Tony gave me a mental health day last Friday afternoon.  Oh JOY OF JOYS!!  It was marvelous!  I’ve seriously given consideration to asking for time all to myself for my birthday in February…ahhhh…

So I took myself over to Crafty Planet in Minneapolis.  I also threw in some of my quilt samples to show, just so that I could kind of say I was making the trip for work.  {Ha! I love having to make trips to shops for work!}  Crafty Planet was recommended to me by a friend and TOTALLY worth it.  Wow!  It was amazing.  If you sew, quilt, knit, stitch–get yourself there!

One of the things I picked up was this sweet little turtle pattern by Wee Wonderfuls.

Ahhh!  He’s so cute!  And he was so fast.  I started cutting out the shapes last night and before lunch today he was done.

Elias approves and the turtle has had to withstand a fair amount of rough play already.  I learned with some of the knitted toys I’ve made the boys that a few extra stitches to attach body parts is always a good thing.

Elias also decided that because the turtle has a crown it must be a birthday crown and therefore must be for his birthday.  {As I’m sure is true for most 2 year olds, we have been counting down the days until his birthday…February 5th we are anxious for your arrival!!}

I made my turtle with freezer paper, wool scraps, and embroidery floss.  I filled a little fabric bag full of beads for his belly so that he has a nice weight to him.  No special stitching or machine needed.

Sometimes the best gifts are time to yourself…a reminder to me of what I can give to my spouse and friends too!  Mental health time.  What do you guys do for mental health??