perfect ten.

I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that, today, I am the mother of a ten year old.

Hitting the double digits seems pretty substantial to me.  A decade!  While the baby days for the girls are a bit of a blur in my mind to be honest, I remember them so clearly with Big G.  How he used to lay his head on my shoulder and suck his thumb through the sleeve of my t-shirt.  How he used to scrunch up his face to make me laugh.  How he would come crawling at the speed of light from anywhere in the house to the t.v. if he heard the "Sex and the City" theme song, and proceed to boogie down.

And now, here he is, all knees and elbows, getting dangerously close to my height, smelly hockey bag, becoming more aloof and "cool".

But yet….still moments where he crawls into bed with us to cuddle or folds into my lap to watch t.v.  Eyes lit up with the magic of Christmas, running to bed before Santa arrives. 

An army of stuffed animals in his bed.  

Still sleeping under the hockey quilt I made him and insisting the label is at the top (so he can hug it).

Big G is a complicated kid- he still struggles with social interactions, and as such, the sweetness within him is often not on display for others to see.  So I feel extra privileged that, sometimes, he shares those pieces of himself with his dad and me- those glimpses are all the more a precious gift.

Happy 10th birthday to my sweet, smart, sensitive boy.  No matter how big you get, you will always be my baby.  xoxo

cold. colder. coldest. And coupon.

I am grumpy.  It has been about -30 degrees here for about 3 weeks now.  As far as cold snaps go, this has CROSSED THE LINE.

But luckily I have has some cheering up from some lovely people who have been whipping up Good Old Hockey Quilts for loved ones for Christmas. Thought I would share a couple here that I have received this week….

By Alison (alisonharle on IG):

By Ileen:

By Liz:

Aren't they awesome?!?!


So I have decided to run a coupon on the pattern to celebrate the new year, and hopefully generate some good karma to banish this frigid weather!!   So, from now until January 6/14,  The Good Old Hockey Game quilt pattern on Etsy is 25% off with the coupon code "hockeycanada".

Off to shovel the driveway. Again.

favorite things

I think my singular favourite thing about the holidays is tradition.  It is the repetition of acts, from year to year, generation to generation, that I hold the most dear.  And nothing makes me happier than when my children see the value in those things as well.  This year, as we scanned our very over scheduled calendar to try and find a few hours on a weekend when we were ALL free to go to the country to the usual tree farm to get our fresh tree, there was no time to be found.  When I suggested we instead just pick up a tree in the city, the kids protested.  Together, they decided to make some sacrifices, skip some activities- ringette, hockey, dance classes- and MAKE the time to maintain our family tradition.  And so we did.  Sure, it was literally -40 degrees on the day we chose, but we bundled up and still merrily chose our tree, went on a sleigh ride, and drank hot chocolate as we do every year.  

It was magical.

I also love digging out the Christmas decorations every year.  Ornaments the kids have made, pictures with Santa, and some of my favourite Crafts of Christmas' Past.  

Like the Best Tree Ever hoop and Merry hoop.

My quilted tree wall hanging made by my friend Cherie.

My hand quilted star table topper.

My Retro Christmas Quilt!

 (to name a few).

Whatever the holiday season means to you, I hope it is filled with love and joy.  I recently asked LBNL if she knew the "true" meaning of Christmas.  She replied, "Of course!  It's about baby Jesus, friends and family!"  May your holiday be filled with all of those…and maybe throw in a few fabric presents ;)

See you in 2014!

making a list, checking it twice

My day, from beginning to end, involves lists.  Loooooong lists that I never see the end of.  You know the feeling?  So I thought I might as well strive make lists prettier for me and my friends.

Taking an idea from Krista, I bought a whole bunch of little Moleskine lined notebooks, then dug into my scrap bucket to pretty them up!

These were quick and lots of fun.  I used a bit of glue stick to tack them on to the cover, then machine sewed around the edges.  Easy peasy. And they make great little gifts for friends or hostesses over the holiday season, each with their own little bit of personality.

I have snagged one for myself to keep and have already gotten busy with my list making. So, have YOU been naughty or nice???

dancing cargo duffle

I made dance totes for my kids several years ago, which I still love.  But The Middle Child has since advanced to a competitive dance troupe, and spends many hours at the studio per week.  She needed a bigger bag for all of her gear.  And a handmade dance bag was one of the only things she requested for Christmas.  Like a crafting mama needs any further prompting??

Then Anna of Noodlehead released her Cargo Duffle pattern for Robert Kaufman.  Not only is it fabulous, it is FREE (thanks, Anna!).  I NEEDED to make one, and A + B = Dance Cargo Duffle.

I modified it slightly, making it smaller in width by about 2 inches, which still provided oodles of room.  I also only did one cargo pocket as I only had a small scrap of my favourite Japanese ballerina fabric left, which I used for the pocket flap.  L-O-V-E. 

The bag is quilted in a quilt-as-you-go manner to achieve its structure.  The top half I quilted in straight lines (well, as straight as I can manage), and for the bottom portion I did a combination of freehand swirls and pebbles.  The raw sedges inside the bag are then covered with bias tape.  I had a half genius idea to cut my lining pieces a half inch larger on each side to allow fabric for fold over to cover the edges without bias tape.  I say "half genius" because if I was really smart, I would have allowed a full inch for a double fold cover….a bit of pulling and coaxing was required, but it all worked out well!

I used a variety of girly fabrics for this bag- a wee floral from Tasha Noel's Little Red Riding Hood, a bit of Aneela Hoey Cherry Christmas, some Camille and Bonnie Bliss, a Riley Blake stripe, and some Essex linen to round things out, all from my stash.  Which I have to say, only encouraged me further to justify my ridiculously out-of-control fabric hoarding….love how I had all these fabrics on hand that went together so perfectly!

I think my very favourite detail is the personalized label on the side panel, using printable fabric.  Super cute and prevents other jealous ballerinas from trying to pinch her bag ;)

All in all, I expect to have a very happy little girl dancing around the tree on Christmas morning!  

Just when you thought you'd seen it all…….

Warning: not for the faint of heart, but I just had to share.  This is crazy with a side of bonkers.  "Extreme knitting" to a whole new level.

Don't say I didn't warn you….click here, brave ones!

And happy Friday.

(or vaginas, as the case may be)

Image via Pinterest

snowfling mittens

When you live in "Winterpeg," you need some good mittens.

And I think mine are THE BEST!!

This is likely the fanciest thing I have ever knit up, my first go at colorwork, and while they appear really advanced, they were quite simple to do.  It is a pattern and kit by Tanis Fiber Arts aptly named "Snowfling Mitts."  I tested them- they fling snow alright!

Not only are they perfectly adorable on the outside, they are LINED with a super soft and happy coloured cashmere wool blend to keep your hands extra toasty!   That little flash of colourful lining makes me so happy, like a best kept secret :)

(I love the picot edging at the wrist- so many cute details like that in this pattern)

These have already gotten plenty of good use and have received many compliments.  I feel like a knitting rock star!  These should definitely help with the winter blues when the snow is still here in, like, April.