Busy Weekend!

I spent time up in Michigan with family this weekend.  I had a good time, did some shopping, ate some good food, and went to some great places.  While I was there, I found a delightful quilt shop in Frankenmuth that I'd never visited before, The Front Porch Quilt Shop.  My mom and I decided to stop in, and spent over an hour looking at some gorgeous fabrics.  They had a great selection, and their fall and Christmas fabrics were on sale!  We both left with several pieces of fabric, and I even went back on Saturday before we came home to get a few more pieces.  I have grand plans for all of this beautiful and festive fabric!

As of last Friday, there are officially two months until Christmas.  This time of the year always goes by so quickly!  Thankfully, I didn't have any housework that needed to be done on Sunday, so while the hubs watched football, I got Christmas crafty.  I spent all day making these adorable little snowman & tree sets that are available to purchase on Etsy.  They turned out just as I had pictured them, and I'm very happy with them.  I think I'll keep one set of each color for myself.  If they sell well, I'll make more!

You can visit my Etsy stores here:
The Sunflower Tree
Punkin Stuffins
I'll be adding new Christmas items soon!

Did you know that I started a new blog?  I am making recipes from an antique 1845 cookbook that I own, and revising them to today's recipe standards.  It's a lot of fun.  I'd love for you to stop by and check it out: The Colonial Cook!

More Than I Can Chew

Update: Thanks to Adorned From Above for featuring this post in their blog hop (#62)!

Yes, I've bitten off more than I can chew.  I do it often.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.  Please, please tell me I'm not the only one.

The problem is that my brain works a lot faster than my body.  I'm not an old hen, but I'm also not a spring chicken, either.  My mind comes up with all kinds of ideas that my body just can't keep up with.

Here is one project that has yet to be touched:  a simple mantle runner.  Just one yard of homespun fabric.  All I have to do is cut it in half lengthwise and sew it all closed.  It would take me about 20 minutes to make.  No batting, no quilting, nothing that is even remotely complicated.  But it's not done.  It's just staring at me, laughing.

Another project: produce bags for grocery shopping.  I thought it would be a great idea to get some mesh fabric and make some produce bags for the store, instead of using the plastic bags on the little wire racks.  Again, this is a 20 minute project, maybe 30 tops.  I bought the fabric, and there it sits.

My sleigh bells.  While I sent out the large set to be finished professionally, I did some research on my own about refinishing bells and purchased these two small straps at the antique store.  Then I went out and bought everything I would need to clean and refinish the bells, including professionally-made replacement straps.  I had planned on working on these while my hubby was gone on a trip.  He's been on several trips since I got all of these supplies...so why haven't I gotten around to this?

Here is my fabric for making a new dress for the McKinnis house.  I have the design drawn, but this is a fairly complicated project; it will take a while from the time I draw out the pattern to the last hand stitches in the hemline.  This project, I give myself a bit of leeway on, due to the complexity.  But I've been planning on starting it for about a year now.  Not a whole lot of room for much more leniency.

My husband's scarf.  Pretty self-explanatory.

My work bag.  So many little sewing project in there that I can't keep up.

Here's a piece of Roseville pottery that my neighbor kindly gave to me.  It just needs some cleaning up--a soak in soapy water and maybe a little scrubbing with a toothbrush.  Still not done.

Honestly, this list is just the tip of the iceberg.  I have a bunch of ideas in my head still.  I am also working hard on new items for my Etsy stores (I opened up a second shop just because I was getting too wide of a selection of items in my first one) and am trying to prepare for the upcoming holiday sales.  Right now, I'm concentrating on fall, but it takes up a lot of time.  I spend my evenings on the couch with the hubs, working away, putting all other projects aside.  Whether it'll turn out to be worth it, we'll just have to wait and see.  I'm looking forward to some down time...but I don't think it's coming!

What are you working (or not working) on?

Finally Finished

The Big Unveil...

Well, it took two extra days, a lot of stress, many extra trips to Lowe's, and four sleepless nights at a hotel, but we finally have our new bathroom!  It was a frustrating experience, to say the least, and completely extinguished any desire to remodel again, but everything is new and updated and fixed.  We might only have one bathroom still, but it's definitely nicer!  Below are before pictures:

And a picture of a layer of old vinyl:

And after!:

 And yes, in case you were wondering, we did get the faucet and vanity that I mentioned a while ago in another blog post:

We have a bathroom that is approximately 12' long by 5' wide--a typical bathroom size for an older home.  To make it feel larger, we chose better lighting, a light-colored wood vanity, and kept the walls a lighter color, and even though we chose a larger tub and deeper vanity cabinet, it still feels like a larger space.  The porcelain tile gives it a much more polished and refined look, especially as a shower surround.  We also updated our towel bars, toilet paper holder, and towel/robe hooks to a more modern brushed nickel finish, with tied everything together well.  We like it.  I don't want to do this again, but we have a nice, updated bathroom.  It should help us sell the house in a few years without a problem.  Woohoo!

Christmas Partyin'

We attended hubby's Christmas party on Saturday night.  It was a good time, with lots of good food, live music and dancing.  There are always a lot of people there, but it never seems crowded, unless you spend the night near the open bar.  Here are a few phone pics and videos (I apologize for the quality--I need a phone that takes better images).

The local high school orchestra played before the band arrived.  They were very good!

I also took video of a couple who was really enjoying the music, and this guy had sweet moves!  I'm guessing they were in their late 60s to early 70s.  The video won't load onto the blog, but it was fun to watch them all night.  Just take my word for it.  I ran into the lady in the bathroom and she told me that he was from Greece, and that they just really get into their dancing over there.  Sounds like fun!

Staying Occupied

I've been staying very busy filling online orders lately.  I appreciate all of the support that family and friends have given me, as well as the support I've gained on Etsy, the website, and Facebook.  Thanks, everyone!  And there's a good chance that I won't have another entry before Christmas, so I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and happy New Year!!

I've been reading an online devotional from Chuck Swindoll.  Right now, he's discussing the story of Esther, another favorite story in the Old Testament.  God's not mentioned in this book, but He's certainly orchestrating everything that happens in it!  What a brave woman Esther was.  And smart, too!  She wasn't vain, she didn't aspire to be royalty, she had patience, and she understood timing in the events that were destined to occur.  She was all of these things because, through her life, God had made her into the person He needed her to be to save her race.  While she didn't necessarily want the palace life, she was obedient to not just her uncle, Mordecai, but also to God in what she was instructed to do.  Her humility caught the eye of the king, who had dismissed his previous wife for her unwillingness to obey, and this landed Esther in a position to save the Jews and fulfill prophecy.  Whew!  Good thing for that!  I wish that I could have more of Esther's attributes.  To read the book, click on this link: Book of Esther.