turkey feathers

Hippity-Hoppity

Although I did have the very best of intentions, I didn't get very far on the third office-chair cover this weekend.  Thought I'd try and pick it up again later today.  It's not easy to concentrate though when you have distractions like this.  A small herd of young buck were on the move up my driveway this morning.  There were five in all, just passing through and checking out the eats along the way.  They trotted a little faster when they saw me appear in the doorway though.  Keep moving fellas.  Note to self:  Time to mix up the magic concoction and spray a few things. 

I was shocked to also see, that the cottontails had nibbled the lavender stalks down to the ground.  Apparently they like certain varieties better than others, and 'Provence' seems to be one of them.  However, this one was being adorable and eating the weeds in the lawn today.  On to project news:  The wool blanket, in particular, as a few have been asking about it.  I still have a smallish hunk of it left, if you can believe it.  I've been sneaky too; stitching up more fun stuff on the sly.  I think it will be nice to have a few surprises in the book, don't you?  So I'm keeping these new things under wraps for now.  Also keeping a craft diary as I go along, making notes of essential details so I don't forget as I hop around from one thing to the next. 

My Service At Your Command

We invited friends over to the house yesterday and spent the entire afternoon lolling around and talking so I was a bit surprised by the email and comment responses I found this morning regarding my book idea.  Thank you all so much for your support of my, shall we say, mid-life follies!  Some of you get that, right?  I hope so anyway.  Guess, it's time to quit fooling around and give this blanket project some serious thought now.  I already have a few ideas tucked under my hat, however I'm finding it hard to stay on task lately.  For one thing, Spring is early here and it's distracting me.  It's wonderful to feel the sun on my face and see things popping out of the ground; as I snapped this picture a rabbit streaked out from under the bramble and nearly ran across my foot, surprising both of us.  But more likely, my lack of mental agility is a menopausal thing, that I'm told will pass.  I'm trusting it will, and only mention this because it may affect my decision about how to publish.  I'm leaning toward an Indie book, mainly so that I don't have to be tied to a time-line and also because I'll have the ultimate say-so over every aspect of it.  (I'm terrible-particular you know.)  I've never done anything like this before either, so I'm going to have to learn things.  Maybe this will pave the way for others who want to explore another creative avenue as well.  New technology offers us many options.  Just hope I can stay awake long enough to see it through.  I'm so not kidding about that either.  This will definitely help:  I have a *secret admirer* who has been leaving espresso bean-laden chocolate bars (some with love notes inside) in my Hugs & Kisses tote bag.  Just how sweet is that?  Yep, spring is definitely in the air. 

Posy Slippers

Somehow I just knew there was a little pair of baby slippers patiently waiting to tippy-toe out from my thrifted wool blanket.  And here they be.  Making this the 27th project so far.  Whoa.  I wasn't really counting, but now that I just did, I'm somewhat surprised.  And from the size of the scrap I still have left, I'd say there will be several more things to come before I get to the *grand finale*.   No idea [yet] what it will be.  I'm also wondering what happens after that and whether or not I should put the projects and a few patterns (just the ones I've designed) into a little book.  I'm curious to know if there's any interest out there and would love for you guys to share your thoughts with me about it either in comments or email.   

And...after that last post, here's proof that lazy food can also be both delicious and healthy.  For a late lunch yesterday, the Mister and I had this roasted walnut-encrusted fish fillet with honey-mustard & lemon-dill dressing, and as you can see, I was just about to stick my fork in when I suddenly decided to blog it.  (ha!)  I used fresh Snapper, but you can use any type of fish.  Here's the skinny:  Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels.  Cover a baking sheet with foil, and drizzle 3 T. olive oil on it.  Coat both sides of the fish with the oil on the pan.  Chop about 1/2 cup walnuts; and toss together with 1 T. flour. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the nut mixture on the baking sheet and place the fish on top of it;  then add the remaining nuts on the top of the fish pressing them down lightly so they stay put.  Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until fish is cooked through.  (Don't broil or you'll burn the walnuts.)  Dressing/Sauce:  With a wire whisk blend together 1 T. mustard, 1 tsp. honey, 1/4 cup mayo, juice from 1/2 lemon, 1/2 tsp. dry dill weed, (or 1 T. fresh chopped).  Makes two servings.  I served it up on the side, with a bed of mixed greens, red bell pepper, and a few kalamata olives. 

My only lament right now is, I wish I'd paid closer attention in French Class so I could decipher the recipe for this amazing looking cake tower thingy.  Hey, and that apron is pretty cute too, oui?  Time to get out my embroidery hoop I think.  (More Marie Claire Idees wonderfulness here.)

Having a Scrabulous Time!

Over the weekend I did a little experimenting with baby/doll bonnets using the pre-cut squares and strips, but nothing to show yet.  Mostly, I just wasted a lot of time and blame this!  I think I'm addicted now.  The girls and their friends signed up too and it was so fun. (woot!)  Anyone else wanna challenge? (pm me 2 pl) That's chat-code for contact me by private email to play.  See? I'm picking up things from the "youngsters".  Probably not for the better though!  (hee hee)  These tiny slippers were another fun and pointless activity that made me happy too.  Made from the wool blanket scraps instead of paper, glitter and glue.  Used this pattern, compliments of my sweet friend Calamity Kim, whose fabulous blog is one of the *brightest* in the blogasphere.  Not only is she highly creative, funny, and entertaining, but she also writes from the heart.  A glittery generous heart.  I always admire her candor.  This post in particular, is especially poignant and touching, and I found myself nodding my head and relating to a lot of what she discussed regarding blog-love.  Particularly the crazy part!  We all have those moments, I guess.  And this one---you'll need to grab a hankie, I guarantee she'll have you laughing and crying at the same time.  (She's stepping out for awhile to take care of family matters back home and I'm sure could use a few virtual hugs.) 

Bonny Bonnets

And...just when you'd thought you'd seen the last of the wool blanket!  Believe it or not, there's still quite a few scraps leftover from this thing.  I've got more ideas up my sleeve too.  Probably more ideas than time.  Isn't that always the case?  I've obviously got 'babies on the brain' as well and for good reason.  I'm going to be a grandma again for the second time; it's another baby girl for my son and daughter-in-law, due in the Spring!  Naturally, we're all thrilled, especially the girls, who will be aunts again too.  Ginger's still trying to wrap her mind around that concept.  Not easy to understand when you're only ten and have five aunts who are matronly figures.  None of it matters though, we're just so pleased, and of course looking forward to planning another baby shower.  Speaking of that, there was a surprise shower for Manda.  Her real-life friend, Kristy, set it up, and I was tickled to be part of it.  Nice to have a reason to pick up my sewing again after the holidays.  One of my favorite layette things to make are these soft flannel swaddling blankets.  This one says, Sugar Plum, an old Vogart design that I think is really cute--another bonnet design by coincidence.  I hope she likes it.  I thought of her the whole time I was working on it, so it went with lots of xox.  Making a wool bonnet has been on my mind too. Maybe the snow had something to do with it, or the desire for warm ears, but whatever the reason, I had to make this. Just used an old pattern I had. One piece with two darts up the back; two pieces if you count the lining.  Super easy.  Makes for a boxy little topper, like a Dutch girl hat.  Very cute!  Perfect for the stiff wool I'm working with, and just as sweet made from a cotton print as a "sun bonnet" too.  No little noggin around here to fit this on, so I had to use Thumbelina. She's almost as old as I am, and with very bad hair (all the more reason to put a bonnet on her, I say!) and she's the perfect size for modeling newborn hats and gowns.  The flower was my first attempt at needle-felting and I was surprised at how easy that was too.  I think I see more of these needle-felted projects on the horizon.

Miss Daffy Down Dilly

Spring!  It's definitely in the air around here, evidenced by this little hatchling who just surfaced from the infamous wool blanket.  (Look, she's waving her wing to say "hello" and waddling to and fro, modeling her new Easter bonnet.)  Remember this?  The pattern is dated from 1955, I posted about it here last spring, when I found, and shared, the Lambkin pattern that was tucked inside the envelope.  Since then, quite a number of people have been asking about the Duckling and Chick patterns (still) and whether or not they were somehow available.  Well. I'm happy to tell you that these requests have finally come to fruition, but due to the complexity of the pattern and the number of pieces, I wasn't able to offer it as a free print-out or PDF, because for me, that's another project in itself, and besides, sometimes it's just nicer to have these printed out the old-fashioned way.  Plus, there's a super sweet envelope to store your pattern pieces in too.  The directions and illustrations have been re-designed for clarity, so if you are a novice stitcher you will appreciate the step-by-step format.  The original pattern was designed for cloth, but you can make a wool or felt duck (like mine shown) by trimming away the seam allowances.  The Chick also comes with directions for making a lace bonnet. For the Duckling, a pointed hat with a tassel.  Both toppers are really cute, but you can alter the pattern to suit your whimsy, as I've done with mine.  More pictures.

The Chick & Duckling pattern is available here on my PatternBee website.  Please note that I'm no longer shipping international orders.  My apologies to foreign friends, but anything requiring a 'customs form' must be shipped from the (one and only and often crowded) main post office in town.  I live rural, and therefore pay a daily visit to a smaller postal annex about a mile from my house.  However, they only handle domestic mail.  I found that having to make another trip for the odd package is a major time-drain. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I can't seem to do it within a reasonable amount of time on a regular basis and I need to make my life easier.  Having said that, if you are elsewhere and have a trustworthy friend here in the U.S. that's willing to be a middle-man for you, we can handle that.  Just send me an email before or after you place your order to make those arrangements, and we will do what we can do. 

On a side note:  Thank you dear friends, for the doll quilt compliments...it's all done!  I'll be wrapping it up and sending it off very soon.  Since I kind of let the kitty out of the bag here, I'll share a few pictures (on flickr) later so as not to spoil the whole surprise. 

Pincushion Confection

I suppose I really didn't need another pin cushion.  Especially now that Prickles and I are pals.  But the wool blanket was whispering from the basket in the corner and couldn't be ignored.  And a little cake sounded good.  Besides, when does *whimsy* ever need a reason?   

The flowers were my starting point and very simple to do.  Here's a peek at how they're done.

I always use wool felt.  For the rose center, cut a thin strip and roll it into a bud.  Tack it down with a few stitches here and there to unfurl the "petals".  I used French knots for the violet.  (See how they come in handy?)

My Valentine Needlecase (from last year) compliments this confection perfectly I think.  Now if I can only get my buttercream icing flowers to look this good.

Wool Whimsy

This week sure rolled by fast.  I poked my head out and realize days have passed.  I'm still in hibernation mode here.  We've been enjoying a few snow days too.  The nice thing about snow in this region is it lasts just long enough to be a fun novelty and only a minor nuisance.  The Cascade Mountains are completely covered though and are a spectacular site on this sunny but COLD morning. 

Among other things, I finally did get around to making these sweet little elf slippers from a pattern that the ultra-talented and ever generous Jenny created and shared here on her blog.  (Thanks again Jenny!) Could anything be cuter?  As soon as I saw the pattern I knew it was perfect for my wool blanket project.  I reduced the pattern size a bit so these are about three-inches long before they turn up at the toe.  I used felted-wool beads for poms.  I'm wondering now if I should make a doll to fill them.  The last time I made tiny felt shoes, Ella Nora appeared on the scene. 

Maybe this birthday girl could do with a little company, yes?

Wrapping it Up

I'm coming up for air, but just momentarily!  With all the activities and visitors coming and going, I completely forgot to mention this little project that somehow got made in the midst of everything happening around here.  If you are new to my blog, you can see and read more about my blanket statement project in the side bar.  Gina recently wrote a nice piece about it over at Quilter's Buzz also. 

This was a pretty quick project.  Made in an evening while watching movies.  Used the cuff from an angora sweater (an old one that was already cut-up) and tacked it to the inside with a few stitches, then folded it over the top edge of the stocking like so.   A bit of hand-ruched netting drawn into a circle was the base for the "holly berry".  Leaves made from vegetable-dyed wool felt from Simmy, and a felted bead that was part of our fall crafting last year.  The tinsel pipe cleaner was added at the last moment.  Something the cat literally dragged in.  Lily loves pipe cleaners and snitches them if they're left out anywhere.  She'll carry them all over the house in her mouth, like a mother cat with a kitten, but then proceeds to bat them under the furniture where she can't reach them.   It seems every time I move something to clean behind it, there's a pile of pipe cleaners back there, that got away from her.   I'll have to keep an eye on this stocking now that I've confiscated and wrapped her treasure around it. Most likely she'll return to the other scene of the crime: the Christmas tree. Where much chewing of shiny ribbons on presents took place.  Some of which, were a sorry sight when she got through with them. 

She couldn't wait for the wrappings to fall on Christmas morning, so she could jump in and chew to her hearts content.

Snow Cones

This is as close to decorating a Christmas tree as I've gotten so far. 

  Fabric cone trees are nothing new, but suddenly they're everywhere again and I couldn't resist making some, especially after Little Birds shared this pattern that made it easy for me to get started.  (Thanks Stephanie!)   And as it turns out, it was also the perfect little something for my wool blanket project I started last year about this time.  I never know what inspiration will lead to another creation from that blanket!  Often, I think that maybe I'm just plum out of fresh ideas, and then something new comes along and it hits me. 

I've been collecting old buttons for years, and sometimes I find them cut from garments with the thread still intact and that's what I used here.  I just put a small dab of hot glue on the backs to stick them on, but no one's the wiser.  It's just our *little secret* now.

Love how these look grouped together on the mantle.  I definitely want to make a few more of these for friends too.