Failures

I have been thinking about Failures lately.  I thought I would bring the subject up today because I have been sewing on a fairly small project for the last few hours and now that I have come to the last "turn" before the finish line, I realize IT is a FAILURE....

Well, I guess that of course depends on each persons' opinion whether or not it has turned out to be a failure.   I got a stack of upholstery fabric samples a few weeks back -- for FREE.  I have been thinking about what to do with them. 

I do have another project on the go, and it is turning out to be quite fine, so like many quilters I thought I would start on this other idea.  I knew it would only take a couple of hours to put it together, then it would be back to the QUILT project I am doing.

So, I pulled out the upholstery samples and cut them into 5" squares -- the idea being, to make SPLIT NINE PATCH blocks.  I like this block because it can look so complicated and random yet is just one step beyond the basic 9 patch block.

I got the nine patch blocks done.  I made 5 of them and then cut those 5 nine patches into 4s.  

 I then resewed nine of the sections together and came up with the 20 inch square piece you see in the photo above.

Now when I got this piece together, it seemed to me that by using the samples that belonged to one "collection" nothing about it was pleasing to my eye.  The fabrics were too close in colour and they did not "land" together very well.

This was not a particularly easy fabric to sew with, it is a slippery poly but yet heavier than dress weight.  I feel like the idea of it was good, but something about the fabric and its colours just does not please me.  Maybe it will please someone elses eyes?

Now, the thing I have come recently to realize about failure is that it more often than not is actually a GOOD thing!  So many of our teachers, and that includes our parents, show disappointment at failures, whether it is failure of a test or a project or a relationship.  Now, I have, I am sure failed in things many more times than I have succeeded and most of those failures get hidden away if at all possible.  But without those failures I realize that I would not have learned that something did not work and not only that it did not work, but WHY it did not work! 

So yes, failing at something can be the best way to learn to SUCCEED at it!  I wish that someone had told me that it was okay to fail a long time ago.  I often work at a project and throw it away or hide it until the guilt of failure eases and i can take the next step in using that failure as a learning experience and a way to Success.

I surely don't know at this point if this small project will progress into anything else, but it has taught me, that even if some things appear like they belong, well, maybe they are not the optimal choice...

Have a great weekend, EVERYONE -- Autumn is upon us!

Odd Bits

Hellow Happy Readers!   I sure do hope everyone is enjoying these first fresh days of autumn!

Many of us are well into harvest, even if that harvest is only three tomato plants in containers in the back yard. Well, I do have chocolat mint and strawberry plants, too. I am so excited about my tomatoes! I have hundreds! Tho they are only cherry tomatoes, they have been so very successful this year!

In one of the containers that I had a strawberry plant in, up popped a bit of a different "weed" between the strawberry leaves.  It didn't look like the usual garden weeds, so I thought I would leave it and see what it might turn into.   Turns out to be a sunflower!  We have birdfeeders in our backyard so I suspect a black sunflower seed was picked up and dropped by the chickadees that frequent our feeders.  And the seed has grown...  I don't think it will have time to ripen tho...  It is very pretty.

I also planted from seeds I got from a friend,  calendula.  They really have alot of rather ugly foliage, but I like the flowers of this plant very much.  These were not very successful because really I got a pot full of long green leaves and only about 6 flowers developed.  Hmmm... not sure why, tho.  Maybe too many seeds/plants in one pot?  Maybe too dry?  Even though I only have a few flowers, they go to seed easily so I will pick the seed heads off soon and have seeds to start and try again next spring.
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Halloween is coming on quickly and it never hurts to plan ahead, especially if you are one who really goes "whole hog" with Halloween and all it entails.

I found an interesting spiderweb cake in a jar, that would be an extra neat treat, if you have the time and oh so impressive for the little ones in your family.

Check out the Chocolate Spider Web Cake in a Jar at http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/2011/09/halloween-cake-in-a-jar.html

And are you planning to carve a pumpkin?  Here is a page where you can print out a template to use on your pumpkin...
A nice variety...  http://www.myhomeideas.com/holidays/9-jack-o-lantern-templates-10000001850864/index.html

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And then, of course there is WALTER....

Tomorrow is his big day at the Vet's.  He is going to get "the operation"....

He will be feeling a bit sore for a few days and I suspect he will be napping more than usual...

In a few days he will be back to being the whirling black devil in this house.

Antique Pineapple Stitch - Revisited

I have been working on figuring out how to use this crochet stitch.  I rediscovered it a couple weeks back and because it is a one way stitch it really cannot be used in the usual back and forth crochet designs.

First I thought I would try using it anyway, in a back and forth design with a row of single crochet in each alternate row.   By doing that, though, the effect of the stitch is lost.

Working in the round, was the best answer it turn out.  I started out using a self striping yarn, but withing a couple of inches realized that the colour changes are the highlight of the design and not the actual crochet stitch.

So I switched to solid colour yarn.  A turquoise acrylic.  And a chunky grey acrylic.

One of my favourite things about this stitch is that each side looks so different from the otherside.  Because of the different textures created it makes any item reversible!

With the grey, I have done a chunky cowl.   It will make the winterwinds practically negligible!

And combined with a toque or slouchy hat --- well, WARM can look quite stylish, can't it?

As the ease and working this stitch progressed, so did my creativity.  After a few false starts and adjustments I created a toque/slouchy hat to go along with the cowl.  Both in that turquoise acrylic.

And there is more than one way to wear the cowl -- I made it extra wide and even alone it makes its own scarf and head cover combined!

(My stryofoam model got a bump on her nose, caused by Walter the rambunctious kitten)

These items and more will appear later today in my etsy shop.   My fingers are working on making a few more cowl and hat sets for the shop, too -- as time permits!

*refer to the original post Antique Pineapple Stitch for the link to the instructions of how to make this interesting stitch.

Scott's Birthday

It is only 3 weeks and my youngest son will turn 34 years old.   Now, I am not the kind of person to give 'things' or to go and hunt up gifts for occasions.  I give presents when I feel like it and that can happen on any day, or at any time.  Around our house tho, we like to have a cake and ice cream and maybe even jello -- the traditional (well for us anyway) birthday cake with two layers and icing.

This time though I was thinking cheesecake.  Scott does love cheesecake -- and so do I.  As to the father in this family, it really doesn't matter what he likes, cause he's not the baker and if he doesn't want any, well more for me and Scott.

So, I went looking for cheesecake recipes on the internet.   Here are a few that look to be interesting and perhaps I will have to test them out over the next weeks, until I settle on one for the birthday Day... 

What an excuse to have cheesecake!

So first I came upon

http://permanentposies.com/2011/09/crockpot-cheesecake-with-caramel-sauce/

Which seems to me the easiest and perhaps the most interesting experiment, simply because it is done in a crockpot...

Then cheesecake in a crockpot lead me to the blog that it was adapted from

http://kedarhower.blogspot.com/2011/08/crockpot-peanut-butter-cheesecake.html

I am not quite sure about peanut butter cheesecake though.  The father of this family does love peanut butter above all else, but we are not making a cheesecake for him, are we?

So the Peanut Butter cheesecake says it was adapted from  this crockpot cheesecake recipe....

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-cheesecake-recipe.html

I remember when Scott was a little boy, we used to make a 'cheesecake' with whipping cream and jello in a premade graham pie crust that was no cook and the whole family gobbled it up -- back in those days we had to of course share with older son, Neil, who was not a cheesecake fiend but of course would not refuse it, either....

Hmmmmmmm....  Did I say it was three weeks to Scott's birthday?  Perhaps a cheesecake every weeks up to his birthday would be an interesting birthday concept.  Scott and I love cheesecake.  We are going to be SO fat, or well, fatter by the time his birthday rolls around on the 24th of this month...

1982

I will try to take photos to post reviews of these cheesecakes as I get them made....

Hot, Hot, Hot!

I love when I am able to be impulsive!  Without thinking too much and considering the what ifs or where-to-for's  I joined my cousins and aunty on a 4 day trip to Las Vegas!

We stayed at one of the newest hotels, The Vdara.  Luxurious Comfort and Fabulous style!

Our first night we went to see the Beatles Love - cirque du soliel.   I was so amazed and enthralled my eyes did not know what to watch at any given moment.  The agility and athletics of the performers was stunning!  Seeing cirque du soliel on tv is no indication of what one experiences in a live performance!

I so enjoyed myself!

Everything was bigger than life, even a Gelato Shop at the Bellagio had a marshmallow train that if real one could get in and go for a ride.

The newest shopping experience - The Crystals - in Vegas was a dream come true for a person looking to renew their wardrobe -- I spent nothing, but looked at shoes in Stella McCartneys store and diamonds at Tiffany & Co.

I did not stick to the Vegas strip, I wanted to see what the surrounding landscape was like, so booked a bus tour to Hoover Dam.  Gee, it was hot out there!  The landscape and hills, where like watching one of John Wayne's western movies.  The cactus, and few flowers, the flat salt plains, and the high hard red rocks.  I loved it all and dreamed of visiting that house up top of that hill... 

The Hoover Dam tho impressive was the destination of the bus tour but being somewhat of a nature feind, I enjoyed most the ride to and from the dam, and was not so enarmoured of the engineering feat that the dam was to so many others...  I liked the weeds and the rocks!

One special meal, now and then -- yum, yum, yum! at a Food Network Celebrity's restaurant in the Bellagio, where I was served a wonderful 'comfort' food meal -- meatloaf and mashed potatoes that were just fabulous along with a glass of Zinfandahl wine...

What a special week that was!

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!