FRANKLY COFFEE

Well here I am at a favourite coffee shop of mine,"Frankly Coffee". I'm stepping out...blogging outside the home, in public. I was a little nervous at first and a little apprehensive to drag my laptop into the shop. But here I am, just like all the other laptop users.....and I have survived! Isn't technology wonderful.
Well, my weekend went by with avengence again. Not much crafting done, but I did almost finish up the decorations I discovered burried deep in my studio.
I'll be finishing up a few more toques this week, experiementing with a new style of wheat bag and putting together a few pillows.
ciao.

Happy Discoveries of Days Gone By

A happy discovery in my studio.
Left over decorations I didn't quite finish for the last craft sale I did 6 years ago.
Yey, somewhere to start!
I think a few of these little guys will be a nice compliment with the toques I will be selling.
Well, I better be off to put some personality into these cute little morsels

Working Weekend

Spent most of the day yesterday in my sewing room trying to construct my sketches into Christmas Decorations. It was a difficult day. My new studio that I had moved from it's original space and now so organized has become a bit of a nightmare. I can't find anything! I was brought to tears at one time as I couldn't find my fabric paints. They weren't in the cupboard they had been for the last 15 years. Oh boy, now where do I search. Well, after many prayers to St. Anthony (he's our Patron Saint of lost items) I ended up finding them barried deep in the storage room in an old dresser drawer. I couldn't believe I found them. But then of course.....I could hardly get anything out they were so dried up......who even uses fabric paints anymore....I mean the ones in the tubes. It was starting out to be not a very good day.
I went on to another idea. I did a drawing on a piece of watercolour paper, trimmed the edges with fabric. It was looking quite cute but needed something more. I found an old can of spray glitter. Sprayed it all over and thought wow not too bad. Then right before my eyes.....the black felt sharpie I used to outline it, ran. I was at a loss. Ready to throw in the towel. I used to do 100's of decorations for craft fairs. They came so easily. I guess I have to be a little more patient and not try so hard.
I did have a wonderful break in the afternoon though. A friend from my past phoned to say she was in town and had a couple of hours for a visit. We met down town at my favourite coffee shop. We chatted non-stop for two hours. So much to catch up on. Janice shares my love of sewing and is a very talented quilter and dress maker. After our visit I was recharged and was ready to start today with new found creative energy.
I found a few items I had started for my last craft sale 6 years ago and decided I will finish them off before I start anything new. It will give me some confidence and a feeling of accomplishment. I need that right now.
That's were I am off to right now.

 

Days Off

I took two days off this week from my full time job leading into the long weekend. 5 days off in a row to stay home, prepare and to set in place the rebirth of my creative journey. Heavenly bliss.
Each of the first two days started off with coffee dates with two dear friends who support and inspire me. What a perfect way to start my day.
The first day I got my sewing room organized and up and running. Oh how I love all my material and special little collections of things. I haven't been down here for so long. I actually picked up some of my favourite fabrics and gave them all a hug. It's good to be back.
I do most of my knitting at night, so I will be down in my special room in the day. I've decided to add a few things to the craft fair inventory besides Toques. Some christmas decorations and pillows just to keep things balanced. I can only knit so much.
I did get a little distracted and had to do a little sketch for my journal. The subject matter is wearing one of the toques I knit so I thought it was ok to go off on a bit of a tangent.
Right now my windows really are all open and it feels amazing.
Back to my room to make my first christmas decoration demo for 2009.
ciao

The Next Half A Century

I'm back and ready to take this journey. I've done lots of reading, contemplating and visualizing since my last post. My problem........where to start. Being a crafter of everything and being immersed in the work force in a full time office job for the last 4 years has left my creative juices overflowing into to no man's land. I've realized my creative side cannot lie dormant any longer. It's time to take my creative soul and set off again on that adventure.

So......with a little family discussion and the fact that I have been knitting tons of toques for the numerous babies that have been born by family and friends, I've decided to make that my main focus. Toques, toques and more toques. Lots of different kinds of toques.

I will be selling them in the upcoming Christmas Arts and Craft Show. I've knit about 75 little toques so far. Some I have given for gifts, a few I've sold and the rest are tucked away until they find new homes.

Most of the toques I make now are my own design and patterns. I start, then I finish. I never quite know how they will end up. I'll be posting some of them over the next few days. I'm hoping to have some kits and patterns to sell in the future but for now I'll just be knitting up new little friends for new homes..........

 

I finally bought a pasta maker. I hunted high and low last summer for one and had no success. ( I could have got one in Victoria, BC for $100, no thanks).
Last week, Bob and I were strolling down the isles in London Drugs just to kill some time before LIam's basketball game and there they were. Seven beauties priced at $29.95. What a bargain. I love it when things like that just happen. So of course we have a new addition to the family. Can't wait to get started.

January is the perfect month to make bread and homemade soups. The smells warm the heart and the oven warms the house.
Sometimes my bread turns out and sometimes it doesn't. Probably because I can't resist adding a little of this and a little of that. This time however, it turned out and was very yummy. I still made a few changes, about 20%. It's nice the recipe has room for a little creativity.
I keep the Oats and Molasses Bread recipe taped to the inside of my cupboard door for a quick find. It's from the February 2007 Issue of Canadian living. You can find it on their website but I'll post it here..............

Oats and Molasses Bread

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

Baking bread from scratch is one of the most satisfying endeavours: kneading the dough, watching it rise, smelling it bake, then slathering a warm slice with butter.

Servings: 2 loaves, 12 slices each

1-1/4 cups (300 mL) boiling water

3/4 cup (175 mL) large-flake rolled oats
1/3 cup (75 mL) fancy molasses
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp (5 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water
1 tbsp (15 mL) active dry yeast
3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour (approx)
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour
1-3/4 tsp (9 mL) salt
Topping:
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp (25 mL) large-flake rolled oats

Preparation:

In heatproof bowl, stir boiling water with rolled oats; let stand until absorbed, about 15 minutes. Stir in molasses, butter and egg.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water; sprinkle in yeast and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Stir in oat mixture. Stir in 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) of the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt to form sticky dough.

Turn out onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding as much of the remaining flour as necessary, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough; divide in half. On floured surface, pat each half into 11- x 8-inch (28 x 20 cm) rectangle. Starting at narrow end, roll up into cylinder; pinch edge to seal. Fit into 2 greased 8- x 4-inch (1.5 L) loaf pans. (Or shape each into round, stretching and pinching dough underneath to smooth top.) Cover with tea towel; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Topping: Brush loaves with egg; sprinkle with oats. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottoms, about 40 minutes. Let cool on racks.

Source

Canadian Living Magazine: February 2007

Jan 18, 2009 First Post Ever

Welcome to my first Blog. With the help of my son, Liam I'm all signed up. I took the first step of many more to come. My goal is to have my own business and to sell my products on line for the 2009 Christmas season. So I need to get busy.

I thought I'd add a picture of the Christmas present I made this year for my niece Nova. She's our shining star.

I wasn't really intending starting my Blog until a little later on in February so I'm a little unprepared. The time was just right and we just did it.....that's my new motto actually......JUST DO IT....

I'll do some homework this week and make the second post a little more interesting.

I love all the blogs I've read, mostly artsy ones and they are all so inspiring. I will strive to do that too.