Moon Shot- Not Harvest Moon

Actually this isn't the harvest moon we are viewing in the sky this week.  This shot was taken by my friend Mary back in June with her phone.  I thought it was an awesome picture and it does remind me of the harvest moon right now. 

You may find this post at several Linky Parties. Please check them out for some great ideas.

Thanks to 

 Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photo

Ocassion(ally) Cards- Stitch Them

    
     When you're stuck in the house with a broken arm, you get behind on birthdays and other special occasions.  You also can't run out to get the cards on a moment's notice when you can't drive so, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention."  
      I had been making a Stitch Sampler of the hundreds of beautiful stitches that came on my sewing machine, because it was minimal movement for my arm, and frankly good exercise for the range of movement I had to use. 
     While most of these cards were made with the exceptional stitches on my machine, I know some designs (which I intend to make for a future post) could be made with the utility stitches that come on nearly all the machines today.
      This is card stock paper I had left over from giving workshops during my teaching days.  Tag board could be used as well. Or, better yet, what about cloth cards?
I took these pictures before I signed the cards.
 

(above) This was the sympathy card.  I hand wrote a personal note inside.  I made a duplicate with the other half of the sheet while I had the machine set.  Since it's blank, it could be used for just about any occasion.

(above) For my Grand Daughter's sweet 16th.

(above) For my second grader Grand Son

(above)  My other grand daughter and I had a joke about sending her a card for Columbus Day so I free motioned the ship.

(Below) Meanwhile, I'll keep my stitched cards in my new stationary box I bought had a yard sale.  It still had quiet a bit of unused stationary with envelopes just the right size for my new cards.

           You'll find this post at several Linky Parties. Please check them out for some great ideas.

Thanks to 

GIMP for cropping & other digital effects

PicMonkey creating collages used on this page

 Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photo

Wordless Wednesday #28 ~ And the Fall Begins

You'll find this post at several Linky Parties. Please check them out for some great ideas.

Thanks to 

 Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photo

Lost Art of Reading Books

I'm an avid reader of magazines, and websites, especially blogs.  It takes a good book for me to get hooked and then dedicate the time.  However, during the past month I wasn't able to get on the computer very much so I caught up on my magazine stack that was growing due to yard sales and Peddler's mall.  Once I was off medication and could focus better, I also caught up on the stack of books I found & collected for 50¢ or less.  My one hand did tire of holding the book, so when I was able to use both hands, I got a lot more reading done.

In a month's time I've read 5 books and now I've started on the 6th.  I usually do good to get one or 2 books read a year.

 Note: Lynn Hightower lives/ed in Lexington, KY.  Didn't know this until I got into the book.  The setting is in Cincinnati.  Found the Cape Cod book after our trip there on the 400 mile yard sale.  Weatherman was acquired simply because as a farm girl, I have learned to watch the weather and have always love meterology.  The other 2 books were super cheap and a very quick read although The Measure of a Lady turned out to be historical fiction about the beginning days of San Fransisco.



Thank goodness for the nice weather.  I wasn't confined to the inside of the house totally.  This is one of my favorite spots.  My house slippers end up on the table because that's where my feet usually land and the slippers slip off.  Is that why they are called slippers?

The other place I read is on my couch.  This is the view from my couch.  The doors are opened as much as possible .  Yep, there is no screen door.  Had the humming bird, who makes his rounds to my red flowers everyday,  to make a visit inside the house yesterday.  Don't know if he'll ever slow down enough for me to take his picture.

I've been enjoying the wind chimes on this warm, breezy day. 
Yeah, its not so bad being cooped up in a place like this.

Wordless Wednesday #27 ~ Brown Eyed Suzy

My former yard.  What started as one shovelful of Brown Eyed Susan from a friend, became this the summer before I left.  Yes, I moved a shovelful of these to my new home.  In two year's time, they've already doubled despite the drought.  I really enJOY these hearty, beautiful flowers.

You'll find this post at several Linky Parties. Please check them out for some great ideas.

Thanks to 

 Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photo

 

Free Skirt Purse Pattern w/ Tutorial

While on the 400 Mile Yard sale, I came across a lady selling her scrap fabrics.  BIG pieces of scraps for 50¢ a grocery bag full. 

I sorted the pieces and came up with this stack of almost fat quarters.

They had been cut by a pattern the lady had made as skirts for a 31 skirt purse.  She had been making them and selling and decided to quit. 

 Problem - I couldn't figure out how this pattern came to fit my skirt purse.

So I made my own pattern.

Here is my first prototype.  Made it from a fabric that I wouldn't use unless I gave it to a fire lady.

*****************************************************************8

 My tutorial for creating this purse skirt.

 Be sure to read on to see the money saving trick I learned from the Yard Sale Lady 

for attaching the skirt to the purse.

Here is my skirt purse pattern link I made.   

I hope the link works.  Google has deleted some of my docs.  Sometimes works, sometimes not.

Note the measurements to make sure it printed correctly.

Interface the strips with  interfacing (I use iron on) or self fabric that is cut 1/4" less wide than the strips.  Turn over one long edge on each strip and stitch.

This is a straight cut strip, not cut on the bias, so it won't stretch.  It manages the slight curve OK.

For this purse I did add my name.

I know the pros will choke when they find out I used a simple all purpose thread instead of expensive embroidery thread.  For this simple style, I ran the stitch twice and it worked fine.  Be brave and try something different.  Besides, it wasn't like I was messing of a $5.00/yd fabric.

To stabilized the top and to make a crisper turn, I like to do an understitch.  Turn the seam allowance upward and stitch top to catch the seam allowance.

After turning, top stitch 1/4" from the seam edge.  The top row you see is the understitch just done.

My pieces already came with the corner cut out about 1 1/2" deep, but note on the pattern I don't cut out the corner.  After stitching sides and bottoms, just pull the corner apart like you see in the second picture above, measure down about 1 1/2" from corner (or check your original skirt), and proceed to stitch across, then cut off excess corner leaving a 1/4" seam.  Personally, I don't cut it off, because I think it leaves a stronger support for the corners.

Now the money saving trick I learned from the Yard Sale Lady.

For the metal hooks used to connect the skirt to the purse she used:

Yep!  Safety pins.  A safety pin about 1 inch long works just as good as the metal hooks and much faster to attach.  No hand sewing!

Now go make a bunch of skirts for your 31 Gift Purse.  If you're like me, you won't be able to stop!

Beginning to wonder if I can add skirts to my other purses?

As a former school teacher, this had to be one of the first I made from my 400 Mile Yard Sale Stash.

************************************************
I've had a few email inquires asking if I have a pattern for the newest skirt purse.  
Sorry, at this time I do not.
You can now find a pattern for the larger, newer purse 
@
this post.click here

************************************************

If you have any questions, please leave a comment and check back with the comments here for your answer.  

Thank-you, JOY

You'll find this post at several Linky Parties. Please check them out for some great ideas.
************************************************
Directions revised August 1, 2017 HERE.

 
************************************************
Thanks to 

GIMP for cropping & other digital effects

PicMonkey creating collages used on this page

 Photoscape for downsizing & watermarking photo

Sunday Best ~ Reminiscing First Retirement Trip

      Mr. G & I love unplanned trips.  However, my first retirement trip was supposed to be planned & down Route 66.  I'd bought travel books and we both had spent time on the Internet looking for places not to miss. During the couple of days before we departed, I started having a yearning for the beach.  Sure enough, when the day came, we dumped our plans and headed toward Myrtle Beach, spending the first night in Gatlinburg.
       The second day when we got to Spartanburg, SC we discussed that Myrtle Beach was too much "old school" since we'd both been there multiple times, and ultimately decided to take our original Route 66 trip! So we headed across the south via Georgia and Alabama with that sense of adventure that we love.
       Once we got to Meridian, instead of heading north to Route 66, I started yearning for the beach again.
       That night we stayed in Pensacola.  We decided to spend the rest of the week driving the coast of Florida. and we did.
       Above is our own "private" beach about an hour after we left Pensacola. 

 St. George Island, FL

King's Bay Lodge, Crystal River, FL

  We drove the coast to Tampa where we then headed east to Vero Beach and then north. 

Vero Beach, FL   4:00 pm on a Friday.  Never knew why no one was on the beach.  Just folks like us walking around.

         A year ago the 17th of September was on Saturday.  We were visiting a good friend at New Smyrna Beach.  While waiting we drove over to the public beach.  SO crowded.

    I just had to take the picture of this gentleman's "personalized" RV.  The beach was in hollering distance behind him.

    We had planned to take the Route 66 trip along with another trip to Florida this fall until I broke my arm.  We are on stand-by now.

Proud to be an American- No Matter How You Look at It

 Taken @ The Hyannis Port, Mass by Joy on May 17, 2012

You'll find this post at several Linky Parties. Please check them out for some great ideas.

Wordless Wednesday #26 ~ University of KY Football

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to be a photographer on the UK Football field a couple of times with the help of a news reporter friend.  He loaned me one of his cameras and my little Casio tagged along.  Casio wasn't able to take action shots like he caught of guys flying in the air.  Here are some of my Casio shots.  Thus, the events for the yearning of my Nikon.

Blurred, but love the moment of when our guys went to their knees for an opponent that had been badly hurt.

I've also been fortunate to  have a front row seat several times.  The season ticket seats belong to a special friend of mine.  Often this character comes around to visit.  Here I had asked, "SMILE," and this was his (her?) response.

The following pictures were taken by my news reporter friend.  I wish I could find his shots of the guys literally flying through the air.  You can tell he has a great camera.