Another piece of embroidery...

I couldn't talk myself out of this. I was determined to wait until Saturday, but I can't. I'm just too darned excited about this piece!

This is my embroidery piece for the EEPP swap (Embroider an Endless Possibilities Panel). One of my partner's themes was Alice in Wonderland. I'm pretty darned excited about the way it worked up. :D

Worked in linen with cotton floss, I used split, back, lazy daisy, satin and french knots. The details on the clock face didn't go as well as I would have liked. (I couldn't get the thread any finer than single strand...grrr...)

I hope my partner likes it! Don't tell her that I posted her piece early...;)

My Little Blue Bird

I sat on my back porch yesterday morning listening to the birds sing. I love blue birds! One of the little fellows flitting around in the trees inspired me to make this pin cushion.

I used felt, a discarded jar lid for the base, some polyfil and bits of embroidery thread. The stitches are stem, back, french knot, lazy daisy and button hole.

On pins and needles

Welcome to what has become a bit of an obsession lately for my crafty hands! Pin cushions...lots of pin cushions.

With two rambunctious kids, I'm super paranoid about losing my pins and needles. My daughter starts bouncing on the couch and my mind immediately goes into panic mode. I started making one for myself. Then, I got into a sweat shop swap on Craftster and ended up making 5 of these in different colors and designs. :)

Only 6 months to go!

Ok, I'm going to admit to something....I LOVE the Christmas holidays. I'm one of those people that others hate because I usually finish all of my shopping/crafting before Black Friday. I'd like to say that I'm "that good" but in reality, I have learned to do this out of the need to maintain my sanity.

I'm a high school teacher. On top of the normal holiday craziness and preparation, I'm also dealing with stressed students, demanding parents, deadlines, and the push to get everything graded prior to end of term. If I don't have a game plan and initiative, you'd probably find me curled up in a dark corner somewhere twitching. :D

So, I've already been thinking...I have an idea for mom and possibly something for dad. I'm going to start working on their designs probably during Spring Break.

Therefore, dear blog followers, don't hate me because I'm already thinking about snowmen, pine trees, embroidered ornaments or if I start humming holiday music (which I do constantly any time of the year!) This is just the way I am.

Look out! The ALIENS are coming!

I'm relatively new to making amigurumi and this is one of the first ones that I made. Tripod the Alien was a holiday gift for my son. I included him in a box filled with books on outer space and aliens. :D

Creativity vs. Utility

I have a war going on in my head. I tend to be a person that is utilitarian. I don't want to have things just to have things. They must serve some sort of purpose. The war involves my need to create. Some days, I can't wait to pick up my needle or crochet hook. Crafting is an outlet to release my pent up stress from work and being a mom.

How do I meld the two?

One of my friends suggested that I decorate useful things but then my brain says "You can't use that towel that you embroidered for 3 hrs to clean the kitchen counter!". It seems, to me at least, to be disrespectful to the effort that I invested in making it pretty. :/

Another friend said "Open an Etsy." but I don't see what would make my crafted items any different to the loads offered daily on that site.

GAH! I'm just going to run in circles over in the corner. Throw some chocolate at me if you get a chance, k?

Signs of Spring!

I found this little Pixie out in my front yard. I'm sure that she was working on helping the flowers to bud. :D

Lion Lion RAWR!

I couldn't help but use that line from Kai Lan...lol!

Here's this weekend's creation. A cute little lion amigurumi for a birthday swap. The pattern is on the Lion Brand site at href="https://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/register.fcgi?url=http%3A%2%2Fwww.lionbrand.com%2Fpatterns%2F70580AD.html%3FnoImages%3D"

Feeling Shroomy!

Here's a pic of some Mario Brother Mushrooms that I made for a different swap. The kids are crazy about them so I'll most likely be making some for stocking stuffers over the summer. :)

I found the pattern on WolfDreamer's site. Her work is AMAZING! Check out her patterns at: href="http://wolfdreamer-oth.blogspot.com/2009/05/mario-brothers-mushrooms.html"

A Gift from Hogwarts

Here are some pieces that I made recently for the Harry Potter swap. Unfortunately, I think my swap partner has gone AWOL on me. :/

I've fallen in love with freezer paper stenciling! I made her a Ravenclaw t-shirt. It turned out pretty good but I did learn a lot about the different types of stencilling paint. The aerosol type is the DEVIL!

I also made her a crocheted tote in the fashion of the one that Luna Lovegood carried in Half Blood Prince. There's also a fascinator and hair clips in Ravenclaw colors, a House bookmark, a crocheted snitch, a zippered pencil pouch as well as 2 pairs of earrings. You can see the purchased goodies that were included too.

My first serious piece of needlework in quite some time

And now to post some crafty goodness!

This is a piece that I stitched up this past weekend. It will be part of a package that I created for a Mexican Kitsch Swap on Craftster. She is my representation of the Virgen of Guadalupe. She is worked in split stitch, back stitch and french knots with the gold "flames" done in gold laid work.

Having been into historical reenactment for nearly 19 years, I have done many replication pieces but I have always been hesitant with both human figures as well as sacred pieces. I never have been able to reproduce a design as it was originally worked. In this case, I loved the look on the Virgen's face but I changed up her hands which are most commonly shown folded in prayer. I couldn't explain it any other way except that I think that the original piece is the Virgen in her glory and by trying to reproduce an exact copy of the work would be sacrilegious.

I hope that She brings a feeling of warmth and love to Her new home.

We start at the beginning

Wow! I never thought would do this. I started my own craft blog. I don't pretend to be a great crafter. I don't have any plans to start some great business. I don't plan to become someone famous in doing so.

What will The Trouble with Crafting be then?

It's me in my dabblings in crafting. I'll post my triumphs and possibly my flops. I'll chatter on about my thought process in creating a piece and maybe even talk about what my crafting has taught me about myself.