Coookin

We took an alternate route for the wooden kitchen, but the destination is the same: cooking. Or, "coookin" as Oliver says. This is truly a hit. And I'm so glad, because with a car, a train, "animuls", drums, and other lovely and handmade gifts, the kitchen could easily have been a dud. But it's not. It's a smashing success. I asked Oliver what he was cooking and he said, "Supper!" Then I told him supper was ready, and asked him if he wanted to eat. "No," he replied. Cooking, you see, is much more entertaining than eating.

Bags again

Seems like with my sewing I always come back to the same thing: bags. I was dropping some off at the co-op the other day and the cashier said to me, "Oh yeah, you're the bag lady." Not exactly the stature I was shooting for in life, but I'll take it. It's kind of accurate.

[OK side note. When I was working for a consulting firm in Cleveland, we did smoke testing in the neighborhoods adjacent to the city. We had an issue in Viola's house in Mayfield Heights so we had to go in and check it out. At this point, Viola (a sweet, crackly old woman with a house that smells of cabbage) says to me, "So you want to be a sewer lady??" and I decide on a change in career...]

Back to bags. I make bags. All kinds of bags: lunch bags, snack bags, tote bags, grocery bags, shoulder bags... and now, produce bags! I've been wanting to make these for some time. My first attempt used an unbleached cheesecloth, and, while airy, was totally unruly to sew. They looked like crap and weren't much easier to use. The cashier at Valle's gave me a couple raised eyebrows when I produced my produce in said bags for scanning. Huh, he said. Well, I guess I would have too. So I made these:

I used organic cotton leno from Near Sea Naturals and a little swatch of some cotton fruit fabric to embellish. The leno is stiff enough to sew well, but super gauzy and hole-y so I can get some nice air flow. I'm happy with how they turned out and am going to try to make some more. I may even put some up on Etsy.

I also did a couple more snack bags, which we have been using heaps lately. They are extraordinarily fast to make so they're one of the few projects I can start and finish after Oliver's gone to bed. It's good to have a couple of those up my sleeve, or in the bag, as the case may be.

Holiday knitting

Well, I seem to have caught a knitting bug this season because I took off running. More details on Ravelry, for those of you who are members. Lots of mittens, 2 hats, a mini scarf, and yes, even some progress on my BIG project: Darling's sweater (no longer a surprise - gift given, incomplete as it was, on Christmas). I even got yarn and a sweater class for gifts (a sweater for ME, indulgent indeed).

All fueled by copious amounts of tea, Peppercorn Shortbread (ohhh, there it is, the secret link), and a little dollup of hot buttered rum (courtesy of Karleen). Quite cozy, I do say.

White Garden

Darling conjured up some scallops, crusty bread, and salad. Then we settled in for another go at the old floor plan...

Breakfast ala backpack

Hoping everyone had a fantastic New Year celebration! Ours involved a bit of skiing over at Green Garden, which is happily not very green at all right now, combined with some cozy meals and a little home design. It was pretty perfect.

How did you spend it?