Getting Organized

I purchased this little wire holder with six small glass bottles at Michael's last week. It was with a  number of end of season, 70% off items, so it came home with me for only a few dollars. I had something similar previously that looked like a small wood crate with three larger bottles. The problem was that the bottles were so tightly wedged in to the sections that it was a struggle to get them out each time it was used. The bottles in this holder slip out easily, and it makes a cute table centerpiece for the porch.

In my never ending attempt to get organized, I made a bigger purchase at Michael's today. There was a 50% off coupon in my email, so I decided to buy a rolling storage cart that I had looked at once or twice before. It's about 36" high with eight clear drawers that are 15.5 by 16.5. The good news is that I have many hobbies and interests; the bad news is that I have many hobbies and interests and that means lots of "stuff." Fortunately, I store everything related to surface design art in my cellar. This cart will be upstairs and primarily used for my fiber art "stuff." Once people see that you enjoy crazy quilting, you are often gifted with pieces of lace, rickrack, buttons, jewelry bits, etc. It's awesome! My plan is to put laces and trims in one or two drawers. Embroidery floss and yarns for wool stitching in another. There will be drawers dedicated for various types of fabrics: one for satin, one for upholstery pieces, one for surface art pieces, and one for other unusual fabrics. Goodness! At this rate I will have it filled in no time.

Over the weekend I did some sewing with a group that meets monthly in Stoughton. I spent part of the time stitching a wool candle mat which is almost done. I also began work on two placemats that are also almost done. I did make seven pillowcases; four are for gifts so I won't show those. The top two I made for myself using some Kaffe fabric while the dinosaur one was requested by my little cousin D. His brother had requested a shark pillowcase. I had cut all of the fabric at home, but while getting ready to sew it, I realized that one of those pesky sharks must have taken a bite out of the fabric because the cuff wasn't quite long enough. Fortunately, I have a bit more of the fabric to fix the problem.

Finally, I glanced up at the oak tree beside my driveway yesterday, and this is what I saw. It is positively laden with acorns. The Farmers Almanac for 2018 is predicting "snowier-than-normal" conditions for the northeast, and the extraordinary amount of acorns would suggest the same thing. That's okay; you won't hear us complain about our future weather after viewing the devastating, historic flooding in Texas and Louisiana.  There has been such deep division in our country over political issues, that it reassuring to see that so many across our country are united in trying to help in whatever way possible the victims of Hurricane Harvey. God Bless the people of Texas and Louisiana and all affected by this terrible storm.