The Creative Clutter of Me

2011-02-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

2011-02-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

New Baby

2010-01-17T16:37:00.000-08:00

We have a new baby at our house.

She is just the prettiest baby. She was 8 lbs and 7 oz, 20 1/2 inches long. And we look forward to getting to know her

Update

2009-06-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I've blogged. But I have been keeping myself busy. Haven't done much sewing lately, been busy with company. A friend told me that knitting caused early senility, so I'm trying not to do much of it.
Finished my pillowcase:Finished my daughter's purse:Angela and her husband Derek came for a visit:
We put in a new frig, just have to remodel the walls around it now:Are current project is a swing set for our grandson. How do you go from this:To this?We celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary:The garden this week:We have created a computer freak:TTFN

It's Spring !!

2009-05-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

It's spring time. One week it was winter and the next spring.

This week I am working on several projects.
Here are some pillowcases I embroidered for Angela.
Here is the progress I have made on her purse.
The lining:Boy does the yard need a lot of work. Its a good thing I have lots of helpers.
View from the back deck:
Lilliacs:
Iris:
Peonies, maybe they will bloom in a week, usually the frost gets them first:
Wind Damage:
But there is always time to fly a kite.
TTFN

Short blog

2009-05-05T09:56:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update so my daughter in Texas can have a look see.
Mostly embroidered this week. Will add pics when done.

Fun on the homestead:
A couple boxy bags from the tutorial here:
A few pics my son took at Oak Creek since the weather has been so nice:
A couple pics of my young sailor: (sorry Army guys)
That NAVY hat was my fathers from the early 1950's

Update

2009-04-29T05:26:00.000-07:00

Update from Easter, this was the first year we colored eggs with Tristen. You can tell this task required all his concentration. For a boy with autism , who hates to get his hands dirty this was serious business. Here are a few pics:My Easter lily:
We took the bottom bunk out so that Tristen would have a spot for his computer:I had some time off from work and was a sewing fool. I made my grandson 7 pairs of PJ's. The matching slippers are from the tutorial at Stardust. I just enlarged the pattern until it fit his foot.
Here are 6 of them:I also made several tissue holders:
These were going to be origami purses, but when I got to this point I decided I liked them as cloth baskets. I used the pattern here at Quiltcetera:
I made a couple wallets from a tutorial over at that *darn* kat:And these little pyramid bags from Nicole M Design were so cute I had to make a couple:
Lastly, I got tired of the clutter in the bathroom, so my last project was a fabric cube, with instructions from the tutorial here:
I get a lot of my ideas from reading the Craft Gossip blog almost every day. I like doing these smaller. free projects for several reasons. They provide a break from the larger projects I am working on and they also use up a lot of the fabric scraps that I compulsively save. Such as this purse that I am making for my daughter Angela:
Whats happening in the garden:Flowering plum:
The daffodils are up:Those looks from my love:
TTFN

It's already the end of March

2009-03-31T12:56:00.001-07:00

Where does the time go? We just a quick update for now. I made a tablecloth for my bedside table:
And here is a finished purse I showed you in the making some time ago:
I made these 2 purses using a free pattern by Lazy Girl Designs These are a couple pillowcases I made for my daughter Angela:

And right now I am trying to adapt an infant slipper pattern to a toddler size. Take 1, not sewn so well but I was not sure if they would even fit yet.We finished the pot lights in the kitchen, need to paint the ceiling now:
And here is the tile choice for the floor in the kitchen and the bathrooms, plus the showers:

A Little More

2009-02-03T17:55:00.001-08:00

Just a little more for this week. I did not work on much, tackled that pile of mending that I have been collecting.
I did some more wedding gifts for my daughter. These are kitchen towels that I embroidered a little something on:
A picture of my nieces' daughter Sophie, just born a couple hours ago:
Here is another picture of my other garden arbor:
Pictures of the snow storm we had the last week of December 2008:
And lastly a picture of my grandsons' new haircut:
TTFN

Where did I go?

2009-01-24T11:13:00.000-08:00

Whew!!! I'll bet I have the worst blogger award on record. Where does the time go? It seems like 2 weeks ago it was summer. What have I been doing with myself?

Well. I worked on Angela's quilt top:Hung the lights in the kitchen:
We did a walkway and a deck in the backyard

Added 2 arbors:
This one is my favorite
I crocheted a couple shawls, here's one of them:

This one is the Pineapple Shawl and the pattern can be found here at Caron International
The other shawl was from Naturally Caron :
I did this one in blues and tans
Made several pairs of slippers:
Made a bazillion pot holders and hot pads and dish towels:
I love to crochet and I am waiting for this book to come out, the cover shawl is beautiful:
I think I found a new favorite Kristin Omdahl
read about it here: If you like to crochet you must visit Doris' blog. I love Doris Chan patterns!!! Here is the last book of hers I bought:
Worked on Alpine Seasons: (I am beginning to think I will never get done)
Martina's patterns may take a while to stitch but she is my favorite cross stitch designer.
Add because I am a glutton for punishment and am in a race to accumulate as many cross stitch patterns as I can I joined 2 of Marina Weber's classes.
Autumn Watergarden:

Workshop 1:

We painted the bedroom, added crown modeling and a new ceiling fan:

Wedding gifts for my daughter:
The view outside today:
My grand daughter Shayla, grandson Tristen, and grand daughter Kayla:
TTFN

Quick update

2008-07-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a quick update on various projects happening in my life.
I finished a CQ purse that I had been wanting to do for quite some time. The pattern is here:
http://creativelittledaisy.typepad.com/creative_little_daisy/2006/06/two_little_tuts.html
I just got carried away with the beading, etc.
I am also starting on for my daughter:
Here is my progress on Martina Weber's Alpine Seasons, its a slow go for me:
Pictures of the shawl I crocheted for my daughter:

We started remodeling the kitchen. Put in new granite countertops. Still have to hang the lights and install the pot lights, get the backsplash and floors tiled. But I am liking it so far.
The garden is starting to look pretty good now that the monsoons have arrived. I will have to get some pictures up of the new arbors.
Lastly I picture of the guy who has stolen my heart:

2008-07-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite lines from comedian George Carlin was "That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That's all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. That's what your house is, it's a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff. Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore. You've gotta move all your stuff, and maybe put some of your stuff in storage. Imagine that there's a whole industry based on keeping an eye on your stuff."

In honor of my "stuff" I am remodeling my kitchen.

Yes, I am still here

2008-04-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

It has been a long, long time since I have posted anything. I guess that I just got extremely busy with my life. I did do quite a few things since August. I crocheted several baby blankets, cross-stitched a baby sampler, crocheted a couple of shawls for my daughter and her friend, and crocheted an afghan for a family friend.

The shawls are from this book:
I also started on Châtelaine's Alpine Seasons Garden the beginning of this year. This is the largest cross stitch project that I have ever undertaken. (Sorry about the glare)
Yes, I decided to grid this pattern because it is so large:
I did stitch a couple of Martina Weber's free patterns. Namely Lavender Garden and Rose Garden and decided that I really liked her patterns.
I also tried my hand at a version of a pillow case dress, it is reversible and I made it for a princess:

This is the view from my house Feb. 21, 2008:
Looking out the front of the house:
This is my garden covered in snow, I just love that wet snow:
Robin Hood and my daughter for Halloween:Promise, I'll blog more soon.
TTFN!

Up again !

2007-08-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

I was laid low with a back injury, but now I am up again and back to work. I did do a bit of cross stitching.
Two more biscorne's:
This is from an adaptation of a freebie pattern at Own-two-hands.livejournal
This freebie is from a German website Hamburgerstickladen:
This is from a freebie at Papillon Creations called Tiny Little Quaker:
The back:
This is another from Ink Circles called April Celtic Knot:
And this one is from Ink Circles called March Celtic Knot:
This one is a freebie at Ink Circles called Celtic Knot May 2007:
I finished the Lesa Steele, and I am not satisfied with it:Next project is from Just Nan (sorry about the glare):
Progress so far:
We had quite the hail storm here last week:

What's new in the garden:
Butterfly Bushes are in bloom
So is the gayfeather
Chalking with grandpa:

2007-08-09T17:17:00.001-07:00

I Did It !!!!
I bought a bunch of small frames at Michael's and started framing some of the smaller cross stitch pieces. Yes. you saw them before.
The freebie:
A Just Nan called Beaded Rose:
The Sweetheart Tree:

My first biscornu:
Free patterns from Periphaeria Designs
1 side pattern called "With Love::
and the other side the pattern is called "Ring o' Roses":
Progress on the Lesa Steele sampler:
Another project started ( baby gift for a friend):
Birthday gift:

A daylight with tray, clip arm, and magnifying glass (yes, cause I'm old)
In the garden this week:
Pansies:
More pansies:
Russian sage and sunflowers:
Yarrow:Back of yard:
On the go with grandma:
TTFN!!

Whats Uppp?

2007-07-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy working and stitching that I forget to blog.
New work:
The Sweetheart Tree
Tickled Pink :
Woodland Splendor (I lost the charm, was eaten by my chair):
Valentine Heart:September Strawflowers:Wildberry Romance:Just Nan
True Blue Heart:
I bought a bunch of mat board on Ebay and a mat cutter at Michaels. I plan on matting and framing these out, along with the previous bunch. When thats done you will see then again.

WIP
My first attempt at evenweave is a band sampler design by Lesa Steele called Bella:I am not sure at this point if I like working on evenweave instead of Aida. I find it slow going and I feel that my work is sloppy at this point.
Remember those paper pieced stars? Well, here they are made into pillows for my daughter Amala:
The garden this week has;
Sunflowers:
Ec..Ecan...Ecanach....Coneflowers: (Bless you)
Hollyhocks:Bellflowers:
Lastly, here is one happy boy:
TTFN!

Stitching away

2007-07-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

Thought that I would post today since it has been awhile now. I had a week and a half off of work and during that time I finished my Blackwork:
I finished a block for Rebecca in the CYOT RR. Her theme was mice. As I had absolutely nothing with mice, I paper-pieced a mouse:
I also bought several cross stitch patterns that stitch up quickly. Most of these are by Just Nan and The Sweetheart Tree.
Just Nan, Wintry Mix:
Just Nan, Beaded Rose:
Just Nan, Italian Ice (free pattern from the Just Nan site):
The Sweetheart Tree, Butterfly Dance: The Sweetheart Tree, Crystal Boudoir Box I:A free pattern off the internet:
Garden Update:
Daisies:
Fairy Roses:
Lilies and Stocks:
Lily and water. (Angela was experimenting with her new camera):
Finally, bet you wish you had spaghetti for dinner also:

Time off

2007-06-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

Took this last week off from work. Sometimes a person just needs to get away for awhile. I even took off from the housework!
Started teaching our middle daughter (Amala) to sew. Will post pics when we are a little further along. Love that Janome machine!!
I also started organizing my sewing stash. Found some UFO's, so I spent most of the week finishing those up. One was a thread crochet doily:
Finished up a cross stitch kit for Angela (I added the crown instead of the dog that was on the pattern, so it looks a little off):
Also started my blackwork cross stitch project. Here is my progress so far:
I spent some time out in the garden planting. The last average day for frost is June 15th here in Flagstaff, so hopefully the plants will not freeze now.
Here is a bee on some russian yarrow:Penstemons:
A rose:

Snow in summer:Sweet peas:
And a torch lily:
A poplar and some roses:
And lastly a lesson learned early, "A penny saved......"

2007-06-05T22:17:00.001-07:00

Don't you just love mail?

While I was at work this last week these came!! My new Carol Doak books and the latest Crochet Today. Yes, I love mail! (But not the bill parts) Another something that came this last week was my templates from Carole Sample. (notice all the Carol's and variations of here) I can not wait to start using these.
Finished this week are 2 scrap afghans. The first is a star afghan for my grandson, because "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" is his favorite song.
This one is for Angela, cross a UFO off the list!
What I worked on this week was Cobi's block from the "On Wings of Beauty" RR. Here is most of the block that I did. Added some french knot flowers, a few plants, a couple seam treatments, a dragonfly and a butterfly.
Close up of the butterfly and a seam treatment:Another seam treatment:
Close up of the dragonfly:
Close up of the plants:
Garden Update:
What ever is growing out there this week can grow with out me. We are having winds greater than 50 mph here in Flagstaff. It is so strong it snapped the umbrella off my outdoor table.
I hate it so windy. Makes being outside a disaster. Here are a couple pictures of creatures out there that are stuck in this wind:
My next project that I will start on is another blackwork cross stitch from an old cross stitch magazine that I have:
Finally;
One dirty boy after helping his gpa put in a garden edging!
See you all next week!

I'm Back

2007-05-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

I'm Back!!!
And getting ready for another stretch of work nights, so I thought I should post for this week.
First off, let me thank everyone who left such kind comments about this blog. It always makes one feel so good when people say such nice things! BTW, Susan the butterfly pattern is at www.stitchingcards.com/section.php?xSec=5
I feel that I was rather lazy this week, but I guess I did a few things. I have several WIPS that I hope to post pictures of next week. I am working on Cobi's block for the "On Wings of Beauty" RR and I have Lori's block waiting in the wings. Both of them came at once, so Angela and I are trading off on doing the stitching.

Works completed this week:
Yes, more paper piecing, I am doing some brown and blue ones to make pillows for my daughter Amala.
These are blocks from patterns by Carol Doak. I love her patterns. In fact I used her fish and boat pattern for Julie's block in the CYOT RR.
This one is called the Night and Day Star Flower:
This one is called the North Dakota Star:
And this one is called Y2K: (don't look at how awful the middle seams line up, a perfect excuse to crazy quilt)
Another finished project is my first bag. I loved this tote bag pattern. The pattern is Butterick B5006. I plan to make one of those roll -up purse organizers for the inside of this bag. I found a free pattern on the internet for one.Here is a sample of an Assisi pattern that I did. I got the pattern from a cross stitch magazine. I have about a gazillion years worth of cross stitch magazines here in the house.
Close up of the same piece:
Garden update:
Here at 7,000 feet we are way behind most of the country when it comes to gardening. Our season starts late and ends soon. We are lucky if we get 100 days of gardening weather. When the garden looks more up I will take you there.
I have a collection of sedums, this one is Autumn Joy:
The gooseberries are growing now, and the birds sure are glad.
Lastly, the Veronica is up and blooming:
We have a new puppy at our house:
TTFN! See you next week.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Its off to work I go

2007-05-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Have to work for the next 4 nights so I thought I would catch you up on what I have been doing.
I finished the block I was working on for Angela's quilt. Here is the latest pic:
Close up of a butterfly seam treatment:

Besides Angela and I, our house has another who sews, my DH does cross stitch. Here are pictures of 2 angels he did for me! They are "Angel of Love" and "Ice Angel" by Marilyn Levitt-Imblum. He is a very talented man.
More of "The Sampler"
By machine:
Antique hankie:Obviously I have a feather thing happening here:

By hand:

Flowers:

My button cluster:Buttons, beads, flowers and ?feathers:

TAST stitching:SRE:More TAST stitching:Lastly, bet you wish you had some ice cream!

Good News!

2007-05-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

In the mail I received my baggies from the baggie exchange round robin. I received such beautiful things! Thank you Lori, Janie, Kathy and Hideko, I LOVE EVERYTHING!!!

Just got off a couple days of work. So its time to update.
As I mentioned in my previous post I have been doing a lot of paper piecing, and much to my amazement, I like it.

Some of these will go on my daughter Angela's quilt, while the rest ?????? But they are fun to make, so I imagine that I will have lots of them around.
Angela and I are sewing partners this year. We are each working on a crazy quilt, hers is a pink and green theme, with butterflies and roses, while mine is mostly blues with everything. See the aforementioned, "The Sampler".
We are also doing some machine sewing, Angela has made her very first garment ever, and she amazed herself, as she never thought that she would be able to sew.

The block I am working on this week is for Angela's quilt:
Garden Update:
Blooming this week are honeysuckle, lilacs, daisies, and bachelor buttons:

Lastly, I picture of my young pup:
TTFN!!!

Catch Up

2007-05-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Thought that I would catch up on pictures on more of my work.
This is the crazy quilt that I call "The Sampler" I have been working on this forever now and I do not know when it will be finished. I guess it will tell me when it's done. My daughter Angela and I hand sewed the whole thing (making every mistake there was to make I'm sure). Then I bought a Janome 9700 and did a lot of machine embroidery on it. I also use it to practice my TAST stitches. Some close ups of parts of "The Sampler"......
Done by Machine:

These done by hand:

I will post more of "The Sampler" later.
What I am working on currently:
This is a tote bag I am sewing
And here are some PJ's for my grandson
Because it seems his old PJ's are falling right off !!!!!
More later.........................................

Long time, no blog

2007-05-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Obviously, I have been busy since I started this blog. Life got in the way again !

Seems like there is never enough time in a day. I posted some photos of the kanzashi butterflies I have been working on.

I have been real busy exploring different techniques. A little beading, a little (actually a lot) of paper piercing, some BDE, and for the first time in decades I have a working sewing machine.

Works finished:
1 baby afghan (no picture) gave it away as a gift,
2 sets of PJ's for that grandson of mine,
1 quick quilt for that grandson of mine,
2 finished blocks for Angela's quilt,
a gazillion paper piecing quilt squares,
an afghan for my daughter,
a needle book,
and 2 blocks for a couple round robins I am in with my yahoo CQ for newbies group.

Works in progress:
the sampler quilt (I call it that because it is a crazy quilt that I practice all my TAST stitches on and my machine embroidery also),
a crocheted star afghan for my grandson,
and a tote bag
This is a picture of Lori's block for the "On Wings of Beauty" round robin. It was fun to work on. I practiced my BDE and beading on this one.

And these are pictures of Julie's block for the "CYOT" round robin. I practiced my paper piecing on this one. She said her daughter liked fishing and for some reason I knew instantly what I was going to do. I know that the block is not the usual CQ type block. But I liked the boat and the fish and did them anyway.

Seems like all these buttons were just sitting in my button box waiting for this square!

One of the paper piecing fish, more buttons and you can see a couple of crochet motifs here.

Another paper pieced fish, more buttons, and some embroidery stitched I learned in TAST.

A paper pieced boat with some more of those buttons, some beading, and another TAST stitch.

Here is a picture of the quick quilt I made for my grandson... Did this all as as 1 piece topper with some quick and widely spaced cross hatching.

And I will finish up for today with a picture of my grandson after helping his grandpa with fencing.

Today

2007-04-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

It is a lovely day out. A mild spring day, the leaves are starting to bud on the trees. There is a slight breeze, unlike the usual spring gusts that whip through the northlands. My flower bulbs are starting to bloom. And that makes me happy. I feel the beginnings of peace.
Things that make me happy: (not in any order)
Gardening
Needlework
Reading
My family, especially my children and my grandson! What a face, what a character he is!!!

I am starting to learn crazy quilting. I feel that this is the perfect medium for me as it allows me to use all the needlework skills I have been dabbling in for decades.

I started my first baggie exchange, and signed up for a butterfly round robin as part of the CQI group I signed up for. I am really excited about being creative again.

I'm crazy about crocheting also. I have been crocheting motifs to use on a crazy quilt. For years I made afghans and doilies. But lately all I can manage are small motifs.

My youngest daughter and I started a crazy quilt. Of course, I'm sure we broke every rule of quilting there is doing it. It is an ongoing project. It makes me happy.

I am learning a new skill. That is making kanzashi flowers.
They will be a great addition to a crazy quilt.