Thrift Store FInds

I love to shop in thrift stores, you never know what you will find.
Of course I get most of my wool from them, but a lot of times I luck out and find something fun and unique.

I love to collect cats and most of my searches now are for folk art or antique kitties and when I saw this one, I just had to have it. I don't know if it is from the 50's or earlier, but is is old and filled with something heavy.

The bowl is another thrift find, not an old piece, but I thought it would be great to fill it with primitive fruits, when I get around to making it;)

Fall Penny Rug

I belong to a wonderful group called woolnrags on yahoo and we had a contest last month.
We had to make something with wool with a nature theme and use a piece of gold wool that was sent to us.
This is the creation I came up with. The squirrels are modeled after an antique cookie cutter shape.
I named the piece "Autumn Flames". When I cut the wool and laid the leaves down, it reminded me of the flaming colors on the trees and the golden flames of a fire. I won second place for this piece. First place went to a beautiful fireplace swag.

I am offering the piece on ebay this week, so if you would like to have this piece for your home, it is available.
You can find me on ebay under kitane or type in PRHG.
One of these days I will figure out how to do the html to give you a direct link.

Fall Applique Pillow

I have been having fun working on new projects and finishing up challenges.
At the moment I am finishing two rug challenges, a quilted wall hanging for myself and a scrappy braided rug for the hallway, so my hands are never idle.

A dear friend of mine had a birthday this week and since she received her present, I can now show you a new piece I made for her. I got the new issue of Fons and Porter because I loved the pumpkin and sunflower pattern in it, but I decided not to make a table quilt and made a pillow instead. I added a cat from a whimsical pattern and a little sign for fun.

Laundry Helper

Another weekend and I feel like I didn't get much done. I worked on finishing a present for a friend and I started a new project. I am making "Cats in the garden" for my new wall space. I decided to use colors to match my kitties past and present, so it is a fun project to work on and will be full of memories of my sweet kitties who have passed. Of course Dora is represented in the quilt, I used a tan to golden print for her.

Dora has been quiet this weekend. With all the banging going on for the new flooring, she prefers to sleep in a pile of wool down stairs. She will chase anything I throw including laundry in the basket. In goes a sock and in goes dora. She gave me the smart alec look and then hopped out, she is way to agile and a handful, but she is a sweetie.

A New Firkin

Today I decided I needed to get out and spend money, sometimes we just have to buy something new, or in my case, old.
I did my home store bargain aisles, and found some unbreakable cups, just what I need and maybe these will last longer than the billion cups I have gone through.

We have a large salvation store in town, so I had to hit that and glad I did. I found some treasures that will work into some presents for friends, a collectible dragon (which my son collects), and a firkin. What was so great, was they had it marked low, which is unusual for our store, they always over price. Plus it was marked at 75% off, so I got it for 1.50$. That made my day, how often do I get that lucky.

It will be perfect for storing items and will look nice in the dining room when it is finished. It is not an antique, but it looks old and was made by basketville in Vermont. I have another one that I had gotten from an antique store. I love the red paint on this one and it has a spool holder inside, so it looks great in my new sewing room.

Halloween pumpkin and kitty punch needle

I had so much fun making my first stuff punch needle piece, that I had to try some more.
This time I went with a basic pumpkin, but shorter and wide, using various orange shades which I think worked out nicely.
The kitty, I drew up a little template for and then punched and stuffed as well.
I think they look so great together, I almost hate to sell them.

If you like this pair, I will have them on ebay later tonight. I will be selling on ebay at least for this month, and a few items here and there after that, but time to get busy on making presents and items for myself. I will be concentrating on patterns in the future.

You can find me on ebay as Kitane or http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZkitane

Harvest Quilt

I realized that I never showed you one of my secret projects. It was a gift I made for my friend Kelley (Kanknchester).
She has been sending me packages with fabrics and books to help me out since I started quilting again. I decided to surprise her with a wall hanging, using designs from her fall harvest book. It is so hard to show prim with digital, but this is how it came out. I did the quilting by machine and made a vine and leaves coming into the blocks, not sure if you can see them. I used light thread thinking that the tea staining would darken it, but guess not;) I need a lot more practice with machine quilting, it tends to take off on me.

I loved making this using Kelley's designs, they are so prim and fun, it was a pleasure to quilt.

New punchneedle: Halloween Pumpkin

I am always trying new things or new ways to do my designs and after seeing Betty's (Primitive Betty's) little pumpkins, I just had to try one. I loved punching it, I used dmc floss in orange shades and 6 strands. It is a little over 3" high and 3" wide. That was the easy part, then I had to figure out how to put it together. I made a few failed attempts and finally came up with a way to sew up to the edge, by using a thinner piece of wool and hand sewing that on first. By doing that, I was able to machine stitch the back and make it a little fatter for stuffing. The bottom is flat so it stands up on it's own. Of course now I will want to try a few more with different shapes and faces.

I wanted to add leaves to the top, so will think on that.

I also worked on a locker hooked piece. Yes, another thing to add to my list of things I do;) But, it is a mess and not something I would do alot of, maybe when I am bored and have excess fabric, but I find it harder to do then rug hooking and I cannot get the motifs or designs I would like without driving myself nuts.

New punchneedle scarecrow

I finally got something new finished. Well it is a new in that I have never actually done this pattern, but it is in my fall pattern booklet. I added a pumpkin and moon to this piece and mounted it on a wooden pumpkin that stands on it's own. I had fun making this one and it is a great piece to put on your mantle or table, for the fall. I will be listing it tonight if you are interested in bidding on it.

I will also be listing a book by tonya benson, it is a new book that is out of print, so if you have ever wanted to buy her first pattern book, this is a rare opportunity to get one and in new condition. You can find me as Kitane on ebay or you can use this link: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZkitane

Best friends

I have been working on challenges and secret projects again, so nothing new to show tonight. I did finish a new punch needle from one of my booklets, so I will finish that tomorrow and list it on ebay.

I was going through photos and found this old one I had hidden in a folder, it bought back memories and sadness for my big guy, who I lost this spring. I still look out the window in hopes that he found his way home and call to him, there is always hope. I think he and Dora would be the best of friends and cause double the trouble, lol. This is when Black was younger and Casey let him sleep with him. Black was 20 lbs and found too many ways to harass the poor dog, so those cuddley days were over.

Indian Summer

I was hoping for an extension of summer and we have been lucky with beautiful weather this fall.
We got the outer bands of the coming storms of hannah, but other than gusting winds, the day was warm and wonderful to be out in our kayaks on the lake. We even got to do a little surfing as we went into the large cove following the wind driven waves to the shore.




It was a rough paddle across the lake and we got a good workout, paddling against the wind. Bill had to pump some water that got splashed in his boat, notice the one eyed pirate rock watching him;)




The great thing about the lake is that is is shallow in a lot of areas. It keeps the water warmer for longer periods, so we got lots of swimming in today. Tomorrow we will be getting the remnants of Hannah, so a good day for Bill to work on my new wood flooring and for me to finish up some projects.

Busy with new projects and Challlenges

I have been busy with new projects and challenges, so haven't been able to show any of the new things I have been working on.
It is fun taking the time for myself and being creative.

Today I decided to swim in the pool, it has been cooler lately, but warm enough to heat it back up to above freezing, haha.
I always check the pool for what I call swimmy bugs, which are known as back swimmers. No bugs today, so I enjoyed a swim and as I was running around the pool to stir up the muck, I turned around and there he was, following me around, ick. I hate them and immediately ran out of the pool and got the net. They say that they will bit if handled, well the ones in my pool follow you and bite for no reason, so I get rid of them. Not to be confused with Water Boatman, those are the bugs that skim across the surface, those I like and they are welcome to swim in my pool. I was also delighted by a hummingbird, who hovered over me while I was on my back. What a delight to see while enjoying myself after a long day.

This picture is not mine, I found it on the web. I could take a picture, but a squished bug would not show you how creepy these guys are, lol.