~*Freedom Is Not Free*~

Remember those that have fought and given so much... bless and thank those that continue to sacrifice.

Warm smiles to you all...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! WooHooo! Friday has rolled around again... and it is a holiday weekend too! My darling hubby has taken an extra day off giving him a longer weekend. After we get the mowing & yard chores done... we get to play the rest of the time. I hope you all have fun, family~filled plans for the holiday.

I didn't receive any emails of finishes this week, but my buddy Marianne pointed me to this one... Joy has finely stitched one of my Valentine freebies... Isn't is lovely?



She writes on her blog that this is her first pinkeep. She has done such a brilliant job too! Looking closely you can see she stitched beads on her finish ~ too cute! On the back of her pinkeep, she has added a pocked for scissors & floss too.

Thank you for stitching & sharing, Joy!

Yesterday was a full day at home. Trinity had a friend over to play & swim. I set up a watchful post in the backyard... complete with ice tea, my cellphone (because it is attached to me at all times... although I'm really not sure why), and my needlepunch. It felt great to punching under the shade trees & was fun eavesdropping on the boys too. I've learned we have sharks & alligators in our swimming pool! lol I'm surprised the boys didn't use the cap guns to shoot them! ha ha

my workstation for the day...


my progress for the afternoon...


Last week, I purchased several small paper mache boxes. These will be box toppers when finished.

Wishing you all a blessed day with warm smiles...

Betty

~*Simple Joys*~

Hello Dear Friends! This is the first full week of Summer Break... and we have been keeping very busy. I've been trying to get some stitching & other crafting in... but trying to keep up with the family... and now suffering from allergies or something... it has been a little tough. Don't worry though.. I'll bounce back into the crafty~mode soon!

We filled the pool yesterday. Trinity is daring me! I've told him it is too cold to get in just yet... but see what he does!

(He did agree it was cold... don't know how he can even stand to have his feet in it!)

This guy is a new buddy of mine...

A big, fat bumblebee! He has been hanging around outside the greenhouse for the past several days. It is strange, he is just always there. It is interesting to watch him though. He will chase butterflies & birds off... then come right back to the same spot. There isn't a hive in the nearby tree or anything... not sure what keeps him around... but he is friendly enough.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Cutter Quilts*~

Oh I do hate calling them that... cutter quilts... all that time, love, and craftsmanship... but they are too frayed to use on the bed now. However, maybe because they are so tattered & torn, they have been loved and snuggled with for many years.



Hello Dear Friends! I've spent the morning at a local estate auction. They are always fun! That battle~of~bids, that hunt for a lost treasure, and just watching the crowds. It is always an enjoyable time! The weather has cooperated too... no more rain... just sunshine and heat!

My treasure finds today included some sweet, old quilts. I love to see the collection of vintage fabrics. I'm not 'schooled' when it comes to quilting and am not familiar with the pattern names. I try to examine them to see if they were made by hand, by machine, or both. As far as I can tell, one is completely hand pieced and quilted... the other two look to be put together with a machine, but are hand quilted.





They smell a little musty... it would be nice to leave them out on the line, but it is too windy... they will get ripped to shreds. I'll just wash them on the gentle cycle and put them out to air on another day.

There are large areas on each the could be used to make something else... but I'm not sure what... and I do hate to cut them... but I probably will. Pillows maybe for the larger pieces? Pinkeep make~dos for the smaller pieces? For now, I'll just fold them and stack them on a cabinet though.

Wishing you all warm smiles and a blessed weekend...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! Hey! It is FRIDAY... that means time for ~*Friday Finishes*~! There is only one crafty finish to share today... but it is a sweetie!

Laura (no blog or online album) used the blooms from the ~*May Day*~ freebie to make a charming book cover. Her book is by Willa Cather, "Shadows on the Rock"... a historic novel set in 1697. What a perfect way to add more character, charm & sweetness! I haven't read the book... but this sounds like a good book to judge by the cover!



The rain seems to have finally finished here... letting the sun have a chance to shine brightly... and help our fruits & veggies grow... here are some I snapped pictures of this morning...

peaches... This will be our first year for these!

apples... These are the SWEETEST & BESTEST apples on earth! Excellent for apple fritters!

pears... My Momma LOVES the pear butter I've made with them in the past. It looks like a great crop for more this year!

plums... Tony is so excited to see these growing! He has been threatening the birds daily!

grapes... Nom Nom... grape jelly!

cherry tomatoes... Candy on my salad every day! YIPPEE!


Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Three Spools Rug*~

Hello Dear Friends! What do you do with a small scrap of linen? Hook a small mat of course!



After my hubby made the olde, ice pick hook for me the other day... I had to try it out. So, I pulled out a scrap of linen... it was too small for my frame... so I sewed a couple of strips of fabric to the edges to make it fit. These fabric scraps are actually an old sheet... it seems I never throw anything away...



I then drew a few 'spools' on some card stock to use as templates...



My pattern was then ready...



I hooked with woolly scraps... and wanted an olde, early~look for the finished rug. I did a rug hooking 'NO NO' and finished the edges kind of 'wonky'... but this is how I wanted it to look... a little crooked, naive, and time~worn...





I've listed this one on Ebay... if you are interested, you can see it HERE or search seller id primitivebettys.

Wishing you all warm smiles...
Betty

~*My Roses Are Crying*~

Last week, or maybe it was the week before, I wanted it to rain... however, it has been pretty much non~stop since then. My roses are crying... but looking lovely in all their glamor...




My peonies on the other hand... well, they are just sobbing...

~*A New, Olde Primitive Rug Hook*~

Hello Dear Friends! How about a ~*Monday Make~Over*~? I think this is just SO COOL!

Can you tell what will become of this? Well, I guess I've already given it away with the title of the post.


I found this old ice pick at an antique store over the weekend. It was only $2... and not considered a real 'quality' collectible with the faded advertising and shortened pick. It reads, "Compliments of The Peoples Ice. Co." But, thanks to inspiration from my dear SIL, Robin, I quickly made plans for it. The crochet hook is from my sewing box (size F5 is what it was marked as). It is very rarely used anymore... so it will be perfect for this!

I'm so thankful to have a helpful & handy hubby! He removed the pick carefully so not to harm the wooden handle or metal cover thingy.


He then used some wire snips to trim the crochet hook to about the same length as the old, metal pick. He also used a file to narrow down the 'sides' to keep them from splitting the wood of the handle.


He then put is all together for me... carefully inserting the trimmed crochet hook into the handle and replacing the cap. I didn't like the pink tint to the hook... so he used some sort of parts cleaner to dull it.

Ta da! A new, olde primitive rug hook!





Awesome huh?

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Patriotic Eagle*~

Hello Dear Friends! Here is a fun, quick finish to share with you...



(This isn't a great picture ~ it would have been much better to take it outside, but it is too dark for that right now.)

This is an online retreat weekend for AAPG (a great Ebay group that I'm so proud to be a part of). For the retreat, our fearless leader, Kelley, inspired us to hook 'wool on wool'. You may have seen the crow pillow I made last weekend. Well, this is similar.

The pattern was inspired by this cool book...

I have several Kindred Spirits books & love each and every one of them!

I began the project by tracing the eagle pattern on a scrap of army blanket. It is hooked with some wools gifted to me by my buddy Merrie... for my birthday. After hooking the eagle, I stitched the circles & stars on with come cotton floss... added the jingle bells... and stitched on this really cool key...

The key was found at a garage sale a few years ago. On the fat part of the key it reads, "Made In USA"... just perfect for this folk art piece!

I then searched our barn for a scrap of wood. This one was already painted a deep burgundy and seemed just perfect to mount my project on. I just love when projects seem to 'fall' together!

Now I'm ready to start decorating for the 4th of July!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! TGIF! Friday has rolled around again... and it looks to be a pretty day here. We had a lot of rain this week and are expecting more this weekend... so today is a good day to be outside! Before that though, let me share some sweet finsihes...

From my punchin' buddy, Doris... aka luv2punch on Ebay... patriotic Willie... from my doodle book ~*Meet Willie the Perfect Sheep*~...



Doris' color choices make him so striking. She punched Willie with lace weight, wool yarn. What a great use of flosses & technique!

Doreen has been punching~pretty too! She told me she used a brighter color palette with this one to create a more whimsy~look. The pattern is a freebie, ~*1857 Bunny*~... and is finished so darling!



Thanks you Ladies for punchin' & sharin'! You have made some lovely works!

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty

~*Bees!*~

Hello Dear Friends! I just HAD to share this with you. Apparently we are now bee keepers!



This lil' colony has made up their hive~homestead in a knot hole in the side of our barn. Isn't it cool?


I guess if we really wanted to harvest some honey, we could remove the wall on the inside, but since we aren't schooled in the collecting of honey... we will just watch and let them do what they need to to.

Wishing you all warm, honey flavored smiles...

Betty

~*Another Crow Finish & An Auction Listing*~

Hello Dear Friends! My time has been spent creatively lately & I'm enjoying it so much! Here is my latest finish...





Yes, I actually did the stitching long ago... but this morning I finished the box! AND... it is now listed on Ebay & is up for offering!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE AUCTION or search seller id primitivebettys

I don't recall the exact floss used for the stitching, but it is a charcoal tone. The fabric is Weeks Dye linen ~ chestnut dyed. Isn't it YUMMY?

It feels good to be getting some finishes of my own. I'm about to walk away from the computer for a bit... and work on some more. But before I go, here are some blooms from the yard this morning...



The poppies are almost done blooming... you can see the bare heads. We are going to get more rain tonight & then they will probably be officially finished. I should have taken a photo earlier.




Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty

~*A Crow Finish & Greenhouse Fun*~

Good Morning Dear Friends! Cleaning up my work area was a HUGE POSITIVE for me yesterday! I actually have been able to get something FINISHED! This little pillow was a quick to~do. I started it over the weekend ~ simple & easy. I hooked wool on wool... (This is actually the retreat theme for the online group, AAPG, next weekend. I guess I'm a week ahead of the game!)



Hooking with scraps leftover from other projects, I hooked the crow and the word directly on a piece of old army blanket. Simple as can be! After hooking, I backed the pillow with a fabric scrap from an old grain sack... and filled with with woolly snippets. For an added treat, I pinned a rusty jingle bell for his eye.

I have a vintage garden chair that is riddled with paint. I bought it that way at a garage sale for only a dollar last year. The seat is pretty rusty, so I keep a chair pad on it when it is dry out. The crow pillow adds a little more FUN to the spot. This chair is just outside the greenhouse ~ a nice spot to sit & enjoy the yard.

On the other side of the greenhouse door is this guy...


Isn't he a hoot? I bought him last week at the prim shop. He was one of those HAD~TO~HAVES! I attached him to one of the hedge posts & get a chuckle each time I see him.



The hedge post on the other side of the door is decorated with a beeskeep a friend gave me last year. The kitties? Well, the yellow one is Tommy and the black & white one is Oreo (also called OC ~ as in Oreo Cookie). They are trying to get along. Oreo is new to the homestead... he just showed up a few weeks ago. He is very loving & is trying so hard to get Tommy and Mr. Bean (the white kitty you may have seen in earlier posts) to accept him as one of 'the guys'.



I also dyed some fabric yesterday. It is dry and awaiting another couple of finishes. More to come later...

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Ahhh... This Is Better!*~

Hello Dear Friends! Thank you for all the support regarding my chaotic clutter of a crafty mess! :) Most of the day has been spent trying to find some sort of order. I'm happy to report, it is now livable. I won't bore you with photos, because my work space is still not glamorous... but,I can move on to something more fun! Here are some of my works is progresss...



I think I'll go walnut dye a little fabric now... and while that dries I'll do an 'Eeny, meeny, miny, moe' to pick what to work on first!

More to come later... warm smiles to ya...

Betty

~*Seriously?*~

Hello Dear Friends! We are about to be hit with some storms, maybe severe, today. Really, I did want it to rain so I could have an excuse to stay away from the gardens today. I do have so much more work to do with planting and weeding, but I wanted to stay in today to stitch, hook, and punch. However... this MUST take priority...

It is rather embarrassing really...


Every nook & cranny, and table top in my work area is full...


It wouldn't make any issue of Where Women Create...


What a mess...


Well, I guess you can see why I haven't been getting anything done. So, today, before any fiber playin'... there must be some cleanin'! Hopefully my next post will be full of GOOD photos! Maybe even some finishes?

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty