Resolutions

I don't normally do resolutions, but I thought of a good one this year and I need the extra push to make sure I follow through.

I am horrible at remembering people's birthdays on time. Actually, the truth is that I remember them, but I am very bad for getting gifts, cards, calls, and emails to people on time. I am going to sit down this week and create a master list and master calendar. Now, unless you join my life this year I promise you that your birthday wil be celebrated on time and in style!

That means I have a couple of cards to get out today before the week passes me by!

Welcome 2008!

Now, if only I could resolve to pay more attention to work when I'm here... Cut me some slack, the Monster started day care today and I'm a nervous ball of energy. I can't wait to pick her up! Did she eat? Did she nap? Did the staff keep her blanket from her so she didn't drag it everywhere? Do they know what she means when she walks around signing "please" and "duck" all day? Will the other kids be nice to her? Will she still love me when I pick her up?

The reluctant seamstress

There are a few theories floating around to explain my disdain for sewing clothes. For one, I am not good at following instructions. I design almost all my own quilts. I rarely follow a recipe exactly. Step-by-step directions and I don't get along, unless I'm assembling a piece of IKEA furniture.

The other thing I always thought I hated about clothing was how precise you had to be. That really makes no sense if I am a quilter. To me, however, the precision of quilting is liberating. The precision of clothing is stifling.

And finally, I was never good enough at making clothing to get truly creative. I don't think I'll ever know how to build my own pattern or makes lots of alterations. With a quilt I am willing to experiment and just wing it. I simply don't have that confidence with clothing.

All that being said, I made my first article of clothing in 9 years. When I was pregnant a friend gave me an old issue of Martha Stewart Baby. In it there was a great pattern for this kimono. I finally got motivated to make it, in part from the inspiration on so many blogs. It is a simple pattern, but I must admit that I found the instructions a bit confusing. Once I started ignoring them a little and building it intuitively it got easier.

The outside is made of that gorgeous green boiled wool. My Monster has hazel eyes (green/grey) so the color looks wonderful on her.

The kimono ties inside and with the shoulder ties. I ended up making it a bit bigger than I anticipated, but it should carry her through the rest of fall, chinook days in the winter, and into spring.

I made the whole thing double layered, with one of my favourite Amy Butler fabrics as the lining. It is so soft and makes wearing a wool coat bearable for a toddler.

Now I have to keep an eye out for a purple scarf, toque, and pair of mitts. Alas, knitting is also something I've never mastered.

The Lazy Gardener

I want to imagine myself as someone who would go out everyday into her vegetables and herbs to weed and harvest; someone who tracks her plantings year after year to note what did and didn't work. The truth is, my wants outweigh the doing. Every year I plant, and every year I underharvest. It doesn't bother me too much, but I do wonder if I should even bother. In almost all cases I would rather quilt than be in the garden.

Because we have dogs and have never been able to figure out a way to keep them out of the raised beds we put almost everything in containers. This works great for herbs, beans, tomatoes, and some annual flowers. I am starting to accept that it isn't great for beets, carrots, and peas. Oh how I want a plot where I can have row upon row of staggered plantings for continual harvest. It just isn't going to happen here, and I must accept that. I must celebrate the success I do have, despite my lazy efforts.

Tomatoes. Last year my hubby built an incredible planter for the tomatoes. It faces south and is right against the house so it is extra warm. We've had a great crop this year. Of course I let the plants get a little wild, and we didn't have that much heat in August to really allow the fruit to ripen. And we've had so much frost lately that I harvested all the unripe fruit a week ago. That's okay, though. All you have to do is put the unripe tomatoes in a cool, covered spot (a box in the basement with a newspaper lid. The tomatoes will ripen and you can just eat along the way.

I may not be an expert, let alone someone who should be giving out garden advice, but here is my one garden tip. I have a lot of things in containers, in my case a big collection of terracotta pots. This includes some perennials. To overwinter them I bury the container, with the plant, in the ground. I did this last year with great success and I am doing it again this year. There is, of course, the risk that your pot could crack, particularly with frost heaves. When I dug out one of these pots this spring a bit of one had sheared off. I didn't mind so much as the plant was in great shape and the pot got some extra patina.

That's it, that's all I can offer you on garden tips: how to store unripe tomatoes and overwintering perennials. Yup, I'm a lazy gardener.

Tackling the mess

Really, I'm anal. I swear. But my closet does not demonstrate that. The bottom of it is a mess of shoes, swim goggles, purses, and clothes to be hand washed. That is, until last night.

Okay, so it doesn't look like one of those ads where all the wooden hangers are equally spaced with all colour-coordinated clothing hanging freshly pressed and sweaters folded exactly alike. I always think it is a good idea to have the shoe box with the polaroid taped to the end so I know what's inside, but the boxes would take up way too much room (I have a lot of shoes) and I don't have enough shelves to keep them neat. I'll admit, it is my dream to have that. But let's get real folks. We all don't live in an ad.

The difference between real people and those ads:
1. We have more than 5 shirts.
2. We iron just before we wear the shirt, not as we put it away.
3. We don't put family photos, lights, or coffee table books in our closets.
4. Most of us have attemped organization, but it involved plastic or wire shelving units from Ikea or the hardware store.
5. We hardly have enough time to clean our bathrooms, let alone our closets.

I am only partway through my clean up, there are still some storage things I would like to get to help keep it neat. Like these great sweater organizers and more of these fabulous boxes to keep the shelves and the bottom of the closet neat.

Here are a few tips for clearing out and cleaning up that closet.

1. Take everything out. And as you do it do an initial sort into garbage - recycle - give away - launder - keep.
2. Grab the vacuum and clean all shelves.
3. Take everything you said you would keep and go through it again - looking for repairs needed or style upgrades required.
4. Sort your keep stuff by season and type of clothing.
5. When rehanging things put the hangers all the same way. Even if you don't have fancy hangers this will go a long way towards having it all look neat.
6. Place the items you use the most in the center of the closet. Shoes, coats, and dresses can be placed on the outer edges. (I wear skirts, pants, and blouses mostly).
7. Reduce the need to clean as often (who likes dusting their shoes?) by storing things in covered, paper or fabric boxes. Things can get musty in plastic or rubber.
8. Be ruthless. Okay, so I kept the saddle shoes I bought for fun back in university, but I am giving away 10 other pairs that I never wear anymore (clunky heels, square toes, bulky boots).
9. Don't be afraid to make it as pretty as you want. No one will laugh at you if you organize your clothes by colour. The truth is, we're probably jealous.

I will post a picture when I finish, but for now I want more boxes and I never got around to refolding my sweaters. But I can tell you that my efforts took less an hour and I felt calmer with every passing minute. And it was sure easy getting dressed in the dark this morning - I even match.