My Americana Pillow

This has been a work in progress for awhile now.  Kept changing and still am not totally satisfied.  LOVE to hear any comments, PLEASE...

Wool Applique.  The blue is 3 shades of wool that I stitched together using small "x's" in a black pearle cotton thread-----the red is a very deep red  hand dyed piece with the stripes a hand dyed light tan--actually a bit darker than the picture shows.


 The button hole stitch was done is a "gold tone" pearl cotton thread.  I added the stars, then decided it wasn't enough, so I backed the stars in a different shade of hand-dyed wool.  Stars attached with a blanket stitch using pearle cotton thread I tea dyed and the circle attached using the

same "gold tone" thread. 

Then I added the antique buttons, they actually have a dark tone to them--old buttons!!!  I stuffed the corners with fiberfil and the rest of the pillow with "rags"...

Love to hear what you think.....The dang pillow took me so long as I kept changing my mind ! :-)

Today I am starting another project!!  I love rug hooking.  I have a pattern for a "watermellon" pillow.  I am hooking it using homespun fabric.  I did a fall pillow in homespun and love the "primitive" look it had.  So will try one more...

Hope you all have a wonderful day.  Smiles and blessings  to all....

MY LATEST PILLOW USING MY HAND-DYED WOOL

 

Spring is coming -- Right!!  Don't know if you can tell, but I used a piece of my darkish-green hand-dyed wool for the right side of my pillow....the "henny penny" is also a piece of hand-dyed tan wool.  The green is slightly mottled as is the tan.....She is sitting on my bench just waiting for the warm weather!!!  Which may be awhile!!

 

My best to all of you!  Hope you have a very creative day,

Margaret

PENNY RUG FINISHED!! yeh

 

So glad this is finished and love it in my kitchen.  Will be putting out my Easter Decorations and will take picture of the "island" then.....

 

I am almost finished with another pillow.  Then I will have to take a break and get some wool dying done.  OH YEAH---and some house cleaning!! haha...

 

Have a wonderful weekend my primitive friends!!

Margaret

Recipes added to my website

I have added a section of recipes to my website.  So far I have only added 5, but if anyone likes them--let me know.  I am a recipe collector and cookbook collector, so I have tons of tried and true recipes.  Click on my website link and let me know what you think....Hope you enjoy. 

www.tillysfarmhouse.com

YEH! Wool Pictures Are Ready!

I have a ton of pictures to add. I really do love this wool dying. The results are always fun and sometimes surprising. Just the pieces you figured won't turn out as expected---turns out the best. I still have stacks of wool to measure, cut and put up for sale on my site...but here is a sample...

This is really a deep red . I can not figure how to take a photo with my Canon digital camera to show the reds as they really are.  Any help/suggestions are always  appreciated....

These 2 pieces are my favorites.  Overdyed a light tan with a Cocoa Brown and added a little very dark red in spots.  I have more of these to cut and get ready to put on my site for sale....

 This was a piece I overdyed.  The colors are actually deeper and darker, but when I tried to adjust the picture as I downloaded it, just did not look right.  Another picture taking adventure and mystery to solve!

 

Hope everyone will have a wonderful day.  My husbands birthday is Saturday and all our big weekend plans had to be changed due to the weather.  We have decided to combine our birthdays and have a "special" combined celebration of birthdays in the early part of Summer, when you don't have to worry about sleet/ice/snow!!!  :-)

 

Hugs to all,

Margaret

Wool on my Website

Hello my friends.  Just to let you know I am now posting some of my wool on my website and on Etsy tonight.  Will add a few pictures here and e-mail me if you are interested or check my website.

Thanks so much and HUGS and SMILES to everyone!

 

OOPS!!! need to go shrink some pictures!!  Files too big!!  More later!

More Wool Pictures

Another Pendelton Wool.  This is actually a very dark blue.  I will try to get a better picture tomorrow if we get some sunshine!!

 

 

 

A Pendelton Wool in deep shades of red.  I love this piece.  It is like the one I used on my Bunny Pillow

 

Just to show a "before" and 2 after pictures. 

 

I love dying wool!!!

 

Have a wonderful day.  Hopefully better pictures tomorrow and then I will list on my site.  Thanks for looking...

 

Hugs,

Margaret

Hand-Dyed Brown over Tan Wool!

The clouds moved in way too fast today and it is raining like crazy.   I did manage to take a  few pictures of my hand-dyed wool that will be for sale on my site.  Just testing to see how the picture turned out.  This was tan wool that I overdyed in shades of brown.  This is  Pendelton Wool.

 If you see this before I get it listed, just shoot me an e-mail and it is yours......Thanks..

Hugs,
Margaret

Pillow I finished using my hand-dyed wool!!

Just finished this pillow and I used my hand-dyed wool.  The red is really beautiful and doesn't show up in this picture as dark and yummy as it is.  The "reeds" are a deep green and the rabbit is all splotchy in a tannish color...

Stacks of My Hand- Dyed Wool !!

A nice, large stack of hand dyed wool that I have just finished.  Boy was this fun!!

  Lots of reds and greens and tans all splotchy and marbly and ready for rug hooking or wool applique.  I will be working on this tomorrow to cut and have ready for sale.  The large piece up front is actually a very soft yellow.  It is late and I had to use a flash..

I pulled a gray and a marbly dark tan/cocoa brown to make my next pillow....Still working on that design....

ENJOY!!

Hugs to all,
Margaret

Wool Dying Day

Also spent the day dying wool....pictures tomorrow.  Right now the wool is drying all over my kitchen!!

Just Finished This Pillow

 

I just finished this pillow...I used wool that I hand- dyed and I love how the "spotty red color turned out.   I used the same wool on the front and back...   The "Liberty" and the star is a creamy off-white that  doesn't show up as pretty as it is in person.  The circle is a very deep blue.   Mostly rag-stuffed to feel heavy.  I have this for sale for $28.00 with free shipping on my website or  Just e-mail me if you are interested....
www.tillysfarmhouse.com

Feeling Happy and Blessed

I always feel or try to feel that every day is a good day, but some days I feel especially happy and very blessed.  Today is one of those days.  I am thankful for my husband and wonderful family.  My oldest grandson is now in basic training at Ft. Benning, Ga and I am so proud and thankful for him.  My husband is retired Army and my son-in-law was also in the Army.  We owe all our service men and women past and present such a debt of gratitude.....
We all have much to be thankful for..

I also have a fellow crafter here in Virginia that I am thankful for. 
Mandy from Bitttersweet folkart - http://bittersweetfolkartprimitives.blogspot.com/  has been so generous to me in many ways.  She is a talented artist and and just the sweetest person ever.... if  you have not seen her beautiful, primitive dolls, please take a look..

Many smiles and hugs to all,
Margaret 

VERY Primitive Wool Pear Pinkeep

This is  my other yellow wool  pear pinkeep.  This one is very Primitive, as you can see.  Still hand dyed yellow wool, but  I just prim'd it up a bit....  IF you are interested in this one, please e-mail me!

Sweet Wool Pear Pinkeep

I  finished this wool pear pinkeep and added to my ETSY site for sale.  I hand dyed the wool and I love how soft the yellow turned out.  I also did a very PRIMITIVE pear, which I will add next. 

www.tillysfarmhouse.etsy.com

YUMMY AND QUICK MUFFINS

I love short cuts in cooking.  Use whenever I can....Saw a great sounding coffee flavored chocolate chips muffin recipe..HAD to make right then and there. 

Had one of the quick muffin mixes that just needs water added to mix .  Lucky for me, the one I had  was chocolate chip. 

I stirred some instant coffee in the water called for and stirred that  into dry mix.  Now my water was very warm, so of course the chocolate chips melted.  OH Well.  I ended up with chocolate, coffee flavored muffins....They were really so good.  Wanted to take a picture, but we ate them all!!

Next time I will add something crunchy on the top.  Maybe chopped walnuts!!!

Enjoy!

A Penny Rug I Have been working On

I am like a dog with a bone when I start something and want to finish!!!

 I decided--weeks ago---I wanted a large, long penny rug mat for my kitchen island (hum! it is small and came from IKEA)..

Cut this mat about 34" long and I wanted to use a black background and a deep tan I had dyed for the larger penny and shades of deep red for the smaller pennys.  Decided to throw in some shades of "greenish plaids and brownish plaids as the colors did not seem right.  Then I decided to add 3 French knots in black in the center of each penny stack.  When I am done I will take a better picture and a close up!

 I am still playing around and everthing is just "laying" and Yep, I can see the rows are not straight, but this is what I have to far.  Determined to finish next week, but as they say--life keeps getting in my way!!
Here are some pictures of my progress!

What I am working on..

I have been really busy working on some wool projects and painting projects.  I have 4 pieces of furniture in various stages being worked on in the garage.  It has been so damp and misty, that I finally had to give up today and will wait on better weather.

 I will post a picture of a tool box I have worked on.  I picked it up at an antique "garage sale"..   It started out in really bad shape.  Old, dirty unfinished wood on front and back, 2 small pieces of painted wood on the side.  AND I loved the handle and the "nails" on the front and back.

 I did a light sanding to get rid of splinters, etc.  Stained it, but was not sure I  really liked,  HUM!   so I painted.  As I was painting, did not like color, so, OF COURSE,  blended my own color.  Loved it.  Decided it need "something else"....So I had been using one of the cheap mini sponge roller brushes on another piece of wood that I was painting black, so I took the almost dry roller brush and brushed the edges and top to "age" it.  Really cool!!! 

Don't know if the pictures show, but was easy and kept playing until I go the look I wanted...

 

 

 

Now all I have to do is seal this piece when the weather breaks.  Want a good seal as I might put plants in...OR I AM OPEN to suggestions!!

 

Have a fantastic day,

Margaret

Better Pictures

I apologize for the awful pictures I had downloaded yesterday.  Here are some better pictures that will show the color of the backing of the mat so much better.

 

IF you have found me, I must apologize as the "gremlins" are at work again.  I can not post or add pictures the way I always have.  Will work on the problem.  I have been doing some wool dying and would love to show you the results.  But will have to fix this posting problem first.

My best to all my blog friends.  Have a blessed day,
Margaret