A Little Bit of Cutting

 

One tiny mouse in the making!

 



A Litte Bit of Show and Tell

 

 Admittedly, the arrival of one's new daily planner might not be seen as an event of much excitement but for some reason it always sends my heart all aflutter.

 

 

I could hardly wait in fact to sit down this morning with pen in hand and have at those blank pages.It was about time too, for as you can see last year's was full to the brim with barely an inch to squeeze in one more thought!

 

 

Yesterday's second package on the other hand, contained a set of two, much more eye appealing missives, both by the most charming of kindred spirits Christie Jones Ray. If you have not yet met Christie a trip to her Rose Water Cottage is long overdue! There you will find all sorts of delights to thrill the heart including the most endearing of mice, Eliza.

 

 

I myself have been so enamoured of this little mouse that I jumped at the chance to welcome Christie's guide for making one in my own sewing nook. A little digging through my stash turned up all the supplies needed and so I imagine a new friend will be around these parts ever so soon!

 



A Little Bit of Excitement

 

 Look what was in the mailbox today!

My excitement level is a tad more than little I must admit...

 

I'll show you why tomorrow!

 



A Little Bit Earlier than Usual

 

Dishes are done, laundry is started, and if I type fast
I may even make it into bed by 9:00.......

.....a feat unheard of around
 these parts!



A Little Bit of Inspiration

 

Two little books rescued from the library sale shelf at fifty cents a piece. While apparently not of great value to some I have treasured them for several years now do to their old-timey charm and sweet depictions of red gingham. I loved the curtains so much in fact.....

 

 

....that I decided to make some of my very own!

 



A Little Bit of Familiar Fun

 

After not sewing for what seemed liked ages, the fingers were most grateful

to take needle in hand this afternoon!




A Little Bit of Sugar...

 

 ...helps the medicine go down!

 

 

Filling out the calendar with all the "must remember" dates for the year ahead.

A daunting task to say the least but with a wee bit of leftover Christmas candy

and a hot cuppa made the moments sweet.




A Little Bit of a Start

 

Things certainly were all a flurry in the weeks leading up to Christmas but with the new year upon us (thank goodness!) I intend to change focus and take a more "slow and steady" attitude to my daily routine. I was over visiting Austin Kleon's way recently and stumbled upon a phrase that literally jumped out at me from the screen...

 

A little bit of work everyday adds up.

 

Now for the life of me I can't find the exact location of it to refer you back to but no matter...it stuck in my head and had me thinking that a little bit of anything, not just work, adds up over time. And then I thought what if I looked for little bits in my day to day that would normally be missed in the hoopla and hustle of this crazy modern life.

 

Little bits of quiet and contentment.

Little bits of joy and happiness.

Little bits of this and that.

 

I wonder what that will add up to?

 

 

After...

 After an autumn

filled with more pitfalls

than I could have imagined,

 

 I was amazed

to have been able

to pull off a St. Nicolas Day

celebration of any sort.

 

Playing catch up

has become a growing habit

and one which I'm afraid will be put into play

here in blogland as well.

 

But until then..

all best holiday wishes

to you!

 

 



Fall Feast

 The first snowflake fell...

 

 ...and inspired a heavy dose of seasonal reading.

 

 Nothing better than Gladys Taber to have me heating up the oven for some homemade breads.

 

 Or a little Susan Branch to encourage me to dice up some goodies to simmer.

 

 Our own family favorite soon follows with some slicing,

 

 seasoning,

 

 and a spell in the broiler.

 

Bon Appetite!

Bichon Blues

 

 I'm in the doghouse....big time.

 

My activities these past several weeks have not meet with approval as far as our little bichon is concerned. First it was the doll show in September. The hoopla and preparation that went into the event put a big dent into snuggle time and for a lap dog that is no laughing matter! 

 

To add fuel to the fire, I soon after confiscated the couch pillows. They were never my favorite but since bichons aren't concerned with fabric, prints, or even color he had adopted them as his surrogate snuggle buddies in my absence.   

 

 

His constant slinking around my feet and accusing glares set me on edge a bit

as I began stitching my seams.

 

 

But in do time they came together nicely,

 florals on the front...

 

 

...and a hodgepodge of fabric fun on the back.

 

 

I was delighted with the results and the bichon was too...especially since we gave them

a cozy try out together!

 

 

The biggest offense, however, has yet to be forgiven. 

 

I've taken a small job outside of the house.

 

More days than not I spend my mornings helping out as a teacher's assistant and my afternoons begging forgiveness from you know who. A handful of cheerios and a bunch of hugs help but it's not until the tote bag is tucked away in the closet that doggie serenity is finally achieved. I'm afraid it's going to be a very long year...

 

 



Changes...

 It was with a very sad heart this weekend that I finally admitted my little laptop of so very many years was not going to make it. A trip to the store and a very patient salesman landed me with this new friend. We had a rough go at first.....the "Skullcandy" sticker was a bit offsetting, Windows 8.1 way out of my comfort zone, and my fingers did not seem to fit the keyboard. Bit by bit we're working out the details and I imagine in time the two of us will be as kindred as can be.

 

 I forgot how much patience is needed when installing and transferring everything to a new computer. In order to pass the time I decided to add a few more touches to the living room canvas. The boys were thrilled with the addition of their vintage movie cards.

 

So much so in fact that they failed to notice me adding in a stack of quilted coziness. Previous attempts at such a maneuver had been seriously frowned upon but that was before I had
 mastered the fine art of distraction. By that standard, I imagine a new video game will be in order to compensate for patchwork curtains and perhaps a pizza party to balance out paisley pillows!

 

 

 

The Big Day!

 

 Well after all that time spent in preparation for the big event I was amazed

at how quickly the day itself flew by! It was literally over before I knew it and so by

the time I set out to take my photos, many of the displays and vendors were already

 breaking down and packing up shop. I did manage a few shots here and there

including this one of the cradle finished off with a sweet baby!

 

 

 The wardrobe displays were a thing to behold...just look at this one.

Now that is one lucky doll!

 

 

 These outfits were made with the most exquisite of stitches.

 

 

 And here...why an ensemble for every occasion!

 

 

 Since my booth was looking a little worse for wear by the end here's an earlier picture I took during set up practice at home. Of course Grandmother's dollhouse is missing along with a few goodies I added in to fill in the gaps but you'll get the general feel I think.

 

 

One of the hardest things about being a vendor for the first time was staying put at my booth while so many goodies were beckoning me to come have a look see. I was quite unnerved at

the thought that perhaps I'd be leaving the doll show without finding a treasure

to take home with me this year.

 

 I needn't have worried however, for this time around my treasure found me!

She had positioned herself atop a packing pile to await my frantic photo taking pass by.

She was impossible to miss with all that sweetness glowing bright.

I knew immediately we were kindred friends. 

 

 

She makes me smile so every time I see her!

 



It's Showtime!!!

 Well at least one of us is ready to go!

 

All in all it's coming together nicely...

especially with this little dresser willing to assist!

 

Off now to charge the camera so I can take lots of photos tomorrow.

I'll share them next week along with any goodies I come home with. 

Fingers crossed!

 

 

SHOWTIME....Not Enough Days and Counting!

Running around like a chicken with it's head cut off...

 

With 3 days until the show that is me!

It started with the backwards lining, continued with a misplaced camera, and culminated with my computer's hiccups becoming critical. Dear hubby did a patch job but more intensive care will be needed over the weekend.

 

Until then it's a race against time to get a post up before the thing overheats and shuts itself off.

So far so good for today and as such, while I'm still ahead of the game, I'll take my leave

and hope for the best tomorrow!

SHOWTIME...6 Days and Counting

Ever have one of those days?

Today I sewed the Hitty cape linings in backwards.....TWICE!!!