UN-Slumped!!! Yay!! :-D

Well, I've come out of my slump with a VENGEANCE!!!!
In the past 24 hours, I've tackled several things that I was looking forward to (pre-slump), plus I've done 6 loads of laundry!!  That's almost a miracle!!! LOL
At least that proves to me that my slump was hormonal, which is a good thing -- it means there will always be a quick end to them, AND I'm really thankful that a "slump" is my only hormonal side-affect!!  I've heard of lots of other symptoms that are much worse than an occasional "down time" -- I could be really grouchy or moody, or feel sick, or gain lots of weight or have lots of pain!  I'll take a SLUMP!!! :-)

Anyway, on to my accomplishments......by far, the best is the pineapple!  I'm amazed by it!  IT WORKED!!! :-D  I love how it came out!
And it was SO easy!!!!!!!!!!!  I couldn't believe how easy it was, now I'm going to dry a few more!!!

First, I cut the bottom off the pineapple.....

Then I cut out the pulp, first with a knife, and then I used my melon scooper.....

BE CAREFUL scraping the inside, because I got a little too close and I almost went right through the skin!  It's ok to have a layer of pulp around the skin, because when it's dry it will give it support.
This is as thin as you want it.....

I rinsed it out after and sprinkled salt all over the inside -- I read someone else did it to help dry it, but I don't know if it helped or not! LOL -- and then I stuffed it with paper towels.....

Luckily, I had a whole roll that Minnie had "played" with that I could use the scraps of!  I stuffed it tightly....

I also saved the bottom, because I want to glue it back on (maybe!) -- I don't like the dried pineapples that look weird and short when they are done because they are cut-off.
Into the oven, which was set at 185......

I rolled up some foil to make a "pillow" -- I wanted to keep the green top off the pan while it was baking/drying.  And in it stayed for about 4 hours!
After that, I pulled it out to check on it and change the paper towels.....

You need tongs to pull them out, they are HOT!  I replaced the towels with new ones, and laid it on the other side (just to keep it even), and left it in the oven for about 4 more hours.
Then, I took the paper towels out completely.....

....and since it was still a little damp inside, I put it BACK in the oven for about two more hours.
It still felt slightly moist, but I figured that shouldn't matter.....

So here it was!!! :-D  The bottom piece shriveled a little and hardened alot, but I got it to FIT.....

VOILA!!!....

Isn't it GREAT?!!!!  It has such a primitive, dry color and feel, I just love it!  I'm going to buy one or two more to do it again, so I have more and can make an arrangement with them! :-D
I'm also going to try drying more oranges that way.....because my air-dried pieces didn't turn out very well.....

Those are the two lemons, and here's the orange....

It looks pretty good from this side, but if you turn it over.....

.....it's NOT very decorative looking!! :-/

Well, I think they need a few hours of the oven-treatment to start them off -- that might help begin the drying process and cut down on the rotting that can start from too much moisture.  I'll still use these, but I want to make some that look ALOT nicer than that!!  Let's see how it goes this weekend! :-D

While I was waiting for the pineapple, I decided to cut out my wool pennies for the next penny rug I want to work on.....

This looks simple, and I have all the wool colors here already!  Plus, I love the date in the middle!!  I might want to make mine in the 1790s!!! :-D
Here are the pennies all cut out.....

See how they will be stitched together?  And I replaced the black in the original picture with one of my dark brown textures I felted from a wool jacket I got at the thrift store!  I love it for this rug!! :-D
Fun, fun, FUN!!!
While I was struggling with cutting these circles, I knew I needed a better system.  I had changed the size of these, so I didn't have anything to help me quickly - I had to cut out paper circles which were hard to work with.....I just HAD to make something better!
Sooooo......I grabbed a plastic folder that I've had for years, and no one ever used it, so I got an idea.....I'd make plastic circles in every size I could want!!! :-D
Voila!!!....

I used all kinds of circles from around the house, and measured them, and I used the ones that were the sizes I needed.....

I got every size from 1 inch to 3 inches!!

Now I'm ready for the next penny rug!!! :-D

So after all that, I was sitting looking through Pinterest and got an idea from a wonderful table picture I saw......

Besides everything else that is so wonderful on this table, I noticed the awesome mat that is under the riser.....see it?  It's brown and off-white, and I LOVE it!!  But I'm not great at weaving, but I AM great at crocheting......maybe I could make one with crochet!?!
I have the perfect yarn.....

So I just started, using just single crochet stitches across.....

It will have to be tea or coffee stained to "age" that bright white - even though it's off-white, it's too bright for the look I want!!
I think if I alternate the colors, it MIGHT look like mat in that picture.....maybe!! :-D  My fingers are crossed!
And boy, I'd love to make that wooden shelf or tray or riser -- whatever those are called! -- that is ON the mat, too!!  Isn't that such a cool piece??  Hmmm.....how much wood would I need for that?!!! :-D


So PHEW! - I'm back to my normal self again!!  After finishing this post I'm going to work on my crocheted mat and watch some of the series "Revolution", about the Revolutionary War (I saved it on my DVR)!  And I have some cleaning to catch up on tomorrow, but then I might try making some new cookies that I found online -- WAIT until you see them!!!

Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!  It feels good to be joyful again!! ^-^