Lucky me!

I have to be the luckiest person in the world!  I am always so humbled when someone gives me something that I can use with my work and I am definitely blessed to have such good friends who think of me when they come across something they know I will like.

First of all, one of my friends brought me back this treasure trove of goodies (she brought me back more and this is just what was in one of the little baggies).....

The fabrics you can see are gold and silver lame (at least I think that's what it's called) and the other piece is a beautiful gold satin.  There are ribbons, and beads, and buttons, and some gorgeous trims.  She also brought me some beautiful sequins and a package of milliner's needles.  Am I blessed, or what?

And,

I was gifted with these on the weekend...

I don't know how old these things are, but they came from a lady who is nearly 90.  They could have been from her mother, so even older than that.  The apron is made from a fabric very similar to gauze...certainly one that would have been used for Sunday best.  The other piece is an envelope...perhaps used to hold hankies.


Click to embiggen the photos!

Some beautiful collars, as well as a little pouch that is crocheted using very heavy thread.  I would assume that the ring must mean that it could be hung up.  I have no idea what it would have been used for originally.  Do you know?

I have to say that I have the nicest friends on earth!  Thank you Mary Ellen and Kelly.

Today my quote is about friends, and comes from Arlo Guthrie.... "A friend isn't someone who will carry you to your destination so much as someone who will walk along with you for awhile"

Do you know?

Here's a question for you.  Do you know what a group of bears is called?  You'll have to read to the end of this post to find out!

Reason for the question is that I wanted to show you this...

These little critters, also known as 'lovies', are seemingly all the rage around the internet.  They combine an animal, in this case a bear, and a security blanket.  There are lots of free patterns on Ravelry (which is where I got this pattern) if you want to go and check them out.  They also come up under 'blankies'.  If you aren't familiar with Ravelry, you should be!  It's a marvelous resource for knitters and crocheters and you can join for free.  There are tons of free patterns available there, as well as those you can pay a nominal sum for.

I don't know if you will remember about a month ago me showing a picture of the 31-year old cradle that we were sprucing up for our soon-to-be-born grandbaby (you can go HERE to read the story behind it).  Yesterday we delivered it to our #1 son and daughter-in-love and here it is, all set up and ready for Logan to arrive....

The quote of the day, from Diane Grant.... "It's better to walk alone, than with a crowd going in the wrong direction"

Oh....and the answer to the question?  A group of teddy bears is called a 'hug'.  Fitting, don't you think?

Ta dah!

One Ted E. Bear, completed!

Here's a quote from Anonymous.... "Usually it's a lot easier to nod as if you agree with someone than it would be to explain why you don't.  

Best legs in town?

What do you think?

Started sewing Ted. E. Bear together today and these are his legs.  Poor thing....he's still lacking a body and arms...and oh....his head!   

Today's quote is from Margo Fonteyn....  "The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously.  The first is imperative and the second is disastrous. 

A post of mumblings...sort of

You will have no doubt noticed a sad lack of blog postings from this neck of the woods.  

Oh.  

You didn't?

Really?

Well then,  I suppose you won't be much interested in reading my mumblings today.  Perhaps cleaning the toilet is more fun, and if that's the case, you're excused.  I promise I won't get my feelings hurt.

1.  Part of the reason for my absence was our lending assistance in the grand move of our #1 son and d-i-love from an apartment to the new house.  We managed to deliver both them and their two cats to the new abode, leaving the rest of the moving in the capable hands of the pros.  

2.  Another part of the reason is that I've been busily polishing and finishing the soon-to-be-published 'BOOK'.  Now before you go and get all excited that I'm about to be found on the best seller lists, I have to tell you that the subject matter of the 'BOOK' isn't the stuff that best sellers are made of.  Some of my long-time readers may remember that I published book #1 ('Self Doing Naught') back in 2010.  It was a transcript of the daily diaries of my 2x great grandfather and his life on the farm dating back to the 1800's.  The current book ('Did Little But the Chores') is a continuation on the same theme with the original author being my great uncle and dating to the early 1900's.  There are over 500 pages in this book.  It took awhile.  There will be over 500 pages in book #3.  It, too, will take awhile. 

3.  The pile of to-do projects is in imminent danger of topping over, so.... one teddy bear has been cut out and is ready to put together, along with four baby bibs.  Funny, the pile doesn't seem to have diminished any.

Today the quote is from Ernest Holmes...  "Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he things into it"

Lucky me!

Just look at what has arrived at my

door!!

Thank you Winnie and Shawn!

LOVE YOU!

Today's quote is from Elizabeth Stone... "Making the decision to have a child - it's wondrous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body"

Thrift store find

Yes, I'm continuing to stitch (despite speculation that I'm sitting with my tootsies up and imbibing bonbons).  Thought I would show you my latest 'find' at the thrift store...

This intrigued me because it said that the package contained 'rice paper' which could be interesting to stitch on.  It was total happenstance that the marker actually still works.  I have NO idea if the transfer aspect of it works as the package says though.  According to the directions on the back, it's useable on fabric, canvas or wood.  You trace your design onto the rice paper using the purple end of the marker and then retrace over it to transfer onto your fabric (or whatever you choose).  Apparently the markings will remain for 2-14 days before disappearing.  If you want to hasten the disappearance act, you use the white end of the marker.  Then you can simply rinse out the rice paper and reuse it later on.  I thought it was worth $1.99 just to have a play!

Today's quote from an unknown author...."The brave may not live forever, but the cautious don't live at all. 

Mumblings

Yep, it's a mumble day...again.  Stitching is happening but since the project is hush hush, I can't show you (never fear, you WILL see it eventually). 

Sunshine!   We have sunshine!!  Still have to wear a jacket but we are happy for the return of some sun.  This year we have to be pleased with the small steps towards spring.  We walked along the river today and I, of course, forgot to take my camera.  Will try to get some pictures next time. 

Spring must be here because we have a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge!  Yum.....

Today's quote (from Sir Robert Helpmann).... "The trouble with nude dancing is that not everything stops when the music stops"

Manning the buckets...

Well, technically it isn't buckets, but it's lots of towels!  We are suffering the wind and heavy rain tail end of the storms that have gone through the US and our windows, we discover, leak.  A lot.  I was happily stitching away and suddenly heard dripping.  Thought I was certainly imagining things and it wasn't until one of the drips splashed water onto me did I realize that the dripping I was hearing was on the INSIDE.  By all reports this weather has settled in for at least two or three days so I suspect there might be a lot of towels being wrung out.

Oh well.

It could be a whole lot worse

as we're seeing more and more reports

coming in on the news.

I took a little break after finishing Secret Project #1 (sorry, still can't show you even a teeny little hint of what it is) and before starting Secret Project #2 (sorry, can't show you that one either) to create these little gifts....

Recycled denim tote bags,

in the crazy quilt style with

the stitching done with my machine.

Thrifted labels here and there for

additional interest.

Might not be a post for you tomorrow because I'm teaching again and will probably be too pooped to participate when I get home!

Today's quote (very appropriate for me I think!) is from Lady Bird Johnson.... "Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid" 

Dreaming!

This morning I checked my email and found another lovely blog post from Di van Niekerk.  If you don't know her, she is the author of many beautiful embroidery books and her posts often include absolutely stunning silk ribbon embroideries.  She also often features other artists and today she had a guest post by Marina Zherdeva who created this...

Please click to embiggen to see how incredible this is!!

I can only dream about ever being this good!

(oh yeah....and also dream about winning the 

lottery so I can afford the silk ribbon!!)

Today's quote is from Pablo Picasso... "There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun"

What a difference a day makes!

Well, guess what folks?  My computer and camera are on speaking terms - at least for the moment.  I finally resorted to taking my camera back to the default settings and lo and behold, it worked!  Who knew?  Of course now that means I have to relearn my camera again, but at least I have one problem solved (maybe!).

So, just to prove I've really not been idly sitting

around eating bon bons and sipping on

Irish cream

(which, btw, have both been banned after an ill-fated

climb onto the bathroom scales this morning!!)....

We retrieved the cradle that my dad made for our #1 son over 30 years ago and have been busily sprucing it up for use by our soon-to-be-born baby grandson.  Jack gave it several coats of Murphy's Oil Soap and we purchased a new foam mattress, which I proceeded to cover with waterproof fabric.  There was enough left over to make a change pad too....bonus!  I also made a couple of fitted sheets for it.  I know it's difficult to tell from the picture, but the pile of 'lumber' in the front is actually the legs (underpinnings?).

As a little aside - the cradle itself is made of oak.  My dad was helping out at the local auction house at the time and in the process of moving a very old organ from a house to the auction it fell off the back of the truck and shattered into pieces.  Ooops.  Dad had nothing to do with its demise, but he lucked out and got the pieces, which were turned into the cradle.

I was given a pair of pillowcases that, unfortunately, had been stored for many years in a plastic bag.  Not a good idea!   The fabric is now covered with little brown-ish spots (if you embiggen the picture, hopefully you can see what I mean).  Now my dilemma is how to remove them without losing the wonderful stamped cross stitch pattern.  Bleach is obviously not an option.    The lesson here?  Do not, under any circumstances, store your valued linens in any form of plastic!!

The quote today is from Ralph Waldo Emerson...  "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we will not find it"

Mutter,mutter, mumble,---oh, and maybe even swear a little!

I know I've been missing on the blog for a few days - no excuse, really.  I've been busily stitching away on the great secret project so can't show you anything about that anyway.  So, I just now scurried around and took a few pictures of things I CAN show you and, wouldn't you know it, now my camera is refusing to speak to my computer.  Or maybe it's the computer refusing to speak to the camera.  Either way, they aren't communicating and I have no earthly clue as to why. 

Yes, I've been doing things - we got the new piece of foam for a mattress for the cradle my dad made over 31 years ago for my kids, and I covered it with waterproof fabric.  I made a matching change pad because there was some excess fabric.  I made two fitted sheets for said cradle.  I was given some very interesting pieces of stamped embroidery that I would like to show you.  Alas, the pictures remain on my camera.

So....

instead, I will show you this cute

picture I found on the internet...

Now, doesn't that make you feel good?

Today's quote is from C.S. Lewis.... "The future comes at sixty minutes an hour"

The mailman brought this too...

I'm doing my post a little early this morning because I have a busy day ahead of me.  I'll also tell you that it's doubtful there will be a post tomorrow because I'm teaching another workshop on the crazy quilt hussif.  Part one of the two-day class is tomorrow.

Do any of you remember making things like placemats and doilies using a wooden loom...probably back in the early 70's?  My dad made me a loom and that Christmas every person I had on my gift list got a set of placemats...great fun!  This past Christmas Pam Kellogg's beautiful mother Adria sent me one of her handmade doilies and I realized that she had used one of those looms.  Mine, of course, is long gone.  Well, after I wrote to thank her and told her the story about my experience with the loom, she told her wonderful husband who then proceeded to make one for me!!  Not only did I get a loom, but Adria also made me another doily AND pre-threaded the loom and gave me instructions on how to do it (good thing, because I had totally forgotten!).

Here's the loom and what it makes...

 

Thank you SO much Adria and your wonderful woodworking husband!!



oh - and just as a sidenote - woke up to a heavy coat of snow this morning!!!!!!!!!!



Today's quote is from Anonymous....  "Reach for the stars, even if you have to stand on a cactus"

 

 

Look at what the mailman brought!!

Sometimes I really think my mailman is wonderful, especially when he brings treasures such as these from my friend Lyn in England!  Lyn and I have been exchanging stitching magazines and sometimes there's something else that seems to get tucked into the envie.  Well, I must say Lyn outdid herself with what tumbled out of the latest envelope!

Just have a look at these!

This piece measures approx. 10x14".  If you look closely you can see that the embroider has attached a clump of the threads she used ready to continue stitching.  

Here's a closeup....

The larger flowers appear to be made using some sort of soft nylon ribbon.

The envie also had this...

This appears to be done with machine

and measures approx. 6x10".

And THEN, out tumbled THIS....

Oh wow!

A partially completed piece of special embroidery!

You can see the wonderfully done shadow work and the partially done flowers with the lovely blue transfer remaining on the close.  It's just as if the embroider was called away and is coming right back to continue stitching.

This piece measures 11" square.

You can click to embiggen all the pictures.

THANK YOU LYN!!!!!!!!!!!

The quote from today is from Judith Viorst - "Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces"

Stay tuned tomorrow to see something else the mailman brought!

Short mumble

Still working on the secret project so nothing to show for my stitching efforts at the moment.


Today's quote is from Thomas Carlyle....  "Every day that is born into the world comes like a burst of music and rings the whole day through, and you make of it a dance, a dirge, or a life march, as you will"

Mumblings and such

Because the project I'm currently working on is top secret, you're going to have to suffer through my mumblings today.   I have a couple of things I'd like to draw your attention to....


 And, for your viewing enjoyment, I have to show you just part of the large flock of vultures that have been visiting the skies over the river the past week.  I think they are incredible flyers - so graceful in the air, despite being rather an ugly bird on land.   (Click on the picture to embiggen)

  And just to prove that I haven't been idly sitting around snacking on bon bons and watching the boob tube....

The completed stack of flannelette receiving blankets!





The quote of the day, from Erma Bombeck...

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died"

Done, Done, Done!!!!

Purse # 3 is done!

Purse # 3 is done!

Let the bells ring out!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 The front....

...and the back.

This is the last of the purses I have to make and must admit I'm rather hopeful that I won't have

to make any more for awhile.  I love doing the crazy quilt part, but the sewing together?  Not so much!

This afternoon it's dull and raining so it's a good day to spend in my sewing studio making cute little baby flannel receiving blankets.  At least they're a whole lot more cheerful than it is outside.  Oh yes...and they're calling for snow flurries again.  ARGH!!!!!!!!

This quote is by the infamous Anonymous....  "This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it"

  

A new toy!

I've known for some time now that my trusty iron has been on the ailing list and finally reached the conclusion that she really was gasping its last and that she no longer could be trusted to do what I needed her to.  She was having hot flashes and the chills, poor thing.

So, being a fickle person, and realizing that the 

love affair was over, 

I replaced her

with this....

This little beauty steams her

little heart out

and delivers a hefty burst of extra steam

when she's asked.

And she doesn't complain either!

I think it's true love.

- - - - - - -  -

Today's quote from Carol Holmes.... "A happy life is made up of little things...a gift sent, a letter written, a call made, a recommendation given, transportation provided, a cake made, a book lent, a cheque sent" 

shovel, shovel, toil and trouble.....

Yeah, I suspect you have figured out already from that blog post title just what I've been doing!  My studio had reached the point of either having to move out, or shovel it out.  I opted for shoveling because I really like where we live.  Two and a half days of solid slugging and it now looks just about the same as it did before I started.  Yep....there's still piles of 'stuff' everywhere, but at least the piles have a purpose now and aren't just hodgepodges of mess.

No pictures today,

because you really don't want

to see the mess, either

before OR after!

.  

And the quote for today, from J.C. F. von Schiller.....  "Happy is he who learns to bear what he cannot change"

awwwwwww........

I finished knitting these teeny-tiny little baby socks last night and I am seriously in love.  Such baby cuteness!!!

The pattern is 'Get To Work!-Baby Socks' by Laura Sapergia and can be found on Ravelry. 






The quote of the day, from Sophia Loren....  "There is a fountain of youth;  it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love.  When you will learn to tap this source, you will have truly defeated age"

and more on the baby cuteness front....

This is the second baby blanket I've made for

our grandbaby-to-come.

Although I know there's no need for two blankets, I made this one more as a family heirloom of sorts.  The yarn that I used came from the baby's maternal great-grandmother and I thought it would be nice to use it to make something for the baby.  The yarn itself isn't as soft as I would have chosen myself, but it's the history of it that makes it fun.

Today's quote is from Tennessee Williams....  "Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going"

More baby cuteness

I simply could not resist making this little hat!  Our son is a chef and this is a crocheted baby chef's hat...what could be more perfect, at least for photo ops?

It's very difficult for me to get a proper picture of this, but I think you can get the general idea.  The pattern was found on Ravelry and is the 'La Petite Chef Hat' by My Crimson Clover. 

Today's quote, by the infamous Anonymous...  "Don't be afraid to attempt something new.  Remember it was amateurs who built the ark.  It was professionals who built the Titanic"

More grandmotherly cuteness

I know I don't normally post on the weekends, but since I missed my post yesterday, I thought I'd pop in today to show you these.....

The crochet pattern is to be found HERE.

Today the quote is from Geoffrey Godbey...

"Hang around doggies and kids; 

they know how to play"

Happy to say....

......that the reports of my early demise have been grossly exaggerated.

Yes, I survived the 'talk/trunk show'.  I didn't notice anybody topple off their chair having fallen asleep...nor did anybody get up and leave.  Several of the ladies even came up and thanked me afterwards (mind you, I'm not quite sure if they were actually thanking me for what I said or for the fact that I'd finally shut up).  I didn't want to ask because I was afraid of what the answer might be!  

This quilt guild is quite new, having been started to give an alternative meeting time to the afternoon guild which has a membership of over two hundred.  Not everyone is available to attend afternoon meetings, so it certainly is nice to be able to go at night.  Of course some of the ladies are now members of both.  The evening group seems like a fun group and I think they are doing some fun things.  Currently they are doing a year-long challenge - each participating member was given a baggie filled with small pieces of fabrics, some beads, buttons, lace and little bits and bobs and then they have a year to create 'something' using the contents of their bags (they can include other things from their own stash as well).  They gave the bags out last night and it was great fun to see what some of them got.  I get the honour of going back in a year and judging the challenge.  Hmmm....nice idea, in theory, but it might mean I'll have an entire roomful of ladies mad at me for not picking their creation!  

And, in further news, it appears that the upcoming (2nd) hussif workshop I will be teaching for the daytime guild has filled up with fifteen people having been deluded into thinking I might manage to teach them something about crazy quilting.  It also appears there is a distinct possibility of yet another waiting list being started to offer it a third time.  Who knew that there would be so much sudden interest in crazy quilting in this area? 

Obviously, from all this mumbling,

there was absolutely nothing creative done

around here today so therefore no pictures to be had.

Today's quote, courtesy of Suzy Szasz.... "Some misfortunes we bring upon ourselves; others are completely beyond our control.  But no matter what happens to us, we always have some control over what we do about it"

On acquisitions and shootings

I'll bet THAT post title got you wondering, didn't it!!

First of all I have to show you what I was just gifted with, and that I'm absolutely thrilled to now own....

This wedding dress is over 58 years old and is 

in beautiful condition, with only a couple of

minor stains.  

It came with this...

It is absolutely beautiful and to be

entrusted with it is a huge honour.

It will certainly be appearing in some of my creations!

+++++++++++++++

The shooting part of this post involves my usual feeling of  'shoot me now' when I have to do any form of public speaking.  Tonight I have been asked to do a trunk show of my crazy quilting pieces for the local night-time quilt guild.  Fortunately they only (!) have 50 members and, because they're now calling for freezing rain, hopefully they won't show up!!!  I really do hate having to speak in public (as my many, many trips to the bathroom prior to the event will attest!).  One of my friends, upon hearing that indelicate comment, very brightly said that I should look on the bright side...at least I don't have to pay for a cleanse!!!  

Today's quote is from Ray Bradbury....  "Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down"

Purse 1/3 completed....

Finally finished one of the three purses!   The front is shown in the photo on the left....

....and the back on the right.  The back wasn't a feature on the original pattern and came about because I messed up on the first purse I made and didn't read the directions properly (oops).  It ended up being something I really liked, so I have continued to add it.

Pattern: 'The Gadabout' by Studio Kat Designs.


Today's quote is by Anonymous....  "I am not overweight.  I am chocolate-enriched"  and, further on that theme, here's another one... "Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate" (Sandra Boynton)

More cuteness

Remember that baby sweater I showed the other day?  Well I simply had to make these little tennis shoe bootees to go along with it!

Am I having fun, or what....









And for today's quote....   "Although the past is over and the future is never quite here, our minds are usually so involved with one or both of them that the present serves very little function except to form a bridge between the two"

Knitting for babies

It's so much fun to be expecting a 

grandbaby!

See?

The little sweater is the 

"Room to Grow Baby Sweater' 

designed by Laura Marconi-Cox

and can be found on Ravelry.

The book is the one that both of our boys absolutely ADORED when they were little.  The parents?  Not so much....after having read it to them at least a couple of gazillion times its charm tended to wear a little thin!  It will be fun to see if our wee one will find it to be as wonderful.

The quote of the day....   "It is never too late to be what you might have been"  - George Eliot  

Another one done, and pecking away

This is the completed front of purse number two.

This morning we had the pair of woodpeckers at our suet on our balcony.

They don't normally arrive together so it was fun to see them

both getting their fill.

(picture taken through window screen, so not the best quality!)

 

Today's quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson...  "To laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children;  to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;  to appreciate beauty;  to find the best in others;  to give one's self;  to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;  to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation;  to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded"

Progressing....

This is one of the fronts of the purses completed.


It's a good day to stay inside stitching because it's snowing and blowing and completely and utterly miserable out.  I'm SO done with winter!



Today's quote is from that infamous person named Anonymous...."Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money"

A mish-mash of things for your reading pleasure (or not!)

Yesterday Jack and I had somewhat of a 'sanity day' and toodled off and explored.  Well, truthfully, the entire day wasn't total pleasure because Jack had to first go for his yearly physical bloodletting, but after that we had fun!  We hit our two absolute favourite thrift stores in quest of baby clothing cuteness for our expected grandbaby in June.  Wow - so much cute (and some of it came home with us to be washed thoroughly and packaged up to await the arrival of baby).  Then it was off to a place called 'Len's Mills' which is a grand place to explore.  My main quest there was to pick up some nice flannelette  to make some receiving blankets.  Mission was accomplished.  Then it was a pit stop to inhale the marvelous scents at the 'Grande Cheese Factory' outlet.  Mmmmm.  Of course some cheese managed to hop right on into our cart!!  Then it was off to have supper with our 'expectant' son and d-i-law.  All in all a perfect day!  Needless to say, however, no stitching was done.

And, this came to me via Ginette...

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

And, finally, here's another quote...

"We must not give only what we have,

we must give what we are"

- Cardinal Mercia

 

More progress....

Today's quote is from William Hersey Davis...

"The circumstances amid which you live determine your reputation;  the truth you believe determine your character.  Reputation is what you are supposed to be; character is what you are.  Your reputation is made in a moment; your character is build in a lifetime.  Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor;  character makes you happy or makes you miserable.  Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone;  character is what the angels say about you before the throne of God"

Dear winter.....

There won't be time for stitching today, so here's today's quote...

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you;  you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you"   - James Allen

More, on a snowy day

It's snowing....again (or is it yet?)....and therefore a good day to spend inside stitching flowers and dreaming of spring.  

Today's quote, from Montaigne...

"The value of life lies not in the length of days,
but in the use we make of them;  a man may live
long yet live very little"

Here's proof....

....that I actually do something besides crazy quilt!

   I'm not a good knitter by any means but I don't think our expected grandbaby will care that it's not perfect.





Today's quote is from one of my favourite authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson...

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded."

Another announcement (and some stitching progress)

And, here's a bit of the stitching I did today...

Today's quote comes from Robert Frost... "Something we were withholding made us weak, until we found it was ourselves"