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!

Prayer Stitches

Last Sunday I had a great plan for Mother's Day, my parents were going to visit and I was going to make a great meal complete with English Trifle brimming with fresh fruit. Instead I recieved a call that my mom was sick and being admitted to the hospital. My mom has Lewy Body Dimentia which is Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease all rolled into one and then some. I went home and spent the last few days with my parents first going to the hospital and then helping my dad get her situated after she returned home. This is a really difficult disease for everyone, especially the main caregiver, in this case my dad.

As I was dashing out the door I knew I needed something to stitch, keeping my hands busy is always a calming thing, my version of prayer beads I guess. I grabbed a piece of blue felt and tossed it into a ziploc bag that already held some embroidery floss. As I was stitching I discovered a crocheted medallion and that became part of this piece. I have no idea what this will become, and maybe it will just be what it is a small bright spot amidst several stress filled days.

My mom is doing much better and is home once again and for that we are all happy.

On a fun note I am planning on participating in Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day on Monday May 23, so come back and see what is up!

Three Matryoshkas

Sasha, Bettina and Anya are among the projects I completed in the last few months. They are inspired by matryoshkas, the Russian nesting dolls. These don't nest, however, and are made of felt and ornamented with hand embroidery. The embroidery stitches are basic and I had a lot of fun creating them.

One of my goals is to make patterns so that other people can create some of my designs and I decided these dolls made the pattern list! I told my friend Barbara of Stony Mountain Fibers and she asked me to make kits that would include the felt and embroidery floss. That was real motivation and so I got to work! She is taking them this weekend to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Show and I am anxious to see how they do. After I get some feedback from her I will adjust what needs to be adjusted (price, packaging, whatever) and list them on etsy. I'll be sure to let you know when I get them listed.

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.

Felting

I have been really busy planning things...a class, a class reunion, some pattern designs and sometimes dinner! Last Saturday I taught a basic wet felting class and had seven lovely women sign up. We had a great time trying out different color combinations, embedding yarns and even shredded money into the felt. There was mostly wet felting but also a little needle felting. It was a fun time and I enjoyed meeting like-minded folks! I hope to teach some more classes soon.

Now I'm going to try to get some new things listed on etsy today so you can see what else I've been up to.

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!