HELP!

HELP! My needle threader just broke, so I can't finish my punch needle tonight. Guess it's a trip to the store tomorrow to find another one. Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday, so it will be either Hancock Fabrics or Joann. Maybe I should buy several of them so I always have one handy. This is what it looks like so far:


Not a great photo, but the black cat has a green hat. I think it will be a pinkeep/pillow to hang on a knob. I have another drawn up, and will try different colors. It's fun to see how different they can look.

Tip of the day: Hobby Lobby has coupons on their web page. Every other week, they have a printable coupon for 40% off one item. A single cut of fabric is considered one item, so if you purchase 5 yards, it's still 40% off. Since Hob Lob is the closest craft store, I use the coupons frequently!

Matt's pillow

Matt wanted to show off his new pillow that he made in FACS (Family and Consumer Science) class in school. The kids were allowed to use an embroidery sewing machine on the front of the pillows. Then they had to sew the sides, turn, stuff, and whip stitched closed. He had problems with the whip stitch, but he's never sewn by hand (that's what mom is for). I'll have to take a photo of Rachel's pillow.

I started my new job this week as a "lunch lady" at school. I'm training at the jr high, which is REALLY embarrassing for my older boys. Rachel will actually come up and say hi. I'll then be a substitute and go to all the schools. But it's school hours/school days, so I don't have to worry about summers. After not having a lot of work from my marketing job, they finally sent over work. So, it's kept me quite busy all week. Glad it's Friday so I can catch up on cleaning and grocery shopping.

Haven't had much time to craft this week. The kids have had homework, and I'm dealing with Rachel's ADD and school (not much fun). Tonight I'm going to try some punch needle. I found a wonderful free pattern from Primitive Betty's that I copied on weaver's cloth. Now to pick out some floss and punch my frustrations away!

Balloons

What a GREAT day! Beautiful weather, sunny skies, and the Cubs win the central division! We're going to the playoffs. I usually don't watch them on tv, rather I listen on the radio. Gotta love the Pat and Ron show on WGN. Ron Santo is SO emotional about the games - all he wants is for the Cubbies to win.

Had to go and buy some non skid work shoes for my new job on Monday. I'm going to be a substitute food service worker at school (any of the elem schools). They will use me whatever days I choose, so I can keep my other side jobs and my Bible study one day a week. I had sent resumes for other office jobs, but they aren't flexible for summer hours. So, I opted to turn office work down, as my kids are more important. I told my older kids that they could ignore me if they see me (way too embarrassing for mom to work in the cafeteria!). At least this job is school hours and school days. It's a few more hours than being a lunchroom supervisor, too.

Ran to Joann to purchase some craft supplies. The kids wanted to clay, so they got Sculpey clay to play with. I got feathers and black buttons to finish a bunch of unfinished projects.

On the way home, we saw some hot air balloons. There is a balloon port in the next town over, so it's a common sight for us. Haven't seen that many this summer, but tonight I saw four.

Off to clean up the kitchen and craft!

Magic Number is 2

The heavy rains from last weekend have disappeared. Sunny skies have replaced the raindrops, making it GREAT baseball weather here in Chicago. I don't know how they did it, but my Cubbies won today, making their magic number down to 2! It only took 12 innings today, after a miraculous come back in the 9th inning. I don't know how much more stress I can handle ~ it's only been 100 years since they've been in the World Series.

Had a fun day attending a market research focus group. I love doing these and getting a glimpse of new products. Today's topic was laundry products (can't give away details - sorry). Now I'll have to wait and see when the item comes out, then I can say I had a part in it.

I started a candle mat last night that I want to finish stitching. It's my first design and can't wait to see the results! (I don't design, but I can adapt ideas once I have a pattern.) It's a Thanksgiving turkey candle mat. Thanksgiving seems to get forgotten between Halloween and Christmas. Plus, I'm on a Thanksgiving theme with the bowl fillers that I still need to finish (need to buy feathers). Hopefully I'll finish several projects that I have started, but still remain unfinished. :)

Laura

Turkey time

This is the latest project I'm working on. I had ordered a turkey bowl filler pattern from Oodlekadoole, and decided to play around with it. I'm making the wings from a vintage quilt. I'm still waiting for the fabric stiffner to dry. I might have to add another coat of the stiffner to add some shape to the wings. I'm hoping they'll be done by the weekend, so that I can put them up for auction. Maybe I'll have to make myself a set, too!

My new treasure

My favorite little antique/resale shop had a sale this weekend. I picked up this wonderful prim strainer. It's missing a handle, and is rusted to perfection! The best part is that the price was only $3.39 with tax. Now to make some bowl fillers and display it on my kitchen table. I'm thinking some Frankenstein faces (I currently have a set on ebay up for auction).