Making Time for Playdough

In the midst of end-of-term busy-ness and much freelance work (which is a good thing, I’m not complaining!) last week, I dug out my mum’s good old recipe for homemade playdough, and Keats and I made some. He especially enjoyed dumping the flour into the big bowl and stirring it.

Play Dough Recipe:

1 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice section)
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food colouring

Mix first 4 ingredients in a pan. Add water and mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 – 5 minutes. Dough will soon form a clump.  Remove from stove and knead for 5 minutes–add food colouring during kneading process.

Next time I want to experiment with natural dyes/colorings (boiling onions and cabbage and such – let’s see if I actually do that), but this time I just used regular old food colouring, which Keats found utterly fascinating.

I read somewhere about adding essential oils to it as you’re kneading it, so I did (lavender and mint), but I wish I hadn’t, because that trademark smell of homemade playdough is one of the best things ever. And tasting that salt on your fingers after you’ve played with it? Just awesome.

Needless to say, it was a hit.

Read Full Post »

Binge Crafting

Okay, so needless to say I’ve been away for a while. A long while. More than six weeks, in fact.

While I’ve been away, and life has carried on, a few notable things have happened that I would like to share with you. In the last few weeks I’ve:

- Started another baby quilt, for my new nephew Kieren. In my last post I was still embroidering the patches. In the meantime I ordered a charm pack (oh, I do love a charm pack!) of Moda Hideaway fabric, which is covered in clocks and alpine-looking motifs, perfect for a little part-Swiss boy. The other night I put on Woody Allen’s Alice (oh William Hurt, my love for you has not waned) and sewed the whole quilt top together. So it’s almost done…

- Witnessed the birth of my aforementioned new nephew. A beautiful home birth. It was amazing, and transformative, and very moving. Keaton was totally freaked out by the whole thing and bawled all night, but that’s another story.

- Had some major thoughts about my creative process. When it comes to crafting, writing, or anything else in the creative realm, I am a binger. I’m not the type of person to sew a few stitches one day and a few the next, or write a page or two a day, slowly working toward my goal. That’s not me, even though I sometimes beat myself up for not working on my projects more consistently. Nope, I’m a work-on-something-for-many-hours-late-into-the-night-for-three-days-straight and then put it away for a while type of person. So, bingeing it is, if that’s the way I get sh*t done!

- Realized that I should probably tame my potty mouth in front of Keaton, now that he’s parroting everything I say.

- Gotten very stuck with both the creative writing projects I’ve been working on. But now slightly less stuck with one of them, which may in turn lead to some binge-writing. Fingers crossed.

- Been working with a web designer on a new website for my freelance copywriting/consulting business, Creative Cat Communications. It’s still under construction, but stay tuned for a link.

As I write this, a huge flash of lightning and a big clap of thunder boomed just outside my kitchen window. I think I shall go cuddle up under the covers with Josh and listen to the rain pouring down outside. Ahhhh.

Life is good.

Read Full Post »

The Right Amount of Busy

For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I’ve got the perfect amount of busy going on in my life. A balance between activity and rest, nights out and nights in. It’s the amount of busy that I’ve been hoping for and trying for for so long, but just never achieved. And it’s been years, too, too many years. My too-busy-ness before was entirely self-wrought, I do realise, but still. It’s temporary, I also realise, and all too soon I’ll be right back to too busy again. But for now I’m savouring it. Last semester was crazy, and I barely had time to sleep, but this semester’s workload totally makes up for it. (Funny, now that I’m an instructor I’m like a student again – thinking about the year in terms of semesters.)

So, fortunately, lately I’ve had time lately to:

- Finish that patchwork baby quilt I showed you last post, and now I’ve started on the embroidery for another baby quilt, this time for my sister-in-law’s soon-to-be-released wee one. It’ll be another patchwork quilt, using the most darling charm pack fabric from Moda.

Listen to me: I actually sound like I know what I’m talking about. Really, everything I know about quilting (which is very, very little) so far I’ve learned from the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s online tutorials. Jenny’s my favourite – she’s hilarious and I love her gel nails.

- Take a one-day drawing class on ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’ with the Vancouver School Board. Just for fun, of course. I have absolutely no dreams of actually being a good artist – I still draw like I’m twelve, as I’ve mentioned. But it’s something I’ve been meaning to do for years, so I was glad to finally do it. But it definitely confirmed the fact that I still draw like I did when I was twelve. My favourite things to draw then were hamsters and gymnasts.

And the class was in a high school science lab, so that was cool.

- Write a new picture book manuscript. Not sure exactly what I’ll do with it, but it’s an idea I’d had for a while, and I sure was glad that I found the time to write it. And last week I put Keaton in daycare for a few hours and worked on the edits for my new novel that’s coming out in the fall. That’s been my dream for a long time, too, to work on creative writing in a coffee shop.

So yeah, I’m enjoying all this extra creative time while it lasts. ‘Cause I know that pretty soon Too Busy will come along and kick me in the ass again. But, for now, it’s all good.

Read Full Post »

Zee Quilt, She is Done!

So, the baby quilt that I’ve been telling you about for, oh, about three months now is finally finished, in all its imperfect, uneven, slightly tattered glory. I may look slightly bleary-eyed here because because I pressed it, topstitched it, pinned it and then tied it all in one sitting (quite a bit to handle for this incredibly novice quilter). The tying happened during an episode of Top Gear, so at least I was able to giggle at James May being taught to drive fast by an old Scottish racing driver while I tied knot after knot with embroidery thread. Actually, the tying went remarkably fast and I am grateful to my friend Robin for suggesting it, rather than actually quilting it. Phew!

I have many friends and family members who could do this sort of thing in their sleep, but it’s one of those personal victory things. Yeah, it’s just a bunch of squares sewn together, but I’m impressed with myself because a) I actually finished the darn thing, and b) it didn’t turn out as horrendously horrible as I thought it might. I expected a total mess, with wrong seams everywhere and absolutely nothing matching up. Okay, so some of the squares do not match up at all, but that adds character, non?

Who knows, maybe next time I’ll sew together some actual quilting squares. Hmmmm…

Read Full Post »

My Su-Su-Studioooooo

I really don’t know why I attempted a lame Phil Collins reference there. Oh well.

Moving right along, you can see what falls off of my productivity chart once I start trying to go to bed at a decent hour. Yes indeed, clearly blog posts were something that was part of my late-night creative output regime. I’m still trying to figure out how to still have a decent level of aforementioned creative output while still aiming for at least 7 hours of sleep per night. Midnight – 2am used to be my golden hours, people!

That said, there has been some making of things going on in the background since my last, long-ago post. As my post title suggests, I have moved my messy pile of crafty crap from what is now Keaton’s room (also our dining room), and into a corner of our living room. My crafty crap pile was languishing in the dining room, mainly because now that Keaton goes to bed at about 6:30 or 7pm (bless him), well, I couldn’t exactly be in there with the light on, chonking away on my sewing machine.

So, I moved my little table and sewing machine into the living room by the window, and put my fabrics and notions and stuff into a stack of vintage suitcases (two of them picked up at the Fort Langley Antiques Mall on a recent Sunday outing), thereby creating a slightly less messy pile of crafty crap that I will now dub my “studio.” I say “studio” with the quotes around it so as not to water down the term – as studios should really be for artists and crafters who are actually good at making stuff. But maybe I’ll get there one day.

My “studio”

The day I did that, I felt so inspired that I got right back to work on the baby quilt for my black-lovin’, bird-lovin’ friend that I wrote about a couple of months back (yep, not much progress), and started laying it out on the floor. Since this photo I have sewn three of the rows together, and they seem to be coming together fairly well. (It’s true – dining room/baby sleeping excuse aside, I do not work quickly!). I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing – I’m just guessing at basic quilting and doing 1/4″ seam allowances, ironing as I go along, etc. My greatest fear is that when I go to sew all of the rows together, it’ll be a wonky, unmatched thing that will look totally ridiculous. I’ve always had a hard time sewing a straight seam.

Baby quilt layout in progress

I shall continue to post quilty updates as they come. Wish me luck!

Read Full Post »

My First Baby Quilt

Well, it’s my first quilt, period. Actually, I think my grandma may helped me make a doll quilt when I was about eight, but the details are a bit fuzzy.  It’s for a dear friend, whose baby was (key word: was – about to be explained in the next paragraph) due December 22nd. It’s inspired by the Country Quilt in Alicia Paulson’s Embroidery Companion, except that instead of embroidered farmyard animals and calico fabric, I’m doing blackbirds with green polka-dotted, deep blue and black fabric squares. Kinda like a goth baby quilt, I guess. My friend is inspired by all things dark and fantastical, like demons and raven lore and bats. I’m embroidering six white squares with blackbirds, first (five of those, and one with the baby’s name, not yet known), and then I’ll tackle cutting and sewing and quilting all the rest. Good thing I bought a rotary cutter on supersale at Fabricland!

Today, I got a text message that my friend was in the hospital, having the baby more than five weeks early. Mom and baby are fine, but this early arrival is a big surprise! Throughout the day I received more texts reporting on her progress (last I heard, she was well into active labour), so in the morning I’m expecting to hear the exciting news. This evening, I felt it perfectly fitting to pick up the embroidery after a few days’ busy-related hiatus, and do some stitchin’. The whole time I thought about my friend going through this amazing process of birth, breathing through those contractions. With every stitch I thought of her in her hospital room, surrounded by her midwife and husband and all that support. I just kept thinking, this baby quilt is being made for someone who’s in the hospital right now, right this minute, having her baby. How thrilling, how exciting!

I guess I’d better get crack-a-lackin’ on the rest of the quilt! Wish me luck!

Read Full Post »

Sewing & Stuff, Recently Completed.

Okay, so let’s get back to basics. I originally started this blog to chart my progress as I learn how to do various crafty things while I’m on maternity leave. I’ve veered off from that somewhat (I’ve never been very good at sticking to one thing), but for today’s post I’m going to bring it back to the start. After much difficulty and swearing over a Burda pattern marked “Very Easy,” I finally accomplished my very first major sewing project – a pair of pants. Okay yes, so they are very small baby pants that didn’t even use a full metre of fabric, but they are pants nonetheless. I even added a contrasting cuff to them, which took me about a million years to figure out, and even then I did it wrong, with a raw edge of the turned-up cuff showing on the inside. Whatever. I found the cute stripey blue fabric at the MCC Thrift Store in Chilliwack, and the contrasting cuff fabric is from fresh squeezed fabrics. Seriously, Burda patterns are a bitch – the pants sat there sad and unfinished for more than two weeks because I could not, not figure out what it meant to “turn one leg and sew inner crease.” That’s all it said. WTF? Finally I just sat down and played with it until it worked. After that, it was actually semi-smooth sailing – even doing the elastic casing wasn’t too bad. Hmmm. Maybe I’ll make another pair from the incredibly cute fabric I just bought at Spool of Thread…

And then I embroidered an old t-shirt (which Keaton promptly peed on) and that white hoodie that I showed you a few posts back. Pretty pleased with the results. I used fusible interfacing for the hoodie as a stabilizer for the embroidery (big mistake), and even after substantial trimming it still looks like I have nipple shields behind the birds. Maybe after I wash it it’ll look a bit better. Here’s hoping.

Read Full Post »

Recipe Thursday: Oatmeal Cake with Penuche Frosting

Before we get to the recipe… I’ll be away from this space until next Wednesday, as I’ll be vacationing with my sisters, dad and stepmum, et. al.. Yippee skippy, I am looking forward to eating, drinking, fishing, swimming (or maybe it’ll be too cold) in the mountains and forests of our fair province. June is a month full o’ birthdays in my family, and this past week my dining room table has been covered in a mess of craft and sewing stuff as I made crowns, bunting and bookmarks for my sister, my brother-in-law and my other sister’s boyfriend for their birthdays. I was also hoping to make Keaton some pants, but that absolutely did not happen. How do those crafty mamas do it? It seriously took me so long just to sew fabric triangles into some bias tape. Sheesh!

Anyway, on to the recipe. This is the cake that was featured in last Friday’s This Moment photo – made in honour of a visit from my best friend Heather. Luckily I see her often, but even a regular get-together with a best friend is occasion to celebrate with some lovely coffee cake, don’t you agree? It was my first time making this recipe, and I was so impressed – it’s from one of my never-fail cookbook staples, Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. Try it; you’ll love it.

Oatmeal Cake with Penuche Frosting

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 cup oats, ground fine in a blender

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan, or use an 8 x 8 inch square cake pan.

- In large mixing bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer until soft. Add the sugar and beat until well-blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again until light and creamy.

- Thoroughly combine the flour, ground oatmeal, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat these ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating with the milk, until well-blended. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 50 – 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours or until completely cool (I actually was impatient and didn’t wait at all – we ate the cake when it was still steamy, baby!).

- Make the frosting:

Penuche Frosting

6 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tbsp milk

1 cup icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For topping: 1/3 cup finely ground pecans or walnuts

- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until melted and blended with butter. Slowly pour in the milk, mix well and bring the mixture to a boil. Scrape it into a medium bowl and cool 10 minutes. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake. Top with the ground nuts.

Delicious with a nice big cup of coffee!

Read Full Post »

Latest Crafty Attempts (Key Word: “Attempts”)

Between Keaton’s teething and ear infection (poor little gaffer!) and some recent, stressful BGUDs (Big, Grown-Up Decisions – more on that in a post-to-come this week), the ol’ craft pile has been languishing a bit. I had my little ironing board, cotton stuffing and some fabric out in an attempt to cut pieces to sew Keaton a little baby ball, and also to iron an embroidery design onto a hoodie, but it all sat there on the dining table for more than two weeks (sorry, Josh) without me touching it. Sometimes I think about doing things more than I actually do them.

But the other night (very, very late) when I had given Keats some homeopathic teething tablets and had finally got him off to sleep, I took a little time to clear away some of the craftin’ clutter and actually work on a project or two:

My first attempt at making jewelry, with some gorgeous Amazonite and pink beads that I got at Kimdoly Beads. These bracelets are for three dear friends’ birthdays – one already shipped off to Penticton, another to Ottawa, and one to be given in person.

My first official knitting project, with a pattern and everything – the Sofia Cowl from One-Skein Wonders. My sister Chay and I went to Chay’s boyfriend Joel’s mum’s house (did that sound a bit complicated, or what?) for a knitting lesson, and now I am attempting to knit not only on circular needles, but also a little lace pattern. Elusive terms such as psso and k2tog now have meaning for me (just barely – that’s about all I know now in knitting language!). I actually already screwed up by knitting it on a circular needle that’s too long, and it got all twisted up. So, I just knit over the twist and kept on going, so it’ll look a bit goofy, but whatever. I did not want to rip it all out an start over!

And I finally ironed the embroidery patterns onto the white hoodie – these adorable little birdies are from Sublime Stitching by Jenny Hart. Cute, eh? I do love that satisfying slurpy sound of thread being pulled through fabric on an embroidery hoop.

Next up: birthday crowns and bunting for various birthdays. But first I must buy some felt!

Read Full Post »

Midnight Knitting

As you may already know, I do all my best work during my Golden Hours, from about 10pm to 2 or 3 am. This includes learning something new, like knitting. As I mentioned before I went on my Okanagan vacation, I’ve been learning how to knit, thanks to my best friend Heather, the excellent site www.knittinghelp.com and the equally excellent, very popular book Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook by BUST goddess Debbie Stoller. They all complement each other very well: Heather got me started, Knitting Help showed me the long tail cast-on (I finally got it, yay!) and Debbie keeps me on track. There is absolutely no way that I could have learned only from a book, though, ’cause of course it’s impossible to see the motion and the action of the whole thing. But for tips and visual aids, it’s definitely good to keep at my side at all times while knitting.

While Josh, Keaton and I were in the Okanagan on our little holiday I became quite knitting obsessed. You know how that is when you’re learning something new, or have just discovered something new, and you just can’t get enough of it? Yep. I had my rolled-up knitting kit on the coffee table the whole time, and I picked up my little swatches at any opportunity to knit a couple more stitches on:

Clockwise, starting in upper left corner: my very first attempt – what I have dubbed My Knitting Creature (maybe I should put googly eyes on it), complete with dropped stitches, etc.; my first proper garter stitch swatch; my attempt at a stockinette stitch swatch, although apparently at some point I forgot what row I was on and started a knit row… oh well.

My tension on these swatches was so insanely tight that the ends of my fingers were sore and developing callouses, like when you first learn to play guitar and your tender little fingers have to toughen up. I hadn’t really figured out yet about bunching up all the stitches on your needle that you’re about to knit, and to not hold the right-hand yarn too tight – Heather set me straight on that! For the past few days I’ve been trying to keep my hands relaxed, and it’s making a big difference.

Even though I’m still a complete and utter novice (I don’t even know how to increase or decrease yet, for chrissakes!), and I still knit painfully slowly, I still see all this as a bit of a breakthrough. I’ve tried learning how to knit on and off for the past eight years, and I just seemed to have a mental block. I absolutely did not get it. But after reading Stitch ‘N Bitch (or Stitch ‘N Botch, as I keep accidentally typing – that title pretty much describes what I’m doing at the moment), I realised that in the past I’d been shown the Continental “picking” style (with the yarn in your left hand), which I found next to impossible and totally confusing. I’m an English-style gal all the way. (Again, thanks Heather!) I love the idea of learning a craft that you can just pick up and work away on while watching TV or a movie, something that doesn’t take up too much room.

It’s kinda cool to see the actual, tangible evidence of how much I’m improved in just a couple of weeks. Here’s my ribbing swatch that I’m practising (maybe I’ll turn it into a little scarf for Keaton):

And I’ve cast on for my first proper project, a thing that I hope to one day wear – albeit a very easy garter stitch one – in this gorgeous yarn that Heather got me:

I’ll just keep going until the ball is done and see what I have – a neck cozy, perhaps. Maybe it’ll even be finished by the time it’s cold enough outside to wear it! (Although at the speed I knit, maybe not…)

Also, can I just add that coffee with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is just about the best thing ever? (Just polished off a cup. Was inspired to make it after Iron Chef Battle Coffee tonight.)

Read Full Post »