Just a quick post to thank all of you for listening, commiserating, lending a helping hand (Mom & Dad!), supporting, buying, and just plain being here for me this year. It means a lot to me. I’m also so very thankful for all the new friends I’ve made via this blog and the store this year. It’s so nice to know there are more of us out there in the world and in the Fox Valley. I’d love to name each and every one of you by name and say what you mean to me but I’m sure to forget someone and then I’d feel like a bewb.

Another thing that I am grateful for is my life. Growing up I dreamed of traveling, living in a big city, having glamorous friends, eating fancy food and other “worldly” things. My dreams have mellowed over the years. I no longer dream of a Manhattan penthouse and nights out on the town. But I’m so thankful that even though I live a moderate lifestyle, I’ve had many opportunities to “live the high life.” Here is a meme I found today that illustrates that:

Bold the things you have done, strike out what you will never do:

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Marlette Red Raiders marching and concert band!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (One time in a cemetery with a college beau and many years later with Sarah in our backyard.)
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (Mt. Katahdin in Maine!)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo (Not well!)
11. Bungee jumped - (But I did jump off a 40 ft. cliff into a Minnesota lake!)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child -
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - (one of the benefits of owning your own pool!)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run - (me + hand eye coordination + athletic ability = not likely)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors - (not specifically but I know that there had to be some Wood, Boyne, Doyle or Swailes ancestors from Scotland and England so I’m going to count this one)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - (this is a toughy. As almost everyone, it is easy to always want more but most of the time I do realize that we have more than we really need.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - (I’d love to but I have fear of heights issues)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke - (again not well!)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris - 9even though it was so foggy the visibility was zero!)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - (as a leader not a scout!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason - (Steve brings me flowers all the time. Plus the freaky stalker guy at the mall back in the day that sent me a dozen roses that I “thought” were from Steve until I called Steve to thank him and they weren’t!)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - (used to be a regular donor but anemia and other weird issues have kept me from donating lately. )
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial - (not in Washington DC but I have visited his tomb in Springfield, IL)
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London - (been to London but didn’t have time to go stand around in a huge crowd to see this, we did see the ravens at the Tower of London.)
77. Broken a bone - (I think I have freakishly strong bones, I was kicked in the chest by a horse, fell out of a loft bed in college and had two nasty snow/ice accidents with nothing more than bad bruises.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible - (TWICE! Once with my mother, we made it our New Year’s Resolution (I think we may have only done the NT) and again in college when I took Religion:OT & Religion: NT)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - does donating blood count?
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake - 9but I have swam in at least two of the Great Lakes!)
97. Been involved in a law suit - I did take someone to Small Claims Court in college after she “lost” my bicycle that I loaned her to ride to the bar on a Saturday night.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee - AND bit by a chipmunk! How many people can say that?
100. Rode an elephant

I had this idea to put together little mini-classes for the holiday season that sisters, friends, mothers & daughters or other couples could come do together. My first idea was to call the “Crafternoons” but I opted for Craftogethers instead. I guess it is a good thing I did because I’ve since found out that Crafternoons was already taken. Great minds and all that I guess (I think I should just write a book.)

Would you like to make gifts or holiday decorations for yourself and others but just don’t want to bother with getting the supplies, making a mess in your house and then having to clean up that mess? The holidays are hectic enough without the added hassle of all that. Instead, take an afternoon off and join us at My Eclectic Mess in St. Charles for two hours of crafting fun. We’ll provide all the supplies, know-how and best of all, the clean up!

This is the perfect activity to share with your child, sister, mother, best friend or neighbor. You’ll get time together to share in the making of memories as well as the cool crafts you’ll complete.

November 22, 2-4pm: Wool Felt Mitten Ornament

Join us to make a cute wool felt mitten ornament. This ornament makes a great tree decoration or gift tag. It is open on the top so you can fill it with a gift card or monetary gift.
 

December 6, 2-4pm: Home Sweet Homes

In this mini-class we will each make a tiny chipboard and paper “gingerbread” house to hang on our tree or decorate our table top.

December 13, 2-4pm: Stamped Gift Wrap

Make unique, one of a kind wrapping paper using hand carved stamps made from inexpensive materials and techniques.

December 20, 2-4pm: Polymer Clay Votive Holders

Celebrate the winter solstice and help bring some light back into your long winter with this special candle holder. Learn polymer clay cane making techniques in this fun and informative class.
 

Pre-registration required one week in advance of the event. A $10/person non-refundable deposit is required to hold your spot, space is limited. Classes will be cancelled if a minimum number of participants (4 persons) are not registered on week prior to event. Deposits will be refunded in the event of cancellation.
All classes will be held on Saturdays from 2-4pm. Register with a friend and save $30/person or $50/couple.

More information and a sign-up form available: Downloadable Brochure

    
My Freespirit rep dropped off a half ton of fabric samples for my enjoyment today. I think I’m getting better at this fabric selection thing. I’m much faster and not nearly as overwhelmed by all the choices as I was the first time. I can unroll some of these fabric headers and give an immediate “meh” or “nope” now. Sometimes my reaction is more of a “Hmmmmm?” and I set it aside and come back to it with fresh eyes after looking at others.

Above are the selections from Amy Butler’s latest, Midwest Modern 2. I hate to say it but her newer stuff is quite often as not getting a “meh” reaction from me. I only selected five from the new colorways and added two from the original Midwest Modern to round out my current selection. I also added four prints from her Daisy Chain to match up some of the orphans from my first order from this line. I still think some of my numbers must have gotten mixed up on that first order because I *know* I ordered some of these dark blues and pinks that didn’t come in my first order. (That’s why I’m taking pictures this time so I know what I decided on!)

I’m also a little frustrated annoyed disappointed that her colors don’t match across collections. She has an olive in her Midwest Modern and one in her Daisy Chain that are close but not quite. Also I’ve found that often she’ll have a pattern/colorway in a collection that doesn’t really *fit* with anything else in the collection. I read on a fabric blog recently that Kaffe Fassett keeps pretty much the same color palette from one collection to the next and adds and subtracts to keep things fresh. But that way if you have an older fabric in your stash you can still find something new to coordinate with it. Of course my impression of Kaffe Fassets collections is that he just uses ALL THE COLORS so it doesn’t really matter!

A new line and new to me designer is Snow Flower by Dena. This was one of those bundles of fabric that I opened and my reaction was, “oh yeah!” I wanted it all, but you know that isn’t happening. So instead I did what I’ve learned is the best way for me to stock fabric, I select one or two of the colorways in a collection and go from there. (I’m sorry I can’t find this collection online anywhere yet.) After I decided which colorways I want I pick and choose from there. I loved the brights and black set in this collection so I chose a wide selection of these. I really don’t have a lot of really vivid brights and no black at all right now in my stock so this will fill in some much needed holes.
   
I’m also really in love with acid green and chocolate brown right now and aqua with green is a hot combo too. I think this collection is going to be really popular. I know I’m looking forward to sewing up some bags or girly dresses out of it this winter!

My Moda rep was also in at the end of last week with her bag of goodies from Quilt Market. I don’t have pictures of what I selected from her but rest assured, it is awesome! They have added some new designers who are really adding a fresh face to their collections.