Ice storm - Dec. 22 - 23, 2013

Here are some photos from the massive ice storm we had just before Christmas - hundreds of thousands of people in this area (and others!) were affected - we were lucky that our power was only out for 29 hours, but others lost it for days, and even over a week.  Many people were without power for Christmas.  There was a lot of damage to the trees on our street, and it'll be a while before it gets cleaned up.  Hubby and DS2 went to work on the Monday, and I visited my neighbour who had a gas stove, so they made me a nice hot breakfast :)
 

HAHAHA we turned on the gas fireplace for heat :)  DS2 turned the recliner towards the fireplace and he and hubby warmed their toesies :)

The video shows hubby and DS2 taking down the one smallish branch we lost in the storm - others had more damage than we did, and will lose their trees.  We were lucky that our damage was so minor!

Pre-Christmas gift sewing :)

 Here are some Christmas gifts I finished in the last few weeks of December :)

Nesting baskets - based on this tutorial.  Largest = 8"w x 5.5t x 5.5d. Smaller = 6w x 5.5t x 5.5d

Zaaberry messenger bags - 9"w x 6.5t x 3d

Earbud pouches :)

Corvette pillowcase for the neighbour's 12 year old son - his dad bought a 'vette this past summer ;)

iPad pouch for Star Trek loving neighbour :)  (fabric is from a Joanns trip last year!) - 9.5"w x 11.5"t

Puppy themed pillowcase and 8"w x 6" zipper pouch :)

Close-up of the zipper pull on the pouch :)

Shark pouch - pattern is Michelle Patterns Zip Pocket Pouch, size medium :)  Folded = 6"w x 4.5"t

Inside of shark pouch

I have a few more shark pouches planned so I ordered some shark charms from Ebay last week - I'll make zipper pulls when I get them, and add them to any sharky pouches :D 

I had to change my blog template ...

Techy stuff - you can ignore this paragraph if you wish :D  Yesterday I found several emails in my spam folder that turned out not to be spam - they referred to problems with coding on the old template I was using.  Apparently it had html stuff at the bottom that had links that Google had deemed inappropriate - it's more detailed than that but I really don't understand any of it :D  I went to change the template and found that the template provider had removed it herself (they gave me warnings it would happen but I didn't see them because they were in the spam folder - that's technology for you!), so I threw up a basic template and will have to start rejigging it. I'd love to figure out how to make a montage photo collection of some of my projects and put it in the header - I see that on many blogs - I think it's a great look!  

In the interim, since posts without photos are boring ...

Notebook cover made with F8's from Quilt a Bag in Markham :)  This was a Christmas gift for my friend Nancy :D  Folded, it measures 8"w x 10"t.

Superhero cape for g-nephew Lleyton - a Christmas gift :)

I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas with their family and friends - I had all my boys here for Christmas - YAY - and my gift from hubby was a shopping trip Stateside to hit Joanns - we went this past Sunday and had a great time :)  I'm sure I had more fun than he did, LOL!  He even offered up dinner at Olive Garden on Military Trail in Niagara Falls :) The service wasn't great but the food was :)  I don't think we'll go back to that location - we can try a nearby one :)

Cookin' with the littles :D

More Christmas sewing done :) Here are some gifties that I'll be delivering next week - I'm having a lot of fun making these aprons - I have a bunch more cut out for Blue Hills - I'll get working on them after Christmas :D  I also got more ric rac for more airplanes - they're a lot of fun as well :D

A couple of fabric airplanes and a simple apron.  I added a pocket to the front of the apron - perhaps kiddo can hide a cookie in there while (s)he is cooking :D

Close-up of the frog buttons on the frog apron :D

Paddington Bear apron with added pocket, and fabric airplanes.

Sock monkey apron with added pocket, and more fabric airplanes.

Close-up of the buttons on the sock monkey apron :D

This is Matt the gingerbread doll :D  I post his picture a while ago when I made him - his new brother, my great-nephew Lleyton, named him Matt.  MATT! LOL!!!  Fine name, I think :D

Christmas sewing :)

Well - it's actually sewing I've completed this month, lol.  Tis  the time to get some things done, to cross other things off of the To Do list, and to eat far too many cookies - I'm very good at the last one!  ;)

Dog poop bag dispensers :D

Simple kids apron - tutorial here :)

I didn't make this - the amazing Tamara @ Etsy did - is this not the FUNNIEST THING EVER??!!  I bought several for Christmas gifts :D

2 strawberry zip pocket pouches with strawberry pulls :D  Pattern from Michelle Patterns :)

Upcycled (from my son's work jeans!) denim zipper bag - lined with money fabric from Joanns, and embellished with some studs my sewy friend gave me :D

Snowman apron for the daughter of a friend of a friend ;)  Same tutorial as above :)

More November finishes :D

Gingerbread stuffies - I slightly modified the pattern I bought from preciouspatterns on Etsy ;)  These measure 11"t x 10"w :)

An assortment of zipper pouches - mostly using up bits and pieces of fabrics and trims :D

Not a completion - a start!  This is a sneak peek of a project that will be on-going until I finish it sometime next year :D 

November finishes :)

Christmas sewing and prep is in full swing, so posting and internet fun has been in short supply (although I've certainly managed to get a good amount of online shopping done, lol).  Here are some of my November finishes :)

Simple wallets, from this tutorial.  My changes:  1/4" to L + W when cutting (8 1/4 X 4 1/4 X 3, 8 1/4 X 10 3/4 X 1) - stitch 1/4" on either side of centre when making slot pocket piece - scant 3/8" seam allowance around outer edge.  These ones are Christmas and a birthday gift :)

Simple 4 patch/9 patch QAYG quilt :D  Backing and binding is the same brown TOT print used in the alternate blocks.  

Close-up of the jungle prints in Connor's quilt :)

The gift set for Connor - bib (backed with brown chenille), and quilt (36" x 36"). 

3 more polar bear washcloth puppets (Christmas gifts) - tutorial here :) 

Lotta Jansdotter use-up-flannel bibs - these are going to Blue Hills :)

More to come :D

This was a team effort :)

QAYG stocking made with scraps of Laurie Wisbrun's Brrr! line of fabrics :)

I finished this stocking today, to go with the matching quilt I finished a while ago.  The quilt has already been delivered, so this stocking will get mailed when the polar bear book I ordered from bookdepository, arrives.  My friend Nancy did the beautiful embroidery for me - she did a fabulous job, and even added sparkly snowflakes for bling - PERFECTION!  It measures 14.5" tall x 9" wide at the toe, and was done in the "magic stocking" technique :)  The cuff is made with linen that Nancy had in stash - a perfect match :)  I even added a tiny little polar bear button to the cuff, to continue the pb theme :)

[X] Stocking for LL to match his quilt is now checked off of the Christmas To Do list :D

I think this is going to work out just FINE :D

I wanted to do a little polar bear "extra" to go with each of the Brrr! polar bear quilts I've made in the last few months.  They're all for kids, so I wanted something fun :)  This tutorial caught my eye and I tried it out this morning, using some nice large washcloths I had purchased @ Costco a while ago (I actually bought them to craft with, lol).

Here he is after I cut out the bits and pieces and stitched the ears.  At this point, I started to think that yes, he might just work out!

Well HELLO there - it's nice to meet you, sewy human!  I'm Nanuk the Polar Bear!

What'cha doin', human?  :)

I'm very cute, aren't I!  That wasn't a question - it's easy to see that I'm adorable :)

 Thank you to Abby @ thingsforboys for the cute tutorial - I'm going to make a few more of these little sweeties :D

More Christmas sewing :)

Gingerbread aprons - size 3-5 - tutorial here :)

Close-up of the gingerbread buttons I added to either side of the neck straps :)

To go along with the aprons - Miss Gingie (I need to make a second one to go with the second apron).  The pattern is from Precious Patterns on Etsy - it's a very easy pattern, but I did simplify it a bit - this is the smaller size - it measures about 9.5"w x 11" :)

Halloween = finished for another year :)

Here are the last of the Halloween finger puppets I made, and some Batgirl masks - I want to check with the moms of the girls that I gave the masks to, to check on the fit. They looked cute though, and were really easy to make! Note to self: add a layer of sew-in interfacing next time, just to give them a bit more body :)

Finger puppets  :)

Batman (Batgirl!) masks :)

Finger puppet tutorial here :)

Halloween treats  :)

Tutorials here and here

Skeleton basket with silly string :)

Another skeleton basket, and more silly string ;)