Hoot Hoot

I'm fresh out of witty titles.

Not that I ever came up with witty titles.

You can find the Wee Folk Art applique pattern that I used for my owl here. Since I don't applique, I decided to stuff mine so I cut out two body shapes and two sets of wings. I used regular craft felt and attached the eyes, nose, feathers and feet (talons?) to the top body piece before I sewed the top to the bottom body piece together. The wings were added last.



I've been working on a biscornu and I was nearly finished with closing it up, when I remembered biscornus have eight sides. Oops.



To see what the biscornu should look like, go here. I still can't believe I did that! I've made a few biscornus in the past so I know how to put them together but I guess I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing until it was too late. I've already started another one and hopefully, I will remember to assemble it the correct way next time.

For the charts for this biscornu, click on the last two photos in the entry.

The TUSAL Report For June

I'm a little late with this but there was a new moon on Monday (and a firedance through the night) so it's time to post another picture of my orts jar for the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long. A lot of floss in that jar was ripped out from mistakes I made while putting that owl together (more about him in a later post) so it was fitting they hang out together for the photo shoot.

The TUSAL is the easiest SAL ever. All you do is save your leftover bits of floss (and anything else you want to add) in a container and share a photo of it once a month. For more information on the TUSAL, check out this post over at Dragon My Needle.

And, on a serious note: R.I.P. Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Ed McMahon

The First Finish Of My Convalescence

Thank you all so much for the comments on my last post!!! With all of you wishing me a speedy recovery, it should be no time before I am back on my feet again (pun intended).

I had planned to make tons of "stuff" while recuperating from my surgery but so far, I've been too busy reading and playing Farm Town on Facebook to get many projects done. But I did make a cross stitch ornament a few days ago.

There's a monthly pinkeep SAL at Les grilles de Maryse [link via LaGattaC]. I doubt I'll be stitching them all (then again, I do have time and I think they're pretty) but I wanted to do the the June design because it has cherries. As you can see, I didn't finish it as a pinkeep. It has red felt on the back because it was handy and I didn't feel like searching for some fabric to use instead. I used all the suggested floss colors and stitched it on 18 ct Fiddler's (or Fiddler's Lite -- I forget which one I've been using and who knows where the label is at this point). My mom's already claimed my ornament even though I didn't get the loop smack in the center. (Let's blame it on the Vicodin, even though I haven't actually needed to take any.)



Go here to see the pinkeep charts for January through June. And, check out the January 14th post where Maryse shows how to make a pinkeep. The directions are in French but I think you can figure it out. I might try making one with the January chart.

Thanks again for the get well soon wishes!!

Bunionectomies Are The Best Medicine

I'm supposed to keep my foot elevated and I've been on the computer for a few hours now so I'll make this quick: I had my surgery last week and was awake for it, which was interesting since I got to hear all about my doctor's love life. In case you just tuned in: I had an operation to remove a post-traumatic bunion that had formed after I broke my foot nearly two years ago. Even more backstory: in August 2007, I had broken my knee and it wasn't until after that healed that it was discovered my foot had been fractured in four places, most likely when I fell and fractured my knee. By then, my foot had healed on its own and this gigantic bone was curving out below my big toe which made my foot so wide that I could no longer wear regular shoes. My doctor recently decided it was time to do surgery on the humongous bunion so that's what I had done last week when I got to hear all about her current boyfriend while lying on a gurney and listening to Bon Jovi and Depeche Mode on the radio.

On Wednesday, I saw my surgeon and they removed all of the bandages and I wanted to do a happy dance after seeing how normal my right foot looked. It's still a little oddly shaped -- she couldn't do anything about the toes that curve to the left now but the giant bunion was all gone. Woo freaking hoo! I now have a plate and some screws in my foot, which match nicely with the metal plate and screws in my knee. (Does anyone know if I'll set off metal detectors now? I keep forgetting to ask.) I still can't put any weight on my foot for quite awhile -- the bones need a chance to mend -- but knowing I will eventually be able to go back to wearing regular shoes has cheered me up considerably.

I still have a chronic wound on my other foot that is just not healing and she is talking about doing surgery on that too but I'm still on the fence about having that done until I hear more details. Anything with that requires more than a week of recovery is not something I'm ready to sign up for. Between losing my drivers license and dealing with broken bones, it will be three years in October that I've been housebound and I am truly sick of it and ready to have a life again. And, to wear cute shoes while doing it.

Please cross your fingers, say some prayers, and think good thoughts that my foot will heal the way it's supposed to. I won't get my stitches out for another 11 days so infection is still a possibility, but I'm staying out of the shower until then (ugh) and fortunately my circulation is still pretty good for someone with diabetes for over thirty years.

I've only finished one cross stitch during my convalescence but I've read at least 6 paperbacks in the past week. If you like stories about amateur detectives who solve murders AND bake cookies, check out Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series. The books are fun and a quick read, and loaded with recipes.

Back to putting my foot up and reading another Hannah mystery.

Finished For Friday: Remember Weepuls?

Lately, every time I see something cute to make, I add it to the list I have going in my head of things to keep me busy while I'm recovering from foot surgery (it's finally going to happen next Thursday). I just added the Bunny Stitch-A-Long to the list. It's an embroidery project with a super cute pattern from Polka Dot Bunny.

The other day I had planned to link to the Weepuls tutorial from Zakka Life, and also wanted to include a photo of the Weepuls that I've had for years. Well, I totally forgot to snap a picture of them so I held off on adding the link. So, today, in honor of Finished for Friday, I am completing my task by linking to the Weepuls tutorial and showing you mine.

I don't remember these little fuzzballs having a name. Thank you to Zakka Life for tracking it down. Wikipedia says Weepuls or Wuppies or Wuppets were invented in 1979 and became extremely popular in 1981. I don't know how long I've had mine but the whites of their googly eyes have yellowed over time so I think it's been awhile. Sadly, I don't have the supplies to make a Weepul tonight but I can always play with my old ones.

Be sure to check Lit and Laundry to see who else is joining in for Finished for Friday.

Yet Another Post (Shocking!)

When you have some time, you need to visit Freebies For Crafters, a blog loaded with "patterns, tutorials and links for free crafting, sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, stitchery, embroidery, cross-stitch, redwork, knitting, crochet, dolls, primitives, and much more!" I spent over an hour there yesterday and will go back when I have more time. [Link via Niki.]

Check out the Garland Along going on at Creative Breathing. How fun!

I keep forgetting to mention I've added a few more vintage embroidery transfers to my other blog. The latest are from the same sheet of Artex dog & cat designs. Will I ever finish getting them all scanned and be able to move on to a different set of patterns? Stay tuned.

Look at this cute cross stitch doll that Annie made for the Comfort Doll Project. Handmade dolls are collected and sent to women's shelters in all fifty states and New Zealand. What a great idea. Thank you to Pat for starting it!

Sunday Linkage

It hit me the other night how I hardly ever print out free patterns anymore. That's because I hardly ever look for free patterns anymore. Not that I'm addicted to Facebook or anything. So, here are some links to some freebies for you and me and all the other hoarders out there.

First off, you can find some adorable summer embroidery patterns over at Green Jello. I will definitely be stitching the glass and the lemon slice design on to something.

There's a super cute cross stitch chart of some Stackable Cats at Mochimochi Blog. Also on her blog is Reason #47 I must learn to knit.

I love the Kettle Dolly embroidery pattern [via Craft] from Misako Mimoko.

There are some woodland critters embroidery patterns (owl, hedgehog, squirrel, mushrooms) [via Craft Gossip] at Tangarang.

At One Red Robin, you'll find a sweet little bear to embroider and at Feed Dog, there's a pattern for making a yummy looking Swiss cake roll and mini jam roll out of felt. [Both links via Whip Up]

Now, I need to decide what to make first.

TUSAL May Report

Well, I totally forgot about the new moon last week so I'm late with my picture for May for the Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long aka TUSAL. My jar and I had a nice long photo shoot a little while ago but the majority of the pics were out of focus and had that glare on the glass so I ended up deleting them. Here's one (complete with glare) of the jar lounging on my bed.



And, here's a nice shot from up above. I wanted to show off the one strand of gold in there.



The TUSAL is hosted by YoYo at Dragon My Needle. If you'd like to join in, please go here for more information.

I'm off to circle June 22 on my calendar so I don't miss next month's report.

Tagged By Bea

Bea over at Bea's Babbler tagged me to share eight things about myself.


8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. lunch with Dawn (who I have not seen since we were 8 yrs old -- yep, she found me on Facebook)
2. wearing regular shoes again
3. crafting with my new stash of made-from-recycled-plastic-water-bottles felt (thanks, Mom!)
4. having a piece of the ricotta cheese pie I just took out of the oven
5. wading through that pile of papers on my bedroom floor and hopefully finding my lost pocket calendar
6. the new seasons of Burn Notice and The Closer
7. using the sewing machine (finally!)
8. getting enough coins on Farmtown to buy a little house


8 things I did yesterday:

1. ate a porkchop and some brown rice
2. read some of Linda Fairstein's latest book (not sure if I like it enough to care who the killer is)
3. used my dad's computer because I thought my keyboard and mouse were ruined from a spill
4. cursed my dad's keyboard and mouse because they didn't feel "right"
5. sniffed a peony
6. put groceries away
7. watched several episodes of Chelsea Lately
8. yelled at cat for knocking things over on kitchen counter


8 things I wish I could do:

1. buy cute fabric
2. knit
3. crochet
4. get caught up with all my favorite blogs
5. type with all my fingers
6. turn back time so my dog would be here for another 15 years
7. get a pony
8. talk to my grandfather


8 shows I watch on television:

1. 24
2. Bones
3. The Closer
4. Law and Order
5. House Hunters
6. The Real Housewives of New York
7. NCIS
8. What Not To Wear

That was fun. Thanks, Bea!

I'm not going to tag anyone but if you decide to do this, please leave me some comments and so I can check out your answers.

Finished For Friday -- Pincushion

Guess what? I plugged my computer back in just to see if the mouse and keyboard would still work -- I had given them both up for dead since they acted like they had drowned after I spilled iced tea on them the other day -- but they've both recovered and are working just fine right now. Maybe all they needed was some time to dry out. And, let me add that iced tea is perfect for removing the layers of dust off your desk and the dirt off your floor.

I'm excited to share a finish for Friday FINALLY. Last weekend, I made a pincushion based on the tutorial on Creative Breathing. The fabric and rick rack came from a place mat that I had in my craft cupboard. (Some people have a craft room; I have a cupboard.) The puppy dog came from a website a few years back -- I bought it because it was cute -- and for now, he will just sit atop the pincushion.

Earlier in the day, I had attempted the Bitty Bug pincushion but I had problems sewing it all together -- the fabric was puckered in some places and the felt I used for the head was so thick, it made it very bulky. Plus hand sewing a seam in the shape of a circle and having it actually look like a circle instead of a roundish blob is way out of my league so I scrapped that project and decided to give the Creative Breathing pincushion a shot. One thing that made a huge difference was sewing along the circle I had drawn on the wrong side of the material per Elizabeth's instructions. I actually had a circle seam when I was done. (I'm going to try making the Bitty Bug pincushion again because it is the cutest thing -- I love how the wings are folded back.)

I like how Elizabeth uses beads to add words to her pincushion. I have an idea for doing something like that the next time I make one of these. However, I don't have any beads with letters on them so I may have to improvise. But making more pincushions will have to wait for now because I think I just discovered my next project: check out this adorable reindeer from Creative Breathing. The owl and the bluebird are also on my to-do list. Oh, wow! While going back through her blog to find the post with the bluebird pattern, I found the Airedale pattern. Adding that to my list too.

To see who else is participating in Finished for Friday, check out Lit and Laundry.

Public Service Announcement

Before I get to the PSA, I wanted to say that I knocked over a full glass of iced tea on to my desk the other day and drowned my mouse and wet some of the keys on my keyboard so until I hook up new ones, I can't get to the photos saved on my computer and blog about the pincushion I made or tea towel I embroidered for my mom. Good thing I can get to Facebook from any computer!

Here's my PSA: Sonia Sotomayor has Type 1 diabetes. It's caused when the pancreas stops producing insulin. It has NOTHING to 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.

Here, Have Some Links

When was the last time I posted some links? I really have been neglecting my blogging responsibilities.

Thanks to plaid & herringbone, I have another hedgehog pincushion pattern to add to my collection. This one is on a French blog and I think you can figure out how to put it together without translating it. The pattern is not a pdf or clickable so I just saved it as a jpg and then printed it out. And, then added it to all the 471 other hedgehog patterns I have saved. [sigh]

Oh, I just remembered, I did start making a hedgehog sometime ago when I was in my pom-pom phase but stopped before I gave my poor hedgie a face/head. Maybe I can get him finished up this week. The tutorial for making a pom-pom hedgehog is over at Zakka Life.

Craft Hope has its second project underway, and for this one, they're collecting handmade dolls for an orphanage in Nicaragua. You can find out all the details here [link via All Sorts]. And, if you need a doll pattern, check out the list at One Crafty Place. The deadline to get the dolls to Craft Hope is June 13th so get sewing!

There's an elephant pattern (another thing I tend to collect and never use) at Cicada Daydream. I like how he's made with all different fabrics. And, Amazing Mae has a great owl applique pattern that you could also use for embroidery [both links via One Crafty Place].

This Japanese site has a bunch of cute coloring pages that could be used for embroidery patterns. Thank you, Kellie, for finding this one!

One Pretty Thing has another great Embroidery Pattern Round-up.

This post was not written while I was under the influence of Vicodin. I couldn't get in to the clinic to have a physical and EKG done before my foot surgery on the 15th so the operation has been postponed for about a month. Knowing I have another four weeks of being stuck in this house in addition to however long it takes to recover from the surgery (2-6 months) depresses me to no end and I'm hoping someone will take pity on me and send me a bottle of vodka and/or some happy pills. Let me know if you need my address.

Happy Monday!

P.S. To clean up my vintage transfer patterns, do I need Photoshop? Or is there another way to do that?

Finished For Friday -- Watch Pincushion

Every so often, I actually take a break from playing Farm Town on Facebook and make something. Behold my wrist watch pincushion.



This was fun and quick to put together. I did make one change. When I started to stitch the strap pieces together, my fabric began to fray so I cut another slightly larger piece of fabric, folded all four edges in (and ironed them) before I began sewing it to the felt piece. I also left off the winder.

You can find the tutorial to make your own wrist watch pincushion on LucyKate Crafts [link via Craft].

I finally finished something for Friday! See who else is showing off their finishes at Lit and Laundry this week.

Did You Wear Your Apron Today?

Here I am, celebrating National Wear Your Apron Day by hanging out with my camera in the bathroom. Don't I look super excited?

Mia's New Apron

The subject of Crissy dolls came up on Facebook this past week. I no longer have my childhood Barbies or Dawn dolls, but I still have Crissy, Mia and Tressy, and all of their clothes. Last night, I decided I would make an apron for my Mia and show her off today for National Wear Your Apron Day because I wasn't sure I would find someone to take a picture of me to mark the occasion. Plus, it gave me a good reason to stitch up that cute puppy dog pattern I posted yesterday. I had some major issues sewing on the bias tape by hand (I really need to learn how to work that sewing machine), and finally I just dug out the fabric glue and used that to attach it. Mia doesn't seem to mind my craptastic glue job, does she?



Back in 1973 or so, I made Mia her first apron. I can honestly say my hand sewing hasn't really improved much since then.


I am off to get dressed and choose an apron to wear today. Happy Apron Day and don't forget to tie one on!

Edited to add: The Apronista wants links your apron posts today, plus there's a giveaway.

National Wear Your Apron Day

I recently found a Scottie dog pattern on some website that was divided into two parts. So I printed out both of them. One was scanned at 117% and the other at 129% so the pieces are not the same size and don't match up. I'd like to thank the braniac who created those pdfs.

Today is National Wear Your Apron Day so I might go make an miniature apron. Or I might go to bed. Or I might go eat something. The spinach dip in the fridge is calling my name.

If you've never made Knorr spinach dip, you should. Even people who claim they hate spinach, love this stuff. Here's the recipe but you can also find it on the back of Knorr's dry vegetable soup mix. I always leave out the water chestnuts because as everyone who has read my Facebook page knows, they serve no purpose whatsoever and the world would be a much better place without them. Oh and don't wimp out and use low fat mayo for this dip. Use the real stuff. As Best Foods. (Or Hellman's depending on which side of the Mississippi you're on.)

Thanks, Kellie, for the image!

My New Blog

I finally got out my vintage embroidery patterns that I had bought on eBay and other places online a few years ago and decided to scan them. None of them are made by Vogart or Aunt Martha, (one is labeled Artex), so as far as I know, it's ok to post them on my blog. Just not this blog. They're on a new blog. This way, all the embroidery junkies could find them easily and not have to wade through posts about my pathetic, retched, miserable existence in order to get to the good stuff.

I scanned about half of one sheet of patterns and then I lost interest. I'll be adding more patterns this coming week, but for now, you can check out the poodles and cats on Pip Stitch Patterns. (Oh, my creativity just kills me sometimes.)

National Wear Your Apron Day Is Monday

I haven't felt much like blogging lately since I haven't made anything since last week (thanks for all your nice comments about my needlebook!) plus I'm having trouble with my cataract eye so I haven't felt much like working on anything and I have a broken tooth and it looks my foot surgery may be postponed until June. Hopefully, Jack Bauer will kill Tony Almeida on Monday night and I can get happy again. I did want to remind you that Monday is National Wear Your Apron Day (thanks to Kellie for the reminder!) so don't forget to tie one on. And, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I'm off to stick my head in the oven.

My New Old Vintage Needlecase

To enter the not-a-contest giveaway at Apron Memories, you have to create something from vintage "fabric, hotpads, handkerchiefs, table coverings, curtain paneling, toweling, embroidery, doilies, placemats, napkins," so I took this vintage embroidered piece, some bias tape (pretend it's blue in the photo -- there was a change of plans after I took the picture) and some gingham...



...and, made this needlecase



No, I was not drunk when I stitched that.

Here it is, opened up, so you can see the inside.



I was inspired by the needlecase project that Barbara from Oodles and oodles shared on her blog awhile back. I modified her instructions a bit -- she forgot to include a step on attaching your bias tape with the most crooked and uneven hand stitches you have ever sewn in your life and then tell everyone your two yr old did it -- I had to come up with that one all by myself. And, I put my needlecase together differently and now see lots (tons!) of room for improvement. Next time I make one, I'll completely follow Barbara's directions.

And, can I just say it KILLED me to cut up that embroidery...um...piece. What is that anyway? It's from a set of three that was part of a larger group that I found on eBay and bought because one was a dresser scarf with puppies embroidered on it. (Got all that?) It wasn't stained or dirty but it was spending its days stuck in a drawer. At least now I'll get some use out of it.

I'm still laughing hysterically at my "sewing." (Why didn't I just blanket stitch it?)

Thank you, Barbara, for the bias tape, the gingham, and the inspiration to make this!

How About Some Embroidery Links

After a certain someone told me my blog was feeling neglected, I vowed to post something every day for the rest of my life. Or at least until I got a boyfriend. Ok, not really but I did want to share some embroidery freebies with you all today.

A little while ago, Miri over at Milk and Honey Quilts posted some vintage Springtime embroidery patterns of a lady bug, a butterfly, birds, flowers and a boy and girl.

If you don't regularly check One Pretty Thing, you may have missed the recent Embroidery Pattern Roundup.

Did you see the corset pattern from Flickr member Rectangle that was linked on Feeling Stitchy? How fun!

Need a pattern for the skateboarding bull dog, a LOL cat or Rick Astley? Check out the internet memes at Totally Severe.

And, if you're new to embroidery, check out Kandra's post on Sibling Craftery for links to some great resources.