Feb 27/20

My motivation for crafting and making took quite a dip since moving to Ottawa and going back to work. Fortunately, my drive for making stuff has kicked back in with a vengeance! There has been baking, knitting embroidery and soap making going on in this house this past few weeks and I could not be more content.

First of all, my best friend flew in from New Brunswick to spend a long and cold February weekend with us here in Ottawa. Despite the -20C with a windchill of -30C, we had lots of fun! I even managed to smile while sitting amongst a horde of Leafs fans who turned out to watch their beloved team play the Ottawa Senators. Shelly is an avid knitter and maker of things as well. She has a green thumb like no other and can grown anything. We enjoyed many a great meal, took in some of the Ottawa Winterlude festival and even skated for a few feet on the historic Rideau Canal!

My zenbroidery piece is close to completion and yet, not. Filling in all of the last details is taking longer than doing the bulk of the piece. The piece has allowed me to explore embroidery once again,  play with colour and repurpose so many of the leftover floss that I have accumulated through the years. I was also fortunate enough to be gifted several wonderful designs on linen this week. The bag is sitting on my dining room table as I mull over what to do with them and how to best honour the person who gifted them to me.

My soapmaking urge kicked in again. I have been searching Michaels and Amazon for fun molds. I was over the moon to find the unicorn mold as a little friend of mine loves horses and unicorns. Her mom told me that the soap that I had gifted her last summer was the only soap that has not irritated her so I whipped up this batch of goats' milk soap with her in mind. The round soap in the forefront has a pair of hockey sticks on them. My photography skills and lack of lighting means you have to squint to see it.

I made a batch of castille soap (olive oil, lye and water) today. There are no photos because one of my neighbours called as I was setting up my work space and he popped over to watch the process as he loves to make stuff, too. The castille soap is for future batches of laundry soap as my current supply should run out around the same time that the current batch in the mold has finished curing.

Last, but not least, I am working on some projects to improve my health. My doctor gently pointed out in a recent appointment  that my BMI was way too high and my blood pressure is starting to creep up. I am trying to eat less processed food, get more and adequate sleep, doing yoga a few times a week and get out more for a breath of fresh air. Even if I don't thrill my doctor with my efforts at my next appointment, I am at least trying. My weight has been pretty stable for the past 10-15 years so I am happy with that even though a lower number would be so much better in the long run.

Happy stitching!

Jan 21, 2020

This zenbroidery thing is really fun! I am so excited to play with the colours and to see where the colour combinations take me. What I am finding is that I start each flower with a colour and add in the other colours as the section takes shape. The final bouquet is going to be kaleidoscope of colour and I like it! 

I took a trip to Michaels today to get a fabric marker so that I can trace out a design for a friend who is moving on from Ottawa. That is all that I can say about that project just yet. A unicorn silicone mold was an exciting find for the soap I plan on making for my dear friend, Lilly. There were a few other molds of interest that I may go back for. Amazon has quite a selection of ones that will work well for some gag gifts that I am planning. **wicked grin**

With this return to stitching, there is a return of my ort jar. This zenbroidery pattern is making my ort jar so colourful and lovely as I stitch during these cold winter nights here in Ottawa. The fella' is upstairs in bed with the flu so I am downstairs stitching on my day off today, in between chucking food and medications at him in his germ infested room.

Happy stitching!

Jan 12, 2020

Happiest of New Year wishes to you all from wintry Ottawa. We had freezing rain all night and now we are in a snow flurry so it is a most awesome weekend to stay home and stitch! For me, it was a perfect way to recharge after a hectic month of kids visiting, family events, Christmas, work and life.

With the start of a new year, what is old is new again for me. Embroidery was a love of mine as a child, well before I discovered cross stitch. There are a few pieces stashed away upstairs that I stitched as a 10 or 11 year old from stamped embroidery that somehow made its way into our house. I have not done much embroidery since I was a teenager so it was a surprise to me to see how much my interest was captured by it recently. As part of my trying to continually learn and grow, I joined a facebook group Millenial Needlecrafts so that I can see what the kids are up to, as it were. What an amazing and dynamic group. For years, I have heard that the needle arts were dying out, but let me tell you, there is an amazing group of people who are doing some really neat things. The artistic expression and experimentation that is shared with the group is so inspiring. While I am not a huge fan of the profanity (odd, as I swear like a sailor in real life), I love the new avenues of design and ideas and have been inspired to pick up my non-blunt needles and thread to embroider again.

One idea that captivated me was zenbroidery, a stitching version of the adult colouring book. A quick search of Amazon came up with this kit:

It came with a stamped cloth and a needle as well as an instruction sheet that shows the needleworker how to do stitches like the chain stitch and satin stitch. I pulled out my hoop and this mess of threads that are leftovers from kits that I have completed.

While the freezing rain tapped against the windows all afternoon and evening, I stitched away at this piece and played with colours. Thanks to all of my years of cross stitch, I still have nice and even satin stitches. I love pulling out different colours to start on a section and then changing my mind as I stitch because the piece will speak to me differently by the time I go to add a colour. The beauty of this piece is that there are no rules.

Happy stitching!