Why don't you build me up - build me up - buttercup baby ...

This is what I'm working on this weekend - isn't it pretty? I'm making it in summery Hawaiian type fabric. I'm working on it with a friend who coincidentally picked out fabrics almost exactly like mine - isn't that a hoot? My fabric is on top, Julie's is below - obviously we're both anxious for summer, I'd say!


Here's my finished bag --- uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it is TINY!!! TINY TINY TINY!!! It's only 7" tall and 11 1/2" wide - as you can see it's not much bigger than my wallet! The pattern designer said to print the pattern "Fit to Printable Area" - I think I need to pretty much double the size to make it work for me - this is too small for anything I would need a tote for. It's such a lovely, feminine pattern, but not too practical for my purposes :)

OOOoooo Julie's bag turned out beautifully - is luv-erly!!!!!!!!

Come on over for tea and ...

Banana Maple Bundt Cake with Walnut Praline Swirl - I spotted this recipe recently and had to try it out. We'll cut into it tonight when the guys get home - if it tastes as good as it smells, it'll be divine!

A few hours later - yep - it was DIVINE!!! Soft, moist, delicious - 5 stars!!!

When life hands you lemons ...

make a prism makeup bag!!! ;) Here's the tutorial, and here's my first attempt :) I didn't find it as easy to do as all the comments might lead one to believe - I found adding the fabric tabs to the zipper ends was VERY fiddly (and that was the first step, lol) and lining up the pieces was fiddly. The instructions are actually QUITE clear and easy to understand - I read them over a couple of times and knew exactly what I was doing - I just found it a bit difficult to actually DO the steps. The bag looks great but I don't like how bulky the corners are - the bulk is hidden between the outside and the lining fabrics so it's completely invisible - it just feels bulky. I'll try the bag again and be more aggressive when trimming, and will see how it turns out. It really is a damn cute bag, so maybe I'm just being a bit too picky!

One thing I did differently than the instructions, was to use iron on interfacing on the outside fabric - that gave it a bit of body - I'll do that next time as well, as I like the look.

Not bad for a first attempt at a new pattern!

What's purple and floral and pretty?

MY TOTE!! I finished the tote yesterday, and today I used up the last of the floral fabric by making 2 little zippered make-up type bags to go inside :) The tote isn't from a specific pattern - it's size was determined based on the size of the pieces of fabric I had on hand :) It's lined with purple TOT (tone on tone) fabric, and has a little pocket inside made of the floral fabric. The makeup bags are from the delightful Corinne @ Heart of Mary - she did such a great tutorial for these sweet little bags! My goal is to finish 10 of these simple totes as donation items - I think I have 5 done so far :)

Chicken - it's what's for dinner!

MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmchicken - baked to perfection! Chicken and Dumpling Bake - great recipe! I want to try her Bacony Chicken and Rice Bake ... and my SIL tried her Baked Chicken with Honey Orange Glaze and pronounced it awesome! Have a poke around the site - I bet you'll find something delicious to try :)

Brrrr winter has an icy grip on us!

The cold weather is making me long for spring ... so I made a spring tote :) I have another tote planned ... a FANCY one ... cross your fingers for me :D I'm doing a bit of a "sew along" with a buddy - we're both going to make the tote at the same time. When her schedule permits (she works full-time), we'll get started. I can't wait - I may even go out and buy new fabric for it, even tho I have lots, lol.

February was a month of ...

PSORIASIS HELL!!! I'd post a picture of how bad it got but it's ugleeeeeeee. I had to make an emergency visit to the specialist, and am now on 4 different medications ... some parts have improved, others have gotten worse, so I can't tell if the medications are kicking in or not. I think maybe they're starting to work a tiny tiny bit - I hope so. It got better for a few days in a row, but today it seems to be getting a bit worse. Same old same old - I'm getting used to this pattern of progress, sadly!! 'nuff about that :)

I did manage to make a tote bag and matching make-up bag today - I wasn't able to sew much in February, and I had an urge to sit down and actually finish something. They came out quite nicely - I busted a bit of stash getting these done :) The tote is 15 X 13 X 3, fully lined, with a small pocket inside. No pattern, just created "on the fly". The makeup bag is about 7 X 5, and fully lined. I have lots more of floral fabrics to use up, so I'm going to bag up some "kits" ready to work on when my hands are in good shape - then I can just grab a bag and go to town!

Church fundraiser ...

Still having fun making totes!! This one is for a friends' church fundraiser. It's lined with the floral fabric that's on the outside and handles, and it measures 18 x 11 X 4. The pattern is the Charm Party Tote by Penny Sturges. I'm going to make a couple of little bags to go inside, with some of the scrap fabrics :)

Happy Valentines Day! Hubby and I don't really do the V-Day thing, but we're ordering Chinese food for supper - so I guess that's my present, HAHA.

New tote ...

More stashbusting = a new tote and matching little "wallet" :) The tote measures 15 x 13 x 3 ... and is lined with the cream fabric that the little wallet is made of. Notice the tiny little yoyo on one strap, just for tarting up purposes ;) The little wallet (4 1/4" square) is pinned to the tote for the photo shoot - I'll tuck it inside as a little surprise :) I got the idea for the wallet from the delightful Mary Grace @ Hooked on Needles - she just made a few herself - aren't they adorable? I *really* love the fabrics she used - this little project would be a good excuse for picking up a couple of really special FQ's! The pattern is available from here :) Thanks for the idea Mary Grace --- it's a very sweet little project! I can see it being used as a mini first aid kit ... or to hold some bus tickets/tokens ... for a credit card and a few dollars ... to hold a little container of pills/medication or a couple of wet wipes for those accidents that life hands us ... a little bit bigger and it would be great for carrying a couple of "feminine supplies" ... the uses are endless! Make it in denim and guys (and wimmens too!) could use it to hold condoms ;) Go ahead, ladies - make one and find a cool new use for it!

Nope - not liking my faux box ends :D

I've long been convinced that this method of boxing bag ends, was a trick - it looks like it shouldn't work, and in my case, it didn't! LOL! I may not have sewn the ends 100% accurately - they're close, but the sides may be a bit unequal - perhaps this explains the wonkiness of my results. The pattern came from Corinne @ Heart of Mary - I think I would have liked the "soft" boxy corners if mine had worked out better. I like this bag and will try it again - next time I'll MacGyver square cut-outs for step 10 and see how that works. I really should try to practice the faux technique so I can get it to work, but sometimes you just want to get a project finished, rather than learn a life lesson ;)

So - I give the pattern an 8/10, and I give my sewing skills, for today, a 3, lol. I blame it on my hand problems - of course my stitching would normally be perfect. *cough* *cough* *choke* *choke* *wink* :)

Tote finished :)

My hands were feeling better today (can you say ... CAPRICIOUS!!!) so I got off my duff and made a tote bag - I have just enough of the black floral left over to make a little make-up bag to go with the tote, but I need a zipper to make it. It's in the To Do pile now :D The tote measures 14" X 13.5" X 5" - I sized it to use up the floral. It's lined and has a little pocket inside. I may add a yoyo out of the salmony print, just to tart the bag up ;)

Tote is based on this pattern :)

I'm a winner :)

The delicious - and FUN!!! - Barb over @ So How Was Your Day? recently had a giveaway for some tea mats she had made - and I was one of the lucky winners! Check out the fabrics she used - absolutely frigging CUTE! Thanks for a fun giveaway Barb - congrats to all the winners ;)

I found another cute tutorial the other day ... a soft sewing bag ... from the same lady that posted the makeup bag tutorial - Corinne from Melbourne, Australia :) I studied the instructions last night and I think I'm going to give this a try - it looks like fun! My psoriasis is in overload right now so hopefully within a few days I'll be able to get some sewing done! This is what the project looks like - - I'll post a picture of my own project when I get it finished :)



And since I don't like to post without photos ... this is what I made my SIL last year for Christmas and for her birthday - I call it the Punta Cana bag as I made it for her trip to Punta Cana last month :) The little bags were to go inside the big one - maybe now I'll make her a makeup bag too! ;) As you can see, my Zoomer enjoyed the bag making process ;) (Tote is from the Charm Party Tote pattern designed by Penny Sturges)

Fabulous zippered bag tutorial :)

Thanks to Miss Corinne in Aussie,I've now learned how to make a sweet lined and zippered bag where NO raw edges or seams show - it's frigging AMAZING! The whole thing takes under half an hour to make - it really is incredibly simple! The tutorial is here - I'm definitely going to try the version with the strap, when I get the hardware. Sweet project, Corinne - thanks so much! I'm typing this post on the dinosaur computer in the studio so I'll get a picture of my two bags and upload them from the laptop upstairs :D

Most of the zippers I had in my stash were too short to use for this project, so I had to use whatever I could find --- I didn't want to use "special" fabric until I made sure I could make these with no problems. I've already pulled out some nice fabrics for which I'll get matching zippers - I'm already planning on making more of these little pretties!

Pizza Bites!

Hubby made these little morsels of deliciosity - I made a batch yesterday with one bag of pizza dough, and he made the other batch today with the other bag of pizza dough. THEY ARE YUMMY! Recipe found here - thanks Katie @ Chaos in the Kitchen - this is definitely a new family favorite!

Haiku 'n stuff :D

Psoriasis sucks.
Capricious, painful, PITA.
No more cane for now!

Things are looking up right now, so I'm happy, and not limping much, wooooohoooooo - and enough about THAT! :)

A late shout-out to our oldest son Nick, who turned 20 on January 29 --- I wasn't able to post about it - I wasn't even able to make his special birthday dinner! Sorry about that, shorty! Love you lots, very proud of you, happy belated birthday :) (and sorry your Patriots didn't make it to the playoffs!)


Tried some new things with Miss Husky - freemo quilting on her is a DREAM! I just taught her how to paper piece (some veggie blocks for future hotpads), and now she's learning how to make strip blocks with decorative trim (stash busting trim I received from freecycle). She does everything she's asked, and doesn't complain. Best damn $45 I've ever spent!

Happy belated birthday too, to my sister's sweetie Barnie ... he turned 112 yesterday - Happy Birthday Pickle Dog!!! Picture blatantly stolen from my sister's blog - if she wants it back, she can come to Toronto and GET it!! ;)

Welcome Husqvarna 6240 :D

Here's my sturdy new little girl - I have such bad luck with sewing machines - I think I plumb wear them out. I really wanted a basic workhorse machine that wouldn't get the $hits when I use it for more than 5 minutes in one day --- and I think this girl is going to fit the bill. I bought it on kijiji - as near as I can tell, the machine was made in 1976 (that's the date on the manual, anyways) - this thing is HEAVY! The machine body is metal, and it runs like a charm. The seller said she has her machines serviced regularly and I don't think she was exaggerating - the machine ran perfectly from the minute we turned it on to test it! I made a crazy quilt block to test things out - I'm a happy camper!

My eyes are watering!

HOLY CRAP I sat down to post some pictures just as my 19 year old got home from work. He's going back out so I went in to get him a little snack, but I had to scuttle quickly from the kitchen because the smell of his stinky feet is making my eyes water! I can see the snail trails of foot sweat he's leaving across my kitchen floor - good grief what a stench!!!



Here are a few projects I've finished lately - some gift bags, beer pillowcases and a quilt I'm working on for a special young man (the one with the stinking feet, LOL) :D

BTW - he doesn't know about the quilt and he doesn't read my blog, so to the family members that DO read my blog - don't mention it on Facebook, LOL!!

Teaching hubby a lesson :D

Me, upon hearing oven beep: Can you please come take the brownies out of the oven so I can test them? (psoriasis hands, I don't want to risk dropping the pan)
He: OK. (and he takes it out for me)
Me, after testing: Can you please put this back in - they're not done yet.
Him, in disbelief: How long were they in for?
Me, wondering wtf his problem is: 23 minutes.
Him, still in disbelief: How long are they SUPPOSED to cook for???!!
Me, ready to poke HIM with the toothpick: 23-28 minutes!!! GLARE!!!

5 minutes later, as oven is beeping:

Me: Can you please come take the brownies out again?
Him: Total silence - cos he's smart, and he LEARNED, lolol.

Brownies were done to perfection at the 28 minute mark, and hopefully he learned a lesson - don't question my cooking skills when there are hot pans of brownies in my vicinity, or you might end up WEARING them!!

OK, it wasn't really THAT bad, but he was actually surprised that the brownies weren't done the first time the oven beeped --- WEIRD!!! Anyways - the brownies worked out deliciously - I'll definitely be making THAT recipe again! What a nice supper we had tonight - chicken stew and dumplings, cheese bread and latte bars. Thanks, Lisa, from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, for such a great - and EASY!!! - brownie recipe :)

More sewing, and birthday wishes!

Here are a set of pillowcases I made this morning to go in my "Bazaar" box (for upcoming shelter bazaars), and here are the 15 cage quilts I made this month - if you click on the picture to enlarge it, look very closely at the top left side - I actually quilted my name onto the quilt, LOL!!! I'm so weird :D

Have a FABULOUS day - my temporary new psoriasis medication has kicked in and I feel a lot better, so life looks a lot brighter right now!!! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONA!!!

It's in the bag ... or the case! ;)

My psoriasis is flaring up like a son of a ***** - the heavy duty medication I started taking in October isn't working at all, so it's back to the dermie next week - I guess to try something else *sigh*. Getting tired of this crap - nothing is working, and the problem is getting worse! Sometimes it's so bad I can't walk, and sometimes I can't do much with my hands because they're too raw. 'nuff about that - there are people out there with far worse problems, so I try not to complain too much! But once in a while I start feeling sorry for myself - I whine for a while, then I buck up and get over it :D I'm in the whining stage right now, LOLOL.


Here's what I've finished up so far this month - some snowflake gift bags, and a pillowcase :) I also got some cage quilts finished, but they all look the same and I've posted many pics of them, so just take my word for it - they're cute, they bust stash, and they'll make some 4 legged critters feel comfy :) January's quilts are going to Kate and Me Cat Rescue, a local group who provided my friend Linda with her little kitty Punkin :)

I get my empty nest back!

Our youngest son completed his health and safety training in December to become a member of IBEW353. His dad and older brother are already members of the union. We found out today that DS2 starts working tomorrow in downtown Toronto, working for the same company that his dad and brother have worked at since '84 and '07 - I couldn't be prouder! I've already warned him that he has to go through the "My son is now a pre-apprentice!" hazing that I put his brother through last summer - attack of the photographing momma!!! As long as I get up early enough (they leave at 5:00 a.m. to head into Toronto) I'll get photos :D

His dad is going to drop him off on a street corner tomorrow morning, and he has to catch a bus and then 2 subway trains to get to to his location. I hope he isn't as directionally challenged as his mom (aka ME!) or he's screwed, LOL. I know he was hoping to be sent to a location that wasn't on the busline so he'd have to take the car - I'm glad he won't have to do that - I'm already nervous enough about his brother driving into Toronto - if I had 2 of them doing that, I'd totally lose it!

I don't have a photo to post that relates to this story, so enjoy looking at my Zoomer explaining the facts of life :D

BTW - there's a major storm headed towards Toronto - it should arrive sometime tomorrow morning -- aaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee YIKES! Two kids and hubby headed into that - I'll be a wreck all damn day long!

The threads of 2008 :D

Last year I saw someone post on their blog, a photo of the empty spools of thread they had created over the last year. I thought it was a great idea, so I saved all my spools last year, and I officially present to you ... The Threads of 2008 :p Actually it isn't all of the spools - there were an additional 13 wooden spools that I freecycled to someone who collected them. I don't know why I didn't take a picture before she picked them up *doh*. So when you look at and admire this spectacular photo *rolls eyes* - mentally add a bakers dozen spools!

The other picture is the last of the cage quilts (for an animal shelter) I completed in 2008 --- I'm ready to start making my 2009 batch ... my scraps better look out, because I'm coming after them!!! (Yes, I'm that corny, LOL).

Sandra :)

Happy New Year :)

Like most people, I got quite busy at Christmas/New Years so I haven't had a chance to post until now! I hope everyone had a happy and safe Christmas and New Year, and that Santa was good to you ;) December 31 and January 1 are sad days for my husband's family and mine, as we each lost a special family member on that day (1998 and 2008). I don't want to get mopey, so RIP Brian and Estella ... we miss you.

For my Christmas present my husband took me to New York (Niagara Falls area) for a bit of a fabric shopping trip - we left on January 2 and came back the next day. Left the kids at home, of course ;) Hubby got a call from work on the Friday - they wanted to know if he could come in to do a shift on the weekend (that particular person didn't know he was in New York) - he was able to send our oldest son instead - how cool is that! How convenient that said son has his own truck so getting to and from work wasn't a problem :D

I've posted pictures of the goodies I bought Stateside - such fun I had buying that stuff :D

Enjoy the pics!

Sandra :)