Labor Day was a day we all "labored" when I was growing up...Mom believed it was a day for cleaning inside the house and working in the yard.  Of course we thought it was a huge task but with two parents and 6 kids it probably only took half a day and all the kids played the rest of the day.

So yesterday Hal vacuumed the Man Cave and main floor while I cleaned out the two circular corner cabinets.  Then I took the vacuum to the shelves and drawers in that area to clean up the crumbs that somehow gather there. A little scrubbing took place, too. We both took down curtains in kitchen, living room and dining room and into the washer they went. When the came out of the dryer they got rehung...now the rooms look fresh and we can say we "labored" on labor day...

Oh yes we got to play too: had a cook out at Janna and Lance's along with granddaughters, neighbors and other friends. A nice way to end the Labor Day weekend!

Puffy Dahlia Motif Granny Square/Discloth

Boiled Popsicle Stick Bracelets for OCC Shoe Box Gifts

My friend Tricia Price pinned a popsicle stick project that I decided to try to make Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes  bracelets.  Looked like fun and it has been fun :) Already had partial container of popsicle sticks

so added some to a pot of  water and boiled them for 15 minutes.  Found it is best to leave them in the water and work with one stick at a time to shape them and place them in a container or they dried too quickly. The small juice glasses worked best for a child's size bracelet.

This shows an "unboiled" stick next to those drying in the juice glasses. When 2 of the sticks came out of the glasses they did not want to keep their shape so we clipped them and banded them until they were dry.

Here are the dried bracelets waiting to be decorated. More photos when they are completed...

Completed Needlework Projects

Completed Needlework Projects:

Completed crocheting this simple striped toddler's sweater today, sewed on the buttons and added it to the completed list :)

Last night crocheted the edging on this pink and white head band to go with the pink and white scarf. The yarns are fun fur and 4-ply to give it some body and keep its shape.

This is a dimensional flower dishcloth in cotton that I completed last week. Plan to sell the pattern on Etsy.

Completed Project: Apple Dish Cloth

Finished this Saturday night and last night while watching Longmire (and talking about our visits to Colorado) sewed on the leaves. This will be added to another birthday gift bag for yet another sweet friend who collects apples. Looked on line for patterns and crocheted this from a photo...guess you could call it free form crochet? Crocheted the leaves from memory of past projects.

Americana Pillow

This evening finished the Americana Pillow to go on the deck along with the Americana table cloths. It definitely has the patchwork look :) Fun to do and glad it is done.

Also got these granny square hot pads ready to add to a birthday gift bag for a dear friend who has black dishes...think she might enjoy them.

UFOs and De-Stashing

Been pursuing a new goal: complete "UFOS!"  Trying my best to "de-stash" both yarn and fabric. Have completed some simple pieced tablecloths shown in above  pictures.

Have been crocheting a baby sweater of Caron Simply Soft in soft yellow, green and white. Will upload photo when completed. Also knitting a pink and white fun fur scarf. As usual like to keep several projects going at the same time: one for in the car, one for watching TV, and one to take along to activities :)