Check out my New Tutorial - How to Dye Vintage Buttons!

Do you have as many buttons as I have? If so, check out my newest tutorial. How to Dye Buttons using Rit Dye. I had lots of fun and it was really easy.

Just mix the dye....submerge your buttons....rinse them off and you are done!

If you don't enjoy all the mess, check out my Etsy Shop. I am selling the buttons I dyed for this tutorial and I am also de-stashing some of my vintage and antique buttons. Come take a look!

I have a request for a needle felting tutorial and I have been working on a wool needle roll. Of course, I'm also packing so be patient. I have them all on my to-do list.
See you soon!

Checking in on my little babies...

Awwww. I am smitten with my little feathered babies. I check on them all day and they have captured my heart! Here is a picture taken on Friday. They sure are growing fast.

Dad was off the nest for just a minute so I grabbed a quick photo. I have to tell you, they are really so darn ugly they are cute. They remind me of little vultures! One is much larger than the other. I was worried that the law of the fittest would mean that the little one would be left out, but thankfully both eat well. One just more than the other.

We had a powerful storm come through Friday morning so I fashioned a goofy roof to protect them.
All of the greenery is now brownery so I left the roof up as the sun is burning quite hot this week. There are a few fake leaves up as well. I didn't want them to think their home was ugly!

They may fly off before the week is over, so I'm going to enjoy their last days with me. I hope if they come back next year, the new tenants will be kind and enjoy this experience as much as I have.

Don't stop reading... my next post is new and extra special.

Thank You Nita Kay!

The human spirit is really quite generous in so many ways. What makes a complete stranger reach out to someone just to give them a gift? Anita contacted me to say she had some wool scraps that she wanted to give to me. She liked my little wool brooches and thought I might be able to sue them.
A week later a huge box arrives! Oh my! I felt like I hit the mother lode of wool scraps.


Over dyed, felted, fair isle, thick, thin, soft, brilliant.....wow!

I threw all of my scraps in the box and now I am swimming in lovely wool bits and pieces. I was so thrilled, I sent Anita one of my little wool leaf brooches.


I was so incredibly touched by her generosity. I'd like you to visit her website and Like her on Facebook if you have the time. Here where to go-
NitaKay Facebook Page- www.facebook.com/NidaKayDesigns
Etsy Shop- NidaKayDesigns.Etsy.com
Website- www.NidaKayDesigns.com

Here are some of her lovely fingerless glove designs. You can find them Here
Wow,she is both talented and she has a lovely spirit.




She even spins and hand dyes her own yarn.

Thanks Again Anita!!!!

So, while I was working on kind of a Pay it Forward kind of post, which will include a tutorial on using bits and pieces of felted wool, I get hit with another lovely and amazing gift!
I was checking my feedback on my Etsy Shop and I found this recent bit of loveliness left by Joanne for the Linen Pincushion I recently created for her friend. I cried!

"It was lovely doing business with the delightful Etsy shop fiberluscious. This great shop is full of the most incredibly beautiful, hand-embroidered, hand-made pin cushions and pins I have ever seen! All the designs and hand-work are the genius of Jill O'Leary, the owner, and her eye for colour, design and detail is evident everywhere in her lovely shop. Jill is warm and very easy to talk to and made a great transaction even more pleasurable and fun. She also customizes any of her gorgeous designs and will work with you on original custom ideas too!

It is amazing and I am so glad I decided to purchase one of her pincushions and a selection of her incredible, colourful hand-made flower pins. I was looking for a special thank you gift to give a quilter who created a lovely, large quilt for me and once I saw this pin cushion, I knew I had found a gift I would be very proud to give her. Not only is it an incredible object of beauty, but also something she will use and keep out in the studio everyday and so I thought it might be perfect…and it is!!! The colours are amazing and the stitching is exquisite and I am so, so happy I found Jill's shop. I know I will be ordering one for my self in the near future as it was a little bit hard sending it on it's way to my friend, but the joy in her voice when she called to tell me she received it made it all worthwhile. She was as over the moon about it as I was and still am.

The style of pincushion I chose was 'Summer Garden' which looks like a fully blooming flower garden from above and with the 'flower pins' that were created in all the amazing colours - well it's just gorgeous. My purchase was well-packaged for the journey and arrived in excellent condition, safe & sound. I couldn't be happier with my purchase from fiberluscious and I know I will be back to order more embroidery delights soon."

Holy moses. Thank you Joanne!
How can one ever live up to such lovely compliments. I feel boastful sharing it for that reason but I am also incredibly touched by all the people who are creative. You make me feel so happy! That includes all of you who read my posts and visit my shop. You make this a wonderful way to do business.

I just do what I love and I hope that my love comes through in what I create. I don't think you can ever have a restless night if you go to bed every night knowing you did your best and worked hard doing it. I know that I may only get one chance to show someone that their faith in my ability was worth every penny they spend in my shop. I am lucky to have the most amazing customers in all of Etsy land. They get me and I love them for their kindness and generosity!

If you would like to purchase one of my pincushions, or work on something uniquely your own, stop on by my shop. www.Fiberluscious.Etsy.com

Well, now that I am completely full of myself..I am going to have to plop back down to earth and tell you that I didn't finish my tutorial. But, it is close! Its this darn move.
I just sold the table that held my sewing machine so not only am I busy, but I am unable to sew till we move in next month! Arrrgh, no fun for me for a while!

While you are waiting for my tut, here are a few things I made while I was going through my box of wool goodness...


The tutorial should be up tomorrow. I just have to finish the inside of the needle case up. Actually, its a new form of needle case inspired by an article I read in Sew Somerset. I love that magazine!
See you soon!

Baby Pictures

Daddy is in the nest today and he is showing the little one off for me. So I grabbed the camera and so I could share our new addition with you!


Mom was on the nest all day yesterday. I caught a glimpse of fluffy feathers and a little beak. Today, I got a much better peak. It moves around just a bit. I can't wait to see the nest change. Maybe I'll get to see her feed the baby. This is just so cool!

Of course, the rest of my balcony is suffering from a lack of attention. I don't even want to show you how sad my flowers look. Lets just say, the rest of the pots are fairing just a tad better than the nest planter. I usually am out on my balcony everday, dead heading, watering, trimming, etc. I love my little extra room with the extra high ceiling. Oooh so sad.


Well, my next post will be about fiber.. I have a new crazy quilt block in the works and I'm trying to get a tutorial done for you all.
Stay tuned!

Our little fuzzy baby is here!

The egg has finally hatched! Wouldn't you know that it would happen while I was at the farmer's market this morning. I've been watching the nest diligently since Thursday waiting patiently for our blessed event and I missed it!
Oh well...the best news is that it is here and so far, all I can tell you is that it is fuzzy and alive.

Mom is guarding her very closely. As soon as I come near, she gently covers her up with her body. All I can see is a bit of a beak and some fluffy feathers barely peeking out from her side Not much to photograph. I'll post pictures as soon as I can show the little one off.

I'm so proud!

Meet My Little Family

We have been blessed with a mourning dove nest on our balcony.


Three weeks ago I noticed doves on our balcony. I have so many plants up here, I guess they thought this was a tree house! They found their way into one of my planters and began to build a nest. It was not a great nest. It was thin and kind of prickly. In fact, I didn't see the birds more than a hour or so a day for the first week. Then suddenly there was just one perfect little egg. Since that moment, the parents have been sitting on the nest 24/7.



I love to peek out during the day and softly talk to them. Their nest is just a few feet from my patio door. I have a 7 foot tall Dutura plant and a gorgeous Sun Parasol vine on the other end of the porch so I am out there daily to water. I can't believe how well they tolerate my presence. What an honor!

The above picture was taken this past weekend. As you can see, the plants that surround the bird are not fairly well. Its been cool most days, but this week it was warm and sunny and I realized that if I don't water their specific planter, they may lose their shade. So, I decided to move right up to the next to water around them. I am within inches of them and it feels like such an honor to be trusted by them.

I love to come out to greet the parent as they come on duty.


One will stay for most of the day. They look so much alike that its hard to tell which one is here and which one is off feeding. The nesting parent will sing that beautiful song that mourning doves sing to let the other parent know they are ready for a snack. After 30 minutes or so, the other bird will arrive. They carefully change places, slowly climbing over each other to slide onto the egg. I don't think it is left uncovered more than a split second. They are so loving and diligent in there duties.

I read that the egg usually hatches in 2 weeks. That means that the new arrival should hatch this coming Friday! The babies need about 2 weeks to grow strong before they fly off. I can't wait to see it! I just hope they allow me out on the balcony once it arrives. However, we are in the midst of a move, so I guess, if my plants don't make it, there will be 10 less things to bring to the new balcony.

I'll keep you posted!