tie one on

Three years ago I started this blog mainly because I wanted to join the "Month of Softies" challenge. I'm a student at heart - I thrive on assignments, and so far web challenges have got me making and reading more. angry chicken's "Tie One On" has always been on my radar, but this is the first time I've made an entry. The theme was Gingham Summer, and even though I had plenty of gingham and coordinating fabrics on hand, I ended up making an apron that is very simple bordering on downright plain. As soon as the ribbon went on I just could not add another embellishment. But I really like the hostess style these days, and I'm excited to pass this on to a special someone. Actually, that may be my new approach when I make things - figure out who would like it and give it away. Like I've said a hundred times to myself, our house is just too small and I'm not about to stop making stuff.

And check out the great Flickr gallery for Gingham Summer - this child's version is capital A adorable.

raccoon therapy

This little guy is from my "quick and dirty" category of sewing. I probably spent more time drawing out possible faces than sewing him (the whole bandit-eye-thing is tricky, as it easily veers into panda bear territory) but I feel like it took a while because I spread the short sewing time over...umm...about three months. Back in the spring we had a Mama Raccoon and 5 babies spending their evenings in our backyard, and it's no understatement to say that Jay was freaked out by them. So I thought I would adorable-ize the animals by making a stuffed version for indoors. Ridiculous idea I know, but that's how it started. Or maybe I just needed a new animal to try out.

In the end, Jay is far more fond of this fellow than I am. I don't dislike him, he's just not totally my thing. Generally I make very plain softies, so this guy almost has too much going on for me. Or maybe he just feels...stumpy. I'm not sure. But I won't abandon the idea of raccoons just yet, even though the family of 6 seems to have abandoned us. Perhaps they caught sight of this guy hanging out in their garden and found another tiny house in the city to call their own.

(As an aside - I'm amazed that the raccoon looks like he's out in nature, when truthfully at every edge of this photo are pieces of the city. Our front yard is so small, but if you crop it just right, instant forest!)

summer booklust

Truthfully, I haven't had much success making things this summer, but I cannot say the same for reading. For most of our vacation it was my hobby of choice, and my solitary subway ride home has really been adding up in reading hours. I've even finished another Canadian novel since I took this picture, but for now I'm going to see if I can do a quick recap of the six books above, three of which are part of my Canadian Challenge list.

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews: Gut-wrenching. The insight into the lives of Manitoba Mennonites was fascinating, and yet so heartbreaking. After reading Toews' memoir for her father, I could see him in this novel's father character and it just added so much more emotion to his fragile existence. The tragedy of being shunned by your own community is hard to fathom, but I rooted for the whole family despite their impossible future.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan: Shocking, even though I never saw it coming. Most of the way through I had a difficult time empathizing with Mamah Cheney, the married woman who left her family to be with Frank Lloyd Wright. Her daughter was under 2 when she left and as much as I tried, I just couldn't get over choosing a man instead of your children. I feel bad even admitting it here, but I just couldn't let the feeling go. Regardless, the novel was a wonderful study of a particular time in history, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The ending knocked me clear off my feet and I can't stop thinking about it. And to know that it's true...my goodness.

Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins: I saw the author on Rogers Television on what must have been a very impressionable night. The next day I decided to pick the novel up as my vacation treat - a brand new hardcover about two creative types dealing with marriage and pregnancy. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The tension was good, even creepy, but in the end I don't know exactly what happened and it left me annoyed. For the time I invested, I wanted to at least understand the ending. I must be losing patience as I age - it was just like the end of Half Nelson, which still bugs me even thoughI enjoyed Ryan Gosling's performance.

The Given by Daphne Marlatt: Long ago someone handed me Ana Historic and I devoured it. I loved that novel, and to this day I rank it as an all-time favourite. So you can imagine my high expectations for The Given. Sadly, my experience wasn't the same. Definitely there were beautiful passages and fragments of thoughts that I savoured, but the story itself wasn't as complete for me and I lost interest quickly. I dog-eared many, many pages - I just think the novel form wasn't right for this story. Does it count if I say the cover is fantastic?

A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart: Oh, Jane Urquhart. I adore everything she has written and this particular novel was spectacular. Also, I read it at the cottage, in Prince Edward County, having no idea that the novel was set inPrince Edward County. Clearly this added another dimension to my experience, but I wouldn't have needed it, the novel was such a pleasure on its own. Her language is so clean and gentle, and I fall into another rhythm when I'm inside one of her stories. The characters fascinated me and the whole notion of landscape informing our essential nature is inspiring.

The Tenth Gift by Jane Johnson: I chose this mainly because the story synopsis mentioned a 17th century embroidery pattern book, but I enjoyed it far more than I was expecting to. Of all these books, it was the lightest and swiftest, almost like chick-lit for the fibre geek (that's me). I learned historical facts I never knew, travelled from the British Isles to Morocco and enjoyed descriptive passages about fabrics and needlework. It was exotic, authentic, and I know my Mom is going to love it!

Hmm, I just realized that's a lot of girl power - I should sneak a male author or two in soon! And next time I'll try to get back to the knitting comparisons. Six was simply too much to tackle this late at night.

push pins be gone

Most days involve working, making dinner as soon as I get home around 7pm followed by getting Sadie to bed. At 10pm I get back downstairs with only enough energy to sit and knit in front of one Veronica Mars episode (which we're almost done...what am I going to do?). Considering all this, I'm still a little shocked that I finished this blind. But make no mistake, I had to make a deal with Jay to get a few hours alone on a precious Saturday afternoon to work the miracle. I'm not crazy about dipping into quality Sadie time, but the push pin look had really worn out its' welcome.

Otherwise there's not too much to say about this hard-to-photograph blind: Shinzi Katoh fabric which I still really love, a simple roman blind style, and finally the breakthrough to use white lining to keep the blind as bright as possible (using regular muslin was truly a stumbling block for me). Finally, one check mark on the bloated to-do list.

One small secret though...after all the painting efforts of last year, I'm about 99% certain that I have to repaint the kitchen. The grey feels too dark, and I miss the ivory walls. To-do list, you get bigger every day.

thriftin' in kingston

Unless we want Sadie to own the worst collection of teddy bears ever, our thrifting days with her are numbered. In fact, she may not even like the whole thrifting hobby her parents have, but this summer the stangers-keep-giving-me-teddy-bears-for-just-being-cute habit kept her sufficiently interested.

Over vacation we learned once and for all we're really not beach people (Sadie included). What we do have a strong love for is exploring every junk shop/thrift store/antique stop we stumble upon. I may even proclaim it's the whole reason Jay likes travelling by car, anywhere. Our two weeks in eastern Ontario were thrift-prolific, and the photos above are just a few of the fun things I found.

Even during university Jay and I seperately enjoyed the Sunday antique market in Kingston, and every time we get a chance to visit we find a gem. This time it was the $18 table and chair set for Sadie. Each piece folds (great for packing up into the car) and it was made in Belleville which feels nice and authentic. Sadie loves it, though the GIGANTIC smile she has in the photo may have more to do with the little sequin purse her Gramma found for her. At the market I also found what I consider to be "the perfect bowl". Stamped "Pigeon Forge Pottery, Tennessee" it is a cool oatmeal colour, glazed inside but matte on the outside. And the shape is oh-so-pleasing. Some may say plain, I say perfect.

I also had luck with books and patterns. Does anyone else think the photos in old Beehive pattern books are a day's worth of entertainment? I may not have the courage to try the patterns though, the small type and older references are daunting but the women's cardigan on the cover is pretty cute. It reminds me of the Garnstudio cardigan people have been making, which is on my knitting wish list. And although it doesn't look like much, the small white book, sold to me for a whopping $3, is ominously called "The Wedded Life". It was written by a Philidelphia Reverend in 1886 and its' three chapters are called Marriage, The Husband's Part and The Wife's Part. Even better is that the front page is filled in by hand as a certificate of marriage, dated April 5th, 1898 and signed by witnesses. The book is also full of little newspaper clippings, the very last one being the obituary of the husband listed on page 1. It blows me away, and the language describing marriage...wow. This is probably hands-down my favourite find.

See? We're addicted. I couldn't even pass up another wool blanket (I mean it's aqua, how can I resist?) though I'm dragging my feet making wool softies these days. But as an aside, I've almost talked myself into making another run of Bundlies circa 2008, and aqua would be a great colour to work with. So anyway, that's the story of a hopeless thrifter. Thank goodness I married another hopeless thrifter. We just need a way bigger house.

To store all the awful teddy bears, of course.

will knit for books

Wait - that's a little bit misleading. I mean that I will knit for the sake of books, not that I will knit for books as payment. Umm...no, I'd probably do that too. I'm a sucker for books. And knitting.

This "Canadian, eh?" hat is destined as a prize for the 2008/2009 Canadian Reading Challenge. I went all-out Canadian; clearly the colours are homegrown, and I think the stripes feel very "hockey", but I also knit it with Mission Falls 1824 Merino Superwash, a nice soft wool that is made right here in Canada. And I knit it entirely on vacation, at a cottage, and photographed it near a barn. So really, with the exception of not including a maple leaf, I think the Canadian angle is covered.

Size-wise, it works well on children and adults alike, it justs changes the style a bit depending on who wears it. Sadie would be my pick - I am biased of course, but I think she looks terribly cute in it. Well, Jay does too. Basically, I quite like the hat, and hopefully the prize winner will as well. At the very least I can promise it will keep the winner's noggin' toasty warm, in a truly Canadian way.

vacation days

Oh, what a vacation.

For the past two weeks we stayed at a fairly secluded cottage in Prince Edward County. We had grass to play on, frisbees to throw, books to read and fantastic views to enjoy. Now I'm wading through piles of laundry and tackling an explosion of weeds in the yard, hoping to ease back into real life. Thank goodness for the extra day off tomorrow because I can already feel the back-to-work anxiety creeping in. But I have lots of posting to catch up on, from knitting to reading to thrifting. Cottage vacations are perfect for all these hobbies, not to mention just general relaxing. Throw in a marathon viewing of Veronica Mars, almost-daily blueberry picking and a trip to a lavender farm and that just about covers our vacation story.

Like I said, oh, what a vacation.

wee distractions

You know that moment when you've been knitting, wreaking havoc trying to sew clothes, and looking at a to-do list of sewing for the house? It's precisely the moment when you say to yourself, "wow, I really feel like doing a bit of embroidery". I had that moment on Saturday and suddenly two wool cat rattles appeared.

Truthfully, I do have baby gifts on my to-do list which usually means knitting up a hat. But I've had my eye on this hand dyed embroidery floss I found in Paris and I think part of me has been missing using wool. And making wool softies. Definitely this shape is an easy step back in, but I thought the ears turned out particularly cute and that in itself might push me to fashion arms and legs next time. Though in the world of rattles, if adults could have them, one of these would be my choice. I keep picking up the ivory one and just holding it in my hand. Really, I like the size of it better...and it's mouth line and the fact that there isn't a grosgrain ribbon loop hanging out its' side (that's not my best idea and it leaves the poor peach kitty in gift-giving limbo). Oh, and there are little bells safely tucked inside both, completing the whole rattle picture.

Now I really must get to that home sewing. Shinzi Katoh fabric push-pinned into window moulding and held open with clothes pegs just isn't the look we're going for around here. Five months is kind of the limit.

baking therapy

When the hot weather hits, I forget all about baking. But yesterday it was argument central around here and when Jay and I were smart enough to stay out of each other's path, Sadie had a suggestion: "let's make muffins Mommy". That girl had the right idea. We put on our aprons, turned up Willie Nelson and tried a new concoction that was essentially a vegan-ized version of an Ina Garten recipe with an extra helping of chocolate. By the time they were ready the bad vibes were history and we all sat outside with our warm treats and shared them with the neighbours. Here's the recipe:

No More Bickering Muffins

1 cup Bran cereal (I used All Bran sticks)
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup non-dairy margarine (PC Celeb has one)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 very ripe banana
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/c cups flour (wholewheat or all-purpose)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips (Loblaws No-Name are the only ones around here)
1 ripe banana, chopped into small chunks

Combine Bran cereal and soy milk and set aside for at least 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream margarine and sugar together, then add the very ripe banana and combine really well. Next add the molasses and vanilla. Finally add the Bran cereal mixture and mix well. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingrediants to the wet in two stages and mix until just combined. Fold in the raisins, chocolate chips and banana chunks. Using an ice cream scoop drop batter into muffin cups. This batch made 15 muffins for me, but I could probably have squeezed the batter into 12 cups. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Especially yummy when eaten warm.

seriously

Very serious note to self: When you are a full-time worker, cook, laundry mistress, wife and mother, never, ever think that you can sew without a pattern. What will result is a complete and utter build up of wasted time as you start making a skirt, turn it into a shirt, back into a skirt and then finally a tank top. Curse words will abound and you will have nothing to show for your efforts, turning your blog into a space where you only write about books (which you finish after you've thrown polka-dotted fabric across the room for one last time). This isn't 1991 and if sewing clothes is important, for goodness sake, rely on the structure and predictability of a pattern. And stop making things that make everyone around you think you're pregnant. There's a fine line between fashionable empire waists and a gather or two too much. Patterns are aware of these nuances. Use them.

(But hey, that's a pretty cute bunny in the background. And perhaps the gingham challenge for Tie One On is worth a little effort?)