The Good Ole Days

I think Spring has finally sprung in these parts.  Hoping that the three hours of snow yesterday were a last gasp of winter.  I spent the day finishing up this little quilty mat.  It will rest on the table next to sofa and hold the remote and my glasses.  I love these two Victorian ladies, probably spreading gossip as they meet on the street, dressed so elegantly.   They are a nice take on silhouettes.. just enough color to be interesting. Only four shades of DMC.  One of my better binding efforts, but still with my characteristic wonkiness!

 

The design actually put me in mind of one of my great aunts.  Here name was Annie also, but I was not named after her.  She was born in 1882 in Russia and came to the U.S. in 1898 at the age of 16.  Her outfit could definitely compete with the cross-stitched ladies' finery.

When I was a kid and my older brother discarded some toy or trinket he no longer wanted, I always scooped it up and added it to my collection of treasures.  One such item was still in my jewlery box.  It was a tie tack from AZA, the young boys club that was part of B'nai B'rith.  I decided it was high time I returned it to its rightful owner.  It was so tiny that I was afraid if I put it in an envelope, my brother might drop it, the tie tack would roll under some furniture, and he would never find it. So I invented a keepsake pouch for it.  Kind of looks like a needlebook.  The 6-pointed star I crocheted was not exactly a Star of David, but close enough.  Click here for the pattern.

I added the little tab so that the tie-tack would be removable rather that just sewn into the lining.  I doubt that he will remove it, but just in case!

My brother has received it now (after a bit of scare with weird post office tracking statuses!).  The tie tack is so tiny that although he could see that it is a menorah, he couldn't see the lettering, Aleph-Zadik-Aleph which is AZA in Hebrew.  He didn't recognize it at all as being something he once owned so I had to tell him what it was.  I took this enlarged photo and lightened it up so the letters are a touch more visible.  He certainly appreciated the effort though!

Spring Altoid Tin

Hoping for a spring warm-up this week.  We got a taste of it yesterday, but pretty brisk again today.  I've been doing a bit of stitching in spring colors to give Mother Nature the hint.  This Altoid tin and stitchy items inside will be a little thank you gift for a friend.  She doesn't stitch, but appreciates all the smalls she sees me make.

The tin top design is from the current issue of JCS.  The magazine is featuring a series of hornbooks and this one is from Dames of the Needle.  I stitched it over-one on 32 count lugana.  The photos look like the fabric is white, but it's actually a more ivory color.

 

It's always harder to figure out what to put inside than it is to decorate the tin.  But here's my current plan for contents.  This could change if I get other ideas, but I'm tired of thinking about it so this will probably be it.

The egg pin cushion is by Aliolka. She showed it in multiple color schemes and she has a second version with a daisy I think.  Click here for the free pattern.  I just sewed up a backing following the outline of the stitching, stuffed it and added beads on the edge.   It is stitched over-two on 32 count lugana.

The keychain fob is a tiny granny square done in variegated crochet cotton.  I got the idea from this pattern for granny square earrings.  There are many variations on granny square earring patterns but this was the tiniest version and simple to attach to the keyring.  Tiny is important when working on Altoid tin contents.

 

The little bunny on the lid is a popular free crochet bunny pattern.  Works up in no time.   One could make dozens of these in a wink if there was any reason to.   Here's a link to the tute if you want to whip up a few of these for the coming season.

And once again, a toothy take-off on a famous painting in the guise of a dentist reminder card.  If you think I go to the dentist a lot, you are right.  Miserable mouth syndrome.

This one may be harder to recognize.  Think men in bowler hats floating in air,  Golconde by Magritte. Ignore my sneaker.  It was windy out on the balcony and I was trying to keep the card from blowing away.