Old School Acres

Deck the halls with pigs of wool

Jessica suggested over at Flickr that I should make pig ornaments and I did just that.  I cheated a bit though and didn't make a "real" pig (meaning 3D).  I have 20 pig ornaments available to the first 20 people that respond to this post (if I don't get 20 responses I will send to however many I do get).  The pigs vary in color, though all are wool-blend felt with a cotton print stripe.  If you prefer acrylic felt (maybe you are allergic to wool?) let me know and I will make a special one for you.

Woo-eee!  Wow.  All the piggies have new homes!!  Don't despair if you didn't get her in time, as I may have more piggies soon.

Pig pile!

Did you play Pig Pile when you were a kid?  I guess you didn't so much play it as just do it:  Sneak up on an unsuspecting person on the floor and pile on yelling Pig Pile!  Dads and grandpas make good Pig Pile players. 

The pig paid the price

So, Brett fixed the sewing machine cord.  This time, Lucy has clearly crossed the line. 

Dressed for the holidays

My entry for the 2007 Holiday Softie Awards in the Animals Dressed for the Holidays category. 

Bow tie for New Year's or any party.
Big smoochie kiss for Valentine's day.
Pig nose for a sneaky Halloween costume.
Santa hat.

More pictures on Flickr.

Not quite truffles

This new little pig and I took a walk yesterday.  She was looking for treasure.  I was just looking after her.  She'd heard about those truffle-finding pigs and thought she could do better.  She didn't find any truffles, but these little toadstools are much cuter than any stinky ol' truffle.

Here she is telling the cats about The Great Truffle/Toadstool Hunt.

Sweater pig, sweater pig

Does whatever a sweater pig does! 

Stuff it

A few days ago Maritza wrote about types of stuffing for softies, as well as tools she uses to stuff them.  I was glad to see her unconventional tools.  These are my stuffing tools.  Can you guess which 2 are my favorite?

If you guessed the 2 on the right, you're correct.  The 2 on the left are "official" stuffing tools, but I don't care for them.  I guess I do use the one on the far left for tiny things, but not very often.  The 2 I prefer aren't intended for stuffing, but their designs are perfect for it.  The tool with the dark brown handle is a Dritz joint tool used for rolling down cotter pins.  It fits perfectly in my palm.  The little one the far left is a wire-coiling tool.  The wooden handle broke off long ago, but I prefer it without the handle.  The key to both tools is the notch:

The notch grabs the stuffing (I use PolyFil) and holds onto it.  This makes it easier to get the stuffing right where you want it.  The notch is also handy for wrapping stuffing so that it fits into arms and legs.

The other key to these tools is that they have a blunt end.  Sharp tools are not good for stuffing.  Don't use them.  Trust me.

What are your favorite stuffing tools?

Sweet.

My best guy friend from high school says "Sweet" when things are good and this morning I've said it twice!! 

Pink Posie Designs selected my acorn pincushion for her Brown is the New Black Treasury at Etsy.  Sweet!!

Have you seen the Flickr Embroidery Group blog?  Well, I'm the newest contributor to the blog!  I will focus on children's embroidery and informative how-to's and tutorials.  I will post on Saturdays.  Sweet!!

This is sweet, too.

Here she is asking the Easter bunny for directions to Michelle's house. 

Pattern and instructions for lamb here.

It's the "S" post

First up, it's Sizzix.  The PaddlePunches have been on my want list for quite a while, but I wasn't sure they were worth the $.  I noticed last week that they were on clearance and I went a little crazy and ordered 12  PaddlePunches for cutting felt.  No more funky-shaped circles for me!!  The 12 punches and hammer were $34 and definitely worth it!

Here's the finished snake.  Ssssssssssssssssssssss.

Piggy love

Cute green fabric from the load Pam sent a few weeks ago.  I was messing with my pig pattern.  Not so sure I like this one.

Aw, crap.  I just noticed that I cut out the stripe wrong and now the hearts are upside down.  Argh.

I'll share some mail love tomorrow!