Coffee Time

Hello, Sweet Friends. I've been doing a lot of stitching these past couple of weeks and thought I'd show you what I've been up to. This is a dishtowel that I stitched up for my friend's 88Th birthday! (Yes-- 88 years old and amazing!) Jeanette's favorite color is blue and she loves her coffee, so this is what I came up with. I used a whimsical vintage pattern and added the words "coffee time".

My friend Jeanette is very dear to me. We were next door neighbors when I lived in my little apartment, and we became really great friends. Now that I think of it, I bet she was quite entertained by my shenanigans. I always had something crazy going on out on the front patio... outrageous multi-dimentional pumpkin carving for contests at work, silly outdoor decorations for every holiday, growing sunflowers and building gnome gardens with the neighbor kids. Oh, and the baby possums that use to come up on the porch to eat the cat food! Yeah, never a dull moment.

Anyway, when her birthday rolled around I wanted to stitch something up for her that she could use, so I stitched this up for her. Don't you love the rick rack trim? I love rick rack. I lovelovelove it. It makes me happy. So does dingle-berry trim. (That's what I've always called pom pom trim.) I now wish that I had stitched "Rosie The Riveter" on the towel. Jeanette was a "Rosie" back in the day. She worked on airplanes, and she looked just like "Rosie The Riveter"-- absolutely adorable!

This is just a quick snapshot of how I wrapped her dishtowel. It was a quickie-- as always-- right before I ran out the door. I even managed to make a little gift tag to coordinate with the polka dot tissue. I love making tags. They're usually quick, easy, and not as overwhelming to create vs a card.

I've been busy all weekend cleaning, purging, and organizing my studio. I've never completely moved into this house. I still have boxes full of stuff. Boxes in the studio, boxes in the guest room, boxes in the garage-- so many boxes! Well, I've had it with boxes. I'm so ready to be done with boxes.
Well, in the midst of working in my studio-- which is also a sun room-- I locked myself out of my house. In my pajamas. In my socks. In the dark. In the rain.

Good times. Thank goodness I was wearing a bra.

Oh, and thank goodness I was able to get my gate open, as opposed to climbing the fence. That would not have been pretty. Seriously. It would not have been pretty. I walked through the muddy yard over to the house next door. My sweet neighbors helped me find a locksmith and saved the day.

Long story short, the locksmith and I were greeted by a happy, shaggy, Hagrid about one hour later, when the door was opened. He was oblivious to the adventure that I had been on, but seemed happy to see me. Haggie can sit, shake, high-five, and stay-- but somehow I forgot to teach him how to unlock a door.

Hugs,

A Fresh New Year

Happy New Year, Sweet Friends. I know, I'm a bit belated with my greetings. I think for once, instead of thinking, talking or writing about what I want to do in the new year, I've just been doing it. Imagine that! Me, actually doing something!
This adorable, giant-poof-of-a-pincushion was a fabulous Christmas gift from my fabulous friend Lisa-- and it's kind of become a springboard into the new year for me.

I love this giant pincushion more than words can say. It's in my favorite colors, and I love it so much I want an ottoman that looks just like it, for my living room. Wouldn't that be adorable?! Lisa so generously cut into one of her favorite fabric stashes to create it, like only a true friend would. I know this was not the easiest thing for her, so I love it all the more. (Thank you so much, sweet friend!)

Like I mentioned above, this giant-poof-of-a-pincushion has been a bit of a springboard into the new year for me. When you bring something new into your home, do you ever clean and tidy the house before finding a home for that item? Am I the only one that feels that way? I also feel that way about crafting. I want the house tidy, and then I feel like I can "treat" myself to some creativity. Needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot of crafting going on around here last year.

Without going into it, I'm really happy that last year is over. I'm really ready to move forward into this new year.

I've been cleanin' and stitchin'--- and it's been pure bliss for me. Creativity makes me happy. Simple, but true. I haven't been doing anything fancy, just sweet and simple stitching. Everything that I've been stitching has been gifts for friends and family. Creating for people I love adds a whole different level of joy for me. How 'bout you?

Well, my Sweet Friends-- stay tuned, and please come back soon to see what I've been up to!

Hugs,