I've Been Dreaming of Skulls with Cobalt Blue Swarovski Crystal Eyes....

Unbelieveable.... it's DONE!! It only took me 4 months.

This was the hardest thing I've ever put together. No lie -- even more difficult than that dang satin dress I made her for the talent show last year. This thing was a "beast!"

I'm not gonna lie - I am the worst at following patterns. I don't like the way they are written. They leave too much to the - imagination! However, in all fairness - this pattern was actually pretty darn good. It was written right into the pattern when things got a little sticky. And did they ever get sticky!

One thing I learned in making this bag full of zippers, pockets, pouches, toggles, buttons and velcro - is that if I don't think too hard, and just do "what it says," it really does work out in the end. There is only one little trouble spot I am not pleased with and that is the bulk at the right end of the zipper on the main body of the bag.

I had fun hiding a few secret surprises in it - just for fun, as well as a bag of Skittles in the main zipper pouch.

So glad I finally got this off my worktable. I don't know why sometimes I put things off. Fear of failure, I guess. I kept coming back to this one - and I'm glad I did. I learned a heck of a lot, and Sabrina - well she's just as happy as she could be with her skulls.

Tomorrow - our son is taking over parental responsibilities for the day so Blaise and I can get up early, early (4:30 a.m.) and head up to the Blue Ridge Mountains (Skyline Drive - one of the TEN most beautiful drives in the country!) to enjoy some "Peak Fall Color." It's been such a hectic few months. It's time to STOP and breathe.

I suggest YOU do the same. Take some time just for YOU today. Paint, Sew, Write, Nap, Play with Your Dog - do what makes YOU happy.

LOTS & LOTS of pictures upon my return.

NOTE: As of the writing of this post, our trip was postponed because - you guessed it - Sal got the flu. Mountain trip now re-scheduled for Thursday departure at 4:30 a.m.

Dang! Where Does the Time Go?

Okay - where did the summer go? Where did August go? Where did last week go? Where did today go? I always thought that as my kids got older, things would "slow" down a bit around here - at least for me. I couldn't imagine when Sabrina was a baby and Sal was 6 that life could be any more hectic than having two kids, working a 40 -50 hour a week job at a law firm 25 miles away, going to school part time and being President of the PTA. Life was busy those days, but not "complicated." Now my life is busy AND complicated. HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN????

It was over a week ago that I started pinning that little baby quilt.

I finally got it under the needle yesterday and finished the quilting. I did a wavy pattern in all of the white blocks (big and small) and stitched in the ditch the nine patches and throughout the entire quilt.

I am so in love with the colors in this quilt and am glad I made enough blocks to do a queen size quilt. The binding's all pinned on and I plan on hand stitching it tonight while I'm watching the news. I had a little trouble with my tension last night :( I switched to Bottom Line bobbin thread by Superior and forgot to play around with the tension settings. Nasty little thread bundles on the back had to be ripped out. All is right with the world now - as I found the perfect setting and the little stitches are as neat and tidy as can be!

On another front - I bought two pair of awesome jeans a long time ago (well over a year ago) that I never got around to hemming because I bought them too tight and they um, remained too tight. I dug them out last week, tried them on, zipped them up and they are seriously tooo big! THANKS P90X.

So I got out my scissors and pins and with a little help from Gizmo (and Sabrina) I got them all pinned for hemming and taking in. Sabrina clearly has her eye on the skull pocket jeans. I buy petite jeans and STILL have to cut this much off the bottom. If I were only 2, no make that 4, no, no - make that 6 inches taller - I'd be normal size.
Oh well - my mom always told me, "Good things come in little packages." Oh and then there's the one my Grandma Wanda used to tell me (which is one I use on Sabrina), "Nice boys like short girls."

With Gizmo by my side I will finish up this little quilt, stitch the hem in these three pairs of pants, clean up the studio and get ready to finish Sabrina's TOTE from "you know where." Never in my life have I ever seen a tote bag with so many zippers, velcro, toggles, magnetic closures, little secret pockets - eeeeeeeeek. I've been sewing and ripping out, sewing and ripping out, sewing and ripping out the seams on this thing for what seems like forever. But when I'm done - it will be perfect (or as perfect as I am capable of at this point in my sewing career.)

It is now time for dinner. I've been cooking an amazing pot of sauce ALL DAY and intend on submerging some delicious little meat raviolis in it for dinner with a salad. I haven't eaten any solid food all day - just two protein shakes and I am famished. Enjoy the day.

P.S. I LOVE YOU GIZMO! You melt my heart.