Fabrics on Ebay and finished cross stitch on Etsy

I just listed some finished cross stitch designs for sale on Etsy.  Check them out here-  MY Etsy
I am selling a lot of my Little candle mats, my framed pictures and soon some my Christmas  ornaments.  I am in design mode and need to remove the old to make room for the new!

Here is one listed for sale...
and

I just listed some fabric collections on Ebay also- my seller name is craftrgrl
Some collections have been a real bargain so far.  This week I have

 Ebay Collections

Time For Pumpkins Again!

This is from my Pumpkin Patch pattern from 1996.  There have been many out there similar but here is the directions for original painted pumpkin!

1. Cut a rectangle from batting, say 9" x 18" wide. Too big? try 6" x 14".

2. Fold in half and sew the two short ends together, one seam in the back.

3. Hand-gather one open end with string, floss, pearl cotton or linen thread, pull tight and knot several times.

4. Turn inside out and stuff with poly-fil until firm, but not too firm.
5. Hand-gather the top and knot several times.

6. Using a long doll needle ( say 8") and a long piece of the thread you used in #3, go in and out from the center top to the center bottom to pull the center in tight. Knot again.

7. Then proceed to go top to bottom around the outside of the pumpkin to create the veins, pulling tight each time.

8. Knot the thread each time on the center top which will be covered by the stem later.

9. Mix orange paint with water, coffee or tea and slop it on using your hands (pre-manicure not post). It washes off your hands eventually and I would remove your rings first!

*** Using coffee or tea makes the colors separate once dried and gives a wonderful aged look.

Make different sized pumpkins from cotton batting, muslin, or chenille and paint each one a different shade of orange. Mix colors- it's fun!My husband went int the woods and cut old gnarly grapevine for me to use as stems. He cut them about 2"-3" and I hot glued them to the center top, covering the knots.It makes a wonderful fall decoration and costs so little for so many, a small package of batting, a bottle of paint, some stuffing.

Another Hot Day

 I put up more pickles, hot peppers and salsa this week and as we speak, I have another counter full of ripening tomatoes.  I've got my pork roast in the crock pot and I have to say it's a great recipe with 2 cans of  Dr. Pepper added.

The recipe includes an onion, 2 cloves of garlic, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. It is absolutely the best bar-b-q.

I got a few more of the digital designs done this week and listed them on Etsy.  I have had so much fun doing these and printed a lot of them just for myself.  Last week I listed instant downloads of the apples, bluebirds, cows, flower pots, pineapple, roses, patriotic stars, and watermelon designs.   I just listed pumpkins, bees, pigs and cats today.

There are twelve different paper designs on there so far.  See them all on the Etsy site HERE.

I figured I'd better get the pumpkins up here, after all, it's almost pumpkin time!  I'm in the mood to decorate for fall even though it's 95 degrees out there today.   It won't be long and we'll all be cutting back the gardens to prepare for winter.  Sad.

Summer is Almost Over!

It is almost the middle of August and the days are flying by.  I have been so busy this summer with garden, canning and watercolors.  Yep, that's right- I've been working for many months to get watercolors of my quilts and I have had so much fun.

I designed paper note pads, To-do lists, quilt labels, greeting cards and stationary for instant download.  I have a few more things going but for now, these are the ones I have finished and ready to list.  Some of these will be on my website in the next few days.  I actually started them last year and it's been a labor of love. So far I have well over 100 different designs.

  

My garden is in full swing and we are enjoying fresh vegetables each day.

The deer trimmed my peppers back for me but they are finally recovering and producing.

I am drying herbs- here is a few peppermint plants planted in a small area by the A/C.  There is no wasted space around here anymore- I claim it for herbs! It works out well to keep them trimmed so they stay contained.  These are Peppermint and Lemon Thyme.  I have a lot more tucked into different spots.  I'm going to try to make homemade peppermint extract with these.  Sounds fun!

My impatiens are doing wonderful - it must be the Miracle Gro soil I used. We put nine planter boxes along the outside deck railing and I just love my little sanctuary on the deck.  I have a bunch of bird feeders hanging in my big tree that overhangs the deck so the birds visit all day.  I have a little squirrel who frequents my tree and entertains me and taunts my Yorkie as well.

Christmas in July!

Here's my new line called Snowfolk from Benartex...

 

I was mentioned in the Benartex Blog...

http://sewinlovewithfabric.blogspot.com/2013/07/snowfolk.html

Steam-A-Seam 2 Regular Back in Stock!

Just a quick note- we have Steam-A-Seam 2 again!  It's been out of production since December due to paper issues.  We are so excited to receive our shipment today.  We have 24" Steam-A-Seam 2 Regular  by the yard and 9" x 12" packages of Steam-A-Seam 2  Light available on the website.  24" Steam-A-Seam 2 Light by the yard is on the way and will be available soon.

See it at www. prairiegrovepeddler.com

More Summer Blues

The 90 degree days are here but my garden is doing great!  I just made a huge bowl of cucumber salad tonight and it is fantastic- I'll add the recipe at the end.  We have zucchini and onions so far but no ripe tomatoes yet.  We have 50 tomato plants and they have big green tomatoes on them so it's just a matter of time.  I'm stocking up on vinegar and canning jars!

The beets are growing, so are the melons and spaghetti squash.  Peppers have suffered- I think the deer are eating the tops off of both the green peppers and the pepperocini.  ~~sigh~~
The rabbits are eating the beet leaves but I think all will survive.  Pretty soon the squirrels will be carrying off the ripe tomatoes across the top of the fence.

I got two of the flexible hoses (on TV) last spring and both of them got a bubble and blew out within a few times of being used- no guarantee either.  I didn't notice that when I got them.  I got two pocket hoses (from Walmart) and they blew out too but Walmart took them back.  Buyer beware!  I loved the hoses but they need a better design.  They can't handle the pressure I guess.

I've been watering every evening and today we were blessed with 1-1/2" of rain followed by a cold front. My herbs are being cut weekly and dried.  My flowers are filling theirs beds nicely.  I planted two new clematis this year and have a single bloom on one of them that's about 3' tall.  They are just babies!

I have been working on new fabric in between gardening and playing.  I have company coming this weekend so it will be a relaxed time for all.  I'm almost done painting and papering my house.  I guess I needed a fresh look.

I just got in some of the new line called Snowfolk.  I will get it cut and on the website really soon.

It's HOT!

Well, Mother's day, then Father's Day have both come and gone.  4th of July will be here in a couple weeks.  Next thing you know it will be fall.  Life just goes too fast for me!

I have spent the last month sanding, painting, papering, cleaning, sorting, tossing, also digging, planting, cultivating, pruning, staking, well, you get the idea.  I'm pretty much done with the hard stuff.  One of the coolest things I did was the simplest in a way.  I changed the handles on my kitchen cabinets.  I had gold ones and now they are bronze.  Beautiful.  Amazing how it changed the look.  It was no small feat actually as I had to remove the doors, and spray paint the hinges to match because they showed and they were gold.  Then I cleaned the cabinets with orange oil and while the doors were off I cleaned out the cabinets.  It actually took a few days to get it all done but it looks great!

One of the things I found in cleaning is my old Kenmore receiver.  It was packed away in a box for years.  I purchased it in 1977 for about $300 and it still works today. It was a really good one and I made payments for a long time to pay it off. I'm glad I've kept it all these years.  I always liked how cool it looks in the dark- with all those red, blue and green lights.

All I have to do now until canning season is maintain and relax.  It was worth the effort.  I haven't taken pictures recently but I will in the next few days and add them.  I have a lot of herbs in pots this year and even though we keep getting rained on, everything is doing fine.  We got about 11" of rain in June at my house.  Last year drought, this year excess.  You just never know!

One of my new plants I purchased is a citronella plant.  I've never seen one before this year so I had to buy it.  It smells like lemon and looks really pretty.  I got some chocolate mint also and you guessed it- it smells like chocolate. The pineapple sage smells like pineapple.  I'm loving this deck!  I made little plant sticks so I could remember which plant is which.  Besides those, I also have peppermint, sage, lemon thyme, oregano, chives, cilantro, lemon balm, parsley, basil and lemon grass.

I was able to finish the latest line of fabric during the month so it should be showing next year.  I am ready to finish a few new decorating projects for my living room, you know, table runners and pillows,  in my leisure time.  I have also been drawing up new ideas for future patterns.  I have new deck furniture and plan to spend a lot of time out there as I have a boat load of books on my kindle that need my attention.

Awe, summer, don't you love it?

OK, now back to winter.... here's a picture I grabbed of the new Snowfolk fabric panel I designed for Benartex.  The entire fabric line is found by clicking here:  Snowfolk

It's Just a Busy Time of the Year!

Happy Mother's Day coming up.  The weather has finally turned around in the mid-west.

Flowers, veggies, house cleaning, oh my!  It has been so busy around here.  I am repainting half of the house and spring cleaning the other half.  It's such a good feeling and I am on a roll so I don't want to slow down now.  I can also see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm just about done.  I guess I won't have anything else to do then but go back to work afterwards, imagine that?

My grandson is in T-ball and had his first game tonight.  It was quite entertaining!  Nathan was the first baseman and every time the other team hit the ball, he took off running to second base.  He just couldn't get it that he had to stay at first!  He wanted to run.  Three year old Patrick took a spill into the only mud puddle around.  He was screaming, covered in cold, wet mud.  His mommy was covered also after a big hug to calm him.

 My grand daughter Grace just took me to a Mother's Day Tea last week.  They preformed and we all had tea and cookies!  Grace plays t-ball also but I haven't been to her game yet.  I hopped down to Memphis for the weekend to see my mom.  I endured the driving rains all the way home.  The Memphis area is just as flooded this year as it was two years ago with the big flood.

My 18-year old just graduated from high school.  It's a relief on one hand, but a sad thought on the other.  I am not looking forward to being an empty-nester.  Life just goes too fast!