Color me flattered- sort of a mention on Pink Chalk Studio's blog-

Pink Chalk Studio did a little blog post round up of the little wallets of Valori Wells and one of mine is in there, amongst many really pretty ones.  It's in the top row, middle.  It even got called out in one of the comments by a lady who really liked the fabrics I used.  All Kaffe Fassett fabrics, of course, that's why she liked them, because they all work so well together. 

 

The little wallet was an extra I included along with a mug rug for one our swaps.  It's a great little pattern, I've made many of them and given all of them away as gifts, except for the one I use myself.  I like to add a little loop on the side and a lobster clasp so it can be clipped on to something if need be. I use mine to hold all my credit cards and store cards, library card, ID, etc.  I don't carry an actual wallet, just this little one.  My money is in a zipper compartment in my purse so this is just perfect for me. 

This is the mug rug I sent that time- one of my all time favorites.... My partner liked circles a lot. 

Anyway, I just wanted to toot my own horn a little.  Please forgive me!

And I'm going to draft up instructions for the e-reader prop/stand one of these days, for those of you who wanted it.  I just need to get some ducks in a row and get organized, having my husband home everyday, all day, is seriously messing up my sewing schedule.  It's NICE, don't get me wrong, but it's weird.  

Turkey, E-Reader Stand and a Peek for Ruthie...

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!  Jim was sort of laid out on the sofa trying to recuperate from a nasty bout of sciatica, so I spent most of the day in the kitchen cooking and we watched some shows about Alaska at the same time.  I can see him from the sofa so it's like being together without having him underfoot.  It's OK, though, his dogs more than made up for it, if I said "get out of the kitchen" once, I said it, loudly, a thousand times.  Dogs, argggg!  Anyway, the bird came out nice, didn't it?  I love that rack/pan combo, too, got it several years ago at Bed, Bath and Beyond for a mere $20, and got a rebate which made it end up costing about $7.  Gotta love that and the fact that it's non-stick, clean up was a breeze!

 I got an e-reader a couple of weeks ago since our local library is now loaning e-books which will save me trips to the actual library.  I got a Sony PRS-T1, the new wi-fi version with a touch screen.  I like it a lot, it does a lot of cool things and the librarian was very impressed with it.  She's seen a lot more e-readers than I have and said this one was super user-friendly.  Yay, I need that!    Anyway, this is what I was doing when I was eating lunch, propping it against books and Jim's rubbery glasses case.  Not terribly convenient, ya know?

 I decided it deserved better and since I had made a pouch from some fabric selvages and then decided I didn't like it, I had taken it apart and kept the pieces for something.  THIS project was perfect for those pieces!  I added a little more to the top, adjust the angles on the fabric and sewed up a pyramid shaped base which I then filled with ground-up walnut shells for weight.  I made a little bumper for the bottom to hold the bottom of the reader and voilá!  A perfect little stand!

 I actually had to remake the bumper thing twice to get it to hold the reader at the right angle for me to sit and read, but still, it was a quick and very satisfying project. 

And here's a little sneak peek of the label for Ruthie's mug rug.  I had to photograph it now because it'll be hard to see once it's attached to it. 

 

Can you believe it?  A blog post with no mention of bitt........ well, you know!   Next time, for sure. 

Consider yourselves warned.  :)

Mug Rug Received, bitties made and how to track an errant cat...

 This is the cute Halloween mug rug I received from Jeanette/scrapnchick, I just love it and I'm still using it even though it's almost the middle of November.  I do love bats!

And one of November's Bitty Block Swap themes was science/biology.  I decided on dissected frogs.  

 Close-up-

 And we're doing a side swap of calendar blocks- I was assigned April, so I went with Easter bunnies. I found an image by Googling and thought this was adorable.  I had some perfect fabric for the background and so I made these.  I added blush to the ears and noses for some color.  This is not my artwork, but can't find it again to give the proper credit. 

 And one of our cats, Beeswax, has been scaring us to death, going off for 2.5 days at a time, worrying us sick.  He finally showed up one morning and then disappeared again that night for another 2.5 days.  This time, I was ready for him!  I got some surveyor tape and wrote our phone number on it in case he's going to someone's house or barn.  I don't think he'd let anyone touch him, so I wrote it big so maybe they'll call us if he is going to their place.  Our nearest neighbors are a long walk from here, though, so there's no real telling where he's going or what he's doing.  Beez is 8.5 years old and has been neutered since he was very young, so it's not girl-trouble.  Anyway, he stayed home for a solid week, so we thought he was over this meandering thing, but then last night, I guess he took off again, he didn't come home for breakfast.  It's a very full moon, I guess the lure was too much, whatever it is.  I just hope he's careful and comes home soon.  We love our Beeswax so much, he's the coolest cat and LOVES to sit on Jim for hours.  The other 4 cats are being very good and hanging around in the house, because it's chilly outside and quite wet, we got almost 5" of rain last week. (Updated to add- he's home again, he was gone 3.5 days that time and then again for just 2, now it's cold and wet and he's staying in, yay!)

That's all that's happening here, except for a new Christmas mug rug swap that I'm trying to decide on what to make.  I can't tell you any of my ideas because it's not a secret swap this time, my partner is Ruthiequilts and I don't know if she ever looks at my little blog.  She's an amazing quilter/crafter though so I am feeling some pressure!