Where did January go?

Boy, did this month of January go by quickly - I suspect it's because it was so mild ... yes, mild in January in our neck of the woods.  Last winter was our coldest in 18 years so I figure a mild January was owed to us.  ^^ Alas, the weather will get back to normal this weekend.  :(

Look at this beautiful bouquet of fabric - and it smells quite lovely, too!  I won it on Lesley's blog - isn't this a beautiful arrangement - needless to say I was thrilled to bits.  I'm enjoying looking at this so I haven't removed the fabric just yet  - I'll wait till I decide just what I'm going to make with it.

Here's a new and interesting blog to check out.

A winter table mat seemed appropriate.  The snowmen designs are from here - I stitched this in November but couldn't come up with the right fabric for the binding ... then, bingo, the perfect piece appeared!  ^^  If you recall, I'm sewing from stash, which can be a challenge ..... sometimes the right fabric is available but there isn't enough of it.  The dark blue batik reminded me of Jack Frost's paintings.

In honour of Groundhog Day on February 2 .....

I've been cleaning up and sorting through the sewing room - here are some golden oldies to look at .....

 I've had these items for a very long time.  The bodice on the pink pincushion has been crocheted around a chicken wishbone - the wishbone is painted pink with nail polish, there's a thimble at the very top and a hanger perhaps to represent a hat - and the light pink in the centre is where you stick the pins and needles... I should've stuck some in. ^^  The purple one is a hat and also has a thimble.  The top item is called a scarf saver with a wee safety pin at the back to use to attach to the inside of your coat; the verse says "I am just a little ring, not much good for anything.  But inside your coat, out of sight, I'll keep your scarf just right."  These bring back very fond memories - life was simpler and the gift of a scarf saver was appreciated.

You'll recognize the Happy Home needle book - I think everyone had one of these at one time.  The needle book on the right was a gift from a pen friend in the UK when I was in my early teens.  These are all the wooden spools that I have but I'm happy to have this many.  The darning tool and awl belonged to my MIL and I've used them many times myself.   I've put these in a glass jar where they look pretty and hopefully won't get lost.^^

Robbie Burns .....

January 25 is Robbie Burns Day and Scots around the world celebrate one way or another....
Since it's not a Scots' community where we presently live our celebration will be a quiet one.  ^^

This is the genuine McLaren Tartan (my maiden name is McLaren) along with the kilt pins my daughter and I used a long time ago.

This is our Clan Crest that I talked about here.

I made a table mat with 3" squares.  The backing and binding are all one piece  and that was interesting to do ....  I quite like how it worked out and have used the same method a few more times since.  I used perle cotton  ... I love doing the stem stitch in perle cotton... I coffee stained it - my hubby chuckled when he looked at it.  ^^

I made a new pincushion, too, not that I needed another one. ^^  My  bowl of pincushions runneth over but they're fun to make.  The design for this one can be found here.  It's felt appliqued to a scrap of corduroy recycled from an old shirt.

resolutions, goals, words?

For 2015 a lot of bloggers are choosing a word to live by, some are making resolutions or setting goals, and others are just carrying on as usual.  Choosing a word is far too profound for me and my only goal is to remember to write 2015 ... so far so good.  ^^   This month is flying by and that's unusual for January - this being our coldest month and a long month it usually drags on.  Mind you, yesterday was +3C, which was downright balmy. 

I made a postcard ... wanted to see if my idea to use felt was workable.  The polar bear design is from Lia.

Since moose live in our neck of the woods I couldn't resist stitching this one by Luli - I love her designs!

My numbers lining up last month proved lucky for me ...

These lovely goodies arrived by mail from Maminti - her work is exquisite.  The chocolates were so good that there was only one available for the photo shoot.  ^^

I won this gorgeous packet of charm squares from Julia who was part of  Blogathon Canada. I was in love with them as soon as I saw them so I was ecstatic that they were mine!   I was hesitant to fan them out (and could have done a better job) because I can never get them properly squared up again but after doing so I realized that I had a wee box that would be perfect for storing charm squares.  I have plans for these lovelies. ^^

 My best friend sent us this beauty ......  it graced our Christmas tree and now has place of honour in a basket of goodies.

what to post about?

I couldn't decide what to post about - was there anything to post about?  Should I talk about the weather again - I don't think so .... I'll just babble.  ^^

I sewed myself a pair of polar fleece wrist warmers - oh my, they are dandy and I wish I'd made a pair long before this; I also crocheted a pair but they tend to slide up when I wear my jacket.  And I sewed a red plaid flannel scarf - super big - that is toasty warm and stylish ... no pix since I find it difficult to take good pix without a model.

After Christmas I was looking for an orphan quilt block and in the process discovered a couple of  other items  .....  the first was a x-stitch sampler that  was stitched in 1996 .... but when I saw it the light came on and I knew exactly what I'd do with it - it became a cushion cover.

I was surprised that I still had this wall hanging - it was nearly done but I remembered that I simply ran out of ideas for completing it and it's been sitting for more than four years.  When I looked at it I knew immediately what it needed to be finished and proceeded to do it. It's hard to see but I used 'eyelash' yarn for the tree branches.

BTW I did find the orphan blocks that I was looking for but forgot what I wanted to make - when if I remember I know exactly where they are.  ^^

I saw a sailboat quilt block and had the impulse to make one.  I think this will  become a cushion cover .....

I made this for a gift using a medallion from the vintage table cloth for the centre.  It's a pattern from here.

These are the books we're reading just now .... Gods of Guilt is a Mickey Haller character and as I read I can picture Matthew McConaghey (sp?) who starred in the Mickey Haller movie 'Lincoln Lawyer'.  ^^  My husband is reading Dead Man's Grip, which is a Detective Roy Grace novel.  Both are excellent reads.

JE SUIS CHARLIE

vintage or retro ....

Here we are in 2015 and it doesn't seem that long ago that there was much anticipation and kerfuffle about the year 2000 - where has the time gone.

There's a lot of talk about vintage  and in reference to the 40s and 50s, which made me realize that I'm vintage... mind you, I prefer 'retro', it doesn't sound as old.  But that's ok ... some fine wines are vintage so I shall consider myself like a fine wine.  :D 

 Here's an oldie vintage retro pic for you complete with teased hair and cat's eye glasses .......

Now if you pick yourself up off the floor from laughing so hard I'll tell you that these were good days and I'm glad I lived through them - "those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end......"  ♪♫♪♫  I dare you to guess what year this photo might have been taken.  ^^

BTW, our weather cooled off considerably and then warmed up again so it's keeping us on our toes.   A mild Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve were quite a treat.

All I have to share today are some x-stitched minis I worked on over the holidays that are waiting for their 'finish' and a couple of ornies that I made for the tree ......

Buttermilk Basin

The Raspberry Rabbits