Wordless Wednesday

Mosaic Monday

GO BIG REdesign and Pillow Tutorial

 The other day, I pulled my one of my son's Husker T shirts out of the dryer and it's vintage-y look for some reason made we want to go stitch an "N" on an old sweater.  I don't have a sweater to wear, but I have one to craft. I thought it would be warm and cozy and I have a daughter at the University of Nebraska so she might like this.  

 Remember the Warm 'N Toasty Pumpkins? Well, this is what is left of one of the sweaters that I cut up.  I used the back piece for this Go Big Red Project.

I'm sorry for the really poor pictures from our basement....

 So here is how I made this pillow or as they say in the UK "cushion".  love that.

I printed out an "N" in a common font found on Husker wear and pinned it in place on my piece of sweater.

Because of the sweater being off white, bumpy, and stretchy, I didn't think tracing around the letter with any kind of marker would be a good idea.  I chose to baste around it instead with red thread while leaving the sweater piece on the table so as to not distort the sweater under my pattern.  

After removing my letter pattern, I have my "N" shape transferred on to my sweater piece.

Next, I added a pellon iron-on interfacing cut to the same size to the back of the piece.  This gave the piece a lot of stability to begin stitching my "N" on to it.

I took a chunky red yarn and large darning needle and did a simple outline stitch all around the "N".  Here is a link to show you how to do an outline stitch.

I used pretty long stitches because I was using bulky yarn on a bulky surface.

I didn't go all the way through the interfacing on most of the stitches.  I just slid the needle through the sweater.

Next I made French Knots all along the inside of the outline of the "N" to give it a nubby texture and it aided in giving  a bit of a vintage vibe to it. Link for a French Knot. I used a different yarn for the French Knots than for the outline.  It was not quite as bulky and I thought a different yarn would enhance the textured feel.
Then I really spiffed up the sweater with a clothes shaver to take off the little pilling that was there.  Worked wonders.

Both yarns are scraps that I have from garage sales/auctions so I'm afraid I can't tell you what they were.

I used a piece of textured soft black fabric for the back.  I just sewed right sides tother, turned, stuffed, and hand stitched the opening closed.

For any of you old enough...does this make you think of pep club sweaters and black pants?

Two points to take away: 

1. a stabilizer will really open up the possibilties of upcycling a sweater.

2. embroidery stitches can be used with yarn and not just embroidery floss.

I think you'd need to stay with simple shapes in an embroidery project like this.  Of course all letters and numbers would work, snowflakes, snowmen, houses...yes, I really like the idea of a house on a sweater pillow!

By the way, my daughter received it in the mail yesterday and did like it!

Shabby Chic Garland

Over a year ago the kids and I were on a short pom pom making kick.  There was a pom pom 4-H project and lots of experiments.  I knew you could make pom poms from a simple piece of cardboard, your fingers, or even a fork. But, I saw somewhere that there was a pompom maker.  I sought them out when we had a chance to shop.  We now have 4 maybe 5 different sizes of makers.  My conclusion?  I think the cardboard technique probably works just as well as these purchased forms.  But, at least with these, our size stays consistent and I have a new gadget!

While the kids were making theirs, I had to make some too.  You know pom poms aren't just for kids. :)

And, I hung them in my sewing room.

I made mine on the largest form (4") and wrapped each one about 100 wraps. I also made them kind of ratty and  roughed them up quite a bit for a shabby look. I did not trim them to make them round.  I hung them from a piece of died sari silk I bought from Etsy. That ribbon is soooo neat!

This is the yarn I used.  It's a  really big skein.  I could make enough pom poms to go across town and back I think!

I could see these in white/off white for all the white lovers out there hanging across a corner vignette.

I think they could work for Christmas decor too across a shelf or mantle.  The key is to get a nubby, soft yarn in a color that will work for you.

The Finished Dried Fall/Christmas/Valentine's Day Tree

I finished the herb tree a few weeks ago that I posted about here . And, chose to wait until the cloudiest week of the year to take pictures.

For the most part, I'm happy with it, but if I would have had more herbs, I would have added a lot more.

The cockscomb dried so well and I had a lot of it, so I filled in with that.  

My daughter said it looks more like a Christmas tree than a fall decoration.  

I told her nooooo, not if you look at it right. (ha)  I told her the day after Thanksgiving....then it will look like a Christmas tree.  Today, it brings in the fall colors. 

And, the day after Epiphany Sunday, it will look like a winter/Valentine's Day decoration.  Because I don't think it will store too well.  It is dried flowers and leaves after all.  

We saw a few snow flakes today and had some rain last night!  Yay for the rain!

Saturday Digest

Oh my.  Could this be the cutest grandma costume ever?  I know I won't be making one, but just had to share this.  Make it and Love it has a tutorial on making this granny costume and also links to the wolf and red riding hood costumes.  Wow.  Hats off to the quality of these costumes, tutorials, and cute pictures!

This struck my fancy.  Not for my jeans, maybe for my girls or maybe just the technique. How about on a pillow made of denim?  Cute, isn't it?

Overalls are back!!!  A pair of nicely worn overalls was one of my mainstay outfits in high school and college.  Maybe, I wore them beyond  being in style.  Quite sure I wore them beyond being in style.  And, quite sure I won't be buying these!  They're called the "Ethel Overalls": charming. And, this pair is so similar to the ones I wore.  Love them still.

I really like Mike Rowe and Dirty Jobs and this is worth reading. 

I hope you're having a great weekend.  We'll be watching our son play in his last Senior marching band contest and getting some outside work done. So goes the plan anyway.

She Said She Wanted to Crochet!

Well, actually she said knit, but she didn't know the difference between the two.  Now she does. :)  When one of my kids wants to do a project or learn how to make something I get pretty excited.  I'm not a champion crocheter and I knew her patience and desire to learn were not going to last too long....

So, I showed her how to chain, the half double crochet, and how to turn. That's all that's needed for this project. It's kind of like an infinity scarf, but shorter and without the twist.  I guess it could be called a snood.  Now she just needs cold weather and her black coat!

I made a prayer shawl with the the same yarn and stitch.  Some day I hope to take pictures of it and show you.
Maybe...just maybe...I could make a tutorial on how to crochet a snood. It's pretty easy and fast with this big thick yarn we used. It's so soft and cozy!

{{{She wanted to learn!!}}}

Fall :)

We went up to my in-laws on Sunday to help them celebrate a birthday and an anniversary and for everyone to help with the fall yard clean up.  There was a big crew working, but I just chose a couple of pictures to share here.  

I'm not sure how much  help our little gals were. ;)

But, it sure made for a nice photo op.

Then my husband was heading out to the farm to do chores so our 21 year old and I tagged along.

She doesn't get out to the farm too often so she felt the need to instagram the pigs.  Can I use instagram as a verb?

My husband has been bringing apples home from the farm and we've had apple crisp, apple pie, apple sauce but mostly "apples still waiting". If you have a favorite apple recipe, please share!

The "farm girl for an hour" had to pick a couple and eat one fresh off the tree.

It was a really nice fall day!

Another Use For a Gallon Jar

I mentioned in yesterday's post that we stopped by the road side to pick some milkweed pods.  They are simply beautiful.  My husband who farms does not share my opinion though!  He helped me pick some none the less. :)

What's more perfect to display them in than a big gallon glass jar?  If you've ever opened a milk weed pod you know why.  The seeds scatter worse than dandelions.  

I put some empty pods that were still on the stems in other places in the house.  They just have a great shape.

I took these two photos two years ago at an abandoned farm.

It's unfortunate that something so very pretty is such an annoyance to farmers.  Monarch butterflies and other bugs depend on the miilkweed, but there aren't that many around any more because of advancements in weed control.  I had some growing in my garden, but didn't water where they were, and they didn't make it.

If anyone wants some seeds to grow your own butterfly food or to capture some beauty in a jar.....I'll send you some seeds. Just email me with your address. 

A Little Fall Decor

I caught a little morning sun to snap a couple of pictures of the mantel that finally has been tended too.

It's been empty for awhile. Quite awhile.  So it goes.

I picked up that piece of driftwood at an auction in a box with some rocks for a dollar. Big Smile. I'm pretty happy to find drift wood and have quite a few pieces tucked around my tank garden.

The big dictionary has more pressed flowers tucked inside. It seems like a secret hiding there.

I'm still using Reader's Digest books.  This time I selected ones with bindings of browns, red, gold, and orange.

We picked up the grass along the side of the road when we stopped to grab some milkweed pods.  I used old brown bottles that I had out in the garage to hold them.

The little birds are new and found at Schwesers of all places.  

We bought the pumpkins from a road side truck as not a one of our pumpkins grew this year.

And, that set of lamps were purchased at an auction probably a year or so ago with cracked and damaged cords. I think they are sooooo cool.  All Art Deco! Well, I found some new cords (from another auction) yesterday and my husband rewired them for me.  Within minutes a project was done, woohoo!  Too bad it took a year to get at them, haha! Again, so it goes. :)

Then and Now

The passage of time.

Love it.

Hate it.

Don't understand it.

Can't change it.

My little gals Oct. 28, 2009

Ages 4 and 3

Yesterday October 8, 2012

Ages 7 and almost 6

Then. The lighting was exquisite that day.

Yesterday it was very bright and she was trying to hide her two front teeth that are so loose they are almost sticking straight out forward. :)

Then.

Now. 

This was all serendipitous. (a.k.a. a God thing)  I was sorting my digital files of pictures and came across these from 2009 yesterday. I thought, wouldn't it be fun to shoot them in the same poses there again?  Then, when I came home from my 12 y/o's volleyball game they were playing under the same tree in the leaves and I ran for my camera.

Maybe I can try to do it every few years and then Senior pictures?!  

Or, I'll just enjoy that it happened once. :)