Craft Corner Condemned

 

For years the Inspector General has been giving Craft Corner failing marks. This year, right before the holidays the Inspector General declared Craft Corner condemned and a disaster area. I cannot show you pictures due to potential liability. But the Inspector General (my husband) stated that Craft Corner (my corner of the laundry room) was a fire hazard and exhibited signs of a hoarder.

Clean-up was to start immediately after the first of the year.

Thus, last weekend was spent knee deep in wool.

 

I can show you after pictures :)

 

 

A shelf of cutter quilts, full size tickings, coverlets and wool blankets.

 

Wools organized by color.

 

I have realized that I probably don't need to buy any wool for a long, long time.

I'll try not to.... but I just might ;)

 

The Inspector General stopped by and declared Craft Corner 10% complete.

I have a loooong way to go...

Next up velvets and flannels.

 

Needless to say not much sewing getting done here.

But I did do a bit... 

 

Last Christmas I received a gift certificate to JJ Stitches from a dear friend. I bought this lovely "Snowy Days" kit and rediscovered it when trying to pull together all my wools.

One block down and 5 more to go...  

I wonder what other treasures I might unearth :)

 

 ^"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Christ who strengthens me. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles."

~Philippians 4:12-14

 

Blessings, Patti

Cross references:

1. Philippians 4:12 : S 1Co 4:11
2. Philippians 4:12 : 2Co 11:9
3. Philippians 4:13 : 2Co 12:9; Eph 3:16; Col 1:11; 1Ti 1:12; 2Ti 4:17
4. Philippians 4:14 : Php 1:7

 

An Etsy Update

You may recall that early this year Craft Corner (my crafting area in the laundry room) was condemned by the Inspector General (my husband) for being a fire hazard. (You can read about it here.) I am slowly continuing the clean-up. I have come to the conclusion that there is no possible way that I will ever create all that I want to make and that some items need to find new homes where they have a better chance of being created.

So I have decided to list some items in the Supplies section of my Etsy shop.

All are patterns plus wool or linen and some are complete kits.

All are listed at 25 to 50% off original prices.

I accept Paypal, checks and money orders.

If you don't have an Etsy account, but are interested in purchasing, just send me an email at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com

Many are limited editions that are no longer available.

I still really like them all, but am trying to be realistic about what I will make.

This is just a portion of what is available.

Click here to see them all.

I think this weekend I'll take a break from cleaning Craft Corner and do a bit of creating :)

"Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

    you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    surely I have a delightful inheritance."

~Psalm 16:5-6

Blessings, Patti

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom has always enjoyed creative pursuits...

cross stitch, crochet, sewing, crafts.

About a year ago, she decided to try her hand at wool applique. I kitted up a few small pillows for her to try and she whipped them up. This past winter she decided that she wanted to make a traditional penny rug. 

I searched through Craft Corner and pulled together some wool that might match her entry way and sent them on their way. Mom didn't have a pattern, she just decided to wing it.

And look what she came up with!

Wow! Was I impressed!

I shouldn't have been surprised. Mom always does a great job in all her creative pursuits.

I like to think that I inherited a little of her creativity. :)

(And hopefully some of my Dad's talents, too. You can read about his creativity here.)

Mom purchased this beautiful swan while we were shopping at the primitive shows last month.

My sister affectionately named him Aflac :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

WE LOVE YOU!

I have to say that I have the best Mom in the world.

 I have aspired to her example in raising my boys and in my creative pursuits.

Mom, I hope your day is filled with love, happiness and lots of wool :)

Can't wait to see what you create next!

Blessings, Patti

A Road Trip Project

Before we headed down to Mom's I knew that I needed a small wool project for the legs of the car ride that I wasn't driving ;)

I dug through craft corner and found this all prepped and ready to go.

But it wasn't what I was in the mood to work on.

Then I found this - oh so close to being finished.

Nope, wasn't in the mood for that either.

Another new project was speaking to me and begging to be started.

I pulled out Rebekah L. Smith's book, "Wool Applique Folk Art" and turned to the project that was calling me...

"Creatures of Habit ~ Rabbit Pillow"

Growing up we had several pet rabbits, but lately I have been thinking of our Chocolate Dutch Rabbit, Louie. I decided to tweak it to look like him.

I quickly prepped it the night before we left.

My new Attic stitching bag was perfect for the car! The lid flips up and keeps everything safely contained in case of sudden stops or swerves.

It was a quick project and in no time, Louie was watching me cheerfully while I stitched him up.

And here he is all done!

I love how he looks with this cabbage and cabbage leaves by Schneeman Folk Art.

I used my new favorite thread - Rustic Wool Moire from Wooly Red Rug - a joy to stitch with!

I added some stitched to the side scallops/cabbage leaf edge.

So happy to have Louie to keep me company once again this Spring.

Maybe I should think about finishing up those other two springtime projects...

I also had to share this finish by my Mom. It appeared on a Pennies from Heaven post before, but when I saw it draped over a chair it's beauty really resonated with me. 

I didn't think that anyone would mind if I shared it again :)

There is still time to enter my Arizona trip giveaway. You can find all the information here.

I'll pick a winner on Monday. Wishing you a lovely spring weekend and a wonderful Palm Sunday!

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

~John 12:13

Blessings, Patti

Pennies from Heaven ~ Vol. 4

Each time I go to visit my parents, I can't imagine that my Mom will have much more to share.

But she always does! :)

And I always think they can't get even better (how do you improve from perfection?), but they do!

First up in no particular order is a great triangle penny rug that fits perfectly in this wall basket. 

I love the colors!

Next up, just in time, this sweet Easter Egg mat.

Here it is with Mom's lantern and a daffodil egg that I made for Mom and Dad one Easter a few years back.

(I'm glad to see that she still likes it :)

Here's a different take on pennies.

It's amazing that with all the varied colors, they work so well together.

Even with all the overlapping pennies, Mom's stitches are still perfect.

And this is where it lives, under this pretty hurricane candleholder.

Mom was telling me that she was thinking about trying her hand at a tongue rug:

 

Of course it turned out lovely on her first try!

I think this is made from an old greenish-grey army blanket.

She found the perfect spot for it in her extremely organized craft corner.

(A trait unfortunately that I did not inherit.)

The bird pinkeep and the flower pinkeep are both made by the very talented Audrey of Bay Ray's Child. You can read her lovely blog here and see her sweet Etsy shop here.

Mom and I are both big fans of Audrey's work.

The dresden plate pinkeep on the right sitting in the basket is my mom's creation. I think I forgot to take a close up of it. 

In the antique sewing machine drawers, my mom has her small sewing supplies all organized. 

I also forgot to photograph the sweet scissor sheaths that she made for each of her scissors. 

Must remember to take photos on my next visit!

Mom finished this little pincushion while I was there - filled with crushed walnut shells.

Next up is this stunner!

"Avery's Teardrop" designed and kitted by Early Style Penny Rugs. You can view her Etsy shop here.

 Cee's inspiring blog can be found here.

The subtle aged colors are so peaceful.

Isn't this penny rug unique?!

I forgot to ask Mom who's design this is...

I love the combination of pennies and flowers

and the combinations of solids and textures.

So different and so lovely!

Can you believe that there are still more?!

And all these have been created since Thanksgiving!

Next up is this beauty based on a Maggie Bonanomi design. 

It was a runner, but mom made it fit into a circle.

So perfect in their sunroom!

Here you can see the entire mat.

Tiny perfect little stitches.

Mom and I had fun doing some color planning for her next project while I was visiting.

It's going to be a stunner for sure!

Oops, I almost forgot!

Mom is also participating in Stacy West's Buttermilk Basin Mystery BOM.

You can read about it here.

The March pattern comes out tomorrow. I know someone that will be working on it right away :)

Mom decided to use an antique flour sack for her background fabric ~ a fabulous idea!

She's been so busy creating that she is just starting to stitch them, 

but they are probably all done by now :)

I love the soft colors that she chooses.

Well, can you believe all of Mom's creations?!?!

She is a wealth of ideas and concepts, always looking at designs in new ways.

There is just one more post from this trip, sharing a little exchange of gifts.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 

~2 Peter 1:3

Blessings, Patti

Final Festive Finish

designs by Stacy Nash Primitives

"Country Sampler Snowed In"

"Country Sampler Silent Night"

club kits from the Stacy Nash club through Country Sampler

Sorry, the quality of these photos is not as good as I would like, but the best I could get on a grey snowy day...

This is a combination of club kits from 2013 and 2012. I thought they would look so nice together. So I decided to stitch them on all the same fabric with the same threads and finish them alike.

Now I think that they make a nice set...

I love stitching snowflakes so much that I decided to omit a bird motif and add more snowflakes.

you can see the original here.

I waffled for a few days whether I should use white rickrack or red, but I decided that the red sets the design off better.

Tomorrow the weatherman says the sun will come out later in the afternoon. I might try to get some better photos then...

I have a few snowmen projects that I am going to try to finish and then move on to Valentines.

And tomorrow while doing laundry, I will try to get to phase two of cleaning Craft Corner ~ before the Inspector General comments again ;)

"Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf."

~1 Corinthians 10:17

Blessings, Patti