Christmas wishes

Merry Christmas.....from The Furkins....my daughter's 3 dogs!

That is Nick--I call him St. Nick--in the Santa hat.  They are quite a trio.

This poinsettia must have 60 blooms on it.  It is just beautiful and full. 

No sewing this weekend, just getting my second wind for this week.  Lots of cooking and baking to do.....so best wishes and blessings to all . 

Merry Christmas.

Cork Trivet

I have been saving wine corks for  a while because   I love the different designs and graphics on them.  I begged for a trivet to be made using the saved corks, and finally it is done.   Russ  got to use his "gadgets"---power tools, etc.---to create this.  He recessed the wood base and made the molding to go around the corks.  I love it!

No stitching this week, as I have been watching Remy, and he wears me out.  But he is such a joy, and  I need to enjoy him while I can. 

So....happy stitching later!

A box of goodies!

The postman brought a box of goodies from Doreen.  She browses yard sales and discount stores all the time.  You never know what she will find.  A movie, a wine book and recipes, a garden apron and t-shirt, ear rings, and a notepad decorated with birds, and a knitting book and pins for Deana!  A great friend and great gifts.....after 40 years, she still "one ups" me! 



I got the cardinal attached to the watercolor and the border added......but something is not quite right.

I did not add an inset piece before the border because I planned to have the pine boughs fall into the border.  And that bothers me.  So after looking at him for a day or so, I thought I would try some braided cording that I have had for a long time.

I just pinned up some of it to get an idea about how it will look.  The cording is a purplish-brown that is almost the color of the pine branch.  I think I can twist together 2 or 3 strands of it together and zigzag stitch it around the center.....very loose, almost like a twisted vine.  That should create the frame effect I like.  

"Baby, it's cold outside", so I am doing some baking to warm the house!  We had a bit of sleet last night and only a high of 30 today.  Not the kind of temps we like around here.  Must be hot chocolate time....happy stitching.

Thread painting in the works

I gave a hint that I was working on a cardinal....OK, more than a hint.  I did the sketch a few months ago, and I have been waiting to get it thread painted.  It finally is coming together. 
A Christmas card from my uncle came in the mail  a few  days ago, and it featured a cardinal  sitting on a pine bough.  Perfect inspiration!  So I added some pine needle clusters. 
I  used  2 layers of solvy sandwiched between a layer a tulle for my foundation/base.  I used  3 shades  of red for the body, and a coral for the highlights, and a deep wine color for the shading on the wings.  The stitch is a narrow zig-zag stitch.  The cardinal took about 2 hours to do.
Next step is to cut out the thread painting close to the stitching, rinse out the solvy and let it all dry.

This is what I have in mind to do.  The branch end will  be in the seam when the border is added to the watercolor piece, and the extra pine needle clusters will extent out into the border.  Or that is the plan right now.  Once I get the border added, I will figure out the final placement. 

Favorite things

The tree is up and the lights are on.  Last Christmas I shared my love of cardinals and why I use them somewhere on the quilts I do.  Here are a few of my favorites.

We didn't put up the tree last year since we were out of town, so it was wonderful to rediscover these very special ornaments.  Carefully I unwrapped each one, and the special memory associated with each ornament, and then placed them on the tree.  A very special time.

   

Not a lot of stitching this week, as I got hit with the stomach virus Sunday night.  But these ornaments should give you a hint at what I was working on......

Just in time for the season

A little seasonal landscape....Starry Night, just in time.
I played around with the border idea on this one, by crazy patching the leftovers onto a foundation.  It was too overwhelming to use on all sides, so I split it and tried to place it so the scene extended into the border.  
 

 I ran across this seasonal "art" and had to grab it to share....
I do love hot chocolate!
Happy stitching.

What's a nap mat?

I had never heard of a nap mat, but apparently Remy is in need of one at his pre-school.  So at Jen's request, I spent the day putting one together for him.   I had a couple of yards of the motorcycle fabric and some gold/tan fleece, and pieces of a thick polyester batting....all the ingredients for a nap mat. 

  I personalized the fold over blanket with his name by free hand cutting fused fabric and top stitching it down.  So at nap time there won't be any doubt who this one belongs to.

And when it's time to go home.......

It just rolls up like a duffel with a carrying strap!

With poly batting it is very puffy---but a bear to stitch on.  That poly stuff is not fun to work with....give me cotton any day.  I made this one 20 inches wide and 50 inches long, and the over blanket is 36 inches square.

 I think I need a new blade in the rotary cutter and a new needle.  Come to think of it, I could use a nap myself.

Happy stitching,