Out in the Snow

We survived the Blizzard, lots of wind, maybe a foot of snow? too drifted to tell. Knee deep on the ramp when I shoveled this morning. We lucked out here in RI, just enough snow to have an excuse to stay home and go sledding

Laughing collision



I wish I could bottle that joy....



aimed at me!



First snowstorm for the kittens...he hated it, hid under the ramp, meowed, finally I had to pick him up and carry him into the house. The houdini cat who manages to sneak out the most narrowly opened door....I'm guessing he doesn't make a break for it anytime soon.



Snuggly lap kitty who doesn't really like to go out...she loved it, stayed outside rolling around it, flicking it with her paws, only came in because she was cold.



It's almost dark and still blustery cold..time for cocoa.

Merriment

Farm Boy



The elusive adolescent smile makes a yuletide appearance



Sharing! a Christmas gift for mom



Cookie Elves



A very Merry Christmas to All!!!!!!!

Angel in a Box

Angel in a box....
This was the angel on our families Christmas tree, from 1960 until the mid 1990s. After many repairs (like the button on the wing), miles of scotch tape, and very careful handling it finally fell apart. I hung onto it for years, unable to throw it away. It sat in a box for more than a decade. The first Christmas that I spent back home with my mom I finally took it out of one box and put it into another. It was our first Christmas without my dad, my first Christmas after leaving my son's father, just not a happy time. At least it shouldn't have been. My mom and I managed to pull it together for the sake of the kids. We had a tree straight out of Charlie Brown, a ton of gifts for the kids, (thanks to the generosity of friends), and family and friends nearby.




A craft store shadow box, some white paint. pieces of fake holly, a couple of bows, and a lot of glitter brought it back to shiny life.
And every year our Angel in a Box gets hung on the wall.


I hope she makes it another 50 Christmases.....

Frida is finally finished

I had to redo the hem and the side seams (including cutting some off) but after letting it sit for a couple of weeks I finally finished.
The green spirals are from and old t-shirt
the red is scrap fabric
the black is sweatshirt material from the remnant bin.
So a bit of old and new mixed together.

The Front


The back


Paired with a sweatshirt from Old Navy that I have had for years.
I'm trying to decide if I want to put strips of the red fabric around the bottom.
?


It's very warm and comfy, but hand sewing sweatshirt fabric is a pain in the butt.
Next time I'll have to break out the machine.

Nomads under my table

What's a kid to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon? If you're Joe you pull every blanket off of every bed and drag it into the living room.
And then get hard to work building a shelter from the weather.



With a little help from big sis, all the throws become rugs...



Grab some books and a cup of hot chocolate and you're set for the day.




Everytime I don't feel like folding the blankets and re-making the beds I remember all the forts I made with sheets and blankets thrown over kitchen table when I was their age. It's hard to resist that much fun. Impossible even...

Winter Pantry Soup

Last nights dinner, soup from the pantry



One box of organic beef stock
one box of organic mushroom stock
one large sweet onion - diced
one 13 oz can of canellini beans
one 13 oz can of small white beans
one cup uncooked brown rice

combine all ingredients except rice in a stock pot - bring to a boil - simmer until onions are translucent

cook rice separately - rinse with cold water - add to soup - simmer until rice is heated through

cooking the rice separately and rinsing it keeps the soup from getting thick and starchy
(I learned this the hard way)

little toasts with Cheddar cheese on the side
(350 degrees for 10 minutes)

easy winter yumminess

Decking the Halls

Deck the Halls with happy kitties
fa la la la la, la la la la
they think they sure look pretty
fa la la la la, la la la la




See them napping in the branches
fa la la la la la la la la la




while the ornaments do some dances
fa la la la la la la la la

Around and About

This year I am decorating my tree with cats...because the cat's say so.



First ice of the season, hoping my fishes found some warm leaves to hibernate in.



The little ones and I took a trip to the beach for a day after Thanksgiving treat. This is my favorite time of year to go the beach, it's free of crowds, cold, windy, and in a few weeks the seals will be back for the winter.....



the plovers are back...



and nothing takes the chill out like some hot chowder and clamcakes...



We ended the day with a new pile of shells for our ever growing collection, rosy cheeks and full bellies, and happy tired kids with sand in their shoes.

Christmas Gifts for Me!!!

A Christmas Headscarf




with a button closure



made from two old t-shirts...



And a work in progress, sweatshirt fleece, and fabric scraps,



inspired by Frida Kahlo,



which I hope to have finished for a party on the 11th...
It's been a long month with a lot of sick kids (and a sick mom) this has been my slow going pick me up.

Nellie's art

My younger brother surprised us with a visit last week. He lives in Georgia now so we don't see him very often. He and Nellie share a passion for drawing, they spent a busy morning drawing pictures for each other. Here's Nellie's sketch of our beloved Raggedy Ann doll. She is in reality as raggedy and well loved as she looks in this portrait.



Pretty good for a seven year old I think...
Next week the little artist starts ballet lessons, I expect pictures of ballerinas to follow.

November Projects

What I've made this month so far.....

Bracelets made from wool, buttons, bits and scraps of yarn, etc....



they are toasty warm and can double as coffee cup cozies



one of several scarves made of flannel and doilies



mitts, mitts, and more mitts.

October = Busy Busy Busy

Craft sales, church bazaars, harvest festivals...busy month of sewing and selling and no time blog, more of the same this month. Sales have been going really well so I can't complain. Nellie has been at my side at most events, she has a tin of buttons and some waxed linen string, for one dollar she will teach you how to make a bracelet. She's been doing pretty well in the sales department herself. Here are some of the highlights.

two old t-shirts mitts..
this is the first pair, I've also made some in blue/white, purple/apple green, and red/apple green.



they are very comfortable and just right for inside, and unlike a lot of woolen ones they don't get in the way of sewing or knitting.....



bracelet - t-shirt scraps, curtain scraps, scraps of scraps...



A kerchief for Nellie



and Nellie and Joe in their Halloween finery, Joe was a pirate skeleton, Nellie was Lucy from the chronicles of Narnia. Joe's costume was from the costume box, Nellie's is made up of the cloak she helped make, and a women's velvet dress and fleece jumper from a thrift shop. They were very proud of their creations and made out like bandits Trick or Treating.

Interconnected Wardrobe Refashion

First I used some curtains and dinner napkins to do this to my favorite defunct pair of pants.





Then I used the bottom front half of a denim barn jacket to make this many pocketed apron, every patch is a pocket, it's my craft show money, pen, notepad holder. The tapestry panel is from a trip I took to Paris in my pre-mommy life, just after I bought my first sewing machine. It spent the better part of the last decade in the same box as the dinner napkins and curtains.



What to do with the rest of the napkins and the top of the barn jacket, well make a new fancier barn jacket that can stand up to yard work. Because pretty matters.




I wonder what else is lurking in the corners of the attic?

http://sneezerville.wordpress.com/

Look and admire...one of my favorite blogs...especially if you like to hand sew, or would like to start.

New Sewing Machine JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Used my new sewing machine to finally finish an old project. This pants to skirt redo has been sitting in my basket since July when my sewing machine gave up the ghost. Thanks to my mom and my kids and my birthday I'm sewing by machine again....

The Front, the pants are a decade old and from the sale rack at Old Navy, I think I paid about five dollars for them. The insert is an old kitchen curtain.



The insert on the back is one of the coordinating dinner napkins.
My favorite part of the whole project might be that I didn't have to hem anything.
I think I may embellish them further, have to check my stash.



I'm going to wear it with my polished up Cowboy Boots.....

pink boots to russet boots

not much of a re-do I know, but I love these boots. They were showing their age so I took some shoe polish to them, I like the new color quite a lot.

Heritage Days Festival at the Paine House Museum

Early Morning set-up, chilly New England morning that stayed that way if you were in the shade like me, or was pleasantly warm if you had a spot in the sun. The girl scouts served hot mulled cider all day to keep us warm.



My tent, with my Jack-o-Lantern bucket, what you can't see in the picture is the foam that broke as I was setting up. Falling branches everywhere, eventually I tucked my sweater in around the branches and all was well, lucky for me I had a jacket in the car. Brrrrrr.....



Birds Nest necklace...




Refurbished bedroom inside the Paine House Muesam



My view of the farmer's market and the Paine House. I used to visit this museam all the time with my Nana when I was a girl. For years it was in disrepair and has recently been restored and reopened. I put part of the days proceeds towards becoming a member. Now I get to help decorate for the Christmas open house. :D



ArtsyFartsy Fibre Necklaces



Civil War Gents
or the Providence Brigade Band
they provided the afternoons entertainment.
along with the bleating sheep!