Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Needlework Tuesday - Mistletoe Reindeer

Here's what's under my needle today.  Thanks to Heather at Books and Quilts for hosting Needlework Tuesday.


This is going to be a little reindeer ornament.  Thanks to the fabulous Daffycat for the free pattern, which you can find here.

Look what I found!  "Knit Your Own Royal Wedding."  It's worth clicking through the link to see the cute pictures of all the handknit wedding participants.  There is even a youtube video of the knitted cast in action at the wedding and reception.  You can even knit up some of the Queen's corgis!  I'm not sure I have the skills for this myself, but I'm really tempted to get the book.

To see the somewhat hilarious results of someone who actually tried this, check out this blog.  Pretty funny article and pictures.

If you'd like to try your hand at making one of the corgis, there is a free pattern here.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

You Never Outgrow It

You Never Outgrow It

related [litandlaundry.blogspot.com]
You Never Outgrow It

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Finished for Friday: The Bakery


Here is another in the Christmas Village series I've been working on.  These always take a lot longer than I think they will, with the million little beads.  I love how it turned out though.  Now I need to pick the next one to work on.

What have you been up to this week?  Link up and share with us!  Please visit the other participants as well.  Have a great weekend!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Finished for Friday: Holiday decorating



I don't know about your house, but around here an upcoming holiday means rotating the quilt collection and getting out boxes of decorations.  Here is part of my Easter village.  I'm a sucker for bunnies everywhere.

What have you been up to this week?  Link up and show us.  Thanks for joining in!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Needlework Tuesday - WIPs

Heather over at Books and Quilts is hosting "Needlework Tuesday," where we can share what we're working on.  I always have many projects going (hello short attention span - ooh look!  shiny!) so it's not hard for me to show what's currently under my needle.  Hopefully these will each show up soon in a Finished for Friday.

This needlepoint nutcracker is stubbornly refusing my gentle efforts to block him, so I'm going to have to get a little tougher.  Then he needs some backstitching and I'll make him into a pillow.


The next in my series of Christmas houses, this bakery has the cross stitching done and now is ready for the thousand tiny seed beads.  Lots of hours ahead on this one.

The next block on my applique sampler quilt.  Pieces are prepped and I've stitched the post and vine.  I just laid the other pieces on so you can see how they go.  The birdhouse will have some additional details.  I am the slowest appliquer in the world. 


Flannel quilt in progress by the sewing machine.  It will probably be finished just in time for hot weather again!

I actually have more, but I'll save them for next time.  And yes, I do work on each of these each week.  Depends on my mood, concentration level, light level, alignment of the planets.  I like having lots of choices of things to work on at any given time.

Be sure to go visit Heather!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Dear Heinz, What were you thinking?

I think I knew what you were thinking.  "Relish is so thick, you don't have to store it upside down."  But the reality is, I've spent years teaching my kids to put the ketchup upside down, and there is no way they are going to remember to put the relish the other way.

So I'm faced with a delimma for my compulsive side - see the condiments on the table with the labels all facing the right way, or see them with the bottles all lined up and one of the labels the wrong way.

I really want to soak off that relish label and decopage it on the other way.  I am not kidding.  It's sort of driving me nuts.

My kids don't really care.  As long as they can do this:
they're happy.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Finished for Friday: Dollmaker

Another book this week.  I've been stitching away but don't have any finished projects yet to share.  I've also been helping the kids do massive spring cleaning.  They've done a great job on their rooms.  It's amazing how much stuff can come out of the room of a 14 year old girl.  On to the book.

The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent was a free kindle book a while back.  The Queen of the title is Marie Antoinette and predictably, the book follows the queen and her inner circle to her tragic end.

What makes it an interesting read, is the "crafty" woman of the title, Claudette, who learns dollmaking from her father in Paris before his untimely demise.  The book is full of interesting details about the art of making dolls at that time and their popularity among the upper classes.  Also of some interest, is the interweaving of story lines of numerous real people, such as Madame Tusaud (of wax museum fame) and Marie Antoinette's dressmaker.

This is the first book from this author and although the second half was particularly exciting and fast-paced, much of the writing was amateurish.  Perfect book to read as you nod off to sleep, or sit by the pool.  Numerous stock characters and predictable scenes.

Recommended if you want a light read, are interested in the era of Marie Antoinette, have already picked up this freebie from Amazon, or see this one at the library.  Also a good read if you've ever thought what you would do if you had to make a living from your crafting.  Claudette's choices about quality vs quantity will resonate with every crafter.

What have you been up to this week?  Link up and show us!  Leave a comment if you would like a visit in return.  Have a great weekend!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Makes My Monday: The sock basket


A basket full of socks means most of the laundry is done.  It also means that in order to sort them I get to sit down and watch a movie while the kids are at school - a rare indulgence.

A mismatched mess makes my Monday.  To see more Monday makers, visit Cheryl at Twinfatuation

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