Through My Window

snowfall outside, sewing inside

2012-01-27T11:20:00.000-08:00

I got my errands and my lunch with my Friday friends done and made it home before the snow started. We are expecting a hefty snowfall up here in northern New Brunswick to-night. I am snugly set up in my studio watching the snow falling as I work on my cosmos piece. It is falling more thickly now than it was in this photo. That odd looking bag is a bird seed sock. I really enjoy it when the goldfinches decide to use it.

I've been working for the last hour and a half finishing up 3 purple flowers done with the bobbin thread and also the centers of the flowers. I discovered that if you wrap the bobbin thread and the top thread around your fingers when you begin stitching, that it helps to avoid that little nest you get on the back when you start out. Of course with the bobbin work it would show on the front.

Here you can see the threads which I lateer diligently sewed through to the back.

I added a little pearlescent purple paint to the petals of the purole flowers.

I've had to take a break because I must decide which fabrics to use in the borders and in what order as it is my next step before I start quilting the piece. I'm thinking it might be good as either a wall hanging or a table topper, so I have to keep that in mind. I was trying to decide between the purple or the pink as a narrow border but I think I may use both sort of log cabin like around teh center.

I thought you might like to see my finished scrappy socks. They don't match perfectly because one of the yarns was a hand dye, impossible to match.

published!

2012-01-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

I have an article published in the Feb/March issue of Quilting Arts magazine!!! I just received my copies in the mail today and I am so excited. It is my first time ever.

I hope you'll forgive me if I don't post any sewing pictures. I'm going for a hair cut as I'm looking rather shabby; I must keep up with the celebrity image, ha, ha.

a little painting and thread work

2012-01-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

I had my swim this morning and spent my time thinking about how I would do the piece that I mono printed last week. While I'm stalled on my birches piece (I'm musing about what I will do next with it), I decided I needed something fresh. What better than some pretty summer flowers? Cosmos is one of my favorite. The colors are so pretty and they are so delicate with such lacy foliage.

Along with my cup of tea, I did a little bit of shading on the flowers with Neocolor II crayons and a paint brush. Then I ironed it and added some stiff interfacing to the back to get ready for some thread painting. I put a watercolor sketch that I did a couple of years ago beside me at the machine so I can refer to it. I started with pink silk thread to outline the flowers.

Next, I added some green for stems and leaves. I stopped here to sew in a bunch of ends. There seem to be mixed opinions on this. some simply over sew a bit at the beginning and end and clip the threads, others sew the ends to the back. I used to use the clip technique, but I've been wondering if it might be better to darn them all in on the back. it's time consuming though.

Before I stopped for a snack, I wanted to try a bit of bobbin work. I've just recently tried it out and love it! I wound some sparkly purple Candlelight thread onto my bobbin and tried one flower to see what it would be like. (I did do a trail on sample fabric first.) It did leave a little bobble in one spot but I understand that can happen.
And now it's time for another cup of tea before I get supper.

a good day with friends

2012-01-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

I'm still having a low week energy wise which unfortunately also affects my creativity. That's OK, one has to go with the flow.
Today, I planned a hand stitching day with some quilting friends, but the weather did not cooperate. We got freezing rain and sleet in the night, so the roads were not good and the driveways and parking lots even worse. Two 'town' friends came though, and we sat and stitched for a while and then had lunch. I finished the bindings on a baby quilt and my chickadee wall hanging. It's finally all done.
My friend, Paula sewed the binding onto this baby quilt. Isn't it different? The photo doesn't really do all the black and whites justice. It is actually quite vibrant.

She also just got this one back from the long arm quilters. It is done with the same pattern as the black and white one. It was laid out on the floor and I couldn't quite get it all into the frame.

Coincidentally, the mail man came with a small envelope marked form California, so I told my friend, Anne, to go ahead and open it because I knew it was the house blocks that I won from Love, Laugh, Quilt. She hosted a 'neighborhood block party' in December and drew 3 names to win the blocks. I was lucky to be one. I don't have time right now to put it together, but I do have an idea of what I will do with the blocks. I will make 1 more for nine and then make narrow trees for between the houses horizontally. In between each row I will then do wider 'bricks' to simulate the road.

It is a really fun gift! When I have time I will contact the makers of each block as well.
Here is the bread that I blogged about on Sunday past. I've been baking a small loaf each day. It is very good and even better with this maple syrup that my friend Anne brought me. She and her husband make it form their own little maple syrup operation. It tastes exceptional and I treasure it.

Tomorrow is my swimming day so I'm not what I'll get done after that.I'm kind of stalled on my birch tree project--just not sure where I want to go with it.

slower day

2012-01-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

After all my creativity last week, I'm into a bit of a slow down this week. This is normal for me and I've learned not to fight it, to go with the flow. Yesterday, I took it easy and didn't touch my sewing at all. I did make bread though, trying out an artisan bread that I found on line. It was very easy--no kneading. The only thing I did was add about 2 cups of rye flour and 1 cup of whole wheat to replace the white. I didn't take a picture of the finished loaf (too late now) but there is more in the fridge, so I'll try next time.
Tomorrow,I am having some quilting friends over depending on the weather. It's calling for freezing rain.
I did a little cleaning this morning to get the place presentable. After lunch I sewed the binding on the chickadee; I'll save the hand sewing for tomorrow.

I made a few more crazy patch blocks for the birch piece. I think I'm going to have to finish them to decide if it works or not. They're meant to represent the dappled colors of the forest. As for the blue printed bits, I'm not sure about them either. If I do use them I will do some free motion black stitching on them to bring out the birch trees.

Now, I'm going to have a cup of tea.

guild UFO day

2012-01-21T15:10:00.000-08:00

Today was the 2nd of 2 UFO days our guild holds in the senior room of our civic center each month. I always go if I can and take a lunch. It's an effort to get there sometimes, especially after an 18 cm snowfall like we had last night but it is always worth it. The room is always a-twitter with excited chatter and happy vibes. At lunch we gather tables and sit to eat. Then, it's back to the sewing but the chatting continues. I won't be showing what I'm working on, sorry, so here are some of the other lady's works in progress.
Leonie brought this lovely strip quilt to show.

My friend Elise was machine quilting a baby quilt.

And Debbie sat and hand quilted this striking quilt. There is always such a variety. Don't you love the colors?

Carmelle was making a project using the color wheels we made one year at guild. Mine is around here somewhere--haven't made mine into anything yet.

When I came home the female woodpecker was on the deck at the suet cake.

She left and the male showed up. My they are polite.

3 Gelli monoprints

2012-01-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

While I was waiting for my soda soaking fabric, the other day, I took out the Gelli plate and decided to do a little printing. I usually collect textural items and keep them near my drafting table, so I don't have to go looking for stuff. I also had some white papillon washed and torn into pieces ready to print.

Using a palette knife and or a plastic knife, I dabbed some Setacolor fabric paint onto the plate and spread it with a brayer.You can see in the 2nd picture above that I have spread the green and dabbed on some pink that hasn't yet been spread. You have to be careful not to over do it with the brayer or the colors will all mix together.

Next, I carefully laid the tracing paper flower shapes that I had drawn and cut out last week onto the plate to act as a resist.
Then, to create some texture, I used a plastic grid and a piece of lace which I laid on and lifted before putting the papillon down.
Finally, lay the fabric onto the plate and rub all over with fingers. I suppose you could use a plastic spoon, (rubber gloves wouldn't work) though there isn't really any paint that comes through.Carefully pull it off and lay or hang it to dry. I wipe the gelli with a clean rag and start again. The next day, I heat set with the iron and a piece of muslin over the top.
I did 3 prints. The 2nd and 3rd didn't turn out as well as the first. I was using a paint with metallic in it and it dried quite quickly.

I carefully peeled the tissue flowers away from the plate each time. I've set them to dry so I can use them again.

snow dyed fabric

2012-01-20T10:52:00.000-08:00

After getting home form my lunch with friends and the grocery store, I got these two snow dyed pieces washed and dried. I have no idea what I will end up using them for, but at least I know the dye still works and I should use it up. The colors are very rich, but there are a lot of white areas so I shall have to think about how to sue them.

snow dyeing tutorial

2012-01-19T09:45:00.000-08:00

I decided on Tuesday night that if we got some nice fresh snow, I would try some snow dyeing.
As is often the case with me, I read about it sometime last winter I believe in Quilting Arts magazine and I had already prepared the supplies needed, but never gotten around to trying it.
The first thing I did was gather all my equipment which I had stored in an old dishpan. I mixed up a soda ash and water solution, about 4 tbsp to a half gallon of water and put a couple of pieces of white cotton papillon in it to soak for a half hour. Rubber gloves and a mask for mixing the soda ash and the powdered dyes are necessary.

Using rubber gloves I wrung out the 2 pieces of fabric and laid them in 2 piles on the plastic rack in the Rubbermaid container.

Then I went out on my deck and scooped up 2 yogurt containers of fresh snow. With a mask on, I mixed about a tablespoon of each color of Procion MX dye(midnight blue and magenta) into the snow which I then spread onto each pile of fabric. I only mixed the dye powder with the top half of the snow in each yogurt container, spread it onto the heaped fabric and then I simply spread the rest of the snow on top. The idea is to let the snow melt and thus carry the dye through the fabric. I didn't mind a little color overlap where they touched. I put the lid on and set it near a heater--not close enough to melt the container!

I wasn't sure how well the dye would take, as I heard they lose their strength as they age, and these were several years old. At noon today, though, I went downstairs and started rinsing the fabric. You need to wear rubber gloves during this process as well. I rinsed and rinsed until the water became clearer, and I got hungry, so I left it in the laundry sink to soak with some Synthropal for a while. Most directions say to throw it in the wash at this point but I'll have to hand wash since I have a new front load washer and it goes off balance without a full load. I figure, I'll just keep rinsing until clear and then I'll throw it in the drier. It's pretty well rinsed at this point though and the color is quite intense.

I will keep rinsing today and finally put it in the drier so you'll have to wait a day for the final result.

bindings and borders

2012-01-18T05:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I finished the machine quilting on the little chickadee hanging. I'm auditioning a sample binding which I think I will go with.

I didn't feel like putting it on last night--too fiddly when I'm tired, so I turned to my birch tree to see how I would proceed there. I got the idea that I might like to do crazy patches which represent the fall birch forest colors, and put them around the narrow batik border. I did one last night and laid it on the wall; however, I will need to do more before I can decide if it they will work.

We've had a few inches of snow over night which may turn to rain later; I hope not because we've already got a layer of ice underneath this fresh snow. I watched the chickadees and gold finches while I ate breakfast, but they had disappeared by the time I got the camera out.

School was cancelled as well, but it doesn't seem bad and it is currently not snowing, so I plan to go to my usual Wednesday swim this morning at the spa which is only a few minutes from here.
I'm linking to the Needle and Thread Network for WIP Wednesday. go check out the lovely variety of stitching and quilting blogs.

chickadee and scrappy socks

2012-01-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

I had 2 appointments today, so my studio time was very short. I did some of the machine quilting on the chickadee piece.

It is going OK, although there was an issue with the machine skipping stitches. All was fine on the test piece, so I'm guessing that the paint stiffened the fabric enough to cause the jumping. I was using a quilting needle and switched to a top stitching needle which seemed to do fine. I think it could have been smaller than the size 14 that I had to use. I read on another blog that titanium needles are supposed to be good for painted fabrics so I will try to get some.
I do like how the quilting is looking around the birch trees.

I'm not completely happy with the raw edges either. If I had backed the pieces with fusible, there would be less fraying. Some people like the really raw edges; I'm just not used to it.

I finished the first scrappy sock as well and started the next one. Aren't they wild?

a little thread work, a little paint

2012-01-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

It amazes me how I've managed to fritter a day away and accomplished very little! I was out doing errands twice, the market, a downtown clothing store, home, and then out again, picking up prescriptions and getting ink from Staples. While I was there, I checked out some tablets. I'm thinking (dreaming) of getting one so if anyone has suggestions or comments, I'm open.

Last night I finished up the stitching on the leaf. I think I'm OK with it. I haven't sewn anything down yet as I may do a little more stitching on the birch first.

I really like this batik with it. I may border it, but I'm thinking it might look good surrounded with some crazy patch blocks using the batik along with some greens and golds.
Around 2:00PM, I thought I might like to get out the Gelli plate and play around. I started flipping through some pictures doing a few sketches, and pulling out some fabrics, when I came across a flour paste resist that I did some time ago. It reminded me of the lacy looking winter trees outside my window. I ended up pulling out my Neocolor II crayons and (coloring) painting in the background. The first picture shows it half done so you can see what the piece looked like with the flour paste resist and ink on the bottom half.

I'm not completely sure I like the green , maybe it would have been better to stick with the one color. I'll work with it though. The bobbin work snowflakes are calling me.

I took this picture of a flock of robins today at lunch. It is quite amazing because we're always on the look out for the first robin to return in early spring. What these guys are doing here I don't know. There were at least a dozen or so eating the berries in the neighbours mountain ash trees . Did they decide to stay for the winter or were they blown off course? I can only speculate.

back to the birches

2012-01-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

I went to meet friends for coffee this morning and then for groceries. After my lunch, I added some vegetables, barley and rice to a turkey soup that I started on Tuesday. I thought I'd be freezing most of the broth, but a death in the family of a friend prompted me to make it up along with some biscuits. Since it was sunny and warming up some, I put it in a cloth bag and headed out on foot to drop it off and get a little walk at the same time.

All that left me with an hour in my studio, fine with me though, as I spent lots of time here yesterday. I sandwiched and backed my chickadee for quilting; however, I had the urge to work on my birch tree again. For a while, I wasn't sure I liked or in what direction I would go with it. I've finished up the moss and cut some away from the netting; it's not stitched in place yet. I may yet do another one on the tulle to see if I like it better.

Then I started working on a leaf. I debated using the plain netting or a fabric background as I did here. There is still a little stitching left to do and maybe will look better once it's cut out.

We're expecting snow to-night and perhaps rain and freezing rain tomorrow. I sure hope it stays as snow; otherwise, it makes such a mess. Inevitably, it will freeze again too and then we get ice.

borders on the chickadee

2012-01-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

I should have been at my weekly swim and sauna this morning, but my car wouldn't start even though it was plugged in. Since I've been off work, I've not been able to afford a new one and it is after all a 1998! I've been very lucky with it so far. My husband seems to think it may just be battery connections, so we will see. It is pretty darn cold and windy today. My bed sheets are actually out there hanging and blowing in the breeze. I don't think I want to brave a walk though. I may go to the pool after supper.

Anyway it meant that I got to spend a little time with my chickadees. Last night I was quite excited because I decided to try doing snowflakes using the bobbin method. I knew how to do it; I've just never taken the time to try it. I even bought myself a second bobbin case sometime ago, so I was all set. Basically, it is still free motion work using a thicker thread that goes into the bobbin. You sew on the wrong side so that the fancier thread in the bobbin shows on the right side. I adjusted the tension in the bobbin case allowing the thicker thread to flow more easily. This is why it is good to have a 2nd bobbin case, so that one doesn't mess with the every day sewing one. It worked wonderfully and I love the effect. In the first picture I have over stitched with a turquoise Hollow Shimmer. You can see one with and on without in the next picture.

I think a different color thread for the snowflake might have worked better,but I only have a white and a gold. The thread I used is called Pearl Crown Rayon and is heavier than regular thread. This was such fun, I can see an order in the future.

I finished up the rest of the thread painting details and added the border. I was tempted to add more details but I think I like the simplicity of it and so decided to stop.
The next step is to cut some batting and do the quilting.
In my down time I also like to knit and I thought you'd get a kick out of these socks. They are made from the ends left over from other pairs of socks. The trick is to take what is left from the skein and wind it into 2 balls. You have to estimate the amount so one will always be a little larger than the other. On the first sock you use all the smaller balls. This allows you to match the second one without running out. They are pretty wild so they will be for me. They're just as warm though! I have used 3 colors so far and as you can see, I'm about to run out of the third color.

a little thread painting

2012-01-10T11:58:00.000-08:00

I can see where the phrase 'starving artist' may have come from. If I was paid for my actual time I'd be wealthy. I know, I know, you're going to say that I may be rich in the time I have to create, and I agree completely. I am lucky to have the time.
I've just been at my sewing machine for about an hour doing bits of thread painting on my little chickadee. The first thing I did was to spray starch (on the advise of a friend) all the little pieces since I wasn't using any fusible. Then using my tracing paper pattern as a guide, I laid them onto the background and ironed. Next, I started free motion stitching the different sections down and that is what takes time.

Sometimes, I will try to keep a couple of projects at hand so that I don't have to keep changing thread. Today though, I just had this to do, so after every little section, I had to change colors.
The other thing that takes time is that I kept turning around to my computer to check the color and the lay of the feathers on the chickadee and the colors in the leaf I was using as a model. Although, I did do a drawing, it would be better in the future to do a more detailed drawing with either color or more color references.
On the little dried up leaf, I still want to add some darker color for definition and the chickadee isn't quite done.

Besides all the changing of threads and looking back at the computer screen, I am simply slow. I tend to deliberate too much. For example, my hands were itching to go at those birches. Should I do anything in the background? I think not, it's background, there shouldn't be any details. Perhaps there should be a few more little branches. Should I do it with the machine or by hand? These are my thought processes. I'm thinking what I should do next, perhaps a bit of snow on the branch, or a few snowflakes in the air, or both. Oh to be so indecisive!
I always have a certain amount of trepidation when I start out liking a piece because then I fear I will ruin it. It's almost better to be neutral and go at it without worry because if it's already not that great, well then, I can sew more freely. Occasionally, those pieces will turn out better because I think I am relaxed.
I am linking to the Needle and thread Network today, for WIP Wednesday. go and check out what everyone is doing.

getting my Etsy shop open

2012-01-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

I have spent my sewing time for the last couple of days figuring out the Etsy Shop and posting the first of some of my art. It is a big step for me;even though I sold my work locally downtown in a shop(they are closed until spring), going on line is a whole different thing to me. I am also very nervous as to whether I've gotten all the details right. Live and learn as they say.
I have not yet figured out how to add my shop to my sidebar and I haven't yet added many items to it, but I'd be happy if you would check it out.
Hopefully, I'll get back to some sewing tomorrow.

UFO quilting and snowshoeing

2012-01-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't been home much this weekend. Yesterday was guild UFO which I always enjoy. I resolved to get there a little earlier than my 10 O'clock as I'm working on a project that I am going to save for all my UFO days. we have two per month. I can't show my project but I can show a few other ones that caught my eye. This first one got my interest from all the way across the room. I love bright colors. It was made by Kelly Huard and she was just finishing the borders.

Another lady (I forget who she was) was actually doing these cute place mats as a Christmas present for next year. Can you imagine being that organized?

And this last piece being hand quilted by Alice consists of antique hand embroidered blocks representing all the months of the year.

I got this little fellow at my breakfast time yesterday. Perhaps he'll appear in a little piece someday. I just can't work fast enough!

Today, we went out for breakfast which we do occasionally, and then we came home and went snow shoeing. After that we visited the in laws so I haven't had any studio time this weekend. Exercise and the outdoors has to be a priority, especially on the weekends when we can go together. We took lots of photos that I can use for reference in my work. I'm always looking for little things I want to photograph but with the new camera even my husband is noticing things.

fantasy garden, birches and a chickadee

2012-01-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

I sat down after lunch with the intention of finishing up the machine quilting on my Fantasy Garden which I did. It didn't take long though and the next stage requires some hand work which I didn't feel like getting into today. I also added a little more paint to the forefront fronds. They still look a little stripey but I'll have to live with it.

Since I was at my machine, and it was set up for free motion, I looked around to see what else I could do. Well there are a pair of my husbands jeans that need a patch, but darn, I couldn't find one in my cabinet. I would have had to go downstairs to look further. Scratch that idea.
Then the shibori birch trees on my design wall caught my eye and I thought I might do some thread work on it. I had thought to use it in with my other birch trees. Wait a minute though, didn't I just read an email from the new editor of Quilting Arts, Vivika DeNegre, with a tutorial on how to do appliqued birds? I rolled over to my desk and opened it. Yup, and it looked straight forward.
I opened up My Pictures and went looking for some chickadee photos that I've taken on my various walks on the trail. You know my fascination with them! I drew up a little sketch based on the photo.

Next, I grabbed some freezer paper and traced the parts onto the paper side. This is a picture of each section ironed onto the right side of the fabric and cut out.

Following the directions, I peeled off the paper and laid it out. There is no fusible on the back of this. Vicky says to add a bit of glue and stitch. I've never tried it without the fusible, so we'll see how that goes another day..

I ended up in a totally different place than I imagined today and look at my cutting table! I'm satisfied non the less.

machine quilting continued

2012-01-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well, you'd think I'd be done by now, it's only about 12 by 14 inches, but I'm still going. I only sat down to the machine at around 3 o'clock and played for about an hour. By that time the arthritis in the neck starts to complain. One reason is that I don't have the best set up for free motion work. My machine sits atop of the cabinet as opposed to sitting down into it.
The machine quilting is a lot denser than I would normally do. I've named it Fantasy Garden which has seemed to give me license to really go at it. I did leaves on the right hand and top border.

Then I added bubbles with a hollow shimmer thread and, on a whim, I added some shimmer paint to the bubbles.

I also added paint to the fronds that I machine stitched yesterday. The only thing I noticed is the texture of the lines in the fronds where the fabric rippled a bit form the quilting. I'm not sure if I like it so once it sets, I'll iron it and decide if I should paint them out.

I'm linking to the WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network.

machine quilting my garden

2012-01-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

This morning I did a little house cleaning and after lunch I pulled all my old bills out of my files for shredding. It has always been tradition for me to do that on New Year's Day but I forgot about it. I made a seafood chowder in the morning yesterday and we took it out to my in laws for dinner. Later I did manage to get in my bit of yoga for the day.
I've rearranged my free form pieces again, and I'm studying it. This is the "slow design" stage. I will need to piece some more parts before I'm done.
While it is percolating, I decided to do a bit more machine quilting on the little piece I call Fantasy Garden. I added some free motion spiky plants on the bottom right which I may add paint to (what do you think?), and I stitched 2 flowers in the right hand border. Those you can see as I added some Setacolor fabric paint to them. I still need to add stems and finish the rest of the border but right now I have to let the paint dry.

New year's intentions

2012-01-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

While eating our breakfast today, Gord and I were discussing resolutions. He doesn't like them, and I'd prefer something with a little less pressure, like maybe intentions. Other years I've 'intended' to slow down and be more aware of the little beautiful things around me and to be more creative. In my quilting that involves using less patterns and doing a little less traditional quilting, doing more things of my own design. This I have been doing and will continue to do.
I wanted to include Gord in the process, so after some discussion we agreed to 3 things that we would do for 30 days. I read somewhere in blog land last night that it takes 30 days of practice for something to become a habit.
For the next 30 days, we agreed to:

For the lettering, you might like this tutorial by Lisa Englebreit.

We went snowshoeing before lunch and took our new camera. It was mild so we took the time to feed the birds.

Both of us were noticing lots of tiny beautiful things. The world is a wondrous thing.

strip piecing and cooking on New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

I only just got myself out of my pj's even though I've been sewing and cooking most of the day. We've got a bit of a winter storm going on outside right now, so no need to get dressed. We planned a quiet New year's at home which works out well. We'll likely watch a movie and have a special treat or two. I might leave the blinds open for a while to enjoy the last of the Christmas lights and perhaps we'll be able to see the snow falling in the glow of the lights.
I've read a few blogs today where the authors very nicely expressed their thoughts about New Year's here and here. I don't think I could express myself nearly as well and they were very much how I feel. At this point in my life (56), I don't need the stress of any lofty goals, but at the same time I don't want to just drift or flow along like a stick in a stream with no destination. I remarked on one blog that I am somewhat like a river because I pick up all sorts of bits as I flow along in life taking on new things all the time. I don't really see anything wrong with that as long as I can keep on growing as an artist and as long as I try to stick to my own vision. It means to my bloggers though that perhaps I haven't developed a truly distinctive style although I think I'm getting there. I am a mixed media kind of gal though, so I can not have goals that restrict me to one thing. I just want to keep experimenting and developing my creativity while adding to my tool box.
Which is kind of what I'm doing with the free form piecing method I'm experimenting with now. I love Rayna's work, however, I don't want my work to look like hers. So, I'm learning the methods and trying to take it in my own direction.
Last night, I thought it was a mess when I last looked at my pieces. This morning, I moved it around and pieced a few more. I was excited; it is a really fun process and no matter how hard you try , fabric bits end up everywhere! That's a little out of my comfort zone. I do a little, straighten up a bit, and then continue.
Again, now I'm at the pint where I think it's a mess again. I think it's a process where I'll have to work on something else in between to keep it fresh.
I know it looks a lot like what I've done already. I have added some bits though. Do you see any coherency at all? I need to make more strips, some quiet ones and then figure out how to fit it together.

fat quarter shop contest

2011-12-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

I spent a good deal of time flipping through fabrics at the Ft Quarter Shop for a new contest at Quokka Quilts. Just follow the link for the directions. I was inclined not to do this as I knew it would take time and I wasn't sure I could actually figure it out. Basically you choose 12 prints plus 3 solids from the shop, save them to your computer picture files. Then you can make a mosaic in Picasso or another online mosaic maker.
I had to make quick choices or I could have been there all day!

Today is my day to go out to lunch and I'm happy I don't have many errands to do because it's windy and very cold. I may take my tree down later as my son left today and we are once again on our own. I would like to have it all cleaned up before New year's Day as I like to start the New Year doing what I love to do and not housework.

a few more strip pieces

2011-12-29T14:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm following Rayna's directions, continuing to strip piece, and I'm throwing it up on the wall. I'm not sure if anything will actually go together.

playing with a quilting friend

2011-12-27T12:15:00.000-08:00

I just got home form spending some fun sewing time with a friend. I don't normally get to see her other than at UFO day because she works full time. At our last day, though, she mentioned that she had Monday and Tuesday off, that her husband had to work and maybe I'd like to join her. Once I knew my company would be gone, I accepted.
This is one of Charlotte's landscapes--of Quilted Chaos -- that hangs in her studio.

She made me a cell phone case today which I didn't take a photo of; she sells them in her Etsy shop. Then she made this little stuffed airplane for her nephew.

As you may know, I've had a bit of a fascination going on with birch trees. I've been working on different methods to depict them and when I sat to re-read my new book Create Your Own Freeform Quilts by Rayna Gillman, I thought it might be fun to use the techniques from the book.
Using Rayna's method, I strip pieced a couple of sections and I've laid them up on my design wall with a couple of the painted pieces I just did. The painted pieces will likely end up incorporated into the hanging in smaller pieces. I'm just getting started but I like where it is going so far.

I'm linking to the WIP Wednesday at the Needle and Thread Network.

boxing day shibori and gel printing

2011-12-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

We had a successful Christmas dinner for 15 yesterday--managed to find the space for everyone and accommodate both the vegetarians and the meat eaters. For the vegetarians, I used filo dough and a veggie loaf recipe to make a roll up loaf which went from the freezer to the oven. Everyone liked it. We had turkey with all the trimmings for the meat eaters.
My youngest son and his girlfriend went off to her place for dinner today. We went for a walk on the trail with my eldest son and his fiance before they left after lunch for her home near Moncton. We attracted lots of birds to feed from our hands. The nuthatch seems to be studying my son's fiance in the second picture.

Once they left, I threw in some laundry and then set up my paints and fabric for a bit of gel printing. I did 2 gel prints and 2 shibori type pieces. The shibori pieces are done by wrapping the fabric around a cleaned tomato can. As you wrap it round and round with string, you gradually push the fabric down until you get the whole piece all onto the can. The you paint it with fabric paint using a sponge brush. I also tried to do some diagonal wraps with the string, hoping that I would get the hint of branches. When my husband came down the stairs he said "those look like birch trees", so I think I got what I was going for.

The next 2 pieces I printed using a gelatin mold. Often I do many at a time but I only had so much time and energy today. I'm doing as many pieces as I can in the birch tree theme in hopes of combining them all into one piece.

I plan to go warm up leftovers for supper and then to relax this evening.

snowshoeing on Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't expect to do another post until after Christmas, but the turkey is done, cut up and put in the frig along with the broth and all the bones. We're a little excited here because we purchased a new camera yesterday that we have been looking at and saving for for some time. It is the Canon Rebel EOS T2. By the time we got the batteries charged last night we were done for day but the picture taking started first thing this morning. It is just so amazing. I had some nice shots of my dove before with my old camera, but look at this, you can see it's feathers. And look at the color and detail on the bluejay.

This morning we awakened to a blue sky and the sparkle of fresh snow. I just had to get out on my snowshoes for our first time this winter.

I love the white and green of the moss and snow against the wintry blue sky.

I've been day dreaming about my next project. You may remember, I've been playing a bit with the birch tree image for some time, doing sketches and some thread painting. I've gathered together some fabrics that I might use, and I did this rubbing with a Shiva Paintstick. The rubbing is done from simple plate that I made some time ago with puffy paint. I sketched out birch trees onto a piece of corrugated cardboard with the puffy paint. It makes it 3 dimensional. You could also use white glue or Elmer's children's glue in blue. I used it today for the rubbing. I'm thinking of using Rayna Gillman's method of free form piecing with some of my birch tree art.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

I jsut got home from my Friday errands and lunch with my friends. It is snowing, which is lovely, but the traffic was crazy and the grocery store was even worse. I hope I'm done all my errands now until next week. Amongst ornaments, and gifts from the kitchen, this was one of the gifts I received today.

I also passed out a second mug rug yesterday. They are so much fun to make and especially fun to machine quilt. I found it very freeing to randomly piece it together; there's no agonizing over fabric choice since it's so small.

I probably won't be blogging again now until after Christmas, so I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays.
My friend again. It loves to hang out at the heated bird bath. Once when it was empty of water, it got right in it for a nap.

last minute gifts and a back deck friend

2011-12-20T12:17:00.000-08:00

I've been busy doing a little of this and a little of that. I'm not terribly rushed, although I've just started wrapping. I think I'll finish it comfortably. Yesterday, I made these 2 quick little gifts. The first is a little mug rug inspired by Exuberent Color's blog post. She made so many and I managed one; still I'm quite satisfied.

I also made this potato bag for the microwave. A quilting friend had one at our UFO day to microwave her potato, and I thought it was really neat. To make the small one I cut about 7.5 by 16.5 inches of a cotton print, muslin and cotton batting. Stitch them together envelope style and turn right side out. After stitching the opening closed and ironing, Fold it muslin sides together at the same time folding down a flap, right sides together for closing. The flap can the be folded over top for cooking.

I haven't actually tried it yet, but the directions are to wash the potato, lightly dry it, no need to pierce, and microwave for about 3 minutes.
I got my little table top tree up and finished putting my antique ornaments and birds on it. The garland is actually a ball of specialty yarn.

I have 2 bluejays that have finally gotten comfortable enough to stay awhile at the feeder. I so love their colors!

UFO day

2011-12-18T06:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was UFO day for our guild; we have two a month and it's my favorite part of guild activities. We had lots of treats since it was our last sewing day for this year. I was surprised at the good turn out at this busy time, and a lot of ladies brought their machines. Since I had a few bits of hand sewing left on some Christmas gifts, I brought my basket filled with those bits. One thing I finished was the binding and lights on my little snowman. I'm pleased with the colors.

This is Nicole putting the finishing touches on her Christmas quilt.

As one would imagine, on the week before Christmas, many were working on gifts. My friend Wendy was making pillowcases for various relatives. This one, for an aunt, features the red hat ladies. Always one for the last minute, she still has to put these in the mail!

Another friend, Charlotte, was putting the finishing rounds onto a fabric bowl. The ladies, myself included, were all fascinated to watch her make one. She has a blog, Quilted Chaos, and a new Etsy shop where she's listed some of her fabric containers.

My friend Debbie must have been well organized with all her Christmas sewing done because she put together a quilt for Victoria's quilts which is an organization that sends quilts to cancer patients.

This next picture is really out of context. I had an email conversation with another blogger about postage stamp quilts. I've had one in my closet for a while that I pull out and do a few blocks on here and there. I have 6 blocks done set into stars and another 4 postage stamp blocks ready to go. I'm thinking that I may do 12 blocks for the center of a quilt, adding some different borders around them. Perhaps I'll be inspired over Christmas to put a couple more together.

Well, now I must go put a few ornaments on my tree, prepare a little dish for next weekend, and then I'm going to the Stars on Ice show this afternoon.

slowly building my snowman

2011-12-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

My little snowman is ready for the hand sewing of the binding and a set of lights to be draped in its arms. I got the binding on this morning before I went the Auberge for my swimming. I don't know what it is with me and bindings lately. I had one on yesterday that I decided against. I had picked it out when I cut all the pieces out but when it came to the machine quilting, I chose a variegated pink thread as there was the tiniest dot of pink in the orange nose fabric. I forged ahead and sewed on the red binding and realized it didn't really match. I'm very happy withe this binding.

I also put the new border pieces on this little piece so I can hang it on my design wall and ponder how I shall finish machine quilting it and how I should embellish it with hand work.

I'm not doing much baking this year because I will only have my son and his girlfriend for a couple of nights. If I can't lose weight without the sweets in the house, it won't be good to have them here. I do need a little something to take to my UFO day on Saturday though and thus far, I have only baked 2 things. These are chocolate oatmeal with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. I didn't have quite enough oatmeal so I topped it up with coconut. I cannot post the recipe because it's out of a book called Smart Cookies.

I am linking to WIP Wednesday at the Needle and Thread Network.

snowman hanging

2011-12-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

After having a bit of a chat via Skype with my daughter in Korea this morning, I quickly got my bit of housework out of the way. Each day I've been putting out a few more decorations. I've had a Christmas scene packed away for several years with no place to set it up, so I decided to put part of it out on this mirrored tray. I will just have to move it for Christmas dinner.

I was looking for a small gift for someone, and I thought of this little hanging that I've made a couple of times. It's called Hangin' Lights by Patch Abilities. It's only 5 1/2 by 19 1/2 so it's a pretty quick project. I usually like to do a hand sewn blanket stitch but I used my machine this time. Although I don't actually have the blanket stitch on my machine I've used this stitch before. I think it might be the hem stitch. If I set the machine to a very small stitch width, it works pretty well. It seems to have puckered a bit so I will add some free motion quilting around the snowman to flatten it out. The snowman is supposed to be holding a string of lights. I shall have to look around to see what I have.

Here is my friend again.

finished machine quilting

2011-12-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

I've done no sewing today. We went to visit my in laws. Gord's mom just bought herself a laptop. They have not yet gotten connected to the net, but we showed her some of the simple things she could do like loading her photos onto it. She's 75 so it's very exciting. Also, my mom, who is the same age, just bought herself a Notebook and is learning to email.
I finished the machine quilting on this last night. Now, I have to sew in the threads and get the binding done.

Some of you may get sick of this if you're not a bird lover. In winter, I will often post pictures of the visitors to my deck feeders. It has been a few years since I've had a dove at my feeder, and this one has been staying around for most of the day. I feel as though it is watching us through the window.

trail walk and the birds

2011-12-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

I've just had a couple of very down days, feeling pretty fatigued with nausea and heart palpitations. Stress is very hard on a person with Addison's, and it's not always easy to know when an extra dose of cortisone is needed. I felt better today though.
Gord and I went for a walk down the NB Trail and I took the time to stop and feed the chickadees and even a nuthatch. The nuthatch is even smaller than the chickadee. You can hear it coming as it makes a funny little squeak.

When we went into the house we found this mourning dove sitting and looking at us through he kitchen window. I find doves so beautiful. It is sitting on the rim of the heated birdbath that my son gave me one Christmas. I've spent much time peering through my window at the various birds that use it.

These little friends of mine give me a real sense of peace.

ho, ho, hum kind of day

2011-12-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

My day started with the best of intentions, as I lay abed thinking about the storm we were getting. I wouldn't be going anywhere today. On my list was Christmas pudding and finishing the machine quilting on my baby quilt. This is what my kitchen window looked like this morning.

After spending the day in the car yesterday, I was feeling fatigued and foggy brained at breakfast. While trying to clear my head, I put out a few of my Santas that I have made and collected over the years..

The Christmas pudding recipe was given to me by a friend last year, and I knew it was easy enough to do despite my foggy brain. It is a very simple steamed pudding that I put into tin cans which go into a covered pot on top of the stove. Apparently they have changed the bottoms on some cans. Usually I take the can opener to the bottom once cooked and simply push the loaf out. However, the opener wouldn't work on these ones, so I had to coax them out the top. As you can see one broke.

There will still be lots for Christmas and now I will just have to eat the bits I cut off to straighten it out to-night at dinner time . Perhaps a little ice cream will do in lieu of the sauce I usually make for Christmas dinner. It is a simple, light, molasses pudding with whole cranberries in it. I like it in place of my traditional recipe which I find is much too rich. My scanner was giving me problems today too. If anyone really wants the recipe just ask and I'll type it up
When it started to clear this afternoon the female downy wood pecker was back at the feeder.

I managed to get the main part of the quilt done and started on the borders after lunch. I chose to do circles to mimic the polka dots. I realized when I finally got the first side done that it would take some time. Perhaps I should have chosen a looser simpler design. That idea became reality when I realized that I had caught up t he backing for about 10 inches. Well, normally it's not too hard to pick it apart and re do the section but, with the circles I had gone round them a couple of times. I will have to pick apart the whole section or it will look terrible. I'm tempted to pick it all out but I'm already more than half way around.

My other project is also in the midst of change. I did sit with my cup of tea and pick the first borders off. Now I'm auditioning 2 more. I really think I'll go with the one on the top. It was my first choice.

I'd like to get at it, however, my sewing machine is all set up for machine quilting; I guess I'm just going to have to sit and start picking out the stitches. I'm thinking positive! It's not about what gets finished, right? I need to sit quietly with the seam ripper, the quilt in my lap, and relax.

Lucky days

2011-12-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

We just got in from a round trip to Moncton (about 2 1/2 hrs one way) to get our car fixed. Despite an iffy weather forecast the roads were good both ways. Once we got within an hour of Bathurst the landscape turned white but the roads were clear.
Last night was our guild Christmas dinner and a lucky night for me. Some of the members were ready to ban me from the draws though. First there was a draw for this lovely Christmas pillow made and donated by a friend of mine. I was so excited when my numbers matched. Then on the very next draw I won again, a bag of matching Christmas fabric.

And just the day before I got an email form The Red Door Studio announcing that I had won her draw for this new book by Janet Clare.

It's been a busy couple of days . All that I have to show is the machine quilting that I got started on my baby quilt.

I was pleasantly surprised by the design taht resulted on the back. It's actually a little deeper yellow. I had trouble getting a picture that showed the stitching. I'm about 3/4 finished, so if it's a snow day tomorrow as they're forecasting I may get it done.

I'm linking to WIP Wednesday.

snowman

2011-12-05T05:03:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post to show the snowman block that I did as the block of the month on the weekend for our guild Christmas dinner meeting tomorrow night. We draw names for the winner of the blocks. Won't it make a cute quilt?

The second thing I did was to put the border on this piece (after a consultation and consensus) using the quilt as you go method as I have already quilted the center part. Once I got home form our UFO day and looked at the picture again in my last post, I questioned my choice. To change it is a bit more work because the sections of batting are zigzagged on. Still one has to be satisfied, especially to continue with it. i would welcome any other opinions on this.

This will be a busy week. I must get ready for a funereal today; a good friend's daughter passed away on Friday. It is so very sad when one so young (30 yrs) dies unexpectedly. We are all at a loss.
Then, if the weather holds I'll be away for a day.
Also, we recently got our feeders and heated birdbath set up for the winter. Among the usual chickadees and bluebirds, we have a pair of woodpeckers visiting. This makes me happy.

fantasy garden gel print

2011-12-02T06:14:00.000-08:00

I needed a little distraction this morning after receiving some very sad news from a friend. Friday is my day for errands, groceries and lunch with friends. It is also lovely and sunny out, but I am too shaky to walk, so I pulled out this little piece that I was doing in early fall. I need to choose a border to add to it. I've chosen two possibilities and I'd love some in put. I think I may be leaning towards one and I'm also wondering of I should add some paint effects or simply machine quilt it to let the center be the main focus.

sketching, needle lace, thread painting

2011-11-30T11:14:00.000-08:00

Now that I've mostly finished my Christmas sewing, I was anxious to go on to some fun stuff. After my swim this morning and then my lunch, I sat down with my cup of tea and did this little sketch of a birch branch with moss on it. The moss covered branch has been sitting on the dining table for a few weeks. Isn't it wonderful how our husbands will put up with all manner of flotsam and jetsam and sewing bits all over the house?

I stretched a piece of fine green tulle over a hoop, chose some thread, and went to work with some free motion stitching. As you can see below, i simply outline my shape and then fill in with stitch. It's not exactly the color of green that I want, but when you live 2 1/2 hours form a fabric store, you make do. Once I layer on some other colors of thread, it will become more realistic.

Here you can see that I've added black which is meant to be the darkest parts as well as the holes. Next, to make it more realistic I will add some different shades of green and grey.

I then pulled out my birch tree rubbing that some of you may recognize from earlier in the fall. Since I had the black thread on my machine, I added another layer of stitching to the tree. As you may notice, I ran out of bobbin thread close to the bottom. I took that as a good time to stop and add a bit of color with my Neocolor II pastels. It's amazing to see how much color there is on a birch when you examine.

I am linking to the The Needle and Thread Network for WIP Wednesday.

screen prints

2011-11-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

I did my bit of cursory housecleaning this morning and then went out for a couple of errands. I'm feeling quite fatigued this afternoon, so I'm shortly going to stretch out.
Here is the pillow that I stitched up yesterday from one of my prints. You may notice that I have it tucked under a bit on the bottom. I was a little too generous in my measuring and will have to take it in a bit.

I thought it would be fun to make a few Christmas cards, so I just tried screening a few. The paint is still wet here. I may add some more details with a pen, perhaps snowflakes or some berries with the chickadee.

I hope you're having a great Monday!

a nice weekend

2011-11-27T16:47:00.000-08:00

It was a satisfying weekend. Yesterday, Gord and I did some errands and visited his parents for lunch. Then we came home and did some yard work, tying up trees and putting up Christmas lights. It was so nice to do when it was not freezing outside. Before I wrapped my Holly bush in burlap, I cut a few branches with berries. I think I will use them in an arrangement for the front step.

Today, we went out for breakfast, something we haven't done in a while. We shared a vegetarian omelet at the Nectar. After that I put Chef Michael Smith's sweet potatoe vegetarian chili in the crock pot. My nephew is taking a chef's course and has met him a couple of times. We ate the chili for supper and it was delicious. As I often do, I added a few extra veggies--celery, mushrooms and zucchini. I also put both green and red pepper.

I did do some sewing today, my day wouldn't be complete without it, but I haven't yet taken a picture of one thing and the other I can't show as it is a gift.
Also, this afternoon I attended a lovely 90th birthday party for a lady friend. She often comes to our Friday lunch with her daughter. She was a war bride and was quite excited to introduce me to several other of her war bride friends who were attending and told me where each one had come from. She sure is perky for 90!

my wonky house

2011-11-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Friday is my errand and lunch with friends day, so I didn't get much accomplished. The first chore of the day was to pack up and mail a pair of boxing gloves to my daughter in South Korea. She has found a boxing club near her apartment.
Also, I followed a sale flier ad and found a nice warm pair of boots on for half price. Considering I'm very difficult to fit and hate shopping, I'm pretty pleased.
Once home later this afternoon, I put the finishing bits on the wonky house that I'm sending off for this block draw at the Love, Laugh, Quilt blog. It sounded fun and quick to do, although I have to admit I haven't done the free form style house before and it's not as easy as it looks. You'd think that since you don't have to measure or cut straight lines that it would be easy but not so. It was fun to do though. I'll be sending mine off later this week.
Here is the link to the blog where I got my wonky house idea.

Swimming day and sewing with a friend

2011-11-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

I went for my usual Wednesday morning swim at the pool today. It is a warm salt water pool with a sauna and a whirlpool where my friend Elise and I have been going for a while. For me it's almost as good as getting a massage, you feel so relaxed when you come out.
Before I went out, I screen printed these 2 pieces using Thermofax screens made here. They are both going to be used in Christmas gifts. I drew the flowers from a bouquet that was given to me, and I have no idea what they are.

Then I was invited to my friend's for lunch and some sewing time. I neglected to take my camera, so again, I missed out on getting a picture of her quilt. She is doing a 'quilt as you go' Christmas quilt. I really must try that some day. I took my Winter quilt which you will recognize if you have followed my blog, and I finished sewing on the binding. In each of the corner blocks I am embroidering snowflakes. These were timely as while I was nestled into the sofa beside the fire, I noticed the first flakes of snow falling outside. We are getting just a small part of the big snowstorm that the more southern areas of the Maritimes are getting.

I am linking toWIP Wendesday.

a cutting piecing day

2011-11-21T12:56:00.000-08:00

I had an early doctor's appointment this morning and came home just before noon. When my friend Elise called and wanted some help with the guild block of the month, I told her to come right after lunch. I helped her, while at the same time cutting some of my own fabric for the next (very easy) apron I plan to make. She inspired me to do the block of the month which I don't usually get around to. December's block is a snowman's head set into a star. I got busy and cut the pieces out for that too.

Then at my snack time, I sat and checked for new blog posts and this one from Love, Laugh, Quilt got me going again. I've always wanted to do try wonky houses and the idea of trying one and sending it off into blog land was irresistible! I dragged out my basket of scraps and sat to play. You can see that in my zest to add the roof, I neglected the background next to each side of the house. No problem, I'll just snip a quarter inch from the seam and add it on.
As you may notice in my wonky house block, I was so anxious to get the roof on, that I forgot the sides which should have gone on first. Oh well, I only need to snip a quarter inch and I can add them on. Isn't it wild? I think I'll put a green for the background color and then perhaps a bright sky. This was fun. Maybe you'll join in?

2 finishes

2011-11-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

I went to my guild's UFO day yesterday, and I was on a mission. I was so intent to finish the dreaded apron that I didn't even take any pictures of some of the projects the others were working on. And it was a crowded room too with lots of things on the go. I know, it's mean of me to say that when I have nothing to show! I did finish the apron which I want to put in the mail later this week to my mom. I would like her to have it for the December entertaining season.

The second thing I finished up today is the serger cover that I made for a friend. You've seen the quilted front (many times) while I worked on it. I managed after a rather woozy start this morning (some days are just like that for me) to get it put together. I had the lining made and the front and back pieces cut for the outside already. I tried and miss cut twice for the long piece that goes up and over the machine. Although I ended up having to use a different fabric than intended, I'm pleased with it.

This week I will move on to a couple more gifts in between a few appointments I can scarcely believe it is alomost the end of November!.

knitting

2011-11-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much sewing this week other than my Christmas apron that caused me such trouble on Wednesday. It's been a week of recovery, errands and appointments.

I did manage to get in a little knitting during my down time and I finished this shrug. My picture, I see now is a little blurred but there are no details to see at least. I think it is quite pretty and I hope my son's girlfriend will like it. My daughter, who is not always the most tactful girl, says they're out of style. It's really just an extra part to her gift. I so like to do handmade things. We'll see.
Tomorrow is a guild UFO day and I plan to attend. I'm taking 2 gifts that I'm working on, the dreaded apron and the little beach houses that I will put into a serger cover. It should be a good day as it's always fun to spend time with fellow quilters and stitches.
I wish everyone a lovely weekend. The weather here has turned cold. Three were snowflakes in the air today!

what a day

2011-11-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

I've had one of those 'I should have stayed in bed kind of days'. It started out looking good. I was up early, the sun was shining, I got my bed clothes washed and on the line
The plan was to do a little sewing on a Christmas apron I decided to make as a gift. The pattern came from one of my books. I got the front and the lining cut out, sewed the darts as directed and that is when it started. No matter what I tried I couldn't get the top to fit right with the bottom so I called a friend who actually sews aprons to sell for some help. Well, she couldn't figure it out either, but she at least confirmed that my idea to fix it would be OK.

I then worked on my little beach huts, putting on a little beading and some embroidery. I believe I will call it done and you won't see it again now until I get sewn into the serger cover it is meant for. One good thing.

I made a stop at the grocery store and was hoping to get home in time for a walk--all my fussing with the apron ate up my day. On my way home I got pulled over and I couldn't even imagine what for. It was my registration; it expired the end of October. Just the other day on the news they said that the government has decided to re-start sending out the reminder notices for registrations, as too many people were forgetting to re-new. I thought great, that will be good and I still didn't think to check. You see here in Nb, until a couple of years ago, we received the new registration form in the mail and one would always know it needed to be done. Then, the government decided as a cost saving measure to stop sending them out. I'm sure the police welcome it. They must be making money!
So, I got fined $172, and I was late getting home for my 3PM pill and my snack. Since I'm diabetic, I was shaking and getting a head ache. I've had my snack while I'm sitting here. I'm too weak to walk and I've missed the sun anyway. I'll have supper and go out later in the dark. It will still be good to get out.
Forgive me if I sound whiny; I know it could be worse. I'm going to put it behind me, well except for the fine which I have 6 months to pay, thank goodness.

knitting

2011-11-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

I am still feeling the effects of being ill last week. The laryngitis and the sinus infection are almost gone but because of my other underlying health issues, I collapse part way through the day. I have lots of knitting for Christmas on the go anyway. This is a little bolero that I finished. I need to sew it together and put the last ruffle edge on it.

Yesterday, it was so nice that we walked at another golf course in town. It was beautiful.

I will be doing less quilting and more sewing and knitting for Christmas for the next while. I found this free pattern for an apron and I think I may do a couple for gifts. The first thing I will do is draw up a paper pattern to make it easier.
For now though, I must go rest. Don't forget to leave a comment if you'd like a magazine mentioned in my last post.

machine quilting finish

2011-11-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

Just look at the huge dressing that they put on my finger! I'm anxious to take it off but when I thought about it, I realized that the stitches are on top of the joint, so it's being protected with the dressing. I can sew, though I've been being lazy since I'm on antibiotics for the sinus. It's tricky to type. And boy my hand looks old!

I was anxious to sew today though. I finished up the machine quilting around the houses and started the quilting in the border.

I looked through some designs first, tried some samples, then started the machine quilting. Then I didn't like it and ripped it out. I tried some more designs on scraps and went back to the borders. I'm semi OK with it but not really happy so I stopped. It doesn't show very well that I'm doing starfish with meandering in between.

I am still cleaning out magazines. I have 4 Quilting Arts, issues 17,18, 19, and 20, and 3 Cloth Paper Scissors, issues 2, 3, and 4 that I'm willing to part with. If you want one, leave me a comment and after a week or so I'll send some out. I might like to put 2 in a pack and if more than one person wants then, I'll draw names.

a smidgen of thread painting

2011-11-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

My Friday lunch girls switched to today since everything is closed on Remembrance Day. While out, I had to pick up a few groceries and a prescription. Between that and still not feeling back to par, I only did a bit of sewing. I originally had the idea to make needle lace for the seaweed and stitch it on, but then I thought why not just thread paint right on the scene. For the bit of seaweed in the foreground, I used two threads in the needle, so it would add 2 colors at once and fill in faster. I thought that since I had batting on the back that I wouldn't need the hoop. As you may notice it did pucker some, but I think it will be fine once I iron it and add some bead work. I'm not going to go overboard on the embellishing because this is going to be incorporated into a sewing machine cover.

The embellishing is my favorite part though so I will probably still add quite a bit, maybe a starfish and maybe some pink roses into those bushes by the rear cottage.
I'm linking up to the Needle and Thread Network for WIP Wednesday.

fused beach huts

2011-11-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

I've had a nagging laryngitis for about a week which I attributed to the heaters now being on regularly in the house. I always have a bit of an adjustment to that. However, I awoke yesterday morning with another headache, my voice was worse, and I knew form experience that I had a sinus infection. I started to feel quite ill by mid morning, so I knew I had to increase my dose of cortef and rest up.
Today, I got a prescription for an antibiotic at the clinic. I've been sinus rinsing with the Neti pot twice a day which is very effective in cleaning out any infection.
I was so bored yesterday. I really only felt like lying around. I finished a book and then tried to knit. Has anyone else checked out daytime TV lately? It's pretty bad. I have nothing I can show for my day yesterday as my knitting projects are for Christmas presents.

This afternoon, I re-visited a piece I started earlier in the fall.. I had decided to take off 1 tree and change the border.
I did that; I'm happy with it now. I started the tedious process of stitching down all the fused parts. I was about halfway or so through that process when I thought of doing all the outlining in black which makes it resemble an ink sketch. It was too late though. I suppose I could have gone over what I had done but there was only a little bit left.

The next step will be to add the free motion quilting lines on the beach around the houses, quilt the border and do a little embellishing at the front, perhaps a few beads and stitching to represent some seaweed, shells and such..

Our weekend

2011-11-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

Gord and I never venture away from the house much for our meals. We are vegetarian and it's not easy to find restaurants to eat here. We had heard about this one in a small village called Petit Rocher just about a half hour north of here, so we set out around 4:30 yesterday for a drive.Once there,we drove out to the wharf for a picture. I love the rock formations.

The name of the restaurant, Coeur D'aAishow, is a play on words. in French artichoke is l'artichaud. It is actually a bistro that has entertainment on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, the only times it is open. It is a quaint little arty place where they have 1 or 2 things on the menu each night and it is all made from scratch.
The waiter said they even cook their own kidney beans for the vegetarian chili. We were there at 5PM and so ordered and ate before the place filled up at 6:30 for the night. After we placed our order for tomato basil soup and a veggie pita pizza, the waiter actually sang in the middle of the restaurant. It was a beautiful song by Barry Manilow taken from a new CD of his called Paradise Cafe. We laughed about it after; we where the only English people there.The meal was wonderful though, and we left in time for the French speaking customers to fill it up for the night's entertainment.
This picture we took in Beresford when we stopped at my in laws on the way home.
Today, we decided to go golfing . We actually wore our winter undershirts and a wind jacket and were very comfortable. There was no one else around. We were able to take our time. Another advantage for this time of year is that when you hit it in the water you don't always lose your ball. We laughed when it hit the pond and stayed up on the thin ice! It looked like it was a magical floating golf ball!

While I intended to paint again today, I'm heading off for a soak right now and will likely collapse after supper. I'm so glad to have leftover spicy coconut soup for supper!

winter is in the air, the last flowers

2011-11-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's a lovely sunny but cold day out there today. I think what makes it seem so cold is the way that our temperatures have been fluctuating. One goes out in a thin jacket one day and is totally unprepared the next day for the cold. Oh well, it is only about 6 weeks until the first day of winter. Dare I say that word?
This morning I saw the plastic surgeon and I'm booked this Thursday to have a synovial (caused by osteoarthritis) cyst removed. It shouldn't take long and will require a few stitches. Luckily it is on my left hand.
After lunch, I did this little paint sketch of a small stalk of sedum, Autumn Joy, from my front walkway. It is the only real bit of color left in the yard right now.

While I really enjoyed all the colorful exuberance of summer's flowers, I must admit that I love the soft colors that come in November, all the soft greys, blues, beiges and the pastel, heathery pinks that you see in the sky and sometimes in the trees once the leaves are gone.

mixed media work and prints

2011-11-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Today, I picked up 2 of my original mixed media pieces that I had matted. I also received some cellophane bags that I ordered, so that I can package up the prints that I had done. I had them done at a professional printer and they are 8 1/2 by 11 inches. For now I will put them in the local shop but I'm aspiring to start an Etsy shop sometime after Christmas for my prints, my cards and my fiber art quilts.
If anyone is interested in the prints you can certainly email me.

screen printed cushion

2011-11-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

Besides getting groceries this morning and then making a spicy coconut soup for supper, I put this cushion together this afternoon. There is enough slack, I think, to allow me to go back on top with a thin line of top stitching around the outside edge. Now that it is done (a friend has requested it), I can get going on some Christmas gifts.

WIP wednesday

2011-11-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's another lovely sunny day out there even though it's a bit nippy and there was frost on the car windshield when I went out at 10AM. I went for my usual Wednesday swim, came home for lunch and then sat down here at the computer with my cup of tea.
Shortly, I have to go back out to get my flu shot. I'll not be getting much else done today.

Just so that I can link up with the Needle and Thread Network for WIP Wednesday, I am including my final picture of my seashell wall hanging. It is completely finished. I promise, I won't be showing it again. On Friday, I will take it to our local craft shop.

Winner, magazines

2011-11-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

I've been a little quiet here for a few days. Except for one seriously stormy day on Sunday, it has been nice, so I've been doing a little outdoor work in the yard. On Sunday night as promised, I did the draw for the magazines and they are going to this blogger.
On the weekend, I did some garden clean up in 2 of my small gardens up near the house. Today, I went out again to clean up the hostas and pull out some weeds in the garden at the back corner that I can see from my sewing room window. Another day, I will tackle the ones at the front of the house. Really, I should have done them first but I look out my windows at the back gardens from both my kitchen and my sewing room.

On the weekend, I also went to a quilt show in a little place on the Acadian Peninsula called Inkerman. I'm sure the population is only several hundred, but they sure did a wonderful job at all of the displays. When we arrived, the parking lot was full. People had come from all around. I was reminded twice by my friend to bring my camera and still I didn't get any pictures! If you'd like to see great pictures, go here to my friend Wendy's blog for a wonderful narrative of the show.
Now, I'm going to make a cup of tea and sit down to hand sew the binding onto my seashell piece.

last day for magazine giveaway

2011-10-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

I'm going out to my in laws for supper and will make the draw for the magazines later to-night. I'll take entries by way of comments until then. If your interested, you can scroll down to last week's posts to see them.

It's sort of a blustery cold day. We've had some wet snow; other areas have gotten more I believe. I'm still in my pajamas as I've been working away at my seashell piece. I think I'm finished except for the backing and the binding.
This morning I did a couple more little bits of embroidery and beading. When I was putting things away, I found my little sketch and noticed I had drawn some fish, so I decided to add them. One thing leads to another. Earlier, I had cut out some sparkly tulle strips so I put those on too. I'm not sure if you'll be able to see them or not. You can see the lines of stitching though at an angle to the fish.

baby quilt border, some hand work, and the giveaway

2011-10-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those relaxed and lovely days. It was sunny, windy, a little cool and perfect for hanging out clothes. I don't know why, but that is a job that I really enjoy, pinning up each piece just so to the clothes line. I used cloth diapers when my children were young when everyone else was using Pampers, and it was always so satisfying to see the line full of those white rectangles of flannel.
So, I got the clothes out, and then I made a mixed up a 12 grain bread and started baked beans. The bread turned out perfectly; it looks small because the pans were really a little too big for the size of each loaf.

This afternoon, I put 3 inch borders on the baby quilt. I found a piece of fabric for the backing but I will have to pick up batting tomorrow. I plan to machine quilt it myself.
After that, I made myself a cup of tea with a side of fresh bread and molasses (this is why I can't make bread too often) and spent the rest of my time working on the embroidery and beading of this piece. I still have a little more to do but I am happier with it now.

I had a couple of comments yesterday about the machine quilting so I'm adding a close up of the outside border. It is a continuous shell design.

Finally, don't forget if you comment, I'll put your name in for the 2 magazines in this post. I'll make the draw on Sunday night.

pool day, painted seashell, giveaway

2011-10-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I would not have imagined that I would feel like going to my weekly swim at the spa today, but I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning, so I went. Also,I was very achy form lying about yesterday. The salt water pool, the whirlpool and the sauna fixed that.

Then, I had to mail something and go to a hair appointment which means all I have to show today is my seashell with the little bit of gold removed. I was bothered yesterday by how pale the picture looked so I removed one little bit and added some more color using the Neocolor II crayons. I am happier with it now. I find the shell, the rocks and the seaweed stand out a little better. Now, when I can sit down , I can go back to embellishing.
Don't forget to leave a comment of you'd like to have the 2 magazines I showed yesterday.

seashell art quilt --hand embellishing; a magazine giveaway

2011-10-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

As promised I've taken a picture of my seashell. Once I had a look at it, I decided that I'm not happy with the gold that is in between the seashells at the front and I want to change the placement of the tulle above the shells. You may be able to see it in the detail photo if you enlarge it.

I may get to it today or not. I'm coming down with a bit of a cold. The cold itself does not seem too bad, but due to my adrenal issues, I'm very fatigued and achy. I've been sorting through some magazines this morning. This afternoon I may stretch out for a bit.
It occurred to me in the late summer that it was my 2 year blogging anniversary. It was shortly after that when I lost part of my blog and got wrapped up in fixing that. It has been on my mind to do something for a giveaway, but now Christmas is drawing near and I'm caught up in creative gift making.
This morning, as I went through my magazines I culled out a few as my collection is growing. These 2 are the Quilting Arts/Cloth Paper Scissors Christmas Gift Ideas from 2010. What better time than now to offer them as a giveaway.

Leave me a comment before Sunday the 30th of October, 9pm EST. I will choose one and mail you the 2 magazines.
I also have some other Quilting Arts magazines from 2005 and I will offer some of those in the future if anyone is interested.

retreat week

2011-10-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

Well, my week of retreats is over. I spent the weekend from Friday afternoon until Sunday 3PM at our local guild's fall retreat. We stayed in dorm style rooms at a resource center here in town. Nonetheless, I was very careful to pack everything I needed so that I wouldn't have to leave once there. That way you really feel like you're away. It was so wonderful to spend the weekend int the company of other quilters of all ages and walks of life who all share a common interest in quilting. Our snacks and meals were announced so all we had to do was get up from our machines and go eat. On Saturday night many of us put on our pajamas early. It is quite the picture to look around the room at all the women sitting at their machines in pajamas! I retired by my usual time around 10 each night but many stayed up till around 2AM.
Here are some of the women at work.
I was so happy to have finished the machine quilting and get the binding on my Winter quilt. It is a quilt to which my quilting friends each contributed a block. In return I did one for each of their quilts. This was a few years ago so it is about time to get it done. It will be so nice to have it out on my sofa this year. The only left is to hand sew the binding and add a few embroidered details.

Then I machine quilted my seashell wall hanging. When I needed a break from the machine, I was able to start some of the embellishing. I didn't get a picture of it yet. Night time doesn't work well for photos. I'll take one tomorrow.
On Sunday, I started working on a quilt that will be a gift, so sorry, once again I am unable to show it.
I do have a few pictures of retreat quilts.
The first two shown below were done by the same lady, one for a son, one for a daughter.

This Dresden Plate quilt is made by my friend, Wendy, using men's shirts. I did get a picture with all of the sashings in place but the color was better in this one. Even so, it doesn't do it justice; it is such a soft and pretty quilt.
This next quilt was done by Yvon. She arrived with each block done and layered with batting and she completed it as a quilt as you go quilt (each block) over the weekend. She sewed down all of the tiny sashings by hand. Amazing!

We already booked the weekend for 2012.

another retreat

2011-10-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm busy today, packing for another retreat starting tomorrow, Friday, until Sunday afternoon, so no sewing as I didn't even unpack my machine form earlier this week.
I did pull out my baby quilt and take a picture of it. I got the pattern from this u tube video here.

quilter's retreat

2011-10-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

I got back around 6:30 last night from our semi annual group of 12 retreat which is always graciously held at our friend Paula's camp. It is situated on a lake in the wilderness, about an an hour's drive from town. We drive up on an unpaved road, and thus far in about a dozen years, we have had only 2 flat tires. Oddly enough, it has happened both times to Wendy. It was discovered while loading the car to get ready to leave yesterday, and just like the first time, with some cooperation from the group, the girls got the tire changed.
This was the view out the front window right beside where I was set up.

We get set up by around 10AM the first day and some work until midnight (not me). I quit around 9PM and then pulled out some knitting. We end up bunking everywhere-- the beds, the floor on mattresses, the hide-a-bed, and a cot.

By the 2nd morning, we are starting to hang our finished things on the 'wall of fame'. You can see that I got my baby blocks together.

Wendy was working on a Dresden plate made from worn men's shirts. The colors were so soft and subtle.

It seems like such a lot of work while we're packing to get ready, and every year it seems to take more effort, but the chatter, the laughter, the food and the camaraderie between friends makes it all worthwhile. We are all of different ages and walks of life, but we have a wonderful bond because of our love of quilting.

pumpkin and fall fascinators

2011-10-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this quick post to let you know about the painted pumpkin in the rain. I ended up moving it into the house and will put it out on sunny days. It wasn't the gesso that came off, although it will scrape off if you rub it, it was the supposed permanent Sharpie pen that started to run in the rain.
Today, I went to my guilds UFO day. My friend, Anne, who has more energy than she knows what to do with, brought supplies to make Hallowe'en and fall inspired 'fascinators'. and as if that wasn't enough, she put together a chocolate trifle that was to die for.

We were all so excited about the craft project that I only took pictures of the hats and the dessert!

Here's mine up close. There is a hair clip with a piece of felt hot glued to it and everything else is glued to that. It all came from the dollar store. Some peaople glued theirs to a hair band. Mine is just a clip.

I may not post again until later in the week as I will be getting ready for my 2 day retreat tomorrow and will be gone Monday and Tuesday.

thread painted birch

2011-10-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Today, I swapped out the seashell for the birch tree. I've got the seashell up on my wall with fabric scraps pinned to it while I decide which color to choose for some appliqued seaweed. I t might help me decide if I take a picture and put it on the computer...perhaps tomorrow.

I took a picture of the birch tree rubbing as I began to thread paint it. I remembered, though, as I got going , that I wanted to add some paint to some areas, so I stopped and did that using Neocolor II water soluble crayons.

While that dried I took out some oil pastels, the Neocolor II again, and did this quick scribble in my sketchbook.

This morning I bought some paint in the same colors. My plan is to paint on an old plywood door to hang in my living room. I got this idea to paint something in a sort of abstract style which I have never done before. I'm sure once I get going it will look totally different. I just wanted to get an idea to start with. I have lots of textural things to stamp with and some thermofax screens of trees.My husband cut a little off the door, filled the hollow spots, and is now working on sanding it.

I ironed the birch tree and went back to do some more thread painting. I took this picture at a bit of an angle so the camera picked up a little of the sparkle form the silver Shiva Paintstick.

I was surprised by the door bell yesterday when a friend stopped by to give me a belated birthday gift (it was last week). She gave me this cup that was made by a mutual friend of ours. Her Etsy shop is here.

pumpkin a la Alisa Burke

2011-10-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Last night, I retrieved my pumpkin from the front step and started drawing leaves on it, an inspiration that came from a tutorial by artist and blogger, Alisa Burke. She makes it look so easy. It's not that easy to draw free hand on a pumpkin and it took me about a half hour or so to paint the white. I didn't have white paint; I thought gesso might do. I'm not sure though if it is weather proof. We'll find out when it rains tomorrow.
The stacked wooden pumpkin in the background was birthday gift last weekend form my son's girlfriend. There is a light inside of it--very cool at night.
For those who may have followed me for a while, you will know that one can never predict what I will work on from one day to the next. There are many and various projects lying and hanging around my room. After getting all the pieces of the baby blocks mostly done yesterday, , I was free today to do something else today. The baby quilt blocks will be good to put together at my 2 day retreat next Monday and Tuesday.

This afternoon, I cut and sewed the curvy borders for this seashell piece which took me a good hour. I cut them with the rotary cutter, marked the matching edges, snipped the curves and pinned every 1/2 inch. Once done, I quickly sewed on the outside green border. It is now ready for machine quilting. I may add some applique seaweed first though. There will be lots of embellishing added after it is quilted, some by machine, some by hand. It is a work in progress that I will come back and forth to as I work on other things.
I'm linking linking (every Wednesday) to the Needle and Thread Network.

tree rubbings

2011-10-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

My sewing machine was calling to me today, but the sun was shining so brightly I knew I should take advantage and get outside. I grabbed my camera, a couple of paint sticks, and some fabric. This was not a cardio walk! I stopped every few moments to take pictures and I even did a couple of tree bark rubbings.
Here is one section near the beginning of the trail. This is about 5 minutes from my house.

I have no real plans to do this right away but I envision some sort of a hanging with various textures of trees, perhaps with needle painted moss or leaves appliqued on top. This rubbing is of a birch tree. I used a silver Shiva Paint stick, so it must cure overnight and then be ironed. I haven't tried it before; I'm hoping that I can add a transparent paint over it in a different color before doing some thread painted details.
The tree is first and then the rubbing is the last picture. Sorry it was folded up in my pocket, hence the creases, and it cannot be ironed until it cures.

Thanksgiving weekend so far

2011-10-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

I picked up these leaves and the sprig of asters while out for our walk on the NB Trail last night. Gord always makes fun of me because I jsut can't come home without something in my hands or pockets.

Today is sunny and extraordinarily warm for October. Our outside thermometer read 26 C. Gord did 9 holes this morning with his dad and our youngest, Jeremy (we got 1 out of 3 home) --3 generations and grandpa usually wins! Then, I met Gord and Jeremy at 1:00 o'clock and went out with them for 9 holes. What a beautiful afternoon! I couldn't ask for anything more on Thanksgiving weekend than to golf with my family. Since we were all out golfing we're ordering pizza for supper. I made a salad as a side, so it's partway healthy, right?

This morning I made these pumpkin cupcakes. I found the recipe here while browsing blogs the other day. The only thing I changed (I always have to do something different) was the topping; I used peanuts and coconut , just because it's what I had in the pantry. Also, I used Greek yogurt which I left to drain instead of cream cheese.

I got a few more blocks mostly sewn. I have the final strips cut except for one that I want to get form my mother-in-law tomorrow. I'm anxious to finish it now but I'll have to wait. Oh, I know the blues are all centered. I just randomly stuck them up as I went along. Once they're all done, I'll re-arrange.

the week flew by

2011-10-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

It is such a trite statement, but so true! I have little idea of where the week went! I didn't do much that was creative since Tuesday until today. I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and so, took advantage of being out to do a few errands. Yesterday, was my birthday and I actually went for groceries and then in the afternoon, for a walk with a friend.
Today was my usual lunch day, and I also did a few errands. I went to Frenchies and found two fabric belts that I can use in my yoga mat bags that I'm making as Christmas presents. In this picture you can see the muslin prototype which I cut following the measurements of my mat. I added a couple of inches plus 1/4 inch seam allowances to the circumference and about three extra inches to the length. It has a silk screened pocket with the Om symbol added to the piece of muslin. I wonder if anyone can see the mistake I've made. You'll see at the end of the post.

Next, I folded the raw edges back wrong sides together 1/4 of an inch and zigzagged them. I don't want them to fray and I don't have serger.
Here, you can see it pinned right sides together with the 2 belts showing. You can just barely see the folded and zigzagged edges. I cut the green belt near the buckle, leaving about 8 inches of strap and stitched it into the seam at the bottom. The other piece I stitched into the top of the bag. I've also sewn a tube at the top to run a cord through.

In this picture it is mostly finished and I know what to do differently in the next one. It is a little long, although I do plan to insert a drawstring cord at the top. Also, not being a good planner, I can now see that the pocket should have been set to one side in the 1st step, instead of centered so that it would be centered on the front, dah! It's hard to put anything itno it. I will make the next bigger and perhaps add a pleat.

I'm expecting my son and his girlfriend to-night until Sunday. We hope to golf tomorrow and perhaps do breakfast and a nature walk on Sunday.
Happy thanksgiving to all the Canadian readers!

coneflower sketch

2011-10-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

Since reading this post the other day on the blog Dion, Dior and More, I've wanted to try her method of working on black gesso with Neocolor II crayons.Today, I gave it a try with a quick sketch of my fading cone flowers. The only thing I had to change was the background. Having no black gesso, I used black acrylic paint. I suspect the gesso would have held the crayons better but mine seemed to work quite well. I did have to do several layers though. My lines are thick because I couldn't quickly find a brush that I wanted to put in the 'maskit', so I used the squeeze bottle nozzle and it came out in blotches.
Here is my first attempt. It would be worth it to get the right gesso.

our local craft shop

2011-10-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I did my volunteer time at Chal Baie, our local craft shop at the downtown waterfront. It is so pretty there this time of year.

These geese were near my car when I pulled up to park. They let me take a few pictures but slowly made their way to the water.

The decorations and fall colors put me in a good mood. We had a good bit of traffic through today too, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that another of my wall hangings sold on the weekend. I found this photo of the center of it. Somewhere, I have one of the whole piece but this shows most of it anyway except the binding.

These are some of my things for sale:

I don't know if it is my computer or blogger but it takes forever now to upload my photos. Does anyone else have this problem?

saving sunday

2011-10-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

I just read another blogger's post here about saving Sunday which is exactly what I did today, even before I read the blog. This was the first Sunday in a while that we didn't go golfing or even out, except for a walk. I felt I needed some downtime, so I made muffins this morning, and after lunch, I made my lower calorie version of chai tea. I simply steep the chai spice tea bag in a mug of heated low fat soy milk and then I add my little twist--about 1/4 teaspoon of dark powdered chocolate and about an equal amount of honey. Milk of any kind is already quite sweet so it doesn't really take much.

I took this to the sofa along with My Quilting Arts magazine and the latest Patricia Cornwell book, Port Mortuary, that I'm reading. I may have dozed off a time or two.
I spent some nice quiet time at home yesterday too after visiting the market in the morning. Gord's dad called him to golf after lunch, and I was only too happy to spend the afternoon in my sewing room. Isn't it nice when the hubby is free to go without guilt? We quilters can certainly can keep ourselves busy.
I started working on a yoga mat bag which is to be a Christmas gift ( I'll have pictures and directions later), and I did a few more blocks for the current baby quilt. It is a fun block to make.

Tomorrow I will be going out to meet friends for coffee and then do my volunteer time at the craft shop downtown. I must try to remember to take my camera to take some pictures.
i hope everyone had a good weekend!

sketching instead of sewing

2011-10-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

Besides the trouble with my blog, my sewing machine is in for repair. I dropped it off in Fredericton when we went down to see off my daughter, which means it is 3 hours away. It is fixed and paid for and I'm hoping a friend may pick it up today. I do have a little Gem Gold I could get out, but for now I've been fixing the blog and doing some sketching.
Yesterday, when I came home after my Friday lunch with friends and errands, I took a break on my deck and did this quick little sketch of the scarlet runner beans. The beans look small because they were. I had picked all the sizable ones earlier in the day.

One post that I did not retrieve was my Thursday, Sept 29th one, so I'm going to add a bit of a summary here.
Tuesday was a most stressful day as we waited by the phone and the computer to hear from my daughter. She did not receive her passport and visa in the mail as was guaranteed, and finally after many phone calls, she got in her car at 3PM and drove the 4 hour return trip to the Canada Post warehouse to pick them up herself. They are sending her money back since she paid for next day delivery.
After seeing my daughter off on her 5:30 AM flight back to Korea on Wed, I was a little down on Thursday. I decided to pack a lunch and my art supplies and head to our local bird sanctuary, Daley Point. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm day. Here is part iof the woodland trail:
I liked this view of the trees across the marsh:

I would have loved to sketch this scene but there was nowhere to sit. Next time I may carry a little camp stool and I asked at the interpretative center if they might move some of the benches.
I love the rose hips this time of year.

I ate my lunch at a covered bench and did this quick little sketch at the same time. Spending time in nature is akin to going to church for me, so I felt much at peace when I came home.
Please bear with me as I continue to fix up some of the older posts. They are there but all have spaces that I must go in and fix. I think I will take a break for today. I might even pull out my little sewing machine later. I've had enough computer time for now.

working on blog

2011-10-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

I could not sleep last night worrying about my blog. At 3 AM I made myself a hot chocolate, read a little and finally went to sleep after that.
So, we recovered most of my posts except the last 2 in Sept and a few in July. It took a lot of work so backing up is recommended. I just have to figure that out now. To think I caused this problem because I was trying to figure out how to add a slideshow ans it wasn't working right. That's when I inadvertently deleted more than the one post.
Posts for the last couple of months may look a little different; I may have to go back and do a little editing. At least I got most of the content.
Now, I just have to figure out how to properly back it up.

2011-10-01T06:05:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

a little painting, a little sewing

I've been a little disappointed in myself because I have not been keeping up with my intentions to do more sketching and painting. It is partly because I don't have the same opportunities that I had in other summers. You just can't take time to sketch on the golf course like you can when you're out hiking and camping which we did not do this summer.

I do, however, have a backyard, albeit small, which is full of flowers and vegetables. Yesterday, I took advantage of the sunshine and took my paints outside. The nasturtiums I did quickly. I can't believe in September the mosquitoes are still biting! I am using my new Koi watercolor set and the colors are quite different than the Windsor and Newton one. I am very lazy when it comes to this stuff. I need to pull the two sets out and do color samples to compare.

It's a little uncomfortable to post this picture because it's flaws are clear to me. A good part of the reason I blog though, besides to inspire other readers, is to document my process. Learning and improving is a part of that and just like when you're learning to speak a new language, you must be willing to speak and make lots of mistakes before becoming fluent.

Next, I picked some veggies for supper. I did this next painting of the beet at the kitchen table.

Finally, I always like a little sewing time even it is just a few seams. I came across this link the other day for an interesting quilt block. I couldn't resist trying it out using a small collection of fabrics I picked up for another baby quilt. The left hand block is sewn together, while the right hand one has not. You can see the 4 sections. The only thing that I would add is to be careful of the bias when ironing once you make the diagonal cuts. I also carefully pinned to match all the seams.

Today, I am waiting for a message from my daughter to let us know if her visa arrived. Her flight back to Korea is still set for tomorrow morning. Talk about cutting it close. We will wait this morning to see if we should make the 3 hour drive to see her off. If it doesn't come today it will be re-booked for later this week. So, I can't do much but pack and wait.

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HollyM

Saturday, September 24, 2011

play time at my daughter's expense

My daughter called from Fredericton yesterday, said she was bored, her friends were all gone for the weekend. Some of then went surfing in Nova Scotia; she opted out since she's not much of a swimmer. At 5:30 she hopped in her car and drove the 3 hours to our home. I was on edge the whole time as it gets dark early now and there are lots of deer and moose about.

She made it safely and this morning we went to the market and stopped at the cafe for tea and a muffin.Then she started sniffling and having sneezing fits which has been going on all day. We're not sure if it's allergies or a cold but she is sure miserable. We cancelled our exercise plans. I had to stay in my sewing room and play for the rest of the afternoon. Oh darn.

I re-visited this gel print, adding some green Inktense pencil behind the flowers. I'm leaving it for a fresh eye but I think I will darken up the green a bit and add some of the same bright green to the bottom right half.

Then, I started playing with another gel print, fusible gluing on some funky houses. I bordered it with a print that I had used to make a friend a sewing machine cover. She wants a serger cover too.

However, when I looked at the pictures on my monitor of the block with and without the border and without the trees, I got another inspiration. I rather like it without the trees and the border. It almost looks like beach huts. I may remove the bottom tree tomorrow and change the border.

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Thursday, September 22, 2011

thermofax screen prints

Wow, it is another lovely and unseasonably warm fall day. I thought it was going to rain today and I am 'carless' (daughter has it until sometime next week). I therefore planned to spend the day messing about with fabric, paints and thermofax screens.I hung out some wash and went for a small walk and then got into the paint.

I had some thermofax screens made from my drawings a couple of months ago here.

It is really addictive once you get started! I did watch her video tutorial which is very helpful. I would add a couple of hints. I found it helpful to use painter's tape to tape the screen down to the padded background board that I was using. That way it stays more stable and by lifting it careful form the bottom off the fabric I could check it. Also, I found with this method I could slide in a 2nd piece of fabric after removing the first one.
I discovered that I could get 2 prints from a screen before cleaning it if I was careful. In the next picture you can see that the paint started to smear under the screen a little. I'm not sure if it was because I tried a third print or because of the surface I was using. It is a piece of paper cloth (tissue paper glued to muslin and painted) so it is quite a textured surface. I think I'll cut it up and stitch on it to make book marks.

I wondered what it would be like to layer one color over another with
the next screen. First, I printed several pieces of various fabrics with
white screen printing paint. I used masking tape to cover the
chickadee.

Next, after washing and drying the screen, I removed the tape form the chickadee and re printed onto the same fabric using black this time.

Finally, this is an example of what not to do. Once you've spread the paint for the first print, then you cannot see to position the screen to do a second over print. so, in this one I ended up with a white branch going through the chickadee.

While I sat eating my lunch I had 2 pans of granola ingredients toasting in the oven. Once done you simply add the honey and spice mix plus some raisins and cranberries and it's done.

My scanner is not working at the moment so I've taken a picture of the recipe. it is from the book, the Vegetarian Bible by Pat Crocker. I think you could read it if you click on it. If anyone can't read it and you really want it, just comment and I'll get a better version.

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Wednesday, September 21, 20

thread painting and mystic woods wall hanging

Yesterday, in between some of my cooking ( I made tomato soup with my fresh tomatoes), I spent a good bit of time with 2 gel prints. I started off with the blue/green one that I will call Fantasy Garden and then went for a bike ride. While out, I decided to snip out what I had done on the seashell yesterday. I then re-did it in a slightly lighter shade of grey which I think is a little better. I didn't add the other lighter colors to the shell yet because I still want to pick up some better shades. I did add some stitching to a few other elements. I think I'm on the right track.

I'm once again in a dilemma with the blue gel print. I love the color scheme and plan to add more bright colors when it comes to the hand stitching. Right now though, the large flowers (they're fantasy flowers) are monochromatic with the background. This is where thread painting differs a little from free motion quilting. You're working over a smaller area and often in more detail. It can be akin to painting when one slowly dabs on color and stands back to assess. I need the flowers to stand out a little more and this is my dilemma, and also why I can be very slow to produce a finished project. I must ponder upon it. Do I add paint, more thread, or perhaps some collaged fabric? Another option is to add paint around the flowers as opposed to the flowers. Decisions, decisions.

The dilemma is real but partly caused by the criticism I received on this piece that I put in a recent show.

It was felt that there is not enough contrast. That's all the detail I got, so I don't know if it is in the gel prints themselves or perhaps between the print and the border. It is called Mystic Woods and I did envision it as a night scene. Usually, I can see something as soon as it is pointed out to me but in this case, I'm not sure. It has definitely made me question my latest print. I would welcome any in put on this.

Here are a few close up shots showing some of the hand stitching.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

house cleaning, errands, baking, some stitching

I spent yesterday doing my usual housework and then some errands; we had a slow leak in one of our tires. While I was out I met a friend at my favorite cafe for lunch. After lunch, my daughter stopped in for a few minutes. She drove all the way up (3 hours) to see the dentist. I was coincidentally making her favorite-- chocolate zucchini loaf, but it wasn't out of the oven before she left. I will take some down for her to take on the plane. It is a recipe that I make every fall. It freezes well wrapped in half loaves, or as I do by 2 slices at a time wrapped individually and sealed in a freezer bag.

The recipe makes 2 regular sized loaves. I've not written all the details. I mixed the wet ingredients, then the zucchini with the mixer and then the dry ingredients.

I just have one small thing to show. I'm not especially pleased with it at this point. At the moment I find the stitching is too dark. It may simply be that I need to continue with the rest of the thread painting and add some light and medium values. The problem is that I seem to have no lighter values in the colors I want, in both my cotton and silk threads. Normally, since I can't buy the thread here in town, I would push ahead and try to make do. Next week, however, Gord and I must travel to Fredericton to see our daughter off to Korea again. I will be able to purchase thread there. Hmm, what to do.

I'm not sure today if I'll push ahead with it or work on something else. I've got another gel print that is calling out to me.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Finished

While I've been doing pretty well recently energy wise and health wise, this morning I woke with a sinus headaches and sore throat. I had to adjust my plans for the day. I did go out to pick up a few groceries but then I spent a quiet afternoon finishing up the baby quilt that I need to get into the mail tomorrow and knitting.

I actually put the on the TV and sat down with my knitting which I haven't done in the daytime since last being sick. I am nearly to the end of my shawl. I was congratulating myself for getting the photo focused when I realized it's on the wrong side. I hope I can be forgiven.

Yesterday, I made a tomato raisin chutney first thing in the morning and did some shopping in the afternoon. I really hate to shop, unless it's for fabric, yarn or art supplies. For clothes, I have no inclination. It's only when I start to feel slightly embarrassed, that I force myself to get out there and look.

I usually like to post a link for the recipe but as I'm prone to do, I simply googled tomato raisin chutney and I then combined several recipes to get what I wanted. My recipe was for the microwave but I used the stove top. There are also apples in it. My only suggestion would be to taste before adding all the sugar because I'm used to a sugarless applesauce and I found this quite sweet even though I left out 1/4 cp of the brown sugar.

Finally, it's not just illness that is keeping me down; we received the tragic news 2 days ago that a 31 year old man from my husbands family died in a tragic accident while on vacation. He was a pharmacist and the youngest of 3 children. I cannot comprehend it as yet. I can't even imagine what his parents re going through.

I expect to be away from here for a few days.

Monday, September 12, 2011

finished quilt

We had beautiful sunny weather over the weekend. Sleeping is heavenly now that the nights are cooler. I really wanted to finish the quilting on the baby quilt but one must get outside when one can. I did squeeze in some time here and there in between cleaning up in the garden Saturday and golfing yesterday to get enough done to enable me to finish it today.

It is another breezy fall tinged day today. This morning, I did my habitual Monday house cleaning( I do a quick dusting and vacuuming so I can be free the rest of the week) and then I met some quilting friends for coffee (my drink is tea). After lunch I finished the few quilting lines on the baby quilt and added the binding, so that I can take it with me to a friend's tomorrow for the hand stitching.

I also sat down for a few minutes Saturday night and added some color to the white shells and rocks on this gel print. It is pinned to a stiff interfacing and ready for some thread painting. It doesn't seem like much but I feel productive anyway.

I like to spend time with my husband when I can and get my exercise. If there is time left I sew or do something creative. On weekday mornings, my usual schedule is to bake or start supper, go for a walk or bike ride, and maybe hang out some wash. I have lunch and then I spend 2 hours in my sewing room. I must take a small rest after that.

We removed the hummingbird feeder last week when it attracted a horde of wasps. It was time anyway, as the hummingbirds need to be on their way south. This one was sitting on the clothesline looking confused about where it went. I will miss listening to and watching them flit around the deck and the apple tree. It's not the best picture, but you might notice what looks like a tennis ball hanging nearby. It is! We hang them with Tanglefoot glue smeared on them to attract the maggot flies. They get stuck there and theoretically reduce the infestation in the apples. We don't spray.

2011-10-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

home with daughter

Well, it's sure been an exciting and emotional few days. I spent the first night alone in the hotel room as my daughter's flight would be arriving the next morning. Although some flights were cancelled due to Irene, hers made it in ahead of the heavier rains and winds. She had left Korea over a day and a half before and was feeling pretty tired and bedraggled. The first thing she wanted to do though was to go to Cora's for brunch. A shower at the hotel came next, then shopping for new underwear (priorities!), and finally dinner with 10 friends.

She fell asleep in the hotel while in the middle of a sentence.

I feared that the drive home would be difficult yesterday, but the rains had stopped and the winds only seemed bad in a few open places. There was one particular bridge that was somewhat harrying to cross.

I did visit a fabric store and purchased a little fabric which I'll show next time. Before I left though I got this baby quilt put together so that I could get the backing and hopefully get it ready to quilt this week.

Friday, August 26, 2011

exciting weekend trip

Tomorrow, I will be making the 3 plus hours drive to Fredericton where I will be picking my daughter up at the airport early Sunday morning. It was 1 year ago that my husband and I stood in the same airport to see her off on her trip to S Korea where she would be teaching. We were all both excited and apprehensive at the same time. This was our slightly nervous daughter (understatement) who had just graduated university and who had at one time shied away from anything new. And now she was heading off around the world by herself.

She made it through the year with some tears and lots of new experiences and adventures. We easily kept in touch thanks to MSN Messenger. I can hardly believe she is coming this weekend. She will be home for exactly 1 month and then she's going back. If anyone is interested in reading about some of her journey, both physical and emotional, her blog where she occasionally posts is located in my sidebar.

Yesterday I went for a bike ride and stopped to pick a few fall flowers. I do not remember names but they are an everlasting flower and will stay as they are if I caught them at the right time. They are sitting a top of the lazy Susan shelf that I painted and added a mirror to. I still plan to add seashells and hang it, but for now I thought it looked good as a tray. I do have one more, so perhaps I will have both.

While watching a TV show last night I giggled to myself as I glanced at the coffee table in front of me. This is sometimes what I'm up to while I'm watching TV. (Could I be ADD?) My knitting is not in the picture.

I wish everyone a good weekend. Caley will be here for the next couple of weeks, so I may be blogging a little less.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

hot and muggy sunday

We used to spend a leisurely Sunday morning having breakfast, reading the paper and doing the crossword. This is what I'm doing most Sunday mornings now.

There are a couple of large families of ducks that come waddling up looking for their puffed rice.

We teed off early at 9:30 this morning. There was a bit of a breeze but by the time we finished at 11:30, it was a very muggy 29 Celsius. We had a quick lunch and drove out to Gord's parents at the beach hoping for a swim. I spent some time there with his mom yesterday and the water was beautiful. It was not to be though. We got a fantastic thunder storm just after arriving.

I haven't done any sewing this weekend since I've been mostly out, so I will show another gel print. It really doesn't look like much but I find once I start adding more colors and textures it will hopefully come alive.

I did the castle by pressing one of my homemade stamps into the Gelli mold holding the paint before printing onto the fabric.

I think these little houses could be quite quirky. I must add some paint first and then perhaps they need hand stitching. Mmm...

Even though it's been very warm here, we are seeing some signs of fall. On my way downtown on Friday, I took this picture. I love the combination of textures and colors.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Gelli printing

I awakened this morning feeling pretty chipper. Since I had a muscle cramp in my groin, probably from my swimming yesterday, I decided it would be a good morning to do some mono printing on fabric instead going out for a walk.

Earlier this summer I saw the Gelli printing plate advertised and I ordered it. I wouldn't have to make my own gelatin plate and wait for it to set.

After rooting out my white cotton, tearing it up and ironing it, I went downstairs to my drawing table. It was turning out to be a beautiful but very warm day. The basement was a good place to be.

I searched through my old phone books for some pressed flowers and sea weed.

Using a brayer to apply 2 or 3 paint colors (I use mostly Setacolor opaque fabric paints), I then pressed my bits onto the plate. In some I left the paper or plant on the plate before laying my fabric which creates a resist leaving the fabric white. I will go back in later with Neocolor II crayons to add some color. These will be a great background for further painting and stitching.

In others I pressed the items into the paint, removed them and then laid the fabric onto the plate. I will also be overprinting onto these and stitching.

I had to force myself to go upstairs for my mid morning snack and again for lunch. I was having so much fun! These are all of the prints I did today. I think the color could be better in the photos so I may try to take pictures of some again but upstairs in a better light.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

we're back

It was a perfect weekend! For a number of years every time we visited my mother's cottage, we had cold rainy weather, but this year was perfect. We spent 3 days at the beach for a good part of each day. Today was the hottest and the sunniest, and since there was no hurry to get home (the trip takes about 5 hours including stops), we went to the beach until about 1 o'clock and then left by 2pm.

It was so great to see some of my brothers and my nieces and nephews at a barbecue on Saturday night. We've been making a tradition of it for the last few years. It's such a relaxed way to get together. We all sit around laughing, joking and reminiscing as families do while the young ones run around and play. It's such a happy time.

We even made it out to a small country golf course on a cloudy morning before the sun came out. The views were spectacular.

This weathered old house was across the road form the 9th hole. I'd love to do it in fabric some how.

Aah, golf in the morning, beach in the afternoon. I love the little pipers!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

quilted basket

On a whim I made this little quilted basket from this tutorial yesterday. It's a little smaller than I imagined. I'd like to try it using larger squares and maybe some brighter colors next time. Also, the colors are not showing true as I took it last night near dusk and had to put a light on it.

Today I'm off to physiotherapy and then after lunch we head out for PEI. On our way, we are going to stop in Moncton to do a couple of shopping errands, most importantly for me, the fabric shop.

Have a great weekend and we'll see you next week.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

back to the rain

This has been the wettest summer with record amounts of rainfall. As I sit here I'm listening to the waterfall flowing through the downspout to my rain barrel and out my overflow. We've had no shortage of water this year.

I took advantage of the sun yesterday--had tea at a friend's cottage, picked vegetables from the garden, went hitting balls and walking at the waterfront last night with Gord. I mixed up this quick dish for dinner:

Simmer string beans and corn on the cob until just tender. Drain and cut the corn kernels from the cob. Add chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, and feta cheese. We ate a bowl of it with a slice of an artisan bread.

I finished the binding and the label on this quilt which is going to my brother who lives on PEI.

I also finished the binding and label on my wall hanging and I will get a good picture of it soon. Here are 2 more sections of it.

Today, I am trying to overcome a lethargy made worse by the grey sogginess outside. I'm going for my Wednesday swim and hope to do a little sewing this afternoon. After that I'll be packing for our weekend trip to PEI starting tomorrow.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

1 sunny + 1 rainy day = 1 weekend

I guess I can't complain because we did have a lovely warm sunny day yesterday. Gord went golfing and I went to visit the craft show downtown. It was quite small but had some interesting things. I purchased a woven rug for my front door and a small bracelet in support of a fund raiser.

My friend Nicole's booth is always colorful! I love her monsters.

We spent the afternoon walking in the water at the beach and swimming, and since we were tired out, we picked up fresh crab for supper. I had already made a salad before we left, so we simply had to cut them open and eat. I climbed into my bed last night with that exhausted but wholly satisfied feeling.

Today was promising rain and thunder showers by noon. We got up and ventured out optimistically for our 9:20 tee off time, hoping we'd get our 9 holes in. It started raining on the 3rd hole which quickly turned to pouring by the 7th hole where we finally gave up. We came home for dry clothes and went out for brunch. I figure I can call myself a golfer now that I've gotten soaked in the rain.

I've spent this afternoon doing little odd bits at my sewing machine to finish up my various projects. I made a couple of labels for the backs of quilts. Then I did a bit of free motion stitching on the seahorse and the flowers I started a couple of weeks ago. I can't decide if I should do a little more stitching on the seahorse before I quilt it or not. No wonder I'm so slow! It's only 4 by 5 inches. I do a little bit, stop to think and do a little more. I always do some had embroidery so it may be enough.

I added a small detail to the moth and pinned it to my wall hanging for hand sewing.

Finally, while my machine was set for free motion, I tried adding a little sparkle to the flowers. It doesn't show up very well.

I caught this bee while I was photographing the purple cone flowers yesterday.

My next few days are busy, appointment filled, and then we leave for PEI on Thursday.

Friday, August 5, 2011

no sewing

Do you get those times when you feel the need to make some changes in your home's decor? Well, I've had it lately, but since I'm not working, I'm on a limited budget with limited energy to go with it. I had this hanging lamp in one corner of my living room, which although very pretty, does not suit my changing aesthetic.

I like things a little more modern and it is very traditional. It was a wedding gift, so it's taken me a few years to decide to pack it away. I purchased a paper lantern kit that matches my colors perfectly. If the paper fades or my interest in it fades, I can make something to go on the hanging lamp kit. For now it was a cheap way to make a change.

Next, I painted a wooden tier from a lazy Susan that we took out of a kitchen cabinet and replaced with drawers. I plan to have a mirror cut for it, and then I'm going to hot glue seashells, sea glass and driftwood along the bottom edge. I'm going to drop it off tomorrow but I won't pick it up until I get back from our trip next Thurs to PEI.

I still have one more left if anyone has any other ideas as to how to use it. I really enjoy re-purposing used items.

My 3rd project is the shawl that I started and showed in may last post. That wasn't going so well. It was supposed to an easy pattern and it was I think, it just required too much attention for my wandering mind and I had to rip it out twice. the yarn is a silk cotton blend and not easy to rip out, so I went looking again on Ravelry and found and easier version pictured here. This one I can knit while I'm watching TV.

In the mean time I've almost done the hand stitching on my binding. I haven't been near the machine sincne the sun came back out.

Tomorrow, there is a craft fair at our local waterfront, called Salt of the Earth that I will go to in the morning. It's supposed to get hot, so I expect it to be a beach day after that .

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

rainy day

Today is the last day of my husband's vacation. My youngest son and his girlfriend were here for the long weekend and left last night. We've had some good weather and got in some beach time and some golfing. We watched a movie all together on Sunday night--the remake of True Grit with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon which we enjoyed. Despite my mother-in-law's illness we've had some good family times to file away in teh memory bank.

Gord and I did some errands this morning and then went to my favorite cafe for lunch. This afternoon he's puttering in his workshop and I'm doing a bit of sewing. I put the binding on this quilt that will be going to my brother when we go to visit my family PEI in a couple of weeks.

Then I put the binding on my wall hanging which I have been working on for quite sometime. It's on but not hand sewn down yet, so here are a few views of some of the blocks.

When I finally sit to watch TV, knitting keeps me busy. I've just started a shawl called the Calais Shawl. I think I will take it out though and restart with a larger size needles. It should look a little lacier. I'm using a worsted weight silk that I had on hand, not the fingering weight that the pattern calls for. I only have 2 skeins and I hope it will do. I just noticed how it matches my wall hanging blocks. You can tell I like those colors.

blog disaster

2011-09-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

I finally did what I've read about. I managed to inadvertently delete all my blog posts back to sometime in July. After much online research to-night, I managed to find the deleted pages on line through Google and I put one back into my blog. It took about 3hours and it's not quite right.
Please excuse the mess here until I either figure it out or give it up.

2011-09-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

a little painting, a little sewing

Next, I picked some veggies for supper. I did this next painting of the beet at the kitchen table.

one finished postcard

2011-07-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

I just popped in for a quick post before the weekend to show my 1st finished postcard. My husband starts his vacation today and while we're planning a stay vacation, I may not be posting as often. We're hoping to get out golfing, biking and maybe kayaking with a little relaxing and lazing about in between. It will be hard to get him to sit for long, as hubby has a few little jobs planned, one of which includes trouble shooting a sensor and wiring problem in my son's car.

more thread painting

2011-07-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

First thing this morning while it was still somewhat cool, I mixed up this very easy Maple Rhubarb Pudding and baked it. I try not to make desserts very often and since there are only two of us to eat it, I made a half a recipe. I understand from a friend that it can be frozen though. It was absolutely delicious. The only thing I would do next time is to put in less maple syrup, perhaps adding a little orange juice instead. When I make a rhubarb crumble I use very little sugar and we are not used to the sweetness.

My exercise this morning was in the form of some housework that really needed to be done-- a little vacuuming and mopping the kitchen floor.
After lunch, we got a quick shower and cool breezes fluttered through the lace curtains in my sewing room. I put on some music and pleasantly passed some time at my machine doing a little more stitching on the second seahorse and the flowers. I think you can see the detail.

To-night I'm feeling shaky and tired--maybe the dessert? It's lovely out though; I'm going to try to at least go for a little stroll.

seahorse

2011-07-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

Here is one more picture from Saturday's kayaking. You can see the inkiness of the water and the clouds reflected near the bottom. It is quite otherworldly when your gliding silently through it.

While it was another terribly hot and muggy day, I did spend a few minutes doing the thread painting and the quilting on this postcard sized piece.

Now I'm almost ready to add some silk ribbon, perle cotton embroidery and bead accents. Am I crazy to do all this on a postcard sized piece? It seems there are quicker things I could do but I can't help myself; I just love the layers of embellishment. I've learned through experience that one really does have to do what makes one happy.