Friday finish and Freebie!

I hope everyone is done with their holiday shopping and can enjoy some time to relax and enjoy the holidays. We will have the kids over on Christmas Eve, so dinner and gift giving, then on Christmas Day we go to their house. I always save a present for the boys and I will have a little something for guests. 

This week I wanted to try something new, a cookie cutter gingerbread boy. The first one I kept simple and the second one, I added a fun outfit and bells. I love doing these and I think it would be fun to make more as gifts for next year and make them in different styles to fit the person, who gets them.

Another item I made was a gift card holder. I needed something to put the kid's card in and made up a mitten with a nativity scene. The nativity is a design I found on the web and then fit it to the mitten. The mitten is a pale green and the cuff is a green roving that I needle felted, into the felt. The appliqué is all wool, and a few touches that I add as I go. My shapes were different than the original so I just added some facial features to fit. 

The  mitten is a little over 6" long. The stitches are done with a khaki wool thread, but it stands out more in the photo. It's a great, last minute gift idea, that can be done in a day. 

May you all have a wonderful holiday week, no matter how you celebrate, may peace and love fill your lives and homes this year.

Friday Finish and Finds!

This week I enjoyed some rest time and worked on some little pillows. The pattern is by Cheri Payne and in her older Christmas book and also available as a download on Quilts By Cheri, on Facebook.

It was a fun project to do and worked up quickly. I did one in a simple prim style and the other with some brighter bells and buttons. I did add a bit of walnut stain to tone down the lighter colors.

We also got a chance to shop last weekend. We took a ride to the upper area of Connecticut to see if we could find any foliage. No real foliage but some great shops to stop at. One is a Christmas shop, they have lots of different items, along with antiques. I got some grubby candles and I found this wonderful bottle. It is an old, Cod liver oil, bottle, with a fishermen carrying a cod. Perfect for my beach room. There was no price on it, so the lady sold it to me for 4.50, great deal.

I decided to stop at a local shop, that I haven't been to in awhile and found a new black cat door stop, for my collection. I am always on the lookout and only ones that I like and for good prices, so it won't be a big collection, but fun to look for and I still have one more step to fill.

I am still working on glass ideas and an angel ornament. The weather has been cool and windy, not good weather for outdoor spraying, so I may have to buy a cheap tent to use outside, to do work like that.

We did get some beach time in and we didn't find a lot of glass, since it was later in the day. Sometimes I find something that seems different but doesn't look like glass. This is what I found and I decided to keep it and check it at home.

And this is what it looks like, when you concentrate the light under it. The light makes it more yellow, but it is a green piece of glass. You would never know when you see something like this on the beach, so always worth carrying a light with you. The thicker, dark pieces don't always show the light through them, unless it is concentrated.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We are going to try and find some foliage this weekend. We will head into Connecticut, or maybe Massachusetts, but I am happy if we just get out and get some hiking in. I think I need to do more activity that doesn't include constant bending.

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Blessed Christmas and Happy Holidays to those who celebrate the season in other ways.

I finished my Christmas pillow and still debating on making a corded edge for the outer edge, I think it will finish it off nicely. Maybe after the holidays, since I have no desire to go to any stores this weekend.

The design is by Bird Brain Designs, the pattern a gift from a  friend.

Today we took Nick out and had some fun at the submarine museum in Groton Ct. He had a lot of fun and enjoyed playing with grandpa.

Going inside a submarine was an adventure for him, a few times he started thinking it was time to get out, but he made it through and had fun climbing through the hatches and up and down stairs.

 We picked up some lunch and enjoyed a picnic at the point. We got to sit on the porch of an old home and enjoy views of the long island sound.

On the way home we stopped in Mystic Village and checked out some shops, Nick was awestruck in the Christmas shop, and I had to watch what he was trying to put in his pockets, lol. It was a fun day and I am sure he is as tired as I am.

Christmas will never be the same for us. We will have the joys of our son and his family, but Danielle will always be missed and a big part of our hearts. I still send her a note or add a photo of her childhood to her Facebook page each Friday. It is my way of keeping her memory alive. This is the card I made for her, for Christmas. May all of you who have lost loved ones, may you find peace and joy in the memories of those who have gone before us.

Friday Finish!

I have finished sending out cards and gifts and now I will try to wind down and start thinking about getting the house ready and a meal planned for Christmas dinner. We will do Christmas eve and the kids will do Christmas day.

I have been hiding my pillows in the stores when I go shopping, it is fun to be sneaky and I hope they put some smiles on the people who found them;)

This week I made something for me. I wanted to have something to hold some balsam to hang on a rack at the top of the entrance stairs. Now my guests will be greeted with the smell of pine. I used a pattern I did in appliqué, by The Teacher's Pet, and did it in punch needle, this time. I used wool for the back and a wool cuff, then I made a pouch from scrap batting to put the balsam in. That way I can take it out after the holidays and the balsam doesn't get stuck in the mitten.

The hanger was made by braiding cotton yarn and sewing it to the inside of the stocking, then I added a few bells. Stockings and mittens are fun pieces to make and you can use any christmas design on them, we all have appliqué patterns that work as well with punch needle.

I am doing some of the old photos from past Christmases with the online cardmaker. It is a great way to decorate old photos and I try to use colors and frames that help to clean up the damage from age. One of our visits to the mall santa. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and are ready to relax and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.

Twelve Days of Christmas: My Day!

I hope you have been following the Twelve Days of Christmas, each day there is a new tutorial or free pattern that you can make, just in time for Christmas. Thank you to Wendy for hosting the hop and all of the ladies who are participating. You can follow along each day by clicking on the banner.

I love to work with wool and I know most of you, love wool as well. I also love doing pieces with inspirational words and I think Joy is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy my project and make one for yourselves to remember to keep Joy in your hearts, each and every day, this season.

I have given instructions, if anything seems confusing or you have a question, you can email me, anytime. The bells are about 5" long, but you can make them any size by enlarging or reducing the design.

This is  closer photo of the bells, the garland goes across my windows, with more bells and ties.

Have fun with the pattern, instructions are a guideline of how I made mine, but you can change it to suit your likes.

Instructions:

Materials:

Wool

floss

red berries (Beads, buttons or french knot.)

Rusty bell

2” styrofoam ball.

Red and green homespun 1/4” strips

Jute

Clothespins

Bells:

Cut out 3 bells, 3 bell backs, letters, candle, 2 leaves. Sew on the appliques with a blanket stitch.

Attach berries

Sew back and front with a blanket stitch, starting at the bottom and when you come around to the end, attach the bell with the same thread.

Balls:

Cut strips from the green homespun and wrap them around the styrofoam ball, until it is covered. Take a red piece and wrap it around the ball, twist around at the bottom and come around the opposite side, tie into a tight bow, leaving a few inches of the tail, to hang from the clothespin. 

You can buy pre-stained clothespins or soak them in walnut ink to age them. You can also have fun and paint them in christmas colors.

To make the garland, take a piece of homespun and a piece of jute and twist them together. Add  red ties if you like to fill in the spaces, and you can add larger rusty bells, as well. The length depends on how much you add to your garland and the size of your window, or area that you hang from.

Pattern Pieces:

Another fun thing to do for Christmas is baking treats that everyone will love. I have made these for years, they are great for parties and your guests who come to visit. They melt in your mouth and I haven't met anyone who didn't love them.

I hope you enjoyed visiting today and don't forget to follow along each day.