Tuesday, July 30, 2013

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

FIVE...


Geese on the beach this morning.

FOUR...

Songs I'm enjoying this week: Matt Kearney - New York to California and All I have.  Michael Bolton - Georgia On My Mind and M.C. Hammer - U Can't Touch This.

THREE...

Outings this week I'm hoping to attend: Afternoon tea at the Tea House, Lunch at the Pancake House and the Quilt Show.

TWO...



Dish cloths I crocheted over the weekend to go with a wedding shower gift!

ONE...


Tea towel I'm embroidering.

xoxoxxo, R

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Cupcake Mug Rug


Hello,

I made this cute little mug rug last week from this pattern I came across on the Wild Olive blog.  It's a great way to showcase your cute little embroideries and use up any leftover fabric scraps you have hanging around.  I used pre-made bias tape for mine, but next time I think I will try one without it.  I've never been a fan of sewing on binding.  

xoxo, R

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

FIVE...


Little Owls I embroidered.  The pattern is from the Wild Olive etsy shop.

FOUR...

Peacemaker
Denis Sullivan
Sorlandet
Pride of Baltimore II
Tall ships that went by our house last week.  These were such fun for me to see since I've long been obsessed with all things that have to do with ships, pirates, and British fleets.

THREE...


Embroideries that are soon to become mug rugs.

TWO...


Nail polish colours I bought yesterday - Minnie Style and Shorts Story.

ONE...


Song I'm enjoying right now - All Those Pretty Lights by Andrew Belle.

xoxo, R

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Stitch Marker Tutorial


Supplies:
A package of head pins (found in the jewelry section of most craft stores)
Some beads - I picked this strand because it had a bunch of different sizes.
Round nose pliers
Skinny nose pliers (I'm not sure what they are called, but they're the ones with the red handle in the above picture.)
Wire cutters


Start by putting some beads onto a head pin.  I like to put a smaller bead on the bottom then a bigger bead and finally another smaller bead on top, but you can put however many you'd like and in whichever order you think looks good.


Using the round nosed pliers, grab ahold of the headpin directly above the top bead.
Using either your fingers (which is what I do) or the skinny pliers, bend the head pin over halfway so that it's at a 90 degree angle.

Reposition the pliers by letting go and re-clamping the headpin right above the bend you just made with one of the round parts of the pliers facing up towards the ceiling.
*Note:Now this is where you can adjust the size of your finished stitch marker's loop so it can fit the size of needle you want.  By moving the whole thing up higher on the pliers where the round parts are bigger, you can make a bigger loop.  When I made this one, it would probably fit a US 3 needle, but when I brought it up higher, it would fit probably a US 5.  These pliers are a little dantier, so they make smaller stitch markers, but I do have another pair that is bigger and with it I can make them to fit up to a size US 7.  You could also bend it around a knitting needle if you want to make it bigger than your pliers will allow, but it's a bit tricker.  I recommend trying it with the pliers first so you can see how it all works.
 

This is what it should look like from the side.


Now again, using either your fingers or the skinny pliers, bend the head pin straight back upwards towards the ceiling.


Then keep bending it over until it's parallel with the floor as shown above.  There will now be a sort of half loop above the top bead.


Reposition your pliers again by letting go and re-clamping in the same spot, but now with the top of the half-loop in between the pliers.
Now twist the end of head pin downwards and back up towards the back creating a closed off loop.  The the wire will now be on the opposite side from where it was.  The picture below shows what it will look like when you let go of the stitch marker.


See how it's closed off the loop?


Re-clamp your pliers with the loop now in the middle of the pliers, just like shown above.


This is where the skinny pliers really start to come in handy!  Using them, start slowly twisting the end of the head pin around the "neck" space just above the top bead.


This part takes practice and can be a little fiddly, but stick with it!  If you find your end is going to be too long, just clip some of the excess off with the wire cutters.


See, mine was a bit long, so I snipped some of it off.  Now it's much more manageable to work with, and it will fit nicely into the "neck" space.


When you get almost to the end, continuing with the skinny pliers work carefully to sort of gently squeeze the last little end up close so there isn't a picky end sticking out.


And ta-da!!  You now have an adorable stitch marker all ready for your next project.  Enjoy!!

xoxo, R

P.S. If you have any questions, just ask them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them as soon as I can.

P.P.S. Thanks Kepanie for asking me to make this tutorial!!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

FIVE...More days till my sister comes to stay for a week!

FOUR...Times I went swimming on Sunday in the lake.  It's been very hot here the last few days, and I'm fully enjoying it!

THREE...Nail polish colours I'm wearing right now: Suzi's Hungry Again!, Red Lights Ahead...Where?, and Can't Find My Czechbook - all by O.P.I.

TWO...Books I've read recently: Savannah and To See Your Face Again from the Savannah quartet by Eugenia Price.

ONE...New thing I'm enjoying this week: Crossword puzzles.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

FIVE...Of my favourite things about summer: The heat, the long hours of daylight, putting my toes in the lake, sleeping with my window open at night, the hum of the fan as I drift off to sleep.

FOUR...Yummy summer fruits: Bluberries, strawberries, rasberries and blackberries.

THREE...Neil Sedika songs I've been listening to lately: Laughter in the Rain, Love Will Keep Us Together, and Rainy Day Bells.

TWO...Goals for July: Get myself back on schedule with my healthy eating, sleeping and exercising, and study in the area of who I am in Christ.

ONE...Goal for this week: Do some sewing.

xoxo, R

Monday, July 8, 2013

I'm Happiest When...

I'm doing 30 days of lists again for this month.  I purchased the whole pack of lists and chose to do the September 2011 one for July.  I thought today I'd share one of my favourites from the past week.

#2. I am happiest when...
  • I am on an adventure
  • Exploring a new place
  • Traveling
  • Making something
  • Reading a good book
  • Listening to oldies
  • Watching movies from the 1930s-1960s
  • Standing with my feet in the ocean
  • Picking out supplies for a new project
  • When my nails are painted cutely 
I found this one fun to do because I hadn't really thought of things that make me happy quite like this before.  Now when I'm feeling sad and in need of some cheering up I can look back on this list and see what I can do.  

xoxo, R

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

FIVE...Things I'm really liking right now: Kites, trees, whales, bunting, and anything patchwork.

FOUR...Things I'd like to do this summer: Have a bonfire, spend as much time as possible outdoors, sew my first quilt, and start learning Norwegian.

THREE...Favourite Bible verses: 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.", Jeremiah 30:17 "For I will restore health to you, and I will heal your wounds, says the Lord, because they have called you and outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no one seeks after and for whom no one cares!", Psalm 29:11 "The LORD gives His people strength.  The LORD blesses them with peace."

TWO...Books I want to read: Alice in Wonderland and To Kill a Mockingbird.

ONE...Favourite devotion from this week: How to Survive the Stress of Summer.

I'm thinking of making the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 posts a weekly thing every Tuesday for the summertime.  I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.  And like before, you can join in too by posting your own list on your blog and leaving a link, or share your list in the comments.  I'd be happy to hear what everyone else's lists are!

xoxo,
R

Monday, July 1, 2013

Random Things on a Monday

Lily of the Valley embroidery I made a while ago from a free Wild Olive pattern you can find here. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with it yet.
A sailboat that anchored itself across the lake from us and spent the night a few weeks ago.  This shot was taken in the morning.  It's a rare thing for sailboats to spend the night around here, so it's a treat to see one when it does.
Momma deer with her baby fawn.
A closer look at the little cutie.
xoxo,
R

P.S. Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!!  I hope you all have been having a wonderful long weekend.