WIP....

Under construction....an old UFO:)

My mantra this year is.... finish.... finish... finish...om...om....

Bodies

...and, bits.

They have been languishing in a box for some time waiting to be finished and dressed. There are ten of them...about 16 inches tall. They a very cuddly as they are made from a soft vintage fleece material that I wish I could get more of but alas I bought the end of the bolt.

I actually designed the mouse pattern about 30 years ago. It's very easy to make with a two piece torso. I realize now when I look at it that I was quite a talented pattern designer when I was younger:) My mum taught me. But, like everything else if you don't practice it you lose it.

I'm joining up with The Needle & Thread Network today......take a moment and go over and visit some very talented Canadians.

Take care:)

Year In Review.....

I thought I'd review what I have made this year just for the heck of it. I never realized how much I had done.

Here in no particular chronological  order are my makes for 2012...I think I may have missed a few but whatever....I think I'm safe in saying I was productive.

Unfortunately there are a couple of largish UFO's :(

I'm joining up with The Needle and Thread Network today......I've been a bit lax in my participation recently but I intend to get with it this year.....take care:)


 

Happy New Year's Eve......

I thought I better end the year with a final post for 2012.

Well we made it through Christmas without much hassel. The cats were very good this year with our tree. There were are few "incidents" but they soon didn't pay any attention to the tree at all:)

Santa was very nice and brought my favourites....

I also have to show you a Monthly Make as well. They had a challenge at Cloth Doll Artistry that I  participated in. We were given a pattern with no instructions and we were to make a doll.

As usual I left it to the last moment. It was due December 20th and I some how managed to put something together the night before.  To be honest I wasn't in love with the pattern so it was hard to get motivated:(  We were to use ribbon on the doll as well and I had a ribbon flower I made a while back. So I took it apart and used the petals for her dress....

In the end I made a little shelf sitter. I gave her little boots because she looked odd with the way the foot was. I also thought the arms where out of proportion so I wangled it a bit.

......other news........well the world didn't end this month as predicted........and I got a year older.

I also had a Blogoversary......December 28, 2010 was my first post on here.  Funny that I would choose that time of year to start blogging......nothing on TV probably.


I never make any New Years resolutions because I know I will never stick to them so why bother. I like to go with the flow and see where it brings me. I always look forward to a new year...a fresh page to write on.....new adventures:) 

Having said that I want to wish you all a Happy New Years from me and mine to you and yours....

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I will raise a glass of good cheer to you all and I'll talk to you next year:)

Take care.

Christmas WW1

More Monthly Makes for November...

Since today is the last day in November I thought I'd squeak in a few more Monthly Makes. I made a couple more Christmas tree ornaments.

My version of a Blue Jay...

 and, a Chickadee...sorta...

After struggling to make patterns for the felt birds I've made so far, I then discovered Downeast Thunder Farms.

Ah well....I enjoyed the challenge but sometimes it's nice when someone does the work for you:)

I borrowed the idea for a Christmas Dove from Downeast Thunder Farm. I changed the pattern a bit by making the back wing a separate piece. Susan has a ton of bird patterns and all of them are so simple to make:)

Gingermelon Dolls has posted a free Santa pattern on her blog that is adorable....I'm definitely going to make some. 

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I have a few more felt decorations in the works which I will share next time.

Take care:)

This and that.......

Some sad news...for anyone who follows Soggibottom you will know that about six weeks ago the river near her 16th cottage overflowed it's banks and flooded her house. Well it's happened again....:( Please send her some positive thoughts as this has been a very devastating experience for them all including her adorable dog Freya and the ever stoic Frankie the cat.

Wendy over at WendyCarole's Stuff actually made a runner using the video I posted "10 Minute Table Runner". She said it was very easy to make and it looks lovely....I must make one too.

Famfa over at Jam to Maple Syrup is celebrating the one year anniversary of her move from England to Canada. She has a lovely blog where she posts about her family, their daily happenings and the changes they have experienced in their new life here in Canada.

More sad news....anyone who follows Judy's Fabrications will know that she has decided that she will be closing down her blog at the end of December. Hopefully she will change her mind because she is such a crafty lady and I think an inspiration to all of us crafty slackers. She amazes me at how much creative work she does in a week.

And, last but not least....Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends. We are celebrating it too as my great grandmother was American:)

I know pretty weak......any excuse to have turkey....LOL

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Take care:)

Morbidly Cute........Dumb Ways to Die............A Public Announcement

WIP Wednesday.....

I decided to make some Christmas ornaments that are kid friendly. My granddaughter will be 2 1/2 years old this Christmas and is at that stage when she has to touch and look at everything. Last year all the Christmas trees in the family had bare branches at the bottom.......the decorations were placed up high and away from little hands.

the little imp:)

This year I'm putting decorations at the bottom that she can touch.

I found this really adorable decoration on Pinterest from a blog called....Flamingo Toes ....a mug of cocoa with two little marshmellows floating on top......you will find the pattern and the tutorial to make it at that site.

She's very interested in watching birds at a feeder she made at playschool so I thought an English Robin would be very cute too.....I love when I get cards from Britain with those cute robins on them.

I'm not much of an artist so I looked for a simple picture that I could use as a template and I found one at rspb.org.

I did learn a few lessons making this.......the tail was too skinny so I had to reenforce it with a tiny bit of armature wire.

I glued the wing on upside down but she won't know.....sshhh:)

 Then I made a little red winter coat .....

Of course I had to make some elf's shoes from a pattern designed by Jenny at Allsorts. This is an old pattern that I've made before but this time I printed them at a much smaller size......1/4 of the original pattern size.

I still have a ton of felt so I think it'll keep me busy for a wee while. I found a few more free felt ornament patterns on the internet and once I've made some I'll post some pictures.

I'm joining up today with The Needle & Thread Network..

Take care:) 

Make the 10-Minute Tablerunner

Monthly Make for October....

I found this cute embroidery pattern on Etsy at bigBgsd called "Sewing Room".

It has all of these really sweet motifs and I used one of them to make a little something to hang on the wall of my sewing room......

I think it's pretty cute and I'm very pleased with myself for doing such a neat job.

There are 13 pages of embroidery ideas in the pattern and I was thinking of making a sewing machine cover using some of the other motifs.

Kim....the owner of the Etsy store also has a blog......big B which is of course a blog about embroidery:)

The little needle case in the first picture is a freebie pattern from Wee Folk Art. It was supposed to be a business card holder but I changed it a bit. It now opens up flat and holds all of my embroidery needles.

The pictures are not the greatest as it's a bit dark here at the moment. We are getting a lot of rain and wind today and in fact it looks like we are going to have a very wet week ahead.

I'm going to add this make to my Monthly Makes for October 2012:)

Take care. 

WIP Wednesday......

I'm painting stuff :(

My Trusty Ladder

I sometimes get sidetracked by a news article....ah well:)

I Won A Giveaway:)

I'm a bit late blogging about this as I received my giveaway prize last Thursday but I was busy messing about with other stuff.

I was the last person to enter this giveaway at So September so you can imagine my surprise when I won.

Such a generous giveaway from Corinne...........three wooden embroidery hoops, a package of Thread Heaven, "The Fine Line" water erasable pen from Dritz, a lamenated pocket guide to embroidery stitches, eight skeins of DMC floss and two pieces of linen to get me started on a project with all of these goodies.

and, a 2013 calendar for my kitchen wall.......I think it's printed on Kona cotton. It's lovely anyway and there are directions on how to mount it to hang on the wall.

Corrine is a designer of lovely unique embroidery patterns that she sells online under her business name of September House. She often has free patterns that she offers on her blog too as well as helpful hints and tutorials.

I keep on saying that I'm going to try to get better at embroidery and learn much more about it so this giveaway was perfect. 

Take a moment and go over and pay her a visit:)

Take care.

I Love This Lovely Owl:)

I've posted this before but the link went missing. So adorable:) I find this video so stress

reducing...aaaahhhh......