Aboretum Visit

Last week we "girls" took a trip the a local aboretum. It was an absolutely beautiful day - wonderful for enjoying the outdoors.


On the grounds is this historical dogtrot home/museum. These houses are fascinating to me - imagine having to go outside to get from one room to another.



I did fall in love while I was there... is this not the cutest chair?? with cherries!!? :)


Hmmm... think I could handle a wheel like this?

It's a different method than I'm used to. You can see a "great wheel" demonstrated here. Funny... whoever was playing with that yarn obviously did not know how a wheel works. Actually the yarn does not connect to the bit "wheel" at all - a drive band would connect the big wheel to the part to the left.

The back of the house from the garden.

Not many flowers in bloom yet, although there were quite a few daffodils. But it looks like it will be quite lovely in a month or so. The very back of the house is the kitchen and dining room.


Aren't we glad to no longer need facilities like this?

This one seems a bit breezy... :)

Finished Object Friday

I'm sure you are all gearing up for the 4th! We have a busy weekend planned, but we are looking forward to it! :) Until then, it's time for Finished Object Friday!

This is a pretty utilitarian FOF for me. I have finished a couple of projects that will help me around the house. Housework is less of a chore with fun handmade items to help it along! First from the fabric you caught a peek of in my last post:

It is a cherry-picking bag... cherry tomatoes that is! ...and peppers, and cucumbers... :) I wanted a bag to hold the fruit as I picked it, and also to hold the home phone and a set of keys. (I don't want to be accidently locked outside.) The pocket in the front is just right for the little keychain, and it also happens to be the rights size for my cell phone. The bag also works great for a quick trip to the library! I have a feeling it will be used for many things. :)

I finally finished the cover for my swiffer mop. I used the pattern from this book from our local public library.

I'm not sure how well it works yet. I just finished it last night. I started it mid-May. It probably could have gone a little faster, but I didn't knit very steadily on it.

Now it's your turn! I sure have enjoyed looking at and reading about other projects! If you are new to FOF, start here. Happy Friday!

Chari Tree Chat

Tomorrow is July! Ouch. It has felt like August down here recently, though we have enjoyed the cool spell the last couple of days. It's been a year or two since we've had a really hot summer. I guess we were about due one, but I have to confess, I'm not looking forward to it. :)

We've had a very busy few days! My garden is going crazy!! Seriously, it's out of control!

I do think things are slowing down a little with this heat. My pepper plants aren't putting out any new fruit. Too hot.

I do have a nice surprise, though:

See the cucumber on the left? YAY! The strange thing on the right is all I had been getting until recently. The seeds I planted (much later) are bearing pollen flowers. I picked that cucumber Saturday, and a deformed but great tasting one today. It looks like I have several more coming along now! :) Here's what I picked just on Saturday:

Sunday was a special day at our church. We had a patriotic service and a dedication of our new flags.

Don't the flags look nice?

(and for those that don't know them, that's my parents up front. Dad is the song leader and Mom plays the piano. They make a great team!) :)

The sound guys talking over the errant system. (Of course it acted up for our special service!)

Andrew on the left and my hubby on the right.

Yesterday and today I've done quite a bit of sewing. I found this pinking blade for my rotary cutter at a local bargain store. It has been really nice - though I have to press harder with it than the regular circular. (This project is a sneak peek at my FOF.) :) See you Friday!

Around the house...

On my table:


On my window ledge:


In the crock-pot - chicken and rice:


On the needles:

A sweet little bonnet for friend's baby girl due in Sept. :)
(Ravelry link)

How is your week starting off?

Deals and "Steals"

First let me say that I am not a big "shopper," but I do like to find deals - like finding things for a fraction of the cost! :) So I just wanted to share a few "fun" recent bargains with you. (Something a little more lighthearted after my more serious previous post.)

Remember these shoes? Well, I had been keeping my eyes open for a good deal on a purse to match. Saturday while shopping area thrift stores with Mary, my sis-in-law, I found this:

It works, don't you think? And it still had the original designer price tag!

Then today while shopping with a friend, I fell in love with this:

Isn't it beautiful? Here's the lid:

It was 75% off in the Christmas section, but I think it looks like a winter teapot to me!

Oh, and this wasn't on sale, but it didn't cost much, and really did you think I could resist it???

It probably should say "My first love is cherries" but chocolate works too! :)

Well, I hope you enjoyed looking at my bargains! I've also found some great clothes at thrift shops and on clearance. You'll probably see those now and again in some pictures! :) I do love a good bargain!

Happy Wednesday!!

Pumpkin Tea Party

We had a wonderful time at our Pumpkin Tea Party! :) It was a lot of work, but worth it. All the food was so yummy and we had a very fun time. You saw the invitations here and here. It was so much fun to plan! Maybe after seeing my pictures, you will want to host your own Fall Tea party! :)

Here is the table:

(Oh, and thanks, Angie, for taking some of the pictures!)

The girls even had a table with "kid safe" candle!

Mommy and her Girls!


At the tables...




Instead of playing "shower" games, we decorated pumpkins!
I helped Gracey with hers. :)




Silly Little Girl!! :)


Some finished pumpkins:


The girls got presents too!


Mom and Angie designed and sewed these burp rags - too cute!
(Love Regina's expression!) :)


Opening the gift from me:
(Note- Cherries!) :)


I hope you enjoyed our tea party! Let me know if you decide to host one! :) If you didn't get enough pictures, click here to view the whole online album.

Well, hopefully my internet will stay on for a while, and I can catch up with visiting your blogs. It is aggravating, but also a little break. :) Maybe I get more done with it off... but I miss all my friends! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Blessings!

Update No. 1...

There are several things that I want to share from recent events. First things first, however.

Thank you all for your sweet birthday greetings! I felt like I was getting little birthday cards all day long! :) Thank you to the friends and family who have "put up" with me all these years! :)

I had a nice day. Mark went and got me breakfast - Shipley's doughnuts and koloches - Regina was the first to call with a "Happy Birthday" (She was pleased with herself!) :) I also talked to my mom and my in-laws. I puttered around the house most of the day, then ran a couple of errands/shopping with Mark. (It was nice to have him around on a Monday!) Then over to Dad and Mom's for a birthday party with friends! It was a nice day. :)

Click on the album below for pictures. First are pictures from Angie's birthday, then pictures of last night.

Birthdays 2008

I said I had more to blog about, and I do... just not tonight. Time for bed. (Mark and I took a quick trip and I have some pictures from that and other things to share.)

Blessings!

Finished Object Friday

It's Friday! I hope everyone has had a good week. I have, although I've been busy, but that's half the fun! :) I have done so many various and sundry projects recently. (over the past month or so, not just this week.) I never knew that I would become such a "crafty" person! And I probably never could have guessed that I would enjoy sewing as much as I have. But surprise! I've been sewing again this week. Wednesday feels like a sewing day to me for some reason.

Anyway, here is what I did:

The motivation behind this project is that I'm almost out of the Mary Engelbreit napkins I picked up for $1.00 a package several months ago. I thought that we would try the cloth napkins. My grandmother sent me this material for my birthday last year. I'm finally getting around to using it!


They match my crepe myrtle perfectly!

That's my finished object for this Friday. So here's the deal. I thought it would be fun to share our finished objects! Just do a blog post of your craft - it doesn't even have to be finished, maybe you've just finished a big step of your project! It can be any and all crafts: knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, sewing, magnets... the list could go on... It can also be anything you have done at any time - not just from the past week. (Just as long as it's clean. I reserve the right to remove any links at my discretion.)

How to:
1. Write a post on your own blog. (Include pictures, please!) :)
2. Link back to this F. O. F. post in your post. (guess that really goes with #1, anyway, on to 3!)
3. Link to Mr. Linky below, using the permalink - the link for that specific post.
4. Enjoy looking at everyone else's projects! :)

To make an apron...

I have a confession... I have become hooked on aprons! (It's almost as bad as my sock addiction!) I have several hanging in my broom closet, some new and some vintage. I will probably share them in a future show and tell, but for now let me share this one:

I made it from the cutest little dish towel! It actually came in a package with a matching potholder. I like terry towels personally for the kitchen, but I have a hard time passing up cherries. I decided to make an apron out of it and have really enjoyed it.

Regina's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I decided to make her one. I have found really cute towels at Tuesday Morning. They have a great selection of these towels. I got this set of three:

I like the floral one. When you are looking for towels to make this apron with, look for ones with patterns that can go either direction and aren't decorated only on one end, or else the pattern will end up looking sideways!

The supplies you will need for your apron are as follows:

• 1 (non-directional) linen type dishtowel, prewashed and ironed
  
• 1 package of matching large 7/8" double fold bias tape
• thread to match the bias tape or use a contrasting thread
• sewing machine :)

I first made pleats evenly spaced on either side of the apron.
(My apron has one pleat on each side, I like the two per side much better.)

Here is a video showing how I made them:

Cut tape to the desired length (I used about 80 inches.) and attach, be sure it is centered! (Here is the method I used to attach it. You might want to look around while you are there, Amy has some really cute sewing ideas as well as a apron group.)
I attached it just a little below the top, so that it would be completely on top of the towel without empty tape at the top.

Sew first on the inside of the tape at the crease:

**at this point I am switching to my apron, I finished the brown one really late and forgot to take pictures***
then fold the tape over and sew again from the front starting at the end of the tie. When you reach the apron, the machine will catch the wider strip at the back. Take extra care at the pleats to be sure that the back is folded over enough and catching.


Like I said: Watch the Pleat! I missed a little here:


Tip: Tuck the ends in before you sew and sew down then across.


Here is the finished brown apron modeled by the recipient, Regina:

And yes that is a little pooch in front!! I have another little (adopted) niece or nephew coming in November! (She is actually exaggerating for the picture, she never gets very large even with almost a ten pounder last time - Faithie.)

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my little tutorial! I had a lot of fun making this and I am looking forward to making more. I would love to see your version, if you make one!

Blessings!

ETA: Thanks for stopping by, a big welcome to those of you from Tip Junkie! To see another apron I made recently click here. Feel free to look around! :)