Blog Hopping On Saturday Night

Here's yet another draft post that I never finished.  Enjoy!

Tonight, I'm catching up on some of my favorite blogs.

Sew Tara and Wild Olive have teamed up to make some super cute fabric bags for snacks (goldfish crackers, carrots & celery, cookies).  [Link via Craft.]

What a cute cloudy needlebook from Art Threads!  [Via Craft Gossip]

There are lots of cute (yes, I've used cute three times already.  Let the drinking game begin!) embroidery freebies over at Hudson's Holidays.  Like this kitty in the flowers and in the garden, and my favorite, a bunny pulling a wagon with bunnies in it.  [Via Craft Gossip]

Cute Owl Alert

There's a tutorial at Bugs and Fishes to make a cute felt owl.  I see this owl  squeezing into the #3 spot on my To Do list tomorrow.  Right after 1. Waking up and 2. Eating breakfast  [Link via One Pretty Thing.]

Bonus:  a how-to on making an owl brooch also on Bugs and Fishes.

Pets On Quilts Show

Insights From SewCalGal is hosting the 2nd Annual Pets on Quilts Show on her blog starting today, August 15th, through August 19th.  I apologize for not mentioning this sooner so there would be time left to whip up a quilt to enter, but it will still be fun to see the pictures of both pet-themed quilts and pets on quilts. 

SewCalGal is also collecting photos of pets on quilts to create a calendar that will be used as a fundraiser for local animal shelters.  She will be accepting pics until September 1st for the 2012 calendar.  Her contact information is at the bottom of this post.

Now, go see the pictures on Lit and Laundry of some cute kitties on and under their quilts.

Dala Horse Craftalong

Carina's Craftblog is hosting a craftalong for Swedish Dala horses. 

I love Dala horses.  I know somewhere in my stash, I have a pattern to make a stuffed one but I love the applique pattern Carina shared and then turned into a pincushion.  She also sells an embroidery pattern -- it's in the blog button above-- that I must buy some day.

The craftalong will be over on August 21st but you can join anytime and add your Dala horse to the Flickr group.  Check out some of the ones already posted.  I swear after seeing them, you will be inspired to make your own.

Cute Embroidery Stitch-A-Long

There's a cute stitch-a-long going on over at Clover & Violet.  It's about halfway over and blocks 1-5 are up already but I think you can catch up.  You can find all the details here, including stitch tutorials and the supplies you will need to make the quilt.  I love looking at the pictures in the Flickr group.  Thanks to Flickr member shawnlorette for finding this SAL.

Scottie Embroidery Patterns At Tip Nut

There are some days of the week embroidery patterns with Scottie dogs over at Tipnut.

Toto From The Wizard Of Oz

Thanks to For The Love Of Dog Blog, I just read this very interesting post at Hollywoodland about Toto from The Wizard of Oz and her trainer, Carl Spitz.  Toto was originally called Terry and made a bunch of movies that I now want to watch so I can look for her. And, did you know she was paid more money than the Munchkins were?

Toto had been buried at Carl Spitz's dog training school but her grave was destroyed when the Ventura Freeway was built through the San Fernando Valley.  A memorial marker for the pup was recently unveiled at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and you can read all about that here.

By the way, this was my first visit to Hollywoodland and I think I need to spend some time there.  Lots of interesting stuff about old Hollywood (and new) on that blog.

New Moon On Saturday

Did you know there are two new moons in July?  Tonight is the second one so that means it is time for another TUSAL update. 

What is a TUSAL?  TUSAL stands for Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long and for this stitch-a-long, all you need to do is throw your leftover floss (aka thread ends) into a jar or container and share a picture of it every month on the date of the new moon. Or around the date of the new moon, if you're like me and never on time.

I planned to be on time today and even took pictures of my jar this morning.  And then I forgot all about posting one of the pictures until now.  At least it is still July 30th on the West Coast.

Thanks to Sharon at It's Daffycat for hosting the TUSAL 2011.

That teddy bear cross stitch is my latest project.  I finished the stitching a little while after I took this picture except for a few  X's around the eyes that I'll do after I find a similar shade of floss since I don't have the one recommended in the chart.  It's a freebie from a French blog and I'll post a link to it as soon as I track it down again.

Summer Cottage

I hope the title of this post doesn't make anyone think I was going to blog about my summer cottage or a summer cottage that I know of.  I wish I had one to write about!  It's just the name of my latest cross stitch finish.  It's another UFO I recently found in one of two tote bags sitting on my bedroom floor.  All the stitching had been completed last summer.  I just added the year and a backing fabric to make YET ANOTHER LITTLE PILLOW.  (Seriously, I have to do something different next time.)  I believe I used all the suggested floss colors and stitched it on 18 ct Fiddler's.


Sorry you can't really see the tree on the right side.  The fur surrounding the top half of the little pillow belongs to my dog, Pumpkin.  She enjoys modeling my projects.  Lucy, on the other hand, tends to chew on everything.  As a result, Lucy is banned from my photo shoots.

The chart is a freebie from Les grilles de Maryse.  There was one for each season and I was certain I had stitched the others but I can't find the Autumn one.  Here's the Winter one from 2007 and Spring from 2008.

The free charts:   Spring  Summer  Fall  and  Winter.

My plan is to finish at least a few more UFOs from that tote bag before I start anything new but after looking at the freebies on Maryse's blog, I'm reminded of another one I've always wanted to stitch.  I have a feeling I'll be starting that very soon.  Have a great weekend!

Animal Planet's Casting Couch

From Animal Planet's June 30, 2011 email newsletter:

Animal Planet is casting for a new show about the relationship between people and animals.

We are looking for stories about how an animal, like a pet, may have turned someone's life around or helped someone in an extraordinary fashion.

For more info, go here.

July TUSAL Report

Of course I missed posting a Totally Useless Stitch-a-long aka TUSALupdate once again.  This month, the new moon was on the first so I'm a few days late.  But did you know July has two new moons?  (Thank you, Sharon, for that bit of info.)  My goal is to post my next update on time on July 30th.  So hell can freeze over.

I just took four pictures of my ORTs jar and here's the best one.  This is the current state of my jar of thread ends.

Thanks to Sharon at It's Daffycat for hosting the TUSAL 2011!

Last night I finished a WIP (it's a felt pincushion that I totally forgot about), and have also been working on a cross stitch that will most likely grow up to be an Xmas ornament.  I recently told myself that no new projects will be started until I finish a few I've already started and have actually been sticking to that.  I'll wait until there's more daylight to take some pictures of them. 

Some Links I Should Have Posted Awhile Ago

I guess I was saving these up for a rainy day.  Or something.

I love this felt dahlia brooch from Not Martha.  Not Martha was one of the first craft blogs I ever read.  I always wanted to make these marble magnets (from 2006).  Sad to say, they are still on my to-do list.

Another felt pin I really like is this felt poinsettia pin from Lil Fish Studios.

Every house I've lived in California except this one has had at least one bougainvillea so I was excited to see this tutorial for a felt bougainvillea garland from Art Threads.  I totally need to make that.

And, a few more before I go.

Tipnut's pincushion pattern list #1 and #2 (I need to go through these)

Grandfather mushroom embroidery pattern from Little Dear Tracks (I somehow missed this one last June)

Potholder eyeglass case from Zakka Life 

Vintage hankie pillow covers at Elsie Marley

My First Finish Of 2011

As I was typing the title of this post, I wondered if I had actually finished anything this year, other than what I was about to write about.  I know I've started a few things and still have a zillion other things already in progress, but really, do I have any other finishes for 2011?  I don't think so.

 I did all the cross stitch on this little reindeer last year.  He was then turned into an ornament (shocker!) but I was running low on poly-fill (or whatever it is that I usually use) and he wasn't fat enough for me.  So I unstuffed him and re-stuffed him some time earlier this year.  And I am just now posting about it. 

I most likely stitched him on 18 ct white or off-white Aida. I filled in all the background to cover up the white or off-white Aida. You can find the free chart for the little reindeer here.

Wordless Wednesd...Oh Never Mind

I just can't do wordless.  If I could, I would just post this picture and go back to reading blogs but I just cannot shut up about anything I put here. 

Sometimes I sit on my unmade bed and show Lucy how to blanket stitch two felt circles together but she never pays attention.  She is way more interested in looking out the window.



That's actually part of that strawberry penny rug (from Creative Breathing) I'm working on.  I'm still embroidering the separate pieces and not ready to sew it all together yet.  Hopefully, I'll get it finished before strawberry season ends.  In 2012.

Speaking of the Creative Breathing blog, Elizabeth has posted two cute Good Morning/Good Evening bird embroidery patterns over there. 

So many patterns, so little time.

I AM GOING TO START BLOGGING AGAIN EVEN IF IT KILLS ME

Lately, as I come across cute stuff to make, I write myself a note as a reminder to later link to it on my blog , which is really lame.  How's about I just put it on my blog then and there?  So that is my plan:  to blog.  (I tell myself this every other week and never do it so we'll see it goes.)

Let's try out this feature from Cut Out + Keep where you can embed a project on your site.

See Cute Deer Button Brooch and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

Neat-o!  That deer is so cute and I love anything with a blanket stitch.

I started this strawberry penny rug before Easter and so far all I've done is stitch some seeds on a few of the strawberries.  And, if you like that little rug, you should check out the rest of Elizabeth's Creative Breathing blog.  She has tutorials for some of the cutest things.

I've always wanted to make a carrot cake (it was listed on the cooking bucket list I have in my head) and finally got around to it a little while ago.  I used Ina Garten's recipe and oh boy, was it good.  Really, really good.  Consider rounding up the kids to grate the carrots for you because that is a real pain.  Ina suggested using a box grater and not the food processor so that's what I did.  And cursed her the entire time.  Also, really good is her tomato feta pasta salad. 

Off to see what else I have written in those notes to myself.

June TUSAL Update

This is my TUSAL jar as of this afternoon.  I've been working on a cross stitch so I finally had some thread to add to my jar, plus I found some leftover floss on a few homemade cardboard thread holders that I no longer needed so I threw that in there too.

I really thought I was finished with the Little Blue Bungalow cross stitch but I was looking at some pictures of it and noticed I didn't stitch the centers of the flowers so it's still a WIP for now.

The chart is a freebie from Blue Ribbon Designs and you can find it on the Weeks Dye Works Free Designer Charts page.  (It's the very last one on the page.)  Since I only have a brown and black WDW floss, I picked out my own DMC colors, which is always a big deal for me.   I'm not sure if I'm happy with what I chose.  I could blame it on the bad lighting in the photo but it is hard to see some of the colors on that fabric (Fiddlers 18 ct) in person too so I may re-do the parts I don't like.

Update:  I just looked at the finish of the original version and decided I hate mine.  Ok, I don't hate it but I am not happy with the floss colors I used.  Some of those blues are too light and you can barely see the white and pink flowers.  I may just start this one over from scratch and use some different colors..

Cute Little Felt Bird

It's after midnight and here I am checking links to tutorials and finding stuff I want to make.  Right this very second.  This cute little felt bird from paper-and-string is one of them.  Link via Tipnut.

May TUSAL Update

Last night I posted this picture on Facebook and then forgot all about putting it here for the May TUSAL update. In case you're just tuning in, TUSAL stands for Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long, which isn't a real stitch-a-long but one where we post a monthly photo of our ORTs jar.  At the end of the year, some lucky participant will be rewarded with fabulous prizes. And, if that doesn't make you want to start saving your thread ends and tossing them into a glass jar (or bowl or Ziploc bag like I did last month), I don't know what will).  Unfortunately, it's too late to join the 2011 TUSAL but there's always next year.

So there's my ORTs jar along with a cross stitch I'm working on and some yo-yos I've recently made.  I'll post the link to the x-stitch chart next time I blog.   And at the rate I'm going, that might not be until June.

Thanks to Sharon for hosting the 2011 TUSAL.

Go See Martha's Aprons

Please go visit Martha at Q is for Quilter* and see her vintage-inspired aprons that will be given as favors to guests at her daughter's upcoming bridal shower. I don't know Martha but I wonder if I can get an invitation.  I'll bring a nice gift.

*The aprons are shown in the last few posts starting on April 15th.

Also, Rachel has another embroidery pattern round-up on One Pretty Thing . Thanks, Rachel!

Just In Time For Easter 2012

A few things I should have posted before last weekend:

Runaway Bunny Felt Easter Picture -- I must make this!  [via Craft Gossip's Felting blog]

Marshmallow bunny plushies from Dandelions and Lace -- they look just like Peeps

Peeps Bunting posted on V and Co.

Do Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Roses

The other day I snapped some pictures of my neighbors' roses because they were full-on blooming and soooo pretty,  I was going to blog about them since I really have no other pictures to share since all I do anymore is go on Facebook and play Pet Society and make fun of stoopid status updates.  Seriously, what is up with people who post that they're at the bank and at McDonald's and at the grocery store?  Do they not realize that no one needs an update on their whereabouts every 17 minutes?  I would so love to go rob them while they're running their errands. Really.  It's so annoying.

I know someone else who counts down to vacation.  As in "142 days until Scranton."   Then, we get "138 days until Scranton.".  OMG, PLEASE SHUT UP.  I know you're excited to take your trip but none besides yourself is marking off the days on the calendar.

And, just so you know, I am not talking about anyone that I know through blogging and is a Facebook friend.  any I don't mind the occasional vacation updates at all and I love looking at your vacation pics but the constant countdown is annoying.

Maybe I just need new friends.

So, anyway, I took some pictures of my next-door neighbors' roses and cannot get them to download or upload or whatever it is.  I keep getting an error message.  The photos are showing up on my camera so I don't know what's going on.  I was thinking of cutting some of those roses under cover of darkness so maybe that's why my camera isn't cooperating.  It doesn't approve of what I'm planning.

Like I would ever have the guts to steal my neighbors' roses.  Please.  However, if they had heirloom tomato plants, that would be another story.

I am bound and determined to make something this weekend (does my bed count?) so I should be back on Monday with something to show you.  Have a Happy Easter!  (Just like that poor chick!)

April TUSAL Report

It's time for a New Moon so I have another picture of my TUSAL jar to share.  But, first, this is what I had to deal with when I sat on my bed to take pictures.

We had to clear out of the house for five days this past week while the new floor was being installed and I forgot to take my TUSAL jar with me so I collected my orts in a Ziploc bag.  I think the embroidery I did while sitting in a motel room was the most I have done all month.



And, there's my jar with the new threads added.



Thanks to Sharon at It's Daffycat for hosting the Totally-Useless-Stitch-a-Long this year!

Dirty Or Clean In Felt

A few years ago, Loralynn sent me a biscornu that she made out of felt that I totally love.




She makes a lot of really cool things and I have to share one of her latest projects because I love it so much.  It's one of those Clean or Dirty signs that you put on your dishwasher.  It's so cute and it's made out of felt.  Please visit her blog now and check it out.  Isn't that great?!

Help With A Quilt For Japan

I was just over at Mom Wald's Place and read about the quilt project she has started to raise money for Japan.  She plans to auction or raffle off the quilt and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross.  You can help by stitching up a square with a vintage fruit or vegetable design -- she suggests checking Hoop Love on Flickr for patterns to use.  She's also accepting fruit and veggie themed fabric squares.  This post has all the details.  And, read this one too.

Great idea, Mom Wald!

Cute Idea For Christmas Ornaments

Hey, it's never too late to start making Christmas stuff and I thought these embroidery hoop ornaments from The Crafty Cupboard were really cute.

Adopt The Internet Day 2011

Today is Adopt the Internet Day.

Petfinder is asking us to promote pet adoption by spreading the word online.  You can add a badge to your blog or website, and use your Facebook status or share a link on Twitter to a Petfinder pet who is looking for a home.  In the past fifteen years, Petfinder has helped 17 million animals find new homes.  Help them get even more pets adopted.  Get more inforamation on Adopt the Internet Day here. 

Pumpkin and Lucy say thank you!

Check Out Wild Olive

Mollie over at Wild Olive is doing a series on embroidery basics, She's starting off with a post on materials you will need before you start stitching.  Go check it out.

Hearts For Christchurch

A blogger named Evie is collecting hearts for people affected by the earthquake in New Zealand. 

"Two heart shapes sewn together, stuffed or not, embellished, embroidered, CQ’d, quilted, plain or fancy, felt or fabric or anything goes. Add a loop at the top."

What will she do with the hearts?  One idea is to hang all the hearts in one place as a show of support so everyone can see them.

You can find all the details on her blog, Hearts for Christchurch.

That's the last link for today but I have more to post so stay tuned.

Stuffed Bunny

Here's a Funny Bunny Plush Doll from A Beautiful Mess.

Cute Little Bag Tutorial

This link turned up on Facebook but now I can't remember who posted it.  Thanks to whoever you are!

A tutorial for a cute little drawstring bag with directions for hand sewing.  Sign me up.

Owls!

Janet of JMD Designs is holding an "artistic event."  Make an owl based on her free design and you might win some fabulous prizes.  There are two categories to enter. One is for hand stitched needlework or hand applique and the other is for mixed media.  All the details on the Evie Owl Event are here.  Link via Denise at Craft Gossip.

And, here's a tutorial to make a baby felt owl.  Link via my Facebook friend, Shonna.

Embroidery Round-ups

You can find a round-up of free embroidery patterns on Craft Gossip and on One Pretty Thing, including the latest freebie from Badbirds:  a platypus.

Also, check out this post on Craft Gossip for some Easter embroidery patterns and cross stitch charts.

A Post Every Hour

I feel bad about not blogging.  I miss it.  Sometimes I post links to crafty stuff on Facebook and think I should be doing that on my blog instead.  I have a bunch of links to share so I'm going to write some posts and then schedule them to publish tomorrow. 

Let's start with two for St. Patrick's Day.

Jenny has a tutorial for a cute felt shamrock pin.  I made one a couple of years ago.  And posed it with a felt guinea pig I made.




And, here's another cute felt pin from Paper Dali.

Wondering why I don't have a Holidays label.

March TUSAL Update

Time for the March TUSAL update.

This afternoon, I tossed my ORTs jar on the bed while Lucy and Ethel Pumpkin* were playing and snapped a few pictures.  If you look closely, you can see a few threads in the bottom of the jar. The poor thing is not getting much action due to a lack of stitching on my part.

And yes, that is a different jar.  For the third month in a row.  After I knew there would be plumbers and work men in my bedroom to fix that leaky pipe behind my closet wall and they would see several jelly jars full of threads on my book shelf and think I was insane, I decided to combine the contents from all the jars into the large canning jar that I picked up last month at the thrift store and just use the one above for 2011.  They can still think I'm insane, just not as much. 

By the way, they plugged up the holes in the walls and re-painted them and they look fantastic.  You can't even tell it was patched, or whatever the term is.  Not sure when they will be here to install the new floor but we're halfway done now.

*My sister and I had Lucy at a new vet and when we mentioned we also had a dog named Pumpkin at home, he said we must be huge Peanuts fans.  At first, neither of us knew what he was talking about.  Probably because Linus and his Great Pumpkin story was never one of our favorites.

And, in semi-related news, this is hilarious:




P. S.  Thanks to Sheila for the reminder it was time for a TUSAL update.

Wordless Wednesday

Hello, Pumpkin!

The Latest News

Here's a post I forgot to finish last week.

The good news is I don't have to have cataract surgery for six months to a year.  Also, I don't have any new changes to my eyes from diabetes.  But I do have to get new glasses for both reading and driving.  Right now, I use a pair of non-prescription readers for the computer and reading, plus a magnifying glass for things like embroidery or cross stitch, and I thought I was doing fine, except on days when my cataract makes everything wonky, but I just looked at a photo on my huge-ass monitor of my latest stitching and I can't believe how clear it is.  Look at the weave on that fabric.  Who knew it was there?  And, now I can see just how bad my embroidery skills are.  Boy, do I need to practice my satin and back stitching.

By the way, that is a lop-sided mushroom with a round stem, in case you were wondering.


I've erased the rest of this post because it's already outdated.  We had a leaky pipe in the wall behind my closet and I had written about that and was going to show a picture of the huge hole in my wall but it's already been patched and dry walled.  Next up: new paint.  And then, and this is the big one: we get new flooring in pretty much the entire house (everywhere but the bathrooms and kitchen/family room).  Sounds good, huh?  Especially when you consider the wood floor that's already here is scratched in places, there's previous water damage by the front door, and even though the same kind of wood was used all over, some it is shiny and some of it isn't (I think there are two different finishes).  Plus the carpet in my bedroom should have been replaced years ago.  I'm excited to get new flooring but it hit me tonight that we will basically have to pack up everything from nearly every room and put it somewhere while the new floor is being installed.  It's almost like moving.


Just shoot me.

Of Course I MIssed The February TUSAL Update

I was just over at It's Daffycat and found out there was a new moon yesterday so I missed posting a TUSAL update.  I took some pictures anyway.  .

I found this canning jar at a thrift store the other day and thought I would make it my new TUSAL jar.  It's the bigger kind so it probably won't be filled up for years.



Meanwhile, this is my current jar.  I made a finished cross stitch into an ornament (shocker!) and also did a little embroidery so few thread ends made it in there.  (Last month, my jar was totally empty.)



On the left, is my 2010 jar and on the right, is my current one.  Well, it was the current one before I bought the canning jar.



Wasn't that exciting?!

Make These For Valentine's Day

I love these felt roses from Spending Less Living More.  They were linked on this post of crafty Valentine ideas from Craft Gossip.

I also love these Valentine marshmallows from The Decorated Cookie.  They were linked here on Craft Gossip.

And, nothing to do with Valentine's Day but also on Craft Gossip is Denise's latest free embroidery pattern round-up.

I love Craft Gossip.

Make A Cute Valentine Pillow

I love this cute little love heart pillow from Lynn B [link via Craft Gossip].

Another Reason To Get Off My Butt And Make Something

Well, I'm still sitting at my computer, trying to get caught up with some blog reading.

Over at The Inkling Network is a tutorial to make a cute little baby owl brooch link via The Owl Barn.

And, now it's time for a rant:  Why can't Blogger set it up so that each link opens in a new window?!?!  God, this annoys me.

Also for Blogger:  why won't links work in preview mode anymore?  Maybe I'm the exception but I like to check my links before hitting Publish to make sure they work AND open in a new window and now I can't do that.

Ok, I feel better now.

UPDATE 9/24/15:  I can't believe I am doing this.  I'm updating this post from January 2011 because the link for the tutorial for the cute owl brooch no longer works.  THIS IS WHY WE SHOULD ALWAYS PRINT EVERYTHING OUT!!

You can find the link to the owl brooch tutorial as of 9/24/2015 here.

Get Off Your Butt, Patty

I just read over at Craft Gossip that Aimee Ray is doing an embroidery stitch-a-long over at Lark Crafts and thought if only I could transfer some patterns using the stick-your-design-in-the-window-and-trace-it-with-a-pencil method right now and then I realized it wasn't 2 AM like it usually is when I'm online but only 2:30 PM and really sunny out (and 79 degrees!) so I should get up from this chair and go trace some patterns on to my fabric.

OMG, the free patterns are so cute!  You can read more about the SAL on this post.

Lucy Video

This has nothing to do with embroidery or anything I made. I just needed a place to post a video of Lucy doing her scary tail thing so I can share it with some people.

My January TUSAL Update

Today in the New Moon so here's a picture of my 2011 ORTs jar for the Totally UselessStitch-A-Long.  The jar is on the left.  The dog on the right is Lucy.  It's Lucy's and Pumpkin's fault that my jar is empty because I haven't embroidered or cross stitched since these two were adopted about a month ago.  I've showered a few times and once I cut my toenails but other than babysitting the two little darlings, there isn't much else going on with me right now.

If you're my Facebook friend, you may have thought I was close to a breakdown over these dogs last night because of what I posted on my wall.  I had reached my limit with Lucy going after Pumpkin.  One minute they're playing and everybody is happy with tails wagging and the next minute Lucy growls and snarls at Pumpkin because Pumpkin walked by Lucy's blanket.  I actually uttered the words "maybe Lucy needs a new home" to my mom because I was thinking she might need to be in an only dog household.  The fact that I even said that out loud really shocked me.  I suddenly felt like one of those loser pet owners who I've complained about or rolled my eyes at because they decided to get rid of their dog for some stupid reason.  Like the ones who were now empty nesters and wanted to travel the world so poor 11 yr old Fido was dumped at a shelter.  Or because they were moving on Saturday and if the rescue group didn't help them find a new home for their dog on Friday, well, it was going to the pound.  Last night I actually saw a classified ad for an 8 month old Shih Tzu who was being given up because "we got her after being told she was house trained but she isn't and no one here has the time to do it."[insert scream here]

 I spent a few hours reading up on dog behavior online and also emailed a bunch of my dog-rescue friends and those that have adopted shelter dogs to ask for advice.  I'm convinced that Lucy & Pumpkin hacked into AOL last night and read that email because today was practically perfect with them.  They played as much as usual but it didn't get too rough that often, and when it did, they took breaks and had little cat naps.  I don't think I heard anything other than a play grow all day.  Pumpkin even pooped in the garage and didn't even try to snack on it.  Yay, Pumpkin! 

I know we still have a ways to go until things are how they should be and we will work with a trainer as soon as I find the right one but today really was a good day.  I think my frustration is born out of a lack of sleep and not being able to make anything for over a month.  Seriously.  Laugh if you want but sticking a needle and thread through fabric calms me and relaxes me and makes me happy.  It's like your Prozac.  And, her pot.  And you over there passed out in a drunken stupor, your vodka.  Crafting and Maggie are pretty much what kept me sane the past few years and now I don't have either one.  But I can start crafting again and now instead of Maggie, I have Lucy and Ethel Pumpkin to keep me from sticking my head in the oven.  (I just wanted to use the strike key in Blogger's new editor.  And somebody PLEASE tell me they fixed it so you can set your links to open in new windows without manually adding the code yourself, which is a major pain in the ass and one reason I don't post as many links as I used to.) 

In related news, I have a $15 gift card to blow on iTunes which ranks right up there with dogs and crafting on the things-that-make-me-happy scale so I am off to do that.

If you'd like to join the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long yourself, please check Sharon's blog.

And, in honor of the TUSAL here's the New Moon on Monday video from Duran Duran.

It's Two, Two Posts In One Day

Wow, my second post of the day. And year. How unlike me.

Remember the Totally Useless Stitch A Long aka TUSAL? I started it last year and then abandoned it at some point. (It was February. How sad is that?) Which makes no sense because it's fun and brainless. (Just like I like my men. Har, har.) You don't even have to stitch anything. All you need to do is save your floss ends or ORTs, stick them in a jar and share a picture of it once a month, on the day of the new moon.

Yoyo, who used to organize it, has disappeared from Blog Land (I hope she's ok, she was a nice lady) but the wonderful Sharon over at It's Daffycat has stepped in to be the official keeper of the TUSAL. If you want to join in, go leave some Sharon comments on this post. Make sure you do it before the 4th of January because that's not only the first day to post a picture of your jar, but you will also qualify to win fabulous prizes at the end of the year if you post every month.

Here's a picture of my TUSAL jar as of last February. It's now full so I plan to start a new one and share a photo of it on every New Moon, even if it's always empty because I have two canine toddlers who never let me do anything but supervise them.



And, now I am off to make minestrone soup. And babysit the devil dogs.

Shhh, The Dogs Are Sleeping

I started on this last night and didn't get to finish because I had to put two dogs to bed. I swear, this is like having toddlers.

Happy New Year to my three faithful readers!! I hope your holidays were merry and bright, and your New Year's Eve hangover is gone by the time you read this. I figured I'd get in a little blogging while the dogs are napping at my feet. (Yes, Virginia, Ambien does work on dogs.)

Little Miss Shabby is doing a cute embroidery block-of-the-month called Birdie Stitches. You can see the layout for the quilt here and the supply list here. The first block is up on this post.
I love this embroidery freebie of Lulu and her dog, Bear, from Gina at Spot Colors.

That reminds me: I have one little dog who you take out and tell her to "go potty" and she does exactly that. I have another little dog who likes to poop on the pile of pattern printouts on my bedroom floor and then eat it. Lovely. Maybe she's telling me to put those patterns away. Actually, she has only done this once. The pooping on my papers part, not the eating part. She hasn't eaten her last two poops though so maybe she is getting over it.

I'd like to thank anyone who has continued to read this post up until this post.

Over at Tipnut, is a list of links to tutorials to make 24 softies. If I ever get a chance, I will actually go through that list. And, then pigs will fly.

Did anyone watch the Rose Parade? I had it on earlier and realized we (my sister, her friend and I) went to see it in person 31 years ago when I was 16. Frank Sinatra was the Grand Marshal. It amazes me how it never seems to rain during the parade. According to Bob Eubanks, it has rained twice for the parade (I honestly don't remember that) and both times they had a Supreme Court Justice as the Grand Marshal. Interesting.

No More Blogging, Crafting, Reading Or Cleaning For Me

I do believe my blogging, crafting, reading and cleaning days are temporarily over for now.

(I crossed off cleaning since I do believe picking up dog poop and dealing with wet-from-pee newspapers counts as cleaning.)

Yes, there are two new little doggies at my house and all I have been doing for about ten days now is babysitting them.

It's so fun! (Except for the part where one is jealous of the other and there's a lot of growling or the part where one wants to play and the other doesn't understand and there's a lot of growling. Anyone have a number for dog trainer Victoria Stilwell?)

The taller but skinnier of the two, Lucy, will not stop moving long enough for me to get a clear picture of her so I've posted a video of her made by some wonderful shelter volunteers (they called her Minnie). I've also put up the video of Pumpkin (they called her Rosie). You can see both in the two previous posts.

Merry Christmas to me!!

Rosie A4214346 ADOPTED!!!

Meet my other new doggie, Pumpkin. (The shelter volunteers called her Rosie.)

Minnie A4210086

Meet my new doggie, Lucy. (Minnie was her shelter name.)

Please Vote For Rachel

All I want to do is go to bed so I'm going to post a link to a post on Average Jane Crafter and ask that you please go read it and then vote for Rachel. She embroidered the moon in a really cool way and now she's entered in the 2010 Space Craft Contest presented by Etsy and NASA. Yes, that NASA. Read all about by clicking the link posted above.

Goodnight!

Must Make

I am just about finished with my felt sampler Christmas tree from Inspired Ideas magazine so I'm thinking about my next project. Decisions, decisions!

Little Birdie Plush from A Beautiful Mess

Puppy Pal (scroll down to the bottom of the post) from Turkey Feathers

Owl Hexie Ornament of the Week from Bee Tree Designs (make sure you check all the free patterns there)

Festive Felt Christmas Trees from All Sorts

Christmas deer and fox felt applique from Bustle & Sew

World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is today, Sunday, November 14th, which is why I put the giant candle in my right sidebar. You can use the match to light it (you'll be taken to the World Diabetes website).

I'm all for raising awareness about diabetes but the majority of the time it's focused on Type 2, which is not the kind I have. I have Type 1. Sometimes I want to scream when people talk about preventing diabetes because there is no way to prevent Type 1 diabetes. And, if you're a regular reader of this blog, I am sure you know that by now because I've whined about it enough over the past few years. See how well I spread awareness? :)

I'll leave you with my favorite diabeetus video.



P.S. Thank you to Drs. Banting and Best for discovering insulin.

Looking For Cookie Recipe

Yesterday was the Marine Corps birthday and since my mom was going to her monthly lunch with a bunch of former servicemen today, she wanted to make some cookies with her giant Marine Corps emblem cookie cutter for her friends. Long story short, the dough would not cooperate when it was time to roll it out so I told her I would track down a recipe that she could use next time.

I haven't Googled it yet but I thought I would ask you all if you had a recipe for rolled cookies. Wait. Is that what you call them? I only know drop cookies. Anyway, the kind where you use a cookie cutter.

Thank you!

P.S. Thank you to all our veterans for your service!

Book Giveaways On Craft Gossip

Craft Gossip is giving away a copy of Aimee Ray's Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection. Leave a comment on this post by November 14 to enter.

They're also giving away ten copies of Amy Sedaris' new book Simple Times: Craft for Poor People and a $250 craft voucher. You have until November 21 to get in on that one. Go here for more info.

Good luck to you all! And, here's hoping I win.

Free Redwork Patterns

A few years ago, there was a set of free embroidery patterns on Bobby Socks Quilt Company of 50's style dresses (called Dress Me Up) that I just loved. I printed most of them out (I think I missed two of them), and I swear some day I am going to stitch them all up.

Stop laughing.

Anyway, I know I also printed out the freebies from the following year, but I hadn't been back to the new site in a long, long time. I was just there now and found a set of free redwork patterns for 2010, called Fairy Tails, which are really cute. Be sure to save them all now because they won't be up once the year is over. And, good news for me: the Dress Me Up patterns are available for purchase from the site.

Felt Flowers

I had a link saved to this blog post on Twin Fibers because I loved the look of the felt flowers.

Tonight I was back at Twin Fibers and saw the finished white flowers. They're peonies. Funny because earlier I was searching for patterns for peonies, for embroidery, cross stitch, whatever.

It's nice to know there is a lovely version of a felt peony out there that I can look at from time to time and drool over.

(Yes, I have been drooling a lot lately.)

P.S. I love the dahlia too.

Drool Inspiring

About ten years ago, I made a felt cat bag from instructions in Country Living magazine. I am pretty sure this was the first time I ever blanket stitched two pieces of felt together. And, when I look the picture, I hope to God that was my first attempt at blanket stitching because boy, is it horrible. (Click for larger version, if you dare.)

Did I say I made that ten years ago? I meant to say I made it when I was two. And sitting in the dark in the basement. During a power failure. And I was really drunk. And I was blind at the time. And in a coma.

I made that bag at the request of my mother so when I saw the tutorial for a felt cat bag in the Autumn issue of Inspired Ideas, I decided I should make one for my mom.


I just realized I must take pictures with my eyes closed. In the basement. Which apparently is painted white. (Memo to self: stop hanging stuff on the same white door for picture-taking.)

One thing I will say about that kitty bag is if I ever make one again, I will add the eyes and nose before I stitch the bag together. It's too hard for me to stitch on anything other than a flat surface.

In related news: Amy Powers of Inspire Co. has put out the Christmas issue of Inspired Ideas. I'm not even going to tell you what's in it. Just go take a look. I promise you will not be disappointed. You will probably be inspired to drool a little. I know I was. And I wasn't even passed out at the time. (If you can't see the e-magazine at the link above, try this one).

Click Me

This was supposed to post at 10:10 tonight. Since it's still not up, I am adding another link. Take that, Blogger.

Dutch Sisters (a new-to-me blog) has a tutorial up to embroider and make a cute toadstool. There isn't a pattern (they do sell a kit for it in their store) but I think you could wing it.

I have way too many saved patterns for little stuffed animals and I think these are too involved for me to make, but I could not pass up linking to the tutorial for making Niblet and Biscuit. Niblet and Biscuit. Such cute words. They're cute dolls too. I also just fell in love with Gwenny Penny's Welcome Autumn banner. I'd print it right now but my printer needs toner.

Who knows when I'll get to it but I am definitely making one of these felt birds from A Feathered Nest in the very near future [via One Pretty Thing].

I love this Pottery Barn inspired poinsettia pillow from Spartan Living [via Craft Gossip].

The Felt Flower Mixed Bouquet over at Creative Jewish Mom is now at the top of my to-do/to-make/to-drool over list. As soon as I decide which colors I want my flowers, I am starting on this.

Two Great Quotes

From an Etsy interview with Amy Sedaris:

"My philosophy is simple: if plain people craft, and attractive people have sex, and you find yourself a crafter, take comfort in the fact that with crafting, the risk of STDs is greatly reduced."

"If you craft, and you should, craft with abandon and don’t judge your work. It’s the process that’s important, not the final product. Remember, for every person who deems your project crap, there is another person who hasn’t seen it. The only person you have to please is yourself, and what do you know about art?"

Read the entire interview here.

The Most Amazing Unexpected Thing Just Happened

So, I'm sitting at my computer reading the latest newsletter from Bunny Hill Designs and my sister wanders in and looks at the gift tags on my monitor (linked in the newsletter) and says "How cute!" And, I say how there are tons of free printable gift tags out there and that it's too bad I don't have any presents to give, and she says "Why don't you print them out and make a garland?"

Oh. My. God.

My sister does not craft. She once made a Christmas ornament when she was in Blue Birds in first grade but that was back in the 70's. She enjoys reading mysteries, doing puzzles and eating salami but she does not sew or embroider or paint or cook or collage or whittle or knit toilet paper cozies from cat hair so I was shocked and appalled and stunned and amazed at what she said.

I really should add that she was a graphic artist at her last job, so it's not that she isn't creative. It's just that she doesn't, you know, make stuff.

The gift tags are on the free page at Bunny Tales.

Diabetes Awareness Month Now With A Meme!

November is Diabetes Awareness Month so how about a diabetes meme? [via Six Until Me]

What type of diabetes do you have: Type 1 aka insulin-dependent diabetes. And, please stop calling it juvenile diabetes. Really, people. This is 2010.

When were you diagnosed: August 1978

What's your current blood sugar: 163

What kind of meter do you use: One Touch Ultra

How many times a day do you test your blood sugar: 5-10 times a day

What's a "high" number for you: Anything over 199

What do you consider "low": Anything that makes me feel "not right," usually below 80

What's your favorite low blood sugar reaction treater: Mixed fruit glucose tablets from Rite-Aid

Describe your dream endo: One who treats me for free (I don't have insurance)

What's your biggest diabetes achievement: Living 32 years with it. Go, me!

What's your biggest diabetes-related fear: Kidney failure

Who's on your support team: Me, myself and I, and financially, my father

Do you think there will be a cure in your lifetime: Nah. And, I'm not a conspiracy theorist at all but do you realize how many people would be out of a job if a cure was found?

What is a "cure" to you? My pancreas starts making unlimited insulin again

The most annoying thing people say to you about your diabetes is: "Oh, I guess you can't eat cake." OMG, shut up.

What is the most common misconception about diabetes: That Type 1 is just like Type 2 and can be treated with diet. Which part of "my pancreas no longer produces insulin, and without insulin, I will die" do you not get?

If you could say one thing to your pancreas, what would it be: I'll bake you a cake if you start working again.

I'll leave you with my diabetes PSA from this here blog in May 2009:

Here's my PSA: Sonia Sotomayor has Type 1 diabetes. It's caused when the pancreas stops producing insulin. It has NOTHING to do with diet or being overweight. If I read one more comment about her having type 1 diabetes because she's fat or ate too much candy or junk food, I am going to kill someone.

Making you diabeetus aware, one post at a time.

Tie One On's New Theme

I was happy to see that Tie One On has another apron contest going on. (Would that be an apron-along?) This one is Apple Cider and you can read all about it here.

The deadline to post a photo of your finished apron to the Flicker gallery is December 1st and the prize is a randomly selected book.

FYI: Amy from Angry Chicken is behind Tie One On.