Thimbleanna – Page 27 – My little online diary.

Just Checking In …

17 Comments / December 6, 2015 December 6, 2015 / Chat, Store

Wow — I need to post just to move that turkey down the page! I can’t believe how quickly Thanksgiving came and went. We went to Dallas to visit TheSecondChild. We had lots of fun — in spite of six days of non-stop rain. Seriously — it rained the whole time we were there — I don’t think we saw the sun once. (And people think it rains too much in Scotland — at least we saw the sun there!) Since TheSecondChild has a teeny little apartment kitchen, I decided it would be too hard to make a big fancy turkey dinner with all of it’s extras. Instead, we opted for TheSecondChild’s favorite meal — he loves our traditional New Year’s Day dinner, but he never makes it home for New Year’s anymore, so I thought it would be fun to treat him. We make a Standing Rib Roast and Twice-Baked Potatoes. Much easier than turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and etc. It made for a different Thanksgiving dinner, but it sure was good!

So, now we’re back — right in the middle of that busy, busy time of year. I compose blog posts all the time in my head, but it’s been so hard to get the time to actually post now. Especially during the week — I did get a new blog header up though — I’m trying to be better about it this year!

I spent the weekend cracking down on the decorating around here. We usually have two trees — one fake and one real. The real one won’t go up until around the 15th, but I worked on the fake tree and the outside decorations today. And bonus, I count the fake tree as part of my outside decorations, since it can be seen from the front window. Otherwise, the outside decorations are pretty simple — a garland around the front door, two little trees on either side of the door, and Martha Stewart’s glittered bells in lieu of a wreath.

A few other little areas were decorated too, but mostly cleaning up sewing stuff I had lying around and playing with a few ornaments that will go on the real tree. It doesn’t sound like much, but it took a long time and was a lot of work. How are you guys all doing? Are you on track with all your holiday plans? I’ve got a plan for everything and most spare minutes are allocated. No fun sewing or knitting this year, but we’ll definitely be squeezing the gingerbread competition in there. All the kids will be home this year, so it should be lots of fun to see what everyone dreams up!

There are also some new goodies in my little etsy shop — you know, in case you need a gift, or have some Christmas money to spend on yourself! ;-D I’ve listed my very favorite little scissors — they’re Dovo scissors and I love them. The top ones are pretty little embroidery scissors and the bottom ones are my go-to scissors when I’m doing applique. Mine got a lot of use when I was working on The Aunts’ Quilt.

Lots of low-volume fabrics have also arrived. Top to bottom, they are:

Library Gardens by Amy Sinibaldi
Happily Ever After by Amy Sinibaldi
Stamped by Amy Sinibaldi (Yay — Amy Sinibaldi — aren’t they all beautiful?)
Bees & Bits Spring by Bari J. (Bees, people — BEES!)
Floral Dums Punch by Art Gallery Fabrics In-House Studio (Ohmygosh — I LOVE these cute flowers!)
Modern Background Fabric by Zen Chic

The top five fabrics are also available in a half-yard bundle — for speedy ordering ;-D.

And, finally, for you travel-lovers out there, the fun Japanese fabric shown below. It’s called Tour Round the World by Suzuko Koseki for Yuwa fabrics. The images are pretty big on this fabric (each shot in the collage below is about 20″ wide) and the repeat is about 1 1/4 yards. Perfect for big travel accessories or a back on a quilt to remember a fun trip!

Ok, this little break is over. Paperwork to do before I can go to bed. Have a wonderful week!

XOXO,
Anna

Happy Thanksgiving!

12 Comments / November 26, 2015 November 26, 2015 / Holidays

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
~Grandpa Jones

XOXO,
Anna

Liberty Bracelets

17 Comments / November 23, 2015 November 23, 2015 / Crafting, Sewing

Gosh. I’m sorry it’s been so boring around here. All work and no play makes Thimbleanna a very dull girl. Sadly, that’s all it is around here though — work, work, work. Work at work and then work at home. I listened to the Marie Kondo book on tape (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up) a few months ago and I’ve been trying to clean up a little around here. It was an interesting book and I talked back to the tape a lot — half the time I was saying “Great Idea”, and the other half of the time I was saying “You’re out of your mind!”. I’d love to be able to live as simply as she does, but it’s just not going to happen. For one thing, I’m a fabric hoarder. And, somehow, I just don’t see myself talking to my clothes and shoes at the end of each day. If I had more time to pause and actually talk to them, maybe … but for now, life is too busy. Anyway, it’s going to take a loooong time to get through the closets and drawers around here. Maybe after Christmas I’ll start back up and take it a little at a time. Or not, LOL.

In between finally finishing up the 3-week cleanout of our jumbo bookcases in the basement, I took a little one hour break this weekend and made a few Liberty bracelets. I’ve been wanting to try this project for a long time. I raided my little charm stash for charms for the bracelets.

Needle and Thread:

A Thimble (of course!):

And “Be Kind”:

I experimented with a little wider ribbon and just once around the wrist vs. thinner and twice around the wrist. I think I like the twice around the wrist version the best.

Anyway, they’re quick and fun and I think they’d make cute gifts for the ladies in your life. This video was very helpful. And I still have plenty of fabric and trinkets to make more!

Ok, off to bed for me. Are you US girls all ready for your big cooking week? Ours is going to be a little different this year and I’m a little sad I won’t be doing my usual pie making. I’ll explain when it’s all over – Good Luck with YOUR prep.

XOXO,
Anna

Knitting Happened Here

21 Comments / November 10, 2015 November 23, 2015 / Chat, Knitting

Well, what the hay??? It’s been 10 days since Halloween already. How. Does. That. Happen? We’re in the middle of November already. And before we move on can we just discuss this Halloween thing? We only had one trick-or-treater. One. (At least he was adorable — a little 5 year old pirate!) What’s up with the kids these days? Granted, it was a little drizzly out there, but we had chocolate! Are the kids just lazy these days??? When we were kids, NOTHING got in the way of us and our trick-or-treating! We couldn’t wait to get out there with our pillowcases and get them filled up. The real fun happened when we got home and dumped that candy all over the floor — that’s when the bartering started. Is it because parents are doing a better job of raising healthy kids these days? And they’d rather eat broccoli than chocolate???

Ok, so in the middle of all my pondering, I actually finished a knit. A few weeks ago my buddy Brigette became a first time Grandma! It’s all very exciting and I’m so happy for her. Her daughter had a bouncing baby boy, so I had to make him a little sweater and beanie.

I made them to hopefully fit a 6-month size, although it’s probably more like a 3-month size. How would I know — I need a baby around here to try one on LOL. I’m a little worried that the neck will be too small when he gets big enough to fit into the body — you know how babies’ heads are bigger compared to their bodies. Anyway, for you knitters, the little sweater is from the Baby Pullover from Knitting Pure and Simple and the Beanie is the Rolled Brim Baby Hat with a Topknot by Laurie Longinotti. Congratulations Brigette!!!

In other news … ;-D … new fabric in my little etsy shop. The Bright Sun Pebbles in Bisque by Sheri and Chelsi have arrived. I love that they’re a low volume fabric and I think they’ll make a perfect background for applique quilts. Or anything that screams for a subtle polka dot.

And finally, if you’re not a rabid anglophile (like some of us LOL) you may have missed the 2015 John Lewis Christmas ad. Bring your kleenex.

XOXO,
Anna

Happy Halloweenie!

20 Comments / October 31, 2015 October 31, 2015 / Holidays

It’s that time of the year when the Ghastlies get to come out of hiding — Yipee!!!

Sorry for the absence around here — there just hasn’t been much blogworthy going on. I’ve been stitching a little every night (that TAW is going to be the death of me) and my little knitting project is done — just needs to be rinsed and blocked. Otherwise, it’s just our normal boring routine and trying to clean things up a little. We’ve been going through our bookshelves and trying to clean them out a bit — it’s a lot of work! I even cleaned up a teeny bit here on the blog — I updated the header to a fall theme and added an extra tab that shows some of my past thimble headers just for fun.

I’m all ready for the little trick-or-treaters tonight too. I love seeing the little kids come by – I really miss that part about having small children around. I met a friend for lunch this morning and there was an adorable little girl there all dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood. Such a fun time for little kids!

Also, this is one of my favorite days of the year. Not because it’s Halloween, but because we end daylight savings time. Fall Back. An extra hour in the day. WOOHOO!!! I wish every day had an extra hour in it. Or maybe ten — yeah, an extra ten hours sounds a LOT better!

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!
XOXO,
Anna