Another card

Looks like it's time to leave the beach 'cause the sky's  getting dark!  I used several dies on this card, Copic markers, some twine sewed at the bottom and a large, round brad in the center of the flower completes a card with my favorite subject on it - the beach.

Is this the beginning of fall?

It is nippy this morning and is suppose to be cooler for a couple of days...I love it!...but we do still need warm weather to complete some crops......my fall raspberries are still little green nubbins and will need at least 2 weeks to harvest.   But it is time to do some end-of-the-year sauce for the freezer.  My daughter and I gather tomatoes, onions, peppers, basil, thyme from the garden and create the most tasty sauce that can be used on pasta, in soups or beans for winter.   Because we use so many veggies in it, we put it in the freezer and it is so welcomed in January.   So that will be the plan right after Labor Day.   Today I am going to my friend's house to receive some gifts from her garden, lovely lillies, iris and she says other things as well....this will make mine be nicer next spring.  Next up might be the harvest of squash...many of them...too many I suspect for us, so I will be helping the food banks this year.  If you have excess, please donate as well.

We're Back

Back from a mini-vacation with the grandsons. Two days, 2 grandsons, 2 ferry rides, 2 kids museums= two tired grandparents. I am trying to post this quickly before I have anymore computer problems. It says that I have a program that is a problem with my virus protection. And it wants me to find it, why can't it just say it is this program and fix it? Also why didn't one of my children learn more about computer trouble-shooting, no, I am the one they go to if they have trouble with their computers, like I know what I am doing. I am about 1/2 way through my tie in for my warp. What really helps me with my warping is to listen to a book on tape, this time I listened to "Jury of One", by David Ellis. I like mysteries and I don't mind court room drama. It wasn't a new book but one that I got from paperbackswap.com. I have finished it but not my warp, so I really need to get some more tapes. I want to download books from the library, but need a better player than the one that I have. Problems everywhere.

On the ferry

Making bubbles

Amy

Moss Roses

The Latin name for moss Roses is Portulaca, but our Mom said moss roses and she loved them.   They are an annual and grow so well here because their needs are few when it comes to watering.  I love them too. Today would have been our Mom's 96th birthday if I have calculated right.   She was an interesting woman, with a ready laugh, loved a good story, researched anything unfamiliar to her, was a good dancer, gardener, and Democrat.  We all loved her and miss her today. 

Thank you Gail....

they are wonderful!!! and can't wait to see them in person.....my sister Gail is an artist and has worked in most mediums I think but when I talk about her I call her a paper artist...because she truly does love to make beautiful things out of paper........

gardening/paper envelopes

Today we have both a gardening related post and a rubber stamping post together. These are envelopes that Diana asked me to stamp on that she and others are going to fill with seeds to give to people. Obviously I don't really know much about who will be getting the seeds but do know how I decorated the envelopes. Mainly I used rubber stamping of many different company's stamps (I have a gadzillion stamps) then colored them with Marvy markers, colored pencils or Copics markers. Some of them have garden related stickers and others have a little glitter or glaze on them. Some I like and others that I did, not so much. Gail

Not cheap.

Amy, I don't think of you as cheap since you seem to buy and sell looms right and left as well as yarn, etc. You just know a good buy when you see one.

Road Trip

Old warp

New warp

Tomorrow we are going on a one night road trip, riding 2 ferries and visiting 2 childrens' museums with our 2 grandsons. They are staying the night tonight and we are leaving in the morning.  On the weaving front I warped a new warp to tie on to the old one and got just to the last 40 threads and realized that I wouldn't have enough yarn. Most of my yarn is just found here and there, E-bay, yard sales or Goodwill.  Once and awhile I order some new yarn but you probably noticed that I am cheap. Yes, it is true, I am cheap.I didn't have any more of the yarn I was working with so I had to remove those warps and start a new warp.  Which I did and now I am busy tying the yarn together. I have also decided that I need to dye some yarn. I have a lot of white cotton and that just needs to be a different color. I have never dyed before unless you count the times I dyed with Rit when I was a kid. So I am getting the supplies, already ordered and when they arrive I am going to dye. I may even paint some warps, maybe my sisters would like to help.
Amy

Hmmm.....well that is my title below...Garden Journals...and I had a nice photo of a sweet little squash, but it all disappeared  and only the title got posted....perhaps it was the person at the keyboard.   I have taught many classes about growing veggies and always include a part on keeping a journal....it can be a simple calendar, a notebook or something on the computer.   It is important to remember names of things we plant so we can either plant it again because we loved it or never again because we didn't.   It also allows us to point out where we plant so that we can rotate crops.   By doing so, it cuts down on soil borne problems.   We should learn what is in each family too so we don't plant their 'cousins'.   A good example is potatoes, and tomatoes which are in the same family.   But do I follow my teachins'?....no....I have two kinds of winter squash and I cannot tell you the name of either.   Just hope they are tasty and I can find their picture in my spring catalogs so I can tell people when I serve them what they are eating.

garden journals

                                                                                                             

herb butter

I love growing nasturtiums...those big fat leaves and several colors of blooms....but I like to eat them too...both are edible though I have never eaten the leaves, but have seen them used like a cracker with appetizer ingredients on top..... I like to chop the blooms, add some chopped parsley and chopped chives and mix it into softened butter....real butter of course.   Then spread it on sour dough or French bread and heat and eat....so good.   I have nasturtiums growing in a couple of locations and they are so pretty this year.   If your soil is too rich you will only get leaves, so you should plant them in a location that hasn't been amended with compost or fertilizer.  They are annuals and must be planted each year.         On Saturday our MG group will have another class in the garden.   This is more of a walk thru than a class.   We are showing many ways to re-cycle or re-purpose in the garden by showcasing our trellises, benches, pathways, signs and garden art.   We are giving away a tower of glass garden art.   These are the same ones we made in a class.   It is a stack of recycled glass....vases, saucers, bowls, etc...all glued together with Epoxy 6000....and so pretty.

gone to the beach

The inverted scallop circles are Spellbinders Nestibilities dies, the thin blue lines at the bottom are pieces of 1/16" tape I've had in my stash for years, the fish are rub ons, I colored the girl with Copics and paper pieced her dress and hat and the sand castle border is a punch on which I  couldn't find any manufacture name. The colors aren't true as the main card is yellow and the sand is a strong orange. I don't know who the manufacturer of the "gone to the beach" stamp is but I think I bought it at Michael's in the $1.00 bin.

Pillow and Rant

Okay, what do your children think of you? Do you wonder? Yesterday I got an idea of what my daughter thinks of me. I went to see her new house that she is renting with 2 friends. First we met at a store, because she wanted me to buy a house warming gift, a fan. So from there I followed her to her new house. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house that was built just 5 years ago. Very nice, but as I was getting ready to leave she asked me, "Do you know the way back home?" Now we had made 2 turns off a main road, seemed pretty easy to me. But she wants to know if I can find my way home, I was born here! It reminded me of a friend of mine who asked when she would get smarter, she said her daughter was almost 30 and she (mom) still wasn't smart. My friend said that her mother got smarter when she (daughter) got older, why wasn't she. I didn't have an answer since I have a daughter too and appears that I am not very smart either.
Leaving you a picture of the gunny sack floor pillow I made and put in my Christmas box.

Amy

globe thistles

Aren't they neat looking...and yes, they are in the thistle family that we don't like...those weeds that grow alongside the road....but these are ornamentals and dry so beautifully and will be in a wreath I am making this fall.   I worked outside 2 hours this morning again and had to give up because the temperature got hot early.  Things are looking better though and I have finished cleaning the shed.   Took a load to a dumpster and a load to ReStore.  Don't you love to shop at ReStore?....never know what you will find there...I once even saw some headstones with people's names on them......I didn't buy them........Have loved my sister's posts...that sweet pillow is wonderful and loved seeing Gail's shopping list at Borders.   We all hate that they are closing.   Better Homes and Gardens has a holiday edition they put out each year...always with a snowman pillow on the front...at least for the last 3 years and I bought the current one today.   There is a wonderful stenciled pillow in there too.  I also love their Country Gardens editions which come out 4 times a year and always have a shed on the front of them.  The current one has a nifty decorating idea for fall....an old rake head mounted on the outside of a door and has juniper and bittersweet vine entertwined.   Both are on the newstand...but not at Borders....boo hoo.....

Napkins

Cotton Napkins

Close-up of the weave

I finished my napkins that I was weaving.  I got 9 napkins but the first two are not correct.  I got super big floats and finally realized that I had one of my treadles tied up incorrectly, so I had to correct that. So overall I got 7 that I could use.  I donated 4 to the RSVP luncheon raffle, I was so proud of myself since the raffle isn't until the end of October. I also put a picture on www.weavolution.com under the name "ellows."  Ellows happens to be the first letters of my grandson's names. Next I am going to tie on to the warp that I already have on my Gilmore loom and make some more. They may be my sister's Christmas' presents, or not.
Amy

New Project

Look at that fast stenciling!

I have been working on a new project with a little help from my grandsons.  I took the burlap bag that our stepping stone kit came in and I have started making it into a pillow. I had my grandsons stencil the number 5 on it. I choose a 5 because my oldest son was born on the 5th of July. I think I will give him the pillow.  We used Lumiere paint, russet, for the 5.  I really wanted to use black but russet was what I had. I am going to make a pillow form with some extra fabric that I have and for the open end I am going to just run a string along the edge and tie it.  I also have another floor pillow that I made from a coffee gunny sack that my sister gave me.  She thought I could use it in making a purse but I cut it into two pieces and stuffed it and it looks great.  So I put it into my Christmas box, how many of you have a Christmas box?

Number all dried

shopping!

Not at the Goodwill this time. Unfortunately Borders is closing soon so I went there and fortunately for me everything was on sale! Sorry to see them close as they had all the latest magazines I liked to read. Here's what I bought: a golfing book for my husband which retailed for $30; an entire first year series of a television show in CDs or Discs or whatever that retailed for $44; eight magazines, three for me and five for DH which retailed up to $14.99 each and my new lunchbox style box for me which retailed for $30 all for just under $100.00! I went back later and got two things for Christmas presents which I promptly put away and another book for DH and a book for me this time on how to do surface designs.  I'll have to read it and review it later. Here's my new box:

Not sure how I'll use it yet, but I love it. Gail

Outdoor projects

I have been cleaning our tool shed and where did all that stuff come from.....I have hauled 3 boxes of stuff to a dumpster, have 2 boxes loaded for the ReStore and have been sorting nails and screws...and I am about half way there.  I have been able to throw more stuff away because my husband cannot walk out there easily and has lost interest in doing things so I can be a bit brutal and he won't know the difference.   I will continue tomorrow and hope I can get it all done by Monday.   I also have been harvesting from our garden, cabbage, cucumbers, peppers and basil.....and the beautiful photo?....it is from our Master Gardener demonstration garden, a beautiful cardoon in bloom and about seven feet tall.   I have dried these blooms and they are beautiful, but the plant is edible....the stalks, you peel them and can eat them raw or use in recipes.

Thrift Store

My "small" collection

 Pellets that I found at the thrift shop.

Some of the finished bags.

When we went out to lunch the other day, we went to a thrift store.  I bought some pellets to make "I Spy Bags."   I always pick up any that I find because they are pricey if I have to buy them at the fabric store, since I just use them to make bags that I give away or donate.  I started making the bags using one of the forms from www.crafters.margescreation.com/products/ispybags.html.  This is a great site since she just charges 5.00 for a pattern and she has so many patterns and they can just be downloaded to my embroidery machine.  I have a couple but the one I use the most is just a round circle.  Of course if you don't have an embroidery machine, you can make them out of stretch fabric, put in a piece of plastic and just cut the fabric, since it won't ravel. I started to collect small things for the bags and now I need to make some more since my small collection is growing and growing.  I think I will put on a warp for a scarf or two on the loom that I have in my sewing room and I can embroidery and weave at the same time.
Amy

a summer card

Another card for your enjoyment.

The banner is cut from a DieNamics die, the rosette is from a Tim Holtz die, the "thanks so much" ribbon is from another DieNamics die. The white paper behind the butterfly is a Spellbinders Nestabilities die and the butterfly was stamped, colored with Copics and then cut out. I can't remember what company makes the butterfly. Keep stamping! Gail

Last night I was hand watering around my front area and noticed a praying mantid in one of my junipers. And then I looked closer and she had a real grip on a big old grasshopper.   I ran into the house to get my camera...what a photo of her in action.   Wonder if she 'prays' over her prey.  I have been working so hard in my garden.   So much has become overgrown and I have spent 2 hours each morning before the heat comes dealing with all of it.  Yesterday I dug out a load of hollyhocks and lamb's ears.   There is more today.   Hoping that next summer I will have a show garden, but it sure isn't right now.   Not a good representative of a Master Gardener....but then our grandfather was a shoemaker/repairer and our Mom said they never had shoes.

Weaving Tip

Mat on the beam

Mats stored behind a door

Notice I didn't say "Tips" because I really only have one.  Since I am a beginner, I can only come up with one.  When I put my yarn on to the back beam, I like to use mats instead of paper between each roll of the warp.  I know some people use slats from mini blinds but I like the mats.  They are mats that are sold so people can lay  out in the sun.  I find them very inexpensive, I have bought them at yard sales and new at the store.  I paid $1.99 at the store.  They are also easy to store.  That is my only tip, just one.  I am continuing with the napkins, slowly.
Amy

Blog Giveaways

I left a comment on crazyasaloom.blogspot.com because she is giving a rug kit away.  There are 32 comments already, but if you haven't entered, do it now.  I love contests on blogs, alas I have never won any.  Last night I was looking at weavolution.com when I noticed my picture under, "Who We Are," but it was gone quickly, my 15 minutes of fame.
Amy

Lunch and Stuff

We all went out to eat lunch yesterday and we visited a thrift shop.  I forgot to take pictures of what we ordered, I was too busy eating but I did take a picture of the restaurant.  It is located next to the railroad tracks and the backs of the buildings are train cars.  We walked along the boardwalk but many of the stores were closed.  We did stop at one gift shop and of course the cupcake shop.  We discovered that the cupcake shop also sells lunch, we will have to make another trip.  I think we should start going to more local restaurants, like we did yesterday.  Today my husband spent the day making dog biscuits, here is his recipe: 3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, 1 c. white flour, 1 c. corn mill, 1 c dry milk, 1 1/4 c. broth 1c. each of carrots and green beans or 16 oz of frozen chard-drain the juice off vegetables, 1/8 c. oil, 1 t. baking powder.  Blend carrots and green beans into broth.  Mix dry ingredients together then add broth mixture and kneed together.  When dough is ready divide it into 3 pieces.  Roll each chunk of dough into a worm shape and cut off 1/4 inch pieces and put on cookie sheet. Bake on a lightly greased sheet at 300 degrees for 60 minutes.  Check to make sure that they don't burn.  After cooking turn off oven and let them cool off in a closed oven. Air dry till hard.  Our dogs love them.  Our old dog just can't take the ones from the store, bothers her tummy.  Actual it probably doesn't bother her as much as the ones who have to pick up her poo.

Where we ate lunch, a local restaurant.

In this one you can see the back of the building,
the train car.

These are dog biscuits, not what we had at the restaurant.

Giant Reif Red Heart tomato

Another shot of the big guy.

My husband also went out and took a picture of his giant tomato he is growing.  It is from a heirloom tomato called Reif Red Heart.  I got my loom back on track and have woven one more napkin, without a problem.  When I got up this morning my husband was weaving!  He had my little counterbalanced loom up and running and he wove about 12 inches.  I told my neighbor that he was weaving and she thought I said weeding.  She was as surprised as I was.  I am hoping that he will want to weave during the winter, when he can't work his garden.
Amy

Lemon Bush

Here's the trouble with the lemon bush we're having:

-Gail

Weaving Again

Finally got my loom threaded and I wove one napkin.  It looked like I had a threading error, so I cut it off and washed that sample to check on the size.  Corrected that error and wove another napkin and wondered why I had such long floats, then I noticed that I didn't have one treadle tied up correctly and it looked like another threading error!  So I was in the process of correcting that error when I decided to stop and write on the blog.  Am I the only one who has these problems?  I gave my neighbor one of my dishtowels and pointed out an error in the weave, she said,"don't tell me about an errors, if I can't see them they don't exist."  I like that except I can see them.  I am going to lunch with my sisters this afternoon, volunteering at RSVP and then helping my neighbor decide if she can recover a bench for her daughter.  I have recovered a few things but I am not an expert about it.  She is an excellent sewer but not as sure about recovering. She thinks I do a great job. Hah

I love the look of all the yarn straight and tight.

 I always put in a spacer thread that I take out before I hem.  This is the place where I fold my fabric.  I always hem by machine if it is something that will be used and washed by machine.  I assume napkins will be washed and dried by machine.

First example washed and second one bigger and unwashed.

Amy

Gardening

Gail, love your wonderful photo of that produce from your garden.  When you grow it yourself you know it hasn't had chemicals, you chose the varieties you want, and it is very convienent to just go outside and 'shop'.   Also you don't have lots of folks' hands all over your good food.   Beautiful!   I love gardening but I am not alone...it is the most popular leisure activity.   Just read obituaries and you will see just how many people loved their roses, their vegetables, etc.   I suspect my kids will write the same about me.  I found this pumpkin this morning hidden among all that mint that has become a monster.   I plant pumpkins, gourds, etc along a berm that I sort of created.   It is in an area that does not have good topsoil so I began building up the soil in that area a few years ago by sheet composting...some people call it lasagna composting as it has lot of layers.   I think the first I ever read of sheet composting was in a book by Ruth Stout.  She was a 'lazy' gardener and did not till the soil...just composted everything on the ground, pulled it all back and planted each spring.   Her brother Rex Stout was a mystery writer.   I follow many of Ruth Stout's ways except she was known to garden naked and I haven't started doing that yet.

more gardening

This time it's from Gail. My husband has had a veggie garden for a couple of years but this year is the best. We have been eating and sharing a lot of produce with a bunch of neighbors and friends. Here is a pic of some he gathered from the garden yesterday.

another card

Here's another card I made recently.

Saturday Stuff

Airplanes before they were painted.

I do have collection envy.  I love the frogs.  I saw some at a yard sale that was priced for $5.00 but I was just too cheap to pay that much, they were just simple ones, not like yours.  Grandpa has been busy building wooden airplanes at the request of his grandsons, they have finished sanding and painting and next week they are putting little stickers on them. I ran off the stickers from a scrapbooking program that I have.  I have to get back to some more threading of the loom, want to get some pictures of my weaving on the blog, but first I have to start weaving!

Collection Envy

I also loved the card Gail made displayed on one of these doodads, and then Amy wishing she had more......well.....remember a few days ago we were talking about collections and not to gloat or anything....but I have these..quite a few of them as you can see...I love them and there are so many kinds out there....mine are housed in my little potting shed and I love looking at them when I am out there.   And speaking of yard sales, when you don't work, like me, anymore...you can go on Fridays and I did this morning...I was looking for a full skirt for my scarecrow and a nice big pillow for his tummy but I didn't find.   I bought only 3 things and spent $1.50....the dollar was for the angel wings for my daughter to wear for Relay for Life on her Zirkle Angels team...and the 50 cents was for 2 bags of kiddy jewelry.   Natalie came over and went thru it all and when she was I spotted a real opal ring with 10 carat gold.....yes!!!...it is a child's ring and will go to my child, my daughter..who isn't a child but the opal is her birth stone.....Yippee!

Yard Sale

Yard Sale find!  Notice that big cone of black wool, I paid $5.00 for it!

Gail, I love using a flower frog to hold your card.  I have a couple of them that I use for pictures, wish I had more of them.  I went to a yard sale yesterday because they advertised "designer yarns."  I saw some of the yarns in the hand of a women ahead of me so I was worried that I was too late, however I did get some sock yarn, 2 skeins of silk, a cone of some type of unknown fiber and a really large cone of wool.  I think the wool will look good with the rug I am planning with the red and black wool I already have in my stash.  I thought I wouldn't have enough black but this cone will make a big difference, I think I will use it for the weft.  I am planning to get a heavy rug loom in September, I am looking forward to making some rag rugs with all the fabric I have in my sewing room.  On the loom now, I am continuing to thread my heddles, 1-3-1-4-2-3-2-4, 38 times for my napkins, hope they are not too heavy,they may be wash cloths.  Almost done, hope to be weaving this weekend.

I made a card!

I've been working on a small book so haven't taken the time to stamp but here is a card I made. I hope you like it. Gail

Scarecrows

Do they really scare birds?  Probably for just a little while till the
birds catch on....I am registered with the backyard habitat program so I don't want to scare them, but I also love scarecrows and wish I would have kept track of all I have helped make with grandkids as their entry for the fair.  But this year, I am entering one in my name..the grandkids have all grown up and are raising babies.   The one I am working on isn't one but a man and woman holding hands...still needing some supplies to finish but I have till mid Sept. to get it done.   The one I am posting today is one who resides in my potting shed.   She keeps me company out there and looks a bit like a librarian.   She isn't named but perhaps I should work on that since she is a permanent resident.

I created one jar of pickles yesterday, yes only one but that was all the cucumbers I had with my first picking.   There will be more as I see lots of little ones.  I make a sweet dill and they are so easy and always popular.   I also picked beets and made Harvard beets for dinner and harvested a nice Savoy cabbage.   It is wonderful what a litle seed can produce for our tables.

Gray Hair

This is the little loom I have on E-bay.  I love it's
small footprint and it is great for scarves.

Glad to see that Diana got her camera working and posted that great picture of the drying rack.  I love the look of a baby crib springs. I have seen them used for bulletin boards on www.junkmarketstyle.com.  The reason for the title of gray hair is that I think I may have more since yesterday.  Yesterday I decided to make cookies with my grandsons and everything was going well until one of them decided to sit on an egg, just to see if it would hatch, it didn't.  Then when we went to the store the same grandson started to get out of the car at the store when I noticed he didn't have his shoes on, this store will not let you shop without your shoes (don't ask how I know that), so I had to go to another store and buy shoes since we were at a store far from home.  He wanted the shoes with wheels but I said that anyone who forgets his shoes just gets flip-flops. The rest of the day went okay except my husband made marshmellow shooters for them.  If you haven't made those for sons or grandsons you really should do it, they are great fun.  Same grandson shot marshmellows over the fence into our neighbor's pool!  The joys of being a grandparent who babysits.  On the weaving front I have threaded my reed and I am now threading the heddles.  I also am thinking of buying another loom, so I put one of my other looms on Craigslist and E-bay.  It is a great loom but I already have 2 others and I am thinking of getting this other one.  Are my sister's interested in a road trip?

Everlastings

That is what they called them in the 'olden days.

But we know them as just dried flowers...and they can be dried in quite a few ways but I use the hang up and let them dry method the most.   I have been outside because the heat of the day is the best time to cut and hang them as there is less moisture.   My drying rack is made of an old baby crib spring that I have suspended from the ceiling of my little potting shed.   It sure smells good in there.

Hey, I got one on here!...but it took forever....so I will settle for my first published photo!

photo frustrations

so I bought the new camera and took some photos and now can't put them on here..and I guarantee you the subject matter was great and the pictures were good too....I wanted to showcase a collection or two that I have..and since I am the gardener they would have been garden related...I have quite a few miniature tools and they are all in a tin bowl and of course are charming...also a few brass nozzles and then some small shelves  full of frogs...not the croaking kind but those doodads that you use in the bottom of vases to hold flowers...they are collectible and see them in antique stores.....all of us sisters have 'stuff'....good stuff of course...and we aren't hoarders...no we are a bit more organized......   This trend has not passed on to my daughter who says that when I leave this earth she is selling the house with everything in it so it makes it easy for the next collector who might buy it. 

Monday

I did my usual Monday-leading exercising with my assisted living group and volunteering at RSVP.  My husband and I also attended a memorial service for my neighbor, he had been our neighbor for 20 years.   It made a very long day.  Yesterday I put a couple of things on E-bay.  I love to knit and I could knit for hours and that created carpel tunnel problems in both my wrists, so I stopped knitting.  Then I had surgery in both wrists, started knitting again and now I am having more problems, so I stopped knitting again.  So a few months ago at Goodwill (you know I may be going there too much) I saw 3 Weave-It looms, 2 of them 4 inches and one 2 inches.  And I thought that since I had given up knitting maybe I could weave in the evening while watching tv.  But they hurt my hands too.  So I put them on ebay, one sale is for the 4 inch and 2 inch, instructions, booklet of weaving patterns, needle and many squares already woven.  The other sale is for a 4 inch and instructions.  I was going to show you a picture of the Weave-It but Blogger doesn't like my pictures today.  I also have about 3 more sections to put in the reed for my napkins.  It is a good thing I am not a production weaver because I would starve, it takes me so long to get my loom set up to weave.

Stepping Stone and Weaving

Getting ready to thread reed, notice
I number my treadles with painters tape.

I found a stepping stone kit at Value Village awhile ago and used it Thursday to make a stepping stone with my grandsons.  The kit came in a little burlap bag (I think I am going to make a pillow out of the bag), it had the cement, dye to color it and some little rocks for decoration.  I already had the form to make the square, since I have made a couple of them for my daughter-in-law.  Everything went smooth except we put in too much water and had to wait a bit to add everything.  We are going to place it in the garden on Tuesday when the kids are back at our house.  Also on Thursday the director assistant at RSVP called and asked me what I was going to donate to the luncheon in October.  Each October they give a free lunch to everyone who volunteers for 36 hours during the year.  I have donated something for the last few years, so I started searching for a weaving pattern to try.  I found a pattern for napkins in a Handwoven magazine (May/June 1993).  I didn't read it well and thought I would only need half of the thread ends since I wasn't doubling the warp threads, just using a bigger thread.  Then I reread it and it said to use 432 ends, which I will have to do, just not use double thread.  And just to clarify for my sister, I do not go to Goodwill everyday, maybe just a couple of times a week, I live close.  However my husband and I went to a town about 30 miles away today and I stopped at their Goodwill and found a weaving book!
Amy