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Handmade - Just for You!

Last weekend I attended my first ever Christmas market to sell some of my handmade items. I have been very excited about this and started working on inventory months ago. As I have been telling my friends and family about the sale, all sorts of people have been asking me to make certain items for them. I am very flattered that my items are taking off and that people are buying them (and that I'm currently backlogged on orders!) but I have come to realize that I need to formulate a plan for future sales and craft fairs so that I'm not caught in a scramble the week before each sale to whip up some more items.  As part of getting organized, I am posting items and prices on this blog so that people can easily see the items I make and also what the pricing is.  Face Cloths These soft face cloths are made of durable 100% cotton and are machine washable.  They come in a variety of modern colours and have a loop for easy hanging.  $3 each or 2 for $5 Reusable Makeu
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Back to Basics

When I started this blog, the idea was to post patterns that I wrote, recipes from my ancestors which I still cook from and my tips for living simply.  In other words, I wanted others to join me in going back to basics. I soon realized that blogging was time-intensive with very little reward (and I'm not even talking the monetary kind).  The only people looking at my little blog were my husband and any friends and family I guilted into checking it out.  So my back to basics blog, needs to go back to basics itself.  I need to ignore how many people aren't looking at it and write posts that I'm interested in sharing. There won't be any "You're not going to believe ..." posts that have a million things you've heard before on other media or linking to Pinterest-worthy pictures on other sites. The goal is to share patterns, recipes, ideas that I have personally tried and tested.  That also means if I endorse a business, I have personally shopped at the
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Sophie's Universe has taken over my universe

It has been a long while since I blogged partially just because life is busy and partially because I have been crocheting like a fiend.    I have been a Ravelry member for a while but had only joined so that I could get access to free patterns.  Recently, I started adding project pages and joined some groups to help me out and provide support for a CAL that I joined in the spring.  Within the comments on that group, people kept mentioning "Sophie".  At first I just breezed over these comments but then I saw some pictures of the Sophies people were working on and I immediately fell in love.  Sophie's Universe was designed by Dedri Uys and she is nothing short of brilliant.  I cannot wrap my mind around how she came up with this design, let alone wrote a clear pattern for us to create her beautiful work of art for ourselves.  Everything you need to know to create a Sophie for yourself (or one of her other amazing designs) can be found on Dedri's amazing website
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Keeping your canine warm as the weather turns cold...

We adopted a "dorkie" in June from PAWS for Life Rescue in Edmonton and have found that small dogs definitely have some different needs than big dogs.  Our big dogs love being outside no matter what the weather - rain, sun, snow, cold - but our little Slinky is more of a fair weather walker. Since I love knitting, I thought I better get a sweater made for her before the fall/winter chills come.  I found a cute pattern from Martha Stewart.  The free pattern is found on Lionbrand and is called Sharkey -  Lionbrand Sharkey .  While this is a free pattern, you will need to login to Lionbrand (also free) to view it.  I used very inexpensive yarn (as it had the fall colors I was looking for).  The sweater in the photos below was made using the Craftsmart Value Yarn, Stonewashed Color #34.  Obviously, Slinky needs more of a long and slim rather than the short and wide in the original.  I just added a few rows on the back length and positioned my buttons a bit differently to al
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When life gives you blueberries...

One thing that always reminds me of my Oma is Schwarzbeerkuchen (blueberry cake).  Oma and Opa used to bike into the woods to pick the wild blueberries around their home in Nuernberg, Germany.  These weekly trips would yield baskets of blueberries which Oma would then lovingly bake into delicious blueberry cakes.  She did both a yeast dough or a Quarkoel Teig which is made from the German quark (similar to a ricotta in texture).  When we immigrated to Canada, my Mama found that quark was not readily available (foodies weren't a thing back then haha), so she adapted the recipe to be made with sour cream.  This was my favourite summer cake as a child and still is today.  I can vouch that it is delicious with blueberries from Bavaria, the Kootenays in British Columbia and wherever the store bought ones happen to be from on a given day.  Since blueberry season is upon us, it's time to turn yummy, plush blueberries into that delectable Schwarzbeerkuchen.  Enjoy! Recipe : 2
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Frugal Friday

The kiddo and I love to grab a supermarket roast chicken for lunch when we are in a hurry but the hubby doesn't enjoy them at all.  A $7 chicken ends up still being too much food for the two of us.  We usually end up just eating the drumsticks and thighs when the chicken is warm and the rest ends up in the fridge.  Those chicken leftovers make a very yummy and juicy chicken salad though, especially this time of year when there are delicious fresh herbs growing right out the back door.  Serve with a lovely slice of rye, pumpernickel or multigrain bread and you have a simple, tasty and inexpensive lunch.  Recipe : Leftover chicken diced - skin and bones removed (amount depends on how much you ate when it was warm) 3 green onions chopped - I use winter onions from my herb garden A few large sprigs of fresh dill chopped coarsely - don't scrimp and make sure you use fresh not dried 1 tbsp. of olive oil mayonnaise Salt and pepper to taste   Happy Friday!
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Puppy Rescue

A few weeks ago, I happened upon this picture while googling dachshunds. Slinky was listed under dogs for sale on kijiji as a 4 year-old very timid "dorkie" in desperate need of a foster home.  After having a discussion with my husband, we decided that we would offer to foster Slinky to try to help her become trusting of people and situations.  We were fully aware that if she was a dog that fit into our already large fur family, that we would offer to adopt her.  When I first went to the meet and greet with Slinky at  Dogspaw (the kennel that generously houses, trains and socializes the rescues until they go to foster homes), she was very nervous, timid and yappy.  After a few minutes of sitting on the floor in the training room with her, she eventually came over for a sniff and after a while allowed me to pet her.  She seemed "okay" with it which was a good sign that we would at least have another meeting.  I came back a few days later with husband, 4 y
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