2016

 Remember all the fuss over the year 2000 and all the dire predictions ..... and here we are at 2016!! 

I wish all of you a Happy New Year filled with good health and good luck.

angels ....

 We've had warm weather for most of November and December and much less precipitation than in the last 4 years - quite a treat!  It's been so nice to be out and about without being bundled up.    I still haven't had to wear snow boots for my daily walk.  ^^ However,  this is apparently about to change with some cold weather moving in.  Nonetheless winter has been shortened.

Angels were under construction this month .....

This was a new pattern and I was trying out different yarns and hook sizes.  3D ones would have been nice but I can no longer work with crochet cotton.  Since these are for a friend I'll let her choose which size(s) and colour(s)  she wants .... perhaps she'll like to have an assortment or perhaps she'll prefer 3D ones.  The big ones (4") are made from cotton yarn and the smaller ones (3") from a #3 yarn.

This angel is one I used to make years ago and lost misplaced the pattern.  One Christmas I tucked one of these into most of the Christmas cards that we sent out .... postage was cheaper in those days.  ^^  So I was excited to see one of these in a linky party and even more excited when I discovered the instructions were included.  They can be made with paper piecing but I'm hopeless at that. 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Winter ....

image found on Pinterest

We used to live in the bush in British Columbia.  A friend whose birthday was on December 21 always hosted a Winter Solstice celebration for the occasion.  She was a 'child of the earth' and knew how to celebrate the solstice.  She was also quite artsy so the décor was heavenly.  Mind you, living there one only had to step out the door to have a wealth of decorative material at hand.  We gals wore long skirts - nothing fancy or elaborate - perhaps reminiscent of our hippie days.  The food, the drink, and the camaraderie left us with lingering memories of the good times we had.  It was there that I had my first toke .... 

new Christmas ornies ...

Here are a few new Christmas ornies to

show off .....

 A crocheted snowflake.

 A  gift from Claire ... thank you, Claire. 
 I   like hearts. 

There's a mouse in the house.

Christmas cushion wrap ....

Having seen cushion covers like this and this and this I was thinking about making one but since I do not need any more cushion covers I decided to try a cushion wrap instead .... and am glad I did!  It was a lot less work, used less fabric, and I love how it looks.  ^^    In case you're wondering, I used 2½" squares; did not use any batting, backed it with  off white fabric and added 'ribbon' for tying it on.  I chose to use a 'tie  on' so that it would be adjustable and could fit different sizes of cushions.  And actually the ties at the back look very pretty tied in bows. 

Whilst sorting through my Christmas bins (all 4 of them) I pulled everything out, unwrapped all the goodies, and wandered down memory lane for a while before being ruthless and deciding what could not/should not be kept.  You see, the decluttering is part of downsizing which will be coming in the near future.  These snowmen, looking somewhat bedraggled and worse for wear, were made by my late daughter when she was in high school ... and that's a very long time ago.  They're made from quilt batting and an empty soup can.

Ravenwood Whimzies has been hosting a Christmas Blog Hop and this wee toque was one of the patterns offered .... these are so cute - I had to make one right away!   

Blogger gave me a bit of a scare recently when it wouldn't let me post any photos - thank goodness that only lasted a day or so.

another Christmas project .....

I finally got a wiggle on and finished another Christmas project.  Checking the mail deadline for overseas packages helped spur me on. ^^

 This is my other favourite  candle mat  to make -

 it's in colours appropriate for the recipient.

I made a few of these little ornaments

to give the girls at the salon (not saloon ^^).  This cute design works up quickly and is a nice way to
 use up those little bits of floss and fabric; could also
be used for a tag.   It's photographed on Rae's 'Emma's Tree'.  

too cute ....

This wee robin is too cute for words!!  I really enjoyed stitching him and I know it's a design that I'll stitch over and over.  He became a door hanger.  

and another one ...

Found this cute square heart block here and decided to give it a whirl.  Things were going well so I turned it into a tray mat - will look nice on my rectangular tray which just happens to be at the cottage.  ^^

I came across the Santa whilst de-cluttering.  Many, many years ago when we had large gatherings for Christmas I always made a table favour for everyone.  This one was a plastic stem glass with fun fur glued on for a beard, two wiggly eyes, and a tiny red pom pom for the nose.  His removable hat was made from felt and a white pom pom.  These were filled with candy and/or nuts - depending on age and  preference.  Those were the days and how I miss them ... thank goodness for memories.

seed catalogue

The first seed catalogue of the season arrived
this week and I must admit that I'm enjoying looking through it.

I've done a bit of sewing that isn't Christmas related.
Here's a new table mat .... not that I needed another one  ^^

And 'matching' magic coasters - these really are magic!  They're made from one piece of fabric (each) and go together amazingly quickly ... here's the link. 

 

And whilst on the subject of coffee - how about a

 coffee liqueur?

Into a clean jar (with a lid) pour 4 cups of vodka, add 44 sugar cubes and 44 coffee beans.

Let it sit in a dark location for a few weeks, give it a shake now and then and it's ready to serve ... don't forget to strain off the beans.  ^^

And a new cushion cover ....

you just 'gotta' love that sunbeam! 

 

And last but not least I'd like to say welcome to my newest followers.   I appreciate everyone that comes by for a visit.  Unfortunately,  there are more and more blogs that I cannot leave a comment on but rest assured that I'm visiting.

Christmas projects ....

Using my favourite pattern I made a Dresden for the Christmas season ...

with a yo-yo for the centre.

And a star table mat.

11/11

Christmas stitching .....

This is the sum total of my Christmas stitching thus far  ....

I customized this one for the recipient - it's one of Lynn B's mini cats .

Beads were added for the eyes and it's backed with dark red felt.

This one is a Lucie Heaton design.  The whitish spot on
 Rudolph's nose is a sparkly bead.  

Another Lucie Heaton design. 
 Both are photographed on my daughter's
 Emma's Tree. 

I'm not sure whose design this is - I stitched it earlier 
this  year and finished it just recently. 

last one for fall .....

This could be my last project for fall.  Whilst de-cluttering I was sorting through some craft magazines and came across an old issue of Create and Decorate with such an appealing cover I had to sit down and leaf through it ... and that's where I found this design.  I'd already labelled the magazine with 'save' and it's definitely a keeper.  Create and Decorate no longer publishes nor offers access to their archives - such a shame.

I used dropcloth for the pocket and lined it with a piece of flannel from an old shirt - the applique is felt.  I brushed on some cinnamon to antique it.



Look what we awoke to earlier this week -  it disappeared within 24 hours
but served as a warning from Mom Nature. 

the rooster ....

The rooster has been finished but I goofed.  My plan had been to make a fabric tray to hold 4" cocktail size napkins - I took all the measurements (including seam allowance) and added the extra fabric (it's not rocket science)  but ended up with this small tray .....  :(  
  I still like it although it doesn't seem to have much purpose now.   If I wanted to give it away I could fill it with wrapped candy - hmm, this is one piece that I think I like too much to give away. ^^

pumpkin time

No doubt I'm beginning to sound like a broken record  -  the warm weather is still with us and  we continue to sort and toss and are making good progress.  Hubby has his shop (aka garage) down to the bare bones ... I told him how impressed I was.  We have a carload of goodies to be taken to Value Village on our next trip to town.  Needless to say the garbage bin has been well used, too - why do we save so much crap junk!

When I saw this pumpkin mini quilt here I had to make one and couldn't believe how simple it was - my kind of project.  ^^

Thanksgiving

We're having a splendid Thanksgiving weekend.  We had a nice visit with my Aunt Lou (she's a hoot), a lovely drive there and back, have eaten well, and fabulous weather!!  In recent years we've had some Thanksgiving weekends with freezing rain or worse that made family visits,  near or far,  quite difficult/impossible.

The Christmas countdown is already on in blogland with weekly projects appearing here and there providing all sorts of inspiration ... I love Christmas projects!  ^^    I only have one Christmas item to show you just now - it's hanging on the first wooden tree that my husband made for me.   The pillow is antiqued but that's not showing up in the photo.

When I found this weathered board at the cabin I knew what I wanted to do with and here is my finished project ....  I didn't have any old, grungy hardware to add to it so I used some rope and tied it with my favourite knot.    The letters are painted white but have been grunged up a bit with some bronze paint.

I wanted to try out this coaster from here .  I know, it's so bright, but they (there will be 2)  are for someone who likes these colours and it will brighten up a dull winter day. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

a few things to share .....

It's a damp. grey day here but it's not cold.  We're just home from closing up the cabin for the winter - it was so windy there for a couple of days that all the leaves came off the trees.
Now that we're home to stay for awhile I need to start the fall cleaning .... I do it in the fall rather than the spring.  I used to do spring cleaning, too, and actually enjoyed cleaning but I smartened up.  I'm on the band wagon with de-cluttering, downsizing, etc. trying to practice minimalism.    I tell myself that if I haven't used in the last year to toss it out but it never fails that as soon as I toss it I'm looking for it for a project.  Alas, I guess that's Murphy's Law.   

I have a few things to share with you .....

These are both Buttermilk Basin designs.  The top one I made 

into a pocket and the bottom one is a mini wall hanging - the

tree that it's on is one my hubby made from weathered

wood we found at the cabin.

I appliqued onto drop cloth for both of them and

backed the wall hanging with burlap.

This is the weathered wood tree.

And for my cross stitch friends  - this is an Ursula Michael design.

I have no plans for it just yet but will likely use it

 for a card or a tag on a gift.

And just look at these beautiful sticks that Beaver left behind - they're perfect for hanging mini quilts/wall hangings! 

autumn ....

Autumn is such a lovely season with her colour and fragrance

and beautiful bouquets ......

Here are the last of the summer flowers at the cabin ....

 this cosmos was 6" across - I've never seen one so large

my favourite Supertunia - always a beauty

my only yellow calendula with a brown centre -

 I hope I can collect the seeds from this one.

Kudos to my husband for these pix of the blue jays.  There were about a half dozen of them and they became less shy - perhaps they were enjoying the pistachios we were sharing with them.

a September finish .....

There's been frost at home but not in cottage country.  In fact, the flowers at the cabin are blooming beautiful!  I have  pix of them but forgot the camera cable so I can't share them with you.  But I do have a finish to share.  This is the Dresden Plate design from  here.