Just Call Me Einstein

It only took three months but it dawned on me the other night that I could use my sister's laptop to upload photos from my camera.  So that's what I just did.  Now I need to go take pictures of a few things and I can get back to blogging.  Yay!

Most of the pictures on my camera were of my orts jar.  This is the only one that did not suck.  So here's my orts jar as of February 2012.  (The stuffed dog came from a local antique store.)

And, here's Lucy.

And, here's Pumpkin.

Yay blogging!  Yay pictures!  Yay Susan's laptop! (I'm a little excited.)

Cute X-Stitch Freebies From Kincavel Krosses

If you haven't seen the latest cross stitch freebies from Kincavel Crosses, you're missing out because they are really cute.  There's a brown owl, a purple owl, a blue bird and a yellow & orange bird.

The brown owl made me want to do some cross stitching so I started on it one night last week and haven't touched it since.  Maybe posting about it will inspire me to work on it tonight.  I hope you're being more productive than I am.  :)

I Miss Blogging

I can't believe I did not blog during the months of March and April. 

That stupid laptop still will not download my photos.  It tells me (yes, I have conversations with my lap top all the time) (by the way, is it lap top or laptop?) that the camera is plugged in and it even knows it a HP something-or-other but I don't get the pop-up  to click "import" so my pictures do not get uploaded.  Which is a shame.  Because I made a felt bunny for Easter and I embroidered a bunny pulling a chick in a little cart that I wanted to post on my blog and I wanted to update my progress in the TUSAL and the WIPocalypse.

So no pictures for now but I am going to get back to blogging, if only to post links to cute and fun things that I want to make some day before the world ends in December.

Just found this in a November 2010 Google alert for embroidery.  (Tonight is Clean Out the Email Night.)  It's a felt toy barn.  And I love that it's been posted on a blog called The Journals of a Laura Ingalls Wannabe.  (I am such a geek for Laura.  I re-read These Happy Golden Years the other night just because it was on the shelf.  I also just read Old Town in the Green Groves by Cynthia Rylant, which is a childrens book based on the two years the Ingalls family spent in Burr Oak, Iowa.  Laura Ingalls Wilder did not write about a book about that time in her life (it would have been in between On the Banks of Plum Creek and By The Shores of Silver Lake) so Cynthia Rylant created a story from the few writings Laura did leave about that period.  My Laura mood has also been helped along by the Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford.  Granted, Virgil solves murders in present-day Minnesota but he lives in Mankato, a town Pa used to visit when he wasn't going to Sleepy Eye.  (I think that's where Albert got addicted to drugs too but that was on the TV show so it doesn't count because Albert nor his drug addiction happened to the real Ingalls.) 

Where was I?  I don't know if I will ever make that cute felt barn but I REALLY want to make one of the Laura wannabe's round needlebook with snaps.  Then I will send it to John Sandford and suggest he write a book about Virgil Flowers solving the homicide of a Mankato druggie named Albert.

I'm Still Here

Remember awhile ago when I was happy to find out that all I had to do was plug my old camera into the lap top I was using and Windows 7 immediately started downloading my photos?  No driver or software or anything else was needed.  Well, it's no longer working -- the downloading part, I mean.  I plug in my camera and a light blinks on the lap top and I hear a whirring sound but nothing pops up to ask me if I want to import the files.  So I can't post any pictures of all 197 things that I've made recently.  Um, make that the one thing I've made recently.  And, I can't post any pictures of my orts jar for the 2012 TUSAL or my progress for the 2012 WIPocalypse.  Grrrr.

At least I can still post links.

Here's one for a free Strawberry Fields cross stitch chart from Sew News [via Daily Craft].  They show the strawberries stitched on a cosmetics case but you could do them on anything.  The other night, my sister gave me a gingham pillowcase (long story) and I was thinking about embroidering something on it, but it might be fun to x-stitch the strawberries on it.  Then again, it's gingham so maybe I'll put some chicken scratch on it since it's been ages since I did that.  Oh yeah, I think I will do some chicken scratch.  (I seriously hadn't thought about doing that until just now.)  I'll save the strawberries for something else because I really like that chart.

I'll play around with the laptop later to see if I can figure out what's wrong but for now I am going to go check my chicken scratch pattern stash and pick something to put on the pillow case.

Feeling Stitchy Wants You

Feeling Stitchy is looking for bloggers to do a weekly post about crafty stuff.

Please check this post for all the details.

Cute Winter Embroidery Pattern

Check out the adorable little quilt over at Little Miss Shabby, complete with an embroidered bear and penguin.  You can find the free pattern for the embroidery there too.  I'm drooling over all the fabric she uses.  I really need to start machine sewing!

Free Redwork Patterns

I haven't been to Sentimental Stitches in quite awhile but I'm glad I checked it tonight because it has a new look (to me) and lots of free quilt patterns, plus a whole page with patterns for redwork of flowers, girls, and my favorite one, a cute little kitty (Block 115).  Block 104 is bunnies under an umbrella and Block 114 is a duck, but you'll want to click them all.

I couldn't get my pictures to upload last night so I don't have one of my orts jar to share for the TUSAL.  Hopefully, I can them uploaded soon.  (I NEED A COMPUTER.)

Make A Bunny For Easter Or Just For Fun

Tipnut has a list of links to patterns and tutorials for making stuffed bunnies.  It's amazing how many of them I already have printed out but haven't made yet.  Story of my life.   :)

Since I don't have any new bunnies to share, here's a bunny cross stitch I did back in 2009. 




It's called Rabbit with Hyacinth and you can find the free chart at Ellen Maurer-Stroh.

WIPocalypse February Update

Last summer, I stitched up a free chart called Little Blue Bungalow from Blue Ribbon Designs and did not like some of the colors of floss that I used.  The original was done with floss from Weeks Dye Works but I only had a few colors of WDW (that I bought a few years ago for yet another project I never did) so I went with DMC instead.  Picking out floss colors is always a big deal for me and I always second guess myself afterwards.  This time, I wasn't totally happy with some of my choices and didn't feel like doing it over, so Little Blue Bungalow was stuck in one of the tote bags I have with all my other WIPs and UFOs and pretty much forgotten.

Enter the 2012 WIPocalypse.  While looking in that tote bag for things to finish for the WIPocalypse, I discovered Little Blue Bungalow and decided to rip out what I didn't like about it and re-do it.

Here's the before picture:

And here's the after:

 

I re-did the scrolly orders at the top & bottom, and the line that begins with Y, and the flowers are now pink instead of white.  (If any of the other colors look different than before, it's just my camera.)  I stitched it on 18ct Fiddler's.

Now I have to figure out how to finish it. Which, in my world, is code for "Add some backing fabric, stuff it and there's little ornament #357." (Some day I will do something different and shock you all!)

The Little Blue Bungalow chart is a freebie from Blue Ribbon Designs and can be found on the Weeks Dye Works website.  (Scroll down to the very last link.)

By the way, I've also been working on Ready For the Morning Ride but you still can't see the donkey or the dog so I didn't bother to take a picture this month.

Thanks to Melissa from Measi's Musings for hostiing the 2012 WIPocalypse!

January 2012 TUSAL Update

There's a new moon today so time for my first TUSAL report of the year.  Not a great picture, I know.

What's a TUSAL, you ask.  TUSAL stands for Totally Useless Stitch-a-long and it's hosted by Sharon at It's Daffycat.  Despite the name, there isn't any actual stitching going on.  It's more of bizarre hoarding situation.  (No, not really.)  What you do is toss your floss ends (you may know them as ORTs or thread clippings) into a jar and every time there's a new moon, you share a picture of the jar on your blog.  You can find out more about the 2012 TUSAL over here.

I started with an empty jar for 2012 so all the ORTs in my jar are from this year.  I've been working on a cross stitch called Ready for the Morning Ride plus I decided to re-do some of one called Little Blue Bungalow because I wasn't thrilled with the colors I used so there's lots of leftovers from ripping out stitches in that jar. 

Get Crafty For The Troops And Homeless Dogs

Stitching Corp is a group that started out sending cross stitched Christmas ornaments to the troops and their families, and now they're accepting other handmade items (bookmarks, greeting cards, key rings, bags for wheelchairs & walkers) all year long.  I heard about Stitching Corp via CyberStitchers.com, which has a list of charities that collect cross stitch projects.  By the way, Stitching Corp, has a huge list of sites that offer free x-stitch patterns. 

I have several ornaments started that I should add to my 2012 WIPocalypse list so I can finish them and send to Stitching Corp.

This was posted back in October 2011 but they need bags for 500 dogs so I'm guessing it's an ongoing project.  Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in England is calling on sewing crafters to make scented bags to hang in their dogs' kennels to keep them calm while they wait for new homes.  You can find out more about making the bags and get a pattern for a Staffordshire Bull Terrier to put on them here.

Did you know that a group of kittens is called a kindle?  I just read that on the Battersea website. I also found a few dogs I want to adopt.  Did I mention they're located in England?  In 2010, they celebrated their 150th anniversary.  Wow!

It's Drafty In Here

Why do I have a bunch of draft posts?  Oh yeah.  It's because I am really good at starting things and never finishing them. 

Let's see what links are hanging out in my draft posts . . .

From the Make-It-For-Christmas-2012 file: Gingerbread Cottage has a super cute embroidery pattern.  And here's a felt hedgehog ornament from Totally Stitchin' that I'm also going to add to my Hedgehogs-To-Make-Some-Day list.

Speaking of hedgehogs, this hedgehog cross stitch freebie from JB Cross Stitch is new-to-me thanks to the cross stitch blog at Craft Gossip.   By the way, JB Cross Stitch has some cute charts for sale, in addition to more freebies.

I love, love, love this embroidered needlecase from Goosie Girl's and I've had the pattern for awhile but I don't think I ever linked to it before.

Over at Leslie's Art and Sew, there's a sewing pattern and tutorial for a mystery critter.  You can sew one up and then make a face on it any way you want and add anything else too  [link via The Toy Society blog].

How about a felt pincushion from Jenny of Elefantz?  I like this one because it has appliqued fabric flowers on it.   And, it's all hand sewn.

There's an embroidery pattern for a cute mini-sampler (with birds, flowers, alphabet) that's finished in a hoop at Patchwork Posse [link via Denise at Craft Gossip].

Did you know there's an embroidery section on about.com with stitch diagrams, free patterns and lots of information on tools, supplies and techniques?  There is!

Major Cute Alert!  Look at this adorable mushroom needlebook that my friend Loralynn at My Art, My So Called Life just linked to.  She also had a link to the fun Random Tutorial Generator. 

And, if you're like me and like to see classic movie stars and their four-legged friends, here are a couple of fun posts from I Can Has Cheezburger: part 1 and part 2.

Pardon me while I go make something!

WIPocalpyse Check-in Post #1

There was a Full Moon on January 9th so time for the very first 2012 WIPocalpyse update.

To be honest, I have a ton of unfinished cross stitch and embroidery projects that I haven't touched in months but there is one that I have been regularly working on for three months now.  I'm determined to finish it so it's on my list for the 2012 WIPocalypse. Back in September, Artecy Cross Stitch had a free pattern of a painting called Ready for the Morning Ride that I really liked because it was of a donkey and a dog.  (It's available for sale on their site now.)  Even though it was not my usual kind of x-stitch, (I like the quickies that I can turn into little ornaments), I decided to do this one.  I'm using 18ct Aida so it's going to be 13" X 9" when it's finished.  (Sounds like someone is going to get a really big ornament!)

Here's a picture of it I took on January 3rd.

And here's how it looks as of today.  I know it doesn't look like it but I swear there really will be a donkey and a dog in there!

If you'd like to join the 2012 WIPocalypse, go go Measi's Musings and read all about it.  Remember you have until January 15, 2012 to become an official participant and qualify for a prize at the end of the year, but you can join at anytime.

Thank You, Blogger!

Am I the only one who is thrilled to see that Blogger now lets you choose if you want your links to open in a new window? 

THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT, BLOGGER!!

Now if they could just get me to blog more often.

WIPocalypse 2012 List

I'm supposed to make a list of UFOs & WIPs (cross stitch projects that have been started and either abandoned or are currently being worked on) that I plan to finish this year for the 2012 WIPocalypse.  I still need to go through what I have but I know of a few that I really would love to get finished this year:

1.  Ready for the Morning Ride from Artecy Cross Stitch-- I started this in September and have been working on it since.  It will be 12" X 9" when it's completed so it will take awhile but I like stitching it.

2.  Halloween ornament for um . . . someone -- Started this in 2009 for a blog friend.  I need to re-stitch "2012" on it and add some backing fabric and stuff it.

3.  Scottie pillow -- Not a cross stitch but I'm putting it on the list because it's my first real attempt at applique, and dang it, it's cute and needs to get done.

4.  Three little dog x-stitch freebies that I did when my knee was broken (the second time).  I may turn them into a needlecase but haven't decided yet.

I know I have a few more to add but this will do for now.  Having a short list makes me feel like I may actually finish all four of these by the end of the year. 

If you would like to join the 2012 WIPocalpyse, hosted by Melissa of Measi's Musings, go here.  By the way, sign-ups will close on January 15th so get over there now!

My Final TUSAL Report

Time for my final TUSAL ort report of 2011!  Woohoo!  I can't believe I actually stuck with it this time.  This is the third year I started the Totally-Useless-Stitch-A-Long (aka the TUSAL) and the first time I made it all the way to the end.  In 2010, I didn't even make it past January.  But this year, I posted pictures of my orts jar all year long. Pardon me while I run outside to see if pigs are flying.

Thank you to Sharon over at It's Daffycat for hosting the 2011 TUSAL!!

If saving your thread ends, adding them to a clear jar of some kind and sharing a picture of that jar on your blog on the new moon (usually once a month but sometimes there are two new moons in one month) sounds like fun to you, consider joining the 2012 TUSAL.  All the details are here on It's Daffycat. 

By the way, I find it very odd that my jar is nearly full yet I haven't finished many cross stitch or embroidery projects this year.  I have a bunch that are half-done or nearly done but hardly any finishes. 

And, as much as I would like to claim I did, I did not make that hedgehog.  It came with a book, The Hat by Jan Brett, that my sister got me a few years ago when I was going through my hedgehog phase.

Join WIPocalypse 2012

You know how the world is supposed to end in December 2012?  Well, here's some motivation for to get you to finish all those WIPs and UFOs before it's all over and done with.  Go to this post on Measi's Musings for all the info on WIPocalypse 2012.

I had to join this because I have so many things that need to be finished but I'll wait until January to get started.  First, I have to figure out what I'm making for Christmas this year.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

Occupy Your Sewing Room

Click for more details!

[Link via the Quilting blog at Craft Gossip]

A Year With Pumpkin

Oh no, I almost forgot to post about Pumpkin.  Today is her Gotcha Day.  Actually, both Lucy and Pumpkin were adopted on December 1st last year but Pumpkin had to stay at the shelter to be spayed so she didn't move in until December 3rd.  I sometimes call her Chunkin Punkin, which has nothing to do with catapulting pumpkins across an open field but because she needs to lose some weight.  OK, now I feel bad about calling her that.  But Pumpkin wags her tail no matter what you call her.  Just don't call her late for dinner. 

One Year With Lucy

Today is Lucy's Gotcha Day.  Since we don't know her actual birthday, we celebrate the day she was adopted and that was December 1st, 2010.  Here's a picture of Lucy from last January with my empty orts jar.  (Actually, that's not the jar I ended up using.)  She looks like she has a beard.  It's been an interesting year.  At one point, I didn't think we could keep Lucy but things are so much better now and she has turned out to be a great dog.  Ok, she is still a little nuts but we love her so much.

Happy Gotcha Day, Lucy!