teacher gifts

It's the last day of school today, so along with the sheep happens bag and yarn I gifted to one of my kids' teachers, I made a couple summer totes with some Anna Maria Horner "stacked" fabric in home dec weight.  This book-inspired fabric is the perfect choice for a teacher, wouldn't you say?

I accented the handles and lined them with a couple other of her coordinating prints.  Then filled them with summer goodies- a water infuser, some chips and Smarties (for helping make my kids so smart!) and a gift card for them to choose some summer reading.

I made the totes without a pattern, just sewed some rectangles together, made a gusset bottom, lined and added a slip pocket.  Sometimes simple is best!

Blogging will be sporadic for July and August as I will have 3 energetic little people wanting my attention on my days off!  Plus heading out to the lake for some family R&R :)  But,  I do hope to sneak in some regular sewing while I am there.  I have a stack of quilt tops meant for the cottage bunk beds that need quilting and binding!  Plus a couple secret swap projects that I plan to finish up.  So, hopefully some good things to show you once routine is restored. 

Wishing you all a fabulous summer (or winter, in the other hemisphere!).

xoxo Kristie

rhubarb, grannies and sex

Today, I am having a really good day, and I am feeling a little sassy, truth be told ;) It is my day off work, the sun is shining, and we have a day with NO SCHEDULED ACTIVITIES. Flipping unbelievable. Don't worry, the chaos resumes tomorrow, but tonight, we are lighting up the BBQ, riding bikes to the park, you know, summer stuff!

Even baked a rhubarb crisp for dessert. On the weekend I cut up a pile of rhubarb from my "such an incredible will to live that I can't even kill it" rhubarb plant. So it went from this....

...to this.....

...and then to these:

5 rhubarb crisps

10 jars of apple rhubarb jam (tastes like apple pie in a jar)

6 dozen rhubarb coconut cookies with cream cheese icing

(sounds odd but are the best. cookies. EVER!)

Seriously, these are good eats! I have linked all the recipes, I highly recommend them. The cookies especially have become a bit of a tradition that my kids look forward to every year as they watch the plant grow. Well, there was a little meltdown one morning this spring as we watched some huge labroador which was walking through the neighbouring park unleashed come bounding into my yard and piss all over the plant. I actually ran outside and hollered at the owner, as my kids sat crying for their potentially lost cookies...sheesh. But anyways, we won't speak of it!


On the crafty front (because Lord knows, you people must be starved for any quilty behaviour out of me by now), I am happy to report that I have finished off my remaining granny square blocks and have assembled my quilt top. So, in all, 3 quilt tops done, 2 sandwiches basted, and one half quilted...there is hope for some finishes out of me this June. Just don't hold your breath!



I have actually been enjoying lots of time reading of late, and I wanted to update you on 50 Shades of Grey...quite a few people were wondering my thoughts about this "unique" trilogy. Well, let's just say I enjoyed it (*wink*). And my husband ALSO enjoyed me reading it, and was wondering when the fourth book was coming out pretty please?? ;) Think of me what you will! But I do recommend it as a fun, stimulating read.

Have a great day!

Kristie :)

up, up and away

(image via Pinterest)

I am off to the Chicago area for the weekend for the SCAD research fundraiser walk with/for my friend Michele. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has made a donation, I am soooo close to my $1000 fundraising goal and feeling so very warm and tingly inside to have such wonderfully supportive friends and family. You guys rock! I am looking forward to a great weekend! AND- I did some "pre-shopping" online, which I have shipped to my American hotel room- yippee for free shipping and no border fees! I bet you can guess what I may have bought ;)

I am even looking forward to JUST SITTING on the plane. Bringing my knitting and some books to dig into. I caved and bought 50 Shades of Grey after hearing all the hype. Have you read it? What did you think??


Also have picked up another couple fun books lately. "All Wound Up", by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (the yarn harlot) is a collection of essays/short stories, most involving yarn and knitting. I loved the first one about time for knitting/craft. She talks about how people will comment to her, you know, in that tone, " I wish I had time to knit." Like they are not given the same 24 hours in a day like the rest of us. It is a pet peeve of mine when people say that, implying that I must lead a life of leisure to be able to fit in crafting, when really I spend all day running my butt off (correction- sadly, cannot outrun the butt) but still PLAN the time to craft, because it is important to me. Not every day, but when I can. And I manage because I am organized, hardly watch any t.v. and I sleep less then I should, not by some magic. So there. Rant done. ;)


I also picked up "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson, the Blogess. I still chuckle when I think about the chicken story, so I am sure the book will be a riot.


Why stop there? Since I had free shipping I went ahead and also bought the Crafty Chloe book, wonderfully illustrated by Heather Ross. Chloe is pretty much exactly The Middle Child. A very cute read.


And I have to say that I can't WAIT for Heather's newest book to come out in October, Heather Ross Prints. How cool does that look?? It is basically a book with a DVD that has a bunch of her famous prints, and you can print it yourself onto paper, fabric, etc!!! Crazy awesome.


Anyways, off to go pack! See you all next week. And I am excited to say that I FINALLY will have a finished quilt to share with you :)

Published :)

Last winter, I was approached by a small publishing company in the UK called Cicada and asked to contribute to a craft book.

It is called State of Craft and contains a variety of projects. I like the vibe of it- not your typical craft book. I have contributed my "classic pillowcase dress" pattern....lucky for you, the tutorial is already on my sidebar on the right...yup, just over there!

I just received my copies and found some great projects like these:



And some that make me giggle, like these:



The book is available here. And it's even on sale :)

good books

Thought I would take a moment to recommend a really good book I just read. I picked up The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews. It is a story about a road trip by some (messed up) Canadians into the US, so I thought it a good read for our recent trip. Miriam is actually from Manitoba, and the characters from Winnipeg, like me, which was a nice little bonus. She has written several other books that have won literary awards. Anyways, it was a really great read, her writing style is very quirky and keeps you interested, and despite the dismal topic (an aunt takes her teenage niece and nephew on a road trip to find their long lost father when their mother is admitted into the hospital with mental illness), it had me laughing all the way through and was, in the end, very uplifting.

While away, I also picked up a couple crafty books with which I am completely enamored. First up, this little number:

I am not having another baby (touch wood) nor do I know many people still in baby production mode, but I may have to seek out some new fertile friends strictly for the excuse to knit stuff from this book. Some of the cutest patterns ever, like these:




I just couldn't resist buying this book, even at (gasp!) full price. Love it.

I also managed to score a 40% off coupon at Joann's and bought this book:

This one got my embroidered hoop juices flowing again, people! You see, I was just faking it before, but now this book shows me the actual PROPER way to do hand stitching! Oh, I love it, and some cute little stencils to boot. Check out some of these projects:


Will be having some fun with this book, I am sure. Oh, if I only had more hours in a day!!

This little piggy

I was at the library and came across this book:

Immediately, The Middle Child begged, pleaded, whined, "Mommyyyyyy?? Can you PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE knit me this cute pig???"

Big Gulp. Looked hard. But I checked out the book (in fact, I loved it so much I have since ordered a copy!). And I happened to have some pink yarn in my stash (when the heck did I start a yarn stash???). And here is what I made:

Sweet piggy tail (thanks, Kathy!):

A-DOR-able fabric details in the ears and on the feet:
And a very happy daughter:



It was actually quite simple. Honest! I am pretty certain I will be making 95% of the cuties in this book. It is so well written and photographed, I would recommend it to everyone!

Summer reading

I will be on vacation mode for the next little while- off to the beach! I will check in from time to time, but in the meantime, I will be doing some serious relaxation. Here is the stack I have accumulated, to read while my toes are in the sand......

A bit ambitious, for sure, especially considering the 3 little monkeys who will require the lion's share of my attention, but I can't wait to take a crack at 'em. There is a varied lot of styles- vampire/werewolf reads, a World War 2 love story, the latest by Miriam Toews (a fellow Manitoban), the Stieg Larsson books I have heard much about. What do you think? Have you read any of these? Where do you suggest I start?