Happy 2014, Updates, and a Project That Will Keep You Warm

Happy New Year, everyone!  Yes, I'm still here.  It's just been rough around my house the last three weeks.  My kids and I all had the flu which started for my son the day before school break. I caught it two days later, and Ella got it a week after me (two days after Christmas while we were out of town visiting family).  My son recovered the quickest (like in 4 days) while Ella and I are still dealing with chest congestion, coughing, and fatigue.

Oh, and did I mention we adopted a second cat during all this?  Well, it's more like he adopted us! He showed up at our back door two weeks before Christmas, and after chasing down a lead on a missing kitty we thought was him but wasn't, we resolved to keep him.  He's named Aubie (surprisingly, my Alabama fan husband came up with it) and sometimes called Pumpkin, and we all love him dearly.  As my son says, "He's the cutest kitty in the world!"  I must agree, Aubie is pretty cute and one of the sweetest cats I've ever owned.  Our 15 year old female cat is not as pleased about this family addition as we are, and we are hopeful that she will finally come to accept him and share her space with him.

The past couple of days, I've finally had the energy to get back into a routine of sorts.  I've managed to sew up two or three things for Ella for some upcoming posts later this month.  Please be sure to check back here often or sign up to follow sewVery through the Bloglovin' button in the sidebar to your right.

One project I'm very excited about is the Snowflakes & Lace series that I will be co-hosting with my friend, RaeAnna, from Sewing Mama RaeAnna.

Starting on January 13th, RaeAnna and I will be introducing at least two bloggers each day with links to their amazing projects that involve lace! RaeAnna and I will share our own creations at the end of the series on January 18th.  The series will include a link-up party so you, too, can share your lace creations, and we'll even have a giveaway for patterns and a little sewing kit!

We'd love for you to help us all find lace inspiration by pinning projects you've made with lace or pictures you've found of clothing, accessories, or home decor that is adorned with lace.  Just be sure to include the hashtag #SnowLaceSew when you pin the item so we can find it and add it to our Pinterest board.  It should be a lot of fun!

 

And speaking of Snowflakes, there are still a few on the ground here and the temperatures have plummeted to the single digits for the high.  Definitely not what we are used to here in the South. Our heat pump is just not designed to heat extremely well in temperatures this low.  As a result, it's running constantly to try and keep the house just barely warm, and my feet are freezing still!

If you are experiencing the same sort of weather right now or even colder temps, then I highly recommend you make up a few of these--my sewVery Simple Hot Pads!

My sewVery Simple Hot Pad Tutorial is my No. 5 most viewed post, and I thought it was definitely worth sharing again today.  It's a really quick project that you can use with rice or dried corn.  I use them to warm up our beds at night or to warm our feet while watching tv or while sitting at the computer to blog. Our new cat is even enjoying the warmth they provide!

There you have it.  An update of sorts.  Sorry for the long absence, but I hope everyone had a terrific Christmas with many wonderful blessings.  I wish you all the best 2014 possible, and I thank you for following my blog and leaving me comments every now and then.  I love hearing from those of you who have used a tutorial of mine!

See you soon, and have fun sewing!