*NEW* Church Doll Sampler Roll

I have been hearing about and seeing sweet primitive versions of Church Dolls for several years now. Called Church Dolls because of their soft and simple design, perfect for quietly entertaining little ones during long church services, they are often made of cleverly folded handkerchiefs.

Many are made to look grungy and old, some are cute and fluffy. None have been particularly perfect to make as a toy for my Little Miss. So I set to work nearly two years ago, fashioning a doll and accompanying sampler roll that would be appealing to her bubbly nature, as well as my own design style.

I hope that you find my efforts equally appealing.

Although it may seem a bit intimidating for any but accomplished finishers, I assure you that with time and a little patience, anyone that has learned to use a needle… and I do mean anyone can successfully complete this project.

It didn’t take much arm twisting for me to convince Beccijo of The Enchanted Cupboard to create a tea-set-for-one in a proper size for my little doll. Styled after the Yellowware that we all love, the set is solid wood, and hand-painted. You can browse her shop here. Don’t be afraid to put in a special request for the Heartstring Samplery Tea Set for One. My Little Miss absolutely adores playing with it, and I know that your chosen recipient will too.

I thought that it would be really fun to have an alternate version of this design stitched up like a faded old sampler. Many thanks to the gifted fingers and needle of Christie Mock, my wishes were granted. Look again at the photo at the top of this post to see the "faded" sampler behind the Doll.

Stitch Count: 123 x 210

“Faded” Model stitched on Weeks Dye Works 40ct. Confederate Gray linen

Using the following flosses:

The Gentle Arts 7000 Harvest Basket,7049 Lambswool

Weeks Dye Works 1108 Honeysuckle, 1171 Dove, 1193 Guacamole

Sampler Roll Model stitched on Weeks Dye Works 35ct. Cappuccino linen.

Using the following flosses:

Weeks Dye Works 1121 Straw, 1230 Havana, 1330 Baked Apple, 

2201 Moss, 3960 Teal Frost

Recommended Additional Materials:

Assorted printed Cotton Fabrics for Lining, Pockets, and Flaps of Sampler Roll

4 feet of 1 1/2 inch Bias Trim

Felted Wool piece for a Pocket Flap

a Button

1 yard of good quality Satin Ribbon

Plain Muslin Fabric for Doll Body, Arms & Legs

Printed Cotton and desired Trims for Doll Dress

Acrylic Paints in chosen colors for Doll Hair, Boots, Face

4 lengths of Pipe Cleaner, at least 6 inches long

I made up way too much of the bias trim, so if you plan to use similar colors and want to save yourself the time, I'll make little packets of trim available in my shop, and I'll also throw in a piece of that vintage lace for embellishing the bottom pocket.

As usual, you can find the listing for this, my newest release, in my etsy shop. You can also contact me directly via email if you prefer to bypass PayPal.

Shhhhhh...

Would someone please come take these squirrely kids away?
I'd like to sit right here for a few more hours at least, ignoring responsibility.

Puppy Mug Shots

I was hoping to release a new pattern today, but with all the crazy-buzy-ness going on around here these days, I have given myself an extension. To help you hold out until next week, I'll be leaving you with some Four Week Old Puppy litter Mug Shot sheets.

Trust me. Their little faces might look innocent enough, but the shenanigans they pull on each other are completely out of line and inappropriate.

Full-on body tackles? Check.
Sneak tail attacks? Check.
Pooping in the food dish? Check.
Stealing milk from one another? Check.
Raucous brawling? Check.
Contaminating the water dish with sawdust? Check.
Menacing growls and rrrrr-ruffs? Check.

I think its about time someone decide to enforce the rules around here. Where are those Puppy Owners when I need them most?


Perhaps the bad behaviour is in part because they are being weaned. Solid food does have a way of making a creature feel strong and full of itself.

Around my House

A bit of Whimsy.

A little Homespun.

Elements of Nature.

A dash of Fun.

Homegrown.

Rustic Farmhouse.

Woodsy.

Folky.

Tattered.

Tarnished.

A bit of Anthropologie meets Antique Mall meets Eddie Bauer Home meets Circa Home Living meets Goodwill.

Not enough rhyme or reason to feature in a magazine, but our home suits us to a T. It was stark and bare when we married 12 years ago, with barely enough furniture to make it look lived in. We have added to our rooms as we have been able, finding cupboards and chairs while out thrifting and bargain hunting. Our home now looks very lived in and loved, each item telling a story. I doubt I will ever make a concerted effort to bring all the bits and pieces together into a cohesive magazine style. Erasing history has never set well with my heart.

Wild Currant

Just a bit of Oregon Autumn to grace your computer screen.

Left click to open in a larger format, then right click to save to your computer. As always, this is for your personal use only please!

What do you do?

When its October and the rains have set in, and you get this many green tomatoes off of 4 bushes, knowing that you easily have 40 more bushes to harvest?

Well, you roll up your sleeves and start chopping.

Throw a huge pile into your stockpot with onions, minced peppers (which fared far better because they lived out their lives in the greenhouse), and spices.

Simmer for a few hours until you have a canner full of Green Tomato Salsa.

You will, of course, still have this many tomatoes left (not to mention the previously mentioned horde of bushes left to be harvested)...

So you will find a page like this, and set to work devising a plan to cook up as many variations as possible.

The Other 9

Those little black puppies are incredibly hard to photograph! I had to re-take every single one of their photos by daylight after attempting to do their photo shoot by shop-light. They looked like chocolate brown blobs of blurry fur. I still wasn't thrilled with the outcome, but by george, I wasn't about to go through that ordeal again. Anyone who thinks children are difficult to photograph, come on over and be my assistant one of these days!

S-2-1: Female: 3.1 pounds

S-2-2: Male: 3.3 pounds

S-2-3: Female: 3.8 pounds

S-2-4: Male: 4.2 pounds

S-2-5: Female: 3.6 pounds

S-2-6: Male: 3.5 pounds

S-2-7: Female: 4.1 pounds

S-2-8: Female: 3.1 pounds

S-2-9: Male: 3.9 pounds

Confession #1

I am a total Muppet Show nerd. Growing up in the 70's, it was a staple of our Sunday evenings.

A year ago or so, we bought Season One on DVD, and have regular fun sharing laughs with the kids (three cheers for introducing a new generation to an old classic!) Those episodes still get me giggling, sometimes uncontrollably.

Yep. Nerd.

Want to re-experience (or discover for the first time) some of my favorites? Here you go...

Matching Threads

I purchased this old sampler quite a long time ago, along with two others. I have been planning to chart it all along, but for whatever reason have been putting it off. Well, my friend Merrie has once again volunteered her services to stitch for me, so off I go, to my thread stash.

I am really loving the color combination, and as I discovered with the other three antiques I have charted, it is delightful to examine an old sampler on such an intimate level. Seeing the tiny mistakes on a sampler that looks rather symmetrical and perfect from a distance is a reminder of the authenticity of this girl's life.

Gaining an Identity

We tagged and weighed Jazzi's litter of white puppies last night so that the families on their list can start forming an idea of which one to choose (how on earth can a person choose between so many sweet faces?).

At 3 weeks and 1 day old, they are...

J-1-1: Female: 2.6 pounds

J-1-2: Male: 2.8 pounds

J-1-3: Female: 3.1 pounds

J-1-4: Female: 3.7 pounds

J-1-5: Female: 3.4 pounds

J-1-6: Male: 3.6 pounds

J-1-7: Male: 3.6 pounds

J-1-8: Female: 3.5 pounds

J-1-9: Male: 4.1 pounds

So tell me, which would you pick?