Picnics and purses

Yesterday was our Sunday School picnic. It's an annual event with lots of food, fresh air, and outdoor activities for all ages to enjoy. Yesterday, the activities were varied - ladder golf, croquet, and of course, the usual swinging, jumping, and climbing.


What? You thought I meant swing sets? C'mon! This is farm country!

Over a plate full of food, I was introduced to a new family that has been attending our church - mom (Martha), dad and two young kids. In the course of conversation, a few of us got on the subject of purses - handmade, homemade and brand name - and my new friend told us that she recently attended a party where the hostess gave every guest a purse.

"All the others were squealing with delight at the name on the purse, but I don't know who it is," she said. Between bites of lasagna and taco salad, we tried to guess who the maker was, decided it must be Vera Bradley, and the conversation drifted to other things.

This morning, Martha arrived at church carrying her purse. The same group of picnic-purse-lovers gathered around her to admire her ... ta-da ... April Cornell purse!

Tonight, after the evening service, Martha walked up to me, held out her purse and said, "I want you to put this on your shoulder." I thought she wanted me to feel the weight of it (she knows I make purses), so I did as she asked. It felt light as a feather.

"I want you to have it," she said. "You know about it and will enjoy it far more than I do." I couldn't believe it. She barely knows me, yet she hands me this prize possession just because it will make me happy.

I am humbled by her generosity.

Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over... Luke 6:38

Perfecting the purse

A couple of months ago, I made a purse for myself. It was nearly perfect - a zipper pocket here, a different fabric content there and it would have been the best!

But nearly perfect is not good enough. I could have handled the no zipper pocket issue, but the premature wear on the fabric re-e-e-e-eally bothered me.

The solution? Write the first one off as a learning experience and make another one. I added a zipper pocket, a floral flap closure, did some resizing and this how it looks.


I'll give this a trial run. Sometimes it's nice to be the guinea pig.

But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. II Corinthians 10:17

What a day!

Did you ever have a day where everything went ... right?!!! I am almost giddy wondering what to start next while I'm on a roll.

This morning I finished my purse project. I have been putting off the final stitching, just sure that my machine would balk at the multi-layers. Amazing... it zipped together just like it should and here is my finished product.

I have been working on a cupboard project for a few weeks. It is a new (for me) process that involves many layers of paint, complete drying between coats, multiple sandings... today was the day I finally got past the base coats to the lovely blue topcoat. After hours of drying time, I cautiously started sanding back... It works!! I'm loving it!

My altered books session with the 10 yr-olds has been postponed one week and scaled back to card making. This takes the get-it-done-now pressure off my sample book, so I'm looking for additional bird items that are unusual, or pictures that are beautiful just to please my eyes. I found my bird hose guide snuggled up against some newly opened daffodils. Perfect picture.

I could go on ... really ... I could... This day has been wondrous. But I'll stop and hope that tomorrow is your day.

Fear not, little flock: for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32