Wooly Valentines

Another cold week here in Kansas, but great weather for cozying up in a comfy chair and stitching. I have a lot of wonderful patterns that have gone unused over the past few years and this design by Waltzing with Bears was one of them.

Folk Art Pillow

The design really pops on the black background. I was thrilled to find this black plaid flannel for the backing. My next challenge is to do the same design in shades of  and browns.

I was on a roll this week and also finished this little pincushion as a thank you gift for my antique dealer friend, Donna. I'm not totally pleased with the placement of the buttons yet, so I'm going to fiddle around with those a little more. I made a couple of these heart pincushions this year and I learned that, when sewing this project together, it's easier to sew around the entire heart outline, then cut a slit in the back to turn. I found it makes the edges smoother. I stitched the slit closed and covered it with a wool patch attached with x's.

Thank You Donna!

I recently ran into Donna at the Pioneer Spirit Country Antique Show and asked for recommendations about must see shows at the upcoming Round Top Antique Fair. The next week, I received the guide pictured below in the mail from her, with recommended shows highlighted. I tell you, crafters and antiquers are some of the nicest people.

Grand Valley State U. Trumpet Ensemble

New Year, New Challenge

I began blogging about nine months ago and had some ups and downs getting going, but my goal has been to get back to creating regularly and sharing my work with others who enjoy this kind of thing. I had also hoped to get back to selling online, something I did a lot of before returning to an office job, and I am so thrilled to have been accepted back into the Simply Primitives group! Wouldn't you know, our old digital camera had to quit just before my first uploading deadline, but that was quickly replaced and I think the updated technology in the new camera will really improve my photography.

Red Work Sewing Book

The first project I'm sharing is a sewing book from a design by Stacy Nash. We travel by car a lot and I always have a stitching project or two with me. I can't tell you how many times I've been frustrated to find I have my project and thread, but no needle, so I try to keep all those necessary notions together in a bag ready to go.

Inside the Sewing Book

Inside the book is a scrap of material for holding needles and a string of vintage buttons along with some wonderful German wool yarn. I'm always drawn to vintage finds like the wool and the buttons at antique shows. I think that's the kind of thing you have to get while you can because women don't sew as much anymore and one of these days sewing supplies and notions will become scarcer then hen's teeth.

Valentine Annie

And then I've always had a soft spot for whimsical dolls and really enjoy looking through my finds to find the little details that will make each one special, so I made this little gal from a design by Jenn Steffa. She sits well but she could also be hung or set into a wreath, I think.

Valentine Annie

Some of the fun details on Annie include her crocheted tea cup and saucer hat, sparkly chenille heart and feed sack Valentine holder stuffed with special cards.

Last week was also a very busy one at work. One of the teams I work with was getting ready to begin our Souper Bowl food drive and recruited some of the high school students to create a piece of can art to bring attention to the drive. Here is the finished product, which I think turned out great! Isn't it fun? After the drive, all the canned goods will be distributed to local food pantries.

Pineapple Pie with Dollop of Whipped Cream

Hello 2011!

New Year Greetings!

I hope you had a safe and Happy New Year's Eve. I finished up my duties at work yesterday and left a little early to stop by my favorite antique shops in Greenwood, MO, where most vendors were offering year end discounts.

Inspirations

The shops looked festive and were packed with tempting treasures. All the vendors do a great job in finding spectacular primitives and take great care with their displays. I came away with just a few little things--wool from Anita White's booth, a hog scraper to use in future projects and two books packed with ideas for new creations and holiday decorating using natural materials (you can tell my little brain is already working by all the pages I've marked in Judy Condon's book.)

Apothecary from The Curious Sofa

Tomorrow I will run down to Prairie Village for one last stop at The Curious Sofa before they close their doors. Debbie Dusenberry has poured her heart and soul into this shop and it shows. However, as she so clearly explains in her blog, the passion that drove her to create the store and maintain it at that level took her away from the kind of life she set out to design.

Artful Lamp

The Curious Sofa will continue with an online store, so Debbie's talent and wonderful finds will still be available, but I'll miss the over-the-top sensory delight that was the bricks and mortar store.

Holiday Greetings

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was great having both our sons home for the holiday and between all the cooking and preparations I was able to sneak in some time to finish up one last batch of Christmas goodies for next year. Thank you, Tonya of Back Porch Pickins for this fun design!

Santa Stocking

We aren't the only ones who have been busy this holiday season, however. Every now and then I come downstairs in the morning to find my dish towels have been rearranged during the night.

What Happened to My Dish Towels?

The first time this happened, I thought I must have been in a real hurry to wash dishes and made a mess without knowing it. However, the second time I realized there was another reason for this disarray.

A Quick Escape

The culprit was stealthy and hard to catch. I've never actually caught them in the act, but have seen glimpses of them leaving the scene.

An Innocent Face?

I have my suspicions, but she is a crafty one and isn't talking, either to admit she's the one who does the work or why she isn't satisfied with my kitchen organization.

Almost Christmas!

Trying to get some things finished up before Christmas. Too late for this year's sales, but it's good to get a jump on the coming year.

Christmas Penny Rug

This large runner, about 40" by 18", is from a Maggie Bonanomi design. It features softer, faded looking poinsettias appliqued onto a variety of wool backgrounds. The backing is made from an old army blanket and attached by blanket stitch around the entire perimeter.

Detail of Flowers

I love the various shades of browns in the background. I think these add to the old fashioned charm of the design and blend well with the soft rose of the flowers. I also used a variety of textures, both for the background blocks and the flower bracts. I think that's the correct term for the poinsettia flowers, which are actually leaves and not blossoms.

Detail of Design and Background

Across the meadow collapsed walls marked the position of another cabin. I believe some of these cabins were inhabited up until the 1940's. A radio probably was good company on long mountain nights.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Our younger son arrived home from college yesterday. He goes to school about 12 hours away by car, so we don't get to see him much during the school year. For the next few weeks though we'll get to hear him practice throughout the day and into the night as he gets ready for next semester. It's hard to imagine when kids begin playing an instrument that it won't always be painful hearing them play, and then when they get to the point when they're really good, they leave!

Winter is Here!

I included a photo of our front porch urn in my last post, so here it is again decorated for Christmas.

Christmas Welcome

I used a lot of reds and green in this runner, but it's not really a Christmas design and could be used year round.

Primitive Gatherings Runner

This all wool runner is about 24 inches long and is backed with a red/black plaid homespun.

Detail of Runner

The backing almost looks like homespun, but it is actually a taupe colored wool. It is an intricate and time consuming design, with several layers for each flower, bud and leaf.

Winter is Coming

Autumn Arrangement

Here's a last peek at autumn decorating. I usually put mums or pumpkins in my front porch urns, but tried something different this year and this arrangement held up very well all fall.

Fall Welcome

And then to add a little more color I filled an old wire laundry basket with little gourds and a festive mum. We didn't carve a jack o'lantern this year, so I was able to keep the pumpkin until Thanksgiving.

Snowman Ornie

We've had a mild fall. I walk every morning and most mornings only need a lighter jacket to stay warm, but I think we're in for a change this week. So I'm in the mood for Christmas and winter projects and really enjoyed making a bunch of these sweet, primitive guys. These are good sized ornaments at about 12" long, but I think they'd look good on a tree or wreath or would make a great package decoration for a primitive loving friend or relative. From a Robin Lousschen design.