Introducing Mr. “Scarecrow Jack in the Sunflower Patch” ! (Tutorial Part 1)

Finally, I’m ready to start the Tutorial for this new design.

I’m so very proud of this one. Jack is just so cute …and fun to make.

Here is the finished candle mat. It’s a little larger than most of my other candle mats. It measures about 15” across if the bottom green background is used.

Yes, this looks very detailed but I will show you step-by-step how to make this and then you’ll see, it’s really not difficult to make … and soooo worth the effort.

Please remember that I’m showing you how to make this with the hope that you will purchase the pattern from me and not steal the design without the pattern. I know how easy I make it for the thieves but I’m willing to take that risk simply because I know for a fact that I’m responsible for getting a lot of ladies addicted to wool. I hope to get many more addicted after this!

I’ve worked long and hard on this design to get it just perfect .. my family will attest to that, so please, if you do steal it, at least give me credit for it!

OK, let’s get started with Jack! Watch him come to life!

Here’s Scarecrow Jack up close. Keep in mind that the colors for Jack’s clothes can be switched up. Make him whatever colors you wish. The black background can be changed to white or any other complimentary color, so think outside of the box when it comes to color choices.

We need to start with his pants first.

The pants need to have a backing on them since they extend over the edge of the background. I pinned the backing onto the leg front and blanket stitched the inside pant leg.

Then I added the little patches. It’s easier to put the patches on now rather than later.

I’ve pinned that leg onto the black background, lining the pants crotch right up with the scalloped point of the background. I’ve pinned the shirt on too so that the bottom of the shirt will be tucked in.

I’ve blanket stitched all around the outside edges of the pants now, leaving the bottoms opened.

With just a little bit of either poly fiberfill or wool roving, the pants are stuffed. I used a pencil to gently push the stuffing up into the leg.

I need to stress that just a little bit of stuffing should be used. It should only be enough to give it some dimension … we’re not making a doll!

I’ll close up his legs later when I stitch in the loose straw.

Now, I’ve blanket stitched around the outside edges of the shirt, leaving the neck opened for stuffing.

I’ve lightly stuffed the shirt and sleeves and I’ve blanket stitched the neck closed.

I use whatever is handy for stuffing. Here, you see I’ve used the cap from a pen to push the stuffing down into those little sleeves.

Now it’s time for Jack’s head!

I blanket stitched around his head, leaving the top opened for stuffing and you can see, I’ve used my handy dandy pen cap to push the stuffing into his head.

I’ve pinned Jack’s hat in place and I’ll do a quick whip stitch around the outside edges, leaving the brim above his face, unstitched.

Here comes the really fun part for me ….

The face is stitched in … the pattern instructions will give the details on that.

Once the face is done, Jack comes to life. He needs some straw hair though ….

With some straight stitches, I gave him some hair.

Then …

I tied some thread underneath the brim of his hat to create loose strands of straw hair.

This does take some time, but it’s well worth the effort. It really gives a nice messy straw look to Scarecrow Jack.

To make the loose strands, I just took a stitch, right under the hat brim so that the knot won’t be seen. Then I tied it off and …

Then I clipped it. Do that many times and you’ll have lots of loose straw!

Now, I’ll work on detailing the clothes.

I did a quick running stitch down the center front of his shirt and I’ve added some patches.

To define his hat a little more, I made a long straight stitch across his hat.

Look at the difference just one stitch makes!

Using that same stitch/tie method that I used for his straw hair, I stitched loose straw in his shirt, sleeves, neck, waist and legs.

He’s really looking like a scarecrow now!

With more straight stitches, I gave him a rope belt …

I cinched in his legs with thread and also made a straight stitch across his wrists and tied it off.

Meet Scarecrow Jack!

See, it wasn’t difficult to do now, was it?

I prefer to create the 4 Jacks assembly line style … which is to stitch all 4 pants on, then all 4 shirts on etc … but it’s up to you. It might be more fun and easier for you to stitch each scarecrow as individuals, completing one scarecrow entirely and then moving on to the next one.

Ok, that’s all for today.

Next step is adding in the sunflowers ..

Part 2 of the Tutorial can be found by clicking HERE!

Happy Day everyone!

Trying To Not Mess With a Good Thing

When I spilled the ice tea the other day some of it went onto the computer keyboard.  I wiped it up as best I could, but  it’s making me just a tad bit crazy knowing that there’s dried sticky stuff underneath the keys.

Gosh, if you’ve had your keyboard for a while, like we have, you really, really don’t want to know what’s fallen between those keys.  It’s a wonder I didn’t see critters feasting on snack foods down there.  I could see crumbs and lots of dust down there and just knowing that it’s combined with some ice tea was just way too much for even me, who tends to ignore a little dust.

So anyway, I pulled the spacebar and a few other keys off and shook,vacuumed, and wiped.  Then I snapped them back into place.  This is a good example of what happens when you mess with a good thing because I turned a dirty, but properly working keyboard into a clean, but broken keyboard. 

Something is really wonky with the spacebar now.  It’s not giving up spaces very easily.   I’ll have to figure out how I can fix this problem now without buying a new keyboard.

Well, messing with good things is something that I seem to be doing a lot of lately because I’ve done it with this Scarecrow candle mat …

I was all ready to start the tutorial for this one but kept thinking of a suggestion from hubby to put Scarecrow Jill on the mat with Scarecrow Jack.  I really loved that idea, and even though I’m happy with the way this one looks, I wanted to do a Jill.

So I created a Jill.  And Jill looks adorable on the mat along with Jack.  One big problem though … Jack and Jill are both very labor intensive.  There are a ton of details involved with just Jack, but adding Jill, creates 8 very detailed scarecrows.  I really enjoy stitching small details but I do have to remember when creating patterns that most people will not like doing all the details.  I don’t want to create a pattern that you ladies will never finish because it was too tedious. 

So I think I’m going to not mess with this good thing and keep Jill out of it.  Jack looks good standing alone in the Sunflower Patch.  :)

The Jack and Jill one will just be a one-of-a-kind candle mat that I’ll sell later as finished.

This candle mat tutorial will start either tomorrow or Friday so keep watch.  Jack is really fun to make and since there’s only 4 of him, the details are fun and not tedious.

My sister (casserole carol) is in the hospital recovering from some much needed surgery. She’s fine and all went well, but I think I’ll take a drive over to the hospital to harass her husband visit her.

Speaking with her husband, Mark, on the phone yesterday, he sarcastically told me to bring my camera when I came for a visit so that I could post pictures on my blog of Carol right out of surgery.  I think a better idea would be to take pictures of Mark as he’s sleeping and snoring at her bedside.

The good thing about doing that is that neither Carol or Mark will be reading my blog anytime soon.  The bad thing about it is that when either does eventually read it, I will just be chalking up one more payback onto the long list of paybacks.  

hmmm … if the photo opportunity arises, I will take advantage. 

 

Happy Day Everyone!

One Of Those “What Was I Thinking!?” Moments

 

We’ve all had them.  You know what I mean.  It’s those times that you purchase something at a super good price but then when you get it home you wonder, “Ok, now what the heck am I going to do with this?”

So, Saturday morning, I went to an estate sale.  Goodness, gracious, you can find such wonderful old things at estate sales.  We have enough stuff stored in our house to cause a nightmare for our children after hubby and I are gone, so I really do try to be careful with my estate sale purchases.  At this point, we’re at the age that we should be clearing our own old things out, not adding to it.

For this reason, I go to estate sales with specific things in mind to look for.  Usually, it’s anything old to do with sewing … fabric, scissors, buttons … any kind of old notions.  Sometimes things catch my eye … like a crock full of old rolling pins … but I pass it up because I know I just don’t have the room for it.  Well, and, if I brought home a crock full of rolling pins, and set it down by the fireplace, my two daughters would definitely seriously consider using them to knock some sense in my head.  I can see them both now shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at the mere thought of a crock full of old wooden rolling pins.

So this estate sale didn’t have any old sewing things but I heard someone say, “absolutely EVERYTHING is for sale in the garage” …and CHEAP!

I scurried.  This garage contained the typical garage type things.

But it was lined with tall metal shelves which held all the garage type things.  And here was my mistake …

I asked.   Oh dear … I asked …

“Are the shelves for sale?”

Hubby has been wanting to purchase metal shelves for his garage to store his things on so that his big garage can look just like this estate sale garage. 

Cell phones are so convenient, aren’t they?  What did we ever do without them, because in this case, I immediately called hubby to tell him that this garage contained about 20 metal shelves and at only $5 each, it was a huge bargain. 

To try to make a long story even longer ….

While waiting for hubby to drive over with his pickup truck … I browsed more, which is dangerous.  The more I browse, the more I see that I wouldn’t mind having.

But what really caught my eye was this really old wooden school size paper cutter.

I really did try to talk myself out of it.  I picked it up and told myself that it was waaaaaay too heavy and big for me to use anywhere ….

The blade on it was SHARP and it could do some serious damage to anyone’s fingers and I don’t even want to think of the grandson anywhere near it ….

But oh my gosh, they just wanted a good home for it and offered it to me for $3. 

Come on now.  This just isn’t fair.  Even for $3 I’m not going to bring it home … I’ve no where to put it!

Ok, ok, I brought it home.

So we ended up bringing home 6 big metal shelves, a large metal filing cabinet, a Craftsman Table Saw and of course, the old wooden paper cutter.

Look how nice it looks with a candle centerpiece on it!

Silly me, I CAN and did find a place for it!

I can use it in the center of my dining room table.  It wouldn’t have to be used just for paper cutting.  We can use it during dinner to cut our steak into bite size pieces.  I can slice tomatoes and I can dice zucchini with it.  Think of how fast and easy I can chop up lettuce for a salad!

Let’s think about slicing onions and carrots and WATERMELON with it……

 

Seriously though, what the heck was I thinking? 

I just don’t know why in the world I brought this home….   

 

In other news, I was planning to start the Scarecrow candle mat tutorial today but ….

I’ve decided to hold off until I try something else with the scarecrow.  I might have a completely different design with the same scarecrow to show you soon!

 

Thank you to those who’ve sent me zucchini recipes!

I have enough recipes now to keep my zucchinis from rotting in the garden. 

A special big thanks to Lois.  Her new name will be “Lois, queen of the zucchini”.  She sent me so many yummy sounding zucchini recipes that I just don’t know which one to make first! 

I wonder if it’s possible to eat too much zucchini? 

Did you know that if you eat too many carrots, your skin will turn orange?  Honest, I’m not making that up.  It’s just a temporary thing until the carrots work their way out of the system but gosh, I don’t want my family to turn zucchini green so I will be careful.

I hope Lois isn’t green!  :)

Ok, enough silliness.

 

Happy Day everyone!

Summertime Scarecrows!

After the 100 degree temperature yesterday, I’m ready for Fall to be here!

I’ve been working on this design, off and on over the last couple weeks.

So this is the newest design that I’ve been working on .  I’m not going to call it “summertime scarecrows” but for now, that’s the title simply because that’s what they are!

Gosh, I love these scarecrows.  This picture shows the rough draft of it…..

I think it’s going to get some added features to it, but I wanted to show it so that I can get started on the tutorial for it … besides, some of you are NAGGING me so much to see the finished results, I feel forced to show it!  :)

It might look detailed and difficult, but the scarecrows are pretty easy to make.  Starting Monday, I’ll show step-by-step how they are made and by the time I’m done, y’all will want to buy the pattern and make it yourself, I just know it!

Really.

 

Thank you all for the Christmas In July orders.  I know some of you will be getting a good head start with Christmas gifts.  I really appreciate your business and your friendships. 

I think I’m all caught up now with orders now so those who’ve ordered, watch your mailboxes.  I’m sometimes amazed at how quickly things are delivered, sometimes even the next day!

Which I have to say now, I love the postal workers at the Rochester, Pa post office.  I’m in there just about every day now and they are always so friendly and helpful and fun.  I’ve been to just about every post office in my area and the Rochester one is by far the best one of all of them simply because of their friendliness.

There is one post office in my area which I will never go to again because each and every time, they charge me too much. 

The patterns that I send have a ziploc type plastic band at the top so it creates a little bump in the mailing envelope.

Each and every time, at this one post office, they insist that it’s over 1/4” wide/thick and they charge me twice as much for mailing.

And they’re mean about it too.  One of the workers even told me that the bump in the envelope would cause a fire in their sorting machine so it has to be hand sorted.

Gosh, I’d hate to cause a fire at the CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP POST OFFICE, so I just won’t mail them from there anymore!

I haven’t read about any post offices burning to the ground so I’m pretty sure my pattern envelopes are going through all the other sorters just fine.

But really, I’ve nothing bad to say about any of the other post offices.  The USPS is always terrific with my mailings.  I think, out of the thousands of times I’ve mailed things, there’s only been one time that someone didn’t receive an order, and that could have very well been because I never sent it in the first place!  I keep much more accurate records of my mailings now because of that incident. 

Gosh, now, after I’ve vented, I’d feel awful if I opened up the newspaper to read that a post office burned to the ground  ….I would forevermore worry that it was because of my pattern envelope that it happened. 

Ok, I’ve things to do today …

Oh…if anyone has an exceptionally good zucchini bread recipe, pass it along please?  I’m starting to become overwhelmed with zucchini from the garden and I need to do something with them!

Happy Weekend everyone!

The “Do”s and “Don’t”s Of Fixing Your Computer

 

 

Yesterday was a bad day for me.  I don’t really want to talk about the Walmart watermelon that literally exploded it’s fermented contents in my face and all over my kitchen though … I want to talk about troubles with my computer.

First let me say, I’m writing this to help y’all … so that you can learn from my mistakes.  You will remember exactly what not to do the next time something odd happens with your computer because you will remember my words of wisdom that are contained HERE.

I admit, my computer area looks like this normally.  Go ahead and enter the little tidbit of information into your brain about my computer area being messy, because it’s true and I don’t care.  It might be messy but it’s totally functional with all the important necessities right there at my fingertips.

This is not a problem. at. all.

So I was sitting here yesterday, opened up my Internet Explorer to discover this ….

The font on my screen had suddenly and with no reason, grown ginormous.  Honestly, I had just used the computer 5 minutes before and it was completely normal.  but with fonts this large, my internet exploring was not going to be possible.

I know, I know, you’re thinking to go up there on the menu bar and click the “text size” tab to decrease it, but that doesn’t work.  I don’t know why, but honestly, it doesn’t change the text size for this problem.

I’ve had this problem before though so here’s a really good trick that you all can try right now just for fun.

Hold down the CTL button on your keyboard and turn that scroll wheel on your mouse to increase or decrease the font size on your computer screen.  Pretty cool, eh?!

Ok, so I have a mouse with a scroll button and I use it to decrease the font.

The only problem is … the scroll wheel doesn’t work well.  It’s sticky and in my attempt to decrease it …..

I decreased it too much.  I don’t know about you but at almost 54 years of age, my eyesight just cannot handle something this small.

Not a problem, you say?  Just spin that scroll wheel the other way and increase the font to the perfect size.

Problem though.  I forgot about the little issue with my computer mouse.  We can scroll down with the mouse but the mouse refuses to scroll up, which means, my mouse is not capable of INCREASING the font size.

I know, I KNOW, you’re thinking now “why would you put up with a mouse which doesn’t work properly?  They don’t cost that much … just go buy a new one that works!”

It’s just one of those things that I’ve gotten used to … so used to it that I don’t even think about it anymore.  Kinda like that dead fly up in the ceiling light.  You know it’s up there and every once in a while you look up at the dust covered black spot in the light  fixture and then think “ok, I need to get a chair and climb up there to get that dead fly out … but not today.”

So obviously with the mouse that I have now, I can’t increase the font size.  I do have a mouse on the old computer upstairs so let’s go get that one, plug it in and get this font increased!

Another problem though ….

It’s a working mouse, but it’s old so it’s not made with a USB connection, which means I’m going to have to plug it into the back of the computer instead of the front, where the USB connection is.

Ok, so I really don’t want to pull this computer unit out to access the back because there’s stuff piled on top, there’s stuff piled beside it and there’s stuff piled in front of it too …

So the easiest quickest way is to reach over the screen, find the plug-in spot for this mouse connection and plug it in!

Before I go on, please remember that you will learn from my mistakes because right now, I’m going to tell you about a few mistakes of mine.

The clearance between the top of the computer screen and that shelf above it is about hmm… let’s  see  ….oh, about 8”.  Yes, I said EIGHT INCHES.

Helpful hint:  Before inserting yourself into a small space, measure the body part that you are inserting so that you can be sure that it will fit into said space.

So determine was I to get the darn mouse plugged into the back of the computer, I did not even stop to think that perhaps my head and shoulders would not FIT into the area which is above the computer screen and below the shelf.

Here is another helpful hint:  Before trying to insert yourself into a small space above your computer screen, be sure to remove the tall, full glass of ice tea which is sitting right beside the keyboard.

Ok, so after I cleaned up the approximately 12ozs of ice tea that spilled all over the carpet, I went back to inserting my head and shoulders into that small space so that I could plug in the mouse.

Here’s yet another helpful tip: If you are claustrophobic like me, do not try to fit your head and shoulders into the small space which is above your computer screen and below the shelf. 

I didn’t realize that I was stuck until AFTER I realized that the back of the computer did not CONTAIN THE PROPER PLUG CIRCLE SPOT THAT WOULD LET ME PLUG IN THE OLD MOUSE.

Cursing outloud because I went through all of that only to find that the old mouse wouldn’t work, I attempted to pull my head and shoulders out from behind the computer screen.

When I realized that I was just a little stuck, that uncontrollable claustrophobic  panic set in and in just a short amount of time, lots of panicky,crazy thoughts went through my head. … Like,  OMG, Jimmy will not be home from work in another 4 hours, I’VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!

  And then I thought, OMG my cellphone is waaaay over there on the dining room table.  I can’t call for help.  I’M TRAPPED AND I CAN’T GET OUT.

Then I thought, OMG, even if I did have the cell phone, I couldn’t call my neighbor to come help me because for sure she’d bring her husband and …. well, let’s just say, they would NEVER EVER let me forget this. 

Then in the same instant, I remembered that the regular, landline phone was sitting right there on the shelf below the computer screen within reach.

And that was enough to calm me down so that I could start to think of how I could get myself out of this stuckdom without calling the fire department.  And then I couldn’t help but laugh at how stupid I must look to someone that might walk in, seeing my head and shoulders stuck behind a computer screen.

I did manage to pull myself out without doing any damage.  There were lots of pens and pencils, paperclip and stamps laying on the floor because of my escape, but it was a small price to pay considering how it saved me from certain humiliation.

So the lesson and a helpful tip to be learned from all of this is:

If your computer mouse is not working, go look through the Sunday ads to find the best deal on a new one.  Then go to Staples and buy it. Because a mouse, on sale for $14.99 is a terrific price compared to the price of humiliating yourself in front of family, friends and possibly the entire fire department.

Happy unclaustrophobic  day !

MORE Christmas In July Specials!

I want all of you to start thinking of Christmas gifts. So for the next three days, I’m offering every one of my Christmas patterns at a discounted price of only $8 each, including shipping .

NOTE: The sale is over now, (7-23-10) thank you all for the orders!

A handmade candle mat wrapped up with a matching candle for the center is a wonderful Christmas gift. With the price of these kits, it will be a small amount to pay with absolutely beautiful results.

Take a look at each one of these Christmas candle mats and if you’d like to purchase the pattern or the kits, just email me at cathspennies@gmail.com to order at the special prices. I’ll send you a payment invoice. (don’t click on the Paypal buttons over there on the left to order these)

Some kits, like the “Snow Faces” are very limited so be quick with your orders before they run out.

These prices are for US customers only. My Canadian friends and other international customers will have to pay an additional shipping cost, which will be small. Let me know when you order if you are not in the US.

All the kits come with the patterns. and have washed and felted 100% wool which includes my own hand-dyed wools too. Except for the Oh Snowy Night kit, all have a wool backing included too. “Oh Snowy Night” has a cotton backing.

First up:

The surprisingly popular “Snow Faces” Candle Mat

It measures 13” across and is one of the quickest and easiest candle mat patterns that I sell.

Price for the kit, which includes shipping cost is $33.

Next is “Oh Snowy Night” Table Runner.

It measures 10” x 18” but can easily be made longer. Sale price for the kit , which includes shipping is $33.

This one can be made with either a dark blue or a black background. Please specify when ordering which color you prefer.

“Stockings of Joy” Candle Mat (this is my favorite Christmas candle mat … it’s so much nicer than even the picture shows)

It measures 14” across. This design is 3 layers thick with two background colors and the backing.

Sale Price for this candle mat kit is $35.00 including shipping.

My newest Candle Mat pattern is “Festive Snowmen”

This measures 14” across. This design is 3 layers thick with two background colors and the backing.

The Sale price for this kit is $35 including shipping.

And finally the really popular “Let It Snow” Candle mat.

This design has been right up there along with the Scarecrow Jack pattern as my most popular design. It’s easy to make and just looks super cute on the table.

It measures 14” across. This design is 3 layers thick with two background colors and the backing.

The sale price for this kit is $35 including the shipping.

This can be made with either a dark blue or a black background so please specify when ordering which you prefer.

Threads are not included with the kits, but they are easily found at any Joann’s or Michael”s Stores

Again, if you’re interested in any of these kits, please email me to order. Don’t order from the sidebar because those buttons will reflect the regular price.

Happy Day!

Blessed Are The Men Who Shop At The Quilt Stores With Their Wives.

Hubby and I traveled over to the Ohio Amish area on Thursday to explore the area. It’s only a 3 hour or so drive away but there’s enough to do in the area so we decided to spend a few days there.

We’ve been there before so we knew what shops were the good ones to visit and which ones are just commerical sight-seeing types of shops.

Now, I’ve always claimed my husband as a “keeper” but really how amazing is it that he’s willing to go into quilt shops and fabric shops with me and not complain? 

He even stopped the car at the shops without me asking!

Anyway, we explored the areas of Berlin, Sugarcreek, Mt Hope, Charm and Walnut Creek and had a wonderful, relaxing time.

Since we got up super early the next morning, way before any shops were opened, we took that time to do what we love to do the best .. visit the Amish farms . 

To do that, you have to get a good map of the area that shows all of the little roads… our gps would probably do it just as well, but we preferred the old-fashioned, look-on-a-map way.

The best way to see what Amish living is like is to get away from the main roads.  Get on the small country roads.  That’s where we always find the most interesting things.

The Amish are very friendly people so even though we are the only car on the road with horse and buggies in front and behind us, we are still welcomed with big friendly waves from every person we see along the way.

On the back roads, a lot of the farms are right along the road so we see lots of animals up close ….

These pictures were taken right out of my car window. 

The best part though is just seeing the farms.  A lot of the farms had little signs out by the road that let us know what they made and sold.

I wanted to see what a Wren house was so we drove down to this farm …

Here’e the cute little wren birdhouse that I bought from them.

Such nice people and so so friendly .. I wish I could’ve bought a clothes dryer from them, which is a large wooden rack that stretches out for drying clothes on, but it was much too big for me to use anywhere. 

Along our way through the country roads, we started noticing these large bird houses at just about every single farm …

They were like big apartment complexes for birds.

So my mission became to take pictures of all the birdhouses AND to try to find someone who had them for sale so that we could take one home!

The farmer that sold us the little wren house told us that these are purple martin birdhouses.  He told us to travel up the road a ways and we should see a sign in front of the farm that makes these.

So more pictures ….

These are Gourds that are used for the birdhouses!

But we saw no signs that would indicate that they were for sale, anywhere.

We finally stopped at a farm in Charm, Ohio and talked to a super friendly lady who was standing right out by her birdhouse. 

She explained that pretty much everyone made the birdhouses themselves, for their own use, but she did know of a few people that made them for the public to purchase. Her and her husband gave us general directions to find the craftsman who makes them.  She even offered to have her husband make one for us but I explained that we didn’t live in the area and was hoping to purchase one to take home today.

Hubby being the sensible, thinking one, told me that even if we did find one. they’re so big, it probably wouldn’t fit in the car anyway.

So we gave up our search and decided to get one on the next visit and take the pick-up truck with us!

So for the rest of the day, we shopped at the little stores and I took more pictures from my car window to remind us of the life of the Amish.

It’s nice to get away but it’s always nice to come back home too!

I will be continuing the rest of the Christmas in July celebration tomorrow.  I’ll have all of my Christmas patterns discounted and I will be offering very special prices for the wool kits to go with them too so be sure to visit my blog tomorrow.

Happy Day everyone!