Beeswaxed Wrappers

It is not a fashion to try to live green any more, it is not some extravaganza scream for being noticed in the crowd, it is not a crime and most certainly it is not a heroism, it is a necessity! Our planet is exhausted, heavily inhaling Her last breaths, trying to let us still exist, but for how long could She bare the ignorance of our plastic artificial life, it is to be determined. For those of us, who have memories from our childhood, for those, who dare to remember, it is obvious how much life has changed for the last twenty years. Although the NYLon was invented way before my childhood, the impact that this particular manmade product has on the modern life is excruciatingly bigger. This is only because of the abusive use by every company, neglecting the thought of the afterlife of this plastic bag, per se, or that nylon wrapper. 

I go to the local grocery shop, that prides itself with delivering fresh vegetables and fruits from the nearest farms, and the disgust that surrounds all the freshness is unbearable. It sits in nylon beds (not cardboard, for example, or even better - wooden cases, like the ones we used to have when collecting fresh fruits right from the field. The last ones are reusable, breathable and safe for the produce, if not treated with some chemicals for extra preservation :(... something to think about). Once I make my pick of fresh produce, I look around for paper bags to take them home. (We even see them in the movies - favourite characters from the screen, coming home with arms full of paper, paper, paper, and more paper bags). There are rolls and rolls of nylon bags, next to every stand, some of which are rolling sadly on the floor, people jumping them over, or simply kicking them in the nearest corner, reaching out to the next closest, to pull a few of the bags out and fill them with goodies. It is hurting my eyes every time. It makes me sad and angry. I go prepared, with my fabric drawstring bags, but I can not unsee the ignorance.

We are so blessed to have air that we could savour. We very often neglect to take advantage of this blessing. We suck the air out of our life and store it in a nylon bag. Everything needs to breathe - our food, whether fresh or processed; our clothes - whether wet or dry; our body; our mind and soul. Using items, made from natural ingredients only makes our life healthier and happier. I wish more people could see that.

Statistics show that roughly one third of the food, produced for human consumption gets wasted. Surely, statistics measure it all in billions of US dollars, but imagine the impact that has on the planet - it can not measure the resources, wasted for processing this food, the packaging and the resources for producing that packaging, the transportation and at the end - the storage of that waste. How much of that food gets to the waste in its organic dress? Most of it gets thrown in a plastic packaging.

I, finally found a way to get rid of the nylon packagings that our processed food comes in. This is my way of protecting the fresh produce and safe the life of my favourite cheeses. This is my way of not wasting food anymore - kept in the nylon bag from the market and ruined. The worst part is when we have our greens 'refreshed' by the water sprinklers. Taken wet from the shower and thrown in the nylons shortens the life of the greens drastically. 

Beeswax is the natural plastic substitute. It is produced by the honey bees and it serves the purpose of honey storage as well as it is a home to the larvas in the beehive. I believe, it is a testament enough for me to trust the beeswax with my food. Nature created this phenomenal product to preserve the life of one very special species. I am not the one, questioning Her intentions.

There are few brands out there, offering this kind of food protection. I think I have a favourite one of them, but I still decided to make my own. The convenience in it, is ... well ... the conveniences are:

1. I choose the size of the wrappers I make.

2. I know exactly what ingredients I use for making them.

3. I involve my family enthusiasts into the process, teaching my girls the importance of living green.

4. My house smells like a beehive - sweet and natural.

5. I get to try to reach more people with my words and make them think about the future.

The inconvenience is the time and effort. We tend to turn our efforts into inconvenience, so I would put that as a number 6. above, because if we inconvenience ourselves into doing something for our life, then the evolution is going in the wrong direction. Since human existence, people have been working hard to reach the point at which we are now. The effort of surviving and making our lives more sufficient is the wheel that evolution rode onto. Making the effort to prolongate the life of the food we use and not waste it, is a small part, but imagine it multiplied by five billion or so...

materials needed:

1. handmade natural soap (no artificial dye, nor chemical ingredients)

2. natural beeswax - check your local bee farm

3. light weight fabric:

My choice for fabric is DailyLike. How lucky for me to have DailyLike Canada around. They first hooked me up three years ago with their motto: simple fabric ... for simple life :) Why DailyLike? Wouldn't any cotton do the work? Firstly, because of the choices they give us. They have a cotton classification, depending on the thickness: 60C, 40C, 30C and 20C, that is the quilting cotton. The higher the number, the thinner the cotton. For our project, we need thinner cotton, so today I am experimenting with 60C, that is really thin and voile-like and 30C, still lighter than the regular quilting cotton. Secondly, because of the service, and not lastly - because of the feeling their products influence on me - living simple and clean.

tools needed:

regular packaging paper

parchment paper

old towel

old pot

tin container

painting brush

iron

pinky shears

tailoring:

Note: I had my pieces cut in advance, before washing the fabric. I would recommend cutting the desired sizes after washing. Fabric will fray less.

1. Wash the fabric with the soap and hang it out under the sun to dry. The sun rays are the natural predator to bacteria and bad microorganism. This is the best way to disinfect all your clothing after washing. It preserves the clothing and the planet. The driers are another manmade invention that doesn't take under consideration the future, and in this case - the very near future.

 2. Prepare all the needed materials.

3. Set your working table:

I worked on my ironing board. It was set in the following manner:

Before you reach the point of ironing your wrappers, continue with the next step:

4. Slice shavings of the beeswax and place them in the prepared tin container. I placed the tin in another metal container and then in the water bath of my old pot. 

Melt the beeswax over medium heat. It really is quite a satisfying process - melts smoothly and in no time. Do not leave it unattended. 

5. Move the whole pot to your working station. Have a potholder ready nearby so you could set the pot safely, without burning any surfaces. Have your brush and lay the fabric on the working paper over the old towel. This paper is hygroscopic - the beeswax will pass through, that is why the towel is needed underneath. You could use another layer of parchment paper, instead of the regular paper. I did not, because I wanted the excess amount of beeswax to be discarded, not accumulating on my cotton wrapper.

Brush your cloth with fast movement, without a glimpse of a care to be precise:

Do not worry if you do not cover the cloth evenly. The iron will fix that. The beeswax dries out immediately, the brush also dries fast, but not to worry - that is why you have the whole warm pot around. It all comes to balance once you return the brush back to the tin with the rest of the melted beeswax.

When you cover fully your cloth, return the pot to the warm stove - make sure it is switched off. Leave it there and come back to your working station. Set it in the way, shown in step 3. and iron over the parchment paper, covering the waxed cloth. The beeswax will melt and spread evenly, covering smoothly the whole cloth. 

Peel off the parchment paper, take off your cloth piece and lay it flat on a paper towel on your counter. It will set very fast and will be ready to use immediately.

Repeat the steps for the rest of your fabric pieces, warming the beeswax to liquid consistency for every piece. Always check for your hot plate to be turned off when you return the pot back and you will be off to ironing your pieces!

How beautiful is this 'Leaf' cotton for my fine herbs, like the dill and for the soft mozzarella!!! It is the 30C cotton, as well as the stripes with the aubergines.

'Pure Flower' and 'Misty Mint' are 60C cottons, very fine and delicate. I find them perfect for my mint and softer vegetables and fruit. Also, the finer the cotton, the more pliable it is, that is why I used the smaller pieces of the 'Misty Mint' to individually wrap the aubergines. 

It is all ready to go back in the refrigerator in their new clothing - safe and protected for longer.

A few notes, that will spare you the surprises:

1. Prepare to starve - the aroma that the beeswax releases in the room sends signals to the brain that there is some honey around and you will feel like a black bear, desperately looking for a beehive to ruin :). This will unlock the sensor for hunger, but I doubt you would want to interrupt your work before the last cloth is finished. 

2. While you beeswaxing the cloths, you will notice the change of colour to the fabric. It is quite obvious on the white fabric, like the "leaf" and the stripes in this case. It doesn't bother me, because I know I am using the natural beeswax, instead of the discoloured, brought to white pallets that are sold on the market. If it bothers you, choose different than white fabrics. There is still going to be a change in the colour, but you may tolerate the hue better.

3. The cloths could be stored flat, preferably stored flat. They are molded into the shape of the product by the warmth of your palms - another satisfying experience.

4. The cloths could be gently cleaned with slightly soaped paper towel and rinsed under gentle cold water, set to dry before stored away for next use.

5. Eventually, the beeswax may be worn off. I have no experience with that and I can not advice, but will update this post once I have more information.

Happy working!

♥ Ivelina

Rêve d'amour

Love is a story well kept in every family. Whether it sparkled briefly and was forgotten, or kept burning for years, there is always a symbol of love in every generation. Love has always been a statement of life, a testament, unbreakable in storming times. 

The family stories are shared from mouth to mouth, some written and sacredly kept romantic letters. It is a teaching moment for everyone. Sometimes, love is so distant, sometimes it is dreamt only, but always so deep and unexplored - one lifetime is never enough to experience it all.

I found this pattern in an old French magazine and it was accompanied by a touching family love story.  It is Isabelle, who talks about her Mamy's love. After her grand-mother passed away, Isabelle found the meaning of true love in the drawers of an old cabinet. Some very preciously kept letters described a story of her grand-parents love, despite the fact they had been separated for sixty years.

These vintage designs and Chinese symbols made me think of a dear friend, who I accidentally found  a year and a half ago. Not only the design of the pouch touched my heart, it inspired me to make a gift to my friend, who lives a world-distance away. There is a distance that the feet can not walk but the heart jumps in a moment and reaches the furthest corners of the world.

I made this pouch for Lina - the designer behind HAORI. Her creations have always amazed me. She has a certain touch to the thread, incorporated in her fabric - always weaving the tiniest details that make her fabric special. I hesitate every time I cut into her fabric. And when I do, I make sure I don't waste anything. I fill a very pink box with the cut outs :)) Weird, I know, but it makes me feel good about preserving the dreams and love behind Lina's designs.

There are four different side pockets on this pouch. I stitched in mono-colour in a DMC thread matching the fabric used. And the fabric is no other but the latest double-sided yarn-dyed, designed by Lina. The vintage look and the colours are perfect for the story I have read by Isabelle. The fabric compliments nicely the cross-stitched design. The bias binding on the top edge adds a little extra colour but keeps me grounded to the old blue. I just love the combination!

HAORI makes my life more beautiful and helps me look back and hold on to the beautiful things from the past. I have a favourite Bulgarian author, whose writing shapes a big part of my character today. She says: "You don't have a past, if you don't have a memory! And you don't have a future, without a past!" Our life is a streamline - we live it in one breath-taking. We are so busy that we are barely present in our own life. We don't have time to remember... This is very sad to me. I don't want to miss anything from life, and that includes the life before me. I take the opportunity of living in the era of informatics to learn more about the past generations. And I believe that helps me shape the future  more calmly.

"Love" and "Dream" Chinese symbols simply describe why we all do what we do. Inspiration comes only from the soul and what we feel. And the feeling is always the most beautiful one.

Thank you, Lina, for the beautiful friendship, you gifted me with!
♥ Ivelina

Advent in Winterwald

Advent is about to start - the most exciting countdown ever experienced! It is the best time of the whole season - the anticipation of Christmas... the busy preparation, the desperate attempt to calm emotions down and the beauty in all that. 

I am feeling partially unnaturally calm, partially terrified. For the first time I won't be home for Christmas - the whole family won't be home for Christmas. We are going on a vacation! ... but that is a story for another day. Today is all about "Advent in Winterwald". I chose to keep the original name, just because English language doesn't have a matching word for Winterwald. It is a story about little creatures in a snowy forest, who are getting ready for Christmas in the most beautiful way. So, Welcome to the "Advent in the Snowy Forest".

These beautiful creatures, little children of the woods, are in a perfect co-habitat with the animals of the forest. And the Acufactum book "Advent in Winterwald" tells an original story about this joyful relationship with amazing projects and images. I only managed to make these two and they will turn into a nice decorative pillows.

The fabric that is designed, inspired by the colours of Nature and that doesn't hoot for attention but speaks for its greatness through its complicated weaving, surely is HAORI. If you look at the whole Fall/Winter collection, you will be able to find the two different brown colours I picked for this project:

When the designer Ms Lina Yang created this collection, it was inspired by the colours of the Earth in its preparation for the winter season. The faded greens of the forest in its yearly preparation for the long rest and the deepened blue of the rivers, wholeheartedly missing the playful pure white summer clouds on their vigorous run to the ocean. The blue is a reflection of the gloomy, sad, foggy blanket that the sky is sleeping under. The forest is completely naked in the late fall. The bark of the trees and the branches are looking almost grey. 

It all changes with the first snow. In a 'Winterwald', the trees look alive again, and so vividly brown. The rivers' eyes are dark blue and few sunny beams get caught under the magnifying glass of the painfully white snow. The strength of the white and the magic of reflection bring the forest and the creatures, that call it their home to the most festive stage of the year - the preparation for Christmas.

Materials used:

HAORI double sided 1/2 yard light brown 

HAORI double sided 1/2 yard dark brown 

HAORI Christmas cotton strips for binding and zipper cover

Warm Company 100% cotton batting

Ticking stripe 27 count 100% linen

DMC embroidery thread

Techniques used:

* Cross-stitched embroidery

* Hand-quilting for the front of the pillows

* Machine-quilting for the back of the pillows

* Zipper sewing

* Bias-binding

HAORI is one of a kind heart-felt fabric for me. It started with the image fabric love a year ago , went through the ecstatic wave of joy, that almost left me without breath when I first touched it, and now continuing with an exploding culmination of friendship, that makes this season even more merry. 

I admire Lina for her creative way of perceiving the weaves so they become strictly candid, and at the same time present an incredible texture. It is a pleasure to quilt with her fabric - there are many directions to be followed and one to be chosen. I simply love the choices she is given me with her designs - an incredible person she truly is!

Home is the best place to count down the days till Christmas. Every day is a treasure and give me new hope for being better in what I do. Sometimes, I am not sure of the end result, but I know, it would be from the heart, so it must be good, it must be pleasing and heart-warming. My daughter says, that these pillows are for hugging, and is doing so every night on the sofa with her cup of tea. Well, than they must be considered a 'goal-achieved' project. From this Christmas on, these pillows will immerse all the good memories of many many seasons, and their hugs will become warmer, more soothing and cordial. 

Sending warm hugs to your home for Christmas,

♥ Ivelina

Boro Style, super mini-purse

I would like to show you what you could do with these little treasures from HAORI.

On top of the extra care HAORI puts into packing these little cuts (7cm x 7cm), they always provide with the perfect combination of colours and for this mini-charm pack of 100 hand-picked yarn dyed pieces you get a perfect sense of what the company is capable of when it comes to design, texture and colour combination. You get to enjoy many of their fabrics in one little handful adventure.

Materials used:

1. This small pouch is made with scraps, I have left from previous projects, plus some charms from the mini-charm pre-cut bundle. 

2. For the lining, I used a one piece of HAORI cut fabric in matching colour.

3. Sashiko variegated embroidery thread for connecting the pieces together.

4. Fusible batting. 

5. 'Inazuma' Magnetic button for closing.

6. A piece of fabric for an inside label.

Technics:

The beauty of working with HAORI is in the tiny details. If you are as passionate as I am about the tiniest details and thread weave in a fabric, this would be your choice of material to start your Sashiko adventure with. The fabric has such a rich design, that not only the colour is a leading factor when making your choice, and not even adding the texture, but the weave itself, that sometimes changes throughout the length of the fabric piece. And all that elements are purely delicate, no screaming turns and sudden stops, so that the tiny details are only visible for those who look closely. 

Adding the Sashiko embroidery to these pieces makes wonders... Suddenly the tiny elements tell much bigger story and you are now holding a story-telling project. With stitches and colour combination, you could enhance certain features in the fabric and mute others, or simply make your own story. This to me is an amazing experience!

1. Sashiko stitching used in connecting the pieces.

2. Fusing the batting.

3. Machine stitching the face and the lining together.

4. Hand-stitching the sides of the purse.

I am so happy with my first boro style tiny purse. It brings me so much joy and desire to explore more the technique of Sashiko stitching. 

Having all the 100 pieces in front of me and picking the colours that speak to me clearly, changing the choices and trying again, collecting the right shapes of fabric and right print, felt like puzzle making - something I haven't done for years. And it felt so nice and peaceful! 

I hope you find a bite of inspiration in my recipe for this mini-purse! It is all about improvising and trying. Every time you are approaching a boro make, you must be aware that it would be a unique, one of its kind make. And that is another reason to feel special and important. 

Thank you so much for being my guests, dear friends! It is always my pleasure and true honour to host this half an hour for you!

Wishing you an adventurous experimenting! 

♥ Ivelina

Lost map, Found perspective

It is amazing to travel! Not only because of the movement, or because of the anticipation to reach places, but because of the changing scenery and the freedom of thinking. I don't know about you, but my mind sets up on different frequency, while I am on the road, my thoughts have different density and my joy is much purer. 

Canada is one of a kind country to explore - with its unexplored yet grounds and undiscovered plants. My mission is to walk on this land as much as possible, filling the footprints of prior 'explorers' with happier and more colourful memories. This year's destination is green Cape Breton, north of the blue shirt of Nova Scotia.

I am using the Daily Like Canada adventurous fabric to make some little treasures, needed for the trip.

Here is a recipe for one memorable trip:

1. Choose a destination

2. Find the right company

3. Plan ahead

4. Book the time and places to sleep. Hint: pick a small hotels or B&B. There is a charm to every place one goes and to be able to see it, one must dive into the culture. 

5. Make a map of daily hike. Count the kilometres carefully - not to get too exhausted the first days of your stay, but not to waist time in wondering what to do.

6. Plan your luggage. For different places, certain necessities are needed. 

7. Make notes of things you must-see.

8. Improvise

Few hours are left to our trip. I can not wait. In summary, it looks like that:

Destination: East Canada, mostly Nova Scotia and Cape Breton

Company: family and friends

Celebration: having all the beautiful treasures on Earth and Canada 150

Length of the trip: 14 days

Accessories: Binocular and compass.

Inspiration: previous trip to Newfoundland and Labrador

Resolution: Life is beautiful 

I have decided to make this little bag for a binocular. We need to spot the white eagle in Cape Breton, and the whales in Rivière-de-Loup, Québec.

It is easy to design this type of bag, and very comfortable to make. The only part a bit challenging is the bias binding. I have sore hands and arms from hand-sewing the bias binding all around the bag, but that is how I like it done - no seams are visible, and the evenness of the bias is pleasingly clear.

Here is how to

Create a pattern for this type of bag:

1. Decide the hight of the bag A- in this case this is the height of the binocular (14.5 cm)
2. Decide the width of the bag W

3. Decide the depth of the bag B -(4.5 cm)

4. Decide the size of the flap C - (9.5 cm)

5. Draw a rectangular piece with L= 2xA + 2xB + C and W=W
6. Draw a rectangular piece B x A - this will be the pattern for the sides

7. Curve the corners of the flap as desired. If you wish, you could curve the body of the bag as well. I did that.

Easy as that!

Materials used: 

1. Daily Like Canada Lesser Panda oxford cotton for the face of the bag and for the top side of handle
2. Daily Like Canada Peaceful Green cotton 20C for the lining
3. Daily Like Canada Sage Green oxford cotton for the handle base
4. Daily Like Canada  Hill cotton 20C for the bias binding
5. A piece of Daily Like Canada Winter Fox oxford cotton for the pocket
6. Daily Like Canada Winter Fox Mini-pocket Mirror
7. Daily Like Canada Winter Fox Note Card
8. Daily Like Canada Winter Fox Pen
9. Daily Like Canada Lesser Panda Tag
10. Daily Like Canada Leather Tag 'Handmade'
11. "Inazuma" magnetic button, 3 mm
12. Fusible Batting
13. Heavy weight fusible interfacing

Recipe for sewing the bag:

1. Draw the pattern on a piece of paper, marking each part: A, B and C, have the pattern for the sides ready.
2. Prepare the continuous bias binding , using the Hill cotton 20C.
3. Position the patterns over the fat-quarter of the Lesser Panda oxford. Draw with a washable marker, or tailor's chalk.
4. Cut around the lines, leaving 5 mm allowance for the seam.
5. Follow the steps 2-3 for the lining.
6. Cut the batting and the fusible interfacing, without leaving seam allowance.
7. Apply the fusible batting to the wrong side of the Lesser Panda oxford cotton.

Note: Because the fabric, used for the face, has a directional pattern, the print on the back of the bag will appear upside-down. If you would like to avoid that, make sure that you cut a separate piece of fabric for the back, leaving seam allowances where the seams would be.

8. Apply the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric used for lining.
9. Mark the parts A, B and C on the interfaced bag lining and press with an iron to form the folds. Now you have a pretty good idea of the shape of your bag. This helps a lot for adding the embellishments.
10. Sew the tags on the lining part, where desired and attach both parts of the magnetic button in a way so they meet nicely and the closure is perfectly centred. Add the pocket to the lining.
11. Pin the face and lining together, wrong sides facing. Baste all around.
12. Bind the outside edge of part A, which would be on the inside of the bag. If you have curves there, bind along the curve. Leave the piece aside, work on the side parts and the handle.

Handle making:

13. Cut a bias strip of the Sage oxford cotton long enough to form a handle and 4 cm wide.
14. Cut a strip from the Lesser Panda fabric, the same length, 3.5 cm wide.
15. Interface the bias strip, using heavy weight interfacing.
16. Fold both sides of the strip towards the centre, almost meeting them and press with iron.
17. Fold the Lesser Panda strip in a same manner. Top the Sage oxford cotton strip with the Lesser Panda one, wrong sides facing and top stitch.
18. Cut and interface two pieces of Hill cotton 20C, size B cm x 3.5cm to make the handle fasteners. Form folds on both sides 0.7 cm inward. Pin them on the Lesser Panda bag sides, 2 cm bellow the top edge. Insert the handle in the fasteners and top stitch, along the lines. Top stitch again, forming a cross for stability. I used jeans cotton thread.

I added a thin cut of the Winter Fox fabric, where the Winter Fox pen could hang.

Now you have both sides of the bag, connected with the handle.

19. Pin the face (lesser Panda sides with the handle attached) and lined bag sides together, wrong sides facing. Baste all around.

20. Shape the bag, following the established already folds and baste the bag part and side parts together to form the bag.

21. Machine stitch the bias binding on the outside of the bag, starting from one side of the already biased part A and stitching all around.
22. Press with an iron, fold the bias and slip stitch on the opposite side.
23. Enjoy the beautiful little treasure you are holding in hands and be proud with your creation.

I made a mini-pouch for the compass my daughter is using, when hiking in the deep forests of the Appalachian Mountains. I know, the topographic maps are out of fashion, substituted by the new technologies, but the knowledge one has, when learning how to read the maps with a compass is priceless.

The card and the pen are a must, because the most adventurous beautiful day will be shared in words there and sealed until her next visit to Nova Scotia. The mirror is for playing 'Sunny bunny" with the landscape and creating effects on the photographs. She has thought everything through. When it comes to exploration, she is an expert.

Well, I think that was all! The bags are all packed, and the new items, my daughter has now will travel in the car. Crossing the Appalachian Mountains is a real adventure. The road twists up and down on both sides of painfully green forests and there are so many lookout spots to stop and admire the scenery. She insists of having her binocular handy.

I cut and made an easy bandana from the Evergreen cotton 20C, that she attached to the bag, threw some nut cookies in the clear cellophane Lesser Panda bags for the trails and well equipped, we are leaving ...

Stay tuned for my other project I made for the trip. Super useful and beautiful, a sneak peak of which is visible on the last image. These 'loving Nature' fabric pieces were a total inspiration for me.

Thank you so much, lovely friends, for visiting my happy corner!

Wishing you happy summer days!
♥ Ivelina

Nature is my home

Living in a small country, the size of your palm is a rewarding life - one gets to know their mother-country so well, almost every corner of it, every animal and every tree. It is never boring, although the country could be crossed diagonally for only one day drive. 

In my home country, every rock has a history - a history of ten hundreds and more years. Examination could prove that one same rock was hold by thousands of little hands and thrown in the rivers million times. Walking in the steps of ancestors on a very well formed path seems easy, since these are paths, walked on for 1350 years. And yet, it is quite difficult to pass the distance of one's calm walk. The history imprinted in these paths is so dynamic, it feels like a black storm in the Pacific. And no one has ever felt well equipped and on the right boat, so to sail smoothly and happily. 

No matter where I was growing, I love my home country - for its proud history and lovely Nature, for the historical sites, that tell rich stories of warriors and heroes and for the four beautiful seasons, for the welcoming people and for the Black Sea, for the memories, that I had built for my 35 years of living there. Growing there was a challenge but dreams were allowed. Dreaming big and wild, dreaming for freedom of the spirit and wild Nature - for the unexplored and virgin lands, the unknown plants and foreign trees, deep forests, almost untouched by the sun rays and wild rivers, with distant shores, divided by the horizon.  There was this book of the Polish traveler and publicist Arkady Fiedler "Resin-scented Canada" that unleashed my imagination and dreams, the one that took me to a country, I had only studied as a geographic placement and a home of the Niagara Falls. This book was a journey of my mind. My thoughts already immigrated at that early age of my 20's. 

"Resin-scented Canada" was published in Warsaw in 1935, soon after the author savoured his trip to Canada. He portrayed the country as an unspoiled natural paradise and recounted marvellous stories about native people, formidable hunting grounds and breathtaking wildlife. That is how I imagined my new home to be. 

This year is a special year for Canada - the 150 years, celebrating that many years of the Confederation, as a united and diverse country. It is ten years anniversary for us, celebrating being part of this family. Canada feels like home, the one from my dreams twenty years ago. Canada still has the places from Fiedler's book and it is my wish to explore as many as I can. 

It is a tradition for my family to organize trips across Canada every summer. Since we live close to the East coast, this is our area for starters. For ten years, we have been to all the Maritime provinces and visited the west part of Newfoundland. We go back and forth and there is always so much more to see. So far I have found Canada as I have imagined it in the beautiful land of Newfoundland and the North lands of Quebec. We haven't yet been to the very North of Ontario, but, oh, the size of 'our home and native land' is unexplorable for one human life.

This is my story behind this sewing project I am doing with Daily Like Canada. 

There is no fabric that has ever so clearly spoken to me of Nature and life, but the collection I selected from Daily Like. 

I chose these pieces plus the accessories for a project that fully represents my family's love for exploring the secrets and beauties of life with Nature. In every item there is a sentiment and use. Some of the ideas are my little girl's ideas. 

She has a vast knowledge of wildlife, down to the very little details. She is a wilderness explorer and she studies a lot about Nature and its wonders. Her favourite animal is the fox, but yet, she changes her choice quite often :). She can not disregard any of the animals, no matter if they are cold blooded or teeny tiny insects. The red panda has always amazed her, since it is a very beautiful animal, whose habitat is in Himalayas. She has been educating me for years on the subject, ever so concerned with their decreasing numbers of population, due to habitat loss. How sad is that?!

With that facts, my choices for animals are pretty obvious, but all the fabric of Daily Like Canada is all about Nature and the connection with every day life. It is such a beautiful statement for my understanding of life. 

My bundle collection consists of Winter Fox and Lesser Panda oxford cotton, Mandarine and Sage Green oxford cotton, Hill, Peaceful Green, Evergreen and Yellow Dot cotton 20C, plus the amazing linens from Daily Like in Soft Mustard and Natural. One project is never complete without embellishments. And Daily Like Canada offers wide variety of them - like the sewing labels, matching my fabric choice, zippers, wonderful ribbon for accenting products and makes, little mirror that comes handy in the wilderness, cellophane bags for trailer mix and little snacks, unbelievably necessary pen in matching foxy print for taking notes and a happy card.

I love this collection. I named it "Nature is my home" collection. The deep greens represent the wild forests in West Canada where the Rockies proudly spread their arms, mustard linen and the yellow dot have the colour of the sand at Prince Eduard Iceland, the brown Hill and the winter fox  are the forests all around, even in our backyards, the sage green is the Canadian prairies mixed grass, and the evergreen is the daily life of everyone, whose life is in contact with the Nature. Although the lesser panda is not an animal that lives in Canada, there are discussions whether it belongs to the racoon and bear family, despite of the differences. 

Whether living in a palm-sized country, or in a country that one life-time is not enough to be explored, Nature always feels like home. And as soon as I could see the sun from where I stand and feel the wind's kiss on my skin and smell the plants, I call this place home.

Off I go to my sewing projects...

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful morning with me, dear friends! 

♥ Ivelina