miscellaneous

That's how I'm feeling — upside down. Don't you think Chili is illustrating that perfectly? ;-) I miss talking to my son. I miss knowing that he's going through all sorts of new and challenging times and I can't know what he has to say about it, at least not until the letters start coming and even then, it's not going...

Hello my lovelies! Just a quick note to tell you about the big sale at JoAnn's this Friday-Monday for Labor Day weekend. McCall's patterns are $1.99 & Vogue are $3.99 each, plus red-tag fabric is an additional 50% off. For those of you looking to score some fabric at a decent price, this post is for you! I can't guarantee you'll...

“Mummy, come here!  Come and see! Come and see what I made!” “It’s a sauce cake!” To go with here current favourite meal, sauce on bread. She rang Grandma to let her know what she’d been cooking....

I have to tell about my birthday party. I wasn't going to mention my birthday, but I haven't had a 'girls' birthday party for years and years. I decided that since my church knitting group meets on the 2nd and 4th Mondays, and my birthday was on the 5th Monday, I would just invite them over for Birthday Knitting. We are...

(Cue Billy Mays voice) Does your white bread often look like this after you've gotten it home from the grocery store? Mine too. And it has ticked me off forEVER. Ask my sons, *every* time I'm in the store I wonder aloud why bread manufacturers don't use something more sturdy to package bread. Drives me nuts. Well, no more — I...

I took Sewetta, my new vintage machine to a repair shop for what I hoped would be a good cleaning and lubrication. The news wasn't good. After the technician looked her over, he asked how much I paid. When I said $30, he said, "You paid too much." Ouch. The bobbin case needed to be replaced and one of the gears...

We’ve been busy trying to explain the Australian political process to Clare.  We’ve told her that there are different levels of government, and that the election that took place yesterday was the Federal election, which is the one for the … Continue reading →...

I was minding my own business. I'd run a few Saturday morning errands and by 1:00 PM I was back home, ready to relax and trace the jacket to my L BD. The phone rang. Ring Ring Me: Hello? Karen : Do you want to buy a sewing machine? Me: Hell yeah! I'll be right there! Click Well, maybe it wasn't...

It’s Election Day!  And you know what? I love it!  I love that we have the opportunity to vote and have a say.  I’ve been telling my girls that there are places in the world where people fight and die … Continue reading →...

When you hang out on Ravelry for a while, and when you crochet in public, you quickly learn that many people assume that if you are doing something with yarn you must be “knitting”.  Apparently there is a knitting vs crochet … Continue reading →...

Yesterday, I brought up the subject of favorite embroidery flosses, specifically of the cotton 6-stranded variety. While I was writing that post, it brought to mind all my favorite embroidery threads. And among the favorites is what we call in the US “coton a broder,” a 4-ply, non-divisible, mercerized cotton thread that is used especially [...]...

I'm so glad I used red for this outfit. The color keeps the outfit from being too matronly. I used a nice breathable cotton for the blouse and linen for the skirt. It will be perfect for summer Sundays in church. The Blouse: BWOF 04-06-126 I've made this blouse twice in three weeks and there isn't much more to say about...

Today I collected Clare from school at morning tea time and with Stella in tow we headed off for Clare to take part in a photo shoot.  We made our way to a suburban park for location photos and Stella ran up and down and around and up and down and around and up and down and around…when she wasn’t [...]...

I’m surprised that it’s been so long since I last posted!  It’s been a busy few days.  Cathy’s Exhibition opening was wonderful – her work is just gorgeous and I am saving for my favourite piece, Reef.  There was lovely food and drink, terrific company, and Cathy was just glowing!  A superb evening. Then what else have [...]...

… she ends up rearranging her entire fabric closet. I thought I would be sewing today. My sons left this morning for MetroCon with their bubblewrap suits (photos and an interesting tidbit coming later), DH went off to work, and I had the whole day alone. I went up to the sewing room fully intending to start on a new Hot...

After much consideration and trawling of Ravelry, I decided to keep things simple and turn some of the Millefoglie yarn into a scarf and hat.  This yarn is made up of five different yarns knotted together in turn, so it really didn’t lend itself to anything fancy.  Also, some of the yarns are fluffy or [...]...

Photo Link I thought you'd enjoy seeing this card, which was about half-full of snaps when I got it. It was part of my grandmother's sewing things. I've no idea when she might have bought it. Although I do remember Penney's having a sewing and fabric department, I don't think snaps were 4 cents then. Now they're apparently about $1.50 for...

Beanies are such a quick fix when you need to see some results of your endeavours.  A Flapper hat in Lincraft Cosy Wool, which is 8 ply rather than the recommended 10 ply.  This was given to a friend’s two-year-old. An Olivia’s Butterfly in mystery yarn from my stash. I made one for myself as well, this [...]...

Here's an original thought ( I made it up myself – feel free to use it ) : Sewing is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. Here's how I arrived at this great profundity: Bad news: Several months ago, my machine started making strange and ugly noises and the bobbin compartment door kept popping...

I made an impromptu visit to my home town in central New York State for the holiday weekend. The visit was bittersweet. My beloved aunt is in the hospital and will most likely be discharged to an assisted living facility. But, I got to see my immediately family and we had a great time together. The small amusement park in my...