Making

I always feel so relieved when Christmas is over because my busiest time for creating is over. However, it's short-lived because Valentine's Day comes right after, not to mention a lot of birthdays in February. Here are some things that I have made recently for Valentine's Day: 


These were some mugs that I made for Liam's and Kyla's teachers and one for the bus driver. I decorated them with Sharpies. This is a popular craft that is going around Pinterest.

I made some geeky pillows for a Valentine's sale that a friend was having at her studio. These are my own designs and I hand painted all of it.

Firefly. I even created my own 'verse fabric. 

Dr. Who

Game of Thrones

Here are a few things that I made for Green Chutes. I made a few pillows, heart ornaments and embroidered heart brooches.

This is the blanket I have been working on. Since I took this photo, I have finished off my second skein of yarn. I will make it a little bit bigger before I start on the next phase.

A Visit Home

As you might remember, for Christmas, Will got me a plane ticket home to see my sister for her birthday. I flew up last Thursday and got back Tuesday of this week. It was a busy six days, but it was a lot of fun. Here are some random photos from my trip:

Chilliwack. It was so good to see blue sky. 

I miss the mountains.

My first day, Erica's friend did my nails for me.

Port Mann Bridge

The Fraser River looking towards New Westminster...

and towards Maple Ridge.

We drank lots of Tim Horton's.

Going out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant

My sister

My dad

Sushi!

 Heading into Vancouver on the Skytrain

 Cool shoes we saw at The Bay

 I love ketchup chips, but spicy chili ketchup chips are even better.

 Abbotsford: the raspberry capital of Canada

 Chilliwack on the one cloudy day while I was there.

My trip wouldn't be complete without lunch at The White Spot

 Notice we eat chips (fries) with vinegar

My niece, Emily, and Erica

Erica and her cat, Annie

On my last day I got to help Erica at her library.

I thought it would be interesting to post some pictures of the border crossing. There are no fences, gates or barricades separating Canada from the United States. There is a little ditch, though.

A little monument marking the 49th parallel, the boundary between the two countries

There is a road on the Canadian side of the border, 0 Avenue, that runs along the edge of the boundary

The border crossing on the American side. They have lots of cameras and thermal imaging devices to check your vehicle before you even pull up to talk to the border patrol. The Canadians have none of this. We are far more trusting.

Mount Baker, Washington

This is the type of plane I flew in on my way up and back to Boise. This shot was taken at Sea-Tac while we were waiting to board.

Quiet January Day

January has gotten off to a slow start. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Quiet and boring is often a good thing. This is what has been happening in our little corner of the world:

I worked really hard sewing things for Green Chutes for the Christmas season and, in return, I sold a lot. Now I'm working hard again to get things stocked up. I've been wanting to make these girls' lined fleece skirts for a while now using up leftover fleece from various projects over the years and some satin fabric that I inherited from my mother-in-law. The satin lining will help keep little bums warmer when it's cold and stop the skirt from sticking to tights and leggings. As someone who wears skirts all year long, I can tell you that bunching skirts are a nuisance.

 

 This bunny skirt is my favourite. 

 I like this kitty skirt, but I wished that I had made the face bigger. And the flower on the green skirt I crocheted myself and hand sewed it on. 

Will has started back to school again to become a nurse practitioner. Another three years of homework and tests. Yuck!

I'm working on a project for myself that will combine three of my favourite things - crochet, embroidery and sewing. I'm going to crochet myself an afghan and embroider a design on it. Then I will sew on a fabric back and edging.

We have been suffering from an inversion for quite a while now and it looks like it will be here for quite a while. The days are dark and dreary. It's a good time to crochet and stay snuggled under the blankets.

And here's Penelope waiting for me to get off the computer so she can snuggle with me on the couch.