Finally done...

I'm happy to report I'm finally done with setting up my sewing/craft room.

This room use to be my son's bedroom. He left a couple of tables and a dresser behind.  He has moved out and what to do with an empty room?

I've been needing a sewing/craft room, thus his room became just that.

I couldn't quite make it completely all my room, so there are some remnants of Josh's stuff (stuff he left behind) in the room.  I'm very proud of him and am glad he is on his own journey of life, but I miss him and having some of his old stuff in the room just feels right.  Now understand he did not leave very much of his personal belonging behind, but I did find a few things. So as you enter the room, there is a small wall dedicated to him. :)

As you go on in, this is what you see.

The white cabinet holds the fabric and batting.

The dresser holds all yarns and the blue bin tower next to the dresser holds miscellaneous items needed, like chenille pipe cleaners, freezer paper, interfacing, oil for the sewing machines, etc.

Then as you pan to the right you will find my sewing/cutting table. The cutting portion of the table lifts up out of the way and locks to the wall when not needed.  The closet holds my ironing board, my serger, tote bags, totes of felt and holiday decorations and bags.

Pan back to the left of the white cabinet and dresser and you find my craft area.  This is where I will do writing, scrap booking, bead work or crafts other than sewing and quilting.  All of my patterns and books are here as well.  On the top shelf the two book ends for the writing books are football cups Josh donated, that are weighted down.  They work good as book ends.  :)

Over the years I have somehow collected bird houses.  Not sure how that got started but they go perfect in this corner.  I won the large wall hanging  in a drawing last year.  The neat thing is, the log cabin type bird houses have shelves and drawers.  So I am storing scented waxes for my candle warmer in the tall one.

I have realized during the process of setting the room up and doing some sewing in the past two weeks that the dark green carpet is going to be a chore to keep clean with all the threads, fabric and such.  So in the future, when I can afford it, I plan to replace the carpet with a hard surface, so that clean up will be easier.  For now though, it will work just fine... I will just have to vacuum more frequently.  :)

In the picture of the craft area, you will notice a white pan on the table.  It is an old cake pan I am recycling into a magnetic board to post ideas and such.  Today David helped me by sanding the pan and drilling holes into it for a ribbon I will use to hang it by.  Then we took turns spray painting it white.  It was one of those things... I would put a coat of paint on it then get busy and forget about it and he would go out and put a coat of paint on it.  In a day or two, I will finish decorating it and share it with you.  

It was nice to put the finishing touches on the room today, now I can get busy with what I enjoy doing.  My hobbies.

Here's wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Hugs, 

Sonia

Just catching up...

Hi, thought I'd write to catch you up on what's been going on.

Tonight, is the closing night of my vacation.  I sadly bid it adieu, as I prepare to go back to work tomorrow.

I have been able to accomplish quite a bit this past week and hope to have pictures to show you of the work I've done towards a sewing room.

I was able to catch up on sewing/quilting too and am happy to report I accomplished quite a bit on the Log Cabin quilt I have been working on.

Here's a pic to remind you what it looks like. It was laid out to be sewn into 7 sections.  I sewed all the sections and am happy to say I now have all the sections sewn together into one complete piece and am ready to add borders and finish the back.  Remember this is a "quilt as you go" quilt.

I also made curtains this week.  I made them for under $10.00.

How?

By using twin flat sheets.

I made measurements of the windows I needed to cover.  I used the top border of the sheets as the hems for the curtains.  I then took the bottom of the sheets and folded them 19" over the sheet.  Then marked 3" from the fold and sewed across the width of the sheet, this made a hem to above the curtain pocket.  Then I measure 4" from the sewn seam and sewed across the width of the sheet.  This created the pocket for the curtain rod to go through.  The remaining 12" of the sheet created the valance.  It is a very easy way to make curtains and on a budget too.  :)

Another thing I had time to do this week, was bead work.  Now understand I'm new at beading but I decided to make a bracelet as a gift for someone.   Here is how it turned out.

Then to round the week off nicely, I enjoyed the love and laughter of family.  The best part of my entire week though was talking to my son on the phone.  He is doing well, getting settled in at his new home, and sounds good.

That's it for now. Here's wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Hugs,
Sonia

Milestone

It was a cool morning, but had a sticky feel in the air, so I knew today was going to be a humid day.

It was also a milestone in a parent's life for me and David and for our son.  Joshua moved out today.  He moved out in a big way, like around 350 miles away, kind of way.  I know that many parents have survived this particular milestone but until you experience it, it truly doesn't hit home.  As I talked to my son and helped him get some last minute items boxed up, this morning, I told him it was probably the first time in my 29 years of "work life" that I woke up without an alarm and was ready for work with plenty of time, and I mean plenty of time to spare.  We chuckled about it and he told me I was just "antsy" because of the day, and he was right.

I'm excited for him and am very proud of the young man he has become.  I know that he will do well and am trusting God to watch over him, since I can't anymore.  

So it began around 6:00 a.m.  He and a friend of his who helped him move drove away with their cars loaded down and packed to the seams.

6 hours and 52 minutes later I received a text saying he made it safely and was moved in.

The worst part for me is in the moments where I am alone with my thoughts, like at work.  I know you are probably thinking "at work?", but when you have job that is rather mundane, it is easy for your mind to dwell on others things as you accomplish your work.  So when the sadness over my son moving out would try to creep in I made a conscious effort to stop, take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and try to think of something else.  That doesn't mean my eyes stayed dry all day; I would be lying if I told you they did.  I had some tears of worry and sadness at first, then some tears of relief and joy when I knew he was safe.  I was able to hold it together for the most part and want to thank my family and friends who prayed for Joshua's safety while traveling and who prayed for me to be able to cope with it today.  I honestly believe the power of those prayers helped me get through the day.

I mentioned at the top of this blog the stickiness in the air this morning... well I got a taste of the fruits of that humidity on my lunch break today.  A storm moved in.  It wasn't too bad when I left for lunch, but it got heavier and darker as my lunch hour progressed.  I stayed out in my car for most of my lunch and as I sat there it got to where it was raining so hard I couldn't see out my car windows and my car was being buffeted by the wind.  When it let up a little, I grabbed my handbag and my umbrella and made a mad dash to the office.  Needless to say with the wind blowing and rain coming down like it was, my umbrella didn't help much.  I was soggy when I got in and the gray hairs I have been blessed with were having a dance party on my head.

I have next week off and I'm very ready for it.  I'm hope to get some sewing done.

Well, that's if for now.  Hope all is going well for you and yours.

Hugs, 

Sonia

Yummy for the Tummy...

Thought I'd share a couple of recipes with you I tried this weekend.

The first recipe is a breakfast casserole I threw together.   My bunch really liked it and to be honest I think it may have been the best "thrown together" breakfast I've ever made.  :)

Sonia's Breakfast Casserole
1/2 bag of tator tots
1/4 - 1/2 green pepper chopped
8 oz. chopped cooked ham
5 eggs
Greek seasoning, to taste (or your favorite spice)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of shredded cheese

In a large bowl, combine the tator tots, peppers, and ham, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Crack the five eggs into a separate bowl and add the Greek season and whisk as for scrambled eggs.  Add the eggs to the tator tot mixture, add the shredded cheese and mix all together.  Pour into a oiled casserole dish and back at 425° F for 20 - 25 minutes until set and golden brown.

This second recipe is a basic yellow cake recipe I used to make cupcakes. It came from my Taste of Home cookbook and recipe was submitted by the Taste of Home Test Kitchen. I have adjusted the bake time to accommodate for cupcakes.
Yellow Layer Cake
2/3 cups softened butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar, add the eggs and mix until fluffy.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the flour mixture and milk to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well.  
Grease two "12 muffin" tins or line the cups with cupcake liners.  Fill each cup 3/4 full with batter.  Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes or until tests clean with toothpick in centers. Makes 24 cupcakes
Ice with your favorite icing.  I used a cream cheese icing. 1 package softened cream cheese, 4 tablespoons softened butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/8 tsp salt, 3 cups confectioner sugar.  Mix all together until creamy.  To color the icing, separate it into portions and add food coloring.

Have a great week!

Hugs,
Sonia

Make some Noise!

Back in 1776, a man wrote his wife a letter and he wrote about Independence Day.

July 3, 1776  Independence day "ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.  It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever."

Who was this man?  The second US President, John Adams.


I trust you will thank God for your freedom. Now get out there and have a good time with your friends and family and make some noise!