January 9, 2013: The Good Stuff

In my crochet adventures I have never really strayed beyond the usual yarn you can buy at the craft or department store.  For my blankets I feel fine using the cheaper acrylic yarns because they will take a beating over the years.  Crafty projects are fine with inexpensive cottons and they give me a chance to experiment and I usually pull out more stitches than I put in.  For my wearables I have used the nicest of the cheaper yarns, but I am still not confident enough in my stitching to invest in some of the beautiful, real wools out there.  You know, the good stuff.

Yarns with Integrity.

Now that I work next to a  pretty little yarn shop I can see (and touch, and imagine) the most beautiful of fibres and it didn't take too long to break my resistance.  I bought the most beautiful hand dyed yarn in all my favourite shades of purple and green and blue.  I had great visions to make a lovely neck warmer, but it is not bulky enough. After ripping out those stitches I decided on a simple, v-stitch scarf; something that wouldn't take up too much yarn and would show off the variations in shades.  I ended up using almost two skeins of it, but I am happy with how it turned out - though I wish I did make it a tad longer.

Isn't it pretty?

It's lovely to wear too; not scratchy at all, which I did worry about a little.  It's quite plain: I didn't make any pretty edges for it but really, who's going to notice?

If we had a dog house this one would be in it.

I took her for a short walk to check the mail and while I wasn't looking she found a pile of poop on the ground and ate it.  Gross.  She had just had eaten some treats at home too: ingrate.  There were many dirty looks and admonitions of "bad girl!" on the way home.  She knew she was in trouble because she wouldn't look me in the face.  Perhaps I can convince Mr. Crafty World to brush her teeth when he gets home because I don't want her poopy little mouth breathing on me.  Bad girl.

January 7, 2013

Today is the first day for everyone to get back into their routine.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this 2 week vacation; it seemed to stretch on and on, but in a good way.  I had to work a few days, and Mr. Crafty World had to work a few days, but they never felt like normal working days, I guess because we knew at the end of our working days we would be coming back to our cozy, post-Christmas nest.  I think the only one who will be happy about getting back to normal is Libby.  Despite  having four people in the house almost all of the time she never did get as many walks as she does when it's just me.

Now when we go out she can sport the fancy new sweater she got for Christmas:

The dog benefited the most from my pre-Christmas making.  She got a flannel quilt for her downstairs dog bed; the sweater; and a fleece toy made with three squeakers.  She was very excited about the toy and it lasted about half an hour before the first hole was chewed through it.  I thought that using polar fleece would be practically indestructible since you can't tear it, but apparently not for terriers like Libby.

I stitched a few cross stitch pieces, but only finished one off into an ornament:

I got thoroughly spoiled at Christmas with treats and books and all kinds of great things.  I did a lot of sewing by had in the lazy days that followed as we lounged around in new pyjamas and re-watched season 1  and 2 of 'Lark Rise to Candleford'.  I made a quilted coffee sleeve for my pretty new travel mug and got most of this little hedgehog done.

I also started some new crochet projects: a scarf made with them most gorgeous yarn I have used yet, and a ripple blanket in blues, greens and greys.

With the new year comes all sorts of inspiration so I have to carry my notebook around with me and jot things down or else I'll never remember it all.  If only there was enough time to make it all!
I don't really make any resolutions, but this year I thought I would like to write more letters.  There's something about getting a letter from someone that tells you all of their news on paper; not snippets of their life on social networks or email.  Sure it's not instant, and by the time it makes its way to you it's old news, but it's such a pleasure to receive.  I have ordered some lovely writing paper from Victorian Trading Co. to get me started, so I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival - by post!

Work has, of course, slowed down since Christmas.  These days I will be using the quiet times to make Valentine decorations for the store.  Good thing too because I really hurt my back yesterday and sitting down is about all I'm good for.  It will get better if I just take it easy for a while, and then Mr. Crafty World and I can re-open the discussion of moving a whole bunch of heavy furniture around:)

October 12, 2012

The Monster Blanket is finished - hallelujah!

It's called Monster Blanket because of this:

That's my three seater couch under there.   A counting mistake at the beginning of the project turned it into an incredibly long blanket.  On the plus side, it will cover all of you when you are lying under it.  No having to decide if you want your shoulders or your feet covered.  It can also cover two people sitting at opposite ends with no tug-of-war match.  The dog can even sit in the middle and everyone still has enough blanket.  So it's all good.  I'm still happy to be finished it though, it was feeling like the never ending project.  I already have the yarn for my next blanket, and you can believe it when I say I will be extra diligent about my counting at the beginning!

October 11. 2012

A few things I worked on in September and October.  I can't decide how to finish the cross stitch just yet; am trying to think past framing or small pillows.

This burlap and felt banner will go on my mantle next Thanksgiving.  Fingers crossed anyway!

My variation on an ornament from Glendon Place in the JCS Halloween issue:

A freebie from Sullivan's Floss.  The green fabric is actually much brighter than what shows here.

A free design from Plum Street Samplers.  I finished the stitching just before Thanksgiving Day and meant to post it, but the weekend was just too lazy relaxing!

'Gather' by the Trilogy.  I made fimo leaves but I like these better that I just found the other day.  I still need to stitch them on.

Some holiday fimo pins I have been wanting to try for a very long time.  It was a fun way to spend a sunny afternoon at the kitchen table.

The Monster blanket is almost done.  I'm not feeling well today so I plan on curling up under it and sewing in the rest of the ends and adding a quick border to the two short ends.  Libby is going to lose her cozy spot!

September 23, 2012

A few fall things.

It's taking me much longer to get my stitched pieces finished off than I anticipated, so I only have two to show today.
The first design was a freebie by Nouveau Encore Designs.  I was just at the site and it appears it is no longer available, but there are still some lovely free charts there.  What I like about the designs are that they have a very French feel to them.  The designer, Stephanie, uses motifs from centuries old French samplers to make up her work.

My second finish is an excerpt from a design in a Cross Eyed Cricket booklet called 'Falling Leaves'.

My baking attempt the other day at pumpkin scones was a success.  I tweaked a recipe I found here to come up with my own version that has an apple cider glaze.  I had one (okay two) fresh from the oven with some maple spiced coffee and it was de-lish!  They certainly didn't last very long.

Enjoy your day!

September 19, 2012

Do you remember these I posted a long time ago?

I picked these up off the side of the road in July.  I swear our neighbourhood has the best garbage anywhere!  We need new kitchen chairs and these seem to be much studier than what we've got.  I would have been happy to leave the stained finish and just recover the seats if all the chairs were brown, but as you see there is a rogue blue one.  I started off quickly enough with sanding two of them and applying paint and primer.  The problem was, it was so hot this summer that the glossy paint never really dried well, and you could always see brush marks in the paint.  It was also going to take three coats of paint plus two coats of primer for each chair.  Ugh!  Not the way I wanted to spend my summer.  So I made the decision to spray paint them.  Each chair took one full can can of primer and one full can of paint.  I used 'Heirloom White' by Rustoleum.  For the seat cushions I used fabric left over from my kitchen curtains.

I'm happy with how they turned out and I like the creaminess of the Heirloom White better than the B.M. Cloud White I was originally going to brush on.  My free chairs ended up costing $50 due to the paint, but I still consider it a good deal for four "new" chairs.

Our breakfast nook got an unplanned for makeover in the last two weeks.  The old blinds were breaking down so I picked up some new wooden horizontal blinds at Zellers close-out sale.  I thought white may have been a better choice but I love how the brown wood makes it feel warmer.  I also found a new light fixture at Home Depot on clearance.  It makes such a difference in there I can't believe it.  The whole space just feels cozier I think, just in time for fall:)

Speaking of cozy, I just finished two projects I can show you.  The first is a flannel quilt for the newest little arrival in our family.  I hope he enjoys having tummy time on it.

In addition to the blinds I picked up at Zellers close-out sale I also picked up lots of new yarn at 50% off.  I made this wrap out of a soft and bulky yarn by Red Heart yarns.  The colour is Antique Blue and it's a lovely tweedy looking blend.  It looks much better in person!  I think what I liked most was that I crocheted it up in four days.  That felt really good:)

I have also done a fair bit of cross stitch but I want to finish them up before I post them here.
I'm off to make pumpkin scones as I have been seeing them all over blog-land lately.  I think it must be a sign:)
Thanks for visiting!

August 7, 2012

Our long weekend zipped by and honestly I don't think I could account for my time too well.  Mr. Crafty World was on call all weekend, so we couldn't venture too far from home.  I puttered around my sewing room a bit; I didn't sew anything but I made a bit of a dent in organizing my fabrics.

I did get some cross stitching done however, and have a fully finished piece to show you.
This is a quick stitch from new JCS Halloween issue:

I finished it like they did in the magazine with the beaded border.  I used a small scrap of some starry fabric to finish the back:

It was really fun and I have started on another ornament from the same issue.  I brought out all of my fall and halloween charts in a bout of wishful thinking of all I would like to  accomplish in the next few weeks.  I know I won't get a fraction of the charts stitched, but it's fun to dream anyway!

Jenn