Winter

I'ts cold and snowy and grey, but there's still beauty in the garden...

 and out on a winter walk at Point Pelee Provincial Park. Past the picnic area,

down a trail,

to the water's edge. Brrr...

And then, Mother Nature surprises with a burst of colour...

Oh, and the Peacock that visited Vintage Gal last week came back to the neighborhood. What a surprise to look out the window expecting the same serene, snow covered scene, to see this rather large creature roamng around.

I love the snow. The way it makes everything clean and bright. The way sound softens. How good a hot cup of tea tastes after a long walk outside. 

What do you like most about Winter?

chocolate loves peanut butter

My Mike says " I wish cookies were good for you"

That would make him feel better about eating about 24 of them in 3 days. Bless his heart.

The Way to a Man's Heart:

cream together:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter ( my Mike likes chunky )

add

2 eggs

sift together

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, then stir in

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips 

 I never measure chocolate and don't tell anybody but I really used a bunny left over from last easter. What? chocolate doesn't go bad...

drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 9 or 10 minutes

P.S. what do you call your boyfriend that lives with you when you're 46 years old?

Stylish Dress Book - Japanese Sewing

I ordered this pattern book from Pomadour's Craft Cafe.  

It's full of fabulous patterns. 

It's all written in Japanese,

and they come printed all on top of each other like this...

You need to find and trace your pattern peices out on

paper or non-woven pattern tracing material ( my favourite because you can easily see through it and it sticks to your fabric a bit eliminating the need for pins ).

These are the instuctions " how to make" of the blouse I did. Lucky that the patterns are all pretty elementary so construction wasn't difficult to figure out.

I used a cotten voile that I had and some vintage buttons.

I love it.

Even though it short sleeved, I've been wearing it with a grey wool sweater.

It cost about $6.00. Not bad, huh?

I hope everyone had a happy Christmas and that your new year is off to a great start! I had hoped to be able to post during the holiday but I got carried away with the hustle and bustle and all the coming and going around here. I was lucky to have my Mom come and stay for the week and the kids were home from school too. 

Look what Santa left for me :-)

Yippee Skippy!

I have a lot to learn.

As much as I love the holidays and being surrounded by family and friends I'm looking forward to quietly settling in to the new year.  January makes me want to nest, cocoon, hibernate. Today I sewed a zippy wallet and a gathered clutch.

there's a credit card holder ( which I modified from the instructions to include 3 pockets holding the cards on end ) and a divider and there's room for the little wallet.

I need a camera case now, so that will be my next project. If you know of a good pattern or tutorial please let me know. 

See you soon, K 



   

I traded my neighbour and fellow junker for this china cabinet! I gave her my old cupboard, which she spent a little time on and made fabulous again, and she gave this.

I painted it creamy white and stuffed it full of dishes.

 My kitchen is teeny tiny itty bitty and the uppers aren't deep enough to fit today's dinner plates. And I do have lots of dishes...

...and bowls. But more on that another time. :-)



On how to postpone going for a run...

It's grey, cold and wet. I'll go for a run tomorrow. Really.

Yesterday afternoon I took my sewing machine in to a nearby quilt shop/Bernina distributor for repair. It has to take a long roadtrip ( 4 hours ) to the manufacturer's repair shop in Toronto. It needs a new brain. I likely won't have it back for a month or so. Anyhoo... while I was there, I bought a meter of this. It's difficult to see because it's so dark, but you get the idea. 

and this too

and my plan is to make some tops using this pattern called the Juliet Tunic by Serendipity Studio .  I cut out the white on white already, but now that I've thought about it, she also had a black and white coordinating that added to the black, white and red would make an adorable dress. I think I'll make a quick trip on my lunch hour next week.

I also stared this

It's a cowl, or a capelet. I got it at the Kitting Nimrod Collective when I visited my Mom last weekend.  It's made with Suri Prism and the pattern is a promotional giveaway when you buy the yarn. If the rain keeps up I'll have it done by end of day.

Coming soon, pics of finished projects!  

Two Signs of Spring

First a howling blizzard woke us
Then the rain came down to soak us,

And now before the eye can focus -
Crocus.

- Lilja Rogers

I love crocus... they make me happy.
The second sign I've noticed is not so pleasant as the first and leaves me frowning. Why is it that it took 9 months of running 5kms four times a week to lose 10 lbs and 1 measley inch from my butt, but only 3 months of hibernating to gain it back? I'll be hitting my Greenway first thing tomorrow morning! Definitely!