More crafting fun!!

Just a quick update before I go to bed.  C and Mr E decided to feed my addiction and got me a gift certificate for more fabric!!  I'm the luckiest crazy crafting lady in the world.  Now......to decide what to make!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's the post you've all been waiting for!  I finally gave away my last hand made Christmas gift and the recipient loved it!!

Here's my brother with his Christmas gift...a Batman quilt made in the Turning Twenty pattern.  This is the original of the pattern not one of the variations.  I would definitely attempt this pattern again as it was very easy!

Here's a close up of the quilt.  It's folded in half.  I haven't measured the final dimensions but it does cover the top of a queen sized bed.

I will update the post later with more pictures and fun things.  I got a TON of quilting supplies from Santa and I have a friend helping me with the Harry Potter quilt.  But now...time for Christmas brunch with Mom, Dad, brother Josh and Big D.  I can't wait!! Ham quiche, hash brown bake with cheese and mushroom soup and old fashioned molasses muffins!

UPDATE!!

So here are some pictures of the wonderful sewing fun that Santa brought me for Christmas...

Tim Horton's coffee for my new coffee maker, hand soaps, body spray, body wash and shower gel from Bath and Body Works

Two new Head Chef kitchen utensils from my brother and a bottle of Christmas cheer that Santa left in my stocking!

The best part!!! The large quilting ruler is what Tiny T's mom got for me two weeks ago.  My Mom and Dad got me two cutting mats, a square and triangle ruler, binding clips, quilting pins, tape measure, quilting pen and a magazine.  My Grandpa gave me another gift certificate to Fabricland which will most definitely be put to good use!!  With the material I bought for the Harry Potter quilt, I should be all set for a nice long cold winter full of quilting and fun!

There was also the obligatory personal hygiene items in the stocking, socks, new dish towels for the apartment and a toque to cover my bad hair cut.  (Everyone thinks its cute, I think its too short!!)

Here is the green and grey that my friend Nessie is going to use for her Slytherin quilt.  She is helping me test the pattern.  The green is similar to the red and yellow I have, but she wanted something different for the grey.  She thought it would add her own artistic flare.  I think it will be an amazing and cozy quilt!!

Well, now that I've spend the day snuggling with Big D on the couch and watching "The Walking Dead" (very Christmassy, I know) with him and my little brother it is now time for Christmas dinner.  So I bid you adieu and a Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

Sew begins the insanity!

I have two steps left on my final Christmas sewing project.  With the end in sight for my quilting projects it was time to splurge and spend my Fabricland gift certificate.  Ok, the real reason is they had an AMAZING sale on. Buy one meter of quilting cotton get TWO FREE!  That's right folks, three meters for the price of one.  If I had a credit card with no limit I would have bought the store.  (Actually, maybe it would just be easier to move in there).  I picked up the fabric I would need to make the Gryffindor lap quilt as I managed to figure out the yardage for those four easier than the giant house quilt.  I have two friends already willing to help me with testing the pattern and my measurements.  I just need one more person to help me test run Hufflepuff.  Here is what I found.

I'm very happy with the colour and the slight pattern on the material.  I think it will be a little more interesting than just plain material.  I hope it turns out well.  I can't wait to see what my friends pick out for material.  I told them as long as they stick to the appropriate colours for their house, I wasn't concerned about the pattern on the material.  Both are fairly new to sewing and/or quilting.  If they can figure out what put together for the pattern, then it should be simple for everyone.  Here's hoping there isn't too much tweaking involved.

EDIT: Thanks to my cousin for the suggestion of changing the title!

14 Sleeps till Christmas!

Here is one of the two post I have been waiting for.  I can finally unveil some of the Christmas sewing I have been doing!!!

Today was early Christmas with Big D's family as his Dad and Step Mom, R and Tiny T, are going away to Mexico over Christmas.  We drove to Tiny T's mom's place in Brandon for a wonderful day of gifts, far too much food and lots of laughs.

Big D bought me a new Kitchen Aid coffee maker with every bell and whistle imaginable.  The coffee maker I had before worked just fine but was very basic.  I wanted to get one that had a timer to set on it so my coffee would be ready to go in the morning.  It has that along with a removable water tank, filter, reusable basket and self cleaning mode.  He also got me a new alarm clock that charges and plays my iPod.  Yes, there is a trend of me having a hard time getting up in the mornings but hopefully these two things will make it a little easier!

My brand new coffee maker!!

We got his dad some personalized autographed pictures from two of the former Winnipeg Jets.  If you're not familiar with the story, we lost our NHL hockey team many years ago.  Just this year, we got them back and there have been many promotional opportunities since.  Two of the big name players, Dale Hawerchuk and Bobby Hull were at my office building signing autographs.  It seemed to be the perfect gift for the man who loves local sports teams but has just about everything.  As for Tiny T, I made her a table topper in the same pattern as the many others I have been making.  She loves anything purple, so when I saw this material I knew it was perfect for her.

Here's Tiny T with her Christmas gift!

A little while ago, when we were out for dinner for Big D's birthday, Tiny T's mom was chatting with me about all the crafting that I do.  She made mention that she wouldn't mind trying her hand at quilting.  I found a very lovely book with all the basics and a few nice projects that should be easy for her to complete.  She was very pleased with it.  I also made her a project organizer.  My mom made one a few years back, which I now have along with the pattern for it.  It's a very simple fabric outside with zip lock bags inside to organize multiple projects.  I used some decorative ribbon for a tie closure instead of the velcro the pattern called for.  My Mom used the velcro and over the years it has come loose.  I thought the tie closure would be a little more durable in the long run.

Here she is with her book and her project organizer.

She wasn't the only one who received crafting gifts.  I received a very lovely quilting ruler and a gift certificate to FabricLand!  That will definitely help me with completing my Harry Potter quilt.  I can't wait to start working on that but I must finish the last little bit of my Christmas sewing first.

16 Sleeps till Christmas!

 

Praise the sewing gods! My machine is not broken after all. After discussing the matter with my Mom, we decided that it was the thread I was using that may be causing me issues. In the interest of being thrifty, I bought some thread at the dollar store. Turns out it might not be of the best quality and was causing the machine to act up. I swapped it out for some better quality thread and was able to happily sew away on some Christmas presents!

I feel like I'm neglecting my blog lately with not being able to post about all the projects I've been making. I can, however, update you on the Harry Potter quilt I've been designing from the knitting pattern from Rosemary. I did some reconfiguring of the designs in an attempt to make it smaller. I've was able to bring it down from 7' x 10' to a more manageable 5' x 8'. That still makes for a large quilt but at least it won't be bigger than Tanka. I did a quick mock up in paint with the basic colour scheme I'm thinking of using.

I'm going to invest in good fabric for this quilt, not scraps and bargain bin finds. It will likely be expensive so I'll have to do it in stages. My theory is, if you're going to make something this epic, why cheap out right?

I still want to do the lap quilts of the individual houses. Those should be slightly easier given that they are smaller and the fabric count will be partially done thanks to the work done on the giant quilt. I'm going to need some test quilters to help me with the lap quilts. If you know of anyone, or even yourself, that would like to help me test out the pattern, please comment or e-mail me.

With that being said, I have a weekend full of Christmas celebrations! Big D and I are attending a get together and my Aunt's place tonight. (The same one that I created the website for! Have you ordered your jams and jellies yet?) Saturday is a busy day of work for both Big D and I. We're both doing overtime to cover Christmas expenses and bills. Sunday we are driving to Brandon, MB which is 2 hours away for early Christmas with some of his family. It should be a very fun filled weekend. Unfortunately, that means I won't have a lot of time to work on my Christmas projects. Oh well, there's always the next weekend!

Santa's coming soon but Murphy made an early visit...

Wouldn't you know it, I've been so on top of my Christmas sewing and what happens, my machine starts to give out.  It's my third one in four years and they've all been used.  The first one was just a small Singer featherweight I got from my Great Aunt which didn't make it after one quilt.  I then bought a used one which was destroyed in a move and this one was a $25 bargain I got a year and a half ago.  Granted, this poor little machine has been used and abused with all the costuming its done and non historical projects.  I just didn't think it would die this soon.  It is a Singer from the 1950's or around there.  I'm not entirely sure of the year.  It's started looping the thread on the underside of my material despite fixing the thread tension and re-threading the machine.  I also think the motor is going because its taking a lot of coaxing to get the old girl moving.  I can always use my mom's sewing machine to get my Christmas presents done but I feel kind of lost without my own now.

I did get a lot of decorating done around the apartment.  My Grandpa gave me what he said was "a few decorations" he didn't need anymore.  Big D and I went to pick them up and he loaded down the back seat and trunk full of decorations, most of which were hand made by him or my late Grandma.  So now, the decorations that once filled a house have now been placed in every nook and cranny possible in a studio apartment.  Christmas has literally thrown up everywhere in this place!  I have to admit tho, it's very warm and wonderful to have so many decorations that have memories from years past.  Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Santa and Snowman lights my Mom and Dad gave me.  They are hanging on the balcony on the inside so I can see them through the door.

Ceramic Santa's Village my Grandma made around 1992.

Ceramic winter village made after Santa's Village between 1992 and 1993.

Wooden candles I believe my Grandpa made, ceramic one horse open sleigh and lamp post made by my Grandma in 1978 and a terra cotta pot Santa apparently made by me and given to my Grandparents in 1996!!

Wooden Christmas trees made by my Grandpa and painted by my Grandma.  No date marked on them but memory serves they are from the mid 1990's.  The JOY figures are store bought.

Ceramic carolers made by my Grandma. No date on them.  Snowman train is store bought.

Ceramic light up Christmas tree made by my Grandma in 1977.  My mom has a matching one that was made for my Great Grandmother.  The little reindeer is obviously store bought but oh so cute!  Notice the quilted table runner underneath.  I don't believe this was made by my Grandma but likely purchased at a craft sale.

The tiny little Christmas tree.  It's 4.5' tall.  I say tiny because my parents have a 7' at home.  The lights are new but all the decorations are from my Grandpa.  Most are wooden ones made by him and painted by my Grandma.  They include bells, doves, stockings, snowmen and Christmas trees.  there are a few others too including some Christmas Winnie the Pooh ones my Grandma had.

So that is what I've done with Christmas decorating.  It doesn't look like much but every flat surface is covered.  The villages are occupying the dining room table as the bases are too wide for either shelf.  I would absolutely die if those fell and broke.  Seeing as how the table is not available for use, the coffee and end tables have the Christmas place mats on them.

Hopefully I'll be able to sort out my sewing machine trouble soon.  If anyone has suggestions for fixes I would love to hear them!  Hope everyone is having fun with their Christmas shopping, decorating, baking and crafting.  Remember, only 19 more sleeps!!!

Crafting crafting everywhere!

Hello Everyone! I've taken a little bit of a break again, I know. In my defense, I was without internet access for some of it. A lot of my time has been at work doing some overtime to ease the cost of Christmas.  Also, I've been spending some time with Big D, R, Mr E and C out at the hunting cabin. Well, it's not really a cabin, it's the house that Mr E grew up in. It's over 100 years old and is an Eaton's house. There have been several upgrades and additions over the years. Now it's a fully functional house with electricity, running water and even satellite TV!!

The men are usually out of the house before the crack of dawn to get situated and await Bambi. C and I stay back at the house, snooze til the sun comes up (or sometimes later for me!) and make breakfast for everyone. Once the troops are fed, they usually run off again on a day hunt and C and I are left to our own devices. Usually that means we have the house to ourselves to craft to our hearts content. (And watch Boardwalk Empire all day long on the laptop!!) Despite her wide range of crafting experience, C had never ever done a quilting project. We picked up some fat quarters and she finished, by hand, the same table topper I have been creating.

Over the last few weeks/weekends of “hunting”, her and I have managed to finish several projects. Unfortunately, I can't share many of mine with you here until after Christmas, but they are amazing, creative and just plain awesome, let me assure you!

I did create a little Christmas wall hanging decoration. I found some neat cross stitch patterns when I was organizing my craft books. I decided the little snow man mitten just HAD to be made. When he was done I needed to put him on something other than a tree ornament, so I made a mini wall hanging for winter. I have to finish the binding by machine, then I think I will hang him on the outside of my apartment door. It's the only one on the floor without some sort of Christmas or winter decoration!!

I did finish the top of my Christmas table topper. Big D was gone hunting again so I manged to get lots of cleaning and organizing sewing and crafting done. (Please ignore my absolutely HIDEOUS ironing board!)

I've also been hard at work creating a website for my Aunt. It's still in its beginning stages and I'm sure it will always be evolving. Take a look and see what you think. For that matter, see about ordering some jams or jellies as Christmas presents! Visit her at http://www.juliasjamsandjellies.com/ and see what she has to offer!

After finding the MOST awesome blog (other than mine) called Diary of a Quilter I decided to make a quick project tonight.  She has a very nice easy to make table runner done out of scraps.  Now I knew all the bits and pieces I had been hanging on to from each project would come in handy.  I had some material from the quilt I'm working on, another from one of my Christmas present projects and two more from two different historical costumes.  I've come up with the following...

The binding is not on it yet, but I'm quite happy.  Not bad for a few scraps that wouldn't have had a home otherwise!

Of course, because crafting several Christmas present, working full time, upkeep of my home and the general craziness that life throws your way wasn't enough for me to do, I've been plotting and scheming my next quilting endeavor. Aside from a few super awesome quilts I saw in a magazine, I had the craziest idea to turn a knitting pattern into a quilt. Not just any knitting pattern, a Harry Potter knitting pattern. With the permission of the original pattern creator, Rosemary, I have begun turning this into a quilt pattern for personal use! The chart, with the addition of a few things, makes the perfect lap sized quilt. At the urging of several friends in my sewing group, I want to do a quilt with the 4 house crests. Even with down sizing, I'm looking at a quilt that is 7' by 10'. Still at the drawing board with that one! Check out Rosemary's blog. She has so many neat projects and designs. Her blog is definitely worth following!

Well, that seems to be all for now.  At least all that I can show on here.  OOH!! I'm so excited for Christmas and the unveiling of the presents!!

"Tanka"

Well folks, here's the big post you've been waiting for since my long overdue return.  Mind you, this post isn't nearly as big as the subject...

My friend from work, DW, is into all things hunting.  He is always looking for the next big adventure, and he found it this spring at a bison farm a few hours from the city.  I asked him if he would inquire on the price of the hides.  When the owner of the farm found out what my use for the hide would be, not only did he donate it, but he also provided me with an Elk hide for the same great deal!  I was ecstatic!  I was going to have my very own bison robe!  The excitement didn't last long when DW showed up at my apartment.  The back of his teeny tiny car weighed down almost to the point of snapping his poor old thing right in half.  It took the three of us, DW, Big D and myself, to get it moved into the basement of the apartment building.  I was now beginning to panic.

Given that this beast weighed at least 400lbs and was much more stinky and dirty than I had ever imagined, I was thinking I had bitten off more than I can chew.  I inquired with the only taxidermist in down that deals with hair on hides for a price.  He quoted me $20 a square foot which sounded cheap enough until the calculations of a 40 square foot hide had me rethinking the whole idea and very quickly.  Unless this hide was going to unfold into a small 1 bedroom apartment for me, there was no way I could justify a month and half worth of rent on it.

Plan B, and quick because this beast is starting to stink up the building!!  Big D called his wonderful "grandparents", Mr E and C, who know just about everything there is to know on any skill you want to acquire.  They agreed to help us clean, scrape, tan and stretch the hide.  In the end, there were six of us working on this beast who we ended up naming Tanka.  Mr E told us that it is the Plains Cree word for Bison and we figured it was fitting, despite Big D's request to name him Hulk.

So, in order to keep things interesting, I'm going to post pictures and give you a brief description of the process we were going through.  That should give you kiddies something to keep your attention.

After soaking the hide to soften it, we had to wash Tanka to get the majority of the dirt and salt out of it.  It was a very VERY disgusting process.  It wasn't touching him that was the bad part, it was the smell.  Something along the lines of dead wet dog on a hot summer day.

Tanka all washed and pretty, we even used Mane and Tail shampoo on him!

Here's Mr E working hard on building the 7.5' square frame!

After washing Tanka, and stopping for lunch, we got him on a tarp to make him easier to transport.

End of day one, we have the frame built and Tanka washed and ready to go!

Day two of the process.  Now I know he looks very dirty right now, that is the membrane that needs to be scraped off.  We started by punching holes to put the S hooks in for stretching.

Here we have myself, Mr E and R working hard to get Tanka stretched up in his frame.  Tiny T is supervising and what a great job she is doing!!

Even as big as this frame is, Tanka is MUCH easier to transport this way.  If you don't believe me on the size of the frame, Big D in the brown shirt is 6'7" and you can see how much of an angle the frame is on.  Tiny T and C are next to him, Mr E and R on the other side.

And so begins the scraping process.  While everyone managed to get good sized chunks going, we decided Mr E must have been an aboriginal woman in a past life, look at him go!!

After a full day of scraping, sharpening knives, and trying to keep the flies off of him, Tanka has been scraped down to hide.

Time to get a round of tanning solution on him before the day is done.  Instead of the traditional brain tanning process, we chose to use Ivory soap  and Neets Foot oil.  It gives the same colouring as brain tanned leather but smells way better!

The soapy mixture ready to go.

Mr E, Big D and I working in the solution with paddles.  Even after a hard day of work, Big D still manages to find time to be silly

Two days later, after the tanning solution had soaked in.

We scraped down the hide again and did another round of tanning solution.  We did this three times.

By the time the fall gather rolled around, Tanka was ready to begin the stretching process.  I started myself with a piece of wood.  I ended up having to stand on him and noticed that my feed were doing a better job of it.  The children noticed this and had a great afternoon "skating" on Tanka.  Even some of the adults got involved.  It was a very fun activity for all.  I cannot guarantee its historical accuracy though.

So that is where Tanka sits right now.  I have to re-hydrate him some and stretch him some more before we can smoke it over the fire.  That final process will seal him and prevent little buggies from making Tanka their home.  I'm not sure if that will be accomplished before spring as we just got our first snowfall and it seems to be staying.  We shall see.  If we get a warm weekend I may have to get out there quick and finish Tanka.  After all, I'm sure Mr E and C would like use of their garage again!

Long time gone...but I'm back

Well kiddies, it's been quite a while since my last update.  A great many things have happened and got in the way of posting here (including being hospitalized...but I'm okay now) and moving, but I've been up to a few things craft wise.

I finished my Metis dress and repaired a pair of moccasins to go with it. I also managed to get the sleeves done just in time for Halloween. I went in the Selkirk Settler costume you see from my previous posts last year. It managed to net me a $5.00 Timmies gift card! I didn't manage to place in the top 3, but I did win a draw for the remaining costumed workers and got a $30.00 gift card to Walmart which I spend on more packs of fat quarters!  Here is the finished product along with one of my coworkers in her costume.

I found an old table top quilt project I bought four years ago and managed to finally finish that. It's in fall colours, so I decided to make one for each season. Turns out that it is a very fast project to make as I had it cut and pieced in three days, and that was with sewing it by hand.  Some of the material I bought at Walmart will be going to make a Christmas table topper.  That won't be done till I have some progress on Christmas presents for family.

The original table topper in fall colours

The spring table topper that is in progress

The Christmas material I bought with my Walmart gift card. It will be in the same pattern as the other two.

My quilt that I've been working on has been put on the back burner. Summer was much too busy and I've found a very awesome Christmas gift for my brother that I'm working on. I don't want to say what or post any pictures incase he happens to check in on my blog.

My summer project this year, which I'm working on for my historical society, was to tan a bison hide. That project alone will require its own post as there is a lot of information. For now, lets just say it is a HUGE and stinky project to undertake. I wouldn't recommend it without a lot of help.  This is the hide in the middle of the scraping process. The frame is 7.5' square and we had to trim off two black garbage bags worth of hide to make it fit.

So that's the nutshell version of my crafting escapades over the last little while. I hope to maintain this blog a little better now to show all the fun I've been having. Also, where applicable without violating copyright laws, I will post patterns.

Happy Crafting!!!!