The Wells Fargo Wagon...

Perhaps not via Wells Fargo Wagon as in The Music Man, but definitely a UPS truck. All the Grammies Jammies are finished, the handcrafted gifts to go to our sons and their families all done, a few wrapped packages included and the boxes are packed and on their way North. (These are just a few of the bags that shipped!) Only one day late from my original plan, but they didn't have to ship "overnight", so I'm happy about that.

Now I have a little breathing room. The last of the packages will ship Priority Mail, which is a three day proposition. Today, I'll be out of the Studio to go to Sarasota. Before I come home, I think I'll stop in the yarn shop and say "hi" to the girls. I've been neglecting them lately. Oh! I almost forgot...I have a question for you.

Have you ever tried one of these?

In case you can't tell, It's one of those EZ Beds, that store in a canvas bag, and this model actually stores with the legs and all. It opens and erects itself when you attach a pump. Handsome and I want to get one as an extra guest bed. We don't want to have a bed permanently set up in the second guest room as it's a multi-purpose room, but we do want something reliable and comfortable. Has anyone tried this specific model (This one is from Frontgate, and you can see more photos here.) I sure would appreciate any review you could offer.

Enjoy the day, where you live, my dear friends. I'll be back tomorrow

In case you're wondering about the dog in my photo of the packages...The Labrador retriever is a "wallie" that I purchased years ago. It applied to the cabinet just like wall paper. It really looked like our Morgan when he was but a lad, and I thought he'd be perfect in the garage on one of the lower cabinets. It freaked out the UPS man every time he dropped off a package because he always thought it was a real dog! Our driver came just infrequently enough in the early days that it got him every time. Of course, there were four friendly dogs living with us then, too. I don't think I have to tell you that Handsome and I always had a little giggle when the driver left!

Missed It By THIS Much...

For my "Wild Hare" Wednesday post today, I want to tell you that my most recent "Hare" is planning a decor redux before Christmas.
I'm going to be purging many knick knacks and dust magnets from my daily view.

Some will be lovingly packed and stored, but most will be leaving Brynwood for good. I think I'll take photos of the "adoptables" and see what y'all think. I'm just tired of moving, dusting and being frustrated by clutter...a wild hare that I'm sure has some real teeth! (*"You mean, be'oind the rabbit, then?") I'll keep you posted on my progress.

On another note, I finished two of my Grammies Jammies yesterday, but at 9:30 last night, I was just too pooped to tackle the third. I'll be doing the third - and last - of my Jammies today. Darn! I was sooo close, too! Well, better to be fresh and not make any mistakes than to attempt something when I'm tired and make a real mess of it.

I did play around with my ruffler again, and couldn't resist making an extra little something. Man, don't you hate it when I'm vague? Yeah, me too, but it's not without a reeeeallly good reason. Some people check in to see if they can find out what their Christmas (or sometimes birthday) gifts are going to be. We can't be giving away surprises, now, can we?

I'm taking lots of photos as I finish my projects, and I promise - "cross my heart" - that I'll show you everything after Christmas. So, while I'm loving everything I did accomplish by the 15th...I missed my goal "by this much". I agree with my friend, Shell (from Tales of the Raspberry Rabbits), who left a comment on my post yesterday..."Next year, we start in July!!!" You've got a deal, my friend!

Be sure to visit Shell's blog for more "Wild Hare Wednesday" posts. Who knows what silly nonsense is overcoming the other participants these days!
* reference to a quote from a Monty Python movie. ;-]

My Girls And I Have It Handled...

I'm showing you another photo of my studio today so you can see what makes it possible for me to accomplish as much as I do. With the help of "my girls" - my three Babylock machines - I'm able to multitask to the max.

First, I know...I'm one lucky girl to have not one - but three - machines. Believe me when I tell you that they do get a lot of use year-round, not just during the holidays and I don't take anything in my life for granted. If you've read my blog before, you know that my Ellisimo is lovingly referred to as Miss Ellie. I also have an Espire quilting machine named Prissy, and my Evolve serger was actually named yesterday by Handsome. He looked at the decal (Evolve) on the serger and then said, "Why don't you name her after my mom's nickname, Evvie?" So, Evvie she'll be from now on.

Handsome came into the studio because he heard the multiple machines running. Miss Ellie was stitching out a design, and I was moving back and forth between Prissy and Evvie. I have to admit, it was pretty impressive! And, yes, he did mutter under his breath again when he walked out, but then he came right back in and said, "You're pretty darn cool, you know?". This fortunate and grateful wife smiled and gave him a kiss.

I chose this cupcake design for the scarf gift bag because
that's what the scarf yarn brings to mind.

I know you're wondering what I was doing with all three machines running. Well, I'd decided that this year I would make gift bags that could be used after the holidays, instead of shopping for multiple rolls of holiday wrapping paper. Miss Ellie stitched out the design onto muslin. Then I moved the fabrics for the front and back of the bag to Evvie to be serged. After the serging was completed, I moved over to Prissy and we added a sleeve on the top to run a ribbon to be used as a drawstring. In no time at all, we've finished a bag!

The grandkids can use them to hold treasured toys. The crafters on my list can use them as needlework bags. I guess they could even be re-gifted. Each bag has a design chosen especially for the recipient, so although I'd made a bunch of them already, I still had a few more to do - and I may make extras to give as gifts in their own right, too!
I'm to the point now where I can package up some of my finished projects into their respective gift bags. I'm sort of staging them in the dining room until I'm ready to box up and ship them out mid-week. So, I guess you might say that "my girls" and I have this holiday in the bag!