Christmas Shopping Already?

Who on earth would want to begin the Christmas craziness so early in the new year, you ask? Well, possibly the very thrifty. 

Yesterday I spotted $5 Christmas decorations on at 90% off. I got two at .44c each. This is the way I've bought most of our Christmas decor--after season sales on great discounts. But in an effort to reduce the wanton consumerism of the whole thing (why get another wreath just because they are reduced? Don't want more stuff to store 11 and a half months of the year!) What's special about these decorations is that they say the year and there is a spot for a photograph so I've put a picture of each of my boys in the decorations and I'm kicking myself for not getting a set for each of the grammas. A meaningful, thoughtful, easy-to-mail gift for under $1. 

Happy to report that indeed I did quarter a chicken for supper the other night. It was not a perfect job and I'm now on the watch for a good cleaver. I've wanted to break down a chicken for frying but was put off by the actual cutting it up. Anyways, I can stroke that one off my bucket list and hope that a better knife makes the job easier. Let's add "learn to properly sharpen knives" to the list instead. 

In other random news a moose strolled past our yard yesterday. We've seen her before but not so close. She was unperturbed by the dog and I was glad. 

Husband wants to start hunting but J (5) and I agree it must be far from home. Somehow the wildlife that passes through feels more like family than food. I know, not at all the attitude a farmer's daughter should have towards her groceries. It's a contradiction that I will work to reconcile. 

I've been peacefully sewing. My brother and his wife are expecting their first child, a boy. I'm so happy for them and it takes me back to when we were waiting for J to arrive. I did not know the love I was capable of--had no idea the depths of fatigue that a human could reach, nor the joy that could catch me off guard and leave me immobilized with emotion, choking back tears. It was so intense. I can't imagine anything I do having such an effect on me now and I'm not sure I'd want it. But I'm excited to see my brother and his wife fall this deeply in love with their child and I'm glad that now I understand some of what they will need. Help, but space and solitude. Sleep. Groceries. Dishes done, some meals prepared and frozen and all our excitement but not for too long. I'm making a quilt and the pattern is called "the Bonny Scotsman". It suits my brother so much as we are of Scottish descent and I call the baby the wee bonny lad. May he be healthy and bonny indeed. I hope you are having a weekend that you will remember fondly. 

Orange is the New Pink

We have been blessed with a "rain delay". It was 12C this morning with a driving rain. I just couldn't make my kids go swim in a lake. We got some baking done this morning but it was too wet for weeding. This afternoon I dropped the boys off at Gramma's house and headed for the library and to grab a few groceries (more on the books another day). 

While childless in town I couldn't help but stop at the fabric store. While at the store it began to pour rain. While it poured rain I got lost in stacks of feminine but not girlie prints. You see, I'm banking on it that a couple up and comers will be girls...I'm really hoping ;)

Nothing too baby...nothing cartoonish...a hint of retro and not too much pink. In fact, I found some oranges that I really liked and a lovely print that's meant to look like the old butterick patterns from the 60s. LOVE!! 

The lady in the orange dress so reminds me of pictures of my mom when her and my dad first got married. A much more fashionable time...

I have berries to pick, a yard to tame and one more day of swimming lessons. There will be pickling and preserving before much sewing can happen here. But it's almost enough to make me look forward to winter :)

Unfinished Projects (of the quilted variety)

Sometimes it feels like nothing ever gets finished around here...weeding, mowing and trimming are rarely completed all at the same time (okay, never!) and even if they were things continue to grow and it is a constant effort to keep up. One that I enjoy, don't get me wrong, but one never really walks away from a garden thinking "my work here is done"!

I've been rummaging through some quilting stuff lately: a new baby born to my cousin's son, a friend beginning her own journey into quilting. While I've been digging around I snapped some pictures of the projects I will pick up again this fall when the weather turns cold and the gardens have been put to bed for the year. I didn't take the time to iron them and stage them in the yard like the quilting bloggers do, these are staged to hide the clutter in my sewing room and nothing else! I hope to do some nice photos of these quilts once I've done the binding, but that will be months from now. But anyways, the pictures:

I will give this little girl's blanket to my cousin's granddaughter. The bamboo batting is so soft and cuddly. It is actually leftover from a bigger project, so didn't cost any extra and the backing that I used is a sheet that my mom gave me long ago. Frugal! Gotta love it ;)

Also keeping the cost down, I quilted the little girl quilt myself. I'm happy with the results. I will do a post on each quilt as I bind them and actually complete a project at a time!

No idea how to rotate this picture. These half square triangles were all made with the remnants of fabric leftover from a larger project. I used a walmart batting which seems stiff and too thick...I'm sure the cost of the lovely bamboo batting doesn't work out to much more. When I buy the bamboo from the locally owned fabric store I am not only getting a better product but I am also supporting a local female entrepreneur. Win-win! I think I will keep this little blanket on hand for a last minute baby shower gift. The light colours are suitable for either a boy or girl, I think.   

This little 9-patch was one of my first attempts. I really like the blue and white but I don't know what I will do with it when it is complete. I like to support the local women's shelter, which gives a blanket to every mother and child who leave there to begin a new life. I would like to think of this little blanket helping a child transition into a life free of domestic violence.

Needs ironed though! Below is the quilt that I made this past winter. It has many of the tones that are found in my living room and throughout the house.

I am happy with the way it turned out and used the bamboo batting I was telling you about. I also had it quilted in town at that locally owned fabric store.

It turned out nice and soft, just what I wanted!

I live in a house and yard where new projects begin before others are completed...it can be chaotic and sometimes I long for a more orderly way of doing things. But this season of our lives is passing by so quickly, we are busy with family and a new yard and I know it won't always be this way. In fact, I am sure I will long for these days when I have a quiet house and time to work on projects uninterrupted. For now, we live and work seasonally. It is time to be in the yard and on the beach, so that is where we are. Soon it will be time to work indoors and I will happily return to these unfinished quilts. I will post another update then :)

Crafting for Christmas

My friend and I are making a few items to sell at the local Christmas Craft Sale. It is held at a country hall where two highways intersect. I remember going to the New Year's Ball there as a kid--it seemed so glamorous although it was only the local farmers dressed in their Sunday best. I guess calling it a "Ball" made it more exciting. 

Felt owl inspiration via Pinterest: joyzz.com

My friend and I do not have our hopes up that we will make a lot of money. I tried to sell some crocheting and sewn crafts when my eldest was a year old. I didn't cover the cost of renting the table and, worse, they wouldn't let me leave until the end. They don't like empty tables at their craft sales. I was so homesick for my baby I was having a near-panic attack by the time I got back to my mom's to pick him up. All that for about $12.  SIGH. 

But, this year, it's not about making money. Sure, some cash for our own Christmas would be nice. But I'm more interested in keeping busy and making this an exciting time of year for my kids. How their eyes lit up when I brought out the jar of buttons for them to sort!

I already have the materials to make some felt decorations, and I'm trying not to spend much so that I don't lose money on the venture. If the kids and I spend a bit of time everyday (or almost every day) and I work a bit in the evenings, I should be able to make enough stuff to fill my half of the table. I'm also hoping to finish up some forgotten projects to add to our inventory. A deadline really helps my work ethic in that regard :)

We had our first snowfall yesterday (it melted, thank goodness!) so that motivated me to get started. Have your thoughts turned to Christmas? 

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf said, for a woman to write she must have 400 pounds a year and a room of her own (Not a direct quote. And I couldn't figure out how to make the sign for British money. I'm off to a poor start). I would agree with Virginia, and add that a woman needs a room of her own if she wants to do anything creative. I know, I know. I heard that J. K. Rawlings wrote Harry Potter on the backs of napkins in noisy restaurants. Clearly there are exceptions to the rule. But for me, I am loving finally having a sewing room all to myself. It is where I sew and write this blog, keep track of bills and banking, and I feel that more is possible now that I have a dedicated space for my hobbies. (Clearing the kitchen table to sew, then removing everything for sticky little fingers and snacks every few hours is just not an option anymore).

This room has been a dumping ground in our new home. We did not even have stairs to the basement until this winter, so many things that did not belong were being stored here for lack of storage elsewhere. As we have gained access to the basement and now have our garage as well, I am slowly clearing the clutter and making this room what I had imagined it to be.

I bought this old desk at a flea market. Love those sturdy legs!

I bought this old cabinet on kijiji. I love the glass doors--unfortunately we broke one when we put the shelf in. We don't talk about it--it's too soon.

I have finally organized my material so I can see what I have. I think it is pretty and cheerful behind the glass.

This little room had an elliptical trainer, a 10x13' rug, boxes and toys that have all finally found their proper places in our home. I am not expecting any major works of art to come from my little sewing room. We keep toys in here and it can get a little dusty in the corners. But now that I have a space of my own I hope to dedicate some time each week to my own creativity. When I do that I feel happier and more connected. I think Virginia would be proud.

Do you have a dedicated area where you can craft/ write/ create? 

First-Attempt Quilt

I have been trying to keep busy this winter. You might recall I found some fabric in a charity shop before Christmas. I added to that collection over the holidays and decided to attempt a quilt. After enjoying hours of looking at patterns, I chose one that I thought I could handle.

I have worked on it after the kids are in bed, and when Husband was home on days off. It is coming along nicely but I have not decided if quilting is something I will take on as a pastime. Once I saw all the squares lying out together, I thought I might like to try another and do a better job of it. Some of my squares are quite "out of whack" but others are surprisingly neat and tidy. I can understand why people love making quilts--it is very satisfying to see the work come out as planned.

the material I used was either free or purchased at second-hand shops.
I purchased the white material and the backing (below).

 Since material and batting are costly, I wanted to learn to quilt using inexpensive material. I am not a fan of purple, but in all the colorful material cost about $4. The backing cost about $7 on sale, and the white was $6. The other day I found batting for $13, which would bring the cost of making this quilt to about $30 Canadian.

 I've finished the quilt top and will leave the final steps until next winter. In the meantime, I've cut the material for a baby quilt (a post and pictures to come soon!)and would like to finish it entirely before the weather gets nice enough that I'm outside every day. It was -20C in the wind today--I expect getting the baby quilt finished in time shouldn't be a problem!

I used to work at the women's shelter in town. When women and children leave the shelter to start a new life on their own, the shelter gives them each a clean new blanket to take with them. For Christmas next year, I plan to donate this blanket to a woman leaving a domestic violence situation, and if I can get one done I plan to add a crocheted baby afghan to the donation. Have you attempted a new craft this winter?

Blue Jean Blanket Project

If you have children, especially young ones, you might understand how a project can be started and actually take years to complete. That is what happened with a blue jean blanket that I have finally resumed working on. My eldest son was a baby when I completed a different blanket and began cutting out circles of denim for this pattern. We were having company and when I cleaned up the guest room all the denim got piled in a heap. Then we had baby #2 and that room became the toddler room. So my denim and all thought of the blanket got packed away in a closet.

I have the space to sew again now that we are in our wish house. A few weeks ago I dug out the project and dove in head first. It is so refreshing to see my progress and feel like I am actually getting something done.

In the endless cycle of dishes, laundry, picking up toys and cooking meals, it is easy to fall into a discouraged feeling that every day is the same. Right now I am finding that most days are the same, but in a really productive and self-fulfilling way. I do want to be here with my boys. I enjoy taking care of my family and that includes all the mundane household chores that go with being a stay-at-home-mom. But as they play together more and are growing more independent, I am loving the bit of time that I spend sewing and using the creative side of my brain (without using play-do to do it!).


I saw the pattern on line years ago and loved the look of the blanket. I really like to use denim for beach blankets (sand doesn't stick) and most outdoor use. They are warm to sit on or cuddle under at a hockey game,a sleigh ride, or nice at summer events where you might need to sit on the ground or benches.

The pattern is circles of denim with smaller squares of multi-colored fabric. The circles are sewn together, leaving flaps of denim that are later sewn down to create almost a window-frame effect.

 As shown on the right, I even handstiched a few pieces of old pillow case to add a really homemade feel. I would say that I will have the blanket completed in a couple days. I'll show more pictures then!