WIP Wednesday

A wee bit of a sneak peek at just a few of the projects I'm working on these days:

A new line of sleep sacks for little babes!

My first attempt at half-square triangles and chevrons.

Reversible dresses up the wazoo. There are 18 in this pile in case you're curious.

I'm calling this quilt Peas & Carrots...my first attempt at wonky log cabin blocks.

Another monthly quilt challenge from my local quilt shop cut and ready to sew.

We regret to inform you...

The kids' hand sewing class scheduled for March 3 has been cancelled.

Why, you ask?

Well, our little prairie adventure has taken an unexpected turn and my little family and I are about to find ourselves homeless. The home we've been renting since August has gone up for sale and we've been given a month to move out. There's still a small hope that a new buyer will want to keep it as a rental, but we're not putting our faith in that completely.

So, instead of finishing up the last of the course material to get ready for the hand sewing class, I find myself sewing like mad to get unfinished projects wrapped up before I start packing like a mad woman and searching for houses. When I'm not sewing like mad, I'm cleaning like mad. We've already had 16 showings and the house has only been on the market about a week. What a drag!

I'm so bummed to have to call off the class and am so sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it as much as I was. Once things settle down a bit, I'll take a look at rescheduling the class.

In the meantime, if anyone knows of any rentals available in Regina, please, let me know!

Preschool + Valentine's Day = Class Party!

The kids at Abner's preschool had a little class party to celebrate Valentine's Day yesterday. Adorable!

Abner scampered off to class decked out in a top with hearts on it, a bobble heart headband and an armload of valentines for her classmates. She was especially proud of her valentines since we'd worked on them together over the days leading up to the party.

I got her to do some drawing on one side of a few sheets of white cardstock paper. The only instruction I gave was to try to fill up most of the paper so there wasn't much white showing anymore. Then, I stacked those sheets with some cute red polka dot paper I had on hand and cut out some heart shapes with my pinking shears.

Here's a tip if you want to try this yourself: staple the sheets of paper together first so that they won't shift while you're cutting. Cutting through six layers of cardstock is tricky, so the staples really help keep things together.

The rest of the project was pretty easy. I just matched up one polka dot heart with one of the hearts Abner coloured and stitched around the heart leaving about a .25" seam allowance and an opening to fill the packets. I went with a pretty short stitch length hoping that would make it easier for the little kids to rip into their little package of goodies.

I stuffed each packet with about a dozen organic jelly beans that I found at my new favourite grocery store in Regina: dad's organic market. I'm sure the candies were a hit with all the kids (if not the parents).

Happy Valentine's Day

Source: cottonandcurls.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Hugs and kisses from Milkybeer!

Heart Week: Day 7

We made it! Seven days of hearty crafts and goodies! You know what that means....tomorrow is the Valentine's Day! I hope you've enjoyed this little crafty adventure as much as I've enjoyed putting it together.

We'll close things out with one last project: a Felt Heart Garland from Cotton & Curls. I think they'd look super cute sewn vertically and hung in the front window of our house. A great way to share a little love with the neighbours!

Source: cottonandcurls.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Heart Week: Day 6

We're gearing up for Valentine's Day with Heart Week here on Milkybeer with a series of Valentine's projects found via Pinterest.

The appeal of this Toilet Paper Roll Heart Stamp project from Prudent Baby is twofold: 1) it uses up old toilet paper tubes which we always seem to have kicking around the house [I think they multiply at night!], and 2) it involves paint which makes Abner very, very happy.

Source: prudentbaby.com via Kim on Pinterest

Tomorrow is the last Heart Week project. What do you think it will be? Here's a hint: it involves something I love doing.

Heart Week: Day 5

We're gearing up for Valentine's Day with Heart Week here on Milkybeer with a series of Valentine's projects found via Pinterest.

Any round up of crafty projects just wouldn't be complete without at least one project from from the Queen of Craft: Martha Stewart [or more accurately, the people who work for Martha Stewart.] Thankfully, these sweet little heart-shaped pot holders have us covered [or our hands at least.] Can't you just imagine pulling a lovingly prepared Valentine meal out of the oven with these beauties? A great way to up the romance factor, for sure!*

Source: marthastewart.com via Kim on Pinterest

*If you're relying on heart-shaped pot holders to add a little romance to your Valentine's Day, you might be in trouble. Just sayin'.

Heart Week continues tomorrow with a great little craft for kids.

Heart Week: Day 4

We're gearing up for Valentine's Day with Heart Week here on Milkybeer with a series of Valentine's projects found via Pinterest.

I first saw today's Valentine-related DIY ages ago. It stuck with me though so I had to track it down for Heart Week. Personally, I prefer soft-boiled eggs, but my heart would melt just a little if someone prepared me these little heart-boiled, I mean, hard boiled eggs from Anna the Red.

Source: annathered.com via Kim on Pinterest

Hard boiled eggs not your thing? Try a special Valentine's Day Egg in the Basket from Petite Kitchenesse instead.

Source: petitekitchenesse.com via Kim on Pinterest

Heart Week continues tomorrow with a project from the Queen of Craft herself!

Heart Week: Day 3

We're gearing up for Valentine's Day with Heart Week here on Milkybeer with a series of Valentine's projects found via Pinterest.

Valentine's and candy are pretty much synonymous. These candy canes are throwing me off though - are these a Christmas treat or a Valentine goodie? Who knows and who cares! These Valentine Heart Lollipops from Add a Pinch look so yummy! These would be perfect to give to classmates at school.

Source: addapinch.com via Kim on Pinterest

Stop by tomorrow when I share a project that's sure to make your Valentine's Day breakfast extra special!

Heart Week: Day 2

We're gearing up for Valentine's Day with Heart Week here on Milkybeer with a series of Valentine's projects found via Pinterest.

Today's hearty little DIY is perfect for the special stationery-lover in your life: heart-shaped paper clips from How About Orange [incidentally one of my favourite blogs ever - one of the first I started following way back when]. I love these little guys - they're cute, fun and affordable...just like the perfect date for Valentine's!

Source: howaboutorange.blogspot.com via Kim on Pinterest

Stop by tomorrow when I share a yummy Valentine's project with a bit of an identity crisis.

Heart Week: Day 1

I'm really not one to make a fuss about Valentine's. In fact, The Dear Sweet Husband and I have been known to stand in the greeting card aisle at the grocery store, pick out cards for each other, read them to each other and put them right back on the shelf. I mean, really, it's the thought that counts, not who spent more on a card.

My own feelings aside, I'm pretty sure Valentine's is a popular day for other folk. Sooooo, I thought it would be fun to use the marvel that is Pinterest to share with you all an entire week's worth of Valentine-related craftiness.

Up first: DIY elbow patches from Honestly WTF....'cause nothings says romance like felted hearts on your elbows. Now, it just so happens that TDSH actually does need elbow patches on most of his sweaters, so this might actually be something I try one day. I'm pretty sure I'm the only woman in the world who can honestly say her husband would love to get elbow patches for Valentine's. Brings new meaning to "heart-felt" gift!

Source: honestlywtf.com via Kim on Pinterest

Stop by tomorrow when I share the perfect DIY project for a stationery-lover...not to be confused with a stationary lover. Those are two very different things.

Yum yums

I've made some pretty drastic changes to my diet lately. Like, virtually eliminating sugar from my diet drastic. One happy result is the discovery of a few new yummy dishes. My favourite lately is a simple little curry dish we've been making with either chicken or beef [lamb would be good too!]. Here's the recipe:

1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red pepper, chopped
2 cubes frozen spinach (or a few handfuls of fresh if you've got it)
1 19 oz can diced tomatoes
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 - 1 tsp fennel seeds
1 19 oz can chick peas, drained

• Puree the onion and garlic and saute in olive oil over medium heat for a few moments.
• Add in the pepper and spinach and cook until spinach is well incorporated into the mix.
• Add the diced tomatoes and heat until bubbly before reducing the heat to simmer for one or two minutes [If you stop right now and add a few herbs like oregano and basil, you'd have a pretty yummy pasta sauce!]
• Remove the tomato sauce from the stove and puree the whole lot. Set it aside for now.
• In a large frying pan, brown the meat and add the spices.
• Add the tomato sauce and chick peas to the meat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes.

The dish is great with brown rice and topped with a dollop of plain yogurt. The amount of spices indicated is just a guideline...feel free to adjust to your own tastes. Though, word to the wise, less is more when it comes to fennel seeds. I speak from experience.

My view lately

Hand stitching a new line of linen coasters. Initially I thought these would be a faster alternative to the patchwork ones I was making (and will continue to make), but I was completely wrong. Cutting and assembling the coasters themselves wasn't too bad. I whipped up 48 on Sunday afternoon/evening. It's the hand stitching that's killing me (in a good way). Thank goodness I love to sew while watching TV!