…okay, maybe three for me…
Happy Halloween!!
Month: October 2011
Colourful, cozy necks
Ta-da! Introducing the newest scarflette gals! Or rather the newest cowl scarves. Yes, indeed, I have changed the name a bit on these in the hopes of improving searchability and such. Scarflettes just isn’t as common as “cowl” or “scarves” and so I have relinquished my oh-so-loved cute product name for something slightly more descriptive.
These newest additions are made from a yarn combo that I started using in August and now currently have a rainbow of them completed. I’m a big fan of double stranded cowls and these ones are made from two different yarn types (in the past I just doubled up on a single type of yarn). One strand is made from a wool mohair blend called Alfa by SandnesGarn, while the second strand of yarn is made from Colinette Isis. Both of which comes from the oh-so-handy stock of yarns from my mother-in-law’s shop (which now lives in our basement). I really love the weight of the Alfa wool. It’s perfect for my cowls, but by itself, it can be a bit itchy. So I experimented with ways to soften it up and discovered that pairing it with the Isis yarn made it buttery soft. And the colours! Oh, the colour combos come out so beautiful! Seriously, who can resist variegated yarns? Each cowl can be worn with so many different colours!
These gals will be for sale at all my upcoming craft shows. There is literally a rainbow of them, although, some are one-of-a-kind colour combos, so if you see one you like, don’t wait to long to buy it. I’ve started listing them in the shop too, a new one each day. If you live locally (in Calgary), you can avoid the shipping cost listed on Etsy, just contact me and I will drop your purchase off directly to you. Pretty sweet deal!
Pretty and pastel
Here’s some lovely finds I’ve come across on Etsy lately. Enjoy!
Pretty in purple
Just wanted to share my new fav accessory these days. It’s been getting worn a lot! An empire cinch/belt. I have seriously had this project in mind to make for almost a year now (well before I got pregnant). Discovered this pattern in Anna Maria Horner’s Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby, which is just such a lovely book! I’m sure I’ve mentioned it on here before. And of course, I’ve always pictured it in yummy purples and plums, so when I bought my one (and only) maternity dress, it was just serendipity that it too was purple.
When I realized that the first occasion I was going to wear my pretty purple dress was to my brother’s memorial service, for some reason I became determined to sit down and sew the empire belt. Maybe I just needed a soothing sewing project to work on that week, but whatever the case, I whipped this belt up. And I truly mean whipped it up! It was sooo easy! I had all the fabrics on hand. I combined scraps of silk brocade fabric with some printed cottons and solid silks on one side (the fancy side) and then used a printed cotton for the back (or rather the “everyday” side). Reversible items are just so awesome! I simplified this simple pattern even more by buying a package of double fold extra wide bias tape and 1″ wide satin ribbon instead of making my own edge binding and ties. Easy-peasy! I absolutely love the end result! Makes my baby belly look like a wonderful gift waiting to be opened! (Oh dear, did I just make some of you gag a little? Getting in touch with my inner sappiness lately, you know).
I’m sure loads of mommas-to-be have made this project, but here are a couple that I quite like:
- Lindsay from The Cottage Home
- Liz from Made on Maple (and it’s purple too)
And so it begins
My first craft fair of the season is this weekend! I can’t believe it’s already here! My hands have been busy working away on crocheting scarves, but little time has been spent on sewing up more coin purselettes or working on the other seasonal products I had in mind. Gotta go back to the “Keep it Simple” rule for now. This week I need to get all the new scarves tagged, stamp shopping bags, figure out a lovely seasonal display, etc… you know, all those other things that are key to the craft show experience.
There is one new item that I’m excited about… scarflettes for kids (and possibly babelettes). I revamped my scarflette design to keep all those small necks cozy this winter. I haven’t tried it out on a baby/toddler though, so I’m not sure if I still need to come up with a third size that is slightly smaller. None the less, excited to be able to offer this new product!
If you are keen to start your Christmas shopping early or just want to come check out some great local arts & crafts, come by the Bowness Christmas/Fall Craft Fair this Saturday, October 22nd. The show runs from 9am-4pm in the Main Hall of the Bowness Sportsplex. I’m really excited about this show because I grew up in Bowness and my parents still live there. Plus my hubby lived in Bowness for a number of years too (his dad even owned the Bowness Hotel for a while). We’re truly Bownesians at heart! It will be awesome to support this local show! Oh yes, and did I mention that my crafty buddy Kalen of minibytes will also be in attendance, as well as a couple other fellow Etsy team members? Should be a fun day!
PS – If you haven’t already noticed, I added an Events page on the site if you’re interested in seeing the various shows I’ve got lined up. I’ll keep posting about them here too, but if you’re a die hard craft show shopper, you can come up with a schedule for the whole season and never have to step foot in the mall.
Treasury Love
A couple of my batik coin purses have recently gotten some love. Here they are in two lovely treasuries:
Thanks to Stacey of wish daisy for the include!
Thanks to fellow teamie, Heather of Piggy and Bear, for including me alongside so many other Alberta crafters! (Psst… Heather sews lovely little dresses for all those sweet little girls out there, in case any of you are interested)
Giving Thanks
Taking a moment this Thanksgiving to reflect on what I’m really grateful for in our lives these days. Here’s my top ten:
- A hubby to share this life with, and grow alongside as we face amazing moments mixed with great heartbreak
- Time to spend with family in joyful moments, and mournful ones too
- A kicking baby keeping me company throughout my days
- The hope and healing that our baby brings to this whole family, even while it’s still in the womb
- Precious friends with whom we share our faith and entire lives with
- My hubby’s big heart and amazing desire to bring God into our lives more
- The opportunity to turn my passion into a business
- An abundance of yarn in our basement to make cozy things
- Getting to watch two little babes discover the world around them
- Being baptized alongside my hubby and committing our lives to much more than just each other
Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with more blessing than you can count!
25 Weeks
and no fruit photo to share with you. My weekly Keyword/Baby Size post was derailed for the month of September. I’m sure you understand. Hubby and I have certainly continued to relish the baby developments each week, but it just didn’t get shared here. At 25 weeks along now, baby is about 9 inches from crown to rump and weighing more than 1.5 pounds. It has just occurred to me that I have yet to take a single photo of my baby belly. For shame! I had totally intended to follow in the footsteps of others and document my belly each week throughout the entire pregnancy. Now all of a sudden we’re in the midst of our sixth month! Ugh… Perfection out the window. Of course, I’m quickly coming to terms with being imperfect and I’m okay with it.
Next week is exciting for us. We have our next prenatal exam, at which point, we’ll be able to book the c-section date. Finally an actual date! It feels more and more important to me now to have a date to look forward to. That’s not to say that baby couldn’t surprise us by coming early, but a date on the calendar would certainly be nice.
There hasn’t been any making of things for little babelette, so far. There’s a long mental list, which should really get written down somewhere, of things I want to make. It might not happen until December though, because between now and then, I will be neck deep in crocheting scarves. Happily though, I can enlist the grandmas-to-be in crafting for baby until I can join in. Our baby will certainly be wrapped in a great number of handmade things! A lovely way to start off one’s little life in this world, don’t you think?
The longest month
I’ve been absent from this space for quite a while. Absent from a lot of things, actually. And yet, I can’t believe it hasn’t even been quite a month since my oldest brother passed away. Every week feels like forever.
Our small family gathered yesterday to bury him in the Queen’s Park Cemetery. A chilly autumn day, fitting for such a solemn task. No speeches were said. Not many words left at this point. Just tears and hugs, and photos. My family can’t do anything without taking photos. I suppose it will be a way to remember his urn and the collection of things we buried him with. We each had items to put inside his urn vault, symbolic things to keep him company as he goes forward.
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so weary. There’s been plenty of challenges and hardships for my family in the past several years, many of them revolving around Blake, and I was weary then. This, though, is so very different. In previous years, there was the weariness of the unknown, the worry of what may or may not happen, trying to brace ourselves for different possibilities and outcomes. But now, the outcome has been determined, our worse fear has come to pass, and he is gone. Just like that. Sudden in so many ways, though not completely unexpected. And not without some relief mingled in all the hurt. Maybe that’s why I feel so extraordinarily weary… the crazy mix of emotions… missing him and yet glad he no longer suffers, grieving a death while anticipating the birth of our first child, looking back at so many memories while needing to look forward… it’s tough to say the least. I’m sure anyone who has lost a loved one can relate.
I’ve had to make a few changes lately to keep my health and sanity. First off, I’m no longer working at the doggie daycare. I’m missing all the pups like crazy, but there was just no room in my schedule to continue doing that, while we deal with everything else. There is now just two and half weeks until my first Christmas craft fair! That alone feels insane and overwhelming. There is a lot of crafting that needs to happen and I’m tempted to enlist help (one of my big weaknesses, but I’ll may need to overcome it if I want to get enough inventory made). Hubby and I are also on a mission to get the nursery set-up and get a bit more organized for the arrival of baby. Who really wants to go shopping for all the basic baby things during the Christmas craziness?! Certainly not us. We’ve even started looking into hiring a postpartum doula to give us a hand. Given the year we’ve had, we thought it might be a good idea to have the extra support while we learn to take care of baby.
As busy as it all is, I’m also very aware of breathing in each moment a bit more. Taking the time to watch my belly and marvel at the kicks baby can already produce. Not wanting to miss the glowing yellow trees during this lovely autumn we’re having. Even just enjoying that fact that hubby and I get to eat breakfast together most mornings and many, many, more blessings.
Hoping that in the midst of all of life’s craziness, you’re able to stop for a few moments each day and marvel at just being here.