Worth every scratch...

Having a Ball with Baskets

I 'should' be working on two totes for two of my sisters. Instead, I am doing this...


I 'should' be working on straightening the house for tomorrow's influx of partiers (although I hope we will all be able to stay outside). Instead, I am doing this...


I got back into these little baskets when Sister Terri was here, and since they are quick and easy instant gratification. (...and all out of odds and ends of scraps, including recycling Hubby's old jeans!)

OK - maybe making NINE was a bit too much gratification??? (and I have a few more cut out and ready to go, as well as a handful that are partially assembled...)

And while I was at it I threw in a couple coasters for good measure...

(I also did laundry, pruned 2 shrubs, deadheaded a killer rosebush, scattered eggshells in my veggie garden, and built a train layout for the Munchkin - so it was all in all a VERY productive day!)

Family Crafts

I've said it before - I am a child in a crafty family... so what do we do when we get together and visit? We make things.

The top basket I made for Sister Cindy and the bottom one I showed Sister Terri how to make - for herself. The buttons are old ones Sister Cindy gave me from an old button box.

We also made lots and lots and lots of good memories from this week.

Changing Gears

After a full day of working outside - hauling mulch and topsoil to where they are supposed to be and reclaiming the driveway, I decided some "little work" was in order, and decided to do some beading instead of sewing.

I first repaired a bracelet a co-worker had asked me to fix for her. It was purchased from a commercial home-party company, and they had strung it on what felt like waxed cord, which had stretched and frayed. I swapped it out for tigertail and now it should be nice and sturdy for her.

The other project was a lanyard for my work ID - now that we have swipe card access instead of keys. I wanted some thing neutral in color for this first one -although I anticipate making more for different seasons and/or outfits - although the beads I chose ended up making the entire thing quite heavy. It's hard to see in this not-so-good photo, but the white rounds and squares are a shell-like material, and the diamonds are silver. In between all of them are silver lined glass beads in 3 sizes. The clip is recycled from a fabric lanyard I got at a convention somewhere over the past few years.

Now to get my ID punched to fit in the clip and I will be all set to go.

Nothing like a good rainy day...

to get a lot of work done...

I still need to take photos, but the binding on the Boy Scout Quilt for Hubby is DONE. The Munchkin and I gave it a trial run with a mid-afternoon sofa snooze - works great!

And I made 3 more pillowcases. My goal is another 4 by the weekend so that each of my visitors will have their own new pillowcase during their stay.

Tomato bag update - we have fruit!!! On at least one plant. It's been raining since then so I have not been out to check again. All 6 plants seem happy and healthy.

Hawing and Hemming

These are the curtains in the Munchkin's room. The curtains I made about 2 years ago when I "transformed" his room from baby nursery to little boy jungle room.

The curtains I hung up unhemmed because I was not sure how long I wanted them to be - and needed to see how the lining hung in comparison to the front panel.

The curtains I 'just' hemmed - today. Two pairs - 8 hems total (lining and front panels).

Oh well -they are clean, pressed, and hemmed - now watch, the Munchkin will decide soon that he wants something else in his room.

Seeing Red

I've been making progress in dribs and drabs this past week - a quilty project is giving me frustrations and is now in a little heap in the corner - while I have moved on to other things.

Lazy Girl Designs just came out with a wonderful new bag pattern - Claire. You can read lots and lots about Claire on Joan's blog, including seeing the Claire that my Lazy Sister Sue posted, making her the first one to tell us about her Claire.

I was having difficulties picking my fabrics on this one - there are three different fabrics in the cover, and though I had a lot of pairs in my FQ stash that I would have liked to use together, I did not have any trios that did it for me - except for some I have set aside for a gifty project and so are off limits. Having seen pictures of all of Joan's samples as she shared them with her Yahoo Lazy Girl group, and actually having held a Claire in my hands prior to the pattern going to print - I was full of all these ideas and just could not decide.

Today - on my way through JoAnn's in search of children's scissors for the Munchkin, I noticed a cool red floral FQ - where the flowers looked almost like popcorn to me. And if you ask anyone - anyone in my family -they will tell you how much I LOVE popcorn!!! My life in Japan was frustratingly incomplete until I found a source of raw popcorn kernals and could make it the old fashioned way!!! Got me through many bouts of homesickness I'll tell ya!

(oh - and YES - the FQ's ARE on the way to the kids crafting supplies - really - trust me - they are!!)

In addition to being a fun print - this red combo really felt summery to me, and gets me geared up for our annual big Fourth of July picnic - I think our guest list this year is around 50 for fun and food in our backyard. This put me in the mood. Don't know if you can see it well in these photos - but the red on red has almost a starburst/fireworks motif.

Anyway - I found my trio -and got to sewing after the Munchkin went to bed. About 2 1/2 hours later - here she is - my finished Claire.

I opted for less variety in the inside -using a white on white yardage for my lining, and a second FQ of the polka-dots for the inner pockets. I have enough left over for a Wonder Wallet, too!

Oh -and over the weekend I finished up a pillowcase for my father-in-law for Father's Day. He's fixing up an old car, so this fabric was perfect for him. Now to figure out MY dad - who is coming to visit soon after Father's Day. Hmmmmm...... I got nuthin!

The Long and the Short of it

A phone call to my LQS and I am back in business on the Boy Scout quilt. Thanks to everyone who offered to look for me - now to drag my tired self upstairs and actually finish up the binding...

The LQS trip came with a caveat - taking my boys to the zoo...

...plus they helped me shop - so I ended up with a few more yards of "manly" fabric than I went in for. Nothing for me - all for the boys.

Go figure. I will bank this one for next time I go shop hopping!