Lovely Fall Day!!!

Sorry you guys and stupid me for not taking my camera with me today!!!

Well I've finally cleared up some backlogged postcard swaps and my headache seems to have lifted some so this week I stitched up the cq'd block and thought I could wing it with the embellishments and you know what???? I was STUMPED and my head was giving me grief last night so I just gave up and relaxed. Guess I made it think too hard!

Today promptly after breakie I drew out the block pattern again (as I wanted to keep it for another time maybe as it was a Rose Anne original) and then sat down with my books etc and planned out each piece's decor. I just finished around 2:30 and am packing up with my embroidery floss, book and laptop table and out to the park with my chair and bottled water (might take some chips for sustenance) and hopefully enjoy some fresh air and stitching too.

BOY was it every windy out there - leaves racing down the road alongwith the cars. I even struggled with my laptable and hoop - a couple of times I got bopped on the nose cause it flipped it up into me! Not nice! I finally gave up and returned home and am stitched in quiet with my baseball game on. BUT I did stay out there about three hours but sure did not accomplish as much as if I'd stayed indoors!!! LOL! AND I can't show you pics as this is supposed to be a surprise until it is sent back to the owner, but once received I promise I will blog my pics taken.

Hope you all are having a nice FALL day!

Singer Ornaments

I know some time ago I posted these awesome ornaments my sister Sylvia hand painted for me but here they are again just in case.



Well I convinced her to paint some more as some of my friends have been asking me if they could buy one or two for gifts etc. So finally she's painted some more but these are "shatterproof" balls instead of the original glass ones that break when you sneezed to close to them - LOL! As you can see some have been snapped up and our Guild is having a Craft Sale in November so hopefully they will all be gone and she'll enjoy her Arizona escape a little more so this winter!

Red Box - front and side views:



Gold Box - front and side views:

Spider has Landed

And OMGG what a spider in her web too!!! She's not only a BIG ONE (probably well fed by her large and strong web too) but she's a classy looking one also! Thank you so very very very much Jan W. for such a special spider.

Hey Linda, she's got me beat by miles!!! I ain't the Spider Queen no more. :>)))

OH GOSH, if this is any indication of the size of them in Nova Scotia, then please keep the real ones out there and I'll make sure when I visit I wear army boots!!!! YUCK I hate the real ones!!!! I don't care if I bring on rain - I stomp them dead!!!!

I can guarantee you this baby I'll cherish!!!

Postcard Donations

Oakie Dokie I've only one more to prepare and then my promised "ten" postcard donations to the Manitoba Prairie Quilters Quilt Reflections 2008 quilt show will be completed. YAHOOIE!!!

This first group is basically "stained glass" using batiks, fused and satin stitched in place and the next one is "dragons" which I've used Oriental brocade embellished with beads and some Oriental bamboo fabric to edge.



This set is "quilting/sewing" and I used my mini quilts fabric, hand quilted and then satin stitched for the border/binding finish.



This set is "autumn leaves" and I've used up some lovely but not suitable for quilting fabric and fused it to the background and secured with the Herky Jerky stitching all around.



This last set could be the "Canadian Rockies" which I've chosen various fabrics and fused to some muslin and satin stitched in place.



Now I've one more postcard to produce - probably a 1930's theme and then I can hand these in during the November guild meeting! I really wasn't sure I'd get these completed, but an extra one or two with each signed up swap helped lots!!!

More PCs to Mail Off

Phew I thought I'd never get this set completed. Guess I should not have "played" so hardy this last weekend - it didn't pay having so much fun sun dyeing and then resulting in such aching muscles that postcard making became a chore!!! Oh well most have eased up and today I pushed myself to finish them off. So here they are, basically all the same but slightly different too! LOL!

Ann J and Jan W:



Jean C and my own:

Sun Dyeing Results

Well I finally got my act together and took the pictures. Now these projects are very dark but some are just lovely in my mind anyways.

Here is the first one I planned out with the snipped leaves from plants in the park (front and back). I even used two branches of cedar and they did come out but faintly. NOW I suggest one uses pins with the ball ends as I was trying to secure a leaf and the pin kept pulling out and I could not figure out why till I looked more closed to my paint covered fingers and saw that the tiny head was imbedded in my finger. YEP that hurts like the dickens and tender today!



Then the second one in the same colour scheme but with sea salt only (front and back). This one and the dark green (coming up next) are the ones that some guy really liked especially the green one. He asked me some questions but I did not know the answers except that I used Setacolor paints and splashed it on with sponge and splotches.



Then I went for the dark green, red and purple with a touch of yellow too (front and back).



Then I tried another one with the fuzzy silver leaves and like this one very very much and am sending this one to my sister Sylvia and challenging her to keep it as is and embellish her way using either side (front and back).



Now I still had some paints and fabrics left over but just plumb no energy to tackle anymore! And naturally there is a wiping rag and this is what resulted (front and back).



Then I spent like an hour bent over the tub scrubbing my plastic corrogated boards of the paints ready for the next project - whenever that will be. And while in the bathroom decided I may as well Bubble Jet Set another batch of muslin for postcards as I'm totally out again for backings. At this rate I may as well buy a case of that stuff - and yes I am saving the drippings and pouring them back into the bottle for next time around.

Okay guess it's time for lunch and then gotta work on some postcards.

Awesome Saturday!

OHHHH gosh I've a major headache a sneaking in and basically ache from head to toe! Well I've popped two Ibuprofen and soaked in the tub and it's not lifting. But what a day!!! It started off being woken by Florence (my youngest sister) and out to breakie with her.

Then back home in time to load up the car and head out to the church for my Aurora stitching day! EXCEPT today was a special program initiated by Mobird (which I just may have to send some things her way for this baby!!!) and a number of us PLAYED and boy did we play!!! Melissa G a Stampin' Up Independent Demonstrator came prepared to lead us into a demo card party - WOW!!! Thank you Melissa and Mobird very much for so much fun! Now here are the cards we all made and got to keep.









the next one is a pouch type card





Now I know Dale Anne has been trying to get me into this and I've been very reluctant and I can say I still am but had a great time anyways. Actually I have one of those rollers and the ivy wheel and supposed to have gotten it for my postcards but as yet have not played with it. WELL, I ordered a couple more wheels (snowmen and Ho Ho Ho) and hopefully will be ready for some Winter Fun on whatever!!! Needless to say I did not get to ANY stitching at all (thank you Florence for working on the quilt tying for me) AND I have some leftover ribs for this next week - a first - but then there were many meal type dishes plus desserts too! A mega feast today for sure!

So I spent most of the day with my Aurora group and then packed up the car realizing the beauty of the day and rushed home, dropped all and grabbed my sun painting supplies and rushed to the park. There I proceeded crouched on the GROUND to play some more, clipping leaves from various plants and some with sprinkled sea salt too and then sat back on the hard bench to let it dry in the sun.

OH MY OH MY OH MY, until I sat down I didn't realize I was so in agony! There were a few curious walkers checking it out but only two couples asked what I was doing and one guy was very interested in the colours I used and liked two of the pieces! Hmmmmm I think he might know something about art as he seemed more knowledgeable than I!!! LOL!

WELLLLL, the sun went down faster than the drying did, so I packed it all up on my grocery cart, the plastic boards on top till the wind took them and then I had to make a mad dash to save them and stack them back to back to carry them hopefully not hitting anything. Well I made it home (two long blocks) and then cleared off my orchids and set the boards under the full spectrum lights. Hope that helps to finish the cooking - at least the drying and see what the heck I have or not.

At least I used up the remaining diluted paints. Will let you know tomorrow how that turned out. Hopefully these spaszing muscles will stop by then so I can get back to my stitching!!! BUT boy you should see my hands - I got about half the colour off on the waste cloth but they are still BADDDDD!!! Wonder how long it'll take this time to come clean?

OMGG I FORGOT!!!

I was just so excited that I finished the Glitz n Glamour postcards and also that I had sold three of the Christmas balls for my sister, that I totally forgot about my news!!!

WELL, see I sold another postcard!!!

Yep that is the SECOND one for me (this time a fall leaves postcard)! There was just so much new stuff at the meeting and then a friend of my sister's who is now in Winnipeg showed up so I was cluing her in about MPQ etc and then all the stuff on the quilt show too! I plumb forgots!!!

A busy time!

Well it sure has been a busy week and I'm not caught up yet either. At least my headaches have lifted and I sure hope they stay away!!!

Tonight was our quilt guild meeting and I handed over some samples of items I make to the Boutique Committee to preview what I might be able to sell in the Quilt Reflections 2008 quilt show in April. I sure hope all are accepted and then I gotta get moving and make up a stash as our guild also has a Craft Sale in November (usually I'm away visiting Dad - but not this weekend) which will be great for Christmas gifts. I also received many compliments on my sister Sylvia's hand painted Singer machine Christmas balls - even sold three of them for her too. I hope they all sell in November for her.

Okay, I was embellishing the silk fabric printed Victorian Lady postcards and finally finished them today during breaks at work. So I sandwiched them and very slowly because it was late already but I wanted to FINISH them, satin stitched the edges closed. So tomorrow into the mail. Here are two of the six - each has slightly different embellished flowers but otherwise all the same.

Sandy Hook Get-Away!

OMGG a better time with friends I don’t know if it is possible!!! I had woken up Friday without a headache so was really looking forward to maybe coasting through a weekend on the high with friends. Well Friday evening became a night of grinding teeth as those books with CDs I bought well I would not open (drive might be fried?) and thus could not print off the postcards I needed and by 2:00 am I gave up and went to bed.

Well I slept in and woke at 7:20 but was showered, makeup on and car half loaded by 7:50 and Florence and Dianne arrived and we were on the road at 8:05 to Tim Horton’s for breakie and on the road again!!! We did a quick stop at the Craft Post at Arborg and I picked up various laces I had not seen in the city but the buttons I was looking for were gone – SHOOT!!! We arrived at Tami’s in-law’s cabin at 11:30 just in time for spaghetti lunch!!! Then settled in for sewing charity quillows – we did up 8 lovely ones using up Tami’s sorted fabrics from her stash and purchased fleece. Then Tami was working with suiting patches and using my serger, serged strips then using the sew and flip technique, stitched them onto fleece and I told her to just serge the edges all around – will make a great blanket for some male.







I even walked the beach like I wanted too and picked some pieces of shells I’m hoping to smooth and use for my crazy patch! We were even entertained by various sessions of honking geese and on Saturday too our tea outside near the beach. Naturally Florence took the group picture and for Tami did take pictures of Florence with us too but on her camera. The neighbours dogs dropped by for a visit, tummy rubs and naturally treats from Tami.



Then we finished off the weekend trying to tie a large lap quilt but at 10:00 pm I finally said enough I’ll take it home and finish it off and bind it one of these days, as I’ve got to get home or we are staying another night – Tami sputtered a bit and then said sorry but I’d really like Monday to myself before the in-laws arrived – we laughed, hugged her goodbye and left in the DARK (1.5 hour ride back)!!!!

Well I can say we had enough food to feed an army and all FOUR of us complained about being overstuffed, but we still came back to the table for more food! We even drove into Gimli to Ama’s for afternoon tea and I met up with Carol from work. Yes I had taken out the camera and have a few pics but totally forgot to take pics of the finished projects, so Tami will or I’ll get them on Saturday.

I didn’t have a headache all weekend even though I never laughed so much and so often and even cracked some punch lines too! Ohhh and we even watched a couple of videos too – and no alcohol at all!!! WOW, I swear that weekend was the best medicine I could have been given! I even begged for another such weekend next year!!!

I've been lax here!

Yep, I've not been myself lately and just not up to posting even behind with postcard pics too. So this'll be short and sweet as I should be sleeping!!! LOL!

This first set is the FAPC - Colour Green but I've two shades so two pics.



This next set is also the FAPC - Anything Goes and also two types of leaves so two pics.



Yep I have two other groups of postcards to do by the 15th and probably won't make it but hopefully next week will be caught up again. Just in case someone wonders why their group is not done before these, is I put them into the binder as they close by mail out date and I do them in that order. There just is not enough hours in the day, especially when battling pounding headaches (which seems to have gone away finally today) and just plain achiness. Now I know what my parents meant about achy bones!!!

AND finally the piece de resistance (probably spelt wrong but you get the drift) - the pincushion is now complete for the WR Challenge/Swap - like talk about just under the gun girl!!! I think the deadline is this weekend. Oh yeah I can't show you the picture here, sorry, but as soon as it has been judged along with the others I'll slip it back in here! I promise. I LOVE it so much that I'm making one for myself to keep.

I Forgot This!

Well Sunday, Aug. 26th, I met up with Kathy and Karen from Lewiscraft at Applebee's Restaurant and we had a lovely supper and checked out Kathy's album from her very recent trip to Europe. Yep she had them all in the book and in order and gave us a running commentary too. I was totally amazed at the architecture from what back when and huge cathedrals, palaces and castles - WOW!!!!

But I have to tell you that partway through I stopped chatting and Kathy was laughing at my expression - see the hostess was making up this balloon apple and I was totally enthralled and lost track of everything but this activity. WELL I just had to flag her down and ask for one - I was willing to pay for it if I had to! Well that just got the girls laughing BUT I got my balloon.

And the reason I forgot about it is I was not going home but to Linda's and well she has two cats so I put it up onto the top shelf of her bookcase in the sewing room - one place they aren't allowed. I prayed that it would survive and then I FORGOTS it!!!! So here it is! CUTE EH?

Lovely Compliment

WOW talk about coincidence or what!!!

I received an awesome "thank you" from a fellow postcard swapper on my Seashells card in the Off the Color Wheel theme a while back and she then followed up with a picture to prove it too! So I have to share this with you all. Here's my card.



And here's where she's showing it off!



Matches beautifully!!!

Thank you Judy P for making my day!

It's Ending Already?

WOW, my stint of three weeks of cat and house sitting is just about over (Monday) and I've nothing really to show stitching wise really. Sure I finished off those baby bath towels and they sure were a hit with the Dad's who thought their spouces were going to love them too, but I've not really depleted my pile of projects that I brought here to do! Thankfully I did finish off one set of postcards and about halfway finished another set but that's really not much for three weeks!

Now I did battle some wicked headaches so naturally I vegged out those days and then some were spent visiting off and on so guess that would take care of some of the supposed stitching time. Anyways, it'll be nice to be closer to work and just the 10 minute walk instead of the half hour travel, I'll be able to sleep in toooo!

BUT gosh I know I'll miss this freedom to do what I want and not worry about sewing and disturbing anyone at 2:00 am on the weekends and also not being kept awake by inconsiderate neighbours either. Hmmmm maybe I should forget about retiring and work till 65 and buy a small house???? NAH that didn't even have time to sink in - I refuse to work anymore than I have to on a Monday-Friday 8-4 day job - after 34 years I'm tired of it totally and I still have two years and nine months to go. UGH!!!

BUT I have an awesome retirement trip that I'm planning for and that is something to keep me focused! See I'm going to visit crazy patch stitchers/quilters Down Under and might even have another stitcher coming with me! I've a map xeroxed and am highlighting my friends' towns and today I stopped into CAA and picked up some self guided tour booklets (freebie ones) for a start of checking out touristy things. When we're down to planning the flight I'll get one of those Travel Guide books of Australia and New Zealand to take with us.

I don't know which is scarier, retiring and not knowing what's ahead each day, or planning a trip of a lifetime????