The last few days I have come across some interesting subjects that apply to quilters and can teach us a few lessons. Lessons that cost nothing! My favourite thing about the internet. When you look for information on the internet and when you look at BLOGS it rarely costs a penny!
On Ellen Ann Eddy's blog is an explaination of the colour wheel -- not about the colours but about which colour wheel to use, depending on what you are looking at...
http://www.ellenanneeddy.com/weblog/?p=480
Susie Monday (quilt artist) has a very useful post on her blog about What Writers need for focus. Pretty much the same rules apply to quilt making or for that matter EVERYDAY LIFE -- I know I break the first rule regularly and now I know that rule is the biggest challenge for most everybody...
Check out http://susiemonday.squarespace.com/journal/2012/1/30/what-henry-miller-said-writers-read-artists-you-need-for-foc.html
And here is another ART Quilter's Blog that is just completely fun to look at! Not just one entry, if you read not one word, the photos of quilts (not just her own) will keep your eyes moving as you scroll down the page! Are you thinking you might want to create a COW Quilt after taking a look at her images?
http://marylouweidman.blogspot.com/
And even though I have the "button" over on my right hand side bar, I am going to suggest you go check out the Needle and Thread network. Every Wednesday is a "LINK-UP" of Canadian Blogs with something new every week... Just click on the red 'button' over there to explore a set of Canadian quilters and crafters....
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Cooking like Gramma House
First I should explain that House was not my Gramma's real name. I grew up calling her that because she lived in a house, while my other Gramma was Gramma Choo Choo -- Yep! you got it she lived and worked as Cook on a Train!
So, as I said Gramma Choo Choo was a professional Cook -- and good enough to create menu's for the upper classes travelling by train -- back in the 1940's and 50's there was not much travel by plane and train travel was quite elegant, apparently.
ANYWAY. Gramma House was just a regular family cook, mind you for 10 children and a husband!
I cook more like Gramma House than like Gramma Choo Choo... In fact I doubt that I am even close to being as competent as either, but I try, sort of...
I know that Gramma House had very few recipes, most of her cooking was meat, either roasted or boiled or fried along with potatoes -- I don't think she ever made any kind of noodles or rice. But she did love beans, Beans in everything and every kind of beans she could find. Fresh Green Beans, fresh yellow string beans, dried white beans, kidney beans!
Well, last night I decided to cook like Gramma House. I got out the slow cooker and checked out the pantry and freezer. I am calling it Meatball Chili...
The Men thought it was one of those GREAT meals! Tho you must take into consideration that they both worked a 8 hour day at their job and a pot of hot and ready food is number one on their list when they walk in the door at 6pm...
So.
Meatball Chili (in the slow cooker)
dump each ingredient in the slow cooker and turn on LOW for 6 hours. Eat
20 frozen Turkey Meatballs - thats what I had but I am sure beef, pork or chicken would work quite as well... and it is 20 because I get 4 meatballs and the men each get 8 -- if you have a different count, go ahead and put in what you need -- same as the carrots, I make them eat a carrot for every meatball!
20 baby carrots, whole
1 middling size zuchinni chopped up, skin on.
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 medium onion chopped fairly fine
2 tablespoons honey garlic BBQ sauce, your favourite brand
1 can kidney beans rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes 14 oz or 400 gr
2 big tablespoons chili powder
1 tsp cumin
a few drops tabasco, depending how much "heat" you like
And I know the consensus is to add salt and pepper, but i am supposed to watch the salt intake and my son doesn't like salt on things, so each person in my house adds their own salt as desired...
Now, I know that when writing about a recipe you should show a lovely enticing photo of the food, just before you serve it up. BUT. I didn't expect it to be quite so appreciated! And I must add, tho, there is a problem with having Meatballs in Chili....
They picked out all the meatballs! So the few spoonfulls left at the bottom of the pot doesn't have a meatball in it... It is a good thing that in my house, THE COOK always gets first dibs on the food or I would have been eating vegetarian chili!
Thanks to Gramma House and her style of improvisational cooking I can create my own masterpieces (and terrible failures too)!
So, as I said Gramma Choo Choo was a professional Cook -- and good enough to create menu's for the upper classes travelling by train -- back in the 1940's and 50's there was not much travel by plane and train travel was quite elegant, apparently.
ANYWAY. Gramma House was just a regular family cook, mind you for 10 children and a husband!
I cook more like Gramma House than like Gramma Choo Choo... In fact I doubt that I am even close to being as competent as either, but I try, sort of...
I know that Gramma House had very few recipes, most of her cooking was meat, either roasted or boiled or fried along with potatoes -- I don't think she ever made any kind of noodles or rice. But she did love beans, Beans in everything and every kind of beans she could find. Fresh Green Beans, fresh yellow string beans, dried white beans, kidney beans!
Well, last night I decided to cook like Gramma House. I got out the slow cooker and checked out the pantry and freezer. I am calling it Meatball Chili...
The Men thought it was one of those GREAT meals! Tho you must take into consideration that they both worked a 8 hour day at their job and a pot of hot and ready food is number one on their list when they walk in the door at 6pm...
So.
Meatball Chili (in the slow cooker)
dump each ingredient in the slow cooker and turn on LOW for 6 hours. Eat
20 frozen Turkey Meatballs - thats what I had but I am sure beef, pork or chicken would work quite as well... and it is 20 because I get 4 meatballs and the men each get 8 -- if you have a different count, go ahead and put in what you need -- same as the carrots, I make them eat a carrot for every meatball!
20 baby carrots, whole
1 middling size zuchinni chopped up, skin on.
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 medium onion chopped fairly fine
2 tablespoons honey garlic BBQ sauce, your favourite brand
1 can kidney beans rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes 14 oz or 400 gr
2 big tablespoons chili powder
1 tsp cumin
a few drops tabasco, depending how much "heat" you like
And I know the consensus is to add salt and pepper, but i am supposed to watch the salt intake and my son doesn't like salt on things, so each person in my house adds their own salt as desired...
Now, I know that when writing about a recipe you should show a lovely enticing photo of the food, just before you serve it up. BUT. I didn't expect it to be quite so appreciated! And I must add, tho, there is a problem with having Meatballs in Chili....
They picked out all the meatballs! So the few spoonfulls left at the bottom of the pot doesn't have a meatball in it... It is a good thing that in my house, THE COOK always gets first dibs on the food or I would have been eating vegetarian chili!
Thanks to Gramma House and her style of improvisational cooking I can create my own masterpieces (and terrible failures too)!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Stacks of 3 1/2 inch Squares
I grew up in farm country, North of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The worst blizzard ever recorded was part of my early teen years... The snow blew from Friday afternoon (of course) til Monday morning (wouldn't you know it!)
I really dislike snow!
I now live where it doesn't snow so much and it certainly doesn't get the prolonged freezing temperatures that happens in Manitoba.
Oh, by the way, the background photo that you see on my blog here was taken by my sister-in-law, Karen and is a view from near their cottage at Winnipeg Beach, MB. It looks so cold and yet it is somewhat compelling and you wish you could stand out there and watch the wisps of snow drift across the frozen lake.
So the last few days we have had snow -- and I have not been out, other than my back yard since the snow started...
From my sewing room window I can look out across the neighbours property and watch the snow pile up. The Crows congregate in a tree with red berries for their lunch, while the chickadees and juncos take turns at the bird feeders in the backyard...
I put togther 20 - 16 patch blocks. I had been thinking perhaps a Trip Around the World, but when I got to 20 blocks, I realized that really wouldn't work there were not enough of some fabrics and the quilt would need to be square. To do it properly I would have to continue til I had 36 blocks and I didn't want to make such a big quilt, even though there are still alot of 3 1/2 inch squares in those shoe boxes!
I really dislike snow!
I now live where it doesn't snow so much and it certainly doesn't get the prolonged freezing temperatures that happens in Manitoba.
Oh, by the way, the background photo that you see on my blog here was taken by my sister-in-law, Karen and is a view from near their cottage at Winnipeg Beach, MB. It looks so cold and yet it is somewhat compelling and you wish you could stand out there and watch the wisps of snow drift across the frozen lake.
So the last few days we have had snow -- and I have not been out, other than my back yard since the snow started...
From my sewing room window I can look out across the neighbours property and watch the snow pile up. The Crows congregate in a tree with red berries for their lunch, while the chickadees and juncos take turns at the bird feeders in the backyard...
I have too many UFO's to count but I also have a shoebox full of squares cut at 3 1/2 inches from the scrappy bits from other projects. I started cutting the leftover bits way back in Y2K... I use some but mostly they stack up. With no real intention I started to arrange and re arrange some of the squares...
So, what else to do except start to sew 3 1/2 inch squares together. With a Plan, sort of...
So after a couple hours of playing with placement, this is what is on the design wall now...
Today it has started to rain and the snow is almost gone. I should get out into the world...
I think I will wait a bit and perhaps go think up another project. Ya Think?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
How to BE Together for 40 years Without Really Trying or Love the One Your With
Valentine's Day will be upon us in just a month.
Everybody loves Hearts and there are so many ways to create crafty hearts to symbolize the feelings and idea of being in Love.
40 years in a partnership is symbolized by the RUBY gemstone, so perhaps the red ruby heart carries even more meaning when you have lived and worked and laughed and cried and struggled and dreamed with the same person for that length of time...
When we started out on this journey we had no thought or goal or plan to get this far! When you are 19 years old and your partner only 22, what can be on your mind but LOVE -- and that is LOVE in really big letters.
It surely has not been an easy journey and we never thought it would be, we never thought about it at all, really. We woke up every morning together and we took care of the things that presented themselves each day.
Sure, we had dreams and plans but we never believed that those things were just my dream or his dream. We always worked together. We replicated ourselves in the form of two very satisfactory boys (now, well grown men). We worked together and believed together. And we always told people that what he says is what I mean and what I say is what he wants.
We always stood up for each other. We always respected each other. We never called the other one names and we never swore at each other, even in rather heated 'discussions'. We always figured out a way. We never gave up on each other, even though there were disappointments, we worked to understand and repair the things we could.
We have always been ONE.
We got married in the front room of this little house at the corner of Dalton St and Mountain Ave in Winnipeg, Manitoba on a bitterly cold day in January. The 22nd day to be exact. It was a small wedding in my Mom and Dad's house with only our closest family there to witness. I wore a short lace dress that cost less than 10 dollars and he wore a brown suit that came from the 2nd hand store. Our rings came from the jewellery counter in the Woolworth's store downtown on Portage Avenue and were not real gold...
We shared a meal at the Shanghai Restaurant in Winnipeg's Old Downtown that hosted 35 friends and family and cost my dad 96 dollars for the whole thing.
I was just scared sh*tl#ss!
I cannot say there has been a day in those 40 years that I regretted.
We have come from being teenagers together to being old foggies.
It was an easy thing to do and yet it is something that not everyone can do. Life treats you how you expect it to and there is no way to stop it from passing by. You grab what you can, and hold on to what you need and want.
You don't throw things away just cause they get old, you find a new use for it or a way to revamp it or accept it. I am pretty good at reusing and recycling things, so treating a relationship that way is not so far fetched.
I cannot imagine life without, Chris Barker, the man I have spent my life with and I would never wish I had a different life. The best part is there is still time to learn and be more and do more and just be TOGETHER.
Don't ask me how it's done, and don't ask me how you can do it as my only answer is what you have heard many times before. One step at a time. It's like making a quilt, I guess, you sew all the pieces together and stitch the layers so they become so knotted together it is impossible to rip it apart and eventually it becomes ONE big thing.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Triangles
I have this thing about sewing triangles. I love to sew triangles. I sew triangles when I can't think of anything else to make! I have a shoe box full of triangles, sometimes alot of the same and sometimes not so many -- depends on the fabric that I have at the end of bigger pieces to make into triangles and sometimes it just depends on how much I am craving a certain colour.
I made these blocks from triangles in the bright blue, green, orange and red, each with white after seeing a really bright beautifully made granny square afghan. Do they look like granny squares to you?
These navy blue and white quarter square triangles were done quite a while ago, mainly because I was trying to figure out if my particular sewing style needed to have the starting squares cut a little larger than the actual requirement. I was reading some instructions that said if you make the starting square 6" inches and trimmed the block down after it was sewn, you would always have the right size. So these were an exercise in accuracy. Do you practice sewing, just to improve your sport? You don't always have to be "playing a game" -- time to practice is just as useful.
I wanted to make 4" quarter square triangles (4 1/2 inch unfinished) and if the starting square was 6", that became alot of waste! I mean alot! Like 5/8 inch on two sides!
So I made the square at 5 3/8 -- technically to sew it perfectly you add 1 1/4 inch to what you want the finished square to be when you are sewing this type of triangle. I decided to add an extra 1/8 inch for varience.
I discovered that I do sew a pretty accurate 1/4 inch seam allowance and that extra 1/8 inch extra was most often trimmed off -- thus a bit of waste. The few triangles I sewed with a slight difference in the seam allowance made the 1/8 inch extra worth the time that it took to trim the piece, because there would be the occasional one that would have sewn up just a tad too small to have a perfectly pieced complete block.
So adding that 1/8 inch leeway works for me, but adding 3/4 inch leeway is far too wasteful...
These practice triangle have been combined with that lovely deep red to create the traditional 12 inch square Ohio Star Block.
How do you put together triangles? Do you find them to be as soothing to create as I do? Do you use sewing of any sort to calm your nerves and ease the stress in your life?
I love sewing triangles!
PS. These sets of blocks will be in the Etsy shop early in the week, just in case you are looking for a quick way to get started on a quilt AND in case you find making triangles troublesome...
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Fabric Piles -- Organizing
Seems to me, the big theme for this new year is to Organize. Everything from Whole Laundry Room Redo's at Mini Manor Blog to a tutorial for wall organizers made from stretched canvas (the stuff artists paint on) at Craft:
I have had my own system of fabric organizing for quite a while -- probably about 8 years actually. I know that because a dollar store went out of business in our downtown, that my son worked at and I got a great deal on the baskets that the store used to keep small items in to display on the open shelves. The baskets were like 10 cents each at the time and I bought about 20! Over the years though with handling they have developed cracks and breaks and I have disposed of at least one third of the ones I have. I don't know how much longer these will last me, but for now they are quite adequete and I am going to continue using them. Except, in a slightly different manner than I have been doing.
It's one of those "Why didn't I think of that before?", things!
I have had my own system of fabric organizing for quite a while -- probably about 8 years actually. I know that because a dollar store went out of business in our downtown, that my son worked at and I got a great deal on the baskets that the store used to keep small items in to display on the open shelves. The baskets were like 10 cents each at the time and I bought about 20! Over the years though with handling they have developed cracks and breaks and I have disposed of at least one third of the ones I have. I don't know how much longer these will last me, but for now they are quite adequete and I am going to continue using them. Except, in a slightly different manner than I have been doing.
It's one of those "Why didn't I think of that before?", things!
Everytime I wanted a fabric, or to try to combine various fabrics I would be digging through these baskets to see what was in there.
It was very easy to miss something or completely forget some of the smaller pieces.
The difference is small but changes the whole view of things! Now, there is no digging. I can see what is in a particular basket as it sits on my shelves. I have only done the roll up and stack to two of my baskets as you can see in this photo. The difference is HUGE! The baskets of fabric below are over stacked, but when tidied and rolled, I don't think the basket will overflow -- those floral fabrics on the left of the photo were over flowing their basket but now they fit quite nicely...
Well, this project is one that will take a few days, I still need to sew! I tell myself a half hour to organize the baskets, then get on with the sewing!
So, have you decided to take on an New Year organization? What is it?
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Crochet Floor Sweeper Cover
About a week ago I came across this tutorial about how to make a reuseable and reverseable swiffer sweeper cover. Heres the link if you want to try it for yourself. http://www.craftstylish.com/item/44816/how-to-make-a-reversible-swiffer-sock
I don't have a Swiffer -- but a similar floor cleaning tool.
Now to clean it off, you could hold it out the door and give it a shake, but I live in a townhouse and such a disposal of household dirt is quite frowned upon, so I just use my hands to pull off the hair and dustballs and put it all in the garbage bin.
This was a very successful creation and if you need an inordinate amount of dry dirt picked up, instead of pushed around, this is your next crochet project!
The tutorial link I gave you at the start of this post is easy to read and the instructions are clear. I had never done this particular kind of loopy stitch but it was easy to figure out and once done a few times you did not need to refer back to the instructions.
Have a great weekend -- perhaps you will have a new sweeper pad by the time you need to use it on Monday!
I don't have a Swiffer -- but a similar floor cleaning tool.
Mine came with reusable and washable pad made of a microfibre cloth. The cloth (actually 2 of them) have proved to be excellent for most floor cleaning jobs, washing and wiping up spills and for dry sweeping too.
But now with a constantly shedding border collie and two cats about the house, it seems hair has multiplied in corners, expotentionally. The short, sort of terry cloth of the purchased pads really just moved the hair around and didn't pick it up.
So when I saw this tutorial on the Craftstylish web page, I decided to try it out with some of my one ball acrylic yarns that had been waiting to be used for SOMETHING.
This project does take a fair amount of yarn because you are making quite a loopy fabric -- I had about 1/2 of a large skein of "I don't know what, cause the label was lost long ago" and an full ball of a baby yarn that was in a bag of 2nd hand store yarns that just didn't belong. So these two yarns are what I used and came within a few inches of the end of the baby yarn skein.
I had to adjust the number of stitches slightly for my floor tool as I think it must be a bit bigger than the Swiffer brand tool.
I will tell you, this sweeper pad is GREAT! It grabs those animal hair and dustballs from every corner and under all the furniture like it was a magnet, and because of the loopy things it holds it to the tool instead of just pushing it around.
Now to clean it off, you could hold it out the door and give it a shake, but I live in a townhouse and such a disposal of household dirt is quite frowned upon, so I just use my hands to pull off the hair and dustballs and put it all in the garbage bin.
This was a very successful creation and if you need an inordinate amount of dry dirt picked up, instead of pushed around, this is your next crochet project!
The tutorial link I gave you at the start of this post is easy to read and the instructions are clear. I had never done this particular kind of loopy stitch but it was easy to figure out and once done a few times you did not need to refer back to the instructions.
Have a great weekend -- perhaps you will have a new sweeper pad by the time you need to use it on Monday!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Free Quilt Patterns!
Years ago there was a book called "Free Stuff on the Internet... For Quilters"
Things change so quickly on the internet that publishing a book about the Free Stuff would be outdated before they finished the print run!
But there is still an amazing amount of Free Stuff, especially for quilters! Actually no matter what your interest there is free stuff and that includes free instructions. When we want to learn new stuff about our hobbies we can go to our Local Quilt Shop and take a class. The environment of learning along with like minded individuals is something that cannot be replaced. We love to socialize and make new friends at the same time as learning and doing.
This year, I am going to be posting or rather trying to post a few regular features on my blog... One of those features is to help you find Free Patterns, Free Ideas, Free Instructions, all about Quilting and sometimes about other needle crafts like Crochet, Knitting, Embroidery and using items, whether it be an old coat or an old shampoo bottle to create reused, recycled or reclaimed things that are USEFUL.
So Today Free Quilt Patterns...
This is a great web site maintained by Windham Fabrics. There are 26 pages of complete quilt patterns, with a couple of 'stuffies' and a few Bags amongst the wonderful designs. You will need to have Adobe Reader on your computer to download the patterns.
Now, don't print them all out today! You know how we quilters have great intentions for making the next quilt? Well, try to refrain from printing out too many! These patterns are on the site for some time and should be available for awhile -- and in a few months your idea of making the next quilt may have changed, so there are still dozens to choose from.
Go check out the free patterns on the Windham Fabrics site here.
Stop by and take your time looking through the 200 or so patterns. Is there a special one for you?
Things change so quickly on the internet that publishing a book about the Free Stuff would be outdated before they finished the print run!
But there is still an amazing amount of Free Stuff, especially for quilters! Actually no matter what your interest there is free stuff and that includes free instructions. When we want to learn new stuff about our hobbies we can go to our Local Quilt Shop and take a class. The environment of learning along with like minded individuals is something that cannot be replaced. We love to socialize and make new friends at the same time as learning and doing.
This year, I am going to be posting or rather trying to post a few regular features on my blog... One of those features is to help you find Free Patterns, Free Ideas, Free Instructions, all about Quilting and sometimes about other needle crafts like Crochet, Knitting, Embroidery and using items, whether it be an old coat or an old shampoo bottle to create reused, recycled or reclaimed things that are USEFUL.
So Today Free Quilt Patterns...
This is a great web site maintained by Windham Fabrics. There are 26 pages of complete quilt patterns, with a couple of 'stuffies' and a few Bags amongst the wonderful designs. You will need to have Adobe Reader on your computer to download the patterns.
Now, don't print them all out today! You know how we quilters have great intentions for making the next quilt? Well, try to refrain from printing out too many! These patterns are on the site for some time and should be available for awhile -- and in a few months your idea of making the next quilt may have changed, so there are still dozens to choose from.
Go check out the free patterns on the Windham Fabrics site here.
And heres just one of many -- maybe named for our own Darcey, of the Holly Jolly Bingo Game?? (a local quilt guild member for those not familiar with my town)...
Stop by and take your time looking through the 200 or so patterns. Is there a special one for you?
Monday, January 2, 2012
Added
Just a short note to let you know to look over on the side panel. Yep, right there at the top.
A search box.
I just discovered that there was such a thing that could be added to a blog and truth be told, I have been wondering myself, "How do I go back and find specific things I wrote about?"
Well, there it is! A search box. Now, not only does it search my blog for particular subjects but it will also search for previous links to other blogs that I have posted about.
Now, I won't feel quite so lost -- after a few years of posting about things it is so easy to loose some of those ideas...
I learned about the search box and some other great tips on a blog I discovered today. Check out Crystal & Co. a blog about family life with alot of interesting tips and ideas...
Try it out! I'm hoping it will make things a bit easier for both you and me.
A search box.
I just discovered that there was such a thing that could be added to a blog and truth be told, I have been wondering myself, "How do I go back and find specific things I wrote about?"
Well, there it is! A search box. Now, not only does it search my blog for particular subjects but it will also search for previous links to other blogs that I have posted about.
Now, I won't feel quite so lost -- after a few years of posting about things it is so easy to loose some of those ideas...
I learned about the search box and some other great tips on a blog I discovered today. Check out Crystal & Co. a blog about family life with alot of interesting tips and ideas...
Try it out! I'm hoping it will make things a bit easier for both you and me.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Try To ___ This Year
This is a boring post.
I am just posting a couple of thoughts for 2012, might they be called resolutions?
Well, okay, yeah I guess they could be called that.
1. I am going to think about the food I eat, meaning a bit more careful about the sweet stuff, the greasy stuff and the highly processed stuff....
2. I am going to work on using the water colour pencils I bought a few months back and have barely opened, except to discover that watercolours work best on watercolour paper. So I have to go get some of that to actually paint a picture...
3. I am going to make a list of my DVD's so that I can remember to watch some of the movies I have sitting on the shelves, instead of renting or "on demanding" movies...
4. I am going to set aside a few dollars -- into a savings account - and plan a trip. I think I would like to go to the South of the USA, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisianna, Florida -- I particularly want to ride on a Paddlewheel boat on the Mississippi and go to New Orleans.
Thats my list.
Oh, and a word of the year -- I did not post last years word, but I do think I accomplished it to some extent -- the word was Recovery.
Now this year I am thinking the word to strive for is Robust!
PS - I wanted to add that a comment from another person (it was actually a tweet) who says that making resolutions are an admission of impending failure...
What do you think about that thought? Now you know I have to put my 2 bits in on that -- I think that failure is part of life and we learn most and best by failing and trying again. If a person is afraid to admit they failed at an endeavour, could you or would you trust that person? A perfectionist even has to fail, maybe more times that you know, to get to the point of perfection.
Have you thought of any new goals?
I am just posting a couple of thoughts for 2012, might they be called resolutions?
Well, okay, yeah I guess they could be called that.
1. I am going to think about the food I eat, meaning a bit more careful about the sweet stuff, the greasy stuff and the highly processed stuff....
2. I am going to work on using the water colour pencils I bought a few months back and have barely opened, except to discover that watercolours work best on watercolour paper. So I have to go get some of that to actually paint a picture...
3. I am going to make a list of my DVD's so that I can remember to watch some of the movies I have sitting on the shelves, instead of renting or "on demanding" movies...
4. I am going to set aside a few dollars -- into a savings account - and plan a trip. I think I would like to go to the South of the USA, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisianna, Florida -- I particularly want to ride on a Paddlewheel boat on the Mississippi and go to New Orleans.
Thats my list.
Oh, and a word of the year -- I did not post last years word, but I do think I accomplished it to some extent -- the word was Recovery.
Now this year I am thinking the word to strive for is Robust!
PS - I wanted to add that a comment from another person (it was actually a tweet) who says that making resolutions are an admission of impending failure...
What do you think about that thought? Now you know I have to put my 2 bits in on that -- I think that failure is part of life and we learn most and best by failing and trying again. If a person is afraid to admit they failed at an endeavour, could you or would you trust that person? A perfectionist even has to fail, maybe more times that you know, to get to the point of perfection.
Have you thought of any new goals?
Friday, December 30, 2011
Ghosts of Days Gone By
Do you keep a Journal?
I have been keeping a journal for close to 20 years now. My journals tho do not follow what many people think are the RULES of journalling. My journals are not uniform, they may not be neat and nicely written, whether hand written or typed, but they are my journals. My journals do not contain secrets. My journal sits on the table by my TV watching chair and sometimes I will add things in the morning, sometimes in the evening, sometimes I will rush to my journal to put in a photo or make a drawing that seems to me to be important to remember.
The journal I worked on, I never say wrote in, cause I add so much more to a journal, photos, drawings, bits of yarn or fabric that might show a current project and memories...
Now, I put everything and anything that strikes my fancy into my journal. If there is not enough pages, or if there is a newspaper clipping or other printed article that I want to keep, I will glue in or tape in (I do try to use archival type tape) an envelope and put the extra "odd bits" directly into the envelope.
I don't worry about missing days. I don't worry if a family member reads or even writes or draws in something -- but it is MY book so if something is added by another person, I do ask them to keep it to a minimum. I have pages from years past where one or the other of my sons have added special little drawings or messages -- I love to read those when I go back and flip through those journals -- and I have to say I have reread my journals many many times and can open a particular journal to a particular page whenever I am feeling the need to review that memory!
And speaking of Ghosts ...
I have finally caught Walter in the processes of teleporting from one side of the room to the other!
Happy New Year, Everyone! Drive Safe and Sober if you are out late tonight!
I have been keeping a journal for close to 20 years now. My journals tho do not follow what many people think are the RULES of journalling. My journals are not uniform, they may not be neat and nicely written, whether hand written or typed, but they are my journals. My journals do not contain secrets. My journal sits on the table by my TV watching chair and sometimes I will add things in the morning, sometimes in the evening, sometimes I will rush to my journal to put in a photo or make a drawing that seems to me to be important to remember.
The journal I worked on, I never say wrote in, cause I add so much more to a journal, photos, drawings, bits of yarn or fabric that might show a current project and memories...
There are no rules to my Journal, except that about 10 years ago, I started calling the notebooks that I put them in ODD BITS...
Even the rule of having a dated book for journaling is not a rule, where I am concerned. Most of my Odd Bits books are dollar store blank notebooks, that I often spent some time creating a cover for -- either in fabric or paper or a combination. In fact creating the cover is my favourite part of the journal book. This year, I didn't even make the cover until about September! I think, tho, I already have a "end of the world" theme cover for 2012!
Now, I put everything and anything that strikes my fancy into my journal. If there is not enough pages, or if there is a newspaper clipping or other printed article that I want to keep, I will glue in or tape in (I do try to use archival type tape) an envelope and put the extra "odd bits" directly into the envelope.
Sometimes I perhaps have decided there is nothing to write on a page, or maybe something that is important enough not to be regulated to just one day, so I will often paint, draw, scribble over or otherwise decorate a whole page and then glue in a seperate piece of paper with the written or printed bit of news so that it stands out in the book.
Sometimes, I don't have much to say or not alot has happened in the days drifting by, so the book gets words put in as I feel like doing -- some days are "memorial" days and my thoughts are too complicated and extensive to write alot about them, so I just do a small summary of the day.
I don't worry about missing days. I don't worry if a family member reads or even writes or draws in something -- but it is MY book so if something is added by another person, I do ask them to keep it to a minimum. I have pages from years past where one or the other of my sons have added special little drawings or messages -- I love to read those when I go back and flip through those journals -- and I have to say I have reread my journals many many times and can open a particular journal to a particular page whenever I am feeling the need to review that memory!
Now if you are thinking of starting a journal, make or break rules as you please. I have no secrets in my journals, anybody could open any page and not find something that might shake their world.
Remember too, not everyday is important enough to take time to write everything down -- who cares in 20 or 50 or 100 years that you got up at 8am and had porridge with cinnamon in it. Nobody, really, but it could be interesting to put your grocery list in one week with how much those things cost. Of course you want to document important days, births, deaths, and all those kind of events.
If you are thinking of keeping a journal, you don't HAVE to start tomorrow! You can start and end, or take a break for periods of time. Some of my journals fill up in 6 months and other books I have take 2 or 3 years to use up all the pages. There are no rules to it.
And speaking of Ghosts ...
We do believe that Cats have special powers. We have known for many years that cats can teleport -- one moment they are sitting quietly on the floor, next moment they have teleported to the kitchen counter (especially if you preparing a chicken for roasting or even just slicing some ham for a sandwich)!
I have finally caught Walter in the processes of teleporting from one side of the room to the other!
Happy New Year, Everyone! Drive Safe and Sober if you are out late tonight!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Good Riddance Day
I noticed a "tweet" this morning that today is "Good Riddance Day", which apparently means that you should write down any bad memories that you have been holding onto from 2011 and then tear, shred, burn or otherwise destroy the paper with that memory.
Start the New Year Fresh and give up on those little incidents, slights, wrongs, mistakes and other foolish events that take up your thoughts that could be used for creative things instead.
Okay? Now thats done!
By now you know my Christmas Day and the days surrounding are very quiet, but I do find ways to keep well occupied and my family too enjoy this week without stress and obligation.
Anyway.
I made a little wall hanging for my kitchen. A bit of embroidery, a bit of big stitch quilting and a bit of quilting; along with a bit of fauxing...
Well, now, back to the sewing room....
Start the New Year Fresh and give up on those little incidents, slights, wrongs, mistakes and other foolish events that take up your thoughts that could be used for creative things instead.
Okay? Now thats done!
By now you know my Christmas Day and the days surrounding are very quiet, but I do find ways to keep well occupied and my family too enjoy this week without stress and obligation.
Anyway.
I made a little wall hanging for my kitchen. A bit of embroidery, a bit of big stitch quilting and a bit of quilting; along with a bit of fauxing...
Pretty teacups simply surrounded by sasning and a blue binding to reflect the blue embroidery stitches.
Destined for a bit of wall between the window and the fridge in my kitchen.
Now, I must admit I did not actually embroider the teacups. They look and even feel like actual stitches on the white cotton fabric. The Tea Cups tho are IRON-ON! This is a product by DRITZ and I really cannot tell you much about it because I found 9 blocks and the instruction sheet in a 'packet' on the back wall at Value Village -- .99 cents I think. It has a soft fuzzy texture once you iron on the pattern piece. Do you remember what the used to call flocking? That is very much like what this product is. I LOVE it and now that I have seen it once I will be on the lookout for more!
And in these lazy days at home I have been working on a quilt project. I spent a few hours a couple of years ago, figuring out the math for these blocks so that I can make two blocks out of two width of fabric strips that are 2 1/2 inches wide. Each block is 8 1/2 inches square. After cutting strips in every red, most browns, and all my yellows and golds, I have spent the last few days -- a few hours each day making up these blocks. I have now, done 64 blocks -- I am trying to decide if I want to do a few more.
Here are 36 of the blocks made. My 'design wall' is not large enough to show them all.
I am thinking of hand quilting these blocks and plan to use the "Quilt as You Go Method" which you can find written instructions for here or check out the Original Lap Quilter here to learn more about this particular technique.
Every morning I go through and look at the updates of other blogs and came across this quilt block being done by Grey Cat Quilts, so take a look at her treatment of this same design! Go to http://greycatquilts.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-christmas-eve.html
Well, now, back to the sewing room....
Monday, December 26, 2011
Over Christmas
Well, we got through those few days with minimal interruption of our daily routine. I think I have said before, my household doesn't do alot for Christmas and we do not do ANY gift giving, except to a very few friends. I am way over the idea of the obligation of exchanging gifts at Christmas. Don't get me wrong -- I love to give gifts! I just really dislike giving them because there is an obligation to do so. I give gifts when the mood strikes me. Anyday, anytime.
So instead of the hustle and bustle and the rush to get presents I spent time doing a bit of cleaning in the corners of my house -- you know a house always needs that, even if we try not to notice those corners! Mostly tho, I did some sewing and testing out some ideas for products to put into my etsy store.
So instead of the hustle and bustle and the rush to get presents I spent time doing a bit of cleaning in the corners of my house -- you know a house always needs that, even if we try not to notice those corners! Mostly tho, I did some sewing and testing out some ideas for products to put into my etsy store.
I made a cozy for my french press coffee carafe quite a few months back and then just realized that they go together fairly quickly and that these carafe's are generally about the same size.
The possibilities of variations is limitless. I decided to use a tab with a button hole and large button as both a easy to put on and take off of the carafe element and as a decorative element.
So I am working on making a few of these in a variety of colours and using both a whole cloth fabric and co ordinated pieced fabrics. They will be listed in the Etsy Shop in the new year.
And then, because I can't just sit and watch TV, I found this little cap online at
and set to making one -- it worked up so quickly, that I made a second -- the blue one, but I did not have enough yarn to add the same colour bear ears, so I am at a dilemna. Do I leave off the ears? Or maybe do the ears in a completely different colour? I have a really bright yellow that might be just the thing to contrast with that blue. Then. Perhaps I will also list these caps in the Etsy shop
as I have no young ones to give these too...
I definately recommend this free pattern tho if you you have a small child to gift it to. Use a soft chunky or worsted yarn for the little ones and keep their little noggins warm on these cooler winter days.
Well, now back to the work room for a few hours and for the next few days -- it is still the Holiday Season and there are alot of people out in the shops still looking for those Boxing Day and Boxing Week sales -- as for me, I still don't need to be out there, so I will work on piecing some bits of fabric into quilt block that I will then put together to make a quilt. Maybe I will keep it for my own, for a change.
Will show you some peeks of it in the next day or two!
Enjoy these last few days of 2011 and I hope the Christmas Wishes you wished for came true!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
2012 Pantone Color of the Year
Tangerine Tango
I discovered this web page a couple years ago -- when the color of the year was blue turquoise -- 2005. It has become somewhat of a habit to check the website to see what the newest year will bring for color.
Seems to me the last couple of years, 2010, 2011, and this year the colours are becoming much deeper than 5 or 6 years ago. It is interesting to see the progression of colours, isn't it?
Go Check Out
for further details and much clearer image that I am able to put here on my blog.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Housetop Quilt Block
This block is almost a Natural block that one would make if you had no idea about what patchwork patterns were out there. Perhaps this would be the very first block that you would make if you had a stack of fabrics and had no idea about patchwork.
"It is a historical utilitarian pattern used by the amish, african american women, rural women and many others. It is a form of log cabin variation at its simplest, but according to Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, is called "Blocks in the Box," and "Bright Hopes." Gees Bend quilters called it a variation of a pattern called "Housetops."
From a stack of scraps this is the block I came up with, as you can see, quite similar to a log cabin but each round varies depending on how much of a particular scrap you have. Some of the pieces were easily long enough to sew a complete "side" but in most other cases, I had to patch together scraps to create a length to go along a side before sewing the next side (or log onto the block).
You can practically use any format to put together a Housetop Block. You could get quite artistic or very random about it. You could choose a colour theme or just use the idea of colour value in piecing the scrappy bits.
The only thing about this block, it uses all your leftovers and in this world we have so much that often we don't need the leftovers from our projects. This is where this type of block would be very useful in creating blocks and the piecing together the blocks for donation quilts. These would also make great picnic or beach quilts. So maybe make up a few of these and incorporate them into the next "utilitarian" type project you have.
Putting together a number of these blocks, whether or not you used light and dark sides to enhance or create a secondary pattern would be up to each individual quilt maker. You could do the patches, completely randomly.
I only made the one block, for now mainly to see how it worked out. This block is 19" square and turned out just about perfect for a pillowform that I had sitting on a top shelf, that was waiting to be used someday.
OOPS
I decided to machine quilt the Housetops block to a piece of blanket flannel as I did not want a puffy or textured finish to the pillow cover -- EXCEPT somehow along the way, a tiny (this piece is about 1/2 inch wide x 1 inch) bit of scrap got stuck onto the back of the blanket flannel and was quilted along with the layers!
This I'm sure is not such an unusual occurence! How many times have you done this? Well, this time it was not a big deal and I am leaving it right where it got quilted in because it will be on the inside of the pillow cover and no one but you will ever see it again!!
There now. Can you see the Oops from the right side? No, eh? So it's fine.
And then when you step back and see the cushion on the recliner you would never even suspect there was an Oops!
Well, today, I think I shall do a bit of crochet instead of sewing. I ordered some fabric from anETSY seller so that I can make a pair of pillow cases for my son in Victoria, BC. I'm sure, as a single man, buying pillowcases is one of the last things on his mind, so I am going to make some for him... He is a guitar player and a car restorer in his spare hours so the pillowcases are a bright blue with sporty cars and car parts print. I have to wait til it arrives before making the pillowcases so, a crochet project seems to be just the thing to fill in the rest of the day.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The More You Know...
I discovered quite sometime ago that whenever I learned something new, I realized how much more I didn't know and how much more I had to learn...
Well, I sort of forgot that little "rule of learning" because I was beginning to think that I knew ALOT about quilting - and to be honest, I do have a pretty fair knowledge of quiltmaking but there is at least twice as much again that there is still to learn.
I have a couple of books -- actually more like 4 or 5 books on Quilt Blocks, the construction of, the design of, and the names of, the traditional blocks, how to recognize blocks using "grids", even a book with some japanese blocks and so much more in those books.
But.
I came across a quilt block that I had never heard of before and went looking for examples of it on the internet. And that was quite a search, it is not a well known block at all! In fact I am beginning to think that it is a SECRET!
So, Dear Readers, I am going to give you some hints about this quilt block and I am going to issue a challenge. Make one of these blocks! Or make a quilt using these blocks.
I am not posting any photos of this block but I will give a few hints about what it is and I would LOVE to see what you come up with.
First the name of this block is Housetop
Next think of your neighbourhood, then think what it might look like if you were in a low flying aircraft and looking down.
And, the block is quite interpretive, there is a "design"(a detailed plan) to it but not really a "pattern" (a regular or repetitive form).
Now, create a Housetop block...
I am not promising any reward or giveaways, just the satisfaction of learning something new about quilting.
In a few days or a week or when I get around to it (now thats a promise, eh?), I will post some photos of Housetop blocks and tell you where this particular block probably orginated from.
I hope this gives you a little puzzle to work on and if you are so inclined, please send me a photo of your Housetop block and I will post it here on the blog.
Send your photo to me at jswb4com AT yahoo DOT com
Oh, (since my sister who really, really dislikes me says I am a bully) I will BULLY you into sending me your interpretation so if NO ONE sends me a photo of their Housetop block, I may not reveal the SECRET at all and you may have to just go on wondering what the block looks like!
But Really, I would LOVE it if you would take up this little challenge!
Well, I sort of forgot that little "rule of learning" because I was beginning to think that I knew ALOT about quilting - and to be honest, I do have a pretty fair knowledge of quiltmaking but there is at least twice as much again that there is still to learn.
I have a couple of books -- actually more like 4 or 5 books on Quilt Blocks, the construction of, the design of, and the names of, the traditional blocks, how to recognize blocks using "grids", even a book with some japanese blocks and so much more in those books.
But.
I came across a quilt block that I had never heard of before and went looking for examples of it on the internet. And that was quite a search, it is not a well known block at all! In fact I am beginning to think that it is a SECRET!
So, Dear Readers, I am going to give you some hints about this quilt block and I am going to issue a challenge. Make one of these blocks! Or make a quilt using these blocks.
I am not posting any photos of this block but I will give a few hints about what it is and I would LOVE to see what you come up with.
First the name of this block is Housetop
Next think of your neighbourhood, then think what it might look like if you were in a low flying aircraft and looking down.
And, the block is quite interpretive, there is a "design"(a detailed plan) to it but not really a "pattern" (a regular or repetitive form).
Now, create a Housetop block...
I am not promising any reward or giveaways, just the satisfaction of learning something new about quilting.
In a few days or a week or when I get around to it (now thats a promise, eh?), I will post some photos of Housetop blocks and tell you where this particular block probably orginated from.
I hope this gives you a little puzzle to work on and if you are so inclined, please send me a photo of your Housetop block and I will post it here on the blog.
Send your photo to me at jswb4com AT yahoo DOT com
Oh, (since my sister who really, really dislikes me says I am a bully) I will BULLY you into sending me your interpretation so if NO ONE sends me a photo of their Housetop block, I may not reveal the SECRET at all and you may have to just go on wondering what the block looks like!
But Really, I would LOVE it if you would take up this little challenge!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Quantity vs Quality
A subject I have been dwelling upon for a day or two and finally came to some conclusions about this question.
A week or so ago, I answered a question "When it comes to crafting which do you prefer?"
I actually answered the question wrongly, or rather differently than any of the other respondents. I came at the question from a different direction than anyone else who submitted their thoughts. You can go and see the question and answers by a variety of people, including me. http://www.favecraftsblog.com/monthly-craft-question-quantity-vs-quality/
Now, that you are back do you see how my answer did not fit in with every other answer? I wondered why? And I have been wondering why for the last couple of days. Turns out, to me, this is a more important question than I at first realized.
First, everyone who answered the question assumed that they actually have a choice between quantity and quality. In general, so do I, most of the time anyway. As for the question having to do with crafting -- one must have quality materials to create quality products, so because I have NEVER been easily able to choose a sufficient quantity of quality materials, I have created items to the best of my ability with materials that in most cases come from sale stock or are "vintage" from the 2nd hand stores or garage sales that I frequent. In many instances I have a choice, to buy 1 meter of top quality newly released designs or buy 3 or 4 meters of year or older "sale" materials. Now, in the case of quilt making -- it is really not possible to make a quilt with one single cut of top quality fabric, so in this case my option, my choice becomes "What is the best quality I can get at discounted prices?"
And this is what blurs the question of Quantity vs Quality.
As a child, I grew up mostly on a farm -- my father worked in the city, driving 20 miles to his place of work everyday, in fine weather and bad and dangerous weather. He provided the income for our family that paid the 'traditional' bills -- mortgage, car payment, and clothing. Our farm provided the "intangibles". We only had about 25 acres, but that was alot for my mother to manage. The farm provided 95 per cent of the food we ate. Even so, we still did not have alot of extra dollars to go around, so things such as clothes were usually second hand along with toys and many of the household items such as dishes, pots, utensils, towels, etc. My mother used to say after you have worn a brand new shirt once and it has been washed, no one knows that the shirt you got from the 2nd hand store was not first worn by you...
As a child, my choice was often quantity over quality. What good would one shiny crystal crock (large marble) be without 20 or 50 other marbles to make it a game, so 50 plain regular marbles was the first choice everytime.
This is how I was taught that choice sometimes meant that quantity was the choice to make over quality. It was always better to have two or three second hand dresses than one dress that could only be worn for a special occassion. We learned early that "something was better than nothing" in EVERYTHING.
As my years have progressed the choice between quantity and quality became a Mother's question. Two growing sons taught me that often Quality was the way to go even if I had to sacrifice a choice somewhere else. As teens my boys played sports and did ALOT of running -- shoes became important -- the quality shoe not only helped them to be part of the sports they wanted to play but the quality shoe would out last the cheap wal-mart runner by at least 3 to 5 times the length of usefulness and therefore cost less in the LONG run!
Maybe it is only me (it sort of seemed like it by my answer of the question I replied to) but I thought just having the choice between quantity and quality is somewhat of a luxury.
Do you have that choice? I bet you do! You make the choice between quality and quantity every single day. Do you go to the grocery story and buy 2 freshly baked loaves of bread or do you first go to check the day old bread and take home 4 or 6 loaves of the exact same baked bread that came out of the oven 2 days ago? Me, I always choose the day old bread! Habit, somewhat, necessity also often true.
Now -- to the point of this whole thought, of Quantity vs Quality.
What if you didn't even get a choice? What if because of finances, perhaps bad choices others made for you, your choices were taken away. Your single mother HOPES she has enough to get a turkey for christmas, she HOPES she can find SOMETHING for the child to open on Christmas morning. What about the young man who even though it is his own fault is now living on a downtown street, he will be lucky to have the choice between a cold doorway Christmas night or a blanket in a corner of a overcrowded shelter.
Not only was it the initial question posed by Favecraft about Quantity vs Quality but it has also been the ongoing news story about the Attawapiskat First Nation Emergency which is not so unusual in our own rich country of Canada. You can google the news stories if you have not heard of this (especially if you are outside of Canada). Distress is not just in Africa, or Cuba, or remote areas of the world.
My wish for the world and those humans living on it is that we all be able to have the basic choice of Quantity vs Quality. What if your choice for Christmas was between a shelter, any shelter and one meal? Which would be your choice?
Take the time to think about your own choices between Quantity and Quality -- How lucky you (and I) are!
A week or so ago, I answered a question "When it comes to crafting which do you prefer?"
I actually answered the question wrongly, or rather differently than any of the other respondents. I came at the question from a different direction than anyone else who submitted their thoughts. You can go and see the question and answers by a variety of people, including me. http://www.favecraftsblog.com/monthly-craft-question-quantity-vs-quality/
Now, that you are back do you see how my answer did not fit in with every other answer? I wondered why? And I have been wondering why for the last couple of days. Turns out, to me, this is a more important question than I at first realized.
First, everyone who answered the question assumed that they actually have a choice between quantity and quality. In general, so do I, most of the time anyway. As for the question having to do with crafting -- one must have quality materials to create quality products, so because I have NEVER been easily able to choose a sufficient quantity of quality materials, I have created items to the best of my ability with materials that in most cases come from sale stock or are "vintage" from the 2nd hand stores or garage sales that I frequent. In many instances I have a choice, to buy 1 meter of top quality newly released designs or buy 3 or 4 meters of year or older "sale" materials. Now, in the case of quilt making -- it is really not possible to make a quilt with one single cut of top quality fabric, so in this case my option, my choice becomes "What is the best quality I can get at discounted prices?"
And this is what blurs the question of Quantity vs Quality.
As a child, I grew up mostly on a farm -- my father worked in the city, driving 20 miles to his place of work everyday, in fine weather and bad and dangerous weather. He provided the income for our family that paid the 'traditional' bills -- mortgage, car payment, and clothing. Our farm provided the "intangibles". We only had about 25 acres, but that was alot for my mother to manage. The farm provided 95 per cent of the food we ate. Even so, we still did not have alot of extra dollars to go around, so things such as clothes were usually second hand along with toys and many of the household items such as dishes, pots, utensils, towels, etc. My mother used to say after you have worn a brand new shirt once and it has been washed, no one knows that the shirt you got from the 2nd hand store was not first worn by you...
As a child, my choice was often quantity over quality. What good would one shiny crystal crock (large marble) be without 20 or 50 other marbles to make it a game, so 50 plain regular marbles was the first choice everytime.
This is how I was taught that choice sometimes meant that quantity was the choice to make over quality. It was always better to have two or three second hand dresses than one dress that could only be worn for a special occassion. We learned early that "something was better than nothing" in EVERYTHING.
As my years have progressed the choice between quantity and quality became a Mother's question. Two growing sons taught me that often Quality was the way to go even if I had to sacrifice a choice somewhere else. As teens my boys played sports and did ALOT of running -- shoes became important -- the quality shoe not only helped them to be part of the sports they wanted to play but the quality shoe would out last the cheap wal-mart runner by at least 3 to 5 times the length of usefulness and therefore cost less in the LONG run!
Maybe it is only me (it sort of seemed like it by my answer of the question I replied to) but I thought just having the choice between quantity and quality is somewhat of a luxury.
Do you have that choice? I bet you do! You make the choice between quality and quantity every single day. Do you go to the grocery story and buy 2 freshly baked loaves of bread or do you first go to check the day old bread and take home 4 or 6 loaves of the exact same baked bread that came out of the oven 2 days ago? Me, I always choose the day old bread! Habit, somewhat, necessity also often true.
Now -- to the point of this whole thought, of Quantity vs Quality.
What if you didn't even get a choice? What if because of finances, perhaps bad choices others made for you, your choices were taken away. Your single mother HOPES she has enough to get a turkey for christmas, she HOPES she can find SOMETHING for the child to open on Christmas morning. What about the young man who even though it is his own fault is now living on a downtown street, he will be lucky to have the choice between a cold doorway Christmas night or a blanket in a corner of a overcrowded shelter.
Not only was it the initial question posed by Favecraft about Quantity vs Quality but it has also been the ongoing news story about the Attawapiskat First Nation Emergency which is not so unusual in our own rich country of Canada. You can google the news stories if you have not heard of this (especially if you are outside of Canada). Distress is not just in Africa, or Cuba, or remote areas of the world.
My wish for the world and those humans living on it is that we all be able to have the basic choice of Quantity vs Quality. What if your choice for Christmas was between a shelter, any shelter and one meal? Which would be your choice?
Take the time to think about your own choices between Quantity and Quality -- How lucky you (and I) are!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
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.
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.
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)
This is my favourite one for simplicity and speedy to make up.
And if you want to be meticulous about it, here is a tutorial to make french seams on the inside of your drawstring bags!
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?
Thursday, December 8, 2011
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?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)