Scavenger Hunt Sunday ~ February 17, 2013

How was your Valentine week?

I hope you haven't seen enough hearts and

candy because today's prompts for

Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt Sunday
just shouted Valentine's Day.

 

This week's prompts were:

candy

pink or red

love

kisses

smile

 

candy
The classic Valentine candy.
Conversation hearts got their start in 1901.

 

 

pink or red

I know the prompt says pink or red,

but I'm giving you

pink and red.

First, the needle roll that I stitched several years ago is pink.

 

 

 

Second, a red heart.

I shaped this heart by breaking and placing small twigs on the ground,

then I changed the colors using the duo tone feature in Picasa.

 

 

Love

I love being outside and enjoying the beauty of nature.

 

 

kisses

These Hershey Kisses
are a delicious blend of
white chocolate and raspberry.

 

 

smile

I sent my grandsons a Valentine message on Facebook.
Thinking of them makes me smile.

 

Enjoy your day and spread a little love and kindnesss!

A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,
A song is no song 'til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn’t put there to stay -
Love isn’t love
'Til you give it away.
~Oscar Hammerstein, Sound of Music, "You Are Sixteen"

Camera Strap

Just a short note to show you what I've been doing today.

 I have a new camera that has a  strap.  I'm trying very hard to use it so I don't drop my camera. As I get older I seem more clumsy. Anyway, in this heat, I can't stand it around my neck. It's rough and makes me sweat!  UGH!!  So today in less than two hours,   I solved that problem. I made a new camera strap with a little padding for comfort and it feels much better.  I think I may make one for all seasons.  Wouldn't that be fun!!  I found the basic directions  here, although I changed mine up a little. She took her old camera strap apart, but I wasn't about to do that. Mine just slips over the original strap. And, I used smaller pieces She used 5" squares of five fabrics and I used 5" x 21/2" .  I just liked the look of the smaller pieces better.  Then, I didn't have any adhesive fleece so I used a thin quilt batting and a thin backing.  There is another tutorial  here that uses a solid piece of fabric and it would be easier than the one I did.  I like the way it brightens up my camera!!  It felt good to be creative today!

Treasures on Thursday no make that Friday

OK, so I forgot yesterday was Thursday! I'm not surprised, my mind is filled with so many other things I don't even know what day of the week it is! So a day late we'll have a little treasure. This will be short with several pictures as I'm leaving for a scrapbook retreat this afternoon. I haven't packed or even decided all that I'm going to work on.

Several years ago I found a kit to make a kaleidoscope. I cross stitched the quilt design on perforated plastic and then you just put the scope together. Easy! Kaleidoscopes are one of my favorite things. I love the color and the motion as you turn it. The most beautiful ones I've ever seen were made of wood. And they were gorgeous! Of course, they had a pretty high price tag on them, so I couldn't have one.

You can put anything you want in the bottom. I chose to put buttons, since it was a sewing kind of design.

 I have seen a photo where someone took a picture through their kaleidoscope. So I gave it a try. I placed the lens directly over the hole, turned the scope and shot away. You get a little darkening around the edges which I could have cropped out, but I though it added to the shot. I was fascinated by the results. Such pretty designs.

If you look close at the shot you can see the buttons.

I decided to limit the photos to my top 10. Don't even ask how many I took. I'm clicker happy!!

In the one below, the white button is upside down and you can see the shank part of the button.

I think this one below might be my favorite.

Such pretty little spring flowers appeared.

Such beauty in the simple things in life.

Slow down today, look around, and find some simple beauty. Even grab your camera and take a shot of it!

Treasures On Thursday

February is almost over.

 So, I have a couple of days to post a few more hearts!

These hearts are on needle rolls from my collection.

I stitched them several years ago.

A friend and I both stitched quite a few of

Shepherd's Bush needle rolls.

Needle rolls are just elongated pin cushions.

She placed hers in a milk glass dish

 and I placed mine in this beautiful dish

that I picked up at a flea market.

It's called Iris and Herringbone.

 The dish and needle rolls sit on a

vintage handkerchief.  I also like to

pick up handkerchiefs at flea markets.

Yet, another collection I have!

Since it's February I place the needle rolls that have hearts on them with my Valentine pretties. 

The needle rolls are done wih 

 fancy stitches,

little bits of lace,

 beads, charms, and ribbon.

So fun to stitch and beautiful to look at.

The one on the right is done in "white work"

 even though it is ecru.

White work is when you stitch in a color of thread

that matches the background fabric, usually white,

but sometimes ecru.

As you can see in the bowl

I have several more needle rolls.

I'll show  you those up close in future

Treasures On Thursday.

Hope your Thursday is a great one!!



Treasures On Thursday

I'm still in the Valentine's mood. I enjoy holidays so I tend to celebrate all month long. Hearts are such a big part of February and I have lots of them. I made this heart out of felted wool.

It was an easy project and something I could do at night while I watched TV with Mr. H. The kit came with everything I needed including the pretty beads at the bottom. I put these old skeleton keys next to it, so you'd have the key to my heart.

SPREAD A LITTLE LOVE AROUND TODAY!!

Treasures On Thursday

I think I've mentioned before that I follow Lori Holt's blog A Bee In My Bonnet. On Monday's she blogs about vintage items. I'm lovin' it!! This past Monday she blogged about her beginnings in embroidery and her vintage embroidery patterns. Good idea!! I thought I'd do the same.

This is one of my very early pieces. You can tell by the fabric that has aged a golden brown. It was printed on fabric in a little plastic frame. I really wish you could see it up close. There's knots on the front and a long blue string hanging off the back that was never cut off. There is even sections that are not stitched, the hat, her nose and mouth.  I wonder if I just missed these areas or just put it down and forgot to finish it. We will never know. I'm guessing I was probably six or seven when I stitched it. Who knew that such a small start would lead to a lifetime of stitching.

 

My latest embroidery project is my red and white snowman quilt. Here's a look at some of the blocks. I've been making the sashing and assembling the top getting it ready to be quilted.



This is appropriate for today because it's snowing!!  It just began, but I think we're in for several inches of snow.  I love to watch the snow!!

Ornaments - Day 16

Cross stitching has always been one of my favorite pastimes. I stitched my first piece in 1972. It was two little birds, the framed piece still hangs in my hall. There's just something so relaxing about putting a needle through fabric and then finishing with something beautiful. I haven't done a lot in the last few years, but taking pictures of my stitched ornaments has me ready to start again.

This white one has some cross stitching and some Hardanger stitches. I stitched this one at a cross stitch retreat. The heart in the center is a bead.

This ornament uses Hardanger stitches. Satin stitches and eyelet stitches create the lacy look. The holes in the piece are created by clipping the fabric threads away after the stitching. Hardanger looks very hard, but honestly it's not. It's more about accuracy and precise cutting than anything.

There are so many patterns you can create with Hardangar stitches. It's hard to tell in the photo, but this one has a very fine gold thread stitched into it and tiny white beads.

This one is one of my favorites. I like just the touch of green.

This one is all cross stitch and has a lot of gold beads.

Stitched samplers have always fascinated me. When I saw the pattern for this little Sampler ornament, I knew I needed to stitch it for my tree.

This makes me want to start a new project right now, Maybe next years ornament!

Ornaments - Day 14

Here I am with a few more Santas.

A tiny little Santa with a fuzzy beard.

Santa sitting on the moon with a tiny little bear charm.

Wooden Santa, a gift from my daughter. I think this one came from their trip to Tennessee.

In the office where I worked several girls in our department exchanged ornaments at Christmas. We all handmade about 20 ornaments and then we would put them in stockings that were hung outside our cubbies. This Santa was given by one of my best friends at work! I don't know how she was able to make so many of these.

A dough Santa purchased at a craft show.

And lastly, a jolly Santa bell.

Santa Claus is coming to town!!

Ornaments - Day 12

You can't have a Christmas tree without some Santas. I actually have more snowmen than Santas. I never thought about that, I wonder why?  Could it be that when I stitched a lot of these ornaments my children were grown? Or maybe I just love snow, therefore snowmen!!  Here's a few of my favorite stitched Santas. All of these were kits that I purchased and stitched several years ago.  I think the beads make them sparkle. These are stitched on perforated paper and then very carefully cut out.

I think these guys have the cutest beards!

I've always liked crescent Santas! This one is only about 1" tall and covered with beads.

This is my favorite crescent Santa.
This is not all my Santas. I'll share some more tomorrow.

Oh, merry, merry now are we,

Here's Santa Claus to met us;

Our Christmas joys are now complete

Since he as come to greet us.

Choice Christmas Entetrainments 1924

Ornaments - Day 9

The greatest Christmas gift of all

Was never placed beneath a tree,

But lay within a manger bed,

Beneath a star, for all to see.

Emily Scarlett

"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Ornaments - Day 8

Mittens for the snow time,

when the world is white.

Mittens for my two hands. 

 Mittens left and right

Mittens with a thumb place 

Mittens warm and snug

Mittens make me feel like a bug inside a rug

Rick Rodriquez 2001