my fondest memories with my mom were in the kitchen "helping" her cook/bake.  I don't know if the women today know what special memories they are missing a chance to create!

I also got to remove LHN - Sarah Street from my WishList as my friend, Harriet, stitched it already and has loaned me her copy.  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!

I Heard The Gasp!

Okay, let me just say I have been taking care of my son sick with a miserable cold since Wednesday and maybe you'll forgive what I did last night.  I decided to pick up some stitching last night after Keith finally settled down into bed.  It was probably a mistake (at least picking up this particular piece of stitching) but I needed a little "me" time so pick it up I did.  I was having trouble getting comfortable to stitch....pattern kept falling off the arm of the chair.  I kept losing my place where I was stitching on the pattern.  Can I just say .... I HATE COLORED PATTERNS!!!!!!!  If I would have known the pattern was in color, never would have bought it - NEVER!  EVER!  Frustration got the better of me and so I did the only thing I could do to save my sanity.....took my scissors to it.  I heard the GASP with the first snip...but cut the darned thing up anyway.  The pattern is now in small manageable pieces that will not keep falling off the arm of my chair.  In fact my magnetic needle minder (thank you Teresa) will hold it in place so it GOES NOWHERE!  I heaved a great sigh of relief once the cutting was done and managed to enjoy stitching an entire flower fairly quickly.

I also started stitching this little freebie by Primitive Hare (Valentine).  It will be a fast little stitch and am thinking to just make it up into a little pillow to display in my wooden dough bowl.  I've also finished a couple more of the monogramed scissor fobs and a couple of crocheted items but as these were made for others to give as gifts I can't share pictures until gifted - sigh!

I am currently listening to the audiobook Blackout by Connie Willis. For those who are thinking didn't you already read this - the answer is yes.  Unfortunately, I recommended to my book club and it was chosen for March's read which means I have to lead the discussion.  Thought it would be faster to listen to the audiobook.  I'm finding it so very enjoyable to listen to.  Takes place in England during the Blitz and it is nice to know the correction pronunciation of the names and places.  Sometimes have to laugh at how I thought it was pronounced and then to hear the correct pronunciation.  I'm disappointed that I've been unable to find a Reading Group Guide for this book but will do my best without it.

Tonight is date night and as Keith is doing much better we get to go out.  After several days of nursing the sick I'm ready for a supper I didn't cook as well as sitting through an entire movie without interruption.  Since last week was cancelled will be seeing Identity Thief this weekend and if the times work out a second movie.  Will have to get back to you on that one.

Bits and Pieces!

Well, we had an enjoyable date night at home on Saturday night even though I did the cooking.  We watched Argo and enjoyed the movie.  In comparison of movie styles is a lot like Zero Dark Thirty.  You know how they are going to end and feels a bit like a documentary but more action.  For those of you making Oscar predictions of the two movies I thought Argo better.  My reasoning - even though you know how both movies end I found myself on the edge of my seat at the end of Argo still waiting to see if they got out or not.  I wish I had been able to see Lincoln before Oscar night but am resigned that I will be seeing that one on DVD after the Oscars.

On Friday night we also rented a movie on iTunes.  This one was Cold Light of Day.  I was not expecting much but we wanted something to watch for the evening.  It ended up being surprisingly good.

On Sunday night I stitched up this little heart monogram (By The Bay Needlearts) and on Monday and Tuesday put it into the heart pendant to make into a scissor fob for myself.  I think it took longer for the glue to dry than it actually took to stitch it.  I posted a picture on my Facebook wall so now I will be making one for my brother-in-law (I'm assume as a gift for his wife considering the monagram he wants).  Nice when one of the guys in the family likes something I create.  

On Tuesday I went to my friend, Marty's house where she generously gifted me with a kit to make a quilt roll n go like you see in the picture.  This photo is hers all rolled out and lucky me I got to enjoy another look at what I believe is called "Moonlight Sonata".  It is just gorgeous!  I also got to see her completed Victorian Purse (Victoria's Sampler) and it too is just absolutely amazing!  I didn't have but a couple of minutes so am hoping for another invite back to see her charming house and many needlework items displayed when I have the time to appropriately drool over them!

Today I finally got to have my Christmas exchange with my bestie, Rene'.  We enjoyed a wonderful lunch filled with conversation and so much laughter.  We lost track of time and she was going to be a few minutes late back to work.  Oops!  Rene' knows I collect vintage Sarah Coventry jewelry and she gifted me with this beautiful pink (pic does not do justice to color) apple pin and earrings.  It makes a wonderful addition to my collection. 

Enjoying another wonderfully warm day here today.  Snow has almost completely melted away.  Mmmm wonder if we will get one of those big March blizzards this year?!

Suggestion Implemented!

Thanks to Mary's comment on yesterday's post I've figured out how to add photos to my WIP button in the header.  It really was simple to do as you follow the same process as putting photos in a blog post.  I guess yesterday I didn't realize you could do this as it just listed text when I made the page.

Still no luck on reducing the size of the header on my blog.  I tried searching under the blogger help section but no luck there.  Maybe it is time to expand my search out of blogger.  Oh, I do love a challenge!

UPDATE!  I expanded my search and learned a bit more about writing my own html code to change the size of my header.  It worked!  Yea me!

Next challenge?

Change of Plans!

Here I am just a mere 24 hours from my last post and my plans have changed.  Respite provider has the flu so date night out is cancelled.  I will tell you I do appreciate my provider not bringing the flu into our home.  Good news is I have a plan for family movie night at home.  I rented Argo on iTunes so will  get to enjoy a pajama party movie night at home.  Bad news - I have to cook supper instead of going out - sigh!

I had planned on starting a project this afternoon which will use this little heart.  No surprise while downloading rental movie I got distracted so this will be an evening project instead.  Can't wait to share the finished project when it is done - providing it turns out.

What distracted me you ask?  Thanks to Harriet's suggestion I tackled the issue of adding a "wish list" to my blog for my family and friends who want to purchase items as gifts during my year of not adding to my stash.  You will notice I have a couple of "click" on tabs in the header now.  I was so proud of myself for figuring this out.  Now if I could figure out if there is a way to make my header a bit smaller at the top - always a new challenge.  At least it keeps my brain active!

I will admit that I did purchase one design yesterday.  I could not resist purchasing the PDF of Red Riding Hood from Primitive Hare.  I honestly don't feel bad about that as it is a PDF and I don't have to find storage for it.  It can remain on my USB until ready to print and stitch.

Friday - Finally!

It has been a fun filled week busy with activities.  I've been to a few new places this week and tried my hand at a new hobby as well.  I'm afraid book club will have to do without me today.  Tomorrow night is date night and I've a few things to get done before then. 

On Tuesday I had a wonderful day with Mary and Belinda on a "Girls Day Out".  We went to Winterset to the Ben Franklin (yes there are still a few of those around) and to Fons & Porter.  The Ben Franklin is like taking a little trip back in time.  Filled with treasures you can't find in most stores these days not to mention their amazing array of fabric and sewing supplies.  You might recognize Fons & Porter from their popular PBS show or the quilting magazine they publish.  We stopped in at the local Mercantile shop which was filled with beautiful things.  Lunch was at a quaint little cafe called The Cellar where I had an absolutely delicious lunch of portobello mushroom soup and grilled cheese.  A quick stop along the highway to take some photos of this old barn and then it was back to West Des Moines for walk through a new shop called Hinge - great find Mary.  It was a really fun shop.  Ended with a stop at the Scratch Cupcakery for a yummy dessert.  It was a delightful day and yes there were fabrics purchased!

On Wednesday I had signed up to take a painting class where at the end of the 2 hours you come out with a completed project.  I was a bit skeptical but seeing class photos from other sessions convinced me this must be true.  Belinda was free that night so she signed up as well.  I have to say I had an absolute blast and have already signed up for my next class (so has Belinda).  When you go in you grab an apron and put it on, then proceed to put your paint on the little square cardboards they give you along with your brushes.  They have easels with canvas set up and you go stake out your spot and get set to paint.  You can see how different our completed paintings are (mine is on the right in the photo).  It was amazing to see how many different interpretations there were of this one project.  

It definitely was a learning experience this first class and will have a better idea what to do next time to make my painting turn out better.  The class moves along pretty quickly and each layer of paint has to dry before adding the next layer.  In other words paint faster to allow more drying time.  I also ended up with bigger hearts as I couldn't get my smaller hearts to look right in my opinion.  I decided to take a larger brush and paint over the smaller hearts.  I kind of like the larger hearts.  Another case of turning lemons into lemonade.  Besides you all know I like to be unique.  I'm not a big fan of copycat.  I realized by the time I was done that I probably had too much paint on my brush but by then it was too late to cover my canvas in red and start all over - sigh.  Did I mention the "social" part - you can buy beer, wine, water to drink while painting and while the paint is drying you have time to get up and visit with others?!

 I received a phone call from the framer yesterday with my latest piece ready for pick up.  This is Christmas Tree by Primitive Hare.  The frame is just perfect for the piece and gives it the look I was going for.  

Date night is tomorrow night and am looking forward to seeing the new comedy Identity Theft.  I guess I better get busy and get my work done so I can enjoy my night out with hubby.

By the way - Keith claimed my painting and it is now in his room.  Maybe I'll get the next one!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Okay the excitement of finishing my bag has calmed down sufficiently to share a few other things.  You'll have to forgive the fast post of yesterday as I was so excited that not only did I make a bag but I successfully added my crochet appliqué and handles as well.  It was major for me!  Today I took ten minutes and made a zipper pull with a heart charm to add to the zipper on the bag.  It is officially complete now.  I really like the quality of the bag using the wool but have to say the iron on stuff I used  to give it some body did not adhere.  I might just make the bag out of fabric next time in which case I would put my crochet heart on a piece of felt and then attach to the fabric.  I think I would need to do this for the heart to show up nicely.  As Harriet asked, what is going to be my new Super Bowl project.  I do have something in mind.  I managed an hour of stitching last night and feel I made great progress on Birds of a Feather by With Thy Needle.  I have decided this will be my Super Bowl project.  I think it is looking pretty good!

I do have a couple of small projects I want to stitch - I'm talking hours not days to complete.  These are to be gifts and I want to get them done and get the surprises on their way.

In my hurry yesterday I did not get a chance to share that the deer came for supper on Friday night.  I have a couple of pictures but will admit the quality is not there this time.  It is tough to get a clear picture when your subject is on the move.  I counted 7 in all - does this classify as a herd?  I'll have to do some research.  Even after all these years when the deer come calling everyone in this house stops what they are doing to watch the deer until they leave whether it is 2 minutes or 30 minutes.  As the saying goes, we "stop and smell the roses" for a bit.

We had a family  movie night last night - Pitch Perfect.  Enjoyed the a cappella singing in it.  Amazing what they do these days singing a cappella.  Wow!  Do you know how many acceptable ways there are of spelling a cappella?  Many!  This is the Merriam Webster Dictionary spelling and the one my spell check accepts.

This week's calendar is chock full of fun activities for me.  Tuesday is a road trip with Mary and Belinda for some shopping, chatting, laughing and lunch.  Looking forward to this.  Wednesday night is my painting class where I come out with a completed project in 2 hours - Belinda signed up as well so am looking forward to a fun filled evening.  Friday is book club and we always have two tons of  fun at our discussions.  Can't wait!

For those of you who will be watching the Super Bowl enjoy those new commercials and for those of you like me who don't partake I hope you get some stitching or sewing done!

My Latest Creation!

I just couldn't wait to share my latest creation - a project bag.  It was inspired by a crocheted heart I saw on Donna 's (bythebayneedleart) blog.  She has provided an excellent tutorial on how to make them.  Her hearts have flowers on them but I don't have this skill.  I chose instead to cut out some felt leaves and put one of my red vintage buttons in the center as my flower.  As soon as I saw the heart, I envisioned a project bag made out of red, lined with fabric, zippered at the top with handles.  I purchased red wool and lined it with a fabric by French General.  I made the entire bag in a couple of hours and couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.  

You just never know what will give you that spark of inspiration!

A New Project at Hand!

Today we are experiencing cold temperatures that we have not experienced here in a couple of years.  When I got up at 4:45 AM this morning, it was -20 with wind chills.  The kind of temps they warn you not to stay out and expose your skin to for more than 10 minutes.  I thought it best to dress in a couple of layers (t-shirt, sweatshirt) and wear my warm coat today while out running errands.  BIG OLD FAT WRONG ON THAT ONE!  In less than an hour I was having to crack my window to keep from melting.  The one thing I find so interesting on these extreme cold temperature days is how clear the air.  The moon was out this morning while waiting to put Keith on his bus and I just couldn't resist snapping a photo as it was so bright and clear in the sky.  You can see so much detail and the color of blue in the sky is my favorite shade of blue. 

I've made a bit of progress on Birds of a Feather (Mystery Sampler) by With Thy Needle.  Kind of wish I had changed the color of the flower as I find it a bit dull.  Oh well, not going to take it out so it will remain as it is stitched.  I can't wait to show you what I'm going to create with the items in this picture.  All I will say right now is it all started with a pattern I saw for something crocheted!  As soon as I saw it, an idea popped into my head on what I wanted to make with it.  I think this is my project for while the Super Bowl is on.  Fan of football - NOT!

 
I caught a rerun of the movie The Women on t.v. the other night.  It stars Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett Smith.  I got to the end of the movie and realized there was NOT ONE MAN in the entire movie.  In fact, as I had recorded it on the DVR I watched it a second time as I thought surely in the background on the walking on the street scenes, in the restaurant scenes, garden party scene, store screen - somewhere there had to be a man.  NOPE!  I did not see one in the entire movie.  Interesting and on purpose you would think!