Is Spring On It's Way? Or Do We Have to Wait Until June?

Are you like me, tired of this hard winter?  When chatting with my sister- in-law, she says that she hopes the rain holds off long enough to dry the clothes outside.  Can you imagine hanging the clothes outside in the cold temperatures we're having!

I had a customer in the store last week who hasn't knitted in a long time, but is making a lovely cable hat, scarf and mitten set for her grand daughter. What she has done thus far was gorgeous, but she was running into problems with the mittens as the yarn she was using was thicker than what her pattern suggested. So, we were re-writing the pattern to suit the yarn. 

You know that's not as easy as one might think and it took us a couple of attempts to make it work properly, neither one of us being pattern writers, but we did it.  The cable was a little like this, so quite intricate.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine was in need of a file folder tab cutting file for her Silhouette SD cutting machine.  It took me a couple of days to get around to it, but I did finally make a file and share it with her.

I was exploring some blogs recently and came across one that explained how to share a Silhouette file without sending it from one computer to another, which is what I do with my friend, and also with my sister-in-law.  

What I did next is what I typically do, and then wish later that I'd done more.  I copied down the instructions, but didn't keep the blog address!!!  

However I do know now how to share the file with any of our blog readers that would like to access it.

All you have to do is click here and you will be able (so I understand) to download the Silhouette cutting file I made.  (Fingers crossed)  

There are three items in the file, a short tab, a long tab and a fold over tab that look like the ones on the left.  These are simply my working copies though, not the cut file, that's in the previous paragraph.  

If it works for  you, then maybe I'll link more that I've made, or maybe you have some files that you may like to share.  

Remember they cannot be files purchased with your machine, or from the Silhouette Store, or that you have downloaded from anyone else's blog. 

They have to be files you've made yourself.

Don't forget you can pick up free cut files for your Silhouette by downloading dingbat fonts that will cut shapes.  Here's one for you to try. There are a multitude of frames, shapes, banners and even a couple of mustaches in this font.

Did you look at the household tips that Di linked us up with here? 

I thought of another one today and you may well know it, but here it is anyway.  

You can keep celery fresh and crisp for a number of weeks in your fridge by simply wrapping it tightly in foil. I've done this with cauliflower too and it stays white and fresh for much longer than storing it in a container or plastic wrap. 

It's great when it's on sale and you can store it longer...give it a try.

Speaking of specials, have you been over to our face book page and looked at the special Linda put on today?  She's going to put a number of specials on for the month of March to celebrate National Craft Month, so hop over there to take a look and save yourself some money.  Just tell us you saw the special on face book.    Here's the link.   

Don't forget with the changes to business face book pages, you need to log in, hover over the word "Liked" and click on the "Get Notifications" text to be kept up to date as we post there. 

 So what have you been crafting at this week?  I made another felt coffee mug wrap.  I do love working with that felt, such bright colours and easy to embroider.  Here's the latest one.  

See that cute little rose on the front, it is soooo easy to make.

All you need is a rough circle of felt in the colour of your choice.

You then cut in a spiral into the centre of the circle like this.  

I wrap the felt around itself, starting from the centre out.  Some people prefer to go from the outside in, either way is just fine.  On the coffee mug wrap, I stitched the spiral onto the felt with embroidery floss, pulling the "petals" in to look more rose like, and added some yellow french knots to the centre.

Can you imagine the uses for this style of flower?  

It could be on a card, scrapbook page, a pin, headband, a bag you have sewn.  

So many possibilities, and with a few extra embroidery stitches it can look spectacular.

Drop into the store to see the sample mug wrap.

I learned in the last week or so, that we have another budding crafter in the family, and thought you may like to see some of this young persons work. 

Matilda is just eight years old and crafts with her Grandma and sisters in England. 

She has a great imagination which shows in the pillow she just made and decorated by herself, with an elephant face.

She had also made a pincushion earlier.  She has much potential don't you think?

It pleases me to see the younger generation wanting to needle craft, as there are so many people that don't know how to knit, sew, crochet, embroider or anything that pertains to needle crafting.



Keep up the good work Matilda and thank you for sharing the photos with all of us in Canada.




I'm sure there are many children and adults who may like to make this easy bracelet  for St Patricks Day. 

Imagine though instead of a shamrock as the focal point, you made a rose like the one on the coffee mug, it could be worn any time then. 

Here's the link for the instructions.

Drop into the store to get your supplies to make this super easy and fun bracelet.

Were you one of the lucky ones that scored the free scrapbooking class at the Spring Mega Crop Weekend?  There were some eager beavers at the store early on Thursday morning despite the cold.  Some were there just to register themselves. Some were there to sign up multiple spots, in fact up to five when their phone went off to say a friend was caught in a meeting, will you sign them up too please.   

After all, what are friends for if not to come through in a pinch!  

We do still have a few spots left so if for some reason you were late out of the starting gate, drop into the store and secure one of the remaining spots and enjoy a weekend of scrapbooking fun. 

Also for those that didn't make the free class, you can still participate for just $20.00.  You will be making SIX single page layouts for that price, all supplies included.  

All you have to do is insert your photos...now what kind of a bargain is that?

DO NOT FORGET the Garage Sale this coming Saturday, March 8th. Starting at 9a.m. in the morning and going through the day, but remember the best bargains will be there first thing in the morning. We've had great response from our vendors, so I'm thinking there will be something for just about everyone.  

There's lots going on at your local craft store in the next few weeks.

With the Spring All Day Card Day coming up in about three weeks on March 22nd.

Did you miss out of the first class, because if you did, get your name on the waiting list for a second class. 

Be sure to check your newsletter each week, the blog and face book page too.  Sometimes we put extras on the face book page through the week, so make sure you don't miss those postings.

And so we come to the end of another week's blog.  What words of inspiration or fun can I offer you this week.

There is so much peer pressure in the schools, and indeed in the world in general, that makes us doubt ourselves and our abilities at times.  

We perhaps wonder how we measure up against this person or that person, when all we should really concern ourselves with is, how WE measure up as a person.

These words, once again from Ginger's House, seemed appropriate encouragement no matter whether you're young or old.  Perhaps you know of someone you'd like to share them with to encourage them.

Until Later....Happy Crafting

Lilian

Were You Watching and Proud to be a Canadian?

Although I didn't see the start of the men's hockey game (not being a hockey fan) I did see most of it. We cannot help but be proud of all our athletes for their outstanding performances in the 2014 Sochi Games.

Undoubtedly many stories to be told once again, heartache, pride, sacrifice all the qualities of Olympians.

WAY TO GO CANADA 

and particularly Huntsville's Dara Howell on her gold medal win, shown here with Kim Lamarre who won bronze in the same event.

I was wondering if you ever look at our Flickr Site?  

This is where we post the photos of card classes, or Mega Crop Weekend scrapbook pages.

Here's just a sample of what you'll see there.

I've been negligent lately in keeping it up to date, but have uploaded some photos tonight if you want to hop on over there to take a look.  

GARAGE SALE

We've had good response from vendors to the Garage Sale, so make sure you're available if you want to get some of the bargains that day.  

There's still time if you'd like to be a vendor. Please drop into the store soon to register.

Just as a reminder, it's March 8th at the store and we open at 9a.m.  

This is an ideal time to increase your supplies if you're a new crafter.

The sale will go all day, but it's the early bird that gets the worm they say.

I came across a great website this week for all the embroidery needle artists in our midst.  Well actually it's a Pergamano website so works as a double whammy, whether you like embroidery or Pergamano, this site is well worth a look. 

Here's just one design they're sharing, click here and scroll down a little to see more.

For those that don't know what Pergamano is, it's a card making technique using parchment paper. You trace the design (like the one shown to the left) using the ball head of your stylus onto the parchment paper.  

The pressure of your stylus creates a white line on the parchment paper.  

Once the design is all traced, you can enhance the lines by going over them a second time.  You can also add shading to a flower in the same way.

Still not clear on it?  Then drop into the store and see some samples and look at both the parchment paper and stylus for a better understanding.

Have you registered for the Spring All Day Card Class yet?  Not too many spots are still available so if you're wanting to participate, now is the time to get off the fence and call the store. 

The date doesn't work for you? Then let us know and we'll put you on a waiting list for another date.  

We have seven of the ten cards made now and two more in the works. That means only one to go and the cutting begins!

Speaking of registration....are you ready because....

THIS IS THE WEEK!

Registration for the Mega Crop Weekend opens on Thursday morning of this week, February 27th 2014.  

27 hours of joyous scrapbooking with others who love to craft in the same way as you do. Time for memories to be recorded in our scrapbooks.

Is that not BLISS!  

And as well as that, there are prizes, goodie bags, challenges, and make and takes for you to learn from.  

And it doesn't stop there!  You get to be waited on with your meals and snacks. No preparing food, no washing dishes and all of this for just $120.00.   

The early bird special for the first fifteen registrants is a free class.  

Don't despair though if you aren't in the first fifteen, you can still participate in the class for just $20.00 and believe me it's well worth that fee.  

Linda has been diligently prepping the pages for this class, and they are coming along beautifully. We don't like to reveal what you will be doing exactly, but be prepared to be busy making six single scrapbook pages, full of techniques and embellishments.

I was looking on the Red Heart website the other day and came upon this pattern for wristlets. 

What they had to say there is that if you can knit a swatch, then you can knit these wristlets.  

Basically if you can knit and purl these are very doable for anyone.  

I was intrigued by them and had some oddments of yarn so had to sit down (yes I just had to) and make them last night. 

Took me about an hour and a half and I was done. 

Here's the link to the PDF pattern and here's what I made.  

I did make the rib at the wrist longer than the pattern called for, but otherwise much the same. You can see there's no thumb to be knitted and no casting off at the top of the hand, so a very simple rectangle sewn up the side.  Great for driving I would think.

Well I'm almost done...I bet you're glad about that...LOL

My sister in law sent me some household tips and tricks that she thought may be interesting to everyone.  I've loaded them as a page that you can access on the right hand sidebar under 

PAGES - Household Tips and Tricks.  

Here's just one of them...did you know this?  There are many more if you look under Household Tips and Tricks.  Thanks Di for your contribution.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.  If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

And here for everyone this week are words that I have had saved forever and surely apply to each one of you that read the content of this blog don't you think?

Until Later...Happy Crafting

Lilian

Were You First Out of the Starting Gate?

I posted an extra blog this week when we received confirmation of the date from the venue where we will be holding the Spring All Day Card Class.  Did you see it?  No? Well how about where I posted it on Face Book?  

Some people did, and as a result registered right away for the day event. So put your running shoes on and get yourself registered before all the spots are taken.  

The date is Saturday, March 22nd. The time is 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.   The Venue is The Community Room at Independent Grocers. The cost is just $40.00.

Here is just a sampling of cards we've made at previous All Day Card Classes.

Linda and I have been busily planning and prepping the new cards for the upcoming class. 

We had a great time last week at the Friday Crop and Craft Night.  

Ideas were shared, pages were made and yes, some of us learned how to use tools that we have in our stash!  

Speaking of stash....have you been sorting through your much loved, but not often used supplies and tools in readiness for the Garage Sale?

The date for that was also announced over the weekend, hope you saw it.  

It's Saturday March 8th at the store. If you want to be a vendor, then you need to be registered for that. The cost is just $5.00 per bin. 

In the past there have been some super buys, with happy customers and vendors alike.  

As a vendor, you can choose to sell part packages of product. Just price and mark them accordingly.  

Your supplies need to be into the store ready for the sale no later than Thursday March 6th, with any unsold product picked up by the following Wednesday. Vendors receive an in store credit for any product that is sold.  

This is a cash only sale, so make sure you have a few extra bills in your wallet that day, and have fun picking up some really good buys.

Check out some of the happy shoppers here from last year's Garage Sale

Have you cleared your calendar for the Spring Mega Crop as well? 

That's April 11-13th and should be lots of fun and productivity.  

Linda and I spent a couple of days last week planning what we will be teaching in the class.  Now we have to put it together, but we have a good plan in action.  

Next will be the make and takes, but everything seems to be falling into place. 

We'll be ready....will you?

And above you see the page the scrapbookers made at the "make and take" table at one of the Mega Crops.
Book with a friend and enjoy laughter, learning, productivity and the being waited on for the weekend...what more could you ask for?

Here's a little look at last years Spring Mega Crop.

Have all the knitters found Ravelry yet?  Just click here to pop over to their website for a humongous amount of free or paid for knit or crochet patterns.  You do have to register for a free account and NO you aren't bombarded with loads of emails, so don't cause that to be a concern for you.

As I was strolling through Google images last week I came across this image. 

Unfortunately it didn't take me to a page, but I did like the look of these mobius scarves, so I did another Google search and found a free pattern for this one on the left which I thought was similar (well it's knitted the others are crochet, but both use yarn..does that count)?

You can find the free pattern here for the white one. It's knitted with a fine yarn in garter stitch on large needles, with a yarn over pattern row, so will work up very quickly and be open and lacy. It reminds me of the one I knitted for my daughter at Christmas, less the beading I added.

We've added a lot more yarn at the store, and can order even more if we don't have quite the colour or weight that you want.

Drop in and have a look

I came across a number of pillowcase style embroidery patterns too. You can find them here.

It's easy enough with the right tools to trace and transfer these designs, or designs from a colouring book even.

We carry both Tracing Paper, and the Heat Transfer Pencils you will need for this technique, at the store. 


All you need to do is lay the tracing paper over the image you want to use.  With a sharp point on your Heat Transfer Pencil, trace over the design (remember that this will be a reverse image so any words will be mirrored).  When you've traced everything, place the tracing onto your fabric pencil side down, and iron over the design with a fairly hot iron until it transfers to the fabric.

The good news is that these tracings can be used more than one time as well.

For  those who prefer, we do carry already stamped pillowcases in the store, along with embroidery needles, DMC embroidery floss and embroidery hoops.

And the last item I wanted to share with you this week is one on felting. 

I've noticed how it is becoming more and more popular as customers try the easy kits and find exactly that....felting is easy and has the scope to be extremely creative. 

One of our customers began with a felting kit and moved on to purchase more roving wool from us as she created her own designs.

She was kind enough to bring in some of her work this past week to show us. What do you think, isn't it beautiful?

She found an image she liked and transferred outlines to the fabric before she began the felting.



Now the words for the week.
I was listening to the Olympics today and they were doing a story on a bob sled athlete, Lyndon Rush from Humboldt Saskatchewan.  
One of his comments was that he hoped by doing his best, he would inspire the next generation to strive to be the best they could be in their endeavors.


That struck a cord with me, as we all hope to teach and inspire others the things that we love ourselves. 

It made me think back to Penny whom I've known for many years, and whom I taught to crochet.
Just a few short years ago, she was telling Linda how she remembered me pulling out her crochet work when she had made a mistake.

I was mortified that that was how Penny remembered the lessons I taught her. However she went on to say how grateful she was for that. How she learned not only to correct  her mistakes, but because of my help she learned to be able to read a pattern, and grow through that experience.
Wow, I thought, take a breath again, it's okay.

 Until Later....Happy Crafting,

Lilian

We Have A Date So Registration Is Open!

Just a quick blog to let you know we received confirmation today for the Spring All Day Card Class, which in turn sets the date for the Garage Sale.


The Spring All Day Card Class is at Your Independent Grocer's Community Room on  March 22nd.

The Garage Sale is being held at the store on March 8th.  Clear your calendar and call us to register for Card Day.  Remember it's a first come first served basis, so don't delay.

Have you been going through your stash to see what you need to exchange for new stash at the Garage Sale?  We're signing up vendors for the Garage Sale as well now, so give us a call.  705-645-6231.

Until Later.....Happy crafting

Lilian

How I Love to Learn! (Well Most Things Anyway)

Whether it was the twelve year old customer on Saturday, so taken with the intricate knots she was working on her friendship bracelet, that she wanted me to understand the technique. Or the fourteen year old that saved some of her school work in order to teach the technique to me....I do love their enthusiasm and that they don't see me as too old to learn something new.  

Rachel and I had a lovely couple of hours together again tonight as she worked on her ongoing T-shirt quilt. It's a learning curve for both of us and yet we enjoy the lessons we learn together.  All our cardmakers may like to know that she's just as conservative of material as I am.  

So what have you been up to this week?  I have some more mittens knitted for the school and have begun in earnest to prepare for both the upcoming Mega Crop Weekend and for the All Day Card Class. Though we haven't been able to secure confirmation of our preferred date yet for the Card Class, we know it will be happening and have five cards in the works already.  Two made, three in the works and just five more to go, not too shabby.

Talking of Card Classes, we had a lovely time with the ladies last Thursday as we put them through their paces, and they came out glowing with pride in what they were able to achieve with ease.  

Using the We R Memory Keepers envelope score board and the measurements Linda and I had worked out, they were able to make an easy envelope box for the Valentine card they made.  

This card had a paper bow on it, which the ladies made on the envelope score board. 

The bow caused the card to be a bit thicker than the average card, hence the need for the box, which they decorated with stamps as well. 

And here you see the box.

                        

As you can see from the side shot, it's an envelope style of box, and once you've got the measurements worked out, as easy as pie to make.

Just so that you can get a good close up look at it, here's the other card the ladies created.  

Using one of the Cover-a-Card Impression Obsession stamps on both this card and the Valentine card (yes the hearts were stamped from a Cover-a-Card Background stamp), the ladies learned a little more of the versatility of these stamps.

Having them on sale last week, they were pleased to have the opportunity of a bargain.  

One of our customers came up from the city last week, especially to purchase one of these stamps when she saw them on sale in the newsletter. She was thrilled to find the one she wanted was in stock!

You never did tell me what you have been working on this past week?  

I know my sister-in-law has been busy knitting double thick mittens for my mother-on-law, with just one more to finish.  

We gave a quick little lesson in the store last week on how to make these to Diane.  

I know my sister has been busy sorting through her crafting stuff, partly in preparation for her upcoming move, but also for  her granddaughter to take some to nursery school.  

Have you been sorting through yours ready for the garage sale? 

Although we don't have confirmation of the All Day Card Class date, which impacts on the Garage Sale choice of date, it is coming up soon.  So be like a girl scout and "Be Prepared".  Imagine how much fun it is to change that which you aren't using into an in-store credit note to purchase new "stuff".

As for knitting, I was browsing the Internet the other night and came across this design, which I promptly fell in love with and just HAVE to try.  You know how it is don't you?

 

I'm not in love with the colour, but love the Celtic Cable design, and the pattern is available here for free.  

In some blogs it was called a Saxon Braid.  

I see it as a band around a toque like this, how do you see it?   Click on the highlighted words and you can download the pattern for the toque. This website, though not as full of patterns as Ravelry, still it's a good resource.

I was privy to some nice show and tell last week. Not only did I see the finished large crochet doily that Carol's been working on, she also showed me a lovely little beanie she crocheted for her granddaughter for Valentines Day.  

Carol found the free crochet pattern on the Red Heart website here.     

Isn't it delightful?  We tried to find a free shamrock pattern, but didn't have any luck there. If you know of one, please leave a comment at the end of the blog and Carol can make another for St Patrick's Day.

Well we've segued nicely into Valentines again, do you have a card made for your beloved, but are looking for the perfect words?  There are some nice words here, and you can print them directly.

Now we've looked after the knitters and crocheters above.  

Don't forget if you want to learn either of these needle arts, all you have to do is, let us know, and sign up for the Friday Night Crop and Craft Night to learn. 

I had a lady into the store on Saturday and she was just learning to knit.  She  told me she'd never knitted in her life before, and her first project was a hat and scarf with a cable stitch.  This lady shared with me that she was 82 years young!  She also said she wished she'd learned years ago, so don't have the same regret yourself, start now!

For all of you who have a Silhouette Cutting Machine, have you looked at this blog here?  It's a great resource for learning how to get the best out of your machine. Why not hop over and take a look. There are so many tutorials to learn from. None the least is how choosing a design from the Silhouette online shop can sometimes nab you more than the simple design you are looking for, but perhaps more embedded within that design that you can use. You can also download a full manual from this site if it would be helpful to you to have one on hand.

My very last item this week is for the needle artists in our midst. If you like to embroider, then you'll enjoy this little design which I've had on my PC for a long time, so don't know where I downloaded it from.

Wouldn't it be cute on a pillowcase or a quilt block?

The words for this week are keeping in mind that Valentines Day is almost upon us......

If you look carefully, you will see I've taken the liberty of altering these words just a little here. You could maybe use them for the inside of your beloved's card.

Whichever way you may use them, please enjoy Ginger's House words.

Until later....Happy Crafting

Lilian