100 days crowns

Yesterday was 100 days of school. One of the activities was to make crowns...The base is called a sentence strip. They are sturdy and just the right size to go around the head.
10 card stock strips were stapled to them. If we did it over, there would have been more spacing between them. A hole was punched into the top of each one.
While they are still flat, the kids went to different stations and added 10 things,
cereal
marshmallows
stickers
punches
paint dots
and books cut from scholastic book orders
The sentence strip was wrapped on each head and stapled so it fit them.
 Then the strips were gathered at the top, and a brad inserted into the holes holding all the strips together....creating the crown.
Everyone was so so happy with the way they turned out.

ice and easy street.....

It rained yesterday. This isn't a bad thing unless it is freezing rain.

The roads were made into skating rinks.

Things were very quiet. No one was going anywhere.

I sewed. Finished all the full blocks for Easy Street.

Then started on the triangle blocks. They are probably half done. 

We had a late-start this morning, so I sewed some more.

Then the call I wasn't expecting came in....

NO SCHOOL.

Cancelled.

Wow more sewing today! 

I want to get this top done so bad and work on something else.

The windmill this morning. 

Tractor joe was on the road. His dad called worried about him.

Was he stuck somewhere?

Not to worry. 

Tractor joe was in North Platte, Nebraska yesterday. It was 65 degrees and sunny. He was joking about working on his tan, it was THAT nice.

still here.....

We had to go to Fort Dodge yesterday. While there, we hit a bunch of the local thrift shops.

Our last warm day before this newest COLD snap hit.

I have sewn some. But it has been so long now, I don't remember how many blocks are done. They are piled on the ironing board. Maybe today I will get back at these.

I also am wasting time with games. 

Draw Something.

My brother in law sent this one. He can draw very very well. I earn coins for guessing correctly. Then I can get more bombs or more colors.

After I guess, I pick a word and send it back. Then he guesses.

Back and forth. A real time killer and battery draining game.

Addicting would describe it.

We  helped middle son move to a new home. I love his kitchen.

It is better than mine....

more counter space

a dishwasher

and a floor with no holes in the linoleum.

anyway....

His great grandfather built the house in 1955 when he retired from farming. It was then sold to another retiring couple back in the 80's.

They lived there until recently. Not much wear and tear on it. 

He loves it and is very happy with it. Tractor joe likes the fact it was his grandpa's and spent a long time going down memory lane with his brothers when they were there checking it out.

and then more wasted time....

More pictures and more guessing and more drawing.

There is some quote...time spent doing what you love is not wasted...or something like that.

Christmas vacation sewing....

Some of my blocks from the Easy Street Mystery by Bonnie Hunter

I was playing with them wondering how they would be laid out.

January blocks at BLOCK LOTTO were sewn up way back on Christmas Eve.

My strip pile was growing. So I did about 20 more of these blocks. The plan right now is to group them in fours with sashing, then sew those blocks together with sashing.

It is an ongoing project that could take a long time to complete.

Yesterday the mystery was revealed. I laid out by pieces to see what it would look like.

I am not even sure if these are laid right. But it gives a good idea.

I need to go back and check.

I used what I had. 

I did go get more black and whites.

There are things I would have done differently,

like...... using darker blues.

It is what it is.

My last day of not going to work....I plan on sewing these. But first I need to go check and make sure I am doing them correctly.

These blocks are way more complicated to sew together than I thought. The seam ripper was out yesterday. I love these blocks, just not sure on my colors.

Merry Christmas....

On tractor joe's side of the family, they do a name exchange. He drew his sister-in-law. She wanted a squirrel proof bird feeder like the one tractor joe has. He had bought it in Tennessee. 

Even though he had been back to Tennessee several times, he was never in the able to find that bird feeder again. 

So....

On our "Saturday before Christmas" shopping trip he found a squirrel proof feeder in the clearance section. 

WOW, what a deal!!

And he bought it...

Tractor joe spends a lot of time reading reviews on products before he buys anything.

He didn't read any on this feeder until we had it here at home.

One review had the information needed to make it a REALLY and TRULY squirrel proof.

Some were reassuring that this was a good feeder.

And some just cracked me up. 

That is when I decided to make a little book to go with the feeder. 

I dug out an old Bird and Bloom magazine, stickers, and used the actual packaging material from the bird feeder.

It was ripped and falling apart.

Those headless birds were really in my stash. Years ago my nephew had been making strange animals by mixing and matching heads with bodies. A normal person would have thrown headless birds away....but no, there they were, ready to use in this project!

Tractor joe thinks she will enjoy the bird feeder, even if it is nothing like his, and the book!

late start at school.....

Quick post before I leave for school. 

I put together one little bag last night. Things are wrong with it....

like the handles aren't positioned the same on each side...

and the other side of the handle should be facing out.

For a test run, this isn't bad though.

I put some candy in it and will give it to the teacher I work with.

Now, I have about 3 days before I need more done.

One of those days is a shopping day.

tick tick tick

time is running out.

The hardest blocks for me.....

Star Crossed blocks for BLOCK LOTTO

The rule for these blocks was simple,

pick ANY three fabrics that are light, medium and dark.

This paralyzed me for the longest time.

I started grouping fabric by threes, one of each....dark, medium and light. But nothing seemed right. It just looked like a big mess. 

So I put it all away and started over. I just grabbed a light and put it with something dark. 

Then, I went back to look for the cross part. I think I ended up with mostly mediums there.

Construction wise, these were pretty easy. I love the way they look and think who ever wins these will be so lucky! They will make such a cool quilt.

I started cutting and sewing fabric for teeny tiny gift bags. Big enough for a handful of candy and gift card. Or just candy. I was hoping I would have a few little bags done by this time. 

But no, not yet. They are based on (this sweet little bag pattern)

I will get back at them later.