Sewing was My First Love

My father taught me to sew. I remember making a very trendy outfit with coordinating cape for a teen fashion show in Regina many years ago. My love of sewing led me into studying home economics at the University of Saskatchewan.

I met my BFF during the summer before college at a church camp. What luck that she was also planning to attend the same college. Together we suffered through chem labs and revelled in the fun of university life. First and second year were gruelling with an emphasis on the sciences. Real sciences like physics, agricultural microbiology, anatomy, biology, chemistry and more that have not reserved a place in my memory. Home economics is a science degree after all and we had more than one class with med students and Agros.

After completing the required courses to convocate I spent all my electives in clothing and textiles. I was always interested in health and my diet but I do not remember the day that the passion for sewing and fashion was overtaken by the obsession for food. In fact I cannot even tell you why it happened.

So fast forward to today and I find myself slipping into a few sewing projects. I have some ideas for the farmers' market that I will share at a later date. While I was in Victoria, a city with surprisingly good fabric and  notions stores, I shopped. The feel of fabrics in my hands brings back the memories of a passion I once had. It feels good. I am looking at linens.

It is almost old school to be served by men in the fabric and notions stores where I shopped. It is usually men that are tailors. These men know their stuff. I am sure it was the owner at Gala Fabrics that helped me the three times I visited. His cutting skills are amazing. He can cut a perfect straight line off the bolt as sure as if he had ripped it.

Then he recommended The Button and Needlework Boutique for the embroidery thread I needed. Again a man, probably the owner of the shop, selected the perfect product for my needs. I purchased a beautiful cotton single strand embroidery thread, almost a cord, and very strong. These types of stores used to be in every city but over time the demand has waned and they have closed. There is something about a boutique textile shop that gives a superior shopping experience as compared to the chain fabric store. First and last, the staff is knowledgeable.

Watch for more about my sewing projects this summer when the market opens.

Always...Carry a Corkscrew

I was a very crafty teenager. I learned macrame, crochet, knitting, sewing and foraged for wolf willow berries for the seeds that made beautiful beads. I studied home economics at university. Then I moved to Calgary and became a skier! Crafts took a back seat to hiking and skiing in the mountains.

To find myself working on a little project tonight took me back to the relaxation of working with my hands. The kids at the Hutterite Colony where I am a substitute teacher gave me a rustic chalkboard. They were about to throw it into the burning barrel when I saved it.

I'll paint the back to tidy it up.

I popped my trunk and they tossed it in.

The chalkboard is a vintage green board attached to chip board. It was okay like this but really needed some dressing up before I would take it to my table at the Farmers' Market. The back side gives a hint as to how the front looked.

I have been saving wine corks for eons. It just kind of came together tonight. I hot glued wine corks around the chalk board to hide the rough wood and it was successful, don't you think!

Make a Christmas Wreath

It is a beautiful day after suffering through a huge dump of snow and cold winter temperatures. I thought it was a good day to go outside and clip some branches from my evergreen trees. I have 3 different varieties.

I have always wanted to make my own Christmas wreath and I was up to the challenge this afternoon. All you need are 3 items plus the evergreen boughs. You need 2 coat hangers, florist wire and some clippers to cut the wire.

Pull the coat hangers out of shape into a diamond shape and wire them together. I tried it with one hanger and the bundle of boughs just would not stay in place.

Make 12 bundles of boughs and twist each with some florist wire. Make sure you have a variety of boughs in each bundle. Then you simply attach them to the coat hanger frame with more florist wire.

I started at the top and overlapped each bundle so you hide the ends of the branches and the wire. You can fill in any obvious holes later.

The most time consuming part was deciding how to decorate it. In the end, I simply used some pheasant feathers and two sparkly pear Christmas decorations. I also added a few extra pine cones. Use your florist wire to attach the decorations. I am sure I will be tweaking it in the days ahead to make it just right.