GG June ~ A Different Mojo

I think the blogging mojo has drifted into a lack of crafting mojo as well.  I used to get really upset when my crafting mojo vanishes thinking I've become some sort of failure but this time, I'm rolling with it.  Instead, my reading mojo has skyrocketed!  Catching up on my neglected National Geographics (I've made it to 2019 finally), and tons of manga (really, I've probably read around 200 volumes worth so far).  Tastes change, things I'm interested in change (often) so I know I'll eventually come back to crafts.  This tends to happen with any one of my hobbies, really.  I notice it most with gaming but typing this out makes me realize everything I enjoy doing seems to take a cycle.

It's still raining quite a bit here too, something I'm getting quite tired of dealing with.  Usually by this time of year, I can cut back to mowing the yard once a week.  Alas.  It's still every 4-5 days which is really starting to wear on me.  Hiring it out is looking awfully tempting.  I'm sure this is part of the reason the crafting mojo took a hit; I just get too tired in the evenings.  Anyway, you are here for GG!

click for more info!

I'm still working slowly on a few items, including the little cherry potholder which will be a gift for a friend.  I'm glad I started it when I did; there's no real timeline to finish but when you work slowly.... well.  Don't be blown away by my mountains of progress.

before

after

I'm also working on a shawl made from the sweater I unraveled but it's not a GG contestant unless I do some serious shoehorning haha.  I took this to our local crafty group one night and they were suitably impressed with this little bit and the yarn from the sweater!  The red and purple strands are "lifelines" -- the lower color is 100% correct, the upper color seems correct.  After I knit another pair of rows, I move the lower color up as I now know the upper line is definitely correct.  It makes sense while working haha.  I've already had to use them -- this it NOT a project to actually work on during craft night.  Too much brain power making sure those lace patterns work out correctly; one missed YO and I'm doomed hahah.  The beads have been fun though.  I probably should've used size 8/0 but I couldn't find any.  6/0 it is.

a slow process

And here's the next GG offering~  This month's giveaway is a Stitches from the Heartland chart titled "The Bee Book".  I am not sure this company exists anymore, or maybe has been renamed/absorbed into CC & Company out near Kansas City, MO.  This pattern is a totally clean, slightly primitive design with hand-drawn charts featuring our helpful gardening friends.  It does call for some Mill Hill and Debbie Mumm buttons which I don't have, but I know some of you have collections to use up, right?  ;)

The Bee Book

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. No winning twice in a row (example: the winner of October's drawing would not be eligible for November's).
5. Closing date: June 29th, 2019 23:59 CST.

a closer look at the small chart

Re: Previous Giveaways!  No one was interested in Those Darn Accessories from last month, so I donated it to the thrift store.  I had been keeping my eyes on my email (and spam section) for the winner of the Victoria Sampler piece, but never received word, so I have redrawn the name, none other than our fabulous GG hostess, Jo!  I'm pretty sure I have your address unless you've moved house suddenly!  Miniz Diary, who won the Calico Crossroads chart way back in March, has gotten (mostly) settled in her new abode, so I have sent that chart on its way.  We're both curious how long it will take as the mail to her previous location could be... Interesting!

It's been really fun sending these all around the world!  :D  That's all from me this time, a rather rambly post for nothing going on haha.  Adios, friends~  

GG May ~ A Severe Lack of Mojo

I think somehow we all fear titles like that. In my case, it's thankfully not a lack of crafting mojo, just blogging mojo!  I think a lot of it is the mowing schedule, or lack thereof.  We've been having scandalous amounts of rain here and it's basically turned into mowing whenever it's dry enough to get out... and that usually means the whole yard in one day because the grass is growing so fast!  Which absolutely exhausts me and reminds me I'm not kid anymore, hrmph.  And that one day is enough to throw all the others off kilter!  Guess I'm a creature of habit.  Let's just dive right into the Gorgeousness of the Gifted world, shall we~?

click for more info!

before

after

I feel like I had decent progress on this huck towel but when I think the last update was March... well... But another flower has bloomed and this one confused me excessively while working on it. I print the black-and-white versions of these patterns it did NOT make sense! At least, not until I started stitching it and realized the flower is facing "away"!  If you need reminding, this counts for GG because the huck towel itself was a gift from TiffStitches and makes use of some floss gifted to me by my husband~

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before

after

There's also been a bit more progress on the double-knit potholder, enough that you might have an educated guess what the motif is now!  This has been a nice project to take along to places where I know I'll have a good sit down time.  Maybe next update there will be enough to flip up and show the backside and what this double knitting is all about!  This little creation will be a gift for a friend.

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image found through Google search

Lastly, the giveaway part!  Both old and new this time as I didn't get up my regularly scheduled "everything else" post at the end of April/beginning of May.  I had a whopping five entrants last time (I suspected a Victoria Sampler would be popular).  The random number generator chose #1 who is Elfie, congrats!  I do not have your address so we'll need to get into contact with each other.

Those Darn Accessories

This time the chart is charmingly titled "Those Darn Accessories" by Hillside Samplings.  This is a rather nice primitive design chart featuring a cute sampler-like sewing case about darning over eggs... and what we say today haha.  The little pincushion is in this chart as well.  There were other items that matched this set floating about out there; I think you can still purchase "That Darn Basket" pattern but I don't know about the scissor keep.  This giveaway is just for the accessories chart!

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. No winning twice in a row (example: the winner of June's drawing would not be eligible for July's).
5. Closing date: May 29th, 2019 23:59 CST.

Okay, that's all folks! I've been trying to get this post typed for two weeks now, whenever I got the chance to sit down at the computer. Makes it hard when you just want to zone out instead hah!

A Easter Blog Hop Extravaganza!

Hooray, it's time for Jo's Easter Blog Hop! If you're happening upon this post with no idea what's going on, please start here at her blog and hop around like the little bunny you are and collect the letters. They'll spell out a mystery phrase!

they're too cute to not reuse

Here is my little contribution! These blog hops are turning into a great way to experiment with finishing things in new (to me) ways!  And to get me to make more pretty floral pieces! I present to you my first ever needle book.

a needle book blossoms

I hadn't originally planned to finish it this way; it just sort of happened!   I had thought to stitch the whole lovely tile but very quickly realized my turtle pace wasn't going to let that happen this century.  Luckily Whim Crafting came to the rescue!  I really like the center motif with its pretty hydrangeas and dahlia.  That dahlia caused its own kerfuffle -- my DMC 602 and 603 dyelots are indistinguishable from each other!  I wound up unpicking half the flower and making a blend of 602 and 605 in order to get some contrast in.  I did change the borders to a white color instead of the charted pink because, well, there was enough pink for me in the dahlia!

backside

On the back, I made a same-sized square and used the "porch brackets" from the corner motifs of the pattern.  Then, I crocheted a tiny rose using up a little bit of vintage thread.  I've never seen a yellow and pink colorway, even in modern colors, so I lightly tinted the white and cream bits with pink marker so it would be reminiscent of my rose bush.  Of course, it could've (should've?) been a daffodil, but all the patterns I've found are not flat; the trumpet would stick out a good deal, moreso than the rose currently does.

a safe haven

I used up some scrap felt I have floating around as padding and for the leaves.  Also I found a little piece of fabric from the remnant bin at JoAnn Fabrics that fit in with the soft feel of the piece! Little bits of ribbon for the closure and to hide the sewn seam of the leaves and voilà~! I have a needle book!  It's not quite perfect as I am not so great at sewing, especially when it came time to turn it right side out and finish off the unclosed seam....  Note to Self: start on the top and front next time so they can be perfect, instead of the bottom and back hah!

Technical Details

• "Spring Floral Tile" freebie pattern by Aurelia Eglantine, found here!
• Rose from "Rose Ruffled Centerpiece", Lily Design book #76
• Mystery 18-count blue-ish lilac Aida
• Started: March ??, Finished: April 17, unknown hours.  

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And here's what you've been breathlessly waiting for -- the letter!

the letter H

Your next stop is with Christine at The Alchymyst's Study! Since I've scheduled this post to appear in the wee hours of the morning here in 'Merica, I'll come back to update the links to go to the specific page. EDIT: Updated links! :)

Happy Easter!

March GG ~ A Flower Blooms

Hello, world!  Spring is trying valiantly to take over, but winter is still fighting hard.  There have been more warm days than cold so I will count that as a win!  My daffodil sprouts are now about 3" tall and I can see the line of them from the house. :D  Of course, March has really roared in like a lion and we're experiencing some crazy high winds.  I hope to stays true to the adage and goes out like a lamb!

click for more info!

before

after

I worked a bit more on the Flower of the Month towel and managed to coax one of the flowers to bloom, complete with its backstitching.  More greenery has also sprouted along with the flower! The after picture is a bit dark; days of gloomy rain don't make for the greatest picture taking.  This particular flower counts for GG because the towel is a gift from TiffStitches and there's a bonus gift of floss from my husband after I discovered I was somehow missing one skein.

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Calico Crossroads - Furever

And here is giveaway number three; apologies for the somewhat dark photo! This is an older and really sweet Calico Crossroads pattern, and one of their colored ones to boot! (I'm used to their black and white kitties.)  It has the pattern for the scissors finder which would also double as a cute little pincushion.  This is a totally clean chart, apart from the thrift store sticker on the front.

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. No winning twice in a row (example: the winner of March's drawing would not be eligible for April's).
5. Closing date: March 29th, 2019 23:59 CST.

I ran into some slight drama mailing out the previous giveaway pattern.  I send just the chart in the padded envelope, no little goodies that sometimes come along with giveaways.  The clerk at the post office insisted that, though the pattern was paper (or rather, cardstock), it wasn't paperwork and so, needed to be charged at a different rate.  Something that normally costs around $3 was going to cost $15.  I guess the clerk could tell I was most confused with this sudden multiplication of shipping charges and called a manager up -- who overruled the clerk and the pattern went on its merry way for the original rate.  I get where the clerk was coming from (since it's not paperwork) but this was the first time this has ever come up in all my history of past giveaways!

I suppose one way of getting around it entirely would be to fold the patterns and put them in a regular envelope but I'd really like to avoid doing that.  Have any of you run into this weird shipping dilemma?  This only applies to shipping outside of the USA.

Kind of sparse this month!  I did manage to finish the knit hot water bottle cover and went on an adventure with a thrifted find.  Those will be tales for the next post, along with the winner announcement~  G'luck and until then!  :D/

February GG ~ I CAN SEW!

Hello, stitching buddies~  I hope you're all doing well and enjoyed your Valentine's Day.  I decided I've been healthy for far too long and spent the day groggy and coughing, yay!  Luckily it doesn't seem to be one of those that will linger forever (knock on wood).  We're set to get a few inches of snow today which is fine with me; I'll just snuggle up with some blankets and cats.

I'm starting to long for spring though...  we bought some special seeds I'm anxious to try.  What are they, you might ask?  Well... Carolina Reapers, Trinidad Scorpions, and Naga Morichs.  :D  We greatly enjoyed our Bhut Jolokia last year (more readily known as Ghost Pepper here in the States) putting them in all our various chili/bean dishes and my husband enjoyed sharing them at work.  But enough rambles, onto GG~

click for more info!

before

after

I can count this for GG because it's being worked on the huck towel gifted to me by TiffStitches. Thank you! :D  It sort of has started to look a little more like nothing, or maybe possibly just random greenery.  I wanted to see if I had the widths right; it feels very weird for me to start at the bottom of a stitch but all of these towels have been like that.  It makes me nervous until I know for sure the width is centered, or at least centered enough that the "weight" of the design looks centered.  It's a bit difficult to tell in the picture, but there are actually two different greens in there now.

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yes, let's take pictures of PJs!

The sewing machine can actually sew! What a strange adventure this was.  Here is an unglamorous shot of a pajama set I made.  I figured my husband could have the first clothes made on the machine since he spoils me. :D  They look really huge but are somewhere between a medium and a large.  I suppose it wouldn't hurt to find a dressform at some point.

zig-zags!

I am glad I started with the pants. If I had started with the shirt, I'm guessing nothing would've been finished as I would've nuked the whole project. The shirt is a stretchy material, not quite jersey but almost like a poly-spandex blend. I'll have to get back into the store and see if I can get a picture of the bolt end to know for sure. These older machines do not have built-in zig-zag capabilities and zig-zag stitches are quite necessary if you don't want your stitches to break when the fabric stretches! So I got to play with one of my fancy little attachments. Let me tell you, after breaking three needles in a row, I was about to start stabbing things in the craft room and possibly the rest of the house.  One panic run to the store later, and armed with fresh ball-point needles, it finished up easy as you please.  I still need to master the tension needed with guiding this type of fabric on the machine.

look at that plaid

Not very perfect, mind you.  I am not so good at sewing in a straight line just yet.  The plaid on the pants sure helped with that though!  I think if I make this pattern again, I will change a few things.  Those buttonholes seem like they should be vertical slits in the waistband.  Maybe a different fabric for the shirt; something more T-shirt-y.  I really liked the raglan sleeves.  Waistbands in general will require patience and practice.  That was an adventure -- I redid it three times because I thought the elastic was twisting inside the band.  I am pleased that most of my seams lined up very well with the plaid.  Plus I got to use a button from my (new-to-me) stash!

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Seasonal Hearts

Next up, 2019's second Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway!  I chose this one because of the hearts although it joyfully contains all the seasons~  This is a set of cute small patterns on a single leaflet by The Needle and I featuring four different seasonal hearts with a primitive feel!  I rather like the Americana one for summer.  And I like how they're all finished!  Once again, no fancy extras will be included in this giveaway to cut down on shipping costs but it will go worldwide!

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. No winning twice in a row (example: the winner of March's drawing would not be eligible for April's).
5. Closing date: February 28th, 2019 23:59 CST.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

blog: version desktop/FF

Lastly, I am requesting a little help! When I was on a different computer, I noticed something different about my blog. I normally use a Windows-based desktop with Firefox as my main Internet browser. This is how my blog looks on it.

blog: version laptop/Chrome

When I was on the laptop, I was using Chrome for the browser and this is how my blog looks. My banner is completely missing, as well as the little side images denoting the blogger widgets.  Don't mind the difference in flowers; my laptop's screen is smaller than the desktop's.

highlighting the weirdness

How does it look on your device? Do you see the banners?  What do you use (computer/tablet/etc)?  I'm hoping to figure out if it's my personal settings (I have very strict script blocking/anti-ads/high privacy settings on all my computers) or if it's a problem with the special code itself.  Thank you for your help; this really bugs me!

Random #1: Winner and Deliciousness!

Well now! January left me behind and it's February! I guess I'd better get my random post in before it turns to the next GG already. I do hope February will be a bit warmer on average; so far we're starting abnormally warm (I may even have windows open today!) after a week of terribly cold temperatures.  Of course, it will be back to Winter later this week.

image found through Google search

First up, the winner from last month's giveaway of the cute snowman by Homespun Elegance.  There were two entrants and the random number generator chose comment number one: Ariadne!  Yay!  Please let me know your address and I'll have it posted out at some point~

a pile of string

I've been working on a few items of interest, and this one doesn't get included in the GG posts.  It is affectionately grumpily known as the "rats nest" -- a veritable pain in the tuchus of a knit!  I'm trying to be somewhat mindful of our household waste production and plastic bags are up there with being everywhere when going shopping!  I have plenty of cold sacks and cloth bags for regular groceries.  This little bag will be for loose produce when it's complete.  It's very light and airy and is making good use of the mountain of crochet thread I have hoarded stashed.

little more open

I really love the idea of this project but I think I am just far too tight of a knitter to function well with magic loop method. :(  It leaves huge ladders between the "loops", not large enough to be a problem but they are noticeable.  Plus the random mistakes that would be a nightmare for me to pull out... I will finish it out of pure stubbornness and then find some other pattern to battle!  I had hopes of loving it and making it for gifts but alas, not this pattern.

This does make me sad because it limits my options of knitting smaller things.  I am fine knitting in the round or flat.  Maybe I should really focus on mastering double points (they still leave ladders too, though).  Bah!  Not every crafting endeavor turns out well.

we have a stem/leaf!

I also started the next Flower of the Month stitch, October's calendula (marigold).  I seem to be missing one of the colors in this despite it being marked as "owned" in my spreadsheet, hmm.  I have no other projects containing it so it is a mystery where this bobbin got to! 

his

hers

Totally random:  These scrumptious milkshakes were from a local ice cream shop. Oh, they were so delicious.  The one on the left is a cookies 'n' cream shake with chocolate dipped Oreo cookies and other deliciousness.  The one on the right is a vanilla bean shake with chocolate dipped strawberries and other deliciousness.  They are served in pint-sized mason jars with the rim dipped in chocolate.  My husband didn't want to waste a single second taking photos of them and dove right in ahaha.  It was a wonderful treat for us and totally counted as lunch, right? :)

it's possibly a thing

Lastly, there's this little teaser for the next GG.  Until then!  :D/

January GG ~ From the Last to the First

Aloha, friendly readers~ I hope you all are enjoying your worldly weather. We've had a huge snowfall for our neck of the woods. It has been many years since the area has seen this much. It was wonderful. I restocked our snow ice cream for when we forget what winter is like in the midst of summer.  We shoveled snow (a lot of it).  Luckily my shoulder has healed nicely.  Last week was the first week it felt "normal" so it was good timing, and the shoveling of the snow didn't do anything other than make us sleep really well. :)

scale in inches

Of course, now they're threatening the same thing could happen this coming weekend! I wonder how much of this current snow will melt before then.  Certainly not the mountains of shoveled stuff! Oh well, I love it all! :D  This was a lovely atmospheric gift which segues nicely into the next item of interest, January's Gifted Gorgeousness!

click for more info!

First up, I made my first ever shawl!  It's a shame I couldn't get better pictures of it; this red just seems impossible.  It was made to match this hat, gifted to my husband's grandmother back in September.  I spent quite a while looking for a pattern to try!  I wanted it to have shells (like the hat) but still have somewhat open stitches so as not to be overly warm.

didn't mean to match the carpet

Technical Details

• "Tranquil Tea Wrap", crochet, freebie pattern by Lion Brand Yarn found here (ravelry).
• My ravelry project page here.
• 10mm (N/P) hook.
• Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in autumn red.
• Started: October 17, 2018, Finished: October 21, 2018, unknown hours.  

As you may notice, this was a blazing fast finish (for me) at only four days!  I think the gigantic hook helped though it felt odd using one so large.  Plus the sitting around at grandma's house made for excellent crafting time.  I made a few modifications, namely doing another repeat of the pattern to make the shawl longer.  I also did not do the edging as the pattern indicated, instead opting to keep the scalloped edge of the shells as the last part.  Afterwards, it received the spa treatment of a gentle wash and then a light blocking.  I don't much care for blocking acrylic but it opens up the shells and spacings so nicely.

assembly in progress

Next up, yes, finally the husband cube, and finally a cube~!  I had fun with this...mostly.  I used iron-on interfacing to give the rather floppy jobelan some stiffness and to close up the holes in the fabric weave so stuffing wouldn't leak out.  Also it helped with this very fray-some fabric!  I outlined each of the glyphs in DMC 310 and then went insane and joined them together with gold metallic floss because I enjoy suffering, apparently.  I wanted to do it this way to mimic the logo of the series which is in black and gold.  I then braided a small loop of black and gold crochet thread which must (must!) have something wrong with it as it is incredibly fragile.  I may at some point go back and make another, sturdier loop of something else but for now, I'm waiting to see if it's okay as-is.

assembly complete!

I rather like how it turned out, though it is much bigger than originally anticipated.  I don't think he'll be taking it to work after all, so it is proudly displayed atop our media cabinet where most of our video game consoles live.  As I was stitching it up, I had to laugh at myself.  I was stitching it on the closed top of the sewing machine.  Wouldn't that have made quick work of the cube!

what a crazy floss toss

For Christmas, my husband got me the remainder of the "old" floss colors of the DMC collection!  I would be complete now if it weren't for those silly new colors. :)   I greatly look forward to bobbinating these but I've run out of plastic storage containers.  It's so hard to find them in colors other than pink, blue, purple, and clear.  There used to be a whole bunch of options available!  Even eBay has failed me.  I'd really love a yellow one but alas, I'll probably just wind up with another clear one.

a year of giveaways!

Lastly, I've been toying around with this idea for a while.  I have a small pile of patterns I've picked up in various thrift stores so I wanted to try a Year of Giveaways!  Each GG post in 2019 I will have one chart up for grabs, and I will announce the winner in my random end of/beginning of the month post.  Since these are all thrifted designs, some might have some markings on them.  I will make note of the ones that do in their individual posts.  Here is the first chart!

PFC #14

This is an older Homespun Elegance stitch from the Plain & Fancy Collection called "Snowmen - Tall & Small".  This a totally clean (was it ever stitched?) chart.  They're really cute and I love the idea of having a twig broom embellishment!  No fancy extras will be included in this giveaway to cut down on shipping costs so you will have to source your own twig haha. I will ship the pattern worldwide though!

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. No winning twice in a row (example: the winner of March's drawing would not be eligible for April's).
5. Closing date: January 29th, 2019 23:59 CST.

Thanks for reading this edition of Ishkabibble Babble and good luck to anyone entering! \:D/

what to do after it snows?

December GG ~ The Last

Hello there, everyone! Are you all doing well with your Christmas preparations?  I feel like I've reached the "Yep, Good Enough" stage hah.  Things are going a little slower for me this year as shortly after Thanksgiving, I wound up doing something to my shoulder.  I was moving one of my potted plants (a small jalapeno) to position it better under the grow light.  When I lifted the pot, the most horrible grinding and then a sharp POP happened.  How I didn't drop the planter, I'll never know.  I toughed it out for a week, but as it was still quite painful, I made a doctor's appointment... which couldn't happen for another 1.5 weeks eep.  I finally got in this week.

Luckily, it's not serious and is healing nicely~  At first there were fears of a partial dislocation or a torn rotator cuff.  Instead, it seems to be tendinitis.  I got my first x-rays ever which was kinda neat.  There are no chips in the bone, and in fact, I apparently have excellent bone density hah.  I guess loving milk helps.  In my case, the fact that I work out has highly mitigated the damage.  My husband and I do P90X every evening, 5-6 days a week.  I am still able to (and the doctor encouraged continuing to) exercise, though at a slower pace and lighter weights. I'm on prescription-strength painkillers for a while which have made me very groggy.  My husband has already told me no driving and I'm listening to him.  I also have a few stretches to do to help get the full range of movement back.

One silly thing about all this whole adventure was that I discovered my husband had no idea that such a thing as a hot water bottle exists!  You know, these things?  He thought I was imagining up some impossible to find thing (to be fair, I do have some wild ideas sometimes) and I thought he was surely joking with me because it's a hot water bottle!  We poked around the store trying to find this Mystical Item to no avail, and he was growing more and more convinced I dreamed up this thing ahaha.  I finally asked an employee who thankfully proved my sanity LOL.  It feels wonderful on my shoulder and my husband enjoys it warming up the foot of the bed when I set it there after I'm done for the evening.

But enough about my Gardening-in-Winter Mishaps, this is Gifted Gorgeousness, the last of 2018!

click for more info

First up, we have a winner of the giveaway mentioned in the previous GG post.  The Prairie Schooler chart, Starry Night, goes to: Carol from Stitching Dreams!  Yay, congratulations! She already has many (many, many!) PS charts but miraculously not this one. We've already been in contact so the chart is currently on its way to its new home~

before

after

As for my stitching, I give to you The Final Side! The tail took a bit longer than I would've liked but I am just not fond of working with grey.  I like how his tail turned out though.  While stitching, the greys seemed awfully similar and I worried it would be hard to see the details.  It turned out okay in the end as things tend to do.

Technical Details

• "Ceadeus" glyph from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, pattern charted by me.
• 2 over 1 on 20-count light tan jobelan fabric.
• Finished size: 3.50 x 3.50" (9 x 9 cm).
• Started: August ??, 2018, Finished: December 7, 2018, unknown hours.  

death from land, sea, and sky

I have thought up how this will be finished and am currently in the process of doing just that.  So I will have another object for January's GG!  I've never sewn anything up like this so hopefully it will turn out like I'm imagining!

Also in the spirit of GG, I have been making my Christmas cookies.  With my derpy shoulder, I am SO glad for the stand mixer this year!  I will try to keep track this year of how many I wind up making.  We send them out to friends and family (mostly in Hawaii) that we don't get to see during the season.  Plus I make more for the friends and family we do get to see, but these are usually the more delicate cookies that wouldn't survive the mail.  It's a very cozy way to spend a few days!  Plus the house smells delicious hah.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

envelopes

Because this post is a little bit sparse this month due to being secretive, I will show you some things I've been gifted.  As you may remember, I went back to my grandmother's house in October.  She asked me to get down a box that was high up in her closet and we had a great time going through it.  It was various sewing and crafting supplies of all ages.  This magical Christmas tin provided me hours of entertainment, and her hours of amusement at my entertainment.  What is in it?  Buttons!!  They are mostly white.  But in the same box was a large bag with envelopes.  She had more buttons separated by color family.  This isn't even all the envelopes!  I'm the type to keep buttons all jumbled together but having her writing on the envelopes is pretty awesome so I'll probably keep these as-is.

Did you know I love buttons?  My mother also has a huge tin of them at her house and I can remember going through them several times as a kid (and as not a kid).

buttons and hooks

Here are a few of my favorites from the collection.  I love that little aqua flower and sparkly four-leafed clover!  The white one is an older mother-of-pearl, which I found a neat trick for determining.  A mother-of-pearl button is super cold when held up to your cheek.  The difference is very obvious when compared to a similar-looking plastic one!  A MoP is like ice!  The little red one reminds me of a raspberry; doesn't it just look so ripe and delicious? (No buttons were eaten in the making of this post).  The small round, metal one is a field of very tiny flowers.

Also, the white hooks on the right are bone, though not necessarily super old since they have the price engraved on them - 10¢!  The one on the left is a bit of a mystery.  It's very plain and slightly warped with use.  It's either bone or ivory (I suspect bone).  I'm not sure that I will use these hooks because I know I do my work too tight.  I would be afraid of snapping them.

Okay, have I talked you to death yet?  This was a very rambling post!  I'd blame the painkillers but I've rambled a lot before.  No excuses. ;)  My next posts will probably be recap posts for 2018 (egads).  I hope you all have a Wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!