I posted the last HC in the Challenges group only. Sorry about that, I failed to put it here too.

So...on with the Challenges SuperCrafters! The HOLIDAYS are here.. of course if you shop at your local Craft store or WM. you have seen the Coming of the Holidays since July! Why do they put out HOLIDAY stuff so early you may ponder. Simply this: CRAFTERS are usually 3-6 months ahead of the season for which they are making things and if you are a CRAFTER that rents booths for Holiday Craft shows, you are doing Holiday stuff all year round! So the stores just help you out by having that stuff out early. Yes its a little ominous to walk into the front lobby of HL and be assaulted by Trees...and the little Countdown thing by the door DOES NOT HELP!.

Hoarder's Challenge #5:It's All about Pie. Pie, we can all relate to it. We all have a favorite (mine is Key Lime, or Chocolate, in the summer and Pecan in the winter) Pecan because we had 3 huge pecan trees and we always had a pecan pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas-Mom would make two and put one in the freezer for Christmas. I remember sitting at the table hand cranking the chopper to chop up the pecans that Dad had cracked and cleaned and Mom had bagged and frozen.  I got to be a bit of a Pecan Connoisseur. I would taste the frozen ones from years back...cause the would have to be used first and if they tasted  stale, they were out.  Mom uses Granny's recipe, and adds a secret ingredient...I know it, and my brother knows it, and probably all my aunts know it and cousins... but thats IT. Other Pecan Pies out there are good, but Mom's with Granny's recipe with that secret ingredient is just the best. I guess because I know she made it with love.  This year she is making Pumpkin... because she can chew it better (she just got her dentures in) I asked for a Pecan, so I am hoping that someone makes one for us... I cannot. I inevitably will screw it up. Eventually I will have to take up the Pecan Pie mantle and the recipe and make it. Someday, when I have children that are big enough to hand crank the hand choppper to chop 2 cups of pecans...

Pie represents your family. The slices the memories. This holiday season take time to get out the old photos from Aunt Claras' stash or Granny's old plastic sleeve album (they should be removed carefully from the magnetic albums too) and get the stories behind the history.

Challenge: It's All about Pie Guidelines:

When you go the relatives for the holiday this Thanksgiving get them to release to you their prized possesions: the Family photo albums. You know the ones in the old plastic sleeved albums that have changed from clear to yellow and the pictures have faded... These are the ones you must preserve.

(1) Take a photo marking pencil and number each photo.

(2) on a note pad write down the who, what when where why fo the photo

(3) Take a voice recorder with you and record the storie as each family member relates it.

(4)Assuring your family that the photos will be returned by signing over your first born or whatever child they want...Take these photos home with you: Scan the photos-if you don't have a scanner ( I don't) go to a  photo centers and use their machine, you may be able to take your own sotrage device like a photo card or CD, archive on a CD or Flash Drive.

(5)While you are scanning  you can also get prints at the photo center or once you save them all on your CD send off to have reprints made. Save your own ink here folks, it is worth the money to send these out to be professionaly printed. You will also be able to do color adjustments. Example: I had two photos of my cousin in law in which his little 70s shirts clashed, so I made them both black and white and sent them out to be printed by Walgreens. Some photo centers will give you flack about copyright issues**. So here's the trick and this is sooo bad..when you scan you photos if they have a studio signature on the bottom...take your little Eyedropper tool go over to the background closest to the signature and suck up the color then with your Paintbrush tool cover that litte thing up. You could also crop it of too.

(6) make a mini album using pocketed acid free sleeves in a three ring binder with the stories on journaling cards, or on pages in a document sleeve facing the photos. Be sure to use your copies for the albums. then return the originals to their owners in acid free albums. This may be a tad expensive, So try to go the easiest cheapest route, without scimping on the Acid free/ Archival parts.  The point is to preserve the originals (photo storage designe for that is out there if you look around) and to preserve the memories.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Live, Create, Enjoy some Pie!

Jules

**When I took my Mom and Dad's Wedding PROOF's from 1959-which was all they had because the studio had a fire before they could be made into 8x10s or whatever size they had ordered...the  photolady at the WM photo center gave me such a hard time that the proofs were Professional shots. Of course they were professional I said. Then I went into "dramaqueen mode" with some tears and just below irrate voice... telling her the whole fire story and  how the photographer was  probably DEAD and how my Mom had never had any photos of her wedding up in the house because all they had were these tiny proofs and she was 75 old (I embellished the age for the sake of the story)and I was doing this for her for Valentines day and if you can't help  me I will take my business elsewhere. I walked out of there with three 8x10s several 5x7s, one miffed photolady and me a happy girl. I don't do business there anymore.

Ok. So I got the crochet bug. Apparently  I have inherited my Mom's Crochet marathoning ability. She can whip up a Mile-a Minute afghan in three days! She taught me how to crochet when I was young and I did a few pot holders and that was it. Now that I have joined the Shawl MInistry at a local church... I have got the bug bad.

I made the required Shawl and it has ben finished for a couple of weeks now. Waiting to be blessed and sent off somewhere. I know it will be well recieved. I even tried to have happy thoughts while I was working on it to further infuse it with love and happiness and comfort. Although secretly I wish I could keep it for myself-I will just have to make another one for me!

I got the bug so bad I went down to the local library and checked out some books and have made several items now. three hats using a pattern from the "Chicks with Sticks Guide to Crochet" (super cute and easy!) I wore the UT "orange" one I  made on Halloween to keep my hair contaIned on a windy hayride! I made a stroller blanket from a pattern in Debbie Stoller's Stitch'n Bitch Crochet book. I made a hat to match using a pattern I found on the Lionbrand website. and now I am making a  "1 skein" scarf out of the left over yarn from the Shawl (I bought 4 skeins and I used two and about 1/4 so I have enough to make a little hat and scarf with :))

I really enjoy crochet and its very meditative. I have a problem though... I tend to stitch too tightly... and I broke! my acrylic G Hook last night working on a project. I will now have to go to yon craft store and pick up a new hook... which means that there is probably a good chance that I will find some yarn on sale that I will just absolutely have to have.

I wish we had a big yarn store with more specialty yarns in this town. I will have to road trip to Dallas just to get the good stuff.

Jules