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...