Thursday, August 25, 2011

thursday = embroidery

firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for their comments & emails about the dog...they were so helpful & comforting, especially the links & suggestions :)

secondly I'm dropping in to share a recently completed & gifted cross stitch:


{pattern available here from weelittlestitches}

and thirdly, it seemed fitting to post a dog related vintage embroidery pattern as well {with a little kitty thrown in there for good measure}:


happy stitching!


Friday, August 19, 2011

his royal highness


behind the scenes around here this guy's been providing quite the drama...on top of his arthritis his thyroid recently gave him some trouble & then just as that was under control with medication, bam! he loses his sight. the vet said it's just one of those things...no clear cause just rapid degeneration, which in a weird way is kind of a relief because he's not sick, he just can't see. so if anyone has any tips for living with a blind pet I'd really appreciate the advice!

we're maneuvering pretty well through this change {and some other ones as well} but something has to give, so I'm going to take a blog break. I'll still post now & then just not as regularly as I have been. I hope that soon, october-ish I'd guess, I'll be back to weekly posting - maybe even with some new features & more etsy updates {the shop will remain open btw} so I hope you'll stay tuned :)

{have a wonderful weekend!}

Thursday, August 18, 2011

thursday = embroidery

whenever I travel I make sure to plan ahead & get some projects together to bring with me. on this trip my destination provided inspiration for one of the projects I brought along:


the heart is appliqued onto the state & both were in turn appliqued onto a piece of linen. I used a sharpie paint pen to fill in the letters & painted the hoop.


this week's vintage embroidery has nothing to do with traveling or my hometown, I just thought it was nice:


happy stitching!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

hometown crafting

when all the girls in my family get together there is always eating, drinking & talking...and sometimes there is crafting.

this year we worked on a valentine's day table decoration for my sister mern...she had a dream & we came to call that dream the heart ocotopus...or heartopus.

she started gathering fabric & embellishments long ago for the project so that when we all sat down at the dining room table at mom's house it was covered in sequins, glitter, rhinestones & feathers and we were given our directions...make hearts, glitzy hearts the likes of which the world has never seen! and so we did:


here are a few closeups of ones we're not ashamed to have our names associated with {just kidding!}:

cill:


lily:


mern {she created the fabric by weaving ribbon}:


mine:


sue's:


the next step was to figure out the placement & hanger material for each heart since they would hang from a big two layer heart {the bottom of which is unfinished in the photo below, it's red velvet and would be stuffed & have a white satin ribbon around it}:


see now where it got it's name ;)

there wasn't time to finish it before two of us left but there have been hilarious texts & emails flying back & forth detailing the foibles of the making of that big velvet heart...from the perspectives of 4 different people which has made it all the more interesting!

and we've already got next year's project in the works - a mural on sister cill's garage. I think we're all kind of relieved it won't involve sewing...

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

little missy

in addition to food there was one other thing I did take photos of while I was visiting my family, my mom's new kitten little missy. thing is she's such a busy thing & always moving around, so the only decent photo I got was when she was asleep:



Monday, August 15, 2011

hometown food

I recently took a trip home to visit my family & attend my small town's yearly carnival. I didn't take photos like I usually do, just wasn't in the mood. what I was in the mood to do it seems was eat...a lot. and the few photos I did take were of some of the food I enjoyed.

my mom's meatballs:


fried dough {which is that big thing in the middle & totally different from funnel cake...which do I prefer? let's just say despite my sister announcing her new found love of funnel cake I did not disown her. but is was tempting}:


I didn't actually eat one of these cream puffs at aunt milly's restaurant & you can't really tell how big they were but trust me they were huge:


and least but certainly not last pizza & {chicken} wings:


Friday, August 12, 2011

around the house

blueberries & tomatoes:


{have a great weekend!}

Thursday, August 11, 2011

thursday = embroidery

new embroidery project pieces:


this week's vintage embroidery pattern:


happy stitching :)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Monday, August 8, 2011

Friday, August 5, 2011

out & about

@ a highway reststop:


{have a wonderful weekend!}

Thursday, August 4, 2011

thursday = embroidery

a friend with an upcoming birthday pinned this & so I recreated it for her with embroidered details as a gift:



I was so happy she liked it :)

and this week's vintage embroidery pattern is a sweet girl with flowers:


happy stitching!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

repurposed

from a pin into a ring:

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Monday, August 1, 2011

out & about

@ an estate sale: