Boring or not boring ?

Every morning, that is, when i am home alone. ( tuesday to friday hubby is at work ) i like to sit in front of the computer with my hot cup of comforting coffee. I check my messages, email back to etsy customers, look at some lovely blogs and if i feel inspired, will post a message in my own blog.  I realize i haven't done this for at least 2 weeks...Or is it more than 2 weeks ? I have come, i have looked at the blank page of the new message section , i meant to post something, But it seems i have nothing to say...Is my life so boring ? I must admit i spend most of my days at home, working in my studio until hubby returns from work. Other than sewing, i make the laundry, vaccum, wash the dishes, cook dinner, learn to crochet, knit, run to my daughter who lives right behind my house, give a hug to baby Jacob while Molly, the boxer doggie, is begging for me to hug her too.... Oh and i feed the hens in my chicken coop. Hubby and i built a little shed last fall ( did i mention this before ? ) with the main idea to have a few hens. ( or do we say chicken ? ) Hubby was so excited, he could not wait until spring and came home one day with 2 brown hens. Daughter Anne decided to name them Barbara and Gwendolyn. Very curious ladies. And then a couple of months later, a friend gave him a black hen. Daughter Anne decided this would be Alice. Unlike the other two,she is not the friendly type. And she has not begun laying eggs. I told hubby she may be too young, we have to be patient. The weather is milder and snow is melting. I have opened their coop for them to wander outside in their own closed little yard. They love being outdoors . I guess they too were feeling depressed with this never ending winter. The starlings have arrived and this is the very first positive sign that winter is behind us already. There is still a lot of snow, but i can see little patches of grass here and there. I made a bet with hubby that on march 31st, we will be able to set up the garden chairs on the terrace. I hope i am right, otherwise i will have to sneek outside and shovel. o_o     No, no , enough of that shoveling. I want to dig and play in the flowers. I planted a few dadoffils bulbs a friend gave me and i am eager to see what they will look like this spring. Unless the squirrels digged them out, i am hoping i may see a few flowers. I promise myself to plant tulips next fall. I used to have a lovely patch of pastel colored tulips in my former home and it was very lovely. We have been in our new house for almost 3 years now. Creating new bed flowers take time...Funny, i came here this morning because i felt in the mood  to post  some of my etsy favorites. After all, i managed to write something that doesn't appear too boring. Or so i hope. I have to go now, daughter Maude and i are going to do some shopping. Hubby's birthday is this sunday and i need to get a few little things. 
Hope your week is lovely ♥

It has been a very tough week due to very heavy periods and lots of muffinpies to make, most being custom orders. i am almost done with the orders, i just need to finish a few details on each of them. I managed to list 3 in my shop today. I know i will have to make more, starting next week. I just wanted to show you this happy bunch and also take a little moment and wish you all a happy week end. For my part, i will try to go outside, probably go skiing . It is suppose to be mild and sunny, i need some sun vitamins . ^-^
Go play outside, it is good for the soul ♥

Snow sparkles !

Yesterday, we were hit by our very first snowstorm. I was not expecting one, it is hubby who told me on tuesday evening when he saw me sulking again as i was watching the news. The US was going through another blizzard, a big one. I complained it was not fair, we in Quebec, should be the ones to go through this. We are used to having heavy snowfall...Hum, some of you reading this will " she nuts or what ? " I guess i am, in fact, i know i am. Even hubby reminds me everyday. ^-^ I love summers best, but i live in the north country, where winters are long and harsh. I just can't help it, i love snowstorm. The wind was howling and the snow was drifting all over in big swirls, it was very beautiful. This morning, i went for a walk to the post office. Had some packages to ship. It was sunny and perfect. The air today is crisp and the snow is sparkling. I was in a happy mood. And to make things even better, i had my free copy of Art doll quaterly waiting for me !

Months ago, i was contacted by magazine editor Jana Holstein to let me know i would be featured in their next issue. I was pretty excited and here is the result of the little article about Carlos and Svetlana. I am not sure if the magazine is out yet, as copies sent by mail are always shipped before the magazine hits the stands. I owe this chance of being featured to my wonderful daughter Geneviève who gave me a few painting lessons. i still need to work hard to be as talented as she is. I have emailed Jana to give her my thanks and also to tell her to consider my daughter's work in a future publication of ADQ. She deserves that much recognition. Crossing my fingers.
I must get back to my sewing. Many custom orders await me, the vacuuming, dirty dishes piling up in the sink, bed still not made and the driveway who will need more shoveling before hubby's back from work.
Wishing you all a wonderful day ♥

Happy holidays

I am taking this special moment to wish you all a merry and wonderful Christmas filled with joyful, sharing moments with your loved ones. Thank you so much to all the wonderful people i met through blogworld. May your days be sweet.
I hope to see you again in the New Year. ♥
Til then, take good care.

Tuesday...through the winter window part 3

I woke up early this morning to light a a fire in the fireplace. At 6:45am it was still dark as i took a picture of our little shed. It has been snowing for over 2 days. I am happy because the forecast was calling for rain. I decorated my christmas tree yesterday while listening to old bing Crosby's " White Christmas ". The cat was sleeping nearby and would sometimes look at me and make that funny sound. She does that when she feels happy and cozy. I took these pictures to play with Julie at " tuesday through the window. " You can play too , click on the link for details... I think this is a perfect day for knitting and dreaming.

Tuesday...through the winter window part 2

I woke up early this morning to find it was very windy and snowing. It is not a thick snow, but only gentle snowflakes falling. Christmas is in the air and i love this moment where you start to decorate your home, bake, shop, wrap, dream... This week end we will go cut the christmas tree. It is in a tree farm and we have been going there for many years now. It is going to be fun especially that little Jacob is with us. He is much too young to realize what christmas is all about, but bringing him with us will be wonderful. Still missing my daughter who is in Brussels. I miss her even more at this time of year.
I had my christmas event this week end and yesterday, hubby and i painted the whole living room. I am very tired, so i pray that you will find some understanding and wait one more day for the draw. Tomorrow, promise, i will announce the winner of my giveaway.
Have a wonderful day all ♥
Oh, please, do visit swedish house . it is a lovely blog and she is the one who had the idea of this tuesday through the window play along. This week, i took a picture from the living room window. This is where i love to sit, knit and look outside. Share your window with us !

I had my christmas craft event on december 6th and it went well and i am releived it is all over. I realize i have been working harder than i thought and many dolls and goodies are left in my sewing room, waiting to be adopted by someone who's heart will melt for one of them. I listed of few items in my shop
and some were gone quickly. I still have some wonderful linen bags i made, they were really fun to make and i have new ideas for Valentine and even spring and summer bags. Those 2 are more christmassy and i kept one for myself and filled it with pinecones, berries and fir sprigs. It looks very lovely.
I feel a little bit embarrassed and sad to tell you that i with my busy schedule, i did not take the time to make my x-mas giveaway. I meant to make one, i know i had mentionned about it to many of you and i want to apologize. I wish i had been more organize and find some free time, to make a really special christmas giveaway, but my free time was so scarse and i was so tired i barely had the energy to get ready on time for my craft event. I can not promise you, but i would really love to make one sometimes in january. I will keep you posted with the details.

I hope you are having a great time getting ready for christmas. Yesterday, it was snowing again and i baked some cookies while listening to my christmas music and i thought, winter and snowy days were not so bad after all.

♥ wishing you all a lovely day ♥

A spring giveaway !!!

Hello everyone, i hope all of you are doing great and enjoying the first signs of spring. I know some of you , lucky ones, probably already started cleaning up flower beds and maybe even some of you started planting. Oh, i wish i lived in a place where winters would be much shorter. Spring is here too, but snow here melts in such a slow pace and days are not warming up quickly enough. It was still very cold this morning when i left for work. ( -8 ) I am longing for a warm spring breeze so i can sit in the sun and indulge in some vitamins. We are all very tired of the long winter that never seems to end. It is a good thing i have so many things to keep me busy inside. Last week, i have been sewing some pretty pencil case in various fabric and colors and i thought to myself ; " Ohhh, these would make a nice little givaway ! " I have been thinking of doing one for quite a while now, just could not make up my mind. So today, i am going to take pictures for you all to see and the winner will get the chance to choose one in the batch.
I will try and post by the end of today with all the details, so ladies, keep your eyes open !
** Have a great day everyone ! **

It has been snowing heavily for the past 2 days and despite the fact that i love summer best, i cannot help but marvel at the beauty of the scenery that stands before me. My husband and i were complaining about the awful roads condition, driving becomes extremely dangerous.

But at the same time, we look at this huge white carpet covering the roads and all the houses glittering with christmas lights and we feel this happy nostalgic moment in our heart.

Everything looks so beautiful, i wish those shots i took from inside my home could show you the millions of big snowflakes falling on the ground. I am sorry to see they do not render what my eyes are actually admiring. If i have time, i will put my boots on and take some more from outside. Unless the magic stops. The forecast calls for sunshine this afternoon. And the temperature will drop to -13 C. Brrrrrrrrrr!

This photo is from my kitchen window. I know, it is rather dark,but i hate using the flash. It spoils the effect i was trying to show you. Don't you love my starfishes i bought in Cape Cod last summer... I love Cape Cod...sigh...

A little bit of sunshine in my life. My poor little geraniums are feeling a bit blue...snif !

A view from my studio door. Actually, is is a big french door window and it leads to a small balcony. I consider myself so lucky to inherit such a sweet little corner all to myself. I am dreaming of summer days where i can sit on this little balcony and do my sewing or knitting or whatever my hands are itching to work on.

So longmydearest friends. I must go and do some paintings... No, not some fun painting. I have to apply a coat of primer on the walls and ceiling of my daughter's new bedroom. It hasto be ready before christmas...I'll be back for more... 'Til then, be sweet..

Christmas season

My christmas craft show took place this last sunday ( december 7th ) and i must say i was quite satisfied of the final results. I wonder how i managed to make so many things in such short a time . I have been in my new house almost two months ago now and my clients were really amazed to see how organized i seem to be. It is true that we have been working really hard to make our home inviting and comfortable, but there is still so much to be done. Here are a few pictures of my new doll collection. I have more that i will try to post later, here and on my flickr page . I still have some stuff unsold and i just put a few up for sale on my etsy.
And yes, Carlotta is still there waiting patiently to be adopted by someone who will fell for her serious gypsy kinda look. I thought one of my clients would take her to a new home, but most of them said she looked too serious. Oh well...

I am really happy with my snowmen collection, but this pair you see with the long skinny hat was not very popular. Strange how things can differ from one show to the next. I thought people would grab all my new snowmen, but most went for the old ones i had from last year. This little cutie you see on the left though, disappeared in a matter of time. I made several of those and they were all gone fast. I bet if i make more next year, most of them will stay behind. But then again you can never guess and you have to take chances. Most of the time i prefer to make things i love best.

And i must say i never tire of creating snowmen of all kinds.

I also made some gingerbread dolls. Some were sugar coated like this one, others were rubbed with cinnamon and they smell evenly. I love to stuff most of my dolls with rags. It gives them a special look and feeling in your hands. Today is my day off, i am very tired. It is actually 1pm and i still wander lazily in my pyjamas. Outside it is snowing and i love to look at the billowing snowflakes. I put some old christmas cd's ( I love Bing Crosby ) and i feel very chritmasy. I love this time of year, just before christmas day. I think i will sit by the living room window and knit some mitts for my hubby. I bought some brow yarn ( such a classic for my traditional man ) and thought they would make a nice stocking stuffer.

'til next time my dearest friends, have a happy and sweet day.

Last sunday, my hubby decided we should take some time off packing and go for a ride in the country. He is a lineman for hydro and his team covers a wide area, mostly in the countryside. Before our exploration, he took me to breakfast in a quaint little restaurant where an old lady makes the best homemade pan roasted potatoes. After a huge comforting meal and good hot coffee, we headed down the roads and this is where we ended up. This is Harrington, a very beautiful area not far from my little hometown. We do live in the countryside as well and it is a lovely place, but nothing compare to this breathtaking place.

Harrington is known for its rolling hills and beautiful scenery. The town is very small and its inhabitants are mostly from scottish descent. I smiled as i read names on postal boxes. McTavish, Mc Allister, Mc Donald, and many more Mc's... Fall is such a spectacular season here in Quebec, but it is very shortlived. This is probably one of the last week end before the leaves fall to the ground...I feel a bit nostalgic seeing how fast summer flew by and knowing snow will soon be covering everything in a white blanket.

I must be going for now. I still have a lot of packing to do and i want to take some time today to unearth a few perennials i wish to take to my new home.

have a pleasant day everyone!

cocooning on a freezy rainy day

I know i should be working on some new ideas to put up for sale in my Etsy shop, but today, with this freezing rain and gloomy day, I just feel the urge to sit by the fire and knit. It is sad to see all this rain pouring and melting all the lovely snow away. We were hit by a big storm just before christmas and it was really wonderful ! I went cross country skiing last saturday and it was breathtaking ! There was a gentle snow falling on my cheeks and everything was so silent, so still, so perfect. The scenery has a very different mood now. Rather depressing. I am hoping for another snow storm so i can go back skiing again. But for the time being, this bad weather calls for cocooning near the fire. I love sitting on my comfy chair near the wood stove and watch the dancing flames as i knit contentedly. I am actually working on my fan and feather comfort shawl, which i hope will be done soon. I am using a self striping yarn I bought at a very cheap price, but it does the job. I did not want to invest too much as this is my very first shawl and i am still very novice. If i feel brave enough to knit a second one, i will chose a more luscious yarn. By th way, i just received a new stah of yarn through the mail. I bought it from an Ebay seller and the price was really really good. The yarn is buenalana from Uruguay. It is not dyed and that is just perfect because i intend to do it myself. I found on knitty how to dye natural fibers with kool aid ! I can't wait to give it a try and see the results. Well, well, i think it is time to go back to my knitting and perhaps thinking of exchanging my pyjamas i am still wearing ( it is 2pm ) for a pair of jeans. I should be ashamed, what a lazy girl !
Happy knitting to all knitter addicts !

A new day

I am entering the blogworld, feeling like a child doing his first steps. I hope to make this blog an enjoyable place for people to read and to see the things I create with my hands. Christmas will be a busy period for me. My daughter Genevieve who left home a year ago to study in Brussels, is coming over for christmas and we are all so excited to be able to share this special time of year with her. She was hoping for snow and I think her wish will be more than granted. We had our first storm a couple of weeks ago and we are expecting another storm this coming sunday, the day of her arrival. I am feeling a bit worried, I do hope her plane will not be delayed.

In the meantime, I have to get things ready. There is so much to do, from shopping to cooking to kintting last minute gifts for my loved ones. Tomorrow we are going to cut our christmas tree. This is such a fun tradition we have been doing with the kids. I will take pictures of this memorable day and maybe post some of them in my blog.

'Til then, I do wish you all a happy and safe christmas !