Getting things done

This weekend I packed in some solid crafting time, starting with pinning my Moroccan tile quilt. I hoped to get going on the quilting, but ran out of time.

During a recent stop at Fabricland to pick up half-priced batting for an upcoming weekend quilting workshop with some great CFFs that my mom kindly offered to teach, I noticed off-the-charts cute flannel FQs. My mind started racing trying to come up with something to make with them. I recently read a blog post where the woman said she tries not to buy fabric without having a plan for it, and that struck me as being pretty wise. I'm not going to even imagine for a moment I can stick with that approach (there's so much irresistible fabric!!!), but it got me to thinking I should at least try to do that more often (after looking through my abundant stash).

I remembered my friend saying recently that her daughter was upset she had to leave at home her sock monkey blanket, so I figured I could make a travel-sized cuddly blanket for her. I didn't really even know that was a thing until a shot-in-the-dark google search brought me to security blankets and this sweet little one using ric-rac. Can't resist any project with ric-rac! Especially when combined with these ridiculously cute farm animals.

Then I spotted cute retro kitty and floral fabric in my stash and thought they'd make cute pillows to go with the blanket. Unfortunately I discovered I only had a half-metre of each, so instead I picked out these sweet and super girly prints that I've been holding onto for quite sometime.

But I still wanted to make something with the kitty fabric, so I went with a drawstring pouch to put the blanket and pillowcases in. How freaking cute is this bag for a little girl to hide away all her treasures?

I found a string of yellow flowers and sewed them on with a wavy stitch to add a little colour and fun. (Not so much fun for me because I mistakenly sewed the front side of the flowers down and then I lost my focus while ripping out the stitches and had to re-do a line of top-stitching I attacked with the ripper.)

I whipped up another two sets of pillowcases, including these with Jay McCarroll fabric.

Finally it was time to take a break from the sewing machine and head into the kitchen to tackle dinner. I made stuffed peppers with ground chicken, rice and onions topped with bread crumbs. With acorn squash on the side, it was a warming dinner for a cold day.

I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend with lots of time for crafting!

Mystery solved

I wondered why I always found the quilt pulled down from the railing. I knew the cats were to blame, but not the nefarious reason behind it. Then I captured the guilty parties while I was working on a quilt in my craft room and happened to have the camera there. Caught in the act!

Cuz you know, they don't have enough soft places to sleep in every freaking room of the house. Not to mention the handmade hooked wool rug the quilt is scrunched up on. Since this first sighting, now I regularly catch Aurora curled up inside the quilt on the floor. For once she is the instigator, but Ariel is all too happy to take advantage when it's on the floor.

Bittersweet

The changing season has me thinking fondly of several lovely fall trips. Like a couple years ago to Italy and the afternoon spent in the big park in Rome. A surprisingly relaxing day in a crazy busy city.

I am enjoying my belated Thanksgiving long weekend by devoting it entirely to a quilting project and restocking my freezer with hearty soups - the perfect antidote to the cooling weather. Yesterday I made a favourite I often return to - noodle soup from 101 Cookbooks, but I got a bit carried away with the lentils and noodles, so now it's more stew than soup. Today I made Italian chicken soup from the Pioneer Woman. I scaled down the recipe a bit because the first time my jumbo pot wasn't big enough. This soup does involve many pots and pans and multiple steps, but it's totally worth the extra effort - and that's coming from a pretty lazy one-pot casserole kinda cook. Tomorrow I plan on making again this spicy Indian vegetable soup from Jamie Oliver. Then my freezer and me will be ready for the cool weather.

I made the switch from homemade iced tea to steaming mugs of tea. But nothing as fancy as this old English tea shop in Rome at the foot of the Spanish steps. The place setting was so lovely and the tea and treats delicious.

Sadly though, fall means my cycling season is coming to a close. If the forecast is right, I may have already enjoyed my last ride for the year. There's nothing more serene than biking through the countryside and all the fall colours. And I managed, with many extra and longer rides, to reach my second goal of beating my first by 1,000 kilometres when I passed 2,550 kilometres for this year. I have to say, that's pretty amazing when I think about it. That's about a third of the way across all of Canada! Now if only I had thought to have people sponsor me by the kilometre, I would have been able to buy a new road bike for next year. For now I will just window shop and dream of a spiffy new ride.

Winter is coming

Summer is over and that means it's time for the fall ritual of taking down the bunting from the front porch. I'm fascinated by the sun's effect on the fabric. Every year it loses more colour, depending on the fabric and where it hangs.

But I think there's something lovely about the sun-bleached fabric. It reminds me of autumn leaves fading on the sidewalk, leaving an imprint of colour. The change is quite dramatic in some of the triangles.

I'm not really worried about the winter coming yet, but the changing season made me think of the often used line in Game of Thrones - winter is coming. Which now made me think of the awesome blog that does a mash-up of Game of Thrones and Arrested Development. It's crazy how these two very different shows match up. Kinda a niche audience, though, for Arrested Westeros.

Check out the back!

I made this table runner for a dear friend's birthday. The inspiration was this woven ribbons block pattern and a bundle of muted blue/grey FQs.

The three white areas produced when the blocks were put together just begged for embellishment, so I enlisted my mom and her embroidery machine to sew a design in there. I picked one that fit with the floral and circle theme of the fabrics. The quilting is simple straight lines following the woven ribbons pattern, which meant a lot of stopping and starting.

I think my favourite part, oddly, is the back with its mini table runner floating on the deep blue fabric.

No scrap was spared. But with the fun detail on the back, I think that side is worthy of showing off, too.

Riding fool

This isn't a crafting accomplishment, but I just reached 2,000 kilometres for the cycling season. (Sadly cold, dry winter air doesn't mix well with exercise-induced asthma, so my cycling is limited to spring to fall.) Maybe I've earned a few fat quarters from this bike-inspired collection?

Crafter's paradise

I made this bunting for my CFF Tara to celebrate our trip to the crafting mecca of Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this past weekend, and also to lessen the sting of a bunting-related injury. It can happen.

If you haven't been to a Renegade show, go! All these amazing crafters gather together to sell their stuff in a really fun, casual environment. The Chicago show was huge! More than 300 vendors created what seemed like an endless line of tents stretching far beyond what my camera could capture. For lunch we had ridiculously delicious shrimp tacos from one of the many food stands.

I found some favourite card makers like Kate Funk and My Zoetrope, and new favourites like Genevieve Santos, Little Canoe and fellow Canuck Mehoi, and picked up a new Red Prairie Press top. It was a great crafty excursion with a great crafty friend! Made even sweeter with a generous amount of Chicago mix popcorn. That was lunch one day because we wanted to eat light before digging into a deep dish pizza for dinner. Makes sense, right?

Chicago is a lovely city, even on a foggy morning.