The Purpose Fairy

I read a couple articles from this blog last week and I've been thinking about it a lot. I've been thinking about a lot of things a lot, especially improving my mindset and my world around me.

This list was going around Facebook the other week and I finally learned about The Purpose Fairy, an inspirational blog with "ideas and suggestions about life." I checked out some other articles and got a great daily dose of emotional sunshine. Let's face it, we all need it.

Some great quotes to think about:

Ne te quaesiveris extra - Do not look outside of yourself for the truth


“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”  Ghandi


“Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?”


Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to.


“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”Winston Churchill


Beauty is not in the face, but rather a light in the heart.


Whatever it is that you want, you have to want it more for someone else.


"How you treat anybody is how you will treat everybody"


My goodness, I could read for days and I suggest you do the same. I guarantee it will add at least one random act of kindness to your day.

The Old Sewing Box

For most of my life, it seems I've been in a constant battle to organize my craft projects. This year, I made the goal to approach learning to sew on my grandmother's machine, a terrifying prospect for many reasons. Particularly because it means opening the floodgates to even more demands for materials, tools and space to a hoarder-in-the-making.

Yes, it's an actual fear of mine that I may one day be buried under my own craft projects if I don't rein in my hobbies soon. Maybe whittle them down a bit. (Hey, whittling! That's another thing I've always wanted to learn!)

I appreciate that my fairy godmother sought out a bona fide sewing box for me to use instead of stacking wicker baskets and shoe boxes full of random needles and thread. Consolidate, consolidate. I don't like having multiples of things just to have multiples of things, but the essence of crafting requires having a stock of materials. Knowing where to find them is kind of a big deal.

And I really like that having this sewing box makes an official statement, like an academic's regalia. Like, hey world, look out cause I'm a sewer now! Maybe I'm over thinking it.

So here's my basic start into my sewing stock, and the work in progress for perfecting my craft room (of which there will be a post, just as soon as I can get it into presentable shape for the "after" portion of the before and after transformation!).

-pin cushions
-thread
-bobbins
-rotary cutter
-thimbles
-extra machine needles
-tracing pencils
-seam ripper
-seam gage
-extra machine light bulb
-good fabric-only scissors (these live on my machine table, since the moment I put them away, I immediately need them out again)

What's in your craft basket?

What do you like to make?

Before the Fall

Before my crazy fall on Sunday, I actually had a pretty rockin' weekend. It started with a craft super sale to stock up on sewing machine essentials, then an efficient Target run to stock up on everything else. (Who else loooves that place?!)

And then, a party! Proceeded by this sunset:

My friend, Kitty, had a send off before her 4-month voyage to New Zealand, where she'll be bicycling and racing her way around the country. I would sneak into her luggage if she could spare 120 pounds of dead weight.

Dishes accumulated as guests arrived.

More food appeared, including beautiful homemade tortillas. I brought Caesar salad, my official potluck dish (as in, don't bring Caesar salad if we're going to the same party).

A highlight of the party was the opportunity to use the infamous creepy van cake mold, a treasure discovered at Goodwill. Aside from Scooby-Doo, we couldn't come up with any other appropriate theme to make a cake shaped like a creepy van. Until now.

I especially like the lightning bolt. The cake was gluten free, from a Bob's Red Mill mix. It was surprisingly delicious! (But I've never been disappointed from a Bob product.) Is it also ironic that I ate the piece that said "or bust" the night before my climbing snafu? Shoot!

The frosting was a glaze made by a sneaky lemon impostor and unfamiliar citrus. To find out who did it, stay tuned!

Bon voyage, Kitty!