Tag Archives: hand made

I’ve never been so excited about a … dish cloth

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in handmade, knit, make it

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As I was in between knitting projects, I decided to tackle a short but highly practical task: a cotton dish cloth. I had some leftover organic cotton and a particular design in mind. I was delighted when I found the particular pattern on Catie’s wonderful blog: delightfullysimple.blogspot.ca. Catie and I share a love of simple, sustainable living and she has so many creative ideas to share. I am so happy to have found her and to promote her here on cabinorganic!

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This was a nice, easy pattern- perfect for beginners like myself. Because it takes no time at all to finish one dish cloth, it is a rewarding project. After just a few relaxing sessions of knitting, you will have this beautiful, practical and absorbent dishcloth ready for use in your kitchen. Also, because this is a small project, it is very easy to take along with you in your carry-all bag. I admit that mine looks a bit rough but I am being patient with myself, after all this was only my first one! I am sure my fifth and sixth ones will look much more professional. In the meantime, looks aside, this dish cloth is by far the best dish cloth in my kitchen as far as performance goes! And I have to admit that there is something so satisfying about being self sufficient and taking pride in a useful project.

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I will now get back to my current knitted project- the black stole… If you would like the pattern for this dish cloth, please visit Catie’s blog and while you’re there, take a look at some of her other clever ideas. All the best!

Click here for the link to Catie’s dish cloth pattern.

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a new painting for the cabin

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in cabin living

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Last January, I bought a huge canvas as a gift to myself for completing my Masters degree. Last week, I finally got in the mood to paint! It was finally time to try and recreate one of the paintings I saw in Australia four years ago… the one that I yearned for but was humungous and out of my price range at $4000!

I gathered up my acrylic paints…

Got the canvas set up in the dining room where the light is best…

And started painting. I have done several of these to give away as gifts over the years but on much smaller canvases.

This is the first base coat. I did one more coat after this to soften and blend the colors.

Then I started with the yellow circles… This should look familiar…

When the circles were done and completely dry I filled in the spaces with white dots.

Then painted the border black.

The finished painting:

I hung this huge painting in the back landing. It is a dark area but there is a skylight directly above it which lights it up quite nicely. This is the perfect spot for the painting as it adds a playful and dramatic splash of color to an otherwise neglected area, and it is the first thing you see when you enter through the back door (instead of a bare wall). I love this painting as it grabs my attention every time I walk by and its bright colors cheer me up. The dots and circles remind me of the basic building blocks of the universe (ultimately energy) and that I am connected to all of existence… Simple but profound.

holiday shopping at Wizard Lake Soap & Body Products and Dragonfly Lane Teas

05 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by in buy local, eco-living, handmade, Pigeon Lake

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Last Saturday, I braved the heavy snow and headed out to Lakedell Arena (close to the Village on Pigeon Lake) for their annual Country Christmas Craft Sale & Celebration. I had just run out of my favorite hand and face creams and was desperate to find Lynne of Wizard Lake Soap & Body Products and Dragonfly Lane Teas to stock up. I also wanted to buy a few items as stocking stuffers for my loved one. 🙂

Click here to see a previous post on Lynne and her products.

I love giving gifts that promote health and healing. Lynne makes this easy as everything that she offers is natural, organic (where possible) and highly practical.

You don’t have to study herbal medicine to know which herbs to brew for certain ailments. Lynne has done this for us, using her extensive knowledge of herbs to hand-blend her own delicious teas to treat whatever ails you, whether it’s fatigue, a cold, anxiety, trouble sleeping, or simply wanting to boost your immune system.

Lynne also offers a variety of Chinese green and black teas, chai and rooibos.

I was quite excited to see the three sea salts that Lynne offers: smoked, Pink Himalyan and black lava. These would make great gifts for the ‘foodies’ in your life.

Here are some of Lynne’s body lotions, ‘scubs’ (exfoliants), bubble bath and her highly recommended Sun God’s lotion.

She has a wonderful selection of bath salts…

… natural deodorants…

… face & body mists (also great as a linen spray)…

… and face creams. Along with a few stocking stuffers, I picked up a jar of my favorite Acai Sandalwood face lotion and Healing Hands Gardener cream, and I couldn’t resist picking up a bottle of Sun God’s to try out during these cold and dry winter months.

Buying ‘handmade’ and ‘local’ allows me to support and build relationships with the people who make and provide the products that enrich my life. It allows me to invest my money directly into my community, supporting local producers and helping them thrive. Every time I chat with Lynne I am inspired by her deep interest and knowledge of health and herbs, her commitment to making high quality products, and her love of life. She always has time to listen to my own adventures with my herb and tea garden, or plans for chickens, or this blog… and I always walk away with a great new idea that I just can’t wait to try…