Tolentreasures

Empathy, Sympathy and Apathy

2012-02-10T07:05:00.000-05:00

Or,

in other words...

"Been there,"

"Awww,"

and

"Who really cares?"

The past 24 hours,

I have been all of those.

You see,

last Friday, I came down with a cold.

A nasty head cold.

Not asking for any sympathy from anyone here..

everyone gets them,

I dealt with it.

It is almost gone.

However,

and now I am about to evoke all of your sympathies,

or most of your sympathies,

JWS NOW HAS THE COLD!

That's it.

Now all of you feel sorry for me, dontcha?

Now you are all feeling it,

Empathy, Been there

Sympathy, Awww you poor thing,

and

Apathy, well you might be feeling that also towards me..

and let me tell you

I have been having big waves of it,

that I am trying to fight.

Obviously, when they would do those career aptitude tests.

NURSING

was at the bottom of my list.

Not only does blood make me very queasy...

I was out getting a cup of coffee,

when they passed out

Compassion for the Sick.

Well, at least,

Compassion for those with the Common Cold.

Or wait.

Maybe it was...

Compassion for those with the Common Cold

That

Think it is the End of the World.

That's it.

I think I might have a little

Sympathy

for those that are really suffering,

and

Empathy

for those that are suffering from

something that I have already had.

but,

the

Apathy

kicks in for those with

The Apocalyptic Nasal Congestion.

Life Threatening Sneezing

Terminal Hacking.

Not there.

Sorry!

He says he will be better today,

because he is stronger than the rest of us,

and

he will heal quickly because of that inner strength.

For my sake,

I hope that he is right.

I'll keep you posted.

Yesterday, was my DD day.

I hit a few thrift shops.

The pic at the top is the result of one stop.

Not sure what I am going to do with the baby doll bed.

or the fabric.

The zippers were 10 cents each,

and I want to make

some little zippered pouches.

Now here's your tip of the day.

Never drink a large

Red Head Roaster

BOLD Roast

Wendy's

Coffee

at 3:00 in the afternoon

unless

you are looking for a

12 hour

heart thumping

insomniac

BUZZ!

That stuff is worse than Speed!

Not that I would know..

well who am I kidding?

I was a child of the 70's.

I might have experimented a little.

They really should have a warning on that coffee

the FDA should check it out

for

pharmaceuticals.

I was up until

2:30

this morning.

Too bad

Wendy's is 25 miles away...

I think I might need more to get through my day.

The princess was here overnight,

so I quietly went to my sewing room

and did some organizing.

and cutting.

And

while I am on a confession roll...

The other day

I had a mouse in my sewing room.

I think that I told that.

Not sure where it came from,

or why it was there.

Last night

as I was cleaning out a drawer...

I found the poop.

Mouse poop.

and the

food source.

Rice

that had been contained in a Ziploc bag

for weighting the bottom of little stuffed items.

Now chewed through

and all over the bottom of a drawer.

I tell you this,

only so you can NOT

store your rice in your sewing machine drawers.

That's it folks.

Off to inject some coffee into my veins...

just kidding.

or am I?

How much fun can $5 buy?

2012-02-08T07:36:00.000-05:00

A yard sale find from two summers ago,

these Legos

have been residing in the attic

since then.

Late yesterday afternoon they made their appearance,

to the delight of two little boys.

They sorted and built and played.

and so did Grandma.

See that bin in the background?

That was over half full,

for $5.

Yard saling at it's finest!

And when they were gone,

I vacuumed

and settled in on this.

It is laid out of the family room floor

much to the dismay of JWS,

I think that is where it is staying

until it is done.

A quick trip to Ohio on Monday,

and

another project started.

Two hours each way in the vehicle not wasted.

And the paintbrushes are finally moving again.

Two new submissions for

C and D

ready to be sent

for approval hopefully.

But they can't be shown here!

On to the orders now!

Three Chapter Post

2012-02-03T06:59:00.000-05:00

Chapter One

entitled

What Would You Do?

This is my grandmother's sewing machine.

It is in really bad shape.

The drawers are missing under that quilt,

The bottom is pretty rusted,

and the wood on the top is in really bad shape.

JWS wanted it out of his garage,

so here it sits.

I am thinking of tearing it apart.

Making a new table out of the base.

A little cabinet out of the remaining drawers.

and a

lamp out of the sewing machine for my sewing room.

Would that be wrong?

to tear it apart that is?

Chapter Two

entitled

How NOT To Start Your Morning.

This part has no pics.

Really,

you can be thankful for that.

Let me start by saying,

I love my mornings.

ALONE.

I have a routine.

The only part of my day that I have a routine.

One of the only times I have alone.

I get up.

I make coffee,

throw a couple logs on the fire,

drink coffee,

watch a bit of the news.

knit or crochet or sew.

and then

I leave the house and meet a friend and go for a walk.

5:15.

That gives me almost an hour alone.

The only preparation for the day is brush my hair,

which really doesn't do much for it.

and

brush my teeth.

Here is how this morning went.

After trying to be so quiet leaving the bedroom,

despite the fact that I dropped both my pill bottle and my phone.

I come downstairs

to find..

JWS sleeping in my recliner.

Well, first of all,

who was I trying to be quiet for in the bedroom?

No one was even there!

I make the coffee

and he wakes up.

Wanders around and gets his coffee.

I head to my recliner,

which I will admit was toasty and warm.

He takes the remotes...

did I mention that is also the only hour of the day

that I get the remote also?

and heads to his chair.

Mildly pouty,

I pick up my crocheting

and start furiously hooking away.

He makes some comment about how many hours a day

that I actually do that "sewing" stuff.

I grimace.

But don't comment about how many hours of the day

he has that remote in his hand.

AND THEN...

he turns on some program about bikini clad women

in Bora Bora

some other

equally exotic location!

AND I HISS....

"Turn on the news, it's not bad enough that you are up at this hour of the morning,

but you have to turn on something like that!

I am sitting here waiting to go out in that cold

to try to walk my A$% off

to stay remotely in some kind of shape

with Neosporin

rubbed all over my chapped face,

gym clothes that are end of the week ripe,

hair sticking up all over

crocheting like a granny for a grandchild and

you have the nerve to turn THAT on"

He knew I meant business.

I never saw his fingers move so fast.

At least when he sees all the crime on the news, he'll be happy to look next to him

and see me.

Fifteen minutes later,

I walked out the door.

I know what came on when I left.

Chapter Three

entitled

Something I Almost Forgot

I picked up the mail last night

and this is what I found

and thought

Wait!

I might have something in this magazine.

And I did!

Even a feature pic on the

Table of Contents Page.

Rush right out and get your copy!

Tell them I sent you!

That's a joke, folks.

(about telling them I sent you,

but you should get a copy)

There are some great projects in there!

I just kept looking at this

and thinking

how nice they have been

to put my things in their magazine!

For those of you that think I am organized....

2012-02-01T08:14:00.000-05:00

Check this out!

This is my sewing room.

Just so you don't think everything is

normal

in my world.

My mom has me into a project.

It's a big one.

800 plus of these little circles.

Need ironed and cut out.

Yes, you read that right.

800!

Eight Hundred.

Her quilting guild has me teaching a class on these.

I am ironing away.

I will see her this weekend.

Guess what she is going to be doing?

CUTTING!

Get those scissors sharpened, Mom!

And another mess.

But, progress on the blanket.

For this little girl.

And now,

I guess I can talk about it.

Ever since this little girl was born.

She has spent one day a week with me

at the shop

during the school year.

She worked

child labor laws aside.

She sometimes looked like a little orphan.

She played with Logan.

She sat on the dirty floor.

She packed boxes....

She played with Gracelyn.

Sometimes she wasn't happy,

but most of the time she was.

She played in boxes.

Then she would ask for her silky and milk.

And she would sleep the afternoon away.

Most days.

Now her mom, my daughter

thinks that she should be in one place

every day.

I don't blame her.

But I am going to miss her!

February Giveaway

2012-01-31T20:12:00.000-05:00

Hot off the paintbrushes,

this just finished

canvas board.

You will have to frame it,

just use it as it is.

Let's keep this simple.

Comment on this post.

One entry.

Mention it on your blog

Two entries.

Oh and you have to be a follower

or a new follower.

It is going to have to be limited to

and

Canada

only.

Please leave me an email address if you don't have a blog!

Giveaway ends

February 13th!

Sunday's Projects

2012-01-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

This pattern screamed out to me from Pinterest (of course)

the other day.

You see,

I had the afghan below started

when Shelby was expecting

Kendall.

That's three years ago,

in the event that anyone was counting.

Here is the link to the pattern.

http://www.craftpassion.com/2011/04/crochet-african-flower-paperweight-granny.html

When I realized that it was too wide,

I was way past the point of no return,

and like ~~another,~~ ~~couple,~~

~~few~~

alright, at least a dozen of so

other projects,

that have been tossed in a bag and sent to the

CLOSET!

Yesterday,

I pulled it back out,

added the neutral colored yarn,

found in the stash.

And started working again.

Ripping out the old one as I go.

And

just in the event that you think,

"Poor Kendall, didn't she get a blanket?"

I did make one for her,

she wasn't deprived.

Hopefully this will help make her transition

to a big girl room!

Of course, there has to be another project in the works.

Another "doily" scarf well on the way.

Coffee stained and pressed some

way too white doilies.

And now...

it seems lately that some of you get the totally

wrong impression of my neatness skills.

Just to set the record straight...

This mess was all in the closet in my sewing room.

Looking just about like this...

Turned on the movie,

BIG

with Tom Hanks,

and sat on the floor today and cut away!

Love the piano scene in that movie.

Now that is neatness.

Unfortunately, they made it to my table in my sewing room and haven't been put away.

There's always tomorrow.

Also managed to cook a meal.

Country style spare ribs in homemade sauce

with pasta

and

garlic bread.

Love these days,

sure wish I could have one EVERYDAY!

In true

ADD fashion though...

I just remembered that I have clothes in the washer.

Organized?

Neat?

Not me!

My Wins!

2012-01-28T16:27:00.000-05:00

Carmen

over at

Primcats

hosted an unbirthday giveaway.

and I won!

I was so excited to get the package,

opening it up in between

browning hamburger

and making tacos

the other night.

Nothing like multi-tasking.

I love everything!

I had fun placing everything around the house this morning.

The little inspire pillow in the suitcase above.

The lacy gloves were a thrift shop find

last weekend.

And this little note holder was perfect

for the postcard that I bought last weekend.

I had no idea how I was going to display it.

The card is of the old pool

Idora Park

in Youngstown, Ohio.

Sadly, Idora Park is no longer there,

I love the memories that it holds for me though.

This cake and shoo-fly cover.

Ok,

I did not understand what to do with the cakes.

Guess I haven't been paying attention in

Primitive Decorating Class.

Carmen was a dear and explained to me what they were!

The house smells wonderful from them.

I propped this one against the butter mold that my Dad made for me.

and the little bowl waiting to be filled yet.

I have an idea....

Fresh Linen Potpourri and Stars.

Smells so good!

The cute little garlic crock sitting filled right

on the kitchen windowsill

where the garlic hangs out.

Also some wonderful

Bath and Body

Warm Vanilla Sugar lotion.

I love that scent!

Mittens are finished and picked up.

And the scarf is finished and already in the hands of it's new owner.

I have had the greatest Saturday so far.

Stacked some firewood with JWS.

Put away all the snowmen and remainder of Christmas Stuff.

Started two new projects.

Did some redecorating.

and

best of all...

TOOK

NAP!

They don't get any better than this!

Happy Four Years Old!

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Gracelyn Kay Kirkpatrick

Happy Four Years Old!

Feel the rain on your skin,

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten.

-Natasha Bedingfield

Happy Four, Little Girl!

You have brought all things girly back into our lives!

Princesses

Dragons

Barbie

Pink & Yellow

Tutus

All things sparkly

Hair Barrettes

Shopping

Make-Believe

Imagination

We Love YOU!!!

Confession is good for..

2012-01-26T07:05:00.000-05:00

Ok,

well let's just be honest.

How many of you can't resist starting

NEW

project?

Oh, I read your blogs,

most of you are like me,

some are not.

I can't believe the willpower,

the fortitude,

the organization,

the OCDness,

of some of you who say,

that you finish one project before you start the next.

Really?

I have at least

twenty seven projects

STARTED

at one time.

I know that I don't have the mittens done yet.

but

in all honesty.

I work on them until my hands cramp,

which is usually about 20 minutes at a time

and

then I switch to something else.

I must say,

they are almost done right now.

About three more

twenty minute sessions,

and they will be complete.

So,

with that in mind...

I started the scarf above!

I could not resist.

I love the pattern,

even though

Jennifer said,

"It looks like you would be wearing a doily."

I guess I have worn stranger things.

If I like it,

I am heading straight to

some really nice

more $$$

yarn.

I don't treat myself to good yarn very often.

There is a great little yarn shop near here.

Actually two.

I have no idea how,

in a place

twenty miles from a stoplight,

twenty miles from a Walmart

and thirty five miles from a mall.

We ended up with

two yarn shops

across the street from one another,

but we did.

One of them carries

really nice

regular yarns.

A very nice selection, reasonably priced and local.

Not supporting big business,

supporting local small business.

I like that.

The other is a more high end yarn shop.

I touch and feel

and wish I had a skein of each.

However,

if I did,

I would probably be too scared to put a needle or hook

into any of it.

I have limited my purchases there to sale items.

But,

when I do,

it is so nice to work with that yarn.

And I guess,

if you are going to cramp your hands

into an arthritic state,

You probably should do it with good yarn!

Winter Blahs

2012-01-25T06:27:00.000-05:00

Such a negative title,

but I am fighting them.

Trying to stay positive,

But,

it's really not my favorite time of year.

For years,

January meant a mission trip to the

Dominican Republic

a trip to Florida.

A break from winter anyway.

Hershey was fun

but it was still winter.

So,

I am knitting,

a set of mittens for a friend.

and some more cowls.

A chair found at a thrift shop,

waiting for the paintbrushes,

if i could just make myself pick them up!

JWS is buying this by the case.

And today...

I think that I will plant this Chia Pet.

My MIL received this as a gift.

I think that the kids will like watching it grow.

And a winner in my giveaway!

Theresa

Theresa's Heartfelt Stitches

won!

Congrats Theresa!

And

I won a giveaway!

I am so excited.

Carmen

Primcats

picked me for her unbirthday

giveaway!

I am watching the mail daily!

A Sweet Getaway

2012-01-20T07:16:00.000-05:00

We are in Hershey, Pa

the the State Fair Convention.

You have to love a place that drops

Hershey kisses

like confetti!

Hershey kisses on the wallpaper

Hershey bars at check-in.

Chocolate, everywhere.

Does it get any better than this?

Dinner, last night.

Wish that I would have taken a picture of the dessert.

Death, by chocolate!

There is quite the story leading up to the departure for this trip.

"Normal" chaos of life.

and then

a speeding ticket along the way.

All put behind

out of mind

and

now time to relax

and

enjoy!

Yesterday was spent

with a

friend that I do

not get to see enough.

It was so nice to catch up.

Why

didn't I take any pics of us together?

A Gift From the Past and Stash Bustin'

2012-01-16T05:44:00.000-05:00

First of all,

my mother would be horrified

that I put this picture on here.

She is so precise and over the top

perfection

with her quilts,

that she would notice every imperfection here.

I think that this might be the first quilt she ever made.

I had forgotten all about it.

It had been left behind in a long ago move.

And was

re-discovered

and

returned

this week.

It was mine when I was a little girl.

So happy

and

grateful

to have it back!

Some yarn

stash bustin'.

Sure love making these cowls,

and

really lovin'

those knitting needles

out of mothballs.

Finally finished all of these this morning.

I got a little carried away cutting them out.

and

didn't want another unfinished project,

so I persevered.

And got them done.

Into the bin for the open house...

but not before

Mini-Giveaway.

I am not going to advertise it.

It's just for those of you that stop by here regularly.

I appreciate all of you.

So,

if you happened in here.

Just leave a comment on this post.

I'll be giving away that four square jean mat,

and of course,

some other things.

So just leave a comment here.

Wonderful visit with these two bundles of joy

over the weekend.

They had a sleepover here

while Mom and Dad got away

for a little bit.

Gracelyn loved building

jigsaw puzzles on the computer.

And this little boy,

Garren,

could not be a happier little guy!

Don't forget to leave a comment,

I'll be drawing a name next Monday morning!

Thanks for stopping in to visit!

Pennies All Over

2012-01-13T13:55:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally finished it!

What a job!

Too much looking at the same color

over and over

again and again!

I would literally fall asleep with them in my hands.

Now to get a new centerpiece for the table.

But what?

Some pics of pennies around the house.

Some bright Kool-Aid dyed pennies.

FYI,

Kool-Aid Dye really fades!

A pink and brown one

with a hand-painted cigar box on top.

And experiment with ovals.

The first kit, bought by my Mom.

Another kit.

My favorites,

the mismatched raggy ones.

And the first circle one that I ever tried,

Before I realized to use the freezer paper.

Thanks for coming along on the tour!

It is really, really cold here

and really windy.

Guess winter has finally made it's official arrival!

Stay warm

and

enjoy your weekend!

Blue Jean Table Runner Tutorial

2012-01-12T06:23:00.000-05:00

You will need:

Lightweight cardboard

Pen

Scissors

Thread

Old Jeans

10 squares of contrasting material.

Sewing Machine.

Start with a circle pattern around 7 inches in diameter.

I used one of my small plates and it worked fine.

Cut a cardboard pattern

or just trace around the plate.

You will need 10 of these for the runner.

Trace the circles on the wrong sides of the jeans and cut out.

Hint: I trace a bunch, cut them into smaller pieces and cut them out in the evenings in front of the TV.

Now this part is a little tricky.

You might need some of your high school geometry skills.

You need a pattern for a square that fits inside of your circle and touches all four corners.

I used my ruler for my rotary cutter and laid it down on my circle pattern

and marked the circle pattern.

Mine worked out to five inches.

This is the end of the math, I promise.

If you have a simple graphics program on your computer, you should be able to make a pattern

from that also.

and

if you absolutely cannot figure all this out.

email me and I will send you a file of some patterns.

if you can figure it out and just don't want to,

email me anyway

and I will send them to you.

Ok, hardest part done.

I like to have a variety of jeans shades and textures.

After they are cut out,

arrange them into pairs

and trace the square inside one of the circles in each pair.

Pin them right sides together

and sew one edge together

on each pair.

Press open the seams and you should have five pair that look

like this.

The place two pair right sides together and trace a square inside one circle

on one pair so that you have a guideline to go by.

Sew the two pairs together.

You should now have two sets of four

and an extra set of two.

Sew the two sets of four together

and then sew the last set of two onto them.

Press all seams apart

and

you will have

something that looks like this.

Then press in the edges.

I use a little Niagara spray starch to hold them a little better.

Open the flaps and pin the squares inside closing the flaps over top of the fabric.

Back to the machine and zig zag stitch everything.

I find it easier to go down through the center first.

It eliminates a lot of pins and a lot of bulk.

I sew it in this manner,

not so much turning that way.

Here is what the back looks like

at this point.

Zig Zag everything, press it all again,

and you are done!

Just some ideas to think outside the box.

This pillow was made from a pair of khakis.

To match a bedroom.

This is the blanket that I made several years ago.

Don't look too close,

it has been washed and is really starting to fray in some places.

Think tote bags and pillows.

Small t-shirt logos in the middle of the squares.

There are tons of possibilities!

If you make anything from this, I would love to see it.

Send me a pic, leave a comment with the link, etc.

More Recycled Jeans and a Football Win

2012-01-10T07:38:00.000-05:00

Completed this table runner yesterday AM.

Years ago, I made a blanket like this.

Really not an easy task to get through a sewing machine,

but a great out in the yard blanket!

Since then, I have held it to table runners.

Just realized in this pic, that I need to re-iron that square...

funny how you don't see it until it is in a picture!

The back looks nice also!

I was going to have a quick tutorial on these,

they are not hard.

But that will have to wait until another day.

You see, I didn't photograph the steps

and was going to just make another this morning.

However,

and here it comes.

The Crazy Train

of this house.

After the disappointing loss of the Steelers on Sunday night.

JWS went into a bit of a funk.

Depressed,

hate the world,

get rid of all technology,

(too long to even start that story)

pooh,

wah,

FUNK!

I had about had enough of it

BEFORE 9AM!

For those of you that don't know,

we work together,

there was no getting away from him.

Unless...

I could think of someplace to send him.

I knew of some places I would like to send him...

but

we won't go there.

Mid afternoon, it started to lift,

and by suppertime

he was OK.

AND THEN...

the words on the TV that I did not want to hear.

The BCS game

Alabama vs. New Orleans.

Why didn't I see this coming?

Next to

Go Steelers

in this house

Roll Tide.

My stomach heaved...

Could I take another depressed day?

Could I slip him some "Happy Pills?"

Does holding a pillow over someone's head really suffocate them?

I went to bed.

No hiding in another part of the house.

I want to sleep through this.

So this morning,

I wake up and he is not in bed.

OH NO!

Quickly check the smart phone...

and

Miracle of Miracles...

Alabama Won!

He doesn't realize how his life depended on that win!

And now to why you don't have a tutorial.

He is sleeping in my chair,

directly below my sewing machine.

I always heard that is was best to let

Sleeping Bears Lie.

Finishing - Starting - Timing

2012-01-09T05:37:00.000-05:00

About the only things on this post that are FINISHED

are these.

I had cut out extra and finally got them done.

One goes into the bin for the open house,

One will be given away soon....

Watch for it!

The final vote around my house was to coffee-stain.

Then starch and glitter.

The next pic, hopefully will be on the tree.

And

A few for the giveaway.

These are all the pennies left to do for that HUGE project

that I am getting real tired of making.

Hopefully the next pic will be on my table.

Back to the I Spy quilt.

I started this awhile ago.

As in probably two years ago, awhile ago.

I would have to look back.

I am sure I blogged it.

It is back out for awhile.

As soon as the penny rug is done.

Some blue jeans to be made into table runners.

Or a blanket if I get real industrious.

Crochet Heart Tutorial

2012-01-07T09:11:00.000-05:00

Let's just say I got a little obsessive over these the last two days.

Finding different patterns and trying them.

Some good and some not so good.

After trying quite a few,

I decided to modify a pattern to

of course,

make it faster.

I'll include links for two of the others at the bottom,

but first,

here are my directions for the FASTEST one!

I used a Size E hook and three strands of crochet cotton.

I don't know the numbers on the cotton, sorry.

It was all from my aunt's stash and all of it unwrapped.

Experiment with what you have.

I even have some perle cotton in some of them.

So let's start...

Chain 6, join with slip stitch to form a ring.

Round 2

Chain 3 = first double crochet.

Two more double crochets in the ring

Chain 2

Three double crochet in the ring

Chain 1

Three double crochet in the ring

Chain 2

Three double crochet in the ring

Chain 3

Slip stitch in the second chain from the hook

(Picot made)

Chain 1

Join to the top of the first chain 3 in the ring.

You should now have something that looks like a lop-sided

granny square.

Round 3

Slip stitch in the top of the next two double crochets

and

in the next chain 2 space.

Chain 1

*Double crochet into the top of the middle double crochet in the next

cluster of double crochets

Chain 1

Repeat until you have five double crochets in the same stitch

Chain 1*

Slip stitch into the chain 1 space

and

repeat between *'s

for the second hump of the heart.

Slip stitch into the next chain 2 space and fasten off.

Weave in ends.

How easy is that?

Well, if you have a problem,

you can always email me.

And these are what I modified it from.

Here is the link for those.

http://hinzpired.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/crocheted-heart-pattern/

These are pretty quick also.

Here is that link:

http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/teeny-tiny-hearts.html

I wanted some variety in them.

Planning on starching all of them today,

I can't decide on the coffee staining.

I may try a few first.

I think that I like the colors the way they are.

What would you do?

LInk and Quote of the Poem

2012-01-07T05:46:00.000-05:00

A repeat of the stairs pic,

and the link to the poem.

Here

And

Here are the Words.

Halfway down the stairs

Is a stair where I sit:

There isn't any other stair quite like it.

I'm not at the bottom,

I'm not at the top:

So this is the stair where I always stop.

Halfway up the stairs

Isn't up, and isn't down.

It isn't in the nursery, it isn't in the town:

And all sorts of funny thoughts

Run round my head:

"It isn't really anywhere! It's somewhere else instead!"

(A A Milne)

Mostly Stuff and a Confession

2012-01-06T08:53:00.001-05:00

Steps that I painted in a customer's house over Christmas holiday.

A verse by the author of Winnie the Pooh.

Wool jackets found at the thrift shop yesterday,

Washed, felted and ready to cut up and

overdye,

coffee-stain

or something to tone them down.

The clerk was so happy for me and my finds.

I have long ago learned not to tell them that I cut them up,

when I had someone refuse to sell it to me

if I was cutting it up.

Now I just smile and agree that they are great finds.

Even if they are Size 4 Petites,

and I am not.

Wonder if,

when I walk away,

they comment as to how I am going to fit into THAT?

A lovely surprise from

Linda

Parker's Paradise!

Thank you so much Linda,

I had a dark moment yesterday,

This certainly brightened it.

Refer to the end of this post.

The rest of the story of coffee in the basement.

JWS brought home this lovely,

industrial,

restaurant size,

coffee maker.

Imagine his surprise when I told him in no uncertain terms

that

it was not going into the kitchen.

So now

it is in the

not so lovely

basement.

See the carafe thingie

on the left.

We make the coffee and take it upstairs and put that on the counter.

Crochet hearts, waiting to be coffee stained

(with the wool)

tomorrow.

Going to try the whole tree for each season this year.

Maybe I'll actually make it past

Valentine's Day.

Another thrift store find.

Looks interesting,

has anyone read it?

More painting in the same house as the steps

and the red kitchen from a month or so ago.

And finally...

JWS has been getting some great sunset pics lately.

He took this from the hill across the road from our house.

Our house is right in the middle of this picture.

Our little corner of the world.

Now with all this happy, happy stuff,

I have to tell you the dark side of my day yesterday.

Yesterday was my DD day.

Not

Designated Driver,

well, sort of,

we call it

Dialysis Driver.

As a little back-up

I have "wired out" on a few people lately.

Not entirely unjustly,

just that I try not to do that.

A trip to the doctor the other day

might have explained it.

Really high BP.

Despite weight loss and exercise,

my BP continues to rise.

Again, another story.

However,

back to the dark moment.

I go to Dialysis to pick my MIL up and

one of the county transit buses

had the only two close spots to pick up patients

BLOCKED!

Let me back up a little by saying that while a lot of the drivers are great

and kind to the patients

many of them are very inconsiderate in their parking skills

for the rest of us that drive there to pick up our family members.

They block the spaces,

they sit there and drink coffee

with the spaces blocked.

I could go on.

It's been a year.

I have kept my mouth shut.

Yesterday...

well let's just say

I did not.

It hit me wrong

and I told him in no uncertain terms

that he was being rude and inconsiderate

and explained to him

where I thought he should go....park that is.

He didn't apologize,

he didn't offer to move.

That just made me madder.

I may have to go over his head.

But in the meantime....

I have doubled my BP meds.

Sure hope that they kick in soon.

Mostly for everyone else's sake.

Bats in the Belfry...or Basement

2012-01-05T06:50:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying,

"I hate bats!"

Scared to death of them.

Give me any other critter in the house.

Mice, Rats, Snakes, Spiders, Squirrels, Chipmunks.

Many of which I have experienced,

but we won't go there.

Nothing freaks me out more than a bat.

Hummingbirds are a close second.

Just weird.

I know.

So the other morning when

JWS comes out of the basement,

which looks like a recent episode of Hoarders,

to gently inform me that we have a bat in the basement.

I varnish, do laundry and make coffee in the basement.

I know, the coffee is weird also.

Another story.

But needless to say,

none of the above have happened in the last three days.

As I sit here now,

I am waiting for JWS to go down and make the coffee.

I think he is toying with me.

There's more to the story.

Later.

Did a little painting (above) the other day.

Cleaned my office at work yesterday and found this.

I knew I had it,

it was buried.

I want to display something in it.

Any ideas?

And found some white wool yesterday.

Have to get it washed....

refer back to the bat story.

And yesterday,

I had a doctor's appt, so I slid into the mall

looking for a coat

and found

the most amazing sale!

Lots of sweaters over 70% off.

So, in a stash busting move last night, I worked on these hangers.

They are so nice for sweaters and so easy to do.

A mild moment of panic.

I have been working on this penny rug for a couple of months.

On and off.

Two nights ago,

I laid it out and realized that I had not cut enough red.

Sweating, I ran up the steps to my sewing room to dig through

the stash

and

Whew!

I had just enough!

Crisis averted.

My Painting Ladies

2012-01-04T05:48:00.000-05:00

Not PaintED Ladies,

PaintING Ladies.

Although we have all be known to have a little paint on us.

Many years ago,

I happened on a small Yahoo group.

Long before Facebook or blogs

or anything like that.

It had to be serendipity,

you know fate,

stars colliding,

divine destination.

Something like that, or maybe just a magical push of a keyboard button.

Most of them were already there.

They welcomed me in,

We shared our painting,

our crafts,

then later,

our families,

our troubles,

our happy moments,

our rapidly growing families.

Well Patti, Kathy and I at least.

We became friends.

We "talked" daily.

We never met, yet these wonderful ladies

shared my life daily.

For TWO years!

And then we met face to face in

September of 2007

in Canada.

All except Patti.

It was as if we had known each other all of our lives.

A fun-filled weekend with plans to do it again,

we met again in late April of 2009.

Here, at my house.

Minus Marie this time.

It was another fun time.

We ate, we shopped,

we even made all the favors and gifts for my daughter's baby shower.

http://tolentreasures.blogspot.com/2009/05/thats-what-friends-are-for.html

I could go on.

I am going to show you the ornaments that I received from some of them.

Maybe some of you already know them.

Kathy

from Manitoba,

sent this.

Kathy has

Katie's Cows and Udder Things

She has been busy,

New baby on the way.

Lots of work.

She hasn't posted in awhile.

Lesley from Ontario

at Harmony Road Studio

sent these to me

She does such great work!

and

Becky,

from Maine,

the newest Blogger among us.

Country Lane Folkart

Click on over there and welcome her.

She does great painting!

I found it!

2012-01-03T14:38:00.001-05:00

Ok, Ok, I should be working, but pinterest sometimes just sucks me in and here I had pinned the pattern for those stars in the post below.

Here is the link:

http://talesfromcuckooland.blogspot.com/2011/03/too-many-wips.html

I haven't looked to see what other goodies she might have yet and of course I am not going to do that now because I should be working!

I did use a larger hook and three strands of thread for mine. Hers are adorable colors though.

Oh my, I am editing this again. When I read the post from the pin....I realized that it was yet another blogger that did the pattern.

What a trail/trial to find it all.

http://ellenbloom.blogspot.com/2009/12/garland-of-stars.html

Hers are actually made from worsted weight yarn.
One pattern, so many variations.

Some Links, My Version, A Plea, and a Big No-N0

2012-01-03T05:45:00.001-05:00

I think that I might be done with these for awhile.

Not sure though, they were pretty addictive.

Now, here is the issue.

I lost the link to where I found them.

Forgot to pin it!

How could I do that?

Very easy if you live in my world.

I lose way more important stuff than that.

Anyway,

I am going to apologize up front to anyone that I might offend by posting this pattern.

It is not my own.

If you see it and it is yours,

let me know and I will quickly make amends.

That being said,

I did change it a little.

It was written for one strand and a teeny tiny crochet hook.

Here is what I did.

Dug through the stash.

A little Knit Cro Sheen

Some cotton thread.

Some Perle cotton,

Whatever I found,

I used three stands of these.

I experimented with.

Using an E crochet hook.

Chain 6

Join with a slip stitch to make a ring.

Chain 3

(This counts as first DC)

Make 2 dc in ring and chain 5

until you have five groups of DC and

five chain 5 spaces.

Join to the initial chain 3

Make a single crochet in the top of the chain 3

Skip the next DC and

make a single crochet in the next DC.

Three single crochets,

chain 2

single crochet back into the third SC

two more single crochet

all in the chain 5 space.

Repeat around and join

with a slip stitch.

Sorry, not the best at crochet directions.

If you have any questions,

email me.

I coffee stained some of them,

left others natural.

I use white glue and water,

1:1 Ratio

for starch.

Critter issues aside,

I am still not comfortable with sugar water or sprite

or any other food product being stored in my attic.

Pin them to a board.

I use a corrugated plastic board,

we are in the sign business.

If you don't have one,

you could steal your least favorite

political person's sign

from along the road.

But,

don't tell anyone I said that.

I think that is illegal.

Corrugated cardboard,

covered in wax or freezer paper will suffice

and

keep you out of jail.

While they are still wet,

I dusted them with diamond dust.

Gotta love that stuff!

And these.

I have made them before.

Had tons of blue jeans seams and

thought I needed to use them up yesterday.

Very easy....

Didn't lose that link!

http://mousechirpy-polkadotpineapple.blogspot.com/2009/03/recycling-fun.html

Perfect coasters.

And on to the plea....

Finished these yesterday,

I am seriously in need of white, beige, light wools.

I will pay,

I will trade other colors of wool.

I will trade painted pieces.

I will trade wool things made up.

Anyone have any excess?

And lastly,

A Big No-No.

Don't ever put coffee stained items,

that might have some metallic thread in them

the

microwave.

The sparks and smoke were awesome,

the smell?

not so great!

Live and learn.

It is back to work,

kicking and screaming

all the way

for me today.

It has been a nice rest.

You would think my house would look better than it does.

Maybe it is a good thing I work.

Way too much of a procrastinator otherwise.

The Strange Ribbon Obsession

2012-01-02T04:55:00.000-05:00

I'll get to that in a minute...

But first,

These are some things that I have been working on.

See that first one up in the left hand corner?

Well I really didn't like that head on that one,

so the rest sort of got beheaded.

Sure like them better that way.

Tried this, not sure if I like it.

And these stars.

JWS came home to find them pinned to a board

drying on the kitchen counter.

His comment?

"It's not like you don't have enough areas to craft in this house,

is this what it had come to?

You now take over the kitchen counter?"

Just short of the frustration he had when he found them drying on a

baker rack on top of the wood burner.

And now on to the topic of discussion.

Four or five years ago,

I asked JWS to stop and get me curling ribbon

while he was in town.

Red

Curling

Ribbon.

He went to Joann's and bought $75 worth of ribbon.

So proud that he had got a deal,

I still have tons of ribbon.

Then in a moment of weakness on Saturday.

Not thinking of the outcome,

I asked him to stop at Michael's to pick up this.

A couple of paper palettes.

You see, the little angel boys next door

must have decided that my $8

palette

would make good drawing paper

and wrote their name

on the rest of the

sheets.

Tyler

Logan

Tyler

Logan....

When do they do these things?

And...

here is what he came home with...

So proud of himself!

Anyone need any high glitter leopard skin bows?

Please!!!!

But wait, that's not all.

You say,

"Why Cathy, is that a five foot pre-lit tree

on your dining room table?"

and I would have to say

"Why, Yes, it is."

Very Calmly.

He was so proud.

I put up five trees this year.

He, apparently thought I needed another one.

When will I learn?

And this great surprise...

Saturday, I went to get the mail.

No mail, but I looked on the front porch and there was a package.

So excited!

I love packages.

Sandi,

The Primitive Skate

http://theprimitiveskate.blogspot.com/

sent this to me.

I love it all!

There was some Peppermint Bark that did not make it to the picture.

Hmmm.

Back to these stars.

I sure hope that they are good sellers at the Open House this year.

I am so addicted to making them right now.

Off to mix up more starch!

I hope that all of you have a very

Happy New Year.

I have so enjoyed getting to know all of you.

I love all of your kind comments!

Lots of Wool!

2011-12-28T05:55:00.000-05:00

How fun is this Christmas present?

Well, at least for me it was!

Mom was stumped as to what to get me,

She haunts all these quilt shops all the time

and tells me about all the wool that they have.

I told her that I would always take wool.

And this is what she came up with!

Lucky for me,

the shop had a half your age discount that day,

and

well

um,

let's just say,

that

Mom

got a pretty good discount!

I have a hard time cutting into "real" wool.

Not so hard when it comes from the thrift shop.

Like this...

Two days before Christmas,

found me sliding through

Goodwill

running my hands along the skirt racks.

Sure love to find a nice wool skirt.

There is so much wool in them,

and they are easy to cut up.

When,

I saw this jacket.

Typically,

I don't buy jackets,

but this was too good to pass up.

Christmas week,

I made these for each of the girls.

They were in my mind for weeks,

but there was just no time.

They are candle mats,

the candle sits on the bottom.

Well, you get the picture.

Also, the week before Christmas

in a weak moment,

found

Jenn and I

and these four

headed to Pittsburgh

to see the lights.

Not the ratio of adult to child that I normally like,

but hey,

it's not as if we were getting them out of the car.

They would be strapped down the whole time.

Unfortunately,

we had nothing for their mouths.

and those two innocent looking ones in the back.

The six year old

and the

two year old.

ARGUED,

the whole way home.

That little one is a lot like her mother.

How fun!

A quick Christmas present finished at the last minute.

Kendall had been with me at the fabric store and wanted this material.

And a snap purse for Marilyn to fit her checkbook

and stuff.

A hat for Gracelyn

with interchangeable flowers.

Didn't get a pic of those though.

Sunset Christmas evening.

We celebrate our family Christmas on another day

and this year it was Monday.

JWS and I ran to the shop to get the newspaper on Christmas

and this was the sunset.

Certainly doesn't look like December

Pennsylvania.

Where to put the Baby?

2011-12-16T08:51:00.000-05:00

Before I get a sermon,

I'll just tell you and confess.

I didn't know where to put the nativity this year.

I know, I know,

all the words of wisdom that could go with that statement.

All the little devotions,

all the repercussions of making that statement,

BUT,

Hear me out.

1. Six grandchildren ages six and under.

2. The oldest two grandsons that have an affinity for anything that can

be thrown, launched, pitched, batted or kicked.

and

A manger that could double as a cat box, that JWS made in his younger woodworking days.

Not your ordinary house cat size box,

we are talking nothing short of a small cougar

sized,

so heavy that it actually needs a foundation,

get your daily workout

getting it out of the attic

cat box.

And so,

The other morning I had a brainstorm.

Early in the morning.

and

before JWS actually got a swallow of coffee,

I pitched the idea to him.

And later in the day he made that lovely frame for my nativity

and now Baby Jesus has a wonderful place in our home again

hopefully out of the range of flying projectiles.

Hardtack.

It used to be a tradition making it in our house.

Last night, I thought I would make one batch alone.

I seriously over-estimated my skills.

Just a few blisters later...

Anise Hardtack

(that obviously needs the sugar shaken off a little more)

Homemade Gumdrops.

Not sure about these,

right now they taste like sugared finger jello,

but they need to sit out a day or two

to be finished,

We'll see.

Cream Cheese Mints

My mom always made these and had these cute little molds that she put them in.

I had none.

So, they are cut out with an empty roll of Stitch Witchery

and

stamped with a button.

And this stuff.

Wow, is all I can say.

It is too good to leave alone.

Frito,

Corn Syrup

Sugar

Peanut Butter

and

Chocolate.

How can you not love it?

Also

Chocolate Covered Cashews

and

Fudge

and

Maybe a few others.

JWS thinks that I need an intervention.

or my meds adjusted.

Really, it's only BP medicine and Thyroid Meds.

Not any mood altering drugs.

However,

he did mention holding me down and slipping an animal tranquilizer under my tongue.

How rude!

Of course, he said that through

Frito crumbs and chocolate dripping down his chin.