Friday Finishes!

This week I finally got the time to finish one item and make something new. It seems that I spend more time cleaning and taking Bean out, he really is an energetic pup and if i don't wear him out every few hours, he spends his time indoors, annoying me.

My great niece got a giant dollhouse last Christmas and so far she has decorated it with Barbie items, so i wanted to make her a rug for the house. I picked an antique design from Kopp's book and kept the colors in pink and blue, since those are her favorite colors. I wanted to use 3 strands of floss to keep the rug in scale, but it was way too much work and repetition, so I jumped to 6 strands for the background. It gives it a bit of a raised effect and it is not what I envisioned, but I am sure she will love having a real rug for her doll house and maybe someday she will get real furniture for it;)

If it were me, I would spray it with walnut ink, but she is a girlie girl and bright it will be. The rug is 7 1/4" x 6".

Another idea I had, was to make little tea coasters and stuff them with balsam. I thought a small piece like that would fit nicely into a thank you card and I could give them out as little gifts too. I used one of my photos from the trip and printed it on printable fabric, but I misjudged the size and they have become little pillows. I do like how they look and still a nice gift idea. I don't really like the stiffness of the fabric paper and I really do not trust the inks if it gets wet. I did heat set it and then run under cold water but I did notice a bit of red ink. It is a nice idea to use with photos to make pillows or even a mini quilt from your favorite trip.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have the annual art show in Wickford and the folk art music festival in Newport, so hoping to get to the art show, I haven't been in years.

Primitive Blessings Pillow!

When I was going through my paper patterns, I found this one and decided it would make a nice pillow. I scanned it in, but have no idea from where. It might have been from an old issue of Create and Decorate. If it looks familiar to you, please let me know so I can give the designer credit.

I kept it simple and I think it looks nice on my new mail desk. It is fun to just make things for fun and no stress to finish them. This week I am also working on a candle mat and I will be cutting out the appliques for Jan Patek's bible quilt. The pattern was a gift from a friend for my last birthday and I thought it was time I made it. A nice project to work on during the holidays and the cold winter days.

I gave it a heavy stain, but the flash washed it out. We had snow all day, so no outdoor photos.

I can't put up breakable decorations, my kitties are way too obnoxious. I put up 3 small trees and greenery with a sled on a cabinet. As you can see, nothing is safe and this is Moki looking innocent after he tried to chew off the pine from the boughs.

Friday Finishes!

I had a slow week, a bit of sewing a bit at a time, but I was able to finish one project and make two small ones.

I have been working on the stitched pillow for months, and I finally finished it. It is nice to have a large project that I can work on when I am done with one and waiting to get the next, ready. This is a design by Kathy Schmitz in her book, Simple Pleasures in Redwork. I have made a few of the projects from her book and have a few more that I like, a book that has a lot to offer with all types of projects.

I added the border with a reproduction print to match the blue couch. I do wish I had looked at the border before sewing it on, it should have the top and bottom with the longer pieces to balance it out, but it will have to do. It is an odd sized pillow so I cut up an old pillow to fit the size.

Since my hands are still bothering me, I did up some small stitchery pillows. I can't just sit and do nothing, so hopefully my hands will heal soon and I can get more done. At least I will have lots of gifts for this year:)

The angel pillow is a design from the book Heart Warmings by Pieces from my Heart. I reduced the design for a mini pillow. The deer is a design by Robin of  Bird in the Hand Primitives. Robin has a lot of wonderful free designs that she changes with the seasons.

I antiqued these and then added some stuffing and Balsam. I add stuffing to keep the pillows from being too heavy for shipping.

Christmas Pillows!

This week I worked on some pillows. I wanted to try some stenciled pillows and these are the result. I got stencils on a sale and used acrylic paints. I mixed the paint with fabric medium to make them waterproof and it also keeps them from being too stiff.

I made the pillows to fit the size of the stencils, so you can do them in any size that you want. After I stenciled them, I put them in the dryer for 25 minutes and heat set them. Then I sprayed the lighter pillows with walnut spray. For those I used a stark white fabric and you can see it ages it nicely. The snowflakes were done on coffee stained fabric from moda. With the snowflakes, I added a little sparkle paint, but it doesn't show in the photo.

Once they were dry, I cut them to size and added a piece of batting to each side and sewed them, right sides together. I use the batting so when I fill them, the balsam sits in between the batting. You can leave an opening at the bottom for turning, or you can make a slit on the backside. I used a slit and covered it, after they were stuffed.

I added the border stitching, after they were stuffed. I hide the stitches by pulling them into the edges.

I stenciled them with a stencil brush and used a smaller brush to get into the smaller areas.

The snowflakes were done with white, then a glitter paint over that, so it has a light sparkle to it. The white is not as bold in person, the camera tends to heighten paint colors.

For my backs, I sewed the slit up with a basic slip stitch and then added a penny to cover the area. My camera was acting up today and the flash wasn't working right, so the colors are way off. This is tea stained cotton ticking, a great way to finish christmas pillows. I used green on the others.

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.

Prizes and Picking and Giveaway!

A few weeks ago, I won two stitcheries from This-N-That Fabrics. They also have a new giveaway going on this week, as well as a contest for autumn. All you have to do is submit an autumn quilt and you will be entered, so be sure to visit and follow their blog, they always have something new and exciting going on for their subscribers.

Here are the stitcheries I won, they are so fun and great for gift giving to quilting friends.

The patterns are from Chickadee Hollow Designs, it comes in a series that can be made as single pieces or into a larger quilt.

This one is the my favorite of the two.

The weather is changing and getting cooler, which means apple season. I love apples and eat a couple a day. We took a large bag and filled it to the brim. My son and DIL came to visit for a cookout, so I sent them home with a bag of their own.

I am on the outer edge of my locker hooked rug, so hopefully I can have it finished soon.

This photo was taken with my iPhone. I told Bill to relax and look natural, lol.

Birds and Braids!

I found this free pattern on Wee Folk Art and thought it would be a fun and fast project. I wanted to use it as a holder for my crushed pine, so instead of stuffing it, I used batting and sewing the crushed pine into the batting. That way I could blanket stitch the piece, without the pine, falling out.

I need rugs and the hooked rugs are getting destroyed by the animals, so I looked online for some new rugs. I did find some I liked, but then I thought, I can make braided rugs, why buy one, lol. Soooo, I got the one I started, and went back to work on it. I use my scrap, heavier wools on braided rugs, so the colors are dependent on what I have. I am trying to keep the blacks and darks mixed in, but pops of color always look nice on a braided rug. I was planning on using it in the living room, not sure yet, but it will be put to use somewhere. Braided rugs are great for obnoxious kitties. Moki loves the one by the back door, he rolls in it, rolls it up and snuggles in it. Now he is inspecting the new one and finding it to his liking;)

It's Starting to Look like Christmas!

I was able to finish some things today, so I I have been able to put some things up and finish one project today.
I am keeping simple, since we know how tempting large trees, tinsels and jingle noises to certain furry kitties. I moved the three trees and put them in a corner with some furkins and things that could sit around the tree without getting ruined. It looked nice with the lights on, so I had to go with no flash. I like the dark look though, nice warm feeling. It is hard see, but yes, the toppers are all cats;)



I finished a piece that I found in the Quiltmania magazine. It is a design from Sandy Gervais. Love the issue and the special winter issue is another I want, hope I can find one in our area. I changed a few things on mine, of course. I used an old chenille blanket for the snow and added words to mine. Not sure if I should leave it, like this, or put something on the snow area? I wanted to hang it at the stairs, but I forgot wool doesn't stick to my sticky tape, so need to find a new place. I still have to finish my angel piece, so that can go on the stairs instead.

Christmas Freebie: Cross Stitch Deer

I finished my piece and now you can make one for yourself or as a gift if you would like.
I love looking at antique samplers and the naive forms of the animals. I redid some antique motifs and added my own touches and design, to make this pillow. It is great as a bowl filler or you can add a hanger for a prim cupboard.



I made mine on 18 count aida, but I think this would look nice on primitive linen. I just don't have the eyes for the tiny holes.
I hope you enjoy my new pattern and have fun making one for yourself. Please only use this pattern for yourself or as gifts.
I try to make the designs so that you can expand on them to make them more detailed, or leave things out if you prefer primitive. I wanted to thank all of my visitors and new followers with a little gift, to say thank you for visiting.