Make Something Every Day 30

Tonight I started my tam.

And set up this sweet vignette to photo it in, you can also see yesterday's Zentangle.

Now do you cast on an odd or even number of stitches for ribbing?

Time to find out!
(Here is the answer)

Make Something Everyday 29

Today I made Amiee's first Christmas decoration.

I give my girls one each year and now Aimee, sometimes I make them, sometimes I buy them, but they are the same ornaments for each girl or should I say woman!!!

This velveteen heart is upcycled from an old house coat my kind neighbour Marge gave me long ago, frankly I'm hoarding it, if you get a piece of it you are well thought of - top notch. Amiee's mom had put some stuffing in a gift she gave me so I re-used it. The antique ribbon came to me from Robbie in a gift parcel she sent me this summer. The MOP button was in a jar of buttons Shirley and Helen gave to me when I turned 50! I love when something so small can mean so much!!!

Make Something Everyday 28

I try to learn something new every January, hooking was one of those things back in 1997!
It is a good tradition.
This year I'm learning about zentangles, here is my first one. I have a book, One Zentangle A Day.

Make Something Everyday 27

It is hard to believe I only have 4 days left on this wonderful make a thing a day odyssey, I had some projects I wanted to try out and I better get cracking.

Tonight I finished my tea towels for Nessa.

And a close up of the stitches

Make Something Everyday 26

More time for me today with leftovers and people wanting cereal instead of Scottish breakfast.
I 'm back loving at some tea towels.

Sort of unusual they look a little boro and a little kantha and they satisfy me.
I loved stitching the coloured bamboo and tencel threads, working on number two today.
Loving the irish linen too!

Make Something Every Day 25

Needless to say I spent a good portion of the day in the kitchen and I felt much as this little animation must, just when you get done, it is time to start another!!!

I had some lovely helpers though, Owen and Martin.
One tall for up high jobs and one low of below the knee work! Sounds like one was wasted and the other drunk and passed out doesn't it? I'll let you paint your own artistic rendition!

Everything was delicious and all were content, replete with gifts and food.
I did not turn my hand to creating at all.
Nary a thing.
Nada.

I hope you had a wonderfully festive time and had a moment to ponder your great good fortune or perhaps you are starting to feel as this person does.

I feel a bit like shaking up traditions myself.
I wonder if I sewed/ sowed the seeds of change today?

Make Something Everyday 24

Chapeau, Maker and Model.

Make Something Everyday #23

Two make up four yesterday, I made two things:

Das Bootu Two

They are stuffed in a radical way and are more alike than they appear.

 And a hat with pom poms on the front sides and top but not the back for the carriage trade.

I'll see you tomorrow! I promise.

Make Something Every Day #22

X

Marks the spot where I was too tired to make.

Shhhhhh it happens.

Make Something Everyday 21

 Hand Made Gift Tags, Yes I do have other colours of paint but I like red and green.

Make Something Everyday 20

Splice is nice for winter and I've gone all conservative and stitched up and cut away the layers in an interesting and selective way.

Make Something Everyday 19

Today I made a couple of things, one was an out take on a splice skirt but it needs an alteration so instead I'll show you the wool I dyed for a special lady for Christmas. When I get the skirt adjusted I'll show you it.
 Using the electric frying pan with the transitional method and a 1/2 yd of wool each for this example I used Yellow, Brilliant Green, Blue, Blue Violet, Red Violet and Orange over natural wool

For this one I used Red, Blue, Moss Green, Yellow, Chocolate Brown and then Seal Brown over tan wool.

They are both lovely!!!

Make Something Everyday 18

 I made some inserts for a too small wool sweater I bought from The Patch  just because I loved the buttons. The Patch is my adoption central for little orphaned cashmeres. 

This sweater is slow re- styling due to the fact I had to crochet each silk hand dyed doily.

There will more on this restyling later as I accumulate enough doilies.

Pretty aren't they?

Make Something Everday 17

Today, fine spinning for tam making.

Tomorrow, who knows?

I really like this quote today:

“It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.”
― Roy Disney

I think this fits in splendidly with rug hooking.

Make Something Every Day 16

Today I got hard at it and finished up the bootu which are like little Alpaca Sorels.

Mary wonders why my bootu are not as good as her's

Is dat stick for dis bootu? I doubts it.

Right now Mary is making this:

For Secret Santa.

Yup.

I read something very good I thought you might enjoy.

“I’ve seen how you can’t learn anything when you’re trying to look like the smartest person in the room.” 

― Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

I think it might need to be a poster.

Celie wants to let you know she wrote New Skills Monday this week on The Mat 

And that it drove her to drink.

Make Something Everyday 15

It was top and tail day, I made a hat out of Day 13's hand spun and pants not pictured here.

Make a thing a day 14

Made my Gooseberry Christmas Cards

Angie Lewin has nothing to worry about!

But I love it, the application of line, what it can do, very much like shading.

  

A slice of the Welcome Mat Pattern of the Month

And our dye formula colours for this week

Make Something Everyday 13

Man made some bokeh for you

 I dyed 1/2 lb. of roving with the point method yesterday and and spun this yarn today. It is for someone special. I have not spun since September 10th, it felt good.

Make Something Everyday 12

Another lino cut

Gooseberries

Tired now

'Night

Bed

Sh

Z

Make Something Everyday 11

Today I got in quite a mood way, I don't know whether it was Jeni's tale of purging or because the sun shone but I cleaned out my closet, my bedroom, my spare bedroom and started to compile piles of this and that. I guess you'd say I made order.

I also started to decorate the house, lacking a mantle I used this book shelf, I still have a way to go but it is a start. Oh and of course now I see some streaks on the window!

Tonight it is Wacky Wednesday on the Mat, and I asked what your grandparents wore that you wish you had to wear today.
After spending all day on my feet I think I'll say... support - hose.

Make Something Everyday Ten

Tonight I present sunshine in a pan - WOW It cheered me up all afternoon.

My dear friend Marilyn sent me a little nudge and I love a little nudge!

She suggested I make the colours from a bouquet pictured and then design a rug to suit them. 

I'll be making a stylized Christmas Rose for The Mat's free December rug hooking pattern and have these formulas for the colours to go with it.

I made the colours today with an extra thrown in for background.

As usual my camera barely differentiates between red orange, red violet, red and orange.

 But I see the colours in the magazine page have acted the same.

This is due to my camera sensors not being sensitive enough.

I've learned to scan hot colours in when I'm doing articles for RHM

Here I used the flash washed out the cool colours but you can see the warm, each colour will be separated by a line of hooking beading or a black and white Shibori piece.

Also finally I got a photo of my car:

Maybe you already know but if not green and red are my favourite colours.

 She is a beauty.

 I could have got this one but everybody has one like that.

There was really no contest.

You can see way I was so outstanding on the 403

Make Something Everday Nine

Oh dear good and greasy gravy.
I can't believe this is what I made today.
It seemed like a great good okay idea at the time  it might be an accident waiting to happen.
I will hang it a dark corner of the studio.
Maybe set some moth larvae on it.
I'll order some tomorrow.

You can't do something beautiful every tine can you?
I'm not afraid to strut my ugly stuff are you?

Ironically the message says: An Artist Lives Here presented backwards because of my computer photo option.
 Isn't life a funny thing?
 And our creative life most of all.

Make Something Everyday 8

Little Bootu ( what we call baby shoes here) pictured below has taken a great long while. I've ripped out the bamboo and alpaca so many times I think I'm felting it.
I think I've got it now.
What I should have made is a record of what I did to make it.
A Bamboo Bootu, sounds like a Little Britain sketch.

It rained all day, so no photo of aforementioned car.

Make Something Everyday 7

I made a trip today.
How can I show you that?

I did see this chair in Varney, Ont. twice.

It's a big one, I have always wondered why they choose to make a chair of the Adirondack's though?

I could show you the rubbery poached eggs I overcooked and didn't eat, the strange and creepy feeling of talking about the car you are driving like an elderly relative you are about to stash away for good while driving it.
I immediately insisted we use code - we had a long way to go and wanted only co-operation from moody metal conveyances with ears. Never talk about money in a car!!! They are greedy and will want it and will pull anything to get it.

I did not shop or get books or material or anything creatively fun.
I did single handedly make a tiny little crazy on the 403 as I followed much more experienced driver home and we were in the slow lane and the exit was 4 fast lanes away- blessedly there were not smashes, taps, bumps, grinds, blood or fire. Horns and fists shaken and guts flip flopping but ok otherwise.
My friend Denise says only crazy people drive on these roads. I'm qualified there.
Here I was driving a new car on roads I had no experience or fore knowledge of.

Oh I forgot to tell you!!!!!!!!!!!!

 I got a car! It's pretty, not white!! Sage green with grey interior - used but barely driven, it is a beaut from Hamilton Subaru. If you are in the market ask for Roy!
I'll show you a picture tomorrow, I'll probably try to tell you I made it.
I'll tell you what I made today -  I made it home.
Such a relief I can't tell you.

Make Something Everyday Six

Today we made:
 hooking angels
a giant woolly mess
our minds expand in new directions with embellishing rug loops and hooking quarter sized faces- it hurt  it hurt!
And I made these great recipes:

Ginger Brownies

350˚ F for 20 min.

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margerine.

Place in medium saucepan heat slowly until  smooth, don’t cook or boil, just let sugar melt.

Allow to cool

Add in 1 cup cut up ginger in syrup, ( available at the Bulk Barn )   crystalized ginger is not a good substitute.

Mix in 1 egg and 1 tsp. vanilla

Add 1 cup flour 1 tsp. baking powder, pinch of  salt

Place in ungreased 8x8 pan or mini muffin tins ( bake these for 15 min )

7 Layer Bars - Special Edition

If you don't know about this recipe you can go to this great version over on Little Cook from the Prairie.

I use a short bread crust but I add 1/4 cup of cornmeal.

1 small bag of coconut, larger cut

1 bag of white chocolate chips

1.5 cups of slivered of hand chopped almonds with skin on (not blanched ones)

1.5 cup of dried raspberries and cherries

Then just complete the recipe as called for.

I was going to try to do a tutorial once a week this December, I hope this passes for one.

Make Something Every Day Five

Today Erin came, we played.

We had a good 4 hours and a bit to devote ourselves to our lino cuts, Erin is expert, I'm a hack.

I love being a beginner at something. 

Above my subject, a pomegranate and you can see Erin's too.

Of course Man says mine looks like - a representation along the lines of Judy Chicago's most famous work. I've accepted that everything I make looks like this, really, it's okay.

Could this be about the beholder and not the creator? 

Here is a close up of Erin's cut and her printed work

Here is mine

Yes, I'll be papering the bathroom with these.

What a fun day!

Erin, Erin, do I cut away the black or do I cut away the grey, Erin what do I cut away? 

I'm leaving the black right? right?

I hope she comes back for our date next week though I would understand if she didn't.

I cut away the grey right?