Walter is Growing Up

He is turning into a handsome boy! Isn't he?

He is a sun lover!  And once he has tired himself out after a few hours in the early mornings (5am til about 9am) he lays on one of the chairs out on our upper balcony.

Just over 5 months old now.

Best Budds with Pearl.

Good ole` Archie watches over the Youngsters.

What was That?  Oh yeah! Birds on the bird feeder!

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PS.  notice something new? look down at the bottom of each blog post -- just before it says comments....  Now, if you really don't want to type out a comment, you can just click on your quick opinion and make your mark in the REACTIONS box.

A Drive in the Country

We didn't plan to go anywhere, but being the impulsive sorts that we are, we got in the car at just after 8am and decided to go for a drive.

We crossed the Mighty Fraser River at Hwy 11, to Mission BC and headed east, planning on finding a picnic site near Harrison Hot Springs or futher up at Sasquatch Provincial Park.

We were so early in the day, that there were no other human or animal bodies at the little beach and picnic site that we came upon, just north of Harrison.   A wander about and a half hour hike brought us along the beach, where Pearl played and galloped at the the edge of the water.   She really loves the beach.  And (not to offend) but a dog does not want or expect anything more than the thrill of a stick in the waves...  I do remember the days when our children were as entertaining but they always did seem to want something more.  I do like having a dog!

After our walk through the woods and play in the water, we had a light lunch, just a sandwich each and a bit of fruit and water or lemonade to drink.

Just as we came back to the paved road heading south to Harrison a huge logging truck rumbled by.  I am so glad he was in front of our little compact car rather than chasing behind us.  Seemed to me like he was going way too fast on those downgrades and certainly too wide on the curves, but then perhaps the driver does that same run a few times a day for months on end and it has become familiar to him.   Again, I am thankful that I have not been on that road so many times that is is familar and boring!  Every turn presented its own special beauty.

A view of Harrison Lake, from a little pullout on the side of the road.

Then back home again before the rush home for dinner of traffic in town and the reminder of people going through the daily grind...

Antique Pineapple Stitch

Good Morning! Fellow Crochet Fiends!

So, everyonceinawhile, I wake up with a vague idea floating around the inside of my skull.  Sometimes it never does escape and just sort of fades away and is forgotten and never heard from again.

I have been wanting to make a cowl to keep my neck warm in the cooler winter windy days that are coming.  I started to make one using the crochet seed stitch.  I really like this stitch and have used it many times over the years since I first saw it done by my sister.  I have said before she was my inspiration for many things CROCHET and the seed stitch being one of those.  I did need a change and a challenge to try something just a bit different from the usual automatic - no - thought - needed stitches in my repertoire.

So, I started the cowl for myself but for some reason kept thinking I really want to try something a bit different for a change.   And again, a sister -- this time a sister-in-law was my inspiration.  Some time back my SIL Bett made a scarf for one of her daughters with a crochet stitch I had never heard of before but loved the effect of the stitch.  It was called the Antique Pineapple Stitch (click on the link for instructions how to do it).  One of the major stumbling blocks to this stitch is that it is a one way design.  This type of stitch really only works if done from one direction and that means at the end of every row you cut the yarn and go back to the other side and start again.  For a scarf this would work well, because then you will end up with a fringe on each end where you restart the yarn anew and cut it at the end of the row, OR if you work in the round you would basically be working the row in the same direction on top of each previous row, all in the same direction. 

I wanted my cowl to go back and forth without having a fringe or without having to weave in ends at each row, which would detract from the pattern.

So this morning I have done just a bit of experiment.  That is one great thing about Crochet is with the basic 4 stitches, you can combine and change the look of your end piece quite drastically, simply or with great combinations.

right side of updated stitch

My resulting pattern stitch is simple, easy to remember and doesn't require the ending and beginning of every row.  An easy solution to the 'fringe' effect was to make the second row a row of single crochet across.  My version of the UPDATED Antique Pineapple stitch is quite nice actually and I have begun to crochet my new winter cowl.

wrong side of updated antique pineapple stitch

I should say that if you try this out, it requires a odd number of chain stitches to start so that there is one single crochet at the end of the antique pineapple stitch row, then chain one, turn and single crochet back.  The APS row makes one stitch for every two foundation chain, or for every two single crochet on the alternate row.

In a day or two I will post about the completed cowl.

Looks like the sun will shine today, so enjoy it before the winter winds put a damper on sitting under that big tree in the back yard!

Well, Maybe they are. Worth the effort, that is...

Hellow! my crafty buddies!

In my little town we are right now, getting a morning summer rain.  So lovely!  It tends to get a bit dry here in summer, but we know that the rains will come by October and continue to March, so the weather soon averages itself out.

I could not leave the change purse as it was in my last post! Even though I rushed through the making of it, I learned the process needed to make one so, back I went to Craft Passions tutorial for the Zip-itself change purse and made another one.

First, I decided that I needed to do this completely by hand sewing.  Last time, I used my sewing machine, and creating the curves is practically impossible on a machine -- you just cannot hold and see the placement properly.  So with hand stitches I accomplished a reasonably good first turn.  Do you think?  I also used a zipper in better condition, still a previously used zipper but not so grungy as the first.

And again, taking my time and properly following the tutorial, I used a back stitch, not so pretty on the inside, but it does securely hold the "ribbon" (see my version of ribbon explaination at the end ).  The tutorial give the option of putting a lining inside and explains how to do that, but since it is on the inside, I don't think it really needs to be lined.  But I will think on it and being female, you never know, I could change my mind!

The last part of the tutorial was about "balance" and I sort of skipped over it on my first try, and as a result, my change purse did not have the proper tetrahedron shape, which of course made it lop sided and definately detracted from its "cute factor"

So here I have my properly done version of the zip-itself change purse.

A couple of things I learned and slightly adjusted from the tutorial.   I did not use ribbon, because I have ACRES of fabric scraps.  In order to create a "ribbon" I cut a strip of fabric and sewed it into a long tube, thus, no raw edge to unravel or frazzle.  The thing I would change about the fabric "tube" is that I think for the next, (yes, I will try another, to achieve one even closer to perfection) I will make the "tube" cut on the bias.  If the tube is on the bias, it might make it easier to work it around those tight curves required on the change purse.  I cut the strip 2 1/4 inches wide and I think it ends up making a tube closer to an inch than the necessary 3/4 of an inch.  So a narrower tube, say cut 1 7/8 wide would be better.  I started out, sewing with a regular thread (and I should have know this) hand quilting thread is a much better choice.  It does not tangle nor does it snag on the zipper teeth so easily as regular thread.  If you have no quilting thread, try running the thread through some beeswax.  If you don't have beeswax -- just go out and get a spool of quilting thread, it will make your life easier in all your hand sewing!

So, ultimately, this turned into quite a challenge for me and a lesson re-learned.  Why do we have to be reminded over and over about certain things in life?  Most everything one does, does not benefit by hurrying through it!  That is my own little lesson for today.

To make this change purse by being patient and slowly sewing it by hand and with careful stitches, it turned into something that I can show off as a success and will find useful to keep those bits of change in an easy to find place.  It took me about an hour and a half to make the change purse, which in the scheme of this is not so long, is it?  What else to do on a rainy summer day?

Thanks for visiting!

Some things are not quite worth the effort!

Well, in this case, this is my first try at making a little change purse that I saw on another website, Craft Passion.   The purse, change purse actually should look like those on the site,

The one I did is not nearly so pretty or even so well made as those you see in the photo above.

A rush.  I was in a rush to see how it would come together and didn't bother with being neat.

Plus, I used an old, not quite good condition zipper (the ends were trimmed and threads still were on the zipper from whatever previous garment it was used in)  It was not a pretty zipper.  AND the zipper pull was all chipped and worn.

 

If Craft Passion's little change purses intrique you, (certainly don't be influenced by my half-assed effort here!) there is a tutorial and perhaps you will more carefully follow the directions than  I did....  I do know what I did wrong, it was the last step, 'to balance'.   I will think on going back and undoing the last section of stitching to put the change purse right.  Re stitching a few inches will be easier than making a whole 'nother one.

I don't think I will start a production line of making these, even tho they have that cuteness factor!  One is all I need for now.  All in all tho, it is an interesting concept and if you make one, everyone who sees you with it will ask you about it I am sure!

Here is the link to the craft passion tutorial for these change purses...
http://www.craftpassion.com/2011/07/zip-itself-coin-purse-tutorial.html

Christmas Thinkin'

Christmas is always coming, isn't it?  It is such a big event in many of our lives and has in some cases become a very long planning event.  There is decorating and gift gathering, food and festivity planning.

Well, my own little family hardly notices Christmas anymore, but many of my friends and relatives plan big things for almost the whole month of December.   I do love Christmas!  My Christmas though entails Peace above everything else.  Peace at Home and to avoid turmoil, I do not shop the malls and avoid the whole rush of the season as much as possible.

I took up my crochet hook a week or so ago in order to make some crochet angels ( here is the free pattern) if you want to try this simple ornament yourself.  I used Sugar and Cream Crochet yarn, which made the angels about 6 inches top to bottom; the pattern calls for crochet cotton and that would make them about 3 inches.  I wanted mine larger because I was thinking not just an ornament for the tree -- I wanted an ANGEL BANNER.

Because it is AUGUST,  I tacked up my finished banner on the fence in the backyard.  I think the angels will need a bit of starch and pressing to bring out the best.

Now they are done, I am going to try to make a few more to go into the ETSY shop in the months closer to Christmas, or as my brother says, he doesn't think about Christmas until there is an "R" in the name of the month (but that is not so far away!)

In the meantime, the tomatoes are growing beyond my expectations this year!  I only planted cherry tomatoes in my little container garden.  We pruned back some overhanging cedar branches and this year our little yard actually gets some sun, both morning and afternoon...

I can hardly wait to taste these little treats when the ripen!

ANNIVERSARY!

I almost missed it!  It was only by accident that I noticed that TOMORROW is the FIRST ANNIVERSARY of my ETSY shop!  You can click on the Susan Being Snippy shop name on the widget thingy that is on the left hand side of this page, or if you see the photo of the item you want, click on the BUY button or heres the link to the HOME page.

In celebration I am offering a limited time sale of 20% off any items in my shop!  When you purchase an item use code 1STanni when it asks for coupon codes.  This sale is good on any and all items (does not include shipping) until September 9, 2011.

Just my way of saying Thanks to my customers and to give a little incentive to new customers.

PS.  If you are local to ABBOTSFORD, BC I will refund your shipping charge if you come pick up the item or if we can arrange for me to drop it off to you

Collaboration...

I am a sorter and organizer.

Not sure if I came by it through my mother who was quite a meticulous-neat and clean person, or via my husband who has spent most of his working years in warehousing, keeping product moving to and from shelves and trucks and sales sites. 

It does seem tho that I am not ever really happy for any length to time unless I am putting things in some sort of logical order.

Currently my cousin is clearing and cleaning out her nooks and crannies and we have a bit of a project where she gets rid of stuff by giving it to me...

How is that working for me you ask?

Well, I get to reorganize and sort things and some of those things I will be listing in my ETSY Store (check for the link on the left side bar)...

What would you expect to find in that very pretty tin box?

Ah, yes, Buttons, many many buttons!

There are 4 containers of buttons to sort through.

It could be a gramma's dream, to keep grandchildren occupied on a rainy day,

But

We have no grandchildren to do that so I am picking through and the BUTTONS

will be listed in the shop as I am able to sort them.

ALSO

FABRIC.

Not sure if this can be called Vintage, but the choice of fabrics are about 15 to 20 years old, but have been kept in containers and are in new condition...

Some of that too, will be listed.

So kindly watch the shop if there is something you might like...

A couple of other things to look for New, Unused Wooden Thread Spools, Vintage Sheets Fat Quarters, Quilt Books and Vintage Quilt booklets.

Whew!  Lots of computering and sorting ahead!

BC Day

Well actually.... BC Day was yesterday.   Some years back, "the powers that be", decided that we needed a mid-summer long weekend.  What a great idea!  Though for my little family it doesn't me we go away or do anything unusual, we do the same stuff, but maybe a bit more...

We went for a drive in the country.  Normally we go on our little adventures quite early in the morning and arrive at our destination before the flocks of people get there.   Well, it seems we could not come to an agreement on what we wanted to do and after much discussion we settled on a park and a picnic.  Well, by the time we got to where we thought we wanted to be, it was 11:30 am and there was not a picnic table available and parking had been designated to the overflow area --- many many many steps to the 'nice' spots...

We don't like crowds, so we decided to find somewhere else.

As we drove along a country road, we chose a driveway with a closed gate that lead out into a cranberry growing field.  There was space for our car and we had our picnic there by the side of the road.  Cars went by.  We squirmed through the gate with the dog and took a toddle around the field.  It was quiet.

Later driving back on those back and side roads we stopped to admire a goat wander in her field.  There were others there but they were on the far side and photos would have just showed brown blurs off in the distance.

Along the way we came across another park, that was not nearly as popular as our first choice.  Quite peaceful and quiet and few people -- maybe because it's main attraction was forested trails and lots of greenery...

That was BC Day, no sewing, no crocheting, no knitting...