Winter Slumber

Winter winter winter - I can appreciate the snow but I cannot wait for warmer weather. I have been doing my best to wander around outside though, and enjoy the wild snowy-ness. I found this wonderful sweater for a dollar yesterday, as well as a few other treasures. I will share them later perhaps.

A friend from school has a wonderful song about winter, called Winter Slumber, and the verses are just beautiful:

There is no blanket for this northern land 

But the comfort of the cold white snow.

The golden hues falling leaves me breathless

Calling for a new glory to shown.

You said you saw pictures in the waves in the water,

Have you ever seen diamonds in the snow?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him in spite of coldness here below.

As winter slumber makes the earth

Awake in triumph at the call of birth.

The warmth is coming back. 

Waiting

Sometimes I feel like I am always waiting for something. For something to happen, for spring, for inspiration to strike, for the opportunity to travel again. I want to seize the day, to take advantage of each moment that is given to me, but sometimes I just lack the motivation. Creativity comes and goes in spurts and stutters, it cannot be forced, and I just have to be okay with that and live in it when it comes. 
Inspiration struck just the other day, and I have been going on a kind of sewing streak. I went to Mozambique in 2008, and came back with a bunch of fabric. I finally took a sheet and did something with it, and this dress is the result. 

I'll Fly Away

The Sartorialist

Such a perfect picture. .  It is inspiration to wear more lipstick.
And this one:  

Ruby June

I have been taking whatever time I can to make little crocheted things from all my yarn scraps, and quite enjoying it. Simply Crochet has been awesome for inspiration, and it has wonderful free patterns and tutorials as well! Here is a peek at some of the things I have made:

While I made my own TeaCup, the inspiration is from One Sheepish Girl's Etsy Shop: Sheepish Knit and Crochet. She has such lovely things. It is people like her and places like Etsy that inspire me to really be creative with the things I make. The only limit is your imagination. 

The Stories We Live

Things have been pretty slow lately, I have kept myself busy by sewing lots of things, and putting together collages and such. I love looking at old pictures of my parents and grandparents, snapshots of stories captured in a moment. 

I picked up some records at a thrift store the other day; I do not have a record player but I have friends who do, and at ten cents a'piece, how can you go wrong? 

I have also been making some jewelry lately, I saw some earrings made of photo negatives a while back and decided to make some. It is really very simple because you can use the sprocket holes instead of punching your own. And they turn out completely unique, totally your own. 

Blast From the Past

The other day I found some amazing old patterns from the 50's for ten cents apiece! I also got this great book of knitted sweater patterns from the 60's. It is in french, and the pictures are just gorgeous. It is really interesting to note how the sizing has changed in fifty years, most of these patterns are size 14, but in today's sizing they would be a 6 or an 8. I am not sure if this was the work of the manufacturer - wanting to make our increasingly obese society feel like they are slimmer than they are, or if there was some other incentive. Either way they are full of beautiful silhouettes, and I cannot wait to find some fabric and start sewing!

I am also working on crocheting a baby blanket, I have all this fine yarn and I want to get better at working with a crochet hook. I do not have anyone in mind to give it to just yet, but I know plenty of people with babies, so we'll see. It is a nice unisex colour at least, and a simple pattern. At some point I plan on making myself an afghan. 

Cold Comforts

With the snow finally come, I have been going on more walks. Tramping through a foot or more of snow may not seem like everyone's idea of a good time, but I love walking through fresh, untouched snow, and pretending I am the only one in the world. And it has been beautifully sunny the past few days so I am trying to take advantage of it. There is something inspiring about how it transforms a place that you see everyday, giving you a completely new perspective on what you might normally pass by without giving a second glance.