Happy Christmas and other things ~

I've been pretty busy lately what with getting ready for the Holidays and all ... so much sewing and knitting to do, parties to attend, friends to hang about with, that I've totally neglected my little blog. Got a reminder from Blogland that I need to keep it up more often so it's on my list of things to do more often. Now that I'm not having the crunch of getting things ready, I'll do it more!

In the first picture you see are some zip bags I made for a swap at my local modern quilt guild, also known as PMQG. We traded fabrics, took them home and made something (zip bags in my case) and brought them back the next month. My swap gal loved her bags! I got a lovely bag for my knitting needles. I'll post it another time.


This is my little Christmas tree! Think it may be the smallest I've ever gotten. Got it at a local grocery store, put it in my cart and then put it on that moving belt to pay for it. Do think it turned out lovely, especially with that little monster sitting on the table!
Haven't named him/her yet ~ any thoughts on names?


These are two little pin pillows I made for the wonderful women who own 'Cool Cottons', Pam and Marie ~ where you can find the most wonderful fabrics! They both made me feel so welcome when I first moved to Portland. Just a small token of my appreciation for such lovely ladies!



The other day ~ Tuesday ~ was my knitting group Secret Santa party! My secret Santa (Tamera) gave me the lovely bowl you see at the right of the photo, made from fabric! she also gave me a cute pencil bag, some fabric and yarn!

Also, one of the women (Melinda) who works at my most very favorite yarn shop, Happy Knits, made me the lovely boxy zip bag in green and lavender with tools to make yo yo's some fabric! was so touched by her kindness.

Sarah (owner of the lovely yarn shop, Happy Knits) gave me some wool fabric! A big surprise!

Also, my wonderful quilting friends, Annie, Kathie and Carol and I exchanged gifts ... purses, fabrics, flashlights, embroidery, soap!

I'm blessed by these friends.
It was lovely to spend time with these wonderful friends! A good time was had by all!



My son, William and his lovely wife (my d-i-l) Brandie took a class at a local craft shop, Collage here in Portland on painting with paper. This is what I did! I'm so pleased with it and looking forward to doing more 'painting'.

Collage is not your average shop for crafting or taking classes. If you live in the area, you should check it out! They offer a wide array of classes and have great tools for almost every craft!





Wishing everyone Peace, Love and Grace this holiday season. May you be safe and comfortable with your family and friends.
I am blessed with much love from my family and friends, thank you for all you have given me.
elsa

This is the first thing I saw this morning (besides my kitties) ~ not the greatest photo ~ but beautiful! It's a wonderous clear day with the sun shining today ~ and the weather man said it was going to snow ~ silly guy. It is cold tho ~ 33 degrees and frost on all my neighbors roofs! Brrrrrr ...


There are a lot of craft fairs here in Portland this time of year and I went to one last weekend and got this cute little bird and tree by one of my favorite crafters, Laurie Romanaggi of Magpie Ethel. She does all these cute vintage decorations that I adore!

At that same craft fair there was a rummage sale too and got that great handpainted bowl for $5! It's one of my favorite fairs, so many creative people there.





This is a shawl I've knitted for a friend ~ think one of the easiest and fastest I've done to date ~ with worsted wool and size 9 needles. Still needs to be blocked and I'm calling it Big Orange. It will keep her really warm and sure hope she likes it!



This little angel is from the handicraft of Kajsa Wikman from her book, Scandinavian Stitches. Her hair is made from metallic thread that I hand stitched in little loops in a really bright pink. Doesn't show up very well in the picture, but she's a cutie, gave her to my d-i-l.
Kajsa's projects are so cute and the instruction are very well written and fun to make.




I have this wonderful, creative and most generous friend, Annie. She knows I love all things bird and so she made me this lovely bag ~ it has two outside pockets and inside pockets as well. Just love it and can put a ton of things in it too! I'm using it for carrying around my sewing projects at the moment, but that could change at any moment to knitting or wool work.

Thanks so much Annie! I love this bag!



I looked at my last blog the other day and saw that I have 15 followers! what a surprise! It's so nice to know that people like what I do and then say really nice things about it ~ I have been really remiss about blogging lately (well really the whole time I've been blogging).

I read a lot of blogs, mostly for inspiration as there are so many creative people out there in blogland and I forget to do my own blogging. Going to try to do more, especially next month as it's my birthday month! I'll be doing a giveaway sometime of something I've made just for it ~ I'll give you more details later.

Hoping everyone is well and looking forward to Thanksgiving.

been busy

this is what I've been doing lately! this bag was for an exchange I did through Sew Mama Sew, a blog I read ~ loved making the bag ~ think it turned out pretty nice!


this little zip pouch was made for a friend, Sarah (who just happens to own Happy Knits here in Portland, Oregon and is the best place to get together with friends to knit!). she loves things that are cute and kitchy so I thought this fabric was right up her alley! and it turned out really cute! and ...

... this is the bag that goes with it! love how it turned out! this fabric is the cutest! got it at Fabric Depot ... comes in a green and purple/blue also (at least I think so ~ tee hee).



this quilt is for my friend Annie ~ she celebrated a birthday this month! being a quilter you don't often get quilts as gifts, so I just had to make her one. there are no repeats in the fabrics I chose! and she loved it.


this last project is a little pincushion that looks like a footstool! got the pattern from Penny over at Sew Take a Hike! she's a very creative person and love all her designs!

the little block on the top I got from my friend Carol ~ a bunch of us went to her house for a sewing day, she was giving away all this fabric and I managed to find a couple of pieced blocks! just happened to have the checkered fabric and it looks pretty cute!

I gave this to Annie for her birthday as well! she liked it too!


I've got a bunch more things I've done lately but couldn't post them ... guess I'll have to do it on another blog post!

hope everyone has a lovely day today! I'm going sewing! really all I have to do is turn around and there's my sewing machine!

Wool Squares, Isy and Fabric

This is what I've been working on the last few days ~ it's a block of the month from Pioneer Quilt shop down in Sunnyside. Actually it's more than one block a month, but because they're so small we get 6 (there's 57 total)! It's been fun to put them together and looking forward to next months blocks ~ tho don't get them till October 15 ~



Here's my little Isybelle ~ she looks like a kitten, but she's really just 2 years old ~ she's a tiny one and she's checking out the prizes I won at the last Portland Modern Quilt Guild! A pretty pincushion, some crushed walnut shells (in the jar for more pincushions) and, because a woman there knows I'm in the process of making a kajillion hexagons, gave me 30 she knows she won't be using! Wasn't that nice of her? But that's for another time.



Last, but not least, is a new line of fabric from Sarah Fieke! Go check it out! Her blog is called 'The Last Piece' and she's full of inspiration!

Well, I"m off to work on a project ~ hope everyone has a lovely day!

Vetty's Pink Quilt!

this is the back of the quilt! it turned out so cute ~ a friend of mine called me one day (she was at a fabric store) and said that she had found this really cute fabric with pink in it (she knew I was looking for pink), then sent me a picture of it ~ via cell phone ~ don't you just LOVE that? I said, YES, GET IT! and that's how it turned up on the back of Vetty's pink quilt! had a bit of left over's from the front so put them in the back ~ just loving this quilt.



this is the front! I was thinking of using pink for the sashing and so glad I didn't. I'm not a big fan of white, but think it turned out so crisp and lovely! and yes, Vetty loves PINK!



just another view of the front with a little of the back.

it was a wonderful process for me ~ learned a few things about putting together pieces and quilting. love the putting together part, not so much the quilting part.

I need to plan better when I'm making quilts so I don't put myself in so much of a time crunch to get it done. I do have to say that I love the end product!

Also, I finished another quilt this week that I'll be posting soon ~ for my favorite little boy ~ it was a really fun project because I did free motion quilting!

That's all for today ~ hope everyone is out there doing what they love! Thanks for coming by to check out my quilting progress!

elsa

cutting, sewing, ironing

This is what I've been doing all day ~ luckily I cut out most of the pieces yesterday, so only had a bit left to cut. Making this quilt for a sweet little girl I know ~ she REALLY loves pink, so I think she ought to like it! Now I just need to get it ready to quilt! (and I have 2 other quilt tops to get done too, why oh why do I do that?). Really have a nice sense of completion today. Said I wanted to finish it today and I did!

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This sweet guy is King Big Louie Bean (aka Louie) ~ he was being my helper today ~ sitting all over the fabric and walking in front of me while I was sewing. He's such a love ~ finally put him on the pink cushion on the book shelf where I keep most of my fabric and books. I've got two other kitties, but they don't like the noise of the sewing machine.


Today was a very satisfying day ~ I'm so grateful for the creative women in my life and the encouragement they give me. Hope your day was satisfying too!

a little experiment

Making a quilt for my favorite little girl out of these cute fabrics and couldn't decide what color to do the sashing with ... pink or white. All my quilting friends keep telling me how important white is in quilting but I couldn't hear them (really didn't want to listen cause I'm not much of a white fabric fan). So, I decided to do a little experiment and I've been humbled. They were right. White does make a difference.


I know it probably doesn't show much here but in person you can really see the difference ... so, Annie, Kathie and Carol ... I bow to your experience and will listen (or at least try to) ...

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On another note ... this quilt is for one of my favorite little boys ... it's all about transportation ... cars, trucks, trains, motorcycles and ROCKETS! Just love how it turned out and hope he will too.


wanted to show the back, but my experience in blogging is lacking and I'll have to post it another time ... maybe when it's all done! it's ready to be put together and quilted up.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying their day!

Wooly Pigs and Pretty Shawls!

this is the cutest pig I've ever seen! love the curls on it! I'm not sure if it's used for it's wool but I'd just love to squeeze it's little body!

This is one of the shawls I have posted here, called Solis Citron ~ made with Malibrigo yarn. Really love this one ... feels so wonderful on and looking forward to wearing it when the weather gets chilly!

This shawl is the River Multnomah! it was a challenge for me ... haven't blocked it yet so you can't see the lace in it, but it's really quite pretty ... have someone in mind for it! do hope she likes it! I've made one more for a special person and working on another ... just love how it turns out! Again, Malibrigo yarn.


And finally, this shawl is the Swallowtail Hug! it was just a straight knit and got tired of it so added the ruffle at the end! sent it to a swap I did on Ravelry and she loved it! And once again, Malibrigo yarn, my favorite to knit with!

Have a few other things in the works ... a pair of socks with a leaf pattern that I'm really proud of, another shawl for my cousin Tami and a couple of quilts that I'll be posting soon. Really hoping to post more often ... really do love sharing what I've been creating!

Hope all are well and enjoying their day!

Oh, and I'll be doing a give away soon ... so check back!

Little bits of my home and a new shawl on the needles!

A few friends have asked me for pictures of my home, so here are a few bits and pieces of it ...
There's Pippy looking all cute! this shot is the sort of pantry ... there's a cool old hutch in there too, not a built in, that came with the house (okay, I asked for the previous owner to leave it and she did). I've been changing things around lately, trying to find some order in the chaos that I tend to have around me. Leave little piles of this and that everywhere and it gets out of control.



This is a built in hutch that I have some things that are meaningful to me and in the hutch are dishes that belonged to my Grandmother ... that old horse clock belonged to my Mother-in-law,
Violet. It's not working but would love to get it fixed!



This is another part of the dining room ... the piece you see here is one that my good friend, Michele, gave to me ... and yes, that is Christmas stuff you see ... I love those things and they are always out!
(Notice that the sun is shining!!!)



This is a shot looking out from the dining room to the living room ... and beyond that is the sun porch and that looks out to the cemetery! I'm surrounded by trees up here, it's so nice!




And, last but not least, the new shawl ... I managed to wait till 8 last night to start it ... love the yarn ... tho this shot doesn't do it justice, the color is much more vibrant than it shows. It's called Mutnomah, after the county I live in! Designed by Katy Flagg of www.hellokitty.net, it's a very pretty shawl and think it will go fairly fast!

Thanks for visiting my blog and hope your day is creative and makes you smile ... tootaloo till next time!

New Sewing Machine and a little space ...

This is my new sewing machine! a Janome 6600 professional ... sews like a dream and has a bunch of options on it, really fancy! My son, William and D-I-L, Brandie like to sew, so they will be using it too!

Using the space that I thought was just going to be a place to read for my sewing room ... 54x45 (inches), pretty small but big enough to sew. Have a card table that belonged to my Grandma, it's really a cool one ... wood top with an insert for a sewing machine ... that I'll use when I have something that needs extra space that the sewing table can't handle. My new home is a lot smaller than the old one and just don't have any other places to set up ... but love it (my home and the space!).



Craft books ... picture didn't come out very well. Have a few more up in the attic that I have to go through, but really, these are enough to keep me busy for a long time!



This is the space! Small, huh?!? but nice, cozy and straightened up (at least for now, don't have any projects going on at the moment ... that's a little window at the top of the photo and a tree out of it ... not a picture! I can see trees out of every window of my home ... sort of like living in a treehouse!



This is a piece I did quite a few years ago ... it's stained glass grouted instead of soldered. Love this piece ... did it for my Dad (though he did call them weeds) ... he was a Kansan and the sunflowers are the Kansas state flower (they grow everywhere). It's the first time I've ever hung it. It looks pretty nice on the wall. Think of my Dad every time I look at it!

Still have some straightening up to do, but it's coming together and happy about it!

Have a great day on this the first day of February!

Off The Needles!!!

It's been a long week with this shawl ... but it is finally off the needles and have to say I'm glad.
Next time I'm using a larger weight yarn ... this one is made with lace weight. It turned out wonderful ... so light and soft. I had planned on putting a different color on the edge but didn't like it so it's just the 2 colors. Below is a bit of the detail of the main color ...


Not sure what I'm doing next ... thinking of taking a break from knitting for a while ... tho I'm sure by tomorrow I'll have changed my mind.

There are so many things I want to make ... love to create things and it's so wonderful to have a bit of ability to do it!

Miss Isy and the almost done shawl!

Here is my Miss Isy ... she loves to sit on things, especially when I'm taking a picture and when I don't want her to!


This is my almost done Daybreak shawl! so happy about it ... so much knitting and I've used almost 470 yards of the main color!!! that is a lot of yarn (just in case you didn't know), the unused part of the yarn is up in the left corner of the picture. The yellow/gold yarn will be the edge ... think it will look really nice once it's done (which I'm hoping will be today).


The little orange and brown bird is one that I made yesterday at a needle felting class ... he's so cute ... he's in a dish with a bunch of other birdies ... my kitchen is full of birds. Not sure how it turned out that I have so many bird things but I do! The next photo is some more birds and a cat that I needle felted a long time ago and is in ... the kitchen! Found the black birds at a shop over on Hawthorne the little yellow bird is by a gal here in Portland, this is her website ... www.magpieethel.typepad.com, the little owl my d-i-l, Brandie gave to me! The little dog on the left was something I found while we were still living in Thailand. The pretty photo was taken by Brandie of the gorgeous roses in the yard where I used to live!

Hoping for a creative day today ... so many things I want to do and make!
Looks like a lovely day outside and hope to get out there too!
Everyone, do something to make you smile!
thanks for visiting!

Yummy cupcake and kitties

This is a very pretty cupcake from Whole Foods Market over on Burnside here in Portland, OR! I've been wanting some cake for a while now and happened to be in WF's ... was going to get a cookie till I saw this cupcake! It was so good and very pretty too! The topping had pretty violet flowers (one of my favorites) ... got to have cake once in a while and glad that I got this one!

Now I'm going to introduce my kitties ... the Bean Family!

This is King Louie Bean ... I've had him for about 4 or so years and he is a dear, tho he can be a sort of pain when he wants attention, he won't give up ... you can push him off and he comes back, sort of like a yoyo (hahaha). If you turn your head upside down, you will see that he has a heart on the side of his nose (it's much more noticeable in person). Since we've moved to Portland, he's much more vocal and he's gotten to be a bully to Ernie ...

This is Ernest Birt Bean! he's a fluffy kitty and is completely and totally obsessed with the sink in the kitchen. If I ever want him all I have to do is turn on the water and there he is! I've had Ernie for about a year and a half and he's the most loving of all my kitties. He follows me around like a dog and likes to keep an eye on me (incase I turn on the water, I'm sure).

This is Isybelle Bug Bean ... she's my little darling. Think she weighs about 5 or so pounds and is the Queen of the house. She's known to chase Louie if he bothers her too much. When I first got her, she wouldn't let me touch her (think she had a bit of feral in her), but since we've moved to Portland she's changed so much. Still doesn't like to be picked up too much but she lets me pet her and she likes to sleep with me under the covers!

This is Pip ... she's William and Brandie's kitty, best friend to Isy and my grand kitty! She's in one of my knit bags in this photo and being her cute self. She comes up every day for breakfast (we live in an up and down duplex) and then bugs the heck out of me to go home ...

Then of course, there's Daphne ... she's also William and Brandie's kitty ... she doesn't care for Ernie or Isy (but is best friends with Louie), so she doesn't come upstairs. Don't have enough room for pictures now but will update with one of her in it!

Hope all are well, thanks for visiting my long winded blog!