Along Comes Jaunuary

 

" Winter does her own pruning. And I think that, as the new year begins, 

I might well do some pruning in my own life, keeping the essentials, the real values, 

and letting go the part that is no longer contributing to the growing time of my 

spirit."

                    Gladys Taber

Christmas day is almost here...........

and in just a few short days after that, this year will be

at it's end.

 Another year will greet us with  new things to stitch,

new craft techniques to learn, and new projects finished.

At this moment.......much of us throughout our country, are

weathering extreme cold days and nights.

Here's wishing you warmth and comfort , 

with plenty of great things to stitch as the cold wind blows the hours away. 

Stay safe and warm

WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 

A little paint....a bit of floss....and a sweatshirt

 

The November days are growing chilly......and I wanted to make

for myself a comfortable sweater.  Thinking upon a design for the sweater, 

I only had to turn to the beauty of nature at this time of year...........

leaves.

I love to make sweaters from sweatshirts.  I usually stencil

paint a design onto the sweatshirt, but this time, 

I used a hot iron transfer and hand painted the 

leaves and design

then I embroidered the design

The paint ran in a few spots....but in time it will eventually 

fade with the laundering.

I made the design to run along the neckline and down just 

a bit on one front half, 

and on one lower half of one sleeve,

and I finished the front edges with a buttonhole stitch hem.

It turned out vibrant and pretty.

It is comfortable to wear.........not too hot and heavy

and warm enough against the chill.

So tell me.......what are you in the process of creating?

Here's wishing you lovely autumn days ahead with

a wonderful Thanksgiving full of 

memorable moments.

 

Finding Time

 The house is clean and tidy, the laundry is dry and folded, the floors are mopped and clean, dinner has been fixed and dishes are done, and the gardens outside have been tended to.

I still have a little bit of time left to create........one thing or another.  And I do mean.........."a little bit of time".   When I happen to show the things I have made, to others, ......

it is a misconception when they comment that they envy all of the time I have to stitch, crochet, or create.......and they wish they had the same free time............

I am sure if you have creative hands.....and a household to run.......or a job to run to......as you read this.......you know exactly what I mean by misconception.  

For many of us, the creative things that we finally do get finished have actually taken us either a few days.......a few weeks........and sometimes.....a few months.....by carving out 30 minutes of a day....sometimes less.....

and when that one project is finished, we are joyful.  For me......this long process......or journey, as I like to call it.......is enjoyable as I slowly edge my way towards completion.  If I could crank everything out as quick as a factory, I am sure the piece would not mean as much to me. 

There is something that gives me contentment about the tiny moments, stolen away, working with color and design.......and then seeing the whole process turn into what I imagined it to look like.  

It doesn't matter........whether it's an hour or just a few moments......finding the time to create something is my "escape from the maddening world"....it's what gives me joy!

So how about you?  Maybe you are busy with your home and family?........perhaps you have long hours at your work?.......maybe that little slice of time is always elusive......

I encourage you........as hard as it may be........find those few stolen moments .........pick up a needle, a hook, or a paint brush........give yourself some joy.............make yourself some time to create!

 

 

One website

 leads to another website.........and then to another website, 

and then.....you find yourself surrounded with so many lovely images

and so many inspiring projects that you don't know what to try first!

This is what happened when I came upon this lovely crocheted lace.

The tutorial for this is 4 videos on YouTube and very easy to follow. 

I will share the link with you at the end of this post. 

I crocheted this piece the first time with a coral color, large,r count thread.

I loved it so much that I wanted to make a smaller size and longer piece to 

add to my handmade lace box

One thing I love about video tutorials is that I can stop and go

back if I am either too slow stitching or if I do not quite understand the step

I am working with.  If you go to this tutorial and decide to try your hand at 

crocheting this piece, I wish you many happy crocheted stitches along the way.

here is the link,  

Crochet.ElenaRugalStudio

A work in progress

 

There is something to create or to stitch on

 

at all times, and my workbasket is overflowing at the moment

with things I want to do.  

This is my latest finish.........it is my own design

I drew, tinted, and then  hand embroidered it to match one of my

vintage dishes.  

The plate is from the Homer Laughlin China Co.

and the pattern is Gold Fleur De Lis/rim, Cavalier 1950s-60s

Amongst some of the things in the  workbasket are these 

wonderful stamped holiday sets that were given to me close to

30 years ago.  

The Christmas "Doves and Holly" set contains 6 napkins and a large lovely 

table runner. I am always in the mood to work on some kind of Christmas themed thing

at this time of year.......do you feel the same?

 It is designed to work satin stitch in marked areas with different

color floss over the entire designs. I just do not want to take that long

to  work all of these pieces and I do not want that kind of look.

So I tinted the matching colors from the floss list

and embroidered ,so far, one napkin like this. 

I like this result much better.........what do you think?

I really hope to have this set finished before the Christmas season gets here.

How about you?  Do you start working on Christmas decor or Christmas

gifts at this time of year?  Do you get everything you hoped to 

finished?  I would love to hear!

 

Snowflakes.....on the patio.......in May

 The ever steady hot days of May find me seeking the comfort of a cool corner of my sewing space inside.  I piddle out in the flower gardens in the early morning and get brave enough to face the heat in the late afternoon , pulling the always heavy garden hose, watering, to ensure my flowers can stay strong and flourish in what seems to be a hostile stage of our climate.

But when all outside and inside work is done....and the quiet hours become my own,

I have turned to my crochet hook, deciding on working my way through a crochet snowflake booklet.

I have managed to crochet 5 and have begun work on the 6th.  There are 12 in all.......and each, just like nature's snowflakes.....are different.

I found a sweet box, with a snowflake theme to stash them in.  For now, they will accumulate in the box, until I decide on who to give the box to or  maybe I will choose to decorate with them. For now, I am just enjoying the process of creating them with my crochet hook.

I have found that instead of starching them and then ironing them, they come out prettier if

I saturate them in the starch, then carefully and tediously pin and block them into the perfect shape onto a miniature ironing board. I let them dry completely this way and then I lay them on a grid wire

patio chair and starch them again until they are stiff enough to hold their shape.(as you can see, I still need a lot of practice in this)

I find it whimsical to see snowflake silhouettes on the patio in 100 degree heat.

It is 102 today........but the trees have their lovely dresses of leafy green blowing and swaying in the wind, and little bits of pink, purple,and yellow color dot the grounds from the wildflowers that are starting to show.

So tell me.......what are you doing on these very hot days?  Do you enjoy basking outside.....or do you retreat to the cool of inside?  Perhaps some of you are just starting your cool Autumn/Winter days?

I would love to hear! 

Mason Jar Zinnia

 

James Wild Rose

 Spring is here, and I think most of us associate spring with 

lovely blooming flowers and the often garden favorite..........the rose.

In my shop are many vintage plates with rose designs.

One particular design I love is from a vintage platter,

from the Edwin Knowles china company and 

the design is known as James Wild Rose.

I can't resist purchasing these old beauties to place in my shop

and I especially wanted this piece just for the sole purpose

to create the design for embroidery

I love the grayish leaves along with the green

I have a project in mind for this piece, and if all works as 

well as I hope, I will show you the results in a few weeks.

Easter is here and I hope this finds you having 

lovely spring time weather and preparing for a 

wonderful Easter weekend with family and friends.

Wishing you all a very happy Easter!

My latest finishes

I have long wanted to work this quilt pattern into

a table runner instead of a quilt.  I found this pattern a long

while back in a library book..........long before we had home

computers and large book stores. 

I photo copied the pattern

page at the library, knowing that one day I would use it for the 

table topper I could envision in my mind. 

I found the cutest bee themed fabric at the fabric store the other

day and knew that it would be perfect for the hexagon block in the center.

I am thrilled that my idea worked out the way I had hoped!

I also finished the "Red Garden Sampler" I have been working

off and on for months and am very pleased with how it looks

and I have finished making a few sets of crochet coasters

to sell in my shop.

I found the sweetest boxes for the set to fit in.

My needle and hooks do not stay idle for long, as 

I am already in the middle of working on another project.

So tell me everyone..........what are you keeping your

hands busy with?  I would love to hear!

 

 

Bloom

 

Stay strong through your pain

grow flowers from it

It has helped me grow flowers out of mine,  so

bloom beautifully,

 dangerously, 

loudly, 

bloom softly,

however you need, just bloom

                              Rupi Kaur