More Christmas Time Crafting..

This is a nine patch quilt that my Hubby made and gave to my Dad as a Christmas present.



You can click on the photos to see the fabrics closer. I love Asian themed fabrics - there's just so much you can do with them.



Hubby and I took a nine patch class together and this is the result. :) Mine is still in the design phase. I have all the blocks made I just need to decide how I want to put them together. So you will hopefully be seeing mine soon...



This is the back of the quilt. Hubby had alot of the main focus fabric leftover so he used a big panel of it on the back. It's kind of cool to be able to see where all of the little pieces came from. Kind of a quilting I-Spy. :)

Another Set of Placemats

Here's another set of placemats - five this time - that Hubby and I worked on together. These ones were a gift to my in-laws.



Same as before - I chose the fabrics and design and did the cutting. Hubby pieced and quilted - this time with an echo quilting pattern. We both worked on hand sewing the binding.



These pictures were taken before we washed them so the quilting still looks all crisp. I think I prefer the after washing look where you can really see the puffy bits in between the lines of quilting.



The way we worked out these placemats is that each one has 5 "positions" or sections. So we chose 5 different fabrics and placed them in a different position in each placemat. So every fabric is in every placemat but always in a different position. It was fun working out a sequence that would always ensure that the fabrics complemented each other no matter where they were in the design.

Quilted Tablerunner

Here's another of the quilting projects that my Hubby and I worked on together.



It's a table runner that we gave to my Mom for Christmas.



Once again I chose the fabrics and where they would go in the design. I did the cutting and then Hubby pieced and quilted it. The binding was also hand finished.



We had alot of fun making things as Christmas gifts this year. It ended up becoming a general theme of giving handmade items as gifts, either made by us or bought from other artisans.



I think we will probably keep trying to make the majority of the gifts that we give in the future - at least until we run out of ideas!

Finally Some Quilting!

The photos are a bit washed out looking but at least I can finally show you all some of the crafts that Hubby and I have been working on. These have already been gifted so it's safe! :)

Hubby and I have been collaborating on lots of gifts this year. This one is a set of six placemats. We both worked out the design, then I chose the fabrics and decided which ones would go next to each other and did the cutting. Hubby did the piecing and the quilting on this set.







We've been toying with the idea of making some placemats sets to sell in our Etsy shop. What do you think? They are machine washable. :)

I've got so much more to show you but most of it probably needs to wait until after Christmas...

More Fun With The E-Collar

Much to her relief Yumi doesn't have to wear her e-collar anymore. But I thought you would enjoy seeing some more funny pictures of the e-collar in action.



Here Yumi attempts to eat food while wearing the e-collar. For some reason she feels like it is best to take the food out of the bowl piece by piece and then eat each piece one at a time off the floor. This activity pre-dates the e-collar so that bit of weirdness has no excuse! With the collar on though the task was more challenging. Yumi would chase after the food with the cone clomping down over eat piece of food like a kid trapping a bug in a jar. Remember that toy from the 70's that was essentially a pair of plastic cans with strings attached so that you could walk around on the the cans? (Why was this fun? Dunno but it sure was!) That was the exact same clomping sound that Yumi made. Ahhhh - memories. :)




Here Yumi attempts to shake off the collar. I don't know how dogs can make their whole bodies shake so violently without making themselves throw up or having their eyeballs come flying out or something. Seems like it would be a handy skill to have though. :)

Yumi in the e-collar,



kept making me think of:



Marvin the Martian.



"Take me to your leader!"

The Handsomest Meyer's Parrot Ever

My Hubby took this awesome picture of Scooter the other day. Isn't he just the handsomest little rogue you ever laid eyes on?



Scootie is such a character. He loves to be snuggled and held but he is just like a hyper little boy. He has to rough house a teeny bit before he will give in to the love zone. He makes this funny snuffling sound and squirms all around and bites us a teeny bit then he is ready to be loved and he falls into the scritches trance. What a weirdo!

Clemmie and Sarah

Clementine and Sarah would like to show my blog readers that they have mastered their primary function in life - keeping the dog bed warm.



Clementine says, "It's an art form. Clearly I am the greatest dog bed warmer of all time. Cats have nothing on me. Now back off will ya?"

Sarah can't be bothered to comment. The effort of lifting her head would be too taxing.

Dog Portrait

Libby wants nothing to do with Yumi and the whole E-collar business.



I love this double portrait. It's so strange, yet so revealing of the personalities. As soon as the camera comes out both of them have to charge right at it - Yumi frantically jumping and pawing and licking the air and Libby barging in and knocking her off balance every five seconds. LOL! The two of them are like chalk and cheese yet they get along quite well.

Look at how grey Libby's mask is getting. Poor old lady. :(

Okay, I lied.....

I don't have any craft pictures...but I DO have this!



LOL!

Poor Yumi was spayed the other day and won't leave her stitches alone. So it's the dreaded E-collar for her - veterinary torture device of choice for only the most sadistic dog owners. :) She is somewhat miserable, poor little thing. It's got to be driving her crazy - a dog with a short little nose like that! She can barely get her face into the food & water dishes and if she drops a piece of food on the floor...there's no way to describe it but watching her chase after the food is pretty darn funny. I laugh internally though because I don't want to hurt her little feelings.

I do however, sing... "This is ground control to Major Tom..." to her several times a day. Do you think if I stuck her on the roof we could get better reception? LOL!

Jhonny's Family and Home

I've been so, so busy! Crafting like crazy! I promise to get my Hubby to take some photos tonight of all the cool stuff we have been making - otherwise we are in danger of running out of time to take any photos before we give it all away. :)

In the meantime, here are some photos of my sponsor kid Jhonny and his family at their home in Ecuador. I am going to fund Jhonny's IGP project next. Hopefully, I will have enough money right after the new year. I've raised almost enough from the stash sale. (Thanks!!)



Jhonny is the one in the yellow shirt. The boy on the opposite end of the photo in the white shirt is Jhonny's fraternal twin brother Edison. Jhonny's mother is holding the baby and his step-father is in the back in the white shirt.



In this photo from front to back and from left to right are:
Jo David, Anthony, Jhonny
middle row:
Jhon Michael and Edison
back row: Wilson and Nelson

Only Jo David and Jhonny have sponsors. If you have thought about sponsoring then I can't recommend this family highly enough. Jhonny is a very sweet, cheerful boy. His letters are so full of life! He really takes alot of trouble to tell me about himself and his family and his country. I love getting his letters. With seventeen sponsor kids it's inevitable that I have a closer relationship with some of them more than others and Jhonny definitely has a special place in my heart! If you would like to sponsor one of Jhonny's brothers please email me and I can help you set that up.



Jhonny's mother, surrounded by her seven boys. Can you imagine seven boys????

Jhonny's IGP is for his mother to cook and sell candies and other foods out of her house. I think it's a good plan since it will allow Jhonny's mom to work from her home. I'm sure she has plenty to do there with so many boys. Truly the mind boggles! They need a refrigerator and other cooking gear as well as the ingredients to get started.



Jhonny in front of his home. I can't wait to get the IGP going! It will be such a great way to start off the new year for Jhonny and his family.

Next time - crafts I promise! :)

Lookie What I Won!

Ugh...I've been felled by the dreaded winter cold. And since mine came from the worst source of all (my kids) it's been a pretty bad one. I think that every school should have a resident scientist to monitor the progress of the viruses as they make the rounds. You can probably see the darn germs mutating right there on the playground. :(

But the good news is that I manged to be lucky enough to win something during the recent Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. Jenny over at Babyfingers makes these adorable slings for little girls to carry their baby dolls around in and it must have been my lucky day because I won one! Yay! I know a little girl who is going to really enjoy that prize. Thanks Jenny!

Stash Sale - Again!

I dug even deeper into my yarn stash and came up with some real goodies for the stash sale. I've almost got the money I need to start the next Income Generating Project for one of my sponsor kids - so let's keep going!

I want to thank everyone who has mentioned the sale on the blog & everyone who has purchased yarn so far. It's really been helpful!!

Please note that I have changed the shipping details slightly and adjusted some of the prices on the unsold yarn from last time. New yarn is at the botom of the post as well as the books I currently have for sale. I will be adding to the book sale as soon as I get the chance.

THE BIG STASH YARN SALE INFO:

Default shipping will be by priority mail either in one of the envelopes or the boxes, whichever the yarn will fit in. If there is a cheaper way I will try to find it (but I will have to charge a small amount for the padded envelopes or boxes I will have to buy so it usually ends up being about the same as priority anyway.) My prior experience with shipping the yarns I have sold so far has told me that priority mail has been the cheapest in 85% of the cases - just so you know what to expect...

If you would like any of the yarn please email me to let me know. My email addy is in the sidebar in the upper right. Please tell me your shipping address so I can figure out the shipping. Payment is by Paypal only please. I will send you a payment request. I will try to ship within two days of payment.

Non-smoking home. No cats. I do have dogs but they aren't allowed in the craft room.

So - here we go!


4 skeins of Shadyside Farms Studios. 185 yard each. This is a naturally dyed worsted wool. I think it would make a fabulous felted bag! Wound into cakes but never used. Originally $13 each. This set $30


2 skeins of Reynolds Utopia in White #111. Really soft! $6


10 skeins Katia Dolby. 137 yards each. Color 522. Really pretty ribbon style yarn. $40


2 skeins Dalegarn Falk in Green #0184. 100% wool superwash. 116 yards per skein. $8


8+ skeins of Plymouth Cotton Worsted in color 6423. 83 meters each. $15


1 skein Twisted yarn in "Batty". Fat Stripes style. Superwash merino. Light worsted weight. 240 yards. $15


9 skeins of Universal Deluxe Worsted 100% wool. Very soft! 220 yards each. Originally $12 each. $40


10 skeins of Brown's Sheep Nature Spun in Charcoal, Pepper and Snow. 100% wool worsted weight. 245 yards each. $45


Lauryn Waistcoat kit from Rowan containing 4 skeins of All Seasons Cotton Sh192. 98 yards each. $25


Rowan Dolly Bag Kit containing 2 skeins of Rowan Handknit Cotton. $8


9+ skeins of Schachenmayr Princess in color #42 - a pretty lavender. (I swatched with one skein and then frogged it. The yardage is all there but I am only counting this as 9 skeins since I did swatch with the one.) Ribbon type yarn. 125 meters each. $25


10 skeins Schachenmayr Punto. 90 meters each. This is a 50/50 cotton & acrylic yarn. DK weight. $20


10 skeins of Gedifra Fashion Friend Astrakhan in color 4701. This is a boucle yarn. 50 meters each. Worsted to bulky weight. (Originally $9 each) My price $60


Huge skein of lace weight wool. Wound into cake but not used. Pale blue, aqua. litght purples and grey. Much prettier than the photo shows. $20


1 huge skein of unlabeled Hand Dyed Cotton Laceweight. Gorgeous subtle colorway. $15


Unlabeled skein of lace weight. I think this is silk and wool but it may be just silk. Wound into cake but not used. Really nice sheen! $15


Handpainted Lace weight wool. Unlabeled. Beautiful shades of blues and pale greens and yellows. Very soft with a nice twist and feel to it. $20


Handpainted Lace weight wool. Unlabeled. Beautiful shades blues, greens, yellows, and peach. Very soft with a nice twist and feel to it. $20


Unlabeled Skein of Sock Yarn in wool. The colorway is "Dark Parrot". Wound into cake but not used. Much prettier and brighter than the photo shows. $14


Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in "Coffee Pot Rock". Wound into cake but never used. Handpainted Superwash Meino wool. 560 yards. $12


Unlabeled Skein of Sock Yarn in wool. Wound into cake but not used. Much prettier and brighter than the photo shows. $14


Zen Yarn Garden heavy sock weight in colorway "Ice Mint 2". Handpainted Superwash Merino. 250 yards $16


A Piece of Vermont Sock Yarn in colorway "Impressions". Handpainted Superwash wool and 25% nylon. 425 yards. $15


Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in colorway "Secret Garden". This was a limited edition issue. Handpainted Superwash Merino. 560 yards $16


Celia's Basket Sock yarn in colorway "Neptune". Handpainted Superwash wool. 350 meters. $15


Spritely Goods Sock Yarn in colorway "Secret Garden". This was a limited edition issue. Handpainted Superwash Merino. 560 yards $16


Spindle Cat Studio Sock Yarn in colorway "Tabbioca". Handpainted Superwash wool. 450 yards. $15


1 skein Celia's Basket sock yarn in "Painter's Palette". 350 meters. $12


1 skein Mama E's sock yarn in "Mermaids". 100% merino. $12


1 skein of Lucky Duck Farms Sock Yarn in "Mango Madness". 100% merino handwash. 440 yards. Wound into a cake but never used. $12


Hand dyed sock yarn 100% Wool color "Fruitie" $14


2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Watercolors" Dye lot 6058 $22


2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Mixed Berries" Dye lot 0050 $22


1 skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Purple Club" Dye lot 7548 $11


2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Uptown" Dye lot 5181 $22


2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Iris Garden" Dye lot 7487 $22


2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Valentine" Dye lot 1089 $22


1 skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Mother Lode" Dye lot 8815 $11


2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Irving Park" Dye lot 5739 $22


4 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Desert Flower" Dye lot 5467 $44


2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Desert Flower" Dye lot 8813 $22


1 skein Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe 114 yards $12

These two Jojoland skeins would make a great striped scarf like the Noro ones that are currently making the rounds. The Jojoland would have longer repeats of colors.


1 skein Jojoland Rhythym Shade M22 100% Wool 110 yards $4


1 skein Jojoland 100% Wool Worsted Shade 266 110 yards $4


2 skeins Regia Stretch Color Shade 117 200 meters each $14


2 skeins KnitPicks Simple Stripes Sock Yarn Color #23548 231 yards each $8


2 skeins of Cascade Fixation shade 9442 $4 each/$8 total


2 skeins of Cascade Fixation shade 9941 $4 each/$8 total

Books - all in mint condition:

Knitting Yarns and Spinning Tales $6
Funky Knitting by Happy House $6
Knit Socks! by Betsy Lee McCarthy $6
Sirdar The Seascapes Pattern Book of Aran Classics (Sweaters for the whole family) $6