Taking Up My Hook

Morning with Granny

March in North Idaho

Moody Morning

That's the Berries

This week ... down by the river ...

Accessorize the Irish Way

There's precious little I know about being Irish. But on this day, we all wear a little green.

Just for fun, I made these hair accessories for Jodie and sent them to her in a little care package. This 4-leaf clover is a clip that can come off the headband and be used in other ways - even as a broach.

It's over the top, I know. But she got a giggle out of them. She's just enough like her mom that she doesn't mind being a little silly. The pony tail holder is not quite as in-your-face, as accessories go.

Add in a couple hair clips to complete the set.

Happy St. Paddy's Day, y'all!

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I got the idea and directions via Pinterest.

Original idea from MollyMoo.

Saving Daylight

I took a walk this morning while it was still dark out. On my way home ...

Tree at Dawn, Cloudy Morn

VooDoo Doll Pencil

When I go on vacation, my favorite kind of souvenir to pick up is a pencil. Other travelers in my family pick up pencils for me on their trips, too. Pencils are inexpensive and small - and useful. I wrote about some of my favorites last year. On Jodie's jaunt to New Orleans last fall, she found this great pencil for me.

She found it at an authentic voodoo shop!

This may be my very favorite pencil ever!

Round Robin Ornament

This year I'm hoping to finish up at least 12 stitching UFOs. My UnFinished Objects are items I've stitched, but haven't done the finishing work so that they are ready for display. In December I finished Just Nan's Snow Forest as an ornament and Santa Peeking by Designs for the Needle as a tote bag. In January I finished Just Nan's Love and Roses as a journal cover.

My February UFO finish is called Round Robin by The Trilogy. I finished the stitching on this in 2001, so I thought it might be time to do the finishing work.

I stitched this piece twice. First "2 over 2" on 32ct clay linen (16 stitches per inch). And then this piece stitched on the same linen as petit point - 32 stitches per inch.

I used a Finishing Form as the base of this ornament. Finishing Forms are a lot like covered buttons. You cover the metal form with a lining and the stitched piece on half the form, and lining and a coordinating fabric for the back.

The two pieces are sewn (or glued) together, then the cording added. I made this cording out of the same fibers used in the piece.

A Flannel Board

When I was doing volunteer work at the public library last fall, the children's librarian asked if I could create a flannel board for the story, "Goodnight, Owl!" While I was at it, I decided to make two sets - one for the library and another for my daughter Julie who is trained as a children's librarian.

The story is about Owl, who couldn't sleep. The bees were buzzing, the crows croaking, the starlings chittering, the jays creaming, the woodpecker kept pecking. Every time there seemed to be some peace and quite, someone else landed in the hollow tree and woke Owl up again. Would Owl ever get any rest?

Here are all the pieces for the flannel board as I made them in my Studio. This was quite a challenging project with many pieces!

Finally, the chattering hoards when they all occupy the tree at the same time.

2013 Holiday Cards - Part 3

Here are the final 15 embroidery designs I stitched for my 2013 holiday cards. All the designs were gleaned from Pinterest.

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I found all the designs on Pinterest:

2013 Holiday Cards - part 2

Here are the next 15 embroidery designs I stitched for my 2013 holiday cards. All the designs were gleaned from Pinterest.

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I found all my inspiration on Pinterest:

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