Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad....Pincushion?

Still can't find the connecting cord to the camera. So today my pictures will be a little dark and a little out of focus.

I am making a Three Little Pigs pincushion, complete with house and three little pigs. The process of designing it was so much fun. I have a couple of more ideas that I would like to do in the future: Red Riding Hood, Humpty Dumpty, Goldilocks and the Three Bears just to name a few. The house was fun to make. I didn't really start out with a pattern. I first did a rough draft of what I wanted the front of the house to look like and went from there. Of course the house pincushion had to be the house that the smart little pig built. You know, the brick one. The straw house would have been cute too, but remember in the more PETA friendly version the two little pigs run to brothers house when the big bad wolf blows their houses down? So, I thought that the only fitting house would be the brick house. I haven't finished it yet, still working on it. Don't you think that a chimney with the wolf's head sticking out would be cute? Or I might just make a polymer clay sewing pin with the wolf's head on top.

Above: Here are some rough drawings of some pincushions that I would like to do. Sorry, you will have to turn your computer sideways to view. I could not get it to correct itself.

Above: One of the little pigs waving. This is usually how I start the process, mainly I do it this way because I love drawing :)

Above: Here's the smart little pig. D#2 called him "Collin".

Above: Another shot of him with flash on. Sorry pics look so horrible. The little point n shoot is great for outdoor shots. See how small he is, he fits into that little thimble. To the left of the door is his mailbox. Looks like a letter from Mom fell out.

Above: This little pig is missing his left arm and torso down-result of teasing the wolf  :(  JK- He is going in the window like on the drawing. His name is Wilbur-thanks to D#2. I haven't made pig #3 yet. But his name is Jasper and yes she named him also.

Above: Mushroom pincushion. A wee little gnome with live in this wee little house. I am going to put it on  wooden pedestal. Still a work in progress....

Above: This wee little hedgehog will go with the wee mushroom pincushion. I haven't decided what other pin to make. I like to include two pins with each pincushion. Why two? Well, one seems like not enough and three seems like too many. So two it is.

Above: velvet mouse on top of an Amish puzzle ball, or at least half of it. The box is  paper mache that I painted brown and then distressed with sandpaper. I then stained and sealed it. He still needs a tail, eyes and some vintage looking sewing pins for him to hold.

That's all that I have for today. Hopefully I will get the studio cleaned up and find that missing cord. 

i am going to try and get something posted for Prims n Pins ( http://www.primsnpins.blogspot.com/) tonight, so check back tomorrow and see if I did.

Take time tonight to read the Three Little Pigs (PETA's version) and take that sa-weet trip down memory lane,

Holly

Double Bummer.....Lost Camera Cord

So sorry that I have been really slacking on the blogging. I have lost my camera cord. It hooks the camera to the computer so that I can transfer pictures. Bummer. I have been working on some new stuff. Can't wait to show you.

Must get going, gotta find that missing cord! Come back tomorrow and if I haven't found it, I will use my old camera to upload some pictures of what I am working on,
Holly

March of the Snowmen...

Well...I'm back. Sorry for the little vacation from blogland. This past week I had to work on our neighborhood's newsletter. It was my month. You don't think it would take so long to write/edit, but it took me about 4 days solid to come up with it. I use Publisher and it is wonderful, but still takes me forever.
Since I was so busy this past week, I haven't really done anything crafty. I am going to show you a WIP (work in progress) that I love working on. It is a free applique quilt pattern from Bunny Hill Designs http://www.bunnyhilldesigns.com/ . It was free last year on her website, but it has since been take off (it is on the website for sale-very reasonable price). She offers one free applique quilt pattern a year and last month it was snowmen. The year before, I believe that it was baskets. /This year it is Henrietta the Squirrel in each block (it is under the free patterns tab). So cute and you can work at your own pace. There is one pattern a month and by the end of the year you have 12 (depending on her design) squares finished. I think that I am on #9 with three more to go. I had never, never done real applique before. Sure, I have done machine applique where you iron on fusible web, cut out the design, then iron it onto the background fabric and then go over it with the machine button hole stitch. It looks very pretty, but I wanted more of a challange and this was it! There are several methods of applique: needle turn, freezer paper, hand turn (you turn edges down with your fingers) and dryer sheet (must do more research on this one). I found the freezer paper to be the best fit for me. I throughly enjoyed this. I thought that it would be real difficult, but it wasn't at all.
Here's some picutures of my not so finished blocks:

Above: This was the first block that I attempted. I am not very happy with the wheels. They did not come out as round as I had wanted. Still have fnishing touches to put on him.

Above: I just love the little bird. He is holding a rope that I will be attaching buttons to.

Above: all embroidery stitches are back stitched.

Above: french knot eyes and satin stitch nose. If you look closely you can see the tiny applique stitches.  I tried to make each stitch only 2-3 fabric threads long. Super tiny, but easy to do.

Above Sweet little snowman. Almost all of the fabric I am using are from the French General line. The white is a Moda print.

Above: A snowman on a cupcake, can't get any better than that!

Above: The thread looks orange, but it is red.

Above: The silver thread used on the heart wand was difficult to use.

Above: His ear muffs are pieces of wool felt.

Above: Always wondered if snowmen skied.

Above: Even though these snowmen are just adorable, they kind of remind me of the mutant snowmen from Calvin and Hobbes.

I just love the quilt and can't wait until it is finished. I also love being able to work on it little by little. Maybe I will start on the Henrietta Squirrel soon. She would be so cute made out of wool and the rest of the square made from cotton fabric.

Must say goodnight and be sure to keep those little fingers busy and keep those creative juices flowing,

Holly

Winner! Winner!

We have a winner of the "what am I working on blog post". It is Elizabeth!! Yay, Elizabeth. If you will just email me your home address I will get your prize out to you next week. This is what she guessed:

"ummm, little toothpicks for a bunco party? no no wait, need zippers, um what has zippers, think, think, a pull for a pair of zippered house shoes? No? thinking of something with ribbons and zippers...a hat that Charo would wear with fruit and ribbons and it zips up the back? My guess is you are making reusable snack bags????? "

Sorry, these were very creative and clever guesses, but not the correct one. Tomorrow I will show what I was working on. Snack bags do sound fun.
Be back tomorrow,
Holly

Here Chicky, Chicky, Chicky......

Little Peep is on Etsy. Go and check her out (www.cottonpickinfun.etsy.com) . I am going to try and work on a velveteen rabbit soon. First I must get the neighborhood newsletter finished. It is my month to write it. As soon as I finish it I will be working on the rabbit. I am going to put her on an Amish puzzle ball. Stay tuned.

Goodnight,

Holly





Cheep.....Cheep.....

Baby bunnies, sweet baby lambs, baby birds, little baby calves and really just about "anything" baby. I say just about because there are some babies that are not very pretty to look at, ex. baby flies. Enough said, just wanted to clarify that. I really, really love baby chicks.

Once upon a very long time ago, my sweet middle sister gifted me some baby chicks and I fell in love with them. Don't tell her but I was also terrified of them. I didn't know how to raise a baby chick. Even though I had already raised two children from babyhood to (at the time) 6 and 7 yr olds , baby chicks were a whole different story. I just knew that they were not going to last very long. Well they survived the 6, yes 6 hour trip back to our little farmhouse in Mississippi. And they did "cheep" they whole way home. The chicks did survive to teenhood and then some unseen force let them out of their pen. One escaped rooster found his way to a nursing home much to the delight of the residents. We never did claim him, didn't have the heart to, the residents had adopted him. Not sure where the others ended up...... We did get some replacement chicks and for the next several years they provided us with eggs and amusement. Maybe one day I can fill you in on the rest of the stories--warning there are a lot. One example, we found out that "Rooster" didn't like umbrellas or actually the flapping motion of one opening and closing. Great story behind that discovery.

I have been working on a Spring pincushion. I think it turned out pretty cute, because it is a baby chick after all. And as soon as I attach it to the base I am going to list it on Etsy- tomorrow (?).

Above: Start out with this.....

Above: and you can end up with this.

FYI: the roll of pink ribbon is just a prop. Not included in the design.

Above: Little chick is made out of yarn with fun accents. If you maximize the picture, you can see the detail on the grass. Little blades of grass.

Above: Vintage wool and vintage ric rac, ribbon rosettes, feather stitching with french knot buds.

Above: feather stitching with the french knots, which I can do correctly after trying about 30 times, practice makes perfect :)

Above: side view, her eyes are not glued in yet. I am not sure about the size of them....I believe that they need to be bigger. Let me know your thoughts.

Above: Jelly beans, hand sculpted from polymer clay. Really, everything was handmade. Of course I didn't spin the yarn (bummer-would love to try though) or make the wool (double bummer-would love to try that also--note to self--look for good used loom and spinning wheel :).

That's all for today, tomorrow after lunch my time I will be drawing the winner's name, so if you haven't left a comment yet, do so on this post.

Please don't forget to exercise the creative side of your brain

and don't forget to do something fun, like spinning yarn or loom something,

Holly

Yellow Yarn and Pink Wool....

Here's a little project that I am working on for Spring. Better hurry though....our daffodils are popping up. Tulips, too. This picture shows some of the supplies used. I am now working on prototypes or really just trial and errors. Love the creative part of this, if only it will come out as I imagine it.

Wool, yarn-pompoms, dental floss, scissors, paper, embroidery floss and some other stuff that I haven't used yet.

Have a great night and keep those pincushions handy and needles sharp ;)

Holly