Wednesday, January 22, 2014

a little heart...


This was my little day off project in 
between all the "have to" stuff.
 (laundry, cleaning and cooking).
 It is a little punch needle heart. 
(ya know the kind you wear?)
I was dissatisfied with it after I cut it
 out and stitched it. I will keep
 it and use it in a future project.


Things that made me happy and smile today :)



This is a gift from http://marystanley.blogspot.com/.
She gave it to me many moons ago, but it still makes me smile.
Thank you.

and this...


a tiny little stitch man made by Becky Lowe.
Thank you.


This was found while "thrifting" yesterday for
the mere sum of one dollar.
It really is quite beautiful.  It is for a chair
pad or pillow. I will make it a pillow.
Note: Not a lot of light for pictures this morning.



Also, a new addition. I already have several of these little
baskets, but I absolutely love them. They are so handy.
I pick them up at my local health store. They come from
Africa and are part of fair trade.


If you do not like the shape of the basket you just dampen it and shape it the way you want it.
fun!

Lastly, while visiting my local wool place I was gifted with this book:
I was talking to the owner of the shop about Janet Bolton and how I found
her work inspirational and the owner of the shop disappeared literally behind
a curtain (like the Wizard of Oz) and out she came with this book for me:




I wanted to share some of the pictures inside the book, but alas there is not
enough light and it creates a glare on the pages.
This is written as a children's book. At the end of the book is
a pocket that held patchwork pieces of fabric that were pre-
printed to create the small doll quilt you see on the front cover of
the book. There were no patches in this book, but it is a treasure
to me.
Have a great day!

<3

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Wide Awake!

After a long absence...well I never really was far away, just working like crazy. I still am. I have missed visiting my little "blip" in the world and keeping up with what everyone is doing. My thoughts about 2013....

1. If you let work consume your life...it will!

2. If you let others set the agenda...they will!

3. If you do not "carve" out time for yourself it will never happen!

4. I have lost myself to everything else...time to find me! :)

5. I was so busy with work that seeing my crafty stuff just piled in stacks was depressing, so I packed up 99% of it and put it in a storage.

6. Living in the north forces you to deal with the snow/ice. Some days I don't mind and some days I do. (Well, I can do without the ice! It is actually scary :/)

7. I can do without clutter in my life. Less is more!

8. One of my teenage daughters began driving and working and my mom radar is constantly up!
Sometimes I am anxiously waiting by the door!

9. I traveled to Philadelphia for a business trip and could not believe there was a Nuclear plant right smack dab in the heart of a town and how people were very non nonchalant about it! It was surreal to me.

10. Time that we carve out and we give to ourselves is precious and necessary.

11. I have been consciously trying to "see"the beauty where I am. Some times I am going so fast that I wake up and realize, Öh my God, I have been driving by this for years...and it is so beautiful!

So over the months....



Little Oliver has grown and stolen our hearts...
he is hard to catch in a picture because he is always moving!
He is full of little tricks, he is like a little circus dog :)


I flew to Texas to see my daughter and had such a great time!


My trip to Philadelphia and the Nuclear plant just past the parking lot!


 I try to take time and sit by the wood stove while I am home...but not for too long.


During the holidays we chose a beautiful balsam fir and added colored lights and we all agreed it did not need another thing! I love easy!!! :)


me one quiet evening...


time with one of my sons...



while visiting my daughter in Texas, we stumbled across a cute little hidden shop that carried Japanese fabric...score! I was so excited. I bought a few snippets to bring home and create a little traveling kit.


Lastly, a little punch needle pumpkin man i have been working on.

Glad to be back, if only for a few moments!
<3

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

One July day...


a little bit of stitching on the Madonna quilt..embroidering over some feathers that were in the fabric...



a rose that has bloomed...it is heirloom and smells quite lovely...



having fun with editing :)

a bee visiting the cilantro...

lavender blooming...

the first tomatoes...


a baby hydrangea

sunflowers

a tiny waterfall...

Denise Schmidt fabrics...LOVE! 



and the latest Mollie Makes :)

Have a great week!

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Inspiration





In my work, which is unrelated to my hearts creative desire, I met a woman the other day, who in a few moments inspired me to pick up my needle at least 1 hour a day...no matter what!

She is a passionate rug hooker and she won the Viewers Choice Award in 2012 at the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild:

check out her beautiful rug:

It is called Koi Motion by Carol Murphy



check out the Green Mountain Rug Hooking website and read about Carol's rug and why she chose to create this particular piece at:


http://www.gmrhg.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1463333

The Green Mountain Guild puts on the best rug hooking shows!!!!

Two years in a row I attended the Shelburne Museum for the shows and was absolutely "wow-ed" each time!
Amazing women!

Thanks for the inspiration!!!

p.s. the baby is asleep in my lap as I type this...he is a sparky, happy, playful little guy! I am pretty sure he had kennel cough when we got him. I did not know what it was until I began to notice how lethargic he was when we first got him home. The moment my daughter picked him up when we went to choose the puppy we wanted, he lay his little tiny head on her chest, clue one: he did not feel well.
Also, curious to me was why the breeder insisted we give him antibiotics, when I asked why??? I was told that they give all their puppies antibiotics when they leave...ummm that was clue two!
Anyway, he is perfectly healthy now and so well loved!!!

p.s.s. she has picked up her needle...if only for a few moments....



Have a great day!
xo


Thursday, June 20, 2013

Garden


For many years I have wanted a garden and now....


grapes...

potatoes 

tomatoes

vertical garden of lettuce and all kinds of goodies...

a cairn

My favorite summer flower...hydrangea.

I am grateful!
xo
<3

Saturday, June 8, 2013

The baby has arrived!!!



After a long wait the little guy has arrived! He has already begun to heal two broken hearts. Several years ago, I had to give my two Miniature Yorkies away because it was too much and I was moving and they could not come.
One had become attached to my daughter and the other was mine. We both were broken hearted, but now we have this sweet little tiny guy who just makes you smile with his sweetness...we are thankful!
He really is so cute in person...this is not a great picture...but you get the idea. After a night of holding him and letting him know just how much he is loved he has finally settled in and is willing to eat and sleep on his own.
 Hope all is well and I look forward to being able to stitch again...till then xo <3