Think outside the box!!!

OH MY --- I LOVE the Christmas gift exchange idea that was posted as a comment on the blog yesterday. Give a recycled item in good condition to someone! Of course, you don't spring this on people - you ask first if they are OK with the concept. It must have been a hit because they are doing it again this year. An elegant way to recycle and gift at the same time. I love it! Imagine the conversations you could have about the items you are giving? That would be the best part! 

And I have several suggestions for fixing the hat, so that is on the list of things to do this coming week. I wore my toque yesterday, and it was warm, but I still prefer my hat. I checked the Tilley website, and they no longer sell that style of hat. It's all about toques. I forgot to take a picture of it yesterday. 

I'm sure I must have posted it on my blog at some point, but I can't find the picture. However, I found this instead. OH MY  - a post from 2014, and I was cleaning up my clothes. The post's date is March 12, 2014. I think this is the BEGINNING of my cleaning up the clutter. I put all my clothes on the floor in the bedroom and then sorted them. 

Hmmm -- I think it's time to do that again. I don't buy many clothes, but I end up with so many I don't wear. And I must reread that book I was reading - Throw Out 50 Things by Gail Blanke! I was listening to audiobooks way back then!! Who knew? OH -- I just reread the blog --- I was listening to the book on an iPod!!! What's an iPod? 

That might be a good exercise to do over the holidays. I can put all my clothes together on the floor and start sorting. I wonder if I have more or less than in 2014. It better be less! And I need to be even more ruthless than I was before! I also need to retire some T-shirts, and this might be a good time to do it. 

What's hilarious is that I remember saying, on multiple occasions, that I would start the decluttering process at the top and work my way down to the basement. Then I would start all over again and keep doing that until we had barely anything left. I started that process in 2014. I haven't finished the first sweep yet!! 

In all fairness, I have made giant leaps and bounds in getting rid of and tidying up what exists in this house. I had hoped to completely do the office, but it has progressed so much. Perhaps it is time to restart at the top and work my way down! The first thing is the clothes! OK -- I feel the urge to purge coming on! 

By the way -- does anyone know of a Canadian store that sells Electric Quilt books? I want to get one, but shipping from the US is $25 USD, and I'm not prepared to pay that. I can buy it from my favorite online store - still very expensive, but then any paper product coming from the US is costly because of tariffs. 

I had to keep looking at the blog, and yes—there is the hat. Not the best picture, but I've had the hat forever, and it's fantastic. I'll get that hat band fixed!

I have two presentations this morning, and I got everything done, except loading one more picture that I'm sending to myself. I didn't quite get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but I did great! I have some follow-up emails to send out today, and then all that's left for this year is one more writing assignment and the UFO club next weekend. Whatever will I do with my time? Just kidding!

Look what popped into my mailbox yesterday. Not only do I have a new toque, but I have new mitts! They are hand-made (knitted) and then felted! They are gorgeous!!! THANK YOU - THANK YOU!!!!! I can't wait to wear them this morning while walking the dogs. Although, should I really wear them? Leather dog leashes can be harsh on stuff like this. I may wear my old mitts and keep these for walking! By myself!

My new felted mittens

Murphy was on an absolute tear with her bed and blankets yesterday. She grabbed the bed in her mouth and pulled it way across the room. I just stood there and watched her. It was hilarious! And of course, she did that while I did my Zoom calls at the kitchen table. I only froze for a couple of seconds twice that I could tell, but the internet did not drop. YEAH!!!!! Now to get those pods properly installed so I don't have to Zoom from the kitchen. She also found a bone and started banging it on the floor while I was talking. Just like a kid - make a lot of noise while Mom is busy and can't discipline me! 

The aftermath of Murphy's rampage!

Later, I moved the bed back and got her settled so she could chew on her bone. I think that lasted for all of 5 seconds before she was on the move again! She is ten years old and still acts like a puppy!

MOM -- I won't stay here! 

My SIL had been out in the afternoon, came back, and said I was going to be mad at her. Why? What did she do? OH -- she bought me a cookie!!! That's OK. And the cookie was great! 

My snowman cookie

While I was sewing a quilt for myself yesterday, I grabbed some of the half-square triangles from this little bucket and pressed and trimmed them. 

A bucket of half-square triangles to press and trim

Plus, I trimmed all the ones that I made while sewing my quilt! I need to get those things cleaned up! All progress is progress - it doesn't matter how slow we work!

Half-square triangles trimmed!

I dug out one of my Christmas quilts. I laugh when I see this - I designed and made the quilt back in 2016 or thereabouts. It was published in a magazine with Northcott fabrics. I accidentally sent the same design to two different editors, and they both accepted it. Ooops! So I had to design a SECOND quilt with the same collection for one of the editors. I still have both quilts! 

One of my Christmas quilts

I will admit that the fabric is the classic Christmas colors, and the quilt is beautiful! Now I can snuggle under it (probably the first time it's been used) until after the holidays. My decorating is complete!

Now you may want to see what I was muttering on about yesterday. Well, we had a jacket class yesterday, and the topic was sweatshirt jackets. I was researching different ideas, and this is the type of jacket I was going to do - cover a sweatshirt in fabric. This is one that I made years ago, and it's mostly covered with raw-edge patchwork. You can still see some of the sweatshirt between the patches. 

My sweatshirt jacket

I was going to make another jacket, but this time I would completely cover it with fabric. That was until I spotted this. 

I LOVE THIS!!!!!

You can find the pattern at this link. 

So I had to go shopping, and while shopping, I had my thinking cap on, and well, I'm going down a completely different road now. I must always be aware that if I can make the jacket (or any item) serve more than one purpose, that's always good! And one must learn to think outside the box!!!

This is what I purchased to play with. 

Black and white trim

I'm going to work on a red sweatshirt that has a large logo on the front. It will be a fun challenge to come up with something that's both fun and funky. I hope to start working on that this coming week as well. I still have to remove the sleeves to work on it. 

And that's how quickly I can get bogged down in a new project. I wasn't looking for a new project; I don't need one, but I now have one! But it'll be fun!!!! Plus, I plan to incorporate some sewing machine techniques into the mix. That way, I can wear it and use it as a sample! Yep --- I'm good with that. 

It will be a busy day today because after the two presentations this morning, which I believe will be short, it's back to the sewing machine. My SIL has some stuff that needs to be finished today, so I have to get her started on it. I also have some machine embroidery to get done. 

Have a super day!!! Stay warm - I don't relish the thought of walking the girls in the cold, but once you get out, it's not so bad. 

Ciao!!!!