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Same as last year in the winter, I would like to spread the word about Vancouver's local craft fair scene. Spring craft fairs are popping up just like tulips and daffodils, and here is a list of a few of my must-go-to's. Support local, handmade and totally awesome stuff!
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I'm working on something REALLY FUN right now and I can't wait to show you but not yet - it's not done. I think I'm sensing a turn in my work these days, a fork in the road in taste or design. I'm really excited about where I've been going in my mind, and I can tell you one thing - it's all very colorful!
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*disclaimer - while I am "poking" fun at Facebook, it is me who I'm laughing at, not any one of my 567 friends.*
I broke up with Facebook.
I scrolled down the account settings, clicked on Deactivate Account, and said my goodbyes. It wasn't terribly hard to do, and it didn't take much thought to decide that this was the best thing for me.
I liked a lot of things about Facebook. I got to do and see a lot of things that I wouldn't have otherwise. Catch up with old friends, stay connected across the country and the world. In what other platform can you get a daily update on what some random cousin had for breakfast or who's birthday it is right now? (I better go type something cute and funny on their wall, since they totally gave me a shout out on my birthday.)
I got invited to all kinds of events, some cool, some not. I never went to any of them though. I've got kids, which makes me somewhat of a recluse.
I got to choose a cute profile picture and write quirky and funny status updates about what I was doing at any given moment in time and why this was funny/cool/cute/or intoxicating-ly mysterious. "Holding out on everything with sky blue heartbeats." Those were my favorite kind of status updates. The vague one sentence statements that made no sense, but most likely made other people think "Wow, what a cool girl, what IS she doing?"
On Facebook I got to post photos of my kids, my life and myself. I got to peer into the lives of other "friends" and imagine what their lives must be like, piecing it together through their photos and on what people were saying on their "wall." Then I would see somebody on the street, and not have to ask them anything about their lives, since I got it all on my Mac, including those embarrassing photos of Saturday night that somebody else tagged of them and last weeks update when my News Feed told me "Stacy Johnson (not a real person) is (heart symbol) in a relationship and this week when it said Stacy Johnson is (heart symbol) single. Ouch.
I got to find old boyfriends, hesitate for just a moment, and then totally push aside the past, let bygones be bygones and request friendship. I would sit hunched over the screen, snooping through their photos, trying to distinguish if that girl they've got their arm wrapped around at a party is their girlfriend/friend/or friend for a night. Whoever it is, I was definitely prettier.
I got to mend broken ties with mean girls from high school - unwillingly - typing back a bewildered "Hey - thanks for the message, it's totally okay that you cornered me in the bathroom and punched me and then sent your bigger grade twelve friends after me for the rest of the year. Please, I almost forgot about that - Ha!" (Confirm friend request).
I got to be social at seven in the morning, in my pyjamas and without even brushing my teeth. I got to snoop and peek and write and basically have some fun. Facebook had some good qualities, this I can admit.
But there are things that I thought were really terrible about Facebook.
I think we've all talked about the issues of personal privacy, organic relationships, and sharing too much, so lets not go there. All of those things are issues to me, though never enough to totally shut 'er down. I've definitely (ahem" revamped my friend lists a few times over, never used any facebook applications or games that gave out my personal information...but who am I kidding? Facebook truly owns every photo and word I put out there. And so do the rest of you. It's the way of the internet, of social media, of blogging. It's reality. Privacy can really only be truly achieved if you don't have the internet, live off gird and don't own a credit card or a bank account. Sounds kinda nice some days.
Facebook can take what you mean to say and make you look like a total idiot. Whether it's an off-hand comment that's meant to be funny or lack of sarcasm italics, it's text, not real human contact. No facial expressions, no body language. You're never getting the real deal, the total package. Nobody on Facebook really knows how funny I am. That's so sad.
Don't poke me. I hate that shit.
I have found out that friends of mine have died through Facebook. I don't know what to say about that.
Really, when it came down to it, Facebook became a complete distraction for me from my real life. I would check more than I needed. I'm not offering totals here, because I think if I tallied the actual time spent "checking facebook" I would be personally mortified and you may think I'm a total loser. Let's just say it was distracting, to say the least. I have a million things that I want to do on any given day, and none of them are on Facebook. Unless it's an event invite. And then I might click "Attending" but you know I never will.
It wasn't any one thing in particular that set me off on a deactivate rampage, I just thought about it one night, after a particularly unproductive day, and decided that was that. I think I'll miss seeing what my friends are up to, and I bet they all miss me terribly already, or maybe nobody has noticed that I am gone.... but I'm still here. I'm still alive and well and doing all kinds of cool things and blogging about my super awesome life so if you were/are my friend, you still are and you can find me here. Better yet, you can come over to my house and I'll make you a coffee and we can give each other our status updates - face to face.
ps. To my old boyfriends, J.G and others, I was kidding about the whole hours spent snooping through your photos of you with those girls. I don't have time for that kind of shit. But yeah, I am super pretty these days.
pps..can somebody share this link on Facebook for me? Or "like" it? I need the promoting. (LOL.)
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What a great Sunday we had. A trip to the canyon, Easter hunts at the Yale Museum, family, dogs, old friends, new friends, an amazing dinner, time outside, sunshine, happy children, home. Hope you all had a great weekend too!
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While I'm working on a few spring knitting projects myself, the end results seem to be a ways away still. Those lighter nights are keeping me from the rocking chair and outside instead. Still, I may have to speed things up if I ever want to get to these two fabulous spring projects:
With big needles and big yarn this is an easy coupla nights and you've got something to curl up under on those still chilly mornings.
Striped Cotton Cowl over at The Purl Bee
Bring the winter cowl into spring with lighter colors and a cotton for light and easy.
And for the sewers, here's a great tutorial for some beautiful pillows from Noodlehead.
http://www.bloglovin.com/m/1490519/202877692/a/0/aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy5ub29kbGUtaGVhZC5jb20lMkYyMDExJTJGMDQlMkZjb21meS1zZXdzLXN1bmJ1cnN0LXBpbGxvdy10dXRvcmlhbC5odG1s
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Finally, finally...some time to myself. Gabe made it home early enough from work yesterday to take over completely, the bath and the bedtime. I grabbed a beer and my dog and headed into the sunset in the big park across from our house. I just needed to breath. It's been a pretty intense week. Not the usual seedlings and pies and crafting and knitting.
There is something to be said about the music of the park on a warm(er) late afternoon when you're all alone to listen to it all. I threw a ball for my dog, drank my cold beer, looked down and realized I was still wearing my apron. And that cute guy with the lab was coming this way. Motherhood will never escape you. At least the apron was cute.
By the time I got in the sun was going down and so were my kids so I snuggled in and stretched out to read them a lively selection of "Tumble Bumble", "Jack and The Beanstalk" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do YOU See?" Like good kids, they were asleep by readings end and I snuck out of the bed and felt better. Sleeping kids, cold beer...and finally - finally, some sewing.
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There is nothing quite like the invention of a game, in the middle of your afternoon chores.
Have a great weekend, I'll see you on Monday - I have some sewing to get to!
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Today was one of those days when I couldn't accomplish a thing. I was exhausted when I woke up, and stayed in a half-vegetative state for most of the day. I even napped in the afternoon. Well, more like passed out on the couch covered in laundry while the children played instruments on the floor. And I hate napping. I never nap. I grew up in a "napping is for the weak" kind of family. Why nap when there are thirty other chores or projects to do. (My husband would beg to differ, to him, napping is an art form.)
Days like today, nothing seems to go right. I had a few odds stacked against me for it being really a terrific day anyways.
a) Our 90 pound puppy just came home from the vet with a cone around his head. The cone of shame quickly became the cone of danger as he ungracefully stumbled from room to room banging into walls, knocking things off tables and knocking my kids onto their butts. A lot of my day was spent wrangling the dog and herding the children into rooms away from him. Sigh.
aa) Our 90 pound puppy figured out quite quickly that bangining the edge of the cone into everything in his way and pushing into the said thing (door frame, low table, my knees) was weakening the cone, and then ripping the cone, which then destroyed the cone. The cone is now wrapped in duct tape.
b) My daughter has been getting increasingly worse with her hearing lately. She's not actually going deaf, she just thinks she is, and acts like she is whenever I ask her to do anything. (Put on your shoes, clean up your toys, don't bug your brother, stop throwing the ball for the dog with the cone in the house.)
c) I have been sleeping less and less the last week or so for a variety of reasons, most of them selfish late night sewing sessions combined with early appointments. Why I schedule things for 8:30 AM, I don't know. It is no easy feat getting a family out of the house at anytime AM.
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Now, I'm not usually a complainer, or a whiner, though you may be thinking that right now. "What a downer, who blogs about their bad day?" But today, there isn't anything else I can do but softly cry dramatic sorry-for-myself tears into a cup of tea now that my children are in bed. I'd rather do that than face the mountain of dishes I've ignored since yesterday.
The truth is, I'm telling you about my not so fantastic day because, well, some days are like this. Some days I don't brush my hair and we eat toast and jam for lunch and I can't get my shit together. Some days I sort of wish I had a job to go to, maybe something high-powered and I can wear high heels and carry a laptop in one of those cute laptop cases, and take the train, and listen to my I-Pod. It's hard sometimes, to stay at home, and try to roll with everyone else's bad days and make the world a happy and curious place to explore for the two to five year olds, all the while planning the next meal while doing the dishes from the last. Staying at home with your kids is not easy. It can be very, very frustrating. Who would've ever thought I'd go to the grocery store in gumboots and sweatpants. And think I looked kinda cute.
I'm not even going to round this out tonight with all the reasons why I then turn around and think about all the reasons why it's good. I know it's good, and we are so lucky that we are a family that can have a parent stay at home. My kids are lucky, and I am lucky. Of course I'm going to wish I was a high-powered commuting career woman in heels some days. Everybody wishes they could be something different sometimes. Everybody wishes they could wear heels sometimes. But frankly, heels and kids, I haven't found to be very practical.
And rather than post pictures of me cozy in my rocking chair knitting on my lap or my children skipping happily in the sunshine, I thought I would just tell you the truth. I didn't brush my hair today. And we had eggs for breakfast and then eggs again for dinner. And my dog is mad at me. And my cat is mad at my dog. And my house is a disaster. And I may sit down and watch the entire first season of The Dog Whisperer tonight and not even knit.
Yeah, I said it. Not. Even. Knit.
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I can never find king size pillow cases when I'm thrifting. Good king size sheets are a hard find too. I was in the mood for some light, springtime bedding to give the bedroom a lighter feeling after a winter of woolen blankets piled five high on the bed, so I whipped these up using the fabric from a super soft double duvet cover, some white cotton and a bit of mustard colored ribbon.
I didn't use a tutorial, but if you would like to make some of your own pillowcases, here are a few great tutorials from around the crafty web:
Pretty Quick Pillowcases by Film in The Fridge
Pillowcase How-To By Dana at MADE
ZigZag Pillowcases by Stitched in Color
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There has been a flurry of posts lately of new or transformed studio spaces for the crafty blogger. I've been ogling the brand new bare canvas that Anna Maria Horner has been working on, soon to be filled with all of her crafty goods, and Wise Craft's basement turned beautiful with enough cutting table to fit TWO cutting mats. And of course, I am still anticipating the makeover of Amanda Soule's little hidden jem of a studio space, though I don't know when she's ever going to have time to do it with her ten kids and sixty chickens. (Seriously, some days I can hardly handle two kids and NO chickens! She's a superstar.)
Anyways, amidst my jealous pangs and longing for freshly painted walls and empty shelves to transform into my own space - my unshared secret hideaway, I go through the Mommy wants the small house to be a big house envy. And so I have to work through it. Think about the good things that come with this (adorable) tiny little house. Like a great yard, and a huge park two doors down. Like views of the mountains, and of sunsets through giant oak trees. Two minute walks to the garden centre, and to Grandmother's. Extreme coziness amongst the tiny rooms. Not so many bathrooms to clean.
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My (Ahem,) Studio
I do have space, and I call it my studio, or the sewing room. In real life, it's one wall in one room in our little house. It also gets called the art room, the computer room, the craft room, the room with the closet with all of our cleaning supplies/linen/things we can't find a place for.
I share it with my family, and all though it is tiny and tight, I do enjoy being near my family when I get to sneak in and stitch a few. As the kids get older, it will be a lot easier for me to move further from them so that I can work for longer stretches (is this believable? does this happen when kids get oldeR?) We will have to move so there is somewhere further I can go, but we already knew that was in the cards.
In the meantime, I sew with toys at my feet and paperwork left on my ironing board. I blog while trying to answer four year old questions and two year old demands. I share my space with paint and crayons and puzzle pieces scattered on the floor. My dream walk in closet is stuffed with everything but the dream shelves holding the dream fabric stash. Still, it is enough for me, for now.
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After my post yesterday on my new knitting storage container, I thought I'd add for you another way to stash your (smaller) projects.
I always shove my smaller projects into mason jars. With wee ones around I just can't take the chance that they won't see a pretty knitted something with needles sticking out of it and pull it apart. Frankie won't touch it, she learned ages ago that Mama's knitting is off limits. But Charlie?? Listen, I haven't met a project I haven't had to save from the wrath of his sticky little fingers.
Look at him, he's an adorable little menace.
Lock up your projects.
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I've been spring cleaning. The table next to my rocking chair has been piled with yarn and needles and half-finished projects and has stayed that way the entire winter. It used to look pretty, all in a wire basket, but when I sat down to knit I knew it had gotten out of hand.
a. I had nowhere to set down my tea.
b. There are so many projects hanging out on the table that at least one of them was destined to become "toddler-frogged".
c. It's spring, which means new, so let's clear the table and do something fun, like sew up a cute fabric basket.
I've had this project in the back of my mind for awhile now, and after a start to finish time of about a half an hour I'm definitely going to make more, for all kinds of things. I used a great linen and a heavyweight charcoal upholstery fabric and I added an almost cardboard-like interfacing for added stiffness. I like it because it's easy to stuff with a project and transport, it sits nicely on it's own and looks even better full of that sweater I swear I'm going to work on tonight.
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I got down to some sewing yesterday - Finally. One lovely thing about spring rain is the mega lazy inside day. Sewing in your pyjamas till one o'clock? Yes please.
I was working on a few skirts for some little girls birthdays coming up and got into a good groove. So much so, that I ended up with a few new skirts for Frankie too. Nice and easy, I used the Lazy Days skirt pattern by Oliver + S. If you haven't seen it before, you can find the free pattern here. I love this pattern, it's free and easy and it takes no time to whip up three or four skirts - I swear - because I have no time, and I managed to make three of them today. I added pockets to them, pockets are a hot item around here these days.
The sun came out in the afternoon and found just me and Frankie at the park with the dog. Have you heard the dog's new name? Bunny. Yes, you've read this right. The 90 pound big boy we adopted is named Bunny. Can you guess who named him?
Yep, you got it. And you can only imagine how silly I must sound calling "Bunny! Come here Bunny!" to the gigantic hound chasing a tiny ball around the field. What can you do? It's about a girl and her dog.
She sure looks darn cute in her skirt though!
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More and more each day, I see the baby in him melting away into a little boy,
full of wonder and spirit, and insatiable curiosity.
New words meld together to form tiny sentences, his language is growing into something we understand.
He grows taller and stronger and surprises us somehow, with each new thing he learns.
He is our little boy, the apple of his sister's eye, the stuff that love is made of.
As I pack away the hand me downs that once were his sisters, and now once were his,
I sigh and watch the time go by, too quickly for a mother.
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