Leafy Mug Rugs

Outside our kitchen window is a star magnolia tree and it provides us with plenty to look at year round.  Delicate scented white flowers in the early spring, lush green foliage all summer and when the leaves turn in the fall, they are a beautiful orangey yellow.

Doozy 3

The leaves continue to fall and soon the branches will be bare.  These bare branches give us hours of winter entertainment watching our own backyard bird channel.  Right now, the ground is a carpet of gold under this tree!

At the neighborhood coffee hangout, chilled cups with straws and clinking ice are replaced with steaming mugs of various delicious concoctions.  My friend who is a coffee lover, put in a request for a set of mug rugs.  Her only requirement was that I incorporate some sort of leaf element into the design.  I had free reign with the rest.

Changing Seasons

Inspired by our magnolia tree, I picked out some coordinating fabric, some linen and was all set to begin.  I cut out a few leaf shapes and fused them onto the linen, then did some free motion sewing around each leaf to secure it.  The rest was just standard sew-baste-bind.

Leaf Rugs 4

Ever have a project that you have in your head and everything goes according to plan? I’ve never ever had that happen to me, and this time was no exception!  I was adding the binding to the last piece and realized that I didn’t have anymore of the red fabric left.  I was shy of just three inches, arrrgh!  I went back to the shop where I purchased this fabric and they didn’t have any in stock either, arrrrgh again!!  I was on  a deadline and so I didn’t have time to re-bind all of them using a different fabric.

Leaf Rugs 3

Plan B.  I decided to add an accent fabric to make the binding strip longer and so I added it to the top part of the last little mug rug which meant that I had to cut the red bit shorter.  There was no going back once I cut!

Leaf Rugs 2

I folded the binding over the raw edge of each mug rug and hand sewed it to the back. They looked great except that stripey bit!

Leaf Rugs 1

The finished mug rugs were handed over to my friend with me fumbling over the words to explain my binding dilemma. 

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She loved the set and said this was exactly what she wanted.  Guess which one is her favorite?  The one with the scrappy binding 🙂

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Knit City 2013

Vancouver’s annual fiber festival, Knit City, took place this past weekend.  It was bigger and better this year. Thank you Amanda & Fiona!  Two days filled with yarny fun and this time we even had the pleasure of listening to a lecture by the Yarn Harlot herself. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me and so all I have is this blurry instagramed picture of her standing behind the podium. And yes, she is that pint-sized IRL!

Ze Yarn Harlot! #yarnharlot #knitcity2013 #stephaniepearlmcphee

It was such a hoot, she had us roaring with laughter the entire time.  The vendors outdid themselves and I can say for certain that the yarnaholics of our city went home satisfied.

I was very restrained this year with my yarn purchases and also, I bought only one pattern. Self pat on the back I think!

Knit City Haul

From left to right…

Sweet Merino Lite from talented local yarnista, Sweet Fiber.  This colorway is called Teal and it reminds me so much of the Pacific Ocean in the summer.

Organically grown cotton and bamboo from the dyepots of my Knit Night buddy, Heidi, the genius behind Vegan Yarn.  The colorway is called Thrift Store.  Verrrah nice!

I couldn’t resist some madelinetosh and so it had to be Tosh Prairie in Spectrum with Japanese seed beads in Rainbow Cobalt to make a… wait for it…. shawl!

Gonna wind the yarn for the shawl after I’ve narrowed down my pattern choices on Ravelry. Yeah, who am I kidding, this could take a while!!!

Cant Get Enough 2

We’ve had a crazy phenomenon the past few weeks with much of the Pacific Northwest shrouded in a blanket of thick fog.

Fogtober 1

What made it crazy was the temperature inversion :: cold in the city where we’re at sea level and warm on the ski slopes where they are already set for ski season!  The fog lifted in time for Knit City but it was super cool and so eerie while it lasted.

Fogtober 2

Fall glorious fall

Cant Get Enough 1

Soon it will be time for woolly hats and Deck the halls.  Can you believe that 2013 is racing to the finish line? 56 days till Christmas, ahhh!!

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Doodle Stitchery

My son, Prithvi, is a delightful, talented soul.  He is the quiet one in our family and has always been drawn to creating things with his hands.  I’ve saved pages and pages of his kiddie art which first began during his superhero fixation days… Batman, Superman, not forgetting good old Spidey!  His art has definitely matured over the years and I think he does some real good work now (even though I’m a biased Mama :))

Prithvi Art

A while ago, he doodled this drawing in my “list notebook” that I have sitting on my desk (my lists are long, don’t judge!).

Jar Doodle

I ripped out the page and was going to keep it safe when I thought that it would make a really nice stitchery.  I immediately knew what I wanted :: the stitchery had to be done using red embroidery floss on linen.

Jar Stitchery 1

Having no clue about how I could transfer the design onto fabric, I drew over his drawing using a Sharpie, taped both the drawing and fabric onto my bedroom window and “traced” the design using a sharp pencil.  Very technical, haha 😉

Jar Stitchery 2

The embroidered result was exactly what I envisioned it and seemed very fitting to make something that could be used in the kitchen.  I Pinterested “potholders” and the inspiration was… wow!  I made a coordinating mate without any stitchery but finished with lines of straight stitch quilting.

Jar Stitchery 5

They’ve been insulated using Insul-Bright for protection.  The edges are bound with bias tape the ends of which I twisted into loops for hanging before sewing shut.

Jar Stitchery 4

Such a satisfying and useful finish.

Jar Stitchery 3

They’ve gone to my friend and her hubby who recently bought a new home. She tells me that she has them hanging on her kitchen wall and they make her smile. I’ll take that as a success!

Posted by & filed under Family, Gifts, Sewn Finishes. This post has 9 comments.

Canning Season

So, I’ve never canned anything before.  That is, before yesterday!

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By the way, we did have a great day at the pumpkin patch and I’ll share pictures of that soon.  However, we also went apple picking :: which was a first for us and good fun too.

Apples 2

Jonagold apples are in season and although, they’re no Honeycrisp (my favorite!), they are deliciously juicy especially straight off the tree!

Apples 3

Off we went to the Taves Family Farm in the valley to pick some deliciousness.

Apples 1

Some of us aimed high

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managing to get the best ones right on top of the trees.

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and some others ate nothing but apples the whole day!

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oh, and some old-fashioned rock candy too 🙂

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What do you do when you come home with all of these apples?

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I went through my go-to recipe place, Tasty Kitchen and decided that the easiest thing would be to make a batch of apple butter.  We love apple butter!

I used my apple slicer to core 5 lbs of apples in less than 10 minutes, easy peasy. Into the crockpot went all the ingredients.  Our house smelled so much like fall yesterday with the sweet aroma of apples cooking and cinnamon, oh my!

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I drastically reduced the quantity of sugar that the recipe calls for, using just a tad under 2 cups and I’m glad I did because what resulted is a perfect balance of tart and sweet.

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Another thing I would do differently the next time is not run the cooked pulp through the blender but rather use a sieve.  Even though I whizzed it for barely 3 seconds, I lost the grainy texture.  Thankfully, the taste wasn’t altered in any way and my toast is thrilled 🙂

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Yum, yum, yum! Apple Butter… it’s a good thing!

Posted by & filed under Family, Food, Kids, Rambling. This post has 4 comments.

Pumpkin Day

I have been thinking a lot about traditions lately.  Come October, my kids never miss out on reminding me that Pumpkin Day is almost here.  What began as a bit of fun picking out pumpkins at the patch, has become a family tradition and I love the fact that my kids have embraced this.

Punkins 1

We have our favorite list of things to do during each celebratory season.  Springtime definitely means Bike The Blossoms.  Christmas is jam-packed with traditions – the Vancouver Christmas Market, Festival of Lights at Van Dusen Gardens, the Santa Claus Parade. October means a trip to the Laity Pumpkin Patch :: our Thanksgiving family tradition!

Punkins 2

The second Monday in October, is Thanksgiving Day (the Canadian one).  Our family usually has a thanksgiving meal on Sunday complete with turkey and trimmings. So, Monday is left for us to enjoy a trip to the local pumpkin patch.  Nothing better than mucking about in soggy mud, picking out the perfect pumpkins to bring back with us.  Of course, I could ditch the rain boots and buy a few pumpkins from the grocery store, but where’s the fun in that!

Punkins 4

This year, I’m going to attempt making pumpkin pie from scratch!  Do any of you lovely people have a favorite pumpkin related recipe to share?  The guys in my household won’t touch pumpkin pie with a 10-foot pole.  I’m  hoping homemade pie will sway them to the other side 🙂

Punkins 3

The mini pumpkins in all of these pictures are from a bag I spotted at Costco.  I had to have them, how cute are they!  I don’t know if these are fake or real.  The bag had a warning in large print that read something like…

“Not for consumption.  Meant purely for decoration.”

I won’t be cutting into them to find out 😉

A recent, re-organization of my yarn bins revealed these long forgotten orangey-terracotta skeins.  A sweater quantity of Malabrigo Sock in a colorway aptly named, “Terracotta”.

Malabrigo Sock Terracota

I shoved them right back into the bin because I’m determined to finish my Twigs and Willows first.  Trying to stay on track here and be monogamous with my sweater!

Punkins 5

Embracing the tradition of Pumpkin Day 🙂

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The Leaves Edition

My cousin posted this picture on Facebook and I had to share 🙂

Fall Yeehaw

Source

There’s a chill in the air, the days are getting shorter and pumpkin spice lattes are back!

Leaf Edition 3

Time for nature’s catwalk to begin with trees resplendent in their autumnal gorgeousness.  It’s not quite here yet, but soon it will be time to rake, rake, rake.  Jump into pile of freshly raked leaves.  Begin process again.

Leaf Edition 2

Fall ❤ Leaves

I noticed that my crafting is also leaf-centric.  I’ve got the Twigs and Willows cardigan flying fast on my knitting needles.

Leaf Edition 4

The leaf yoke was such a treat to work. I was actually a little sad when it was done. Now, that’s enjoyable knitting!  Just have to get the sleeves finished and I’ll have a new transitional cardigan soon-ish 😉

A friend put in a request for a set of autumn inspired mug rugs.  I got to cutting fabric leaves as embellishments and affixed them on to some linen.

Leaf Edition 6

Can’t wait to show you the finished set, they’re turning out just like she wanted 🙂

Leaf Edition 1

“Autumn… the year’s last, loveliest smile.” ― William Cullen Bryant

Posted by & filed under Cardigans, Rambling, Sewing, Sweaters. This post has 6 comments.

Seamed Vs. Seamless

When I initially began knitting sweaters, the concept of seamless, top-down knitting, in the round was pretty unconventional.  Even for baby sweaters.  Patterns instructed you to knit the sweater in pieces and then seam the parts together.  There was little opportunity to try-as-you-go and you hoped that after all was said and done, the thing would fit ok.  I loved the knitting, it was the finishing that gave me the blahs.  Seaming all those pieces together and then getting the tops of those sleeves to fit exactly right into the armhole, gah! I did a lot of fudging back then… I’m talking pre, pre Ravelry days when I was pregnant with my son and put on modified bed rest. Most of my seamed sweaters had a bunch of fabric squished together near the armpit. Unsightly and uncomfortable!

Then the whole world of seamless knitting opened up to me.  Circular needles, magic loop, top down, hurrah!!  Not only did I enjoy the whole process of knitting the garment, but finishing was a breeze.  

Audrey 5

I was happy and vowed I would never seam another sweater.  Yeah, that didn’t quite work out!

My Aidez was knit in pieces and then seamed together

Aidez 12

The Wee Wildflower baby sweater was the same

Wee Wildflower 1

I even seamed all the little bits and pieces for my Dottie Bunny

Dottie 5

Shockingly, I don’t mind seaming anymore!  I’ve learned how to accurately ease set in sleeves.  No more (or very little ;)) fudging! Yes, I think I’m beginning to feel like a grown up in the sweater knitting world.  I love the structure and reinforcement seams give to a garment, especially one that’s been knit using a heavier weight yarn.  Seams give your handknit sweater a tailored fit.

Aidez 1

Seams? Bring it!

Twigs Willows 1

The latest sweater on my needles is Twigs and Willows from Alana Dakos’ book, Botanical Knits (did you hear, she’s preparing for Botanical Knits 2??)  The Twigs and Willows sweater is seamed!

Does this mean that I won’t knit anymore top down, seamless cardigans? Nope, you gotta love the fact that when you choose to take the seamless route, you knit, knit, knit and when you bind off that last stitch, you’re done!

However… seamless or seamed, it’s those pesky sleeves on their own torturous “island” that trip me up every time!   You’re nodding your head in agreement, no??

Posted by & filed under Cardigans, Rambling. This post has 5 comments.

Finishes, The Sewn Kind

Back, way back, I wrote a blog post about the beginnings of a set of pillows using the awesome fabric from my swap partner, Mel.  The projects were finished soon after that post and just last week I remembered that I hadn’t shared them on the blog #facepalm!

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I got two plump pillows and a runner done – love the bright colors and prints in this fabric line :: “Delighted” from Riley Blake.

Zee peee-lows

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I made envelope style backs for the pillows and bound them with a bounty of dots… hmm, I always seem to have dots in my sewn creations.

Pillows 1

For the pillow with the green binding, I managed to go all around using the same binding strip.  For the other one, I had to get creative with coordinating scraps from my fabric stash.  I love scrappy binding and it worked great for this project. Waste not, want not, right?

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I quilted these by echoing the outlines of the blocks, then stuffed them with pillow forms. So squishy!

Straight line quilting for the runner seemed like the best option with its simple patchwork layout.

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The runner has a pieced back – more dots! And yes, I didn’t pay attention to my bobbin tension while quilting this one.

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They’ve added cheeriness to our home all summer!

Pillows 5

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Summer’s End

Today is the first of school for the kids and I’m ready to embrace routine and schedules and even some “me time” 😉  This summer has been a mixed bag of sorts with many wonderful moments celebrating family and togetherness and on the other end of the spectrum holding the hand of a dear one who is hurting more than words can begin to describe.  And so, life goes on and these sunny days with cool breezes will be replaced with crisp ones as the leaves begin to turn into all of their vibrant autumn hues.  The rain will be here once again as summer makes way for the arrival of fall.

Vancouver Rainbow Crosswalk

It’s great to be back, I’ve really missed this space!

Let’s see… craftwise I’ve got nothing much to report (no surprise there, lol!)

I signed up for the Summer Sweater Knitalong hosted by Shannon of luvinthemommyhood.  I get no points for this one.  I’ve done a teensy bit of knitting on the sweater I picked for this KAL.  Fail!!

Twigs Willows 1

My knitting mojo will kick in when the weather gets cooler, I’m hoping.

I’ve got some sewing on the go too.  My son, Prithvi, drew me a doodle of a mason jar a few weeks ago knowing how I love all things vintage. (I’m coveting this aqua set even though I don’t need any more!)

Doodle Inspiration

I thought his drawing would look nice embroidered on fabric.  So, I traced it on to some linen and embroidered it with simple stitches. A few bits of pretty fabric on the sides, insulating layers underneath and I’ve got a pot holder on the go!

Doodle 1

I think I’ll make a mate sans stitchery to go with this one.

My computer time has been pretty sketchy these past couple months with so many summer related goings on and other stuff.  I’m not a big fan of reading emails and getting through my blog queue on my phone (maybe I need new glasses, heh!) and so I haven’t been online very much. I’m so behind on blog reading and commenting and I have not been on Ravelry in weeks! Time to rectify that.

Happy September all 🙂

Posted by & filed under KAL, Sewing, Sweaters. This post has 5 comments.

Screaming And Shaking My Fist!

My dear friend and neighbor (the same one who taught me how to quilt) has been going through some really tough medical issues and I have had to take a break from everything routine including social media/blogging and simply life in general.

Today, she asked me to scream and shake my fist at her cancer because she is too weak to do it…. my heart broke into a million pieces.  How do you comfort someone who has been issued a best-before date?

Silent

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