One more block for Australia

One more block ready to send
to Australia for flood relief.

Further details are on the post below this one.
Please consider making a few and sending
them!

Unfortunately my stash of both lightweight quilt 'bat' and suitable cotton fabrics is very lacking, but  I think four blocks are certainly better than none.  They'll be heading for Australia tomorrow.

Quilt blocks for Australia

Many of you will have heard about the terrible floods that have hit Australia and of the many people who have lost everything.  Some kind individuals there have decided to create quilts to donate to these families so I've decided that I will further reduce my stash and try to make a few to send over.  The pattern is very simple (and great for using up 'stuff') and don't take long to make.

I've made three this afternoon...

These blocks finish at 10 1/2".  

Two days in a row????

I know, what's this world coming to?  I'm talking about crazy quilting two days in a row??  Be still my beating 'heart' (hah, get it??).

Anyway....I'm taking part in a CQ heart swap later this month and thought I'd better be getting started on mine.  The size restriction is about 8 x 5", so this isn't too big.  I liked this little transfer so decided to built my piece using it as my inspiration.  Perhaps if you 'embiggen' the picture you'll be able to see the details a little better. 

Now it's on to stitching!

Crazy quilt content?

And just so you don't feel totally uninformed about my latest paper riddance - the drawers have been gone through, a pile has been made for a yard sale, an even larger pile has been recycled, and another pile is awaiting the ministrations of the shredder. 

More evidence of progress

3 bundles,
each about 2" thick,
of assorted craft
patterns!!

These are destined for a massive yard sale in the spring.  I always find it amazing what people will buy and I'm pretty sure somebody will be more than willing to part with a couple of bucks for each bundle.  If they don't, THEN I'll put them in the recycle box!

Speaking of which, I've filled another recycle box with paper that's going out, out, out AND I have another big box of 'stuff' ready to go through the shredder before I send it out.  One more file drawer to go.....

Buried?

Yes, I feel like I'm buried -

under stacks and stacks and stacks of paper!!!

I decided, in a moment of complete idiocy, that it was time to go through all my files of craft patterns, instructions, and 'stuff' and sort out same - hopefully managing to turf a great deal of my accumulation.  What a job!!  Not only am I sorting through it all, but I'm also trying to compact what I want to keep into less space and get it into some sort of system whereby I might stand a chance of actually finding something.  Tall order, I know.  

Two trips to Staples for new

MATCHING

3-ring binders

and now I have

this....

I know, it's an awful picture, but you can get the general idea of how my new organization looks.  I've even invested in new labels (far prettier than the ghastly pink ones I had previously).  If you're really curious, I think you can click on it to see the categories. 

Back to Staples tomorrow
for one more binder!!

Pays to ask questions!

I've been searching for a wrought-iron looking piece of 'art' to finish up the wall decoration in our renovated bathroom and have been to several thrift stores to no avail.  A local store (Giant Tiger) had this piece on their shelf a week or so ago at a price of $14.95, which was too expensive for a simple decorative element for a bathroom that is rarely used.  I refused to even consider it.

However, as time went on and my search was coming up empty, I began to rethink this one.  I doubted it would still be there because it was the only one they had and it was minus the box.  Well, it was still there and still minus the box AND the glass candle holders that went along with it.  On the off-chance that they might reduce the price I trundled it up to the check out and simply asked if there could be any kind of discount.  The supervisor was called and she disappeared (I thought to ask someone higher in the pecking order), but back she came bearing the candle holders and gave me the whole thing for $2!!!!!!!!  Yes, you read that right!  I was blown away.  Jack has nipped off the candle holder rings and I'm left with a perfect piece of 'art' for the wall...for the grand sum of two dollars!!  

Yeah!!

THE luckiest girl in the world right now??

IS ME!!!!!!!!!

Just look what was waiting for me
when we got home from getting
groceries today!!....

I know it's not a great picture, 

but it's very hard to get a decent shot of
such a gorgeous hand knitted
sweater!!

Here's a closeup...

And,

here I am modeling my
beautiful new sweater!

 

 

I know, it's very hard to see it in all it's wondrous glory, but hopefully you can get a good idea.  Some of you might remember that over a year ago I won the yarn to make a sweater and it's been languishing in my to-do box ever since waiting for me to muster courage to even begin a project I knew would take at least a couple of years for me to knit.  Enter my friend Ginette, who is a knitter extraordinaire, who offered to knit it for me, and then did so in mind-numbingly record time!!  I simply can't believe how fast she knits and how she is undaunted by the difficulty of any pattern (AND changes it to fit better too!!).  She is utterly amazing!!  THANK YOU GINETTE - you are one in a million, my friend!  

The pattern is the 'Lacy Vee Cardigan #405', by Cabin Fever  and the yarn is 'Linarte' by Lana Grossa. 

 

2011 - what will it hold?

My hope
for all
in the
year
to come...

GOOD HEALTH

MUCH HAPPINESS

PEACE

AND....
 

AS MUCH

CREATIVITY 

AS YOU CAN 

STAND!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

Christmas houseguests

We have had two guests visiting with us over the Christmas week. They went home this morning, but will be returning for another few days a week from now, while their 'humans' are away on holidays.

This is Winnie...
and before you comment,

yes, I know....
we had two Winnie's here,
which led to some confusion,
especially when one
is human,
and one thinks she is!!

And this is Nipper -

who happens to be our
Odin's brother.

It's hard to believe that Odin and Nipper were actually brothers - Odin was a definite throwback to the border collie whereas Nipper is very much a springer spaniel. 

My loved ones...

I know I've probably never shown pictures
here of my boys and their fiances.

I think it's high time I 'introduced' them,
don't you?

First is #1 son RJ (Robert)
and his fiance Julia...

And...

here is # 2 son Shawn
and his fiance Winnie...

and finally,
just to make your day complete,

Mr & Mrs. S. Claus...

Fiddling about

Hope everyone had a very happy Christmas!  I certainly did...my family was all home and a few friends thrown in for good measure and a grand time was had by all.  We're still eating leftovers, but that is fine by me!

You will notice yet another change with my blog - it's a work in progress.  I'm not at all sure that I'm liking the current change, but we'll see.  My favourite flower is the poppy so I thought it would be a good background - just not so sure about the colours I've put with it.  Any ideas?    EDITED TO ADD:  Well, the poppies didn't last long and now I'm trying this one instead. 

The picture today is of the gift I gave to a friend who loves to knit.  She has a gorgeous shawl she wears over her winter coat and was lamenting one day that she didn't have a shawl pin to hold it in place.  'Aha', said I, and began a search for one.  Well, this town didn't haven't a CLUE what I was talking about.  I was met with total blank stares.  Obviously my quest was going to be a fruitless one.  Hmmm.  So to the internet I went, hoping that I could order one for delivery in time for Christmas.  Nope.

SO.....

I made her one!

My stash yielded up some copper wire which I bent somewhat into the shape I wanted.  Then I hammered it flat (making my husband come running wondering what on earth I was doing).  A quick dip in a warm water/lemon juice/salt bath made it all shiny again, and voila - a one-of-a-kind shawl pin.  The colour in this picture just doesn't do it justice.

Do you think I should take up business??

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

TO YOU,
AND

TO THOSE
YOU HOLD
MOST
DEAR.

MAY IT BE
HAPPY,
HEALTHY
AND
SAFE
FOR ALL

Christmas Potatoes

Here's our favourite recipe for

a potato dish you can make

ahead for Christmas.

10 potatoes, cooked, mashed & cooled slightly
250 g. pkg. cream cheese

1/4 c. butter or margarine

 ---

Combine above.
---

1 c. chopped green onions

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. minced parsley (or 3 T. dried)

pinch of marjoram
salt & pepper to taste

---

Add to potato mixture.
Place in 2 L casserole dish
and top with
1/2 c. dried breadcrumbs.

At this point you can freeze it if you like.
Unthaw before cooking tho'!

Bake at 350 degrees 40 mins.

ENJOY!!!

Simple creche

I never look at this

without

'Oh Holy Night'
coming to mind.

Jack made this several years ago.

A hug to you, from me

Did you know?

That a group of bears
is called a 'hug'?

Our Christmas tree has

lots of bears on it,

including one
on the VERY TOP!!

Christmas mouse

There's a wee little

Christmas mouse

at my house!

It's Christmas time!

This little fellow makes me feel happy.

Doesn't he look like he's
full of fun
and mischief?

Jacket done!

The front...

and

the back...

New Visitor!

Today a new visitor arrived!

Serenity
came for a visit....

Serenity is the next doll in the current Art Doll Coolaberation 

and belongs to Amy.

Can't wait to see what
Serenity wants me to

give her!!

Angels we have heard on high?

Yesterday and today I've been busy creating these little charmers.  24 of the little white ones and the four coloured ones you see here.  The white ones are from the 'Littlest Angels Kit' put out by The Beadery.  There were several pieces left over and I combined some of the bits in my stash to make the coloured ones.  These are little presents and/or 'bows' for the top of parcels.  Every year I make a number of ornaments and some of my friends have collections!

Sparkles!!

Nothing quite like treating yourself
like a queen!!

Yes, it's gold.

Of the 'real' variety.

While I was cleaning out the things that belonged to Dad I came across both his wedding ring (broken) and my mothers' engagement ring.  I already had Moms' diamond placed into the new ring I got on our 25th wedding anniversary (it has my engagement diamond and a sapphire, along with the diamond from Mom).  Gold is expensive right now, so I decided I would put the rings, along with a couple of other ones I had, together and have a cross made - so that I could wear a piece of all three of us.  

This was made by a local jeweler - didn't she create something lovely?  I gave her free rein to do whatever she pleased with it and I'm so glad I did!  There was enough gold left over that I was able to sell it and pay for half of the chain I'm getting to go along with it.  I don't have much 'good' jewelry, so this is pretty special.

btw - the red showing at the bottom of the cross is a reflection from my shirt!

Art doll - Raisa

Yes, I messed my studio up today!!

But, I was playing with a doll which was

WAY more fun than a clean studio
any day!

Meet Raisa....

Isn't she sweet?
Her body is a petit-point box measuring about 3x4".
Gail had added the ruffle around the bottom, along

with some interchangeable legs.
I thought and thought about what Raisa
would want next,
and finally she told me she wanted
more music in her life.
So....

in my clearing out of 'stuff' lately
I happened across a
"Let Us Have Music For Piano"
book I had when I was little,

and an idea was formed.

I copied the first few bars of 'Rigoletto' (La Donna e mobile) by Verdi  onto fabric and made her a collar with some beads as embellishment.  She liked that very much.  

But she wanted MORE!!

So I stash dived and made her arms - using some coiled wire with more beads - plus copper wire inside for strength.  Now she has arms AND legs and she's pretty happy.

Next came her journal.

Yvonne had altered an old music book
for us to use as a journal for Raisa.

Here's the first page....

I used the first few bars of 'Rigoletto' again, along with a copy of the words.  More stash diving yielded the lace flower and the word 'music'.  There's a tag in behind the words that has my info.

And here's page two...

More of the music from 'Rigoletto', a piece of turquoise ribbon and some music charms.  The quote is from Maya Angelou.   Hope you like what I did Yvonne!

Studio unveil (Part Two)

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments yesterday about my studio redo!  I'm certainly happy with it.  As promised, here are more pictures....

The computer area.  Above the desk you can see a wonderful carved

wooden clock that a friend gave me a few years ago.  

Under the printer is the latest sewing machine
I've acquired.  I have yet to try it out!

My work area.
My trusty Janome is at the ready!

Above is a shelf that holds several things
I'm displaying - these are on a rotation so that
there's something new there periodically.

In a former life this little unit was red.

Now it's a nice cream colour and holds
little bits of things.  Perhaps if you
embiggen the picture you can see what
I keep in there.

This little treasure is a music box - 

another thrift store find!

A new addition to my space is this
lazy susan supply holder. 
I love it because all my
most used things are easy

to see.

Finally, this unit fits handily in the
corner and holds yet more
of my most-used supplies.

See the little sewing machine?
It's a pencil sharpener!

If there's anything you'd like a better look at, let me know in the comments and I'll try to get a close up.

The room isn't quite done yet - the trim needs to go down around the baseboards, but it will have to wait until after Christmas.  The cabinet I keep my iron on is also destined for a paint job in the new year.  Hope you've enjoyed seeing my new space.

NOW I CAN GO AND MESS IT UP!!!!!

Studio unveil!! (Part One)

The long-awaited studio unveil
(or at least part of it!!).

Do you remember this???

The above pictures are the 'befores' that I took just before I began painting.   The walls were a soft purple and the furniture was green.  OK, but not something that might be advantageous to attract any potential buyers!  If you have a look in my sidebar under 'studio tour' you can see more 'before' pictures.

I will show you the 'new' studio in two posts, one today and one tomorrow.  There are a number of pictures and I wouldn't want to either bore you OR overload your computer!!  The colours here aren't exactly 'true' - envision a lb. of butter and you have the wall colour.

Here you go...

TAH DAH!!!!

This is just inside the door.  The dresser holds my crazy quilting fabrics, pretty much sorted by colour.

The cabinet to the left holds my beads and there is more fabric storage below.

My bookshelf, being guarded by my dragon!

You can just see my 1950's sewing machine.
The cabinet under the iron holds various items - a few
office supplies and little things that don't seem
to fit anywhere else.

The little cabinet above is a 'find' from
the thrift store - little cubbies to hold
treasures.

See?

There's my little sewing machine and the
cabinet below - all yard sale finds!

This is beside the door in the other direction.
My cutting table, up on blocks to make it
high enough for me to use in comfort.
You can see the cat toy hanging from the
drawer handle.
The plastic unit below holds my laces and trims.
Above is my inspiration board
(another yard sale find).

See?

More tomorrow!!

Wooz - eeeeee?????

Well, the basement reno is moving along and today the new carpet was installed.  It looks really nice and certainly brightens up the space considerably (the old carpet was dark brown and this is a pretty taupe).  The only problem is that I have a physical aversion to the smell of new carpet and my trips down to my studio (which is right next door to the freshly carpeted area) are going to be sadly curtailed until the smell leaves the premises.  I don't know why it is, but I get decidedly light-headed when I'm in carpet stores and sometimes in fabric stores too. 

-------------------------------------------------------------

Just a quick reminder - Dolores and Leone?  I need your snail mail addys so I can sent out the magazines you 'won' yesterday...thanks.

------------------------------------------------------------

Mary Corbet of NeedlenThread reminded me of a lovely piece of needlework that, if it gets enough votes, might be headed into space!  Go here to check her post and then place your vote.  Wouldn't it be something if a piece of stitching went into space?    While you are at Mary's site, don't forget to look around.  She never fails to have something interesting to share about stitching.

New home???

Up for grabs - a copy of Somerset Life magazine -

issue from Oct/Nov/Dec 2010 as pictured above

and.... a copy of Green Craft
Autumn 2010 issue.

What shall I ask you to do in order to have one of them winging their way to you??  

TWO things!!

1. Leave me a comment noting which magazine you'd like (the first person 'wins')

2.  Please donate $5 to your local animal shelter

EDITED TO ADD:  BOTH ARE HEADING TO NEW HOMES!!  Thanks!

Puzzled????

I know - two posts in one day?  What's this world coming to?

However, I'm totally puzzled about something that's happening in cyberspace and I wanted to know if anyone else was experiencing the same phenomenon.  Today I have suddenly received (in my email account) a number of emails that I had sent to myself (and never received) over a year ago!!!  Not only that, I just received another email from a friend who was quite puzzled as to why I had emailed her in great excitement over winning something from her blog...which also happened OVER A YEAR AGO!!   W-h-aaaa-t???? 

Any ideas of what's going on??  Have the planets shifted or something and let loose all the lost emails that I figured had ended up plugging the hole in the ozone layer? 

Oh, and before you ask why I would be silly enough to send emails to myself - they had to do with the book I was working on and were quite legitimate.  No, I haven't taken up emailing myself (I do talk to myself sometimes, but I haven't quite resorted to doing that via email.....yet).  

More cards and some mumblings

Here are a couple more of the baby cards for you to play with....

(scroll down for the remainder of this post!!)

Sorry!  I still haven't figured out the latest changes in the picture program and my cropping is leaving something to be desired. 

Today my order from Patternworks arrived in the mail and I'm now the proud owner of two sets (pairs, pair??) of Addi Turbo circular knitting needles.  I am so tired of knitting with my old aluminum/plastic ones and have it on good authority that Addi is the way to go.  I'll be testing them out later tonight.  I really hope to be able to knit faster!

More, and wishes

First of all, I want to be sure to wish all my friends in the US a very happy Thanksgiving Day.  Hope you are enjoying turkey and all the trimmings, or whatever  is the tradition in your family.

And, are you tired of these yet???

here's more....

More of the 'found' baby cards.  Please do feel free to copy them and use them in your art! 

Sorry about one being sideways, but I think you can still make use of it.