Art, Craft and Needlework, November 2014

[FelineFriend]

NOW I must take a "break" from crochet- because my hands are swollen, ache, and are so sore! So, first it was the shoulders, preventing me from crocheting, and NOW, it's my hands themselves! Oh, well. I guess it's meant for me to take a break. Will "try" to resume the evening of Thanksgiving.

[Nancy]

FF yep me too I have taken to ever other day to give my shoulder wrist arm ect. a rest from crafting. Having fun with learning a new pattern knit stitch!

[Harriet]

I really feel for ya'll. It's my legs that hurt when I stand a lot at crafting table lately. All I can say is everyone get enough water and rest. Change positions. "A change of occupation is rest".

Nancy, I would think it is like a lot of other dolls such as Cabbage Patch and CareBears were. Nice to have one from the store but even better if it is hand made!

Well, I am amused at myself!!! I have been organizing my pressed flowers so that they are out from between pages and I can see them, in plastic. Oops! I have so many I can't manage to see them all at once, even on a big table! I think I got carried away with gathering!

I put most in leftover clear plastic "jewel cases" for cds (with paper napkin to keep them still), but I can't even fit them all in those (and I have a lot of leftover cases around here). Yep, definitely got carried away. But little blossoms are so sweet, you know, when you are gathering them, and you can't imagine that you don't want lots!

Note to self - there are never enough Johnny-Jump-Ups. Such an ideal, small flat blossom. Maybe I could even grow some of those next year so I could press plenty. Oh, my WHAT am I saying? I've got to quit!

[blessedw2]

pressed flowers dHarriet ... how lovely!!!!

[FelineFriend]

We have 2 large round (is this redundant?) candles with pressed flowers on them. We've kept the plastic over them, as they're scented candles, I have allergies and asthma, but they are still like "new", I merely dust the plastic and love to display them.

Harriet, I wondered if you could be able to master the art of adhering pressed flowers to larger round candles, too? It looks so very pretty. Another idea would be to encase them into a hanging glass frame of some type, to resemble a sun catcher, but perhaps not hang it in a window, where sunshine on the pressed flowers may make them more fragile and faded.

I also have some pressed flower bookmarks, somebody sent to me.

[Nancy]

I finished up the round dish cloth last night that I was working on. Yea! I am getting a lot of 'em from this last cone if rainbow cotton. I have here.

H took lhe last doz. Of eggs to work I collected one for my breakfast when I fed them.

[FelineFriend]

Harriet !!! An idea HIT me, this a.m., while I was telling DH about all of your pressed flowers!!!!!! Would you ever care to make beautiful place mats with your blossoms? You might be able to lay them out onto clear contact paper, unless you have another good way of doing laminating. Then, it hit me just now, how you could possibly to collage pressed flower place mats using ribbons, paper doilies, the pressed flowers, pressed ferns, etc., too! I think it would be SO BEAUTIFUL!

I am still continuing to take a "break" from crocheting.

I would love to learn how to knit, in the New Year! I have a booklet called, "I Can't Believe I'm Knitting!" and "Knitting for Dummies," too. I figured if I went to YouTube for instructions, to watch in person, how to cast on, knit, purl, etc... and how to (is it called this???) bind off, it'd be a fantastic way to learn how to knit dishcloths, scarves, and flat rectangle hats, for Christmas 2015!

Also, I want to master Tunisian crochet, so I can make panels and do cross-stitch on them. DD gave me a good book, which is very old, from Goodwill, in Seattle. There is a lovely white Tunisian paneled afghan with floral roses cross-stitched on it. Wow! Also, one of my old craft books (you can buy them used from book dealers!!!!) had a wonderful babies afghan, along the same pattern with cross-stitch or embroidery on it. It'd be such a nice keepsake for a grandchild! If I could find patterns for cars and boy "things", it'd be great, for making a solid color Tunisian afghan for my grandsons and a pink one for DGD, to embroider designs on, too! Just trying to keep my oldster brain "tweaked" with good, new stimulation!