I did some dyeing last night.....

I needed some new colors for my wool applique but didn't feel like getting out my chemical dyes so I used the "Kool-aid" method and did some over-dyeing too.  These are the blues I got that I needed.

I put some water in my crockpot, set it to high and throw in some different wools and Kool-aid.  Last night I was looking for some blues so I put in some dark blue wool, a couple drops of liquid detergent that helps "wet" things and then 3 or 4 packages of blueberry Kool-aid .  Depending on the time in the crockpot and the original color of what you're dyeing, you get different results which is what is so cool!

I use tongs to pull out the HOT wool and let it drip into the upside down lid while I take it and drape it over my faucet so it can drip in the sink until it cools off.  Once it cools, I rinse it in a bowl of white vinegar to SET the color and keep it from bleeding and then I wring it dry and throw it in my dryer.

And this is what I do with the dyed wool after it's dry!  This part takes the longest but knowing that I used old wool that I get at thrift stores and then dye it the colors I need makes me feel like a true "re-purposer" and very GREEN!  If anyone has any wool clothes or old material they want to get rid of you can send it my way!  Wool is very expensive nowadays and actually hard to find since most materials today in clothing are synthetic.  It needs to be 100% wool in order to keep it from fraying.  You "felt" the wool by washing it and drying it  (without fabric softner) and it shrinks so it doesn't fray when you applique it.

Happy Labor Day....I took it seriously...I've been working all weekend!

Well...first I mowed the lawn and helped my neighbor with his too.  Then I washed the mower....a season's worth of grass and dirt on that tractor and on me too since it was so dry it was like taking a dust bath to mow!

Then I went to town and bought some mums and then back to cleaning the garage and yada, yada, yada....inspired or just tired?  I took a nice long bath and fell into bed!

Guess what I've been doing.....

Yep!  You guessed it.....I've been cleaning my closet.  I removed all of the out of season clothes and look how much room I have!  I dusted the walls and corners and washed the shelves and rods.

I dusted the molding and brushed the edges of the carpet where the vacuum never seems to reach and then I shampooed the carpeting.  I have 2 laundry baskets in there for dirty clothes...one for lights and one for darks but I'd like to find a better solution since they take up quite a bit of floor space.  Any ideas anyone?  I have some baskets..tall, reed baskets that I might make some liners for and there's a McCalls sewing pattern #2784 that has hanger covers.  Am I getting carried away?  After all...it's just a closet plus there are other areas of my house that need attention....maybe a back burner project.  I can get SO anal sometimes!

OK....I went to the Dollar store and got containers for my shoes as they WERE all over the floor in the closet and get dusty and again take up precious floor space.  So, I am going to polish/clean them and put them into the smaller containers and the bigger ones are for boots.

While I was at the Dollar store I saw these cute kitchen towels and washrags in "harvest" colors!  These are the colors I want my kitchen to be eventually but right now I need towels badly so I grabbed them up!

Not a pretty picture.....literally!

Here's one of my tomato plants that I found when I went out to water this afternoon....sad but true!

And here's the culprit!!!!  He or she is HUGE....and inch in diameter and over 3 inches long!!!!  GROSS!  Does anyone know what this monster is?  I love nature but I didn't really want to touch this guy/gal...it's like something out of one of those old horror movies!  I hope I can sleep tonight!  How big do they get?

Busy, busy , busy!!!!!

This is the center block of the folk art quilt I am making.  It will be used as a wall hanging.  It is wool applique hand stitched with the blanket stitch and a lot of the wools I dyed myself.  It is brighter colors than what is appearing here...don't know what the problem was.

Whoa Nellie....I am not even the same person that blogged here last time!  I am amazing even myself!  The weather cooled so I have been walking 3 miles a day with the dogs AND this morning I started the Nutrisystem program....lets all say a prayer!  I cant use apostrophes in this blog or it takes me to quick link...anyone else having that problem?  Anyway, things are great here and I am getting cleaning done and organizing and working on my folk art quilt.....here is what I have done so far.

This is the next block I am working on.  There are 12 blocks in all not counting the center house block and then there's a border to do also that goes all the way around the quilt.  This will take months if not years! LOL!  But I have a friend who has one finished and hanging in her quilt shop and it is GORGEOUS!  Right up my alley anyway.

The cupboards are full!

I have not even weighed myself yet!  I have to read the instructions but looks like minimal cooking so not only will I hopefully lose weight but I will not have to spend time prepping for meals!  What a perk.  I hope I like the food or it will be a long month.  I told the UPS guy when he delivered it that he probably will not recognize me the next time he stops by because I will have dyed my hair black and I will be looking similar to Marie Osmond!

Finally finished the bathroom......Whew!!!!

Look at all that "free space" in there!

That photographer sure didn't dress very professionally!

This cupboard is on my list to paint/refinish but I decided to use it anyway but I have PLANS for it!

My reward for a job well done plus my Nutrisystem hasn't arrived yet so "a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do"!

Can you believe it took me this long?  But I did everything!  I purged, I went through every little thing in there and what was kept got cleaned with Invisible Glass towelettes and organized into containers and the cupboards cleaned inside and out and vacuumed the floor and scrubbed it good and put down clean rugs.  For those of you who are not aware, I live in a house I inherited from my folks who both passed and I also had their stuff in this house when I moved in plus my stuff....thank goodness it is a big house with a full basement and garage.  It has been a journey to say the least.  So, when I clean things I am finally dealing with not only my own things but theirs which I had a hard time doing at first but now I am "in the zone" and de-cluttering like a mad woman!

You gals inspired me! Plus I needed to clean my bathroom.

I use "strange" items for curtains....this is a dresser scarf and I use tension rods so I can adjust the height to whatever I'm hanging.  I had a feed sack there but it needed to be washed so I hung this dresser scarf in it's place.

Here's a shutter shelf over my toilet and of course my Dick and Jane picture....both gotten at the thrift store!

Here's a little table I have in my bathroom.

I LOVE FRIDAYS......all of them!

I try to order my pictures and my comments but it seems I goof it up no matter how hard I try so if it sounds confusing it's because it is!  I splurged and bought 2 new books and a new magazine.  This issue of Quilt has a gorgeous pumpkin throw size quilt that I ADORE!!!!  It is bright and colorful and when I get some money ahead I will be making it!  Tonight is football....Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals...I get lots of handwork done during these games but sometimes I miss good plays or stitches or both.  Have a great Friday!

I went grocery shopping today and if I haven't shared with you...I am trying to take better care of myself.  First I quit smoking and I am still on the patch but it's working.  Then I started taking good care of my skin by getting some good skin products.   I got that Reader's Digest book on Living a Long Life and started reading that.  It said that people who ate whole-grain cereal every day were 17% less likely to die over the next several years from ANY cause, and 20% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease so it was a no-brainer!  I went and researched on the internet and most people voted for Fiber One cereal by General Mills so I bought a box with 51% of the daily requirement for fiber.  Then there was a display of another NEW high-fiber whole-grain cereal that had a mail-in rebate of the total cost of the cereal!  So, if you want to add fiber to your diet for FREE!!!!!  Go buy Kellogg's Fiber Plus.  I came home and had a bowl of Fiber One and it was delicious but I haven't tried the other yet.Now, the other area is exercise and I was exercising by walking 3 miles a day but it has been so hot here all summer that I gave up!  In the North, I would walk whenever and if it was cold I just dressed warm but here it is TOO HOT...and you can only take off so many clothes without getting arrested and even nude you wouldn't be cool in this heat.  So, I will walk again as soon as it cools off but meanwhile I saw this exercise "kit" and decided to try it.  There's the exercise band, Richard Simmons with his great music and the neatest thing is this food mover calculator thingy which I haven't investigated yet but looks very interesting!

I usually drink Dunkin' Donuts coffee and I love it but today I saw this Dunkin' TURBO and with all the things I plan on doing I think I better start drinking this TURBO version!

I ordered these the other day and they arrived in the  mail today!  I'm SO EXCITED!!!!  The one DVD is for kids to learn to build...(I'm just an older version)...I want to learn to build things and have for a long time.  Mostly just to fix things around the house or remodel if I get REALLY good! I figured this is a good place to start. The other DVD is by the West sisters who have a whole series of DVD's about homestead skills.  There are ones on cooking, gardening, quilting etc.  I'll let you know how I do! 

Quilt Guild today....so fun and inspiring!

New school clothes!

Aren't these pretty?  See the cherry one in the back and the lady bugs?

One of the gals at guild brought a whole bunch of cockscomb from her garden and you can dry them later and after they're dry you shake them upside down into a little bag and the seeds will fall out and you can plant them the next year.  Anyone want to trade for different colors?  I'd love some orange and yellow ones. 

Here's the rug kit....and no I didn't get that far yet...she gets it started for you...I'll let you know how it goes!  Good way to use up scraps and I think some call them "toothbrush" rugs too and you can use a toothbrush  instead of the wooden needle this kit came with.

Yesterday I spent all day getting ready for guild but I never got my material quilted.  I got it laid out and pinned but that's okay.  There were many who didn't sew their tote bag today either and I have the directions so I can make it at home.  It was so fun though to see what others were working on and had made since our last get-together.  One of my friends had accidentally  taken home a bag of mine from our last "shop hop" trip so I got that today...like a new purchase but it was already paid for!  I also stopped at our local quilt shop to get some thread and she had these little rug kits that a gal in Mountain Home puts together so of course I HAD to pick up one of those!  Plus....I got some new "school clothes"!  I get them even though I am not going back to school but I am constantly learning so I figure that counts.  There's no place to shop here so I buy online and one of my items came today!  It was 95 today so it better cool off so I can wear my new threads!

Progress....I think?

Yesterday I sewed an envelope pillow case for a 16 " square pillow form which I don't have yet and got one pillow wrap for the pillow almost done but then I found out I didn't have to have it ready until 8/26 so I painted today.  Then I realized I was supposed to pre-quilt some material for a LARGE bag to make Wednesday at quilt guild and although I had the material I had no batting and the quilt shop is closed on Monday....oh boy.  But the paint looks nice and the I'm liking the pillow wrap and I had a great weekend!

Finally finished the baby quilt!

The quilt guild I belong to makes baby quilts for the area pregnancy center and I finally finished this one to take to guild on Wednesday.  I try to make at least one a month.  In the winter we also make knitted hats for cancer patients.  I don't knit so I use one of those "spool thingies" which works and it's great to do while watching t.v.  Now I have to go sew pillow wraps for the class/demo I'm giving next month for another sewing group I belong to.

A little shopping therapy.......does a girl good!

Well...okay....it's not like a "real haul" or anything but it got me out of the house and I didn't spend too much.  Most was from the dollar store....underwear in bright colors and some guys t-shirts so when it cools off I can use them to layer.  I found a finance/bill organizer with a band to hold them all in.  Each month has an envelope for the bills and a space to write them down with due date and amount paid etc. (if you've been reading my blog I have been working on "finances").  The colored striped package is multicolored  STARS!!!  I have my own chore chart and I am going to be giving myself STARS when I get my priorities done and when I have a certain amount of STARS I am going to reward myself....great idea huh?  Yes...I am nurturing my inner child.  The votives are apple/cinnamon and the white board is exactly that!  A white board with a marker but wait....that's not all....it's MAGNETIZED!  Isn't that cool.....(it doesn't take much to impress me OR to make me happy).  I put it on my frig so I can write down grocery items when I run out or I'm thinking about them while cooking.  I might have to get another one....I could put it on my metal desk for listing those priorities OR I could put one on the side of my car so when I'm out and about but in a store....people could leave me notes when they see my car in a lot....hmmmm....maybe not such a good idea.  We have a new gift store in town...well, it's been there almost a year but I just went in today so it was new to me!  She had some neat things but pretty much all of it was outside my budget but I did buy some "Wood Wick "melties" and a refill bottle for my empty scent diffusers....all in apple scent as usual....I am SO wanting FALL to come.....SOON....it was 105 here today and the heat index?  Well....I just can't talk about it anymore.

Fall must be coming....I'm storing up food!

Ahhhh....comfort food!  Fall is coming, the leaves are falling from the trees (only because of the high temps and no rain), the squirrels ARE gathering nuts and I have the ac running, curtains drawn and candles burning....it's Fall in my little world!

For years I have made cornbread in muffin tins with the cupcake liners and when you peeled off the liner half of the cornbread went with it.  FINALLY....I tried making it in a pan....DUH!  So much easier...now there's actually something to put that butter on!

Dessert is on the way!  The strawberries are hulled, rinsed and draining.  I don't remember having to "hull" strawberries when I was younger but then they weren't the size of apples either!

This is torn up angle food cake on the bottom covered with a combo of whipped topping, sugar and cream cheese

Ta Dah!   These are fresh strawberries tossed with a strawberry glaze.

This is Gunline coffee....I usually drink only 1 cup of coffee in the  morning and then water the rest of the day but even taking my vitamins I've had an afternoon slump.  I'm hoping this will take care of it!  I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com and the original recipe makes 80 servings....I just made one to see if I'd like it and I do!  It's a nice pick me up made with real instant coffee but I also have some decaf on hand in case I want one in the evening.

More reading material......

This is my present reading material....I give more details of each on the right side of my blog...what are YOU reading right now?  You ARE reading aren't you?

This is the premier issue of this magazine and it is wonderful!  I may have to subscribe!  Along with forest ranger, hermit, cowgirl and long-haul truck driver....I also wanted to be a PIONEER!!!!!  I wanted to be Lewis and Clark all by myself or Daniel Boone who they wrote about in this issue.  Are you ever too old to be a pioneer?  If you like being self-sufficient or would like to learn this is the magazine for you!  Great writers, great articles and great photos.  Take a look....at news stands everywhere or request it.  It is published by Harris Publications.   I found it at Wally World.

Ok...I used to do Ebay and need to get back to it!  Here's a start!

Ok.....I'm staying BUSY!!!!

I know many of you may hate ironing but to me it is like meditating.....calming, soothing and VERY relaxing and sometimes I can actually solve a problem or do some great thinking while I am ironing....washing dishes is about the same, and hanging clothes outside and digging in the dirt and folding fresh clothes off the line or out of the dryer.  My best thing to do where I really shut out the world and would get "in the zone" as they like to say was when I was riding my horses but alas...they're gone and I have none to ride but oh do I remember that feeling.

I could blog all day....but "my girls" are wanting din-din...forget about me....it's all about them!

I made this picture over 30 years ago for my Mother.  Since she is gone it is back in my hands.  I am wanting to hang it on my new yellow hallway wall but could not find my drywall hooks OR my Command hangers,,,,DARN!  BTW I never noticed it had dogwood flowers on it....my Mom LOVED cardinals and at the time she was not living in AR but she moved here and now I am here and that is the state flower I think...if not it should be!  Anyway...coincidence?

Here is the fireplace DVD I got on clearance with an aquarium one. Of course on the DVD it is an actual fire with movement and snaps and crackles.  It has music or not, snaps and crackles or not and you can pick just one or have them change over time to other fireplaces.  I think this is "the nuts" except with heat advisories out for our area this is not one I will be watching right now but I can't wait until the "snow flies" for this one!  I have a real fireplace but it is in the family room.  I can now have a fireplace in my bedroom!  Check out www.screendreamsdvd.com     You will not regret it....ahhhhh

I got this and the fireplace DVD on clearance and LOVE them!  This has like 8 different scenes, you can pick one or have them change over time, there is music or sound effects or both.  Very calming and I always wanted an aquarium but this is no work involved and no heartbreak when the fish die!  BTW my cat REALLY likes this one!

I don't know about you but when I am dealing with any issue of any kind I try to "work it out" by "working it off".  I am definitely not "focused" right now but I keep moving and doing mundane tasks until I am "okay" or as good as I'm going to get! Ha! Ha!  So...here are some the mundanes I did today.