Busted!

My camera has been sitting on the coffee table in my living room for a few days lately, which allowed me to capture some very candid moments of my dog Alexi. How can such an elegant dog also be such a goof?

Here's the endless cycle of her pulling the stuffing out of toys, and me stuffing it back in:

"I don't know who did that. Certainly not me. I just came in here and found it like that."

Then there's her rather relaxed pose on the couch:

And, yes, this is exactly what it looks like. A dog sucking on her back paw.

Ridiculous.

Super Crazy Awesome Quilting Fun with Friends and an Amazing Teacher Weekend

This weekend I had three CFFs over for a quilting workshop lead by the crafting guru, a.k.a. my mom. Our project: the Seaside Table Runner by Jaybird Quilts. Thankfully before we got too far, we realized the pattern was more tricky than it first appears. (I'll post photos later of the runner each of us made - all with a very different look from our diverse fabric choices.)

But before we got to the quilting, there was much present opening for our belated Christmas celebration. And what wonderful goodies I received! For them I made this retro clutch using a couple fabrics from Rashida Coleman-Hale's koi collection with a fuchsia lining for a surprise splash of colour. The koi fabric seemed the perfect choice because I picked it up on a crafty excursion to Chicago with one of my CFFs.

The rest of the swag was stuff they could use on the quilting weekend. I made the cutest little thread catchers from a pattern I found on All People Quilt.

Then I stuffed them with a super-handy awl, clips and quilting safety pins.

Of course what would any gathering be without lots of good food. We enjoyed Smitten Kitchen's New York Breakfast Casserole with kale salad and smoked salmon for lunch and chicken wild rice soup for dinner on Saturday, then Sunday's breakfast was tea biscuits, yogurt and blueberries and this Thai chicken soup for lunch. I didn't get the best photo, but after smelling its delicious aroma all morning, I was eager to tuck in to my bowl of curry goodness.

From top to bottom, it was a wonderful weekend with wonderful friends, and learning many great tricks from our very patient teacher. My only complaint is that it went by too fast.

Splash of pink

This lap quilt was made for a dear CFF's birthday. As with all my quilting endeavours, it started with neatly piled stacks. So many blocks for my biggest project yet.

Because I used muted greys and blues, I wanted to add a little colour by way of crazy bright pink binding. Which is not far off the wall colour in my craft room, as you can see here when I'm sewing on the binding.

Again my foyer doubled as a quilt basting area. (The colour is a bit off here with my clumsy adjustments for the late-night lighting.) Surprisingly the cats weren't helping me while I pinned this one onto its backing.

I used the Belle Wave pattern from Fresh Lemon Quilts. A simple pattern to go with calming colours.

The quilting was done by a lovely woman who decided on straight intersecting lines, which I think is perfectly suited to the pattern. She did an amazing job.

I couldn't resist a photo to highlight the awesome pink binding.

Finally it is off to its new home, where I hope it will be much used and loved.

Lazy Sunday

Sometimes my cats are too cute for words when they curl up together for a snooze.

And just when you think they can't get any closer ...

Truly a winter wonderland

Freezing rain make travel treacherous, but it sure can be beautiful. Today the wooded area in my neighbourhood looked magical as the bright sun made the trees still coated in ice sparkle.

Grinch adjacent

Saying I'm a Grinch probably goes too far, but I'll be the first to admit I'm pretty low on holiday cheer. About the only Christmas tradition I wholly embrace - beyond the crazy good food that seems to be everywhere you turn - is mailing cards. Now that I can get behind because I'm always looking for a reason to dip into my card stash.

But when I saw this tutorial for tiny trees bunting, my heart grew three sizes that day. Rummaging through my scraps for something suitable, I found a bit of leftover red floral Hawaiian fabric - perfect!

Despite my Grinchy tendencies, I love my tiny trees bunting. And I think they'll stay up longer than the season. Now that the cold and snow and ice is here to stay for quite a long while, the fabric will remind me of my glorious Hawaiian escape last winter every time I'm bracing myself to head outdoors.

What you can't see in the photos are the kitty paw prints on the mirror from the cats checking out the bunting. I hope the twine doesn't prove too irresistible for them.

Couple more

Here's a case where pillowcases really benefit from topstitching. The cat fabric had just a splash of red in it, while both fabrics were predominantly blue. I think red stitching adds a nice touch.

That earlier tea towel is appearing again, also as wrapping for an ornament.

I far prefer to wrap a present in something useful than in wrapping paper, which is such a waste. And lovely fabric is always going to be nicer than wrapping paper.