Grey Skies

...had nothing on me today!  I am determined not to let the weather get to me when it's all overcast and raining.  After all, it's just rain.  (My pretty new umbrellas are a big help too!) 
So: today was not so uber-productive, but I did:
a) clean my bathroom.  Now I can have a nice relaxing bath in a super shiny clean tub :)
b) watch half an episode of Cityline - which I never seem to get a chance too - and worked a bit on the basement baseboards.
c) decorate (previously cut and baked - what a way to do it) sugar cookies and do a drop off to Mr. Crafty World's work.  I figured he needed a bit of a pick-me-up.

Since the quilt store is just a few blocks from his work, I picked up a bit of fabric for my next two quiltlets.  Is that restraint or what?

Then it was over to Costco for a new cookbook.  A friend made the dauphinoise potatoes from it the other night and they were really tasty.  A little French inspiration is always good :)

I was planning on buying a bunch of yellow tulips for the house, but got a better idea instead.  I am trying to cast off my Alberta gardening mentality (grow nothing until June, nothing!) and headed off to Lowes for some pansies.  I came out with a bunch of flowers and practically skipped out of the store.  That's how excited I was.

After picking up My Favorite Boy from school and letting him splash in puddles to his heart's content on the way home, I planted everything.  Now I have some nice spring-y displays to greet anyone who walks up the path:

Oh, it was such a good day. 

Easter

Goodness; another holiday has come and gone and I wonder where the last three and a half weeks have gone.  Actually I do know:    Between the two of us, Mr. Crafty World and I have spent the better part of it  priming, painting, sawing and putting down floors.  We are on the final leg of our basement renovation and I'm pretty excited about that.   It won't be much longer now until we can move everything back downstairs to its nice new space, and I can have my living room back.  The Easter Bunny was really smart this year and only hid eggs in the hallway and family room.  Those are the only two places where basement stuff isn't taking over, so there would be no chance of us finding treats a few weeks from now!  I am also very eager to clean my house if you can believe it: I haven't been able to do it properly for almost two months now.  I clean the places I can reach, but sadly there is a lot of space that is collecting dust. 

Despite all the work, I did take some time to make a few things for Easter.  No sewing this year, but I did make some sugar eggs and cookies. 

The kids went nuts over the sugar eggs: there were many requests for hot tea or warm vanilla milk so they could pop a few into their mugs.

I had a chance to bend my brain around the crocheted egg pattern, and got two worked up.  I'm happy how they turned out, and am eager to make a few more next year.  I made mine out of cotton yarn instead of crochet cotton, so they are quite a bit bigger than the original.  I think if I make about three more it should make a nice little garland for the mantle.

We have had some very nice days around here, and I used the first few to sit outside and work on some granny squares with my bargain yarn.  I had originally planned on only doing a 9 square, but I see I will have to make it into a 12 square.  So, more granny making for me but it's good practice and that's definitely what I need  when it comes to crochet.

I am also trying the join-as-you-go method, and it's going well, but I'm not sure how I feel about the look of it.  I think I would prefer more stitches on the sides to hold it all together.

This year my birthday fell on Easter Sunday, and I got the most gorgeous cake ever.  I don't think I could ever decorate one so beautifully:)

There are even chocolate caramel eggs between the layers if you can believe it.  Sweet stuff from a sweet family.  I got a few homemade cards too:

I was extra touched because I know they used their very best stickers for them.

And now that all the celebrations are over it will be back to work on the basement.  I'm not sure how soon I will be posting anything again, but I do check into my favorite blogs briefly once in a while.

Enjoy the spring weather!

Flowers All Around

Things have slowed down considerably here in the crafty department.  The last few weeks are a blur for me; lots of running around getting ready for Mr. Crafty World's return after a 5 week absence.  A blur of trying to keep it together while a nasty head cold settled in.  Life is leveling out again,  though I'm now on some antibiotics that are making me feel a bit, disconnected, I would say.  Earlier in the week I ducked out for some shopping.  I haven't been to the thrift stores since Jan. 23rd. Yes my friends, I can hardly believe it myself!   Actually with all the basement stuff still sitting in my living room while renovations are being done, I have found it to be the best kind of deterrent to adding anything new to the household.  I was a bit afraid that not having been to the thrift shops in so long it would end up as a kind of free-for-all kind of shopping trip, but I was remarkably resiliant to all the wares available to me for such good prices.  I think still being a bit ill took some of my enthusiasm away.   I did not, however, come away empty handed - you didn't really think I would did you? 

First up is a lovely pale yellow teacup and saucer and sweet little creamer.  I must have had a subconscious need for pink and purple flowers; it wasn't until I got home that I saw how similar the colors are.

I don't really need another teacup, but it was just too pretty.  As was the other one I bought when I went back the next day!

Beside that is my favorite find: a souvenir compact with famous images of Canada.

. 

I was one happy thrifter to discover this one.  The powder screen and puff inside have never been used, and  it is in wonderful condition.  It fits with my retro needlepoint bag perfectly :)  I don't know how old it is, given it's great shape, but it was made in Great Britain, and you don't find many souvenirs made outside of China anymore.

More oldies came home in the form of an Enid Blyton book about a naughty doll named Amelia Jane (she really is bad!), and some plastic beads.

My next favorite item is this toothbrush holder:

I  thought the flowers on it were so pretty, and it would look nice on my end table with crochet hooks in it.  I even got the thumbs up from Mr. Crafty World on that one.  Now I need to find the rest of my crochet hooks!

I know one of them has been used for this: 

TA DA!!! My flowery tea cozy is finished!

I'm quite pleased with it.  More so because I thunk it all up myself.  I'm sure I bent/broke some cardinal crochet rules in my quest for a flower tea cozy though I had no idea what I was doing.

I'm still debating whether to add more flowers and/or to add buttons to the flower centers.  For now I'm just happy to leave it alone.  Mostly because these anti-biotics are taking the gumption out of me!

I used cotton yarn; just the cheap, crafting kind.  It is kind of an untraditional tea pot shape so I had a lot of problem solving to do.  I didn't want to go to the expense of using wool yarn in case I ended up tossing the whole thing. 

I got lots of practice making flowers and working a shell stitch, so I moving along quite nicely in my crochet journey.  Despite all the unravelling I still wanted to keep going, so I know I like to crochet!

And now the Earl Grey tea in my newly cozied pot is calling out to me, so I'm off to have a cuppa in one of my new teacups. 

Have a lovely weekend folks.

Hooked

I came to realize yesterday that I am officially hooked on crocheting.  Addicted might be a better way to describe it at this point.  I'm not giving up any other hobbies just yet, but crochet has definitely joined the crew and is somewhere near the top with sewing and cross stitching.  That's pretty high.

I took a three hour crochet class two years ago, where I learned to chain, single and double crochet. By the end of it my head was swimming and I had a monster of a headache.   A couple of bargain books and many internet searches later I am gaining a little bit of ground.  Most of what I do comes with a lot of fumbling, questions and a whole lot of un-ravelling.  In fact I think I have unravelled as many stitches as I have left in.  However I keep coming back to it.  Yesterday I bought my first crochet magazine.  It's the current issue of Crochet Today.  I was taken in by projects like this:

...and this:

...and especially this:

While at another store a few days ago searching for off-white yarn (and learning for sure that yes, dye lots do really matter), I found some knitting kits on clearance.  I fell in love with the colors in a kit to make something for baby, which also included some pretty fabric.  While I have no plans to take up knitting I did know that 6 balls of pretty yarn (5o% wool) and a quarter of a yard of fabric for under $9 is a good deal, so I popped it in my basket. 

Aren't those colours delicious?  I wish I had seen this before I started my tea cozy, but I have another project brewing that I can use them for.

One thing I really love about crochet is its portability.  I have been able to crochet in lots of public places lately.  Those hours I spent in the school registration line added a good length to my pink scarf.  My tea cozy has been to several dance classes, the dentist's office and public library.  I tried to crochet while in the bathtub last night, but wet yarn doesn't slide off the hook very well :(  I'm going to keep trying though....

I am almost half finished my tea cozy.  I had one side fully made up, then unravelled it because I thought it could be a bit wider.  I had the second half started when I realized the second skein of yarn was not the same shade of off white as the first.  I spent most of yesterday morning trying to find a match, because of course I threw the original label with the dye lot on it away!

I think I got a proper match this time, so I'm on to the second side.  The pink flower is a practice one; I'll be making more when the sides are done.  I'm really excited about this project so I hope it turns out!  I may have to take a break over the weekend because my left eye is having a serious case of eye-strain.

It hasn't been all hooky business around here: last weekend I started on some table runners.  These two are from a kit I got last year for my  birthday:

(I still have to add the binding)

I figured since my next birthday is in a month I should get started on these!  I probably would have gotten them made sooner, but I couldn't decide on fabric combinations.  The kit was only supposed to make one runner, but with the extra fabric that came with it I managed to eke out  two.  I'm a little annoyed with the instructions, as it said to tear 5 strips of fabric to make the sides and binding.  After I sewed the binding together and started applying it to the sides of one of the runners I realized there was not enough to go around.  Of course because I made two runners there is no more to spare!  I will have to bind it with plain -old bias tape, but it should look o.k. in the end. 

I am in love, love, love with the fabric; purple is my favorite colour and every time I see these it makes me really happy.  I thought how lovely they would look in my kitchen on the table and dresser if my kitchen walls were painted a pale lilac.  That would be an extremely hard sell to Mr. Crafty World though, so I'll just have to settle for the purple runners.  *Sigh.*

Have  a lovely day :)

Sunshine + Sewing = Happiness

The sun came out today.  Being a prairie girl who grew up with lots of sunshine, my psyche really takes a beating when it's gloomy outside.  Too bad for me that southern Ontario is mostly gloomy all winter!  Anyway, the sun came out today and I stopped feeling sorry for myself and dove into my fabric stash. 

 I have been wanting to make a Union Jack pillow for ages now, and I decided that today was the day.  Part of the reason why it took so long to make was that I couldn't decide what fabric to use.  I decided to just be assertive and pick something and if I didn't like it I would make another one.  Turns out the first things I picked out I loved.  I guess I should be assertive with my stash more often; maybe more would find it's way into a finished product!

After much measuring and eye-balling and pressing and stitching I ended up with this:

And it's new home is on here:

Have a great weekend! 

Kindergarten

I was thinking the other day as I picked up My Favorite Boy from school, how special this time in kindergarten is.  I don't really think about it too much, except perhaps when moms I know whose kids are now "grade one-ers" talk about how much they miss it.  It is special: the little fenced off yard, just for them;  the days of learning and nurturing and security. Perhaps because I'm having one of those weeks, and feel a need for a bit of nurturing myself, I thought that a return to kindergarten for a short time would be very nice indeed. 

 Imagine if every year or so you had to take a "Kindergarten Sabbatical". For a whole month you were to show up at 8:35 a.m. and enter the little fenced play yard. After 20 or so minutes of playing in the fresh air - nothing structured, just running around really - you enter your workspace.  The first thing you are greeted with is a smiling face by someone who is genuinely glad to see you, and an orderly start to your day.  Everyone has their own little cubby for wet winter boots and snowpants and jackets.  Your cubby is marked with your own name and no one else is allowed to use it. 

You  sit on the carpet by the teacher's chair and start your day with a song.  Actually two; the first being the national anthem (which some people really need a refresher course in!) and another about friendship or plants or teddy bears. 

Throughout the day you visit various centers which might include puzzles or playdough or lego or kitchen; or my favorite: crafts!

As a child your imagination is limitless.  There are no end to the possibilities of what you can do with empty yogurt containers and toilet paper tubes.  Somewhere along the line we squash some or all of that creativitiy, yet there is a need to create in all of us.  When was the last time you made a straw necklace, ant trap (top right) or jack-hammer from tubes and boxes?  When was the last time you just played?  Or painted without saying you can't paint?

Do you remember the smell of chalky tempera paint?  Like wax crayons it's a smell that usually brings back happy memories.  Combine it with the paint-crusted smock (donated by someone's dad) and you are ready to let loose with those colors.

There's work to be done in kindergarten too.  There are math problems involving cut-outs of animals or hearts, but it's usually accompanied by cutting and pasting.  There are numbers and letters to practice.  There are quite a few of us who could use a little practice in our penmanship!

Once a week you are taken in a line to the library.  Imagine going to the library every week!  I'm a big lover of the public library, but even I don't get there once a week.

I think all this sounds wonderful, but I haven't even mentioned snack and lunch, where you have to put your work away and sit with your classmates and eat.  Someone always does something funny, and once in while someone snorts milk or juice out of their nose.  Then comes recess for more fresh air and unstructured play. 

Can you imagine how much this kind of routine would refresh and invigorate you?  A month of shucking off responsibilies for 6 hours so you can play and make stuff?  Personel problems are usually sorted out by telling the teacher of any infraction, and after  an "I'm sorry" you get back to what you were doing.  Usually with the person who wronged you in the first place,  but it doesn't matter now because that was in the past and you have gotten over it.

I think going back to kindergarten would be better than any of those management seminars or other courses they send you on to make you a better employee/manager/boss.  Maybe you need to be a better person before you can be a better employee/manager/boss.  Starting and ending your day with a song is a sure start I think :)

Growing up has it's perks, but there are just some days when you could really use someone else to open your applesauce or zip up your coat. 

I wish you all Kindergarten Days. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope this day finds you relaxing and surrounded by lovely things, as mine is so far !  Another special occassion done and almost dusted as they say.  This year was good;  I was able to make a few more decorations for our Valentine Vignette.  Not as much as what I had hoped, but that's usually the case all the time anyway!  I had talked about making the heart bunting I saw on Sew Mama Sew; and I did that, but I changed it to two vertical hanging decorations instead.  We must have symmetry don't you know!

I also made some felt treat bags for the kids; something to hold a few candies and these cute little dogs I found at the dollar store.  I have had the pattern for weeks and weeks, and last night at 9:30 decided it was a good time to start!  The patterns are from Betz White's Etsy shop.  Next year I hope to make her cute little mice and hedgehogs.

I know that no matter how much I decorate and sew for each special occassion, it's stuff like this:

...that my kids will remember.  Long after the treats and toys the kids will remember the pink heart shaped pancakes!  Really I could save myself so much work if I just stuck to the pancakes.

The kids weren't the only lucky ones around here.  I got this beautiful bouquet of gerberas:

(Thank-you!!!!!)

... and a lovely necklace made by My Favorite Girl.  I have tried all morning to take a picture of it but it just isn't turning out.  Anyway, it's made up of red seed beads and a pink rose quartz heart bead.  She worked very hard on it and I am honored to call it mine.

Happy Valentine's Day!