098- Wagon Wheel

After the Temple today I needed to run some errands and visit my Deloris. I stopped at the Fabric Mill in Orem (it is just across State St. from where Deloris is) and found exactly what I was looking for... AND MORE.

You just never know when you are going to have a photo op! I'd put my Canon in the trunk this morning just in case such an opportunity arose! I never can decided if this wagon belongs to Fabric Mill or Chuch-a-Rama (most likely Chuck-a-Rama... chuck wagon... well, I'm sure you understand). But in the storm-light it just looked wonderfully rustic. (By the way... April showers bring May flowers!)

Go Green Grocery Bags

I'd start by telling you that I am a little nutty, but you already know that!

Why should I go to all the trouble of making canvas bags for shopping when I can buy reusable bags from most grocery, hardware or big box stores for a nominal fee. I have to confess, BECAUSE I CAN!!!!! I just love to create things. It makes me happy. AND these bags are so cute!


Since I went to the trouble to figure all this out by looking at a BYU Creamery bag I bought for 50 cent bag (yeah, nutty, I told you!) I thought I would share it with all of you so that if you have a creative urge to be green (no that's Kermit... go green!) you can do it with style!

Schmokay, here we go-

You will need:
Basic Bag
7/8 yard canvas (per bag) if you want your bag to be all one color

OR

Contrasting Bag
3/8 yard canvas (front and back) [fabric 1]
1/2 yard contrast canvas (side/bottom piece and straps) [fabric 2]

OR

Bag With Webbing Handles
* If you don't want to have a fabric strap handle (perhaps your sewing machine won't sew through multiple layers of canvas) you can get webbing, in which case you will need
1 1/2 yard of 1" webbing (Omit cutting the 2- 3" x 28" strips mentioned in the cutting directions)




Start by cutting your pieces. You will need to cut:

2- 13" x 16" rectangles (front/back)
1- 9" x 43.5" strip (this is the side/bottom piece)
2- 3" x 28" strips for handles




With right sides together place the short side of the side/bottom piece on one of the front/back pieces(also short side). Starting in the top right hand corner sew with a 1/4" seam. At the corners stop sewing 1/4" from bottom of front/back piece. With the needle down, lift the presser foot and pivot the fabric 90 degrees. Gently fold the side/bottom piece back on itself so that it is now going along the bottom of the bag. Continue sewing at 1/4". Repeat at next corner. Repeat this process to add the other front/back piece.








Here's what you bag should look like at this point.


Turn the bag right-side out.











Turn under 1/4" along raw top edge of bag, then turn down 1 1/4" to make a sturdy top to the bag. Top stitch.







Iron the side and bottom seams so they are flat with each other like you would when you turn a collar or interfacing. (I find that the easiest way to do this is dampen my fingers and roll the seam until I am down to the stitching). Press fabric.









Now top stitch at 1/4" on outside of bag with the front/back piece on top (this will give you a finished French seam and will add stability to your bag). Top stitch to within 1/4" from bottom, back stitch.






Remove from machine. Fold fabric so you can sew across the bottom of the bag. Insert needle where you just ended the side seam and continue sewing across bottom of bag. Repeat for next corner and other front/back piece.

When you look at the side/bottom piece there will be a tiny tuck at the corner (the underside as you are stitching.)








(Whew, now all we need to do is add the handles!)

Press 3" x 28" strip in half length-wise. Then turn under 1/4" on along each long edge.







Place edges together and top stitch the length of strap keeping edges together. (Use pins if necessary).









Now top stitch the folded edge.










Fold under 1/2" of end of strap and place on top of bag 2 1/2" from side seam of bag.





Sew a square with "X" pattern inside to attach the handle to the bag. I found that if I started at the bottom corner, sewed a square and then the "X" I ended up with double stitching at the top and bottom of where the handle attaches. (Think that should be sturdy enough!)

*If you are going to use webbing instead of fabric cut 2 pieces 28" long. Using a flame melt the cut ends so they won't unravel. Sew to bag using directions above but don't turn under end of webbing.




All finished but the final pressing. Match the front and back pieces, folding in the sides. Then fold up the bottom edge to expose the bottom of the bag. Smooth, fold back down and give it a good steaming!










Here we go... my 4 fun bags... but you don't really think that is the end do you???

No, not with this OCD-nutty-girl.







I needed a bag for the bags! So I dug around and found half of an old Old Navy skirt (the other half is a pattern that I just love and have used and used). I re-purposed (love this word) it and made a tiny bag. It could easily hold 8-10 folded canvas bags!

Here are the measurements for the baby bag:

2- 10" x 8.5" (front/back)
1- 8.5" x 28" strip (side/bottom)
2- 3" x 19" strips (straps)

Use directions above. (This bag is a little tricky. It is square so be sure you have the 10" piece going up and down to start with, the extra turns under to make to top edge of the bag.)

097- Happy Daffodillies

These happy little daffodils greeted me on my walk. I just love their happy little faces. (Nice ones, not the honking ones like Professor Sprout has!)

I can never see them without thinking about my Momma and all of her daffodils in various colors that came up each spring. To me, they just embody the essence of spring!



When I did a quick Wikipedia search I learned something new... narcissus is the botanical name for daffodil. I always thought there were two different, but related, flowering bulbs.

096- Put out to Pasture

We are all familiar with that phrase: put out to pasture. We normally apply it to people, horses, and other animate objects. But when I saw this dilapidated old tractor I couldn't help but think that this faithful friend has also been put out to pasture.



I don't know the whole story but I'm guessing that it goes something like this:

Not too many years ago this whole area of Springville was just rural pasture lands with a few homes dotted along Canyon Rd. But as happens, cities begin to grow. In 1993 the tract where I live was built and many of the homes here are still inhabited by the original owners. But the explosion that is now called Hunter's Valley/Hidden Cove is much newer. And now there is a sea of houses where a friend my age used to drive her pony cart through the fields.

I wouldn't even know about this little lost tractor, hiding behind her old master's home, had it not been for some developer who bought up a huge hunk of land, punched through a new road and graded a bunch of huge lots for $1M homes. (Sadly for that developer the housing/economy crunch has stopped that subdivision in its tracks).

So here sits a once useful machine... I can only imagine the stories she could tell about the valley she used to cultivate, the crops she has harvested, the feed she has hauled to store for the winter, the animals, wild and domestic, that she's been friends with. And now she sits alone, forgotten and rusting.

095- Conference Sunday Tradition

(How fitting that this post is # 250!)

For the last 27+ years, since I perfected my cinnamon roll recipe, it has become the emblem of special times: Christmas Eve morning, Conference Sunday, Seminary treat day... it is my offering of yummy, cinnamony-goodness on these special days.


My Camille-y's sweet hands

I love the fact that now Camille has taken over the tradition. She has become a master baker. Three years ago when I was out of town for Conference Sunday she came down to my house and made them for Dad, Uncle Wayne and Aunt Annie.



I love the fact that we get a rich feeding this day... not only our special cinnamon roll but a rich Spiritual Feast at the feet of our Prophet and Apostles.

094- Old Friends

One of the happiest things for me is to connect with old friends. Ages ago Elder Skinner was a missionary in our Ward at the same time Gordon was the Ward Mission Leader. We've only seen him and his wife (then fiance) once in the last 10 years until last night.

We've exchanged Christmas cards for years (Jerilyn is absolutely amazing with her hand-made cards!) but we just recently connected out in the blog-o-sphere (or via facebook, I forget). They were coming down to our area to visit family and Clay arranged a dinner date with us. I felt like I know them all so much better than I actually do since we communicate via FB and blogs. They have two darling children who were perfect angels during our 2 hour dinner and visit at Sizzler.

Karen Rowe also joined us, another old Palmdale-ite! We had fun reminiscing and laughing about all the silly things that happened so long ago. The only sad thing about the dinner was that I am still getting used to my new camera and found out that I can't shoot without a flash if there is back lighting (so sorry, no photos of Gordon or Karen that weren't horribly blurry)



They have some seriously cute children! This Beau cracks me up! He was ready to eat and unwrapped everyone's silverware for them.



Sweet little Bailey... what a beautiful little girl.



I got a whole series of "blow the straw paper" photos, but this was my favorite.

093- April Showers

I know there are many who would call me a sicko! (I've been called worse!) But even on April 3rd there is just a wondrous beauty in floating, flying snow! I love the view from my work room window. I can watch the storms move in, crawling up the mountain range just north of my house.

Perhaps snow has always behaved in this manner, but it wasn't until I moved to Utah that I've seen snow that *falls* UP! It floats, flutters, swirls, drifts, circles and sometimes even comes *down* horizontally!

So, yes, here I sit, still in my jammies watching this beautiful snow and enjoying its many gymnastic feats.

092/365

This afternoon, after a busy day of house-cleaning and dog grooming, I finally got showered! (Yeah, about time... but I figure why do I want to shower and then do all that work and be growdy?)

I *did* my hair and felt like it must have grown over night. Do you ever have that happen? Just last week it was at an awkward length and I wasn't too happy with it. Ahh, but today was a good-hair-day. A couple of months ago Desi gave me some rockin' hi-lights and lo-lights and I'm feeling pretty happy with my hair!

091- Vestiges of Winter

I woke up this morning to Mother Nature's ultimate April Fool's joke... SNOW! AGAIN!! But even with that I can find something beautiful to photograph (besides SNOW).

Gordon and I pulled into the driveway after dinner at Chuck-a-Rama and I saw my little 3-foot Christmas tree covered in tiny icicles! All I need is some way to illuminate them and I would have the perfect little Christmas tree! And although you can't detect it so much in this close-up, it is taken in my favorite evening light.



I have another happy thing to share. I've just completed the 1st quarter of my Project 365. This has been such a wonderful creative outlet for me. I took my laptop with me to visit DeLoris (she's back in rehab again with healing from hip-replacement surgery). Showing my creations to my friend, the painter, I realized how much photographers and painters have in common... it's all about light.

So thank you for following me on my year long journey of creativity and learning.

Hugs to all...

Create

I had to share this beautiful video...