Black Sheep Woolens: Spring Projects

I have not been great at posting very often. I have been tweaking my book and preparing for two really special trips! The book went back to the printer on Tuesday so I am hopeful it will be finished before I leave so I can get some copies to some very patient stitchers!

If you bought a copy at our Spring Open House,
please contact us so we can get you a
fresh new copy with ALL the patterns in it ;)

This past week I got to teach at Peace By Piece Quilt Guild's retreat. They are the happiest group of ladies in the valley! Such a treat to hang with them. The retreat theme was scrappy so we worked

on projects with our wool scraps. I brought this little Wool Crazy Sewing Kit for the girls to create. Everyone had their own inspiration and I can't wait to see what they do!!

The front cover is the one with the beehive and the back cover is the one with the owl. The photos don't do this little piece much justice. It really turned out cute! I love the buttons above the pocket. You can keep your assorted threads organized by wrapping them around the buttons! So handy when you are stitching in the car! Wool crazies are a blast to do and such a fun way to use up all your bitty scraps that seem to multiply by the day!! Try one! I have seen pincushions and other little projects all over Pinterest. There is a great tutorial on The Painted Quilt blog. Her blog is really fun to visit!

I also found this adorable pillow pattern in this publication:

It was so much fun to work on and possibilities are endless.

It looks absolutely adorable on the couch or tucked in a chair!

Picasa has not been opening for my on my computer. I like doing collages and so I went searching for something new. I found Ribbet! You can also download the app to your tablet or phone. It is so fun and easy to use!! Try it out and see for yourself :)

We will soon be leaving to visit far away lands. My cute hubby and I are taking my mom to her Motherland, Poland and then we are going to visit his sister and brother-in-law in Vienna with side trips to Prague and Budapest. We are giddy with excitement! It will be so incredible to visit the towns where my mom's grandparents come from. We will be home a week and then it will be off to the the East Coast to spend time celebrating the birth of our new grand baby! They have on e of each so baby #3's gender is a surprise and we can hardly stand the suspense! I will be around May 9-15 between these two trips...and then home to stay after Memorial Day. You can contact me via email. We will have our girls here keeping the home fires burning, if you have a wool emergency while I am away.

I wanted to take some little woolie gifts in case we meet a distant relative or meet a new friend along our journey. I decided to make some little pocket size journal covers. They are delightful to stitch up and won't take up precious cargo space. They are all constructed by hand so I can take some to stitch on the plane. (Sorry the photos are a little dark.)

I made the beehive first and then remembered I had pinned some adorable needle cases. I'm taking inspiration from those to make some cheerful covers. I cut my background 11 1/2 x 4 1/2 to cover the small composition books. (Purchased at Staples) Everything is blanket stitched with Valdani thread after I applique the front motif on. The journal is just as snug as a bug in it's woolie cover. I may or may not add a button closure.