Counted Cross Stitch: Millennium Wheel (original M. Kloeppel design)

 

The Bat has been designing and working cross stitch patterns of her own, now, for several decades. She finally decided it's time to share her work, for anybody who wants a satisfying, challenging project. The first pattern she's releasing – all of them will be free of charge – is up now, and all you need to do is just download the 15-page pdf.  Be forewarned, it's a seriously big project, and took her about a thousand hours to work, at roughly 1000 stitches per square inch. Unless you want a full-sized wall tapestry, I recommend following her suggestion and using the 30 count aida fabric, as stated at the top of the pattern… and, maybe, pick up a pair of good magnifying glasses while you're at it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V0KIX3c2CGdwQPLYCstmXjmSxcbhgLAy/view?usp=drive_link


It's from a visit she and my seester made to the UK (the original piece, pictured above, is in the private collection of a dear friend).

Causing a Stir in the Garden: Plant Markers on a Budget

 

Stick with me, kid.

A week or so ago, my cousin posted a set of photos on her social media page, showing off her brilliant work on a packet of plant markers for a friend. She took paint stirring sticks, wrote on them with a wood burner, and then trimmed them with some nice beads and twine:

My cousin is a LOT more artistically
detail-oriented than I am. And her hand
is steadier.

Naturally, I felt the need to steal her idea (albeit with my own variations, to meet my peculiar preferences). It took me a few tries before I settled on the format I liked, and now I'm better than halfway through the list of the perennial plants requiring identification.

Ours is a big garden.

At any rate, some paint stores will give away a stirring stick or two, so if you shop around, you can do this on the SUPER cheap, but I ordered a packet of 100 from one of those giant online retailers who shall remain nameless, and the sticks cost an average of 25¢.

It also helps to already have a wood-burning tool on hand, but if you don't have one, and you think you might take the craft up as a hobby, these are not particularly expensive gadgets, and you don't need a lot of added doodads to make it a costly addiction... unless you decide you need to start working on specialty wood, or suddenly "need" a laser cutter/burner.

A pencil and eraser, also, are useful for marking guide lines and text. Don't bankrupt yourself on high-end toys. Just grab what you have on hand and have some fun.

Color enhanced for clarity.
Really. It's just pencil markings.

I admit it. I'm a nerd. I need to include basic Linnaean taxonomy.
And I did this on both sides of each stick.
Because.

For the record, my wood burning tool is a multi-tool, for soldering, stencil-cutting, and wood-burning. I bought it several years ago at my all-time favorite place to shop, and this is the first time I've applied it to wood. It's a learning process for me, too.

And I may also dig out an old can of spar varnish from the basement & give these puppies a coat of it, for durability out there in the elements. We'll see.

Classic Slippers! "Foot Comfort To Match Your Fancy" (a crochet pattern leaflet)

I have no clue how to crochet. I've seen people do it, but my fingers are pretty much idiots when it comes to fiber arts. Oh, sure, I can operate a sewing machine with the best home economics class alumnae, and can wield a mean needle and thread if a button falls off my shirt, but this thing where one takes a stick with a bend at the end and uses it to knot thread or yarn to make something utile? Not. A. Chance.  

Still, as with the sheet music, I'm not averse to collecting paper artifacts and sharing them with the people who actually know what these mysterious numbers and letters mean.


 

And, I wear a size 10 "majorette" bootie, in case any of my friends are looking for ideas…

Folk Songs Folks Sing, a 1920s song book with diagrams for Ukulele (part 1 of 3, pp 1-32)

 Because – even though I'm largely musically illiterate – I still can't resist a nice songbook when it falls in my lap, I ended up taking this one home from auction a few years back. It has quite a few familiar pieces, and a handful of useful gems, especially if you play the ukulele. 

Which I don't. But I know someone who does. So, this is for you.

You can find the second part of the song book here, and the concluding portion at this post.

click any image to embiggen. if you like what you see, please feel free to copy/share

front cover

for the record: Purchased Dec 21, 1925 by Allen R. Kemp  S.S. Kresge Co

intro

Table of Contents

I Cannot Sing the Old Songs

Sailing (part 1)

Sailing (part 2)

Nelly Was a Lady

How Can I Leave Thee!

Uncle Ned (part 1)

Uncle Ned (part 2)

Juanita

Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes

ah! 'Tis a Dream;
Funiculi, Funicula (part 1)

Funiculi, Funicula (part 2)

Funiculi, Funicula (part 3);
The Last Rose of Summer (part 1)

The Last Rose of Summer (part 2);
Rock'd in the Cradle of the Deep (part 1)

Rock'd in the Cradle of the Deep (part 2)

Old Black Joe

Old Folks at Home (part 1)

Old Folks at Home (part 2);

Go to Sleep, Lena Darling (part 1)

Go to Sleep, Lena Darling (part 2)

Do They Think of Me at Home?

Christmas Chimes (part 1)

Christmas Chimes (part 2)

Jingle Bells

Ave Maria (part 1)

Ave Maria (part 2)

Kathleen Mavourneen (part 1)

Kathleen Mavourneen (part 2);
Do They Miss Me at Home? (part 1)

Do They Miss Me at Home? (part 2);
Dutch Warbler (part 1)

Dutch Warbler (part 2)

Folk Songs Folks Sing, a 1920s songbook (part 2 of 3, pp 33- 68)

 Part 2 of 3, the first part having been posted here, and the conclusion, to follow

click any image to embiggen. if you like what you see, please feel free to copy/share

Oh, My Darling Clementine

Am I Not Fondly Thine Own?;
Home Sweet Home (part 1)

Home Sweet Home (part 2)

The Old Oaken Bucket (part 1)

The Old Oaken Bucket (part 1);
Home, Home, Can I Forget Thee?

Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (part 1)

Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (part 2);
My Old Kentucky Home

Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (part 2)

Then You'll Remember Me

Aloha Oe (part 1)

Aloha Oe (part 2);
Vilia Song (part 1)

Vilia Song (part 2)

Oh! Dem Golden Slippers (part 1)

Oh! Dem Golden Slippers (part 2);
Grandfather's Clock (part 1)

Grandfather's Clock (part 2)

Listen To the Mocking Bird (part 1)

Listen To the Mocking Bird (part 2);
The Old Arm Chair (part 1)

The Old Arm Chair (part 2);
Darling Nelly Gray (part 1)

Darling Nelly Gray (part 2);
Ben Bolt (part 1)

Ben Bolt (part 2)

Massa's In De Cold, Cold Ground (part 1)

Massa's In De Cold, Cold Ground (part 2);
Alice, Where Art Thou? (part 1)

Alice, Where Art Thou? (part 2)

Meerschaum Pipe; 
Peanut Song (part 1)

Peanut Song (part 2);
Forty-Nine Bottles

Rock-a-bye Baby;
The Girl I Left Behind Me (part 1)

The Girl I Left Behind Me (part 2);
Fair Harvard (part 1)

Fair Harvard (part 2);
Good-Bye, My Lover, Good-Bye (part 1)

Good-Bye, My Lover, Good-Bye (part 2)

Upidee

Polly Wolly Doodle

The Quilting Party

Good Night Ladies;
My Bonnie (part 1)

My Bonnie (part 2);
America (part 1)

America (part 2);
Killarney (part 1)

Killarney (part 2)