WIP to RIP

I finished one work in project from The List.  I have to put that in italics because that's how I feel about it.  Funny how all those projects you are so eager to start lose their lustre once they have been sitting around for a while.  Like  a stale real estate listing:  you just want to get rid of it and move on.
So anyway, I put the finishing stitches into this scarf yesterday:

I used two skeins of Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable yarn in 'Winery'.
You can find the pattern on Ravelry, called 'Mindless Scarf'.  Is is great for stitching while watching Netflix.  You start at one end and the sides naturally make a pretty scallop.

I have a wool coat that is exactly one of these pinky-purple shades and the two look wonderful together.  I still have two skeins left, so a matching beanie hat may be in order.

Have a wonderful day!!

xo Jenn

Winter Pursuits

Whew!  Only four more days until we see the end of February!  Are you as excited as I am?
When I visit my favourite English blogs I have been feeling a teensy bit envious to see their snowdrops, and crocus shoots, and tiny tree buds.  I know Spring will come here, eventually, and in the meantime I certainly have enough little things on the go to keep me busy.

I finished the 'C' block of my Stitcher's Alphabet:

I changed the colours just a bit:  I prefer the softer corals to the oranges the chart calls for.  Now I move down onto the next row of  D - H.  That should take me until mid or end of May if I can keep on track.

Before Christmas I purchased some Scrub It yarn from Mary Maxim.  It is a cotton yarn with a bit of fringe on it, meant to use for kitchen scrubbies.  I have been hooking away, trying out all sorts of scrubbies.  I made some roses:

I still need to add some leaves and a hanging loop to these.  I think I might try the larger ones in the shower instead of on my dishes.

I made a puff and several double sided and single sided circle scrubbers:

I think I like the single thickness circles best:  they are quicker to make and I think they will dry out faster than the double thickness ones.  I still have a lot of yarn left, so there should be many more scrubbies in my future!

I got a mad urge to make cotton dishcloths as well.  I'm not sure if it was just the desire to make up something quickly, or colourful, or my impending kitchen re-paint.  Thankfully Michaels had a sale on Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, so I was able to get my 'fix' in a few evenings.

That's it for today.  Stay warm if your climate is anything like mine at the moment, and thank you so much for visiting.  Your comments make my day!

xoJenn

Who Needs Coffee...

...when you can come down to this every morning?

I think it may even be too bright for me!

Crocheted with (mostly) Bernat Handicrafter Cotton using this pattern.

Have a wonderful day:)

Valentine's Day

Despite the panic at the end of my last post about my Valentine stitching, I did get it all finished in time.  We don't get really extravagant on Valentine's Day:  some stitched cards and a few candies are quite enough to brighten up a cold, February day.

For My Favourite Boy I stitched these cute little smooching dogs.  He is so good with Libby and loves her so much I just had to stitch it for him.

I found this design through Pinterest, but unfortunately cannot find the point of origin to give credit to the designer.

My Favourite Girl loves cats so this was a natural choice for her:

There was some lettering in the design I would have loved to include, but I didn't have room. Perhaps another time!  This is a free design from this site: http://croixdechristine.canalblog.com/.

For Mr. Crafty World I wanted to do an embroidery like one I had seen on Pinterest, but as I was trolling through my internet files I came across a sweet design I had saved ages ago:

This was designed my Melissa at Pink Paper Peppermints in 2011.  If you scroll down under 'Popular Posts' you will see a link for "Twelve Things Embroidery Patterns".  This is where you will find this tree, as well as 11 other really sweet embroidery patterns.

Because I made this for a Mr. I had to be a little conservative in my finishing.  No lace, ric-rack or crocheted anything could go on it.  Just a ribbon for hanging and a man's shirt remnant for the back.

(Well, I did go a little crafty on the back and added some heart shaped buttons to a faux placket. I can't completely shut it off you know?!)

It was a nice, quiet day to stay home with loved ones.  Mr. Crafty World made a lovely supper, so I was free to just putter around which he knows I love to do.

I hope you all had a lovely day as well, and thank you so much for visiting and your sweet comments. I still get so excited when I see them in my Inbox!

Jenn

...And one more.

If I ever start talking about hoarding cashmere sweaters again, please stop me.  This stuff is almost a nightmare to sew with, despite all its beautiful, soft goodness.  I made another throw with my leftover sweaters:

With these colours, I could almost call it the Minecraft blanket couldn't I?

Other than this, not a lot of craftiness has been completed here this week.  I did get a bit of thrift store shopping done:

A Crown canning jar from 1948; Depression Glass tumbler; rose demi-tasse; some pretty lavender cotton yarn and an unused, made in England Pyrex casserole dish.  Oh, and the pink, green and white wool blanket in the background.  It was only six dollars but it sure made a mess of my washing machine!  It is paying its dues though:  it is so cold here right now that every wool blanket in the house is on someone or other's bed.

Now I must, must, must finish the stitching for my Valentine cards!

 Have a lovely heart day:)

Warm Welcome

It's still all about the wool here with my crafty ventures.  I guess it's not hard to fathom as this is what it looks like outside at the moment:

This weekend I again dug into my felted sweater stash to make a new wreath for the door.  My little heart shaped rag wreath does not do well outside, so it was time for new one.

Two sweater sleeves to cover the styrofoam base and selected pink and red sweater parts for the flowers.  I just pinned the flowers on so I can take them off later.  Quick, and easy-peasy.

More home comforts in the form of French madeleines.

I have had these pans for years and years: bought in France too. I have not made them before because the fact that the batter has to 'rest' for so long has always put me off.  Cathy from The House With The Blue Door made some a few weeks ago with this recipe, where the batter only has to rest for 20 minutes.  I tried it and loved it.  Perhaps Proust wouldn't be so proud, but everybody here gobbled them up. I will definitely be making these again.

Stay warm!
Jenn

Makes

Last weekend I had a bit of a crafting fest and it was fan-tastic!  I love it when I can spend hours and hours stitching and crafting and making away.  The only problem is you start to expect those crafting hours to continue into the week, and when they don't you feel a bit of a letdown!
I am hoping to complete Brooke Nolan's Stitcher's Alphabet this year.  I thought if I could stitch two blocks per month, I would be finished in just over a year.  February 1 I put the last stitch into January's allotment:

My goodness but I had problems with the 'A' block!  I had a hard time seeing the ecru threads on the ecru fabrics, so I could really only stitch this during sunny days.  I also had to rip out a good portion of the stitching twice.  Ugh, not fun.  I don't think I will be able to manage two blocks this month as there is quite a bit of Valentine stitching I want to do.  As long as I make some progress this month I will be happy.

Next up was some more fun stitching from Bustle and Sew magazine.  The little felt dog in the February issue reminded me of our own Libby so much I had to stitch my own version.  I left off the patches and made the ears pointy and the tail stubby.  I painted on a few spots and freckles like Libby has and gave her a flowered pink party hat.

This version won't mind sitting with me in the basement while I sew!

I also stitched the little needle book with the Bustle and Sew logo on it.

I am enjoying the free hand embroidery very much, but I can definitely use some practice!

Thank you so much for visiting and your lovely comments on my last few makes.  It's nice to know I'm not just 'talking' into a void!

Have a wonderful weekend: only one more week until Valentine's Day!  I really must get my decorations up...