The Queen of Treats

Look, what was delivered to my door:

I am so excited about my first, very own spinning wheel! The decision to buy one was not easy. I had been thinking about it for 2 years. First of all they are not cheap and then I am very busy as it is. How much time will I have to actually spin? Will it end up gathering dust in a corner while I feel bad about it?

The reason why I decided to buy it is that I enjoy spinning immensely and I almost love knitting with handspun yarns even more. So I treated myself to something fun even though I might not find a lot of time for spinning or I might never quite get the hang of it. Not everything in life has to be sensible, right?

So here I am already planning my first project, immersed in my spinning books whenever I have a moment:

• Intertwined by Lexi Boeger
• Start Spinning by Maggie Casey
• Creative Spinning by Alison Daykin and Jane Deane

Oh, the possibilities!

Solar Powered Art

Back in the good old days, when there was still some sunshine to be had, my son made these with a magnifying glass:

Munchings and Crunchings

The one crop that did really well this year are my beloved apples! They grow in our front yard and we know that it is time to harvest them when we catch a squirrel stealing one. This year I not only found a completely ( except for the core) eaten apple still hanging on the tree ( It looked somewhat comical), but  my husband caught a newspaper carrier climbing over the shrubs and taking an apple! Which is proof that my apples are irresistible and apparently better than store bought ; )

 

I have made apple pie, apple cake and these:

 

I LOVE Caramel Apples. I used the recipe for soft caramels from here. ( Tip: Half the recipe. It is plenty) I was very surprised how long it took for the caramel to reach its final temperature. I would guess you need about 1 hour from start to finish.

I did not have any light corn syrup, but a golden one so that my caramel is a bit darker. The sticks are from Michael’s.

Hmmm, they were delicious. I want more!

No, I did not eat them all by myself. I shared… generously … Oh, alright there was a little bit of fighting!

Outgrown

 

I made these pants in September 2006 for my youngest daughter. She loved them so much, that she wore them every week and she kept wearing them even though the were getting too short. Then some seams ripped. She asked me to fix them. I told her it was time I made her some new pants.

The pattern is my own. The embroidery design was inspired by  Joan McGowan-Michael’s Over-the-Knee-Stockings found in the Vogue Knitting Fall 2006. The leaves I painted on with fabric paint using freezer paper to make the stencils.

The embroidery took forever, so I have to come up with something simpler this year. But I hope, she will like her new pants just as much!

 

Ingenious Contraption

I do love a cup of tea, actually a mug of tea. Something that warms your hands and has steam rising up your face. Being at home a lot I will often get up and make myself a fresh tea.

Most of the loose teas I have come across are superior to teabags and I have found a great supplier of wonderful loose teas. The problem is that I am often too *cough*lazy*cough* to reach for the loose teas.

So when I saw this, I had to have it (It helped that it was on sale as well). It is made by Swissmar and you can use it as a spoon to get the tea out of its container and to let it steep. Great!

The pretty glass mug is made by Bodum and I sadly own only one. Maybe on my next visit they will have them in stock again.

 

Wet Bunny!

 

We woke up to the noise of heavy rainfall and so the Easter Bunny had to hide the eggs inside today. That is so sad! I love to watch my kids race round in our backyard looking for eggs. One year my youngest daughter kept on finding eggs, because her basket had a hole and some of the eggs fell out. That was so funny!

Happy Easter everybody!

I Am Off

We are leaving for our summer vacation tomorrow! Yeah! I’ll see you when I am back.

I hope, I’ll have something knitted to show you….

Sewing For Children

If you like to sew for children, there is a magazine, that I highly recommend. It is from Finland and called Ottobre. I have managed to get one copy at an independent bookstore while traveling in Kelowna, BC, but not where I live, so I subscribed to it. ( I do have a warning though: In Europe it is customary that a subscription is automatically renewed, if you do not cancel it at least 6 weeks in advance…)

They have a great website and you can even browse through the issues on-line. The patterns are mostly easy to sew and the clothes have very creative adornments. The style is very fresh and the clothes have a good fit. The pattern come in many sizes so you can adjust things easily, if you need to.

I made this little jacket last year for a 1year old girl. I used a pattern from issue 1/2006. I used a wool fabric, that I fulled and dyed. I especially like how the roses are constructed. They are just circles, folded in half and sewn together in a cluster. I even embroidered veins on the leafs. Unfortunately I can’t show you more pictures, because the jacket was a gift and this is the only picture I have.

It Is All Coming To An End

My friend calls this time of the year as busy as Christmas and that is true. I have field trips to attend, year end parties to prepare. I should have helped at the Teacher’s Lunch and I have to go to the Parent Appreciation Tea, because my girls will sing there.

There is the Piano Recital as well as my daughter’s graduation from her 3 year school program. There is money collecting for the teachers’ gifts and there are cards to sign. And then there is the biggest event of all. It is so big, that it needs two nights: the Year End Recital of the dance school.

The problem is, that I will be on stage with my group performing our tap routine and the theater seats 1200 people. It is a great show to watch and exhilarating to be part of it. But it also makes me nervous - a lot.

All of my kids will be on stage, too. These are moments that call for extra tissues! Today is dress rehearsal. Let’s hope, that we will all do well. Enviously, my son is not nervous at all.

Good luck for everyone and happy Sunday!

Johnny Violet

 I have put this new colourway in the store today. I named it for those cute little flowers called Johnny Jump Up.

There are also 2 skeins of Pink Zebra still drying. ( We have had a lot of rain again…) I might leave those for tomorrow. 

I feel pretty optimistic right now, that I’ll get more dyeing done in the next few days. So let me know, if there is anything you would like to see.