suzie homemaker

It's midweek and there's no pick-me-up better than fluffy maple sour cream pecan muffins. I stole the recipe from design*sponge. And while my creations look nothing like the photos online, what they lack in style, they make up for in flavour.

itchin for stitchin

I've been busy testing new patterns on the stockpile of mittens I frenzied over last week. I'm planning an assortment of simple favorites - arrows on browns, reds, oranges, and navy - and even a few new pairings (think nanna meets British drinking culture). I'm not convinced that they're all keepers, but here's a peek at what I've been winding together.

ant versus grasshopper

While I appreciate the little warmth that spreads north of the border, summer weather is death to the sale of mittens, scarves, and other wooly creations. Normally I would rejoice at the thought of breaking for a few months to sooth the carpal tunnel that is undoubtedly creeping into my joints. But, as some strange quirk of the heart, I've never been more enthusiastic about weaving bountiful skeins of thick Peruvian wool into hand-warming, toe-toasting, baby-veiling garments. I'm currently burning through my fourth pair of mittens in as many days and the stockpile of blank canvases has my imagination running wild. Suggestions of how to adorn these mittens for sale in the fall would be greatly appreciated...and may result in free samples.

factorybynatalie@gmail.com

finders keepers

I was poised at my keyboard, my pinky finger hovering above the enter key, about to send off an order for a binocular shaped pendant that was practically screaming my name from across the continent. It was a little disheartening to know that the "handmade" claim was being abused, since I found an identical molded charm on several different Etsy pages, each claiming artistic ownership. I hesitated, marked the page and logged off. I'm a classic non-impulse buyer - something that has bitten me more then once before when I've gone back to a shop only to discover the jewelry equivalent of my soulmate has been sold off to someone else. I was still thinking about the adventurous set of bronze binoculars as I was browsing the jewelry displays at value. And low and behold, as if fate had drawn me to that rusty corner of forgotten treasures, was the dear and divine necklace of my dreams for the bargain price of 99 cents. I understand the draw of online shopping, but nothing beats the thrill of stumbling upon something you've longed after without having to wait for shipping and handling.