home with daughter

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

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.

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.

one finished postcard

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

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

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.

hot and sultry

This was the kind of weekend to get out and enjoy the sunshine and summer temps. Yesterday hubby and I got up and enjoyed a leisurely coffee and tea on our deck before we headed out to visit a friend's camp on the Pokemouche River about an hour's drive from here. We had lunch at our favorite little bakery/cafe called Les Graines Folies on the way down.
This chickadee has been tearing off bits of sting from this cord for days. It stuffs it's mouth so full you can hardly see the bird.

After chatting for a while with our friends on the deck of the cottage, we put our kayaks in the water for the first time this year. It was heavenly and thankfully not too hot. The water was almost inky with beautiful reflections. It was as if we were sailing through the clouds. We were able to stop for a snack and enjoy a leisurely paddle for a couple of hours, and then we had a dip back at the dock. Afterwards we visited some more had supper there and enjoyed a wonderful apple strudel that Claude and Glenda had made. Perfection!

Today turned out to be very hot and sultry and my husband had plans to golf nine holes with his father and brother. They went anyway and I went out to visit with his mom at the beach. I sat on the deck in a stupor and almost didn't do anything the air was so hot and heavy. I got into the ocean water though and floated around for a while with a noodle. I felt a little revived and did this little watercolor on the deck.

I'm not sure what the weather will be for the rest of the week, but if it stays hot like this,  I may retreat to the basement where I can only do handwork as my sewing room is on the main level. I only have air conditioning in the bedroom. At least we can sleep well.