angel-wing pinafore

This dress was my nesting project.  I crocheted it for S in the last two weeks before she was born, but only finished sewing the buttons on the back this evening.  The pattern, scrounged somewhere online (forgot where), was for a newborn sized pinafore, but I used a thick variegated yarn and a chunky hook to up the size.  At four months old, S is approaching big enough to wear this and the weather has cooperatively turned cold enough for sweaters.

I think it's the only thing I've made for S so far.  That's disappointing, but it won't be the last.

fireplace reno

Before:  This was our fireplace.  Dated.  Huge.  And oh so permanent.  We've talked for years about painting the thing white, not because we thought white brick would look especially good.  We were hoping for less bad.  

Just as G. was leaving to buy the paint:  "Are you sure you want white?  Is there any other colour?"  

That had never occurred to me.  Another colour!  After an hour on Google we had a whole new plan.

After:  This is our new, grey fireplace.  We settled on two tones of light grey to match our furniture.  The  new stove, mantle shelf and hearth tiles compliment other bits of black in the decor and the overall effect is in keeping with the tone of the room.  Now we can't wait for cold evenings by the fire.

invisible zipper

I've had hard time getting started on this recent sewing project.  It's a good thing the Cloth Castle is only a block away because I had to made two excursions for supplies and tools that I thought I had on hand.  This invisible zipper foot was the object of my second trip and I'm anxious to use it.  

On a side note:  It's amazing that I can still buy accessories to fit a machine that was built in the 1960's.

My project is a skirt -- just a basic pencil skirt -- something I can't believe I don't have.  I'm using a lovely grey wool-blend fabric with tan paisley print.  Stay tuned for a photo of the finished product.

playing with paint

This weekend I set up an easel in the dining room where the light is good and pressed my university lab coat  into service as a smock (science and art reconciled).  Creating should be fun, so I tied up my inner censor -- the one who says you can't copy a masterpiece -- and played.  Midnight blue.  Yellow light.  Streaks and swirls of colour.  Rhythm of light and night.  I had a wonderful time ripping off someone else's composition.  Do you recognize my inspiration?

These will hang in my office, which is desperately in need of colour.

Christmas tags

Sometimes I forget that simple things can be so beautifully -- simple.  That was certainly the case last weekend.  My mom and sisters came over and the four of us settled around my dining room table, littered with papers and tools, to make Christmas tags.  Inspiration did not come to me, so I punched holes and tied ribbons haphazardly, focusing more on the social than the creative aspect of the afternoon.   We talked and drank tea and munched on left-over pie crust that I had baked with cinnamon sugar.  When everyone left, I was surprised to find, lined up along the edge of the china cabinet, a row of pleasing Christmas tags.

The over-sized slit for threading the tags onto presents creates visual interest and offers new alternatives for incorporating pretty ribbons into the tag.  I also used old stickers and odd bits of paper, tied with ribbons to look like wrapped boxes.  Simple.

cookie exchange

Cookie exchanges are more about friendship than baking -- that's what I told myself as I packaged up six dozen pieces of Apricot-Almond Biscotti that I would have preferred to keep.  With that in mind, I determined to beautify the mandatory freezer bags, making them more gift-like, with layers of blue and red papers and a sticker.  I scrawled the label with a bamboo quill and Prussian Blue drawing ink.

dress form

My sister and I spent two afternoons on this latest project:  it's a dress form made from -- you guessed it --duct tape.  Using different colours, to distinguish the layers, she wrapped me up in a suit of duct tape armor, which we slit down the back to remove.  A few more layers of tape, a hanger, some strategically placed shoulder pads, and a bag of stuffing later we were done.  She looks just like me in a way that is both eerie and very useful for fitting clothes.  Let the sewing begin!

stitched-a-long

It's a dark and rainy night -- windy too -- but I'm comfortable and warm. The wood stove humms behind me as I sip Earl Grey from my cherry teacup and sew buttons. Stitching has become a refuge -- quiet and slow -- at the close of a busy day. It's the last day of the 39 Square Challenge and, though I didn't stitch 39 squares, I finished my sampler today. 

I added a second paisley for good measure because the first one turned out so well.

My initials fill the bottom right square.

My sampler is a little different from some of the others in that I created a checker-board pattern by filling alternating squares. Most of the buttons that occupy the in-between spaces come from my grandmother's button jar (which I inherited along with her sewing machine and table when she downsized). There's nothing fancy about them, except that they have history.  All in all, I'm pleased with the final product.  It suits me.

small sparks

Things have been rather busy lately, but I'm looking for small moments of beauty and creativity and fun. 

This is a print of one of Leanardo daVinci's anatomical drawings.  I saw the real deal at the Vancouver Art Gallery recently and admited the detail of his sktches, annotated in daVinci's backwards, left-handed scrawl.  The prints are intriguing and beautiful, but where can I display them?  The bathroom! 

We felled a holly tree and most of a plum tree in our little back yard this weekend.  What a pile of tree!

I haven't had time to make anything lately, but my husband designed and built this maple cabinet for his fish tank.  The DVD player and what not are stored behind the doors and the aquarium is eye-catching -- full of colour and movement.

I've been meaning to photograph this apple all winter.  It's a good think I finally did, because just yesterday it fell to the ground and nestled along-side the lavendar.  I like the spray of sharp green leaves, visible behind the rotting apple -- death and new life.  Very appropriate for Easter.

stitching-a-long

These are the latest additions to my sampler.  Enjoy.

 

inspiration

Sometimes inspiration is fleeting but the other night my pencil floated over a blank journal page and one idea lead to another.  I wish inspiration always flowed so freely.

stitching-a-long

Presenting my latest stitching accomplishments: There are several grand successes in the mix and at least one square that's fated to be ripped out.

stitching-a-long

 

I learned the feather stitch for this square.  Can you tell which sides came first and last?  I can. 

My french knots and lazy daisy stitches are getting better, aren't they?

stitching-a-long

Amy's 39 Square challenge began a couple of days ago, but I'm just getting started.  This square features my very first lazy daisy, which turned out ok, and a collection of french knots, which didn't.  The quality of my squares will probably be hit and miss as I'm taking the opportunity to learn lots of new stitches.