Keeping warm.....

Bet you thought I got lost huh? Nope! I have been on my computer very little. Just been very busy with lots of fun playdates with friends and working on tons of projects. Speaking of projects...why did I ever learn to crochet????? Now I have one more thing that I desperately want to do each day. Yeah, like I needed yet one more thing...


So I was online searching for a beret pattern, as one does, and then I found this pattern for wristies on a blog, as one does, and could not resist so I grabbed my yarn and a crochet hook, as one does, and got tucked in yesterday. Okay, now do not call the grammar police. I know that was an incorrect and long sentence but that is how the crochet muse got a hold of me yesterday. *grins*

I wore these this morning with my winter coat since it is rather cold outside at only 0C/32F. They felt so soft and kept me warm. I think I am going to make another pair as it would be fun to have them in other colors. I am also going to add one more row of the single crochet row at the start as they will be just a tad longer.


Oh and by the way, I also made a beret but I will save that for another post as I first want to finish the scarf I am making to match it.

What are you up to this weekend?

My Christmas Cat!

As I mentioned, I have another finish to show you. I finished the second cat sampler. It is S. Claws by The Goode Huswife.

This ended up being my own version of the design. I had many comments about the fun of changing the cat's colors to Dagi. Thank you so much! I worried about this as I received an email in the past from a designer about my changing a color on her design. I just hope that if the designer of The Goode Huswife ever sees this blog that she will never take offence to this. I am loving making my wall dedicated to my sweet Dagi from her beautiful designs!

I used the recommended colors (DMC 400, 680, 3051, 3053) for the most part only changing the cat to DMC 3032 and 3781 once again. I left out the filling in of the patchwork motifs under the cat as I like the fact the Ohio Star pattern stood out more this way.

Fabric: Zweigart Autumn Fields 28 count stitched 2/2

Dagi really is my Christmas cat by the way. His birthday is on December 23rd so he is like a little present under the Christmas tree.

"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats."

~ English Proverb

I'm hooked!

On crochet that is! I am surprised that I like doing it as much as I do. I just do not know how to delegate my time to be able to crochet, stitch, quilt and make lace. Anybody know where I could buy a few extra pair of hands and perhaps a couple of extra hours a day while I am at it???

I have put together the granny square I have made up to now. I am going to make this into an afghan we can use while laying on the couch. I use my afghans and quilts often on the couch due to my health. I am making this 10 squares wide which means I have about another100 squares at least to go...

My squares look so plain after looking in my new book. This just arrived in the mail and it is a fabulous book. Many of the projects have a patchwork feel to them so they will satisfy the quilter in me too.

Have a wonderful weekend! I will have a finish to share at the end of it. *grins*

Dagi's sampler wall - Minerva

I have finished the first sampler for Dagi's sampler wall. I am making a wall of little cat samplers this year. The first is from this book from The Goode Huswife which you can see in this previous entry. Oh and a photo of my adorable little man Dagi himself! *grins*

I started this last Thursday and hated the color of the cat so I ripped it back out again and started over. I changed the colors to DMC 3032 and 3781 for the cat creating one that looked like Dagi. Dagi is a Mandarin cat which is a half long haired Siamese and his color is lilac tabby ticked. When he was a kitten you could see little bits of stripes on his fur which fadded as he grew. Okay, okay...I know the color is lilac but there is nothing purplish about my little man. He is a beige color actually. I am thinking about changing more of the cats to look like him as I go along.

Used for this sampler...

Zweigart Autumn Fields 28 count stitched 2/2

DMC 3032, 3781, 3045, 3012 and 3371

In the meantime, I also started pulling thread for the next cat sampler from the book called S. Claws. I have to start searching for frames now as I finish these. They are all small samplers so it might not be easy to find frames for them. I have to start looking around. Humm...an excuse to shop?

Note: I call Dagi my little man since he has such a big personality. He is really a little human with fur.

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 12th day...

On the 12th day of Christmas...

...you! Yes...you! I cannot hold a 12 days of Christmas without thinking of how lucky I am to be able to blog and having 'met' you in the process. Back in August 2006, I decided to take the plunge and start blogging. I had no idea if anyone would read it. That blog is now full and I since started anew here. I have been inspired by so many people I have met online. It has been a journey filled with passion for needlework and wanting to share that with others.

I am a very old fashioned girl. I do not take easily to new found trends and appreciate doing things with a tint of days gone by. This is what attracts me to how I try and make my quilts look faded or older while still making it unique. I love stitching samplers. But there are advantages to new things and one is that we have such beautiful patterns available to us online. In November, I came across this sampler and fell in love with it. I decided that I wanted to start stitching it but wanted to wait until the new year to start it. I start it on Monday evening so there is very little progress but I just love these cornflowers. With full excitement, I am looking forward to starting on the letters too. Oh, how I love alphabets on stitching! Here is the link to this sampler. I wonder if anyone else will be tempted? Jenny...you love alphabets too...won't you join me? The only thing better about stitching is stitching along with friends!

Thank you each and every one for taking time from your day to read my blog and share my passion with me. If you have never done so before, why not say hello. I would love to hear from you.

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 11th day...

On the 11th day of Christmas...


...finishing up more old projects. This is another piece of stitching that my mother did for me but gave me to finish. She made this because it reminded her of me ringing the doorbell for her to come to the door when I was a little girl. She answered the door and I was everyone except Heidi but loved saying I was Little Red Riding Hood best.

When I took this out of the cupboard, I noticed that the fold of the fabric from being in the packaging before she used it had yellowed. Now what to do? Well...coffee stain, of course. I know my mother would have cringed if she would have seen me doing it but the yellow stripe has disappeared.

Dress it up with some pretty fabrics, lace and trims and you have a festive pillow for Christmas.

I puckered the tips and added some buttons.

Next year, I will have a well dressed couch for the holidays. And less projects left sitting in my cupboard waiting for some loving attention.

Tip: Instead of buying expensive filling, go to IKEA. They sell a pillow called the Gosa Slan for only 99 euro cents. Cut open the end and use the filling material for your projects.

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 10th day...

On the 10th day of Christmas...


...family inspirations! I come from a family that was always busy doing some kind of handwork. My grandmother, aunts, mother, big brother, sister... I suppose that is why my own stitching and quilting takes a huge place in my life.

One year for Christmas, my dear aunt sent me this child's hat she knitted for Christmas. Not when I was a child but as an adult. She often sent me her wonderful knitted or crocheted dishclothes and edged hand towels but this time it was this hat. And a very special hat it is too! It is the same pattern she used to make me a little green hat when I was a little girl. That hat we no longer have. My mother has a picture of me in it somewhere but we talked about it and my Aunt Janey made me another one.

This was not easy to get a good photo of as I cannot fit it on my head obviously. I hope you can get an idea of how cute it is? It is very special to me. My aunt passed away a number of years ago now yet I think of her often. I put this hat out during January along with my winter decorations.

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 9th day...

On the 9th day of Christmas...


...SALing. Now I have stitched along with online friends but for the first time I am am doing a SAL with two of my quilt sisters. We are getting together for a playdate to kick off each pillow of this project so it makes it so much fun! Bep (no blog) and Saskia are ready so we have to set out next date and start on the next section of this pillow Christmas tree. You can read more about it here.

I am using some of the homespun fabrics I bought from my friend's shop which I talked about in this post. I am going to finish each pillow as I go. The trick is getting it filled but not too full so it hangs well when they are all connected. I am anxious to get more of these finished. Shall we set our next playdate Bep and Saskia?

It is never too early to think about Christmas projects. *wink*

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 8th day...

On the 8th day of Christmas...


...mystery novels with a needlework theme. They are another fun passion of mine. In 2010, my online friend Joanne mentioned that Terri Thayer's quilt mysteries where a favorite of hers. I ordered the books but never made time last year to start on them. So this year, I am resolved to read these.

I really enjoy reading books with stitching, quilting and knitting themes in them. My love affair started with these kind of cozy mysteries back in the 90s when Monica Ferris wrote Crewel World. I was even able to get my mother hooked on them. *grins* We love Monica Ferris (needlework), Maggie Sefton (knitting) and Laura Childs (tea house and scrapbooking) for their handwork cozy mysteries. We also love reading Joanne Fluke (cookie) and Joanna Carl (chocolate).

Another favorite of mine is the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Wittig Albert and I would love to make time this year to reread them again starting from the first book. Yes...they are that good!

Any cozy mystery fans in blogland that balance reading them between stitches?