Black Dog

It's sort of mine, but I've also promised a friend I will give him this painting one day:

In any case, I love it.

Mola

I bought this wall hanging at an outdoor market in South America a few years ago. It's a Mola, and was handmade using reverse appliqué; several layers of different-coloured cloth are sewn together and the design is formed by cutting away parts of each layer.

These funny birds have been sitting in a cedar chest since that trip in 2007, with a collection of other travel souvenirs, waiting until I moved somewhere I planned to stay for awhile.

A Functional Muslin

I sewed myself a dress this weekend:

It is incredibly disappointing to spend several (20) hours sewing something, only to find it doesn't fit or it fits strangely. And if you have used $30/metre fabric? Oh la; that disappointment is then also compounded by frustration. I don't like to make muslins, though, and when I do, I like to at least chance making something I can wear in public. I use the pattern-ease measurements as a guide and I test it out with some $5/metre fabric as a muslin-making compromise. As I did here.

(B5316: an out-of-print Butterick pattern).

Stone Necklace

My talented friend gave me this necklace, which she made for me after the much gushing I did seeing the similar necklaces she'd made for the shop she works at:

This was not the first time I've been so lucky, either.

Hearts, Cupid, Chocolates, and Flowers

I'm giving in to the pink and red:

(my Valentine will be getting chocolate and candy; his sweet tooth rivals mine.)

Kinda Like A Trade

We went out for dinner the other night, a few girlfriends of mine and I, and in the midst of all the food and girl-loveliness, Claire and I exchanged Christmas gifts. A homemade trade. I gave her cloth napkins and she gave me three jars of condiment goodness:

No Snow in January

In a month where our snowfall usually averages 14 inches, this past January we saw one blizzard, which left us only three inches of snow. Enough to make a very small snowman, which my roommate did.

It was already three degrees celcius again when I woke up (with a forecasted high of seven degrees), and so our little winter hero didn't even make it to noon.