I have been busy stitching orders and am having a difficult time keeping up. So busy in fact that I’ve had to start saying no. It’s hard for me to say no but I realize that I just have to. It’s not fair to a customer to have to wait for weeks and weeks for something they’ve purchased and it causes way too much stress on my end. I promised Joe when I started selling my cupboard keeps that if it started to interfere with family life then I would stop. Well, it had gotton to that point where I felt I should be stitching all the time to get orders done. That alone interferes with family time because if I have to be stitching all the time I can’t be involved in other things. It also interferes in that if I’m constantly worrying about not getting my stitching done then I’m not able to enjoy other things. So, I’ve started to say no. I still have a ways to go in doing that but I’ve gotten much better! So, I’m still stitching lots of orders, but I’ve also put a limit to how many orders I will take, and I’ve started to say no. I’m so very flattered that so many people out there want something that I have made to display in their homes. It’s an amazing feeling. I can only hope that some of my humble little stitches bring joy to others. I can’t imagine not picking up a needle and thread on an almost daily basis and to know that I’m making something that others actually want and enjoy just makes the process even sweeter!
While camping with family my super duper crafty talented cousin Brandi at Lake Darling she brought out this simple little game for the kids to play. Such a sweet little craft – painted rocks in a drawstring bag with the tic tac toe board right on the bag! So of course I had to march right home and make one for myself!
Brandi did hers with Xs and Os, which I loved. But Drew and I decided to do ours a little differently and we painted fun little ladybugs in blue and red. a Sharpie to draw the board on the bag and you’re all set. When you’re done playing you pop those little rocks into the bag and pull the string tight and off you go! Brandi keeps hers in her camper and I’m thinking I will make another set just for that purpose. Maybe paint trees and owls or something campy like that. And another bag for the car to have on hand whenever we need to wait on something, like when we were waiting on an oil change the other day, or at a restaurant. And of course a bag to keep in the house because – well, just because!
Then Drew asked if I could make one for his friends who are brothers only do ladybugs and spiders. And so of course I couldn’t say no!
Remember weaving potholders as a child? I always thought it was so much fun. And then those potholders never got used! They were so small and they would melt if they got hot. They got shoved into the back of a kitchen drawer. I don’t even know what happened to those potholders I used to make.
I do remember enjoying the process of making them though. Such a simple thing – weaving over and under, over and under and watching the pattern unfold. It’s a calming process. Kind of like cross stitch I guess. Simple, repetitive actions that slowly turn into these beautiful pieces of art.
This one is made with wool loops dyed with goldenrod. It is not near as vibrant as the pictures show. More muted shades of golds and greens. It is absolutely stunning. And to think something as simple and plentiful as goldenrod was used.
I ran across an advertisement the other day and was intrigued. The same process from when I was a child only using a nice metal loom and colorful cotton loops. And all of these beautiful patterns to try. A finished product that you could actually use. So I decided to give it a try.
This one was made using wool loops dyed with walnuts. Probably my favorite so far.
And then, I discovered these naturally dyed loops. And the loops are wool. Oh my goodness. I love, love the idea of all natural. So much fun to see what you end up with. No two loops look the exact same color. So very very prim – just my style! And you can buy natural, undyed loops. Maybe I will give dying a try one of these days!
This one was made with cotton loops. Drew picked out the colors and the pattern. It think it turned out beautiful!
I love the bigger loom and the bigger size potholder. They are nice and thick and will be perfect for those hot dishes that come out of the oven. No worries about the countertop or worries over the potholder melting. Now I need to try to dig out my old smaller loom so I can make smaller potholders. I think they would work great for coffee and tea mug rugs!
This one was made with cotton loops. It is just so perfectly fit for Fall!
I can’t get Drew interested in making them. He thinks it looks boring. But he did enjoy picking out colors and a pattern for me to make one! I’m addicted to all the different patterns and designs. It’s just fun to sit down and put some colors together and see what you come up with. Or follow a pattern and try using different colors and seeing how different each one comes out. I want to try all the patterns and all the colors! But I definitely don’t need all the potholders!
We’ve been so busy lately and it’s been hard to fit in some stitching but I’ve managed! I’ve been stitching orders and stitching things to sell and once in a blue moon I stumble across a pattern I just have to stitch for myself!
When we were at the quilting/needlework store in Amana we found this cute cross stitch/beadwork kit. Two of us purchased the kit and are going to make Christmas ornaments to commemorate our camping trip. I haven’t done beadwork in a long time and it’s been fun to do a little bit of it again. I’m looking forward to finishing mine and seeing how Susie finishes hers. I’m sure they will look totally different from each other and yet both will be beautiful!
You can’t really see how the beads sparkle but they do. And they’ll really sparkle on the Christmas tree! It’s fun to have someone else stitching too as I don’t have anybody local who stitches and I’ve always thought it would be fun to stitch with friends!
It is cold and white in our neck of the woods. We are experiencing the longest stretch of cold weather we’ve had in a long, long time. I think today it’s supposed to get up to 1 degree. Just walking to the mailbox this morning was brutal! And we have lots of snow on the ground, with ice underneath. It is not fun to be outside right now and it’s been so hard for Drew. Last week he took his little pop up tent, loaded it with blankets, warmed up a bowl of soup and had his lunch out there. He lasted about 20 minutes each time which surprised me and it was a nice break for him. He’s struggling with being cooped up in the house.
We did some watercolor painting using watercolor pencils on our homemade paper and that was fun. Drew wants to make more paper now but I told him we needed to wait until we could do it outside as we had water everywhere. We plan to try our hand at coloring the paper using natural dyes like onion skins and red cabbage. Something I hope to do at Easter too when we dye eggs. Something to look forward to!
Saturday we got the call that our deer meat was ready for pickup in a neighboring town so we dressed warm and headed to Washington. I have to say it was nice to get out of the house even if it was originally for a drive to the locker and back home. But on the way our daughter called and talked to her dad about a smell they had in their master bathroom and what it could be. Jeremy had to work and wouldn’t be able to look into it until Sunday. As we would be so close to their place anyway we decided to head over there after picking up our order and see if Joe could help.
Joe decided the issue was a snow blocked vent on the roof and he wasn’t sure he could get to it without help so we spent the afternoon playing with grandkids and made plans to head back over the next day. So a weekend of staying home and keeping warm ended up being a fun weekend spent with grandkids! We had a lunch of tacos and taco salad and I took a dessert I had made. Then I had the grandkids color some plain seed packets I had and we picked out some flower seeds to put in them from my stash of seed I had harvested in the fall. Their great grandma has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and we thought she might enjoy a little bundle of flower seeds, homemade body butter and a rice bag Abby had asked me to make for her. We know the kids’ Great Grandma and Great Grandpa very well as Abby married a local boy and we’re a small community. I’ve known them both my whole life. Caroline worked as an associate in the high school library when I was going to school there and she was there when Abby and our two older sons where there. She is a wonderful cook and always has a big garden. We’re praying she can enjoy a little gardening this summer.
I always enjoy watching Joe playing with the grandkids. He loves to wrestle and play games with Braxton and it’s been so many years since we’ve had a little girl in the family that it’s fun to watch Joe playing with little Bayah. She is this sweet tiny little thing that loves anything pink, her books, and her dolls but she couldn’t wait until after lunch because she told me was going to jump on pillows, stand on a blanket and punch Grandpa! She is definitely small but mighty. She has no idea just how small she is!
We decided to try making paper today. Drew had lots of help from Possum until the blender was turned on. Then Possum high tailed it out of the kitchen! Drew started out gung ho but soon lost interest. That might be because I didn’t know what I was doing and had to try three or four times to get what I thought looked like paper! We have two sheets drying now and hopefully tomorrow we will have some homemade paper to try our hand at watercolor painting on. Next time maybe we’ll try coloring the paper and/or adding some dried flowers. I always enjoys a project that can be done all with items we have here at the house.
Yes, my table needs refinished. But it’s such a daunting job and Joe keeps saying he wants to build me a table. And we bought this table years ago with some money my grandma gifted to me. And this is the table that we use every day and have for close to 30 years. Oh the stories this table could tell. Lots of meals, crafts, games, laughs, tears, talks, arguments all around this table. And the wear and tear shows. But I’ve decided rather than hide all its faults in pictures, this is our table, this is us, and no hiding what some may consider the ugly!
Anyway, my mom made me some placemats. And I love love love them! I know how hard it was for her to pick out fabric that she thought I would like. She doesn’t appreciate my choice of dark, prim things and she lets me know that! But, she picked these out all on her own and they are perfect! They will definitely be taken off the table before we eat, craft, homeschool or whatever. I want to keep them nice!
Trying new ways of doing something doesn’t always work for me. Especially when trying shortcuts. I ran across a way to make beeswax candles by filling the jars with wax pellets and melting them in the oven. I fought the process the whole time and should have known they weren’t going to work. I had to add more pellets as they melted down, consequently they were in the oven double the time suggested. I couldn’t keep the wicks centered no matter how hard I tried. And even though they looked good last night, they had sunk in the center this morning. The only reason I tried this was to eliminate the mess of pouring them. And yet, hindsight, the whole process of melting, pouring, letting them set is what makes the process fun and fulfilling for me. Why would I want to eliminate the mess and bypass the fun? Though far from perfect, they still burn and make the house feel warm and cozy on this damp and chilly November day. And next time I’ll go back to the tried and true, old fashioned process. That usually works the best anyway!
Some weekends just fly by and this past weekend did just that. Joe was able to work from home on Friday (yeah!) which gave him some extra time in the afternoon since he didn’t have to drive and he called Dad and asked if he wanted help moving his building over the weekend. The weather looked like it would cooperate and since Joe is wanting to do some pheasant hunting next weekend he thought it would work out best to get the building moved now. That worked great with Dad and Mom’s schedule so we basically spent the whole weekend working outside and getting things done! I am so thankful Joe is able and oh so willing to help Dad and Mom around their acreage!
I spent Friday planning and ordering some garden seed while Joe worked. I know, it’s really early to be thinking about the garden, but I want to explore some different types of veggies and I have this fear that I won’t be able to get what I want if I don’t order now. I didn’t get a tremendous amount but I am excited about what I did order. Things like purple carrots and different varieties of kohlrabi. It never hurts to plan ahead!
We left the house Saturday at 7:00 and didn’t get home until 8:00 that evening. Then Sunday we left the house at 8:00 and got home around 5:00. We didn’t get much done around here but we did get things done for Dad so I would say it was a very productive weekend. Drew and I ventured down to the timber as Dad wanted me to see the lichen growing out of the cottonwood tree. This tree has always been my tree, my favorite tree, the one I always gravitate to when we’re in the timber. It is huge and ancient and full of growths and protrusions and nooks and crannies. The eagles love to sit in the very tip top branches and look out over the fields and timber. If only that gigantic and ancient tree could tell stories. I can’t imagine what all it has seen over the years.
I told Dad and Mom that the building should be moved down to the timber, at the bottom of the sandstone bluff where the fire ring is, nestled between the trees. We could clean it all up, put a couple of beds in there, a couch to sit on and set up a camp kitchen. It would be the perfect place to get away. But alas, they had other plans, which I knew they did. But a girl can dream right! So we moved it up to the lot and it will be used for storage and that is as it should be.
I finally got some stitching time in yesterday evening. Mom had gotten out her microwaveable heating pad to show us and Drew wanted one so bad. She got hers from the store but since we aren’t doing much shopping and I’ve decided to try and make what I can with what I have versus buying anyway, I stitched him up a rice bag. I found a pattern I liked on Pinterest and used it as a guide and he loves it! I let him pick out an essential oil he wanted and we mixed few drops in with the rice before we stitched up the bag and he hasn’t let it out of his site since. He slept with it last night and warmed it back up first thing this morning. I love it when something so simple and easy can be made at home and can make someone so happy. Now I think I’ll make one for me too, and use lavender oil. Oh, to have warm toes when I get in bed at night. And then Joe will want too, to put on his back when he’s hurting. I’ll definitely need to put rice on my grocery list. Another reason to get the sewing machine out of the box and teach myself to sew. How much quicker and prettier would it be to sew up rice bags on a machine versus stitching by hand!
I finished my wee little Flower Witch by Lori Brechlin. I love how she turned out. A little more practice and I’ll be ready to start stitching for Bayah.
As much as I’m enjoying learning a new craft, it feels good to get back to making those tiny little X’s. Strawberries and bunnies and a beautiful new needle minder given to me by a dear friend. Doesn’t that dragonfly just scream out warm summer days! And yet here we are, the middle of winter and we’re supposed to be getting quite the snowstorm today. They canceled school as of last night already. According to my phone we’re supposed to get 3 to 5 inches of snow with ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch, wind and near whiteout conditions. We’ll see what really happens. Mother Nature always does her own thing! I guess I’ll head to town to run errands this morning and then plan on staying home the rest of the weekend. I love a good snowstorm!
