Completed Projects?????

I promised that while I was off last week, I was going to finish some projects and post pictures.

Well, that didn't happen. I got almost zilch done. I mostly just chilled out. Not very productive, right? I hope to do better, just don't know when.

Hope you had a great holiday weekend. Love one another.

More Lovely Weather

What's up with this weather? Today, we here in Arkansas, specifically NE Arkansas, are under a Severe Weather Alert. We are expecting super cells with tornados embedded in them. We are all watching the sky and the radar to see what happens. Hopefully nothing, however we are all prepared. Some area schools have already let out and are taking the children home. Word is that the storms will develop from 3:00p.m. on, and the schools don't want to have busloads of students on the roads during this time.

My oldest daughter picked up her son and they have headed to Mississippi where there is no severe alerts. My younger daughter and her family are heading to her in-laws where they have a storm cellar.

I'm not sure what my son and his family will do. They have a safe area in their house(that's not to say a bonifide safe room), but it should keep them as safe as anything could, except being underground.

Then there's me. I don't like storm cellars, and often tell the kids that I need to stay on top to tell the emergency people where to dig them out. I think my fear of being trapped and no one finding me is worse than taking chances with the storm. I'd much rather be at home, but after seeing the homes in Joplin, Mo, I'm not too sure home would be very safe. We have a computer room here that has 1 foot thick walls reinforced with re-bar, and the roof is the same. The only thing is they cut corners by putting in glass doors rather than the heavy ones they should have. Still, that's probably a safer place than my house. I just don't want to stay here until 10p.m. That's when the storm threat should be over.

Hopefully the storms won't develop and I can go home and watch the ballgame.

I hope you are having a great day. Love each other.

To Do List!

I'm going to be off for a couple of days the end of the week, and I have a To-Do list. I'm thinking if I put what I need to get done in a list, I will be more likely to make it a To Done list. I'm going to start with the oldest things first, since these things have obviously been sitting there the longest.

1. I made two sundresses last year for the oldest two granddaughters. Unfortunately, they were too big, so rather than redo them, I put them back to finish this spring. Here's what they need.
A. Buttons and buttonholes for the straps.
B. A bit of embroidery work on the collars.
C. Button and holes where the collars attach.
D. A tuck near the bottom to make them just a touch shorter.
All this could be done in a couple of hours.

2. I smocked a front for a dress for The Banty Hen earlier in the spring. It got laid aside while I did Easter dresses. Here's what it needs.
A. Trace off the pattern and cut it out.
B. Sew up the dress.
Now this will take a bit longer, but should be accomplished easily in a day. It's a simple dress smocked from the shoulder not rocket science.

3. My dil's mother and step-father have one of those mobile BBQ wagons, and they asked me to make a couple of tablecloths with elastic around them for their picnic table, which I did, but with the rest of the material, they wanted one that would go over their square chest deep freezer. That requires.
A. Cutting the fabric using the measurements given.
B. Running it through the serger.
C. Attaching the elastic.
I'm allowing 2 hours from start to finish on this one.

4. A friend whose daughter is getting married asked me to serge around the edges of a couple of pieces of fabric--note the word couple. When she brought it to me, she wants 2- 15" squares out of two pieces of satin - one green, the other peach. Then she would like as many 12" inch squares as I can get out of the rest. That's 4 15" squares, and I don't know how many 12" squares. So, here's what has to be done to those.
A. Measure both pieces.
B. Mark and cut 4 15" pieces, being careful not to waste any.
C. Serge all of the pieces.
This I'm allowing at least 4 hours.

I believe my two days off are full. This weekend is also our family reunion. I've been asked to make potato salad, and I'm possibly going to attempt to make a watermelon cake. That's Saturday used up.

At some point I have to go get the hamburger meat, hotdogs and a few other things. The reunion is Sunday afternoon.

I'm hoping there are enough left overs that I won't have to cook on Monday, and with a little luck, I won't see anyone all day.

I'll have pictures next week of what I finish on my To Do list, and if the cake turns out, I'll have a picture of it. I'm trying to polish up my limited decorating skills since the next weekend I'm making a My Little Pony cake for The Banty Hen. That girl lives and breathes My Little Pony.

I guess this sounds like I'm complaining--I'm not really. I love making things for my grandchildren, and doing for others. Besides, I get paid for the tablecloths in BBQ, and boy is it good.

I'll keep you posted on how things progress.

I hope you are having a great day. Love each other.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

We here in the mid south(namely Arkansas) continue to have rain. Along with that rain comes thunder, lightening, sometimes hail and tornados. It stormed about every hour last night, nothing major, just enough to wake me from my needed rest.

I'm not complaining mind you, I still have a roof over my head, unlike those unfortunate folks in Joplin, Mo, and other places. My heart hurts for them, especially those who lost loved ones.

As I looked at the pictures on the internet of the destruction, the 1968 tornado came to my mind. It was also a troublesome year for bad weather, and a good piece of Jonesboro was stripped from it's earthly bearings. 35 lives were lost, many severly injured. I very well remember all the chaos during that time. It's been 43 years since that tornado had it's way with Jonesboro, and if you drive through those areas now, you see very little to remind you of what happened that night in mid May, but it is still very vivid in the minds of those who lived through it.

Please remember all those who have been affected by these storms.

Hope you have a good day. Love each other.

Diva Horse

What is that song from Mr. Ed, something about a horse is a horse of course of course, and something about unless it's Mr. Ed. Well, there is another type of horse for a school program. It's a Diva Horse. Princess #1 has turned into a diva of sorts, and last night she was a horse. When I commented about not having ever seen a horse with pink finger and toe hooves, she informed me hers were pink because she was a diva horse. It's kinda hard to tell, but in the first pic here, you can see her ears and mane made of knitting yarn. The second pic is a side view and shows her tail.


We are so pleased with the school that 3 of my grandchildren attend. The kids are happy going there and they are always involved in something. A couple of months ago, Princess #2, and her cousin Superhero were in a program where everyone was bugs. They allow the parents to come up with a costume(nothing elaborate) and it's such fun to see what some of them look like. P#2 was a ladybug, and Superhero was a lightening bug(firefly if you aren't from the South).

P#1 was in last nights program, and it was called, 'The Cheese Stands Along', based on the song, 'The Farmer in the Dell'. There was the farmer, his wife, the nurse, the child, the dog, the cat, the rat and of course the longsuffering Cheese.

Some of the children were dressed as cheese from all over the world. The cutest one was string cheese. The rest of the kids were divided up into farm hands(cowboy hats, plaid shirts, etc) and various farm animals. They all sang, some had lines, and everyone did a great joy. The director introduced the different groups and they were given the opportunity to take a bow. Having this opportunity to be in the spotlight and being praised for a job well done is such a wonderful way to build self-esteem in these young children. I was not only proud of my granddaughter, but of everyone's grandchildren on the stage.

Hope the sun is smiling on your face today. Love one another.

The Flood of Ought 11

This year's flood through the Mississippi River Delta will go down in history along with the 27 and 37 overflows. The levee system is much better now than it was then. In fact, I doubt there were any levees back then. When the river overflowed, it just meandered wherever it found a low spot.


I live in a small town on the banks of the Kahlua colored St. Francis River(pictured here). It's always this muddy, thus the name Kahlua colored. This picture shows how close to the top of the levee the water came. Just below the bridge in this picture, the levee had to have some reinforcement to keep it from overflowing. I have heard that if that had indeed happened, plans were in place to evacuate us.

The St. Francis River has it's head waters in Missouri. We feed out of Lake Wappella. However, we do feed into the Mississippi, just quite a good ways on down the river.

I live about 3 blocks from the river. This picture shows my yard, even though that isn't my house. The water came up to my house, but didn't get in. I have a crawl space, so it would have taken quite a bit of water to actually get in. Thankfully, I didn't have to find out just how much it would require.

We fared so much better than so many during this trying time. I was never without basic necessities, I don't have to file insurance reports on any damage(other than we considered asking for government assistance for the garden). It looked pretty sad for a while, and we lost a few things, but not so much that we'll go hungry this winter.

I was able to get to work each day with only minimal worry about what I might find when I got home. Fortunately, one of my neighbor/friends called and gave me updates from time to time so I wouldn't worry. All in all I really wasn't inconvenienced in any way by the flood.

Unfortunately, there are so many who have been inundated and still have water/mud in their homes and have lost so much. Many have already started rebuilding already, especially along the Black River. I doubt I'll ever see this type of flood again in my lifetime. This is a part of history. Someday our children and grandchildren will watch footage and see pictures on some weather documentary, just as we see pictures of the floods back in 27 and 37. I'm sure they will look just a foreign to our offspring as those pictures do to us. Hopefully, we won't have to deal with it again.

Hope you are having a good day. Love each other.

T-Ball and A Birthday Party

Hello everyone. It's been quite a while since I posted. Don't know why. Just one of those things.

However, I want to tell you about my youngest granddaughter's T-Ball game. I went last night to watch her 'play'. She was fine when it was her turn to hit the ball and run the bases. However, her attention span gets very short when it's time to stand out in the infield waiting on a ball to be hit in your direction.

Most of the time, she wandered around. There was an older gentleman(I'm assuming he was there to help), out on the field near 1st base. She would go over and stand up against him like he was her best friend and talk to him. Her mother said they had never seen him before. She doesn't usually take up with strangers. But then one time while she was on 3rd base, she was showing the coach her belly.

They are all cute. She's almost 4, and I really think some were younger. It was fun watching all of them with caps a little bit too big, trying to keep their gloves on their little hands, and running. They were so adorable.


My next to the oldest grandson turned 14 on the 16th of this month. My how times flies whether you are having fun or not. We bowled, ate pizza and had cake and ice cream. He got Chicago Cubs baseball tickets for his birthday. He told his other granny, it was the best birthday ever.

I hope this post finds everyone having a good day. Be nice to someone.

Where Have I Been and What Have I Been Doing?

Since my trip in September, I have been unable to find the docking station for my camera. I keep thinking the battery is going to die soon, but in the meantime, I have been able to make a few pictures of what I've been up to. This two piece suit has kept me busy for a few days. There are two of them, one for each of the princesses. One a size 6, the other a size 7. I have come to learn to hate making multiples of anything. The first one was no problem, but I had to beat myself over the head to get the second one finished. I purposely left the first one unhemmed so it wouldn't be finished until the other one was as well. It's sad when you have to play mind games with yourself to get things done. I have to tell you a little history about this fabric. The mother of the two princesses was a bride's maid in a wedding 13 years ago. For each function she attended, I made her a new outfit. This is some of the fabric I used to make a suit for her. I have no idea why I would have bought so much, but when I figured it up, I had to have used about 2 yards for her suit, 1 yard each for the girls, making 4 yards, and I have two left. That means I bought about 6 yards of this fabric. I must have gotten a real deal. I have plenty left to make the banty hen a jumper and even a vest for superhero(if his dad will let him wear it.) The jacket is a chanel style that is short. The skirts are pleated like a kilt. I think the girls will wear black turtle necks and leggins.


The other thing I've been doing is working on a rocker. It's one I found out in my storage building. Most of the varnish has long since gone, and the boards in the seat had separated as you can see by the pictures. I got out my mouse sander and worked on it for about two hours one Saturday morning. Since I work full time, that's about the only time I have to work on anything.




I think it's a cute rocker and will look really cute once I get it painted and some cushions made for it. My plan is to stencil something on the back and down the center. Make a cushion for the seat and a roll pillow for the back. But first things first.

I used wood glue to fill in the crack and some wood filler on a few other places that needed some attention. I put clamps on the chair to hold it in place until the glue had time to set. The instructions said overnight. That took up the rest of that weekend. So, finally the next Saturday, I was able to put two coats of primer on it. I'm painting it white by the way, so of course the primer is also white. I don't have any pictures of the chair after priming, but if the weather cooperates, I should have a couple of coats of paint on it this coming weekend. I've got more sanding and smoothing to do as well, but I think it's going to be a really cute chair for a little girl's room.






Sorry to have been away so long. Love one another.

Bloglines.com Going Away!!

If you use Bloglines.com to get to your blogs, you have seen this message:

As you may have heard, we are sorry to share that Bloglines will officially shut down on October 1, 2010.
More detail can be found on the Ask.com blog - http://blog.ask.com.
We want to make it as easy as possible to transport your feeds to another RSS aggregator, so below are some simple instructions:


I'm not talented at using these types of tools, so when I found Bloglines, I thought I had died and gone to blogland heaven(not really, but it's so convenient). I had added the blogs I read each day, and the nice thing about it is that as new posts are done, the blog name shows up in BOLD. That way you only click on the blogs with new information. And as we all know saving key strokes allows for more time to actually read our favorite blogs. Also, I can login to Bloglines.com no matter where I am, and presto, right there before me are all the blogs I need to see.

Therefore,I have a cry for help. If you know a great RSS aggregator, please tell me about it. I just don't think I can make it without this type of service.

I hope you are having a great day. Pray for our nice weather to continue. Love one another.

#@% BUGS

We were without electricity last night after the power station was hit by lightening. It went out about 8:15 last night, and didn't come back on until 7:40 this morning. Needless to say, I had to open the windows and try to get a cool breeze, which I was able to do.

However, the bugs singing outside my window were terribly annoying. They sang alllllll night long. Then there was the generators that keep the sewer pumping stations going down the street, and the one that keep the water pumping up the street.

Needless to say, I kinda like having to be closed up in my house with the a/c running so I can sleep--peacefully.

But I did think about what it would be like to be blind and have to get around all the time in the dark. How fortunate I am to have my sight.

I hope you have power today. Pray for those in the California gas explosion. Love one another.

My Daughter's Birthday!!

Today is my youngest child's birthday, and even though I remembered the day, I got the age wrong. I commented on her facebook page that she is 31 today when actually she is 32. I just can't catch a break. This first picture is of her at about 6 or 7(I'm sure I'll be corrected, if that's not right).
This picture is of her in senior high.
Thirty two years ago, I was one miserable camper. It was a Saturday, my then husband was golfing, and before he left that morning, he said don't go to the hospital til I get home about 6pm. He got home about 6pm and almost to the minute, my water broke. My beautiful little girl was born about 9pm that night. I didn't believe in prolonged labor.
This last picture is her senior picture. Happy Birthday Daughter#2.

These pictures are courtesy of Princess#1. Saturday she and the rest of the grandchildren were at the house. She asked if she could take some pictures. I said sure as long as none are of me. She took 47, many of which were pictures hanging on the wall(hopefully the spiderwebs don't show up). These are 3 of the ones she took.

I hope you are having a great day. Pray for those in the wildfires out west and those in the flood around Dallas. Love one another.

I Brought No Luck To The Cardinals!!

When we arrived at the ballpark on Saturday, they were doing a photo session with fans. We didn't get there in time for me to get on the field(the number was limited, but we got close enough to get some long(and I mean long)shots of my favorite player, Yadier Molina.
We took a few pictures, went to the Team Store and bought me a shirt, and made our way to our seats.
The rest of these pictures are taken of the stadium from our seats. We were in section 342 which lines up with first base. From where we were sitting, we had a straight line from first to second base.
We had a good view of everything. I missed seeing one play at first, but that was the fellow's head in front of me. I got to see Molina throw Brandon Phillips out at second base. I got to see Dennys Reyes pitch to a couple of batters. He's my favorite relief pitcher. Brenden Ryan played shortstop. He's one of my favorites too. I do miss Ryan Ludwick, but I guess that's all part of the game.
We had been listening on tv to the booing that was being done when Brandon Phillips came out to bat, and it was definitely loud, but it was nothing to how it sounded in person. They booed him every time he came out, and cheered when he missed a ball or was called out on strikes. When Molina threw him out at second, the crowd was on their feet cheering.

It was a fun day. I got to spend time with my brother and SIL, we got to see a good ballgame(even though we didn't win).

I hope you had a great Labor Day. Pray for those in need. Love one another.

Plans for Saturday!!

This weekend is a three game series with Cincinati. So, about a month ago, I asked my brother and sister-in-law about attending a Cardinals game on Sep 4th. My SIL is a Red's fan, and I am a Cards fan. My poor brother isn't a fan of either, and doesn't follow baseball too closely. He's going along to do the driving, and the refereeing(is that a word?). My brother's wife has been my SIL for over 40 years and we've never had a cross word. That statement may not be true after Saturday. If you watch the Cards or the Reds, keep an eye out for a couple of women fighting up above home plate. My poor brother will be in the middle.

My daughter commented, 'What has Uncle Larry gotten himself into?' I told her he didn't get himself into anything, he was dragged in. Katherin and I made plans and told him what we were doing and don't think he was given a choice.

We'll leave about 9am and the game starts at 3:15pm. We'll stop somewhere along the way and have lunch, the game should be over about 6ish, unless they go into extra innings, and we should drag our tired selves in about midnight. But it will be a good day. We have fun when we are together. And truly, I'm not terribly concerned about any fights, unless our seats are surrounded by lots of Card fans, and her Red's shirt causes trouble. In that case, brother and I will be called on to protect her.

The weather should be nice, and it will be a wonderful day. Then on Monday, I'm going to make something for lunch and the kids will be around to eat, and maybe the bro and sil will be there too. Aren't three day weekends wonderful?

I hope you are having a good day and have planned a good weekend for yourself and your family. Pray for safe travel on the roads this weekend. Love one another.

My visit to Eastern Tennessee!

I have friends(yes, real friends)in Eastern Tennessee. I left NE Arkansas Thursday morning and arrived at their home around 3 in the Afternoon. Jan, Con, three dogs and five cats greeted me. They live in a very nice home surrounded by woods. It makes for a wonderful place for their animals to run. They commune with nature too. She has four hummer feeders and as we sat on the porch in the evnings and mornings, they buzzed us as they came to feast on the feeders and on the flowers in the yard and around the fountain. There is a little green frog that lives in the fountain. He comes out and sits on the rim, but if you get too close, he dives back into the pump housing. Jan has a beautiful stained glass lotus blossom she made in the pond that the frog sits on as well.

I was treated to a scrumptous meal of roast, potatoes, carrots, wheat rolls and applie pie. I think I made a pig of myself, but I was hungry.

On Friday, we visited with Jan's mom and dad. Then along with Don, we went over to Sgt York's home. In case you don't know or don't remember, he was a WWI hero, and the most decorated veteral of that war. He came from humble beginnings in the hills of Tennessee, and a movie was made about his life starring Gary Cooper. You can read about him here. This is the grist mill his family owned and operated.
This is the water source that powered the mill in it's early days. It was later changed to some sort of motor driven grinding mechanism.













This is the turtle we saw at the edge of the stream. Don't know exactly what kind it was.













The picture below is yours truly standing by the statue of Sgt York beside his home. Don't know why I didn't get any of the house. The house was very interesting. The original furniture is there(and what I wouldn't give for some of it). Several of their clothes are on display. His now 84 year old son is the park ranger that spends his days there at the house telling about the life of his famous father. I asked him if he realized when he was a kid that his dad was such an important man, especially when very important people came calling. He said no he didn't. Anyone who knocked on the door was welcomed in, and people from every walk of life came to their home. The Yorks had 10 children, losing two in infancy, they raised eight to adulthood. The thing I thought was funny was the names of some of the children. The ranger was Andrew Jackson York, one of the brothers was Thomas Jefferson York and a sister was named Betsy Ross York. He was a true patriot, a person who had greatness thrust upon him, but struggled financially all through his adult life.

















On Saturday, we drove to Chatanooga to the Fresh Water Acquarium. Along the way, we stopped at the overlook to the valley below. It was hazy that day, but still quite beautiful.















Once inside the acquarium, we found this fellow. Can you tell which is me and which is the penguin?












The butterfly room was awesome. There were butterflys everywhere. The blue one was the most beautiful I'd ever seen. When it's wings were open like in the picture, you see this beautiful blue, but when they are closed, the outside looks like a tapestry in browns.

















Jan left Don and me to rest while she went to get the truck. I thought this building was interesting across from the bench on which we sat.
I had a wonderful(but too short)time with my friends. On the way home I got to thinking how long we've known each other. We met in late 1994, so it's been 16 years. My how time flies. Seems like only yesterday.

I hope you are having a wonderful Thursday. Pray that the newest explosion in the Gulf doesn't prove to be as tragic as the last one. Love one another.

Procrastination!

That's me alright. I have been procrastinating, and school started back for the University with whom I'm employed, so time in front of computer at work has been at the max, and time in front of the one at home--almost non-existent.
I'd like to thank Katie from One Scheme of Happiness for sending me the book and the knitted badger in the picture. I brought my badger whose name is now Katie to work. She's too cute to leave home in my sewing room. Besides, she might get lost in there.


I told you a while back about a bookcase/entertainment/china cabinet that I scored 'For Free'. Below are some of the pictures of it. It is 6 ft wide, and I think 8 feet tall. I haven't measured it to be exact, but I'm going by the pieces of backing. There are two of them and they are laid sideways.

I could leave the backing, but I want to remove it and put beadboard on the back. I think that will look much better. I also want to remove the scallops at the top, and put some trim and crown molding across the front. The ends will also have to have something done to them, maybe a bit more bead board. I want to paint it black, and I have the perfect place picked out for it(Kids, not in my house) my son has already told me he isn't putting it in my house. There isn't room, and he's absolutely right.

I'm not sure what I will do to the doors. I don't know if I'll fill in the groove near the edges or what, but the hardware will at least need painting. I'd rather not have to replace it because I'm going to have enough in the beadboard and trim, but I hope to have something pretty when it's finished. In the meantime, we're calling it my white elephant.

I'm not planning to do to much to it until it cools off a bit, and I have a wooden rocker I want to do first. it's much smaller and shouldn't be too much work. I think it's going to be white with some stenciling on the back rest. But we'll see.

I hope you are having a good day. We got a bit of rain this afternoon. Pray for the people at the Discovery Building. Love one another.

Where Have I Been?

I was attacked by a virus last Thursday. It took until Monday to get rid of it and me back on track. Yesterday was a catch up day. Hopefully, I won't get another one of those lovely things. If you want to know the truth, I think I got it from another blogger, because I was reading along on a blog, and everything closed zip, zap, zowee!! Just like that! I could restart my pc and work on anything that was local, no problemo. I could send and receive email, and I had internet access, but when I would attempt to open Internet Explorer, I'd get a message saying 'failure to initialize'. We ran one virus scan 4 times on Friday, and again on Monday. Each time finding something I hadn't seen before. Then we changed to another virus checking software and found some the other hadn't. This nasty piece of work actually changed some of the settings on my Internet Explorer, and it finally took two of us sitting side by side with my pc and a laptop, and comparing settings. Needless to say, I'm back on line, and a measley little ole virus isn't going to keep me away from blogland.

I have some more projects in the works, and lots to do, so come back and see what I'm up to(that is if my kids don't put me in the home first). They think I've lost my mind, and they may be right. They keep telling me they are reporting me to Hoarder's Anomymous. Actually, I'm reducing things as quickly as possible. I just have to work on some before they leave. I found a rocking chair and two chairs in the storage building which is getting torn down. I also found a Holly Hobby babydoll high chair. I had thought about painting it, but I think a good cleaning is all I'm going to do. I have a feeling it's worth some money. It's in mint condition, just dirty.

What projects are lurking around the corner for you?

I hope you are having a great Wednesday. Pray for those deluged in water around the world. Love one another.

One Goal!

Do you remember the song from Sesame Street, you know the one that said "Three of these things belong together, three of these things are kinda the same"? Well, that's what I'm going for here in an offbeat sort of way.
Just looking at the four pictures here, you probably couldn't in a million years find any connection to even get two of them together, but there is a connection.
The first three are connected because they go into the princesses room. The first one is the first initial of their first names. They aren't finished. I had planned to paint them the turquoise that is in their bedding, and may still do so. Their parents have painted the bedroom two colors. The top half of the room is a soft yellow and the bottom half is a pink. This will be divided by a chair rail, but I don't know what color it will be. They are putting it up today. I will need to ask their mother what color she wants the letters painted. I don't know if she will hang them on the wall or maybe set them on a shelf(that is assuming each girl has her own shelf). Another decision mom will have to make. The second is three girls dancing. There are only two girls, but I got this for a dollar at Abilities Unlimited. It was painted gold, and I'm painting it white. I have some work to do on it. It has some little holes in it, and they need to be filled with something. I thought it would look cute on their dresser. The last thing is a dresser scarf/runner that I made from some of the leftover fabric from the bedding set. It will cover most of the top and hang down about 12 inches on each side. It is very plain. I thought about trim on the ends, but that would have meant a purchase, and stash reduction is the ultimate goal here.
Then there's this little dress. I'm not very good at lace insertion and I originally made this for one of the older girls. The first time she wore it, some of the lace separated from the fabric. It has hung in the sewing room for a couple or three years, and in an effort to reduce the contents(aka stash), I did some machine stitching around the insertion using some of the decorative stitches on my machine, using a machine embroidery thread. I'm hoping that The Banty Hen will be able to get a couple of wearings out of it before summer is over.

The way all of these are connected is that 1. they will help reduce my stash, and 2. will finish some unfinished projects, and 3 get them out of my house before the hording people come.

As a side note to my children, I have another piece of furniture to play with and will be bringing it home soon. It's not as big as what's sitting on my carport right now.

I hope you enjoy driving your children crazy like I do. Pray for them. Love one another.

Stash Reduction!!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had made a new pair of slacks and they fit pretty well. So, since I can't seem to buy anything that fits, I decided it is time to work on some things for myself. As I began thinking about what I wanted to make, it dawned on me that there were three goals I could accomplish. 1. Have a few new pieces of clothing to wear. 2. Save some money, and this is an important one, 3. Reduce the amount of fabric in my stash.

It seems that about the only thing I ever do is add to my stash. I've heard a couple of gals call this a 'stash enhancement'. So, I've decided to call mine a 'stash reduction'. This 3rd thing is very important since my oldest daughter mentioned an intervention from a hoarding group - again! BTW, my hoarding isn't filth like so many of those on the show. You won't find any rotting food, empty fast food cartons, or empty wine bottles in my house. I just can't seem to pass up a bargain, but in some areas, it seems a bit out of control. Should I be attending meetings or something?

So last night, after the Reds and the Cards settled down to playing ball and not fighting, I began working on my latest project. First I got out these two pieces of fabric. Thought there was enough to make a pair of capris and a shirt. Plenty to make the shirt, but only enough to make a pair of shorts. Not to be deterred, I went ahead and cut out the shorts, since I'll need a few things for a short trip I'm taking the later part of the month.

Then I spied this piece of knit I had bought to make a top. I cut it out and had a finished shirt by bedtime.

By the way, I have this on today. The pattern amounted to a front, back, sleeve and neck binding. By using my serger,I was able to cut it out, and sew it up in about an hour and a half(this was with one eye on the ballgame too.)

Tomorrow, I will have pictures of the big bookcase that is now sitting on my carport and that my son is not happy with me for asking him to move. It's big, and it's heavy. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.

What project are you working on? Pray for cooler weather. Love one another.

I'm Definitely A Sucker!!

I tend to be a follower. I'm easily swayed. You can talk me into almost(I said almost)anything. I go with the crowd. Whatever you want to do, I'm usually with you.

When I first started reading blogs, my daughter told me about the pioneer woman. I didn't follow her down the path of becoming a rancher's wife and having 4 children(I only have three), but as she cooked, I cooked. I thought I had to make everything she posted in the way of food. And I kept up for a while, but you have to remember, I don't have anyone to cook for on a daily basis so you know where I'm going with this. Either I eat everything I cook, or take it to work, and my grocery budget just didn't like that.

Then I decided I needed to find some sewing blogs since I do a lot of sewing. I found more quilting blogs than clothing blogs, so what did I do, I made a couple of quilts for my grandchildren. This made both them and their mother happy, and I was tickled to do it for them. But as much as I'd like to quilt, I don't seem to have the ability to put things together enough to make pretty quilts, plus I just don't know if I can commit that much energy to one project.

Then I found a couple of blogs that make adult clothes. So what did I do, I(after years of sewing primarily for small children)have decided to make myself some clothes. I made a pair of slacks over the weekend that turned out very well, so I'm planning to make more. I also want to make some capri's and a couple of pair of shorts. I intended to do some cutting out last night, but a huge bag of purple hull peas that I found in my Living room had to be shelled.

I've also been reading a blog called The Frosted Gardner. They take furniture that has seen better days, usually being that the finish is ruined from years of abuse. They do some sanding, some repair, then they paint and refurbish the pieces. So what do you think I've done? Yesterday, I found out that a fellow behind me who is remodeling a house has decided to remove a custom hutch. It was sitting on his front porch. I marched my happy self over and asked what he was planning to do with it. He said he would give it to me if I wanted it, which, of course, I did. My son will move it to my house today. I have big plans for it. If it gets moved today, I'll take some pictures when I get home tonight and post them here. I'll also tell you what my plans for this piece are, and maybe you can help me with a few minor decisions.

I hope you aren't as easily moved to do crazy things like I am. Pray for me. Love one another.

For Whom Do You Sew?

If you sew that is. I like to sew for my granddaughters, but I'm the one who needs clothes. I have very few dress clothes since I mostly wear jeans to work. But I have need of some things and I can't seem to find anything that fits.

I'm 5'3, and a petite fits in length as far as leg length. But from waist to crotch even a petite is too long. I have a pair of jeans that I've been wearning for 3 years and they are pretty worn. They are too long in the seat, but I wear them anyway. I decided since they are pretty much worn out, I'd make a pattern from them and see how that worked.


I've used garments to make new ones before. Sometimes I have good luck and sometimes it's a disaster. But during my spare time, I ripped one leg out of these jeans, pressed it and used it to make a new pair of slacks.

As you can see, I'm making a pair of white slacks. I got the fabric from Hancocks, and it has the best 'hand' of anything heavy enough to make slacks I've picked up in a while. I trimmed some off at the top so they wouldn't bee too long in the seat(we've already discussed that) and sewed them up in about an hour. They don't have a zipper, but they do have pockets. I don't like pants without pockets. I wore them to church Sunday morning with a white tank top and royal blue shirt with burnout segments in it. Needless to say, I looked like a top model(and if you believe that, I've got some swamp land south of town for sale--reasonable).

I like this pair of pants enough that I've dug out enough fabric to make another pair, and think I will make a couple of pair of capri's. I'm taking a short trip the end of the month, and having something nice to wear would be great.

I'm going to start the capri's tonight. I'll let you know if I finish them before I go to bed.

I hope you've started something new and exciting this week. Pray for a break in the heat. Love one another.