Sunday, February 27, 2011

"Spring Fling" Pattern ready

Well I'm about tired of this winter.  We got hit last Friday.  Lucky to have our son come over to plow us out.  He took the day off from work and had to come over twice to plow. We have a very long driveway so there is no way that we could have shoveled our way out.  He lives around the block from us so he just drives his tractor over.  He's a good kid.   
 

 So, it was a great time to finish my "Spring Fling" pattern.  I really think it turned out cute.  I will be listing the finished candle mat today on ebay along with the pattern.  Easter is really late this year so that gives everyone extra time to make this mat. 


Here's a picture of my spring candle mat as I was working on it last Friday..  Just have to get the two layers of backing on.  I love the flowers......sooo springy...just what I needed to look at.    This is my own krafty rose design.  Please feel free to e-mail with any questions at rdl19x2@gmail.com
 
Oh, and my just add ice orchid is doing great  It has eight blossoms now.  Isn't it beautiful.  Another distraction from the long cold winter.  Have a good day and know that Spring is just around the corner.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Let's get started

Time to start my spring penny rug /candle mat. First thing I needed to do was dye some of my felted wool pink. So out came my dye pot. I keep this pot just for dying wool. Opps I don't have any pink dye. I usually use the powdered Rit dyes. I do have some Scarlett Red. Let see if it will work. I really don't want to run out to the store. Maybe if I put just a little (approx 1 teaspoon) in the hot water. I took a small test strip; dunked it in and pulled it out almost as fast as it went in. See the little piece of pink wool on the wooden spoon. In went the larger piece of wool and right back out. Rinsed with cold water and put in the dryer. This is the part to be careful of. I don't want the dryer to shrink it too much so about 20 minutes into drying I take it out and put it over my tub to finish drying. I've had very very small pieces come out of the dryer. I 've learned to get them out before they are completely dry and let them air dry over nite. Perfect!!!!


So while my pink wool is drying I will be tracing and cutting out some of my pattern pieces. I trace my pattern onto freezer paper. With a dry iron I press the freezer paper to the wool making sure the shiny side is down. I use small scissors to cut out the smaller pieces. The small scissors make it easier to cut around curves.

I almost have the pattern finished and ready for print. The only thing left is to get the candle mat done so that I can get a good picture for the front page of the pattern. I will also be auctioning the finish candle mat on e-bay It should be ready for listing a week from tomorrow. So check back later to see how the candle mat is progressing.

For some reason I have lost some my pictures for this posting.  I guess I need a class in how to post pictures..I have always had problems posting pictures.  I give up!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Spring Fling

Well, I spent the day starting to get my supplies ready for my next candle mat.  It will be a spring mat with  white bunnies and pastel flowers.  For some reason I want to call it Spring Fling. I first have to make a trip to the fabric store for some white felt wool. I will bring it home and dye it pink. I may have to dye some for the pastal flowers also.  I will take pictures and post them as I go along.  I have a picture of one like it on my Feb 7, 2010 post.  The new one will have more flowers on it.


We went out to eat last Sat. with a club that my husband belongs to.  It was very nice and we enjoyed the company.  The room was cold but the prime rib was good.  Guess that lets him off the hook for Valentines Day.  He has a meeting tonite so I get to watch the bachelor without hearing him tell me what a dumb show it is.


Hope to post later this week with updates on the candle mat.  HAPPY VALENTINE"S DAY everyone.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Great Big Home and Garden Expo

It's that time to start thinking about spring cause winter is just toooo long!!!   So off we went to the Home and Garden show in Cleveland.   This year's show feature was a million   dollar home.  I wasn't that impressed with the home.  It was only two bedroom and the smaller bath looked like it hadn't been finished. 

What did impress me was the aquarium in the entrance and the swimming pool.  That's a star fish in the upper left side of the aquarium.  My husband commented on the pool "Is it for swimming or for looking at."  Not sure if I would want to swim in a pool with a fire in the middle of it. Plus it has arcing water spouts from several sides of the pool.  The home also had an elevator in it and multiple fire places.  It was powered by solar energy.




One of the venders was selling these rock/wire ducks and had them placed under the indoor ferris wheel.  I didn't get a chance to stop at the booth cause there were too many people around it.  Guess that vendor had a good day selling.  They are quite darling
On to the gardens we went.  They weren't quite as flowery as in the past.  The one garden that impressed me the most was the "Alice in Wonderland" garden .  We also saw a area with sculptures made out of metal, wood and stone.  We were surprised that the artist that worked with the metal sculptures remembered us.  Our children had attended the same school.  It was nice to see him and his work. 
So after being inside for five plus hours, seeing and smelling all the flowers and  gearing up for spring and summer projects this was what we had to travel home in.
REALITY

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

More snow!!!!

The weather service has predicted more snow and ice tonite.  Maybe I won't be able to make it to work tomorrow.  My years of experience has taught me that it is not worth the effort to try to get to work when the roads are bad.  I remember many years ago trying to get into work during an ice storm, going off the side of the road, not being able to get back onto the road for at least a hour, getting to work late........only to come out to my car after work to find someone had ran into the back of it, left damage but no note.   Winter is tolerable if you can just sit in your warm home and enjoy the beauty of it. Hopefully the weather service will be wrong again! 

My candle mat sold on e-bay last Sunday........and for more than I had listed it for.  Yippee.  I haven't sold any patterns yet, but have had a few lookers.  I will soon be putting together another one of my designs.  An Easter candle mat and I will show some pictures of it.  It has a bunny on it......my husband told me that this is the year of the rabbit so it seems appropriate.. maybe lucky.  The pattern and finished mat will also be listed on e-bay.  So stop back to see how it's going.

My just add ice orchid had its first bloom since I rescued it,  and six more possible.  That will give it ten blossoms total.  Guess it likes living with me.  I have it in a great room with large windows and a southern exposure.  Summer may be too warm for it.  I will get more pictures of it as the blossoms open. Many of the stores have them available for Valentine's day. 

Have a great day, stay warm and safe.

About Me

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North East Ohio, United States
Hi all, my name is Rosemary and I live in a small village in north east Ohio. I am 59 yrs old, married with two grown children a son (25yrs) a daughter (24yrs) a dalmation(12yrs)and an APL dog(13yrs). I love creating and have learned many crafts. I usually do a few winter craft shows each year. I am also very active in a Relay For Life team through my church. Thanks for stopping by and hopefully we will have some interesting conversations.