Heaven is Handmaid

After four months of waiting, a bit of my package arrives

2012-02-25T11:31:00.000-05:00

Charmed, and yet disappointed

In November of last year, I found a North American source for Tilda products. I placed an order for a charm pack, some little resin crowns and some wooden bobbins. Then, I waited. For four months. I called. They said the shipment was hung up in customs. They said this for three months. THREE.
I understand that international customs do not take into account the creative wants and needs of crafters and needle workers. I get it.
However, if a business concern promises product on a website, seems to process an order on said web site, and then sends a confirmation e-mail regarding said shipment, one tends to believe the shipment will arrive.
I am very happy with my little fabric squares, which cost a ton of money. I am not happy with the "company" who said they are a North American source for Tilda.
They are not. They are a source of frustration and anger. I did not get my little crowns or wooden bobbins -- and I never will. They are listed as 'out of stock'. Apparently, they were not in stock when I placed my order. They were somewhere in Europe -- where, apparently, they will remain. There was no further explanation, except to say that I have a credit. I don't know that I want anything they have. I am now convinced I won't get what I want, and I won't be advised about the order unless I nag excessively.
So deep is my disgust I won't even name the business, that would just encourage them. From now on, I will rely on etsy and ebay sellers for hard-to-find items.
I think its time we helped the little guys. Who's with me?

Things to do in Spring...

2012-02-24T20:02:00.001-05:00

Sew, a needle pulling thread...

At the end of April of this year, I will be presenting a mini workshop on behalf of A Needle Pulling Thread magazine at the CreativFestival in Toronto.
This is a large event that features workshops on all kinds of needle arts, scrap booking, card making and knitting, as well as a whole lot of shopping for all kinds of notions, fabrics and supplies.
On the Saturday of the weekend show, I will be showing people how to make a felt needle book. It's kind of exciting and scary all at once.
I hope everyone is nice, that we all have fun, and that sometime between now and then I develop a proper teaching style.
In the coming weeks, I will be getting the needle book kits ready and making sure I have all the supplies the participants will need. Wish me luck!

iFinished!

2012-02-23T09:37:00.000-05:00

A place for everything...

... everything in its place

It took FOREVER, but I finally finished my iPad purse.
My iPad has a hard shell leather protective sleeve, but I had nothing suitable to tote around the iPad and all its accessories. I have totes galore, but they are all too large and everything seemed to be swimming around and tangling up. The only workable solution was to create a purse to keep it all together.
I wanted it to be fun and funky, but also sort of cute and sweet. The ideas formed slowly in my mind. They came together even more slowly in real life -- at the cutting table and at the sewing machine.
This happens to me all the time. When I want something to be special, I take ages to get it done. I fear making a mess of things, especially once I have chosen special fabrics and embellishments. I considered doing a mock up in fabrics that are not special in any way, but then I decided I would never take the same time and care if the good stuff wasn't on the line. That's how I roll, baby ...

Details, details ...

The result of this month-long process is an iPad purse I think Lucy Ricardo would have used if Lucy had the miracle of tablet computing when she and Ethel were cooking up their schemes. Imagine the possibilities of their hijinks if the Internet had been informing their plans. The mind boggles.
I stamped What I Love Today on the label -- which is embellished with a Cath Kidston strawberry cotton duck applique. I chose the sentiment because the iPad has opened up a whole world of new creative thought for me. The ideas can literally change day to day -- as do my favourites.
This technology-fueled fickleness might drive some people to distraction, but I like to think of it all as possibilities, not necessarily a to-do list. I am so happy to have finished this purse. Now I have a place for everything, and everything in its cute little place.

Pancake Tuesday!

2012-02-21T19:05:00.000-05:00


It's Mardi Gras -- and tonight's dinner was all about yummy!

FNSI fun in fotos (mostly)

2012-02-18T09:24:00.003-05:00

iPad tote inching toward completion.

FNSI was a fun group event at our house.
I am inching ever closer to finishing my iPad case. Yay! Sandra stitched some bags for family friends. Amanda had a long week at work, so she had some dinner and then she browsed through Pinterest. She also cheered us on.
FNSI was lots of fun as usual.
In other fabric news, Fabricland had a 40 per cent off everything members sale this week. So, I scored some real pure linen.
Hugely expensive at regular price -- as if ever paying regular price for fabric is something I regularly do. I always just look at the linen. But, in that hard to find Tilda doll colour, it had to be mine.

Samdra and her panty bag...

Hope everyone had a great FNSI. I hope to visit some blogs later on this weekend and see what everyone else was up to!

Amanda on Pinterest

Hello Dollies -- is it a square or chocolate bar?

Sandra's finishes.

A lot of 40 per cent off linen. The printed bit is from Quilt a Bag.

Laptop lugger finished!

2012-02-07T22:22:00.001-05:00

Laptop lugger for my sister

My sister asked me to make her a laptop bag that was big enough for her computer and the cords. She also wanted one big pocket as opposed to several little ones.

Nice big pocket

I did this one for her, using some funky typography fabric I found on clearance, and some equally funky linen blend fabrics on clearance from the home decorating fabric section.
The handles are from Quilt a Bag. They are decorated with little bows. How cute is that?
I was so happy to finish this for her today. She picked it up this evening and loved it.
Now, for the big question. Will I finish my iPad tote this week?
I have completed the lining, the quilting and the decorating. That's because Sandra and I got together last Friday and she encouraged me to get my act together. So, the act was put together -- just not the iPad tote. At least the parts are more or less combined at the moment. They are just waiting for me to finish. Yep, that's all.
Mind you, there are just a hundred different people, places, and things that will get between me and the machine before that happens. I just know it.
When I do finish it, you'll be among the first to know. I promise.

Now is our winter of discontent?

2012-02-05T22:35:00.001-05:00

Hockey skills on solid ice

This year, winter in Canada -- where winter is usually held -- has been really disappointing from a cold/snow point of view.
There simply hasn't been any winter (as we understand it) to speak of.
DH has been trying against all odds to maintain the ice rink in the backyard. Some weeks, it has just been a lovely reflecting pool.
But last Monday, it was ready to host the great hockey skills competition of 2012 -- as invisioned by my nephews and their cousins. They had the day off school and the ice was frozen solid.
The kids arrived at 1 p.m. They were suited up and ready to skate by 1:15.
They stayed on the ice until 4:30 -- hot chocolate was delivered to them because they refused to leave the frozen fun.
DH was so happy that they had such a good time. It looks as though we might be in for a bit of cold weather soon, so he remains hopeful that we might have a few more days skating before it's time to call it quits and declare spring officially sprung.

In only 93 days...

2012-01-27T19:18:00.001-05:00

This is is what I did today

I had every intention of making something -- anything -- today. Alas, the January blahs preventing me from getting my plans from the drawing board to the finished-and-ready-for-its close-up stage. I did manage to print and prepare some templates. I guess I made them.
When I am this stuck, the only thing to do is to surf the 'net looking for inspiration. I stumbled upon wonderful news -- I can pre-order Tilda's Spring Ideas from the Book Depository. This I did.
I just love that they will ship it to me for free without having to spend a million dollars. This kind of deal is unheard of in North America.
In only 93 days, Tilda's Spring Ideas will be mine. It is just a little booklet, like Winter Ideas. For me, it is all about the eye candy!
I have seen some non-English sites featuring some of the projects contained therein. There is a new design range called Sewing Bird, which features stickers and scrapbook papers of little sewing-themed designs like button jars, ladies from vintage pattern envelopes, pin cushions, and sewing machines.
Sure, 93 days seems like ages, but I am sure it will fly by. It will go faster when I get out of this creative funk.
In the meantime, isn't that cover just soooo pretty?

Studio chair rehabilitation

2012-01-24T14:52:00.001-05:00

Cute and comfortable at last!

The chair in my studio needed some help, a facelift if you will.
We just had a electronic recycling day in our town. I finally sent the kids' high school computer off to meet its ultimate destiny. It served us well, considering it was made the year my youngest started Grade 1. The monitor alone looked like a refugee from a 1980s teen movie.
Once the ancient technology was carted away, I took a hard look at the chair that used to be perched before that GIANT monitor.
The ugly, scratchy upholstery "fabric" (which was more like polyester tweed) was ripped and the foam beneath was threatening to take flight.
Googling "how to cover an office chair" yielded a surprising number of results. I was looking for LOTS of photos, so I ended up using the instructions found on Joyful Abode.
I found this nice print at Fabricland for $3/meter.
Armed with a staple gun and a number of screw drivers, I went to work on the chair.
Basically, I used the chair seat and back as patterns, with a generous amount added all around to accommodate the foam and hard plastic seat foundation. I sewed a channel all around the fabric. Then, I threaded some rat tail cord through the channels, pulled it tight until it encased the foam and the seat foundation, adjusted the gathers all around, tied a serious knot and then stapled the whole thing to the seat. Doing the seat back was a bit more challenging, involving the careful removal of plastic rivets. By some miracle, they did not break and also went back together again.
I like the way it turned out -- and more importantly, it is nicer to sit on than plastic tweed that is leaking foam. Well, just about anything would be nicer to sit on than plastic tweed that is leaking foam.
My point is I conquered the office chair. Now, if only I can organize the desk to make it a better workspace for my paper crafting adventures.

A FNSI flop and a wacky wobble...

2012-01-21T09:52:00.001-05:00

iPad tote materials gathered, just not constructed...

I was determined to make a tote for my iPad for my FNSI project.
The iPad arrived in my life following a stroke of luck. My son won it, but didn't want it. He wanted money for school. I bought it from him -- the money was going to be handed over anyway, at least I got a cool new device out of it.
It has a leather cover, but I wanted to make a padded tote for it as well, with space for the charger/cord. The main fabric is a dec. weight gingham, the lining is a Riley Blake flannel, the accent fabrics are some stripped linen and an ancient piece of fabric bought to make teachers' presents when my kids were in kindergarten and Grade 3. Yikes! (The technology hadn't even been invented then, and I already had the fabric to make the tote for it. Amazing!) The handles are adorable Japanese ones from Quilt a Bag. I just love them.
See? I was motivated and surrounded by cute inspiration. I got as far as envisioning the design, collecting the materials and doing the measurements. Did I cut? No. Did I sew? No, I did not. Every time I started, I was called away to do something "urgent". I am not even kidding.
Each time I picked up the rotary cutter, the phone rang. I had the ruler lined up, and my mom needed me for something. Eventually, I gave up on the project for the time being. I want to do a good job, but if the planets aren't quite aligned properly, I see no sense in trying to charge onward. Maybe I will get it done on Monday -- Make It Happen Monday. MIHM isn't quite as famous as FNSI, but I have a feeling it might work better for me -- at least for this particular project.

Wobbly, but finished!

I did manage to work on my VERY LARGE Tilda jewellery mannequin. The pattern is from Sew Sunny Homestyle. Just for fun, I enlarged it 400 per cent.
I found a wooden candlestick at Goodwill before Christmas and I had a round wooden plaque. I glued them together for the stand and got to work on the mannequin. I was pretty pleased with myself by the time I had it all put together.
However (you knew this was coming), engineering is not my strong suit. The large size demands some adjustments to the construction. I had mounted it on the stand, glued the wood into the figure and sewed around the opening by the time I realized its centre of gravity is a bit off -- frustratingly -- just a bit. Not surprisingly, at some point this weekend, I am going to do some revisionist construction to eliminate the wobble. (sigh)
Nonetheless, it is something to show for an otherwise wacky FNSI. Here's hoping other people had a more productive evening. I'm off now to check on a few blogs.

A cup of brithday wishes

2012-01-13T20:00:00.000-05:00

I hope it is the birthday girl's cup of tea!

Tomorrow, we are invited to a milestone birthday for a family friend. She loves to read, so we gave her a gift card for her favourite book store.
However, handing over a gift card in a store bought card isn't my style.
So, I made her a teacup card out of polka dot scrapbook paper, wrapped the gift card like a teabag, and decorated the cup with paper flowers, a sentiment sticker, a handmade tea tag, and ric-rack.
I like the way it turned out.
This card also marked the first day I actually made something in 2012.
There is a tempest swirling all around me at the moment. I am working through it with the love and support of family and friends, but there is no denying that 2012 has started out as a very challenging year so far. As much as I love it, I have had little energy for the creative process.
Putting this card together was very therapuetic, and I am remembering why I love to create things. All the troubles seemed to melt away.
I am promising myself time to get my machine back into operation this coming week. It is cheaper than therapy -- and often involves shopping for supplies. I see this as a win-win.

Wasn't that a party?

2011-12-27T11:46:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely Christmas! This year, Santa urged us to give each other a treadmill. This meant that we did little presents in our stockings. Even so, they were fun presents. I got a truly bizarre music box that not only plays 12 of your Christmas favorites, but also generates a pretty snow storm.

Tilda bird lavender sachets

In addition, my children gifted me with a new clear sole embroidery foot for Berni -- the better to do some FM embroidery projects this coming year. They also gave me some of the new Clover quilt clips to help keep bag layers together.
Bless them, they have become really good about just going to the quilt store and having a look at my wish list.

She liked the bag!

My little owl cushion and garbage bag for Aunt Rita was greeted with delight, as were the lavender sachets I made for my choir friends.
I used the artwork offered in Tilda's Studio. I scanned the pages and then printed them out on ink jet fabric. Then, I sewed all around them to make the sachet bags, including a ribbon hanger. I filled with with lavender and a bit of toy filling. I was pretty pleased with them. They are so cute that I made some for myself, and will put them together after the festivities are over.
At the very last minute, I also made a couple of headache relief eye masks. These are filled with flax seed infused with oil of spearmint and oil of lavender. Keep them in the freezer and they are fantastic at soothing away those pesky tension headaches -- or those caused from having way too much fun at New Year's parties...
Speaking of the New Year -- here's hoping we all have a great 2012!

Merry Christmas finishes

2011-12-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

Intense concentration

Visions of sugar plums

My daughter and her housemate from school made a graham cracker and candy village this past weekend. Isn't it cute?
I made this garbage bag/pin cushion for my Aunt Rita's easy chair. I included a little pocket in the pin cushion so she can store scissors and/or crochet hook. They are forever getting lost in the chair cushions.

Cosy chair tidy

I also made her an owl pillow, from a pattern shared with my by partner in all fabric crimes, Sandra
I am putting the machine away today -- really taking the sewing room out of the dining room -- to make way for the Christmas feasting.
My wish for all my blog friends is that you have a wonderful holiday season, the happiest of New Years, a full fabric stash, and endless inspiration! Merry and bright!

Comfort and joy

A bushel full of fun!

2011-12-17T15:29:00.000-05:00

Apple in progress...

Friday Night Sew-In at Sandra's house was a lot of fun.
We were joined by Susan and Dave (well, Dave didn't do any sewing -- he did the driving).

Filling in the produce

I finished up a few little apple and pear pincushions from issue five of Mollie Makes.
It is a UK Magazine that has a lot of fresh, fun and funky ideas for crafting/making/thrifting/home decoration. I just love it, and now that I can get it in digital form for far less than the printed copy, I love it even more.
As usual, FNSI involved a lot of laughter, some screaming at the embroidery machine -- which I gave up on eventually -- and a lot of lovely fellowship with kindred spirits. It was like a Christmas gift before the official celebrations.
We even managed to get some things finished.
I am now plowing through the very last few things on my list.
Then, I can put my feet up and read until the end of January.
Even doing nothing sounds like a plan at this point of the year!

Ta da! Pincushion fruits!

Susan's little houses. So sweet!

The machine worked for Sandra -- and only Sandra

This is her tall zippered pouch that has embroidery within

Festive FNSI Finishes

2011-12-10T14:10:00.000-05:00

Bags-- not rocket science -- but useful

Once I vaccumed the carpets within an inch of their lives, cleaned the bathrooms, got the guest room ready, and took the sewing room out of the dining room, I got to work on my gift bags.
They are pretty basic, but I have a lot going on this weekend. They are designed to be sturdy enough for the recipients to use them to cart their shopping or gifts around during this festive season.
I used heavy duty iron on interfacing to give them some structure. As usual, it took forever to measure and cut. Construction was a breeze -- I even got the turning-the-lining part right this time -- for some reason I always get a brain freeze over that part!
I am having weekend guests, some will be staying others will be coming and going. In there somewhere is a turkey dinner. Yep, I am CRAZY.
However, once the gingerbread cookies were baked and the turkey was stuffed and set to roast, I decided to sit and post my FNSI finishes (such as they were), Now I am enjoying the potpourri of the cooking, and looking around to see what other did on FNSI.
I hope that whatever way you celebrate this day -- and at all times of the year -- is filled with fun and love!
Oooo, too bad the Internet isn't available in Smell-o-vision...

Big tree -- lotta sap...

2011-12-07T18:34:00.001-05:00

We get our tree from a local family-run tree farm


The sawing begins

I know, you're thinking: oooo pretty!
And it was. It's truly a winter wonderland here in the northern end of southern Ontario this week. It was the perfect day to get the Christmas tree.
The little place we get our tree is a family owned farm just 20 minutes north east of our place. The prices are still relatively reasonable. A big plus is that the owners prune their trees all summer long so that they have an actual Christmas tree shape when we come a huntin' for the perfect tree.
Mr. HH had to do all the heavy lifting on his own, we had no kids to help us this year. I did help tie the tree to the car -- after all, I know my knots.
Right now, the tree is resting in the garage in pail of sugar water so that the trunk doesn't seal itself and is able to absorb water throughout the Christmas holidays.
This day -- the day we go to get the tree -- always reminds me of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I love that movie.
Among my favourite scenes is when Chevy Chase takes the binding off the tree and the branches spring into the room, taking out a window.
His comment: "Big tree, lotta sap." Never fails to make me laugh, no matter how many times I have seen that movie.
Tomorrow, our tree comes into the house and goes in to the stand -- hopefully, with little drama. Then, the real fun begins!

Tying it onto the car

Little houses by the hearth

2011-12-06T19:39:00.001-05:00

Hung by the hearth

It's been pretty busy around here. I had company this past weekend. My cousin and I went to the One of a Kind craft show in Toronto. I didn't find many things to buy. I found the prices were astronomical -- but there were some very talented artisans featured. I saw some interesting ideas, and picked up a a lamp work pendant and matching beads which I hope to turn into a necklace for me before Christmas.
As I tidied up before my weekend guests arrived, I found a little stitch kit that was included in an issue of Cross Stitcher, one of my favourite UK needlework magazines.
I finished them today.
These little elf houses included cross stitch and sewing and were a lot of fun to put together.
I am somewhat cheered by the thought that I have several Christmas gifts ready. However, I need to get some gift bags done to package them up. The question is -- when will I get them done? Hopefully before Sunday, when the first of the recipients come for our annual get together with some former colleagues who became our dear friends.
Tomorrow, Mr. HH and I will tromp out into the woods at a local Christmas tree farm to get the family tree. As empty nesters, we find this a bit of a weird errand.

Hung by the hearth II

We used to have a kid stand beside our top two tree choices and then assess them using a very scientific ene-meene-miney-mo method for picking the perfect tree.
Last year, we had just our son and a digital camera to compare number one and two. This year, who knows how we will decide? Also, the tall son is away at school. How will the tree get attached to the roof with just short me and tall Mr. HH?
I suggested that we could just go to the tree lot by the grocery store. The rest of the family made growling noises at me.
So, tomorrow morning, off to the woods we go. I'll keep you posted.

On the stairway garland

The tree goes up before my daughter and her housemate arrive home from university on Saturday. The girls have a week off before they write their final exam of the term. So, rather than sit around their house and worry about the impending exam, they decided to come home and have me feed them Christmas cookies. These are cookies I have yet to bake. I will likely do so as soon as I get the house tidied -- yet again -- and ready for the next round company. I hope you are having a merry time, and take the time to enjoy some relaxation in the midst of this busy season!

Another turn of the celestial wheel

2011-11-21T13:57:00.002-05:00

Elf laundry

The sun is making its way to shine more on the southern hemisphere's summer. Up in here in the north, we greet the turn of the celestial wheel with something akin to resignation. We put up our Christmas lights and decorations because by 4:30 in the afternoon, it is getting dark. There is something very cheerful about their shining efforts. It is comforting in a way, bringing these little bits of light into our gardens and attaching them our eaves troughs.
Down the lane, we do Christmas with a full-on frontal assault. Lights, real tree, decorations, baking, making, friends and family invited over for the festivities. Oh yeah baby, it is about the only thing that makes the other five months of winter bearable.

Solar-powered Christmas

On the weekend, my dear husband began our back yard ice rink. My lavender will be under constant threat from stray pucks until April, but it has survived thus far. The back yard rink is a project of epic proportions.
A special liner arrives at the end of October, the lumber comes out of the garage, along with the special hardware to attach the liner to the boards, it takes the better part of an afternoon to assemble the whole 40 x 35 feet framework. And then we wait.
Usually, the weather becomes unseasonably warm -- and windy/rainy. Windy/rainy is bad. Leaves blow into the rink. When the sun hits them -- even under the ice, they heat up and create pits. So to avoid pitted ice, I have to skim the leaves out. Worms also manage to get into the liner. They have to come out too. Yuck!

Lavender in peril

Mr. HH turns into a weather hound. The minute forecasts predict temps below 0 for three consecutive nights, he begins pouring water into the framework. Then, nightly, especially on very cold nights, he applies a thin layer of water to the ice that has formed. Until it gets very, very, very cold. Putting on water at that point might wreck the surface. Trust me, it is science in action out there.
In other Christmas-y projects, I created a little tabletop tree from my summer potted rosemary. I used a set of solar powered lights to wrap the plant into a tree shape. It charges all day long (even in our often weak sunshine) and then lights up for about six hours as soon as it gets dark. At the moment, it is sitting on the tarp-wrapped table on the deck -- and given the puck situation -- it is probably safer there.
In other news, the Splendid Sandra has returned from her travels. She shared some scraps from sweet little quilt store scrap packs -- because I LOVE scraps. She also brought me back some lovely black and white polka dot fabric -- and Colour Catchers. I washed the scraps by hand and then hung them on the little dryer on the deck.
When I finished, I thought it looked like washing elves might put out on a line. I just had to take a photo -- and of course -- share it.
Hope everyone is having a great day! I'm off to do more Christmas presents. Fa la la la, la la la la...

FNSI on the front door -- and other places

2011-11-19T13:33:00.000-05:00

Welcoming deer ones...

Friday Night Sew In was really quiet down the lane. Normally, I have my stitchin' pals over for giggles and projects, but they were otherwise engaged this time.
I finished up my reindeer from Tilda's Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle.
In a flash of near brilliance (if I do say so myself -- which I must because everyone else was out doing other things), I used an attachment method of own design.
We have a steel door, so hammering a nail isn't an option. Instead, I used super strong neodymium magnets. These are the little flat silver disks. (WARNING: These are very dangerous for little ones as they are a swallowing hazard).

Neo magent strip

I made a four inch long by 2 inch tube of fabric and then dropped a magnet into the bottom. Then I sewed all around the magnet by hand. I did this for all four magnets. Then, I sewed the whole magnetized tube to the neck seam of the reindeer. I am confident the deer will stay attached to the door, despite the wicked wind and snow storms that hit our front door in the depths of December.

Not quite finished, but getting there

His neck bow (which covers most of the magnet strip) is actually a remnant of a jellyroll pack. It was part of a scrap pack from a quilt store in Kingston.
I just did a row of zigzag stitches up either side -- an idea in Tilda's Winter Ideas. The new booklet that arrived in my mail box this week -- I'd pre-ordered in August.
As usual, I love the photos and several of the projects are on the to do list -- especially the Santa with a little pointed hat.
(More on that later, hopefully.)

Quilting brings out the details

Once the deer was finished, I decided to do some whole cloth quilting on a little Henry Glass & Co. panel by Jacquelynne Steves called Sewing Room Social. It's going into a frame (eventually).
For the hand quilting, I used a spool of silk sewing thread. What a treat it was to use! The thread just glides through all the layers and resists tangles and knots. I just quilted around the outlines on selected areas to define them. I am not quite finished yet, but it was such a pleasure to do some handwork while watching Grimm. That show creeps me out, but I like it. I am also enjoying Once Upon A Time. I guess no matter how old I get, fairy tales are still appealing.
I hope everyone had an enjoyable FNSI! Now I am off to visit some blogs and see what you all got up to last night.

Festive FNSI

2011-11-18T14:19:00.001-05:00

A Canadian needlework magazine

I did this!

As I continue to ponder just what my FNSI project will be, I wanted to share some news: The festive issue of A Needle Pulling Thread will soon be in Canadian book stores. It is also available on iTunes Newsstand.
That's exciting news because my little gift card pockets included in this issue. I was working on them last May, and it is so exciting to see them in print now.
I hope people like them. It was fun to design them. I had a blast putting them together, and writing the instructions so that other people might be able to do them too.
I think I might do some more gift card holders for FNSI tonight. Maybe...
FNSI won't be nearly the festive occasion it normally is -- my partner in all fabric crimes -- the sensational Sandra -- is on vacation right now. She is leaving no Joann's unvisited. I am SO looking forward to her show and tell session sometime next week.
Though I will be flying solo this evening, I know there are a whole lot of us sewing and doing some festive Friday night finishing. Cheers to you, one and all!

Nanie's precious handiwork

2011-11-14T15:55:00.000-05:00

Nanie's coverlet

My Nanie Stella was busy raising three small children, my aunt, my dad and my uncle, and was expecting her fourth child in 1934. She was 34 years old and living in an Newfoundland outport that was a half day's cart ride to St. John's.
Her life wasn't an easy one. There were no modern conveniences like electricity and the village's only telephone was in the post office.
Nanie and the other woman of the village spent their days making sure the children were cared for, the house was clean, the gardens were tended, and the men fishing in little boats out on the Atlantic had three nourishing meals a day. I never thought she had a lot of time for 'fancy work.'
Not long ago, my Aunt Rita called to ask if I would like to have a coverlet my Nanie had embroidered. The tears welled up. We have so little of Nanie. She and her newborn daughter died in July 1934 from complications following childbirth.

Delicate, precious stitches

The coverlet was one of last things Nanie made. It is a summer-weight covering for a double bed, and it is embroidered on sturdy cotton calico.
When I first saw it, I was struck by how delicate and pretty it is -- such a contrast to Nanie's rustic life. The stitches are so delicate, so neat. You can't tell the right side from the wrong side.
Nanie traced the design, likely from a magazine pattern. These magazines were published in Boston or England, sent to Newfoundland by mail ship. Over the course of year, the patterns were traded around the village. Women made items their own by the choice of fabric and floss.
In this coverlet, there are parts of the embroidery pattern not covered by the floss. It is magical to me that these ink marks were made by Nanie 77 years ago. I am also surprised that the floss colours have not faded. I think I am going to turn the coverlet into a duvet cover by adding backing fabric and some ties to close it. It will be used and loved, because Nanie meant for that to happen. I just know it.

Aunt Rita's flour sack fantasy

Aunt Rita also had another surprise for me, a coverlet she made from flour sacks in 1941. Once again, the colours are vivid and the calico as sturdy as it was when it held the flour that made my ancestors' daily bread. This coverlet is so lively that it begs to go back into use.
Later this winter, once the Christmas crafting is over, I am off to Ikea for a lightweight duvet. I will use a cotton sheet for the backing of Nanie's coverlet and before long, her handiwork will be on display once again.

Book 'em Nan-o : a needlecase based on a Bari J pattern...but I don't want to say too much...

2011-11-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

A needle book. Shhhh. It's a present...


This is the open book.

Pooch pouches for presents: a tutorial

2011-11-03T17:14:00.004-04:00

Figure 1

These little pouches -- similar to shopping bag holders -- clip onto the end of a dog leash. They can be filled with small shopping bags or the plastic bags used to protect the morning paper from rainy weather.
I am making these for my friends who have dogs to walk and dog messes to clean up along the way.
This is a great way to use up little scraps of fabric. The most expensive part of the project is the swivel clip.

You will need 3/4 inch elastic and rick rack trim.
Here's what you do: (all seams allowances are 1/4 inch)
Cut a piece of linen 3 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches long.
Cut two pieces of patterned fabric, 2 inches wide by six inches long. (figure 1)
Cut a piece of lining fabric, 9 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches long.
Sew the patterned pieces to the long sides (figure 2)

Figure 2

Figure 3

Press the seams toward the linen. (Figure 3)

Figure 4

On the right side, cover the joining seams with a length of rick rack. (Figure 4)

Figure 5

Sew the main fabric to the lining with right sides together at the short ends. Turn right side out and press, trim any excess fabric from the sides.
Measure the width of the elastic at the short edges, and top stitch line across the short edges to form a channel for the elastic. (Figure 5) .

Figure 6

Using a bodkin or a safety pin, thread 5 inches of elastic through the top and bottom short edges.
Pin the elastic on one side, and pull the elastic until one edge measures 31/2 inches across and the other measures 3 inches across. (Figure 6) .
Cut a 1 1/2 wide by 3 inches long strip of linen. Fold the strip in half and sew, right sides together. Turn and press.
Thread the strip through the bottom of the swivel clip. (Figure 7).
Sew the strip across the top, near the end of the swivel clip. (Figure 8). Pin the swivel clip about a half inch down from the 3 1/2 inch edge.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Pin the long side, right sides together, and sew. Turn and fill with plastic bags from the top (where the swivel clip is). This one fits about 10 bags.

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Charm-ing Tilda!

2011-11-02T18:01:00.000-04:00


Charm squares gathered together

Huge button

Finished the Tilda Charm Squares bag today. I am very pleased with the way it turned out.
I also used one of the squares to make a huge covered button.
I really like the look of the Japanese bag handles on this bag.
The interior pocket and the button loop are made from Basic Grey's Blush range.
This was a huge learning curve for me, but now that I know I can do FMQ I will be doing more of it. It was fun!
I am looking forward to using this tote, and I am thankful to Wendy who made it possible for me to use the Tilda Charm Squares.
Thanks, my blogging buddy!

Bag interior

All Hallow's Eve

2011-10-31T16:59:00.000-04:00

With a feather boa!

Friendly felt ghosts

We do not go insane when it comes to decorating the house for Halloween. We make it spooky cute. I made some felt ghosts a couple of years ago. They go on top of tomato cages. I plunk them down on the garden lights and they sort of glow when the lights come on.

Spooky glow...

I didn't carve a pumpkin this year. The kids aren't here and I just didn't feel like making that sort of mess.
My pumpkin is made of crystallized plastic and lights up with the aid of 3AA batteries. Ditto the candles on the little table on the porch. I also loaded up the iPod with some Halloween tunes like Monster Mash and Attack of the Killer Tomato.
The chips and candy are ready for the the trick-or-treaters.

Floating friendly ghosts

Two months from TODAY!

2011-10-25T14:53:00.000-04:00

The last of the lavender and a Christmas cross stitch

If you listen carefully, you can hear alarm bells. Sure -- they are ringing, ding dong merrily on high -- but make no mistake. They are the CHRISTMAS alarm bells. Two months from TODAY we will be making merry. But, as we all know, there is a lot of work involved in a handmade Christmas.
I wish I was one of those who have been working all summer so that this TWO MONTH warning didn't seem so jarring and mildly panicky, but I can only focus on the nice weather. I revel in the waves on the beach, the novels on my e-reader, the wine after dinner lakeside -- all that comes with the pure hedonism of a Canadian summer.

A pile of ironing on the way to becoming Christmas presents


le petit packet

So, now beings the Christmas crafting. I have a pile of scraps that need to be pressed sitting on my ironing board. Sigh. Christmas used to be so much fun before I decided that my presents had to be handmade... (I am kidding!)
Earlier this month, I ordered some Christmas presents for myself. One of them came today from a Canadian Etsy seller, Pink Fawn Designs. Pink Fawn also has a pretty blog, and her real name is also Nancy. Hence, I was therefore compelled to buy some pretty Japanese cotton/linen from her.
Look how pretty le petite packet is! I was dithering about opening it. So I didn't do it -- yet.
She wraps the fabric is freezer paper -- which can be used to make fabric applique, and she also includes a swatch of vintage cotton sheeting. So cute.
Okay, now I am off to finish the ironing and get on with the crafting. Honest.

Handmade hijinks down the lane

2011-10-22T09:52:00.000-04:00

Berni loves freemo!

FMQ on the Tilda bag

The girls and I had a hoot and half at last night's Friday Night Sew In. Amanda made a sweet tote called a Vest Bag from Quilt a Bag. Sandra made a couple of her fabulous zippered bags, and I -- wait for it -- did the free motion quilting of my Tilda bag.
I also made brownies and forgot to put out the Tzatzki and pita chips.
But oh, the fun of the FMQ!
I put on my quilting gloves -- and looking like I was on a CSI episode -- did a practice run on a scrap quiltlet -- and found my FNSI bliss.

Amanda's bag in progress

First of all, dear Berni loves to do FMQ. I slapped on her darning foot, dropped her feed dogs and we were away to the races.
It is very liberating to sew without having to worry about doing so in a straight line. My weird little quilting gloves made the whole thing hand stress and shoulder pain free.

Sandra's fabulous finishes

Of course, as with nearly all my FNSI attempts, the F does not also mean finish. I find it very difficult to chat and goof around with the girls AND finish something.

Oh, I tell a lie -- I did finish two brownies and my green tea ginger ale.

The FNSI Microwave Brownie
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Blend butter or margarine with sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and cocoa. Stir together until blended. Then, stir into egg mixture. Stir chocolate chips and nuts (if using). Spoon batter into a lightly-greased* 8-inch square microwave-safe baking dish. Smooth top. Microwave on medium (bake setting or 60 per cent power) for 8 to 10 minutes. The top will still look soft. Don't over bake. Remove and let cool completely.
When cool, top with chocolate butter cream icing. I keep them in the fridge until they are ready to serve because they are easier to cut into squares then.
*I line the pan with parchment paper, so I don't have to grease it.

Chocolate butter cream icing
3 tblsp butter
1 cup icing sugar
2 tblsp cocoa powder
dash sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tblsp milk
Using an electric mixer, whip butter until light and airy. Slowly stir in icing sugar. When combined, whip until light in texture, stir in cocoa powder and salt and whip some more. Stir in vanilla and milk and whip until everything is well combined. Spread on the cooled brownies.

Wahooooooo! It's FNSI and there are treats in the fridge....

2011-10-21T15:00:00.002-04:00

FNSI snacks chillin' and ready to go...

It's Friday Night Sew In and Sandra and Amanda are coming down the lane to do some sewing and laughing at our house. It's been a challenging week, what with one thing and my mother...(God bless her)
I am so looking forward to taking over the kitchen table with three sewing machines and just have a nice evening.
We are working on various things -- and the fridge is stocked with the fuel needed for a successful FNSI.
Surrounded by the extra moral support, I may even attempt the FMQ on my Tilda bag.
It's also high time I started my Christmas sewing, so I have to get my act together on that front this coming weekend. Mind you, I have some things done already. Now it is a matter of sitting down and doing a serious list. matching names to projects that have been bookmarked with sticky notes in at least a dozen magazines.
I've also almost finished a second culling of my crafts crap (name given by Mr. D). It is a wonderful feeling of lightness to be rid of things I no longer need. Giving them to Goodwill allows me to share and removes a lot of guilt for having weighed down my life with extra supplies for no good reason. Thank heavens for that TLC show, Hoarders. It both creeps me out and forces me to tidy up.
Keeping myself motivated through the process was tough, but I persevered. Now, I am down to culling the magazines. That is going to take forever. I always end up sitting on the floor and reading them. Hours later, I realize I have pitiful pile of "toss" and a huge pile of "keep".
But that's all for next week. Tonight is about fun. Happy FNSI one and all!

Early morning yesterday, I was up before the dawn...

2011-10-16T09:49:00.000-04:00

Purple bowling lady PJs and matching socks

It's not often that a Supertramp song describes what was going on at a country quilt store yesterday -- okay, it is probably the first time...
Sandra and I were on the road at 5 a.m. -- dressed in our loveliest PJs -- for a Sunrise Sale at Country Concessions in Cookstown. It is 45 minutes north of us and we expected clear sailing at that hour. Not so. There was traffic. But we plowed onward towards a sale offering 40 per cent off all regular priced fabric cut from the bolt.
There I was, snaking through our neighbourhood -- not another soul in sight. I parked in Sandra's driveway and quickly killed the car lights. (I feared Neighbourhood Watch would be onto me, and then I would have to explain to the nice police officer why I was wearing PJs and claimed to be going to a quilt sale.)

Had to have 'em

Just as I was getting creeped out by the shadows of the trees moving in the wind, Sandra emerged wearing a fuzzy yellow bathrobe in lieu of a coat -- and her stylin' jammies.
Earlier in the week, when I suggested we go, Sandra managed to talk herself out -- and then back in -- to the sale in the space of three lines in an e-mail. Fair play to her, she really got into the spirit of the dawn. We laughed at ourselves all the way to the store, where we joined about 20 other ladies, most PJ clad, on the front porch. It had started to rain and we were still laughing. Inside the store, it was surreal, as we scanned the rows and rows of pretty bolts -- arranged both by theme and colour families.
I picked out seven fabrics I just had to own. Sandra scored some prints for specific projects, as well as radish fabric. Many others had to have help stacking multiple bolts at the cutting tables. We saw one lady with about a dozen bolts of flannel for rag quilts. The whole sale was wild.
While I was there, I found some quilting gloves to help me when I come to grips with the free motion quilting on Berni. I also bought some Japanese handles for my new bag, since I have come to the conclusion that I like them better than fabric ones.
We left for home while it was still dark, and I admit, I went back to bed -- until 11:45.
Mr. D. teased me for the rest of the day about getting up at 4 a.m. to feed my little fabric addiction. I showed him my receipt outlining my savings. He muttered something about it isn't savings if you don't need it. I see the logic, but logic has nothing to do with. The sign in the quilt shop says it best: "Stash away, stash away, stash away all..."

2011-10-14T18:58:00.000-04:00

A place mat for everyone...

I am still coming to grips with getting comfortable with stipple quilting by machine. Hence, I chickened out on my Tilda charm squares bag -- for now. I had hoped to finish it today, but I opted to finish these Tilda place mats instead.
I found Moda's Rural Jardin print by French General for $3 a meter at Fabricland recently. Shocking, since I've seen it for quadruple that in other stores. There was no need to twist my arm -- I know a fabric bargoon when I see one. I snapped up enough to make five place mats as presented in Sew Pretty Homestyle.

The aerial view

Heretofore, we have never had a matching place mat for each family member. The table often looked like a patchwork quilt of mismatched mats. Now, we are all ready for when everyone is home for Christmas -- its the little things that make me happy -- obviously.
These little mats are very easy to do, and I like the hand quilting which produces a pretty ruffled effect when they are washed and dried. Thankfully, they also wash and wear well -- a blessing when you've got a battle-scarred table and very little will to wash and iron table cloths. The mats are just pretty enough to distract diners from the tabletop and focus on the plates.
Speaking of crockery -- check out that jumbo Francais chocolat cup. I found it and its matching plate/saucer at Value Village for $2. I was tagging along with the kids last weekend. They were planning for their Halloween party costumes. I was just along for the ride. I also scored some vintage ric-rack in green and peachypink, as well as large embroidery hoops. I like those stitcheries framed in hoops you see all over the Internet, so I plan to give them a try. I also discovered that Berni likes to do free motion embroidery and the large wooden hoops make her happy to do my bidding. We are in negotiations vis a vis the free motion quilting of the bag. Watch this space!
Tomorrow morning, Sandra and I are going to a PJ party at a quilt store north of here. We are leaving at 5 a.m. in our PJs. I would like to promise photos, but I am reasonably sure Sandra will kill me once she wakes up. All I can say is -- I will try.

Wednesday's Work in Progress

2011-10-12T17:42:00.001-04:00

The WIP Tilda charm bag

A while ago, I posted about my heart's desire: to have some fabric from the Tilda range. Available in Europe, but not here, I have admired it from my Tilda library. Wendy, on the other side of pond, longed for clear vinyl. She could not find it anywhere. I had meters and yards of it.
Sandra brokered a trade -- and Wendy and I became bloggy buddies. When the charm pack arrived, I visited it often and put it away safely -- as one would any treasure (or realization of a heart`s desire)

The details...

My Tilda charm pack is precious to me -- and in charm form -- exceptionally cute. But, over the weekend, during some blog surfing, I finally found something worthy of my Tilda charm pack. I decided to get a grip and make something with them.
During the surfing session, I found this great tutorial from My Patchwork. I began it today using it my precious squares. The bottom fabric is a Michael Miller print called Old Script.
Tomorrow, I will do the quilting of the outer bag and make the lining and handles. I will post the results later this week.
Even in pieces, I love this bag. Thank you to all those who made it possible!

Artful elements: Ontario autumn

2011-10-11T16:15:00.000-04:00

... going out in a blaze of glory

The handmade creations I love so much sometimes just have to take a back seat to what nature can do with the changing of seasons.
This past weekend, we celebrated Thanksgiving. And, as if to remind us we are very fortunate, Mother Nature put on a lovely warm welcome for our annual farewell tour of the lake.

The lapping of waves...

Awash with beauty...

At the closing of the day ...

Giving thanks for that awesome turkey stuffing!

2011-10-06T14:01:00.000-04:00

Putting the yummmmm in turkey stuffing ....

This weekend Canada celebrates thanksgiving. We don't have the back story commemorated in the U.S. in November -- featuring Mayflower pilgrims feasting with the natives. In Canada, it is more of a celebration of the harvest -- and for me -- getting through another humid summer.
We spend the weekend getting the family cottage ready for its long winter's nap. While the workers (see also kids and their cousins) pull in the dock, winterize the boat and do the hundreds of other little tasks required before bidding farewell to the lake, Mr. D and I wrestle a 25 pound stuffed turkey into the oven. We went out yesterday morning to get it. along with an extra turkey breast to make sure there are enough leftovers for Monday's late lunch.
I truly love doing the roast turkey dinner. My favourite part is the stuffing. For me it is potpourri you can eat! In just three sleeps I will smell the heavenly aroma once more...
The stuffing is made with summer savoury, onions, bread cubes, salt, pepper, ginger and thyme. The savoury is grown in Newfoundland and there is nothing to compare the flavour it gives the dressing. It is herbaceous and spicy -- intriguing -- and wonderful.
Someone in the family is always going to St. John's, so that's when I stick my oar in and ask for some Mt. Scio Savoury. They probably do mail order, but it is kind of cool to harken back to a time when you had to bring it back in your suitcase -- next to the frozen cod tongues (that's another story).

The autumn wreath I made YEARS ago

My Dad actually taught me to make dressing. He was the one who cooked the major holiday meals at our house. Every time I mince up three whole onions, slice the two loaves of bread three days ahead of time to get it to dry out, and then cube up the dried bread, I hear him telling me to make the bread cubes smaller, but make the onions more chunky so they don't melt into the bird.
He wasn't a patient teacher, but that dressing is a miracle. I would try and share it here, but it isn't a recipe so much as a method -- and Mr. D. won't be able to taste it to tell you if it needs more salt or savoury...
I would like to share the grace we will say this Sunday as we gather around a groaning table by the lake:
For food, when so many are hungry
For peace, when so many know only war,
For joy, in a world where there is so much sorrow,
For family and friends, when so many journey alone,
We say thank you and amen.

The big chill is on its way!

2011-09-29T15:33:00.000-04:00

Purple awesomeness!

We are admiring the colours of fall around here -- although in the last few days it has been hot and sticky. Weird.
Nonetheless, I am doing my third infinity scarf in single crochet. This yarn is called lilac. I love the variegated yarns -- it is so much fun to see where the colours will end up.
I have always had a hard time knitting and crocheting. Call it a mental block or whatever, but I have such a hard time keeping track of the stitches. I am forever adding and dropping them -- and I can't read a pattern to save my life. However, this year, I fired up the Internet and found some youtube tutorials conducted by knowledgeable and patient teachers who didn't seem to mind when I would pause and re-wind them.
Once I worked out how not to mess up, I decided to get a few giant balls of yarn at Michaels ( I had 50 per cent off coupons) and just started crocheting away the evenings -- which seem to start earlier and earlier with each passing day at this time of year.
I managed to surprise myself by finishing one, then and another, and then starting this one -- which will likely be finished by next week.
These warm and wooly infinity scarves are going to be Christmas presents for some friends who have dogs and will need a warm scarf (that can also become a hat) when the winds start to howl and the snow flies.
I have also begun my list of gifts to be made. Once the list is on paper, I consider it carved in stone and I will work through it no matter what. The trick is to start before December 20 -- don't ask...

A little campaigning can't hurt...

2011-09-25T19:30:00.000-04:00

A cup of tea kind of magazine

Three years ago, I got a horrible letter in the mail. My dearly loved magazine, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion had ceased publication. The rest of my subscription would be to Martha Stewart's Living. I am not kidding when I say I went into mourning a little bit. As if anything Martha had to say was in anyway comparable to Mary...
Home Companion featured several sewing and crafting projects, along with ads for the latest fabrics, notions and gadgets.
I have almost all my Home Companions -- but I did donate the first four years' worth to Goodwill when we moved house a few years ago. Thinking the magazine would go on forever, I decided to share the wonderful collection of articles, recipes, home decorating ideas, artist profiles and paper dolls (one every month) with others. The fact they are gone still makes me sad -- I suspect this is how people are pushed into serious hoarding.
Anyhoo, I just found out there is hope of bringing the magazine back to life. Oh, happy day! Read all about it here: http://maryengelbreit.com/archives/339
Here's hoping that MEHC might rise again.

An anniversary

2011-09-22T08:04:00.000-04:00

That's alotta tulle and lace...

Today, Mr. D and I celebrate 27 years of marriage. We are giving each other a new roof to celebrate.
Last weekend, we drove around with a list of homes that had their roofs replace with the company. We were viewing shingle colours.
There was a time when we used to go on fall drives to view the leaves, stop at a country bistro for afternoon tea, or perhaps browse in little shops for a momento of the day.
However, there comes a time in every couple's life when you literally have to get your head out of the clouds and literally keep a roof over your head.Last weekend, it was all about Weathered Wood versus Mission Slate. Which would compliment our pinkish brick? What colour should the flashing be? For me, it was like planning a quilt project. For Mr. D., it was all about making sure I didn't suddenly fall in love with his favourtie: Mission Slate. (Wasn't going to happen -- there was too much blue in it for my liking. It would have made the house look like a baby quilt)
After much deliberation, we chose Weathered Wood with Chocolate flashing. It is not a romantic anniversary present. It is, however, a REALLY expensive necessary evil. It's dinner in tonight -- pot roast with Mr. D's favourite lemon cheese cake for dessert. And really, at this point in our lives, we have been blessed with the gift of true love and friendship and that is priceless.
I am off to the gym now to see if they have finally installed that time machine...
Have a great day everyone!

Flying solo on FNSI

2011-09-17T09:57:00.000-04:00

Nary a tissue in sight...

Sadly, I have some kind of head cold thing going on right now. Could be allergies, could be a virus. My head feels too heavy for my shoulders, and that makes me sad.
FNSI for me was a solo performance. I missed Sandra, but I am pretty sure she could do without my tissue issues.
I really wanted to sit in my recliner and sulk, but that seemed kind of counterproductive on FNSI. I succumbed the virtual peer pressure of working with more than 150 crafters worldwide and finished my CROCHET infinity scarf. Yep, I finally learned to crochet without dropping stitches and making a general mess -- especially at the sides. This scarf is only done in single crochet -- so easy -- and uses almost all of Michaels' Impeccable Giant Ball of 4-ply worsted weight yarn. I chained 50 stitches on a number 6 hook and then just kept on going until the yarn was nearly gone. Then, I joined up the two ends to make a giant loop scarf. This colour is called Neapolitan. Can you guess why?
I had cut out some Tilda's Studio waterlilies earlier in the week -- two small and one large, so I figured I might as well give them a go. (aka the Sudafed was doing its job). I finished one little one, and I quite like the way it worked out. I also pulled out my collection of Pima paper flowers for the centres.

Details -- the little Pima paper flowers

Water lilies are special to me because they were in my silk wedding bouquet 27 years ago this coming Thursday. I have always loved ponds, cool forest glades, turtles, little frogs and waterlilies, so I asked the florist to create a bouquet with a silk waterlily as its focus. He thought it was weird, but he did it anyway. Even he loved the end result. That's me, daring to be different!
All in all, not a horrible FNSI, but not quite a much fun as last month's edition.

Cheeky monkey hijinks

2011-09-12T19:57:00.000-04:00

The monkey and his book

When you get a new sock monkey, bite its tail

Ta da! Here is what I was working on last week in anticipation of meeting my newest and cutest cousin. He lives far away from Canada, and so his visit warranted a command performance of several members of his Ontario family at his Nonna and Dado's house. Nonna Stella is my first cousin, and we are pretty close.
When she learned she was going to be grandmama last year it was quite exciting for everyone.
Lauren, her daughter, is married to a chef and they both work on an island paradise.
Liam is very smiley and the least fussy baby I've ever met. Living in a tropical wonderland, he's got that "don't worry be happy" thing going on!
We all had a little time together this weekend, and of course, there were presents involved.
Liam's first birthday is coming up soon, so I made him a sock monkey dressed in overalls. I also made him 5 Funky Monkeys -- a fabric book from Erin Michaels' line of sock monkey fabric from Moda.
I made the monkey's overalls from a vintage pattern. I stupidly did not check to make sure the monkey I was making was of the same proportions as the vintage monkey. He was not. It was so sad that his overalls did not fit. I did not cry.
I pulled out my old proportional wheel and resized the pattern on a copier at Staples so I could use 11x17 paper.
Fortunately, I had extra fabric, so I made a bigger pair of overalls. I used felt for the eyes and the overall buttons because Liam doesn't know yet that buttons are not a delicious treat.

Liam found the monkey delicious

Now, I will have to make a smaller sock monkey -- I might as well, I already have the overalls.

It was such a pleasure to make a couple of things for a dear little boy who lives so far away. We might not always be able to visit him, but he will have little handmade reminders that there are lots of people in the world who love him very much.

It's a long weekend Monday

2011-09-05T11:41:00.001-04:00

Pre-ordered!

It is a long weekend Monday. I am at home working on my projects. There's a nip in the air today, and it looks like rain. It's the perfect weather to make a nice lemon loaf to compensate for the left overs we'll be having for dinner this evening.
Since the dear boy moved to college, I am having trouble compensating in the quantities of meals I cook.
We have a lot of left overs so far and it has only been a week! right now in the fridge, we have bits of every meal we ate from Thursday onward, but

Look ! A gift bag!

there are no lemons there. There is no bottle of Real Lemon in there either.
Sigh. I will now think of plan B. Hey, blueberry starts with the letter B. I could make a blueberry loaf. There. Settled. I will get away from the computer and make a blueberry loaf.

But until I escape to the kitchen, I must report that since I don't sleep well when it's just me and mom in the house, I did some Internet shopping early, early this morning.

I have ordered --- drum roll please --- Tilda's Winter Ideas from Book Depository.

This a pre-order. The book is due out in 81 days...its okay, I can wait.

Sweet Santa!

I blame Panduro Hobby. They sent me a catalogue -- hence the photos I share with you here. They have a whole Tilda section...pages and pages of Tilda things.
There was news of a new small book. Only it is in Norwegian -- and with a different title, but that's Tilda for ya. The new larger book, Tilda's Studio, has a different cover and title than the Norwegian edition.

Heavenly Tilda angels!

I considered getting the new Christmas one in Norwegian, but with Panduro, orders have to total more than I am able spend in Euros before they will process the order. Sigh. This is like not having lemons when you want to make a lemon loaf.
But then, late night brain wave me -- and it wasn't about lemons.
I searched Book Depository, which is based in Guernsey in the Channel Islands off the coast of the UK. They ship for free anywhere in the world, and they have an awesome inventory. There it was, a pre-order option -- and in English. It is so "pre-order" they don't have a photo of the cover yet. No matter. Me want.
Click. Click. Click. Done.
However, I am still loving the catalogue, even though it would cost me the earth to buy anything in it. Sometimes, it's all about the eye candy.

Lunchtime just got cute!

2011-09-03T14:12:00.000-04:00

Styling lunch bag for back to university!

Ayumi@Pink Penguin has a wonderful set of tutorials. This is the second time I've done this bento box bag. The first one I did earlier this summer was a challenge because I kept messing up the instructions. This time, I slowed down, pressed every seam very well -- and took my time. I only had to unpick the handles -- and that was because I wasn't happy with the top stitching!

The details...

This bag is birthday gift/back to school present for a young friend who is finishing up her undergrad degree this year. She'll be putting long hours in at school and at her job, so I thought she might appreciate a cute lunch tote.
What you can't see is the red polka dot lining -- a water resistant fabric that Suddenly Sandra brought me back from her last jaunt stateside -- a treasure from Joanne's remnant bin hunt. Not only does this stuff resist water, it holds it! I poured some water into the little cone you get when you cut off the boxed corner of the lunch bag. It could have been a drinking glass! It will be great to keep a little spill of salad dressing or whatever from spoiling the interior.
Now, I move onto the toddler present portion of my sewing projects for this week. I will post pics of them after they are presented to the young man in question. I can't wait to meet him -- I've only seen him in pictures.
In the meantime, check out Pink Penguin. There's almost always something cute, useful and artsy going on over there -- and sometimes, there are fabric treats listed on Etsy, but more on that later as well.

A perfect day to meet a new old friend...

2011-08-30T19:35:00.000-04:00

Blue-ti-ful drawstring bag & utterly charming squares

Quilt-a-Bag treasures -- strawberry purse handles!

Today, Sandra and Susan -- a fellow SRRS (scholastic residence relocation specialist) met up for a day out that included lunch and a trip to Quilt a Bag in Markham, Ontario.
We have been "visiting" with Susan for sometime now through her blog. (Check out Susan's tutorial for her grommet gift bags)
She is in town to move her student into the new college semester, so we decided to get together.
What a wonderful day it was! We started chatting like dear old friends right away.
We did a little gift swap -- see my new blue drawstring bag and pretty charm squares? The bag has a polka dot top. Too delish!
At Quilt-a-Bag, we found wonderful fabric and bag making treasures. I love the new purse handles I found. They are strawberries! I also found red and white polka dot linen/cotton fabric. As ever, it was fun to visit Ann -- and we missed Phoebe who was away for the day.
Susan, Sandra and I really enjoyed our day out together, proving once again that those who sew make friends stitch by stitch.
Thank you ladies, this was a gift of a day!

Just bragging about this year's lavender...

Moving out and moving in

2011-08-28T22:49:00.000-04:00

"If I pose, will you go home?"

Today, our son moved into his dorm room. He packed pretty light -- in fact, he was missing a few essentials -- but he has a stylin' rag quilt.
This week, in addition to filling in some the gaps his boy brain allowed in his packing list (yes, you will need more than six pairs of socks for the school year) -- I will be making a present for another special little boy who is turning one very soon.
In less than two weeks, we will be meeting him for the first time since he was born. Hence, I have a deadline -- and a bit of secret, since many of the key players are readers of this blog.

View one has bobble trim!

The present will comprise a classic design for a cuddly toy, dressed in togs from a vintage pattern from 1957. I found the pattern on ebay not long ago, and paid a pittance for it. (I recently saw it listed from another seller for US$31.99!) The second part of the gift comes from a pre-printed design panel gifted to me by my partner in all fabric crimes, Sandra. Intrigued, aren't you? I will take photos and post them as soon as the gift is given.
Speaking of vintage patterns, I found one at Value Village last week. It was published in 1969 and is for a groovy kaftan. Honestly, it is a very stylish Snuggy. I will be making myself one of these out of micro polar fleece for the coming winter. I might even elect to do View 1, featuring bobble trim because I do like me some bobble trim!
In other exciting news, we have a visitor from a foreign land visiting us this week. The visit will include lunch and a trip to a quilt store. Even more intrigue! I will write about that later -- there might even be photos.

A renewed case of Tilda love!

2011-08-22T19:37:00.002-04:00

The last time I was a fan it was 1971 and Donny Osmond ruled my heart.
I begged for my room to be purple (that was Donny's fav colour). I wore out Puppy Love on my Swingster portable record player. I was allowed one poster, and it was taped to my closet door.

My Tilda library

In the summer of 1972, a friend and I won a radio phone in contest to get to ask Donny a question.
I asked him if her ever got nervous before he sang before thousands of screaming girls.
He started his answer by repeating my name. It was BLISS! I don't even remember his answer.
I got over it all by the time I discovered Queen, RUSH, Gordon Lightfoot and Ian Thomas.
My room, however, remained purple until the day I left my parents' home.
Fast forward a few decades and I find myself back in fandom. Although this time, it all about lovely fabrics, gorgeous photographs.
I speak, of course, of Tilda's world.
I just received the new book, Tilda's Studio, in the mail on Friday. I took it to the cottage with me on the weekend to look it over. I am not disappointed. There are some reviewers who have expressed disappointment that the projects featured are not "new". What does this mean?

The book and treasures from Tilda's world

Tone Finnanger has been creating this brand, this palette, this esthetic for almost 10 years now. It is difficult to always come up with new, different and fresh. I think many of the projects featured in Tilda's Studio are the classics revisited. The photos are just as lovely, the ideas are presented with the same quirky vibe. I have already picked a waterlily to be my first project from the book, followed closely by a cockatiel.
In Europe, the Tilda brand includes scrapbook papers and accessories, as well as ribbons and notions. We can't get them here in North America. Nor can we easily get the fabrics, but my lovely friend Wendy has been kind (hugs to her) and now have some very special pieces of fabric which will likely find their way into the projects (if I can bring myself to cut them).
In the foreword, Tone writes that her mother passed away in March after a long, tough illness. The fact that this book came together, along with a new fabric line, is a testament to her work ethic and her commitment to the Tilda ideal.

The waterlily is project one!

She mentions in the foreword that creativity has been her therapy. I can relate to that on many levels. There is nothing so soothing to me than to pick up a needle, or sit before a machine and focus my energy on doing something positive when all the negative stuff is threatening to break down the door.
I think that is why I want to live in Tilda's world -- and I promise not to paint the walls purple!

Friday Night Sew In: A mostly photo essay

2011-08-20T10:43:00.000-04:00

Beginning to quilt the lining of my bag.

College boy and his ragged blanket!


Detail of the label: Steampunk cool!

We took these photos because the boy came home from his friend's house before the light faded for the day.

Friday Night Sew In was another fun night at my house. Sandra came over and we worked and chatted away. As usual, I pulled things apart. The tote bag I did doesn't have a pocket because I could not make it work. So, I gave up. I am no hero -- especially over a pocket.
I still like the bag though. It has cute Japanese handles I found at Quilt a Bag in Markham ON. I made the bag once in the spring, but after a while I decided it was too tall. I cut it down and made a sturdy lining. Now it is ready for fall and winter's wet weather. It will eventually sport a Kanzashi flower.
Sandra made a bag designed to contain damp items, like washcloths used to wipe off baby faces. She planned to do another project, but forgot some things on her list, so did what she could, and then packed up for the night. All in all, another fun FNSI!

Friday night: pressing the quilted lining

Sandra's project and essential fuel.

Sandra coaxing waterproof fabric through my machine.

Cute Japanese handles: attach by hand, ice elbow, repeat.

Sadly, things on the list were not in Sandra's project bag.


Fabulous finishes for FNSI!

Rag quilt construction 28 degrees with humidity=unconditional love

2011-08-17T09:28:00.000-04:00

A work in progress...

The things you do for love -- here are the rag quilt blocks laid out and pined in their five by five rows.
I have been collecting the flannel remnants for this quilt for the past three years.
I did the first of my rag quilts for my daughter's dorm room, and I kept an eye out for some masculine patterns too, as I knew that one day I would be making one for my son's dorm room.
In days long gone, I would have been saving up old clothes for the project, but I don't think our cottons/flannel stand up to the same wear and tear as those of our ancestors.
I had cut out the blocks earlier this summer, when it wasn't quite so hot.
I am not a fan of the cutting process, and to speed things up, I made a cardboard template so I would rotary cut uniform squares more quickly than measuring them up. I had to do this because I was working with randomly sized remnants rather than goods off the bolt. Then it got quite warm around here for weeks on end, so I put the project aside. Bad mistake!
Fast forward to yesterday, when I realized I am now out of time (move in is next week), so hot weather be darned -- I had to quite literally get it together.
Ah, the joy of four layers of flannel on your lap as you feed them through the sewing machine on a 28-degree day (humidex 32). Even with the air conditioning (God bless it and keep it from harm), it was sweltering task.
It took me a while to do the layout, since I didn't have an over abundance of any one print. Once I got the rows pinned together, I numbered them using sticky notes so I would have the order right when I began construction of the rows.
Now that it is all together, I am using my ragging shears -- which are really cool little spring hinged snips -- to make tiny little snips on all the seams. I only got two rows and one edge done last night before I gave up for the night and a glass of sangria.
Here is a very comprehensive tutorial on the rag quilt process. I skipped using batting in between the flannel blocks -- so technically I have made a blanket. I also made my blocks huge because I am sort of lazy and I think it makes the blanket look more masculine with larger blocks. I also wash the quilts with a couple of towels using Ivory Snow. I find this baby laundry soap seems to help the seams fuzz (or bloom) better. But laundry is a far off dream right now.
The snipping continues...the snipping continues...the snipping continues...the snipping continues...

Just looking at IKEA fabric and other scenes from a Sunday

2011-08-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

I am finally finished the major de-cluttering of the den. The dear ones took the old computer equipment to the electronic recycling facility. They said it looked like a scene from the movie, Wall-E. Where old electronics go to die...

Off to college...he grew up a lot

This week, I am working on my son's dorm room rag quilt. It consists of 13 inch squares of flannel in all kinds of colours. The quilt will be a surprise -- as long as he doesn't decide to read my blog this week...
I can't believe my boy is off to college next week (so much for just in time delivery).
The whole family ended up at IKEA yesterday to shop for his duvet, duvet cover, and sheets. We were going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, and IKEA was right there.
We had time before the film started, so over we went. Normally, we don't go shopping as a family since dear husband HATES shopping.
Our son picked out a really funky blue dots design for the duvet cover and quite masculine navy blue sheets. His duvet is a lightweight one, on the advice of his sister. (She spent a year in a dorm slowly being steamed like a burrito every night because her duvet was too warm. I made her a quilt too and she uses it for TV watching and slumber parties)
He also bought some coat hangers, which if you knew him, you would find hilarious. Apparently, while living on his own, he plans to hang things up in a closet, as opposed to throwing them around the room as he does here at home.
It was quite a picture watching dear husband wheel the wonky-wheeled shopping cart around as dear daughter and I led the boys on a merry chase through the store. They kept muttering things about how often we go there because we knew where everything is...
At one point, I found myself in the textile section -- I don't know how that happens -- it just does. Anyway, I was admiring some cheerful red and white stripped ticking. Dear husband whipped around, cart and all: "Didn't you just get rid of fabric? Why are you looking at more?"
Fair question. Of course, I was JUST LOOKING. However, there was no need to create a scene.
I will post a photo when I get some squares sewn together for the rag quilt.
I would have posted the mountain of laundry I did today in order to pack the boy up for school, but who the heck needs to see something like that?
Although, I did manage to discover where all our large towels had gone...

I got a lovely surprise in the mail!

2011-08-04T19:57:00.000-04:00

A beautiful surprise!

A while ago, Susan @ supermomnocape started chatting back on forth on our blogs. She's got a great wealth of knowledge about saving money and not suffering through economizing. Susan is also a talented writer and an amazing textile artist.
I once sent her a little parcel that ended up cheering her day, and didn't she just send me one that lightened my mood considerably as well. It arrived on Tuesday.
Susan made me a lovely drawstring project bag, a sewing companion for my scissors and needles, and sent along some fat quarters from Moda's Fig Tree Buttercup range. It was such a surprise and so lovely of her to think of me.

(Detail)

I have been blogging for two years this month, and feel very blessed to have "met" so many wonderful souls like Susan.
There is a lot in my life that keeps me close to home, and I'm okay with that for the most part. However, my bloggy buddies -- in all the various part of the world -- have expanded what I know beyond these four walls. They help me learn new things, let me show off my work, and quite frequently, lift the bad moods that easily hover around my door.
Someone once asked me why I liked blogging, and didn't it matter to me that these weren't "real" friends? I thought about it for a minute. Here's what I decided: The world is big, the world is vast, and now the world is virtual. Real friends applaud your achievements, listen to your troubles, and laugh with you. My bloggy buddies tick those boxes. I am profoundly grateful for them.
So thank you Susan! As you know, this package went a long way to putting a smile back on my face. Hugs!

Flower power!

2011-07-29T15:16:00.002-04:00

The closet is done. We took some -- okay -- quite a few bags to Goodwill yesterday morning. Now I have to move on to the re-organizing phase. This takes me forever. It will be days before I finish. More on that later.
But, I needed to learn something new. Wendy, the Crafter's Apprentice, has issued a challenge that has its own button. Learn a new technique (LANT) encourages the expansion of brain cells while amazing and delighting ourselves.
For my LANT, I cued up this youtube video to make those cute little five petal flowers that seem to be blooming everywhere on the blogosphere. I am not kidding when I say that it took me back to the summer day when I was 10-years-old and trying to learn crochet from Aunt Rita. Her hands seemed to fly through the yarn. She claimed she was going slowly too. I tried all afternoon to progress beyond the nine foot chain I seemed to have created.
I greeted my Uncle Dave on his front porch steps, crying over my own grubby ball of yarn, hook dangling uselessly in my fingers. He told me that I would one day learn to crochet, but maybe that day wasn't the day.
I loved Uncle Dave. He was from Glasgow, Scotland. Almost no one could understand his accent, but he was the most patient man God ever made. His heart, while big, did not work well. He died from heart failure not long after our chat on the porch.
Yarn and I have never been lifelong friends. I am a thread and floss girl. However, the flower thing appealed to me, so yesterday was the day I would learn to crochet something. I found some bamboo yarn in the closet in various colours. Since it does not have the texture of yarn or wool, I decided I would give the flowers a go.

So sad!

A bit better!

Much better!

The first flower was so sad. But, then the first pancake you make is always sad looking too. I switched hooks, yarn (a rayon blend this time).
The second was middling effort, but at least I was learning the pattern.
For the fourth one, I switched hooks and yarn yet again. I think the result is delightful.
Now, I will keep doing them until I am confident in the technique. They will likely start showing up on my work soon -- as long as I can make them better with each one I do.

Sure, I've had to ice my tennis elbow, but I learned a new thing! Can the installation of zippers in lined bags be far off?
The mind boggles...

... from deep within the depths of the den closet

2011-07-27T10:24:00.000-04:00

Hello. I am busy rediscovering the contents of the den closet at the moment. This is the closet where everything we didn't have a place for went when we moved seven years ago. In the Bible, all large tasks seem to take place in the seventh year, so I supposed this clearing out is meant to be.
I had no idea how large this closet is -- it is sort of like Dr. Who's TARDIS -- it is much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. However, extensive editing is going on.

This was 20 years ago...

It is excessively warm up here on second floor. My dear daughter and I are doing our best to get it finished today. It is slightly disconcerting that I can still remember where I used to put things in the old house, and when I find them in the closet, I can still picture where they used to be in our old place.
Anyway, enough nostalgia. The pile for the Goodwill run is looking pretty healthy, and I feel less like I could appear on an episode of Hoarding, Buried Alive. All in all, my time is pretty productive at the moment, though I am in the throes of de-cluttering as opposed to creating stuff. I consider this process a necessary downside of being creative. Sigh.
There will be no photos of this process. It is just too embarrassing! However, here is a photo of dear daughter and I in the old days, working together on a cooking project -- which is more fun, but less cathartic.

Nothing rhymes with orange simple syrup

2011-07-25T20:24:00.000-04:00

Christmas, 1962: I probably got everything I wanted

This adorable child is me, back in the last century. Back when you could get the things you wanted by asking Santa. Now, I guess I have to make what I cannot find. Thank heavens I like that sort of thing!
In this century, I am a lot older and I seem to spend a lot of time looking for the things I think I need -- like instant orange cappuccino mix. I hunted high and low for it today. I think I must finally acknowledge that they are either not making it anymore, or not selling it anymore in my area.
Now, I realize there are greater needs in the world than instant orange cappuccino mix. However, it was a little treat I afforded myself when days were going a bit rocky.
It seems I have a lot of those days now, as I try and help my mother through dementia. On the days I really miss my mom, I can do with that orange cappuccino.
As I scanned the shelves for what was not there, I came up with a do-it-myself idea.
I made my own orange simple syrup, which I will add to my warm skim milk and instant coffee. Yep, there is sugar in it the syrup. I use only a teaspoon -- and not all the time -- a treat now and then is okay.
Here's what I did:
1 cup sugar
1cup water
Stir together in a medium saucepan until sugar dissolves completely. Boil on high for five minutes, but do not stir. Turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool in the saucepan. When it is warm, stir in 3 tsp of pure orange extract. Cool completely and pour into a squeeze bottle. Store in the fridge for up to 2 months.
I wonder whatever happened to that toy piano?

Scented strawberries finished on FNSI

2011-07-23T16:03:00.000-04:00

A bumper crop of sachets!

Last night's Friday Night Sew In was a lot of fun.
Gathered around my kitchen table were Sandra, Amanda and Berni (my vintage Bernina 830).
We had some delicious blueberry squares made by Sandra, some fruity cool Sangria (brought home to the feast by the darling husband), and a lot of laughs.
I made more than a dozen lavender/rose sachets using my homemade potpouri, and the pattern and instructions from Sew Pretty Homestyle.
These whipped up pretty quickly and they smell wonderful, if I do say so myself (and I do). I gave Sandra and Amanda one each -- mostly because Sandra was tempted to "steal" one and we can't have that! :-)
These little strawberries are a good size for settling in a drawer or I might attach some cording to the top so I can hang them in a few closets around here that could use some freshening up.
The scent is more delicate than commercial potpourri, but I like the gentle fragrance. When the scent waffs away, they can be "recharged" with a just a few drops of essential oil.
From my browsing around the web, it looks as though lots of folks also enjoyed FNSI -- and it was wonderful to be able to visit with you and see what you're up to!
Yesterday afternoon, I sang at the funeral of a lovely woman who had been a nurse in our community for many years, and before that with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Judy was a special person who took the time to listen to people and then gently guided them along a path to wellness. She treated her own journey home with the same gentleness, and cared for the people who cared for her with heartbreaking grace.
Earlier this year, when she learned her disease was terminal, Judy arranged a special evening of prayer and thanksgiving for her life. Family, friends and colleagues came together to share stories, read prayers and poetry and sing the music that she loved. At the end of the evening, we had a cocktail party, because she loved a good martini. Judy also loved all things handmade. And so, while I shared a laugh with my pals, and thought of you all working away on your projects, I also thought of Judy. She was a patron of our art and a wonderful steward of mankind.

FH FNSI

2011-07-21T19:59:00.000-04:00

Lavender sachets -- comin' up!

For tomorrow night's Friday Night Sew In -- to which I have added the prefix Freakin' Hot -- I will be making some little lavender sachets shaped like strawberries.
The idea comes from Sew Pretty Homestyle -- I have so far harvested pounds of lavender from the garden so far this year. It has been warm all spring, so my little beauties began producing by the second week of May and have been going strong ever since. Come September, I will be making potpourri the way some people make spaghetti sauce.
The Freaking Hot part comes from the fact that today in Toronto it was 50 degrees Celsius with the humidity factored in. Humidity is always factored in here. We have a giant lake to the south of us and several in-land lakes and bays. We have all the humidity you could ever imagine.
Anyway, today was a record breaker.
I have set up shop in the dining room, close to the central air vent. We never eat in there until Christmas anyway, so why not?
I am doing the machine sewing of the strawberry leaves and bodies, and then I will do the filling and hand finishing tomorrow night when my partners in fabric crimes, Sandra and Amanda come over to play. I am turning the AC up tomorrow night. Creature comforts and all that...
I have heard the my daughter is coming home early from her Great Northern Adventure because of the more than 100 forest fires currently burning in around the area in which she is working. The Ministry of Natural Resources has been relocating people for days now, but now the community she is in is also threatened by the smoke. She is dreadfully upset because she has loved her job, but we are looking forward to having her home safe and sound soon. Send everyone involved good thoughts, please. I can't imagine trying to fight fires in this heat.

Christmas in July....

2011-07-16T17:56:00.000-04:00

I am back from two weeks R&R at the family cottage. It was truly restful. I read by the lake, on the dock, on the deck, and anywhere else I pleased.
I had some craft books with me, my e-reader and some magazines. I relaxed and got inspired all at once.
While I was away, I noticed some new folks have come to visit Heaven is Handmaid. Welcome to you!
I hope you enjoy your stay, and thank you so much for stopping by.
My cousin, recently returned from a Newfoundland visit, came to the cottage for some R&R as well. She brought me Jam-Jams -- delicious with ice cold milk -- and some summer savory. This is essential for the Christmas turkey. Sure, you can get savory in Ontario, but it is not the same as this one. I was running low, so this jar will help ensure successful Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
When my cousin and I returned home, we got busy on her grandson's Christmas stocking. (See, the theme is developing here...)
Her grandson lives in a sunny paradise, so we wanted to make his Advent Calendar stocking more tropical. Gone is the snowflake marker, replaced by a wooden palm tree. The Splendid Sandra machine embroidered his name for us onto some tone-on-tone white fabric, and I hand embroidered the applique band on to the cuff.
We went to our local quilt store to buy some buttons, and some new bobbins for the embroidery machine.

Finally, although it is not Christmas quite yet, Wonderful Wendy recently sent me some Tilda fabrics AND my favourite Cath Kidston prints, along with two of her beautiful handmade cards.
It was such a lovely surprise to find the package waiting for me.
So here's a big shout out to (and hugs) to her for making my holiday return that much more special.

Celebrating 144 years of being Canadian, eh!

2011-06-30T12:01:00.000-04:00


Square Bear lives in Turks and Caicos now, but he knows his heritage!

July 1st is Canada Day. It is our country's 144th birthday this year. I know, BABIES in a world filled with much older nations. We like to politely wave our flag on this day of all days. This year, even Will and Kate will attend the big birthday party on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
In Newfoundland, where much of my family is from, July 1st is also a memorial day to the members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. Much of the regiment was killed at Beaumont Hamel during the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
In honour of the holiday, and Newfoundland culture -- full as it is with Celtic music, hospitality and really good food, I offer this recipe from my Aunt Rita.
She is a transplanted-to-Ontario Newfoundlander who taught me to love and care for people using my heart, mind and talents. She calls them Clean Cookies because they aren't crumbly, and stand up well to being packed in lunches and picnic baskets. This recipe makes about four dozen cookies, so it's good for great big national pride gatherings and a nice finish to a "scoff" (a Newfie word meaning a great, big, good meal.)

Aunt Rita's Clean Cookies

1 cup margarine
11/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1-1/2 cups seedless golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with baking parchment, or grease lightly. Using a hand mixer, blend margarine and sugar together until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon to combine. Add to sugar and margarine mixture, stir until well incorporated. Fold in raisins. Drop by spoonsful onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

It's all in the wrist

2011-06-26T12:51:00.003-04:00

Back in junior high -- my sewing teacher was a strict, grim woman who likely hated children. Well, we didn't like her much either, but I did admire her wrist pin cushion. It was one of those utilitarian affairs -- a red cuff with a hunk of thick felt in the middle, with pins sticking out of it. It kept track of those pins in the same grim manner as our teacher. And nonetheless, I still enjoy sewing...
Now that summer is here and I am sewing a few things outside, I decided to make myself a cute wrist pin cushion. With this little cushion, I won't end up losing a pin in the grass, the deck, or worse, on the cushion of the porch swing.

Use a large bottle cap. Cut a circle of fabric roughly twice the diameter of the cap. Turn under a scant hem and make a running stitch around the circle. If you use tiny stitches and strong thread, you will get smoother gathers.

Cover the outside of bottle cap with glue -- including the sides. Let it sit for a minute so it goes a bit tacky. Set the cap into the little cup formed when you pull up the gathering threads in the fabric circle. Press the fabric onto the cap, smoothing with your fingers.

Iron on some heavy duty interfacing onto a scrap fabric. Cut out a circle that it is slightly smaller than the bottle cap top. Fold this circle in half and cut two small slits in the middle of the circle, slightly apart, but parallel to each other. Set this circle aside for the moment.

Cut out a petal shape from cardboard. This might be bigger or smaller, based on the diameter of the cap you are using. The base of my petals measured about 3 cm (1-1/4 inches) across the bottom. Fold scrap fabric in half, right sides together, and trace seven (7) petals onto the wrong side. Pin together. Use a small stitch on your machine to sew the petals along the traced line, leaving the bottom open for turning. Cut out, leaving a scant seam allowance, and then carefully turn right side out. Press the petals. Thread a needle with strong thread and run a line of running stitches along the bottom of the first petal. Push this petal down the thread. Add all the petals to the thread.

Pull the thread to lightly gather the petals into a circle. Tack the ends together to close the circle. At this point, distribute the gathers around the petals so that they aren't bunched up in some areas and hardly visible in others.

Trace a fabric circle roughly four times the diameter of the bottle cap. (I traced a bowl for a nice even circle) Turn under a scant hem and, using strong thread, make small running stitches around the fabric circle. Pull up the gathering threads to create a cup of fabric. Using a handful of polyester filling, stuff the circle. A tip: use small amounts, put first in the middle of the circle and then pushed to the sides all around the circle. As you stuff, you will be also pulling up the threads. Stuff it quite full, you want a serious pillow for the pins.

Pull the gathering threads tightly and knot the end. Don't cut the thread. Instead lace the bottom by using long stitches in one direction and then in the other. This provides a bit more stability for the the cushion. Knot the thread several times and then cut it.

Fire up your glue gun. Attach the petals to the cushion bottom. Press down carefully to make sure you've made maximum contact. (Just remember that hot glue is really hot and it sticks painfully to hands).

Remember that interfaced fabric circle with the slits? You need it now. Measure your wrist with 13 mm (1/4 inch) elastic. I needed 23cm (about 9 inches) of elastic. Thread the elastic through each of the slits in the circle. Attach the ends and sew them together. Go over the join several times to make sure it is good and strong. Pull the elastic down so that it is flush with the circle back. Spread some PVA glue onto the back of the circle and the back of the fabric covered cap. Adhere the circle to the bottom of the cap. Put a dot of glue on each end of the elastic to tack it to the cap for stability.

When the elastic has dried onto the cap, run a bead of hot glue around the sides and into the middle of the cap. Place the petaled cushion into the cap and hold firmly until the glue cools and hardens.
Now you have a wrist pin cushion that is both cheerful and useful.
Bonus: your family and friends are spared from accidentally sitting on pin on the front porch swing.

Summer starts today!

2011-06-21T13:03:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow, my daughter is leaving to be a summer camp counselor with aboriginal children in the north.
She hopes to be a teacher one day, and it both excited and apprehensive about the new adventure.
She will be living and working in the communities, and getting to work with kids everyday, focusing on reading and literacy -- two of her great passions.
During the past couple of weeks, she has been packing based on the final weight of her luggage. She will be working in remote areas, only accessible by bush plane, so she has to travel light.

The agency she is working for sent a packing list and cautioned that 50 pounds is the limit. Her bags weigh 40 pounds in total -- including sleeping bag and backpack.

Since she won't be home for her birthday this year, we had a little celebration on the weekend.

I made her a composition book cover based on a pattern in Pretty Little Mini Quilts. I like this series of books, but I find they are a bit short on templates. So, I made my own and re-sized it to better fit the book cover. I had a lot of fun putting this together. It involved a bit of quilting, hand embroidery, applique, and I printed a quilt label using some antique French post cards from the Graphics Fairy. It's a great website offering free copyright free vintage and antique images. I did the labels in my desktop publishing program and then printed them out on inkjet fabric.

My daughter loved the book and will use it for her lesson plans. We tucked a gift card for some new titles on her e-reader -- about the only way she could bring 150 books on her northern adventure!!! Happy Summer everyone!

Finally finished on Monday morning

2011-06-20T16:48:00.000-04:00

Groovy tie dyed sock monkey

What a delightful time I had with Sandra on FNSI. We played around with her new embroidery machine and I got a really cool little sock monkey patch out of it. He looks tie dyed because we didn't have all the colours called for, so we improvised.
My project, the Mary Englebreit fabric tote bag, made according the instructions in Tone Finnanger's Sew Pretty Homestyle was sort of nightmarish. I kept reading the directions, looking at the pictures, but I couldn't figure it out.
Thinking it was me, I got Sandra to read it. She and I agreed what I was doing appeared to be right, but it wasn't working. At all.
Eventually, I struck out on my own and got the bag put together.

Doesn't look light the stuff of nightmares... and yet

However, in the cold light of day, some seams had become hopelessly bound up together in a big lumpy mess. I had to rip them out and start again. Oh, and because I clipped the curves, I had to put the seams back together properly by hand, mending the seam as I went. Arrgh!
After the amendments, and sewing the handles on, I revisited the book.
It seems the illustration I was looking at was all about the bottom of the bag, not the top. Though it must be said, the illustration is oriented to give one the impression it is the top, not the bottom. So, I photocopied the illustration and glued it in correctly -- well, correctly to me at least.
Now, the instructions make sense to me.
Sometimes, FNSI is about skills revision...and a bit of desktop publishing.

FNSI project with vintage handles

2011-06-17T13:40:00.000-04:00

These are a few of my favourite things!

Friday Night Sew In is here again.
Before it begins, I will be on a Skype call to my Aunt Alma in Newfoundland. She is turning 80 years young. There's a party at my cousin's house this evening. I wish I could be there, but visiting via video is a miracle in and of itself.
Once I say good bye, I will offer to Sandra's house to check out the new embroidery machine that she found at the quilt store garage sale. I also plan to make a Tilda tote bag, as featured in Sew Pretty Homestyle, using some fun Mary Engelbreit fabric and vintage handles found at Value Village.
They were once $2 and sold at Metropolitan -- a store that disappeared from here years ago.
I think I paid .99 cents for them in their Value Village reincarnation. Bonus! Now that these bags are popular again, the handles are about $18!
I am excited to be using my two favourite things: ME fabrics and Tilda; for one of my favourite activities: FNSI; with one of my favourite people! I am also doing a birthday present for a certain someone, but I can't write about that until later on this month.
What a great day -- even though it is a little drizzly.
I will post the finished product tomorrow. Have a wonderful FNSI everyone!

Garage sale at a quilt shop

2011-06-04T22:23:00.002-04:00

The beauty of scraps

In a town just north of me, the whole population holds a giant garage sale over the first weekend of June. This includes the quilt shop.
I received two e-mails from the shop about the sale.
After I got the second one, my firm resolve not to go dissolved. So I called my partner in fabric crimes, Sandra, and off we went to experience a quilt store garage sale. We were sort of amazed and delighted -- in the way only the truly fabric addicted can be.
There was a pile of patchwork scraps piled high across four trestle tables. The deal was you could fill a Ziplock bag for $6.98 -- as long as it closed -- it was yours! If you neatly folded it all up (and I did), that was quite a lot of fabric.
I scored some Kona quilter's muslin, several charm squares, a nice piece of linen/cotton blend, and a huge piece of pink gingham. I also found several feet for my Brother machine, including a Teflon foot, a cording/piping foot and a roller foot. They were $1 each!
When I got it all home, I discovered there were some uneven edges on the gingham , so I squared it up and used torn off strips to make these little rosette gift ties, as featured in the current issue of Somerset Life.
These rosette things are popping up all over the place lately. They are decorating cushions, duvet covers, lampshades and tote bags. They are really simple to do. You basically twist up a strip of fabric, and start winding it into the flower shape, dotting with a glue gun along the way to hold the spiral together. In the magazine, they featured a permanent bridal bouquet in various colours of silk. It is pretty, arty and a clever way to make a lasting keepsake of a special day.
The rosettes I made have green raffia loopy leaves glued to the back, with hemp chord added for a tie.
These were fun and easy, and pretty darned affordable, since they started as quilt store garage sale scraps!

Sometimes you just gotta break out the glue gun

Festive finishes and oh, yeah, I need a necklace

2011-05-29T16:22:00.001-04:00

When life hands you scraps...

This past week I finished the three ornaments that double as gift card pockets for the festive issue of A Needle Pulling Thread, a Canadian needle craft magazine. The pockets themselves aren't complicated. The instructions to do them took way longer to write -- and then I had to tidy the templates for publication.
I can't take a photo of them because the magazine isn't due out until October, but I can say they are kinda cute. Bonus: I did all of them using scraps and left overs from ribbon embroidery projects and oddments of floss, beads and linen. Sounds weird, I know, but they were fun to do and the little pocket feature makes the gift card present a little bit special. Me, I like getting gift cards, especially for books. I really like getting gift cards in cute packaging.
This weekend, we went to my sister-in-law's house for a surprise 25th anniversary party. I wanted to make some little accessory to match a new jacket/sweater. I picked a kanzashi flower necklace made from some black polka dot fabric and the very last scraps of the gift card pocket backing. The centre self-covered button was from a bargin bin of notions at a funky little store near the family cottage. Last summer, I scored five packages of four for $1!
I love the way this flower turned out -- even though one little petal REFUSED to tighten shut. Nonetheless, I got a lot of compliments on it at the party -- despite the errant petal (there being no kanzashi flower mavens at the party). I even had an inquiry about taking orders -- which is not out of the realm of possibility.
Everything came from the scraps and stash -- I even had the necklace cord in a bag of trims and stuff, so it cost next to nothing to make. Well, okay, as some point money exchanged hands to buy the fabric which became scraps and other stuff in the stash -- but that is entirely beside the point. Let us focus on my imagined frugality...
There is a tutorial and all kinds of other stuff about kanzashi about how to do them on Diane Gilleland's blog
Of course, when I finished the necklace, Miss B wandered by making envy noises like a Sims character. I had just enough left over to make her one too. I put her flower on a necklace wire, which makes it youthful and funky. And naturally, all the petals on her version stayed closed.
Yeah, I am the best mom ever....

A cushy life on Friday night...

2011-05-21T08:59:00.000-04:00

Living a cushy life on the front porch swing

Front detail

Another successful Friday Night Sew In.
In our part of the world, Sandra hosted in her studio, which was awesome because she had just about anything I didn't bring right at hand.
Here is my cushion, as featured in Kajsa Wikman's Scandinavian Stitches. I redid the first of three sofa cushions which need an update.
I did several interesting things, including trying to slice through a button on the back as I was squaring up the work at the end. The scallop stitching disguises the fact that the darker fabric of the tablecloth was showing against the white of the teapot. Thank heavens for decorative stitching!
I love the idea of using thrifted shirts to make the backs of the pillows. I saves having to do button holes. I love how this cushion turned out, and we had a great time. Now, I am doing two more for the most economical sofa makeover ever. Thanks to Sandra and Amanda for making FNSI the treat it always is!

Button back detail

Surprises on an international scale

2011-05-19T14:22:00.000-04:00

Surprises within!

DD's feet

I picked up a copy of Sew Hip at my local variety store. It is pretty expensive here in Canda, but I like many of the projects and ideas they feature. Taking advantage of a brief period of sunshine, I was sitting on the front porch swing when I spotted the gallery page.
"Hmmm," I thought. "Those slippers look like the ones I made dear daughter for Christmas. No. Wait. They are the ones I made DD for Christmas!"
I posted them to the mag's Flickr group and e-mail them to the mag as well. Surprise! Surprise!
I was all happy and thrilled.
Mr. D. commented that I was behaving as though I had never seen my name in print before.
"Well, I have never seen my name in a British magazine before," I said.

He had to concede that it was pretty cool on an international scale.

Then he ordered me to stop squealing along with DD when she saw the photo. Fair enough.

When he found out our first child was a girl, he remarked that he not looking forward to the random squealing that girls tend to do when they are delighted and happy, especially when they are with other girls.

Cool, right?

He'd grown up with two sisters. He knows from squealing.

In other news, I found a lovely little tulip in the garden. I didn't plant it, but it is so pretty and tiny I had to share it. This image reminds me of a quilt pattern or something you might see in a kaleidoscope. I would squeal, but that would be annoying. You can though, go ahead!

Friday Night Sew In is on the horizon

2011-05-18T20:24:00.000-04:00

FNSI is on May 20. This means I will packing up my project in my old kit bag and smile, smile, smile all the way to Sandra's house. We will be joined by our friend Amanda, who is keen on making a few cushions to tart up her newly-created garden room.
This room has been many years in the making, and dreamed about through many a brutal winter day.
After many hours of work by Amanda and her husband, the room became reality last summer.
It is a large space, covered by a gazebo roof. It has a paving stone floor. It is wired for power and has a large ceiling fan to make our very humid summer evenings bearable.
As the room neared completion, Amanda began looking for furnishings that she could make over and redo. She thrifted a chunky pine living room set (circa 1970). We're talking a sofa, chair and rocking chair. The upholstery was a sort of harvest gold, down by the old mill stream kind of velor print. But, she has vision and a mad ability to do upholstery.
She envisioned it covered in a lime green with white piping and white covered buttons. About a week after bringing it home, that's exactly what happened. The fabric was on sale, and just to make sure she had enough, she bought the whole bolt. Then, she more or less deconstructed the old coverings to make a pattern and got to work on her trusty old Kenmore.
One weekend of intense sewing, power stapling and wielding of wicked-looking long sewing needles, she had a totally recovered set. Its change of clothes has made the furniture look modern and an organic part of her spectacular garden.
Last November, I got Kajsa Wikman's Scandinavian Stitches. In it, there are some ideas for making some whimsical cushions. The garden room never far from her mind, Amanda picked the cushions as something she wanted to make for the sofa and chairs.
So, that's what we are planning to do. I need to redo the ones on my family room sofa. There are three, but I plan to redo them one at a time. We will be using the scraps from projects past and the thrifted shirt fronts with their buttons for the cushion backs.
And yes, there will be photos of our cushions. I will ask Amanda's permission to post some photos of the garden room later this summer, when the garden is in full bloom.

Bento box bag of beauty...

2011-05-12T12:35:00.000-04:00

Spring is springing!

Two things have changed around here -- spring has sprung and my daughter is home from university.
The tulips I planted three years ago have finally come up. One even managed to bloom. These were bulbs from a gift of potted tulips my daughter's room mates gave me after a long-ago visit to our home during reading week at university.
Dear daughter is working at her horrid call centre job, which means she is on the line from 7 a.m. until noon most days. She brings breakfast and a snack, packed the night before, just like when she was in school and living at home full time. The other night, she was rummaging around for a small enough plastic bag. Not an easy find since they aren't given them out for free anymore.
I heard her murmur, " I have to buy a lunch bag."
Antenna up, I said, "How about this bag?" I clicked onto the lunch bag tutorial on Pink Penguin.
"Yeah, like that one," said DD. "But I get to pick the fabric."
Fair enough, since much of it lives in her room at the moment. Off she went to rummage around. I love what she came up with -- it is so very Audrey Hepburn -- her favourite actress.
This little bag is so sweet, and it uses little bits of fabric. I can see it using up bits and pieces -- and perhaps used to package up jams or baked goods for gifts. Hmmmm....

Spotty, dotty lunch tote

The instructions are clear and it is very easy to put together -- Ayumi is a very good cyber teacher and a generous artist. She has several great tutorials on her site.
Sadly, I had many extra steps in this first bag because I didn't have any iron on interfacing and I sewed the handles (which DD requested longer than indicated) to the wrong side of the interfaced rim (I was a special moment for me. Yes, I said bad words). It suffers from first pancake syndrome in a couple of places (you know, the first pancake is never as good as the ones that come after it) Nonetheless, I love how this little bag turned out, and so did DD. I have since obtained some seriously full-bodied iron on interfacing. The next pancake, er, lunch bag, will be slightly more awesome.

Bag making supplies found in Markham!

2011-05-06T14:52:00.001-04:00

Designs for Christmas

In the last little while, I have been busy designing some gift card holders for A Needle Pulling Thread magazine. These are for the festive issue and the deadline is June 1st. Believe me, I have been challenged to think Christmas when I am so very sick of winter, but I've finished making the sketches and the patterns, choosing the colours and tracing the designs onto the linen. Now I have to do the models, taking notes as I go. Then I will write the instructions. It isn't easy, but I like the work. I only hope the editors and the readers will like the end results.

Sweets from Sandra and fabric from Markham

In order to hobble the sugarplums' dance in my head, I was browsing around tote bag-making sites on the Internet on Tuesday evening. I actually found one close to home. So, me being me, I paid a visit the very next day. It was well worth the trip!
Normally, I don't do a lot of bragging for commercial enterprises, but I have to give a bit of a shout out to Quilt a Bag in Markham ON. It's about a half hour away, and has some of the most intriguing collections available in my part of the world for fabric and bag making hardware. It is also an authorized Bernina dealer -- and so, I love it.
Phoebe and Ann do a great job of finding some lovely Japanese designer fabrics -- including the sought after cotton/linen blends full of quirky, tiny prints. They also stock an impressive great selection of threads and Moda fat quarters. There are a ton of bag samples made up for both inspiration and to showcase the fabrics.
These ladies are also warm, welcoming and very knowledgeable. Sandra and I popped over for a visit this morning, and we had a great time browsing and buying. Before we left her place, Sandra shared some of her pretty sweets sent to her from a friend in Germany. All in all, it was a nice jaunt.
Now we are longing to fit a class or two at Quilt a Bag into our schedules this year. They don't have mail order yet, but it is in the works.
In the meantime, have a virtual visit. There are a couple of tutorials there as well -- check out the zippered key chain purse. Sweeeeeet!

Bleary eyed breakfast fest...

2011-04-29T15:41:00.000-04:00

Festive decorations

Up with the dawn this morning to watch a lovely young couple tie the knot -- along with a billion other television guests. What a beautiful event for Will and Kate. Say what you will about the monarchy, they know how to put on a grand event. It was all so elegant and tasteful. Nothing too much, nothing too little. Kate's dress was so lovely and classic. It will influence bridal elegance for many years to come.
As I predicted, I was enchanted by the service (it was the same one used when the Mr. and I tied the knot 27 years ago). I adore the poetry of the Book of Common Prayer. There are parts of it still that can move me to tears. I have always loved the way the bride and groom's hands are wrapped together in the stole of the priest with the pronouncement, "Those who have been joined together, let no man put asunder..." So beautiful.

Vintage deliciousness

The music! Next to creating and receiving handmade things, I love listening and performing music. Love Divine All Loves Excelling has been my favourite hymn since childhood, and yes, it was our wedding hymn as well. I also enjoyed the new anthem composed by John Rutter for the wedding. That man can certainly write a tune.

Fairytale on TV

Miss B made us some lovely floppy hats to wear as we watched. Very fetching they were too, adorned with flowers, butterflies and ribbons!

Sparking rose

Our breakfast feast, shared with friends Amanda and Ashley, included sausage rolls, mini quiche, strawberries, scones, strawberry jam and Devon cream. Yummmm! It was washed down with sparkling rose wine and tea served in my late mother-in-law's teacups, circa 1953.
It was wonderful to witness this bit of history -- albeit at a very early hour -- and to share the experience with my dearly beloved daughter.

A right royal knees up!

2011-04-27T22:30:00.001-04:00

Miss B bakes a cake...

Here at Handmaid Headquarters, we are in planning mode for the viewing the Royal Wedding. In Canada, coverage begins at 4 a.m.
Nonetheless, we are sharing the experience with our friends Amanda and Ashley. Amanda's mom is a proper cockney, born within the sound of the Bow Bells and all, so we are delighted to watch this historical occasion with them. My daughter, the recently-returned from university Miss B, and I will be welcoming them in our very best pjs and fancy headgear...

Anna Griffin's Fabrications pages

Today, while Miss B baked a cake to transform into petite fours, I made bunting. These little triangle flags are all the rage once again, though I have always associated it with festive events. It has always seems so very British to me.
Since I wanted to make something that I can use again for other festivities, I decided to use some scrap booking fabric from Anna Griffin. Called Fabrications, this stuff is specially treated fabric that can be cut and will not fray. I got it on clearance sometime ago and used some of it for an earlier project, but I still had some nice prints to use for the bunting.
Making the bunting wasn't difficult, and I really liked the end product. Here is how I did it:

First, I made a triangle template with six-inch sides. Then I cut out 18 triangles from three prints. Then I used some single fold bias tape. I folded it in half and ironed it. Then, I used a glue stick to run a line of glue on the front and back of the triangle, and glued it to the bias tape, folding the tape over the front and back of the triangle, and pressing down--basting it onto the bias tape. I spaced the triangles two inches apart, marking the placement for each new triangle lightly with a pencil. When I finished the glue basting, I let the glue dry. Then, I sewed the whole line down with a wide straight stitch. Now, it is ready to be hung up over the entertainment unit to give a festive air to our early morning right royal knees up!

Bunting flags spaced two inches apart

Basting with glue

Almost ready to hang...

Never give me day-long access to a car

2011-04-20T16:52:00.001-04:00

Day out and dollars short

Fabric details

Spools, cakes , and pouches -- oh my!

This morning in our part of the world, rain was coming down in buckets, and it is still sort of cold. But it was made better because my sister kindly loaned me her car for the day.
What better way to celebrate such a day than a trip out of town to a quilting shop in Cookstown ON. Suddenly Sandra joined me in the escapade.
I found lovely cake fabric (hideously expensive, but mine anyway.)Fabrics also adopted included a Fig Tree print on special sale and along with some insanely cute and on sale Mary Engelbreit. Sandra spied a Fig Tree Pattern for little cell phone/camera bags, so that went in my pile too. Then I added some sewing machine top stitching needles and a couple of John James Pebbles in hand sewing and quilting styles. Let's not forget about the pretty Asian inspired fat quarters.
Oh yes, turn me loose and damage ensues. I was like a kid in a candy store -- except I wasn't -- not right at that moment.
After the quilt shop, we found a real candy store/antiques shop. Therein, I found TWO old textile mill spools marked at 50 per cent off because the store was closing down. I have been hankering after them for some time (at least 12 years), but having never found them, I gave up.
My interest was renewed because Fresh Vintage Sewing features a pear pincushion perched upon such a spool.
After our adventures in Cookstown, which included an unfortunate enabling of the car alarm -- I had a heck of a time disabling it -- we were off to the dreaded Newmarket mall.
We had lunch there.
I also got some tea towels for my aunt who makes little oven towels. She sells them at summer craft sales (one of them, ironically, in Cookstown).
We arrived back home after our large day safe and sound, and hoping for a sunny day tomorrow.
I am thankful for kind and sharing sisters and lovely friends who hop out of honking cars and explain to passersby that I have no idea how to shut it off.

Hippity hoppity Easter is on its way

2011-04-18T19:30:00.000-04:00

Kanzashi cute!

Today, it was all about getting ready for Easter. I made the flower for my aunt's shopping bag. Then, I got inspired to make up a cardboard Easter basket for some of my favourite university students. They are wrapping up the last of their exams and packing up to come home, so I think they have earned a little treat.
Since it is pretty difficult to mail a basket, I tarted up a plain cardboard box with some paper Easter grass. This is way better to deal with than the old cellophane stuff that drove my mother insane back in the day. I think it looks pretty nice, and once I slap one of my specialty labels on it, it will be very festive.

Not quite an Easter basket

Despite the calls for more snow tomorrow -- we had a great deal of it on the weekend (well, a lot of APRIL) -- there are still some signs of spring around here. Even though my kids are a bit old for the Easter bunny's baskets, they are still looking forward to an Easter Egg Hunt.
Apparently, they will indulge in cute for chocolate. I don't know if they will pose for blog photos, but I can always make that a condition for the aforementioned hunt. Sure, I am that mean -- just ask the kids!

FNSI finishes and faces...

2011-04-15T23:27:00.000-04:00

Faces & snacks

Tonight's FNSI was fueled by Diet Dr. Pepper, Tzatziki, pita chips and Smartie cookies. Yep, all of that goes together with sewing and laughs with Sandra and our friend Amanda.
I embroidered seven tomte faces for Sandra's future projects, and I made a nylon shopping tote for my Aunt Rita's Easter present. I found the yellow polka dot fabric for .50 in a remnant bin. It looks like a little yellow bathing suit!
Sewing with this stuff is a challenge, and I ended up binding the seams to take care of the enormous amount of shredding. However, I like how it turned out. It is so very cheery and I think she will like using it. I plan to add a kanzashi flower to it for extra sweetness. I hope everyone else enjoyed FNSI. I know we did!

Sandra's busy fingers

Cheap and cheerful

Signs of spring in advance of storms

2011-04-15T11:51:00.000-04:00


An arty-quilty project -- the sunny yellow crocuses against the winter left overs

I was out and about early this morning, getting snacks ready for tonight's FNSI. I am still deciding what I will be doing. Honestly, I haven't really been doing a whole lot of sewing this week. Now I have to work out what to work on for the virtual sewing bee this evening. There are more than 100 people involved this time. The deal is you sign up (see button at the side of this post), do your work tonight, then you post your results tomorrow. It is kind of fun to surf around and see what all the folks have been doing. I do have a Tilda lamb cut out, and it is Easter next week...Hmm, I will have to decide by 7 p.m. when Sandra arrives with her projects all ready to go. The pressure!
In the meantime, enjoy this photo. I think it could become some kind of arty project someday, printed on fabric and gussied up with some stitching and the like. We are supposed to have really soggy (and cold) weather this weekend, so if thought I would photograph sunshiny stuff while I can.

Finally finished! Bring on the summer sunshine...

2011-04-13T18:23:00.002-04:00

Well worth the buying!

I finally finished the Cath Kidston strawberry bag. It is the first project Bernie (aka Bernina 830 Record circa 1977) and I did together. She is a wonderful older gal, and I have great love for her.
In order to do this project -- and more like it in the years to come -- I purchased a denim presser foot (invaluable for thick fabrics with many layers). The foot is hinged, so it just glides over the humps. It's a great investment. I justified it to myself because I was given Bernie, so I feel I owe it to her to buy her some nice "shoes".

Another recent purchase is Lisa Lam's Bag Making Bible -- a book completely devoted to the making of various kinds of bags. Lisa provides all kinds of tips about zips, magnetic closures, pockets, and handles.
The pattern from the strawberry bag was featured in Homestyle Sewing magazine. It was a highlight project from a review of the book and an interview with the author.
I am excited about finishing this bag, which is made from my very favourite Cath Kidston print. I quilted the fabric before lining it, even though the pattern called for iron-on fleece.
I like the Chanel-like quilting effect and it was easy to do. I just used masking tape as a quilting guide, and sewed a line of long stitches on either side of the tape. I laid it diagonally in one direction and then switched to the other. So easy! And, really cool looking. The strawberry bag is all ready for summer. As am I!

A sweet summer bag and a great book

Bloggy bits and bytes

2011-04-03T13:05:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to my bloggie buddy, Wonderful Wendy over at http://thecraftersapprentice.blogspot.com
She is a recent recipient of a stylish blogger award.
Wendy is a hip and happening crafter who not only makes beautiful cards, but also knits, crochets, sews and keeps me constantly entertained with a finely-honed sense of humour that is trained on her adventures in creating. I'd like to thank her for mentioning Heaven is Handmaid on her blog. I welcome those of you who have stumbled upon my little corner of the www.
It is truly amazing to me how much the blogosphere has managed to shrink the world into byte-sized portions (enjoy these little puns, I know I do). Even more intriguing is that this is all relatively new -- and I've managed to figure out how to get involved. I have Suddenly Sandra http://suddenlysandra.blogspot.com to thank for all this, and I am deeply grateful. Blogging has helped me stay involved in writing and photography. It is challenging me to keep creating and sharing.
Wendy suggests I share seven things about me. Hmmm. Just seven?

Mokuba treats from the remnant bin

I have been making things since early childhood. I never ate the paste. I always used it appropriately.
I am a journalist. I went to school for it and everything.
I get by with an enormous amount of help from my friends.
All my friends are my best friends. We are given too little time on earth to pick favourites.
My sister is an Orthodox Jew and I am Christian. If we can get along -- even after being teen-aged girls growing up in a very small house -- then so can the rest of the world.
I sing and play guitar -- sometimes in public, but not for money.

Kawaii paper clips from The Outer Layer

I have been known to read a book a day -- and actually forget to make dinner because of it. (the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon).

So, that's a bit about me. I am also including some photos of my little discoveries on my recent trip to Queen St. in Toronto. Just for the fun of it, and because I haven't managed to finish anything for a few days. And that has to stop. More on that later!

So there I was at the magazine rack...

2011-03-30T22:06:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I met one of my many Newfoundland cousins for lunch while she was in Toronto. We had a great visit, but then she had to get to the airport, so I had some time to kill waiting for Mr. Heaven to finish work.
I went to some of my favourite haunts on Queen St. and toured around -- Mokuba Ribbon, Arton Beads, a really funky store called The Outer Layer.
Eventually, I ended up at the Eaton Centre's Indigo Bookstore. There, I wandered over to the crafts magazine section. I spied A Needle Pulling Thread -- Canada's lone magazine promoting needlework of all kinds.
I knew they had a submission from me in the can, and I knew the editor was planning to run it soon, but hey-ho, there it was! The link is here http://www.aneedlepullingthread.com/
There was just one person standing beside me, a sort of fashion photographer type. He was dressed in entirely in black, sporting an arty goatee, and black horned rimmed glasses. He very likely had very little interest in needlework. Still and all, I wanted to shove my page in his face and scream, "Hey! This is me! I did THIS."
But I didn't. I am proud of me for being restrained. And for being a published designer. It's really cool, gotta say ...

When spring hands you snow, make lemon cake

2011-03-23T14:41:00.000-04:00

Lemon loaf -- sunny & spring-like -- unlike today

Spring has arrived here in Canada. We know this because the snow is back. In several areas of my neighbourhood, the snow had disappeared. There were just little patches to be seen here and there. And then, this morning arrived. At first, there were just little streamers of snow -- doesn't that sound festive and fun? Streamers of snow...
Then, the streamers morphed into showers, which turned into all out snow. Long story short? It is all back again. Sigh.
When life hands you snow, make lemon loaf, glazed with lemon icing and topped with candied lemon slices. It looks fresh and summery. Unlike outside, which looks cold and discouraging and not at all like spring.

Lemon loaf
1 cup margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter or margarine with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly. In a small bowl, combine flour, lemon zest and baking powder. Stir with a small whisk until combined. Add to egg mixture. Beat two to three minutes until combined. Batter will be thick. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.Cool in pan for 15 minutes and then turn onto wire rack to cool thoroughly before glazing.

For the glaze
1/2 cup icing sugar
1-2 tsp milk
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice.
Stir together and drizzle over the cooled loaf

To candy the lemon slices: thinly slice half a lemon. Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water in a small heavy saucepan. Heat on medium, until sugar dissolves. Add lemon slices and boil for about 5-10 minutes (or until syrupy). Gently remove slices with a spoon and cool on baking parchment. When completely cooled, arrange on top of glazed loaf.

I heart royal tea towels

2011-03-23T11:47:00.000-04:00

Cath Kidston's royal wedding tea towel

I have a sad confession to make: I enjoy the kitschy things produced in the UK during times of great royal celebrations.
This one is from Cath Kidston's spring line. Horrifically expensive to ship here, and the base price of C$20 is pretty daunting as well. However, I can admire the graphics from afar.
There is, you see, the issue of never being able to use it as a tea towel. I don't think I could hang it on the wall, so I would bury it in the kitchen drawer. Then would come the sad Christmas Day when all the tea towels would be sopping wet from doing the after dinner dishes. Someone would pull out the Royal Wedding Tea Towel and before you can say Christmas Cracker, turkey grease all over the Abbey!
No. I cannot run that risk. I will just enjoy the picture.
It comforts me to know that I will soon receive the spring issue of the CK magazine -- they send it free to me. Therein, I will find ideas for creating a Royal Wedding party.
I would consider this, but for the fact the weddings take place in the morning there. This means in order to watch it live, we have to be up at around 4 a.m. to catch all the preamble. I just don't think entertaining at 4 a.m. is my style.
My mom and I watched Princess' Anne's wedding to Mark Phillips in the kitchen with the volume on really low. It was 5 a.m.
Years later, when I was working on my very first job as a summer student reporter at a little Toronto newspaper, I was again parked in front of the telly before dawn to watch Princess Diana marry Prince Charles. This time, we watched in the living room and had tea and scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream. Never mind the fact that it was 5 a.m., and I had to cover a council later in the day. The meeting lasted until 11 p.m. I still remember how exhausted I was, and how all day long, people kept commenting on the Princess' train. Remember how it was still exiting the carriage while she was nearly halfway up the aisle of the cathedral?
Prince Andrew's wedding to Fergie also saw me up before the sun.
Princess Diana's funeral was a 3 a.m. tear jerker.
For me, these events have been all about the splendor and the circumstance -- watched through gritty, sleep-starved eyes. I love the music, the traditions of the Anglican service, and the hope we have that these two really love each other. It would be nice to witness a true fairy tale at 5 a.m. in the morning. The mugs and the tea towels are just the icing on the wedding cake for the fans.

Berny is a beauty!

2011-03-19T14:52:00.002-04:00

Berny is still a beauty, more than
30 years on ...

This morning, I cleaned up my recently acquired vintage Bernina 830. It has been sitting in storage for sometime, so it needed a little sponge bath and some gentle brushing around the bobbin. I was thrilled when I eased it out of its fire engine red hard case. You see, we had met once before long ago.
I loved this machine when it came out when I was in high school -- quite a while ago. I couldn't afford it then.
I remember watching a demo of the built-in stitches at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto and being transfixed. I even got to try it, and when I did, it actually hummed happily along. Amazing!
A few months before that 1977 demo, I had been given a Singer 514 Stylist for my 16th birthday. It amazed me because it could do a zigzag stitch.
To acquire this zigzag wonder, my parents traded in my grandmother's 1935 classic black Singer. I learned to sew on that machine. My grandfather had purchased the kit to motorize it from its previous incarnation as a treadle machine. It was a beautiful machine, but threading the bobbin was something of a nightmare, and changing it meant that you had to almost crawl under it. The light bulb cover got really hot (it was an after-market addition as well). I once sustained a mega burn on my wrist while making a pair of pants.
The 514 was a workhorse and never burned me. It gave up the ghost about seven years ago, I have it still, but I need to get it in to a technician.
The Christmas the year my machine died, my mom gave me a new Brother machine. It is the one I use now. I like it. It does lots of things, has built in stitches, and it has all the quilting features, including a large quilting bed that snaps into the side. It is light and easily portable in its pink wheelie case. It is also largely made of plastic.

Trying out all those patterns!

But now I have Berny. It hums the way I remember the model did during my demo experience long ago. It does all those cool patterns, and it is completely made of metal. It is heavy.
However, it doesn't bounce all around like my Brother machine. Did I mention the humming?
We are still getting to know each other, but I think we will get along just fine -- as soon as I learn what all nine of those feet do.

FNSI begins with great joy!

2011-03-19T09:45:00.001-04:00

Friday Night Sew In (FNSI) began with great joy.
Remember my friend who shared her late aunt's sewing stash? Well, she arrived at the door as I was getting ready to leave for Suddenly's house with more stuff and her aunt's sewing machine. I am not kidding, my heart skipped a beat. While I dinner was finishing in the oven, unwrapped the machine. What I found was a vintage (probably around the early 70s) Bernina -- with all the feet possible, the manual, several bobbins and more than a few accessory cases. I didn't have a chance to fire dear Berny up, but I will do that later on today -- and of course, post all about it.
Soon, I was off to Suddenly's place to do that Friday Night Sew In -- although strictly speaking -- I was sewing out...
I finished up some little lavender hearts, put together the lining for my Cath Kidston strawberry bag (revealed in an earlier post), and finished up the little kokeshi stuffy from here:
http://mellyandme.typepad.com/kokeshi%20stuffie.pdf
I chose this project after I made my donation to the Canadian Red Cross for Japanese relief efforts. I love this little doll's cheerful little face. Especially in these worrisome days for the people of Japan.


Stripey hearts, cheerful doll and bag lining

In the past few days, I have been thinking about all the people I know who live in Japan. There are a surprising number.
There are the girls we met over the seven years my daughter attended a wonderful choir camp. The girls were from a Tokyo girls' school and they spent the last two weeks in August practicing their English, learning lovely liturgical music, and forming friendships that included cultural exchanges of the summer camp variety. All the girls had so much fun together.
Six years ago, we got to know the members of a film crew that were at our house for a day in late September and again in November. They were part of a production company that produced an English language education course for middle school students. My son plays a character in the series. As part of the production, I cooked a full Christmas dinner for the cast and crew. Again, getting to know these folks was a fun and unique experience.
My cousin and his wife lived in Japan for several years. They were English language teachers. They are also concerned for their friends there.
Even with all these things on my mind, it was great creating with Suddenly in her studio. It was cool to think of all the people who were creating right along with us. It is comforting to think of those involved in peaceful pursuits when the world is an increasingly chaotic place.

Sharing the wealth

2011-03-14T10:32:00.000-04:00

The pressing board

One of my beading buddies brought a huge bag of sewing stash to me last week. An elderly aunt, who died recently, had been a dedicated needlewoman. She had amassed a vast stash -- like every crafter known to have ever lived.
My friend didn't know what to do with many of the notions and buttons left behind, but then she remembered me. Which was a lovely thing.
Her aunt also created gorgeous pieces of needle lace in her lifetime. Some of her pieces have also come to me.
This stuff is labour intensive.

Handmade needle lace!

First, the heavy cording is laid down on paper or parchment in pattern. Then, the cord is joined together with a series of tiny, tiny button hole stitches.
It is so pretty. I want to use it for something. I'm thinking it will have to be something I can easily hand wash.

As I went through the bag, I found zippers, elastics, seam binding and a ton of lovely vintage buttons.
There was also an awesome pressing board. You can see the wonders of this board here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZy3nHSNAjE

I have a notion to share the wealth

Once I was finished going through everything, I also had a bag of zippers, etc. to share with some sewing buddies.
As I was going through the bag, it struck me that some day, like 50 years from now (hopefully) someone younger than me will be going through my stash and sharing it out.

Vintage glass buttons

Boy, that will be a task! I'd best do some editing as I go along, or start apologizing now...

The busy work of catching up

2011-03-07T21:21:00.001-05:00

Thrift and quilt store treasures

On Friday night, the girls were out and about to celebrate my 50th birthday, with shopping and a wonderful dinner of chicken souvlaki.
I am just a little dumbfounded about becoming 50. I remember back when that sounded impossibly, um, mature.
Now that I am chronologically 50, I have to admit I haven't really matured all that much. And neither have my friends. Thank heavens!
We always have a good time, some laughs, and much joy scouting out little thrifted treasures.
First stop -- the quilt shop. I found some yummy Amy Butler fat quarters, along with some from Fig Tree and Co. I also got a metre from the Basic Grey range, and .8 (all that was left on the bolt) of a cute Riley Blake stripe.
Then, it was off to thrift store row -- there are three of them all next to each other.
I scored a linen shirt to cut up and make a pillow back (you leave the buttons and the pocket on so that it forms a tidy way to remove the pillow form for washing). Kajsa Wikman uses the technique in her book Scandinavian Stitches
The shirt was reasonably priced at $2.99, so I was able to add to my collection of little china flower pins, for equally good prices.
The last stop was very exciting because the store was holding a 50 per cent sale. So, I found another shirt-to-pillow conversion candidate -- this time for $2. I love the blue and white ticking. It's a designer cotton shirt, so the fabric is a bit thicker than usual, but it has been well cared for, so it is wonderfully soft.

The pre-pillow conversion

Today, I did the busy work involved in preparing them for their conversions. After they are washed and dried, I cut up the front, starting at the side seams and going right up to the collar button. Then, across and down the other side.
The arms removed next and sliced open (you get some good pieces for little embroidery projects) The back is usually a nice open canvass -- and if there is a pleat in the back, even more fabric.
Linen doesn't come cheap in our part of the world, and worn in, good quality cotton is so nice to work with and turn into other things.
Once I do the hack and slash thing, I use my quilting ruler and rotary cutter to square everything up. I also tack the top and bottom shirt plackets together so they are not flopping around when I'm doing the pillow construction. But it wasn't all deconstruction today, I also managed to put things together. I did
another infinity scarf -- this one for me.

Shoe bag (detail)

I also did a pair of new cuffs for a pair of jeans that I love, but they had become ragged at the bottom of the legs. A little bit of corduroy later and they are back in the wardrobe lineup -- and looking rather swish.
Lastly, I finished up with a shoe bag for my mother to cart her shoes to her elder day care program. I'd already done two, but both have been misplaced. I'm hoping third time is the charm!

What we had here was a failure to levitate...

2011-02-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

I am confident cook. I make most things well. When I bake, things generally work out just fine. I'm not bragging, cooking and baking are things I enjoy doing.
It therefore came as a huge shock when the lemon pound cake, made using my beloved Pampered Chef stoneware bundt pan, failed in spectacular fashion yesterday. No, I didn't take a photo. It was just too sad.
I can describe it though: the bottom half of the cake rose, but the top half sunk into the centre, all the way to the bottom. It was weird and freaky.
I eyed it up and down, trying to decide if I should just serve it smothered in its blueberry sauce and pretend nothing had happened. Then I lifted it onto its cake plate, not an easy task because it was so very dense. I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that the blueberry sauce was just blueberries -- not some magical elixir. I took a deep breath, hefted the cake plate, and slung the cake into the bin.
Which brings me to this morning. I fired up the oven and started all over again. I decided that yesterday's failed cake was the victim of not enough beating. The recipe says two minutes on medium speed. But, I don't think that is enough. I went for four minutes, and this the glorious result. This is the bundt lemon cake I remember.
I share the recipe with the caveat that you have to use a bundt pan. Stoneware is good because it heats evenly and its insulation properties help keep the cake moist.

Lemon pound cake, yumm...

Lemon Pound Cake

1 box white cake mix (use the cheaper store brand if you can. It doesn't work as well with the super moist ones)
2 lemons
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. Zest and squeeze lemons. You will need 2 tbsp zest and 3 tbsp juice.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended (I found that 4 minutes was the magic number). Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes, invert onto a wire rack and cool thoroughly.
Blueberry sauce

Okay, maybe the blueberry sauce is magic...

3/4 cup water
1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 tsp butter
Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to thick and bubble. Once the bubbles break the surface, continue stirring and cook for three minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the butter for a more glossy sauce. Cool.
Presentation: sift confectioner's sugar over the cake. Serve slices with about 2 tbsp sauce.

Fresh summer thinking from the UK

2011-02-24T17:08:00.000-05:00

Sizing up and drafting the patterns

At the beginning of the month, I won an on-line auction for a piece of Cath Kidston cotton duck fabric.
It is a good sized piece, 71cm x 49cm. I just adore Kidston's strawberries pattern.
It arrived today! I washed it, ironed it, and cut it -- today.
I didn't even take the time, as I normally do, to admire it and convince myself to cut it.
This is how excited I am about making this summery little tote.
I cut it carefully, so that I have some little pieces left for applique/collage purposes.

I love the whole Cath Kidston vibe -- retro, vintage, and funky. Of course, like nearly all crafty things I really love, it isn't readily available in Canada. So, I keep an eye out for scraps on ebay. Sometimes, like this time, it works well.
Cath Kidston's designs remind me of when I was a kid.-- back when I first fell in love with patterns and fabric. Several of my mothers' friends had an awesome collection of vibrant table linens and the like. Drawn to the designs, I would be entranced by the colours, while adults sipped tea and told tales.
This pattern for this bag comes from Homestyle Sewing, a UK magazine that has two issues so far. It is very pricey here, but I've done quite a few projects from the magazines, so I think I am getting my money's worth. (The UK theme is developing quite nicely, I think...)

Prepped and ready to be sewn

I have just enough strawberry fabric for the outside of the bag. For the inside, I am using the polka dots (from the UK's Markower Studios) that Sandra gave me for Christmas.
I am also making heart-shaped pockets for the inside, using some stripped fabric from the remnant bin at the quilt store.
The gingham bias tape -- at least four metres of it -- was a Value Village find in a $1.99 bag of ribbon.
The pattern is for a reversible bag, but mine will be all about the strawberries.
Did I mention that I love this fabric????
I will post a photo when it is all put together.
Cheers!

TGIF, getting involved in FNSI, and other fun acronyms

2011-02-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

Almost finished

Last night was Friday. In our part of the world, the wind was gusting to up to 97 km per hour by dinner time -- this after a wonderful almost spring-like day with (gasp) sunshine and temperatures that approached 10 degrees Celsius.
So, I was glad to be stitching this little Tone Finnanger image. Fortunately, I chose the colours when it was sunny and warmish during the day, thus its cheerful spring vibe.
Late in the day, I opted to sign up for the Friday Night Sew In. Get the details here:
http://www.craftyvegasmom.blogspot.com/

I like the idea of a virtual sewing bee. The advantage is that you feel kind of connected, but since you can't actually see anyone, you don't waste time yaking. Actual work gets done in this virtual meeting!
I was waiting for Miss B to come home for the Family Day weekend, but as she prepared to come home, the police evacuated the Dundas St. northbound train.
So, she stayed downtown and waited for her Dad to finish work and come home. Long story short, I was glad I had some free time on my hands.
There is something very comforting about stitching when the weather swirls all around you. I did get up and check out a couple of banging noises -- at one point one of shovels left its perch on the porch and scooted across the flagstones. But, when I opened the front door to get it, I was hit in face with a huge blast of cold air. I decided to leave the shovel to its own fate.
Really, by this point of our never-ending winter, I am kind of sick of the thing anyway. I don't care if it blew away and I never saw it again. Don't even get me started on how sick I am of my winter coat...
It is still blowing and snowing here this morning, so I will finish this piece today. It will become part of a quilt sometime this summer.

Spring time detail views

I hope everyone is happy and warm in your part of the world this morning!

Making groovy Japanese flowers

2011-02-09T18:33:00.000-05:00


I can see this is going to become a favourite craft book.

Great way to use up little left overs...


Here's a close up of my very first kanzashi. I think it's groovy.

I have been working on making some flowers. I found a book by crafts teacher Diane Gilleland. It's called Kanzashi In Bloom. These fabric flowers are made in much the same way as origami -- using a series of folds to make the petals. Then, you sew the petals together, and embellish the centre with a button or a bead. I have admired these on various web sites for a while now, but I had no idea there was an excellent book about how to make them. Gilleland covers the basics and explains them well. Helpful photos explain each step. There are also a number of projects using the flowers. I am working my way through slowly. Watch this space!

Baby, it's cold outside!

2011-02-03T16:46:00.001-05:00

The prototype was redone many times.

Warm and woolen.

Okay, as promised, here are my attempts at making infinity scarves. They are basically lined tubes of fabric. I've used some soft jersey material, silk/cotton blends, cotton rayon blends and rayon/wool blends.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a bit of a brain freeze trying to put them together, but once I realized you have to sew the long ends together, with rights sides together, first -- then I got cracking on at a blinding pace. (I can hear the snickering out there...)
The measurements are random and varied as I worked out how each fabric would drape. At some points, I used my sewing machine's walking foot because some fabrics weren't meant to butt up to each other like that. When they do, they fight a bit for supremacy. The walking foot plays the peace maker and makes each of them get along until they are sewn together. I also found that if you use a wide zigzag, all the fabrics not only line up properly, but they retain their stretch when it comes time to wear the scarves.
Basically, you cut a strip of fabric about 33 cm (13 inches) wide. You'll be using the fabric's whole width, selvage to selvage, so you'll end up with a strip of fabric that is 33 cm wide (13 inches) by 140 cm (45 inches) or 150cm (60 inches).
Cut two of these strips in contrasting colours, and decide which will be the main colour. Pin right sides together, and sew the long edges together, using a wide zigzag stitch. Go slowly, so you don't break your needle on the pins. My seam allowance is .5cm (1/4 inch)
Turn the scarf right side out.
Pin the main colour ends -- right sides together -- matching the side seams as closely as you can. Then, on either side of that seam, pin about 7 cm (3 inches) of the lining fabric right sides together. Sew together in a continuous seam, taking care not to catch the rest of the lining in the seam (happened to me twice, and I said some bad words). You'll have joined the main colour together and have just a bit of hand sewing to close up the lining seam.
Eh, voila! A scarf that is both a cowl and a hood. They are very comfortable and warm.

This is one I made for me. It has Hawaiian shirt material on one side and rayon jersey knit on the other. Special thanks to Phoebe the foam head for her help in modeling the finished results.

If you want to wear it as a cowl, you put it over your head so it is a giant necklace, then you twist it once and pull it over your head. If you want to make it a hood, just pull the twist up over your head.
I did most of mine with a jersey/rayon blend that I found in the remnant bin for $3. The work best with soft fabric that drapes nicely. This stuff isn't easy to sew, but I like the results.
I did a bunch of these for my daughter, Miss B. They will be winging their way to her tomorrow.

Lavender-rose potpourri

2011-01-28T17:09:00.001-05:00

For years, I tried to grow lavender. For years, I failed. Then, came a hardier variety of lavender. It was developed specifically for North American growing conditions. This munstead variety is available at the start of the planting season here -- around late May. I start it in pots on the back deck where it will get the most sun. All summer long, I water it, feed it Miracle Gro and harvest the blooms as they mature. I tie them in bundles with kitchen twine and dry them all over the kitchen. The plants bloom from around the end of June through to the end of September. At points in the summer, the house looks a little like a heralist's cottage or something out of the Cadfael series of novels. At the end of August, I transplant them from their pots to various spots in the front and back gardens. This past the summer, the plants were so huge I had no room for them, so I gave them to my friend Amanda who has a beautiful garden. She says I can still harvest from them next year.

Extracting the buds is a little like thrashing wheat.

Stir it up with a popsicle stick.

I always wanted to make some long-wearing sachets for the linen and clothes closets, and even some natural scented dryer sachets.
Problem: I could never get the scents to last for long. Then, I read about orris root. It is a natural stabilizer made from the dried roots of iris flowers. It takes about three years to make the stuff, so it is EXPENSIVE. But, you only need a teaspoon or two to stabilize the essential oils used in the making of potpourri or sachets.
I found mine in the local natural food market, in the section where they sell things like marshmallow root and powdered soap wort. (I am not kidding -- I looked, but I didn't see any eye of newt) Anyway, 100 grams of the powder is around $7 and the cut orris root is about $11 per 100 grams.
Now, 100 grams is a lot of orris root. Most recipes for potpourri call for a teaspoon or two. I have a lot of lavender, so I figured I get 50 grams each of the cut root and the powder. The cut roots are better for sachets because of their bulk. The powder can be used in potpourri, because it disappears when mixed in with the petals, spices, leaves and what have you.
I mixed about 50 drops of essential oil of lavender into the cut roots, and 25 drops of Rose absolute oil. I stirred it together and put it into a cool swing top sealed jar I found at our bulk food store for under $3.
Next, I carefully extracted the dried buds. I do this on some paper so that I can just tip them into the jar.
I give the whole thing a little stir as I go, using a popsicle stick. (Bonus, the popsicle stick becomes pleasantly scented too. You can throw them away in the green bin and it smells nice for a change).
Once the mixture has filled the jar, seal it and put it away in a dark cool spot. It has to cure for about six weeks. Shake the jar up every now and then to make sure the scent is distributed evenly. I plan to use this batch as sachet filler when it is ready. Apparently, the scent can be recharged with additional sprinkles of essential oil as the YEARS roll on. I consider the $11 outlay on orris root money well spent!

Hmm lavender, your orris roots are showing...

This has to cure for six weeks.

Minus 32!

2011-01-23T12:59:00.004-05:00

I do love my country, honestly I do. However, what a place of extremes!
This morning -- and apparently until Tuesday -- it will not be warmer than -25 degrees Celsius. This is very cold. The air actually feels like it is burning your face. Bare skin will freeze within 15 minutes. Little kids in this country actually understand how to avoid frostbite by the time they start kindergarten.
In the summer, say July, the temperature will soar to 40 degrees Celsius for days on end.
It also bears explaining that our temperatures are never expressed in absolute terms. There are always augmenting factors.
In Ontario winters, it is all about windchill. Today's windchill drives the temperature down to -36 degrees C.
In the summer, we have the Humidex. The air in southern Ontario is quite humid because we have the cumulative effects of the Great Lakes -- and in southern Ontario it is often intense. So those 40 degree summer days will feel like 45 degrees C.
It is very cold today. The frozen earth makes for some lovely reflected light inside our warm homes. I was playing around with my camera and captured this image, which I thought I'd share.
After all, it will be about 24 weeks before we see any real roses growing in our summery gardens. Cheery thought, huh?

Snowscapes, scarves and cups of tea

2011-01-21T16:16:00.009-05:00

Sometimes, you get special requests from people who know you not only own a sewing machine, but also know how to use one.
Such was the case when my daughter sent me a photo and asked if I thought I could sew an infinity scarf. This is a scarf that can also be a cowl and a hood. It's a pretty useful thing to have in our current snow scape.
The scarf in the photo didn't look too difficult, but I had no measurements. I hunted around until I found dimensions that seemed close. I also didn't have the right fabrics -- recommendations ranged from lightweight suiting to soft rayon/spandex blends. Since I decided to do a prototype first, I figured that didn't really matter. Wrong. Fabric always matters.
It took the better part of the day to wrestle the prototype into workable submission. Really.
For all the years I have been sewing, the whole concept of this scarf seemed to be sort of unattainable. I kept making mistake after mistake, slicing away seam after seem. Eventually, I even installed my walking foot incorrectly. If you do that, no walking will take place. There's just a whole lot of bunching up under the needle. Sigh. Clearly, it was time for a cup of tea.
After the cup of tea, it all seemed so clear. Mind you, the scarf was now nearly 1/3 of its original cut width -- thanks to all the slicing -- but the prototype works as a cowl, a scarf and a hood. When I get the first "good one" done, I will post a photo of it. I might even post the prototype -- just to keep me humble. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how long one has been creating, a cup of tea is sometimes the only thing to lift the fog that sometimes gets in the way of the creative process.

Finally, I am in hot water!

2011-01-14T17:17:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, after my little trip to the quilt store, I got home to be greeted by my boys saying,"Where's the hot water?" You know, in that tone indicating that I had perhaps stolen the hot water or something...
So, we called the energy company. It's a rental hot water tank.
Guy shows up.
Yeah, we gotta replace the tank.
When can that happen?
Tomorrow between 1 and 5 p.m.
What??????
Then, he tells me the pipes aren't right, and they have to be changed. And, we have to pay for that.
ARRGGGG...
So, I simply couldn't do laundry or the dishes, or anything all day to-day. So sad. But in one hour from now, I'm back in hot water literally and figuratively. As I was loading the dishwasher, I put in my Marvin juice glass and remembered that I always had plans to cross stitch a Marvin the Martian Sweatshirt. After the dishes bound for nowhere were out of sight, I went hunting for my martian UFO. Found it right where I'd packed it away when we moved six years ago. All the parts were there, too --waste canvass, charts and threads. The shirt was purchased in 1996 and the chart in the same year. However, 14 years can slip away in the life of a hand made-maven.
Case in point: My aunt began a quilt in 1981 for her about-to-be-born very first great niece. I finished it for in time for the great niece's new baby. There is hope for almost all UFOs, lingering in work boxes around the world.
I say almost all because there are some vintage crafts that are best left to die.
Does anyone else remember making Christmas wreaths from old computer punch cards? Oh, I am dating myself, aren't I?
I was only nine at the time....

Exciting results of remnant bin diving...

2011-01-13T15:56:00.000-05:00

Today's Toronto Star features a story about making and wearing handmade things -- on the runway...whew! Now we artsy crafty types are trendy. Cool, I think. Hopefully, this won't drive up the cost of raw materials.
Speaking of raw materials, I did some remnant bin diving at our local quilt store this morning. I found some new Tilda-ish fabrics. Also, a really lovely assortment of Christmas pretty bits and pieces.
I know. I know. I was supposed to be editing and organizing. I will. Honest. Honest.
Here is a link to the article:

http://www.thestar.com/living/fashion/article/920819--handmade-clothing-is-having-its-fashion-moment
and a related article about learning to create:

http://www.thestar.com/living/fashion/article/919895--lessons-give-beginners-confidence-to-create

Cosy slippers

2011-01-11T19:27:00.000-05:00

Way back in October, Sandra and I were browsing around in Chapters. We found an issue of Sew Hip, a UK magazine that has some really cool sewing patterns. In it, was an awesome pattern and instructions for making these slippers. They are lined with polar fleece and have non-slip soles. They are really quite easy, so I went on to make a dozen pairs of these for Christmas presents.
These slippers are my daughter's. I found hedgehog flannel in the remnant bin at Fabricland. Along with monkeys, she loves hedgehogs. Sooo, these became her slippers. The yohos have vintage buttons in the centre.
She loved the slippers, and I so enjoyed making them. I plan to make a pair for me, now that I have some time to myself.

Crafting in the new year...

2011-01-11T18:31:00.000-05:00

The early days of 2011 have been busy ones for me. My niece celebrated her bat mitzvah a few days ago. This is an important rite of passage for Jewish girls turning 12. She is considered responsible for the decisions she makes and for the way she lives her life. It is similar to Confirmation in the Christian church. Our family is pretty interesting in terms of our spiritual beliefs, but we all work together, and support one another no matter how we worship.
One common thread (pardon the pun) is that I will make something to commemorate the events in our lives. So, first up, is a wall hanging for my niece. It features the word Shalom -- or peace -- in a tapestry panel. It is surrounded by star fabrics and sparkly blues. It is embellished with star buttons and hot fix crystals. I collected the materials for this wall hanging over a couple of years, including at least one trip to the Toronto Sewing and Needlework Festival, where I found the tapestry panel. They were carefully stored away until it was time to put it all together.
I also wanted to make her some special jewelery. Every young lady needs pearls, so I did a freshwater pearl necklace featuring rose blush crystals. The silver pendant and the ear rings are aurora borealis crystals.
And, every party includes loot bags. My niece's guests each took home a sleepover bag that included a night mask (from Sew Pretty Homestyle). I made 38 masks from various prints, and using Steam-A-Seam, I embellished each of them with a pink gingham daisy. In the centre of each daisy, I used a hot fix crystal to add a little bling.