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  Do the Wooly Boolly!

Wool Felt Fat Quarters 
If I had to list my Top Ten craft materials wool felt would definitely be in the Top 5. (Hmmm, maybe I will think on this and actually make a top ten list…)
There is just so much to love about real 100% wool felt (or the 80/20 stuff if you just can’t find or afford the 100% stuff).

  • The rich colors - no neon-not-found-nature-colors here!
  • Ease of use - no fraying edges to be concerned with, just cut and sew.
  • Tactile qualities - It just feels so real and warm.
  • Versatility - I’ve made dolls, quilts, ornaments, coin purses, embellishments and more with it. Definitely wins the “favorite surface to embroider on” award.
  • Sustainability - The “green factor” can’t be denied. It comes from a natural, renewable source. If you can find natural, plant-dyed felt you are really full of win. (And if you find a wholesale supplier of such please let me know. I’ve been looking and can’t find one!)
  • Felt Charm Packs 
    Last week my shipment of wool felt packs arrived. The fat quarter bundle (7-22″x18″ cuts) is $41.99 and the Charm Pack (36-5×5″ squares) is $21.99.

    Posted in Product of the Week, The Business, Uncategorized, embroidery, needlefelting, sewing | Show Comments | Add a Comment

      Gifts for Crafters on Your List

    Queen of Unfinished Projects Tee Stitch Happens Tee Creative Genius rhinestone Tee Stitch Happens Tee detail november 017 november 016 november 015 

    I recently received some great items for gift giving.
    These T-shirts are really cute! I have the “Stitch Happens” Tees in pink and white. The light blue Tee reads, “Queen of Unfinished Projects”. Rhinestones spell out, “Creative Genius” on black and purple Tees and sweatshirts.

    These multi-pocketed totes from Mackinac Moon ($19.99) are great for any craft from sewing or scrapbooking to knitting and embroidery. There is a pocket for every tool, book, and supply with room to spare for your cell phone and wallet. The sections in the main compartment are roomy enough for small to medium projects and aren’t so deep that things get lost in the vast depths like some bags. They come in two color combinations; pink and chocolate or light and dark blue.

    Stop in soon to fill out a Gift List Postcard. You list all the things in the store that you would like your personal Santa to know about, address it to your Santa, and I’ll mail it off to him (or her!) in time for them to fulfill your holiday crafting wishes. I also have gift certificates in any amount available.

    Posted in Product of the Week, The Business | No Comments Hide Comments | Add a Comment

      Thank You

    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

    Posted in Life on Shiny Island, The Business | No Comments Hide Comments | Add a Comment

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