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 Finishes!

I hope everyone is enjoying the last week before the busy holiday weekend. I have been taking it easy and working on projects, before I run around to get the house clean and food prepared.

The first thing I finished was a nativity pillow with a design by Cheri Payne. It was a fun piece to do and worked up quickly, so I can use it in time for Christmas. The design is free and in the files at Cheri's group, Quilts by Cheri on Facebook.

The next pillow is a design from an older book by Kindred Spirits. I took the saying from one design and the snowmen, from another. I realize it is a bit cockeyed, but that is ok, my brain seems to be that way lately.

And I got back to working on my punch needle, a design by Michelle Palmer. And with my backwards brain, I realized I forgot to reverse it, the design is supposed to be facing the other way, which is the way I liked it. Of course I got too much done to redo it, and took me this long to notice, lol. I took a phone photo, so the colors are a bit off and I will wait till I am done, then I can decide what doesn't look right and fix it.

And I have been the recipient of some wonderful gifts this week. One thing is a real Native American flute, from my sister. When she was here, I told here I loved the smaller one, that she had, much better for my small hands. Well, she sent me this beautiful flute that is larger and fatter than the one I have, so I am having a hard time playing it. I don't want to hurt her feelings, so I am practicing every day and hopefully I can coordinate my fingers and breath to stop squeaking so much.

And an unexpected gift from my friend Kelley was a beautiful quilt, made by her mother. Her mom became a part of my life, through stories and gifts she would send each year and I would make a few things just for her. She made this quilt for Kelley and now Kelley wanted me to have it, a gift from the both of them. It is something I will treasure, as well as their friendship through the years.

“May you be blessed

With the spirit of the season, which is peace,

The gladness of the season, which is hope,

And the heart of the season, which is love.”

Merry Christmas to you all!

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on some more punch needle stockings so I would have six, in total. I did two in crazy quilt pattern, which look more like stained glass. Two were, hit and miss stripes and the last two I did in the traditional red and white stripe, ticking pattern.

I took a piece of jute and wound a piece of red  homespun around that and tied it to my curtain rod. I used mini wooden clothes pins that I stained with walnut. They seem a bit bare all by themselves so I added a piece of homespun in between them. I think I like the idea of making the ropes with homespun ties and some with bells and other items, then I can hang stockings or mittens from them. Lots of possibilities and it will be fun experimenting.

This is a closer look at the new ones, that I made this week. I aged them all with walnut ink, so they have a nice grungy look. I think the hit and miss stripes is my favorite. This is a great way to use up those scraps. The stockings are about 6 1/2" long and 1 1/2" wide.

I was going through old photos, trying to find some Christmas photos, when the kids were young and found this photo. I had forgotten all about these. I made them in the 80's and sold them to my friends. We lived in a townhouse complex, so I had lots of customers for my hand made items. I just wish I knew where I got the pattern from, I think a box of old magazines got thrown out by accident since i cannot find the ones with my wood nativities in them. Would love to make these again, so if you happen to stumble onto it, in one of your old magazines, would love to have the pattern again.

Not the best photo, I should have scanned it in at a higher resolution and maybe clean my scanner glass;)

Friday Freebies!

I usually have a giveaway for my birthday, but this year the time got away from me. I also like to give everyone a gift, so I worked on a design this week.  These are for you, to use anyway that you would like, as gifts or for sale and you can change things if  you like.

I made up three different designs, the first can be done as a punch needle or stitchery.

This one is a star. I was thinking it might be fun to appliqué it with wool, onto a large stuffed star and sit it on a shelf. Or you could do it in punch, appliqué or stitchery and attach that to a large stuffed star.

And the last one is in the shape of a tree. Another piece that can be done in appliqué, stitchery or punched, either on a stuffed tree shape or onto a tree shape if you are punching it. I left the star on top as an idea, for me, I would add a rusty star to the top of the tree. You can use a star button or make a star with wool.

These designs were just done up, so I haven't had time to try some myself, so hopefully I can make some this week. There is no set size, I made them so they fill the paper, when printed out.

Today I had a nice day, relaxing and some fun shopping. One of the things I found today was an old washboard. I loved that it said Yankee on it, and on the other side, it has clearer writing for the company name. The only bad thing is I notice how musty it is. Would love ideas on how to get rid of the musty smell so I can hang it in the house. I know a lot of you buy antique pieces and would love to be able to enjoy them without the mustiness making me sick.

The board is a lot darker in person, the flash lightened it up.