The Signature Block Resolution

In school you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life you're given a test that teaches you a lesson. –Tom Bodett

About six weeks ago, I called for opinions on a layout for a signature block quilt. You all rose to the challenge magnificently! All of your comments were wonderful and helped to point me in the direction I want to go. But before we get to that, I want to show you my newly acquired 30's Reproduction Fabrics.

Beautiful, right? Rather than ordering on-line, I went to a LQS that I don't visit very often because it is more than a 3-minute drive from my house or from where I work. I knew they'd have an awesome selection of 30's Repros, and I was right. I had a really hard time choosing the best of the best. I came home with 25 Fat Quarters, which are currently in my laundry room waiting to be washed. Every so often, I go in there and run my fingers over them and admire how pretty they are. Now that I've finished the bags I was working on, this signature quilt is the next project in line. My deadline is September 17. The recipient turns 100 and this quilt will have 100 places for people to sign. I decided to go with the flower layout.

I didn't see a block pattern when I was searching for different signature blocks, so I used Quilt Assistant to make a pattern based on the quilts I'd seen. I used the grid feature to make sure it was divided out equally. Once the pattern is finished, you can print it out at any size you want. I'm going with 5" blocks, which don't work out mathematically for easy cutting. I'm either going to use templates to cut the fabrics for traditional piecing or try out paper piecing using freezer paper. Lane posted a good description of how to do it a while back and I want to try it out. Peeling the paper off the back in one solid piece when you're finished looks pretty slick. I think that I'm going to cut sheets of freezer paper at 8½" x 11" and see if they will play nicely in my printer, saving me a lot of tracing. The freezer paper is good for more than one block, but I'll still have to have multiple copies, because eventually they'll run out of stick.

I'm itching to get started. I just need to find a minute to slip off to JoAnn's when Kona Solids are NOT on sale so I can use a 50% coupon on those.

Oh My {Wonky} Stars!

God's promises are like the stars; the darker the night the brighter they shine. –David Nicholas

Over the past eight months or so, I've been working on a little stash enhancement project tending towards more modern prints. Most of it has come from on-line shops and quite a lot of it has been on clearance. 50% off is my favorite price. I also joined the Stash Stack Club at Pink Castle Fabrics. Each month they feature a certain color and you can get six or twelve different fabrics in either fat quarter or half-yard cuts. The fabrics they send are considered blenders, that is, tone-on-tone or a single color and white. They have their shop organized so that you can search their blenders or Stash Builders, as they call them, by color. I've also ordered from their sale fabrics and beefed up my stash that way. She who dies with the most fabric still dies, but at least she'll have lots of pretty fabrics to make lots of pretty quilts before then.

Now, I'm not getting paid or compensated by telling you this {but if the folks at Pink Castle get a ton of traffic from here and want to send a little something my way, I wouldn't turn them down}. I've just had a really good experience with them and wanted to show off a little something I've been working on, using things I pulled from my stash.

Generally, I'm not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl. I like to have a plan. But when I saw this Wonky Stars Tutorial, there was just enough organization there that I felt safe being a little wonky.

I had so much fun playing in my stash that I couldn't stop at one.

Or two.

The blocks are 12" and they go together pretty quickly. You could have yourself a nice throw quilt in a 5" x 5" layout in no time at all. I'd say that close to half of the fabrics in these blocks came from Pink Castle. And there's some good stuff in there; Metro Living, Bonnie and Camille, Pearl Bracelets and True Colors. I'm not sure what I'll do with these blocks. Maybe if someone puts out a call, I'll contribute them to a collaboration or something. Or maybe I'll quilt them into table toppers, or sew them into a row and make a table runner. Or maybe I'll make a few more blocks and throw together a quilt. I'm feeling rather adventurous without a plan here.

Today's post brought to you by:

Walt Disney World Day 5: Magic Our Way

Disney Fun Fact: Disneyland in California would fit inside the parking lot at The Magic Kingdom in Florida.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Destination: The Magic Kingdom
Weather Forecast: High of 57˚

7:30 am, EST [5:30 am, MST]: I thought I'd try setting my alarm for 7:30 again, but yep. It's too early today, too.
9:00 am, EST [7:00 am, MST]: Ok, ok. I'm up.
10:59 am, EST [8:59 am, MST]: We're out the door. Finally. What did we spend all morning doing?
11:03 am, EST [9:03 am, MST]: I'm making a quick stop at the gift shop to get some locking pin backs. I'm wearing my lanyard of Disney Trading Pins and I don't want any of them to fall off. I'm hoping to find a pin trading station today. I've seen several of them, but didn't have my pins with me.
11:10 am, EST [9:10 am, MST]: Oops. I forgot the Dramamine. We're already at the shuttle stop, but I don't dare go without. Hopefully I can make it to the room and back before our shuttle comes.
11:19 am, EST [9:19 am, MST]: I made it back, and the shuttle didn't come while I was gone. That's good.
11:35 am, EST [9:35 am, MST]: And . . . we're still waiting.
11:55 am, EST [9:55 am, MST]: We finally made it to the Magic Kingdom. From the Disney app, our plans for the day:

12:16 pm, EST [10:16 am, MST]: We've completed the requisite milling about, restroom stops and map consultation. We've boarded the Disney Railroad and will be departing from the Main Street Station momentarily.
12:23 pm, EST [10:23 am, MST]: We disembarked at the Adventureland Station, wandered over to Tomorrowland, found snacks, milled about some more and used the restroom. We're off to a smashing start.
12:51 pm, EST [10:51 am, MST]: The standby line for Space Mountain is only 20 minutes. That's Grasshopper's favorite and LadyBug likes it pretty well too, so we're going for it. Wait times are short today.
1:47 pm, EST [11:57 am, MST]: The wait times are increasing; it is handy to have the app. At the moment, we're using our FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain and are glad we don't have to wait in line for 45 minutes.
2:18 pm, EST [12:18 pm, MST]: It's time for a late lunch. Up first, pizza for Grasshopper and LadyBug.
2:42 pm, EST [12:42 pm, MST]: And now tuna salad sandwiches for Mr. Bug and me. {We had to go to two different places to get what everyone was after.}
3:05 pm, EST [1:05 pm, MST]: We made it to our Haunted Mansion FastPass by the skin of our teeth. I love the hitchhiking ghosts {who have learned a few new tricks since I was last here}. They are totally fun. ♫♪ Grim, grinning ghosts come out to socialize. ♪♫
3:42 pm, EST [1:43 pm, MST]: We're boarding the Jungle Cruise via the FastPass line. And the jokes are just as cheesy as I remember. Although there is something quite . . . endearing . . . about a plump, grey-haired, grandmotherly-type woman with deadpan delivery who is outfitted in jungle gear and driving a boat.
4:02 pm, EST [2:02 pm, MST]: We're doing a little exploring at the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. And some of our party may or may not be a little grumpy. I think we've hit a mid-afternoon slump.

4:16 pm, EST [2:16 pm, MST] Time for a rest stop/bathroom break/consultation of the map. Today, it's a little bit cool. We didn't rent a locker because we've kept our coats on all day. As the temperatures go down, so does the crowd and correspondingly, the wait times.
7:08 pm, EST [5:08 pm, MST]: We hit our stride took full advantage of the short wait times. We've rode Pirates of the Caribbean, after which we headed on over to Tomorrowland and did Stitch's Great Escape, the People Mover, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and the Tomorrowland Speedway. Then we cut back across to Fantasyland and rode It's A Small World. The wait for it has been pretty non-existent all day, but every time I suggested it, the Not-So-Little Bugs soundly dismissed it. In the end, I prevailed and although the wait time was listed at 5 minutes, we really didn't wait at all. I didn't find anyone to trade pins with today, though. We're at the shuttle stop now, waiting for a bus to take us to the Port Orleans - Riverside resort {which is just North of where we are staying}, where we have reservations at Boatwright's Dining Hall for dinner.
8:07 pm, EST [6:07 pm, MST]: It was a really long wait for a shuttle, but we made it to the restaurant only a few minutes late for our reservation. LadyBug is pretty much done for the day. She's put her head on the table and I'm fairly certain that she's asleep.
9:43 pm, EST [7:43 pm, MST]: Dinner was delicious. I had Voodoo Chicken; cajun blackened with peach marmalade on top with a side of rice and collard greens. I even ate the collard greens. They weren't too bad. LadyBug woke up to eat and she and the boys had New York Strip Sirloins which, I hear, were delicious as well. We took the Water Taxi back to our resort {Port Orleans- French Quarter} and LadyBug and Mr. Bug headed to our room. Grasshopper and I are now taking a very cold trip farther down river to Downtown Disney because Grasshoppper has his heart set on taking home another set of LEGOs. It is so hard to resist an entire store of LEGOs.
10:35 pm, EST [8:35 pm, MST]: LEGOS successfully procured. Grasshopper found a smokin' deal on the sale shelf. 50% off. Now that's what I'm talking about. We're on the boat now and when we get back to the hotel, I'm headed straight for a nice, long, hot shower.
10:56 pm, EST [8:56 pm, MST]: It's time to call it a night. Our trip is over tomorrow and we'll be heading home. I'm a little bit sad to be leaving so soon. It went by too quickly.

Random Bits: Christmas Wrap-Up Edition

The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can't do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that some day. And me, for example, I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesies, savvy? So, can you sail under the command of a pirate, or can you not? –Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Calling this a wrap-up post isn't quite accurate since you get pretty much everything about Christmas this year in one post. But I love a good pun, so just go with it.

What I Can Do
In the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about what I can't do. Perhaps there has been some tiny shift in the cosmos that has caused time to speed up, and therefore, I can't get as much done in one day as I used to. Quite possibly, my responsibilities at work have increased and I have 10 to 15 fewer hours each week to work with, depending on the week. Or maybe I just overestimate my abilities. Whatever the case, it seems like there is an awful lot of stuff that I can't do.

I just celebrated my 2-year anniversary at work. Since I started working, I've been struggling with finding the right balance. And I've never actually considered myself as "working." In my head, this has only been a temporary thing. Two years is less temporary than I'd hoped. We have a plan in place, which makes my employment status even more less temporary. But I'd still like to think of it as temporary. What's a couple more years, right?

In the meantime, I'll continue to work on balance. I've been finishing far fewer projects and blogging a lot less than I would like to. And it will probably have to stay that way for a while. LadyBug, Grasshopper and Mr. Bug are my top priority, and that is how it should be. In the mean time, I'm going to focus on what I can do, for and with my family as well as my personal pursuits.

Neighbor Gifts 2012: Felted Wool Ornaments
It is with the "what I can do" mindset that I approached my Christmas crafting this year. I love to give handmade gifts. But there just wasn't time to do something for everyone on my list. So, I focused on what I could do. In our neighborhood, we have a tradition of taking around a little something to each other. Over the years, I've done several different things, but my favorite thing, by far, is to make ornaments. I've been collecting ideas for handmade Christmas ornaments, and have decided that I'm never going to bake and decorate 42 dozen sugar cookies, or mix up 250 servings of minty hot cocoa mix ever again. Granted, making an ornament for each family on my list probably takes the same amount of time, but there are so many fewer dirty dishes that it is worth it.

This year, I didn't get started on my ornament making until the 20^th, but I was determined to get it done. My brother got married on the 15^th and I was trying to get a quilt done for him {still working on that}, as well as make skirts and blouses for LadyBug and me for the wedding. I also had work and laundry and snow shoveling and life to fit in there. And then there was the matter of finding the right felt for the job. I was inspired by the pretty red felted wool ornaments P. made and who graciously shared her pattern, but was going to make due with some cheap acrylic felt. After further consideration, I decided that felted wool was the only way to go, but wasn't sure if I'd be able to find the right wool item to thrift/get enough thrifted wool to make my ornaments so I bought a yard of winter white wool at JoAnn's {thank you 50% off coupon} and felted it. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saved money by buying wool yardage and felting it myself vs. buying felted wool at a quilt shop.

This year, I had 55 families on my list. I know. I'm nuts. Once you make my list, the only way to get off is to move and not leave a forwarding address. As I assessed the situation, I realized that I could not get 55 ornaments done and delivered by the 24^th. A few cuts had to be made. Since our families have the gift of us, I crossed off members of both mine and Mr. Bug's families, reducing the number of ornaments to be made in 3½ days from 55 to 38. Here are 25 of the 36 I finished before Christmas. 11 had already either been hand delivered or mailed out when I took this and I still have two more to make and send out. Obviously, those are going to arrive after all the decorations have been put away. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Yes, I'm feeling the guilt for cutting our family members from the list. But it was what I could do. I'm starting next year's ornaments tomorrow so I don't have to leave anyone off the list.


Christmas Greetings
Not everyone who gets a Christmas card gets an ornament, but everyone who gets an ornament also gets a card. Again, the only way to get off the list is to move and not leave a forwarding address. Even then, I may still track you down. We send out 108 cards this year. I've tried to cut my list, but it is pointless. I don't want anyone to feel left out. That includes you, so I hope you won't mind a virtual card.

The Great iOS Debate: Escalated
Ever since the iPhone came out {in 2007, I believe}, I've wanted one. The problem is, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to pay $80 a month for service. When the iPad came out, I kind of lost interest in the iPhone, because an iPad seemed much more useful. I discussed this at great length several months ago, when the iPhone became available through Virgin Mobile, but the debate was tabled because we needed a new oven.

After Thanksgiving, the prices of the iPhone 4S dropped and I decided that it was time. To tell you how truly busy things have been around here, I've had this awesome new piece of technology in my possession for 2½ weeks now and haven't blogged a peep about it.

As a matter of fact, I've already dropped it hard enough to break it, if it weren't for the OtterBox I got to go with it. You can see the divot on the bottom corner, there.

Apple iPhone 4S, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. OK. I won't. Because if I did, I'd go on and on and on for more than you all would care to read. I'm guessing that a lot of people have already lost interest in this extremely long post and quit reading two subtitles ago. So in the interest of keeping it interesting, or at least from getting more long winded and boring, I'll cut straight to the chase. I love my iPhone SO MUCH that I now want an iPad also. Or maybe an iPad Mini. Or maybe both. It is that awesome.

Christmas Joy
Christmas at Bug Cottage was pretty good this year. Mr. Bug and I had the shopping done by the 19^th and I have enjoyed watching everyone enjoy their presents. As for me, aside from the iPhone, which is part Christmas and part because it was time for a new phone, I think my favorite gift was a Gingher rotary cutter from my Mom. It was unexpected, unnecessary and extravagant. In other words, it was perfect.

I've already put it to use. About 2½ years ago, Shay and I did a fabric exchange. I sent her some random bits of brown and pink fabrics and she sent me a completely awesome layer cake of Sparkle All the Way. Since then, I've been on the look-out for the perfect quilt to put it to use in. I entertained several ideas, but nothing seemed just right. A couple of weeks ago, I was inspired by the Brights Christmas Quilt Amy over at Diary of A Quilter put together. I hopped on over to her Etsy shop to check out the pattern she used, and found an even better fit for the layer cake. I ordered some Remix dots, found a couple of the Sparkle All the Way prints, as well as some prints from a couple other Robert Kaufman Christmas lines, and voilá. I have a complete kit for one fantastic Christmas quilt. For sometime in the future. Don't mock. It's what I can do right now. And it's all cut out for when I finally get around to it.

We Three Kings
I know Christmas was yesterday, but The Piano Guys' awesomeness doesn't have an expiration date.

Random Bits: Vol. 5

Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break. –Jane Wells

Baby, It's Cold Outside
Saturday morning, we woke up to 10" of snow. I know how much it was because I measured.

Friday morning started out with rain. I love rain. But then the rain turned to fat, wet flakes of slush. I don't like slush so much. After the sun went down and temperatures dropped, the rain and slush on the ground began to freeze and the stuff falling down became more snow-like and began to stick. I'm sure the skiers were ecstatic. Me? Not so much. Although I do ski. Or I did. It's been a while. But I digress.

Because of the storm, the power went out just after 11:00 pm and since there was nothing else to do, I went to bed. I laid there half-way between waking and sleep until the power came back on around 4:30 am. I'd left a light on, which ended any hope of sleep. It was an inconvenience. And then I thought about the poor people who had to be out in the weather to fix the problem and I was glad the power was back on, because baby, it's cold outside.

The weather kind of foiled my plans for the weekend. There were all kinds of fun family events going on an hour's drive north of here. My sister's oldest boy just turned eight was baptized on Saturday morning. Her new baby {the one who got the Pinkilicious quilt} was blessed on Sunday and in between, on Saturday afternoon, was a wedding shower for my youngest brother's fiance. I wasn't keen on driving when there was bound to be ice on the roads and the prospects for more snow were pretty high. It was a tough call and I hated to miss all the fun, but I opted to stay home.

Shoveling snow is one of my least favorite things. It ranks just underneath trudging through snowy sidewalks/driveways/stairs and slipping on sidewalks/driveways/stairs that have iced over because they weren't shoveled. So, shovel I must.

There are different kinds of snow. Sometimes the snow is dry and powdery. That's not bad to shovel. But this was heavy, wet, sticky snow and with so much of it, it was a long job. Because of the consistency of the snow, though, I could shovel neat, tidy paths in it, which I like. It reminds me of The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, when the kids and the Cat make a huge mess in the snow and then the Cat and all of his helpers make short work of it, leaving the snow sparkling clean and white, with sharp, straight edges where they'd cleaned off the walk ways.

After we shoveled snow, the Little Bugs and I went to get new coats because they had both outgrown their old ones. We found a really nice one for Grasshopper that rang up at 75% off when we combined a one-day sale price and and a coupon. If you know me at all, you know how happy clearance rack shopping makes me. This was even better, because coats are not clearance right now. It was a win for everyone because Grasshopper is pretty enamored with it. Later in the day when we went grocery shopping, he wore it the whole time even though it was too warm inside for it. He said it was too cool not to wear. This was just after he told me that we'd really scored with his coat.

We did not find a coat on sale for LadyBug. We almost couldn't find a coat at all for LadyBug. She is categorically opposed to "girly." I'm OK with that. I want her to be who she is. But finding her clothing presents a problem because clothing manufacturers seem to think that every girl on the planet likes pink and sparkly. All the girls' coats had faux fur trim on the hood. So with the help of Mr. Bug, who is infinitely more patient than I am, she finally found one she liked in the boys' department at Wal-Mart. It is green, her current favorite color, has a zip-out liner, is very gender neutral with no faux fur trim on the hood and was full price {but still less than Grasshopper's }. Most importantly, it will keep her warm. Everyone is happy. Another win.

The Spam-Bots Attack
I've turned on the word verification for comments. Don't take it personally. I know Google/Blogger's verification words/pictures are ridiculously difficult to decipher, so I'll turn it back off soon. The Spam-Bots seem to be extra busy lately and I'm hoping to deter them. Perhaps they're staying inside, what with all the snow and cold weather, and have nothing better to do with their time than pester people with bogus comments.

The Best $12.75 I Ever Spent
This is a Green-Vase Zelkova {also known as Japanese Zelkova or Zelkova Serrata}. I took this picture a month ago.

I love this tree. For several reasons. The telling of which requires a back-story. When we bought our house, there were flower beds laid out, but not much in the way of plants and no trees. The few perennials that were here either died because they were planted in the wrong spot or I pulled them out because they were planted in the wrong spot. I started adding plants that I thought were interesting right away. Trees, on the other hand, are a huge commitment, and it took several years after we moved in to pluck up the courage to plant a couple in the front yard, even though I knew what I wanted.

A couple of years after that, I started thinking about trees for the back yard. I wanted something fairly tall and quick growing, making Poplar trees an obvious choice. Because I didn't have much expertise with trees, I called the guy who is in charge of landscaping for the city to see if he had any suggestions or opinions. I asked him what he thought of poplars and he told me that because they grow so fast, they are brittle and branches break off easily. Aside from that, their normal state is "messy" as they are always dropping things. He gave me a few suggestions and at the top of that list was the Green-Vase Zelkova. It is a cousin to the Elm, but is more resistant to bugs and disease. It grows quickly, has a pretty shape and beautiful foliage.

I went to the nursery looking for a Zelkova. Then I went to another one. And another one after that. There were none to be found. As a matter of fact, none of the trees on my list were at any of the nurseries. So I gave up my quest. Several months later, while on another quest for chairs to match the kitchen table I'd just acquired at a spectacularly huge discount, I happened across a Zelkova at the KMart way across town. It was sitting next to the front door with a 75% off tag on it. My mind was focused on getting enough chairs to match my new table that it didn't register until after I'd bought my chairs and was hauling them out to the car that, 1. this was a tree I'd searched high and low for and, 2. it was 75% off. As soon as I got the chairs loaded, I went back and bought the tree. Getting it into the car was an adventure.

I drive an old Isuzu Trooper {you can see the back bumper of it in one of the photos above}. I folded the back seat down, reclined the passenger seat and angled the tree in through the back gate. It crossed up through the body of the vehicle diagonally and out the passenger window. I found some rope and tied the top of the tree to the side mirror, but it extended about 18" beyond that and I worried all the way home that the top of the tree would break off because of the air pushing against it as I drove. So I drove slowly, through back roads to get home.

I think this tree is four years old now. It might be five. It has grown pretty quickly and now provides shade on the back porch. And it lives up to its reputation for being a good tree. This was how I found it Saturday morning.

It looks like a weeping tree. I went out and beat it with a broom to knock the snow off. Not a single branch was broken and without the snow to push the branches down it snapped back into shape and is as good as new.

Yes, I love that tree.

Baby, It's Cold Outside: Reprise
The world is a slightly different place covered in a blanket of snow. It sounds different. It's quieter, I suppose. And when there is sunlight, it is brighter—a nice white covering over practically everything makes for a good reflective surface. Without snow, you couldn't ski. I love that LadyBug loves to play in the snow so much. Snow brings back happy childhood memories. Snow makes hot cocoa taste better. And snow is kind of pretty.

Deep down, I think I maybe like snow a little more than I let on, but don't you dare tell anyone.

Favourite Sew & Tell Things Friday: My Sewing Space

Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember. –Oscar Levant

My favourite thing today has been my favourite since Christmas. I've been meaning to post about it for ages. It's been a journey to get here, so get comfy and enjoy the ride. I took pictures of this favourite in February, but Shay went on holiday the week I was going to post them. A couple of weeks later, when I went to post, I couldn't find the photos. Instead of taking new photos, I spent about four hours that afternoon organizing my photos because I was sure they'd turn up any minute. Eventually, I gave up and posted something else, thinking that I'd forgotten to move them off my memory card and they'd been deleted with a folder there that I thought was empty. A few weeks later, I found the photos, hiding in plain sight, in the folder I'd left them in February. That took all the fun out of it for me and I resolutely ignored them.

In late March, AmyLouWho posted a picture of her messy sewing space and the photos of a make-over in progress. She issued a sewing space spring cleaning challenge and I decided to take the challenge. For the past 2½ years, my sewing spot has been in the living room and I've know for a while that it was time to move it out of there. It took me almost a month to work up the nerve to actually photograph my sewing table, and it's been another six weeks since I took the photos. But here they are at last. Don't judge. OK. Judge if you want to. It's pretty bad.

It's kind of like one of those pictures where you have to find the items that don't fit in, hidden somewhere in the drawing. I see car keys, two different remote controls, a stapler, a flyer for a deal on cable TV and my menu planning notepad. I wonder what other non-sewing related things are lurking in there? Then there are the projects layered on top of projects. And do you notice anything really important missing? What a mess!

Besides everything on top of the table, here's the mess that trailed through the living room.

After I took these photos, I started sorting. I have most of my stash in plastic storage containers, sorted out by project. I got a few more containers and sorted anything not designated to a project by color. I removed anything that didn't belong, and within a few days, I had the space all cleared out and the table put away. Wohoo! We have a living room again!

As I removed things from table, I put together my new sewing space. For Christmas, my mom got me a sewing table. She's awesome like that. I tipped her off that they would be on sale the day after Thanksgiving for half price, and if you went in before noon, you got an extra 20% off. That fit her budget exactly. I've been using the sewing table since mid-January {I know! Silly me! Why didn't I rip the box open Christmas evening?} and kind of traveled back and forth between the two tables. The clutter always stayed with the table in the living room, though.

I set up my new sewing table in the kitchen. It was kind of migrant for a while, but I think it's found its permanent spot. I set it up this way a little over a month ago when the old table went down and it has pretty much stayed this neat and tidy, because a quick clean-up between projects, with places to put everything, is lots easier than a big clean-up. It is so nice to have an organized work space!

I love these drawers. I collected them a few at a time, and had them in a different configuration, which is why there is kind of an odd-man-out there. They were too tall the other way and I like it better this height, even if one of the drawers doesn't match up evenly.

Today's post brought to you by:

Easter Tales

The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice.
–Henry Knox Sherrill

The Easter Bunny did not come to our house on Sunday. There are several possible reasons for this. He might have had a very long {as in 40+ hours} work week preceding the holiday. He might not have wanted to fight the crowds at Wal-Mart on the day before a holiday and chose, instead, to spend Saturday afternoon sewing. He might have had a migraine, which made him feel rotten and contributed to the desire to avoid the pre-holiday crowds. Or, he might simply have gotten lost on the way here. Whatever the reason {I highly suspect the first three listed above}, when I went for groceries yesterday, I saw him lurking about the clearance aisle picking up Easter treats at 50% off. Somewhere between getting the groceries home and getting dinner on the table, that rascally rabbit left baskets of goodies on the table for us. Mr. Bug was surprised and the Little Bugs were excited. LadyBug supposed that the Bunny had gotten lost on the way. Grasshopper suggested a map. And then they got down to examining their haul.

Today, I ran to pick up some new contacts from the optical shop at ShopKo. For some reason, I went in a different way than I usually do and came upon an end cap full of these cute clear baskets. I thought to myself, “they're probably plastic.” I glanced at the sale sign and it said they were glass. Skeptical, I picked one up, and indeed it was made of glass, and beautifully so. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that they were not just on sale, they were really on sale, which is my favorite price. The Easter M&M's to go in it were on sale too, and I'm certain they are just as good now as they were three days ago, when they were full price. Maybe even a little bit bettter.

Grasshopper brought home the little sculpted sugar egg from school on Friday. The grandmother of one of his classmates made one for everyone in their class. I think there are 27 kids in the class! What a thoughtful thing for this girl's grandma to do! I was so tickled by it. We had a sugar egg like this one growing up. The icing around the edge was pink, and when you peeked inside the egg there was a little Easter scene in there. We had it for ages; I'm not sure how long, but it seems like forever. Who knows? My mom might still have it. I'm going to have to find a place to keep this one safe, because we're going to keep it and bring it out every Easter from now until forever.

Wardrobe Wednesday: Cute and Comfortable

There is no actual law that says that a person of inner beauty cannot also maintain an appearance. –Robert Brault

Everything I know about clothes, I learned from Stacy and Clinton. I've been watching What Not To Wear for three or four years now and they always emphasize that you have to make your clothes work for you and your body type. This is the diary of my own little What-Not-to-Wear-distance-learning-on-a-shoe-string-budget experiment.

Today we're talking about comfort. Comfort is the main thing we all want out of our clothes. No one wants to go around bothered by clothes that are too itchy or too tight or just plain uncomfortable all day. When you mention the word comfortable in conjunction with clothes, however, it is not always associated with stylish. Most of the time they are perceived to be at opposite ends of the fashion scale. But the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. Take for instance the basic t-shirt. Round neck, short sleeves, comfortable. But not very cute. The neck-line is usually right at the throat, which cuts off your neckline and you're basically dressed in a big rectangle which just kind of covers you up instead of flattering your shape.

This fun geometric print top is a variation on the basic tee. The neck is scooped with a wide pin-tuck band, which adds interest, accentuates the bust line and turns a basic rectangle into a more interesting, flattering shape. The gathered sleeves are also a step up from the basic tee and add a little feminine touch. Pair it with a dark wash jean {who doesn't love jeans?} and your favorite shoes, and you've got an outfit that is not only stylish, but comfortable as well.

Finding great clothes doesn't have to cost a lot. This top was one of the things I snagged for a great deal on a recent shopping trip. It comes in several different prints and is so cute I'd love to have one in every color. I got mine in the petites department, because the term “petite,” when referring to clothes, generally just means “shorter.” The right length for a top is important. Making clothes work for you involves several optical illusions. If the hem of your shirt falls past the crotch of your pants, it shortens you. Most shirts in the women's department are too long for me and I have to hem them. Doing alterations is not one of my favorite things, so I bought the “shorter” version of the shirt to save myself a bit of work.

Style & Co. Cap Sleeve Pleated Collar Top, Macy's
Retail: $19.98
Out-the-door: $13.99

Levi's 512 Dark Wash Bootcut Jeans, Macy's
Retail: $54.00
Out-the-door: $36.32

Rampage White Cracked Patent Leather Shoes {4½” heel, 1” platform}, Burlington Coat Factory
Retail: $40.00ish
Out-the-door: $19.99

Raspberry ¾-Sleeve Cardigan with lettuce-edge trim, Chadwick's of Boston
I've had it for so long I don't remember how much it cost.

Red ¾-Sleeve Cardigan
I got this second-hand {for free }. It was a mock twin-set. The front panel, which was a full-length dickie of sorts that posed as a top underneath the cardigan, had a really high neck, but I loved the shape of the cardigan. I cut away the front panel, took off the buttons, dyed it from a sort of coral pink {because I already had a cardigan that color} to red, added some pretty pearl buttons with silver trim and voilá. A cardigan to dress up any outfit. Total cost in dye and buttons: $8.00.

Wardrobe Wednesday: Outer Wear

I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful. –Unknown

Over the past few years I've been working on a little project. About five years ago I gained a considerable amount of weight that has just stuck around. My casual wardrobe of t-shirts and jeans didn't look good anymore and I just didn't feel pretty. It was around then that I started watching TLC's What Not to Wear, a make-over show that focuses on teaching people how to dress for their body type in age-appropriate and flattering clothes. I learned that I could embrace my body, no matter what size it was, and play to my strengths when choosing clothes.

The participants on the show are given $5000 to buy a new wardrobe and the hosts of the show sift through all the clothes they own and get rid of anything that just does not work for that person. While I did/do not have $5000 extra dollars to spend on new clothes, I've been playing along at home. I like to think of it as the What-Not-to-Wear-on-a-shoe-string-budget-distance-learning-program. I've been wanting to share with you some of the fun clothes I've found for almost a year now. I pay close attention to WNTW when someone with my body type comes on and I shop by “the rules” the stylists on the show give. I always shop the clearance rack in department stores and also shop at discount stores like TJ Maxx and Ross. I've gotten some really awesome pieces and have built my wardrobe up over time. Averaging it out, it comes to about $15 a month that I spend on clothes for myself. And the more cute new things I get for myself, the more I am able to let go of and get rid of those old clothes that just don't flatter me.

Despite feeling more put together, I have lacked the confidence to actually post photos of myself posing for the camera. The posing in and of itself is pretty scary. But putting yourself out there for public scrutiny under a microscope is terrifying. We're all friends here, so you'll be gentle on me, right?

I'm starting with outer wear {a.k.a. coats} because it is winter here and having a nice coat or jacket does a lot for how you feel when you go out in the cold. I showed you my new red coat last Friday but because it is just so darn cute I put together a little collage for today. I haven't really had a nice winter coat of my own for quite a few years now, mostly because it is a huge investment, but also in protest of winter. As if me not owning a proper coat would make winter not come. I usually wear a jacket with a sweater underneath, but if it gets really cold, sometimes I'll put on one of Mr. Bug's old Pea Coats from the Navy. They are black and wool and very boring. This is how you do a pea coat.

Style & Co. Double-Breasted Pea Coat with removable hood, Macy's
Retail: $150.00
Out-the-door: $18.69

Levi's 512 Dark Wash Bootcut Jeans, Macy's
Retail: $54.00
Out-the-door: $36.32
What can I say? If the jeans make your butt look good, buy them.

Boots: I'm pretty sure I got them at Wal-Mart 3 or 4 years ago and paid less than $15 for them.

This next jacket, a trench coat really, is the aforementioned jacket that I have been wearing fall, winter and spring for the last three-ish years. Maybe four, but I can't be sure. Now that I have a nice coat, I'll save it for late fall and early spring because I still really love it.

George ME Women's Double-Breasted Satin Trench Coat, Wal-Mart
Retail: $25.00
Out-the-door: $25.00
Even though I paid full price for this {I knew it wouldn't make it to the clearance rack, or even be there the next time I went back}, I still think it was a really great deal.

American Eagle Women's Avery Bow Flat, Payless Shoes
Retail: $19.99
Out-the-door: $7.25

Gray trousers, TJ Maxx
Retail: $60ish
Out the door: $16.99

Red by Marc Ecko Purse, second-hand
Retail: $70ish
Out-the-door: free

I have a more of my crazy bargains to show over the next few weeks. I went shopping a couple of weeks ago, spent $50 out-of-pocket, got eight items of clothing {the red coat was one of them} and saved $426 dollars. I feel fabulous wearing them because they flatter my body type and I got them seriously on sale. I want to show those things as well as a few other great finds from other shopping trips.

Favourite Things Friday: New Red Coat

Things do not pass for what they are, but for what they seem. Most things are judged by their jackets. –Baltasar Gracian

It is no longer Friday anywhere in the world. I checked. But I haven't done an FTF since December and I have a really good one this week. Since it is my blog and I make the rules, I'm doing Favourite Things Friday on Saturday this week.

If you've followed me for any amount of time, you'll know that I love to get a great deal. Buying on sale is my middle name. In my family, we call it being a bargain shopper. And you bet your boots I am. I am very conscious of how I spend my money and I like to make it go as far as I can. That being said, I am not a thrift-shop kind of gal. There are lots of people I know who find amazing things at thrift shops and I truly admire them for this skill. Intellectually, I know that there are a great many wonderful deals to be had. But emotionally, it is much more satisfying to me to make an amazing find on the clearance rack. I love the feeling of getting something brand new for practically nothing. Case in point: The price tag on this red coat said $150.00. I brought it home with me for the sum total of $18.69. That is 88% off!

Style & Co. Double-Breasted Pea Coat with Removable Hood, Macy's

Special thanks to e. of Pink Suede Shoe for the photography. You are a genius.

I found a few other really great things on the clearance rack this week as well. There are probably too many to include in one post. As dorky as I feel posing for and posting pictures of myself, I've decided to break up my haul into smaller posts over the next few weeks and show you what I got on what I've decided to call Wardrobe Wednesdays. In the meantime, I'll be drooling over wearing that red coat every chance I get.

Today's post brought to you by:

More Pillowcases for Christmas

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. –Charles Dickens

I've got eight more Christmas pillowcases finished! I really liked this green dotted fabric so I made a total of four; three here and one I finished earlier.

These stripey pillowcases make me so happy! The fabric is Quilter's Showcase from JoAnn's and it is a really nice weight and a really great price. I happened to catch them on a 50% off sale, so that made the price even better!

And these pink pillowcases are SO cute!

Click on the button below for instructions to make your own pillowcases.

Fancy Pillowcase PDF
I'm really excited about getting closer to being finished! Hooray! The wrapping will begin shortly, and here's a little something to help with the holiday spirit while we all finish things up.



Today's post brought to you by:

Favourite Things Friday: A Really Great Find

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. –Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

I love to find something marvelous. Something that tickles my fancy. Something that makes me happy from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Whether that something is a tangible object or an idea or a moment in time, finding something marvelous is one of my favorite things.

In the category of tangible objects, getting that something marvelous on sale makes it even better. I have a post label called "50% off," which I mostly reserve for cool stuff I get at {what else?} 50% off. As much as I love getting something for half-off, I won't turn up my nose to any other discount, either. Because a discount is a discount. And discounts are good.

The other day, I posted about some fabric I'd gotten to make pillowcases for Christmas. I mentioned that all the fabric was at least 50% off. Marianne left a comment I really liked. She said, do some people actually pay full price for fabric? Silly people. I laughed and nodded. Paying full price for anything when there are deals to be had out there is silly.

OK. This post seems to be going nowhere. Let's sum up and see if I can tie this all together.

Something Marvelous = Awesome
Something Marvelous On Sale = Even Better Than Awesome

Today, I found something marvelous. I'm doing a little happy dance right now. If you've been following along, you'll know that I like to get a personalized, dated Christmas ornament for each of the Little Bugs for Christmas. If I can find one that Mr. Bug and I can share, I do that as well. If not, then we get individual ornaments too. Last year I was grumpier than the Grinch and stingier than Scrooge and did not get ornaments. So I decided to browse the interwebs for ornaments to back-date for 2010. I found a whole lot of ornaments I loved. So much so, that I scrapped plans for making ornaments {I am running out of time, here}, and got ornaments for this year too. As a matter of fact, I found so many great ornaments that I had a hard time deciding which ones to get and which ones to leave behind. I ended up getting ornaments through 2013. What can I say? I like to be prepared. Also, this means that I can postpone any major ornament making projects I might be contemplating until January of 2014.

Among the ornaments I ordered today, these beautiful laser-carved wood ornaments are pretty high on my scale of awesome. One of the best things about them is that they accommodate up to 10 letters. I have a hard time finding personalized ornaments that will fit my name because lots of them only allow 8 letters. So unless you named your kid something weird, like Grasshopper, fitting your name on the ornament isn't a going to be a problem. Of course, the ornaments I ordered don't really say G-Hopper or LadyBug. They have our real names on them, but I wanted to show you just how amazing these ornaments are.

These glass ornaments are also really amazing. Both of these were so different from the ornaments I've gotten in the past that I couldn't pass them up. Again, they have our real names spelled out on the ornaments and in the background is our surname and the year.

Both of these ornaments came from Personalization Mall. They have a fun selection of wood and glass ornaments, as well as porcelain and resin. I could have spent all day there trying out different personalizations on all of the ornaments. You get a preview of exactly what you're ordering before you add it to your cart to make sure you get what you want.

To make things even better, I got free shipping on the order I placed for the ornaments I didn't show you and Definitive Deals had several different discount options for Personalization Mall.

To tie things up, hopefully into a nice, neat package, if we substitute the known quantity for the unknown quantity we find:

Personalized Ornaments = Awesome
Personalized Ornaments On Sale = Even Better Than Awesome

And here's a little something to enjoy while you sip hot cocoa by the fireplace.


Today's post brought to you by:

Various and Sundry Monday: Vol 20

From a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist it would be necessary to invent it. –Katharine Whitehorn

Undecided
I'm not sure how long ago I started this little table runner, but I pulled it out to add to my pool of table runners for the gift exchange parties I'm going to. I used a Moda Bakeshop "recipe" called Sunday Squares by Charlie Scott. I won the charm pack at shop hop a year or so before I started the runner and thought this would be the perfect project to use it in, only there weren't enough squares in the charm pack to make the whole quilt, so I decided to make a table runner. I had probably a half a yard of the background fabric in my stash, which wasn't enough to finish the top. By the time I got some more and got it washed, I'd either lost interest, needed to move on to something else more pressing or was kind of stuck on how to proceed. I'm thinking it was a combination of all those things, with being stuck the major factor.

I think I couldn't decide if I wanted to do a white border between the center and the sawtooth border . . .

. . . or if I wanted to do green. I still can't decide. I put the white border on last night and was all set on it. But when I got up this morning and looked at it again, I kind of like the green. While I was taking pictures, I was pretty set on sticking with the white. But after looking at the pictures, I'm pondering the green again. Opinions, please. Tell me what you think.

A Little Christmas Silliness
Christmas is in 13 days. Thirteen. Days. People. The pressure is on to get everything ready. If you're feeling stressed, here's a little something to make you laugh. There are some really great lines in here.


15 Yards
of 100% cotton fabric washed, pressed, cut and assembled into thirteen pillowcase kits. I got all my fabric on sale for at least 50% off and didn't pay more than $3.49 a yard for any one piece. I think there was even one piece that was $1.99 a yard. My favorites in this bunch are the Quilter's Showcase fabrics from JoAnn's. The fabric is a really nice weight/quality and it washes and presses really nicely, but the best thing about them is that they were on sale for $2.49 a yard, with an additional 10% off!

Glad of Heart
This is another table runner in progress. The top is finished and it is basted and ready for quilting. The fabric is Sanibel and I just love it. I know it is a little bit busy, but I think/hope that the quilting will help with that.

A very kind friend sent me five fat quarters of this fabric line at Christmas last year. I made a couple of Hexie Art Journals with it and had roughly a fat eighth left over of each fabric. This summer, I went to a fabric shop I don't visit often and they had one of those bins where everything you can cram into a gallon-size ziplock from the bin is $10. I was immediately drawn to the bright plaid. It was a big piece, just over 2 yards, and I thought it would be great for a table runner. When I saw Sanibel on the selvage, I knew it was meant to be. And just a few weeks ago I found a couple of different prints from this line on clearance at the quilt shop near my work. I was really glad to find them and I can't wait to start quilting on this.

Focus on Free-Motion Quilting
Vickie at Sew Inspired is hosting a little quilt-along during the month of January and I'm playing along because I am ready and anxious to learn as much as I can about free-motion quilting. Pop on over and have a gander.


Monday Music Spot: Santa's Got A Brand New Bag
I love this sassy Christmas song by SHeDAISY. It's just what I need to motivate me to do a little Christmas sewing, even though I'd rather go to bed.