another finish

I finished another pincushion!  This one was a free design from  Red Brolly.   Just now he's  gracing my spring basket along with an assortment of other basket fillers.

Downton Abbey

Last evening the network ended Season One of Downton Abbey with a 2.5 hour show - sheer bliss!!!!!  And, oh my, the 'costumes' were dead gorgeous ..... methinks one had to have a willowy figure in order to do them justice.  Season Two starts next week - woo hoo!!!!

I won ....

I won a copy of "Simply Shabbilicious" by Kerryanne  !  I'm thrilled.  Thank you, Kerryanne, for drawing my name.

Thank you ...

I would like to say thank you to all of you who have chosen to "follow" my blog.  I am most appreciative of your support.   To be quite frank I never expected to have any followers so I am delighted!

pincushions

I finished a few pincushions .... the egg is a bit of whimsy made from felt.  The centre one is a triangular log cabin block - I got the idea from here and made it with bits and pieces from my scrap bag. The bottom one is a free pattern from here.  I have another one all stitched up and just waiting for the final assembly.

au naturel

I don't know where the week has gone .... I'm behind in everything - replying to emails, posting on blogger, sewing projects, etc.  However, I have managed to help paint the entire basement, which took one coat of primer and two top coats - sheesh!   (Actually, I'm lying since the last remaining wall still requires the topcoat).  I think we must now own shares in the local paint store.  My hubby does the rolling and the cutting in of the upper portions (he doesn't need a ladder or stool) and I do the bottom parts and baseboards - on my knees I might add.  And then, of course, with the fine weather there was some cleaning up outdoors to do ... why is there always 'stuff' lying around once the snow melts!?!?!?!  

I've been experimenting the last few weeks with some homemade products.  I tried the vinegar and dish detergent cleaner for tubs and showers, which is supposed to be excellent for hard water crud.  It made the basement shower stall sparkle and I'm looking forward to trying it out at the cottage where we do have hard water. 

 Then I made my own body cream; the original recipe calls for baby lotion, vit. E lotion, and vaseline .  I figured there was no point in making my own product if i was going to use products that contained additives ... I'm going for natural here.  It was surprising to read all the chemicals in the baby lotion but I did find a 99% pure baby lotion so I used it and the vaseline along with some essential oil for fragrance - I am pleased with it.


Another item I made was my own facial bronzer.  I can tell you that when I put it on I smelled like a spice cake and little dog was attracted to it but didn't care for the bitter taste.  I won't try that one again.  The original recipe called for icing sugar for the base but I used cornstarch .... didn't want to be too sweet!!

My usual household cleaner is a mixture of vinegar, alcohol, and dish detergent  - it works like a charm and even cleans windows.  I use vinegar and baking soda on the drains.  Can you tell I like "au naturel"? 

I read that I could plant the bottom piece of the celery and it would grow .... well, it does!!!!!  This works with green onions but I'd never considered trying it with celery.  

some finishes & a blog hop

I removed the St. Paddy's Day items from my spring basket and can now show them off share them.  The "finishing" portion of my x-stitching needs improvement but I am trying and hopefully will get better.  There are lots of sites where the ladies do some wonderful finishing and they are inspirational to me. 

 The Easter eggs are my newest finish.


If you're not aware of it there is a Blog Hop going on here.  There are lots of blogs to look at and wonderful giveaways.  Hop on over.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day .... how many of us don't claim we have some Irish in us on this day?  Who doesn't enjoy an Irish joke, an Irish accent, an Irish blessing, or the wearing of the green?  The only Irish in me that I know of is my name, Kathleen, although I do love potatoes, lol.  My husband's family came to Canada from Scotland via Northern Ireland so he definitely has some Irish roots.  We've always celebrated St. Patrick's Day for whatever the reason.

                 Happy St. Patrick's Day !

In March last year we made a long distance move from British Columbia to Saskatchewan and it was one year ago today that we moved into our present home.  We downsized ... went from an acreage  to a  place in town, and from a larger house to a smaller one.  I was quite certain that I had rid ourselves of  lots of "stuff" prior to the move but find that a year later I am still getting rid of "stuff"  There is lots that we miss about BC besides the friends we left behind but we don't miss the 18 hour drive to the cottage ... now we're a mere 3 hours away - woohoo!!!  Whilst I had to leave behind my 30 year old Hoya plant that had bloomed like crazy for the previous 5 years I remembered the words of Dr. Seuss:  "Don't cry because it's over but smile because it happened!".  Indeed, much simpler that way.  The best part is that we are now much closer to family.  There is lots to like in SK such as sunsets and sunrises, northern lights, prairie thunderstorms, friendly people. 


 For those of you who aren't familiar with Canada ... British Columbia, usually referred to as BC, is the western most province; and Saskatchewan, one of the prairie provinces, is nestled between Alberta and Manitoba - a wee geography lesson ; )
              

Birthday party

Today we had the pleasure of attending a wee lad's 3rd birthday party!!!!  We had loads of fun - I think he did, too.  This wee lad has gorgeous big brown eyes and he's a flirt!

Spring has arrived with a vengeance and we're loving it!  Lots of snow disappeared today and the water was running down the street.

Carrots

Our carrots are ready ..... aren't they large ones?  These are made from burlap, stuffed with plastic bags, and painted with acrylics.  They're very primitive but I quite like them.  They are hanging on our front door.

The clouds parted last night to let us have a glimpse of the aurora borealis (aka northern lights) - they were green and delightful to see!  The warm weather has arrived so fingers are crossed that it stays .... at this time of year we're ready for a change.

Hen Party

Yesterday I had a Hen Party  with these cute chicks.  These chicks are pincushions but shall start out as fillers for my spring basket.  The instructions I used were from here - check out her tutorials.  The fine fella on the thread spool was from a book by Gooseberry Patch.  You can let your imagination run wild with these critters.

Handbags

 These are the handbags I've made.  The one that I most recently made is not shown  because it needs some embellishment and I've not quite decided what to do.


The first one is made from a painting drop cloth.  This product is hard to come by here since most are plastic.  This "fabric" is so versatile. - I love it!



The second one took me the longest but then it has a zipper across the top, an outside pocket with a flap and several pockets in the interior.  I made it from a panel that I didn't know what to do with.  

 
The third one is made from a remnant that I picked up in a thrift store - the colour doesn't show up well but it is a light brown tweed.  This remnant was 50 cents for an approximate meter (yard).

The fourth one is  made from part of the leg of a pair of jeans - that part with the pocket.   ;)   I deliberately left the edges ragged.

All the bags are lined.



I use all of these but the denim one is used most often .... I like to travel light.

Too cute ....

Isn't this just too cute for words!!!!!!!   I read on a blog recently that  this had been won and  was directed here for the tutorial - be sure to check out the Flickr pix.  It's a triangular thread catcher but just think of the myriad uses for this little cutesie.  Think party favour, teeny gift basket, Easter basket, bobbin holder, etc.  And it could always be made in a larger size, perhaps a ribbon handle added, and there is no limit to the fabrics that could be used..   One lady used safety pins instead of buttons, which gave it a primitive look - I loved it!!!!!   Enjoy the weekend!
 

In the mail ......

Look what arrived in the mail!  Aren't I the lucky girl?  My aunt called me awhile back asking me if I'd like some floss and patterns that she'd inherited from a friend who passed away .... what could I say but YES!  The threads that look black are actually a deep purple and I'm thinking the former owner had used or planned to use these threads on pansies since there are so many purples, lavenders, and yellows - when I saw them I immediately thought of pansies. I've never seen an oval embroidery hoop - that's quite a treasure.  I knew the former owner - she lived in the small town where I grew up and my husband and I played Canasta with her years ago.  I hope she knows they went to a good home.


 March arrived like a lamb here although the forecast predicted otherwise.  Alas.