Beach Meadows, Babies, Bags and Bubbas!

(Edit: In case you are wondering about my Spinning Wheel, and why I haven't been mentioning it at all lately, it has been at the Spin Doctor's, waiting for its new flyer and bobbins to arrive from the USA -- Good news! they arrived yesterday and my sweet husband, T, delivered the package to the good Doctor this afternoon. Yay! This means I could be spinning very very soon! Yay! The Spin Doctor is also fixing up my friend J's wheel ... it is really awesome to have such wonderful resource like him so close - thank goodness for the spinning weekend at the Wile Carding Mill, or I may have been too shy to call him up to ask him to examine my treasure!)

It was a busy weekend (busy enough that I am just getting around to blogging about it today!).

I grew up in a little community called Beach Meadows, and attended a 3 room school house from grades primary - 8. Once I was on my merry way to university, the school board closed my little country school down (a sad day indeed for a tight knit rural community!).

About 15 years ago, a community group formed to run the school as a community centre/recreation facility; each Fall they have a big 2 day craft sale that my mother, sister and I all take part in (it is a big bonding thing for us girls!). We each have an area of expertise ... my mom bakes and does the best. pickles. ever., my sister does rustic painting and country collectibles, and I do jams, knitting (sometimes) and whatever I can come up with to fill my spot on the table (I tend to be the wild card! I don't really have "specialty" so pull together some random craft each year).

This is our booth this year ... we did really well, and my sister ended up having to go home the first night to make more product to sell the next day (generally, that's a good sign). She is a self-taught painter, and does really nice work - her work always sells well (she is being goofy in the picture!)

Moving on to the "babies" part of this post ... my sister brought home her 2 boys for the weekend .. Baby O came with us to the sale ... if you look closely, you can spot him in one of the picture above. Big Boy Jack spent the 2 days with his grandfathers and his Dad, doing "guy stuff" - I heard a drive in Grampy's truck may have occurred. (Caution - cute kid pictures ahead - don't say you weren't warned!)



What, you may be asking, is that little redhead holding in that picture? ... Jack just turned 3 and is having a hard time giving up his bottle (aka "Bubba")- it is a comfort to him. He has been complaining to my sister that the cold milk makes his hands cold at bedtime, and often asks her to wrap it in a blankie or sweater. Aunt Heddy to the rescue - my sister suggested that I make him a Bubba holder. What kind of Auntie would I be if I said no to that sweet little face?

He likes it alot, carries it around like it is a mug, and I think he finds the fuzziness of the felted wool soothing.
It has been sending me into fits of giggles whenever I see it - it makes me think of coffee and I keep thinking "Jack is just no good before his morning Bubba" (actually - that may only be funny to me) -- anyhow, it turned out cute, keeps his little hands from getting a chill and will likely prevent the bottle from breaking if it gets dropped on a hard floor - my work here is done!
Partly for the sale and partly for the relaxation, I made this bag Saturday night ... I really like it -- it may become my purse for daily use (I am a bit of a nut for the "right" shade of red). It is slightly bigger than my SWS Booga bag and just the right size for all my stuff (which are all, conveniently, red).