Wee Wonderfuls

a penny rug and some big decisions

I want to talk about my latest project, this penny rug, but I feel like I've been run over by a 10 ton mack truck of stress. We've been house hunting on and off now for a few months (which by the way, I am not cut out for at all) and last week the right job/right house stars seemed to align and we've been on the verge of a big move for days. We decided last night it wasn't right. And although I know it was the right decision for now I'm depressed as hell. I need some cheering up. I need to talk craft again and not mortgage and commutes and school ratings and what our idea of happily situated actually is. I feel beat up by Chicagoland, like nothing is quite right. gah, I could go on and on about compromise and how in the world is one supposed to know what's going to end up a good fit, but I won't. I'm going to drown my sorrows in a trip to Ikea/Mitsuwa, get started on new projects, catch up on blogs and talk about my new penny rug dammit.

Inspired by all the trips to the "country" lately and the stops at antique/gift shops and amazing quilt shops have had me inspired by cross stitch and penny rugs and folk art kits. I cannot wait for Amy's mail order cross stitch pattern! And after hearing her and Sarah talking about penny rugs for forever I finally dove in and country crafted it up. I'd bought these beautiful wools on our various stops and decided to start cutting little circles. Turns out to be the perfect "I'm so stressed I might die" project by the way, mindlessly blanket stitching circles. I'm amazed this thing worked out at all as i was so distracted the entire time I worked on it. I just made a quick sketch and started cutting. I'm relieved. It's cute! And I'm just making it under the wire as a baby gift for a friend. Those nine months go awfully quick when you're not actually carrying the baby.

I'm not trying another one though until I get one of those fancy blanketstitching sewing machines! Oh, and it's 9" x 13".

Thanks for all the tips on dying muslin by the way. I'm hoping to get some coffee, tea, baking sugar, staining, stretching fabric time in this weekend. But first I need to gather just the right pinecones. Time to start enjoying Fall around here!

make-a-long freebie pattern

**update** ok, the pattern has been sent! if you didn't receive yours - first check the email you use for paypal - and if it's not there please send me an email.

There's a new page in our story. All you make-a-longers out there keep your eyes peeled in your email (your paypal email address) for the first make-a-long freebie pattern - the backpacks! Coming very soon!

just a quick hi

We're just back from being away for the weekend. Iowa this time. It was beautiful, too bad we were too harried to take any decent photos. Things have been really hectic around here for Tim and I lately and I'm not handling it well. Busy is not our thing. We need boredom. Weeks and weeks of same old, little activity, no plans, etc. I'm having an especially frazzling afternoon trying to get organized and prioritize things. I have lots of things I want to blog about but, here too, I just can't get a handle on things. I'll try again tomorrow. Only reason I tried at all today was because I wanted to show off my new vacation knick knack and confess that I'm becoming more and more drawn to primitive, country craft stuff. Maybe it's Halloween on the horizon that's doing it to me. I was trying to figure out where to find/buy the stiff overdyed distressed cotton muslin stuff that all the primitive crows and candy corns and halloween ornaments from the gift shops are made out of. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Am I making any sense?

sue's sister

baby present (maybe?) in the works. a sister to no bonnet sue.

ok, the first free moment in days to post and damn flickr is timing out on me, typepad lost my post, and the internet is just fritzy in general. I'll take it as a sign that I should be working on works in progress instead of writing about them.

real quick, here are the things I mentioned before my computer turned on me, sarah's amazing olive (in costume!) and archie (the tie!), the new make-a-long flickr group, jen's redwork stitchette making me want to ditch all my other colors, mail order #4 (woohoo!), and well, I think that was it. ok.

Wilson Walks Walter

back to school

Wahoo! Big thanks to everybody who is making-a-long with me! The PDF thing seems to be working really well which is great. I've bumped up the font size and !'s a few times on the "Click Return to Merchant Button" part of the instructions so I hope that catches all new participants (if you missed it when ordering please email me). I'm psyched for our sunny forecast this week so I can maybe get some shots for the first installment that the rainy weather didn't allow and tomorrow when preschool week starts up again I can get started on the next pattern. Or maybe... the little freebie I have in mind first.

I finished up the next Fall Stitchette this weekend. I was inspired by all the kids waiting on the corners for their buses with their GIANT backpacks. Some of them even have wheels! Makes me kinda glad I was a 70s kid and not an aughts kid.

In other back to school news, all is well on the preschool front and I'm very relieved. He jumps in as soon as we get there and I have to chase him down for a goodbye kiss. That makes it easy to leave. He's definitely ready to go by the time I come pick him up, weeping into kanga ready, but we're working on that. We have a plan involving new covers that I think is going to do the trick!

make-a-long story: chapter one

It's here! The first installment of the make-a-long story is up. Click here to read the story and that will lead you to the first make-a-long pattern for Olive & Archie.

I can't believe we actually made our Sept. 15th deadline! I'm a little nervous. Three days straight on the computer and my brain is a little addled. I'm saying my prayers to the technology gods that everything will work smoothly. I hope y'all like the pattern and it's clear and easy to follow. This one is a little trickier than the put-together book but not too bad. I hope. My testers survived at least. Huge HUGE thanks to Laura, Erica, Sasha and Brooke who just floored me with their generosity, energy and intelligence. You guys saved me so so much time and caught stuff I'm sure I wouldn't have seen if I'd looked at it a hundred times. Thank you!!

And for those of you with a good memory, I'm putting the kybash on the 'special perks for early adopters' plan. After spending the past week consumed with this project I realize how long it all takes and trying to make 'extras' might just kill us. There will be freebies and fun things and they will be available to anyone who buys this first make-a-long pattern. I'm excited to get working on freebies and fun things. I've had my fill of html, illustrator, dreamweaver, blah blah for awhile. I haven't even been in my craft room since vacation. Ok, enough jabber.. make! a! long! 

2 boys and 2 girls

Hey look what I made over my Summer vacation.. a cableknit sweater! Aren't you impressed? hee. If I was one of those cool uber knitters maybe but my version is just embroidered. I think I may have confused some people that the next Stitchettes were going to be all boys. They're going to be 2 boys and 2 girls. Hope that's enough boy for you. If not, maybe this gal will 'cheer' you up...

And here's a shot of my vacation treats. Because really, what is a vacation if you can't rope some loved one (thanks mom!) into driving a hour away to hunt down a quilt shop?

I think I may have hit my limit on new Fall fabric. Maybe it's yarn time. It's getting chilly and I'm feeling knittery. Maybe I'll tackle another sweater for Oscar. Or maybe I'll just save myself the seaming and get my knit fix reading blogs. Any cool new knitting blogs out there?

'cation

Hello! We're just back from a week long vacation in Wisconsin. Oscar was a little worried about what this 'cation' (somewhere around this house is a huge pile of his discarded first syllables) business was all about. He was wary of all the packing and driving but once he realized it meant having his grandparents and aunt and uncle at his beck and call and throwing rocks in the lake, playing in the sand, helping grandpa fish and feeding ducks he was on board. The day we were leaving the temperature dropped 20 degrees and it's been cool and rainy here since. Guess Summer is over in Chicago -- this week at least. I still have vacation-head and I need to snap out of it. No amount of willing it to be will bring back Grandma coming in at the crack of dawn to scoop up Oscar so we can sleep in. It's back to reality. I did get some work done while we were gone. If you call sitting on the deck all day lazily embroidering work.

But now we're all unpacked and into our routine and getting ready for what this week is bringing. First day of preschool tomorrow! And then sometime by the end of the week, the first installment of the make-a-long story with its patterns will be up. yikes. I just realized last night that this tight deadline I set for us is not allowing any time for proofing or testing. Maybe there's a guinea pig out there? Someone who has some free time on their hands this week and would like to make a doll - basically overnight - and help me proof the instructions? If anyone is interested please email me at hillarylang at gmail.com. I'll try to come up with some super fun goodie bag full of thank you treats. Thanks volunteers!!

so tiny

am I having a baby? no. are they for maggie? no. they are just because I had to have them. the most delicate, tiny, beautiful and meticulously made baby shoes ever. from catarina m.

stalk her etsy. get your own little works of art to gaze at wistfully. but be wary, if you sew, her workmanship is humbling.

more photos of her amazing work here.