Bag Lady

Amy Butler fabrics are simply fabulous. A couple of years ago, I made a purse from one of her lines. It’s called the “Annabelle.” The ultra-low cost of material in the purse was made up for by the time spent sewing the decorative stitches! I estimate it took me two or three spools of thread and close to six hours in sewing those sections. The directions were very easy to follow, plus it was a great excuse to try out the decorative stitches on my sewing machine!

The result?

After I made that one, I decided to make a larger bag as a tote for my gradebook and school “stuff.” This is the “Miss Benson” bag. I did make my bag a little larger than the pattern called for so that my gradebook binder would fit inside with plenty of room for ungraded tests. Larger bag=longer sewing time.  Fusable fleece makes these bags sturdy and able to stand on their own. The patterns for the two can be purchased from Purse Strings Patterns.

 This final purse was made for me by my mother. I don’t have the pattern name handy, but I have seen several like it in books.

“We Cause Scenes”

New and fascinating websites are quite enjoyable. With that in mind, I’d like to direct you to an old favorite… 

Every once in awhile I like to check in on the shenanigans over at Improv Everywhere. If you’ve not heard of this NYC group, make your way over there. Right. Now. You may have heard of their “No Pants” stunts before. On a day in January, Agents (an army of volunteers) get on the subway not wearing any pants. Of course, regular riders are perplexed and giggle. Then at some point later in the ride, a person gets on and, you guessed it, is selling pants. That stunt has happened yearly, like the Mp3 experiments. However, my all time favorites are the “Best Buy” and the “Look Up More” missions. There are videos and photos and you get a well-written play by play.

One recent mission involved red headed Agents protesting at a Wendy’s. Why? Read, find out and enjoy.

Dog Days of Summer

We’ve got a steamy week going on around here, folks. The temp hovered around 100 today and there doesn’t seem to be a let-up in sight. Looking for a definition of what the dog days really means? Look no further.

It’s back to school time (que Adam Sandler singing here). I was at my school today working in my classroom- teachers officially start Friday, but today was orientation for the kiddies and there was work to be done in the room prep arena. I may be the biggest nerd ever, but I just love the first day of school. I do. I adore it, actually. New folders, freshly sharpened pencils, squeeky sneakers. Plus, all of the kids are really well behaved, be it temporarily. Somewhere around the second week that honeymoon ends.

Speaking of dog days, I do know someone who will be none too happy for me to return to school. 

This little buddy will go into system shock when I’m not there to play with and all he’s left with is the sound of NPR to keep him company. Yes, that’s right. We leave good old NPR on for the doggy. That was the husband’s idea, but I like the idea that at least someone’s talking to him when we’re out. Ha!

I’m also excited to continue adding to my book-o-student-quotes. A friend gave it to me when I graduated college and told me to jot down funny things that kids say over the years. Here’s a highlight from last year to tide you over until I hear a new one. [Setting: during a class academic competition, covering all content areas]

Me: “Round one bonus question. Health class. Name the three layers of the tooth.”

Team of students discusses

Student A, in her most sincere voice ever: “We have our answer. The three layers are the enamel, the root and the grill.”

Other students in the room giggle, as do I. Eventually hilarious laughter ensued. What’s funny is that they really thought that was the answer. If you are unsure as to why this is funny, let me direct you.

I promise- no spoilers!

I return to the land of the living… or at least the land of the blogging. Oh how I love reading into the wee hours of the morning in order to finish a great book. The final installment of Harry Potter (no, I promise not to give anything away) was just plain fabulous. I had several suspicions and a little over half of them were correct. Funny moments in books usually make me smile and they have to be down right hilarious to make me actually laugh out loud- this one succeeded. If you’ve read Deathly Hallows, I am referring to the scene with Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange. My favorite scene? Harry walking into the woods. That one really got to me. Wow.

The next in my reading line up is The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson. I’ve barely started it and am already really enjoying myself. Someone recommended his humorous writing style and I think I could get hooked.

In the world-o-crafting, I am trying to finish up the tea towels for my best friend’s birthday. I am doing them as a set of seven, and plan to embroider the days of the week on them. I am pondering the possibility of adding some extra pizzazz to them- perhaps a “Manic Monday” or a “Sassy Saturday”. Thoughts? As I mentioned before, the designs are quite a bit more modern than your grandma’s geese in bonnets.

 Sorry for the lame photos. I used the digital camera instead of the Digital Camera. I’ll have to right that wrong later.