She's Sew Pretty

Woo Hoo Wednesday!

This is as close as I've gotten to my kitchen in the last eight days.  Finally! A project that was supposed to take two or three days is done.  We have new ceramic tile floors in the kitchen.  I haven't actually gone in the kitchen yet because the sealer on the tile has to dry 24 hours.  Our huge refrigerator is still in the dining room.  The dining room is also my sewing room and I haven't been able to sew in days. While the tile guy was doing the floors, I spent time folding and organizing all of my fabric.  I also cleaned the garage and my youngest son and I took a truck load of "stuff" to the Good Will.  I'm so tried of eating out and it was only for a little over  a week.  Last night's dinner was actually cottage cheese and fresh tomatoes.  That was yummy and much better than fast food. 
Not cooking frees up a lot of time. There weren't dishes to do after dinner, so I've been getting a lot of reading done.  My eyes have healed as much as they are going to at this point.  I've felt an almost overwhelming urge to read and read.  I've read Jeffery Deaver's The Sleeping Doll, another Jesse Kellerman book called Trouble, the latest paperback in a Nora Robert's trilogy - The Hollow and Sandra Brown's Play Dirty.  Right now, I'm working on two books, Swine Not by Jimmy Buffett and a Faye Kellerman book called The Burnt House. My center vision is very good.  My side vision is weird.  If I look to the side without turning my head, everything is wavy.  I've never been one to get car sick but now I have to focus straight ahead or my stomach starts turning.  Don't even ask me to read something in the car! I'm just thankful that I can still read and thread a needle.  Since my eye problems were caused by my diabetes, I've been diligent about taking care of my diabetes. I haven't cheated in so long that I forget what real sugar tastes like.  I'll be the first to admit that this sometimes makes me a cranky witch.  But, at least I'll be a cranky witch who won't fly her broom straight into a tree.  Hmphh!

In the Pink

Meet Alice.  Alice has a pretty new dress for Beverly's Pink Saturdays.  All the fabrics and trims used on Alice's dress were a gift from my friend Carole of A Bohemian Market. I forgot how much fun it is to make doll clothes.  Alice is resting on my favorite Grand Revival fabrics, which I really need to use and not just  hoard.

Etsy's Cottage Style Christmas in July

Oh my gosh!  I've never worked on Christmas in July.  This was a first for me.  Every year I do Christmas boutiques and I tell myself to get started early, but I never do.  I'll have to try this more often.  It's been lots of fun.  Mary Engelbreit has a new Christmas fabric line called "Isn't Christmas Jolly".  While I was making Christmas pincushions for the Etsy Cottage Style Christmas in July challenge, I started looking at the squares on the table. I thought what a cute table runner they would make.  So far, I have five squares done.  I think that I am going to border each square with the black print and then put them together with the green elf candy print.  I was also thinking about adding a red button or a yo yo to the center of each square. I'll show you when I get it all finished. 

A New Week

Whew!  I think I have recovered from the weekend.  I did nothing but lay around and read yesterday.  I finished a good mystery, The Genius by Jesse Kellerman.  It was very, very good.  A bit twisted. Jesse is the son of one of my favorite authors, Jonathan Kellerman.  I will have to look for Jesse's other books.
The wedding was beautiful.   It was outdoors.  It was 102°.  I thought the groom and his attendants might pass out.  No one succumbed to the heat.  The wedding went off without a glitch.  The bride glistened.  The groom beamed.  Our table at the reception was next to the water and a nice breeze came up.  We could hear the catfish jumping out of the water behind us.  That was interesting.
My daughter and son-in-law hosted a nice birthday party for my son on Sunday.  My son was thoroughly spoiled by all of us.
Talk about willpower.  I managed to pass up wedding cake and birthday cake all in the matter of two days.  I think I deserve a medal or something. ;o) To my family who have had to put up with my crankiness because I passed up all that yumminess.  Mea culpa!
In other news, Suzical added me to her Big List of Sewing Blogs.  I am honored to be on the list with some  wonderful sewing blogs.  Sew...that means I need to get my sewing machine back out and sew something.  I've been working on some Christmas items for Christmas in July at Etsy.  Mary Engelbreit has a really cute Christmas fabric line out.  I bought enough for pincushions and a runner for my dining room table.  I'll show you soon.
Now, another apology.  Two people tagged me lately.  I'm getting old and forgetful and I can't remember who it was.  So, if it was you, please let me know.  I promise I wasn't just avoiding you!!
See you all Friday, when I show you my Christmas in July projects.

Pink Saturday-Show and Tell Sunday!

We have a full weekend planned.  Our activities run the gamut too.  We have a funeral for a friend of my husband on Saturday morning, one of my oldest son's friends is getting married Saturday evening and my youngest son has his 16th birthday party on Sunday.  From sorrow to happiness on Saturday.  I think "terrified" is the label for Sunday.  I don't even want to think about my youngest son being of "driving age".
So tonight, I thought I would combine my Pink Saturday with Show and Tell Sunday.
What's in the big Pink box?
Paper. Piles and piles of paper.  Old magazines, sheet music, song books, ledgers, old advertisements and vintage greeting cards.  I have more boxes of paper, but this is the big Pink Box.  Perfect for Beverly's Pink Saturdays. Cerri is hosting Show and Tell Sunday and it is all about vintage ephemera.
Let's take a peek inside the box. Right on top is a  coloring book from 1923.  I love the illustrations! 
  An old western poster for my future retro 40's cowboy theme family room.
Old magazines from the early 1900's.
Sheet music to frame some day. Old song books and papers for collage. Greeting cards, lots and lots of vintage greeting cards.  I pulled out some predominantly pink cards.
And one last bit of pink, a pretty pink pincushion on a vintage lace advertisement.
For closer looks at some of my ephemera go visit my Flickr.  I have some of it downloaded there.
I'll be around to visit everyone's blog on Sunday night.  I'm looking forward to seeing how you store your paper. Thank you Cerri and Beverly for being such sweet hostesses this weekend!

What's Making You Happy Wednesday?

Here's what is making me happy today.
The sun and heat haven't totally killed my garden.
I finally hung the mug rack in my laundry room.  Seeing my aprons makes laundry a little more fun. How cute are these?

Working on Christmas in July.
Etsy Sellers!
Clockwise from top left: Coconut Cake Pin Topper from Pinks & Needles, You're A Sweetie card from Susie Scott Studios,  fun fabric charm pack from Jen Duncan,  Boudoir Tin from Cape Cod Cupboard
So, what's making you happy today?

Pink Saturday

I'm joining Beverly's Pink Saturdays today.  I love pink! Here's some of my newest estate sale tea cups and a sweet pink little girl planter.  And pink buttons.  Who could pass up pink buttons.  All laid out on my favorite Barefoot Roses by Grand Revival fabric.  Did I mention I love Pink?!

TGIF

  It's still hot so I just keep sewing and sewing.  I like the way these pincushions turned out much better. The one on the left has a "Mary Engelbreit'ish" look to me.  I love Mary Engelbreit.  I hear that she will be a speaker at Silver Bella.  I would love to go.  Do they give scholarships? ;o)
Gayle, Lynn and Fitty all were sweet enough to pass this award along to me.


I always feel like the captain choosing teams for baseball when it comes to these awards.  Every single one of you on my sidebar is there because I think you're Brillante!  So, I would give it to all of you if I could.

The rules for receiving this award are:

1) Put the logo on your blog

2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4) Add links to those blogs on yours.

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

So here goes.  Amy, Blondie, Phyllis, Sherri, Rosa,  Miss Paula and Analise.  You're all on my team.  Now, let's go kick some blog bootie.

*Please forgive the different font sizes.  Typepad is driving me nuts.  Every time I try to change the font size it changes one word at a time.  Since I don't want to be here all day......

Baby, It's Hot Outside!

Oh my gosh!  Do you see the high temperature here in Clovis today?  113°!!  The air quality is awful too.  This morning when I took my son to summer school, the horizon looked like brown fog.  Nasty.  We stay inside in this weather.  My garden takes twice daily watering which I do in a hurry.  At least I have an excuse to do nothing but sit and sew.  I made a scrub top for this man.  He bears a slight resemblance to my hubby.  My hubby has a beautiful blond beard that I love.  I want him back.  If you see him, tell him his wife is looking for him.  He says the beard will come back when the weather cools off.  I figure maybe around November.  Yikes!
I found this plaid rose pillow at my favorite gift shop for two bucks.  No label.  I hope they don't mind that I bought it to use as a  pattern.  I was trying to make a pincushion size rose.  What do you think?  I think I should have used two coordinating fabrics and not used one of my roses for the center. If it wasn't so late, I'd start over.  I'll try again tomorrow. Constructive criticism is encouraged! Of course, if you like it, feel free to say so.

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Key Lime Pie and the U.S.A.

Wow!  What a busy weekend!  We started the fourth at my daughter's house for a barbecue.  Fresh veggies, barbecued hot dogs and for dessert my daughter made a really, really good sugar free key lime dessert.  Maybe she'll share the recipe soon.  My youngest son and my hubby are fireworks fanatics.  They sneak out together and buy bags and bags of fireworks.  Words are whispered furtively behind me about barrels and towers. I try to ignore all of that money going up in smoke and let them do their thing.  They set up the show and we watch inserting cheers at the best fireworks.  I don't think this was one of them. This one looks like a scene from Ghostbusters.
The fifth of July, the hubby and I had a hot date to go to the Fresno Grizzlie's baseball game.   Good looking men in white, tight pants and baseball!  My idea of a perfect date!   We won the game 4-1.  There was a big fireworks show after the game too. I remembered my camera about half way through the fireworks. I should have remembered my camera at the beginning of the game when the umpire and the Grizzlie's manager got into an argument; the manager was ejected from the game and was so mad he took second base with him.  Drama!
In between baseball and fireworks, I managed to make a few more rose pins and list them in my Etsy.  I thought they would be cute on a memo board.  This one is in my mom's room.  I bought some wedding favor boxes for packaging them and they're all ready to be shipped.  Wouldn't they make cute favors for a bridal shower?