CELEBRATING 4 YEARS OF BLOGGING GIVEAWAY: GLORIOUS AUTUMN TRIP UP NORTH

Hello Everyone,

I would like to thank All My Blogging Friends for their Very Kind and Lovely comments left for me to read on My Country Bucket posting.  They all were Greatly Appreciated.  

This past June My Sweetie and Me decided to buy a RV.  We thought we could use it for local camping trips and then maybe one day we would go on Out West Adventure.   

We went on three trips this past Summer and the weather made the first two adventures very challenging. The first trip we had 98F 102F and record breaking temperature of 104F.  

The second trip we had a huge storm with heavy rain and fierce winds that took down lots of trees and put out the electricity for miles around.  Our trailer rocked back and forth and I thought I would "Never" go camping again LOL  

But the Third time was a charm.  We headed to my much loved Up North! We had a wee bit of rain going up but the rest of the trip was truly lovely in many ways.
Below is a photo of us stopping at a rest stop and it was raining a bit.

Some friends requested a wee tour of the RV and below you will see the kitchen area.  We took out the removable table and bought a rocker recliner to take its place.  I love it because I can sit and stitch and stitch in comfort.  VBG

 

In the photo below you  can see the living area, then the bath room and then the bedroom is in the back.  Perfect for us.

 

A called an Up North quilt shop and they referred me to DeEtta and her lovely Rug Hooking Studio called "Fiddlehead Finery"! I called DeEtta and she dyed some very lovely wools for me.  

I ask DeEtta if she would give me a Rug Hooking Class and she very kindly told me yes. I have been wanting to learn rug hooking since 2003 when I bought  a subscription to The Wool Street Journal while living in Germany.  So I have waited a long time for this very special day.

  My Class with DeEtta fell on the Glorious First Day Of Autumn September 23rd. DeEtta has been rug hooking for 11 years and her creation are truly beautiful.  DeEtta was so very kind and I learn so much in my 3 hour class. Thank You DeEtta!

"Fiddlehead Finery Studio" is very warm and lovely very much like DeEtta.  Look at the beautiful hand dyed wool vest she created hanging on the wall.

Below you will find a photo of DeEtta lovely stash of wools.  Can you believe??

Below is another photo of DeEtta studio. Notice her very lovely Hooked Rugs.

Below you will find the hand dyed wools I bought from DeEtta. They are all such beautiful colors.

My first Rug Hooking Project I bought back in 2003 as a kit.  After 8 years I have finally started it.  It was so much fun learning and not as difficult as I imagine it would be.  I look forward to finishing the two wee pieces.

This past August I took a crochet button class at the Michigan Fiber Festival.  The teacher used a book called "50 Heirloom Buttons to Make" by Nancy Nehring! This book is out of print but can be pick up at used book stores on the Internet.

  What do you think of My First Crocheted Buttons? This book also teaches how to make the "Dorset Buttons" which I also enjoy making.

Ok. Time to show you all what I have for My 4 years of Blogging Celebration.  

(1) First is a Hooked Sunflower Pin which I bought at the Michigan Fiber Festival at the booth called "Hooked On Ewe" Linda Harwood from Ionia Michigan this past Summer.  I do not see a pattern for the Sunflower on her site but I reckon you could email her about it.

(2) Second is a Crazy Quilt Hand Embroidery Pendant with Silkie and wee beaded dragonfly stitched in it. I bought this pendant from an Etsy shop.

(3) Third is one of My Hand Crocheted Buttons I made this past Summer.

(4) Fourth is a Very Lovely Pieced of Hand Dyed Wool I bought from DeEtta which is 14 inches by 9 inches.  

See photo below. My Sweetie will draw the names of the 4 Winners on Monday October 17th. 

If you would please take the time,  I would love to know how long you have been visiting my blog and what posting is your favorite this past year.  Thanks 

 Last but not least here is a lovely Sunset that My Sweetie and I watch one evening while we were camping Up North on Lake Michigan.  We truly enjoyed this trip together and the lovely people we met and chatty with.

 

One of My favorite saying is "Kindness Matters"! To me Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives and remembering what one receives.  Thank you all for your Friendships and comments. 

Hugs Judy

HAPPY TO BE BACK! MY COUNTRY BUCKET CREATION FINISHED! AND A GIVEAWAY COMING SOON!

Hello Everyone,

I am so Happy to be back to Blogging. I have missed you all. 

You will see I have a new blog look and a New Blog Header.  My Dear Friend Shirley from

"Shirley's Twisted Threads" gave me detailed instructions on how to create the new header!!  Thank you Very Very Much Shirley. Shirley is a very creative and does extremely lovely stitching so please visit her blog.  

The Summer past so quickly and we went on several trips which I will share with you all soon. I will be visiting my blogging friends site starting today. I am very anxious to see what you all have been up too. 

The stitching project I have been working on just about every day since May is finally finished!!  I am very excited to share photos of it with you all.  

The pattern is called "Country Bucket" by In Your Bonnet and the designer of this very lovely pattern is Kerry Green who is from Utah. Please go to her website to see her Country Buckets. 

There are 8 blocks to the Country Bucket that makes up the side pockets where you can stuff all your goodies into. I pretty much added my own touches to every block and actually made up two of my own designs. Of course you all know that "Stitching" is my "Passion" and I could hardly stop stitching on these blocks. I used mostly all felted wools on this project.

Below is the Blue Bird & Tree Block.  This block I designed on my own.

 

 The Rabbit Block I added the flowers too.  I used velvet for his ears.

In the Flower Basket block I added my own kinds of flowers.

I did not change the Pineapple Block.

The Sheep &Tree block is unchanged except the apples I made into Peaches!! I used Brazilian Thread called Boucle to create the sheep.  I think it gave them a nice woolie look, what do you all think??

 

The Sunflower was my design in this next block. I used wool roving to create the stem of the Sunflower. I used the "Drizzle" stitch in the petals with silk chenille thread.

This block I call the Flower Tatted block which is also my own design. The tatting was a very lovely gift to me from Wendy in Singapore!  Please visit her wonderful blog called Umi & Tsuru  where you will find many beautiful tatted motifs to admire. I added velvet stems and wool roving for the grass. The wee dragonfly was also tatted by Wendy.

Dorset Buttons, Oh how I love them.  This Dorset Button I created just for the bucket from Valdani thread. I fell in love with these buttons a couple of years ago.  

I have bought two books where you can find patterns on how to create these buttons.

(1)  The "Dorset Feather Stitchery"  by Olivia Pass. I bought this book from the Dorset Federation of Woman's Institutes in the UK.

(2) The other book that has instructions is called,  50 Heirloom Buttons to Make by Nancy Nehring.  This book is out of print.   But if you google it I am sure it would turn up some where.

The purple Dorset Button was the first one I ever made.  Far from perfect but I felt it found its right place on my bucket.

The Spruce Tree and Cabin block. I totally changed the house block into a cabin in the woods. I added a blueberry bush,heart,cloud, flowers, a wee birdie and a stone path. For the Spruce Tree I used the "Drizzle Stitch" to create it.

Below you will find a photo of the inside of the Country Bucket. 

Below is the "Finished Country Bucket".  My Sweetie painted the wood handle green for me.  I also wet felted the egg and ball at the tips of the handle.

For me the construction of the country bucket was the most challenging.  I called Sherry twice to ask questions and she was very kind and helpful which really help me through this part of it. 

I absolutely LOVE My Country Bucket!! I am sure I will get many years of good use from it.  

Some of the different kinds of threads I used in my stitching is as follows: Many Valdani Pearl Cottons,  Lots of Silk Chenille by Thread Gatherer, Hand Dyed 100% Silk by the Thread Gatherer, Many kinds of Kreinik Metallic threads and Genziana Wool Thread. I also used Chenille Rick Rack!

The Purple Side of My Country Bucket.

On September 6th my sweet grand daughter started Kindergarten.  Below you will find two super photos of her before she started her first day of school. Looking at her photos makes me smile and warms my heart.  I love her sooooooooo very much. It is really great being a grandmother!!  VBG

Out the door, First Day of School.  That evening Chole called me and told me all about her day.  I ask her what her favorite part of the day was and she told me recess and we had two of them.  LOL

I hope you all have made it to the end of this posting. I would like to thank everyone for catching up with me again. 

I would really LOVE to heard which block you all like the best.  Thanks for leaving your lovely comments for me to read.  Much appreciated.

To celebrate 4 years of blogging I will be having a give away at the end of September.  I hope you all will come back and see what I have for a gift. VBG 

Hugs Judy