Needle Punching a Bee Skep

I love crafting and have tried my hand at many a projects over the years. The one thing that I am not good at though is drawing. Sadly my drawings consist of stick people and even those look like that of a preschooler. Thankfully there are people like Michelle Palmer (as well as many others) that are fabulous at what they do and they sell and share their creations with us. For without those sketches I would have nothing to create.
Here is my latest. It is a punch needle pattern by Michelle Palmer. She has a total of seven different bee skeps to choose from.  This is what it will look like when finished.

As soon as I finish the bee skep I'll be starting on the American Rooster Heart Flag. If you would like to see some other goodies by Michelle you can find her at Michelle Palmer - Petals and Palettes.

Christmas Creations

Christmas is almost upon us and I've been working every day to get a few homemade gifts completed. They are finally finished so now I've just got the wrapping to do and my baking.
The photo above is the snowman coaster in punch needle. I am so pleased at how it turned out. I added a white crocheted edging around it and love it!  If you are interested in the pattern it can be found at Primitives by the Light of the Moon. Ginger so kindly shares her doodles with us.

I needed a unique gift for a Snoopy lover who has every imaginable Snoopy collectible there is. So I found a favorite graphic of Snoopy and Woodstock and traced it onto my fabric. A few days later and this is what it looked like. 

Last but not least is this stitched Christmas heart. I made several of these in a variety of colors and fabrics. Very quick to stitch up and sew cute.

All of my projects are finished and now it's time to start my holiday baking. 
Are you all ready for the holidays or are you still rushing around to get it all done in the next few days?

Thinking of SPRING!

As I sit here watching yet another snowy weekend forecast I can only dream of the arrival of spring. 
I envision digging in the garden. 
Shall I try a few new plants this year? 
Should I expand my little garden plot to allow for just a few more veggies? 
The answer I know is YES!

But for now, those are only my dreams for it looks as if winter is still here to stay.

So I guess, I'll continue ready my gardening books and looking at the seed catalogs.

And the only flowers that I'll be seeing anytime soon are those that I can create with my hands.

Wishing you all a warm and toasty weekend.
Stay safe on the roads and let's hope for snow and NOT ice.

A Wasted Week

It's been one of those weeks  for me and I sure hope it's not a sign of what the rest of my year is gonna be like.

New Years Eve kicked off with me being under the weather with a cold, cough and fever. Within a day or two I thought it (virus/flu bug) was moving on but I was so wrong.
It decided to turn around and bite me again and it just knocked the energy right out of me. So needless to say it's been a LONG week of wasted days. Just too tired to do any more than I actually HAD to do.
Unfortunately the schooling, cleaning and cooking still had to be done but once that was over I hit the couch with my new needlepunch project...only to fall asleep each night while working on it.
However I did manage to get it all done.

This picture doesn't do much justice for it but it really is cute in person.

Today I feel like a little bit of energy is returning so I've been busy in the kitchen baking pineapple cake and homemade pizzas.
While the cake was baking I traced out another needle punch project. It's a good bit larger than the last one I did so it's a good thing that I picked an Easter theme because it may take me till Easter to finish it.

                                   It's a Painted Quilt Pattern from Kaaren.

I'm also gonna start on a new BOM quilt that Jenny of Elefantz is sharing with us. I've got the colors in my head that I plan on using for this one. I've just got to get to the fabric store to pick them out.....so much fun!

You can join in on the BOM quilt too, just click on the Promises and Borders tag on my right sidebar.

Well that's all that's been going on for my first week of this new year.
This weekend promises cake and ice cream as Sunday is Gage's 12th birthday. Maybe I'll have some party pics to share next week.
Have a great weekend!

First Flakes and Freezing Temps.

It's a cold and snowy evening!

Hi everyone!
It's been a few days since I last posted. I came down with a nasty headcold with fever and cough and it about whipped my butt for a day or two but I'm feeling better now.

Since today was the last day of our Christmas break I figured I'd better get caught up on a few things before we begin school tomorrow.  Though the kids are wishing for their first snow day of the season. It is snowing but no major amount. Just enough to make the roads a bit slippery and enough to excite the kids.

In the kitchen today:

I baked a few loaves of homemade oatmeal bread (recipe is here) as well as a blackberry cobbler.
For dinner some oven baked chicken.

While everything was cooking I took a little time to work on some sewing jobs.

Black valances created from a full size sliding door curtain.
Rainbow leapard curtains made from bed sheets and I need to add inside pockets and pouches to a few coal mine safety vests for a friend.
I managed to get the black curtains done and that was it. Hopefully I'll get started on the other two projects this week and get them finished.

I didn't get any crafting done the few days that I was sick so yesterday I tried to make up some lost time.

I added several more rows to my "neapolitan afghan".

And I began a new Valentine needle punch. Pattern is from Chestnut Junction!

Hope you all are staying warm. Our temperatures are going to dip into the 20's for the first time this season with wind chills in the teens. Not much better tomorrow. Good days to stay indoor all warm and cozy while working on more sewing.
Have a great evening!