Gifts

Canada Cups Posts for Tuesday, September 13th, 2016

~ Michelle

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Here are the tour posts for today. Don’t forget to enter the give-away!

Tuesday, September 13

A big thank you to all of our bloggers! You’ve done an incredible job.

bloggers

And I’m sure we’re all thankful for the sponsors! Thank you for making our tour so much better.

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Canada Cups Posts for Monday, September 12th

~ Michelle

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Just to save you a little time hunting and clicking to find the tour posts for the day, here they are. And don’t forget the give-away and discounts!

Monday, September 12

Happy creating!

Announcing The Canada Cups – Cross Your Heart Relay Blog Tour

~ Michelle

Over the last week, I’ve posted a couple of teasers for our upcoming tour.

picmonkey-image-banner-2016Well, the wait is over. The tour starts today!

Welcome to the Canada Cups – Cross Your Heart Relay blog tour, 2016!

The tour begins with the incredible Fairy Bra Mother herself – Beverly Johnson. Pop over to the Fairy Bra Mother’s blog for a great kick-off post!

Fairy Bra Mother’s blog

Happy creating!

A Really Small Slip and Pantaloons

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

Many years ago, my Mum bought me a Cabbage Patch Preemie. I was her preemie baby, so she thought it was fitting. However, my poor girl was neglected in my closet. It was time for me to do something for her.

It was time to give her a make-over. The first thing she needed was to have something done with her hair.

preemie with straight hair

As adorable as she is… well, she’s in a family with all curly heads.

It’s amazingly easy to curl doll hair. A little foil  (folded over the end of the hair); a straw (I didn’t have pipe cleaners); I used pin curl clips to hold everything in place; and boiling water. It only took four ‘curlers’ to curl her hair. You can read how to do it here.

curlsCurls!

I didn’t take a photo of her with hair in ‘curlers’ – I wasn’t sure I’d love the results. I still may re-do her ‘do. I’ve since bought pipe cleaners.

I also had some fun making her an outfit, because, as you could see, she had nothing on.

So out came some of my cotton Lycra, and a pattern from Madame Alexander 14″ Girl Victorian Doll Patterns:

ma doll patternsAlthough this outfit is good, I think the next one I’ll try will be an actual Preemie outfit.

I ordered a Cabbage Patch Kids Preemie pattern book a while back now, and when I ordered it, a second book was included – CPK Designer Clothes. Some of the patterns had been cut out in that second book, so it was included for free. I thought that was really nice. Here’s the pattern book I ordered:

cabbage patch patterns

Here’s the pattern book I received for free with my order:

book I have

I’m sure I’ll be able to find some patterns in there and adapt them for my Preemie.

Here’s my Preemie in her new slip and pantaloons. She’s looking so much better, and much more like a member of our family.

Whole outfit

I’m glad she’s not looking neglected anymore. She’s even come out of my closet and has a place on my bookshelf.

Here’s the slip. The pattern for the slip can be shortened to make a camisole, which was really cute too.

Sliip

Here are the pantaloons.

pantaloons

Now for some bigger sewing projects.

Happy creating!

The Pasha Pleated Clutch

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

The Pasha Pleated Clutch is an adorable clutch pattern by Betz White. You can find the pattern in her book: Present Perfect.

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I first saw the clutch last year when it was blogged about on the Sewing Collective. You can see that post here. I loved it from the moment I saw it, but was looking for the just perfect material and hadn’t made it up for myself yet.

Then a friend’s birthday was coming around, and I had to make something for her. I decided to make her a clutch – but not the Pasha Pleated one. I don’t know why not. I didn’t even think of it. I just picked another pattern from my pattern stash.

That pattern really didn’t turn out. I tore out my stitches five times, all in different places. Then at the last, when I should have been finished, it was still wrong. I had no heart to try again. I cut my hardware out of it and moved on.

Garbage

Sadly, there it is. There won’t be any reminders after the garbage goes out. Just after I tossed it, I remembered about Pasha Pleated Clutch pattern.

Pasha isn’t a hard sew, and really looks so pretty. Pamela, from the Sewing Collective, added a zipper. I think I’ll try that the next time I make it. I’m also thinking a wrist strap will be nice too.

Here’s my Pasha for my friend’s birthday:

Bag front

I love these materials together! You can see here how the pleats are on the front, and why it has its name. They take a little time to create, but are very worth the bang the bring.

Pleats

Here’s the inside of the bag. The lining is very nicely done – it doesn’t turn out loose or baggy. I’ve made a couple of bags that I haven’t loved the lining. I want the inside of my makes to look as nice as the outside – bras, bags, whatever I make. I love everything to look nice and neat inside and out.

inside-of-bag

Lastly, here’s the back of the bag. Nice, neat, pretty. I’m quite liking this pattern. And I really like how I didn’t fight with every step.

Back

Happy creating!

A Few Odds and Ends

~ Michelle

I have a few odds and ends to share with you. I have a couple of projects in the works, but can’t share those yet.

My first project to share with you is a comforter I’m making my son. It’s almost finished. Seeing as I’m not a quilter, there’s no piecing in this – just 4 long pieces of material sewn together with batting. Simple.

comforter

He loves the mountains, so the bears reminded him of that. He also loves music and plays the piano. He loves the music print. The music print was to be the backing, but he wants that on top now. To finish this off, I’m hand-tying it with wool yarn. The yarn will felt and make a nubby little ball after it’s been washed a few times.

knotting process

Too bad I didn’t work on this in the winter! Instead I have this wonderfully warm quilt on my lap now that Spring is here. My son is thrilled though.

Another project I’ve been working on is to take apart any of the bras I had in my Don’t Really Fit pile. Included in that pile was a lovely Fantasie bra. However, being a RTW bra, the cradle matched the cup size, which meant it didn’t fit me properly. I took it apart.

Fantasie cups

Very pretty bra cups should be a smiley face, shouldn’t they? (smile) I can run a gathering stitch along the bottom of those cup and put them into a frame I make with a smaller cradle. They were just too pretty to throw away. I kept the bows and hardware from this bra too.

There was something very interesting that I found while I was taking apart this Fantasie bra. I kept a piece of the channeling to show some of my bra-making friends.

Inside of Channeling

The channeling is actually wrapped up! There’s a lovely fuzzy thicker material covering the whole of the channeling, which I’m sure makes it much more comfortable.

Here’s the outside:

Outside of Channeling

Seeing as channeling is applied to the bra frame in a two-step process, I think this would be applied so the raw edge ended up under the channeling in that second sewing pass when the channeling is sewn on the bottom. Isn’t that neat?

I almost had one other project to show you, but it really wasn’t working out. I tore out stitches so many times on it. At one point, when I was faced with tearing out the stitches yet again, I decided it was time to find another project.

Garbage

This was going to be a lovely little clutch for a dear friend. It’s gone now. The photo is the last reminder of it, and it will soon be forgotten.

tease

I can’t show you just yet the second project I made, which did work out – I have to give the gift first – but this is the material I used, and it turned out so nicely.

Happy creating!

Our Valentine’s Dinner

~ Michelle

I know it’s a little late to be talking about Valentine’s Day or anything to do with the romantic holiday, but just last weekend we had an incredible dinner to celebrate that holiday of love, and I wanted to share about it.

To start off, my husband and I are part of a dinner group. Our group has been meeting for close to 10 years now. We have four couples including us, and we each take a turn hosting. Usually, the host will pick our dinner’s theme, and the remaining couples will all cook according to the chosen theme.

This month that wasn’t the case. This month, the couple hosting our dinner decided they wanted to show their appreciation to everyone else in the group, and they made the whole dinner. What a treat it was!

We weren’t told anything ahead of time. All we were told was to dress up. Who doesn’t like to get dressed up once in a while?

When we arrived, the house was lit with candles in the hall, the living room, and on the table. Just look at our table setting. It was spectacular!

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Isn’t that lovely? Each plate had a rose napkin. That was also a lovely touch.

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Now for a look at our menu. As well as telling us the delectable treat we had ahead of us, the title of each course (there were 8) gave us a fun starting place for discussion.

menu

Our theme was A Taste of Passion. For our first course, titled The Wink, we had Deviled Quail Eggs with Caviar. Our discussion centered around how each couple met. Was it love at first sight? Was it mutual? We learned a few things about each other, that even after many, many years of friendship, we hadn’t known before.

quail egg

Oh, that was yummy! Our next course, The First Date, was Oysters Mignonette. We all enjoyed them and hearing about each other’s first dates.

L Oysters

What comes after the first date? The Adventure! For all of us, we’ve had 25+ years of adventure, so we had lots of stories to tell while we enjoyed Roasted Bone Marrow with Fig Marmalade. Bone marrow was a first for me, and I have to say, I loved it!

bone marrow

Oh, it was delectable! This course was a first for most of us. We followed this with The Romance. Stories continued as we enjoyed Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce and Sage. At this point, our hosts made me my own course as I can’t have gluten or dairy. I enjoyed Garlic and Onion Perogies with a mock brown butter sauce.

L ravioli

Here’s the ravioli. My phone camera rebelled and took a very blurry photo of my dinner.

Our next course was The Question, Lemon Sorbet with Pom Arils. This one was hard to get a photo of too, but not because of my camera this time. Everyone dug in so quickly we were all almost done before someone got a photo.

L sorbet

After The Question came The Commitment. We feasted on Braised Short Ribs with Russet Mash and Vegetables. Oh my!

L ribs

I have to point out something here. Do you see that little heart sitting atop the vegetables? It’s a jellied wine heart. What a beautiful adornment! Remember the challenge I mentioned with the sorbet? Well, that wasn’t the challenge we had at this point. The challenge we had now was we were all getting a little fuller, but I didn’t see anything left over.

One more little tidbit with this course, my wonderful hosts made the mash with Tofuti Sour Supreme and margarine so I could have it. No one noticed the alternatives at all. It was all delicious!

Our last course, The Hidden Pleasures, brought the discussion back around our table. Each person shared something they loved about their spouse, maybe something we didn’t all know already. All the while we enjoyed Chocolate Lava Cake with Raspberry Coulis and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Again, for this course, I couldn’t have what everyone else had. So I had some coconut ice cream and my carob ‘chocolates’.

L dessert

Carob Chocolates

     Our last course The Happily Ever After was Coffee/Tea, Port and Liqueurs.

Now if you’re not already amazed, as we were. We found out our hosts made each dish themselves. Nothing (except my substitutions) was bought prepared. They did everything. They made the ravioli from scratch, and the lava cakes, the ice cream, …

One of the guests said it was the most incredible meal he’d ever had, and he’d remember it for the rest of his life! It was truly amazing, and we felt very loved.

Happy (belated Valentine’s Day) and creating!

The Conference Tote Bag by So Sew Easy

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

Recently, Deby  from So Sew Easy came out with a tote bag pattern, and sew-along. The bags people were making and posting were beautiful, and I kept reading all these comments how Deby’s videos were so wonderful and helpful. Making a bag has been on my sewing list for a while. It was time to jump in even if I was a bit late.

First, I bought some lovely cotton materials for the bag. I’d picked out all my stabilizers too, but the dear woman working at the fabric store leaned over the cutting table and said quietly that they’d all be on sale for half price in a couple of weeks. Thank you! I bought my cottons, and tried my best to wait patiently.

material for conference tote

Here were the first materials I picked out. I do still like them, but on another trip to the fabric store, I found a third material that goes so well with both of these. I couldn’t resist.

Here’s an in-process photo of the front of my bag coming together.

Front of CTB

Oh, I’m loving how this is looking.

Here are a few more photos and details of this wonderful bag now that it’s completed. The bag front features a padded front pocket. The pocket will be great for a tablet or other device – the padding will kept everything nice and safe.

Bag-front

The bag back can be identical to the front, or the pocket can be divided. I made mine into a divided pocket. And can you see how nicely this bag stands on it’s own? What a great bag!

Bag-back

Inside of the bag there are some great features as well – more pockets! The one side has gathered pockets all along it. Lots of little spaces that are perfect for carrying all the little things we carry with us.

Gathered-pockets

On the other side of the bag there’s another pocket. This pocket has a bit of a surprise to it – it’s a pocket within a pocket.

pocket-behind-zippered-pock

Just look. The pocket has a zipper and opens up to make another pocket. How great is that?

inside-zippered-pocket

The bag closes with a zipper, and I found a really cute zipper pull that matches the rectangular rings that attach the straps.

Zipper-closure-and-pull

To complete the zipper, there’s a great zipper tab that makes it look so professional.

Zipper-tab

If the bag pattern itself isn’t great enough, Deby has video instruction to go along with each day of the sew-along. I really can’t recommend it enough! The attention to detail was exactly what I needed to make my first bag. Thanks Deby!

Take a look. The Conference Tote Bag.

I did have one disappointment in making this bag. The foam I bought to give the bag structure also gave it a wrinkle. The foam comes folded in a pre-measured bag. One of those folds is showing through on the front of my bag.

disappointment

Can you see that? That is glaringly obvious to me. I may have to source another type of foam that doesn’t come pre-folded. However, even though it has this fold in it, I’m incredibly happy with my Conference Tote Bag. I was thinking this would be a great gift for my Mum this Christmas, but I’m not sure I want to give it away. I just might have to make her something else.

Happy creating!

Odds and Ends

~ Michelle

This week has been a week of making odds and ends and getting caught up on things. I keep looking at my sports bra muslin and wanting to get at it again, but other things needed to be done.

One of the things I made this week was some oil for my hair. I have naturally curly hair and if I don’t want a head full of frizz, it needs conditioner, and then more conditioner. I was out of my conditioner and with the temperatures dropping, I needed it.

hair-oil

A few years ago, I made my own version of Ojon’s deep conditioner – I didn’t use all the same ingredients, but looked at the main ones and used a couple of them. Then over the years, my recipe changed. I now make mine with Shea butter, Palm Kernel oil, Avocado oil and Bees’ wax. I melt them all together and then let them cool in a little storage jar. I use about a teaspoon of the oils every time I wash my hair after I’ve dried it with a T-shirt (yep, no towels for curly hair – they just create more frizz) and it really helps to keep my hair from drying out. Here’s my recipe:

4 oz of Shea Butter

2 oz of Palm Kernel oil

2 oz of Avocado oil

1 tsp Bees’ Wax

In a double boiler, melt the Bees’ wax and the Palm Kernel oil, then add the Shea butter and Avocado oil; let them all melt. Pour into a container with a lid and let cool (uncovered). Once you have the ingredients, it’s very simple and easy to make. It also lasts a long time.

Another homemade recipe I use is for my facial toner and I was out of that too, so made some this week. This one has Orange Blossom water (The original recipe had Rose water, but my DH didn’t like that smell, and after he’d something about an ‘Old Lady’ smell, I changed it.), Aloe Vera juice, Vegetable glycerin and Neroli oil. I spray this on every morning before I put on my moisturizer. I love it! Here’s the recipe for this one:

2 oz Orange Blossom water

2 oz Aloe Vera juice

2 tsp of Vegetable glycerin

2 drops of Neroli oil

The toner won’t stay mixed, so just give it a shake in the morning before spritzing it on your face. It feels so refreshing. As well, I use the same spray bottle the Orange Blossom water comes in and store what I’m not using in a glass jar in my kitchen cupboard.

Toner

So that’s been my week. I hope to get more sewing done next week.

Happy creating!