Long Live the Queens

Thirty two years ago three friends and I decided that we never got out-so we started Craft Nite and have been getting together once a month ever since! The group has grown, and now we each host it about once a year. For me, it's about the only time I really cook anymore. Yes,we have dinner, gift exchange, and a craft. Sometimes we even have a theme. This month the theme was England, and so, of course, we had to make crowns. Here we are, modeling our crowns and doing the Queen wave.

I've never posted a real picture of myself, so I'll let you guess which one I am! Lucky for me, none of these royal ladies ever read my blog, so they won't know I did this. Really, we usually look better.

Words I Live By

A Happy Easter Greeting

Yes, I do know it was yesterday, but here's where we were. This is a beautiful, gorgeous and very traditional church in Kansas City. It's called Our Lady of Perpetual Help, more commonly known as Redemptorist and was built in 1912. Breathtaking.

Oh, and the kids. As you can tell, they don't stand still very often. These are the Kansas City Grands. Tom is 9, Lindsey,7, and Joey is 5.

Excuses, Excuses

"I don't like to write, but I love to have written." Michael Kanin
I don't know who he is, but this is a quote I just came across on Rebecca Sower's beautiful blog, right after I read a few "where are you?" posts on my forlorn little journal. Thanks for caring and for getting me back into motion. Actually, I am just running out the door, late, as usual, but I will be back later today with something...and pictures.

If You're Irish...

If you're Irish, come into the parlor,

There's a Welcome here for you
Well, it wasn't too easy getting Finn and Tess to sit still and smile for a little Irish picture, but here they are. They are spending the night with us, while their parents are out celebrating the holiday in the grand old Irish way.

Finn has the greatest hat. Underneath his shamrock jacket, his green shirt says "Wee Little

Troublemaker", and he showed up ringing my doorbell early this morning wearing his green frog wellies. Tess's shamrock bow didn't stay in her hair very long.

My husband's family is pure and total Irish. I'm only a little bit Irish, but our children and grands all turned out 100% green. So this is a big holiday around here. Funny thing is, we're the ones who stay home now, while everyone else goes out to party.

Still Knitting

I am still enthralled with double pointed needles, so I have to show my finished items! The little bag is called a miser's purse. The brass rings in the middle slide to open and close each little bag at the ends. It is a very old style and I love it.

I got the baby hat pattern from my knitting group, but you can find it here. It's a great little hat for practicing cables. I've started another in green, so I don't forget how to do it! Just in case you are too impressed with all my color changes-I've used varigated yarn. The bag is done with a sock yarn and I just love the colors. Very VictorianGypsy, don'tcha think?

Look What I Can Do!

For the past few Monday nights I have been going to Knitting, gathering with a few of my co-workers who are much more skilled than I will ever be, and learning to knit with double pointed needles! Like this sweet lady in the picture, I can now knit in the round with 4 needles. I've finished my first project, a miser's purse, and am now working on a small hat with cables. I am so excited to have finally learned how to do this. For you experienced knitters, this may seem like a minor accomplishment, but I never thought I would be able to do anything more complicated than scarves and dishcloths. Oh my, I may even be seeing mittens and socks in my future. Actually, I think my next project will be a tea cozy. Thank you, dear Gateway Knitters, for your patience and good company.

OWOH Hand Warmers And A Bit of This and That

Gotta love these hand warmers I received from Barbara at All About the Buttons. They are just perfect to wear while typing here in my chilly attic. Look at her packaging too. They arrived wrapped in tissue, with a large button sticker. The little folder of handmade paper is adorned with a real button and encases her business card, which also has a teeny, tiny button glued on it. I love how she does that. If you like buttons, be sure to visit her site. She has an etsy shop too.

Things have been kind of crazy here lately. I've always thought that being flexible was one of my strengths, but now it seems like I have no schedule at all. I won't be working full time again until mid April, and now it seems like I'm never quite sure where I am or what I'm supposed to be doing. My first temp job has ended. This was my first experience with being an office temp and I am really not suited for it. By the last day I worked, some of the people were actually saying hello to me, but most of the time "the temp" felt pretty invisible (and clueless, I might add). I was hoping to stay there longer, but they fired someone on my first day, and then decided that they needed to have a full time office manager with accounting experience, rather than a two day a week receptionist. Originally, I was going to be there for a couple of months, which would have been perfect, rather than just a few weeks.

About half an hour after I was "released from my contract", and feeling like I had been totally rejected by the workforce, I got a call and picked up about 40 hours in March as our soap maker at my real job. We are going to be selling lye soap in our LHF gift shop and as of now, I'll be the first one making it. So that will help. See what I mean--no set schedule, no continuity, but lots of surprises, and very small paychecks.

Mystery Gift

I received this in the mail, totally mangled. How sad for me, and for whoever it was who put so much work into it. I can tell it was a lovely handmade card, and whatever was in the bag has disappeared. The return address is unreadable too. How frustrating, both for me, and for whoever sent it.

Presents by Post

I must have been good recently because I've been getting lots of presents! First, from my sweet friend Jodie of everything vintage are these lovelies that she sent to me for No Reason. Am I lucky or what! Two packages, the first was this lovely Valentine, tied with vintage seam binding. Don't you just love that stuff? And then, this pretty bookmark, which is getting lots of use, because I have been on a reading binge lately. More about that later. Thank you Jodie, I am so fortunate that we met! And I just discovered that another friend from Silver Bella has started a blog. I believe she may have been shamed and bullied into it, but no matter, it is gorgeous. And already she's posting more frequently than I am. So please visit Sandy at Sew Revived, and you'll be glad you did. I shared several classes with her, and she was so generous with her materials, and so much fun. And I still can't believe how quickly she finishes her projects. You'll love her new blog. I do.

I can't get my pictures where I want them, but this first shot is my Year of Color swap with

Stacey. She sent a box filled with ephemera and other gorgeous goodies. A little picture frame, decks of cards, sheet music, labels, cards, and just about everything you could think of. Thanks, Stacey. It was great fun.

More to come: I won two things in OWOH drawings. Pictures tomorrow-yes, I did say tomorrow.

And the Winner Is......

Well, I consulted my magic cards, and this is who I came up with:
The winner of my "Off the Cuff" cuff bracelet is (long dramatic pause)
Fannie . She's a wonderful artist and had SIX giveaways on her site.
Go visit her. She makes beautiful things. Congratulations Fannie.

OWOH- The Clock Is Ticking

It's almost time to draw for the OWOH GiveAway!!! It ends February 12, and I will be drawing for mine at 6:00 P.M. Central Time. There is still time to sign up, so I am hoping to get a few more visitors. As I write this, I'v had 150 visitors sign up to win my "Off the Cuff" Cuff. It's so nice to have new readers. I've made some very good friends here in BlogLand, and kept in better touch with old friends, too. It's so much fun to read the comments and to discover other kindred spirits. Good luck to everyone who has participated. I'll be back tomorrow with the news.

Jill of all Trades-That's Me!

Wondering where I've been, after all my promises of timely blogging? It's been a busy week for me, learning new things. Well, trying to learn new things anyway. After I convinced myself that my interview and tests at a temporary agency would come to absolutely nothing, I got a call and starting a part time receptionist job. In addition to working at the Victorian Dinners, using such skills as wood splitting, fire building, and playing riotous parlor games, I am now also answering phones, filing, scanning, and other duties as needed. On Monday, I will start working a few days as a rental worker at the Farms. They're filming a movie there right now, so several of us are taking shifts. I'm not quite sure what it will involve, but maybe I'll see somebody who is famous. Probably not, but who knows. I am also trying to get some things into my Etsy shop within the next week. In other years, I've enjoyed the relatively quiet winters, with my reduced schedule at the museum, but this year I am trying to fill every available hour with employment. Our hours have been cut, so I will not be full time again until mid-April. Who can even guess what new skills I will have by then? Or how crazy I will be? During my free time, I just can't stay away from all the blogs I'm discovering because of OWOH. I've been trying to visit as many as possible. Have you?

One World One Heart

This is it! The 3rd Annual One World One Heart GiveAway. It get's bigger every year and was the brainchild of Lisa OceanDreamer. It gives us all a way to find hundreds of blogs we haven't seen, and to win beautiful artwork. Who wouldn't want to play? To be a part of it, just click on the One World 2009 logo to learn how to host your own. Even if you don't plan on giving away something yourself, you can still enter to win. Just leave a message on THIS blog post with a way I can contact you. Drawings will be held on February 12.

This year I am giving away one of my "Off the Cuff" bracelets. This one was made from a felted blue sweater cuff, decorated with embroidery, buttons, ribbons, charms, beads, and who knows what! This will fit an average sized wrist and just slides on. Good luck. Remember to leave a message, and who knows, maybe you'll keep reading!!

Future Inspiration Board

Hi,
Thought I'd show you a picture of my Inspiration Board. I'm just starting to add things to it, so I'll show it again when it's really working for me. I have this on a wall behind a door. In the previous picture there was just a bare space there. It's big-about 5 feet tall and 30 inches wide. I found it on a junking excursion. I was really looking for baby bed springs, but found this piece of an old fire escape railing. I can hook things on it with clothes pins or clips. I like it, and of course, my husband (Mr. Neat and Tidy) tolerates it because it is behind a door! He was a little grouchy about it, but he did hang it for me. Actually, this may end up being as much work-in-progress as Inspiration. But it's a start. I know, it needs some help.
One thing I am wanting to do this year is to put my uncompleted projects in bags, with all the needed supplies, and FINISH them. Somewhere I read about doing that, and to only have three things going at once. I have about three hundred, I'm afraid. Anyway, this is one of my aspirations.
I am so appreciative of the comments I have been getting. It is encouraging to know that some of you are reading this. I even splurged and put the new new Followers gadget here. Hopefully, I won't end up embarrassing myself.

Being Who You Are

Sometimes things keep dropping on your head, and finally, you just have to pay attention! The last few days I have been getting the same message over and over. Essentially, it is to be who I am. And to trust my judgement. I've seen several blogs talking about having a theme for the year, so I have decided this is to be my theme for 2009. I'm hoping that this is the year I become comfortable with my own style and follow my instincts. Especially in the art world. I can't even begin to say how many times I've thought about an idea, or abandoned it half finished because I just didn't think it was good enough, only to see it turn up later and be wildly successful for someone else. Does this happen to everyone? So this year I am really looking for and listening to the signs! Here's a couple of quotes that I've just noticed in the last few days: "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
- Howard Thurman. This was mentioned in a newsletter I received from Sally Evans.
An email from my dearest friend, Fleur, basically told me the same thing. I can also count on her to cheer me up when I'm feeling whiny. She reminded me to do my own thing, and not worry about what was popular, or what I thought people might want.
And then I found this quote, which I had written in a notebook eons ago: "Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want." (Margaret Young). Another thing: Just when I was thinking that I need to be really specific about my style, and what I want to do, and that I really, really should make an inspiration or vision board--I picked up a magazine, and it naturally opened to a page about inspiration boards!! See, I think it's time to listen.
I got a wonderful surprise from my SilverBella friend, Jodie, of everything vintage. Look here, and you will see she mentions mine as one of the blogs she finds inspiring! And, oh, the company she puts me with. I was thrilled. Jodie is very helpful by keeping me blogging. I tend to get discouraged and lazy when I think no one ever comes to visit.
No pictures, I'm afraid. I think my monitor has died. Anyway something is not working, so I'm on the laptop with no pictures, for now.

Time Again

Well, the holidays are over. Decorations are finally put away, and it's time for some serious creating. I've never put up any pictures of my finished craft room, so here are some when it is relatively neat. Yes, I do have a fixation for drawers. The only problem is, I like to have everything where I can see it when I am working. The best arrangement for me would probably have been lots of open shelves. But my husband-the neat freak-wants everything hidden. The other half of this large room is laundry area and sink and counters. If I had been thinking, I probably would have insisted on a small room with a door so everything could be hidden away. But then I couldn't have had all these wonderful old cupboards. Does anyone remember when we bought the big one? Originally it was in an old school, and then an auto parts shop. We had to cut it into two cupboards to fit the space that we had. Our eyes were bigger than our room at the auction! With this wonderful room, you think I'd be making something, wouldn't you? Big plans for 2009, I promise.

Deja Vu, All Over Again

Hi,
I know this is probably cheating, but I am reprinting my old resolutions. (I would have just linked to this but I'm not quite sure it would work, and most of you probably weren't reading my blog way back then.
Wishing you all a New Year's Eve that is everything you want. We'll be going over to my son and daughter-in-law for a little family and close friends get-together. Hopefully, I will get a crown party hat! I know we will be home way before midnite. Then I am hoping to have some time to work on my new list of goals, but til then:

Slowing Down, Getting More Done, And Living With Intention
Here it is New Year's Eve again and I'm still trying to improve upon last year's resolutions. Time has never been on my side. I have seldom noticed it to be a particular ally. It dances around me, and slithers underneath me, while I wonder where it went, and what happened, and, why, no matter what I do, I never seem to have enough of it. My improbable dream is to slow time down, but to get more done.And so, I have made a mission statement. Or maybe it is a mantra. Anyway, here is my new life theme.
Live With Intention. Knowing me, you might think that means that I intend to do something-at some point in time. Maybe sooner, maybe later. But, no, it means that I will live with intent. I will begin to realize that the future is what we have today, not somewhere in the distant horizon.Here is what Living With Intention means to me:That I enjoy my life as it is, but always want to learn more. I want to remember that it is never too late, and that nothing ends until it is over.That I remember to make some space for the new to enter. I am learning to let some things go. Weeding out, paring down, and simplifying are so hard for some of us.
That I bring kindness to others. There are so many things we can do that are truly significant. Once a week, I will send a card to someone I know. Or do something nice for someone for absolutely no reason.That I leave a creative legacy. I need to know that something I've sewed, or painted, or written will be here after I'm gone.
That my outside reflects my inside. I just know I must be more fascinating than I look!!! Sometimes, I think it must all be about the accessorizing.
That I take care of my health. It's true that our health is the most important thing we possess. I keep trying to remember that when I am tempted. And I am always tempted.
That I find time each day for creative and spiritual moments. It still comes down to time, doesn't it?
That I do not neglect the riches that I already have. Be grateful. Always.Happy New Year everyone.

A Very Little Christmas

Well, we did have Christmas, but it was very low key this year. I barely decorated, didn't send out cards or letters, etc. etc. Some years it is hard to get every one together at once and this was one of them. We did manage most of them for a short time on Christmas Eve, but today was a very quiet day here. We watched old movies and I played on the computer all day. We decided not to buy presents this year except for the Kris Kringle gifts. Every year we draw names, usually on Saint Nicholas Day, and open those presents on Christmas Eve. I started this tradition years ago. The kids all put their shoes in front of their bedroom doors and St Nicholas left them an ornament and chocolate coins. Then we drew names and that was the sibling they were to secretly do nice things(!!!) for and give a special gift. It's funny what parts of Christmas traditions are important and what parts aren't! I didn't feel at all concerned about not getting a gift from my husband, but I really missed not having something in my stocking. I did fill stockings from the "gift closet". Luckily I did buy too much last year, so I still had some goodies.

The present economy has had a big effect on our family this year, and it doesn't seem right to buy frivolously when we don't know what's going to happen next. Layoffs, shortened work hours, and unemployment have become a very scary part of our lives in 2008, so the holidays weren't as jolly as usual.

On a much lighter note, this photo is of a large Santa my mom bought for me several years ago. His coat is made from an antique crazy quilt. I thought he was lost in our move in 2006, and this fall I finally found him again!

Whoops! I just started to tell you about some gifts that I made, but one of them won't be received until next week, so I won't give my secret away til then! It was fun, and took a lot of time (but very little money!) , so I'll have pictures soon.

Wishing you all Peace on Earth and a very happy new year!

A Winner!

Look at this! I won an award. According to my good new friend Jodie, of everything vintage, I am a Kreativ Blogger. This is so exciting. I feel like someday I can play with the big kids. I'm still thinking of who to give it to--there are so many wonderful blogs out there, so I'll be back shortly with some names.

As for the Christmas decorating fiasco, it is coming around but still not finished. The tree is up and it looks perfect, because it is fake. This is my first Christmas ever with an artificial tree, and it just makes me feel sad. I don't know why, but it does. My husband loves it. All he had to do was carry the box in and he was finished. No lights. No setting the tree at all angles trying to get it to look even. No deciding which was the best side. This tree has way too many lights on it for me. All you can see when you look at it is a blinding glare. I prefer a simpler tree, with a bad side.

My daughter Meg, bought her first artificial tree too, and doesn't like it either. We've decided to trade next year. I think the thing that I dislike the most is that the tree always will look the same. But we have solved that. Next year she will have the big fat one with a million colored lights, and I will have the tall skinny one with white lights. We both feel better already.