Pillow Cases (the tube method)

My SIL gave me the idea of making pillowcases for charity.  This thought then led me to the idea of sewing a few extra for Christmas gifts as well. They will make especially unique gifts for my five CASA (court appointed special advocate) kids.  Each child has something special about them that I can find a fabric theme to match with their pursuits (music, sports, tv characters, etc.).  There are many great fabrics geared to kids.  Here is something I found with the Dr. Seuss theme from Etsy:

If you give it some thought, there will be many people that will come to mind who might appreciate something made by you especially for them.  And who can't use a new pillowcase, especially if it makes them smile?

A very easy tutorial on sewing three color coordinating fabric cases can be found here on YouTube, sponsored by Missouri Quilt Company.  I watched the video several times, took notes, and started thinking about fabric choices that were on hand.  A quick trip to the fabric store, and I came up with more coordinating fabrics.

Then the fabric pieces above were cut.  But wait!  There was more fabric on hand that needed coordinating fabric edges.   And I needed some Mickey Mouse fabric, too, for a special little boy going through some hard times.

Another trip to Hobby Lobby, and behold!  Twelve pillowcases were on the way to being sewn.

YouTube and Missouri Quilt explains it all, and it is not difficult if you have average sewing skills.  Here are several pillowcase ready to be seamed that are on my machine shelf this morning, ready for finishing.

And here are a few already finished:

Thanks, Charlotte, for this neat gift idea.

Wintering Geraniums

Last month, I brought in over a dozen fairly good sized geraniums to spend the winter in the garage.

Past failed attempts at keeping geraniums alive over previous winters included hanging the roots upside down (a definite failure), wintering the pots in the outside garden shed (they all died within two weeks), and then last year, they spent the winter in the house near a west window (some lived, but did not thrive) and in the garage (they actually lived and and even put on new leaves!).

An inexpensive shelving unit was purchased and assembled by the husband so that more pots could benefit from the sunny east facing garage.  He even cleaned up his work bench to allow room for the shelves.  And he hardly grumbled; that was probably just as sweet of him as assembling the shelves.

The plants are close to an east window in the garage, and seem to be doing fairly well after about six weeks in their winter home.  I've been watering them about every three weeks. Some lovely  geranium art pictures from Barbara's blog: Caroline Lord (American artist, 1860-1927) Woman with Geranium Aristide Maillol (French artist, 1861-1944) Portrait de Lucien 1896 Alfred Stevens (Belgian Painter, 1823-1906) Still Life with Geraniums 1889 Paul Cezanne (French artist, 1839-1906) The Flower Pots 1883-87 Nancy McCarroll, Oil

Snakes Socks on a Plane

So I was sitting on an airplane, yarn in hand, needles ready, and a sock pattern that was mistyped.  Now what to do? I figured I'd just try to remember how I had knit a similar pair of socks a year ago.  So the darned things were cast on, and I just hoped that it would all turn out ok.  Magical thinking runs in the family.

This snaky pair of socks was what I came up with. Many mistakes, but I tried to hide them in the photo.

The heels and toes are a little wonky, but still wearable.

Take away: always bring the necessary well written instructions and leave nothing to memory.