The Silver Needle - Day Two

I was very good on Friday morning.  I got up early enough to walk over to Walgreens looking for a new camera battery.  I couldn't believe it, Walgreens doesn't open until nine a.m.  So I went walking around the hotel trying to get my steps in.

 BFF and I splurged and got the breakfast buffet.  I'm glad I did since we had lots to choose from and I could get exactly what I wanted.  We wanted to eat a good hearty breakfast in case we weren't crazy about lunch.  Plus I'm on Eastern time so all the meals are way late for me.  That means I'm tempted to eat junk I shouldn't.  The snacks available are nuts, candy and chips.  BFF did tempt me with M & M's and I broke down and had a few.
When we arrive there is a bag of goodies for each of us.  So fun to get presents! It is nice things I would like but don't want to spend the money on.  We get needle identity cards.
Today we are going to make buttons out of clay.  Each table had all the stuff they needed in a plastic bin. Our table is going to work together as a group.  There are about four colors of clay that we lay close together and cut at an angle into six pieces.

Then each one of us gets clay that we need to knead and soften up and blend.  It is really hard to do as the clay is very stiff.  Our table has shades of teal colored clay and we are to make flowers.  Other tables are making yellow flowers, acorns, pumpkins and leaves.  We have the directions for all the different buttons so we can make them when we get home or later in the day.  We spend all morning trying to follow the directions to make the flowers.  We combine our clay, add brown clay and green clay and roll and pull.

It is warm in the room and this helps make the clay soft, almost too soft.  We are working on pieces of watercolor paper.  We make our teal flowers and think they look pretty good.  The teacher doesn't give us a picture of what were aiming for as however they turn out is fine and good.  I think she doesn't want us to get discouraged or frustrated if it doesn't look just like hers.

Then there is lunch.  It doesn't really suit BFF (who is very allergic to onions) or I ( usually I have yogurt and Triscuits for lunch).  I have a yogurt I took from the breakfast buffet in my bag but I don't eat it.  I manage to eat plenty and decide I really like the sweet potato chips.
BFF and I go down the strip mall to the Quilt shop to see what they have.  They have a nice selection of fabrics and I buy some 2 inch squares called Paris Flea Market.

I'll find something fun to make with them.
Then we walk back to the shop only I'm thinking of other things as I'm walking and don't notice the wheelchair ramp and boom! I fall.  I scrap up my left hand (I'm glad it isn't my right hand) and fall on my knee.  There is a bruise coming out now, four days later.  Anyway, my BFF has a bandaid and fixes me up.  It didn't really hurt so I'm okay.  I'm kind of clumsy.
The Silver Needle has a certain protocol for getting fabric.  You give your order to the fabric cutting lady and she writes down what you want and then you pick it up at the desk when it is ready.  I ordered fabric on our first shopping trip yesterday but I heard that there were like fifty orders ahead of me.
The fabric I ordered yesterday is finally ready.  I have bought enough stuff at the Silver Needle to have a bonus 15 dollars to spend.  What to buy?  I'll have to think about that.
In the afternoon we get to do whatever.  We can make more buttons and more clay is available.  We have a cross stitch chart that the buttons we made go on (but we aren't given linen to stitch it on, so if you want to stitch it, you have to get your own linen).

 There is a brooch kit with lots of buttons.  It is an easy quick project and fun to do.  I go around to the other tables to see what other people are doing.  Wow, this is a very creative group.  I decide to imitate some of the ideas I have seen.  I use some of the clay that is left over from our flowers and make lots of hearts.  A little clay goes a lllloooonnnnggg way.  I make a ton of hearts.  Then I decide that I want to make pansies.  So I get some colors to do that.  I need a picture of a pansy to help me but I don't have one.   I make lots of pansies.

  In the back of the room, Rachael, the daughter is cooking and slicing and cooking again the buttons we made in the morning.  There are so many buttons to cook.

 We are all supposed to make a cricket button.  It is challenging!  Here are mine, I made three.

We all get an assortment of the buttons all the tables have made.

I have talked my BFF into eating dinner at the Deli next to The Silver Needle.  It is a very good meal.  I get what I want which is grilled salmon.  BFF had the hugest pork chop ever.  The mango iced tea is very good.  There are wonderful looking desserts in the case.  We have our eye on the three tiered German chocolate cake.  We share a piece for dessert.  It looks better than it tastes actually.  I like the cake I make better.  I like it warm with gooey icing and tender cake.  This is cold and kind of tasteless.  We can't eat very much of it so we get the rest to go.  But I thought BFF picked it up to take back to the hotel and she thought I picked it up and we actually left it on the table.
We call the shuttle to come pick us up.  The shuttle is busy with airport runs and takes about an hour to get to us.  We sit on a bench and wait.  We could have walked but it is very hot and we don't feel like it.
We get back to the hotel and decide to check out the stitching room on the eighth floor.  It isn't that big and there is no room at a table.  We found a couple of chairs to sit on.  We listen to people asking about the cruise next year around Great Britain.  It sounds so interesting.  We see a rainbow out the window.  People aren't really talking to us and it is getting dark, not good for stitching, so we decide to go to our rooms.
It has been a busy day.
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