Oh Manitoba!

Summer holidays usually include a trip to one of our favorite destinations....Seatte, WA. This year we opted out on Blue Jays VS Mariners, shopping and wandering downtown the beautiful harbour city. Instead, we headed out to Manitoba, my birth province. The drive across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba is flat, and flat means my husband finds various ways to keep himself amused (and awake). Usually that means playing a game where he states the contrary to everything I say. It amounts to whole lot of teasing, me pretending to be mad and then invariably, a smile I can't seem to hide. Ilan was an absolute angel...and I know that all you mums out there must be thinking I am making all of that up. How could an 11 month old tolerate an 12 hour drive with out much fuss at all??!!! Our first stop was Brandon, MB. It was a whirlwind stop, with group visits (was so great to see you Mama D!) and a mental inventory of all that is new in the city that I spent most of my young adult life in. The next day we headed to Winnipeg and yes, the drive between Brandon and Wpg is still tortuous. We exalted in the appearance of the halfway tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9dConrWQtU but disappointed in Winnipeg's new sign. The old one that said "One Great City" (and the title of a Weakerthan's song) has been replaced with a flashier sign boasting their longitudinal position as being the center of the Continent. It must be a great place, indeed!

With all the same references about Manitoba's cities aside, I love Manitoba. Brandon is amazingly manicured, with beautiful mature trees on every street, booming instead of busting in troubled economic times. Winnipeg always seems to have the same feel about it and the same places I always thought were cool, continue to be so. We arrived at the hotel early, threw on our bathing suits and headed for the pool to reward a super patient baby. Ilan kicked and splashed with all limbs and enjoyed himself completely. Tomorrow we will head out to see family but will make time for some of our favorite haunts, this time with a baby in tow and Mom and Dad K.

Camping with the boys...

Camping has always been a favorite activity for me growing up. Up until I met my husband, I had only been "front country camping". He enlightened me to multiday backpacking trips but now that Ilan has come along, we have blended the two with car camping and day hikes to satisfy our craving to see what is on the other side of the mountain. A couple of weeks ago, (i have to include that as I never seem to blog on time) we spent the weekend at Summer Lake, a windy two hour drive down a dusty logging road. Once there, we were greeted by friends and a fantastic view of the mountains I don't remember the name of and a blue lake. We set up camp while Ilan stood in his playpen, happily entertaining the group with big smiles and his winning personality. The next day, we hiked up to Renault Lake, about 6.5 km away. It was stunning! It was almost as spectacular as Floe Lake in the Kootenays. Someday I will blog that. Ilan was happy as usual in his backpack and even had his toes dipped in the glacial waters.

I like this one....in my size please....

I really like the pillowcase dress. I would like to make one for myself.

"Bella" dress

The Bella dress is a clever gal. It serves as a halter dress for the tiny, then can be let out with an adjustable bodice to be a tunic as the child grows, and finally can be worn as a skirt. I can put a halter style strap on it or two little ties. Bella can be fashioned with contrasting fabric bands or with patchwork inserts and fun applique.

"Gracie" Sundress

I decided to catagorize the dresses according to style and give them a name. This little number has ties at the shoulders and a ruffle at the bottom. The ruffle can be made out of the same fabric as the body of the dress or a contrasting fabric.

Comfy Pants

Did I mention we love comfy pants in our family? All have adjustable waistbands and can be rolled up or down for your growing babe.

Floor Mat

I resisted the idea of painting a sign for the Market. Instead, I made a floor mat out of a heavy quilted beadspread that I had bought from Winners. I found it too heavy for my bed, but it was perfect for Ilan's mat. I appliqued the tree and lettering and put a patchwork border to complete the picture. I put a peice of non slip backing underneath and it is perfect! Once it serves it's purpose at the Market, I will put it in front of Ilan's crib. I would like to make this hanging bookshelf from this tutorial to match. I bought the brackets but I am waiting for the right fabric to catch my eye.

New Clothing Tags

Hello All! I haven't been blogging lately as I have been busy getting ready for the Mountain Market. In fact, this post is after the fact. I will get to that in a bit....but back to a few weeks ago....I ordered these really nice fabric tags from here
I love the tree design and it has become my favorite pattern for applique. I also stamped hang tags with a wooden stamp I bought in Eureka, Montana, just across the border from us.