July 9 - Fun at the Beach and Pool

July 8 - Hot Dogs at the Beach

Dan and I ate dinner tonight at Jack's Cosmic Dogs in Mount Pleasant, S C. As Dan pointed out, it was a place I would never have chosen if I had not read about it in Southern Living magazine. After some research online, I found that Al...ton Brown rated their hot dogs "his favorite" and Bill Clinton was a recent visitor. Dan LOVED the hot dogs (his came with chili, onions, cheese, and Jack's famous spicy sweet potato mustard). He ate two. I had mine with kraut and the spicy mustard and we shared sides of fries and blue cheese slaw (my favorite). Dan is planning another visit before we leave the beach. He loves hotdogs and was not disappointed!See More

July 7 - More packing and a pedicure

I finished up our packing for the beach trip today and met Molly and Emma for pedicures and lunch today.  I took the latest sock monkey I made for Emma along in my bag when I met them.  Emma was pleased with her new sock monkey.

July 6 - Packing for our beach trip

I spent some time today packing for our week long beach trip. I packed bathing suits, shorts, and lots of tee shirts for the trip.

July 5 - White Crepe Myrtle Blooms

The white Crepe Myrtle trees in our yard are in full bloom today.

July 4 - more monkeys...

Emma spent the day with us today.  She loves "routine" and wanted to do the same things that we had done on Sunday which included a trip to the "Yogurt Store" along with shopping (buttons for monkey eyes) and a hamburger Happy Meal lunch.  She took a nap in my bed with Charlie and helped me stuff the latest addition to the growing sock monkey collection.  We have 4 finished and 1 in progress.

The "Yogurt Store" of choice is the TCBY near us.  Our new favorite is pineapple.  We always get 2 cups with multiple selections, 2 pink spoons, and Emma samples everything.

July 3 - Monkey Status

Monkey number 3

Emma called me today and asked, "Nana, what is the status of my sock monkeys?"  She wants me to make enough sock monkeys to fill up a basket for her.  I sent her a picture of the 3rd finished monkey that has flower button eyes.  She plans to come over tomorrow to check on them.

July 2 - Another monkey

I finished the sock monkey I started during Emma's nap yesterday, took a photo, and sent it to Molly to show to Emma.  Emma is all excited about sock monkeys now and took the first one I made to school with her today.  She wants me to buy her a new toy basket and fill it with sock monkeys.  Here are some shots of the second sock monkey.

July 1 - Cheeseburger and a Beer

Emma spent the day with us today.  She had fun playing with Charlie and Sophie and also went shopping with Nana and made a trip to the "Yogurt Store" along with a stop by McDonald's on the way home for a Happy Meal.

She was introduced to her new sock monkey (pink and white stripe in tutu) and immediately fell in love.  I explained to her how they were called sock monkeys because they were made out of socks.  She then spent the next 15 minutes going through my sock collection and telling me which ones she wanted made into monkeys.  At nap time, she promised to go in and go right to bed if I would start making her next sock monkey.  She napped for over 2 hours, so I almost finished the next one for her collection.

After Dan and I took her home, we stopped off for dinner at a new place that Bjarne had recommended for cheeseburgers near South Park Mall.  I took these shots with my phone.

June 30 - Pink Sock Monkey Tote Bag

I finished my "Pink Sock Monkey" tote bag project today. 

Finished "Pink Sock Monkey" Tote Bag

I got the idea after reviewing the sketches I did quickly on my iPad before I made my first sock monkey toy earlier in the week.  After looking at the sketches, I thought one would be cute design on a tote bag.  Instead of my usual applique, I decided to draw and paint the sock monkey on the fabric before making the tote bag.

iPad sketch and finished Sock Monkey in Tutu

I started with a new sketch for the tote bag while I washed and dried a sanded cotton twill for the outer portion of the bag.

I then pressed the twill and printed cotton flower fabric I chose for the lining and cut out the pieces.  2 fabric and cut it out:  2 16"x18" pieces of the outer bag twill, 2 16"x18" pieces of the lining cotton, 2 8.5" x 7.5" pieces of the lining fabric to make and inner pocket, and 2 6"x26" pieces of the outer bag fabric for the straps.

I then traced the design on to the twill using a pencil and outlined it with a permanent marker.  After the marker design was complete, I heat set it with an iron.  I then used a 50/50 mix of acrylic paint and Golden's GAC-900 Fabric Painting Medium to paint the design.

After the paint dried, I heat set it with an iron following the directions to do it in a well ventilated area. 

I then applied fusible interfacing to the twill bag front and back and fusible fleece to the 2 lining pieces.  After assembling and sewing the bag, here is the end product.

My next project is making a smaller child's version for my granddaughter, Emma.  Nana and Emma will have matching bags soon!

June 28 - Finished Sock Monkey

I finished my first sock monkey today.  What fun!  I am pleased with the way she turned out and will be starting on some boy versions soon. 

June 27 - Socks!

After working on Bobby's sock monkey themed art bag project, I realized that I have never made a sock monkey toy.  Today I went to Target to shop for socks.  A sock monkey is in progress!

June 26 - Blooming in my garden today

Here are some shots of blooms in my garden today.  The coneflowers just started to bloom.