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.