just a quickie, fly-by post

Just popping in to post this picture of the tea cozy I made today. I should have made my pattern a bit taller as the bottom edge didn't want to sit flat on the table. I added the buttons on the side and the problem was fixed. Next time I make one I'll adjust the pattern though.

I'm still knee-deep in miles of tangled lace!

Hope everyone's weekend is lovely, so far!

Well, Miss Priss got her necklace. I loved Leah's suggestion of a dainty heart charm but I didn't have the makings of such a necklace on hand. And I can't be trusted to walk into a craft store to buy just one little thing. I'm woman enough to admit. So I worked with what I had. I think it came out nice. I used Austrian and Czech crystals, glass seed beads that match her dress, some rose quartz beads, and some tiny sterling silver beads. The poor girl is still waiting on her shoes and socks. Maybe in tomorrow's mail.

I've got a couple new projects in the works. I finished stuffing another EFA doll body last night. And I started work on an embroidered tea cozy. The tea cozy is a distraction to keep me from making clothing for the doll until an ebay package arrives. I was waiting on two packages, actually. But one arrived.



The package that arrived contained MILES of lace. I've got lace everywhere at the moment. I've got a big pile of washed and dried lace on the table. It needs to be put away neatly.



My kitchen sink is filled with suds and lace.

And then there's my deck. My poor deck. It looks like it's been vandalized with lace! I just hope it dries quickly. It's beginning to look like rain.

Nakie no more

I no longer have a big, nakie doll on my nightstand. It took me forever to find the right fabric for her. She's a very particular little girl. She even snubbed her nose at my offer to make her felt shoes. She said she'd prefer to remain barefoot until she had proper leather shoes. So we went shopping online and found some. Although she couldn't decide between cream ankle-strap shoes with a bow and brown boots so we ordered both. And socks. I think she's a bit spoiled.



I used some EFA techniques on her (the way her face is embroidered, her hair, and her dress) but she's much bigger than the dolls featured in the book Dolls to Make for Fun & Profit at 20 inches tall. I used 4 different shades of mohair yarn for her hair. This tutorial pretty much shows how I did her hair. Except I don't use glue on dolls ever.

She's requesting a necklace. What do you think? Will it just make her even more spoiled or would she look so nice with the addition of a necklace that it would all be worth it?

Today I'm working on another EFA doll. I've got her sewn and I'm in the middle of stuffing. Hopefully this one won't mind felt shoes.

Finally a finished somethin' to show y'all

I know, this pillow is super sweet...almost too cutesy. But I don't care. :-) Soon I will have my own sewing room and it can live down there if it's deemed to cute for the main area of the house. Although, (maybe I should be ashamed to admit this) it does coordinate quite well with my super girlie bedroom.

I can't really say where the sweetie mice came from since I didn't acquire that image completely ethically. I convinced myself it would all be ok since I have no intentions of selling it. I just had to have it for me. And let's just say that any image is fair game when you have one of these.

The strip of flowers along the bottom came from my brain. And the bluebirds and vines along the top came from a BareRoots booklet.

I used the same blue gingham for the back that I used for the ruffle. And I added the smidgiest bit of color to the mice embroidery with prismacolor pencils. I colored on a scrap of fabric and lightly smudged a bit of color onto the pillow. It all started with some rosy cheeks and then I found that I couldn't stop.

It seems the pillow has already found a home amongst a grouping of Annies and cheery spring things. (sorry about the flash...a photographer I'm not)



On another note, Miss Vicki over there at TurkeyFeathers (link in sidebar) has inspired me with her A-Z quiche adventure. I haven't made quiche in forever. And I'm thinking I have the deepest pie pans ever because every recipe I found called for 3-4 eggs. I ended up using 14 eggs between the 2 quiches. And there's plenty of other stuff in there too: brocolli, shredded zucchini and carrots, onion, bacon, and monterey jack cheese. Everyone "ewwwed" them based on looks alone. But once they tasted everyone declared quiche their new favorite food. Which is good because there's lots left over!

A successful experiment

Three hours ago, Mason and I decided to try a baking experiment. With the help of several quick bread recipes and a bit of whimsical thinking we concocted "Peanut Butter and Banana Bread". It was, apparently, a successful experiment as this is all the remains a few short hours later. And even that last bit was gone before I began typing the post.

Mix together:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
3 bananas that are too ripe to eat
1/2 cup milk
1 Tblsp vanilla

Then add:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

*I did end up adding an extra 1/4 cup of milk as it was a bit too thick. But I used powdered milk (added 1/2 cup water and a mighty handful of milk powder) so my measurements may have been a bit off.
*The only possible improvement would have been to add chocolate chips. We didn't have any though.

Bake in a 13x9 casserole dish that's been sprayed with oil spray at 350 until done (you know, the old toothpick in the center thing).

The Quilty-Eared Rabbit hopped into town

The Quilty-eared Rabbit is finished. The pattern can be found here in .jpg form.

If you'd prefer the pattern as a .pdf which opens in Adobe Acrobat just email me at PrincessNimbleThimble(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll get it right to you.

And, as before, I'd love to see pictures of your Quilty-eared rabbits!

Enjoy!!

Happy Wednesday!

I've had a few people tell me they had difficulty printing the Annie pattern from Flickr. I'm not the most computer savvy person out there so it's hard for me to offer useful advice. But I also have the pattern saved as a .pdf which opens in Adobe Acrobat. If you'd like me to email the file to you, just email me at PrincessNimbleThimble(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send it to you. I don't mind at all so don't be shy about asking!

I have a bunny pattern in the works that I plan to share, too. I've got it stitched and stuffed so it won't be long now.

Oh! Guess what my boyfriend (that's just what we call the UPS guy around here) brought for me! I had ordered a bunch of tiny, doll-sized buttons from JoAnn.com and I was shocked by just how tiny some of them are. They're precious!! They're the perfect size for my 2.5" bendy dolls. I can't wait to play with them!

I haven't done much crafting these past few days. We've had weather in the 70s and I got bitten by the spring cleaning bug. It's supposed to go back down into the low 50s tomorrow so I'll be back in winter crafting mode. So pics soon!

Got a surprise for you!

It all began with a surprise for me. I finally got a scanner! In celebration I've put together an Annie pattern to share with all my blog friends. Have fun sewing! And if you have any questions just ask away! I'd love to see pictures of everyone's masterpieces. :-)



Here's a backpack I made for a friend's son's birthday. I embroidered a little robot on the pocket.

And I embroidered the wee mice. I think they'll end up being a pillow.



Mostly I've been busy organizing my sewing and crafting supplies. My husband has been working on making a room for me in the basement. I'm getting so exciting now that it's really coming together. I can't wait to have space to spread out my projects. And storage space for all my stashes will be an absolute dream come true!

I hope you all are having a great weekend so far! The weather is beautiful here...my favorite sort of weather. It's in the low 60's, sunny, with a mild breeze. Lovely!

I received my Redwork Swap package in the mail. Isn't it adorable? Y'all know I like teapots! ;-) Thank you,Meagan!

Click here to see the Flickr pool of all the swapped redwork items.



I spent the weekend watching movies and stitching, yet again. I love this Lady Bug! She's from a set I bought from Pattern Bee.

Miss Lady Bug and this wee birdie are destined for my hallway "wall o' stitching". I made a mistake when hanging everything and these are needed to make everything centered on the wall. You see, there are 2 air intake vents at the top of that wall. And I centered the whole arrangement under the vents, not noticing that the vents aren't centered on the wall. Easily fixed though. I just need to paint the frames and put these stitcheries in them and the problem is solved.



I've got another bit of embroidery in the works and I'm about to get started on the clothing for the poor nakie doll on my nightstand. Oh, and I've played with my new free motion embroidery foot a little. There is, apparently, a learning curve to it. I'm rethinking my plan of attack for quilting the winter quilt since I'd like to get it finished before winter is officially over.

My first EFA doll

I just checked USPS's website and tracked the package. It has been received. I can now post pictures. It's been killing me to have to wait as I was really pleased with how she turned out. I hope my redwork swap partner enjoys her!!

There's lots of pictures so I made them small. They are all clickable for a larger view.


I finally got around to making a doll using Edith Flack Ackley's book Dolls to Make for Fun and Profit. But I already told y'all that. I just left out the fact that she was what I was making for the redwork swap. Sneaky me!

I had so much fun making her. I can't wait to make another! I can see myself becoming seriously obsessed with that pattern.

I had a great mail day today! I received this book and, let me tell ya, it's wonderful! I've been on a bit of a quest for the perfect cross stitch pattern reference and I think this might just be it. So if you like putting together your own designs but need a little help with the individual motifs, like I do, you may need this book.

Are you wearing your thinking cap? A friend has asked me to see if any of you wonderfully creative bloggers might have an idea for her. She has a bunch of old, extra bath towels that she'd like to repurpose, perhaps as a rug. Do you have any ideas how she can make this work? (thanks!)

My redwork swap project is FINISHED! I can't wait to show it to you all. But you (and me!) will have to be patient until it's received.