Sweet Betsy

This doll was given to me in the almost finished state.  She had no hair and I'm still adding it. She's sitting in Eloise's chair posing.  Betsy is quite a large doll. Larger than Eloise.

She came with finely done pantaloons.

The dress was my first major smocking endeavor.  I like the smocking, but I don't like the collar and so the dress had been set aside, but it's perfect for a doll.

 Kisses?

What is Eloise telling us about the doll's eyes.  Eloise talks a lot, but we can't understand most of it. But she is starting to say actual words.

 Eloise gets her chair back.

Dreamin' of Hawaii

Another Hawaiian wall hanging completed.  This one is the night blooming  cactuc flower Cereus.

 I am dreamin' of Hawaii. Warm sun, waves, and sand.

This is linked to Made by You Monday and Creative Me Monday.

Marlene's Quilt

 This is a pretty one.  She told me to do whatever I wanted.  Sounds great to me.

Feathers,

 and more feathers

Lines,

 and more feathers.

A very pretty quilt for her mother.

My Little Farm Finished

It's nice to do little projects.  They are  quick and this one for being so small has lots of detail.  It's only 15" x 17".  

 The back posts for this project are here and here

 I did a wrapped bias binding on the back, bias because of the curvey edges.

 Now I'm looking forward to designing my own.  I have ideas.

This is linked to Esther's WOW and Freshly Pieced.

Sausage Gravy over Biscuits

I first had sausage gravy over biscuits when visiting my sister and her husband made it for breakfast for us.

It was delicious. I then started making it Saturday evenings for my husband when the children had other plans.  But noticing that they also liked it, it has now become a normal weeknight meal.  It's very simple and only takes a few ingredients, sausage, milk, flour and a little cream if you like it.

I use a 3# roll of sausage, brown it up, and add some milk to get hot.  I then add 1 1/2 cups of flour to some more milk and make a ruhe.  When the milk in the pan is hot I add the ruhe.  Then I add more milk or cream to get it to the desired gravy thickness.  This amount feeds my family of 8 (at least today it was 8) and I even have a little left over.

 Make your favorite biscuit recipe and smush it on your plate.

 I add some peas and pour the gravy on top and have a delicious meal.

 My husband adds some fried eggs and tobasco on top of his biscuits and gravy.  I'd say that's more of a man's meal.

This is linked to From the Hearth Recipes at Mothers Are Home.

Quiltmakers of Olympia Quilt Show

This is a show given by the guild that I belong to. I was great fun and beautiful quilts were shown.

 I am partial to applique, so that's the kind of quilts most of my pictures are of.

Please forgive the camera strap shadows.

 We even had chamber music at our show.

This wholecloth I made was hung in the tea room.

There was so much more.  My plan was to go back a second time for more pictures of the ones I couldn't get earlier, but somehow that didn't work out.

Pineapple Wallhanging - A Finish

It's nice when a long time UFO is finally done.  And it's a small one also.  Why did it take so long?

I had the fabric and started the plan in 2009.  That's been a while.  I like getting things done.

I last showed it in this post.

 I do think I made kind of a skinny pineapple.

Can I get a Whoop-Whoop?

Debra's Quilt

She made a maple leaf quilt with very pretty and bright colors.  She wanted an overall simple over it, so I did a large stipple.

My Little Farm Embroidery

This farm is moving along.  It is now at the stage where I'm adding all the embroidery.

There are seed stitches,

 stars,

running stitches,

crosses,

decorative trim to make doors,

 french knots to make apples,

 and mixed seed stitches of several colors.

You'll have to come back for more.

This is linked to Esther's WOW and Freshly Pieced.

Apron Fun

This is a little girl's apron that I finished yesterday.  Nicole was taking a sewing lesson from my daughters and she was happy to try it on for pictures.  

I love fun fabrics and food usually means an apron.

 It's got pleats on the bottom of it.

 And it has buttons to hold the neck tie on.

This is linked to Fabric Tuesday
and
Sew Cute Tuesday

Lace Knitted Scarf

Im trying my hand at lace knitting again. I really love it. It adds variety over the stockinette stitch. Yes, occasionally I do have to rip out a few rows because the mistakes are easy to make, but it is worth it in the end. 

 

The art of knitting is basically 2 stitches, the knit stitch and the purl stitch. In lace knitting the added extras to make interest are the yarn overs(it adds a stitch with a hole) or the decreases(knitting 2 together a couple of different ways. This pattern also has a 7 stitch nupp which is knits and YO all in the same stitch to create a puff. It is all rather simple. 

 I love the pattern on this scarf. It's from a book on Estonian lace knitting and is called the Peacock and Leaf scarf.

 This is linked to Made by You Monday and Creative Me Monday.