Shelley's Garden

Going to the Expert

2012-01-29T20:03:00.001-07:00

Love andComfort will be rolling out baby sleep sacks with sleeves this week, thanks tothe expertise of Linda Bandy.

Linda, now retired, has been sewing since she was six yearsold. She was the designer for ajean company and used to have her own company making children’s pyjamas.

What would have taken me several hours and hair pulling,took Linda about 30 second. Shelooked at my pattern, not measuring, just eye-balled it. Then she quickly took a pen and drew upa sleeve pattern for the smallest size in the sleep sack line up. From there, I was able to do the othersizes.

Linda and I met years ago in a poignant twist of life andfriendship. Through my previouswork, I’d come to know Irene in her late 80s who lived in a seniors’ home. I then met Irene’s adultdaughter, Laurel, in her last days with cancer. The first time I came to Laurel’s home, Linda was sittingbeside her, quilting. Every dayshe kept Laurel company and tended to her until her dying neighbour went intohospice. Both Laurel and Irene nowreside in heaven, and while Linda and I both miss them, I’m glad theyintroduced us.

Linda sent me home with a large bag of fabric and notions. A day later, I was passing on otherfabric from my own stash to a younger woman. “Can I pay you for this?”, she asked. Of course not. Through the generations amongthose who sew, remains the custom of passing on both fabric and expertise.

Linda designs with a pair of scissors. This beautiful scene of the foothills and Rocky Mountains where we live was created by Linda over six months through the careful choosing of fabric and the layering of fabric to create hills, mountains, rocks, water and wildlife.

Wanderings in the Big City

2012-01-15T20:02:00.005-07:00

Bloor Street, Toronto

For this Prairie/town/foothills person, coming to downtown Toronto means stepping into an entirely different culture. For starters, it's been fun to walk pretty much everywhere -- starting with walking to Downtown Camera at Church and Queen Street East. Yes, I could have taken the subway for the three subway stops but I walked down Yonge, passed the tatto shops and restaurants and clothing stores and....so much to see and so many people.

Joel at breakfast -- the blurriness is photographer learning!

The folks at Downtown Camera were super and I'm set up with my Nikon D200. Thank you to Stan, Vlade, Tiffany Anne and Carrie who introduced me to these helpful folks. Stan's Downtown Camera is the last independent Camera store in Toronto and it's a great place. Do check them out online or if you're in Toronto.
My few photos show I still have much to learn about the new-to-me camera. The Saturday shot of Joel was before I figured out the shutter speed -- notice the motion of hand with his telephone!

Maple Leaf Gardens turned into Grocery Store

While Joel was in meetings, I checked out fabric stores and this weekend we have continued walking and sight-seeing. We took in Kensington Market in the winter, walked through the entertainment district passed Roy Thomson Hall and Friday night saw opening night of The Iron Lady with Meryl Streep. The movie was OK but the best part was just a half-block walk back to the hotel afterwards rather than a 45 minute car ride. Then there are the cave-dwelling aspects of city life which is very strange for a lady from the big sky country. I needed insoles for my boots and found the sign for Mark's Work Wearhouse on Dundas Street beside a Canadian Tire sign-- just where Google maps told me it would be. But coming in the door, all I saw was Canadian Tire merchandise. I asked a clerk. Go downstairs, turn right, keeping going straight, head out the doors and you'll see Mark's Work Wearhouse. Down into the depths I went into the basement. In one of the department stores, I realized the basement had three levels, appropriately numbered -1, -2 and -3 in the elevator. I love Toronto but underground dwelling is the only part where I get neurotic. Get me up on the surface!!
It's been a great visit but as I downloaded the Toronto photos into iPhoto, a winter sunset photo from back home came up. I am a tad homesick and looking forward to getting home tomorrow.

With new(ish) eyes

2012-01-13T09:34:00.003-07:00

Thanks to my friend, Bill, at Wolfpack Studios, I’ve beenventuring into SLR Digital photography. Bill lent me his back up camera, a Canon D20. Oh my, how wonderful it is to beusing again a camera that allows me to get more detail in photos. When my daughter was a baby, I finallygave up on film camera, my Nikon FM2. It was a great camera but it was time to head into the world of digitaland carrying a larger camera, along with diaper bag, etc, just wasn’tpractical. For the most part, Iwas pretty pleased with the point and shoot Canons. But now that I need to take photos of for my onlinebusiness, the smaller cameras just weren’t picking up the detail that I wouldhave liked. (Besides thefact that my two dogs did in the last one)

Because it'sa borrowed camera, I’ve stayed close to home (and as far as possible from two dogs) for testing out the newer-to-metechnology. But one morning aftertaking daughter to the bus, I was elated that I could capture a photo of themoon – though the 50mm lens was a bit limiting. But it hasn’t limited getting a few photos of daughter outon a walk – never before have I been able to take photos in rapid succession.

I’m in Toronto now and yesterday ventureddown to Downtown Camera with thehelp of my friend, Carrie Cockburn (graphic artist, jewelry designer and photographer). Check out Carrie's beautiful photography on her blog. Wonderful to see Carrie -- we roomed together in my second year of journalism and hadn't seen each other in at least 25 years.

Later today I pick up my new-to-me Nikon D200. It’s not the latest in bells and whistles but it is aprofessional camera, sturdy and can do much -- once I learn all about it!! Excited about seeing the world in newer eyes and lens!

Hearty Food for a Snow Day

2011-11-30T12:34:00.001-07:00

Snow Day in the Foothills

Beautiful Snowy Day -- the dogs are exercised and exhausted, formerly sick child is off to school and my facebook page can now accept Baby sleep sack orders online. Great day (if you're not driving!)

Thought I'd pass on to you my Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe. Our family loves stew -- any leftovers are in hot demand. I prefer my Stew with lots of savory broth and crisp vegetables. The recipe below is large but you can make it smaller. Bonus: it's easy!!

Throw into the Crock Pot:
1.3 kg of Beef Stew meat, cut in 1" chunks(about three lbs.)
1 onion chopped
1 1/2 -2 cups Beef Boullion (I use boullion cubes or envelopes plus water)
2 large cans diced tomatoes
1 Bay Leaf
1tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil.

Set Crockpot on low setting and cook for approx 6-8 hours.

30 minutes before serving add:
2 T Cornstarch mixed with 1.4 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1.4 tsp. pepper

10 minutes before serving add some chopped parsley.

Cook separately from stew and serve with Stew:
3 Large potatoes, chopped
7-8 carrots chopped3-4 celery stalks, chopped.

The cornstarch and parsley stages are optional. I've made it without cornstarch and the broth is still delicious though more liquidy. Also, other vegetables can be used such as sweet potato and green, red or yellow pepper. We usually serve this with the vegetables and Stew in separate containers, and people put the vegetables in their bowl first and then pour the stew over.

Hope you enjoy!!

Wind's a blowing

2011-11-22T21:30:00.001-07:00

   Just delivered three baby sleep sacks to two happy Moms. I love making these sleep sacks! I love coming up with new designs for the applique and the happy response from the Moms on seeing their new sleep sacks.
    For lack of a photo, I'm attaching one of the two light blue sleep sacks that sold quickly at the Millarville Market.   More colours since then. One Dad asked if I would make a cat applique. Ended up doing a cat's face -- and it had to be smiling. I wasn't totally satisfied with it -- so gave them a discount. The parents, fortunately, were pleased with the cat and sleep sack -- and the discount!!
   I'm challenged by photography in promoting my work -- one of you TOLD me I would do better with an SLR and you were right. I can't get the clarity with my current camera and how I miss my 35 mm Nikkon of a by-gone era.
Our weekend at Millarville went well and just to finish things off well, a huge wind storm came up and...it took days to get rid of all the dust on us and our belongings!!! More wind today -- but at least we've enough snow on the ground to avoid dust. Ironically, we had roofers re-doing our roof yesterday (insurance claim after a July hailstorm). They worked well into the dark but haven't been able to come back because of the wind. So we make sure we check the driveway for nails before backing out vehicles.
   Ahh, the wind's a blowing and the changes its brought are....delightful!

Off to the Millarville Christmas Market

2011-11-10T20:43:00.001-07:00

The Anita bag has two inside pockets and a large outside one.

With a strong wind blowing over from the Rockies, my marketing partners and I opted to postpone setting up our tents until tomorrow morning for the annual Millarville Christmas Market. A few years ago, many a vendor lost their tent in a windstorm the Thursday night
before the market doors even opened.
So back home to put a few finishing touches on products. I'll have two new versions of the Anita bag available: One is a sturdy, green and deep pink bag and the other is made of a luscious brown and gold fabric (unfortunately, the photo doesn't do the latter justice -- though the model, Anita herself, is lovely!). I also have some newer versions of the baby sleep sack.
I feel very fortunate to be partnered with friends Pam and Jolene. There has been much laughter in the preparation and I expect more in

Jolene at the workbench (aka Pam's dining table)

Four of our 260 plus hand-painted Christmas decorations. Pam Berrigan can personalize the decorations for you on site.

our three days together. Besides doing a lot of individual sewing, we've painted up some 260 plus wooden Christmas decorations. And, thanks to the expertise of Jolene's mechanic husband, we'll stay warm in our outside tent -- as will, hopefully, our customers!

New sleep sack design

2011-11-08T10:16:00.001-07:00

Thank you to Chelsea and Baby Capri for testing out the new baby sleep sack. This was designed with the helpful feedback from Moms of babies. Capri and Chelsea enjoyed this sack so much they're keeping it. And now the new ones are under construction: some deep pink like this one as well as green and blue. All have applique designs on the front. They are constructed with safe fleece fabric, a zipper that can open from the top or bottom (for diaper changes).

The new sleep sacks will be available at the Love and Comfort booth at Millarville Christmas Market Nov. 11-13th and then afterwards on my etsy shop and facebook page.

The 'Wrong-Jar' Peanut Butter Cookie recipe

2011-10-31T11:25:00.002-06:00

We’re rather picky about our peanutbutter in this house. It has to bethe natural, no-sugar-added kind. I know other households are equally as fussy . For my Mom, only the icing-sugar-added kind belongs in herkitchen. The otherweek I bought the WRONG kind – which we only realized once the jar was openedand spread on the morning toast.

Here’s a cookie recipe that uses up any wayward peanut butteryou may encounter. The cookies havea great peanut butter flavour. Since the peanut butter was already sweetened, I used slightly lesssugar than what I listed below. Adjust sugar to your preference. This is a large recipe making just under 100 cookies but you can cut therecipe in half if you prefer. Itend to make large cookie batches because they disappear too quickly in thishousehold. If fast disappearing cookies signifies agood taste rating then this recipe rates quite high!

1 ½ cups margarine

1 jar peanut butter (500 g jar, minus a few tablespoons for above toast!)

1.5 cup white sugar

1.5 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking power

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

Cream margarine and peanut butter,add the sugar, eggs and vanilla, mixing until well blended. Then stir in the dry ingredients. Roll into small ballsand place on cookie sheets. Pressdown with a fork. Bake at 375degrees for 10 minutes. You mightwant to chill the dough. I didn’tbother and the dough balls shaped quite well.

Spooked in the Spooking

2011-10-28T23:38:00.002-06:00

A friend and her five-year-old daughter started the tradition of 'ghosting' in our neighbourhood and it was our turn to return the favour.

       You put together a hand-decorated bag with a few treats and a picture of a ghost for them to hang on the door so others know they've been 'Ghosted'. You creep up to someone's house in the dark, ring the bell and then run real fast before they see you.
       My six-year-old and I put together our bag and head over in the dark. Since these folks have two big, German-Shepherd cross dogs, I'd phoned the Mom ahead of time. While she would be out that evening, she was leaving her husband a note to keep the dogs inside around 7 pm.   It's a nice, crisp, evening. We come in through the front gate.   J was very excited to do a 'ghosting' but she was NOT going to walk up the front steps to place the bag by the door and ring the bell. I told her to wait at the side of the house -- the front yard is too long for us to get out of the gate without them seeing us. I would join her there. I said we'd wait there until after they'd got their package and then head out the gate when they were back in the house.
J hides at the side of the house, I go up the step, put the bag down and ring the door bell. Suddenly there is loud, VERY loud barking from the back of the house and it is clear the barking is coming to the front. I race down the stairs, the youngest big dog's coming up beside J and we RUN! Down the walkway, out the gate, down the street until we finally get to the corner. We stop to catch our breath. And we laugh.
We were so scared at the barking that we had kept running out the yard to not get caught. But the truth was, when the dog saw it was us, he seemed to recognize us, stopped and trotted up the front steps to see what we'd left at the door. We had no reason to be scared but he did his watch-dog job well by scaring us off! At least his owners still got their treats.
     "Boo" or "Ghost" your neighbours is a lot of fun. Here's a link over to Skip to my Lou's Blog. Cindy has a beautiful bag you can make for the neighbour or a simplified paper version you can print off. Thank you, Cindy.

Thanks for the feedback!

2011-10-21T11:35:00.001-06:00

Received very helpful feedback through the Mothers Opposed to Boredom facebook page on yesterday's query about Mom's preferences for baby sleep sacks. Thank you! Looks like 40 per cent like sleeves, 60 per cent prefer sleeveless. So I'll work at the two options with very soft, warm fabric (of course!) and a two-way zip.

What would you like in a baby sleep sack?

2011-10-20T12:38:00.000-06:00

Long-sleeve sleep sack for 12 to 15 lb. child

What's the best baby sleep sack for you and your child? Do you prefer a sleeveless one or one with sleeves?

Tell me about your most favourite sleep sack for your baby and what you'd buy in the future or would recommend to a friend or relative.

I would like to design sleep sacks that fit a mother's needs and concerns for their baby and toddler.

As I've looked at some sites that offer baby sleep sacks, all are sleeveless. There seems to be some concern that if a baby slips down inside the sleep sack as they sleep, they will still get fresh air coming through the armholes. One site raised the concern that there is a 'possible' link between carbon monoxide and SIDS.

Interesting. Because the long-sleeve ones I make are sized to gently fit at the child's neck so they can't slip down within the sack. As a Mom, I ditched the sleeveless ones for my daughter in the winter.   Living in the Calgary area near the mountains, our nights get cold and I wanted her arms to also be warm.   She stayed warm and safe.

A new Grandma of a preemie boy told me her grandson has a sleep sack but he slips down inside it. Yes, he would -- because he was in a sleep sack for an 8 to 12 pound baby and not one for his 5.5 lbs.    You want a sleep sack that will fit at the child's neck and I can make that.

That said, however, what kind of baby sleep sack would YOU buy?    Would you prefer sleeveless?

So looking forward to hearing your comments, insights and preferences. Thank you for reading.

Dog's trail of disaster

2011-10-16T22:21:00.004-06:00

Six-year-old daughter brought home a book called Cookies' Week.    She chuckles as she reads the simple lines about the cat that on Monday jumped into the toilet and got water all over, on Tuesday knocked over a plant and got dirt everywhere, etc, etc.
I suggested we could also write a book like that about our one-year-old dog. On Monday, Gracie chewed the dongle that connects Shelley's laptop to a projector ($40 replacement). On Tuesday, Gracie chewed the corner of Shelley's leather Wesley Bible. On Wednesday, Gracie ate horse droppings quickly followed by deer droppings found further on the path. On Thursday, Shelley bought worm treatment at the drugstore and didn't correct the pharmacist when he thought the pills were for a child. (Later, Gracie skillfully drops pill piece on floor whilst enjoying the cheese that had carefully encased it!) On Friday, Gracie convinced older dog Sneaker to wrestle in the house, knocking over lamp, breaking light bulb and bending lampshade (Dog wrestling in house is forever outlawed). On Saturday, Shelley discovered that lamp had likely knocked over camera and it now has smashed view finder, making photo taking impossible. (Sigh!)
How can one 10-lb dog cause such trouble?!! Of course, not all of these happened in one week -- just the horse and deer droppings, lamp and camera! It's a challenge trying to do an online shop and not be able to take pictures! Fortunately, eldest son lent me his Nikon Coolpix and I was trying it out this weekend. Thank you, Eric!
   At the end of the day, she's always a loving, cute, caring little dog. Who is also mischievous and rather expensive!

Travelling fabric adventures with the Quilting Ladies

2011-09-29T10:42:00.001-06:00

Jolene and Shelley in the lobby of Hampton Inn, Kalispell, Mt

Neither my Market partner, Jolene, nor I are quilters but the Chinook Country Quilters still let us hop on the bus with them on their Quilt show and shopping adventure to Kalispell, Montana last weekend. Oh my, what a wonderful trip -- three nights in a lovely hotel, lots of visiting with great ladies and good deals on fabric. And all at a reasonably leisurely pace -- the bus never left the hotel before 9:45 am and our evenings were mostly free to relax and recuperate. Being used to church conferences where you start early and are scheduled well into the night, the pace was a great treat.

Jolene holds a very long receipt for materials we'll use for our Christmas Market products.

Jolene was the youngest woman on the bus and one kind lady thought I was as young as her. Thank you! We stopped at the Flathead Quilting Show, fabric stores and other shops. Jolene and I also fit in a tour of the Conrad Mansion built in 1895, an interesting tour through history. Most of the fabric stops were quilt stores except for the large Joann's at Kalispell. This was the stop most useful for what Jolene and I make for the Market. Now, as you can imagine, a bus of 45 women showing up on a shop's door stop can cause quite a crowd.
Soon after we arrived a local woman came in the door, looked around and said, "What on earth is going on?" I said: "A busload of 45 women was just dropped off." Seeing she was just about to make a grumpy comment, I added: "And I'm part of the busload." We both laughed.

Sheila and her brand-new, practical boots.

The busload lined up to get our fabric cut (flannel at $2.99 per yard!!!) Then another line to pay. Lots of waiting all made enjoyable by friendly, encouraging people on either side. If a local woman had less purchases, we were often putting that person ahead of us in line.

Lucy the sock monkey gets packed, ready for a child's welcomed gift.

       Our final evening was Saturday with 'Show and Tell'. I had to grab a photo of Sheila with her brand-new, shiny red rubber boots. Do you see that happy glint in her eyes? I recognize that happiness.   It's the same way that Ramona in Beverly Cleary's Ramona Forever feels when she can shed Howie's hand-me-down black rubber boots for her own, brand-new, red rubber boots.   It's the same way I felt when I got my pink rubber boots at Sobeys. We women can also traipse through the mud, muck out the horse stable or chicken chicken coop. AND we can still wear feminine, pretty yet practical boots to get the job done! No dull, heavy, black, intended-for-men boots for us!

      Frequently on my travels I carry my backpack with "necessities." This time a Threads sewing magazine, a slim, interesting biography of Canada's first woman judge, Emily Murphy and that blue flowery fabric-covered notebook is my planning book for Love and Comfort Designs. One needs a creative book for creative planning, of course!   The sock monkey came home with me for my six-year-old daughter who named her Lucy.   Lucy is smaller than regular monkeys and bore the tag "Handmade in Idaho by Victoria for over 50 years." Victoria and her husband were at the Quilt Show and you can see more of Victoria's work at Admitonefabrics.
     For years, I must say I've dreamed of taking such a trip with other women. I've read on Pattern Review of women meeting up in places such as New York and Chicago and Montreal to go fabric shopping together and relishing together in their common love of fabric and all things sewn. Thanks to Theresa and Linda and the Chinook Country Quilters for making a fun dream come true.

Toy Sewing Machine a hit: See what my little girl did!

2011-09-15T09:35:00.003-06:00

I found my daughter a toy sewing machine on Kijiji.   She was ever so keen and excited to have a sewing machine like her Mom. I was excited too. It was ever such a bugger to thread and get going -- much worse than a regular machine. But she loved sitting at it, pushing down the foot pedal and letting it go over the fabric.    Then she headed down to my scrap drawer, pulled out a triangle piece and one strip piece and declared she was going to make an apron with a pocket. I was amazed at how she came up with the idea. I told her how to cut out another strip. Then we tried sewing it on her little machine. The machine stitched through the fabric but the chain stitches wouldn't stay in place. As I discovered --and what was re-enforced with research on the internet, this is simply a toy to pretend to sew -- even if it does have a real needle and spool of thread.
   I had to act quickly to not discourage her. "Let's finish this on my machine." We headed down to the basement and I set her up in front of my Elna. Using the toy machine had taught her how to carefully lift the presser foot and place it down on the fabric. With a little guidance, she sewed on her strips of fabric to make the apron straps. Then we added the pocket she wanted.
   She was pleased and I am ever so proud.
      The Totally Me Toy Singer sewing machine is said to be for children six and up. My daughter is six but she probably could have been using this earlier and enjoying it. I noticed one review from a woman who has a three-year old. The mother sewed and the little girl loved making the similar sounds on her toy as her mother did with her big machine. Technically, the toy sewing machine doesn't work. But as a toy and as a spring board to further creativity, it's wonderful!

Why is Joel so happy?

2011-09-12T10:02:00.000-06:00

Because Shelley repaired his beloved screen tent! Yes, I'm sure you thought he was happy because of the birthday cake and the good beverages beside him. But really, it's because his screen tent once again has a working zipper -- even stronger than the original. No possible bugs to come in and ruin an otherwise enjoyable camping trip. Oh and his once torn sleeping bag is sewn up and lets no more drafts in.
As you pack away camping gear this Fall, you may notice a few items that need repair. Shelley at Love and Comfort Designs can repair those for you with her sturdy thread, needle and sewing machine. You can reach her at Shelleydenhatgmaildotcom.

Reading Aloud

2011-09-01T21:36:00.000-06:00

Dropped J off for her first day of grade one today. I missed her today but she was ready. I'm going through photos of the summer and I know it was a great few months -- one of the best ever. We've had lots of fun and time outside.

Somewhere back in May and June when the weather was cold and wet, we started reading Beverly Cleary chapter books. J can read a few words and soon learned to sit still and imagine the scenes in her mind. The reading out loud continued during car trips and Joel chuckled along with us at the antics of Ramona and Beezus and Ribsy and Henry Huggins. I loved Henry when I was a child but couldn't stand Ramona -- didn't get further than the beginning of the series. Because Ramona was truly a brat at age 4. but as the stories continue and evolve into Kindergarden through grade four, you can't help but fall in love with Ramona and sympathize at the predicaments she gets into (new red rubber boots she finally gets instead of hand-me-downs that get thoroughly stuck in the mud, etc). We also found some books on CD through the library with Stockard Channing reading. Didn't matter our age, we chuckled at Cleary's amazing story-telling and the incredible voices that Channing read with.

Beverly Cleary added up to our summer, stories to share together, to laugh with and amazingly wonder at how books I read as a child can still be timely.

At Naramata -- July 14

Ahh, it's been a good summer. No wonder I have mourned it's ending. But our reading continues. Just picked up Ribsy!!

Stick kids great models

2011-08-04T13:44:00.000-06:00

Rather than hanging on a clothes rack, I needed a way to display my children's nightwear that was attractive and show the designs. I remembered a friend drawing by hand some paper dolls for our daughters to play with and thought that a larger version would do the trick. Well when I talked to another friend, Pam, she knew how to make the designs. She even had designs already on her computer. She drew them out on the board and her husband, David, expertly cut out the intricate shapes of the hair and faces. Then came painting. J and I only helped with the solid parts. Thank you to Pam and David and I'm looking forward to seeing people's reactions. Jolene and I are back at the Millarville Market this Saturday from 9 am until 2 pm. Hope to see you there!

First Customer!

2011-07-11T10:17:00.002-06:00

Thank you, Rebecca! She commissioned a turquoise yoga mat bag as a gift for her son. It’s fully lined, can fit a large or small mat and has two pockets: a lower one for a water bottle and the upper one has a zippered closure. Also available in some beautiful yellow and pink florals that I’ll have at the Millarville Market on August 6^th.

Introducing....Love and Comfort Designs

2011-07-06T16:08:00.000-06:00

Introducing…my new business….Love and Comfort Designs. Comfortable, quality sleepwear for children as well as yoga mat bags and totebags.

I thought I’d sell a few items at the local farmers’ market this Summer. But it’s more than sewing up a few things to put on sale.! There’s the coming up with the product line, then testing out the product, refining, testing, refining again….taking photos of product when the sun is too high and casts too many shadows…well, you get the picture.

In the days and weeks to come, I’ll be introducing my product line in this blog, on facebook and at www.LoveComfortDesigns.etsy.com.

The Love and Comfort logo was designed by Penny Corradine of Wolfpack Studio. I love working with Penny -- You come to her with an idea and she always designs something more wonderful than I could possibly have imagined.

On August 6^th, I’ll be at the Millarville Market with Jolene Tosh of Bimini Baby.

Mad Men find!

2011-04-12T22:00:00.001-06:00

This weekend was the annual Unused fabric sale of the Ujamma Grandmas. Brianne and I headed in, arriving a half hour after the sale began. We missed the earlier rush and encountered a line up of women waiting to pay for their wonderful finds. The lineup extended the length of the Church Hall! Not to worry though, we knew there was many a gem left. Brianne kept well under her $20 budget -- quickly securing a large bag of wonderful finds for $14. I, however, took longer: I found two needlework kits, felt for J's craft projects, a seam guage, zippers, lace, great quality wool and knit fabric....the total was about $26. But as Brianne chatted with a new friend, I wandered to the $1 table. My eye spotted this pink and white plaid fabric. It was rolled up and I unwound it to see how much fabric it actually was.

Voila! Looks like this was sitting in someone's fabric stash for quite a long time. Turns out it's a yard length of fabric sold with a matching zipper and suggestion for the skirt style it would go with, all on a hanger. And, amazingly enough, the zipper was made in Montreal!

Back Online

2011-03-24T22:37:00.000-06:00

Rather wretched that I've not blogged here for so long. Well, time to rectify that. The fact is the sewing machine has been idle except for an occasional repair. However, is this not a cute little girl all excited about St. Patrick's Day??!! This was before breakfast and before her Kindergarten Assembly. She and her class sang, recited an entire book they had memorized and then did a folk dance.
Our littlest dog had a run in with two larger dogs who got away from their owner out on a walk. All is well now, Gracie will be fine and the other dog owners paid the vet bill. But it was scary at the time -- She needed stitches above one eye and had puncture wounds in the opposite ear. She had a broken rib and the vet told us that likely another bite and she'd be gone. She slowed down for a bit but three days later was back urging Sneaker to play.

We're proud of Sneaker who passed testing to become a Pet-Tales dog. Apparently he's calm enough to be a volunteer dog and will be part of this program that struggling readers -- young children -- can read to a dog.

I'm hoping to switch into sewing soon. One fun activity, though, was purchasing a Notions bundle from FabricMart Fabrics. Oh my -- what a bundle of lace, buttons, thread and other items. It was fun to sort through, decide what I'd keep and pass on.

Light's Out

2011-01-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

A blog must have photos. But my camera has died. No, that's not accurate. The camera still works but the flash is gone. The puppy's soft maltese hair is nearly five inches long now and she's ever so cute. But the camera will only let me take photos without the flash and the quick-moving bundle becomes a blur.

Many years ago, my livelihood involved always having a camera near by. It was a Nikon FM2 -- all manual and I was very proud of it. It fit beautifully in my hands. I couldn't afford the Nikkor lenses but I had various lenses that went with it. And a big heavy flash. When the daughter was just over a year, I finally gave up 35 mm film and went with a Canon Powershot. While my work doesn't require a camera, having that little memory collector in my lap top bag has caught many a photo that's helped communicate our day-to-day ministry for the community. Since daughter is turning six soon, it makes sense the camera has given up. (Though the Nikon FM2, stored on a very high closet shelf, would still work fine)
My husband suggested that I get an SLR camera. You like photography he says. And I know there are photos that I miss because the easy-shot camera doesn't have the depth that my FM2 did. Yet, I know I've liked the little convenience camera. It's light. I can carry it most places. I can concentrate more on the people around me, then the heavy equipment. And realistically -- you can buy an SLR camera but then there's the lenses to purchase also.
So I'm looking at this Canon

Though the flash doesn't work, I captured a photo of youngest daughter and puppy this morning. Later, puppy had her first hair cut and the four to five inches of wonderful soft fur is down to about an inch and a half. Still soft puppy, though.

"You're just what I need!"

2011-01-06T20:29:00.001-07:00

Sassy Lassie loves all things Vintage and this story is one she loved as a child and then read to her own children. I requested it through our library and J and I loved reading it last night. And then the phrase: "You're just what I need!" has become our farewell (at school in the am) and greeting (pick up at the day home). So tonight I found it on eBay, remarkably through a Canadian seller, and hopefully our own copy is in the mail soon.
It's a delightful story of a mother waking up in the morning and finding a "bundle" under the blankets and imagines all sorts of things that that bundle might be (of course, it's her child hiding). It was originally published as The Bundle in the early 1950s. The copy I found is a re-issue from the 1990s.

Thank you Sassy Lassie! This is a gem.

A bit of this, a bit of that

2011-01-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the sewing ambition falls away and small projects fit the bill. After a skirt I'd worked long and hard on, didn't work out, I turned to a bit of this and that. Eventually I did redo the skirt but it's too cold to wear its embroidered sheerness so will wait until warmer temperatures to show you that one!

But here are a few simple projects that were enjoyable to grab a few minutes here and there to get done in past months:

I got a great deal on a red night gown from Land's End similar to this one....but it was too short, imho, to keep the legs warm in winter. So with a small bit of polka dot flannel from Fabric.com, I lengthened the nightgown and added some fun to its simplicity.

Every year, I try to make something for the Ujamma Grandmas Bags and Babies sale that raises money for the Stephen Lewis Foundaiton. With inspiration from Brianne, I sewed up these fabric bags -- that could be used for gifts or simply to keep something special in. Everything came out of the stash and some of the ribbon and cloth from the Unused fabric sale that the same women run each spring. I was slightly anal about this -- even changing the thread colour to blend in with the decorative buttons on the pink bags -- but I liked the finished product. A few of J's pony beads were used at the end of the ribbon pulls. Two of the pink bags have a "Princess" theme and the mid-size one in the middle has music theme on the buttons.

J spotted Sponge Bob cloth in Fabricland one day and 'suggested' we buy it. I found the pillow inserts at IKEA -- the feather ones because the polyester ones were just too thin and didn't have to worry about allergies. She has one and the second one was made up for the nephew. During sleep-over visits over Christmas the two five-year-olds were pleased they had matching pillows as well as the fact it was Sponge Bob

A Gentlemanly New Year

2011-01-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

A neighbour described our dog, Sneaker, as a gentleman. And he certainly is. He finds a way to get along with all manner of people and dogs. In the past five weeks he's adjusted to a new puppy, smaller than him and then two other dogs visiting over Christmas. With the puppy, he certainly had his nose out-of-joint -- until he taught the puppy how to wrestle. For New Year's Eve we travelled to my brother and sister-in-law. The puppy had its little kennel to curl up in. We forgot Sneaker's bed. The poor guy usually heads to bed mid evening. He didn't know where to put his weary body and my sister-in-law snapped this photo near midnight.
But before I make him sound too saint-like -- there was the wrapped box of chocolates under the tree that he half demolished last month as well as managing to get the tupperware top off of the puppy food in the pantry. Needless to say, Sneaker's gained weight and has yet again proved he's much smarter than us! (humans who put chocolates at dog-nose reach and leave pantry door open....)
The puppy is named Grace or Gracie. She "keeps us busy" as the five-year-old told the grocery store clerk. But added many smiles and more laughter to our household.

In terms of family this has probably been one of my busiest Christmases yet. Lots of people to feed over the past week. But gifts sewn were well received -- bathrobes to the eldest kids, pyjamas for Dad and a dress for youngest daughter's doll. La sewista described sewing doll clothes 'like eating potato chips -- you can't eat just one, you have to eat to the bottom of the bag.' She's right. I loved making the dress and carried on. More on those little garments -- once I figure out how to repair the camera's flash!

Out of a Box

2010-11-23T10:58:00.003-07:00

My five-year old’s been eying this box. As she ate her lunch one day this week, I could see that her creative mind was coming up with all sorts of crafts or uses for the empty mail order box that was still on the table.

I love the way her imagination works and comes up with all sorts of uses for items that would otherwise get used for recycling. Maybe it’ll be a house, maybe it will be a car or a very large purse!

Yet I miss some aspects of her pre-preschooler years. Children under five have an innate understanding and relationship with God which in our adulthood we often work to get back to. I’m missing the automatic thanksgiving and joyful bliss that she would have at a new experience. When I sewed something for her, there was excitement and big smiles. Mostly there still is. I made her pants for the ghost costume she didn’t end up wearing and a Sponge Bob pillow and she couldn’t be more jubilant. But then there was her ballet skirt. The week before she’d been able to wear a frilly skirt from her closet since the new ballet skirt wasn’t ready and her old one was too small. As I proudly held out the newly finished skirt to her, the whiny response was: “Can’t I wear the red one?” (You likely have a good idea of how this Parent responded to that one! Pink skirt is now worn quite happily to dance class)

Then there was flu shot time. Last year my four-year-old stood in line for hours for the H1N1 shot at our local community centre. We’d prepared her that it was a small jab. It would be fine. Other kids wailed. Our little girl remained calm and took her shot bravely, not a peep out of her. This year, however, there was wailing and gnashing of teeth as soon as I said we were going. You see, boys in her peer group had gone on and on about how painful the flu shot was. So this year my girl was scared. I tried reasoning with her, the nurses tried all sorts of kind, rational words. Finally, I just told the nurse to go ahead.

Afterwards, I asked: “Did it hurt?” No, she said, grinning with her lollipop. What are we going to say to boys who tell us such stories another time? “It doesn’t hurt.”

So….I know with age five begins the important development of ego and the influence of other people and beginning for her to determine what she thinks herself and what is best for her. Children teach us that parenting is a lot of adjusting. I remember the past fondly yet…

The other night, Joel picked her up from the day home as I started into supper. She came through the door and the first words out of her mouth were: “I love you, Mommy.” Actually, I think I really enjoy 5. As I’ll enjoy age 6. And before that…there’s a box for which its new purpose is yet to be revealed.

What Santa's bringing on Saturday

2010-11-23T09:18:00.003-07:00

Santa's coming early this year. Look at this beautiful puppy that we're picking up on Saturday! The five-year-old and I are ever so excited. Sneaker will have a buddy. Earlier in the spring I posted about finding my parents a puppy and, yes, you probably could have heard in my excitement for them my desire to also have a Maltese again. However, I thought I should be practical....we already have one dog.....well, forget practical, bring on another opportunity to love and be loved. We've a few ideas for a name but that'll wait until we meet her.

Remembering a Faithful Friend

2010-11-23T08:55:00.002-07:00

This post originally appeared June 7, 2009. It was being targetted for spam from several Hungarian websites and I was getting tired of hitting the delete button so moved it.

I'm back blogging. Haven't posted for two reasons (i) Lost the faithful dog Elsa right after Easter and couldn't find the words and (ii) the Gortex jacket took f-o-r-e-v-er to get done. But it's June, the words have returned, the jacket is done and more sewing is in the works. But more on that later.

Elsa, my faithful Maltese, died April 17. Fortunately have a family who is willing to listen to memories. And it's wonderful having a four-year-old who openly can talk about missing Elsa. And so then I get to say, 'I miss Elsa too.' When we picked up Elsa's ashes at the Vet 10 days later, J wanted to come with me, carried the ashes' container out to the car and in her lap on the way home. I was quite touched that the Vet's office sent a card with Elsa's footprint. One day, J started singing a little ditty she composed as she sang about Elsa being in heaven. Today, J said Elsa is going to school in heaven. Which, makes sense that one might have to go to school to get oriented to heaven

When I've had a chance, I've dug into old photos. J's loved seeing those as has Joel. A time for story telling. The photos remind me that Elsa was lively, cute, fun and only in the last year and a half significantly slowed down. In fact, the hat photo was last May (2008)-- Elsa being a good sport in modelling the child's hat I was making. (you can see the spreading cataracts) The photo on the slide was taken September, 2007. Can you believe it, she was 13 and a half and had learned how to go down a slide -- willingly. How fortunate to have had such a dog and good companion. And what trouble is she getting into in heaven school?!!

Meeting Erin Karpluk of Being Erica

2010-11-02T20:55:00.003-06:00

Last month Joel and I got to meet Alberta-born actress Erin Karpluk. On a whim I’d entered an online CBC contest and it was a wonderful surprise to get an email saying ‘two tickets are yours!’ We had a marvellous time at Milestones Restaurant in downtown Calgary with Erin and her co-star, Adam Fergus, and twenty some other guests. (Some drove from Edmonton and Saskatoon to be there for the two hours)

Being Erica is into its third television season and the Canadian show has become popular world-wide. I enjoy the series’ themes that our past doesn’t need to define who we are today -- which is a healthy reflection of the Judeo- Christian beliefs I value of healing, redemption, new life and new possibilities. At the end of the evening, as we had our photo taken with Erin, we learned she was confirmed in the United Church in Jasper. It was wonderful to meet this talented Canadian actress whose skilled acting can take us through emotions of regret, grief, embarrassment, excitement, delight and out-loud laughter within an hour-long episode. But what Erin makes look easy, as she described for us, takes hours of careful work and deliberation over each script.

Watch for Erin Karpluk in the Hallmark Christmas movie, Mrs. Miracle, based on a book by Debbie MacComber. Since I receive MacComber’s newsletter, I’d seen last Christmas that Mrs. Miracle would be on the Hallmark Channel, however, it only aired in the United States. Erin said she enjoyed filming for the movie and that it would be on Canadian TV this year.

A day for a ride

2010-10-11T22:58:00.002-06:00

Holiday Monday. Our visitors left this morning and I thought how wonderful it would be to rest, read, spend the day sewing. Except we have a five-year-old. So we went for a long bike ride. A few months ago we invested in a bicycle that attaches to Joel's since she'd grown out of the bike trailer. J loves riding behind her Dad. It's also caught the eye of a few boys in her Kindergarten class who've pointed it out to their parents. The photo was taken during the test drive in early July on a coolish day when shorts were possible. Today, we donned warmer clothes including mitts, returning home tuckered out. J can choose to pedal or coast but it helps her Dad if she continues pedaling particularly on the hills! We made cookies later and I did get some sewing done.

Remember....I'm a guy

2010-10-08T19:26:00.004-06:00

Sneaker's a good sport but you can tell he is not at all impressed to be modeling my summer hat. Unlike Elsa (photo here of Elsa-the-dog sporting a child's hat)-- however, she was a girl and seemed to enjoy getting dressed up.
Nevertheless, Sneaker obliged me long enough to get a few photos of my attempt to avoid frumpy summer hat. This is Vogue 7600, view B. It has an incredibly wide brim at the front -- so wide that after a few hours at the beach one summer day, my face remained white while the rest of me tanned well! (On one of our few days of sun!). I top stitched the brim with various embroidery stitches on my machine, a chance to try out a few. It's made of a soft, cotton remnant from my stash. I'd purchased it at a used fabric sale with the hope of making a comfy shirt. While there wasn't enough fabric for a shirt, it ended up being the perfect material for a summer hat. The cotton breaths. Ideally, I'd love to add some ribbon and a flower or two. However, since this mostly gets used while camping or at the playground, somehow the silk flower won't do!

For everything, a season

2010-10-08T18:58:00.005-06:00

In spite of frost last month, my sweet peas are at their best into the second week of October. Their planted underneath an overhang to our house, facing the south. They don't get any moisture, unless we give it to them directly. Which means sometimes they get forgotten in the spring plus, you can just barely see the dead poppyseed flowers who earlier in the season were so bushy and green, they blocked the small sweet pea plants from getting needed sun. As the poppyseeds dried up, the sweetpeas flourished, their time has come. Thank goodness for the warmth now.

These carrots are also the best we've ever grown. I didn't expect much. Crazylady with purple fingers gets great carrots with llama compost. She was willing to share but it was too wet in the spring to get near the compost pile. This year, I'd purchased carrot seeds that are embedded into a paper tape that disintegrates as the season progresses. No thinning carrots! We're quite pleased with our little crop. This year's garlic didn't fair as well, however. But, I'd read that garlic planted near rose bushes keeps the bugs away. While we didn't get much garlic this fall, those little bulbs certainly were effective bug control!

Dancing and a sleeve board

2010-09-14T21:58:00.005-06:00

These have nothing to do with each other but they did last weekend. I realized J was about to begin her dance class and last year's RTW leotard was too small. Not wanting to make a trip into the city, it was time to put into use the leotard pattern I'd bought two years ago (a trip back in memory lane) but ended up buying the RTW one. Since the pink knit fabric was also in the stash and the pattern was long since paid for, I figured this year's leotard was practically free! Well, not really, but no recent money had to be put out.
All in all, it was quick to sew up and as easy or easier than a swim suit. Come dance class on Monday, it astonished me that you couldn't tell the difference between J's leotard that I made and the RTW ones of her classmates. I've photographed the new leotard beside the one she outgrew. The leotard is Kwiksew 2724
While doing the inevitable ironing that comes with sewing, I pulled out the sleeveboard from underneath the guest bed. It gets hidden under there partly because it's rather ugly.
I'd found the sleeve board in a local thrift store for $3. It's an incredibly useful ironing tool but I've been wanting to re-cover it. It was time to make it look more fun to use. So, in between sewing the leotard, I pulled out a scrap of cotton -- cheery yellow. For the padding, I used a piece of an old mattress protector cover I'd saved. I'm pleased with the transformation.
I do hope to get back to sanding the treadle sewing machine. It's a dusty job and one I've needed to do outside on the deck in daylight. So it's harder to get done in 20 minute snatches of time like sewing.

Better photos of 'The Project'

2010-09-02T22:01:00.003-06:00

The first photo better shows the contrast between the pre-sanded treadle piece (dark brown one) and post-sanding ones where the oak becomes more apparent. And I also thought I'd show how an original owner wrote her name on the bottom of the centre drawer. In Pencil. I'm sanding everywhere except that spot! It's been a busy first week back at work but hopefully will get a bit of sanding done over the long weekend.

Slow going on 'The Project.'

2010-08-31T22:19:00.003-06:00

I'd ever intention that when I went back to work, I'd have finished the sanding stage for the treadle machine and have a new blue skirt completed. But Monday I started back and neither were done. The skirt had a good chance -- I did complete it Saturday. But it was two inches too big in the waist! So lots of stitch ripping sometime in the future. The treadle has involved a lot more sanding than I expected -- all by hand. At one point I realized I was sanding away the fingernails on one hand! But underneath the very dark finish, I've discovered that the wood is actually oak. Actually, I needed help making that discovery. Ended up talking with a neighbour I've rarely had a chance to talk to. He does wood work, identified that the veneer was oak as is the 'plywood' between the veneer. He also showed me that the veneer is pretty thick so I didn't have to worry so much about sanding it away. The other neighbour has fixed the treadle. Apparently it'll need some painting. This project will take time, but I've enjoyed the opportunity of getting to know my neighbours and their own gifts and expertise.

The (Treadle) Project

2010-08-18T20:54:00.007-06:00

I'm the proud owner of a 1926 Singer 66 Treadle sewing machine. Last month I was scanning Kijiji and came across a treadle sewing machine for sale near by. While I didn't end up purchasing that one (the cabinet needed more veneer work than I'm capable of), it led me to keep searching and I purchased this one, also through Kijiji. As I was pondering the purchase, Joel said it would definitely be a "Project". And he's right. But I'm having fun.
First, there was the research. Through the serial number you can actually find online at which factory your sewing machine was made and in what year. I've learned that the Singer 66 was top of the line, in it's time. Certainly my grandmother couldn't have afforded this model. The one I always admired but was told NOT to touch was an older, more complicated shuttle bobbin model. (This machine was made in New Jersey although the treadle seems to have been made in Canada).
Secondly, I'm enjoying the process of renewing this machine and know it will happen in stages. I'm starting with the cabinet. I detached the cabinet from the treadle system and then took the pieces apart to strip the paint. While there is some veneer damage on some corners, it will be possible to glue this down. The old paint seemed to be happy to be let go. There is something about refinishing furniture that is an outer exercise in saying goodbye to the past and letting new possibilities happen. Next, I'll need to sand it and then put a new finish on it.Working on the machine will come later; with the internet I found the old manual and a place to buy the leather strap that attaches the treadle to the machine. I do hope to be able to use the machine from time to time. Treadle sewing machines are good for heavy-duty sewing. So I'm hoping to get this back into working order. The woman I purchased it from hadn't used it but had saved it from the garbage when her mother had placed it outside. She didn't think her mother had used it nor had she for the some twenty years she had it. It was simply used as a table to display some dried flowers. When I took the cabinet apart from the treadle, I discovered that the cast-iron treadle was broken in two places. I worried I'd bought myself more trouble. However, The Project has actually faciliated some wonderful conversations with neighbours including that a new neighbour works in a machine shop and he's fixing the treadle for me. I was able to pass my 1980s singer on to his wife who is sewing curtains for their home. I also discovered that a woman, probably the original owner, had signed her name on the bottom of the centre drawer that folds out. I looked up on the internet and from cemetery/election records she and her husband probably lived in Saskatchewan or Manitoba. What struck me though, was the pride of the woman in her sewing machine that she would pencil her name upon it. Now, the next thought of mine is not original, it comes from an owner of an antique car that Joel was speaking to a few weeks ago. I do feel like this treadle sewing machine is a treasure that I get to take care of for a while and enjoy as someone did before me and then pass on.

The Pink Hide Out

2010-07-22T20:42:00.015-06:00

I'd told J that when I got back from Virginia, we'd get her new big-kid bed. We'd picked it out at IKEA months ago. She loved the play area underneath and Joel and I knew it was the kind of bed we'd have loved as a child also. So...
the Tuesday after my return, she and I headed into IKEA, got male staff help to get the 51 Kilogram (112 lb) box into the cart and then the Honda's trunk. I got it tied down along with a pink t-shirt of J's to act as the flag on the end. And we got it home without it even budging!
The Kura bed is absolutely great in the pine and blue as it is -- but the blue just seemed a bit dark. I'd already decided to paint the pine pink and thought the panels would be good purple. J was quite happy about the colour change. The challenge was that the panels were already the dark blue.
The Rona staff were helpful in telling me how to sand off the blue and then paint it with primer (two coats) before two coats of the new paint. Yes, it was a hassle but in the end worth it. We were both delighted after choosing the colours to find out that the hardware store calls them "Candy Store" and "Bubblegum." Big grin from J when she heard that. Bubblegum was also supposed to be more purple. However, as I painted, I realized it was more pink. I said to J: "This is going to be a lot of pink." Big Grin. "It will be the Pink Hide Out," she said.
After the painting was finally done, Dad took over to put it together. Six hours later....in retrospect, this is one IKEA project that really goes faster when two work on it together and I joined him for the last hour.In the end, it was well worth it. J is ever excited about her bed and anyone coming into the house has to see it. We're actually surprised at how much extra floor space it's given. I think also, painting the bed the lighter colours helped as well. Here's J with her new bed.

Firefly moments

2010-07-19T19:09:00.006-06:00

As one person noted -- my blogging has been stalled. How would I sum up the wonderful, amazing nine days of the Small Church Collegium at Virginia Theological Seminary at the end of June? Well, here's an attempt. Joel was with me for five of the days as were the spouses of the other 26 clergy from across North America and one from England. We made many new friends and learned much from colleagues and fine instructors. The program is all coordinated by Dr. Marilyn Johns and was graciously funded by the Lily Endowment to foster connections and learning.

I'm grateful for new relationships with colleagues across North America and that our conversations continue. I also want to share some of my learning. Marilyn has set up the Small Church, Big Ideas website with helpful information that will continue to be added to. Our worship was led twice daily by Presbyterian Kris Haig, American Baptist Kirk B. Jones and John Bell from the Iona Community. Kris developed a meaningful Powerpoint liturgy from Litany of the Person (link has text only). The Litany can be used for personal reflection also. Kirk's preaching was animated and inspiring and his website conveys some of his heavenly work. I found this youtube video that conveys some of John Bell's easy-going leadership that inspires us apprentice angels (though no thick sweater was needed in humid Virginia). One of our fine instructors, Margaret Marcuson of Portland Oregon also has a website on leadership and a blog worth subscribing to.
Also part of the experience was time on the historic Virginia Theological Seminary Campus. It was founded in the 1820s and the original buildings served as a Union Hospital during the Civil War. Some 500 Union soldiers are buried on the grounds.
After our cold June in AB, I delighted in the warm, at times, hot, humidity Virginia weather. To me, warm humid weather is surely a metaphor and experience of God's embrace. (Not everyone agreed with me but at least my Savannah, Georgia colleague did!). At the end of the busy, full days as darkness fell, I'd find a bench on the Seminary grounds. While robins still chirped, I'd sit in the warmth and watch for the fireflies lighting up here and there underneath the oak trees. This was my first time to this part of the US and my first time ever to experience the magic and wonder of fireflies. I've only read about them in fiction books as a child. Sacred moments before it was time to head inside to get ready for the next day -- each one full of Godly conversations and learnings.
Like fireflies that blink on light in darkness and then are gone, so those nine days seemed to pass quickly and then are gone. But like the memory of those magical fireflies, I carry with me into the weeks and years ahead, the learnings and reflections and the friendships.

Balmy weather

2010-06-26T07:03:00.003-06:00

It's hot down here in Virginia. No complaints. Actually, it was real hot a few days ago. The last few have been quite manageable. Particularly when you're in air conditioned rooms for classes and when outside get to sit under leafy ancient trees. I love humid weather and being able to wear sleeveless sun dresses. After leaving behind snow on the mountains back home, this was a wonderful change of climate.

Before classes started Joel and I had a few days to tour around to see the Washington sites. This is as close as one can get to the White House walking along the road. Also, I bought three pairs of shoes! Well surely the flip flops don't count so I guess that's only two!

A wonderful assortment of classmates from across the US and a few from Canada and two from England. A variety of backgrounds that add to the learning from some high calibre instructors.

"Mom, it's in the mail"

2010-06-01T22:43:00.004-06:00

My Mom's birthday gift got mailed yesterday -- a black silk version of Burda 06-2009-128. Here's J holding up the parcel that she decorated with ladybug stickers. Didn't bother taking photos since (a) it's black and the lines just won't show up online and (b) this dress really needs to be on a person to show the drape. But the beige Burda mag photo gives you the idea. It’s a faux-wrap dress. I love this dress. Made myself one for last summer and received one compliment after another – made out of some seersucker from Fabricland’s remnant section. The beauty of the design is that there’s an additional bodice underneath the wrap parts so everything remains covered – even when you pick up your child.

Mom’s dress is the third version I’ve made of this pattern and along the way discovered I’ve sewn one section wrong for three sections. Notice the wonderful unsewn pleats that come out of the waist into the bodice on the beige version? Well, for three versions, I’ve taken the extra time to line up the pleat lines and sew them for an inch or so. Fortunately that didn’t affect the fit of the dress but I’ll finally do it right on the fourth version I’m making for our impending trip to Virginia.

How my mother ended up with a black silk version of this dress is a story in itself. For Christmas, I wanted to make Mom a silk jersey version of the DKNY cardigan so many were making in blogland. I found silk lycra online in New York at Spandex House. Ironically, a member of the congregation was in New York for a Conference. I sent her a message on facebook and she went out of her way to pick up the fabric. I was so excited when she got back and passed me the fabric. I felt the fabric. It was so incredibly light, a beautiful satin finish and…..oh…..it’s woven. Not a knit. Mom ended up with a black DKNY cardigan made out of bamboo knit and I set aside the silk woven satin for her birthday and a dress.

I do hope she likes the dress. Since it’s sleeveless, she was worried about being too cold. But at least, she’ll also have the black wrap cardigan!

This is my second item in silk lately. I think in the future I’m going to stick to making family gifts out of fleece, cotton or flannel. I love my family but silk is a hassle and being such a practical bunch I know the fleece, cotton and flannel will actually get worn!

Gonna be a Chicken Farmer!

2010-05-27T12:16:00.003-06:00

Am I ever excited! Joel's laughing. With a few folks from J's preschool class, we're going to raise chickens this summer. 75 chicks arrive a week from Friday. J's preschool teacher is part of the fun and she's planning on colouring the chicks -- and naming every one, she says. : )
The chickens will live out at someone who has an acreage -- just down the road from us. And we'll all be involved in the feeding, cleaning...

Loopy Fleece, dolls and skirts

2010-05-22T21:41:00.005-06:00

When J and her friend learned that I was going to make them matching skirts out of fluffy, pink fabric, they were excited. To say the least. They even helped with some of the cutting out. I wanted a knit short underneath -- these are very active little girls -- and used the short pattern for Kwiksew 3317 skort. (I'm not keen on the KS skirt but love that it's a comfortable knit short underneath like RTW girls' skorts.) Together, we traced out the different sizes for the two girls and the older friend was able to cut her's out of the light pink fabric. (OK, I trimmed the edges but it was a good job for an eight-year old.) Then the two girls asked for the scraps and designed these little dolls themselves.
I drafted the skirts from the fabric, based on their measurements -- their hip measurements, plus two inches for ease. I cut out the fabric along the actual fabric, trying not to slice the loops (and add to the substantial fuzz it left around my sewing area!) The waistband is made from pink ribbing. I cut it out at 2/3s of their waist measurement. This seems to be comfortable for them but also keeps it on their waist. No elastic was needed.
The two girls loved their skirts, each wearing it to their respective schools the next day. J, however, preferred to wear her skirt in her own fashion. She would pull the skirt up over her arms because she enjoyed the fuzzy loopy fleece against her skin. She went through her entire time at preschool like this!
I'm a bit challenged on how to care for the loopy fleece. I think if it's washed it would bunch together. So, it'll need to get the Dryell treatment. Not the best kid fabric but it's fun for them. I purchased this at Marshalls Discount Fabric in Edmonton last December. I've never seen it before nor since.

'This horse says "Hey".'

2010-05-15T22:42:00.005-06:00

The horse flannel has been in the stash since the winter -- waiting to be made into PJ bottoms for my brother and nephew. This was the week to get them done! The flannel seems to have been part of a fabric series of farm animals -- cows, ducks, etc. I'd seen it on fabric.com before Christmas but got to purchase it in person at Marshall's more locally. Which means I purchased in metres rather than yards and got more fabric. I really liked the cow series but it had pink and SIL pointed out that might not work so well for male PJs. In the end, horse flannel ended up being inspiration for a poem for the birthday card. I wrote it over breakfast coffee (and being able to write made me think I'm starting to get better). Pictured is the first of the three verses.
Earlier, as I began laying out the pattern pieces on the fabric, J said she wanted a pair of PJ bottoms also. "It's so soft," she said, running her toes over the fabric. I said there wasn't enough fabric but it turned out that 4 metres instead of 4 yards meant just enough for all three pairs. Thursday night we had Brad's birthday supper at a restaurant -- he opened his first, then the kids. Lots of smiles. I'd added pockets to the side of one leg on each and embroidered their names on each.

Happiness is a Puppy!

2010-04-28T11:26:00.002-06:00

Meet Neeko, Mom and Dad's new puppy. This photo was taken minutes after Dad held 11-week old Neeko for the first time. The smiles have continued for both new parents. Neeko claimed Mom and Dad very easily and has been playing with Sneaker and anyone else possible.

A treasure trove of reading

2010-04-26T12:54:00.003-06:00

My sewing friend often includes wonderful quotes from books on her blog. The night before my surgery, she arrived on our door step with a delicious casserole and homemade bread in preparation for our return from hospital. (and her kindness certainly cheered me as I dealt with pre-surgery jitters). Then she asks, "is there anything else I could do?" Now, normally one often says, 'oh no, you've done enough'-- as she certainly had. But I knew there was one way she could help. I needed some good, light, interesting reading and I was pretty sure from her careful choosing of quotes from her blog that she'd be able to help me out. When I got back from my day and night at the hospital, there was this wonderful stack of books waiting. It's a wonderful treasure of stories -- already polished off one. Are some of your favourites in here also?

While lying down

2010-04-26T12:39:00.003-06:00

I discovered I could cut out felt shapes for J's projects while resting after surgery (Though one does get covered in a lot of coloured lint!). She and her friend enjoy the Klutz Fun with Felt. It comes with all sorts of shapes and felt boards that you can make various creatures out of. The problem is, it's very tempting to start to start gluing the one and only shapes that come with the kit into your other fun, crafting, kid projects. So I pulled out the felt I've been collecting through the years and starting cutting out shapes. It's also given us a quiet project to do together. Here is J making a lady bug with great concentration. It's her first time following picture directions in a book and I think she was inspired by the real lady bug she discovered on the window sill earlier in the day. Before the ladybug, the pink cut outs went very quickly. Have to cut more of that colour!

Comfort for Resting

2010-04-21T20:16:00.003-06:00

I know that photos of people actually wearing the clothes are better for blogs but I'm just not up to modeling these days!

Monday I had surgery. I'm fine. What was causing me considerable pain is gone and now it's time for recuperating. Partly in anticipation of surgery, I had made this fleece robe. I've made enough of them through the years that sewing this didn't take much thought but was a good distraction from the discomfort I was having. My previous robe was made out of microfleece. It's a nice colour, red, but I've decided microfleece isn't warm enough for me. The new one is made of thick, polartec fleece. Wonderfully warm and big enough to be used as a smaller, cozy blanket for taking naps -- which it was used for this afternoon!
For top stitching, I used one of the new machine's embroidery stitches -- vine leaves, it seemed to be. The stitches embedded into the thick fleece and I like the decorative touch. Someone once told me not to bother with interfacing on fleece robes. But I think the extra step actually helps define the collar better. I didn't bother with interfacing in the red one and the collar frequently gets caught underneath. The extra step is worth it.

Fun with the new Janome

2010-04-12T22:29:00.009-06:00

The new machine arrived a month ago and I've no regrets on my spur of the moment purchase. Sure, my 12-year-old Elna is still a good machine. But the new one runs smoother, has an alphabet and a good instruction manual that's taught me new ways to do many a sewing technique. And....it's a got a bit of pink/purple in the design.

Above is one item recently finished on the new machine: a new night gown based on Burda's 02-2009-122. (small inset photo from magazine) The green flanellette was in the stash. I purchased matching yellow for the waistband. For our long winters, I needed long sleeves so that meant loosing the coordinating color on the armbands. So I decided to make some trim from the coordinating yellow fabric for along the bottom of the skirt. I've seen more and more pleated ribbon trim on RTW clothes. So I cut narrow strips of yellow fabric, sewed them together and finished the edges with a rolled hem. Then I set my ruffler foot to make pleats and fed the trim into it. I'm rather pleased with the trim since this is my first time using the ruffler foot for a garment using pleats. The ruffler is a great tool but it does take a bit to learn how to use it. Here's a link to a helpful, free resource, The Ruffler...Unruffled.

Puppy needs a name

2010-04-12T21:38:00.002-06:00

The folks are looking for a name for the Maltese puppy they'll pick up from a local breeder when they visit at the end of the month. In some 40 years of having dogs, this is the first time they'll have a boy dog. Dad says they're looking for a big, masculine name for their puppy that will be all of seven pounds full grown.
Any suggestions? At supper, here were a few names we came up with: Brutus, Zeus, King, Rex...
The photo is the latest from the breeder.

Liberation from dust and chaos

2010-03-28T23:45:00.003-06:00

As the weather warms, I've started cleaning out cupboards and closets and finally, today, the pantry. It's not totally done, but four of the six shelves are re-organized and I find myself tempted to just open the door to look at it's orderliness. It is pure liberation from disorder, chaos and a layer of dust that had fallen on some unused items. I can open the door and immediately see the ingredients I need -- rather than pass a minute or two, first trying to remember what I opened the door for since the chaos has confused me and secondly trying to actually find it. Spring cleaning used to be a custom linked around Easter. We clean away the old to get ready for the new. I enjoy reading Sarah in NYC's blog and most recently it has been some of her careful preparations to get ready for Passover. Her reflections are very beautiful. They have prodded me in my own Christian practice. In the Lenten time we have moved from the frailty of Ash Wednesday -- those ashes reminding us that we are dust and to dust we will return. Frail beautiful creatures of God for whom life is short and for whom we are to live in God to the fullest. Yet so often I fall into habits that become life-draining. As I clean, I reflect on the in-balances of life, simple overwork and stressing about that work, that have led to the shelf getting into such a state and that I closed my mind to that chaos again and again. In a short time, a pantry shelf is tidy, made new again.If a pantry can be made livable again so can my life in what God offers to me. This is a busy week of service preparation for me so the spring cleaning may extend into the Season of Easter that begins on Sunday. But this cleaning is one meditative way to prepare for Easter and the results are, at least in this household, celebrative!

South before North

2010-03-23T22:41:00.003-06:00

Well the proverbial cat or should I say, "puppy" is out of the bag. Mom told Dad they're getting a new family member. And they are definitely coming to get the puppy first -- although a few days after April 23rd. However, Mom told me I could NOT pick up the puppy for her. It was supposed to bond with her not me! : ) Here's the latest photo from the local breeder. Isn't he cute??!!
And yes, you guessed it. I also would love another maltese. But for right now, we'll stick with Sneaker as the family dog.

Surprise for Dad! Shhh!!

2010-03-20T19:31:00.009-06:00

Yesterday morning my brother called. Our parents live about 13 hours away from where my brother and I and our respective families are. We both know that they are driving out for a visit towards the end of April to visit us and attend an anniversary party in Edmonton on the May 1st weekend. My brother spent last weekend with the folks and told me that they would head to the anniversary party before visiting us. I said I think they've got some things to pick up before going to Edmonton. Well, my brother told me, since he was the one to most recently visit our folks surely he would know their plans.
Right. Except.....Mom wouldn't have told him in front of Dad the surprise that she's arranged and that's due to be picked up around April 23rd in our area. The Maltese puppy lying in the middle is Mom and Dad's.
So, Bro, I'm betting you a Star Bucks Latte or equivalent that they'll come visit south before they head north. If I lose this bet, it's no loss since it just means I get to play with the puppy for a few days.

Happy Birthday Sneaker!

2010-03-18T20:45:00.007-06:00

It's nearly a year since we adopted our family dog, Sneaker, and according to his records, yesterday was his birthday. Normally, a dog's birthday passes almost unnoticed but when there's a five-year-old in the house, these dates warrant, at the very least, a cake. J woke me yesterday by coming into the room singing happy birthday to Sneaker. We decided Sneaker would be most happy if he had a friend at his party, so we invited his pal, 11-year-old Gillian and her human family, Beryle and Fred for cake in the evening. Sneaker was ecstatic when the door bell rang and his friends were at the door. He obviously wasn't too sure what singing with a cake was about but having a friend around was super. Only the humans got to enjoy the cake, however. Sneaker might have got at least a taste but, when I came home from work earlier I discovered he'd polished off the kitchen garbage and I had a mess to clean up. Enough "Birthday" treats for Sneaker!

In the Eye of the Beholder

2010-03-07T22:40:00.002-07:00

My cousin passed on two bags of hand-me-downs for J and it was Christmas all over again in our house. J was so excited as we went through the clothes. She quickly found this long dress with apron and then because it was cold in the house, pulled on a sweater and a toque -- just because she loves hats! (thanks to the influence of Purple fingers' grandsons!) The fan was in with the clothes. My Mom was horrified I took this photo of J like this but I was so taken with her excitement over the new-to-her clothes.
A few clothes needed mending -- including a pair of leotards with a picture of a bear on the bottom (get it? Bear-bottom!!). I set to work darning the toe and heel on the leotards only to discover that the other toe needed repairs also. 'I am surely crazy to waste my time on this,' I thought, as I started into the second toe. Except I was watching the Olympics and the handsewing was relaxing. This morning, though, as I sat at the kitchen table going over Sunday's service one last time, J ran up beside me, clutching the bear leotards in her hand, her face one big smile. Indeed, yes, the time spent extending the life of those leotards was well worth it.

New Machine on the way!

2010-02-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

I bought a new machine this morning. Online. Joel came out of the shower and I announced what I had just done. He asked if he could then buy a new car. I said, "sure.... if it's $386 Canadian with shipping."
This is a spur of the moment purchase. Slightly. My Elna is super but it doesn't have a monogram stitch and when it needs to be repaired, the old Singer really clunks along. This is a Janome but looks exactly like the ones that company's been making for Kenmore which have been a great deal. A Janome of equal value would be approx. $1000. Apparently Kenmore is now going over to Brother. Found this one through www.overstock.com
On another topic: I "won" a snow shovel today. Was coming back to our community from a meeting in another when a shovel came flying out of the flatbed truck in front, heading right towards me. I slammed on the brakes, the snow shovel hit the pavement and I avoided it. I honked for the truck driver to notice but he disappeared over a hill. So I threw the shovel in the back seat and if I would have found the guy in town ahead, he would have got his shovel back. But he was long gone. So, whoever you are, Thanks. Although I don't think you'll be reading a sewing blog!

Sunday Valentines

2010-02-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

What do you do when Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday? Make Valentines for your congregation, of course!
Don't know how I came up with this crazy idea -- but it was fun and the folks seemed to appreciate the thought and effort. Each Valentine has the Scripture passage that's key to the congregation's mission.
I used leftover red fleece and stiffened that fabric with scraps of interfacing. I sewed on the strips of paper with gold rayon thread I got at a garage sale. I've a bunch for promotional magnets that I cut up for magnetic strips that were then glued to the back so that people could put them on their fridge.
I am finding these tangible symbols seem to be helpful to people. A few weeks ago I gave out scrolls, one to each person, and each had a single word from the Scripture passage for that week i.e. "Release" "Freedom", "Recovery", "Sight", etc. Surprised me that weeks later, some folks had still held on to their scroll.

Animal Comfort

2010-02-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

Love this zoo animal fleece that I found online from Fabric Mart years ago. It's been waiting for something special. I pulled it out a year ago and J, about three years old then, said it could be a blanket. But she was well blessed with many baby and small child blankets made by wonderful church ladies so there was no need for another one. The fabric went back into the stash, awaiting inspiration. But a year later, J will graduate to a "big girl' bed soon and will need blankets for that. With a bit of serging, the two yards quickly turned into a blanket that yesterday morning we made into a tent. Very early this morning when she awoke sick and uncomfortable, I tucked her back in, telling her the animals would cuddle her. They were, fortunately, comforting enough for her to fall back to sleep.

Bargain Book about fun, vintage clothes

2010-01-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

I found Alligators, Old Mink and New Money on the $4.99 table at Chapters just after Christmas. With a four-year-old tugging at my arm, I didn't look closely and thought it was fiction. Turns out, it's about the adventures of a vintage clothes store owner that lives in Brooklyn. She's a former model and has some funny stories, great descriptions of clothes and adventures at flea market. She also writes with a healthy respect for her parents and family and their influence on her bargain finds. I suppose reading it helped me zone in on two consignment stores while we were in Vancouver. I LOVED Turnabout on Broadway St in Vancouver's Kitsilano. Now, I'd packed an empty extra bag because I knew I'd stock up on books at Elaine's Vine and Fig Tree Books. Which I did. But there was room for 'new' clothes as well. A pair of pants, some sweaters, a pantsuit. Also a very long black silk skirt with decorative bordered hem. It's too long for me but at $12 I knew it was worth buying and revamping. Just finished washing it before I begin some work on it.

Advent Buddy

2009-12-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

SIL Nancy taught me about this wonderful Advent custom. She has a wonderful Tree with good-sized pockets that's hung on the wall beside the kitchen table. Each morning my nephew finds a candy inside the pocket. And when J stays over, there's one for her, as well. So when I saw this snowman at the Millarville market last month, I quickly picked him up. J was ever so excited to get him hung up. Each morning of December has come with a bit of excitement. The pockets are just large enough to fit a Hershey's kiss. It's also helping J recognize numbers. Now, the trouble is Mom remembering each night to put the candy inside!

A bit of variety

2009-12-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

I have yet to make this Burda Girls' dress from the August 08 Burda in it's original form. Just finished another flannel nightgown for J. I set it outside her room for when she woke up. She was so pleased, she put it on and wore it all day as a dress with a turtleneck underneath. Good winter weather clothing! The orginal calls for buttons all down the back -- which is a lot more work to sew -- and not convenient for a child to to dress independently. In this one, I make the neckline large enough it could just pull over head

In another version, I altered the back yoke with a facing for buttons. Again, there would be no buttons at the back but just two at the neckline. This was a remake of a RTW version that J has loved until it's nearly worn out. I'd given her a choice of fabric -- light pink or bright pink -- and she suggested both. Smart kid -- I'd never thought of giving it some variety. I used an embroidery stitch to do the topstitching.

I'm attaching a photo of how I altered the back yoke pattern piece. But I really should have made the pattern piece without the fold -- so that only one end of the pattern has the facing. You may see the note I made for myself on the pattern piece! I plan on making this one again. It seems to be a comfortable shirt that J enjoys.

Distinctly Her's

2009-12-06T09:55:00.001-07:00

Decided to make J a Christmas stocking. At nearly five, she is very clear on what she'd like. She was very keen excited about the embroidered letters for her name (other side) and the Santa trim that I got from the fabric store (rubbing it's softness on her face). The red was leftover fleece from my housecoat. I stiffened it by ironing on two layers of interfacing on the inside. J got into the button stash and chose a dog, bone and cat buttons (other side). We'd discussed a snow man but once the black top hat was cut out, J shook her head. Needed a dress, she said, pink, of course. So I figured out how to put a dress on a snow person, decided she needed arms, sewed on all the pieces -- because I hate how glued ornaments start falling apart through the years. I proudly presented it to Joy. She smiled so pleased. Then she became serious. The snowman needed hair, she said. How about a purple hat, I asked. Wouldn't do. She wasn't pouting -- if that happened, I would have refused. She just seemed to know that "her" snow person needed to have hair. So I somehow figured out how to make hair for a snow person, sewed it on also. Then came the trying p art of sewing the two pieces together. I have this lovely silver embroidery thread -- it's beautiful but it snags on itself as I sew. Through several projects it had me convinced my machine was in disrepair. Not so.
Despite some frustration, I am pleased -- it is something that reflects a bit who J is at this point. And reminded me of this post of Sarah Jacobs who makes Jewish ritual items. She works with 12 year olds to design for their barmitzvahs and batmitzvahs, encouraging a young teen to speak enough so what is created reflects who they are.

Halloween Preparations

2009-10-25T21:25:00.001-06:00

Finished Princess J's Cinderella dress last night (McCalls 2856). It was wonderful to wake up this morning to her excitement over the dress. As soon as she saw it, she was figuring out how to put it on. It was worn to Church, has been on and off her all day and dragged through the house. I do believe she likes it! The sleeves and outside skirt is the 99 cents a metre fabric I picked up at Gala Fabrics in the summer. The dress fabric came from a free Fabricmart bundle more than a year ago. It's a cotton lycra and the lycra makes it heavy. I made it the largest size in the pattern envelope but it is really big on her. So I ended up basting two seams in the back to pull it in and the hem is 13"! Obviously there's lots of growing room but I thought she might enjoy having it for dress-up in the years to come. In the meantime, it's great for pulling over whatever clothes she's wearing. I picked up a few pink and blue ribbon flowers at Fabricland and those decorate the bodice edge and waist in the front. I'm going to add two shoulder straps because the sleeves are too delicate to keep the rest of the dress on.

Silk in the wind

2009-10-18T23:10:00.000-06:00

Knowing that the forecast this weekend was for warmer weather (much better than last weekend's snow), I planned to get some silk pre-washed before winter settles in. Thank you to La Sewista's instructions and step-by-step photo guide. The weather was overcast - good on ensuring the silk didn't fade but not great for showing how beautiful these four pieces are. The left-hand burgundy with flowers was from Fabricmart. It's chiffon as are the ivory and purple pieces on the right. The pink one with flowers was from Britex in San Francisco from our trip 18 months ago. This latter one will be for a blouse, sometime. Now that I gained the confidence to wash the silk, it's quite another thing to venture into actually sewing them. They are however delightful to hold in the hand. Realized as I ironed the latter piece that I'd paid for 2 3/8 yard but it's only 1 1/8. It was in the remnant section. Not much for the blouse, unfortunately.
POSTSCRIPT -- I emailed Britex with a photo of my silk fabric, a yard short. Fortunately, I still had the wrapper that stated 2 2/3 yards. They were very gracious. They have the fabric in stock and will mail me another yard -- even though they don't normally ship to Canada. Thank you, Britex, and I look forward to visiting you again some day.

For a Baby's sleeping comfort (maybe the parents too!)

2009-10-12T23:59:00.000-06:00

Finished these baby slumber bags over the weekend. These two are for my niece and another one is for the Ujamaa Grandma's Bags and Babies Sale. I'd made some of these for my own daughter and she loved them -- up until she grew out of her crib. It was a bit of assembly-line sewing but I do love working with the softness of fleece.
The Cinderella dress is nearly halfway done. I was speeding along but got slowed down by the slippery sheer fabric for the sleeves.

Shiny and Blue

2009-09-21T20:22:00.001-06:00

J was off to a "super hero" birthday party on Saturday. Princesses are superheros, don't you know? We weren't arguing. J and I went to Fabricland on Friday for things I needed (i.e. pattern for the DKNY-like wrap sweater) It could have been tedious for her but she also enjoyed exploring the new store, finding this shiny blue fabric in the 50 per cent off Halloween fabric as a cape for last year's pink princess costume. Even though everything must be pink for J, the Cinderella dress she wants for Halloween needs to be blue.
I decided to put a rolled hem on the shiny blue fabric. I had never-used-before metallic thread in my stash that I thought would be perfect. But after breaking two needles, the machine jamming, I decided my serger does not like metallic thread. Or more likely, I don't yet know how to use metallic thread. But this wasn't the time to learn! So out came the rayon thread and J's cape was done.
A few items are lining up to be sewn. Fleece sleep sacks for my niece, one for the Ujamma Grandma sale, the finger labyrinth and of course, Cinderella's dress. In the meantime work's been busy and I'm battling some bug -- either the flu or got a bit of food poisoning. Hope it goes away soon.

Saved by the Server?

2009-09-07T21:04:00.000-06:00

I was all set to spend money buying more Fabric from Fabri cmartfabrics.com. Today their 20% off sale ends. But after perusing their website, deciding on my purchases, I went into the cart and got booted out. Forbidden access from my server. Not sure what that means but I suppose it will be a relief on my pocketbook. Except there was some really nice knit wool for a cardigan I'd like to make. Rats!

Post Script - Sept. 8. Received a nice email from Fabricmart and was able to access the website to put in an order -- including the fabulous chocolate brown 100% wool knit. So much for the pocket book but Fabricmart always has such great fabric. I'm hoping to use the wool to make this DKNY, very versatile cardigan.

Meditation by Hand

2009-09-01T21:20:00.000-06:00

We spent a great week at Naramata where I took a course on Fabric Collage from an Edmonton artist. But I came with two goals to apply here: I wanted to learn how to draw out a labyrinth because eventually I'll need to tape one on a gym floor. And secondly, I wanted to figure out how to make portable labyrinths to use with folks in the local seniors' residence.
One of my classmates took this photo of me -- concentrating on winding strings of embroidery whilst gluing it on the pencilled lines of a seven-circuit labyrinth.

The idea for the bright, starry pink cloth came from reading The Spirituality of Labyrinths and Mazes by Gailand MacQueen. MacQueen describes a hike along the Northern Cornish Coast of England and encountering St. Materiana's Church which was founded by "excess, unmarried Celtic Princesses." The phrase tantalized me because of J's delight in anything princess. While I enjoy her delight in pink, I get a bit nervous about the whole princess waiting for Prince Charming, concentrating just on looking beautiful. But here were princesses who looked beyond themselves to help others. About two miles away from the Church is Rocky Valley where there are two labyrinths, each about seven inches wide, carved into a rock cliff face. MacQueen discovered the labyrinths in an area surrounded by a stream, waterfall and bluebells. He described the experience as profound and magical. Now, I'm sure it was a man who took the time to carve those laybrinths into stone because men like to do things that will last. But I wondered if the women founders of the nearby Church had also experienced walking the labyrinth. So I chose bright, starry pink cloth as the basis for the finger labyinth.

I'm pleased with the look of this finger labyrinth. But the glue detracts from the feel of the fabric and some women love to do is run their fingers along fabric.

I knew MJ would have a solution and of course, she did. She just looked at it and told me what to do. Here's some leftover wool that her Mom, dyed. Then she helped me find a dark green remnant that will be the background. More on that in weeks to come!

All the way from Japan

2009-08-23T20:03:00.000-06:00

When E returned from Japan, he brought me these very fine but strong hand sewing needles and a new red Clover seam ripper. I am ever so pleased! I'd asked E if he'd look and he found a sewing store in a mall, looked around it until he found both the needles and the seam ripper. I'd taken a course online at Pattern Review that said Japanese sewing needles are good. These are super. I'd learned through Cidell's blog that only in Japan can you get Clover sewing tools in red. In North America, they're white. The Red seam ripper works great -- so well that I think my old one has been dull for a long time.
Thank you, E, for the great gifts!

When all else fails, improvise!

2009-08-23T19:43:00.000-06:00

Finished the second edition of this Burda ruffled summer dress in time for the local fair. The first edition is on the left, the second is on the right. While the first edition actually looks
fine in the photo, the jersey material for the top was too casual for the satin-like skirt material. The fine knit used in the second edition is slightly tye-died and has a light pink lining. All was going well, until I top-stitched the neckline. I discovered I'd committed that great sin of not changing my sewing needle frequently. So there was a few runs on the left hand-side of the neckline. In 10 minutes I was leaving to take the dress to be judged at the local fair. I then remembered a flower left over from a hat for J. So I sewed it on with a bead over the runs. Apparently the judge found what was behind the flower, laughed, said it was a good idea and still gave the dress a blue ribbon!

Meet "Caty" the Caterpillar

2009-08-16T21:24:00.000-06:00

Two and a half weeks ago, I was dealing with the various creatures who were demolishing a rose bush and came across five fuzzy caterpillars. J and her little friend adopted them. The friend took three and they were later eaten by her puppy. J's two we put in a square Glad container. But instead of the plastic top, I pulled out a scrap of pink tutu netting and we used it as a screen over the top. (How handy a fabric and notions stash is!). J named them Caty and Paty. After a few days, Paty turned into a cocoon -- such a small one -- about half an inch long. it's hard to take a photo. Caty, however, has thrived on hollyhock leaves and has grown to be more than an inch long. We're all enjoying watching his progress and wondering how long Paty will be in the cocoon.

Wonderful Wrappings of Fabric

2009-08-02T23:13:00.000-06:00

Found the fabric to replace the top of the seven-ruffle dress below in Gala Fabrics in Victoria. I searched them out because of good reviews on Pattern Review. They were also having an amazing sale, so with the aid of a helpful Gala staff person named Karen, I purchased a few other pieces. Then I asked if they could mail it, since our car was very packed with four people, dog, camping gear, etc. They obliged and it was all nicely packaged with plastic and paper so it didn't cost as much as if it was put in a box.

J helped me unwrap the package. We looked through the fabric and then she quickly picked out what I'd found for her (Which made me think I'd chosen well, since she'd been with Grandma and Grandpa and not with me when I had my fabric shopping adventure). It's a blue polyester sheer fabric with stars on it (for only $1 per metre so I got 2.5 m) My intent was to make her another princess dress with it, as she'd asked. But now I'm wondering if she'd have as much or more fun with it as is. The left-hand photo shows her with the material wrapped around her. Instant princess dress.

Well, that fabric was fun so then she found the two fabrics for the ruffled dress' top -- the pink knit lining and the purple tie-dye mesh. In the right hand photo she's twirling around with the purple fabric and we'd tied the pink around her to hold up the blue sheer. I'm really happy that J enjoys fabric so much.

I was also grateful for the help of Karen at Gala. I showed her the photo of the dress and she found the purple mesh and the pink lining -- both of which match the skirt. Ironically, as does happen, the lining was more expensive than the outer layer. The purple knit mesh was on the clearance table.

One ruffle....seven ruffles

2009-07-09T21:51:00.001-06:00

Obviously my daughter and I like ruffles. Thanks to Cousin Joan in Toronto, I was able to find the bright orange fabric for J's bathing suit when we went shopping on Queen Street in May. It's yellow, pink and orange strips. Joan said I had a big grin on my face when I found the fabric. Maybe it's because I thought J would like it and she did. She was ever so excited Monday morning to wake up and find the new suit lying outside her room door.

The dress was in the June Burda magazine. The skirt is made with a polyester satiny fabric I found along Queen street a year ago and the top part is from cotton jersey that SIL Nancy and I found in Los Angeles in February. Amazingly, they matched. The only problem was the cotton jersey seems a bit too casual for the satiny skirt fabric. So while we're on vacation, I'm hoping to find a knit fabric that will complement the skirt better. In the meantime, I did wear the dress when I presided at a funeral on Tuesday. The service was for a great lady who loved pink -- so I thought, the heck with dark fabrics and reached for this in my closet.

Finally! Here's the Gortex Jacket

2009-07-05T23:08:00.000-06:00

Finally posting the Gortex Jacket. I was so relieved to have this done. Now, I hope it lasts a long time, so I don't need to sew
another for awhile. I learned much along the way. But the biggest one was facing my fears. Each stage of the jacket had been worried -- would I be able to understand the instructions and finish it. This is lined with quite nice nylon fabric. I'm grateful to the Banner women who helped me figure out what to do with the back overhang. It jutted out too far. They suggested using snaps to pull it in closer to the back and it worked!

How does your garden grow?

2009-06-22T20:36:00.000-06:00

Well, not with straight rows. Look at the onions coming up in the lettuce. For years, I've very carefully used a string and sticks to make sure my rows are straight and marked each row. I started out that way and with a threat of rain early in the month, decided to just hoe rows, "throw' the seeds in, cover them up. And mostly it's been pretty successful. Except I discovered this week, that when I went back to plant onions, I did so in the middle of the lettuce, not beside it.

In sewing, I'm finishing up #128 in the June issue of Burda Magazine from seersucker cotton. (Sorry, couldn't get a link up yet.) It's a great pattern. Looks like a wrap-around dress, but it's actually carefully designed with pleats going in various directions. Will take a photo soon and hopefully also get the Gortex jacket up which is keeping me dry.

Our new family member

2009-04-03T22:46:00.001-06:00

Wednesday was an exciting day when we learned we would be able to adopt our three-year-old friend on the right. He's settling in well and is an incredibly good-natured dog. It's a bit of a shock to have a dog that can hear again and delightful to be greeted at the door when we come home. Joel enjoys that he loves going for walks. We weren't sure how 15-year-old Elsa would react. But after the initial surprise at having another dog in her house, she seems calmer. It's almost like she's relieved to have a younger dog around who will look out for her and her family.

Venturing into the unknown: Water/wind-proof coat

2009-03-30T20:11:00.000-06:00

It's time to replace my 16-year-old Gortex jacket. Not only is it faded, it left me wet during a rainstorm at Disneyland in February. Fortunately, it's still 'winter' here so I've a bit of time before I need the new one (we just got 48 cm of snow on the weekend) But time is running out. I'd purchased 2 metres of red Gortex at Textile Outfitters' closing sale last summer. Thought that would be plenty but it's not for the BWOF coat (01-2008-126). So I ordered another 1.5 yards of royal blue Gortex and navy blue nylon lining from Peak Fabrics. I telephoned to work out what would be the best combination. They were a great help. The red will be the main colour for the body with the royal blue on the lower sleeves, pocket edge, zipper flap and hood. I've never sewn with Gortex nor tried a three-dot Burda so this will be a challenge! Apparently Gortex is slippery so I've my Sewing machine walking foot ready. Although I think I'll look up how one can cheaply transform a regular foot into a teflon one. I cut out the various pieces last night and learned the Royal blue is particularly tough on pins -- and tried to remember to keep pin marks within seam allowances.

What $14 can buy

2009-03-30T19:37:00.000-06:00

What helped me get out of my sewing dry spell was getting ready for the Unused Fabric Sale by Purses and Projects for Africa. I tidied my sewing space while figuring out what stash items I wasn't like to use and could donate. Last Thursday helped sort donations with other volunteers and then Saturday attended the sale. The prices were amazing and in spite of that, more than $13,000 was raised. In addition to one large room full of fabric and yarn, other smaller rooms held notions, crafts, etc. I paid $14 for all that's at the left. I spent the most time in notions and found good lace, ribbons, zippers, good thread, a sturdy tracing wheel, seam gauge (made by Bernina -- not flimsy like the one I have) and the Dritz Ezy Hem. The woman looking after notions was going to only charge me $1 for all the notions and I said, 'You need to charge me more," holding up the Ezy Hem, "this is expensive new." This one is an older version without metric but still great. I found several yards of lining fabric on the $1 fabric table which I 'burn-tested when I got home. The tan, purple and ivory turned out to be polyester but the blue was acrylic. Now that one was scary. Acrylic burns very quickly, I learned Don't think I'll be making anything with that!
My earlier tidying reduced the stash so I could buy some new additions but at least -- I donated a larger pile than I came home with (although can't gloat too much since a small box arrived in the mail last week from Fabric Mart with more stash additions!)

Purple things

2009-03-29T23:02:00.001-06:00

Have finally pulled through a 'dry' time in sewing and finished these two purple items: BWOF 12-2008-127 House Jacket and a nightgown for J's doll that she requested. Also a purple wool skirt that I'll post later when I get a chance to wear it. The doll nightgown is in the same fabric as my daughter's and she requested it have the same sheep applique. The Burda item was in knit fabric but I wanted a warm short jacket to wear in the house during the winter and used a five-year old fleece from my stash. It was actually quite simple to sew up -- once I got to it!
Also repaired J's doll -- it's soft body seems to need darning every few months.

The Art of Paying Attention

2009-03-13T23:02:00.000-06:00

This is my car on Tuesday afternoon. Yep, I went into the ditch. I was heading along a country road, turned south on a curve and was struck by the beauty of snow on a hill ahead. So thought I'd stop to take a photo. Slowed down using the brake -- not hard -- but the car decided to slide right instead. So there I was in the ditch and I had to laugh -- ending up in a ditch because of a photo (that I never did take)! Since it was about - 22 Celcius, I was lucky folks came along about 30 seconds later.

As I recounted my story, one wise friend pointed out...'if you'd been paying attention..." Well, I was going relatively slow and it was hard to see that ice was below the snow cover but still, her words have come back to me over the course of the week

On Wednesday, I misplaced my keys in the am and then found them, left my purse at a restaurant at lunch time and had to make arrangements to retreive it. Then lost my cell phone and that's definitely gone (but fortunately wasn't too expensive to replace).

The thing is I've been busy and distracted. And things get misplaced. There is the spirituality of paying attention and perhaps needs to be part of my Lenten journey.

Disneyland plus fabric!

2009-02-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

We're back from Disneyland -- marvelous days in spite of a bit of cold, rainy weather -- little to no line-ups. Had a great time with brother, sister-in-law and nephew. The kids are the same age so it was good for them to have the Magic Kingdom experience together. My favorite part? All of it! Time with family, a vacation, the wonder of Disneyland and then...

... the extra bonus ....getting to the Los Angeles Fabric district. We followed this helpful article. SIL and I got an hour and a half (whilst the men and kids wandered - ironically having a great time at the flower market.) There is literally one fabric store after another. My SIL took these photos of me -- ever so happy at Silk City (305 E 9th Street, #120) Incredible fabric, incredible prices. We finished off our time at Fabric H otel which had beautiful quality quilting cottons -- between $4 to 6 per yard (I'm not too sure why their website prices are more) For $67 US, I purchased 2 yards silk chiffon, 2 yds silk velvet, 2 yds lining, 5 yds good quality cotton knit, 1 yd cotton and some lace and trim. I was trying to be careful to not purchase too much with the exchange rate so high but I think I may have got too little of the silk chiffon for scarves I'd like to make. However -- I do have Silk City's telephone number! Also, in an earlier post, I'd muttered about the cost of US shipping but the gentleman at Fabric Hotel said he's able to get 8 yards of cotton fabric into a mailing envelope to send to Canada and the cost is $10 US for shipping. Would make sense that an envelope would be cheaper to ship than a box.

Finally, done!

2009-02-01T22:07:00.001-07:00

J's housecoat is finally done and my challenging dress which had so many sections. The reviews of both should show up soon on the Pattern Review widgets at the right. J was excited about
the pockets which I put over the side seams, just below her sleeves. Actually she helped me determine where they would be. I was going to put them right at the hem which she pointed out would be too low. I do wish I'd risked on the dress and sewn it in velvet but it's fine in velour. Looking at this photo, though, I think it's time to replace the eight-year-old shoes!

Men vacuum, she says

2009-01-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

Nearly four-year-old J told me the cover picture on this delightfully funny book is all wrong. Men do the vacuuming, she told me. And in this house, mostly her Dad does. Joel's away and while we miss him, I also miss our partnership in keeping our home running. I found Mrs. Murphy Hires a Cleaner at the local library. It's actually a good intelligent, fun read if you can find a copy. An adult only read, though!

My dress is cut out, zipper in, most pieces sewn together and now I'm working on the neckband. Here's a photo one small alteration to show the colour. I'll soon learn if my alterations all worked. It's been time-consuming so if the dress works out, I may regret working with the less-expensive velour rather than comfortable, warm, stretch velvet. The dress was waylaid by J's request for a housecoat. She picked out the fabric from the stash -- pink, of course. I thought I was done and J was ever so pleased. She likes that the fleece is cosy and warm and perhaps feels she now has a housecoat like everyone else in the house. But then she asked, "Does my housecoat have housecoat pockets?" No, I responded. "Would you like housecoat pockets?" "Yes." So, I'm not done yet.

I love ordering from Fabric Mart in Pennsylvania but between the exchange rate and the increase in shipping costs from the US to Canada, this occasional venture may be even more occasional. No more surface mail to Canada so what used to take three and a half weeks now takes 10 days. That's the bonus. But my $46 US order of fabric ended up being $93 Canadian once the exchange rate and shipping were added. Still, this is pretty good for 7 1/2 yards of beautiful fabric plus 2 lbs of buttons and 4 lambskin oval patches. The purple is Cotton basket weave, the navy is worsted wool, the tweed Silk Rayon and the cream is Microfibre Suede. I accidently only ordered one yard of the latter for a Joel shirt -- which is barely a back and a sleeve for him! The buttons - a few are usuable for projects -- but mostly J and I find good games with them

Opting for the Fun!

2009-01-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

I was challenged by some blogs' New Year's resolutions but only enough to at least write down what I'd like to be sewing. So I started jotting down what I needed for the wardrobe: two skirts for work, a jumper, Gortex jacket. But quickly I started a fun list -- a dress for J using the left over purple wool fabric from a fore-mentioned skirt, a fleece jacket for J, (J's added a housecoat to the list!), a knit dress for myself....and that last one is what I jumped to. It's more than two years since this pattern came out in BWOF (11-2006-110) and I still like it. It's supposed to be in Panne Velvet which means a stretch velvet that stretches two ways, not four. I'd even purchased some panne velour to make a muslin. What held me up was the number of alterations this will take to make petite-sized. See all those separate pattern pieces? 13. I'm in the midst of the alterations. The 1st was to make long sleeves.

One more Christmas item

2009-01-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Before the Season wraps up on January 6th, wanted to show one photo of dd. Here she is, helping out at the local Food Drive back in November -- at 3 1/2 she was keen to help move the food into storage after it was collected, helping the Scouts, volunteer firefighters and other foodbank volunteers. She wanted to go back the next day!

Back in late November, I was determined to get much sewing done for Christmas presents and here's the photo of the Wazoodle package of fabric. ost of that huge package from Wazoodle is sewn up - (save for 1.75 yards of a future fleece top). The morning of Dec. 24th, I finished the last present and sewed about 17.5 yards of fabric -- two housecoats, three PJ pants, one PJ shorts and 16 potholders. You'll find the pattern for these at Simple Pot holder pattern. Then during the days since finally sewed a red housecoat for myself. When I was planning my mother's housecoat, I ordered both purple and red fabric but it's sometimes hard to tell the shades of colours online. So I decided if it turned out to be Mom's deep red, then it was hers. However, it arrived as bright red so she ended up with purple which she seems quite happy with. Thought I'd get more sewing done after Dec. 25th but it's been hectic. The highlights were Christmas Day at cousins, my brother and sister-in-law here on Boxing Day and New Year's and C&T taking all three kids plus dog so Joel and I had a night away that went too fast.
I'll post a review of the housecoats soon. Now, some winter sewing planning.

What a wonderful man!

2008-12-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

Look what Joel got me for Christmas! This wonderful shelf. The area under my sewing table was rather cramped with boxes that stored the fabric stash. It wasn't the most efficient use of space plus I couldn't see the fabric I had without digging into the boxes. So I'd measured out how much space I had and how much shelf that would let me have. Bless him, Joel spoke to a wonderful cabinet maker in the congregation and Joel even helped make this. It's absolutely perfect. It's beautifully made, smooth, light, even has wheels. It's given me more room for fabric, has tidied up the space underneath my table and given me more leg room. Joel's pictured with the robe I made him for Christmas and here are photos of it underneath the table and my sewing corner in the family room.

Winter boots give new lease on life

2008-12-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

For a nearly blind, deaf, arthritic dog, winter 'boots' have given a whole new lease on life. Elsa's nearly 15 and with temperatures -25 celcius and lower, I pulled these booties out of the cupboard. While last year she seemed annoyed with them, this year she loves them. They were passed on to us by a neighbour whose dog didn't like them. I tried them out last year and Elsa tolerated them when she realized her feet were protected from freezing. But now she's discovered they give her extra grip to run around the linoleum in the house -- no slipping and slidding which must bother her arthritic limbs. So she comes in the house and starts running -- quicker than we've seen her go in a long time. The first night she was so excited at the momentum she had, she ran into the kitchen island and gave herself a black eye. Did she ever yelp! But now she's back to running, avoiding kitchen cupboards and even smiling again!

Snow and a lot of preparations

2008-12-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

The problem with sewing Christmas gifts is that you can't show on the blog what's unfolding. So, instead, here's a photo of our weather as of this am. Had to cancel a service last night. We've nearly a foot of the white stuff.
I can say that I'm working on something purple and that soon I'll be working on this flannel material for the nephew's PJ pants. I can show you this because I'm sure his Mom won't tell him! He's 3 so I hope I can still get away with cute fabric. Wazoodle calls this Vintage Cowboy/girl. Joel says he remembers having an item from his Grandma out of similar material.

This Friday, it's my turn to do craft at playschool. My hidden motivation in this craft is starting kids young in the fun of fabric. I'm cutting out some Christmas characters from flannel fabric for the kids to make Christmas cards. In the midst of lots of seasonal work in my job, I'm finding it rather soothing to cut out the pieces. Last spring, I found paper doll and bear pattern online, cut out clothes from colourful fabric scraps and the kids could choose which clothes they wanted for their doll or bear and paste them on. Turned out the Moms enjoyed the craft the most!

Oh happy day!

2008-11-26T22:53:00.001-07:00

In between meetings and work, etc, I got to pick up my Wazoodle Fabric order at the Post Office. Oh happy day! While supper was cooking, J and I opened up the box. It's vacuum packed so once you poke the plastic, the fabric pops out. Now don't look too closely because the makings of your Christmas gift may be here! Joel said at supper 'are you really going to be able to get all that sewing done?' Well, some of the material is for post Christmas projects. But still, I'm probably partly insane since this is a busy time at work.

Trying to Stitch Away Grinchness

2008-11-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Life is gearing up for the annual holiday. I admit it. I'm a Grinch! But in between these preparations has been a bit of sewing-related fun. J loved wearing one of N's old summer nightgowns but as the weather got colder I decided to make her a flannelette one. She's learning -- as soon as she heard I was getting a pattern ready to make her something -- she started heading downstairs to choose the fabric from my stash! More on the nightgown sewing in the pattern review, below right.

Thought I'd learn a bit about sewing machine repairs and maintenance. I get a bit weary of the cost of having my machine tuned up ($115 for the serger tune-up and small repair last month and that's about 1/4 of what a new one costs)and relying on some man in a backroom I can't talk to to do the job. Plus, the machine usually sits in their shop for three weeks until they get around to it. So I purchased an e-book online and began reading. Then went hunting in our local antique and treasure shop for an older machine to practise on. The owner actually gave this one to me. Said that by the time she pays to have it serviced she can't make a profit and someone can go to Walmart and buy a new machine for about the same price. (There's a lot wrong with that -- the cheap new machine will be flimsy, made with plastic parts and this old machine is a strong workhorse that just needs a tune-up)
I thanked her and brought this Piedmont Sewing machine home. Joel also got interested and so we spent part of one evening working on the machine, learning as we went. Within a short time, the machine was working fine. We're looking forward to spending more time learning how it works and to repair timing, etc.
I've also learned that these little machines can have a lot of history piled into them, thanks for some informative folks on Pattern Review. This machine was made in Japan for the Hudson's Bay Company, probably in the late 1950s. It's called a badged machine because the Japanese factories would make the sewing machines and then various department stores would 'badge' them as their own. These machines actually had improvements on them that Singer didn't have and would later copy (such as the way the foot pressure is designed and incorporating the light into the machine body). Hmm....sounds like the auto industry.

Meditative Crafting

2008-11-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Just added this gem to the Church library. While I don't knit, I still enjoyed this book. It fits in with some recent books that knitting can be a prayerful, meditative act. Reminds me also that my sewing can be prayerful also if I'm intentional.
The Prayer Shawl ministry is one where people knit/crochet shawls to be given to people going through special events such as cancer treatment, a loss or even the joy of a new child. The prayers said while making the shawl enfold the recipient of the gift. Often a shawl is prayed over in a congregation prior to being given away. It may seem strange but I think those prayers make a difference. I remember going to visit a woman after she'd received a quilt made by church quilters that had also been prayed over during Sunday worship. As she rested between cancer treatments she'd sleep underneath the quilt. "It feels damn good," she told me.
Interspersed between the patterns in this book, are personal stories of women who knit these shawls -- personal stories of faith, crafting and caring for others. The stories actually made me think I don't do anything similar with my sewing but then I remembered Helen. When my friend Helen was dying, I was far away and unable to be with her. So I sewed her a cheery red, fleece pullover. It made me feel good to be able to do something tangible for her. After she died, her daughter told me her mother enjoyed wearing it but seemed particularly happy about the label I'd sewn into into a lower side seam, "Made with love." This being able to work with our hands is a blessing in itself.

Setting up House

2008-11-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

My parents found this doll house for J at the Fairfield United Church Garage Sale. As you can see, she's likes it very much. From looking on eBay, I think it's a Fisher Price Loving Family Doll House, circa 1993. We're planning on getting her a few of the small dolls and a bit more furniture on eBay for Christmas. The decal decorations are quite faded so I'm hoping on my SIL Nancy's scrapbooking expertise to brighten it up. This is a big hint here!
J particularly liked the cradle that came with it since she enjoys playing with babies. However, one end was missing. Last night she and I made a 'new' one. I traced the one end on cardboard, cut it out, punched some holes in and then J painted. This morning, we put the cradle together and she was quite pleased with the results -- except she tells me the cradle now needs a blanket! I do like this age. Kids have such wonderful imaginations and it doesn't have to be new or fancy, in fact, fixing it up becomes part of the fun.

Winter Jumper in balmy AB

2008-11-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finished up J's jumper as well as a dress of the same material for her favorite baby. Quite amazing that it's the first of November and we could take these photos outside.

Here's a photo of the length. J was very intent that her doll be fully seen in the photo.

I added buttons onto the pockets which she was delighted to discover. She saw the cat right away. Because the pigs -- there's another on the other pocket -- blend into the material, she didn't notice these until she'd been wearing it for an hour. She was excited about that. But it seemed the best surprise came a few hours later when she discovered the button I'd used to support the stem of the pig button
I'd used a flat, heart-shaped button on the inside of the pocket to support the pig button. This has been referred to as her 'hidden' button.

Talking Pumpkin

2008-11-01T15:22:00.001-06:00

The trick or treating is over and it was time to cook up the pumpkin to make Pumpkin Spice Cake So I put it in the oven as my Mom taught me to soften it before trying to peel it. When I went to pull it out, steam was pouring out of its eyes and mouth and that bubbling moisture was making the pumpkin gurgle and sputter. The 'talking' reminded me of various folks decorations last night as we walked through the neighbourhood. Unfortunately it's difficult to see the steam in this photo and there's no sound!

Refurbished buttons

2008-11-01T15:04:00.001-06:00

I found J this jean jumper at a thrift store for $3. It was easy to repair the lace on the bottom But the dull buttons (with yellowish petals and white centre) just didn't reflect the colourful embroidery on the sides. So I dug into my stash and came up with some brighter colours -- flowers, music notes and a roller skate. J loves them. I was going to throw the old buttons into recycling but decided to see if I could re-paint them with nail polish. The centres of the buttons all popped out so that made it easier to paint. The lighter pink wasn't going on well at all compared to the darker one. So I put on a coat of white polish followed by the light pink. I also put a coat of white onto the centres to brighten them. I think the lighter pink actually looks better than the darker one.
I've repainted buttons with nail polish before and find it's a great way to re-use buttons or use what you have in your stash. They don't seem to chip in the wash but I let them dry over night before being handled.

What looked so simple....

2008-10-26T21:14:00.000-06:00

Finally got a photo of this, thanks to N! It's from Burda WOF June '08. I purchased the Rayon knit from a fabric store on Toronto's Queen Street when Joel and I were there in the spring. It was $17 per metre and I would have walked away except it was sooo soft and the exact ivory colour I'd been looking for. Amazingly enough the 1 metre was so wide I could make this long-sleeved T. The reviews on Fabric review say this is easy to sew; however the challenge was the light rayon fabric. I ended up ripping out my first attempt on the collar because it didn't lie flat. The light fabric needed interfacing on both the facing and collar edge. This is lower cut than I like so needed to invest in a camisole. My first purchase of a Wallyworld camisole lost its life early when its navy blue dye began to transfer to the rayon knit. Hopefully the Winner's version is a better investment!

Recent Sewing projects

2008-10-13T20:45:00.000-06:00

For sewists, you may have done similar. You see something that would be an easy repair and then take on the project. J and I are part of a mother-run weekly play school. It was toy cleaning night and I volunteered to repair the doll strollers. But really, Aunt Marj started me on this. She'd replaced the cloth on her grand-daughters' strollers which encouraged me to do similar with J's (left one) when the original Disney print fell a part. Play School's were better quality, though, and it just meant replacing a strap and re-sewing the bias tape. J loved that we had three doll strollers around the house for a week!

I just finished sewing this BWOF T-shirt (6-2008) and will

post a photo soon. I made it with an incredibly light rayon knit that I purchased last June on Toronto's Queen Street. Love the gathers at the side -- which make it look rather complicated but that was the easy part. Learned how to re-enf

orce the neckline with interface -- after ripping out the first attempt.

I quite like this jumper from the latest Burda magazine (10-2008). I love how trim this looks and comfortable. The only t

hing I'm hesitating about is that the back collar hangs down square like a sailor shirt. Wonder if the collar would be too bulky or just annoying to wear.

Nothing like a good read

2008-10-11T14:14:00.001-06:00

Margaret Maron is one of my favourite writers and I've just finished her latest, Death's Half Acre, (from the library). I love her Deborah Knott mysteries set in the area of North Carolina from which Maron is from. I've never been to North Carolina and these novels make me feel like I know the area too. Maron's Sigrid Hall mysteries written when she lived in New York just aren't as much fun -- dark, sad, lonely. Whereas the Knott ones are a good mystery alongside thankfulness and wholeness of family and friends
My Dad introduced me to Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells. It's just lovely and, ironically, Allen lives in and writes about North Carolina. This is her first novel. I just got her second from the library, called The Sugar Queen.
Anna Quindlen's Blessings, I enjoyed while on vacation in August. I think I read Quindlen's novels not just for the plot but for her ability to string words together beautifully and meaningfully.

I'd love to hear what books you've enjoyed recently!

Adventures in pet land

2008-10-07T23:04:00.000-06:00

To celebrate our anniversary, Joel and I went away to Fernie for two days bringing J and Elsa the 14-year-old dog. We had a marvelous time. These photos were one of the rare times we were in the woods since bears were about.
Elsa -- who is deaf and sees minimally now --, enjoyed being away also. Before we left this am, we stopped in a nice coffee shop that had kids' toys in the corner. A good time we had. Came out of the place, it's pelting rain and the winds blowing hard, we're racing to the car trying to avoid grit in our eyes. Open car door and discovered Elsa had 'crapped' in the car -- even though she'd been out in the am. That would have been bad enough but then she'd stepped in the stuff and then bounced throughout most of the car. There we were in the wind and rain trying to use baby wipes to wipe off the car seats, car mats, two dolls, a sticker book, doll bed. Then we drove to a grocery store to get Lysol wipes and more baby wipes and the task continued. It started to hail and rain harder and I was trying to remove the stuff off of Elsa's foot (the baby wipes weren't working so I resorted to putting water from my water bottle into an empty paper coffee cup and dumping Elsa's foot in it) It worked but I needed to change my pants after wards. J did ever so well at staying in her car seat and saying very little! Very wise. Joel thought he did very well at containing himself. So did I. But it was me who was mad enough with Elsa that she spent half of the trip home sleeping on the car floor.
Other than that, it was a great time!

Sewing Conference fun

2008-09-30T22:41:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, got to attend the annual Calgary sewing conference. It's full of great temptations to spend money -- booth after booth. I resisted - mostly. However, at A Great Notion's booth, I was able to peruse and purchase two serger books. I was aiming for great photographs with the instructions and these fit the bill. Also purchased a flexible ruler which will be handy measuring around curves and trying to replicate body shapes on pattern adjustments. You can see between the two photos how it can bend. The teens at home particularly liked this new tool! The Design Plus Fusible Bias tape was actually bought a mail order purchase that arrived. BWOF is always asking for a fusible bias tape only available in Europe. Here's the American counterpart. Thanks to Cidell who pointed me in this direction. I've yet to use it on arm and necklines but it definitely cuts down on bulk for stabilizing shoulder seams on knits.

Food disappears fast!

2008-09-30T22:31:00.000-06:00

Food disappears fast in this house with two teenagers and now we've added a third. What fun! We have a Japanese exchange student for a few weekends and E will join his family in Japan next spring. I cooked up a large Hutterite chicken Saturday night and our student returned to the serving plate 5 times. Very few leftovers! Sunday a new subdivision in town had its opening celebration with a great bonus -- free barbecue.