An Eventful Year

 I did not blog as much as I should have in 2025, but there was a lot going on. 

In March we started clearing out the basement, for a major renovation, one that has been in the planning for a long time. This meant that we needed to sort through a lot of years of "stuff". 

We went from this.

To this...

And finally, to this...

This meant a lot of finding new homes for  stuff. I gave away patterns, yarn, and fabric. We sent a bunch of things we didn't need to a charity flea market. We filled the car with ewaste and took it to the recycling event. Everything looks so much more spacious.

My best give away was a Christmas tree, complete with ornaments and lights. It went to a family of new Canadians, with kids who really wanted their first Christmas tree.

I spent a lot of time hiding from the noise and chaos, with the pets. However, I did manage to get a lot of knitting and some sewing done.

So here is my 2025 tally

KNITTING

Mitts                                        5 pairs

Socks                                       9 pairs

Shawls                                     2

Baby Socks                             5 pairs

Hats                                        1

SEWING

Zippered Pouches                    6

Quilt                                        1

Purses                                      5

Shorts                                      1

Tote Bags                                2

I have some work in active progress. My Polaris quilt, a hat, a cowl, a scarf, and a pair of socks.

Despite all my give-aways, I have lots of yarn, fabric and sewing supplies, still. I do have a better idea of what I have, through all the sorting.

I have some ideas of what I want to do in 2026. I am going to try to spend at least 20 minutes a day, sewing. I created 2 bag projects from my own patterns last year, and I hope to do more. I want to do some selfish sewing, making some new stuff for me. I'm going to try to use up more of my beautiful fingering yarn, in ways other than socks. 

Above all, I want to keep learning new things. I think that is an excellent plan for the upcoming year.

Quilt The North #2 Unboxing

 I told myself I was going to make a couple of things for me in December. I did manage to make a pair of socks but my sewing goal is down to the wire. I have decided to make the quilt in this quarter's Quilt the North.

It came in early December and it was like an early Christmas gift.

My box arrived a little worse for wear, but the contents were all safe.

First up, the pattern.

The pattern is by Karen Neary of Nova Scotia. It is a bit hard to see but it is a star in white and silver and flying geese in pink, green, and purple, all on a dark blue background. I have made some of Karen's patterns in the past, and they are so well done that they are easy to sew and have a lovely completed project. So I'm excited to make this one.

Here is the fabric.

There is enough to make the top, back and the binding.

As before the box came with bonus goodies.

A block pattern from Monica, from Penny Spool Quilts, the creator of the Quilt the North boxes. 

A blueberry chocolate bar from Peace by Chocolate from Antigonish, Nova Scotia. If you are unfamiliar with Peace by Chocolate, they are a refugee success story. 

You can find their story and their products here.

There are also thread snips from LDH , a Canadian scissor company, and coasters from a Halifax company.

No wonder it felt like Christmas came early.

I have washed my fabrics, and copied my foundation pieces. I tidied my sewing room and if the power stays on, I can start tomorrow. There is an ice storm on the weather radar, and so our fingers and toes are crossed.

This box is sold out, but if you are interested is the next box, you can look here.

https://www.pennyspoolquilts.com/pages/quilt-the-north

Fraternal Twins

 I was asked to make two beach bags for a friend's granddaughters. Since it will be awhile before we have any beach days, I went toward a tote bag. My friend gave me some cotton fabric from her stash that both young women liked, and I added some water resistant canvas, that I got from Emmaline Bags. 

https://emmalinebags.com/collections/canvas-all-kinds/products/water-resistant-polyester-2-2-twill-450-denier-polyurethane-coated-back

Here are the finished bags.

The one on the right actually has blue canvas, but the camera turned it, and the wall behind it, grey. 

The bags have recessed zippers in the top.

They have slip pockets inside, a long with a lanyard for their keys.

The slip pockets has a label describing my thoughts as I finished,

I made the slip pockets a bit larger than I meant to make it. I must change the measurements in my book to shorten it.

I also finished my Christmas socks.

Like the bags, the socks are fraternal twins. They nearly match. The yarn is from Area 51, an Alberta hand dyer.

With winter settled in, the cats were thrilled the other day when their bird feeder was visited by a collection of finches and juncos.

there is only a junco visible in the picture. The cats are keen bird watcher in the winter, and remind us if the feeder is empty, or we didn't put peanuts out.

Purse # 4

 After 3 more days of work, I finished the requested purse for my friend's granddaughter. This is the finished bag.

The fabric was supplied by Grandma, and I supplied the hardware, zippers and strap. I needed to deliver the bag, so I forgot to get a picture of the strap, or the zipper. You can kind of see the zipper in this picture.

The zipper and strap are rainbow leopard print. The interior has big polka dots and small ones.

My friend was thrilled with how it turned out. I added a different stabilizer to the flap and adjusted the lining seams to give a smoother fit to the lining. I hope its new owner enjoys it.

I saw a pattern for a tiny sock and decided I needed to do one. I already have a tiny sweater for my tree, why not a tiny sock?

It is very tiny. It is laying next to a 6" DPN, so it is about 3" long.

I started a new pair of adult socks, shown above, then realized that it was December and I needed to make Christmas socks. The Christmas socks are coming nicely. I should have them done in time to wear, this Christmas.

Finally, Emme would like to show you her bestest spring. She hopes you will think it is lovely, too. She is also hoping she gets some new springs in her stocking because her other springs all seem to have disappeared.

A Tale of Three Purses

 I thought about calling this Goldilocks and the three purses, but it has been a long time since my hair was golden.

About 4 years ago, I made this bag.

I liked it, except the front pocket had a zipper that made it hard to get your phone out. It had 6 card pockets inside as well as a place to store your cash.

About a year later, I made this bag.

It had  flap to make it easier to get at your phone, but it was too small. My phone didn't actually fit in the phone pocket. It also had only 3 card slots and no other pockets.

Recently, I was asked to make a phone wallet, and this was my chance to fix the problems with the first two.

This one is the same size as the first one, and has the card pockets and a place for bills and change. It also has unicorns.

It even has a leash for my keys. 

I kept fairly careful notes, and now I am making another one for my friend. I need to have it done by Wednesday, so I hope everything goes well (and I remember to sew on my label.).

i finished a couple of knitting projects.

This is a hat for my sweetie, who asked for a new warm hat. He seems to have worn out his last one.

I used my usual hat pattern, Bankhead. I made the ribbing longer because he likes a double layer over the ears. The yarn is Revival Worsted from Ancient Arts Yarn, in Calgary.

I also used up the remainder of the ball from my most recent pair of mitts, to make some toddler mitts.

Winter has decided to stay, so someone will need mitts.

The other morning, we had fog, which left frost on the trees. It looked very pretty.

Have a good week. I'll be sewing to a deadline.

M Is For Mitten

 This past week, I was between knitting projects, so I knit a pair of mittens. 

Every Canadian has at least one pair of mittens. Most of us have more. From October until May, every coat has a pair in the pockets. They are an essential item of a Canadian wardrobe.

I taught myself to knit mittens when I was 9 or 10 years old. I came from a large-ish family, and my mother found a sale on yarn, and suggested I could make some for my younger siblings. I need to note that my mother did not knit, and I had a committee of knitters (aunts, mom's friends, my friends' mothers) who could help me when I got stuck and I had a book from Beehive Yarns. How hard could it be? I had already mastered hats.

So, I knit mittens. I knit them for my family, for gifts, for donations. Some of my mitts have no fingers, so the wearer can answer their phone. Some of my mitts have lace patterns, so they can look pretty. But most of my mitts are intended to be warm and serviceable. 

This pair will likely go to the local food cupboard. They are always happy to receive another pair of mitts. These ones will fit a young teen or an adult with small hands. A gift of warmth on a snowy day.

I'm sure I'll make another pair soon.

A Very Canadian Finish

 

A friend is going to Great Britain in a couple of weeks, so I made her a travel wallet.  I decided to go full Canadian on this one.

The bag is 28cm by 18cm  or 11"x 7" . The pattern is Globetrot Travel Sling by ChrisW Designs. 

The front has a zipper pocket and a slip pocket. The slip pocket can hold your phone, and the zippered pocket can hold your keys, wipes, stuff you want to access in a hurry.

It has another zipper pocket on the back. The back pocket can hold your passport, travel documents, credit card, anything you want to keep close. The pockets are all waterproof canvas. 

Everything was in my stash. The red tone on tone was from Northcott's Canada Our Home and Native Land. The flag fabric is from Stonehenge Oh Canada Classic. Both have been waiting for the right project. 

The bag is quite thin, suitable to be worn under your coat.  I hope she has a safe and happy trip.