I'd like you to meet my daughter Holly, and my first born grandson, Adam. This photo was taken about three years ago. It is so sweet I couldn't resist publishing it.

Adam is now eight years old and he is expecting a new baby sister. Holly is such a proud "Mom" and "Grammy" just wants to brag!

Happy Birthday Amy!

Happy Birthday Amy. Amy is my sister-in-law, my husband's youngest sis. She is "thirty-something" today. Amy follows my blog, so I want to wish her a happy, happy birthday.

I'm Back!

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I have posted to my blog. I apologize for my absence. I have been nursing my cracked and painful fingers back to normal. It was difficult to do any stitching during that time.

I have recently been working on my basement renovation project. I am eager to convert our dark, dirty, dingy and disgusting cellar into my crafting studio. I have about one quarter of the space almost complete. The floor is now cleaned, scraped, etched and painted (3 coats). I have been slowly placing furniture down there as I complete small sections. I am staging different areas with country vignettes so I can photograph my creations in a decorative setting. I finished painting this wonderfully large desk with deep drawers that will be great for storage. I also purchased an unfinished dresser with 12 drawers. I painted it last week and have already filled it with my fabrics and notions. Now the fun begins. I will begin decorating the space to pretty it up and make it cozy for designing, sewing and painting. I will be setting up my stereo for my musical inspiration.

Check back soon, as I have been completing a few projects that I started a while back. I will be posting pictures of them, as well as different areas of my new crafting area.

Folk Art Chicks

I am a bit depressed today because winter has taken it's toll on my hands. They're a wreck! It has been so cold this season and the air has been so dry, thus my hands have fallen victim to winter's wrath. My skin is cracked on my fingertips close to the nail and also along the bendy joints.....very painful and too sore to stitch, or do anything for that matter. I guess I will have to grease up my hands with petroleum jelly and wear socks on them to bed tonight, unless someone can offer a better remedy!

OK, I'm done whining. Since I haven't completed any crafts recently to feature on my blog, I am posting a project that I made last year. I frequently visit my local antique shops and browse for old, rustic farm stuff that I think would make unique hangers for my wall quilts. I have collected several "whiffletrees" (as pictured below) that work great for small wall-hangings. I am always thinking "outside of the box" with my creations and I am happy to share this one. The quilt design was inspired by a picture I saw in a junk catalog. I think the chicken was actually a clock. I really liked the whimsical look of it so I decided to applique three of them on a patchwork quilt and embroider "Folk Art Chicks" to bring attention to them. The applique work was done with recycled wool and the patchwork was pieced with my favorite Thimbleberries fabrics. Please click on the images to enlarge for a view of the detail.

Folk Art Wool Pillow

For all you cat lovers, I have designed a folk art cat made with recycled wool. The pillow is patchworked with Thimbleberries prints in green, brown and black. I decided to add a little whimsy with the "meow" tag hanging from the tail. I will be consigning this kitty in a local shop, but if any of my viewers ever wish to order a custom-made design of mine, I am always happy to create one. I can be contacted through email or by leaving a "comment".

Wool Candle Mats

Finally, I am back! I just returned from a week-long vacation including travel to Las Vegas and California. Upon returning from the west coast, my hubby and I retreated to our log cabin camp in the Great North Woods region of New Hampshire. There we were tortured with freezing temperatures one day and mild weather the next. We enjoyed several days of snowmobiling with our relatives that joined us.

While vacationing, I brought my craft bag (of course) and managed to design and complete six wool candle mats. I previously sold all three that I had consigned at Primitive Gatherings, so I decided that they are a popular item and I should make more. Each one pictured below is made with bits and pieces of recycled wool and some of them feature hand embroidered details and buttons. All of them are appliqued with a blanket stitch.

Barrel Stave Decor

Recently I've been cleaning and organizing my crafting space and going through bins of projects that I have made, but not yet sold. I came across three of these barrel staves that I kept from an old whiskey barrel planter that collapsed a few years ago. I painted signs on several of them, and the one pictured below I made into an "herbs" sign. After stenciling "herbs" on the stave, I glued on a mini painted pot with dried flowers, and added a raffia bow with a rusty star. The three that staves that I found will be consigned this weekend in a local shop.