ready to go....

Hello there. I have to be honest, I have been experiencing the winter blahs the last week or so. I have felt very unmotivated. Knitting has been happening, but not much else. The dinners around here have not been very exciting and the house is a bit chaotic. Getting to writing in this blog got put to the back burner and I had to rethink why I started a blog in the first place. It was feeling a bit odd to be making posts online and not knowing if people were reading it or not. So, I got to thinking about the purpose of this blog. My conclusion is that this will be a space for me to document my crafting. It will be a place that I can look back on in years to come. Hopefully it will act as a motivation tool as well.

Okay, I wrote that last bit a few days ago and I am back. It has warmed up around here and I am feeling much better. The girls and I got out for a walk yesterday. It was sooo great to get outside for a stroll.

Here is my to do list. The many projects that have been swirling around in my mind, and the many projects I have to finish. These projects are not my ideas, but I do hope to make them. I have provided a link for each of the projects, if you click on the image it will take you to the pattern notes.

1) I hope to sew this beautiful pattern, Henny Penny, for J's first birthday. The pattern is by Anna Maria Horner -- love love love it.

2) I plan to make this fold-up Farmhouse for M's Birthday. It is made by UK Lass in US, click here (or on image) for a link to the tutorial.

3) Plans to paint an ornate picture frame to make a chalkboard for the kitchen.

4) Paint craft table for M and J. Table and chairs are from Ikea.

5) Finish February Lady Sweater... just the arms to go...love love love this sweater. I hope mine looks as nice as the one in the picture below.

6) Start February Baby Sweater. This will be for baby Jane.

7) Finish items 5 and 6 so that I can start knitting Shalom for me.

So, that is where I am at. Lots of fun ahead. For today, I have to re-sew the Velcro on Jane's diaper covers. The Velcro has lost its stickiness. No fun!

.... So, I am really not much of a sewer... how does one sew Velcro on a sewing machine? Is there a trick? My thread keeps breaking and I have broken a needle. I finished one diaper, but am going to take a pause until I approach the next one. Not sure why they aren't sewing up smoothly. Sewers out there... help!!!

Stockings

Here are stockings that I knit for my daughters. Molly's was knit last year. The details on the pattern can be found on Ravelry. This pattern is available for free. 

A bit of a short post today. I am exhausted. My little one has been keeping me up at night... need sleep badly...

furoshiki

A few weeks ago, one of Dave's friends gave him a couple of bottles of beer wrapped together in one piece of fabric. 

Such a great idea! Beautiful and practical. Furoshiki is a type of traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that was frequently used to transport clothes, gifts, or other goods.

I love it! The idea of wrapping items in fabric is fun... so many beautiful fabrics out there. Environmentally friendly. Reusable. 


His friend, John, sent me a file with various other wraps, and a link to many more -- thanks!!! 

DIY: Play Kitchen

I am super excited to share this post with you. Back in September I purchased a bedside table from an add on Kijiji. The table cost $10.  The plan was to create a play kitchen for my girls, as a Christmas present. I had my doubts that the project would actually get finished by Christmas. But, with my dad's help the bulk of the work was finished before December. My mom helped out by scouting around for various items: bowl for the sink, tea towel, rolling pin, etc. 

Thank you to vintage songbird and homemade by Jill for such a great idea. This was a super fun project and I am very happy with the final results.

 Here are the details on the materials: 

- Bedside table: Kijiji $10

- Sink: bowl from a dollar store

- Stove dials and taps: from Michaels

- Faucet: letter 'J' from Michaels

- Curtain: scrap material

- Spoons: IKEA $5

- Burners: CDs painted white 

- Magnum sharpie to draw the burners onto the CDs

- Oven handle: Home Depot ~$5

- Picture frame: parent's basement

The apron was finished off just a few days before Christmas. It was made from two fat quarters. Super quick to make.

Overall, this project cost less than $50. Thank you again to vintage songbird and homemade by Jill for the inspiration.

New Years Resolution

I wasn't planning on making a resolution, but after tidying the house today a common theme kept popping up -- ORGANIZATION. Man, our house is so disorganized. So, the plan is to slowly get organized, come up with systems and a bit more of a routine to stay on top of things. I tackled the kitchen dumping ground (corner cupboard) on New Years day and I have to say, it is so much nicer to open a cupboard when everything has a home (rather than just shoving things in). We live in an older home which means there is very little in the way of storage spaces.

So, I made a dish from 'The Family Dinner' yesterday, it was a peanut dish from the kids section. My partner, Dave, after adding quite a bit of hot sauce, seemed to enjoy the meal. This is the first meal I have made from this book and my first cooking post, and sadly I did not like the peanut sauce at all. I found it much too heavy on the peanut butter side. The sauce was made up of pb, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger. It was just too sweet and salty for me. Although I wasn't happy with this dish, I like the idea of a peanut sauce with pasta and various toppings. For now, I will stick to PC Memories of Szechwan.

A New Year.

Happy New Year! Wow, can you believe it -- 2011!!!

For 2011, I have decided to start up a blog. I am going to attempt to make posts fairly regularly (during naps, bedtime, and feedings). My plan is to share and document my adventures in parenthood, crafting, knitting, and cooking. 

I received a cookbook for Christmas with lots of fabulous recipes, so I have decided I am going to try and slowly work through the book, attempting all of the recipes. This blog (I am hoping) will help motivate me to stay on top of the recipes. 

Over the next few days I will post some of my Christmas crafting.

Here we go....