Little Miss Muffet sat on a...

Ever since I saw it on sew4home I've been wanting to make an Asian Ottoman -- especially since I can't find the "perfect" footstool.I had a length of upholstery that I'd used for cushions, so I thought that would be wonderful for my ottoman.  I wanted it a little taller, so I lengthened the pattern piece.

It was quite easy to cut out and stitch the 7 wedges together. The seams were a bit of a challenge to press flat.

The weight of the fabric made it difficult to hoop, but I "got 'r done!"

Years ago I bought the "Farsi I" collection from Sadia, but have never used more than a couple of designs on a jacket.

After finishing the embroidery came the hardest of all: making the points meet exactly. I was for the most part unsuccessful. So I did what all sewists do -- I covered some large buttons to  hide the mess enhance the appearance of the cushion.

Here's a pic with my "inspiration" fabric. This is the valance (& still un-finished coverlet) in our bedroom:

Finished!

♪♫ Happy birthday ♥ ANNA ♥ ♫♪

My niece's favorite color is orange. The only "orange-y" fabrics I have in my stash would be felt and an old t-shirt I'm saving for a boy's quilt.
But, I had acquired from my mom a bit of vintage fabric:

Somewhere, I believe, there is a mid-'60's snapshot of my sisters & me in matching short/top outfits from this fabric made by our grandma. She must have gotten quite a bit of it, because I remember cushion covers & quilt squares from it.

I found pink "fur" to make a phone pouch & beaded a yellow/orange handle,

embroidered her name,

and even "singed" up a flower to match...

JUNQUE! Junkie

Mr. Incredible (aka "the hubs") arises every weekday morning @ 5 a.m. to walk me. He's so not a morning person; so this is a manifestation of his sweet love, and desire to keep me & my back healthy.

A major benefit of rising & walking at this early hour is that on loose-trash-pick-up week, I hit the jackpot neighborhood piles before anyone else sees them. (Sometimes this shortens our walk so Keith can take his truck over to pick up a particularly heavy object...)

Last month I spotted this on the neighbor's pile:

When he got it home, it looked worse than I'd thought.

A quick trip to Home Depot netted me some trim pieces & some "oops" paint.

Not really happy about the way the keys did not go back in...

And I need to work on my use of black glaze.

Here it is on the dust catcher shelf in the living room.

Looks like this from the dining table:

Oh, you noticed my big blank wall?

Well, I've got plans... someday... when I've got extra cash...

(It's a quote from Martin Luther regarding music.)

♫♪ Happy Birthday, Sara! ♪♫

My good friend turned 61 this week. It's so hard to know what to make for that someone who has everything!  So I bought her a candle & a kitchen towel.

I have this cute primitive design from HeartStrings Embroidery, but I was too cheap to buy a big enough candle the candle jar was too small for the complete candle wrap. I edited just the pumpkins for the wrap & embroidered the entire design to appliqué on the towel.

It seemed incomplete without the wording, so I stitched that to the back of the towel.  Now when the front gets dirty, she can flip it to the back!

Ming Tian

is her name.  (It means "Singing Sky.")  She's a beautiful little China doll!  I just had to make her some girlie stuff.

A couple of "burpies"

& a satin/minkee lace-edged blankie ought to do the trick!

Auggie is always around while I work.  Right now he's sleeping on my feet!