Christmas with my Mum

My sister's and my family trees are getting more and more branches, which makes it so difficult for everyone to get together at Christmas time.  (We have a big family gathering in August for my Mum's birthday as it is the only time everyone is not too busy).

Getting back to Christmas......Yesterday, my Mother, sister and brother in law came to my house for a noon-time dinner.  We wined and dined on ham, potato casserole, turnip casserole, sprouts, corn and rolls, and a dessert of mince tarts, apple blossoms and ice cream.  A nice quiet dinner before my two daughters and their families came to have a gift exchange with their grandmother/great grandmother. 

Mid afternoon I laid out a table of nibbles for the family, which consisted of the usual cheese, crackers, sausage rolls, dips and chips etc., along with some sweet tidbits.

Mum/Grandma left early evening, well laden down with gifts and lots of Christmas kisses.  It is almost an hour's car journey for her to reach her home so I am sure she was ready for an early bed time last night.

On Christmas day Mum will be at my sister's to have a meal and gifts with that side of the family. 

Mother is now 96 years, and as the years go by we have to make the most of these family gatherings as you never know when it might be her last.........


Patricia

Another UFO finished

Last night while watching TV I put the last stitches on the binding of my 18 year old Granddaughter's quilt.

 I had purchased a lot, and I mean a lot of this fabric, why?  That is a good question, it wasn't particularly attractive but, it was on sale, and as a sewer I can never pass by a sale, no matter how ugly the fabric is.  But, it did have potential, from being the ugly duckling to a somewhat beautiful swan. 

It has, however, been one of those quilts that I just could not get completed for several reasons.  I was not comfortable with the colours in the fabric as they were somewhat out of my comfort range.   And trying to place the blocks so they flowed into a pleasing pattern seemed to take forever.  Anyway it is now finished, I am happy with how it looks  and I hope my GD likes it too.  Click on the photo's for a bigger picture.    Patricia

Sorry about the photos, cannot show it in a good light today.

This is a bit better, from a different angle.

  

On the back I used some of the left over blocks and also a portion of the original fabric.

Closer look of the original fabric.



A closer look of the blocks on the back.


 

I can't believe...

it has been such a long time since I last posted.  
Don't know why but, I have had to talk myself into getting in front of the sewing machine these days. Several UFO's needed to be completed before any new projects got started, I think that have must been the reason.

As mentioned before I make a quilt for my grandchildren when they reach the age of 18 years, and just received the latest one back from the quilter last week, machine stitched the binding on, now the label and hand stitching the binding is all that is left to do and it is finished.  My grand daughter's birthday was at the end of October, and I will be giving it to her over the Christmas holidays, better late than never, so they say.  I will post a photo when it is completed.

At our guild meeting last month members made pillow cases and donated them to Inn out of the Cold.  They are so easy to make, I must have got the pillowcase bug, so made four to add to the Christmas gifts for the younger members of the family. 
It has been snowing and blowing all day, and downright cold.  A good day to stay in, put up a small tree and decorated it this afternoon.  Tonight while watching TV I will do some stitching on the binding.
Patricia

The colours are not exactly as shown, the one on the left is more violet than blue.







 

Winter Wonderland

Woke up this morning to lots and lots of snow.   It does look like a wonderland, until it needs to be cleared from your path and driveway.  I am sure it is at least 18 - 24 inches deep in my garden, forecast is for more to come down during the next 24 hours.  In my opinion it is much too early in the season for all this snow.

Just read, via FB that some of the larger retail stores and a well know fast food restaurant in our city are closed....gotta know there is a lot of snow out there when that happens as they do not want to loose $$'s especially at this time of the year. 

At the moment I am a prisoner in my home,  can't open any of the doors, blocked with this white stuff,  so guess I will just have to stay in and sew.....   Yaaaaay  a Snow day is a Sew Day.  Several projects I have are WIP's so there will be plenty to keep me busy.  I will turn on some music, make a pot of tea and get busy.


Patricia

Quiltinggrammy.....

Received your comment, I have updated my e-mail, so it should work,  (she says with fingers crossed).lol
I have also tried to contact you via your e-mail, however, having issues doing it through blogger.
If you leave another comment and give me your e-mail address, (I will not publish) I will contact you through the usual channels.


Thanks.


Patrica

Emeral Isle #2....

A lone boat in the harbour of the fishing village of  Waterville.






Scenery during our coast ride to the Cliffs of Moher.







Cliffs of Moher

Another view of the cliffs at Moher.

The Killary.. Ireland's only fjord.

A "photo op" on our drive to Ballymena, Northern Ireland.  Can you see the white section of land in the distance.  It is our destination for the night and it is bathed in sunlight.  It looks like an iceberg doesn't it.


These photo's and the ones on a previous post of only a few of the many I took during my visit to Ireland.  It is a beautiful island, would love to go back and visit, and  choose an area  in which to stay for a longer period of time to explore the hidden gems not normally seen by the many tourists.



Patricia


P.S. Click on the photo's to enlarge.

Around the Emerald Isle....#1 Photo Heavy.

This little fellow brought back some memories.

Yours truly on my way to Blarney Castle to kiss the stone.   Yes, I did!

 During our travels around the island we were told about the digging, drying and storing of peat, which is used to heat the local homes.  We made a stop on the side of the road to see this process, I just had to snap this photo.

A photo "op" stop on our way to Kylemore Abbey.

These beautiful blooms were in the gardens of Kylemore Abbey, does anyone know their name.

This was also in the gardens of the Abbey, never seen anything like this before.  The leaves were the shape of holly with these orange and yellow trumpet shaped flowers.  Anyone know what this is?

Patricia

Beautiful Ireland

In between doing the loads of laundry,  I have downloaded the photo's from my trip.   A total of 571 pictures will allow me to relive all of the beautiful places I have visited during the past two weeks.  Don't worry I will not be showing that many, however, over the next few days I will show  just a few of my favourite ones.  That will be a difficult task as so many really turned out well, even if I do say so myself.

For my quilting friends, the floor of the 12th century St. Patrick Cathedral in Dublin. Click on the photo's to enlarge.

Kilkenny Castle

 

Patricia

 

 

 

Home...

After having two wonderful weeks in Ireland, I am now home and ready for bed, jet lag is setting in.


Good night. 

A little bit of this and that....

Summer is winding down, however, you wouldn't think so from the sunny weather and warm temperatures we have had during the past couple of days.  The nights have been cool with some frost on the roof tops of the houses in my neighbourhood.  Summer flowers in the garden are looking tired and beginning to prepare themselves for the colder weather ahead.  However, a few mums, sedum and asters are still providing some colour.   Autumn will soon be here, then the  maple trees will be changing into their glorious reds, oranges and yellows.  A lovely time of the year.  Then the leaves fall and we are left with the naked branches, until they are again clothed, oh no!!! with snow.    

Very little sewing has been done during the past couple of  months.   I had intended to take my sewing machine outside on my back deck and do some stitching there during July and August but that never happened, too many other things to do.  I have many UFO's that need my attention and ideas for future projects, so need to get organized.

 But first..... I am taking myself on another trip,  so will be AWOL for awhile.  Coming back refueled and ready to start in that sewing room again.  A lot of stitching needs to be done before Christmas.

A blog I follow is posted by a woman who works very hard to save so that she and her dh can travel.  She recently posted photos of an earlier trip they took which showed the older Panama City, it is a beautiful place.  Lovely memories.  In 2006 dh and I took a cruise to the Panama Canal.   A tour bus  to Panama City gave us a brief visit and taking photo's through the windows was impossible to do the city  justice.  So thought I would show a couple of pictures that I was able to take.  
                                         

The skyline of the modern Panama City.

Those of you that follow my blog know I love flowers, so had to show you some, of course.  I was told at the time this was an Orchid  Tree.  They were lovely.

 

Patricia

 

 

 

 

 

Silver Sewer

Anne, can't access any of your posts.   Hope it is just a blogger.com problem and everything is OK on your end.



Patricia

Second post today what's up with that........... An information package arrived................

...............in my mail box an hour ago.  

What is in it?    Everything I need to know about my next trip which begins soon. The hotels,  the internet is so much fun as I can look at the hotels I will be staying at, and I must say, some of them look quite regal.  I know photos could have been taken years ago or retouched but they look nice just the same.  Time will tell when I take my own photo's.   One is a converted woolen mill and all are located in areas with some lovely scenery around them.  I have already looked at some of the places I will be visiting, can't wait now.

Where am I going?

Clues.....
Everything will so green, will take a walk in Giant's foot steps, or maybe even see some little men if I look really careful.   Wonder if I will have stew for dinner and wash it all down with whisky or a Guinness and come home full of blarney.  That gave it away I am sure.   

Time to start getting really excited, looking forward to it as it  will be so different from last years trip.

 


   
Patricia

What are the odds....

According to statistics on the web, approximately 250,000 to 1, and 3 in ten million.  What am I writing about?  The odds of your house being struck by lightening, which is described on one site as being within 10 meters of your home, and the odds of being killed by a lightening strike. Not a happy subject to be writing about but........

Mum lived in England during WWII, and the sound of exploding bombs was all around the area where she lived.  As a result, she has always been scared of thunder and lightening storms, I suspect they make her relive wartime memories. 

During the years since 1954 my Mother has lived in three houses all located in the country.  I bet you are wondering what this has got to do with lightening.  Well, Mum and Dad's first house was struck in the late '50's, no one was hurt and damage was minimal.  One.

In the '60's my parents moved to a larger farm house, which was struck by lightening, blowing flames out of the electrical outlets and doing additional damage to appliances etc.  Once again no one was hurt.  Two.

Sometime in the '80's,  time goes so fast I can't recall exact years, I was talking to Mum on the phone, and all of a sudden she screamed and the phone went dead.  You guess it, lightening again, only this time, she was thrown on the floor and suffered tingling all over her body for a couple of weeks.  Three.

In the late '90's an empty barn on the same farm was struck by lightening and burned to the ground.     We won't count this one.

Fourteen years ago she moved into the house she is currently living in.   This past Monday, Sept 2nd, yes,  this house was struck.   Destroyed the transformer on the pole outside, the electrical meter on the house.  Electrical outlets were blown apart, TV, satellite receiver, and telephone all need to be replaced.  A lot of repair work has been completed, a new TV purchased, now waiting for phone and new satellite dish to be installed.   Once again she was not hurt.  Four.

My Mother celebrated her 96th birthday last month and she has been asked by many people, what is her secret to living to such a ripe old age and also being so  healthy.  

Well, just a bit of fun here, and she would laugh at it too, so I am not being disrespectful.  I believe I know her secret.  She is a Cat.  They are known to have nine lives, so far she has used four, so she has five left.  So, no telling how old this lady is going to be.  Ha Ha.

Have a great day.
Patricia

Yoga for the mind.....

A local winery today offered a wine and food tasting plus a Zentangle workshop.  I was curious having never heard of Zentangle before,  must live a sheltered life. LOL  The internet comes in very handy, and after looking at what it was, I thought I would like to do that, so signed up for the workshop and the wine!!!!

First, we were give an informative talk on what to look for, how to smell and how to finally drink wine.  Both red and white were on the table along with vegetarian pizza hor dourves, BBQ kielbasa pieces and grapes.  For those of us with a sweet tooth some chocolate covered raisins.  All very good.

The instructor advised Zentangle was a yoga session for your mind, I don't know if was the wine or the Zentangle which would provide the relaxation, either way I was ready to be relaxed.  Paper, pen, pencil and a shader tool in hand we were ready to start.

This first picture is a sample which shows some of the different designs used. 

The next two pictures show my attempts to use some of the designs. I must admit I did enjoy this workshop, and I did relax, and can see myself doing more of this......don't I have enough to do already?

I wish I had taken my camera as some of the samples displayed were absolutely gorgeous.   This technique would makes some lovely greeting cards. 

Have a great week everyone.

Patricia

My Mum's Birthday.....

Today is my Mother's 96th birthday, on Sunday the family had a get together to celebrate.

This photo of her was taken on Sunday.

I am sure if you asked her the secret for long life, she would say she didn't know.  However,  I suspect not being afraid of hard work would be one of the reasons.  Her Mother died during the birth of her younger brother, so in her very early years she helped in the home for her Father and two brothers.   At the age of 14 years she was "in service" as a downstairs maid.  Later, married a farmer and everyone knows that is a labour intensive occupation, especially in England during the 1940's and '50's.  During WW11 both her and my Dad were foster parents to two boys evacuated from London.  She was also Red Cross nurse.   Starting out from scratch again in '54 when my family immigrated to Canada.   Even now, she lives in her own little house in the country, doing the daily chores on her own, grant you they are not done to the standards she used to do, but they are done just the same.  Every day she cooks her main meal, which always includes a meat, potato and possibly two veg and most days a dessert of  some kind.

Being  neat and tidy and personal cleanliness are all important to her. 

She still smokes!!! and likes a little "nip" once in awhile.  Her mind  is as sharp as a tack, and remembers everyone's birthday date.  Always ready for a good laugh.

She has had a heart attack and is a cancer survivor.  Other than having an elevated blood pressure, relying on diet to keep her diabetes under control and "Arthur" creeping into her left knee, she is healthy.  

Mother of two, Grand Mother of seven, Great Grand Mother of 13, Great Great Grand Mother of five, and friends to many.

Happy Birthday MUM.


Patricia

Music.....Prize....Rain

Has your inner most soul ever been moved by music?   Wonderful music that brings grown men and women, including me, to tears just by listening to an orchestra and voices.

A local cinema was showing an encore production of a "CinemaLive" presentation of an Andre Rieu July concert in Maastricht.  Apparently, he has several three hour concerts in his home town of Maastricht during the month of July.   If you ever get a chance to see him and his Johann Strauss Orchestra and singers, go, as you will not be disappointed.  His  orchestra and singers make lovely music of well known songs, Blue Danube, Time To Say Goodbye, and Halleluiah which k.d. Lang also sings, plus so many others. This year he had several guest artists, including a small orchestra of mentally challenged people, who did a great job playing along with his orchestra.  I would love to see one of  concerts just to hear his music in person, get involved in the excitement of the crowd and visit the town of Maastricht.  Having said that, the film gives you a better view, it gets you up close to the performers, you are on stage with them.  It also gives views of the entire square, the people having a great time and surrounding area.

 CinemaLive  films concerts and plays, originating in Europe, and beams them live via satellite all over the world.  I have seen two plays and The Last Night of the Proms from London, UK, and now two of Andre Rieu's concerts.  It's a chance to see some wonderful shows without traveling all over the world.

When I returned home a message on my answering machine advised me that one of my wall hangings had won a 3rd prize at the 2013 International Ploughing Match quilt show.

During the late evening we had rain, no need to water my garden.  I came home late and in our neighbourhood we have a resident skunk which wonders around at that time, something I would not like to encounter.

A perfect evening of music, a prize and rain.

Patricia

I am still here

Oh my gosh! I can't believe its been a month since I last posted, not much news to write about really.
I have, however, been browsing your blogs and leaving a comment here and there,    

Summer is such a busy time. All the rain and humid weather we have had recently has kept me busy pulling weeds and cutting the grass which seems to grow overnight.  My flowers are loving this  weather and producing lots of beautiful blooms.

Having just said there was not much happening around my house..... I have a utility pole in my back garden, and the city is replacing a lot of these poles in my neighbourhood.  A large truck is currently parked outside my house with a huge vacuum hose attached to it.   The workmen have advised they are going to be sucking out the soil for the new pole.  Apparently they don't dig holes any more.   I knew this was going to happen so have dug up the perennials in that area, and they are now all in pots.  I have been told they will likely have to stay there for at least three months or maybe more until this job is finished.   I hate being in limbo like this, but can't do anything about it. just keep the plants alive and put up with it.

Going to watch to see if they put my bird bath back in it's place, it's much to heavy for me to move.

Patricia

Ironing

To take advantage of the cheaper ?? electric /hydro I now do my laundry on Saturday.  Today was a bit iffy to hang on the line, but eventually it did dry, thanks to the stiff breeze.  Just finished ironing, all done now until next week.

As I was ironing a few days ago I burnt the palm side of two fingers on my right hand, (now I am almost healed) and I mentioned it on my FB page,.  I could not believe the comments I received..."if you plug that thing in it gets hot?", "I thought it was a kitchen decoration", "iron, what is iron?" and on and on it went.  So I got thinking.  Do you iron?

I know my quilty friends do, but do you iron clothes?  I am dating myself here, however, I grew up and was a young home maker prior to the permanent press age, when you had to  iron practically everything.   You were one of the lucky ones if you had a steam iron, so the task really wasn't a pleasant one.   After damping the clothes I would put them in the freezer, couldn't leave them in the basket for too long in the Summer heat and humidity, they would go mouldy,  (no A/C either), so  I would  take out a few at a time.  As I remember, the frozen clothes did not cool you off.

So back to my question -- Do you have an "ironing" day  to press your clothes after you do your laundry?   Maybe it's just me, but I don't feel neat and tidy unless my clothes are wrinkle free. 


Patrica

Windows 8

With the advancement of the technical age these days, my desk top and lap top computers were ancient by today's standards.  Slower than molasses in January.   So I decided to purchase a new lap top. As mentioned in my previous post, my knowledge of computers is zero, so my son who is an IT manager with a large home appliance company, set it up for me.  Thank you, RB.  Now I am just playing around with it, to become comfortable with Windows 8. 

It was important to me to have a reliable computer, to keep in contact with friends and relatives across the pond, and you, my blogger friends.  I do use my computer and books as dinner companions, which goes against all of the rules I was taught, but rules are meant to be broken.  

On the quilting note, I have started a new wall hanging, as well as working on other WIP's.  Allotting myself an hour and a half each day to get into my sewing room.  There are so many things to do at this time of the year, and I was not giving myself any time for my quilting.   The dust deep enough to write my name and those  weeds and long grass will still be there when my sewing time has expired.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Patricia

Need your help

I can make a quilt, bake a pie, grow my own flowers, carry on an intelligent conversation about a lot of subjects, plus I have learnt a lot things, good and bad during my years on this earth,  however, my knowledge of computer programs is limited to almost nothing.

I am in the process of changing my internet carrier and therefore will have a new e-mail address. 

How do I change my e-mail address when I sign into my blog.  I have looked everywhere here but I am either not seeing it, not going to the right location or .........???

If anyone can give me some direction I would appreciate it.   So hoping blogger friends can help me.


Thank you.


Patricia

Was that Spring and Summer? Brrrrrrrrr

For the past couple of weeks we have had sunny skies, warm, if not hot temps at times, even prompted some friends to turn on their A/C.  Today, it is windy and down right cold.  Forecast tonight is close to the zero *C, the sky is clearing and we are at risk for a frost ,so will have to cover the annuals that I purchased last week.

Closed all of the windows and cooked dinner in the oven tonight, which took the chill of the kitchen and dining area.   May contemplate turning on the furnace later.

Computer programming is my son's job, and because I  know nothing about computers, he is doing all the necessaries on my new lap top.  In return, I was asked to do some sewing.  So that is what I did this afternoon, not quilting, but covering three pillows for my son and daughter in laws bed.
She gave me some left over fabric from the new drapes she has just had made.  The fabric was terrible to work with, never had anything like it before. It was shiny and slippery and unravelled like crazy.  I had threads of it all over me and the floors.   I can't imagine making drapes from this fabric, but if you are a professional you know all the tricks of the trade and have all the gadgets required to work on almost anything.

Busy weekend coming up, so not much quilty sewing will be done until early next week.


Patricia

Blue.....

Do you ever have those days when you feel down, and you don't know why?   Yesterday and again today I am in one of those moods.  Not much energy to get myself moving to do anything, heaven knows there is always lots to do. 

There are lovely flowers blooming in my garden that I can see through my patio door, lots of projects in my sewing room to be worked on,  a cupboard and fridge full of food, money in the bank and no health concerns.   So..........

Could it be the weather,  maybe, last week it was sunny and hot for this time of the year, now!  dull, cloudy, windy, and cold.  We had a frost warning last night so I covered up several of my outside plants, and the forecast is looking much the same for tonight. 

So here I am every shade of blue you can think of, hopefully, the colour will change tomorrow.


Patricia

April Showers.....bring May Flowers

Yesterday afternoon and this morning I worked in my garden clearing out dead and decaying matter, so the  plants can get some rain and sunshine.  There are signs of life every where, green shoots poking out of the soil,  crocus in bloom, the robins looking for worms and bugs and I disturbed a toad under some leaves.  It felt good to get out in the fresh air and use the new gardening gloves I received at Christmas, however, tonight those raking and lifting muscles are telling me otherwise.   A brief thunderstorm just rolled through the area, and in the weather forecast last night the "s" was spoken for later in the week. UGH....

"Seville" is sandwiched together with batting and backing and the quilting has been started. First, quilting in the ditch to stabilize it, and then must decide what to do in the larger areas in the centre of the arcs.  My Janome is still at the repair shop,so hope this delay does not mean additional problems, they advised me last week that they were really busy, hoping that is the reason.  Barbara is working just fine, and I completed the navy blue and orange block for our April quilting meeting later this month.  Also, working on my dd2 and sil's blocks, I need 404 - 4" blocks, a quarter of the way there at the present time.  Hope to  have this one and two more for each of my other children finished by Christmas.

Patricia

I blew a fuse and marmalade....

At the present time by Janome sewing machine is ill, repair man called and said I had blown a fuse, and with these new machines you can't just pop out the old fuse and put in the new one. He has to take the unit apart heat the solder to take out the blown fuse and solder the new one onto the prefabricated memory board.  A time consuming task, so that will likely cost more than the fuse.  So at the present time I am using,  a Singer Portable Genie that I recently was gifted back from my sister.   I have called this machine, Barbara, for two reasons,  one: that is my sister's name. second:  it is a Genie--- remember the TV show, "I Dream of Genie"... Barbara Eden.   She needed some tender loving care when I got her back, but now is running like a charm. 
What am I sewing?   The center portion and the only part of the Orange Peel Quilt, I plan on doing.  I have now named  this quilt, "Seville".  This type of orange tastes sour, and in my opinion is not fit for human consumption, until it is made into marmalade.  That's how I felt about this quilt.  I was tempted by it's  looks and enrolled in the classes.   However, became frustrated with the "peels" and got that sour taste, so for over a year it sat in the closet.  A month ago I decided to make marmalade and it hung on my design wall, and I changed this arc and that arc, until this week, it is being stitched together.  It will not be the best marmalade ever made, but at least I can call it completed  UFO.
Patricia

Again......

Woke this morning to snow again....grant you it wasn't much but it was snow just the same. We have beautiful blue skies and the sun is shining and even with the temp hovering around the 0*C mark it has  warmth in its rays, so goodbye to the snow.

Yesterday, we had a cold wind and light snow fell on an off all day, so I stayed in where it was warm and cozy..  Did some sewing on the blue and white blocks for a quilt which will be a gift for my dd2 and sil at Christmas, and also worked on the blocks for the Orange Peel Quilt.

I am just itching to get out in the garden and clean it up.  Some of the purple and yellow crocus are in bloom, well not today they are under the snow, but they certainly make a nice bright spot in the garden around my pond.  The robins are taking advantage of the seed in my feeders, as worms have yet to appear for their meals. Sparrows are collecting grasses and now using the bird houses, all the signs are here for Spring, even the pot holes in the road, so all we need is for the weather to co-operate.  Can you tell I am getting impatient for the nice weather?


Patricia

Birds, animals, dry skin, meeting.....

None of the things in my heading have anything to do with each other just the subjects of my post today.

The animal and bird world knows it is Spring.  The chipmunk is out of hibernation and both he/she, and a rabbit are gathering the fallen seeds from the bird feeders.  The robins are back,and yesterday a sparrow was gathering grasses for a nest.  All we need now is for the weather to co-operate.

Winter weather and the heated house are always hard on my skin, particularly on my hands they are dry and even cracked in one area.  Numerous applications of lotion give immediate relief, however, long term it seems to be useless.  Drinking lots water to keep hydrated does not seem to help either.  Do you have a lotion/cream that works for you?

How the time seem to fly by, our monthly quilting meeting is tonight, it seems just a couple of weeks ago we had our February meeting.  I am going to have a bag full for show and tell, and always enjoy seeing what other members have completed or currently working on.  The sweet treats are always good too. 

Family is getting together for Easter on Saturday this year, so I must get going and visit the grocery store for my contribution to the dinner my dd2 will be preparing for all of us.   

Patricia

Finish......finish........

The "comfort quilt" blocks that were handed in at our February meeting are now a flimsy top.  The final  stitch was made yesterday, and soon  it will be off to the quilter, when quilted my partner "D" will complete it by sewing on the binding. 

This past weekend I also finished sewing on the binding to another comfort quilt that my partner "G" and I started at a sewing day earlier in the year.

Now I have to shut this computer down get into the sewing room and put my teal and brown block together which is to be handed in on Thursday.

Patricia

Spring.!!!!!..

I changed the photo in my heading hoping it will trick me into feeling it is Spring, even though it still looks and feels like Winter outside.  The date on the calendar may be indicating Spring is here, however, as I sit here looking out my window snow is falling, again !!!.  Our first snow fell on Boxing Day and here we are March 21st. and I am @$% fed up with it!  Grant you it has not accumulated over that period of time, but it's snow just the same.

Ok, I have had my rant about the weather, and feeling much better for it. 

A couple of days ago an error was displayed on the screen on my Janome sewing machine so she is off to the doctor tomorrow.  It was actually in need of a good clean so that will be done also.  Some time ago I had my old Singer Portable Genie returned to me from my sister.  At that time I gave her a good clean and adjusted the tension and it was all ready to act as a back up.  Yesterday and today she has been sewing like a charm, as I am working on a quilt for my dd2. 

I follow a blog of a very frugal woman, and last year joined her sealed pot challenge, and have also done it  again this year.  Every bit of odd change we put in a sealed pot, each person has a goal for that money, and their pot is usually decorated to show where or what they will be doing with it.  Almost everyone in the challenge will be opening their pot in Dec.  My $'s squirrelled away last year were returned to the pot for 2013, and were going to be spending money on a bus trip to Shipshawana, U.S.  Since making that decision I have changed my mind and will hopefully use mine as spending money on a trip in September.

My pot is decorated to show where I hope to be going.........can you guess?
Patricia

P.S. I must have been excited about the destination of my next trip......because I made a spelling error.  I have since corrected the error, however, have yet to take another photo.....It should read.....DRACULA'S
Coffee Fund.

UFO finished....

Some time ago I purchased fabric for what was going to be a quilt for my guest bedroom, however, when I was reading the pattern again, ready to start cutting, I realized I did not purchase enough of one of the colours. So taking a sample of the piece needed, headed back to the quilt shop.  Under the lights in the shop the fabric matched, however, when getting it home and putting up against the previously bought fabric it was not.  Using a different pattern and fabric which was close in colour to the painted walls in my room, and the floral, blue and pink fabric which was going to be in the guest bed quilt, I started one for my room. 

Wanting the quilt to hang over the sides of the bed a bit more and go over the pillows, I made it larger than the pattern indicated by adding more blocks to the length and by adding the second border of blocks and strips of pink and blue.  The top was completed some time ago, however, other projects, Christmas and life in general got in the way of it's completion.  I am happy to now report this quilt is done.  Finished putting the binding on a couple of nights ago and now I am as snug as a bug in a rug.  Due to the lighting and the flash the colour is off a bit, it is a lot better in real life,  but you can get an idea of how it looks.  The lighter fabric within the trellis has some of the trellis colour, pale blue, pink and some grey toned flowers in it.  I like how it has turned out. 

Patricia

My last post.......

That got your attention didn't it.  No, it's not my last post, just looking at the date of my last post, which was back on February 28th.  I have been very lazy,   LAZY, I don't think so, so what have I been doing to keep me from posting?

Made five new cushion covers, re-upholstered a stool and a built in seat, hung pictures, made curtains for two small windows, painted the inside of my back door.  Spring cleaned my living room and re-arranged the photo's on the wall which make up our family tree.  Made two trips to Goodwill charity shop with "Stuff" that I no longer need, but in perfectly good condition for someone else.

Currently, sewing the binding on a UFO which recently come back from the quilter, this one is for my bed.  Pictures coming when completed.  Also, picked up a "comfort quilt" from the quilter and binding will be sewn on that one soon.

Finally, finished arranging all of the pieces for the portion of the Orange Peel Quilt I am completing.  Several members of our quilting group have completed theirs, and I must add they all look fantastic, I am only doing the centre portion, as I am not having fun with it anymore, and believe I bit off more than I could chew with this project.  It looks OK, but to get to this point I abandoned the "warm and cool" concept when placing arcs on a couple of the squares.  It's for myself, I like the way it looks, so it's a done deal, now have to sew everything together.

So, with all the other things in life that have to be done, I have not been lazy, and I have the sore muscles to prove it.

Spring is in the air, while visiting my Mum on Sunday, (it was a glorious day) we saw flocks of geese and Tundra swans flying over head, a good sign the Winter weather is loosening its grip.  There were flies and a bee also flying around, and on my return trip home "road kill",  raccoons coming our of hibernation, looking for food and not paying attention to the traffic.

That brings me up todate, back soon.

Patricia

New Design Wall

"New" is not really the correct description, maybe the word should be "re-purposed".

But, first let me explain.

After all of my reno work was completed I purchased a new TV credenza.  It was an "assembly required" unit from a well known local furniture dealer.  The salesman advised "if I could make toast, I could put this thing together, no tools are required, just slide this into that". YEAH!.  Now, I am quite able to make toast and do a lot of other culinary things in the kitchen, however,  I don't  know what kind of toaster he meant for me to use, because this thing was not going to stand on its four legs, let alone hold a TV. 

To make a long story short, I tried and tried, contemplated packing the $%&*@# thing up and shipping it back because I was so frustrated, then SIL came to the rescue, he knows how to make toast too, but it took the two of us to make a TV credenza.

Why does this have anything to do with a design wall?  My Mum always says, "waste not, want not".  So.  The TV unit came packed in a box surrounded by sturdy foam sheets and cardboard. With Mum's advise echoing in my head, I used some construction strength adhesive, duck tape (what would we do without this stuff) and an old sheet, the result a 4ft X 5ft design wall.  It's not the prettiest thing in my sewing room, but it can display some good looking quilting projects.

Patricia

Afmaken, Avsluta, Terminar, Gorffen....

.......no matter what language you say it in, my basement recreation room reno job is FINISHED, and I don't want to see a paint brush or roller any time soon.

The only things left to do is rearrange the furniture, hang pictures and make new cushion covers, yeah! I get  to go into my sewing room, if I can remember where it is, as it's been a long time since I have done anything in there.

Then I have to get the rest of my house in order, housekeeping has been the lowest thing on my "to do" list for the past few weeks, have just been skipping over the top to make it look presentable.  Time to do some deep cleaning. 

Making a cuppa, a couple of cookies/biscuits and going down to enjoy the fruits of my and SIN's labours.

Ahhh.........


Patricia

Soft, spongy and warm......

What do you think it is?.......

My new carpet in the rec room. 

The installers were here early this morning and all done by noon.  I am liking the way the room is beginning to look.  Won't be long before everything is back in it's rightful place and stuff sorted out for a garage sale and the charity shops.

During the morning I couldn't work downstaris while the men were there, so I tackled the dreaded "Indian Orange Peel Quilt".  Well it's not a quilt yet, (and at the rate I am going, it will never be) just arcs, arcs and more arcs, made from warm colours and cold colours.  Frustrating, is putting it mildly, the only way this top is going together is for me to close my eyes and put the arcs in randomly.  I have also decided the center is not going to be a big as it should and no border pieces are going to be made.  The colours I chose are all wrong, way out of my comfort zone, maybe that is why I am having problems getting this to work out. 

What is  it "they" say,  "If at first you don't succed, try, try and try again."   Well "they" should try to put this top together for me.  It will be done soon, maybe not the way it should be, but done none the less, just not today.  Maybe a look at it another day, it will work out better.

Patricia

Snow, snow and more snow...

Snow started to fall during the night and the forecast is calling for between 5 - 10cm to be on the ground before it eases off later this afternoon.  We are getting close to the predicted amount already.  The same amount is suppose to start again this evening.  Seems as if we will be getting all of our Winter snow in one swoop.  Monday! it is suppose to rain, what a slushy mess that will be.
Schools are closed and I would suspect a lot of business and work places are also, due to the fact employees cannot get into work.  Very little traffic going down my street today.
Two of my neighbours have just cleared my driveway, front steps and porch, if the snow keeps falling as it is at the present time, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see them here again.  You gotta love neighbours like this!
Me, I am snug as a bug in a rug, no reno work or painting today, I picked up some fresh veg, fruit and milk yesterday, so there is no reason for me to go out.

I am sewing!!!!!


If you have to go out in this weather, stay safe and keep warm.

Patricia

I'm getting too old for this.....

The reno job is right of schedule thanks to my painting blitz Monday.  In the morning I painted the first coat on the stairwell which my DD1 did not do on Saturday. In the afternoon I painted the entire room and stairwell with a second coat....total hours painting SEVEN.  Hoping I don't see another paint brush or roller any time soon.  Having said that, I need to paint the crown moulding when I pick it up tomorrow, that shouldn't take too long, should it?  Needless to say Tuesday was not a very productive day.
Today my SIL reno man came to cut the trim and install the lights.  Me, I was in my sewing room for most of the afternoon, working on a blue and white quilt for my DD2. (Can't post photo's as desk top is the only computer I can download pictures on, it is unpluged at the present time). It was so nice to sit at the machine with the sunshine pouring in the window, feeling energized now, ready to get at it again tomorrow. 

The carpet is being laid next week, so we are on the home stretch, my plan was to have everything  completed by the end of February and by the looks of it, we should be done long before that.

Then the Spring cleaning will have to start, womans work is never done.  LOL

Patricia

Ooooooohhhhhh ! ! ! .....Winter?

That is what I was saying when I got out of bed this morning, sure can tell I haven't done much painting for a long time.   For the most part the majority of all the dust is over with, so now starting to put some colour in the room.  Just a small section of the ceiling left to do, so my neck should be feeling better soon.  My bum cheeks know that I have been climbing up and down the ladder.  Looking on the bright side, good exercise right?

Little sewing being done, however, did start on a label for "J" one of my quilting friends.

Mother Nature must be very angry, during the past 48 hours she has thrown almost everything she has at us.  Starting with snow, freezing rain, rain and" pea soup" fog yesterday,  Mild temperature again today, and at the present time it is raining, the forecast indicates that we could also get a thunderstorm today, then on Thursday back into the minus degree C temps and snow.  It's Winter, but certainly not like the Canadian Winter's I saw years ago, we would have snow in December and would see the ground until March. 

P.S. Just as I was going to post this, thunder rolling!!!

Hope everyone is keeping dry and warm.

Patricia

A new quilt and dust, dust, dust.

This year, I made a promise to myself that I would finish a UFO before a started a new quilt.  A UFO is finished, well!!! the top is and this week it is on it's way to be quilted, so I am going to consider it a finish, as far as I am concerned binding doesn't count.

In the Fall issue of Fon's & Porter's Scrap Quilts I found a pattern that would be perfect for the quilts I am planning for my adult children and their spouses.   I am hoping that I don't get too tired of the pattern as I want to use it to make all three quilts.

The quilt is shown using scraps from a stash and looks great, however, I am going to be a bit more organized with the colours.  Over the past few months I have been purchasing green's for my son and DIL, earth tones for my eldest daughter and SIL, and blues for my youngest daughter and SIL.  A few blocks were made this p.m. and I played with laying them out in several different ways, I am going to have fun with these blocks. 

Reno is now into the dusty stage, I am glad we purchased the "heavy dust" drywall compound as it does not fly around a lot, most of it falls to the floor.  How come regular household dust doesn't do that?   Plastic is hung at the door way going into my kitchen to stop any that does move around with the movement of the heated air from the furnace. Only one more day of this and then I can clean the room and  start painting.  But first I have to decide on colours for the carpet and  wall's.  Samples are laying all over the place, why do they make it so difficult.  If I were picking colours for a quilt it would be easy to choose. The solution, maybe I should paint the walls like a quilt.  A 35ft x 7ft 6in wall quilt would be a bit much don't you think.

Patricia

Remodelling

My house is a mess,  and unfortunately it has to be this way for a little while if I want this work done.  I hate being in a mess

Last week I finally decided to go for it, remodel my basement recreation room.  Nothing, other than a new carpet several years ago, has been done in this room since the late '70's and it was in desperate need of an upgrade.  One of my sons in law is laid off from his job at the present time so I hired him to do the work for me. 

Where does one put all the stuff that needs to be removed from a 35 ft x 16 ft room? All over my house, that's where, my house is in a mess.

All the old panelling was removed from the walls, did I tell I hate being in a mess.
At the present time new drywall is being installed.  I dread the thought of the taping, mudding, and sanding that needs to be done over the seams.  When this is all completed I can get the painting done, then a new carpet can be laid, and things can get back to normal.  Sigh!

This is a good time, however, for me to weed out all of the clutter, that sombrero from a Mexican vacation in the '80's and that "thing" from Venezuela?  A local charity shop is going to get a visit from me.

I have been in my sewing room, not sewing, but doing more de-cluttering and sorting out the fabric in my stash, at least one room will be organized.ica

Patricia

A little bit of this and that

Last night our guild exchanged secret Santa gifts at the restaurant where we had our dinner. I had a really nice time and received some great gifts.  I made this wallhanging for D, and also gave her a Sew Many Things reminder pad.

This is what I received from C, thanks so much, I needed all of these things. Two hot handle pads for my fingers. A thread catcher with a pin cushion attached and some pins.  Do you see all those animals, perfect choice C.

This female cardinal was at my bird feeder recently as was this Blue Jay.

Sorry to say there were also some sparrows, one of which ended up being the meal for this Hawk which is always flying around the neighbourhood.

Patricia

Monday Walk

Later this week, if the forecast is correct, we will be experiencing a January thaw, and hopefully most of   this snow will be gone.  So I wanted to share a few photo's of the park as it was during my walk this  morning. 

This snowman is all but forgotten as the children returned to school today.

Framing the bare branches of the Maple trees are the brown leaves on an Oak branch.

A perfect Oak leaf in the snow.

It was mild enough today for some of the snow to start melting making large puddles on the road in the park.  In this puddle of water a tree is reflected.  I sky was grey at the time, so it's not very clear.



This statue is seated near the Memory Garden in the park.

Enjoy.

Patricia


2013 The Year of Organization

During the past month or two I have been very lazy with preparing my dinner time meal, just pulling random things out of the freezer or fridge with really no plan as to what I was making, this has contributed, along with the lack of exercise, to those few extra pounds which have registered on the scales.

January 2013 the month ----- I plan on being more organized with my meal planning, so it's full steam ahead, literally in my kitchen today.  In the slow cooker there is a beef stew simmering away,  chicken breasts are roasting in the oven, these will be combined with salads or pasta in meals later.  Turkey bones are simmering away for a "stoup", a dish I make which is neither a soup nor a stew due to the consistency of the broth and the quantity of the vegetables I put in it.   The ground beef thawing on the counter top will end up being chili, by the end of the afternoon.  Meal size portions will be stored in the freezer and taken out when required.  These along with some ham and meatballs left over from the holidays plus some fresh fish that will be purchased the day I use it, I will have a variety of dishes to choose from, just adding a salad or veg. a proper meal will be ready in no time.  Next weekend I will take advantage of the cheaper electricity and do some additional quantity cooking.  Hopefully, by the end of the month I will be in a routine that will see me doing this at least one day per week throughout the year.  Knowing some of my fellow bloggers will want to keep abreast of my progress will help me stay on the straight and narrow.

There is also another reason for this cooking frenzy, more sewing time, I am getting my mojo back and ready to get into that sewing room.  Again, to be more organized, for every quilt I start, one of my UFO's will be completed.  

Them bones, them bones them dry bones, well they are not dry yet but soon will be as I am now off to take the meat off of them.

Patricia

Secret Santa gift completed

Last night the final stitch was made to the gift for the person whose name I received when the draw was held in October, photo's are in my camera, however, won't post them until after our dinner on Monday, don't want to spoil the secret before then.  It seems like forever, since we have all got together, it's going to be nice to see everyone again.  Our regular meetings start later in the month.  I always seem to have more sewing energy when I know that "show and tell" will be held at our meeting.  My partner  G and I have got to get busy so that we can complete our comfort quilt before the end of the month.  Family commitments and the holidays have taken priority over our sewing, once we get started it won't take long. 

Out walking again today,  even though the thermometer registered -3*C the wind made it feel so much colder. With a bright blue sky and sunshine I had a bounce in my step, not only because it was nice and bright  but I needed to keep moving to keep warm.  With my hooded coat and sun glasses, fleece pants, gloves and boots on, no one would have recognized me with just my forehead and cheeks showing, except for my fingers, I was nice and warm.

Now my camera battery is charged I will take some photo's of the park I have been walking in.
Patricia

Off to a good start...

and plan to do better by keeping the healthy eating and exercise routine going longer than in past years.

It was -8*C when I went for my walk this morning, no wind and a few flakes of snow drifting down.  I decided not to do my usual route around the block as some of the sidewalk was still covered in snow, so opted for a local park where all the roads were clear of snow and ice.  Did the circuit three times and it felt good to get some fresh air in my lungs.  Coming home cheeks all a glow and tingly from the cold, and a red nose from having to use tissues, (the cold weather cleans out the sinus), I began to feel some of the energy that I have been missing during the past little while, coming back.  By the time the weekend gets here maybe I will feel like conquering the world, well maybe not, just feeling better and happier in my world.

Taking down the tree and de-cluttering some of the decorations took longer than I thought yesterday, so did not get into the sewing room, however, when this post is finished that is where you will find me.

Patricia

Happy New Year

Eating potato chips and drinking left-over virgin punch I saw the new year come in by watching the ball drop in New York.  Then off to bed shortly after midnight,  just dropping off and I heard "bang" then another and another,  thinking the worse I got up to see what was causing these sounds, only to find that neighbours were letting off fireworks, which continued on 'til 1:00a.m. 

Slept in a bit, then jumped on those scales as I had made a resolution, AGAIN, to eat healthy and get more exercise, hoping to drop a few pounds in the process. OMG a few pounds!!!, where did all that extra baggage come from?   After re- reading my first sentence I believe I found out where some of it came from.

Taking all of my Christmas decorations and tree down today, everything looked so festive, but now all the magic has gone.  It will be so nice to get the house back in ship shape and get into a regular routine again.  Hoping the weather will be a bit milder on the weekend so that I can take down the outside lights.  The wiring is under quite a bit of snow so hope it has been insulated somewhat and is not frozen into the ground.

Also, plan on getting into the sewing room this afternoon and finish a secret Santa gift for our quilt guild dinner and gift exchange next week.  I have also been collecting fabric to make quilts for my three children and their spouses, as, shame on me, I have not made any for them yet. 

At the present time, it is cloudy, no wind and with very light snow flakes drifting down, just as snow is suppose to fall, as per the movies.  The temperature is just below the zero mark C, I wish every Winter day was like today, I could cope with this.

Well, this is not getting the job done, is it........

Patricia