Clever Lefty

It's Halloween!!

These fellows look like they are weathering the rainy, chilly Ottawa Halloween merriment this year. Marc's creation is on the left, mine on the right. It's a good thing we are handing out candy from the warm house. Although, the out-laws called today and said that they have an inch of snow on the ground. Definitely puts it into perspective!

Can I have a drum roll please....the Gathering Tree quilt top is complete (also known as the Jailhouse Ho-Down quilt). When I get my sweet new Bernina machine, I'll begin quilting. One more object removed from the UFO pile!!

Now, back to the Harry Potter-thon happening in the living room - we're in the middle of the second movie, while I knit a mitten and pass out candy. Hooray, Halloween!

Sweater-ific

Before I wear it into the ground, it's probably best that I share my latest finished object.

It took me 1 year to finish. The pattern is from the Vintage Knits book. I did have to modify the pattern (2 inches to the arm length, 2 inches to the overall length) to account for my gorilla-long arms and extra long torso. The yarn is (gasp!) Acrylic, and cost a whopping $12.00. Not bad for a kickaround sweater, eh?

In election-related news, I finally received my absentee ballot on Tuesday (hello, a little late, wouldn't you say?!). I filled it out Wednesday (hopefully correctly) and mailed it Express Post on Thursday. There really has got to be a better way to vote when not in the country. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives on time in order to be counted! I think that many people would agree with me when I say that Tuesday is going to mark the beginning of the Hanging Chad sequel. THis election will not be over in November.

So, the Smart car is making it's debut in Canada, surprisingly before it is available in the US. At only $16,000 Canadian, it's not a bad price. It runs on 3 cylinders, and gets like 80 miles to the gallon. I've heard mixed reviews about safety, though. I'm not sure how well it will sell in Canada, especially in the colder/snowier parts of the country. I can't imagine it would handle very well in slippery conditions; it is so light that it would slide all over the place.

Don't mess with Mr. Bones

It's that time of year again...time to drag out Mr. Bones.

He's rather spookable.

In quiltin' related news, I have been able to complete the applique on my jail-house hoe-down quilt. Now, onto the checkered border...

The picture does not do my caffeine-induced shaking hand justice. I tend to go overboard on the Diet Coke on weekends.

I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of the "cutting" process of quilting. I get very frustrated with the time that it takes to even use a rotary cutter. Then again, I suffer from a distinct lack of patience in the first place. I shall perservere.

Anyway, when I bought the pattern, I thought that the checkered border would be a nightmare. Not so, my friends! The instructions were very simple - cut 2 long strips of each color of fabric. Sew together. Cut 1 1/2" pieces from the long strips. Sew them together alternately to form a checkered border.

Sew onto the sides of the quilt. Easy as pie! Did someone say pie? The checkers look a little odd here because there has to be some seam allowance for another border.

They say it's your birthday...

So, it is the day after Marc's birthday. While trying to determine what kind of cake he wanted on his special day, the conversation went a little like this:

"So, what kind of cake do you want?"
"Chocolate."
What kind of icing, then?"
"Chocolate."
"Are you sure you want - "
"Chocolate."
"...but - "
"Chocolate."

And so, here's the finished product.

Courtesy of Duncan Hines. I love Cake-in-a-box.

Dear Husband is actually hobbling around right now with a cane due to marching with his regiment in worn boots. We think he's injured a nerve in the arch area of his foot. Ironically, his cane happened to be in the background of one of the pictures that I took of him about to blow out his candles. 42 isn't that old, is it?!? Of course not, dear.

I thought I'd share something that makes my day every time I see him.

This little guy is perched on the doorstep of a house in my neighborhood. I have no idea who lives there, or how old the person is that carved it (let's hope the person is not past the age of 10). I drive by the house every day on my way home from work. I laugh out loud when I see his big toothless grin and wee beady eyes.

Apple pie loveliness

The wait for pie is finally over...here's the finished product (unbaked)!

Any pie crust top that I roll out ends up tearing before it makes it to the top of the pie. I have been known to make a mess of lattice as well, so my solution is to cut out lots of pieces of the dough using a cookie cutter (in this case, the shape of a star) and placing them all over the top. Works for me!

I must say that if anyone out there is thinking of making apple pie, they should definitely consider my new toy. See the photos for my nifty gadget in action.

Marc is enthralled. He wouldn't let me play with it until he had peeled/cored/sliced about 10 apples (each one took 5 seconds!!).

Now to find enough people to eat the pie...perhaps I'll sacrifice one for American Thanksgiving this year?

Sad lack of pie

My original plans for today were thwarted by what I consider to be the old-fashioned hours of Lee Valley (if you visit the site, note the casket hardware). What store is not open on Sunday nowadays, I ask? Anyways, I bought 4 (!) bags of apples yesterday in order to make pie. After staring at the bags for about 3 minutes, dreading the idea of coring and peeling them all one by one, I came to the conclusion that I simply wouldn't. I want a nostalgic apple-peeler-corer-thing that my grandmother owned. You know, the vise-like heavy metal kitchen tool that would tear through an apple in all of 5 seconds. That's what I want. And Lee Valley has it. What Lee Valley doesn't have, however, are decent hours. So, I postpone my fun purchase to tomorrow...

I've been working on and off on a fairly small applique quilt (about 2'x3') for about 6 months now. It's the first time that I've tried hand applique (using fantastic silk thread, which is surprisingly STRONG), and I have to say that it's not bad. I definitely wouldn't recommend hand-applique if you're aiming for speed, but it's nice to be able to watch TV while I'm working. Here's what I've done so far:

I'm almost done with the applique. I spent an hour this morning appliqueing (is that a word?) 3 more leaves. Only 7 more to go, then I'll begin adding the checkered border (by machine, of course).

Dear Husband has tactfully pointed out that the houses "...look like jails. Are they supposed to look like jails?" to which I responded that I was actually going for the Primitive Country Shawshank look. Yes, perhaps they do look a little depressing. Yes, perhaps I should have chosen my colors more wisely. I'm hoping that my quilting designs will help to add interest in the window and door areas of the houses.

Regarding previous post: I have decided to re-start the mittens using larger needles. I'm concerned that the wrist area will not be large enough and could end up becoming uncomfortable. Since I've started over, I'm actually as far as the picture in my previous post. I'll publish another picture when I'm further along, perhaps after the thumb has been shaped.

Does anyone else feel anxious on Sunday evenings?

I Heart Bernina

While watching the Thursday night Britcoms on BBC Canada this evening (love Coupling), I was able to begin another knitting project. See below...

It doesn't look like much now, and it's a real shame that the cabling isn't showing up very well. it will take the shape of a mitten, sooner or later. Likely a Christmas gift (when it's mate is completed, of course).

I was poking around the Bernina site today to lust after my "dream machine". My precious can be found here www.berninausa.com . I've linked to the US site because the Canadian site is, shall we say, lacking. I did notice that Bernina has come out with a number of lower-priced models. However, I still have my heart set on the 145S. We can't really afford the big chunka change for it right now, though. Must save shillings. Must save shillings. Or in our case, Loonies and Toonies. Eh?

It's a Blog!

Here it is! My first jaunt into blog world. I'll be adding more info in the next week about my world of knitting, quilting and various home improvement projects. I also like to make pie. I know everyone likes to hear about pie.