LollyChops

Crafty Ketchup

I had big crafty plans this weekend involving mod podge.  Big I tell you...  BUT before I could embark on a new project I had to get myself caught up with the quilt group I joined in January (the guilt of being so far behind has been killing me!!).  You can read all about us HERE (and see what everyone except ME has been working on too).

Sew....  MomChops came over Sunday and we basically worked from sun-up till sun-down (well sun-up for some people (I am not naming any names MomChops... but sun-up evidently does not occur for her until 10:00 am)).  When I called the nameless one at 11:00 am to see why she had not returned my call from 7:00 am she was just sitting down to breakfast (who eats breakfast at 11 o'clock in the morning anyway????).  So needless to say we did not really get started until around 1-ish (she had to stop at Michaels AND JoAnn to get a punch needle and some craft supplies too of course).

So finally...
...when she got here (with her mega box of DMC floss - pictured here) I had to teach her how to Punch needle real quick.  The dirty rat nailed it on the first try.  She did of course have me imparting my punchy wisdom on her (if you want to call it that) but STILL...  that's actually not fair so I decided to steal all her DMC floss (only she does not know it yet)...  shhhh don't tell her ok!?!

Once we ooooh'd and ahhhh'd over the ease and quickness and FUN of punch needle it was time to bust out the quilt square pieces and get to work (RonChops claims to have heard a whip-cracking sound at this point but I have no idea what he's talking about).  Honest.

A Notion or Two
So as I was saying...  I joined a quilt group in January and managed to get a little behind (ok who am I kidding...  I got WAY behind) and had some serious catching up to do.  I have been bad.  Horrid actually .   So pictured below are all the ones MomChops and I made (plus some we had made before). 

 
I think this is the April block.
Not kidding.
April.

So... do you want to join a quilt group with me?
Do ya?

I do not have a picture of the May block...
...it was too dark when I realized there was no picture.
But it's cute.  I'll post it later.
It's got an embroidered octopus on it.
Real.Cute.
Seriously.

There was no June block so don't bust my chops.


This is the July block.


More of the July block.
I love the tulle under the dress.


We made a little necklace and put a pretty sash on the dress.
(big thanks to Meg for sending me the pink ribbon I used along the hem!!)
Thanks Meggles!


This poor little crooked fella is August One.
I think we were getting tired at this point.
I hope she can make it work.

AND


This stunner is August Two.
(the reason it's "Two" is because this is actually the June block just set a tad late)
(see...  I am not the only one who runs late sometimes)

I am going to do a whole post on this technique some day.
But in the meantime you can read all about it HERE.
But MomChops and I are HOOKED!
It's sooo sew easy!

Now that I am all caught up (whew)...  I decided to line up my next few projects!

Mod Podge
Yep...  I am getting that fantastic stuff out again and I am going to decoupage this mirror (my friend Nancy from Loves to Create sent it to me).  HUGS Nancy!

....you see those little wooden bird houses peeping in the reflection of the little mirror???  I am going to be doing a Mod Podge/felt/paint combo on those fellas too.  I can hardly wait to get going with that project!!!

Second to Lastly...
Another little project MomChops is going to help me with is making a ubber cute bike bag to replace this plain little black one I have now.  I cannot go riding around with this boring thing on my bike!  It's just too un-crafty for me.

So MomChops took a look over the bag and has pretty much got the pattern figured out.  All we have to do is measure the parts and pieces and sew it together.  Once the pattern is all set I'll be making a bag to go with every pair of bike socks I have (in case you are wondering...I have bike socks with owls, bees, dog paw prints, and a crash test sign (that was a joke pair lovingly given to me by RonChops)!  I'll be sharing them all with tutorials too!  Just hang with me a bit!

Honest to Lastly...
The DogsChops and I would LOVE to know what your current/next projects are! 

Dish some details girls!  Are you getting ready for the holidays already?  Do you have 15 projects going on at once or are you a one-or-two-at-a-time crafter like me?

So...how about a picture round-up!
I would LOVE for you guys to email me a pic or two or leave a comment with a description of what you have on the crafty chopping block right now (even if your projects are in progress or barely started).  I'll gather whatever pics/descriptions you send me and post them all next week!  Don't you think it will be fun to see what everyone else is working on?!?!?!  Maybe just a little???

Little Tree HUGS!

P.S.  Big thanks to my wunnerful MomChops (without whom there would be no quilt squares) for all of her help!  Love you Moms!!

P.S.S.  I just want to say I am sorry to my little quilt group for being so behind on my blocks.  They have been super patient with me and I really appreciate it! 

Pitchy Patchy Punchy Poo

L.C. here reporting from the front lines of the craft room.  It was a harrowing few days of punch needle trials and tribulations but I made it!!!!

I was seriously wondering if we were going to have a punchy post today because I was having some serious pitchy punch moments.  I am pleased as punch to report that Hank patched things up and came to the rescue! pffft!

Let's get started with the supplies and reference links first and then we can move on to the projects!

Firstly...
I bought a kit from Sew Say It.  You can see that kit HERE (#1 in the pic).  It came with a punch needle in a couple of different sizes (the needle height is adjustable which is why this kit was so appealing to me) and some thread.  I used that for a while and felt like the needle attachment thing was not the strongest so I decided I wanted to try a heavy duty adjustable punch needle.

My next purchase was a needle kit from Boye (#2 in the pic).  You can see that kit HERE.  I hate to say this...  but it broke before I even used it once.  I would not recommend getting this needle as the adjustable piece is what broke on me (maybe I just put the LollyChops whim wham on it...I dunno but I am not she-ra or anything...honest).

So lastly I decided to get a needle that was not adjustable (just something to get the job done (#3 in the pic).  It's from Dimensions and you can see it HERE.  I only paid $2.99 for this needle and I should have saved myself all that money and just gone with this one from the beginning (I got mine at JoAnn).  It was by far the best of the 3.

You are also going to need a cool weird long threader thingy (to thread that super long needle).  Every needle I got came with at least 1 - 2 threader thingies so you should not need to buy one (just FYI...the threader is a truly essential piece of equipment so it's a good thing they all come with a couple!).

An embroidery hoop is another must have (I managed to use one with and without a lip with the same results).  Some folks said that you had to have one with a lip but I really did not see any benefit there.  If you are an embroidery person and want to explain the benefit of that lip please do!  I do not want to steer folks wrong!

The material you punch on is called weavers cloth.  Even though most kits come with the thread and material...  you might want to get some to play with (it's best to practice a little before you dive right into your nice kit).  I found some on sale on line HERE and HERE.

I also used some regular 6 strand DMC thread (you know the kind I am talking about...  comes in about a trillion colors and is pretty affordable).

You will want to get some thread to play with as well (if you do not already have gobs and gobs... just go raid someone's stash!..  tell 'em LollyChops sent you (and then give them a little hug from me)).

A TIP..
Speaking of that 6 strand thread...  part of the punchy power of punch needle is that you have to separate each of those 6 strands of thread (and then put back together however many you are going to use...  I stuck with 3-at-a-time).

I was really struggling with that whole separation thing so I started to google ways to do that a little easier and WOW COW!  I found this little video and I HAD to share it.  You all prolly already knew this but this was a mouth popping moment for me.  I had NO idea it was so easy to separate the strands!  WHEW...  if I learn nothing else for an entire year I'll be happy just having learned how to do this!!!  You can see that marvel of a technique HERE.

So before we get started I want you to print out this little badge and get a pin and pin it to your shirt.

Ok...  are you wearing your "Hank says... patience" badge?  Whew.

Now... repeat after me.  "I can do this!!!"  Say it about 15 times for effectiveness (and to try to help convince yourself that you really can) and then raise your fist in the air and say it again real loud once more (don't do this when anyone else is there though ok... they might think you a tad touched)!

NOW we can get started!
I bought a totally cute bird kit from Dimensions (I got it at JoAnn too - I  might as well sign my paychecks over to them...  I swears).  You can see the kit HERE.

It came with the fabric, thread and some KILLER instructions.  The best I have ever seen.  But in case you decide not to get a kit and just go with the weavers cloth and some DMC thread I figured we had better get some online tutorials together for you...  so I have links to a few that I found.  Check out a couple you can watch HERE and HERE and some you can read through HERE and HERE.  The first link is from a really nice lady (Hi Marilyn!!!) who I wrote for advice and tips (you can learn all about her HERE).  She wrote me back right away and basically held my hand as I went through this learning process.  So BIG thanks to her!

Here is a little play-by-play of my whole punchy ordeal (with commentary thrown in on the side).


Front view of my first few stitches.  Not looking so hot here - but Marilyn says to keep on punching.
It will all come together (she swears).


The back view is a horror story
(you punch through the pattern on the back and the front is the ruggy looking side).
I am pretty sure it's not supposed to look all loopy and crazy like this but I was hanging on by a thread (the punch needle was on the verge of becoming a dart at this point).


See what a little patience gets you!
It's actually taking on some mini-rug like qualities!
Just one tip... make sure the tail of your thread is not snagged on anything or it will pull out your stitches (trust Lolly on this...  after I pulled out about 237 stitches I finally learned not to let that thread snag on anything!).


Here is the back.
Meh
Do we really need to talk about the back?!?!?!
I didn't think so either.

Moving on...


Ahhh...  see what I mean!  It's actually looking ok!
At this point I got REALLY excited.

But first...another back shot.


That's nice looking right????
Maybe I should just forget about the lovely rugesque thing I have going on in the front and just frame this side?
Wadda think?

So as I was saying...  I got SUPER excited and decided to scrap the whole kit thing
...and go with a  HANKTACULAR PUNCH NEEDLE PROJECT!


There's my boy.
I traced him on to some teal fabric (which by-the-way never looks teal in the pics).


I was so excited that I did not stop to take any pics of Hank-in-the-making.
But here is a utterly scary pic of his backside.
I could be wrong but I think I am getting less loopy.
But I could be wrong.  Wait...  did I already say that?

Anyhoot...


It's not really and truly Hank you know.

Until you see that little Hanky Smile!

TA DA!
He's already a pattern that you can download from my embroidery patterns download page.  The Hank in-the-flesh PDF can be found HERE but I recommend you go check out the whole set of patterns HERE (Hank has a lot of friends)!

I used some really weird teal almost weavers cloth and it held up pretty good...  but having used the real deal...  nothing is as sturdy as that stuff.  I am telling you... I was so over the top excited that I had to make him on this teal fabric (look at me throwing caution to the wind on my almost second project).  I am such a daredevil.

I used the following DMC threads for Mr. Hanky: 
DMC 3184 - teal for the swirl in the trunk
DMC 838 - dark brown for the base of his trunkness
DMC 898 - lighter brown for the outlines (base of the trunk and around his "head")
DMC 166 - bright green for the leaves and his french knot eyes and Hankey smile

I framed him in a regular picture frame that I got at Tuesday Morning and used some bamboo letters I had from Making Memories (bamboo alpha #32288)... to spell tHANKs.  You can get those letters HERE or HERE.

I just want to cuddle with my little Hank Rug.  I swears.

So that's all I got!  Sorry it was such a LONG post!  I had a lot to say (like that's a shocker).

I'll be back next Monday!

Weekly HUGS!

P.S.  Ok so seriously you guys... 95 comments?!?!?!  WOW!  I gotta tell ya...  I am really feeling the love from you all.  So tHANKs!  Your warm comments and silly comments and overall commenty comments really made my whole week fantastic!

P.S.S.  What's your vote?  Are you gonna give punch needle a try?  Have you tried before and gave up in endless frustration?  Are you a punch master scoffing at my loopy backsides?  Inquiring minds wanna know!

Lolly who?!?!?!

Hi friends!  It's been so long since I blogged that I kinda almost forgot how (not even kidding).  Yesterday was my 1 year blog-a-versary!  YIPPEE!!!!  I have well over a trillion ideas all stored up and ready to pop out of the craft cannon...  but first... I figured I had better start off my "she's finally back for reals this time" post with a quick summary of what I have been up to this summer.

My first task-o-the summer was to assign chores to RonChops (don't cha just love those kinds of tasks)!?!?!?!  We bought our house a little over two years ago and have been steadily updating it ever since.  One of the most dreaded projects involved getting rid of the oh-so-lovely 1983 Blue Flowers Wall Paper in the kitchen.  83' was a good year and all but seriously folks...  it had to go!

Sooo...  you gotta sing with me before you can look at the pics. (think 80's and it will all come flooding back to you in a torrent or horror).

It's  a  blue...  BLUE summah.
leaving meeee
Leaving me here on my own...
It's  a  blue...  BLUE summah.

.oh yeah.
I loves me some 80's.

Just not in my kitchen.

So we went from that...

To this (blue tape and overall kitchen chaos)...


...and then finally to this!

Ahhhh...  MUCH better.

Thanks RonChops!!!!!!

Nextly...
I had some visitors...

This sporty gent was courting a lovely lady in the neighborhood.
Well...ummm...

Several lovely ladies actually.

tsk tsk tsk DuckChops


This fella (none other than the one and only FrogChops)!
...took up residence in one of my flower pots.
Poor guy...
He had to contend with my over watering and the dogs constantly sniffing him out.

I am happy to report that there is now a Mrs. FrogChops and evidently several FrogChopsChildren.
(the guy is a smooth operator)
(oh no...  was that another 80's reference?!?!?!)


I tended my flowers!
(these guys are my favs and re-seed and come back every year!)


I hung out with the doggies in the front yard
(again and again and again)


I rode the living tarnations out of my bike.
(like hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of miles)
I fell a coupla times too.  :(

...and

RonChops got me one of these for my birthday...
...so I read a whole heapin buncha books
(a whole heapin bunch)
I seriously loves me some RonChops.

Sooo... that pretty much sums up my summer!  RC and I are heading to Vernon, TX this weekend for a rally (42 miles) and then the following weekend we are doing a metric century (it sounds fancy but it's only 60 miles) in Wichita Falls, TX.  I promise I'll take pics with a real camera so you can see what that's all about (in case you have never seen gobs of people riding bikes before it's actually kinda cool). 

So now that I have that boring stuff done...

Let's talk crafts (finally)
I dabbled in a little punch needle embroidery a few weeks ago!  I'll be sharing my trials and tribulations AND some free patterns next Monday (I think I gained a few grey hairs and only poked myself like 24 times)... so it was an all around success!! 

Speaking of Monday's in general.  Look for me about once a week for a while.  I gots more summer I halfta get out of my system before the cold descends upon us (pedal pedal pedal)!

That's all I gots!  Let me know how you are all doing and if anyone is even still out there.  :)  I am sorry I disappeared on yous guys.  I was basically in craft / blog burnout mode (I think I might have been on the verge of a glitter overdose).  Totally not even kidding.

So until next Monday!

Happy Hanky Hugs!!
(insert banjo music here)

P.S.  Don't cha just love a happy tree stump?!?!?!