Thank you, and my new hat!

Thank you so much to all of you who left me birthday messages yesterday!  I really had a wonderful day, and it meant so much to me that you took the time to comment!

I'm off on my romantic weekend now, but I have a very fun update.  Remember that Secret Hat Project?  Well, I got to open my hat from my friend on Tuesday night.  I love it SO MUCH!  Isn't it beautiful?

Not only does it have a big ol' pompom and some beautiful aran patterning, but my friend made it using one of my all-time favorite yarns, Rowan DK Soft, long ago discontinued.  She had to hold three strands together to get the right gauge.  I'm so honored that she used this precious yarn from her stash to make my present.

One of my birthday treats was that another of my besties, Alicia, spent the day with me.  We had a yummy lunch first, and then went to Oak Park to tour the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio.  I've wanted to see it for years and I'm so glad I went, and that I got to enjoy it with a good friend.  Part of the tour was outdoors, so I wore my new hat the entire time:

 
Thanks again to EVERYONE who helped make my special day even more special.  I've only got 364 more days to act like Sally O'Malley, and I intend to make use of them!

Happy Sally O'Malley Day!

 
In other words:  Holy Crap!  I'm 50!

Like Sally, I like to stretch.  I don't mind kicking either, but I can't really do it in these pants, LOL!

Happy birthday to MEEEEEEE!

I'm heading off for a romantic long weekend with my honey in a warmer clime.  February birthdays kind of stink, but at least turning 50 is fun!  Catch you all on the flip side!

Loot! And gratitude!

Thanks again to everyone who left comments and suggestions on my skirt yesterday. I really do appreciate the input!

I spent most of yesterday working on a muslin for the Lisette Market Blouse (the short sleeved one).  After I cut out the fabric, I serged all the way around each piece.  Way fun!  I don't know if that's the approved way to do things, but I think it's pretty darn cool to have all the seams finished before I even start to sew the blouse! And while I had the serger going, I serged the hem of the skirt too.  So now I'll just have to do a little gathering and press it back, then sew it down.  Fingers crossed!

No more fraying!

muslin - I changed all my threads to white

So even though my birthday isn't until Sunday, I've managed to acquire some loot! Last Saturday, I received a package from my mom.  I was going to save it to open on my birthday, but I really needed a pick-me-up on Monday, so I tore in.  Look what she sent me:

Fitting and Pattern Alteration - it looks like this is going to be an invaluable resource.  I was really blown away.  My mom is the best (for a whole lot of reasons)! Thanks,  Mom!

Then yesterday while I was serging away, my mail lady rang my bell.  She had two treats for me.  First up was the giveaway I won last week from Melizza at Pincushion Treats - two goodies!  First off, an adorable pincushion that she made herself:

I love it that she roams around London (one of my favorite cities in the world!) looking for sweet little bits and bobs to make her pincushions.  I feel honored to own this treasure!  And as if this wasn't enough, she also included a belt buckle she picked up at Liberty of London!

I have big plans for this little buckle, which I'll elaborate on another time.  Thanks, Melizza!

The other treat I got in the mail yesterday was a handmade card and some goodies from my lovely friend Andrea at Stitch Parade:

If you read Andrea's blog, then you know she made her own undies after taking a class a few weeks ago.  She sent me some of the very same stretch lace she used!

the loopy black one

and yellow - my favorite color!

So now of course, I'm going to have to try my hand at making undies too!  Thanks again, Andrea - I'm so touched by your gift!

A little later in the afternoon, I was taking the garbage out and I heard the UPS truck.  The rest of my "serger bundle" arrived.  After flipping through the books, I'm glad I got them:

They have lots of tips and creative ideas for using the machine.  Which, by the way, I've decided to name Sergio.  My sewing machine is a Kenmore, and it never had a name before, but now that I've named the serger, I'm going to call the sewing machine Ken.

Ken and Sergio.  I loves them.