The Bag is Full

My brother gave me a replica of a Boston Public Library delivery bag for Christmas last year.

(I think it might be time for a new ironing board cover...)

Back in the day they used these bags to transfer books from one branch of the library to another - one in each hand, to balance the load. This bag is 22" deep. I can't imagine hefting two of these suckers full of books and carrying them anywhere! It is, however, kind of fun for corraling toddlers:

It's also useful for stashing mysterious Christmas gifts in until they are ready to be shipped to far-flung relatives. There are four of those mysterious gifts in the bag, all done and ready for gift wrapping. They have turned out so well; I couldn't be more pleased with them. (Well, maybe just a tiny bit. But not enough to mention.) Now I'm working on gift #5, which will be something completely different.

During the course of making the mysterious gifts I had to run out twice for thread because I didn't have the right color in my stash. Who'd a thunk it? Granted, I have more fabric than thread, but still!

This seems a good time to introduce you to my Thread Keeper. My cotton and poly-cotton blend threads are kept in a rolling cart with drawers. They are generally well behaved and require no special pampering. To keep my rayon and metallic threads happy and cooperative I have enlisted the aid of an Official Thread Keeper. He sits on top of the tins wherein the specialty threads are kept:

Actually, the Cadbury tin holds all the little labels I've taken off silk ties over the years. Say it with me now: "Someday I'm going to do something with them." The Thread Keeper is just one of the little helpers that keep me company as I sew. I also have a herd of dogs nearby, overseen by a little red bird pincushion on a candlestick. Someday I'll take the time to clean up their area a bit and take their picture for you.

One final note: my block from the beading round robin has come back to me at long last. There's some spectacular work on it! I intend to try to photograph it and post it here but it's a dark block with lots of dark embellishments that may not show up well. We'll do the best we can. The real question is whether it will become the tote bag I originally thought I'd make or whether I turn it into something else altogether... Stay tuned!