You Can't Get Rid Of Me That Fast

So I posted four times in four days and then kind of forgot to come back.  Oops.  But I'm back now and I'm totally going to cheat by posting a link to a tutorial from 2009 and a pic of my version but it's for St Patrick's day and cute so it works.

Jenny made a felt shamrock pin a few years ago and shared how to make it on her blog Stitcher Scribbler.  Here's my shamrock pin with a felt guinea pig I made in 2009.

Nice blanket stitches!  Mine totally suck now.  I need more practice.

March 1 is a new moon so I'll be back soon with a TUSAL update.  (Details on the TUSAL are here.)

The TUSAL Update

Since I'm back to blogging, I decided I would join the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long (or TUSAL) again.  The TUSAL is a fun way to show off your orts.  What are orts?  Here's an explanation I just stole from Sharon at It's Daffycat:

What is an ORT? ORT or ort ~ Capitalized, it stands for Old Ratty Threads. These are the cast-off thread ends a needleworker cuts away. These ends are often saved in clear jars as a decorative object. The word, "ort" does appear in the dictionary, meaning: a bit of something left over; usually concerning food. 

Sharon hosts the TUSAL and you can read all about it here (and also sign up in the comments) but pretty much all you have to do is collect your orts in a container and share a photo of the container whenever there's a new moon.  Since there is no new moon in February this year, there will be no TUSAL update this month but here's a picture of my orts jar from yesterday 2/16/14.  Since I didn't do the TUSAL in 2013, these are probably all my orts from last year.

The next new moon is March 1 and then on March 30 is another one so there will be two TUSAL updates next month.

Three Posts In Three Days

If you look to the left below the cow, you'll see something called 2012 WIPOCALYPSE LIST, which shows the unfinished projects I was going to complete before the end of the world on 12/21/12. Remember that?  Let's just say I started off with good intentions but didn't finish anything on the list.  Maybe I knew the world wasn't really going to end then and I would have more time to work on everything. And maybe that's why none of the items of the list are done now.  Numbers 2, 4 and 5 have been cross stitched but need to be turned into ornaments or little pillows or needle books or whatever else I like to do with cross stitched designs. And, number 5 just needs a little more blanket stitching around the outside of the cover and then stuffed to make a pillow.  I really don't know why that one isn't done yet.  I loved the cushion cover when I saw the pattern on Bustle & Sew and had great time using Heat 'n Bond on my applique Scotties.  Here's a pic of one of them: 

The pattern for the cushion cover is no longer available as a freebie on the Bustle & Sew blog and I can't find it for sale in her store but you can see Helen's original version on Facebook and that might inspire you to come up with something similar.  (I'd love to do one with hedgehogs.)  Maybe this post will inspire me to finish my own Scottie cushion cover.

Number 1 on the WIPOCALYPSE list is a cross stitch that I started in September 2011.  I'll work on it for a few days in a row and then out it away for months.  It's called Ready for the Morning Ride and was created from a painting by John Emms.  It features a donkey and a dog, and my goal now is to complete the donkey.  Here are a few pics of my progress:

November 2011 -- two months in

January 2012 -- donkey's hiney (left) and the wall

August 2012 -- there's the saddle on the donkey

September 2013

And here's one I took yesterday:

That orange in the middle really stands out and at first I thought it was the donkey's eye and he was possessed but apparently it's a flower on his bridle.

You can get the chart for Ready for the Morning Ride from Artecy Cross Stitch.  I have a feeling this will be the only x-stitch I ever do with this many stitches!

By the way, the WIPOCALYPSE at Measi's Mussings is still going on.  Check out this post to find out more about it.  You can join in at any time and share your progress on your UFOs and WIPs.



So that's three posts in three days.  I'm not sure if there will be a fourth one tomorrow but I promise not to stay away for another nine months.

Two Recent Finishes

Before I get to my finishes, let me say if I had been blogging back in December, I would have posted a link to Rudolph the Felt and Sequin Reindeer  [via Craft Gossip's Felting blog] and encouraged everyone to make one. This totally reminds me of Xmas ornaments my mom bought in the 60's and 70's.  It was a sequin kind of world back then.

And, if you like the Rudolph ornament and/or you heart sequins, check out the other tutorials from Thrift Store Crafter (love the name of that blog).  Some day I will make the trees and little bird ornaments.  (Stop laughing.)

File this under This Always Happens:  I went looking for the link to the Rudolph ornament on Craft Gossip and found these super cute Peekaboo Reindeer Stockings from Handmade Charlotte.  Oh wow, I want to make them RIGHT NOW.

I recently did make something.  Two somethings.  Both were for my friend Mary. Once upon a time, I had a plan to make things for the friends I had made through blogging. Mary was my first victim.  I had asked for her address in December 2012, and a year later, I took a padded envelope with her name on it to the post office.  I swear it didn't take twelve months for me to embroider a dish towel and cross stitch a little pillow. My problem seems to be in getting started.  I also realized that I truly HATE transferring embroidery patterns.

Here's a bad picture of the dish towel I embroidered for Mary.  The kitty pattern is from Sublime Stitching (the book).  Nice ironing job, Patty. 

I also made this little cross stitched pillow for her.  You can find the free pattern here at The Primitive Hare.  I wish I had made it look old like the Primitive Hare did.  I believe I used all the suggested floss colors and I stitched on that 18 ct fabric I always use that I now can't think of the name of.

So, that's two posts in two days.  Color me impressed.

Memo to self:  Helvetica

It's Nice To See You Again

I refuse to let an entire year go by without posting anything so here I am.

Some time ago -- we're talking a couple of years -- Kellie sent me an apron she had made for me.  She used some really cute fabric, including some with dogs on it, although I have no clue what ever gave her the idea that I even like dogs.  It's not like all I ever do on Facebook is post dog stuff or anythng.  She also made a matching coin purse, which I did not take a photo of, but it's made of the same material as the apron.

I LOVE IT!!

 SO CUTE!!

In other apron news, I got this one from an Etsy shop called Pastel Vintage, mainly because I like the dog on the pocket (who knew?) and the stripes & rickrack.  The cool thing is the Fruit of the Loom label hanging off it.  I refuse to remove it.

You can never have enough cowbell.

In my next post, I'll share something I actually made.  And, then the world will explode.