Dangerous!!

Earlier this week, little man and I ventured across town to visit ... the Hobby Lobby.  Wow!  Let me just say that that place is dangerous!  They have way toooooo many fun things that are just dying to hop in your shopping cart and come home with you!

Maybe I was tired ... or maybe I was expending too much energy trying not to laugh out loud at my little bug who was doing his screechy best imitation of two real-housewives-y gals in the next isle that were just a little too excited about an amazing{ly tacky ginormous} chandelier to hang over their teenager's bed ... for the record, I wasn't the only one in the store trying not to laugh at these gals, but I digress ..

... but I was able to finally leave the store with a few modest purchases!

Ever since my embroidery class last year, I've been wanting to try my luck with some flour-sack towels.  I just happened to come across this cute little set of Aunt Martha's Superb Herbs and decided to stitch a couple up for hubby's grandmother's birthday this weekend.  I was only able to finish one, but I think it turned out well!

I used an outline stitch for the lettering and a plain 'ol backstitch for the picture.

It was such a quick and easy little project that I'm looking forward to working on a few more.  Happy sewing this weekend!!

What's New? - Part I

I haven't had a whole lot of crafting time (or blogging time for that matter), so now that the fabulous family festivities are over, I feel like I have a ton of catching up to do and that new projects are practically exploding out of my head!  So here's what's new!

Mom, JT, and I started our embroidery class at Bear Paws and Hollyhocks last week and had a great time with instructor, Shirley, aka the "Knot-Y Embroidery Lady."  The first class meeting just went over the basics - thread choice, the spit-free-way to thread your needle, knots, and the running and back stitches - but I think it's safe to say that I'm HOOKED!!!

While Shirley gave us a posie and a piece with our birth month to practice on, I could resist starting a new project -- I know ... big shocker!  I'd come across some cute, summery fat quarters during my last trip to JoAnns (for the $0.99 needle threader, mind you), and they were just perfect for to tablerunner with some embroidered daisies.  A quick google search for free embroidery patterns led me to the Needle 'n Thread blog and this great daisy pattern:

I printed three copies of the pattern, put two end-to-end, and cut the large daisy out from the third to use to join the two "ends" together as follows:

Another trip to Michaels for some matching thread and a number of episodes of "Bones" from Netflix streaming on the Wii, and this is the final result:

I'm so excited with the way it turned out, although, I can't decide whether I like it better as a table runner or a wall hanging.  What do you think?

I do have to say that one of the most important points that Shirley brought up in our class was the importance of a great light source.  She had us cracking up with her miner-like light-headband, and this great light that hung around your neck like a necklace, but they were all great ideas for portable light sources.

I found that in my house, I can see well enough to embroider downstairs until about twilight.  Not wanting to spend a great deal of money on yet another "new hobby," I improvised by placing my end-table lamp (an ancient one that I had in my bedroom as a kid) on a stack of cookbooks on the endtable next to the couch.  Unfortunately, the end of the couch is a rocker chair and the lamp had a rather large shade, so every time I went to stand up, the back of the chair would hit the lamp shade if I didn't remember to move it out of the -- which was most of the time.  After knocking it over three times (shattering the lightbulb the third time) and knocking the wiring a little loose, Rob generously decided it was time to invest in a new lamp ... and off to Ikea we went!

I came home with this little gem and let me tell you: for $25, it's well worth the money.  The neck is totally adjustable, so I can sit in whatever chair I want, and still have the light over my shoulder.  And the best part?  The base is SUPER heavy, and the lamp actually swivels, so if I forget to move it out of the way when I stand up, it just swings out of the way when the chair hits it, rather than falling over and scaring Lily and Luigi.

PS - the new bookshelf we came home with was just a bonus!!!!