My Favorite Kind of Day...

Often looks like this:

Today is beautifully sunny, making the new snow sparkle, but it's bitterly cold outside. No, I don't like cold days, but I love days where I'm home and have no outside errands to run; the sun is warming up my kitchen and I can do whatever I want. Today I had the urge to Make Something. I knew it had to be some sort of sewing project. I love to sew. Plain and simple it's probably my favorite thing to do. Even more so than stitching - really! Last week in the mailbox were two new books for me: Pretty Party Cakes by Peggy Porschen, and Seams to Me by Anna Maria Horner.

Pretty Party Cakes is the ultimate in eye candy if you like to decorate cakes and cookies. It would have been a great day to bake something from here today, but I really wanted to sew. Anna Maria's book is full of great projects, and I thought I would break it in by trying the pin cushion sewing caddy.

I decided to use some of the fat quarters I got for my birthday last year; they are kind of faded and shabby-chic looking. They have been in the drawer for almost a year now, and I'm so happy I used them for this project. After the agonizing decision of which prints to use (I chose four from here),

I set to work. Two and a half hours later I finished! Completely finished; hand sewing and everything. I think there is probably room for improvement, but I'm very happy with it. For once I am completely content with my fabric choice, and looking at the colors just makes me happy.

Yesterday the Wee Ones and I made fudge. Not regular fudge, but the kind kids go for and adults cringe at. It's made with marshmallows, sugar and butter. My daughter wanted the "Fairy Fudge" to be pink, but we had to compromise on the sprinkled topping. My son got to choose the topping, and chose sugar sprinkles in his favorite color: orange. This is the pink, plastic-y, kid heaven result:

Thank you for comments on my previous post. Unfortunately the flowers are not from my garden; having a beautiful garden is something I dream about, but never seem to get around to making. If it's not a perennial I can plant once and forget about, it's not for me! Those pictures were taken on lovely excursions with my Mum to Butchart Gardens in Victoria. Such a place in the spring time is serious soul-medicine.

Spring Is Coming

At least I keep telling myself that. I think I have come down with the February blues.

I'm tired: tired of snow and dirt; tired of putting all my winter gear on every time I have to go outside, even if it's just for a minute; tired of feeling like my get up and go has gotten up and left.

I need a bit of sunshine, a break in the clouds, a bit of green, a burst of energy.

Our snow has returned, and it seems the whispers of spring have been silenced.

Spring is coming, I know it. All I need to remember is that it is always worth waiting for.

Valentine's Day

I was a bit late in the game this year planning for Valentine's Day. I did manage to get some cross stitching done, and have so far made one of them up into a little pillow. No photo of that yet though. I was feeling in the mood to make something really retro and kitchen-y. Given those two words, how do you not come up with chicken scratch potholder?! I tried a heart on red and white gingham. I had every intention of stitching it up into a heart shaped pot holder, but as you can see I didn't get that far... It will join the other WIP's I have until next year.

Still feeling like making something retro I couldn't resist this recipe for Cherry Sponge I found from an old Jell-o leaflet. It doesn't get anymore artificial than this: flavored gelatine and marshmallows!

The pink foam was so pretty: it reminded me of a pink dotted swiss dress I had as a little girl.

The color beneath was gorgeous. This picture does not do it justice.

I poured most of it into my steamed pudding mold, and the rest into some vintage heart shaped molds.

We ate the hearts for dessert, and it was like eating strawberry air.

I still have to unmold the pudding mold. We couldn't eat it on Saturday because there was still cake...

and chocolate dipped strawberries.

Handmade cards

and flowers

completed the day.

What isn't seen is the tasty pasta dinner Mr. Crafty World made and the STELLAR bottle of wine we had. It was a 2001 Margaux; Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere if you're interested. Well worth the price for a special occasion. We also had pink sparkling wine and the kids had non-alcolholic pink sparkling wine mixed with grenadine syrup and a sparkly sugar cube. We called it a "Cupid's Kiss". They liked it; unfortunately our sparkling wine was a huge miss. It did redeem itself the next day as a mimosa type drink however!