Training Day...

Nicki Franklin's French General Hearts

I got home from work last night, ate dinner and soon thereafter went to bed. The great news is that the compression sleeves I ordered for my legs arrived in the mail yesterday, so I'll be wearing them to work today.

More good news is that I'm training a new cashier today! Hoping she's a banger and that all the cashiers get some relief from the hours we've all had to pick up. 

These hearts were done by Nicki Franklin and I absolutely love them. You may or may not know I'm a huge French General fan, and have lots of FG lines on my shelves. You'll be seeing something like these from me as soon as I finish my bluebirds and have some time to myself.

I'm going to leave a little earlier today for work. I want to set a great example, you know? See you tomorrow.

More Hearts...

These hearts hang in my studio. They're some of the pieces I received from creative friends, so I keep them close so I can look at them while I'm playing. 

It started snowing late last night, so I was glad that it waited until well after I got home. I'm going to stay indoors today as the flurries continue, and I'm playing with "heart ideas" all day. I can't wait to share what I create with you on Monday. 

Always Grateful...

 Aside from my family, nothing makes me more grateful than the beautiful

friendships that have been made through Brynwood and my blog. Last week, I

was again surprised to receive packages from two of them...TerriBoog and Twyla.

 Terri (and her little dog, Bitabit) sent a lovely package of goodies. I was

so surprised! She included a corgi t-shirt; a little, wooden corgi figure; a

great corgi magnet (that will go on the Explorer) and pen; a metal acorn 

adornment; and the most beautiful, heart-shaped dish! It has fused glass in 

the bottom that just glistens when the light hits it. I've put it right in my studio!

 Of course, I'm sending a proper thank you note, but I wanted to show you

the wonderful things that she sent to me. I love them all, Terri and Bitabit!

 Dear friend, Twyla, always seems to know just what I need and when to send it. 

She prayed that God "heal my socks off", so she sent me a really cute pair to 

wear! I'm already reading the "Angels on Earth" magazines. They're 

inspirational and comforting, and I love that she cared to send them to me.

Thank you, Twyla. You're one in a million!

 I consider this card a gift, too. It came from loved ones in England

and is so appreciated. Isn't it a pretty card? It made me feel great

before I ever opened it! I love all the layers and the sweet images.

 Gifts from the heart mean so much to me, and it wasn't hard to see the

affection that arrived in each card that was tucked inside these packages. 

The words that were written filled me up. The additional tokens were the icing on top.

I'm always so very grateful for this life and the good people with whom I share it.

Slowly, But Surely...

 I've been FOCUSING a lot lately and have either finished or nearly finished

a couple more projects. There are few things as satisfying to me as meeting a

deadline or a goal, and this past month has been especially hectic for me.

That's why I'm so darn proud of myself for keeping my shoulder to the wheel

so that I can complete my backlog of UFOs in the near future. 

These jammies are my latest accomplishment. They really make me smile!

 Today I'll finish this lap quilt. I'm making it for Mom Grace and I just know

she'll love it. First, I know she'll love it because I made it, but I also know

she'll love the sewing-theme fabrics that I chose to make her quilt.

 The top is complete and I'll sandwich it with batting and backing and do

the surface quilting. The heart-shaped buttons aren't attached yet either.

I'll add those after the quilting is finished, add the binding and take one

more picture of it to show you before I pop it into a box to mail to her.

One of the things that helps me concentrate is to play music while I'm

in the studio. This song had been playing in my head yesterday, so now

you can have it playing in your head, too! It's ok. You don't have to thank me.

(This is a direct link.)

Tuesdays With Tag - Heart Day...

Hi! It's me...Tag! 

Mom helped me find some pictures of hearts in nature. You know. Hearts that just happen without anyone making them. We went for a little walk to see if we could find any...

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She told me that these are strawberries and people eat them. I've never had a taste of one, but she says they're really good.

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 I like this one of a rock. I bet Kessie would try to eat it if she were still around to join us on our daily walks! (Yeah, and another trip to the vet for surgery, too!)

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 Even these leaves are curled into a heart shape!

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Mom showed me this picture of a little cow with a heart on its forehead, and then she had an "ah ha!" moment!

She said, "Hey, Tag (that's me!)! We don't have to look for any more hearts. Sometimes the happiest hearts are right before our very eyes. We just have to be open to seeing them."

I don't think I know what she means, but she giggled and said we had all the photos we'd need for today's post. I'm a good boy, so I'll believe her.

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody. 

'til next week...

"More Waggin' and Less Barkin'!"

Don't forget that Mom's 1000th Post Giveaway ends tonight! Hope you're all entered in the drawings. Mom says, "Good luck!"

My Finished Gift...

I presented my gift yesterday to my friend, Sharon of Corgis In My Garden blog. I was fortunate to be able to spend an entire day with her, but I don't want to give you all the details quite yet. I'm going to tell you all about it on Tuesday (with Tag) instead. I'm sure it's not hard for you to figure out why.

I gave you a peek yesterday, and thought you shouldn't have to wait to see what I created with all that ribbonwork.  She brought along a gift for me (a fabulous, scrumptious, gorgeous homemade pound cake and beautiful tray - perfect for the Flying Cloud), but I'll share more about that next week, too.

Thank you for a driving down for the day, Sharon-friend. I'm so glad we could spend the time together. (The weather was perfect, too, wasn't it?) I hope we get a chance to do it again sooner, rather than later.

Hearts For Sale...

I finished Connie's Hearts' Desire choice yesterday, and
today it will be on its way to her house. I sure hope she loves it!
(Connie won my surprise blog drawing last week, remember?)

This design is called "Dear Heart".
It features a pink French silk ribbon rose, taupe ribbon ruffles,
and some of the same embellishment I used on Mum's wedding gown.

The final touch is a tiny pearl seed bead at every diamond
intersection on the fabric. It's filled with a silk blend stuffing.

These are the hearts I added to the Boutique this evening,
and I'll be making more Dear Hearts to list up, too.

Are you tired of seeing my hearts yet? I promise to give you a
break from them now. If you want to look at them,
you'll need to link over to the Boutique.
(Here's the link for the sachet pillows.)

Really, officially, I won't mention them again...
at least for a while.

Itchin' To Stitch...

I finished these silk ribbon embroideries on the ground fabric
that will soon become two new Hearts Desire sachet hearts.
I'll list them in the Boutique tomorrow.

As I was stitching along, I realized that I'm using silks that
I've had since I closed Stitches in 1998. (Stitches was the name of my
needlework shop in Wisconsin, which I owned for nearly ten years.)
The fibers are twelve years old! Not vintage by any means, but
the chances of matching the colors are slim to none.

You know what that means, don't you?
Time to go shopping!

I found wonderful colors.
Solids...

...and all manner of beautiful hand-dyed silks.
I'm no longer limited to the few colors from my "silk stash".
I've wound them all onto their card labels (for reorder,
of course!) and I'm ready to create with these new silks.

New colors, new flowers, new hearts - small and large.
Next week, I'll add my first large heart cushion to the Boutique.

I'm just a little excited to get started, so I'll close for now.
My fingers are just itchin' to stitch.

I've added new ACEO cards, which are available for purchase. If you're interested in any of these cards, please just email me, as I haven't listed them up on Etsy yet. Here's the link to the album which shows the new cards. Thanks to Tammy of Simple Southern Happiness for encouraging me to list some of my ATCs for sale. (The difference between an ATC and an ACEO is that ACEOs can be sold, and ATCs cannot.)

Embellished With Ribbons and Beads...

I'm being a little sneaky with my title today.

You'll see why when you've read to the end of my post.

These are some of the Hearts' Desire hearts I have created and
given away as gifts. I'm making new ones now, and I'll have
them listed for sale in the Boutique within the next day or so.
I've decided my favorite look is the stitched silk ribbon design
(the blue one in the mosaic-and the lilac one, above),
closely followed by the silk ribbon roses and
embellishments (the one in the upper left photo).

If you leave a comment here today, I'll make one for one lucky
friend. I'll draw a name of one person at midnight tonight and
I'll let you know who the winner is in tomorrow's post.

All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment today.
I'm doing this just for my regular blog friends, so no need
to spread the word, unless it's to send a message to one
of my regular readers who might be a pal of yours, too.

When you leave your comment, I'd love to know
which design speaks to you, and your favorite color.
It will help me design your Hearts' Desire if your name is drawn.
Good luck!

Silky Forget-Me-Nots...

I created a new "Hearts' Desire" heart to send to a friend yesterday.

This one is a "Forget-me-not Heart" featuring the sweet little blossoms
stitched in silk ribbon. I then used three strands of embroidery floss for
the leaves, and finished my design with sparkling glass beads.

I hope that the recipient will love it!
I'll be adding Hearts' Desire hearts to the Boutique
this week in case anyone would like to purchase one.

I also created three new Artist Trading Cards.
These two are available to trade, while the third
is on its way to another friend.

You can locate all my available-to-trade ATCs by clicking on the
"Artist Trading Cards" link at the top of my blog.
If you're interested in trading,
just read the information on the linked page.

I love trading these, and there is no fee to participate.
I only ask that you send select an available card (or contact me if
you would like me to recreate an already-traded card, or you'd
like a card with a specific theme or in a specific colorway)
which I will be happy to hold for you until I receive yours.
They are trading cards, after all.

I'll add more during the week, so you can check back
in the coming days to see what the newer ones look like.

For those of you who would like a card, but do not want to trade
I also have ACEOs (Art Card, Editions and Originals)
available for purchase, which you can also find by going
to the same "ATCs" link at the top of my blog.
There are only limited ACEO cards at this point, but I'll
also be adding more here in the future.

I've also added new giveaways hosted by other bloggers to my "Current Blog Giveaways" page. You can read more by clicking on the link page at the top of my blog.

Oh, and one more thing. I'm going to have a surprise "One Day Giveaway" this week. It will only be for my followers who comment on that day. I won't post that it's a giveaway in my title, so that I don't have followers that join just for the drawing. It's only for you, my faithful friends and regular visitors. The drawing will end when the next day's post goes up, and I'll announce the winner a day later. Curious? I hope so. I promise to make it something cool - just for you! Because you're all just the best friends in Blogland, and I want you to know that I appreciate each and every one of you.

The Fruits Of My "Pla-bor"...

You've been so patient. You really have.

Because I'm so grateful that you care
enough to follow my musings to begin with,
I thought I'd show you full images of the
gifts I created in my studio last week.
These gifts are both for blog buddies.

The first set is my part of a swap that one
friend and I agreed to do. I thoroughly admire her work
and I love what I received from her. I'll post a
photo of her gift to me after I know that she has received this set.

The lined tote is my own design - perhaps for her projects in progress.
The heart is filled with 100% wool batting,
and then I added pearl trim and silk roses.
Lastly, I sprayed it with my Egyptian Cotton Linen Spray.

Now, if you've been reading my latest posts,
it won't be hard for you to figure out where this gift will be going.
I love working with these materials, and the creation
of this floral heart was pure joy.
Silk ribbon embroidery and beautiful shimmering beads to
remind her of a shared blog moment.
I hope she loves my gift to her as much as I cherish her gift to me.

These are part of my Hearts' Desire series, and I'll be listing up
new hearts in my Boutique that will be available for purchase.
They could be used as a sachet, a pincushion, or just a pretty accent.
You may choose to have them sprayed with the cotton spray, or
I can add a tiny pouch of lavender buds to the wool batting.
Additionally, I'd be happy to make special orders for your personal taste.

I'll share more information on size, pricing
and available Hearts' Desire hearts later this week.

Do you think my friends will love these?
Oh, gosh. I sure hope so!
I had to change the title of my post from "Labor" to "Pla-bor".
Projects like these are really too much fun to consider as work.

Thank you to all of you who shared concerns and get well wishes for our friend, Richard. He was able to return home - with his sweet Labrador, Stout, today. We're so grateful that his trip to the hospital wasn't more serious than we feared.

Sharing My Favorite Things...

I thought I'd share some of my favorite things with you today...buttons and seashells. I love making collage hearts! The two styles I like the best are created with old buttons or with seashells. I also insert additional trinkets in them when I find the perfect element.

I started making them a couple of years ago, and love searching through my collections for just the right elements. In the seashell collage, I also made the charm to add to the piece. I features an image of The Birth of Venus.

Because of my choice of materials, no two are exactly the same which is just another aspect that I love about them.

In the coming weeks and months, I'll be adding items like this to my Etsy store (as well as my hand created jewelry pieces). I hope you'll go window shopping from time to time to see if there's something in my store you just can't live without!