Turkey & Trimmings to Tree & Trimmings

Are you kidding me!!!! 

Is it that time again, already???

Okay, okay, Rudolph...just one more putt!!!

Introducing CITexasGal's SLING BAG COLLECTION

From the  DESIGN WALL to YA'LL...HoHoHo!!!

This really should be called the Stash Buster Bucket List Bag since the fabrics are from my UseIt or LoseIt Fabric Stash.  It also fits the 4R's Bucket List...especially the Re-Sale part.  I must admit, however, I have picked up a few fabrics to compliment and coordinate with the 'Themes' of the Sling Bags.  For instance...

The Western Sling Bag

Here are the properties... functions as a purse with a padded phone pocket embedded in the front panel.  Features a loop for hooking your keys which hangs from the interior strap on the same side as the phone pocket.  The inside has two 'Triangle Pockets' for separating your wallet and small make-up bag.  The entire bag has a layer of batting sandwiched between the exterior and the inside lining.  The strap is a comfortable width on your shoulder or can be carried on your arm with ease.





There are Themes for Pets and Vets.  My dog Dolly's Vet loved her 'Doggie Bag'.

Then there are the popular paisley and chevron patterns.  Let's call them 'The InThing Sling'. 

 

I'm working on more. 

The 'Made To Order Sling Bag' Fabric Options are in progress.

 

The Western Swing 'RideEm Cowgirl' is READY for Orders.

RideEm Cowgirl....$38...plus shipping.

To Order...email

collectintexas@gmail.com

payment and shipping options available.

Here Is An Idea...It's Homemade, Honey!

Do you know the history behind Black Friday?   I didn't, and was surprised it is a documented event from the 1960's.  You can read about it HERE on Wikipedia...or not...you may be sick of hearing about it.  Since every business from A to Z has flooded the news paper, TV, social media and billboards with their Doorbuster Sales.

Then of course there is the Online Shopping that floods our email and smart phones.  Yikes!  Before I get off on a tangent about Black Friday, I'll just say I don't SHOP on this day!   I WORK!

Yup, hard to believe, I know, but 'Crafters, Sewers and Fabricaholics are big time 'Doorbusters' on Black Friday.  Why with deals like these, if I wasn't working, I'd be a Hancock Fabrics Black Friday Shopper, too.   They were there before 6AM standing in the dark, waiting for the door to open.  I tell you I felt like 'SueScissorhand' after 4 hours of cutting yards and yards of fabric. 

The REAL UP SIDE to Black Friday Shoppers' at local Arts/Crafts and Fabric Stores...they are the ones who give this Commercial Advertisment a 'Positive Promo'...

I like this idea. I am a local craftsperson!  I love homemade, honey!

Notice I didn't claim to be a 'Baker'!

Wordless Wednesday....The Joy of Cooking

Thanks Irma!

I am Thankful and Joyful this Thanksgiving!

I am not cracking eggs or your cookbook!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!



Chevron or ZigZag?

Does it matter?  It all depends on who you are talking to.  Old School Sewing Gals, like me, know this pattern as 'Zig Zag'.

It's been around for ages and once the Zig Zag stitch came out on sewing machines,  Zig Zag became a universal term.  How do you say it in Spanish, German, Swedish etc?  Zig Zag!!!

What about Chevron?  In Texas, it's where you fill up your gas tank.  Yes, I know it has origins in ancient heraldry, and does appear on several of my Ancestors Coat of Arms.

After all is discussed and done over terminology, it comes down to knowing the pattern can be called either or.  Thank goodness, cause the fabric world has been flooded with ZigZag/Chevron patterns.  I'm a fan!

Aren't the colors fantastic?  The fabric weight is 'Duck' or light weight canvas.  Perfect for bags.  Oh, and these are two of  my latest bag designs.  I mentioned making bags last month, and am just now getting around to showing them to you.

I have TWO styles in this bag.  This one which functions as a purse with a padded phone pocket embedded in the front panel.  It is designed for easy access to your cell phone.  A loop for hooking your keys hangs from the interior strap on the same side as the phone pocket.  The inside has two 'Triangle Pockets' for separating your wallet and small make-up bag.

No more digging to the bottom or dumping everything out to find your stuff.

The other style is an All Purpose Tote with the Quilter/Knitter/Crocheter in mind.  It works great for small to medium sized projects to take along when you travel or join a 'Sit and Sew' group.  It has two triangle pockets on the inside for keeping your Needle Case and Tool Bag separated.  The entire bag has a layer of batting sandwiched between the exterior and the inside lining.  The strap is a comfortable width on your shoulder or can be carried on your arm with ease. 

All this Bag Sewing is part of my 4R's Bucket List, and I am happy to say that it has made an impact on Repurposing Quilt Blocks, Recycling Vintage Linens, Quilts and Batting, Renewing a Bag Pattern and Reselling.  Yep, they are selling and special orders are welcome. 

Best of all, I am having fun being back on my sewing machine. 

I've even used the Zig Zag Stitch a time or two.

How about you...do you Zig Zag?

Ye Olde Sock Yarn Saga Entitled...Living With 'SSS'

Once upon a time I wanted to knit socks.  A relatively simple thing to want to do for someone who could do the basic knit and purl stitches and a few more exotic stitches like YO, SSK, K2tog,P2sso, and URSo InOverURhead.

Sure enough, I was so in over my head with thinking Sock Knitting was for me.  First of all, I am a 'Once Is Enough' gal.  Yup, that is a real problem when it comes to making TWO things just alike.   I contracted SSS (Second Sock Syndrome), a dreaded knitters affliction that OIE people need intense therapy to be able to make Twosies!

 So, there I was with ALL the stuff Sock Knitters must have to knit socks.  Stuff like Double Pointed 'Nightmare' Needles the size of toothpicks...like one pointy end was not enough...then the YARNSSS.  About those, I'll just say this....holy teeney thin thread.   You would think it was spun by spiders with allergen infusions.  I knew it came from sheep and other wooly mammals, but I was somewhat surprised that Panda preferred produce was also a profitable and prolific pointy needle perfect for socks product...ie bamboo.  With that in mind I acquired ALL the Right Stuff to become a proficient sock knitter, took lessons, and tried every sock technique from 'ToeUp' to 'Cuff Down' to Mismatched Pair', but....



...I failed.   Simple as that!  SSS ran rampant through my veins.

 

Finally, I swapped off most of the 'Spider Spun' stuff with my Master Socker friend, and filed away the 'Nightmare Toothpicks' for future dinners of lamp chops...which, by the way, Texans do not eat.  HEB does not have them in their meat market as most Texas grown sheep are SSS'ed (Sheared Shipped Sold)  back East.

So, what does a Rehabbed SSS sufferer do with what little Sock Yarn she has left? 

 

She CROCHETS SSS's...Simple Soft Scarves. 

Thankfully, there is not enough thin thread in a skein to make TWO, and the pattern can easily be adapted to mix up crochet stitches so no TWO SSS's have to be just alike.
 Like this simple Arugula Scarf instructions: 
Ch 200 for the scarf.  If a different length is desired, simply chain to the length desired.
Foundation Row:  In the 4th chain from the hook, dc, then work one dc in each ch to the end of the row.
Row 1:  Turn, ch 3 and work 1 dc in the first stitch and in each stitch to the end of row.
Repeat this row two more times.  (Sue's Switch Stitch....on row 3 ch 4, turn and triple crochet to the end of the row.  Then on 'Ruffle Row' make the 3 double crochet stitches between the triples.  Makes for a lacy look). 
Ruffle Row:  Turn, ch 3 and work 3 dc into the first st.  Work 3 dc in each st across the entire row.
Finishing:  Weave in ends.  (Pictures and Pattern on Fiber Flux website...HERE)

I am well on my way to having SSS's for...

...Santa Stocking Stuffers!!!

Wordless Wednesday...Measureable Wealth

A persons wealth...

can be measured by the love of their children.

What's In Your Laundry Basket?

By this time of the year, my 'Scrap Basket' is overflowing.  That is if I've been sewing.  And I have.

Does that sound like a good reason for not blogging?  It will have to do...it's all I've got.  Well, then there's...I've been gone...and, I've gone back to work...at a real J O B.

As before, it's part time.  As before, it's at the local fabric store, and as before, it's a den of iniquity temptation for a 'Recovering Fabriholic'.

I'm not taking any 'I won't buy more fabric' vows!  I know better than to make a liar out of myself.

So, what's in your laundry basket?  Silly question, I know, and I'm sure you have laundry in yours, where I have an overflow of unwashed....
FABRIC SCRAPS!

What do I do with them?  I make 'Mug Rugs', pot holders, diddy bags, place mats, crazy quilt blocks, and so on. 

Those little things make great gifts, and who doesn't need pot holders.  My family stays well stocked with pot holders, and now that they make a heat resistant lining on the bolt, they are not just for hanging above the stove and looking pretty.  I like to see them being used, afterall they are washable and they are familiar with the laundry basket...the place of their origin.

Can you guess who's mug is going on the next 'Mug Rug'?



About Collecting and Family Collectors

Once again in the last few months, blogging has taken a back seat to....well, what can I say, but....everything else.  In October, the Sew Frazzle Frenzy got overdone, and now in November...well, y'all...I simply Fizzeled Out!  Yep, a screeching halt!  An 'I Am Shut' sign on the door and just below that sign another one...'Gone Fishin' Collectin'...Be Back Whenever.

 

So, today is 'Whenever', and believe it or not, my Sister now has MORE Collectibles than I do.  I am thinking I may have an 'AddOn' to this blog title.  CollectInTexas Gal&Sista!!!  What do you think, Sista?

 

Now you know where I have been 'Fishin' Collectin', and even though Sista recently downsized some of her collection, she still has a wealth of  wonderful stuff to share. 

Yep, this will be a welcomed change in CollectInTexas Gal....just what I needed for a fresh perspective.  Of course, I will mix in my usual 'OverDoSueness', the 4R's Bucket List, and my own 'All Over The Place Collections'. 

Also, the plan for the New Year 2015 is to get back to OUR Family History Blogs.  I say OUR since Tracks of My Georgia and Texas  Genealogy blogs are 'Sistas' family, too. 

Oh Yay!  This is going to be fun.  Thanks, Sista for the 'Inspiration'.

By the way, Y'all, this will be news to her, too.  She will be just as surprised by this new direction as you.   Let me tell you a little about how Sista collects.  She is a Thrifter...that runs in the family...she loves vintage...another familia thingy...she is Bohemian...a maternal ancestral trait, and she is an 'Earth Angel'.  Yes, she is a caretaker of our environment with the greenest thumb you will ever see, a love of gardening, plants, recycling and critters.

Three of her Critter Collection.

Did I tell you she is an Angel here on Earth?  Just like Our Mother was!

 

Sew Frazzled...So Glad!!!

If I were blonde...this would be me. 

Yep, my salt n peppery hair is frazzled!

My crown of Snippet Strings has spread to more places than my head.

And

Oh My Stars!  My Sewing Room/Studio...

...Looks like the day after the Day of The Dead.

Witch It Is!!!

Sew, I'll be baaaaack...when the 'Studio-mess' returns to...

...THIS...the 'Studio-neatness'.

 

Welcome November!

Here's a bit of November History.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln, declared the last Thursday of November to be a

National Day of Thanksgiving.

I'm So Glad!!!