Aspirations for 2009

My single New Years resolution was to read through a book called Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach. At her urging I spent time last night writing down some of my aspirations for 2009, some of my 'eager desires and lofty hopes'. Bit of a dreaming space, in other words. After beginning with 'a calm, beautiful birth at home,' I listed a few more things but ended up just writing down images in my head, images of my idealistic life:

domestic, harvest, preserving, baby, cosleeping, reading to children, fresh
bread, goddess, customising rooms, friends gathering, healthy food, handwork, reflection, slow and small focus, creativity, breastfeeding, rainy days by the woodstove, sunny days on the deck, planting throughout the year, envisioning outdoor/garden spaces, women's circle, sense of season and cycle, kid space, craft, flowers brought inside, shared meals, loved food lovingly prepared, orchard, making jam, homeschooling, rhythm...

I often doubt I'll achieve any clarity, when I undertake an exercise like this, but it's clear to me that even if ALL these things aren't achievable right now, that this year is one of inward descent, into the domestic and into myself, in a way. And having a baby makes that a vital process anyway...for a time.

Lying in bed last night I was musing about the crux of all this: finding creativity in everyday life, in the small things. This is what domestic bliss is about, I think. Musing about the two blogs I keep, and how I could experiment with bringing them together, a symbolic merging of family and life, with my creative pursuits. Thought I might try blogging here each day for a month, or the best I can do, and see what happens when I'm thinking about my everyday life more deliberately. I found when I was taking photos of my life in Canada for a week (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun), that my creative eye was switched on and creative possibilities seemed everywhere. I'd like to carry that with me more often, that ability to see.

So this is a New Years experiment, a step that may take me towards some of my aspirations, although I can't be sure of that, that's why it's an unknown. Today my domestic bliss lay partly in talking for a chunk of the afternoon with a lifelong friend in a warm loungeroom (her with a whiskey toddy, no less!), in pulling out a quilt begun years ago and putting in a few stitches, in lying in the sun at the skate park enjoying the kids enjoying the outdoor space. And later, picking up the needles in a small space before the kids' bedtime and working a few rows on what I hope will become a coffee plunger cosy.

So yes, may the New Year be a bright one for you, bright with exciting aspirations, or at least with the glimmer of change approaching, change that always brings creative possibilities. And I'll stop waxing eloquent right here!

Some completion

One finished quilt. Now I'll wait and see if it's adopted - no guarantees!

Piper took this one of Jas...

I made two Oliver and S Lazy Days skirts, a mermaid one for Piper, and a pink/green apples one for a friend turning five - forgot to get a photo of it before we'd wrapped it up! It was VERY satisfying to wake up in the morning and come out to two finished skirts, completed the night before. This pattern comes highly recommended for its ease, and I love that it's free - love the generosity of the craft community... Note to self: buy more fun ribbon!

Drawing today, loving watching Piper's creativity in action. She doesn't say she can't draw anymore, which is ace. I always love what she comes up with - today, dressing up a rubbing of a queen, above, and drawing lions in cages and a witch in a cave, with lights and darkness!

I attempted some too, but added too much, in the end. Still, the simple process of drawing is good in itself, hey...

Our art line in the loungeroom, to respect the creative output of my children and be inspired!

Handmade love for Jasper Sage

I've been working on a jumper/sweater for Jasper lately, with yarn I brought back from Canada. I couldn't start it over there cos I needed to finish all those hats! I love the colours, browns and rust red, and how it's knit in the round - less finishing to do! I bought the yarn and pattern as a kit from KPixie, but you could also get the pattern off Ravelry. I bought enough yarn for one for Piper too, but the colours were terribly garish - not how they looked on my computer, so I sent that yarn back. This sweater is going in spurts, but I think I'll get to finishing it soon - I seem to be in a completion stage of life, the last few days. Although I couldn't bear knit any of it today, given it was 35 degrees!

And here's what I did two Sundays ago - laid out my whole fabric stash into vague colour collections, mainly just to reaquaint myself with what I have, but out of this mess came the idea for a quilt for Jasper. Well, not the idea, cos I've been thinking of that for a while, but at least a pragmatic direction!

I had thought at first to focus on a chocolate/emerald/turquoise kind of colour scheme, and bought a few bits, such as the elephants, with this in mind. But when I'd laid out all my fabric, this is what materialised for Jasper.

A neat stack of squares, ready to go.

The elephants, and some of the other fabric, came from A Little Goodness, but some of the other stuff has been with me for years, some of it ten years!!! I think that's why this project feels so satisfying, to FINALLY turn these odd bits of material into something of value. I have lots of ideas for using up more of my stash - I don't want to keep it for another ten years...

Strips ready to sew together - which I managed to do yesterday, and I managed to layer it all together today, so soon I'll post a completed project, right when Jasper has no use for a blanket whatsoever! Until it cools down a bit, anyway!

Sharon's 1st quilt!

Wanted to document my sister-in-law's first ever quilt, for her daughter Taelyn! I went with her to Marv and Tanell's fabric shop, and loved watching the process of choosing fabric. I love how eclectic her choices were, and how they work together. Most of all, I love that she's into making stuff, and how that means we have even more in common. You're ace, mate!

Here's the fabric...

Wielding the rotary cutter.

Getting the sewing machine going!


All while Gord entertained the kids!

And here's the quilt top, completed in a day or two, I think. The whole quilt was done in less than a week! She is a Funk, after all! Wow, top job. Makenna's is next!

Quilts that inspire me

Alicia Paulson's Lemoncello quilt, as seen on her Posie Gets Cozy blog. This is the top...

...and this is it finished. I love how the red/orange finishing touches change the whole feel of the quilt. Read more, and see more lovely photos, here.

Moonstitches' incredibly detailed quilt, comprised of crocheted hexagons (and a billion ends to sew in!).

Ezra's quilt by Soulemama.

This XOXO quilt, so textured, simple colours.

The simplicity of Syko's art quilts, like this one: Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Finished rag quilt for Piper

I managed to finish the rag quilt for Piper that I started in early April, I think. A rag quilt is a simple project, but still required putting in the time. For example, cutting the seams so they would fray in the wash took me around four hours, I think, but I did most of it in the car on the way to the Narcisse Snake Pits and back.


I underestimated how good it feels to have made something like this for Piper, some tangible love for her to wrap herself up in. It adds so much to my sense of 'home'. Makes me think I really should make one for Jasper, seeing as that was the original plan. I was inspired by this one on etsy, but when I was shopping for fabric, I couldn't find the green/turquoise/chocolate/animal fabric I wanted, and hence Piper got lucky!

Some completion!

Finally finally finally, I finished that pair of mittens I've been working on for aaaaaages! Well, hardly working on, otherwise they wouldn't have taken ages! Gave them to my mother-in-law as an extremely belated Christmas present - so belated, in fact, that she won't even be able to wear them until November, cos the weather has taken a turn for the better (warmer) here (in what was once snowy Manitoba)! I didn't even get a photo of the completed pair, but just wanted to note here, purely for myself, that they are DONE, and that yarn is off to the thrift store, cos I don't want to knit another thing with it!

There... I feel better now!

Another project finished: a hat for myself, again, too late to be of any use, but we'll be back in Canada another time, and I'll enjoy wearing my own hand-knitted head-warmer then! I plan to line it with polar fleece for extra warmth. Here's an in-progress shot and a shot of me knitting it while I was sick for 2 weeks with a nasty cold - oh yeah, Jasper was sick too - he doesn't usually cuddle up in my arms like that!

This is the final product (as you can see, I messed up the increasing at the crown, using different yarn from the pattern, but OH WELL!). I love the earflaps...


Also while I was sick (honestly, I was resting too!!), I somehow managed to complete two oft-contemplated projects for Piper: a texta/marker roll, and an apron, both out of the same doggy fabric. I felt VERY satisfied with how easily these two items came together (both on the same day, and the apron in half an hour), and satisfied with how useful they are to her. Love that, when one's craft is appreciated!


We went to my husband's grandma's place last week to bake cookies, so here's Piper and her apron in action!



Piper and I enjoyed creating this map of a zoo together. She stuck animal stickers on the page, grouped how she saw fit, and I drew cages or fences around them as she directed me. She was pretty into cages, which is unfortuate for the animals! Well, if they were real! What I mean it, it's not very politically correct! I really enjoyed the process of working with Piper, with her directing, and the control freak in me not freaking out about not knowing what the end product would be like... just being in the moment...


I'm quite into sewing, as of the last few weeks (at the expense of cardmaking/any kind of creation with paper, stamps, etc). I'm making a rag quilt for Piper - just simple squares, and I know it's a well-done concept now, but I've never gotten around to making one. With a little guidance from Knit and Tonic, I'm on my way. Tanell, the lady who owns my local quilting fabric shop suggested that I use coarsely-woven muslin between the two layers of flannel, as opposed to batting, because it fluffs up the raggy bit very well, and it makes for a quilt that's not quite so heavy. Here's a shot, in progess in the basement:


I hadn't necessarily planned to make a quilt for Piper. Originally I walked into the fabric shop wanting to find flannel in chocolate/green/turquoise colours, with hopefully one animal print, to make a quilt for Jasper, whose first birthday is next month. They didn't really have those colours - I'll have to look further afield - but I did walk out with fabric for a quilt for Piper instead!

I meant to blog about this ages ago: this was my Christmas gift to my husband. A box of surprises, one to be drawn each week. Each bit of paper has a code written on it, which corresponds with a particular experience or gift, which I present or do for him that week. Needless to say, at least half of them are sexual - ha ha! I was happy with how it looked in the end...



Last but not least, I bought this book off Amazon: Chic Knits for Stylish Babies. I love looking at it. Don't like all the patterns, of course, but the ones I like, I like a lot. There's something lovely and coordinated about a funky knitted outfit. I'll just have to have another baby to have an excuse to knit up some of these patterns (if I start now, I might just have an outfit done in a few years'time!). It's put out by Phildar, the French yarn company - bit expensive to get hold of that yarn here in Canada, so I'll do my best at substituting, but sometimes I just want to follow a pattern EXACTLY, cos it makes for less brain strain - I feel like I've modified a few knitting patterns lately, and although they've worked out, a part of me feels the tension as I knit, wondering if I got my maths right!