Deep Thoughts...

...actually it feels more like random thoughts.  Dave and I went to the Renaissance Festival 2 weeks ago.  I last went 10 (count them TEN!) years ago with Matt and Melissa.  Dad had free press passes for us and off we went.  It was a hot day while we were there and we hiked around the entire site.  I'd done my homework the night before and had a few booths I wanted to check out.  We got Burger King for breakfast on the drive over so we weren't hungry while we were there and didn't buy any food.  I saw a few pottery pieces I liked but I couldn't justify buying them because I am leaving for Poland on TUESDAY and am going to buy as much Polish pottery as I can carry.  The only thing we bought was a garlic braid and jar of jalapeno pickled garlic cloves.  I'd wanted to buy a garlic braid 10 years ago but didn't because I knew I'd never use it up before it spoiled.  And I'm disappointed in all the literature that touts the immunity boosting properties of garlic because I've been cooking with it like crazy and still managed to catch the worst cold in recent memory this week.

 I finished a few more owl cardigans for cousin baby gifts as well as some cloth baby shoes.  I got these off in the post today and I hope they like them.

 I knitted another for our non-existent baby stash.  I finished this one with buttons for eyes and I might try to knit a matching hat. 

 And since I have another trip coming up, I needed another bag.  Last week I sewed another trusty Amy Butler Messenger Bag out of a yard of 60" wide Amy Butler fabric.  I bought this years ago when Dave and I were still dating and he'd come down to Mason City to visit and we drove over to Charles City to go to the Pizza Ranch but more importantly, to visit the yarn/quilt shop next door!  This has to be some of the fussiest sewing I've done to match up the pattern to the bag.  I felt guilty cutting out of the middle of the fabric to match the pieces.  In the end, I didn't have enough and had to piece together scraps to finish off the outer purse.  If this was a blah patterned cut of fabric, I'd have had more than enough but because it was such a specific design, I ran short.  It turned out OK though.  I love that it looks like tiles and I love the colors.  Necessity is indeed the mother of all invention and nothing could be more true.  I got creative in squeezing every last inch out of this fabric.  Can you see the outer purse hiding in the bag?