There be a tractor!

Well, there's at least an OUTLINE of a tractor.  There's a long way to go yet before it looks quite right but at least you can see the beginning...

....or is it the beginning of the end?  Time will tell!

And...further on the decluttering project, here's some more results....

Beads, beads and more beads

Assorted beads, metal 'thingies', wooden bits, shells

glass doorknob (why???); a clock face; metal bobbins that have never fit any sewing machine I've owned,
hinges, blenders and a wheel of pins (I have more!)

A bag full of assorted paper 'bits' having to do with sewing; some fabric covered wire,
a pile of harvested fur, a sewing gauge (several more still) and a couple of pincushions

3 pkgs of seam binding, some paper bits; more beads, and a scarf

Today's quote is an apt one from Francine Jay..."Your home is living space, not storage space"

Is it over yet? And a beginning

Just to give you something else to look at other than my downsizing efforts, how about an inspiration for a new landscape?  This is a photo of my uncle with the tractor he refurbished and now drives in pretty much every local parade in his area.  I've wanted to use a tractor in my work and so this has become my inspiration.  Of course his tractor is far too 'pretty' for my liking, so you KNOW that part of it is going to change!

and this is the beginning of my version....

I know - doesn't look like much does it!!

I'm sure some of you are asking that very question of 'is it over yet?'  and I'm sorry to say you're going to be subjected to  downsizing caper results until the end of the month.  All together now.....groan.....

A box 3 parts full of scrapbooking paper, some plastic rings, a bag of pom poms, some calligraphy guides and a guide to making paper beads

small paper envelopes (I have more!); alphabet stamps, stencils, a pair of scissors that won't cut and some tags

A bag of feathers, a bag of faces, sequins with no holes, bottle caps, plastic eggs and some
stuff of questionable origin/use

card sleeves (I have tons still!); photograph corners; pom poms, and a pkg. of pop dots 

Today's quote is from Deborah  Wirsu....."The thing is, by adulthood, we've learned to recognize quality in other people's work, but find it difficult to see the merit in our own"       

And....there's more!!!

Yes, there's more!  Much more.  Here's some downsizing results for Jan. 8th and 9th (all pictures can be embiggened if you so desire) 

A huge pile of paper ephemera and stickers

a recycled denim knitted bag, a small quilt, a  part roll of gift wrap, and a bunch of page protectors

some random Scrabble tiles and a package of mulberry paper scraps 

random sequins, glitter, broken jewelry, a mini iron that doesn't have a control, a melting pot

AND....just to prove I've been doing something

else with my time, how about the cuteness 

factor of this....

Baby Yoda seems to be all the rage at the moment

and it seems my #2 son wants one (under the guise

that it's for our grandson).

This guy is about 14" high and he's quite heavy.

Pattern is by Allison Hoffman but is no

longer available for purchase.

Today's quote is from Mari Kondo...."When we really delve into the reasons for why we can't let something go, there are only two - an attachment to the past or a fear for the future"

And on we go!

Here are the results of January 6 and 7th of the Grande Downsize Caper of 2020!....

Denim pieces - harvested from old jeans and in my stash for too many years to count!

pens, pencils, dead markers and a set of really fine metal files (why???)

some atc's and postcards - made too many!

I have made a slight adjustment to the original idea of downsizing 5 things each day because once we started into the process I got on a roll and, like a whirling dervish, I went through the entire place in a matter of days.  So....as I went I put things we're getting rid of into groupings, took photos, and will be sharing those here throughout the month.  The items (most of them)  were delivered to the thrift store yesterday and, wonder of wonders, I didn't even set foot inside the store, which has to be a first!

Today's quote is from Hans Hofmann..."The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak"

Some results, thoughts & finds

 There comes a time in any downsizing exercise when you reach the point where the things facing you are sentimental.  They have meaning.  They remind you of someone.  They were wedding gifts that you (or your parents) received.  They're things your kids created in grade school.   And the list goes on.  I know - without a bit of doubt - that my kids will never want them and that they most likely will be tossed in the trash (or maybe, if we're lucky, they MIGHT get sent to a thrift store).  So...I have resolved to get rid of those albatrosses and set them free.  Before they go, I will take a photo of them and record their significance on the back of that.....at least then I can still be reminded of them...and photos take up a whole lot less space.  And please people, don't remind me that photos are clutter too - let me wait awhile before I burst THAT particular bubble!

Without further ado, here's my results for Jan. 4 and 5th (clicking will embiggen!)....

A shoebox filled with mohair yarn

 I have come to the conclusion that I hate knitting with mohair

A bunch of paper lunch bags, a lighter, some sponge 'thingies' and a piece of felted something or other

 Still can't figure out why I had a lighter - nobody smokes in this house nor do we burn candles.  Resident Chef has one in the kitchen drawer so we certainly don't need two!

2 Christmas sweaters, a random sweater, a poppy apron, and a water flosser

 We 'inherited' the water flosser and never used it....the person that

gave it to us didn't either!

two bags of lace, a candle snuffer, two punches, and a pile of cording

AND.....part of the downsizing project is/was to

run clean up programs on my computer and unsubscribe to 

TONS of mailing lists I'm no longer interested in.  I can

put a check mark on that one!

Just for fun, I thought I'd share something I came across in my clearing out (and yes, I'm keeping them!)....these are paper dolls that I assume must have belonged to my mother and appear to have been a set that was published by Coats during the war...

each has the Coats label printed on the back

The set includes a minister (above) and the 
bride and groom (below)

The parents of the bride....

and the best man and bridesmaid...

And, this just popped up on my facebook page - a view of Australia issued by NASA.  Please pray for them!!

The quote for today...."The more things you own, the more they own you"

A project and continuation

I think I should show you something I worked on recently (just so I don't run the risk of boring you TOO much with the downsizing efforts!).  These beaded buttons were done for the 'CQ Quarterly' magazine that will be available soon....

And here's the results of my downsizing challenge for Jan. 2 and Jan. 3....

Above is some yardage - most of which will be donated to our local quilt guild for use in making wheelchair bags.

Below is a binder filled with rubber stamps which I have rarely used (if ever for a lot of them).  I have booked a sale table at the quilt guild for February and will see if I can sell any (or all) of them.  What I don't sell will be thrifted. 

And, as a little aside - we took 6 of these to our #1 son at Christmas time and left them there.  I know it's not a downsize for January per se, but I'm counting it anyway!!

Today's quote..."Be so busy loving your life that you have no time for hate, regret or fear"

And so it begins!

Not only an entirely new decade, but also the grande clear out of January 2020!  Are you ready?

Completed quiet book!

I have finished the quiet book!  It took some thought to figure out how I was going to put it together but eventually I settled upon making a 'hinge' of sorts for the spine.  I cut 3 3/4" strips of fabric the length of the pages, folded them in half, and sewed them to the sides of pairs of pages.  Then I put two 'pairs' together, wrong sides together, and basted around the outside.  Then I cut my own double fold bias tape using fun fabrics to bind the pages.  I made the cover 'spine' a bit wider in order to accommodate the inside pages.  Then I used some of my 'fancy' stitches on my machine to topstitch the bias tape.   Added handles to the sides of the cover pages for easy carrying.  I ended up with three 'signatures' and the outside cover.  I marked the center of the spine for each pair of pages for a guide for sewing, along with marking three guidelines on the inside spine of the cover.  Pinned each signature in place along the guidelines and stitched in place.  Tah dah.....

And just a little reminder....if you'd like.... please join me 

in my efforts to downsize throughout January.

I'll be posting my results and would love it if

you would join in!

And here is another fun thing you might like to do in 2020....get an empty jar and at the end of each week add a note with a good thing that happened.  On New Year's Eve 2021, open the jar and read about the great 2020 you had!

Today's quote..."My new year's resolution is to stop procrastinating.  I am not starting until next week though"

Three more pages

The quiet book is done but I'm a bit behind in posting pictures so here are the rest of the pages....

Above is the inside front cover - a snow globe

with sequins inside.

Below is the front cover.... a family 'tree'

Below is the back cover - they have a 

cat so I made this one using some

fake fur I had in my stash...

I will show the completed book in

my next blog post on Monday.

  Today's quote...."Be so busy loving your life that you have no time for hate, regret or fear"

Christmas wishes!

Resident Chef and I would like to extend

our best wishes to you and those you hold most

dear for a blessed, happy, safe and wonderful

Christmas...and we would like to share one of
our very favourite songs.
Go HERE and enjoy!  

And.....another page.....and surprises

At this point I'm working on the outside and inside cover pages for the quiet book. This will appear on one of the inside covers....

and this is what's inside...

and these are inside the envelopes...

    

UPDATED TO ADD:

Just look at what arrived from our family out west!!

How did they know I had planned to replace a number of our fading ugly plants with some new ones after Christmas?

There are at least eleven different succulents crammed in this beautiful pottery bowl!

Huge thanks to our wonderful family - love you guys!

Today, instead of a quote, I came across this story and thought I'd share....

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid.
I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumour has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbours, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all us kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!
I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.
"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.
Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.
Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, dropped the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumours about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.That store clerk was one of Santa's helpers,too!

A return

Yesterday I returned to working on the quiet book I'm making for our expected baby and this page was the result....

The van has a zippered pocket that holds the transportation-related felt pieces.  At this point I think I can start putting it together so that I can know the size I will need to make the cover.  

I may have shared this poem with you previously but it's one I pull out every year and re-read simply to remind me that all is not sweetness and light this time of year.  Some of us struggle with the holiday season and all it entails.  This poem was published in the Woman's Day magazine dated 12/20/88 so it's an oldie!

Dear Lord,
'Tis the season to be merry and I'm not, really.

'Tis the season of goodwill, of general and particular
blessedness, of worship and praise and warmth of heart...

And I, like the Grinch, have spiders in my spirit, and

garlic in my soul.

And I come in confession and remorse, asking You for....

....for Christmas.

Is it the dither, Lord, that sets my day on edge?

Is it the too-muchness, the lavishness, the

extended list that gnaws at my extended self?  Hmmm.
I do believe I could trim a thing or two off that list.

Is it that I am trying to make a Production

out of Christmas when what I really want is a 

Presence?

That I'm trying to guarantee, by my own efforts,

what can come only as gift, by Thine?

Is it the begrudging, Lord?  That I want to

do lovely things for my loved ones, 

only I resent the time spent 'doing' for the

one I am so irked at right now....or that
I want to do gracious helpful things for 

nebulous 'others' but I certainly want to know that

they will appreciate my efforts adequately!

Forgive my begrudging, Father, and my 

strings attached.

Forgive my production, and my dither,

and fill me with carols of hope, and

hymns of praise, 

and prayers of deep joy....

fill me with Christmas.

Amen

Today's quote is a short one..."Be naughty, save Santa the trip"

Another wee toy

Over the weekend I finished knitting a wee toy for our expected new grandbaby....

I make this toy for pretty much every new baby that comes along because it seems they all end up loving it.  Pattern is the 'Knubbelchen' and can be found HERE.  You can use pretty much any soft yarn to make these provided the needles are compatible with the yarn weight.  In this case I used DK weight and 2.5 mm needles.

Today's quote is from Steve Maraboli...."Want to keep Christ in Christmas?  Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you"

Landscape reveal

The latest landscape has reached the buyer so I am now able to show you....  

SOLD!

Below is the original photo ...

Photo credit: Laureen Catchpole-Heatley
and used with her very kind permission

How about this little charmer?

The pattern is the 'Bed Time Gnome' by Knitting By Post and can be found HERE.

Today's quote..."The best kind of people are the ones that come into your life and make you see the sun where you once saw clouds;  the people that believe in you so much that you start to believe in you too;  the people that love you, simply for being you.  The once in a lifetime kind of people"

This proves it!

Yep, the fact that I waited all day to make my blog post so I could show you a picture of what I was working on is a moot point now, unless I want to un-wrap a just-wrapped gift that currently holds today's project!!  Argh.  Just more proof that I'm losin' it!

Today's quote (and I promise it's not a repeat of the last one!)..."Life is kind of like a party.  You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay all night, some laugh with you, some laugh at you, and some show up late.  But in the end, after the fun, there are a few who stay to help you clean up the mess. And most of the time they aren't even the ones who made the mess.  These people are your real friends.  They are the ones who matter most"

A little something

The astute among you will have realized that I'm losing it (if you've read to the end of this post and realized that I repeated the exact same quote as I gave you last time!!).  Yep,  not only can I not remember WHY I've entered a room, but I can't remember quotes either!!!  Sheesh.

Over the past couple of days I've been making this pillow to go along with the Super Mario quilt and bed pillowcase I already made.  It will be a themed Christmas for our littlest grandson it seems!

I used a coloring page I found online for the pattern and then appliqued the pieces in place.  

Today I have the final (at least for now!) in the little series I've been sharing..."As I get older I realize getting lucky means walking into a room and remembering why I'm there"

A little bit of stash reduction

Over the past couple of weeks my knitting needles have been busy creating these two cowls made from mohair I had in my stash for far too long.  All that knitting though - and I only decreased the stash by one single solitary ball!!!!

The patterns are pretty generic  - the beige one is simply 5 rows knit and 5 rows purl, rinse and repeat.  The ivory version was a little more complicated and was a pattern from one of my stitch books.  Unfortunately the design is pretty much lost in the fuzziness of the yarn so if I do more I'll probably stick to the beige version.

And another in the little series of quotes I've been sharing..."As I get older I realize that getting lucky means walking into a room and remembering why I'm there"

Sorry folks!

Sorry to say there's nothing of interest here today.  No photos.  Nothing to show.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  

That's not to say that here at Chez Magpie there aren't things happening.  It's just that I can't show you those happenings - yet.  I do, however, have some links for you and, of course, the quote of the day!

Another in the aging quotes...."As I get older I realize that wouldn't it be great if we could put ourselves in the dryer for 10 minutes and come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller?

A small update

I've been spending a lot of hours working on the latest landscape and here is some of the progress...

This is NOT a great photo - for one thing, it's very dull here today and difficult to get decent pictures AND I've cropped it so you can't see the area I'm currently working on (nothing exciting as yet anyway!).  At this point I will ask you to wait to see the finished project because I'd like my client to be the first to see it done.  I will post another photo once it has been delivered to her.  Hope she likes it!

Another in the getting older series of quotes..."As I get older I realize that even duct tape can't fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound"