The Very Curious Crafter

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T23:52:00.002-05:00

First Finished Project of the Year

2012-01-21T18:10:00.002-05:00

Okay I started this post over a week ago. Luckily I've been more successful at my sewing goals for the year then blogging.

This year, we actually had a lot of time off at Christmas, but we were away for most of it, visiting with family. While we were away I caught a nasty bug (it wouldn't really be Christmas, if my sister, mom or I weren't sick), and I was still feeling like crap when we got home.

So even though we were home with nothing to do for a good 3 days, no real sewing got done. But I started feeling much better by New Years, and on January 1st & 2nd I dove right into a new project for myself.

My sister got me an Anna Maria Horner Figure 8 Scarf Kit for Christmas, I'd been contemplating buying a kit for a while, just to try out the velveteen and voile to be honest. It's wonderful, my favourite is the velveteen for sure, it's so soft and cozy.

The project is a quick one (or should be if you read through all the instructions first). Definitely should learn to listen to what the pattern says, like when it says "square up and make sure all sides are even" just do it, don't pretend like you know what your doing.

The fact that I have never sewed with either of these fabrics should have been the first clue that I should have been extra careful. I did read a few reviews that said lots of pins were necessary, but I didn't believe it at first. After ripping the whole thing apart one and a half times, I've learned my lesson. That voile is slippery.

But eventually I figured it out, I was a bit worried about the hand sewing, but it turned out really nice.

However its not getting much use. Its just sooo big. I did some searching and found I wasn't the only one that found it to be a bigger fit. On Fresh Lemons she talks about making the scarf only 13" wide by 72" long for a thinner scarf that would be easier to manage.

This picture was from my #project365, and although it doesn't look so crazy here, its actually taking over my whole neck!

So I think I might end up taking this apart again with my seam ripper and cutting the width down. I really love the fabric and I don't want this to be something that just sits in the closet looking pretty!

Either way, happy to have finished something so quickly in the new year! Here's to a year of great sewing!

Almost ... Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T23:31:00.001-05:00

Okay I've seen this "theme" on some other blogs, and since I've been putting off a post all week on my first finished sewing project of the year (I promise myself I will do it tomorrow or this weekend or when i'm not sore, sick and tired) I figured this would be an easy post to keep at it for the new year .

So here are a few pics that I've been taking for my project365/ janphotoaday challenge .

next time i'll leave out all the words.
enjoy.

Oh how a year (or more) goes by!

2012-01-02T02:20:00.000-05:00

Seriously, it's been over a year since I've made a blog post. Fail. There is no excuse for not keeping it up other then pure laziness.

Anyways, its fine cause 2011 was kinda crappy, and I'm glad its over. It was a ruff year.

Here's hoping 2012 brings more happiness and fulfillment then 2011.

I think it's only fair (mostly for myself) to sum up 2011. I'll refrain from posting crap about work, since that is still a daily occurrence that even I don't want to hear about anymore.

I'm sure this will be long, but after a year I suppose its alright. Let's hope I can keep up a bit more regularly after this. Its a goal, but not a resolution, cause lets face it who keeps up with them.

January 2011
- Spent New Years in Sault Ste Marie for Amanda & Drew's Wedding

February 2011
- Amanda & Tim got married! Spent a (short) but great night celebrating
- Ski Weekend up north with the KW Crew where I skied more then Paul since his gout was really bad that weekend :(
- Helped say good bye to a Friend's dad who passed away suddenly
- Reached an impressive 7 years at Zenith

March 2011
- Turned 30 and was not happy about it. I'm over it now since i'll be 31 in less then 3 months

April 2011
- Watched ourselves on TV for the first time!
- Totally wiped out running for the train on front street, screwing up my knee for months
- Bought a new sewing machine that does fancy stuff :)
- Hosted Easter dinner at our place for the Cronin/ Moore Family

May 2011
- Celebrated a special Mothers day brunch at my sisters with the Campbell Family mom's
- Celebrated Krista's upcoming nuptials by showering her with love and gifts in Stroud
- Spent the first long weekend of the summer at home since the trailer was leaking gas
- Supported a friend as she said goodbye to her grandma
- Finished my first quilt of the year (baby quilt for baby Elise)

June 2011
- Said goodbye to my aunt who was and always will be a fighter
- Celebrated owning our house for a whole year

July 2011
- Spent Canada Day up north and celebrated Grandpa Moore's 80th b-day & had Family pictures taken
- Scott & Krista got married! Spent a great weekend in Barrie with family
- Made a cute little bag for the wedding to match my dress
- Went to advanced screening of the last Harry Potter movie - sad to see it end :(
- Went Garden touring with Mom and helped my cousins with a garage sale
- Became obsessed with pinterest

August 2011
- Spent the Civic weekend in Michigan visiting Uncle Barry
- Said goodbye to my Papa Lavender who was a truly great man
- Finished my second quilt of the year for Alicia & Chad's big day
- Made a great bag for the wedding - favourite clutch bag I've made yet
- Alicia & Chad got married on a beautiful day (and Pauly's b-day)
- Celebrated our nephew Rhett's first birthday!
- Celebrated and showered Steph & Steve and their upcoming little boy!
- Watched two of my closest friends at work leave for good reasons and was sad to not be going with them

September 2011
- Celebrated and bid farewell to friends moving to San Francisco
- Tried canning again - 9 jars of salsa and 9 jars of tomato sauce to last through the winter
- Registered and started drivers training 3 years after getting my G1 and 14 years after I could have gotten my licence

October 2011
- Welcomed my 2nd substitute nephew! Benjamin Cook on October 2nd
- Started in-car drivers lessons
- Went to 3 thanksgiving dinners in one weekend
- Worked on my very first mug rug for a birthday gift, and made a kick ass kids car mat for my 1st substitute nephew
- Took a whole week off work at the same time and spent it with friends

November 2011
- Celebrated 5 years with Paul - sometimes he's the best
- Spent a lot of time at work
- Went black Friday shopping in Erie PA with my cousins and spent lots of money
- Drove on the 401 for the first time

December 2011
- Was busy and away from our place for every weekend
- Became obsessed with the Party Rock Anthem song
- Went to my work Christmas Party and then Paul's work Christmas Party the next night in heels both nights and thought my feet were going to fall off
- Finished 5 sewing Birthday/Christmas gifts (3 pillows, 1 apron, 1 quilt)
- Went to 5 family Christmas and was total spoiled with gifts

My Year in Review - Slightly out of order

Okay so it was a busier year then I thought. A lot of up's and downs. 4 Funerals, 3 Weddings and we welcomed several new babies to our circle of friends.

I didn't sew nearly as much as I would have liked too, but I still finished a lot of really great projects that I was super proud of.

Okay I think that's a good start to the new year, even if it took me so long to write that i'm now posting at 2:20 in the morning on the 2nd of January. Oh well, better late then never?

Stressed and starting to panic.

2010-12-15T22:57:00.000-05:00

There are only 10 days till Christmas.

I said I would limit the number of handmade gifts that I made this year, in order to limit my frustration and stress levels in the pending weeks prior to Christmas. Therefore only make 3 “gifts” for Christmas 2010, but then my aunts and cousins wanted some pillows to remember my late uncle, and there was really no way to say no to that, and then they asked “could they be ready by Christmas” and of course I couldn’t say no, instead I said “Sure, no problem”. So that brings the handmade project list to 6 things by Christmas.

Do you want to know how many are started?

Zero.

Do you want to know realistically how many days I have to sew 6 things (3 of which are new projects that I’ve never made before and there are bound to be some kind of issues). Two days.

In all reality two full days (a weekend to be exact) should be plenty of time to finish my pending list of doom. However we all know how I’ve been this year and procrastination has become my fault (although still second to complaining about work...lol)

I’m going to need to buckle down. Focus. And get things done. Anyone want to make a bet?

Okay, i’m off to shower. I can’t decide if i’m going to go to the staff party tomorrow night and if I am what am I going to wear? I bought a new outfit tonight, and just not happy with any of it. Top/ Skirt or shoes. I think they are all going back to the stores they came from. Why does dressing up have to be so darn hard!

Our House - The Tour

2010-11-30T23:32:00.002-05:00

Okay, its about time I posted pic's of our house. I finally feel like its a place where its acceptable to show you all! Although there is still a lot of improvements that we will be working on in the coming years I'm sure!

Shall we take a little tour?

Let's start a the beginning. Here is our entrance way. Our whole house is open concept and I love that when you walk in you can see right into the kitchen and get a feel for the whole place.

Paul working away at the dinning room table, with our tiny Christmas tree in the corner. I have since replaced that tiny green evergreen wreath with a beautiful teal feather wreath. Pictures to come.

On the first floor is our dinning room. This second picture makes our hutch look so small and makes this space seem sooo empty, but I swear its not that bad. Although it could probably use something above it.

This is our living room - originally this couch looked tiny in the space, but I think its great now allows for a great entertaining space.

Kitchen space - I love the breakfast bar, there is no need for just the two of us to need a eat-in kitchen and a "formal" dinning space. This allows the best of both worlds.

Powder Room on the Main Floor/ Landing to the basement

Stairway to upstairs with our fire escape pictures from Ikea!

2nd Floor!

Main/ Guest Bath on 2nd Floor. There is more storage in this bathroom alone then our whole last apartment's bathroom!

2nd Floor hallway

Spare Room/ paul's future office

2nd Floor Laundry - Can I tell you what a difference it makes having your OWN washer and dryer. And how convenient it is have it outside your bedroom! I like having the freedom to wash things whenever I want/ need.

My work-in-progress The Craft Room!!! With Bonus sneak peak at my Tree Skirt.

And Last but not least, one of my favourite rooms in our house - our bedroom! I love the colour we ended up painting it. The purple just wasn't for us. But this grey is so calming and so cozy. We got a new duvet last christmas and I purposely "saved" it and didn't open/ use it until we got the house - it was awesome cause when we moved it felt like we had all new stuff.

I know, we desperately need some art/ headboard. I'm working on it.

We are also getting a new dresser to replace the short one. I think its pretty, however its really broken on the inside and is not really holding clothes inside it anymore!

Walk in!

Ensuite!

And cute bonus picture of my new "winter" bathroom accent towels!

So that's our place. And if you want a real "live" version and haven't been to visit, you'll have to wait until April (in Canada) to see us when our episode of "Property Virgins" airs on HGTV. Don't worry i'll give as much notice as I get so you can set your PVR's to laugh for the full half hour we are on!! If you live in the states and missed the first 3 airings already, never fear, we are going to be part of their Christmas Marathon I believe on December 23rd!

The great thing about the episode, (which by the way i'm DYING to see) is that when we saw this house during the show it was really the first time we were seeing the house. We never saw a listing or picture before hand, so all ~~our~~ my reactions are the real deal.

And in case your visiting and have never met me in person before, yes I really get that excited!

52:48

2010-11-30T23:10:00.000-05:00

Week 48: Raptors Game with some ZO peeps. Man I look sickly here. Need colour stat.

52:43

2010-11-30T23:09:00.000-05:00

Okay I missed a week, but knew there was a picture taken of me. Here it is - from my papa's (grandpa's) camera. The girls at the boys hockey game.

Catching Up

2010-11-26T00:38:00.000-05:00

Okay its 12:20 in the morning, and I’ve been sewing since 8:30 tonight, but I’m determined to get a blog post in today!

So here is my Blog Catch up. Truth is I’ve been writing in this on my desktop since Saturday. It’s been too long since I’ve made a real post and I need to get back to reality and back to blogging. As a good friend said, “I’ve been a bad blogger” and it’s true I don’t even have an excuse for it.

What have I been doing since the summer you ask? Since unfortunately that was my last “regular” update. Even if you’re not asking, I’m going to re-cap for you. (‘cause let’s face it a four month detailed update could take a while!)

Well I’ve been up to lots and yet, a lot of nothing.

It’s been a bit crazy since we’ve moved. We settled in quite quickly since we had visitors for the first three or four weekends. But it didn’t really start to feel like “home” until after the first month or so. It just felt weird at first like we were visiting but that’s long gone and it’s our home now and it feels pretty darn good! Even though there is always something to be done, it’s nice to know that you’re coming home to something that is truly yours.

Our house

We jumped right into summer and as usual we had a bunch of weddings that kept us pretty busy. We also had a steady stream of visitors to the house for a while. I just checked back to my day planner and we actually had something on the go every weekend for 8 consecutive weekends from the first weekend we moved. That will wear anyone out in my opinion!

Sarah & Gary's Wedding - August 2010

Because we constantly busy I felt like all we were ever doing was cleaning! We’ve been learning that with a house with 2 extra bathrooms and a lot more space than we’ve ever had takes a lot more to up keep. Not that I mind it one bit, it’s just taken a few months to get the hang of how to keep things an acceptable “tidy” level. It’s also a battle sometimes who is doing what and where does this go and where do we keep whatever it is the other person is looking for.

I still don’t have decent pictures of the house with our stuff in it. Project for this weekend I guess. We are having all of Paul’s KW crew over on Saturday for a house warming, so more cleaning and then I’ll take some pics to post. I will also give me a chance to show off some of our Christmas decor.

Okay, its late and I need to try and get some sleep. But I’m going to make a list here of updates that are coming – hopefully keep me on task , I mean after all I am a list maker and a good list always puts me in the right direction. (I just don’t always get to the end!)

Blog Topics to Come:

Summer Garage Sale Finds

Canning Tomatoes & Pickles

Our nephew Rhett

Paul’s trip out west and is surprise gift home

Steph & Steve's Wedding

Sewing Show Loot

Sewing Round up from May till November (seriously this is supposed to be a craft blog, and I haven’t actually blogged about crafting since MAY!?! You can officially stop following me for this reason alone, although, I swear it’s going to get better!)

52:40 - 52:47

2010-11-21T21:47:00.002-05:00

Okay, one update, all the pics.

52:40 - Steph & Steve's Wedding

52:41 - Okay so this picture was actually taken during wk 40 at Steph & Steve's reception - however I missed wk 41 so this will have to do!

52:42 - Sam's 30th B-day Party, picture of all his cousins that were at the party from both sides of his family

Currently I have no picture for week 43. However there was a picture taken of me (and the girls) at the boys hockey game that week, its just on Papa's camera - so hoping I can get a copy and upload. Until then i'm a week short for this year.

52:44 - Halloween Party, I was a owl with my cute homemade costume

52:45 - Mark, Lisa & Rhett come to see the house and share some cuddles

52:46 - On the way home Friday Night, long week rainy weather.

52:47 - Again Friday Night, trying to figure out some sewing ideas in the craft room.

52:39

2010-11-21T21:37:00.000-05:00

Coffee Cake with my new "shoe" cake lifter from Lisa and Mark. Mom and Aunt Rose came down for a the day to see the place and visit.

Currently...

2010-09-22T22:27:00.000-04:00

... super stressed out about work

... waiting for biore face/nose strips to dry on my face so i can be super pretty for Steph's wedding on Tuesday!

... love that I got two packages in the mail this week!

... feeling semi-relaxed after having a super hot oatmeal bath

... wishing that the package from sears was what I really ordered (free motion foot), and not some random useless foot for my sewing machine...grrr

... excited for my week off to relax with friends and get some sewing done!

... SOOOO excited for Stephie & Steve's wedding on Tuesday! Can't wait to share their day and see everyone all dolled up and pretty looking

... loving my Pauly and the beautiful Tiffany's necklace he brought home for me from BC last week!

... looking forward to the Milton Fall Fair this weekend, even if it's just Pauly and I going.

... going to watch one (maybe two) episodes of House season 6 then heading to bed

... thinking about how I should get my hair cut tomorrow - short bob? stylish angle bob?

okay, lame update, but update none the less.

52:28 - 52:38

2010-09-19T23:50:00.000-04:00

52 week catch up! Good thing is i've still been taking weekly pictures, even though I haven't been posting. And man, I didn't really realize it had been 10 weeks since I'd posted a picture. Eeek.