Wednesday 16 August 2017

Never enough vintage pyrex!

Since my last share about my pyrex collection I have been doing more research and have found that pyrex collecting is a HUGE phenomena! A lot of people are crazy for it. I can understand why. There are so many lovely colours and patterns and it can also be useful. If you are a serious collector and still use your collection for cooking and serving you must treat it with great care for it to remain in good condition. NEVER put it in the dishwasher and be very mindful of scratching the surface inside and out. I recommend not using metal utensils.

I finally found a cabinet to house my collection that keeps it all enclosed and dust free but still showcases it nicely. I don't think I can stop now. I can't resist looking at thrift & antique shops.



Vintage Pyrex Collection



Happy Hunting!

Friday 3 February 2017

Even More Quiet Book Pages

Making quiet books with binder rings makes it possible to 
continue adding pages at any time.




how to make the  cover with rings can be found here

In 2012 I started a quiet book for my grandson and have shared as I added pages. 
Here is a picture of all the pages I have already shared from the book.



Since then I have made two more pages:

A Weather Page






Map of Canada puzzle page





These pages are good teaching tools but still fun. if you want to know any details
 of how I made this or need a pattern just ask in the comments section.


Monday 15 June 2015

Vintage pyrex: growing my collection

A post I shared about my vintage pyrex collection has been a favorite for many and so
 I thought I would update it.  I like how it looks now that I have had my kitchen renovated. 
I finally painted the cupboard that I display it in. 




The evolution of the collection:


Vintage pyrex and glasses in turquoise and pink:


I decided to add some yellow pyrex


In the bottom left corner is a lime green loaf pan. I am now on the hunt for that color as well.




I also collect vintage glasses in turquoise, pink and yellow.


I  found some plastic doilies from the 1950's in the same colors.





I find that I like these colors more and more and am planning to share the other vintage finds that I have in my kitchen on a future post. I would love to hear about your pyrex likes in the comments.

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Baby Love

I love making Baby things and the last few years I have taken to making 
themed baby gifts for my grand- babies.

I shared a bit about this owl-themed gift HERE


Another theme idea came from a small bird design I made. 

I shared how I made the quilt   HERE    even though I am not really a very proficient quilter.


Here is a close up of one of the birds on the quilt.


The finished quilt


The crochet flannel blanket pattern can be found  HERE


Another crochet blanket made with granny squares and a ruffled edge in colors to go with the theme.


A bird pillow with two different sides.



And last but not least a small crocheted bird rattle made
 from a pattern I purchased from  THIS  etsy store.



This is the latest baby gift.




The first thing I decided to make was a crochet blanket. 
Since it needed to be neutral until I knew the gender of the baby I decided to
use a white and grey color scheme. The black edge was a later decision.

This free pattern can be found HERE

I added a border and sewed the pink ribbon on by hand at the end to add a
 feminine touch after finding out my new grand-baby was a girl.



This baby gift theme started with an idea to use farm animals. I decided to continue
 the grey, black and white after liking how the crochet blanket looked

First I purchased a horse, cow and chick embroidery pattern
 HERE  to use as appliqué patterns.

I purchased the pattern for the lamb  HERE.

The pig I designed myself with the Pages app.

These patterns:



Became this:


And then: my final blanket top design:


I sent my design to Spoonflower and had it printed in an organic
knit cotton that is extremely soft.


I put a white layer of flannel between the quilt top and a soft striped flannel
I found for the backing. It makes the blanket a very nice weight.


The dotted lines were a great guide for hand stitching around each square.
Decorative pink stitching was added as with the other pink touches at the end.

The decorative lamb pillow is made with polka dot flannelette, white and black felt.
It could be used as wall decor instead of a pillow. It is quite flat.

Even the pink bow is made of felt. 


A sweater is always nice gift. I crocheted a simple shape all half-double crochet with a few
stripes. I was planning to make the sweater hooded but changed my mind and made a
shell stitch peter-pan collar. When it was finished I got the idea to line it with some soft
cotton fabric and from there it seemed sensible to make it reversible. I cut two pieces of the
lining fabric the same shape as my sweater and seamed it right sides together. Then I
sewed it by hand into the sweater. I like how it turned out and so did my daughter-in -law.










Ties seemed to work the best for a reversible sweater. They are a crocheted chain and then slip stitched into each chain for body.

















At the last minute I found I had some flannelette in my stash  that had sheep on it so decided to make a double-sided blanket to line the basket I was putting my gift in.














Finished Baby gift !
A baby is a wonderful miracle and so much fun to make things for. What do you think?