A Little Bit More in the Castle Department

 

I had the most exciting surprise in the mail today....

another "Castle" to create!!!

 

It was gifted my way by a dear friend and expert English Paper Piecing artist and teacher.

I was lucky enough to be one of her students and continue to receive her words of wisdom at The Quilted Crow's EPP club. 

 

 

Considering the wonderful assortment of "bricks" I'll be putting into this new castle walls I should have plenty of work to take along with me to our next meeting.

So much fun to look forward to!!!

 

 

A Little Bit of a Toast

 

Cheers to the completion of the Castle!
 

 

It's got banquet halls to feast in...

 



 

 ...and secret stairwells to explore.

 



 

One of them will even lead you to a pretty princess in the tower room!

 



 

There's treasure to be counted...

 



 

...and even some knights to keep it safe.

 

 

What there isn't, however, are small hands to play with it.

Well not yet at least....
 

 

Tomorrow, after a brief but epic journey to the preschool, the real adventures will truly begin.

Twelve little pairs of hands and unlimited imaginations are going to keep this castle and its cast of characters very busy for sure!

 



A Little Bit of This and That

 

This afternoon provided me with an several hours free of
errands, shoveling, and carpooling.

I had to pinch myself to believe it was true!!!

Feeling that it was I made short work of gathering up some supplies and setting up shop.

 

 

Window treatments were designed.

 

 

Flooring was installed. 

 

 

And last but not least, red runners were laid in place.
It was so much fun!!!
 

 



A Little Bit of a Different Perspective

 

Shoveling the roof...again.

A Little Bit More

 

Valentine's Day had some extra fun to it this year...my very own "mail box" and oodles of happy cards from the wee one's at school.

 

 

And as if that wasn't enough to put a smile on my face I also received a box of salted caramel cupcakes....YUM!!!

 

 

They made the perfect companions to the cups of tea we kept close at hand throughout the rest of the day as yet another doozy of a snow storm came to visit.

 

 

Saturday afternoon our shed looked like this, but less than 24 hours later...

 

 

...the snow bank had grown another foot or so.

Only a few more of these storms and I expect the entire thing will be buried!

 

 

Even our front windows now are becoming hindered by the piles

 

 

Down the road,

 

 

and across the street,

everyone and their brother is buried in.

 

 

Even the lake will have to wait until the spring for visitors of any sort.

 

 

One very industrious neighbor, however, did manage to find our mailboxes

and for that I'm ever so grateful as I don't think my little Valentine version would have held up well at all!

 

 



A Little Bit of a Surprise

 

I can't imagine how the snowdrifts surrounding our mailbox were maneuvered but look what was delivered into it today. A quick sneak peak revealed some exciting articles with links to Little Women, The House of Seven Gables, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 

And then, as a little extra added bonus, there was this!

 



 

Look a bit closer down in the right hand corner.

 

 

See the Hitty sized bed and the two tiny raggedies?

Now look between them...

do you see what I see?

 

 

I do believe it's a petite patchwork pillow made by me!!!

Something like this here perhaps.

What fun!

 



A Little Bit of My Week So Far

 

 Snow, snow, and more snow.

No school, no work, nowhere to shovel it anymore.

Something new was definitely needed to fill the days!

 

So....a scavenger hunt in the basement turned up a long abandoned castle in need of a makeover. Some basic painting filled a bit of time...
 

 

...but there were plenty of hours ahead in which I dilly dallied with extra details.

 



 

By the return of sunny skies this afternoon I called it quits.

 



 

Until our next round of snowy weather that is,  when I think I'll have some fun with the floors...

 



 

...and see if the interior can't be cozied up a bit!



A Little Bit of a Spot for My Teapot

 

With snow forecasted for the nest 24 hours or so it was the perfect day to snuggle in and pick up a crochet hook.

 

 

I took it for a trip all the way around my new trivet!

 

 

At that point it was time for the both of us to take a break and put new Mr. Trivet to work instead.

He did a good job by the way...I think we'll keep him!

 

 



A Little Bit of a Weather Update

 

Feeling a bit under the weather today.

Nothing terrible but enough to declare it a jammie day for me.

 

Dear hubby on the other hand was out and about and caught this little bit of what's falling from above. Having had more than 50" of this stuff cover EVERTHING these past two weeks you'd think the novelty would have worn off but this wee wonder is so darn cute I can barely begrudge the new foot or so of it's kin that are on their way!

 

A Little Bit of Completion

 

Yet another snowy day and another round of shoveling. Even so I did manage to find a bit of time to add some more stitches to my floating EPP project.

 

 

Good news is I finally decided what it's going to be.

 

 

Not long now!



A Litle Bit of a Collection

 

Look what I found amongst a scrappy bin of glitter, beads, gems

 and other bedazzling accoutrements...

 

...tiny treasures from the sea!

 

Their petite perfection has me fascinated as does the fact that the entire collection

can fit quite cozily within a thimble.

 

 

 

A Little Bit of a Friend

Meet Lily Dale!

 

She is a true pincushion friend with whom I've spent a good amount of time.

Her happy little face and sparkly eyes have watched me closely as fabrics were selected and stitches were carefully put in. Everything had to be just so in order that she would be well prepared to head out into the world of sewing adventures!

 



 

 And prepared she is! I, myself, am especially happy to know she has a cozy cape to keep her toasty warm during this snowy February weather she'll be traveling in. The first step of the journey starts tonight when she enters the shop but after that who knows?!! 

It's all so exciting.....

 

 

So exciting in fact that I've had the notion to send a series of little sewing friends out into

the world throughout the year ahead.

 One per month in fact!

 

Lily Lupine was actually the first, back a few weeks ago in January.

It's always a bit sad to see them go but the joy they find in their new homes

more than makes up for it.

 

 



A Little Bit of a Link

 

I thought perhaps a peek into the pages I was binding last night might be fun so I've added a little link along the sidebar. Just click on the mini picture that matches this one

for a tiny telling of the story.

 



A Little Bit of Bitty Book Binding

 

It's been so long since I made one of these up that I forgot how much fun it was.

Stitching the little pages together made for a perfect companion activity to the super bowl!