This is what happens...

...when Dan works third shift! *grin* I don't know why, but when he's not around at night there are LOTS of things that "go bump." I can usually convince myself that someone is standing outside the front window staring in at me through the wreath. I feel compelled to run over and turn the porch light on in an effort to expose their peeping ways! I lock, double-lock, and vaccum-seal all our doors (well, I would if I could). I typically turn every light on in the house. When I'm up in the bathroom, not only do I lock the door, but I also open the cupboard and slide out the cabinet drawer. Just to give myself a bit of extra protection, in the event an intruder gets past my ever-watchful rabid dog! And speaking of rabid dogs, it doesn't help that Abby barks at everything. And if I was honest, her stupid dog door isn't exactly helping me defend my fortress either. I pray an awful lot before I close my eyes. Not that I shouldn't every night, but it seems all the more essential when I'm home alone.

Yes. I'm. A. Wimp.

Along with being a scaredy cat, I also stay up super late 'cause I'm afraid to go to bed. Monday night I read through three books until my eyelids were too heavy to keep open. Last night, I tackled laundry....and this bag!


I didn't have a jelly roll, but I went to Smith Owen on Saturday with my mother-in-law and spied the pink plaid and floral. It was just begging to become a bag. The dot is from my stash. Because I have a stash. Because I'm too much of a wimp to cut into my fabric. Because I like to look at it. A lot.

Yesterday I visited the Moda Bakeshop and spied Jodi's bag. Perfect. I'm pleased mostly with how it came out --- only one sad note. I bent/broke my first needle! I got my sewing machine for Christmas in 2006 and I've been sewing/quilting ever since. Never, ever have I ruined a needle. Perhaps it was time. I've also never, ever replaced the needle. I admit to being slightly panicked when it happened, mostly because my machine kept blinking and jamming and blinking and jamming. But I was able to loose the fabric, remove the needle, unjam that thingy that runs up and down, and in general restore order. I'm having some tension issues, so here's hoping I can smooth those out. I'm thinking of framing the needle. *grin*


The fabrics, I know I should be better about this. The plaid and floral were in a line called "Close to My Heart" and the dot is from Moda -- I just don't know which designer. Happy? When I go into a store, I see "pretty"...I rarely if ever look beyond the price per yard, fabric content, and washing instructions. Selvedges, they're what I cut off and toss. Hehehe...

p.s. I also successfully canned jelly last night, in between turning on the lights and locking the doors! I made watermelon jelly -- and used my stockpot with pasta insert as a canning stand-in. It worked. I'll spare you the "goofs" but all-in-all the process {pun intended} went smoothly. All six of my jars PING*ED when I pulled them out of the "canner". I am pleased. My jelly is pretty. I just hope it sets up! My only other canning attempt was disasterous. I knew nothing about the task, so I just did what I figured you were supposed to. I made apple butter, poured it into a bunch of {cold} mason jars, screwed on the {cold} lids and caps, and dropped {literally} the jars into a pot of boiling water, no insert in sight. As soon as my jars hit the bottom of the pan they shattered/exploded. And I wept. Well, not exactly --- but I was pretty annoyed. And swore off canning in favor of freezing. That was over 15 years ago and I just now decided canning was worth another try. A great book for smaller households like ours is The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving. It's excellent, and has a lot of unusual recipes!