Meet Miss Mylie

Time flew by since the fall and I have been very busy with getting ready for Christmas.

Miss Mylie

We now have a new member to our little family and her name is Mylie.
When we got her she was 12 weeks old and now she is 5 months old.  Part King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and part Bichon Frise...what a combination.  She is one big HAPPY ball of fur...she bounces around all over the place like she owns it.

We had a few puppies to look at the day we got her but when took one look at those big brown eyes we were hooked.

It had been awhile since we had a puppy so of course we forgot how much work is involved.  On our way home with our new "baby" we stopped at Petsmart for supplies.  Can we say...OVERWHELMING!!!
Who knew this 7 lb bundle of fur would need so many things?  By the time we dragged ourselves out of the store and got back into the car little Mylie had thrown up ...and we felt like it too.

With our puppy training books in hand we bravely began this journey....and  with Rachel of course;  Mylie's dog trainer.  Actually, she trained me NOT Mylie.  After 4 encouraging training sessions she cut us loose and we were on our own.

Some days we not so good.....


But eventually we fell in love with this little sweetheart...

We've decided to nominate her for the A.D.D Poster Dog of the year.    I had recently asked my daughter to please bring her little dog Cooper over to meet Mylie and give her some doggy socialization ( no kidding, for real, this is in the book).   Well, have you ever had kids over to play with your kids and your kid's running around out of control while theirs is sitting quietly coloring????????  At one point little Mylie's tongue was hanging sideways out of her mouth with joy over company and poor Cooper is backing away from her.....what can I say.

No, really, right now she's just a puppy and this too shall pass (again, in the book); and  in a few years I'll wish she would just get off the couch and do a few laps!

During all of this we had a 10 day cruise booked and couldn't change it so Aunt Lonna came to puppysit....she's still in recovery.

We celebrated yesterday because Mylie went 24hrs without any accidents in the house!  Yippee!!

As I am writing this right now we still are "accident free"         For this we give thanks.


Wishing all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!
Patty-Mylie's mom

Exciting news for October!

Hello!

I might be a little early but I want to share Miss Winter Winsome with all of you!

She's got a soft body but her head is paperclay over foam.  I added German glass glitter and some other sparkly stuff to add some dazzle.  She's very sweet I think.

I'm going to put her on PFATT Marketplace for October~
"Primitive Folk Art Trinkets and Treasures Marketplace"
I was very pleased to be accepted by www.pfattmarketplace.com to sell my folk art so I'm busy working on fall and Christmas ideas. 
   There are 4 or 5 cutter quilts on the way to my house from EBAY I'm going to use for more primitive angels or maybe stockings; we'll see.

Been busy also going to see two of my grandchildren play deck hockey...it's their first year and so they are just learning.   The helmets are almost as big as their little bodies!  They look so cute trying to shoot this little red ball....sometimes in the wrong net (not my grandchild of course).  I have eight grandkids from one yr to 17 yrs so there's always something going on; they are such a joy.

 We are at a "should  or shouldn't we" place right now because we are seriously contemplating getting a puppy.......a Goldendoodle....I think they can combine anything with a darn poodle!!
Spent hours last nite exploring the world of Goldendoodles, Labradoodles, Cockapoos online. 
It's hard to look at these adorable little pups as sweet as angels and then try to imagine them bigger, needing to be taken to the groomers, jumping up on the furniture, etc...you know, the "real" world of owning a pet.
My life is pretty calm & quiet right now...thank God!...do I want to take this big step?  I know if I go to see them, pick them up and well, you know the rest...that'll be it.  It'll be coming home with us....

My stepson was here last nite with his little Shitzu/poodle..can't remember the breed right now..shihpoo?? anyway, he was updating me on all the latest I need to know on raising a puppy.
1.  They now sell "calming" toys for the ADHD or hyper pup
2.  I need to "introduce" our home to the puppy by keeping it in a certain space or room in the beginning
3.  "To crate or not to crate"  is the latest buzz
I'm sure there was more but by that time I was getting anxious!!

Well, stay tuned and don't forget to check out  Pfattmarketplace in October! 
Blessings,
Patty

September Blessings

                                                                

September 2 was my 60th birthday.... why is it I feel like I'm still 30????

This is a With thy Needle and Thread design I received from my sister.........can't wait to start it!  Aren't the threads yummy colors?

              

 Husband invited my family & friends for pizza and cake and after everyone went home we took off for a surprise trip to Canada for a long weekend!!

 We had a small incident at the border crossing into Canada...when the border patrol asked him where we were going he said   "I can't tell you because it's a surprise for my wife and I don't want her to know where we are headed".........well,  what do ya think happened next???

Yep, we were pulled over and then directed to go inside headquarters or whatever it's called and he was interrogated by 3 different officials!!!  It was all quite a big mix up but after he explained WhY he didn't want me to know they let us go!!  Poor guy, he was so shook up.  I have to say, though,  we are grateful that the border patrol are that vigilant but next time I'm driving!!

 Millcroft Inn outside of Toronto where we stayed for 4 beautiful days~~





  

   But, now back to reality...         

Snowgirl??  snow queen??   Spent 3 days trying to make an umbrella..I have always liked the vintage postcard depicting a snowman holding an umbrella.

But as you can see I don't think I was very successful with it...

So, back to the basement for some fresh new ideas....check back for the 2nd edition..

Trying to find time to finish my rug

First fall apple pie........

The evidence is in.....

you can almost taste the cinammon..........mmmmm    

Have a good week~~~

                               

Ready for Halloween?

Days seem to be shorter and my urge to nest and BAKE  & cook have kicked in.....

But....

before I start getting out the cookbooks and turning on the food channels I want to share my 2 new Fall gals....

Miss Falleena
She's not a witch per se (husband is a gothaphobiac!) but she's sort of Halloweenish in her own way.  She's got this aloof, prim attitude but if you look closely you'll see maybe her darker side.....

Meet Miss Autumn

When I start the dolls their bodies are muslin and filling   

Then the fun begins...
adding the paperclay to the face....

It takes me over 2 days or more from start to finish to create one.  It takes 2 layers of paperclay applied, sculpted and dried before you start to see the face come alive...

I think once I paint her eyes and lips I get an idea of who she is but the real girl emerges when I create her hair. 

I guess that's  like most of us;  we aren't "done" until our hair is..

These girls' hair I created from washed sheep locks (not from my sheep; don't have any...yet? ) 

Finally, I finish dressing them and adding their handmade accessories and they're done.

When I was little my most favorite thing to do was playing with paperdolls...so this is probably my grown up version...I just now thought of that!

Well, the pot of chili on the stove smells like it's about done and it's starting to get dark out there....Closing for now,

Blessings
Patty

Trip to the organic grocery store

 Husband and I recently watched the documentary film "Food Inc" on TV.  This film exposes all the seriously nasty stuff that happens to some of our food on it's way to our table.   When it ended we agreed that we needed to make some real changes in our food shopping habits;  we became believers.

We watched it on TV Saturday night..... Sunday we went to Whole Foods to begin this new organic journey.....  Drove an hour 15 minutes to get there.  Spent $296.....  Husband said he wished we had gone to a movie Saturday nite................

Have a good week

Patty

                                                

Meet Miss Autumn




I'm excited to share photos of my newest doll "Miss Autumn".  I really wanted to make something that would be primitive but not  too scary; some of my loved ones are not quite sure how to take the extremely primitive stuff I have!

She really has a different "personality" than the first one I made;

 maybe a little more whimsical?

I was going to put Miss Autumn on ETSY but I am being considered by PrimNest for their online market. 

Right now I'm looking out my big picture window at stone sized hail hitting the window; bird feeders swaying and trees bending!  It seemed to come out of nowhere. 

I want to share some photos of samplers I've done over the years;  I've got the urge to start a new sampler after looking at Blackbird Designs blog and some others' I have been checking out!

You can't help but get the "urge"  after you see all the beautiful  sampler designs that are out there. 

I usually stitched reproduction samplers and loved Sheepish Designs;  I don't think they are still designing??

Meg's Bunny  Sheepish Designs

Can't remember the name of this one but loved the colors

Rosanna Pinkham   Sheepish Designs again

This one is my favorite;  also Sheepish Designs

Chloe Lincoln-Sheepish Designs


I love looking online at all the sampler charts that are out there today~~ such talent and creativity;  I want them all.

Going to a cross stitch shop was always a treat from picking out the chart to matching the floss. 

While at the check-out counter we would be looking forward like a kid on Christmas to the evening when we could

get into a cozy chair and putting that first stitch in our new sampler!

What made it even better was .....having a sister who OWNED the cross stitch shop.....who let me have first dibs at the new patterns.........and gave me a family discount!!!!

Went to see One Day ..the movie.. last nite with DH.  It was slow at first;  some surprises but I'd give it 3 out of 4 stars.

I started this post on Friday; went back in to do some editing of the pictures and viola! half of my post disappeared!  So, it's really Saturday...not Friday...fyi

Today I am hoping I can talk my man into taking me to SHAKER WOODS FESTIVAL which is a yearly handmade craft show;  we'll see....

Have a great weekend..go stitch or hook or just relax~~

Patty

Rainy Sunday

Finally we have rain.....It's like a preview to Fall. I just want to sit on my couch, look out the window at the birds, light a good smelly candle and pick up the new rug I'm working on and hook.
  
 Jack, Jack and Jack design by Barbara Carroll.  The 3rd pic is my sister's rug;  I'm trying to use most of her same colors.  Isn't it beautiful? 

My husband and I went up the hill to Peace Valley Orchard and grabbed some peaches;  I love the drive along the orchard lanes looking at all those trees loaded with soon to be ripe apples.  Honeycrisp, Northern Spy, Winesap....can you smell the pies? mmm

Spent the early morning with a granola bar and a cup of coffee looking at a new blog "BLUE HEN HOLLOW".   I've never seen so many samplers stitched by one person...and such talent.  If you get a chance take some time to drop in on her blog and be prepared to want to pick up some linen begin a new sampler of your own! 

Tomorrow I am going to start on a new  Halloween doll;  ordered curly sheep locks and I really want to use them.  I'll post my "work in progress"  as I go along

Well, have a relaxed "rest of the day"
Blessings
Patty

Cloth and clay dolls

There is something so..well...self-nurturing or I don't know the  right word for it, but I think at least at our age...over 50....almost gasp! 60..when we attempt something new and actually do it.    Maybe not perfectly or to the level of quality that we admire but at least we try.

For me, at least, this is a time or period, stage, in my life that I want to create...maybe it's a delayed "empty nest syndrome"  ...doubt it.

 

At almost 60 I finally feel wiser;  I see things not so black and white. .  ..  My sister and I often chuckle that we would love to say " HEY...I might know a thing or two!"
 I'm being pretty philosophical this morning.....well, it can't be PMS...no, just OLD AGE. 

Well, back to the doll..she was alot of work;  but she was worth it.  I learned alot from the Cloth and Clay Dolls tutorial.  I already have a few ideas floating around in my head for the next one. 

Ok, I'm done bloviating today and I will probably later delete this essay on life ..but maybe not!

There's a new gal in town!

This is Punkin gal....she's my first doll I am selling on ETSY...She's a Crows Roost Prim design and I have to say that she turned out better than I ever thought.  I had a great time making her and I hope someone decides to take her home.

Now, AFTER making her I decided to investigate a little on HOW to make dolls and found a website called CLOTH AND CLAY DOLLS.  Well, long story short...I signed up for a yearly subscription and haven't looked back.

This is a group of extremely, I say extremely talented women (maybe there's a man somewhere in the mix, I haven't seen him yet though).  Some of the dolls are not my style but are still works of art.  Of course, there are newbies like me also in the group so I dont' feel so overwhelmed.  I watched an online tutorial on making a prim doll with a sculpted clay face over a muslin body and this seemed very doable!  So, I surfed the net until I found a store within a 25 mi radius, Pat Catans',  that sells paperclay and ran there.  I bought it......along with numerous brushes....expensive ones...since the tutorial said "don't buy cheap paint brushes" and  I bought beautiful acrylic paints in yummy colors to hopefully compliment the dresses for my dolls, sculpting tools (??) and the list goes on.....

My little gal is currently in the oven...on low mind ya....drying.  Tomorrow she will begin to have a face and become all that she can be!!  I will definitely post pictures good or bad so you can meet her too.

Rare summer treat!!

Very hot day yesterday....over 93 degrees.  My oldest daughter was having her sister and brother's families over to swim in her pool...but no one had remembered poor old mom...so mom invited herself!!
It seems to be very difficult these days to get everyone together at the same time so you can appreciate my joy at getting to spend a wonderful evening with my own kids and my beautiful grandchildren.  The youngest grandbaby was at home with his father  and one of my granddaughters was at church camp so they were missed!
It's times like this that we remember and cherish for a lifetime~~

She's done!!

I just finished her and had to put her up!

I'm also working on a Halloween pumpkin girl that I will photograph later.

I'm still rearranging this blog so don't be surprised if it looks different again when you come back to visit.

She is a design by STITCHINSEWPRIMS.....

I'm hoping someone will see her and want one!  "taking orders, anyone?"

Blogger problems

A beautiful Sunday morning.  Saw a few finches at the bird feeders.  Husband caught 2 squirrels in the Havahart trap and we took a drive down an old farm road and let them loose.  Hoping this will help!
Ordered some beautiful wool from The Wool Studio and anxious to start my fall rug.  I'm going to try to upload photos of my other rugs maybe today but this blogger stuff is hard to figure out (or maybe my brain is showing it's age). 
I can't see my followers and I have reported it to Blogger......and about a zillion other people it seems reported it also!  I'm frustrated but hopefully it will be fixed!

Have a blessed and wonderful day~

Welcome

Welcome!

This is my very first post and I'm sure I will get better at this as time goes by.  My sister Lonna,  who has always inspired my creativity, suggested I start a blog so here I go!

Ever since  I was small  I have loved working with my hands.. cross stitch, baking, needlepoint and primitive rug hooking.

I retired from nursing and am really enjoying learning new things at home here.  Husband and I put in a nice raised bed garden and are really getting into birds!  The previous owner had  left 2 bird houses and this spring I started watching the birds and their nest building....well this lead  of course! to feeding the birds.... and fighting the squirrels....who try to eat the bird food!!  After $$$$ spent on squirrel baffles and 7 foot bird feeder poles  we think we got it!

I am currently working on a primitive Americana doll designed by Stitchinsewprims.  This is my first attempt at dolls and so far I really am enjoying it.  I just got over pneumonia and my energy level is starting to return to normal so she should be finished by the end of the week.

Well, I'm not sure how to add more photos to this blog thing because I'd like to post my hooked rugs....I'll wait til "big sis" gets this blog and helps me out on it!