Bits and Pieces

Since it's been so long since I posted, I have several little things to show you all. The first is the "Perfect Tote" that I made a few weeks ago. My Sis and I went to another class at Fabric Boutique but this project was so involved that we ended up having to finish the bags at home. Of course, it didn't help that I experienced multiple technical difficulties with my machine before I ever even got started! I probably could have gotten much farther on the bag in the class if not for all the speed bumps. But, I just chalked it up to being a patience builder and got over it! So, here's a few pics of the bag. It's made using "fat quarters," which are 1/4 yard pieces of fabric. Quilters most commonly use fat quarters to make their quilts.



This bag is HUGE!! In the pic above it's holding 3 fleece throws and still has room to spare! I can't wait to use it for a weekend bag or something!

Next, we have a turkey cheese ball that I made Monday night for a ladies night that I had at my house. It uses cream cheese dyed with paste food coloring to make the decorations and pecan halves for feathers. The head, neck, & snood are made from red bell pepper and the beak is a piece of yellow squash. It must have been good because the only things left were a small glob of cream cheese and the head!

I got the recipe from Country Woman magazine, which is one of my favorite magazines & is all about good comfort food cooking and country life. My turkey didn't look anywhere near as good as the one in the magazine but it was fun to make anyway!

We also made a Thanksgiving themed craft during our ladies' night. We decorated small chalk boards and wrote things we are thankful for on them with chalk. It was a fun time!

The "Thank you, Lord for..." is written with a silver paint pen and the chalk is held on with a magnet. This is just my version though, all the ladies were so creative and they each put theirs together in their own unique way. I thought it would be a good reminder to take a minute every now and then to jot down a few of the many blessings God has given me.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, would anyone like to be thankful for a new puppy? We had a stray show up on our doorstep a few days ago and he's really sweet and cute but we just don't feel like we can keep another dog right now. We've been calling him "Patches" and according to the American Kennel Club website he looks just like the pictures of an Australian Cattle Dog. They are supposed to be really good at herding cattle and fighting off wild boar. However, if you don't have cattle, they are also good with families and guarding the home. If these pics of him just melt your heart, please let me know!! We would love to give him to a good home instead of the pound!

His ears crack me up because they look so big compared to the rest of him! They stand straight up when he's listening to something or if he's excited. He is about 3 months old and will grow to be approximately 18-24 inches at the withers. Ironically, the man who's house he got loose from came by the other night and said he had seen the dog in our backyard and wanted to let us know where he came from. Naturally, we asked if he wanted him back but the man said that he had been trying to find a home for Patches himself!! Crazy, huh?

And, last but not least, here's a picture of our sweet black lab Buster. I couldn't leave him out! He has been getting along with Patches just fine, but we can tell he misses being the only child!

Have a wonderful rest of the week, Everyone!!