Christmas

We're finally getting back to normal after the holidays! 

We had a great holiday this year, with just the right mix of travelling, extended family, and staying-at-home time.  We headed up to New Liskeard on the 21st and celebrated with the McLean side on Christmas Eve.  Kate really enjoyed spending time with her cousins.  She even got to ride on Grandpa's snowmobile!

On Boxing Day we drove back as far as Arnprior to stay a night with Granny and Poppa Patterson.  There are always lots of fun things to play with there.  Then we got to hang out at home for another week, just the three of us. 

All of us, including Grandpa, Granny and Poppa, had nasty colds at some point or another (starting with Kate - thank you!), but everyone has pretty much recovered now.  I think Poppa is the last hold-out, still needing a few days rest. 

Here are some selected pictures - although I unfortunately didn't get any from the Patterson side celebrations...

 Reading with Auntie Tammy

 Presents, presents, everywhere!

 New baby doll



And here she is at home enjoying her new art easel and play kitchen...



Christmas tree fun

Last weekend we headed out to get our Christmas tree.  We may have a new tradition on our hands, as this was the second year that we went to a local Christmas tree farm.  This farm offers the "complete" experience, with wagon rides, cookies, hot chocolate, bonfires and, of course, lots of trees.  We lucked out with great weather - not too cold, but still winter-y. 

Decorating was fun too - Kate found the whole tree-inside-the-house concept (not to mention the tree-inside-the-car concept!) to be quite hilarious.  She kept pointing to the tree and letting out a squeal of delight.  The initial novelty has subsided, but she still enjoys moving the ornaments around every once in a while.

Handmade Holiday Grab Bag

Hi all,

I've decided to participate in the Handmade Holiday Grab Bag hosted by one of my favourite blog authors, Renée Tougas of FIMBY. I am always inspired by this family and their committment to learning and adventuring together. This is the wierd thing about blogs - I feel like I know the Tougas family because I've been reading about them for years, but since I have never so much as left a comment on their blog, they have no idea that I even exist. (That is, until I have to email Renée the link to this post!)

So, hi Tougas family and any other people that come here to read this post! This blog is primarily for keeping in touch with my own family and friends, so I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of inspiring or thought-provoking posts. But I wanted to support the Handmade Holiday Grab Bag, so here I am.

Renée has offered to collect ideas for handmade gifts and put them together in one place. My contribution is this tutorial for Thrifted Felted Trees. I made a pair of these this week, and they came together quite nicely! It took me two evenings - cutting on the first day and assembling the next. I don't have a photo of mine, but I will update this post if I get the chance.

Photo from thelongthread.com

I found the instructions to be quite clear. I would only add that silver or gold balls might be a nice alternative for the top if you can't find star-shaped beads.

Also, if you've never felted sweaters before, it is quite simple. Look for some 100% wool sweaters at your local thrift shop (men's sweaters are great because you get more fabric for your money, but sometimes you have to look in the women's section for brighter colours) and just throw them in the washing machine on a hot water cycle. They will shrink and turn in to felt. Some people also put them through a dryer cycle, but I don't usually find it necessary.

Happy crafting!

UPDATE: Here's a pic of my trees...