A week of favorite things

Red Things

Christmas things and an end-of-year wrap up

I hope all of you have had a really good 2007 and are looking forward to 2008 as much as I am. 2008 promises to be a year of big changes!

I'm still sewing like mad on my new machine. I have made so many things (especially those little travel bags) that I have lost count. I finally got around to putting in the elastic in my pj pants I made for Blair and myself for Christmas. Matching pjs...a new Christmas tradition (which promises to be much cuter a few years from now when I have little ones to make them for also).

2007 has been a year of lessons learned (hopefully). Even just today Blair learned to look at every piece of laundry he does before he puts it in the machine. He accidentally felted one of his favorite sweaters. On the plus side, it fits me like a dream!!

I hope you all have a great News Year's Eve. See you in the next year!!

See Ya Later

Blair and I are leaving for his parents' home tomorrow and will be gone until later in the weekend.  I hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable rest of the week!!

Fun Times Sewing

My mom got me a Sewing Book (Last Minute Gifts) for Christmas. I have already made the square bag and two of these. These are my favorite. They are so fast and fun to make. I see many of them in the near future.

Self-Portrait Tuesday

It is not only once again Self-Portrait Tuesday, but also CHRISTMAS!! So Happy Christmas to all of you and yours.

Yes, I am still unashamedly taking pictures of my hair...my naturally untidy hair. Actually, it looks pretty good today, so I thought I'd make it my SPT pic.

Here are some of the things that have been going on around here.

I made this hat for Blair for Christmas ( I also made another one in green for M). The pattern came from Knitty.

This little guy's name is Sheldon. I found this pattern on Knitty and decided to make it for Karen. He's so cute (he also now has embroidered eyes).

This is my FAVORITE gift from Blair this year. A sewing machine! I now longer have to drive to my mom's house to sew and hope that I have everything when I get there. I have already made a few small projects as I get to know my new friend.

Corners of my Home

Now that the phone company has actually been to my house our internet is working perfectly. Turns out we had no filter, and to top it off, the phone jack we had the internet cable plugged into didn't actually work. Go Figure.

Now for corners of my home. I did a little bit of wall redecorating for Blair for Christmas. We're both pretty pleased with it.

Self-Portrait Tuesday

Now that our internet is back up, I can go ahead with Self-Portrait Tuesday.

It's been a long time since my hair was long enough to do this. I think the last time my hair was braided was when I was in Hansel and Gretel. Very exciting!

No Internet

Two-and-a-half weeks later, and still no internet to call my own! I'm using the library's internet to do this...

Corners of my Home

This post is going to have to go without pictures, so I want all of you to go out today and take a picture of your favorite corner and do your own Corners of my Home post.

Fraud

That's right...I am now a fraud victim. Somehow my debit card number wound up in Maryland the other day and was used to make some LARGE purchases. It has been easy enough to sort out, thankfully, but I still would rather not have to do it again!

Our internet is still down at home, so I'm not sure if I'll make the Corners of My Home post tomorrow or not. Very sad, indeed...

Self-Portrait Tuesday

This is my hand engaging in one of my (current) favorite activities. Knitting. It's so relaxing and rewarding, not to mention the joy people feel when they receive a hand-made gift. Go make something today!

A Reelfoot Saturday

Blair and I went to Reelfoot Lake Saturday to watch the day get its start. After a few missed turns and a couple of towns, we made it! Although it was a rainy day, it was great to get a start in the quiet that is nature.

Paying It Forward

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this post requesting to join this Pay it Forward Exchange. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. So basically, if you comment, you’re on. I’ll send you something crafty that I’ll make for you. Once you sign up, copy and paste this paragraph on your blog, and three other lucky people will be recipients of your handmade work.

Now, if the first three people who reply are Blair, Mom, and Dad...I'll have to go with the second set of three (especially seeing as to how Mom and Dad don't have blogs).

Changes around here

Just in case you didn't notice, I made some big changes to the blog last night. I've been wanting to do it for a while, but just got around to it. The Banner at the top is courtesy of some of the fun toys over at Flickr. These are some of my favorite of this year's Christmas photos I've taken so far.

Blair and I started the day with breakfast together for the third day in a row. I like it, he likes it, the dogs like it...I see a new morning routine in the making. The boys and I have nothing to do today until 3:30, so I think we'll have a very relaxing day (with a little cleaning thrown in).

Even with yesterday's Shop updates I still have some work left to do on a couple of items. Maybe something will sell for once. We shall see.

I almost posted this without a picture!


Owl Moon is one of my favorite winter books. Go read yours today!

More Etsy Updates

Corners of my Home

Yet another blogging idea from the amazing Amanda Soule. This is called Corners of my Home. Each Thursday I will try to post a picture of some corner, nook, or favorite spots around my home. Here is today's corner (which really isn't so much a corner as it is the top of my piano). My favorite is actually the blurry black-and-white. It makes me smile!


These are a few of my Christmas decorations. Hope you are enjoying yours!!

Today's Thrifting Finds

I had a little free time this afternoon and decided it would be best spent thrifting. I stayed for only 30 minutes and got some GREAT finds!!
First, this really cool aqua-teal-blue mug. I know I have lots of mugs already, but I figure one can never have too many mugs, right? I also seem to have an addiction to all things aqua-teal-blue and all things, well, mug. I know it needs some cleaning up...that's why it's in the dishwasher and not my hand at the current point in time.

Now, on to more fun, yummy, thrifty finds.

I got all of these skirts for $2 a piece! I'm especially proud of the brown tweed skirt. It still had the original price tag of $45 on it. (Please ignore the hideous brown carpet.)


This is my favorite of all the skirts. It's long and warm and green and tweed (another favorite of mine, especially in the cold, or supposedly cold, times of year). I feel like everyone's favorite kindergarten teacher in it!


I also got these great sheets and table cloths that I intend to cut into skirts when I have a sewing machine.

I think these two will make great skirts and bags.


You can't really tell in this photo, but the color is a gorgeous gold.


And here, a green table cloth with a built in border for a very cute skirt-to-be!!


Hope you enjoyed looking at my finds as much as I enjoyed finding them!!

A Breakfast Date

This morning Blair and I had a breakfast date...I had half of a grapefruit and he had an apple. Very nutritious, I know. But since we rarely see each other before 4:00 in the afternoon, I thought we'd start the day by, gasp, actually spending time together! Who knew it was possible anymore?

It's now the time of year (my favorite by the way--when will it be cold?) that we can get out the Christmas mugs!! I'm enjoying vanilla caramel truffle tea with a little Sugar in the Raw. Blair's mom gave it to me because she didn't like it (which was due largely to the fact that she wasn't making it properly, but why should I have said anything?). It's absolutely wonderful! Have a cup of tea and enjoy the day, everyone!!

Self-Portrait Tuesday and other musings

I've borrowed the idea from one of the blogs I read daily to do a "self-portrait Tuesday." These are pictures of me, either old or new, that provide some insight into my world. Today's self-portrait is of me in my pj's (yes, still, at 8:20 on a Tuesday morning). I love these pj pants. They're so warm, so soft, so cozy. I slip into these as soon as possible most evenings and just enjoy being home in them.

In unrelated thoughts, I have been feeling rather crafty of late. A feeling which has been hampered, sadly, by the lack of a sewing machine. So many ideas and designs floating around my already too-cramped brain. I'm afraid I'll lose them forever to forgetfulness. I have so many lovely plans for my dear little Etsy shop. My little shop with its many admirers and compliments and no purchases. I don't quite know how to handle this seemingly failed brain-child of mine. It's hard for someone who has a do-it-yourself-and-get-it-done-right type personality to put out a project whose success is completely independent of said person's actions. The success of my little store is in the hands of others (and in my mind, a dangerous place to be, indeed!). I don't do well with failure (very few people do, I imagine). All I can do is wait patiently on that one person whose fancy is struck by my imagination...

Etsy Updates

I made several updates this evening at the store. I have one big update left to do, but that will probably come later this week. Go have a look!