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Thursday 29 November 2012

Doing

The pre-Christmas season is all about verbs....have you noticed? There's so much to do. Here's a partial list of my 'doing'......

  • writing Christmas cards
  • knitting hats and socks
  • hooking ornaments
  • buying gifts
  • planning meals
  • making lists
  • cleaning constantly
  • checking availability of perfect gift items
  • wrapping, wrapping and more wrapping
  • paying bills
  • driving here, there and everywhere for gifts
  • surfing the 'net when items aren't close enough to drive to
 
....and the list goes on.

Wednesday 28 November 2012

What is it About Christmas?

I don't know what it is about Christmas, but when it comes to gift-giving, and giving hand-made gifts, I seem to also resort to knitting. Knitting was my first craft, learning from my grandmother and mother. Since I've been doing it so long, I'm quite bored with it and don't knit regularly at all anymore.

But when I get to thinking about Christmas gifts, I always think of knitting. Never fails. Each year around the 24th, I swear I won't knit anything the next year.....and then it happens.

So what am I doing this year? Well I can say that I've kept it to a minimum at least. First, I'm knitting a Dead Fish Hat for my daughter. Which means I can't work on it until she's in bed at night, thereby stretching this project out way too long. I am almost done though, I'll post a picture when it's complete. I have dorsal fin and pectoral fins plus the finishing to go. Stupidly, I'm already planning to do one of these for a friend's child for a birthday in January.

I'm also planning on knitting a pair of pedicure socks for my niece. Amazingly with all the projects I've done over the decades, I've never knit any socks. So now I'm going to try and tackle a tricky pair. What am I thinking?

What crafts do you revert to when it's time to make a gift?

Wednesday 21 November 2012

A Little Extra Something


If you’re like me, you’ve started your Christmas shopping in earnest. I have a list of everyone I need to shop for, with ideas for gifts listed beside each. My favourite part is when I get to write DONE beside a name. I always try to get my gift shopping done in November, so that I can focus on merriment, baking, and enjoying the season in December.

My friend Jan, shared this  Santa with me and I’m hooking a bunch of them for those people on my list who need a little extra something to round out their gifts. For instance, I’ve bought gift cards for Smidgie’s teachers and will also send along a Santa to each. Or for Sparks leaders, dance teachers, bosses, etc. They’re quick to hook, use up leftover worms and are fun!

What do you make for those “little extra somethings”?

On My Frame


Just sharing what’s on my frame right now. A pattern I picked up two years ago in Vermont, designed by Carolyn Buttolph. She’s a delightful person and a wonderful rug hooker.

I’m avoiding doing some challenging projects that I’ve designed myself. So instead of tackling those, I’m enjoying this ‘Old Maple’ design of Carolyn’s.
 
 

Thursday 15 November 2012

Man, I feel like a Woman

With a nod to Deanne Fitzpatrick’s post today, I decided I would also blog about what I like about being a woman. Just last night while hooking away, I was thinking about the fact that my pals and I need to concoct a get-away or evening out….must bring that up for discussion.

So what do I love about being a woman?
  1. Not having to like (or pretend to like) changing tires, changing oil or loud motorcycles.
  2. Owning more than one winter coat, and more than one spring/fall jacket – I’m a bit of a jacket-aholic.
  3. Having an excuse for a wee bit of flabbiness (from child-bearing).
  4. Not getting a second look when I cry in public, like when the National Anthem plays.
  5. Cooking and baking and sampling it all.
  6. Wearing make-up to cover the not so lovely effects of aging.
  7. Not having to be the one to get up when there’s a strange sound in the house at 3 a.m.
  8. Wearing colour, lots of colour.
  9. Being a strong, (mostly) independent, confident example for my daughter.
  10. Hugging everyone, not just shaking hands.

What about you? Add your ideas in the Comments. Have a feminine day!

Wednesday 7 November 2012

TWM

It's acronym week, apparently......here's a link to a video outlining what you stand to gain when you join The Welcome Mat. In case you were considering it and aren't sure about making the investment. I believe you can join for a month for free to give it a try.

Watch the video first, it's very informative!

Tuesday 6 November 2012

RHM

Well this is quite exciting, my Sincerely Jane rug is included in an article in the current issue (November/December 2012) of Rug Hooking Magazine. I believe my rug is shown on page 27, at the top.

The Sincerely Jane project was initiated by Jo-Anne Harris, in the spring of 2011, with a plan for each person to do their own version of a rug based on a quilt created during the Civil War, the patterns for which were created by Brenda Papadakis in her book called Dear Jane.
 
The project was a lot of fun and my own rug was completed in about four months. I was surprised by how fast I completed it, but having little blocks to work on helped the process.
 
Check it out, the article is called Sincerely Jane, as we called our little group of Yahookers who each created a rug.
 

Sunday 4 November 2012

Finito!

I actually whipped two pieces this weekend and can strike them off the list. Feels good. I actually enjoyed whipping these two rugs. Very happy to have them off my mind. Now to figure out what to do next.....

 

Above is my "Spirit Meese", which was a free pattern on the Welcome Mat, a year ago. No comments please about how long it took.


This piece is small, but was inspired by a sketch I did about a year ago. I was intending to do a set of 3 rugs, together they are to be a self-portrait series. So this is panel #1. I didn't draw anything on the backing, just hooked while looking at my sketch. Not the greatest, but it was important to me. Done anyway, don't know when the other pieces will be started or finished. Life is a mystery!




 

Friday 2 November 2012

November 2, 1957


Most people choose either warm, sunny summer months or pleasant, breezy spring or fall months for weddings. I don’t know the exact year of my grandparents wedding, but it was November 1st and probably sometime in the early 1920s. I wish I knew why they had chosen November 1st, maybe because it was All Saints Day.

To honour dad’s parents’ anniversary but not overshadow it, my own parents decided to get married on November 2nd, 1957. Theirs was a whirlwind courtship that started with a blind date on Boxing Day, 1956. Can you say a blind date was love at first sight? Interesting concept, I believe theirs was. They were engaged on February 21, 1957, a week after Valentine’s Day. My father waited a week, apparently with a diamond ring locked in his glove compartment (who would risk that today?) because his mother didn’t approve of my mother (a long story but one rooted in the fact that mom’s parents were divorced: a scandalous, unforgiveable situation in the 1950s), and he waited for his parents to leave for a trip to Florida!

Later that year, the nuptials were planned for November 2nd. One wonders why when November is such a cool, damp and miserable time of year. Today marks their 55th anniversary but sadly it won’t be celebrated. Dad has been deceased for over 17 years now and Mom is declining significantly as a result  of Alzheimer’s Disease. Ironically, Mom was one of those people that remembered everyone’s birthday and anniversary and called people to wish them the best. But today her own anniversary will pass with nary a thought. She’s happy though and has just moved in to a beautiful care facility where she’s the life of the party and bringing joy to the other residents and staff as well.

God Bless them both. I’m certainly thinking about the incredible love they shared and the strength of their marriage, it was a wonderful example of respect, kindness and support to have witnessed.