Grace Under Pressure

Thanksgiving Day with my two favorite girls, Meagan and Alyssa

 Now back from Buffalo, one of many Thanksgiving Day 
highlights was seeing our daughter prepare her first 

Thanksgiving meal, and so successfully! 

We dined like royalty. Thank you Alyssa for that 

succulent brined turkey, Meagan's family recipe for 

sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, baked brie,

green bean casserole, Grandma's stuffing, homemade gravy,

two pumpkin pies...and all from your tiny apartment kitchen!

Now that's grace under pressure.

 Congratulations for making your first 

Thanksgiving meal look effortless and taste amazing.

You truly shine in the kitchen.

 In the Studio: 
Building inventory for the shop just in time 
for easy holiday shopping. 
Plenty of fun, handmade goodies coming soon!

More happenings in the Studio:
Renewed activity on Storm Clouds for Project Linus.

What's your Thanksgiving Day highlight?
I'd love to hear from you!

Festive Favors

 

 Hosting an intimate dinner tomorrow night, 

and looking ahead to Thanksgiving dinner

I felt inspired to make little tipis as favors or place settings. 

Here's the lo-down on how I made them in case 

you and your tribe of smalls need a simple, rustic adornment 

for your holiday table:  

 Materials Round Up:

Scraps of paper

Plastic lid (anything to make a large circle)

Coin (anything to make a small circle)

Medium to fine String

Scissors

Hole Punch, or Needle & Thread

Sturdy but narrow Sticks, 3 per Tipi

 On the back of your paper, trace around the plastic lid.

Center the coin and trace around it.

Draw a line from the inner to the outer circle.

 Cut the outer circle, 

then cut the straight line, 

then cut the inner circle.

 With the right side of the paper now facing you, 

spiral one of the straight edges of the paper toward the inside 

and gently keep pulling it around. It will eventually look like this.

 Using the hole punch or a sewing needle 

punch two holes, catch two layers of paper each time 

and place the holes about where shown above.

By hand or with needle & thread, bring a 3" length of string

up through both holes from the inside, 

and tie a square knot on the outside, as shown above. 

Trim string ends to desired length. 

I used dried lily stalks but any sticks about this size will do.

I used three sticks per tipi, and cut the sticks 

a little longer than the final length.

 Tie another 3" length of string around your three sticks 

about an inch from the top, wrapping the string 

one or two times around the sticks before tying a square knot.

Trim string ends so they're not visible at the top of the tipi.

Trim the bottom of the three sticks so the tipi 

sits nicely on the table.

Once you make the first tipi it won't be long before 

an entire village spreads across your table!

While I'm not using these as place cards,

printing each guest's name beneath the tipi's tie closure

would be fun. However you use your village, have a great time

making the tipis. I'd love to see pictures of your village.

Happy Thanksgiving!! 

I remain grateful for my many blessings, 

and am looking forward to my daughter 

cooking her first Thanksgiving dinner! 

How will you spend your Thanksgiving,

 and have you ever slept in a tipi?

Many Hands

Amyla on Flick'r

 For ages, human hands have been drawn to felt.

I Pinned the above picture on my Handmade Board because 

my hands, too, are drawn to felt. 

Ginny's festive felted brooch made earlier today

So, when my dear friend Tracy reached out to our 

local knit group to make felted brooches to 

benefit a local charity, I couldn't resist! 

Earlier today, a few of us met at Tracy's and set to work. 

See Ginny's gorgeous example above.

Tracy's Dining Room table was piled high with beads, 

buttons, felt, glitz & other assorted shiny bits, and we had FUN!  

The brooches will be sold at Thanksgiving time 

at our local yarn store, SpunRightRound.  

100% of the proceeds will benefit our local Library.

Melissa's stack of jewel-tone felt circles destined 

to brighten lapels every where!

As our afternoon progressed, so did our brooches. 

We all agreed that once we made a few 

our confidence grew.

                            

Worker bees, from left to right: 

Ginny, Tracy, Melissa and Kimberly. 

(Colleen and I prefer to be off stage.)

                            

Many hands make light work....Melissa's hands in this case!

One of Tracy's masterpieces!

More of Tracy's creativity: festive Poinsettias.

As brooches began to pile up, we realized 
we definitely worked up an appetite. 
Thankfully Colleen's hands had been busy earlier, 
making these delicious lattice-top cherry pies!

Once the felted brooches are put on display for sale, 
I will follow up with pictures of the whole lot!
Each one is unique, handmade and beautifully detailed. 
They will look perfect on lapels, headbands, tote bags, 
scarves, topping gifts and anything else in need of 
a little something special this winter!

I'd love to hear what other individuals or groups do 
for charitable giving. Hey, the more ideas the merrier!