One More Day...

I made good progress yesterday, but think it will be one more day before I can release this beauty and turn it into a completed brooch. 

Is it Thursday already? The days just seem to fly by. Whoever said that retirement was a time to slow down was obviously never retired. I know. I have my little side "gigs" to occupy my time, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only retiree who finds plenty to keep themselves busy. While it's wonderful to have interests, why is it that now, when we want to savor our golden years, the time speeds by so quickly? I feel like another 8-10 hours a day would be more appropriate.

First thing on the agenda today is baking bread, but during the "in-betweens" I'll be stitching, as well as once the bread is out of the oven. I'm giggling right now. Of course, planning multiple tasks in a day quickly moves us from hour to hour until once again, it's time to bask in our accomplishments as we lay our heads on comfortable pillows. It's nice to have something to show for it at the end of the day.

Well, rather than contemplating the meaning of life, I guess I'd better just get after it. No time to waste. Not even a little bit. See you tomorrow!

Starting Another Bridal Brooch...

This one is a commission, so it moved to the top of my dance card. It has a combination of blues as requested by my client, and I'll stitch the entire piece as you see the bottom section. 

Once this one is completed, I'll be working on frogs again for a bit. I haven't forgotten you if you're on the list from my giveaway post. I'd like to get them all completed and mailed by the end of March. 

Soooo, if you're looking for me today, you'll find me in front of the dining room windows with lots of natural light and all my supplies. I'll be the one needle dancing.

Tuesdays With Tag - Joke Time!!...

Hi, Everybody!

Mom was too busy to take a new photo of me this week, so you'll just have to look at this killer shot of me again. It's okay. It's not about me this week anyway! It's JOKE TIME!!! Let's not beat around the bush and get right to the giggles for this week...

This one just slays me. hee hee

It's easy playin' cards with the Labradors around here, because of this!

Yeah, well. Some people might find this funnier than others. (Like people with tails!)

That's it for this week. I can't put them all out at once, you know. I'll have more for you next month!

I'll see you again in seven. 'til then... "Always make time for dog snuggles."

Bridal Shower...

The weekend got off to a rough start with my sister's daughters coming in from out of state to try to deal with her personal effects to clean out her home. Her husband is having an understandably difficult time, and going through my sister's things was difficult for everyone. My remaining two sisters and I did what we could to help, but there were a lot of tears amidst moments of happy memories and laughter. 

Our nieces went back home yesterday, and will return in a couple months to put together an estate sale, but many boxes went for donation, and some items of sentimental value were given to family members. 

Before the ladies left yesterday, I was able to meet up with them for a light lunch. Hugs were exchanged, and then we parted ways. My eldest niece was driving six hours to get home, while the other was heading to the airport to fly home. I got in my trusty Explorer and drove an hour north to the wedding shower for my great-nephew, Ethan's fiancee's wedding shower. I knew my two remaining sisters would both be there, so we were looking forward to celebrating for a couple hours.

The bride is in white, and she's surrounded by her sister, who is the Maid of Honor (in pink), her two other bridesmaids, and her daughter.

My niece (her future mother-in-law) threw a wonderful party. She's a great party planner, and there was tasty food, and a few fun quiz games to play for prizes. 

When the bride-to-be opened the gift from Handsome and me, she looked at me and smiled. She told me more than once that she loved her new brooch, and would absolutely wear it for their ceremony. I am delighted that she is happy with what I created for their wedding.

Before we all parted ways, I made sure there were photos taken of me with my two sisters, Di and Jan. We did the best we could to help our nieces over the weekend, then attend this celebration, but I know all three of us were tired by the end of yesterday. 

Jan will be working today and tomorrow; Di will spend a little time with her son's family before leaving to drive six hours north to go home. She lives near my eldest niece, so she has nearly the identical drive. I'm going to get some things done with Handsome today, but I'll be able to rest a bit, too. This weekend was a good time to spend with family, but under the circumstances, it was exhausting, so we'll recuperate as we're able. 

We all miss the sister who wasn't there, and it will always be this way for us. We were four and now we're three, but Lyn will always be in our hearts, and we'll do our best for her daughters, grandchildren, and husband.

Sunday Scripture...

Deuteronomy 29:29 (Pinterest Image)

 

She's Entirely Too Comfortable...

I don't even know what to say about this girl. Claudette loves being in the house, and her favorite spot is on the back of the sectional. From this perch, she can watch all the activity out our north window, and the cushions seem to fit her just perfectly. Our sectional is always covered with quilts to protect against dog hair, but now, it seems we're also guarding against comfy cat hair, too.

I walked into the living room on a recent sunny day, and this is the scene I encountered. How is she even comfortable like this?

She didn't budge while I stood right over her taking pictures to prove this cat is thoroughly happy letting it all hang out. Even being sniffed at by Carly didn't seem to phase her even one little bit. Oh, Claudette! 

I think I'll just leave you today with these visions of a completely contented and amusing "barn" cat.

"Something Blue" Bridal Heart Brooch...

I completed the "Something Blue" Bridal Heart Brooch on Wednesday and am so excited to debut it today. My nephew's fiance' will receive this at her bridal shower on Sunday.

I estimate approximately 20 hours of stitching went into creating the finished piece and love how it turned out. I didn't have (and so far can't locate a source for) baby blue brilliant check purls (the sparkling fiber I used on the red hearts, as well as the frogs and religious heart pieces) so I used beautiful seed beads instead. I just as happy with the end result.

I'm going to be offering these brooches as bridal gifts, and will work with my clients to choose the color blue they prefer (I do have an assortment of blue check purls - sadly not in baby blue; or they can select from an assortment of blue seed beads combined with silver check purls.) I think the silver coordinates better with the blues than gold. The client can also choose to keep or add the center cross, per their personal preference. Perhaps they're having a civil ceremony and would like to omit the cross?

Of course, the bride can then choose to wear it on the waist of her gown, under her gown on the petticoat or on her garter, or incorporate it into her bouquet. I'd just suggest she remove it before she tosses her flowers to the next bride. 

As with all my needlework pieces, it is my fond hope that they will become treasured family heirlooms, and this piece especially. I will include a card that the original bride, as well as future brides can add their name to in the event you would like to keep a family record.

Each brooch will be carefully packaged in a chiffon drawstring bag, which is then tucked into a presentation box to protect it. If you're interested in purchasing one of these brooches, please contact me for pricing information and/or to arrange a commission. Thanks!

Happy Birthday, WMBBD...

She's the mama of talented field dogs, including her daughter, Carly, and the best companion we could have ever hoped to have. She's silly, smart, and still - even at this age - a rocket in the field in her own right. 

Today is her special day, and Handsome and I will do our best to honor the World's Most Beautiful Black Dog.

Handsome took this picture of her yesterday. Her face is a little grayer, and her eyes a little bluer, but her spark is still burning brightly and there really is nothing sweeter than an this older dog. She owns our hearts, and we thank Heaven every day that she's our Bella dog.

Happy Ninth Birthday, Mama.

We love you.

From Mom, Dad, Tag, Carly (and the Barn Girls)

Felted Snowmen (and Ladies)...

Now that I have photographs of all the completed snowmen (or ladies), I can share them with you.  These were the samples Linda P. created and used as inspiration for our own projects. She was the leader for this month's craft - Needle Felting. Aren't they adorable? She was a great teacher, by the way!

Kim was the first one to complete her snowman. We all loved the face she created, and her braided scarf inspired more than one of us! Aqua is her favorite color. Can you tell?

 

Adrienne's snowman was so cute. We all loved the stocking hat she made, and here's another happy snowman. We all loved looking at the various face treatments. We all really ran with this project!

 

Like her daughter, Adrienne, Marie chose to make a stocking cap for hers. You can't see it in this picture, but the cap was as long as her snowman is tall. I love that she added a "charcoal" mouth to hers.

Linda K decided to finish dressing her snow lady at home. She was the first to leave on Saturday, so she could get back home to her sweet, old dog, Meg, who's been having a rough time. Sadly, Meg passed away peacefully yesterday, so Linda decided to name her snow lady after her much-loved pet. 

Rather than felt the hat and accessories, Linda chose to crochet the hat, scarf and bag (which holds a star). Perfect to remember her girl, don't you think?

I know you've already seen mine, but I've added my photo again so that I have all our projects from this month on the same blog post. 

I can safely speak for all of us to say that this really was an awesome group project. It was a new technique for everyone except our leader, Linda P. I can also say that every single snowman has a bit of our own DNA in them, as we learned the techniques and hazards of using felting needles. (They can be brutal if you lose your concentration!)

I worked on my "Something Blue" Heart Brooch today. I'll be sharing a completed prototype after Bella's Birthday post, so you'll see the brooch on Friday. Happy Hump Day!

Tuesdays With Tag - Time To Celebrate...

Hi, Everybody!

Mom and I hit the road for a few special errands yesterday. Our WMBBD is havin' a Birthday this week, so we went checkin' out ideas for presents. 

I wanted to drive, but Mom said there's the not-so-small matter of my short legs. In the end, I moved over and let her take the wheel. I must say it was a good day to travel. The sunshine shone through the windows on our Explorer, and it was great for catchin' a few winks while Mom ran into the grocery store!

I'm only sharin' a couple photos today. Boo's actual Birthdate is on Thursday, so Mom is gonna share new photographs of her on her big day. Our WMBBD is nine this year. Wasn't she a cute puppy? I remember pickin' her out of the litter just like it was yesterday. (You're cryin'. I'm not cryin'!)

Here she is with her kid (in front). Mama's a little greyer and her eyes have a blue cast now, but she's still our best girl and we love her loads. 

I hope you'll be back to visit on Thursday and leave a Birthday message for Bella that Mom and I can read to her in between Birthday treats.

We're lookin' forward to a week of mild and sunny weather. Could it be more perfect to celebrate our Birthday girl? We don't think so. I'm gonna leave you to enjoy our pictures this week. 

PS. I know you might have been expectin' my monthly dog jokes this week. I'm gonna share some giggles with you next week instead.

I'll see you again in seven. 'til then... "Always make time for dog snuggles."

A Weekend of Finishes...

Let's begin with three completed goldwork Heart Brooches that I'll be preparing to mail tomorrow. (President's Day today. No mail service.) I backed them with the same cork fabric they're perched on for this photograph. Each one is signed and dated with my wee signature acorn. Which one is your favorite?

Saturday's Craft Day in Portage was so much fun. I got to try something I hadn't done before and I really enjoyed it. We needle felted snowmen. I don't have all the photos to share today, but will share all of them on Wednesday so you can see everyone else's sweet result.

This is my completed guy. I was watching (actually, listening so I didn't poke my fingers with the felting needle) Harry Potter while I was finishing him yesterday so I named him "Erroll". I added a wee cardinal that landed on his hand. For those in my age range, I named his little red friend "Flynn". I know you'll get the reference.

Handsome wanted to take a photograph with me in it, so you get an idea of Erroll's size. I didn't even stop to straighten my collar, and I'm au naturel (sigh), but you get a reference for how big my snowman turned out.

Linda P. was our leader this session, as she'd already made 6 snowmen of her own. Each one different from the rest. She provided kits, and we provided felting needles, scissors, felting mats and enthusiasm. There's enough wool roving in my kit to make a second snowman, so perhaps Erroll needs a companion?  Not right away, as I have frogs and hearts to stitch first, but I'm definitely going to make another one of these cute projects.

All in all, it was a perfect weekend for crafting, and I'm excited to have completed all my projects before it was all over. Fun. Fun. Fun.

 

Sunday Scripture...

Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV) via heartlight.org

Red and Gold...

I came so close to completing Heart #3 before I had to leave for work yesterday. I was this close! Well, no worries. I'll complete it today when I get back home from Portage (Craft Day today), and then I'll turn them into brooches before the weekend is over.

When you come back for our visit on Monday, I'll share the completed brooches before I package them to send off to their new homes.

It's going to be cold and windy today as I head over to craft day. I'm looking forward to spending time with my girlfriends again. I happen to know we're going to be playing with wool roving and felting needles today. Can't wait to share our creations with you on Monday, too! 

Happy Weekend!

Another Completed Heart...

Two down, one to go. I think this one will be red and gold check purls. I stitched away the day yesterday and completed Heart #2, and immediately did the outline for #3 before stopping for the day. 

It snowed about 5" yesterday and then the sun came out. The light was perfect for sitting at my frame next to the dining room windows. I had all the sunshine I needed to see my work as Handsome manned the tractor and cleared our driveway. I think it's safe to say we're both mostly recovered from our bout with whatever respiratory thing we had. I'm glad it's behind us.

I'll work on #3 today, and then I work for a few hours at the station tonight. I do enjoy helping out on Friday nights during their dinner hour. I answer the phone and take orders for our Friday fish fry. (If you're not a Midwesterner, perhaps you've only heard of supper clubs and Friday fish. They're both a big deal here.) We get pretty busy, so they needed someone to cover the phones. You have to know that I'd enjoy that task. 

I'll snap a picture of my progress on this last heart to show you what it looks like like, and I'll turn them into brooches over the weekend. These are really fun and I know I'll make more of them in the future, too.

Oh, wouldn't they be pretty in blue as a gift for a bride to pin into the skirt of her wedding gown as her "something blue"? We have a wedding coming up in April, and I may just make one more right away in blue to gift to her at her shower in a couple weeks!

Cookie Failure...

I know you probably think these look okay, but believe me I made a bad decision and paid for it. Handsome had errands to run yesterday morning, so I figured I make cutout cookies and surprise him when he got home. Close, but no cigar. 

I baked off two dozen delicious cutout cookies in no time. Then it was time to make the icing that I can always count on. The recipe calls for shortening, 8 cups of confectioner's sugar, vanilla, almond flavoring...and heavy cream, added between cupfuls of the sugar. You only add 3 T. of cream at a time, and you get a perfect consistency. It's a no-fail recipe...until yesterday.

I had heavy cream in the fridge, so I grabbed the bottle and added the first three tablespoons. The container smelled a bit sour, but I figured it was just the cream around the rim and cap of the bottle and cleaned it. I tasted the cream and it tasted fine to me. So onward I went. I could still smell the "sour", but figured it was just a residual aroma.

All the cookies were frosted when Handsome got home. He walked into the kitchen and said, "You made cookies!" He walked over to the platter and said, "Does something smell off to you?" I'd already cleaned up the kitchen, so I explained about the cream. We discussed at length and I said it might be the frosting, but every time I picked up a cookie and smelled it, it smelled fine to me.

I ate a cookie and said I didn't think they tasted bad or smelled bad, and then I pulled the leftover white icing out of the fridge and we inspected that. Long story short, I ended up in tears (having just spent a couple hours of baking and decorating), and tossed the lot into the trash. I didn't want to take any chances.

Handsome was very kind and said that I can't be perfect every time I cook or bake, and in all our years together, there have only been a handful of what I'd term disasters. I count this among them.

We made dinner together. We had prime rib, mashed potatoes and steamed peas. Then, I pulled out a (cheater) package of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookies and baked those for dessert. Not at all what I'd planned, but then...I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. (Sorry for the pun.) 

I tossed the heavy cream, too, by the way. I'll do better next time, for sure. I won't be baking today, electing to work on my heart brooches instead. I'm putting this little fiasco behind me, and will concentrate on something completely different for the day. It's snowing again today, so stitching is a perfect pastime. Don't tell anyone how badly I messed up those cookies, okay? It can be our little secret.

Happy Valentine's Day...

I worked on heart brooches yesterday. These will all be gifts, but I'm going to make some for my Etsy shop, too. Each one will be different from the others. 

Today, I'm going to make Valentine cookies. Once I'm finished in the kitchen, I'll be doing a little more needle dancing. Of course, I'll be back in the kitchen to make a tasty dinner for my love. This is a perfect day to me. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you spend the day doing something you love with someone you love.

Tuesdays With Tag - Hangin' Around...

Hi, Everybody!

It was almost 50º (F) yesterday, so Mom took us for a little jaunt around the property. We got quite a bit of snufflin' and runnin' accomplished, but mostly we soaked in the sunshine. As you can see from this picture, most of the snow has melted, so I didn't have to drag anythin' important through the white stuff. That's just dandy as far as I'm concerned!

With the weather gettin' warmer, Mom thought we should give the gardens a little checkup. She said we're gonna need peat, sand, and worm castin's (poop) to mix into the soil before anythin' gets planted, but that won't be for a while yet anyway. 

Mom and Dad took down all the fencin' last fall, so they'll be buildin' somethin' a little more sturdy this spring to keep the critters out. The girls and I can't wait to see what kind of structure we'll have to try to defeat once it's installed. That's always fun.

Of course, Boo and The Kid were outside with us. They really get the mileage from those long legs. Carly was runnin' around the barns, while Bella found somethin' good to smell. Mom was afraid she'd roll in it, but we lucked out. No rollin' (this time).

Mom's keepin' herself busy. She only has to work Friday night this week, so she'll be keepin' us company and gettin' us outside more. We might even go for a ride! She's goin' to Portage on Saturday, so I'm guaranteed a spot in her Explorer, for sure! I'll remind her to take lots of pictures this time!

Before I close, I just want to wish all of you - my friends, near and far - a Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow. I hope you know I love you very much. I'm so glad you stopped in to visit today and every week. You're just the cat's pajamas in my book! (I'll share pictures of lazy butt Claudette soon. You won't believe it.)

I'll see you again in seven. 'til then... "Always make time for dog snuggles."