A New Year

I realize that resolutions are supposed to start January 1, so you're off to a fresh start. Blame the procrastinator in me (who, by the way, is never affected by resolutions and therefore I've long since stopped trying and just embraced her), but I generally don't make them that early. I like to have a little time to think, to reflect and get a feel for 2011 before I decide what I want from the year.

So, without (any further) ado, here are my resolutions for 2011!

4.) Bake more. I actually love baking and the sense of making my  own food. It just always seems I don't have time or room to do so. I'd like to make more time to.

This is a scone from the Victorian Rose Tea Room, a pleasant little tea room with the most delicious food and 36 kinds of tea! I'd love to learn to bake scones like this.

3.) Relax more. I don't mean the lying-on-the-sofa kind of relax. I mean, take it easy on myself. Walk away when I get frustrated with something, come back when I have fresh eyes. Laugh more, smile more, worry less, take each day as it comes. Allow that I am human and will have grumpy days, days when my already crazy hair does exceptionally crazy things, when the cat will hairball on the carpet on my side of the bed, when I won't feel well and won't want to do anything. Also, allow that other people have those days too and be understanding of them. Get outside, enjoy the sun, enjoy life without feeling guilty if the laundry doesn't get done RIGHT NOW.

2.) Bask in my friends. When life gets crazy, it's easy to forget about what good friends you have around you. I have my fair share of truly amazing friends, although I haven't always made the best use of them in the past few years. I'd like to spend more time with friends, make some new ones, bask in the shared and mutual enjoyment and humour that grows with a good friendship. To all my friends, thank you!

1.) Appreciate more. Although this one does encompass some of the others, I wanted it standing alone. Like so many people, I take a lot of things for granted: my good friends, family, love, a warm home, a job, my eclectic collection of skills and talents and (of course) my healthy craft stash. I want to make a conscious effort to appreciate all the beauty around me more, the colours and sounds and smells and textures.

Those who know me will notice I don't have a single green change on my list. While thinking, I decided that I am still working with my Big Green Change for 2010 (going vegetarian) enough that I wouldn't pressure myself more by committing to something else right away. (And, to be honest, I am running low on ideas other than ones I am already working on).

Of course, I also want to keep up on my blog!So, in the spirit of catching up, here's some things I've been working on. Although these are not strictly new creations, I have made them recently.

I was a little hesitant about making a wallet, since my sewing skills are amateur at very best, but I decided to tackle it, and I am pretty tickled with the way it turned out! 

The outside of the wallet. Rather than embroider the heart (I really am that lazy) I just sewed it a few times on the machine. I kind of like the sketchy look it gives it.

I pulled some stuff out a bit to show where all the pockets are. It's got a fair bit of storage space! I love that it has a built in coin purse. If you like it, I adapted the Patchworky Bifold Wallet Tutorial  from Mel W on Cut Out + Keep.

Curious about my little hanging friend on the end? Here's a closer look:

Isn't it adorable!? It's actually a little cat, but his ears are hidden behind the gigantic button eyes. He's only about an inch and a half tall. A close friend brought him back from Berlin, Germany for me. I love it to bits!

 Remember all that yarn I got over Christmas? I thought it deserved a special bag. (OK, and maybe I was looking for a project to show off the beautiful fabric I got for $3 a metre). So I made a craft bag! It doesn't look very large on the outside, but it holds a surprising amount of yarn.

I used the Folklore bag pattern from the book One Yard Wonders. It was surprisingly easy. There is a LOT of ironing involved though, for anyone who hates ironing.

As usual, though, I couldn't resist adapting SOMETHING about the pattern. This time, I was disappointed by the single patch pocket on the inside. Instead, I added a slim cell phone pocket on one end (see it on the right?) and pockets with pencil/hook holders on each side. This way, I won't need to take my hook case with me everywhere I go, and can keep it to my scissors and the hooks I need.

I've also been working on my knitting, and have now taught myself the stockinette and seed stitch (HATE the seed stitch, by the way, moving the yarn back and forth all the time gets old very quickly for me). Look! I've started that blanket!

I also decided to make up one of Rose Hip's beautiful flower cushions from her flower square tutorial. It's not finished yet, but I hope it turns out as lovely as one of hers! (By the way, I highly recommend taking a browse through her flickr or blog if you are looking for some eye candy or inspiration!) 

Finally, remember my piles and piles of candy coloured hexies? I spent all summer and most of the fall hooking those little things up. When I finally finished, I was so tired of hexies, I put them away for a while. Now that I have had a little break from them, I thought the new year was a good time to bring them back out, and I have started stitching them together!

One row done, 18 more to go! But I have all year, right? ;)

Little Things...

I love that we have snow now...It snowed all day yesterday and the night before. Not great clumpy flakes either, but those large, fine flakes that glint and shimmer as they fall and make the whole world sparkle.

I love the snow...and I love what snow does to the light, especially in the early morning. For some reason, the frosty early morning glow always warms my heart.

I've also been fawning over my new cushion cover...made to cover one of two old scratchy tweedish cushions that I inherited from a neighbor along with a matching couch when I first left home. They've followed me a lot of places, and seen a lot of my life, so I don't have the heart to get rid of them. So I prettified them instead! Here is the "before" picture:

See? Just not nearly as prettyful.

I didn't mean for this to be posted in the same entry as the cushion, since I made them at different times, but it's kind of suiting since they match...

My new cork board!

Recognize that fabric? Hahaha! I wanted to recover this old corkboard my mom had kicking around her house so I could use it to hang my favourite patterns and other little bits. When I got that orange fabric, I realized it was perfect for the job, probably more perfect than any other fabric I had.

All I did was cut a piece of fabric slightly smaller than the frame, and then poke it in under the frame with a butter knife (mine doesn't come out of the back like some, which would have been easier, because the frame actually wraps around the board and holds it in).

Isn't it wonderful?! I just love it. It does something to the space that just makes me smile. It actually attracts me to my craft room...which has thus far been something of a task, since it has been serving as half craft room and half storage room and is therefore not the most inspiring space ever.

Speaking of inspiration, though, how about a closer look at the first two patterns up?

Aren't they delicious?! I love them to bits. I've had a serious problem trying to find the big balls of Handicrafter to make that blanket, but I am thinking I can maybe adapt it to a scarf and just make do with the smaller balls. I think that pattern'd make a charming little scarf. Very fun and bright.

If you would like the patterns, the blanket can be found here (you might have to make an account or sign in if you have one) and the dishcloths can probably be found somewhere on the Michaels website (here)--it's acting up for me right now, so I can't look them up.

Thanks for popping in!