The perfect thing for the perfect nap

Well it's done and I am thrilled with it!  Looking at it, it makes me wonder - Did I do that? It all started with the wonderful palette from the Moda Happy Go Lucky fabrics from Camille Roskelley.  Ta Daaaaa...

The colours are:
Seafoam
Fabulous red
Light blue
Medium blue
Bright turquoise
Woody green
Orange
White
and I  still love granny squares!  And...the first nap? Sublime!

Anticipation...

Tried and tried to show this pic the right way round but failed miserably.  Got her all fixed up and then when I tried to upload - didn't work, but it's here to show.....what fun it is to open an envelope from the mailman!!!!! After ordering from online I sometimes forget the amazingness of what I have ordered and two days ago a rainbow appeared in my mailbox.  Just the thing to add a little something something to the pouches!

  Last week Cam and I went on a field trip to the new Lesmills fabric store and it was  paradise. Never even knew it was here but I saw a commercial on T.V. and I couldn't wait to go.  It was a wonderfully successful visit - got all kinds of new fabrics - dreadful traffic to get there BUT lots and LOTS of choices, and BONUS, wool galore, notions etc etc.  Well worth the trip to Dufferin street.

The next dozen or so pouches are all cut and ready to go, some with coloured zips, some white.  OOOH such fun!

Zakka - Busy hands

Zakka is a Japanese (I'm pretty sure it's Japanese...hmmm) word for small things that are handy, think of change purses, bookmarks, glasses cases, zippered pouches, key lariats, jewellery containers.....

I've been busy - since I have fabric that I completely love I decided to make some small zippered pouches and here they are.  The best, absolutely BEST thing about production work is sewing in your label.  I have fun every time I do it.  For the last couple of years, my label has been Sweet Cottons and the design only has to change depending on how small it has to be.  Sigh - so much fun!

I LOVE this lining fabric

Some are done

And here are the Sweet Cotton Labels - fresh off my Inkjet printer!

The Washi Dress

All I can say is that I LOVE this dress!!!

The Shirring!!!!

Here it is my "fashion pose"

The lowly granny square...poor benighted granny square...

See?  Kinda like a little bug....

Actually, deep down I think every granny square afghan  I have seen is pretty ugly.  Ugly colours, just ugly.  But when you take up crocheting, eventually you will have to learn how to make granny squares.  They begin as such a lowly little thing, kind of like a bug on a leaf.  About 10 minutes later, there it is in all its adorableness.  Bang...addicted.  So now, the problem, what to do with them.  So here, in pictures is the genesis of the little "shopalong" purse I just finished.  I love the colour and I got really skinny yarn and learning to use a much smaller hook was actually fun! The pics show the fabrics I auditioned for the lining and then I braided some macrame twine for the handle.  Love it!!!

Such humble beginnings

Eventually I joined the squares all together, but I had to make some more because then I decided on a flap!

Here are some of the lining candidates - icky inside yellow light tho..

Here she is - and I love her!

Fabric bowls

Well, I don't know when or how this started...upon reflection, yes I do.  Trolling through crafty blogs I came upon this amazing list of tutorials for everything handy/girly/easy to make.  Lo and behold - the fabric bowl.  And that was it.  They are reversible, pretty and useful - what's not to like?  I added a reversible disc in the bottom for me to play with and change the look.  I use mine for bulldog clips and paperclips on my desk and I sigh with happiness when I look at them!

Oh so exciting - shirring

Shirring in process

And here it is in all its glory!

I must confess that in all my sewing hacking around career, I had never shirred anything at all!  I know...how is this possible??!- especially considering how amazingly fun it is to do.  Off to Youtube to find out how to proceed and voila, it is as easy as pie.  Handwind the bobbin with no tension, pop it into the machine, pull up and away you go BY MAGIC.  And will you just look at the result?  Fabulous I say.  Pish, tosh, done like dinner.

The Washi dress begins...

 Here is the first step in the Washi dress creation saga.  For some reason I bought a pattern online.  Strange name, "Washi Dress" but very stunning.  So how does one get a pattern through the computer and onto the fabric you ask?  It comes printed on numerous 8x10 sheets and one cuts out the sheets and puts them together like a puzzle.  Then cut out the pieces as usual, pin to fabric, cut out and away one goes.

Second Clothing Project Completed!

 And here is the second project - a summery royal blue, yellow and white top.  I plan to wear this top with white capris or MAYBE make the white denim skirt that is all cut out and waiting (lurking) up in my craft room, but we shall see.

 I really like the way this looks, simple and pretty and I MIGHT make another one but definitely Simplicity or McCalls.  This was easy to make in comparison to the dress and I also love this fabric.  At work, when the A/C is high, I have a royal blue short sleeved cardi and a bright yellow sht sleeved cardi to put on with it.  So swish right?

And below are the two new purses I got.  Generally I think purses are a nuisance and a necessary evil but I take the workhorse one to work - it contains the essentials, entire makeup counter, provisions for whatever catastrophe might occur, water, camera, phone and several small animals. (Just kidding)  So when I went to Sears on the "find a belt" expedition I idly glanced over at the purses on offer.  Well, I was NOT paying $35 for each bag!! In fact I was quite affronted at their nerve.  Went to Walmart and got both of these delicious purses for a total of $35.  I call this a very successful cheap and cheerful shopping trip.

New Bright Green "Workhorse" bag

Adorable runabout little purse

New Clothing Projects Finally!

Without Belt - quite like

 We know the story up to now - when it was still winter I had the brilliant idea to make (YES, MAKE) some summer clothes.  Got patterns, everything cut out and then the "fun" started.  Oh my goodness!!!! This was a New Look pattern - don't use them EVER.  To say it was a "small cut" pattern does not cover it.  Made it in Sz. 12 -(for hips) should have made it in size 14. I ended up taking out the long shaping darts in the back and it still was too tight and then I got mad when I realized about the HUGE gap at the back neck and just resewed just one side of the zip instead of ripping the whole thing out and starting again.  This I am revealing to a numbered two of you who will read this.  I plan to wear my hair tied low at the back of my neck, hanging down and all will be hidden quite nicely.  That complaining all said, I still LOVE THE FABRIC and am not totally dismayed about the hip fit. If the seams are 1/4", that would be a stretch.   I found the perfect belt which I think is the way I shall wear the dress and wear this thing I will!

Wonky Zipper - Oh brother!

Found THE perfect belt, reddy brown

The saga of the neckline.  The whole upper back, front neckline was a nightmare.  The pattern showed a neckline more or less straight across the front.  No sirree - finished it and it gaped so hugely in the front it was a joke. By this time I was fit to be tied.  Sewed two pleats in the front neckline - problem solved and hid that mess with this adorable bow!  Genius I think.  The bow makes the whole dress.

With Belt - think this wins

And, finally, the attached bow not visible above

So here I am with said bow - had to make sure it was visible.  I will NOT be using New Look patterns ever again - IF I do another dress EVER, it will be with good old Simplicity or McCalls and I am basting every single seam before sewing to check the fit.  Lessons learned for sure.  And on to the next little project...

Sewing some summer clothes

 Not having done this since the 70's, it was a real joy to head back into Fabricland and browse through the pattern books once again.  I enjoyed it so much many years ago and this was like a wonderful trip down memory lane.  Of course, me being me, one pattern and one little dress wasn't enough and I left with a plain skirt pattern (which I love) for a white denim skirt and a blue, yellow and white fabric for a little sleeveless top go to with it.  There was such a wonderful deja vue feeling the whole time!We shall all go on my sewing odyssey together.

 The little red top bottom left will be in the blue, yellow and white print below.  I'm saving the willowy print and pattern to show another time - that little sleeveless number has a collar and tie.  It will be lovely! The little skirt fabric is at the bottom

A sewing we shall go, a sewing we shall go, hi ho the derryo, a sewing we shall go!

Bisque!

We went to Portico with Rob's social group and we painted bisque bowls and everyone had a wonderful time.  Cracked Pot in Oakville came out to us with bowls paints and the amazing Darcy and away we went.  Such fun!

A Camping we will go....

Here we go, the newbie campers

So there we were on a rainy March day in 2012 and we bought a trailer!   Never camped before and, truth be told, for me it was a non-issue, I was not going to be sleeping on the wet ground in the rain, under a dripping tree.

However, our little trailer has everything this luxury loving girl could want including a furnace, air conditioning, shower, microwave - well, you get the picture.

All those years I absolutely REFUSED to consider the possibility of camping were wasted because I fell in love.  Completely and totally.  In love with all of it.  Don't care if it's raining because I can curl up in our bed with all my books and needlework around me - pure, unadulterated bliss!  The sunshine, bike rides, fires at night - all heavenly.  Boy was I wrong before, big fat wrong!  Can't wait to get out this year.  I completely adore the Pinery Provincial Park.  It is just fabulous....

Clarence Gagnon

To me he painted the most exquisite quintessential portraits of early Quebec in the snow.  Love these paintings so much.

Passion for embroidery

It all started with Jacobean embroidery and morphed into all things embroidered (of course).  Faces, new techniques with needle painting, flowers motifs - the whole lot.  It gives me great joy and each piece is so different so no chance of boredom!  I feel a real tie to all the women in other times who did exquisite embroidered work - astonishing in its complexity and beauty.