I Wear A Red Hat

What Works For Me

2012-02-10T09:30:00.001-05:00

I am relatively new to needle punch; keeping fabric tight was a major problem for me. My solution:

Another problem is buying balls of 3-strand pearl cotton floss in store, rather than online, and single quantities. I will have to think on this a bit, I am working my brain to the bone as I type!

UFO Finished and Ready to Store

2012-02-05T19:40:00.003-05:00

Quilters have tagged a unique meaning onto the term UFO. They're not objects flying around in the sky (unless we toss them around because they're so ugly). A UFO is an Unfinished Object--the remnants of those quilts we start to make but never seem to finish. I started thinking SPRING and pulled this little guy out of my stash, gave him some legs and a tree limb to perch on and Ta Ta--my needlepunch finished! Off it goes, into the whatever drawer.

OK, So Now I Love Mailboxes

2012-01-22T16:00:00.035-05:00

Rather than purchase yet another mailbox, I found this one while dismantling our barn and gave it a once over...

Two more barn finds...

This one holds my table paper napkins:

This one for garden gloves:

And a work in progress--my one dollar garage sale find. It is gigantic. I sanded it to the bare metal and have since given it a primer coat. I am trying to figure out what to use it for before I give it the final paint job. Maybe a table doubling as a storage container? Umm, what would I store in it? It is 24" high, 15 inches in depth, 10 inches wide. Any suggestlons would be really, really, appreciated:

One cannot have too many mailboxes (lol).

For the Hats and Mittens

2012-01-13T17:49:00.002-05:00

I picked up what looked like a bin for potatoes at a yard sale for one dollar. I painted it and use it for storing our hats and mittens. This summer it will hold our work/garden gloves.

Front View

Inside Cover

Outside Cover

Left Side

Right Side

Found a Use for Cardboard Barrel

2012-01-13T15:40:00.001-05:00

First, I drink way too much pop. But, having said that, I finally came across a solution for storing my empties. What was an old cardboard barrel is now my "Bottle Drop".

Jelly Cupboard Makeover

2012-01-12T18:27:00.005-05:00

This is one of my favorite kitchen pieces, but I had to give it a facelift--the paint was constantly peeling off (probably lead paint).

Our LaPotta Chair

2012-01-10T09:02:00.010-05:00

It's been so long since my last post I wasn't even sure what my sign in name was. Thankfully, it came up automatically. My DH had to have his kidney removed December 2011--he had a tumor and there was a 90% chance it was cancer. He decided he had to go straight ahead and was prepared for whatever. Since we have no bathroom downstairs, it was my desire to get in touch with the Lions Club for a thunder mug. Nope! The old guy didn't want a used one (nor to purchase a new one). "wouldn't need it, he could stay upstairs and convalesce if need be".

Now, to make a short story long--there is more. In an earlier post I think I wrote about my garage sale chairs, both before and after. Didn't I find another of the exact same chairs in November. I had the seat ready to reupholster to match the other four chairs, but decided it would make a great diy temporary LaPotta chair. You know who said he would never sit on it, but had to be involved in it's creation.

It turned out the tumor was benign, he was only in the hospital four days. Doesn't have to go for a check up for one year, with no further treatments. And, was up and down stairs same day he came home. He says maybe we should keep the LaPotta and rent it out--that's not going to happen (lol). Thank you God and Dr. Rashid!

This makes for a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Odd Color Bathtub...

2011-03-27T15:38:00.001-04:00

I am in a stew as to what color to paint the bathroom. I can't believe it, but Google says I am one of a gazillion with a lavender tub. Sooooo, this week I am off to Home Depot to look at paint brochures and sample chips!

Garage Sale Find

2011-02-10T22:32:00.021-05:00

I was tired of using fold up card table chairs around my kitchen table--I reupholstered the cushions.

BEFORE (Scroll your mouse over image for update)

My First Needle Punch

2011-02-09T20:48:00.002-05:00

Surfing the Internet, I came across yet something else I had to try--needle punch. I embroidered the words "Get Well" and framed this little guy and sent him off.

The New Crewel by Katherine Shaughnessy

2011-02-08T19:03:00.001-05:00

I picked this book up from the public library and love the patterns. I didn't have any yarn so I worked them with DMC embroidery floss. I needed to learn how to resize images I post--and to add captions, centered above each image.

Hip Squares

Love Loops

Ruby Shoots

White on White Sampler

Our Cutie Patootie Update...

2011-01-16T13:18:00.008-05:00

Last summer he wandered into traffic; enough said!

Cutie Patootie the II (pictured below)ran under our car whilst we were pulling into our garage, Christmas week. OMG, heartsick! We decided NO MORE Cutie Patooties for us.

Promises, Promises, Promises.....

2011-01-15T09:43:00.011-05:00

I promised to blog a little each day. Well--that didn't happen!

I guess I will have to start somewhere, so here is a look at my latest project. I was waiting because I need to post some pictures and somewhere I had come across a great tip on how to insert pictures so that picture sizes would all be uniform.

I am working on a large cross stitch project and I am having trouble with the symbols. The capital I and small L both show as l and l. One color is just a bit darker than the other. So far I have just been skipping over them until I could check around to see what others would do. I am on about the 5th page of a 70 page project and will have to go back and fill in the blanks before I go any farther.

I like the colored pen idea I received in answer to my post regarding this problem--over at StitchersHeaven. Click here!

Well, I did it--I blogged once more. BUT, as far as blogging goes, I have forgotten most of what I learned...

Do I Not Have The Best Little Brother!

2010-09-17T22:11:00.000-04:00

I got a call this evening from my brother--my computer is dead, but that he could still get at my files. He is copying my whole drive over to another drive, but first he is copying just my most important folders over to ensure I don't lose my work. Received a second call shortly after. He found a mother board or drive or something like that on Craig's List for $45 and would I be interested. OMG, yes! He is picking it up at 10 pm tonight.

Did I mention he has lots of old lady sisters? He doesn't know it yet, but sis #4 thinks her laptop is dead.

It's Just Me

2010-09-16T14:28:00.001-04:00

1. I had made arrangements to drop my pc off at my brother's place of work--he would take it to his house to work on. The hard drive may have been damaged during last thunder storm. I thought I knew where he worked--NOT. Of course, I forgot my cell phone. Twelve miles to the city and back home.

2. I had mentioned to him in my call, to plea for help, that it might be that our bottom electrical plug socket had been damaged. I had plugged the power strip in to the bottom socket and it didn't work. But when I plugged it into the top socket, it did work.

3. WHY? You ask...The bottom outlet appears to be on a separate switch--when you turn it on, the lights or whatever is plugged into the bottom plug socket turns on. Something I had forgotten.

4. OK, so now that I have the computer plugged into the correct outlet, it still isn't letting me access my Internet or files. Off to the city once again

I have been doing some thinking. YES, thinking. I should have a separate day to post about separate topics. Maybe a favorite tutorial I have come across in lurking the Internet. Maybe a day for needlepoint or cool, craft projects, links to some of my favorite sites. Pictures of projects I have completed or am currently working on, projects on my "MUST DO" list (if you are all like me, you will have to live to be a gazillion years for this to happen) or things on my "Wish List".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Karen (hope you are reading my blog today, cuz your card is late). I love you Sis!!!

Working Outside

2010-09-15T20:00:00.000-04:00

Weather here has been cool in the mornings, but lots of sun. Good weather to dig potatoes and clear flower beds. Lots more rocks were carted down to Rock Heaven. I have been taking video pictures and I think I know how to create a video in my blog now. My desktop computer is down for a bit owing to a lightening strike. Tomorrow it goes to the city for my little brother to repair. I sooooooo hope it didn't fry the insides or said pictures are no more.

Today...

2010-09-13T16:53:00.001-04:00

Today I learned not to try copying and pasting my notes from Word into my blog.
Today I learned links don't work in Preview mode.
Today I learned how much I forgot.
Today I want to learn how to insert a video into my blog.

The weather is clearing and DH wants to do some outside work, so more later.

Oooops, a big thunder bang knocked out my desktop computer. That's why God made little brothers and laptops.

Since I can't seem to connect to my desktop computer to access my videos, I will have to wait yet another day or so to give this a try.

Not Enough Hours In A Day

2010-09-13T13:31:00.003-04:00

I am thinking I must try putting down my thoughts—a little bit at a time. I am soooooo overwhelmed, what with the garden, renovating the old house from top to bottom, and clearing the area around the farm from junk cars, tractors and trash. Not to mention, I love the Internet, a new camera and learning how to put my thoughts into pictures for my Blog.

The Tree That Keeps on Giving...Update!

2010-03-05T13:25:00.001-05:00

Our hugh Catalpa tree was downed several years ago in a wind storm. My DH decided to saw it into pieces, ready for the wood pile. I put on such a face (I needed to grow a garden in it), he put the chunks back in place.

Soon thereafter, a thing that looked like a stick started to grow out of the top of the downed tree. I wanted him to cut off the stick--he PUT on a face. The stick grew into a tree, blossoms every year and grows seed pods (link to pictures in my Webshots album, top right corner of my blog).

In August 2008, I started two Catalpa trees with some of the seeds from the new tree I decided to winter my two baby trees in the furnace room this year. In checking them out, recently, I noticed dirt around the base of the containers. OMG! One tree was pulled out from it's container--not a trace of it was to be found.

What's left of the bark on the remaining tree:

A new sprout appearing:

Does this mean I still have a tree?

This year I will start seeds from previous year's pods along with this year's pods. I am determined I can grow a Catalpa tree from seed!

So Adorable...

2010-02-28T11:36:00.002-05:00

A few of my sisters, THEN (scroll your mouse over for update)

Cutie Patootie

2009-09-03T11:54:00.006-04:00

Today our Cutie Patootie jumped into our neighbor's bathroom remodeler's van and ATE his sandwich!

Pictures Speak Louder than Words

2009-07-11T19:56:00.003-04:00

This dog acts like I am Hannibal Lecter. I don't dislike her, but she DOES look like a hairless Guinea pig with brown splotches and bangs.

I babysat her for several days during a two week period, sat with her, walked her, and let her out of her cage each day, but she would not eat one bit of food or any of her favorite doggie treats I offered her. I have decided the dog is just plain rude (lol).

Before and After

2009-05-11T19:55:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, thought I murdered my lovely peony bush. I could not get the plant divided using sharp cutting scissors and wound up hacking it to pieces with a spade last year.
I shared two of five cuttings and am happy to say all of the new plants are doing great!

Will Be Ready to Plant End of May!

2009-04-19T19:51:00.002-04:00

The Tree That Keeps on Giving

2009-04-11T19:49:00.001-04:00

Lookie! lookie! Run your cursor over my seeds...I have a tree. The second tree is much larger and looks great. I think it is starting to bud. Our original Catalpa tree never gave leaves until much later than our other trees--so I am thinking I have two successes. I will update with more pictures.

Want to Know What a Sprout Sees?

2009-04-08T19:50:00.000-04:00

Click here!

From the Garden to the Jar!

2009-04-03T02:22:00.000-04:00

Pete is Not Forgotten!

2009-03-24T23:57:00.002-04:00

My First Softie

2009-03-14T23:54:00.003-04:00

Found the tutorial for making this cutie patooty birdy over at:Lynn Roberts

And how about this for winter sowing???

2009-03-09T23:51:00.004-04:00

Greenasagourd has instructions on how to winter sow lettuce (and just about anything) using container tops as a cover, over on the Weathervane Green Thumb Club!

Click here for link!

When Will My Garden Grow?

2009-03-07T23:46:00.003-05:00

I winter-sowed 40+ baggies in mid-February and set them out in the snow. Oooooh, can't wait for spring to arrive!

Winter Sowing Tutorial

2009-03-03T23:44:00.007-05:00

I picked the containers up from a Top's supermarket. The lid to a cardboard box works well if you can’t find the grape containers. I drilled three small holes down the center of the bottom of each container. I then put a couple of sheets of newspaper on the bottom of each container (to keep the dirt from falling out). Next, add about an inch of dirt on top of the newspaper. Now, fill each baggie with 3 -5 inches of dirt and water all the bags and let drain good in the kitchen sink. When dirt is still a bit moist, I add my seeds--pressing them down a tad. Insert a label in each baggie as you go and place in container. I annotate on my list (I use Excel) the number and name of seed each baggie contains, to coincide with each label. A few seeds missed the baggie and grew in the dirt surrounding the pots. Close baggies, leaving small opening (about an inch) and put outside in container(s) anytime after December 15th. In the spring I insert clothes pin in each baggie so the plants don’t get over-heated. Make sense?

I had so much fun making these paper cups for my first winter sowing endeavor. But--lost lots of sprouts because the dirt tends to dry out quickly in the spring--before I have a chance to prepare my soil. I prefer the baggie method but still do some using the paper pots.

I can't find my instructions on making paper pots, but I did a search on The Garden Web (one of my favorite sites) and there is a video that shows how I made mine. Also some good links are listed in this same thread for other methods:

Link is here:

Again, can't find link to making baggies, but here is the image I downloaded to make mine

Below is a picture of my baggies:

If you go the paper pot route, you need to make a rafter from a hanger or whatever and place the containers in a large plastic bag. You also need to cut holes in the top of each bag so the dirt stays moist and gets air. I crisscrossed my hangers and tightened them with pieces cut from an old pair of stockings. I LOVE my old stockings. I use them to tie plants, hold pieces together after gluing and on and on…

Done...What they look like in March!

Now For The Labels

I cut my labels from venetian blinds and etch in numbers on metallic tape which I purchased from Home Depot. I have forgotten what the tape is called, but you peel and stick to blind.After last frost, transplant sprouts into garden

Close Up of Isabel

2009-03-03T13:45:00.000-05:00

What am I to do with her--give her a haircut? Looks like she told a lie and her nose is growing. Should I try planting her nose? Anyone?

Newbie Blogger

2009-03-02T23:40:00.000-05:00

I will be modifying, organizing, adding, editing and deleting for quite some time. That's what Bloggie's do you know, when they enter the land of Blog.

Are These Not The Cutest!

2009-02-27T13:43:00.000-05:00

I found the tutorial for these little booties over on Aimee's HomeSpun Threads...Click here!

Three Days and Second Post

2009-02-26T23:33:00.000-05:00

Mostly going to be checking in on fellow bloggers, how to change background, add links and all that good stuff. Any tips would be appreciated. Keep in mind you have to talk to me real slow--I have a way of making mountains out of molehills. I see nothing but mountains ahead.

Yes I Can

2009-02-26T23:24:00.003-05:00

I am now a Blogger.