Snowman Baskets

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I hope you're all doing well.  I'm finally getting back into the swing of my creative life and have a new pattern to show for it!

Snowman baskets, plastic canvas pattern, $4 on Etsy

These cute little baskets are just the right size for gift giving this Christmas.  The little one would even make a lovely little ornament!

I hope you're all having a good week so far! 

What's up Wednesday: Catching up with life

Happy November!  Can you believe it's November already?  I really can't.  And not only that, it's like a week into November even.  I need to buy a turkey this weekend!  Holy smokes!  Where on earth is the time going?  I guess that's life though, always moving faster than it looks.  That's why you need to enjoy every day while you have it, because once it's gone it's gone.

Well, now that my life has calmed down some and I'm beginning to settle into the slower pace of indoor life, I thought maybe I should post a life update so you all don't start worrying that I died.  I almost did!  I managed so survive though and now I can tell you the tale.

First, I'll start with garden news.  It was a truly abundant garden year.  I don't know if the surplus production was because of a new fertilizer I used, or the amazing weather, or more likely a mixture of both, but I got so much produce from my garden this summer that I was freezing and canning something almost every single day.  Let me put it this way: I canned well over 300 jars of produce and filled my 7 cf chest freezer (plus my refrigerator freezer) all the way to the very top.  I also have a five gallon bucket of rutabagas hanging out in my attic where it's nice and cold.

The amazing part about my huge haul of garden veggies is that I didn't even get to pick all of them.  Gallons of tomatoes fell and rotted on the ground, probably close to a gallon of raspberries rotted, and who knows how many ground cherries.  I missed all of that because September was the month from hell for me this year.  Usually September is my very favorite month, but this year will go down as one of the worst. 

One of my two kitty babies, Spices, got sick in late August/early September.  She had trouble eating and was clearly in a lot of pain.  We had to cancel all of our plans to be out because she needed to eat very soft food in small frequent doses (because my other kitty Sunshine is a pig and would have eaten it if we just left her a plate of food out).  We got her into the vet and the doctor gave her an antibiotic and told us to bring her back in a week to see if she had improved.  Well, she didn't improve.  He had told us that if she improved, it was likely a rotten tooth and that they would fix her up.  But if she didn't improve, she probably had cancer.  It was so hard to watch her that week eat less and less, and she was clearly in a lot of pain.  So on the following Monday, we called the vet and got her an early appointment because we knew.  She wasn't going to make it.  We did the kindest thing we could do for her and had her put to sleep.  She was around 14 years old and she was well loved.

Well, I was a total wreck after we lost her.  She was my hubby's cat through and through.  She loved him to death, would follow him around everywhere, sleep with him every night.  But when he wasn't around, she'd hang out with me and we were buddies.  I miss her. 

Have you ever heard that when you're stressed or really sad, your immune system shuts down?  Well I found out how true that is.  A week after losing my kitty, I got salmonella poisoning.  Now I used to think that Salmonella wasn't that bad, just a stomach bug that made you sick for a couple of days.  It turns out that it can be pretty bad.  I was just kind of sick for the first couple of days, but then on the third day, I felt like I was going to die.  I hurt so badly that I didn't want to do anything but lay in bed.  I didn't even get up to brush my teeth at the end of the day.  I couldn't eat anything.  Actually, at that point, I was thinking that death might actually be better than what I was going through. 

It took me nearly an entire month to get back to some kind of normal, and I'm still having some tummy issues today.  The culprit turned out to  be... raw milk.  I'm a big proponent of everyone's right to drink raw milk if they want to.  Many states in America make it very hard to get raw milk.  It's actually legal in NY state where I live, but nearly impossible to find.  However, we're right on the border of PA which is much more relaxed about it, so we would go down and get a half gallon once a week.  However, like with all wild and unprocessed foods, there's a risk, and unfortunately I was in a very weak state at the exact time when there was an outbreak of salmonella at the farm.  Will I drink raw milk again?  Maybe.  Have you ever gotten drunk and gotten hung over the next day?  I haven't, but my dear (stupid) husband has, and he tells me that when you're that sick, you never want to touch anything you associate with the sickness again.  He wouldn't drink apple juice for years afterwards, which is what he drank between throwing up, he hasn't touched the brand of beer that he was drinking the night before ever again, and he said he didn't even want to wear the t-shirt he wore that day.  That's kind of how I feel about raw milk right now.  Also raw eggs and raw chicken and spinach and... well I guess salmonella is in everything these days.  Did you hear it was in cake mixes recently?  Yikes.

I did get well enough to enjoy a lovely stay-cation I took with Chad in early October.  We were hoing to be able to enjoy the fall leaves, but it's been an odd year.  The leaves didn't really change color until late last week and they're already off of the trees today.  Anyway, we enjoyed our stay-cation.  We got to see lots of amazing local attractions and got to do a lot of hiking and drives through the country.

After our stay-cation, we spent a frantic two weeks getting all of the fall to-do list items done, like bringing in the outdoor furniture, winterizing the lawn mower and getting the snowblower ready, and putting the garden to bed.  I've been just mellowing out since then, trying to get myself back into some kind of normal.  I finally feel like I have the time and energy to finally get back to work on my designs!  I'm very excited about that.  It's easy to forget how much joy creative pursuits can bring you because they're the very easiest to cut out when life gets too busy.  Well, it's definitely craft season now!  It's actually predicted to snow several inches next week!  I guess I won't be outside digging in the garden anytime soon. 

Well, I guess I technically was digging in it yesterday, planting next year's garlic.

I guess we're all caught up now.  I'm trying to spend a little more time on my designs everyday, and I actually got a new design put up onto my Etsy shop!  I'll post about it tomorrow, I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do.  With the extra free time, I'll probably start posting free Friday patterns again.  As usual, I'm open no requests for ideas! 

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone! 

Cardinal Wallhanging

Happy Fall everyone!  Boy, it's been a long time since I last posted here.  I have a lot going on in my life lately, but I'll spare the story and get right onto the new pattern!

I made a lovely new wall hanging that I just LOVE and I hope you'll love it too!  And I even posted it in time for you to make it for this Christmas season!

Cardinal Wall Hanging pattern, $4 on Etsy

I hope you're all having a lovely fall so far!  Are you out there enjoying the lovely scenery and crisp fall air? 

Free Friday: Maple Leaf Coaster

Happy  Friday, everyone!  I hope you're all having an amazing summer.  I love this time of year.  For me, it means the season is slowing down, the air starts feeling a little cooler, and the crickets are singing.  Autumn is right around the corner, and although I love and will miss summer, I adore fall and can't wait for it to be here.

So because I'm feeling so excited about autumn, I decided to make an autumn pattern to share with you all!  I hope this is a good sign that I'll be able to get back into my designs again now that summer is slowing down!

Maple Leaf Coaster

Skill Level:

 Beginner

Materials:

• 7-count plastic canvas
• Three colors yarn: White, a leaf color, and a a color slightly darker than leaf color
• Craft Felt
• Hot glue
• #16 plastic canvas needle

Instructions:

1. Cut and stitch plastic canvas according to graphs.
2. Overcast edge of coasters with yarn that is the same color but slightly darker than the leaf color.
3. Cut out one piece of felt for each coaster, using coasters as a guide. Trim 1/8 of an inch around all sides. Use hot glue to attach to back of coasters. ♥

Click the image above to see it larger.  You may share this pattern however you please as long as you don't alter it or claim it as your own.  Please link back if you share this pattern.  You may sell items made from this pattern.  However, you may not sell this pattern.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Quilted Tissue Box Cover

Hi guys, happy August!  I'm still kicking, even though I've been very quiet all summer.  It turns out life has gotten very busy and I just haven't had the time or energy to work on my designs, and I apologize for that.  I will be back though, I promise! 

And look, I even managed to get a new pattern made and put up on Etsy!

Quilted Tissue Box Cover #3 Pattern, $4 on Etsy

I need to get going, though.  I have several pounds of tomatoes that need canned.  Catch you later, when life slows down a bit!

Fall Jars Wall Hanging

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far!  Well, I got my Fall Jars pattern finished, and I have to say I'm very pleased with it!

Fall Jars Wall Hanging pattern, $4 on Etsy

I plan on making one for every season, too!  I guess the truth is that I just love mason jars, and the hipster in me wants you to know that I loved them before they were cool!  

I don't know if I'll get into making free patterns again yet.  I might.  Most important for me is to get back into a rhythm of designing patterns for my shops because that's very important to me to be creating.  But keep your eyes peeled!  I might just surprise you :)

What's Up Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  It's been a while since I last posted, huh?  Well, it's spring here in western NY and that means I'm busy busy busy.  I had lots of garden work to do to get things ready for the planting season, not just in my own garden but also in my mom's garden since she's unable to do most of it herself.  I also had to work on her front yard where she had a pipe replaced earlier this year.  Have you ever had that kind of work done?  Let me tell you, the ROCKS you have to deal with is unreal!  I had to rake about 5 wheelbarrows full of rocks out of her front yard!  My mom has been having a blast using those rocks to decorate and pave her back yard, and she still has a huge pile left. 

I've also been going through our pantry and freezers, getting space ready for the season.  I canned up a bunch of beef that was in our freezer from last year to make room for the new 1/4 cow we'll be buying shortly, and then I canned up all sorts of jam to get some fruit out of the freezer from last year.  I made some wine with leftover pear juice I had from an overabundance of years my MIL's pear tree produced last year.  It's been a very busy spring!

Thankfully, the hardest parts of spring/summer are over now.  The garden is going great, and now it just needs watered and fertilized once in a while.  The majority of the spring canning is done.  I have to make some more strawberry jam and a batch or two of blueberry jam (from last year's blueberries), and I'm thinking about canning another batch of chili with the six pounds of ground beef left from last year.  My mom's front yard is all raked and grass seed is starting to come up!  Phew.  Now I can finally get back to blogging and designing PC designs, which is what I really want to do!

Here's some pictures of my life lately.

I canned up some strawberry jam on Monday this week.  I've been making lots of jam to give away as Christmas presents this year.  I have an overabundance of half pint jars and wouldn't mind getting rid of some of them!

I've been getting some strawberries from my garden the last few days!  Boy, they're really producing like crazy this year.

 I have a lovely flower garden behind my garage that's just starting to bloom.  The clematis did great this year, although it has been nipped by the deer since I took that picture.  Most of the rest of those flowers are black eyed Susans.  I planted them as a remembrance of my favorite aunt when she died, and they have since taken over my garden.  I think that's very cool!

This is kind of a bad picture because the fence is in the way, but here's my small side garden.  The left side is tomatoes and carrots this year, and the right side is my strawberry bed.

This is my mini greenhouse where I grow peppers.  It's literally the only way I can get peppers to ripen in my garden.  It works great!  I've had it for three years now and I've gotten so many pepper using it, plus it's a great way to start my cucumbers and zucchinis early.

And here are my cucumbers!  I actually took these pictures last week, and they're literally twice as tall now.  They're just zooming.

Here's some zucchini and tomatoes.  They too are twice as tall as they were last week.

Here's an outside view of my garden.  I have to fence it because we have a terrible deer problem.  They will literally eat my vegetable garden to the ground if I leave something unfenced.  They actually ate one of my apple trees to a nub last weekend :(

I'm especially proud of my cabbage so far this year.  Again, this was a week ago and they're now so much bigger than they were in this picture.  I have had such trouble growing cabbage in the past, but look at how nice they are!  The rest of the box is full of rutabagas and ground cherries.

Here's a side view of the garden.  That's potatoes on both sides on the bottom of the picture.  They're blue potatoes and I'm so excited to harvest them!

I have a shade garden in the very back of my yard.  This picture doesn't do it any justice at all.  It's very lush and had a pretty wild look to it.  The fencing in the middle is so that the deer don't eat the hydrangea, although someone really tried to last night! 

I have been working on designs too!  This is my latest design, inspired by all the canning I've been doing lately.  It's very nearly done now and I should be posting on Etsy sometime this week.  Keep your eye out!

I guess that's all for now.  I have a lot of work to catch up on, but I hope to be posting on my blog more regularly now that I have less going on in my life!  Hope you're all having a great week!