Stashbusting - My emergency kit

It was June 2007. Bug wasn't quite a year old that day. It was the first time she was spending the night at Aunt Joan's. My hubby and I had planned to go out on a date, and maybe even for a movie. But it is not what happened that evening. 

I had a bag of mulch that I wanted to spread in one of our flowerbeds and I convinced my hubby we should take care of it before heading to the restaurant. Unfortunately, a bee colony had taken residence in that flower bed. Both my hubby and I got stung a few times by and angry swarm. No big deal.. just a sting or two was not going to prevent us from going out, right?? 

Within a few minutes it was clear we were indeed still going out... but to the ER and ended up spending most of the evening there. As it turns out, I'm extremely allergic to bee stings. Since that June day, from the end of march to the first frost, I carry an Epipen with me everywhere... just in case.

Lately one of my co-workers and myself have been walking during our lunch break. And of course the Epipen has to come along. It's not exactly convenient to put in a pocket but carrying a purse for a power walk is not ideal. 

This is my solution: A see-through sleeve that I can carry around my neck

I used some vinyl , grey corduroy and made bias tape out of grey fabric, all from my stash

In the back I added a small pocket with velcro closure to put anti-histamine pills 

There is my emergency kit.

I hope I will never need it again but I feel more relaxed going out being prepared for the worst.

Trading posts - Fall wreaths

After a long break over the summer, Amie (Kitty Cats and Airplanes) finally met again for a long overdue crafty afternoon. On the menu: Fall wreaths. Amie had bought a great wreath at one of our Goodwill expeditions but somehow it stayed at her place so the first thing we did was to run to Home Depot to grab a couple of pieces of pipe insulation to make a low-cost support. Not perfect but it does the job.

Amie helped me to turn out fabric tube after fabric tube so that I could get started on my project.

 Sewing a length of yarn inside each long tube  made the job way easier

Amie loved learning a new trick ... and making silly faces for the camera.

 Then she went to work on her wreath ... twisting gazillion yards of yarn.

 That's a LOT of yarn

 and this is what I did with my fabric tubes. Yes it's braided around the wreath support. Since I'm stashbusting, I couldn't buy ribbon but the fabric tubes worked out great.

And for the final touch, a few felt rosettes

 We had a great time as usual and finished the day sharing a pizza and ice cream with the hubbies and Bug of course.

  

9-11-01 9-11-11

In my head, the images of that day are still so clear

The terrible images and this feeling of utter horror and bewilderment

How can anyone ever forget?