25 Million Stitches and Snail Mail

I finished this panel ad put it in the mail to 25 Million Stitches.

I have another panel started.

Incoming Mail

 This beautiful card from Erin, 
while she and the grands were in Colorado
over Thanksgiving.

Outgoing

I'm not sure what happened to my Halloween postcard to Suzi, but it evidently went for a long journey.  I mailed it on Oct. 22, and she received it on Nov. 29.  It should have been in New Orleans in 3 or 4 days, but who knows what adventures it had along the way.  She was pleased to get a Halloween postcard for Thanksgiving. :)

A long letter to Penne

 

I mailed off my finished 25 Million Stitches Panel

 I like some of the advertisements better than some Christmas movies.

What's Up?

What I've been doing lately...

Finishing up Thanksgiving leftovers.  

Thinking about Christmas gifts.  Are you receiving some of those lists of possible Christmas gifts?  I've looked at a couple and have not found them particularly helpful.  Until, that is, I checked out this one--and found gifts that I might want for the grands, but way too many I want for myself! 

Nellie Bly's courage and journalism has always fascinated me.

example of one of the postcards

From crafts to games to microscopes, all kinds of goodies that are more than a one-off pleasure soon abandoned; many of these suggestions are sure to keep kids and adults busy and offer the opportunity for continued enjoyment.  There are so many games that caught my interest!

Last year my personal favorite gifts were homemade.  Erin made vinegars, a delicious coffee liqueur, and pot holders from a gorgeous fabric.  I loved them all!   Next year, maybe I'll start early and make more gifts.   

Donating--small amounts, to be sure, to charities I support.  Today, gifts were doubled or tripled.  

Unsubscribing from those hundreds of political emails that just keep increasing.

Stitching for 25 Million Stitches Project.

Stitching Away

I read about 25 Million Stitches on Million Little Stitches, a blog I've visites frequently.  No surprise that a blog titled Million Little Stitches would be interested in the 25 Million Stitches project, a public engagement art installation:  

The world is in flight. 25 million people across the globe have been forced to flee their homelands as a consequence of genocide, war, poverty, natural disasters, targeted violence, and other grave threats. They leave behind everything they’ve known, possessed, and been a part of in order to live; they face immense struggles, misfortunes, and perils on their journey; and, though it all, survival, much less successful resettlement, remains but the slimmest hope.

 We can imagine the Native Americans forced off their land, the Irish fleeing the potato famine, refugees from Nazi Germany--on and on.  The fact that there are 25 million people forced from there homes in today's world is almost beyond comprehension.   Men, women, and children in refugee camps across the globe... 

This is a project that appeals to me, and I requested a panel.  However, it takes about ten days to receive a panel, and I realized I had plenty of unbleached muslin and could make my own 15 x 17 inch panel and go ahead and get started.  

Not a very good photograph, but I got started right away.

 I love running stitches, and they go much faster than any other stitch. 

 How much detail will eventually be included, I'm not sure.

At any rate, it is a project that I'm enjoying.  Sometimes in silence, sometimes watching Netflix, and most recently, watching/listening to TED Talks.   If you are a stitcher, check out the information and visit the Instagram site.  All levels are welcome, including kids!   I love that some have formed stitching circles for the project.

I've been a little low on energy lately, so I'm grateful to have found a project that is meditative and comforting.  :)

--------------Have a Happy Thanksgiving!----------------

Baby, It's Cold Outside

 The frigid air has made its way down south.  We don't usually get low temperatures in the 20's until around January and very few of those.  And those are our lows--some areas will have twenties and teens as the high.   That's bitterly cold! 

Incoming Mail  

from Hannah (forgot to post this last Halloween card)

Two Klimt postcards from Carla

Outgoing

The State Fair stamps are so much fun!

I ordered some first day covers for the grands, 

even though they weren't cancelled on first day of issue.

I sent one each to Max, Mila, and Bryce Eleanor

in time for our state fair.

---------
A Mighty Girl is for girls of all ages, full of information, book recommendations, and encouragement for girls to trust themselves and pursue their own interests.  I know I've mentioned this site before, but I continue to find interesting articles and information.   
There are ten words every girl should learn according to writer Soraya Chemaly — not vocabulary terms, but critical phrases they can use when their contributions to a discussion are interrupted or discounted. Practicing her three phrases — “Stop interrupting me," “I just said that," and "No explanation needed" — will help girls speak them in real life, and teach both boys and girls that it’s not socially acceptable to interrupt or ignore a female voice. Whether in the classroom, in the boardroom, or on the Senate floor, it's time for mighty girls and women to persist and ensure that their voices are heard.  (source)

October Draws to a Close

I bought the holographic picture in a frame a couple of years ago.  

This year I decided to spruce up the frame a little with fabric scraps.

Finished these two eccentric skeletons.

Oops, almost finished, I just realized I haven't added his arms,

which were still drying from a last coat of sealer.

The skulls were from Dollar Tree, I think.

We took a day trip to Natchitoches a couple of weeks ago

and I liked this skellie outside of a shop.

 Bryce Eleanor drew the tiger below--
with some shrink plastic they turned into earrings!

Lucky me, I got a pair!

She's eleven, almost twelve, and I love that she keeps working at her drawing.
Practice and persistence!

From these drawings that we made into stuffies when she was five--

she sat in my lap and we sewed them together--

 to the tigers on the earrings!

One of my favorite sites to visit is A Mighty Girl, and my favorite Halloween costumes are homemade.  A Mighty Girl selected some favorite costumes from past years--many of which are characters from books the girl's have read.  

Suffragette

Scientist Ada Twist

"Cadence is 8 and has wanted to be an entomologist since she was 5.
This year, she asked to be a praying mantis for Halloween."

The last one cracked me up because when Mila was a little,
she wanted to be a bottle of vinegar.
I think she ended up as a spotted puppy.

Check out the some of the others at A Mighty Girl:  Jane Goodall, Amelia Earhart & Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Who and Harry Potter characters (especially Moaning Myrtle), Mulan, Julia Child--they are all wonderful and fun!

Incoming Mail

Annie's envelopes are always beautiful, inside and out!

 She makes her collage  cards out of 5 x 8 index cards folded in half

so the inside in lined and perfect for writing.

I love this idea and will, of course, probably copy it!

 I love the washi tape on Iliana's envelope

 and the black cat on the back!

and the note card inside :)

The Red Wrigglers--My worm farm wrigglers love anything I put in the blender with a little water and turn into a chunky kind of smoothie.  Their latest favorite was chunky Brussels Sprouts smoothie.  

Garden--the lettuces, kale, onions, green onions, and chard are doing well.   Petite carrot seeds (I like the petite carrots, not the big ones for my salads) have sprouted.  If I can do without tomatoes, my salads will be available in just a few steps.  Not that I mind purchasing cherry tomatoes, because I don't mind at all.  

Happy Halloween!

Creepy, Crawly Creatures

More Halloween.  

 in progress

Incoming Mail

from Iliana this beautiful Teesha Moore postcard!

Notice how the P.O. obliterated the bottom.  ??

Teresa's card cracks me up!

A photo from a Halloween party in the past.

I love the stamp, but everything in white is actually shiny gold.
It is a beautiful stamp, but my scanner doesn't want to pick up metallics. 

Outgoing

None of the shiny, shimmery, metallics show up here either.  :(

postcard to Suzie

Books/Reading

One paranormal and three historical mysteries.