rose hip

it's 8:10 in the evening...

...and Halloween is in full swing! 'So fortunate to have Marie-Antoinette join our entourage tonight (as you can see, she's still very much at a happy point in her life...). 'Hope you're all having a very

Happy Halloween!

trim trials...

...as you can see, I've been trying different crochet trims on my pillowcases... While I've come across many beautiful trim patterns in my collection of crochet books, a lot of them tend to be a little too labor-intensive for what I'm looking for; I've therefore simplified a few or used only a few rows of these longer, more intricate patterns. I'll be putting together a juicier post shortly showing you my pillowcases in more detail... (Hmmm... perhaps it's time for a pillowcase giveaway?!)  I've just been rather busy lately with household fall chores like this one, my all-time favorite: putting away the kids' summer clothing and replacing it with their fall/winter wardrobe...Ugh! with four kids, this one seems to take forever! 'Talk to you soon...

embellish!...

...as you can see, I've been working on some crochet-trimmed pillowcases and having a ton of fun with colors!... I will be bringing these to the lovely local shop, Molly's Furniture Salad, which stocks my wares. Because I had so much fun with these, I've started working on a new batch to fill my very sad and empty Etsy shop...

A word about the flowers in the vase... they are mostly zinnias with a few stray roses, all from my garden where flowers are still blooming because we are having the most gorgeous autumn in Vancouver! I absolutely adore zinnias -- they are the ultimate "happy flower "as far as I'm concerned; they sprout easily from seed, and when placed in a sunny spot, they just keep growing very happily and produce the most perfect little flowers in wonderful shades of pink, orange, yellows, cream, etc... Pure happiness. What is there not to adore?

Back on the subject of crochet... I finally got my hands on a book I've been dying to get: Crochet Adorned, by Linda Permann, who pens one of my favorite blogs, Lindamade... and, oh boy, this book does not disappoint!! Gorgeous to look at -- the photos are absolutely stunning -- this book starts with crochet basics (great if you've been dying to learn how to crochet!) and moves to give how-to instructions for a very yummy and contemporary assortment of wardrobe embellishment, fashion accessories and even a few home decorating projects. I've show you some of my favorite picks below... OK, how adorable is the jacket with the scallop trim!! This book really brings out why I love crochet so much: by learning just a few basic stitches, you can make quick small-scaled projects with so many possible looks -- from lacework to flowers to geometric shapes, etc... -- which can be completely stand-alone, like the sweet earrings shown below, or used to zing up any items that you sew up or have that are already sewn... How fun!

...Looking at the photos in this post, I think I'm still stuck in summer mode despite it being October (Yikes!)... What do you think?!

furry and woolly...

...no, not a cuddly stuffie...

...but a round pillow made with fake fur, wool felted from old sweaters and some nice ticking fabric for the back... The seeds for this pillow idea have been tossing in my head for a while now, so I had to go ahead and try my hand at making one -- more details here. What do you think?...a bit tyrolean, a bit bohemian... definitely very soft! I'm thinking of making more of these in the very near future and stocking my Etsy shop with a few... But first, I have a few other things I have to start working on -- 'show you soon...

on their way...

...all the fabric bundles have been sent and I know some have arrived, such as at these lovely places: Jikke's handmade, Erica's Essential Suchness, Erleperle and Inside the Paper Box... Thank you so much to all of you who purchased one -- I hope you join the Flickr pools I set up for both bundles (in my right sidebar) so we all get to see what you make out of them... I can't make any more of these exact same bundles because I've run out of some of the prints -- however, at some point in the future, I might replace the prints I ran out of with new prints and make more strawberry and blueberry bundles, albeit slightly different. I have to tell you that I had so much fun putting together these bundles, that I would love to make it into a regular feature on my blog (along with a bundle giveaway for each new bundle... of course!). I'm already thinking of a more fall-like collection of fabrics to usher in the new season... Hmmmm...

But before, as promised, I'd like to post a little quickie tutorial on how to put together a patchwork coverlet backed by chenille. I also got recently sidetracked by a little woolly and furry project which I'd like to show you (almost done!)... I've been away from blogging in the last week or so, because transitioning to back-to-school mode is always a bit all-consuming around here, especially with child no.1 starting high school this year (Yikes!)... I hope your back-to-school week went smoothly!

With the children at school now and the fabric bundles on their way, I'm so ready to cloister myself with my fabric, sewing machine and, most importantly, with all those ideas bubbling in my brain and...create! Ah, fall... what better season is there to create!

I'll be back as soon as I have a creation to show you -- should be soon!...

Congrats to the winners!...

the lucky bowl...

...toss, pick, toss, pick, toss, pick...

...and the winners are:

Congratulations to the lucky winners: Maureen, Mia and Angela!...

...and thank you to all of you who commented in such a very generous way!...I'm WOWED again! If any of you are still interested in either of the bundles which contain just under 6 yds (5.5 m) of fabric, I have listed a few on Etsy here. While I will list more bundles, the numbers will be limited simply because I will quickly run out of some of the prints in the bundles (particularly the vintage ones).

I also decided to so something I'm very excited about: I set up Flickr pools for each of the bundles (on my right sidebar), so I invite all of you who purchase a bundle to show us what you make with it... 'Can't wait to have a peek at your creations! I will also be shortly posting a quickie tutorial on how to sew together the patchwork tops and back them by cotton chenille to make comfy coverlets...

Thank you so much again for your amazing participation!!

speechless in San Francisco...

...two weekends ago, we drove down to Seattle to watch our daughter Stefania and her soccer team play against a local Washington state team and, while we fully intended to drive down to the Oregon coast for a few days, we decided to extend our little holiday and kept driving south to finally end up in California -- to be more exact, in the Napa Valley and San Francisco area (what a beautiful corner of the world!...) We were so close to California when in Southern Oregon and we were having such a good time, that we simply couldn't resist stepping into California for a bit... After two long days of driving (long, that is, when there are four children in the car with you!...), we finally made it back home from San Francisco late last night.

I was only able to check my blog at the beginning of the road trip, so when I got to San Francisco and was able to access my blog again, I was left absolutely speechless and tickled pink by all your comments on my giveaway post!! I am so happy that so many of you joined in... and the best part for me: there are so many new blogs for me to look up now!... Because of  your great response, I've decided to add another berry bundle to the draw (3 instead of 2) to improve your odds of winning. So, give me a day or two for post-holiday regrouping and I'll be back with the berry bundle winners...

Ooooo... I can't wait!

berry bundle giveaway...

"very blueberry"  bundle

"strawberry picnic"  bundle

...yup, it's giveaway time again!... I will be giving away two berry fabric bundles -- all you have to do is simply leave a comment here as to which one of the two bundles above, "very blueberry" or "strawberry picnic", you prefer... There is more than enough fabric in each bundle to make these berry patchwork tops; most of the pieces are fat quarters (approx.) and there are even a few half-yard pieces in the strawberry bundle. Each berry bundle collection is made up a lovely mixture of both new and vintage fabric and has about the same amount of fabric: just short of 6 yards. I've uploaded more photos of both patchwork tops here to help you decide. I will be away for the next few days so I will pick winners in about a week's time (next Saturday). I will stock my Etsy shop with more of these yummy berry bundles after the draw. So, do have a good week and do join in on the fun!

resurfacing...

...quite literally -- after coming back from a very scruffy but fun camping trip a few days ago, I holed myself up in my basement work space to sort through and organize a huge mountain of fabric (quite literally!) that has been growing on the floor for a while now... half way into it, I realized that, short of getting rid of a ton of fabric, extra shelving was needed -- so be it,... new shelves were bought, installed and quickly filled... and my work space is becoming a much happier place!

Since my last post, I've also been putting together fabric packets for my two berry patchwork tops (sneak peek above)... I thought this would be my fabric packet giveaway post until I realized that I had to replace one of the prints used in the blueberry patchwork because I didn't quite have as much as I thought I did!... Once I've done that and taken some photos of the "edited" blueberry top so that I can show you, I'll be ready to roll with my giveaway which should be my next post... Yay!... I can't wait -- hope to "see you" there!

summer berries...

...do you find yourself thinking of summer in terms of the different berry seasons... you know,... red strawberries in the garden tip you off that summer is finally here; the greens of the garden might still be fresh and spring-like (and for the most part pest-free!), but the days are definitely getting warmer and the prospect of all of those summer days ahead is so very exciting! When raspberries ripen, mid-summer is here and the days are as long and hot as can be and the living is glorious if you're lucky enough to be by water!... Ready-to-pick blackberries and blueberries tell us that summer is in its last chapter... always bittersweet... summer is resplendent in its maturity as its greens, reds and purples are deep and rich, but the shorter days make our thoughts skip ahead more and more towards September...

For a few days in the last couple of weeks, I found refuge from our unusually hot Vancouver summer in my cool basement amongst my many piles of fabric and came across two berry prints that I've had stashed for quite a while now: the red strawberry print and the blueberry print you can see in the mosaic above. (I've always thought of the red fabric as my strawberry print although my daughter recently pointed out that there are also raspberries scattered here and there in the pattern which I've never actually noticed before... Hmmm, it must be those big daisy-like flowers that made me only think of strawberries!)

In an effort to use up fabric that I've had lying around forever, I decided to compose patchwork tops around each of these two berry prints and came up with what you see above (more here...) I'm off this week on a camping holiday and when I'm back in 10 days or so, I will make bundles of enough of the 20 or so prints to make each of the patchworks (mostly as fat quarters) and offer them as blog giveaways and perhaps even stock my Etsy shop with a few of them... 'Hope to see you then and have a good blueberry and blackberry season!

of gnomes, giants and gardens (part 3)...

 

...well really, only "of gnomes" (no giant or garden talk today!)... front and back gnome though!

 

We are having the most exceptional summer here in Vancouver, very California-like... Knowing how many long gray rainy weeks are just around the corner, I'm spending as much time as possible outdoors, soaking in the sunshine and far away from my computer... 

Having said that, I am finding some time indoors to put together some patchwork quilt tops... more in my next post!



 

of gnomes, giants and gardens (part 2)...

 

...We've had such spectacular summer weather lately that I've been outdoors most of the time, far away from my computer -- I have finished this little forest fella' though and started taking some shots of him today.... I will be back with more views of him shortly, along with more talk of gnomes, giants and gardens (Thanks for all your heart-warming comments about my garden by the way -- Wow!)... 'Hope you're all enjoying a great start to your summer!

my garden...

1. front entrance..., 2. pretty single rose..., 3. potager with nasturtium edging..., 4. clematis..., 5. "Red Rum" lavatera..., 6. play area..., 7. pretty hydrangea..., 8. antique moss rose..., 9. flower border near potager..., 10. antique moss rose in border..., 11. tea cup and saucer hose guide..., 12. artichokes, camomile and nasturtium..., 13. pretty pink rose..., 14. front garden..., 15. flower border..., 16. backyard deck..., 17. Meadow Rue..., 18. "Queen of Denmark" rose with clematis..., 19. view of potager..., 20. "Queen of Denmark" rose...


...as seen by all of last Sunday's East Vancouver Garden Tour visitors... The tour was incredibly well-attended -- there was a constant flow of visitors in my garden throughout the entire six hours of the tour... I was amazed! I'm sure the fact that the day turned out to be absolutely gorgeous (despite a very poor weather forecast the day before!) helped in the matter... I have to say that I had an absolute blast! --  a day spent in my garden with so many lovely, knowledgeable, insightful, interesting and interested garden-enthusiasts... what a treat! All the work I had put into the garden prior to the tour was so worth this day spent in my garden chatting with so many wonderful people... How rewarding! (Bonus: I also have the most well-tended June garden I've ever had!) I feel so fortunate that my garden was chosen to be part of this most amazing tour... Thank you organizers!

'Hope you're all having a good weekend -- I will be back very soon with more gnome tales...

of gnomes, giants and gardens (part 1)...

...I thought I would have had more time this week to blog about my little quilt above (spot the gnomes and giant!), but alas, I've been a garden gnome myself since I last posted, trying to frantically prepare my garden for a local garden tour which will be held this Sunday; I was pleasantly surprised by an invitation to enter my garden in the tour over a month ago, and in my usual way I am cramming to get it all looking presentable in the last minute!...

As soon as I've whipped up my garden into shape (spot the gnome!), I will be back with more about my quilt, and I'll even take you on a tour of my garden, if you'd like... Thanks for all your lovely comments on my last post and please forgive me for not answering any of your emails; as a very busy garden gnome, I simply haven't had time for any blog-browsing nor email-replying... All will fall back into place though after the garden tour... I hope!?...

geared up and rebooted...

...with a speedy spankin' new computer, I can at last show you more of the pillowcase photos I took at the time of my last post. I recently received an email asking me how I affixed the scalloped trim onto the pillowcase which I haven't been able to reply to because I haven't been able to find it again! Hopefully, I'll find it along with many others when I finish transferring all my files from the old computer to the new one, but, in the meantime, I thought I'd include a closeup of the crochet-trimmed pillowcase in my mosaic to help answer the question. As you can see, I hemmed the pillowcase edge, blanket stitched along the entire edge with my yarn, picked up the stitches from the blanket stitching with my hook to start my first row of crochet and then continued with my scallop trim pattern... sweet and simple!

While this latest bout of computer malaise took a toll on my time and patience, I did manage to start a new project which I can't wait to show you -- 'Just to warn you, gnomes are involved! I'll be back soon with some photos...