Laptop Keeper

Every once in awhile I find a pattern I really like, and it's usually by Indygo Junction. As soon as I saw this laptop keeper pattern I knew I wanted to make it.

I love the finished project with patchwork, binding, and lots of quilting. The lining is pale green with little cream circles. It's laying on carpet, so ignore the blue and white flecks on the sides.

Wednesday night. Three nights in a row this week with evening meetings, two are now finished, and there will be a three-day weekend coming up beginning on Saturday.

One of my goals this year was to celebrate the seasons and decorate for them. And I have no Easter decorations in place except for a little dish I spotted at Michael's. I know there will be celebrating, though, because Steph's birthday is on Easter. Even with Easter desserts there will have to be a cake with candles because Nora and Aaron so enjoy singing lustily: Happy Birthday to You.

Little Projects

Some little projects -

From Viking Embroidery Club, a towel holder

and matching potholder.

And now for my favorite - late birthday goodies for my sister. Design from Embroidery Library. Chocolate from here and there.

Nora on Sunday

On Sunday after church Nora and I went to Noodles and Company. Their mac and cheese is absolutely beautiful

but I forgot that Nora only likes the bright orange mac and cheese that comes out of a box. I'm sure someone at her house ate it today.

She didn't go hungry, though, because our next stop was the big Buskin Bakery on Madison Road. The selection is enormous. (Thanks, Violet, for suggesting this.)

She chose a donut with white frosting and sprinkles

and two pink bunny cookies for her and Aaron to have later. The donut came about because she told me that she had eaten bagels but not donuts. Turns out this wasn't quite true, but close enough. She'd never had one of the large bakery donuts.

Saturday Night With Nora

Nora stayed with me on Saturday night while Aaron went to Aunt Tina's. We headed for Barnes and Noble first. Nora loves books and she loves the train set-up, same as Aaron.

She spent some time on the reading stage, turning cartwheels and pretending to be in a play. Then she picked out three books.

Beside the escalator she spotted Alice in Wonderland and added that too. Lots of words and the pictures are black and white, but she loved it.

We headed for the Purple People Bridge, fulfilling a promise I made to her last summer that we'd walk on that bridge. It's for walking only. She carried her Alice in Wonderland all the way over and back.

We stopped several times on the way over to rest on the benches, but we made it to Cincinnati.

On the way back, we walked on the side section that has no benches, but there was a moon to admire and a few rest stops for us.


Then there was a stop at McDonald's, time to play with toys, a movie to watch. Yes, I told her mom that I wouldn't let her stay up too late, but I always do. I think her mom knows that.

Friday Fill-In # 169

Time for Friday Fill-Ins (on this slightly snowy!) morning. Answers are in bold.

1. The right word can soothe, explain, welcome, comfort. Words are powerful.

2. Hug, smooth the blankets, turn off the lights, turn on the soft music, one last kiss, and shut the door quietly, please. It's nap time.

3. Up in the night sky, look at the fireworks. The Reds have hit another home run. It's almost time.

4. Upstairs is where you'll find me. Turn right at the top of the stairs and you'll find my studio. Turn left at the top of the stairs and you'll find my office and design wall. Upstairs is where I love to be.

5. Ohhh! What is that sound? It's the sound of basketball on tv. This is one to the best times of the year. I'm cheering for the Kentucky Wildcats.

6. Going grocery shopping is a good idea. If I don't go grocery shopping, I am far more apt to eat things that aren't as good for me. I went yesterday, brought in the groceries in the rain. I'm feeling good about it this morning. I want to start cooking again. Sometimes I tend to get a little cooking-lazy.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm planning to clean my bedroom and sew a little, tomorrow my plans include working, then having Nora come for a sleep-over, and Sunday I want to watch basketball.

Happy Friday, everyone. I've been quiet this week, but I've been here. More tomorrow.

Can't Find It

This morning I was doing some patchwork for a laptop keeper, in between the usual morning rushing around and a few other projects. I ran out the door with the feeling that I couldn't remember where I'd put that last piece of sewing, and the feeling was verified when I came home - I can't find it.

So I'm doing my usual look a little, iron a little, wash a few dishes, sew a little, play on the computer a little, repeat all, but so far no luck. It's no big deal, just three pieces and I can cut out more, and then I know I'd find it within three minutes. In the meantime, I'm getting quite a bit done by accident. And I'll let you know where I find the patchwork.

Here are two Martha Pullen work projects - a hot pad holder finished yesterday

and a baby bib, finished last month.

Friday Fill-In # 168

Friday today, and here are the Friday Fill-Ins. Answers are in bold.

1. Today I will be smiling all day because my alma mater won its game in the NCAA tournament. Ohio University - can you believe it? And can you say, "brackets busted?" And my favorite won too, the Kentucky Wildcats.

2. You say, "Let's go to the movies tonight" and I say "why not?" Oh, I know why not, March Madness. Let's go to the movies another time.

3. What do you think of cars having a black box that records a few seconds of data? I don't think my old truck has one.

4. At my workplace it's Free Pastry Day until 10:30 Friday! Or, at least until we close at 6:00. I'm making blueberry coffee cake for the Coffee Breakers and there will be some left.

5. People say that what we're all seeking is happiness. Peace, love, joy, connectedness, being appreciated, hope. Or at least that's what I say.

6. The image I cherish most is a collage of my friends and family.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to excellent basketball, tomorrow my plans include working 'til 5:00, and Sunday I want to get ready for Journey Group in the evening.

Happy Friday, everyone.

True Story

Nora: how come you always know what I'm making?

Me: because you're an artist, like me.

Nora: you're not an artist, you're a chef.

River's Up

After an early-morning meeting, I stopped to see what the river was looking like. It will probably flood, just a little, this evening. All that snow in West Virginia. :)



Then I came home and worked on this project, which isn't going well.

The first time doing the embroidery, I cut it too close and had to do it over. Then my machine started acting up a little. Then I realized that the directions said to cut the brown pieces 1/2" larger than the pattern. No way was I going back and starting all over, so the top will have an added piece of applique. I'm hoping it will just look all the better. I had to go back to the fabric store for another 1/4 yard for the re-cut. Some projects are just like that, at least for me.

Tonight I ordered some birds from Ten Thousand Villages to use at church during the Easter - Pentecost season and that bit of special shopping improved my mood. If you haven't visited Ten Thousand Villages, do a google search. It's a great site and a great story. If you have a store in your town, all the better.

Critters at the Show

I always enjoy seeing who shows up at the Home and Garden Show.

Not a critter, but I really liked this metal sculpture. Especially the fingers and the hat.

The little bear reminds me of the bears on a motel at Pigeon Forge. You remember the one - right by the edge of town.

Appropriate that the frog is made of flowers. There's a rabbit beside it.

Little frogs spitting water are sitting around this fountain.

I wonder whether any of these went home with someone.

Home and Garden Show

One of my favorite March events is going to the Cincinnati Home and Garden Show with my friends. We go on the last day and my friends usually buy some flowers that were in the vendor displays. I love to take pictures and enjoy the crowd and usually don't get flowers, but this time I did get a couple of pots of daisy-like mums.

We took the wagon this year and loaded it up. Several people asked where we got it and said we were smart to bring it. Others wondered if they were available for rent - hauling out flowers and trees might be a nice little side business.

Outside on the street were trucks and vans waiting for the tear-down. I spotted this truck from the Habegger Corporation and just had to take a picture. Habegger is my maiden name, and there can't be many of us.

Tomorrow - some of the garden show critters.

Saturday night

Steph and the kids and I went to the Chinese buffet tonight. I tried to take a picture of my fortune without success, but five-year-old Nora used my camera to get a good picture of hers.

After the Chinese buffet we moved three doors down to ChuckECheese for an hour of noisy fun.

Good times.

Friday Fill-In # 167

Here are the Friday Fill-Ins for the week. Answers are in bold.

1. I'm so looking forward to getting my house cleaned up. And no, that doesn't sound like me. But I've been working hard on several projects and had some late meetings - the house is not looking good.

2. I hope I get to bed sooner rather than later. Goodness, it's been a long week.

3. When you get a cake mix and some frosting, it might mean that a birthday is coming. Steph's is next, on Easter Sunday. She was born on Good Friday but has never had a Good Friday birthday.

4. Family is a big part of my life. And sewing and quilting. Bet no one's surprised.

5. If you need anything, maybe we can work on it together. That's one of my my grand-guy's phrases right now: "we did it together."

6. Far as I know, I'm not taking a trip any time soon. Maybe I can change that. The wildflowers will soon be popping out in the Smokies.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm planning to write the handout for the sewing class I'm teaching tomorrow, tomorrow my plans include a trip to the bookstore after work, and Sunday I want to watch some basketball. It's the season. Oh, and change the clocks.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Back to Monday

On Monday, I went to the new county building to apply for a Homestead Exemption, which is a property valuation reduction for folks 65 or older. I'm not 65, yet. But I will be this year. I wondered what a building built right on a street corner would look like inside - it looks nice, very modern.

Then Helen and I met at Mokka in Newport for lunch. Obviously, I was pretty happy about it.

I wish I had a picture of Helen, but all I have is a picture of her lunch.

I'm Working On . . .

I'm working on . . . . . these. Each is 36" x 24", made with hand-dyed cottons. Details will be coming later, actually much later.

The Last of It

By late afternoon today, this was the last of the snow in the flower bed, at least for this time. Probably, probably, there will be more, but I did wash my heavy winter coat this morning and don't plan to put it on again this year.

Soon the flannel sheets will go and I'll be putting on one of the pretty sets that Sarah and Winnie got me for Christmas. And then, oh joy, the sweatpants will go, to be replaced by Life Is Good flannel pajama pants.

Right now, there's rain, but it's 46 degrees, so we're safe from the white stuff tonight.

Date With Aaron

Nora is spending the weekend with Aunt Tina, and I had Saturday off, so it was a perfect day for a date with Aaron. We started out with the anticipated ride in Gran B's truck and made the library, with its trains, our first stop. Aaron enjoyed whispering and saying, "We gotta be quiet" as he took play breaks and wandered through the aisles of books.


The next stop was McDonald's, which he declared was not McDonald's and he said nicely that he didn't want to go in. I think that "not McDonald's" means no play area. He enjoyed his cheeseburger and "frenchy fries" in the truck.

We took the bus to the downtown Graeter's for ice cream, but right inside the door were lovely cupcakes with plastic basketballs on top. Ice cream didn't rate once he spotted those.

Being the sweet little tourist that he was, he kept looking up at the buildings and declared that downtown was high. He waited patiently for the bus to take us back across the river. The bus was a big hit.

Next came another train set-up at Barnes and Noble and a book purchase. Love those trains. The tracks here are glued down, so there was no fretting about the track coming apart.

Back home again, it was a lovely sunny day and the neighbor kids were outside. We stayed outside for an hour.


When I left, he was settled in the "big bed" watching Cinderella. Aparently, he never did drop off to sleep after his big date with Gran B.

Friday Fill-In # 166

Friday morning, Friday Fill-Ins. Answers are in bold.

1. Why are you making french toast with white bread? Try making it with whole wheat - it's really yummy.

2. I want you to take your vitamins with calcium and iron. I'm a fan of multi-vitamins and Stress Tabs, and now I'm taking an extra vitamin D too. Only thing is, my hair grows like wild. Hope the cells inside are doing well too.

3. One of these days soon I'll take the leap - then it will be on my terms.

4. Squish up the fabric really good, pour the dye on top, and see what happens. It's always a surprise and I like it that way. I can't quite bring myself to measure precisely and record everything.

5. I could use a break from the cold weather, and it's coming this weekend. Twenty-two degrees this morning, can't quite imagine how how fifties is going to show up.

6. First I'll go and take a look at the river and walk across the Purple People Bridge and then I'll go to Barnes and Noble. Then, some people watching. Possibly a look at the jelly fish at the Aquarium. Maybe there will be music. Newport on the Levee when the weather is nice.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm planning to get to work on a new church banner, tomorrow my plans include a date with little Aaron while his sister is at Aunt Tina's, and Sunday I want to do something outdoors.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Results

My dyeing session was somewhat less than perfect -

even with all that rinsing, there was still some dye left that bleed into the other colors.

The yellow got the worst of it.

But still, the magic happened and I know that when it's all said and done, I'll use that yellow in some project and think, "Wow, it's perfect for this."

And aside from that, I showed up. I did it. This weekend, light fushia and blue.

Dyeing Today

I put three batches of fabric in dye this morning - managed to rinse one of them out before I left for work. I usually don't let fabrics set in the dye for an entire day, but it was the best I could do today. And, after a while, all the dye that's going to be absorbed is already absorbed.

I got home late tonight and am rinsing out the next batch. I've learned the hard way to not mix colors together on the first rinse. A rinse to me is a washing machine cycle, which is actually two rinses. When all three are rinsed I'll put them together and add a little soap in the next cycle. Then one more to be sure all the dye is rinsed out.

Maybe tomorrow I can show you - green, yellow, and brown. Earth colors.

The picture above isn't fabric - it's dryer sheets. Just enough in each one for a little gauze of color.

Stitched Down

After a period of thinking, the trees on Helen's quilt are darkened, stitched down, and have orange and yellow netting added to help it look as if there are some fall leaves still hanging on.

I learned a lot about free-motion stitching backwards down the tree trunks and the batting is now on, so the trees get a little dimension. Next step will be adding green bushes and green patches here and there. We're getting there, Helen.