did you see...

... this fabulous piece of vintage sunshine?

 photo by linaloo

Lina @ Linaloo made it using entirely thrifted vintage bed linens- the front, back, batting, everything! You can find the details of the Not Mellow Yellow here....

pincushion swap sent...

 ...which included this pincushion and needle book.

I really like how they turned out and am very proud of myself for several reasons...

First, with inspiration from sew ritzy-titzy's daisy chatelaine tutorial, I created my own crochet pattern for the pincushion. I'm a chronic pattern-follower but decided it was time to break out! My thread colors were dictated by my second proud moment...

 I actually got up the courage to cut into one of my vintage feedsacks! (You can do it too, Courtney :D ) I used the feedsack as the inside cover of the pincushion, for the pocket on the back cover of the needle book and the closure on the book. The closure leads me to my other proud moment...

I finally found the nerve to use that intimidating piece of metal, the Crop-a-dile, to set the snap for the closure on the needle book! It really is a wonderful piece of machinery but I'm sure it will take me five years to figure out all of its multi-tool potential.

I really had fun making these and I hope the recipient -who lives in a far-away land- likes them. even just a little bit...

And of course, Kate @ Foxs Lane deserves a very big 'THANK YOU' for putting this swap together! I'm so grateful I had a chance to participate!

mail call...

I just received these beautiful merino wool yarns from Shivaya Naturals. Shivaya Naturals is a shop owned by Heather, who organized the fabulous vintage swap I participated in a couple of months back, and all of her profits are donated to charity. She also has a wonderful blog full of recipes, creativity and community.

The colors are Black Cherry and Sunshine... aren't these hand-dyed yarns gorgeous? They feel wonderful too! Now I need to find just the right projects to use them... they seem more suited to something knitted, which means I will need to re-teach myself the use of the two pointed needles. Suggestions for projects, anyone?

i hope...

...your weekend is full of color and sunshine!

  photos by Michelle Dillman

flickr favorites...

 

1. a green apple on my bed, 2. transmission of power, 3. purple alarm clock, 4. Crochet flowers

If I ate healthier and got more sleep

I would have more energy,

Making my non-craft time more productive, which would then give me more time

To create beautiful things


Come over to ArtMind and play Flickr Favorites too!

what i've been up to...

The weather is wonderful! 

The boys and I have started golf lessons... Golf = Summer around here!

On Friday evening, Mr Dill and I spent what seemed like hours unwrapping all the loveliness sent by Cathe @ JSIM. I still can't believe I won her giveaway! I was mentally creating projects for the items as they were coming out of the box! I spent the rest of the evening organizing it all, using mostly the containers included in the package. Thanks again, Cathe!!

I spent a lot of time Sunday cleaning off my three season porch. Actually it's really more of a two season porch- in Spring and Fall it is totally usable but not so much in summer or winter since there is no heat or air conditioning out there. If we leave the doors from the main part of the house open, we can cool or heat the area but only to certain low or high temps. Last summer, I set up the porch as my Etsy space, where I keep the vintage stuff I've listed and the kazillion things I have not listed yet [and wouldn't you know it that garage sale/flea market/auction season is here and so my pile to list is growing already!] I'm really hoping to get the porch set up so it's easier to take pics [windows on all three sides make for wonderful natural light out there] and list items as well as have some crafting space for work and/or storage. We'll see how it goes and how quickly the weather gets really hot!

And here is a bracelet I finished up last week...

It is six joined granny squares with a loop and vintage mustard yellow button. I really love how it turned out and was the brain child of the random crocheted shapes I mentioned in a previous post.

So what have you all been up to?

mail call...

...some lovely things have been delivered to me recently.

Vintage linens from Evelyn @ Use the Loot [in a special addressed envelope by someone not an adult- love it!]

I asked for my linens to be mainly green and put in a special request for the 'gingham' print specifically, and boy did she deliver!

I had ideas on how to use these before they even arrived!


I also received very lovely packaging from Nice Package. Unfortunately, Ez had to close the online store due to a move halfway across the country, but stop by her lovely blog Creature Comforts- you won't be sorry...

 
And the last item I received in the past week, but not through the mail, are these pillow cases embroidered by my maternal great-grandmother. 

My great-aunt had them stored in her cedar chest where they have been living for at least 30 years and I don't believe they have ever been used. My great-aunt wanted to make sure we (the great-granddaughters) all had something our great-grandma had made. 

Little Grandma Smith did a lot of embroidery. When I was a young girl, I had a pillow case that she embroidered that looked like Cinderella. It was my favorite and ended up with some tears and holes after all of the use and eventually my aunt sewed it into a doll. Hmmm...I know that doll is around here somewhere. And I'm hoping my mom can find the baby blanket she made for me too... 

I just can't believe how lucky I am to now have these! So, do you think this proves that craftiness is in the genes? :D