achy breaky head . . .

So.  This was the first morning in sixteen days (sixteen looooong days) that I've woken up without a nagging headache. Bliss! I was so relieved that I didn't even mind going in to work!  LOL! Happy September!!

It's been a long time since I've had a headache that persistent. No one (by that I mean no doctor), has every been able to figure out why I get them, and short of prescribing something that knocks me flat out, no one (see above note) has ever been able to treat them successfully. So yeah, I was really happy this morning!

They aren't migraines (I get those every once in a while), so while it's unpleasant, I can generally power through a day.  Which I did and got some stuff done . . . 

Yeah ... I made about a million sixty cream cheese mints for a "walk by" baby shower I co-hosted this past weekend.

Joc & the girls are coming by today to enjoy the leftovers!

Ann, of On Sutton Place fame, posted a recipe for an Apple Bundt Cake that sounded SO yummy, I had to give it whirl. I used my fun Nordic Ware mini bundt pan (that's actually a four-in-one). 

When you're just two, making a whole cake is problematic.  Because we either end up eating it all (which neither of us really needs) or it spoils.  And I *could* cut a regular sized cake up and send it along, but this way is so much prettier!

Don't you think?!  Joc will take one of these home, along with the mints!  The glaze for these was particularly good.  The end result was like a sophisticated and easier-to-eat version of a caramel apple.  You won't regret giving it a try!

I've done a little work on my embroidery project . . .

It's not coming along too fast, but it was hard to work those stitches with an achy head.

Ellie, on the other hand, has made terrific progress with her latest stitchery project:

Her stitches are so good!  All she has left is the dark brown outline.  Unless she does a little freehand, which she told me she wanted to do; add a few ladybugs up near the branch.  That's my girl!

I pulled the "T" blocks out of their case to line them up on a design wall for placement.  When I opened the case, my eye caught those lantern blocks (which finish out to an odd 7.25").  They were just. sitting. there.  I had an epiphany to use them for a border to the "T" blocks.  That way I could put a solid border of whatever size needed in-between, that would solve the problem of mis-matched block sizes . . .

I'm thinking of "Tea in the Oriental Gardens" or "Oriental Tea Party" or some name along those lines. But I decided I really liked the funkiness of it! Any thoughts?

The girls had their first day of CC (Classical Conversations) last week . . . 

Aren't they darling?! Edie was SO excited to be going to school! 

Earlier in the 'growing season', we weren't sure if we'd accidentally planted a watermelon or a pumpkin in the middle of our squash and cucumbers.

Now we know for sure! Hip hip HURRAH!  My very own home-grown pumpkin!

And speaking of pumpkins, I got in on the Halloween Hoppin Blog Hop, hosted by Marian of Seams to be Sew.

The main criteria is as follows . . . she'd love to see a project with “Purple” in it, but seriously I’ll be happy also if it doesn’t …What’s Halloween tho without a bit of purple? You are free to make something new, or show a past project you’ve created. Tell us a story, or tell us why you love Halloween. What’s your favorite monster?

Purple?  I can do that. [insert wicked grin here] 

Seriously though, there's a lot of wiggle room (I mean, you can share a past project -- it can't get much easier than that), and she's taking signups through September 11!!

My week is nearly halfway finished. I do enjoy that aspect of working four tens!

:)

increasing my fiber . . .

Over the weekend I was very thready. I sorted through all the floss I've accumulated (some from the estate sale) . . . it was a huge hodge podge in multiple containers (or not):

A mess. And even after I'd sorted most of it out, I still had this unsightly tangle to deal with . . .

And I actually did tackle and tame it!

Now I just need to purchase more floss cards so I can wrap it (and it can stay relatively tidy).

I also picked up (when I ordered it online and it was sent to my po box and I had to go the post office to pick it up) some new Cosmo Seasons floss . . . some autumnal colors.

I do love these flosses!

In my last post I told you that Ellie requested a new stitchery and she specifically requested that it be a monkey, so I got that taken care of for her and delivered it Monday . . .

I couldn't find a suitable embroidery pattern, so I had to adapt a coloring page. She's very pleased with it and was happy to be told that it's made up of all back stitching. She told me, "I'm really good at back stitching, Neesey. It's my best stitch." You go, girl!

This is the time of year when I get the itch to work with golds and olives and plums and oranges.  I saw this darling pattern by floralsandfloss on etsy and decided I wanted to try my hand.

I love the look, but it's a little out of my wheelhouse ... very chunky and dimensional. I can't wait to see it finished!

I was going through one of the other estate sale cases ... the one with all the oriental prints?

I counted up the T blocks that were in it and found there were fifty-six (56!!!) of them. Fifty-six 6" blocks (finished).  

So I got on EQ to see what one could do with fifty-six T blocks . . .

EQ Mockup

With a seven block by eight block layout, add a couple of borders and you've got a nice looking little lap quilt finishing out at about 54" by 60".  I love it when a plan takes shape!

You may (or more likely may not) recall me mentioning some time ago that I have had a 'sugar' person.  Actually her name is Sharon and she had an etsy shop called Simply Baking Supplies which I absolutely loved.  She custom mixed a blend of sugar crystal colors for me which were perfect for autumn cookies and even into Christmas.  Plus, Ellie loved to sprinkle it on her popcorn!  I realized last week that I was running dangerously low on my blend and it was time for another refill (I'm a repeat customer).  That's when I realized Sharon had closed up her etsy shop.  Gasp! I shot her an email and we went back and forth for a bit.  She's very sweet and offered to mix my blend from her leftover stock for free, if I paid the postage. She also mentioned that she had some additional supplies if I was interested and I said, "Sure!" So I paid for postage for a medium flat rate box and look what arrived yesterday . . .

Is that amazing or what?!  Jocelyn, the girls and I are going to have a ton of fun playing with all the different sprinkles and jimmies and edible glitters and dusting powders!  It was so very generous of her ... I wanted to share my joy.  :)

I had another sweet win over the weekend. Diane Knott of Butterfly Threads had a giveaway on her blog. The winner got to pick one of her choice of Diane's pdf patterns, and I won! I picked the pattern Under the Mistletoe of which she shared the original at her trunk show when she spoke at our guild meeting last year.  

It's gorgeous and looks complicated but she's assured me that it's not! She's gearing up for a Celebration 2020 SAL on her blog right now and it looks like a lot of fun! You should check it out.

So that's what I've got.  We'll see what trouble I can get into this weekend.  ^wink^

Happy Hump Day!

:)