Just 3 Things | #51

I didn't really have the intention of making Just 3 Things a series when I started back in September of 2025. However, it really seems to work as a good way of wrapping up a week and combining different things I'm thinking about. At any rate, here we are with volume or episode number fifty one. That is sort of a good feeling for me - the fact that I have stuck to this concept and that I have had three things to write about for fifty one weeks. 

- What I've Been Reading -

On one of the Kindle Deal of the Day or some such special recently was a book by one of my favorite authors of late. I began reading The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews this week. It has been a very good read. 

A young lobbyist is left in a bind when the firm she works for is caught in a political scandal. She reluctantly accepts her father's offer to help refurbish an old family property that he just inherited. She soon learns that the property is in sad disrepair and rolls up her sleeves to try to salvage it. She also learns that living in a small town finds everybody sort of knowing all about her and everything that is going on in her life - even the run-ins with the FBI, who are investigating the political scandal of her former boss. 

I'm enjoying this one just as I have others by this author. 

After creating a Mistake Bag and an oversized Boxy Bag last week, I've closely followed the same tutorial to create another bag this week. Well, I did modify it a wee bit by stitching a thinner fabric at the zipper and attaching that to upcycled denim. I just think stitching the zipper to the denim would make that sort of bag have a lot of bulk there at the zipper and would not work out well. 

I used a piece of denim that has a seam because I had seen that done in some other bags that folks had made. I centered the stacked monogram for the grandson between the seam and the end of the bag. I used a bandana as the contrast fabric and for the lining. The width of the bag is much narrower than the first denim boxy bag I made for another grandson and this one holds its shape much better. I used a bandana with an Aztec design because I had used a fabric with a tiny windowpane check as the contrast for the pencil pouch for this grandson. I think they coordinate together quite well.

Again, I used the same font and thread color for the monograms to tie them together as well. I plan to stitch up some sort of coin pouch for the two guys. I don't know what other type zip pouch a young adolescent might need. Oh, I know that we all have treasures and supplies that could be corralled in a zipper pouch but I do want this to be something that will be useful with an intended purpose and not just a collector of stuff. If you have a suggestion for my guys, please pass it along. 

- What I've Been Watching -

We tend to watch a lot of shoot-em-up programs on the television. You know, police shows like Chicago PD or Boston Blue or Sheriff Country or even good old Adam 12. I think the reason we like those programs is because most of the time the good guy wins. I always tend to wonder how many of the episodes is based on an actual event. Sometimes I marvel at the creativity and sometimes I wonder if there really is such anger and violence out there. I guess yesterday I learned that folks really are full of anger and tend to want to take that out on whoever they can.

The Mister serves as the manager of the local community cemetery. He sells burial lots to folks who need to bury a loved one, meets with the grave digger or funeral home folks to schedule burials, meets with the monument companies to show them where to place a headstone, and other public relations type tasks such as those. Yesterday, he left home to meet someone about their cemetery lots. While he was out there he picked up some trash, flowers that had blown off a lot, and just generally check on how things were looking. While he was there, he noticed a hand full of cars were parked in the cemetery but there was nobody in sight who might have been visiting a grave.

The Mister parked under a shade tree and was reviewing his burial records and a guy pulled in behind him and began gesturing and yelling. So, the Mister rolled his window down and asked the fellow what was going on only to be met with anger and vulgarity. He told the fellow that the cemetery is not a parking lot and was informed that the housing development next door had sent information that paving was scheduled for the next few days in the neighborhood and overflow parking should be in the cemetery. The Mister kindly explained that public parking in the cemetery was for folks visiting a grave site, funerals, or folks doing work there. To which the fellow grew even more agitated and threatening and called the Mister a backwoods, redneck... and threw in several choice other descriptors. Someone nearby overheard and called local law enforcement. A county deputy and a local town police officer soon arrived on the scene. 

The officers listened to both parties - the Mister and the agitated fellow. The Mister said that he was so upset that he could feel his whole body shaking. Of course, the officer told him to take a breath and calm down. Then, one of the officers suggested that the Mister should call the Home Owners' Association for the neighboring housing development and let them know that the cemetery is not where their residents should park. That suggestion was not well received and the Mister let the officers know that it is not his duty to inform them not to use property that does not belong to them. The officers agreed to contact the Home Owners and straighten things out and escorted the agitated fellow out of the cemetery. When he got home, the Mister was still kind of upset about the whole affair.

Who would have ever thought that serving in the capacity of cemetery manager - a role that is one of service, empathy, and good will - might become one where there could be danger of any kind? I'm sure the agitated fellow was frustrated with the paving situation and could have been having a bad day. He probably was just taking his unhappiness with all of that out on the Mister. I know that we all have bad moments but the whole incident helped me to realize that some of those television programs probably are based upon real life incidents. I would far rather watch something like that on television than think of my husband involved in such a situation, though!

This has been a much more laid back week for us and I like those kind. For the most part the days have been ordinary with just a few ups and downs thrown in for good measure. I really do like ordinary days and a calm, smooth week. I hope we can rock along with ordinary days and very little ups and downs - just roll along at a leisurely pace for a while!

VFL Baby Gift

A former coworker is preparing to give birth to her second son. The eldest is nine years old so she is basically having to start from scratch again - unlike when I had my two, who were less than two years apart. Whew! I don't know which age span would be better but I do know that a new baby can be a LOT!

My friend, like me, is an alumnus of The University of Tennessee. She is one of those folks who is also truly a Vol For Life. With the first baby, I asked my daughter to do some embroidery and applique work and I stitched the different pieces together. This time I am doing it all on my own. Yay, me!

Again, I went with a fan favorite and every piece is a nod to our alma mater. One of my favorite things to give as a gift for a new baby is a personalized swaddling blanket. For this gift, I used orange checked fabric and grey flannel. One side will feel soft and warm and the other side will feel cooler, yet, cozy. I wanted to tie the power T from the other pieces in with a sweet little hound dog applique that we had used on the older brother's gift several years ago. So, I first appliqued a power T to the corner of the checked fabric. Then, layered the dog's face on top as if he was resting his chin on the top of the T. Finally, I stitched the new baby's name below to personalize it just for him. 

Now, the new baby will have his own university collection that is similar but still personal like big brother's. I love it when I can create something special and one of a kind to give as a gift!

Happy Birthday, Jessica!

 

Ride on, girl!

Happy Birthday, Cassie!

 

Hope your last year of being a teenager is full of wonderfulness!

Just 3 Things | #50

I've had a busy week. I feel like it was a week with a lot of accomplishments. So, that is always a good thing. I've done quite a bit of sewing. The Mister and I got flu vaccinations. We attended a couple of meetings related to our volunteer work. We've cooked some tasty meals and completed some home maintenance chores. 

- What I've Been Working On -

After a mistake bag was created earlier in the week, I was not going to give up on the idea that was in my head. I pulled out my upcycle jeans again and cut the pieces for a new bag. This time, I decided to run a quilting stitch across the denim to give it a little different look but still follow the same concept. This time I watched the tutorial and paused for stitching. Then, watched a bit more and paused for stitching, and so on. This time, I didn't have the same sort of mistake. This time I made the bag that was in my head.

This time I had a different mistake, however. I set up the monogram using the same font as before but this time I set it up in a more traditional way. I placed the quilted fabric on my magnetic hoop just like I did for the previous one. However, this time, the movement of the hoop brought the presser foot much closer to the magnets holding the fabric. That caused the fabric to move because the magnetic force pulled the magnet toward the presser foot. I had left the machine to make a quick trip to the bathroom and when I returned, I had a mess. I stopped the machine, took the fabric out of the hoop and picked out the mess. Then, realigned it and picked up where it had left off. The the first letter - the H - looked alright and the 'fix' wasn't even noticeable. Then, I started the machine to work on the second letter. Again, the magnet interfered and caused a mess before I could stop it. This time, I couldn't get the fabric rehooped precisely and was not satisfied with the result I was going toward. So, I stopped the stitching and went back to the drawing board with another piece of the denim. That meant I had to repeat the quilting process on a new piece of fabric. It was a small price to pay to satisfy my own standards. Thank goodness I hadn't already attached the zipper. That made it far easier to choose starting all over again with that side. This time I used a different hoop with no magnets and just spent more time pressing out the creases from the hoop when it finished embroidering. I added loops at the end of the zipper like the Boxy Bag Tutorial suggested. I also added a strap for a handle using a contrasting denim from a different pair of jeans.

Boxy Bag for Harris

I really like working with the denim. I'm wondering if I should have used foam to give the bag a little bit more structure. The batting gives it a nice heft but the weight of the denim just doesn't hold the shape like I thought it would. It is soft and will hold a lot of toiletries or whatever needs a teen boy might have for traveling, a sleepover, or storage. I showed both bags I had created to another grandson and he suggested using the taller tote for toiletries and that a pair of shoes might fit in the boxy bag. I don't think Harris's shoes would fit, though - he's got a pretty big foundation! 

I believe the boxy bag would be a good size toiletry bag even if I cut it down a couple of inches like I mentioned I could have salvaged the mistake bag. That would have just made it about 3-4 inches more narrow. I guess I have some tweaks to make before stitching up my next one.

Denim Bag Set

I like the idea that I've created something by upcycling old jeans. Most of the garment was in good shape with just a rip or small thread-bare spot. The jeans had been washed enough times that the fabric is soft but not worn out. I've been reading about how much of our clothing goes to the landfill and I'm glad I didn't add to this problem. 

This makes sort of a set for a guy. Everything is not created using the exact same contrasting and lining fabric but the denim and font choice is a consistent thread that ties it all together. I've stitched up a pencil pouch, a boxy bag, and the zipped tote. If I have time, I may make some sort of coin pouch for lip balm or coins or a pouch for some sort of small treasure. Even with the different shades of denim, the bags all look good together and are all functional without being feminine. That is the goal I was shooting for.

- What I'm Loving -

I've continued down the baby gift path this week. This is a gift for another former co-worker. She is a fellow alumni of The University of Tennessee and her blood runs orange. Almost ten years ago she gave birth to a son and my daughter and I constructed a UT themed gift for the little fellow. When my friend, Jessica, announced to me that she was expecting a baby later this year, she mentioned that she loved the UT gift I had given her for her eldest. So, that made it easy for me to know just what to stitch up. 

Power T Appliqued on a Onsie

I tried my hand at stitching on a ready-made garment. Boy! Wrangling that tiny little onsie into a hoop and getting it stitched was a lesson in dexterity. It is so cute, though. The miniature nature of it just makes me smile. 

I also stitched up some personalized burp cloths. One side of each features Tennessee fan favorites. 

Two Burp Cloths for a Tennessee Fan

The other side covers up the back side stitching and makes it softer for baby. I added the new little fellow's initials to personalize and make them unique.

Personalized back side of Burp Cloths

I picked up some light grey flannel and orange gingham to make a swaddling blanket as well. That will be today's project, I guess.

    

I created a Christmas ornament for big brother. He is a baseball player and I asked mom what his number and team colors were this past season. So, he is getting a personalized ornament in team colors of two-toned blue.

I love having the opportunity to give personalized gifts without a huge investment. I don't have to order and wonder how things will turn out and wait for a shipment. Plus, I can create them myself and that makes me even happier. 

- What I've Been Watching -

I haven't been watching much TV lately. I've spent more time watching tutorials, I guess! One thing that we have enjoyed watching is the Drummond Ranch videos on YouTube. Some are as short as seven minutes and others are a little over a half-hour in length. We tend to wait and watch several at a time so that we have an hour or so of TV time watching life on their ranch. We love watching them work their cattle and seeing the equipment and setup. For farmers, I guess that is speaking a language we know and helping us to envision how we would like to have our place set up. We can relate to the hurdles they have in a lot of ways - washout of cattle gaps and weather issues and fixing fences. If you love farming and ranching, we highly recommend it. If you just want to learn more about where and how beef gets to your table, it is pretty good to watch as well.

Fall is in the air and landing on the ground around here. The leaves are steadily drifting down all the time. The Mister blew the leaves off the porch one day and it was noticeably littered with more a day or so later when one of the granddaughters blew them off again. We are grateful for the shade and appreciate the beauty of all the trees in our yard but they do cause a bit more work in the fall. We are planning to attend a cattle grooming workshop this weekend and take along a couple of the grandsons. If we are going to continue to exhibit these Hereford cattle, we feel like we need to learn to fluff them up and make them show ready. Hope you have a fun weekend!

Mistake Bags

I stitched up a zipper pouch/bag yesterday that is a really nice one. However, it is a big old mistake!

I watched a really clear video tutorial for making a Boxy Bag. It looked like the perfect size for what I wanted and seemed pretty simple. Much like smaller pouches I had made for the granddaughters but a good size for guys to use for deodorant, shampoo, soap, etc. for traveling. So, after watching the tutorial no less than three times, I decided to give it a try.

I cued up the tutorial one more time and listened to what size the creator recommended for cutting the fabric and size for the zipper before pausing the video and cutting my pieces. I was even confident enough that the process would be fairly simple after watching the straightforward, wonderful video that I went ahead and cut the outside layer pieces to make three of the bags - one for each grandson. 

Then, I went back to the video and watched the next part. I decided that I wasn't going to use a heavy loft batting and would just use the same sort of batting I'd used for the girls' similar pouches. I did, however, adapt it a bit and added a strip of cotton quilting fabric for attaching the zipper to because I was using a heavier weight fabric for the bag. I thought that would reduce the bulk at the zipper and make it easier to zip. I reinforced the cotton with a piece of interfacing to give it a bit more structure but not be so thick for attaching the zipper. Construction was running along smoothly. I monogrammed one side of the outside of the bag and it turned out exactly as I had envisioned.

Then, I stitched up the bottom of the bag and lining like the tutorial showed, leaving an opening in the lining pieces for turning the bag. For some reason, I didn't go back to the tutorial after that. For some reason, I went into autopilot and proceeded like I've done numerous times. I took my nice, sharp shears and cut the squares out on the bottom edges to form the corners. Then, I realized my mistake. I could have salvaged it by cutting the bottom off but that would have made the bag four inches smaller. I didn't know if that would be large enough. So, I just proceeded and completed the boxed bottom pouch that I have stitched up several times. It is just in a much larger size.

The good news is that I have very little invested in the bag. Of course, I had purchased the batting, interfacing, and zipper, but the lining is a fabric that I bought before this grandson was even born. I saw it when I was purchasing fabrics for swaddling blankets for him and liked it. So, I got it and thought I would make him something with it later. Well, thirteen years later, here I am stitching something up with it! The outer fabric was an upcycle of some of the Mister's jeans. He had ripped a pocket or torn a hole in the knee or something and I was about to toss them before I had the brilliant idea to upcycle them somehow. So, free fabric!

The bag turned out pretty nice and will be useful, I'm sure. It just isn't the design that I first had in mind. In retrospect, since I added the strip of cotton at the top for attaching the zipper, I probably could have cut the bottom off the bag and rolled with it in the design I had first intended and it would have been approximately the same size. At any rate, I have a completed bag that will be useful for something with low investment cost, and it is personalized for the eldest grandson. I'm going to call that a win!

Stitching Gifts

I'm focused on stitching up gifts right now. I have so many things I want to try out and create. Having this sewing and embroidery machine has inspired me to be creative and each day I look forward to making something new. 

I was recently invited to a couple of baby showers for gals I used to work closely with before I retired. One of the new mothers is expecting her first child. She has wisely chosen some sweet items and registered locally to give friends an idea of what sort of things they would like to have for their new little one. When I chatted with her, she told me that they have not decided on a name as yet. So, adding a good old southern monogram is out of the question unless I simply stitch the last name initial. That is what I decided I would do.

Swaddle Blanket

I noticed that most of the sweet little items my friend had added to her gift registry were soft blue or sage green in color. So, I browsed online for a fabric that might work within that color palette. I stumbled across a sweet periwinkle blue Laura Ashley fabric that has a vine and alphabet print. What could be better for a teacher's child than the alphabet? I quickly ordered the fabric from an Etsy shop. Then, I looked for a companion fabric to use with it and landed on a periwinkle gingham. For the swaddle blanket, I used the same tutorial that I had used for my own grandchildren because it is a nice size and the grandchildren all enjoyed using the blanket even after they were beyond the swaddle stage. The tutorial can be found HERE. 

Burp Cloth #1

I decorated a couple of pre-folded cloth diapers for her to use as burp cloths. For one, I used the fabric print and appliqued the initial onto one side and stitched the entire last name below it using he same color thread. (I cropped out the last name to respect their privacy.) Then, stitched a rectangle of the fabric to the back to soften up the back side and cover up the back side of the stitching.

Burp Cloth #2

For the other burp cloth, I monogrammed a large initial and stitched the name below it as well as added a strip of the gingham to the back side. 

Monogrammed Zip Pouch

With some of the remaining fabric, I stitched up an 8" x 10" simple zip pouch. The print fabric shows on the outside with a lining of the gingham fabric. I appliqued a scalloped circle of the gingham fabric on one side and added a monogram to the center. Then, trimmed out the bag with a gingham zipper pull and loop for the D-ring and swivel hook. I made a wristlet that snaps onto the swivel hook and added my friend's last name to it. 

Pouch, Bag Tag, and Wristlet

I used the same applique shape and created my friend a bag tag by adding her initials. I thought she could use a little treat created just for her!

Christmas Ornament

The last addition to the gift is a Christmas Ornament. The back side of the ornament is pictured above. I monogrammed the last name initial onto the center of a piece of stiff felt and added the year right below. The front side features the print fabric with an overlayed applique of the gingham right through the center where the half-moon shapes are on the right and left of the ornament. I stitched the last name onto the gingham. 

All of the pieces really turned out to look sweet and beautiful. The companion fabrics and using just the simplest of appliques and fonts stitched with one color thread really brought the whole look together. I love the embroidery designs that come in several size options for one price. That makes it so easy to coordinate different pieces and uses for the design. I hope the new mom likes the gift as much as I enjoyed stitching it up!