HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Have yourself a merry little Christmas!

 

When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,

We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago.

      And etched on vacant places,

      Are half forgotten faces

Of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "Christmas Fancies, Custer and Other Poems, 1896

November is almost gone

 and I have found myself drifting farther and farther away from the busy world of the internet and more into keeping my hands busy with my needle.  There is not much to do outside as the short sunny days hold a chill from the nights that are getting colder. 

Some of the things I have been stitching on are dish towel sets that I plan to sell in my vintage shop.

I want to accumulate a few sets then make my announcement to the public that they are ready

for purchase.

This certain set of towels have printed days of the week with different blocks of color.

I decided to match and tint the dish transfer design to the block color of the towel it was on.

Each dish towel set will not all be the same. Some days of the week will be embroidered, some designs will not be tinted. 

Along with this dish towel set idea, I have so many other projects that are waiting for embroidery.

I hope this finds that you all have had a blessed Thanksgiving day and are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas holiday season ahead! 

Summer has left us

 

and I have welcomed fall with open arms! I love this time of year, don't you?

Once again, it always seems to be this time of year, I go through my stash of

floss, fabric, and threads...........always thinking of what I could start to work on next.

I have a considerable amount of small balls of crochet thread.........much of it vintage that

has found it's way to me either by friends gifting or junk shops literally tossing it.

I am always glad to rescue it.........but I realize I need to use it.

Since there is not such a large amount of the thread on each spool, I have tried to think of a good

way to actually make something small with it without combining all of the odd colors together to make

one large blanket.  

I finally settled on crocheting a miniature shell blanket with this lovely fall color thread.

If you would like to do the same, all you need to do is to 

use your favorite crochet pattern and just make it a lot smaller.

I have a small amount of miniature quilts that I make from time to time 

stored in a box........no use for them , except for the fact I love to make them

So I suppose I can have miniature crocheted blankets in the box with the 

quilts.  I may come up with a use for them all .........some day.

What are you keeping your hands busy with?  Are you decorating for

this wonderful fall season?  I would love to hear!

 

Lots And Lots Of Little Things

 

A couple of posts back, I posted this photo with of tiny pastry food I had made from 

oven bake clay, telling you I would post later what I was planning on 

making with this. 

I have had this box for the longest time and I knew I wanted

to make something with it

I made a miniature coffee shop

I hand made an enclosed pastry cabinet for some of the pastries 

and filled the pie safe with other pastries and things I made.

I call my boxes "miniature room boxes" and 

enjoy making them from time to time.

Currently, I have been embroidering very small 

motifs

to make brooches and pendants to sell in my 

shop. 

I had hand stitched and hand quilted this miniature quilt

back in 1999.  At one time I had it hanging on the wall,

but I have found a wonderful use for it.

I love old chairs.  This Jinny Lind chair is 

in rough shape and has been sitting in my vintage shop

for a long time. 

I decided to place a board seat onto it and paint

it a dark brown.

I realized the miniature quilt was the perfect fit for the chair.

I stuffed it slightly as I was attaching it to the chair.

Now it is like a "new" chair.  It sits beside the Jenny Lind

bed in our guest bedroom. 

My hands have had enough to do this summer to keep busy.

My mind is filled with so much more to get started on. 

So tell me, what have you kept your hands ....and mind.....

busy with?  I would love to hear!

The beauty of variegated floss

 

The napkins......embroidered by me on plain white cotton napkins

using different colors of variegated floss.

 I have been wanting to use some 

of the variegated floss I have had for so many years......but have always had a 

hard time deciding what design to use it with. This butterfly pattern is perfect. It used much 

of the different colors on each strand. 

The dinner plate pattern is Butterfly Botanical by Pfaltzgraff

I have been wanting to make a set of napkins to go with this set of dishes for some time now.

The table runner is  The Farmhouse by Rachel Ashwell.

I purchased it at Home Goods. 

It has a beautiful zinnia print in muted colors.......perfect to 

go with the variegated butterfly napkins.

The silverware is vintage Queen Bess II 

" We are all different flowers, but together we create a beautiful garden"

Sherri Bishop

I am hoping this finds your summer days full of lovely butterflies and flowers.

                                                                  

Something new.......and something tiny

 I usually only order books and embroidery kits from my own well known websites that I can trust.  But this time, I took the chance and followed a link that was on Pinterest.  I love Pinterest .....it is so inspiring. 

Isn't this sweet?  I had trouble tracing the words onto 

the thick felt....so I hand wrote them myself..........and it looks wonky......but for me,

it's okay.  

It is a mini candle mat.  It is probably meant for giving to someone

for their birthday......but since I make celebratory birthday dinners

for my family and friends........I will keep it and use it for a centerpiece

for the birthday dinner table. 

The company for this is called Bareroots.com.  She had many lovely kits,

some embroidery kits as well.  The kit arrived quickly and packaged so well. The pattern

instructions are easy to follow and the quality of the materials are excellent.

I did not tell anyone from the company that I was posting about them here........but I am sure they wont mind. I am glad I gave this company a try.

Currently, I am working on a project in which I need 

very tiny sweet treats for.......which I made from polymer clay.  I will show

you more of this as time progresses.

So tell me........do you order kits or books from only one source......or do you take a leap

of faith and try someone new now and then? 

I would love to hear!  

Here's wishing you many creative and inspiring moments!

 

 

With needles, floss, crochet hook, and yarn

 

I have plenty for my hand to stay busy and I 

find it hard to blog.....even if it is once a month.

It seems to take me forever to finish something quick enough

to show you.

I am not always in a rush to finish.....just to show.....

as most of you feel the same........it's the process of 

creating something that brings the true joy.

I did finish the above rug....using more of my yarn scrap stash.

I am still in the process of cross stitching the large peacock tapestry

that I have posted in earlier posts......

and I am also trying to find ways to bring interest to the vintage 

linens that I sell in my vintage shop.  

(photo found on pinterest)

Aren't these sun dresses adorable?

They are made from vintage dresser linens and fabric scraps.

I am thinking........and only at this moment ......thinking.....

about making models of things that are made from linens.....

to display on sale day at my shop,  in hopes of  encouraging and inspiring others to purchase

my linens to create such pretty things. 

So tell my.........

what are you keeping your hands busy with?

I would love to hear!

 

This Day I Will Marry The One I Love

 The above title to this post is a line from our wedding invitation 

40 years ago. 

We still love each other....

I think we always will.

Windy March

 

has allowed me much time to stay indoors to stitch

the hours away.

At the moment, I have several projects in the 

workbasket.  I change from one project to another

on different days.  One day I cross stitch, another day 

may find me crocheting, and then there is always the 

call from my embroidery needle to stitch. 

So tell me.........

what are you keeping your creative hands busy doing?

Embroidery, quilting, crochet, painting? 

I would love to hear!

Happy Valentines Day!

 

Who, being loved, is poor? 

Oscar Wilde

Wishing you a day of love and laughter

Along comes February

 

When February sun shines cold

There comes a day when in the air

The wings of winter slow unfold

And show the golden summer there.

~Philip Henry Savage (1868–1899)

Hello everyone........here's wishing you are having pleasant February days and 

if the cold is keeping you inside, may you have plenty to keep your hands busy

 creating.  The panel above, I tinted and then hand embroidered. The flowers for 

February in this piece are violets and primrose.

I am embroidering flowers of the month panels to place onto this room

divider.......or maybe it is a photo display?  I found this at a "junk shop"

several years ago and have been deciding on what I want to embroider for 

each section.  Which is why I decided on the flowers of the month panels.

As  you can see, I did not measure the January panel properly

and I did not want to embroider the piece again. I will dress it up

after I get the other panels embroidered.

The February days here have been an alternating run 

of ice, rain, and lovely sunny days.

So on the days I stay inside, I have a full basket of things waiting 

for me to work on. 

I have been wanting to do some ribbon embroidery,

so I tinted and hand embroidered this first,

and then worked my ribbon embroidery to embellish it.

I found this lovely illustration a good while back on the internet,

I am sorry I do not know who drew it, but I have always had

an idea in my head to embroider it.........tracing it off onto 

fabric was a bit time consuming,

I tinted just a bit of the design and let the embroidery

floss bring  the rest to life.   

And now,  I have turned my attention and my needle to cross stitch

a design that has been waiting in my stash for about 30 years.

This is Teresa Wentzler's design,  Peacock Tapestry. 

I started it last year, but, as always, I got myself sidetracked........

but now have decided to devote any free time I have to stitch

on this piece until I get it finished. So this may be all you see or hear about

from me over the next few weeks........months?

I am truly enjoying working on it and am excited about one

day being finished with it. 

So tell me, what are you keeping your hands busy with?

Cross stitch, quilting, painting........maybe gardening?

I would love to hear!