Little Chick Mat!

I was thrilled to get my giveaway gifts this week, just in time for the holidays. My husband is going to help my son with the electrical wiring in his new room, so I thought I would make them a little gift for their new home. I used the wools that Stacy, of Buttermilk Basin, sent me for the pattern and my own wools for the backgrounds. The kids like new and bright things, so no dark fabrics or aging on this one.

The piece was small, so I added a larger background so they can use it on a little table. The blanket stitch was done in gold, but of course the flash made everything look brighter and shiny. I thought the white wool with the flecks of pink and blue were perfect for this project.

Pumpkins and Prizes!

I had another small piece that my friend Kelley sent me, and it reminded me of autumn. I hand stitch the top with lana wool thread, starting out with a design and then decided it was easier to do a basic stitch in the ditch with an X in the middle. I wanted to add applique, so it was silly to do anything that will be covered up by the appliques and since it is a table topper, it will have something on top.

I used appliques from two different books by Jan Patek. I liked the pumpkin in one and the crow in another. I kept it simple and like how it came out, something nice to use for fall.

The chalk marks still show, I need to rinse it off.

A nice surprise today was a package from Stacey of Buttermilk Basin. I was one of the lucky winners of one of her giveaways and today I received my wonderful goodies. I love what she sent and just in time for Easter. We have a storm heading our way tonight, so perfect timing. I can work on these two projects and have something new to decorate with. She even sent the wools and threads for the kit. The striped piece is a dish towel and I will be putting the bunny on the end, I just love that.

She even sent me a little Chocolate bunny, a really special treat for a dreary day.

Noah's Ark Rug Progress!

I have been working a bit at a time, on my rug and finally finished the middle section. This was a kit from Mad Hen Primitives that was gifted to me by a friend. I love being able to hook without having to worry about picking colors or cutting the strips, just enjoying the process of hooking and watching the design evolve.

The bad thing is, I ran out of background colors and had nothing that matched her strips, so I just added what I had. The flash really popped out the colors, so hard to see how it looks in a photograph. Now all I have to do is the outer animals and a dark border background. I do have the strips, so I hope I don't run out, but it is easier to match up darker wools.

My friend Cyndi who gifted me this wonderful rug is down sizing her stash and has a lot of wonderful patterns for sale on EBAY right now, if you want to take a look.

Saturday Thrifting!

It got up to 40 degrees today, a warm spell, lol. A good day for a ride and browsing the local stores by the beach areas.

We have a thrift store called The Johnny Cake Center. It is a small store but packed with goodies and today I lucked out. They had bins filled with a lot of home fabrics, but I dug through and found wool on the bottom. The tan is a thick blanket wool, great to back wool quilts with, the darker brown is a felted wool on one side and thick wool on the other, great for felted projects or maybe even a teddy bear. The last piece I found is a nice check, a bit thinner but it should full a little more when I dye it and that will work nicely as penny backs or for pillows. There is about 10 yards total and I got it for 9 dollars, but we gave a little extra to help out. The money goes to help the families in the area.

Then I dug through the back area, they had a sale table and look what I found underneath. Three wool yard sticks, perfect for a yard stick project. I have seen a lot of fun projects and things  you can make with yard sticks, so I grab them when I can find them for a good price. A total of .50 for all three, of course I thought they were worth a little more and it is a good cause.

I needed a new table for my bedside and the black one I had was the perfect size for Bill, next to the couch, so today I found one I liked. It is new and more prim, than it looks in the flash glare. This one is taller and I can put my library books underneath and have room for my extras in the drawers. I always like to keep pencil and paper nearby in case I get an idea.

So, a good shopping day, I found some things I can use and something I needed at a good price. Then we got to enjoy a ride around the coastal road and enjoy the views from different points.

Spring Pillows!

I wanted to make another pillow to match the first one, since I am hanging them on the same peg rack. I messed up and had to straighten up the bottom edge, but I think the whole stitchery is a bit wonky and seems that way in the photo. I love the design, but not the way it is put together, the bottom is too pointed to look nice hanging, so I think it would be better to round off the bottom corners. I decided to just use it as a shelf sitter with a bird arrangement.

I forgot to look at the photo before I started and made a blue bird, the one in the pattern is red, but I wanted blue anyways;) This is from the book, Simple Pleasures in Redwork by Kathy Schmitz.

One thing I forgot to mention, is that I reduced the designs from the book, by 20%. I wanted them a little smaller for the areas I am using them in.

Since I wanted something else to hang on the peg, I made a quick wool pillow today. This is a pattern by Primitive Gatherings' Lisa Bongean. It was fun to make, even though I made a mess of this one too, lol. The photo is horrid, but we it is raining all week, so I had to use a flash. I used an over dyed pearl cotton on the stitchery and edge.

In My Garden Stitchery Pillow!

This weekend I took a trip to Jo anns with my coupons and they had Kathy Schmitz's book, Simple Pleasures in Redwork. I have been wanting some of her patterns and this book had the ones I wanted and a lot more. I decided to start with a small project and I also wanted some things to hang on my peg rack, for spring. This piece was perfect and I really enjoyed making it. The orginal design is done in one color, but I wanted a little color to cheer up my rooms.

The colors appear lighter than they actually are. I did not stain this piece, since I wanted the stitchery to show, but you can see the staining in the tea stain muslin that I used, just the right touch.

I also received a wonderful surprise from my friend Sharon today. A wonderful wool pillow to add to my bowl arrangement for spring, a Dogwood flower, love it! I love the textured wools in the piece.

Primitive Table Bench!

I finally finished the table bench I was making for my friend's birthday. It is a bit late, but done.
I had finished it and grabbed a can of spray for the finish, except I had grabbed a can of red paint, ugh.

With the storms and cold, I didn't want to work in the basement, but I finally got down there and sanded off the red paint and repainted it black, then stained and put a real finish on it this time.

The pattern was from Mercantile Gatherings, 2010 Holiday Issue. The pattern itself is from the Wooden  
Nail. They sell patterns for different types of primitive wood items, so a good place to find patterns if you would like to make things for yourself. My husband made the bench and I do the finishing.