A Gift and a Keeper

This first one was supposed to be a gift. It's from the hobo bag pattern in my pattern wish list. Turns out to be massive and totally not the style of my friend who I wanted to make it for. I like it. It's the perfect purse tote for winter - carrying around hats, mittens, scarves etc.



So, this is what I came up with for my friend. David says it looks really professional - which was a really cool compliment. I hope she likes it! UPDATE: David says this picture makes it look blue. The vinyl is black and the plaid is brown. I guess it lost something in the picture translation. I know I need to work on my pictures...I just get so impatient with lighting etc.

Hooray! We're back online!

Hooray for service plans and great computer technicians! Our computer was dead last week and this week it's alive! The service technician was able to recover our documents, pictures and music and had to order away for a new hard drive. All of that was taken care of in one week and only cost $84! The hard drive was covered under the service plan and the technician only charged us for one hour of service for the back up. If you are on a Mac and need service in Winnipeg, I would recommend the folks at MacHelper...they were great!

In other news, I've done some crafts since we were offline. I just need to take pics. I will post again soon. Yay! It's so good to be back!

Technical Difficulities

We are experiencing computer problems and may be offline for awhile. I will post as soon as I can. I will miss this!

Winter Wonderland

We woke up to this beauty today! Our first snow day. Yesterday was sleet, but this is genuine snow. By the looks of it, it could stay, too. Well, there is something cozy about being home today and not being outside. It requires a cup of tea and a cozy book, I think. I won't get much else done today as the head cold that plagued me terribly about a month ago has decided to make a come-back. I am digging into all the home remedies and fighting it off as best as I can, but it's a stubborn one!



Here's a stack of PUL diaper cuts on top of the fleece mountain that I still need to cut. David is helping me with figuring out the cutting as if we cut it real precise, we can get 29 size small diapers out of this stash. I am not a fan of cutting and will be glad to have it all cut out, but at least I don't have to puzzle it out alone. David has been a huge help. I wouldn't mind having my dining room table back, either.

My First Finished Diaper!

Finally, a finished diaper! Oh, it's so cute. Of course they'll get better as I make more. I need to tweak a few spots when I sew the next one, but now I can cut a bunch and get at it.



I sewed the extra optional velcro so that the tabs overlap for extra adjustability. Here is shown with one side open. There are hook and loop velcro on both sides for fold over laundering. This is so the diapers don't stick to each other during the wash etc. The pattern is easy to work with, so "thanks, again, Mom and Dad".



And open. You can see that my waist elastic is a bit wonky, next one, I'll sew it a little lower to give more topstitching room.

Inspiration and Friendship

This painting was done by my friend Grace, who I had the privilege of spending last Friday evening with. Grace brought her art portfolio over and showed me her lovely work. Then she surprised me by giving me this painting. I love it! It was so nice to have some girlfriend conversation for the evening. I am always inspired by artistic and creative people and we had a lovely evening! Thanks so much, Grace!

Funky Christmas Stockings and Baby Parcel Part 3

Almost the minute I saw these, I had to make them! Tutorial and pattern here!



I forgot to show you the receiving blankets in our baby package. The rest of the package was things for me. This pot of coconut has brought sanity to me many times in the middle of the night. I am quite itchy during this pregnancy and have even developed eczema in my armpits and this coconut oil has helped a lot!



I had just been getting over a wicked head cold when my parents sent this package and so Mom sent me a Neti Pot. I have only used it a couple of times, so far, so I can't boast about it yet, but my Mom "swears by it". It was thoughtful of you, Mom.



David is modeling quite well, don't you think? Anyway, that's the end of baby package and it was and is still, so much fun!

From Africa!

My girlfriend Erin, was in Kenya last year and brought me these goodies when she visited me a couple of weekends ago.



This painting is done on what looks like a broadcloth type fabric. They must stretch it over a frame and pre-treat the fabric, then paint. It depicts three tribal ladies.




Erin gave me this lovely fabric, which would likely be used as a head covering for the african ladies. Erin figured I could sew something with it. It's so beautiful, I hate to cut into it. Any ideas?
Thanks bunches, my friend!