A Neat Finding From 1962

Hello my dear friends,

today I would like to share something I found at one of my church sale visits a few weeks ago. I bought it more for sentimental reasons and not for creative purposes in mind. It brings back memories from my childhood and I only spent 25 cents and it was so worth it.

 

 Have a look at the date ... that is the month and year I was born.

And ... look at the price!! 15 cents only ~ wow!

The magazine even still had it's coupons inside.

 

I thought this would be fun to maybe try out ?! I remember my Mum doing something similar when I was a child. My husband said when he saw this that those were the old days ..

a can of mushroom soup and dinner was halfway there.

 

I have more to share you with from my last church sale still but that will be in another post which I will share soon. I have so much to do right now I am not sure where to start. The yard needs tidying up, the work on our basement starting very soon and then my normal chores but I am sure I will get it all sorted (I hope).

 

 I am also very busy making pink scarves for Vicki's Pink Scarf Project ... my third scarf is finished!!

 

 

At last ... it is finished! I loved making this scarf!

 

Once I get a chance I will have to get this one and the others ready for mailing. I am planning on trying to make a scarf a month hopefully depending what is happening here at home. I will just have to wait and see.

 

So, my dear friends ... that is all from Todolwen today. It would be nice if you were to visit me here soon again!

 

I hope you are well and life is treating you kind.

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

 

Pink Scarf Project ~ Update

Hello my dear friends,

have I been very busy these past days. Not only have I knitted one scarf ... no, I have now knitted two  and I am now in the midst of crocheting my third one. The crochet scarf is a bit of a challenge because of the pattern and the wool I have chosen to use for it. I have had to unravel it about 8 or 9 times at least because I didn't count properly or I made a mistake! I am also crocheting my little flowers to embellish my two knitted scarves with at this moment and depending which scarf is done first, that is the one that will be mailed to Vicki from 2 Bags Full.

 

These two scarves are so soft and warm and pink ~ perfect in every way!

 

I still need to make more of these little flowers.

 

 

I love this pattern and it has given me a few headaches but never the less ~ it looks so nice and once you have worked on it for a while it gets easier to do. I am also very happy that I chose a vibrant pink for this scarf ~ it even has tiny shiny sequences. Maybe I will try and make one from a more delicate color some time in the future.

 

 

This is the pattern I am crocheting at the moment.

I can't remember if I found it on the net or if a friend gave it to me. Maybe one of you lovely bloggers will find use for it too either for Vicki's Pink Scarf Project or maybe as a Christmas gift for a dear friend or relative?

 

And last but not least ...

 

I have finally got a date when work will be starting in our basement. I am a bit worried about everything right now and since we had a few surprises when we bought the house that weren't too good I am hoping there will be nothing new to add to that list. I will take some photos of before and after to share with you which I will share in a future post. 

 

It would be very nice to see you here soon at Todowen soon again!

 

 

 I hope you are well and life is treating you kind my dear friends,

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

Autumn Joy

Hello my dear friends,

one of the most fascinating and beautiful things about Autumn are the colors that come with this season and all the bits and pieces like seed pods, pine cones and other little nature treasures you can find.

 

My little Rhododendron bush is shining in so many beautiful colors.

 

Last years acorn harvest.

 

What to do, what to do?

 

My collection of wool had the perfect colors I need for this making and when you add the wool, acorns, nature and Autumn together ... you will make this!!

 

My newest nest ...

 

'Autumn Joy'

 

I chose to use softer Autumn colors and not vibrant ones to make this nest very nature like and I gave the acorns a slight sheen as if the sun was shining on them. I think I used ten different types of wool for this nest from greens to all sort of shades of browns and dark reds.

 

 Enough talk now and I hope you like my latest felted creation.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below is my favourite one so far of this nest ~ it looks like it really does belong in the little tree.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my newest felted nest. I have so much fun making these because every nest turns out slightly different from the previous one and you also get a chance to get rid of any little bit of frustration whilst hand felting in the sink.

 

I am also working on a Christmas nest and I also made a Winter nest already earlier this summer but I am not going to share them with all you lovely bloggers just yet. There will be all sorts of little makings of mine that will be here soon again.

 

So ... whenever you have a moment, grab a cup of coffee or tea and come and visit me here at Todolwen ~  I am sure there will be something new waiting here for you to discover.

 

 

I hope you are well and life is treating you kind my dear friends,

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B. 

How I Crinkle My Seam Binding

Hello my dear friends,

I have had a few of you ask me how I crinkle my seam binding and there are many ways you can do it. I know I am not the first one to explain how it is done but I still I thought I would put this little mini how~to together to share with you. I have done this two ways so far and both give you great results, they just differ by one item really.

 

You will need the following:

 

~ Seam Binding

~ Scissors

~ Spray bottle with water

~ Elastic bands

or

~ Plastic bag

 

 

Both techniques start out the same way ...

Cut a length of seam binding ~ I like to use at least 5 yards at one time...

... and dampen lightly by spraying it with water (make sure it is not too wet)

 

 

Then gather/bunch the seam binding together all scrounged up and sort of messy into a ball.

Now you can continue either way ...

 

 

...using your elastic bands, wrap around the ball nice and tightly or ...

... using your plastic bag, stuff your seam binding ball into a corner of the bag and twist the bag tightly so the ball in stuck in the corner. Use a elastic band to secure the bag.

Now let it dry over night and the morning take the elastic bands off or take the seam binding out of the bag, fluff it up a little and let it completely dry now.

 Finished!
Now you can use your crinkled seam binding to embellish all sorts of beautiful things!

And last but not least ...
 

... my dear friend Dawn from The Feathered Nest has made a little how~to video on how to make her lovely little bows from seam binding. Here is the link to her tutorial ~ but I must warn you ... once you make one you won't want to stop!

 

http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.ca/2012/05/little-something-to-share.html

 

 

Seam binding often gives a creation the final touch it needs and that little bit of extra beauty. I hope you will find my mini tutorial useful.

I hope you are well and life is treating you kindly dear friends,

Have a peaceful and creative day,


Karen B.

A Lovely Saturday

Hello my dear friends,

we had our first frost on Saturday morning and I am actually glad we are heading into the colder season of the year after such a hot and humid summer.

I spent a lot of my time sitting at my dining room window doing all sorts of things such as reading your lovely blogs and taking photos of the garden or rather what was visiting my garden. I am like a little kid when something furry or with feathers shows up. It is just nice to sit and watch a blue jay or a cardinal in the bird feeders, a squirrel gathering goodies for the cold winter months and a chipmunk finding warm bedding for it's little winter nest...

 

 

All my garden critters ~ just love them!

 

 

I really like this photo, I don't know why but I do!

 

And last but but not least ...

 

...apart from spending time at home with my daughters I also headed out on a mission. The mission was to find some beautiful wool so I could start my first scarf for Vicki's pink scarf project. There was just something there urging me not just to think about it but to actually do something. 

 

 

I was really happy because I found this lovely pale pink wool that has mohair in it and it is so soft and delicate and to add a little something I also bought some very fine crochet yarn in a darker shade of pink. Combined together I was sure it would look very nice.

 

Very content with the outcome of my mission I headed back home and started my first scarf ... 

 

  

... and I actually finished it that same evening!! 

 

I got so caught up in knitting that every spare moment I had in between cooking, the laundry and watching a movie my needles were just working away. I am not a great knitter but I know the basics and that's all it takes really! I made a basic scarf ~ but it isn't 100 percent finished because I still need to embellish it. That will be my next step. I already have an idea what I am going to do and hopefully I will be finished with it completely in the next few days and then it'll be on it's way to Vicki. For some reason I know it won't be my last scarf either and I will keep you up to date with this here on Todolwen.

 

I hope you are well and life is treating you kind my dear friends.

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B. 

 

Vicki's Pink Scarf Project

Hello my dear friends,

I would like to bring a project to your attention by fellow blogger Vicki from 2 Bags Full, who by the way makes the most amazing woolen nests I have ever seen.

Vicki has started a year long project called 'The Pink Scarf Project'. To put it in a nutshell, it is about breast cancer and showing someone that you care about them and send them your support even though you don't know them.

The way you can do this is to either buy or make a pink scarf and send it to a special address Vicki has set up for this project. This is a year long project and in one year the scarves will then be given to ladies that are affected by breast cancer.

Vicki is even creating a pink nest especially for this cause and she has also made a beautiful wrap that you could win at the end of the year if you take part in the project and enter her giveaway.

I personally haven't been effected by breast cancer nor do I know anybody and I am very grateful for that. My Mom passed away and she had cancer and that's why I am going to take part in this project. I just think that it is such a tiny thing you could do for somebody that is unwell or has been.

So my dear friends grab your knitting needles, crochet hooks or what ever you would like to use or choose and start to make a pink scarf. It doesn't have to be fancy or bold but  you will put a little smile on someones face even if it is only for a short moment but it makes all the difference.

 

http://vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.ca/2012/10/my-pink-scarf-project-opportunity-and_8.html

 

Please, visit Vicki's blog and read her post about her amazing project.

  

Just think ... if we all were to make just one scarf there would be so many ladies wearing pink out there that would know that somebody cares.

 

 

 

I hope you are all well and life is treating you kind my dear friends,

 

Have a peaceful Sunday,

 

 

Karen B.



I Have Been Waiting For This All Year ..

Hello my dear friends,

I told you in my last post that I really like milkweed seedpods and you might think this is weird but I have been waiting for this all year now ... the ripening of the milkweed seedpods. And on my Thanksgiving walk I got the chance to harvest some of them.

 

 I found quite a few closed pods still but I didn't take all I found so the other seeds would be able to grow next spring for future Monarch butterflies.

Now the seed pods are in my kitchen, slowly drying and very slowly opening ...

 

 

 

  

... waiting for me to gather them up so I can store them ...

 

... in my old mason and ball jars for now.

 

These seeds are so beautiful!!

 

I have an idea and I it in my mind right now in which I would love to use some of  these seeds for. I am not sure if it will work or not so I am not going to tell you more just yet. First I will try it out and hopefully it will turn out the way I envision it and then of course I will share my creation with you. For today I would love to share a few lovely images of milkweed seeds from an old Disney Christmas cartoon.

 

  ~  Milkweed Fairies ~

 

 

Don't these fairies just look so beautiful? Even as an adult I just sit and watch this old cartoon in a dream like state just like I used to do as a child. We used to own it years ago but thankfully there is YouTube now so I can always find it there.

 

And last but not least ...

 

 

... this is what actually is on my work table at the moment. Lots of lovely wool in autumn colors. My current project is new felted nests. Not too sure what they will look like because when you felt them they look different as before. Well I will just have to wait and see how they turn out. Hopefully I will be able to share them with you soon.

 

I would love to see you soon again some time here at Todolwen.

 

 

I hope you are well and live is treating you kind dear friends,

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.