merry xmas!

big day! done and done! we served a lovely dinner for nine - turkey, stuffing, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, braised chestnuts, squash & chard, home-made bread, and a buche de noel - everything but the turkey was vegan!




then i hit some quilt stores with my friend jen. regina quilting was... an industrial quilting factory, kind of a bust. sew sisters, i didn't get to see because the boy was asleep in the car. but cock-a-doodle quilts was a hit! flannel for next year's xmas jammies (this year's only got done on the 23 december, eep) and some of the number's fabric that matches the boy's quilt, so i can make a spare sheet and pillow case!



then, we added the finishing touches to our gingerbread house - or "cookie cottage" as the boy calls it - a few fir trees...




... a christmas tree for inside...



... and an attack by godzilla!

i need one of these...

custom leather thimble. between quilting and sewing velcro on the turtle, my fingertips are perforated! and the design of this is so simple. will add it to the never-ending to do list, i guess...

c'est l'hallowe'en!

so i finally got around to starting h's turtle costume tonight. i was laying out the pattern pieces on the fabric and tg was hovering around making silly comments to which i would grunt in reply and then he said "look there's a cockroach on the counter!" and i turned around and instead of a bug it was actually a beautifully wrapped present! he had been trying to get me to turn around for 15 minutes but i was too caught up in what i was doing.

so i open it, and what is inside? a completely gorgeous pair of kai tailor's shears! and some extra bonus scissors besides! they cut like a dream, and the timing is perfect because i was just about to hack into the polar fleece not to mention all of the xmas pjs i intend to make and i ended up buying the elvis fabric to make a shirt for harry. so, lots of cutting in my future. triple yay.

i have now cut out all the pieces for h's costume (i wonder if i can cut through 4 layers of felt at once? yes!!) as well as a mad men-inspired dress for me. i think i'll cut out a skirt too before i go to bed.

and just for fun, here are a couple of snaps of my vv boutique haul for the corpse bride costume:

mmmm, fabric

i just found a fabric source online that seems to be cheaper than
average... certainly the shipping is less than i've paid before. it's
runner girl fabric, and i've just ordered a couple of
things i don't need. will report back if they are good or bad or ugly!

secret

i've just completed a secret project! my first ever test-knit. went well - very cute!! and a nice distraction from this horrible toothache that reared its ugly head last night. not fun. seeing dentist on monday.

in other news, i've just found out that mississippi blacksheep gallery is closing. the owners are retiring to picton (where they will no doubt continue to spin and sell), so their current location - a house so gorgeous it prompted h to say "it's a castle" - is emptying out and will soon be up for sale itself. there isn't officially a sale on, although she gave me 10% off when i bought 10 balls of wool, and their prices are generally awesome. check it out while you can!

but of course!

just as i am ready to start the last set of petals on my felted wreath, i lose my printout of the pattern... sigh. and the original ravelry link was wrong. but it's fixed now (and here it is, for the record), on track again, determined to finish it this weekend or else. hard to get things done when i fall asleep at 7:30 most days though!

also, i can't believe i haven't posted yet about laura's amazing storage locker of yarny goodness, conveniently located at queen & spadina, i.e. 5 minutes from my office. i have been by three times so far, getting christmas presents, stuff for friends, and stuff for myself of course! basically, a relative of a friend of a colleague (or some such connection) had hoped to open a yarn store, bought $100,000 worth of yarn, and then decided not to open the shop - so there's a lys-worth of yarn going at 25% off retail, and laura wants it all to go to knitters! it's by appointment only, since it's all in a storage unit rather than an actual shop, but laura is very willing to get rid of it all: set up an appointment by calling or emailing 416-389-3866 or simbabee1@yahoo.ca.

she has everything from lana gatto feeling to lopi (which i have always secretly coveted) to tofutsis to a million other gorgeous fondle-able yummy yarns. here's some briggs & little sport (and my first hand-wrapped centre-pull ball - thanks to rosary for showing me how) i got to make surface - i haven't made a sweater in a while because when you need 15 balls of yarn it gets of pricey - but i got all i need for only $20! very happy!



i've had it in my queue for ages, and i'm aiming to get it done... for next thanksgiving. that's realistic, right?