One felt bag...

done. Or nearly so. I still have to sew a lining. I am making this bag for my friend, K. K has been my friend longer than any other- 21 years. and that is saying something. She just lost her mom a few days before Christmas and I was already in a quandry about what to give her for Christmas... There are only so many quilts you can make someone- especially when they don't live in a cold climate- I've made her 3. But I think this little handbag is a winner! I might have to fill it with some luxurious little gifts. It is all sewn by hand- I am going to have to try to make one using the sewing machine, next.

Paul's Feast...
Paul(12) is my still water... you know what they say about still waters running deep. That's Paul. He tends to be quiet and private... but sometimes he just overflows and it is amazing what is going on under the surface of his controlled veneer. He is very smart. He had a really fun feast. Have you ever read any of the Redwall novels by Brian Jacques? Paul's feast was a Redwall feast. There are pages in his books dedicated to the menus of the "folks" at Redwall Abbey. The occupants are mostly mice and small woodland creatures like badgers and squirrels, moles and such. So... think vegetarian. He had scones, sprinkled with sugar, and dried fruit for his appetizer. His main course was macaroni and cheese. He wanted to do fish, but he has several brothers who aren't the biggest fan of fish, so... He had strawberry fizz for his drink- he mixed Hawaiian punch with 7-up. And then his dessert was really spectacular. The kids were all amazed. Apparently shrews are really good cooks in Redwall Abbey. So he served not 1, but 2, shrew cakes. He fixed a yellow cake and a white cake- 3 layers each. Hollowed out the cakes and stacked them on top of each other. He filled the white cake with strawberries and strawberry glaze and the yellow cake- my favorite, with peaches and blueberries with peach glaze. The cakes he covered with cool whip. They were so pretty- these big fluffy mounds and when you cut into them- oh, the fruit! It was really very very tasty- good enough for company and an easy thing to make! The gifts- well, the 4 oldest boys got new pocket knives, and the 4 youngest got those little "break and shake" glow tubes that you can take camping. They took them to bed with them and had a fun time staying up later than they probably should have! It was a very original feast and "tasty" as Abe says.