Give-aways

There's a really cool give-away at Crafty Crow this week. If blogging it wasn't a pre-requisite to entering, I so wouldn't be doing this, cause I really really want it for myself.

I spent too much time today following links at Sew Mama Sew's big huge give-away day. I'm pretty sure there's over 200 links to people giving stuff away, and many of them will be open for a few days yet, if you missed it. One of them is absolutely amazingly huge... it's at Confessions of a Craft Addict. She's been accumulating crafty stuff all year, just for this giveaway!!! WOW!

I didn't get on the ball soon enough to take part in that large event, but in honor of the day (and because I feel a smidge guilty for putting my name in for so much cool stuff), I'm going to do my own little give-away just for fun.This is a wee wristie (actually it's fairly big for a wristie, standing 6" tall and 7" wide) with one internal pocket. It's made of linen, lined in cotton. I'll collect names til Sunday the 7th, and then pull one from a hat. If you link to this on your own blog, I'll put your name in twice. And to spice it up a bit, please also tell me something interesting or funny that happened to you today. Merry Christmas :)

view from my window

These were taken on the drive to and from church this morning.

I've been busy

These are my first inchies ever, done for a swap with the Christian Paper Artists yahoo group. I must say, they truly are addictive. I've managed to stay away from them for this long, but I think the avoidance is over now. Must. make. more. inchies!

The blue ones are done with my favourite gesso/newsprint background technique. The snowflakes are embossed. The holly leaves are drawn with my new (very cool) watercolour ink pencils and crusted with diamond dust. That stuff is cool too - so sparkly!


And here is one of 6 (so far) altoid tins I'm working on. I bought a kit from Ten Two Studios... Lisa has some lovely images for sale! (no affiliation, yadda yadda...) I just need to find somewhere to get more tins, preferably in Canada. Any suggestions?

Christmas

Christmas ornaments for a swap...
marbles for presents...
I love playing with paper!

typical, hey?

You pat yourself on the back because you've just done something you feel pretty good about, and BAM!, the universe sits up and takes notice and says "Hey, that one needs to be slapped down a bit!"

So yeah. I'm all "Woohoo, six months of blogging!" and then my life takes a small detour down a big hole. Nothing serious, just a small crisis of identity that left me questioning everything. And being who I am, I needed to retreat in order to figure it out. I don't know how to do my questioning in public. Some do. I actually really enjoy watching the process unfold in other people, and I really appreciate the vulnerability that they offer. I just can't do it myself.

But I'm back. Mostly. I still haven't figured it all out. And yeah, I know I never will. But I can hope, can't I?

the end. lucky me.

Summer is over.


Not that it ever was really here... I think we had a week of hot weather. Not enough to ripen even one tomato on my poor little plants. They grew well, though. And had lots of flowers. I guess it was a bad summer even for the insects.






I was the fortunate recipient of a batch of gocco notecards from Sarah at cloth.paper.string. Aren't they lovely? They're made from a sunprint of dill flowers, and I want to frame them and keep them forever!

Protocol?

What's the correct way to respond to comments?

Most of the time, I send emails to the commenter, since blogger lets me know their email address. Only sometimes people comment anonymously so I can't do that, and then I feel bad.

Should I respond in the comment section?

Ack. I hate not knowing what to do!

(But I'm really enjoying playing with my photos on picnik!)

Brewing

Two batches of mead, brewing on my kitchen desk. One is made of blackberry blossom honey, and the other is pumpkin blossom honey with cinnamon.

Have you ever had mead? It's like summer in a glass. Like sitting in the sunshine on a not-too-hot-but-just-hot-enough day, with no worries, just listening to the bees humming in the flowers.

But potent? Oh my sainted aunt, is it ever! You read about the Vikings quaffing it by the tankard full - if that's the case, then I have a very high respect for their ability to hold their liquor. It doesn't take much to help you drift off into a very sound, relaxing sleep.

New digs

My house is in an upheaval right now. It's time for 3-year old Ellie to be moving out of our bedroom. So most of the kids are rotating rooms, and I'm vacating my present sewing room. This is the mess that's presently in there, waiting to be sorted through. How (and why!) did I manage to collect so much stuff???

This is the new sewing set-up.

Cutting table and fabric stash:


All of my yarn is now sorted into boxes by weight... do you think I might have enough???

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Marlene!

I wish I could send something to everyone who commented. I've really enjoyed checking out all of your blogs... I love the fact that I can connect with so many people all around the world.

Gobsmacked!

Ummm... wow. I was expecting around 10 or 12 comments. Wow.
Welcome here, all you new people :)



I forgot to say when I'll be doing the big draw. It'll be Saturday, the 23rd, which is also my middle daughter's 15th birthday. If she's home from camp by then, I'll let her pull the winning name from the hat.

Six months!

I know I haven't posted very frequently, or very regularly, but this is the longest that I've stuck with any kind of journaling. Well, except for my grade 10 year when all I wrote about was boys...

So, here's the promised giveaway: a wee purse.


It's pretty small... about 8" wide by 6" tall, and a 2" wide base. One little pocket inside. Mostly linen on the outside, and cotton on the inside. I've appliqued a bird on the front and added some free-motion embroidery. The handle is 24" long, so it sits nicely right under the arm.

To throw your name into the hat, just leave me a comment. If you link to me on your own blog, I'll give you an extra entry.

Best of luck, and thanks for reading :)

happy day

thyme in the sunshine...

the delicacy of a spider's web...
chalk bits...

the brilliant green of new mint leaves...

a bit of retail therapy

My favourite local quilt store had a sale... actually, is having a sale all this week... tables and tables full of bits of fabric. Manufacturers sample books originally, so the pieces are at least 8"x10", and all sold by the pound. I went a bit crazy. Here it is all laid out on my ironing board.
There's a few quilts there, and some bags. And something for a giveaway too... more on that soon.

See?

Did I say those sheet bits would make nice purse linings?


Linen with silk applique...
... and a pretty floral sheet for lining.

Blue linen wristlet...
... with more pretty floral sheet lining.

And the smartest thing I've done all summer??? That would be when I bought the Wristlet Three Ways pattern from Elizabeth. Not so much for the pattern's sake - I've made enough lined pouch type things already to not need another one - but for the zipper instructions. FINALLY I know how to sew in a zipper so that it doesn't look all gimpy at the ends. Hurrah!!!

And a teaser to end off with... I'm almost to my 6 month blogiversary. I know, small potatoes compared to some, but still. I wasn't sure if I could maintain a blogging habit any better than I did with journaling... and I've got the stacks of half-done books to prove it. So keep your eyes peeled, there'll be a give-a-way coming soon by way of a small celebration :)

Busy Mama

It's been a good summer so far.
A bit unusual, but still nice.
More driving around, now that the kids are older and have jobs.
And things are a bit quieter, with one of them off at camp for a month. And I've spent a lot of quality time with my sewing machine.
Unfortunately, I don't always remember to take pictures before I loose things into the world. I did manage to catch a few things though...

A purse for a friend of mine... it's half purse, half messenger bag...

...with a really busy interior and lots of yummy pockets...

Ellie's dress, made from a shirt...
(I take no responsibility for the hat... that was her own idea!)

And a brown wool blend purse...
...with it's own equally busy lining full of pockety goodness...
And this pretty package didn't leave my house, but entered it. I won a package of vintage sheet bits from Regina at Creative Kismet.

Aren't they lovely? I'm thinking that they'd make lovely purse linings... or quilt squares...

Woodland Bloom Giveaway Contest!!!

Woodland bloom giveaway

Check it out!

Tales from the garden

Once upon a time there was a tomato plant. It grew and thrived. Flowers appeared on its branches, and soon there were little green....gooseberries???


Well, that's what Ellie told me they were, after she picked them all...

Beach day!

If you ever get a chance to visit Hicks Lake in BC, take it!!! It's a little lake in the mountains near Harrison Hot Springs... small (you can walk around it in about 90 minutes) and perfect for swimming or canoeing. Today was a wonderful day. Except that I forgot to put sunscreen on my shoulders. They burnt.

Oh, and I didn't take a single picture. Shoot me.

A story and a Yarn Raffle

I found this at not martha ... a story of some selfless, giving people and a way to help them out now that they are in need. Also, a chance to win some really nice prizes, but really, having read their story, that's beside the point. You have til Sunday the 13th to get your name in the hat... please donate.

Strawberries

My sister has a farm in Armstrong where she has a large strawberry patch. Mom went up this weekend and brought back a bucket of berries for me.

They were so ripe they turned my hands pink when I hulled and chopped them up. And despite sitting in a hot car for 5 hours and then waiting 2 days to be delivered to my house, there were only 3 or 4 moldy berries.

And now we have 9 jars of jam, tangy and full of berries, to be opened in the winter or given as Christmas presents. Yes, I'm starting to plan ahead.

Ice Cream Social Frock Giveaway!!!!

Kathleen makes the most gorgeous, absolutely scrumptious dresses and then gives. them. away. Can you believe it???? I only just noticed this one (after taking a computer holiday), so you've only got the rest of the day to put your name in...

Ice Cream Social Frock Giveaway!!!!

I so want this one for Miss Ellie...

we have squatters

I walked into the dining room with supper for Miss Ellie, and spied this fellow deep in our little 2'X3' pond, washing his dinner.

He was promptly chased up a tree in an attempt to get him off the property - after all, we don't like cleaning up the mess these guys leave in our garbage cans.

An hour later, I could still hear him chittering away to himself up in the cedars. Then there was the sound of rustling, and I went to the window to see if he was indeed coming down from his perch.

Not at all.

What I heard in the bushes was the Mrs. and the kids coming home. Yup. It appears we have a whole family of 'coons living in our cedar trees.

Time to lock up the trash!

One plus one equals nothing good

One is fine.
The other is cute too.
Put them together, and you realize you're really dorky, suddenly.


Someone came to the door today while I was cooking supper (and wearing my super-cute apron).


After he (yes, he) left, I realized that I was also wearing my matching hairband.



Ah well. At least he was short, not cute, and only trying to sell me something.

One down, one to go

The sewing machine is in the shop ... again... so I'm glad I signed up for Death By Socks - gives me something to do instead of moping around my empty sewing cabinet.

Also (and this is not necessarily a good thing) it has introduced me to the yummiest sock yarn in the whole wide world. Cascade Heritage, in case you are wondering. It's soft, smooth, springy, and easy to knit, and it feels sooooo nice. Now I want to buy all the colours and make lots of socks, and maybe a shawl. Like I said, not a good thing :)

Okay... off to start the second sock. Hopefully I can make it past the first round this time, unlike my Sock Wars experience.

Making a Purse Zipper - Tutorial

Are you frustrated because you can only find purse zippers in the most basic of colours?
Fret no longer. You can make your own, in whatever colour you choose!













1. Buy two zippers: one in the length you want for your project, and one to cannibalize.












2. Make sure that the numbers/letters on the back of each zipper pull match each other. This is VERY IMPORTANT! If they're different, it means that the pulls are different sizes, and the new one will not slide smoothly on the zipper.













3. Cut off the ends of the shorter (unwanted) zipper...










...and remove the pull. Throw away the rest of the zipper.



















4. Cut off the ends of the longer zipper. Note that I have cut them at different lengths. This makes it easier to thread the ends through the new pull.














5. Put the extra zipper pull onto the longer side of the zipper, and pull it down til it's flush with the bottom of the pull.














6. Put the shorter side of the zipper tape into the other side of the new pull. Pull both sides of the tape through the pull. This is where it gets fiddly, and an extra hand would come in ... handy, so to speak.












As you can see, the ends of the tape are all frayed now because of the effort it takes to get the zipper moving.
















7. Quickly, before anything bad happens, sew across the end of the zipper to stop it from coming apart.









And you're done! Cool, hey?

Now go make a purse or something :)