Ribbons and Lace Cottage

Sachet Tutorial

2011-08-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hi! I was going through some old-fashioned handkerchiefs in the china hutch and thought they might make up into some pretty sachets. They went together very fast and are a good use of handkerchiefs that are "too pretty to use."

First, I picked out the hankies I wanted to use. My great-grandmother did beautiful work on hankies much like these; but she died in the 1960's before I was born and I didn't want to use hers. Luckily, someone had given my mom many hankies and I am not sentimentally attached to them, but I admire them nevertheless! So those are the ones I decided to use.

Next, I picked out some fabric for the inside pillow. This fabric happens to be some old Shabby Chic sheets that had seen better days, but is perfect for this type of project.

So here is the jumble of hankies.

And here they are all pressed.
My hankies all measure about 11"X11". Place WRONG sides together and using a scant 1/8" seam allowance, sew up the long side and ONE of the short sides so you have a pillow case for the herb pillow.

I cut all the pillows 10 1/2" X 14"

Turn down both the short ends 1/4" and press, turn again 1/4" and press. Now sew this down on both ends.

Place the fabric face up. Fold the bottom up 1/3 , fold the top down 1/3. Pin if you like to use them, and then sew up the short ends. Turn right side out, poke out the corners and give them a nice pressing.

Ashley Rose and I went the health food store where they sell herbs in bulk. We picked out lavender, red rose petals, and lemon peel.

Carefully mix them all together.

Open your pillow by turning down the top flap, and carefully spoon some of the herbs into the pillow. Don't overfill, they look better lying rather flat.

Turn the top flap down so your herbs don't spill out. Then take your hankie and scrunch it up like you are putting on a sock, put the pillow inside and then pull the hankie up over it.

There! Now you have a nice, inexpensive sachet for your linen closet or to give as a gift.

Happy sewing!

C. C.

Mr. Holmes, I presume!

2011-06-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Introducing...Mr. Sherlock Holmes!

He was born on Valentine's Day and is a Miniature Schnauzer.

When he is good, he is VERY good, but when he is bad he is HORRID! He is like a small tornado! He brings out different things piece by piece until he has a rats nest of everyone's belongings in a pile. What a lovely little thing he is though!

Well, here are a few things I have been doing. These are 100 percent soy wax candles. Thank you to Karen for guiding me through the process. It is a lot of fun! I bought 50 pounds of wax and have gone through about 15 pounds of it...so many more candles to go. The set here are Lemon Pound Cake, Blackberry Sage, Grandma's Cupboard, to name a few.

The set here are the Christmas gifts. They are "Santa's Whiskers," "Hansel and Gretel's House," "Christmas Cookie," to name a few of those. I have "Hillbilly Homebrew" and "Orange Chili" and "Vanilla Oak" and other scents coming in the mail. This is really neat; I told Karen in an e-mail I think there is something in a woman's genes that causes us to pour things into jars and admire them! Very satisfying!

Here is a little garden sign Ashley Rose painted. It says "Garden Fairies" on it and there is a little fairy peeking over the fence!

Here are a few door hangers I ordered from Viking Woodcrafters. The one on the left is for Halloween, the one in the middle I shall do for Christmas, and the one on the far right is a fairy door for the garden that Ashley Rose will be painting. This summer, we will be working on improving our painting skills with "Lessons in Strokework" by Judy Diephouse. Matthew is away all day at an Engineering camp for kids at NMSU, so Ashley and I will have many hours to work on her sewing skills and painting skills and, of course cooking! Yesterday we made some Peanut Butter Cups! Oh dear! They were candy store good!

Here is a garden sign I just finished. It is a Kim Christmas design.

Here is another Kim Christmas Design. It is called "Wrong Turn." I did two of them, one for my mother in law. I have finished them both, so now they have black sheer 1" ribbon tying them onto a black dowel stick.

Here is a birthday gift to myself (hee-hee). It is a punchneedle design by Jan Goos from Goosnest Designs. Very cute. I don't do very many punchneedles because they are the most expensive project I work on! But every once in awhile I have to splurge. It is mounted on the back of a cheap-o frame that I cut to fit. The "kick-stand" part of it didn't work and it kept rolling over, so I had to hot glue gun all sorts of stabilizing pieces of cardboard to it! It looks rather rough in the back, but we will just concentrate on the front. The ruffle around it is some of the rayon seam binding.

Here is some more of my birthday gift to me! A cross stitch by Blackbird Design. Cross stitches are really some of the most affordable projects, because it takes FOREVER to do one and the floss isn't too expensive. Especially the Blackbird Design patterns because they don't do a lot of thread changes. They call of the hand dyed which is twice what plain old DMC thread cost, but you need half of the colors so it all works out. Plus, if you don't want to use/buy everything they call for, since it is a old fashioned looking piece, you can use a steel color or an "Old Purple Paint" color for a crow instead of a black color, etc.

Here is another Blackbird Design. This is a pin keep. Again, very affordable. This is a scrap piece of linen and only one color of hand-dyed floss; it creates its own color variations. I used three buttons I had on hand; some ladies have antique button collections that they could use for this sort of project. Mine are antique/vintage from the fact that you always seem to have a few buttons left over from a project and they sit around for a lifetime! Many of them are my mom's from when she had done so much sewing of her own clothes in the 1960's.

And of course we had an end-of-the-year recital. Matthew had danced for the first time when he got the part of the prince in the Nutcracker. You might say he caught the "dancing bug," and now is taking lessons with his sister, which she is very accepting of! They are in the same class, and he being the only boy in lessons in the studio, he is quite popluar (which he doesn't seem to mind at all!), but his sister who is shy by nature, has taken it all in stride. You actually can't tell she is a shy quiet thing when she is on stage; it is an oxymoron that she loves to perform like she does.

Here is a menu from a tea party Ashley Rose gave recently. She did everything herself. She named her little room "Le Petite Cafe."

Please read the next post...the pictures were taking awhile to load so I refreshed the page and it saved on a new post!

Mr. Holmes, I presume! con't...

2011-06-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation from the above post...

Here is the little table at Le Petite Cafe.
Some of the decorations...Ashley Rose did everything herself.

The name cards:

The doll tea party set-up.

Well! That is all for another six months (just kidding! hopefully I shall do another sooner than that!).

Until next time!

C. C.

DRUMROLL PLEASE......

2011-02-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

AND THE WINNER FOR THE MOST PERSEVERANCE IS.......MEEEEEEE!!!!! (applause....yeah....clapping.....shouting....whistling) No, really, you're too kind.

This project was a teaching tool so that I may learn to applique (note: this is NOT a beginning applique project). It took me two whole years to complete! The hand quilting took a long time, too. On the label which I pieced as part of the backing, I estimated the quilting to be done last July!

Some of the tiny flower centers I just couldn't do properly, so I opted for some pretty buttons instead.

This bunny is holding a key with a rhinestone in the center of it.

This one is holding a pot filled with buttons.

And here is a little arrangement under the coffee table. I did the birdhouse a couple years ago, and the little paper mache eggs I got from Williams Sonoma catalog.

Here are three little quilts (well, the one on the left is a miniature) that I worked on so I could have some hand-work during the kids' lessons. I am going to make several more so that they can go on the wall in a group. I think that is a lovely look.

Well, I think I will take my award and I can now begin to plan for.....MY NEW NEXT PROJECT!

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Happy 2011!!!

2011-01-09T15:40:00.000-08:00

I have been working on a sewing box for my daughter. She will be 10 next month, so I think I will give it to her for her birthday, but really it is for her hope chest.

This is the first painting project that I designed that has been of any substance. I have painted a few things, but not an actual design with detail. I don't know if you can see it, but the bunny is working on a carrot applique and Miss Mouse is working on a cheese applique!

This is a cross-stitch I finished five years ago for her sewing box (plus a little pin cushion). I was going to have my husband do an elaborate box, but I just couldn't decide how it was going to look and this cross-stitch was just sitting around in the "Hope Chest" box, so I decided a band-box would work perfectly to hold the most important sewing items. That way the thing would be done and it is still a special box made by her Papa.

I cut out a piece of light-weight cardboard, put a piece of batting just right on the top, and then covered it with some crushed velvet; then I hot glued it to the bottom of the box. The chicken to the left is a pin cushion I had seen in a store; but they wanted $13.00 for one so I just studied it and made one out of scraps at home for the hope chest.

Here is a lovely little needle sharpener. It is a little bit of emery powder in a square of tricot and then a little doily gathered up around it. I got the kit from Nordic Needle, I believe. I have actually never used the one I made for myself (I made two), but I thought they were a cute little old-fashioned addition to a sewing box, so I put one in here for her.

Let me tell you! I bought these two fancy scissors with bonus money (I guess that is what you'd call it) from the quilt store. They gave me a punch card, and after you filled it up with so much money in purchases, you would get a $25 amount to spend. Ashley Rose has been learning on my scissors, so they are now all dull and her scissors are fancy "Gingher" sharp as can be! The injustice of it all!!! I offered to trade her, but she will not hear of it.

Here is the sewing box with the lid on.

Here is another little thing I made for her hope chest. This was a rather challenging project. I got this kit through the mail (perhaps from Nordic Needle) about five or six years ago. I began to cut and hot glue all the little rectangles to these tag board pieces and actually got overwhelmed with it and quit. It took forever to finish this project! I only made one for the hope chest instead of two (one for me to keep); and I believe I will stop at one!

Here below is the contraption all opened up in all of its rectangular glory! Yikes! A sweet novelty, but I found it difficult. I guess you are supposed to put all sorts of needles in the little padded areas; maybe buttons in the middle. It's the thought that counts when working on a hope chest, I think! I actually think it would be a neat project for someone to offer a class for kids who would be interested (and committed) to meet once a month or so and learn the various homemaking skills and put together a hope chest full of hand made things. I read this book, "The Hope Chest: A Legacy of Love," by Rebekah Wilson, and I became completely inspired to do a hope chest for my daughter. When the kids were born, the years seemed endless; that they just stretched out forever before they were grown and in homes of their own! I was afraid if I were to die before they were all grown, that there would be no one to do pretty things for them.

I guess there was a fire in my great-grandmother's time that destroyed a lot of family heirlooms. Then my grandmother pared things down a lot in the 1960's because they retired to Florida and didn't want to haul a bunch of stuff around. Then my mom died in 2000 (she could knit and sew but didn't care to do much crafting beyond doing socks) so she wouldn't be able to make anything for the kids (she made Matthew a hat and some mittens when she was sick that he cherishes; Ashley Rose was born the year after my mom died), and there is no one on my husband's side of the family who likes to do fancy work, so I have been working off and on for these 10 years to finish little projects that would be special (at least to me!) for after Ashley Rose is grown. Sometime I will have to show the little bags I made to put the treasures in the hope chest. They are around the size of pillow cases and they have her initial embroidered on them: still have about five to finish if I can get inspired to do so!

Well, have a creative day!

C. C.

Some Christmas Decorations

2010-12-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Hi! I have been painting up a storm and thought I would share a few pictures.

This one I finished the other day. It is a Kim Christmas design. I made two of them so I could give one away. This Hot Chocolate dispenser I finished today. It is also a Kim Christmas design. (The "Friends" one behind I finished last summer and just got it all glued together for Christmas - it is a Jamie Mills-Price design). My husband has been experimenting with his band boxes, mixing cherry and maple wood pieces to make different looking boxes. Every box he makes is better than the one before! I love them all. As a matter-of-fact, everyone he makes I claim as my own and it is very hard for me to part with them if he wants to give them away!

I have showed this before, but I like it and enjoy looking at it and putting on the blog over and over. I can't believe I was able to make this; I didn't think I had it in me! I am not trying to brag, I just think that it actually looks like a person and can't believe I was able to pull that off!

Here are some other pieces. The bear on the right is a Jamie Mills-Price design painted on one of Rob's band boxes that split on the side (he gives me his rejects to paint on and I DON'T complain EVER!!!). The one on the right is the other Kim Christmas design I painted to give away. Actually, my daughter liked this one better than the one I am keeping; but I already put my name on the other one so I shall have to give this one.

Here is a stocking I did for my husband BK (Before Kids!) I felt like it took forever to finish it (back before kids taught me patience!) Then after I finished the cross-stitching I was so excited to finish it into a stocking that I rushed through the sewing and messed up the piping and sewing the toe of it! I still put it out because Rob likes to fish and it has Santa fishing with his elves! How funny!

Rob made this for me this year. It is a music box. He made one for our daughter also (shhhh!) I am putting some silk ribbon flowers on it for her Christmas.

Well, that is all for now. I need to take a few pictures of some Christmas decorations in the next few days for you; I like looking at everyone elses.

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Painting Project

2010-11-30T11:55:00.000-08:00

Hello! I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was nice! Christmas is already sneaking around the corner at us!

Here is a painting project I just finished. It is a Kim Christmas Design. The design is for a cake plate stand, but I used a Lazy Susan instead.

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Gearing up for Christmas

2010-11-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hi! I just wanted to post a few pictures of the Christmas projects I have been working on. When you are a crafter, you have to start early!

Here is a little sled I painted. I am going to give it to my husband for our 17th wedding anniversary (on December 23). I downloaded the pattern (for free!) from Artist Club website. They offer lots of free patterns to download. This was a very challenging piece because I have never tried to paint something real. I usually only paint cute things and whimsical things; but my husband would prefer this sort of piece so I tried it for him.

This is what I usually prefer to paint! These are two sleds, one for us and one for a dear friend for Christmas. I am going to give it to her on the 1st of December so they can display it. This is a pattern from Jamie Mills-Price.

And here are the stick people! I did the Santa this last January for something to do in the winter, and the snowman I finished last month.

Here is a closer view. The snowman has plastic "ice cubes" for his buttons. Very cute.

Have a creative day!

C. C.

A New Lamp

2010-10-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hello! I just wanted to share a project my daughter did. First here is a little set of people my son made on his fingers. I thought they were very funny. Well, here she is, posing beside her newly finished desk and here new lamp. The lamp was a "Shabby Chic" purchased at Target in their clearance for $6.24 (Reg. 24.99). Then we purchased the lamp shade and trim seperately.

Trims she picked out at Hobby Lobby.

After I hot glued the trims on the shade, she applied some stick-on pearl drops (found in the scrapbooking area in Hobby Lobby).

And here it is! I think it turned out just right!

Now no more excuses for not studying!

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Don't Kiss By the Garden Gate...

2010-09-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

Love is Blind, but the Neighbors ain't!

My latest finished project. I need to put another coat of varnish and the hanging deal on the back. This is a pattern designed by Sarah Malone. It was very challenging because her directions are not real specific (i.e. I am not advanced enough to fill in the blanks of what they are talking about).

Oh! I won a giveaway! It is still on its way...but here it is. I am so excited!

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Fall Decorating

2010-09-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hello! I have been decorating for fall and thought I would share a few pictures.

This first one is a gift I made for someone who has done me a good turn here lately. She collects Alice in Wonderland things, so I made up a box worthy of Alice so she can eat a piece of candy and grow ten feet tall. I like the box, so I think I will display it for awhile before giving it! Do you see the key and little watch?

This is a quilt I made several years ago. It is a Kim Diehl pattern. I really like it, but it sure did take a month of Sundays to do!

Here is another Kim Diehl pattern. Another month of Sundays to sew this one! I must be a glutton for punishment! But I got it done and that is all that matters.

Here is a Thimbleberries pattern I made up several years ago. I hand quilted it. It may be one of my favorites. You can see a table top sized quilt on the blanket chest made with Thimbleberries fabrics with jack-o-lanterns; I designed the pattern and I think it turned out well.

Here is a close-up of a few pumpkin creatures and a chicken (on the right) that my kids made last year. They had a lot of fun with the punch needle and wool. I like how their projects turned out! Very whimsical.

Here is another Kim Diehl pattern, called "Grim Gourds." I think Matthew is looking rather grim here himself!

Here is a lighted pumpkin I purchased from Hobby Lobby (50 percent off sale). I usually don't buy too many decor objects. First of all, I like to make my own. Second, I don't like to purchase a lot of decoration; if I am going to spend the money I would rather buy the materials to make my own projects. Third I am a cheap skate and anything over free takes a great deal of consideration (even free takes a lot of consideration: do I really need any more stuff?!?) But I did like this pumpkin and it sheds a nice light in the house.

The picture above was the last cross-stitch I attempted. I all the sudden can't see the linen to do my stitches! Forty has brought many surprises!

Violet and Liesel Merriweather having a fall tea party. I wonder what they are talking about...

And here are some small pillows I made several years ago. My nine-year-old daughter made the pillow at the very top when she was seven. She very generously let me borrow it for this display. I like the little stuffed pumpkin in the soap holder. It was so easy to make and it turned out cute.

I hope everyone's fall decoration is going well and you are all cooling off nicely. It was a hot summer here, so the cooler air is very welcome!

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Furniture Re-do

2010-09-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hello! I just wanted to share a painting project I did this last week.

My friend was helping out with her church's rummage sale (raising money for the Carmelite Nuns), and this was for sale. Now, usually I believe an old piece of furniture is only a good deal if it is free. But it was for a good cause and I have wanted to try redoing a piece of furniture.

I rather like these nuns (they live down the road from me and I take them eggs from our chickens for free; I like to do such things for people who have dedicated their lives to serving others) even though I can't speak to them because they all speak Spanish but one who speaks broken English. They wear long brown habits and I wonder how they iron them...

Well back to the desk. I gave $20.00 for it. My husband is going to have to glue the legs better, but here is is (I already sanded the top before I thought about pictures for the blog!). I am not so sure that I didn't decide on the desk just because of these drawer pulls.

Here I have base coated it in an Antique White paint.

And here it is finished (except for the leg-gluing and sealing and putting on the hardware). It is for my daughter who is already setting up all sorts of stuff on it.

Here is a "pose" of the drawer with the drawer pulls in. Can you see the fairy behind the rose?

Here she is up close. She has Glamour Dust on her wings and in her hair. There is a fairy hiding on each drawer; one of them only has a wing poking out.

Here is a picture of the very bottom detail. I painted it the same color as the trim paint.

So that is that! It was more difficult than I had anticipated. I guess because it was an old piece and had to have the old finish removed first. Luckily, it was originally stained and the folks took off the finish and painted in a thin coat of greenish paint and that was it. Not twenty coats like you find on some of these old pieces.

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Meet Leisel Merriweather

2010-08-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

This is Leisel Merriweather. She was born today and is a very happy little mohair bear.

She enjoys tea parties already and looking pretty in her faux pearls and silk bow. Her glass amber eyes sparkle when you ask her "Would you like honey with your tea?"

She is a homemaker, with the housekeeping key; she knew about the housekeeping keys in several of the Charles Dickens novels, so she had to have her own.

Happy Birthday Leisel Merriweather! I wish you well in your homemaking adventures!

C. C.

"Who Will Help Me Baste the Quilt?"

2010-08-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Asked Henny Penny.

"Not I," said the karate boy. "Not I," said the ballerina girl.

"Then I guess I will have to baste it myself," said Henny Penny.

And so, Henny Penny basted away off and on for twelve hours and finally got all the basting done.

But wait! Did karate boy offer to help after all?

He did not know that he was being photographed in the act of helping baste a quilt!

"I am man, hear me baste!"

And did ballerina girl offer to help as well? Yes! She did!

With only a few minor needle pokes.

And now "Baltimore Bunnies" is officially basted and on the quilt frame, ready for countless hours of quilting pleasure. Violet the Bunny thinks she will help with the quilting part, since she thinks all those bunnies might be her cousins.

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Welcome to the World, Violet!

2010-07-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Hi! Here is my newest project: Violet the bunny rabbit. Violet is a mohair bunny with jointed arms and legs and little glass eyes. This is her home right now, on our dresser looking as cute as a bugs ear.

Here is a picture of the backside of her. To show her little tail.

She was a lot of fun to make. I had the pattern and mohair for her for about four years, but just hadn't gotten around to sewing her. Now I feel the need to make a dozen...but I am really just taking a break from my painting excursions; so I guess I will wait for a long time before I do any more. All these projects take cash! So I have to do the least expensive ones the most regularly. These mohair babies get such personalities when they are finished, though! I just start talking to them and asking what they want their names to be!

Here she is in the beginning stuffing stages.

Here she is sewed, jointed and ready to stuff. Right now I always wonder what I am doing making one of these silly things! They look so strange! And up to this point the bunny has raised my blood pressure trying to turn those little bitty arms and legs inside out! Is she really worth it? (Yes, definitely!)

Home school supplies arrived today. Since we have been homeschooling, Ashley has climbed into the box every year! This year was no exception; I look over while working on Violet, and see all the books out and my daughter in!

"No, I am not too big!"

Here is a little outfit I sewed for Ashley Rose. I made her a little dress and matching hat when she was 18 months old out of the flower material. But I have been going through my stash and trying to make things out of the bits and pieces. I always keep a three-inch strip of this, and a 2-inch square of that. Whew! Way too much fabric! So I am working it into whatever I can. I happened to have a yard and a bit of the flowered left after eight years! So I paired it with some fabric I had made a quilt out of a few years ago, and voila!

The back view:

JoAnn Fabrics had their flannel on sale 50% off the other day. We took my husband's grandmother who has Alzheimer's on an outing to the fabric store; she always loved fabrics and looking at how much things cost so I have taken her to the fabric store twice now. She doesn't remember it, but "As ye do to the least of these, you do it unto Me," Jesus tells us; so I take Jesus to the fabric store to look and check out prices!

At any rate, I got four yards of two different flannels for Ashley Rose for some winter nightgowns. My son decided he didn't need any "jammies" at 12 years old. I have to struggle with him to not wear his jeans to bed, and jammies just don't quite suit him right now! I guess he will just have to miss out. He will more than likely want them in January (when the fabric is NOT on sale!)

I had ordered the white lace and the little motif from Martha Pullen years ago. The motif has a darling little Victorian girl with a parasol. I was saving it for "someday" when I made myself a fancy blouse, but Ashley Rose decided she really liked it and it is really is foolish to just save things like this FOREVER until you have just the right thing to put it on, so I attached it to her night gown. My mom died 10 years ago, and she still had half of a bottle of Channel No. 5 that she saved for "special occasions"; those occasions didn't seem to come often enough during the forty-year life of that bottle of perfume! I decided to use my things and enjoy them or let Ashley Rose enjoy them instead of saving everything for a special occasion that never comes.

Here is the other night gown. I used another motif with a rose on it in the center of the yoke, and then I used (I think it is called "beading", but am not sure...it is that lace that looks like a ladder than you can run your silk ribbons through) the "beading" and purple silk ribbon under the yoke.

Better picture of the front:

Well, all for now! Take care! Enjoy the rest of your summer. We start our home school on August first! Wish me luck!

C. C.

Don't Judge a Quilt by its Backing

2010-07-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the backing to my most recently finished quilt. I wanted a table quilt and so I designed something I liked, then I figured I may as well use scraps for the backing to be more frugal. This quilt measures around 45" square. And here is the front. It turned out just as I wanted it. I couldn't find a pattern for this design, and am not sure I even placed the blocks properly (I actually don't even know the name of the pattern I was trying to do!), but at any rate, I wanted it to holler "butter" since it is for the kitchen table, and I wanted a soft French Country sort of feel to it.

Here is a flag quilt (a "Little Quilts" pattern) for the 4th of July done in 1930's reproduction fabrics. I hand quilted this one several years ago. I really like these small quilts for something to do and take with you while waiting and you can get them done in a hurry, relatively speaking! They still take hours to finish...

Here, Miss Ashley Rose, my nine-year-old daughter has done a little 4th of July display in the pitcher and bowl. She picked these three things (the two flags and "sparkler" deal in the middle) out at Hobby Lobby. I gave her a VERY tight budget ($2.00) and she came in at $1.50 because the things were on sale. Then we put a tiny log cabin quilt I made years ago with it to round it all off.

Here is the mantle. I wish I could take better pictures! The colors are so rich and vibrant, I am afraid it just isn't coming across. I made two of these mantle quilts about seven years ago for a different house we lived in, and I still love the way it looks draped over the mantle. I really like whimsy.

Speaking of whimsy...here are some finished painting projects I've done so far this summer.

The "Dear Santa" little board will hang from this polar bear with some organza ribbon.

And here it is closer so you can see the naughty snowmen having a snowball fight with each other. I added the snowballs in their hands (it wasn't on the pattern) with snowtex. Actually, I was covering up a white paint blob mistake, and decided since it looks as though the snowmen are looking at one another, that they should just be preparing to launch snowballs at their unsuspecting friends.

Here is a little angel ornament. I still have some work to do on her hair (that is sort of challenging to paint).

Miss Ashley Rose did this little box.

And here are two sleds. One is for us, the other for a dear friend. These could quite possibly be considered "crude" or "primitive" because I cut them out of a 1"X12" with a coping saw. My husband has been very busy on a project of his own, so I decided that I could cut them out myself. I traced the design and went to town with my son's coping saw. Then I took a horse hoof rasp (not a good idea, a-hem) to smooth it out, taking rather large chunks out of the back of the sleds around the top heart shape, and leaving it all rather rough! What can I say, the front looks o.k. I am now waiting patiently for my husband to cut out the runners and attach them to the sleds. The little sign under the tree says "Snowman Tree."

All the painting patterns above are from Jamie Mills-Price. The one's below are my own doings.

This "Laundry Soap" jar is for a friend who likes my home-made laundry soap. She insists on paying me for it, and has really over-paid me, in my opinion, so to make it up to her I decided to paint on her jar. Perhaps she will not feel like I am making it up to her at all! But I think it turned out o.k. for my first jar painting.

It turned out so well (in my opinion), that I decided to do a quart-and-a-half sized jar for us for our tea bags. My pantry is in a state, so this is my first effort at dolling it up. I was inspired by Kari over at A Little Grace and Charm with all her pretty labels. I am not sure about the lace on the lid; it is easy enough to remove it if it gets in the way too much.

So that is that! My goal for the summer was to improve on my painting skills, and I have many whimsical pieces to show for it and I do feel like I am improving. I certainly won't win any awards and don't care to! I just want my husband's home to feel like a slice of heaven to him, and so I constantly try to work on that so this won't feel like a cookie-cutter decorating style. It will be all done with love in my heart for him and our kids.

I hope you have a creative day!

C. C.

Hello!

2010-06-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hi! How are you! I am just writing a little post about a few projects. The Halloween painting above and the Christmas one below are on opposite sides of the same board. I thought that would be better than having two Welcome plaques; I just have to turn it over from after Thanksgiving to have the Christmas one showing.

Here is another project just finished this morning. This is called a Hankie Blankie and I made two. I intended one for a baby gift for a friend, and the other to stow away for a baby gift for someone else. But, Ashley Rose loved it so I gave one to her for her hope chest, then decided she could play with it now. They really are lovely little projects (14" square or so). Minkie is sort of challenging to work with because it slides around a lot and I prefer to not pin; but you just have to pin when you work with it! It is also not terribly easy to embroider on this fabric. Oh well, it still turned out soft and cute, I think.

There Miss. Minkie is, striking several poses for you!

Have a good day!

C. C.

Update on Learning to Paint

2010-06-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hello! I am still working on my decorative painting skills. I have set myself a goal to paint almost everyday this summer so I can improve upon my skills.

Here is an antique door knob I got off of e-bay. The antique door knobs I had been finding here in town were around $144.00! Give me a break! I think I got this one for around $5.00 (plus a lot for shipping and handling, of course; but it is the principle of the thing!) I have to figure out how to attach them to the board I painted; I wanted a coat rack type thing. Here is another knob.

This knob below I bought at Hobby Lobby for $5.00 or so. I wasn't real happy with the brightness of the leaves on my board, so I did a washy white paint over the whole thing, but I think it is rather too washed out now. I suppose I ought to go back and highlight the leaves now. I haven't decided.

Here is a Jamie Mills-Price pattern on a little sled I bought last year through the mail (don't ask me where, I can't remember!)

Here is another of Jamie Mills-Price patterns which I painted upon one of the band boxes my husband generously makes for me.

Another Jamie Mills-Price pattern done on a very large (I think 16 or 18 inch) clothespin. I used some Snow-Tex and then some Jo Sonja's Opal Dust (neat stuff, it is like a clear glitter paint) on the snow areas.

Here is a (side-ways) plaque. I was thinking of some pink knobs at the bottom...still thinking about that.

And here are some little ornaments (Jamie Mills-Price pattern). I couldn't find the ornaments she used in her book, so I went to Hobby Lobby and got some wooden balls (they have holes drilled at the top) and some wooden wheel-looking things, and glued them together, then painted away. It looks much like the ones she did, at least close enough for my to be happy with them.
By-the-way, if you want to try doing some painting, do buy good quality brushes! Order them from Jamie Mills-Price or something because if you are using your kid's Crayon Water Color box brush or something of a "Craft" quality (as opposed to an "artist" quality) you will think you can't paint a thing, when it will be the fault of the brush. These ornaments were done with a cheap(ish) liner and I feel like they look as though I used a paintbrush one uses in painting a house!

Here is what we are doing today:

Having a tea-party with my husband's grandmother. She is in the Alzheimer's unit at a local nursing home and will not remember a thing, but my Ashley Rose packed up some pretty tea things in this box and made some banana bread all by herself (I was looking through some painting books and whenever she asked a question I absent-mindedly kept answering her with, "You need to paint the batter a little longer," or "It needs to dry in the oven for an hour " What a goose I am!) At any rate, that is where we are off to now.

Not bad for nine-years-old! Actually it turned out wonderfully! She is already quite a baker!

Have a creative day!

C. C.

"Vintage Christmas" Quilt Done!

2010-05-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

I am done with my "Vintage Christmas" quilt from Bunny Hill Designs. All hand-quilted, bound and embellished.

Yay!!! It always feels good to get a project done.

Have a creative day.

C. C.

Making Lye Soap

2010-05-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made old-fashioned lye soap? I have not tried it before, but I have wanted to for years. So, I e-mailed Kari from A Little Grace and Charm because she has a recipe in her book (the book which is opened in the picture), and asked her if she really made lye soap. Yes, she said she did and she assured me it wasn't scary at all. So, I rolled up my sleeves and tried it. I read through all of my books again and then found a place here in town that sold lye (I found it at an old hardware store in the drain cleaner section) and then bought an 8-pound tub of lard. Here is the lard slowly melting in the pot.

Here is Matthew holding a glob of the lard (it smells sort of gross, but it doesn't smell in the soap).

The recipe that Kari has in her book calls for Borax (easily located at Wal-Mart in the laundry area.)

You have to add the lye in a well-ventilated area; we did this part outside. It gets VERY hot, so you have to let it cool which can take awhile. I think this batch took 1-1/2 to cool before we could proceed.

Then you slowly add the melted, still warm lard to the lye solution and stir for around one hour. Then pour into your mold (some sort of plastic bin, plastic shoe box, dish pan that you don't use for dishes). And then cover it and let it set for 18 hours or so.

Voila! Here is some lovely lye soap!

Now, if you want to "mill" it, (which apparently what people do to the fancy soaps), then you grate away (with an old hand-grater so it doesn't come in contact with things you use for food like a food processor). I'm glad I did this sooner rather than later because it is now very hard and would have been a serious chore to mill/grate!

Then you add a certain amount of water to a specific amount of grated soap (in this case 12 oz. soap and 9 oz. water) and melt slowly on the stove.

Re-pour into your mold until set and then cut into bars.

Below is some of the milled soap which I beat with the beater (one now relegated for soap making only!) for two minutes. This soap is sort of like a hard marshmallow and it floats. I think kids would like this type. I am going to label it as the "Mysterious Floating Soap."

Here are all the different types I made. They are certainly not attractive, I will admit to that. I assume with time and experience I will make them lovelier to look at! It gives them more of an old-fashioned charm, or so I have been telling myself.

Now all of this has to set for three months so it will be properly cured and last the longest when we finally begin to use it (as opposed to melting away in the shower quickly).

So there you have it. My effort at making old-fashioned lye soap. I will definitely be making some more (probably in five years when all of this soap has been used!!!)

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Are Our Children Like Wine?

2010-05-10T09:27:00.001-07:00

Hi there! Strange title, isn't it? Well, I thought I would share some thoughts today about something other than projects. Of course, I will share with you my new challenge first, which is teaching myself how to do decorative painting. I have done it more off than on for 10 years or so, but now I want to really throw myself into learning it during the summer months. So I ordered a DVD from Jamie Mills-Price (Between the Vines) and got two new paint brushes that she suggests using and $6.00 worth of paint to add to my growing collection of globby dried out paints, and we shall see where this takes us. I finished this snowman 6" clothespin yesterday.

Now, why would I suggest our children are like wine? Well, I will tell you why: the same principles apply to making wine as do they to raising children. First, you need to have the proper soil. Children need the proper environment to thrive. It takes a great deal of patience to make wine and it takes even more to raise children. You carefully trim the grape vines so that they will shape into the most productive of plants. You ultimately have to trust in the Lord to do the pruning on the mama plant as much as the pruning of her little vines.

After so long of the vine growing, you are not sure if your grapes will be fabulous or not. Maybe they will be plain and serve a common table. Maybe they will be prize-winning grapes and win awards; you take your grapes from place to place so they will be seen in the best advantage, but deep inside they are still grapes and are no better than the actual environment in which their roots are growing. Perhaps you need to adjust your soil and the nutrients (associations, tv, etc.) that your own little vines are now growing in to see that their fruits are good (as the Bible states for fruit-judging: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control).

Now comes the actual wine-making process. You have to harvest the grapes, of course. We visited a winery (my husband loves the whole wine making process) in San Antonio, TX where it was actually dangerous to pick the grapes for all the rattlesnakes that made their home in the vineyards! Now that is some dedication! The wine-maker begins manipulating the grapes/fruits to see what they have to offer: are they really, actually "good," and not just look good. Therefore, we must begin to "test" the goodness. How many good home-schooled kids do you know that adults just rave about, who are something entirely different around their same-aged group "grapes?" These negative character traits can be avoided by observation and correction, in my opinion, i.e. a lot of patience and watching. In what state is their heart? Not just how "good" they appear to be; rather, how "good" are their intentions, how "good" are their morals, how "good" are their motives for serving others. It takes spiritual discernment to see the root of sin: you simply can't "see" your child's sin without God's lenses! It is a sort of a three-d principle: the sin pops out once you get the glasses on!

In our "I want it now!" culture, I feel we are raising our 2.3 kids in the same mind-set. Now this is just an observation on my part, I have not done any research and I know this is very touchy for any of us who really want to raise our kids properly. I have heard so many times that people want to keep their kids busy so they will stay out of trouble. These are the same people who run themselves ragged to get their little ones to as many functions and sports as humanly possible so that their time is filled up in "good" things. I know when Matthew was born, I had been impressed upon that if I didn't have him in piano lessons by the time he was three, he simply wasn't going to be able to reach his full potential. Same advice for violin, dance, and gymnastics. Talk about stress! Here was a little kid who was supposed to be sitting still long enough to work on the piano each day to reach his full potential in all these things that the world says he must do in order to be "successful" who couldn't be corralled for even 10 minutes to eat (there simply was too much "real" stuff he wanted to do that he was afraid he might miss out on!) Something else occured right before he was born that convicted me. I am in no way saying we are related to the apes here! But I did watch a program on Oragatans and they nurse their babies for three years and teach them for seven before the mother is ready to have another baby. I am stating that simply because I was impressed by how much time and energy each baby took, and the sacrifice the mother naturally makes for her infants. She never once put them in soccor. She never once put her infant in lessons of any sort. She slowly and patiently tended her babies. I felt we Americans with our advanced society totally missed the boat! Matthew's Sensei (karate teacher) who has no children, but of course teaches children and sees how busy they are kept, made the comment to me the other day that kids have to be kept busy to stay out of trouble. For the first time in my life I spoke up, probably because I didn't fear offending her as a mother. I said, "I actually disagree with that theory. I feel kids need to learn how to deal with free time without being "bored" and destructive. My kids can go out and get as muddy as they want in the yard, but they can't throw rocks at passing cars. Saying they are "bored" is a filthy word at my house! They must learn how to entertain themselves in a positive way."

Back to wine-making. After the wine is pressed, it is bottled. Then comes the wait. Are we making "I want it now!" wine, in which we say with an aristocratic air, "It was a very good month." Or do we age it, patiently waiting for the wine to "grow up" and acquire it's very best quality. A depth that just takes time to cultivate. An aroma that pleases even people who don't drink wine. We don't shake our fine wine by motoring it around, exposing it to all sorts of atmospheres that would damage it (that comes later after the bottle is uncorked: the proof is to be found in the presenting the wine to the palates of the people present at the table, i.e. in the ministry where the grown-child is now serving.)

When you go to a restaurant that serves wine, a wine "house" which sells it, or a regular grocery store even, once you have opened the wine it is yours, no refunds. You can spend $500 for a bottle of wine, just to open it and find it is sour. That happens sometimes. No matter how much patience and faith we have that the wine is going to delight others, sometimes it repulses instead. Did we do something wrong? Sometimes yes, sometimes, no. The nature of that particular bottle, grapes, environment, etc. didn't suit this one batch. Sometimes the bottle matures to its best long after the wine-maker has departed this life, but the loving care that went into the bottle of wine lasts into the next generation.

So the point is? It takes time to raise a child. Rushing it around in your car while you talk on the cell phone and the radio blaring is not actually "quality" time. Neither is it "quantity" time. The principles that go into any great work of art, that the multitudes feel is time well spent (like on a sculpture, painting, bottle of wine, musical score), are the same principles that apply to us for our greatest legacies, our children. We would think it strange if Picasso were to be found to have done his greatest work of art while watching a sit-com. Or Michelagelo doing his magnificient paintings during half-time of his soccor games. Or Leonardo DeVinci thinking up all his incredible inventions while out socializing at "the club." I believe our children are miracles, full of depth, potential and personal real and actual abilities just waiting to be discovered and developed. In a sense, you have had your time to be cultivated, now it is their turn. You can not rush the great masterpieces, and your children are our great masterpieces. They are not an instant amusement. They are not a prize-winning object.

Neither are they modern anomalies. That is one thing I love about children. You buy into the latest trend on child-rearing, or the most famous, intellegent, modern child psychologist to form new opinions about how best to socialize and handle a child. But that DOES NOT CHANGE THE CHILDS NEEDS! They are still what they are: a child who needs love, discipline, direction, guidance, patience, and structure. The facts will never change, no matter which professional suggests the best toys or methods. You know the law of averages for a child to become a "Tiger Woods"? Me neither, but my guess is it is incredibly slim. Therefore, what is the law of averages for my child to become a "Tiger Woods?" Slim to none! What, however, is the law of averages for my child to become a man, a husband, a father, a grand-father, a member in a community and a professional in some money-making occupation? I actually don't know the exact figure, but I am roughly assuming it is around 95% of us make it to achieve all these "titles." So I belileve he will need actual hands-on parental training in his raising (not extra lessons for hobbies and time-consuming sports) to become the "normal, average Joe" who is going to lead the small corner of his adult world for Christ. And there is no shame in that. We need more of those people who are courageous enough to be "everyday folks." The miracles of his life (if fame, fortune, etc. awaits) I leave to God. The character, I take very seriously to myself, so that he will be prepared for God's miracles!

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

2010-04-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well, here is a quilt that has turned into a mess! (Ashley Rose took all my pictures for me of this quilt, by the way). I feel o.k. about a small sharing of aggravation here, but I'll try to be nice. First of all, I ordered this quilt as a kit, a even though I felt that the overall price was high and when it came it had virtually no extra fabric (many kits send extra fabric in case of a goof). After I got over that, I made up the quilt, which ALWAYS takes a good deal of time. Then I took this one to the machine quilters, because I had too many other projects going on to hand-quilt it, and it is a touch too large for me to run it under my own machine. So that was another expense. WHEW! Finally, it is done, the binding finished during the kids' lessons and, after seven months I am ready to wash it. Mind you, I pre-rinsed the backing which I purchased with the quilt in hot water several times to get the color out of it! Besides, the backing is more a wine/burgandy not a real red which I've found has a greater propensity to bleed. Hmph!!!! It bled. The plain ivory fabric used as back-ground is now a lavender pink. And I am sad. My kids said it looked fine, that I shouldn't worry. But, as I explained to them, this was supposed to have a 1950's feel to it, and they didn't use lavender pink in the 1950's, they used the ivory! They informed me the 1950's have blown away like so much sand and I should not be feeling sorry. I still am.

I will show you another quilt I had done up at the machine quilters next time. I am sure it is not going to bleed when I wash it. I am still trying to figure out how to make lemonade out of lemons right now!!!

C. C.

Heirloom Doll Clothes

2010-04-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hi! I just wanted to share a little gift I did for Miss Ashley Rose's friend who is having her First Holy Communion next weekend. This is a little doll clothes set for an 18-inch doll. I used white muslin made from bamboo. It is so incredibly soft! It only cost $5.68 per yard and I got 1-1/3 yard for this project. I made a little heirloom dress, a slip, bloomers, bonnet and two pairs of socks.

Here is a brief tutorial on how to make the socks. You can use a sock which fits a nine-year-old or a little smaller. Preferably one that is lightweight and stretchy. The socks with the lace attached used for dress are perfect.

If you want lace at the top of the sock, attach it first (you sew the lace while you are pulling as much as possible to stretch the sock. I actually prefer just using the pre-made lacy socks from the store because they stretch better for the doll foot). Now sew across the bottom of the ribbing. I used a small zig-zag, set on 2.0 width and 2.0 length. If the sock keeps trying to get sucked into your machine, I would suggest stabilizer or a sheet of paper underneath.

If you are a perfectionist, mark the exact center down the middle of the sock. If you are not a perfectionist, simply "eye-ball" it (this is the method I prefer!) Sew just a stitch away from the center line, up one side and down the other (this is the side seam for each of the two socks you are making).

This one below I marked the line, but I sewed too far away from it, allowing too much seam allowance. This pair of socks is extremely difficult to get on since I made them too narrow.

Cut down the middle and across the bottom. Turn inside out.

Here is one pair of socks all packaged up, with the dress as a back-drop. The wrapper on the sock I made from a page from A Little Grace and Charm book which I had ordered last month. It is just one of pictures I liked and I printed it out, then cut out the flowers and put glitter on it, then taped the wrapper around the socks.

Here on the right is another pair of socks, just in case the little girl finds the lacy ones too challenging to put on.

Here is the dress all "done up" ready for the box. Again, I used a small picture from A Little Grace and Charm book, cut it out, used glitter and tied it on with a ribbon. On the back, Ashley Rose wanted "Clarissa's Clothing Shoppe" written on there (her 18" doll is named Clarissa) so it would be like a gift from a little boutique!

These are the slip and bloomers.

Here is the little bonnet.

Here is Clarissa (she got a slip and bloomers made for her as well.)

And here is the little dress I am making for Clarissa. It is made out of silk dupioni. There is no way I would make a dress for a little girl out of silk because of the expense...but 1 yard for a doll dress just to try to work with it one time seemed like a good investment! I smocked the front of the dress by hand (something else I always wanted to try), and now I have to figure out how to do the fancy work on it.

Have a creative day!

C. C.

Shoes for 18-inch Doll

2010-04-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hi! I just wanted to share some shoes with you that I made for Clarissa, my daughter's 18-inch doll. Here I am doing some sewing for the lining sole.

Here is the underneath of the shoes.

The first fitting:

Then after I embellished them, I put them into boiling water for a few minutes so they could mould to the doll's foot.

Here they are, in the drying process.

These are the two Martha Pullen books I have been using. The one on the right is where I got the baby booty pattern out of. I used a size 0 for the top, then I traced one of Clarissa's shoes onto a paper, added 1/4" for seam allowance, then trimmed the top pattern (at the back) to fit onto the sole.

Here is one of the shoes I made for Ashley Rose when she was a baby. This wasn't done out of wool felt (because I didn't actually know what that was when I made these), I just used some cheap-o Wal-mart synthetic felt for these. Being baby booties, they never stayed on, so I just used them when I took cute pictures of her. These may be the most photographed booties in the world!

All for now! I will take some pictures in the next day or three of some 18-inch doll clothes I will be making for Ashley Rose's friend who is about to have her First Holy Communion.

Bye!

C. C.

Spring Projects

2010-04-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hi! Just updating some pictures of my quilt. I finished hand-quilting this block yesterday. I took the first picture in low light so you could see the detail of the quilting.

Here is a picture frame I did several years ago. I just love silk ribbon flowers. The frame is a "cheap-o" from Wal-Mart, and the crochet trim I got at an "antique" (it was more of a second-hand) store.

Here are Miss Ashley Rose's babies having a tea-party. They have no manners whatsoever!

Some gardening pictures of the kids.

This is a mid-air shot of Matthew cultivating the garden. This is actually my favorite part of gardening; I am actually completely enthralled with compost, but most people don't care to discuss the ingredients in their compost pile in polite society! (Trust me on this! People don't enjoy speaking of manure at the table...)

This is the life!

Have a good day!

C. C.

Homemaking Journal

2010-04-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share my Homemaking Journal with you. I put this together quite awhile ago, but haven't gotten into the swing of using it until recently. Here is the front pouch. The heart-shaped and the rose-colored bits are post-it-notes. I am so stingy with them because I love them so much, so they are actually probably six years old and only 1/8th of them have been used!

Here is the "Schedule" divider page with all of the calendars behind it. Incidentally, although I have no Toile fabric, I am simply crazy about it. I actually had some curtains in our previous home from "Country Curtains" that was what I would call a Toile lace with images of 16th century peasants carting their wheelbarrows and children sitting under trees.

So here are the calendar pages I am using. (I am showing June just because I've written all over April and May!) I can't tell you how lovely all the products from A Little Grace and Charm

are. I ordered her little downloadable books, and they get e-mailed quickly to you, then (since I don't have a printer), I took the USB down to an office copy store and had everything printed out. I just LOVE these things...I have not found anything that has appealed to me as Kari's work has.

Here are the dividers (the front and the back) to the "Domestic Arts" section.

Some more of Kari's organizing products. I am sort of stingy (apparently I am very stingy with many things!) and I am using one page for four different quilts.

Here is the menu section divider. I got all of the scrapbook things from Hobby Lobby. The recipes at the top of this divider is for "Possum Stew" and "Mouthwatering Fried Catfish" (definitely a scrapbook paper - I don't know that I would like "possum" in any form).

Here are the menu planner pages. I printed out enough for one month, than I wrote down a different supper on each night (so 30 suppers worth), and now I can just rearrange them so I won't always have chicken enchiladas the same week we have meat loaf, etc.

Now, one of my personal goals for my entire life (those are terribly hard to set!) is to be a life-long learner. So I am always reading books which will improve me as a wife, mother, homemaker, Christian. In this section of my Homemaking Journal are some notes that inspire me which I wrote down from "Fascinating Womanhood," so I can refer to them to stay on track. I also have in this section various articles from Ladies Against Feminism that have really touched my heart or get me motivated to clean something!

I haven't actually used the Bible study portion, because I have several little notebooks that I do my Bible studying in. But it is honorable to have a lovely divider for the purpose anyway.

Here is the trip portion of the journal. I intended to do some note-taking on any trip we happened to take, (my grandfather used to do that, including all the gas mileage from every time he filled up his car!), so I thought that would be nice...but gas mileage on a trip twenty minutes away to hike in the same place we usually go doesn't make me feel sentimental! So I haven't done anything with it yet.

Under the "Cleaning" and "Gardening" tabs I have notes I have taken from some of my books or library books as well as two of the e-books (I think that is what they are called) from A Little Grace and Charm.

Life is so good. There is so much beauty to experience. Set your hand today to do something creative and beautiful, even just cleaning off the coffee table! You and your family will be blessed because of it.

C. C.

Spring Time Projects

2010-04-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I thought I would share two projects I am currently working on.

First of all, here are some little lovelies I did last year. Since I don't have any new felt or painting projects going I decided to just show the "old" ones. I designed both of the felt candlemats. These are really so much fun and so easy...if you are looking for a neat little project to do that is portable and fast, here you are. Just draw little shapes out of paper and arrange them on a 5" circle until you get the size and design you want, then cut out those same shapes from wool felt and blanket stitch down. Here also are some wooden eggs I painted. The aqua and small pink with white polka dots have Christmas candy canes painted on them (I turned that part upside down for Easter!). The large ones, as you can see, have roses painted on them.
Here is Miss Ashley Rose modeling her semi-broomstick skirt (she is in third ballet position, if you are wondering) . I made myself one, but miscalculated how many strips I needed for her and so out of the last bit I cut pockets, then realized I needed that amount for the lower tier on her skirt. So it is not an official broomstick skirt, just a "semi" one!

Here she is in "arabesque" ballet position.

And here I am 1/2 through with my hand-quilting of "Vintage Christmas" quilt from Bunny Hill Designs.

This has gone so fast for some reason. I am quilting the backgrounds (from 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches apart), which I never do by hand, and it still seems to be going very quickly. Maybe because I don't have a personal deadline for it and am just working on it a few hours a week instead of hours on end.

I hope you are having a wonderful Spring!

C. C.

A New Dress For Clarissa

2010-03-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

Hi! Here is Ashley Rose's doll, Clarissa. She was in need of some finery, so I made her a new dress.
The dress was made from fabric, lace and pattern from Martha Pullen. The bonnet I made my own pattern (based on old-fashioned handkerchief bonnets).

Then we decided Clarissa needed a new slip and bloomers to complete her ensemble. Her socks were made out of one of Ashley's which did not have a match.

Happy sewing!

C. C.

Going Out on a Limb

2010-03-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

Hi! The "real" post starts after these Santa Claus pictures! I added them at the end and couldn't figure out how to move them to the bottom of the post!

That was a "quick" project to take some time up in January.

So here is the start of my post (hee hee):

Hi everybody! Long time, no hear from, huh? Sorry. I have been going through the valley of the shadow and haven't really done much of anything!

Here are two pictures of my car...Matthew thought he would be real funny and put a cardboard handle on top of it (some people call the Scion XB a "lunchbox" so he thought he would make it into a lunchbox.) I thought he removed it, but after driving around town I realized he hadn't!

So, anyway. I usually don't share much of a personal nature with anyone. Especially not on a blog! But even with people that I know face-to-face I don't tend to share a great deal. But I thought perhaps this might be a help to someone, so I will take a chance and go out on a limb here. I have been suffering from anxiety attacks (about two to five a year) for around seven years. I thought is was horrifying pms because of when they would occur. Now I realize I have been setting myself up for this for my entire life and pms just sort of compounded the anxious emotions, working itself into a panic attack.

Of course holidays are always stressful, but I got through those o.k. Then on January 12, my husband had an accident in the truck. He has been in COUNTLESS accidents since our marriage, but none of them had been his fault; they have been things like an elk running out in front of him; when he was stopped in a traffic jam a van rear-ended him going 45 mph; getting up over a hill going 65 mph just to discover an entire tire with the rim, etc. still on it right in his way. I could go on. These are just the vehicle accidents. But this was, for all intents and purposes, his fault (whereas the others were some sort of "divine will" in my mind - easier to accept). He hit a concrete pilaster barrier in a road construction zone at 9:30 at night. The truck's frame wasn't bent, but the rest of the truck was! The air bag exploded in his face (not a good thing!) and he has a dent in the back of his head, and his eye has been affected. Well, I thought I was doing fine through it. I thought I was handling everything o.k. But then on my daughter's birthday it was very over-cast and rainy and she was so excited for her birthday that I felt pressure to give a wonderful birthday. The long and the short of it is, I had an anxiety attack that lasted day and night for eight days! I thought I was losing my mind. The fear is just over the top and you can't say, "Just quit it!" or even "Trust God to pull you through!" I was quoting bible verses and deep breathing and taking herbs and homeopathic remedies and perusing the Internet and trying EVERYTHING. Finally, after visiting with a friend, she urged me to go to the doctors, which I never do. But it was so bad I finally did go and now I have to take medicine for a whole year. The doctor said that it has to do with serotonin uptake in the brain, but I can tell you that maybe true, but my attitude and emotions have brought this on.

Like many people, I grew up in a dysfunctional household and I had a deep fear of abandonment. The ultimate abandonment is, to me, someone dying and here my husband was in a crash that could have killed him. This has just opened up so much vulnerability in my heart! I promised myself to begin a healing journey this year, so at the end of the year I won't have any need for taking medicine. So for my fortieth birthday (which came and went during this awful time), I went to the bookstore and found two books. I highly recommend both of them.

You can probably see the title and the author well enough. The one above is very direct about God's role for us women to our husbands, which I found refreshing. The one below is a tear jerker! Wow! It is explaining to me the love God has for us and the hiding we do because of all the messages from others we received and then believed. God doesn't think that we are losers just because some human told us we were. God doesn't want us to be lonely because we feel we are not "good enough" to allow anyone into our hearts. If they really know me, they won't like me, we think. God wants us to feel special, as His beloved brides.

So there is that! Aside from my world turning upside down (or inside out), the kids had made the comment that I seemed more excited taking pictures of my projects for my blog than I was in making the projects for my home. So I felt a tad convicted, and decided to not be on the computer so much. It's just that grown-up women appreciate your work more than young children!

This is my Amish Family. They just recently had a baby and have made their new sweetheart a quilt. I also finished my first doll-sized quilt (the bars quilt on the "bed") entirely by hand. It pieced quickly during dance lessons and quilted fast, too.

I had gotten this kit with the hearts on it when we were on vacation in San Antonio. I hand-quilted it. This size project is nice, because I love so many different fabrics, but don't want huge amounts of certain ones around the house.

Here is the spring quilt I did several years ago. My husband says it is his favorite of all the quilts I have done.

Since October, I finished this top shown below (both of these are from Bunny Hill Designs, by the way). I hand appliqued it and for embellishments I think I'll make tiny silk ribbon roses and also place store-bought beads around. I am planning on finishing my Baltimore Bunnies quilt first and hand-quilting it, then hand-quilting this Christmas one. However, when I got the materials for the border for Baltimore Bunnies I about wept! There were 14 scallops, 30 flowers along with small center circles, 60 leaves and 8 bunnies with ears and tails! I was totally overwhelmed by it! But slowly I worked at preparing all the pieces, and I am almost done appliqueing the scallops, then I will do the flowers, leaves and bunnies. When I am working on a project I always do as much of the finish work during the time I am working on the quilt that I can. I do the binding the very first thing, then I cut the entire thing out, then while I am working on the blocks I might piece the backing and do the label. If I don't, I dread finishing them (because, face it: binding doesn't stir your heart!) So Baltimore Bunnies has been hard because I couldn't work on the end bits the entire time I was doing the top.

I hope everyone is doing well! Spring is upon is here in New Mexico and will soon be everywhere!

C. C.

Pumpkin and Box

2009-10-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! Here is Matthew's scary pumpkin! He designed this eye-patch guy with wire all by himself! I was very proud of him.

Here is a silk-ribbon composition I did. My husband made the band-box and I did the flowers. A friend of mine was wanting a hand-made gift for her sister's wedding and asked if I would come up with something. I rather like it.

I did an insert with some cream velvet over a piece of cardboard and batting.

Have a nice day!

C. C.

A Few Halloween Projects

2009-10-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

I finished my hooked rug! This is the first one I've successfully completed. (It's not square, I know, but I'll just call it "primitive"). My husband was always told when he was growing up, "Do something, even if it's wrong!" so I've adopted that for myself as well, so even if there are glaring errors on a project - I continue working on it, even if it's wrong! Directly above the pumpkin it says "BOO". It's sort of weird. Not really the sort of thing (design-wise) I tend to spend much time on making...but it adds a certain touch of whimsy, I guess. I think what I was really after was the primitive feel and texture for a fall piece. I also wanted to work on my rug-hooking skill; it takes some doing to figure it out, let me tell you!

Here are some placemats I made (they are all four the same as this one!) I wanted something fast and bright. For Halloween, since it is just for the month of October (unlike Christmas which can (and should!) overtake your whole house for what seems like many months) I wanted something somewhat garish and whimsical. We won't have them out long enough to get tired of them but it adds a brightness and childlike quality.

Here are two jewelry bags I made. I'm not telling you where I got the pattern because it was crummy and not worth what I paid for it! I'm not sure the pattern maker could have made it more tedious and difficult than she did, when this is an extremely simple and forgiving project! But I "fixed" the directions for myself for any future jewelry bags. If you care to make any - just use your dinner plates for the large circles and your sandwhich/lunch plates for the small inner circles.

Here they are opened half-way so you can get a peak at the little pockets.

Here one is opened all the way (well, almost all the way) so you can see how simple it would be to use your two sizes of plates. You simply sew the smaller circle in eight pie-shaped wedges from the center circle (I suppose you could use a coffee cup for that circle) to the edges of the pink doll circle; that, of course, is what forms the little pockets.

Ashley Rose (all of eight-years-old) told her dad and I the other day, "You know, I AM getting to the age when I need some diamonds!" Mercy! Not JUST yet, please! I informed her that was her future husband's concern, not ours! Bless her heart! Lol.

So, there you have it! A few projects finished up and now I'm ready for Christmas cross-stitching and sewing some pillow cases in the next couple weeks for the kids "just because."

Have a good day!

C. C.

MY HERO!!!

2009-10-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

I just had to tell you about my HERO! my husband! We are renting this house and it had a windmill not 30 yards from the house (even closer to the landlords house, who is our next-door neighbor). This windmill SCREECHED continuously! I'm not talking about the pleasant whine of a rural windmill out of a John Wayne movie that makes us all want to live on a ranch. I'm talking about the stuff nightmares are made of. I mean to say this sound would drive you to utter distraction night and day. To compound the problem, the thing is covered in trumpet vines so you can't simply shimee up it and "fix" the sound. Well, my husband did just that! After 16 months of of living here and listening to the sound that I was sure would send us all to the crazy house, Rob decided enough was enough and climbed right up there and fixed it. Ashley Rose (who was absolutely distracted by it) said she worshipped the ground he walked on and picked him flowers and made him (with some help) some monster chocolate chip cookies.

The wind was blowing some, which makes it very dangerous because the blades of the windmill will rotate around and sweep you off the contraption. Rob has seen guys get swept off before and he said it isn't pleasant! I asked the landlord how long it had been squeaking away, and he said he has lived here 18 years and it screached since he moved in. I thought he was simply not sensitive (in some miraculous way!) to the noise, but he just never could find anyone to climb up there and fix it. He knocked $200.00 off the rent next month for Rob doing that for him. So this morning while we were reading, I told the kids I felt I had gone deaf because I could see all the leaves moving in the wind, but without the SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH! Oh, I simply can't describe the relief. Thank the Lord for a handy husband!

Have a QUIET day!

C. C.

A Painting Project

2009-09-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Rob gave me one of his band boxes so I could paint on it...he wasn't sure he trusted me with it but he went ahead and let me have it and this is what I did: This is the first painting project I ever designed and painted. It certainly won't win any blue ribbons, but it turned out exactly how I envisioned it.

Here are some more people for the Girlie Blocks I did. The one on the far left is Matthew's secret agent, then Ashley Rose did the next one, then there are two ballarinas, then a soccor player for Matthew's friend, then on the far right is mine (a peppermint!).

Here are three more pictures of the band box. I don't think I will ever get the hang of floating the darker shadows under the design...some times it looks great, other times it looks awful - this one is somewhere in between. This is the back view. I sealed it with "Spar Varnish" spray; I hope it doesn't yellow.

Here is the front. I don't feel like it was "finished", I was going to paint something on the top; but after I got this far I didn't want to keep pushing it and painting on it until I ruined it, especially since Rob made the box! So if I just can't leave it alone, I will do a silk ribbon flower or something later. I'll let it rest for awhile and see if I still feel like it needs something later.

Have a nice day!

C. C.

Rug Hooking and Quilt Blocks

2009-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Working on a rug hooking project here. (It says "Boo" right above the pumpkin). This is sort of addicting, but it does take some working on to get the loops nice, as well as figuring out what sort of wool would make the nicest loops. Here are blocks eight and nine of my Baltimore Bunnies. WHEW! Three more to go then the borders and I'm DONE! I hope I get my second wind and finish out strong...I've come too far to quit now! After nine blocks, I think I am getting somewhat better, which is really all I wanted to do: improve my applique. The itty-bitty pieces and the points on small leaves still give me trouble, but I am forgiving of myself and just forge ahead to get the block done.

This one above here, I was just finishing up during dance class and the ladies and I were visiting about the weird way they are teaching elementary math in the schools around here right now. I guess it got me upset (the education of children is my absolute passion!) and the bunny on the left ended up with a very sad eye! I think I'll leave it, it doesn't show too much and adds variety to life: the joy as well as the sadness of it.

Have a nice day!

C. C.

Thank You, Shell May!!!

2009-09-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

Look what I won! Shell May from Tales From the Raspberry Rabbits had a giveaway and I won! YAYYYYY! Drumroll, please......
An awesome quilting book! The pictures are so pretty; I can't wait to read it.

and a pretty card she made herself and, could it be? Yes! It is! Chocolate! And you know, the whole package smells of roses! The white bunny on the right is a lovely hand-crafted rose-scented soap! What a lovely surprise!

Thank you so much, Shell May! What a thoughtful giveaway you had; I'm so lucky to have won!

C. C.

Needle Felting

2009-09-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hi! Just wanted to share with you some budding artists. We got some wool roving the other day so we could learn to do needle felting. So far the kids are the ones who have tried it. During reading they got one little project done, and the next day during reading they got the other.

Matthew made a pumpkin (they didn't have any pumpkin colored roving in yet so we had to improvise with two similar colors), and then a chicken on a nest. Ashley Rose made a pumpkin with hair (on the right) and a "little dude" on the left with huge hair.

Here are a few more views of them outside.

We actually got some rain here last night; it's still dripping off the table.

These were really fun for the kids...maybe I can do one sometime soon, too.

Have a nice day!

C. C.

New Fall Pillowcases

2009-09-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

I just finished whipping up some new fall pillowcases. Last year I used my spring-time pillowcases all through the fall and winter, which did not go with the quilt that was on the bed...so this year I determined to do some fresh pillowcases.
The bottom picture here is pretty true to the color. The green is like that army green you find on those scratchy wool blankets. These are somewhat longer (by maybe 8 - 10 inches) than regular pillowcases because I wanted a romantic flowing of ruffles off the bed.

Have a creative week!

C. C.

Wool-Felt Project

2009-09-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

Hi! I just wanted to share with you a little wool-felt project I made last night. Her name is "Belindy" and I purchased the kit in San Antonio when we were there during the summer. The gal who designed it is Gloria Suarez-Bineham and she has "Barn Cat Primitives." I tried to do a link, but the computer kept saying it couldn't find her website, so I am sorry I can't give you a link over to her.

Here is a "Chinese-y costume" I made for the Nutcracker coming up in December. Ashley Rose is a mouse. We all have to help in some way, so I offered to sew. I am usually the person who always signs up to bring chips at a potluck; you know, I always take the easiest of assignments! But this year, since the kids are finally old enough they don't need me every second, I decided I would get out of my comfort zone and actually do something this time.

Pardon the wrinkles. This is that very filmy satiny sort of fabric. I've never worked with it before; it was challenging slipping all over the place. The gal in charge of costumes drew out a pattern (no pages of directions! Yikes!), gave me the two colors of fabrics and told me to do whatever I wanted with it. Double Yikes!! The pattern was way too small, so I added around three inches to the sides and still it fits Ashley Rose like a glove! (She was my model - the girl who is to wear it is around the same size but much shorter) So I don't know if it is going to work; I've never made this sort of thing before...I sure hope it's o.k. I'm not sure I want to make another! Hee Hee.

I like the trim; I think it will be just flashy enough for the stage.

Have a nice day!

C. C.

Fall is in the Air!

2009-09-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hello! Fall is finally in the air a little here in southern New Mexico! One can finally get a good nights rest without roasting...things are good.

Here is a wool felt project I did a few years ago. I just love it! I keep it out most of the year, as a matter-of-fact. Here is a punchneedle project I just finished. I got it off of Primitive Betty's blog. She offers some of her patterns for free. The back of this little punchneedle I did in black velvet. The little tabs are a tan-colored velvet ribbon, and the ribbon is black organza.

I had to show you in a few different settings; trying out to see where I like it the best.

Now these band-boxes shown below my husband made this weekend. Everytime he starts to do one of these I ask who he is making it for and what a nice Christmas gift it would be to give...everytime he is finished I claim them for my own! I can't help it! I love these band boxes!!!! I have three sets in storage (one for each of the kids' hope chest and one for myself) but I just don't feel I can ever have enough of them! He will do some finishing work on them (seal, varnish), and I sort of want to try to do a punch needle for the lid of the smallest box...but they are so very nice just as they are, too.

Have a nice week!

C. C.

"Quilt Shop" Decorating Style

2009-09-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I have just been posting away these days!

I have been analyzing my decorating style for some time now. I just LOVE 30's fabric (as well as the "farm fresh" 30's feel in certain decorating schemes). I also LOVE Thimbleberries; I've been a fan for many years of Lynette Jensen. I really LIKE primitive decor items, as well as Colonial. And of course, then there is the whole feminie Shabby Chic which I have been drawn to (before it was given its name!) since I was little. I LOVE Holly Hobby, as well as Victorian dolls and Victorian decor. How does one put all this together?

I never felt too good about spending much on decoration, but I never mind about spending money on quilting/cross-stitching/painting projects. I guess I feel I am spending money on one-of-a-kind hand-made heriloom projects so I justify the cost of money and time. So that leaves me with basically only my hand-made items to decorate with. That means: Lots of quilts and cross-stitches and some painted items, too! So, since I don't exactly fit in with "Colonial," and I don't exactly fit in with "Shabby Chic"...where do I fit? Well, I invented my own style! That's what I did! And I call it "Quilt Shop" Decorating Style. There! Now I have my own permission to put out what I want, when I want, where I want without feeling guilty that it is too much of a hodge-podge.

So here we go for my "Quilt Shop" style fall decor! Above we have a lovely cross-stitch called "Grim Gourds". I got this pattern from Nordic Needle a couple of years ago. It is done on linen with hand-dyed threads (note: ALWAYS thoroughly rinse those hand-dyed threads! They bleed profusely all over your hard work if you don't!)

Now we have a lovely punch-needle project beside a hand-painted birdhouse. This is one of the most versatile little projects I have ever done: the chocolate color of the house goes perfect with Easter (in fact, the name of the paint is "candy bar brown"), the little orange dots matches it up perfectly with fall as well, and of course you can't forget the jacquard ribbon!

Here we have a bright red colandar with a wonderful smelling candle on top of a pink and black Amish quilt square.

Pillow covers are always so nice to change up the decor and they are very washable, they take up very little storage space in the off season, and they are very eye-catching. If you like rather sparse decor, it is one little pop of seasonal color and certainly won't cause trouble with cleaning around, etc.

This swag stays up all year. Although this isn't exactly a spectacular picture, you can see a little copper holder (on the right third) and a black little lamp and on the far right that is a barn-red candle pan with a hurricane globe on it.

I have here a stack of quilts on my grandmother's bustle chair. The red and white quilt was made by a grandmother I believe (but no label, hard to say for sure), then we have a Shabby Chic type quilt, then a Kim Diehl yo-yo table runner, then a Thimbleberries Halloween pillow. All there with my Amish dolls (do you see the mama holding a little one under a tiny quilt? and the miniature clothespin bag I made for her to hang out her family's clothes?)

I know this is a hodge-podge, but when you decorate with "Quilt Shop" style - almost anything goes, in my opinion!

Here is another Thimleberries pillow. Hand-quilted. I just love it. I made that same pattern in Christmas fabrics as well.

This is a log-cabin quilt hanging on the wall. It helps make the room feel cozy and cuts down on echos from the high ceilings.

Ahhhhhhh.....My favorite fall quilt. I hand-quilted this one.

Matching pillows.

So there you have it. The unveiling of "Quilt Shop" Decorating Style. This will probably never exactly catch on...but now I feel completely liberated to put out whatever I want without consulting a magazine or a decorating book or an expert! So if you want to experience a quilt shop without the fear of being tempted to buy anything: Come on over and visit me!

Happy fall decorating with your very own style!

C. C.

Gingerbread Cottage

2009-09-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Hi! Today has been busy, so I'll just put it into two posts. Ashley Rose has been making a hat stand for her little friend's birthday. Her friend has American Girl dolls, so Ashley Rose wanted to make her a hat for her dolls. Then we considered doing a hat box, but the box would have to be quite large to accomodate the hat brim, so she settled on a stand. Here she is trimming the batting to fit on the styrofoam ball. I didn't get any pictures of the in-between! Sorry! Here it is all finished! She painted the candlestick herself.

Very girlie!

Here is the "Gingerbread Cottage" cross-stitch I have been working on during karate for months! I got quite tired of it; all the sudden I can't see the little holes in the linen and I had to do much "feeling" with the needle to make sure I was getting it in the right place. Oh My! I made so many mistakes! But it's done! I think this will be the last one I do on linen. It still turned out cute, I think. I am going to bake some gingerbread men that you put decoupage on (so they stay good a long time) to display with this cross-stitch.

Then I decided to paint my own frame. The place where I got this cross-stitch framed theirs in a "designer" frame. It was an 8X10" white frame with a wooden flower of some sort glued on the top. It also cost around $40.00!!!!!!!!!!!! I then decided I would do one "just as cute" for $5.00. I actually couldn't find any frame for $5.00....so I swallowed my pride and bought a dark brown one at Target for $14.99. That just about killed me! The very idea of paying even $14.99 for a frame! But I looked all over and I couldn't find one that was plain with just a little detail on it (so it wouldn't detract from the cross-stitch). Before we moved here, there was a wonderful lady that would help me frame my things - if my husband made a frame, she would cut the nice non-glare glass and a backing piece for me. Or I could get a really nice mat cut and the glass and put it in whatever frame I had on hand. After calculating a trip up to our old house to get her to help me, I decided it was cheaper just to purchase this one!

So then I painted my frame pink.

Then I put on "Snow-Tex" on just the outside edge there for some texture.

Of course this wasn't a frame for a cross-stitch, but for just a picture, so I had to tape the backing deal back on (I was trying to "make it fit!" like you do with a puzzle when you are little - I decided I better tape the back on before I shattered the glass! Hee Hee!) I really like the way it turned out. Have a creative day!

C. C.

Orange Peel Quilt

2009-08-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here is my orange peel quilt. I made it from "Remembering Adelia" Quilt book by Kathleen Tracy. (It looks wavy at the top because my quilt-holding rod is too short. This one is 37" square. The orange peels are hand-appliqued, but I went ahead and machine quilted it because the light isn't real good in this house and I have many other things going on and I didn't want it "hanging around" a long time before I could hang it up. Here is a picture with a different setting on the camera; I am not sure I will ever get the hang of taking pictures. Some blogs have pictures that look like a professional took them! Mine, not so much! But I guess you get the idea any how!

Have a nice week!

C. C.

The Beast Has Been Conquered!

2009-08-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

I finished my quilt-top! Yay!!!!! This was an horrendous project! The piecing was never ending. Usually I go pretty fast on my projects, but not this one...it felt like I would not get it finished ever!

Now I will have to save for awhile and take it to the folks who machine quilt. I have two other projects which are going to be finished this week; I'll show you when I'm done.

Have a good week!

C. C.

Yo-Yo Doll

2009-08-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Hi! I just wanted to show you this funny clown I made. I had made it two years ago, but it was so loose and the head would turn all around and I was disappointed about it. Then I was in a quilt store a few months ago and the gal had done a yo-yo bunny that looked really cute. I told her about my clown being all loose and she said you really needed to pull the yo-yos tight when you string them on. Well, I came across the clown the other day and decided to re-string it. I pulled it so tight! It is incredibly compressed; now it looks like a star fish! But at least the head is staying looking forward.

Have a creative weekend!

C. C.

English Paper Piecing

2009-08-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Here is an English Paper Piecing project I tried. It all started when I found a pattern in a magazine for a table runner. The kit was around $35.00 and the pattern by itself ran $11.00. Since I had never tried this technique before, I didn't want to invest more than a-buck-o-nine on it, so I set out perusing the internet for a pattern. No one was offering a free template for this, our library had no books on it, nor could I find wonderful (and cheap) book on Amazon on English paper piecing. So...I had to figure out the pattern on my own. I discovered you can use any geometric shape, really. I got into the kids pattern blocks and found a diamond shape (the blue plastic diamond shown below), so that is what I decided on for my flower. Here I am working on my project while Matthew is doing his math (and taking pictures).

The directions that people gave on the internet said to use needle and thread and anchor your pattern piece onto your fabric (because you fold the fabric all around the pattern), but I used some glue stick.

Here is the little project I made (the red in the center is a yo-yo). I really like it. I am not sure I would do a whole quilt with this technique, however, it did take a while and it is all sort of painstaking. Each piece of fabric has to be cut out individually (instead of in strips or blocks with the rotary cutter!) and then all the paper pieces have to be cut out (although you can buy bags of the paper templates I guess), then whip stitched together, then finally appliqued down. Still, it is a very nice effect.

Here is July's Baltimore Bunny. I am not exactly doing a blue-ribbon job on these blocks. Applique is very hard for me. So I use a glue stick to stick down all the raw edges and I still can't get the curves smooth; I have points all over the legs and flowers and ears and don't even get me started on those crazy leaves!!!...But I still think it is important to give yourself permission to not be perfect and at least it will get done. The overall effect will be nice even if the individual blocks aren't award-winning!

Here is another hand-project I have been slowly working on. I try to do three "orange peels" during any evening I happen to watch tv. There are 64 all together. This is a quilt from "Remembering Adelia" book by Kathleen Tracy. I like that quilt book, the author found a diary from the 1860's written by a teenager. Adelia says things in her diary like, "January 26 Went to spelling school...then went to take a sleigh ride after. Maria and I did not want to go. The rest acted like fools." and "February 5 Worked all day nearly, cooking and washing dishes" and "March 26 Rained all day steady. Washed and cut carpet rags."

I think I have about ten more orange peels to do, then I can sew it together. I am improving as I do each block; when I am on the last one it will probably be the best one out of the whole lot! I like the look like a young child learning did it, but the "young child" doing this project happens to be 39! I don't think I'll write that on the label.

Bye for now!

C. C.

Quick Hello

2009-08-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hi! I just wanted to share a new blog I found. It's called Sunshine Creations and she has a ton of tutorials on crafts. I put her on my favorites list on the side. I was looking up "English Paper Piecing" and her blog came up with a tutorial. She also has a yo-yo doll on there. I haven't gotten to look at everything yet, but I just wanted to refer you all over there to see some nice crafts.

C. C.

Stack 'o Blocks

2009-08-17T12:03:00.001-07:00

Hello! Just an update on a few projects.

Here we have a stack o' blocks that I am finally ready to begin sewing together! I started this project about in June, when that issue of "American Patchwork and Quilting" magazine came out. I thought it would be a nice summer project, but it got rather overwhelming. It's funny how when I am busy with homeschool, if I have twenty minutes to sew while the kids are reading or something, I can run in and sew a little. But, when I have two whole months of summer, I can't seem to work on it 20 minutes the whole vacation! Here is a perspective picture showing a lovely spool of thread beside the tower of blocks!

Now I have to turn this mess:

into 22 of these strips:

This quilt on the cover of the "American Patchwork and Quilting" is the one I am making. I don't think I have made a quilt yet that is not scrappy; I like too many different fabrics to settle on using only one!

Now, since this magazine has been out for ump-teen months, I have looked at this one so often ("Americana Rose") that now I have to make it as well! I am dreaming of a kitchen in my (hopefully) near future (no actual plans yet...but we girls like to plan in advance!)

Here it is on another page. I actually already ordered the fabric in from Shabby Fabrics. I felt like a Christmas shopper trying to get the last "Tickle Me Elmo" doll when I saw they only had five kits left. It's probably a good thing I don't watch that QVC shopping network! Scarcity causes me to act impulsively. I am a complete menace at an auction! My husband and I carefully avoid those places; I turn into someone I don't recognize - I don't even buy stuff at the mall but take me to an auction, and I buy the most unneccessary things.

Well, have a nice week. I will post a picture of my two Baltimore Bunny blocks and another hand project I am working on next time.

C. C.

Halloween Costumes Already?

2009-08-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hello! You read right! We are already working on a Halloween Costume for Ashely Rose. She is incredibly organized (she already has several Christmas cards and gifts made!) so she has settled on being Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz for Halloween. She was worried that Wal-mart wouldn't have the costume this year, so she thought I should make one for her. My plans are for her to do the majority of the sewing and I will help her a little. I think a costume is the perfect outfit to learn to sew on; if you make mistakes it's just not a big deal. I'll keep you posted on the progress. I thought I would post some pictures of Ashley's doll house interior and pretties. Matthew took apart our old lawn mower last weekend, which I guess was a delightfully greasy project! But I didn't get any pictures of that. I don't think of the camera until the event is over. So it is more girly pictures for now!

Here is a little wool hat Ashley made. You just have to put the circle of wool in hot water, then stretch it over a cork or bottle or something and then wind a rubber band around it overnight (that shapes the crown). Then you glue the brim on and put some ribbon and flowers on the front.

This is Ashley Rose's own design. Can you guess what it is? (I'll tell you at the end.)

Then she decided that her dolls needed a trapeze. We aren't trapeze folks; I really don't know where she got this idea! So she and her Papa went to the hardware store for some dowells and paint - her choice - and worked on this. It actually turned out really cute, I think. Those little swings make full 360 degree spins with little plastic dolls clinging for their plastic lives by their feet being wedged into the swing "seat". It looks like a wild ride!

Here is a bedroom. You can see the little yellow hat on the dresser.

Here is the kitchen, complete with gumball machine and toaster (with toast) on the counter to the right.

She purchased this little tv today at Hobby Lobby; she thought it was a microwave but then discovered the antenna. So it is in the livingroom I told her to not let them watch anything bad on the tv. She replied, "Oh, they won't. They have cable!" We don't have cable or satellite or anything; just an antenna, so she is a little misled apparantly! The little pillow on the floor she made all by herself. She has made about four of those same size.

Here is a dress form and a baby cradle she painted with a little bottle. I love the way she folded the tiny blanket so sweetly in the cradle!

So there is that. Every little bit and piece that is laying around the house is now scrutinized for a possible use in her doll house. Bottles are missing their caps. Every scrap of fabric is needed now for pillows and clothes. She has definitly had a good time with this!

Did you guess what that creation was that she made above? It is a vacuum cleaner!

Have a good week.

C. C.

Clothespin Bags

2009-07-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hi! Just wanted to share my latest project. I made some clothespin bags for holding different things like plastic bags, etc. for my pantry.

The one above I made for my friend who took the kids back and forth to Shuttle Camp this whole week. I also gave her some of my homemade laundry soap for her "warsh". (How many of you say "warsh" instead of "wash"?) I gave it to her this morning and she liked it a lot; she is going to put Wal-mart bags in it.

This one I showed awhile back in a different post. It was the first one I made and I cut out all the others but it has taken me months to find time/inclination to sew them! But they are done and off my mind finally and I can focus on other projects.

I hope everyone has a nice week!

C. C.

Girlie Blocks and Boxes

2009-07-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a nice summer! I have been finishing up projects and working on a Christmas gift or two.

I made Ashley Rose some girlie blocks for Christmas, then I decided since I was making her one, I may as well make her friend one for her birthday which is in November. This project took on a life of its own, let me tell you! It started with her being sad that her brother has all the neat toys like blocks and legos. So I asked her if she wanted blocks, after all, I had never seen her play with things like that before. Well, of course she has always wanted blocks, they just were boy blocks and she felt she couldn't play with those. So I was on a mission to transform some blocks into "girl blocks." I went to Target and they had no blocks! All the ones they had were plastic. They used to have a nice selection of old fashioned wooden toys, but they aren't there now (maybe they carry them at Christmas time.) So then I went to Hobby Lobby and found various sizes of blocks and shapes and went to work! After completing the blocks, I felt they couldn't just be tossed into a shoe box...so I purchased some unfinished boxes from Hobby Lobby and painted them.

This one is Ashley's. I decided they needed some silk ribbon flowers on them, too, because you can never go wrong with silk ribbon flowers!

This one below is Ashley Rose's friend's.

The purple bit and the pink in the upper right is made from velvet ribbon. I love my velvet ribbon so much that I am terribly stingy with it. Just a bit here and there in my silk ribbon arrangements! But it gave a fuzzy texture to the box which goes along with the bear I painted on the front.

Here are all the blocks.

These blocks are called "pickle barrels". They really came to life when I began putting on the little pink polka-dots!

Here are some 3/4" blocks. All the flowers were decoupaged. I was going to paint little flowers, but after spending two days sanding and painting and sanding and painting...I decided 8-year-old girls didn't really care if the flowers were hand-painted or glued on! I opted for the glue!

These are 3/4" inch blocks as well.

In the picture below, the pink on the far left are 1" blocks.

Matthew couldn't resist building a car out of the girlie blocks.

The blocks in the fore-ground are leftover pieces from a window-framing project we were doing here at the rental house.

These little purple spools may be my favorites. They are 1-inch tall.

Here are the four larger spools.

And here are all the little people I painted to go with the set. I wasn't able to keep this project a secret because I had everything out (everywhere, it seemed) trying to paint. So I let Ashley Rose pick out which people she wanted...that was quite a decision! She wanted all the cutest ones. Finally, I glued another necklace on the other purple person so each girl could have a necklaced person, each girl could have a polka-dot person, and each girl could have a blue person. Ashely Rose got the extra pink girl, and Matthew got a karate guy. Whew!

So after all the painting and box preparation, I decided the box may as well be lined to preserve the finish on the blocks a little better. Here is the final presentation when the box is opened. This is the friends box.

And this one below is for Ashley Rose. This was a fun and easy project (time-consuming, but easy). This is a project for anyone who says they aren't artistic; just sand, seal and paint your piece with three or four coats, decoupage your flowers on (these came from a piece of paper out of the scrapbook section of Hobby Lobby - just cut them all out), and then seal with a varnish or clear spray acrylic. Voila!

Have a nice week! We have two more weeks of summer then back at it August 1st. I have one quilt top to finish sewing which I will do next week while the kids are at "Shuttle Camp" (space-type camp - they build a rocket and do science-type stuff). Then back to the grind-stone. Summers seem to get shorter as I get older...

Take care!

C. C.

Potholders and Quilt

2009-07-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

Hi! I worked on a small quilt top today and wanted to share. I bought this kit while on vacation in San Antonio. The square of fabric in the left fore-ground is the backing and the brown strip there is the binding. I think I will hand quilt this, maybe with a big quilt stitch. I really like the colors - they are ones I wouldn't have picked out; it's nice to have something different outside of what you always pick out for yourself. Here are some potholders I made. I lined them with that product that withstands heat, you know the one that has the silver lining in between white batting. They are 8-inch square.

Here they are, flipped over.

Guess what, Ashley Rose? Two of them are going in your hope chest!

I hope you like them, you special girl!

Have a good week!

C. C.

June's Block Done

2009-06-27T17:33:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody! Long time, no blog! I have been trying to catch up on all the things I have wanted to read and all the projects I need to finish before school starts up again for us in August, so I have been doing those things and not blogging. I am in the last 100 pages of David Copperfield, then after July's Baltimore Bunny block is done, I need to finish up a quilt top done with civil war fabrics.

So here is June's block (wrinkles and all!): I am almost finished with this book as well.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has kids, or who wonders why men and women can give such completely different directions to get to the exact same place! One interesting thing in this book was the author's description of why boys take so much risk and girls tend to avoid it. He said that boys actually get a thrill when they are doing something risky (climbing too high in a tree, roller coaster rides and, unfortunately, drugs) where girls feel fear doing some of the exact same things. So I asked Matthew, "Why do you go off the ramp on your bike?" and I'll be horn-swoggled if he didn't say, "It's FUN!", so then I turned to Ashley Rose and asked her, "How come you don't go off the ramp on your bike?". Again I was horn-swoggled when she said, "I might get crooked on all the little rocks and I am afraid I might fall."

Something else that was interesting was this trans-gender guy went through his "trans" operation to become a woman. He said the first thing he noticed when he started taking estrogen, was that as a man the little things in life would just wash over him like nothing, but when he started taking estrogen things started getting under his skin. I don't know about you, but one side-ways look from the clerk at Wal-Mart can sometimes "get under my skin" the rest of the day! Rob, if he even noticed, wouldn't care less about it and would have completely forgotten about it by the time we get into the car!

The author also said that girls hear better than boys and some of the problem in the classrooms full of boys labled with "ADD" is a hearing issue because the boys maybe can't hear the teacher as well, so they start staring out the window (wishing they could ramp their bikes off the slide undoubtedly!) and it looks like they aren't paying attention.

The only thing I sort of disagreed about was the author had a lady in his office whose baby wanted to nurse for 45 minutes at a time every hour! He said that discipline started in the crib and she should nurse baby for 20 minutes tops and then put him down to cry until he goes to sleep. He said it was more fun to be latched on than alone in the crib so he wanted to nurse. He also said that you are laying the foundation for the child running the household throughout his life by allowing him to "call the shots" so to speak with his nursing. Matthew actually nursed just like that. I had read some things by Dr. Dobson and (although I don't remember that he addressed this issue specifically) he said that when a child is ready to pull away and become independent that he/she will do so at their own pace, when they are ready, IF they feel secure. You hold them, etc. to give them a sense of security, so I took that to mean nursing as well. Matthew never wanted me out of his sight for years (I had visions of me taking him around piggy-back when he was 18!), but you can't imagine a more independant young man. He doesn't run the house either. When he was old enough (again following Dr. Dobson's advice) to know he was disobeying, then I began disciplining him; but not when he was a few months old. Actually, the church we attended at the time he was born really encouraged me to put him on a feeding schedule. Bless his heart, before it was over with his little tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth because he was so dehydrated and we were in the doctors office with an almost hysterical new mama! After that, he ate whenever he wanted for as long as he wanted!

I hope everyone is having a lovely summer!

Thanks for stopping by!

C. C.

p.s. I don't know why I couldn't get this post to "page break". Sorry it's all run together!

Delightful Dollhouse Done

2009-06-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

Hi! Guess what I did today? That's right! I painted Ashley Rose's doll house. She lost patience with me yesterday and decided she would paint all the trim pink. She got some on the white...but overall did an excellent job. She used a big 3/4 inch brush to do it, so she actually got very little off the mark for such a big brush (perhaps because she "borrowed" my nice one? ahem!)

This was almost a year in the making. We got it on sale at Hobby Lobby because Ashley Rose really wanted her Papa to make one for her. She actually sank all her spending money she had been saving for a long time into it. So Rob fell to making it. A word of advice: if you decide you want to make a dollhouse do NOT buy a balsa wood one. If it wasn't for Ashley's fine skills of persuasion (batting her eyes, etc...) this would have never gotten done. Rob has built more things than you can shake a stick at but this one about did him in! Some kits come in 1/4 or 1/2 inch plywood (I think that is what it is) and they are just engineered better than the balsa wood we bought. She is going to have to VERY careful with this one.

Here you can peek in the windows at the wall-paper I put in.

Here is an inside view:

I have a very happy girl today! Although her doll house people have been living in this house for the last several months, they can officially move in now. If you are into miniatures at all, when we were in San Antonio we stumbled across a neat store: My Doll House. It has the neatest doll house stuff. They make doll houses (that's how I found out doll houses don't just come in balsa wood) as well as tons of stuff for a miniature enthusiast. I found their prices better than Hobby Lobby for better products (just my opinion).

Well, enough for today! I have to go organize the kitchen so the kids can do the supper dishes. Have a lovely week!

C. C.

Cover for Mixer

2009-06-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

Today the kids are out with Grandma going to two museums and out to eat. I never am without them. When you homeschool you are just together all the time. It is a lifestyle and I am used to it; I like their company. However, since they have gotten a smidge older, and after having a few very extrordinarily difficult years myself, I have taken some opportunities for a couple hours alone each week this summer. I let them off at a pool (it isn't a deep "swimming" pool, it is more of a play pool with a slide, etc.) for two hours once or twice a week. So now they are out and about with Grandma, I decided to make a cover for the mixer my husband and kids had gotten me for my birthday.

Of course someone has "offed" with my tape measure (you know, the one they cut off for me at the 1" mark! I really like that tape measure, too!). So here I am, not wanting to waste valuable time hunting around for a tape measure (hee hee) using a length of leftover binding! After determining that it is 42" around I draped the fabric over the mixer (I tend to make a lot of mistakes when constructing things without a pattern - so I like to use the actual piece to make the final determination of what size I need). This is a snug fit, so I will add a four-inch piece for ease.

Here is the sewn body of the cover, along with the ruffle, a piece of string for the ruffle and a Sharpie to mark the string with.

Here I have marked the string at the beginning/ending of the cover. I also marked the half-way point on the string. I really love ruffles but I don't really love sewing them...so I have to make it as easy as possible or I won't do them at all.

As you work with ruffles, you get a "feel" for gathering twice the length of the gather into the "straight" piece you are attatching it to. When you use this method, you pull on the string as you sew and the feed dogs keep moving the material through even while your string stays put; in other words, it strings the ruffle onto the string (I hope that makes sense). In the picture below, I have made it to the half way mark of the ruffle (I am using the seam allowance as the half-way mark on the fabric) right at the same time I have arrived at the half-way mark of my string.

This ruffle doesn't need to be "tended" much to even out the gathers. When my grandmother was teaching me how to do ruffles (she and my grandfather square-danced and she sewed a lot of ruffles on the skirts she made; what beautiful work she did!) she had me doing two rows of very long straight stitches and (PAINSTAKINGLY!) pulling those gathers all around miles of fabric. It sort of makes your fingers sore! I fell in love with ruffles and wanted them on everything, but it was with a sense of dread that I would begin my projects! Now I just zip through them.

A little top-stitching is always in order, in my opinion. A little "belt-and-suspenders" for keeping the gathers from ever being pulled off and then getting ungathered, as well as making them behave and stay hanging down properly.

Now I have gathered the cover at the top. It resembles a skirt that you have sewed the waist up: very simple design, very forgiving fit. I could have went out and found a more tailored pattern at the store, but some of those are so tedious to do! I have just found I would much rather a soft, feminine "blousy" cover that takes one hour to make (even with a ruffle), than a "professional" tailored-looking design.

Shall we give it a fitting? Not bad at all, I think!

From this back view it looks sort of like a miniature "Snuf-a-luff-agus" in a dress! EVEN BETTER! I love whimsy!

Well, that was fun to make, and definitly a very constructive way to spend some time alone! I have enough fabric left over for if I ever get a toaster! And maybe I'll even cover the blender at some point. Keeping the pantry lovely is a never ending job for me...I am terribly messy. Actually Rob takes care of that when he just can't stand it anymore (and I don't even realize it has gotten out of order - YIKES!), so I have been trying to gussy it up before he gets aggravated. Doing lovely covers for things just makes it more of an important job to keep it looking nice, I guess. I made scads of little "hats" for all the peaches and jams I used to can (just circles of fabric with an elastic string zig-zagged in to gather it and give it some flex). I guess you have time for one more picture? I'll go take one for you...

That is the "icing on the cake" after hours of hot canning just to get a few jars of peaches! After ten batches of that, with all of your hard work lined up in the pantry with the little jar hats just makes you feel like you have "done what your hands have found to do with ALL your might!"

Thank you for stopping by!

C. C.

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

2009-06-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a very special birthday boy. I didn't do a timely post about him; but we still celebrated his birthday on the actual day!

Here he is this last Christmas. He had wanted a Chia Pet for about three years...so we finally got him one. He doesn't look as happy in this picture as he actually was to receive the coveted Chia! He has had a lot of fun with it.

Here he is at a Karate tournament last October (I hadn't hardly taken any pictures with the digital camera until I started to blog back in January so I don't have too many). The karate he was in before we moved had only four belt colors and they didn't promote quickly. So this belt he is wearing was earned over the course of four years.

We moved three and 1/2 hours away last year (on the very day of his birthday), but promised him he could go back for the tournament his Senseis put on every year. Here he is doing a kata.

Today he and I went around "cold-calling" around a neighborhood for his new mowing business. "Matthew's Mowing Service." This was all his idea and, aside from running him around to purchase a receipt book and make copies of his flier, he has done everything (well, I did help him role play knocking on doors; when he went outside to knock I hurried and put on my huge fuzzy purple robe and put five curlers in my hair...when I answered his knock he was totally suprised it took him a minute to compose himself!) My, what a proud Mama he has! He is such a smart young man and very kind. I have never seen a "kid" so self-assured in my life. He speaks to grown-ups as confidently and respectfully as he does people his own age. He definitly is a blessing to us! We named him "Matthew" because one of the baby name books said it meant, "Gift from God," which is definitly what he is.

I can't be 100 per-cent sure he doesn't deserve the credit for this photo...I found it in the camera. I ask no questions!

Happy birthday handsome young man!

Love, your Mama.

A Few Projects

2009-05-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I have decided to show a picture of this unfinished birdhouse in the hopes that I will finally finish it. I have been working on it for awhile, but just can't get motivated to finish it up. It will have a Victorian feel to it, if all goes well! The above picture is the front. The picture below is of the back.

Here is a little quilt I am making for my rose tea pot.

This is a picture of it marked in 1" cross-hatching with a blue water-soluable pen.

Here is is all fitted on my beloved stand-hoop quilt frame, Esther. (The sewing machine is named "Hester" after a neat store in a town where I grew up. Esther I named from the Bible.) I probably have another week before this is finished if I will just sit down during tv time and quilt instead of reading. Oh, so many hobbies, so little time...

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day. We have two birthdays (Matthew's and Rob's) and a recital all in three days time; so it's been rather stressful. Not hectic, just stressful. "Events" sort of rattle me.

Have a good week!

C. C.

Back From Vacation

2009-05-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hello! We are back from vacation and trying to get caught up on everything. We went to San Antonio, TX: Sea World, Six Flags, Schlitterbaum, Botanical Gardens and Natural Bridges Caverns. My favorite was Botanical Gardens and Schlitterbaum (a water park). We were half a day in Fredricksburg, TX as well, and I liked the window shopping there much better than San Antonio! Every where in Fredricksburg is free parking; not so in San Antonio (YIKES!).

Here is May's block for "A-Tisket-A-Tasket". The planned block just wasn't doing anything for me this month, so I changed it to suit myself. The green yo-yos are, of course, a caterpillar (embellishments will be added after the whole thing is quilted and finished). Here is May's block-of-the-month for Baltimore Bunnies. I really like the little radish.

I bought this tea pot at the Botanical Gardens. I just love it. It reminds me of Peter Rabbit. Rob wants to start reading some Charles Dickens in the evening, and I think that tea and cookies would go just right with a good book shared as a family. (I even bought some fabric to make the tea pot a little quilt!)

Here is a nifty little gadget. This is a recipie (I think I always spell that word wrong; I can't figure out how the spell check works!) holder. I bought it in Fredricksburg at the "Amish Market" store. I am such an admirer of Amish-made things. Most of my favorite purchased wooden items have been bought at stores carrying Amish-made crafts.

Here is the back of it. It looks like a little iron. I got Ashley Rose a similar one for her hope chest. Someday I shall do a post about her hope chest. That is one of my passions; I think you would like to see some of her treasures.

AHHHHH! FABRIC! I believe it is called a "material obsession!" The one on the top is for the quilt for "Madame Teapot" (above). I am just going to do a 36" square whole cloth quilt with a white back. I think I will hand quilt just 1" square cross-hatching all over; I don't think it will take all that long. Then I will douse it with that stuff that repels stains (Scotch Guard?). The little bit of red you see in the upper right-hand corner is a colander; I got that for a candle during Christmas time. I meant to take a picture of it...I guess this is going to run long enough as it is without another picture (hee hee). My husband thought I was a nut purchasing a colander for a candle; men don't quite get the "cute container" facination we women seem to have!

Here is some more lovely fabric. There is nothing like a quilt store to inspire!

Here is a very lovely piece of fabric I found in Fredricksburg. I have never seen anything quite like it. I don't know what I will do with it. I almost NEVER buy fabric unless I have a specific something in mind for it; I got just one yard. It reminded me of my grandmother. My grandmother, who died when I was six or so, had two books "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat" and "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" that I just adored. I would look at them over and over; the artwork just was so beautiful to me. I have both books, so I may make a pockets for these two books for the kids' hope chests with this fabric.

I always loved the Mama holding her baby and the lovely little girls singing.

Here are some patterns I picked up. I had never seen any of them, but the little Sun Bonnet Sue is really something! I thought it would be tiny little applique pieces (each Sue is only 2" high!), so I asked the lady how the sample was sewn and finished. She said the little Sues are colored with a crayon and then embroidered around: no applique! They were so cute in the store. I think it will actually be a very quick little project one day soon. The little "Belindy" on the right is a wool felt project.

Well, thank you for stopping by. I hope everyone has a nice week!

C. C.

Frosting Recepie

2009-04-26T18:04:00.001-07:00

I had to share this candle with you. This smells SO good! It smells like your favorite gift store where you could spend hours! Even though it has a picture of muffins on the front, it doesn't smell like food to me which is good; anytime I burn a "sugar cookie" candle or something like that I have to bake (and consequently eat) cookies. This evening I created a white chocolate frosting recepie; it turned out really well so I thought I would share. I couldn't find a recepie using white chocolate in my cookbooks, so I made my own. It reminded me of a dear friend from high school. Her grandmother always made a red velvet cake for Ginger for her birthday every year and it had the loveliest white frosting! This frosting (shown below) is like a really fancy buttercream with a "what is in this?" sort of flavor. Now if this resembles any of your Great-grandmother's recepies, it is completely coincidental! Forgive the not-too-exact measurements of sugar; I always just pour it in until it "looks right."

C.C.'s White Chocolate Frosting

MIX TOGETHER WITH A HAND-MIXER:

1/2 stick butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

dash of salt

2 - ounces white chocolate, melted in micro-wave (heat slowly and gently! start with 30 seconds, stir, 10 seconds, stir; etc. until it is melted)

1 Tbs. milk

THEN ADD:

2 cups of powdered sugar - more or less may be needed; I just pour mine in until it "looks right"

Beat a few minutes until it is lovely and fluffy. Taste it to make sure it isn't too stiff or if you need to add more sugar, vanilla or whatever

HOMEMADE VANILLA

Big bottle of Vodka

10 Vanilla Beans (I got "Madagascar Vanilla Beans" here they are much cheaper than the

$9.00 a piece in the gormet kitchen shops!)

You will have to pour out a little of the vodka, then place all of your vanilla beans in the jug of vodka; keep it in the dark for good measure. I let mine set one whole year so it is good and strong. I actually go through the whole jug from the last year; I do share some but not more than a cup or two!

Here are some dove chicks; Matthew climbed up in a tree and took this picture.

Elyse asked for some more pictures of the chickies, so here they are! Believe it or not, this chicken below is going to be a rooster...we can tell already because the comb is just a "sneeze" larger than its' fellows. It is already more aggressive and will come out at you!

The picture directly above was taken today (April 26) the ones taken directly below were on around April 19, they grow feathers FAST!

When we got the chicken run "chickie proof" with chicken wire so they couldn't get out, this aracauna (I think that's spelled right) decided to try out the chickies old box. Aracaunas lay green eggs (not green eggs and ham, just green eggs - lol).

Here the babies are out in the pen. You can see the rooster in the middle, directly in front of the Turken.

This is Matthew (I think he was in the middle of a blink) with our pet, "Mama Hen." She was attacked twice by rather vicious dogs who killed six other hens during their raids. She figured out that to stay safe she had to be in the farthest corner away from the door of the hutch and not make any noise. We discovered that she did that when we went out to check on the hens one night and they all were startled and noisy, but she was huddled in the corner quiet as a mouse. Sort of a strange story! but she is very endeared to us because she is very "plucky" (pardon the pun!)

Mama Hen is not sure about her new pen-mates!

Turken says, "All for now!"

Have a nice week "chicks"! Hee-Hee.

C. C.

Baby Chicks

2009-04-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hi!

We got some baby chicks! Baby chicks are always nice. We already have five hens, but no Leghorns (the white chickens) until now. They were having a deal at the feed store: if you buy 50 lbs. of Start and Grow chick feed, you could buy six chicks for one cent. They sell 1,500 chicks in a weekend this way!
Here is an interesting chicken breed; this is a "Turken". It is all chicken, no turkey (I asked). Matthew named it "Turducken" after John Madden's Thanksgiving delicacy.

Here are two of them nodding off in Rob's shirt.

Here is a book I ordered "Treasury of Vintage Homekeeping Skills". I had seen this around for awhile and really wanted it, but you can't always just order what you want! I had to order some science books for the kids so I ordered this along with them last week, they came from Christian Book at a discount so I figured it was alright.

It inspired me to sew myself a cover for a homemaking journal. I made the three-ring binder journal that everyone seemed to be making for awhile, but for some reason I find it rather bulky. This little one is easier.

Here is my block-of-the-month. I was supposed to make 24 little leaves (the number "1" in the picture), but for some reason this month I felt overwhelmed with doing that! So I cheated. I made a long 1" strip cut on the bias and just pinched it every inch or so. The leaves didn't land exactly as if I did the "real" leaves, but I didn't care! This is not going on the bed; it will probably just be a wall-hanging. So I am not going to worry over the bulkiness of the leaves. (They would wear out fast if they were on a bed and sticking up that much.)

Here it is all finished. It didn't turn out as perfectly as the picture on the pattern, but I am happy with it. I think I am more "impressed" (I guess that would be the word) by hand work than I am with a perfectly turned applique piece done on machine or (heaven forbid!) edges that aren't turned under at all! So the fact that it is all done by hand makes everything alright about it, in my opinion!

Thank you for all of your kind comments on the quilt I designed. They were all very sweet!

Have a good weekend!

C. C.

Little Faithy and New Quilt Done

2009-04-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is Little Faithy Trumbull. Here she is quilting on her quilt.

Here she is enjoying her quilt she just finished.

Here she is wanting to jump off the bed because Matthew decided he wanted her quilt for his stuffed animals! (I lose more projects to my two kids! Oh well, at least they like my work...)
I just got my second quilt back from the quilters. This is the first quilt I have ever designed. Although the pattern is quite simple, it still takes some doing to get it all put together just right. I chose a hearts and ribbons design for the quilting (it doesn't show up in the pictures too well).

I sewed on the binding last night during karate and at home. It seems to take longer than one would think to sew on a binding.

Here it is on the bed. Before going to the quilters it measured around 90"X90", but after quilting and washing/drying it shrank down to around 86"X86". That is the only part I am not thouroughly excited about because I like them to hang down on the sides more.

I am never sure I like my projects when I am working on them; they have to grow on me for awhile. This one was no exception! But I think I do like it.

Have a nice weekend!

C. C.

Thank you, Pat!

2009-04-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

How Exciting!!! I won a give-away! I NEVER win ANYTHING! I am so happy! It came today, all the way from England from Pat! Thank you, Pat!

How exciting! We are all so happy for a chocolate bunny!

Look at the lovely box! I LOVE lovely boxes!

And here is what I won! Beautiful buttons! I am excited for all the things I can make with these! A wonderful silk flower arrangement maybe? Put them on a blouse? A cross-stitch?

And here is the card I made for Pat the very day she told me I had won! I cross-stitched her a little spool of thread.

Pat, thank you so much for sending me such a nice gift! I am so honored to have won!

Have a nice day!

C. C.

One Quilt Back Home

2009-04-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

I was up and in line at 6:00 a.m! I got the recital tickets! Yeah! I felt like the post man, "Neither wind, nor rain...." because it was windy and it rained (it rains so rarely that I don't own an umbrella)! I was there a total of four hours to buy 5 tickets. Ashley Rose is worth every second, of course; just a long wait.

Here is a little quilt I cut out this past week and sewed up today. These little rectangles are 2"x1-1/4".

Here I am, sewing away at my assembly-line sewing.

Here it is. the dimensions are 12" x 12". I am going to machine quilt this one, although I started it so I would have a hand-quilting project to work on during lessons. There are just too many seams to be hand-quilting it!

Here is one of the quilts I sent off to have machine quilted; I got it back last week and I sewed the binding during lessons. I dedicated it to the memory of my grandmother, whose favorite color was brown. It's always hard for me to get a good picture of the "warmth" of the colors, but this is a "warm" quilt, color-wise.

I tried to adjust the brightness and contrast (so the gold ended up looking rather red), of the quilt pattern. The kids liked the coffee cups - so there are coffee cups all over it.

Here is a picture of the backing. Since the quilt pattern was coffee cups, I chose a black fabric with little brown coffee beans for the binding..

Have a blessed Easter!

C. C.

April's Block

2009-04-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I finished my 4th block from Bunny Hill Designs. I am not entirely happy with it; even my husband agreed it wasn't my best work. I will say, however, that every time I make another applique block that I learn something new. This one was my fault due to impatients. I wanted it done quickly so it wouldn't be loitering around when my other block-of-the-month project came in the mail. So intead of hunting up the proper tools (in this case a sharpened pencil!), I just used a very dull, thick-writing pencil; since my line was so thick it skewed the size of each piece! Then I cut on the outside part of the line instead of the inside part of the line (which would have been the more accurate place.) The one lovely part of this block is the chickie - I made her out of wool felt.

It's funny, since we homeschool, you would think we would have an abundance of pencils and pens...but they disapper! I think they end up in the same never-land that socks get lost in! I buy a shameful quantity of pencils at the start of the school year, and by this time they are all "somewhere." In college I would keep the same pencil for the whole semester - sometimes a whole year! Hmmmm. Quite a puzzle.Here is a recap of the blocks up to this point:

I am itching to work with some colonial fabrics on a scrap quilt. I have a hand full of scraps that can get me started, but of course a trip to the quilt store might be quite theraputic today.

I am planning on making my chocolate bunnies on Friday (maybe Saturday). On Saturday morning I have to get up extra early to go stand in line to buy tickets for Ashley Rose's dance recital. Reportedly, last year some brave souls were standing outside at 3:20 a.m., but lots of others showed up at 6:30 a.m. The tickets go on sale at 9:00! I think people who take part in this type of madness are called "groupies." So I will join the ranks of the amateur ballet groupies! All part of the experience, I guess!

Have a good day and a blessed Easter!

C. C.

Finishing a Punch Needle and Grungy Jar Tutorial

2009-04-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hello! Has anyone wondered about punch needle or making a grungy jar? I would like to share how I went about doing those very two things!

You always have to use the proper tools when doing a project. Here is a picture of my punch needle. A few years ago, I purchased this needle, a hoop (you will want the "locking lip" variety), and some lovely hand-dyed threads from The Quilted Crow so I could learn how to do punch needle. This is a fun and relatively quick-to-get-done craft and after you purchase your initial supplies, you can draw your own designs or trace them from a coloring book (as long as the design you want is relatively small) so the cost is not prohibitive, either.
Here are my threads (I still haven't used them all after a few years because I like to work on numerous projects, but they are here when I want to reach for them).Directions for working your punch needle come with the needle. It is quite easy and straight forward once you get the hang of it. Just remember to allow NO tension on your thread at all or it will pull all your little loops out! You work from the back of the design, outlining each area and then filling it in with the colors you have chosen.

Here is the last bit of punch needle I am finishing up. To this point, it had taken me about nine hours to do this design. "Wow!" you might say, "Nine hours!" but this is a "non-brain-using" project, and you can work on it with the TV on or, like I do, while waiting for kids having karate and dance lessons.

Here is the right side of the design. It measures approximately 4"x3-1/2".

Here is a better peek of the finished sheep.

Now, after your design is finished, you want to take your scissors and clip off the big loops that stick up on your design, as well as fuzzy tail ends, etc. Don't worry about doing this - it gives a professionsal finish to your design and you can't tell that anything has been clipped. Don't overdue, of course! Only the ones sticking up!

I wanted to put a aged, grungy finish on the cloth behind the sheep; I wasn't sure how I wanted to display it so I wanted to have it all ready, whatever I decided on.

Here are some coffee grounds from the morning coffee. I boiled some water in a cup, and placed the coffee filter down into it for 10 minutes or so.

The clean up was very easy since I left the grounds in the filter.

I sponged some coffee water onto the cloth, then added some of the grounds onto it to make it more aged.

Then into a 200 degree oven to dry. Watch it carefully or it will get too dark.

After I did all that, I later decided not to allow the cloth to show. I trimmed it to one-inch around the design, then sewed it to the back so it was all hidden.

Then I began to "interview" different display methods. Do I want to frame it?

Do I want it as a doll rug in my daughter's doll house?

No....I think I will make a grungy jar. The first thing I did was type in "Grungy Jar Tutorial" in the computer to search. I really didn't find anything that would help me with the nuts and bolts, and no pictures...so I set out to use the little information I found and made my own jar. I thought you might find what I did to be helpful for making your own jar.

SUPPLIES:

You need a glass jar (I used a 1 1/2 quart canning jar), some Mod Podge, a sponge brush (I used the 1-inch size, but up to 2-inch size would be fine), ground cinnamon or nutmeg, and instant and/or regular coffee grounds. I had a little bit of REALLY old instant espresso, but not instant coffee since we use ground fresh coffee, so I used the espresso and coffee grounds with lovely results.

Sprinkle out, oh, maybe 1/8 cup of your spice and about the same of coffee grounds onto a styrofoam plate or piece of aluminum foil and mix together. Pour some Mod Podge onto a piece of plastic wrap, styrofoam plate, or aluminum foil. Working one section at a time, paint a thin layer of Mod Podge on your jar. If you use too much it will run down and won't look nice. Roll your jar into your spice/coffee mixture; you may even have to use your hands to sprinkle the stuff onto your jar and pat it down. Continue the process all around your jar. I avoided the area where I wanted my punch needle because I didn't want to run the risk of the coffee eventually staining my work. If you are wanting maybe a label or a square of cloth and you don't mind it getting darker from the spices and coffee, then cover the entire jar. (The "jury" is still out on whether the spices and coffee will seep through the Mod Podge eventually...I am just assuming it might).

I also left the bottom untouched so it wouldn't make marks all over where it was setting on later.

Wash out your sponge brush and let dry. Don't dust off any of the spices/coffee yet. Let it dry well for several hours. No sense being impatient and ruining your project!

Now, after it has dried tap on the jar to remove excess spice dust, pour yourself some more Mod Podge and repeat the process which you did before: lightly paint jar with Mod Podge, one section at a time, and sprinkle/pat with more spice/coffee.

Wash out sponge brush, let jar dry several hours.

If you are seeing light through your jar, you may want one more coat. I found two coats of spice/coffee to be adequate for myself, so I stopped here.

When it has dried thouroughly, tap off excess spices and inspect closely to see if you are satisfied with the coverage. If you are, you now want to paint a final sealing coat of Mod Podge over your project. Let this dry for several hours. I actually did my jar over the course of two days. It was effortless, really, as long as you are not expecting to finish with it all at once! Really the work time itself was probably 30 minutes total...the drying time is what takes the patience!

Now, I thought I was going to have to seal the jar a final time with an acrylic clear spray because Mod Podge is sort of "tacky" on different projects I have done, but there was no "tackiness" to the finish after it was all dried. Perhaps because the spices soaked up the tacky! Who knows! But I did not have to use the spray to seal it. At this point, it was all ready to "doll up."

I used a glue gun to attach my punch needle to the space I hadn't covered. I grunged up a piece of muslin using just wet coffee grounds rubbed into the cloth, hung it outside for 30 minutes to dry, then finished drying the muslin by ironing it (of course if it is still wet you'll want to put a towell under it so you don't stain your ironing board with the "grunge"). I tied the cloth on with a piece of 4-ply jute string.

Here is my jar! It reminds me of a lovely cinnamon roll! It has a nice texture. I am very happy with it!

Thank you for going along with me on my project. This was a lot of fun, and I think I will do some more jars to hold candles - I think the light shining through the spice would be very lovely.

Have a nice day!

C. C.

Take a Guess!

2009-04-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

What is this jumble of fabric! Why, a new project, of course! Ashley Rose ironed it all for me and then wadded it into a pile (lol)!

A BUNNY? PUSHING HER LITTLE BABY? Hmmmm. What could it be?

Could it be an apron?

Could it be a small dress?

Could it just be a small piece of redwork?

Here is a little more of a peek...the bunny is all folded up to avoid untold frustrations from sewing it into the seam!

Drumroll, please................

TA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! A lovely little clothespin bag! This one will hold plastic bags in the kitchen.

Ashley Rose loves bunnies and babies and has been having me draw some for her to color. So I drew this one and worked it in redwork. It reminds me of Anne Sutton's bunnies, but it isn't, it is mine. I am going to e-mail her a picture right away on the incredibly slim chance she ever might see it elsewhere; it would hurt my feelings immensly if she thought I was trying to steal her style of bunny without her knowing (which I'm not - it just turned out looking a lot like hers). I imagine designers get rather upset to see look-alike things around and someone else taking the credit.

Speaking of which, here is a blog Primitive Betty who has some free patterns. They are primitive style, and so cute; and how generous of her to offer to share! She even lets you make her free patterns up and sell them (as long as you give her credit)!

I've been trying to sell some jeans on e-bay - so far I am spending $12.00 of my profit (which is rather scant to begin with!) because I grossly underestimated what shipping would cost. For everyone's information, the $4.95 go-anywhere-flat-rate-envelope only fits 8X10 pieces of paper, NOT JEANS! Men's jeans cost more to the tune of $7.10! One guy bought two pairs; I put them together and charged shipping for only one (this was before I went to the post office!). He paid $1.00 for each pair, and then $4.95 to ship them both, (We are up to him paying $6.95 before fees from e-bay) then I had to pay $8.something to ship them! How funny am I? Well, we all have to learn the ins and outs somehow, huh?

Pat at The Sewing Room is having a give away! "You've got to enter to win!"

Well, I need to go make some enchiladas for supper and I hear, "But I'm not even NUMB yet!", "Don't worry, I'll numb you, I'll numb you!" coming from the living room.

Have a good day!

C. C.

Cross-stitch Sampler

2009-03-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

My sampler is back from the framers! YAYYYYYY!

Here is a close-up of the frame and mat. I chose a chocolate brown suede mat and this lovely black frame. It's hard not to catch a glare off the glass.

Here is a cross-stitch I made a few years back. Rob made the frame for this one.

And here is a large floor pillow I made. I had bought a Thimbleberries book "Big Book of Quilt Blocks", and made this square up from one of the patterns. It's like 30" square. That book is probably my least favorite quilting book; I prefer small blocks. But this still turned out o.k. I think I finally put it together because I wanted to try the cinnamon roll quilting on the machine before I did a large quilt. It is "bold and graphic" - which is what Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries likes the best (such a talented lady!).

How fun to get a piece back all framed up! It's the icing on the cake!

Have a nice day!

C. C.

A Black Bumblebee

2009-03-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

I finished my second block this weekend for Baltimore Bunnies. I gave up on learning how to do needle turn applique the "proper" way! I went back to my handy glue-stick to turn under the raw edges and then just hand applique the shapes down. It takes a fraction of the time for me to do it this way.

Here are the boys looking for a black bumblebee in the wisteria. YIKES!

He is one mad ombre, let me tell you!

The bee was vibrating the bottom of the bug catcher, I think Ashley Rose was about as impressed by that scary thing as I was!

Here is a cross-stitch I made several years ago. The sampler that I just finished is being framed at Hobby Lobby as we "speak" (I just called), so I will pick it up today or tomorrow and post a picture of it.

Have a nice day!

C. C.

2009-03-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

5 minutes for Mom is having their Ultimate Blog Party and I am joining in.

If this is the first time you have come across my blog, let me welcome you and introduce myself. I am C. C. (those are my initials and the name I have been called since I was little.) I am a Christian, married to my husband for 15 years and we have two children who are 10 and 8. I am a homemaker and have homeschooled for 7 years.

I love to sew, quilt, cross-stitch, cook, bake, and learn new things. Currently I am in the process of learning tole painting and chocolate bunny making and will be working on learning how to make pasta and raviolis soon.

I like many different types of decorating: Shabby Chic, primitive, colonial, Amish and "lived-in". I am on a quest to figure out how to combine all these different styles into one that works!

We love to hike and enjoy God's wonderful creation as often as possible.

I have really enjoyed learning how to blog and meeting some really neat people! Thank you for stopping by!

C. C.