Pysanka

When Elizabeth told me to mark April 11 on my calendar for Pysanka eggs, Abigail and I googled images and began to get excited. When we arrived for the event Abigail dove right in. I was a bit more cautious, asking questions, observing, and sketching on my egg before applying any wax.

Black was the last color I needed to dip in, and because only the stripes on the bees and a tiny little opening on the beehive were to be this color, my eggs was almost entirely covered in wax. I was a nervous wreck that I had just spent three hours creating a mess rather than a masterpiece.

When I started to melt the wax and wipe it off revealing the design underneath, I became very excited. I think Elizabeth and Leigh Ann got a charge out of hearing me squeal with delight.

What a fun project! I could see myself becoming addicted to that tradition.

You can read more about the process here.

Olympic Mug Rug Swap

My interest was piqued when Autumn told me about an Olympic Mug Rug swap. I knew I had to participate when I saw that we had to make a matryoshka doll as one of the patterns.

Our family loves watching the Olympic games, and I must admit that I like the winter games better than the summer. It was quite fun to  work on these in the evenings while watching some of the events.

My swap partner, Phoebe, was quite organized and had her mug rugs done before the opening ceremonies. The first photo shows the mug rugs that I received. She also included an adorable tri-fold tea wallet. I've shown it open in the photo.

My work took a little bit longer, but thankfully, after delivery was delayed by snow on the east coast, Phoebe received her goodies from me at the beginning of the week. I tweaked the mouth on the doll to look a little more traditional. I'm happy with the alteration. We had to make both patterns, and we were asked to label them on the backs, as well. Although the matryoshka doll is what made me sign up for the swap, I enjoyed making the dove just as much. I love that Phoebe used eyelet fabric for my dove.

I enjoyed these so much that I've got a few more in the works-one for a friend, and one for Autumn and Abigail. Go USA!

Valentine Gingerbread Homes

Tradition. We've made gingerbread houses for years, and we all look forward to it. When a friend hosted this year, I was happy to be able relax and not have all of the baking, cleaning up, etc. that goes along with such an activity. But there's something to be said for hosting, too. You know, like if you're invited for Thanksgiving dinner, and it's wonderful, but you don't have the leftovers for sandwiches, and the carcass for broth. Yeah, it's kind of like that. But different, too. 

Verne especially missed me hosting since he wasn't able to partake in the house decorating. Sometimes I think that activities I plan are too over the top, and that maybe no one even cares. It's not that I feel under-appreciated; I don't. My family has always been very good about expressing their appreciation for what I do. It's just that maybe I don't need to go to the lengths that I do to show my love for them. Maybe I'm doing these things more for myself than for them, because they're what I would choose. Maybe they'd be satisfied with doing less, or not doing the activity at all. 

In any case, I had those feelings of missing something, and decided to proceed in a different way. Since Abigail did get to build a Christmas house and time was going to be very limited when we were all together over the holidays, I decided to move the activity to Valentine's Day. Abigail invited friends since her siblings would be absent. I baked and assembled eight houses: six for the girls, one for Verne, and one for me. 

The leftover dough was baked into hearts, big and small, and round cookies bearing a homemade stamp. Marshmallows were dipped in Dolci Frutta and topped with snowflake sprinkles and nonpareils. Pink lemonade was also served. 

The table was set with a house at each spot, and goodies for decorating were placed in bowls just before the girls arrived. 

Each girl was also asked to bring some candies of their choosing to share for decorations. 

Look! A real, live gingerbread person!

The girls had a great time, and it was fun to see their unique decorating styles. However, the highlight of the day was watching Verne decorate his house. I made his house a bit different, and added a chimney. He is special, you know.

The girls were allotted 3 hours for decorating. No one needed that much time, and they used the last hour to play games. But Verne? He worked, and worked, and worked. He took four hours on his house, and with that I got my answer. These traditions? They are not just for me.


Cookie stamp found here.

Hexie Needlebook

Paper pieced hexagons, cheery colors, bees, hand-quilting, and embroidery all worked together to create this adorable little needlebook. Swoon!

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint- Chateau Grey

A little over a year ago my friend Lynn expressed a desire to have her bedroom painted, but was going to have to wait over a month to have the job completed. I talked to Verne, and we volunteered to paint it for her. She was hesitant at first, until we agreed that she could make us lunch in exchange. 

In the process of painting, we learned that Lynn was going to kick this dresser to the curb. While it was a sturdy, old piece, she had spilled some fragrance oil on the top of it, and the paint was bubbling. I said I'd take it for my sewing room. 

While it's generally unnecessary to sand when using Annie Sloan chalk Paint, I was afraid that the fragrance oil would bubble the new paint as well and sanded the top down entirely. And then I let the dresser sit. For a year. I knew I wanted to repaint it, but couldn't decide on a color.

Finally, after much hemming and hawing I decided on Chateau Grey. It's slightly green, but extremely neutral. I used two coats of paint, with several more coats on the sanded top and two coats of wax. I did  a little sanding here and there where the wood was distressed anyway, but not too much.

Let me tell you, this dresser can hold quite a bit of fabric!

Snap Happy

Another gift completed and given. Several of you were curious about the little "purses" that I showed in this post.

The pattern is called Snap Happy by The stitchin' Sisters and can be found at their website, here.

Abigail and I recently went to see Autumn and visited a little quilt shop along the way. We found these coordinating fabrics that were perfect for a cupcake loving girl. Not too cutesy, not too juvenile, we agreed that these were pretty, feminine, and perfect!

The larger pouch was filled with a key chain and two small notepads. I tucked a Starbucks gift card into the smaller one. The set was presented to the girl Collin has taken a shine to as a birthday gift, and she was thrilled.

Recycled Bunting

Simple as it was, I loved my birthday cake from the chocolate, to the frosting, to the bunting. I was just getting ready to throw the bunting away when a thought came into my head. 

Why not turn this cheery little bunting into a mug rug? And how about incorporating a tiny bit of embroidery?

I did just that. I think the polka dot binding was perfect, don't you?

A small bit of hand-quilting, and done! I'm happy I saved that bunting from the trash.

A Walk in Winter

Abigail and I had a rare afternoon alone together and we trekked down the mountain, under heavy branches, across a small stream, and came to a rest in the thicket.

And then we trekked back home, had a cup of hot chocolate for her,  and a hot cup of coffee for me. We  spent the rest of the afternoon quilting, and singing along while listening to Colbie and Ingrid.

Purple and Black

My brother expressed interest in several crochet projects that the girls and I had finished while we were visiting in Pennsylvania for Christmas. It was then that he revealed to me his penchant for homemade afghans. So much so, that he was tempted to raid a thrift box bin when he saw an afghan hanging out of it. I told him I'd gladly make him one, though it may take some time for it to be finished, and asked him for color preferences. His wife, being an avid Steelers fan, suggested black and gold. He smiled slyly and said, "How about black and purple!" I don't know what he was thinking, except maybe he doesn't want to share and didn't think his wife would ever wrap Raven's colors around herself.

I called him when I returned home just to make sure of the colors, and he insisted that yes, black and purple were what he wanted. And so, it has begun. It's actually a striking combination. He chose well.

Hollow Books

photo by Collin

Collin has been spending all of his spare change at the thrift store buying large hardback books, and all of his spare time hollowing them out. Each one is a little better than the last, and he's having loads of fun.