Happy New Year!

I had planned to write another post today with deep thoughts about 2008 and my plans for the upcoming year. My kids would be the first to comment that "Mom, you can't have deep thoughts because your mind is too shallow!!" :-) So.......I will keep this post very short and just say HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!!

Belvie

I'm finally back from a wonderful visit with our children. The only bad part of the trip is coming and going through St. Louis. I hate the traffic there, and every time we go through there, we see a major accident and this time was no exception. People there drive awful!

We went first to Cumberland MD. to DS's apt. DD came up and we were all together there until the 26th. Then we drove down to Blacksburg, VA and spent several days with DD. Both kids had to go back to work on Dec. 27, but we were still able to visit in the evenings and I had dinner waiting when DD got home. She appreciated that!

I snapped a few pictures while we were out in Cumberland MD. It's a beautiful, old city. The area seems somewhat depressed, but the scenery is wonderful. Dec. 23 was DD's birthday, so we took her out to eat in the downtown area. They are revitalizing that area and have turned one street to pedestrian traffic only. Some of the buildings are so pretty. They had a store in the pedestrian area....it is like the old five and dime stores I remember from my childhood! It was open, so I had to go in. It was like a trip down memory lane! I didn't get a photo of it, but here's a few of the pictures I did get.









This is a shot down the pedestrian street....and yes, that's DH and DD. Also notice my umbrella handle in the shot!!









There is an old movie theatre there. It's not restored yet. DS is in this pic.









I thought this building was just pretty. So I took several shots.









Here's another view.

While we were in Virginia, I went a quilt shop/fabric store that I visited often when I lived in that area. DD had to go to work, and DH had work to do on the computer....so the day was mine. The shop is in the little mountain town of Floyd, VA. It is about a 35 mile drive through the mountains and I truly enjoyed that as I love those mountains! I took a few pictures and hope you enjoy looking at them. I also made a few purchases because I found some items I haven't seen in my area. I'll share pictures of the store and my purchases in another post.

Then it was time for the long drive back home. Some how, it is always more fun going than coming.

Oh, by the way....both kids loved their flannel quilts and were rolled up in them watching movies each night we were there.

Merry Christmas!!
Happy New Year too!!

I'm off to visit the fledglings for the holidays. I do not know if I will be able to post anything while visiting, but I will return ..... hopefully January 1, 2008. Cannot believe it is almost 2008!


Belvie

I Did it!

I finished the last rag quilt! I like how it turned out and it was much easier doing a big 16 inch block than doing all the 6 inch blocks. Here's a picture of the one I just finished. It's for DS.










And here's a picture of the one I did a few weeks ago. It's for DD.










I think my kids will like them to snuggle under on cold evenings at home.
Now....I'm wrapping this afternoon and I still have a few cookies to bake before we leave.

Bright and sunny today.....and 40 degrees F. Hoping for weather like this as we travel to and from the east coast!

Sewing, snow, etc.

I'm busy sewing today...and today is a good day to sew. I posted pictures of some flannel back on Aug. 30, 2007. I'm trying to finish up my second and last flannel rag quilt for Christmas. This is for my 25yr. old DS who is a rocket scientist. Please note that I was able to find fabric with the word "rocket" on it and he has always been fascinated by planes. I know it is kiddie prints, but this quilt is for him to lay on the floor while he watches tv, drag up and down the stairs....whatever....so it will be washed often. It isn't meant to be a pretty item, it is meant to be a utility item. Here's one block.

It is 16" square. I sewed 23 of them in one night. The pattern is "Wicked Easy Quilt" which I found on the Internet for free. I tried going to the web page again and keep getting a message that the document contains no data. I would love to link you to the website, but I can't even get there. Anyway, the pattern should be credited to Annette Unrein. I will continue to try and if I can get to the website, I will post the link.

I'm going to post some more weather pics! This was out my sewing room window on Tuesday. See the icicles hanging from the roof! I'm not real good a photography, but I try. Sorry the picture isn't better.
Take a look at the trees too!
At least we were lucky to not have it as bad as the people about 50 miles north in St. Joseph MO. They got blasted! Many have been without power almost a week now.

We actually had sun and melting on Thursday. I went out of the house shopping for the first time since Dec. 5! I only did the grocery store and library and the crowds were so awful, I came back home because I hate crowds...especially when people are rushing and rude. Then last night, it started snowing again and is suppose to continue until around 7 pm tonight. So, this is the scene out my back window today.
And for a change....here's a picture from my front porch. Notice the brick house across the street. If you enlarge the picture and look near the peak of their roof, you can see the lovely "KC Arrowhead". That thing lights up along with icicles lights all along their roof. The icicles lights look nice, but I think that arrowhead is soooo tacky....but I guess they do love their KC Chiefs. They have done that every year for the 6 years we have lived here. It's an older retired couple and I guess they think it is cute. Different strokes for different folks. I tried being friendly to them after we moved in. I would speak to the man when I was out working in my yard and he was out too. He would make a sound that is just a grunt and walk away. Finally I stopped trying. I know he can talk because I hear him scream at the neighbor's dog. His wife isn't friendly either. Does anyone else have overly unfriendly neighbors like that????

Now, something a little more pleasant, I'm going to show you my Christmas tree. I did a very small artificial since we will be with our kids for most of the holidays. Sorry the picture is a little blurry.

The big box in the background is the table I finished for DS. I was going to post a picture of the set finished and nicely staged, but DH took it apart and put it into the box before I could. I will try to get a picture when we put it together at DS's apartment. And for my last picture today, I'll show you my nutcrackers that I always put out somewhere in my house. This year I put them on the mantle.
You can also see the wooden tree that I finished when I was working on the table and chairs. I decided to just sit it on a doily I crocheted along with the nutcrackers. I didn't notice the safety glasses when I snapped the picture. DH uses this mantle as his "dumping ground" when he comes in from work. Then he conveniently forgets to pickup after himself!

I visited Bren's blog this morning and read about a strange ritual that she remembers from her childhood involving her mother ironing. Funny thing is, I remember the same sort of ritual from my mom and from a spinster great aunt that I spent lots of time with. This great aunt was like a second mother to me. She actually took in ironing to support herself. Back then, people would starch everything they wore except underwear. They would use the powdered starch that you mix then immerse the garments.....and hang them outside on a clothesline to dry and would later iron them. The clothes were wrinkly and stiff. They would bring them to my aunt, she would sprinkle them with water, roll them up and put them in plastic bag, and put it in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, she would get up and start ironing. She always put them in the refrigerator because we lived in south Texas and if you didn't, she said the clothes would sour and begin to smell. I sometimes think it was so the garments would become evenly moist and easy to iron out the wrinkles. Anyway, these two pictures show the spout she put on the bottle...and then the bottle with the spout. She used a Coke bottle instead of a 7-Up bottle. Bren....is this it???????
Believe it or not, I still iron some of my husband's dress shirts using my aunt's old fashioned method. I even use the powdered starch! It works so much better than the spray starch....which I do use sometimes.

It is ever so cold this morning.....18 and the roads are icy....so no church today.

It's a little on the cold side today....25F with freezing drizzle when we got up this morning. The temps have been dropping and the drizzle is suppose to change over to good ol' freezing rain. Weatherman says we are in for an ice storm. I've mixed up an extra batch of bread and will get that baked just in case we lose power. There's also a roast in the oven slowly baking, so my house should smell good for the remainder of the afternoon. Roast and mashed potatoes with green beans is on the menu for dinner tonight.

Now for an update on the heat pump issue I posted about. I'm going to have to take back some of my harsh words. When the man came out to give us our estimate, he had looked at our records on our unit. I have had them come out twice a year and do maintenance on it since we bought the house. The estimator told us that was an impeccable maintenance record and that the unit we had should have lasted 15 yrs. with no repairs. He had been in touch with the manufacturer and said manufacturer was willing to discount the cost of new equipment even though the warranty is expired on the old unit. It still isn't a welcome expense and it would have cost a lot more than we thought it would ......but with a discount, it will be within the range we thought.

I have been busy sewing. Here's a little of what I have done over the past few days. I've made these flannel lounge pants and shorts to give my kids for Christmas.

I started making these when they were teens. They would come home from school, change into ones I had made for them and get busy on homework. I've continued to make them through the years as they tell me they are just so comfortable to bum around in. DD told me DS really, really needed new ones because when he came to visit her at Thanksgiving, the whole butt was worn out on some of his. He will get 4 pair of the shorts and 2 pair of the long ones. The long ones with the penguins are for DD since she collects penguins. I still have another pair of short ones to make for DD.

I have a pond by my house. Most times of the year it is so pleasant to look out the window and watch the neighborhood kids fishing. The other day I had several pair of male and female ducks out there. I love seeing them too....especially the male mallards with the beautiful green heads. During the winter however, I'm not happy when I look out and see this!
Yep! That's right. A pond full of Canadian Geese. Being originally from Texas, I use to think they were beautiful birds. Now I think these are about the nastiest creatures on earth. They poop in my yard and hiss at me when I chase them back into the pond. At least today they are on the water and not in my yard. Sure wish they would go visit someone else's pond!!

I've had a few people ask how the bread turned out. It didn't make a pretty loaf, but that was my fault, not the bread dough. I forgot about it and left it rising too long. When I moved the pan, it deflated like a balloon. I've been baking bread for many years....and I know better than to go off and forget it....but I did it anyway. So, I ended up with a square loaf rather than getting one with a nice rounded top. Here's a picture of the loaf I just took out of the freezer. The first loaf is all eaten already.

When I took it out of the oven, I thought I should do a quality test while the bread was still warm....and maybe I should use a little butter! Afterall, I wouldn't want DH eating an inferior product. The bread tasted really good. I will make it again using the lemon pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. I used some of the bread for my tuna sandwich yesterday and it was wonderful. The bread had just a little bite of spice-i-ness.

Cold here. Rainy...with freezing rain just to the north a few miles. I'm snug in my sweatshirt and pants, warm socks and slippers. I'm thankful to have the gas furnace as a backup to keep us warm. On that front....we will have a man come out on Wed. night to give us estimates on replacement cost. Then we can make the decision.....repair or replace.

This afternoon I am going to finish the last few stitches on another knitted tea cozy and get that sewn together. I also need to clean my messy sewing room. It has become such a mess I can't function....so it is time to stop and clean.

SAD!!!

This picture describes my feelings right now. Just had a repairman here because I had noticed that my heatpump didn't seem to be acting just right yesterday. I think they thought I was a looney when I called and talked to them yesterday about sending a serviceman out. I always hear...."well, heatpumps sometimes act like that!" Well, I was right....and the news is not good. The unit has a serious freon leak and will be a major repair. Guesstimate is $1000+ Now we have to decide whether to repair a 6 yr. old unit that has had 2 major repairs already.....or whether to just go ahead and replace it...probably to the tune of $3000 to $5000. I'm a bit miffed because this unit is a well known brand that was suppose to be soooo reliable. Here's a hint....choo choo.....train. Well, this well known brand has not been a good one for us and I will not buy their product again. I'm going to count my blessings because we do have a backup gas furnace so we have heat. I'm just a bit put out because I expected a heatpump to last longer and this is not the time of year I wanted to spend major bucks on something like that.

As you can see, I'm not being very regular at posting these days. I am busy though. I continue to do needlework that I have to complete before Christmas. Believe me....I'm not idle!!

This is what I'm doing today. Can you guess what's in the bowl???????????????????????????????
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Bread for lunch sandwiches. Since DH eats food with his pepper, so I decided to experiment a little with my dough today. I added about a teaspoon of lemon pepper, a dash of garlic powder, and a dash of red pepper. I'll let you know how the finished product turns out. I've taken a snip of the dough to taste....and that's good, so I'm hoping the bread will be too.

I'm also trying to prepare for another major event that happened in our lives during the month of December almost 28 years ago. DH and I got to bring this home on Christmas Day.
Isn't she sweet!! We got to bring DD home from the hospital on Christmas Day all bundled up in a red flannel stocking.....which she no longer fits in anymore! Through the years I've worked hard to make sure her birthday was a real birthday celebration....and not just a part of the Christmas festivities. It is going to be a little more challenging to do that this year. Does she look like a law school graduate?? I would never in a million years thought that's what she would end up doing....but she did!

OK...pictures as promised! Can't believe I'm posting twice in one day.

Here's the medallion block. Not a lot of progress since my last picture of it a long time ago. I'm only working on it at Wed. sewing group as I have so many other things to get done before Christmas. After the holidays, I'm planning to devote all my time to getting the Conway Album put together.
I've also dusted off my knitting skills. When we went to Texas, I couldn't applique in the car, so I took knitting along. I made several dishrags and have made several more since I got home. The black and white will go to DS and the green and white to DD. They already have some dishtowels in those colors so it was nice to find the cotton knitting yarn in their colors. I used Lily Sugar and Cream yarn for all of these. The little red and white one will go to the lady who has 8 of us come to her house once a month to quilt/sew and enjoy each others company.
I also knitted this blue dishrag from a pattern I found on the internet. I can't find my pattern to give the creator her proper credit at this time, but will find and post the link at a later date. Notice the image of Texas created by the stitches. Since I'm originally from TX, I couldn't resist giving it a try and this one will be just for me! The pastel multicolor was an experiment. I took 2 strands of size 10 crochet cotton that I had on hand and held those together to knit. I think I'm really going to like that one better than the ones I did with the "Sugar and Cream" as it is not as thick.
I have also finished a scarf for each of the kids. DS gets gray, DD gets the blue/green.
And to keep each of their heads warm, I made these.
DS gets the dark gray hat, DD gets the red...I think they call it a wimple. If you click on the link, it should take you to a pdf file of a pattern and description for one that I found online this morning. (Please be aware that I have not tried this pattern yet) I made my own pattern for this red one, but I'm saving the link to try to make one for myself when I'm not so pressed for time. Here is another picture of the wimple that I tried to take so you can see how it is worn. Imagine the white blog of batting as my face!

These 4 pieces....
Will become one of these.
OK....not a good photo! If you enlarge it, you will see the spout and handle of my clear glass teapot! The teapot sits on this.
A potholder that I made using a small quilt block, a piece of Insul-Bright(I'm not affiliated with this company, I just use the product) batting, and a backing square. Before I sewed it closed, I put in some whole cloves. It smells wonderful when a hot teapot sits on it.

And here is the flannel rag quilt I am working on. Notice that my very best feline friend, Truffles, likes this quilt too!

I didn't get pictures of the table I refinishing, but here is a picture of the chairs.
I will take a nice shot of the table and chairs together and post that later.


And since I mentioned in my other post about a few snowflakes at my house on Wed.....here's what my backyard still has today....Friday at noon.

Happy Thanksgiving a day late. Seems I'm always a little late doing things these days.

It was a quiet day yesterday at our house. Just DH and I for dinner. This was our first Thanksgiving with no kids. I was please that they were both able to get together at DD's apt and cook dinner together. I sure would like to have been a fly on the wall to see them cooking! Even though we had no kids here, I still cooked a nice dinner for us.

On the menu was chicken and dressing, cranberry sauce, twice baked potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans with yogurt sauce, cucumber salad, homemade rolls with butter. Here's a look at DH's plate. He was a nice guy and set the table. We waddled from the table to the recliners and slept the afternoon away! Then, watched March of the Penguins last night as we were still sitting in the recliner.


We had our first snow on Wed. afternoon. Big fluffy flakes. Not enough to accumulate, but enough to make the commute home on Wed. evening tough. There were several accidents due to icing. It was 15F this morning. I guess winter is here. It was a beautiful fall though. Lots of color. Here's a picture I took a few days ago of the trees beside my house.
I have been very busy. The table and chairs are finished. I will take pictures of those later today and share them in my next post. I have also been doing some sewing. I've made a flannel rag quilt for DD. I am doing the clipping of the seams on that right now. Then I have to wash and dry it so the seams will fray a bit. I have also done a little work on the center medallion....which I keep promising to show you an updated photo. I do promise! I will take photos this afternoon and get them posted. In addition to these projects, I've been doing some knitting. I won't tell you about those, I'll just go downstairs right now and take pictures!!!

I told you in my last post that I was going to finish a small dining set for DS's apt. I've been busy, busy, busy with that. I did take pictures of the chairs before I started. Here they are:

I have stained them with golden oak and have also stained the table. I'm ready to start putting the poly coats on. I've got to work hard on this so it is ready to go when we leave to go visit them for Christmas. I also have a rag quilt that has to be done by then. I do have the squares cut. I'm going to try to sew a few today.

In addition to doing the table, I recently found this cute little wooden Christmas tree at HobbyLobby. It reminded me of some of the German ornaments I've seen, so I decided to buy it and just put a clear sealer on it. Then I'll get some miniature ornaments to hang on it and I think it will be perfect on my mantle. Nice part is...it pulls apart in 2 flat pieces so it will be very easy to store.
Sorry, but you'll have to lean to the left since I didn't get the photo rotated as I should!

I still haven't taken pictures of the center medallion I promised. I will get it done.

My posts will probably be somewhat irregular until Jan. since I have so much to get done from now until Dec....and will be traveling too. I will post when I can.

Just a quick post to say we're back from visiting family in TX. It was a hectic visit seeing my mom, siblings and their families; then to visit DH parents, sibling and their families. So many people to see in such a short time frame! When we got home, I spent all week trying to sort through the mountain of junk mail, getting all the dirty clothes washed, and getting food in the house again. Before long, we'll be off on another trip.

Guess I don't have to even mention that I hadn't picked up a needle in a long time. Yesterday I went to my monthly quilting group that meets at our public library. That was the first time to sew in a very long time. I got one more flower appliqued on the center medallion of DD's quilt. I will try to get an updated picture posted soon. I don't know how regular my posts are going to be because I have a lot on my plate between now and Christmas.

I have a major project to complete for DS's Christmas gift. He got his own apt. in June when he started his job and he has NO furniture to speak of. I bought a cute unfinished dining table and 4 chairs that I am going to stain and finish for him. I'm starting on that today and it must be complete before mid-Dec. I'll try to take pics as I work and share my progress. The wonderful part of this is when it is finished.....I get to deliver it to him in person!! We are going to visit the kids in MD and VA for Christmas. It will be my first time to see both of them since May. I'm so excited!!

Life at my house is very busy. I've just not had time to even think about posting anything on my blog. I don't see things changing for the next couple of months as DH and I are going out of town on a couple of trips to visit family.....so, I'm taking a break from blogging until we get back from those.

Oh my! Can't believe I haven't posted in so long. It has been a busy week with meetings, doctor appointments, classes, etc.

This is birthday week at my house. Both DH and I turn a year older. We happen to be the same age. The bad part is my birthday is 5 days before his. I get to hear for 5 days how he is married to an older woman and how he is a younger man. I just tell him things are better with age!!! After those 5 days pass, ours lives settle back down for another year when the same thing happens all over again next September. Since we've been married 31+ yrs., I'm VERY accustomed to the routine.

On my birthday, I took myself out to a quilt shop in the area that I had not been to before. It was a nice little shop and I enjoyed myself. Only a couple of small items had to come home with me. I have not had time to take pictures, but try to get some and post them so you can see what I bought.

Yesterday was my applique class. We had so much fun. Most of the ladies are regulars who have been coming for a while. None of us really needed any help. We all just stitched and laughed and enjoyed one another. It was just a fun time. After class, we all do a little shopping. I found a wonder batik background to use for a future project. When there is a wonderful batik....if you don't grab it when you see it....it is usually sold within a week. Whole bolts have been known to sell during one class, so I got what I wanted yesterday since it was a new bolt. I'll try to get a picture of that too.

Just so this isn't a boring wordy post, I'll leave you with a photo of one of the botanicals I work on when I go to the applique class. This block is Wildrose.

Non-quilt related!!!

Warning! Nothing quilt related in this post. Just personal ranting and raving!

Does anyone other than me get those times where you feel like you are spinning your wheels and getting nothing done? I'm at one of those periods of time. I knew I wasn't going to get a lot accomplished this week as I had lots of errands, Wednesday sewing group, and clothes shopping to do for a wedding we are going to this weekend.

I think the clothes shopping yesterday has really put me over the edge! I hate clothes shopping!!! First I guess I need to describe myself and my likes. I'm of average height, a little overweight, and have short salt and pepper colored hair. I am not a trendy or flashy dresser. I don't wear a lot of accessories or jewelry...usually just my wedding ring, a silver necklace, and occassionally small hoop earrings. I love to wear denim and clothing that would best be described as classic and I feel most comfortable wearing pants, but enjoy wearing a dress now and again. If I had to use one word to describe me...it would be "casual". Now my question I would like to ask....who in the world is designing clothes these days and do they think the only people buying them are young things that are skinny as a rail and flat chested? What about us ladies who are 50 something, pleasingly plump, and have a bust????? Clothing I tried on yesterday looked awful! I had things hanging out of places I didn't know I had "things"! What's a girl to do when she wants a nice dress to wear to a wedding? Not glitzy....just a nice dress. I guess my solution is going to be...don't wear one.....wear pants!! I spent all day in and out of stores looking for said nice dress. I was tired, frustrated and cranky when I got home...and I came home with NO dress. I bought one shirt- jacket for fall and a pair of Capri pants and t-shirt for an upcoming trip to visit family in Texas. I bought the jacket because it was simple and a pretty color. I knew if I didn't buy it...when I wanted something like that I would never be able to find it. The stores would have replaced it with something awful looking. I have decided I am going to dig out my patterns and start polishing up my garment sewing skills. I refuse to spend my money on the offerings of current ready to wear garments!!! Guess the only good thing about yesterday....I sure saved DH a lot of money!

I guess I need to go to LQS today and fondle fabric so I can feel better!!

No Sewing...

No sewing for me yesterday, but I did see this out my back window.


Can you see him perched on the fence in the center of the photo?? A hawk! I told my kitty, Truffles, that she better be glad I don't let her go outside!! I'm sure this hawk would not have been nice to her.

I live in the Kansas City metro area, but I still get to see a fair amount of wildlife. There is a large park and lake not far from my home and I guess that is the reason why. I have also had this visitor in the middle of the day. Yes...that's right a white tailed deer.
This next picture isn't very clear...and the creature in it was in awful condition. Near the base of the tree that is in the center of the photo is a red fox.

He had almost no fur. I had the camera in one hand and the phone in the other hand. I was calling DH to ask him what I should do because the fox looked awful. He was burying a what looked like a mouse or a chipmunk.

As you can see from these and other pictures I have posted on my blog from time to time....I share my city lot with a variety of wild creatures from time to time!

This last week was not a productive one for me. I didn't do a lot of sewing and as you can see, I also didn't post to my blog. I'll try to do better this week, but I do know it is going to be a busy week...so don't hold me to this as a promise. I have grocery shopping and errands today, Wed. is sewing group and one of the elderly ladies is bringing her quilts to show, and Thurs. is applique class.

Darlene asked on her blog about what we do with our scraps when we finish a project. I have a Rubbermaid bin that I put mine in. I am very frugal... so I keep anything that I can get a 1 1/2 inch square from. Growing up and early in our marriage, money wasn't plentiful and I think about the fact that I paid as much for the scraps as I did for the fabric I used....and if it is a usable size....then that is throwing out money. Besides, I love scrappy quilts. They make me think of my grandmother as that is all she ever made. I have even been known to buy scrap bags to get colors that I don't often work with.

Here a few pictures of items where I have used scraps from other projects.
All of the pieces on my rocker were made from the scraps left over from a Trip Around the World quilt I made for DD when she went away to college. I still have a few 2 1/2 inch squares of fabric from that quilt left to use up.
I don't normally work with darker colors, but I was doing a block of the month at LQS and it was dark colors. I used some leftovers from that and bought a couple of $4 scrap bags and the quilt above is what I made with them. I found that pattern in a magazine....I can't remember which one, but I do know I still have it. The article said to not plan color arrangement....to just sew whatever you picked up together. They said the pattern would appear from the placement of the half square triangles and the squares. Hope you can see how the squares formed by the lines of the half square triangles appear in the close up photo. This top is queen size......and is a flimsy! I think I am going to try machine quilting this one by quilting in the ditch around the squares.
I also showed the cathedral window I have as an on going hand stitching project in an earlier post. I'm using some of the same scraps I used in the flimsy above...plus some from other projects. I'm not planning to use only darks in the CW. I'm going to use any color!
I also cut some of the dark scraps into strings and have been making blocks using those. I am saving dryer sheets, pressing them, and then using them as the foundation for sewing the strings. Then I trim them to a consistent size. When I have enough, I will put them together into a top.

If you have a project where you have used scraps....I would love to see it.

Sorry I haven't posted, but I've just been busy. Housework had been stacking up and there were somethings I just had to do. I have done a little sewing though. In my last post, I showed you a canvas bag that I had made to take to the grocery store. That bag was 15 inches tall, 14 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. I also mentioned that I was going to make another. I decided I was going to make a large one to carry a quilt to sewing group. I made that one 26 x 23 x 12 and I used scraps from the first bag to make the handles for this larger bag. I laid these two bags on the floor to take this pic.
DH walked in and asked about them. I told him the one on the right is for carrying groceries home.....the one on the left is for carrying fabric home from the quilt shop. He walked out with a silly grin on his face....and saying," I think you have that wrong!!!!"

I also had some novelty fabric on the shelf for a long while and I have wanted to make pillowcases to give to my niece. I got those done.
Last Friday I went to WalMart and while I was in the store, I thought about someone posting lately that their store wasn't going to carry DMC embroidery floss. Sorry, but I can't remember who posted that. I decided to check the store I was in. They had the floss clearanced for $0.10 a skein and the color selection was good. So.....I had to buy a few skeins as it has always been $0.28.
Some of the red is going in a package to my daughter this Christmas. I'm gathering various needlework goodies for her. I already have a book on Hardanger embroidery and some fabric because she enjoys doing that. I have some stitchery patterns with pictures of various coffee items and another with various herbs. I have some tea towels planned and will use the browns and greens on those. Just don't expect to see them soon! Oh....and I did check a second WalMart and their floss was also marked to $0.10. Guess it is on the way out here too!

I'm off to Wednesday sewing group this morning. I'm looking forward to that since I missed last week since I was sick. I don't go when I'm not well because some of the ladies are elderly and have health issues. I know that sewing group is about the only outing they have, so I don't go share germs with them. They just don't need that!