Sweater Weather

Just 2 weeks ago I had to drive around to find some trees turning orange.  Now they are everywhere I look!  So happy fall is here again.  Sweater weather, snuggle in an afghan with a cup of chai and a good book sort of weather.  I rake up the leaves strewn about our yard, but sometimes I wish I could leave them for a while longer as they look so pretty, like colourful confetti all over the lawn. 

One sunny afternoon last week after the kids came home from school, I took several of them up Little Mountain so they could show me where they went BMXing.  After sitting all day behind my work table, it felt simply wonderful to get out into the sun.  The hike and the trails through the mountain are beautiful.  It's nice to find such a place so close to home.  The best part was finding a wealth of mushrooms everywhere.  Once I spotted the first few, the kids got involved and found so many I could hardly keep up with them.

My work table has been a busy place of late.  After making several aprons as gifts, I am now working on a few that I hope to add to Etsy in the near future.

And of course, cooler, wetter weather means more time for shopping.  This time of year is just perfect for visiting the Book Man and perusing the shelves of gently used books for a good read. 

I also want to mention that it is also a good idea to join all your favorite stores on facebook.  One reason - you'll know when they have discounts, sales, draws and special deals for online friends.  A few weeks ago, after entering an online draw for a basket of games from The PlayRoom Toy Shop, I was ablsolutely shocked to find out that we won. (I never ever win anything, therefore the shock!)  It's sure nice to have a few new games to add to our collection.
So grab a blanket, a cuppa somethin' warm and a book and curl up in your favorite chair!
Until next time....

Fall 2011

So I'm on my notebook now, which means no pictures with this post as all my recent pics are on my main computer.  But there are a few things to share that you might find interesting.
First off, Winks is having a big 2nd anniversary sale.  Check them out at this link. http://winkshome.ca/
Next, Decor West is moving to a new location as they have outgrown their cute little house on Gore Ave. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Decor-West-Interiors/159700850734195  They are moving in the space above Room-to-Room, giving them much needed extra space.  This just leaves me wondering what is to become of the house they are leaving behind.  And the red phone booth, I've always loved that phone booth and often thought it would make a perfect location for a fun photo shoot.
On the BDD side of things, all my curtains are FINALLY finished.  I also finished the lighthouse pillow for my youngest son's nautical theme bedroom, and started working on a new short apron (details to come in the next week or so about the apron). 
The second baby blanket for the Pro-life crisis centre is nearly complete.  It's taking a bit longer then the previous one due to so many other projects on the go.
Oh, and if my life wasn't busy enough, now my eldest daughter is officially signed up with the Mt. Cheam Pony Club.  Ouch, that's a bit harder on the wallet then 4-H was, but then again, it also looks as though they will be learning a great deal more too.  And, parental involvement is required, much more so then with 4-H. 
Coming up on my to do list - making wine jelly!!!  Most years I buy my wine jelly from Epicure Selections (it's very tasty, especially on scones with Devonshire cream) but this year I finally found a recipe to make my own.  Looking forward to taste testing the jelly.
Well, enough rambling for today.  Off to brew my self a cup of Alchemy.  It's this wonderful (magical) tea that I found at Aromatica's, a lovely little tea and soap shop located inside of Country Garden.  So if you ever are out that way, be sure to pop in there and check it out. http://www.myaromatica.com/
Enjoy your evening.

I'm finally back!

It's been ever so long since I've updated this blog. Why? Well not for lack of creating things, but at the beginning of this year we were blessed with the opportunity to buy our own home. (a long and wonderful story, for another place and another time). After weeks (okay, make that months) of searching for just the right place we finally found a place to call our own. As you can imagine after 13 years of living in one home and having 5 kids in the process, we had a whole lot of junk to sort through. Besides all the furniture, most of which we kept, we actually tossed out or gave to goodwill at least half of what we had. Talk about purging! Then came the painting of some of the rooms in our new home. They were all in good shape, but some of the colours were NOT to my liking, so off to Home Depot I went for paint....cans and cans of paint. I must say though that the folks there are awesome and I love the Behr - paint/primer in one. All this happened during the busiest time of year - fieldtrip season and all the other fun end-of-school-year events.

I must say that I did worry a fair bit that I was going to have a hard time adjusting to life in 'town'. But all my fears were groundless. The minute we moved in, it felt to me as if I'd come home - sounds funny maybe, but there you have it. You see, I don't really feel like I live in town, rather that I've got the best of both worlds. I call it 'Life on the Fence'. If you take a 30 second walk from our place and head east, you are immediately in farm land, with the Hope River and all the wild life (including deer) I love so much. If, on the other hand you go west you end up in my favorite part of Chilliwack, that is, after you pass Country Gardens.

So from now on this blog will not only be about my creative endeavors, but also about all the wonderful places I now get to explore as I live my 'Life on the Fence'.

It's also been a great place for our kids. Not only do we now have a large rec room, but we do a great deal more biking as folks drive way more careful here (compared to all the crazy drivers down long country roads), well aware that there are always kids around the neighborhood.

Below are 2 of the projects I've worked on this year. Bespoke bike basket liners, and clothes peg bags. Lots more coming soon, so stay tuned!

Doll clothes and Aprons

I made this hat and scarf set as a birthday gift for a girl with an 18" doll. The outfit itself is the Kirsten outfit from AG.

These doll and girl apron sets will be forsale at the Button Box!

For my Teacher

I thought this little design would be just perfect for a teacher gift. I will probably stitch it onto a tote bag and then get all the children in the class to sign it as a gift for one of my girls' teachers. It was really quick and easy to stitch up too, the only downside was a lot of fractional stitches along the outside of the apple.

Little Critter

Finally an update about what's happening around here. Most of my pictures and updates have been onto my facebook page, but I've been reminded that not everyone has facebook, so it's time I start doing regular updates here.

My lastest thing has been making little critter. A number of them are at the Button Box, ready for someone to adopt them. Other, like Missy the Pig are just made.

Fiona the Frog

Louise the Ladybug

Charlie the Bear

Missy the Pig

Laidies night!

I'm looking forward to having a table at Ladies Night next week thursday evening. I've been busy making aprons all week and will be busy right until thursday! I'll post some pics later!