Memory Quilts of Baby Clothes: Making 3!!

An old friend from college was clearing our her attic and came upon her sons old baby and toddler clothes. All those clothes that she had stored away after having three boys. We had talked years before about making quilts and she decided to send the clothes to us so we could make her three Memory Quilts - one for each son's family when the time comes. So here is what arrived - two big boxes of clothes!




We started sorting by color and fabric and weight. We planned a layout in the Crazy Quilt style and patchwork style - and she would like patchwork.


All three will incorporate different fabrics and we are grouping by colors....Here is the layout of two so far.....





I'll post pictures when we're done!

The Little Pansy: Part II

So that little pansy that started growing in our brick front door staircase is still living. Get this - it bloomed a second flower.....and today when I checked, it has 3 on the way out and a bud getting ready to open. Who woulda thunk it??

My Little Handbags

When I lived in my NYC apartment and then moved to this Long Beach house, my mom, ever the talented lady with the sewing machine, offered to make me curtains. So off we went to Duralee Fabrics in search of the perfect design for my windows. Of course, with our different tastes, we rarely agreed, but in the end, I got cool curtains and also loaded up on some fabulous designer fabrics!

What to do with such a stash? After sewing so many baby quilts and animals, I decided to try making some fun little handbags. I always carried a big work bag (and I'm not one for actual purses), so I wanted something fun, easy, and light - something that could fit a small wallet, keys, cell phone, and lipstick. Voila - my little bags were born! For my button bags, I've used buttons hoarded away by my great-grandmother Emilia - she had some collection. I've had people buy them for Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, teacher gifts, and to use as gift-wrap. What do you think??

ETSY Advanced: Seller Tips

Pop on over to Jessica Schope's site to get her latest book titles "Etsy Advanced" - I'm looking forward to getting my copy since I need serious help to kick some sales my way.

Want a "Real Letter" in Your Mailbox??

Are you tired of always having bills and credit card offers in your mailbox? Do you have some beautiful stationery that is gathering dust in a desk drawer? Do you have a favorite or special pen? Well....have I got news for you!! Shelagh over at blog Alice in Paris loves Art and Tea, is organizing Artful Penpals - a project to revive the lost art of letter-writing. The project will require those that sign up to write one letter to another that she matches up. All the 411 can be read through the Artful Penpals link above.

Come on.....one little letter.....one measly letter.....one note card to brighten someone's day.....and the best part?? You'll receive one too!! Now, rush right on over and sign up because come June 14th, the doors close and the matchings begin.....

Memorial Day.....THANK YOU....and to Blog Followers with Shop Picks

Thank you to all the people in the military that protect the United States. Thank you for fighting the wars so we can have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thank you to all the brave men and women who do this selfless job everyday. Thank you to those who gave their lives so ours are safer.

And while it is no where near the scale of the military committment, I want to thank all the bloggers that follow my little chronicle, so below are some Memorial Day items from follower shops. I hope you continue to like what you read - Thank You!

From My Little Blog Spot: Desserts at the BBQ.....

From Ilena at Corr Creations: BBQ decorations......

From Bette's Bags: A small wallet.....

From Christine at New Life Artworks: To frame a favorite picture from the BBQ.....

From If I Had a Hammer: Keep the bees out of the food......

From Barefoot Bath & Body: To start the day off clean.....

From Glazed Over: No table is complete without these.....

From Country Girl: Better than a napkin....

From Jill at John Met Betty: For the change you won at the BBQ card game....

From My Dear Darling: For the kids to cuddle as they fall asleep on the way home....AND kudos on the military item.....

Hope everyone enjoyed this Memorial Day......We spent it on Fire Island in a town called Fair Harbor. This link is to a local real estate agent, but the intro shows some nice pics. I love this place and we had a great weekend.

Back from Oklahoma....and Ryan's words....

Whew! Finally home. I left Wednesday night for Oklahoma City for a business trip. I had meetings all day on Thursday, and headed to the airport after a nice market tour between Norman in the south and Penn Square Mall in the north. I'm so tired, I cannot even remember the name of the area where this mall is located! A 4pm departure turned into another overnight stay in a hotel significantly less-nice that the hotel of the previous night. MENTAL NOTE: When the airline offers $$, a hotel, and dinner, make sure you know what level hotel you are getting before taking the deal. If my boss and I hadn't missed our connecting flight in Memphis, we would have held out, but with that flight going to be gone, we cut our losses and stayed in OK. I asked the agent "so what type of hotel is XXXXX?" and he was less than direct. But, another person knew the name and said "Holy cow! You guys lucked out! That is a beautiful hotel". A $40/night room rate and a $15 meal voucher in that hotel, does not a beautiful room make. But it was clean and well-kept.

Other than that, my trip was really nice! Oklahoma City is super clean and friendly. New York needs to go down and take notes on the cleanliness concept. But, a 5:20am wake-up call has done me in. So it is off to bed for me.

Before I go, I wanted to post about something darling almost-three year-old daughter said while we were vegging and watching cartoons....

**** some girls doll / toy was being advertised (again, I'm so tired I cannot remember what toy this was) ****

Mommy: "Oh that looks like a fun doll / toy"
Daughter: "Mommy....you know I really like pirates. Pirates are my favorite"
Mommy: ??????

So does this mean she's going to have the 'bad boy' complex when dating??