I find myself going to sleep so much earlier now that it gets dark earlier. If I sit down to watch television, I end up dosing off and missing family time. To solve the problem I pulled out the Armchair Sewing Organizer and I started a new bag of yo-yos... I have one in the car for all the "waiting time" I waste on the road. I am going to make yo-yos that match the living room so I can eventually make them into a yo-yo quilt for the living room... and I'll stay awake to spend time with the rest of the family while I sew them.

• How to Sew a Basic Fabric Yo-Yo
• Hand Sewing - Stitches and How Tos
• Join Fabric Yo-Yos to Sew a Yo-Yo Doily or Quilt
• What to do with Yo-Yos - - Yo-Yo Sewing Projects
• Fabric Yo-Yo Inspiration

As I cleaned the kitchen and dug out the pans I will need to make Thanksgiving dinner I discovered I really needed some new pans. The handles were cracked on many of my pans and what better excuse than cooking Thanksgiving dinner to buy new pans? I found the perfect sized pans. I love the weight of them for distributing heat and I loved the nice shiny new handles so I bought three of them and brought them home.

As I washed them to put them away, I was amazed at how fast the heat from the hot water transferred down the handle of the pan and realized that the shiny new handle was going to be a problem if I didn't come up with a way to protect myself from getting burned. I use a gas stove and I didn't want anything that can hang down and possibly come in contact with the flame so I designed a potholder handle cover that fits the pan handles. The handle cover is nice and secure so I have a secure grip on the pan handle and it's thick enough to protect my hand while still being able to maintain a firm grip on the pan. I've seen these pans in many stores so I'm sharing the directions to sew the handle potholder. If your buying someone a set of pans or nice cast iron pans, be sure to make handle potholders to go with the pans. You might even want to make matching handle potholders and kitchen potholders to match the kitchen.

• Free Potholder Patterns and Directions
• Free Apron Sewing Patterns
• Free Kitchen Sewing Patterns and Projects

I brought in additional kitchen cabinets and we all know how one thing leads to another. Before I knew it, I was moving the dinning room hutch and rearranging cabinets... I did manage to throw away all kinds of things I really didn't need. The next thing I knew I actually had empty cabinets and free space for holiday decorating, so I started browsing the Internet for Thanksgiving projects. I found an adorable Thanksgiving Teddy Bear pattern that could easily be a loved-everyday Teddy Bear, just remember toy safety if you decide to sew up this Teddy Bear as a toy. I'm making one for Christmas for a special little guy on our Christmas list.

• Sew Bear-y Sweet Pumpkin Teddy

• Safety Pointers for Sewing Toys

In the USA, Thanksgiving is the most traveled day of the year. Hopefully it will be this year so that everyone can get together with family and friends. The airlines have all kinds of new baggage regulations and car travel may mean compact cars to save money on gas. When we went on vacation this past summer, we had a compact car and one of the ways we managed to pack LOTS of luggage and bring home souvenirs was the luggage I had made. Most people wouldn't call it luggage but I do... because I make the bags we travel with, they store in smaller spaces and the squish into a compact car, much better than hard sided suitcases... and it costs less than buying luggage. I wonder how a screen bag would be received by the airport security team.

• Free Bag, Tote, and Purse Sewing Patterns