Hanky Panky

Whenever I find vintage hankies I always immediately pass over the printed ones looking for fancy edges and embroidery. Carolyn (from Texas) has changed all that.. She uses those printed hankies along with others to make a "hanky panky" which is simply gorgeous. She picks focal colors and begins layering hankies and then embellishing with fancy trims and stitching...

I would love to get a picture of one that is finished to share with you.... Maybe her daughter, Theresa, would send me one pleaseeeeeeeeee!!!! I could find nothing comparable on the internet but did find this interesting site on hanky history.... http://www.fabrics.net/joan503.asp Also I really enjoyed hearing about the plans for a big Polish celebration for Carolyn's upcoming 50th anniversary....

New number

Anyone struggling with weight knows the joy of reaching a new number that is a goal. I saw it yesterday and it was still there today so now I can set a new goal...

I never had a problem with weight gain until I had an hysterectomy at 39. From then on I was like an old spade cat and just got rounded and rounded. Years of dieting and exercise were so depressing . A couple years ago I decided to eat what I liked but focus on smaller portions and just 2 meals a day. Slowly, oh so slowly, it has worked but took 2 years to take off twenty pounds. But yesterday I saw the number that was my goal. Now I can set a new number and keep going... By the time I'm 80 I should be a decent weight....but's that OK....

It would be much easier if:

• I didn't love to cook


• Have a husband that craves sweets and loves to eat and of course he has no weight problem...


• And the fact our social life revolves around entertaining and food.....
  

Books

Allison Aller (http://alliesinstitches.blogspot.com/ ) is so enthusiastic about this book that I had to have it so I searched the internet for the best price and found this site..... http://www.crafterschoice.com/pages/home/homepage.jsp I could get it and 3 other books for $1 apiece. I'm usually really leery of these "club" things but I looked thru their books and found that I could easily find the required 2 books in 2 years... In fact all their selections were discounted and any future 2 purchases allowed you to pick a bonus book for $1.99. Right off I saw books on stumpwork, faux painting, jewelry and paper folding that I'd like but will wait until my new ones arrive. So for I got about $100 worth of books for $4............My other three $1 choices were the following:

Lazy rainy day for Miss Molly and me

Got up at 5 a.m. to get DH off for a 3-day tour and it was pouring rain. This will give me a chance to finish unpacking and get acquainted with Molly again. The first thing we did was jump back into bed for a snooze and proper cuddle.... She's such a sweet dog and we can't figure out why she was rejected from 2 homes before us. She is absolutely DH's dog and never leaves his side, cries when he leaves and goes ballistic with joy when he returns....... so I am happy to have these 3 days to do some bonding of my own with her...

I am just dying to try my new threads but MUST get everything in order, pay bills, dig beets, and get sheep sorted. etc..

Singer Cover Progress

And did I do any work.....? Well some but not as much as I had hoped for several reasons.. First I had a great problem with the altitude. We were at 9600 feet and I had all the symptoms associated with altitude sickness so I spent much more time resting than I would have liked... Secondly I kept ripping out the seams until I discovered tiger tape (more on that in another post.) Thirdly it seemed the very things I wanted to use were still at home.

But I did get all the robins attached and am working on the branches with #3 perle and most of the seams are very embellished. Cathy K. gave me some marvelous variegated silk ribbon I used for the leaves on the branches in the upper left. I just loved it. Janet gave me the exquisite mother-of-pearl butterfly in the other corner. Lauri gave me the little cabochon on the upper right of the back section which I need to bead around. Ing gave me some precious rose beads which will go on soon and Claudina (bless her heart) had a source for my very favorite gold beads and is sending them....

I'm trying to work on both sections simultaneously so there will be continuity from front to back. I did add the rose top center of the front block and showed everyone my 5-pin technique which they now call the Gerry rose...