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.