Another "done" and some decorating

The wreath is complete. I like how it turned out with the blue and the red. Completely different from where I started with green faux bois ribbon. Sometimes it really is better to let things sit for a day or two before deciding how to finish things. The bell ornament was a MSL Kmart find.


I also made this mini clutch. It's the pattern from Bend the Rules Sewing made to 1/2 scale and lined with turquoise velvet from a thrift store shirt. I skipped the flannel interfacing; I think it would have been too stiff. The lining colour is a nod to the intended contents, my new iPod nano that Santa decided to bring early. Well, actually, I picked it out but Santa did pay*. Unfortunately I neglected to account for the earphones when I made the case, so it's not quite fully functional. But I love having a palm-sized clutch. I think I'll make more.


We got the tree out of the basement and it is mostly decorated. I always love to bring out my treasured ornaments. This paper angel is one of my favorites. She has been at the top of my tree for over a decade. This year she is joined by a new friend, a glass owl from the Macy's MSL Christmas line. Kindness and wisdom, not bad things to put at the top of a tree in my opinion.


It's always fun to find things that I had completely forgotten I owned, like this wooden reindeer. He has a lot of personality and I love his little scarf. I discovered him up at a little shop on Granville Island on a trip home a few years ago. Hopefully there will be better light tomorrow so I can get some more photos. Assuming I also manage to tidy up.

*Have you been to an Apple store lately? They have perfected the retail experience - no lines! When we were ready to pay, one of the employees whipped out a wireless credit card scanner from a holster. He even offered to email the receipt instead of printing one out. Love the Apple store.

Finished, and another craft fair update

*edited to add photos*
throw pillows

runner (center panel is red, two flanking flower panels interleaved with the yellow)

I finished a project last night: six covers for throw pillows and a coffee table runner for mom. I put zippers in the covers which was quite a challenge given that my antique sewing machine doesn't have a zipper foot. Suffice it to say that each of them turned out a little different, I only broke one needle, and that by the time the sixth one was done I had honed my technique. On the bright side, I finished all the raw edges with my new serger and it was like going from a horse and buggy to a sports car: a little disconcerting, I felt like I might careen out of control at any minute but I loved it. My computer was being weird so I wasn't able to upload any pictures. Rest assured, photographic evidence will be forthcoming.

Now I have to figure out how to do the lap quilt/throw. I was going to use the pattern from Bend the Rules Sewing, but the fabrics my mom chose for the pillows are thicker and don't iron very well as I discovered while making the pillows, so I'm concerned that it wouldn't work to sew them in strips. The current plan is to cut large squares (~10 inches) and do a simple patchwork. I think I'll tie it, partly because I don't have much time but also because I remember a tied throw quilt we used to have on our sofa when I was a kid that was really soft. I've never made a quilt before, so we'll see how this goes. I also started working on a wreath, a la Soulemama. I thought it was something I could just whip up, but I'm finding it harder than I thought it would be. So far I have wrapped a styrofoam form with strips of leftover wool from patchwork scarves, faux bois velvet ribbon and rick rack. I'm liking the way it's going, but not loving it yet.

Speaking of scarves, did Tory and I ever tell you about our second craft fair appearance? This one was at our workplace and it was our third year of participation. We can't show you any photos (cameras are not allowed onsite) but our display was very similar to the first one. It was so much fun. Our stuff was snapped up by the hip and cool folks we hoped would like it. So very gratifying to know that everything will go to good homes. We work with some very talented people and it's always fun to see what they have come up with each year. And I always walk away with something wonderful, like this hand-turned maple bowl:

More later. Tonight is tree decorating at our house, hopefully I'll get photos of that and be able to upload the pillow/runner ones.

I see the light!

I wrote my last final exam last night. I am now officially more than 2/3 of the way through my MPH program. Thank goodness, because this full time job + part time graduate student gig is seriously cutting into my crafting time. And there is so much to do, especially with my reckless decision to jump on the handmade holidays bandwagon. What was I thinking? I am scaling down my original plans, plus I found some great gifts at SOWA and Craftland, but my to-do list remains long. A lap quilt for my mom to match the pillows and coffee table runner that she commissioned me to make, some lounge pants, a couple of tote bags, a sweater to finish, you get the picture. I hereby resolve that I will post one finished project a day until I get on the plane on Boxing Day. Hold me to it, internet!

*Photo is of a neighbour's front yard decorations the first of last week's two snowstorms. I typically hate these wire/light sculptures but this one charmed his way onto my Flickr page.

Simple Centerpiece

My coffee table needed a little dressing up for the Christmas season so dress it up I did. It started off with what should have been a quick runner. How hard is it to cut a giant, skinny rectangle and sew some seams? Well, that day it was hard. For whatever reason I had decided to buy yards and yards of a cranberry colored faux velvet at Joann's several Christmases ago during a 75% off blitz. (Oh, wait...75% off...there's the reason.) I started by hacking off a section long enough for my coffee table. From there I just had to move on to more precise cutting. Folding multiple layers of a long piece of fabric to fit my cutting mat never works. It ended up being more narrow at places in the middle even though I'd very carefully lined everything up. It really looked as if I'd had too much Christmas cheer prior to attempting the cutting. On this rare occasion I tossed perfection aside. I trimmed a bit and hemmed a lot and threw it on the coffee table. It worked. Step one down.

Now for the centerpiece, a very simple layering of items from around the house. I started with a silver tray. Since it's the holidays I decided to dust and polish mine but that step is really optional. I then added a trifle bowl lined with left over pieces from cedar boughs and dropped in a potted poinsettia. To top it all off I added ornaments that were leftover from the tree decorating. Easy and elegant!

Happy Santa Lucia

Some of my earliest Christmas memories involve Santa Lucia celebrations. My father was Norwegian and most of our family friends were some variety of Scandinavian. One of his best friends and business partners was Swedish and his wife was from Finland, and every year they held a party on December 13th in honor of Santa Lucia Day. I loved these evenings for many reasons, but largely because it was very kid-centered. The main event was a procession in which the children acted out the Lucia story. The oldest girl usually got to play the role of Lucia and wear the robe and the crown of candles. The helpers got either a tinsel crown or a hat, depending on whether you were a girl or a boy, and everyone carried a candle or a lantern. We would parade through the house while several people sang and played guitar and piano . The grand finale was when Lucia and her helpers handed out little paper bags of sweet buns to everyone.

Of course, there was plenty of food: sweet buns flavored with cardamom with hard raisins on top, trays of cookies including pepperkaker and sirupsnipper and cup after cup of warm glogg. Pure heaven. That's me in the blue, exactly 35 years ago tonight. And yes, those are real, lit candles in the hands of three year-olds. However, while we were apparently allowed to play with fire, cocktails were forbidden. This recipe for glogg is simple and delicious and can be enjoyed by all the celebrants at your holiday gatherings, regardless of age. I hope you enjoy it.

Rhoda's Non-alcoholic Glogg
Juice of 2 large lemons
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup white sugar
8 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Strain and serve warm in small ceramic cups.

It's a Big One!

Today is my partner's birthday, a big, important birthday. It seems to be the year for big, important birthdays around here. First me in March and now him in December.

We had a small gathering of friends to commemorate the occasion. Of course, any gathering must include a fabulous cocktail, a Funky and Delightful trademark I do believe.

Anytime is right for a selection of cheeses: gruyere, brie, gouda, and a layered cotswold/stilton. Add to that some crackers, olives, nuts, hummus, and mini quiche and you've got yourself a party. A birthday party wouldn't be right without birthday cake. Or in this case birthday cupcakes. Staying with tradition my partner requested chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Birthdays mean every wish is granted but I had to top even that request by making triple chocolate cupcakes. There was chocolate cupcake piped with chocolate ganache topped with dark chocolate shavings. A very rich finish to a wonderful birthday. Happy birthday, dudely!!

Handmade for me

Handsome, isn't he? I picked him up from The Sweetest Pea folks Saturday at the SOWA Holiday Market, aka the best craft fair Tory and I have ever been to. Seriously, we were barely in the door when we started finding things to come home with us. Jewelry, handmade soft creatures, kid's t-shirts, hand-blown glass beads, hand-painted ceramic decorations: I could go on and on. Some of them will actually make it under other people's trees so I can't show too many photos at the moment. It was good, very, very good. After our last craft fair experience, it was refreshing to attend one where everything was actually handmade. They have a Sunday market in the summer months, so be sure to attend if you are planning a visit to Boston next year.

I can't decide exactly who this little guy is, but he seems to have found his raison d'etre as guardian of our acorn bowl:

Don't you love his curly tail?

Many purchases were made this weekend in addition to those at SOWA. I had to hit two Joann's stores to get supplies for some pillows I'm making for my mom. Not a fun thing to do three weeks before Christmas, but she picked out some great fabrics so it was worth it. I also paid a visit to Macy's to get a feather tree. The holiday section looked like it had been ransacked and they had not one tree of any shape or size left. I forced persuaded them to sell me the display model (although they now call them "visual" trees, anyone know why?), even though it required waiting 20 minutes for the tallest sales associate to climb a display to retrieve it from the top. Yeah, it was 9 am on a Sunday morning and he was not too happy about it. But the tree is now mine (evil laughter).

I have been wanting one of these for a long time so there was no way I was leaving without it. And with my coupon it was less than half the original price. Let the decorating begin.

Good-bye summer

We finally put the hammock away and brought up the winter clothes so I guess it's official, summer is over. I know, I know, it's December and snowing. It's just that this summer was so very good, I really had a hard time letting go. All through our unusually warm autumn I managed to remain in a state of denial about the fact that it was going to actually get cold here (soon) for, oh, six months or so. So what made this summer so fantastically good that I wore cropped pants well into October?

I got married, which in addition to our wedding day, ended up being a five-day long festival in our backyard. Family and friends arrived by plane and by car and sooner or later everyone turned up for a cocktail or two and something to eat. By the end of it we were exhausted, but it really was the best week ever. Then we went to Bosnia to visit my new in-laws and we had another marriage-related party at my favorite spot in Sarajevo. Amazingly good food, music and dancing. So much fun. Upon our return (no time for an actual honeymoon) we declared a summer of long weekends just for us. We discovered beaches we didn't know about, we took day trips, we ate a lot of lobster and we felt no guilt for frequently doing absolutely nothing. Labor Day weekend we capped it off with a mini-vacation to Cape Elizabeth, Maine and discovered a little beach hotel to which we hope to make many return visits in the years to come. Yes, this summer was exceptionally good. Can't wait to see what winter will hold for us.