Sunrise panorama

This is how my day started today:

Be sure to click to enlarge it, then scroll to get the full effect!

Hope your day has started beautifully, too, and continues even more so. And that you're making progress on all the Christmas preparations. I am, slowly but surely. Well, very slowly, it feels like, but I guess that's better than no progress at all!

Snowblossom hat

This is what I've managed to complete (well, almost) this week. I have much more cut out, but nothing else sewn to show you.

I used the Snowblossom hat tutorial by Rae Hoekstra at Made by Rae.

I eliminated the center front seam and just cut one big piece. Then I added a strap for under the chin, as requested by Courtney. The tutorial was super-easy!

My plan was to add a piece of velcro to fasten the strap on the side. However, the aqua fleece turned out to be not-so-nice, and I don't know if it's even worth finishing. The fleece "snows" little bits of lint from every raw edge (and there are lots of raw edges... the flowers, and the top), and it could get to be a real pain. Plus it would be a disaster if washed. So I need to consult with Courtney's mommy (and Courtney herself) as to whether to add the velcro or just cut off the strap. It's so cute, and I love the blue/brown color combination, but it may just be a tossaway hat.

I have more fleece on the way (hopefully nicer!), and I'll make another hat. I'll call this one my prototype ("muslin"?). But it's not a total waste. It was good to get a feel for size, etc. (and not waste the good stuff if the size wasn't right!). I also have mittens cut out to go with it... more prototypes, which I definitely need for size and fit. So, expect to see more later!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This colorful turkey was designed by Courtney at preschool. It even has eyelashes! :)

Hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend!

I love it when....

... I get a package in the mail and it's too big to fit in the mailbox so our carrier brings it right to my door! We have a fairly long driveway, so anytime I don't have to walk down to get the mail, it's a treat (but especially on nasty weather days).

Today was one of those days. However, it turned out to be an extra-big treat! Look what she brought me! FIVE packages! So fun! And colorful! With a little bit of delish thrown in!

Want a closer look? Check out these zippers! Such pretty colors! Nicely tied with ribbons, and I even got a cute little zipper pull (the little green thingy) for free!

Then there was this lovely fabric. NOT Jessica Jones fabric! :) It's for something for me. Eventually.

And some Wildflowers. Yes, Jess's fabric. For something coming up soon.

Here's some bag hardware. Any clues what these might be intended for?

What's that you're saying? It looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me? You're exactly right! I am going to be very busy in the next few weeks. So if you don't see much of me here, you'll know why. I'll show you what I can when it's completed, though.

Just a note on the zippers. Some are for specific upcoming projects, but most are not. I figured as long as I was ordering a few, I might as well get some for my stash. They'll come in handy sometime, and they're unbelievably cheaper than buying from my meager source here in town.

And the last package... some Twinings tea! Caffeine to keep me awake for all the sewing! ;)

That's it, folks. Well, not ALL of it. There's fabric, etc., that I had before that I haven't shown you. And some that'll arrive with Miss C tomorrow. But I'd better go and get working on.... SOMETHING!! I love this quote: "You can't do everything at once. But you CAN do something at once!" How true!! I don't know who said it, but it does help me get going when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

It was bound to come

And it did. Here's what it looks like outside this morning:

At least it's November and not October. And it wasn't deep.

I won't go so far as to say that it's pretty, though.

It's definitely COLD! It was 6° when I got up! After getting to over 50° on Friday. The good news is, the white stuff won't last long, because it's supposed to get to over 50° again on Thanksgiving Day. I can live with that!

Snuggles and Dots seem to have found a nice little (yes, very little) ledge to soak up some sun above the white stuff.

Apparently there wasn't enough room for Cuddles. Can you see her? She's that black lump just to the left of the base of that left post. Poor kitty... brrrr!