Here is the little gem, the Brother NV6200D

And here you have it, the Brother NV6200D with all the bells and whistles that I need and none that I don't.  This little baby is just an all around piece of beauty and will take my embroideries to the next level.  If you want to check out a full list of all this beauty has to offer, just click!

http://www.brother.ca/en-CA/HAD/3/ProductDetail/VM6200D

So much new and exciting things going on...

Well there is so much going on here and its all good!

I solved the problem of the Susie Hoodie and I can now get back to it but I am choosing a different route for now.  But at least when I am ready to pick it up again I can successfully.  I realised that writing out the pattern step by step was the best way to try and read it and it worked :)

But the big thing, the really big thing, the most wonderful thing...  ok that's enough I know.  I have submitted a request for funding from the Opportunities Fund here in Nova Scotia to really start the embroidery business hard.  I am asking for funds to buy a new machine, the Brother 6200 and a few other accessories to help with the business.  I have to, of course, jump some hurdles but that is too be expected and I don't mind.  I just wish I had kept track of my sales instead of having to resort to memory but at least it is a lesson learned.  Not to mention that this has been a very hard year for us and I have not always had the money to create things to sell.  What is that old adage? You need money to make money :) 

Well that's what all this riga ma roe is about so wish me luck and hopefully, soon, there will be a treasure trove of pretty pretty's at Timeless Treasures.

Problems with the Susie Hoodie but that's ok because now I can finish the horses :)

Hi there everyone I thought I would drop a note to say its been a busy week.  I started work on the Susie Hoodie by Mandy Moore and I have to say this is probably the most confusing pattern I have ever worked!  So I have posted on Ravelry some questions to help me figure it out.  It is a big project and the biggest I have worked so far but that's ok I am definately up for the challenge.  If anyone has done this pattern please let me know how you did and I would love to see pictures too :)

So here I am trying to plug away at it and hopefully I can have it done and wearable soon.  Now the other project I have going on is a cross stitch from Dimensions called Horses at the stream and it is beautiful.  Unfortunately I started this one in 2010 just before my father passed away and I have not made any real progress with it since.  I don't know if it is a psychological issue but I do know that since he passed I have had more than my fair share of  "challenges" in life.  We had a baby, moved across the country and have had problem after problem.  Now, on the other hand, things have finally settled down enough so that I can feel comfortable enough to get things going, started or finished lol.  So I think until I get answers to the questions of knitting, I will actually pick up the cross stitch and finish that off.  It is a huge piece and I can't wait to see it finished and hanging up on the wall :)

The incredibly awesome Susie Hoodie!

Now it helps that one of my best friends name is Susie (big smile) and this jacket looks great so I had to try it.  I am having problems with it right now and it looks like I might have to start from scratch but oh well, that's how it goes right.  The pattern does not flow well and it is confusing about where you are supposed to be on the chart and at which point but I am sure I will get it figured out lol.  Happy knitting everyone.

My new Coco purse

Well everyone I had to post pics of my latest creation.  The Coco purse with a slightly different twist :)

I decided to go with chain and a premade handle I got at Walmart because I really liked it.  I would love some opinions :)

New Pajamas from pattern M6224

Here are the pajamas I made and I love them!  I made them from flannel and the are toasty warm, not to mention my son loves the bears. :)

They are big on him but he will have them for a couple of years anyway :)

Homemade Tide laundry soap

So today was the big day. I had to make up a new batch of laundry soap so I thought I would try powder this time.  Some work later, I have a wonderful smelling product that seems like it will last forever!  Yep I love it, cheap and a long time lol.  But I digress.

The recipe is pretty simple and pretty smelling too. And here it is:

2 cups borax
2 cups baking powder
2 bars of Tide soap
1 container of those nice smelling beads :)  I used Purex Crystals in Tropical Splash
2 cups of Oxy Clean, I used the WalMart brand

Mix it all up and you're done!  Easy peasy right?  Well not quite as I found out.  Now normally the only hard part would be grating the 2 bars of soap which is not really hard at all but since I have bad arthritis I ask the hubby to do it :)

Unfortunately the bars of soap, which I believe are from Japan, are like clay and took forever to try and grate!  I even tried to look up good ideas on how to deal with this but there was nothing so that's why I am posting this.  Here is the soap uncut and in the original packaging.

I got these two bars at our local dollar store just to let you know :) if anyone knows anything about why the soap is like clay please let me know because now I am curious.

So after about 10 minutes trying to grate this stuff, they hubby and I decided to try something else so out comes the hammer!  Yep, you read right, I said hammer.  We put the soap into a ziplock bag and he took the hammer to it trying to get it as beat up as possible.  And here he is :)

Yeah, please ignore the messy counter lol.  So when he pounded the soap down to what we thought were manageable chunks then he passed it over to me and I started cutting :)  I took a knife and cut at the soap in the same way you would cut herbs, onions, or garlic to get it just right.  Here it is :

Yep, all hail the Queen's magic shredding skills :) lol.  Well once all that was done we could finally add those little shreds to the whole mix and Voila!  Laundry soap!

Well this stuff smells fantastic, and will last probably around 6 months give or take.  I do a lot of laundry and generally one scoop of this stuff will work but knowing me I will use 2 because hey, lets face it, I have 4 dogs, 4 cats, 1 boy and 1 husband so you know that's a lot of dirty laundry lol.

And here it is. The magic mixture that will keep this house clean and functioning take that Hogwarts!  Now to find a load of laundry to test it out, oh gee look there is a giant pile :) Ha ha goodbye for now all and happy laundry days :)

New jamjams from pattern M6224

Good morning everyone it's a beautiful day here on the mountain and I know just how to spend it, sewing and baking lol!  I am working on some footie pajamas for my little guy and I am using pattern M6224 from McCalls sytle B.  I love the one pieces for him and I will probably make a few after the first one, they are nice and warm especially considering all the storms we have been having.

For this first one I am using a nice light tan color with brown bear prints on it and I love it.  But I don't have any ribbing for the hands and I can't get out of the house to go to town to find some so I started thinking.  Well, thinking leads to looking and looking leads to finding lol.  I decided to use my hubbys black socks for the arm cuffs. After all, it is ribbing and black will go well with it :)

Now as far as the pattern goes it has ribbing for around the feet too but I wanted to make little footies for it instead so I am going to try to make them using a tutorial I found on Things for boys  it does a wonderful job of explaining and has pictures which is a must for me! lol.  Here is the pattern and I will post pics of the jamjams lol  as soon as they are done :) 

Happy sewing everyone!

Oh by the way, style B is the one piece set :)

My wonderful decoration

I have to say though, one of the best things we did this year was to make a hanging centre piece over the kitchen table.  Now it is decorated in the winter and Christmas spirit but I can decorate it anyway I want at anytime of the year. :)

I am thinking a cute birds nest for the spring and maybe sunflowers for the summer :)

The first thing we did was went for a walk with a saw :)  I looked all over for a log that was just right and when I found it my husband cut it for me.  I went with about 4 feet long which is the length that complimented the room.

Then we hung 3 plant hooks from the ceiling and wrapped the log with exact lengths of twine.  I used enough to let it hang about a foot from the ceiling.  I can't go any lower, I have a tall husband lol.

Once it was up and hanging then it was easy peasy.  We just grabbed some garland and other odds and ends I got at our local dollar store and hung them with twine or tied them to the log.

I absolutely love this piece and will definately keep it up all year round.

All the equipment and a bull mastiff to supervise.

My wonderful daughter doing all the heavy lifting lol.

And here is the finished product I personally love snowflakes!

My wonderful Christmas gift.

So Christmas came and went around here and was pretty great.  I got exactly what I wanted which was a beautiful and healthy Aurora.  She had her surgery which they removed her whole leg to the hip and she is in amazing shape.