An itch to stitch

Gosh I love the internet! There are lots of darling free Valentine cross stitch patterns out there for us to stitch up for our sweeties, for decorations, for gifties. (The following patterns are all in French but if you're familiar with counted cross stitch patterns, it won't matter at all.)





The above two darling free cross stitch pattern PDF's may be found at Gigi online blog.
Gigi online blog
Free Valentine chart PDF's - click on the text below the graphic that begins "cliquez ...".


The above pattern is available at Bienvenue chez Echevette.


The above charming pattern with angels is also available at Bienvenue chez Echevette.


The above pattern is available at Anne les petites croix.

Put another candle on my birthday cake

ACK! Cake blindness! bwahahhahahhahahhaa! Yup another year older. Where does the time get to?!

So much fun! The Sheriff John Lunch Brigade was a fixture of my childhood in Los Angeles.




Put another candle on my birthday cake
We're gonna bake a birthday cake
Put another candle on my birthday cake
I'm another year old today

I'm gonna have a party with my birthday cake
Come on and take some birthday cake
Put another candle on my birthday cake
I'm another year old today

We'll have some pie and sandwiches
and chocolate ice cream, too
We'll sing and play the day away
and one more thing I'm going to do

I'll blow out the candles on my birthday cake
and when I do, a wish I'll make
Put another candle on my birthday cake
I'm another year old today
Happy birthday to you
I'm another year old today.

Oh! Cutie Pies!

I was looking at one of my favorite blogs, not martha, working my way backward through all the posts I had missed and came upon a link she posted to Bakerella and these adorable and oh so timely, mini cherry pies. I don't think there could possibly be a cuter ambassador for Valentine's Day do you?! Little itsy bitsy cherry pie bites ... mmmmmmmm!

not martha
not martha post with link to Bakerella
Link to Bakerella is near the end of the post (about pies in a jar). Also note the fun triple pie combo at the beginning of the post!!!
Bakerella adorable mini pies
Bakerella

Monday blog love

I strayed from my resolve to not plop myself down (for hours on end) in front of the computer last week and the result is a small list of places to visit and feast upon. Enjoy!

Becky Shander

Bitter Betty Blogs

Cowboys & Custard

elvie studio

Flor Larios Art

HenHouse Homemade

naphtaline

noodle and lou

pookieville

Vintage, Pretty & Shabby

The Washerwoman

hearts a flutter

Heart Shaped Yo Yo Garland from Penny Sanford


Conversation Heart garland from the Cupcake Goddess



Crochet a heart garland from Skip to my Lou



Make a charming keepsake hanging from cozy blue

And don't forget these darling ideas from Valentine's past from Purl Bee!


Heart shaped pins at Purl Bee


Sewn Paper Heart Valentines at Purl Bee



Fabric Window Valentine Cards at Purl Bee

hmmmmm...

Funny how some days it's so very easy to think of something to talk about here and other days, nada zip zilch comes to mind. Today is certainly one of the latter. WAH! I apologize in advance for putting you to sleep!

Dagnabbit. The drawback to feeling more spry is a return to housewifey-ness and the er, joys, of cleaning up the house. mumble mumble grumble piffle posh. So now the bedroom has been picked up, the last of the laundry done, the kitchen has been cleaned and lunch has been eaten.

The rain has been pouring down and in between bouts of drying off the doggie (who is undeterred by the buckets of rain coming down), I have been going through a pile of magazines that (somehow) grew into a mountain. Go to bed for a month and sheesh, look what happens! ;)

We enjoyed a very lazy weekend. We finally got to see "Up In The Air" and liked it very much. Had a late lunch at one of our favorite Indian restaurants afterward, had breakfast the following morning at Farmer's Market at our favorite breakfast place and of course a trip to the bookstore. Monday we ran errands and just lazed about.

I'm reading "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro which was on a list of the top ten books of the decade. I can't remember what blog I was reading (so sorry!) but someone linked to the Time Magazine online article about the top ten books of the first decade of the 2000's.

I loved "Remains of the Day" by the same author and the plot of this one sounded intriguing and it seemed to have gotten lots of rave reviews. Well ... I think I am liking it but good gosh, it's creepy crawly. The narrative of the book is so very icy cold and distant ... part (I'm sure there is more to come) of the chilling plot line has just been revealed ... yowzers.

Here's the list from Time:

1. Never Let Me Go (2005), by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2004), by Susanna Clarke
3. The Corrections (2001), by Jonathan Franzen
4. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), by Junot Diaz
5. The Known World (2003), by Edward P. Jones
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), by J.K. Rowling
7. Atonement (2002), by Ian McEwan
8. Lush Life (2008), by Richard Price
9. Then We Came to the End (2007), by Joshua Ferris
10. American Gods (2001), by Neil Gaiman

Here's the link to this and more top ten lists of the decade.

Monday blog love

The Best News

The most best-est, most exciting-est, most cozy news is ... drum roll ... and lots of jumping up and down from me ... the most charming blog, Buttonwillow Chronicles has returned. I completely missed the return while I was way laid with dental problems. Now I'm skipping around the house grinning, hurray hurrah, Lauren Mumford has returned to delight us.

The ButtonWillow Chronicles


Enjoying these charming dog-filled blogs

2DogStudio
Anne Leuck Feldhaus
Blue Mutt Photography
Sit.Stay.Smile.


Sad and infuriating news - Copyright Infringement

So sad and awful to read of the rip off of these artists designs!
Carol Eldridge
Ellen Crimi-Trent

More Haiti donation resources

Wonderful Charlotte of House Wren Studio, has posted today about Rebecca Sower and her work with a community of women in Haiti. Charlotte has also noted that Rebecca has an Etsy shop, Haiti by Hand, that sells works made by women in Haiti (which appears to be sold out as I write this, so check back later).

House Wren Studio re Haiti relief
Rebecca Sower
Haiti By Hand

Also Craft Hope has opened an Etsy shop for artists to donate their works to benefit the relief efforts in Haiti. 100% of proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders.

Craft Hope
Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy Shop

all over the place

oh goodness, my thoughts are all over the place today.

The images from Haiti are so very heartbreaking. I watch in increments and feel so bad when I have to turn away.

And in the midst of all of our heartbreak and desperation and grief over the situation there are words of hate peddlers like Pat Roberts and Rush Limbaugh. So unbelievably ugly and vile, I can't even begin to process it.

Let us make our care visible and heard and drown out their shrill voices and mean spirits.

Alicia, of Posie Gets Cozy, has provided a link to a wonderful list of crafters compiled by Susan Beal of West Coast Crafty, that are donating portions of their sales for earthquake relief in Haiti, etc.

link on Posie Gets Cozy
list of Craftivism for Haiti on West Coast Crafty

The amazing artist, Rebecca Sower, is posting wonderful stories of the people of Haiti that she has come to know and love and cherish as family.
Rebecca Sower


a very poor segue but from the weighty to the fun ...

Elizabeth, at Creative Breathing is having a gnome party and giveaway of one of her darling peg dolls (with adorable sidekick bunny!).

Kate, of The Garden Bell, will be celebrating her 100th post shortly with a giveaway.


oh and some good news from me at long last ... I ran all of my errands Wednesday by myself and did some housecleaning. Yippie! And yesterday, Thursday, I finally got my hair done! I had canceled three or four appointments and couldn't recognize that gray haired old lady staring back at me (in shock and disbelief and denial) in the mirror! Hurray Hurrah! No more stripes. ;) Hopefully the weekend will bring a trip to the movie theater and catching up on all of the good movies we've missed.

oh! and I love that Valentines and heart shapes are popping up everywhere ...

Wishing you a warm and cozy, heart filled kind of weekend! :)

Vintage Valentine Greetings

Twyla and Lindsey, of Two Crazy Crafters are having a vintage valentine celebration on their blog and they'd love for you to come join in the celebration! Lindsey has created and posted a darling vintage valentine tag tutorial today for your holiday use and crafty fun.

Inspired by dear Twyla and Lindsey, I thought I'd share some vintage valentine's greeting cards that I found in my great grandmother's things ... I think they are all circa the 1920's?







(I think something might be missing from this card as there are torn edges on each side by the columns that are holding the flower banner.)




(this one has/had sniffle sniffle sob, a little red ribbon - which lasted all these years until I touched it just now and it fell apart. WAH!)

Happy Toadstool Tuesday!

Have you joined all the gnome fun at Paula's AltAred Art? There's a gnome party going on and Paula has invited you to join in!

I enjoy making cards and last year for St. Patrick's Day I made this one ... you're right, it sure is a gnome rather than a leprechaun but I won't tell if you won't teehee! (my profuse apologies to the gnomes and leprechauns out there!) I made it using a quilt paper piecing pattern from Artisania. Isn't the internet wonderful?! If you stink at drawing, you can find anything your heart desires online for your craft patterns.

You may find the free pattern on the Artisania blog ... look on her right sidebar and under free patterns, you will see "Gnomelet Pattern" ... click on that for gnome-y adorableness.

Artisania blog




Oh my gosh! Look at this wonderful blog of vintage gnome and mushroom cards, Gnomes and Mushrooms!


(image from gnomes and mushroorms blog)

And this entry on the wonderful blog, Scrapologie.


(image from Scrapologie blog)

Monday blog love

Little by little, baby steps, one step at a time, I'm gaining strength. (Now if my jaw would just release and unlock! Sheesh, so depressing!) Last Thursday I went grocery shopping with my husband - first time in weeks - he's been having to do it all himself. We went to this ginormous Whole Foods in Venice and there was a lot of walking back and forth (and back and forth again!) Saturday hubs drove me to the needlework store (yippie skippie!) and to Michael's - the needlework store clerk loves to talk and she really put me to the test. And Sunday, yesterday, we went out for breakfast at the Farmer's Market and to the bookstore. Everything pooped me out but I'm none the worse today. Hurray hurrah!

Thought I'd do Monday blog love a little differently today ... with commentary. ;)

Gnome Sweet Gnome

The charming blogs, Creative Breathing and Paula's Palace of AltAred Art,
are having a Gnome Party. Pull up a toadstool and join the fun!

Creative Breathing
Paula's Palace of AltAred Art

And there's also a blog all about gnomes:
Better Gnomes and Garden
Check out the gnome habitat ornament tutorial they link to at My Paper Crane:
Gnome Habitat Ornament at My Paper Crane blog
Also the mini-cone gnome tutorial at Lune Vintage blog:
Mini Cone Gnome


Be Mine

The adorable mom and daughter team, Twyla and Lindsey of Two Crazy Crafters, are having a vintage valentine celebration, called Bella Vintage Valentine. Run over and be charmed!

Bella Vintage Valentine at Two Crazy Crafters


Where blogs and magazines meet

Did you read the exciting news? The wonderful Olivia Kanaley, of A Field Journal blog, is now part of the Victoria Magazine team as their 2010, Artist in Residence.

Enjoy her gorgeous blog, A Field Journal.


A Family Affair

The sisters of much beloved bloggers Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy and Jennifer Murphy of And other silly things, have their own beautiful blogs.

Alicia's Sis, Julie may be found at Under the Tulip Tree.
Jennifer's Sis, Kindra may be found at kindra is here.


The meaning of life

Thank you to Pam of yoborobo for the introduction to the haunting and life affirming blog, Circling My Head. A blog of family and friends. A blog of grace and gratitude. A blog of art with a chorus of healing angels.

Circling My Head

A Matter of the Heart

Uh oh. I was trying to calm down about holidays but Valentine's Day is just over the horizon, coming up fast.

I was looking for a heart penny rug pattern to make and I found this darling one last night! (It's actually a candle mat - don't know the difference between a penny rug and a candle mat??? Is it because the appliques aren't coin shaped or the overall size of the mat, or???)

Cath's Pennies Penny Rug Designs, Love Ewes pattern

And I just ordered these adorable ornaments from Stephanie at her Old World Primitives Etsy Shop.

Old World Primitives Etsy Shop






Do you read Victoria Magazine? I'm loving these cameo silhouette Valentine's in the January/February issue!

You can get the cameo silhouette patterns here online at Victoria Magazine.

Monday blog love on Tardy Tuesday

Waving hi to everyone! Thank you so much for your continued comments and wishes for a return to good health, I so appreciate it! I am hoping (please please please) to feel more energetic soon and be able to plop myself in front of the computer long enough to answer comments again - right now, I'm still too pooped to sit here for long enough. Sigh.

I remembered that I had already begun a list of some links for you - so easy peasy, I can just hit publish and away we go. I'm determined to spend less time on the computer in 2010, so I don't know how many more of these lists there will be.

My wish is to be more of a participant in my life ... sounds so silly, but somehow I can sit down at the computer and hours have gone by. I'm hoping to be more active, lose some of this middle age heftage that has crept up upon me, and also use the time to be creative. I will still be here but hopefully I will find a way to manage my time more efficiently.

What are your wishes for 2010?

Design Mom
Holly Abston
lena sjoberg
Little Byrd
Make Every Day A Good Mail Day
snippets and stash
Spool Knitter
Stampin Inspirations by Maria
Zen Habits

Vintage Rose Bowl and Rose Parade

Edited to add: WAH! I wrote this entry on New Year's Eve, planning to post it the following morning, on New Year's Day to coincide with the Rose Bowl and the Rose Parade. I had been feeling a tad better on New Year's Eve, actually got a bit done around the house ... only to wake up on New Year's Day with the stomach flu! GAH! This is the most depressing, ridiculous, frustrating, bummer to say the least, of a few weeks. Yes, it's been going on for weeks now. SOB. Trying my best to remain cheerful.

I hope you all had lovely New Years Eve's and New Years Days!



Original entry:
I found these souvenirs from 1947 in my mother's things. My parents lived in Seattle at the time and my dad went down to Pasadena to visit family and to attend the Rose Bowl Game. He sent my mother this souvenir photo folder of the Rose Parade. Sadly the photos aren't real photo postcards like you would buy today - they're very blurry copies of photos, printed on poor quality paper.

One of my favorite things in the whole world is watching the Rose Parade on the television on New Years Day morning! It takes place only about a half hour or so away from me but I've never been in person. My parents took my brother when he was small but didn't go again after I was born. So I missed out on the opportunity as a kiddie when I had the stuff it takes to sit out there in the cold for hours. WAH! And now I'm too old and cranky to endure the cold and the crowds and the sore rear end. So I enjoy it with my french toast and view from the couch.

Hope you can make out these photos a bit ... so quaint and unsophisticated seeming now ...