A May Day Giveaway!!

Yes, I know it's still April but come Friday, it's May Day!!
I loved May Day when I was a kid. My mother would help us decorate pretty little baskets with pleated crepe paper around little white nutcups or baskets made from construction paper. Then we would fill them with candy and deliver them to friends, knock on the door and run. I always hoped to be caught by one certain little boy and dreamed of his kiss but alas, he never came to the door. His mother answered instead!!
I was planning to share a tutorial on May Baskets as I taught a class on May baskets many times in Community Ed and at the library. I have been too busy to do it and so I guess it will have to wait til next year.
Instead, I am going to offer up a little giveaway for this Quilted Baskets book by Eleanor Burns.

My friend, Pandora, made the quilt that you see on the cover of the book. I loved her quilt so I got the book, too and put it in my stack of project books. During this past year, I've realized that I will simply never get to all of the projects, patterns, books, etc. that I have. Plus, I really like drawing up a design and making do with whatever I have on hand. So, I thought, why not sort through some of my books and patterns and use them in giveaways? And that's just what I'm doing.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and tell me if you remember making May Baskets. It's been a while since I hosted a giveaway and my husband hasn't been able to be my random number man for some time. He will be happy to know he can draw a lucky winner on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. CST. Also, on Friday, I will be posting the changes I'll be making for my Seasons of the Heart BOM. E-mails will go out to those on the current list. This change will make it easy for anyone to get past blocks.

As soon as you read this you may leave a comment. Just make sure your comment links back to your blog or that you leave your e-mail address in your comment. You don't have to have a blog to participate in this giveaway.

I look forward to reading all your comments!!

Sandi

We have a winner!! It's Ida and I have sent her an e-mail with the good news. As always, I had my husband draw a second and third name in case I don't hear from the first name drawn.

Oops!

When I do a blogpost, I load all the photos and then add the text. As some of you know, it is very easy to accidently delete a photo. I did just that when I did my Happy Joe's post. I deleted this photo of my daughter Collette and her husband, Daryl. Collette is smiling because she had doilies to show me. Last weekend when I had my quilt gathering, she got inspired by some of the gals who were knitting and crocheting. She found a book at the Library with over 300 crocheted block patterns and she said she can't stop making blocks. They are just "practice blocks" but I think they are really cool. I especially think that since I cannot crochet!!

I also thought I'd show you half my sewing room. Devlin took a picture of it when we were working on his project Friday night and I'm like ..."oh, no, you can't take a picture of this mess". He thought it was just fine and the friend that he's doing this project for thought it looked like "Santa's workshop"........so, that's almost what this is............. it's "Sandi's workshop". :-) As you can see there are piles of projects everywhere. I clean it up and then I mess it up all over again. There's another half to the room to the left as this is the "Bonus room" over the garage. My grandson Jacob, loves the room. He says it's cozy. I agree. It is such a treat after the small basement room with no window that I had in our previous house.

I have good news on the Emma quilt. I had been waiting on just one package that had been mailed from Julia in England over two weeks ago. It was sent Airmail and when it didn't arrive by Friday, I feared it was lost in the mail. I gave up hope and so when I went to the mailbox today and there was a package with a Royal Mail post on it, I knew exactly what it was. And inside were two perfect blocks that fill the last two spots on the quilt layouts. How perfect is that? I had no idea whether the blocks Julia was sending were the 6 1/2" ones or the 12 1/2" ones so I was thrilled that these blocks were just what I needed!!

She also tucked in a lovely card and note and two of her handmade soaps for me. Oh, how lovely they smell. What a treat! I came to know Julia when she was my swap partner in a recent mug swap. I loved overfilling that mug with things for her because in reading her blog, I knew I had some vintage things that she would love and I picked up a few things for her, too. I have worried about getting it right on some swaps because I couldn't get a good enough "picture" of my partner from their blog. Not so with Julia. Her blog is MarmaladeKiss so take a peek and see all the creative things she does and beautiful photos, too!

I am heading to Iowa tomorrow and leaving the dog and hubby at home. More on that later on tonight as I have a little surprise to leave you while I am gone............

Sandi

A visit to Happy Joe's!

The past few days were really, really busy! Our son, Devlin and girlfriend, Stacia, came out for a visit and arrived Friday night. Devlin had a project he wanted help with and needed his "crafty momma" to help him. We got started on it that night and made our prototype. We were very pleased but I can't show you what we did until sometime in June and then I will post it as a tutorial. :-)
Stacia had the idea to go to Happy Joe's for lunch on Saturday and we would meet up with Collette (daughter), Daryl and Jacob. Great idea because it is really hard for all of us to get together now. Plus, I love pizza and especially a place where there is a pizza buffet!!! After our lunch, Jacob went in to play Skeet ball (or something like that) and then Grandpa gave him a lesson on how to get the ball in the holes for more points.










Jacob paid careful attention and you can see he's got just the hook needed to get that ball in there...........and yes, it was working! He got more points!!











Devlin and Stacia were playing some kind of pinball game and earning tickets that they gave to Jacob. I was new to this system but some of you probably know that you get tickets that you can redeem for prizes. Jacob is watching carefully as Stacia feeds the tickets into the ticket-eating machine. Jacob didn't spend his tickets that day but instead got a card that indicated how many were turned in and he can add more to it next time he visits. We all had a fun time and enjoyed the food and just getting caught up with each other!!!

We made a quick stop for some supplies for Devlin's project and Stacia picked up supplies for a class project she is working on. She is working on her Ph. D. at the Univ. of Minnesota and yes, the paper and chenille stems and colored foam pieces are all part of the project. I can't tell you what it is until after she takes it to her class.

This is Devlin working on the project we did together. Stacia is watching carefully as he drew up the final pattern template. We only had to tweek the prototype item just a bit. He has need for 15 of the items and he got them all cut out and I got started on my part which involved fabric and Heat 'n Bond lite fusible web. That's all I can tell you now as this has to be a surprise for the recipients and they will not get the items until early June.

One other thing kept me busy these past few days..........it was Kaiser. I'm not going to go into all the details but about three weeks ago he picked up some little bottle cap thing and started chewing on it and I couldn't get his mouth open to take it out. He kept chewing on it and eventually swallowed it. I told Steve what he did and he's eaten so many things that this was small in comparison. We forgot all about it. He started acting funny Thursday night, constantly wanting to go outside and eat grass which makes him throw up. And lo and behold, up came the bottle cap the next morning. He was acting pretty sick so we called the vet and he checked him out and gave him some Pepto Bismal and found no ill effects from the experience. He told Kaiser he probably should not eat "foreign objects"!! Kaiser was very subdued all weekend and slept most of the time. He was his old self by late this afternoon with nose in search of something to sniff or chew on!!

My last post was about CSN Rugs and their promotional offer. I think I have decided on the rug I'll choose. I'll e-mail the rep and will let you know after it's approved.

One last thing, my post the other day about frustration with blocks was because I simply do not do well when blocks involve triangles. And I seem to have an awful time with keeping my seams 1/4". I should probably buy a quarter inch foot for my sewing machine and I wouldn't have that problem anymore!!

That's all for now. We received much needed rain here and everything is turning green, green, green!!

Sandi

It's a Magic Carpet Ride!

Afternoon, Friends,

I've hosted several giveaways on my blog and met many wonderful blogging friends. Now something has come my way! I was contacted by a rep at CSN for a promotional offer and now I am going to be receiving a lovely rug! I can hardly wait for it to arrive!

I was already familiar with CSN Rugs as I had found it in my search for all things related to Penny Rugs (go to their site and you will find a large and lovely penny rug carpet!). Their rugs are totally "divine". I could find one for every room in my house!!!

The rug I will be receiving is one that I'll place in my entry. I love to have friends and family visit and it will be nice to have a beautiful rug on the floor as they step into the foyer. Now I just have to make up my mind which one to choose! Go take a peek at the rugs on their site and tell me the one that you like and we'll see if it's one I am thinking about. I'm going to visit (I'm looking at ones that are in the "Area Rugs" section ) and try to make up mind on which one to choose!!

Sandi

I'm a blockhead!

Yes, that's right. Having trouble with some blocks I am working on. Something simple is giving me a challenge. Otherwise it has been a good day. I got a free lunch today as the Historical Society hosted a luncheon for the volunteers and it was topped off with a really fine chocolate layer cake. And I mean reeeeaaaallllly fine!! ;-) It was nice to meet some of the other volunteers and great to be appreciated! :-)
After the lunch was over, I went just a few blocks to the Women's Correctional Facility for an afternoon of card crafting. I brought lots of pretty ribbons, papers, pens, and glitter so that the women could make Mother's Day cards. Every one was very appreciative of the opportunity to make something personal for their mother or grandmother. And even though I was very tired when I left, I felt very good as I do every time I leave there. And it's not because I am glad that I am not in there because that old saying "there but for the grace of God go I" is pretty true......No, it's because I made a teeny tiny difference not only to the women but to the people who will receive their cards. I love the ripple effect that you can get from this kind of thing, even though I never really know exactly what that effect is. I just know that I come away feeling like my time matters. And in this busy world when time flies too fast, I think that's a good thing.
Speaking of time, I was thinking a couple of hours ago that I would go to bed early because I am so tired. Then I started putzing with these blocks that I am working on and I cannot believe how challenged I am by some simple blocks. Perhaps I should go to bed and when I start over in the morning and perhaps it will all go more smoothly. Sure hope so!!
Sandi

Little gifts and more!

Last Saturday at my gathering of quilting friends, a few of them brought gifts. I consider their friendship a gift in itself but I never turn down anything related to fabric!!! My friend, Carol M, brought this little box that once held Godiva chocolates and was now filled with much more long-lasting treats.........beautiful lace trims!!

These narrow laces were long and perhaps were made for table edgings or nightgowns and never used. Can anyone tell me if that is crochet in the lace shown above? The work is very fine and none of us knew for sure how it might have been made.

These larger trim pieces were probably the edging on pillowcases. They are very soft and luxurious is the word that comes to mind when I try to describe the feel of the handiwork on these edgings.

Cathy brought me a Sunbonnet Sue book and thought I might have it but hadn't ever seen this one. Now others are wanting it, too. LOL!! Cashews from Arlis to keep me nourished when it's late like it is right now. And Joan brought this great product for laundering quilts and linens and Lavonne gave me the tulip notepad which has already been put to good use. Thanks, Friends!!!

Now, I am behind on just about everything these days and these photos are proof of that. Two weeks ago or more, I mentioned that I had found some wool and this is it. I ordered it up from the Amana Colonies (in Kalona, Iowa near Iowa City) and it is soooooooooooo plush and divine. When the weather warms up, I am going to do some dyeing and will post about it here on my blog.

And then when the wool has been dyed lots of fun colors, I am going to be using it for a series of penny rug and wool applique projects.

And to stitch the penny rugs, I am going to be using this wonderful palette of threads that I received several days ago from The Gentle Art. Click here to learn more about their threads. I love the colors and can hardly wait to start the projects that I see in my mind for all that wool and all that thread. It's just like being a kid in a candy store!!

Just a little BOM info..........I am preparing to make some changes in the posting of the BOM blocks and it will make it very easy for those of you who wish to get patterns for past months. I will be posting the info on this on May 1st and will follow with the posting of the May blocks on May 8th.

That's all for tonight.

Have a good day.

Sandi

A Gathering of Friends!

Saturday started off sunny and then it got cloudy and cool. We didn't mind because there was plenty of laughter and sunshine once all my friends arrived for the potluck and stitching fun. The food was so good that Pat (on the left) said that we should put together a cookbook!

Ah, yes, food glorious food!!! Everything was delicious. There were roasted vegetables, spinach guiche, barbecued beans, Chex mix, deviled eggs, pasta salads, broccoli salad and potato salad. Sound good. You bet. But wait there was dessert......oatmeal cake, little eclairs, raspberry jello graham cracker pie (yummy), chocolate cake, cinnamon bread, cookies and it was all delicious!!

And when we finished eating, Collette drew names for a couple of doorprizes that we put together. She found the cute little bag you see and I filled it with some pastel fabrics that would be good for a tablerunner. I found the tulip bag and filled it with matching stuff (yes, I was shopping at Dollar Tree) plus some pretty purply fat quarters from a new selection at Hancock fabrics. Plus, we had a little notepad for everyone and a bag filled with chocolates and caramels.

And the winner of the little bag was Lois who is 94 years young and was so excited to have won!! The stitching she brought along to work on was a crazy quilt block but she was more interested in what everyone else was working on. :-) And Gretchen won the purple tulip goodies and the first thing she reached into the bag and pulled out was the box with the fat quarters! :-)

Then it was time for "Show 'n Tell...............Carol is sharing the round robin project that she just added borders to. The southwest was unique for us midwesterners. :-)
I love this picture of Carol and Adella - relaxed, smiling, stitching. :-) By the way, it looks like snow outside those windows but it was just the glare of the sun.

Jane showed us her flannel baby quilt that is made from scraps from Pandora (who couldn't make it because of a dislocated shoulder). She also shared a quilt that she made for a project called Binky Blankets. I need to call her and get more detailed info on this donation project and will post it for all of you, too.
Carol shared this unusual quilt that is so striking! She is explaining how she did it and I would tell you but I can't fully remember. Once she shared the technique it sounded like it would be easier to do than it looked.

Gretchen surprised me when she shared finished Redwork blocks of my Snowman BOM. It was cool to see my sketch come to life in thread. :-)

We spent a grand afternoon visiting and getting caught up on what's happening with all of us. As noted - I am blessed with the best friends!!

It was about 4:00 when everyone started to leave and before we finished cleaning up, Collette took a pic of me on the front porch. I hung a quilt there and one on the railing next to the door, too. When I saw the porch in the plans for this house, I knew I would hang quilts from it. :-)

I almost forgot to tell you about the couple of little surprises.....one was some little gifts that friends brought but I forgot to take the pic so will post later. Carol brought some cool vintage lace and I am hoping some of you can give us a clue how it's made. Then my husband provided a surprise for us when he took Kaiser out for a walk, then let him loose when he came back in the house. Kaiser took a run into the living room ready to greet everyone or eat any leftovers. Jan grabbed him and I took him back to my husband. He thought it was funny. I was not amused.

Jacob spent the afternoon playing and was so good we hardly knew he was here. I had something fun in store for him for Saturday night and I'll post about that on my Grandma Skeeter blog tomorrow. Time now to call it a night.

Sandi

Update on Emma's Hope quilt........

All the blocks are in except one and it should be here any day. This is a possible lay-out of the blocks. All the 12 1/2" blocks will be bordered by the 6 1/2" blocks. I have extra 6 1/2" blocks that are currently filling spots where 12 1/2" blocks can go and I'll adjust when I receive the last block or blocks.

There will actually be two quilts. The one above is the quilt that will be auctioned. The one below will be a small wall quilt for Emma and her family. There are reasons why I chose which blocks went to which quilt and when it's all finished I'll explain why and post the names of who made which block.

In the meantime, I took a photo of each person's blocks with the envelope it came in so that I have that as reference for who made what block. I was hoping to get this all sewn together before I go to Iowa next week, but I don't think I will have time. I may get some of it done on Thursday of this week but that's the only day I'll have that I can work on it. When I get back, I can get it sewn together and then send it on to the church ladies who will hand quilt it. I believe they said they need a week. The fundraiser is set for May 30th.

Happy Birthday Girl!

The last couple days have been very busy as I prepared for a gathering of my favorite quilting friends and for my daughter's birthday. I set the date for the gathering way last fall when I realized that her birthday would fall on a weekend. We had a great time visiting, eating, sharing quilting stories and show and tell and little gifts, and just a fun and relaxing afternoon. I am so blessed with such wonderful friends!!
Collette and Jacob (my grandson) arrived Friday evening and left late this afternoon, so I'm a wee bit tired tonight. It was a really busy weekend with some unexpected surprises that I'll tell you about in my next post! I'll also share photos of our quilt gathering and some "show 'n tell" but right now I'm just going to post my baby girl's smiling face as we sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

I wanted her to have a birthday she would always remember because as the years go by, well, sometimes we like to forget birthdays!! The years fly by so fast and I can't help but hum the tune to Sunrise, Sunset.........."Is this the little girl I carried" ......... click on this..... Sunrise,SunsetLyrics ....... and you can sing along. :-)

I'll see you tomorrow evening. Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!
Sandi

I had to google the song as only lyrics were in the link above and found the wedding scene from Fiddler on the Roof of "Sunrise, Sunset" and it's right here if you want to take a listen. :-)

Steve's Race Quilt

See that quilt top in my blog header? ..... edit .......I changed header pics, so go here to see the quilt top. :-) It was made by my great Aunt Bell sometime in the 1920's, all stitched by hand but never made into a real quilt. I often wondered why she never finished it. She made three quilt tops and in the late 70's my brother, sister and I each got one quilt top. My mother finished the butterfly top and my sister had the U.B. church ladies quilt her top which was Double Wedding Ring. I've never finished mine and my reason is silly but if I finish it, I won't see all those hand stitches that she made. Someday, though, I need to put needle and thread, batting and backing in place and as they say in NASCAR "git 'er done".
That same phrase could be used on the quilt top in the photo below..........

I made this quilt top for my husband in 2005 and gave it to him for Christmas. Then we moved and I packed the quilt away. I almost forgot about it but I am organizing in my sewing room and there it was. My husband is an avid NASCAR fan. Can you tell who his favorite drivers are? I think it's time I finished this quilt. I've decided I need to "git 'er done" by Memorial Day weekend so he can have it for the nap he'll take while he's watching the Indianapolis 500. I also need to finish it because if I finish this quilt then he will not mind one bit about all the other quilting projects I have going. I had thought about having it machine quilted but can't afford it right now, so, I am going to see what I can do to quilt it myself. I have only done small quilts so say a prayer that I don't mess it up and that I can get it done by Memorial Day weekend!! :-)

That's all for tonight. Have a good Friday!

Sandi

Sunny Day!

No better way to describe today than the words "Sunny Day"!! After the long winter here, it felt like summer as we reached 60 degrees here in Minnesota! I couldn't concentrate on the cleaning and sewing projects in my sewing room because it was so nice outside. I kept thinking it was the perfect day to go to Toody's for an ice cream cone. Finally, I just decided "why not"? I made a quick stop at Bittersweet Coffee to drop off empty egg cartons and let Josh the owner, know that I'll bring a new quilt in for display next week. Then I went to the grocery store to pick up some ground beef for supper and a copy of the local paper. And then, I crossed the street to Toody's and ordered up a small Chocolate Almond Fudge cone and walked out into the sunshine and up the street to window shop in the windows of Wit's End Antiques. And then I noticed that a building that has been vacant is now occupied and filled with vintage goodies and there was a sign that said "open Friday". Hey, I'll be there!! I didn't think to take a picture as I was too busy eating that ice cream cone. Fully satisfied, I returned to my sewing room and got some work done. :-)
Only one picture to share today and I hope it makes you laugh or at least smile...................

I just had to share this. A few days ago, I was posting a comment in reply to one that Pat made on my blog and couldn't help but really laugh out loud when I saw the word verification that I had to type. Gee whiz, how did the computer know that "messes" described the state of my sewing room!!! Thanks goodness the rest of the house doesn't look like my sewing room does! I have several projects going at once and I am making progress but oh, what chaos there is during that progress!! LOL!!!

Back to the "messes"!!

Have a good day!

Sandi

One last Easter egg to share......

and it comes from my swap partner, Kathy in the Spring Egg Swap that I hosted on my Yahoo Wooly Buddies Group. Those who signed up to participate were sent the little pattern I designed for 16 different Easter eggs (they're the ones on my Easter egg trees). The pattern was for making an egg pin that is smaller than those shown on my Easter egg trees so this was a challenge to sew such tiny pieces. Some members really rose to that challenge and created some lovely little Easter pins. You can see that Kathy found the perfect little piece of white wool for the sheep on the pin she made for me. Then she stitched lots of little French knot flowers!!

And then she made me a larger egg with my name on it and I have it hanging on my sewing room door now so that if you were to come upstairs you would know ...... that's Sandi's sewing room! :-) She also packed in some goodies and that lovely fat quarter in that pretty little box. I've thanked her more than once but I'll say it again - Thanks, Kathy!

If you want to learn more about working with wool and/or woolfelt and making penny rugs and other projects just click here and you can join our Wooly*Buddies group. It's a fun group!

That's it for Easter this year. There's only one chocolate egg left but there are a few Easter cupcakes in the freezer that my grandson can enjoy when he comes over this next weekend. I'm thinking it's time to start thinking tulips, gardening, quilting friends, and my daughter's birthday which is coming up this weekend! There's a fun weekend in store so I'll be sure to share pictures and stories. :-)

I took the blocks for Emma's quilt down to the post office today so that I could show them to Connie, Emma's grandma. There are a lot of blocks and I am thinking there will be enough to two quilts, one large and one smaller. I've received word that at least three packages with blocks are in the mail and heading my way. I had planned to lay out the blocks today but will wait til the end of the week as the last of the blocks should arrive by then. Thank you to all of you that have shared blocks for this project. I will post pictures of the quilt tops as soon as I get them done. The quilting will be done in May and then the fund-raising event is May 30th.

One last thing........I have spent a lot of time in recent days fiddling with computer problems and hopefully new virus software will help some issues I was having. We also had an intermittent internet issue (plus loss of phone service and weak cable signal) which was resolved this afternoon by a Mediacom technician. I think. :-) Anyway, the technician was very thorough and took his time to troubleshoot the problems I described and everything seems to be working fine now!

Have a lovely Spring day today!

Sandi

The Real Egg

No plastic eggs here.........these are the real thing!!

I've shown you my miniature Easter Gift Boxes (previous post), but before I made those I made a lot of scenes in real eggs. I was in my early 20's when I decorated the eggs for my first egg tree. Still have all those little egg baskets made from half an eggshell and covered in gingham, then filled with flowers, chicks and bunnies to hang on the branch I gathered in the woods. I also made lots of covered whole eggs like the ones seen in these photos. Sometimes I painted them and sometimes I covered them with fabric. By cutting the fabric on the bias you can get a good fit around the egg. Adding an oval of fabric at the back and then glueing trim around it will hide all your seams. I always have odd bits of jewelry (never throw away earrings that are missing their mate!) and trims that I can use to embellish the eggs. The eggs pictured above were made in the late 1970's.

I still make decorated eggs occasionally but usually as gifts for friends or family. I have a whole box full that are ready to go as gifts to my friends for Christmas next year! The last time I sold any was years ago when my doctor at the time, learned what I had made and ordered almost two dozen for gifts for his friends and family. :-)

That's all for the Easter Eye-Candy for today. I'll see you next week.

It's church in the morning and then we are going to Arlington Haus for brunch. The food there is really good. Can't wait. As much as I enjoy cooking, I love it when someone else cooks!! :-)

Have a blessed Easter filled with JOY!!

Sandi

Eggs-tra-Special Easter Egg Treats!!

HAPPY EASTER!!! - HAPPY SPRING!!!

Hope you are all enjoying sunshine and a nice weekend, although I know that storms have caused major problems in some parts of the country. It's sunny here in Minnesota and so nice to go out without a coat!!
Now, just as I did at Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you my little miniature scenes and these are my Easter Gift Boxes.................. however, blogger is really making it difficult today! For some reason, photos start to load and then the process stops. I have loaded off and on for over an hour just to get these pics posted! I took individual photos of each so that you can see the details so you can double click on the photos to enlarge and see the details in the boxes. The largest box is only about 8 to 9" tall and the items in the boxes are on a scale of 1" = 1'. I used lots of clay, bits of ribbon, rims and all sorts of odds and ends to create the little scenes. :-)

Inside the yellow Gift Box there is a table made of an orange concentrate can and covered with a daintly little tablecloth. Those are real tiny twigs that I painted white for the egg tree. The little eggs are made from Fimo clay and so are the pink bunny on the floor of the scene and the "chocolate egg" on the table and the imitation "Cadbury" egg. I used white craft paint to simulate the white and yellow creme center for the eggs. The basket is made from needlepoint canvas that has been softened in warm water, then shaped over a pill bottle, fastened in place with a rubber band until dry, and then excess fabric was trimmed away. A bit of paint adds color and embroidery floss was used for trim and to wrap the wire handle.

While most of the items in the boxes are just whatever I could create from odds and ends, the little rabbit in the pink dress is the design of Donna Parker. I was a member of the Midwest Miniature Guild for more than 20 years and at one of our workshops we were all taught how to make Donna's little bunny folk. Really sweet, isn't she? It's just a wire amature and then wrapped in fleece and dressed up.

The dress was created using a product by Dureen Ruff called "The Mini Pleater" which allows you to place a length of fabric in this mold of sorts and then press and Poof!! you have pleated fabric. I made several of these for family and friends because they were just so cute.

I pictured the three smaller Gift Boxes all in one photo.........

There are more Easter Baskets and pom-pom bunnies and chocolate bunnies made from Fimo. Oh, and the little chicks are the tiniest of pom-poms that have little dots of paint for their eyes and teeny tiny beaks and feet cut from orange construction paper. piec

My favorite of all the Easter Gift Boxes is the little gray bunny made from two pom poms. I glued them to a felt base and then with sharp scissors I clipped and sculpted until I had the shape of a bunny. Then I added felt ears and a little white cottontail. His little eyes are black beads and his mouth is formed with black thread stiffened with Tacky glue. As noted, the little imitation Cadbury egg is made from Fimo clay. :-)

The Easter Boxes, and those shown at Valentines Day, were all created in 1991. I entered them in the Scott County Fair and earned a Blue Ribbon on the set of five. I also earned a Blue Ribbon on the Valentine boxes. Come October, I'll show you the Blue Ribbon Halloween boxes and more in December that took a Grand Champion Ribbon. :-) I did these for my kids to have some piece of what I made with my hands. I had made a lot of the boxes for sale when I was working parttime at a nearby elementary school. I set a goal to make a holiday set for my own family and after that, I never created any more for sale. Lots of time and energy goes into the boxes and when I transitioned to working full time for a computer company, it was no longer viable to make them and sell them.

Hope you have enjoyed this little tour of my miniature Gift Boxes. Have a lovely weekend!

Sandi

The Easter Egg Tree!

I love eggs! Like to eat them and love to decorate real eggs. I like to make eggs from felt, too and so I wanted to show you my egg tree from 2004. I designed this little egg pin pattern and enlarge the eggs a bit to create the ones on the tree. I didn't make all of them, though. I asked my friends to make some for me. I gave them the pattern and asked them to make an egg for my egg tree. I love looking at it because it reminds me of those friends and all the fun we shared while stitching. This one is actually in a large gold picture frame (about 24" x 28").

In 2005, I made another egg tree wall hanging. I made this one as a sample for National Nonwoven's booth at Fall Market that year. This time, I made all the eggs and the bunny in the flower pot base.

I recently gave this pattern to the members of a swap on my Wooly Buddies group. We had a fun exchange with each of us making a little egg as a pin and than adding other goodies to send to our partner. I would show you a picture but blogger is not letting me load the one I want. I am just not having good luck with the computer these past days. :-( Anyway, the pattern for the eggs, the tree and lots of other projects involving these eggs is "in the works" as a small pattern booklet and will be available this fall, 2009. I'll keep you posted on when it will be available for sale.

Time for lunch. Back in a few with more eggs-tra-special egg projects!

Sandi

The Great Easter Basket Adventure!

It started simply enough..........Last October our women's meeting at church was all about planning the calendar for 2009. Everyone volunteers until the calendar is filled. I said I would do a program for April on Easter traditions and then said "and then let's all bring an empty Easter basket and fill them for donation to the Foodshelf". Good plan!! I thought we might end up with a little more than a dozen baskets because there are only about a dozen who regularly attend the meetings. I had lots of eggs and grass on hand and thought I would buy candy and some little toys for the baskets.
Fast forward to just three weeks ago, when Carmen our Guild president said "I think I'll mention it to the congregation" and so she did. The next Sunday, several people brought empty Easter baskets to church and then someone handed me a $10 check and another person handed me an envelope with $10 cash and both intended for candy and gifts for the baskets. An hour after church that day, Carmen called to say someone had made an anonymous donation of $50 to go toward the Easter Basket project!! Oh, my word! Wow, and we hadn't even had our Guild meeting yet!!
So come Thursday, April 2nd, we held our meeting and attendance was 20 that day and here's what everyone brought.............eggs, candy, grass, toys, and a whole laundry basket filled with yo-yos, card games, and more that were donated from a company that is no longer in business. It was too much stuff to fill the 27 baskets that were donated at the church so I took them home to my dining room table. That night, I walked around and around my table evenly distributing the candy and treats among the baskets. The next day, I went shopping and got 17 more baskets, more candy, grass and eggs and added them to the pile on my table. More walking around and around the table (I actually got dizzy) evenly distributing the goodies. And here's what we ended up with............ 44 filled Easter baskets that I delivered to our county Foodshelf last Saturday morning! They were very much appreciated!

Two views, one from each end of the table. I filled each egg with chocolates and each basket got at least two toys, plus bubbles, and candy, some stickers and all the goodies kids enjoy finding in an Easter basket!! :-)

On Palm Sunday, I made an announcement and thanks for everyone's generosity and let the little ones know that we were only assisting the Easter Bunny here, not taking his job away or anything! LOL! We are going to do this again next year and need to put together five times as many baskets to reach the children in need in our county but we can do it. The Easter basket is not the reason for Easter but to a child receiving that basket is a special rite of spring. Giving a child a smile is a real joy..........which reminds me, when Sister Ann at the Foodshelf wrote in the receipt book the weight of the baskets, she noted "59 lbs. of Easter Joy!!" And the bonus in that is that all items are weighed and logged in because there is some kind of matching funds program. This whole adventure was a great deal of fun and we all remembered the joy of getting that Easter basket, dressing up on cold spring mornings, and then off to church for Easter service. So, if you celebrate Easter, may this weekend be one of real joy with friends and family and many blessings!!

Sandi

Cupcakes!!!

I made some treats for Easter and you can read more about it if you pop over to my "Tea and Stitches" blog. There is also a cute little Easter basket project that can be done many different ways. Take a peek.........just click here

An update on my BOM mailings........I am caught up to February and working through those who sent e-mails in March. I may have missed some of you so please send me an e-mail if you have not received any blocks by next Monday.

An update on the Emma blocks........I have received blocks from Claire, Debi, Emma, Linda, and more plus some local quilters have now contributed blocks. I am only waiting on blocks from four bloggers and if I don't receive them by Friday I will send an e-mail to see if blocks are being sent or not. Thanks to all of you that contributed blocks. I will post more on this after Easter.

Last week at this time, I was preparing a message on Easter traditions and thoughts that I was to present at our Women's Guild meeting (held last Thursday). My next post will be about the awesome story of what transpired last week. All I'll say right now is that we really helped the Easter Bunny out a lot this year! :-)
More soon.
Sandi