~*Black Jack One*~

My ~*Black Jack*~ using the Oxford Punch Needle #8 with wool strips and a tad bit of yarn is finished...



I'm still learning... and still struggling. I was using wool strips that were cut a #8 (1/4"). They kept trying to twist as I was punching... until I finally just gave up and let them do it. This mat is only 6 by 12 inches... and won't be put on the floor. So... seeing how it is a table mat, it won't get the stress a floor rug would & the twisted woolly worms will survive. They also took on some sort of rough texture that, I guess, is just more rustic & prim.

I have learned from talking with some friends, that if I would have used a #6 woolly worm with the Oxford Punch Needle... it may have been better. Even a bit easier maybe too?

However... I still want a GOOD ~*Black Jack*~ rug... so...



I have another started... hooked with my beloved, primitive rug hook on linen! :) ~*Black Jack Two*~...



Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*My Happy Fella*~

That is Tommy... he is happy too... but this is my really happy fella...



Tony has been wanting to get a new 'project' going. It looks like his wish has come true. He would like to transform this... a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500...



into something like this...


(photo found here)

It looks like there will be lots of sweat, muscle, and grime put into this project, huh? Well, I'm sure he can do it & am so thrilled to see him so happy! We are both looking forward to visiting future car shows together to show it off. Now... he needs to get to work. :) (maybe I can help with part of it too?)

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hey! Happy Fall Y'All! What better way to welcome the season... than sharing a few Fall ~*Friday Finishes*~!

My buddy Doris is still punching the days away. She finished up & has sold on Ebay... her version of ~*Boo Jack*~. How sweet it is!



From my buddy Pam... a smiling ~*JOL 'n Keys*~ punch needle...



I just love both finishes! Punch needle (or needle punch or punchneedle... however you choose to phrase it) is really a fun medium to work with. I've been using mine lately too. I drew this doodle up last week and finished it this past Saturday into a little pillow tuck...



Shockingly... I didn't walnut or tea stain this one when it was finished. Normally, most of my pieces are stained... guess I just thought this one was good enough the way it was.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post... I have been inspired to once again try to use my Oxford Punch needle. I drew up this JOL last night. I saw on PatieJane's blog... where Ginger was working on a black JOL... and I immediately realized I wanted one! So that is what I started last night...



I don't get to go to a camp or class... but books are a good way to learn. I HIGHLY recommend this one for the Oxford Punch Needle...



Wishing you all warm smiles on this beautiful Fall day...

Betty

~*Finished Cuffs*~

These took longer than I had anticipated, but they are finished and I'm ready to move on to the next project...




Here are the backs... again, I had to add fabric liners because of my measuring "oops". I was going to use cotton ticking, but I later decided these fabrics were more pleasing...




Another view...



To fit the 22 oz. Yankee candle, the finished cuff size should measure 14 1/2 by 4 inches.

I received a nice email from Sandi this morning. She told me how she made ties for her cuffs by using two strips of matching wool. She was also kind enough to send me some photos. Aren't her cuffs great!? I can't decide which I like better... the star or the tulip! Thank you Sandi!




Ok... I need to pack up a pattern order... then it is on to something else. I'm thinking of trying my Oxford Punch Needle again. My good friends Ginger and PatiJane have been at a punchneedle camp... and have me very inspired!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Oops~*

Well, apparently I don't know how to use a tape measure!



I'm still going to make these work... but need to adjust my plans somewhat.



The cuffs are suppose to wrap around the candle... then attach with a strip of Velcro. What I've decided to do at this point... is whip some yarn around the edge of the hooking to create a clean edge ~ then make a fabric liner to stitch to the back. The fabric liner will be longer than the hooked piece ~ giving room for the Velcro. There will still be an opening ~ or hooking void ~ on the back side of the candle about an inch wide. I guess this will be alright. NEXT time... hopefully I can measure right to begin with.. and not have to 'correct' anything later.



Ok... back to whipping...


Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Hookin' Some Scraps*~

As promised in the earlier post... here is what I've been working on...



Hooking with only scraps, I've been working on some candle cuffs.

This is the one made & given to me by Linda Stewart last year in an online exchange. I just love it!



These candle cuffs fit on a large Yankee Candle. They really are a great accessory for the candles we all LOVE! My cousin was here a few weeks ago & commented on how she too liked it & said she would like to have one. I'm hoping to finish one up for her... and plan to do some steaming, whipping, and finishing before the day is over.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Elvis Sighting!*~

Hello Dear Friends! Thought I would share a bit of our weekend fun with you... :)

We saw Elvis!

He was driving!


And then he was riding & waiving at his fans!


This past weekend was the Ol'Marais car show. This is our second time to see it... and Trinity's first... let me just say (and maybe I don't even need to type the words) ~ he was in HOG~HEAVEN!



We had a great family day... and enjoyed it with lots of extended family. My Aunt & Uncle and my sister~in~law & brother~in~law display their classic cars. We took along another sister~in~law & brother~in~law to join in on the fun too.

I don't know the final tally, but did hear at one point of the day that there were 1,652 cars registered in the show ~ all year 1972 and older. During the day, the cars are all on display at the city park ~ along with some awesome food and sales vendors. It was a hot & humid afternoon... but it was so worth it just to be there & see it all.

At 6pm, the city shuts down traffic on the main drag and the cruise begins. The streets were lined with a HUGE crowd... and it was a fun time...


(Ginger, he saved his glow sticks for the party. Thank you!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday was a catch~up day... but I did work on some crafty things. I'll be sharing them in another post soon. Before I sign off on this one though, you may be interested in seeing this... we spotted him last night on the power line across the field from our backyard. Tony tried to get closer to snap another picture of him... but wasn't sly enough for this Wise Old Owl...



Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! Hey! Friday has rolled around again... and I can't believe I haven't posted since last Friday. Goodness, it cannot be due to lack of words. It must just be Life.

There is a beauty of a ~*Friday Finish*~ to share! This one comes from my dear friend, Sher. Some of you may have seen another one of her finishes on Lori's blog. Sher told me she has been taking some much needed "me time" and making some "fun time". It sure does look like she has been making the best of it! She has done such a wonderful punching job! She changed the sides of the doodle, telling me that she didn't think she was talented enough to get the detail on the keys. Oh phooey! She is too! But her changes look GREAT too!



Thank you for punching & sharing, Sher!

As for my finishes this week... they are once again few and far between... but I am trying. I did stitch up the finishing on the punches I showed you earlier. This one I would like to use as a wreath tie~on... and need to get to the store for a new grapevine wreath...



My husband didn't see this one the way I did. He thought the sheep was a gourd. Hmmm... interesting. Sometimes his eyes are too 'mechanical' where mine are truly 'primitive'...



On the back of this mat, I added this...



And on the frame now...



With any luck, I can share more with you before next Friday.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! Another Friday has rolled around again... and you know what that means. Time to share some fabulous, ~*Friday Finishes*~!

From Connie (no blog or online album), is this charming pony, penny mat. She used some beautiful hand~dyed wools to stitch this ditty up. She changed the design some to suit her desires... so sweet, don't ya think?



This next lovely is from Faye. The added sweetness on this is just darling ~ with the key charm and ball trim.



Both finishes bring smiles to my face! Thank you, Ladies, for stitching and sharing. Keep up the great works!

I had hoped to get more done this week... as always. Maybe one of these days I'll get my routine back. Here are a couple of un~finished finishes though. These have been stained with my walnut stain and are awaiting construction into small mats or pillows.

My experiment with the Oxford Punch...


I'm thinking this one would make a sweet lil' pillow to use as a wreath add~on...


Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Re~Start!*~

Oops! My experiment needed to be re~started! What I didn't keep in mind when working at first was the difference with loop height and yarn thickness. The design had a sheep standing behind a picket fence. When I went to punch the fence, the sheep looked more like he had fallen over on the fence and was smashing the pickets. Oops! I was using DMC to punch the fence with my Cameo needle set on a '3'. It just wasn't working. Another thing I noticed, was that my punching was 'packed'... something I've always struggled with. I pulled out all my loops and was going to rework the design on the same piece of Weaver's, but was worried the Oxford needle (being a much thicker needle) had stressed the cloth too much to continue. Sorry, I didn't get a picture taken of my failure.

Trying to learn from my mistakes, I re~drew and slightly re~designed my doodle... and began punching again with the wool yarn. I'm trying to keep my punches and rows more even now too...

my re~start... with one skein yarn punched...


I was asked about the yarn. It is some that I purchased quite some time ago in a 'lot' auction off Ebay. I'm not sure where it can be found 'new'... or what the cost would be. The label is marked Laine Colbert DMC. It is a 100% Virgin Wool.


Ok... back to punching. I hope to share another photo... of a finished piece!... soon.

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty

~*A Little Experimenting*~

Hello Dear Friends! The girls in AAPG (better known on Ebay as USAPRIM) have been chatting about yarn today. The discussion was started by asking what yarn is preferred for binding rugs. As the chit chat went on, I became inspired to use up some small bits of wool yarn from the store room. However, they are too small to use for binding a rug. These bits of wool yarn are for needlepoint. I've never tried that craft and at this point don't have a desire to either. But, also in the store room are two Oxford Punch needles... of two different sizes.

Buds of mine, Chris of mysticalprimitives and Doris of luv2punch, have made some spectacular needlepunch pieces using mixed yarns. So... I decided to try it out... using the smaller Oxford needle, #14 - 1/8". The design may not be visible yet, but punched so far is one skein of the yarn. Only part of this design will be punched with the wool yarn... with the remainder done in DMC and maybe a few snippets of wool threads too.... guess only time will tell...



Punching with the yarn is quicker than DMC... a little bit covers a lot more.

Ok... back to experimenting... I'll show more later...

Warm smiles,

Betty

~*Happy Labor Day*~

Hello Dear Friends! I do hope you all have wonderful plans for relaxation, family, and fun for the holiday... or, better yet, that you have already been enjoying the holiday weekend. We have been. The weather has been wonderful and we have spent most of our time outside. I've been punching in the shade in the backyard... and thinking I'll keep at it today...



Yup, I've already done some Fall Decorating in the yard. We have picked more pumpkins from the brush pile in the back & potted up a few more mums. Guess I'm ready for the season change.

Happy Labor Day to you all!

Wishing you warm smiles and happiness...

Betty

~*Felt Like Doodlin'...*~

and sharin'!




~*JOL 'n Keys*~... What medium would you choose? Needle punch? Rug hooking? Prim stitchery? Have fun! (please give credit where due ~ thank you)

Warm smiles to ya...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! Well, the week has gone by in a flash... hasn't it? This was the first full week of school and we are still trying to get back on schedule. None of us in this household could be considered 'morning people'... so 6:30 is rather tough. We are beginning to adjust though... and the cooler temps are making things a little easier.

For ~*Friday Finishes*~ there is a goodie to share! This one comes from Patti... and is just perfect for welcoming Fall!



Patti's work is always fabulous... and this one is no exception. It too is fabulous! She said it finished to 3 by 5.5 inches. It is filled with crushed walnut shells & she attached the key with silk ribbon. Beautiful!

Thank you, Patti, for working with my patterns and sharing your wonderful treasures.

I'm not sure what the weekend will bring for us... but I would like it to be crafty. There is a model finished that needs charting... and several other ideas wanting to get out. It would be nice to have a 'crafty-wave' of a weekend!

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty