I had grandiose plans for my first day back at my guru’s house.  But like all grandiose plans, real life got in the way of fruition.  Instead of a whole day of playing with fabric and thread I had a mere four hours, including travel and set up.

I made hay with the sunshine of my couple of hours and got the bits and bobs for three scarves cut.

alexander henry fabric

The first scarf is to be for my friend Amanda.  But don’t tell her, because it won’t be finished for at least another month as I am off to Mexico for three weeks and then Whistler for a weekend before I can get back to it!  I promised her a scarf last winter.  No, not the before New Year’s last winter.   The one that began in 2010…  Anyway, it is going to be 60ish inches long and 6.5ish inches wide, with a dark brown flannel backing.

The front side will feature various sized patches of lots of great skulls and paisleys!

michael miller fabric

I also cut the pieces for a further 60 inch scarf with brown flannel backing and an 80 inch scarf with sage green herringbone flannel backing.  Alas I do not have photos of these works in progress as I just got a new camera and I’m having some trouble figuring it out!  My previous Lumix had an unfortunate accidental meeting with the ground.  Fortunately it was still under warranty and rather than sending it out to be fixed, Future Shop just gave me a new one.  A shiny new red one!  Its pretty, but its entirely touch screen and I admit that I am having trouble fiddling with the settings to take a half decent shot.  So rather than keep trying, I just gave up and kept on cutting my fabric pieces.

patchwork pieces

Hopefully I will have the new camera figured out before the end of my Mexico odyssey and in time for my next crafternoon at the guru’s studio.

I could have tried to cram in two more books at the last minute, but I preferred to spend some time enjoying the television version of the Game of Thrones (all 10 hours of it) instead.  I felt guilty for about the first five minutes!  Then I relaxed into seeing how the novel I had read translated into a television series.  I think they did a great job!  I am eager to watch season 2.

I also watched several episodes of Dexter as well, which seemed fitting since I read two of the novels in 2011 as well.

I am debating starting the challenge afresh in 2012, but am reserving the right to decide that when I return from vacation!  If I manage to find time to read several books then I will be off to a good start on the year.  If I end up being more active this year (which is highly possible after my couch potato tendancies over the holidaze) and don’t get any books read I think I shall simply read for the sheer enjoyment of it in 2012.

Favourites of the books I did read in 2011?  Definitely the Game of Thrones novels, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (entire trilogy rocked my world), Agent X and the Bricklayer, and the Michael Connelly novels.  The Dexters were also quite enjoyable.

DECEMBER

48. George R.R. Martin – A Feast for Crows

47. George R.R. Martin – A Storm of Swords

46. Benjamin Hoff – The Te of Piglet

45. George R.R. Martin – A Clash of Kings

NOVEMBER

44. Elizabeth Gilbert – Eat Pray Love

43. George R.R. Martin – A Game of Thrones

OCTOBER

42. A.J. Jacobs – My Life as an Experiment

41. Michael Connelly – The Fifth Witness

SEPTEMBER

40. Michael Connelly – The Reversal

39. Stieg Larsson – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

38. Margaret Atwood – Oryx and Crake

37. Jilly Cooper – The Man Who Makes Husbands Jealous

AUGUST

36. Lisa M. Morrison – Craft Beers of the Pacific Northwest

35. Sarah Graves – Crawl Space

34. Jeff Lindsay – Dexter is Delicious

33. Noah Boyd – Agent X

32. Jon C. Stott – Beer Quest West

31. Khaled Hosseini – A Thousand Splendid Suns

JULY

30. Kelley Armstrong – The Reckoning

29. Kelley Armstrong – The Summoning

28. Kelley Armstrong – The Awakening

27. Michelle Moran – Cleopatra’s Daughter

26. Michelle Moran – The Heretic Queen

25. Kelley Armstrong – Frostbitten

24. Michelle Moran – Nefertiti

23. Kim Harrison – Early to Death, Early to Rise

22. Charlaine Harris – Dead in the Family

JUNE

21. Michael V. Smith: Progress

20. Michael Connelly:  Angels Flight

19. Jilly Cooper:  Jump!

MAY:

18. Rachel York:  Chasing Lightning

17. Guy Gavriel Kay:  Under Heaven

16. Kim Harrison:  Black Magic Sanction

APRIL:

15. Preston & Child: Fever Dream

14. Nicholas Pashley:  Cheers! An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada

MARCH:

13. Louise Welsh – Naming the Bones

12. Jack Whyte – Order in Chaos

11. Noah Boyd – The Bricklayer

FEBRUARY:

10. Christopher Moore – Coyote Blue

9. Christopher Moore – Island of the Sequined Love Nun

8. Jeff Lindsay – Dexter by Design

7. Rachel Solar-Tuttle – Number Six Fumbles

6. Val McDermid – Fever of the Bone

5. Kim Harrison – Once Dead, Twice Shy

4. Jonathan Franzen – Freedom

JANUARY:

3. MaryJanice Davidson – Undead & Unwelcome

2. MaryJanice Davidson – Undead & Unworthy

1. Kim Harrison – White Witch, Black Curse

I host a Winter Solstice party every year.  Some years its conveniently on a weekend.  Other years, like this one, its mid-week.  Sometimes this affects the number of people able to come.  But no matter how many people are actually available to attend there are enough to make a human pyramid.  I do not know what this has to do with the Solstice, but it has become a wacky tradition, and who doesn’t love a wacky tradition?

What do these two thoughts have to do with each other?  And the photo posted below?
Quite a lot actually!

By hosting a party each year, that involves moving furniture around and people getting down on their hands and knees on my floor, I HAVE to clean my house thoroughly at least once a year.  I need deadlines.  Nothing gets done it seems unless there is a deadline looming.  So Winter Solstice has become my time to Spring clean my home.  This year’s clean also involved a long overdue purge of unused items.  I have a long, long, long way to go in minimizing as much as I would like to, but the process has had a nudge in the right direction.  And it felt soooooo good!  Old cans of paint recycled, clothes and other items donated to charity, old computer equipment delivered to Free Geek, recycling recycled, books donated to the community book exchange… all in a matter of a couple of hours.

Which brings me to the photo below.  I want to clear up my clutter and get to a place where I can have a crafting space like this!

This year is gonna be different – this year we’re making our list early. This year, the gifts are gonna be the best. That’s right, we’ve done the legwork and polled yelpers all over Vancouver to find out where they’ll be buying locally this season. This Weekly‘s here to guarantee that there won’t just be a Pot Of Gold at the end of your gifting rainbow.

In search of a gift for a man-friend, Emily-Anne P hits up Lloyd’s: “They have a great selection of everything from Ben Sherman to local designers. Shopping there always ends in success.” And Sam L feels that “in a time when the men’s section in many clothing stores doesn’t look that different from the women’s, Mr. Lee’s is bringing it back to the dude. The wood-choppin’, fish-guttin’, motorcycle-fixin’ dude.” Yeah, flex those gifting muscles! And though “it may sound like a simple concept,” Jeff F won’t “settle for the headphones that a big-box stores or pharmacy/electronics dealers have.” He’d rather you “give Headphone Bar a shot.” Ladies, listen to the man – he’ll be glad you did.

For the girl in your life who’s impossible to find the gift for, Tina H recommends visiting Twigg and Hottie for “edgy, stylish, unique and beautiful clothes, shoes and accessories. The quality is outstanding!” Or, present her with some relaxation. After using a half-day gift certificate at Willow Stream Spa, Erica L “left looking rejuvenated. The private women’s lounge was very serene,” and it was “a great getaway and luxurious treat!” But Derek W draws inspiration from vintage shop Front & Company, and haikus his present prowess: “Beautiful people sniffing / fashion-forward deals / descending in droves.” Giving the gift of prose!

“Got a design nerd on your shopping list?” Erin S knows of just the place for you: Vancouver Special. They have “books on every element of design you can imagine, plus beautiful home accessories and excellent stationery. Who knew a dust pan could be so attractive?” We’re swept away. But it’s the “plastic thingamabobs” and “industrial-quality, heirloom, multi-generational, what-do-you-mean-I-don’t-need-this” cooking gadgets at The Gourmet Warehouse that have Shelley M gushing, ”Holy, kitchen orgy!” Lastly, Alex K says it best when paraphrasing a famous Irish playwright: “We’re all in the gutter, but some of us are gazing longingly through the window into Homewerx.” So let’s go wild(e) in the aisles!

photo by kimli

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!  3 books, 2 weeks…

DECEMBER

47. George R.R. Martin – A Storm of Swords

46. Benjamin Hoff – The Te of Piglet

45. George R.R. Martin – A Clash of Kings

NOVEMBER

44. Elizabeth Gilbert – Eat Pray Love

43. George R.R. Martin – A Game of Thrones

OCTOBER

42. A.J. Jacobs – My Life as an Experiment

41. Michael Connelly – The Fifth Witness

SEPTEMBER

40. Michael Connelly – The Reversal

39. Stieg Larsson – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

38. Margaret Atwood – Oryx and Crake

37. Jilly Cooper – The Man Who Makes Husbands Jealous

AUGUST

36. Lisa M. Morrison – Craft Beers of the Pacific Northwest

35. Sarah Graves – Crawl Space

34. Jeff Lindsay – Dexter is Delicious

33. Noah Boyd – Agent X

32. Jon C. Stott – Beer Quest West

31. Khaled Hosseini – A Thousand Splendid Suns

JULY

30. Kelley Armstrong – The Reckoning

29. Kelley Armstrong – The Summoning

28. Kelley Armstrong – The Awakening

27. Michelle Moran – Cleopatra’s Daughter

26. Michelle Moran – The Heretic Queen

25. Kelley Armstrong – Frostbitten

24. Michelle Moran – Nefertiti

23. Kim Harrison – Early to Death, Early to Rise

22. Charlaine Harris – Dead in the Family

JUNE

21. Michael V. Smith: Progress

20. Michael Connelly:  Angels Flight

19. Jilly Cooper:  Jump!

MAY:

18. Rachel York:  Chasing Lightning

17. Guy Gavriel Kay:  Under Heaven

16. Kim Harrison:  Black Magic Sanction

APRIL:

15. Preston & Child: Fever Dream

14. Nicholas Pashley:  Cheers! An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada

MARCH:

13. Louise Welsh – Naming the Bones

12. Jack Whyte – Order in Chaos

11. Noah Boyd – The Bricklayer

FEBRUARY:

10. Christopher Moore – Coyote Blue

9. Christopher Moore – Island of the Sequined Love Nun

8. Jeff Lindsay – Dexter by Design

7. Rachel Solar-Tuttle – Number Six Fumbles

6. Val McDermid – Fever of the Bone

5. Kim Harrison – Once Dead, Twice Shy

4. Jonathan Franzen – Freedom

JANUARY:

3. MaryJanice Davidson – Undead & Unwelcome

2. MaryJanice Davidson – Undead & Unworthy

1. Kim Harrison – White Witch, Black Curse