Mug rug and napkins

This year for Christmas I made a couple of gifts. 

A mug rug for my Secret Santa. I used Christmas fabrics and a tumbler template. 

And a set of six napkins for a friend. I was lucky enough to find a fabric with colors that go in her home.

Homemade lotion and lip balm

A friend pointed me to a lotion recipe on wellnessmama.com. She had given me some in the past as a gift, and I loved it. But I had run out so it was time to make some myself.

I used equal parts beeswax, shea butter and coconut oil (maybe a little less oil).

I mixed it together and heated until it was melted and then added a few drops of the oils I wanted.

I got two lavender lotions, one peppermint lotion and two peppermint lip balms. This works great for me on dry hands especially during the winter. 

Hour glass baby quilt

I had a request for a baby girl quilt a few months ago and the only requirement was that it be lavender.

Another favorite color to work with.

I picked the hour glass pattern again. It's so simple and goes together quick.

I decided to use white in the block this time.

Love these clips instead of pins for the binding.

The finished project...

...all ready to wrap up and gift.

HIgh Trestle Trail

Last weekend I ventured to the High Trestle Trail and Bridge. It's a relatively flat trail,  but I was still waiting for a calm day since there wouldn't be a lot of protection from the wind. I started in Slater and road the 10 miles to the bridge.

It was a beautiful day, and I could see for miles.

The bridge is a half mile long and is 13 stories high.

The view to the north.

The view to the west.

The view to the south.

Took a selfie as proof that I really made it.

View of the bridge from an observation deck looking southeast.

And then I needed to head back to Slater.

View to the east.

Very busy parking lot in Madrid. The trail from Madrid west to the bridge was quite busy and had walkers and riders.

New Grass

The grass on the south side of the house has been slowing dying over the past couple of years. It doesn’t get a lot of sun once the trees on the west side get their leaves. Maybe the sun it’s getting now will help it grow. And it’s under two evergreen trees. I knew grass seed would never stay put on the slope. One rain and it would all be a pile at the bottom. A friend had good luck with a grass mat like this and suggested I try it.

So I spent about an hour after work today digging out the big clumps that were still there so I could loosen the dirt and level it out. Once that was done I just wet it, put the mat down, and watered again.

If this works, I’m going to buy another one for more of the sad-looking area around it.

Spring Flowers 2016

Spring flowers were sprouting on time this year and maybe a bit early.

Crocus

Tulips  - these are out in a lot of sun so were earlier than others

I put up a new trellis for my clematis today that I have been needing the last couple of years as it was getting taller each year. The photo on the right is from last year where the old trellis only goes about three-quarters of the way up. Two years ago it got top heavy and the entire thing fell forward. So last year I strung some twine from the top of the trellis to the top of the garage for it to grab onto. It worked good but it was time for something better.

I also spent quite some time weeding this area of my gardens. They have gotten out of control already. It seems so early in the season but my goal is to do better than last year and keep the gardens looking nice. Maybe there were too many left over from last fall. By the time that time of year comes around, I am tired of yard work and things just don't get done. I'm debating about putting mulch in this area to help.

Daffodils are now blooming. 

This is the next area I'm going to work on. It has a lot of grass growing right in the middle of plants. It's going to be quite the job because I'm going to dig up about half of the plants to thin them and then replant. 

I love spring gardening because everything is new and fresh....and I haven't gotten tired of yard work in general. 

Rosary Zipper Bag

I saw this fabric and knew it would be perfect to make a small bag for my rosary. 

It's about 3x4 and is the smallest I've made so far. And it fits just right in my purse.

I need to make up a couple more of this size to help manage the rest of the smaller things that fall to the bottom of my purse.

Lavender scented hand warmers

I was reading some quilting blogs and ran across this idea for hand warmers. I've made some neck warmers with rice in the past but never thought about making mini ones...especially with a quilt top.

I knew I kept all those tiny scraps for a reason. I put a quarter down for comparison. 

I sewed up some half-square triangles for two of them, and scrappy tops for three more. I put a layer of cotton batting on the back and stitched in the ditch to hold it in place.

I put the front and back right sides together, stitched them together leaving a small opening and turned them right side out. 

I used my lavender essential oil to scent the rice and filled them a little more than halfway. Just the perfect calming scent.

Five finished hand warmers. Definitely not the best picture. Didn't realize it was bad until after I'd given them away and couldn't take another. 

They made the perfect Valentine's Day gifts.

This was a really fun project, and I definitely want to work more with minis. It just might be my next quilting addiction. The patterns are endless. I also saw ideas for pin cushions just like this but the filling is different. Some used crushed walnuts and others polyester fiberfill. I need to do some experimenting.

Zipper Bags

I had been seeing lots of zipper bags on Pinterest. They looked fairly simple and would work great as storage for my essential oils, makeup, and smaller items in my purse. 

I made the first one in the same fabric as my sister's tote bag. After looking at several patterns, I used parts of three of them to make mine. 

I sewed fabric tabs onto the ends of the zippers so there's no sewing into the seam allowance. Then each side with lining is sewn to the zippers.

I used coordinating fabric for the lining and also fusible fleece to add padding to the bags. The pieces of the bags are sewn wrong sides together and then turned out thru a section of lining that was left open. The lining is sewn shut and put inside the bag.

Picking out fabric was the best part. 

I made up a few to sell and then a friend of a friend wanted lots and lots so I made them up for her.

I also made up some fabric holders for the oils. Each bag holds ten 15-ml oil bottles. 

More bags.

The two bags in the front (brown/orange and gray/pink) are smaller bags. Instead of removable inserts like the larger bags, I sewed elastic in them to hold five 5-ml oil bottles. 

Here's the inside of a small bag.

And finally I made a pencil bag for a couple of my favorite kiddos.