Saturday, October 30, 2010

Friday, October 29, 2010

~*Happy Halloween*~

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! I hope you are all preparing for the ghouls & goblins that will be visiting this weekend! Are your Jack-O-Lanterns carved? Did you stock up on candy for the kiddos? Do you have your costume ready?

Since we live out in the country, we don't have any Trick or Treaters... but we do have big plans for the weekend... beginning tonight with a trip to the Haunted Trail... a fundraiser for a local summer camp. Then tomorrow we have the annual Pumpkin Carving at my In-Law's and an annual costume party at my sister-in-law's & brother-in-law's. Tony and I have our costumes ready... we are going to be Happy Ol' Clowns this year. Trinity decided he wanted to be a Ninja. Then, of course, we will be taking him out to travel the streets for some Trick or Treating fun on Sunday. So... it will be a full weekend for sure! I'm wishing you all a fun one as well... be safe too!

For ~*Friday Finishes*~... Ronda sent in this dandy ditty...


Ronda did another great job! Her choices of floss colors & fibers are wonderful! The aging & accents are super too! Thank you, Ronda, for stitching and sharing!



My crafting this week has been to continue to stitch more stitches on my Christmas Sampler. The frame is on the way... so it won't be much longer 'til I can share the finish with you... and offer the pattern.

Wishing you all a Hauntedly Happy Halloween with many wickedly warm smiles...

Betty

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

~*Simplify Freebie*~


© primitivebettys 2010
81 by 35 stitches

~*Simplify*~... yes, something I strive for daily... but rarely succeed.

Please enjoy the freebie pattern. As always... please give credit to me, the designer...Betty Dekat ~ primitivebettys. Also, please don't forget that I love to see finishes & love to share them too. (My email is on the sidebar to the left.)

Feel free to use the fibers of your choice. I was thinking of 3021 for the lettering and 611 with 926 for the bird... DMC. There is room above the lettering to add an old tyme year too. Just have fun with it!

Warm smiles...

Betty

~*Just One of Those Days*~


Today is just one of those days. Although I've gotten some things accomplished, I'm just feeling that it hasn't been good enough & I'm feeling guilty too. I haven't been sleeping well... and so I took a nap... wake up feeling really quilty! Trinity and I ate supper out last night, so there weren't any leftover for Tony to take to work... so I cooked up a batch of chili and also some stew. (On the plus side... supper for a few days it taken care of!) There was a bowl of ripe bananas sitting on the kitchen table... so I baked two loaves of Banana Bread this morning. The bad part about that... I will eat a lot of the bread myself... even though I sent a loaf to work with Tony to share with his co-workers. Plus... I broke my Grandma Milliken's Banana Nut Bread Rule! She always insisted & up until now I have followed her rule... that the bread be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated until the next day... BEFORE ANYONE DARE TAKE A SLICE! This makes the bread so much more moist! (Try it if you haven't... you will be impressed! I've been neglecting our house terribly. This morning I did manage to clean some... but a good through and through cleaning is in dire need. I haven't stitched today... but did order the frame for my Christmas sampler. I haven't worked next door today... and know that paint isn't going to take care of itself.

Guess I'm just in one of 'those' moods... I'm not doing enough. Normally I'm an upbeat sorta gal... just today I need some sort of attitude correction I guess. Maybe I should dine on a few slices of that bread now?

Wishing you all warm smiles... and thanks for hearing me out.

Betty

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

~*Hello Beautiful Moon*~

Hello Dear Friends! Many times over the past few days... or nights rather... we have worked until the moon was glistening beautifully in the nighttime sky...



Tony has done most of the hard work... I've been there to assist him, but he has all the 'smarts' for the jobs. (I am so very thankful for him!) He installed the new front door, put in the new replacement windows (3 of them), and worked on the electrical. I have been sanding woodwork... and now have switched to using paint thinner. I didn't get a picture of it, but do have the paint for the trim around one window now removed... as of about 20 minutes ago. It is a really good thing we have working windows to let in some fresh air!

Here are some progress pictures to share...

after lots of sanding...


This window looks onto the wickedly HORRID back porch. The porch will be removed at a later time. Then this window will look out onto our backyard and to the farm field beyond.


These windows are in the future 'workroom' part of the studio.


Another view of one of the windows seen above...


The part of the house we are restoring is on the right. It would be nice to save it all... but the structure on the left is in too bad of shape.


Never mind the junk piled on the porch... it is a work-zone...


It looks like I'm finished working next door for the day... time to get cleaned up & to the school. I help out with Trinity's class twice a week with their reading program. I'm happy to do it & the kiddo seems happy I'm there. Then later... errands ~ including tae kwon do for my little Purple Belt and probably supper at good ol' McDonalds.

Have a blessed day with many warm smiles...

Betty

Friday, October 22, 2010

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends & Happy Friday! Another awesome week has rolled by here... or maybe I should say FLEW by! The weather has been most wonderful and I have been working hard at so many things. I hope your week has been wonderful as well.

For ~*Friday Finishes*~... Dora (no blog) sent in her finish of ~*Wicked Notions*~ and it is just FRIGHTFULLY~FABULOUS! Her stitching and finishing is out of this world... but her photography is jaw~dropping. Ya...I know... I just can't say enough GOOD about this one!



It is stitched on 30 Count Weeks Guacamole using the called for threads.
The fabric for the scissor pocket and backside is from Jo Morton/Andover Fabrics. A dark caramel piece of wool is used for the left inside. The buttons are fabulous finds from antique stores.



She changed the date to customize for her personal desires... which is always fine with me. COOL finish, huh?

Thank you, Dora, for stitching and sharing!

As for me, I did manage to finish the candle cuffs I started last weekend (the top two in the photo below). The second batch finished up much more nicely and the first ones. My measurements still were not correct. Would you believe I made these too big? It was easy enough to fix since they are both hooked hit n' miss... and they are stitched up to the correct size now. One of these will be a gift for my cousin. I'll let her pick.



Maybe I'll work up some more... I really like 'em.



Before more hooking though... I'll be finishing up that Christmas sampler so I can show you the entire piece.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

Thursday, October 21, 2010

~*Sneaks & Updates*~

Hello Dear Friends! Thought I would share some sneaks & updates...

I've been stitching on my Christmas sampler in the evenings...






and working on the studio during the days...

hubby put the new door in...


He also started running the conduit for the electrical. The pipes along the walls are not pretty, but will be painted & blend in when things are all done. Plus... the furniture will probably hide it too. I didn't want him to work too hard trying to fish the lines through the old plaster & lathe walls. After all, this isn't going to be a Parade of Homes-Fancy sort of place. It is just my prim-playhouse.

I finished getting all the wallpaper removed. Now I'm working on sanding. I have plans to texture the walls and do a dry brush finish on them... but I still need to have a workable surface. So sanding and plaster work first. I'm so thankful to have these...


and these...


and, of course... these... hat, mask, and goggles... Nope... this will NOT be my Halloween costume! lol


Things are moving along...







Guess I should be getting back to work and away from the computer. My muscles are sore, but I'm surviving. Hard work pays off!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

~*My Morning*~

Good Morning Dear Friends! Today I did not go on my customary 3 mile walk. Instead... I moved a load of used bricks we bought at a property auction last night... from here...



to here...



... all by myself because of my beloved's work schedule. 318 bricks... plus a few 'crumbs'.

They are mostly solid with no markings, but there were a few gems mixed in...




Plans are to lay a brick sidewalk from our driveway to the front porch of the studio... but probably not until next Spring.

After moving all the bricks, I didn't feel the least bit guilty for treating myself to a doughnut either! mmmmm good!

Now that the exercise it out of the way for the day & my muscles are sore... I think I'll finish up these candle cuffs. I hooked these the past couple of nights.



Once they are finished... it is back to stitching on my Christmas sampler... that is about half done.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

Friday, October 15, 2010

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello dear Friends! Another Fall Friday has rolled around! The weather here has been wonderful... great for long walks to enjoy the seasonal changes. The leaves on the trees have begun changing, the squirrels have been busy chattering away and gathering their winter bounty, and the evenings have been getting darker sooner ~ for some reason, I really like that. Our supper menu has begun to change to... just this week, we have had hearty chili and comforting chicken and dumplings... just to name a few.

For ~*Friday Finishes*~ there are bunches of wonderful Fall goodies to share...

From Carole, an awesome quilter & crafter... are several dandy ditties! (When you visit her picturetrail, you can see them all in her Fall Offerings album.) Each is so very sweet!





From Ronda (no blog) is an awesome needle punch. I really like the color variation in the Jack's face. It looks wonderfully scrappy & old. Love it!


Ronda shared an invention with me too. You may find this useful & handy as well. I've shared my vintage spool holder and my primly-handmade spool holder with you before, but this is very unique & many of you may have the supplies to build it already in your craft room. Ronda has wrapped her floss around old spools. She then put the spools on knitting needles that have been 'stuck' through the weave of a basket she found at the thrift shop for only .49. Handy indeed!


Thanks to both ladies for stitching, punching, and sharing! Keep up the wonderful crafting!

Wishing you all many warm smiles... I'm headed over to FINISH wallpaper removal at the studio.

Betty

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

~*Motivation ~ Inspiration*~

Good afternoon dear friends! I'm feeling so motivated & full of inspiration. Despite sore arms and tired fingers... I picked up my needle, grabbed some floss and linen... and started designing up a new cross stitch sampler. Yup... I'm stitching blindly and making up the design as I work. Here is what I stitched up last night during the football game...



I'm working ahead and thinking of Christmas... so maybe I can get a release finished to offer soon enough for you to stitch for the season too.

My morning was spent scrapping more wallpaper. I'm using a spray bottle and warm water. Would you believe I've actually worn out a spray bottle on this job? At least I can report the wallpaper is about 80% gone. It won't be much longer now... and then the fun can begin. Well... if you call plaster patching and painting fun.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

Sunday, October 10, 2010

~*Studio Update*~

I thought it would be nice for you to see... and to keep me motivated despite sore muscles... to show progress as it moves along on the studio.

Yesterday, I made a quick trip in to Topeka to visit Lowe's. They were having a Columbus Day sale on their replacement windows and doors... so I ordered three windows and bought a new door. I didn't stay there long though... because there was work calling.

This was probably nice in it's day... but has to go now...



The afternoon yesterday, and most of the day today, was spent scrapping wallpaper. This was this morning...




I had a little help - that is, when he wasn't singing & dancing to the radio...



And here is how it looked at quitting time tonight...



ahhhhh... nice, nine foot ceilings...


Here is how the other room looks right now... we worked on wallpaper in there last Spring...




We stopped a few times to take in the history of the house. Someone had used newspaper when patching the plaster... many years ago - I'm assuming - because the house has been vacant for at least 20 years. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a date on the paper. I could tell it was the Topeka, KS paper though because of the real estate listed. Since I grew up there, I was very familiar with the addresses list.



Tomorrow I'll be up on the ladder working on the upper walls & ceiling. Why-0-why are the ceilings papered?

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty