Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Bratty Backpacks

I got this little hook at JoAnn's fabric store the other day and hung it up in my son's room right in the doorway next to the light switch.  Now he has a handy place to hang his humongous backpack and we always know exactly where it is every morning!




The backpack takes up like 65% of his body:



But if you go to JO-ANN's to look for this hook, be aware that the one you find will actually have a cute smiley face and rosy cheeks.  My son didn't like that part and was loud about that.  So I painted over it with some yellow paint I found in the garage!  Does that mean he is spoiled?

Answer - YES - he is spoiled (FYI).

Monday, September 19, 2011

Back and Better (?) Than Ever!

Wow, was I tired.  See, I am a life-long night owl and sleeper-inner.  But my son's new school (kindergarten!) starts at 7:55 AM.  Yes!  In the morning!  So I had to start waking up TWO HOURS earlier than I was used to waking up.

And, after weeks of "mysterious" exhaustion, I also started going to bed TWO HOURS earlier than usual.  Incredibly, that solved my problem!  But although my earlier bed time led to renewed personal sanity, it also seriously cut into my quilting and crafting time!  

In other words:  I have not made much progress on my Modern Meadows quilt.  I finally turned back on the sewing machine on Sunday and was able to finish the solid half of the squares.  I think they look pretty cute!






Now I just have to stitch up the other half of the squares.  Hope to have them done some time this week! Unless I get tired.......


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Junk Store -- Not So Junky!

My sister refuses to go to any junk or second-hand stores with me.  The Goodwill?  Salvation Army?  Forget it.  Yes, she is a fancy lady.

So, to make her jealous, I am going to post some super awesome things I picked up at my local junk (I MEAN JUNQUE) store this past weekend.  PREPARE TO BE IMPRESSED!

First up, I got this old globe for only $35!!!  Globes can be expensive and this one is really nice.  I'm not sure what year it's from, but it includes Persia and Belgian Congo, so you know it's pretty old.  SCORE!



I also got this set of three children's books from 1956 for $2.00!!!  They are awesome!  Volume One starts with nursery rhymes and Mother Goose, Volume Two includes Aesop's fables, King Arthur and a selection of Greek, Roman and Norse myths, and Volume Three has full chapters from Robinson Crusoe and Huckleberry Finn!  NICE!



Long story short:  go to the junk store!  You may find some great stuff.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

So Random

Recently, I've really enjoyed making quick projects like the hat and the two aprons that only take an hour or two.  I still love quilting!  But quilts can take a looooong time.  (Especially the one I'm working on now on which I have made virtually no progress......)

To make more fun projects, I recently picked up this book:


One of the first one-yard wonders that caught my eye was this hanging mail sorter thing?


And, as luck would have it, I recently purchased one yard of some strange canvas fabric at Ikea.  The fabric has a hot air balloon and hand prints on it.

Well, about an hour later, I ended up with this thing!!!  Here is the front, with four pockets:




And here is the back, with a creepy hand print:




I hung it up in my son's room to help keep his coloring area neat.  What do you think???



????