Cats, it's their world we just live in it.

Okay, so ours isn't the most fabulously expensive house on the cul-de-sac and my (note - MY) doodad room isn't the most fashionably decorated doodad room in the country but it's *our* house and that's *my* rocking chair in *my* doodad room! So how come I can get everyone including Only Daughter (who is finally reconciled to the fact that it is indeed a for real live Doodad room and no longer her bedroom) to understand that but the cats??

Sigh.......

updating vintage patterns

I've been collecting a wonderful old needlework magazine called Needlecraft The Home Arts magazine and have been working on updating some of their old patterns. (Some of the yarn companies they recommend have gone out of business) And besides, the old needle and yarn sizes; as well as names; have been changed as well. For example - what exactly is Shetland Floss?

Any way I found an adorable Dolly's Trousseau from the November 1932 issue and have had a real dickens of a time tracking down the old school Alice in Wonderland embroidery pattern the little tablecloth and knapkins called for. Well I finally found it here: http://www.patternbee.com/CQ150.html. It's too bad that magazine is defunct. I could have made a killing in free stuff they awarded for selling subscriptions.

So just *what* is a doodad, and why would you need a room to put it in?

I guess maybe I should start with an explaination as to just what a doodad is. That started several years ago while we were visiting my husband's (I affectionately refer to him as Himself online) 95 y.o. grandmother in Kentucky. I had brought some crocheting along and was sitting on the couch talking to grandma when himself came in and plopped down on the other end, sprawled out and promptly stuck his foot in the box I keep sewing notions in. I sighed and *looked* at him as only a wife of over twenty years can look at her significant other. He *looked right back. (Ha! A twenty year veteran in the USMC isn't going to intimidate easily especialy when it comes to his wife and her *stuff*) "Can you move that stuff?" he growled. "Stuff?" I asked darkly. "Yeah your stuff," he took the box and shook it (completely messing it up after I had just organized it -again.) "I don't know what all theses doodads are. " "They're sewing notions" I said and yanked the offending box out of his hands before he messed it up even more, and ignoring how grandma was *not* laughing at us.
Anyway, my love of all things needlecraft related quickly turned into an obsession. And with the children grown and finally leaving the nest I was able to pounce and grab my daughter's old room for my craft (or as we say Doodad) room (the doodad box was quickly out grown and a plastic bin was brought in to hold all of my yarn and crafting supplies, then another to hold just the yarn! LOL I guess it could be worse I could have taken up rugby!
Anyway, I now have my own sanctum sanctorum as it were and both Himself and I are supremely happy. We both watch what we want when we want on tv with no sighing or eye rolling from either of us and I can work and read into the night with out keeping him up. An important consideration since he gets up at 4 in the morning to leave for work at 4:30.
And here I thought when he retired from the Corps we would have it so much easier.