New and Interesting Things

I have found lately that I haven't been reading blogs and that has made me a very dull person it seems! Although didn't know that until this morning when I decided I needed to take some time out and see what some of my favorite blog friends were up to. I discovered this great free hat pattern at The Purl Bee, B. at Dog in the Hole Studio wrote about making pockets to put beside each plate at Christmas dinner. Inside each pocket would be questions to be answered either by the person with the pocket or they could ask another person at the table the question. One of the questions was fun...if you didn't have any bones in your body to break what activities would you do without fear? I also caught up on holiday doings and the end of Every Inchie Monday, which I only participated in part of the time. I still love looking at my little inchies and maybe I will make some more to join the twenty or so I already have. So, next time I feel I don't have the time to read blogs I hope I remember how energized and inspired I feel by all of your creativity. I waste time in so many ways...reading blogs is not one of them!

Cool Plant Stand and Inchies

Last weekend we discovered a really cool consignment shop called Milo Milo (sadly they don't have a website) in Appleton, WI and found this really great plant stand. I am quite sure it is a one of a kind made from a variety of wrought iron pieces that have been welded together. The minute I saw it (and saw the reasonable price) I knew it had a place in my garden.

It is also Every Inchie Monday and I've posted two this week. I missed last week and the theme was imagine and all I could think of was John Lennon singing the song of the same name. So, here is a version of his self portrait in felt and thread. This weeks theme is change. My line changes color as well as goes from straight to curved. A bit lame but it's all I had this week!

Strength, Popeye Style

Once again it is Every Inchie Monday and I am back in the game. Today's theme is strength and I decided to make a strongman's arm. When I got it cut out I realized it wouldn't be complete without a Popeye style tattoo! So, here's to strength in all it's forms. To see many of those forms, go to Every Inchie Monday .

Sunset

This weeks theme for Every Inchie Monday is Sunset. I knew immediately what I wanted to do because I used to teach fourth grade and we always did a sunset art project. To create the sunset, I would have the kids tear tissue paper into strips and overlap the edges and glue them down onto a piece of construction paper. Then with a piece of black paper they would cut out a landscape and always include a tree and that would be glued down on top of the tissue paper strips. They were always really colorful and looked great on the wall. So, I used a similar idea but instead of the tissue paper I took markers and colored a piece of felt and then cut the landscape from black felt and glued them together.

Nest

This weeks Every Inchie Monday theme is nest. That feels like such a perfect word for me today because over the weekend I attended my 35th high school class reunion which meant I was social for about 72 hours straight. Although I've had a great deal of fun I am truly ready for some nesting. So here is my quiet little nest as well as a photo of the folks I had a lot of fun with this weekend!

Love and Rememberance

I haven't been here to write for awhile and it seems that Every Inchie Monday's theme of love is a good place to begin again. Here is my little heart that goes out to all of you.

As many of you know my mom has not been well and sadly she passed away peacefully on June 29th. It is a very sad time yet we know she no longer has to contend with her diminished body and mind. I wrote a funny memory about my mom which I would like to share with you.

As I've reflected on my mom's life these last few days what keeps appearing is how much fun my mom liked to have. She was such a good person to play jokes on that it happened a lot.

Quite a few years ago my dad's family would hold gatherings in Las Vegas. They came from many corners of the country to see each other, laugh, play cards, gamble and the women would shop for matching polyester pantsuits.

One time they stayed at a hotel with particularly nice towels and my mom slipped a few in her suitcase and brought them home. A few days after they arrived back home the phone rang. A man on the other end of the line identified himself as the manager of the hotel. He asked if they had stayed in a certain room and my mom said yes. He then said the television was missing in that room and he thought she had stolen it.

My mom yelled into the phone "I might have taken a few towels but I didn't steal your TV!"

At the other end of the phone my Great Uncle Bob roared with laughter!

I shared this at the funeral and although I wasn't planning on sharing anything this story came to me that morning and it was as if my mom was saying, "Go on, write it. I want to make them laugh one more time."

Pink and Fancy

This weeks Every Inchie Monday theme is fancy. Now, you might be wondering why I did an inchie with two dogs on it. Well, when we got our dog as a puppy she was really energetic and wanted to constantly play. On a walk we met one of our neighbors who understood how warn out we were. She invited Tia, our puppy, to come and play with her dog Fancy. That began a great friendship between the two and when we even said Fancy's name, Tia became excited. The beads are on the inchie because Fancy's mom gave Tia a collar with rhinestones to match one Fancy had. These two dogs were so far from being frou-frou that the collars were a joke. Unfortunately we have moved away from Fancy but if for some reason we have to say that word in front of Tia we say f-a-n-c-y so she doesn't get excited and think her friend is back to play. Here is a picture of the real Fancy (white) and Tia (black).

If you read my previous post you know why I missed last Monday's inchie. The theme was pink and here is my version. Not only are the materials pink but I used my pinking scissors to "pink" the edges! To see more inchies go to Every Inchie Monday!

Every Inchie Monday...Heart

Todays Every Inchie Monday theme is heart. I thought of different ways to make this inchie, but when it came down to it our weather was my inspiration. We have had a gloomy, windy and cold spring often punctuated by bouts of snow. In fact I heard from a friend that is was snowing this morning a few hours west of here. Given that, I wanted something bright and sunny to make up for the outside gloom, so here is my yellow heart stitched with bright orange and magenta thread. I am thinking of it as a talisman that will call to the sun and bring it forth! To see other heart inchies go here.

Joy!

Todays Every Inchie Monday theme is JOY! I was going to make a little horn with confetti coming out of it but as I worked it morphed into a vase with spring flowers. I will have to say, after this long snowy winter, joy is spring flowers. I discovered a little patch of blood root blooming in my yard this morning which is adding to the sunny joy of this day! For more joyful inchies, go here.

My 150th Post and New Inchies

I have been working on a special project that I'll let you in on next time! I tell you this because it is the reason that I have gotten behind in my inchies. I really don't want to miss out on the inchies so I created three and here they are. Todays inchie is Friends, last week was Peace and the week before that, my favorite inchie so far, was Sing. If you want to see more inchies go here.

As I was signing in to write this I noticed it was my 150th post!

Catching Up on Inchies!

After a cold, a house guest and a trip to visit friends, I have returned to Every Inchie Monday. I decided to make the inchies for the weeks I was away so here they all are. At the top is todays inchie, Winged. It got a little out of focus because it is somewhat dimensional and when I put it in the scanner it wouldn't lay flat. The two that I missed are Rhythm, the musical notations and Endless. When I thought about endless two things came to mind, the symbol for infinity and the geometric symbol for a ray. I decided to put both of them on one little inchie. To see more inchies go here.

Dance

Every Inchie Monday and the theme is Dance. I attempted to make a tiny dance diagram and I have to say it isn't my favorite. It was a little difficult to cut those tiny shoes. I printed off some from the computer and laid the page over a piece of felt and then did my best to cut them out. But, here it is for better or worse. Go to Every Inchie Monday to see more dancing inchies.

Frolic Through the Garden

Today is Every Inchie Monday and the word is frolic. I decided that I would most like to frolic in a garden so I used my machine embroidery stitches and embroidered the yellow flowers, then I added the purplish red line which is the line of the frolicker and some green leaves. The leaves and frolicking line are done by hand. Once again I started with a larger piece of fabric and cut it down to size. To see more inchies go to Every Inchie Monday.

Another thing I want to share is this funny picture I found while poking through some antique shops when we were up in northern Wisconsin. Written on the back of the photo is "Louise ready for a masquerade." I think it would be fun to print this on some fabric and do some embroidery on it.

Cosmic

Once again it is Every Inchie Monday and the word of the week is cosmic. I looked up the word and found it has several meanings, this is the one I wanted to work with:

adj of or related to the cosmos, the extraterrestrial vastness, or the universe in contrast to the earth alone

I had some black felt with glitter embedded in it which gave it a lot of depth. Once again I cut a piece larger than one inch and stitched some metallic thread in a circular motion to give it a sort of endless feel. I trimmed it down and then topped it off with a star bead. To see more of this weeks inchies go here.

On another note, I have been the winner of several great door prizes from One World One Heart! How exciting that is! When I recieve them I'll give you a peek at what has come my way.

I went up to northern Wisconsin this past weekend with my husband and have some fun pictures of the wintery outdoors, I'll post them later in the week. Now, I have to take my dog for a walk in the continuously falling snow and get some nice hot soup simmering for dinner.

Every Inchie Monday...errrr, Tuesday

Well I am a bit behind with my inchie, but I did it and want to post it. The theme was fishy and the day was Valentine's, so again I combined the two and came up with some love-ly fishies. To see more inchies go here.

There are just a few more days left of One World One Heart and if you are looking for my post scroll down a bit or click here.

Electrifying

Every Inchie Monday again and the word is electrifying. I decided to be very literal this week and I have a little electrical socket and a cord to be plugged in. Did I ever mention I live in Wisconsin? Well, in honor of the Packers great victory yesterday my electifying homage to the Packers wears green and gold. To see more inchies go visit Every Inchie Monday.

If you are looking for my One World One Heart post scroll down or go here. I also hope to be back later today or tomorrow with my Valentine Treat bag tutorial.

Newest Inchie

Yesterday I got sidetracked visiting all sorts of great blogs from One World One Heart so I didn't get my inchie made in time. But, better late than never! This weeks theme is mirthful, meaning:

adj. 1. full of gladness and gaiety

2. characterized by or expressing gladness and gaiety

When I thought about this word what came to mind was a giant smile so I made a little felt (I seem to be obsessed with felt these days) square and embroidered some starbursts in the background, a big smile on top and finished the edges with little blanket stitches. To see more inchies go to Every Inchie Monday!

On another note, Happy February! I really love this month, Valentine's Day which is also the day we got married, inspires me with happy colors and hearts galore. I've come up with some projects, recipes and fun links so come back and visit often! If you'd like to win one of my felt embroidered hearts join in on the One World One Heart giveaway in the post just below this one!

Every Inchie Monday

Today's Every Inchie Monday theme is maudlin. It's meaning...

adjective

1. tearfully or weakly emotional, foolishly sentimental

2. foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkeness

I decided to depict sentimental with embroidered flowers and lace on felt. I added some eyes peeking out of the lace....watching, waiting, probably tearfully.

I have discovered I can work on these little pieces more easily if I start with a larger piece of fabric and mark a square inch in the middle. I then sew and embroider while having more room to manipulate the fabric through the sewing machine or in my hand. When I am finished I trim it down to size. For those of you wondering how I didn't sew through my fingers, now you know!

If you would like to see more inchies go to Every Inchie Monday.

Every Inchie Monday

I have joined Every Inchie Monday in creating an inchie every week for a year. An inchie is what it sounds like, a one inch square that is embellished and in this challenge around a weekly theme. This weeks theme is caring and here is my first inchie (I missed the first two weeks, but 50 inchies seems o.k. to me! Go to Every Inchie Monday to see more or join in yourself.

My inchie was originally going to have winter colors. For the last 5 days we have had an inch of snow each day and today expecting 3 to 5 inches so that seemed appropriate. I opened my box of felt and on top were beautiful bright colors and I realized how much I needed to see something other than white, silver and gray. So purple, lime green and blue with pink metallic stitching was for me! Enjoy!