I have been making so many pinkeeps that the sea grass basket I had purchased to put them in was over flowing. You could not see the pinkeeps in it any longer.I found this cute tray in a second hand shop and immediately thought it was the perfect thing to use for pinkeeps. The
low ends and high middle make it perfect for standing them up in. I
I am finished with the 8th part of this sampler. This is really coming close to the finish line. I will start stitching the last part today. I am stitching Marie~Rose's name and the date she originally stitched it on mine. I just love doing reproduction samplers and cannot bring myself to not include this. Anne~Valerie left that decision open to us as to how we wanted to stitch it.
I have a set of scissors that I use when I do my sewing. This tutorial shows how to sew a simple patchwork holder for a pair of scissors. Don't forget to enlarge the photos for detail throughout the tutorial.
First, you need to sew a 5~1/2" to 7~1/2" patchwork block. The size of the block may vary depending on your scissors. I would not recommend anything larger than a 7~1/2" block. The two samples I have sewn are using the smallest (5~1/2") and largest (7~1/2") measurements. It is best not to choose a 'fussy' patchwork block for this as it will not show up in the end product. Beware that patchwork with many triangles will not show up well when the holder is sewn.
Once you have sewn your patchwork, cut a piece of thin batting and your backing fabric to the same size. Now cut a small length of cord.
Lay the batting behind the patchwork. Place the cord at what you wish to become the top corner and pin in place.
Lay the backing fabric right side down over the patchwork and pin.
Sew together at a 1/4" seam allowance being sure to leave an opening in which to turn your quilt block when sewn.
Clip the corners.
I find ironing at this stage really makes a nice edge in which to hand sew the opening shut. This also helps create flat edges around the now sewn block.
Fold the right edge over.
Now fold the left edge to cross over the right and pin in place. Hand sew this seam along the edge and crossed section of the top to secure.
There you have a simple patchwork scissor holder. This has been based upon a gift my sister made me back in the early 80s when this was popular made with store bought potholders. I thought it would be cute to use a patchwork block. It is not necessary to quilt these before sewing them. You could also use one of the cute patchwork look fabrics on the market which would elimanate having to sew patchwork if you wish. These are quick to sew and make wonderful gifts. 
Well, now I know what it will feel like perhaps for Hazel, Roberta and Joni when their gifts arrive. I went to pick up the mail that dropped on my doormat. (Yes, we have a slot in our front door and the mail is dropped through it.) There was an envelope from Mary Kathryn (http://marykathryn.wordpress.com/) containing the sweetest handmade beaded scissor fob. I had won this on her blog. I put it on one of my scissor right away and here is a photo of it. It is just so adorable! Thank you so much Mary Kathryn!
I have been so busy this week that I have not been blogging as normal. On top of DH having to have an emergency appointment at the hospital with a dental surgeon, I seem to be trying to be effecient and feel like I am getting nowhere fast. A tornado has officially hit my quilt studio as I found a cute idea for a new doll's quilt. I am going through my scrap box and that is never a good idea for me. The scraps are taking over like the invasion of the quilt monster. Forget Godzilla, this is much more scary ~ LOL! 
Now I have to share some great customer service! I had been noticing black graphite while using my rotary cutter on my quilt fabric. I then found the actual knife was slipping in the holder. I tried to tighten my blade as I thought that it must not have been placed correctly in the holder. To make a long story short, I discovered that this blade was actually cutting into the metal pin which holds the blade on the cutter. It is my newer of my two rotary cutters. 
Here is my Marquoir Marie~Rose up to now. I have completed part 7 and will start stitching the next part now. For anyone not yet familiar with her blog, Anne~Valerie has this sampler available there. It can be found at 
Hazel wins the stash and Roberta and Joni win the cupcake pincushions. 
I went to the quilt shop called 'De Lander' again while I was in Brugge. It was too sunny on Saturday and I was not able to get photos of the pretty windows because of the glare. I asked if I could take a few inside the shop to share with you. Here is Lander, the golden retriever, who the shop is named after. He is the sweetest dog.
The shop owner designs patterns for quilts and bears. Katie is very talented, enthusiastic and very welcoming. She also sells her patterns online so you can go to her website (http://www.delander.be/) to see them close up and also click on the photos to enlarge the photos I can included here. I am not affliated with the shop just a fan and customer.
I fell in love with the July patchwork kit which is a frog laying in the sun under a parasol. Everything is contained in this cute little box to make the quilt. It reminded me of one of my favorite books from when I was a child. Did you ever read 'Frog and Toad are Friends'? I still have my book with my name written inside. I will make up this adorable little quilt and sit it together with my book. 
I just cannot believe an entire year has gone by and this blog is 1 year old on Friday, August 17th! I have loved doing the blog and it has developed into more blogs. I am going to hold a birthday give~away. During the past few days, I have had to put my stitching and quilting aside to work on some wool~felt pincushions. I will be giving away three gifts. The grand prize winner will receive stash which I will reveal when I have drawn the names and two runners~up will receive one of my homemade birthday cake pincushions as shown here. I am having lots of fun making these. 
The Lace Days in Brugge, Belgium are held each year in August. There are demonstrations from lacemakers around the world. Here are some of the young girls from the lace school who are lacemaking just outside the exhibition hall. 
Inside the hall which is part of beer brewery "De Halve Maan", one of the oldest brewery in Belgium. There are stands set up for lacemaking groups from all over the world to share their craft with others.
Various pieces of lace are framed like artwork and put on display. Be sure to click on the photos to enlarge them and see the detail of the lace.
There is also lace in display cases set up throughout the hall so you can really examine the lace well.
Some lace really is a form of painting with thread rather than a functional piece. Notice this girl and the dog in the center of the lace.
This year, it was quite warm and sunny on Saturday so I felt for the girls sitting outside working at their cushions. Here some have decided to take a break.
And finally, what could be prettier to share with you but a windmill made entirely from bobbin lace? I feel very fortunate to live within easy distance to places like this where handwork is a part of the culture!
It is very early morning here on Friday for me and we are up getting ready to drive to Brugge, Belgium for the annual Lace Days. I decided to check my email and, of course, had to pop in here to check my comments. I love reading all of your responses! 
I had recently done a blog entry on my other blog (http://celebratetheseasons.blogspot.com/2007/07/passion-for-bronte-country.html) about The Bronte Sisters. I really love all things Bronte and decided to pull a little trick on my mother which she sometimes pulls on me. I was at the Bronte Parsonage with my English mum and we went to look in the gift shop. I had picked up the kit for Anne Bronte's childhood sampler and saw they also sold the knitting pattern for Charlotte's shawl. Well, I really wanted this shawl but I don't knit. My mother does! So I bought the pattern to give to her as a 'gift' for both of us. :-)
We picked out some yarn for her to knit. I went with a heather yarn for what could go better with the idea of Charlotte Bronte? Here is a detail of the pattern. Now I am not a knitter as I said but this has a pretty leaf pattern on the edge. I am not sure what you would call the patterns used for this lovely design. I love this shawl and use it constantly. I keep it on my leather reading chair and use it to wrap me up like a big hug from a wonderful woman who I am lucky enough to call my mother. I love you Mom!
Here is a sneak peak at my newest quilting project. You will see more of this next week.....
This is my first ornament in the Prairie Schooler 12 Days Wreath SAL. I think it will be best to actually finish each ornament as I go so I don't have to work on all 12 at once. I deliberated today on 3 various finishing ideas and decided to go for a flat soft ornament. I am using some of my vintage lace for the edges. 
This is an old finish that I finally could really call a finish today. I feel a quilt is not finished if it does not have a label as I have mentioned before. It is something I used to not always get to before and have quilts I need to go back to document with labels. Nowadays, I do them as I make the quilts or I don't call them finished. 
Here is the completed part 6 of my Marquoir Marie~Rose. This part was the mirror image of part 5. I am started on part 7 and cannot believe we are now rounding the bottom corner. This sampler will now be finished soon. I will have to start thinking about looking at frames now.
I have not shared much on my blog about one of my other hobbies. I make bobbin lace. I love using it around the house. This lace is displayed on my sideboard in the living room which is set up as a writing table. I have some of my antiques on the table...
...as well as many of my antique books which I collect. I think the lace really adds to the antiques and collectables. It has a delicate old world charm.
Lace can make a simple item like this paperweight stand out. It is a shame that many find lace an old~fashioned item. It adds pretty touches to a home. For me, it is even more important that I am able to see the things I have created as all of this lace is made by my own hands.
I normally like to make lace pieces that are totally done with lace. This was a piece I had to make for a class which was to be used in a frame as a matting for a photo. I decided to sew a piece of cloth into it to make a doily instead. It adds a nice touch to this square tray.
This is one of my current projects which I will use once finished under a flower vase.
A piece of Flanders lace which I started for a class. 
