i have to say...

shop notes: the $7.00 sale is back!

Since this is the biggest shopping weekend of the entire year, I am having a $7.00 per yard sale in my shop through Sunday, November 30th!  Every single yard is on sale!  In order for you to get this price, I can either put together a custom-listing for you (send me a conversation through Etsy or email your order to me), or I can refund your money through Paypal after you make your purchase the traditional way.

I am happy to say that a bunch--BUNCH!--of new items arrived on my doorstep yesterday, so my store is full of great stuff! Flights of Fancy, Anda Lucia and Tweet Tweet, along with Sandi Henderson's Portabello Pixie patterns, can all be found!

Have a lovely holiday weekend!

 

so much to be thankful for

We are spending today baking/cooking/making a mess in the kitchen.

There is just so much to be thankful for each and everyday.

My hope is that your holiday is a special one. 

Just be careful not to eat too much.  Or not.

Happy Thanksgiving!

shop notes: portabello pixie patterns are here!

Sandi Henderson's Portabello Pixie Patterns are in my shop!   Boy, are these cute!  Aubry is already putting in requests for outfits and I don't know if I can hold her off until after all of my Christmas sewing is done!

Free shipping in the U.S. and free shipping with fabric purchase internationally.

Have a great day!

he writes the songs that make the whole world sing...or not

OK, I bet you never--NEVER--expected to find a picture of Willie on my blog.  I can't believe it either!  But in light of the news that a Colorado judge has sentenced noise ordinance violators to listen to one hour of Barry Manilow's music as their punishment, I thought it might be fun to play judge myself.  It is a holiday week, so let's have some fun!

If it were up to me?  Willie's tunes would be at the top of my list!  My mom is his biggest fan and I grew up listening to his strange voice ALL THE TIME.  Willie-all-the-time is Willie-way-too-much!

My second choice would be REO Speedwagon.  First off, what is with the name of this band? I have never quite understood it.  And, yes, I do consider it a punishment to listen to them!

Next up, anything in the Brittany Spears/Justin Timberlake/Christina Aguilerra genre.  Enough said on that subject!

I could also add what I consider the worst song of all time:  The Carpenter's rendition of Ticket to Ride.  Anytime I need a laugh I can count on that song!

What about you?  If you were the judge, what band would be on the punishment list for the bad guys?

PS--We will be back to lovely photos tomorrow, I promise!

links list

***I recently won a quilt pattern from Oh Fransson.  It is well written with TONS of pictures and you can buy one of your own here.  Highly recommended!

***Oh Fransson also has a great totebag tutorial (it's free!), again with lots of photos and explanation.  I have two of these cut out and ready to be sewn for Christmas gifts.

***Grace Violet---who always has great ideas on her blog!---shows how to make a child's art apron.  Too cute!

***Does someone on your gift list need a checkbook cover?  Crazy Mom Quilts shows you how to make one much cuter than anything the bank gives out!

***Heather Bailey has a free pincushion pattern that you make use for all of the sew-ers on your giftlist. 

Do you want to learn to sew clothes for a little girl in your life?  Sew Sensible has a great line of patterns designed for the beginning sew-er.  Most of them are $9.95 and they are very cute!

Enjoy your Monday!

a bunch of aprons

There are four new half-aprons available in my crafty store, Simple Things.  All are designed for fun and function while you are working in the kitchen, garden or at the craft show.  They will all fit most sizes.

Of course, all of the fabrics that I used are available in my fabric store, Fresh-Squeezed Fabrics.

Have a lovely weekend!

randomness

This is going to be one of those random-type posts.  I guess it is just the way of things these days---too many things for my brain to think about!

***It is getting cold here today.  Cold!  38 degrees is going to be our high with a wintry mix of rain and snow.  I am thinking that we will be breaking out the hot chocolate before the day passes!

***Christmas is coming and I am excited!  My mind is full of ideas and plans and crafts (of course!), and I even bought candy canes today in order to really make it seem real.  Christmas is coming!

***I feel really blessed by the friends that I have. It's not that we hang out all the time or even talk every day, but I know that if I need something or just want to chat, there a few wonderful ladies that I can call.  Anytime.  I feel strongly that if you have one good friend in this life, you are blessed beyond measure!

***Gas prices are falling below $2.00 per gallon and I am so happy about that.  How nice not to have to sell one of my kids to the gas station owner in order to fill up the tank on my mini-van!

***Lately I have been trying to feed my family more vegetables each day.  This is going over well with a couple of the members of the family, but a few are rebelling, you might say.  After dinner I keep finding piles---big piles---of the good-for-you stuff on the edges of plates.  I need to pay better attention while they are eating!

That's it.  The stuff floating around in my head right now.

What's floating around in yours?

homeschooling in november

The weather is beautiful here!  75 degrees and sunny the last couple of days. Josiah and Aubry have taken to the front yard with their books to bask in the sun while they work.  Of course, roller-blading between work-pages has gone on to, but I figure we are at the end of warm days, so we can soak them in and be more casual than is normal.

Aubry came in yesterday to ask me if I have ever roller-bladed.  I answered "no", but mentioned that I used to be quite the roller-skater.  She asked what roller-skaters are!  I told her that they are people who use roller-skates instead of roller-blades.  She then asked what a roller-skate is. 

Boy, do I feel old. 

I guess my golden days of Dittos, colorful combs in my back pocket and Journey blasting while the disco ball turns over the skating rink floor, are ancient times now.

Who knew?

apple days

Three boxes of apples on hand = applesauce!  So far we are through one box and the results are great--no sugar needed!  My only gripe is that I am always surprised by the small quantity of sauce after peeling all those apples.  I guess it is good that I bought three boxes!

My son was happy to man the apple-peeler.   He is a gadget-man, just like his dad.  He even figured out a couple of things about adjusting it that made things easier for us.

Have I mentioned the mess?  Applesauce-making is a messy affair, for sure!

Aubry made use of the peelings and cores to make "apple pie" and candles for the table.  I failed to mention that she couldn't keep them and I just found them a little while ago, all dried up and brown, on the dresser in her room.  Not a pretty sight.

Guess what I am going today?  Making applesauce again!  And then cleaning apples off the counters.  And making sure Aubry doesn't take any apples up into her room for decorative purposes.

I love it!

What's on your schedule for today?

making me happy these days...

Some things that are making me happy these days:

***Looking forward to the sweetness of the holidays.  It makes me happy that the materialism of this year will be dampened by the economy---we can focus on the important things.

***Spending time with my older girls as we get ready to start a new kind of relationship, and looking forward to seeing them build their very own lives.

***Three boxes of apples waiting to be made into sauce.  I don't know why, but canning always makes me happy.

***Friends who encourage me and remind me that "I can do it!".

***A small pile of fabric ready to crafted into something lovely.

***The laughter in our house.  It speaks louder to me than the contentions and frustrations of life.

What is making you happy these days?