Fresh from the sewing machine!

Just finished this little gal today!  I've never made a blonde raggedy before, but I had an order recently for my Kaitlyn Ann doll in blonde, so I thought I'd try a blonde doll.  Alice Ann is the result!  She is 11" tall, and was actually a lot of fun to make!  I just put the pattern on my Etsy, PatternMart, and my website.

I actually have a little niece that is 21 months old whose name is Alice.  I'm thinking this may be her second birthday present!  She has two middle names, but one of them is Ann.  My Grandmother's name was also Alice.  I've blogged about her before.  She's gone now, but she would've loved this little doll.  She loved dolls.  She was raised on the prairies of Montana and didn't have a lot of toys growing up, so she always loved dolls and stuffed animals.  I made her several dolls while she was alive.  I sure miss my Grandma!  I do have this picture of her with a doll.  It always makes me smile! :)

Grandma Alice

Have a great weekend!  Primitive blessings,

Laurie

I'm back....!

In the past month I have been lying around recovering from surgery, and planning my next projects!  I can't wait to start sewing some Easter bunnies, but in the meantime, I finished some burlap banners that I put on my Etsy.  You can see them here.  These were kind of fun!  I made some for my Christmas shows, and thought I'd see how they do on Etsy.

We had a week of some real nasty snow, and drifts up to 6' high!  Finally got it plowed and now it's warmed up and raining.  Just in time for our lambs to start showing up!  Today our first little lamb was born, and more are sure to be arriving any time!

Today would've been my Grandma's 98th birthday!  I've always loved this picture of her that was taken years ago on the prairie in Montana.  I especially love how happy she looks holding up her two lambs!  Guess it was in my genes!

Hope you're enjoying this President's Day!

Primitive blessings,

Laurie

Ugghhh! I did it again!

Yup!  Just like last summer, this one has flown by so fast and I haven't blogged in over two months!  Where has the time gone!  After my last post, when my twins graduated, we went on a cruise to Alaska as part of their graduation present.  It was so much fun!  If you haven't taken this amazing cruise, I'd highly recommend it!  We're all ready to go back again!  We spent the 4th of July in Glacier Bay, and it was beautiful!

Once we returned home, I spent a week trying to get over the withdrawals of wearing the sea-sickness patch!  It took a full week to stop feeling dizzy and like I was still rocking!  Without it, however, I would've been one sick puppy the whole cruise!  

Haying season took a couple of weeks, as the family cut and put up 3,000 bales of hay.  A hot, dusty time, but we've gotta keep the livestock fed in the wintertime!

I lost my beloved Grandma on July 18th.  I last saw her on May 26th, and I'll forever treasure this last picture with her. 

Her funeral was a beautiful, family-centered memorial that she would've loved!  I made a video slideshow set to music, my son and his bluegrass band played some of her favorite songs, our oldest daughter did the opening prayer, and cousins and other relatives all played a part as well.  Two days later we had a family wedding, and that was another time spent with family that was so special.

Something I've waited my entire life for happened in late July!  I've always wanted a horse, and we found the perfect guy at the perfect time!  This is Ace!  He's very sweet, gentle, and is a trail horse.  We just love him!!!

The next week we spent a week at our county fair.  Used to be all five kids showed animals in 4-H, but we're down to just the last two - the twins.  They have one more year left of 4-H.  Daughter Emily was the sheep superintendent, however, and son Lukas and his bluegrass band were the main stage music Friday and Saturday nights.  The twins had an awesome fair, walking away as the master showman and reserve master showman of the entire 200+ livestock showmen at the fair!  They made it into the Round Robin competition where they had to show one of each species:  swine, beef, sheep, alpacas, meat goats, pack goats, horses, and dairy goats.  They've always been so close, and they scored just 1/2 point difference, with Kari coming out on top as Master Showman, and Kaitlyn right behind as Reserve Master Showmen!

Next up is a 50th anniversary party that I'm throwing for my parents!  I'm having so much fun preparing for this, and crafting some great stuff!  Click here to go to my Pinterest  stuff for it.  I ordered a great design for their invites.  I found them on Etsy.  Click here to see all the wonderful designs this gal does!  I had them printed from Overnight Prints.  Great company to deal with!  Check them out here.

So, that's pretty much my summer so far!  Haven't done much crafting at all, but will step into high gear once my girls go to college (DREADING that with a capital "D", underlined, and in bold!!!!)  That's September 22nd...so be thinking of me! :(

I have added most of my e-patterns to Etsy, and they are available as instant downloads.  I love this, because you don't have to wait for me to send them!  Check it out here.  

I hope your summer has been equally good!

Prim blessings,

~Laurie

New Easter patterns!

Finally got my new patterns all done and on my website today!  To me, this is the most tedious part of being a pattern designer.  I love creating, but having to sit down and type out the instructions, draw out the pattern, and make sure it is all complete, no typos or incorrect grammar (really a pet-peeve of mine!), is time consuming and not so fun!  I did have fun making these guys, though, and hope you like them!

Meet Peter and Petunia!

I looked at a photo of a real bunny to decide how I was going to make Peter.  Petunia was an afterthought, because I thought he needed a friend, and I liked how "Peter and Petunia" sounded together!  Find this pattern on my website here.

Next is Clovis Cottontail.

Clovis is made of some velveteen that was my Grandma's.  I didn't know what I was going to do with it, so a year ago I coffee stained it, and had used some for some Santa coat trim.  Clovis' coveralls are made from a men's wool jacket that I got cheap, cheap at a rummage sale.  I used sisal rope for his whiskers.  He was a lot of fun to make!  Follow the same link above to purchase the pattern on my website.

Easter is only 4 weeks away!  (Early this year!)  It is also my Grandma's 89th birthday!  A photo of my Grandma as a toddler is the heading to my "Spring" category on my website.  Such a cutie then, and a cute and sweet lady now!  

Hope it's acting like Spring in your neck of the woods!

Prim blessings!

~Laurie

I'm Back!

I spent the first couple of weeks of July with family in Eastern Washington. While there, I got in lots of good visiting with family, as well as found the deal of the century at a rummage sale! Check out this vintage quilt I got for A QUARTER! It is entirely hand-stitched of flour sack fabrics, I believe.


They were selling other bedding (not vintage) for $2, and the gal told me that this old thing was in bad shape, so she just wanted a quarter for it! I brought it home and stitched some loose spots, gave it a cleaning, and while it isn't my ideal colors, I can't believe how cheap I got it! My youngest daughter thinks that when she has her own room eventually, she wants to have it on her bed. (She is sharing her room with her twin sister right now while all four girls still live at home).

I also got to spend a lot of time with my Grandma. This is the Grandma that I blogged about back in June and had their wedding photo on here. She is 87 and is still going strong, and is as cute as ever! Such a treat to see my Grandma!!!


At the end of our stay, our twin daughters, Kari and Kaitlyn, were in the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics in Spokane. They had qualified earlier this summer in Seattle. Kari placed 9th in the 100 meter hurdles, and Kaitlyn placed 5th in the triple jump and qualified for Nationals in Kansas! Unfortunately, a trip to Kansas wasn't in the budget, so we've ordered the t-shirt, and she's just happy to have qualified and also set a new personal record.


I've noticed a problem with my website this evening, and hope I can get it straightened out ASAP! I can't seem to connect, and have an e-mail in to see if we can get this settled! In the meantime, don't forget my patterns can be ordered on Pattern Mart. Just click on "Prindle Mountain Primitives" under "designers".

Is it summer in your neck of the woods? It was yesterday, sort of. 75-80 isn't really as warm as we expect this time of the year, but this year we'll take anything over 65! Today, however, was rainy, wet, and I'd swear it was mid September or even early March! I think our summer may have amounted to the week of it I had in Eastern Washington! I guess I shouldn't complain, though, when I hear about the temperatures some of the country is dealing with!

Hope your summer is going splendidly!

Prim Blessings,

Laurie

70 years ago today

70 years ago today this lovely couple was married. I am lucky to call them my Grandparents. I miss my Grandpa every day, and am so fortunate that my Grandma is going strong at 87! It doesn't seem possible that it's been 20 years since we had a big 50th anniversary party for them, but I remember being big as a house with our third baby, and here Emily is almost 20 years old, so there you go!


I put together this fabric covered album to hold family photos. First I started by covering the album with a thin layer of craft glue and then covered it with a thin piece of batting. After allowing it to dry, I cut the fabric I selected 1-1/2" bigger all the way around than what the album was. I turned under the edges and glued it down around the inside of the album. I used clothespins around the edges to keep it in place while the glue dried. Next I glued an antique doily onto the cover of the album, and then added a small pewter frame that I had put Grandma and Grandpa's wedding photo into. I finished it off with a matching ribbon bow and a "J" typewriter key representing their last name. I have made dozens of these over the years for family weddings, baby gifts, etc. Really a fun gift to make and you can get pretty creative!

Prim blessings,

Laurie

A wonderful surprise!

My Mom's parents grew up on the prairie of Montana. Life was hard and neither had much growing up. Grandpa met and fell in love with the little red haired girl, and when she was just 17 years old, they borrowed $5 and were married. This was in 1933. By the time my Mom was born in 1945, they had moved to Washington State, had three older sons, and lived in the house my Grandpa built that they would live in for the rest of their lives.

My Grandpa was a carpenter, and worked hard to provide for my Grandma and his children. He was an amazing gardener, craftsman, and a wonderful Grandfather. Grandma was small, feisty, crafty, a great cook, and a bundle of energy! They were devoted to each other and were married for 70 years. We didn't know how Grandma would ever live without him when Grandpa passed away, but she was very strong, and with the help of my Mother, she was able to stay in her own home until she passed away 3 years after Grandpa.

My aunt and uncle moved into my Grandparent's house once they were both gone, and they've been cleaning. My Mom called tonight and told me that she located my Grandmother's wedding dress in my uncle's attic as well as some baby shoes that were my Grandma's. She wanted to know if I wanted them! Of course!!! I am so excited! I am anxious to see what the dress looks like, as it's hard to see in their wedding photo.


Mom is also sure that the baby shoes that she is giving me are those worn by my Grandma in the following baby picture.


I love old things, especially items that belonged to my ancestors. With the royal wedding in the news, I can't believe my good fortune at being given a precious gift from the past.

Prim blessings,

Laurie

Grandpa's Quilt

I've been pretty busy the past few days getting some designs made for a craft magazine. I'm pretty excited about what I've come up with, but have to keep it secret until the magazine is released. More to come on that later!!!

We've got 15 little lambs now! So cute! Seven ewes left to go, and of course we're still checking them every 3 hours around the clock. Three little lambs arrived at 2:30 a.m. night before last....you just never can tell when they'll make an appearance!

I just came back in from checking on the sheep, and as I pulled on my old coveralls to keep my clothes clean, I started thinking about my Grandpa, who was the first owner of the nice, old comfy coveralls that I pulled on tonight. My Grandpa passed away in 2000. It was my first real experience with losing someone I loved so much, and I still think about him every day and miss him so much! He left a big hole in our family. As a way to keep Grandpa close, I gathered a bunch of his old jeans, flannel shirts, and dress shirts and made several small quilts for my family members after we lost Grandpa. Here is the quilt I made for us:

Just a cozy little lap quilt to curl up with, and brings to mind happy times spent with my Grandpa. "When this you see remember me" is embroidered on the bottom right corner of the quilt".

“Remember Me” comes from one of my Grandpa’s favorite songs, and it is one he used to sing and play frequently:

Remember me when the candle lights are gleamin'.
Remember me at the close of a long, long day.
An' it would be so sweet when all alone, I'm dreamin',
Just to know you still remember me.

Love you forever, Grandpa! :)

If you still have your Grandpa, please give him a big hug next time you see him!

Prim blessings,

Laurie

Grandma's Cookies

With little Girl Scouts haunting the doorway of practically every store I entered yesterday, I got to thinking about MY favorite cookie! Nope. Not sold by the billions by friendly little girls toting boxes of Tagalongs, the always popular Thin Mints, or Do-Si-Dos, but my Grandma's Gingersnaps!

We lost Grandma over three years ago. Last week she would've been 95 years old. She was a very good cook, very crafty, and so much fun to spend time with! I miss her so much!

Here is a craft idea that I came up with to share with other family members. I took an empty pickle jar (wash it out really good!) and filled it with some of Grandma's delicious cookies. I made them a little smaller than usual, so they would fit in the jar nicely. Next I made a tag with a photo of Grandma, a fun poem about Grandmas, and added her recipe. I decorated up the tag with bits of lace, old buttons, and some vintage rick rack. I covered the jar lid with a scrap of fabric cut into a circle. (Click on photos for a larger view).

Here is Grandma's Gingersnap recipe. So yummy!!!

Grandma's Gingersnaps
3/4 cup shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream shortening, salt, and sugar. Add beaten egg and molasses. Sift together dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Roll into balls and then into sugar. Do not flatten. Bake at 300 degrees until done. Enjoy!

Prim blessings,
Laurie