~*Friday Finishes*~

Hey! TGIF to y'all! With the busy week I've had... I'm not sure if I'm ready for it to be Friday because I have so much left undone still. I could really use a few more days to get it all finished. But then... Friday is always a goodie because tomorrow is the weekend and today is ~*Friday Finishes*~. So... I'll take it for the GOOD of it!

Let me just get right to the goodies...

From my buddy Doris... another lovely needlepunch! She has added her own creative design to one of the Willie the Perfect Sheep doodles... and her finish is just beautiful! Doris over~dyes much of her embroidery floss before punching. Doris also over~dyed the piece after it was finished with some strong tea to darken it more. Just beautiful!



Nan is ready for Valentine's Day and Valentine's Day stitching! She has stitched up the latest freebie... and it is a BEAUTY! She used 28 ct. white even weave and stitched with GAST Cherry Wine threads.




I finished up the latest freebie too... but I can't tell you the fibers used because they were unmarked scraps. I think the floss I used was DMC 221... my favorite red. It did make a sweet lil' pillow tuck... filled with woolly snippets & backed with a scrap of wool...



This final ~*Friday Finish*~ for today isn't made from one of my patterns... but it made me smile when I saw it & I thought it might do the same for you too. I received a sweet email from Michelle telling me she enjoys and follows my blog. She made these darling Valentine sweets... they look like lollipops to me... using needlepunch accents for the middle. She said she is working on some shamrocks now too. CUTE!


Thank you all for playing with my patterns and for sharing! I do so enjoy seeing all the wonderful finishes you all make! Keep 'em coming!

Well... that is it for today. I want to wish you all a fabulous weekend... with lots of warm smiles...

Betty

~*Fun Times Rug Hooking*~

Let me begin by saying a big THANK YOU for all the kind comments of support & well wishes! The rug hooking class yesterday was so much fun & went so well!

The class started at 8:30. We laughed, giggled, and hooked until about noon. Five sweet ladies attended ~ Linda, Sue, Trish, Debbie, and Jerilynn. They were there bright & early and ready to learn. These women are all so very talented, creative, and great spirits... and were a true joy to meet. They made me feel so welcome and comfortable... I can only hope they felt as at ease with me as I did with them. These women are all quilters... and now they are rug hookers! By the end of the class, there was talk about getting a group together for future hooking fun... and I do so hope that becomes a regular get together!

I took my current project to demonstrate the basics of pulling loops...


To begin with... we talked about the different rug backings. Then we cut some chunks of linen & Sue started up her serger to seal the edges super~nice. (Thank you Sue!) I took along every piece of rug hooking from my home for inspiration and also all my rug hooking books. The girls were inspired and began designing their own images for hooking. I urged them to keep the design simple, but to have fun. We didn't have a lot of wool to work with... but for fun... I dumped my bag of woolly worms in the center of the table for them to pick through freely. We did have some as~is wool to use also and I gave a handout to them with lots of online links to some of my favorite woolly suppliers. I was also sure to tell them about the monthy hook~in at Judy Cripps' and the Rock Creek Hook-In & Rug Show in Lenexa, KS on February 26th. I showed my Rigby cutter, my frames, and my hooks and urged them to try them all. It was a great day!

Sue's piece...


Debbie's piece...


Trish's piece...


Linda's piece...


And this one is Jerilynn's...


There is a reason Jerilynn is hooking an ear of corn and not a heart. Jerilynn is a children's story book author. This is her book... Raccoons In The Corn...

After having raccoons eat her own corn a few years ago, Jerilynn joked that the raccoons must have had a party. This inspired her book... and it is such a cute story! The illustrations are totally precious! The illustrations were done by a local artist, Josh Finley. This is a fun story about a farmer, his love of corn, and his struggles with a raccoon family. When Jerilynn was talking about the book... her excitement and love of story telling filled the room! She is a bundle of joy and inspiration! At the back of the book she shares some of Farmer B's favorite corn recipes... AND... this story also inspired a charming quilt pattern...

If you are interested in the book or the quilt pattern, they are available by visiting Prairie Pieces Quilt Shop. I was sure to pick up several copies of this book to share with my own kiddo, his class, and my lil' niece who turns 5 this weekend. :)

Hooking and smiling during the class...



A special thank you to Sue for providing the room at the quilt shop for the class, to Linda for thinking of me as a teacher, and for all five girls for coming to learn and making me feel so comfortable!

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After returning home yesterday, I continued working on organizing my patterns to ship to the distributors for market. Wouldn't ya know... I ran out of double sticky tape! I'll be visiting the store today to stock up on supplies... then UPS tomorrow to send the patterns and the models out. It won't be much longer now! Market is less than a month away. My mind is already thinking of more creative inspirations! So... more patterns are in the works!

Wishing you all warm smiles....

Betty

~*Up, Packed, Excited, and Ready to Go*~

Happy Monday Dear Friends! I'm so excited... so excited that I woke up without the alarm at 5:30 this morning! That is amazing for me... I'm very much NOT a morning person. Today I am though... today I'm teaching a rug hooking class... my first rug hooking class.

Everything is loaded up in the car... unless I've forgotten something...


I'm taking all kinds of things to share & show. I've gathered up just about every hooked piece I have... pieces I've made and pieces from others...


I've got a notebook with scribbles of things that I want to remember to tell my students... there will be 5 of them. We are having the class at the local quilt shop in town...Prairie Pieces. I'm excited... and nervous... but looking forward to having a day of fun... and making new friends.

I'm taking the camera... and plan to share more with you later. My hope is that this class will start a rug hooking group here in our small community. It would be so much fun to have a group of hookers & prim crafters to meet and gather regularly... maybe even here at my studio.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hey! It is ~*Friday Finishes*~ time & there is LOVE in the air!!! I think you will agree with me... and you will LOVE LOVE LOVE these dandy finishes too...

From my dear buddy, Doris... who I just know has needlepunch needles for finger tips! She punches all the time... and comes up with one fabulous work after another! For this one, she has put a special Valentine twist on the ~*Black Cat & Jack*~ Freebie Doodle... just oh~so~sweet!...

Doris over~dyes most of the flosses she uses for her needlepunch. This definitely adds an extra~special touch.

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Another Valentine treasure comes from Kathy (no blog or album)... cross stitched and photographed so very charmingly...~*Valentine*~ freebie...


Kathy didn't give fiber of floss info... but I think simple is sweet & special. She has stitched so wonderfully and has a beautiful finish.

Thank you Ladies for playing with the freebies... and for sharing! Keep up the great works!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Banana Pancakes*~

When you wake up to 2 inches of snow... have a kiddo 'blue' because it wasn't enough snow to call a snow day, only a school delay of an hour... and you have a few ripe bananas in the fruit bowl... what should you do? Well, I would recommend making some ~*Banana Pancakes*~!

I didn't have my camera ready for photos... but would like to share this recipe with you. I woke up this morning & did a quick search online... and found this recipe here. Oh goodness... it is so YUMMY! I did leave the oil out... it really isn't needed & only adds more calories. You could probably add a few chopped pecans or some mini chocolate chips... but they are wonderful as they are!

Enjoy!

Banana Pancakes

Ingredients for Banana Pancakes Recipe

* 2 large ripe bananas
* 1 cup flour
* 2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* dash of grated nutmeg
* 1 Tbsp. sugar (or Splenda sweetener)
* 1 cup milk
* 2 eggs
* 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil (may be omitted)

Optional

* 2 additional bananas to slice and serve on top of the pancakes
* Maple syrup

Instructions

1. Mash 2 bananas and set aside.
2. Blend dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.
3. Add banana and wet ingredients to dry ingredients and blend until everything is moist. Batter will appear lumpy.
4. Use oil or pan spray to lightly coat a frying pan or griddle. Heat the griddle until a drop of water spattered on it sizzles.
5. Drop spoonfuls of banana pancake batter on the griddle and cook on each side until the pancakes are golden brown, but cooked through.

Note: your banana pancakes are usually ready to flip the first time when you see air bubbles rising in the pancake as it cooks.

Serve your banana pancakes with warm maple syrup and slices of fresh banana. You may also leave the nutmeg and cinnamon out of the batter and garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon-nutmeg blended with sugar.

Wishing you all warm smiles....

Betty

ps... I should say, these pancakes got a 5~star review from the kiddo! :)

~*Some WIPs...*~

Hello Dear Friends! I would like to give you all a very warm YOU ARE WELCOME... for the dear comments and expressions of THANKS for the latest freebie. I hope you are all finding it a fun stitch... and I do hope to start seeing some finishes soon. Finishes that I'm so looking forward to sharing! I did stitch up the design the other day. It is now in my stack of WIPs. Here are some of what I am working on... some 'works in progress'...





Cross stitches for boxes and pillow tucks. What you don't see in the picture is one of my many rugs... awaiting the whipping of the edges... or the dollie bodies awaiting prim lil' dresses... or the sweet exchange gift that is very near completion. Oh there are so many things I'm working on & so many more things I'm wanting to work on. Where is the time?

Should I dare share one of my flaws ~ one of my little 'imperfect' secrets? Can you see it in the photo at the top? Well... here it is closer up...



An abandoned sampler borders new cross stitches... never to be completed... but yet, the linen shall not be wasted!



No one is perfect! Right?

Well.. while I work away on my WIPs... my mind is already wandering to the next one to add to the list. Wanna see?...



Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty