Long Over-due "To-do's" Are ~ Ta Da! ~ Done!!!

I finally finished up some projects that having been sitting too, too, long....(You know that phenomena where the longer they sit, the harder they are to pick up....and pretty soon it feels like you have a herd of monkeys on your back? Yeah, well that's what it feels like to me!)

Anywhohow.....finished up a few finally:

My hooked Christmas stocking.....I have despised our Christmas stockings for years now....they're the cutesy-wootsey, kitschy, things from the '80's (uh...1980's - NOT 1880's....) So, last year, I got this bright idea to hook us some new ones. Ok, maybe it wasn't my "best" idea - but it sounded good at the time.....) This is a design by my pal, Cathy, at Red Barn Rugs - she has designed several wonderful Christmas stockings - and I thought how hard can it be to hook 3 stockings??? Well....lemme tell you - it wasn't the hooking that did me in, but all the hand stitching....No not - the pretty embroidery kind of stitching, but down-in-the-trenches, haul out the big needles, kind of stuff.....YUCK!!  It's backed with the same wool as I used on the cuff, and has the coolest lining (which, try as I might, I could not photograph while trying to hold the stocking open at the same time....)

One down, two to go......Arghhh (don't hold your breath - I DON'T do CPR!!)

And.....my needle felted purse.....

Purse pattern/design is also from Red Barn Rugs, but the felted design is just a free-hand ditty I did.....

My favorite part....the lining....

And my needle punched sheep.....(This I punched a while ago, but needed to frame or finish somehow....)  This is "Shear Pride" by Shawn Williams of Threads That Bind....

Ta Da!!! And, that's it!! Now back to goofing off!

:o)



She Really Does Exist.....

For days, weeks....ahhh...months, I've been reading about a strange phenomena in Blogland.....

Mysterious (and LARGE) boxes of goodies arrive at doorsteps around the country filled to the brim with delightful prim goodies.....

All by the hand of one kind-hearted, and overly-generous soul, known as Linda Parker (a/k/a "Linda Claus") from *Parker's Paradise*.

Well, folks....it's true...she does exist.....

This past week, when I finally summoned enough courage to once again go out my front door (you know, the one by the "snake tree"), I almost fell beak first over a very large and heavy box on my porch.....

It was packed full of so much fun.....

(Not the best picture I know, but there was so much to try to cram into one photo!!)

Anyways, there's a wonderful little wooden "seed" box with greenery and drieds and the cutest little miniature rusty garden tools; a "Happiness is Homemade" picture; a round crocheted table cover; a vintage embroidered table cover; a round painted box; some great old wooden clothespins; a wee basket; a little tin candle holder with a battery-operated votive inside; and a round painted box......And bestest of all, some of Linda's wonderful hand-did's and make-do's: An awesome candleboard with candles (I've wanted one of these Linda...ever since I saw them!!); my very own, personalized ticking pinkeep with my name and a "red-breasted" birdie; and some "cotton balls" that Linda made especially for me cuz I loved hers so.....

  



Thank you, so much, dear Linda for blessing my home and touching my heart....again.....

Green Things, Gratitude, Giveaways....and a Mudpuddle for Maygan....

Green Things.......

Like most of the rest of you, Nod has a severe case of the muggies....

And with the strange weather, has come some strange wildlife of a green kind....

Looky what planted itself in the plant I neglected to plant:

Peek-a-boo!

And, a rare sight, a Luna moth sunning itself on the side of the garage:

Gratitude.......

Every month, Cheri from quiltsbycheri gives away one of her incredible little quilts....I was blessed to win June's quilt.....and I LOVE it!!!

Cheri is so very talented....I've done a wee bit of quilting - mostly small, paper-pieced, projects - but Cheri is an a class by herself.....All the little pieces in this quilt are done with just little pieces....if you're a quilter, you know this is amazing.....

Thank you so very much Cheri!!! I will treasure this!!

I was also incredibly fortunate to win a giveaway from Karen.....known to most of you as *The Graphics Fairy*.  And a wonderful fairy she is!!

Karen tracks down thousands of wonderful images and offers them on her blog.  She also has several other sites, including a great crafting site, http://www.graphicsfairy-crafts.com/, that shows you what you can do with the images.  Karen recently gave away three wonderful pendants and charms made by the talented ladies at Pick Up Sticks Jewelry using her graphics.

I was one of the lucky three!!! YIPPEE!!!

How fun is this!! There's a little bird cage charm too with a yellow canary in it, and the main charm is reversible:

Thank you Sweet Fairy!!! I adore this!!

And, I also want to say a heartfelt thanks to Traci from York Mountain Primitives.  Traci was kind enough to share some of the seeds she gathered from her gorgeous blooms.  She sent me a great collection of seeds (complete with instructions so even this ol crow can't mess up) and a sweet little ditty/seed bag....

Thank you so much Traci - I'll remember your seeds of kindness every time I see these bloom!

Giveaways......

I also wanted to mention a couple of other great giveaways that are currently in the works....I try to keep my sidebar updated with current giveaways, but just in case you weren't paying attention!!

The very sweet and amusing Cathy from Tolentreasures is celebrating her 500th post....To help celebrate, she is giving away several prizes, including this:

(This lady is not only a hoot, she's a very gifted painter.....)  Best part is, there will be several winners....and will include existing followers, and a special gift for one lucky "new" follower.  (And, no, you can't stop following her and then rejoin as a new follower to increase your odds of winning....I already checked! ;o) JUST KIDDING!!)

And, Julie from Me and My Stitches is also having a giveaway.  Julie makes incredible teeny, tiny, paper-pieced quilts into jewelry....I said I did a couple of paper-pieced pieces....yeah...NOT like this....These are like in miniature!!!  You gotta see it to believe it....And for her giveaway, you get to choose what you win!! (Plus, she's very funny too - and has some crazy kitties....)

Finally.....

This is for Maygan.....

Yesterday, Traci from York Mountain Primitives said they were in desperate need of rain in their parts.  I promised that I would summon every ounce of Ojibwa blood in me (which is minimal), find my dancing moccasins, and do a little ditty for her.....Well, this bird tries to keep her promises, and dance I did. (Sorry, no videos of this or the crow can-can are available; nor will they ever be as, thankfully, Mr. Crow doesn't know how to do videos....)  Unfortunately, I guess I didn't realize that the powers of the dance are site-specific.  Traci got no rain, but we were deluged!!  I told Traci I would try again tonight, but fear I might cause localized flooding.  So, unfortunately, her adorable Maygan has no rain puddles to splash in.....so, I'd thought I'd share one in our drive caused by last night's "unexpected" rainfall....

TTFN!!!

Skipping A Beat for Olde Lady Morgan

As part of her celebratory giveaway, Olde Lady Morgan from Primitives By Olde Lady Morgan has asked us to share what makes our hearts "skip a beat."

My first thought was those "s" things hanging from my trees and invading our yard I shared a few posts back....or the tarantula that I accidentally "kicked" with my barefoot while on vacation last time around.  Talk about making my heart skip a few beats....YIKES! But....I really can't take on group therapy for half of Blogland, so I decided to go with the kinds of things that make my heart skip a beat in a good way.....There are a plethora of them, so I had to narrow it down....These are just a few in random, rambling, order:

Sheep.....

 

Moonbeams.....

Flowers.....

Antique Chocolate Molds.....

 Raindrops on Leaves.....

All Things Black and Orange.....

Old Books and Photographs.....

The Patina of Old Wood and Stone.....

Old Cemeteries and Gravestones......

But nothing makes my heart skip a beat any faster than watching this......

Become this.......