Lenten Makes

I feel like I should have an intro song to this post. Adele's, "Hello.  It's Me." would be fitting!
Wow, you really wouldn't believe the amount of time you have when you don't spend it trolling on the internet!  We allocated ourselves one hour each week over Lent, and let me tell you, you don't get a lot 'done' in that time.  I tried to keep up with some of you, but given the time restrictions I certainly could not create any blog posts.  You have all done some lovely things over the last six weeks and I really enjoyed just being able to ogle for a bit.
My creative times over that period were mostly spent cross stitching.  It reminded me that it truly is my most favourite hobby.  I was able to complete a few holiday themed things, though I found the rush between St. Patrick's Day and Easter a little too quick!

'Love' by New York Dreamer and a sweet little Irish mouse by Lucie Heaton ( Issue 239 The World of Cross Stitching).   The Valentine piece is stitched on black aida:  I haven't stitched on aida in ages and it was so stiff it was hard to work on.  I still think it's great to work on when you are just getting started cross stitching, but I really prefer to work on linen or monaco cloth now.

This is from the bottom half of an Easter sampler designed by Tiny Modernist.  The pattern is from the March 2016 issue of Cross Stitch Crazy magazine.  I just love the colours:  so perfect for Easter and Spring!  I sent the photo to the magazine and they are going to print it in one of their upcoming editorial pages.  That was pretty exciting!

These next designs were all freebies from some English cross stitch magazines.
 The bird cage is so pretty:  it's supposed to be a key chain but I would never use it for that for fear of losing it or wrecking it.  The front side was in the magazine; the back side I had to join facebook to get the chart.  I was really hesitant because I have already done the whole facebook thing and didn't like it, but I really wanted the chart!  I should really get myself out of the techy dark ages I think, but it takes so much time!  (Issue 201-April 2015 Cross Stitch Crazy magazine)

Gift tags from another magazine:  I love the paper tags they came with, but I did not enjoy stitching on the stiff aida cloth again.  They will be cute on gifts though.  (Issue 239 The World of Cross Stitching magazine)

A little mouse to make me smile:  the pattern was found in the March issue of Bustle and Sew magazine.
The blue bird is from last April's Cross Stitch Crazy magazine.

I stitched these Faberge inspired eggs a few years ago and used to display them in a multi apertured,  framed matte at Easter time.  I have not done that for the past few years so decided they needed a new way to be seen.   Now they can go in the basket with the rest of my stitching and I don't have to rearrange my wall photos!

I did work on some current WIP's:  Letter 'I' from Brooke's Books Stitchers Alphabet:

This is where I am so far:

I am trying out a new stitching rotation, so hopefully my works-in-progress will see a little more progress!

And finally, a bit of crochet in the form of pretty scrubbers for my pots:

(Pattern)

...and a few Easter decorations with chalk paint,( this time inside the jar),

 ...and my new scroll saw:

Good for you if you made it this far!  I do have a few other things to show, but they are not finished- finished, so I will save that for another time.

Thank you so much for your kind words before I went MIA during Lent:  I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.  Being a newcomer to Instagram I know the convenience of the double tap to  'like' something, but a kind written word really does mean so much more.

Happy Days my friends:  I hope Spring has sprung where you are!

xo,
Jenn

February Things

Hello!!  I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day.  I am so grateful to every one of you who visit me here in my little space and say the loveliest things:  I wish you could have a Valentine card every day of the year!
I had hoped to be here yesterday to show some makes, but it is a long weekend here for us so we have been quite lazy and I am at least a day behind!
I am happy to say I have my first big finish of the year:  my Hudson's Bay Blanket is officially finished!

This was an absolute pleasure to work on from day one.  I used a linen stitch, so it is quite dense but it was very quick.  It is the perfect blankety weight:  not too heavy, but feels nice and comforting.  I finished it just in time for the cold snap we had last week and it has been in almost constant use!

I used a Red Heart yarn for the the cream bits; the colours are mostly Vanna's Choice and one ball of Herrshnerr's eight ounce yarn.  I have enough left for some Canadiana inspired pillows too I think.

Libby gave it her seal of approval as well.  #naughtydog

I recently acquired a bag of ribbon yarn from the thrift store I volunteer at.  I never knew what to do with this stuff because I never had enough of any one kind to make a garment.  A string bag is pretty obvious, but I think this ribbon yarn is a bit too posh for that.  I found a pattern on Ravelry called the Easiest Crochet Shawl Recipe by Raising Godzillas and it is perfect for it.  It goes very quickly:  I think it takes me two to three evenings to crochet one of these.

There was no label on the yarn so I have no idea where it's from or how much was on the roll.  When I finished I had just a few meters left, so I'm not quite sure how much I used.  The ribbon is a black chiffon type with a gold thread in it.  You can wear this as a shawl or wrap it around as a summer scarf.

The reason I started working on it right away is because I came home with something else that day from the thrift store:

Black is normally not my thing, but these two go perfectly together.  I almost can't wait for summer!

Now, back to the time at hand:  I did a little festive crochet for my kitchen in the form of new scrubbers:

This is the 'Scrubbie Dots' pattern by Doni Speigle.  I used some cotton scrubbie yarn from my stash.

Valentine's stitching for the year:

Each pattern was found via Pinterest. You can get the patterns HERE (XO); HERE (tic tac toe); and HERE (kittens). 

It seemed to be a Pinterest inspired celebration with treats:

 ...and more crochet, this time for a good friend with a Valentine's birthday.

Heart pattern can be found HERE.

Whew!  Finally caught up!

So now we are in the season of Lent, and as a family we typically give up the things that distract us the most during this time.  If you have younger children you no doubt know that computers and video games are the biggest culprits. It's amazing the changes that happen around here during these six weeks by severely limiting screen time.  Many books are read:  many beautiful drawings and Lego creations are completed.  Jigsaw puzzles are worked on together;  the few movies that are allowed are watched together as a family.  There are fewer squabbles and really it is just more peaceful around here.  It's amazing to see what is accomplished  when we use the gifts we were born with and not distracted by technology or comparing ourselves to stuff we see on it.

I use this time to work on, and hopefully finish, those projects that have been languishing in my craft cupboard.  I am easily distracted by new projects and often start new ones in a burst of excitement before finishing what I am working on.  I try to exercise some discipline in using what I have on hand as well, as opposed to going out and buying new materials for new projects.  I don't have too much of a problem with mindless TV watching, but things like Pinterest can really waste my time so I try to avoid that as well.  I get much more accomplished during this time, and it is actually a time of year I look forward to!  The kids - not so much...but it's only six weeks, and sometimes you need to give up a few things you think you can't live without to appreciate what you have.

OK, after that I am all finished.  Thank you so much for visiting and your sweet words.  I am only "allowed" a small bit of time on the internet so it will take me a bit longer to catch up on what you're doing.  I will be visiting you though!  Have a wonderful week my lovely friends:)

Happy Days!
Jenn