Friday Finishes and a free pattern!

This week I have been busy cleaning up after the holiday and decorating for the next one. I find myself more in the mood this year, I put out more of my decorations and more lights. I think the kids will love seeing all the decorations and lights when they visit, kids do make the holidays more joyous and I am blessed that I can spend as much time with mine, as I want.

I decided it was time to make one of my patterns from Buttermilk Basin. I love the cut out shapes and they fit nicely on the wall, in smaller spaces. I changed mine up a bit, adding button eyes and snowflakes instead of stars.

Another thing I wanted to try  was an ornament that I saw in my Craft Gossip mail. I followed the link and there was no pattern, that I could see, so I made up my own. I found a similar shape and made a printable, and printed it out on card stock. It isn't real clear, but good enough to print and cut out. I had some music note paper and cut that out in the same shape and glued it on with Elmer's craft stick glue. I used buttons and a button carrot nose, as well as a scarf, all done with the same glue. I wasn't sure if it would work, but everything is staying in place. With the snowflake button, I sewed that on with a thin quilting needle. This was a fun and quick project and you can use different types of paper and items that you have around the house. Great for the kids too.

I am posting the template, that I used. It will print out clearly and you can easily follow the shape, to cut it out. This can be done on a wood cutout, as well, most craft stores carry them. Another option would be to use fabric. Or if you want it to be more prim, you can spray it with walnut spray or add glitter, lots of possibilities. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

Well, just one thing this week. I seem to have lost a day, lol. One moment it as tuesday and the next thing I knew, it is friday, thought I had one more day to work on some blocks. I finished the newest block from Buttermilk Basin and have Cheri's blocks started, so hopefully I can finish sewing those this weekend and get the pieced blocks made up next week and be all caught up. Did you know Cheri offers free patterns on her Facebook page? She just uploaded another from her Christmas book, a nativity pillow and a christmas quilt.

One more block to go, it is a longer panel that will go above the W, so almost done and I actually kept up with this one;)

I found a few old photos in my slide box, this one is me and a girl named Amy Sherman. I spent my summers with my grandmother in Amagansett, Long Island. She would make me new dresses and I have a feeling she bought me new sneakers since they match Amy's. We got hand me downs and I was the youngest of 6 girls, and shoes were worn as long as she could squeeze our feet in them, lol. In those days, I could walk around the neighborhood and up to the store, now it is a highway and big houses with pools.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Working on!

This week I finally got my Buttermilk Basin blocks made up. Now I am working on them, but not finished yet, life got in the way;)

I did two so far and one more to go, and I still have embellishments to do. I really love this BOM and it will be a fun piece for Christmas. I still have the S to do, that has a sled and lots of little pieces, so I saved that for last. Next will be the W and a long side piece, can't wait to finish these and just in time for the next one.

One of the things that is keeping me busy this week is slides. I got a smaller slide viewer that loads right into my computer, so I can view the slides and just take the ones I want. There were a lot of old slides and most were from trips, so scenery and ones my brother took when he was in the navy, but I finally got through that batch and got some fun ones. I need to learn how to do them into photos if I can and my nephew said he can try some, he does graphics, so he may be able to do it better than I could.

This is one from a camping trip to Maine. I am pretty sure it is on Sebec lake, they had a camp then, now it is just house rentals. I loved going there and one year Bill and I drove up there, but it was not the same. A lot of good memories, camping with my family. This week Bill has off, so we may just stay home, I have some places I want to visit and if I change my mind, we can always go camping for a few days later in the week. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

This is my mom and me and one of my twin sisters, they look alike at some ages.

Friday Finishes!

I am still making small items, but I am getting antsy to start on my unfinished projects and new ones that I have been wanting to make, so time to get going on those. I still can make small ones in between and it is something I can work on at night when I need a no brainer project;)

I was thinking of my sister when I made these. She loves snow men and always asks me to make more that she can buy for next year, so I let her go through my snowmen pieces and pick what she wants.

The first is a pillow, something simple but fun to do. I added a saying and a carrot button, as well as, the wool heart. I enjoy putting little touches on each piece, though I think the nose is a bit big for this guy. I use Faber Castell art pens to color with, they are archival inks, waterproof and have a longer tip so they color in nicely without bleeding. I wet the pieces to remove the washable ink and then use walnut stain on them and the ink does not run.

The second I made as a pair, but only got one finished and this way I can see how it looks before I dod the other one. I do like how it came out and a fun way to finish a stitchery to be used as an ornament. I did the stitchery with the batting on, then added a backing and did the stitching first, then I cut around the stitching with pinking shears. I had fun adding star buttons to this one. I also added a snowflake to the back so it would look nice if the ornament spins around on the tree.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have a nice day tomorrow so hoping to get out for some hiking.

Monday Finishes from Freebies!

There are so many wonderful artists on the internet who share their talents with us, and there is something for everyone. I actually finished two projects but the bunny was finished today.

The bunny pattern is a freebie offered on Pattern Mart. There are a variety of projects on their site for free and thousands of patterns from different artists. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter, they send one out, once a week and also have surveys that offer free patterns, as well.

This guy is a creation by Catnap Primitives. He is one piece, except for the ears, so he was easy to put together and fun to change up by using what I had. I have a hard time focusing on instructions, usually after a couple sentences I get lost, so I just look them over and then cut out the pieces and put them together;) Check out her other patterns, lots of wonderful prims and most are under five dollars.

I stitched areas on the ears to get the bunching and then I inserted a wire to keep them upright. I basically messed with them, until I got the look I want;) I hope you like him, he makes me smile. I moved him and didn't realize his carrots are crooked. I tacked them on to the hands, so they do move.

My second project was to get my Buttermilk Basins BOM done. I love the first design and can't wait to see the next one. This is going to be a fun BOM and you will have a finished quilt for next Christmas, don't forget to get your copy of the first block.

I am using Primitive Gatherings line of seasonal fabric for the backgrounds. The wool I use is a mix of new and over dyed thrift wool. I realized I forgot to add the fringe on the scarf and the star on the snowman, so I will add those on.

I hope everyone got to work on projects this weekend. Snowstorms have their benefits.

Friday Finishes!

I am still making pillows and it is fun to do new designs and with all of the blog hops this month, there were plenty to chose from.

The snowman design is by Kathi, from Heart to Hand. Kathi didn't have a blog so you had to email her for the pattern and it is wonderful and fun to make. You can now download the pattern, on her website. I only did one snowflake on mine since I wanted to keep the pillow size down. I used stuffing and balsam in this one.

Another design I have made before is the Christmas Angel by Pieces from my Heart. I reduced the design to fit on a little pillow. Balsam and stuffing in this pillow, as well.

I am working on the Christmas Hop piece so that will be finished this weekend, but you have to wait until December to see the reveal;) If you are looking for some free designs to do your own stitchery pillows, I found a french site that offers a lot of Christmas designs, some I have never seen before. Check them out at Cathy Creatif's.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be spending the day with Nicholas, so I am planning a fun party day with a special dinner and I even got him a present, a fisher price nativity set. He loves playing with my figurines so I thought this would be a fun gift for him and hopefully Bean won't try to eat it.

Happy Present!

Sometimes when we feel down or sick, we need something to cheer us up. When I was little my mom would get us a happy present when we were sick and stuck on the couch all week.

Last month I won a giveaway hosted by Brenda of The Rusty Thimble. Brenda makes the most wonderful prim items, from pillows and ornies, to dolls and holiday items. This month she is giving away a wonderful americana piece. If you love prim items but don't have the time to make your own, visit Brenda's Etsy Store, she has a lot of wonderful items for sale and she changes her stock regularly and seasonally.

Brenda waited to send my gift and I am glad she did, I was not ready to get a gift but today it arrived and it was perfect timing. I needed a happy present to lift my spirits, it has been a long day and lots of laundry and organizing clothes.

My bunny is so wonderful, I love her looks and clothes and she is a lot bigger than I realized, so she sits beautifully on the shelf with the antique crazy piece. I think she will stay up for the rest of the season and maybe she can be my garden bunny for the summer.

I have also been stitching this week, slowly but I am in no hurry, it keeps my hand and mind busy and it is nice to do something normal when I can. We also went to church with our son and my sweet grand baby, having happy moments with him helps me to get through the tough moments. I appreciate all of your comments and support and I do have future plans that I will work on when I can catch up on sleep and my mind is not so jumbled. I cannot dwell on the pain and the senselessness of it all. I will be starting a new blog in memory of my daughter to help others and for future charity events.

I hope you enjoy my little stitchery, it is a block by Theodore Cleaves and she has graciously offered the whole set for free. I love the designs and they make me happy as I work on them. I may make smaller quilts or a larger one, but for now I just stitch and enjoy the process.

Blessings to you all!

Friday Finishes!

I had a slow start to the week but I finally got some time yesterday to make a few things. I have been collecting needle felting supplies since a friend sent me some and yesterday I made a bunny for Easter.

I got a book from the library called Little Needle Felt Animals, by Gretel Parker. It has a lot of cute animals, done is a cute artsy style so great for beginners. The rabbit in the book is called Moon Gazing Hare and was a basic rabbit with ears, short legs and a tail. Of course I had to completely change it and make mine with legs and arms, as well as floppy ears and more facial features. I also made a carrot for him.

I learned a few things while making him. Always felt your parts to completion before you attach them. Once they are on, it is hard to felt them into the shape you want. I also put the ears too low, but all in all, I think he is cute and it was fun to make.

The photo makes him look fuzzy, but I felted him into stiff parts, then added a little bit extra at the end to give him a more soft bunny look.

Here is a view with his tail. I went with the traditional puffy tail.

I also wanted to try a sock bunny that I found from a free pattern online. She used a baby sock but I couldn't even find a small colored sock, so I took one of my husband's single that I was saving to find the match. It was way too big and I used the inside of the sock for the fluffy head, but the body part is not as nice. It was fun to make though and would be fun to get some socks at the thrift to use for animals.

I stuck the homespun around his neck, still debating on how to finish the body. You can find the Tutorial Here!

Today I got my new stove, so nice to be able to bake again and of course make more cookies. I am so happy with how it cooks, so much better than my old stove and my cookies came out, just right. I also did Beans laundry, of course he had to help.

I was looking for an old basket that I had, for the sock bunny, thought I could put him in with status and some old looking eggs. I never found the basket, but found this old piece that I made in the 80's. It is when I first started doing appliqué and used what I had, and felt for the appliqué. I made up the design and I notice it is a bit crooked, lol. The background fabric is something I hand dyed. Hard to see the rich colors of the piece in the photo, the bunny is a rusty brown.

Friday Finishes!

This week has been slow, no motivation and no energy. Being stuck in the house so much, doesn't help and Bean has way too much energy to be stuck inside, as well. Yesterday Bean had to go in for his operation, so I had the day without disruption. I spent the time, cutting and getting some prim stuffed Easter pieces ready to make. When Bean came home, I rested and worked on them in between his resting and need a cuddle time.

The first pieces I made were little chicks. I made two to see how I liked them. The actual pattern has a gusset, but i did it the lazy way and just made two sides. I also used camel hair wool, that I had over dyed in yellow shades. The pattern is by Pea Pickers Primitives, which is now called, Whimsical Endeavors. The original pattern has the chicks sitting in a rusty cup with status. I have both, so I will try that too.

The second piece I did was a free pattern I found years ago. I think it was in an old issue of Creative Times Magazine. It is by Rusty Pins and Old Lace, though I think she may be retired now. You can go back through their magazines and most of the free patterns are still downloadable. I reduced the size a bit, and it was a bugger, turning it inside out. As you can see, my stitching didn't stay on track and my bunny came out a bit wonky. I used an old wool that had been over washed and it was stiff and fuzzy. I think it would be fun to make them larger, and a lot easier.

The last piece is a pattern by Soft in the Head. It was given as a free pattern, at one time and I never made it. I have an old spring and the bunny sits on a spring, but my bunny is too stiff and my spring is too narrow for him, so I will make a new setting for him. I think I need to grunge it up with walnut, a bit too bright for me. I do like the way his carrot came out, maybe I will make a bunch to sit in a bowl.

Friday Finish and Winner!

I finally finished my first robin piece. It is a design by Sarah Sporrer. The pattern was given to me by my friend Karen, along with some of her older patterns in the monthly series. It was fun to work on and a nice piece to hang for spring.

I added a few extra words on mine, the chirr-up is what a robin call sounds like and is said to sound like  cheer up, so I thought that would be fun to add. I hope you enjoy my newest piece. It is much darker and prim in person.

It is raw edge with fusible, and I hand quilted the piece with dmc floss, thought it is hard to see in some places. Also, the robin is standing on a carrot. I saw the design and saw a carrot, then I actually read the directions and saw that it said white for the snow, lol. So, somehow my brain came up with a carrot instead of snow, but I think it makes it fun;)

And now for the winner.... The winner is .......... Jacquie! Please email me with your choice of epattern from my ecrater site. I had fun reading all of your ghost stories and I think we all have similar stories and folk lore in our areas.

I wish you all a wonderful Easter and blessings no matter what spiritual path you follow.

Monday with Nicholas Giveaway!

Today was a full day with Nicholas and I spent the weekend finishing my mug rug, so no new projects.  I decided to keep it simple and just added an outline stitch around the tree. In person it is more prim since I used older homespuns and too much detail would distract from the raggedy look, so thank you for helping me decide.

I have been decorating for Christmas a bit haphazardly, but it will do, lol. I wanted to put a tree up, but for some reason Bill threw out our trees. No idea why and wonder what else I will find missing;)

Today Nick was awake more often and a bit fussy, but a few shorter naps gave me time to relax for awhile. I needed to get dinner ready, leftover turkey and gravy makes a great pot pie. While I got that ready he sat in his chair and actually kept himself entertained today. He also hit another milestone, he found out he has fingers and spent most of the day moving them and touching them together. It won't be long before he can manipulate things better.

Of course he is teething and there is nothing better than a cold carrot and as you can see, he can be tough with anything he gums. I found that out when he tried using my knuckles, really, really hurts, lol.

When he got bored with that, we moved onto his stacking cups. Half end up on the floor, some he chews and some he plays with. Here is must be deciding which color would taste better.

When he got bored with those, we had a snack, bananas. He loves making a mess with them, and when he was finished I got out the washcloth and he grabbed it. He prefers to wash his own face and lick his fingers clean.

Now for the giveaway, give me a caption for this photo. The winner will get a free epattern or booklet from my ecrater store. I will draw a name from all of the entries on Friday, December 6th and announce the winner, that night.

Thank God its Friday Giveaway!

I haven't said that in decades, lol. Never thought I would say it again, but this has been a tough week. I am just getting over the flu, still hurting in some places and my sweet grandson seems to need constant attention or he screams.

I do have my natural instinct and experience, so I try to keep him on schedule for feeding and sleeping, but his mom still feeds on demand and he will be 6 months this month, is this normal? I am giving him what he needs since this is his first week being away so long, but I also need to find ways to keep him occupied so I can sit and relax once in a while. I bought a play chair, that lasts about 5 minutes, the rocking seat, doesn't work at all and I am reduced to walking around in circles with the stroller, lol.

So, that is all I did this week, watch the baby, rest and clean the next day..... until the week was over. To top it off, my son wanted me to take him with us so he could study tomorrow. Had to put my foot down on that one, it is our weekend, we shop and go for walks and it is the last nice weekend for now.

But, we do have our fun times and I found one way to keep him calm while I sit and relax, but that won't work, it is way too cold out now.

Another trick I used, was one I did with his dad. Big carrots are a great way to help with teething and keep them occupied. My son would sit for hours and suck on one, Nick was enjoying it at first, then the screaming started. This was during his happy moment.

And for the giveaway ........ Write a caption for this photo. I will draw a name from the entries and the winner will receive a free epattern. The contest is open until Sunday, November 17th. I will announce the winner on Monday and hopefully by then I will have my items finished off.

Next Friday will be my Bday giveaway, a package filled with goodies for one lucky winner. One item will be the extra snowman stitchery that I finished for the last contest. There will also be a couple of balsam filled items, so I will show them next week.

I would also like to know what you, my followers like, what types of items you would like to see in the box? I have lots of stash for all types of crafting, so give me an idea of what you would love to win? You can also do a search on my blog by using keywords, I do use a lot on each post, so if were looking for snowmen, type that in and they will pop up. I maybe have given it away or it may be in my goodie box, or I may have kept it and ready to pass it along.

Ok, here is the photo, have fun, make me laugh, I really do need one;)

Winter Penny Rug!

Today I finished a new piece for next year. I will be working on Christmas all year long, so I can make all the pieces that I never got to, this year. I will also be finishing some projects and quilting some tops, so hopefully I can get it all done. I also want to make a quilt for a new Grandson who will be arriving in May.

This piece was made with a design by Buttermilk Basin. The original design has tongues on the sides, but I decided to leave mine out and blanket stitch, in cream floss, around the edge. I will be using it as a wall hanging instead of a table mat.

One thing I love about winter is the snow, especially when we get just enough and it stays on the ground. Bill was taking photos of me while I was out getting some exercise. I dress for warmth, definitely not fashion, lol.

Reproduction Block Quilt!

Recently I saw a posting on Barbara Brackman's blog about dogs in quilts. I loved one of the blocks with the polka dot dog and bird and had to try one for myself. Of course I wanted to make it into a mini quilt, so I added my own touches. My brain was off this week, so things didn't all come out as planned, but it was fun to make and gave me some practice with hand quilting.

The piece measures 20" x 16".

My bunny buddy has been visiting me every day and night, he knows a good thing when he sees it;)