December 11, 2019

Smalls are so fun and satisfying to stitch. I love having a finish in a few hours and there is a part of my brain that gets so very excited about using up bits and bobs from my craft room. This pattern also comes from "Christmas Cross Stitch" by Michael Powell. In between stitching, I am pulling together all of the parcels and cards that need to be mailed tomorrow and reading all of the books I have borrowed from the library. My book club decided on books for the next 3-4 months so I put them all on hold at the library, not expecting to get them all so quickly! "The Course of Love" just went back to the library today and "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" is next up on the bedside table to be followed by "Beartown". I should be working on my pharmacy continuing education as well, but I don't wanna so I won't (just yet).

Happy December stitching!

December 9, 2019

My current obsession is with the word "maker". Last weekend, I worked as an assistant for a friend of mine who sells her baking and mittens at a big flea market here in Ottawa. Her mittens are sewn from felted wool sweaters. When people complimented me on the work, I always made sure to point over to my friend who was working the baked goods table and proudly say, "My friend Melissa is the maker!" as I did not want to take any credit for her work. In this day and age of mass production that comes into Canada from all across the world, we have lost so much connection with raw materials and those who build or develop the item in our hand. I give away my handmade ornaments for Christmas and regularly receive comments from friends and family about how they treasure the ornaments each year as they place them on their Christmas trees. My heart is warmed by that connection being made.

I am a maker. I am driven to make things, to deconstruct the every day things in my house and figure how to make them myself and to make things. My urge to create has been suppressed these past few months because of work commitments. There just has not been the time, the energy or the drive to create, leading to a maker's block as it were. The urge to create has hit again and I am feeling so energized by it. This past week has been a flurry of organizing Christmas parcels that need to be mailed out. A batch of bits and bites was baked up the other day, dryer balls have been wound while watching television, ornaments have been stitched during a lazy Sunday yesterday and I mixed up a batch of laundry powder this morning.

The ornaments are being stitched on a scrap piece of 28 count either Lugana or Monaco with scrap threads that I am somewhat matching to the picture of the finished product in the book.

Can you tell which dryer ball might have been pushed off the table by the cat for the dog to unravel and for me to unsuccessfully try to re-wind? I hope that it felts well once I finally get them into the washer and dryer.

Now that the maker urge has hit again, I feel so much more content. There is such joy in watching a handful of raw materials turn into something that is useful or beautiful and to have it enjoyed by loved ones.

Happy stitching and making!

December 2, 2019

Hot off the hoop! "Wild Thing Quilt" designed by Julie Dobson Miner for Dimensions. Next step, washing machine to remove the dog hair, the stamped ink and, hopefully, the coffee that got spilled on the bottom left. If not, my friends love our dogs and we spent many hours chatting over coffee in our livingrooms back in Greenwood so the mess kind of sums up our friendship!

My other "craft" efforts this weekend have involved these boxes:

The boxes are going to collection points around CFSU (Ottawa) as part of a Holiday food drive being organized by the Uplands Community Council. Our two rental housing entities and our family centre have agreed to let us place boxes in their reception areas for collection of non-perishable food for the Ottawa Food Bank. I was very quickly reminded why I prefer gift bags over gift wrap as I was folding the paper around the boxes and getting tape stuck every where. Oddly, there are several cat and dog hairs stuck to the boxes as well. *looks around at the guilty parties sleeping innocently beside me* I did have lots of fun digging out the crayons we keep here for the fella's kids and colouring in the colouring contest picture. Sometimes, indulging in one's inner child is the best medicine!

My next step today is to start finishing cross stitch ornaments. I have missed the international mailing dates as usual and we need to deliver a parcel to family on Saturday as that will be the last time we see them before the New Year. The fella' left this morning for a training course this week so I can putter away without tripping over him or him asking me why I am doing whatever it is that I am muddling away with at that moment. He is not a hobbyist or crafter so he does not understand why I collect so many bits and bobs or how I can find anything in the jumble of boxes in the spare room or where the heck the random little doodad appeared from and magically pulls together whatever is in my hand.

Happy stitching!

December 1, 2019

How is it that it is already the first of December? I have no ornaments completed, our decorations are all still in the basement and I have barely started to pull together my Christmas gifts. I feel all out of sorts this year because everything has changed and I am still adjusting. We will have a "real" tree this year with decorations and lights and family here to celebrate instead of us packing up and heading to another province. My job takes up more of my time with hours and travel time and I am still adjusting to living here in Ottawa. The adjustment is all good, don't worry. It is just the usual adjustment of a country kid moving to the city, getting used to the new environment and finding one's place in the community.

As part of finding my place in this community, I am leading a food drive for the Ottawa Food Bank as a way for us to give back to the city that has welcomed us so warmly. My job for today is to decorate three boxes to be left around the base to collect donations from people who may already be headed out on Christmas leave before we go door to door to collect the donations. Our community council here is small, but people jump in to help fill in any gaps in planning and execution so that is most helpful. Many hands make light work!

Crafting-wise, I am determined to finish this quilt today while the fella' packs to go away this week for a course and Christmas Mess dinner with his fellow linemen. This panel was my favourite as the giraffe's face popped up at my while I was doing the backstitching. Giraffes are so beautiful and I fell deeply in love with them after seeing a bub that was hours old at Monarto Zoo wobble around its doting mom. This face was adorable as the backstitching brought it out under my fingers. I have one more panel to backstitch then into the wash it goes before heading out to the intended little guy who is almost 3 months old now!

Happy Sunday and stitching to you!