Snow Day (Round TWO)

We got hit on Sunday with about 8", but it was the combination of a bottom layer of wet, slushy with overnight single digit temps that froze every surface and closed school.  Two days in a row!  Yesterday was filled with unexpected little surprises that made for a great day off...

Last winter I was hired to embroider 50 knit caps for 2 fire departments.  20 of them were for the the Holly Fire Department (great town name at Christmas, huh?), but I got the acronym wrong.  I stitched 20 hats with "HTFD" instead of "VHFD" (Village of Holly, oops!).  I figured I'd sell them at some point, and that point came in October.  We were camping about an hour north of here, and I saw a lady walking around wearing a "HTFD" sweatshirt.  I approached her, explained my mistake, and asked if she thought someone with her department would want to buy the hats.  Her husband was very interested, so I gave him my name and phone number, offering to ship the hats in time for Christmas.  The next week I realized that I should've gotten his name and number, because he never called.  Yesterday morning, I sat down at the computer and Googled "HTFD" thinking this guy was long gone, and I needed to find a buyer for the hats.  It was only 7:30 am though, so I decided to wait on making phone calls for a few hours.  Then the strangest thing happened... he called.  Yesterday! The same day I thought to search and sell! Weird, huh?  Anyway, he drove all the way to my house and paid me $140 for the hats.  BONUS!!!!

Not the hat in question, but you get the idea...

With a day off of work, I revved up the embroidery machine (Brother PR-600 II, a 6 needle beast) and knocked out some more sweatshirts.  I was waiting for the last dozen shirts to arrive from the post office for the last of the "Christmas Gift" orders, so I was able to get caught up and clear the table for the last push.  By the end of this week, I'll have stitched up over 50 Vera Bradly inspired designs, in the last 3 weeks.  It's actually been the most fun I've had with the embroidery machine, since it involves playing with fabric combos, too.  Today I'll knock out that Paramedic school job (15 pieces), and have a empty workspace.  Woo hoo!!!

Housework is always a part of a snow day, so I won't bore you with those details, just that it got done, and it's always nice to spend time in a clean kitchen.  Paper grading, too.  Boring, but happy to get some done.

To top things off, my favorite new "reality show" was on last night... "American Pickers" on the Discovery Channel.  If you haven't seen it, basically they travel the midwest (and sometimes further) searching old barns, buildings, and properties, picking through people's junk collections and buying old lost treasures.  The people that collect this stuff are the real characters, but last night's episode highlighted Danielle, the young lady (my age) that works in the office at Antique Archaeology helping the pickers find properties and sell their goods.  She'd never gone on a pick before, and found (and treasured) the most awesome antique dress form.  In an old barn.  I really need to search old barns more frequently... Then, the next pick they went on she found a treasure trove of vintage clothes.  Leopard faux fur capelet, plaid wool vest, and numerous dresses.  Seeing the "softer side" of American Pickers made me fall in love with the show more, and become a "Danielle" fan!  She mentioned that she sews and makes clothing, so I checked it out, and sure enough... she's got an Etsy store and website.  Vintage sewing on a garbage picking show... who knew!?

So, to make a long story even longer, I smiled a lot yesterday.  It was a good day, and I  hope you had/have one, too!!!  Today, I'll get those medic shirts done, and maybe even do some "fun sewing" for myself!