Flossing....not the teeth..........

Feel like I'm running 70 miles per hour lately but got to find time to squeeze in a post.   First, I want to say a big welcome to some new followers I've gained recently - glad you stopped by!   I haven't had time to go out and look at Bloglovin' yet or figure out what I'm going to do when Google Reader goes away.  It seems constant change is getting to be the norm with technology these days.   I use Feedly to read blogs from my iPad mini and I really like that.  However I don't like commenting on blogs using my iPad........it seems about 50% of the time when I go to a blog and try to leave a comment I spend time typing it all in but then something goes wrong when I try to post it.  I prefer to do my commenting on my home computer as I don't have time to be redoing things and being frustrated!

I'm glad so many of you liked my little chart binders in my last post.  I'm still working to reorganize my DMC threads. Since I don't use a floss chest or box,  I decided to use some plastic drawer dividers I ordered from Amazon.com (they're made by Oxo) and stand up all my baggies in a drawer in my stitching room. I tried it first with some cardboard taped into the drawer to see if the concept would work and I liked it.  I've always used Floss-Away bags but they didn't look so good...since they have writing on them already and then to add the floss number on top - well it looked sort of messy as you can see.

I checked around and found clear baggies sold at JoAnn's  (made by Darice) and I'm converting over to those (with the help of several coupons....)  They are slightly taller than the Floss-Away bags.   I found an old post on Daffycat's blog and liked her idea.  She puts a 3X5" plain index card in each bag and it helps it stand up straight, and the floss color is easy to see too.  I wrote the floss number of both sides of the card, inserted it into the bag, then re-punched the hole in the bag (the bags are prepunched but the index cards weren't).  Then I transferred my floss over. Sounds simple doesn't it...well let me tell you it takes forever to redo hundreds of floss bags!  I have done up thru the 900's so far.  I've been working on them gradually in the evenings while watching TV.  I feel like I'm on an assembly line and of course the husband is wondering why in the world I'm transferring threads from one bag to another!  I put the numbers on both sides of the card so I can reverse the direction of some of the bags in the drawer, otherwise they get sort of skewed to one side because the floss makes one side of the bag thicker.   I didn't gain a huge amount of space but I really like it.  It's all neat now and the floss is so easy and quick to find, I just look down and grab what I need.  Not to mention I have all nice clean new bags....didn't realize how grungy some of my old bags were looking!  I'm picking up extra packets of the bags too whenever I have coupons - just in case they stop stocking these bags.

 

 

I still keep my silks and overdyed cottons on rings on my pegboard but there's just not enough room for all the DMC.

 



I do have a couple little finishes to share today.  If you're a quilter like me you know when you go to sew with friends or go on sewing retreats it's helpful to have a little ironing station set up right by your sewing machine.  Prevents having to get up and down and travel to the ironing board constantly.  A friend of mine made one of these to carry a small iron with her and we all just had to have one!  It folds up to look like a cute little purse, but inside it stores a craft-size iron.  Because one side of the bag is made of  silver heat-resistant material and the inside padding is also heat-resistant, you can use the open bag to iron on. I have no idea how people come up with these ideas!

"Caddy Pad Jr" pattern by Sisters Common Threads

the ironing side

the outside when unfolded

I also did a cube finish for a friend - this is Lizzie Kate's "Ho Ho Ho".  Isn't it cute??  Been a long time since I did a cube but I like how it came out.  The hardest part is finding good ribbon...you know they make a lot more thread colors than they do ribbon colors but this time I got lucky and found just what I needed on sale at Hobby Lobby.

I had relatives in town over Easter and houseguests this week so time has been really limited for stitching lately.  Thought I'd be further on my Jenny Bean sampler by now but any progress is good I guess.  The pattern doesn't have you fill in the window panes on the house but I think I'm going to try to fill them in and see how they look.   Next week I'm starting a little SAL with a stitching buddy...it's Heartstring Samplery's 'Baby It's Cold Outside".  I loved all the finishes of this I've been seeing on blogs for months now and can't wait to get stitching on it.   I happy to report I wasn't all that tempted by what I saw from the Nashville market...a couple things went on my wishlist but mostly I decided what I already have in my stash was just as good as a lot of it.

  

I'm gearing up to drop some money on Rolling Stones tickets...yes I'm one of those pesky aging baby boomers LOL. (at least the Stones are still older than me!)  I've been a fan since I was a teenager and seen them many times so I just have to go.  We're going to try to get tickets to the show in Las Vegas since they aren't coming to Phoenix on this little tour at least.  The last few times I've seen them I keep telling myself "this is probably the last time I'll be able to see them" but they haven't given up yet.   The first time I saw them (decades ago) it was a general admission concert at Soldier Field in Chicago.   My college roommate and I slept on the sidewalk outside the stadium the whole night so we could get in early and get a good spot.  Then we spent most of the day sitting in the hot summer sun waiting for the concert to start.  It was an ordeal but I sure do miss those days!    :-)