guild UFO

Today, I went to our guild's last UFO day until the fall. I took my little Jem gold and worked on the free motion quilting on my mystic woods wall hanging. My plan (and you know what happens to those) is to finish all the machine work this week, and then I can drag it around all summer camping and visiting friends to do the  hand embellishing.

I also drew up a plan for a future quilt. Yes, I have a design wall of blocks to put together and a baby quilt I want to do first but one must be prepared. Now that I have a better idea of the fabrics I'll need, I placed an order for some greens, turquoises and orange/pinks from Pink Chalk Fabrics. These are some of what I have now.

As I was placing the order I turned and noticed these goldfinches on the little feed sock in my window. I love their squeaky peep. When I sew, they are right in front of me and when it's warm enough to have the window open, it'll be even livelier.

Our plan tomorrow was to go golfing but the weather is sure not cooperating. The rain and cloudy days are unrelenting! A least i can sew. It gets a bit depressing though, and you don't feel like doing anything.

view from the deck

For the last 2 days I've been able to sit out on my swing, watching and listening to the birds. after supper and chores are done, Gord and I can sit there for an hour leisurely swinging back and forth with nothing to do but feel the breeze, listen to the the rustle of the leaves and the songs of the birds. We like to watch the antics of all the birds especially in the bird bath. The sparrows and the gold finches sneak in when the robins back is turned but he will inevitably turn and chase them away.

This robin took a leisurely bath and then fluffed out in the apple tree.

Today is my lunch day with friends, but before I go I will put a coat of the special epoxy paint on my bath tub which i spent yesterday prepping. I wear a mask and will leave the house for the day.

sunshine returns

It was a lovely almost cloudless Wednesday yesterday. I had my usual Wednesday morning swim at the spa which was really nice with the blue sky and sun shine shining into the pool. There are windows on 2 sides so it makes it much more cheery when the weather is good.
After my lunch I laid this quilt top out on my table and carefully spray basted it by rolling each section back. I also added a few basting pins. I wanted it to be ready to take to a retreat in a couple of weeks. It'll be a nice project to work on in the company of friends.

 This package of Kona cotton fat quarters came in my mail today. I plan to use some in a baby quilt.
Then I was able to sit on the deck on my swing with my tea and my book for a good rest. Summer is coming!
Today, though, it's forecasting rain, so I've gotten my walk in early this morning. I'm going to meet friends for coffee now and this afternoon I'm going to start prepping my bath tub to paint it. I did it about 15 years ago with excellent results. We just cannot afford to rip all the tile apart in order to change the tub. I'll let you know how it goes.

happiness in the simple things

For the last couple of years Gord and I have kept it simple on our anniversary, as we did today. He went to hit golf balls this morning while I met friends for coffee. After our lunch we went for a drive along the coast. We made a stop for a coffee and a tea along the way to a wharf where I like to sketch my favorite old fish huts. Gord is always  happy to wander or take a snooze in  the car seat as he did today. It was most relaxing.

On our way home we stopped at my friend Nicole's so I could pick out a basket from her most recent shipment form Africa. I'm using it for my knitting for now. The colors are perfect in my living room.
I couldn't have asked for a better day! We seem to find our happiness in the simplest things.

leisurely sunday

We had one day of sunshine and heat last week and then for a couple of days we've been plunged back into the gray cold again. Today, though the sun finally came out around noon. It warmed up some but was still pretty chilly. We sat in the sun room at the front of my in laws place at the beach and watched the swallows dipping and diving and frolicking around. I managed to catch them in one of their few still moments, but I was unable to capture the beautiful iridescent blue when the sun hits their backs.

When we came home, I felt so cheered, I picked these few first flowers from my garden and did a quick sketch. The vase is actually a stone that has a hole bored into it. I like to keep a few sprigs of something in it all summer.
Since it is our anniversary tomorrow (31 years), we went downtown to the Nectar for dinner as they're closed tomorrow due to the holiday. Gord had his favorite --the veggie burger. It came with roasted vegetables, salad and sweet pototoe fries which we shared. I had a crab cake with salad and we shared a white cake with fresh fruit and raspberry coulis for dessert.
Now I must go get the clothes off the line and head to the  tub for a nice soak with my most recent book, the Dome, by Stephen King.

Sunshine!

Today, we saw the sun for the first time in weeks! There were still a lot of ominous looking clouds around, but at least it didn't rain and it was very warm. Right after my lunch, I got out my bicycle for the first time this year and went for a spin. Then, I spent most of my afternoon outside. I re-potted some of my tomatoes, beets, and borage that I had started.

Earlier this week, I finished the last 2 cobblestone blocks. As you see it, I have not yet re-arranged the blocks in their final layout. I can see that the picture is a little blurred. That might actually help me to use it as a reference when I move the blocks around.

At night and when I need a break in the day time, I'm still knitting  away on my gold sweater. I'm happy because I finally got to the wavy pattern on the bottom. It's more fun to knit the easy 4 row repeat lacy pattern than the plain stockinette stitch.

We're expecting more rain in the next couple of days; although, it's supposed to clear on Saturday afternoon so there's hope. Sunday and Monday of our long weekend look promising!

some down time

When I haven't posted in a few days, you can assume I've had some appointments and perhaps some low time, health wise. This past few days it's been a bit of both. Keeping adrenals, thyroid and blood sugars all balanced is  not easy, and to complicate it my stomach and my bowels are not working as they should. I'm taking several medications for that as well, none of which seem to be working. I'm sorry to bore you with the details here; if I had the energy I'd write a second blog chronicling my ills, as it would be helpful to have a network. For now thanks for bearing with me.
I went to our guild's UFO day yesterday for a couple of hours and got quite a bit of the free motion quilting done on this piece. I did all of the foregrounds with mossy green, so next I will do the sky areas with a pinkish color. Then it will be ready for the hand embellishing which I will work on all summer, hopefully finishing in time for the fall show in Saint John.

I've been keeping my goal to do a zentangle every day or two. Here is the latest. I would like to pick some elements that I like in the  end and translate them into an fiber art piece.

The other thing I worked on today besides baking muffins and resting is this little sandcastle. I started with an acrylic paint mono print which I did a couple of weeks ago and I've added pastel. Next, i will spray fix it and apply it to a board. If all works out as planned, I will add some collaged paper boats. This is for a collaborative project that I'm doing with my sister.