Five Small Plain Blue Buttons

We had our first significant snow fall last night and the world is blanketed in white this morning. It's pretty and... from what they said on the news last night... it's going to snow most of the weekend. That's when pretty wears off and the joy (not) of shoveling begins.

Speaking of joy (not) I went to the dentist yesterday to have two fillings replaced. Apparently my mouth is getting old and starting to fall apart. Really? How not like the rest of me. While I know they meant well, I wish they hadn't asked me every two minutes how I was doing. I felt like a case... which I am... but let's not make it so obvious. I like my dentist but can't stand the dentist if you know what I mean - and - asking me every two minutes was driving me crazy. It's a little hard to protest when your mouth is stuffed full with rubber and cotton. Mumble mumble. After I take Kyle to work this morning, I'm going back. One filling is a bit too high and I can't close my mouth or chew. It's a new diet plan - how to be crabby, hungry, and thin.

I highly endorse STARTING. Once I did, I spent most of the day in the studio and had a fabulous time stitching. Ideas flowed. Just start. It's good.

After the two hands were stitched to the front of the bag, I embellished them copying the "wedding ring" idea from the Ruth bag. Rather than rings on every finger, JoAnna is the type to thoroughly enjoy one ring on each hand.

The large expanse of stitched taffeta seemed a bit plain. It's amazing how long you can spend in your button collection to come up with five... small... plain... blue... buttons. They add points of interest, fill in the background, and balance the developing design without taking over.

This button is from a black cardigan that JoAnna bought for me at second hand store. She would rather have bought it for herself but she'd reached her closet quota for that month and wasn't "allowed" anything more - meaning self imposed guidelines - only she couldn't leave it behind because there were seven gorgeous beaded buttons on a $2.00 sweater. It became my gift. I'm not sure if she'll remember but it seemed appropriate as did...

... this dragonfly bead. For years, every summer, we made a shopping circuit where we'd spend the day driving in a big loop stopping at whatever shops intrigued us. One of JoAnna's favourites was a gift shop whose name had something to do with dragonflies. I can't remember exactly but I do remember that they used brown bags with a stamped dragonfly on the front and that it's somewhere between Kelowna and Penticton. It's most likely not there any more but...

I'm working on the back of the bag now. It uses some more souvenirs of explorations which I'll show you tomorrow. A specific project like this contains both creative fun and creative push. While it doesn't necessarily have to be a gift, a project with a challenge and a theme and some guidelines can be a really good thing. And remember to enjoy the process. It's not all about the end project, it's about the journey to get there and - if you're lucky - you get a bonus masterpiece too.

Carrie - a strata unit means one where the maintenance is taken care of by fees paid. In our case, it's a townhouse complex although the unit we like the best is half of a duplex.

Remnant - Someone told me rather forcefully the other day that blogging is a waste of time. I appreciate the encouragement

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - to be stitching again and that my car is all wheel drive vehicle and safe in snow