Studio Sunday

Our grandson Gussie will turn 1 yr this week and they had a little family party for him yesterday on PEI.

He actually seemed to enjoy it which I wondered about as he hasn’t seen a lot of people. The 4 yr old Ollie had the most fun as he loves to play with the cousins.

We hope for a visit sometime later in April if things open as planned,  and I plan to have a little belated birthday celebration for both of them.

I had one of my healthy lunches today after a hearty  breakfast of eggs and ham. The sauerkraut that I made turned out well and I add it to everything I can.






Yesterday, I pulled out my box of painted papers that I’d done last year and made a little paper poise for my mom which I’ll get in the mail tomorrow.

I followed a tutorial on YouTube by Nianiana on how to paint little bunnies. They’re not wonderful but I know mom will like them. At her cottage there were wild rabbits  there often.

This morning,  I sat down and added a few embellishments to 2 of the bookmarks I’m working on. It’s picky for work which I use tweezers  plus a bit of Matt medium to tack the pieces down before sewing them.

Then, because the glue needed to dry, I sewed a few more half square triangles for the rope design baby quilt I started. It’s a little tricky to discern the pattern, but once all the blocks are there it’ll be clearer. I hope.

This next piece is one that I just received back from several years of traveling in a SAQA trunk show. I’d forgotten it and quite like it so I put it in a frame.
The picture doesn’t bring out the sparkly threads that I used. Its called First Frost.

I hope you’re having a nice Sunday in your part of the world. 💜

A bookmark to go with a birthday gift

I’ve been a bit remiss in getting things posted of late, spending a lot of time making little movies and learning new gadgets, and not that well! If you’re interested in my latest YouTube video where I’m showing how I’m making sauerkraut, a stir fry with tempeh and short view of our downtown area here in Bathurst, Nb.  

Find the video by using the YouTube link above right on my blog. Please subscribe if you’re so inclined. And do comment if you have any thoughts. Thanks!

I did a bookmark to go with a book in a birthday gift I’m giving to a friend. They’re really fun to do so I cut out some more so I can work on them all together. I’ll lay them out on some stiff interfacing and then I’ll be able to go back and forth from one to the other. I’m using some of my Gelli prints along with some eyelash yarn, ink tense pencils, Angelina fiber and scraps of lace. What fun!

The front:

The back:

Some of these have less definition but once they’re stitched and collaged I think they’ll be great.





My niece was really thrilled with the quilt that I sent for the new baby. 

My youngest grandson will turn 1 year next week. He’s getting around well and can stand but no steps yet. He’s almost there. We’re excited as th bubble between the atlantic provinces has opened and barring any new problems, my daughter plans to come for a visit in a month.



I’m doing Thai baby afghan with a Caron baby cake and at the moment, I can’t find the pattern. I’ll have to stay at it so I won’t forget it. It is an easy pattern though.

I found it! 

And this is just a picture with the name as I’m unable to list a link here for some reason.



I also have a sweater on my needles for whichever grandson it fits. It’s easier on my fingers than the afghan and it gives me a break while I can still knit.

I live the bright colours. My daughter is not against bright colours for the boys, even pink.

The pattern is a drops design called Clever Charlie and you can easily find it on their site.

We’re still waiting for the vaccine, hoping it’ll be in the next few weeks. How are things with you my readers?

Sourdough bread, sowing seeds, knitting and a new project

I thought earlier this week, that I may have ruined the sourdough starter but after reading up, I saved it. You can watch my YouTube video on how I make the bread. Icon on the left of my post.

My daughter and grandsons called while it was baking and I overdid it. The inside was fine though.

I have 3 knitting projects on the go and that’s ok. In one night of knitting, I will switch projects a few times as my fingers get sore. It’s quite effective as different needles, sizes and types put pressure on different joints. These are fingerless mitts done using leftover sock yarns which I’m hoping will be good for sketching outdoors in spring.

I started another small sweater in acrylic for Gussie.

Gussie wearing another sweater I did in chunky merino.

On my design wall right now- the beginning of an idea,

As I show in my YouTube video, I sowed some seeds yesterday.  Veggies, flowers and chamomile. I’d like to dry some for tea.

I finished a little crocheted bunny cup. It needs a nice and eyes. I will put a few little treats in it before I mail them for Ollie and Gussie my grandkids.

I live lots of plants in m6 house, especially hanging ones. Hubby put this one up in my new shower. It makes me happy although it needs turning repotting.

I have several hand dyed silk scarves that I did a few years ago. This one was wrapped and boiled with natural dyes.

I needed a birthday gift and decided this week to add some screen printing to the ends.

I used a gold metallic Setacolor fabric paint and a personally designed screen. I will go back to add a different colour center.

I did 2 different ones; now, I have to do the other ends and the flower centres.

I have a new grand nephew and this is to b3 the label for his quilt.

I will free motion quilt it.

Hopefully, I’ll get it mailed this week.

As I write, I’m stretched out with the heating pad on my back. Maybe I overdid it this weekend!

Spring is in the air, finished moonlit birches

What a beautiful weekend we’ve had here. The air is still chilly, but the sun is shining and the snow on the roads is melting. I took my wool blanket and  a chair out to the deck to do some knitting and reading. Shortly afterwards, I went for a short walk.

 

The yard is full of tunnel like pathways.

We decided to do some chicken breast and a small steak on the barbecue while the veggies roast in the oven.

It’s in the oven now and it smells so good!

This quilt has been around for years sitting in a bag. It’s a combination of hand piecing (the Mariner’s Compass), machine piecing, reverse appliqué and  paper piecing. I did some straight machine stitching to stabilize the whole thing as I knew I’d be dragging it around. I just didn’t know for how long! 

Most of it is hand quilted, in some areas like the centre compass there is traditional quilting with regular weight cotton and in other areas I’ve used pearl cotton, some 8 and some 12.

To see more go to my YouTube channel using the button top right. I’m still using my plain phone so the video is a bit bumpy in places. I’m working on getting the right tools to improve it.

This is now ready for the binding.

You know, I keep myself so busy that sometimes I really need to take a breather and have a little creative fun. These bookmarks are made from pieces of my gelli prints that I’d consider under par. Snipped up though, and stitched, they’re ok and with the addition of some laces, mixed fibers and sparkle, they’ll make nice little gifts.

Lastly, I pulled out my seed today and I’m really anxious to get a few things started this week. I think I’m actually going to order a small grow light too to get things growing.

A new YouTube video

I only took videos of my progress on the moonlit birches today, sorry. There is a new vlog up over on YouTube where I show more free motion stitching on the moon rays and the background trees plus a little tip on how I cut fabric slivers for the small trees and branches.

You need only click the YouTube icon at the top right of this blog. Thanks!

My husband and I posed today using the timer on our camera (on a tripod). I ordered a 11 by 14” puzzle for my grandson.

The house shot below is almost visible behind the snow banks.



My daughter has been taking 4 yr old Ollie out walking and snow shoeing each of their 3 shut down days on PEI.



Schools were closed and he stayed home from daycare. I think the mom time was nice for him.