True Love!

This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands, you get a bit daft;)
I decided today that I had to try a swim, so I went in the pool and moved around a bit.
The cool water felt so good and it really helped my back. One of the problems with an er is the beds are hard as a rock and since I couldn't open my eyes or sit up without spinning like a top, I was stuck for 8 hours on my back and it really did not help.

Bill got some corn on the cob to go with our steak sandwiches and I went in the kitchen to see if he was ready and this is what I saw. He is being so helpful and even his sweat shows how much he loves me, lol.

Thank you all for the well wishes and hopefully I can get back to normal next week. I really hate sitting around, it makes me nuts.

Rough week Sale!

I had a rough week and ended up in the er, so a bit off these days, but slowly getting back to normal.
Not sure what symptoms are from my episode or the drugs they shouldn't have given me, but I can say I will never go to that hospital again. Since I realized I was better off if I left, I had to sign out on my own and now it isn't covered, doesn't seem fair.


So, this weekend I am doing a buy one, get one free epattern sale. Buy one pattern and get any other of equal or lesser value for free. Just let me know which one you want for free in the comment box.

Antique Pin Keep!

I finished my pin keep, and then I went to take pictures. The moment I turned on my camera, it started making a funny motor sound and it wouldn't let me take a photo. Everything else works, but not photo taking, errr. I was cleaning it before hand, so I thought I might have done something to it, then I remembered our kayak trip. Bringing back my gear, I was swarmed by mosquitos and I dropped my gear to grab the bug spray. What I didn't think was, I had my camera case too and that got thrown to the ground, duh. So maybe I broke something. I am getting a nice new one next month, but I can't go without a camera that long, lol. I have an old sony, so today I figured out how to use it again and too some photos with it. At least it works and I can work on my settings to try and get better photos, but for now, you will have to put up with grainy photos. This was on night shot, it was the only way I could get it at night and still be able to see it.

The original idea came from an antique pen wipe, the hearts and hands. I loved the old look and wanted to reproduce it.



Then I decided it needed more items, so I added inner pockets. This is going to be a gift, so I sewed on the wool floss applique, at the tops only and left the middle section open, then I wound the real floss around them. This way she will have some hand dyed floss to use and she can store some of hers, that way too. The floss is a lot nicer looking than the picture.



For the other side, I went with a long pocket, so it can be used for skeins or whatever she wants to put in there. I will be adding some goodies to it later, before I send it out.



I added a strip to the outer, middle edge to give it support and a button closure, with a little extra room for when it is full of goodies. I made an applique on the outside and wondering if I should add her name to it too. I hope you like it and wish I could show the true prim look, it has been antiqued with walnut, as well. Tomorrow I will have to see if I can get better photos outside.

"Oh Deer, what can the matter be?"

Ok, I am a bit punchy today, think I spent too much time in the sun, lol.
We finally got out for a paddle, and it even sprinkled on and off, but it was still humid.

There was a beautiful blue heron but he was hidden too much in the marsh and with the rain, I couldn't get a shot, maybe he will be there next time. Always wonderful wild fowl to be seen on the shores and in the marsh coves, but today we got a rare treat. I thought I saw a dog at first, then realized it was a deer with her two fawns. They were trying to get out of the neighborhood they were in, heading for the point, so not sure where they were going.

I think they were confused as to where to go, especially when they saw this sign.



I guess they can't read, or they didn't care, they just kept going.



And being the fools that we are, we kept paddling in the rain, around the harbor. I was able to take this shot during a rain break, boats going in and out of the harbor and a few people came out to fish on the breakers. We are not the only ones who love to "Play in the rain";)

New Punch Needle: Antique Black Cat!

I thought it was time to make something new and a new pattern. This piece is based on an antique rug and then I added my own touches and motifs. I have kept with the simplicity of the original and even used scrap floss in most of it, in keeping with the original style antique rugs. I did use black valdani for the kitty, I just love how it looks in a punched piece. The pattern is a single pattern, you will get a JPG file that has a photo of the punched piece and the design, ready to print, as is. If you want to hook this piece, you will need to enlarge it yourself. There are no instructions or color charts, but I am always happy to answer any of your questions to help you in creating your own piece.

The piece is for sale, 80.00, shipping and insurance is included.
It measures 6" x 4". The edge is done with lopi wool yarn and the back is finished off with a piece of wool and a hand signed tag on the back. It also comes with a certificate.

Mini Stitchery Quilt!

I finished one thing today, a mini stitchery quilt.
I wanted to link to the site where i found it, but now I cannot find it, so not sure if it was on a site or I scanned it in from a book.
This is to be a gift for a swap I am doing, I hope she likes it. The photo is horrid, but when I was attempting to fix the photo in photoshop, it crashed, and I am too lazy to start over;)



Tomorrow I will have my new punched piece finished and hopefully the pattern as well. And for you kitty fans, here is your cute for the evening. This is Dora's spot of the week, from here she can watch who comes in the door and when Moki comes up the stairs;) The quilt above her is one of my first quilts, nothing fancy, I just made things then with no idea what I was doing. Well, I still don't know what I am doing;)

Wool Eye Glass Cases!

I am still in my lazy mood, so today I made another eye glass case.
I got the pattern from Better Homes and Gardens. The felted fun flower I made up and the prim sunflower is from Babycakes.
The one on the left is more prim, done with dyed wool and basic blanket stitch.
The one on the right is more modern, since I made it for my daughter and wanted it to be fun.
I used roving and needle felted the flower and yarns into the wool. Then I went over the piece with floss to tack it down and embellish it. I decided to add a few swirls with the floss that I won from Laura of ArtFabrik. The color I used is called Honey and has a nice variation of light to darker yellows.

These are fun and easy to make up and you can add anything you like for a design. Great idea to make ahead for gifts.
I use wool that has been over felted so it is thicker and great cushion for your glasses.

Giveaway Winner!

I wanted to have my new, finished piece to show today, but I got lazy and still need to finish it.
Today I got a prize that I won from CT Publishing. I won a bundle of wool felt and the ebook, "Faniciful Felties". I got the ebook and have been having fun looking through the designs and trying to decide what to make first. There are so many fun characters with accessories, I can make a whole town of people and animals.

Today I got the wool felt so now I can start a project, it is beautiful felt, much better than the regular felt in the craft stores. Check out their Blog, there are lots of wonderful tutorials and great contests for all types of crafting.



Since I was in a lazy mood today, I decided it was a good day to organize all my loose floss. Most of it was a giant nest, so it took me all day to pull it out and rewind it. I thought it would be good to use on my new felt projects and also other ones for christmas ornaments to get a head start. Maybe this weekend I will try some items, after I finish my punch, the stitchery and ......;)

One box has loose strands still, but I use those when I need a small piece for an eye or something small, so not worth winding those.



And now for the winner! The winner was number 1 today, Linda of The Quilted Pineapple! Linda, please email me with your choice of an epattern, from my ecrater site. I should have showed you a better close up of Moki, my thought was, "Call 911, he's going into seizures". LOL, he is really funny looking in that pose with his tongue hanging out. Thank you all for participating and commenting.

Name that picture GIveaway!

I have been doing some small items and working on things, so no new finishes.
I did start a new punch today, so that should be done by the end of the week, of course it contains a kitty and speaking of kitties, here is what my gang was up to today.

This is not the first photo, but this is the photo for the giveaway. Give me a funny caption for the photo and I will draw a name on friday night, July 15th. The winner gets their choice, of any one, of my epatterns.



And with that I will leave you with photos of the gang and why I limit their catnip;)







What really happened was that I got the catnip out and Dora came running. I threw some on the rug since I had to clean anyways. Dora loves catnip way too much.



And heaven forbid anyone who gets in her way;) It looks worse than it is, Izzy has no sense and tried to get some catnip before Dora was done and I don't even go near Dora till she tires out;) Once she left, then Moki got his turn.

Lady Bug Quilt!

I wanted to make something fun for my dauther's new place and found this design. It is a free design by Sandra of BabyCakes.
I wanted a saying and found this one, it fits the piece and a good message for my daughter who is of the, I want it now generation;)

I started out with watercolor pencils and then went over it with as little water as I could, so it wouldn't run out of the area.
I used a bit of art pens to enhance some of the designs and shadow, then went around the designs with different flosses. The yellow around the flowers is a beautiful hand dyed floss that I won from Laura at Artfabrik! The green lettering and ground, is presencia thread that I won from Jane's Fabrics and Quilts! The rest of the floss is basic dmc and the green stems and leaves are one of my hand dyes. For the border I used a fabric I won from Pat Sloan!

It was fun to do and I like how the watercolor pencils worked on the kona white. I got mine from Jo anns with a coupon, so great fabric to play with and I want to try some dying with it. I had a hard time getting the blue out on this fabric, so it is still wet, as you can see. Tomorrow I will look at it again when it dries and hopefully I can get the rest out. With watercolor, I can't get those areas wet or they will run. I am not sure if I should leave it as is, or dry pounce some blue for the sky and green below; what do you think?

Thursday Thillies!

It is still hot and I slow down in the heat. I have to wait till the afternoon to swim in the pool so I can exercise and still breath.
Tomorrow we will get a reprieve so that will be nice and the rain it should bring will be great for the garden.

Moki as usual, likes to pose for me and be his usual goofy self. Izzy has even gotten more silly lately, think the heat is getting to all of us, lol.

Moki is a big kitty, has really big whiskers and a really big mouth. Did I mention he has really bad breath too.
He is a meat eater, so he eats about a can a day along with dry. Talk about fish breath.



He really knows how to rest, he is so content and takes up half the table.

Patriotic Flag!

I finally finished my flag today and not real thrilled with it.
I had an idea and changed it and now I think I will make another with the original idea.

I hung it on the wall with rug tape, for now, but I plan on making a hanger for it.
It does look nice and prim on the wall, of course I cannot get a photo that shows the prim look it really has.
I like how it looks on the wall, but not how it looks in the photo.
I can't wait to get my new camera, hopefully I can get better shots then.

Tonight i played with watercolor pencils. I colored in a pattern with the pencils, then used light amounts of water to spread the paint. I am not sure now, whether I should practice some machine stitching with it, or hand stitch around it, we shall see what I decide;)

This is my own design, I am practicing making patterns for sewing, that can also be used to punch or rug hook.



Here is another view, the kitchen has better light, but tends to make the colors pop.
It might be easier to see some of the details on this one. It is all hand stitched and I did some stars on the upper half.

Fourth of July Special!

I am still working on my flag, might actually get it done tomorrow, lol.
Today I found a dead bird in my trailer and the mess it left all over the place.
So, it is going to cost to restore it, from that and the mouse damage, but at least it is cheaper than buying a new one.
No camping this year, we will have to clean it out, throw some stuff away and then fix it back up for next year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday weekend and for a special, I am offering........
Buy one pattern and get two of equal or lesser value, great way to get patterns for the upcoming holidays at a fraction of the cost! The special runs until midnight tomorrow, July 4th. Buy one pattern and let me know what two patterns you would like for free, in the comment section. You can see all my epatterns at my ECRATER SITE.

Feline Friday!

I am still working on my holiday piece, hopefully I will have it done tomorrow.
Today was a beautiful day, nice breezes so I was able to keep the windows open.

Of course the birds were enjoying the day too, with their favorite pastime, harassing the girls.
They were on the gutters, bent over, chittering at Izzy and Dora and they were going nuts as usual, trying to climb up to get them. And this is why my house is always a mess and you will find things on the floor;)



Moki could care less, he was trying to relax and get some sleep. Doesn't this pose, just make you want to hug him, lol.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. I plan on staying home, out of the hot sun and the crazy traffic.
Maybe start drawing again and some new patterns of silly kitties;)