Bedroom re-do!

I have been wanting to paint the master bedroom for a while...like the past 5 yrs....but never seemed to get around to it.  A few weekends ago I took the bull by the horns....and not only painted...but made a new headboard as well.  The headboard was a piece of 5' x 3' plywood that I got the lumber yard to cut (hubby was away)...and I used about 200 glue sticks to apply nylon rope to it.  I did a little basket-weave pattern hoping the effect would be "wicker"....hmmm...

Here is the bedroom before....headboard during construction...and finished product! 

BEFORE (pale lilac walls...YUCK!!)

Add caption

Walls painted...headboard 1/2 done

Christmas stocking swap!

Stocking Stuffers!

Well, a while ago I participated in Aunt Pitty Pat's Christmas Stocking Swap....we had to create a Christmas Stocking for our partner...then stuff it full of treasures! I made my partner a stocking out of a wool sweater...and lined it with some fabric from my mum's old stash. The lace "cuff" was an embroidered pillow slip from my grandmother.

Tomorrow I'll post what I got from my partner!

Stocking Lining

Pillow-slip "cuff"
(Note how the fingernails match the bow...tee-hee!!)

My Stocking from a Sweater

A New Swap!!

Well here is a new swap





...a "Secret Santa Swap" that I've signed up for....and one of the rules is that you need to answer these questions:  so here we go!!

1. What are your hobbies?   I like sewing, painting, making "stuff", playing tennis, ice skating, travelling...
2. What are your favorite colors? pink!!!  lime green, turquoise, chocolate brown
3. Do you collect anything? "Hello Kitty" stuff, "Madeline" doll things, sparkly jewellry
4. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals? No
5. Do you have any pets? 2 cats!  One siamese, one tabby
6. Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate? All three!!
7. What do you like to read? craft magazines, fashion magazines, "home" magazines, Canadian fiction.
8. Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet? probably cookies
9. What is your favorite holiday treat? shortbread
10. Describe your favorite holiday tradition.  putting up the tree....driving around to look at the lights,
11. Did you believe in Santa as a child?  Of course!! And I STILL DO!!
12. When do you open presents?  Christmas morning, after breakfast...
13. Do you put up a tree and when?  If not, how do you celebrate?  Yes...at Thanksgiving
14. Does your tree have a theme? It's sort of "retro"...I have lots of "hallmark" ornaments..tiny teddy bear ornaments,
15. What has been your favorite gift to give?  to receive?  I like to make things... hats!!...sometimes aprons (of course) sometimes paintings, sometimes stuffed toys,  knitted things...scarves and mittens....  I love getting handmade things...my daughter over the years have made me all sorts of things I treasure...one daughter cross-stiched ornaments one yr...one daughter made blankets one yr...my mum used to make me clothes...which I LOVED getting... a friend made me a gorgeous bracelet just a while ago...

2 months later...

So I've been absent from blog-land for a couple of months...my excuses:
                                       #1.  High School Tennis Season (meaning many trips across the state on the big
                                              yellow bus)
                                      #2.  Too much catching up @ school...due to being away for....yup...High School
                                              Tennis!
However...all that is behind me now...and I have until Spring Tennis Season to make stuff...and blog!!

So...I've whipped up (literally) a couple of new school-skirts.  Both made of old sweaters....the bottom ribbing becomes the waist-band.  Skirt #1 I hemmed and embelished with some ribbing rosettes, and a couple of leaves cut from some other old wool garment...and a few french knots.  Skirt #2 was really a 1 minute effort!  I didn't bother to hem the bottom, cause it's wool, it won't do anything except stretch.  And I liked the wibbly-wobbly look.  I cut vertical slits to put a ribbon-belt through the waist band...that took an additional 30 seconds!  (Must be the camera angle that makes me look short and gnomish(large-headed) in these photos!)

Sweater Skirt #1

Detail of Rosettes on skirt

Sweater Skirt #2

1 Minute Skirt!

The Caravan Trip

Melle and a friend inside the Barge Inn

Here we are on a misty, moisty July evening...ready to start off on our caravan adventure!  So first off of course we had to visit a pub!  This one was right on a canal with barges docked.

Inside the caravan, Melle, sopping wet from our walk in the...er...rain (it was England, after all) enjoys a bed-time brew!

And we're off!
Note that I am sensibly dressed for the weather in rain boots and rain-suit!

Next morning Melle's beverage of choice is a nice, hot cuppa' tea!   The caravan was all fitted out with cute crockery, blue gingham curtains and duvet cover, really all the comforts of home. We wore those rain suits day-in and day-out!  Tomorrow I'll continue our journey!

Mumsie and Melle go Abroad!

Well this is the reason I've been absent from Blog-land this past month....daughter #2 nand myself have taken ourselves on a wonderful trip to the UK.  Here we are...matching raincoats and all, in York, in front of Westminister Cathedral. 

And THIS is what we went to do...tromp about the beautiful British country-side in a gypsy caravan!  We had an absolute blast!  Would do it again in a heart-beat.  I'll post more pix when I have time!

This 'n' that!

Necktie Snakes

So school is out...and I'm working with kids! Hmmm....  well to fill my vacation time I need something to DO!  We made snakes from my dad's old neckties.  I've seen these fellows on the internet...and my dad kindly sent me about 20 of his old ties because I couldn't find many in the Neat Repeat shop here!  (Guess not many guys sport ties these days in the west!)  The kids had loads of fun making them...I thought they turned out to be pretty cute!

Fabric Storage

So it's been a while since I've had these around:

but I've seen the fabulous storage bins that they make here...
http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2011/02/lets-make-something-together-lined.html

So I got a friend to save me a bunch.

Now the ones from the above blog are quite splendid...covered in canvas and all.  I took the short-cut and used spray paint, then made liners out of fabric.  I think they've turned out quite fine and dandy...and will soon be installed in my new sewing room!

I just have to leave you with this final picture of what we woke up to this morning....yes Memorial Day Weekend in wonderful WYOMING!

 Photo is very blurry...sorry.  I took it off my hubby's FB page.  But that my friends is SNOW!  And school is out for the summer!

Finally an apron for Katie

I am owing my PAY-IT-FORWARD 2011 made-by-hand gifties....finally finished Katie's apron!  It will be on it's way to Nashville tomorrow!  Hope she likes it!  I am really loving covered buttons these days, so hers has three.

This is the last week of school...yay!  Oops...are teachers supposed to be saying that?  But I am excited about being able to spend tons of time sewing...and  working on finishing up my new "sewing cubby-hole".  We are re-doing the spare room closet into a sewing area for me...so I don't have to clean off the kitchen table every time we need to ..er...eat?  I think it will be cute.  I'll post pictures soon!

Yard Sale Loot!

Last week my dad was visiting us from Canada.  We celebrated his birthday with a traditional "DUNCAN" cake.  That's DUNCAN  not "Duncan Hines"!  It's the old family birthday cake...you know...the one my ansestors were making when they came over from the old country....at least that is how the story goes.  Dad is 83 now and still drives by himself   for 3 days to visit us!  And he trudges around yard sales with me! AND look what we found!

It's an incomplete set of "kitchen" bone china!  For $5!!  Here's a close-up of the cream and sugar set:

It's not Royal Doulton...but we thought it was pretty!  It was the end of the day and we were given a box and told to "fill 'er up" for 5 bucks!  I thought maybe I'd find some treasures for my birthday box at school...but we got lots of things I couldn't pass up!  Including the above china.  Score!! 

This week being graduation for our seniors, I made an apron for a friend's daughter.  She picked (well her mum picked) the fabrics.  Here I am modelling it!  Not sure why I thought staring off into space would make a charming shot...and I must find a better spot than the end of the hall to take pics!

Vintage Brooch Swap

I participated in the Swap for all Seasons Vintage Brooch Swap for Mother's Day.  Look at what I got from the very talented Jan in Texas!  Here is her lovely hand-made card to me, along with my beautifully wrapped parcel.  That is a SECOND vintage brooch on the ribbon!

This is what was inside that pretty package.  The photo does not do justice to the beautiful cross-stitch and beding on the needleroll that Jan made for me.  The brooch is mother-of-pearl with my initial on it in gold.  Beautiful!

I was just blown away by Jan's beautiful gift to me! 

Happy May Day!

Well I am excited to show off my "new" spring skirt...I got all excited about tea-parties and what-not after the Royal Wedding.  So this ugly, old stretchy skirt...

turned into this!!

Here is a close-up of all the ruffly layers!  I'd seen lots of "little-girl" skirts done like this (ruffles added to an existing skirt) so thought I'd have one too.  I had to make a belt to cover up the ugly green elastic waist band!

And here I am, looking all ready to have my Royal Wedding tea party!  Ok.  I usually don't leave the china cake plate lying around in the hall...I just thought I needed a "prop"..teehee!!

Soup and Sneak-Peeks!

Last week at school some of us did a soup-exchange.  We each made seven quarts of soup, then swapped them!  This is my Meatball Minestrone.

Meatball Minestrone Soup
(this makes 7 quarts)

2 large tins tomatoes (I used diced)

2 tins black beans

1 pkg. frozen corn

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped mixd peppers (can use some jalepenos if you like spicy, otherwisde just juse green, yellow and red)

1 large box chicken stock (4 cups)

1 pkg. frozen meatballs

salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings to taste, several splashes of  Worchestershire sauce 

cook for several hrs.  Put in quart jars at this point...leave room at top if you plan to freeze them.  ADD 1/2 cup of tiny pasta when you heat it up....don't let the pasta get soggy.  I wouldn't re-freeze with the pasta in it!

And, here is a sneak-peek of my apron for Shawnee's Spring Fling Apron Swap.

He has little yellow spindly legs that are hard to see, and a little yellow beak.  They show up much better in real life!  (I didn't have orange).  And how about this little tuck-in critter!!

sneaky-peaky!!

Well, my Easter Basket swap partner should have received her parcel today if the US postal services are running correctly!  So I thought it would be safe to post a sneak-peak of the basket I made for Paula!  I really liked how the buttons on the side turned out...they are good old "shrinky-dink"...the same stuff my girls spent one entire summer at the cottage making "Betty and Veronica" figures with!

Easter Basket with Shrinky-Dink Bunny buttons

and here are some of the tuck-ins I sent her!

Easter-y decor!

Look who lives at my house now!  He flew off my knitting needles last night, and now is happily residing in a basket with the bunny that Debbie made for me!

Knitted lamb

My hubby says he looks like a sock monkey!

Swap pacels!



My mug and mug-rug from Denise



It was an exciting Friday for me...not one...but  two fabulous swap parcels arrived for me!  First I opened up my Easter Mug Rug parcel...from Aunt Pitty Pat's swap.  This was crafted by Denise.   Here is my lovely Easter mug-rug...and she didn't even know my favorite color is pink!



Mug-rug and all the goodies

Denise did a super job; she tucked in all sorts of treats, some sand-dollars and a shell from beaches near where she lives, a really cherry polka-dot mug, with a little daisy tea-bag tray, and of course the mug-rug.  It has a little napkin inserted into a holder on the side!  I can't decide if I'll risk taking it to school (and having some poor child inadvertently spill my coffee on it!) or just enjoy it at home.

Next I got to open my Easter Basket Swap parcel!  I felt a little badly getting to open mine up, as I have still to mail mine tomorrow.  But it is all boxed up and ready for the post at least!  So this fabulous "basket" came from Debbie, and here is what all she sent me.



Easter Basket from Debbie

She used the garden hat as a basket!  Very clever!  Inside was this adorable "chocolate" nbunny...he has a sparkly pink "W" charm on his bow, socks, an Easter kitchen towel, the cutest little owl tags ever, (I actually snooped on her blog...and knew she has made them...tee-hee!!), some sewing machine tags...also really cute and so well made, jelly beans, and cream-filled eggs galore!  What a wonderful Easter Basket!  Here is a closer look at the bunny:

Chocolate Easter Bunny made by Debbie

He is just so cute!  And now a photo of me modelling the hat!  I just love wearing hats in the summer, and Debbie didn't even know!

I'm having a "deer in the headlights" moment!