it's a new year!

wow.

2013.

it's funny to watch old tv sitcoms from the 80's where they think that by this time we will have hover-cars and robot butlers and all kinds of crazy "futuristic" things.

not so much!

i've been working out a small list of resolutions in my head, mostly i like to pick fairly achievable ones as i like to cross things off my lists :)

so in no particular order, here are some:

1-to finally stop biting my nails for good -- disgusting habit, even more so when you are a nurse. blech.
2-to go outside with the girls in the winter! -- this is tricky for me, i don't like being cold and it seems like a tremendous amount of work to bundle up 2 littles when i don't want to be outside in the first place!
3-to get back into cloth diapering -- i was a cloth fiend with Isla, and i had a pretty decent start with Megan, but kind of fell off for awhile (mostly they get cleaned and then live on top of the dryer for weeks at a time!)
4-to sew some things -- really i just want to sew, anything at all.
5-to read 40 books this year -- as mentioned here.


so, those are a few of my resolutions... do able, but i also know that i have to be intentional about them all.

i like that.

Day 29: some place i'd like to visit

the place i'd like to visit is not a city or country (though you can find it in a big city)

the place that i'd like to visit is Purl Soho.

I have been a reader of the Purl Bee for a long time, but somehow i failed to realize that they had an actual store until they moved from their 2 locations (fabric and wool) into their new big location.  

i love going into fabricland and the various quilt stores we have in Ottawa, but Purl Soho seems absolutely swoon-worthy!

Purl Soho is located in the Big Apple.

Which just so happens to be where Blogher'12 is happening next summer.

funny enough, today when i checked Desiree's blog, 

the Fawn behind this whole 30 days hath November,

she has New York as her place that she would like to go.

she plans on heading to New York in the summer for Blogher :)

i would love to head to Blogher myself, but i think we may have a few things going on next summer.

what looks amazing about Purl Soho to me:
all the colours, and all the textures, just all that plain old happiness.
sigh.

Day 28: a skill i'd like to learn

i've been seeing a lot of this around the blog world lately:

source

source

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i did some screen printing in high school, but that does seem like a long time ago!

it seemed like it would be impossible to have all the necessities to actually do this again;

we had a big machine that put the vellum on the screen and lots of space and ink and the necessary tools.

the 're-love affair' with printing started with this lady holding a fabric swap.
here are some of her prints:

i discovered that a lot of them have been done by stamping ink on fabric.

i have (incidentally) also done some stamp carving (also in high school)

and i think that i could do that again and make some of my own prints for things.

fun, no?

ps. miss Leslie Keating is a Canadian gal living in Australia 

(i'm starting to think that maybe i am drawn to Canadian bloggers 

the same way that i am drawn mysteriously to Canadian authors)

Day 21: something i could never tire of

something that i could never get tired of is creating.

i love quilting, scrapbooking, sewing, knitting, card-making 

and pretty much anything else that requires using my hands and creativity.

i once wove a basket out of willow branches.

more recently my friend Julie invited a few of us to a wreath making party.  

and i don't mean that we just decorated the wreaths,

we actually started with wire frames and stapled in the greenery and then added on the decor.

(the staple machine was very cool and old-fashioned seeming with a foot press-i loved it!)

Happy Blogiversary to Katie Geranium!

7 years old!

i am really starting to get into the swing of blogging. 

i am even starting to think in blog format throughout my day :)

i have some goals for the coming blog year.

goal #1:

stop being a blog creeper and start commenting!! 

i read a lot of blogs throughout my day, but i am definitely guilty of coming and going without making a single comment. this is not very supportive of my fellow bloggers, especially the ones i have been reading for a few years!

goals #2:

publish 2-3 posts a week.

i have started being better at that over the summer, but as i am gearing up to go back to work i want to stay in the swing of things! it may mean writing multiple posts at a time, but i want to be consistent! especially for those of you who are reading my blog regularly.  Hi!

goal #3:

figure out how to take better pictures for the blog!

whether that means taking a course, reading some books or saving for a new camera, i want to be able to upload pictures and not cringe at the quality.

any suggestions?

goals are well and good, but even better?

a giveaway!

to mark the 7 year blogiversary of Katie G, i am giving away a little vintage tea pot (it holds about 2 cups) and a handmade by me tea cozy!

i'll be throwing in a few surprise goodies as well.

to enter leave me a comment saying hello and where you are reading from :)

and if you've never commented before, now is your chance!

good luck!

oh, and the contest will be open until monday at midnight, standard eastern time.

this cloth diapering moment...

a home-made wool cover.

fabulous? oui.