Monday, May 13, 2013

40 Years of Service Award


OH BOY here’s a perfect example of “I’ll never make 40 years of service!” statement coming back to haunt me!!!  Yes I was initially supposed to retire in 2010 but circumstances deemed it necessary to stay working a year and then another, then my “retirement trip” to Australia was kinda postponed from 2013 to 2014 so I decided to stay working still another year.  WELL lo and behold I will even surpass my 40 years of service for the Province of Manitoba (all with the Dept of Agriculture) by the time I actually pull the pin so to speak and retire.

Anyways Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (department name now) honoured long time service employees on Friday, May 3rd, 2013 and my Manager Bob Ward and myself were presented with our certificates and official photos taken with the our respective Bosses, Dori Gingera-Beauchemin - A/Deputy Minister and the Honorable Ron Kostyshyn - Minister of Agriculture.  Bob asked if I had my Thank You speech ready and I kinda panicked and then started to get nervous while waiting, but once the presentations started I realized I did not have to do such, I relaxed some.   There was no time allowed for a “rebuttal” to Bob’s introducing me and my accomplishments over the years, with some of his own comments added to my prepared speech for him. 

Bob Ward introducing me

David Kaminski presenting awards


My chosen black framed gift by http://www.expressiveframes.ca/

L-R:  Dori Gingera-Beauchemin, Bob Ward, myself, the Hon. Ron Kostyshyn

L-R:  Myself, Bob Ward (Manager), Margot Cathcart (Director)

After the presentations the various honorees, their invited guests and Committee Members etc milled around enjoying a light but lovely lunch – I had invited my niece Pat and her Mom Sylvia (my sister) to join me on this special day – before leaving to join fellow quilters at the Winkler/Morden quilt retreat weekend. 


Yes a lovely milestone in my years with the Department.  Thank you.

Monday, May 06, 2013

The Last of the BAS RR Blocks

No I'm not swearing, but there were times the air may have been blue during this crazy quilting RR - LOL!  It was a challenging round robin not so much in the effects we were creating but more so in the number of blocks for each person and the number of seams or depth of the seams (which was new sort of for me) we were creating.  You did not really want to repeat what was done previously but yet sometimes the creative streak just was not coming forth!  Oh well I'm finally finished the last of the nine sets of nine blocks (yes I had to start a seam on each of my own set too) and now it's to wait patiently for my babies to come back home and have fun checking out the various members' creativity!!!

So here are Diane M's blocks which in a way were kind of tricky as she combined sane traditional quilt blocks and asked us to embellish crazy patch-like!  Well I think we did a pretty good job and now have to wait and hope that Diane likes our interpretation.
Block #1

Left hand side - triple feather stitch in Japanese Buttonhole Twist (JBT) #117, detached chains in JBT #w with seed beads at base of chains.

Block #2

Added black beaded Bullion knot legged spider to already stitched web.  Chain stitched ovals and then four detached chains in centres with straight stitches and seed beads in centre.  At the joins made long straight stitches with detatched chain in centre with seed beads at ends.  PS: And no close up photo of lower left patch of feather stitched stems with Colonial knots around and French knots in centre.

Block #3

Right hand side alternated slanted straight stitches of long-medium-short with Colonial knots at ends and darker thread across all three on an angle with French knots with straight stitch across. 

On the right hand side I added three outline/stem stitched scrolls and Bullion knot bar crossovers with Colonial knots at ends. 

Block #4

Filled in both sides and at base interlocked Bullion knot half circles in Brazilian threads.

Made running stitch stems and fly stitched leaves and in JBT #158 varied sizes of detached chains for Brown Eyed Susans with seed bead centres.

Block #5

In Wildflowers #253 Ink made uneven wavy herringbone with Perle Sweets Jelly Beans cross bars and in Pearl Cotton #12 A Leaf Falls varied sizes of detached chains from opposite of cross over to opening.  Then a trio of French knots on outer tips of detached chains in JBT #91.

Block #6

Using Rajmahal Art Silk #255 stitched a 4-way feather stitch with two detached chains at outer tops in Anchor 0101 with 3 straight stitches and Colonial knots in centres in Clarks Anchor 0307.  Then three straight stitches at other ends in between also in gold.  At outer edge of patches in the middle did variying lengths of straight stitches in purple and a red seed bead at base.

Above cat added a stem stitched shelf with running stitch filler of JBT #84 and a padded brown DMC #371 mouse with tail dangling.

Block #7

In YLI silk #78 golden/orange butterflies in sheaf stitch - straight stitch bodies - detached chains at wing tips and body.  Along top in detached chain leaf upper border in YLI silk #114 and clusters of Colonial knots for grapes in YLI silk #108.

On someone's scroll work patch I added pearl seed beads to the tips of the straight stitches and also extended the tips of the scroll.

Block #8

In DMC #4045 and curved stem stitched archs for detached chain fern stems with Colonial knots at tips.  Space edged with wine DMC slanted Blanket stitch. 

Block #9

Tatted two butterflies and a dragonfly in Lizbeth #2 cotton in #137 with black and metallic seed bead bodies.

In DMC variegated made a cretan stitched shaped vase with outline stitched edges.

Now to wait and see if Diane's so called creativeness pans out and she pulls off her original plan to embroider a tree outside the attic window foreground.  I so can't wait - this plan sure has stretched crazy patch beyond traditional boundaries!