Susan's gift

I posted a Pay It Forward idea on Facebook last month and the first of five is finished.  I love to knit and decided to felt a bag for Allison's dear friend, Susan, who replied to my FB post.  I love the colors and I am still experimenting with how many stitches for certain yarns.  This is Brown Sheep Bulky and I love to handle it and it is quality yarn.  This time I made the strap of the felted piece by folding a strip in half and stitching on the sewing machine then I finished it with a blanket stitch of the black.  I then needle felted her initial with a simple dot or three.  I love it and I hope she does also.

For my sewing room and by the phone

My grandmother gave me some old Mason jars (blue) and of course I have old awards (wooden plaques) laying around.  For the phone, I combined the two with an old fork that I bent into a hook for keys and away we go.

The sewing room board was a "Welcome" sign at a garage sale for $1.  I painted over the words and added a pair of scissors Cathy gave me a few years ago for sewing room decor.  I then added the clamp and Mason jar and this handy storage is not right above my sewing maching.  (I use the word "I" to mean that Vince was by my side assisting).  Bless him.

Some crafting today

I took a dress back to TJ & Max and got a store credit.  Found this lamp on the clearance table for even more off the price.  Loved it and since I don't have any original thoughts, I had seen a number of things decorated with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, "You are my sunshine".  So I took the linen type shade and a permanent marker and printed the words on the shade.  I have loads of buttons in a jar in my sewing room so I added some color with various buttons. The word love looks like a botch but really it is a heart shaped metal button I found in the jar.   I love it the look.

Can't Believe It is February

We just got back from a ski weekend with my son and his wife and two of his three sons.  We had a great time and I carried my knitting with me once again.  I am working on a project for a Pay It Forward I joined on Facebook.  The first project is something for a high school friend of mine and I am anxious to finish it and send it to her in Michigan.
While we were out west we visited Vince's cousin, Cleo and her husband Alan.  It is wonderful to connect with family.  Vince was an only child and values his relationship with his first cousin.  We will visit them again soon.  They have a lovely home and she is an excellent cook.  It reminded me of the title of my blog, seams sew simple.  We don't take enough time to be with the people we love and enjoy our lives.

The decoration above is something I saw on Pinterest and decided to replicate for Valentine's Day.  Buttons, white top straight pins, yarn, ribbon, and time.  It was fun to make.