The only gift is a portion of thyself. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well now, I'm finally getting around to sharing some of the things I made my mum for Christmas! I made most of the Hanukkah and Christmas presents this year, which was fun, but also a bit stressful and time consuming!

I started this Ship Shape Tote in Alexia's class at Sewing Summit - I love it! Originally I was going to go for a more neutral colour theme, but my mum likes colour so I decided to go a bit bolder. I included prints from Tula's Prince Charming, Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow, Paula Prass' Woodland Delight, and a few other collections. The handles are Kona Medium Grey and the inside is a grey leaf print from Ikea. The pattern is well-written and came together really easily. It is super roomy and I would recommend adding a pocket or two to the inside so that you won't lose smaller items in the bottom since it is so big.

I also made her this manicure kit following Rashida's Nice and Neat Manicure Kit tutorial featured on the Art Gallery Fabrics blog. The outside is a print from Joel Dewberry's Deer Valley collection (I always seem to use a lot of Joel Dewberry when making things for my mum).

And the inside and binding are all Tula (again! One thing that has always struck me about Free Spirit is how well they match collections together over a season or two... anyway...). I picked up a couple of manicure items and slipped them into their little slots, unfortunately I was having no luck finding one of the shorter nail files but hopefully my mum can find one - there is lots of space left over for her to add whatever she wants. This tutorial was really well written and I pretty much always love any pattern that Rashida comes up with!

These little oven mitts were made using fabrics from the Blush collection by Basic Grey and they are lined with both quilt batting and Insul-Brite. These are a little bit bigger than your standard finger mitts because my mumma has big hands! She was pretty happy that I made them bigger and I hope she uses them a lot.

Now onto the knitting!!

These are the Camp Out Fingerless Mitts (a free pattern on Ravelry) made using di.Ve Autunno - the yarn is so hard to photograph but is really pretty. It's a mix of green and black but the green variagates throughout from light to dark. Again, I made these bigger because of mum's big hands (went up to 6mm DPNs) and I added a garter cuff to keep them from rolling.

Using the same yarn, I made Calorimetry to match (a free pattern from Knitty). It is shaped using short rows and the construction is so cool! Check out the Knitty pattern to see it being worn - it's really neat! I thought my mum would like it because it's less likely to mess up her hair than a hat or standard headband, ha!

And last, but not least, I also knit her a set of leaf-shaped washcloths (again, a free pattern). My mum has been crocheting dishcloths for years but I thought she might appreciate someone else making her a set for a change - and they're shaped like leaves so I couldn't resist! These went into her stocking with a few other bits and bobs.

Phew, just posting all of those brings back frantic memories of trying to get everything finished in time! I'll be back on Thursday with the debut of my new quilt pattern, just have to put a few finishing touches on the write-up and it will be finished, hurray!

“Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.” -Robert Bennett

One of the new things that I have decided to do with this blog is to write about people, blogs, or ideas that I find inspiring. Not only do I hope to introduce others to these wonders, but it actually helps me to feel even more inspired when I write.

Today I want to introduce you all to a very lovely lady named Paula Prass. You can see a link to her blog, Show + Tell, on the right. I don’t really remember how I first heard about Paula, it may have been through Heather Bailey, but I have come to admire her greatly! Paula is a designer, artist, and an all-round inspiring woman. If you go to her blog you will find links to her other websites/stores.

Now I will tell a little story that has to do with the above fabric. This is one of Paula’s; it is Par Avion in Ocean. Last month I showed it to Alex online and told him how much I loved it. What do you think he did? He ordered me a few yards as a surprise! I think I may have the sweetest boyfriend in the world, he’s pretty great. The fabric is even better looking in real life. I decided to contact Paula to tell her this little story, and also to tell her how much I love her blog. She got back to me within about 10 minutes I’d say and left a comment both here on my blog (on the Alistair MacLeod post) and an even longer one in response to my comment on her blog. I thought that that was very sweet of her.

This fabric has got to be one of the best designs that I’ve seen in a long time, and Paula actually has a few other items in her line (photo frames, note cards, etc) that coordinate and I’ve been thinking about getting a couple of things for myself. I will post a picture of what I sew with this fabric when it’s done. Right now I’m thinking block quilt because I don’t want to ruin the pattern of this fabric by cutting it up too much.

If any of you out there are in need of a little inspiration, do visit Paula’s blog and check it out.