Aaaaaaaaaaand done

Mo and I check out about a dozen books a week from our library. And Mo's special tote bag that her Aunt Angie made for her is a real workhorse. I liked that idea so much I made several library totes as gifts for little ones last year. But then I saw this. See that little thumbnail for the color wheel sampler workshop? And I knew I had to make one on the next bag. For some reason I have enough embroidery floss to sink a battleship--weird, right?--so I traced a salad plate and jumped right in. The stitches are not anything particularly fancy or complicated. But I am really happy with how this turned out. And without the word "library" blazoned across the side, it can be a book bag or a sleep over at grandma's house bag or a carry all 38 of my tiny plastic farm animals to the park bag. This will be my go-to 2014 bag design.

Sing a rainbow

I started a little color wheel sampler project. You know, in all my free time.

Embroidered baby gifts

Every once in a while I have time for a little crafting. I was inspired by the library tote bag my sister Angie made for Mo for Christmas--which has nothing in common with this bag except shape and purpose. I think this will be my go-to baby gift for 2013. The small canvas totes came from a craft supply store in a 3 pack. And call Hoarders because I have enough embroidery floss stashed away to sink a battleship. I used a water-soluble marker to freehand the lettering, and then started stitching. The really fun part is picking out books with which to fill the bag for gifting. This winter I'm loving The Snowy Day. But I also try to pick some of Mo's favorites like I Am A Bunny and Time for Bed and Jo MacDonald.

Embroidered ornaments

Now that Christmas has passed, it's finally safe to show you my top secret needlepoint project. I made counted cross stitch ornaments for Great Aunt Sissy, Theresa, Rick, and Mom.



The alphabet I used comes from Alicia Paulson's Embroidery Companion. It's part of the Meadowflower Tote project on page 80. I also like to look at her blog Posy Gets Cosy. She writes from the heart and has an adorable corgi.



As so often happens a project journal on The Purl Bee caught my eye: Cross-Stitch Ornaments. That was my starting point. So mine are the same...only different. For the front fabric I used a cotton dishcloth, and for the reverse fabric I used a beautiful cotton men's handkerchief with subtle striping. Oh, and inside I lined each tiny pillow with muslin.



I played around with the color combinations while I was working. Sissy's is blue and red (M is for Marjorie), Theresa's is purple and yellow, Mom's is green and orange (L is for Liz but I guess I could have done an E), and Rick's is red and pink. Rick's ornament looks the most Christmasy to me, and it was my favorite. Theresa asked how I found the time to get them done. Hey, it's Christmas magic! (And a really awesome husband who takes on baby duty for a full day while I count stitches.)