Thyme 'n Tide

Snowy Saturday

2010-01-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

I think this is Saturday...it's hard to keep track with these Friday holidays. Hope everyone had happy ones. Here in the Northeast snow is falling, with at least a foot predicted in our area. Tom has already plowed the driveway once today, with his faithful and beloved "yard truck". I took this picture out the front window. I painted the blocks several years ago, but can't wait to put them away each year! It looks like I planned to put the flash on the treetop, but it was just a lucky accident. I'm anxious to get started on a new rug....a bird's nest chair mat. Stay tuned. Mary

Happy New Year, everyone!

2009-12-31T09:09:00.001-08:00

Beautiful day

2009-10-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....sunny skies and crisp temperatures. I'm in denial about turning the clocks back this weekend. The leaves are falling fast here in NH, but there are still some yellow and gold ones left on the oaks. It's such a surprise every year to see the array of colors. This picture was taken on my first geocaching adventure. Get more information at http://www.geocaching.com/ It was great fun and we are already planning our next trip.

I'm working today on a wall-hanging for a friend's grand-daughter who loves sheep. The embroidery was a free design from the internet that I tweaked a little. The border is fabric from a Thimbleberries jelly roll. Better get to it....

Until next time.....Mary

Pleasant Surprise

2009-07-27T09:33:00.001-07:00

My husband limbed up some hemlocks beside a small stream on our property, and this was our pleasant surprise. It is an Indian Pipe wildflower, also called Ghost Plant, because of its absence of chlorophyll. It is quite a striking sight tucked in amongst the leaves. It blooms June-Sept. and if you're walking in the woods, you can't miss it! Mary

Whatcha workin' on Wednesday

2009-07-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

I've been up for hours already...very unusual for me. I read a chapter in Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo and knit some rows on a scarf. This is my first experience with aluminum circular needles and cane yarn....a very slippery slope, to be sure. Mary

My backyard today...

2009-07-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

...is full of sun, frogs, and flowers. After the month of June, with only very few sunny days, maybe summer is finally here. There are 5 frogs in our small pond and they sun themselves on the rocks in the morning. I just missed a shot of one flying through the air as my black lab was investigating (you can see the splash). I hope it's sunny in your corner of the world. Mary

Knitting again

2009-06-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my daughter's love of knitting, cotton yarn, and all the free patterns on-line, I've picked up some needles for the first time in many years. A ball of yarn will make 2 washcloths/dishcloths and they are just the right size to finish easily and quickly and practice my stitches. Mary

I brake for lupine.

2009-06-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

I should have this bumper sticker on my car. In mid-June on the coast of Maine, the lupine put on a spectacular show. Try to see it sometime.....you'll never forget it. Mary

Evolution of the Chicken

2009-06-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well, here she is!

After much obsessing and reverse hooking, the chicken mat is almost finished...

just need to steam it and finish the edges.

Along the way, I've learned a lot of things, like:

linen backing is great, a hook with a bent shank is my favorite, I love the sound of a hook pulling loops, perfection shouldn't be my goal, and......{drum roll}...

I have a lot to learn!

Until next time...Mary

2009-05-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

Craft Clean-Out

2009-04-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hi all...I've been listing some rubber stamps on eBay today. I'm trying to get rid of some craft supplies that I haven't used in a long time, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. To view my listings: http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/thymentide_W0QQ_dmdZ1

I'm enjoying the spring weather, bird-watching, and planting season. Hope you are, too. Mary

2009-04-24T05:21:00.001-07:00

Ramblings

2009-04-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

The crocuses have faded already.....waiting for the daffodils to bloom. I divided some just after blooming last spring and the new crop is looking good. Last week, I started some burgundy sunflowers and sweet pea seeds. The gardens are raked, but it would be nice to have some green in the yard. With the rain we're expected to get over the next few days, that'll help.

I just have a couple more hours of work on my Chicken Little rug, and I can't wait to be finished with it... I've always said I'm easily bored, but it may just be ADD. I went to my favorite cross stitch store last week and bought a pattern and pretty needlepoint silks. It's nice to see cross stitch making a comeback...I thought my days of stitching were over, until I got some "readers" at Walmart! I'll show you some of my finished cross stitch pieces in a future post.

Laundry and making of banana bread are calling me....until next time. Mary

Happy Easter

2009-04-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Spring Pennies

2009-03-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

I finished up this Spring penny rug this morning. It makes me think of Easter and all the colors of spring. Now on to some spring cleaning....yuck!
Have a nice weekend...Mary

Visions of Easter bunnies.....

2009-03-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

...dance in my head. I'm finishing up this little stitchery, but haven't decided on frame, pillow, or wallhanging. The free doodle is from www.birdinthehandprimitives-robin.blogspot.com I did modify it a little bit. Thanks, Robin! Mary

Welcome Spring

2009-03-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

They say it's Spring, but if so, how come I still have a foot of snow in my front yard? It's always tough in the Northeast at this time of year, but I've never known Spring to not make an appearance eventually. I just know my daffodils are waiting patiently....but not I!

I finished up a couple of pincushions this week for etsy. One is from my previous post and the other little strawberry one is a scissor fob. Also, I opened another etsy shop for supplies and vintage items: http://www.marycolcord.etsy.com/

Hope all is well in your corner of the world. See you soon....Mary

2009-03-16T15:33:00.001-07:00

Momma said....

2009-03-09T11:36:00.001-07:00

....there would be days like this. Got up this morning all rarin' to go, planning to finish some pincushions and update my etsy shop. Well, all was well until I sewed the right side of the design to the wrong side of the backing fabric. Can't blame it on the "learning curve" this time, since I've been sewing for 40 years. When I tried to fix it, my machine jammed twice, so I've given up on pincushions for now. After all.......tomorrow is another day.

I decided instead to cut out some pennies for a couple of little penny rugs.

I continue to "renovate" the chicken rug and I like it much better. Stay tuned!

Thanks for visiting. Mary

Ta Da!!

2009-03-02T11:22:00.001-08:00

I finished up the navy blue mat yesterday, and for the most part, I'm happy with it. I've been "renovating" a chicken mat this morning, and I think I've taken out more wool strips than I've put in...it's called reverse hooking. I'm pretty frustrated with it at the moment, but I'll keep pluggin' away, because I want it to look better than it does now. Everything seems to be wrong with it, except the chicken...or is that just me?

Maybe I'll put it away again for now, and move on to something smaller.

The snow continues to fall here in so. NH...another 8-10 in. overnight, and not done yet!

Until next time, stay warm in your little corner of the world! Mary

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

2009-02-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

I'm working on the rug again today. I decided to go with dark blue for the background. The Wool Gatherings group on Delphi was a big help, suggesting a dark background since the flowers were medium shades. I started with wool from a skirt purchased at Goodwill, and quickly found the wool to be loosely woven and kind of frustrating to hook with. There are a lot of threads sticking up, but I used it anyway to outline the flowers and one row on the border. Hopefully, it will look better when it's all finished. I bought some more navy blue shades from http://www.hollyhockhilldesigns.com/ and I'm really pleased with them. I've already thought about a few designs I'd like to draw, but I will "audition" colors next time. Hope you are all having a good week. I'm off for a little walk in the sunshine with temp. of 38....a heat wave! Mary

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

Decisions, decisions.

2009-02-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took a hooked rug/mat out of my jumble of unfinished projects. I bought the pattern last summer in Searsport, Me., on the way to our summer place in Little Deer Isle. http://www.searsportrughooking.com/ I also bought an awesome frame and some wonderful wool (yes, my husband stayed in the car). This is the second project I've worked on.....the first, a pillow top I hooked 10 years ago that's still not stitched up and kind of a sorry sight. Maybe I'll post a pic when I get up my courage. I don't know if I'll ever be a really good "hooker", but I'm enjoying the process so far. Some of my flowers on this rug are too tightly packed, I think, but the more I relax, the better it looks. It's almost time to pick a background color....any thoughts? Mary

Let it Snow

2009-01-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

I've been watching the snow come down all day and the busy, busy birds at the feeders. I just listed some heart tags on etsy, and I wanted to show what else I've been up to. I bought some rubber and a Speedball carving set at http://www.dickblick.com and I'm trying to make some rubber stamps (usable ones!). These are my first stamps....a bit of a learning curve, to be sure. There a lot of tutorials on the internet, but, true to my nature, I didn't read them until after I finished the first one. Let me know what you think (be kind now).

2009-01-20T06:10:00.000-08:00

Brrrr.....!

2009-01-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

Winter has come on with a vengeance here in southern NH. The kitchen window thermometer registered -18 at 8:30 a.m., but now is at a balmy 11 degrees. The birds have been busy at the feeders, and who can blame them? We've had many juncos, finches, chickadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches...I just love 'em all. We have also seen fox tracks almost every morning in the past week. They're snacking on the sunflower seeds that fall on the ground under the feeders. I dream of Spring, its warmth and pastel colors of Easter. I'll do a happy dance when I can dig in the dirt again. I must get to some Valentine's Day projects over the week-end and keep working on this blog set-up, as well as my etsy shop, Thymentide. Thanks for stopping by and KEEP WARM in your corner of the world. Mary

2008-12-31T07:52:00.001-08:00

Some Christmas 08 Ornies

2008-12-30T17:29:00.001-08:00

Lots of snowman faces for sweaters, mittens, stockings, little dresses.

Pears I did for Prim and Rustic Delphi Forums Christmas ornie swap.

Prim flags for sweaters and mittens.

Little embroidered doll dress made from a vintage tea towel.

NH Ice Storm 12/08

2008-12-30T17:11:00.001-08:00

Blue spruce limbs.

Ice covered allium seed heads.

Purple coneflower seed head covered with ice.

My little gardening angel holding handfuls of ice, as if to ask "Why?"

WELCOME

2008-12-30T16:55:00.001-08:00

Thanks for visiting me in my little corner of the blogging world. It will take some time for me to figure this all out, but it's always nice to learn new things. I hope you all are having a Happy Holiday season. I made many, many Christmas ornies this year, and I'm anxious to start making some things for Valentine's day....stay tuned. It looks like we'll have some more snow tomorrow for New Year's Eve. Some in our state are still recovering from the bad ice storm of 12/12/08. The ice was surely beautiful as you can see from the pictures I took, but the loss of power was a different story.