... for you to enter a pillowcase giveaway! All you have to do is leave a comment to this post specifying which pillowcase would make you the happiest (there are 7 in all); the giveaway will run for a week, or until January 3, 2013 (yikes, already!...), at which point I will give at least one of these pillowcases away and perhaps more, depending on the traffic. Before you choose your favourite, take a look at some closeups...
Take note that the aqua-reddish stripe one has a top with stripes going one way and a bottom with stripes going the other way, as well as a trim with a slight color gradation since I used two different shades of pink to make it (although I don't know if you can spot that in these photos...)...
Two of the pillowcases have a different fabric for the top and bottom -- the first and fifth pillowcase in the pile below...
Now, I don't have any names for these pillowcases yet (something I'll have to figure out when I start listing them in my Etsy shop), so simply describe them as best you can... I probably won't be posting on New Year's day because I'll be away so I'd love to thank all of you, dearest readers, for making my 2012 that much more special with all your many visits and fabulous comments and here's wishing you a very, very Happy New Year!...
... I hope this post finds you enjoying a lovely Christmas day with all who are dearest to you! I just slipped away for a moment from doing just that to send you this little Christmas greeting... I have been so very busy getting ready for Christmas, putting the final touches on things like packaging body butter bars with Nico (shown above) which are her handmade gifts to family and friends, that I never got around to taking photos for my Christmas pillowcase giveaway. However, I did manage to take a few quick snaps of the pillowcases to give you a sneak peek of what to expect and I hope to have it all up and running by tomorrow (I've had to push it back till tomorrow, the 27th, because it's simply been too dark and grey today for any decent photo-taking... ). So please do check back again soon to enter the giveaway but, in the meantime, I'd love to wish you a Christmas day filled with lots of joy, love and happiness!...
...well, when I started writing this post last week I would have answered that by "not even close!", but this weekend I felt a bit like an elf in Santa's workshop... You see, my two youngest, Eva (just turned 13 yesterday!) and Nico (10), decided this year that they would like to give everyone gifts handmade by them. Of course, their initiative put a big smile on my face, so this weekend, which fittingly begun with going to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Nutcracker, we spent most of it together sewing, soapmaking, and baking, and had an absolute blast doing so! And I have to admit that, in light of Friday's Connecticut tragedy, I can't imagine a better way to spend my weekend than hanging out with my children and relishing my every moment with them... How fortunate am I?!...
I know I promised a pillowcase giveaway in my last post and it is coming... Perhaps it's this time of the year, but I'm flying in too many directions at the moment and I still haven't quite finished putting the final touches on this new batch of pillowcases of mine; it's coming though and I figure my giveaway will be up on Christmas Eve or day and run until New Year's day, so please come back then to enter the draw! One of the things I have been working on is starting up my lunchtime crochet and sewing workshop at Nico's elementary school. I have had a lot of fun putting together the following bag project for them which will involve a bit of sewing and some basic crochet work (they are mostly all beginner crocheters): as you can see in the photos, the bags will be made of two pieces of felted wool sweaters which they will blanket stitch together. They will then use their newly-acquired crochet skills to make the handles for the bag and, lastly, have fun adorning it with some simple crocheted flowers I will show them how to make. The best part about the project is that they will end up with a bag where they can keep all the yarn and supplies they will need for my workshop! I think the girls (yes, they are all girls...) are quite excited about the project and I will keep you up-to-date on their progress as we make them...
Now, changing the subject entirely... I have been blogging for over 6 years now and I haven't yet done something in my blog that a lot of bloggers do as soon as they first set up their blog... What do you think that is? Well, I haven't show my face yet to you! As much as I love taking photos, I'm absurdly camera-shy -- I cringe when I have to be in photos... Well the time has come for me, dearest readers, to show my face to you as well as the readers of the November issue of a lovely UK crochet magazine called "Inside Crochet" since, a little while back, they flattered me by asking me if I would like to be featured as their "favourite blogger" for their November issue. Of course, I said yes despite knowing that I would have to include a photo of myself... Yikes, so here goes... here I am!...
...and if you want to read the sweet blurb they put together from their interview questions I answered:
It was quite the feeling to happen upon this issue at a Chapters bookstore (Canada's answer to Barnes and Noble or Waterstones), nervously flip through the pages and then see yourself staring back at you!... I have to say that I'm very pleased with it all and especially thankful to all of you who read my blog because you are the reason I got this opportunity! It's also so very gratifying to be included in a magazine which seems to get lovelier which each issue I pick up (suprisingly, I can actually find this magazine in Vancouver which isn't always the case with a lot of overseas magazines!); here are some of my favourite pages in this issue...
Sweet, aren't they?!... Well, now that I have shown my face to you, I must run and work on Christmas prep as well my pillowcase giveaway which I hope you'll come back for... Talk to you soon and thank you so much for all your lovely words about my lampshade which I showed you in my last post!!....
