Don't change the sheets!

Today's blog is about my twist on Direct TV's ads.  Don't you just love their commericals?  Anyway, back to the task at hand.  The majority of today was spent replacing the ceiling fan in our bedroom.  It all began with my feeling the need (imagine!!) to change the sheets. When I shook out the clean sheets they got tangled up in the chain and jerked out this guy!

Note the DETACHED chain.

It should have been an easy switch, pull out wire #1 from old switch and insert it into hole #1 on the new switch, the onto wires #2, #3, and #4.  Not in our house, we want to get things done quickly. We take out all the wires and of course, don't pay any attention to where they were to begin with.  This makes it impossible to use the replacement switch...

Since there are no fan switches with wires attached, we now have an entirely new ceiling fan that took the whole afternoon to shop for and install. Isn't she grand?  Lesson learned?v  Don't change the sheets!  8-P                                     Tomorrow I plan on making some great bags for the shop...

Can't touch this, or why I come with baggage!

Anyone who knows me is well aware that I come with baggage, and needles of several types and sizes.  On our recent Fiber Tour through the Midwest, I was reminded of why I must use bags.  It was the day of my future GREAT grandson's baby shower, and I was rushing out of the elevator with a project for him in my purse. (Purses are never large enough for me as will soon become apparent.) Halfway across the hotel lobby I felt a pull on my ankle and looked down to see the baby hat I was working on wrapped around my leg. I began to follow the yarn back to the elevator and shrieked when I saw it continued into the closed elevator doors!  The lobby clerk came over to see if she could help and saw my angst. I began wrapping the yarn strand around my hand....it would slacken, then tighten, and slacken again, until it broke. The clerk seemed happy until I told her there was yarn missing. We stood there staring at the doors wondering if the elevator was going to fail.  The elevator doors opened and a nice man stood there; he said "Does this belong to you?" and handed me the ball of yarn.  I was so grateful that both the elevator wasn't broken, and I had the yarn to finish the project below.  Now, we're just waiting for Wyatt to come and use them.  

I'd love the opportunity to make a similar set for someone you know or may be looking forward to meeting.  These were made with a sock yarn with the colors that Wyatt's parents have chosen for his room.  Sock yarns come in a beautiful array of colors, and solids as well. Please head over to my Etsy store and convo me if you're wishin' and hopin' like we are.

In My Blood

Although I've officially signed off as an educator, I discovered during this year's Summer Tour, Fiber 2012, that I do love to teach.  The first step along this line was to teach my brother-in-law and his wife to use a table saw.  Rob took to it like a duck to water; he ended up buying my table saw. I'm very proud of the farmhouse table he, Elaine, and I created.  (The credit really goes to Rob because all I did was cut the wood.) I'm eagerly awaiting a picture of the table after its been finished.  We used a plan from Ana White and modified it to meet their desires, and the beautiful wood they chose. Besides teaching them to use the saw, I really enjoyed working with Elaine as we selected which boards to use in the table top, then watching Rob and Elaine discuss the actual placement of each board.  It was so much fun to work through the construction process, selecting each piece of wood and making sure the grain was highlighted to its best before we actually cut the wood.