Create Your Own Sunshine!

With our January days being so gloomy, I found my own little piece of sunshine...a gorgeous sunflower and two Bells of Ireland from the little flower shop Alison works at.
Yesterday, in my search for more yarn, I stopped in at MCC and found a few treasures...this little tobacco tin and momma cat and her 3 kittens (the art looks like its from the 60's but a closer look and I doubt it, but I thought it was cute and Ana oohed over it so for 2.50 I think its a keeper)

Unfinished forever??

So one of my resolutions for the New Year 2011 is to finally finish all those projects I have bought supplies for and those that I have finished but for one reason or another, now have to re-finish!  One of these is this 'swing sweater' which I first knitted as a cardigan but once completed, it was so huge I could have fit 3 of me in it!  Ya, you ask, if it was sooo big, why did I keep going?  ANYWAYS, I pulled it all apart and began again with a Debbie Bliss pattern.  I have completed the back, the left front and am now on the right front and now I'm doubting that I'll have enough yarn!  Problem being, as I unraveled the 1st sweater, a lot ended up in the trash since there was damage as I attempted to pull it all apart.  Now I have to try and find a couple more balls, hopefully, so I can put DONE to this one!  This seems to be a pattern that is repeated over and over...                                                                           

...now to head to Walmart and/or Zellers to hopefully find said yarn!  To be continued...

So I actually found 2 balls of the yarn at Zellers but the colour, ie dye lot, is so different from what I have that I have to return them and continue searching.  Frustration!

I love sewing, but...

I just love the whole experience of finding a new pattern that I love,  hunting for the perfect fabric, the cutting and the sewing and the pressing as it all comes together, like pieces of a puzzle and VIOLA! completion.  Such satisfaction that comes with finishing a project, my own little piece of creation.  But then, I try on the finished item and more often than not, it fits weird on my near-perfect figure (cough) or it just looks too old or young or baggy or tight, or sometimes all of those things!  Or like today, I sewed this pretty yellow tunic blouse to wear over a tank this summer.  It was great until I put it on and turned to look at myself in the mirror and eeyewww, I looked pasty and quite nasty!  I loved the fit and style but the colour on me! YUK, it's going to look really good on somebody else who finds it at Value Village.  I want to try making it again but next time, I'll make sure the colour works with my pale skin. It looks nasty on the picture too. What was I thinking??

Do I hold the record for 'most blogs followed'?

I look at my oh so long blog list and wonder how it has gotten so out of control!  I check out one and link to one of their favorite blogs and so on and oh my goodness, I MUST follow this one too!!  I don't have enough time in my day to read them all! But how could I possibly decide which ones to remove ?

I love Santas!  I have a collection, which is nothing in comparison to either of my sisters', who also collect them, but I love the ones I do have.  For example...
this guy I made but have no idea whose pattern it is.
I know part of the problem is that I get an idea of something I want to make and run to the store to buy what I need to make it but by then I've already found several more I might do.  Do you think I have an attention deficit problem?  I'm really beginning to wonder!  At least I do complete some things so I want to believe there's hope for me!
This is a little snowman I did finish  recently by Brenda Gervais.  I just procrastinate for so long and then when I finally determinedly sit down and work on a pattern, it hardly takes any time and I am asking myself why did I wait so long? 
Can anyone else relate?

This is the wonder we woke up to today.  All the trees were heavily laden with snow and the world  looked pure and clean.  Last night, as the snow began to fall,  it looked like the sky was dropping feathers,  the flakes were so large!
It didn't take very long for our kids to get the grandkids bundled up to play outside.

And the cold north wind doth blow...

Goodbye 2010 - Hello 2011!

Instead of partying New Years Eve, Gord and I decided to go down to Bellingham and spend a couple of days away, more relaxing, less busyness.  On day one we stayed in town and found Old Market Antiques in downtown Bellingham.  It's all the fun of the search, not knowing what you might find.

I just loved the French flash cards at $2 each, the Paris stickers were $1 each and the whole string of old cookie cutters was $8.

On day two we took a drive down Chuckanut Drive beside the ocean.  It was a gorgeous sunny day (not too common in December on the West Coast!)

As we left the coast and entered Skagit Valley, we happened upon an antique/junk store.  Stuff piled upon stuff, dusty and cobwebbed, I did manage to find a couple of treasures...a hand washing agitator, wonderfully rusted for $6 and antique quilt for $3!
Once we returned to our hotel, we still had 5 hours to kill before midnight, so we took a walk in the frosty evening air to Bellis Fair Mall and walked the entire perimeter, stopping at Target because that was one of the few stores still open.  They were clearing out all Christmas stock so I was able to find serviettes and ribbons and coloured raffia for next year for a grand total of $4!  And the dvd Babe, which I love, for $3!  A great day for bargains!

And we bought a couple of bottles of wine...this one I just had to have!  Smile.