Recyclable/Reuseable Christmas Wrap

Since I discovered that stack of Christmas fabrics in that bottom drawer in the back closet in the corner of the attic, I have been trying to think up uses for these pretty seasonal fabrics.

One of the first things was to make the table cover I did a few days ago.  Then I was thinking that I would use the fabric to wrap Christmas gifts in.

Then the idea progressed just a step further.

 I made drawstring bags of various sizes, some specifically for bottles, some for small gifts, and some for much larger gifts.  I went to Micheal's (and the 2nd hand store) to find the cheapest satin ribbons on rolls and used the different ones as the drawstrings.  Now each gift I have so far sent or given has been wrapped in these bags.  But.  Oh my! I still have at least 20 of these drawstring bags, (did I tell you how deep that drawer was?) so I am giving the bags to friends and relatives so that they can hopefully make their christmas wrap  more sustainable. Perhaps save some pretty printed papers from the local transfer station (dump, in other words) and save dollars on one time use paper so you can buy a bigger turkey... (SAVE A TREE)!

Now, I am not saying to go out and buy fabric for this purpose, unless of course you want to.  I am saying this is a really good use for the older colours and prints and designs of previous years, that perhaps you are not so keen on making a quilt or a christmas dress with. 

These bags are so quick and easy to make up, there are tutorials on the internet of how to make a drawstring bag, in fact, here are a couple...

This one is for a lined bag (great to keep small toys in afterwards)

http://sewbunnybum.blogspot.com/2008/05/drawstring-bag-tutorial.html

This is my favourite one for simplicity and speedy to make up.

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/02/18/a-drawstring-bag-tutorial/

And if you want to be meticulous about it, here is a tutorial to make french seams on the inside of your drawstring bags!

http://pm-betweenthelines.blogspot.com/2009/04/drawstring-bag-french-seam-tutorial.html

Christmas wrap for the next 10 years! Or even translate the idea to using drawstring bags as birthday wrap, or even as useful little storage units to keep things in...

How about the drawstring bag itself as part of the gift -- a sewing kit in a bag?  a winter emergency car kit in a bag? a camping cook tools kit in a bag? A "Hot Wheels" cars Storage Sack?  How many other things can you think of where the bag itself is part of the gift?

Currently In the Sewing Room

On Monday I thought I would dig into my stash of christmas fabrics -- these fabrics have been preying on my mind lately, mainly because they are OUTDATED, some from as long ago as the mid-nineties!  I thought I got rid of a bunch of christmas fabrics a year or two ago, but somehow another stack propogated in the back of a drawer in the furtherest dark corner of a closet up in the attic...

So, I was wanting to make something "quick 'n dirty" as they say and I thought that I would cut the scraps into 3 inch wide strips -- most of the scraps were parts of fat quarters so were about 18 to 20 inches long.  I have seen this idea used to some success before.  But I wasn't pleased at all with the long strips sewn together.  They were not at all interesting and somewhat drab.

So.  I took the strips in sections of 4 strips and cut them crosswise and trimmed them up into 9 1/2 inch squares.

and laid them out like a 'rail fence' pattern.

There.

That looked a bit more interesting to my eye and not too much more work.

Next I added a narrow border all around -- it too is a christmas print but so dark that it is almost depressing -- but it did help the mish mash of christmas fabrics stand out and yet contain them.

With a backing, but no batting in between I simply did a seam all around and turned it right side out, and sewed or perhaps quilted the two layers and called it a table cover.

Now, if you look  closely at the bottom of the photo you will see a little nose and under that nose are cat teeth trying to pull the cloth off of the table!  So since he, you know WALTER, right?  Since he insisted on getting a better look at the new christmas table cover I took the opportunity for some candid family photos...

I'm thinking I might have to make a frilly christmas collar for Walter -- He does make a fine looking Christmas Cat, does he not?

Check This out - Christmas

I have one quick link for you today...

Sometimes I find an interesting idea while surfing the internet and I get this little greedy bug in the back of my mind.  It is a bug that says, if I make this and show it off, everyone will be SOOOO impressed and I will have something special and unusual... Do you get like that?  Well, it is a hard thing to admit, but mostly I can overcome that little bit of greedy thought!

So here is a link to an origami type wreath.  It takes 12 pieces of paper or fabric -- remember if you use fabric to make folded items first spray starch the fabric or, I also discovered another method for accurately and crisply folding fabric, first iron your fabric to freezer paper!  The paper gives it that nice crisp fold.

Now, as I said here is the link.

http://angsandy.blogspot.com/2011/12/origami-wreath-tutorial.html

Round Up

Whew!  I have not written on the blog for a week and a day!  That is cause I have been caught up with making! Making stuff for Christmas; all of the things are from other blog posts on the internet.  The best part of these other blog posts is that each one has a very well written tutorial so that it is easy to recreate one's own version!

My nephew is getting married at the end of December and I have been trying to think of something to send (half way across the country) when I saw this really cute fabric and knew it was just the thing for newlyweds.  It shows the "bear" family doing all the fun things a new young family does together, with little hearts sprinkled all over -- so I made a pair of pillowcases!   Now I realize that pillowcases are not a real exciting gift but this fabric just cried out to be something just for them and so because they each already have children, a loving family fabric seemed to be the thing...

If you want to try out these pillowcases you can go to the tutorial at  http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/instructions/RollItUp.pdf 

This pattern explains how to add the top border with a very simple turned under edge so that there are no raw edges, and the side seams are done as french seams, again shown very clearly in the tutorial. I think a pair of these took me just a bit over an hour to create -- and I think, now that I have done them once, it will be even less time to do more of them!

And Hey!  We all, or mostly all know that Christmas is coming!  And coming along faster than anyone can manage to fit in all the things that have to be done -- well, most everyone, but me, since I do have alot of fun with Christmas but don't burden myself with alot of Christmas obligations.  I can pick and choose what I want to do with this season and mostly to me that means creating things that please me and things that I can give as the whim strikes me!

So I discovered the cutest little crochet christmas stockings and had to go ahead and try out the tutorial for them, too.  These are very quick to make up and using left over scraps of yarn cost only the time it takes -- for me about 1 hour, while watching tv.   I must add that I wrote down the instructions, and between the time it took me to get from the computer to the tv watching room, the piece of paper disappeared (I suspect the dog ate it!)  And since the show on tv had started I was reluctant to go back and jot down the instructions, so my crochet stockings are slightly different than the tutorial, but my third one will be exact...  When I get to it -- perhaps another one or two will get made up tonight while watching SURVIVOR!

Aren't they just the cutest?

Go to http://www.lemondedesucrette.com/2011/11/16/little-christmas-socks-the-pattern/  for the very simple tutorial... 

Then read further in this writers blog (todays' blog post) where the writer shows some stockings made by another reader who made these little socks into ADVENT CALENDERS and be amazed at the variety of looks you can get with the combinations of colours!

The quilt guild that I belong to has a postcard exchange every month with a theme that those taking part try to conform to and at the same time try to create little original works of ART.  

I have to admit this months theme had me stumped.  I dawdled and put off creating my trade able postcard because just nothing came into my head.  The theme was YO-YO's.   I just couldn't seem to grasp an idea to use Yo-yos on the the card with.  Then while surfin' the net one morning, I came across this tutorial for making folded paper wreaths and the wreath and a yo-yo clicked into an idea in my head.

  Go to http://gretchenbarron.typepad.com/folded_wreath_tutorial.pdf for the instuctions.  This is a very old origami paper folding pattern but this tutorial makes it into a pretty little christmas ornament.

Now, because I wanted to do this little wreath with christmas fabrics you need to be aware that fabric just does not fold as crisply as paper, so what I did was use spray starch on the fabric pieces before I even attempted any folding and I used the HOT iron to press those folds nice and firm.  Also it is a bit trickier to fit the pieces together, so just work slowly and with patience and you will get the pieces together -- admittedly it took me a couple of tries to get the wreath to fit together and look right -- and another difference between paper and fabric, is that when I did get the wreath together, I sewed around the inside opening and that held it all together with no fear of the wreath slipping apart.

On this one, the extra time and effort is definately worth the end product.

I am so enthralled by these wreaths I am making more of them to include with the Christmas cards that I send out to friends and family!

And finally another 'ornament' for the tree or to give as quick little gifts is this origami christmas flower.  This too is an original paper craft but it is so very lovely in fabric.  I saw it some years ago used as a dimensional applique flower in a quilt book by Kumiko Sudo -- sorry I cannot remember the name of the book.

Here is an online tutorial for making this flower and it truly is quick and easy to make.  I did these four in the above photo is just under one hour.  And remember it does make it nicer and crisper folds if you spray starch the fabric before you start folding.  Oh, and you do have to create your own template for this.  I used my acrylic ruler with the 30 degree angle lines so that each of the three sides of the triangle measured 6 inches then I added a 1/4 inch seam allowance on to that.   Go to  http://katrinastutorials.blogspot.com/2009/09/fabric-ornament-number-two.html

And that sums up my week!

If you try out one or two or even all of these projects I am happy that I could point you to them.  Have FUN, keep busy, and you will get to where you want to be!

PS I wanted to add -- I found a blog where all the links are CANADIAN web pages and blogs, go visit at http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.com/ and you will see what is going on across our country!

Crafting Quilts with Colour!

I am inspired to think about colour after a conversation the other day, with Doris and Ingrid...

Rather impossible to create a quilt without colour, isn't it?  Well, there is one type that you can make and that would be a whole cloth white quilt with white threads -- that is a quilt I would never dare to make for my home.... A black and white border collie and a black and white kitten and a grown up but still mischievious siamese cat makes for a very bad combination to keep white quilts in!

This image is not one of my creations -- just to illustrate the beauty of lack of colour

Can you imagine this sort of thing in the middle of a beautiful white whole cloth quilt?  I can imagine it, but I surely don't want such a thing!  Walter is happy on the hardwood floor where his black and white hair can easily be swept up or vacuumed away!

I am wanting to point you to a couple of interesting web pages that may help us with the colour in our quilts.   There are some of us who have a special instinct for putting colours together -- but that is rare and like I said very special!

I for one tend to choose rather dark or greyish colours -- and it seems no matter how hard I try, it is a very rare quilt of mine that comes out bright and with really excellent colour choices.   Even my scrap quilts tend to have a greyish look to them.   That trend has held true for most of my quiltmaking years -- tho, every once in a while I manage to put together brights!

I almost think that brights are accidental for me and I have been hoping (for a long time) to find ways to improve my choice of fabrics --both in colour and print choices.

I have found two websites that I am hoping might give me new eyes in the choices of colour.

Take a look at both of these web pages -- look back to previous postings and take the time to compare the photographs with the colour choices.

I have thought that perhaps if I practice looking at everyday things, I will get better at choosing the colours that are within my own little "photographs"

Check out these:

http://www.design-seeds.com/

if you look down the page a bit, my favourite choice of the offered groupings is the one called "branching hues"

and

http://www.photocardboutique.com/blog/

this one is similar - a photo along with "chips" of colour

Hmmmm.....  Perhaps a walk around my neighbourhood with my camera and then a "study" of the colour in the photos that I took.

Maybe a trip to the hardware store and a handful of paint chip cards, to mix and match and play with?

So? Do you think these will help with combining colour in your quilts?  It is one of many many hints and tips that artist use in their crafts, I think.

Check This Out 2

I just found this little HOOKY treasure this morning!  A perfect little pear with a tutorial on this http://speckless.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/crochet-pattern-tiny-pear-necklace-charm/ lovely blog.

I was just looking at some of my scrappy bits of yarn yesterday afternoon and since I woke up this morning with SNOW on the ground, I think I will go set down in my chair and crochet one or two of these gorgeous little pears.   I am thinking though that the tiny pear would also suit my tiny christmas tree -- so instead of a necklace, I will use mine as a christmas tree ornament .  Will try to get back later today and post a photo of two of my own completed pear.

And to add -- 11:27 am -- the results of my efforts to crochet the little pear...

I need more practice - or I need different yarn.  I am using worsted acrylic and the tutorial says to use a baby type yarn -- I don't have any right now, not in green, yellow, peachy, but I do have purple -- pears are not usually purple.  So I made it with what I had....

The yarn for the leaf is also too heavy and makes them a bit large for the pear.  I will try again in a day or two, perhaps a trip to the thrift shop to see what I can find to more accurately create the pear in the proper proportions -- but I would say this is a really easy and quick ornament to work, I think it took no more than about 20 minutes -- you could really make a whole CROWD of them in an evening!

As you can see, I brought my yarn up to the computer and worked right from the screen.   I am also low on paper to print with, so direct from the blog works quite as well!

And, since I was taking pictures and putting them on the blog, I thought I would include a couple of other recent projects.   The tiny skate is thanks to ALICE, our guild program co ordinator.   Everyone at the day meeting received a little kit and we proceeded to make a pair of tiny skates.   I made a very slight change to the one I did (I still need to get the second one done) -- I folded in the felt at a very slight angle when I "laced" up the boot and it more realistically resembles a figure skate, I think.

I got a pattern quite sometime ago for making crochet kittens (from an etsy shop) and I have made and given away a few already. 

There are so very many patterns and ideas for making small things to give or use on your christmas tree or just to display around your house.  I personally don't purchase "manufactured" tree ornaments anymore.  I guess I like the old-fashioned homey look!

How 'bout you?  Is crafting part of your Christmas or do you prefer the bright sparkley easy but expensive option of Christmas decor?

Check This Out!

It is only 6 weeks til Christmas!  Lot of time, RIGHT?!

I have said it before on my blog, we don't really do Christmas, but I love to watch everybody else "doing" it!  I don't go to the MALLS at all, because I don't really like crowds of people (unless I can get up and out early, early, early)

I most enjoy the lights of Christmas and am out a few times during the month of December driving through neighbourhoods to see the outdoor yard decorations.  Every year it amazes me, the ingeniousness of home owners and apartment dwellers to create a theme of Christmas in their own spaces!

I love the traditions of Christmas and the traditions that families create. The ideas for Food, Decorations, Gifts and the Spirit of Christmas, grows and changes every year.

So, I am going to start a Source for Christmas here on my Blog for the next few weeks and perhaps I can pass along some ideas that you may have a use for.

Today, Christmas Gift Tags.

Go to

http://www.freeprintablegifttags.net/

where you can print out a page or two or three of a number of gift tags to go on all those parcels that you wrap and give.

The instruction for printing is right there on the page.   You just need a printer with coloured inks (most inkjet printers are built that way) and a few sheets of paper or cardstock.

the People's Home Library

I wanted to let you, my readers know about my "other" blog.  It is The Peoples Home Library.  It is actually a book published in 1910 and describes itself as "a set of three practical books, the aim being to give the reader a complete library of practical information"

This book includes three essential subjects needed in the home, be it on a farm or on a city lot.  Housekeeping and all it entails, from keeping a home clean and neat along with the acceptable etiquette of the day, how to cook, what to cook, and when to cook.   Medical information -- not just the everyday treatment of  cuts and bruises but things such as birthing, treating broken bones, and diagnosing and treating common and uncommon diseases including herbal remedies and the making of tinctures, teas and salves.  Animal Husbandry -- how the man of the house can treat his stock, the horse, the pig and cattle, even a few hints on keeping the house cat and the essential farm dog!  Oh and of course a chapter on keeping chickens and even how to build a chicken coop!

I simply transcribe sections of the book -- I don't write any new words to what this book offers.  I present the book as a historical document for those who might be interested in "how things were done" a hundred years ago.

I do not transcribe the book in any particular orderly fashion, so one entry may include diseases of horses, with the next weeks posting may be recipes for muffins or how to set a table.   If you are interested in a particular subject, please use the "labels" to find pages that I have already transcribed from the book.  

I would like to add a note of caution.  Some of the items such as herbal remedies could be dangerous, so please use what is written only as entertainment value, not as medical advice!  I take no responsibility for your own choices in the use of the information that comes out of this book.  Keep in mind it was written and published more than one hundred years ago and modern knowledge has changed and improved in that time.

I did start transcribing this book, in 2008 but it has been on hold for almost 2 years while I waited to have the book and bindings restored.  I now have the book back in my hands and intend to continue entering pages and exerpts from this long ago household "bible".

My Mother discovered this large old book in a second hand shop in the early 1960's and even tho it was then 50 years old, it held some relevantcy to our life as my Father had just moved us from a city house to a small farm near St. Andrews, Manitoba (near Lockport) and we had a lot to learn about raising chickens and keeping an old farmhouse warm using only two potbelly wood stoves!  In those days, my mother became an expert farm wife, even to the point of saving the life of a sick turkey, only to have the turkey nabbed by a marauding neighbours' dog a few days later!

Go to http://peopleslibrary.blogspot.com/  to read the details of how to manage the home in the early 20th century.

I hope you enjoy this departure from everyday modern life -- it is a bit of time travel, I think.

A Little Quilt, and Work in Progress

It's been awhile.  Quiltmaking that is.  I am not quite sure why I haven't been peicing and sewing, cutting and measuring, but there have been alot of other chores getting done instead of...

Actually, now that my DH is back putting in full days of paid employment I don't have him hanging about the house with me trying to think of jobs to keep him busy!  I actually did dishes today!  I don't think I have done dishes in months!!  Not to mention vacuuming stairs or washing floors -- well now those regular chores fall to me again.  Which is a good thing!

So I put together a few blocks of "yellow brick road" -- I actually have 25 blocks but then decided that I would make two small quilts, one to give to my guilds charity quilts program, so this quilt will probably go to our childrens ward at our local hospital.

My favourite free motion quilting design is in the borders of the quilt, random lines of hearts...

Then I fell into experimentation.  I talked a bit about failures in anything that we do and sometimes 'failure'is meerly a matter of opinion.

I decided to try out a quilt in Skinny Quilts & Table Runner II edited by Eleanor Levie and published by Martingale Books.  An excellent technique book with table runner as the focus and an artistic bend by a variety of well known quiltmakers.

So I tried out the "RUNGS" pattern by Karla Alexander -- a stack and slash in control design.  I did two versions of this pattern.  One really wild, using south african batik fabrics that I got from Pippa Moore's website, an the second version more fresh and pretty.   What do you think??

The African print one is now almost done, layered and quilted, is now waiting for its binding.

And the pretty one, with of course a cat (Walter) making it known that he prefers the pretty colours best is still waiting for the finishing steps -- the fabrics on this second on is all done using vintage 1960's and 50's bed sheets.   I haven't decided yet myself which I prefer!

Time to rake up a few leaves? ya, think?

Dark-eyed Junco

I think this is a first....

I am not generally a bird watcher, but Walter has become facinated with the crowds of birds at our feeders -- this variety of bird is the dark eyed Junco -- it took me forever to find photos and descriptions online.   I only noticed them last winter and now this fall, too.  I guess they come here to winter and I have no idea where they go all summer.  They come along with the chickadees but do not feed at the hanging feeders, they pick up the fallen seeds from the ground, so I found a little "cactus planter bowl" and set it near our patio doors. They are quite brave little fellows as it is quite close to the window and Walter sits within about 3 ft of the bowl, except with a sheet of glass between.  

I will have to practice at my nature photography -- perhaps I will post more as I find time to sit outside and hold the camera!

Do You Crochet?

Just a quick little post, and no pictures today...

If you crochet and enjoy seeing the things that you can make, I would like to suggest a site that is crammed full of links to crochet pages.  It is a "linky" site and is posted every week or two -- once you get there, just click on some of the many pictures and it will open a new window to the blog that features that particular item.

Go to http://i-crochet.blogspot.com/

Put this blog on your Google Reader or your RSS Feed or your Favourites list, you will want to check back regularly!

Oh Sheet!

Another post about repurposing various things!  This blog though is not just about reuse, recycle, repurpose, reclaim, but I do find that it is a fair part of what I do...

Rag Rugs.  Now this is not one of the things that have satisfied me very well in the past.  I have cut or torn up fabric or cloth that didn't seem to have any other use, into long strips --- usually about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch wide and crocheted the strips into baskets and various sized mats.  I have never really felt they were pretty or particularly useful but this time it seems to have worked out nicely.

For some reason I thought I would try it again.  Why?  I don't know.  Maybe I like using that giant size crochet hook.  Maybe I feel not so guilty in cutting an already torn sheet into strips for a different way to use the cloth instead of into the bin (though it might also have been used as car rags too)  

It takes forever to tear those strips --- then  there are the straggling threads!  Each strip has a few of those along the sides and if you don't pull them off, the whole thing can tangle which could cause a bit of frustration.   There are a number of tutorials online of how to join the strips -- all I do is snip a hole in each end of each strip and pull one strip through both holes -- it makes a kind of turned and locked connection without making a big knot. 

So I wound up the strips into one REALLY HUGE ball and starting in the centre used single crochet, increasing each round as needed.  The beginning was six single crochet in a loop, the second round 2 single crochet in each stitch of the previous round, the next row, 2 single crochet in one stitch, then on single crochet continued around.  Then the next row is one sc in each sc of the previous round, from there on in, I increase so that every second row has an increase of one more stitch in each repeat -- 3 sc in each previous sc then 2 in one, next row 1 in 1, next row 4 sc in each sc in each previous then 2 sc in one... Makes sense?

As the project progressed - and it does progress quickly -- I actually liked the looks of this project.  It was laying flat, with no ripples or bulges, which meant my increases on each round were working out quite even. (oh, mark the start of each round so you have a general idea of when to work those increases). 

It is about 36 inches from one side to the other.  This is one whole queen size sheet, with the hems and selvedge discarded and the torn bit in the middle that was about 4 inches wide and the threads were very worn so I did not use the really thin section.  Not too small and looks okay in front of the old wicker chair that my husband inherited from his grandmother some time before Time actually began.  (we have a photo of him in that chair when he was about 5 years old -- and now he is not far from retirement and his gramma is long gone...)

Then I turned my back to do something and turned around again, to discover that Pearl had taken possession of the new rag rug and had made herself comfortable.

Not sure if I will do another -- but after previous failures at crocheting strips of fabric I would say this one has turned out to be quite pleasing so I am encouraged to consider rag rugs as a use for old sheets.  I was thinking that a few of these would make good picnic or beach mats...  Would a rag rug mat  work on a park lawn under a tree on a spring afternoon to relax on while reading a book??

AH-HA Recycling Moment

Lately I have been struggling to find BOXES.   Most of the boxes I need are for shipping small items that I have sold in my ETSY store.  The big and medium sized cardboard boxes are easy to find in the recycle bin or even free from a variety of stores about town.  Even some of my friends keep me in mind when they come across boxes, especially small ones.   But it still seems that I am having to hunt for little, little boxes!  

Right now, I am needing boxes that are about 4 inches cubed -- not many boxes around that are that small...

I finally figured out I need to make my own (buying them just costs more that I am willing to pay).

Of course I get these ideas when there is little or no recycled cardboard for a project, so I just had to empty the current morning cereal box into a plastic container and cut into the box to make what I needed.

So I opened up the cereal box - nice and flat.

Drew the lines with my big acrylic rotary cutting ruler. Measure twice, cut once - thats why you see that extra drawn line, with the crosshatch marks -- that is the wrong line to follow...

cut out the soon to be little box -- I just translated the design from regular boxes you find anywhere and used my own measurements.

A touch of glue on the one "tab" to create the square, then a piece of masking tape to help hold it.

I scored all my drawn lines with the scoring or embossing tool I had bought at least twenty years ago when I thought I might be interested in Scrapbooking.

And there it is!  The perfect sized box for protecting and then shipping off some of the egg coddlers that are in my shop....

Now, I have to find 15 more cereal boxes and get busy drawing, cutting and folding.

Probably useful for some of the gifts that will need boxing and wrapping at Christmas?  Do you think?

Have a great Saturday!  Maybe just the day to get out there and rake up a few leaves and then yell at the kids for spreading them out again!?

"They" Keep Making Things Easier!

Recently I have noticed a new element on some of the blogs that I visit.   A box that says I can get an email whenever the blog writer has written a new post.  Well, I just discovered today, that BLOGGER now offers that to blog readers!

So, this offers the reader another option of finding blogs that they want to return to and read on a regular basis.  Instead of adding the blog to your favourites -- and that list of favourites can get so long you can't keep track of it anyway, or to your Google Reader List and again that list can become overwhelming, you now can receive an email that tells you that your favourite blog or webpage has been updated.

Take a look on the right side of my page at the top and you will see a place to type in your email address, when you click on submit, it will take you to a page that tells you to go to your email to confirm that you want to receive these updates.  Say ok, or not if you made a mistake and then each time the writer has added new content to their blog or website you will get an email to tell you.  Often, the email will include all the written text but not the pictures but will provide a link to the page so that you can go directly to the web page or blog, or you can choose to read the content and then delete the email.

Test it out, tell me what you think?  Will it make it easier to keep up to the blogs you want to be reminded of?

I have 'subscribed' to a few that way and find it quite convenient for the way I use the internet.

Oh, and THANKS, if you decide to subscribe to my blog!

Shopping

I have taken a few days off from the blog, not by choice.  I hurt my back - I don't know how and have been having muscle spasms for the past 4 days.   Boy oh, boy! That can sure make one miserable!  Well, I am not the kind of person who suffers in silence -- I let everyone around me know how crappy I feel and sad to say, I can get rather mean.   My husband is the one who suffers in silence -- sometimes I wonder that he doesn't garrott me (strangle me) but he just does everything I ask for and even when I complain that he didn't do it right he tries again and again to please me...

BUT ANYWAY (I know that certain people who read this will agree and call me a bully and other people who know me will be surprised and say NO, not you, SUSAN)  But yes, me -- not all the time tho, mostly I am a pretty nice person.  (or try to be ) I like to think I work very hard to suppress some of the tendancies that come from my maternal side of the family and enhance the patience and consideration that comes from the paternal side.

I have been thinking about SHOPPING.  I have been thinking about it because many people tend to spend more and want more as we get closer to the Christmas Season.  Buying PRESENTS is what so many of us do for CHRISTMAS, but all those gifts, do we really want to buy them? or are some of those gifts simply because we feel obligated to get them.

Now, I am an online shop vendor and would love to encourage you to shop in my little store!  But in all practicallity (did I spell that right?) that doesn't make sense -- I just don't have the variety of goods needed to satisfy everything on everyone's list.  You would have to go to that big "W" or similar type of store to accomplish that!  But.  Then again, do you really need to be buying things just for the sake of buying them to fulfill an obligation?  (I am working on a blog post that will explain some of the things to make shopping online easier to accomplish, especially if you have not done it before -- so come back in the next few days for a bit of a shopping tutorial)

Partly because of finances in the last three years, my thoughts on what I can give and what I want to give has become a major question in my household.   There are a few people who I really LOVE giving things To and there are those that I have stopped giving To because of  reasons that make giving a burden and a feeling of unappreciation.

The thought of a gift being just another piece of junk is quite frustrating to me because I generally try to give handmade items.  (But even purchased gifts from those big store can quickly become junk when the recipient has no appreciation)

I don't give handmade because I am cheap -- by no means can you call todays raw materials for creating CHEAP!  Even relatively inexpensive acrylic yarn is about $5 a skein and most things, even a scarf takes 2 or more skeins and that cost does not include the 20 hours or more that it takes to make the item! 

A handmade scarf's value probably starts around $50!  What about a set of quilted placemats?  Fabric, at $15 a meter, or sometimes on sale about $10 a meter-- a set of 4 placemats will take 2 to 3 metres of fabric, plus the inner layer of batting which can equal the cost of the fabric.  What about the thread, the needles and even the sewing machine that is needed to put the project together?  Sewn items are a very good value -- would you think that including the time, materials and years of know how, that a $100 for a set of placemats is a reasonable value?  Well, maybe it comes close. 

How many people give you gifts that have that kind of value? Has anyone every given you a quilt -- would you think they were giving you something that should be valued at $500 or more?   No?   So what makes an iPad a better gift than a quilt, speaking strictly money wise?

Above all, most of the people who make things for those they LOVE, put LOVE into what they make, a special design, a special pattern, a special size -- ONE OF A KIND with thought and caring in every single stitch.  When Ma, or Grandma makes a pair of mittens for you she is thinking about YOU when ever she is working on the project.   What do they say?  It's the thought that counts.   Well, it surely is!  You are being remembered and thought about when your handcrafted item is being made for you.  Someone is thinking of you right now, while your gift is being made!  The idea that someone has you in mind and perhaps is remembering good times they have spent with you is woven, hammered or sewn into the cellular structure of that item!

Why is the value of handcrafted items so undervalued and even looked upon as CHEAP?    Now after this many years of giving "hand crafted items"  I do understand that some people would rather get a new bedspread from one of those discount stores every year or even every season for $39 so that the bedspread can change with the season and the decor -- a hand crafted quilt will last 20 years, not 20 weeks like the mass produced item.  Whenever you look at the hand made gift an image of it's maker rises up in your mind.  Sweet Memories.  Even years later when you no longer have the item or the maker in your life, you have the memory.   How many broken plastic toys stay in your thoughts?

Now when you give something that you made to someone who wanted a game for their player and you have made a knitted hat, or perhaps spent hours cutting and sanding and finishing a toy box and you see that look of disappointment -- it is hard on your heart, I know.  I have seen it, and I have done it to my own gramma myself -- today I would give almost anything for a pair of her knee high hand knitted cable ribbed socks -- but those are long ago gone and only a memory.  

Hand made is becoming rarer and rarer in our world.  Learning the craft of creating something is falling by the wayside, simply because it is easier to buy the mass produced winter hat, or the plastic doll, or the plastic, one time use tablecloth...
My little tirade here is not against purchased gifts -- there are certain things that it does take mass production to create, and we need to buy them too.   Just think tho how precious those hand made things are -- the maker has to have started to make that item, weeks or months ahead of the gift giving day -- there is very little crafting going on, on Christmas Eve, a quilt or a crochet shawl or a stain glass lamp cannot be done up in the last shopping hours!   Even buying hand made items from online shops or from local craft fairs means that the maker has been creating these things through the summer months when you went to the beach! 

All, I am saying, is think about what you give and who you give it to.  Is it a JOY to give, or is it an exercise in frustration?

Now, I am going up to my sewing space because I have a couple of things to sew up for some lovely little girls....

Sandwiches/Scanwiches

Still thinking about Food, not quilts and not crochet, but I am working on a knitted scarf and sewing together some scrappy bits to gift a nephew for his coming wedding...

The other day, I discovered a facinating webpage -- called Scanwiches...

Pictures of original and inventive sandwiches....  Boy, the things people think of, eh?  I have this great admiration for simple but enlightening ideas and this is surely one of them.

Go to http://scanwiches.com/post/11064078341/5-borough-bistro-google-nyc-peanut-butter  to take a look at the most recent posting.... Then take a look back at previous postings which really are just a simple description and a close-up photo of a sandwich...

It is become quite compelling to me to see if I can create a sandwich as pretty as a quilt.  So, here is my own little SCANWICH offering...

Cherry Tomatoes from my own little garden, slices of avocado, cream cheese all on toasted 100 % whole wheat bread, with black pepper...

So now thinking quilt, a couple of shades of green, white, two or three brown, or "natural" beige and a bright cherry red...  A Christmas Wall Hanging!!

How about you, got a sandwich that can translate into a quilt???

CAKIES

I have had a couple of requests for the "CAKIES"....

This is the recipe that i use.

1 Cake Mix -- any brand, any flavour  (see notes below)

2 eggs, large or extra large -- 3 eggs if medium.

1/3 cup vegetable oil

In a fairly large bowl, dump in cake mix, add eggs and oil.  With electric mixer mix until there is no dry mix visible.  Should be quite firm.  I happened to use Pillsbury Cake Mix, because that is the brand that was on sale (I bought 6 boxes) but any brand will do.  This recipe applies to boxed cake mixes, the "yellow' brand bagged mixes sometimes go on sale for as little as 45 cents, to use those you need to use two bags, plus I would increase the oil to 1/2 cup.

by teaspoon full,  drop onto baking sheet.    Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F  Should make about 24 cookies.

I watch the baking of the cakies when I make variations because depending on the size of the cookie, and what you add, the baking time can vary, quite a bit.  I also find that white cake mix cookies bake faster than chocolate.  White, Lemon, or other light coloured mixes can be baked in 10 minutes, also the smaller the cookie you make the quicker it will bake.   So the first few times you make these, keep a note of the baking time.  The cakies I make are relatively large (I have large men who eat them) so a 20 minute baking time is just about perfect.

VARIATIONS:

To your favourite flavour or brand cake mix add what seems natural.   Lemon cake mix, add dried fruit, maybe cranberries.   To Chocolate cake mix, add chopped walnuts, or coconut.  Use you imagination and you can create any kind of "CAKIES" that you desire.   To make Thumbprint cakies, drop the mixture on the cookie sheet, and then I use a melita coffee measure spoon, to make an indent and drop into the little indent 1/4 teaspoon of raspberry jam before baking the cookies -- again, different cake mix flavour, different jam -- apricot jam in white cakies??.   You can even add food colouring to white cake mix to give a festive touch, say green at christmas, pink at birthdays.

ENJOY!

PS  this is a great recipe to do with kids learning about baking... Have fun with the grand-kids!

!

Oh! What a GOOD morning this is, isn't it?  I sure hope this day is starting out as well for you as it is for me!

Today, I am in my house ALONE!  Well actually Pearl, Archie and Walter are here, but there are no other humans!  The men of the house are off to work for the whole day!  This situation has not occured here since January 2009 -- getting close to THREE YEARS!  

My dear husband was put out of work at that time and, not being a spring chicken -- in fact he is a tough old bird, it has taken this long to find work to support us...  WHEW, financially things were getting pretty tight, but now we are on the road to recovery! 

Anyway, it was a wonderful day when he came home from an interview to say he would be working very very soon -- it is not full time work, but along with his 'sub-contract delivery job' it will mean that he will be able to support me again, in the way I was acustomed to!  HA!

I am a very frugal person, My Mom taught me many tricks to running a home and being comfortable without the extras that other folks think they cannot live without...  Baking, Cooking, Sewing and other needlecrafts, along with gardening and fixing and even some inventing...

This morning, as I said has started out wonderfully, so I decided to celebrate by making a batch of cookies for my hard-working man (and son).

It is so easy to buy a box of cookies but GEE, with a "CAKIES" as my husband calls them it is easier to make a batch (if you have a cake mix in the cupboard, and was bought on sale for 99cents) than to go to the grocery store and buy a bag or box of cookies for $3 or more...

If you GOOGLE "cake mix cookies" you will find a number of very simple recipes, usually, eggs, oil, and a cake mix; mix and bake.  Makes about 2 dozen cookies...

So, while I was making this batch of cookies, I let my mind drift back to a bit of a problem I was trying to sort out.  Birthday Cards, Anniversary Cards, Hello! cards -- you know the kind of thing? Right.  Nieces, Nephews, Cousins, Aunties and everyone else you know regularly have events that you try to congratulate them for.

I have found cards on sale and have about 20 or so saved up for those kind of events, but keeping them in the bottom of a drawer, has caused bent corners and other damage to the cards that make them look not so new....

So.

As I was mixing up the batch of Cake mix Cookies, I had an idea!

The Cake Mix Box was turned into an organizer box!   You have seen those Magazine file boxes?  Yes?  Great idea for keeping your magazines in order!  And if you don't want to buy, the office supply store Magazine boxes, a large cereal box works just as well.   Made even stronger if you use that sticky contact paper to cover it up.

I had the Birthday Card Organizer Box made in the time it took to bake one batch of cookies (12 minutes)!  YUM!

Everyone else or most everyone else is on their weekend, but not in this house, working days are according to what the boss writes on the schedule.  If this is your weekend, Enjoy!  If you are working, don't work to terribly hard and maybe you will come home to a batch of "CAKIES"!