Early Work Mercantile Update

First of all, I must thank you all for your encouraging words and good thoughts for Cookie. She is eating again and enjoying her little kitty life and we're thankful.

Early Work Mercantile updated this week! Lots of new goodies there, just in time for Valentine's Day! Here's a peek at my offerings as well as one that didn't quite get completed on time.

Maggie Bononomi Inspired Penny Rug

Kitty Cupid Design by Robin Leuschen

WIP-Another Maggie Design!

I feel a little bit like Dorothy this week, but instead of clicking my heels and chanting "There's no place like home" I'm saying "The dust will be gone. The dust will be gone".

The bad part of remodeling is coming home to a new layer of dust every night. But I'm not complaining. Okay, I kind of am, but I know it will all be worthwhile when it's all done, probably in another three weeks. 

 Foxy has enjoyed checking out their progress every day, especially when it involves rolling in red chalk dust.

Work; Creative, Fulfilling and Updating

Obviously if my New Year's Resolution was to be a more consistent blogger I'm not getting off to a good start! Lots of fun goings on with limited time to sit and stitch, but I enjoyed creating this heart pinkeep for the January Simply Primitives update.

Maggie Bononomi Design

Also working on a whimsical Kitty Cupid design from Bird in the Hand's new Valentine Doodle book...

 

Work involved preparations for this weekend's MLK events. I played a very small role but it was very fulfilling! The church sponsors several educational and service events for Martin Luther King weekend. On Saturday we hosted a catered soul food luncheon attended by 250 people which included fried chicken, smothered pork chops, black eyed peas, yams, collard greens, sweet potato muffins, corn bread and pecan pie or peach cobbler for dessert. Not a dieter's friend but yum!

While the luncheon was a chance to enjoy traditional African-American food we also learned about some of the issues faced by those who live in the inner city and what one city has done to address some of these things. Tomorrow staff and members will have the opportunity to serve at several inner city ministries.

 

While work was filled with preparations for this important weekend, home time was spent on the much more frivolous issues of selecting plumbing fixtures and cabinets for the bathroom remodel.

Shamrock Cabinets, Raytown, MO

Too Many Choices!

The thought of having guys constantly working in the house for the next six or seven weeks and the associated noise and dust is scary, but I'm also worried about the restricted access to my little studio.

My studio is located over the garage and the only access happens to be through the bathroom through the little door on the other side of the bathroom...eeek!

Word for 2012?

Here's my final finish for 2011! I spent my time off completing this Buttermilk Basin design that I started at the Primitives of the Midwest workshop in June. That's the last of my Christmas crafting even though the decorations are still up here!

Have you made New Year's resolutions or do you have a "word of the year"? I've thought about this a lot this week and the word I landed on for me for 2012 is "margin", as in managing my time to cut down on the busyness and leave time to pursue the things that are meaningful and rejuvenating. I have a natural tendency to busyness. I can easily fill my days with tasks and leave little room for down time to dream or pursue other interests. The things that fill my days might be good things or even very good things, but my goal is to reach a balance between the pull of work and things that refuel my tank and give me energy.

Last year we spent time in Amish country in Indiana. I admire many things about the Amish but the thing that really impressed me was that they may embrace modern technology, but they do it in a way that fits with their culture and values. Did you know that some Amish use cell phones? Some of the men own cell phones for business purposes, but they only turn them on in the morning and evening to get their messages and return calls; the rest of the day the phones are off. This allows them to focus on their work or whoever they're with instead of dealing with the usual interruptions that come with cell phone ownership. So they have the convenience of technology on their own terms--it doesn't control them.

Sometimes my life is so full of obligations that I'm controlled by my to-do list. You've heard the old saying "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"? Too much focus on being productive probably makes me boring and crabby!  So my goal for 2012 is to really look at how I spend my time and avoid the tendency to over schedule and give myself permission to relax. Thanks for bearing with me on this looong post. I'd love to hear what word you'd choose for yourself for 2012.

New Year, New Look, New Ventures

I hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve. We had friends over and spent a very enjoyable evening playing games, including our new favorite, Apples to Apples, and snacking on a variety of hearty appetizers. I usually make the standard Chex Mix and Lil Smokies and this year added Buffalo Chicken Dip, courtesy of Purple Chocolat Home. It was a hit at our house!

With the new year I'm introducing a new look to my blog. I will continue to focus on the same topics as in the past but wanted to simplify the look and feel of my blog.

Design by Maggie Bononomi

I'm also very honored and thrilled to have joined the talented group of artisans on Early Work Mercantile. I will be offering new items on the first of every month here. If you haven't visited Early Work Mercantile before, you are in for a treat! Please check it out and see what everyone is offering this month.

All Designs by Maggie Bononomi

Thank you for dropping by and I hope the New Year is full of hope, anticipation and peace. I have enjoyed getting to know some of you over the past year and your thoughtful comments make my day!

Christmas Penny Rug

With all the Thanksgiving preparations I haven't had much time to sit and stitch, but yesterday I finally finished another one of my WIP's. I took Lisa Bongean's penny rug class at the 2010 Primitives of the Midwest event and had most of the motifs attached, but hadn't completed the stitching and details.

Lisa's original design included all kinds of little branches gracefully cascading off the evergreen vine, but I went with a simpler version, just to tie it all together. If I included the vines I'd still be stitching and I have another WIP to finish before Christmas!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Primitive Gatherings Design

I can't believe it. Halloween is barely over and already the Christmas commercials are running! I just want to look forward to Thanksgiving! Appropriately enough, though, while watching all those Christmas commercials I'm stitching away on Christmas penny rugs. This is another mat that I began last year. I hope you're not keeping track of how many WIPs I had in my stash, but it feels great to be tackling them and finally completing them!

One last look at Halloween. I had to work at the church on Sunday and asked DH to carve one of our pumpkins. I thought he would just do the typical pumpkin face but he was in a creative mood and came up with his own design. Didn't he do a great job?

T-Day is Coming!

I love Thanksgiving. I love that it's a holiday that's all about celebrating the bounty of fall and the blessings in our lives, especially family and friends. I think Maggie Bononomi's cornucopia design celebrates the beauty of nature and the tradition of a perfect Thanksgiving celebration.

Here's the finished version. I decided to just add a backing and no trim which seemed fitting with the simplicity of the design.

I also finished this fun little pillow based on a Brenda Gervais pattern. This is another one of those projects that I began some time ago and wasn't happy with it's look, but after transferring the letters and turkey to the army blanket background and adding the dyed chenille trim, I was happy.

I tried growing sweet potatoes for the first time this year. This was an extremely challenging year for the garden, due to the heat and extended drought, but I was able to dig and harvest a few meals' worth of sweet potatoes last weekend and will save some of the big ones for our Thanksgiving table.

Weekend Work Plus Maggie B. and Bethany Lowe Designs

Maggie B. Design

October is going to be a crazy month around Cottonwood Lane. We are getting ready to undertake a big remodeling project (let's get crazy before the holidays!) and I'm spending every spare minute trying to get stuff done for my one big show this year, so I'm afraid my blogging time will be limited. I'll still drop by for visits every chance I get because I really enjoy reading your stories and seeing your projects.

Maggie B. Design

I finished assembling this penny rug design while listening to the Chiefs-Colts game on the radio. Crafting seems to go better when the team is winning or at least look like they have a chance to win.

I bought some dried oak leaves at Michaels last week. I like their look but was very surprised and put off by their strong chemical smell when I opened the bag! I left the branches out on my deck a couple of days to air out, then added some leaves to the jar of naturals in my entryway.

Bethany Lowe Cat with Cart

The leaves also make their appearance in the dining room.

Bethany Lowe JOL

The silverplate came from my husband's grandparents. Do you remember the days when banks used to give you bonuses for opening checking or savings accounts? DH opened an account when he was in college and one of the bonuses was a silver plated set that he purchased at a deep discount. The set included a tray, bowl and stand and DH bought these for his grandparents. They were really touched and told him they'd give him the set back when he married and that's just what they did a few years later when we were married.We've never really used it for entertaining but it's nice that it's back in style for decorating.

Simply Primitives Time!

A big Thank You to all who have entered my giveaway! I'm responding to all comments but I'm also taking time to visit your blog and get to know you so it may take me a couple of days to acknowledge your entry. I've enjoyed visiting everyone's blogs and love, love, love the quotes! It seems like autumn gets everyone's creative juices flowing! Still time to enter--see the details on my sidebar!

Here's a peak at my offerings on this month's Simply Primitives site:

Pumpkin Stack Pillow-Sold

Mousie in JOL

Crafty Cat Witches

There's so many wonderful patterns available for fall and Halloween that it's hard to choose what to do next. Thanks to Jan Goos, Brenda Gervais and Pineberry Lane for these designs.

Here's the goodies I found at the Old Summit Antique show last weekend.

Bittersweet from Jenny to add to my dried gourds. I hope the cats don't discover this! Jenny's extension agent said the bittersweet grown here isn't toxic to pets but I don't want to test that statement.

 I'm so happy I grabbed this at the first vendor's booth! I have several document boxes but none with floral stenciling.

I bought this for the wonderful frame, but the farm scene from an old plat book is pretty charming. If you click on the photo you can see the details in the print, including a mom pushing her baby buggy across the field!

Simply Primitives Sneak Peak

We finally got a break in the heat wave here in Kansas! I couldn't wait to open the windows again and get some fresh air in the house. The drought continues, though, and it's taken a toll on lawns, trees and bushes. I'm sure we'll have to replace several bushes this fall. While we enjoy these nice, cooler summer days, though, I'm thinking ahead to fall and have been working on a couple of seasonal things for Simply Primitives. Here's a sneak peak of a penny rug I'll be offering. 

I'm also working on a witch-cat make-do thingy and thinking it's about time for another giveaway, so stay tuned.

Weekend Work

Well, you know from my previous post that my garden isn't doing too great this year. My geraniums usually are suffering a bit by this time anyway, but I've found that if I repot them in late August and trim them back by about half they'll rebloom and look great until the frost gets them. Until then, I'll have to settle for the wool version.

This ridiculous pattern by Primitive Gatherings features 10 individual flowers in each geranium. Luckily, I actually enjoy the tracing and cutting out part of a project so I didn't really mind cutting out the 80 teeny, tiny little buds. A little sick, I know, but that's how it is.

In addition to staying inside and working and stitching, this week son Mark and I will be helping with the construction of an extreme makeover house! And they actually encourage us to take photos so I'll post about our experience in a few days. Can you believe they are building an entire house in a week? God bless all the people helping out with the building process--our extreme heat wave continues and we'll have temps well about 100 degrees today and tomorrow. We'll be working inside and I'm selfishly hoping the air conditioner is working by the time we report on Wednesday.

Finishes

Hope you all had a great 4th of July holiday. I'm going to a new gym that offers a variety of classes and I've been taking the spinning class a couple of times a week. No, not spinning like making yarn or thread, although that would probably be a lot more fun, but riding a stationary bike while a leader loudly encourages you to pedal faster and harder. I can tell I've had a good workout when I'm done with the class!

I also did a fair amount of sewing. Never as much as I'd like, but I finished two of my POTM projects. I didn't think it would take long to finish the crazy wool pincushion, but the decorative stitching proved much more challenging than I anticipated.

The kitty looked incomplete so I added a bow. Our wool kit for one project came tied in a wonderful strip of plaid cotton and I used a piece of that for the bow. Granny Trace has designed and is working on a wool crazy pincushion and you can see that on her blog.

I also finished Lisa Bonegan's runner.  There was a lot of stitching in this baby and completing it took longer than I anticipated, but I love the colors, especially the nubby brown wool backing Lisa provided.

And here's a little look at nature in my own back yard. As if the visiting rabbits don't do enough damage, I think this one has actually taken up residence in my garden. Smart little thing, though, he really scooted after he heard my camera click.

Caught in the Act

POTM-Stacy West

Saturday was the last day for Primitives of the Midwest. Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin, another designer whose work I've long admired. This workshop really emphasized to me the range of design styles that you can find in primitive crafting. I love Maggie Bononomi's work and the very vintage feel of her designs. But I'm also drawn to designs with more detail like Lisa Bongean's and Stacy's and this penny Christmas tree has lots of that!

Stacy also recommends using Stem a Seam to ensure your applique has crisp edges and because it gives a strong enough bond that you can pack it up and take it with you to sew on the road or as you're waiting for kids, etc. 

More Fusing and Cutting!

Stacy also demonstrated another method of blanket stitching.

Practicing New Method

Stacy begins her stitch at the edge of the design which allows her to see exactly where that stitch will come up in the design, looping through the thread on the topside and pulling it taut but not too tight. Stacy used regular DMC floss for this design and the large selection of colors would make it easy to pick one that would blend nicely with whatever you're sewing, if you don't want your stitches to show prominently as part of the design.

Final Touch-Beads for Sparkle

Some of you have asked for more information on Lynda Hall's crazy wool method and this tutorial from Kaaren on The Painted Quilt demonstrates it much better than I could. Her stitches are just beautiful! For me personally, however, I'm beginning to rethink whether it would be easier to do the stitching before adding the applique. While it would mean more stitching, at least for a beginner like me it might help to make the stitching look a little better and more uniform.


As you can imagine, the end of the workshop gave me the same feeling of loss I get when I finish a book that I loved reading. But I'm also coming away with a new enthusiasm and appreciation for wool applique and am so fortunate to have shared a little time with such kind, talented and fun teachers and professionals.