Happy 2015!

Happy Hogmanay and Happy New Year!

 

May 2015 be a wonderful year for everyone!

 

just stuff .....

We've had  delightful warm weather this month and lots of snow disappeared so we were able to ditch our winter boots for shoes - hooray.  Needless to say we were out and about quite a bit and Little Dog enjoyed longer runs than usual. 

 We  made and received lots of  "Merry Christmas" phone calls, which we enjoyed immensely.  Interestingly, it's now cheaper to make a long distance phone call than to buy a stamp ...  things happen for a reason.  ^^  

Christmas is quiet for us - the family is scattered far and wide. BTW Little Dog enjoyed her fish and unfortunately discovered how to make it squeak louder - she has hidden talents.  ^^

Holly Hare tag is a design from  The Raspberry Rabbits
Tree Farm pinkeep is from Heartspun Quilts
The dapper Snowman mat is from here
From our house to Yours is a Maria Diaz design.

I'm linking up with TGIFF.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Finished just in time  ...

 

a sneaky peek ....

Since Little Dog likes fish/fishing so much she's getting her very own fish for Christmas and here's a peek .......
This is her stocking  - just in case you were wondering.  ^^

12-13-14

12-13-14 ... the one and only time my birthday has been in sequence!   Perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket ........^^

Little Dog was helping me decorate .... and once she got untangled she posed for her Christmas photo.  ^^

My sister H sent me this paper pieced ornie - I like the colours that she used.  She included the pattern but I'm hopeless at paper piecing.  It's photographed on Emma's Tree from  this post.

I adore Lynn's mini cats and enjoyed stitching up her most recent one....

Look how beautiful the paperwhites are and the house smells so fragrant!

 

dresden plate and new finishes ....

I tried my hand at a Dresden Plate table topper and am pleased enough with it to share it with you.  For the centre I used two medallions (one smaller than the other) that I cut from a vintage tablecloth.

 Did you notice the label with my name on it?????  This was a gift from Lynn B who has the most charming x-stitch designs and tutorials and we've chatted via email - she's a very kind, generous, and talented lady.  Be sure to visit her blog and become acquainted.   She recently began creating labels and very graciously sent me some of my own.  Thank you, Lynn, these make me feel so posh!  ^^


I have a two new finishes to share with you - one from Daffycat ... I love her reindeer.  ^^

And the other is from Kincavel Krosses.  Both are photographed in front of the cedar creche that my husband made.

housekeeping and such ....

Just a wee housekeeping post to say thank you to my new followers and to all who leave a comment .... I appreciate all of you and enjoy reading what you have to say.  Sadly, I cannot reply to the no-reply bloggers.  I follow several blogs via Bloglovin but it doesn't always let me leave a comment. :(

I heard from Ziplist the other day informing me they were closing their site and with instructions on how to save all the recipes that I had filed with them.  The instructions were easy to follow and now I just have to find where these went to on my computer, lol.  But this got me thinking about Pinterest and what if they closed their site - but that's too scarey to ponder.

I really like primitive/rustic décor.  When we lived in BC (British Columbia) that was how I decorated inside and out and it helped that we had an abundance of greens, etc. just outside our door.  Since we've moved back to the prairies and live in what I call a "cookie cutter" house in town the primitive/rustic décor seems out of place but I've been introducing a few pieces into our Christmas decorations.  This year I made a prim  gingerbread boy and a mouse (from Bustle and Sew) from pillow ticking and tucked them into the pail of branches and lights - I like them.  ^^

This candy cane rag swag is one I've had for years.  It's gracing the front door just now until I make an evergreen swag but I like it so much that I'm not sure I want to replace it with evergreens .... ahh, decisions, decisions.  ^^  It's made from fabric strips (rags) tied onto twine and embellished with bells and candy canes that my hubby cut out and I painted; it has withstood a few long distance moves and to me is timeless .....

I recently made this prim 'mini quilt' - the jute hanger  can easily be removed/re-attached so that it can be used as a candle mat or a wall hanging.  Do you see that blue line by the star over the i ..... it turned out to be a blue thread that I didn't see until I looked at the photo but we're not striving for perfection here.  ^^

made myself a present .....

  Thanks to Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts  I made myself a gift block table topper.    Wouldn't this make  beautiful cushion covers?  Be sure to check out the lovelies that Lorna made with this block.

I hand-quilted it and used a pale gold print for the backside.  I'd planned on adding a binding but after auditioning many fabrics none seemed appropriate.   ^^

Stocking stuffers for the grown ups ...

I'm hoping these will make good stocking stuffers ...

I trimmed purchased tea towels with fabric 
to fancy them up and crocheted some
 Primrose dishcloths from cotton yarn - nice and bright for the job.
Hmmmm who gets what ....... 

And this lavender filled sachet is for a very special someone. 

 It's photographed on the tree from this post.

A chic parasol embellished with crystal beads from 
Happiness is Cross Stitching 

We got snow overnight and Little Dog likes it!

Today I'm linking up with Annemarie. 

more for Christmas ....

There still isn't any snow on the ground but it's quite cold just now - something to do with a polar vortex that's happened a bit early in the season.  I have some more finishes for Christmas to share with you ...

This is an Art to Heart design that I turned into a mini 
wall hanging.

Mug Rugs/coasters (reversible) for the coffee lovers - I cut 5" squares
 (charm squares would have been handy)
of front and back fabric, added some batting, sandwiched all the pieces and stitched around
 then turned right side out and top stitched - easy peasy. 
 The check fabric is what I used for the reverse sides. 

Here is another of the Advent Animals that I first
posted about here.  Isn't she just the most beautiful camel!

Cookies and milk for Santa is a freebie from Sandy.  The polka dot
 fabric is what I used for the back side.  This wasn't
my best finish but since I'd erred by cutting
the fabric a bit too small it is what it is.  ^^

We will Remember ...

first snow ....

We had our first snowfall - just a skiff of snow that quickly disappeared but it served as a reminder that our warm fall weather is over and Old Man Winter is on his way....

  In my excitement over the snow I made a Yorkshire Pudding to serve with our roast beef and it turned out so well that I had to take a photo of it.  ^^

It was crispy on the top and bottom and tasted as good as it looked.  Yes, the two of us ate all of it - not at one sitting mind you.  Yorkshire Pudding is also good when it's cold with a bit of butter on it.  ^^

The McLaren crest project that I posted about here .... the one that took me a decade, yes a decade, forever to stitch is finished. I framed it with a plaid fabric similar to the McLaren Tartan.   The chart is now in my sister's capable hands.

Christmas projects .....

I'm a Christmas Junkie - I love everything about it....except

 the commercialism, that is.   I work on

Christmas projects year around.  And you'll never hear me groan about

'Christmas stuff already?'   Here are a few Christmas pieces  that I've finished ......

I fussy cut these reversible mug rugs/coasters -
the reverse side is bit more sophisticated and there's
 a sample of it peeking out on the lower right side.

 

This is 'Snowman's Best Friend', a design from HERE

It was part of the 2013 "12 Days of Christmas" 

event at The Stitchers' Village. 

 
I finished this candle mat with a solid, dark green backing.
It's approx. 12" square.

I like this gift tag/ornie from HERE.  It's
finished with felt on the back - it's a favourite and I've made a few for gifts.

 

Check out Finish it up Friday , Sew Darn Crafty, and Let's Bee Social

Owls

I think I'm smitten with owls....

 I really enjoyed stitching these mini owls and it's fun to see them come to life whilst stitching. 

The two rectangle owls are tuck-ins for Christmas and

you can find the design here.

The stocking is for a gift card/cash. I traced out a stocking
 shape on two pieces of felt and embroidered snowflakes on it. 

The owl in the lily of the valley can be found here.  I love
lily of the valley - the flower and the fragrance.

a ghostly encounter .....

This is my ghostly encounter .....

 Here's the link. 

This week I'm linking up with Sew Darn Crafty, Finish it up Friday, and Let's Bee Social .

I'd like to thank all of my followers - new and old -

for following along and taking time to leave a comment. 

Watermelon and a mini quilt ....

When I was a kid I didn't like watermelon - strange, I know.  By the time I had children of my own I had become a fan.  When my kids were young we used to eat watermelon outdoors so that we could have a spitting contest with the seeds - it was lots of fun. ^^ Nowadays with seedless watermelon one only has the pleasure of the taste.

I started this watermelon topper in the spring and it sat in the pile on my sewing table all summer whilst we were at the cabin.  Slowly but surely I'm working my way through that pile and this one is ready to use next summer! It was a pattern from Sew Fresh Quilts. The fabric peeking out from underneath is what I used for the backing - it reminded me of a picnic tablecloth.  I added the button to the centre because a couple of my points didn't quite match .... call it a coverup ^^, and since I'm not good at machine quilting I hand quilted it.

I found this in the same pile of WIPs on my sewing table but it's been there so long I think it would be better classified as a UFO.  I recall working on this and having fudged one piece of the kimono and not sure where to go with it.... when I picked it up recently I knew it should be finished as a mini quilt and just happened to have a piece of appropriate fabric and buttons on hand.  Now what will I do with it?  ^^

I believe I'm finally caught up that pile of WIPs. ^^

I'm linking up with Let's Bee Social. 

Thanksgiving ....

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada ... time to
 appreciate all that we have and count our blessings.  Luckily, 
the weather is cooperating and that means easy travelling
to be with family and friends.

With all the outdoor work done I've been catching

up in the sewing room.

Here are a few finishes and a new recipe ....

This definitely describes Little Dog. ^^  On the backside
I used a remnant featuring fat cats.

You'll find the embroidery design HERE. 

This is a Jacquelynne Steves panel that I received last year but
didn't get finished till now.

Yummy Brown Sugar Shortbread from The English Kitchen. 
My demerara sugar was so moist it wouldn't sprinkle on top. ^^ 

I'm linking up to TGIFF and Finish it up Friday
and Sew Darn Crafty

I've got mail .....

Look what arrived in the mail for me, yes for me, all the way from Eniko in Budapest, Hungary!!  Needless to say I was thrilled to bits!  The Mary Jane key ring and the rose ring are so tiny and perfect ....they fit into a box that is 4 cms/1.75" square - that's how tiny they are.  I love the little birdie design on the bookmark and she did such a lovely finish on it.  

Thank you, Eniko, for honouring me with these 

lovely handmade gifts.