Rose Flower Pins from Felted Wool

These pins were made from circles of felted wool sweaters.
Very easy to make, I glued a pin back on them for brooches.

There are lots of easy changes you can make to them, adding leaves or using beads or pearls instead of buttons.

I think the orange one is my favorite!

You can find the directions here....

The Last Snow of the Winter....and Hopefully the Spring too!

s This morning we had a little snow...I had hopefully put my deck umbrella up...surely winter was over!
Fourteen hours later it is still snowing, nice big flakes, nice and steady all day long!

Felted Bowls in Grey and White

I used Bernat felting wool yarn to create these bowls. The one on the right is the same size the one on the left front used to be prior to machine felting. I bought the pattern on etsy here from knot*sew*cute. The bowls work up really fast...
I used various containers from the kitchen to mold the bowls after machine felting.

I made five of these in an evening.

The yarn is beautiful before and after felting...I will post more pics after I get them dried and I am thinking about decorating some of them with wool roving.

A Parcel from New Zealand

I got a lovely package from New Zealand on Friday... It included this sweet tote bag and these great print fat quarters...Love them!!!

And a neat Kleenex holder for my purse...

All from Deb, my Dutch Sisters Spring Surprise Swap partner!

The package was filled with buttons and sequins, lots of goodies!

And this lovely necklace (see here how Deb made this).
What a fun package to receive from around the world!!

Thanks Deb! Follow her blog here--she is a very energetic and busy blogger with lots of great ideas!

Making Fun Name Badge Holders

It all starts with some of those button covers...you can get them in all sizes, but I use the 1 1/8" inch covers for the name badge holders. I use E-6000 to glue the covered buttons to the badge holder.

I cut out the fabric circle the size the package has on the back.
Put the fabric into the mold and place the back onto it, using the little blue tool.
Then I glue the badge reel holder onto the button or the button onto the badge holder.

I use holiday fabrics and seasonal fabrics.

I use generic fabrics that will go for all seasons.

I even use Mizzou fabric for special Tigers fans.

Sam is 16!!

Seems just like yesterday I was taking Sam to see his Great Grandma and Grandpa for the first time...he is being snuggled by Grams Hook here, about 4 weeks old.

Here he is at 5 months...cute little piggies! Sam is holding Jingle Jack, a toy I made for him.
Here Grandpa Price helps Sam drive the John Deere. He loves his Papa Price...Sam is about 18 months old here.
Sam at 2 1/2 here. He is modeling his Porky Pig nightshirt that I made for him...and yes I had a matching one!

Sam with me, his Momma...
and with his best friend Jordon after the Pinewood Derby...

and with a llama friend during his llama phase.

at his cousin's wedding...

and his classic smile!

Sam and his cousin Elena, who looks tired by this time in the party! She was ready for it all to be over!

We now get packets from universities and colleges almost every day...he has his driver's license, he sleeps as long as I will let him....he is a whiz at math, he loves his mama most of the time.

My, oh my...where does the time go?

New Curtains...I can sheerly see them...

OK, these are the old curtains...I made them last year but now they are so faded from the sun that they are hardly presentable. I should have lined them, but oh well. So I have been looking for a different look...

And here it is! I love it...gives a whole new look to the living room.

And my new curtain rods from last year look great there too!
I used four panels a window at $4.75 each (thanks to Wal-Mart), which adds up to $57, not bad considering what drapes cost!

I couldn't decide what to do with the windows that are side by side...should I put the darker colors in the middle or just on the sides? I decided just the sides only and think it looks great.

I can still go back and change it if I want...

The constant rock...

inspirationI just read this a few weeks ago and thought it was very inspiring....

Constant Rock
I wonder if you have had the experience of going to the seashore and seeing a rock out at sea, and watching the waves crashing against the rock? And you might wonder about the waves. Where they come from and why they appear one after the other ... endlessly. Why the rock has to put up with the waves.

Waves are the result of storms far out at sea... the storms have disappeared but the waves they caused are still crashing in... long after... and the bigger the storm, the bigger the waves that roll in.
And I remember a particular rock.... it was protecting the shore behind it .... breaking the waves, defending, deflecting, reshaping, reforming... Maybe you recall a similar rock?.....that looked as if it had been there forever .... solid and strong... and every wave that came surged against it .... broke up with a roar and then withdrew eventually...... Some waves were so large they submerged the rock .... other waves were just ripples that splashed and were gone .... again and again the rock met the wave, became one with it, taking on its shape... the wave hugs the rock and the rock moulds to the wave.... until the rock and the wave are one, understand each other, became part of each other... some waves come in with a great roar and a crash with foam flung high... other waves roll gently round the base and drain away with a gentle laughing gurgle.

But every wave ... large or small .... was absorbed and quickly the water ran off .... leaving the rock as it always had been... solid ... strong.... constant.
And many years later I went back to see that rock. The waves had sculpted it... had changed it... its shape better suited its position.... the waves made it better at protecting the coast... but still it was the same rock... in a way that rock had learned from the waves... learning to absorb sometimes and to deflect other times...
And I wonder if that rock enjoys the waves, and celebrates before every storm.... because with the storm comes that sense of mastery based on enduring long exposure.... a deep rooted confidence... that comes from knowing that whatever comes can be dealt with .... knowing it is capable of handling anything.... knowing that each wave makes it stronger... a confidence that needs to be reminded and refreshed....
Because always ... after every wave... the water drains away... and the rock remains .... serene.... unchanged.... learning from wind and water and sun and storm...
And in a way the rock is grateful... after every storm.... the waves wash away a little but deposit some things as well... and with the ebbing of every wave... the rock knows tranquility... and experiences its own strength reaching right down to the foundations. And it's good to know that each wave... no matter how fierce it seems... will retreat ....and leave nothing more than a ripple in the sands of memory...
Steady and constant, strong and sure.... the rock can carry on. Because tomorrow a new day brings warm sunshine and bright sea air... the rock is constantly renewed.... constant in an inconstant sea.