Monday, October 28, 2013

Blanket of love

My first attempt at a quilt.
I've never wanted to make a quilt before, as I know I'm not that precise in my seams. 
(as evidenced in the wonky square in the middle.)
But when I looked the stash of my late father's shirts, a ton of them in the colour scheme of my mother's living room, and her birthday approaching with her being with me on the actual birth day, well, that gives one a desire to create something more than a quilt.
Quilt classes were being offered at the the Flying Fox to help me read a pattern and to show me the tricks of quilting. I love those tricks. they are so clever. Thanks Julie!

It came together very quickly. More quickly than I anticipated at the end. 
I was surprised that it was almost over. 
I wanted to linger with the shirts a little longer. 
I wasn't ready to let them go just yet. 
So I slept under it the first night. 
Blanketed in my father's shirts.
His arms wrapped around me.
Happy Birthday Mom.
So glad we got to celebrate with you here.

And now a little show and tell..
My Candy Corn plate in glass.
And some sun catchers (orange ones) with fibre paper relief.
I'm sure that's not the right name. 
I'm so bad with terms. I call things blobby or melted.
So wrong for the glass world of fusing, tacking etc.
But I'm still learning and having fun at it. 
What a treasure to be welcomed into this adventure.
(P.S. I'm still trying to find a good way to take pictures of things that need light behind them.)

Cheers,
Amanda

Sunday, October 20, 2013

the tale of the dragon

Once, there was a green dragon guarding his cave.
 The Red Knight stared wide eyed at the dragon

 And fainted.
 "Hey", said the dragon... 
"wanna see my new teeter totter?"
 The 2 knights thought that was pretty cool.
 Then the dragon invited them into the cave for some yummy snacks.

Knight and dragon patterns available from Margaret's awesome book

that was fun to do in the midst of mitten making. 
Another hand made gift done!

Ciao,
Amanda

Monday, October 14, 2013

here chicky chicky chicky

What a glorious weekend!
So much to write about.
the last Farmer's Market of the season, but don't worry, I'll be at many more
Christmas shows around town. I'll post more about that later.
We had 29 people here for Thanksgiving Dinner. 
And you know what... everyone stays in the kitchen! 
A grand time had by all.
And then we went overnight to a friend's rental cottage on the beach.
Pics on that later, it's in my husband's phone.
And today... today, we got our chicky hoo hoos!

 The children have been beyond excited all weekend. 
I mean, we did promise it to them in the very same breath that we told them 
we were moving a year and a half ago! 
That's a long time to wait.
Much adventure trying to get the 5 chickens out of their home 
 And into the boxes.
 We think they like it. 
We hope they like it.
One started to burrow out a little nesting area. They haven't started laying eggs yet, 
so we're excited about her little action.
 With the end of the gardening season, we have lots of yummy stuff to feed them.
First were the apples just from the tree their coop is under.
The kids are constantly checking on them and talking about the schedule of care. 
We just hope that they keep up this interest during the snowy winter months!
Stay tuned for the future adventures of
Chicky Chicky hoo hoo hoo!

Oh.
Happy Gobble Gobble. 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

chicken run

Well hello...
 how goes?
It's been a very busy week.
2 days at the brewery, creating at the Glass gallery, 
drive to Liverpool for the kid to see the Doctor 
and I start teaching my Family Music Time classes tomorrow.
Between the bottling and glass cutting, my fingers are wrecked.
I want a nap. 


We got this ready though... Finally

 No, it's not a dog run, it's for the chickens. 
Only 5 of them. 
It's a palace really, with lots of leg room for the Mister, 
in case he's sent to the proverbial dog house. :}
Hoping to sew even a little tiny bit for the last Market of the season. I practically sold out of my children's stock and not many mittens left. It will be a sparse table for sure.
But...
I'll be selling my felted woolen goodies at the Gallery 138 and the Whirligig Bookshop and will be at a few upcoming Holiday Markets 
(oops, that would be Christmas Markets. You're allowed to to say Christmas around here.)
I'll be hosting 28 people here on Saturday for a little gobble gobble celebration. 
Potluck. I love a good potluck. Wonder what will show up?

Have a good one,
Amanda

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

a little glass love...

I got to play for an afternoon at Gallery 138.
Cindy and Barb trust me enough to let me go at it. 

Remember this post?
Here is the result. Still has to be made into the final product.
A bit o happiness! And they sound purdy too!
I must have passed the test. They also let my kids come and play.
 Of course they loved it! It's crafting on a whole new level. 
They enjoyed cutting the glass and designing their sun catchers.


Oh, you want a show and tell? Well okay then...
Here's mine.
mine. googley eyed owl ( I have some new ideas for this)
Rafael's
 Rafael's
 Neve's
 Neve's
Whadda think? It' was a lovely afternoon.
 I was a little leary of Neve's sparkly overload.. but look..
I think she's a natural!

Thanks Cindy and Barb!
Stop by the Gallery and see what the big kids are making. 
They have some new stuff. So exciting.
I love this town and the opportunities my kids and I have!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

if i were...

Joining Lisa and Julie today.



if i were a month i’d be October. Thanksgiving, Halloween and no doubt that it is indeed, Autumn.
if i were a day i’d be Friday .

if i were a time of day i’d be noon.

if i were a sea animal i’d be a starfish.

if i were a direction i’d be facing the water.

if i were a piece of furniture i’d be a murphy bed.
if i were a liquid i’d be a cuppa tea. A different flavour each time.

if i were a gemstone i’d be an agate.

if i were a tree i’d be a lilac.

if i were a tool i’d be a pair of scissors.

if i were a flower i’d be a bright, lightly scented one.
if i were an element of weather i’d be light rain on a summer's day.

if i were a musical instrument i’d be a cello.

if i were a color i’d be teal.

if i were an emotion i’d be content.

if i were a fruit i’d be a juicy peach.

if i were a sound i’d never be louder than lovely.

if i were a car i’d be a Dodge Caravan with stow and go seats.

if i were a food i’d be comforting.
if i were a place i’d be by the water.

if i were material i’d be powder blue cashmere.

if i were a taste i’d be sweet and salty.

if i were a scent i’d be Satsuma orange.

if i were a body part i’d be eyes.

if i were a song i’d be up beat and clever.

if i were a bird i’d be a male cardinal.
if i were a gift i’d be handmade.

if i were a city i’d be living in a quiet pocket of it.

if i were a door i’d be painted red.
if i were a pair of shoes i’d be high quality Italian leather that screamed practicality and comfort, but cool looking.

if i were a poem i’d be anything from Dr. Seuss.