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.