Michellelowe

Friday Fabulousness and Favourites

Another week goes rushing by....and I always know that it's been a bit crazier than normal when I have a hard time recalling great discoveries for the week.  So here is a list of prior discoveries that had a fresh burst of excitement for me this week.

:: David's Tea.  A couple of months ago while I was on an interview trip, I happened upon this shop in Kitchener-Waterloo (sorry, I never know which of the cities I'm in when I'm there....and need to rely on the locals for guidance).  It's a Montreal-based company with shops across Canada – including North Bay, as I discovered just this morning on their site!  I purchased some tea during my first visit and I've been savouring every cup.  With Mother's Day just around the corner, I wanted to get some for my mum....and placed an online order.  Service was speedy - 24 hours later I had my tea :-)  My personal favourites (from an admittedly small sampling) are: Read my Lips, The Earl's Garden, Cranberry Pear and Buttered Rum.  If you're already a David's fan, I'd love to hear your top picks - especially as I am definitely going to be checking out the store in NB when I'm up for the Annual....

:: Wabora is a delicious Japanese fusion restaurant in nearby Bracebridge.....and the home of many yummy dining experiences for me.  They have a new location in Toronto, and while I can't vouch for it, I can say that I've never had a single bad or even mediocre bite.  A new yummy, but rich, discovery is the Volcano Roll.  The sisters and I had a feast on Sunday: tasty salad with ginger dressing, Lobster Tempura Roll, Sundae Roll, Volcano Roll....and finished with a fried banana.  yum, yum, yum!  A great place to stop for lunch when you're driving by, on your way to the Annual in a couple of weeks.

I'll be working hard this weekend, on the final few things for the Annual prep....and hopefully taking the whole day 'off' on Sunday to spend time with my mum.  Happy Mother's Day to all of the mums!

more matrix ideas

The motifs in my Amazing Matrix Mat series are really quite simple....and to me, the AMMs are just my modern interpretation of the traditional inch mat.  My way of filling in the spaces with just straight rows of hooking, no outlining, and all sorts of subtle (and not so subtle) variation in the same space are my unique twist.  Some of the larger-scale patterns stem from my own doodles and plays with graph paper, while others (like squares and triangle shapes) have been around for centuries in quilts, tiles, and even fairisle knitting patterns.  

Despite having hooked several rugs, runners....and even Jumbo using this method, I still haven't gotten bored yet.  I am often thinking up new possibilities and always on the look-out for any simple designs that could easily translate into this grid format.  I've shared a couple of these before, and I still haven't gotten bored yet.  I am often sketching out new possibilities and I'm always on the look-out for any simple designs that could easily translate into a grid format.  Sometimes the pattern is already in simple grid form - here are a couple that I happened upon this week....

Friday Fabulousness and Favourites

Happy Friday the 13th! I can hardly wait for the clock to chime five times tonight -- I'm taking next week off for a little stay-cation. Nine glorious days in a row to play in the dye pots, fondle wool, make up some patterns, read a book or two, exercise daily....and do my taxes. Yes, that last one is a bit of a drag, but a necessary evil. My plan is to try to do the bookwork early in the week, so that I can really relax and just enjoy the rest of the days.

I had originally planned to take a week and sew a quilt top, to satisfy my 'inner maker*', but my mind is telling me "no- don't do it! There is too much else that needs to happen first...." (* if you haven't already read it, check out this Yarn Harlot post from earlier this week - so clever and so true!)

While I was still dreaming of quilts, I happened upon a couple of share-worthy sites - both new to me this week....

:: Barbara Brackman blog is jam packed with information and eye candy on old quilts. Whether you are a quilter or just like looking at textiles, there is definitely lots for you to feast on here....

:: I love, love, love this quilt. Sujata shares how to make the individual blocks here

Rugs To Cover Your Floor

Buying rugs to cover the floor of your home might not be an important decision but making sure that you buy the right ones is. There’s little worse that paying for something and then realizing that it wasn’t what you wanted to buy.

There may not be things worse than paying for something you do not want but when it comes to rugs, you do not want to buy a rug and then realize that in your haste to buy that rug you ended up paying more than what you should have. You might make a purchase from one store and then walk into the next store only to realize that you paid way more than what it was worth. It’s a guilt trip that you do not want to endure.

The process begins in deciding the kind of rug you want in each of the rooms. There are many variants to choose from including texture, shape, places of origin and so on. Once you have made the all-important choice, it’s time to head on and strike the right deal to make sure you get your money’s worth.

Rugs – striking a good deal

In the age of the intenet, you need not step out far from the comforts of your home. All your purchases can be made online. There are many companies accepting online transactions with a promise of delivering your order in two days to a week’s time. Online stores stock up products in warehouses thereby cutting down on other costs that retailers deal with; this entitles you to great discounts. What this method does rob you of is the ability to bargain and getting a feel of the rug before you buy it. There might also be difference in shades when comparing the online product to the actual one.

The best method is the traditional shopping method of walking into stores and checking out the various products on display. This helps you strike a personal rapport with the staff, helping you buy better. It’s always a preferred option to let the dealer call you back with a quote on the products you’ve picked. This gives you enough time to decide on whether you want to increase the amount you want to spend and in case you’ve made a certain choice in haste, allows you to correct it. Get quotes from multiple dealers and compare them. Watch out for tardy response times, which is quite often an indicator of bad after-sales service. Once you receive quotes and compare them, it should be easy picking the right rugs at the best prices.

Related articles

• Autumn trends for your floor (johnlewis.com)

at last

Man, it's good to home. It's fun to travel and explore....but there is nothing so sweet as stepping over the threshold and arriving home after some time away. Except perhaps waking up in your own bed.....but I will have to wait until tomorrow morning to experience that! :-D

As soon as I finish unpacking, I am going to just sit, hook, and relax tonight. I will catch up on email tomorrow - although I tried to keep on top of it while I was away, I was a bit too busy some (okay, most!) days. For some strange reason, I had this (false) sense that there would be heaps of spare time, and so grandiose plans of finishing my sweater, reading a couple of books, exercising, and of course, blogging were hatched. And swiftly abandoned. I didn't progress very far at all on that particular list.....but I did get a lot of work done, which was the real purpose of the trip, I guess. And eat quite a few wonderful meals (on the company's dime, which makes them even better). Oh, and a wee bit of shopping happened.....


Mostly tea -- all of these are newly added to my cupboard -- and yarn, and a few other things for my closet and camping in the summertime....but I will blog about that more later. But right now, I am going to go and sit and enjoy my cup of tea, and contemplate what I will 'watch' on Netflix in the background while I hook -- what a luxury to have that be the biggest decision I need to make before bed tonight! Back here in the morning....