a light dusting

Is there nothing cleaner than a little dust cover of snow? It always makes me smile. Even the dirty snowbanks down Merivale yesterday, that constant reminder that yes, you are now in an urban area, will be be refreshed this morning by that powdered sugar of snow.
I am busily planning and creating, working towards my own re-freshening of sorts. It's been cathartic to go through my fabrics and yarns, inventory them and create new objects. There's a school of thought that clutter is stored energy, sitting there but inert, draining energy from your life. By using those resources, I've noticed a definite energy shift - and to think that it all started with a simple tote bag swap...
I've made quite a few in past couple of weeks - I think that this one will be
for one of my SILs - I don't know which one yet but I'll figure it out . somehow...maybe good old Rock, Paper, Scissors will sort it out for me
Then, I made my first apron

no pattern of course - that would have been too easy. I'm sure that I've over complicated this simple project but it was fun to play - use my embroidery stitches on the Kenmore, serge the waistband... put fabrics together. Beulah liked it enough to wear it for a week; doesn't she look hot?
Then, I made this one

even more simple and again, no pattern
but wait - there's more!

that embroidered strip on the bottom is really a set of pockets... to put stuff in!

When your internal fog clears up, you get to see things that really matter - like good friends. For those of you who read through this chronicle and 'visited' for SIPD, you 'met' my dear friends, Rita and MCC. What I didn't share was that I was especially gifted that day - LOOK!!!!
First, the D.A.W.G.S. got this (and some homemade cookies)

I cannot imagine using it as a floor cloth and have to rig some way to hang this gorgeous bit of canvas on a wall so that I can enjoy it every day - isn't he the perfect dog!?!
Then (yes, it gets even better)I got this cool bag
Isn't the best message EVER?!? It's filled with workbooks for my next class, too - yum!
But wait, not only did I get that and that but I also got THIS (doesn't this feel like an infomercial?)
Yes, a shawl - my very firstest shawl, perfect for curling up with a cuppa and a good book. In it, I finally finished the Last Harry Potter book (for the 3rd time, secure in its warmth and the comfort of a good friend
One beautiful thing about this electronic age is how we meet friends from all over and yet never meet face to face. It's really opening a series of new possibilities, isn't it. Maybe the world that our parents protested for isn't so far off - maybe we can stitch this new reality together, via the Internet. More friends is never a bad thing