Buttons and Lids

Wow! My button-of-the-month arrived from Jane. This is the last in the year-long series and she's really outdone herself. It's a huge grouping of metal buttons from The Button Drawer, and I see from their website that they have a catalogue! Nigel may have to finally take all the credit cards away!

My favourite:



This one is called "Pelican in Piety", too funny:



Jane's been in a Celtic/heraldic sort of mood:








I love these buttons, they're heavy and have a beautiful definition to their designs, and the colours have depth and character. Aren't they fantastic? I'm wrapping my mind around a project to display them all.

And for Jane, I finished the handmade-of-the-month for November. I made the French Beret from Hats Gloves Scarves by Louisa Harding. I've made this pattern for myself, and Mum's made at least one for herself, so I think it was time Jane had one too.



Knit from Rowanspun 4ply in a bright purple colour called "Turkish", it's not the quick knit that it appears. Don't get me wrong, it's only ribbing and reverse stocking stitch, but at it's widest point it has a whopping 218 stitches. If you can persevere through that section, then once the decreases start it zips along. I popped it in the post last Sunday, so it should be there soon. Happy Handmade Jane!

And Jane isn't the only one with a new lid, I finally added the shingles to the dollhouse roof:





Sadly, it's been overcast for days and days and I can't seem to get a truly good snapshot of those fabulous black shingles. I might do another photo shoot another day.

If the sun ever decides to shine.

martiangirl has landed

My niece Thea arrived yesterday, and she brought gifts from afar.

She brought the August button-of-the-month (the dragonfly button that just arrived was July's - I'd lost track)and it's a very lovely golden sunflower.



It's a perfect button for the month of August, a salute to the happy sunshiney faces of late summer. Thank you Jane!

Jane also sent this fantastic book:



A lovely book with loads of interesting and amusing patterns to stitch for our little creatures. I'm already planning a couple of Christmas gifts - Gus really needs a new sweater, and maybe a hat for Whimsy. Can't wait!

The ravlympics continue, though I've slowed down considerably.

I escorted Thea and Ian to the pool today and knitted poolside while they enjoyed a swim.





I'm more than half finished that second sock, which I'm sure will be all done by the end of the week-end, and then it's back to the Lotus Blossom and the race to the finish!

In the meantime I'll be enjoying a fairly leisurely couple of days with the family.

There and Back Again

There she is. The Lotus Blossom is back up on the needles. I'm almost finished the first lace repeat - again. I plan to work on this tonight, and maybe a little bit tomorrow, then I'll start that second sock. My niece Thea is coming to visit on Thursday and through the week-end. Working a sock while visiting is far less consuming than that lace. Next week will be full steam ahead.

Today the post brought August's button-of-the-month.



Another stunner, it's a large (3 cm?) purple glass circle with a dragonfly in the center. Jane also included a backing piece that allows me to change the button into a pendant. I just might do that.

Thank you Jane. It's gorgeous.

It's Been Ages

I don't have any good excuses for not posting, so I won't bother trying to think up anything amusing.

My brother Ian came for a second visit - that's twice in two months (thrice in five years). He brought along his friend Brad this time. We had lots of good laughs, though they were exhausted from travels through Montreal and Toronto. Gus and Whimsy just loved Brad. The poor little pups miss them both terribly now they've gone home.

Jane sent the button-of-the-month for June, and just look at the little darlings:



six tiny mother-of-pearl leaves, in honour of the leaves having finally arrived on the trees of Manitoba. In fact, there are now so many leaves and the weather has become so hot that it's hard to believe we ever had a winter. I'll be singing a very different tune come November, or maybe the same tune with different words.

I've been working on a little handmade-of-the-month for Jane. It's not in the post yet so I'll just give a couple of hints.





Hmmm, I wonder what it could be...

In local news, Mrs. Twitchett's Eye closed down at the end of May. This was quite sad, they had lovely embroidery threads and kits and such. On the up side though, it's been replaced with Kathryn's Stitching Studio and it looks as though they're not only at the same address but they've got lots of the same sort of stock. They've changed the layout of the shop a bit and I think there's a new colour on the wall - a very nice green behind the sales counter, and there's a wall of silk threads I could stare at all day.

They're stocking more than just thread and patterns too - loads of tools like needles and threaders and scissors. I love scissors and they have some dangerously beautiful ones. I went to check out the opening day sale and well, I couldn't resist (sorry about the sideways snap - it's blogger's doing).



I bought "Off The Deep End" - a pattern by Raise the Roof Designs. I love their designs, a little bit goofy and great use of colour. You can check out more of their designs here. I also bought some of the threads to work the design and a(nother) new pair of scissors. Ginghers (not my only pair, for shame) in the cheetah print handle. Ooh, la la. Before Nigel asks "another project?" or "more scissors?" or even "how much do Gingher scissors cost?", we should all remind him that there are far worse addictions to suffer from.

Speaking of which, I'm giving up the coke.

I've decided to start substituting coffee.



It's absolutely wretched stuff. It helps a bit to drink it out of a lovely piece of vintage china. Perhaps my next obsession will be just that. Just think of the potential to spend.....

I suppose before I start running around to all those antique shops I'll have to do some training.

The Month Of May

May is winding to a close with some loose ends tied up, Firstly the button-of-the-month arrived today. Very apropos - a snake button, remember we saw the snake dens this month. This is a real stunner of a button. Can you see the detail? Thank you Jane!



The wee button is sitting on a piece of Spirit Quartz. Does anyone remember waaaay back to this post about my haunted landing? Well, I did finally give up entirely on plants and I thought the best thing would probably be an exorcism. I toddled off to my nearest crystal/pagan/witchcraft shop and made enquiries. I was told the first step (that's pre-exorcism) is to hang a healing crystal in the window and politely ask the spirit to leave. I'll admit right now that I was very tempted to roll my eyes at the woman - she really didn't understand how bad I thought the situation was. I brought home a few large chunks of crystal that day - forget hanging a little one in the window, I needed great big substantial boulders, and I politely (yes, yes) but firmly asked the spirit to leave (no-one else was home at the time).

I bought some clear quartz, selenite, celestite and spirit quartz (in the photo that's counter-clockwise from the far right).



Clear quartz is suppose to be infinitely powerful and able to dispel negative energies; selenite is used to commune with spirits and angels; celstite is to aid in peaceful communication; and spirit quartz are suppose to bring family harmony.

Sounds good to me.

Here's a better shot of the selenite and spirit quartz. The selenite really is very beautiful when the light shines through it. I can see why people believe it has some connection to unearthly realms. The spirit quartz is very cool. It comes from Boekenhouthoek (...where?), that's in South Africa. It has crystals growing on crystals, really fascinating. It's purple and yellow, I read that it's amethyst growing on citrine, but I'm no geologist.



Here's the celestite. For the first week in the window, this one struggled to survive. Each day it would be left sitting in a small puddle of sand. When I would walk past it I would brace myself for a great explosion a la Voldemort, but it eventually settled and stopped it's shedding.



In the autumn I plan on adding a few plants to the mix and we'll see if physical life can be sustained. I'll keep you posted.

The month of May also meant I sent out Jane's handmade-of-the-month. I made a wee needle case out of woolen felt. On the front are three appliqued fish with embroidered bead bubbles. Jane is a Pisces, remember. On the back I embroidered her name in big letters - JANE. It turned out quite well, but I forgot to photograph that part. Oops.



Here's the inside. A bit utilitarian I suppose.



To go with th needle case, a thimble. Also made out of woolen felt and a bit of embroidery over a tiny piece of raw silk.



Here's me modelling the thimble. Now before you say, "but you don't wear a thimble on your little finger", let me explain. You see I have great big, sturdy 'worker bee' hands, where as Jane has tiny, delicate 'firefly' hands. I'm confident the thimble will fit on her index or middle finger (if it doesn't Jane, I'll make you another).



Recently in the comments Jane asked to see some flowers from the garden. I've found them a bit disappointing do far this year, but here goes:









Where as my little groupings of flowers come across looking a bit stiff and anti-social, Elly's are a different story. She put together one container this year and it's a party! There's all kinds - mums, pansies, pinks, daisies and snapdragons. Elly loves a crowd.




And lastly the Seaweed Shawl continues along. I'm liking this project very much. The seaweed/silk mix of the yarn is sumptuous and there's a peaceful, undulating quality to the pattern, and, though it took a little while, I've found a nice rhythm to the pattern repeat. The perfect summer project.



Now, forward to June.

April Button-Of-The-Month

A letter arrived the other day:



Jane sent the button-of-the-month for April:



Another fabulous button, they just seem to get better and better. The little legs move about, both of the kids squealed with delight when they set eyes on it.

(I'm not sharing though.)

Thank you Jane!

Is It April Already?

Where has the time gone?



Jane sent March's button-of-the-month sometime back, in March in fact, and a lovely button it is. Square and gold, reminds me a bit of an Aztec or Inca pyramid. Very fitting for the vernal equinox. I like the way the texture catches the light.



On the prairie the sun can be very strong and bright. On these early spring days the air may still be cold and the temperature well below freezing, but the sun will shine away, melting the layers of snow cover. A quick glance outside and all you can see are the dismal dregs of winter - old snow, bare trees and pale faces - but if you look a little longer you can see patches of grass here and there and tightly closed buds on the trees.

Soon enough it will all change.

I've been keeping busy working on my dolls' house kit.



I installed the wiring. I was quite intimidated by this, but it only took an hour when I finally got down to it.



I also started installing the windows,



and the roof.

There's still a fair bit left to do, like shingling the roof and sorting out the decor, and, hmm...maybe a garden, maybe a garden that changes with the seasons.

February Button-Of-The-Month

Yes, yes, I know it's March, and yes, yes, the February button did arrive in February.

It arrived on Friday, the very last day, and I'm only posting now. Tsk, tsk, as my eleven-year-old would say. However, what I lack in deligence my sister makes up for in good taste.



Beautiful buttons. They are a little more purple than the photo suggests, but I think you can see all the sparkle. They are cut glass. Very lovely. Thank you Jane!

Also in the parcel was this cracker. It's hilarious, made of pewter with a tracker number. The idea is, you take photos of your cracker somewhere interesting or doing something interesting and post them to the artist's website, part of which is called the Cracker Tracker. Too funny.



Now, where to pose this little lovely.