Work in Progress or Hockey Mom

I realized that I've done a couple of projects and not shown you pictures.  This one is a work in progress that I've been working on while my oldest daughter takes skating lessons.  It's a shirt for the little one.  I'm not loving the randomness of the design but I'm working with what I started.  Do you ever have second thoughts after starting a project?

I just love the handmade ribbon that I found (here).  It makes the shirt.  You'll have to take my word for it as it's hard to see much in this photo from my iPhone.  I don't know why it turned out all grainy - I've obviously got some learning to do on that.  My thinking is that a grainy photo is better than no photo which is what you'd have if I waited to download pictures off of the real camera.  Good thing for the iPhone, I just don't get to the real computer at home very often anymore.  I think this is ok, as it means I'm playing with the kids or creating something in the kitchen instead, and doing internet on the bus.

On Funerals

This picture only captures a fraction of the elegance of my Auntie’s beautiful horse.


On funerals

Anyone here like funerals? The official, formal part, I mean. Didn’t think so.

I’m starting to form a real dislike for them. I find that the real healing, satisfying part happens before and after the actual funeral. I don’t remember much about my grandmother’s funeral, what I do remember is sitting around at my aunt’s house visiting with my cousins, aunts and uncles in the days before and after and that just being together was comforting. My grandfater’s funeral was exactly 5 minutes long, followed by tea at the senior’s center and then home again. I cried all the way home. I felt alone.

When my grandmother on the other side passed away we gathered in the carport and built a casket together. I painted a big swirly letter B on it in her favourite color of blue (hippies? yes.). Working together on it filled the need to commemorate that I think funerals try to fill.

This weekend the family gathered again at my aunt’s house. No funeral this time for my cousin who had passed away. We played cards, ate pizza and homemade pie and visited. Cousins gathered from all over.

It’s what we all needed, no formal service required.

I’m starting to think why bother with a funeral at all, when, for me at least, it’s the gathering of family and friends that is important and healing.

Am I missing something? Agree or disagree? Please comment.

I love you, Etsy, but...

Change is in the air, can you feel it?  Maybe it's just in my house.  I have a feeling that 2011 is a year for going inward, for simplifying, and finding great joy that is in the nooks and crannies of our lives.  I can't wait, actually, and I feel better already.  Like making the intention has already started the process.

It is in the spirit of simplifying that I have to tell you that I'm closing down my Etsy shop, at least mostly (I have some inventory I'd love to get rid of).   I have a full time job with long commute and a young family.  It's time to concentrate my energy inward and on things that really matter.  I'm glad I did it - I learned so much about online business, working as an artisan; it pushed me creatively in so many ways and has been an experience that I will always be thankful for.  I don't have to think 'what if I had done that' because I did.  I acted boldly and was greatly rewarded.  I think if I had more time to dedicate to an Etsy store I could really make it work, and maybe in the future, when things change (things always change) I will be back.  

So for now, if you'd like something from my shop get it quick.  Otherwise I'm more than happy to do custom orders, in fact I'm hoping to have more time for them now, and they have always been the most exciting things.  I'm hoping to have more time to work on my own art, and projects for my family.  I'm excited for the new beginning.

Felt Ornament Tutorial

My daughter wanted to show you how to make these lovely Christmas tree ornaments.   She's 6.  I'm sure this project would not take too long if you didn't take as many breaks for pictures (we had to do it over 2 days due to attention spans.).  She says hopefully yours will look as pretty as hers at the end.

1) Cut two pieces of felt.  We used a plastic lid as a template.

2) Decorate! This is the fun part!  You can stitch or glue to attach things to your ornaments.

3) Put both sides together right sides out.  Sew most of the way around.

3) Stuff.  We used scraps from another project.

4) Sew the rest of the way around and tie a knot.

5) Add a loop of thread or yarn.

6) Hang your new ornament with pride and congratulate yourself on a job well done.

The ornament on the left was little sister's project - we didn't write a tutorial for that.  

I cut the circle and she cut and glued the decorative bits on.  Perfect for a three year old.

Eyes Wide Open - Now I Get It

I recently walked through a part of the city that I'd never before been to before. I was stewing on something so the walk was good. I realized how much you notice everything when you're in a new place. You see every detail because you take nothing for granted. And I got to thinking that there's probably lots to notice in the places I go and the things I do everyday. I think bloggers have been trying to tell me this for years but I'm just now getting it. I thought they were being blindly by optomistic when commenting about how beautiful the snow is when it's -30 outside, or how a tragedy can bring out the best in people. But no, they're just fully seeing what's actually there, and carefully choosing which parts to point out. I still don't agree with censoring your blog to only show the polished perfect picture, but I wonder if they don't all do it on purpose.

The picture above is NOT from my walk to unfamiliar places. Truth be told I had taken a wrong turn was embarasingly late for lunch. My coworkers all applauded when I finally got there. It was so sad. I even had a (working) GPS with me. I'm not kidding.

Sand and Sun

It's not hard to see the beauty in a place like Saint Lucia. Sand and Sun and Humidity. Oh, the humidity!

But it's good to be home. Going on a trip without your family is not nearly as much fun. It's good to be home cooking my own food, also. The restaurants didn't quite know how to feed someone with a wheat allergy, so there was a big pow wow each time I went to order something, approximately twice a day.

Saint Lucia Hurricane

Friends-
You’ve probably heard that my sister in law and I won a trip earlier this year. Well, we finally booked tickets to the Caribbean island of St.Lucia!

And then a hurricane hit the weekend of October 30th and devastated the island. They were without water for several weeks, there are 8 confirmed deaths (and many still missing) and the country was in a state of emergency. Now, a month later water is back, roads are being rebuilt, and, since our resort has reopened, we have decided to continue with our travel plans.

We have several extra suitcases which are currently empty.

We have been in contact with the Red Cross and NEMO (the national disaster organization) and below is a list of items that the people in Saint Lucia need right now. If anyone is interested in donating anything we would be happy to take it along with us. Nothing too heavy or bulky, please, we don’t want to go over the weight restrictions on our suitcases.

We are leaving the evening of Saturday November 27th. Donations can be dropped off with us anytime before Saturday suppertime. I can meet people downtown Calgary at lunch this week to pick up anything they might like to donate. Email me to make arrangements (silverSistersStudio (at) gmail.com).

thank you,
gisele

From the Red Cross:
Tooth brushes (we have some already donated), toothpaste, soap, towels, linen, under wear- children and adult, male and female would be welcome, dry items like cookies, pasta, beans, cereals will be able to pass through customs.
Other emails have mentioned basic food supplies like rice, sugar and flour as well as children’s clothing and toys (story books, coloring books, crayons). Again, nothing too heavy or bulky, please, we have to fit it all into suitcases.