Ironing as Art

Ironing is an obvious metaphor; we’re smoothing life’s wrinkles only to have them eventually return again. You either love to iron or you hate it, it’s not often you find indifference.

The subject of ironing has not escaped notice by extraordinary painters, eluded the poetic pen, nor has it been ignored by my own sewing endeavors.


Young Woman Ironing by Louis-Léopold Boilly, 1800, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston


Les repasseuses (Women Ironing, also known as "The Laundresses") by Edgar Degas, 1884, Musée d'Orsay, Paris


Woman Ironing by Edgar Degas, circa 1887, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Ironing can be a dreaded chore or you can choose to make it a meaningful act, much as we can do with most things in life. I do believe there is beauty in housework.



I’ve decided to make ironing celebratory by bedecking the new ironing board cover I made with one of Degas’ paintings.



After sewing the cover from a deep red quilted fabric, I simply printed the artwork on fabric and attached it using fusible interfacing.



The pattern for the ironing board cover was part of a fantastic gift package from Sarah at Sassy Priscilla last week. This was a fun project!

Asian Mixed Media Art

Thank you for sharing what you’re reading and why yesterday. I’ve added a number of the books you mentioned to my library list.

Last September I wrote about creating your own wall art in my post about Loving Your Home. Here is a series of multimedia art pieces recently created by Jen for her kitchen. All photos are Jen’s and used with her consent.



Jen is a young woman with a great enthusiasm for life and a willingness to learn, just thinking about her makes me smile. Inspired by another artist, she created her own art using paper and paint.


Bowl

The larger pictures are 13-inches square and the smaller pieces 9-inches square.


Pitcher

There’s both a soothing simplicity and a subtle complexity to these works.


Chopsticks

The small white leaves on the flowers in the vase are actually paper. I love the textural elements that give these pieces depth while maintaining the integrity of the design simplicity.


Cup

I love the way she’s featured each kitchen item in color in contrast to the black-and-white vase of flowers. It makes for a lovely balance, I think.


Sake Cup

The constancy of the vase of flowers anchors the grouping.


Teapot

Jen cut her own mats and framed the art pieces herself, useful (and less expensive) skills I need to learn.


Teapot 2

I love the way Jen took an idea that resonated within to create something of beauty for her kitchen that reflects her own personality.



Resources

Craftster

Jen’s Flickr account

My original post about wall art with additional resources

A Book Respite

I have a need to be quiet right now. After my housework this morning and a bit of progress on my new sewing project, I’m turning to my books and a cup of tea for respite. Here is what I’m currently reading and why.

A Weekend to Change Your Life: Find Your Authentic Self After a Lifetime of Being All Things to All People by Joan Anderson



I was raised to be responsible for the happiness of everyone around me. Now, as an adult, I know we’re only responsible for our own happiness. I’m journaling along with the book to muzzle that secret voice telling me it’s always my fault when things go wrong.


FYI: It’s taking me longer than a weekend.

Case Histories: A Novel by Kate Atkinson




I adore mysteries, but don’t you wonder why this essentially terrible subject is so popular? I don’t have an answer, but my supposition is because good eventually prevails in the end—at least in the mysteries I read.

Even if we don’t see the bodies, the mystery genre is still about people killing people. But I keep reading them and try to tamp down that little voice suggesting there is something inherently questionable about my character because I enjoy reading them.

What are you reading and why?

Junie Moon's Bandage Brigade 2008 Final Report

Although I did not in all honesty plan this, I just discovered that World Leprosy Day was honored yesterday, the last Sunday of January—just as our bandages of care are about to wing their way to leprosy patients in Vietnam. The synchronicity amazes me!



Amanda Cathleen's daughter Corra made this sweet tag to accompany her bandages.

Together we knitted or crocheted 69 bandages. When laid out end-to-end, we created 276 feet of love.

Linda (coordinator of Touching Others With Leprosy) and I were exchanging emails Sunday about the end of the Junie Moon Bandage Brigade effort. She is thrilled with our final count and sends a message to all of you, “Please pass my thanks on to all of your participants. Your group's participation will bring our overall total up to 1,007!”



We care where most people pretend the problem doesn’t exist. Thank you is such an inadequate thing to say when you have done so much for others; but my thanks to each of you is truly heartfelt.

Junie Moon’s Bandage Brigade Participants

1. Alice: Inspired Tokens
2. Amanda Cathleen: Mistress Stash Enhancer
3. Anna: Thimbleanna
4. Beth: Beth Leintz
5. Beth S.: non-blogger
6. Carole P.: non-blogger
7. Catherine: Wing of a Bird
8. Clarice: Storybook Woods
9. Darla: Bayside to Mountainside
10. Deb: Homespun Living
11. Diana: Knit This Too
12. Heidi M.: non-blogger
13. Jan M.: Flickr
14. Joni: Yummers
15. Judy N.: non-blogger
16. June: Junie Moon
17. Karen M.: non-blogger
18. Karen: Weathertop Farm
19. Kelli: Africankelli
20. Lynn: Craftstew
21. Mary Lou L.: non-blogger
22. Meg: Meg’s Garden
23. Millie H.: non-blogger
24. Mrs. Staggs: A Happy Miscellany
25. Robyn: Happy House of Haas
26. Rosie: Rosie’s Whimsy
27. Rosemary: Cozy Rosy
28. Saucy: Bloggedy Blog Blog

Blessings Friday: Bandages!

I’m just leaving a quick note to say that I’m up to my ears in bandage preparations today so I’m not going to worry about writing a post.

Source: free knitting images

I look forward to sharing the final count of our bandage blessings with you on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!

Travel Shoe Bags

My shoe sachets are made and I’ve cleaned/polished each pair of shoes. Here are some of the vintage shoe trees I bought on eBay to help keep the shape of my dress shoes.



Now I’m making travel shoe bags using the free Poodles in Paris pattern (see Resources below). The bags will protect the shoes as well as clothes in my suitcase. The pockets are great for tucking in socks or hosiery.



The fabrics are leftover from other projects; I always worry about not having enough fabric for a project and end up buying too much. A cotton print is perfect for the main outside section and a complementary soft flannel works great for the lining, ribbon casing, and exterior pockets. There are two buttonholes (4 in all) on each side of the bag through which the ribbon is threaded.



Resources (Free)

• Crocheted shoe tote bag pattern
• Drawstring shoe bag tutorial at Thimble Arts and Crafts
• Lingerie/utility/shoe bag projects tutorial at Sommer Designs
• Poodles in Paris shoe/lingerie travel bag

Updated on Aug. 17, 2008: The Poodles in Paris free project is no longer offered. However, I've saved it in PDF format should you wish a copy. Just send me an email (see right-hand column).

I’m Still in the Closet

Who knew there would be so much to do in one master bedroom closet? But here I am still having an up-close and personal relationship with this space. I hope my husband doesn’t get jealous.

Last February’s challenge for the In Stitches Sew-along group was Amy Butler’s bedside organizer and sleep mask. As this was way before my blogging days, here is the photo of my effort.



I have a large piece of that fabric in my stash which works perfectly for another closet project. I’m making shoe sachets and filling them with French lavender.



My project originates from Romantic Touches: Charming Handmade Projects for Every Room.



In the book, they painted a design on each sachet. Instead, I simply drew my initial freehand and embroidered it in white. Here’s my sample test set, today I’m making the others I need.

As strange as it might seem, I still have a few other closet projects to complete before I come out of there.

Lavender Closet Sachets

Closets can be stuffy places; so I made lavender sachets to go with my new clothes hanger covers.

I cut 3x12-inch fabric pieces out of 22-count white Hardanger cloth and finished all edges on my sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch so they wouldn’t fray. I stitched my monogram using the alphabet chart from 2001 Cross Stitch Designs: The Essential Reference Book ("Better Homes & Gardens"). Folding the fabric in half lengthwise, I seamed three sides and filled my little bags half-full with French lavender. I inserted a piece of ribbon to make a hanger loop and slip-stitched the end closed.

Variations on a Scarf

We have two real seasons in Tucson and one rather non-committal season: Spring, Summer, and the rest is “What the heck is going on with the weather?” As such, our wardrobes are a tad schizophrenic.

The Button Scarf project as directed by the Finny and Donk’s Sewing Adventure project involved faux fur. I just cannot get my head around the idea of faux fur so I opted to use something else.

I also decided the scarf must fit into my wardrobe. There’s more color in my closet than represented in these photos, but I have a black linen dress, a jacket, and other items with which I can wear the scarf in fun ways.

Although I did use the pattern instructions from Simple Gifts to Stitch: 30 Elegant and Easy Projects, I varied from the original instructions as follows:

1. I extended the length of the scarf by 6-inches.


2. Linen was my fabric of choice.


3. I’ve made the scarf reversible.


4. I used a leather button on one side and a reproduction vintage button on the reverse side.


5. My fabric choice allows the scarf to be folded along one edge to give it two additional look variations.

Blessings Friday

Another busy week has flown by and now the glorious weekend can embrace us. I’m still working on my closets/cabinets cleaning and organizing but I’ve made lots of progress. Also on my agenda is the button scarf for the Finn and Donk’s Sewing Adventure project.

Gentlemen of the Past



Today is (was) the dapper and debonair Cary Grant’s birthday. Mr. Grant would have been 104 today and probably just as much a gentleman as in his prime. Besides his good looks, I admire his inherent charming nature and good humor.



This is also A.A. Milne’s birthday, creator of the “Winnie the Pooh” stories. I have fond memories of reading his stories aloud to my children when they were small.

I appreciate the contributions both men gave to the world.

Generosity



The lovely bandage photo is Jan's (and used with her permission). Her fingers have been flying on their crochet mission. What a blessing that so many have joined in our bandage brigade. It comes to an end next week and then I’ll quickly box them for shipping to the group flying out to deliver them.

Return to Grace


With the republication of Victoria magazine and the wonderful Jane Austen series being publicized on PBS, I feel a calm flow into a gentler rhythm. Both are wonderful reminders to cherish our time and find bliss within as well as without.

May your blessings be many this weekend (and don’t forget about Northanger Abby on Sunday night)!

Exploring the U.S. Patent Office

Long before I knew what a blog was, I constantly visited a craft site called Meggicat. In August of 2006 she suddenly quit writing new entries but I kept her site bookmarked and kept referring back to it now and then. I actually thought it was a regular web site but now I know what a blog is.

I’m happy to say that the Meggicat blog is back in action. Go over there and explore but you cannot get through all her fantastic posts in one day as she’s excellent at sharing links and ideas. Your inspiration mojo will be kicking in big time!

One of her site’s features is that she shares ideas found via expired patents from the U.S. Patent Office. I decided to try this myself. Here are a few things I found by just doing some random searching on Google Patent as Meggicat suggests. Right-click to enlarge and print.

Search term: Doll Pattern






Search term: Embroidery Design


Can't you just imagine the possibilities in this? Jump on over to Meggicat’s blog and play for awhile.

Sewing Clothes Hanger Covers

Although I am knitting away on bandages, I have projects that I’m trying to fit in here and there as part of my organized home quest.

Wire hangers distort the shape of your clothes. Yesterday I began sewing clothes hanger covers to cover generic plastic hangers—some are literally meant to just cover the hangers and then your clothes are hung over them, like this one.

There are numerous versions of hanger cover patterns (see resources below) but I used one from Needlecrafter.com. During my spring and fall cleaning missions, I can simply remove the covers to wash and iron them.

In a closet, dust tends to settle on the collar and shoulder area of your clothes. So I modified the pattern to make covers that fit over my clothes instead of just the hanger by adding ½-inch all the way around to make shoulder covers. You can simply add more to your measurements to fit thicker clothes items.

You can make them fancy by using fun fabrics, bits of lace, or even embroidering them. But I’m using an old cotton sheet I found for a $1 and, since it’s a queen-sized flat sheet, I can make lots of covers quite inexpensively.

Not only does dust settle on your clothes but on your closet rod and hangers, too. I’m removing everything from my closet, purging like a mad woman, and cleaning everything—walls, floor, shelves, closet rod, and the hangers.

Other Resources

• Butterick Waverly B4156
• For those who don't sew, adorable covers can be found at Norththreads
• Padded hangers and template
• Husqvarna Viking Hanger Covers (PDF document)
• Secret Hanger Cover
• How to sew padded hangers
• Luxe Hangers

Humanitarian Day

Today is the sixth annual observance of Humanitarian Day in the U.S., the largest collective Muslim-organized charitable event. It features Muslims working with other faiths to serve those in need. The most important aspect of this day is treating others with respect, love and dignity—something much needed in the world.

While I’m not Muslim, I sincerely respect what this effort means and wholeheartedly applaud their endeavors. More information may be found here.


Source: poster by Wladyslaw Teodor Benda, 1918, Red Cross Museum

This is a good time to post an update on our own humanitarian effort—knitting bandages for leprosy patients. The bandages are starting to arrive and we even have new participants. When I receive your package, I’m marking them as RECEIVED by your name in the right-hand column. Please remember it takes about 4–5 days for mail to arrive in Tucson from the east coast.

Each bandage is a blessing of love for those afflicted with leprosy. And, for those who wonder why we don’t just buy gauze bandages, it’s because they don’t last and can’t be washed. Our knit or crochet bandages can be laundered and re-used by the patients—a “green” effort if you want to look at it that way.

Organize Your Home Day

January is traditionally a time for organizing. I am a little sheep so I’m following along. Right now I’m working on cabinets.

Years ago the inimitable Martha Stewart talked about organizing little kits at home. Remembering this, I’ve organized a few things that otherwise get scattered all over the place. Metal boxes found at Cost Plus and simple labels using my electronic labeling gadget work just fine.



Leather Care



It’s not all sneakers and sandals at our house so I have a kit for caring for our leather shoes and bags. I’m fully aware of the green movement urging us away from leather, but I am not going to discard functional items I use.

Each time we travel, we usually find flannel shoe cloths in our hotel welcome kit and save them for cleaning projects. They’re great in the leather and jewelry cleaning kits.

Nail Care



Stuff for home manicures and pedicures for those in-between professional treatment times.

Jewelry Care



Some of the flannel cloths go in this box. About every two weeks I gather our jewelry pieces and gently clean them. I have my wedding ring settings checked annually by a professional.

Blessings Friday: Focus in 2008

Yesterday, Cherry’s post at Tales from Pixie Wood blog really resonated with me. She shared the “shift in hearts, minds, attitudes and opinions” taking place in her life.



Cherry talked about “focus,” a word my husband and I discussed last weekend as our enthusiasm for finding blessings in life has us frequently spreading ourselves too thin which kind of misses the point, doesn’t it? We are working on a concrete list of things on which to focus during 2008, both together and individually.

My craft room has a lot of stash stocked for gifts, home, and charitable efforts projects that will carry me through the year—how scary is that? Inspired by everyone else’s creativity, new projects are constantly added. To control this, I’m using Joni's organizational tool to manage those ideas I want to try later.

I am limiting my activities this year to give me the time needed to achieve my goals. In addition to my stockpiled projects, the following are my creative commitments thus far in 2008:

Junie Moon Bandage Brigade—this endeavor ends this month (I hope to host another one next year).

Finn and Donk’s Sewing Adventure—a year-long sewing effort.

Comforting Cathy Shawl—a group effort to which I’ll be adding my rows of knitting along with a prayer ribbon.

The Flat Stanley World Tour Project—I am excited about helping Angie’s (Norththreads) daughter’s schoolmates as I think this is a wonderful educational experience for the kids.

Cancelled Stamp Collection—I’m saving stamps for two little boys in Germany who are learning about stamp collecting. I almost have enough to send to them.

Coaster Swap—described below.

Photo Swap—described below.

Club Little House—I have no idea if this will even occur but I’m saving time for it just in case Amy hosts it again.

Kristie’s Christmas CD Swap—again, not officially scheduled, but I hope Kristie invites me again.

Some charitable projects are also on my calendar and I’m watching for one other swap in case it occurs, but this is pretty much it for my 2008 scheduling. Don’t you think all this is enough? I do.

My focus will be on home, heart, mind, body, and spirit this year. That sounds vague but I do have specific things to accomplish in each area.

Coaster Swap


Little sets of coasters (4 per set) I made last year for a Special Olympics fund raiser

Amy at Ibby Bee is our swap creator. Since coaster sets are on my to-do list anyway, this will help me focus on not only my swap offering but the gift sets I need to make.

Photo Swap

Megan at The Scent of Water created this idea. I love the whole concept as taking and subsequently sharing a beautiful photograph is an act of using all of your senses.



I’m pretty bad about finding time to just relax—I’m on the go about 20 hours a day, 7 days a week until I end up sick or something; so this “focusing” endeavor is proving a blessing already. It’s a relief to have a plan; now I just have to “work” the plan.

Hugs to all of you—have a fantastic and very blessed weekend!

How to Save a Life

Did you know that one pint of blood from a single donor may save 3 lives?



Every 5 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood in order to live. Out of 39% of the American population eligible to donate blood, only about 5 percent do so (and it drops considerably during the winter months).

This January, during National Blood Donor Month, follow these four simple steps at your local donation center and become a life-saving donor.

1. Registration
2. Mini-Physical (temperature, blood pressure, pulse, iron level)
3. Blood Donation (generally about 15 minutes)
4. Snacks

source link



U.S. blood type distribution is approximately as follows (updated as I accidentally left out the O types—thanks Vonna!):

• O Rh-positive: 38%
• O Rh-negative: 7%
• A Rh-positive: 34%
• A Rh-negative: 6%
• B Rh-positive: 9% (This is my blood type)
• B Rh-negative: 2%
• AB Rh-positive: 3%
• AB Rh-negative: 1%

source link

More than 39,000 units of blood are needed each and every day—that’s a lot of blood and it has to come from us. The person who needs it next could be you, me, or someone we love, so I’m calling today to make an appointment to donate my blood.



There is probably a blood bank near you or even a mobile donation center. Check your local paper or go online to find your nearest blood donor sites:

• American Red Cross
• AABB

The Complete Jane Austen

My enthusiasm for Jane Austen knows no bounds. So when I learned about the upcoming TV series from Teresa at Plumwater Cottage, I just couldn't resist posting about it.


from Molland’s (see Resources below)

This Sunday marks the beginning of PBS’ Masterpiece homage to Jane Austen—The Complete Jane Austen, a series that will carry us through the beginning of April. This will be such a lovely accompaniment to my bandage knitting efforts on Sunday nights.



I’ve made a printable schedule (click to enlarge and print) for you. I printed mine on magnetic paper and posted it on my refrigerator. Check your local listings for times.


Originally a cover for Pride and Prejudice, I’ve modified the photo to make the schedule

Which Jane Austen Character Are You?



My result:

You are Eliza Bennett from Pride and Prejudice! Yay, you! Perhaps the brightest and best character in all of English literature, you are intelligent, lively, lovely-- in short, you are the best of company. Your only foibles are that you stick with your first impressions... and your family is quite intolerable.

Quiz link here

• Austen Blog


• “Austentacious” Ravelry group. This is a knit-and-read-along I just discovered via Meg’s Garden blog


• Hyper-concordances of all Jane Austen's novels


• Jane Austen Centre with all sorts of information


• Jane Austen Font


• Jane Austen’s House Museum


• Jane Austen Society with links to Buenos Aires, Melbourne, North America, and UK society members


• Jane Austen Paper Doll


• Molland's free e-cards, online texts of Jane Austen's novels, and other books and articles about Jane Austen and her work


• My post from last September about spending a “Jane Austen” afternoon includes a tea recipe


• PBS Masterpiece: The Complete Jane Austen (they also offer a free bookmark you can print)


• The quilt Jane Austen made

Letters, Quilts, and Sewing Adventures

Woman Writing Letters by Charles Dana Gibson

Letters and Quilts

According to Positive Thinking magazine, the week of January 6 through 12 is Letter Writing Week. When is the last time you received a real letter? I don’t mean someone’s annual Christmas letter but a real, honest-to-goodness handwritten letter? I miss receiving those, don’t you?



Today I’m handwriting a letter to our youngest grandchild telling her how much we love her and the story behind her doll quilts. Since I promised to make two quilts, here’s the second one I made yesterday. This one uses what I call “cheater fabric” as the little squares are already there. I just layered the fabric front with batting and a cotton backing, quilted around each little square, and then sewed on the binding.

Finn and Donk’s Sewing Adventure



Kelli of Africankelli and Finny of Finny Knits have announced their new 2008 sew-along entitled Finn and Donk’s Sewing Adventure. Our first project will be the Button Scarf from the book chosen for our 2008 projects: Simple Gifts to Stitch: 30 Elegant and Easy Projects by Jocelyn Worrall.



I’m looking forward to this new year of challenges and hope lots of you join in the fun. We learn so much from each other.

My Heart Is In It

Our youngest grandchild (2) liberates dishtowels from their owners everywhere she goes to use as blankets for her baby dolls. Her mama asked me to make a couple of doll blankets to replace the towel liberating activity.



So I made a doll quilt—my very first real quilt albeit in a minuscule version. To me, real quilts are those you actually put together. The ones I’ve made in the past are the type with the little squares already printed on the fabric and I just quilted around them—I guess it was cheating (but I’m not ashamed).



My husband said we need to send a doll with the quilt so off he went shopping yesterday afternoon. He reports that people at Target looked at him quite strangely because he kept squeezing various dolls until he found what he wanted. This one cries, giggles, sings la-la-la, etc. when you squeeze various portions of her body, feet, hands, and so on—it was the singing bit that sold him.



Now I’m pondering what doll blanket to make our little one next.

Blessings Friday

We visited the live tropical butterfly exhibit at Tucson Botanical Gardens to enjoy the approximately 100 different species in residence from Australia, Asia, Africa and the tropical Americas.


June Bug (Junius sillius) from North America

My husband insists that I include this photo he took of me.


Blue Clipper (Parthenos sylvia) from Southeast Asia

I took these pictures as practice using my new Christmas camera gift.


Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia) from South and Central Americas

The exhibit is about the size of a master bedroom and is a hot, humid greenhouse full of orchids and other plants to foster healthy butterflies.


Boisduval’s Yellow (Eurema boisduvaliana) from India, Costa Rica, and China

It was a wonderful experience—butterflies of all sizes, shapes, and colors flitted about here and there and some even used me as a perch. It felt like I was being blessed.



There’s also an Emergence Room where you can watch the butterflies emerge from their chrysalides—a magical metamorphosis.


Julia Longwing (Dryas Julia) from the U.S. and South/Central Americas

Butterflies only live about two weeks. This poor butterfly was dying; I felt so bad about it that I had to honor Julia Longwing’s brief life by taking a picture.

Bandage Brigade

Now that Christmas has passed, my attention is focused on the Bandage Brigade project. My initial post about knitting or crocheting bandages for leprosy patients can be found here.

At this point, 36 generous-hearted participants have joined me in knitting or crocheting bandages, names and links (where applicable) are in the right-hand column.


Photo by Karen M.—Bandage Brigade participant

Bandages are due to arrive at my house no later than Jan. 25 as the group hand-delivering them are scheduled to fly out at the beginning of February and I have to get our group’s package to them before the end of January.

Preparing the bandage for its trip:

• Each bandage should be washed gently in the sink or a mesh bag in the washer to remove any hand cream, ice cream, coffee, cat hair, whatever that got on them while we were toting them around working on them. This is important because of open wounds suffered by the leprosy patients.
• Then roll them up and secure them with a large safety pin.
• Put them in a plastic zip loc bag, remove the air from the bag, and seal. You can insert a tag with your name, email address, or your blog URL if you so desire.

Thank you so much to all who’ve signed up for this endeavor. If you don’t see your name or blog link listed, please let me know. Anyone interested in joining us can email me (link in right column).

A Clean Start

The end of 2007 also saw the close of the year-long Amy Butler In Stitches Sew-Along project in which I participated. Hosted by Kelli of Africankelli and Finny of Finny Knits, we learned new skills and discovered many creative ways of thinking about the things we make.

Our final assignment was “Dealer's choice: pick a pattern from the book you love and give it your own spin.”

I took the “give it your own spin” part literally and kind of created an unofficial Amy Butler In Stitches project as my final effort. I made two patchwork mats for the tops of my washer and dryer. I wanted a clean start for 2008 and a revitalized laundry room felt right.



By modifying Amy’s instructions for the Patchwork Handbag (which was our last project) and using leftover fabric pieces from that project, I was able to make both mats. This also makes it a “use what you have” project as I didn’t have to buy a single thing.

The mats are interfaced with Warm & Cuddly natural cotton batting and the back is a solid dark red. I only photographed one to give you the idea of my completed project.

A new Sew-Along for 2008 is planned but I don’t know the details yet.

Peace

photo by Dub Scroggin

We visited the historic little town of Bisbee last week and found this mural painted on a stone wall near the downtown area. I thought it perfect for my New Year’s Day greeting to you.

I wish peace for you and the world in 2008!