Your Advent Calendar 🎄 Day 17

Hello my lovely friends 💕

It’s just another week of Advent Calendar fun. That went fast, didn’t it? 🤗 Let’s make the most of the suspenseful daily Door-opening nail biter 😉

Does this say ‘mystery awaits’, or what? 😁

And what did we find? Another awesome DIY idea from the category ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ 😃

Wilted, dried up chrysanthemums…we all have them, right? So…..

Ha…told ya! Snow spray and Christmas ornaments – a beautiful Holiday decoration created! 😍

I wish you a wonderful, fabulous, sparkly Holiday season 💕🎅🏼🎄

Like A Butterfly 🦋

Hello my lovely friends 💕

You’re probably wondering about the title of this post 🤔

Let me explain…that’s how I feel these days – like a butterfly flitting from task to task. Somehow I can’t sit still for any length of time. I’m always thinking about things I wanna/gotta do. And it’s never the one thing I’m doing right then and there. 🙃

Do you know what I mean? Do you have times like that?

Things that did get done

-I did clean up baskets in my ‘Yarn-Room’. But only because the new winder called me in there. 😁

-I did go on a few walks this week. My friend Carole and I are taking advantage of the glorious weather – morning temperatures in the 40s is quite a change from last week, but we’re enjoying the sunshine that comes with it, and the fact that we’re not damp after one mile 😝

-Some yard work – The ‘Rose of Sharon’ bush that was out of control is no more. Normally I don’t like cutting down Flora that’s healthy and growing. But this bush didn’t seem to be doing too well. It was still green and growing, but the leaves were very small, and the buds wouldn’t open to all their glory. So the clippers came out…this is what’s left

It’s hard to believe that, just a few years ago, this was a spindly, little twig with a few short roots.

The trim should give it new life…we’ll see next year. 😊

While I was outside with my camera I noticed the sun hitting this beauty just right

Doesn’t it look like it’s glowing? 😍

We have the first red leaves in the yard! The Maple ‘volunteer’ in the flower pot wants to be the first one to announce that ‘Fall is here’ 🍁

The dogs enjoyed the time we spent outside 💕

-Carpet steps are (finally) clean 😃

Ever since we moved in I’ve had this problem with dingy steps, well – just the edges. Because our Lorelai (the white one ⬆️) is very low to the ground, so her belly gets a bit dirty walking around outside. It doesn’t help that she loves to lay down in the grass, pull herself forward, all around the yard 😆

Then she comes in, cleaning her belly on the steps 😝

I’ve tried every commercial product under the sun…nothing would get these edges clean. But now – thank you, Pinterest! – they’re clean…and it’s not the different lighting 😆

before

It’s a miracle! I’ll tell you what did it…

3/4 cup Hydrogen Peroxide

2 teaspoons baking soda

1squirt of Dawn

Mix it well, dab, then scrub, onto the stain. Done!

Happy Tina here! 😃

-Crocheting

By the end of every day I kick back in front of the TV and add rows to ‘Georgia Mae’s Flower Patch’ 😍 Yes, the plan to make it a Crochet-Along is still solid. I’m taking pattern-notes, and hope to have Part I up by this weekend!

-I guess now I can add this blog-post to my list of things done 😁

I hope you are enjoying a sunny, creative, and beautiful day! 💕

Small ~ Project ~ Sunday – A Yard Sale Find Extraordinaire

Hello my lovely friends 💕 How nice of you to make time for me on this wonderful weekend 😍

No crochet news today – but what I wanna show you instead is pretty nifty. 😁

On Saturday I spend a few hours thrifting. And at one yard sale I spotted an amazing vintage embroidery 💜 

Here are some details 

Beautiful, isn’t it?!

After I brought my treasure home I hunted for a frame…I always buy them at thrift stores – just in case. And yesterday was such a case 😆

It was already stretched on a piece of cardboard…and wouldn’t you know, I had a frame that fit perfectly! 😃 Happy Dance! 💃🏻

The frame is  was not very pretty, but is in great shape 

     Very ‘blah’ 😟
Time for some chalk paint and wax…ta-da 

I applied the paint, with a wide, flat brush, yesterday…let it dry overnight (even though it doesn’t take that long – an hour or two is plenty). Then I applied a thin layer of wax in a few spots (not all over ’cause all I had is a dark brown). Done!  🙆🏻

A few staples in the back – the frame didn’t have any of those metal bendy thingies. 🤓

And here she is 

I’m very happy with it 😍 It seems like it was meant to be….the perfect fit and the color paint I had is actually a color in the embroidery. 

Now I’m sitting here admiring my lovely ‘new’ wall art ☺️

Did you ever have a spontaneous project that worked out on the first try?  (Psst – doesn’t happen all that often around here 😆)

Thanks for dropping by and reading all the way down to here 🤗

 

New ~ Stitch ~ Sunday ☀️ The Catherine Wheel

Hello my lovely friends 💕 How nice to see you! Thanks for visiting today! ☀️

It’s a glorious sunny Sunday, so I’m on my way outside to read a bit, crochet some – I started a ‘cotton’ project, not so hot on the hands 😜 

But first this…

Today I wanna show you how to crochet the beautiful ‘Catherine Wheel’. 

The instructions tell you to ‘7 dc tog dec’. If you’re a beginner, and don’t really know what to do here (or you do, but can’t quite remember) here’s a ‘how-to’ …

Crochet to the place where you wanna use this stitch 

Work 1 dc. In the same stitch work 6 more, without finishing them all the way. By that I mean – start the dc (3 loops on the hook)

but pull the yarn through 2 loops only one time…that adds 1 loop to the hook. 

After you worked 7 dc – you will have 8 loops on the hook, hook the yarn over and pull through all 8 loops 

Done! 😀 Now you’re ready for the ‘Catherine Wheel‘ 

⚡️Pictures are at the end of the written tutorial ⚡️

Start with a foundation chain of a multiple of 8 stitches, plus 2

Row 1 Sc 2nd ch from hook and next chain. *skip 2 chains, put 7 dc into next chain. Skip 2 chains, 1 sc into each of the next three stitches. Repeat * across. Final two stitches left over should be 1 sc into each. Fasten off yarn. Turn.

Row 2 Fasten on new colour. Ch 3, 3 dc tog dec, ch 3. 1 sc into next 3 stitches. *Ch 2, 7 dc tog dec, ch 3, 1 sc into next three stitches. Repeat * Across. Final semi circle is ch 2, 4 dc tog dec, ch 1. Turn.
Row 3 Ch 3, 3 dc into same stitch where the Ch 3 started, 1 sc into next 3 sc stitches on the row below. *7 dc into middle of the next Catherine Wheel Stitch, 1 sc into next 3 sc stitches from the row below. Repeat * across. Final 1/4 circle is 4 dc into the middle of the Catherine Wheel. Fasten off.

Row 4 Fasten on new colour. Ch 1, sc into the next 2 sc. *ch 2, 7 dc tog dec, ch 3, 1 sc into each of the next 3 stitches. Repeat * across. Final two stitches are 1 sc into each. Turn.

Row 5 Ch 1, 1 sc into the same stitch and the next stitch. *7 dc into middle of the next Catherine Wheel Stitch, 1 sc into next 3 sc stitches from the row below. Repeat * across. Final 2 stitches are 1 sc into each.

Repeat rows 2 – 5 over and over until you get to the desired length of project you want.

  Row 1
At first everything will look a bit wonky, but don’t worry, it’ll straighten itself out at the end. 😊

 Row 2
 Row 3

 Row 4

Row 5 

It is so pretty, isn’t it. 

Here a few things I learned during the practice runs 😉

1. Make sure there are 8 loops on the hook when you stitch the ‘7dc tog dec’ 😁

2. Always skip the ch3 from the previous row….the first (few) tries I didn’t, and, well, was not happy 😖 until the 💡-moment 😜

3. Sometimes you’ll think you can’t fit the 7dc into one stitch…keep going, you can 😊

I think that’s it 😀 If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! 😍 I’m always just one message away! 

Let me know what you’ll be making using this gorgeous stitch. I think I’ll use it to fill a little gap on the back of my ‘Granny Square Cardi’. ☺️

Take care! Have fun! I hope to see you next time!

Until then 💕

~ Tina xoxo 

Home Decor DIY ~ Stage 1

Wanna see what I’m doing today? I’m prepping various pieces for some Fall Home Decor DIYs. 🍁
Let me tell you about Stage 1 of these projects…

~1. Pinecones – I collected a few of these beauties on my morning walk.
To get them clean and free of critters and mildew (without bleach!) I soaked them in a water/vinegar mixture. A bucket or an old pot will do…fill it with water and add 1/2 cup of vinegar. Soak them for about 20 minutes, move them around once in a while- you can use your finger, ’cause *No chemicals*, then set them on a newspaper or paper towels to dry for a few hours – overnight is best.

Next they need to be ‘baked’ for 2, 3 hours in a 200 degree oven. Make sure to check them once in a while to make sure they don’t burn!
A nice advantage to this process is that your house will smell amazing.

Tomorrow I’ll show you how they came out, and what I did with them.

~2. I’m also planning some wall art – for that I’m ageing paper…

…and drying fern fronds

Ageing paper – I’m using old book pages. Not an easy task for a book lover like myself -but, I got a book at a thrift store, and it was not in the greatest condition. That made it a bit easier.
Black tea works great to make your paper look old and yellowed.
Just place the page (one at a time) in a big pot, pour hot, strong tea over it (tea bag and all), and let it sit until it has the desired shade. Set it on a paper towel to dry…done!

~3. Leaves, ModPodge, and Music
This one is almost done – it just has to dry now, then it can be framed or be part of a collage. I’ll show you tomorrow what I decided. 🤔

Here’s something I made last week. This one is pretty easy – the drying process took the longest. If you read my last post Cottage Home Decor – DIY you know about the Juniper bush in our yard that is a great source for Fall-Decor supply.

I painted a big canvas (18″ x 24″) with acrylic paint, positioned the juniper, and went to town with lots of ModPodge and a flat paintbrush.
*You wanna do this outside or in the garage – the fumes could knock you out! It takes a day or two to dry (again…away from daily traffic!) but then you’ll have a very unique ‘Piece of Nature’ in your home. 🍁

I hope you’ll peek in tomorrow to see the results of today’s preparations.

Take care! 💕

~Tina xoxo

Weaving on a Dime

Well, it’s a little more than a dime….but not by much! 😁

If you always wanted to try your hand at weaving but shied away from the price of a loom then I have a low-cost solution for you.

All you need is a piece of cardboard (I used the lid of a shoebox), yarn in your favorite color palette, and a tapestry needle…and you’re ready to make your first weaving.

But first this….

(Image found on Wikipedia)

~1. Cut a rectangle out of your cardboard, pencil in 1/2″ markers on the top and bottom, then cut triangles so the point is between the markers.

~2. Make a little cut before the first, and behind the last triangle at the bottom. This will keep your yarn in place once you start winding the warp (the set of lengthwise yarn).

~3. Take a length of non-stretchy (!!!) yarn – I learned that the hard way – now I use cotton or hemp. You want to wind your yarn twice around the first triangle. Otherwise you won’t have a little loop at the bottom, which you will need later – I learned that the hard way too!

~4. Wind your warp yarn around the triangles.

~5. Now you can start your weaving.
With your tapestry needle and your favorite yarn you will create the weft.
Secure your yarn around the first warp, by looping it around twice.

Alternate between weaving your thread above and under the warp, and reverse in the 2nd row, and be sure to never pull the weft too tight.
Now just keep going – but always check the previous row -just to make sure that you go over when the previous row was under and vice versa.
If you don’t like ‘cleaning up’ your edges, aka hiding/sewing away the tails, you can use multicolored yarn to get a fun, colorful piece. Or, you can knot the lengths of yarn together – and let the knots show for some extra texture.

~5.  After a few rows push your weaving together using a wide tooth comb or your fingers. Repeat after every 4, 5 rows of weaving.
When you get to the top, loop the weft around the last warp string twice, secure it – either with a knot or by sewing it down the side.

Look at it – you made your first weaving! How cool is that?!

Now what do you do with it?
You can
– add fringes (that’s why you need the loops of the warp    ) and a rod (knitting needle, twig) and display your first masterpiece

(If you like add more fringes in between the loops)

-make multiples and stitch them together for a scarf, a bigger wallhanging,
a pillow, a purse, a baby-hat ….

~This one is crochet, but it would great in woven fabric

I sure hope this tutorial is helpful – if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Have fun! 😃  …..and please show me your creations!

Until next time!
Take care! 💕

~Tina xoxo

 

March ~ Hodgepodge

Hello my lovely friends!
I just had a ‘meh’ – moment – I hope you don’t mind me telling you about it real quick!
Last week I heard that Garth Brooks is coming to Des Moines! 😍 EEEEK – that’s only 3 hours away! Now there is someone I’ve been waiting to see for…well, let’s say a looooong time, and leave it at that!  😉 Tickets went on sale at 10 am. At 8:45 I go to the website, click on ‘get tickets’ – just to check out the seating chart, prices etc. …so I thought. I landed in a ‘virtual waiting room’! So I waited…I set my alarm for 9:55, not that I went back to sleep, but I didn’t wanna sit there for over an hour, staring at the same page (they warned me not to leave the page, I’d go to the back of the line) uh-oh – can’t have that. 10 o’clock came and went, still waiting. At 10:10 they added another show  – still waiting – at 10:25 they added yet another show – you guessed it, I’m still waiting. Now it’s 1:30, another show was added, and all that’s left are tickets on the 3rd level, way in the back. In the rafters? About a mile away from the stage? Eh – no! Long story short – there was my ‘meh’ moment – I didn’t get the tickets. MEH 😕   Next stop is in Fargo, ND…about 10 hours away! Tickets go on sale next Friday. I’ll let you know! 🤘

Sitting there I had some time to think about my next project! It’s going to be a
1. Double Dreamcatcher   💖  I’ve made a sketch so we know what it’s supposed to look like…

1. 
   When I gave up on Garth I gathered the supplies…

   
   Now in theory I know how this works (should work!) But somehow I see a lot of doing and undoing in my nearest future 😂      I’ll let you know!

   2.  I’m planning a longer blog-post (hopefully with an interview) about my visit to the National Silk Art Museum in Weston, MO. I visited Mr. John and his museum last Saturday (it’s just a skip and a hop up the street from my shop) What an amazing place! I didn’t know what to expect – for some reason I pictured silk panels, and -paintings. Boy, was I wrong. There you can find the most amazing collection of antique silk weavings. Until then I didn’t even though these pieces (and artform) exist(s).
   Mr. John is the founder and curator, he finds, cleans, and frames these beautiful pieces. He doesn’t charge admission, but accepts donations.
   I decided to help out a little. I designed a necklace – with silk fringe, of course – and a large portion of the sale of each necklace I will donate to the museum.

   

   3.   What’s new in the shop? you ask…Bracelets! I’ve really neglected that part of my jewelry line for a while. Here are some new designs Inspirational Quotes and Leather Bracelets with interchangeable focals
   Please take a look…
   

   

   

   Speaking of Bracelets…do you play ‘Ring-around-the-Rosie’ when you try to put yours on? I know I do – so I was very happy to find this little tip…
   *you can use a safety pin or a paper clip

   

   

   How nifty is that?

   Alrighty then – time to plan dinner! Or maybe we’ll go out! Even better! 😋

   Have a lovely weekend! 😘 I hope to see you next time❣
   ’til then
   ~Tina xoxo