Welcome to my blog - grab your favorite mug and fill it with whatever you like best to drink, pull up a chair, sit back and have a glimpse into my life ...
<><Becky
L. ≈ prayer that tumors won't return to her eye
******* L. ≈ prayer that he would stop being so angry towards his family
******* K. ≈ family is going through a difficult time right now
L. ≈ they now go to the Toronto Hospital EOM and the other months they go to the Hospital in their Province - PTL!!!!
******* T. ≈ doing much better now
*******
Well, I still need to decide if I want a zipper on the top to close it .... but, as of right now (well, last night, actually, lol) I have finished my Skittles Bag!!!!!!!!!
It was really tough to decide on what kind of material to use for the lining, and then if I wanted pockets ... if so, how many and where to put them. *sigh*, well, I finally got it all figured out and put together ... spent all yesterday sewing, ripping out, sewing, ripping out and then sewing again, lol.
Okay, onto the pictures:
This is how it looked while it was on the loom - warp is the black yarn and the weft is the very colorful yarn. In total, the length ended up being about 7 feet (may have been a bit longer, but not much) and the width of the strip was 7 inches.
I did a lot of recycling for this project - a purse that I had been using, but it started to fall apart was used for one of the pockets and the lining was made from a pair of pajamas that I never really wore much.
I sewed around three sides and left the top open so that I would have another pocket.
Opposite the brown pockets I made another pocket using the same material as the lining: I did the same on this pocket as I did on the brown one ... sewed around three sides and left the top open to create another pocket (can you really have too many pockets in a purse, lol).
And here it is, all filled with my "essentials" - the strap was too wide to be comfortable on my shoulder (it was the 7"), so I folded and folded again, then stitched it together and now it is just right .... and very comfortable, almost like it's padded.
Definitely doesn't look like 7 feet of material, does it? Oh, I forgot to mention (and take pictures) that I folded down the ends of the material and made two pockets on each side of the bag (they are on the inside) - they aren't huge pockets, mainly just to hold my keys or my inhaler, that kind of thing.
This month has actually been a pretty busy month for us - every Tuesday and Thursday, for this month, the kids have been taking Rock Climbing classes (they did these last year, too). Next month doesn't slow down at all for us .... on the Tuesday's and Thursday's of that month the kids are taking swimming lessons.
In my "downtime", lol, I have been working on seaming up my Skittles bag (the one that I was weaving) .... just need to figure out how to line it and put in a zipper, then I can post pictures of it. I've also been doing some knitting - I'm not exactly sure what has been happening to all our dishcloths, but, they've been disappearing.
Soooooo, in keeping with the "apple" theme, I am in the process of making some of these - here is a picture of how they are turning out:
I'm hoping to get at least 6 made up (I only have 6 balls of this yarn - but it is looking like I can easily get 3 from 2 balls of this cotton). Maybe with any yarn I have leftover I can make some dish sponges made; basically you just take some cotton yarn (like Bernat Handicrafter), cast on (about) 20 stitches and knit up a small rectangle (you'll want to knit every row - garter stitch), fold it in half and either whip stitch the 3 edges closed or crochet a border on those 3 edges. Try and use knitting needles suited for the type (thickness) of yarn your using (my favourite is 4.5 mm .... I believe that is a size 7).
Today, I decided to venture out and take some pictures - we have had fog for the past couple of nights and the frost on the trees has been amazing:
This is our fire-pit area, Don built the fire-pit (it has wheels and is moveable).
a close-up of one of the spruce trees.
Looking through the trees - kind of reminds me of something from Narnia.
This is Sammy (the Ridgeback x) and Jake (the Beagle x) - they look like they are tearing each other apart .... but they are actually just playing. You can't see it very well, but Sammy's back feet are up off the ground.
Today I was really craving a glass of chocolate milk - now, normally I don't drink milk (I do occasionally) because I don't like the taste of it .... except for chocolate milk, now that I really like (but I still don't drink a lot of it).
The other day, I was reading Chas's blog and noticed that she had a recipe for chocolate syrup - her recipe is way easier than the one I usually use, so I decided to try it out today. Wow, what a great recipe - as soon as my daughter tasted the chocolate milk, she immediately asked for a glass of her own, lol. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe, Chas.
On the weather front - I can't get over the difference a Chinook can make .... last week we were in the minus's and now today (just looked) we are at 8 above. The snow is melting off the porch roof and we have a steady stream of water falling from the porch roof to the snow on the ground. I think the kids are going to be going out and playing in the snow, once school is done for the day .... the snow will be perfect for snowmen or snow balls.
Currently Sewing:
≈ Nothing at the moment ≈ ~started on: ~ ~last worked on: ~
Sewing To-Do List:
≈ Swiffer Duster Covers
For Gift Giving:
≈ Mom's Christmas present
≈ Christmas Pajamas for the kids
Sewing Wish List:
≈ Skirts (wrap, regular, winter) for me
≈ Lunch Bags
≈ Reusable Sandwich Keepers
Finished Sewing List of 2010:
≈ lining for Skittles Bag
KNITTING
Currently Knitting:
≈ Apple Dishcloths ... ≈ ~started on: 01-18-10~ ~last worked on: 01-20-10~
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
≈ Lace Cardigan ... ≈ ~started on: ???~ ~last worked on: 01-23-10~
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
≈ Furry Felted Mittens ... ≈ ~started on: ~ ~last worked on: ~
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
≈ Christmas Knitting ≈
... tawashi's (cotton and Phentex)
... bags
... novelty toques
... reusable swiffer sweeper cloths
... moebius cowl
... mittens
... double knit toques
... pajama bags ~started on: 01-24-10~ ~last worked on: 01-26-10~
Knitting To-Do List:
≈ Swiffer Sweeper cloths
≈ Wet/Dry Swiffer Mop cloth
≈ Mr. Clean Magic Reach Mop cloth
≈ Tawashi
≈ Furry Felted Mittens (3 pair - so far)
≈ Huge bags instead of stockings (2)
≈ Glow-In-The-Dark Stars (for Christmas tree - didn't make enough for last year)
Year Round Knitting:
≈ Christmas Presents
Knitting Wish List:
≈ Ball Band throw rug for in front of kitchen sink
Finished Knitting List of 2010: Hand Knitting
≈ Apple dishcloth (2)
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
Studio HK-100 Knitting Machine
≈
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
Innovations Knitting Machine
≈
CROCHETING
Currently Crocheting:
≈ Apple Place Mat (filet crochet) ≈ ~started on: 01-08-10~ ~last worked on: 01-?-10~
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
≈ Christmas Crocheting ≈ ~started on: ~ ~last worked on: ~
Finished Crochet List of 2010:
≈ Apple Place Mat (1)
WEAVING
Currently Weaving:
≈ Nothing at the moment ≈ ~started on: ~ ~last worked on: ~
Finished Weaving List of 2010:
≈ Skittles Bag
Emergency Rations
≈ 3 cups rolled oats
≈ 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
≈ 1/2 package lemon or orange gelatin
≈ 1 cup sugar
≈ 2 Tablespoons honey
≈ 3 Tablespoons water
* Place oats, powdered milk and sugar in a bowl.
* Add water to honey and bring to a boil.
* Dissolve gelatin in honey/water mixture and add to dry ingredients.
* After mixing well, add additional water (a teaspoon at a time), until the mixture is barely moist enough to be molded.
* Shape into two bars.
* Dry the bars in the oven under low heat, wrap in foil & place them in a covered container for indefinite storage.
* Each bar contains sufficient food for one day.
* You can eat the bar dry or cook it in about a pint of water.
I sewed around three sides and left the top open so that I would have another pocket.
I did the same on this pocket as I did on the brown one ... sewed around three sides and left the top open to create another pocket (can you really have too many pockets in a purse, lol).
Definitely doesn't look like 7 feet of material, does it? Oh, I forgot to mention (and take pictures) that I folded down the ends of the material and made two pockets on each side of the bag (they are on the inside) - they aren't huge pockets, mainly just to hold my keys or my inhaler, that kind of thing.
This is how it looked while it was on the loom - warp is the black yarn and the weft is the very colorful yarn. In total, the length ended up being about 7 feet (may have been a bit longer, but not much) and the width of the strip was 7 inches. 
This is our fire-pit area, Don built the fire-pit (it has wheels and is moveable).
a close-up of one of the spruce trees.
Looking through the trees - kind of reminds me of something from Narnia. 
This is Sammy (the Ridgeback x) and Jake (the Beagle x) - they look like they are tearing each other apart .... but they are actually just playing. You can't see it very well, but Sammy's back feet are up off the ground.
