NOT IMPRESSED

I live in Quebec so when I tried to access the following site which I had accessed a million times previously in the past......http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/html/quebec.html .... a message shows up indicating that due to the Charter of the French Language the online site will not be made available  to Quebec residents until after 10/12/13 but alternatively they hope that we will visit them at their physical store which has opened up. If they were planning to open up in Quebec you would think that they would have planned ahead and had their site running at the same time as the opening. Well needless to say I can not circumvent hitting this brick wall by looking up the American site because it recognizes that you are using a computer in Quebec and just gives you the same annoying message. I don't think I will be visiting the store anytime soon. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So I will be going on an anthropologie diet until October. How stupid you would think that they would want to make money but I guess they haven't thought things through thoroughly. Some people do not shop in brick and mortar stores anymore and prefer to do it online in the comfort and privacy of their homes. Away from crowds. But I guess Anthropologie has not kept up with the times......

TEA TOWEL APRON PROGRESS

Last year on a lunch time trip to SIMONS I saw a bunch of cute navy and white tea towels and decided to put a couple of them together and make a tea towel apron. The tea towels are full of the words "salt and pepper" in different languages. Well, I did not have a plan but creativity took over and I just started to piece them together until I got tired of the project and left it. Month after month I heard the little voice inside my head telling me to pick it up again and finish it finally. So last month I took it up again and went full steam ahead until I got it to the point where it was close to finishing.

Below is a picture of the underside of the apron with all the pieces stitched together.


I also added a button on the inside of the apron and a slot on the neck strap so my mother could wear the apron as well because she has a shorter torso than I do.


I still have the underlining to do and finish up the adjusting strap on the other side with some
twill tape. Almost over........

VERY EXCITED

I am way over the moon excited today. I just found out that Michael's craft store is coming to Montreal. YAYYYY!!!!!!!! Finally..... I know that it is not a good situation for the art stores in Montreal as their businesses will surely be compromised but it is such a good thing for consumers to finally find brands and products in a store rather than going online for all art stuff. As it happens now I buy most of my art products from Toronto,the States, or Europe. I think that I will be one of their best customers much to the chagrin of my family.

HOW MANY IS TOO MANY?

How many sewing machines are too many? Two, three, five????

Originally my sister had purchased a Kenmore in the late 70's and it sat in the box for what seemed like an eternity. Realising that she was never really going to sew (although it was a solid investment) she decided to hand it down to me. I on the other hand had only sewn my Barbie's dresses (by hand) mind you. I still can not recall how I was allowed to use a sewing needle. I guess it was the 70's and parents were not overly cautious about things as they are now, with good reason of course. You can never be too careful. Needless to say I was so excited. I had my own machine, even though I did not have the first clue as to how to use it. I didn't know how to set the thread tension, thread it or change the needle plate to use the zigzag stitch. Yes, of course the machine came with an instruction booklet but who has the time, and how hard can it be? Well, I broke three machine needles in one week. The first two flew by the side of my head, really fast.WHOOSH!!!!!!!!!! Before I even had time to get scared or realise how dangerous it was. I truly am not kidding.... I actually gave the machine to my father and announced that it had to be broken and please find me a repairman that could take a look at it and fix it. Boy, was I naive not to mention stupid. He obviously "thought" I knew what I was talking about so he took it in to be repaired. There was a repairman in our neighbourhood who actually worked on different kinds of sewing machines. The man checked it out and did not waste anytime in telling my father that I should read the instruction manual that came with the machine because I was trying to sew zigzag while all the time using a straight stitch needle plate, meaning the needle would strike the needleplate and snap in two. It was sweet sailing after I read the manual and was able to understand the different settings. I actually even broke one of the feet as the needle kept hitting it repeatedly, and it broke off. To this day I remember those days and laugh at my ignorance.

Fast forward to the 90's and my uncle was closing down his garment factory and tried to sell off most of the equipment. He asked me if I wanted one of the industrials and I leapt with joy!!!!!!!Who wouldn't? To this day it is still one of the best gifts I have ever received. In my eyes it is even more gratifying than owning a car. I know that only a real seamstress would ever understand that acknowledgement. But it felt like someone had gifted me the Hope diamond!!! I had to pinch myself, for real.

In the early 2000's I contemplated buying a serger since I would hand finish all my garments and thought I really needed one and could not live without. Thankfully the price of sergers was so high that my pocketbook took care of that decision and quickly nixed that idea. Good sergers go from $450 and up and it still doesn't look like the price will ever come down. Lack of space was also another factor so that idea got shelved for good and I quickly forgot about that.

Flash forward to this summer. I was getting antsy about computerized sewing machines and kept researching them on the net and thinking I really, truly, absolutely could not live without one. My still living Kenmore only had 12 decorative stitches and I was seriously crushing on the machines with 200+ that I could not see straight. My co-worker suggested I look into Pfaff. He owned one and sweared by its accuracy and solid construction. He suggested I speak to a dealer he had bought his from and so I looked into it very seriously. Let's just say that Pfaff sewing machines do not come cheap. I looked at other brands as well, but finally settled on the Pfaff Expression 4.0. It sewed beautifully had 200+stitches with a nice bright screen and automatic one step buttonholes (several different styles), it has an automatic threader, indicates to you when your bobbin is running low and the sewing foot is moved up or down at the touch of a button (believe it or not I still can not get used to the fact that there is no physical lever to lift the sewing foot). I caved. Yup, I bought one. It is the newest addition to my sewing family. Oh, and I also have a very small one for sewing up my cards. How many does that make? You got it, four altogether. Somedays I feel kinda guilty but when I can accomplish certain tasks with efficiency the guilt kind of dissipates and I feel very blessed. On the industrial (which happens to be a Brother) I have sewn hefty weighty materials on my Kenny I have sewed just about every type of material and he is my most treasured machine because I have had him for so long. The Expression is my proud realization of how far I have come and how much I have accomplished. I could not even adjust the tension on my previous machine and here I am choosing stitches and different threads to create amazing designs and figuring out how to sequence different designs together and save them onto the machine itself. I have also come a long way from sewing up a storm for Barbie to sewing up a storm for myself. Sewing is medecine for me and I guess you can never have too much medecine!!!!!!!!!!!

Guilty Pleasures

Over the past couple of years I have picked up card making (I am an avid collecter of rubber stamps) I use them to stamp on fabric but mostly on paper. I guess I love creating them because it challenges my brain to come up with different designs as well as color combos.







I guess my favourite stamps are Hero Arts, Papertrey Ink and Impression Obsession. I have several clear bins of my favourites and it has become my guilty pleasure. My New Year's resolution of this year has been to organize my craft area and not buy so much!

Can anyone tell I love making baby cards!!!

CELEBRATIONS

I hope that everyone has had a Merry Christmas and that the New Year brings everyone health, happiness and a renewed outlook on life. I thought that Christmas crept up on me very quickly this year and between work and taking care of my mom it was a little difficult to go all out and decorate and pay attention to the details. So almost last minute I remembered that I had bought a Christmas village complete with little people one year but had squirreled it away. So I got it out and then was sort of stumped as to how to decorate it with the lights I had just bought. I tried to go around each little house but the thick green wires were exposed and oh, what an ugly sight that was. Then I took the chance and shoved all the lights underneath the polyester fiberfill I had in my stash and used for snow. I absolutely loved the results. The "fake snow" glowed beautifully. I was actually afraid that the little lights would get very warm and may start a fire, so that was why I was hesitant. The lights didn't even get warm, so that showed me that it was pretty safe.

I loved the results. And so did my family. Check it out.

What attracted me to these little houses was that they are little ceramic miniatures of art.The glaze on them is just delicious. There is so much shine, color and texture on them and they are small in scale so I can scatter several all around and it does really resemble a tiny village. I have a general store, a dress shop and a church and a schoolhouse and the little people are just as varied. I have a father and son, a young couple, an older couple and two friends and just love imagining scenarios for them and placing them in different locations. I got the fence from Canadian Tire and it was my last add-on purchase. When I saw the fence I fell in love I thought it was spectacularly perfect. It adds a touch of reality to the whole scene. Now I just have to find small little trees to complete the look. This village was my tree replacement for this year and it seemed to be a hit with everyone.

I just can't wait till next year to add more accessories to my little village. Just planning and dreaming of the outcome is what I enjoy the most.

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Today is the first day in over a month that I have actually breathed a sigh of relief. My mom had cataract surgery in one eye to remove a "very mature" cataract. Even though this surgery is very common she was terrified to have the procedure done and so went years without removing it. When I mean years, I mean many, like a decade. When the doctor removed it he said it was a biggie so for the past several months we have been going to doctor's visits and she has been dreading having the surgery and along with that I have been feeling the stress that has left me with many sleepless nights. There have been many arguements between us as she had dug in her heels several times and refused to go ahead with the scheduled surgery.
When we left the doctor's office on Thursday I bombarded her with a series of questions like, "What color is this and this and this....." I pointed to my blouse and to the stop sign on the corner and to the green jacket I was wearing and time and time again she had the correct color. Whereas before I would get the same answer. Everything was either beige, brown or dark grey. She could not see color for ten years or so. Not just color she could barely see anything. I cried like a baby in the middle of the street because I was so happy and relieved that the surgery was finally over. I have had several years of pent up stress and frustration over this situation and praise God that everything has gone right.

Project Progress

Tatting is still my main focus for the moment. I have not wandered off to "create" other things. So far I have finished 1/10th of my project. Not even near the middle. I have done the top half of my edging. After this I have three more insertions to make and I will attach all of them together and crochet or sew them to the edge of my scarf.



I showed a co-worker of mine what I was doing and the amount of work which I still had to do on it and the only thing he could tell me was that he hoped I did not forget it on the bus because then all my hard work would be enjoyed by someone else. I don't even want to think of that scenario, let alone live it.

My mother says that it will be too ornate but I figure I want to go all the way on this one. I am glad that I picked this color though. It reminds me of the color of sand which is always wet as the water keeps running over it.

My progress is very slow but steady and I am trying not to get bored very quickly like I always seem to do. Its not hard to catch my attention but very hard to keep it! For the moment this is the only picture I have of my progress.

The only negative thing is that the tendonitis on my left elbow is acting up but the pain is manageable for now. I am hoping that it does not get too bad before I could finish the whole thing. Will keep everyone posted!

NOAH'S ARK

Well, I have already mentioned that we have kitties living in the back yard under the balcony (in the shed) where we keep our rakes and extra "stuff". I neglected to mention though that there are birds nesting again in the front of the house under my sister-in-law's balcony. They managed to construct a nest in a small crevice under the balcony where a wooden board was slightly loose. They knitted together twigs and fibers and created a little home and had their babies. Every morning the babies chirp incessantly waiting for their parents to feed them. I can even hear them when I wake up in the morning and the window is closed. Let's just say they can be heard clearly every morning and afternoon. I still do not understand how they managed to squeeze into such a small space. I am guessing at the dimensions but they may be somewhere like 3 inches long and 2 inches deep. There is definately more than two birds in that crawl space. Too tight for my taste.
So aside from those little critters, I found out that I had even more visitors coming my way. Let's see, their Head of State is a Queen and they set up colonies immediately when invading a territory. Unfortunately, they are not of the British variety. Neither Wills nor Kate, but I did get colonized pretty fast. My kitchen that is. Instantly saw those little suckers when I dropped something on the floor and stooped to pick it up. I started to realise that I was outnumbered. I did a stupid thing right off the bat, I vacuumed them because they were everywhere, now they are probably colonizing in my vaccuum. Not too smart!!!! I tried stepping on them hoping they would not send signals back home that they had found a new country and to send more troops but that didn't work either. .....They kept coming, one on the water cooler, 5 on my kitchen table. I wiped, I cleaned, I disinfected but to no avail. I purchased ant traps from Canadian Tire and set them up along the corners and in front of the patio doors. I stepped back and hoped that they would check in to eat the tainted peanut butter in the traps. The scent of food brought them out for sure, in high numbers, but they just scurried along the traps, stopping to smell the trap and then go on their merry way. I was livid and pulling my hair out by this point because they kept coming in and I would check outside but could not see a point of entry. I drove my brother crazy, so we took a little trip to Reno Depot and I perused through the aisle where they keep the insecticides. I finally settled on a small little bottle of "Raid: Liquid Ant Killer", main ingredient: 7.7 % borax....... Enough said. I went home and squirted the liquid along the baseboards, in the corners and in front of the patio doors. In two minutes I had used up the entire bottle. They came in droves, I tell you. They drank and drank and drank, I actually thought that some of them looked slightly hammered because they would wander off and bump into the wall. I don't think that they could get enough of this stuff!!!!! It was like nectar. In the evening I was literally inondated. I got grossed out, so I closed the light and ate in a different room of the house.
In the morning, I checked and there were only two or three wandering on my kitchen floor. When I came back from work yesterday evening there was only one walking across my floor. My brother joked that he was wondering where all his friends went. I thought that was funny. This morning I saw nothing. No activity, I am hoping they are out of my house. For anyone out there who has ants and is trying to get rid of them, ant traps DO NOT WORK.........Get the liquid stuff, it works like a charm (for the time being). I am just hoping that I have seen the last of them.

CHATTING AND TATTING

Tonight was one of those breezy spring evenings when you want to get together with family and friends, sip ice coffee on the balcony and just gossip about the week's events. My sister-in-law came downstairs with her knitting and my sister picked up her crochet and I had my tatting so we all sat together with the window open, a warm soft breeze entering the room,and we just gossiped about everything under the sun. So much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!When you're with good company the stitches go by so much faster and it does not seem so monotonous.
Right now I am tatting a lace edging for a scarf/shawl which I have just sewed. It's not a complicated lace pattern but the process is taking too long and it is getting tedious. I tend to get bored after repeating the same stitches over and over and feel the urge to stop but I shouldn't because then I run the risk of not picking it up again and my attention gets directed to other things like scrapbooking, cardmaking or stamp carving. I have a type of attention deficit disorder and can not stay with one project for too long before jumping on to the next. That is something I have to work hard on not doing, so I will try to progress as far as I can with this project before I feel like jumping on to something else.
Good night!!

Easter surprises

I feel kind of guilty that I haven't kept up my blog. I'll be honest that I have also been neglectful in following my most beloved blogs. So being up late, unable to sleep, I thought of just slowly easing back into it and at the same time getting the chance to wish everyone a Happy Easter.
Around two weeks ago my brother was going to uncover the barbecue, since we had Easter celebrations coming up, thinking that we would be roasting the lamb over the open barbecue and enjoy our Greek feast outside. As soon as he undid the plastic fabric cover a large feral cat suddenly jumped out. My brother was bewildered and upset that there was a large cat taking refuge in the spit and to add to the trouble she started to hiss at him. He looked into the barbecue, cringing that he would find a huge mess and was surprised to find three little babies all curled up in a furry bundle. Mama had decided to give birth in the open spit. Weren't we surprised!!!! We left her alone for about a week and a half and would put out a can of tuna now and again. But then the heavy wind we had one day blew the fabric cover off the spit and we could not get close enough to put the cover back on so unfortunately mama and babies were exposed to the elements as well as the humans (that would be us). Last week my sister in law called me at work and said that the mama and the two babies had left the "nest" but that the last baby was still there. I freaked out, hoping she would not leave the last one behind. It has been known to happen for one reason or another, that one of the three could be abandoned. I was in panic mode, until I got home, because I knew that if she had left one behind I would have to care for it and unfortunately would have to call a shelter to come take it. That made me very sad and distraught. I made it home and was put at ease to find out that she did inevitably take all three and found them a new home. It didn't take long to find out that they didn't go very far after all. They have taken refuge under my balcony. We have a closed in balcony where we keep the rakes and gardening supplies and the door has not been closing properly, it has been left ajar many times. So far the new family is doing fine and if we clean out the spit in time we just might get to use it yet. An extremely thorough cleaning, that is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BACK IN BLOGDOM

I've been away for a while. Dealing with many new things. We had a lot of renovations happen to the front of the house which meant dealing with a lot of stress. Stressing mostly about how something would look like when it would be finished and if the right color choice was made. Was the job done right..... It wasn't just myself who had to deal with this stuff, other family members had to deal with this as well. It wasn't a fun time. But when it was all finished, some of it anyways, the front of the house looked beautiful. We also had issues with work that was not finished. But that is a topic in itself...

My pictures are all over the place so I can not post any visuals for the time being. But there is a huge before/after difference that is evident when you see the pictures. I would have to say that the "piece de la resistance" is the ironwork of the front balcony. It is simply stunning. If you ever have to choose between iron and fiberglass, choose iron. It is more pricey but in the end makes a huge difference. I am so happy that it is over and done with.

Well I'm happy to be back in blogdom and look forward to posting more often from now on.

My Tiny Garden

I have been doing quite a bit of gardening lately, which is not something I have ever excelled at. It seems that when someone gives me a flowering plant I end up inadverdently killing it and that makes me very sad. A while back my sister-in-law had bought me a stunning orchid plant and even though I tried my darndest to keep it alive it eventually perished. Although it did last quite some time! Another time a co-worker had bought me a miniature cactus plant (almost bonsai-like) but unfortunately during the summer it withered down to nothing. Let's just say that it ended up looking like someone had dribbled water on green tissue paper. I did not water it excessively to the point that it would shrivel up like that and so I blamed it on the humidity in the air. But I have to say that my most painful memory was in Grade 3 (yes, unfortunately I do remember that far back!) when the entire class planted seeds and we had to chart the progression over a three month period. Well you can guess the outcome of this story. Mine was the only little pot that remained empty. Absolutely nothing grew, no roots no plant. Nothing!!!! I seriously think that I am cursed in the green thumb departement. My mother can grow just about anything. Even if it is dead it comes back to life. I just don't get it.

Well fast forward to summer of 2009. I really wanted a garden this year. I don't know why and what propelled me but I needed to see something grow and thrive after a very long and grey winter. My brother helped me till the soil (bless his heart) and me and my sister-in-law went shopping for vegetables, herbs and the dreaded "F" word......FLOWERS! I planted some of the vegetables we got early on and she planted the ones we got lately. The ones she planted are doing well. The ones I planted well.......we'll see if they grow well. Her thumb is also more "greener" than mine.

The reason I dread flowers is because I haven't seen good results lately. Last year early on in the summer me and my s-i-l planted two Asiatic lillies. We have very heavy winters here in Canada and so I was planning on covering them but alas did not. More so because I was occupied with other things and do admit I got lazy. I doubted that they would survive the winter but yay!!! they did. In late May one day when the weather was nice I ventured into the garden to plant the vegetables and was taking in the beauty of the lillies when I beheld its voracious nemesis. Yup!!!! The dreaded red lily beetle. For those of you who have lillies in your garden you know what I am talking about. There is really nothing to do to get rid of them except for uprooting your lily plant. Once you are infested that's it!!! They just feast on Asiatic, Oriental and Tiger lillies and fritillaries (don't know if I spelled that right). It is a bright scarlet beetle that eats the leaves at an alarming rate and lays eggs under the leaves so you don't see them and it is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. I had to go into the leaves with gloved hands and physically remove the "stuff" . I can not really use pesticides because I have planted an herb garden near it so I don't want to take the chance. If any of you out there are thinking of planting lillies look on the internet before you do and read up on this "horrible pest" because you are going to think twice before you plant any of these flowers. I didn't know that this pest even existed. I want to try and save the flowers but "they" start feasting in April so you can imagine what havoc they have wreaked in my garden. It might be too late but I am trying to make an organic "pesticide" with cayenne pepper, garlic and onion along with water but do not know if I will get positive results. Well I know the red beetle is part of nature but I sure hope it would go live somewhere else during the summer and not in my garden. Geez, I only have two plants, I could not imagine what I would do if I had a whole bed of them.

I tried to take some pics to show ..... here they are.
I have planted cucumbers, red peppers, green peppers, cauliflower, red chilli peppers, 3 different kinds of tomatoes, cabbage, fennel, parsley, and mint.



We wanted celery and green beans but we would have to plant seed indoors for that because we could not find them in any nurseries as growing plants. Don't mind the weeds in the front. I am not a seasoned dedicated gardener. I do what I can though.

This is the smaller garden path across from my back balcony.

And these are my pretty lillies in peril............

Yesterday my s-i-l was tending to the garden and she gave me two beautiful peony flowers. She planted a pinkish/lavender peony near my lilies but the flowers have already bloomed but have withered. Here is a parting shot of the two she cut for me. Have a beautiful week everyone!

Raining Beads

I've been beading up a storm recently. With the weather not cooperating (raining practically every day) I decided to dabble a bit in my bead stash. I got out my delica beads and tried a couple of color variations for fun. Initially my design started out flat and I picked through a selection of iridescent beads. I went crazy on my last visit to Dressmakers in Montreal. I bought a whole bunch of little packets of delica beads. It was like running into a tiny rainbow. Gorgeous browns, spring greens, mauves, teal, blue-greens. Every color imaginable. Aside from the bead purchase I also needed a couple of silver clasps for finishing off the bracelet. I prefer to use silver because it makes the piece look more polished. I realised very quickly in the store that the small two string silver clasp was almost the same price as the three string clasp. What's going on here? My first instinct was that they made some pricing mistake but oh no......It seems that when they purchased the clasps from the supplier the price was low but the next time they bought more the price of silver had risen dramatically and they have to sell it at current price otherwise they lose money. The price between the smaller clasp and larger one was a .40cents difference. If it keeps climbing that way I won't be able to use this type of clasp any longer and will have to find another alternative.

Well I started beading using the square stitch method which when finished resembles beading that is done on a loom. I have a small inexpensive one but threading that thing is a hassle and I have to make sure that it is always tight and it drives me crazy. I feel that when using the loom a lot of threads are wasted unecessarily. I don't know if it is obvious in the picture but the beads I used were slightly iridescent and they were two-toned. Depending upon how the light hits the bracelet some of the beads reflect a pink color and some a green.



So after I finished it I had to measure it around my wrist so it would be the right length. I had to add some more beads because it came out a tad short. So I threw caution to the wind and added some nice peach/brown colors at the ends. Then I proceeded to stitch it closed in a tubular fashion with a seam down the middle. I wanted a round coil as a bracelet and did not want to leave it flat. I had originally imagined it round. But unfortunately after I spent the time stitching it closed it was too wide and did not give me a perfect coil. It started to pucker in a strange way. The coil was too large and did not lend itself properly to the design I had envisioned. So I flatenend it with my fingers all the way around and came up with this design.


Then I proceeded to add the "expensive" silver clasp.

I also took some pictures of other projects which I have worked on previous to the bracelet. The one below is a necklace I did after my trip to Savannah, Georgia last May. I took a trip with my brother and sister in law to Savannah and while we were there we stopped off at St. Augustine's in Florida. Very picturesque and beautiful place to visit. From there we visited Vilano Beach. That was one of the highlights of my trip because I went up and down the shore digging for shells. It was so amazing!!! As soon as I saw a beautiful shell I had to be quick and scoop it up otherwise the wave would wash over it and steal it back into the ocean where it would be out of sight and gone forever. I scavenged for every type of strange shell and anything with an unusual texture and colour which I could lay my hands on. We all looked for small to medium shells and by the end of the afternoon I had a hatful which I left with. I don't know what was more fun, going hunting for them or getting to imagine what I would be making with them. When I finally got home at the end of our trip I took inventory and washed and dried them all and put them away. But before I did I wanted to bead a necklace and pick one for a pendant. So I picked out the medium brown shell I found. Nature had already "drilled" a hole in it. There was actually nothing I needed to add to it except for the shellac on the top and underside. I went to the bead store and tried to match the color of the beads as closely as possible to the shell. Here are a couple of close ups.

Another design I attempted was this green necklace. I didn't have the right color thread so I experimented with black thread instead. Surprisingly enough I like the contrast of the black thread with the bright green beads. Check it out.

Well that's all I have for now. I have a whole bunch of aqua glass beads as well as a series of silver beads I will try to put together for a summer necklace. Will try to post soon. Catch ya later.....

Wading Through My Stash

I've been nursing a cold that is just lingering. It just refuses to leave. And no, I haven't been to Mexico recently. I guess it is just the really warm and then suddenly cold weather fluctuations that we are currently experiencing. This past Saturday was the wedding I mentioned on an earlier post and it was very touching and beautiful. The ceremony was conducted in Greek/Italian / English by one priest. Wow! I have never seen that before. Truly unique.
Unfortunately half my family members were sick so it was only me my brother and his wife. We still had a blast though. Lots of dancing, food and special memories with family and friends. Unfortunately, I relapsed the next day and was in bed with fever. So now, I am slowly finding my way back. I am flipping through my magazines and doing a lot of pattern buying since the New Looks, McCall's and Buttericks have been on sale. I am just recently wading through my stash and trying to decide what I want to sew for summer. My tatting project is doing quite well. I finally figured out the motif and I am repeating it to make a baby blanket. I also bought a baby blue printed cotton flannel material which I will back the tatted blanket with. Never made a baby blanket before so this is very new to me. I will post at a later date when I have more of the blanket to show. It is a very slow process. I am basically repeating the pattern over and over and we all know how much fun that is. Like watching paint dry!

Altered State

Last night I had some alterations to do for my mother's jacket. She recently bought a new suit because we are invited to a wedding which is taking place next week. Everything is fine with the fit except that the jacket hangs strangely in the back underneath the armpits. I realised that the jacket needs extra shoulder pads. The ones that were stitched into the jacket are almost non-existant so I thought why don't I go to the fabric store and purchase a pair and just stitch them in. Well, last night I was watching the last episode of Project Runway Canada and felt pretty courageous to unstitch the sleeve lining and slip in the extra pads. I was so afraid because the wedding is next week and I thought that I would ruin her jacket if I tinkered with it. Never done anything like this before but thankfully everything turned out well. She kept complaining that she would not find anything that fits her in time for the wedding. I am so glad she did.

I spoke with my sister on the phone telling her of my accomplishment and she told me that she bought a dress for the wedding also and if I could take a look at it because there is a spot at the shoulder area which needs adjusting. I just about dropped the phone in mid-conversation. I think that I should start charging. I am sure that will deter the clients from accumulating.

Little Blessings

Recently, my favourite pastime has been reading other people's blogs (usually one after another) and in the process learning about new painting and sewing techniques. I love to read about how each person got started sewing whether it was a grandmother or mother who started them off to sewing their own clothes or that of their dolls.

My mother was a very experienced seamstress and could manipulate any piece of material into a beautiful garment even without the use of patterns. I would have loved to have learned everything she knew but unfortunately never got the chance as she passed away when I was four years old. My mother's sister quickly stepped in and became the mother figure that me and my siblings look up to, to this day.

It was during the spring of 1987 with my (grad reception looming) that I was taught a valuable lesson and developed a driving need to learn about sewing I never thought I had in me. I was approached by a friend and told that she could have my grad dress sewn for me. I was very excited throughout the months of planning until the day of or the day before the grad reception when I was informed that the dress would not be finished due to time constraints and that I would have to make do with whatever was in my closet. I guess that things are not always what they seem. That night at the reception I vowed to myself that I would never again rely on someone to do something for me that I could learn to do for myself. Somehow that negative experience was a true blessing in "heavy" disguise because without ever having experienced that I would have never been propelled into learning how to sew. I am still trying to squeeze out some lemonade from those sour lemons by trying to learn everything there is through books, mags, and tutorials.

After graduation I took private lessons from a seamstress who had worked in some couture ateliers in Europe and proceeded to go home and duplicate everything I had learned in a second garment so I would not forget the techniques. I was taught the basics at first then jacket tailoring, hemming, finishing seams, handsewn buttonholes (which I still can not master perfectly), etc......I am by no means an experienced seamstress. Just a couple of months ago I learned what a Full Bust Adjustment was and I'm looking forward to trying it out on a shirt or blouse. I probably will not get it right away. Maybe on my fourth attempt but I am dead set on learning everything there is to know.

My biggest supporter to this day has been my mom (mom's sister) because she would always tell me to go ahead and purchase material I loved regardless of the cost and to believe in my abilities. She would tell me and still does that even if I ruin a piece I will get some experience (knowledge) out of it for the next one. I had seen a blue wool material once which I swooned over and she bought it for me on the sly and lugged it on the bus and metro (we live an hour from downtown) to surprise me when I got home. Just keep in mind that she is only 5'2 and this material which was 5 meters of heavy wool weighed about 1/3 of her weight. She huffed and puffed but managed to get it home. She is my little firecracker and I love her.

I guess that true blessings come in many forms we do not recognize but only in hindsight do we seriously realise the magnitude of their existence.

Artful accessories

Awhile back I made a promise to myself that I would not buy any more fabric until I managed to sew a couple of pieces from my fabric stash. Given the fact that I have accumulated.....hmmm... a couple of clear plastic bins of material it is a promise I better keep or I run the risk of becoming a pack rat. Mind you these are not notions....just material. I always buy something with the intention of making it into something specific. Well last week I paid a visit to Fabricville, downtown, as they were having one of their sales. I even have the discount savings card and thought that I would just see what was available. I was a good girl and did not entertain the thought of buying anymore fabric. But...... I did pick up a couple of accessories. I found these cute little "snippers" in the scissor section. I thought that they would be very good for clipping the

material when making buttonholes.

I really like the fine tips and they cut pretty well. An old sewing teacher of mine once told me that the scissors which I use for material should never be used to cut paper or they will dull the blades faster so I have other scissors for my material and a separate pair for cutting my paper patterns. Then I saw a colorul pair of Unique thimbles in a variety of colors and sizes. They are flexible and do not feel cumbersome like the metal ones. In the cart they went also.

Unfortunately my "sewing purchases" are not excusive to the fabric stores. I also tend to visit the local art store and since they carry a lot of scrapbooking items I also saw a pair of ribbons which I think that I would like to use as drawstring for pyjama bottoms.

My tatting project is coming along nicely. So far I have a square and a middle and somehow I will put the two together. Don't know how I will take care of that yet but so far this is all I have.

I still don't know what it will be but I am sure it will eventually make itself clear to me. Can't wait to find out. 'Till next time.

Bitten by the bug......

The tatting one that is, not the creepy crawler kind. Last week I went to "Dressmakers" on St. Catherine Street (Montreal) and all the way in the back against the right hand wall I found a beautiful DMC no. 5 thread in a scrumptious blue color. I am very much attracted to color, whether it is a muted tone or a bright vibrant one it never fails to bring out an emotion in me. I always tend to pick color which reflects the mood I am in. I guess I must have been in an uplifted and optimistic kind of mood that particular day because this color reminds me of lazy summer days. It is somewhere in the middle between cerulean and azure and conjures up images of a Meditteranean ocean and summer skies. It is actually a medium blue and not a washed out tone which the picture may, unfortunately, lead you to believe. I am not a very good (quite horrible actually) photographer and I apologize for the quality of the picture.

First of all one of my main passions is sewing. Believe it or not, that is mainly what led me to tatting. I love lace and I was searching for a way to embelish some of my sewn articles of clothing. My sister crochets (beautifully). She was taught to crochet one summer by my great- aunt while we were visiting Crete. She took to it like a fish to water but I on the other hand can not crochet to save my life. I am horrible at it. So about 2 years ago I got it into my head that I just had to learn how to make lace. I tried to crochet but it wasn't meant to be. I bought books, begged my sister for lessons and got irritated when the results came out too tight or too loose. Something was just not right. I shelved the books, the crochet hook and yarn and forgot about it until I discovered tatting. My first attempt was with a needle and it was amazing what can be created with only one needle! I fell in love with it instantaneously. From then on I have created lace edgings for scarves. I thought that this would be an embelishment as well until something inside me was screaming that it should be turned into a square motif. So here it is slowly turning into a square..... I don't have an inkling as to what the inside will look like or how it will look finished but I guess that is the excitement of the adventure. Not knowing how it will eventually turn out. Promise to post when I have more to show. 'Till next time. Au revoir......

Thinking of spring........

On the days when I feel sad and the winter blues get to me I think of these images and it reminds me that Spring is right around the corner. Today we are experiencing 8 degree celsius weather!!!! Just a couple of days ago it was -10 so you could only imagine how excited I am that the weather is warming up. I relish the idea of putting away all the boots, scarves and pullovers. Give me my shorts and flip-flops any day. We are almost there!