Happy Easter!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter with lots of food, family & relaxation :)  I had too much fun and forgot to take any pictures all day!  But I'm happy to report I got to spend time with both my mother's and father's families, ate WAAAYYY too much good food and finished it off with a nice long nap & dinner with my siblings before they returned to their respective cities.  If only the holiday could have lasted a tad longer.
How about everyone else?

Embroidered Curtains: Back on the Wagon

Husband & I bought white curtains at Target late last year with every intention of my embroidering them to look somewhat like World Market's (and while we were still in the decorate-our-first-home-frenzy).  After the holidays ended and the dreary, unseasonably mild winter set in, I started seriously doubting my ability to sit down and complete this undertaking of mine.  *Seriously doubting*.

Until my husband and I paid a visit to our neighbor a at the beginning of March.  It didn't start out as a crafting venture; nor was I expecting to find inspiration - but isn't that how it always happens?  Finding the most fuel for inspiration without every looking for it?

The next day, with a resolve to at least try a little, small kit, I came across a bag of 5 little embroidery kits at our local Salvation Army for $2.  I couldn't not try it at that price, I figured.  And since I was driving my gentleman around for the afternoon (and with nothing else in my "bag of tricks" purse), I set to reading the instructions & organizing the threads.  I didn't expect to begin (as I didn't have a hoop with me), but there was nothing else to do.  So I did!


And I couldn't believe how easy it was!  The instructions lead me step by step, where to begin, what stitches to use - with illustrated instructions for each stitch on the back!  This was my favorite discovery, and what kept my interest, "I can't wait to try stitch 'x'," etc.

This little kit gave me the biggest motivational kick I needed to hop back on the wagon with those curtains.  :]  Now I just need to get back to it & master those basic stitches a little better so I can start those curtains.....

Sweater - DONE

Yay!  I can finally say, after 3.5 years, that my first sweater is FINISHED!!  It took 3 years just to finish it the first time:

On vacation in Michigan


but when I went to try it on it was too small :(  The waist was too high, the armpits too snug, the sleeves were short but do-able and the neck....  I couldn't even fit my head through it! haha.  I think this is what I get for going with the measurements and NOT checking my gauge. ....

So this time I checked the fit more often as I went along since I didn't write down the other sizes when I copied the pattern those years ago. ... Oops....




After all is said, done, & tried on it still doesn't look or fit like this...


But I guess I'm ok with that.  The only thing I would consider ripping it out a third time would be to elongate the yoke a little for the armpit's sake.  It is a bit of a tight & high-fitting in its placement, but it sure is a lot of work just to unravel all those different colors.  ;)

*PS - Please excuse the lack of posts lately, unfortunately the new Smartphone hasn't been the great blessing I was hoping; it is more like a bigger distraction FROM productivity, :-P  And it doesn't help that it is feeling like spring & the garden has been calling my name.... hehe.  Anyone else feeling the pull from the outdoors?

Best Snack:

Greek Yogurt

+

Little Red Wagon granola (original flavor: cinnamon raisin)

+

Cherry Republic dried cherries

+

local honey drizzled over top

=


HEAVEN :]

Ok, I guess this was the anti-climatic shot; but it was SOOO good!  As soon as I had everything loaded on top, I couldn't resist mixing it in the top layer of yogurt and eating it right away.  The bestest, yummy dinner ever! :)  
Let me know if you try it.

Magnets & Ear Warmers Everywhere!

This is what all those new ear warmers looked like, all lined up, waiting to be displayed in the shop "window."


A few already listed...

 

It doesn't happen very often, but its fun having so much [for me] lined up; kind of looks "primary" in all their solid color blocks.

And all these magnets...


I only photographed half of the 17 completed pairs.  I'll either save the other half for a craft/ house show or list them once some of these start selling.  


I was thinking, not only could you use these for the dishwasher, but the washing machine and dryer (if you share the chore with someone else).  They are magnetic, too!


Anyone else feeling accomplished and/or spring fever? :]

A New Challenge & Project: Embroidered Curtains

My husband and I came across these curtains at World Market back in July, a month before we had even put an offer a house (so why are we going to buy curtains when we don't have a house to hang them in, right?).  Well, it turns out we can't get these curtains out of our head.  And I couldn't choke down the idea of paying $35/a panel when we needed 4 panels for the living room, so I decided to embroider them myself.  A fun challenge, right?  I've always wished I could embroider like every other "proper" lady anyway, so why not finally take the plunge? -- (all of this was decided late October/ early November 2011 - well before I had even picked up embroidery for the first time).

The last time I cross-stitched I was 9 years old in Alberta, Canada for a family vacation and my dad was teaching me the craft (he's a surgeon and needle-points & cross-stitches as a hobby).  So I thought it was high-time I resurrected this talent.

My designs, drawn with crayon on printer paper while babysitting late last year:


While searching for patterns (because who knew it was so hard to come up with your own pattern, not to mention the color combinations because we want to have about 5 or 6 colors present in these curtains; they are to be the focal point and jumping-off point for the rest of the living room), I came across Design*Sponge's entry about doing just this!  I'm glad I'm not too crazy in my undertaking, but she doesn't embroider the whole curtain... so we'll see how far I get as a novice.  ;)

Out Takes

I'm not usually one to post out-takes of my "photo shoots," especially when they involve my face, but some of these turned out so cute, I couldn't resist sharing in some way.  I hope you won't mind a narcissistic post just this once.


Getting a detail shot...


"Did I get it in the frame?"....


This is what my arm looked like after getting all those ear warmers photographed.  They each have a pair, too.  Are you ready to pick out your favorite? ;)


If you enjoyed this post, let me know if I should do more like it.