Another snow day

Outside:

A cold, snowy vigil

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Inside:

Kettle and kerosene heater are getting to be best friends

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A little bit of sewing today:

I finished up this mousepad from Handmade Home. Yes, yes, I know I've been using the heck out of these fabrics. I can't help it...yellow cherry blossoms make me smile (well, any kind of cherry blossoms make me smile). This project adds a little bit of personality and love to our desk.

Happy Monday to you! 

Sugar hearts

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!

Sugar hearts are perfect for plunking into a hot mug of tea. 

Idea from here.

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Make your own to share with your valentine

Mix 2 teaspoons of water with 1 cup of sugar.

Measure out teaspoonfuls (or however much you prefer for one cup of tea) of the sugar mixture into candy molds or decorative ice cube trays.

Press the sugar down into the mold, then pop out the sugar heart and let dry overnight on wax paper.

Store in a glass jar because these look so lovely displayed!

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Want more ideas?  I'm loving these:

Pretty bag with crocheted hearts

Painted doily heart

Cookies with cute wrapping

Sweet lavender door sachets

Love-ly table runner

Crocheted valentines (thanks, Amy!)

Love letter

Hot Water Bottle Cozy

This project comes from Amanda Blake Soule's Handmade Home, which I gifted myself for Christmas. I am so nice like that.

I'm planning to make a picnic blanket (Amanda calls it a beach blanket, but there's no beach around here) and the mouse pad from the book, but I thought I'd better hurry up and make this hot water bottle cover while it was still winter. So I got motivated and geared up and then I realized, yeah, this project is ridiculously simple. I should have made it ages ago instead of wrapping our hot water bottle in towel all winter. Lucky for me, I'll get lots of chances to use it--I just checked the weather forecast and temperatures are going to be below freezing for at least the next week. Woohoo!

 

Here's an in-progress shot. All in all, from cutting to sewing to finished, I'd estimate about 30 minutes.


(I am a messy crafter.)
 

The flannel cover makes the hot water bottle so lovely to snuggle up with under a quilt. This beautiful quilt was made by Denise, a friend of my dad's, and given to me when I returned home from Japan. Denise did a wonderful job on this quilt--it's hand-pieced and machine-quilted and was the perfect homecoming present. It's kept me warm on many cold days and nights!

Oh yes, and there's Etty again. We've been spending a lot of time together lately.

One last thing: I have to thank my father-in-law for donating the flannel shirt for this project. When I mentioned wanting to pick one up at the thrift store, he dug one out of the closet for me. Thanks!

Snow Day

Hello! We got enough snow for school to be cancelled, which means that the time I would have spent in class today should be spent having fun, right? It's a low-key, snuggle up day and while I did venture out to the post office, I'm now officially in for the day.  Here's a peek into my day so far:

Fresh snow makes everything prettier

Today's sewing--the start of a patchwork pillow cover

(thanks to Liesl for these squares)

And hot mint tea to keep me company while I do my homework.

I hope you're staying warm and happy!

Weekend doings and a giveaway winner

This weekend was so restful and refreshing. K and I did make it out of the house to run errands, but the majority of our time was spent holed up at home, keeping snug and warm.

I did a little sewing...

Wrapped up in a ripple rainbow (great for chasing the winter blues away) and read this fascinating book for class...

Baked a British loaf from a breads of the world book I got at the library...

and picked a winner for the eye pillow giveaway. 

Congrats, Lisa, it's you! (I've sent you an email--just send me your address and I'll get a pretty eye pillow to you).

I want to thank everyone who entered the giveaway. Thank you! Your comments were lovely. It's so interesting to hear how other people relax! I think I've picked up a few tips.

**What did you do this weekend?**

p.s. I've got this winter manifesto as my desktop wallpaper, and it's been making me so happy all weekend! I thought you might like it, too.

Red Scarf on a Gray Day

Whew...it's been a long week. I'm so glad it's Friday! 

I finally finished weaving in the ends on the scarf I made for Craft Hope yesterday. The crocheting part had been done for a couple of weeks, but I kept putting off weaving in the ends. I don't know why I dislike that part of the process so much, but it's right up there with folding laundry and going to my literary theory class in terms of things I don't enjoy. 

I made this scarf using wool yarn I already had in my stash, and while it doesn't scream RED, the majority of the scarf is technically in the red family. 

I enjoyed making this scarf, especially because I've been wanting to make something in a wave pattern ever since I finished my ripple blanket. I used the Float Away scarf pattern on ravelry.

This scarf will be in the mail soon, and I hope it will keep a college student warm and cozy!

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Don't forget to enter the eye pillow giveaway if you haven't already. I'll be drawing the winner tonight.

Some home-sewn goodness for you: An Eye Pillow Giveaway!

This weekend passed quickly in a flurry of activity. One of the things that kept me busy was sewing up eye pillows--I think I may be addicted. I've got a stash of fabric scraps along with some vintage fabrics and thrifted sheets that were just calling out to be sewn into eye pillows. And so I heeded the call...

I've also stocked up on lentils, flax seeds, and lavender, which makes the house smell so fresh and calming. 

I made one eye pillow for keeping, a couple for giving, and several for selling in my etsy shop (look for them later this week!). I've been using mine every day, and it is so relaxing. The light, cool weight of the lentils and the soothing sweet scent of lavender makes me feels miles away from all of the things on my to-do list. The eye pillow is a great way to take a little break!

I'm giving away this pink and blue eye pillow. It's made from soft vintage pink flannel, blue flowered sheets, and pink gingham. It's filled with lentils, flax seeds, and lavender. 

Because I'm not quite sure about international shipping laws regarding seeds and things, this contest is open to US residents only. If you live outside of the US, I'm sorry! I'll have another giveaway open to everyone soon.

How to enter: 

*Leave a comment on this post. Any comment is fine, but if you'd like to tell me what you do to relax and unwind, that'd be nice.

*Make sure you leave a valid email address so that I can contact you if you win. 

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Something new I'm trying is a way for you to earn extra entries by spreading the word about this giveaway. You can earn up to two additional entries, giving you up to three chances to win. 

*Earn 1 extra entry: Become a follower of Field Wonderful and leave a comment letting me know that you did. If you're already a follower, leave a comment letting me know.

*Earn 1 extra entry: Link to this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog and leave a comment letting me know.

This giveaway will end Friday, February 5, 2010 at 10 PM (EST). I'll put all of the names in a pretty tin and draw out a winner. Best of luck!