On my desk...

This is a recycled denim bag for my daughter's friend's birthday. I'm hoping to make a wallet or cosmetic bag to go with it and then add money or cosmetics as appropriate. It would be great if anyone has a good pattern for either of these items to share. Make a 12 year old happy. This little girl is asking for a laptop from her parents so perhaps this would be a great bag to carry that in.

But...It was for me!

I have finished a crocheted bag from a pattern on the Bernat website. They offer a lot of great free patterns. I made this 'Army Surplus' bag for me to bring extras to work in, like a snack or some light reading but... it has been seized by my 11 year old daughter. I have to admit, it looks better on her, even better when she's not in PJs. Great with denim. I just noticed as I was linking the website, they have new patterns. Time to investigate.

Quilt Giveaway!

Check out this quilt giveaway at Pigtails and Snails. Awesome!

On My Desk...

On my desk this week, can't seem to do this on a Wednesday, is my baby shower gift for next weekend. I have a ducky teether, a ducky outfit and a ducky receiving blanket that I made from this tutorial at SewChic. Now at Sew Take a Hike is a burp cloth tutorial. I may have to make one of those too if I can fit it in. If not, one will be in the gift when baby is born. Just Ducky...

Crochet Baskets

My daughter's little friend had a birthday but no party... I felt she should still get her a little gift and she suggested we make it. I crocheted these little baskets and we made a hemp necklace and bracelet, added a leather jewellery kit - all with a purple theme - her favorite color. She also had a handmade card. We then invited her for a sleepover at the cabin. They had great time.

On My Desk....

I collect....beach glass. Don't ask what I will do with it, I have no idea, I just love it. Its smooth round edges showing years of being ground down by rocks. All the different colors, old coke bottles with the raised letters, every piece different - I just love it. We hike down to a beach where we live and look for it. It's like an Easter egg hunt for the children and every one of us are very excited when we find a rare color or shape. The favorite piece so far is purple and very thick. I'm thinking it came from an old Noxema jar. The goal now is to see who can find another piece like it. After a lot of rain and wind the glass tends to surface so we always go there after a storm. I guess you can tell I haven't been sewing lately because this lot of glass has not joined its buddies in my old candle jars. Any ideas what to make from all this glass? The dogs tend to collect sticks and aren't much help!

On my desk...

This is my first 'on my desk' post. I have been working on a t-shirt rag rug. I find men's Hanes or undershirts are the nicest texture and they do not have side seams which is nice when joining loops and less bumps in the crochet process. It just feels good to be recycling all the old shirts and I get a nice rug in the process. For this one I am going to kool-aid dye it and then maybe tea dye that - not sure if I will get the desired effect but my fingers are crossed. I also want to make a rug out of plastic bags for the front deck at the cabin. I think it will be useful for wiping sand from feet. I already have a rag rug I made from old sheets that our dogs love. I started crocheting it like I make a beanie but never stopped the increasing.

The Goods

Here is what Erna sent for her giveaway:

I love the pin cushion, the chocolate was delicious (the whole family thought so) and the material will show up in something really special.... Thanks Erna!

I Won - but I never win...

I won a giveaway on blij als mij . But I never win. Maybe the tides are changing. I looked on Erna's blog and this is what I saw:





That's me, I'm just Susan and I won. My 11 year old daughter was ecstatic, she knows I never win. When I get the photos off the camera I'll show you what showed up at my door. Right now we're busy getting ready to travel with the one year old puppy to pick up the 8 week old puppy coming in on a flight 31/2 hours away. Then we have to travel back home in the dark, dodging the Mr. and Mz. Mooses all the way. Fun times to be had by all. Let the house training begin.

FF- Finally Finished!

I have finished my first full sized quilt since I made baby quilts for my kids. They are 13 and 11! I have cottons bought especially for quilt patterns for which I no longer know what material for which pattern. This material was bought to make a wedding quilt for a cousin - 15 years ago! I started hand quilting this one, my first time doing it, but after 4 blocks realized I would rather it done so I took that out and machine stitched the ditch.

I also have sheets just begging to be cut up and put in quilts like all the ones on the sewing blogs I spend time lurking at instead of sewing.

I would love to know if these sheets are considered vintage? They were left with the cabin we bought 6 years ago. I started by ripping some of them into strips and crocheting a rag rug for the dog but now realize they would make really nice quilts.

It makes me smile

My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer 6 years ago at the age of 36. Since then, she was put through a nasty divorce (it didn't have to be nasty, but he proved true to form, she just wanted peace). I want to get her a shirt that says "I'm not with stupid anymore". To say the cancer saved her life sounds weird but if she were to stay with the sperm donor, she probably would not be here. We all believe if she never had the stress of being married to him she would never have had cancer. Okay, that doesn't make me smile but what does is that she is part of the Breast Cancer Dragon Boaters. They built the boat themselves and will race their boat later this summer. Below is a picture of them in their Dragon boat. This brings a smile to my face. Go Girls!

Win a Quilt

Ok, I'm earning extra entries to try and win this beautiful quilt. It's at Old Red Barn Co. and is fabulous - Check it out!

Bags, Bags, Bags...

I just completed a shopping tote from the tutorial on Sew Mama Sew. The material was given to me by my Mom last week. It was material she inherited when her mother passed away and she had it around for years wondering what to use it for. We also wonder what Grandma had intended it for when she bought so many years ago. We think maybe drapes. I'm giving this bag to Mom as a surprise. A little keepsake in memory of Grandma.


These other bags are for the nieces’ birthdays. I made one for my daughter and she finds it so useful and loves it so much that I realized other little girls need them too. The pink one is for a five year old and the purple for a twelve year old.

"You all Need Counselling"

We called my Mom the other night to tell her we are getting another Portuguese Water Dog puppy. She said we “all need counselling”. She also said we mustn’t want anyone to visit us, how perceptive. Just kidding - our present puppy loves new chew toys, anybody that visits she thinks is a new chew toy. I just hope we don’t find her with the new pup in her mouth with a ‘the squeaker is broke in this one too’ look on her face…

Here's the new pup at 3 wks old raring to chew on the T.V. room couch too. It is now just a big dog bed.

Meet The new Puppy...

He will be coming to live at our house in August.

The old puppy will finally have some little teeth on her, not that I'm into revenge or anything. Do you think they will beat each other out? Or just beat us out....

We're Painting the Cabin

Okay, he's painting the cabin.
From white with blue to putty with Green and a burgundy door.

I saw the colors in a magazine and thought it would be nice. I removed the picture with colors from the magazine, went to the paint shop and got the splats. Put it in the glove compartment for later. Later came and I couldn't find it anywhere. Blamed the husband, said he threw it out when he cleaned the car blah, blah, blah...e-mailed Ben. Moore and asked if they had a file on the pictures they put out etc...They did not. Months later, was looking through a bedside cabinet on my side and found a magazine with the torn out page and splats. Husband came home to me apologizing, but not telling him why. Then out of the blue he says you found it didn't you. Hmmmm. ANyway, two years after this we are finally painting it.

Finished Stuff

I have completed several projects for the daughter. She has been placing orders all winter. Here are her leg warmers for dance – so boring but they are soft and pink – the main requirement. She couldn't wait to wear them to ballet.

I also have one of her purple and pink mittens knit. They are not soft but will be warm being 100% wool. I would rather have them double knit but she has her own ideas. Here's the second one in progress.....

She has been working on crocheting a pillow cover and it is turning out really nice. I tell her that she could make her own beanies if she can make this….

But I think there is something she likes about me making her things that is special.

And a pillow I have crocheted that I call 'Odd Man Out'.

Here are a couple of hats I have made her that she wears at the cabin.

One of these days I will have an FO picture gallery on the side of the page - until then.....

The best mother"s day

We spent Mother's Day at the cabin. I love the cabin! The son and daughter went to the store and brought me the most beautiful earrings and charm, flowers and Dragonfly - they know their Mom. They had it in a teddy bear case. I was so touched they would spend their money on me like that but as they said and they're right - "you always spend yours on us". I'm a little sad the homemade days seem to be ending...but I love my loot.

A Bag for all Occasions

I have had a leather bag for 18 years that I love! It can be slung over my shoulder or used as a back pack, it is a perfect carry-on size and is my choice when I walk Water Street in St. John’s. I can carry my newly found unnecessary treasures on my back and shop in comfort. I began thinking that the daughter needed a bag like this. I got out a crochet hook and Bernat cotton and went to work. Here is the result. I lined it with left-over material from my shower curtain made 16 years ago. Yes, I have an unnecessarily large stash that needs to be used up and unfortunately (or fortunately?) I throw out nothing. I added a zippered pocket for small items and here’s the result……..


She has found it quite useful for sleepovers and as a car bag for road trips so now I think the nieces need one too. Theirs are a different color so I still have to pick out the lining and get the straps done but I think they will make nice birthday gifts with a little surprise inside.

Hmmmm!

We should be ashamed, but strangely are not....

My Escape

I have turned the garage on my house into my craft room. The requirements were lots of wood, TV with satellite, lots of storage and good lights. I’m so happy I have a window. The floor is cork – my new favourite flooring. My previous work area was a windowless room in the basement. Here is the result…..


The little metal green sewing machine was my first at 8 years old. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

The back of the garage is a storage type room which was converted years before my sewing room. I go through it to get to my room. When my husband and father put it in, the floor was just plywood. I decided to paint it with what resembled old fashioned mats at the doorways. The old door in the picture was salvaged from an old house in St. John’s that my brother bought. I love it. The men making my sewing room couldn’t understand why I wanted it put back up, they just don’t get it……….

The Hike

This past Saturday the family was deciding how to beat out the dog. We decided instead of the usual 40 minute jaunt in the woods, we would drive out to our cabin road, park on the highway and walk into the cabin to dig it out after 63cm of snow. It was a beautiful day and the walk was really enjoyable, a great idea by the husband.

About 11/2 hours later we arrived, beat out and rosy cheeked. Then it happened – no one wanted to leave. We had only the little food that was in the cupboard plus some left over KFC chicken we brought with us, a little water left in the big bottle and some Zwak juice packs. Well, it didn’t matter; we had wood for the wood stove, gas for the generator and we were staying for the night. The kids wanted to play Nintendo 64 so we set it all up for them. We put out some lawn chairs, found some drinks in the fridge and sat out in the back like we were at the beach. What a delightful afternoon.

When we finally went inside I was happy to know my 11 year old daughter had left her craft bag with some Bernat cotton and hooks and needles. Bonus, I had something to do. I knit a dishcloth and made her a new beanie. The beanie went on her head and the dishcloth to the sink since we didn't bring the clean cabin cloths with us. After all - who knew.

Then I found a book I had been meaning to read “The continuity Girl”. Easy Reading. Enjoyable.

I found an FO that has been chewed on a little too. It is a crocheted rag rug at the cabin for the dog. I ripped old sheets left by the previous owners into strips and this is the result.

Another rug I have crocheted is in front of our fireplace at home. A friend had the Briggs and Little wool lying around her house. She was attempting to knit a sweater but it kept breaking on her so she thought I may find a use for it. Around $80 of pure wool – delight! I am going to us the rest to make pads for the chairs in the dining area adjacent to the living room – can’t wait. 50 more centimetres snow forecast for next two days – oh JOY! Maybe another hike to dig out the cabin again this weekend….

Primitive Rugs

Two years ago, my son studied Vikings in school so when summer vacation arrived we decided to take a trip to the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland to visit the Viking settlement. Along the way we visited some craft stores and galleries. In one of those galleries there was a primitive rug for sale. It was of a Newfoundland dog and very primitive. I admired the rug and told the children I would not buy it because I was going to learn to rug hook myself and would then make my own. I never thought of it again because of the fact I barely have time for the things I know how to do. We were at our cabin one weekend when my son, a little upset with himself, told me he saw a sign at the local library announcing a rug hooking camp for that weekend and he forgot to tell me. How thoughtful of him to remember that I wanted to learn. Anyway because of that moment, I went to the library when we got back home and took out books and started my self learning. The library “hooked” me up with a lady that had some kits and here are the results so far. The kids were really happy that I added our Portie with her one white paw to the house mat.

I really want to make one for over our fireplace of a Labrador with a little bird on its back in memory of our beloved Labrador Retriever, who passed away two years ago May 31st. She never chewed trigger mitts. RIP.

A moment of silence...

Well it’s happened. The sweetest little chewer in the world has moved from thumbs and graduated to the cuffs of my much cherished trigger mitts. Not the bought ones, knit by others, but the ones I have spent my precious time making! It only took me months and three pairs to figure out the pattern and create them just like my grandmother used to. I was mad at the dog but really it was the person who left the door to the tickle trunk (what we call our mitt/hat basket in the front cupboard since we got the portie) open and then, was not watching the little puppy while she was so so so quiet, somewhere in the house. Hmmmm, the family thought I was overreacting, after all nobody was hurt! How could they not understand – my response “can we just have a moment of silence here for the trigger mitt”? I have included a picture of the victim…..I may be able to knit the cuff back up by picking up the stitches – so not the point!!!

Finished!

I have completed a pair of trigger mitts that actually fit my son. The last pair went to my daughter but although she wears them, she is not fond of the blue/grey color. She has made me promise the next pair I knit are for her - purple with pink snowflakes - I promised!

We have a little problem with trigger mitts in our house by the name of Zoey. Zoey is an overzealous 10 month old portuguese water dog which really enjoys thumbs. She steals the mitts and just eats the thumbs. Maybe I should have the kids wear them like that and it may start a new trend. Like the fingerless mitts that are all the rage now.

I have been surveying my house for FOs and realize I have quite a collection from over the years. I really would like to make a slideshow with a description of each one to share with those interested. I am starting to take my pictures now. If anyone has any suggestions on how I would create this show, I would really appreciate it.