Small things

While little Luc was here, the sewing machine was not idle.

Luc usually feeds himself if the food items are chunks like avocado, banana, cheerios or toast. He really gets messy and when he was here, he only had one big bib which was a converted tea towel. I decided to make him a couple more and took some fabric off my shelf that I was just going to use for bag linings or something. This is done pillowcase style and was so easy to make. It is, of course, double and washed so well. I was happy to get the fabric used up and off my shelf. Luc doesn't care what it looks like and I have other fabric in my sewing room that I plan on using to make more. They are approximately 17" X 19". I also have a lot of double fold bias tape so I was happy to use some of it up too.

I think I had one metre of fabric and it yielded three bibs. These were in constant use and then were put into the washing machine. They got caked on food quickly but at least Luc's clothes stayed clean.

I also had time to make him some fleece pants. Some had elastic at the hem and some didn't.

All too short

Little Luc's visit was all too short. He left yesterday with his mommy and daddy. We took them to the airport.

Little Luc was tired and fell asleep almost immediately in the car ride to the airport. But his days were full and here are some highlights.

 On Monday he went for a walk with me and his Auntie Ayla.

Always on the move, he liked playing with the belt on my treadle machine.

He got to be carried in the Ergo by his uncle Mark when we went on the subway.

Everything was fascinating.

Having a cookie with great grandma and uncle Muggy.

Cuddling with Auntie Ayla.

Playing with uncle Eric and his puppy Arja.

Being fed by Auntie Maili.

 Wearing the sweater that I made him to keep him warm on his little visit to meet his daddy's old friends.

 Showing off a new t-shirt. "If you think I'm cute you should see my uncle." Little Luc was hungry even if the uncles wanted him to sit still for the photo.

 How many people does it take to get a little boy ready for bed? One aunt and two uncles.

Spending some time with the whole family on his last morning here.

 The last photo op at the airport with daddy, mommy and pops.

Busy

I won't be able to do much of anything this week.

We have a little visitor staying here and he is keeping us all busy. Here Luc is watching morning TV. It didn't last long.

There were new items to explore in his world.

He's a wee bit messy when it comes to eating but the thumb helps with digestion.

See you all later. I think he's waking up from his nap.

Champagne Quilters' update

Even though we had a break over Christmas, we still managed to take a couple of turns on the frame shortly after beginning again.

It doesn't look too bad but it certainly is a big quilt. We opted for just a thin border to tie it all in.

Here are the ladies I quilt with, Ann and Marg.

A couple of handmade gifts

While I didn't make many gifts last year, I did manage a couple that have already been used.

My eldest daughter, Laila, bakes a lot and in our family, we have always covered our rising dough with a linen tea towel. Well, at the end of 2010, on May Britt's blog, she mentioned embroidered baking cloths. It seems that it is mainly a Norwegian thing. There, they have a separate cloth just for the purpose of covering your baking. I had purchased some linen from a church bazaar and made this. It's a variation on a design by Lisa Young. This photo was taken on Christmas day 2011 just hours after my daughter opened the gift.

 My middle daughter, Maili, wanted another beret. White this time, she said. It just so happened that I had a skein of bulky white yarn and so, I made this. It took the whole skein and Maili really likes it. She said that it's warm. Since we seem to have our first snowfall of the season today, she is wearing it.

Finishes

I am trying to finish a few things today.

I'm really close to finishing this book. It was our book club selection for January.

I'd like to finish this little Ursula Schertz frog. There's not much left to do.

And this little sweater only needs the side seams sewn up and the the tails buried.

And now, why not take a look at what other Canadian's are doing this week.

The Needle and Thread Network is a wonderful site where you can see other Works In Progress on this Wednesday.

A start on a new quilt

Well, all the blocks are cut and sewn.

Here's a photo of part of the layout for the quilt. All that remains is to sew the blocks together. Not today, there are too many of them and I want to go do something else.

 Like, perhaps, make new kitchen curtains out of this.

Or celebrate my son's 33rd birthday.

Happy Birthday Mark!