No power, let's craft!

I was in a sweet knitting store called Cricket Cove in Blacks Harbour the other day.  We were on our way home from visiting the Grand Manan Quilt Show.  Being in the store reminded me that I was supposed to make my daughter and her knitter friends some stitch markers.  She is taking knitting classes and is throwing around words like yarn overs and stitch markers.  It makes me smile, but really she has no idea what to do with stitch markers...  teehee.  

Anyway, since Albert, or Alfred, or what ever that hurricane was called, has left us without power, I'm trying to think of all the non sewing things that I have on my mental to-do list.   This morning, it's stitch markers.  It took me half an hour to find all the crafty supplies in my stash that I needed to make them.    Then after a little outdoor walk to inspect another section of trail, I sat near a bright window and made these 40 stitch markers.    It helped me whittle away an hour...

Now, this afternoon, I might knit 10 rows on my Christmas in July project.

Tropical Storm Arthur came out of nowhere.

It seems like forever that we've had no power thanks to tropical storm Arthur.  But it's only been 48 hours.  We may get it back later today or tomorrow.   We realize how dependent on electricity we are and we are truly thankful for all the power crews working so hard to get things going again.    We are making do and are lucky to have a small generator to keep the fridge and freezer going.

A tree along my favorite walking trail.  Note the wire on the
left hand side.  

A candlelight dinner.  BBQ Chicken

Can't sew, but I can knit without power.
This is my Christmas in July project.
Stay tuned.  It might be done sooner than I thought.

I give up!! Dressmaking is not for me.

Last week I had the notion that I could sew myself the perfect fitted dress.  See next month, I'm going to be the Mother of the Bride. My daughter is getting married... I need a nice well fitting dress for the pictures more than anything.   I carefully selected a pattern and bought practice fabric and lining to make the dress...  My intent was that if it worked out, I'd shop for nicer fabric and make a good one.   It was a little complicated but I don't usually mind complicated.    I have spent hours on cutting it out, pinning, marking,  basting, sewing and finally I have the bodice done.

It's not coming out like the pattern... After modelling the bodice, and consulting with some quilting friends this morning, they agreed.  It's not flattering at all.  Now, the unsewn dress pieces of fabric go in my scrap bin, and the sewn bodice.. that I spent so much time on.... garbage...

I think I'll stick to sewing in my comfort zone...  back to quilting and sewing small projects on Saturday...

 

Happy Canada Day!

My friend's small dog "Peanut" is turning one today.  We are going to their house to watch fireworks over the river this evening.  So I decided to make some happy birthday dog treats for little Peanut.  

It's hot out here today so I only cooked one cookie sheet full.   I saved the rest of the dough and will make them when the kiddos come for a visit next week.  They can take them home to their dogs.

These are very small cookies.  I looked all over my kitchen for a small round cookie cutter.   I ended up using the larger end of a large cake decorating tip.  Then put little paw prints on the cookies.   So cute, don't you think?

I like this recipe because the treats don't puff up and you can still see the paw print decoration after they are baked...






I've packaged them up in a cellophane bag with a little red bow for her Canada Day Birthday.    I hope little "Peanut" likes them.

Happy Canada Day to you all!

Love Cookies

While I've not blogged much lately, doesn't mean that I've not been busy.    I'm moving into high gear on  grammie camp activities and making lists to make sure that we will have what we need.   That includes activities, food etc.  Grammie Camp officially starts on July 15th, but I'll have some of the kids a few days before that.  So I will have everything ready in the next 10 days.   Of course I can't show you or talk about the specific activities because my grandkids read the blog.... teehee...

One thing I did do last week was make some cookies for a friend whose son was getting married.  They had a small home reception and I thought I'd try my hand at making some love cookies (decorated with royal icing that dries hard) to send over...

Here is a picture of them as they were drying...   I packaged up the 50 cookies in cellophane bags with a cute sticker and sent them over.  My friend was thrilled and said they were a hit!!

Four Wallets

It's been a busy week with birthdays, Fathers Day and little trips here and there.   I'm completely in between big sewing projects.  I'm kind of enjoying the break.    I'm working on organizing Grammie Camp activities and gathering supplies.  

I showed you last week, a wallet that I made myself.   Well, that was a prototype, and I have loved using it over the past couple of weeks.  I decided to cut out a couple of kits to make two more, and I would choose my permanent wallet after they were done.  Well just about that time, I was visiting Diane at Country Crafts, and came home with beautiful leafy batiks to make wallets.  So I cut out two more kits.   So now I have four wallet kits cut out.   I decided to make them all at the same time.   I did a little bit here and there in between our little trips, and wow, I have my four wallets done.  

This is such a nice pattern that I might lead a private workshop locally.   I would call this a slightly advanced project.  This would definitely be for a confident sewer.    That doesn't mean that a non-confident sewer can't do it.  Just buddy up with a confident sewer who can quietly watch over you...  Let me know if you are interested.

I still don't know which one I will take as my permanent wallet.  I'll decide next week.  

It's that time of the Month again!

That would be time to start working on my Block of the Month from "The Quilt Show".   I've been waiting until a week or two into the month before working on the blocks.  There have been some great suggestions posted on the BOM forum by keeners who do the blocks within a few days of the release of the monthly pattern.   This month was no exception.

I took the time to cut out all the pieces required for the N, O, P  and R blocks.  It took me a while to find all the right colors.  It's easy to get mixed up.  Ask me how I know.    I'll do a block a day next week.    After sashing these 4 blocks, they will be added to last months blocks and the middle section will be complete.

Friggy as it is, I'm really enjoying this BOM.

It's Lady Slipper time

It's lady slipper time at the cottage.  Always around the first of June, the blooms lift up from the leafy ground.   Last weekend, I counted 15 blooms of which three are white.  The rest are pink.    I can't wait to see how many more pop up this week.   My blooms count seem to be increasing every year.  I hope this weekend, my count is in the high twenties.     

Vintage Tupperware

Some time ago, my sister found a great deal on these vintage Tupperware spice containers at a yard sale.  She couldn't leave without them.  She didn't need them because she has some of the same, but a newer color.  But I could sure use them.  She gave them to me I was thrilled.  I had fun buying all new spices for them, and making tiny labels.  I'll use them at the cottage in the summer, then in the winter, I'll take them to Florida in the winter.    

Thanks Donna!   I love them...   

I've been Featured

As you probably know, the Stan Cassidy Center here in Fredericton does amazing work.  It's a world known re-hab center for those with physical disabilities and serves the whole province of New Brunswick.

This week, I've been featured as a volunteer on the blog of the Stan Cassidy Foundation website.   I'm honored.    I'm not a regular volunteer, or even a BIG volunteer.  I quietly sit in the background and help where I can.

One Happy and Mobile Aurora

I'll tell you a little story of how I really appreciated the center's help a couple of years ago.  When grand-daughter Aurora was only 3, she fell in the playground and broke her foot.   She was laid up.  Because she was so small, and wasn't mobile, she could not go to day-care.  Her mother needed to work, so Aurora came to stay with me for a few days while we figured all this out.  She had to be carried everywhere.

Well my friend, Kathy put me in contact with the Stan Cassidy Center where I arranged to borrow a child size walker.   She was fitted and we came home with a now mobile kid.  (I blogged about it here in 2011). We were all so relieved.  Within a day, she went back to day-care, with her walker and was the hit.  I was so pleased that the Stan Cassidy center was here and so uncomplicated.

Would you go read the Stan Cassidy blog article and leave a comment on their blog to tell us if you have been helped by the center in a small or big way.    (They love comments).

Does Red Fabric Scare You?

It's time to think about what quilt I will make for the St. Dunstan's quilters raffle quilt this year.   They like big blocks, they like lots of light or white because it shows off the quilting.   I haven't done a red and white quilt for them for about 13 or 14 years... and that would have been the first quilt I ever made for them.   

I thought this cover quilt from this Classics from McCall's book would be perfect.  Fun for me to sew and also so traditional and elegant for these quilters to quilt.  

So it's time to start the hunt for reds. My mission over the next month is to collect a variety of reds for this quilt.   Knowing that red fabrics bleed, I'll take precautions to pre-treat these fabrics so they don't bleed.   What I don't know, is if one pre-treatment is enough?   

Pfaff Club Project

I thought I'd show you a little project that we did at the Pfaff Club today.  Pfaff Club is intended to build skills with our Pfaff sewing machines.  It is usually put on by a Pfaff Dealer but we don't have one in our city.  So a few of the Pfaff owners asked if I would help them out.   

The Kit included cover and lining fabric, batting
zipper, tab fabric.

The project is a quilted, zippered pencil case size pouch.  You have seen me make these before.   We all started with the same kit of fabric.   While it looks small and simple, we used many skills and functions of the various presser feet.  Some of the major points in yesterday's class were:

• How to prepare a zipper for a clean neat finish by enclosing the two ends.  Of course, this meant cutting both ends of the zipper.   
• We used our built in walking foot (IDT) to zigzag applique on the batik pieces. 
• We learned to test your stitches before sewing.  Not all Pfaff stitch numbers are the same.
• We engaged the IDT to sew/quilt curvy lines above the batik patches and on the back.   
• We used our zipper foot to apply the front and back fabrics to the prepared zipper   
• We used our quarter inch foot to sew the 1/8th inch top stitching detail at the top of the pouch, near the zipper.  
• We used the quarter inch foot to sew the quarter inch seams.
• And we used the zigzag to finish off the seams inside the pouch.

Lucy B.'s Zippered Pouch   Perfect.

Lots of skill building in this small project.     And just look at how neat this zipper looks.   Thanks Lucy B. for sending me this picture.