ketchup (or catsup, if you prefer)

Lots of things going on here recently, yet surprisingly few posts to talk about it... oh well, today is my day to catch up before tomorrow's trip to Toronto (and the meeting that will happen there) leads to oodles of work for the next two months...

first off, a conveniently timed article in martha-stewart living - fun felt projects made from sweaters that have been (purposely or not) felted in the washing machine... mits, hats gloves, a very cute hot-water bottle cozy, and some stuffed animals... so maybe my gray sweater has a future after all!

next up, weekend happenings...
Mike's family for dinner here on Friday, followed by a visit from out-of-town friends on Saturday which included a visit to parliament hill, dinner, and then brunch on Sunday; there was also a halloween party on Saturday night, and the requisite day of recovery on Sunday. then last night we carved pumpkins! yay! here's the photo review of all those events...

baking cake #1

decorating cake #2 (we had 3 birthdays altogether, and since I hate sharing my cake with people, why should i force others to share their cakes?)

tired kiddies don't like staying up late at dinner parties... :(

inside parliament hill
the Peace Tower of the Parliament buildings
(Ottawa is the country's capital, not Toronto, which comes as some surprise to many non-Canadians)

one of our many pumpkins... you'll get to see the rest of them tomorrow!

The last surprise of the weekend was my hot socks swap package, which was delivered yesterday!

mmmm... 2 kinds of Green & Blacks hot chocolate and a chocolate bar, pretty yarn, and even a fun little stitch marker which opted not to be photographed - thanks Deb!

Happy Halloween everyone!

"All figures are at their best when posture is good and a correctly fitted foundation garment is worn"

On Saturday the local community centre held a Fabric Flea Market - lots of fabric, yarns, and needlework supplies to be had, all at good bargain prices! Of course I couldn't pass it up!

Although I was very tempted to buy up a ton of fabric pieces - especially all the tweedy suiting materials and plush corduroys - I restricted myself to only those things that I could put to good use right away...

like this 'how-to' sewing magazine from 1966, for example (the source of today's post title)...
Despite its insistence on wearing 'foundation undergarments' anytime you leave the house, this book is pretty fun... lots of full-colour, step-by-step illustrations, and instructions for everything from how to do a basting stitch by hand, to how to tailor a suit. its everything I've forgotten from home-ec class, all in one little magazine! at the bargain price of 50 cents, how could i resist? :)

I also picked up a set of 3 knitting binders, circa early 1980's. I think it was one of those sets where you get the binders and then you collect all the inserts over time and file them away in the appropriate coloured section....
two of the binders have instructional cards, some of which are pretty useful - there's a whole section on designing your own patterns, and lots of examples of colour and texture knitting patterns, with advice on how to work them into a full project. it also has cards explaining different finishing stitches, and those apparently obvious, yet really difficult for me things like how to sew a zipper into your knitting... keeping in mind that I suck at sewing, that's the part of knitting that I find most difficult.

the other binder is chock full of patterns for adults, kids, babies, and the home. Check out this fancy number:

"The perfect casual or resort sweater for a young man who likes stylish clothes"

I think I may have found the source of the cursed boyfriend sweater - give this to your guy and he'll leave you for sure!

I also picked up a couple of odd-sized circular needles at 50 cents a pop (ever seen a 6.5mm 40cm circular? very odd-looking, but it will be good for making hats from bulky yarns) and some fleece and upholstry fabric for a laptop sleeve/case for Mike's new work laptop - but that will be the subject of another post! :)

and now, one last thing for my hot socks swap pal, Christina: a sneak peak at the package I'll be mailing you today!

(thanks to Ysolda for the inspiration to make my own stamps from erasers... I think I have now carved up every one we own!)