WELCOME TO MAGPIE'S COLLECTABLES

My ORTS JAR

2012-02-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

Here is my "Orts" Jar.

I joined in with hundreds of other bloggers at "Daffy Cat's blog" for this Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long.

Check it out.

You post a picture of your Orts Jar every new moon.

There are 12 2012 New Moon Dates:

January 23

February 21

March 22

April 21

May 20

June 19

July 19

August 17

September 16

October 15

November 13

December 13

Let me know what you think ;-)

Catching Up

2012-01-28T10:20:00.001-05:00

Once a year in January the Thursday Evening Quilters get to-gether for a Hen Party.

We bring something to work on....

We just relax....

We show and share...

We discuss the project...

AND of course we enjoy a fabulous pot luck luncheon.

This lemon cheesecake was to die for....

the pickled asparagus took my fancy...

busy busy....and

Smile you're on Candid Camera..

Thanks Ann for a warm and fuzzy day to-gether

MRI Results

2012-01-25T10:29:00.000-05:00

Hello dear friends.
I thought I would let you know what is happening around me just now.
I thought I had sciatica which was the source of my horrible pain BUT ....not so!
Turns out the MRI revealed I had inflamation of the spinal column. The doctor wanted to clear it up ASAP so he prescribed the drug I hate most....PREDNISONE!
It was what I had to endure for 2 years when I had polymyalgia rheumatica. I blew up like a balloon..
He assured me I would not be on it long term and it would not affect me that way...whew!, just a week or 2 of a high dose should do the trick.
All well and good but Prednisone and diabetes is not compatible and my blood sugar shot up from 5 to 29. I nearly fainted when I saw the numbers. When this happened before I had to go on insulin as my regular metformin does not work to control the blood sugar.
Well after a couple of days on the insulin my reading this am was 4.2...YEAH!
Looks like things are returning to normal(whatever that is!)
So that is the story to date..I am feeling so much better and no back pain thank goodness.
I am back working in my studio, finishing up some hand applique on a quilt, and then getting ready for a retreat next week... I am so looking forward to that.
I have some other things to tell you but for now I will call it a day.
Thank you to everyone that takes the time to stop by for a visit and leave a helllo.It makes me feel soooooo good..
Toodlesfor now

Getting an Early Start

2012-01-06T14:17:00.000-05:00

Isn't this a beautiful early morning sky......
Well as some of you know I am NOT a morning person... I like to move from chair to chair with my coffee when I get up and contemplate the day.. I usually come alive and get going by 10 am.
Well since the new year I have tried to get up early and make my mornings longer and more productive....
It really pays off when you get to see a beautiful sunrise!.. Now I am not promising and it is not a new year's resolution, but I hope to see many more early morning sunrises....
Have a great day everyone.

Meet Isabella

2012-01-02T21:32:00.001-05:00

Here she is at last..."Isabella"

The gold crispinettes hold her braids in place and the fillet lies across her forehead.
A veil is attatched at the back of the fillet.
At her neck is a wimple made of fine silk.

Her waistcoat is a soft purple made of silk duppione trimmed in white mink.

          The front has a row of crystal buttons for an accent
           She carries a gold lame bag encrusted in beads and sequins
           I used a special hand made bead on the bottom of the bag.

Around her waist is a jewelled belt made up of crystals and beads...

Last year I had the pleasure of taking a doll class from Colleen Babcock, a very well known international doll maker living in England.This was the doll Colleen taught, which she calls "A Stitch In Time"It is a history lesson in disguise, as I learned all the names of her garments, which I had not heard of before, it was such fun.
If ever you get a chance to take a class from Colleen you will not be disappointed.Colleen's Blog is here....check it out
Thanks so much Colleen for this opportunity, I loved every moment. It took me awhile to finish her , but I feel it was worth the wait. She should have a piece of cross stitch of a dragon that she is holding but since I am not fond of cross stitch, I decided to give her a very elegant bag to carry. I hope you like her..

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

2011-12-31T21:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks you so very much for taking the time to visit my blog.
I love hearing from each of you with all your kind comments. it really means a lot to me.
Lets hope 2012 is full of love and wonderment for all..
HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL
xoxo
Maggie

Tutorial for Paper Christmas Tree

2011-12-19T08:01:00.001-05:00

This is the cutest Christmas TreeTutorial (here) made from a paperback book. I am sure we all have a few of those laying around that we have read.
My library offers a grocery bag full of books from their discarded book table for $1.00
I get the hardcovers and use them for my altered journals.I only use the covers so now I have a reason to use the pages.I think you could really glam them up and paint them as well as adding some other bits.
I got the idea from Freda's Blog (here)
Thanks Freda.

Merry Christmas Card from the Robinsons

2011-12-14T20:34:00.003-05:00

Hello Dear Friends,

Things are pretty good around here and I am feeling much better.

Thanks to everyone for your care and kind thoughts and prayers.

I imagine everyone is hurrying around in the Christmas rush....so...

I thought it was time you took a break and enjoyed the Christmas card my hubby made up.

It is so cute and a great way to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.

All you have to do is click on the link .
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/5z4MFEHxegJ3Uhue

All Is Well and I Feel Lucky

2011-12-05T12:22:00.001-05:00

Hello dear Friends.

It has been so long since I was here.

I want to thank everyone that sent good thoughts and prayers when I was down and out!

I am still waiting for an MRI, but as near as I can figure out from my diagnosis it was sciatica!!!

I never knew such pain in my life.

I am nearly off the oxycotin and am being very careful with my movements. I hope I never have to go through that again..

So.... as I continue to improve I do feel "Lucky" to have this over with.

I did manage to get through the artist's sales I was committed to with the help of drugs and my walking stick!

They were very long days, but it was a successful occasion.

I see my Etsy Shop is nearly empty...... oh dear... .

I will have to work on that in the new year....I promise

I have had time to sit around and do a lot of thinking and I am planning some kind of a draw for you faithful "followers" in the near future....
I hope you will stay tuned...
Meanwhile, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope you have a wonderful time with those close to you.
xoxo
Maggie

Ambulance Needed

2011-11-07T07:54:00.000-05:00

If only I had wings I could fly because right now I can't walk without a cane.

I awoke at 3:30 am Saturday and needed a bathroom break. My feet barely hit the floor and I was immediately crippled with the worst pain I have ever had.

I suffered with this until I could not stand it any longer and tyenol was not helping at all so DH called 911.When I got to the hospital the doctor took all the info, and sent me to Xray. The pictures showed a bone that should be straight was tipped. The doctor thought it could be causing a pinched nerve?? They gave me a shot of something to take the edge off the pain which did help. Other than that I was given a prescription for Tyenol 3 and released.

Fortunately I was booked for an appointment with my doctor on Tuesday(to-morrow) to have him look at my toe where I had the nail removed! Guess he will be doing more than looking at my toe.

I don't know what the solution will be but I hope something can help me.

This week is soo busy getting ready for the Artist's Sale on the week-end..Yikes! Not sure how I can pull this off but I am going to give it a good try...Any good thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated.....

My Blogoversary

2011-11-01T22:43:00.000-04:00

Hello Dear Friends...
I can't beleive I forgot it is my Blogoversary! I have been so busy preparing for a Studio sale I guess I just forgot!
I have been blogging since 2006. It has been a great experience for me, meeting so many wonderful talented people from all over the world.
It has been a learning experience for someone like me who said a few years ago, I have no interest in computers, it is a waste of time............now I know how wrong I was..
I must admit I spend a little too much time here, but it is so nice to surf around and visit your blogs.. Always something exciting to see and do..
Thank you to all my followers, you are all an inspiration to me.
Stay tuned as I plan to have a draw for something nice in the near future..
Thanks again,.,., I love you all
Big Hugs
Maggie

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2011-10-30T23:45:00.000-04:00

More Handbags..New Design

2011-10-30T04:05:00.000-04:00

I guess you could call me the "Bag Lady"

Here I go again!

I decided to use some faux leather and see how it went.

The red bag is faux leather with an alligator imprint . The fabric is a heavy duck with a giraffe design. I knew when I saw it I had to have it and I thought the red really complimented it..

The interior of the bag is a red silk with white polkadots which I thought was perfect.The bag has two large zippered pockets inside.

Very roomy and comfy to wear.

The black bag is the same design.

It is black faux leather on the sides,flap closure and handles,

The rest of the bag is faux mink very luxurious looking

I used magnetic closures in both bags, they are so easy and look very nice,

The lining in this one is a brushed cotton flannel with the leopard print, same two zipper pockets..
I may do some for my Etsy shop later but for now these will be for a Christmas sale next month.
I really enjoyed using the faux leather. Not too difficult to sew. It just took a bit of time.Hope you enjoyed seeing them.
Let me know what you think. That is always important for me.
Thanks for stopping by.

Birthday Here AGAIN!

2011-10-18T22:58:00.000-04:00

Hello Dear Friends...

Thought I would share my Special Day with you..

Since it was my birthday DH and my daughter Lynne took me out for dinner at one of my favourite places for chinese buffet the Mandarin.

Had a yummy dinner and my favourite wine topped of with

birthday cake and ice cream(of course!) The waiter was so much fun with his comments and to my surprise snapped a picture.LOL

This is the guy "my Robbie" that has put up with me for 57 years.VBG

Our daughter Lynne is the only one of our children that lives nearby and happily she shared the evening.

Gee being 76 isn't so bad after all!!!!

AND,,,,,More Bags

2011-10-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

I think I could be called a "Bag Lady" as making bags is one of my favorite things to do. The pictures above are of my latest ventures..
Details are on my Etsy shop if interested.

More Bags

2011-10-10T10:48:00.000-04:00

This oriental flavoured bag has a pocket in the front. The pocket is cut to match the background ladies... Neat eh?

This is the messenger bag I was working on earlier, All finished now.It is a red wool and wool applique.

This is done with wool applique. I just cut out shapes and used my embellisher to attatch them. I love this color combo. The main part of the bag is a heavy fabric which I did a lot of machine stitching on.
This messenger bag has so many possibilities, hard to stop making them.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADA

2011-10-06T16:50:00.000-04:00

Messenger Bag How To

2011-09-24T13:31:00.000-04:00

first of all I can't seem to flip the picture! This new camera is a pill sometimes VBG
Anyway.... This is all you need to make a Messenger Bag... No pattern required...
This happens to be my choice of size but you can make any size you want.I put the measurements I use on the little notes.
This is a lovely red wool and I thought I would do some applique on the flap. I will embellish it a bit more when I get it to-gether.
The lining is cut out the same way and I use a lightweight Pelletex that I get from Joggles to give it a nice sturdy quality.
The Messenger Bag has so many possibilities. With the flap you can do so many things. Crazy pieceing would be nice too... Maybe I will try that.
next.
Tell me what you think

DO YOU LIKE THIS...Tell Me

2011-09-24T10:01:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,
I had the BEST day yesterday..... Here's the story...
Last year I attended a Traditiional Rug Hooking Retreat. They offered 2 classes and I chose to do a mermaid. Took me awhile to finish it but I was excited to try some different fibres rather than the usual wool. The hair is strips of sari silk and the fish part of the body is done with metallics some with little sequins embedded in the weave... You know what I mean I'm sure... These are regular fabrics one would use for sewing projects with. I cut the fabric into 3/4 Inch strips for hooking this piece. Anyway I thought it was absolutely perfect as it looked like fish scales. Not so much though in the picture, but trust me,,, it does.
When I got the piece done and it took quite awhile I thought hmmmmm...... this would make a great bag flap, so .... since the studio tour is coming up I thought this would be a great piece to display.... so I got busy...
I just made a simple messenger bag design , found some fabric that worked and away I went.. Funny thing is the fabric I chose was one that I had purchased to use in my doll bags for their hair! It is a cinnamon color and it looks like wool stippled all over on a black background. PERFECT....The inside has 3 pockets including one for a cell phone and I always sew in one of my labels.... So there you have it....
I would love to hear what you think of it..
Thanks for stopping by

Great Giveaway

2011-09-19T18:25:00.000-04:00

Look at this giveaway..... FABULOUS... Be sure and pop over to pinkleart,blogspot.com
and enter

Progress To Date

2011-09-16T13:57:00.001-04:00

Hello Dear friends.

So happy you stopped by. It always means a lot to know you are there.

I finally finished the jackets...One favours pink and the other purple. I know the twins will have fun wearing them. Under the little backpacks is more applique and a "Gone Fishing" sign.. LOL

THEN....... last Tuesday my friend Heather and I took a beading class at our favorite spot in Paris((Ontario, Canada that is!))

It is going to be a necklace,,,,or I thought it would make a fabulous purse handle on a special little opera bag.... we'll see when I feel it is long enough for one or the other...

Now I have to get busy and work on some things for the Studio Tour.....
Oh Yes.. I forgot to tell you the opening of the Art Gallery was a booming success. I will get pictures later as the place was packed with over 1000 in attendance.I was so excited to see my contribution in a glass case ...Was I excited or WHAT!.... Yes!
I guess you know I had a toenail removed on my big toe.... Unfortunately it developed an infection so I hobbled over to Emerge and waited 5 hours to be seen..... Doc gave me a prescription and off I went.. Next day after using the drug I developed a terrible itch all over my body.... so..... off to emerge this time it was 1:30 AM.. Not a car on the road and nobody in the emerge! YEAH.. I got in right away and the doc gave me an antihistomine for the itch and a new prescription!! I seem to be able to handle that one ok and as I bathed the foot this morning the toe looks a bit better.....What a worry especially since I am diabetic...Honestly.... as Maggie Muggins told Mr. McGregor in the Peter Rabbit Book..........I wonder what will happen to-morrow!!!! Guess we will just wait and see ;-)
so that's all for now...... Thanks again for stopping by...

One Finished..One To Go

2011-09-07T09:06:00.003-04:00

Goodmorning Dear Friends...
Well I am a bit groggy this AM as I was up quite late finishing this jacket. I was having a bit of trouble remembering how the backpack was constructed and after doing a few steps twice I got it done.... Worth every frustrating moment! The backpack is so sweet isn't it! It buttons on by the ears and the arms go through some of the rope fishing line. I forgot about that step (darn)and I had used all my rope... I need to get more so the arms will have somewhere to hold on to.The jackets are made out of Kunin shaggy felt. It is a wonderful fabric, totally washable and so warm and cuddly. It has a soft nap to it.... Very hard to find I might add. I did find some on Ebay.
The jacket did not call for any front closure but I have a jacket like that and it drives me nuts trying to keep it closed if it is windy, so..... I used some pink stretchy hair things for the loop and put buttons on. I think it looks cute and easy. I would have used a zipper but in my box of dozens I did not have the right length... Heard that one before?!?!?1
I took the first picture of the front and forgot to put the little fish pin on ... Woops I see I forgot to put it's bow tie on... Oh well.that is easily done...
Is this not the sweetest jacket ever!!!!! The twins will look so sweet in them.They are 6 yrs old and just starting school this year.
This one is lined in pink and the one I am still working on is lined in Purple... because Emma likes purple and Haley likes pink....Hope to have them done and delivered soon.I should have the final update soon and hopefully I will get a picture of the girls wearing their jackets.

A New Month Begins

2011-09-06T11:06:00.001-04:00

The leaves are changing their colors from green to beautiful shades of orange, red and gold...
Oh My!! where did the summer go?
The fall season is packed with obligations for me... All the guilds I belong to are starting up. It will be so nice to renew friendships.. Studio Tours, Gallery Openings .. sigh....I love every hectic moment.
Right now I am trying to finish a pair of whimsical jackets for a darling set of twin girls age 6. They are the grandaughters of one of my special clients and I just love making things for them...
I am almost finished with the jackets and will show you how cute they are ASAP.
Until then.... I hope your day is filled happiness and pleasure.
BTW I had the problem big toe nail removed last week. I was surprised how painless the procedure was even the needle used for freezing! However , I am still bathing and dressing it a few times a day and it is very sensitive.
I am stuck wearing the worst pair of sandals that allow my toe to be free!!!! Oh Dear!!! you know how it is with a girl and her shoes!!!! I hope I can wear something more fashionable this week but it doesn't look like it!Oh well....c'est la vie!!

Another UFO Completed

2011-08-30T14:40:00.000-04:00

Hello Dear Friends...

I do so many different things I find it hard to get everything done on time....If it isn't beading, it is doll making ... or making fabric postcards.... or... or... or.....

Here I am at last with the latest project completed....

I bought this quilt kit ages ago . I thought it would be perfect for the new baby boy on our street.Well the new baby boy"Austin" is now 6 months old!!! About time I got the top finished... Hopefully I will get it layered and machine quilted on Thursday night...

BTW... I am having a toenail removed to-morrow... .. Not looking forward to that!

Guess I will just have to put my big girl panties on and deal with it! VBG

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a note...

catching up

2011-08-23T22:34:00.000-04:00

I have wanted to try one of Terry Grants birds for ages and I finally got around to it.... It was a fun time.. I want to do more.

I had more pictures of my activities lately but cannot find them. I guess they will turn up eventually so stay tuned