Makings & presents

 I made it to see my parents on Saturday. It's over an hour drive but I can break it up by stopping at a rest stop or whatever. I don't usually bother but when I hit the 3rd stop and roll, I decided I needed to get off the highway. I waited until it felt late enough for an early lunch, and I got there right before the lunch rush hit. Yay me.

After I saw Mom, I was going to meet Dad at the pie shop we usually meet at (right around the corner from Mom), but the management there turned out to be human and closed the place for 2 days so staff could take a vacation. At least, that's what the sign said. Not great for us, but good for them.

Dad gave me bells that used to hang in Grandma's house. They might once have been attached to a door on one of the businesses that Grandma and Grandpa had.

 

He also gave me my birthday present early (yay, presents!). The box lid is a Diné sand painting (I have marred the image, to move it farther from the original sand painting. I am sure the artist adjusted it, but I am reluctant to post it on the Internet without further changes). 

I gave Mom and Stepmom their Mother's Day presents (a scarf for mom and earrings for stepmom). Mom also got a card, so she'll remember I was there. I packaged both of them in an origami box I made from calendar pages. Calendar pages are stiffer than most paper and usually colorful. 

And this is part of the reason I really don't like Bradford pears. This limb was somewhat damaged, I think the black might be rot, and look how it ripped off in a storm.

Now look at the size of the the branch that came off.

 

Thursday, I watched the NC History Museum History and Highballs presentation, on zoom. This one was Missing History: Jewish Life in Western NC. I love history, especially the bits that didn't get covered in class or when it's more in-depth than what we learned when I took history classes in high school and college. It's how I learned about the Lowery War.

I tatted the tiny teapot from Karey Solomon's book Bring on the Buttons, in silver during the presentation. It was my fidget project.

After the success of Gina Butler's hair bob, I used one of the patterns from the same book to make one in a different color. I made it Sunday and wore it Monday, because it went really well with the blouse I was wearing.

 

Friday, my old friend Felicia called. She lives out of state now but her family are still local. When she's in the area we try to meet for lunch or something. Last time she came, we didn't manage to meet but I told her about Scrap Exchange. So naturally, she blamed me for having to pay the fees to get the very nice, very discounted, very heavy craft tool (cricut, maybe, I don't remember) home. She said very rude things, and I cackled the entire time. 

I found this not so little one next to my car as I was headed home the other day. According to iNaturalist, it's a tussar moth.

I cut squares to make a charm bag (see a previous post). They weren't pre-cut, but I dug out my rotary cutter and mat. I need a 3rd fabric for the drawstring casing. It's some fabric I've had on hand for some time and it felt good to actually use it.

I took scraps from the previous drawstring bags I made, plus orts from tatting and loom knitting and stuck them into these tiny glass bottles. I may have to get those ball ornaments or larger bottles to hold more.