weekend busy happies . . .

I'm going to tell you a true story . . .

I read a quote that caught my attention: "The secret to having everything, is believing you already do." 

Immediately I thought of my current fabric stash and felt a little convicted. Then this verse of scripture popped into my head:  "Lord I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

Then I ordered this . . .

To go with this . . .

Which it does, and very nicely, I might add.  The end.  No names were changed to protect the not-so-innocent.  

Where do I go from that? It's been a very busy weekend! Of course, mine starts when the workday ends on Thursday, so maybe that's part of it! Thursday evening we celebrated Evey Jade . . .

She's just the kindest, sweetest, most energetic little girl! I still can hardly believe she's already six!

Friday morning, Todd and I headed back to the lake. It really was another beautiful day.

The lake was so smooth!  Todd was determined that we would take the boat through the lock at Guntersville Dam and fish down the other side of the river.  We've never locked through the dam before, and I admit, I was both excited and anxious!  But the lock operator was very kind and when I told him it was our first time, he walked us through the whole thing.

Top left: first started at top-the gate has just finished closing; top right:  the water is draining out of the lock; bottom left: the bottom gates opening up to the river; bottom right: looking back as we exited the lock at the bottom.

It really was fascinating!  We locked down, so we started at fifty-four feet of water and came down to sixteen feet of water.  That's a BIG difference!  It's eerie, too.  Especially listening to the water, which is going or coming from somewhere! 

Last week I told you that this week I'd have one of my own, didn't I??

I DO!!  It was so fun to make!  I bought a $4 doily from Hobby Lobby, and I didn't feel the least bit bad about widening the hole in the center! By the way, On Sutton Place has some cute, vintage pumpkin printables today if you're into that kinda thing.  Like me.  ;)

My fancy pumpkin friend was crying for a companion, so I set her up with Sadie the Spider.  While I was at it, I put out some of last years acorns.  

They're still so cute!  If you're interested, you can check out my tutorial here.  I also got to hang my new wool pumpkin piece for the first time . . . 

I finished it in February.  LOL!  

Just a few little decorations to make me smile and maybe, just maybe, usher in some cooler, fall-like temperatures!!  

I do have a new little stitchery I'm working on.  I printed it off using my "tape a 12-1/2" fabric square to cardstock" method.  I'm still amazed at how nicely it works!  I did learn from the last time, to do a little picture correcting/editing, to make the design a little fainter when it printed.  It printed out very nicely . . .

So this is what I'll be stitching on this slow Sunday afternoon!  

Looking forward to brewing a cup of tea, putting my feet up, and stitching the afternoon away!

Linking up to Kathy's Quilts and the slow Sunday stitching post.  Y'all enjoy a happy day!

:)

a good deal . . .

. . . of fun.  A good deal of weekend fun!

It was a lovely, busy weekend with lots of stitchy-crafy things going on.  On Thursday I was inspired at work to turn our 3D Popcorn Box die cut into these darling little favor boxes . . .

I used Christmas images (I printed seamless background images onto the cardstock), but these could be done for *any* holiday or themed event. They were fast and easy to put together, too -- a happy bonus.  I love it when I find a fun something!

I found just the thing I needed in my floss stash to finish up a secret project I've taken over (by request). I worked on this project steadily on Friday and finished it up on Saturday.

I should be able to share it after Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed!  Don't you love it when you have exactly what you need? 

On Saturday we had our semi-regular 'stitch-in' for our Stitcher's Etc. group.  We had a huge gathering of ladies show up!

Lots of giggling and lots of fun.  Of course, you can probably guess that this is my work station:

No machine, set for handwork, some show and tell, with a tea cup on a mug rug!  LOL! I am who I am.  :)

One of the gals gave me a hands on tutorial/demo on making bowl cozies.  Of course I had to go home and make one for myself!

I'm so pleased with how my first one turned out!  It's not difficult, but it does take precision and patience (one of the reasons I'm SO pleased with my finish!).  I can see several of these in my gift-making future!  They'd be cute paired with one of the fabric trivets I've been making! 

I am in the last stage of finishing the stitching on my pumpkin.

Only the outline to finish!  I meant to bring it along to work to play with at lunch.  C'est la vie. This is going to be a very busy week ... I've got something after work every day this week.  Whew!  I don't know how much evening slow stitching I'll be able to get in ... have to take it when I can get it!

The huge SQUIRREL! in my life right now are these wool acorns . . . 

I had additional caps, so I had to make acorns.  I had extra wool circles cut so I had to get more caps and make more acorns.  There were caps leftover so I had to cut more wool circles and make acorns.  And so on and so on.  I'll be overflowing with them, soon!  They're such a happy distraction!

Linking up (just under the wire) with Kathy's Quilts.  Have a lovely week!

:)

acorn tutorial time . . .

These little fellows were just so much fun to make ... and to me they were especially endearing, knowing that their little caps came from our own trees!  They whip up really quickly and easily, so if my instructions are tough to follow, it's me, not them!

First, round up some caps!  We have a number of different types of acorn-bearing oaks in the camp, so I was able to find some different looking styles and sizes!  

We've been really wet over the past several weeks, so after I picked up all the caps I wanted, I put them on a tray in the oven at about 200 degrees for several hours.  They were nice and dry after that!   Then I was able to sit down and get busy! I used a variety of wool colors--because variety is the spice of life--but feel free to stick to more traditional colors/patterns if you desire.

Cut your wool in a circle (about 1.75" diameter). I didn't even trace it; I just held the circle to the wool and cut around it.

Using a sturdy thread or floss, knotted at the end (but with an inch or so of floss to work with on the tail end), stitch a running stitch around the edge of the circle (about 1/8"). 

End your stitching on the same side you began it.  This makes it easier to pull the circle closed.

Pull the ends of your thread together, slightly pulling the opening together (this will help you find the center/base of the acorn). Put a healthy dollop of hot glue (about pea-sized) into the opening, directly on the wool base. This will help you to shape the acorn and will also give the base some weight.

Take a pinch of polyester fiber fill and stuff it into the opening onto the hot glue.  Use your discretion.  If your cap is a bit bigger, your acorn can probably handle a tad more fiber fill.  But remember, you're putting it in over hot glue -- so it's better to start on the 'less' side of fiber fill and add more if you want to.

Pull the ends tight to close the opening and tie it off. You can snip off your ends, or do what I did and stuff them down into the acorn using the tools in the next step.

Using a stiletto or the pointy end of junkie scissors, stuff the excess thread and any fiber fill into the cinched opening. At this same time, work the hot glue in the wool into an acorn shape with your fingers.  This step is not pictured because I couldn't actually do what I was talking about and take a photo at the same time.  LOL!

Place a generous dollop of hot glue at the top of the acorn, over the opening , and cover with the acorn cap.

Set it straight on or make it jaunty!  Personality counts!

Finally, make a GAZILLION more!  Because they're so stinkin' addictive!!!

Happy Fall, y'all!

:)

the ins and outs . . .

This past week was . . . weird. In no small part due to a Thursday routine procedure I had scheduled, which required several days of prep beforehand.  If you know, you know.  If you don't, I'll spare you the details (but only until you're post-50!). Still, I feel like I got a lot of *other* stuff done . . .

For example, when your six-year-old grandson facetimes you to specially request that you make him a new scarf in his new favorite color, you pretty much jump on it . . . 

Yes, black is Sawyer's new favorite color!  He's so cute!  I decided to give the loom a try, mostly because my co-worker has been using one and the results are so even and pretty.

I think it turned out nicely. He'll be able to wrap up twice in it -- it's longer than my 66" frame! Not a bad two-day project, right? And speaking of Sawyer, they just got his school pics back:

He gets more handsome every day! Gosh I miss him and his family!

So, I finished up the black scarf, but then there's Ellie, whose favorite color is "red with sparkles". Can't ignore that, can I?

Of course not! This yarn is a lot lighter (which probably would have been more appropriate for the scarf going to Southern California), but it does have sparkle!

I've been (and will continue today) to do some hand work on a super-secret project that I need to wrap up and get in the mail this week . . .

Terrible shot, right? Good. Ha! I should be able to show a finish next week to make up for it.  :)

I've been doing some other crafty stuff, too . . .

These little guys are "treats" for my preschool Sunday school class.  Today we will make up these sweet little blessings wreaths as our craft, 

So I've got everything cut out and ready for those, too.

My stash is ... unchanged. The unchanged melody. 

Maybe next week?  I'll do some regular sewing this afternoon, too.  Evey's going to be Ursula to Ellie's Ariel. She needs eels.

I'll be making eels.  LOL!  The things we do for our grandchildren, right?!?

And I would be remiss if I didn't share the beautiful shelf my friend made for me, just for this tea-filled space . . .

It's perfect -- my tea tins were starting to be a little cluttered!

I'll be linking up to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts. Y'all enjoy a lovely Sunday . . . and a fabulous week!

:)

a plethora of things . . .

Happy weekend!!  I finally took my birthday hours on Thursday and we are closed on Fridays, so I'm enjoying a lovely four day weekend. I'll go back to work for two days before we shut down for Thanksgiving and a lovely five day weekend (for which I'm truly grateful)! I've had some good stitching time (as you might imagine)!  First off, I finished off the three snow buddies hanger . . .

It turned out so cutely!  I'm really pleased with it.  And even more pleased that out of the seven projects I had, I'm finished with four!  So next up I'll be working on this guy . . . 

My instructions?  This picture . . .

It's pretty self-explanatory, so  I shouldn't get too hung up!  It'll keep me busy on my slow stitching Sunday.  :)

I've been playing in fabric, too!  REALLY!  One crafty fabic project and one quilty fabric project . . . both gifts, so I can't show any of the quilt and all I can show of the craft project is this tidbit . . .

It looks fun, right?? Between the two of them and the 1/8th of a yard I used for my NOEL project:

[Which isn't finished (I needed "an ingredient" to finish it up that I can't pick up until Monday), but at least I know where it's going!] I've made a tidy little dent in my fabric stash this week!

Yay!!  I'd like to finish one more project before mid-month, so hopefully there will be an even bigger 'little dent'!

Last weekend Joc and her crew took their annual family trek to the Botanical Garden's Galaxy of Lights walking tour. As always, they finished up with a visit to see Santa Claus. These photos, through the years, have been a wonderful laugh and this year was no exception (and Ellie has proven consistent through all her four visits):

Ellie, 2012

Ellie (with Sawyer), 2013

Ellie (with Evey--and held by Jocelyn), 2014

Evey and Ellie, 2015

Are they not just priceless??  The Santa (who's the same all four years) simply makes the 2015 photo. Oh gracious, I just love them!

In preparation for our church's annual Thanksgiving fellowship tomorrow, I made an apple pie, crust and all . . .

It smells so good, it's all I can do to stay out of it tonight! It's a dry run through for Thanksgiving -- I'll do this all over again (and then some) on Wednesday!

I'll be linking up to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts.  But before I go, I wanted to share one more thing.  I'll be starting this marvelous Bible study on Monday called Quieting Your Heart for the Holidays.  It's being hosted by Darlene Schacht of Time Warp Wife, and it promises to be wonderful.

I know I can't be the only one who struggles with keeping balance between the craziness that can come at this time of the year, wanting things to be just so, with remembering and celebrating what truly is the reason for celebration to begin with. It's a free study (with the exception of the prayer journal, which I purchased, and isn't required for the study) on her site and she provides lots of pretty freebies to make it fun.

And on that note, I'm outta here . . . I've got stitching to do before it gets crazy up in here!!

:)