Diet Cookies

Trying Something New

Last Thursday I took a Coiled Fabric Bowl class from a friend, Traci Baez, at my LQS, Hearts and Hands Quilts.  I had a WONDERFUL time and could hardly wait to get home and finish the bowl.  Somewhere between the quilt shop and home, my brain dreamed up some additional design options to add to the bowl.  I figured, "What the heck?".  Since I was trying a new technique anyway, why not add more new things?  So I did.  Here are some (lousy) pictures of the finished bowl, and I have to say I'm pretty happy about it!  And I am enthused about making more bowls using my own designs.  The fabric is a batik, gold-to-tan with teal, and the embellishments are turquoise-colored stones wrapped to the basket with copper wire coils.  Neat, huh? 
 

Decluttering Effort #1

No, it hasn't taken me 8 days to recover from my birthday.  I've been working on my first major decluttering effort of the new year.  This entails going through years and years and years of magazines I've saved, cutting out the patterns, instructions and inspiring ideas I really want to keep, and then storing them in plastic sleeves in binders.  Thus far I've emptied 8 LARGE magazine holders!  The magazines I've cut pages from go into the recycling bin.  The intact magazines (over 100 of 'em) will be donated to the quilt guild for the used book/magazine sale next week.  Yay!  Only 5 more (smaller) magazine holders to sort through and I'll be DONE!  (With that project.)  Then its on to the really HUGE decluttering endeavor:  the Fabric Stash.  <sigh> Pray for me...

Birthdays and Stuff

My birthday is nearly over for another year (whew!) and my hubby's begins in just a few minutes.  Yes, we have back-to-back birthdays.  Yes, we've been married for forever and yes, we get along just fine even though we're the same "sign".  Never did quite understand the fascination with astrological signs, it being a bunch of foolishness and all.  Anyhoo (as my son says...or did a few months ago but language fads change as quickly as the seasons) its been a nice, quiet, snuggling-in-the-recliner-with-a-quilt kind of day and I've enjoyed every minute of it.  I received a wonderful card from my mom-in-law that had the both of us crying and my heart feels at least two sizes larger.  She really DOES love me and I don't know why but its all wonderful anyway.  My daughter gave me a special Bible verse for the year, Isaiah 43:19, and I plan to write it out and post it in my sewing room.  She and Wade and Alayne and Timothy sang Happy Birthday to me and then I had a lovely visit with my daughter. I Skyped with son Robert and DIL Heather and the two puppies, and that was very special to me, too.  Lots and lots of Facebook birthday greetings plus calls from my brother Dave, sister Katie and my Mom.  I'm totally spoiled, and have enjoyed every minute of it!  Well, time to wrap this up and go wish my hubby HIS first "Happy Birthday"!  Good times...are like gold.

2011 Word for the Year

"De-Clutter".  To clean out, clear out, give away, toss away, sell, bequeath, donate, or otherwise lose anything that:  I don't love, won't use or wear, have duplicates of, would be of more value to someone else, weighs/drags me down, "might" be used someday, "might" be more valuable some day, "might" fit someday, requires a lot of extra care or worry (husband and cat excepted, of course).  My hope is that, as the clutter goes, that space will fill up with the really important stuff in life.  A good plan for a new year.