Some things last forever

I wanted to do something really special for The Seamonkey's preschool teachers last year and I got this idea from magpienight.  They were fun and easy to make and the teachers loved them.

The school is part of UNLV and the teachers' helpers are students at the university.  I wanted to give them something, too, so I took a photo of the stitchery and made magnets.  I think even the guys appreciated them!

I loved the idea of giving them something that would last longer than a gift card or a flower.  I also liked being able to make it so personal-to show them just how grateful our family was to them for taking such good care of our Seamonkey and for being such a big part of his life.

It's never a three-hour tour...

Last year, some friends and I decided to do a towel swap- a spring towel swap.  It should still end up being one as everyone will probably receive their towels this spring.  sigh, life, whatnot.  Some kids are doing the same type of design on each towel and some kids are doing something different on each.  I'm one of the latter, it's given me a chance to try some different stitches & patterns, to challenge myself.  I'm mostly happy with each piece (I am my own worst critic after all).  It's been so much fun & it's also helped me to see & feel the stitching of other, more talented  & experienced, stitchers.  I cannot wait to get my towel back!

My contributions

 

gigglegerts

When my cousins and I were small, this is what our Grandma Jean would call us when we were being goofy and giggly. It's such a silly word, it just made us giggle more! I loved my grandma. She made us bread and butter pickle sandwiches and read us books and taught us to play poker. And she stitched. She made beautiful embroidered pillowcases and she was always working on something. I was amazed at how it all came together--knots and stitches made with thread and needle would magically turn into something so beautiful, so seemingly easy.  I'm sure I asked her to show me and then never had the patience to do it. I do the same thing to this day with my mom and crocheting, still can't get it.

Then my dear friend, Maggie, created her Etsy shop selling her fabuloso cross-stitcheries, among other wonders of thread and cloth, and I decided to give embroidery a shot.  (Because let's face it, cross-stitch itself is brain intensive, what with the requisite counting and pattern following and other necessary non-ADD skills...)  I can't draw a straight line but I can follow one!  It turns out I love embroidery as much as I thought I would and I wish now that I would have had the patience to sit with my grandma and stitch when I had the chance. So instead I stitch in her memory.  And that's how my Etsy shop got it's name :)

e.

The years they are a'flyin'...

Has it really been this long?  Sigh.  Life.  Whatnot.

Okay, back to it.  

I've been maintaining optimum craftiness, just not blogging about it.  I have been embroidering and I love it.  I promise to post pics soon.  Not two years soon, like soon soon!  I'm still fine-tuning my transferring and what not.  The stitching is the easy part!  I've got some kick-A friends who love to help and are super supportive.  I'm grateful to them on this gobble day eve/eve/eve (right?) and always and forever.  

Last week my dear Vegas Bloggers buddy and now real life buddy, Wendy, taught me how to make a super cute wreath.  I made one, then another one, then another one...I can't be stopped!  

This one is 18-inches.

This one is 16-inches

This one is 12-inches

I dusted off my long-neglected Etsy site and listed a couple of them.  Times are tough true believers and mama's got to make some Seamonkey Birthday/Christmas money!  It's not falling from the sky like I keep dreaming it will.  Sigh. Life. Whatnot.  

I'm excited to be crafting in earnest again.  It's all I really love to do.  Thanks for hanging in there with me, following the dust bunnies, and keeping hope alive!  Let's get crafty!

e.

New stuff!

I finally had a chance to post my new items in my shop. I'm still trying to carve out bits of time to get stuff done. It's so hard with my extremely helpful helper to find an hour to get anything 100% done. For example, this post. Helper is in the kitchen "making" macaroni & cheese. Give me strength!

Let's get crafty!

Boy do I love to do crafties! And now you'll never be able to stop me! Bwahahahahaha! I have about 582 ideas in my peabrain :D Hopefully I'll remember to write them all down & then tell you all about them!

Okay, gotta go be a functioning member of my family!