Sock Monkeys!

I love sock monkeys! Yes, I love the old-fashioned ones made with the gray and red socks, but I especially love making sock monkeys with bright and fun patterned socks.
I first made a sock monkey last December when I was asked to teach a sewing class to elementary aged students at the school where my husband is the principal. Hmmm, I thought, what to have them make? I wanted to do something fun and easy, but that would also give them a challenge. I decided sock monkeys would be perfect. Just to be sure, my daughters and I made some first for practice. We sewed them completely by hand, just like my students would. So much fun! We laughed so hard with each new monkey part we completed. They were just SO CUTE! We sould hardly stand it! Those monkeys had to be the most fun project ever! And my little students did a fantastic job and had a lot of fun making their little monkeys.
I had so much fun with those monkeys, that I decided to make some to sell in my Etsy shop. These monkeys are sewn by machine first, then the individual parts are sewn onto the body by hand. I like to embroider the face so that little ones can play with the monkeys without worries about small parts like buttons coming off.

These are my latest monkeys. I love them!

Shop Visit

I recently visited the shop where my bags are being sold, "Postcards From Delaware" in the Delaware Welcome Center. I was very impressed with the place. It is a very busy center, and very well done. It was fun and exciting to see my own creations displayed there for sale! I stood in the background and watched people browse, and pick up the things that I had made and look at them. Many of the bags had already sold, and when I returned home from this trip I found that they had ordered 24 more!

Magnificent Niagara Falls

We recently got back from a family vacation to beautiful Niagara Falls. Absolutely magnificent! If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it! The falls were the most powerful, amazing and awesome sight! On my birthday we rode on the Maid of the Mist, which was a wonderful experience. While we were there, we also took the walk behind the falls, rode on the "Whirlpool Aerocar", and went on the whitewater walk. All were great experiences, but my favorite was definitely the Maid of the Mist (and I usually don't even "do" boats!) It was an absolute delight to be down on the water right next to the falls, and get soaking wet! I feel so blessed to have been able to be there and share the experience with my husband and daughters. We all had a great time. The town of Niagara Falls, Canada, is very much a tourist trap, but we still enjoyed it, and even had some fun playing mini golf, going to Ripley's Believe it or Not, and playing arcade games. But the big attraction was definitely the falls. We could stand and stare at them for hours!

We also drove to the nearby town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was a lovely drive past vineyards, orchards, and beautiful homes and countryside. The town is very cute and historical, and has nice shops and restaurants (a little pricey, though). On our way back to our hotel we stopped at a roadside fruit stand and bought delicious peaches and cherries. We also saw Lake Ontario, toured Old Fort George, and visited a historic home that survived the war of 1812. It was a fun vacation, and one we will never forget.