It’s about time

Actually, it’s about the lack of it.

I’m not able to keep this blog up and running the way it deserves or I’d like.  Not that I don’t have projects underway, or things to share, but that I no longer have the time or energy to do right by this blog.

So, after careful and ponderous consideration, I’ve decided to take an indefinite hiatus.  I’m not sure when I’ll be back, only that I’d really like to be.  But this blog has fallen to the back burner so that my husband, my life, my work, my dance and my ongoing obsession with sewing don’t suffer more than they have.

I will miss you.  Feel free to check back every now and then – I am hoping to pull it all together and come back.  Until then, you can catch me at She Sews Seams.

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

And now, to our regularly scheduled life…

The holidays seem to eat time, don’t they?  No matter how streamlined you think you’ve got it, you blink and it’s all done.

Except for the cleanup – and the de-christmasifying.  That’s a real word, honest!

The Ogre and I like to leave Christmas in our home until after the 6th of January.  This year, we had to dismantle a bit early, due to the bi-weekly garbage pickup.  That saddens me, since I really hate to see the tree come down.  So, I left the little artificial tree and everything else up!

I’ll take things down the way I put them up – bit by bit, during the evenings.  I would imagine I’ll have it all nicely boxed away by next weekend.

Which, of course, brings me to a storage dilema.  Apparently, I have more Christmas stuff than I thought I did.  In order to keep it all together, I’ll first have to clean up the storage area in the basement.  That will happen next weekend as well.

But I did think of a way to cleary identify which boxes hold Christmas goods.  We have TONS of cards that we just didn’t get around to sending.  More than enough to use as box labels.  I’ll just glue the front of a card to each box and stack them.  That way, I’ll be able to see what’s what without opening things up.

Since the storage room will be getting a cleanup, and we’ve just re-arranged the basement entertainment/computer/family area, I think it safe to say that January and February of 2013 will be Basement months.  I’ve ordered paint through the landlord, have some yummy fabric set aside to make a couch throw, and just picked up a wonderful 5X5 cube Expedit on Kijiji.  Turning the space we spend most of our waking hours into a pretty refuge has now become goal number one.

Here’s a few shots of the new layout.  Nothing has been “prettified”, so  it’s a very good representation of where the starting point is.

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Abundant!

For the first time, I actually have a New Year’s Resolution.  Like many other bloggers, I’m eschewing making a whole long list of things I want to accomplish.  Instead, I am choosing to claim a word as mine and live to it for all of 2013.

After spending a great deal of time on my Christmas stay/sewcation, I learned something pivotal about myself.  And, unfortunately, that is I tend to be stingy.  Oh, I’m not stingy with my money, but I am stingy with my time.  I’m a recluse out of choice.

So, this year, I am choosing the word “Abundant” as a guideline.

Abundant in my praise.

Abundant in my love.

Abundant in my delight.

Abundant in my work.

Abundant in my time.

2013 will see me working towards sharing… abundantly.  Even when I’m feeling pinched and stingy.  Maybe, even, especially when I’m feeling pinched and stingy!

How about you?  Do you have a resolution or a word?

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Merry Christmas!

I finished my work on the pedestal table JUST in time to set it up for Chrismas brunch!

Now that the presents are opened and the food consumed, I’ll be spending my afternoon and evening curled up with a new book (or four!).

May you all have a wonderful Christmas season!

 

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Decorating for the Season

This post is very photo laden.  You have been warned.

Today, I realized that I’ve been working so very hard on getting my pedestal table stripped and stained, that I had been neglecting the Christmas decorating!  Yes, I did have the Advent Wreath complete, and the hallway partially decorated, but I’ve been really slack on everything else!

So, here is my entry hallway, decorated for Christmas.  This is what it would look like if someone ran ahead of me and lit the candles before I opened the front door.

Santa’s writing out his “naughty/nice” list.  I’m choosing to believe I’m on the nice side of the page!

Here’s a look at what’s on that shelf…  Santa may welcome me home, but the Nativity prints certainly remind me what it’s really all about.

This little hummingbird was a Christmas present from one of my work associates.  The gold stars were a gift from an elderly neighbour a few years ago.  Together with the icicles and a mixture of real cedar branches and a faux garland, the space fills up nicely!  4 votives in sherry glasses and two in the wall hung candle holders gives a very nice glow.The wreath was made from cardstock.  “Joy” was printed at home on photo paper (as was Santa’s “Believe”)  The carollers and shoppers are from Canadian Tire and fit nicely into the jars that once held Dollarama Candles.  The red bottom of the jars are two Dollarama candle holders, spray painted red.

Except for the “Baby, it’s cold outside” print on the back of the front door, that just about does it.  Next time, the living room.

There’s still the garland above the patio doors to decorate, the creche to put up, the tree to trim, stockings to make and the table and appropriate dishware to put out, but it really feels like Christmas here now.

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Christmas starts here…

With this…

And this…

When I was a child, my family celebrated every aspect of Christmas, beginning with the Advent Wreath.  During Advent, we’d gather together in the living room after the dinner dishes were done, dim the lights and get on our knees for prayer.

Mom usually read the prayers from a sheet she got from the church.  Dad would lead the rosary, and the littlest one of us (with help) would light the candle of the week.

That little candle, and the ones that followed, brought light to the dark room, and a sense of connection and warmth to all of us.  Each week, the anticipation would build, until Christmas Eve finally arrived.

It’s been 30 years since I lived at home, but the warmth, joy and love of this season speaks to me even more loudly than it did then.

And it always started with a candle laden wreath.  Mom and Dad’s was always made of fresh fir branches Dad gathered.   Mine will not be.

To start, I used a defunct, wired, wrought iron “chandelier” light fixture that had been stored in the basement by the previous tenants.

I dismantled it totally, removed the wiring and gave it a good cleaning.

Then, the creative fun started.  I wanted this piece to be able to sit flat on a table, so I played with the pieces until I got a configuration that would work sitting on a tabletop or hung by ribbon.

I scavenged greenery from the Salvation Army wreath I purchased last year.

Using florists wire, I secured the greenery to  the chandelier.  A few ribbons and candles, and my Advent Wreath is ready!

At the moment, I’m keeping it on the table that will house the 3 ft tree I’ve got stashed somewhere.  It may migrate as I work on more decorating.  For now, though, it’s a touch of my family, my childhood and Christmas – front and center in the living room.

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, American friends!  May you enjoy your families, good food and all that you have to be thankful for.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve written a post here.  This fall, I just had no drive or push to work on the house.  I didn’t even decorate for Halloween or Canadian Thanksgiving!  I’ve been focusing on sewing a work wardrobe, teaching dance, and working!  All in all, the house got put on a back burner for the last few months.

I’m not quite ready to start any major projects, but decorating for the Christmas Season is a very different thing.

I’m hoping to start with the season on December 1st.  It’s the earliest I’ve ever even thought of decorating, but I feel the need to DO something festive… even if it’s just a tiny bit.

I have a few things in mind, starting with the pinecones I gathered up after work today!  They’ve finished baking (200 degrees F for 3 hours) and are now in ziploc bags, soaking up some yummy scented vanilla/sandalwood oil.  I’ll leave them until the first of December, to make sure they’ve absorbed all of the scent they can!  They’ll be the start of my lovely, scented, festive home!

Photo from Pinterest

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Dining Decision

For months, literally, I’ve treated our dining area as nothing more than a hallway.

On one side, a glass topped table…  On the other, a brown paper bag console table.

That’s it.

No art.  In fact, the only ornamentation was the fruit bowl I put together.  The console has exactly three candles and a mirror.

I’ve managed to get the rest of the room almost in shape.  I even managed to get new curtains from the local Salvation Army (for $9.99!).  The room does need artwork and some tweaking, but that will come in time.

Back to the dining area….

The glass-topped table and modern chairs just aren’t working in sync with the rest of the room.  They’re just too modern and cold, while the rest of the room is comfy and traditional(ish).   It left me uninspired… to say the least.

I had a breakthrough today!  My local Salvation Army had a solid wood, round, pedestal table!  One that needs work – but you can’t expect perfection for $24.99!  Right now, it’s in two pieces in my living room, waiting for me to decide what to do with it!

And there is the dilema.

I’m thinking a white base, dark stained top and a compass rose overlay.

The Ogre?  Well, he’s not on board with the white base, although he is very approving of the compass rose.  I suggested black…. he doesn’t think that will work, either.

This decision could be a while in making.

I’ll keep you posted as to who wins!

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Re-organizing for a better workflow…

This is my sewing room.

Yah.  I know.  It’s an unorganized, untidy mess.  And it is affecting not only how I feel about being in the room, but also about how I actually work when I’ve gathered up the gumption to start sewing.

That has GOT to stop.

In the effort to rework this room so that it is more easily kept clean and tidy, I’ve made a few changes.

Firstly, the large white armoire that holds my belly dance costumes?  I moved it to our bedroom (which desperately needs doing!).  This cleared up a lot visual space and actually made more room for future storage pieces.

Next, I moved all of my fabric to plastic tubs and piles in the hallway.

That freed up the shelves so I could remove them.   Of course, this meant I had brand new holes in the walls that have to fill and touch up.  No photos of this, since I know you’ve all seen patched walls!)

I moved my corner desk to the opposite side of the room.  Instead of pushing the “L” into the corner, I moved it so one of the legs jutted out into the room.  The space under the window is perfect for my ironing board.  From my new desk position, I face the doorway instead of a wall – so the room feels more spacious, even though it isn’t!

I took the time to paint a very old bulletin board and even older bookcase.  My grandfather made this bookcase for me about 35 years ago.  It started out as white, then was a light pink, then a beige….  But this is my room and I wanted a pop of color.  I think he’d be pleased!

Opposite to the bookcase is my shelf system.  The shelves are covered in a snakeskin vinyl print that’s easy to wipe down, and smooth enough that even the most delicate fabric won’t catch.  I installed these by mounting the brackets on two slender lengths of board.  This way, there are only 4 screws per unit in the wall instead of 12 per side!  The board backing also helps distribute the weight of the fabric over a larger surface, which helps with my brittle walls.

The shelves are above my cutting table.  To the left of the cutting table are two rather pink plastic storage units.  These units were holding the majority of my patterns (many which are pdf files), but I’m going to be using them for only the patterns that I have tried and like.  The untried patterns are now sitting on top of the cutting table, waiting patiently!

In the corner, I’ve got two wall mounted mirrors flanking a mirrored door.  This is a perfect place to store Edith as well as get a view of myself from more than one angle.  Helpful when fitting a pattern!

Right below the window, I have my ironing board.  It’s convenient here, since it’s a case of “sew a seam, press a seam”.

Getting the bones of the room this far actually took most of the weekend.  On Monday night, I decided to move the desk about 2 feet…  and broke it (don’t ask…  there was bruising and swearing, as well as a bit of blood involved.)

I spent Monday evening trying to put it back together again, but the connector units were absolutely useless by this point.  On Tuesday I picked up some corner brackets, some metal plate connectors and some longer screws.  It took several hours on Tuesday, but I managed to put it together again.  The Ogre had to help me with putting the hutch on top of the desk, but I managed to do the rest on my own.

Even with all of this, the hardest part hadn’t even started!  It’s difficult for me to just fold and sort my fabric, when all I really want to do is fondle it!  However, I was disciplined – tough, even!  I only succumbed to tempation a time or two!

That’s the story of the improved sewing studio.  Clean and neat and with a better workflow and storage.

Now I have to try to keep it that way!

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.\

At a standstill…

I just found out that our windows will be replaced next week!  There’s much joy in that.  And dust, and paint touch-ups.

I’ll also be teaching dance again.  And sewing a wardrobe and Christmas gifts.  And working full time.  I think decorating and blogging about it is going to have to take the back burner for a while.  I’ll certainly post when I actually accomplish something, but I know the daily posts won’t resume… and the biweekly are probably also going to be a tad much for me.

So, I’m going to take a blog break for a few weeks to let things get back on track here.

I will be back… after all, I still have a master bedroom, a full bath, a powder room, a computer/entertainment room and a stairway or two to do!

Thanks for sticking with me!

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.