Winding Down and Wrapping Up!

I am finally coming to the end of a long, but very productive week. These two little mice will soon be sporting their new tutu's and be on their way to their new home. I really love making a "little one" from scratch, but the real fun begins for me when I get to dress them. Sometimes I think my imagination goes a little crazy at times, but my do I enjoy it.
I even took time out to play fetch with my kitty, but after 10 minutes or so she decided to do what all kitties do........she took a nap!I wandered outside for a breath of fresh air, and even though it was to cool to sit outside, I did consider wrapping myself in a blanket to sit out there a while, that was until I felt a couple of raindrops hit my face. So back in the house I came and did the dreaded tidying up of the sewing room!Of course I couldn't end the week without at least one little hummingbird photo, my husband took this one last week, I think it is one of my favorites, this little guy had been very busy as his chest was all covered in pollen, I am so glad that they are in my garden as they have been such a joy to watch this summer.
I hope you all are enjoying your summer, I am.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

I should have been sewing but this is all I accomplished! I kept flitting in and out of the house all day checking on things in the garden. After yesterday's overcast rainy day it was good to be outside. First I checked on my grapes.......getting bigger but still as hard as little stones. I then did some pruning on my roses, this year we have been lucky, they have been relatively pest free.
Found lots of little bees buzzing around my daisy all covered in pollen.I watered my window boxes, they quite often need watering twice a day now if it is very sunny.I did some deadheading on my hanging basket, it is in full bloom right now and extremely heavy, I always wonder every year if the hook will hold, and it always does.Then I sat out back for a while and had some tea and read my book, before I knew it dinner was needing to be fixed.Maybe tomorrow the little mice will have their bodies, and the little piggy will have some new clothes....then again maybe not, it all depends on the weather!

Good Sewing Day!

It has been overcast and quite cool here today, so I spent the day sewing. I thought it was about time that I made some little boys instead of little girls all the time.
Benjamin the little bear was completed this afternoon at 3pm.I have put him in a pair of little plaid rompers, definitely no lacy frills for him!I was actually quite pleased with how he turned out, he most definitely looks boyish!

I also finished a special request for a customer, this little piggy in her bright red and green dress, she will be going to Spain. I was asked to do the dress in those colors for a celebration that they will be having in November, I believe it is the same colors as there flag. I was starting to get tired as the day went on, so I had to leave this poor little piggy without her clothes, but I did manage to find her a small towel so she wouldn't feel so self conscious, especially with a little boy bear around the house.All in all I was very pleased with what I manage to accomplish, it was one of those rare days when everything seemed to go right.

I hope it's been a good day wherever you are!

My Very Own Bed Monster!

How lucky am I, my very own Bed Monster has arrived all the way from Australia! Thank you Jen who blogs at Frazzy Dazzles for this lovely giveaway prize.

The package was wrapped beautifully and inside were quite a few surprises.Jen was very thoughtful in putting this gift package together, there were some handmade yoyo's, some very lovely ric rac, a handmade hairclip, some wonderful lace from her Nan's collection, which is so special to me, and of course some chocolate!The poor little Monster was so tired from his long trip that he promptly went straight to bed.I do have a special message for two very sweet people, the Little Bush Princess and the Golden Child, I promise that I will take good care of this little Bed Monster, he has already made himself quite at home here in America!

Arte y Pico Award

Jen at Frazzy Dazzles so kindly given me an award. The award is the Arte y pico award. Thank you Jen - it is very much appreciated!



Now I get to pass this award on to five very deserving bloggers:
1. Ally at Born to Read and Knit
2. Rachel at Rachael Rabbit
3. Twiggy at The World of Twiggypeasticks
4. Bethany at Red Yarn
5. Jenn at Jenn Maruska Design

These five bloggers have wonderful sites that bring a smile to my face. Here are the rules that go with this award:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributions to the blogger community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show a link to the “Arte y pico” blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5) To show these rules.

My goodness I've been having a wonderful time lately with awards and give-aways! I am so glad that I decided to start blogging. It has been one of the most rewarding ventures that I have ever done.

Tagged again...

Twiggy, from The World of Twiggypeasticks tagged me. Now I get to pass the 'tag' on to six more people - but first some rules:
1. Link to the person who “tagged” you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Six random things about me:
1. I cannot stand to see a hair in the kitchen sink!
2. I'd rather buy fabric than clothes.
3. I've lived in five states; Washington, New Jersey, Virginia, Illinois and Tennessee.
4. Ice cream is NOT one of my favorite things to eat.
5. I love to iron (weird, I know...)
6. Have I mentioned that I like chocolate?

The six lucky people that I'm tagging are:
1. Jen at Frazzy Dazzles
2. Lisa at Isby Blue
3. Barbara at Mark it with a B
4. Terri at Merrily Musing Mom
5. Linda at Linda's Blog
6. Jen at Happy Stash
(apologies in advance to you all! ;-)

Peas please!

Well today I think I picked the last crop of peas from my garden, they really have been wonderful this year, I think in part due to our cooler summer. So tonight we will be gobbling up these goodies!

Next year before planting our vegetable garden, my dear friend Annette and I will be getting together beforehand, to talk about what each of us will plant. We always share with each other our gardens bounty, so if we plant different things then we get so much more of a variety. This is especially useful if you only have a small area to plant in.
Later in the afternoon my lovely mother-in-law stopped by with a fresh baked cherry cake....yummy that is dessert taken care of for tonight.....minus two pieces!Well I couldn't let my blogging week end without one more hummingbird photo, this one is especially sweet and tender, it is a mommy hummingbird with her baby. She was quite patient and sat for a bit while my husband clicked away furiously, I think they are tolerating him quite well, although I imagine they must be wondering what that strange human is doing hiding behind a rose bush!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Aprons

My daughter wanted an apron, not your regular run of the mill apron, but a pretty feminine one. I stumbled upon this wonderful apron pattern book a while back, and I instantly new that this is what I had been looking for, the aprons in this book are so lovely, and incredibly easy to make.
It took me just over an hour to make her this lovely little number.I remember my mother and grandmother wearing aprons, my grandmother wore hers all day long, it was part of her daily clothing. My mother wore hers anytime she was cooking or cleaning, taking it off when she went shopping and hanging it on a peg behind the kitchen door. I am glad that aprons are making a comeback, with lovely pretty ones like these, I just might be wearing mine a little longer during the day.

Petunia

You know it's really funny, but this week is turning into a very creative week for me so far, where as last week all I wanted to do was goof off, I couldn't have cared less about sewing.

I spent the whole day in my sewing room today and had the most wonderful time. There were no distractions, even the phone was quiet, which doesn't happen a lot around here.

The end result was my first little piggy named Petunia, somehow that name seems to fit her perfectly. So that is two firsts for me this week, my little bear and now my little piggy. I think that is probably my lot though, I mustn't be greedy, sometimes I'm lucky if I get one creative idea a month.

I have learned over the years that if it is a struggle to come up with some new creative idea, then I walk away and try another day, if not, then that's when things go so terribly wrong, even the sewing machine seems to get a mind of it's own and starts acting up.

So maybe tomorrow I will do some baking or gardening, I don't want to push my luck!

Winnie

Meet Winnie, my first little bear, just fresh from the sewing machine!

Coming up with a new "little one" can sometimes be quite difficult, lots of trial and error along the way. Sometimes I have to just walk away for a bit so I can maybe see where I have gone wrong, or why it doesn't look quite right. I have also started to make one thing, and quite by accident it turns into something else. For example, I was trying to make a piggy and it started to resemble a weird bunny!

Hopefully you all think this does indeed look like a little bear, if not it's back to the drawing board....or should I say sewing machine for me!

The Neverending Quilt

About three years ago, actually it's probably more but who's counting, I started this quilt, it is a lovely pattern by McKenna Ryan. I had great visions of it hanging on my wall by Christmas to be "ooo'd" and "aaa'd"over by all who came to visit. Well as you can see by the photo, it is not quite ready for the "ooing" and "aaing" yet. It feels like it will never be finished, there were so many teeny tiny pieces that at times it was a little overwhelming. If any of you have made this lovely quilt, and completed it, you deserve an award of some sort. Occasionally when I am in the quilting mood a little more gets finished, I figure if I keep plodding on, it will get finished in time for Christmas.....I'm just not sure which one!

Having this quilt go unfinished for so long made me wonder how many things do we start and never finish, if we laid them end to end, how many times would they circle the earth.....I know, I know, it's a strange thought I'm having, maybe it's because I've got to much time on my hands today. Wow, maybe I could do some more work on my quilt....well maybe not, I had planned to bake, then there is the sweater I'm knitting, and I almost forgot I was planning to do some gardening.....

Our Magnificant Goofing Off Day!

Our trip to Northwest Trek was just spectacular! We left shortly after lunch, it was a lovely 73 degrees with a slight breeze. We passed by McChord Air Force Base on our way, and are we glad that we did, we were driving along the road at the end of the runway when we noticed that the Thunderbirds were practicing. The noise was almost deafening at times, but my goodness what a show. My husband must have taken at least two hundred photos with his new camera. I finally managed to drag him back to the car so we could continue on with our journey.

When we arrived at Northwest Trek we had about a half hour wait before the next bus, so we looked around a bit and took a photo of this beautiful bald eagle.It was almost time for our bus so we headed back. On our bus ride we saw so many wonderful animals roaming wherever they pleased.A lovely longhorn sheep.Some bison,Two tiny deer,Two trumpeter swans,Two grey wolves,A cougar,An even bigger cougar,A little moose,A very large caribou,And last but not least a magnificent view.

Being out in the fresh air all day made us absolutely ravenous, when our bus tour was over we headed to the nearest restaurant and chowed down like little piggy's!

We both had smiles on our faces as we drove home, and vowed not to let it go so long before we have another goof off day.

Have a lovely weekend everybody!

Goofing Off!

It's going to be a goofing off day today! No housework, no knitting, no sewing etc.

My husband bought himself a new, more powerful camera yesterday, so we are off to a place called Northwest Trek. I haven't been there in so many years, it is a wonderful nature reserve where you get to see the animals in their natural habitat.
So I imagine I will be lagging behind him carrying all the lens caps and bits and pieces that he needs for his camera!
It's great for me as I get wonderful pic's to share on my blog, and I always love getting out into wonderful fresh mountain air.

I hope you all get to goof off once in a while, it sure does a body good!

Knitting and Hummingbirds

On the way home the other day I decided to stop by our local yarn shop. I was only in the store two minutes before I spotted a lovely sweater. I asked the assistant, "Do you have this pattern?" she said she did and the yarn was available also. So within five minutes flat I was walking out the door very pleased with myself at finding such a lovely pattern so quickly, normally it takes me quite a while.



After dinner that evening I decided to sit down with my new pattern and have a read to see what it all involved. Then reality struck, I felt like I was trying to read Chinese! Now I know all you expert knitters out there are probably giggling at me right now, but that's ok, because I'm going to give it my best shot, and when I am ready to rip my hair out I'm going to come calling for help. I know who you all are, so you can't hide, I have all your email addresses!

On a different note, it is not unusual for me to walk around my garden at 7 o'clock in the morning still in my pajamas taking photo's for my blog. Well I thought I was pretty dedicated, you know, anything for my blog readers. My husband it seems is a good bit more dedicated than I am, last night he hid behind one of our rose bushes just to get a photo of this little hummingbird, happily drinking his fill from our flowers. I, on the other hand, was quite happy to look through the window occasionally, while sipping tea of course, to check out the goings on. So as much as I would like to take the credit these little hummingbird photos are my husband's, thank you sweetheart!





See you all tomorrow.

Lovely things and Butterfly cakes!

I have been having the best time lately, I have been finding lots to blog about and wonderful things to photograph.

I received a lovely email from Twiggy over at The World of Twiggypeasticks, she was so sweet to give me this award.

My first award! Thank you Miss Twiggy. It is greatly appreciated. Now I get to nominate some people for this award, and they are....
Jenny at Frazzy Dazzles
Nathalie at Kennedy & Friends Co.
Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits
Lisa at Periwinkle
Rachael at Rachael Rabbit
Bethany at Red Yarn
Layla at The LadyBlog

Here are the rules for this award:
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.
6. Write an acceptance speech in the style of the Academy Awards, thanking every body's mother, father, sister, brother, aunties and uncles and the kitchen staff at your favorite restaurant!


As you probably know Rachael over at Rachael Rabbit had a lovely successful cupcake and tea swap recently. Imagine my surprise when this beautiful tea cozy came in the mail yesterday, handmade by the lovely Rachael herself, and all for just mentioning that it would be lovely if we all lived a little closer so we could all visit for afternoon tea. I was so overwhelmed by her generosity. Thank you Rachael. It will be put to good use every day.


This afternoon, while my new tea cozy is keeping my tea lovely and warm, I'll be enjoying these little butterfly cakes. My mother used to make these when I was a little girl and I still enjoy them.

Hope you all have a lovely Tuesday.

Cupcakes for all!

In honor of my 100th post, I would like to celebrate by sharing my little cupcake pattern. I hope you have as much fun making them as I have. I've tried to keep the novice knitter in mind when writing this pattern. However, should you ever have a problem or get stuck, please feel free to email me and I'll do my best to help you out.

I would love it if you would send me pictures of your finished cupcakes. I would love to put them on my blog!

Happy knitting to everybody!

Little Cupcake Pattern

Yarn: Sport weight or double knitting
Needles: 3.25mm
Cupcake base: Cast on 46 stitches
Knit 1, Purl 1, rib for 10 rows
Next row: Purl
Next row: Knit
Next row: Purl 1, Purl 2 together to last stitch, Purl 1 (32 stitches left on needle)
Next row: Knit
Next row: Purl 1, Purl 2 together to last stitch, Purl 1 (21 stitches left on needle)
Next row: Knit
Next row: Purl 2 together to last stitch, Purl 1 (11 stitches left on needle)

Break yarn leaving about 8-10 inches. Thread the 8-10 inches of yarn that is still attached to your knitting onto a sewing needle and thread through the stitches on your knitting needle. Pull tightly to gather up and fasten off.

Cupcake filling: Cast on 16 stitches
Next row: Knit
Next row: Purl
Next row: Increase into every stitch to the end of the row by knitting into the front and the back of the same stitch (32 stitches on needle)
Next 3 rows: Purl
Next row: Knit 1, increase 1; knit 3, increase 1 (repeat knit 3, increase 1 to last two stitches and knit 2) (40 stitches left on needle)
Next row: Purl
Next row: Knit
Next row: Purl
Next row: Knit 2, increase 1; knit 4, increase 1 (repeat knit 4, increase 1 to last two stitches and knit 2) (48 stitches left on needle)
Next row: Purl
Next row: Knit
Next row: Purl
Next row: Knit
Next row: Purl

Shape Top: Knit 1, knit 2 together to end (32 stitches left on needle)
Next row: Purl
Next row: Knit
Next row: Purl
Next row: Knit 2 together to end (16 stitches left on needle)
Next row: Purl
Next row: Knit 2 together to end (8 stitches left on needle)
Cut yarn leaving about 8-10 inches. Finish the same way as cupcake base.

Stitch the seams of the cupcake base and filling as neatly as possible. Stuff the cupcake filling firmly with fiberfill. With yarn gather up open end of cupcake filling, pull gently to close leaving a small opening. Place filling into cupcake base. Starting ¼-inch from the top of cupcake base and using matching thread, stitch filling to cupcake base using small stitches to avoid being seen.

Decorate to your heart’s content with glass beads, flowers, etc..

I Won, I Won!

Hooray for me, I am the lucky winner of a bed monster!

Lovely Jenny over at Frazzy Dazzles had a giveaway to celebrate her 100th post, and I was the lucky winner. Between my cat, my teddy bear and now a bed monster, oh I almost forgot my husband, our bed is getting pretty crowded!

Speaking of 100th posts I am at post number 99 today, so I have decided to do a tutorial for post number 100, which should be sometime on Sunday or Monday. No I am not going to tell you what it is you will just have to wait! This way everybody gets something if they chose to make it.


By now some of you may be getting tired of frog photo's but I couldn't resist this one, my husband took it yesterday when he was in the garden. This little guy looked so lovely nestled in one of my Lillie's.

Well I think I'm done for this week, have a lovely weekend everyone.

Margo, Bertie, cat beds and kitty kickers!

Little Margo all pretty in red!

I have been doing quite a bit of sewing this week, but not all ellie's and mice. I made twelve cat beds for my favorite animal charity to sell.I also made 100 kitty kickers for them to sell also.
In case you are wondering what kitty kickers are, they are fabric bags filled with organic catnip that kitty's go wild over.
Just watch these two video's and you'll get the idea.
This lovely little kitty belong's to my daughter and her name is Holly.




Whew, I think my sewing machine needs to cool down a bit! Of course that will never happen, there is always something around here that needs sewing.

Last but not least, there is this little guy...Bertie the little circus mouse, I decided to go just a little wild with this one, I hope he makes you giggle!

First thing in the morning.

I was up early this morning, just in time to see the Olympic mountains, this is the view from our bedroom window. Still a little hazy, but such a nice sight to wake up to.

The sprinklers in the garden had been on earlier and I thought it would make for some interesting photo's. A lovely Columbine......day lily leaves......and some hosta leaves.


One of my ferns, which came out rather lovely.Another one of my roses, a very pale lemon color, I just love it.
Happy Wednesday, I hope you have a lovely one!

Paws for a Cause

Many of you know that my favorite non-profit organization is It's Meow or Never Animal Rescue & Sanctuary.

I'm so excited - it's nearly time for a very fun event! Get ready to bid on some wonderful items in the 2008 Paws for a Cause Online Auction, coming August 2nd! You can learn more about it at www.itsmeowornever.org/auction.

If you'd like to donate an item, they would appreciate it so much - they will give a public thanks and a link to your Etsy site, blog or online store in exchange. Tax receipts are also available. So many lovely people on Etsy have already donated so there will be many great items to choose from. Their mailing address is on the auction preview page.

Please help to spread the word about this auction so we can help them raise some much needed money. You can even get your own cool "blingie" (see the one I chose below) by visiting www.itsmeowornever.org/auction/blingies.asp.

A day at the beach

The water was a little cold but all in all our day at the beach was wonderful. The tide was extremely low which was great for looking at all kinds of sea life.We found this little tiny crab.......then we found this really big one that I wasn't about to pick up! We found this lovely creature........as well as these. Saw this little guy....
....having a blast. We found some sand dollars....
....and saw an Osprey......coming in for a landing at her nest.
The last thing we saw was a little tug boat that had pulled this barge loaded with fireworks for the evening fireworks display.

We loved our day at the beach, we hope you do too!

Lucky me!

Lucky, lucky me! Yesterday in the mail came my cupcake and tea swap package from the lovely Jayne over at Country Cottage Chic I am so thrilled, she did such a lovely job.

It was so much fun participating in this swap (my first) that I can't wait to do another one.

A big thank you to Rachael over at Rachael Rabbit for organizing this whole thing, she did a marvoulous job.

Well now I'm off to try my new tea!

What does your name mean?

What Kathleen Means

K is for Keen A is for Ambitious T is for Trustworthy H is for Healthy L is for Luxurious E is for Enjoyable E is for Exuberant N is for Nutty

What Does Your Name Mean?

I found this on Alison's blog, Born to Read and Knit, it's fun you should try it!

Albert

Meet Albert, the new man in Henrietta's life!

I am finished with mouse making for this week as I am off to the beach. Today is going to be one of the lowest tides which usually reveals all kinds of sea life.
So I am going off with camera in hand to see what lovely things I can take photo's of for next weeks blog entries.

Whatever you are doing this July 4th I hope you have a safe and fun one!

Henrietta

Henrietta wants to wish everyone a happy Wednesday.

Thank you Annemarie for the name suggestion, as I hadn't really come up with a name for her yet.

Henry

This is Henry, who loves to walk about in my garden.
Here are some of the things he saw.
A tiny little frog tucked safely into my gerainiums.

A lovely purple flower. Another little frog making his home in one of my bird houses, for some reason this year I have more frogs than birds in the houses.
And a beautiful yellow flower.

I think I need to make Henry a little girl mouse friend, so he can show her all the lovely things in the garden.