Monday Finishes!

This weekend I finished one piece I started and made another church pillow, two more for the Christmas box. It is nice to have these small projects to do and it is easy enough to make one or two a week while I watch tv, I might need two boxes to hold them all, at this rate;)

The first is another pattern from Kindred Spirits Christmas book, I love this design, something fun and a nice gift piece. I made it into a mini quilt and added a few of my own touches. I did not stain this piece, but I did  use a tea stained muslin so you can see some variation with the stain. The finished piece is 10 1/2" by 9". The borders are pieces from my scrap box.

Here is another version of the church with saying. I do like doing this one and I think it is a nice gift I can make to hand out, next year. We had fun with our surprise gifts we hid in the store, I think we will do that again too. I used cotton ticking with this one and like how it looks. I sewed it to the backing like a pillow, with the batting attached, so I didn't need to use a border, I just stitched around the outside and added some buttons. I will probably add a hanger, later on, it is small enough to use an an ornament. It measures 5" x 4".

We are on the mend, but still not 100%, so we went for a ride and enjoyed some time sitting at the rocks and the fresh ocean air. I hope you all had a nice weekend. Now I need to buckle down and work on the baby quilt. I don't have the right types of fabrics for what I planned, so going with something simple and a design at the top.

Friday Finishes!

Well, I guess our flu wasn't over yet, Bill woke up coughing bad on wednesday, so I made him go to the doc and he got medicine for both of us. I got the sore throat and sinus, no cough and now that I am on meds, I won't have to worry about that. Hopefully we can enjoy the weekend, Sunday is going to be beautiful and I really want to get out and enjoy a day of nice weather.

The good thing is, I had plenty of time to rest and work on some new pieces. I am still working from the Kindred Spirt books and made an easter pillow for me and two that I can give as gifts next year. It is fun making up things I can give next year and sometimes I like to have things to give just for fun.

Now I am going to have to buckle down, I have two weeks to make a baby quilt for the new baby and since I know it is another boy, I can get to work on it. I have an idea, now I just need to draw it out, figure out sizes and get it made, lol.

I had one more piece that I stitched, but didn't have time to finish it today. I have some ideas on ways I can change the finishes, fun to experiment and try different things.

Another thing I love, is to see the work from those who use my patterns. Deirdre of The Old Rose Cottage made a beautiful rug, using my Spring Chicks pattern. I love the lighter chicks against the dark antique background.

Monday Finishes!

This weekend didn't go as planned, both Bill and I woke up sick, so we spent the weekend at home. The good thing was, free HBO this weekend so we watched movies and I worked on some stitching.

I am having fun making stitcheries from the kindred Spirit's books, and made two more pieces, this time I made them into pillows. I think they would be great bowl fillers or a shelf sitter, great to tuck into those primitive gatherings and nice for gifts.

I added the X's and 1,2,3; I have an obsession with filling in empty space;)

Also, if you like free patterns. Theodora Cleave has the last of her free patterns. They are additions to the original ones that she offered. The designs can be done in a quilt or as small quilts since the designs stand on their own.

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on my new punch needle, still working on it but I did finish one stitchery. I wanted to make a larger cat piece for myself, just for fun, it makes me smile.

I added a few touches with fabric and some extra stitchery and made this one into a mini quilt. I use rug tape to hang them on the wall, an easy way to hang them and replace them when you want, without putting holes in the wall. It does work better with glossy paint, others tend to peel off with the tape.

I can never get the photos right, too dark or too light. I used extra walnut on this one to grunge it up. I also notice some blue in there, guess I need to rinse that out, sometimes the blue marker does not want to go away and I did use an iron on it when I did the fabric, so maybe that is causing it to stay.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We are getting some nice weather, so hoping to get out and do some walking.

And just for fun, for those who wonder what I looked like as a teenager, here is a blast from the past. That is my mom's dog and this is as hippie as I ever got, jeans and a t-shirt. I guess I got bored and dressed the pup in one of my nephew's outfits.

Monday Smiles!

This weekend I worked on a small piece from a design by Kindred Spirits. The book is called Homespun Stitcheries and is out of print, but you can still get used copies of their books.

I just love this design, it is simple and fun and the saying makes me smile. I made a small one that I can give as a gift and have another I am working on for myself in a larger version. I put it in a frame to show you, but I want to make it more like a postcard with a stiff back and maybe felt behind that, and with a hanger, it will be a nice way to send a gift.

I didn't put any batting in this one, I wanted to keep the stitchery look.

This weekend was low key, and it was too cold to get out for a walk, so we went for a drive and just enjoyed the views from the car. This is what it looks like in the winter, just footprints from warmer days.

The boys came over for dinner, and while the guys were doing things, Nick and I hung out, he was giving me attitude, he is such a smart alec.

If you remember the garden stitcheries that I have been working on, you can now get them for free again. Theodora Cleave is offering them again, a few each day, so if you are interested in making your own garden quilt, make sure you visit and get your copies.

Another free BOM is starting up with Dawn at Linen Closet Quilts. She is offering a wool BOM with baskets, this is another one that I really want to do. I hope I can keep up with all of them.

Friday Finishes!

This week I made two pieces, the first is an Easter piece that I made from Rebekah Smith's book, Wool Applique Folk Art. I made this pillow smaller by reducing the design so it is 9" x 10". I am not sure if I stitched right, my brain is still on hold so I just used what looked good. I also stitched around the designs to help tack down the two pieces.

It is a fun piece and a wonderful piece to decorate with. It was hard getting the colors right in the photo and trying to balance the light and dark so you could see the details.

The second piece is a smaller pillow, 4" square. I found this design online as a freebie, by Cheryl Seslar of Raggedy Scrappin. I found it on pinterest, but can no longer find it online, but you can get it from this pinterest link.

And just in time for Valentine's Day, I made a banner for my bunny. I found a stiff felt at the craft store and it is perfect for mini shapes. I cut out the hearts and stitched on the letters, then used yarn to hang them from bunnies arms. It is a fun idea and I can make an easter one, and one for Christmas, so she can stay out longer;)

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and a Happy Valentines!

Monday Finish!

It was a long weekend, a storm on Friday so Bill took the day off and then today we got another storm so he stayed home again. That is the benefit of being salaried, he doesn't lose money and it is not worth driving 45 minutes in this weather.

Of course that meant I didn't get much done and we did get out for a few days so that was good.
I decided to make something quick and simple and if you are looking for something to finish in a day, this is the perfect heart to make, just in time for Valentines Day.

The design can be found at All Free Crafts and it was actually a design to paint on a T-shirt, but I thought it made a nice Valentines bowl filler. I traced the design onto the backing and then went around the design to get the heart shape. When I sewed it to the backing, I used the end stitching as a guide to go around the heart. The leaves would have been nicer if i stitched them, but I was lazy and wanted to go quickly, so I used a lazy daisy stitch.

I added the stitched heart in the middle, it was an empty space and I could not find a way to fit a word, so I went with simple. I also used walnut ink and it was not working right and kept leaving large dark spots in a couple of spaces and the rest stayed light, so I had to rinse and redo a few times.

We went for a ride down the back roads and enjoyed the views of snow covered ponds and rivers. This was an old mill and they redid the area into a park so everyone can enjoy it.

Of course we headed to the stores at the south end of the state, you never know what you will find and this time I found some starfish lights. They are perfect to put in my beach room to add a little magic. I just put them around the planter for a photo, but I have another set and will be redoing the room a few times as I add new things and get a better plan on where I want things.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and not too much snow in your  area. We are getting hit with snow this week, so a good week to stay home and work on projects.

Friday Finish!

This week I was in the mood to practice my needle felting. I wanted to try something with pipe cleaners to see who it worked. So, I made a simple stick figure for a base. Then I decided I wanted to try craft stuffing as a base to save on my roving. It worked and it felted together to stay on the pipe cleaners, but it didn't pack in and stiffen like roving does.

Next I wanted to try using wool yarn. I had some old yarn that had no tag, so no idea if it is all wool, but it has a nice texture and color for animals, so I used a method I say online. I cut pieces of yarn and then brushed them with my cat's brush, yes my cat's brush, I cleaned it first;) It worked nicely, it turned the yarn into a puffy roving that felted up nicely and quickly since it is coarser.

So, I started felting over the stuffing and what was going to be a person, turned into a bunny, then what was a boy bunny laying down became a girl bunny standing up. I just work like you might with clay, I just add and think as I go and I never know how it will turn out till I am done. I made her some clothes with a felted sweater and a few bunny features and this is how she came out. I made white boots since I wanted her to be a skater, but not sure about the skate bottoms, and for now I have decided that I want her to hold a garland. It will have four hearts that spell out love, so I can make that with wool and jute and it will be done this week. This way if I want, I can always change the garland and have a christmas one for next  year and use her for two seasons.

She stands about 9" tall to the pom pom. I have learned that stuffing is not good to felt with unless it is wool, it is too soft so I couldn't shape and form her the way I wanted and the pipe cleaners get in the way and don't really bend that well, too soft.

I hope you like her, it was a fun experiment and I learned some new things.

We got a lot of the snow from the storm, so we stayed home and watched movies. At the end of the day the sun came out just in time for a beautiful sunset and Bill got the fun of cleaning off the driveway. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and sunny days.

Monday Finish!

This year I plan on doing a Christmas piece when I get a chance and it is a great project to do in between projects or when I want to just relax and work on something while I watch movies on the weekend.

I received Kathy Schmitz's newsletter and she had a free Christmas pattern and it was the perfect project to do over the weekend. I love Kathy's patterns and she does offer more free patterns on her website.

I decided to make the stitchery into a pillow and add the word snow and snowflakes in the corners. This design was really fun to do and you could also do it in different mediums, so her patterns are great no matter what craft you do.

The pillow is 10" x 8" and I used walnut stain, once it was finished.
I hope everyone had a nice weekend and enjoying doing some winter crafting.