kokeshi dotee love

kokeshi dotee love, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

received in a swapbot swap
I am in love with her
she is simply perfect
thanks to rubberstampcollector
for making her

{Kokeshi Dolls are traditional Japanese dolls.  They were orignally from northern Japan and hadmade of wood.  They have a simple trunk and enlarged head.  The facial definition is made up of a few thin, painted lines.  The body usually has a floral design painted in red, black, and sometimes yellow, and covered with a layer of wax. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs. The bottom is marked with the signature of the artist.} Wikipedia

Needlework Project & Good Reading

Flower Power , originally uploaded by poketypatch.

I finished the glasses case made from recycled sweaters, some of my boys old pants and buttons! It is soft and thick; and, I think it will work wear to protect a pair of glasses from scratches. It is also a good size for a cell phone or ipod.

Speaking of finishing...I have recently finished two "quick read" mysteries with a needlework theme. I picked them up at my local library. The series is written by Monica Ferris. The main character, Betsy Devonshire, owns a needlework shop, "Crewel World" in Minnesota. She solves crimes with her store manager, Godwin DuLac (who is gay), and other needleworking friends, one who is a police officer. I started out reading the most recent book, Knitting Bones, since it caught my eye on the new book rack at the library. I liked it so much, I have plowed through Crewel Yule and am getting ready to start Sins and Needles. All of the books are featured on Ms. Ferris' website and include the first chapter of each book. She also contributes to a mystery writer's blog, Killer Hobbies, and Wednesday is Ms. Ferris' day to contribute. If you like themed mysteries, I recommend these for a fun read! I have added them to my Amazon Widget.

Old Magazines and Old Buttons

button flower, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

Does anyone else hate to throw away old magazines? A few weeks back, I was cleaning out the bookshelves in my bedroom and came across a stack of old magazines. I decided to pick out one magazine, look through it, and if I didn't find anything of interest, I was going to throw it out. Good try! The magazine I chose was the February 2000 issue of Country Living. Since Valentine's Day was on my mind, I found it uncanny that I would randomly pick out a Valentine issue!

Besides wonderful articles on "Flea Market Makovers" and "Collect it Now", there was one article in particular that caught my eye. "Button it Up!" chronicles the art of folk artist Mary Teeter who makes one-of-a-kind mosaics out of old fabrics, buttons and embroidery. A google search came up with a couple of galleries that feature Ms. Teeter's buttonwork which is awsome. And, since I have a sewing box fully of old buttons, I was inspired to start using them!

Valentine Needlecase Project

My creation, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

As I was rumaging through the attic this weekend, I found some old patterns I had printed out at least a year ago. One was a Valentine Needlecase. Since I have been trying to improve on my embroidery of late, I decided to use some of the felt I have been collecting each time I travel to Michael's, and whip up this little project. I am really pleased with the way that these turned out. They will be perfect for someone special on Valentine's Day!

Flower Power

I went crazy making up these little flower pins. One thing led to another, and I got an idea for Christmas cards. I used to do little needlefelted pin cards - you know - send a pin to a friend... I thought the poinsetta theme was very festive!

Tiny Pin Cushion

tomato pin cushion, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

This pattern was featured in Sew Stylish: Gifts to Make, Holiday 2007. This tomato is my first attempt. Notice the vine stitch embroidery around the base. I now have three stitches in my repertoire! These little lovelies are so addictive!

I checked out the Sew Stylish website to see if the pin cushion pattern just might be offered via the Internet, but no such luck. There were some other free patterns featured, however. There is a "Back Friendly Pillow" pattern. There is also a video tutorial on how to knit a furry scarf! There are other free patterns listed as well. If you are interested, you should definitely check it out!

Attempts at Embroidery

Sewing, knitting, crocheting, spinning, sewing, scrap booking are all things that I can do pretty well. But, when it comes to embellishing with simple embroidery stitches, I am at a loss. This weekend, I attempted to work on this skill with some simple projects I found on the Internet.

Getting prepared, I pulled out my cross stitch thread from the attic (it has been a while since I did any cross stitch). I also rooted through a wonderful sewing box my mother-in-law gave me a few years back full of vintage mending wool. There was wool in many different colors; and, it was bug-free. Amazing!



This wool is so awesome. It sold for only 4 cents in its day!

I tried one of the tutorials here starting simple with the Heart Tag and then moving on to more complex with the Tea Tag. What I love about tutorials is that they are just a starting point that get your crafty juices rolling. I ended up learning how to do a french knot and the blanket stitch. I am sure that there are a lot of sites to offer instruction on stitches like Rissa's Pieces Stitch Dictionary.

I am going to use these as tags for Christmas gifts. The "Tea Tag" will adorn a mason jar full of tea bags for a teach who just loves tea! I had a lot of fun with these, but my embroidery skills still need a lot of work.