Shari's Garden

Surprises in the Mail

04:48, Tuesday 31 March 2009 .. Posted in Handwork .. 0 comments .. Link

My Uncle John is one of the smartest people I know. He has a PhD in Animal Husbandry and has been a professor at a major university. Not only is he smart, he is so talented. He plays the guitar and was learning the banjo and he also does wood carving.

I have heard about his carvings but had never seen one, he and my Aunt live 2000 miles from here and I haven't seen them in more years than I want to admit. I am thankful for the internet, it has allowed us to be in touch in such a wonderful way. Well, my precious Aunt and Uncle sent me one of his wood bowls. I am in awe of the beauty of this piece, It will be treasured by me and my family forever.

Here are a few pictures of this lovely gift they sent to me:

Another view:

One more view:

You can visit his site and see more of his work at:

http://www.keoweekarvings.com/

Thank you for stopping by.

New Tote for my Projects

01:29, Thursday 8 January 2009 .. Posted in Handwork .. 7 comments .. Link

I have made a new tote bag for carrying my crafting projects. It is so much better than the paper bag I had been using, and it is big enough to hold my clip board with ease.

This is another "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" project. The fabrics are scraps from other sewing projects. The pattern is based on the rag quilt design. It is lined with homespun fabrics that I had left over from skirts that I made for my girls.

I was surprised at how quickly the whole thing went together, it took only a few days. For me the hardest part of the whole thing was cutting the squares, after that it went together in a flash. I ran it though the wash and gave it a good shake, then hung it to dry.

As you can see, it came out very nicely and will be a lovely addition to my crafting area.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit.

Making A Home

10:35, Friday 2 January 2009 .. Posted in Handwork .. 3 comments .. Link

I have always felt that it is a "woman's touch" about the house that makes it a home. We all have our different taste, mine is to add crochet pieces, embroidered pillows, afgans and such, to give a breath of life and love to my little home.

This week I have added a few new things to the home. I used some scrap fabric, that was in my storage box, to make a table cloth and matching curtains for my kitchen. I also crocheted a set of curtain tie backs. I purchased the crochet thread at a thrift store near me for $.50, and the pattern for the crochet is from a magazine that I have been using since 1990.

I call these projects, "Making Love, Out of Nothing at All". Yes, it is the title of a song but I think it fits. Everything I used for this project was left over from other projects or from things that were no longer needed.

Here is a picture of the tie backs, and a little bit of the curtain:

And for you crafy people that would like to crochet your own, here is the diagram:

This is from the Crochet Thread Magazine, issue #6, published 1990. I could not find that the magazine is published any longer.

Happy Crafting and Thank you for stopping by.

Two Weeks Late - Happy Birthday Jennifer

08:50, Tuesday 2 December 2008 .. Posted in Handwork .. 4 comments .. Link

I have been trying to get this sweater finished for my youngest daughters birthday, which was on the 14th of November.

Finally, today, this very morning, I was able to give it to her.

Belated Happy Birthday Jennifer!!

Tea Cozy

06:35, Sunday 30 November 2008 .. Posted in Handwork .. 3 comments .. Link

Today I made a Tea Cozy. It is a birthday present for my lovely friend, Cindy. I also made her a set of four napkins from the color coordinating fabric I used to line the cozy.

I have enough extra fabric to make a couple of more tea cozies and a pair of napkins for each. I will be posting them for sale on my site, or if you are interested leave me a note in the contact and I will get back with you.

Thank you for stopping by.

Baby Blanket

11:43, Thursday 18 September 2008 .. Posted in Handwork .. 7 comments .. Link

My youngest cousin and his wife are expecting their first baby in November. I made this little blanket for him.

Here is a close up of the border:

And a photo of the whole blanket:

It is always a joy for me to be able to make little surprises for my family.

One thing New from Two thing Old

03:30, Monday 28 July 2008 .. Posted in Handwork .. 2 comments .. Link

I have been reworking my mattress pad. The sides had gotten stretched out and the pad would not stay on the mattress very well. I took the old sides off and used another, older pad, for the new sides. I cut it extra deep, so it would be snuggled between the top and bottom mattresses, and added elastic around the bottom edges at the corners, to help it have a better fit. It is now washed, dried and put on my bed, waiting for me to have sweet dreams tonight.

The whole project took only a few hours to complete. I worked on it, off and on, for about a week, finishing it today.

I am so pleased with the effort. I used something that was needing to be decluttered from my storage building (the old pad), and didn't spend money on a new pad by reusing the good top.

It is a delightful feeling to make something I needed from things that 10 years ago I would have thrown away as trash.

What can you recycle in your home?

Winter Projects

06:40, Thursday 24 January 2008 .. Posted in Handwork .. 3 comments .. Link

With the cold weather, my mind and hands turn toward sewing and other crafts. This week has been a busy week for me and my Jennifer. I made13 cloth dinner napkins. Jennifer and I made this bread cloth to help keep biscuits and rolls warm for serving. Both projects were made from scrape fabric, costing us nothing but our time and effort. In addition, we learned a little about doing applique. I had thought I would not like applique all that much but I found it very enjoyable, now a new skill is being added to our abilities.

Here are some pictures of the bread cloth:

Thank you for stopping by.

Rocking Chair Cushion Covers

08:43, Wednesday 19 December 2007 .. Posted in Handwork .. 2 comments .. Link

With the cold weather hanging over our house, I am taking the opportunity to work on some of my unfinshed crafts and also working on things that I have dreamed of making.

This is the project I am working now, a rocking chair seat cushion cover. It will be quilted with a rose design in the upper right hand corner.

I have been wanting something for the chair for a long time. I was inspired to make a quilted seat cushion by the Edwardian themed book "The Country Diary Book of Crafts". I have gotten so many wonderful ideas from browsing through that one book.