Simple Pleasures

I have always loved magazines. I can remember as a child getting magazines and reading them cover to cover. Anyone remember Tiger Beat??? I had them hanging all over my walls with my favorite stars like David Cassidy!

I still love magazines. I subscribe to a few and my sister subscribes to a bunch so I am the lucky recipient of them when she is done. These magazines are three of my favorite. I like to save them for when I can savor them. The first thing I always do is remove all of the inserts-those really annoy me! The Sun is probably my favorite. It has no ads and is filled with poetry, short stories, interviews and great photos. My favorite section is Readers Write. Each month there is a theme and readers write in based on that theme. There is always something that brings me to tears or makes me laugh out loud. 

Cookie is purely indulgent, all kinds of things I cannot afford but it is fun to read. I did use some of their party tips for  our Chinese New Year.

Real Simple has too many ads but I do like many of the articles and recipes and it always has great quotes. 

Off to read my magazines!

Roadblocks and Success

I am having some difficulty completing any knitting projects lately and hopefully this picture explains it. My daughter - TT-( for tiny tornado )is very curious and she managed to do this in the 60 seconds I was in the bathroom. I had it in a bag up on a side table, yet she managed to get it down and pull it out that quickly. Never underestimate the ability of a curious 18month old!! The project is a scarf from One Skein by Leigh Radford. It really is very simple and I am almost done, I just need to find some time when I am alone to finish it.

Mothering a toddler is exhausting. I love seeing her develop and being curious is great but I feel a bit like a hamster on a wheel at times- going all day but never getting anywhere! 

I finally figured out the directions for the simple tote. I don't know now how it was not obvious the first 50 times I read it that you lay the contrasting fabric on top off the main fabric! I am very happy with how it came out and I am excited to sew my other fabric combinations together. The women in my family are having a girl's weekend in June and I am making each of them one and filling it with some fun things. It was fun to complete a project in one sitting. I have cut the fabric for the rest of the bags, just need to find some quiet time to sew them.

So I am going to try and do this......

I have been thinking about trying a blog for awhile now, wondering if it will just become another thing on my to do list. But, I get so much from reading others blogs and I think it is a great way to share your joys, questions and struggles, even if just for yourself.

I am trying to sew some bags from Lotta Jansdotter 's Simple Sewing. Now, I admit I only have basic sewing skills but when I read her pattern it just does not make sense to me. I am making the simple tote and it seems like it skips some directions. I am just going to make them the way that it makes sense to me, but I find it frustrating that the directions are incomplete. I did really enjoy picking out the fabrics for them, lovely linens. If I was a more advanced seamstress I would love to make some cute summer skirts from some of these fabrics.

Spring is here in full force in the Northeast and I have an amazing feeling of renewal. I have managed to clean the leaves off  of my garden beds and the daffodils and tulips are in full bloom. All of my perennials are poking up from the ground and I know soon everything will be green and lush. I am always amazed that these plants come back year after year.