using your knuckles

i did a small rendition of the "30 days have September" sing-song to my Mom last month. i only say the first 3 lines. then i showed her that thing i do with my knuckles. i don't remember who showed this to me. but i was really young. and i am guessing that it was not my Mom. have you done this. make a fist. and use your finger to point to the first knuckle. then the space between your next knuckle. and so on. while saying the months starting with January. all the months that land on a knuckle have 31 days. and all the months that land on the space between have 30 days. except February. which everyone knows has 28 or 29. when you get to your last knuckle. July. 31. you go back to your first knuckle. August. 31.

just signed up for Mollie's stitch swap. it closes later today. so not too late. you stitch something in a 4 in. hoop and send it ready to hang. tomorrow i should be receiving the March design for The Dessert of the Month Club for March. i'm guessing that it will include something green. my start on the January cottage was posted yesterday for The Cottage Stitch-A-Long. i am in The Cottage Stitch-A-Long 2. and i am absolutely in love with another design that has a stitch-a-long. which you can see better here. holding back for now. because i am considering joining the Garden Steps Quilt Along. what are you doing on your extra day.

Hoop Travel Bag

since starting The Dessert of the Month Club it was obvious i would make a Hoop Travel Bag. both patterns come from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery store. and i saw this one first. i paired a brand new modern oval with a retro sheet. not sure i like my "k" embroidery. not sure it needs it. or why i don't like it. so i may take it off. a bit puffy because i used 2 layers of batting. it does feel good. but next i will use 1 layer of batting or a woven interfacing. i say next because you really can't have too many of these.yeah to me. doing the happy dance to have come up with this awesome-zipper-pull on my own. that is until someone tells me i did not. if you want to do this. take 3 strands of 26 in. cotton knitting yarn. or not so much if you want it smaller. thread thru hole in zipper pull. and straighten until you have 6 ends together. separate yarns so that you have the 2 ends that belong to each other. braid until you like the length. place a knot in the end. snip the tassel even across. or if you are a free-spirit. leave it be. all raggedy.

The Dessert of the Month Club

meet The Champagne Truffle and Devil's Food Cupcake. aren't they cute!! i haven't done cross stitch for years. but sure had been thinking about it. i found luscious linens at my local thread shop. but since i was never good at counting threads. i'm using Aida. picked the 18 to keep it really small. for info see Amanda on her hey porkchop! blog or Amanda and Ashleigh of The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery store.

Pink Lemonade : finished.

i stitched 3/4 in. away from all the seams. and used a retro sheet on the back. for more info see Lori on her Humble Quilts blog.

Make It Work

so. many projects don't get finished. who the heck knows why. time is usually the problem. but not the only reason. so i thought i would try a new strategy. and imagine Tim Gunn stopping by. just to see me. a famous-crafty-person. hehe. and telling me. to. Make It Work.there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the pattern or what i did with it. i just don't like borders. and always choose to leave them off. but here i am going on and on about the awful border and because i didn't take a picture you can't really see what was wrong. or not wrong. trust me. it looked fine.at the time. i was eager and hesitant to make this. had doubt i could do it well and be happy. i like structure. and this seemed a bit carefree for me. these were my niece's jeans she didn't have very long. and she was growing out of. so perfect. if it didn't work i didn't ruin something important.fast forward to a few days ago. out came the pins. lots of them. and off came the border. i tied it. to flannel. and what had been on the back. i used for the binding. now i love it. i Made It Work. but. to tell the truth. i needed batting. not very much. and safety pins. you always need more than you have. and there they were. so i got what i wanted. and a long-over-due-finish. i like to call this. my 15 block version. a half-lap-size. it measures 36 in. x 60 in.Secondhand Comfort pattern.
Taffy Jane Etsy shop.
Quilt Taffy Etsy shop.
Quilt Taffy blog.
my original post.
could it really have been that long ago!!

Pink Lemonade : part 3.

for more info see Lori on her Humble Quilts blog.

Quilt Squares Quilt Along

Small Quilt #1 from Quilt Squares #1 by Lori Smith.
for more info see Jo on her Jo's Country Junction blog.
or go straight to the quilt along main page.

Pink Lemonade : part 2.

that triangle was cut bigger. yep. i am always afraid i will need it. and then i don't. for more info see Lori on her Humble Quilts blog.

random number has picked....

10, 4, 15.
Quilting "b", Josie McRazie, and Lori have won some Wavy Wipers.

and 1, 4.
Joan and Kevin, and Lynn have won a Wavy-Wavy Scarf.

please send me your mailing info and i will send them your way.

thank you to those whose left a comment and if you suggested a name.
i liked the word Curvy. and i also thought about Ripples.
those names have been used in a few places. so i went with Wavy-Wavy.

i put together some directions and tips for beginners.
to knit my wiper pattern into a scarf.
so if you are interested. check out the links left below.
and if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Wavy Wiper Pattern.
Wavy Wiper Pattern for beginners.
Wavy-Wavy Scarf Pattern.
Wavy-Wavy Scarf Pattern tips for beginners.

Pink Lemonade : part 1.

this doll quilt has a new name. Pink Lemonade. like it. for more info see Lori on her Humble Quilts blog.

another doll quilt along : fabrics.

so Lori is going to have another doll quilt along. and is yet to decide on a name. just a few days into the year and already wanting to shop for some pretty fabrics to make this. but i was searching scraps for another project and put these aside. some yellows made the first cut. we'll see. the darks are shirts i bought for another project. just need a bit. so my other project need not worry. i should really use that pink ditty. which is rather old. but i rather like the large rose one. and the lights on the right are just in case. they are not very yellow. lots of brown to choose from. this one seemed just right. for more info see Lori on her Humble Quilts blog.

wavy wavy

or if you like.
Messy Karen's Wavy Wiper Scarf Pattern.
not a very awesome name. or is it.
these names i liked.
Summer Surprise, She Sells Sea Shells, Tiny Waves, Skipping Stones.
but already taken. do you have a name i should consider?
are you wishing that a wavy wavy scarf could be for you.
simple. leave a comment. i will end it on Friday.
in case you could not tell there is a cream, a blue, and a navy scarf.
the cream was chosen by a friend. so only the blue and navy are left.
and although it is Wintertime. i have made these in a very soft cotton.

new day

yesterday was two-thousand-eleven. today is twenty-twelve. wouldn't it be loverly. to get a small bundle of wavy wipers. a small bundle of 3 wipers just for you. i know you think so. i get oh-so-loverly-thank-yous all the time. been meaning to do this sooner. blah-blah-blah. i have two bundles. maybe three. just leave a comment on this post. simple. and come back tomorrow for something new. if you like it then you might have to leave another comment. not here. but there. so one here. and one there. i will end it on Friday. simple.

merry day

hia. last week my sister noticed that her 3 kids handled their advents differently. one left the doors open. one closed them back up. and one tore the doors off. interesting. these were always a part of our holiday tradition. and we are lucky to have a popular German meat store nearby that sells other very nice things. including special items when the holidays come around. i really needed a stress-free Xmas this year. but it still had to include handmade things. so here's what i did-got-done. 2 kindle covers. 2 teatowels with names. 10 hemp washcloths. plus a few more for after holiday gift-giving. and 11 fleece hats. and the to-go-with-things were. 2 kindles. 2 purchased teatowels. and 11 soaps. mission accomplished. feels good. but to set the record straight. i gave one of those kindle to me. finally. Santa must have lost my letters for the last few years. i must write and tell him he can cross that off his list.

kindle cover. a tutorial by Elizabeth of Elizabeth's Whimsies blog. super directions. i continued the patchwork on the back instead of one piece. fits a K-keyboard nicely. for the K-touch i just made it 1/2 shorter. used an upcyled blanket in lieu of batting. so omitting the quilted stitching was not a problem. names on teatowels. my own design. thinking about doing a tutorial. are you interested. hemp washcloths. yarn and pattern by Hemp for Knitting by Lanaknits. the yarn was fabulous to work with. and the pattern super quick to make. even quicker because i dropped off a few stitches and did only 8 repeats. but a nice finished cloth measuring 8 in. x 8-1/2 in. fleece hat. The Green Pepper pattern #549. super simple. the little ones got shorter ears and just a tassel on top. the boys got longer ears and just a braid on top. and the girls got longer ears with all the braids. i omitted the topstitching and just zig-zagged-closed the opening by the back seam. i made all the sizes for the baby to the 18 year old. and very pleased that everyone liked them. soap. Pre de Provence. i got Linden and Lavendar Fig. you can also get some here. this was a recommendation from the LYS. and much appreciated. William and Kate Royal Wedding teatowels. so happy i found these. a perfect souvenier to end the year. and next year aka next month maybe these.

i hope everyone is well rested or will spend time this week to do so. my wish for you. just a few moments to enjoy the quiet of a regular day. but if you're anxious to get an early start on next year's list. above are some details that helped me.

3 things

these are a few things i would like to start in 2012. Swoon. everyone seems to be making this quilt. and i can see why. i want one. might even have some fabrics. looking for a background. i ordered a pink. but it didn't work. so using it for my Blogger's BOM quilt. i like it there. The Night Garden. i emailed to get templates. and soon will be deciding on fabric. so i will make some practice blocks. and to get me started there is a lovely tutorial. can't ask for more than that. Flock Together. found while flipping thru Sarah's book. possible stash fabrics will be used. but i really-really want to use this b&w for the background. trouble is. only purchased one-eighth-of-a-yard. crazy. now i want yards of it. does anyone know who makes it. have you seen it. anywhere. help.

Underground Railroad Sampler

an update. and i will put you-annoying-blocks away for a few weeks. every night they were taunting me. "aren't you going to finish me tonight". "why are you working on those other things". nag-nag-nag.i was all confused and tried to attend my October class a day late. so Wagon Wheel not finished.and for November there were so many pieces. and the little one. well as you can see. extremely tiny ones. so Carpenter's Wheel not finished. so nothing serious. i feel better. now i can work on som-other-annoying-blocks. and then something easy-pretty-please.

Blogger's BOM Quilt Along

block 1 is designed by Sherri of A Quilting Life blog.

block 2 is designed by Vicki of Field Trips in Fiber blog.

for more info on the Blogger's BOM Quilt Along see Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works blog.

a really-mini-version of my quilt

i like saying that. really. i love muggie rugs and dollie quilts. but these little lovelies can be used or not used so many different ways. i know that i was going to show you my mini quilt yesterday. but when i got home. well i forgot about you. just sat there flaberghasted by all the bloggie blog hop traffic. and here too. 160+ comments. thank you. overwhelmed by many of you wanting to win. or just plain see. well i put it in the mail yesterday. and i miss it. i made the squares 3 in. only because of few of my scraps were not bigger. looks good. but they can't really handle such long ties. they look much better on the 4-1/2 in. squares. but i left them that way. Jackie can cut them down if she wants to. but the Ghastlies may not approve!! have you all been enjoying the hop. i have. been to every blog. left lots of comments. have been Ghastlie-inspired in directions i never thought of. taking some notes. and there are 5 more days to go.

Miss Karen ♥ The Ghastlies

comments after 10 p.m. EST will not be included.
you are welcome to continue to comment.
congrats to Jackie #122.
you're the winner of a really-mini-version of my quilt.
will post picture tomorrow.
grand prize winner for today has yet to be announced.
there were 2 grand prize winners for Day 3.
Sheri from Ms. Penny. and YES. Jackie from Miss Karen.


today is my day to share a secret project. and it's....
my go-to-patchwork-and-flannel-blanket-with-lots-and-lots-of-ties.4-1/2 in. squares.
in a 12-by-12 design.
12 each of 12 different fabrics.
"a Ghastlie night" on white, and pink.
"trees" on white, grey, and pink.
all six prints from "Shades of Grey" by Daisy Janie.
and a blue from "Lou Lou Thi" by Anna Maria Horner.

you might also want to have a look at.
my Madison bag which i completed a few months ago.

so.
at the end of today one comment will be picked from this post.
that name will win (from me) a really-mini-version of my quilt.
got that. a really-mini-version.
AND that name will be shared with Madam Samm.
for a Ghastlie giveaway on Madam Samm's Sew I Quilt blog.

now i'm off to see what the other Ghastlie girls have been up to.
Mrs. Barb.
Ms. Loralynn.
Ms. Jen.
Ms. Penny.
Mrs. Rhonda.

The Ghastlies Blog Hop

Miss Karen welcomes you.
to the 1st Annual Ghastlies Blog Hop.
it starts Monday, October 24th.
and ends Friday, November 4th.

54 of us.
have secretly been making things
using The Ghastlies fabric.
we knew it would be fun.
and thought you would think so too.

every week day there will be a list of bloggers to visit.
each blogger will show you a trick (aka their secret project).
and some might even have a treat (aka their own giveaway).
at the end of each day one comment will be picked from each blog.
and that name will be shared with Madam Samm.
for a Ghastlie giveaway on Madam Samm's Sew I Quilt blog for that day.
shipping cost will be the responsibility of winners.
however there is one prize which will have free shipping.

stop back on Wednesday, October 26th.
to see my secret project.
but be careful.
you could very well catch The Ghastlies fabric fever.