MAGPIE'S MUMBLINGS

A blog about my interests, which include fabric landscapes and various and assorted other artsy pursuits and sometimes known to contain mumblings of a random nature.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Stash Reduction....maybe??

In the interest of reducing my stash of denim (which is overflowing the assigned storage area) I decided I simply HAD to make one of these...


Jack decided he really liked it (husbands don't, as a rule, wax poetic about things we make) so...it will become a throw for the back of our couch.  Then he announced that it would be really nice if I were to make two smaller ones to go over the back of our chairs too.  Hmmm.  Well, this morning I cut out more denim and have one sewn up already.

However, can anybody tell me
WHY
the stash bucket is STILL
overflowing??

What's with THAT???

Pattern for the quilt is from HERE.  It's an adaptation of Kaffe Fasset's Jewel Squares from the book 'Glorious Patchwork'. 

Friday, December 28, 2012

Ornament for 2012

Each year I make a special ornament for Christmas giving - generally in editions of about 24.  Some are little gifties themselves and others are used as 'tags' on larger gifts. 

Here's what I made this year...


Yes, you're not seeing things - that IS a paper clip!!

Instructions came from HERE.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

TUSAL sign up!

Most of you will remember my monthly TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch A Long) posts over the past year.  It was such a fun project and I enjoyed seeing my ORT (Old Recycled Threads) jar fill up as the year progressed.  Well, DaffyCat has decided to run it again in 2013 and I've signed on once again. 


Sunday, December 23, 2012

Merry Christmas to all!



From our family,
to yours,
we wish you the
very merriest of
Christmases.

   

Friday, December 21, 2012

Christmas Beauty!


I have to show you the beautiful arrangement of flowers that just arrived at our door!  Aren't they lovely?  It's a great mystery as to who sent them though!  The card was simply signed 'the gang'. Ummm.   We don't know a 'gang'....or do we?  Never mind, they are exquisite and we will enjoy every moment of having them.  Thank you to 'the gang', whoever and wherever you may be!!

- - - - -  

Oh yes, and Cosmo wanted to say a Christmas hello
to all his online kitty friends too!


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Late for TUSAL!

I know I'm late posting my final TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch A Long) pictures for this year, but I hope I can be forgiven in the light that I have not been moving too far from my comfie chair the past few days.  There is hope that I might live, so here's my post....




I guess I did manage to get some stitching done in the past month
if this pile of ORTS is an indication!

Below is my overflowing ORT container...





Thanks so much to DaffyCat for a fun
year-long project!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Hack.....splutter.....blow......

....yep, a miserable cold has caught up with me and I'm doing nothing but dose myself with Buckley's and seriously consider buying stocks in the facial tissue business. 

Good thing I have a comfie chair, a doting husband, and lots of no-brainer Christmas movies on TV!

Friday, December 14, 2012

broken.....

Normally I save putting up an image of my creche until closer to Christmas.  I know I post it every year and perhaps my long-time readers are rather tired of seeing it.  The news from Connecticut today is beyond comprehension and is so very heart-breaking.  All I can do is pray for those families and publish an image of what I believe in and know that God is with them.


Sorrow has no words.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Another Christmas gift finish....

This one was really a cinch to make and gives
a nice little organizer for on a desk or
in a sewing room.



It came from this pattern...



I've had it in my to-do pile for a couple of years so
I'm not sure that the pattern is still available.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Christmas beauty....and a....pod??

Look what was delivered to our door today!  Our nephew was doing a fund-raiser for a school trip and asked us to sponsor him.  I don't know as I've ever come across a fundraiser that sold Christmas plants, so I was happy to help him out....






And, here's another of my bits of knitting I've been
doing for Christmas gifts...

It's a felted pod.  



A pod, you say?
Yes, a pod.
What's if for, you say?
Well, I dunno...
it's for the recipient to decide!

It measures about 5 inches high.

If you are interested in making your own, let me know and I would be happy to put a tutorial on here.  But then again....maybe you're not.  Interested, that is.  

Doesn't everybody need a pod??


Friday, December 07, 2012

Hussif #1 finish!

I just finished working on the first hussif
(the one that I will teach at our local
quilt guild in February).
Here's the debut photos!


Above shows the hussif folded.
Below is the outside, unfolded...



Below shows the inside, with all the 
pockets closed. 
There are sections to hold scissors,
a thimble, pencils or pens, and there's a pincushion
built in as well.
There's an additional opening behind most of the pockets
for even more storage of sewing treasures.



The final photo shows some of the pockets opened...





There's prototype #1, 
and now it's on to # 2!!

Monday, December 03, 2012

A wee little treasure

The other day something wonderful arrived in my mail box and to say I was thrilled is an understatement.  Most of you know that I collect books about embroidery so this was a most welcome addition to my treasures (thank you Lyn!!). 

Just have a look at the cover...






I can't find a year of publication on it but I would surmise it would be the early 1900's.  There are 48 pages of delightful illustrations and instructions for various types of embroidery.  Here are a couple of the illustrations from inside... (clickable to embiggen)







Such a sweet little book and a definite gem to own

Friday, November 30, 2012

More CQ details

Today I finished the stitching on the outside of this hussif.  This will be the one I will be using in the workshop I'm teaching.  Now it's on to designing the inside where all the goodies will be held.  I *think* I know what I want to do, but it remains to be seen if it will actually work.  This being a designer isn't easy!!





Thursday, November 29, 2012

More CQ . a site to see, and news

 I leave you with some images of the details I've added to my hussif project...





Wednesday, November 28, 2012

and now we have.....knitting

 The picture of the cowls (above) isn't all that wonderful - too bad I don't have a mannequin to 'model' for me!  This was a really simple pattern - The Button Up Neck Warmer, a free pattern from Red Heart (www.redheart.com).

Fingerless gloves aren't all that exciting either, but they were fun to knit.  The pattern is called 'Jeff's Mitts' by Lorraine Ehrlinger Designs.  I *think* I found it as a free download on Ravelry, but can't remember for sure. 

Friday, November 23, 2012

Hussif.... times 2



This is the start of a second hussif.  I have been asked to teach a workshop for our local quilt guild in February on crazy quilting.  Gulp!!  The one I showed you yesterday will be embellished in my usual style, whereas this one will be a bit more subdued and will be the basis for the workshop class.  This will be evolving as I go along into something I hope will prove to be a workable pattern.

I thought I'd show you something that I use all the time and can be found in your local hardware store. Yep, sewing supplies are sold in hardware stores too (who knew?)....


See those two strips of green above and below the line of
stitching I'm working on?

It's actually 1/4 inch painter's tape and is one of the move invaluable tools I have in my stitching arsenal.  Maybe I shouldn't tell you about it because it will spoil all your illusions that I have a straight eye (oops).  Anyway....it serves as a great measuring tool and helps to keep my stitches more-or-less the same size and relatively straight.  It's found in the painting section of the hardware store and is marketed as 'painter's tape'.  ***Don't make the mistake of getting regular masking tape because it leaves a residue on your fabric which, in turn, grabs up dirt and looks grubby in no time. ***   Painter's tape is quite inexpensive and a roll will last a long time. It's also reusable several times over.

Here's a close-up so you can see the flowers...




Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Another CQ project begun


This is the start of another crazy quilt project - actually one of two.  This will turn into a hussif (if all goes well!) once I'm done. 

Monday, November 19, 2012

Six little snowmen....

(There ought to be a poem come out of that post title!!)

EDITED TO ADD:
PLEASE READ THE COMMENTS SO YOU
CAN READ THE FUN POEM SUZ WROTE!!

I had fun over the weekend crocheting these
little snowmen for a friend who has
made three pairs of knitted
mittens that 'needed' 
decoration...


Friday, November 16, 2012

The grand unveiling!!

Yes, the big mystery is over.

HERE is what I've been working on....






Now, aren't you disappointed
after all that speculation?

Here's a couple of close-ups...




Yes, that's real fur...recycled from a piece of
clothing.
The 'boot' is velvet.

All the rest came from my stash.


p.s.  click to embiggen if you'd like!



Thursday, November 15, 2012

Argh!!

I'm sorry to have to put the word verification back on for a little bit.  I'm getting inundated with spam and hopefully they'll move on to greener pastures when they discover that it's harder to be a PIA.  In the meantime, please keep commenting and I'll soon return things to the regularly scheduled programming (I hope!!).

I did manage some stitching today but haven't had a chance to take any pictures.  However, I can tell you that the unveil of the grant secret project is coming soon.  Stay tuned!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

More green....


I've been away all day, so very little done on the stitching front.  This was a piece that I finished yesterday.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

TUSAL and crazy-ier

Today I have a number of pictures for you (don't get so excited that you hurt yourself!!)

First of all....it's time for TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitchalong) once again.  Wow, the month sure does fly by quickly!  Here's my wee pile of ORTS for the month....






and here's my ORT jar to date...





It's easy to see that I've been working a lot with pink and green!

Further on the green part of my project....

Those of us who are crazy quilters get our inspiration from many sources.  Many moons ago I bought a thrift store sweater - not to wear, but for the lovely sequin and bead embellishments it had.  This is part of the sweater...



Today I removed some of the pretties on the sweater and they, in turn, evolved into the little area of embellishment below.  

Monday, November 12, 2012

Green inside and brown outside

Outside it's dreary...raining and everything just looks brown and depressing.  Fall has gone from being glorious to the prelude to winter.  Tonight it's supposed to get cold.  B-r-r-rrrr.

Inside, I'm stitching (which is great medicine for dreariness).  See??









I do love working with waste canvas!

Friday, November 09, 2012

Green

I was away much of the day today so didn't get
much done in the way of stitching.
Here it is...





Thursday, November 08, 2012

More green today

Here is what I stitched today...








Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Yes, green!!

Today I got some time to stitch 
on the latest part of my
project...




Isn't that the cutest little tree? 
It's another pattern from Pam Kellogg, 
as are the seam treatments in the
upper picture.  
(Thanks Pam!)

The sequined trim came out
of my stash and was *just* long
enough to cover the seam.