Handmade Monday: Cross-Stitched Rose

Today I want to show another little cross-stitched project that I have done lately. I cross-stitched this red rose to make a thank-you note card.

The pattern is quite simple. It only requires three shades of red (or it could be pink, yellow, or whatever color of roses you prefer) for the rose itself and three shades of green for the leaves.

The original pattern, which you can see here, is in pink, but I didn’t have any pink thread on hand, so I went with red. I think it turned out pretty good.

If you would like to share a post about a handmade item or DIY project, just link bellow.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

I am linking this post to

Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter,
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle,
It’s Sew Fun Tuesday @ It’s Sew for You,
Talent Tuesday @ Vintage Wanna Bee.

Handmade Monday: Pink and Lilac Doilies

It’s time for Handmade Monday again! I’ve been looking forward to it all month long. Welcome everyone!

I know there are only a few people that join me for my link party as it only takes place once a month, but I really like hosting it and don’t want to let it go ;-) Thank you for joining or just visiting me for my crafts link party.



And now to my latest handmade project. I had some leftover crochet thread in pink and lilac, not enough for anything really, but I though it will do for two small lacy doilies. They are only about eleven inches in diameter. One of these doilies is for me, and the other one is for you!



At the end of the link party (March 14), I will randomly pick the winner of the doily (pink or lilac, whichever you prefer) from the Handmade Monday participants for this month. Every participant will have one chance to win regardless of how many posts you link up. Please, see the Handmade Monday guidelines here.

The winner will be announced on March 15.



Thank you again for joining me and have a great week!

I am also linking this post to Made by You Monday link party.



as well as

Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter,
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle.

Handmade Monday: Valentine’s Day Trinkets

Tomorrow is the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for Handmade Monday.

Valentine’s Day is only a week away! How wonderful!

The handmade project that I am sharing today is a little Valentine’s present for a friend of mine. It’s nothing grand or special, but I think it will make her smile. And won’t you agree that it’s a great feeling when you make someone smile and feel delighted?

The idea of a cross-stitched pincushion and a matching card wasn’t mine. I found it on this beautiful blog about needlework. These two items looked simple to make yet so charming and pretty. I looked through my craft supplies for aida fabric and red thread. I was thrilled to see that I have aida fabric in light pink color and count 14. Perfect for Valentine’s Day! I also found lots of leftover red thread from my previous cross-stitching project (Christmas stocking for my son). I eagerly started my new project and in a few evenings both the pincushion and the card were ready!



If you would like to share a handmade item (either made by you or someone else) or DIY project, please link below. See the guidelines here. Next Handmade Monday will take place on March 7.

I am also linking this post to Made by You Monday link party.

Handmade Monday: Crocheted Shawl

I hope everyone had a wonderful beginning of the New Year.

The weather outside here is quite cold and gloomy. On the rainy evenings like tonight, my snuggle shawl is so handy. My mom crocheted it for me a few years ago. It’s very comfy and warm. And I think it’s very pretty too.






If you would like to share your handmade items or DIY projects, please link below.

Have a splendid year 2011!

Handmade Monday: Poinsettia and Berries

Handmade Monday is back! However, there are some changes. From now on, Handmade Monday will take place once a month – on the first Monday of the month. Otherwise, all the guidelines are the same.
Today, I want to show the craft project I’m working on this holiday season. I am cross-stitching a “Poinsettia and Berries” stocking cuff. I want to make a beautiful and special stocking for my son.



Working on this project is very relaxing and is a great way to get into the holiday spirit.
Please, share you projects or handmade items with us. Next Handmade Monday will take place on January 3.

Enjoy your holiday season!

Handmade Monday: Another Tablecloth Update

This Labor Day weekend has been so relaxed that I almost forgot about Handmade Monday! I don’t have anything handmade to show this week, so I thought I’d make another update on my crocheted tablecloth.

The work is slowing down now as every row gets bigger and bigger. It also gets somewhat tedious and boring. I feel like I’m ready to finish this project, but I am only halfway through. Hopefully, I won’t give it up entirely (something that has happened before with other projects).

If you have something handmade to show this relaxed Labor Day weekend, please link below. If you are joining for the first time, the guidelines are here.

Happy Labor Day!

Handmade Monday: Violet Doily

This doily is my favorite. My mom made it for me several years ago. Actually, I wanted to crochet it myself. I remember I bought the crocheting booklet with the pattern and all the needed threads. Then I discovered that I couldn’t understand anything in the instructions whatsoever. An English-Russian dictionary didn’t help either.

Then my mom said she will give it a try. Of course, she didn’t understand anything in the instructions either, but she crocheted the doily just by looking at the photograph. I thought that was pretty impressive. My violet doily is not exactly the same as the one in the booklet, but it’s very close. And I like it very much.



If you would like to share your handmade items, just link below. If you are joining for the first time, please see the guidelines here.

Thank you for stopping by and have a nice week!

Handmade Monday: Ukrainian Rushnyks

It’s time for Handmade Monday again. Welcome!

In order to honor my Ukrainian heritage, I want to show Ukrainian embroidered hand towels called rushnyks, which traditionally were used for religious and ceremonial events or hung on the walls as decorations.



I received the two rushnyks below from my aunt as keepsakes when I was leaving Ukraine for America. She cross-stitched them herself when she was young. In the past, many village girls would make rushnyks for their dowry, but this tradition is long gone. Nowadays, rushnyks are occasionally used in ceremonial events (for example, weddings), but very few people would actually hand make them.





This third rushnyk has flat embroidery (I don’t know the proper name of this stitch in English). I received it from my grandparents’ neighbor. A very sweet old lady gave it to me as a present.




Now it is your turn. You can link your posts about handmade items below. If you are joining for the first time, please see the guidelines here.

I am away on vacation, so I have lots of sightseeing to do. But I will check all the entries when I come back on Wednesday. Until then!

Handmade Monday: A Tablecloth in Progress

Welcome to Handmade Monday!

The only handmade project that I am working on at the present is crocheting a round tablecloth. It has been a while since I got the idea of a lacy tablecloth to use for garden tea settings. After I finally found appropriate crocheting threads and a pattern, I set to work.

So far, I am about one fourth through with my project. I really like the way it is coming out. I hope to finish it before the rain season arrives, so I can have at least one afternoon tea in the garden, set on my handmade tablecloth.

If you would like to share your handmade items, link below. If you are joining for the first time, please see the guidelines here.



Have a great Monday!

Handmade Monday: Decorative Birdhouses

It’s time for Handmade Monday again!

All my previous HM posts were either about crocheted or knitted articles. Today, I am in the mood for something else. How about decorative birdhouses?



I inherited these birdhouses from the previous homeowners. For almost two years, they were just sitting in a corner of my garden. At some point I even wanted to throw them away as their shabby appearance wasn’t very attractive. But then I decided to give them another chance to life by repainting them.



I went to my brother’s place, who recently bought a house and now is remodeling it. He kindly let me use any of the paint from his garage. I felt the excitement of a little kid who was given her first paints. Even though I didn’t do a very good job, I enjoyed the experience a lot.

Now the birdhouses are back in my garden. They will be a part of a bigger project that I’m working on (I hope to blog about it in the future).

Moreover, I decided to use these birdhouses for Handmade Monday sign.



Thank you for participating in Handmade Monday or just stopping by. If you are linking for the first time, the guidelines are here. Have a great week!

Handmade Monday: Just a Doily

It is the beginning of the new week, so it’s time for Handmade Monday! Let’s share our handmade items and DIY projects.

For my part, I want to show a crocheting project that I recently finished. Adoring lavender/lilac color this summer, I made a lavender doily. As it is not very big and of the easy “pineapple” pattern it only took me a few days to crochet it.

This is the second doily that I crocheted this summer. My next crocheting project will be a tablecloth.

Thank you for stopping by and, perhaps, adding your link. The guidelines for Handmade Monday post submission are here. I’m looking forward to checking out all your handmade projects.

Handmade Monday: A Little Dress for a Sweet Little Girl

A friend of mine recently had a newborn. Her little girl is so sweet and precious. I wanted to make something just as sweet for her. I searched the Internet and found lots of knitting and crocheting patterns of baby girl clothes.

After some deliberation, I decided to try crocheting a dress. I chose a somewhat easy pattern and got to work. However, it didn’t go smoothly. Somehow the dress came out much smaller. After completing half of it, I had to tear it apart and start all over. The second attempt wasn’t successful either. And only the third attempt brought the desired results.

The tiny buttons that I used for the dress I bought a few months ago at Joann’s Fabrics. The store was moving to a new bigger location and they had a good sale there. I bought several sets of five buttons for only twenty-five cents each. At that moment I had no idea what I would use the buttons for, but I knew that some day they would be useful.



Now it is your turn. Do you have anything handmade to tell us about? Please link below. If you are joining Handmade Monday for the first time, the guidelines are here.

Handmade Monday: Baby Bits

This week for Handmade Monday I want to show two baby articles that I made about a year and a half ago when I was expecting my son.



This cross-stitch needle work hangs on the wall in his room. It was one of those kits that come with cross-stitch fabric, threads, and pattern. The cute little boy with the lamb caught my attention right away. I thought that picture was perfect for a little boy’s room.



The other article is a knitted blanket. It was the first (and the only one so far) blanket that I made. Basically, I just knitted a big rectangle. Little did I know about making baby blankets! Now, after being in use for more than a year, the blanket has completely lost its rectangular shape and turned into some imperfect polygon. But it is still soft and cuddly, and those are the characteristics my son cares about.
Below is a picture of my cutie-pie (when he was about three months old) all snuggled up in his blanket.



The guidelines for Handmade Monday are here. You are very welcome to link your handmade items or DIY projects bellow. I cannot wait to see them.

Have a great week!

Handmade Monday: The First One Ever

I cordially welcome you to the first ever Handmade Monday.

For the past few months, I’ve posted about handmade items my mom made. Among them were two summer tops. Today, I am very excited to show a summer top that I made myself.



Let me tell you the story of this lilac top. The upper part of it is knitted, and the bottom lacy part is crocheted. It took me about eight months of work just to find out that I didn’t have enough yarn. Bellow is the picture of the pattern (from a Russian magazine), which I used.



It’s more of a beach robe to wear on top of a swimming suit. But I thought that it would look well on top of a tank top and a skirt too, so I intended my top to be much longer. But not having enough yarn (my mom brought me that yarn from a trip to Ukraine) and not being able to find anything even close, I had to make my top much shorter. It’s a pity; I’m sure it would’ve looked much better if was longer. I didn’t follow the pattern precisely for two reasons. First, I didn’t have the exact kind of yarn as in the pattern. Second, I have a bigger size than the one in the pattern. As a result, my top looks significantly different. I also decided not to add the fluffy balls on the upper part.

I enjoyed working on this top very much even though I had to tear it twice and begin again. It was a long but pleasant process.

Bellow is the pictures of what it looks like on me. With a new lilac top, even my decade old shoes got a second chance to life (so what if they are out of style! I don’t really follow the fashion).



If you would like to join me for the Handmade Monday, the guidelines are here. I’m linking my own post just to see if the inlink is working.

I wish everyone a wonderful beginning of the week.

Announcement!

I’ve been gone from the blogosphere for three days (I went to visit my mom), and I’ve missed it so much. It was so nice to read all the kind comments about my crocheted doily today. They truly made my day. Thank you!

Now I am back and I have an announcement to make.

As you probably noticed, I’ve really got into crafting and handmade stuff lately. This brought me the idea of starting a weekly meme of handmade items. The name will be Handmade Monday.

Here are the guidelines:

Make a post about any handmade item(s). It could be made by you or someone else. It could be a project you are currently working on or something you made years ago. It could be a tutorial or simply a show off kind of post. The possibilities for Handmade Monday are endless – clothes, home décor (doilies, tablecloths, valances, quilts, etc.), toys, jewelry, souvenirs, cards, you name it. The idea of Handmade Monday is to share ideas and inspire each other.

If you have a wonderful handmade item in your Etsy shop, come and tell us all about it and perhaps your item will find a lucky buyer.

Joining Handmade Monday is easy. Use the permalink of your post (not the link of your blog) to link to Handmade Monday. Please, link back to my blog, so other crafters can join us for the fun.

The first Handmade Monday will take place on July 12, 2010. I am very excited and nervous about it. I do hope you ladies will come join me.

UPDATE: NOW HANDMADE MONDAY TAKES PLACE ONCE A MONTH - ON THE FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH.