Whatcha Working on Wednesday

Today I am working on a few projects that are "in progress". I can never work on only one thing at a time. I like to jump from project to project. Most of my friends are just the opposite. They have to focus on one thing at a time and won't allow themselves to begin a new project until the current one is finished. That's no fun!

Pictured below, I am working on some crocheted doilies that I whipped up over the weekend. I have no idea what I will do with them . . . yet! I may create some patchwork candle mats and attach the doily where the candle would rest. I may also create some with wool scraps.

I may tea stain some of these for a "prim" look, or I may add wool pennies to the center to make them into flowers . . . hmmmmm. What should I do?

This picture below is a needlepunch project that I also started over the weekend. I featured a picture of my materials in last week's WWW. I called the project "Pennies and Posies" and hinted that it will be a surprise. It's still a surprise to me. I haven't decided what to do with it when it's finished. Keep checking back to see the result!

Finally, another project in progress, I felt like getting out my paint and brush. I have many, many recycled slate roof shingles that I acquired (free) for painting. I began this picture yesterday by creating a background for a rooster silhouette that I will paint in the center. I traced lettering above that says "Rise -n- Shine". The color scheme will be gold, barn red and black. Check back again for this finished project.

Happy Crafting!

To see what others are working on for "WWW" check out Leslie's blog My Country Home.

Happy Birthday Holly!

Today is my daughter's birthday.

This Year's "Mother" Pillow

Back on April 4th I posted a "Mother" pillow that I had made last year around Mother's Day. I featured a picture of that patchwork pillow done in Thimbleberries fabrics. In that post I explained that I would make a couple of pillows for Mother's Day using something more "flowery". Well, I did just that. I purchased a coordinating bundle of fat quarters at JoAnn Fabrics and created two pillows. One of the pillows is pictured below.

The pillow is 12 x 16 inches and features an embroidered "Mother" on a scalloped overlay with handmade yoyo flowers with covered buttons. I included a close-up picture below . . .

I had enough fabric in the bundle to make two pillows (excluding the backing fabric). I have not completed the second pillow yet. It will have binded edges in the lavender color, as I did not have enough of the green fabric left to duplicate the first pillow.

I decided to take the completed pillow to a nearby shop for consignment. The shop is called "Country Pursuits Antiques" and opens for the season this weekend. It is approximately four miles from my home.

Family Quote

Pictured below is a picket order I just completed for my sister-in-law, Pam. She is designing a family picture wall in her home and requested this sign to hang along with her favorite family photos.

Because "family" is so important, I searched for a quote for the day that lends meaning to the subject:

"Treat your family like friends and your friends like family"

(The quote is from a marginal note in "Country" magazine, Feb/Mar 2001 issue, page 24.)

WWW's Completed Project!

If you read my post from "Whatcha Working on Wednesday", I had begun a project using a crocheted doily, some wool, and a couple of ideas in my head.

Since Wednesday was Earth Day, I spent some time thinking about how I could do my part, considering the three R's (reduce, re-use, recycle). I have quite a stash of recycled wool clothing from area thrift shops, so my project ended up being a wool penny pillow. Even the pillow insert is a re-use. Just last week my friend Mollie dropped by and she asked me if I had any use for a recycled pillow form. Of course my response was "absolutely"! So here is my completed project . . . a recycled wool skirt, a recycled pillow form, recycled thread and other bits and pieces of recycled wool scraps. Oh, and the button in the star came from a yard sale!

Just yesterday, I received a call from my friend Theresa, owner of "Country Pursuits". She was asking if I had any primitive wool penny projects that I wanted to consign in her antique shop that will be opening this weekend. Now I can proudly call her and say "yes, as a matter of fact, I do"!

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

Today I will be completing a project that I started earlier in the week.

My quilting pal, Nancy, has been cleaning out her late husband's workshop and she has given me a few things, including these spools of thread pictured below. I have never seen thread like this before and I have no idea what it's purpose is. I did, however, like the quality and texture of the thread, so I decided to try a crocheted doily pattern that I like. The crocheted piece came out to be about 9 inches.

I decided I wanted to prim up the piece so I gave it two separate tea baths, drying it beneath my woodstove each time. Yes, my woodstove......it was rainy and damp all day yesterday!
The finished size of the piece prompted me to create a candle mat or hot mat. I rummaged through my recycled wool stash and found some black, burgundy and gold. I cut out two penny pieces and the star to stitch to the center of the doily.
Please watch for the finished product later today or tomorrow.

Lately, I have been in the mood to get out my needlepunch accessories and create something. I am not sure what I will create, but I doodled a picture that I will call "Pennies and Posies". I have no idea what will materialize from the items above...........I'll just keep you in suspense. Who knows, it may be framed art, or a box covering, or a candle mat, or a pillow. Check back periodically to see the completed project!

Pam's Mini Shelf Pillows

A short time ago, I asked my sister-in-law Pam (also my long-time crafting buddy) to create some mini pillows with sentiments. I was looking for small, reasonably priced items to help me fill a space in a shop where I consign my crafts, Liberty Place Antiques in Liberty, Maine.

Pam completed my request with these cute little shelf-sitters below.

Below are a couple of close-up photos of pillows that would make great Mother's Day gifts.

My crafting days with Pam go way, way back to when she was sixteen years old and just got her driver's license. Our first craft that we did together was "ceramics". We did this for several years until we both got the "counted cross-stitch" bug. After stitching for several years, I took a decorative painting class and taught Pam everything that I had learned. Soon we were both painting ornaments and wooden objects that her Dad would cut out for us. We began doing craft fairs, several each year. Some were good, while others were duds! We actually kept a journal of our fair experiences and we read it from time to time for a good laugh.

Pam and I are still crafting together these days. Last year I organized an ornament club called "Trim~A~Limb" Ornament Club and Pam was the first one to say "Count me in"! So we meet once a month to work on our ornies. There is usually a group of about 6 or 7 of us that gather.

Through the years we have taught each other different techniques and shared much information about supplies, patterns, ideas, etc. We always have much to discuss when we get together, right Pam?

A couple of weeks ago Pam came over to drop off her pillows and she allowed me to grab a photo of her with my grandson, Jack. Aren't they a pair?

Primitive Stitches Has Joined Us!

This morning, while enjoying my first cup of coffee, I was blog hopping. I paid a quick visit to Quilt Hollow and read a post that Rhonda, of Primitive Stitches, has joined our little blogging world. Please check out her blog and give her a warm welcome.

Rhonda designs the cutest country and primitive stitchery patterns. I have a file folder full of them. Her patterns are printed on high quality card stock and are very easy to read and transfer. When I have more time, I will try to find some photos of completed projects I have made using Rhonda's patterns.

Be Safe Amanda

This is my beautiful niece, Amanda.

Today Amanda departs for a tour in Iraq. Amanda is in the U.S. Army National Guard, employed as an MP (Military Police).

As I publish this post, I encourage your prayers and welcome your comments.

Amanda, know that you make us very proud and we love you. May God bless you and keep you safe!

"Mother" Pillow

With Mother's Day fast approaching, I thought I would share one of my creations from last year. I designed this pillow using coordinating scraps of Thimbleberries fabrics and patched the design. In the center I used matching floss to embroider "Mother" and the lazy daisy flowers. I made two of these pillows last year. I sold one and the other I presented to my Mom.

I think I will go through my fabric stash and skip by my favorite "Thimbleberries" collection (sorry kids) and look for something more flowery or pastellish to design a couple of "Mother" pillows to sell next month. Please check back to see what I come up with!

Handmade "Family" pillow

I recently completed this handmade "family" pillow. I chose Thimbleberries fabrics to compliment the fabric at the top of the pillow. My inspiration for this project was the vintage doily, gently tea stained and bordered with lace. I embroidered "family" on it and hand-stitched it to the patchwork base that I pieced. I embellished it with a couple of yoyo flowers with button centers and appliqued leaves. The patchwork pillow cover was completed with hand-painted wooden buttons closing the top.