Fleurs and Other Stuff

GARDENING
Does anyone do composting?  I've been wanting to try this for a while.  I bought a compost bin over the weekend.  I just need to figure out a good place to put it and then get started.  I've read a few books, and I wondered if anyone had any tips or tricks.

HEALTH
For the past few weeks, I've been having chronic neck, shoulder, and arm pain.  I've been to the chiro three times with no relief.  It hasn't been this bad in years.  Heat packs, ice packs, muscle relaxers, ibuprofen... nothing has helped.  Six years ago when it first flared up, I even did physcial therapy and that didn't help.  For the past three days, I've had to sleep sitting up in order to relieve some of the achy-pain.  It stinks getting old... (I'm really not that old!)

STITCHY STUFF
Since I've been having a lot of pain, my stitching time has been severely curved. Boo.  I did manage a bit of stitching on Fleurs et Papillons. 

More WIP pics can be seen HERE.

I'm almost finished with Part 1.  I should be able to get it done this week.  Then it'll be on to Sampler aux Bouquets.

Until next time,

Ottoman Redux

I'd been kicking around the idea of getting an ottoman for a while now.  The milk crate with a pillow on top wasn't exactly the most chic of furniture ideas.  I couldn't believe the prices of the nicer medium sized storage ottomans... $70+ really?

After looking at them, I said to myself:  "Self, you can make one of those!"  So then I kicked that idea around a while... until I came across this:

I know... not the prettiest thing this side of the Mississippi.  This was one of those moments where I had a vision.  A vision of what it could look like!  For $10, how could I pass it up?!?

I found some fabric and trims.  I set to work.

A day and a half later, my creation came to life:

Ottoman: $10

Fabric: $18

More Storage Space: Priceless!

Place to Rest Tired Footsies:  Awesome!

I'm thinking about taking the bun feet off and replacing them with wheels so it's easier to move around.  This thing is 22x25" and heavy!  Much better, don't ya think?

Linked to:

My Repurposed Life

TUSAL 4/25/12

OK, yes I'm a bit late on posting my TUSAL.  Don't whip me with a piece of wet floss...

See that big pile of white?  That's the frogging I did on Fleurs et Papillons!  I'm really glad I changed the color, though. (More on that in the previous post)  The rest of the colors in that pile are from JG and Forgive Quickly.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm!

When I went home for lunch the other day, I opened the garage door to throw some stuff in the recycling bin. In the middle of the floor I saw a huge amount of gravel (my garage is concrete!) surrounding a 1” hole (the hole was already there) in the concrete. 

Originally, I thought the circumference of the gravel was about 15”.  It actually more like 20"!  The BF stopped over to look at it. He thinks I have a gopher using that hole.  This weekend, I’ll be mixing up some hydraulic cement and pouring it down the hole.  Bye bye, critter!

CLASSICS & CHROME
Last weekend, the BF and I went to the Classics & Chrome Car Show which is a fundraiser for a (college)prep school. The school's website says they "nurture intellectual curiosity, stimulate personal growth and encourage critical thinking and innovation" for students ages 3 through grade 12. There were over 100 vehicles on display, ranging from motorcycles to hotrods to classics.

Same model car in the original movie, Christine

Detailed paint job on a classic 'wagon

There were even mini rods

More photos of the car show can be seen HERE.

STITCHY STUFF

Several people have asked about the SAL for Fleurs et Papillons. A German Yahoo group called Sticklounge is hosting the SAL. The group is limited to 50 English speaking members. Each SAL chart is given to participants one section at a time. When you stitch the section and post it to the group, you get the next section. There's also a time frame to get the stitching done, otherwise you don't get the entire chart. Angie SB also sells the chart on her blog found HERE. The chart actually calls for 4 colors, but I've changed the colors to suit my taste.

I worked on Fleurs et Papillons last week and until last night, this is what it looked like:

The photo is a bit dark so you can see the white lace. In normal light, it's very hard to see. I frogged it all last night and stitched it with a champaign-gray color (not sure why it looks brown!) which shows up much better. What do you think?

Until next time,

Marvelous Monday Update 4/16/12

WEATHER
How about those storms that just ripped across the country? Luckily, my area has only experienced rain and wind. Looks like I'll be picking up sticks off my backyard. Temps this week are supposed to be in the mid 50's. Spring weather... ya gotta love it.

COOKING
I just love trying new recipes! Over the weekend, I decided to make homemade bread bowls and cheesy broccoli-barley soup. It was yum-yum in the tum-tum! I was surprised that bread bowls really aren't that difficult to make. I combined two different broccoli soup recipes to come up with a scrumptious comfort-food meal.


HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP UPDATE
September of last year, I tried my hand at making homemade laundry soap. I've washed my clothes with it all this time, and give it a thumbs up. My clothes look and smell clean. They actually smell CLEAN... no perfume-y smell.

STITCHY STUFF
I stitched on almost all of my WIPs last week. I think that's what has aggravated my neck problems! In any case, here's my progress:

Japanese Garden
Forgive Quickly
Fleurs et Papillons


Until next time,