For the past 4-5 years now, I have been spending a whole lot of my free time -which is to say the bulk of my time, really -doing all kinds of embroidery stuff. Tablecloths, tabletoppers, pillow cases, tea towels and the like, along with even doing a couple of items that required framing.
Then, this winter, I switched off the embroidery stuff for a while -opting to do some reading for a change and also, some knitting and crochet work. The latter items there were for a specific event -the birth on February 1st of my step-great-granddaughter, little Miss Lola Rae.
Last summer, when we first learned there was going to be a baby arriving in January/February of this year, I broke out the knitting needles and yarn and made a little baby cardigan in a very pale blue -suitable for a little boy or girl and gave it to Katie prior to Lola's birth. Made me feel really good too when the first time Katie brought the baby down to the house, she had that little sweater on her!
Then I dug out a pattern I had used oh, 36 years ago when my youngest was just a baby and I had purchased some yarn in a very, very pale mint green. I loved the feel of this yarn -it felt kind of like a nice furry sort of eyelash yarn but wasn't that. I still haven't figured out how to describe it. But anyway, I proceeded to make a hooded cardigan out of some of that yarn for Lola along with a pair of baby booties. (Something else I hadn't made in many, many years!)
Then I put up the knitting needles and got out the crochet hook and made a crib blanket for her too. This was probably the easiest of the projects I did for Lola!
I read a couple more books too along the way and then about 3 weeks ago, I decided it was time to revert back to the embroidery again for a spell.
Over the past three weeks, I made an item that is completed as far as stitching goes but it is a sampler-type item that I finished the stitching on it -appropriately -on April 6th, which is my older daughter's birthday and this sampler was intended as a gift for her birthday. Now, to get over to Michael's and select a frame and matte for it and then, fight to get it stretched out so it is tight in the frame and give it to my daughter. It isn't a counted cross stitch sampler -just regular embroidery (stamped) and cross stitch and it says, "Daughter -Always on my mind, Forever in my heart." I showed it to her when she was here for a brief visit this past Saturday to get her thoughts on what type of frame should would like and what color she thinks would show it off best in the matte then too.
Since the 6th of April though, I've been back embroidering other things and thus far, finished a very pretty tabletopper in a bright red with stars and/or snowflakes on it -kind of a Scandinavian-type of Christmas design, finished one set of tea towels and have half of another set of tea towels done now too!
Tomorrow now, I will take a break from the embroidery for a day or so because I have a request from an old friend from my high school days to bake some Swedish Limpa Rye bread for her. She told me she would like to purchase 5 loaves of the bread if that is possible for me to make that many and it just so happens, a batch of that dough will generally yield 5 nice sized loaves of what we call around here
"Kaka" bread. Most of those who make Kaka bread here make the Swedish sweet white flat bread and although I do make that once in a while, my grandkids and the whole family really, now prefers the Rye kakas.
So, that will keep me busy most of the day tomorrow now.
The baking will net me enough money to invest in another large bag of the special rye flour I get for them -with a couple bucks leftover -enough to go buy a beer if I so desire but most likely that won't happen as I rarely venture out to any of the local pubs here any more.
Then it will be back to the embroidery as I am trying to finish as many of the kits as I have stashed away in the hopes of maybe this year, actually getting an Etsy account set up to display the needlecraft stuff and who knows, perhaps even sell a couple items here and there in the process then too!
I also found some websites last night too with instructions on how to take two or three plates and make a tiered serving dish by getting some candlestick holders or even coffee mugs to glue in place between the plates to make the tiers. A local lady had made one of these -a three-tier server -that was really pretty and she brought some type of finger sandwiches or cupcakes on it to my neighbor's daughter's wedding shower awhile back and when she went to leave and someone pointed out to her that she hadn't picked up the plate she had brought that food in on, she replied that we (the women of our church) could keep it as if she needed another one, she would get plates and just make one!
Well, the women of our church group were so taken by this tiered plate that we thought if we could get instructions on how to put one together, perhaps we could gather up some suitable plates and amke a couple of these things and then, sell them at our annual bazaar in November!
So, today when I was in town, I went to the Goodwill Store and checked out their dishes and such to see if I could find something that would work to make into a tiered plate and I came home with two large dinner plates with two matching salad plates along with to clear glass candlestick holders to use as the separators between the plates. I didn't realize it until I got the plates home and was washing them that they are made by Pfaltzgraff and the pattern is called "Perennials" a very pretty springy type pattern. I'm hoping to try my luck at putting these plates together with some kind of epoxy and see how they look.
Maybe, I'll even find time again to take some photographs and post them here too of my latest ventures into the wonderful world of crafts!
No comments:
Post a Comment