Horses, Horses, Horses

Okay, I've been busy cranking out (as my boss wondered and asked for horse related postcards) since Thursday and as of now have 18 finished (6 more than I thought I'd have this weekend) and 7 fronts that need some work to them and 3 maybes to ponder on yet. Now to just finish off the 7 Monday/Tuesday and then see how they are accepted and whether I make anymore of these.

So here are the ones I've finished - and all machine appliqued too:











Now all I can say is why the heck do I pick such time consuming ideas for the postcard swaps when this technique is so much easier on me and just as lovely??? That's easy to answer! Well it's just not me - but then not too many would buy the postcards I loving and sometimes very painfully stitch by hand. LOL!

Facebook

Okay, these creative individuals are now posting their not nice messages in Facebook using some of your friends to get you to look at a "private video" or some such. It's a good thing I'm kinda suspicious and emailed my friend first to check and sure enough she hadn't sent me such and I promptly deleted it totally.

So since I barely use FACEBOOK anymore I'm going to dump it. If you want to get in touch with me you have either my email or my phone number. Sorry for the inconvenience but my computer knowledge is limited and I can't afford mischief.

12:45 pm

I've just cleaned out my account as much as I could figure out and deactivated my account.

Yabba Dabba DOOOOO!!!

I have a large TV again and just in time to watch my HOCKEY!!!

Yes, a very much appreciated Thank You to Linda and Patrick for passing onto me their older but still working TVs now that mine has bit the dust and naturally nothing in my budget for a TV at this time. So the larger one is in my wall unit and the smaller ones are for the sewing room and maybe the bedroom but truly I do not "relax" in that room, just sleep!!!

Now to find a depot for my old TV and VCR as I know the city garbage does not take them.

Good Timing Maybe???

Well I had received a request for a horse type postcard earlier and then today out of the blue was asked how long it would take to hammer out 50 postcards horse related??? HUH!!! I think my face said it all, as I was quickly told that this friend has a type of shop at the stables and would probably sell them very easily if the cost was reasonable. Well you could have picked me off the floor with a feather.

See I already had two planned out for him and would have them ready this weekend and said if I had some others for him to take to her that would be good. So there I was online looking for various clip art or stained glass images of horses and will make some silhouettes up to go with these cowboy boots (fabric) and hats (I cut out of fake suede) I've steam a seamed onto grass backgrounds. I also did up two of a paddock and brown mottled fabric horse up next to the fence. Looks pretty good - just need the invisible stitching to hold in place.

Now to see what happens. Sure will help with budget restraints if they are a hit.

Bad Timing!

Yes, bad timing for my 15-20 year old TV to bite the dust; but good timing that my friend passed onto me her working TVs, so I can watch my sports etc!!!

See whenever I turned it on it would promptly go snowy and staticy for about 5 minutes and hit and miss like. Then after a couple of weeks this increased to like about 15 minutes and more often so I'd put it on MUTE and wait till it warmed up and then it would come back to the usual picture and sound. Well today it was on for half and hour and no picture or sound, even if I shut it off and put it on again. So guess it's a gonner to. I then switched to the newer smaller TV and VOILA instant TV again! Now I have the TV and VCR (died a couple of years ago and stayed for decoration) to drop off somewhere for disposal - SHEESH!!!

Must be my lucky day!!! See she also has a larger TV that they were going to try and sell but instead are passing it onto me as this is a small TV in a big hole kinda looks funny - LOL! Hey beggars can't be choosey, right!!! Gosh please nothing else go wrong for me, I'm on a tight budget and doing fine so far and that's all I can handle right now. LOL!

More PCs Finished!!!

YAHOOIE!!! I am now officially "caught up" with my delinquent postcard swaps!!! PHEW!!! Here are the two belated "birthday greetings" for the October birthday girls in one of my groups! I'm truly sorry!



Now it'll be onto some RR block swaps that have been sitting here waiting for some CQ embellishments before being sent onto someone else or home - whichever is the case. Then I've got to get working on the December birthday postcards too - it would be nice to have them in the mail sooner than later.

Spiders PCs are Finished!

Finally I've completed my set of swap postcards which reflect the fall season that I truly LOVE! See I started them a while back with my idea of showing them rimmed with frost but while at a quilting retreat someone (I'll not mention names) said frost is also on the inside veins and suggested that they would look lovely on the postcards too.

So I thought about it some and decided yep that would be nice and definitely a "frosty look" so I continued! Needless to say it took me double the time to finish them off and lots more metallic DMC thread too - LOL! BUT darn it I do LOVE them! Hope the gals do to!

A Surprise Arrived!

Yep, I received a card in the mail to pick up a parcel today so after my Aurora quilt stitching meeting and a quick shopping stint for winter boot (zippo too) I stopped by the post office. Then home to open it up!!!

This is from my Christmas Cracker swap within the Crazy Quilting International group I'm in and my package came all the way from Japan put together by Hideko and I know it's gonna be a dilly!!! Thank you so much Hideko and I'm tickled pink that I received one of your beauties!!!

Well first off it's in a box - hmmm - but I'm wrong the box is in a soft bag tied with a ribbon. Yes I opened this and also this very lovely box which arrived in immaculate condition with no protection. Yes I opened the box (which is my favourite colour) and inside is my lovely C R A C K E R and this is where I stopped my unveiling. I haven't even opened the card, I'll try to be good and wait for nearer to Christmas but no guarantees!!!







Okay, I tried to crochet a butterfly motif (yellow one) but it's too big so I've got to reduce it somehow. Then I saw this lovely butterly picture and gave it to my sister Sylvia and she did this one up for me but it's still to large too! Hmmm gonna have to look for smaller ones.



AND if I don't get off this baby I'll be late for my stitching PJ party!!! This is the ornament I made for the exchange - two sided Cathedral Window! I think it's lovely and will have to make up more but maybe slightly smaller.





Yes, I had a lovely evening and didn't get home until 12:45 - WOW!!! The buffet was very close to our own home cooked Ukrainian dinner and delicious as always! And this is the ornament I received (4 x 6 in) and I'm going to take it to work and display it somehow on my desk. Neato. I also just about finished my spider postcards - so tomorrow for sure and maybe even get them ready to mail out.

I'm Stitching Away!

Well after four days of fun and games I think it's about time I got back to my Spider postcards and the Christmas ornament I need for Saturday's stitching PJ party!!!

I'm just about finished embellishing the leaves for the background for the spider so hopefully these babies will be in the mail this weekend - sort of really late - SORRY ladies! I do LOVE the effect and hope you do too! Now let's pray for no slowdown of mail delivery or a flat out stoppage due to some postal workers on strike!

As for the ornament, well I totally forgot about it again this year till it's just about too late so I've decided to do a fussy cut inside for a Cathedral Window ornament. I've chosen two different fabrics for two different looks and with some metallic embroidery I think they'll look very nice too. So I've cut out my fabrics and pressed the seams ready for stitching tomorrow.

So back to my postcards and then relax some.

95 Years Young!

Officially, Monday, November 17th is my Dad's 95th birthday, but some of our family gathered in Dauphin Manitoba this weekend for a good old food feast and visit with Dad, Grandpa and/or Gido!!! Now no one let slip that we were doing this until Saturday morning when Sylvia and Len were elected to go visit and bring him over to the Senior Centre sometimes in the afternoon. Well he got dressed and came over and stayed till 7:30 ish - which was a long time around everyone and not in his own home.

First off thank yous to Elsie, Erlene and Florence for their behind the scenes efforts to prepare and pull off this family gathering which I can say Dad was happy to attend along with many that attended! And secondly thank yous to the three chiefs and all those that assisted throughout the day and evening too. Hope all enjoyed themselves and arrived home safely!


Margaret (3rd), Sylvia (1st), Dmetro, Rose Anne (6th)






Now can you imagine 23 great-grandchildren ranging from (I think) 3 to 23 years of age running around (and that's not all of them either) along with the grandchildren, siblings and all the spouces that were able to attend - in total 65 with Dad, to keep contained, fed, and then organized for picture taking??? Well it was accomplished!!! We started to gather at around 10:30 am and were out of there by 8:00 pm and it looked just as good as when we had arrived!!! Not bad at all.


Some of the many great-grandchildren (many missing too).


Some of the grandchildren (3 missing).


Dmetro's "girls"!!! Florence, Rose Anne, Marlene, Erlene, Margaret, Elsie and Sylvia. Son, Eugene, absent - working up north.

The following are "girls" and their families but not necessarily corresponding in order in the pictures but the "first name" of the couples are the children of the "girls".


#1 - Sylvia & Len, Audrey (Bethany & Kiernan), Pat & Randy (Amanda & Byran), Diane & Curtis (Bradley & Tyler).


#2 - Elsie & Pete, Tracy & Terry (Colin, Tani & Braden), Brian & Laura (Lucas, Haley, Brooke & Brianna).


#3 - Margaret & Len, Tammy, Dennis, Dean & Victoria, Terry.


#4 - Erlene & Ray, Trevor & Janine, Denise (Allyson, Meagan & Tyler), Bruce & Karen (Jake, Hayden & Keetyn).


#5 - Marlene & Henry, Debbie & Cam (Kailyn, Dylan & Brandon), Norman & Tina (Andrew, Craig & ???)


#6 - Rose Anne and Dad


#8 - Florence & Wayne

Needless to say I did not get any stitching accomplished this weekend!!!

Budget???

Yep, that's exactly what I thought too - WHAT????

See I LIVED on credit all my life (sad eh!), spent what I wanted, when I wanted and how I wanted till one day I couldn't anymore!!! Sounds like something from a movie, TV or a book eh, but sadly it's real life and probably many more like me too? Now I've always heard of people on budgets and yes even tried (weakly that is) back in 1989 with Angela's help then too but never totally understood the makings of a budget and how it worked.

WELL that is until this past month!!! Sure I was talked through the steps by my counsellor and financial advisor, but did I really understand what I had to do - no I don't think so! Then I again got the basic do's and don'ts from Angela and gathered a notebook, pen and Excel ledger and started on a budget. Well so far so good, but it did not balance with my paycheque so HUH and I was getting frustrated? Then to top it off I knew there was money in the bank - I wanted to go shopping (nope I didn't).

Naturally, I put out another SOS to Angela again and today she was back home from a family situation and promptly said come over. What a treasured friend I have!!!


See initially she got me recording what I spent and sort of a budget but we have no idea of what I really need to live on - no records per se. So today armed with the startings of one month's expenses - from there she set me on the straight and narrow and to top it all off answered all the questions I had worrying me too!!!

WELL need I say more - except that I FEEL like a totally different person - not so stressed out on how I'll manage (might still be some slip ups but I'll make it) and she did say this next few months will be tough for me but it will be worth it in the end!!! I'm counting on that my dear!!! Then she dropped the bombshell and said the next challenge will be a 6-month and then 12-month budget plan - gosh this sounds to much like WORK!!! LOL!

Experimenting Again!

Okay, I'm looking for small crocheted motifs for my crazy patch blocks and so far only have my lovely heart and a pineapple. Well today I did try a freebie online pattern for a butterfly but with the size 10 and 1.5 m hook it's way to large - I will try a finer thread and hook and see how much smaller it works out to be. I love the varigated yarn for this that is for sure.



http://www.crochetmemories.com/archive/may9.html

Need to Share with You

Okay, I've been enjoying my friend's photographs for a while now (some even printed onto fabric ciggies) and lately she's started her own blog. So if you're interested in day to day pet, flower or scenic photos please drop into Judy's blog. I LOVE her photos and these recent ones I just wish I was there with my camera also.

Congrats Judy and glad you're bloggin!!!

Fun in the SNOW!!!

Okay, I will agree my previous venture out to pick up the last item for my package today was not fun - actually downright tense watching for ice patches and also other drivers that were not concerned as much (or had 4-wheel drive).

BUT mid-afternoon after wrapping up my Christmas package for NZ I grabbed my camera and walked over to the Post Office and thoroughly enjoyed the slow but safe jaunt!!! Yep I took pictures and even looked for some artsy stuff which has not happened in a long time.





Then more while crossing the Assiniboine River via the Osborne Bridge.



Then a closer view of the north bank (I live just a block behind the landing that is visible).



And then the south bank and the condo building (lovely suites) that off and on has it's underground parkade flooded in the spring.



See yesterday when I was at Safeway getting groceries I noticed the snow piling up on the outdoor furniture and kicked myself for not having my camera with me. And guess what - yep it was all still there but a little disturbed by humans.



Oh well it was still worth the walk and fresh air. But it sure got dark fast out there and I was glad I did not dally too long so I could see what I was walking on. As you can tell I'm home and safe and sound but hungry now!!!

Another Finished Project!!!

WOW WOW WOW am I ever on a roll!!! LOL!

I started this baby, Bright Stars Mini, in July and finally finished the assembly in September but didn't get the binding, label and hanger on till this last couple of weeks!!! But it's all finished and I'm so happy with it! It nearly took me two weeks though to pluck out all the paper piecing bits from the back and I'm still not happy with my quilting and yeah I had s Stitch in the Ditch foot and, dang it, forgot to use it on this baby!!!



Here is a close up of the 3 and 3/4 inch blocks.



Guess I should mention the pattern and designer eh? This is Star Quest by Sherry Fourez found in the Quilt Magazine, sorry I don't know the issue as I just tore out the pattern and ditched the rest of the magazine.

Okay, now onto finishing off the two postcard commitments and then I can get into my newer projects!!! YAHOOIEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT SNOWED!!!

OH MY OH MY OH MY, Yep it's SNOWED!!!

Well Winnipeg, Manitoba, central Canada got it's first SNOWFALL starting Thursday night and continued all Friday and into the evening. Walking home from work yesterday one of the co-workers mentioned crappy weather and I looked at her, smiled and said I wish I was dressed for it, I'd go out and play in this for a while, but instead had errands to run! Me thinks she thinks me's crazy???

I just looked out this morning - it's not snowing but definitely around ankle deep snow out there. I just LOVE the first snowfalls when everything is covered with those heavy wet glistening flakes - picture perfect Winter Wonderland!!! (But I truly hope no trees loose their branches because of this.) Nope I didn't have my camera yesterday while out grocery shopping and I'm still in PJs today (need breakie first) before deciding what I'll do yet. I know I've a quilt hanger to stitch on and then one more package is ready to be mailed so maybe I'll take the camera with me then and see if I can get some after pics to post here! Will see!

Another Item Finished!

Well guess buckling down and making hay while the money is gone works! Yep, basically been lying low and stitching, reading, relaxing and watching TV this last month and I'm making headway with some commitments backlogged here. My next project is the Christmas hanger for my friend (should have been mailed a couple of months ago for NZ), October birthday and November 1st Spiders swap postcards and then my CQd RR blocks (which I'm very anxious to get started on I can tell you). I's catching up and hopefully by the New Year will have the swaps all on time again!!!

Okay without further ado I can tell you this is the first time I've participated in this type of swap (been in similar SS swaps) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now one could find a lovely fabric, prepare a CQd block or prepare a CQd block with some of your own embellishments as the cracker wrapping which held various lovely items for CQing inside the paper towel roll trimmed to 7 inch length and tied on the ends with ribbon. Yep, you guessed it, I did a CQd block with three of my favourite trimmings so I hope my recipient likes it as much as I did working on it. I actually can't wait to see how this block is finished off and maybe used in the end - now that would be something to see eventually.



Here is what some call my "signature" motif - a web and spider, I've been told that I hadn't worked on a piece yet as it was not on!!! This spider has a two seed bead body with metallic bullion knot legs. The centre piece is from some fancy party dress from one of my older sisters.



This feather stitched shrub is on a shiny white velvet which I find a pain to do any details on but this seems to work very lovely. The hand dyed floss branches all meet in the bottom centre but the seed bead branches are added here and there only.



Now this is a variation of a "machine" embroidered motif but I changed the satin stitched centre ring with a Mother of pearl button and hand embroidered with hand dyed floss stems and lazy daisy leaves along it.



And VOILA my finished Christmas Cracker all ready to mail off!!!

I'm BACK!!!

Yep, my MIA seems to be sporadic and I'll try and correct that soon! I'm just not "myself" lately and spending more time stitching or just relaxing - definitely not cleaning my place or working on my finances either - as I should be!!!

Okay, along with my sister Sylvia and a few Aurora quilters we joined Oma's Quilt Shop at their retreat in lovely Pinawa MB (just under 2 hours from home). Well talk about some lovely FALL weather (green grass and leaves still visible in places) and an awesome welcome into town from MANY various sized deer everywhere!!!



They literally stopped munching giving you the eye like "what you didn't see deer before - go quilt - leave us alone" and talk about weird fenced yards - not to keep children/pets in - but the deer OUT!!!

Notice the white dog just behind the deer and laying so relaxed-like by the car and the deer not concerned at all?

Talk about the lovely scenery for fabric postcards with the many islands and jut outs along the winding Winnipeg River.

And here's Sylvia working on her GFG project. This time she didn't bring along all project items and finished stitching one part of her Hunter's Star quilt and the other pieces sitting at home - Hmmm! Guess that did not pan out right eh?

And here is the main quilting room and one of the many AWESOME projects we got to see in various stages this weekend. We even had a few mini demos for those interested. Our Aurora group had a smaller (much cooler) room on the main floor that housed us just lovely like!

Here's one quilter's project that I was truly intriqued with - not as a quilt project but as gathering ideas - isolating one item or two - for my crazy patch blocks - patch fillers! The stitching in these was awesome!!!

This weekend retreat was in a more institutional type of facility, but the meals were good and lots if you wanted it too along with beverages and snacks out all the time. Yes I would return if it is possible as the rates were very very reasonable and I truly do not mind not having classes as it's a weekend away with friends and actually working on UFOs too!!!

Okay, here's one of my Fancy Selvedges PCs that I finally finished off and mailed off to a friend who's kinda lonely without her Internet connections - I can't imagine having to deal with that!!! Miss you dearly!



And here are three postcards I'd stitched in August while out at Sylvia's, I appliqued silk flowers and leaves onto background fabric and embellished with embroidered whirls and beaded centres.







These next three were made for the FAPC - Double Faced swap and I can tell you it took most of the month to bead - and double the postage too to mail off!!! I sure hope the gals like my interpretation!







And this last one is this weekend's simplified version of the above idea - trying to save supplies, TIME and naturally MONEY in extra postage required to send the above beaded ones.



I truly have to rethink some of my so appealing ideas for praticality that is for sure!!! Now I'm off to work on the last signed up PC swap "Spiders" and let me tell you they are a lot easier and are stitching up faster than the above group were!!! LOL!