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I was reading a book on the weekend about how colours affect us. The author made a comment there was a reason yellow and blue were so common in Scandinavia. Yellow actually physically cheers people up. Which is what you need in a place with little sunlight in winter. Well, at least that's what she said! So I decided to add some yellow to my dim dreary living room...
Made from leftover quilting fabric from quilting the quilt behind these cushions. I think they go nicely with the other pink throw cushion there...
The backs are different...
...in case one wants a more subdued look...
Made from leftover quilting fabric from quilting the quilt behind these cushions. I think they go nicely with the other pink throw cushion there...
The backs are different...
...in case one wants a more subdued look...
Here is the finished skirt from the African fabric my niece gave me...
I still have a few metres left for a bag or something...maybe even a jacket...will have to see...
I still have a few metres left for a bag or something...maybe even a jacket...will have to see...
Hi all...Sorry I haven't been posting much this past week. Lots happening. I've made the switch from spring to summer. I passed the torch of Stitchery Guild secretary onto another very capable lady...so no more Tuesday night meetings.
We switched Bible studies from nights to during the day mid-week...so I could spend the evening with Paul. He was actually disappointed! He used Bible study time to go to the public library and do family history research. Now he says he feels beholden to take me along. This is no hardship for me. I'll spend my time catching up in the magazine and newspaper section.
Friday morning stitch-in has stopped, so I've replaced it with an afternoon stitch-in on Tuesdays. This makes for a rushed Tuesday, but if I'm organized on Monday and get my shopping and laundry done, I'm set to go.
Wednesday night activities have ceased...providing me with more time for sewing, reading, and handwork. Wednesday afternoon I spend with friends.
And Thursday and Friday I like to spend time with friends. Saturdays I am knitting with a group in the mornings and quilting with another group in the afternoon. And of course Sundays are always full.
I've been running errands on foot a lot...which is eating into my computer time. But it's for a good cause. My weight hasn't dropped below 176 lbs. yet, and I'm frustrated. But I have a couple new tricks to try. I'm currently trying a detox tea with mild diuretics in it. I think a lot of what I have is water retention issues. I just lose the weight too fast when I come off meds (10 lbs./mth) for it to be much else.
But, just in case it is something else...I discovered "The Serotonin Power Diet" at the public library the other day. I checked reviews on-line and everything seems favourable. I've decided to try it. What have I got to lose? Besides 40 extra pounds!
I've been doing well with exercise...getting 7500 to 15,000 steps in each day. I need to vary it a bit I think. That will be my challenge this week. I need to do more upper body work. I just find it hard to motivate myself when I don't know if I'm doing it properly.
I canceled my appointment with the exercise therapist because I need to talk to the physiotherapist first. Turns out my doctor has signed me up for physio and exercise therapy. Too bad I can't afford both!
My diet has been wild. Paul is the master of carb loading. He decided to buy an entire 10" Black Forest Cake from Safeway to eat this weekend. I sighed and decided to help him. I was surprised that I did not have any ill effects from it. But I ate a lot smaller pieces than normal. And I ate it on it's own. And I exercised after every piece for at least 20 minutes...walks, etc. I was surprised to note I did have an improvement in energy levels and clarity of thought after eating them.
The Serotonin Power Diet advocates eating carbs, but not junk carbs like the Black Forest Cake! And they advocate eating the carbs at certain times and with certain combinations of food. Carbs have been linked to serotonin production in the brain. According to the authors, if eaten with protein, the protein will block the carbs from being absorbed and used for serotonin production. All this is the result of various studies on rats at M.I.T.
Anyway...onto other things...I've done virtually nothing in the sewing department...Let's see...I got the wrap around skirt made...except the waistband. I did get the sashing on the sampler quilt...kind of. I ran out of fabric and have to contact the lady to arrange a time to pick up more.
In the knitting department I continue to knit on my drop stitch scarf made from Sea Maiden Double Sea Silk. It's turning out lovely! And ooooooh so soft!
In the frugal department...I decided to try shopping locally...and discovered it's expensive. A local yarn shop had knitting magazines for sale for $1-2 more than the local bookstore. I bought one at the yarn store and, when I saw the prices at the bookstore, picked up a couple there. I'm fixed for knitting projects for awhile.
I also tried to buy frozen boneless pork loin chops at a local butcher's. But when I opened my package of 4 chops (for $9!), I discovered one was almost all fat and the other three had to have huge chunks of fat cut off them. Never again. We'll be going to Sobey's for pork chops from here on in.
A friend has been supplying me with ionized water from her filtration system, and I love it for making tea. It's just so smooth going down. She also passed on some insecticidal soap she was given by someone else.
I helped another friend who had a three day garage sale this past week/weekend. I only spent $5 the whole event. I netted:
I've become slack at hanging up clothes to dry. We only do two loads of laundry a week: one light and one dark. I find I am often rushed with doing it on Mondays. So I just push it through. Washing full loads saves on electricity. I try to get to it before Paul because he likes to set the dryer on moisture setting...which can take up to 2 hours to dry the clothes! I set it for 60 minutes on the timer and they're done by the end of the hour. We've reconnected the dryer vent hose to the outside for the warmer months. No need to have it redirected inside. As per usual, I do not recommend redirecting the dryer vent hose inside if you live in a damp climate. You will only be encouraging mold to grow.
We've been grilling more on the gas grill outside now the nice weather is here. We're also eating a lot of blender/microwave/indoor grill meals. I can't remember the last time I cooked a meal on the stove top. Could be why our electricity bill has plummeted below $60 from around $80. I love summer!
We decided that seeing as we couldn't find anyone to replace our fence this year, we'd replace the kitchen window instead. So we have people coming to look it over. Right now it has a crack in the glass and it is leaking majorly bad in winter. Which, if you know the Canadian prairie winters, is not a good thing! It's going to cost roughly $1000CAD to replace a 30 x 55" window. We have the money saved up for this.
Paul and I have decided to dispense with watching TV every night before bed. Consequently I have been falling asleep much easier and am having a more restful sleep. It is nice to wake up rested in the morning! I suggested we watch it earlier in the evening when we do want to watch it. We'll see if that works for me as well. Paul has been watching his TV shows on the Internet instead.
Meghan and Lisa are both in Halifax now. I am suffering from DWS...daughter withrawal syndrome! They only have cell phones. Lisa's doesn't have long distance (or at least it costs an arm and a leg to phone her long distance!), and she doesn't have Internet till mid-month. Meghan is either not near her phone, or on it, and I can't get through to her. Interestingly, she is not responding to email either. I wonder what's going on there. You know, I've come to the conclusion that a parent's job is to always worry about their children. I'm sure she's fine, but I'd feel a lot better if I could touch base with her.
Well, that's my catch up post everyone. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!
We switched Bible studies from nights to during the day mid-week...so I could spend the evening with Paul. He was actually disappointed! He used Bible study time to go to the public library and do family history research. Now he says he feels beholden to take me along. This is no hardship for me. I'll spend my time catching up in the magazine and newspaper section.
Friday morning stitch-in has stopped, so I've replaced it with an afternoon stitch-in on Tuesdays. This makes for a rushed Tuesday, but if I'm organized on Monday and get my shopping and laundry done, I'm set to go.
Wednesday night activities have ceased...providing me with more time for sewing, reading, and handwork. Wednesday afternoon I spend with friends.
And Thursday and Friday I like to spend time with friends. Saturdays I am knitting with a group in the mornings and quilting with another group in the afternoon. And of course Sundays are always full.
I've been running errands on foot a lot...which is eating into my computer time. But it's for a good cause. My weight hasn't dropped below 176 lbs. yet, and I'm frustrated. But I have a couple new tricks to try. I'm currently trying a detox tea with mild diuretics in it. I think a lot of what I have is water retention issues. I just lose the weight too fast when I come off meds (10 lbs./mth) for it to be much else.
But, just in case it is something else...I discovered "The Serotonin Power Diet" at the public library the other day. I checked reviews on-line and everything seems favourable. I've decided to try it. What have I got to lose? Besides 40 extra pounds!
I've been doing well with exercise...getting 7500 to 15,000 steps in each day. I need to vary it a bit I think. That will be my challenge this week. I need to do more upper body work. I just find it hard to motivate myself when I don't know if I'm doing it properly.
I canceled my appointment with the exercise therapist because I need to talk to the physiotherapist first. Turns out my doctor has signed me up for physio and exercise therapy. Too bad I can't afford both!
My diet has been wild. Paul is the master of carb loading. He decided to buy an entire 10" Black Forest Cake from Safeway to eat this weekend. I sighed and decided to help him. I was surprised that I did not have any ill effects from it. But I ate a lot smaller pieces than normal. And I ate it on it's own. And I exercised after every piece for at least 20 minutes...walks, etc. I was surprised to note I did have an improvement in energy levels and clarity of thought after eating them.
The Serotonin Power Diet advocates eating carbs, but not junk carbs like the Black Forest Cake! And they advocate eating the carbs at certain times and with certain combinations of food. Carbs have been linked to serotonin production in the brain. According to the authors, if eaten with protein, the protein will block the carbs from being absorbed and used for serotonin production. All this is the result of various studies on rats at M.I.T.
Anyway...onto other things...I've done virtually nothing in the sewing department...Let's see...I got the wrap around skirt made...except the waistband. I did get the sashing on the sampler quilt...kind of. I ran out of fabric and have to contact the lady to arrange a time to pick up more.
In the knitting department I continue to knit on my drop stitch scarf made from Sea Maiden Double Sea Silk. It's turning out lovely! And ooooooh so soft!
In the frugal department...I decided to try shopping locally...and discovered it's expensive. A local yarn shop had knitting magazines for sale for $1-2 more than the local bookstore. I bought one at the yarn store and, when I saw the prices at the bookstore, picked up a couple there. I'm fixed for knitting projects for awhile.
I also tried to buy frozen boneless pork loin chops at a local butcher's. But when I opened my package of 4 chops (for $9!), I discovered one was almost all fat and the other three had to have huge chunks of fat cut off them. Never again. We'll be going to Sobey's for pork chops from here on in.
A friend has been supplying me with ionized water from her filtration system, and I love it for making tea. It's just so smooth going down. She also passed on some insecticidal soap she was given by someone else.
I helped another friend who had a three day garage sale this past week/weekend. I only spent $5 the whole event. I netted:
- 2 soaker hoses,
- a fancy sewing kit for traveling,
- unopened perfume with delightful decanter (AVON),
- a blue willow plate,
- an old tobacco tin full of 50+ year old buttons,
- 2 videos,
- a book,
- and other things I forget.
I've become slack at hanging up clothes to dry. We only do two loads of laundry a week: one light and one dark. I find I am often rushed with doing it on Mondays. So I just push it through. Washing full loads saves on electricity. I try to get to it before Paul because he likes to set the dryer on moisture setting...which can take up to 2 hours to dry the clothes! I set it for 60 minutes on the timer and they're done by the end of the hour. We've reconnected the dryer vent hose to the outside for the warmer months. No need to have it redirected inside. As per usual, I do not recommend redirecting the dryer vent hose inside if you live in a damp climate. You will only be encouraging mold to grow.
We've been grilling more on the gas grill outside now the nice weather is here. We're also eating a lot of blender/microwave/indoor grill meals. I can't remember the last time I cooked a meal on the stove top. Could be why our electricity bill has plummeted below $60 from around $80. I love summer!
We decided that seeing as we couldn't find anyone to replace our fence this year, we'd replace the kitchen window instead. So we have people coming to look it over. Right now it has a crack in the glass and it is leaking majorly bad in winter. Which, if you know the Canadian prairie winters, is not a good thing! It's going to cost roughly $1000CAD to replace a 30 x 55" window. We have the money saved up for this.
Paul and I have decided to dispense with watching TV every night before bed. Consequently I have been falling asleep much easier and am having a more restful sleep. It is nice to wake up rested in the morning! I suggested we watch it earlier in the evening when we do want to watch it. We'll see if that works for me as well. Paul has been watching his TV shows on the Internet instead.
Meghan and Lisa are both in Halifax now. I am suffering from DWS...daughter withrawal syndrome! They only have cell phones. Lisa's doesn't have long distance (or at least it costs an arm and a leg to phone her long distance!), and she doesn't have Internet till mid-month. Meghan is either not near her phone, or on it, and I can't get through to her. Interestingly, she is not responding to email either. I wonder what's going on there. You know, I've come to the conclusion that a parent's job is to always worry about their children. I'm sure she's fine, but I'd feel a lot better if I could touch base with her.
Well, that's my catch up post everyone. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!
It's finished! I blocked it yesterday and today it's just lovely! Open, airy, but very warm. That's the mohair in it. Just the right length too. Here's a picture...
That will be my last prayer shawl.
I also worked on my wrap around/sarong style skirt today. It's been fun. I have to put a waistband facing on it, sew on buttons and buttonholes, then I'll be done.
That will be my last prayer shawl.
I also worked on my wrap around/sarong style skirt today. It's been fun. I have to put a waistband facing on it, sew on buttons and buttonholes, then I'll be done.
We've been busy with yardwork all weekend. I finished weeding today. Well...as much as I'm going to do. I'm not one for getting every little bit I must admit. I think that's impossible here. But I got rid of all the big stuff that was going to flower. Paul helped me plant some petunias to fill in the gaps left by the weeds.
I walked to a local yarn store this morning with my dropped stitch scarf I'm working on. I was afraid I'd run out of yarn. But the lady there weighed it and declared I'd be okay. So I'm continuing in faith. I asked her about blocking my last prayer shawl. She showed me a special detergent for it and told me how to do it. So I came home and blocked the shawl. It's drying on the basement carpet.
I decided to attend a local stitch-in this afternoon. I took my dropped stitch scarf. Everyone loved it and wanted the pattern. It's off the Internet and free, so that was good to be able to share with them. However the yarn is quite expensive. It's Double Sea Silk by Sea Maiden. It makes a beautifully draped scarf.
I stopped by the library at stitch-in. In fact, I stopped by two separate branches of the library. One to return books and check out cookbooks (they have a better collection than the other library), and one to check out knitting books.
I also checked a naturopath's office that sells alkaline water. Found out it was a lady I saw earlier this year who wanted me off medication and on a $450/mth. protocol. I don't think I'll be going back to her. Her diagnosis was sketchy at best. I decided I could do without the water.
I visited a quilt shop and was able to find a better fabric for sashing for the sampler quilt. I'm going to try sewing it up tomorrow. I think...I have another quilt I want to machine quilt. Plus a wrap skirt to sew. The nice thing with this lady is she also had a whole line of coordinating fabrics that would work with the quilt. That means I'll have border fabric as well as binding...and possibly backing.
I haven't been doing too well healthwise. I've been putting on weight because I've had a sweet attack again. I did really well with my diet today, and then blew it by going to DQ with Paul for a banana split (it's got fruit!). However I have been able to consistently fit in my 7500 steps the last two weeks. So that part is a success. My weight is hovering in the 176 -177 range. Rats! I want it to go down, down, down...or I'll have to stop rewarding myself!
I walked to a local yarn store this morning with my dropped stitch scarf I'm working on. I was afraid I'd run out of yarn. But the lady there weighed it and declared I'd be okay. So I'm continuing in faith. I asked her about blocking my last prayer shawl. She showed me a special detergent for it and told me how to do it. So I came home and blocked the shawl. It's drying on the basement carpet.
I decided to attend a local stitch-in this afternoon. I took my dropped stitch scarf. Everyone loved it and wanted the pattern. It's off the Internet and free, so that was good to be able to share with them. However the yarn is quite expensive. It's Double Sea Silk by Sea Maiden. It makes a beautifully draped scarf.
I stopped by the library at stitch-in. In fact, I stopped by two separate branches of the library. One to return books and check out cookbooks (they have a better collection than the other library), and one to check out knitting books.
I also checked a naturopath's office that sells alkaline water. Found out it was a lady I saw earlier this year who wanted me off medication and on a $450/mth. protocol. I don't think I'll be going back to her. Her diagnosis was sketchy at best. I decided I could do without the water.
I visited a quilt shop and was able to find a better fabric for sashing for the sampler quilt. I'm going to try sewing it up tomorrow. I think...I have another quilt I want to machine quilt. Plus a wrap skirt to sew. The nice thing with this lady is she also had a whole line of coordinating fabrics that would work with the quilt. That means I'll have border fabric as well as binding...and possibly backing.
I haven't been doing too well healthwise. I've been putting on weight because I've had a sweet attack again. I did really well with my diet today, and then blew it by going to DQ with Paul for a banana split (it's got fruit!). However I have been able to consistently fit in my 7500 steps the last two weeks. So that part is a success. My weight is hovering in the 176 -177 range. Rats! I want it to go down, down, down...or I'll have to stop rewarding myself!
What do they have in common? Well they came in the same package for me the other day...well kind of...a piece of blue African cloth was tucked in with the blueberries my little sister shipped to me. Her daughter had picked it up in Africa and didn't know what to do with it. So asked her mom to ship it to me. Now what would you do with this lovely cloth?
It's 34" wide by 4.5 yds long. The pattern repeat (which is huge!) is 30". It's cotton and all I can think to do is quilt it somehow. Any ideas?
It's 34" wide by 4.5 yds long. The pattern repeat (which is huge!) is 30". It's cotton and all I can think to do is quilt it somehow. Any ideas?
I phoned the church and was able to put the spices on a table with a sign saying "FREE" for anyone who wants to pick them up.
I walked to a meeting of stitchers today. I was able to work on my hardanger bellpull, and my fifth prayer shawl. A lady there offered to help me figure out how to sew quilt blocks where all the corners meet in the middle (think lots of skinny triangles/diamond shapes). She also spent time evening up the edge of my silk shibori scarf so I can hand hem it.
Just so you know what I'm talking about, here are the pictures...
If you look at the closeup, you can see the actual marks left by the rusty nuts and bolts used to make the pattern in this fabric.
It is hand dyed...started out off white. It is soaked in a mordant, then wrapped around rusty stuff, spotted randomly with natural dyes, and then left to process for awhile in steam. The end result is this fabric.
Here's the prayer shawl...it needs to be 5' long. I've got a ways to go!
Here's the hardanger bellpull. It too, has a ways to go!
On a more frugal note...
I had perogies for lunch...with leftover onions I fried up in butter for overtop...and some fat free sour cream. Don't know why I bother with fat free sour cream when I cook the onions in butter! But the onions taste soooo much better in butter.
Breakfast was homemade blueberry muffins, almond butter and raspberry jam.
Snack was some almonds baked in soy sauce. Nice and salty...and crunchy.
Supper is fish tonight. Not sure if it will be salmon burgers or scallops I bought on sale last week.
Entertainment has been affordable this week. Paul and I have been watching library and home DVDs, as per usual. We've also taken to playing card games in the evening, and sometimes other games as well. I'm also reading a bunch of books that have been loaned to me or borrowed from the library.
The library did have a book sale this week. I was there and picked up four books for $3.50. Gotta love it when they're that cheap! They were good basic books too. One was on the DASH diet for hypertension. Our family needs to be on that diet, and this is much cheaper than printing it off the Internet. The basics of the diet are available for free, but the cost of ink and paper has got to be over $1....it's fairly long.
My friends and I continue to share things amongst ourselves. One lady is slowly cleaning out her freezers in preparation for the upcoming gardening season. I am the beneficiary of a lot of fruit, vegetables and baked goods. In turn I give her first crack at things I am getting rid of...like those spices. I also save ice-cream buckets for her to package fruit in for sale.
I had loaned some of Mom's Bible videos to a special needs girl who attends our church. She loved them and returned them, asking for more.
I've spent some time sorting through my fabric stash. I have one bag ready to leave the house. I want to spend time doing more sorting. I figure the more I get rid of, the less I have to store or sew up. Meaning more space and less money for storage containers.
I had to return "Getting Things Done" to the library. Other people put holds on it! But I'm kind of at a point with my filing cabinet project anyway. It wouldn't hurt to finish a few projects and do some serious filing of information.
I went through some stitchwork I'd like to have framed and have put aside three pieces to do. Two are for other people...things I've promised. Then I have several pieces for myself. I am going to speak with Paul about doing a few at a time. I want to see how much I can do myself first. I think some of them can be easily laced and inserted into frames.
I guess that's the extent of my Frugal Friday. Most everything was reported as it happened this week. Hope everyone is having a good time! I'm off to sort through Mom's photos...
I walked to a meeting of stitchers today. I was able to work on my hardanger bellpull, and my fifth prayer shawl. A lady there offered to help me figure out how to sew quilt blocks where all the corners meet in the middle (think lots of skinny triangles/diamond shapes). She also spent time evening up the edge of my silk shibori scarf so I can hand hem it.
Just so you know what I'm talking about, here are the pictures...
If you look at the closeup, you can see the actual marks left by the rusty nuts and bolts used to make the pattern in this fabric.
It is hand dyed...started out off white. It is soaked in a mordant, then wrapped around rusty stuff, spotted randomly with natural dyes, and then left to process for awhile in steam. The end result is this fabric.
Here's the prayer shawl...it needs to be 5' long. I've got a ways to go!
Here's the hardanger bellpull. It too, has a ways to go!
On a more frugal note...
I had perogies for lunch...with leftover onions I fried up in butter for overtop...and some fat free sour cream. Don't know why I bother with fat free sour cream when I cook the onions in butter! But the onions taste soooo much better in butter.
Breakfast was homemade blueberry muffins, almond butter and raspberry jam.
Snack was some almonds baked in soy sauce. Nice and salty...and crunchy.
Supper is fish tonight. Not sure if it will be salmon burgers or scallops I bought on sale last week.
Entertainment has been affordable this week. Paul and I have been watching library and home DVDs, as per usual. We've also taken to playing card games in the evening, and sometimes other games as well. I'm also reading a bunch of books that have been loaned to me or borrowed from the library.
The library did have a book sale this week. I was there and picked up four books for $3.50. Gotta love it when they're that cheap! They were good basic books too. One was on the DASH diet for hypertension. Our family needs to be on that diet, and this is much cheaper than printing it off the Internet. The basics of the diet are available for free, but the cost of ink and paper has got to be over $1....it's fairly long.
My friends and I continue to share things amongst ourselves. One lady is slowly cleaning out her freezers in preparation for the upcoming gardening season. I am the beneficiary of a lot of fruit, vegetables and baked goods. In turn I give her first crack at things I am getting rid of...like those spices. I also save ice-cream buckets for her to package fruit in for sale.
I had loaned some of Mom's Bible videos to a special needs girl who attends our church. She loved them and returned them, asking for more.
I've spent some time sorting through my fabric stash. I have one bag ready to leave the house. I want to spend time doing more sorting. I figure the more I get rid of, the less I have to store or sew up. Meaning more space and less money for storage containers.
I had to return "Getting Things Done" to the library. Other people put holds on it! But I'm kind of at a point with my filing cabinet project anyway. It wouldn't hurt to finish a few projects and do some serious filing of information.
I went through some stitchwork I'd like to have framed and have put aside three pieces to do. Two are for other people...things I've promised. Then I have several pieces for myself. I am going to speak with Paul about doing a few at a time. I want to see how much I can do myself first. I think some of them can be easily laced and inserted into frames.
I guess that's the extent of my Frugal Friday. Most everything was reported as it happened this week. Hope everyone is having a good time! I'm off to sort through Mom's photos...
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