Hard Day on the Job

It takes a lot of energy to build all day, especially if you are only 5. My nephew came down for the weekend with my folks to build a playhouse for the girls. He was set with his real and play tools, his own tool belt, and the right attitude to be a supervisor. That meant he stood around a lot, complained about working, and took many breaks to eat. Okay, he did climb on teh roof and help install the shingles. But it seemed like everytime I went outside to check on progress he was eating. Of course, with Baba (my mom) around, no one went hungry. We are Ukrainian, after all.

It was hard work building that playhouse. In true Ukrainian fashion my mom fixed up an impromptu lunch of some Sylvan Star Gouda, Stawnichy's kubasa, homemade dill pickles, and some bread from a filipino bakery in Edmonton.

At the end of the day I teased my dad that although this was for my girls, that it really was a dream come true for me - 25 years late. I grew up in the days where you were sent out to play with instructions to come back when it was dark. My friends and I would go to the park behind our elementary school where there were woods and a small clearing. We called it Smurf Village. It was our fantasy to have my dad build a playhouse in the clearing. We could then go out there every day and have lunch and commune with the Smurfs. Truly, I would have settled for a playhouse in my backyard. Now I have it. And my dad made it a bit taller than the plans so I will fit in there nicely. Hmm, maybe I will put a comfy chair in there for me instead of a little table and toys for the girls...

All it needs is a coat of paint - once the rain stops and the Monster goes to daycare this week. But the Monster was happy to peek out the windows and open the door to scare whoever she made stay inside. We even brought out some tea supplies so we can have our first official picnic.

The playhouse was christened last night. What a better way to wrap up the busy day with a campfire in the backyard and s'mores. The porch was a perfect venue to sneak marshmallows straight from the bag and snuggle up to Dido for chocolate. Our nephew, not surprisingly, was happy to fill up on Taber cob and s'mores. But hey, he had a busy day supervising, er, I mean, pounding nails.

Sources:
Stawnichy's Meat Processing
Sylvan Star Cheese

Quilter's Pride

The Monster loves her 'naps', as she calls her blankets. Yes, I have a blankie kid. Unfortunately for me, a quilter, her 'naps' are either crocheted or woven. She has 3 quilts and has never shown any interest in them. But her Eye Spy that I made for her 1st birthday has been hanging over the back of the couch for a few weeks now. Hubby has been using it late at night while he watches TV. Well, the other day she took notice and now she loves to snuggle under it while we read stories. I nearly cried. I pointed out that it was her quilt and she now likes to tell us that fact, repeatedly. It's the first time the toddler cry of, "MINE!" doesn't bother me.

The quilt is also fulfilling its purpose of playing Eye Spy With My Little Eye. She will point out the strawberries, the dolphins, and the bumblee-bees all the time. Such sweet fun.

My apologies for the break. Both E and I are fighting another cold. I'm exhausted. And of course I'm not resting. Rather, Hubby and I have been trying to get some stuff done around the house, I've been shopping for a dreaded family portrait (2 months post-partum and I have to record that for posterity - ouch), and we've had visitors. I'm hoping that next week I can get back to some more sewing. And some more sleep.

In the meantime, I decided to add a new feature to the blog. Colour studies will appear on the side-bar. I'm starting with green. Just photos of some fun green things. Enjoy.

Solar Soleil

The last stitches went in the quilt during a repeat of "Queer Eye" this afternoon. I am so excited to finally finish this. E doesn't have a room so this is the first thing that is just hers. And I have to say, I think it might be my favourite of all my circle quilts.

I decided to go with a simple, yet bold background so the circles would pop. And, because I expected to finish before the baby was born, I wanted to use black and white. Do you know that babies can't see colour early on? The contrast of black on white is best for them. At the last minute I decided to take the circles beyond the edge of the quilt. Those ones are hand appliqued on, while the rest are done by machine.

The whole thing is quilted as a sun. I have some wavy concentric circles in the center, surrounded by rays/flames. You can see some detail here.

I've said it before, but I firmly believe the back of a quilt should be beautiful too. Inspired by that grey floral by Denyse Schmidt, I pieced this back. Funny story. That fabric was my favourite and my initial plan for the baby quilt was going to be inspired by that fabric. But I was convinced I was having a boy and thought that fabric was too feminine. When I showed Hubby the back he said that was his favourite fabric too.

The lighting on this shot is pretty bad, forgive me. I wanted to show you the label though. I think it ties the front to the back. I always put the name of the quilt and some comments or words on it. Then I always put my name on the label, state the content (pretty much always 100% cotton) and whether it was a pattern, an original design, or if someone else worked on the quilt. The label will be a reflection of the history of the quilt.

The name? Hubby said it reminded him of a solar system and I had already thought of the Soleil. E's name means bright one or shining light. It all just fit together.

Finally, I thought I should share a picture of the recipient enjoying her gift. Okay, so I doubt she can actually enjoy it just yet. But she sure looks good on it!

Happy Days

But busy days. It was Canada Day this week so Hubby took Monday and Tuesday off. I would like to say we did fun things, but unless you count cleaning the house and the Great Hat Shopping Adventure not much great fun was had. There was, however, domestic fun of dinners with friends, a trip to the zoo, and a swim or two in the heat.

I've been plugging away on the binding for E's quilt. It's been too hot to sit with a quilt on my lap and handstitch. Yesterday I designed the label. I came down to print it off and found out I am out of printable fabric. A trip to the store will be necessary tonight.

Happy belated Canada Day and Happy 4th of July!