Spring Stitchin'

Hi All!

I hope that spring is finding you well! It's weird & wonderful here in northern California this year, Saturday it was a blistering 91 degrees which really seemed to come out of nowhere, now it's cooled off again and we're expecting rain tomorrow, odd... and lovely. I love a spring rain.

Last week, I felt a urgent need to stitch a chubby blue bird, I could think of nothing else until this wee birdie was stitched. Has that ever happened to you?

I found a graphic I liked from the Hoop Love Vintage Transfer group on Flickr, printed it out, transferred it onto fabric and got to stitching!

She's a cute little bird and handy with a needle.

I stitched the needle using the same silver thread that I used on the fisherman's net on my Wynken, Blynken & Nod piece, seen here. It's made by Kreinik and is SO much easier to use than the metallics made by my usual, go-to brand of floss, DMC. 

Hey, this little bird knows how to stitch! Look at her pretty little flowers, teehee. 

There, all done! Life can resume as normal now that I've got that bluebird out of my system.

I've been up to a few other crafty things lately too, and I hope to share those with you very soon. 

Sew! What have y'all been up to? Has the spring fever bug gotten to you yet? Do tell (and show if you have a link, I'd love to come over and see)! 

Ta ta for now!

oxo,

Lisa

Easter Pups

From our "bunnies" to yours, we're wishing you Easter blessings and as many chocolate eggs as you can handle!

Hop, hop, hop!

oxo,

Lisa

Boz & Lola

♥

Hoppy Easter

Hello dearlings!

Just scooting by to wish you all a very

Happy Easter Weekend!

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful, sunny weekend in my neck of the woods and I think I might like to play in the dirt a little, maybe start some seeds and maybe plant some strawberries.

Of course there will be some of my favorite chocolate eggs on Sunday, can't forget those! Maybe one of these too, yum-yum! 

Hope your Easter is as sweet as can be!

oxo,

Lisa

OMG Penguins!

Hello Lovelies!

Well, I think I should start with a little warning; look out - naughty words below!

This is my finished piece for the most recent Phat Quarter Swap, the theme of this swap was "It's Not The End Of The World". My send-to partner for this swap was my webby pal, Jo. Jo is a talented stitcher and a funny lady with a wicked sense of humor. I knew she wouldn't be scared off by a little cuss. And thank goodness, because let's face it, some things like poor Mr. Penguin here dropping his ice cream may not be the end of the world, but they sure are the shits, especially when a nearby wiseacre points and laughs at his misfortune.

 I told Jo that I trolled around in her pictures and discovered her love of penguins, especially her favorite the Rockhopper Penguin. These guys look so serious with their furrowed, bright yellow brows.

I printed off a few examples so I had a reference, then I just got my scissors and started cutting shapes.

 Like conversation & thought bubbles.

Here are a few detail shots... 

 

 

Dropped ice cream is tragic.

Here's how I finished the back... This was the first time I sewed the backing on. I'm not sure how I feel about the results. I like it in theory, but it didn't seem tight enough.

I had fun making this piece, and am so glad to report that it's arrived at its new home in New Zealand just this week, and Jo loves it. Yayyyyyyyy! Oh, the title of this post? Well, that came from Jo herself. When she sent me a message on Facebook, she said OMG OMG OMG, which really made me laugh because that's my reaction too when I love something. I knew I was going to have to use it here somehow. Thank you, Jo!

Oh! And I wanted to thank all of YOU too, for all the warm welcomes for our new little buddy, Boswell! He's settling in just fine, we're all adjusting nicely to each other. He's such a love bug!

Here he is acting a perfect angel with a handsome blue bow, and his favorite new toy, Froggy. He carries Froggy everywhere, squeaking and squeaking. Boz loves Froggy, thank you Auntie Jill!!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

oxo,

Lisa

Meet Boswell!

Hi All!

Happy, happy news to share with you today! We have added to our little critter family and the wee prince is dying to meet you! Remember I said I'd been busy this last few weeks? Well, I was keeping a little secret from you, embroidery wasn't all I was up to, I was also arranging an adoption!

Everyone, meet Boswell!

I found Boz via Petfinder, there are SO many dogs waiting for a forever home, and this little sweetie was one of them. Boswell came to us from a wonderful organization called BARK. 

Boz is a happy, lively little fella. He's all the good things about a small dog, and none of the bad. He's not yappy, he's not twitchy, he's cool, confident, relaxed and pretty darn great. Cute too, don'cha think?

 Oh, and did I mention fast as lightening? Yeah, he's quick!

It looks like he's flying in this picture.

And that tail! It's absurdly long and flowing. When he runs, it looks like someone's shaking a pompom. 

I feel a gushing coming on! OoOoOoOoh, look at that face!

So. Stinkin'. Cute.

Here he is with my hubby and his new big sister, Lola, on his first trip to the dog park. Oh, and Lola? You might be wondering what she thinks of her new brother...

 Well... Lola isn't a deep thinker. She's a dingus.

Actually, they seem to be getting along just fine. There's some reordering of the pack going on, but you've gotta let the dogs work that out themselves :) The cats on the other hand... well, I think they'll get used to each other... eventually.  He's smaller than both of them, not much of a threat.

As I'm writing to you, Boz is sprawled on the couch between my husband and I, laying on his back, belly to the world, snoring like a tiny freight train. Adorable.

As much as we're falling for this new guy, we'll never forget this guy.

We miss him dearly, everyday, our beloved boy. I think these two would like each other, they are pretty cool cats, for a couple of dogs.

♥♥

♥

We're happy to be a pack of six again, two people, two dogs & two kitties.

Home sweet home!

oxo,

Lisa

Little Green Man

Hi All!

My my where does the time fly? I'm sorry that I've been absent for so long, I surely didn't mean to go nearly two weeks between posts again. Well, what have I been up to? Dearies, let me tell you, I've been up to my nose in floss!

I just completed my first submission for an art show! I'm very excited to see whether or not I'll be accepted. My friend Ellen is curating a show this summer in Los Angeles and the piece I made is for her show. I don't think I'm ready to post about my piece here just yet, but I will soon, I promise. I also had a swap piece to complete and get posted to it's new home in New Zealand. It should be arriving in a day or two, and once she's received it, I'll share that with you guys as well.

So... how about a little Green Man in the meantime?? It is nearly St. Patty's Day after all!

I stitched this little man as a filler project a few weeks ago. I like to have little stitches in between the big projects I have going. Do you guys do that? 

This little fella came from Aimee Ray's Doodle Stitching The Motif book.

He'll be a part of a woodland ticker tape quilted wall hanging... eventually.

This was an in progress picture that I used for my photo blog a few weeks ago.

I'm wishing you all some Irish cheer this weekend, and if you see someone *not* wearing green, pinch 'em! Tell them I said it was ok!

oxo,

Lisa



New Leaf, New Life and Quiet Moments

This intricate and wonderful blackwork embroidery piece was made for me in for the most recent Phat Quarter Swap, by Helenstacy. The theme of this swap was "It's not the end of the world".

It's called "New Leaf, New Life". I love it. So simple, so striking.

One tiny gold leaf makes a big impact.

I'm still working on the piece for my partner. I'm very nearly finished but I need to get a move on, my little embroidery will be taking a long trip from California all the way to New Zealand.

Other than the daily grind and a few yet to be revealed embroidery projects, it's been pretty quiet around these parts. I've been enjoying these cold, quiet moments. Evenings spent trying to will winter to stay around a little longer with candles, and fires and my nose buried in books...

Making every hearty, winter soup I can lay my hands on. This one, which doesn't look so nice has been one of the best so far, home made Split Pea with ham.

I'm trying to hold out, this winter had been far too short. Seasons do not wait for any man, spring is coming, and coming fast. I've been trying my best to capture it with my on going photo project.

56/365

57/365

Nature will out.

But, oh, for a few more nights of long, cold, dark...

The seasons press on...

New leaf, new life.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend.

oxo,

Lisa

Swapping Is Fun!

Hello All!

I wanted to share the other half of my Valentine's Day swap with you last week, but the cord that connects my camera to my computer disappeared... now that I've got that resolved (and it's just occurred to me as I'm typing this that, hello, I could have just put the memory card into the computer... doy! If I used my noggin' the way I'm supposed to, I'd be dangerous!) I'm back on track.

As you may recall, my partner for this swap was the wonderful & fabulous Pam, you might know her from her super fun and cheery blog Faster Kittykill. I like it there, it's a nice place with lots of glitter and puppies. Sometimes I hang out at Pam's blog and just dream of the day I get to hang out in her cool-ass tiki yard in Portland and have cocktails with her. She's awesome, possum.

The whole package, I tell ya! Even the outside of the box is special.

Ooooh, what's in here?? At this point I can tell you I started making little grabby hands and squeaky sounds.

Would ya look at this haul! There's so much good going on there! From right to left, there's an adorable little lunch tote filled with the prettiest delicate little sugar cubes topped with iced flowers, handmade tea wallet, a new tub of lip shimmer, a Love Bot, a new mug (which I'm sipping coffee from right this moment), Bee Mine Valentine rings, treats for Lola, and two gorgeously stitched vintage hankies. Let's take a closer look at those handmade goodies!

This little tea wallet is just the best, I love the fabrics and the stitching, just look at that perfect blanket stitch. 

Here's the inside, perfect for a few bags to take on the road.

Oh you guys, this tea is lovely! So good with sugar & milk, a treat all on it's own.

Here is the the first of the TWO hankies Pam stitched for me, isn't it great? A lady in a pretty window stitching and conversing with a songbird. When I saw this I ran to my purse because I thought I had a matching one. I always have at least one pretty hankie in my purse. I collect them, so why not always have one on ya?

Alas... not a match, but close - the colors are very similar. I really do always have one (and sometimes two) with me, they're dead useful, and not just for blowing your nose, in fact I can't say that I've ever used a hankie to blow my nose. Real life moment here, girls... ever have the under wire in your brassiere snap unexpectedly? I have, and I can tell you, having one of these pretty, little babies in your purse will save you from being stabbed to death until you can get home or to a department store for a replacement. 

This is the second stitched hankie, such sweet kitties! They remind me of my own two kitty cats, Chyna Cat Sunflower & Egypt The Great.

I love these two hankies ever so! I'm concocting plans for them. I think I might mount the first one so that I can hang it on the wall so everyone can see it. The kitty one may be a pillow some day ♥

So that's my wonderful Valentine Swap! It was really fun putting Pam's box together, but it was even more fun to getting a package from her.

Thanks again for everything Pam, it was all so very perfect!

I hope you all are having a great weekend, it's beautiful outside here today, I think we might seize the opportunity to grab some of this early spring sunshine, maybe take a scooter ride and get some lunch. Nothing like crisp air in your face on a sunny day.

oxo,

Lisa



Happy Valentines Day!

Hello~hello!

I hope you're all having a loverly Valentines Day!

Today I thought I'd share with you the little pressie package I sent my pal, Pam for a little Valentine Swap we participated in. If you don't already know Pam, you should go over and check out her blog, it's a fun place, and Pam is awesome, super fun chick-a-dee!

I started out thinking that I'd make my pally an embroidered tea towel, then I got carried away and whipped up a couple of other goodies, it was easy to do!

I added a couple of cute panels of Valentine fabric to each side of the embroidery, then binded the towel with aqua gingham to give it a little more weight. The embroidery I used was a freebie pattern I found in the Hoop Love group on Flickr, it's a terrific resource for vintage embroidery patterns, you must take a look sometime! The pattern was sweet and simple and took less than an hour to stitch.

 Now, you may not know this, but Pam has fabulous hair. In fact, it's so amazing it ought to have it's own blog! When I saw this sweet hair bow on Mollie's blog, Wild Olive, I HAD to make one for Pam. You can see Mollie's tutorial here. It's so simple and so dang cute! I need to make more of these. I think my nieces would like one in every color, shoot, who am I kidding, I want one in every color!

Pam is wearing this bow in her hair today, I saw picture on facebook, eeep!

One hair doo-dad wasn't enough, so I made another one, this just clips right in.

I also made her a little ornament, just for fun. I saw one like it on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to make. Pretty cute, aye? 

Of course no Valentine would be complete without some sweets, so I packed some of those in too, and a great big mug to boot! This sucker would be terrific for ice cream.

So there it is, a fun little package for a fun little lady! I wrapped it all in heaps of hot pink tissue paper and lots of stickers, it was a neat package to put together. And it's it nice to get something in the mail that isn't a bill? Pam is so sweet, she took pics as she opened the box, you can see that set of pictures here, if you're interested.

Oh hey, I almost forgot, Pam has a brand spankin' new Facebook page, come on over and "like" it!

Wishing you all a sweet day!

oxo,

Lisa



Be Mine - Or Else!

Hello Lovies~

Just a fun little thing I stitched up for my hubby for Valentine's day tomorrow, hope he likes it... or else!

Be Mine - Or Else!

Like he has a choice, teehee!

This was a free pattern from Gina Matarazzo last Valentines Day, you can still download the pattern for free here. I had printed it out last year, and just couldn't get to it in time, this year I made sure to get it done!

Anyhoo! I'll be back tomorrow, I have more sweet Valentines goodness to share, so come on back... or else!

Just kidding, but seriously, come on back m'kay?

oxo,

Lisa