Hip Hip Hooray!  I have a sewing machine!  Just in the nick of time, too.  The March/April Tie One On deadline is tomorrow.  I am happy to say that I've got some sewing to do!  Back tomorrow with an apron and pictures of the sewing room later this week.  Joy!

Finding caterpillars

Wearing new flip flops

Fresh flowers in the kitchen

Margaritas while we cooked followed by a family dinner outside

Hope your weekend was just as nice.

...but a lot of swapping!  Let me tell you, I love good mail!

The box from my mellow + yellow swap partner, Amy, has been here unopened for over a week.  I finally got my swap package off to her on Tuesday.  Once that was done, I ripped open the box and found this:

Isn't it great?  My very own ice cream bowl and spoon!  I know two little girls that would love to get their mitts on this, but, no way.  This one is for me.  The color is a wonderful turquoise topped off by a lime green daisy.  My two favorite colors together again.  Thanks Amy!  It's wonderful.  And thank you, Marta, for organizing this swap.

I am sure tomorrow's mail will be of the ho hum, ordinary variety.  Too bad - I like the extraordinary kind much better.

...for Kirsty's vintage button swap package to get here from Australia.  Only 7 days!  That amazes me.

What also amazed me is the supreme goodness in the package.  Take a look:

Can you believe all that yummy stuff?  And the colors...greens and aquas...swoon!

I love this sweet pincushion with the layered yo-yo's.  It is sitting on a beautiful tiffany blue tray cloth.

See this vintage green ric rac (eek!) and a moo card, too?  I am so lucky!

Saving the best for last.....the buttons!  If pressed, I would have to say the big green flower is my favorite.  Or maybe the green one that is on the envelope.  Or maybe the white oval-y one.  OK, I can't pick.  They are all so fabulous!

Thank you Kirsty from the bottom of my heart!  Your package made my day!

I love the shadows the afternoon sun made on the sewing room wall.

The room is almost finished.  I need to hang some things and put a few more items in their proper places.  Oh, and vacuum.  This little room requires a very thorough vacuum job.  It amazed me how many threads were on the floor once I cleaned up all the other stuff covering it.  But I digress....The room is coming together nicely.  I smile every time I walk in there.  It's going to be a very happy place.

The machine?  Well, that is an entirely different story.  The new parts came in and were installed successfully.  Hooray!  It just needs more new parts.  Yup, more.  These are covered by warranty (a pleasant surprise) and have been ordered.  So I wait...

The weather this weekend was beautiful.  The girls had soccer games and spent tons of time playing outside.  Fatty and I pulled our deck furniture out, I oiled it all and we celebrating by eating dinner outside.

I was in the mood for a summery dinner and was so happy to find corn at the market.  Kate and I shucked it (or shuffled it, as she says), Fatty grilled some chicken, Jane helped set the table and the four of us enjoyed our first outdoor meal of the year.  It was great and, even better, we had Papa (my dad) here to share it with us.

Good food and family - it doesn't get much better than this.

I had my hair cut this morning.  It is such a nice way to start the weekend.  Enjoy!

Do you ever make something and it just doesn't turn out how you had hoped?  I am certainly guilty of that.  Remember those tiny yo-yo's I made back in the fall?  Those were a bad idea - just too small.  They sat forgotten under a mound of fabric until this week.  Then I shifted the pile to my table and looked at them each time I went in there to clean.    So this is what I did:

I strung them on a piece of embroidery floss.  Why?  I don't know, really.  I didn't want to throw them away, but I don't have a use for them at the moment.  I kind of like them strung up like that.  And where did the lone red one come from?  I can't even remember why I have that.

I think I am going to hang them on my inspiration board, once I make it, that is.  Maybe they will inspire a project.  A doll quilt, perhaps?

The good news...some pattern filing and some memo boards to make for the sewing room and I will be 98% finished.  The other 2% - well, it requires a sewing machine.  That's the bad news...I am still waiting.