on the upswing

This past week has been a rollercoaster of feeling well, not-so-well, horribly ill and everything in between. But all was not lost. I managed to drink a lot of this.


And finally finish this.


And even learn how to do this! (Yay french knots!).

citizens of make believe

So far there are seven citizens of Make Believe but I'm sure over time their population will grow. Today I would like to introduce you to five of the happy friends.

Meet Turnip. He's Make Believe's founding member. He looks young but don't let that baby face fool you! His wisdom makes him a perfect friend for whispering your dreams and secrets to at night. He gives good hugs and loves having his belly button tickled. X marks the spot!


This is Bruce. He's contemplating a nose ring and tattoos to spunk up his style but I'm trying to convince him he's perfect just the way he is. He loves The Ramones and listens to Rocket to Russia incessantly. He sometimes gets into scraps on the playground but underneath his prickly exterior lies a heart of gold.


Oh Marjorie... what can one say about Marjorie? How about mammas lock up your sons! This one loves to dance and leave lipstick on collars. And those eyes... yes those eyes can soften the hardest of hearts and wrap the sternest of men around her coy monkey fingers. Marjorie loves martinis and her new iPhone.


Don't let Richard's bandanna and country bumpkin guise fool you - this frog has hopped all over the world from Australia to Zaire. He loves trying new food from different cultures and is particularly a fan of Indian and Thai. The spicier the better! His most terrifying moment was falling into a giant crevasse on the peak of Mount Kilamanjaro but this one has more tricks up his sleeve than Go-Go Gadget and used his extra-sticky tongue to pull himself to safety. His stories will keep bonfire gatherers entertained for hours.


Lastly, meet Gnash. It's a silent 'G' and he hates it when it's pronounced. It's Nash not G-Nash! This horse has a propensity towards meloncholy and can often be found off by himself writing poetry or contemplating the meaning of life. He's got little arms so he's not a great hugger, but nothing makes him glow more brightly than getting one. He will nuzzle his muzzle into your heart and you'll never want to let go.

greetings from a make believe world

My friend Elaine was visiting a few weeks ago and when we're together, sparks fly. For two full days my living room "looked like Christmas" with buttons and thread and fiber-fill spread over every available surface. And to what reward! Check out the amazing group of friends we created from socks and gloves!

At first you think you're going to make a little dude with a certain personality but soon you realize you have no control over how your creature will turn out - their personality bursts through with very limited coaxing from you. It's amazing to see them evolve before your very eyes!

Here are a few group shots from their photo shoot one sunny and cool afternoon. Soon I will be posting their individual portrait shots as well... and even a few romantic images of Clementine and Dill Pickle who have quickly proven to be inseparable. :)


It's a little hard to tell, but here they are waiting for the bus. The #7 actually. They were going on an adventure.

From left to right: Richard, Bruce, Dill Pickle, Clementine, Marjorie, Turnip and Gnash.

I'm A Lucky Girl!

Have I ever mentioned how amazing my parents are? Sometimes I get a little teary-eyed when I think about how much I love them and how special they are. So I would be surprised to hear you say I've never mentioned them before!

The great thing about my parents is that they're doers and problem-solvers. I have never seen a domestic issue that they couldn't tackle and end up figuring out an ingenious solution. Sometimes I find myself doing things that I have no idea where I learned how to do it... and then I realize it's something I learned from my parents or have at least seen them do over the years. How lucky am I?!

Anyway, I had this "problem" of not being able to find an economically priced craft table that suited my needs. Since we've moved into our new place, I have been using the island in the kitchen for my crafting. This was tedious because between setting up and tearing down, every time I wanted to do something, it was adding about 45 minutes to the process.

Now my Mom especially understands the need for your own space. Ever since I can remember she's had her own "art room." I remember when it was a walk-in closet underneath the stairs. I've also seen it grow into a full-fledged room with custom-built storage, a counter and a sink for her painting, weaving and endless artful endeavours.

So you can imagine that when I mentioned I wanted a craft table, they were on it. Again, how lucky am I?!

Words can't do it justice so instead I've taken oodles of pictures to show you my beautiful Christmas gift. My very own, custom-built craft table! And accessories! It's very special knowing my parents built it with their own hands and put so much love and time into it.

With such an amazing space, it looks like 2009 can't fail in the crafting department. Happy New Year!

The Whelan Bat Colony

This weekend I went home to visit Mom and Dad. Well, I was there from 9pm Friday evening until 10pm Saturday and these days, that constitutes a weekend. Mom and I were supposed to finish up a top secret project but I forgot to pack a key component of said project (namely, a sewing machine part) so the process was severely impeded. BUT it didn't matter that much because I had some bats fluttering around in the back of my brain that were dying to be let loose. T'is the season after all!

As you know, I'm an avid blog reader and my "inspiration" list to the left down there is in dire need of updating. There is loads of inspiration out there and I have no less than 10 blogs I check daily. Anyway, I came across two bat project ideas that I just couldn't pass up.

The first idea comes from Domesticali. She designed these little felt bats she christened "Flappy Happies" and generously offered a tutorial on how to make them. They double as finger puppets or wine bottle tops! Mom and I had a mini assembly line going and made six. They're adorable! I want to make a hundred and give one to everyone I know because a) who doesn't need a bat? and b) they're awesome. I gave one to a friend at work to which I received a very enthusiastic response. That helps! I'm sorta kinda in love with these guys.

Mom's bat is to the left, mine is on the right.

The whole gang on display.

The second project comes all the way from Taiwan. Julie K in Taiwan designed some paper Halloween ornaments and they were so funky I definitely had to give it a shot. So while Mom cooked up a delicious turkey dinner, Dad and I sat down at the kitchen table and started cutting. Yes, you read that correctly. DAD and I made paper bats. And you know what? I think he kind of liked it. And he ended up doing something quite creative with his ears! The bat ears I mean, not his. If nothing else, I'm positive that Mom got a kick out of seeing me and Dad sitting at the table with rulers and glue sticks flying... :)

My paper bat.

Dad's paper bat. Note the cute pointy ears.

Father-daughter bat team.

oooOOOooo... spoooOOooooky!

I had a few strips of paper left over so once dinner was cleaned up (don't let that mislead you into thinking I cleaned anything up, my parents are awesome when I come to visit!) and I was waiting to make room for dessert (best. chocolate. cake. EVER.). I decided to hastily glue together a spider. It's not... um... a work of art or anything. But it does sorta look like a spider, doesn't it?

All in all, I had a great trip home and was glad to get some crafting in with my parents. The family that crafts together... ends up with a lot of bats I guess!

Weally Wonky Wabbits

Well, I just gained a whole new appreciation for those talented sewers out there who can sew circles and curves. Whew. It ain't easy and boy am I humbled.

I was flipping through one of my new books, Last Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson, the other night and came across the cutest pattern for Peanut, the Wee Elephant. The design was credited to Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls. So of course I had to run to my laptop to check out her site... lo and behold she was offering free patterns to download and I immediately decided I needed to make a wee bunny.

I was very enthusiastic at first! I printed out the pattern and picked out my fabric. (That was definitely the easiest part!).

I cut out all the pattern pieces and I made the ears about 1.5 cm bigger all around because I thought I would like them bigger and floppier. You can see in the picture above the original line on the inside of the ear. In the end I'm glad I did because they would have been itty bitty I think.

Next I made the ears and pinned them on to the solid front piece. Easy peasy!

Then I stitched the two patterned back pieces on... it was at about this point I realized that I can't sew curves. I think I read somewhere that having a walking foot really helps with the whole curve thing. Um... okay, I admit it, I'm looking for excuses. I know what helps with curves: PRACTICE! But you know what? I wasn't daunted. So my wee bunny would have a wonky seam, big deal. Adds character right? (Meanwhile I'm nervously eyeing that round bottom piece...)

I was so preoccupied with sewing curves and circles that I forgot to leave an opening in the back for stuffing! Oooooops! Where's my seam ripper again? (aka my very best friend). That was a pretty easy fix.

Now it was time to line up the bottom with the rest of the body. I was pretty excited and needed to start getting ready for work in 20 minutes. I tried pinning it together and the darn thing wouldn't fit. In fact, I had about an extra inch of circle and not enough body. So what do I do? Decide that I'll make it fit at the sewing machine. I sit down and sew away, casting pins aside.

The result?

Not so good. I've managed to create the wobbliest, ugliest, most puckered bunny bottom the world has ever laid eyes on...

So what do I do?

Throw some stuffing in there anyway!! I can't wait to see what my "completed" bunny looks like!!

If you look closely you can see a bottom gone horribly wrong.

I left it as is and headed off to work. I thought it would be kind of fun for Dennis to come home to a silly rabbit sitting on the kitchen counter. He said he thought it was really cute, God love him.

While at work I processed my bunny bottom predicament. I knew I wasn't going to learn how to sew curves and circles tonight so I needed to think up an alternate plan of attack... the bunny has three sides... what else can I do? AHA! A triangle!!

Yes, I made the bottom into a triangle. Hindsight is always 20-20 and this was not actually as brilliant an idea as I had thought. Obviously. Or the original pattern would have come with a triangle.

Oh, and I also deviated from the pattern (again - such a bad idea) by sewing on the eyes and embroidering the mouth and nose before adding the stuffing and sewing him up because I couldn't really imagine how to do that without having access to both sides (Please remember, I'm new at this!).

And then I realized that I didn't have a tail so I improvised and made my own. And when hand stitching the back closed, I sewed the tail on. And didn't really give much thought to placement because I already knew this wee bunny was beyond all hope. So I popped it on and now my ugly, deformed bunny looks like he has a hideous wart growing out of his back. Poor wee bunny. :(

Can you tell I'm delaying the unveiling?

...

Okay... prepare yourself!

He's drunk!

Note the wart... :)

He looks best from behind!

I've since removed him from my computer desk and put him on my sewing table. Wanna know a secret? I love him!! I laugh out loud every time I look at him and that deserves a whole pile of love in my opinion. I think I will keep him on my sewing table for a long time... for now as a reminder of "there's only one way to go from here... up!" and hopefully in the future as a reminder of just how far I've come.