A Tiny Little Bear Project

The few days before Christmas, I needed to work on a little project between batches of cookies.  This little fella is from a kit that I purchased years ago from Edinburgh Imports that included the Tattered & True pattern by Pam Holton.   He didn't end up looking exactly like the picture on the pattern, but I think he's pretty cute for someone who is just 5" tall!

 

Merry Christmas

You, O Bethlehem...who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel.  Michah 5:2 

For unto us a Child is born.

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6 

Wishing Everyone the Joy and Peace of the assurance of our salvation

as we celebrate the birth of our Lord.

Merry Christmas! 

Snowman

The kids aren't tired of the snow yet!  They built a huge snowman in the front yard near the sidewalk late yesterday afternoon.

 

They also built a snow "cave", but Daddy made them crash it in after pictures were taken.  We didn't want any neighborhood kids to play there and have it collapse on them and get hurt!!

 

Last but not least, our little schipperke saw that our foxhound mixed breed shelter dog made the blog this week and didn't want to be left out.  He has finally conquered his fear of being put on top of huge snow piles and posed for his picture:

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Snow:

 

Sheep:

 

Candycanes:

 

The tree:

 

And now we wait:

 

Queen Anne's Lace Pillowcases

While browsing blogs last week, I came across this pattern on Posie Gets Cozy.  Since I love doing embroidery, but haven't done it in way too long, I decided that I must make these pillowcases as a special Christmas gift.  I hope the intended recipient isn't peeking!  Fun!

Starting to Decorate for Christmas

This year, the Christmas decorations are coming out very slowly.  The kitchen is almost done. My snowman collection is on display on the wall shelf.   Over the years. the kids have made some, I've bought others, and still others were gifts.

As my parents went through their big move to a new house, they gave us their hutch (over 40 years old) and their kitchen table and chairs.  It all fit in quite nicely in our kitchen.  The hutch is "decorated" for Christmas, except for the nativity scene that will go in the center space between the radio and silver chest.  I'll be getting that out this weekend.

A close up of my Hummel Christmas angels.  These were all Christmas gifts from my parents.  The olive wood nativity was hand carved by Christians in Bethlehem.  Each fall, a representative brings their carvings to our church to sell to help enable the Christians to stay in Bethlehem when tourism has slowly been decreasing.

My little Hummel boy with the bunnies is surrounded by little bunnies that came in boxes of Red Rose tea.  He is joined by my 2 Christmas Boyds figurines.

Did you notice my rose/pink walls?  We've decided that color scheme and wallpaper border are due for replacement.  More than 15 years is enough!  We are hoping to repaint the kitchen between Christmas and New Year's, if all goes well.

The 11 Month Afghan!

I bought the yarn (Lion Brand Vanna's Choice) for this afghan on January 1st, 2009.  I started working on it that day. Each stripe is 2 rows of double crochet.  I worked on it off an on all year, with a long pause in the summer.  I finally finished it the week before Thanksgiving!  I am enjoying it as an extra layer to sleep under when W. decides to turn on the ceiling fan!

Some New Fuzzy Friends

A few weeks ago, on a sunny, warm November afternoon, I took a lunch break to visit the Savage Mill mall.  There are several shops I really like to browse in:  Bearing Gifts, And Sew It Goes,  Lucy and Ethel's, and The Polish Pottery Mart.  There are always so many things to see and enjoy, but I don't always make a purchase when I visit.  Just getting out of the office and seeing something different can be a real treat during a tough week. 

On my last visit, I found a special little bear.  She is an Angel bear with a pine halo, and country style wings and a necklace with her name:  Faith.  She will join my Christmas bears for the next few weeks.  Rather than hibernating after Christmas, I think I'm going to see if I can remove her halo and wings and make them a seasonal costume so that I can enjoy her year round.

Today, a new friend arrived.  His name is Benjamin.  He is a pogo from The Pogoshop on Etsy.  He was made from an upcycled beige lambswool sweater and is stuffed with bamboo fiberfill.  I think he'd like to go out and play in the woods, but since it is cold and rainy outside, he's happy to stay inside and visit. 

Benjamin brought his own special heather green wool sleepsack to cuddle into for nice cozy naps:

Sometimes...

It feels good to take a break and just let go of life's busy-ness.  Keeping up with what is happening in the world can be tiring.  What could be better than a nap on your best pal's bed in a warm spot of sunshine?

From a Retired Gail Wilson kit

After recovering from our trips, jury duty and the back to school rush (which isn't really over quite yet), I decided to ease back into making things.  I choose a little kit from my stash of Gail Wilson kits to get back into sewing.  I made this little dolly last Sunday, and her pantaloons, dress, and apron were accomplished in little bits of time stolen throughout the week.  She's about 3 1/4" tall.  Isn't she a fantastic little doll's doll?  Raggedy Ann better watch out, her dolly is likely to be snatched by the Hittys if they see her!

A Little Amigurumi

Catching up on blogging now that things have settled down after Nationals in South Bend, IN, and our trip to Shands and Walt Disney World.  Here's a little amigurumi cupcake that I made for my mother's birthday.  She can use it as a pincushion.  

I also made this cute little bunny.  Isn't he sweet?  I have a thing for bunnies.  Both  patterns came from the book:  Amigurumi World.  

Will We Get a Big Crop This Year?

I took the picture above of our tomato  plants on June 20th, but didn't get to post it.  Today, I noticed that the tips of the plants are higher than our neighbor's 6' privacy fence!  These plants are covered with little flowers and I could count at least 6 tomatoes.  I have never had such healthy, robust plants.  I guess ordering early, planting them when they arrived, using the red plastic "sheet mulch", a lot of rain (we often forget or don't have time to water), and liberal tomato food applications could be paying off.  My fear?  The tomato cages are  only half the height of the plants!  I hope they are crowded enough that they migh support each other? I planted 4 plants in a tiny area because it has been a while since we've had much luck with our tomato plants.  If they all live and produce, I have no idea how we will get to the fruit!  We'll have to wait and see what happens!

Good Luck, Dynamics!

These talented girls are heading to Belgium to compete at NBTA Worlds, and are the Senior member of M's dance-twirl team.  M. dreams of going to Worlds someday.  The senior girls and their coach were featured on the local news this week (here's a link to the segment video).  Some of them couldn't make the 530 AM filming, since they are so far away from The Volleyball House.

Here's a link to the team's website, if you want to learn more about them.

GOOD LUCK, TEAM USA!  Go, DYNAMICS!

A sign of Spring

Look what I discovered!

Happy Bunny

M. and I love to look for cute pictures and to read doll and stuffy related blogs.  We found Wendy's Spooky Bunny and thought - how cute!  We checked out a Flickr group called * BuNnY MoNsTeRz EvErYwHeRe * and the Etsy Shop for StarMonkey.  We loved the fleece bunnies and wanted to try to make our own.  

Here's mine:

It was a free form, do what you want project - a lot of fun!

Manic Monday

Today we got up at 4 AM.  That was an hour earlier than usual for me, an hour earlier than usual for M., and sometimes W3 stays up almost that "late!"  We met at M's school at 5:15 and W. lead the caravan of cars to Fell's Point.  

We stood on the old cobblestone square and waited for our moment of fame.  We performed Manic Monday for the entire Baltimore metropolitan area.  You can click the link and pick Feb. 9, 2009 to see our performance!  M, W3 and I were in the crowd behind Ron Matz.  

When we were all done, we ate breakfast at Jimmy's.  This is a famous "greasy spoon" where stars of Homicide hung out when the show was being filmed.  The police station used for the series was right around the corner from where we were.  It was a great start to the day.  I was back home and working on line by 8 AM.  

It was too dark for pictures, but if you'd like to see it, you can check out the link, or google Fell's Point.

M's First Quilt

My oldest nephew is a soldier who is deployed to Iraq.  His wife is waiting for him to return in Texas.  In December, their first child was born, a baby girl.  

M. has loved Home Ec. this school year.  She wanted to make a baby quilt for our newest family member.  We bought a kit at Joann's called Fairy Beary.  I coached her on what to do, and helped with a few little things, but it is mostly her work.  The kit had some challenges in it - stretchy velour type fabric, and sheer, shiny pink fabric that tends to ravel.  I think she did an excellent job for her first quilt, don't you? 

We will have to wrap it up and send it to Texas as soon as we can!

Uncle Will

For Christmas, W4 gave me a two miniature mohair bear patterns and kits.  The first I did was the kit to make Pam Holton's 6 1/2" Uncle Will bear.  I finished him today.  Here he is:

Books Read in 2008

I love to read.  Since I've already started my reading list for 2009, I thought I'd share a list of what I read in 2008.  Here it is:

Light From Heaven, Jan Karon

Dear John, Nicholas Sparks

The Choice, Nicholas Sparks

Yada Yada Gets Rolling, Neta Jackson

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By Laura Ingalls Wilder:

Little House on the Prairie

On The Banks of Plum Creek

By the Shores of Silver Lake

The Long Winter

Little Town on the Prairie

These Happy Golden Years

The First Four Years

Farmer Boy

A Little House Traveler (includes:  On the Way Home, West from Home and The Road Back)

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Alone Yet Not Alone, Tracy Michelle Leininger

Seabird, Holling Clancy Holling

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Kate Douglas Wiggin

Memoirs of A London Doll, Richard Henry Horne

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out, Neta Jackson

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By Beverly Lewis:

The Preacher's Daughter

The Englisher

The Brethren

October Song

The Covenant

The Betrayal

The Prodigal

The Revelation

The Sanctuary

The Postcard