Wooly Wed./Sewing projects

It has been really HOT the last few days and we are still getting some tremendous storms in our area, so I've been staying inside mostly, trying to be productive to some degree. I sure hate to hear about all the tragedies around the country because of this kind of weather and hope everyone keeps these people in their prayers! So very sad what all some have to go through! Ok, ok, I promise not to get too 'chatty' today! :))

Ok, for all you 'wooly' lovers out there, I actually used real 100% WOOL on this little hand towel and even some overdyed wool. I wanted to make something for THIS season, what I call 'flower/garden' season. It comes after Easter, but before 4th of July, Americana/summer season. It's the season in between that I always have trouble decorating for. A little close-up of the wool 'pot'. I used a buttonhole stitch around the entire pot, but a primitive stitch around the rest of the design. I used a little piece of flannel for the yo-yo center.
Remember this 'purse'/tote bag I made recently and showed you all last time on here? Well, I found the cutest little button at WW(we call Wal-Mart ~ Wally World, for those who live in other countries) for .67 cents!!! I think it matches perfectly!! and yes, I've been using it as a purse for myself. I hated to part w/it after all. LOL

Here's a project bag that I made recently and gave as part of a b'day gift last wk. It uses 'American Jane' fabric, which I fell in love with. Must be the schoolteacher still in me. I am planning on making another one in the reverse colors, w/red as the main print.
Also lined it w/the red print. Putting in zippers is easy peasy now! ha
Another project bag w/more 'primitive' colors.... and lined w/the black star fabric. These bags are really fast to make from start to finish.
Here's a sneak peek of the fabric I'm using on yet another sewing project that I hope to have finished today or tomorrow. I've had this fabric for a couple of yrs. now and decided it was time to use it.
......and little ol' BJ looking pitiful cuz he wants mommy to stop and play w/him and not my sewing stuff. We have this little 'chase' game that we play together ~ I chase him around the couches in the living room and boy does he fly! LOL
Today's quote~""Good company through life's journey makes the adventure seem more exciting and the road easier to travel. I thank the Lord for my traveling companions."

Hope you're not getting too bored w/all these quotes I share w/ya. Have a wonderful Memorial Day wkend for those here in the states and remember all your loved ones who've gone on before. See ya back on here next time!

**Tanya**

May Happenings...

May is a killer month for us~ we have several family b'days this month and a friend or two, plus Mother's Day and we even had another death in the family too~ a cousin of mine who was only 42, died in her sleep this past wkend. I just saw her a couple of months ago at my aunt's funeral, she was her granddaughter. We hugged/talked and she took my cell phone # w/intentions to call me if anything happened w/in our family, since we don't take the newspaper anymore, but I lost my cell phone this wkend. and found out too late(about her) that they tried calling me to let me know, and I ended up completely missing the funeral yesterday, which I am still very sad about. As much as I hate going to funerals, I just needed some closure. I'm still in shock over it, don't really know the details yet. You just never know the last time you're going to see/talk w/someone do you??
This month our oldest son turned 20, my Dad turned 90, my MIL turned 73(yes, my parents are/were a LOT older than hubby's and yet he's older than I am), LOL. Plus my niece's b'day is this Thurs. and one of my best friend's is Fri. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it. LOL

Yesterday, I did finally manage to finish something I started last wk. in my new C.R.(craft room). I made a 'purse' by Lazy Girl Designs, using some fabric I've had for a few yrs. now. I didn't 'quilt' the fabric, like the pattern tells you to do, but I still thought it turned out rather nicely. I made it in stages, over several days, a little at a time. There were lots of steps, but the pattern was fairly easy to follow, w/lots of great pictures.
I used fusible fleece once again to give it more stability, and I've been thinking about adding a button to the flap. What do you all suggest??
It has several pockets on the inside...... Handles down.........
This is the back side....
Also, I managed to finish the new LK 'Peep' right before Easter, but something is missing......
Take a closer look............
Yep, it's the button!!! I can't find the button. With all the moving boxes in/out of the house to/from the barn, I can't seem to find it. LOL


Here's another cr. st. finish I just made not too long ago. It's from 'My Big Toe' designs and was a very quick stitch. I used Crescent Colors overdyed floss in Caterpillar, which gives it a nice varigated look, but the pic doesn't show too well.
Here it is w/out the flash on. Check out the 'cookie' buttons.....
Here's some fabric my step-daughter loved when we went to the quilt shop in her town awhile back. I bought a fat quarter of it, not knowing at the time what I'd use it on, but thot this cr. st. would be perfect w/it.
Here's a close-up of the smaller buttons. Even a 'Hershey kiss' in the middle. :)))

This is our oldest son, Nicholas, holding one of his gifts he got for his b'day. His hair was a bit 'flat' that day, usually it's very curly. Yes, for all those single gals interested~ he's still available, LOL> he's a great guy, good/crazy sense of humor, very generous, but a bit 'LAID BACK', sometimes a bit too laid back(for his mama), but a hard worker, nonetheless! He's been great help to me figuring out how to do this whole blog thing, so I am grateful! YOU know I love ya, sweetie! (P.S.~ he HATES to shave, thus the beard)LOL!!!


Most of you probably know that Blogger had major issues last wk. I had several comments that disappeared into blogland, along w/a few followers too, I think, but rest assured, I did read those sweet comments BEFORE they disappeared and just want to thank you for them! I sure do appreciate them too!

Here's your quote for today~ "When lack of time prevents us from doing things w/our friends, perhaps we'll be given the perfect opportunity to do something FOR them."

Have a great wk. everyone!

**Tanya**

What'cha Up to on Wed?

Have you ever had one of those days where you have so many things that you could be doing and possibly should be doing, but instead you find yourself doing just a little bit of this and that, but not really much of anything at all? Well, that has been my day so far.

For the last few wks. it has been a whirlwind of activity around here, getting my oldest son moved out and into the upstairs part of the craft barn,(which we have now given the nickname of his HIGH-rise apt.)LOL, the hauling of all the junk, oops, I mean STUFF that we've accumulated in 24 yrs. of marriage, not to mention ALL the boxes of craft items(Mr. Fix-It's and mine) and his tools, ETC.

My prim room has been taken over by boxes of fall decor, wrapping paper, beach items and boxes of craft things I decorate with, not to mention the bottom half of the barn looks like a tornado hit and just flung everything around all over the place. It will take awhile to find everything once again.

Our first thought was what to do w/oldest son's OLD bedroom??? Hmmmmm, should it become a guest room, my hubby's new hobby room OR an exercise room???? Decisions, decisions! LOL I had really wanted an exercise room, cuz boy do I need one! LOL But we ended up getting plenty of exercise once we started bringing in TONS of Mr. Fix-It's model kit boxes for a future train room he has been wanting for yrs. Only problem is~ old b'room is NOT quite big enough for him to build a big train set. But the idea was for him to have a place to go w/his stuff once he completed one of his kits, which usually he just kept putting on shelves, so that someday down the road, he'd have a room big enough to build the desired train set. So we kept hauling in the boxes. Later that day I sat down on the floor, looking all around the room and thought to myself that he is just not gonna have enough space to have a train set in there and I really really want him to have his train room. (hang in there, I'm leading to something), ha!
Sooooooooooo, w/out another thought, I told him that I would TRADE my craft room out in the barn for son's old b'room. Soooooooooo, after talking it out and drawing out how I could place all my stuff in a room that is about HALF the space I had out in the barn, we started hauling all of his boxes back out to the barn and started bringing in my STUFF, which as most of you know by now is a LOT of STUFF. Like he said, 'Who needs Zumba?" :)))

Some people think I'm crazy for giving up 'every woman's dream craft/sewing room', but I was tired of having to dodge the rain/snow and cold weather every time I had to potty once I was out there, so at least I am inside now and closer to the bathroom~ LOL
I admit it is a much tighter space than I'm used to, but I am gonna give it a try at least for awhile. Hopefully I won't get too claustrophobic and hope to get more productive, since it's right next to the prim room, a.k.a. ~ near the computer! We didn't spend a cent on anything except for one gallon of paint, so I was really pleased about that. Later on I promise to show pics of the new C.R.(Craft Room), as one of my very good friends refers to hers.

We also had our extended family come in for a visit this past wkend which we enjoyed very much, so I've had a LOT going on, as I'm sure many of you have too. Our area has had an EXTREME amount of rain/storms this spring too, which has put a halt on a lot of outdoor activities.

I said all that to say, that's why I've been M.I.A. lately, but a few wks. ago, I did manage to finish another zippy bag. This one was a freebie off the internet, but I thot it turned out pretty cute. It uses 7 squares from a charm pack. This one is called 'Lollipop' by Sandy Gervais.
The instructions on the zipper part were not as clear as the last pattern I used, so I had to re-do one side about 2 or 3 times.

Didn't notice that I had the 'fishy' turned upside down until AFTER I had it finished ~story of my life, it seems, ha.

I am in the middle of making a few more sewing items, but I did manage to finish a couple of cross stitch things too, which I will try to show next time.

Thanks again for stopping by and esp. to those of you who always take the time to leave such sweet comments. I am planning on having a give~away in the near future too, as soon as things settle down a bit, so stay tuned.

Here's your quote for today ~ "Rather than focus on the thorns of life, smell the roses and count your blessings."

**Tanya**