Valerean

I found the perfect case for my super rare green and rose gold metal dice! I know, not exciting to you, but I'm delighted. :) It fits my dice and will protect them, and the dragon on the case is perfection for other reasons, lol. I also got one more pack of mystery dice. The dice are white, rose and gold, and came with three stickers and a dungeon master pin. Some trivia you don't know about me: Way back when I was in the military I was a D&D dungeon master. I have been casually playing an online D&D game to learn how it's done virtually, but that's just for fun. I'm too busy to join a live group, but I really love reminiscing about the D&D days of my youth.

The thrifted fabrics I chose for my August tote were all in new condition: clean, odorless, as if they'd come straight from a fabric store. So why did I wash them first? Two words: dye shedding. Dye shedding is always a hazard with unwashed fabrics. Most quilters would also agree that red is the worst. I handwashed each fabric individually in cold water and a little detergent. The red linen shed plenty of dye. So did the chili novelty print. When a fabric is multiple colors along with the red like this one, it's best to add a color grabber sheet to the wash to soak up the dye, or areas like the white background of this print and lighter colors in the print will turn pinkish. The bug print shed red, blue and yellow dyes, turning the wash water a greenish orange. You should always wash any fabric you thrift if possible before you use it; that will remove any dirt or debris you don't notice along with storage or age odor. If the fabrics do stin...

Since I've turned making my August tote for my calendar project into a challenge I have a lot more enthusiasm for it now. I went through the bundle of thrifted fabric, which is all I'm allowing myself to use for the tote, and pulled these three prints as possibilities for the inner and outer fabrics. I do love this coffee print, but it doesn't quite work with the other two, so I eliminated it right away. That left me with one yard each of the chili pepper print and the juvenile bug print. The chili pepper print worked better as the outer fabric when I paired it with the solid red linen from the bundle that I'm going to use as a band at the tote's top. So I have my fabrics for the tote. Stop by tomorrow and I'll show you why they got a bath first.

The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong is a debut mystery novel I spotted on a bargain books table at B. Dalton in Oviedo last month. Since I'm not a fan of first books I tend to pass these by and wait for the author to get some experience before I try them. First books are usually over-written or chock full of too many ideas, rest somewhere around the borderline of professional writing, and are often so terribly earnest that they're painful for me to read. Please understand, I am not a conceited snob -- my own first published novel was just as bad, and to this day I can't reread my own debut. Yet I love a good curse story, so on impulse I decided to give it a try (the discounted price definitely factored in, too.) I had no reason to regret the purchase, turns out, as the book is very well-written for a debut novel. The deft text, interesting protagonist and somewhat brooding/paganish/haunted storyline were excellent, and I remained completely absorbed to...

I'm still spinning my wheels as far as the design for my August tote goes, but while we were out thrifting I spotted this huge bundle of sewing fabric And thought "instant challenge." What if I have to use only fabric from the bundle to make my tote for the calendar project? That's also something I do a lot -- use fabric that someone else provides or chooses to make something -- and it gave my enthusiasm a serious boost. The bundle turned out to be so large I'll have to show you all the fabric in two pics. Here's half, with a salsa/chili novelty print that is adorable, a coffee print I've used in the past and loved, a cute and vibrant bug print, and even some upholstery samples. Second pic. Most of the prints are at least a yard long. There's a lovely finished cross stitch piece, and the linens and lace butterfly are just as pretty. I don't often work with novelty prints so this is a good pile to use as a challenge for this month...

I had remarkable good luck thrifting clothes last weekend; I was looking for jeans and white or light t-shirts, and scored these three finds. The jeans still had the store tags on them; they've never been worn. Blue tags were also half off the day I went, so I got the jeans for $5.99. The white t-shirt was also half off at $2.99, and the blue sewing machine t-shirt was $4.19. I added a round-up donation, and paid $14.00 for everything. Here's my receipt.

While I was on vacation last month my guy and I visited the Dunlawton Sugar Mill Ruins and Botanical Gardens in Port Orange. This is a fascinating place that provided a glimpse of early 19th century Florida. The botanical gardens were amazing, too. To walk around the place with us, check out my album of pics here .

My ancient ironing board (which I thrifted) is coming to the end of its long life; the locking latch isn't working as it should and I will definitely need a new one in the near future. During our last visit to IKEA I noticed this tabletop ironing board for $9.99, and grabbed it. It's very lightweight, and not particularly heavily padded, but I prefer that. It also comes with a built-in hook for hanging, which is frankly brilliant. The tabletop design is appropriate for light items or piecework like quilters do. At 28-¾" x 12-½" it's not going to handle huge items, but for everyday ironing it's perfect. The fact that I can hang it on the side of my sewing room bookcase is even better. Recommended.

I have not enjoyed a summer vacation as much as this one in a long time. Not only did I get to spend sixteen days with my daughter, but I celebrated my birthday in a beautiful place and got to do so many fun things. On the last day my guy and I went to the beach to walk and bask in the sun and wind down from a busy but happy vacation. I do like lake country a lot, but I'll always be a beach girl at heart. There's something about the salt air and watching the waves that soothes my soul. Before we left we walked the pier, where a bunch of fisherman were trying to catch something bigger chasing the schools of shiners (the wee little fish on the pier in the pic) that had come in close to shore. We watched a flock of pelicans diving for their lunch and it was one of those unexpected, spectacular sights that you often experience by the sea. Perfect day, perfect end to a lovely summer vacation.

My lot of three quilting books arrived, let's see if they were worth what I paid. All three books are in pristine condition, and chock full of ideas for making bags and small quilted projects. The projects are beautiful; here's one from bags book. These projects are interpreted from quilting traditionally done in different countries. I love the crazy quilt book, which not only details how to make the projects, but offers stitch maps for the embroidery involved. Smaller projects are more doable for me now, so I'll like find a lot of inspiration from the Japanese quilting book. Let's look at the numbers. Japanese Quilting Piece by Piece by Yoko Saito retails for $32.99. Foolproof Crazy Quilt Projects by Jennifer Clouston costs $27.95 to buy new. Yoko Saito's Bags for Everyday Use appears to be out of print and runs around $44.72 for the cheapest used edition. I'd pay $105.66 retail total for all three, so paying twelve bucks for the lot...

A belated birthday gift just arrived, and it seems someone else in my circle decided I need more mystery dice. Notice I am not arguing. These really are such fun to open. An instant mood booster. I got a beautiful set of dice, too -- green, violet and white. Thank you, my pal.

On the last day of my daughter's visit we went to Wildwood Antique Mall , one of my favorite places to scour for treasures. I admit, I let myself indulge in one last round of retail therapy, too. It's always hard to say good-bye to my girl. I've officially started getting ready for Halloween. Okay, not really, but I couldn't resist this haunted house framed picture. The bats kill me. :) This watercolor bird is going to hang in my home office. I also bought myself and Katherinea mystery bag of jewelry. Here's what was in mine. This shabby prim cat decided to come home with me, too. He'll keep my shabby prim bear company. Hey, at least it's not dolls. Fed my bunny obsession as well with this adorable trinket dish. This 86" X 60" tablecloth is an odd size, but I can use the fabric, possibly for my calendar project. Finally I picked up a bunch of quilt blocks, fabric, precut squares and an unfinished qui...

Despite a long stall my calendar project eventually went well in July; for my August tote I still need to decide on a design. The shabby prims are nudging me toward a Halloween themed project but it's a little too early for me to celebrate that -- next month would be better. I picked up this tablecloth to use as fabric last month, and the pretty colors do appeal to me. I'm just not sure I want to do another flower-themed tote. I also found a bunch of vintage textiles and quilt blocks at the antique mall in Wildwood last month. One or more of these might be the way to go. I'm going to look through everything, and if I can't decide I might roll the dice. Works for my crochet projects. :)