February 1, 2012

In case y'all haven't noticed, I have taken a wee blogging break.  Just couldn't think of anything to write ... actually sat and stared at an empty "New Post" screen several times over the past month and nothing happened.  So why is today different?  Who knows!  Maybe the weather has improved -- it was minus 40 for a while there -- and thus the creative juices are flowing better?  Maybe I was just recovering from our December Christmas hampers for low-income seniors rush at work?

About 160 hampers this past Christmas! 
Our office was WALL TO WALL hampers!

So how was your January?  Mine was very busy! 

At work, I'm adjusting to new work hours -- 4 days per week but longer days so no change in overall hours -- as well as supervising 2 practicum students.  I heart practicum students -- but bless their little pee-picking practicum souls, they do take up a big whack of my days!  However, both are incredibly gifted and both have fit in with our existing staff and routines really well. 

At home, I'm adjusting to new work hours -- that means I now have permanent 3 day weekends as I'm off Fridays.  I heart 3 day weekends -- although the first couple of weekends, I wasted the extra day at home by lounging about in my jammies!  My goal was to have one day per week to work on my Aromatherapy course.  I've only succeeded on using my Friday for that purpose once so far, so I had better pull up socks in that department!

I've been knitting like mad -- photos of my current project, a reversible wrap, coming soon (as soon as I break down and buy a new battery for my digital camera).  Miss Boots HEARTS the reversible wrap project big time as it's large enough to create a cozy napping place when on my lap. 

Yup, that lump under my knitting is kontented kitty.  She has NOT been impressed with our winter weather as both the cold and snow have kept her indoors and unable to survey/control her Queendom from our balcony. 

Did you know Miss Boots has very HAIRY feet? 


Is this normal???

I have to get my current knitting project finished real soon cuz I ordered myself a kit to knit this:

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50455222

Twenty-two colours!  Yum!  The finished product might not look THAT curvaceous on moi, though.  You know what the interesting thing will be about this new project?  It's SEAMLESS ... that means it's knitted in one tubular piece without front or armhole openings ... that means there are STEEKS in my future!  Yikes -- taking a pair of scissors to my knitting!  I'll keep you posted -- hopefully with photos of all the gory details.

Laters!

September 30th 2011

Did y'all miss me?  Didja?  Didja REALLY???  Well, I'm back!  September is like the beginning of a New Year to me, and I needed to take some time to take stock, re-evaluate, et cetera.  I did that.  And now I'm done doing that.  So I'm blogging again.

I miss being a student.  Well, that's a PARTIAL lie as I am currently an Aromatherapy student.  I'm just not currently an "academic" student as in working on my Master's degree.  To make me feel better about the arrival of September without an "academic" return to studenthood, I made myself a new lunch bag.


I had this GREAT "school days" fabric, but decided it was a little TOO "school days" for a lunch bag to take to work.




So I used an assortment of "pinks" and "coffee prints".  The exterior of the bag consists of fabric strips attached to a solid layer of fabric plus batting in a "quilt as you go" technique.




Once all the exterior strips are attached, you sew the exterior of the bag together.




Then you make a separate lining.  More pink fabric ... with a "coffee" theme.




Then you sew the lining into the innards of the bag and the flap.  Yes, I followed the instructions.  (I don't usually.)




Finally, you add velcro closures.




And ... TA DA! ... Here's the finished lunch bag!  Oh, the big bright pink button on the closure flap was my idea, not in the pattern instructions.  (But I did follow the instructions up to that point!)

  There are some things I would do differently were I to tackle making another lunch bag like this.  First, I don't see the need for the separate lining.  The inner layer of fabric is already nicely quilted.  Perhaps just a lining on the "flap" part.  Second, the carrying strap/handle is currently positioned in a way that puts all of the weight on the "flap" part.  I have visions of the velcro letting go and my lunch scattering all over the place ... not to mention my favourite little glass casserole dish getting broken!  I would move the carrying strap/handle back further on the body of the bag.  Finally ... and kind of related to the lining issue ... I would create internal "pockets" for cutlery.

So what did I pack for lunch the first day I used my new lunch bag?

Homemade buns and a can of tuna.

An onion and a carrot. 

And a fresh peach.
It wasn't a particularly good peach.
I used to live in the Okanagan, so "I know from peaches already!"

 While I had "pinks" sorted out in my sewing corner, I FINALLY got around to making a cushion cover for my rocking chair.  (The cushion had been living in an old pillow case with the end folded under.)


I used the same "quilt as you go" method as I used on my lunch bag.  Notice the cat print and the word "finicky" at the centre.  I couldn't help myself!
Yes, that is "approximately" a log cabin pattern ... but the strips are uneven.  I kind of like things that are slightly off-centre!  I'm like that one little owl hanging upside down at the end of the branch while all the other "good" little owls are lined up right side up!




Looks quite nice on my wood rocking chair, if I do say so myself.



And Mizz Bootz gave it her serious consideration and ultimately her purr of approval!


 Are the fall colours as GLORIOUS in your part of the world as they are here right now?  I wish I could just bottle all those beautiful shades of yellow and gold and save them up to look at over the long winter ahead!  I'll be back soon ...

 

One Year Anniversary!

I was looking back through journal entries over the weekend, and realized that Miss Boots and I have been together over one year now.  She came to live with me on March 3, 2010. 

Miss Boots was scared of everybody and everything at first.

Her previous human was hospitalized and kitty was locked up alone for a couple of months.  Consequently, she had some "digestive issues" in the early days, which have generally been cured with patience (feeding her one small spoon of food, waiting half an hour, then another small spoon full, and so on) and a no-grain kibble.  Unfortunately, she still vomits when she panics.  Ick.

She was too scared to go out onto the balcony at first.

Although she loved looking out the windows and "supervising" our back yard, there was NO WAY she would step onto the balcony.  Fortunately, our friend L. invited her out there one sunny May afternoon ... and since L. is superhero and deity and royalty rolled into mere mortal form (according to Boots), she has been undisputed Queen Of The Balcony ever since!

Keeping a sharp eye out for those pesky "helicopters" (hummingbirds) ... they have NO RIGHT buzzing MY balcony!



 Miss Boots is pretty much a "fair weather" kitty when it comes to the great outdoors.  She will brave the cold only if she can rush inside and immediately warm her paws on the unsuspecting hu-mom!



Not so fond of wet white stuff ... wait!  Is that a moose out there?  MOOSE MUST LEAVE MY BACK YARD!  GET OUTTA HERE MOOSE!!

Miss Boots is the BEST HELPER a quilter could ever ask for (but not so great in the knitting assistance department).

Nap testing for softness and comfort.



Is your bobbin threaded correctly?  Are you sewing that seam straight?  Can I chase thread now?



However, she is a bit of a kleptomaniac.  I think she has a thing about bling!

Typical morning "collection" under the dining room table ... pine cone, ball of wool, pen, earring, package of bias tape, assorted kitty toys ... What?  You expected me to SLEEP all night???

Nice Necklace!  MINE!  Necklace for kitty!

She has been known to "escape" our apartment in order to go hiss and yowl at the kitty in the apartment at the end of the hall ...

I'm coming to get you, Cookie The Cat!  I is the Boss Feline around here!

... and is clearly the world's messiest eater!

The remains of one kibble break ... almost as much on the placemat as in the bowl ... or the cat!

She can be playful ...

I is furry groceries ...

... and she can be grumpy ...

Keep pointing that camera at me and I'll demonstrate mad kitty bites hu-mom!

... and she can be curious ...

What doing?  Hmm?  Can I join in?  Is it Bootsy time now?

... and she can still surprise me when I'm least expecting it!

Oh hi.  I'm just up here inventorying your cow collection for you ... two cows ... two more cows ...

The vet figured Miss Boots to be about 3 or 4 years old when she came to live with me.  Since she's a rescue kitty, we have no idea when her actual birthday is.  What I can say FOR SURE is that my life is much richer for The Boots, and I hope she's part of my world for many more years!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY / BIRTHDAY MISS BOOTS!

Happy 2011!

I've been enjoying a Christmas vacation, one of those stay at home kind of vacations ... what do they call them?  "Staycations"?  My last day of work was Christmas Eve, and I didn't go back to the office until today, January 3rd.  I very purposefully did NOT think about work ... and every time thoughts about work burbled up to surface, I firmly sent them packing!  I didn't even turn on my computer (so I wouldn't be tempted to check work-related email).  In fact, most days, I didn't get out of my jammies.  To tell y'all the truth, I could use another 10 days like that ... eat, nap, read, relax, knit, quilt, relax some more, eat some more, have another nap ... it was great!  And The Boots was thrilled to get pets and snuggles any time of the day!

I had decided on some nice mindless sock-knitting ...

Oh oh!  Broken knitting needle!  What to do?

... but before completing sock #1, one of my favourite double-pointed (bamboo size 2 mm) knitting needles snapped!  Yes, I still had 4 others, but knitting with 4 instead of 5 is just ... WRONG!  So I had to abandon sock knitting (until I can replace the broken bamboo needle).  So I decided to tackle a simple quilting project instead.

"Friendship Star" quilt block using bits of cutesy bright food-related fabrics.

Placemats.  I've had intentions of making a new set for myself for a while now.

Sewing the binding on a placemat.

Miss Boots, Chief Thread Inspector!

They turned out quite nice (I think) ...

Completed placemat on table.

Reverse side ... great foody expressions ... and NOT white (in case of spaghetti sauce)!

However, the placemats just didn't satisfy the "creating with wool" urge, so I dug out a crochet hook and hooked me up a new wool hat ...

Bright red Paton's Classic Wool

Finished hat.  Oops ... taking pix in the bathroom whilst wearing jammies!

... although I didn't need it today as it was only minus 5 degrees.  I'm sure there will be plenty of much colder mornings in the coming months!

So one partial sock, a set of placemats, and a hat took care of the first three days of my Christmas vacation.  Every time I tried to read, I fell asleep, so figured I'd better come up with another project to keep myself awake for the remainder of the week.  I had been contemplating this ...

"A Grateful Heart" sampler quilt (McCall's Quilting magazine, Winter 2009-10)

... and what better time to start?  Each "sample" block is representative of something the quilter is grateful for.  A contemplative way to end 2010, yes?  I completed the following blocks:

"Memories" block

"Grandmother's Fan" block

"Rail Fence" block

"Flower Basket" block ... oh oh!  Something's not right here ...

That's better!  (Note to self:  slow down!  be more patient!)

"Peace and Plenty" block

"Old School House" block

The only "rule" I set out for myself was to incorporate one BLUE fabric somewhere in each block.  I didn't think I had many bits of blue fabrics stashed ... but it's amazing what one finds in one's fabric stash!  As I stitched, I journalled about each block, what the pattern and fabrics made me think of, and what I am grateful for.  It's been a delightful exercise!  (I wish there were other amateur quilters out there who would do the same so we could share thoughts ...)

This is my new favourite quilting tool ...

Can you guess what it is???

All that Thread Inspecting fair wore out Miss Boots ...

"I'll just give this new quilt a trial run for 'nappability'!"

I suppose progress on this quilt will slow right down now that my Christmas break is over as I'm usually too pooped to get creative once I get home from work and get supper over with.

So that's how the holidays were spent in my humble home.  How were YOUR holidays???