Stitching - Exercise Mat

With the floor being installed I decided that I would need a mat to do exercises in the living room.  The floor is hard and provides no cushioning.

I researched options and found a large rug at IKEA which was 100% cotton and a color I could live with.  I had bought a yoga mat from my sister who had purchased it for a class and never used it again.  That provides the non slipping base for the rug.  I only do walking videos so there is not much impact exercises.

It is about 5 x 7 feet in size so doubling it up with the yoga mat would provide 3 layers of cushion.  That should be good.

I did try it for a few days until I was convinced that the idea would work.

It would really need to be solidified into a single piece now that it was folded because there were open edges which presented tripping hazards.

The blue yoga mat is just a bit smaller than the mat which is okay.

It really sticks to the floor so keeps the mat in place very well.

It is big enough to do my floor exercises and the cushion makes those comfortable.

I clipped the folded edge first for stitching.  That way any adjustment can be made on the open edges if needed.

I laid the hemmed edges opposite the fold next to each other instead of over each other to make that edge smoother.

I chose some heavy 100% cotton crochet cotton for the stitching. It is Clark's Anchor Cronita size 10 in Turquoise to add a bit of color to the mat.

I am so grateful for what I have learned on my slow stitching journey this year.  These experiences gave me confidence to know I could do this.  I found a heavy needle in my stash. 

I used a back stitch which doubled up the stitching on the back.  Hopefully that will wear better than single stitch.

Now there were a lot of inches to go about 250 of them so it was going to take a while.

The weaving of the thread was quite open considering the size of needle I was using.  The weaving was very even so I could just follow the edge of a row.

I made crosses at the corners to really tied down those thick corners.

I am very happy with my even stitching.

The turquoise color is great.

It took about 8 hours of stitching to go all the way around.

It feels and looks great!

I found a piece of webbing and a clasp to make a strap to keep it closed when I roll it up every day when I am done.

This clasp just traps the webbing in a clip on both sides so no sewing was required.

I am amazed sometimes at what I have in my stash.

It was exactly what I needed.

Everything needs a home at my house so I placed a basket on the bottom shelf of my IVAR shelving unit to hold the mat and my indoor exercise running shoes. 

That works very well tucked away in the corner of the living room.

A two week project but bodes well for regular exercise with  my walking videos now that fall is here and the temps will be cooler.

 

Sewing Project - TV Chair Outfit - Chair Caddy

Today, I worked on the caddy for my chair that at minimum would hold my TV remote so I can always find it.

Here's the overall photo.  It is sitting over the arm of the chair on my right.

It has 2 pockets - a small for the remote and another larger for who knows what.

I started again with the stash of fabric that I had assembled for this project.

I realized that the caddy had to have some stiffness as it was not going to sit flush against the side of the chair.

I had a piece of 100% cotton upholstery fabric which I thought would do the job.  The color was within the family of colors but I decided I preferred to have the caddy blend in as much as possible. I checked on the size and it was not too big so I just keep it the size it was. 

I did have enough of the warm grey microfiber fabric I had used behind the headrest cover.  Excellent.

I cut the warm grey fabric to be about 1.5 inches larger than the cotton piece in all directions.  I then folded .75 inches then again to bring that hem over the edge of the cotton.  Once I had ironed, pinned and mitered the corners I sewed a seam very close to the edge all the way around. The cotton would be on the under side of the caddy. 

The pocket was the same warm grey microfiber.  I cut the pocket about 7 inches tall and 2 inches wider than the base to allow for some ease in the pocket(s).

I then used a small leftover piece of the fabric I had used on the cushion cover to edge the top of the pocket.  It was the perfect size.  I serged the cut edges of this piece before I sewed it to the top of the pocket piece.  I top stitched along the seam as well as along the top edge.

I folded the side edges and the bottom edge and ironed those flat.  It was then pinned to the edges first.  I marked the center to make sure ease was evenly distributed. I make a pleat in each pocket and then sewed all three sides of the pocket to the main piece.  I did have to shorten the small pocket for the remote because it fell too deep and it was hard to get out.

With the final project nicely ironed, all the stray threads trimmed, it was time to install it on the chair.

It is long enough that flap that sits on the inside of the chair goes deep between the cushion and the side of the chair.  There is not need for any other mechanism to keep it in place.

I now have an extra pocket which I don't know what it will hold but it's ready for use whenever inspiration hits.

This has been a very satisfying project.

All the pieces are bespoke, just the right color and size, with all the colors and patterns coordinating.

Love IT!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

These rain drops on leaves was creating a magical world low down near the ground.

The leaf was turned upside down which happens when it rains.

There were some perfectly spherical drops and some fatter wider ones too.

I did get wet knees as I had to get really low to capture the magic.

I purchased this fused glass tree at the Art Walk in Beaumont a while back. 

I had seen them posted on Instagram in the spring and really loved them. I knew the artist was in that area and her work was in the local gift shop as well.  There was a good chance I would find them at the walk or the shop.  

The shop is called the Painted Door.  I did purchase some loose tea there as well.

I did purchase it from the shop but then introduced  myself to Chrissy (A Touch of Glass) at the art walk.  Glass is one of my favorite art mediums. 

I found another dessert plate for my Snow White Regency dinnerware.  I now have 7 which leaves only one more to complete a set of 8.

That works really well with the little book I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Totally Tea Time Cook Book.  What a cute little book published in 1995 written by Helen Siegel and Karen Gillingham.

I love the cover and that fact that the book is shaped like a teapot.

With chapters like snacks and sandwiches, Scones, Crumpets and Tea Breads and Tarts, Puddings and Ice Creams it should be ideal book for getting back to entertaining.

The Iced Tea chapter is ideal for this hot summer weather we are experiencing right now.

I am so glad to have found this small book.

I have been looking for a metal object which would fit on top of the stove and allow my pots to be higher than the top of the stove.

This plant stand will do the job wonderfully.  The metal was flexible enough to be placed in the firebox and provides at least 2 inches of open space which will allow air to flow and me to add wood to the firebox. 

I finished this book Fingersmith by Sarah Waters last week.

Set in London England in 1860's it had great potential for my kind of read.

I enjoyed the first part which described the lift of Susan Trinder, an orphan raised by a kind woman Mrs. Sucksby.  The house is occupied by various characters of dubious reputations.  Fingersmith is a word to describe a thief of which Susan is one of many in the house.  Goods are redistributed by Mr. Ibbs and Gentleman is a caller who makes regular visits to the house.

The other orphan is Maud Lilly who lives in a grand house outside of London in the beautiful countryside. She lives with her uncle and serves as his secretary for his business.  Her uncle is obsessed with books and had a grand library where he spends most of his time. His clients come to visit and time is spent in the library.  Eventually, one discovers that the books housed in this library all relate to unsavory subject matter. 

I skipped quite a few chapters which went into the library's subject matter which I did not need to know.  I read the last few chapters which concluded the story of these 2 young ladies. 

This is definitely a book for mature audience and I can not recommend it as a wholesome story.

With keeping with the way I had prepared the place for sale and I have decided to keep the counters in both the kitchen and bathroom as uncluttered as possible.

The stuff from the counter and from under the sink had just been stacked willy nilly thinking that all would be sorted out when I moved.

Alas, I am not moving as there is little movement in my market and the prices are so low that I could not move forward with a sale in this market.

I had to address the clutter in the cabinet so I purchased several clear totes and sorted things out.  I had hoped for drawers like I have on the other side but the P-trap position prevents me to put an identical drawer unit on this left side. 

At least they are clear and I can see where things are.  The small one on the top holds my everyday items - hair brush, tooth brush, glasses cleaner, etc.  Easily pulled out to access what I need and then placed back out of sight.

Major Clean Up, De-clutter, Storage and Organize - Craft space & Photo Studio

I did decided I needed to do some major clean up and de-cluttering with the goal of having ALL card making supplies in the craft space.  This necessitated getting rid of a lot of supplies.  I have been mulling this over for several months.  

 

Finally, I decided to keep my Stamping Up supplies and cull the unrelated stuff for this reason. I have card stock, designer paper, ink, watercolor, chalks, ribbon, brads, and some stamps that all coordinate.  I have enough to last me the rest of my card making career.  I am keeping 110lb for photo cards too.

I started by removing all the non SU designer paper from my 8 color coded drawers.

Then, I took the 4 drawers of SU designer paper which were crammed to overflowing and sorted them into the 8 color coded drawers. It was a bit tough because SU paper comes in sets which are organized by color collections - Brights, Subtles, Regals, and Neutrals rather than colors.

Now, I had 4 empty drawers.

I then looked at the Iris cases in the bedroom that held 12x12 designer paper.  I kept the special papers like metallic, no shed glitter, and vellum pieces which translate well to Stampin Up.  That is what is in that bottom drawers.   Look 3 empty drawers!

I have a large box overflowing of designer paper to get rid of.  I will hold onto it for a couple of weeks in case I remember a few pieces I want to pull back.

 

 

The card stock cupboard needed to be addressed as well.  A while ago I had moved 8.5x11 Stampin Up card stock to this cupboard but now the 12x12 card stock had to be moved as well.

It was being stored in the dining room secretary along with table linens so it was time it moved.

The left is 8.5x11 card stock and the right is neutrals and 12x12 card stock on the bottom.

The middle shelf holds the boxes for my 2 projects - Compassion House and Cards for Seniors.

Here's the bottom shelves of the secretary in the dining room.  

I have added a few plastic containers to organize. The top shelf holds small vases, small bottles, charger plates, place mats, and a grey box of table runners and doilies.

The bottom shelf is a container of napkins and table cloths on the right hand side.

There is room for a few pieces if I decide something new in the future.

I now have 7 Iris cases that are EMPTY!

This is the photo studio area and you can see in the right hand photo that I have filled some of them with Macro Monday props. Clear cases which are well labels so I can quickly find what I need.  

I don't know what I will use the empty ones for just yet.  I can live with them empty for a while and get used to the space.  Having spend the time to empty them I will be sure to fill them with plenty of thought!   SO HAPPY!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A visit to the St. Albert Botanic Park this week yielded more flower photos than I anticipated.

Here, I have captured one of the several colors of Pasque Flowers - Prairie Crocus blooming in the gardens.

They come in blues, purples, red, and white.  

Beautiful flowers!

During a trip to the country this week I also found a Greek Basil plant.  I have tried growing a plant since early March with no success.  I hope to be able to keep this one alive and harvest its leaves for cooking. It smells so good. I have it under my grow light for 8 hours a day.

My sister had an extra Greek Oregano plant so I asked for one of those. 

I have started using this gluten free flour for my pancakes, sauces, and other miscellaneous uses. 

After a much needed grocery shopping trip I made myself a trio of pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Served with a variety toppings with cream. 

Fruit syrup, fresh fruit and yummy chocolate hazelnut spread.

 

I use a book to keep organized and on track for my days out of the house.  I have been doing that for years.  I have always had coiled books which forces me into a chronological order.  I saw this small binder at the dollar store and decided to give it a try. 

 

 

 

 With 5 dividers I can organize the information. The pink for the trip checklist, the green for shopping list, the purple for the address I use often but don't know by heart.  That leaves a couple tabs for expansion as needed.

There is a space to store my store coupons, take out coupons and whatever else bits of paper I need.

It has a slot in the front for a business card.  I have a hole punch th right size to punch my own sheets once I have used the ones that came with it.

The elastic keeps everything well contained within the covers.

A convenient place for a pen.

It lives in this bag I made a while back.  Feel good about this project.

Look at the cutie I found recently.  This is a bunny which comes from some domestic rabbits that were released from their hutches years ago.

We have hares in our province but not wild rabbits. You can tell it is a rabbit by the dark eye, the shorter ears and smaller size.

Very cute.  I will visit regularly to track the progress of the family as the young ones grow up.

The challenge for Flickr Macro Monday this week is Buttons.  There is potential for a variety of  buttons from the sewing kind to the ones on electronic or mechanical devices.  This shot is the snap fastener on my rain jacket.  You can check out my Flickr Photo Stream (SMDPics) to see the shot I submitted this week. 

I am joining the Mosaic Monday #132 hosted my Angie and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #290.   Have a great week!

Clean Up - Craft Table

I have been working on cleaning up my craft table so I can move my work space from the dining room back to where it belongs. 

I have been at it for a couple of days and I have the table done.  I still have projects on the dining room table that can be migrated to the craft table and completed or otherwise handled. 

On left of this photo is a pile of stuff that came out of the front hall when I had flooding there in 2019. I will have to work on that project soon as well so I can access many of my tools that are stored in the shelving unit on the left against the wall. 

I have decided to so a reset and I am willing to chuck or donate cardmaking stuff down to what is in the storage units.  Then I can start again working on putting things back where they live when I am done at the end of the day.

It is a process and I will start again and move forward with a renewed commitment to the process.  I feel good about my progress.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a trip to the Heritage Hills Wetlands this week.   I found this beautiful House Finch.  It was singing it heart out. Love the red head.

I walked all the pathways this visit.  I was out for just about 3 hours.  The mosquitoes were not too bad.














I finished this book - The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tam this week.  It is an interesting read.  With time where I did not know which person was speaking.  The time frames were different so it had to be another person but it was not clear.  The 1st two thirds were slow but I have to say once the visit to China everything fell into place and the last chapters were great!

I have been working hard to make space in the bedroom for the sewing machine I bought the week the pandemic hit!

Thanks goodness it is being stored at my sister's house.  I have made a few organization changes which are working very well.  The desk will fit in the space at 30" tall, 40" wide and 18" deep.


 I have moved the photo studio that will be in my post next week.

I added some nails under the kitchen cabinets to hold the recipe book stand.  I was storing it in the yellow plastic stand with the books but that was not the best.
Excellent.

I have 3 small bags where I can place stuff going to my family's homes. My sister, my niece and my Mom each have a bag.  This was stored in the bedroom but I have moved them to the storage room.  Wonderful move.

This single White Pelican was feeding on Thursday morning.  I understand they mostly eat small fish.  You can see the dip in his gullet is the fish.

It was great to see him on the second pond because the others were on the far side of pond three.   No usable shots from that distance.

I see that I have a male Mallard Duck in the background.

These are the pink flowers in bloom here. The Wild Rose, Dwarf Milkweed and of course Peonies.

I milk weed has small wonderful flowers.  It has taken me a couple of years of research to happen upon the name.

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge was to pick one from color list (blue, yellow, red or pink) and one from an object list (pen, paper, bottle cap,flower. The photo on the left is one yellow pens.

You can check my photostream SMDPics to see my submission.

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #86.

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #246

Blog Giveaway - 2018 Goals

I have not made New Year`s Resolutions for many years.  Last year, I set some Self Development Plans.  I am happy with my progress.
Learn - I bought a new camera which allows me to take different photos than I am used to.  Continue to my Flickr challenges and learning new techniques.
Read - I read 20 books in 2017. This included novels, true stories, picture books, and books to learn a skill or find a project.
Teach - I taught my monthly card club and a couple of bible studies.
Relax - Most of my relaxing time was reading time.  Not too many coloring pages were completed.  I did watch TV but with over air antenna reception is sometimes a challenge.  I totally enjoyed `This is Us` show.
Move - I did do exercises at home and walked at least an hour each morning for spring, summer and fall.  I am only up 2 pounds over the holidays but that is due to this deep freeze weather we have been experiencing.  I have been hibernating.

Check the end of the post for the giveaway details.

I managed an update to the kitchen which was not had not been firmed up in my mind last January.

Here are my goals for 2018!

CREATE - I will continue to create cards for card club and decorative paper for my cards at the gallery.

I want to create a website to showcase my photography.

I am working on the development of a workshop for my show at the gallery in October.

I am preparing a Fruit of the Spirit bible study which will start in February.

I very soon will be making decisions about the subject matter of my 2019 photo calendars and setting up photography time to get those done by the middle of the year. 

READ - I have decided to keep a Book Journal this year.  I will record the title and author at a minimum.  Characters where appropriate and a general rating on whether I would recommend the book.

I will capture insights I have gained, things I have learned, and concepts I can share from my reading of each book

This book has a sturdy translucent cover with a coil binding which needed to be tightened. Fortunately, I had the machine to do the job.  Once, that was sorted out I cut some black letters with the Stampin Up Little Letters thinlit set and glued them onto the first page.

I have already recorded my first book for 2018!

MOVE - I will continue to move each day.

I can run the stairs, use the treadmill downstairs, walk outdoors, and use my exercise video.

I have been using the stairs more because as the elevators are being overhauled so we will be down to one for the next 6 months.  I don`t NEED to take the elevator unless I am hauling groceries so there is more stair climbing in 2018.

CONNECT - I have been totally enjoying our monthly `Welcome to my Kitchen` fellowship group.
My blog lets me connect with fellow bloggers and my Flickr challenges with other photographers.
Card Club and card challenges let me connect with fellow card makers.
I am wanting to add another monthly social activity to my calendar and am looking to join a `Scrabble`game time once a month.  There are a couple of options available in my area.
I would like to host a few more friends over for tea this year as well.

DE-CLUTTER & ORGANIZE -  If you have followed my blog you may remember I worked on my craft space in 2013.  Craft supply storage in 2015.  The storage room in 2016.

In 2018 I am going to work on my wardrobe.  It`s been 3 years since I have had to go to a regular day job so I need to clear out some clothes I have not worn in that long.  Mom pointed out when I was home for Christmas that my favorite denim shirt was ready for the rag pile. The photo above shows the worn out one and it`s replacement.  I need a new pair of indoor runners.  There is some `Big`clothes that I have been saving in case that now just need to go. 

My renewed interest in sewing has attracted some supplies to my home which need a home.  So, I will have get rid of some stuff to make room for this.  Some hard decision will have to be made and paper may be sacrificed for fabric.

HIT THE ROAD - I want to make a few longer road trips this year.  Some will end with visiting family.  Some will be photography destinations.  Some will be just to get out of the city and see some country.

It`s been a year since I retired and I want to get out more.


I have four 2018 photo calendar as give aways for those who leave me a comment on this post.  Please share your 2018 goals, plans, objectives and upcoming events.  I will pick 4 winners on February 7th.  Have a super day!

Share Your Cup #279 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson

Anything Goes Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound