Crafts from the Past

I’m in the middle of a project, but I’m not ready to post pictures, so I thought I’d post some things from the past, just for fun.

At one time, I was a cross stitch fanatic.  These are a couple of the things I never gave away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once upon a time, I tried oil painting.  I’ve never considered myself an artist, but I had a roommate that was an art major.  One summer, she talked me into taking this class with her.  I did a total of 2 paintings.  The other one is in the attic somewhere.  We won’t discuss that one.  ;-)

 

Some of my grandkids have Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls.  I think I burned out on them before the last two came along.  I still have one in my WIP box.  I’ll have to hurry before the last one outgrows dolls.  I used my mother’s pattern for years, and she’s been gone since 1991.  When I saw one in the pattern book last year, I bought it, just in case I wear out the original.

And then, there are always random projects.  This bear—yes, that’s a bear—was suppose to be a pillow buddy, you know, where you put a pillow in his tummy and watch tv in the floor.  This was my second prototype.  I should have gone for a third one, but I ran out of time.  It didn’t matter, he was well-loved anyway.

 

My newest favorite craft are yarn kitties.  I found instructions for them on Craftster last year, and I’ve had a lot of fun with them.  I sent 3 to the BookCrossing convention in London last year for door prizes.  One stayed in the UK, and I don’t know who got the others.  But, I do know that a member in Germany was disappointed not to get one and asked me to make another one. So, I did, and two of the kitties are international dwellers now.  Last winter, I won a blue ribbon at the county fair with a kitten.

This is why I excel at nothing.  I have a short attention span!  There are too many cool things to try to spend time perfecting anything.  I’m afraid I’m going to miss out on trying something new!

And that doesn’t even include my gourd art, my yoyos, or my patchwork pentagon toys!!  Maybe next time.

Crafts from the Past

I’m in the middle of a project, but I’m not ready to post pictures, so I thought I’d post some things from the past, just for fun.

At one time, I was a cross stitch fanatic.  These are a couple of the things I never gave away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once upon a time, I tried oil painting.  I’ve never considered myself an artist, but I had a roommate that was an art major.  One summer, she talked me into taking this class with her.  I did a total of 2 paintings.  The other one is in the attic somewhere.  We won’t discuss that one.  ;-)

 

Some of my grandkids have Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls.  I think I burned out on them before the last two came along.  I still have one in my WIP box.  I’ll have to hurry before the last one outgrows dolls.  I used my mother’s pattern for years, and she’s been gone since 1991.  When I saw one in the pattern book last year, I bought it, just in case I wear out the original.

And then, there are always random projects.  This bear—yes, that’s a bear—was suppose to be a pillow buddy, you know, where you put a pillow in his tummy and watch tv in the floor.  This was my second prototype.  I should have gone for a third one, but I ran out of time.  It didn’t matter, he was well-loved anyway.

 

My newest favorite craft are yarn kitties.  I found instructions for them on Craftster last year, and I’ve had a lot of fun with them.  I sent 3 to the BookCrossing convention in London last year for door prizes.  One stayed in the UK, and I don’t know who got the others.  But, I do know that a member in Germany was disappointed not to get one and asked me to make another one. So, I did, and two of the kitties are international dwellers now.  Last winter, I won a blue ribbon at the county fair with a kitten.

This is why I excel at nothing.  I have a short attention span!  There are too many cool things to try to spend time perfecting anything.  I’m afraid I’m going to miss out on trying something new!

And that doesn’t even include my gourd art, my yoyos, or my patchwork pentagon toys!!  Maybe next time.

Crafts from the Past

I’m in the middle of a project, but I’m not ready to post pictures, so I thought I’d post some things from the past, just for fun.

At one time, I was a cross stitch fanatic.  These are a couple of the things I never gave away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once upon a time, I tried oil painting.  I’ve never considered myself an artist, but I had a roommate that was an art major.  One summer, she talked me into taking this class with her.  I did a total of 2 paintings.  The other one is in the attic somewhere.  We won’t discuss that one.  ;-)

 

Some of my grandkids have Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls.  I think I burned out on them before the last two came along.  I still have one in my WIP box.  I’ll have to hurry before the last one outgrows dolls.  I used my mother’s pattern for years, and she’s been gone since 1991.  When I saw one in the pattern book last year, I bought it, just in case I wear out the original.

And then, there are always random projects.  This bear—yes, that’s a bear—was suppose to be a pillow buddy, you know, where you put a pillow in his tummy and watch tv in the floor.  This was my second prototype.  I should have gone for a third one, but I ran out of time.  It didn’t matter, he was well-loved anyway.

 

My newest favorite craft is yarn kitties.  I found instructions for them on Craftster last year, and I’ve had a lot of fun with them.  I sent 3 to the BookCrossing convention in London last year for door prizes.  One stayed in the UK, and I don’t know who got the others.  But, I do know that a member in Germany was disappointed not to get one and asked me to make another one. So, I did, and two of the kitties are international dwellers now.  Last winter, I won a blue ribbon at the county fair with a kitten.

This is why I excel at nothing.  I have a short attention span!  There are too many cool things to try to spend time perfecting anything.  I’m afraid I’m going to miss out on trying something new!

And that doesn’t even include my gourd art, my yoyos, or my patchwork pentagon toys!!  Maybe next time.

Quilty as Charged: Undercover in a Material World—a book review

 

 

I’m not good at reviewing books, and even though I read somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 books a year, I rarely try to review them.   But, I’m going to make an exception.

 

Spike Gillespie, (yes, it’s a she!) was introduced to the world of quilting at the Houston International Quilt Festival in 2002.  What started out as a story assignment for her newspaper, turned into a..well, love is too strong a word, let’s just say an admiration for quilting and quilters.

Did you know that there are 22 million quilters in the US, and that they spend over 1 billion dollars a year.  Wow.  We’ve come a long way from the days when women made quilts out of scraps and the only artistry was in their use of colors and fancy stitches.

The story about the festival turned into interviews with 16 different quilters, of all genres.  Their is a crazy quilter, there is an award winning male quilter, there are art quilters, painted quilters, and several other quilting styles that I wasn’t aware of before now.

She includes the story of the irate vender who threw bleach on an award winning quilt, worth $6500, and did a stretch in jail.

The book was filled with interesting people, and some great photos, although I wished for more pictures.  The trick of putting in a color picture of a quilt, then using the same photo in black and white later in the book was a bit irritating.  I understand the reason for b & w, but I wish she had used a different picture. 

While I enjoyed the book because it is a subject that interests me, it wasn’t the best written book I’ve read recently.  I think she couldn’t hit a happy medium between writing a newspaper story, writing a blog, and writing a book.  It was a little loose and wandering sometimes, but she did a nice job with the individual stories.

I give it 8 of 10 stars, mostly because I enjoyed this new look at quilting.

This was a library book, so it isn’t registered on BookCrossing.

Quilty as Charged: Undercover in a Material World—a book review

 

 

I’m not good at reviewing books, and even though I read somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 books a year, I rarely try to review them.   But, I’m going to make an exception.

 

Spike Gillespie, (yes, it’s a she!) was introduced to the world of quilting at the Houston International Quilt Festival in 2002.  What started out as a story assignment for her newspaper, turned into a..well, love is too strong a word, let’s just say an admiration for quilting and quilters.

Did you know that there are 22 million quilters in the US, and that they spend over 1 billion dollars a year.  Wow.  We’ve come a long way from the days when women made quilts out of scraps and the only artistry was in their use of colors and fancy stitches.

The story about the festival turned into interviews with 16 different quilters, of all genres.  Their is a crazy quilter, there is an award winning male quilter, there are art quilters, painted quilters, and several other quilting styles that I wasn’t aware of before now.

She includes the story of the irate vender who threw bleach on an award winning quilt, worth $6500, and did a stretch in jail.

The book was filled with interesting people, and some great photos, although I wished for more pictures.  The trick of putting in a color picture of a quilt, then using the same photo in black and white later in the book was a bit irritating.  I understand the reason for b & w, but I wish she had used a different picture. 

While I enjoyed the book because it is a subject that interests me, it wasn’t the best written book I’ve read recently.  I think she couldn’t hit a happy medium between writing a newspaper story, writing a blog, and writing a book.  It was a little loose and wandering sometimes, but she did a nice job with the individual stories.

I give it 8 of 10 stars, mostly because I enjoyed this new look at quilting.

This was a library book, so it isn’t registered on BookCrossing.

Kittens and Puppets

 

 

I have been racking my brain, trying to figure out something for Dad for Father’s Day.  He’s in a nursing home, so he doesn’t need much, and he doesn’t really have any hobbies.  He doesn’t like tv, or reading, or music, and he has plenty of clothes.  But, he loves cats-always has, so I decided to get him something with a cat on it. 

It’s June, so no calendars.  Not much space for pictures, they don’t make grown men’s pajamas with cats on them, so I was stumped.

I finally decided to make him a pillowcase, so I headed off to my trusty Wal-Mart.  I know they are down low on the list of Places That Have Great Fabric, but, in my world, you work with what’s available.

Anyway, I ran across these pre-printed pillow panels by Patty Reed, and my problem was solved.  The brindle one is a lot cuter than the yellow one, but he won’t mind.  I also bought some fabric with cats on it, and I’ll make the pillowcase for his birthday.

I also bought fabric to make a puppet theatre for my youngest granddaughter’s birthday.  I had planned to finish it today, but that won’t be happening. My dog is having some issues with the whole being still thing.  He was really good for the first 10 days, but now, he wants off the leash.  Since that isn’t going to happen, he’s decided that the only thing that will make him happy is to have both of us in the same room with him.  So, I’m doing a lot of reading and a lot of handwork right now.  I brought him with me into the office and and am bribing him with bacon treats to stay in here and not cry. He’s going to be so spoiled by the time this is all over!

So, this is the fabric that will, one day soon, be a doorway puppet theatre.

I’m also working on the yo-yo clown for my friend’s little girl.  I embroidered one face, but I can’t use it.  It’s scary—it scared me, so I sure don’t want to send it to Lilly!  I have another one sketched out, so maybe it won’t look scary. 

Hope everyone is staying cool, or warm, depending on your season.  We hit 99º yesterday.

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