Postcard Winner and some Oldies!

I have enjoyed reading all of your comments and appreciate everyone wanting to help me out with testing a postcard. I love the idea of sending out postcards for fun and this will be a good test before I do more. I think I will have to have a giveaway once in a while with a postcard so those of you who didn't win can have another chance.

And now for the winner..... Jennifer768 is the winner! Jennifer, please email me with your address and I will get your card out to you.

Since we are talking frakturs and some of you have not seen my older work, I thought I would post a few frakturs that I did years ago and sold on ebay or giving as gifts.

These are two birds that I did from antique frakturs. Sometimes I like to add sayings to mine. The photos are old and got corrupted, thus the discoloration on the bottom.

This fraktur is one I did from various fraktur designs and added a saying. One of my favorites.

Another thing that I used to do is Scherenschnitte, the art of paper cutting. I can't remember if I sold this or gifted it. I haven't done these in ages, getting hard for me to cut with precision with my nerve pain.

This weekend I got lucky at the thrift store. I found a quilting book so I have patterns I can use on my quilts and a yard of General's Wives fabric, a nice addition to my civil war stash.

Friday Finishes giveaway!

This week I worked on a wall hanging, using a design by Jennie of Elefantz. She offered this design on her blog and you can still find the free design, along with other inspirational sayings. They are wonderful designs to make for a friend who could use some comforting words.

I wanted to get an outdoor photo but it was too windy today. The fabric I used is a dark red/purple, so it all depends on your computer screen. I did the fabric appliques with raw edge fusible.

Another thing I did was a small fraktur piece. I found a pack of watercolor postcards and wanted to try one with a simple design. I used watercolor pencils and then I used a bit of gloss medium on the colors so I could antique the background and it kept the colors from running but with flash it cast off too much glare. I was thinking this would be fun to do and send to friends, but not sure how well the card would hold up, especially if it got wet or torn. I usually use regular watercolors so I can get better colors and shading, but this was a practice run to see if I could keep my hands steady for the ink outlines and painting, not too bad for a rush piece.

For the next one, I will antique the paper first, then use a spray finish to protect the whole card. Would you like to be a card tester? Leave a comment that you would like to receive this card and I will pick a winner and announce it on Monday night. I will mail the card to the winner and we shall see if it holds up or gets ruined in the post. Sorry, but this giveaway is for US post, only.

Bunnies and Babies!

Karen of Log Cabin Quilter used my new pattern to make a wonderful wool applique piece. She made it into a fun piece with the pink wools and the beautiful shades in the homespun for the border. I love how she also used a textured wool for the arms to give the bunny more shape and definition.

Karen sent me a photo and I tried to lighten some so you could see the details but it is hard not to lighten other colors too much. I can imagine how wonderful this is in person, wool always looks better in person.

We had wonderful weather on Saturday, it actually went over 50 and I wanted to get out and enjoy it. We went for a nice ride down the back roads and checked out the rivers, did a little shopping and ended the afternoon with a visit to my son's house. Of course we all know grandma just wanted to play with the baby outside, lol. Mom was working so I took Nicholas for a walk along the river, they have a wonderful neighborhood to walk in. He loved going for a nature walk. I hope everyone got to enjoy one good day, spring is coming!

Friday Finishes and New Pattern!

First of all, I hope you will all bear with me, as I practice making blog backgrounds. I had one made years ago and have no idea who made it, so I cannot figure out how to remove the middle color so I can balance it all out, but someday I will figure it out;)

This week I wanted to make something new and fun so I started doodling and B is for Bunny was the result. He was fun to make and has a wonderful character to put a smile on your face, we all need that this winter. He is a nice piece to do in any medium and can be done in a prim style or even for a babies room.

I wanted to keep my piece simple so you could see the design clearly but between my bad punching and the fact that I raised the height and forgot to put it down, it has a sculpted, scrappy look. Even with all his flaws, he is a fun piece and by using the bumpy yard around him, he makes a nice pillow.

If you would like to make your own bunny piece,  you can get my newest Epattern by clicking on the link to the left or visiting my ecrater site.

Another piece I finished this week was a smaller rag wreath. This one I used homespuns that I didn't want to use for quilting since they were too thin, but perfect for a wreath. I also tried staining bright pink flowers for my larger wreath and one came out a darker color, so I added that and a few items to decorate the new wreath.

Make it Monday: Bunnies!

I have been wanting to make some little bunnies to add in my baskets and bowls, so today I tried a couple. The pattern I got the idea from is from a russian site, but it does have a translator on it. The site is called Full Moon: The Edge of the Soul and she shows you the ones she made and a little tutorial, but it is easy enough to figure out and I just drew up my own template and used that. I think it is a great design to have fun with and make with different fabrics and change it to make it your own or custom make it for others.

Another idea that I got from Urban Threads is to make little bunnies and give them as gifts. She makes up little bunnies and leaves them in places like a library shelve, for someone to find. She adds with a tag  on hers with a name and information on the bunny, sounds like fun.

You can find her bunny design and idea under freebies at Urban Threads.

Here are my two bunnies. I had to put the faces on after I made them, so next time I have to remember to do that first, then I can use buttons or beads for eyes. The bunny on the left was made from my old pant material and the one on the right is a felted wool that I found in a thrift store, so great for scrap fabrics too. I couldn't tell how much walnut stain I had on them so the one bunny came out with dark spots.

Friday Finish: Rabbit Wall Hanging

This week I worked on a small piece to hang on the wall. I enjoy doing smaller pieces, something I can work on while I relax and finish in time to enjoy for the season. I really like this design, it reminds me of a Warren Kimble painting and looks nice on the wall.

The design is by Sarah Sporrer  and part of her Folk Quilt of the Month. The patterns are older but if you do a search for her patterns, there are still some for sale. I was lucky enough to get some of her patterns from my friend Karen. You can see the bird piece as her banner, I think I will do that one next.

I decided to try something different with mine. I used the yarn dyed japanese taupes for the appliqués and some older fabric that was similar in weight for the background. I really like how it came out and I think this design would look nice in a pair with different color schemes.

I cropped some of the border so I could get a closer look at the details on the fabric. The appliques are a black shade but the flash left it a bit lighter. For the applique, I used  lana wool thread, which appears white as well as the green for the date, flash is not a quilts friend. For the words, I used a #5 dmc cotton thread, I like how it sewed, and shows up nicely on the background.

If you would like something fun to do for the week, Kaaren has her Friday Freebie and it is a fun piece to do for Easter. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

And today is my son's birthday, he turned 32 today. I found this photo of us when we went climbing up Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. He was almost two and Bill and I took turns carrying him up the mountain, he was that light.

Make it Monday: Springtime Candle Mats

When I have time or need a rest, I love to browse blogs and find new designs that I can make and share with others. Last week I found two wonderful circle designs that were perfect for spring and you can make them too.

To make a candlemat, I trace the design on light colored fabrics and stitch with DMC floss. When it is finished, I use a clear plastic lid that is larger than the piece and trace the circle around the design. Then I mark off a half inch with dots around the circle and cut out along that line. This gives you sewing allowance and room to add an outer stitch. I also use a piece of batting and do the stitchery with that on,  it gives more definition and hides any stitches you need to carry.

The design for this mat can be found at Crafting With Jack. He actually has two, so you can make one for yourself and one for a friend, they make wonderful gifts.

On this piece I used tea stained muslin and Distress it. It was nice since I didn't water it down, but you do have to use more of it to get a bit of staining.

On this mat I used white Kona since I wanted to use a gold for the flowers. It was also stained with Distress it. I think I like this one the best, the colors show up nicely and the dragonfly is a nice little touch. You can find this design at Humming Needles.

This weekend my husband was sick and my daughter was home and I was sick and taking care of them, so we stayed in and rested. I got a bit bored so I decided to amuse myself, or should I say Izzy. She was so funny and when the birds flew away she was looking up and around for them.

Spring Wreath!

I finished making the wreath with the fabrics I showed you, then I had to decide how to decorate it. I decided to go with a vintage Easter pillow, but it didn't work out like I wanted. I used the print and press and a design that I found at Graphics Fairy. She has a lot of wonderful vintage designs that you can use for printing and making into decorations for your home.

The first design was ruined, not sure what happened, but it did not peel off properly and half the design was ruined, so I made another. I made another that worked this time, I pressed harder on the floor and I think that helped. I thought the design was large enough but once I set it inside the wreath it didn't fit snuggly, which I wanted so it would stay put.

I put the pillow on the wreath and added some flowers to show how the wreath looks. I am thinking that I may make a large sitting bird for it, what do you think would look nice on it? I wanted to do something for Easter, than change that out for spring so I could use it longer. Another idea I had was to print out vintage ornaments and tie them around the wreath.

I have it here on a wall, once I finish it, I will hang it on the front door.

Our house is full of the flu, my daughter had it, gave it to me and now my husband has it, so hopefully this will be the last one for the season. One thing that is nice when you are sick is to have wonderful friends who think of you and send surprises in the mail. It really made my days to have some wonderful new things that I can work with to make new creations with. It warms my heart to know my friends are thinking of me.

I have been practicing with my needle felting but realized I don't have many colors for animals, or fun colors for other projects. My friend Laurie spins her own yarns and uses roving and sent me some unspun rovings from her stash and a lot of her hand dyed, so I will be able to make some new critters now. The funny thing is, something she uses in the roving is something that makes Moki crazy, I found him and the box on the floor and he was rolling around in it, lol. It is now safely locked away from him.

There is roving under the roving, a whole box full. This will keep me busy for a long time.

 Today I received another package from my friend Mary. She knows I love to work with wool and had a pattern and wool kit that she was not going to use, so she passed it along to me. Not only was I surprised by such a wonderful gift but it is the same pattern and kit that I saw the other day and wanted to make, so I was thrilled.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Fabric Dying!

This weekend I decided to make a rag wreath for spring and use up some of my old stash. I had yellows and greens and some pink and blue that I could add for a spring touch but I soon realized that the yellows had white backgrounds and too much showed on the wreath. This wreath will be for the front door so I want it to show up and not be too white or grungy.

These are the yellows I am using, as you can see they are bright, but perfect for a front door. The backs are just too white especially since there is white in the prints.

I decided to try yellow rit dye to darken up the backs and hopefully not destroy the prints on the front. I used about a half bottle to about two yards of fabric and the dye took nicely and didn't ruin the print, but it spotted the backs so some areas are lighter than I wanted. I did read on their site that using salt can help to set the colors more evenly, so I will have to try that next time. All in all it is a good way to darken up white backgrounds with fabrics that are too light and perfect for rag wreaths. Rit Dye has some wonderful tutorials and a color chart, that will give you recipes when you click on a color and shade that you like.

This is how it came out, not as dark as I wanted, but it will still work in the wreath.

I also had two greens that had white backgrounds and since the yellow was gone from the pot, I added some green and did these two pieces. They took the color better and got a darker background so they will work nicely in the wreath. If you would like to learn how to make your own rag wreaths you can visit House of Stars for a tutorial and a beautiful nautical wreath that you can make. Rags-n-Rhinestones has another wonderful tutorial for a country wreath that has buttons and yo yo's as an added touch.

It is hard to see how it actually looks with a camera shot, but the back  has a nice dark green and is not such a contrast to the front, in person. I hope the links inspire you to do your own dying with ugly fabrics and try a scrap wreath.

Freebie Friday!

I haven't finished anything this week, fighting off another flu and working a bit at a time, on different projects to keep my hands busy.

Today I decided to do a Spring freebie. I think we are all sick of the snow and rain, and are looking forward to spring.

I made up a cross stitch for you to use. It is a modified version of an antique design and perfect for spring. I added words that you can add, but you can put anything you would like. The program told me that I could not give out the pattern if I use their text, so I just used photo shop to add it afterwards. I just used basic colors and black to define the areas.

The design is done for 18 count, so you can make it larger or smaller with a different count of your choice, just have fun.

And for those of you who do not do cross stitch, I have a sketch that you can use for stitchery. You can also do it in punch needle or any medium that you like. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Angel Quilt Finished!

I finally finished my quilt today. I did the rest of the stitching this weekend and the binding today. I made this quilt to hang on my dining window. I have french doors in the back so I don't like using curtains and this is a nice way to decorate the window without throwing off the balance in the room. It is also fun to make them for the different seasons or holidays and change them out.

The pattern is an older design by Pieces From My Heart that a friend gave me. I wanted to get it done and up, but still keep the prim look, so I used raw edge fusible for the appliqués and a simple whipstitch to put them on. The stitching was done with #12 pearl cotton, around the appliques and border edges.

It was fun to make and fits over the window with a little room left for the kitties to sit at the window. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tea stain it, I can always do that later.

Another thing I have been playing around with is Zentangles. Zentangles takes doodling to a whole new level and I find it fun and relaxing to do. I took a design idea from a Charley Harper design and then added some Zentangles to practice the different patterns. As you can see, I messed up on some and  my hand has a mind of it's own so it is nothing spectacular, but fun to practice. You can visit Tangle Patterns to learn more and they also have patterns that you can use for practice and lots of links for inspiration.

Friday Finish and Food!

I have been collecting needle felting supplies for a while now and decided it was time to try something. I have done some felting on flat surfaces but I love the little animals that people make and wanted to do some myself, but have been afraid to try. I decided I had to just jump in and try, even if I messed it up, to see if I could do it.

I thought a simple bird would be a good place to start, and I found a nice tutorial on the web at Joe and Cheryl. There are steps missing, so I just looked at the photos and figured it out as I went along. I wasn't trying to do an exact copy, just follow the basic steps and I don't have any good dark colors in my stash, so I ended up using some strands of black wool for a variation. I also didn't have the right sized eye, so I just stuck some roving into the eye area, I can add a nice eye later.

Nothing fancy, but I really had fun trying and learned some things along the way and how to attach the pieces and shape a bit. Now that I got over my fear of trying, I will try some more pieces and take my time on them. Not too bad for my first piece.

I should know better than to shop when I am hungry. I had to stop at the health food store and they had apple sauce with apricot and no added ingredients so I had to get some. It tasted fine, but way too much for me to eat before it spoils. So, I decided to make applesauce cake and found a great recipe on the at Mr. Food for Amish applesauce cake. I didn't add sugar or spice since I can't have those, but I added two mashed bananas to sweeten it a bit and it actually tasted good. I am always trying to find good snack cake recipes for snacks when we travel or paddle and I think this one is a winner.

Free Valentine Cross Stitch Pattern!

I was playing around with my card design and thought it would be a nice cross stitch pattern. This is free to use and you can change it around if you would like for your own use. Nothing fancy, but I think this would look nice on a heart shape or a pillow to hang on a peg rack.

The design is done on 18 count, basic colors were used but you could use variegated colors to give it more movement. I hope you enjoy making the design and would love to see your finished pieces.

I also doodled on the drawing and colored it in for those of you who would like to make an appliqué or stitchery from the design.

Valentine Postcard!

I decided to try another postcard, using a different method. Since I printed out two smaller backings, I decided to try a practice run to see how it would work, so I kept it simple this time.

I started by finding old postcard backings to print out. They print out larger, so I reduced them until I got the right size. This one was made with a smaller version. You can find the free postcard backings at Fuzzimo. I used card stock and printed out two at a time.

To make the applique piece, I used a fun art print that I won from Sauder's Fabrics. I used Pellon heavy fusible and ironed the piece to that, then added the appliques using a medium weight fusible. Once I had those on, I sewed down the appliqués. Once the appliques were done, I added a piece of batting and a scrap piece of fabric to the back of the batting, so I could do free motion on a smoother surface. When all of the quilting was done, I added another piece of fusible and attached the card back and sewed it around the edges. I think it would have been easier to use fusible web, to save on cutting and attaching so many fusibles, but the nice part is, it gives it a nice quilted card look and stays thin and stiff, so perfect for sending in a card or envelope.

I think the card stock was what actually gave it, it's stiffness, so you could use peltex type products, as well. I also tried a tighter, small blanket stitch and it really chewed into the card stock, so sewing the edges with that, is something I need to work on. I also forgot to stitch an eye on the bird, so I glued a silly eye on, lol.

This is a great way to make cards if you want a quilted look and I am thinking that I could sew the top together first and then just attach the back, on last, without stitching, will have to see how that works out.

The design is just a simple heart and bird, hand drawn, so no pattern needed. I used variegated red to black for the outer stitch. I also wanted to write the word love, in free motion, but forgot that too.

Here is the back of the card. You can see where some of the card stock tore at the edges. I started out in the wrong spot, then figured out where to place the edge with the foot, then my bobbin ran out, so that didn't help. I love the look of the card though, nice antique look and you can use printer fabric to make them, as well.

This week we got snow, then sleet and rain, so the snow is icy and hard. I went out skiing in my back yard, but I really had to watch myself and the areas that were sunken in, but I just went slow and did ten laps this time. The kitty that my neighbor left when she moved is still hanging around, he comes every morning for food and water and I think he is also being taking care of by the new neighbors at night. He must be doing ok, he was following me around the yard and being silly.

Easter Pillow!

No postcards today. I was looking for things and found an old print out, that I had done years ago and forgot about. Today I cut it down to the photo and made a pillow with it.

I used June Tailor's Print 'n Press to print the design, which is an antique post card design. All I had to do was print it out and it was still good after all these years. I would recommend letting it dry for a few days before using it, to set the colors. I ironed it onto fabric, then cut 1/8 around the edge of the design. I placed the design onto the background fabric, then lay the crochet trim around the edge and sewed it down by machine. The crochet trim is a moda product that I won years ago, finally using my stash.

The buttons were an after thought, a way to cover up the sloppy corners of the trim. After I sewed the buttons on, I sewed it into a pillow and decided some smaller buttons would look good on the outer edges of the pillow. The one thing I think I would do differently, is to use fusible on the back of the design to hold it down better. The iron on is a bit like soft rubber, so I would not sew onto that. I made an egg  years ago and it does hold up well, but also fades and cracks a bit with age.

I hope you enjoy my new pillow. It was fun to make and looks great on my shelf. The finished pillow is 12" x 8". I had to take a photo without flash to avoid glare, then lighten the photo up, so it might seem a bit brighter than it actually is.

Winter Wonders!

We had a beautiful day  yesterday, the temperatures went over 50 and today, back to winter. The birds love snow and my trees were filled with so many birds, I think every bird in the area was here today. Yesterday I counted 21 Mourning doves in one tree and today there were three cardinals.

We woke up to a light snow and it continued most of the day, so this is what my world looked like today. It was hard to get a close up since I had to use a zoom and the falling snow confused my focus. I keep forgetting I can use manual focus.

The Mourning Doves just sit in the trees and stare at me, a bit disconcerting, lol. It is nice to sit on the porch and watch the birds, my time to relax and center myself.

I found some new print outs to try and an idea for making postcards, so hopefully I can make a few tomorrow and have something to show you on wednesday.

Friday Finish: Easter Postcard

I am not sure I would call this a finish, more like a failed experiment, lol. I wanted to try a postcard and decided to just go for it and see how it worked out. I made a mess, but I learned a lot, about what not to do.

I used Peltex for the base of the card, it is double sided fusible, so a nice product to use for postcards. A friend send me precut pieces, so I could use them for practice. I took scraps of fabric from my basket and just laid them down in a random pattern, then ironed them to the Peltex. I wanted to do machine stitching, so I realized if I wanted to stitch, I could not have the plastic back on it, so I put the backing on too, big mistake. If you are doing a lot of stitching, wait to put on the back side;)

It was not my best week to be doing fine work, my lyme is messing with my nerves again, so I don't have the control I need for this. I stitched all over the place, and my jerky motions made the stitches jump and as you can see, it is a mess. I will have to slow down, working too fast with free motion is another bad idea, on small pieces. I used a design from an old book I had, with country designs, perfect sizes for practicing.

It is a fun project to do and fun to experiment, well worth a try if  you have never made one. I will be doing more and getting used to stitching small areas and I think it would be fun to do some mixed art ones.

Things I did learn was, use a 90 sized needle if you are working on Peltex, otherwise your thread breaks. Variegated threads are fun to use if you don't want to change the threads, it gives you a variety of colors on one spool. For the appliques I used Pellon fusible.

I cannot believe I am showing you this, but some of us, learn better from our mistakes;)

For the back, I used a postcard print out and traced the lines on. You can find printables that you can use for the back. I used a Pitt artist pen to do the lines and word, it dries immediately and it waterproof.

This is why you want to wait to put the back on, not a pretty sight. Even though this one was a mess, it was fun and I can't wait to try some more.

Welcome Quilt!

I finished another small piece this week, a welcome quilt from Whimsicals. It can be found in the book, From Mom and Me. I have a few of Terri's older books and love her designs and thought it was time I made this one.

It is a simple pattern and I used wool for the applique, so it was easy to make up. It is the perfect size to hang on my wall rack with the heart piece, for now, then it will be gifted to someone.

I made a simple border instead of the one that went with the pattern, but I like the black fabric around this design and with the antiquing it worked nicely.

Here is the piece on the drying rack, love how the walnut ink stained on this piece.  For small quilts, I water it down and then brush it on with a paint brush, it gives it a more aged and spotted look. I also dry it on a rack in the front loader, so it crinkles it up a bit and it also gives it an uneven look, but I don't like ironing it out to straighten it, since it takes the wrinkles out.

Another trick I like to do is, antique the clothes pins. I soak them in watered down walnut ink and let them dry in the sun. It gives them a nice aged look for hanging quilts.

Friday Finishes and a New Pattern!

I am finally getting more done and finished two pieces this week. The first piece is a punch needle design based on an antique fraktur and my own touches. I loved the naiveté of the rabbit and it is a fun design to try with different color schemes. I wanted mine to stay in neutrals except for the pops of color in the flower.

The original piece is 6" x 4" and was finished with walnut ink to give it an aged look. The design is for sale in my ecrater store, or you can click on the link to the left. This is an E-pattern so you receive a pdf pattern with a color photo, line drawings and a basic color chart. Mine was done for a punched piece, but you can also use it for rug hooking, stitchery or appliqué.

I did not add an edge to this piece, I liked the simplicity of a raw edge. The back was done with a dark green wool. I took a photo outside today, and I got a lighter piece, but I still lost the antique look of the walnut stain.

Another piece I finished was Hearts and Vines by Kathy Cardiff. The pattern was in Primitive Quilts and Projects, Spring 2013. The original is done in wool and it is a beautiful piece, but I thought it would be fun to make it into a quilted piece.

On the original she had her initials and date, so I added a saying and the quilted keys to mine. I also used watered down walnut ink, so the piece is much darker and yellowed in person.

Valentine Rag Wreath!

I wanted something for my front door and I thought it would be fun to try a rag wreath. I bought a wire frame from the craft store, half price with a coupon, so well worth getting one. If  you want you can also use an old coat hanger and bend it into a heart shape.

I used some thrift material that I was thought would work nice in a craft project and it was perfect for this. I snipped the cloth into 1" strips and tearing it, since they were long yardage. Then I used scissors and cut that into 6" strips for the ties. The frame has 3 sections, two in the back and the middle is slightly higher, so you want to start with the back two rows and then do the top section last. You can add less strips to the inner section since the two outer rows fill most of the wreath, but you do need a few on the inner to fill in, so the wire doesn't show.

This is a 12" wreath, I had wanted a larger one for the door so I might just keep this one inside. I made up a little heart with some scraps and added that by making a tie and tying it to the middle piece. A fun project to do, works up quickly and a good way to use up scraps.

I wanted to show off the wreath, so I used a little photoshop magic to make a new background.

This is the fabric, I used. It is a nice soft material so it gives a nice raggedy look. If you would like a tutorial with photos, you can find one Here.

Vintage Heart Quilt!

I have been working on my new heart piece and I finally finished the stitching tonight, so hopefully I can have it all done this weekend. I realized I didn't have much for valentines so trying a few new pieces this year before I move onto spring and summer pieces.

One thing I realized is, I had this quilt hanging on the ladder in my bedroom, I guess it fits well enough for a valentine piece. I am not sure if this was my first one, might be my second, but it was done in the 80's, so I guess it is vintage now. As you can see, I had no idea what I was doing, my hearts are wonky, the stitching is bad and I used tacks since I had no idea how to quilt.

The fun thing about this piece is I used clothing from my kids along with scrap fabrics. The kitty fabric was a pair of corduroy pants that my sister gave me. The red floral corduroy was my daughter's farmer jeans and some flannel and pant material from my son's cloths. Lots of memories.

This is a closer look at some of the fabrics, there are a few pieces of ticking. I used ticking a lot in my early days, especially for rag animal dolls. The materials are darker and more worn, since it was used at one point, but I notice some seams are coming apart, so I just display it now.

Dancing Bunnies Needlepunch!

Well, I finally feel human enough to start working on my projects. Yesterday was the first day I could sit up and still, long enough to work on my punch needle piece.

This punch needle design was a kit that I won from Ginger at Primitives By The Light Of The Moon. I have used my wool yarn in punching and found it hard to do, so I was worried about how I would do with Ginger's kit.

I really love the yarn that comes with the kit, the colors are beautiful, nice variation in the colors and it punches through weavers cloth easier than floss. Another thing about kits, is they always give you too little and you run out of yarn, but Ginger adds enough to finish the piece and extra to put into another project. The yarn in the background came from the same skein. It was really fun to just punch in areas and see how the colors came out, as I went.

After I finished my piece, I made it into a pillow and antiqued it. The rabbits were shades of white but the walnut turned them all brown, but I do like the antique look it has now. Of course the flash lightens it more. The border is a shade of green and blue yarn, that I twisted and sewed around the edge.

If you would like to make one of your own, you can visit her Etsy shop, Prairie Moon Primitives, which includes the pattern, weavers cloth and wool yarn.

Framed Angel!

I really loved the pillow I made and I wanted to try it in a new version. I enlarged the pattern so I could do the angel in wool. I also liked the idea of making it into a framed piece, so it is just the right size to fit in an 8" x 10" frame. I decided to have a little fun and used a floral trim around her head and the addition of lace and buttons adds a fun touch. After I finished it, I antiqued it, using more on the rose trim to tone down the bright pink shades.

The design is by Primitive Blessings and can be found under stitchery patterns. It was quick to make up and a fun project to do for yourself or as a gift. I still have to finish my new pattern, so hopefully it will be ready on friday.

The frame is just a cheap black one, I need to go through my craft supplies and organize my frames to see what else I have.

Playing Around!

I  had planned on finishing my new pattern this weekend, but life gets in the way. But sometimes it is worth slowing down and enjoying a day with my grandson.

I have wood floors and that is not a great surface for a baby to crawl on, so we got a new rug. Something that covers the living room floor so he has plenty of room to play now.

He has so many unique and fun expressions, I couldn't resist taking some photos. I should have a new design and punch to show you by wednesday, the punching is done, just need to decide how I want to finish it.

Nick likes the new rug too, lots of colors to look at.

And look who has his first teeth.

And of course he can crawl much better with the rug so he wants to see the fun toy grandma is pointing at him.

If you like to take photos of your family or send them to others, a fun program to use is PHO-TO. They have all types of photo editing tools from fixing a photo, resizing and lots of fun frames and effects.

This will be nice for holidays too, you can take a photo and then make it into a card to send to friends and relatives. The only thing you have to remember is to crop and size your photo to fit the frame. There is no way to position the photo in the frame, once it is in.

Giveaway! Chris at We Love Quilting is having her giveaways again, so don't miss out, she has wonderful surprises for her winners.

New Stitchery Pillow!

I started my second block, but am so busy with the house, that I am tired at night, so I started a simple project for fun and I think it is a nice gift for friends too. I am also working on a new punch needle design, so hopefully it will turn out well and I will have a new pattern available next week.

This pillow was made with a design by Tiffany of Primitive Blessings. I really like the simpler ones with a saying, great for a prim home and nice to have sayings to remind us of the important lessons in life.

I really think I will make another, except that I will do the angel in wool and then stitched hair and saying. Maybe make it into a framed piece.

If you like this design, you can find under Patterns: Stitcheries: Angels. For the price of a design, you can stitch, punch or work it into a quilt or wool appliqué, not a bad deal for a wonderful design.