Made a Visit to the Liibrary

My book request finally came in and not one moment was wasted getting myself down to the library to check it out.  Storm Tide picks up right where the first book left off and so far promises to be just as addicting to read. As a result, my attention for the rest of the day was split between cape stitches and Ogilvie's prose.....what could be better?!!!




Made Some Holes

A few holes like this.....

 

 

 and an assortment of dowel pieces like these...

 

 

 ....make for much cozier cottages!

Every cottage needs a chimney don't you think?

 

 

In happy homes he saw the light

Of household fires gleam warm and bright. - H.W. Longfellow

And as an extra note....which I should have shared yesterday.....the brand of the mechanical pencil I was using is BOHIN. Apparently it's from France but I picked one up at the local quilt store. If I recall correctly it cost about $12 but came with oodles of extra white lead for lots and lots of refills. One of my best purchases ever!

If you decide to get one...

ENJOY IT!!!

Made the Mark

Actually I made many marks because I forgot the fact that before I can wield my needle I need a design in place. This used to be my very least favorite thing to do until I got an amazing mechanical pencil with white lead. Well worth the money!



Made Progress

The Capes and Cottages project is officially in full swing.....well at least the cape portion is. Had a grand old time digging through fabrics looking for the perfect prints to use as liners. Once I finally settled down to business the matched pairs were easily cut to size and neatly stacked into an assembly line of sorts. I'm ready now to have at them with needle and floss!



Made a Plan for Cottages and Capes

I can't believe I'm actually saying this but would you believe there's a bit of a chill to the air today. It's more than wonderful and as a result I've been feeling quite inspired to be cosy and homey all morning. Having finished up all those little pillows and pincushions yesterday I'm free now to focus on something new and what could be cosier than woolen capes or homier than tiny cottages? Here's to sewing and painting and a mug up to boot!

 

 

 

Made Enough.....for now

This morning I decided to give my sewing basket a thorough once over and look what I found in amongst the collection of thread tails.....oodles of Picca-Little goodies without a home! 

AND.....

 I also found the corresponding "Crafty Wish Tickets" to these wee works. I must admit, I'm quite ashamed! Seems to me I promised myself to make up one a week, post it here on a Wednesday, and then put the item in my shop. Hmmmm.....so much for promises!

SO.....

....here's what I'll do. I'll simply pick up where I left off and pretend I never forgot. And if I should forget in the future (which chances are I will) I'll pretend I didn't again. Maybe you'll even pretend along with me?  Let's get started right away and pretend it's Wednesday!

 Crafty Wish Ticket #5 - Picca-Little Pillows in Cozy Crochet

Made to keep dolly comfortable these wee pillows are sized just right for Hitty but I'm thinking it might be nice to have a few sized up for me!

 Crafty Wish Ticket #6 - Picca-Little Patchwork Pillows

These are a bit more interesting to make up because it's fun to play around with the fabric selections. Ditto on wishing I had one in my size!

Crafty Wish Ticket #7 - Picca-Little Miniature Pincushions

  Complete with yo-yo topper, bead button and 3 removable pins yet measures only a mere 3/4 inch. I want one just li......oops never mind I do have one of these!

Yippee!!!

Made Something

Happy to say my hands are back to work today!



Made a Discovery

True confession time.....not one stitch was made by me today. Strange I know but true.
I did, however, make it to the end of my book and oh it was good to the very last word! Unfortunately the second in the series is on order from the library and not due to arrive until the end of the week. "Woe is me," or so I thought until I started poking around a shelf or two looking for something to browse through in the meantime.

For there, right behind my bottle of red dirt from P.E.I., I was amazed to discover I actually owned my very own book by Elisabeth Ogilvie! Of an autobiographical nature My World Is an Island promised to be a great companion to her fictional works and as such required every free moment of my attention I could afford to give it!

Made That One

 Yep, that one on top was made up this morning when I must have still had an early morning fog about me because later on I realized I had made the EXACT same combination last week!

And guess what else? It looks like I'll be making yet ANOTHER one soon as I found these pieces here patiently awaiting the attention of my needle!



Made Just This.....

.....but I made it while sitting out in the garden!

Made a Bit of This and That

 THIS.

 THAT.

And some OTHERS.

Don't even ask about the others.....nothing more than another UFO project I've created for myself!

Made Me Cringe.....Alot

 As a preface to this post let it be said that I promise to share something other than little houses with you tomorrow because I'm sure no one out there is quite as obsessed with the cutting of wood as I am. For today, however, I just couldn't help myself. While visiting my parents the same curiosity that killed the cat got ahold of me.....and although it didn't kill me it certainly made me uncomfortable!

 You see, my dad has a bit of a wood shop out in the garage complete with a scroll saw which I thought might be "delicate" enough to work it's magic on the 4 feet of wood I still have left to cut up. It did! Or at least it did with my dad's help.....

But at what cost? Lots of noise and speed combined with nervous sweat and rapid heartbeat worked well to create a delightful ache in my head.

Curious no longer, I have returned home with a much greater appreciation for my teeny saw and miter box. And while I'll be out on the side porch once again hacking away at the wood tomorrow, I promise not to show any more pictures of the process!

Made it Count

 With saw in hand again toady I had another go at the little houses.....this time making myself much more accountable for each and every draw of the blade.

 I found with care the rampant whompiness of yesterday's endeavour could be avoided. But then, of course, I worried too much precision would be just as bad. It's quite difficult to know exactly how they should be when I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them.....

The inspiration to begin this new offshoot career as a "woodcutter" was found in a locked case at the antique mart last weekend. There I spied the most amazing collections of wooden village sets complete with houses, animals, and even fences. Most contained houses in the 2 to 3 inch scale range but one set was teeny,,,,,really teeny. And I really wanted it! Not just for me mind you, I'd share it with all the wee dolls in my life but only, that is, if my pocket book was big enough to afford it. It wasn't.

What it could afford was the $5 six foot length of wooden trim I found at the hardware store the next day and have been hacking away at ever since. While at first I envisioned replicating the set from the antique store I'm not so sure now. At this point the little houses look so remote and isolated to me that I'm debating abandoning the linear farm theme and going instead with a windswept island theme. Of course the fact that I'm still totally immersed in Elisabeth Olgivie's novels might have something to do with this change of heart as well.

For now I guess I'll just keep cutting.....

   



Made Some Cuts

 A bit of cloud cover this afternoon finally made it bearable to ramble about outdoors. I took the opportunity to set up shop on the side porch and made some cuts of a very different sort.

 Unfortunately when lined up on a flat surface the whompiness of my little village really showed.

 Even so I kind of found myself attached to this one here.

 The project was cut short, however, at the first sign of the blessed rain promised to head our way.

 I'm sure the daisies were even happier than I was at the propspect.

About the only thing left in hearty condition is the Queen Anne's Lace.....and of course all the weeds. Who knows but that Queen Anne's Lace is a weed itself! Regardless, I love it and gathered a few sprigs to take back inside with me where a  breeze was finally beginning to stir the curtains.

Made Not Much

Too hot for words.

Too hot for anything in fact.

Other than getting a few stitches in on this batch I pretty much did nothing...

and

am all the more exhausted for it!

 

 

 

Made Some Plans

In the past month we have successfully navigated our way through Father's Day, the end of  school, the 4th of July, four family birthdays, and two kid parties. My mom's birthday yesterday is usually the last of our family's hoopla marathon and traditionally marks the beginning of those long lazy days of summer we all look forward to. So today after making up a few little goodies and setting the house in order, I spent a leisurely afternoon in front of the fan with day book and pen in hand trying very hard to plan not much of anything!!!

HAPPY SUMMER.

Made Short Work of It

My time in the sewing nook this morning was just about as itty bitty as the pincushion

I made up. Being that today was my mom's birthday we were all anxious to get out the door and up to New Hampshire for some happy hoopla!

Made My Way to Candlelite

Handwork gatherers met at Candlelite Quilts today....yippee! I actually completed the embroidery work on a cape during our time together and so treated myself to a mini shopping spree. There were so many new goodies to poke through and even though I wanted them all I finally went with these 6 little charmers.

 

Made the Sixth One!

 Yeah.....I completed ginormous block #6 without any mishaps this time around. Reading the directions makes a world of difference!

Now with half of my stash party star blocks completed it seems I may actually complete my firsts ever people sized quilt!!! 

Made it Over

 Dear hubby has a habit of hanging out at used bookstores and most often he comes home with a treasured find each and every time he frequents one. Can't say it does much for my perpetual decluttering endeavours but it's hard to complain when he includes your interests in his searches. Several months ago he returned with this copy of Hitty in tow. Unfortunately, as kind as this gesture was to me, someone had not been very kind to the book itself. Scribbles, rips and assorted literary graffiti were scattered throughout it's pages. Being Hitty I hadn't the heart to toss it out and yet I wasn't sure what to do with it either. Until today that it is.

 This morning, while packaging wee pillows I thought it would be fun to attach some tiny tags to the little bags. And what could be better than to decorate them with snippets of dolly prose?

I soon realized that with some creative clipping the possibilities were endless as long as, that is, the mind stayed focused on the task at hand and didn't get caught up reading the pages again for the umpteenth time!

Made a Confession

I started the day with all good intentions to sew much more than one teeny weenie doll pincushion but oh is this book ever good. Did not know until today how cozy it is to curl up and read in the early morning hours!



Made a Mug Up

 Last week I found this well worn copy of High Tide at Noon at the library. I'd never heard of Elisabeth Ogilvie but it was apparent from the shelf she had authored more than a few books and most of them set on a small island off the coast of Maine. It seemed to promise some fun summer reading and so I checked it out. Trouble is, it's turned out to be so good I can hardly stand to put it down. The setting, the characters, the storyline.....all delightful!

 But do you want to know my favorite thing about it? Within it's pages I've discovered a fantastic new phrase.....MUG UP!  The characters are forever coming in through the kitchen door and gathering around for a mug up and donuts, or sandwiches, or some other such mini feast. I've decided to adopt the phrase for use with coffee breaks and keep cuppa strictly for tea times. A good compromise if you ask me.

 I also compromised my time today by alternating a bit of reading with a bit of sewing and by doing so completed one pink and blue pincushion as well as the beginnings of yet another brown cape for Hitty.

I had originally planned on working a red cape next but since I was in a mug up mood brown seemed much more appropriate don't you think?

Made Them All

 Voila.....fourteen tiny pillows are all done! Unfortunately my status as "cool mom" is done as well. Seems eight hours of zombie massacre brownie points are wiped clean with one request to straighted your room. Oh well...it was fun while it lasted.

And so, to create a bit more fun for myself I spent my morning prepping up for another batch of teeny weenie goodness. This time round I'll be making pincushions!



Made Me Shiver

No.....the heat has not broken. My shivers today were of the fear, not the cold variety. Spending quality time with your 18 year old son will do that to you.....especially if he wants to watch a Walking Dead marathon together. Smart me kept my sewing basket on my lap so that every time the zombie action became a bit too intense I had an excuse to avert my eyes. Not only does he think I'm a "cool" mom for watching but I finished almost all of my little pillows.

Don't you just love those win-win situations?!!

Made the Menu

 I almost skipped my early morning work session today because I wanted to get a head start on the preparations for dear hubby's birthday. I'm happy now that I did squeeze in a quick make up of an itty bitty pincushion which I also squeezed into the photo.....can you find it?

Originally he had planned a BBQ bash out in the backyard but that was way back in June when we were still wearing jeans and even donning a sweater once the sun set. With this current heat and humidity, however, I thought it best not to make the birthday boy fire up the grill and then stand watch over it cooking up a storm. Instead I made up an assortment of cold dishes that could be served up picnic style. Dear hubby said, "Thank You!"