this is me, all smiles.

My friend Jennifer took this picture of me on December 30th during a quick meet up in Toronto to exchange Christmas gifts and hugs.  I forgot half of her presents at home (classy) and she was totally cool about it.   She just got a new camera too, and she was kind enough take a picture of me (I took one of her as well).  While I used to try to channel my inner top model whenever a camera appeared, I've decided to toss caution to the wind and just smile. No worrying about double chins, good side, right light, or perfect lipstick.  Just me, what you see is what you get.

christmas countdown: how to make a reusable fabric gift bag.

Ever since I can remember, my friend Jennifer has found creative ways to wrap gifts that did not include using store bought wrapping paper.  She wrote this post on her personal website a few years ago, and I loved it so much, I asked her if she would let me republish here on my blog.  Lucky for us - she said "of course!!" 

How To Make A Reusable Fabric Gift Bag - by my friend Jennifer
I have a raging hatred of wrapping paper. Not wrapping paper on gifts that others have given me, of course. That would be in the "Gift Horse in the Mouth" category of social behaviour. However, for gifts that I am giving to others, I am loathe to use wrapping paper. This hatred dates back to the early nineties when environmentalism was almost as chic as it is now. My family was pretty into the whole thing and we started wrapping most of our Christmas presents in newspaper.

My attitude towards conventional wrapping paper has not changed, though I have graduated from newspaper to re-usable gift bags that I make all by myself. I make the bags every year and give them all away. The people who get them give them away the following year and it goes on like that. The only drawback is my having to make a new crop of bags every year, often when I am just getting sick of sewing quilts and other gifts.

Anyway, a few people have asked about the making of the bags so I have prepared this short tutorial to demonstrate how crazy-easy it is. A set of these bags actually makes a nice gift on its own, especially if you use really pretty fabric. I did this for the Octopus Books staff gift exchange this year and it was a hit. (Right, Lisa?)

So first, and most importantly, figure out which 1970's childhood Christmas album you're going to listen to while you sew:

So maybe you have a bunch of fabric scraps already littering your sewing table? Pick out a chunk of fabric big enough to surround whatever it is you'd like to wrap. If you have and want to use ribbons or twine, pick some that matches.

Now fold the piece of fabric over your gift to make sure you have enough. You'll want to make sure to leave extra fabric at the top so you're able to tie the bag shut. Then cut your fabric to the appropriate size.

(I have a fancy rotary cutter and ruler, but you can just cut it with fabric scissors. This does not need to be exact. It is a very forgiving project.)

Next you'll want to fold over the hem around what will be the mouth of the bag. I like to use my pinking shears on the edge so it frays less, but this isn't totally necessary. You could also fold it over twice if you didn't want a raw edge on the inside of the bag.

Then, sew the hem into place.

Okay! Now you'll need to fold your fabric in half with the "right sides" together. If you want to have ribbon attached to the bag, you'll need to sandwich your ribbon in the fabric with the edge sticking out a little so it gets sewn into the seam. Like this:

Pin it! Pin it all! This will make sewing it so much easier. I hate pinning, it doesn't mesh well with my complete lack of patience with everything, however I have been sewing for many years and must admit that pinning saves time in the long run because it ensures that your fabric will not go all wonky when you are sewing it.

You're almost done. Now just sew along the edges you've pinned. Make sure you back stitch at the beginning and end of the seam to keep the whole thing from falling apart after multiple uses. It would defeat the purpose of making re-usable bags.

Now you have a bag!

And you can put your gift in it and tie it up tight.

I often make these bags without the ribbon attached and then just tie them closed with whatever pretty ribbon or twine that I have hanging around. However, the ribbon being attached makes it even nicer if you have the time and wherewithal to include it.

Good luck! Here's to garbageless Christmases of the future!

J.

blondie brings out the badass.

Every now and again I catch glimpses of what the future has in store for us with Cameron.  Sure, I still think of her as my baby, but really, she is a little person now.  She knows her own mind and can tell you exactly what she is thinking about.  She is lovable and a pain in the ass, the sweetest thing ever and 100% capable of channeling that little girl from the exorcist should she not get her way.  From what my mom says, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  Since I don't have a clear recollection of what I was like at this age, I asked my mom how she thought Cameron and I were similar.  This is what she wrote back:


yours truly - 1976 - Montreal

You had beautiful curly hair like Cammie, and you used to crawl under the dining room table to avoid having it brushed. You were very verbal, and could turn up the volume, like Cammie. You loved, loved, loved to be read to, and you loved all manner of music. We still played vinyl in those days, and you loved the early Sesame Street albums. The promise of a new book was what got you ought of your night time diaper.

You liked daycare, and I recall you were promoted to the bigger kids room because you were such a little smarty pants. They also quite liked you there. I don't think you were as into clothes as Cammie seems to be. You loved all things Fisher Price, and they were just coming out with all the sets with little people at that time. You eventually had all the circus pieces, the farm, the house, the school, the day care....good lord.

You have always had a beautiful smile and a mischievous laugh. I always attributed that laugh to the Danish side of the family, as it does remind me of your Uncle Gunner's laugh from time to time.

The biggest thing I believe Cameron and I have in common is that at an early age, we had tremendous self-confidence, and felt loved and adored.  I feel like as a parent, that is my biggest accomplishment when it comes to raising a daughter.  We work really hard to make sure that she knows she is important and that she doesn't feel like she comes second to Max (even though he often requires a lot more of our time and focus).  In reality, Cameron is not a wallflower and would never be one to let her needs go unmet - we really don't need to worry too much about that.

Now, if we could just get that damn pacifier out of her mouth!

happier times.

This is one of my favourite pictures.  It was taken last summer at blogher in Chicago.  Getting away with Jennifer for a weekend was a blast.  Bff, favourite US city, comfortable bed, grey goose, surrounded by a bunch of fun ladies - perfection, right? I like to think I fully appreciated this experience while I was in it.  I hope I did.

Giving Thanks: My Friend Jennifer.

When I was looking for a picture of Jennifer for this post, I wasn’t sure which one to go with. I stole this off her flickr account because our friendship has always involved food, one way or another. Jennifer has a fantastic site about Vegan cooking called It Ain’t Meat Babe. She inspires me to eat local, try new things in the kitchen, and garden. When she visits us she cooks up a storm, plays with my kids, and doesn’t mind when I take an afternoon nap. We have known each other for over 25 years (so long that she never needs the background on a story because she lived through it with me). Jennifer was my maid of honour, was there for Max’s birth, and is Cameron’s favourite Aunt. I worry sometimes that I am a bit of a bore to her (she has a pretty fun life and a lot of super interesting friends), but she sticks with me through the day-to-day, mundane conversations about living in the suburbs and poopy diapers. She is also a great person to shop with and when I’m out with her I always end up buying a foxy dress (or two). We sure are different, but it has never kept us from being great friends. I used to sign off my letters to her with "I'm your trailer park and you're my hurricane". That's true to this day (though I'm the one they named a hurricane after!).

For the Love of Quilts.

I started making quilts in 2001. My friend Cathy and I took a quilting class together at Quilter's Quarters in North Toronto. I think our favourite part was picking out the fabric and the weekly gossip sessions that ensued over the 8 week course. After that I was hooked. I started out simply, making a quilt for my friend Dave who had moved to Japan, and then one for our new (to us) house.

My mom and Jennifer are also quilters. We each have our own distinct style and I love this. While I enjoy the piecing of the quilts (sewing the actual blocks of the quilts), Jennifer prefers the quilting part (when the quilt is sewn together with it's inner padding and back). I've joked with her in the past that I should just send her my quilt tops once I finish them and have her quilt them for me as that is my least favourite part. My mom is a quilting superstar and she is much more adventurous than me. Most of the quilts in these pictures are made by her.

This is a quilt I made when we bought our house. In this picture I'm asleep with Max and our cat Samba. I believe he is under a week old in this picture (which is why I'm so tired):

I made this tulip quilt for Maya, our friends Brad and Jen's first baby:

The most complex quilt I've made is this heart quilt. It was a Christmas gift for my mom. If you look closely you can see that the pink hearts have 4 different fabrics, and the red hearts also have 4 different fabrics:
My mom has made Max many quilts. I believe this one was started before we knew I was going to have a boy (that's how excited my mom was about her first grand baby):

Once my mom found out she was going to have a grandson, she of course had to make a blue quilt as well!: Max's Aunt Jennifer also made him a quilt (and trust me, you can never have enough baby quilts!). I think this picture was taken the day he came home from the hospital:
When Max was having trouble sleeping at daycare, his Occupational Therapists recommended a weighted quilt. Grandma stepped in and made him the perfect quilt, exactly 10% of his body weight and soft flannel material:
For Christmas this year she made him a bigger, slightly heavier one. It has become a favourite of everyone in our house:Somewhere along the line, my mom also made the two quilts on the back of the couch (that's me and my bro Daniel with Max). I believe the first one was for Scott and my first apartment together, and the red heart one was for my birthday a few years ago:Not to worry, Cameron has gotten her fair share of quilt love. This is the quilt that Aunt Jennifer made for her. Cameron celebrated being sick this month by barfing all over it. This is the true sign of a loved quilt:
Grandma made Cameron 2 quilts - one to decorate her nursery wall:
And one for her to sleep with and play on:
These quilts have been there for the most important parts of our lives (and there are at least three more that I have made that I don't have pictures of!). I love that every quilt has a story, and when you snuggle under one, you can feel the love that went into making it. I need to start quilting again.

Birthdaypalooza Preparations.

We are having a Birthdaypalooza party this afternoon. One party, four birthdays. Crazy, I know. If you aren't familiar with the crazy Carefoot birthday story, Scott and Max share a birthday on the 23rd, and Cameron and I share a birthday on the 30th. Four tauri under one roof, we'll be lucky if our house is still standing once these kids are teenagers.Aunt Jennifer has been visiting and we have kept her busy taking pictures, holding babies, reading stories, and shopping. She helped me make the executive decision that it is okay to not decorate the house for the party. My reasoning is that I've got a lot of other things I need to get done and I think it is more important to make homemade birthday cakes than blow up balloons. Plus the sound of balloons popping will upset Max, so it just isn't worth it. I'll photoshop some streamers and balloons into Cameron's pictures so she doesn't look back to her first birthday party and think her mom was a dirtbag.
Scott and I decided that since Max and Cameron play with the same toys, we would get them joint gifts. I ordered a bead table and wall crab from Hot Toads out in New Brunswick. We had all of the grandparents chip in, which made the cost manageable. I also got them some sandbox toys, a play tunnel, and a parachute. The last thing we need in this house is more plastic crap, so I'm happy to have avoided this for the most part.

Birthdaypalooza guests will start arriving this afternoon and hopefully the house will be somewhat not dirty and the kids will be bathed...maybe I'll even get some time to take a shower. Here's hoping!