State Flowers Embroidery Project - Maine

Over at Turkey Feathers blog, Vicki is sharing embroidery patterns, one by one, of the state flowers for each of the fifty states.  I read her blog frequently (she sold me the patterns for the embroidered baby quilt I made for my nephew, Noah).  I decided to stitch along, although I'm already way behind!  I have the first one done.  This is Maine, and the state flower of Maine is the White Pine Cone.

Think Spring

This is Riki, by Helen Kish, an 8" Chrysalis baby, dressed in a drop-waisted cotton dress with a wool felt jacket.  I listed the outfit on etsy on Thursday and it sold within 24 hours!  I was surprised that it went so fast.  I'll have to make some more things for the shop.  It seems like the shop is always empty!

Pipos Baha in the same outfit:

Before and After, a testament to a child's love

My niece loves this bunny I made for her last year.  She's loved him to pieces, literally.  He's her favorite toy and she takes him everywhere.  Her other aunt sewed him up and her daddy put a patch on the back where his fabric wore out.  I'm so glad my crafting is appreciated!

This is what I made her for her birthday this year.  I hope she loves him as much as Bunny!

I love....

I love living by a wetland.  Walking the dog this morning was a relaxing experience, as I watched the mallard ducks stick their heads straight down in the water on the pond so that all you see are funny little rears sticking up into the air and waggling duck feet.  I love the cacophony of honks that geese make when they're flying north, the way light comes through white pine needles and cones against a gray sky, and the bright trills of red-wing blackbirds, having returned recently from places south.  Even though it's gray outside, it's still an early-spring treasure of a day.

I have been working intermittently on April Cottage.  The floor is done in the kitchen.  I first started with 1" square tiles cut from the flat parts of egg cartons.  I glued them down with tacky glue.

Here they are all in place.

 Then I sealed the whole thing with three coats of matte Mod Podge.  Do not attempt to grout a floor without sealing it first!  I nearly forgot to seal it and it didn't go well.  Then I sealed it and it worked great!

Next, I used spackling compound, which  I tinted light gray, to grout the floor.  I applied it with my fingers and wiped off the excess with a damp paper towel and buffed it with a dry one.  The room is now ready for the baseboards and wainscot.