What I've Been Doing . . .

The last week has been really nice for me. I've told you all about the last year or so, taking care of my dad and then how hard his last weeks were, and then after his services I got sick and was sick for a week, and then sick or not I had to get things ready for our camping trip. But now we are home, and this last week has been so very nice!

I got to cook real meals again (which hubby TRULY appreciates) and catch up with the laundry, but I also started working on my office/craft room, trying to get it re-organized so I can actually accomplish something - MAKE something - in here! I've been doing what I call S-O-S-T: Sorting, Organizing, Storing and Tossing. And it feels good to be changing things up a bit, and making things easier to find. But, before I start, I have a confession to make.

YES, I am one of those people!

I am one of those people who, before she throws something away thinks "can I do something with this?". And I am proud to be one of those people. Mainly because, folks, there isn't a lot of extra money laying around here for me to go buy cute boxes and bins and pretty matchy-matchy stuff to make everything pretty enough to go in a magazine! When I say I'm reorganizing, that's exactly what I'm doing - RE-ORGANIZING! Moving things from place to place and then labeling so I'll know where everything is.

Times are hard. I'm not working now, and hubby has taken a cut in pay because of our tanked economy, so I can't go out and spend money on something we can't afford. And if I was working now, most likely I still wouldn't be buying cutesy things for my supplies. I would be buying groceries and paper products, laundry and cleaning supplies, and maybe a bunch of flowers for the table from time to time, or even a nice New York Strip for the grill.

So, with that said, I've been re-purposing a few items for storing supplies. Now, most of these will be hidden in the closet, but they will be stored nicely and safely away. Here's the first of my recent re-purposing projects:



It is the caps from the large wholesale club sized detergent bottles. I save them up above the washer/dryer and when I got enough, I made a nice little sorter. There is one of the older, larger ones in center, and then 7 of the newer 'ultra' sized caps around it. They are glued and then held together to dry with clothespins. This will go on my work table and hold small things like beads, buttons, pins, etc. I'll show you pics of it in use later, as work progresses in the room.

The second and third re-purposing projects were easy, especally the oatmeal box! I just cleaned it out, labeled it and filled it with re-purposed juice and soft drink lids to use in making pin-cushions. It is now in top of the closet, ready for me to grab in an instant when I need them.

The bucket is just what I needed to keep a bit of poly-fill close at hand! It's a 7.8 pound bucket that held the 'oxy' cleaning powders that I use in laundry. I washed it well, dried it, and cut a hold in top large enough for my hand to fit inside. The lid is tight, so it won't come off easily if I grab a large handfull of filler. And it will set on my work table at the ready. I will probably eventually cover it or spray paint it, but for now, it works great!

I've also been moving things around. I have a fair amount of fabric - a large part of it vintage (1950's) chicken feed sack and other vintage (1960's and 70's) fabric. There is also a good bit of small amounts of fabrics I've gotten at the fabric store's remnant bins - oh, how I love those remnants! Anyway, I had the fabric in plastic drawers, and never could find what I wanted, so I cleaned out one of the shelves on my bookcase and stacked the fabric there. Now I can find everything quickly, and I love the way it looks!

And I had a big box of teeny bits of fabrc I couldn't bear to throw away, so the other day when I took Mama to run her errands, I took the bits and a basket and went through them all piece by piece. If it was big enough to make a yo-yo, I kept it, but if not, it went into the garbage. Now here is my basket of small bits, nicely folded and ready for projects.

Ribbon. I LOVE ribbon - am probably addicted to it, but storing it is a booger bear of a problem! Most of the smaller widths of ribbon came on small rolls, but the larger widths came in bundles from a store at a local antique market. So a while back I bought a bunch of clothes pins at the dollar store and started winding the ribbon onto them. But even then finding a place to store them so I can SEE them was a problem. But yesterday I found a solution! I cut cardboard to fit the bottoms of these wire baskets. Covered them with fabric bits, and stacked the pins of ribbon inside. I love the look of it, and I also LOVE that I can see them easily. What do you think???

Here's a better close-up view of the bottom basket >>>

You can see everything, and it's so pretty! This will also go on my work table if (when) I get it cleaned off and re-organized. I still have about 20-30 pieces to wind onto the pins, so guess what I'll be doing at night when watching TV???

So, that's what I've been doing! I've promised hubby a special dinner tonight, so I'm off to the kitchen to get things straightened up and make some crepes for our dessert. I only make this dinner on RARE occasions, but tonight it's Chicken in a Tarragon Cream Sauce, Steamed Rice, Roasted Carrots and Caramel Apple Crepes with real Whipped Cream. Hubby deserves this special meal, though, because he's been so sweet and patient with me this last couple of months.

Okay, now it's your turn. What are you up to these days???

A Venture, and an Adventure!

I've actually been doing something positive today - HOORAY!!! I cleaned out two drawers in a cabinet in my guest bedroom, and found the bottom one was full of fabrics my mom gave me, oh, 2-3 years ago or so. All of them are probably from before 1970, some from the 1960's and before. I'm in the process of soaking and washing the ones I can use, but there are 4 that I know I'll never use, and I want to sell them. I'm going to give my blog readers first chance before I post them on eBay. I've never done this before, so it may be a flop, therefore the adventure part of my title. Bottom line is, I need some money for supplies, and I think this can help me achieve that! Here's the stack>>>

All of these fabrics come from the far deep recesses of my parents closet, and truly haven't seen the light of day in many years. I will list a price I'd like to get for each piece, but that is negotiable. Once we have an agreement, I'll figure out postage and then send you an invoice on PayPal. If you are interested, please e-mail me by clicking on the link to the right.

Let's start at the top and work our way down!

This is a brilliant kelly green, sunflower yellow and black plaid fabric. It is a nice woven fabric, but I'm not sure what kind it is - there is, however, no stretch to it. The fabric is 35/36 inches wide and there are 4 3/4 yards - continuous, uncut. The colors are clear and vibrant, and there is dust, but no staining or fading. I am certain she was going to make something for me from this, and I shudder to think! I am offering this piece of fabric for $10. If this goes to eBay, that will be the opening bid.

There are two pictures of this one because I wanted you to see the backing. I don't think this is 'double knit' because there is no stretch to the fabric. It is definitely woven, though. The colors, as I see them, are mustard, dark pumpkin to almost burgundy, teal, cream and a little avocado, in a vertical stripe. This fabric is 54 inches wide and there is approximately 1 1/4 yards. There are no stains, just dusty. It would make a great retro vest or jacket! I am asking $5 for this piece of fabric.

I love this fabric, I just know I would never use it, and want it to go someone who will love it as much as I do! In fact, I saw on Mabels House blog the other day where she had painted some lamps, and those lamps would be perfect with this fabric!

This fabric has a corduroy texture, but it's not really corduroy, I don't believe. It is 43/44 inches wide, and 2 yards 30 inches long, so just a tad under 3 yards. There has some been cut off one end, and there's some extra there. There is no stretch to this fabric. There is some dust, but the colors (red background, white, black, royal blue, a peacocky blue, and a green that's a tad lighter and softer than kelly green) are vibrant and gorgeous!!! The print is large! That white flower in the bottom picture is almost 6 inches across. I am asking $25 for this fabric.

And I saved the best for last - Ohhhhh, wait until you see this!

I am not 100% certain, but I think this is barkcloth. It's definitely vintage - original fabrc, not a reproduction. The background is light creamy color, with black and green geometric shapes, a background print in a light celery or sage color, and bottles, jars and vases in every shade of green from deep avocado to a true jadeite color. And yes, I said JADEITE!!! This would be PERFECT in a vintage kitchen with lots of jadeite dishes! The fabric is dusty and wrinkled, and has some surface stains - mostly just collected dust, no spills or anything. I think it would be easily washed out. In fact, the fabric inside the folds is still just like new. This piece of fabric is 1 yard wide by an astounding 8 yards long!!! Uncut, right off the bolt, and original vintage fabric - NOT A REPRODUCTION!!! I am asking $100 or best offer for this piece of fabric.

Once again, if you have any questions, please e-mail me by clicking on the link to the right. Please join in my adventurous venture, leave me comments, let me know what you think, and thank you for reading my blog. I do truly appreciate it! Blessings friends, Becky

Puny, Rain, and a New Header!

Hi Everyone! Hope you are having a great first week back to routine after the holidays! My weekend was spent being a bit under the weather. Saturday, although I felt really sinusy and tired, I did a few things around the house and prepped our meal - the fondue meal we had planned for New Years Eve but weren't up to that night. I got the food ready, the coffee table set with all the goodies and hubby got the fire going in the fireplace, but I just really felt horrible and couldn't get into the swing of it! As soon as he finished eating, I got everything in the kitchen, leftovers in the fridge and went to bed.

On Sunday morning I got up and the sinuses had swollen and I felt worse. I got up, grabbed a glass of juice and went back to bed - where I stayed all day! I felt nauseaus whenever I moved around too much, so other than going to the 'facilities' I just stayed in bed with low lights and the TV on GSN watching (well, more listening to) old game shows and HGTV.

Monday I felt some better but didn't get anything accomplished. Today I've got to get a bath, get laundry sorted, and get a pot of chili going for dinner. I think once I've got a bath and some clothes on I'll feel like doing the rest of my list.

Our drought-stricken area is getting more much-needed rain! We've been through three years of very severe drought, and in the last 5 days we've had almost 6 inches - 4 1/4 of them in the last 24 hours! This is so wonderful, because this time of year all the blooming and fruit bearing plants need the extra nutrients and moisture.

Speaking of blooming plants, my new header is a picture of some of my shrubs from last year. The purple are 'red pixie' lilacs, and they bloom one big bloom in spring, then smaller blooms off and on until frost. The smell is incredible, and last year whenever you pulled into our drive, or walked out of the house, you could smell the glorious sweet scent! In my opinion, heaven will smell like lilacs! The white blooms are 'Chinese snowballs', and they balls of blooms get huge - almost dinnerplate size. In the picture below, you can see the eastern end of our yellow cottage. That's the living room windows you see, with the tiny screened porch on the back left corner. I hope you enjoy the new header!

Before I go, I just have to tell you about my mid-night purchase on eBay last night! Isn't that just the worst time to get online??? Anyway, I really need some fabrics to use in making pincushions, lavender sachets and other projects, but my budget is very (very) tight. I found this huge stash of fabrics last night - 9 pounds of cotton and cotton blend fabric in pinks, reds, blues and browns. They are said to be from the estate of an avid seamstress and quilter in the Ozarks of Arkansas, and they were already bundled up in bundles for quilting. Take a look >>>

I just love that blue fabric in the center! I can just see sachets made from that!

There are some gorgeous fabrics in this bunch. At first the cowhide print had me a little scared, but now I already have ideas for that!

And I just love that white piece in the upper right hand corner - it looks like tea-towel fabric, but we'll have to see. These three pictures don't show all the fabrics, but are the ones I liked best out of the pics the seller posted. They said many pieces were at least a yard, but some are smaller pieces.

I was very happy because this great looking stash of fabric goodies, including shipping, came in under $30. I really don't think I could have bought that much new stuff for that price, and they said this dates mostly from the 70's to the 90's, so there's a little bit of age on some of them. I really can't wait to get it and start going through all these goodies! I'll take some better pictures when the package gets here, and hopefully projects made from them!

There are so many things I NEED to do, so many more things I WANT to do, and there never seems to be enough time - and that problem has grown worse since I found this thing called blogging! Maybe that should tell me something! I'm outta here - have a wonderful day!!! Blessings friends, Becky