Stockings for Craft for Hope's Christmas in Dixie

This year's weather has just been insane here in the States.

Thanks to a heads up from Lupin over on Bugs and Fishes I found out about Craft for Hope's #14 Project: Christmas in Dixie.  You can read more about it here.  It's a special project to help families hit hard by this year's devastating tornadoes by bring back some holiday cheer in an unexpected way.  The project is making handmade stockings!  If you wish to participate the deadline is September 23rd, 2011, that's when your stockings need to be at the address posted on their blog.

There are some basic requirements but the key is they should all be handmade.  I'm very excited to do as many stockings as I can, even some pet themed ones, before the deadline.

For those who lost everything this year I hope that we can help you start some new traditions that you can rebuild with, our hearts and prayers are still with you all :)

The Crash Club

I've got stuff to do.  LOTS of stuff to do because Hurricane Irene or not we're supposed to head out to Disney here on Saturday.  The only thing is that yesterday we went mountain biking.  It was really fun and my second time out on the trails.  I was doing excellent till I rounded a bend and the path went between two trees and then did a 90 degree right turn, all downhill.  I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this.  I made it between the two trees, but was going a little too fast into the immediate turn and hit my brakes a little too hard and fell off to the side of the trail.

Fortunately for me Chris was with me (remember kids never ride a trail alone for this very reason!) as was one of his co-workers who was right behind me.  After I brushed my bum off we figured out that I had a really good busted up knee and my left wrist and elbow were pretty stiff and starting to swell.

THEN as if it couldn't get any more "worse", after biking nearly 7 miles thru the woods and crashing, I heard thunder.  And literally out of nowhere a BIG thunderstorm started to roll in.   It happened no more than maybe 5 minutes after my crash.  So in alot of pain, we lucked out by discovering we were right by a trail exit to a paved road. Chris took off for the car as it started to rain and I waited with Chuck, I swear adrenaline makes me want to barf once it subsides.  Chris ended up going the wrong way on the road and had to double back past us.  By then it was a monsoon rain.  I looked at Chuck and told him it couldn't possibly get any worse and laughing hobbled myself back onto my bike and we charged thru the torrential downpour and hail of lightning.

We managed to load the bikes back up, say our good-byes and headed off to the closest Urgent Care which was about10 miles away.  We had to stop off at my parents, who lived nearby, to ask them where it was because I couldn't remember.  After getting x-rayed it was determined that I sprained my wrist, bruising the base of my left thumb joint pretty good and hyer-extended my left elbow, but no broken bones.  Hooray for strong bones, a good husband and finding an Urgent Care open on a Sunday.

I'm just stiff for now and my knee is finally turning into a giant scab, but hell I guess I can now say I'm officially in the Crash Club for mountain biking.  It could've been worse.  I mean after all I could've broken something.  Then I would've had to walk around Disney in sweltering heat with a cast.

I hope to be back on my bike in two weeks once I can bear weight on my arm for an extended period and back on some trails in about 3. 

Old School

Last year I had a garage sale.  My first one as a "grown-up".  I know, I know that's kind of funny, but really we haven't ever amassed enough stuff to even have one by ourselves, which is a good thing.  It wasn't even that big.  In fact my mom brought over some of her stuff too just to help fill it out and of course help out. In the stuff she brought there was a big box of old books and guess what I found? My mom's old canning books.   Even the one for her old pressure cooker.

These are straight up from the early 70's...as if you couldn't tell from the pictures.  I stashed them of course because they just seemed a little too cool to let some stranger nab them for 25 cents.  Check out the sweet food photography.

I even found an recipe for preserving chili. The date on the newspaper was Wednesday September 9, 1981.  I was 1 and 1/2 years old.  Egads.  The 80's don't make me feel "old"...yet.

Then while wandering thru the local hardware store one evening I saw a massive Home Preservation setup.  Ball's put out a fancy, schmancy new canning book.  Complete with updated recipes, but honestly nothing's changed between the two books other than maybe the food cravings of different generations.  I really don't know if I'd ever "can" meat, but I won't say I'm not curious.

I'm glad I found and kept them all.  Looking thru all these makes me pretty nostalgic for those busy, hot days of canning.  If I can manage to find pictures of my dad and I tilling up our garden I'll be sure to post them up.  They're pretty cute.

High Five to the Weekend

The weekend was awesome.  I danced, but not so much as to be foolish.  I drank, but not so much as to be drunk.  And I ate and shopped and learned and laughed.  I smiled till my face hurt.

Between the drinking

 the shopping

the Viking crafters

the bagpipers and musicians

and audience participation

I really can't decide what was my favorite part.  But this festival is one I get so excited about and look forward to every year and always will.  It's well thought out, the music acts change nearly every year and it continues to really honor the Irish heritage of the city thru cultural exhibits and demonstrations that are beyond amazing. Like they say "the Dublin Irish Festival is like Ireland, only smaller".  I can't imagine next year as it will be their 25th Anniversary and I'm sure all the stops will be pulled out!

Till next year Dublin!

Still Stitching

It's raining and cloudy outside today which means two things.  It will cool off for a bit and I will get alot of sewing done!  Here's another preview of the new ornaments for 2011.

I'm really stoked about these and I hope you guys are too!  I'm working on getting the monkey put together today as well as the first Limited Edition one.  I am aiming to get the ones that I have ready photographed for the shop by at least Sunday evening so I can start updating by Monday.

On a side note, I hope that this stubborn high pressure will break soon.  I don't preach alot about my views on climate change and how I feel about the environment, but this year's weather pattern really is proof that the earth is definitely cycling thru some big changes. Will there be another Dust Bowl?  Seems like it.  I also wonder what it was like before so much pavement was in our towns and cities.  What was it like before heat indexes?

Back In The Saddle Again

While Tumus' been a bit slow even with the Christmas in July sale, I've been able to really get some work done.  It seems that my creative spurt cycles around summertime because it's usually when I start to really bust out ideas.  I mean remember these sketches? I made these up this past Winter. Yeah, it's been a while.

Well, they're finally coming alive in felt.

I have 5 new ornaments that are in their hardline pattern forms, cut out, stitched up and nearly ready to be photographed and listed.  But the lion and monkey are just the tip of the iceberg. I'm also whipping up 2 new limited edition ornaments on top of the 5 regular ones.  I might even manage to put out 3 additional dog breeds (Airedale, Beagle, and a Basset Hound)  and maybe even a Siberian Husky full face ornament. This year feels like another busy one for me. I'm super excited because I'll be at over 20 products and it's been such a rare thing for me to have that much UNIQUE and individual selection in my store. Of course with more selection can come more sales and being as these are all personalized ornaments I could be setting myself up for one heck of another season. Still, I can't wait to introduce these in the shop!