Wordless Wednesday - Handmade Ornaments

A Christmas Quote and Craft for the Week

 

 

A CHRISTMAS QUOTE FOR THE WEEK:

 

This is from the introduction in one of my many copies of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".  It's my all-time favorite book and I read it every year.  

 

"The story begins one cold, bleak, biting Christmas Eve, when the fog is so thick and the dampness so complete that wheezing is the only way to breathe, when the clock in the frozen tower strikes the hours as if its teeth are chattering when the afternoon is as dark as the evening, and the evening so dark that even familiar courtyards require groping to find one's way."

 

(Patricia Barrett Perkins, Baltimore, Maryland, 1987)

 

 

A HOLIDAY CRAFT IDEA FOR THE WEEK:

 

A quick candle gift -- Take a plain white pillar candle and hot glue cinnamon sticks all around the bottom.  Tie with a red ribbon and add a sprig of holly.

Throwback Thursday - Knitting

 

My maternal grandmother and my mom were both avid knitters when I was growing up, and my grandmother is the one who taught me the basics.  The first thing I ever made when I was about 10 was a hat and booties for a new baby cousin.  Obviously it was a very easy pattern and it was fun to work on it in a weekend when I stayed with my grandparents. 

When I first married in 1971 my grandmother knitted Christmas stockings for my husband, me, and our dog.  I think she might have gotten them as a kit, but she always transferred instructions to graph paper, using one page to write the basic instructions, one to write the directions line by line, and then another to chart the design.  I never had the original instructions, but she gave me her handwritten pages for the stockings and I've used the pattern many times. 

I also shared the handwritten pages with my friend Margherita when I worked in New York City, and over the years she made over 200 of them!!  She was from a large family, as is her husband, and whenever anyone married into the family, a brand new hand-knitted stocking was one of their gifts.  I loved that idea!!

My mother never made any stockings, but she used to knit a lot of afghans and baby blankets, sweaters, mittens, and slippers and socks.  In the photos you'll see the instructions for the stockings, some of my grandmother's knitting needles which were passed down to me, and an old very basic book to knit socks and winter accessories using just 2 needles.  While the photos on the front cover look very outdated, the actual instructions and patterns make very nice items which are quite easy.  For several years when we still lived in New Jersey I used to knit mittens in assorted sizes to donate to the Catholic Charities at one of the local hospitals.  It was always a lot of fun to work on those in between other projects I worked on, such as sweaters, vests (when they were popular), afghans, and slippers.

I came across these patterns and book earlier today so decided this would be perfect for Throwback Thursday.  I have a lot of yarn in my stash and am thinking that it might be fun to make some mittens again, and I can donate them to one of the downtown charities that takes in cold-weather items for the homeless.  Or, I might just finally knit a new stocking for my husband, Dennis.  I made his back in 1982 and over the years it's been shredding a bit from being overly stuffed with lots of snacks :)  I did a much better job when I made Jacquelyn's in 1985 for her first Christmas.  Or, perhaps I just don't buy things quite as bulky for her stocking stuffers.

 

Wordless Wednesday - Fall Stitching

Christmas Thoughts - Holiday Pine Sachets

I've wanted to make these sachets for a few years, and maybe... just maybe... I'll get to them this fall. I have lots of holiday fabric that I think will be nice for this project, and I actually have a bag of pine needles which still smell wonderful (just not that soft, fresh feeling any longer).

These sachets would make nice stocking stuffers or package decorations. They can be used as ornaments, or as sachets in closets and drawers. You can also make several and place them in a pretty basket to be used as party favors.  

I think they're something you can really have fun making - doing them in the usual squares, or even using cookie cutters for some unique designs.  I think a Christmas tree or wreath shape would really be fun.  Here are the instructions:

For each sachet you will need:
2 squares of burlap or calico (5-1/2 inches square)
thread
3/4 cup fresh pine needles
pine oil (optional)
30 inch length of ribbon, 1 to 1-1/2 inches wide
 
-  With right sides facing, sew the burlap or calico squares together (use zigzag stitch for burlap), leaving 1 side open for turning. Seam allowance is 1/4 inch.
-  Clip the corners and turn right side out.
-  Fill the sachet with the pine needles and slipstitch the open edge. Sprinkle the sachet with the pine oil if you'd like a stronger scent.
-  Tie the ribbon in a bow around the sachet, Add a sprig of pine needles in the bow for decoration.

Making Plans

I've had so many thoughts on my mind lately that when I woke up I decided to get dressed, drive thru Starbucks for a Cinnamon Dolce Latte, and then take a long ride through country roads, rivers, and small towns.  That's always a sure way to give me time to think and make plans -- much better than when I wake up in the middle of the night thinking of these things, or can't fall asleep because my mind is busy working :)

It's a beautiful, breezy, sunny and blue skies day with some white puffy clouds, and we were just in the low 70s when I was out.  A nice day for a country ride.

The thoughts and plans I had on my mind??

First, Christmas.  Believe it or not, I have most of my shopping done, with the exception of a few people.  I've been doing it throughout the year when I've been traveling, which is always a great way to find just the right thing for someone.  I know what we're giving the other people on our list, so I just need to get those things over the next month and I'm all set to get things mailed.

I'm in an annual handmade Christmas exchange with several friends from an online group (we've been friends since 1999, and doing this exchange since 2005).  I think I'm pretty sure what I'm making, but will visit the crafts store tomorrow.  I'll either buy what I *think* I'm going to make, or I'll get a completely different idea. 

Also for Christmas... I have some needlework projects that are all stitched but need to be finished (framing, made into pillows, ornaments, wall hangings, etc.), and a few of those will be done for Christmas and used as gifts.  I'm also making a list of some baking ideas for friends and family, which will more than likely end up being a variety of shortbreads :)

The other thing I've had on my mind, which has actually been there for a few years, is a publishing project.  I've been making a lot of notes recently and working on plans and goals, contacts, and everything else needed, and after my ride today I've decided on a March 1st goal for this to begin.  Now that the date has been determined, I just need to start working backwards from there to have everything else fall into place, plan some meetings with friends/contacts, do more research, and get going!  This is a project I'm excited about, and will share more as time goes on.  

I'm curious... what does everyone else do when they have things on their mind and need that special time to do the planning?  Taking a ride?  A walk?  A bath?  Talking it out with someone else?

Joanne

Thursday Thoughts - Unfinished Projects

My many unfinished projects have been on my mind recently.  I'm not even talking about projects that are in the works, but needlework projects that were completely stitched... and then put in a drawer.  I have an antique 2-drawer dresser and both drawers are full of those pieces.

I probably talked about this before because they've been stacking up for years.  However, I've decided to make a real effort to finish them so they can be displayed.  There are at least 25 of them, and probably even more than that.

So, plans for the next several months are to begin pulling them out and either framing them (I do my own framing and collect frames from different places, including sales at the crafts stores), or finishing them as pillows, ornaments, wall hangings, banners, etc.  It's a shame that they've been sitting there for so long when they could be decorating some walls.  I plan on also using a few as Christmas gifts :)

Joanne

A Bit of De-Stashing & Selling

I keep all my cross stitch charts in sheet protectors in binders, and the other day when I realized I was up to 8 of them (the big, fat 2-inch size) I decided to start counting them. OK. When I got up to 500 I decided to stop and realized that as much as I loved all these charts when I bought them, I was NEVER going to get them all stitched. Some were even ones I kept after stitching them. I don't mark up my charts, so they're as good as new.

As difficult as it was, I finally decided to be ruthless in the crafts room, and pulled out over 100 cross stitch charts I've either stitched (or know I won't get to in the near future), some cross stitch fabric I know I won't be using, some rubber stamps, some books and magazines (quilting, stitching, stamping, paper crafts, etc.), and some regular fabric that I've been storing up for quilts or other crafts projects.

It's going to take me awhile to get everything photographed and listed on ebay, but I thought I'd share the items I already have listed. I'll update here at my blog when new things are added :)

Here are the items I just listed this evening. You can find them on ebay here. Each listing includes a photo of the chart/book.


QUILTING BOOKS:
"Louisa May Alcott: Quilts of Her Life, Her Work, Her Heart", by Terry Clothier Thomspon
"Easy Does It - Patriotic (Art to Heart) by Nancy Halvorsen

CROSS STITCH BOOK:
"Something for Every Season" by Leisure Arts (56 designs)

CHARTS:
JBW Designs, Thoughts of Home Sampler
Erica Michaels, Random Thoughts of Spring
Homespun Elegance Purely Samplers, Autumn Motif Sampler
4 My Boys, Autumn Splendor
Bent Creek, Flag 1998
Waxing Moon Designs, Simply Americana #127
Stitches from the Heartland, Yuletide Ginger & Twigs
Fanci That, Folk Art Winter Angel
Elizabeth's Designs, Seasons In Time
With My Needle, Adorn Thy Heart by Ellen Chester

Most of these items are selling at about 50 percent (or more) less than what I paid for them. If you see anything you like, just stop over at my listings on ebay at this link

More updates will be coming :)

Some New Fabric

I had the urge to visit my favorite quilt shops this week and couldn't resist a few things. The beginning of the week I found this pretty fabric at Las Colchas, a wonderful shop downtown in an old 1910 craftsman home. It will be perfect with a few other fabrics I bought there in the fall. By the colors you can see that I'm already thinking ahead to next Christmas :) They also have a nice selection of wools and I thought these two would be pretty to use for a few Valentine's Day items.










I made two trips to another shop I just love called Memories by the Yard, which is way over on the other side of town (about 45 minutes away). I bought the aqua and green prints with the apples the first day, and then decided I wanted to add to those two with a few complimentary prints. So, I went back yesterday. I bought the gold and the aqua to go with the apple print in those shades, but decided to wait on the companion prints to the green and rose apple print since I think I might have some fabrics here in my stash that will go well.









This time my daughter tagged along and she found these cute fat quarters that she'll be using for a few projects of her own (tote bags, for example). She bought a few that go perfectly together with the bags in mind, and then a few others "just because".




I have no plans to leave the house this weekend, so I'm hoping to get some stitching done for two projects to sell at my Of Generations Past website, and then to get busy doing some sewing!

Stitching, Knitting and Quilting

I really resisted adding "Oh My!" to the end of my title :) It seems to be so easy to add that little phrase to things in threes, doesn't it? (Guess I couldn't resist, since I just wrote it here!)


I'm sorry to say that I still haven't finished the Prairie Schooler design I've been working on, "When Witches Go Riding". My plans were to have it done for Halloween, or at least that weekend so I could begin a Thanksgiving design, but, I got involved in a few other crafts and haven't gotten back to my stitching. Here's a picture so you can see that it's almost done. Actually, I need to look at a few of the past PS autumn charts because I don't want to use the witch. I think mine is going to have a cat sitting on the fence next to the house. I'm going for cute instead of Halloween-scary.








For some reason, I decided to get back into knitting. This might be because I was going through some things in the crafts room the other day, and came upon a few knitting items that belonged to my grandmother. Here you can see an old pattern book (just 10 cents!) for some knitted items using only 2 needles. I used this booklet years ago to make tons of mittens in various sizes (child to adult). I didn't have anyone to give so many mittens to, so I took them to a nun we knew at a local hospital and she gave them out to several families their charity watched over.






The knitting needles were my grandmothers. I also have a few bone crochet hooks that belonged to her which aren't in the photo.







The patterns or directions in the plastic page protectors are for Christmas stockings that my grandmother made back in 1971. There was a regular booklet of directions, but she always liked to chart the designs on graph paper so she could mark them off as she followed along. She also did the same with the directions themselves. I know this is something she passed down, because my mother always did the same thing when she was knitting.




Onto my knitting... I'm in a scarf mood since they're easy to do, and since I haven't knitted in several years, decided to pick a pretty yarn with character so I could just do basic knitting without having to think. It's working out well, and I know that the more I'm doing this, the more I want to get back to knitting some mittens, slippers, baby items, and sweaters. That will all wait until after the holidays, because for now I'm working on scarves.





This pretty aqua shade and the peachy pink will be two scarves for my daughter. I'm planning on getting an ivory color and a cranberry color in the same yarn (75% silk, boucle) to make two scarves for my step-daughter. It will be fun to roll them up and tuck them in their Christmas stockings (that were hand knit by me many Christmases ago).




As for the quilting... I was going to post some pictures of fabrics here, but I think I'll do that on my Christmas blog instead. I've been terrible keeping up with that and it's been months since I added anything new. I think it's about time ~ don't you?? Needless to say, the quilting projects I have in mind are for Christmas gifts and will be small quilts to cuddle under while curled up on the sofa, as well as some table runners. I realize I'm running out of time, so yesterday afternoon all the fabric (many, many, many yards!!) went into the washing machine and dryer, and I spent a few hours last night watching a basketball and football game, and ironing. Now I'm all ready to begin work.

There are a few other projects in the works, but those can wait for another day :)

Monday Inspiration on Tuesday and Ebay Sales

"Each dawn holds a new hope for a new plan,
making the start of each day the
start of a new life."

~ Gina Blair

This inspiration message is perfect for me this week! I haven't written in awhile since we've been away on vacation, but now that I'm home I've decided to put all my spare time to good use and get some things made for an etsy shop. I have so many ideas running through my head and just need to organize my time well so they all get done. I'm having fun listing all my ideas, and have begun working on a few projects.

In the meantime, I had several older cross stitch and crochet leaflets I won't be using so decided to list them on ebay. I just love the crochet leaflets for the dolls and doll accessories but I know I won't be making anymore of them, so thought it was time to pass them on to someone else :)

In case you're interested, you can see my listings here.

I have pictures to share from our road trip, which I'll do tomorrow. It was so nice to be back east and enjoy some of the changing colors in the trees, as well as the cooler air. We're in the 90s here today :( It's not feeling very fall like once you go outside, but they say a cold front is coming in for the weekend, and we'll probably go down to the 80s. Until tomorrow....

Autumn Projects - Week 2

"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."

- John Updike, September

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APPLE CINNAMON POMANDERS

Do you enjoy the fall scent of apples and cinnamon? Here's an easy craft that will leave your home with the delicious aroma of fall. Make some extras for your friends or family, too!

2 small apples
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (more, if needed)
1/2 cup whole cloves

~ With a large needle or toothpick, pierce holes in the skin of the apple to form a pattern. You can do swirls, circles, lines, or even initials.
~ Place a clove inside each hole.
~ When you have finished with your design, roll the apple in ground cinnamon. (It will stick to the apple because of the moisture released when you poked the holes.)
~ Place the apple in a warm, dry place and allow it to dry for three to six weeks. As it dries it will shrink, and tighten up your pattern.

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"As I lie restfully on this quiet porch, I watch the days swing by,
recorded in this calendared garden before me.
... I know not which is more beautiful,
the June riot of roses and of daisy-snowed fields,
the loveliness of Queen Anne's lace in midsummer,
or the Midas miracle of goldenrod in autumn."

~ Dorothy Scarborough

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PORCHSIDE GETAWAYS

~ Fall is a wonderful season to spend on the front porch. Keep cozy wool blankets, afghans or flannel quilts on a porch swing, and enjoy time outside with candles, books, and mugs of hot cider.

~ Prepare an autumn afternoon getaway on your front porch. Have a steaming mug of your favorite beverage, flannel quilts in earthy fall colors, sweet and crunchy apples, a lacy white cloth and fresh flowers on a side table; an antique letter opener for lingering over the day's mail; a magnifying glass for closer inspection of a butterfly; a stack of classics to immerse yourself in. Stay late to watch the harvest moon rise!

~ Listen to the sounds of fall on the front porch ~ hoot owls, nightingales, howling wind, crunching leaves underfoot, school bells. Hear the laughter of children returning home from school, and the giggles of kids and pets playing in newly raked leaf piles.

(From a favorite book that I highly recommend!!! 'My Front Porch... An Invitation to the Charm and Tradition', by Alda Ellis, with paintings by Sandy Lynam Clough. The copyright is 1999 by Harvest House Publishing. If you can find it, it's worth buying and reading over and over again.)

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"The friendly cow all red and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart."
~ Robert Louis Stevenson

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APPLE DUMPLINGS

6 large apples, peeled and cored
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons butter, divided
Favorite pastry crust (for a 10-inch double crust pie)

~ Preheat oven to 450 degrees ten minutes before dumplings are ready to be baked.
~ Roll out pastry 1/8-inch thick and cut into six 7-inch squares. Place an apple in center of each square.
~ Fill apples with a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons butter.
~ Moisten edges of pastry with cold water and fold up around apples. Press edges together to seal firmly. Prick pastry with fork in several places to allow steam to vent.
~ Chill 1 hour.
~ Combine remaining sugar, cinnamon, butter, and 2 cups hot water and boil 5 minutes. Place apples in 9 x 12-inch baking dish and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, pour syrup over apples, and bake 35 minutes more. Baste occasionally during baking.
~ Serve warm with vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon, or fresh whipped cream.

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"Traditionally in the country it has been more of a stillroom or store-room overflow; a place for drying and storing apples in the winter, for festooning drying herbs and flowers scenting the room with summer... "
~ On attics, from 'Folk Wisdom for a Natural Home'

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APPLE BUTTER

I LOVE to make apple butter. We use it on toast, English muffins, biscuits, in crepes, and it makes a wonderful gift. This is the recipe I use. I usually do it in two steps, processing the apples the first day and then putting them in the fridge overnight (or if you don't have time the next day, you can freeze the "sauce" at this point for later use). The next day I make the apple butter and found over the years that I prefer the oven method. You don't get any sticking the way you can with the stovetop method.

I don't have a food mill, and rather than using a sieve I've found that putting it in a blender for a few seconds works wonders and makes the pulp into a nice, smooth sauce. I use a 9x13 glass pan and about every 30 minutes I gently stir it through to distribute the liquidy part and prevent sticking. This really makes your home smell wonderful, and is great if you're in the process of selling your home, lol.

When we were selling our house in northern Arizona several years ago, I was making batches and batches of this to use up the apples from our two apple trees in the back yard. I had processed the apples into the sauce and had them frozen for months. Each day I'd pull out a couple of the bags and make them into apple butter so they wouldn't go to waste and the jars of apple butter could go with us when we moved. Everyone who walked in to see the house commented on the aroma (and loved hearing that we had our own apple trees).

In addition to the aroma, one of my other favorite things about making it is listening to the caps on the processed jars "pop" as they cool after the hot water bath :) I just love that!


APPLE BUTTER

To prepare pulp:
24 medium apples (about 6 pounds)
2 cups apple cider

~ Wash apples. Remove stems and blossom ends, but do not peel or core. Cut into small pieces and cook apples in cider until soft. Press through a sieve or food mill. Measure 3 quarts apple pulp.
****MY NOTE: Since I don't use a food mill, I take the extra time at the beginning and peel and core the apples before cooking them. When they're soft, it's easy to mash them a bit and then put them in a blender.

To prepare butter:
3 quarts apple pulp
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves

~ In a large saucepan combine apple pulp, sugar and spices. Cook over a low heat until thick enough to round up on a spoon. Make sure to stir frequently to prevent sticking.

Oven option ~
Combine apple pulp, sugar and spices and pour in a large glass baking dish. Cook in a slow oven at 325 degrees for 3 to 4 hours, until it is thick enough to round up on a spoon. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

To Process:
Ladle hot butter into sterilized hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps, and process 10 minutes using the boiling-water canning method.

My Weekly Project Update

A few posts ago I shared the information for the first week of our autumn projects craft-along on my Holiday group. I feel great that I accomplished a few things by pulling out projects that were done, but never finished. It made things easy for me to complete this first assignment. I thought I'd share some photos before I post this current week's information.



This little scarecrow was stitched over 10 years ago, but never got any further than the dresser drawer. I pulled it out the other day, added a backing fabric, stuffed it, added the two pumpkin buttons and the raffia. As you can see, it still has the pin in the bottom, but that will disappear later today when I stitch up the bottom opening.







This is the Prairie Schooler Autumn Leaves design that I stitched two years ago. I wish the picture were brighter so you could see the beautiful fabric that I used for the borders. It's deep shades of autumn colors with a design of leaves, with gold accents. Hopefully once it's ironed, the bottom opening stitched, and hanging on the wall, I can get a better photo where you can actually see the pretty fabric.














I didn't have enough of the one fabric for the backing, so I used another pretty piece I had that features autumn leaves :)











Here are my autumn yo-yos, which I sewed in August. I'm going to sew them into a table runner in the next couple of weeks.









And here are some more yo-yos. They're not autumn, but since they're made from patriotic fabrics, I think it's perfect to share today since tomorrow, 9/11, is now known as Patriot Day here in the United States. For these I decided to do very small yo-yos and used a juice glass as my template. When stitched the yo-yos are about 1 inch in diameter and very cute! I like having the bag of circles all cut because it makes it easy to just pick it up and stitch a few whenever I'm in the mood. I plan to use them for a few different projects like table runners or candle mats.

Fabric, Yarn and Gifts

Earlier this week I took a day for myself. My first stop was to Starbucks and when I got to the drive-through window I was so excited to find that they now have the Pumpkin Spice Lattes back on their menu. In fact, the girl at the window told me it was the first day back. I was sooo excited!

I spent most of my day driving around favorite little towns in the Hill country to see what was new in their shop windows. My drive took me along a few rivers that still had tubers and rafters since we're still in the low 90s. That was fine for them, but I was celebrating autumn inside the car with the air conditioner going as I sipped my latte :)

I made a stop at one of my favorite quilt shops. My husband gave me a gift certificate from them for my birthday, along with some extra cash to spend wherever I wished, so I combined the two and selected a yard each of five pretty fabrics. They'll go with some other fabrics I already have on hand from previous trips there, and will become some table runners and small throws to use as Christmas gifts. I just love the one fabric which will become a fall item ~ it has tiny oak leaves and acorns in the prettiest shades of blue, brown and tan.



I'm so anxious to begin a fall stitching project or a quilt, but I'm determined to wait until I have this baby afghan completed. I'm making it for a friend of ours who had a baby girl the end of August, and fortunately it's going very quickly. I began working on it last weekend during all the coverage of Hurricane Gustav, and continued it this week while watching political coverage. Rather than making it a small "baby size", it's a larger crib-size afghan.








I just love crocheting with this particular brand of yarn and have used it for other baby blankets as well as large shawl-like scarves. I'll be finishing it up this weekend and just need to add fringe and it can be wrapped and mailed.

Then, it's on to those autumn projects!!

Weekly Projects for Autumn

I know it's only September 2nd, but I'm thinking of autumn and the upcoming holidays. On one of my groups, Homespun Holidays, we've started a weekly prompt to remind us all to work on some crafts projects and decorating for autumn or Halloween. With weekly reminders during the month of September, we should be all finished (hopefully!!) with our project and will be ready to decorate when October rolls around. I thought it might be fun to share with you what we'll be receiving each week in those email notices. This one is for the first week of September. Do you have any fall or Halloween projects planned?

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"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."

- John Updike, September

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A LINK FOR AUTUMN CRAFTS AND FUN

Here's a link with some wonderful crafts for the fall season. There are printables for puzzles to do yourself (or for your kids or grandkids), fall leaf template cutouts for crafts and cards, ideas for decorating for the fall holidays, suggested fall activities, and even the answers to some questions (like why do leaves change color). Check it out... there's plenty to see and do!!
http://www.creativity-portal.com/howto/artscrafts/crafts_autumn.html

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"By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer's best of weather
And autumn's best of cheer."

- Helen Hunt Jackson, September, 1830-1885

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DECORATING THE FRONT PORCH FOR AUTUMN

~ Use bales of hay to hold seasonal decorations. Pots of mums, pumpkins, gourds, and a scarecrow can sit on top.
~ Keep a basket filled with a variety of pumpkins, gourds and Indian corn on the porch steps.

Christmas in July and a Weekend Quilt Show

We celebrated Christmas in July on my
Homespun Holidays list and had fun exchanging Christmas cards and gifts. My partner was Joni and she sent me these presents. I wish you could smell the simmering potpourri and those orange spice candle tarts! I tried to take a close up photo of the beautiful Jim Shore Santa ornament (he's holding Noah's Ark), but no matter what I did it kept coming out fuzzy. I'll have to give it another try later.






Today I spent a few hours at a quilt show in a nearby town. I love walking from aisle to aisle looking at all the beautiful quilts. This time I only took a few photos and shopped at just one booth...







I just loved this pumpkin quilt!












This is a close up of the stitching design done on a quilt using autumn shades. I loved the way the leaves cover the quilt as the "vines" wind their way around.









I can never resist blue and white quilts. I think they're perfect in both summer and winter since they can represent the sea, sky and snowflakes :)










My friend Linda and I were just "talking" about redwork and embroidery, so I had to take a picture of this antique quilt top that someone had found.













This one has the blue design done in cross stitch. I wasn't able to get the complete design in one photo (and there was no way to back up to get a better angle), so I took a second picture of the side...
















This is what the design looks like along the edges of the quilt.














This quilt is made up of redwork Santas. Unfortunately my camera was on the wrong setting for the first batch of pictures so it's a teensy bit dark :(












I was so happy when I saw this quilt featuring embroidery AND Walking in a Winter Wonderland (which is my favorite winter song!!). This quilt won a blue ribbon...














... and this one has the same design. I think it won Honorable Mention. The funniest thing is that just last night I was looking at this particular pattern when I was emailing Linda. It's from Crab-Apple Hill. I wondered what it would look like finished, and today I had the chance to find out :)





And finally, here's the quilt show brochure and my purchases from a favorite local shop called Country Gatherings. She carries many primitive items (which I love!!), as well as wools for rug hooking and other wool crafts. As I was paying she mentioned that if I didn't already do rug hooking, she holds classes. Hmmmm.... tempting, but right now I'm having trouble just keeping up with my stitching, crocheting, quilting, sewing, knitting, needlepoint, etc. Oh, and she sells the BEST homemade fudge :) :)

Southwest Needlepoint

In my Arizona photos you saw the Crowe's Nest area of Tubac, and I talked about my old favorite shop down there, Crowe's Nest Stitchery. I loved the beautiful southwest canvases and stocked up on quite a few, along with beautiful threads and fibers to use with them.

Even though I've mostly done cross stitch the last several years, after our recent vacation I decided to pull out the canvases. One or two are finished and just need to be completed (framed or finished in some other way). Others have been partially stitched, and some have never been started. (There are also a few that I couldn't find this afternoon, so they must be in a different box in the crafts room.) I thought I'd share a few pictures with you.






These are all the canvases I found today. I know of at least three others that are "missing" ~ an Indian man and two small pueblo designs.









This one I finished stitching years ago. It's DeGrazia's Mission in the Sun, where my husband and I were married.








I love the gentle lines of these three designs. The woman in turquoise is completely stitched. I have a wooden box that has an opening for the canvas ~ it's just a matter of me actually finishing the job. The woman on top in peach is partially stitched, and the Butterfly Maiden is almost finished. Two of these designs were by Tish Holland of Sundance Needlework (the Butterfly Maiden and the Basket Woman in turquoise). I thought the peach one was by Tish also, but don't see it listed on her pages in the catalog at Sundance.





I love these horses. Actually, I love all horses, but the brightness and motion seen in this canvas (which is from a DeGrazia painting "Magic Horses") just called to me. It uses a lot of glittery threads with the other fibers, and just a small portion has been stitched.








These are typical southwest designs using chili peppers, and both were Christmas designs. The little one is almost finished and the larger one is partially stitched.

10th Annual Quilt Shop Hop

I had so much fun the last few days visiting some of the stores participating in the annual Quilt Shop Hop here in south central Texas. First of all, the drive between all these stores takes you past some really beautiful patches of wildflowers, which are in full bloom right now. One drive along a major highway was especially pretty, with seas of pink, blue, white, yellow and orange wildflowers. When I left in the morning it was in the 60s, and by late afternoon we were in the 80s and sunny. The only thing unpleasant was all the pollen from the live oak trees floating in the breeze (which caused me to wake up today with icky eyes, sneezing, and general allergy symptoms). But, it was worth it. I wasn't able to get any photos of the wildflowers since I was driving at the time (I hope to in the next few days), but here's a picture of our latest rose that just blossomed.


Back to the Shop Hop. I planned to be really good. I had decided that I'd pick up the free quilt block pattern at each shop I visited and have my "passport" stamped, would sign up for their raffle, select my free fat quarter of fabric, and enjoy the refreshments. I told myself I wouldn't shop. Of course, I can easily talk myself into things, so here's how my day progressed...

I left the house, drove through the local Starbucks for a Cinnamon Dolce Latte for the long drives, and made my first stop at the closest quilt shop to us. I received my passport and did all the free things. I looked around, and I left without buying anything. Yay for me! Here's my fat quarter and the quilt block:


The next shop is one of my favorites since it's in an old 1910 Craftsman house. It's just so nice to walk around their rooms and everything looks like it really belongs in there... quilts, wooden floors, fabric, wools, fibers, books, wavy glass in the windows, a beautiful garden outside, etc. I left there after purchasing a book I thought I really had to buy then, because there was just one and it might not be there next time. I have to say that I'm really happy that I did buy it because it has some really sweet patterns for quilts about Louisa May Alcott's life, and it's a new book, just out in 2008!


Next I drove down to a town about 20 minutes south. They have a very large shop and always do the greatest job with themes. It was fun to wander from room to room, looking at everything, enjoying their theme (a sea theme this year), and picking up things I had not seen anywhere else...


Back to the car and a 40 minute trip, this time to the far west side of our city. And yes, they had beautiful things that none of the other shops had. *sigh* As I handed the sales woman my credit card I told her I was heading home. It was just too dangerous for me to visit any other shops since I spent a bit more each time I went to the next one. I just love these ribbons, and I also bought some beads which I gave to my daughter for her jewelry-making projects. That fabric is patchwork, beautiful and very summery. It's going to be a tablecloth in the eating area of the kitchen :)


Of course, things changed. Yesterday our daughter mentioned a fantastic book shop she wanted to visit, and I thought it would be perfect to do a little road trip together. An hour later she was at the bookshop, and I was at the quilt and cross stitch shop, picking up my free items and buying some cross stitch charts they had on sale (but were on my wishlist). I drove back to the bookshop, we went for lunch at Einstein Bagel, and then headed home. I see I forgot to take the picture of my free fat quarter and quilt block...


There are two more days of the Shop Hop - today and tomorrow. I'm staying home! I just can't trust myself in those last 7 shops!