March Mushroom

YOE participants this month were to make an enchanted mushroom. I made one. The dog ate the bug off.

The dog ate the bug off the mushroom the night before it needed to be mailed. It couldn't be salvaged.

This mushroom took several days of decision making on what kind to make, finding a pattern, etc. I thought it was kind of cute with the enchanted dragon fly on it.

Ummmm. What to do?

But, now I have only 1 night left to come up with another enchanted mushroom/toadstool.  I went thru my stash of fabric and accessories -- throwing fabric around, hunting, digging to the bottom of the bin, looking through bin after bin of accessories --

And, there it was -- the perfect fabric. I could hear the music, I could envision the new mushroom. It would be perfect, better than the first one. With chenille for the top of the mushroom, kind of fuzzy like a real mushroom; With olive green checked for the underneath,; With light green plaid for the stem; And, a trio of tassels to top the mushroom.

  I cut out two circles, the olive checked a wee bit smaller than the chenille, sewed them right sides together, turned and stuffed. Then cut one rectangle of the plaid, sewed, turned and stuffed. Hand sewed the stem to the top. Strung the trio of tassels together with ribbon and sewed on top of the mushroom and added a ribbon for a hanger.

In a matter of a few hours, the new enchanted mushroom ornament was completed, boxed with the other goodies and ready for shipment to its new home!!

Whew! Nothing like burning the midnight oil in panic mode.


gin

March Madness

I working on the crochet challenge for the month of March from Doris.  Crochet (pronounced /kroʊˈʃeɪ/) is a process of creating fabric from yarn or thread using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Crocheting, similar to knitting, consists of pulling loops of yarn through other loops. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one loop is active at one time (the sole exception being Tunisian crochet), and that a crochet hook is used instead of knitting needles. (just thought I would throw that in)

Many years ago as a young child I watched my grandma, and several aunts crochet their little fingers off. There were a lot of girls in the family--grandma, aunts, sisters, cousins; But it was me, out of all the youngest generation at the time, who came away with the art of crocheting.  At the age of 10 (or younger) I had a hook and yarn in hand and was taught by the best all of them. I have made a lot of crocheted "things" over time.

This month so far I have made some little pink baby booties. They are for a co-workers baby-to-be.

I love to make these. They are fast, easy, and so adorable. I might just make these all month long. I can donate them to the local Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Also, I made a St. Patrick's Day decoration. It's for a YOE swap challenge. She supplied the link with the instructions. It too is fast and easy. It's a shamrock garland. Really cute!!

So with hook in hand and yarns of all kinds, I'm off to crochet (as the French would say)!

gin

Doris tells me that March is National Crochet Month. She is challenging her readers to join her in a crochet project this month, then send her the picture of your completed project and she will post them. Then for all the participants she will have a drawing of one of her beautiful crochet gifts.  If you don't know how to crochet, but would like to learn, she even has a crochet tutorial on her post so you can learn and participate. Sounds like fun.



Go here to join the fun.

gin

Brrrrrrrr.....

Of course, I will be the first to admit I know nothing about snow (growing up and living all my life in the south), so why are these little birds out in the snow. They have been out and about all day while it was snowing and after. They were everywhere. It looks like they were eating something on the snow. I did go out and put bread where they were so they would have something to eat. Their birdbath was snowed over and the bird feeders were all empty. 

 

They seem to be enjoying themselves and not minding the cold temperatures. 

 

The trees, the ground, the fence, the driveway, the house = all with a blanket of  snow.  Tiny icicles hanging from the roof.

I hope the old saying "this is the last freeze before spring" rings true this time around. How many times have I told you I LOVE SUMMER....

gin

Again?

I'm getting a little tired of this. We just went thru this in December. And once in 2008.

This tree still has half of its fall leaves on it that have never fallen off. .

How many times have I said I love love love summer the best. BTW this is the deep south and this is not to be expected on such a regular basis.

But, it is pretty while it's snowing. Tomorrow I'll see if I can build a snowman!! But tonight I'll stay in and keep warm.

Ok, it's only 2-3 inches. I'm glad I'm not up north with 3-5 feet or more of the white stuff. My thoughts go out to you who are in the snow blizzard up north.


gin

SAINTS

24 Hour Non-Stop

It's been raining now for 24 hours straight. No rain storm, no thunder, no lightning. Just slow, steady rain. I hate it. Can't do anything outside, it's raining. Don't want to do anything outside, it's raining. Don't even want to go anywhere, it's raining.

So besides doing this day and night:

I've also done a little of this:

Of course a few hours in the kitchen helps to forget the rain.

I am patiently waiting for a bright sunshiny day. 
gin

Is it spring yet

I'll say it again, "I LOVE SUMMER". But spring will do right now.
Some mornings lately I have been hearing a lot of birds singing (like it was spring). It was a nice warm spell there for a few days.

I had a challenge in Year of Enchantment Swap to feed the birds during the cold winter month of January. I didn't do anything different than we normally do. We always keep bird feed out year round for the birds.

So enjoy a few pics of a few birds enjoying a winter meal.The birds were all around eating on the ground and in the feeder. Until I walked out to take their picture and they scattered.

So I hid behind a tree and waited for some to come back. I even took a video of them, but I cannot upload it to this post. By the way, ignore the poopy dirty bird feeder. It has not been cleaned all winter. Come spring we will spring clean for the birds. That should make them even more happier.

gin

Late night snack

One almost perfectly peeked lemon meringue pie. Made from Jello Lemon Pudding and Pie Filling Cook and serve. I love to do meringue. The art is knowing when to put the sugar in while you are beating the egg whites. And knowing the perfect timing while it is in the oven.

One plate of french fried, crispy, salty, fries. Nothing to it!!

Dinner for two. Manwich topped with pickle, fries, condiments, Coca-Cola and pie for desert.
Candle light would have been a nice touch!

One un-invited quest!

gin

Work accomplished

A few projects done already in January. And one apron in December for Christmas Carol Flirty Apron Swap. I made this for my assigned swapper in December.

Then, there was another apron in Cheap Hot Mama Apron Swap. I made and sent this one: We had to use what ever was in our stash with out buying any fabric or anything. I added a classic monogram for the recipient. It came out cute, but cheap.

And a Christmas ornament for A Year of Enchantment. It had to be a pine cone or an acorn handmade ornament. I painted a pinecone with glitter paint from a pattern from a clip art print onto an acrylic picture frame that I cut out with a Dremel tool and then drilled a tiny hole in the top to thread a Christmas ribbon for hanging. Very creative if I do say so myself!

And a pine cone "snow girl chorus line" garland that I made for the same Year of Enchantment.

I kind of got carried away I know.

In return, I received this cute fantastic pine cone ornament. It's soft, very detailed, really cute. And she included a pretty flowered handmade cloth bag to keep things in, like maybe jewelry, sewing items, etc.

FYI, YEAR OF ENCHANTMENT is a  swap for the year 2010. Each month is a theme, partners are given, you make the ornament themed item, and mail to your assigned partner. It goes on for 12 months of 2010. In December 2010 each participant will have 12 enchanted themed ornaments for a special Christmas tree.

I have several more projects for January. I have 2 bed size quilts to start quilting. I will start them in January for you (you know who you are). I will be finished before you know it. 

gin