Sven Loves Danger Girl

An etui is a small decorative case for holding needles and other sewing accessories. A while ago I developed an interest in making my own fancy needle cases. Who doesn’t have a burning need for an etui?  I have a stack of hand-embroidered pillowcases and dresser sashes that my maternal grandmother made. I thought turning some of these into needle cases would be a neat twist.

Here is my first effort. It opens like a small fabric book. It’s sort of cattywampus. And my ideas didn’t all work exactly as planned. But still – it’s quite pleasing to me.

Viki and I went to the McNay Art Institute today. I love this beautiful building and have been visiting it since elementary school field trips. This is one of my favorite views, a beautifully tiled staircase.

We’ve got several of these weird little things hanging from odd places on the outside of our house. This one is hanging low near the foundation but most of them are hanging higher in window frames. It’s about 3” long.

Paul looked it up online. This is a bagworm, actually a caterpillar.  I think that a moth is going to emerge from this weird little structure. Bagworms are the only species that uses plant debris to build their sacks. So those are leaves from our Live Oak trees.

It’s a little creepy. But I’m glad it’s just moth. That doesn’t seem too threatening.

Here’s more info from Texas A&M.

Pork Panko – a low carb replacement for bread crumbs. Yuck. On the plus side…it only has two ingredients!

It’s not unusual for me to make things. But this is a bit of a departure for me. My sister and I took a sashiko class at Las Colchas – our beautiful local fabric store. I’m not much of a “group” person, but this was fun.

Sashiko is a form of Japanese embroidery used for visible mending.  We learned the stitch by creating this little patchwork. I absolutely love the final product. It’s a carrying case to store all my sashiko supplies. I can envision many interesting projects using this technique.

For my birthday Paul bought me a wonderful computerized sewing machine that also does embroidery. My new machine is a fantastic upgrade for everyday sewing. And the embroidery feature has been so much fun to play with. Let’s call it a learning process.

That’s a sample from an afternoon of experimentation. Finding interesting embroidery designs has become something of a preoccupation!

Driving through a dust storm near Lubbock, Texas. It went on for miles.

I love finding a pretty little plant growing in a very unlikely place. Seems like it is really fighting the odds.

Also found a quarter right nearby…

Must be my lucky day.

Just another roadside attraction in Holbrook AZ.  It looks like it may have seen better days!

Margaret and I have been friends for more than 50 years. I was at her house today and just being silly, we cobbled together hats for the Kentucky Derby.

Making things together has been such an integral part of our friendship. It probably started with doll accessories, progressed through many Halloween costumes, then every imaginable craft, and so many meals.

Here’s a poem that, for me, sums up the time we spend together.

The Pleasures of Friendship

The pleasures of friendship are exquisite,
How pleasant to go to a friend on a visit!
I go to my friend, we walk on the grass,
And the hours and moments like minutes pass.

~ Stevie Smith