Happy Halloween!

Hello my dear friends,

I didn't want to miss the chance to wish you all a ...

... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

 

I am so  busy right now (work on our basement has finally started) that I didn't even get my one and only Halloween creation finished to share with you on time ~ sigh!

 

I will finish it hopefully in the next few days and as soon as it is completed I will share it with all you lovely bloggers out there.

 

So, until next time ...

 

... happy spooking and ghoulish greetings from me here at Todolwen.

 

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

 

Have a spooky and boo~tiful night,

 

 

Karen B.

After The Storm ...

Hello my dear friends,

firstly I would like to say that I hope you are all OK and you haven't had too much damage from the storm.

We had very high winds and heavy rain here in southwestern Ontario but nothing as bad as they said it might be and far from what has happened in some of the affected areas on the east coast of the US.

I was very happy to wake up to see that our willow tree 'Salisbury' was still standing strong and had only lost a few branches which were not too big but one. And this one is the one that caused the damage we had. It was torn off and ended up in our pool, tearing a big hole into the winter cover that now needs replacing, which will take a few weeks before it can be fixed. Saying that we still have our roof, no broken windows and we are all OK and apart from the garden/backyard being very messy ... we were very, very lucky!! I so hope you were too!!

 

It didn't look bad at all this morning until I took a closer look and ...

 

... found this in the center of the pool cover. 

 

And it was big enough to make to cover now useless.

 

 

This is the branch that caused the damage ...

 

 

... as you see it's not that thick but the way it was torn off the tree made it pierce the cover like a large knife.

 

Our willow tree had a large piece of bark torn off but it was already loose from when it was hit by lightening a couple of years ago.

 

It is over 9 feet long and ... my younger daughter Caylagh wants to keep it!!

 

Last but not least ...

 

 

I finally got my first scarf in the mail yesterday afternoon and it's on it's way to Vicki!

 

My dear friends, I truly hope you are all OK after the storm and if you were affected I hope it wasn't too bad and that everything will be OK ... my thoughts are with you!

 

 

Sending you all many hugs,

 

Karen B.

 

My Last Church Sale Of 2012

Hello my dear friends,

I can't believe that I almost forgot to tell you all about my last church sale of this year and the treasures I found there. I have had these photos waiting to be shared since weeks now and I am glad I remembered. I had such a good time and also was so very lucky to find quite a few nice pieces. This particular church sale only comes twice a year and I make sure that I am there bright and early.

And these are my last church sale findings ...

 

An old picture frame ...

 

... with so much detail!

 

 

Lots of vintage linen bits and pieces ...

 

... all embroidered so neatly.

 

I love vintage linen so much ~ I can't stop buying it!

 

A delicate vintage silk hankie hand embroidered so beautify.

 

Little white baby dresses ~ you can never have too many of these.

 

 

A vintage cutlery box from England ...

 

... with the fine gold detail.

 

And last but not least ...

 

... lots and lots of sparkles!

 

And this one is my favourite piece of the day ...

 

 

... I think it looks like a snowflake from Heaven!

 

I am glad that it was the last church sale for this year that I am going to visit. Looking at my studio I really need to slow down a little for sure in the future but I am very happy that I have some lovely treasures to work with in the cold winter months that will be here soon.

 

And finally ...

 

... I would just like to tell all of you lovely bloggers out there that might become affected by the hurricane that is heading for the east coast of the US that I hope it won't be too bad. We here in south-western Ontario have been warned that we could possibly also be hit by the effects too with very high winds and heavy rain. I just hope it won't be too intense. I always worry about my big tree when the winds are bad ~ I would hate for it to be lost or to damage a neighbours home.

I just wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

I would love for you to stop by some time again here at Todolwen.

 

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

 

Have a peaceful and creative day,

 

 

Karen B.

 

Adding The Last Touches ..

Hello my dear friends,

boy ... can raking leaves be a chore! My arms and hands are aching since I spent most of the last two days trying to pick as many up as I can because it would be too much all at once and with my luck it would have started to snow by the time all my leaves were on the ground.

Even though I knitted my scarves quite fast it has taken me a bit to get back to them to give them the final touches and get them ready for mailing but I am slowly getting there. Since the two first scarves are so light in color I decided to give a very delicate last touch in the shape of my little crochet flowers to which I added little pearls. I am so happy with the way it looks but take a look for yourselves ...

 

I used double thread to makes these little flowers and a different shade of pink for the pearls but am not quite finished just yet ... 

 

  

... I am making a tag for each scarf with a few words for each recipient. I just want each lady to know that the scarf was made especially for her, even though I don't know who she is and that she was thought of with healing wishes, loving care and in my thoughts and prayers. I would be so happy knowing I made her smile a little.

 

At last ... the first scarf is ready for mailing.

 

Last but not least ...

 

... amongst all the other bits and pieces that need to be done by me right now and things I would like to do, I am trying to work on a new tutorial for my etsy shop. Right now I need to get things scanned into my desk top computer before I have to take it apart for the basement renovations. My list of things to~do is getting longer and longer and I am excited to get everything sorted, finished and try new things out!

 

So ... stop by some time again and visit me because I might just have something new to share with you!

 

 

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

 

Have a peaceful weekend,

 

 

Karen B. 

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.