Fall is here in a big sorta way!!

 We have been experiencing quite a bit of fall weather this past week.  We have had a record amount of rain and the colours are all changing rapidly.  We went for a drive today through the Sylvan Valley to see the colours and check out the high water levels. Here is some of what we saw:

While my hubby was driving I figured it was as good a time as any to learn how to hand embroider.  I brought along a piece of fabric and some floss, a hoop of my Mother's and a needle.  I have never embroidered before and have no idea how or what to do so I bought this book Doodle Stitching (for beginners like me!) and I brought it too.  Anyway as we drove along I thought that a tree with some nice fall colours would be a good place to start. So, here it is....my first embroidery ever:

I like it and so do the kids and my hubby.  So I will sew it into something and keep it or give it as a gift we will see.

Besides that drive, this weekend has been full of water....in my basement!  Not all through thankfully!  Just in the cold room, which is separated by a six inch step from my fabric/cutting room. I bailed out over 200 litres of water and had to change the hose on the sump pump that ruptured due to the amount of water rushing in from the earth around my foundation!  Thank God my Dad (who built my house) was very creative and I have a sump hole in both ends of my basement.  One with a pump and one free flow for when it gets bad.  Currently....it is BAD!!!  Alas, we are mostly dry, except the two-three inches left in the cold room.

I hope every one is having a great weekend.....safe and dry!

Thanks for coming by.

Giveaway!

Melissa from Until Wednesday Calls is having another great giveaway! And with all the crazy madness in this house I forgot to blog about it...and several other very cool things that I found (which will have to wait until later!) This giveaway ends TODAY!!!  So get on over to Until Wednesday Calls and enter her giveaway!  HURRY!!!

I hope to chime back in after I get the little ones off to bed tonight.... Bean is home sick today. Yuck...but at   least it is my day off...what a great way too spend it!  I love my babies!

Button find!

There is a store in our little town called The Queen's Cupboard which sells antiques, vintage, retro and remakes of all types, plus a ton of other cool stuff, some by local artisans.  One of my patients was in the other day and mentioned to me that they had a selection of Vintage Buttons that I may be interested in (I love how my patients know me so well!)  So after work I popped in to see what was there.  I chatted to the owner as I looked at the beautiful buttons in the case and she informed me that there is a local lady who has a collection of buttons numbering around 10,000!  She collects them from all over and has many very old and unique buttons. Some with quite a history behind them!  Anyway, I chose 7 buttons from the collection in the store and the owner was kind enough to give me the collectors name and number so I can call her myself to set up a visit to see the buttons!  Once I get her permission, if she is willing, I will post contact information so all of you with a passion for buttons may connect with her and discuss your hearts desires! So here is what I picked:

The smallest button is about an inch in diameter.  The two square ones are shell and are very think and heavy.  I love them and think they will be lovely for purses or coats.  Hmmm, my Amy Butler Style Stitches book has a great pattern for a Cosmo Bag that requires one gorgeous button! OK, button: check...Fabric: well of course I have fabric, but is it THE fabric?  I don't know yet I'll have to see.  We can't get Amy Butler fabric here in Northern Ontario unless it is internet ordered.  I must check the stash to see what would be suitable.  

But for now, it has been a long day.  Both kids are having a sleep over and I think everyone is finally down for the count. So I believe that it is my turn....my pillow is calling....zzzzzzzz.....

Learning as I go!

Well, it has been a while since I posted last but I have been travelling through blog land and learning as much as I could about how to make the system do new things.  I finally learned how to grab a button!  That was very interesting and I learned that I cannot make the actual "button" appear if I am on my Mac using Safari.  Apparently, the HTML from the button script and Safari interpreter don't jive and all I ended up with is computer garble for a button.  So I Googled for some answers and one site gave me a clue when they said I had to be in Windows (which my Mac has but not a compatible format) or Mozilla.  So I tried it in Mozilla from my PC lap top and it worked!  So....I will be out there collecting buttons soon!

Also, this week I worked on my sewing room to start organizing all the trims and buttons and such that were all in bags and boxes.  I cruised many peoples craft and sewing room makeovers for ideas and thank you all for the brilliant ideas!  I scoured my small town for suitable finds and here is what I have come up with:

This is the area where I keep all the notions.  The black and cream boxes on the left are from Winners  and they hold ribbon spools.  The coffee cans are for the teachers gifts I make (Coffee Can Craft Caddy's).

The green sewing caddy is from a garage sale in BC.  The man who made them was selling out and I got this one and I LOVE it!!

This is the collection of glass jars for buttons, floss, Velcro, needles, zippers, etc.

These dollar store baskets hold decorative buttons, sewing feet, turning tools, special scissors and fusible hem tape.

I can't show you under the counter yet because that part is not done!  It has pattern boxes and more bags stuffed with things like lace and webbing that doesn't have a home yet!  I am working on it!!

I have stumbled across some wonderful organizing sites too in the last week.  I am blown away by the abilities of these women to create such organization....this is not my strong suit!  But I can read and learn!  

This weekend I will have news of an interesting local Vintage Button find and news on the arrival of some Vintage fabric from BC!  Stop back by and check it out!

OK! School is in and it is time to get back to reality!

Well it has been a while since my last post. Many things were going on here, the kids were out of town on a visit, we had a wedding to go to and finish up back to school shopping etc. Now the kids are back and organized with their new teachers! WHEW! I was sewing up a few sandwich wraps from this pattern by Betz White in her book Sewing Green.

The Frogs are for Bean (my son) and the Cow print is obviously for Moo (my daughter). 

If you look carefully in the first pictures, you can see the fabric I am going to use to make some snack bags for yours truly!  I am always a little envious when I make the kids lunches in the morning and I use all the snack bags that I have made for them with their favourite things on them. So these ones will be just for Mamma!  

I am starting to think that it is time to start making my list of things to do for Christmas.  So far I know what I am making for my step daughter and her hubby and our grandchildren.  Now, I have to get creative and come up with what I am making for my other step daughter and her hubby and.....the new little one they have on the way!  I had it all planned but now, with having a new Grandbaby on the way, the original items may need to be changed up for more baby oriented things!  We will see, I am struggling with making their Christmas presents baby related...maybe they would like to have some personally selected items still at Christmas...what do you think?  Then I have to come up with what I am making my Hubby, the kids, and my best friend Bee her name is actually Lisa but I NEVER call her that!  (It makes her think she is in trouble!)  I also have one of my sisters names for Christmas this year, like most years actually. (I have four sisters and only one brother and we rotate names each year.)  I have to come up with some thing cool for her and her partner as well and maybe their dogs too...we will see how much I actually get done!

Well, I better go and finish organizing the rest of my sewing area. The cutting room is done and you already saw pictures of that, but where I "sew" is actually on the other side of the basement, joined with the play room so I can be near the kids and monitor TV and computer usage and sometimes (after bedtime) I even watch something for me!  When I get it all pulled together I will post pictures of that too! Have a good one!

                                                         

Some things DO get done!

I always feel like there are a million things on the list and nothing is getting done, but that is not quite true. I have completed a couple of projects and so I thought that I would share my little successes with you!






This is the first pattern I purchased from the internet, ever!
You can find it here: Multi Tasker tote By Anna Maria Horner
It was a very interesting pattern to make, I felt like it was origami with fabric!  I had no idea how it was all going to turn out at one point but then flip, fold, tuck, sew and Alakazam!  You have a fabulous new tote!! I loved making it, the process was so fascinating!  The only change I made was adding fusible fleece to the straps.  I knew that a tote this big, on my arm, would get LOADED! So I figured that I should give myself some padding!

This is a Twirly Skirt I made for my daughter from a tutorial I found here at House on Hill Road.  It was easy, easy to follow and it turned out very twirly! I added some pom-pom trim at the hem band for a little extra flare, I can't wait for her to see it!














The last thing I will share today is my cutting room!   I have finally carved out some space for my fabric and cutting mat.  I was really tired of cutting all the patterns out on the floor!  I am getting to old to crawl around that mat on the floor!  It is not perfect but it is definitely a start.













My fabric is neat and folded and stored in every space available, including the change table (in the back ground) my Dad made for my son!  It is a keepsake but until my kids are old enough to have their own kids, this change table needs to serve some kind of purpose to "pay" for its storage!  That is my son's sewing machine on the table he was making a dog bed the other day and I just haven't gotten around to putting it away yet, shame on me (or maybe him...)!


The totes under the table have seasonal fabric or fabric already designated for quilts.  The little plastic drawers hold the interfacing and batting and various other odds and ends.  The dress form is named Iris and she doesn't quite look like me yet!  She is in need of some curvy padding around the middle...No sense pretending I am a stick figure! The kids are 9 and 11 and I still have not recovered from the distortion! I'm learning to love my curves, I figure I earned them.