Changling

I love Saturdays. Really they are just like every other day for me but they feel different. It just feels like a break day where I can say, "i could go here, or this needs done, but i'll wait til monday". Of course during the week I always think I'll wait til the weekend so maybe I should work on doing a little on all the days.

Over the past year I have noticed a change in myself. Just little things. For instance, I never used to care if my socks matched. I have tons of crazy socks and I used to just grab 2 and put em on. Also, I would pick the craziest lounge pants and shirts I could find. Lately, when I look at my clothes or even shopping I am amused at what I used to love when I was still in that young, wild stage. Now, though my socks may be crazy, they always match; and I reach for the plain black or gray pants, thinking I'd rather blend in these days than stick out. I have kind of settled into the music and t.v. that I like, not really needing to add anything new since I am content with what I have. I would usually rather stay home and cook and craft than go out, and my frugal tendencies keep getting stronger. I think we all go through changes like this. Maybe it is getting married or finding those first gray hairs. Maybe it is learning to be content with ourselves and knowing life is a series of changes based on experience, wisdom and age. Things we used to see our parents doing and thought we would never do, now seem to make sense. I'm not saying that the youthful spirit and fire goes away, it just doesn't seem to need to be something that drives us completely. Sometimes taking a break and retreating inside ourselves, and noticing the power of the simple joys of life, is more powerful than making a statement. I guess I am just noticing that these little changes aren't a bad thing, and a box of air dye is only 3 $ at Target.

Onto the creative part of my day... At this point in my crafty life I don't own that much fabric. I have mostly embroidered until now and didn't need much for the projects I was working on. I know very soon I will be searching for ways to use up my stash but for now I am trying to build it up. It occurred to me that My grandmother used to have tons of fabric that she used to let me play with. This was over 20 years ago. She doesn't sew much so I figured she still had a lot of it sitting in a dark corner crying out to be used. Grandma turns 80 this year so I thought if I could get her to give me some I could use some of it to make her a birthday quilt. I told her it was a project for my mom and hoped for the best. A package came yesterday and JACKPOT!!! Some of it is 40-50 years old. In the meantime I found some beautiful fabric for her quilt so this stuff is all for me. whaaa haa haa. The sun was barely peeking out today but I did my best with the pics.

These 2 are canvas..big whole pieces. How awesome! The rest is mostly cotton. Its old but the condition seems brand new. Thank you! Thank you grandma!

Yesterday I said I was working on my 3rd embroidery block for my 1st quilt. The picture is my current progress and the original design can be seen here. I'm really excited about this one for some reason. I am using the chain stitch for the tree and I think it adds the perfect dimension. The file came in a pdf instead of a jpeg (whatever those mean, thank heavens for the husband!) Anyway, on my windows viewer I could get it to the right size but it would only print in huge or tiny. Soooo.....I had this great idea to just trace it off the screen. Not as easy as I thought. Tracing paper was too thick. Ahhhhh. I was distraught. Then I thought I could get some plastic wrap, cover the screen with it and directly trace it onto the plastic wrap with a black sharpie. Well, the actual screen is about and inch from the picture so it was a little tricky but I did it! I then covered a big piece of card stock with the plastic and then traced it onto tracing paper, then onto the fabric. I think it was worth it though. I'm sure there is millions of easier ways but like I said before, Have to start somewhere! Click on it to see it closer. I added the little butterfly.
Have a great day everyone...take a nap. After all, it is Saturday!