Little boxes...

Pretty things they are too.  And, they were already full of fabrics, trim and embroidery cottons for the classes I'm taking.

But......

... I noticed Deanna, from our stitchery classes, is doing daily stitching as a project for 2014 and to make it easier, she suggests a box or container full of all you need to just pick it up and "go".  Perfect.

I wasn't totally out of it....I did have a tiny one with just needles and threads and a few other things and thought how clever I was being, but, honestly.... I still had to gather up the other bits and pieces and move them each time I decided to do a few stitches.... and, you know how it goes...you just get sat down and realize you forgot ...scissors...or hoop. ..or ..whatever.  It's just plain silly isn't it?

Right now, there is an extra love seat and also a couch parked in the hobby room..so, ...no room in there to play.   Still looking for somebody to take the furniture.... which means I move from front room to kitchen, to downstairs ..etc...

I love my pretty little boxes and chose a medium size one to use for my project pieces, then, re-organized all the other stuff in the two other boxes.  Now, I'm armed and dangerous!  With needle book, cottons, scissors, small hoop, etc. in my trusty "go box", I'm set.

Poor little goosie

She's taken to talking about me behind my back ... to anyone who will listen ...

As you can see she still has no legs.. but, look...I almost thought about attaching her little arms...


Other things are happening... and, as is my usual.... I didn't finish my project before I have begun another...

I should have hurried along with Ms. Goosie and got her finished before starting anything new...but, this was last minute.

I went to a blog... saw a name and a reference to something beautiful in somebody's post...went to that blog and ...as the Brit's say... "Bob's yer uncle"....

I'm now enrolled in Karen Ruane's Embroider, Embellish and Create class.

Haven't done embroidery for many years...and have a hoop somewhere ...but, had to buy a new one, along with some needles, thread and a bunch of other stuff... because I can't find any of it.  Not that I have much of what we will be using anyway... because this will be a white on white project.  I've never worked in whites.  I'm having trouble just remembering how to do French Knots... sigh.... and I know I did plenty in my time.

Look here at Karen's work!!  so beautiful....


And, even though I keep saying this is not a food blog....I do keep showing you food don't I ??
... hahahha ... Look. We made pizza from scratch the other day...it only takes 2  hours from putting yeast in water.... and, soooooo yummy!  I love that you can make it however you like when you do it yourself....

WOYWW

Hahahha...if you haven't heard it or seen it before it could throw you for a loop, eh?  What's on Your Workdesk.  Wednesday...   


I see it on Twig's blog every Wednesday...and she, and her sister, are always sooooo busy... it boggles my poor little mind.


This is my workdesk today and has been for months now.....my kitchen counter.  Yep. That's about it.  

 Seems to me all I've been doing is baking and cooking.  Which I do enjoy...but.... I must try to get back to some sort of crafting and fun stuff.... and soon.  When one bakes...and eats; one must spend an inordinate amount of time working out to get rid of excess calories!


After golf season (which was waaaay back in early October!) and my extremely painful elbow...I could not do any small things with finger and thumb at all!  And... now... just seem to have grown away from it all.... no motivation or inclination to do much of anything...and my elbow still is pretty painful if I try to use my hand.  Last time at physio they froze my elbow and my neck and upper scapular muscles...supposedly to try to break the pain loop, damage the muscles a bit and try to initiate more of a healing response.  So far...all it did is produce a huge lump on my upper back...and a painful lump on the lateral epicondyle of my elbow area... fingers crossed.  Oh, yeh...hahhah.... and the young sports medicine doctor jabbed her own finger, had to retire to her office for a brief time out and to get a new needle ... I had a laugh at her expense.   


This is my workdesk today.... all tidy and waiting for somebody to play in there.  Can you tell an ex dental assistant lives here?  hahahhah.... All the tools of the bear and doll making trade...neatly aligned, organized and just waiting to be used.  Look...I even splurged and bought a pair of Ginghers, (yikes! the $$$$$ )  Those pretty patterned ones.... blue and yellows, see 'em?  Can hardly wait to try using them.  But...on what?  

Today ...it will be Banana Chocolate chip muffins.  Check out my other blog for more recipes some time.  Mr. BV likes to take a muffin in his lunches and I try to make sure he has a few choices in the freezer.  Who wants to take the same muffin 8 days in a row?  Right now the only ones in there are strawberry ... so today's will be a nice addition.


There are lots of interesting blogs to see on WOYWW.  Check them out here.  All of a sudden...you are hopping here there and everywhere from those as well...ooohhhhhh it boggles ..... but, I have found two neat tutorials already, what fun!  I definitely want to try the pincushion/box I hopped to from one other blog ... maybe that could be my jump starter....     

... crazy crafters....again..

We really are a crazy bunch, us/we(?) crafters.  We save the darndest things. "In case need them" .. or  we think, .. "hey, I can use that", and we stash it in our ever growing little (and sometimes not-so-little) container or containerssss (very plural)  of bits and bobs.

Here is my latest.  Look at the beautiful satiny ribbons I've been finding on even the cheapest of t-shirts I've bought in the past few weeks.  Extra little straps for hanging them so they don't slip off hangers I guess...... when the heck did they start doing that for $9 t-shirts?   I haven't bought any for a few years........maybe it is not that new to everybody else.

Menswear has always been so nicely finished with edges encased and nowadays with the insides of collars even having velvet ribbon.  I love looking at mens clothing and marvelling.  And...the past few reeeelly cheap little articles I've purchased.... look at this!  Instead of just zigazg crap finishing ..... ribbon!
On my 2/$20 t-shirts for heaven's sake.  I was very surprised, to say the least.

And.....look how much of that ribbon for hanging there actually is....

Fully fourteen inches on each side .....

I can use it for a multitude of things...trim..bows... collars.... attachments.  Cute little bows .. and how many.... now I'm thinking these t-shirts are an even better bargain.  For $10 I also get 28 inches of 1/8 inch satiny ribbon.  Such a deal!  I've now got some black, pink, yellow and turquoise...... I think I need to begin another bits and bobs box.  Wonder if Rubbermaid has some on sale.

Tiny, tinier, tiniest....

Magically it's Monday again. The Time Fairy must have been madly waving her wand about ...she really stirred up the fairy dust and hours whipped past. You know what I'm talking about. They show you the little magical clock..with hands just whirring? ... hours, then days whiz past in a twinkling? Yep.. another week just flew.... .... however, having written this few lines.... I now have a great new fairy in mind...hahahhaha.... sometimes saying things out loud.. ( or writing them ) let's you "see" something else..... something you were not thinking about AT all!

Originally, when I realized it was Monday already... I was trying to think what I could post for the once a week photo challenge that Linda is hosting.

...and.......I figured it out. After doing the tiny feet entry a few days back.. ...then carrying on with teensy "inchies" ... I was ruminating about being kind of funny that way.... having a love of tiny things. Then I walked into my craft room and saw this.... A piece of popcorn??

Gotcha didn't I?











...on closer inspection..................














...not popcorn, but it did become his name.
















here's his cute little bum.....














and...here you can see he really is little....

I was fiddling with some paperclay one day and thought it was a bit tricky to work with..so wanted to see how difficult it would be to try something really small. You know, just to make myself crazy. He was not a piece of cake... as a matter of fact I mistook him for a piece of popcorn several times. Once I almost tossed him into my mouth.... poor little guy. I named him Popcorn...and... he sits beside a tiny box of inchies on the craft table. I will actually put some colour on his eyes and nose some day...... til then, I'll just grin every time I see him.....