A new, tiny purse for me!

I keep forgetting to post about my new affection with little purses. Traditionally, I have been drawn to large purses and tote bags, roomy enough for not just the necessities, but also a knitting, crochet, or other craft project. But in April, our ministry had a big national conference, and I knew that I would want a tiny purse to carry so that I wouldn’t have to worry about finding a safe place to store a big purse.

So I dug through my patterns and found a nice little purse, one that I probably wouldn’t have ever made if it hadn’t been for the upcoming conference. Then, I immediately thought of an old black canvas bag that I had been saving, thinking that the fabric might be useful for something. The bag used to have vinyl handles, but they didn’t last long at all. So I cut off the handles and cut up the bag, and it made a very sweet, practical, tiny purse, and two tiny little accessory pouches (to replace the larger ones that I use in almost every other purse that I own currently).

The project was quick and fun, and I’ve been enjoying my little purse ever since then. So now I’m contemplating other tiny purses. It’s so nice to have something light and small when I’m shopping and when I head out the door to the office…I still bring my crafts along with me to work on over lunch hours, but my sock projects, at least, are small enough to fit into the bag with my laptop.

Turning old jeans into fun sewing projects

I found a great bag sale at a local church the first weekend of May—everything I could fit into a grocery bag for only $3. I came away with some lovely tablecloths and fabric, some pretty glassware, seashells, a basket, and a big pile of old jeans....just what I needed for my next sewing project.

My clever sister has been making cute tote bags and pillows for graduation gifts using denim from old jeans for a few years now. Since her kids are 18 and 22, she’s had quite a few graduation parties to attend. I haven’t had that many, but I did need a good idea for a graduation gift this year for the son of my supervisor at the ministry. So my sister thoughtfully took time to email me the dimensions and instructions for her patchwork denim pillows. I made a slight adjustment by adding a pocket to one side of the pillow, using a saved pocket from the back of one of the pairs of jeans.

It went together quickly, and I think it will be a useful and fun present. But then I had a bunch of jean scraps left over, because I had purchased several pairs at the church sale. So I’ve been cutting more squares with the thought that I would like to make them into a queen-sized quilt for our bedroom. It will take a while to cut and assemble enough of these two blocks to cover a queen-sized bed, but I know that it will be fun to make and use, and it will probably be the most durable quilt in our home. I plan to back it with a light-blue 100-percent cotton flannel sheet, and I’ll probably tie it to finish it.

A Spring Hike

My Sweetie and I took a hike through a local park reserve recently. I love days like this. We walked and talked, and we even sang a little bit...

This is my Father's world

And to my listening ears

All nature sings, and around me rings

The music of the spheres

This is my Father's world

I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas

His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world

the birds their carols raise

The morning light, the lily white

Declare their Maker's praise

This is my Father's world

he shines in all that's fair

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass

He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world

O let me ne'er forget

That though the wrong seems off so strong

God is the Ruler yet

This is my Father's world

the battle is not done

Jesus who died shall be satisfied

and earth and heaven be one.

Forced Bulbs Blooming

I'm a little slow in posting this picture, but it's still worth putting up on this site, I think. These bloomed over the week coming up to Mother's Day weekend, and I was thrilled to see them because I've never tried forcing bulbs before.

Late last fall, when bulbs were on deep discount at Wal-Mart, I bought three packages of bulbs for this little experiment. Two were daffodils, and one was a large variety of hyacinth. The daffodils didn't bloom, but every one of the hyacinth did.

I planted them in shallow pots with soil, covering them only as much as they would be covered if planted in the soil outside. Then I watered them and enclosed the entire pot in a zippered plastic bag and put them in the bag of the refrigerator for several months. When the shoots are 1-2 inches in height, take the pot out of the fridge and put them in a sunny place. They'll continue to grow and eventually bloom.

What a treat to my winter-starved eyes earlier this month! And I still enjoy this photo, even though my spring tulips have come and gone. Now I wait for the irises and lilies to bloom...Thank you, Lord, for the spring!

Appliqued One-sies

Another baby gift I made recently was a set of five appliqued One-sies. They were so fun to make and to give!

I found all of the applique patterns free on various sites on the web. If you just google "free applique patterns," you'll find a treasure trove of ideas.

I used Heat and Bond to create each applique, and zigzag stitches on my sewing machine to secure them.

More Socks!

I’ve definitely been bitten by the sock making bug. I’m on my third pair of adult-sized socks, and I’m just about ready to start another pair of baby socks.

The blue baby socks, shown here with a matching hat (something that I actually made without a pattern), are for another baby shower coming up. They were really fun to make, so quick and so cute! I’m going to use the same pattern to make baby socks and a hat using the leftover yarn from my new pair of adult-sized socks...provided there's enough yarn leftover as there was with the blue sock yarn.

After the next baby socks and hat set, I’m thinking of another pair of adult socks, this time using some wonderful silk yarn that I found earlier this month at a yard sale. My dear friend at the office had suggested that morning at work that we head out over lunch to check out the neighborhood yard sales. We had such a fun time together and found some really great things and amazing prices. I’m already hoping that we’ll be able to do that again another year! The silk yarn is on a big spindle because it was originally purchased for a weaving class. The woman selling the yarn had a big box with several large spindles of yarn and interesting fibers. She was selling the whole box for $3, but I knew that I wouldn’t need everything there. So she suggested $0.75 per spindle for each of the three spindles that I found and wanted to buy--one silk, one wool, and one cotton.

They’re all shades of peach-y type colors, tending quite a bit toward what I would call “neutrals.” I haven’t decided yet how to use the wool, but I’m thinking of washcloths perhaps for the cotton, and I knew right away that the silk would be fun to try for socks...Can you imagine wearing silk socks? I wonder how it will work for knitting?

Banana Poppyseed Muffins

One more post tonight...it's nice to have a chance to catch up finally. I made these muffins last night, and they will definitely be worth making again!

I love poppyseed bread and muffins, so when I saw this recipe in my Just Like Grandma's muffin recipe book (Just Like Grandma's is a bed and breakast/tearoom/lots of other little shops business in Osakis, Minnesota), I just knew that they would be worth a try.

As a bonus, they're fairly low in fat for muffins, with only 1/4 cup vegetable oil for a generous dozen muffins. I added walnuts to the recipe, simply because nearly every muffin tastes better with walnuts.

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2-1/2 tsp. poppy seed
2 ripe bananas
1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Mix together egg, oil, and sugar. Add in milk, poppy seeds, and mashed bananas. Sift together dry ingredients and then add to the wet mixture all at once and mix until just moistened. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes about 12 muffins.

Bonus! As I was typing out this recipe, I just realized that I know the lady who submitted this recipe for the book! How fun! Now I'll need to call her to tell her how much I enjoyed them! :-)

A Baby Quilt for Church

I made this Irish chain baby quilt top for a lady's group at my church that ties and finishes baby quilts to give to each church family on the arrival of their first and their fifth babies...A number of families have several children, so they decided to give a fifth baby quilt as well as a first.

Earlier this year, there was a notice in our church newsletter asking for quilters to make quilt tops for the lady's group to finish. So I decided to make one in honor and memory of my mother, who taught me to quilt...I've been finding at least one "memorial" project in honor of her since she passed away in 2003.

This was a very satisfying project for me, probably because of its nature. It's going to be finished by women I don't know (yet anyway) to be a gift for a family I may or may not know, and they will never know that I made it. So, even though everything we do should be done for the glory of God, this somehow feels even more like a labor of love for my Savior Jesus Christ, done for one of the "least of these"...Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to do this.