Happy Easter from Betsy McCall and Blue Bear

Miss Betsy McCall wants to show you the pretty ruffled dress 

she plans to wear on Easter Sunday.

She would have modeled her bunny suit, too, 

but her friend needed to borrow it today.

Oh.... here comes the Easter Bunny (aka Mr. Blue Bear) now,

with a basket full of eggs for all the mice and bears who reside in the Little Blue House.

What a good natured bear, to dress up like a bunny for his children.

Happy Easter everyone!

* * * * *

(My sister found the 8" Betsy McCall made by the Tonner Doll Company 

at a doll convention she attended a few years ago.) 

Easter Spoolie Swap

Isn't this little green birdie pincushion adorable?

Cindy from Prairie's Edge Farm 

made this for me as part of the Easter Spoolie Swap we were partnered in.

She sent a whole shaker box full of delightful hand crafted goodies to me.

 A darling, pink, lop-eared bunny with a fluffy tail.

A sweet little daisy embroidered and appliqued easter egg.

And this gorgeous Easter tag. 

And I can't forget to mention the chocolate easter eggs and jellybeans 

which I've already been munching on.

THANK YOU so much Cindy!  I love all of it!

And next I have to show you the spoolies I made for Cindy.

This ducky version used tiny tart pans and a vintage pastry blender. 

(This one was inspired by her love for gardening and making pies.)

The little yellow duck can come out of the nest.

I had so many ideas running through my head after looking through her blog, 

I just had to make another one for her.

The second spoolie I made for her was a tomato pincushion.
(Inspired once again by the gardening theme, and her love
for quilting and all sorts of needle-crafts.)

I also crocheted a small blue basket to hold some of the goodies
 that I sent along to fill the box.


I want to say THANK YOU to Sandy for hosting this swap.
It was so much fun!  And a great excuse to get creative.
I encourage those of you who have never tried a swap, to go for it!

Little Chicken Cup

Several months ago,  I found this darling little chicken cup

 over at Julie Whitmore Pottery. 

Julie is amazing!  She makes the most delightful and unique pottery pieces,

 featuring the cutest little animals and beautiful flowers.

You can't help but smile when you see her painted faience pottery.

This little hen has apparently gotten into the mistresses flower garden

 and pinched a posy to take back to her coop.

I can't say that I blame her.  

I'm looking forward to pretty flowers that bloom in the spring, myself.

But we just keep getting more snow, not flowers.

I just love everything that Julie makes.

And I hope you have time to stop by her blog.

* * *
Linking to Claudia's  A Favorite Thing

Skies Of Blue

I see skies of blue

and fuzzy little buds on the branches of the pear tree.

What do you see in your part of the world?

Just A Tiny Little Peek

 Sneaking in just a tiny little peek at the Easter spoolie craft projects I made.
Yes, you do see ric-rac.

But I can't show any more 'til my swap partner receives it.

You'll have to check back later this week for full pictures.

An Afghan and A Sandwich

The pink baby afghan  (a giant granny) that I started a few weeks ago is now finished.

And ready to be sent to my grand niece.

I used Baby Bee - Sweet Delight yarn in 8 colors:

Boo Pink, Little Princess, Pink-A-Boo, Bashful, 

Sugar Plum, Mint Charm, Teal Too and Angel.

I crocheted 45 rounds with a size G/6/4.25 hook

and then added a scalloped border.

My pinks were done in double rows and the other colors in single.

I ran out of Boo Pink yarn 11 scallops away from the finish 

and had to go buy another skein.   

That sounds like Murphy's Law to me, so that makes this an Irish afghan!  ;-)

* * *

Make sure you're enjoying your share of corned beef and cabbage this week!

A reuben sandwich from one of our local Irish joints:  O'Neills.

Anybody know how to say "Yummylicious" in Gaelic?

Pot of Gold

Yes, the Irish "pot of gold" really does exist.
It's here at my house.

A whole (pyrex) bowl full of gold.
And silver.
And bronze.

These are the medals my daughter earned 

during the nine years that she competed in Irish dance.

Chicago, Minneapolis, Colorado Springs, Seattle, Little Rock, St Louis...

You name it, we traveled there to dance.

She had so much fun and made wonderful friends.

(For the record,  I was not a crazy dance mom like the ones on tv.)

And here are pictures of the lucky little Leprechaun that brought home all that gold. 

  Very first competition. (upper left) 

The last competition. (lower right)

And a couple more photos from the in-between years.

(Photos of family may not be borrowed or pinned.)

 I'm joining Kathleen,

for her 5th annual St Patrick's Day Blog Crawl.

Heres a video I've borrowed of one of our favorite little Irish dancers: 

a young friend from my daughter's former dance school.

 Isn't she great?  Even when the music is way too fast!

Irish Cailini

 (Holly Hughes - available in her etsy shop)

If you:

1. can dance a jig,

2. know all the verses to Danny Boy,

3. eat corned beef and cabbage,

4. march in a parade every March 17th, 

5. admit to kissing the Blarney Stone, 

6. love Liam Neeson films,

  7. can read this post with an Irish accent,

or 

8. have eyes that smile,

then you will appreciate these Irish cailini. 

(Vivian "Viv" Trillow Smith,  Hallmark 1948)

I'm looking forward to St. Patrick's Day!  

Are you?

(PS- Cailini is just Gaelic for little girls.)