Busy

It seems it's been non-stop for a while now. My eldest daughter and her two boys are now back in B.C. I am planning on finishing up some smaller projects. One is a baby quilt that will be put on the frame. I also have some small cross stitch kits that need finishing.

Now that there is no school, I can make my pulla (Finnish coffee bread with cardamom) with nuts on top. During school time, I have to put sprinkles on top because my grandchildren have a couple of slices put in their lunches. Some children at school have nut allergies. Since there are 4 families that live close by, I have to make 4 loaves. I can't eat it since I have a gluten intolerance. White flour just gives me gas and sometimes, a tummy ache.

Family times

There are two grandchildren who have birthdays this month - back to back. One is turning 3 on Sunday and the other turns 6 on Monday. Parties quite often take place at my house. Yesterday after school, there was a birthday celebration with a dance party in my basement complete with strobe lights and lots of singing along with the music. All 12 grandchildren who live close by were there - even the youngest one who is just 6 months old. At one point, she was the centre of attention and they all gathered around her.

Family. They all get along - ages 6 months to 10 years. The dance party was a huge success. Missing are the two oldest grandsons (aged 12 and 14) who are in the Maritimes with their mom completing their cross country trip. They will be here in a couple of weeks for a few days and then we can have a photo with all the grandchildren.

An oldie - Four Seasons

It occurred to me that I never got around to photographing my older quilts. I love wall hangings and most of my quilts were made for hanging on the wall, not covering beds. Most of the quilts are either still with me or have been given to family members.

I remember sewing this while my children were in school. I had randomly cut and sewn a couple of blocks by the time they came home for lunch and I asked them if the blocks looked like winter.

I made it in 1985. The navy border is a polyester gabardine fabric. I rarely use black and always try to substitute navy when I can. Most of the fabrics are cotton/polyester broadcloth because that's the only way I could use solid fabrics. Cotton solids were few and far apart and very expensive. I have never been a cotton snob and still have a lot of cotton/polyester fabrics that I use in my quilts. The binding is probably only 1.5" and I just sewed all the fabric scraps together and then cut them to the width I needed. I forgot to look at the back but it's probably a poly/cotton fabric. 

This quilt resides with one of my granddaughters and that's where I saw it when I decided I should take a photo. There are big circles quilted on it and I remember using a big round tray that I had but I can't remember if I hand quilted it or machine quilted it. I must go back and check.

I should remember to take my phone or my camera with me when I visit so I could take more photos of my older quilts.

A few hearts for Valentine's Day

Years ago when my own children were small, I made felt heart pins for them to wear to school on Valentine's Day. Then I made a few for my grandchildren a couple of years ago. This year, I made them for all of the grandchildren who live in Toronto.

The colours are really a lot brighter than this photo shows. I think I made 14 altogether which gave me 3 extras. One grandchild has already misplaced hers so she got to choose another one. My youngest granddaughter is only 2 months old so she didn't need one. Two were orange, two were red, two were mauve and two were pinky/purple. I had some darker purple and some paler pink felt that I used too. They all have safety pins on the back so that they could be pinned on. Tomorrow is the school Valentine celebration because Friday is a PA Day. Monday is Family Day so it gives the teachers a four day weekend. I picked up some chocolate hearts today for all the little ones too.

The next-next generation

Since my children would be the next generation, I have titled this post as the 'next-next' generation. I see my grandchildren often and am lucky enough to babysit them. At times I have tried to show them different crafts that they could do. There is always paper, crayons and markers available. I have even started some of them on needlework. My own children used to do plastic canvas needlepoint and I still have some the pieces they have made. My eldest son actually made a model of his high school in plastic canvas years ago. One of my grandchildren, Esme, has taken to needlework at a very young age. This past summer, when I visited them in Nelson, British Columbia, where they were staying at the time, I brought a small plastic canvas kit. It was actually shown as a cross stitch kit. Esme started it while I was there and when assistance was needed (mainly to thread the needle), I helped out. 

It didn't take long for Esme to figure out how to cross stitch. Here's a photo of the finished piece. The family is now in France. 

Before arriving in France, they were in Barcelona and while there, a small kit was purchased. To remember the family's time in Spain, Esme chose this piece and is hard at work. It's almost finished and I am one happy grandmother (or Mummi.)I was on facetime with Esme and her mom this morning and before hanging up, Esme had to finish the rose. Now, all that's left are cross stitching the leaves. Determination. There are so many other things for Esme to learn - needlepoint, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, wool felting and on and on...

Doctor, Doctor!

My eldest son Mark just successfully defended his PhD. We now have a doctor in the family.

I am one proud mom. It was over a decade in the making.

Baby quilts

I just found out that I will be a grandmother for the 14th time. I would like to make something special but at the moment I am in the middle of quilting a Minecraft quilt for another grandchild. My relationship with my sewing machine has not been what it once was when my Kenmore died. It's been hard to get back into the swing of things but I shall try. This may get me motivated to sewing once again.

This is the quilt I am working on at the moment. I have taken two turns so far. Once I get more done, I shall post again.

Latest finish

I have now made several shell stitch crocheted blankets. This is the latest one that I just finished today. 

I made it for my third granddaughter who requested blue and green. I did buy the navy and the colour in the middle which is sort of between blue and green. The other green is now finished as is the navy blue. 

In the beginning I started out making these little lap blankets for my grandchildren with the idea of using up some of my yarn. I shall be knitting a couple of hats for two of my other granddaughters with the greeny blue yarn in the middle and I may make a couple of extra hats to keep in my chest that is in my hall. There are a few children's gloves, mitts, scarves and hats in there, along with a sweater and light jacket. These are extras in case one of the little ones needs something. Some of the hats seem like they are stretched out of shape so new, better fitting ones would come in handy.

I will be putting my little snowflake wall quilt on the frame next and then there's a Minecraft quilt top waiting. I just don't know how to quilt that one.

Over the holidays I did manage to finally get Covid but I had no symptoms at all. Perhaps it's the seven boosters and latest flu shot that kept me well. Hopefully, none of you have been ill over the holidays.

There are lots of projects out there to do and so many free quilt patterns. My own list is mainly in my head and I am just going from one unfinished project to the next. A few things have not yet been started but hopefully, this will be a productive year.

Christmas gnome ornaments

Every Christmas I try to find different ornaments for the grandchildren. There are now 13 grandchildren and I wanted to actually make the ornaments this year. I thought of cross stitching small motifs. There were little doggies in Santa hats, snowmen, gnomes or mitts but when it came down to it, cross stitch takes a long time. Even small things are time consuming and that was something I really didn't have. I did a little surfing on the internet and came up with gnome ornaments. These had a youtube video that were made from yarn, stuffing or cotton balls and either a toilet paper roll or a paper towel roll. Lots of yarn was needed for 13 ornaments but since I have a stash of different coloured yarns, it was nice to use some of it up.

This was so easy to make and the youtube video was very helpful and informative.

The nose was supposed to be a wooden bead but since I couldn't find any small enough in my local dollar store, I did find a sprig of greenery that had gold sprinkled 'berries' and I thought they could look very festive.

I actually made 15 gnomes. Two were my samples and I have since given one away. Eleven of the grandchildren live very close and they will be able to pick their favourite. Two have already been spoken for but I didn't want to hand any out until their Christmas tree was put up.

The youtube video was one put out by Taffleberry Lane.

Blankets

It all started with one shell stitch blanket to use up some yarn. It was made years ago while I was in BC visiting my eldest daughter and her family. It ended up in Toronto and is now used by my middle daughter's children in the stroller.

Then, I made another - this time in the UK while I was visiting my youngest daughter and it is a smaller stroller blanket for a grandson. Once again, to use up some yarn.

I bought this yarn in England when I was visiting my youngest daughter and her family. The yarn was a package of three or four big balls on sale and I figured I could do something with it so I crocheted a lap blanket for stroller walks for one of my granddaughters.

After making that blanket, my granddaughter liked it so much that she now takes it to bed with her every night. Her sister then wanted a blanket and this pink striped one is the one I made for her. 

Here's her cousin who wanted a blanket too. I used up that middle yarn that I had purchased in England and a few other pinky yarns that I had. 

And then her twin sister wanted one.

This time, a blue blanket. All the yarns are worsted weight but they seem to be different. Some are softer than others. I actually bought the lighter blue variegated yarn which was a big ball. I just finished this one and have to weave in the ends. These last two blankets are about 38 inches long and they do stretch over time. The twins want them to cover their legs when they watch TV which is housed in the basement. 

I think I will now take a break from crocheting blankets. 

Stay tuned...

I have so much more yarn to use up.

One UFO, a heart and the little ones

Here's a better photo of the quilt that I managed to put together so it's now a full top and not just pieces or an unfinished quilt. 

High tea - Part 2

 

Here we all are at the Windsor Arms. 

From left to right and youngest to oldest - Ayla, Eric, (me), Maili and Mark. The only one missing is my eldest daughter, Laila. Peeking just behind Ayla, on the couch in red, is her youngest son, 4 month old Phinneaus.

Ayla with Phinneaus, all dressed up for the occasion.

My special birthday treat. I'm really not a fan of chocolate.

It was a lovely day with dinner later in the day and on Saturday I get to go to the theatre to see Singing in the Rain.

High Tea

It is one of those milestone birthdays for me - #70. I'm off to high tea today with four of my children - gluten free for me. My eldest daughter and her two boys will be visiting next month. Dinner with the whole family later today. 

Pretty flowers from my two year old twin grandsons.

I hope everyone has a great day today.

Getting closer

 ...to the end.

This is all that I have left to quilt. I'm trying to think of how to bind it - meaning what colour.

Butterflies and leaves are what I finally decided I would quilt in the big open sky area.

And when I'm not working on the quilt, I'm making more hats.

This is with the flash on my little camera. The green isn't a lime colour.

This green is closer to the colour but it's still not this bright - photo without the flash. My two little granddaughters need new hats so these are just trials. Pink and purple are this years colour so I shall see what I come up with. I will probably try a few different patterns too. There's bound to be someone who fits whatever size I make. I have a bench in my hall that has storage and so I keep hats, mitts, sweaters and masks in it for the little ones. They come in handy at times.

Just some quilting

I finally got the giraffe quilt on the frame and have started quilting it. 

I have it set up in my kitchen.

There's lots of light coming in from the window. I do use my lamp though to see where I am stitching. 

                         When I am not quilting, it is covered with a sheet.

             I really like the effect that quilting gives to something that is flat. It took me a bit of thinking to come up with how I was going to quilt the leaves but in the end, I just sat down and freehand drew a leaf with veins in each pieced leaf. I just have to figure out what on earth I am going quilt in the big sky area. Maybe some falling leaves...

Number 13

The number 13 is not an unlucky number in our house. My husband's birthday, his mom's and brother's birthdays were the 13th and my eldest daughter got married on the 13th. 

I became a grandmother for the 13th time on June 15th. It's a little boy and he broke the tie. I did have six granddaughters and six grandsons but now, I have seven. Both mom (my youngest daughter) and baby are doing fine and at home. This lucky little guy has a 4 year old brother and twin 2 year olds. While the twins weren't too sure about him in the beginning, they are accepting of him now.

No name yet but he was 6 lbs. 12 oz.

Another baby quilt to be made soon...

New quilt

I finally had time to get my granddaughter's quilt top done. It will be quilted later this summer. Life just kept getting in the way.

This pattern is called Giraffe Family by Sew Fresh Quilts. I have several of her patterns but this is the first time I have made one.

First of all, my granddaughter likes giraffes - just like her mom. The original quilt is suppose to depict a mom, dad and baby giraffe but I made it to depict my granddaughter and her two older twin sisters. One twin likes blue, the other one has pink as her favourite colour and it just so happens that if you combine the colours, you get purple or mauve and that's her favourite colour.

On a side note, my trusty, faithful, circa 1980s Kenmore sewing machine stopped working and gave me an 'Er' status when I tried to sew. Luckily, I have a couple of back-up machines. I made some burp cloths for my youngest daughter and as I was sewing the flannel corners on my Singer, I bent and broke the neede because it didn't like going through 8 layers. I changed the needle and bang, another bent needle. Change again and the same thing happened. I then gave up on that machine and took the needle out. No sooner did I do that and I put the needle back in. I wanted to take the machine in for repair and this way, I could more easily describe what was wrong with it. My Jenome Jem then finished the job and I am now reading instead of sewing. I know I need a new machine but I have to find a cabinet model and a machine that doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles - features and stitches I won't use much, if at all.

Finally finished some knitting

I have made this chunky knit sweater several times. Once again, I decided to use up some of my yarn to make my twin grandsons some warm pullovers. They live in England so they don't get the cold and snow that we here in Toronto get.

The free pattern for this chunky knit pullover can be found on the Canadian Mary Maxim site.

I'm not keen on sewing up the pieces and so these have been sitting around for a while. The blue one went home with Otis after Christmas and I am about to send this one to his brother Archer. 

My youngest granddaughter needed a new hat and so I knit this for her.

It is such a versatile hat and has a lot of stretch to it so it should fit her for a few years.

Crafty little people

I am fortunate that seven of my grandchildren live within walking distance of me and as a result, five of them attend the same school that my own children went to. Each day I pick up two of my grandchildren from school. Just before Christmas, my four year old granddaughter, Esme, was quite adamant that she was going to show me how to make a snowflake. She had learned how in kindergarten. Well, first of all, she took an 8.5" by 11" piece of paper and folded down one corner to make a triangle and then she cut off the extra so that the piece that was left was a square. Then she showed me how to fold it and cut it. I was impressed with her explanations and directions. It was all very serious business. Here is my product.

Around this same time, one of my seven year old twin granddaughters, Severn, came for a visit with her sisters and brought along a kit that she had made up. We were to make a craft together.

She had everything prepared - I was really quite impressed. We worked together because she had made a kit for herself too and so she showed me the steps.

This is Severn's picture. (sorry for the blurriness but if you click on the photo, you can see the details)

Once again, click on the photo to see the details. This is my craft project. We started out with a green crayon and made three curved lines on the sides - two on one side (sorry, but the lines don't show up well on the black paper.) Then, we added smaller lines to make them look like pine needles. This was all done without me knowing what the end product would look like. The three white balls were to be coloured, and glued under the green curved lines, the snowman could be given arms, a face and clothing and the Christmas tree was glued and decorated any way I wanted. The paper and crayons were all supplied by Severn and the only thing I supplied was the glue. It was fun. I am looking forward to her coming up with more craft ideas and kits.

I must say, my grandchildren are starting out to be lovely crafty little people.

Favourite knitting

 Ever since I knit my first hat, I have enjoyed making them. Recently, my daughter asked me to make some hats for her sons and so, I picked up a skein of yarn and did some browsing on Ravelry. I wanted to try some other hat patterns so I printed off some patterns and away I went. 

I had a skein of green and it was close to the colour that was in the variegated yarn that I bought. This helped me to stretch the amount and I ended up making these three hats. I think my favourite is the one on the right - the all rib hat. I like toques to have a fold-over and this one turned out great. I did make one in a different variegated - a beige and brown but, since my son liked it and it fit, I gave it to him. This hat fits many head sizes because it has so much stretch to it.

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Note: See the comments for pattern information for all three hats.