Friday, February 27, 2015

~ Rabbit Tracks ~

Hello friends far and near, hope you're enjoying this 
last Friday of February!

Here in my little corner of the world it's only 14° out,
but at least the sun is out!

♦♦♦

While doing some house cleaning, I put away my red sewing
 items for February and set out some green goods....


Miniature sewing basket, straw pincushion, 
long silk tailor's roll, and straw trinket basket.


My favorite is the sweet little sewing basket with its 
delicate old silk lining.


I love old baskets, especially with faded ribbons!

♦♦♦

Look at what I found at a local antique shop...


Little wooden bowl filled with 5 old rug hooks and a scoop.


This scoop will work perfect for measuring coffee when I'm
coffee staining linen.


What great handles on these hooks.  I think the one in the middle
is made of brass or copper....totally cool!

♦♦♦

~ Studio News ~


This morning I finished stitching the pinkeep model for
Little Sparrow Pinkeep Club.

Now, to find just the right homespun fabric
for the top and bottom.  

I can hardly wait to share the finish with you...hopefully soon!

To become a Little Sparrow member, just click onto the 
direct link to my Etsy shop below ~


The first pinkeep kit is scheduled to ship March 20th.

♦♦♦

Here's a personal project that I'm hoping to fix up....


Wall thread holder with hooks and even a pincushion.


I'm planning on re~covering the pincushion with a 
sampler motif.  


After removing the old pinkeep, I noticed the wood was signed!


Next, I removed the old worn green velvet.


I'll recover the original board and padding with my handwork.

Hope to finish this in between deadlines.

♦♦♦

Here is a close up of rabbit tracks in the snow...



Abby now hangs out with her rabbit folk, but she still loves to come
 up to the farmhouse and hang out under the old Bronco.

 They must have lots of fun chasing each other, 
because there are rabbit tracks every where!

♦♦♦


 ~ Weekend Soul Food ~

Hymn
 Be Still, My Soul ~ Verse 1

Be still, my soul;  the Lord is on thy side; 
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; 
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly friend 
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

♦♦♦

Have a wonderful weekend my friends,
stay nice and toasty warm!

Blessings from Scattered Seed Samplers,
Kindly, Tammy





Monday, February 23, 2015

~ Down Abby Lane ~

Hello dear fiends, hope everyone enjoyed a 
great weekend!

It's hard to believe this is the last week of February!

The sun is out today and things are even melting...yeah!

♣♣♣

In anticipation of green grass to come, here is a sweet
little sewing basket lined with green satin...


Thinking on things in pretty shades of green definitely fills
my heart with joy!

♣♣♣

~ Down Abby Lane ~

All winter I've been trying to get a photo of my sweet
wild rabbit friend Abigail aka Abby.

  Abby comes up to the farmhouse to eat right around dusk, and
 in that dark lighting it's hard to get a descent photo.

Now that it's staying light out longer I finally got a 
picture of her eating.....


Still not a great picture, but at least you can see her!

We set a bowl of special rabbit food under an old Bronco that's
waiting to be restored.  

In the summer that was always her favorite hang out!

♣♣♣


Several years ago I set this iron sheep doorstop in an 
outside window ledge in hopes of turning rusty.


Finally....it's looking just right!

It's amazing how the natural elements change things!

This was a reproduction sheep, so I didn't mind putting it outside.

♣♣♣

While waiting for that grass to turn green,  a great 
pass time is paging through some of my favorite books...


~ They Made Do ~

From Jill Peterson & Cheryl Jones ©2014
Hardcover ~ 175 pages


Hard working pioneer hands!


~ Table of Contents ~


We live in such a wasteful, throw~it~away society, this book
will fill you with great ideas for recycling some of those
things you might be thinking of throwing!


Candle ideas!


Patching up an old doll or toy?


Creative ideas for using corncobs!


 Think twice about throwing out a unique old sock or mitten....


Patched up these make great Christmas decorations!


Let your imagination run wild with the old things laying around
your house!


Creative handle to replace the missing one or lining a large
hole in a basket!


I have a few of my Grandmother's old baskets that could be 
given a new makeover!


I love this basket mending idea!

♣♣♣

Look at what I passed while walking from the 
farmhouse out to the Studio this morning....


A single ice~cycle glistening in the bright sunlight!

***

~ Weekly Soul Food ~

But the path of the just is as the 
shining light, that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day.

~ Proverbs 4:18...KJV ~

***

Hope you fill up your week with lots a creativity!

I'm going to look for my Grandmother's old cloths pin
basket...I'll show it on Friday.

Kindly, Tammy ♫
  

Friday, February 20, 2015

~ Good Things Come in Small Packages ~

Welcome dear friends.

Burrr....another cold winter's day here in Wisconsin!

Just think next Sunday will be MARCH 1st!

♣♣♣

It's fun celebrating the color green for St. Patrick's Day...


Some simple little Studio gatherings, shades of green.....fills 
 my mind with thoughts of SPRING!


Do you have any green tomatoes in your sewing room?

♣♣♣ 

~ Little Sparrow Pinkeep Club News ~


The first Little Sparrow Pinkeep kits will be shipping
on March 20th....exactly one month away!!!

I'm really getting excited about this new adventure!
I'm just about done charting the design and will start stitching
the model this weekend...yeah!

Little Sparrow memberships are available through my Etsy shop ~

www.etsy.com/shop/scatteredseedsampler

♦♦♦

You've heard the old saying, 'Good things come in small 
packages', can you guess what's in this one....


This wee package only measures 2" wide by 1.5" High....any guesses?


This is a special order of my favorite John James Petites needles
 for Little Sparrow Pinkeep Kits.


My family and I still can hardly believe that there's 
1,000 needles in this little package!

I wasn't sure what to expect while opening this package,
and was surprised to find yet another little package in black...


After very carefully removing the tape....I was just amazed that 
this little pile of needles added up to 1,000!


I'm so happy they finally arrived!

Next, I needed to find just the right container for storing my 
new stash of needles.


This sweet little silver trinket box was the first thing that popped
into my mind....it was my Grandmother's :)  


A perfect fit...sure hope I never drop it!!

♦♦♦

I was happy to receive some new photos from my son Sam...


Wild turkeys out working the chopped corn fields.


I love the look of these slender wild turkeys!

***

An amazing Mississippi River shot....


There's a lot going on in this picture!

  Hills in the distance,
frozen river speckled with ice shanties, and
 a moving train on the track! 



Here's a closer look at the fisherman's ice shanties.

***


Check out the colors of this evening sky!


Almost an eerie feeling!  

Thank you Sam for sharing your photos with mom.

***

~ Weekend Soul Food ~

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes:
but the Lord pondereth the hearts.

~ Proverbs 21:2...KJV ~

***

Stay warm and toasty my friends, and enjoy a relaxing
weekend.

Blessings from Scattered Seed Samplers,
~ Kindly, Tammy ~




Monday, February 16, 2015

~ Just Released... Milly & Molly O'Mally ~

Welcome dear friends, hope you're staying nice and 
toasty warm on this cold winter's day.

It's only 16 degrees here in my neighborhood :(

♣♣♣

Today I'm releasing my new pattern for St. Patrick's Day.

I'm excited to introduce ....


~ Milly & Molly O'Mally ~

The model was stitched on 32ct R & R Creek Bed Brown.
  
After the stitching was all complete I coffee stained everything except 
for Milly & Molly.  To do this I simply used a small paint brush 
and applied the coffee randomly to the sampler, but 
avoiding the rabbits.

DMC cotton thread was used.

My inspiration and model for this sampler is a sweet
wee rabbit from Germany...


This wee rabbit is made of lead....I just love the little 
clover in its mouth!

Milly & Molly O'Mally are now available in my Etsy Shop ~


♣♣♣

With St. Patrick's Day only a month away, I gathered together
some sewing goodies in the 'shades of green'....


Wood needle case, primitive pinkeep, and two sock darners.


My two favorites are the needle case and pinkeep.

♣♣♣

Saturday was a fun day for a couple of reasons.

  First, I love the Valentine's Day gift I received from my
husband Bill and son Sam....


I was SO excited three flats of Suet....I LOVE practical gifts!


The flavors sound so yummy, Orange Burst, Berry Blast and
Peanut Crunch.....I wish my feathered friends could
tell me what they think?

So happy that my favorite guys know what makes my 
heart happy ~♥~

♣♣♣

The second reason my Saturday was special, was what
my mailman delivered....


The new issue of Needlework retailer, which is published by 
my newest pattern distributor Yarn Tree.

As I was paging through it I was over joyed to discover that
Yarn Tree had endorsed one of my patterns....


~ Queen Esther's Pure Heart ~

AND 

They even published a second ad for another one of my patterns....


~ Keeper Of My Heart ~

Wow....that really made my day special!!

♣♣♣


With the days getting longer and March just around the 
corner....I'm definitely Thinking Spring!

Did you know that Daylight Saving Time starts on 
March 8th.....YEAH!!

♣♣♣

~ Weekly Soul Food ~

But he that is of a merry heart
hath a continual feast.

~ Proverbs 15:15...KJV ~

♣♣♣

With Milly & Molly O'Mally hot off the press, I will now be 
devoting all my time into my first pinkeep for 

~ Little Sparrow Pinkeep Club ~


I'm SO excited to say that the Little Sparrow Flock 
is REALLY growning!!

A one year membership can be easily purchased through 
my Etsly Shop ~


The first Little Sparrow Pinkeep Kit will be shipping 
March 20th.

♣♣♣

Stay warm and stitch often!

Kindly, Tammy ~