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| Ellie's Puppy Purse |
So, here's my dilemma...I've been planning to make the sweet dress for Wynter that I shared with you earlier this week. Then, I was reminded that I made this purse for her older sister, and had promised a little kitty purse for her.
So, now do I make the kitten purse as originally planned, or change direction? I haven't cut fabric for either yet. (Wynter does have a living, breathing, light gray kitty, so I'd use that as a base color in cork.)
Help! Feedback appreciated.
All December Artist Trading Cards have been sent and received. The theme was "Pen & Ink", and there was quite the variety of interpretations...all artistic and wonderful.
The prompt for this month for the Treasures ATC Swap from Jan is "Snowflakes". I've completed seven of the needed twelve this month, so I'll work to complete them over the weekend. Then I'll share what mine looks like.
I'm working from 10-7 today, so I'm going to get my act together and leave soon. Hi Ho, Hi Ho...
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| Our Sarouk rug shown in the living room of our Florida home. |
We've owned this gorgeous Sarouk rug for nearly forty years. Handsome's brother owned it prior to that, and he purchased it from an estate in Chicago, Illinois. We purchased it when we bought our first home, and it's been in the last two homes since. It measures 21'6" long x 10'6" wide.
In fact, when we built our second home, the main living space was sized to accommodate it - and make it the centerpiece of the living room. When we moved to the farmhouse, we hoped it would span the two front rooms (our living and dining rooms) as it's certainly long enough. However, the archway between those two rooms only measures 8' wide.
Our younger son had it for a while prior to our move, hoping to use it in our granddaughters' shared bedroom space, but the addition of a large closet shortened the room just enough so they couldn't use it. It was folded, rolled, tied, and placed in the basement of the farmhouse. The basement is and has always been dry so that wasn't an issue.
We planned to move it upstairs much sooner than now, but in addition to being beautiful it also has a wonderful thick pile, so it's heavy. So heavy in fact, that it was impossible for Handsome and me to move it. So there it languished...until yesterday.
We'd placed another favorite large Oriental rug we've also had since Florida in the living room, with a separate one under our dining room table. The living room rug had to be cleaned, so Handsome took it to a company in Milwaukee. That rug came home yesterday, and we'd made arrangements for their workmen to move the Sarouk from the basement out to our cement-floor pole barn so we could assess whether or not there was any damage to it since it's been downstairs. We knew it too was going to need cleaning, and the (!#@&) mice had chewed the fringe off. We were praying that there was no other damage to it.
So, it finally came out of the basement and was unrolled for the first time in all these years. Handsome and I stood with our fingers crossed as it was again open and flat on the floor. Although it was dusty and needed a good bath, we were relieved to see that there was NO other damage.
We went back and forth from the house to the barn, taking measurements, and confirmed that it won't fit in the front rooms as is. There were also calls to a Sarouk/Persian/Oriental rug dealer to see what we might be able to realize if we sold it after we restore the fringe and clean it. The amount he quoted was much less than we paid for it, but we recognize it's a unique size and would need to find the perfect buyer willing to pay our price, which isn't likely to happen. As we've had it for as long as we have, it certainly doesn't owe us anything, but we will have to put some more money into it. We love it enough to do that, but how to make it work for us?
We know the first thing to take place will be a deep cleaning. The fringe will be replaced, but after taking more measurements, we're floating the idea of cutting it down. I know. I know. But how else can we use it if we don't - short of building a new home or remodeling the archway in the living room to gain another two feet?
We may call our carpenter, Jeff and find out just how much it would cost (and if it's even feasible) to open the archway to accommodate the rug's current width, because the alternative is to keep the length, but cut off the sides where the cream border (that you can see in the foreground) begins. That would bring the width measurement down to 7' 6" (which would fit inside the archway as it is right now). We'd keep it the existing length of 21' 6".
The rug left here late yesterday. They'll clean it first and then get back to us to find out how to proceed. We'll be discussing it here and gathering more information until we make our final decision. Stay tuned...
What do you think? Girly enough? I was going through my fabrics last night and landed on this as the possible choice for the pinafore dress for my niece. The bottom fabric leans more green than yellow in person, and is part of the same fabric line as the top fabric. I'm thinking it might be just the thing for her Easter dress. I'm open to feedback.
While attending my g-g nephew's party this weekend, I was reminded that his middle sister's birthday is the end of this month. So, I've decided that I'm going to make a party dress for her! I simply love sewing for little girls, so I'll make hers, and then when her big sister's birthday rolls around, I'll make another for her. Note: This little boy is the son of one of her parent's friends. It's not a photo of her little brother.
I had quite the lovely interaction with this sweetheart on Saturday. We were playing a mini version of volleyball with a party balloon, and after playing for quite a while, I managed to bring a few other kids into the game. I had a method to my move. As I started to walk away thinking she'd turn her attention to playing with the other kids, she stopped and protested that she wanted to play with me. Who could turn her down? Not I. We continued to play until she tired of the game.
While I do have some time before the official party, I'd really like to not wait until the last minute to make this. I'll have to make sure my daily lists allow for time set aside to work on it.
This week, I work today - and then I added daytime hours on Friday to help out my boss. As I only worked six total hours in the past two weeks because of the holidays, I'll be adding twelve hours to my regular ten each week for the next two. As long as I'm planning ahead, I'm sure that I won't have any trouble at all completing the birthday dress.
I'll definitely share my progress on this project, but for now, I'm off for my regular Tuesday six hour day. I'll play with my fabric choices first, and let you see my selections soon. See you later!
Saturday found me at a 70th Birthday party for a dear friend and high school classmate, Karen. She hasn't been able to attend our monthly dinners because she's been battling cancer, but we were all invited to her party.
Her two daughters and two sons hosted a wonderful celebration for her, and although she'd had her treatment the day before, she showed up. When she got tired they had a rolling chair for her, but she mostly went from table to table, thanking everyone for showing up. The kids had hired a professional photographer who followed her all evening, taking pictures with friends and family.
The food was outstanding - all buffet style - so no one went home hungry, and the cake and cookies were fabulous sweet treats. The cookies came in the same colorway as the dogwood cookie above, some with her name on them, some with "70", these flowers, and hearts. They didn't miss a single detail to celebrate their mom. It was so heartwarming to be a participant, and I'm sure Karen must have been exhausted by the time she went home. We continue to pray for a miracle that will remove all the cancer from her so she can live a long life with her children and grandchildren...family and friends.
On Sunday we celebrated this two-year-old sweetheart. He's my great-great nephew. As soon as I walked in the house with his wrapped gift, his mama got all excited and said, "I think I know what that is!" She could hardly wait until later in the day for him to open it, and she was a tickled as he was. Perhaps more.
His daddy has a smoker, so there was delicious smoked, pulled pork as the headliner for lunch. His mama made her tasty macaroni and cheese, and there were lots of other sides - and cake. At one point during our meal, my nephew said, "Must be good. Nobody's talking." He was right.
I got back home by mid-afternoon and for the rest of the evening, Handsome referred to me as a "social butterfly" because I'd been to parties both days. Then, as we sat down before dinner, I got a message from "sis" Deb inviting me to lunch today with another group of ladies. Of course, I jumped to accept the invitation, furthering the cajoling from my husband.
I have a few things I need to do this morning. Time for my annual doctor's wellness visit next Monday, so I need to go for my lab work today. Off to lunch after that. THEN, I'm coming home to celebrate this guy's Birthday!
I've already given his gift to him, but when I get home, I'll be making a special dinner and dessert. Have I told you he loves my cooking? We'll be spending a quiet afternoon and evening here at the farmhouse, but it's going to get busy soon.
He's seen all four of his specialists who've given him a clean bill of health. All his "troubles" from this summer and fall have healed, and he needs no further treatments. That being the case, we've decided that he's healthy, willing and able to go to Florida for a little while and make music with his friends. So, he's currently finalizing plans, and he'll leave some time this month. Happy Birthday, Darlin'.
One more celebration...My dear friend, Linda shares a Birthday today with Handsome. I want to wish her a wonderful day today, too. I'll be making a phone call before the day is over. Happy Birthday, Linda Mae.
This is my current Work In Progress (WIP). I'm making a Birthday cushion for a special little two year old - my great-nephew. His party is on Sunday, and I only just learned that he's a huge Mickey Mouse fan.
Knowing that, and owing him a cushion for his bedroom (as I did for his two sisters), this will be the perfect design for this sweet boy.
I'll be sure to share photos of him opening his gift - and if possible, catching his mama's expression, too. She really appreciates and treasures the handcrafted gifts her husband's aunty makes for their family.
I'll get this finished by early afternoon (first I'll press the embroidery - thank you, Destiny - and add a stabilizer to the back of it), and then I have another Birthday party to attend this evening for a dear classmate. It's going to be a busy couple of days, so I'm really glad to be 100% again! I'll share party photos on Monday. Off to the studio now...
This is kind of how my year ended. With a few exceptions, it could have been better the last six months. Health for my beloved was certainly an unplanned factor, but I could have had better control of November and December. I've been thinking about that as I decided on my 2025 Word of the Year.
Thanks to my sister, Jan for sharing this list of possibilities in her online group. I'm sharing it with you now because my word came from her list.
Now, I admit. I looked at this list for quite a while. Health and fitness jumped out at me, but I wanted something more encompassing for home life, health, and my creative endeavors (blog, studio, shows, creativity in general). I finally settled on one that I think will be an all-around great reminder for all those things. So here's my choice...
Yes. It's easy for me to get my "frogs" in a row, and then...out jump the squirrels and we're off to the races! So, I'm going back to making lists at the beginning of the week. I'll map out the things I need to accomplish; want to accomplish; and how I intend to spend time with family and friends. I really do best when I have my list journal, and when I've done this in the past, I accomplished so much more. I also kept what was most important front and center.
It's also motivating for me to be able to check items off my list(s). How about rewards for meeting goals? Like, get everything done by a certain time on a Wednesday and I can plan for a special night out with Handsome for the weekend. Or get all my important tasks done by 4:30 pm and reward myself with a special treat. You get the idea.
Have you chosen a word for this year? Are you going to? Perhaps the list Jan shared with me might help you decide, too? If you're not into this sort of thing, it's okay to just fly by the seat of your pants. I've done that, too. I'd love to know how you motivate through your days.
I took the day off yesterday. I'm not sick, but I'm not 100% either, so it was a complete day of rest. I have started my artist trading cards for Jan's January exchange. The theme is "snowflakes". This is a super closeup!
I haven't had my morning coffee yet, so we'll see how I'm feeling once I'm actually rolling. Then I'll know whether it will be another day spent resting, or if I'll actually accomplish anything. sigh I hope your new year is off to a better start. I'll see you again tomorrow.
