A Sampler for Sunday and...

I finished a pair of socks too! For this Sunday I chose another small house sampler by Ewe & Eye & Friend. It aptly titled "The Red House Sampler".



I stitched up a lot of these little pieces and I still love the look of them.



This one included a nice assortment of decorative stitches that were fun to do and I think the little birds and hearts are a sweet touch.

And this week I finished another pair of socks. These are knit with Blue Moon yarn Socks that Rock.



The colorway is called Count Cluckula and the allusion to poultry made me pick it. Hey that's as good a reason as I could think of. With these plain vanilla stockinette socks I usually complete about one sock a week. I keep my knitting with me as much as possible and whenever I have a minute or two I knit. All those stitches add up over a week's time and before you know it you've finished a sock. The one sock syndrome occurs when I have multiple skeins started at the same time---like this week. I started a pair of socks for a friend and then I got a new skein of yarn for me and I had to start both to see how the striping would play out. So give me a couple of weeks and I'll have 2 more pair finished.

Thanks for all the nice oooohhhhs and aaaaaahs about the pincushions. They were so fun to do. Check back this week - I'm planning a giveaway that will include a pincushion and a cute little pair of scissors I picked up the other day at a LQS.

Well it is pouring rain here and thundering and lightening to beat the band, so I'm going to wrap things up. I hope that Spring is just around the corner for all of us and that we all have some creative time in the coming week.

Happy stitching -
carol fun

I believe pincushions are.....

the potato chip of the quilting world - you can't have just one! And you can't make just one when you buy a 10 quart bag of crushed walnut shells. Here is a group shot of the pincushions I've made this week. Remember to oooooohhhhh and aaaahhhhh...



I saw one of these online and jumped in to figure it out. I took a highly technical approach (that's a joke since I'm the antithesis of technically savvy) and plopped the bowl that was sitting on my cutting table over and traced around it. Now it was a pretty good sized bowl but I figured that was a good thing since I would lose a bit when I sewed the wedges together. The first ones I stitched up using some charm squares I had of the Meadowsweet collection.



These are about 6" across. I liked the kinda retro modern look of these fabrics and the cheerful colors.



I used a variegated Valdani perle cotton to tie the sections and stitch around the outside edge. It was a lot of fun going through my stash of buttons to make a stack to top these off. And then I wanted to see how they'd turn out if I made the wedges I a little smaller. I trimmed down the wedge and was able to get 2 pieces out of charm square for these pretties. They are about 5" in diameter.



The fabrics are a Moda line, Charisma by Chez Moi. I wish I had gotten more of this line. I made a quilt of if it and I'd love to have another -oh well, lesson learned, buy it when you can.

And then I decided to cut up some of the brights that were sitting in a pile and put this one together - all citrus colors.



I think this stack of buttons came out well. And with that one finished I turned to my batik stash and picked these jewel tones.



Isn't' that a great button? I think I got it at Joanns. And then I made one for me...



all dotty fabrics. I think the black button stack and the black stitching on the side really set it off. Soooooo what will I do with all these beauties? Well I have a couple of friends in mind for some of them or I could always just leave them on the front seats of people's cars like a overabundant crop of zucchini in the summertime. After making these and some more chicken pincushions (darn I forgot to take a picture - check back this week) I still have a lot crushed walnut shells... A LOT. The bag doesn't seem to get much smaller so I guess I'll be making more pincushions. I have a pattern for pincushions that look like little pies and my friend Laurey dropped off some fruit fabrics she had left over from a quilt. that would be perfect. And there is another pattern for a pair of cactus pincushions that is adorable too. So I guess I'll put the rest of those walnut shells to good use.

So which pincushion do you like best?
Happy stitching-
carol fun

A Sampler for Sunday...

but no socks this week. It was a busy week -but back to this sampler. It is by Ewe & Eye & Friends and is called Summer Bungalow.



Now how do I know the name of this piece? Weeeeeellllll - I almost bought this graph again last week. Yep, I was perusing different cross stitch websites and thought "oh I like that sampler". Yeah, I like it so much I already stitched it. Sheesh - I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree. Thank goodness I went and looked at my row of samplers in my basement family room and there it was.



It really is a simple piece - not a lot of decorative stitches but I like how pretty this little piece looks in the wide frame. I stitched this up with Anchor flosses. Looking at this piece makes me want to start a nice easy simple sampler. I have a couple of graphs in my stash that are calling my name. Maybe I can pull some threads tonight and kit one up. That would be a nice finish to this crazy weekend.

I hope that you find some time to do something crafty this week.
Happy stitching-

carol fun

A beautiful day in the neighborhood....

or at least a beautiful day in the backyard. (thanks to Mr. Rogers) The sun was shining and the temperature hit mid 60's. It was a glorious tease of a day. I know that it is still mid-February and we are very probably gonna get another dump or two of snow but today is the kind of day that makes it possible to soldier on to Spring. I took advantage of the weather to haul a couple of quilts I've finished outside and take some pictures. The first quilt is my Kitchen Sink quilt from Scrapbasket Surprises by Kim Brackett.



As you can see mine got much larger than the one in the book. It topped out at around 95" square. My oldest son has claimed it since it is big enough for him to wrap up in. And this close up shows ome of my favorite blocks...



This guy reminds me of our cat Big Dude and it shows the great texture after being washed. All of the fabric in this quilt is Debbie Mumm and it all came out of my stash including the backing, so I consider this to be a free quilt. KWIM?? Yeah, you know I'm deluding myself but it lets me hold onto whatever little sanity I still have. Anyway, I love this overall swirly pattern my long arm quilter, Cass, used. And she knows I love variegated colored thread.

The second quilt uses the "Off Kilter" pattern in the Anka's Treasures book Livin' Large.



As I remember, the fabric was a Moda line, Wonderland by Momo. I love prints of the scissor and the polka dots that have dots and the dot that looks like an aqua blue lady bug. I used the scissors fabric on the back too.



And coincidentally this quilt has the exact same swirly quilting pattern and uses a variegated thread - oh I am too predictable - LOL!

Well tomorrow is suppose to be another lovely day here in southwestern Ohio, but I have other obligations which will keep me from any sewing tomorrow. I'm looking forward to some more sewing time this weekend. I've been working on the SNW UFO that's been on my design wall and I have almost all the blocks sewn into rows. Sewing the rows to each other will take some time since there are a lot of points that will have to be matched but it is looking good.

Hope the weather is nice in your neighborhood. Happy stitching!
carol fun

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope your day is sweet in every way! Here is a little (2 3/4" square) sampler I just finished. The graph is entitled "From the Heart" and is by Kris'Stitches. This is just one of the many little pieces done in memory of Kris Stott, a founder of Norden Crafts. Check out the link for more information.



I had hoped to frame this little darling myself and went to Hobby Lobby on Saturday to pick up a frame. I found 2 that said they had a 3 X 3 inch opening -- ummm.... I found out that this is just an approximation. Both frames really only had a opening of barely 2 3/4 inches - too small -- arghh!!! So I'll be back at Hobby Lobby this week to try again.



And here is the card I made for today - a plaid heart and a googly eyed monkey - doesn't that just say "sweetheart" to you? Oh, it doesn't? Well it works for me - LOL! Happy Valentine's Day!

carol fun

A Heartfelt Sunday Sampler...

Oh I've been saving this one for this Sunday and it is A Gift From My Heart!



As you can see from the date I stitch this one up over 12 years ago and from the first time I saw it, it tugged at my heart. Notice there is no house -- oh my goodness, this was a big departure for me back then. I don't remember if it called for the olivey green linen or if it was my choice. I'd like to take credit for it! I used overdyed flosses and I love the variations in shades and tones.



However as I looked at this close up today I think her eye is a bit too low -hmmm...why didn't I see this before? Looking through the lens of a camera is certainly a different perspective. Well, mutant eye or not I like her! I don't have a clue who designed this piece and I know I've said this waaaaayyy too many times - sorry! But this whole process has gotten me to write down what I do remember on the backs of the frames, so I won't forget again, I hope.

And don't expect this every Sunday (even though I pulled it off last week too) but I finished another pair of socks. These are knitted with yarn from Blue Moon Fibers and is their Socks that Rock lightweight.



The colorway is called Crabby McCrabbypants -- funny, huh?? I don't know where they get the names for their colors but I enjoy the craziness of it.


They have nice stitch definition and a subtle sheen - very smooshy and comfortable. I did get a little work in on the owl and chicken pincushions but they are all still in pieces so no pictures today. And I got the binding on 2 quilts -yippee! If the weather is as nice tomorrow as it was today - 40's and sunny - I'll take them outside and get some pictures to show you.

Hope your Valentine's Day is happy and that it involves chocolate! Happy stitching -

carol fun

One of these things is not like the other.....

oh, one of these guys just isn't the same. Do you see her? Upper left hand corner...



there - what's that chicken, that polka dot chicken doing hanging out with these owls? hmmmmmm.... I need to investigate. Where did this all start? Well it began with the latest issue of the magazine International Quilt Festival - Quilt Scene. I was taken by the bright orange quilt on the cover and there down in the lower left hand corner were the cutest little owls. I'm sure you can guess where this lead...



first there was this guy. Love the purple and turquoise combination. And then...



there was this fellow. I wish I gotten a better shot of the Kaffee Fassett button fabric on his wings- but either way he's cute too. I had fun playing with the pattern and adding my own touches. I found some variegated Valdani perle cotton in my stash and I love how it worked for the eyes. Again, my crafty worlds combined and I used my Cuttleubg to die cut the felt for the eyes. And speaking of eyes, my older son looked at these little guys ( and after shaking his head and softly sighing and wondering how much it was going to cost to keep me in a "special" wing of the elder care facility in my future) suggested that they needed little wiggly, googly eyes. Yes they did! Of course I found a bag of them in my stash - it pays to buy things you just know you'll need someday! They were the perfect finishing touch! After sewing up these guys I went to bed and that's when it hit me..... I could make a CHICKEN and not just any chicken a POLKA DOT CHICKEN!!! I was so excited I almost peed my pants (lets not discuss incontinence today, okay?) Anyway here's what I came up with...



Isn't she the cutest little polka dot chicken? Now felt does not come in polka dots, imagine that? So I made my own polka dot felt using my rubber stamps --again a sublime combination of crafty worlds. I had to move on to other projects this week so I haven't gotten back to these guys but I know I'm going to make more of both the owls and the chickens. They're just too stinking cute!

Happy stitching!
carol fun