Wordy Wednesday

I'm sorry but I can't be wordless today.  I have some links to share.

Mini bunny from Gingermelon Dolls  

Bunny with a baby from Going Home to Roost

Runaways: The Dish & The Spoon from Happy Together

All three tutorials via Felting Crafts blog on Craft Gossip (you should check that blog everyday!)

Cute cute cute Baa Baa Black Sheep softie and Tooth Dairy Doll from Sew Mama Sew

March TUSAL Update

The New Moon was on March 1st and I totally forgot to post a picture of my orts jar for the Totally Useless Stitch-a-long, aka TUSAL, but here's my jar as of 3/9/14.  (Usually, I collect orts in a small jar all year long but I didn't do much crafting in 2013 so those are from last year too.  It looks like a lot but I know the majority of them are from threads I ripped out because I changed my mind about the color or the stitching looked horrible or I screwed up the count on a cross stitch.    

For more info on the TUSAL, please check this post at It's Daffycat.

My orts jar is sitting on a dish towel I'm embroidering with an Easter egg.  I saw this Easter Egg SAL from Needle Knowledge linked on Craft Gossip and decided to stitch the egg on a dish towel, but there's a tutorial to make your egg into a puffy ornament here.  (I'll have to try that some day.)

There's a second New Moon this month on March 30th.  I'm hoping to post a photo of my orts jar by April 15th.  :P

You Can't Get Rid Of Me That Fast

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

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

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

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

The TUSAL Update

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

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

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

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

Three Posts In Three Days

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

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

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

November 2011 -- two months in

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

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

September 2013

And here's one I took yesterday:

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

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

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



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

Two Recent Finishes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Memo to self:  Helvetica

It's Nice To See You Again

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

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

I LOVE IT!!

 SO CUTE!!

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

You can never have enough cowbell.

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

"I Knit So I Don't Kill People"

"I knit so I don't kill people."  I love that.  I saw it on a list of crafty quotes on Buzzfeed.  Or would that be a list of quotes about crafting?  Whatever.

So, yeah, I am still here.  And I actually worked on a cross stitch the other night so I thought I would check in and say hello.  Here's a not-so-great picture of that cross stitch.  It's not finished --two of those toadstools do not have stems yet -- so I'll take a better pic when it's done.  And I hope to finish it soon.  And then hell will freeze over.

That chart is called The Brown Dog and it's from Bent Creek.  The Bent Creek web site is undergoing construction but you can find lots of online needlework shops that sell this pattern.  I got mine at 1-2-3 Stitch!

Be back soon with an interesting potholder I got at the local antique store.

The TUSAL 2013

Sharon over at It's Daffycat is once again hosting the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long aka TUSAL.  I didn't participate much last year so I really want to do it in 2013.

What is the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long?  It's not an actual stitch-a-long where everybody cross stitches or embroiders something.  With this one, you just save all your orts or thread ends in some kind of container (like a glass jar) and share a photo of it every time there's a new moon.  That's usually once a month but there's always at least one month that has has two new moons so you would have to post two photos that month.

Why do this?  Well, why not?  And, if you have to ask, you probably need more fun in your life.  You can read all about the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long aka the TUSAL here.

Thew new moon this month was on the 11th so here is the state of my current orts jar.  

It's practically empty because I've only stitched one thing in 2013.  Just a little blanket stitching on my Scottie pillow.  [insert photo of Scottie pillow here...yeah., I forgot to take one today]  But I plan to cross stitch, embroider and hand sew a BAZILLION things this year so my jar will fill up fast.  (Everyone should have a dream.)  

This was what my jar looked like at the end of 2012.  

At the end of the year, I dump all the threads ends into a larger jar and start with an empty one for the new year.

And, in case you're wondering, yes, most of my pictures are taken on my bed.

Come join us for the TUSAL 2013.  You know you want to.

Something I Made In 2011

Happy 2013!!  Time for my daily weekly monthly whenever-I-get-the-urge-to-write-something post.  I haven't made anything in quite awhile -- not even for the holidays -- nor did I finish anything over on that 2012 WIPocalyspse List over on the left.  (The idea behind the WIPocalypse was to complete your unfinished projects before the world ended on 12/21/12.  Good thing the world did not end because I have a bunch of crap to finish some day!)  This was not my year for crafting!  So here's a post about something I made back in December 2011.

Back then, I decided to make felt Christmas stockings for both of my dogs.  I gave myself plenty of time to do it.  And then waited until the very last minute to get started.  I did not finish Lucy's stocking until Christmas morning at 2 am.  I was too sleep deprived to notice I had put the loop on the wrong side of it until my sister pointed it out.  Lucy didn't care but I did so it has since been fixed.

.
This picture bugs me because the letters are done in dark green and you can't really tell. At least I can't.  (Maybe it's just my bad eyes.)  I think I used a stocking pattern from Martha Stewart's website but you can find tons of free ones out there if you just Google it.  You do know how to Google, don't you?  (I'll save my rant for another post but I'm convinced the majority of people on Facebook wouldn't know Google if they fell over it.  I do believe bloggers are way smarter though.)

Here's a close up of Pumpkin's likeness, which I love because it so cute, just like Punkie herself.  (Pumpkin = Punkie = Bunka Bunka.  Don't ask.  That's just how it is.)  I think the pattern was an embroidery freebie from Annie Oakleaves and I have been searching online for it so I could link to it but no luck finding it so far.  And, the hard copy that I used has gone missing.  Unless I stuck it somewhere so I could find it easily when I was ready to blog about it.  Ahem.

And, here's a close up of Lucy.  The pattern came from a site with free coloring pages (beware, there are lots of pop ups on that site so I hope you have a blocker) and I thought it was perfect because Lucy HATES having a doggy sweater on her, but she does kind of prance like that.   The coloring page is here.

So there you have my final project of 2011.  Woo hoo!

 

Going back to that list on the left, I have been working on the Scottie pillow.  I've started attaching the top piece to the bottom piece so it should be done soon. There's a lot blanket stitching so I do a little and then get bored.  Hey, maybe I could use one of those nifty sewing machines instead!

 

Happy New Year!!  (she said on January 12th)

 

I Love This Video!

I Wish I Were A Unicorn

I totally need to buy this chart from Subversive Cross Stitch.  In case you don't feel like clicking that link, it says "I wish I were a unicorn so I could stab all the useless people in the head."

My new motto for life!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This video never fails to crack me up. I'm so glad Kellie shared it on Facebook a few years ago.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!!!

A Mushroom Needlebook Made By Me

I just read this in the latest newsletter from the Toymaker:

"Then I had a thought that if I spent more time actually making and doing the things that I wanted instead of just looking at pictures then I would be a lot happier in the here and now. How about we take a deep breath and make the things we want to have and do the things that actually make us happy, even if it is in a small way?"

I love that.  So from now on, there will be more making things and less drooling over pictures going on in my life.  (I swear!)  To get on the right track, I just ordered two embroidery patterns from Penguin & Fish.  Remember the giant hedgehog pillow?*  I  am so going to make one.  (You can get the normal sized version of the hedgehog pattern on Etsy and then just blow it up on a copy machine.  I once asked Alyssa from Penguin & Fish if it was ok to do that and she said yes.)


large pillow versions of alligator and hedgehog embroidery patterns
Originally uploaded by Penguin & Fish

The other pattern I got is the Maltese puppy one.  I love Alyssa's adorable patterns.  I ordered the paper patterns but they're also available as pdf's.

While going through some pictures today, I found some of the mushroom needlebook I made back in February.  I know I did something a little different than the tutorial but I have no idea what that was now.  When you put the original together, you machine sew the spine of the needlebook.  I did mine by hand so maybe I put it together in a way where you wouldn't see the back of a back stitched seam.  Or something.

You can find the pattern for the mushroom needlebook here over on Generation Q. 

*You probably don't remember the giant hedgehog pillow since I can't find a link for it here so I bet I only posted it to Facebook.  Yay for Flickr!

This Just In

I just saw the link to this cute felt piece of pie from Aimee Ray on Craft Gossip's Facebook page.  It's from the book "Heart Felt Holidays."  (Must get it.)

And, yes, I did post twice in one night.  You might want to buy a parka because I do believe hell will be freezing over.

Catching Up With Links

A few stray links that I forgot to post earlier this year. 

Tipnut shared another set of vintage embroidery patterns back in May.  (Am I on top of things or what?)  This one is kitchen themed so there's a pitcher, glasses, bowls, a frying pan, measuring cups, a cute cookie jar, a jam jar and more. 

Kel over at Kincavel Krosses has a cross stitch design of two super cute foxes called Fergie and Fergus.  I REALLY have to stitch this one.  Thank you, Lady Kel, for all your great freebies!!

There's a cute owl cross stitch chart from LucyKate Crafts [link via My Owl Barn] and a fox one too.  I saw a book called Countryside Softies in Michael's the other day and thought the cover seemed familiar, like I should know who made the fox on it.  Turned out it was by Amy Adams who is the crafty blogger behind LucyKate Crafts.  Congrats on your book, Amy!  And, no, I did not buy it since I'm broke again.

Talking about being broke reminds me that I finally paid a visit to Needlepoints Ltd (an actual Local Needlework Shop, woo hoo) in back in July.  I had been meaning to go there since 1957.  Or maybe it was 1997.  Whatever.  It's been a long time.  I think they have every make and model of floss you ever heard of.  I drooled a lot while I was there.  And, they didn't even ask me to leave!  I liked it so much, I went back another time.  Really I went twice because I forgot the list of floss that I wanted to get the first time.  Since I wasn't broke either time, I got two Little House Needleworks charts and the floss for Wipe Your Paws from Glory Bee, a chart I have had forever. 

Speaking of My Owl Barn, look to your left and you will see a widget for the Owl Lover 2013 calendar.  Go make yourself one.  It's free!

Vote Early! Vote Often!

I've used that post title five times now.  I am so creative.  Anyway, I just wanted to remind you to vote in case you forgot there was an election happening today.  Because you just came out of the coma you've been in for the past four years.  Personally, I don't care who you vote for.  I really don't.  Just do it.




The pattern was a freebie from Urban Threads four years ago but looks like they no longer have it.  Sorry.

Even If It Kills Me

I just saw this cute Christmas project on One Pretty Thing and got this urge to link to it so here I am and here it is: Merry and Bright Garland from Kojo Designs.

It has been awhile since I made anything.  I had plans to make a couple pumpkins or ghosts and finish a few things for Halloween that I had started last year but I got sidetracked by other things.  Important stuff like googling random crap.  My sister got me an e-reader for my birthday so I use it for Facebook, checking email and Google while lying in bed.  Have I downloaded any books yet?  No.  But I do use it to place holds on real books at my local library.  Oh and I have been taking pictures with it too.

I did embroider this towel but I had transferred the pattern on to it months ago.  It was starting to fade away.  Sorry for all the wrinkles but I'm actually using it in the kitchen so I didn't bother to iron it.  This is towel number two of three.  I'm hoping to finish the last one before the pattern transfer is completely gone.  It's Aunt Martha's Adorable Puppy #4015 pattern.  The towel is also from Aunt Martha and I got them both at Hobby Lobby.  It has red stripes down the side that you can't see thanks to my nifty camera work.

I so want to go iron that towel and take a new picture now.

Here's something else I need to iron.  A set of towels that I got at our local antique store back in July.  

This will not be my only post in November, I promise!

The Guide To Trading Candy

Happy Halloween!!!

Hello, October!

I love how I am always saying how I am getting back into blogging and then I never do.  The thing is I REALLY do miss it.  And, it's not like I don't have anything to write about.  I can always find something. Even if it's just to post another dog picture.  (I'll wait until the end to do that.). 

Back in April, I made this bunny.  Yeah, I know, it looks like a bear.  And, the dress is not reversible like the one for the Fluffy*Stuffy Bunny Jenny made.  (Get the bunny pattern here.)  After I sewed the dress pieces together, turned them right side out, and then tried to sew the opening closed, you could totally see all the stitches.  I can't do a blind stitch or a hidden stitch to save my life.  So I just left it open.  Then I didn't add a yoke because I couldn't hide those stitches either.  So my bunny not only looks like a bear but she also can't show off her two sided dress and isn't fluffy like the original.  She probably hates me.  And, I just realized something after looking at Jenny's Fluffy*Stuffy Bunny on her blog: mine has no tail.  Oh yeah, I am quite the crafter.

By the way, the dress fabric came from Mary and the buttons are from Barbara.  Thank you, ladies!

I found this cute pot holder at the local antique store back in July.  I've always loved that bee pattern.   It's Vogart 293 and you can find it by checking Google.  (Some day I will use a different comforter when I take pictures, I promise.)

Cute dog picture time!  "Nice bear" says Pumpkin.

Next time I post, in May 2017, I'll show you want else I got from the antique store that day.  Happy Monday Night!