Two And A Half Years...

Hello Everyone! I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy and creative. 

It's been about two and a half years since I posted on my blog and what a journey it has been! 

My last post on my blog was in September, 2019 from my last vacation that my husband and I went on for our 20th wedding anniversary. We drove to beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada for a week. Little did we know that six months later there would be a global pandemic. 

Even though it has been a very difficult time for many of us for the past two years, it has also had some positive aspects. For me personally, as a scrapbooker, knitter, and generally overall a crafty person, it was so wonderful to have more time to create and learn new skills and techniques and not feel guilty about it. Ha Ha!  

It also was time to reflect and to evaluate what was important in life and what my priorities were. In the past two years since the pandemic began,  I was in the hospital twice and then my husband had major surgery and also had Covid-19. 

We decided that we needed to make some changes in our lives so we moved four hours away so we could be closer to my husband's job and also my three children and their spouses and families.

We now live in the same neighborhood as my son and daugher in law and two young grandsons.  My youngest grandson was born during the pandemic in May 2021.  

It is wonderful to be closer to my grandchildren and see them grow up, but at the same time it is difficult to move away from my elderly parents and those gorgeous mountains that my husband and I would see from our town and go for drives whenever we could. The mountains are my jam. 

 I really would like to start sharing some of my projects that I have been busy with the past two and half years and connect with my followers again. Thanks for stopping by and hope you will visit again soon.

Sewing And Knitting Projects

Hello friends! It's been four months since I have blogged and lots has been happening since my last post. Life happens doesn't it?

For the past year or so, my creative journey has taken a turn from scrapbooking to sewing and knitting. I haven't done any paper crafting for about a year now. I just needed a change. Scrapbooking has been my life for about eighteen years and I'm sure I'll return to it some day, but for now I'm having so much fun learning some new skills in the knitting and sewing world.

Knitting has really made a comeback since my childhood days when my grandmother taught me how to knit when I was about nine years old. It's a great way to alleviate stress and I've always liked to keep my hands busy while I watch Netflix.

There are so many beautiful yarns to choose from nowadays and I wanted to explore knitting something other than those granny slippers with the pompom from years ago.

I thought I would start with some cotton yarn and knit up some dishcloths in several patterns.

After knitting a few dish cloths, I thought I would try a bigger project so I knit a  kitty scarf that looked like my cat Sheldon. I knit this in Red Heart Soft Essentials yarn in two shades of gray. It was such a soft yarn to knit with and it feels great against the skin.

This was a fun scarf to knit and I wanted to learn how to change yarn colors. My daughter wanted this one.

After the kitty scarf,  I knit some infinity scarves so I stocked up on lots of yarn from Michael's Loops And Thread Impeccable chunky yarn in some ombre shades. They feel soft and cozy and will be perfect for those cold winters.

Now my goal is to knit a sweater for my grandson who is one year old now but I think I'll practice some cable knitting before I attempt a sweater.

I've always been intimidated by cable knitting but it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It just takes a little patience and practice because at first a person feels like they have to be an octopus to knit the cable knit stitches.

Soon I will share some knitting projects with cable knitting.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! 

Some Bags

Hello friends! It's been a month since I've blogged but I have been sewing up a storm these days. Here are some of the bags I've made lately.

I think I have found my passion. I love sewing bags.

Have a wonderful day!

It's Been Six Months

Hello friends! Happy Friday! It's been six months since I blogged and so much has happened in six months.

Seven years ago, I went on a creative journey and got very involved in the online scrapbooking world. I was on many design teams, submitted my layouts for publishing, blogged and uploaded all my paper crafting projects to my gallery on Scrapbook.com and was very active on social media (Facebook and Instagram). It was a lot of fun and it was one heck of a ride but lately I have needed a change and wanted to expand my creativity so I decided to explore sewing, quilting and machine embroidery. It's a new chapter.

I learned to sew as a teenager in school and didn't really like it and then I took sewing up again in my 30's making lots of crafty items and then in my 40's, I began sewing on paper and on my scrapbook layouts with my Kenmore sewing machine that I bought when I was 21 years old. It has served me well but I wanted to expand my horizons and upgrade to an electronic sewing machine so
in November 2018, my local quilt shop had an open house and there was the opportunity to go and try out some new sewing machines so I attended and decided to take the plunge. I chose a Brother VM5100 sewing/embroidery machine. It has a lot of bells and whistles, is super quiet, and user friendly. It will be a long while before I learn everything this workhorse can do, but it's so fun!

It has taken me six months to feel comfortable with my new sewing machine and there is so much to learn. To break in the machine, I began sewing beginner sewing projects. Since I had my first grandbaby last July, I thought sewing would give me the opportunity to learn some new "grandma" skills so I started sewing bibs, rag quilts, placemats, bowl cozies, potholders, oven mitts, table runners, stuffies, jelly roll rugs, pillowcases, pillow covers, bandanas, baskets, and now bags. Most of the items I have sewn have been gifted and I love the way it makes me feel inside when I give something handmade. Here are a few things I have sewn the past six months:

I think I am hooked! Fabric is just as addictive as paper and now I have a problem ha ha! A good problem. I need some organizational help!

Well that's what's happening in my world lately. I know I have taken a break from paper crafting, but I will be back again. I have too much invested in the hobby to give it up. I'm sure I'll make lots of mini albums of my family, but for now, I am loving the challenge of learning a new skill.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. I hope you do something you love.

Ciao!