The Cup of Fortunes: Week 33 (August 10-16)

I may bring out my Halloween decorations this weekend. I've been slowly amassing some new items for this season, but I think it may be time for the bins to come in and for me to unleash the season on my house. Usually I wait for September, but I feel like nothing makes sense anymore and I should just enjoy my mortgage and my whimsy while I still can. That means ceramic ghosts, pumpkins, and spider table runners. Will having my decorations out early fix the world? No, but I'll at least feel some joy in the cocoon of my house. That's really all we can do these days. 

And look at these tablecloths! I stumbled onto the Instagram account of The Badass Quilter this week (she also has a shop), and I absolutely adore her. The reel that introduced me to her was about this Cynthia Rowley tablecloth she found at Home Goods. Instead of using it as a decorative item, she decided to turn it into clothes. Originally she planned for a skirt, but ended up making a studio tunic instead. It's fantastic. If I still had a sewing machine, I'd probably attempt this. Of course the video went viral and there's been a rush on the tablecloth. I found the last one at the fancier Home Goods in Kingstowne. 

Anyway, the Badass Quilter's videos have inspired me to start decorating now. One of her videos is of this gorgeous quilt she made last year (maybe?) and it's stunning and so beautifully made. So the bins are coming out this weekend. 

It's so amazing!

Bonus tablecloth: it glows in the dark.

This week was a one fortune week and it's the 50th fortune! Only 34 more to go. There won't be that many more one fortune weeks left, so I savor each one. This was a good fortune this week. I'm very lucky to have a group of "loved ones" who I do cherish. My family, my close friends - they're lovely and amazing. Sometimes they're chaotic, but that keeps things interesting too. It's was nice to stitch something about them this week. 

Here's this week's fortune and lucky numbers. 

The 50th fortune!

August 10

August 11

August 12

August 13

August 14

August 15

August 16

Weeks 1-33

WIPs, Random Crafts, and Other Small Joys

I haven't felt very good this week, so I didn't work on any of my WIPs. I'm feeling better today and hope to get back to working on a few items tomorrow in time for my monthly craft meetup. I did practice the craft we decided on. Usually we all work on different projects, but I found this adorable video online and suggested we do some Halloween themed crafts. We're making pumpkin flowers and spiders. Here are my test flowers:

I'm also starting to work on my entries for the 2026 Woodlawn show. I'm submitting three pieces this year. One is already done; it's one of the PopLush patterns I did last year. I decided to make a house purse as well. I saw a post on IG a few weeks ago about house purses, and immediately fell in love with the idea. Feral Notions is doing a stitch along in September and I'm going to take part in it to create my Woodlawn piece. I'm considering using the tablecloth as the interior fabric of the house purse. I've never done this type of needlepoint, so I'm incredibly excited to try to. I think you can still sign up for the stitch along on the Feral Notions website if you want to try it out. 

I haven't had a Frosty from Wendy's in forever, so I treated myself to one earlier this week. Wendy's is promoting the new season of Wednesday, and my Frosty came with a fantastic spoon, the Spoon of Doom. I'm planning on starting the new season this weekend. 

My parents brought back some treats from their trip to Detroit and I've been enjoying food from Detroit this week. My second favorite cake ever is a bumpy cake from Sanders, and they brought one home. There is something so deliciously magical about Devil's food cake and frosting. It's so freaking good. 

These are the greatest pretzels of all time. I will not be taking comments from anyone. Also, my Grandma K and Great Aunt Frances worked at the Better Made factory back in the day. Next time I go to Detroit, I'm going to the factory for a tour and to create my own insane snack pack box. 

I hope you find some small joys this weekend. It's been a week this week and we all need to do something good for ourselves so we can keep fighting the good fight.