Reconstructing Maggie B.

A couple of years ago I saw this quilted Maggie B.  hanging travel bag at Value Village.  I loved the fabric on it so much I had to have it.  I also loved the price:  99 cents.






















 I didn't need a travel bag - I prefer a wider, counter top version - so it sat around for a while and then became a holder for my little bits of fabric.  During my recent craft room purging sessions I got rid of the little bits of fabric and the Maggie B. bag went into the thrift store pile.

After reading Unstuff Your Life, I knew I had to make some mini bags to make it easier when I switch purses.  Seeing the opened up travel bag on my counter gave me a great idea...

I cut the bag apart above all the zippers but the top section.  I cut the sizes I needed from two central sections and stitched up the tops.  The two ties were just the perfect amount to fold over the remaining raw edges and seal up.

For less than an hour's work (and 99cents!)I have four pretty new bags to use.  Two for my purse; one for a cross stitch project bag and the last one is for My Favourite Girl to store her knitting needles.

I love that I get to see the gorgeous chintz fabric but can still see what's inside them.  Definitely money and time well spent.  (And a perfect example of why it's good to wait at least a day between purging and charity drop off!)

You Watch One Documentary...

... and you put your life in upheaval!  Maybe 'upheaval' is a bit strong, but it has certainly created an energy shift around here.  A few weeks ago I borrowed Chemerical from the library.  It's about the toxins we use regularly in our lives, via things like cleaning products.  There was nothing new in this video for me.  Years and years ago I used to make my own laundry soap, air freshener, deodorant; all that stuff, because I read this great book.

Then I had babies, and moved house three times, and life just kept happening.  Costco came out with a great unscented laundry detergent that none of us were allergic too and all I had to do was whip out my debit card instead of grate a bar of soap. That's a big sell for a new mom who wants to do creative things with her spare minutes - and no, grating soap did not make the 'creative' cut. Conveniently they also sell a huge box of OxyClean powder and mega bottles of dishwasher detergent.  Those large dispensers of disinfectant wipes were wonderful at doing a quick and thorough job of cleaning bathrooms too.

After I watched the video I decided to go back to my old way of thinking and go non-toxic.  I pulled all the toxic substances out of my cupboards and could not believe how much I had.  I also couldn't believe how much room it all took to store this stuff.  So I made a batch of laundry soap and did not grudge the ten minutes it took me to grate the soap.  It was ten minutes to myself on the front steps on a beautiful summer day.  That's a good memory to attach to soap grating!  Then I organized my laundry cupboard since I had all this extra space.  Then I started looking on the internet for other home made cleaner recipes and organizational ideas.  That sent me off on a fury of organizing around the house.  Closets, basement, pantry, and cupboards have all fallen victim.  A trip to the library to find a cleaning book led me to this book, which has had the biggest impact so far.

This book isn't just about organizing your spaces, it makes you examine why you have the stuff you do.  I was shocked to realize how much stuff I am holding onto for 'someday'.  When the heck is that ever going to come?  The last few days have had me purging stuff I never thought I would get rid of.  I have felt liberated to get rid of some of these things, but also very sad and a bit angry too.  Sad because I have to realize that the person I was planning to be when Someday came isn't going to materialize either.  I let go of about 50 cookie cutters because so far I have not become the mom who bakes and beautifully decorates sugar cookie works of art.  The saddest part is finally admitting I never will.  If I haven't done it by now, what's the likelihood of it happening later?   The anger part is kind of the obvious - knowing how much money and/or time you invested in these little dreams and now letting them go.  The upshot is thinking how much a local charity is going to make by re-selling these things of mine.  Kind of nice to think those trinkets will pay for someone's overnight stay in a shelter or a hot meal when they have no other access to one.  There's perspective for you.

However, despite these feelings I will press on.  I am not going about it in a terribly organized way:  I might be looking for something in the storage and end up clearing out the room.  Drawers and cupboards and getting done in a random fashion, but at least they are getting done.  I will not have any great before and after shots to show because this really is feeling quite spontaneous to me, and when the mood strikes there is no time to run for the camera!

The last few days I have been attacking my craft cupboards, and it has been really hard.  After two days I am starting to see some empty spaces and feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I am starting to think that it might be pleasant to do some sewing without having to clear off the table first. I am focussing on the things I like to do the most and getting rid of all the rest.

 When I start feeling down I think of how I always seem to be cleaning up things and putting things away instead of doing fun stuff.  I think of how the next time we buy a house I want it to be smaller, so all of this stuff will not fit into it anyway.  Our current house is really too big for a family of four and I want to spend less time cleaning and filling it up.

 I need to break up with Stuff and it's really hard.  Now I am starting to feel bad again so let's talk about other things.

In between  all this organizing and purging I have been doing a bit of what I love.  I started a new cross stitch (seen above).  The blue poppies remind me of trips to Butchart Gardens with my Mum.  Lovely memories to stitch by.

I have been crocheting flower dish cloths like a madwoman every night and every time I take the kids to the park.

These are rapidly cutting down on my cotton yarn stash and are a great project for me to satisfy my desire to make one object in multiple colour ways.  Six down, many more to go.  I am taking these on vacation with me.  When I am finished they will all be donated to our church holiday bazaar in November.

We celebrated two birthdays and I finished up a little stitchy project for My Favourite Girl:

I started the cross stitch portion in January; finished it in April; and only got the backing sewn on the pillow two days before her birthday!  I also stitched two cards for the kids too.

It's been a good summer so far, despite the self re-examination.  After all, I am always telling people that changing your thinking is the hardest thing to do.

We had to cancel our camping trip due to work issues, but we did manage a lovely day at the beach.

That trip inspired me to get a few more rows done on my ripple blanket.  Yes, I am STILL working on it!  I put an updated picture in the sidebar.
 
I think that's enough rambling for now.  Today is a big drop off day for some of our stuff.  It should feel good:)

Summer Holidays

We have coasted into our summer holidays at a lazy speed.  We get up late; stay in our pyjamas longer than we need to; then occasionally go out and do semi-essential stuff like grocery shopping.  So far - no complaints!

Though I was a day late for Canada Day I did finish this blackwork Canadian flag heart.

 I have to say I did not enjoy working on this project.  I love the look of black work but it's obvious it is not the needlecraft for me.  I didn't even try to keep my back looking neat after I made my first mistake.  I pulled it out every so often, but found it tedious and then I would put it away.  I have been working on it off and on for the last three or four years:  I have lost track now.  Putting the final touches on it didn't even make me excited:  I am hoping that next year when I pull out my Canada Day decorations I will be happy to see it.

Something I did enjoy working on was my new felted bag.

I think if I had just used one colour I would have gotten bored quickly, but I enjoyed making the colour changes.  It was fun/nerve wracking each time I opened the pillowcase after washing to see how much the bag had felted and shrunk each time.  The white yarn didn't felt as well as the blue and yellow, but I didn't want the bag to get any smaller so I left it after three washes.

I used a vintage sheet to make the lining: the sunny yellow and white remind me of the wallpaper I had as a kid.  The handles are from a mixed lot I got at the thrift store.  Today was it's first day out and I was happy with its roominess and the way it feels on my shoulder.  I still may crochet and felt a big yellow flower for the side, but it feels OK without it too.

I couldn't go a week without getting a few thrifty treasures.  Today we had a short stop at Salvation Army and I picked up this pressed glass bowl and a jar full of old buttons.  I will have fun sorting through those!

I was gung-ho to make a Charlotte Russe in the bowl when I got home but my ladyfinger biscuits have mysteriously disappeared.  I think I have two favourite little people to blame for that.  Perhaps tomorrow, though I just realized I said last week I was going to make a lavender cake.  Decisions, decisions...

Friday Things That Made Me Happy

Being able to peg clothes out to dry.

Installing new shelves in the closet of doom.  Now that the kids are tall enough to reach a regular height bar, I was able to get rid of the hodge-podge closet organizers and put the bar back where it should go. Now I have extra room up top for storage and can take some pressure off of a bursting closet in the basement.

My new cookbook.

Getting our latest (and largest!) souvenir from France hung up on a rod.  Though I took this picture at an angle, it really is straight and level.  I'm usually not so great in that department, so it was a good day.

Watching 'Madmen' and working on my much neglected ripple blanket.

Finding out some family members are dry and safe in flood-stricken southern Alberta.  My heart just aches for those who are not so lucky.

Have a great weekend:)

Moon Phases

I am really trying to figure out when my most productive times of the month are.  I got a necklace for my birthday, and the card enclosed said that since I was born during a last quarter moon, my best days are the ones just before and after the new moon.  Could be a little New Age, but I was careful to watch during those times to see if I really was more productive.  I shouldn't say more productive, because I think I am almost always busy, but it's more of finding out which times are the best to start projects and having a greater success rate of finishing them in a timely fashion.  I can tell you that right now is not one of those times!  I have quite a few little projects sitting around that I started off with great enthusiasm, but are now just sitting there, waiting to be finished and quickly losing their appeal.

I'm trying not be too much of a slug during this time, so I have been doing a lot of nesting.  I have been cleaning closets, washing windows, doing some baking; the sort of things that I can look at at the end of the day and feel good about.  Like most people I don't like waiting, especially waiting for my 'successful' creative times to come back, but I am trying to look at these times in a different way.  I read somewhere that when we are waiting, it's like tending the home fires for others to come to.  You're not doing nothing, you're just not doing everything for yourself at the moment.  Waiting, or tending, is important, whether you feel it is or not.  I kind of like thinking it of that way - perhaps because it speaks deeply to my domestic side.

In between my purging-organizing-hearth tending moments I did a quickie make-over to My Favourite Boy's room.  Last summer I painted his walls but never did find a coordinating bedspread.  I lucked out at the thrift store a few weeks ago and found four curtain panels that had the colours I was going for.

  I shortened two of the panels for shorter curtains and stitched the other two together for the bed.  I was originally going to make a duvet-type cover for his existing quilt, but in the end I just stitched the fabric to the top of it. I just need to make a pillow case with what's left, but that will have to wait - you know, for the new moon phase:)
      I was sad to take his old nautical room decorations to the thrift store to donate, but I have to keep telling myself don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.  He's growing up, and I am grateful for what I had and what is yet to come.

I also took a knitting class:

I'm not sure if I will continue with this or not. I'm finding it so fiddly and time consuming. I'm sure I must have felt the same way about learning crochet, but there was a deep drive to succeed there that I don't feel here. I think I could get by with just knowing knit and purl, and only make things that have 90 degree angles like scarves and square pillows. I just don't know. I probably should have taken the class closer to a new moon!






I have had an insane amount of luck finding vintage treasures.  You have seen a few already, but the best find by far was this:

 Can you believe I got this for $20 at a garage sale?  It's not working, but I don't really care.  Perhaps later I will look into getting it going again since my initial "investment" was so small.  For now I'm just content to look at it.  I really don't have any room to spare for this and right now it's sitting in the kitchen until I decide where it will live (and what will have to go to make room for it).  This location is growing on me though: when it's open and I see it as I am doing stuff in the kitchen it always brings a smile to my face.

 Based on the Egyptian style motifs I believe it was made in the 1920's.












So far the most use it has gotten - other than just looking pretty - has been as a torture device for Lego people.  My Favourite Boy has had a grand old time taping them to the wheel and pumping the treadle as fast as it will go.

  Not the most exciting update in the world, but that's what's going on in my space.  

Only six and a half more days of school until summer holidays.  I'm looking forward to it because lunch making has become the biggest drag in the world at this point.  I don't even care if the kids have homework or not; I just want them to hang up their stuff at the end of the day and play outside.  Bring on summer - and the new moon:)

A Good Kind of Day

 I was up early this morning so made myself a cup of tea and finished a little project that's been hanging around for a while.  This is inspired by a similar one at Heartmade: she makes really beautiful stuff.  I thought this might look nice hanging from the door handle of my French bathroom.

I gave my deck pots their annual spray of colour.  This year I chose bright blue with a mixture of flowers.  The deck is looking good - if only it would warm up/stop raining we could spend more than ten minutes out there.

I baked some lemon-cranberry scones.

I admired my garden and decided to cut the grass to make it all look good.  The peach iris are truly gorgeous.  The next batch set to bloom are light purple I think, and they should be out any day now.

I gave this thrift store clock a make-over.  I found it last week on a stellar thrifting trip.  How could I pass it up for $5.99?  Unfortunately whoever had it last was a smoker, so it was pretty stinky.  I removed the cross stitch (after a heart stopping moment when I realized I would have to break the frame apart to get it out) and soaked it in OxyClean for a few hours.  I scrubbed everything else that wasn't fabric and used up my last bit of baby blue spray paint for the frame.  I am totally in love with it and it looks perfect in my craft space.

I had no intention of being so productive today and yet I was.  I even managed to get four loads of laundry done and make a roast chicken for dinner!  

Maybe that's the key: have no expectations and just let the day unfold.  Oh to have days like this everyday.  Bliss.  Domestic Bliss.

April and May

Tonight I'm stuck home with a lousy cold bug while the family gets to eat with good friends.  I figured I could catch up here, instead of rattling around the empty house wondering what to do.  This spring seemed to go by remarkably fast; I'm not sure if it was because it felt so busy (it was) or if because we hardly seemed to have any spring like weather so we just sort of missed the whole thing by waiting for it to come.
I bumped around a lot these past two months and managed to fit some crafting time in between packing suitcases and tying up last minute details.  Back in February I started on a spring flower crocheted tea cozy and finally got it off the hook in April.  Unfortunately with all of my 'busyness' I didn't get around to taking a finished photo of it.  Here it is as a work in progess:  you can see it's made up of spring flowers.

I also added some purple bluebell type flowers to it that I designed myself.  I ended up being quite proud of it, but it didn't stay in my hands long as it was a gift for my Mum.

I decided to stretch my crochet capabilities and make a little baby cardigan.  I used Debbie Bliss yarn and it was such a treat to work with.  Here it is just waiting for some little buttons.  I found out that our neighbours across the road who are expecting a baby this month just found out they are having a little girl.  Perfect!

I made myself some crocheted Mary Jane slippers too.  I put leather on the bottom so these should last longer than the last pair did.  I love that they look like ballet slippers: sadly my own ballet slippers have become quite neglected and I'm getting the waistline to prove it:(

The slippers came in really handy on all three trips I took this spring, but they were especially welcome on the tile floors at the house in France we went to for three weeks!

(This isn't actually the house we stayed in, but we did visit it!)

For a couple of years I have been on the look-out for a crocheted purse that I could personalize with flowers.  I finally found this navy blue one, and in between trips I added a new lining to brighten it up and added some roses to the side.  I'm still deciding when to step out with it.

I didn't realize what a crochet heavy post this would be!  My cross stitching has been sadly neglected of late, but hopefully not for too long.

Last night I made a new decoration for our front door.  I wanted a lavender wreath but could only find two small bushes of it at the craft store.  It's a bit sparse, but it's simple like I wanted and reminds me of France.

I am liking these new smaller door decorations; not only because they are lighter, but they are much easier to store.
 I am currently all into things that store well as I have been cleaning and organizing like mad since we got back from France.  I have been away for so much this spring that it makes me so happy every day to be home and just be a domestic.  Everything about being here makes me happy: getting the carpets cleaned; baking something nice for everybody; hanging my laundry outside... It really is the best place on earth.