A NEW YEAR GIFT TO ME!

I gifted myself this morning. I bought a new issue of Better Homes as it has become my new best favorite magazine. I still love Fons and Porter but gosh these last couple of issues of BHG just are the best.



I have so many ideas for the new year and this just helped me plan!



Courtney has the flu, and an ear infection to boot. This morning we went to the doctor's to get the diagnosis. We were treated by what is called a

Practical Nurse who has vast experience in

diagnosing patients and even issuing prescriptions.



It was a very good experience and Courtney will have to forgo her training schedule for the next few days to a week. She was more concerned about her training program being put on hold than her illness. In any event the girl is in bed, with amoxicillon and moaning and groaning as teens will do. Her mother is practicing being patient. Not a small feat for mother and daughter both. I love them both so much and can't wait till they become fast friends again instead of mother and daughter, just like Kel and I are now. They are so funny together...

Oh my it's cold today, so cold that my walk with the dog was short. It's only 14 above zero F. That's cold in any country, but here in Canada, well we talk of the weather. It's in our psychy.

I wonder what they talk about in, say, Australia. Surely it's not the weather. Must be how may bodies were roasted on the beach on Sunday would be a better topic. You know I hear it's the only country that the roasters turn over by themselves... sick joke.

See you next year

HAPPY NEW YEAR HATS.

Did I ever tell you of these hats? Aren't they something?
Wouldn't they make wonderful New Years Party Hats?

Well Andrea who is Helen's daughter at the cottage bought these at a charity auction.

There's actually four of them, but these two came out the best. They are handmade, really quite functional and so absolutely individual creations that we couldn't resist posing with them on one afternoon!

There are lavish feathers, silks and veils interspersed on the caps. So comfy too.

Imagine wearing something like this to an opera or some fancy outing. But who wears hats today? Hardly anyone except to an evening wedding I suppose.

Anyway, Andrea just couldn't resist these and they are now carefully stored in lovely hat boxes. So very elegant.

Well almost the New Year eh? What's the plan for the next 12 months till we do this again, for me it's just trying to do appliques in quilting. I know it's just a matter of doing the first one and then moving on. I saw some tea cups that looked interesting or maybe umbrellas put on a blue and white background. Lots of ideas. Finishing the red quilt will be a priority for sure.

Courtney my granddaughter who went to the Laurentiens to ski has been sick since getting there, she says she has an awful cold, possibly and ear infection too. So the whole gang is coming home today as I hear that there are a couple of others not feeling well too.

Kelly is awaiting the teenage patient as I write this and has drops for her ear and cold tablets for the stuffy nose.

We keep a pretty low profile for New Years Eve, usually spent with a few friends. This year we are just going across the street, to have chinese food, play cards and try to stay awake till midnight. I am such an early riser that by the time 9 pm comes around, I'm almost ready for bed...as a matter of fact hardly anyone ever calls after 9 pm as they know we go to bed early.
But I'll try this year to be up till midnight.
Happy New Year to all my family and fellow bloggers who have made me so happy visiting this past year.

ALMOST NEW YEAR

I've bought fabric and have picked the pattern and have cut the 9 patch that is 3 1/2" squares. I love the fabrics I've chosen for the quilt that I'm making. It's from Better Homes and Gardens, most recent issue.

This is the quilt.

I'm loving this pattern which is easy and fun to do.

I finished all the 9 patch squares yesterday and today the 9" squares will be cut and the quilt placed together. It's for a nephew.

Picking out the colours for this has been easy and

putting the blues and orange together just makes it a really fun and bright piece of work.

I also bought some sudued fabric because it was

so pretty and I don't know what I'll do with it,

maybe a lap quilt or just a throw. I loved the

Victorian feel of the colours. Yeah I know I

like more modern stuff, but this just caught

my eye at the shop.

I'm having a hard time placing all these photos, but at least

they're here.

Yesterday the winds were so high that it made walking quite

treacherous. When I walked Wilson he was almost blown away from me. He felt it and actually looked around to see who had moved him....so funny. The weather was warm in the morning which is when I walked.

The trees from the Cullen ravine sounded like a roar and I could see the trees moving in all directions. By afternoon it was about 10 degrees colder and still windy. The chill factor must have been high.

I remember the "Christmas" winds in the Virgin Islands at this time of year, always called this by the locals as it seemed as if this was the time of year that it became quite blowing on the seas and sure enough when I went on the web cam in the islands yesterday I could see the masts of the sailboats going in all directions.

Of course the weather was about 40 degrees warmer, and there had been a few boat reporting trouble because of the winds. The seas on the atlantic side of Tortola were moving well.

Jerry went to the lake to see the waves. They were huge! He didn't walk out to the pier because it would have been dangerous and no one else was walking there either.

AFTER CHRISTMAS STUFF

Well it's after the feast and we are all recovering from a really good day. First we went to Kelly's for an awesome breakfast of sausage strata, blueberry french toast which were even better than mine and made by her two little cooks that she imported from the neighbourhood. I called over on Christmas Eve day and one of the girls answered and said they were busy cooking. So good and easy for Kel as they were made the day before.
There was fruits, buns, cookies, coffee and drinks. It was a feast.
Then we stopped in to visit my mother just after her lunch which is the best time to visit her as she seems to be most alert then. Jerry and she played a game of 500 and she was in her glory. For having dementia and not able to concentrate, being almost 90, she did amazingly well. She "wins" all the time of course and said to Jerry, that it wasn't so bad being beat by an old lady, who can't walk, can't talk much, and can't see either for that matter. Her macular degeneration seems to be a good one day and bad the next. A good couple of hours spent with her.
We then went to our neighbour's for dinner of the turkey and fixens as they say and had a wonderful time. Kelly came too, as her kids had gone to their dad's for the week. They packed as if they weren't coming back though, so much to take for a week in Quebec with Karen's family whom they love to visit. Hate the drive, love the visit because it does include skiing in the Laurentiens.
So here it is Saturday morning after a day of resting up, in a bit of pain from my fall on the ice yesterday. It's good that I have lots of "padding" as they say and I slipped carefully to the sidewalk so didn't do much damage except a sore shoulder today. Lucky is all I call myself now as I could have broken my wrist, which doesn't hurt even though that was sorest yesterday.
I am off to the Ultimate Quilting Shoppe in Oshawa today for their big sale. Jerry bought me a whole bunch of sewing stuff such as needles, squares, threads, markers, grids a bag from the shop which I hope to fill today as it's their annual boxing day sale of items.
My red quilt top is finished but I'm sick of sewing red and white for a while and even though I have been making a top and finishing the quilt before moving on to another, this time I think I shall lay it aside and make something else as I am bored with this very large quilt.
Today, there is so much fog that I can hardly see the school across the park. Wow and 50 degrees F, wahoo, maybe the snow will melt enough to see over the pile so I can back out of the driveway safely. Seriously, where are we going to put the stuff for the rest of the winter?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's Sunday afternoon and our family brunch was a huge success. We had great cheesy appetizers, fruit salad, caesar salad, sausage strata, chicken pot pie, lots of coffee, egg nog plus whatever you wanted to add to it, juices, and lots of cookies, lemon blossoms, triffle with real whipped cream.

We are all full and Jerry and I are recovering quietly. Jerry and Martin went to the nursing home and brought my mother out for the afternoon. They did a great job. She needed strong men to get her here what with the wheel chair and all.

We had a snow storm as everyone was arriving and that made getting here exciting. The storm has left us and we again had to shovel out our driveway. Kevin our step grandson is doing a great job with that.

I logged on to Mountain Trout House and found the above logos and thought they were great. Their lights twinkle, but still they look great here.

Merry Christmas.

THE STRIPED PYJAMAS

Here is the photo of my "little" girl taken about 42 yrs ago. Her brothers that you saw in a recent post had solid reds and she was in stripes . I just love this photo, it's so typical of Kelly when she was so young, always smiling and a talker even then.
Isn't it lovely that we remember these small memories in photos. I see the curtains in the background and remember making them.
Kelly looked like Pebbles when I topped her hair.
Yabadabadoo. So cute!
We have had soooooooooo much snow and have had to make a path for the dog to go out. Unbelievable how fast it came and how fast it cleared last night, giving us a bright sky with stars shining brightly.
Today it's cold, but there isn't a cloud in the sky and the snow is melting at the back door, which makes it hard to believe that we are going to get socked with it again tomorrow.
And I'm having a bunch of the family for brunch. If the weather isn't too bad we will try and get my mother here too. We haven't mentioned it to her as yet because of the weather and even though she has dementia, she would remember some of our plans. Martin and Jerry will be designated to go get her in the morning before 11:00 am. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she does come. If only for a couple of hours, it will be fun for her.
Quilting and blogging will be put on hold for the next week or so I think as Christmas week is going to be really busy. So with that in mind, anyone seeing this blog is wished the Merriest of Christmases as this is a year where we are all looking at what we have in our lives we should be grateful for small miracles.
Merry Christmas.

LITTLE BIRCH HOUSES

I found these little houses on a blog that is called getting stitched on the farm I think.
aren't they cute? I am not too crafty when I'm by myself, but when the grandkids want to do something at the cottage, I usually can come up with something. These are great as they use cardboard, glue and birch bark which we have lots of at the cottage.

They do look christmasy here, but put green under them and they become all year round little houses.
We are expecting a winter storm of storms so it seems. But, here in Whitby as I write this and get started for the day, it's looking just like a normal dark day without the sun. What else is new. Today I am sewing and finishing the baking for my family brunch on Sunday.

So close to Christmas and so much to do...I am off to do it.

SOURDOUGH BREAD

Here is Quincey. He is in the toy basket and loving it. I got my camera back from the repair shop in two weeks! I couldn't believe it. They said it would be about 3-6 weeks and I thought I wouldn't have it for Christmas....

Anyway, I am trying to start sourdough. I looked online for instructions and it has been three days since I started it and I thought it would rise each day but it hasn't. I can't seem to find any place that says what the starter should look like. Well tomorrow I'm going to try to make bread anyway. I hope it turns out.

I took this photo because I was stressed over the dough thing and thought that since we are puppy sitting I'd walk him and Wilson to relieve the, you know....it worked. I'm good and making pizza for tonight as a treat to us...

The bridge luncheon was so yummy, everyone ate almost all afternoon and I didn't even have dinner as I was still full of the goodies. Everyone brought a great dish which included, shepherd's pie, a great potato dish, (ordered from last year), a veggie dish with oodles of cut up veggies. We even had sweet potatoes from one of the local restaurants and for some people it was the first time having them. You know they're good even cold, didn't know that.

The deserts of course all homemade and the most colourful, delicious fruitbowl brought by Kathy who is a potter and it was in one of her lovely bowls. We had fern tarts, butter tarts, date squares, and lots of great Christmas cookies to round it off.

The wine flowed, the tea and coffee, and the mineral water that was our "juices" just finished everything off.

Our hostess who has the most fabulous of kitchens was perfect in her duties of having our social group there for the afternoon. And so special was the day that we had sunshine for at least most of the afternoon. What can I say...thank you all and specially Gudrun.

I am "messing up the kitchen" as Jerry says when I get creative and since my gang is coming Sunday, I have started with the cooking.

My friend Helen who introduced us to Luchious Lemons from Paula Deen would be pleased that they are requested by Kelly who called it Martha Deen's recipe from Helen....Good things...

I don't think I'll be back here until after our snow storm which is expected tonight and Saturday too. Ah well it is winter and we should have a white Christmas.... Right?

LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREES

Aren't these cute? I found them at www.thesmallobjectsstenopad.com It's a free tutorial and they can be made with very little fabric. I just couldn't believe how simple they were to make and if one didn't glue them like these are done but velcroed, or buttonholed to lay them flat after the season, well they just make great gifts.

I have found a few cute things by going to www.tipnut.com where they seem to find all these cute items online and then post them for us to just go and look.

I had a request for the bowls and should have given the link at the time, but since I have a hard time doing all the cutesy things, I didn't.

I also meant to add someone to my list of sites I visit regularly and deleted the whole thing. What a drag that was and the panic that what would happen if I didn't remember all the names.

I am still trying to get that together without stress.

The Bridge Club is having its luncheon today and Dawn and I were to bring the ham, so easy for us this year, but with Dawn's hubby just having had a lung operation for cancer, she didn't think she should attend. Afterall he may be coming home today and it is bridge day so she had to make the choice.....she chose to bring him home by car rather than having him take the Go Train.....Just kidding, it's a no brainer for her. She'll be glad to have him home, and I tell you she had more ways to get to downtown Toronto. Every day for the past week she'd tell me how she travelled...she loved the sites. So funny.

I am off to prepare the ham for the luncheon.

Oh and by the way, I have started sour dough bread starter. I beat it again today-3rd day- and it looks ok, smells yeasty, but I thought it should rise some...oh well tomorrow is dday, when I make a loaf of sour dough bread.

Still no sun and it snowed last night. This has been a depressing couple of weeks weather wise, bring on the sun for Christmas at least...

PAPER BOWLS

I found this bowl on the web. It is also called a Vogue Bowl I think. It's made out of magazines and just folded pages and glued . I thought these were amazing and could certainly be used as a great project to do with kids or teens who are always looking for something different.

I am difinitely going to make one if I ever get done the red quilt which is HUGE. I mean HUGE and I only have half of the strips together.
It's amazing in size as I have only done singles, lap quilts and such to make a queen size quilt.
I am going to work on it again today though and see how much I can finish. This may be one of those works that I go back to once in a while. It's going to be great when done, but the quilting is going to be hard.

Our snow is disappearing as I sit here blogging. My granddaughter and friend have been making a fort in the park and I am sad to say that it's just about kapoot. Going, going gone as they say and great news for those of us that don't like the snow too much. Great for walking on the sidewalks again. We are going to be in the 40s today so I am walking further.

Only a week or so before Christmas...I gotta get moving, still shopping to do.
This week in the Bridge luncheon, which should be so good as we have lots of great chefs in our little social group that plays bridge....
have a great day

THE BOYS

Here is the photo of my three boys dressed in their Christmas pyjas and waiting for Santa.

Kelly didn't want to be in the photo and I haven't found the one of her yet. I think she had on striped pyjas if I remember correctly.

Adam was only 6 mos old and so cute then.

Now they are all grown, have grown children almost and the years have slipped by.

Christmas was so simple in those days, stockings were the big thing in the mornings of those early years. Just a few gifts bought and lots of homemade items....Wonderful days with their grandmothers so happy to see them in their Christmas outfits.

Such wonderful times...Martin was always the last to open his gifts. He loved to just stand and look at it in all its wonder of a 3 yr old. He was so cute. They all opened Adam's gifts since he was so young..

THE RED BLOCKS

Well as suggested, I have laid out the red blocks to get a random pattern. It really works, I took a few photos to see if they looked satisfactory.

So, I have marked the rows, and since the white will be the contrasting colour, it gives me an idea of the quilt's finished effect.

Of course, I have enough red squares left over to do another quilt...god, I have such a hard time counting what a pattern says.

Oh well. One thing that I did decide is that the Christmas blocks I had cut that I will not use them and will make some stockings or something with them. I could make a skirt for the tree, but I really don't have red as my accent with the tree.

I hope I can find some red and white polka dot fabric to line it. I think that would be great.

The day started out as a winter wonderland with snow very heavy and it has now turned to rain and it's again a dark day. Oh how I await sunshine....

THE GREEN QUILT FINISHED

I finished it yesterday afternoon while watching the Big Three on CNN and switching to CTV newsnet about the goings on with one group asking for bailouts and everyone really impressed me in the deportment and professionalism.

Then switching to CTV and seeing the bafoons we call politicians acting like demigods, well it was worth the watch. Really stupid politics going on here in Canada and what these politicians need to do is grow up and get governing.

This little quilt is about 52" square and I love the finished product. It would make a nice crib quilt or a lap throw to make someone cheery.

This is part of the red fabric collection that I got at Fabricland's 40% sale last week. I'm thinking of the "dream quilt" which is blue and white, but you know finding blues that I wanted wasn't going to happen on sale so I liked the reds. I washed them to make sure they don't run...I hope and want to start cutting today if I can.

There isn't a cloud in the sky as I write this and hardly any wind to put the wind chill factor in when I walk this morning. Last night when there was a very light snowfall, the dog and I went for a walk. A perfect night, light snow falling, no wind, and with the Christmas lights on around the neighbourhood, it really is starting to look like the Season.

Oh it must be as I am making Christmas cookies today too. Yum!

GREAT IDEAS

http://www.tipnut.com/ has the most amazing tips and ideas for whatever skills you want to apply. I can't remember how I found this site either. But it was here that I think I found that waterbottle pattern. There is so much out there on the web that something happens and I add it to a favourite and then can't remember how I got there...It's a brain thing.



Well Kel couldn't stand it, she put her tree up in the family room and is starting to do her Christmas decorating. She always gets into it and I love what she does, but can't do the decorating thing because I am a bit claustraphobic and eventually all that "stuff" just starts to crowd in on me. But we do have a couple of wreaths for the door and a huge tree which we are planning to put up this year. When we looked at the tree through the eyes of the camera we thought the lights were wonkie and laughed because in the room the tree looks amazing. Her little kiddies that she minds just loved it.

Wow the sun is shining today and I am going for a walk while it's out there. So so many days without sunshine here in Whitby that it's really depressing me. I need the sunshine to keep me sharp and cheery. I tell my bridge group that I practice being "sharp" and after the laughter dies down they continue to let me play.

WATER BOTTLE CARRIER

Pink Chalk Studio is where I found this water bottle carrier. I think it would make an excellent gift. At the site is a tutorial on how to make and quilt this neat little item. It is free.





I can't even remember how I came across this site, but she has some really neat ideas and patterns.

There is a mail bag pattern on her site and it is very very cool and looks really easy to make. She also quilts and does other sewing stuff that is really neat.

Take a look .

Green quilt is finished except for the binding which I will hand sew tonight as I watch Judge John Deed on BBCC, love the show and never miss this British drama.
Speaking of drama, our goverment is doing such stupid acts in this time of needing to act like adults, that it makes me wish for a snap election just to give someone a good kick for trying to overthrow a duly elected goverment just 6 weeks ago! Grown men can be such buttheads as my grandkids say.

Bridge day, I always look forward to seeing the gang and having and afternoon of cards, socializing and just plain "feeling the love".

SEWING AREA

This is my sewing area. It isn't fancy, but it works really well. I have lots of room and lots of plugs for electric needs.

When we were deciding where to put the shelves etc, I chose this area as the window directly above lets the sunlight in (when we ever get sun) and it makes it pleasant to work there. I have lots of light and can move another table ajacent to the sewing table for the other machine or quilting area.

This is Courtney's cupboard before and the second photo shows it after Jerry had installed the units to complete it for her. She was returning from Florida training camp on Sunday so it had to be finished for her on Saturday. Kelly painted the room grey, removed the carpeting and reorganize the bed etc. Needless to say Courts was speechless when she saw her room. Excellent job done by Kel and Jer.

We are minding Quincy again today and he is just making Wilson so tired. Me too. I took the dogs for a walk and it was a chore to have 2 dogs on leashes and one who just want to smell and one who just wants to run.

I am finishing my green quilt today. I have basted it and it's ready for stippling. I wonder if people that baste, pin before doing a small quilt such as this one which is about 52" square. Anyway, I didn't and it looks good to go.

I have decided to make my "dream quilt" in red and white, I know it's not the colours I would normally choose, but I liked the reds and there were limited blues. I will watch for them though as I do like the idea of the blues.

My friend Dawn has decided to try another strippy quilt. Wahoo Dawn...Looking forward to working together with her.

I'm off to quilt.

GREEN QUILT

Well I have this "green " quilt top done. I wanted it to be more boyish so that I can pass it on to a boy, however I may have to ask opinions on this from family.

It's hard to do a boyish quilt without making it look babyish too. I didn't know what to do with this so I cut out 4 1/2" squares and put them together. I also have since added a blue sashing to the borders. It looks ok, not the oomph that I was looking for.

I hope to start basting it this morning if I can get going. I am putting a stripe as the backing. You know a lot of quilts don't show the back and it's as important as the front. I have a hard time putting colours together and if I saw the backs of quilts it might help me.

I'm going to buy some stash today as Fabricland has a 40% off sale and they need my money.

I hate spending right now as we are heading into a depression for the next while and I must justify any monies going out to feed my addiction. Oh I will mind you but still..........

Homemade beans are on our menu for tonight. I really like them and with a small crunchie salad they make a great meal. Besides the house will smell lovely all day long. I am a pretty basic cook, you know meat and potatoes etc but every so often I try a new dish. Well with our Christmas brunch coming up, yesterday I looked at a bunch of recipes to try. Reading the comments of recipes is a great way to decide.

I wasted so much time on this that I didn't get much else done. But the day was so dark because of the weather that it's hard to get motivated to do anything. I thought I was coming down with a cold, but no I 'm not so it's just the weather.

We also had the might Quincy visiting as we were minding him till Bob came home last night. He's too young, only 12 weeks old, to be left alone for a long time. He is growing so fast, but he loves to be here because Wilson will play with him and is so patient...except when it comes to food, boy then Q is put in his place.

WINTER IS HERE!

This is the final photo of the cottage work boat yesterday. The boats are all out of the water and the bays are freezing, snow has fallen, winter has arrived at our little place on earth where we dream of being each day.

Now the snowmobiles will be reving up their engines and getting ready for snow trails.

Me? I am quilting up a storm. I have almost finished a top which I'll post tomorrow as today is bridge day. Going to lunch with Dawn, we are celebrating being alive!

The new top is a lot of blue and green making it more boy friendly which is what I was hoping for as all my quilts are very "girly". It is simple 4 1/2" squares, and went together so fast that I was almost finished before 4 pm yesterday. I haven't figured out the sashing yet, so my little stash of fabrics may not do the trick. I may have to shop which is my least favorite part of quilting. I know that sounds strange, but I shop for a quilt, make it and move one, I don't know how I'll aquire a "stash".

BOOKS. I'VE BEEN TAGGED

Well this is a new one for me, Lisa at Cranberry Flats has tagged me which means I must come up with 7 books that I've read that are "different".

I don't know if I know 7, but here is one.

"Stealing Lillian" sort of like a comedy of errors book about a little girl who is kidnapped and then the kidnappers offer money to get her parents to take her back. The book is absolutely ancient and out of print, but my mother gave it to Jerry to keep. It's priceless.

"Armegedon" about the end of second world war when the alies are taking possession of Berlin. Seen through the eyes of an American Army Officer. It give insite into the European occupation in 1945.

"The Lovely Bones" I consider this little book as one of the saddest I've ever read and my granddaughter Tory who is an avid reader suggested this. I cried all the way through it. It's going to be made into a movie which will come out next year.

"Ireland With a Fridge" about a bloke who, on a drunken night accepts a bet to go about Ireland with a fridge on his back...funny.

"The Devil wears Prada" not much like the movie, funny and biting about the world of fashion and it's cutthroating at its best.

"Any book by Margaret Atwood" so strange that I cannot finish them. She is Canadian writer, and always gets nominated for her books, but I find them so awful, I can't ever finish them. So there, hope this counts.

"The Army" written by my son Martin when he was about 12 yrs old and it was a short story that I typed for his english project. Totally captivating, and it was about how ants work together and the day they made a bridge to cross a river, which at the end was a little stream about 3 " wide. So good a composition that I remember it.

Whew, on to number 6.

"The Camel Club" David Baldacci wrote this and it was the first of his books I had read, now of course I have read all his books, totally captivating and one of the best thriller writers.

"Forty Words" by Giles Blunt, who is Canadian author, writes about a fictional town up northern Ontario and has a recurring character in his detective thriller books.

I hope this is what is supposed to be written in the "Tagged" blogger series. I don't know if they are supposed to be really weird, or just "different" styles of readings.

I suppose all of us have read "Gone With the Wind" which stands up today as it did when written. My daughter went to see the movie when she was 12, didn't know Clark Gable and thought the author must have written the book with him in mind, because when she read the book that was how she pictured Rhett Butler...I always remember that.

FINGERLESS GLOVES

I made thes "fingerless gloves" for the kids last year and I have worn them also. They can be worn over another pair of gloves if its quite cold (see last week). They don't take long to make and certainly if made in bright cheery colours would make a daring teen happy to have them.

I took this with my Canon SLR as I couldn't get the powershot Canon to download to the computer. Stupid thing. It works sometimes and then it gets tempermental. It worked fine on Saturday and as I sit here totally frustrated because it didn't work, it's started my day stressed out. The computer keeps saying that there is no camera settings. I'll take it to the store and have them look at it. I read the book, but since I have a hard time reading directions, that isn't going to help me at all.

It's warm out today, in the above freezing and I am actually looking forward to going out. Last week was so cold in Ontario here and most of the country for that matter that we all wanted to become groundhogs and hybernate. Not today. It's going to rain probably and I don't care. It's warm.

I am planning a family brunch to take place in a couple of weeks. I know the deserts, but the main courses are still bothering me as I don't want to make the usual sausage strata, even though the family loves it. I'll be surfing the net for some ideas for sure. Teens can be fussy and the party will mostly be teens, so I want to be prepared. Used to be that the kids had fruit and cereal, and bacon of course and then we the adults sat down and feasted....not now, everyone wants to feast.

I'm getting into the Christmas spirit I think...although I think it's way to early for the tree. Not till the tenth at least.

PRETTY IN PINK....EVE'S QUILT

This little pink quilt has found a home! It is going to my niece Eve. She is having her room painted today in pink so this will be perfect for her room.

Her dad dropped in last night and mentioned that she was getting a room makeover and so, this quilt is gone.

It's hard parting with quilts as I am learning. Each one is a work of many many hours and the thoughts and love that go into each one doesn't hit you till you pass it on to someone else to hopefully love it like you do. Anyway, it's gone. I am putting a label on it for her. She is 3yrs this coming March...perfect for her.

This morning I was awake early thinking of how to make the label for it and with the new embroidery stitches I have on the new sewing machine, I'll have some fun with the design. I only hope I have enough pink thread to do the label.

I went over to "maryquilts" and noted that she was up really early and had a couple of comments to her blog by other early risers. She does such beautiful work on her longarm and so many charity quilts that I visit her often to note her generosity.

Another cold day here in Ontario. Did I mention that I hate the winter? Well not all of it but the really chilly damp that we sometimes get. Jerry is actually thinking of putting up a few Christmas decorations! I can't believe it. He is getting the spirit! Isn't it too early yet? I have seen a half dozen houses in this area that have their Christmas trees up....good lord, it's November.

It reminds me of my sister in law telling the story of when her boys were young, Jamie not older than 9 I think and she came home and they had put up the tree in November. They just couldn't wait till Christmas. Ah, those days are gone for our grandkids now who are almost all teenagers and beyond.....

HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY ALEX

Today is granddaughter Alexandra's birthday. We gave her an Ipod and her sister was happy that we did as no one will have to listen to Alex play the same song over and over.

I finished the quilt. It turned out so well and the new machine which is the 6600, Janome is everything that it is supposed to be. I stippled it and it really looks good.

The quilt which had the errors in my measuring the 9 patch finished up looking quite different and it is very "square" at about 60" . I felt like I was in a "zone" doing this quilt and I suppose after 10 months of quilting....using that word loosely....I finally finished one that looks like it is supposed to.

We went to Kelly's today and the bedroom project is coming along well, with Jerry getting instructions to not be too "perfect" and he is going to make Courtney's shelves for her cupboard. I was amazed at how neat her drawers were. Perfectly folded sweaters, tshirts, pants, socks folded etc. I tell you she could give the army lessons in folding. Unbelievable for a 16 yr old!

So tomorrow I will plan another quilt...hopefully I can find some fabrics on sale and be inspired.

SNOW DAY

Well, I finished the top of this quilt. I didn't do the sashing the same at each side as I don't want it to be square. So I did 5 1/2 on the sides and 3 1/2 on the top or visa versa which ever I decide looks best.


Now, of course if I could learn to read directions the blocks would be 3 1/2" nine patch and I wouldn't have had to mess around with the yellow to make the squares 9" square. So frustrating, otherwise it would have taken me a day to cut and at least start to put this together instead of looking at it and hitting myself up the side of the head for being stupid. But fortunately it's fabric and I could fix it. I do love it though and Jerry says he really really likes it.


Now I must decide to finish it stippling or in the ditch to quilt it. I really think it calls for the stippling...oh joy, just what I have been practicing for the past week.





Since I played bridge yesterday, doing my best not to be too disruptive to the people who have put up with me over the past 10 years of playing with that group, and forgetting so much over the summer that I should be in lessons, I think I will read up on bridge bidding and see if I do better there than reading quilting directions.



We have had our first snow of the season...the dog loves it, the kids love it and I am staying indoors and looking out till it melts.

Yesterday we had the warning that it would snow, so I shopped for food and decided that we should hybernate for a couple of days till this stuff disappears.


We will probably go to Kelly's to take photos and see what she and I can do to enhance Jerry's life once again by having him do some woodworking for us and making him follow our directions for Courtney's room without his going nuts! We want to keep it simple and "No Jerry, you aren't supposed to look at the floor" sort of thing because the first thing he will say is that it looks like it should be finished. Not going to happen..right Kel?

I can't believe how many people have commented to this blog. I am so happy to have a few of my fellow bloggers commenting. It really completes my day.

MY SHELVES COMPLETED

Finally yesterday afternoon Jerry finished the shelves for my sewing needs. They just look fantastic and with the white shelving it makes the area look so bright.

I spent the early part of this morning "staging" it just to look at it on the computer. I hope to fill up the left side with quilts and even the cherished ones from my aunt. I found another this morning which is very raggedy and will need some repairing it. It's a log cabin of some kind which my grandmother and great aunt did so many years ago. I'm going to put a new binding on it and fix it the best I can.

Well I did fix the measurements that I failed to notice when cutting out the new quilt, and put it together yesterday while Jerry was finishing the shelves. He said it was one of his favorites. Great! I am off to Kelly's today to see how she is coming with Courts's room since she's in Florida training, her mother will surprise her when she comes home in two weeks.

I have tools and am ready to do the best I can to help her. So off I go.

2 1/2 is not 3 1/2.

Well last week I started a new quilt and for some reason mistook, 2 1/2 " binding for the measurement for the 9 patch. Consequently, the 9 patch was too small, so I had to add yellow strips around it. I think it will look quite good, but it wasn't what I wanted.
Another lesson learned "Read twice, cut once" I think will be my new motto.

My shelves will be finished today. The units are up, but not completed as Jerry will put the remaining shelves up where I want them. It looks brighter already with the white shelves there.

We didn't do much yesterday as we watched the final Nascar race which didn't change the results of the champ, but we found the race exciting.

I went to Fabricland with a 50% off coupon and their quilting fabrics were just plain boring, so I gave the coupon to another customer for her use. She was pleased, not a quilter but had bought a lot of fabric and didn't have the mail coupon. I did my good deed. There was a lot of 40% off fabrics, so my couplon wasn't good for that anyway. I am going to Ajax today and will see what that Fabricland has. It's got to be better than Whitby.

Today will be a day to walk the dog, yesterday was so damp that I played stupid and ignored him, but gotta do it today even though it is going to be cold and damp again. But then it is November.

We went to see our granddaughter off to Florida for her training camp in kayaking. Lucky girl and being a teenager, even though I said to watch the weight of her stuff, she was a bit overweight by 3 kilos. The airline charges $10.00 per kilo, so she lightened her load by carrying on. She's gone for 2 weeks...and looks like she will have good weather.

DREAM QUILT

This quilt is also in the new Better Homes magazine and I just love the photo, the quilt is one that would look great at the cottage.

I use duvets there for most of the beds, but if it was adults weekend and I had this for the bunkie then this would look fabulous on the bed.

It doesn't look hard to do, but it is large and quilting it would certainly be a challenge on the sewing machine. This is the photo of the bed now so I hope to do one for this place. the "new bunkie" as it is called doesn't have the character of the old one...later posting....and I have put the quilts that I have made so far in there which is adding some decorating elements.

Yesterday I did 5 nine patch squares. It was hard to do to make them the same for the quilt in progress.

It was raining and when the rain let up, I surfaced and took the dog for a long walk. Even though I do suffer from arthritis a bit and the weather being so damp, once on the road we walked for 40 minutes. No mean feat for this body.

Today was supposed to be raining again but right now the sun is shining and it looks like an early spring day not the fall. There is a 50% off sale at Goodwill, and thinking of the sale I wanted to rise and shine and go see the fabrics and sheets they have at the sale price, but am holding back . There will be another sale.

I know that most quilters use 100% cotton for quilting but for the backing I have used sheets and therefore save money on the quilts because the batting is so expensive.

Jerry has 3 shelves made and has requested pizza, homemade for tonight, so if he gets the other 2 done, he will have his pizza. I am so tough.

FIRST NINE PATCH

I couldn't believe that these were at Walmart just down the street. Under $10.00 for the pkg. I love dotted fabric anyway. So I am doing a quilt with some of the bundles .

I have a hard time doing anything more "boyish" but this one won't have pink in it. I'm going to get it tested by Kelly to see if it is suitable for a young boy nephew.

I also made my first 9 patch which is part of the quilt. It is again an easy pattern and since I had my sewing lesson at the Oshawa Sewing Centre I am hoping that I can stipple this properly. I am cutting out 12" squares to practice daily no matter what.

I bought a Better Homes and Garden quilt magazine yesterday and lucked out on some of the fat quarters at Walmart. They aren't carrying any more yard goods, but if the fat quarters above are any indication, I'm going back.

Yesterday was bridge day, so I didn't post. I went to the dermatologist in the am who said that I had a small cancerous spot on my shoulder, but not to worry too much about it as it is the kind that doesn't spread, move or otherwise, however it must be removed. I am making appt with plastic surgeon and if it takes as long as an ortopedic appt. well I won't hold my breath. The Orthopedic doctor for a bunion that I want removed will take a year before I get it done. Well I've waited this long and since I don't want to wear heels anyway, it won't be so bad. Thank god for Crocs.

I have about 5 pairs of different styles and the sandals are soooo comfy.

Wow, I managed to get a second photo in this blog. I am so pleased. Blogging is hard work. I try something different all the time and mostly have to go back and correct everything cause I can't read directions.

Anyway, this is my first 9 patch that I have ever made it is to go with the Fabric from Walmart, of which 5 of the patches come from the 5 quarter bundles that I bought. I had to take it apart already, to put the stripes in the middle.

I have 18 of these to do and am very pleased that the first one actually was square. Yeah, I have a hard time keeping things square. My friend Helen who is a hand quilter will be pleased with me as she has been trying to get me to do 9 patch for ages. I am liking this a lot.

These are the photos from the mag. We shall see if the quilt comes close to this when I finish it.

Lots of photos here and not all of them where I want them, but close enough. Whew!

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Today is Remembrance Day. this is the only wartime photo that I have on my computer.

the photo is of my mother in the white dress, my aunt Ernie on the right of both photos, and my Uncle Roland and his then wife Alice who was from England.

They took this photo in Montreal. My father was overseas at the time. My mother has many good memories of the war as a young woman growing up in this time. She lived in Montreal, had a good job and said it was a time when people were quite fatalistic because of what was happening in Europe.

My father, had not met anyone in the family before he was shipped overseas as they had eloped, so one night during an air raid in London, my dad having had too much to drink called the MPs to come and get him and his buddy out of a shelter. Low and behold, who appeared but my Uncle Roland and with the look of him being 6ft 3", and a french canadian accent, my dad asked him if he was a "Martin" and he said yes, and my dad said "Well I am your new brother in law." True story of how they met.

My Aunt Ernie went to work in Montreal for Bell and was an overseas operator as she was fully bilingual and one of the first of her kind. She never forgot how you had to behave being a bell operator and an overseas one at that. She was always very proud of her duty in those times.

My uncle, and my mother are both elderly in their late 80s and still can talk of those years of the war as being so exciting, because they were young and carefree.

My mother who learned so much about fashion living in Montreal, so for the rest of her life she has always dressed so well, and loved shopping for clothes. She said that she bought a mink coat during the war for $400.00 and when she and my Aunt Pat went home to visit my Grandmother, she would wear the coat to church. My mother said she literally wore that coat out.

So today, at the ceremony at 11 am, we remember them all.

QUINCY

This is quincy. He is 9 weeks old, part poodle part spaniel. He is our neighbours new puppy. Isn't he just the cutest thing?

Bob and Mary brought him home on Saturday night and he is so calm and has the same colour hair as Mary...well for now anyway.

I don't know if he walks yet as the only time I see him, he is in Mary's arm.

Our Wilson was pretty happy to see him although we aren't letting them bond as yet as the puppy should aclimatize to new surroundings before Wilson gets him.

I finished the Orange Sherbert quilt and washed it. Yep it did shrink a bit but still looks really good. I am going to wash the bamboo batting before I use it again. Yuck, now I gotta hang it out etc. A lesson learned for sure. My step granddaughter Kelly is learning to sew and has come over with an evening sort of dress and we are doing that this week, although I am going to buy new fabric for a new quilt today.

As the days are shorter I see people cleaning up their gardens, putting leaves in the large bags for recycling and the street seemed to be a hive of activity this past weekend. We brought home the leaf blower from the cottage and Jerry says he will blow them to a corner and pick them up for next week...

Last night I made chops in the new stove top grill that I got from President's Choice...thanks Kelly...they turned out really well. I can't get over how great this unit is and have used it a few times already for doing steaks for which I am thankful as I hate going out in the cold and dark to bbq them. For $80.00 it is an absolute gem!

ORANGE SHERBERT

I am naming my new quilt orange sherbert, thanks to Niki for giving me the idea. I have "repaired" my big mistakes by adding a piece of the backing and just redoing the binding. It looks pretty good compared to what it was. So thanks Niki.

Today, again another glorious autumn day in Ontario. We are coming to an end though and Jerry will start the shelves he has put off because the weather is so delicous. This morning I had coffee outside on our little deck and it was actually hot there at 10 am. Imagine November 7th.

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain so we shall see if the weather brings me shelves to pile my fabrics on. I am practicing my quilting by machine. Boy it is hard to get the stitches even when the darning foot. But I am using my ugly quilt to do it, so it makes it worthwhile.

I have trouble with the backside of the quilt looking "stitched". It sometimes looks like it is loopy so I'm bringing it with me to sewing lessons on the new sewing machine next week. See what I am doing wrong. I love the Janome 6600.

JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISTA,

This is a print that I see each day. It reminds me of my granddaughters just walking the beach.

The painter is Joaquin Sorolla y Batista of Spain and this painting was done around 1908, and I bought this print about 25 yrs ago for $10.00. It cost much more to have it framed and has remained one of my favorites after all these years.

My sewing room is all cleaned up, but the weather has been so good that I haven't started my next quilt which will be a variation of 9 patch which my friend Helen says makes a really interesting quilt when adding different elements.

I will have to go to the quilt shop to see what I can find to suit me as it has lots of bright colours with black and white 9 patch. A fons and porter design which I seem to gravitate to when seeking patterns.

The good weather is coming to an end probably by Saturday, so I shall be in shoes and socks again. Oh I don't like the thought of winter and all that goes with it.

What a Day

Well I meant to start early this morning to put my post in for today as I have promised myself to try and do it daily, but we stayed up late to watch the elections, then an early dental appt left me with hardly anytime to even get to the computer.
I have tried to make my blog look more to my liking, but since I am not very literate when it comes to the computer, being almost self-taught I have a hard time making the headings, and blogs I follow, the colours and putting it all together. I am sure others have a hard time making their blogs individual too.
I went to the dentist to discuss a bridge, implant or leave alone small tooth area that was removed last year. I just didn't like the $3,000.00 figure for the implant, and almost the same for a bridge that my dentist said would cost, so I asked for a second opinion from my oral surgeon dentist where I have teeth cleaned, and he said if it didn't bother me to leave it alone for a while and see how I am next year, well that is better because the economy isn't exactly up these days and investments aren't doing well as everyone knows.
I took my Janome circa 1990 or thereabouts to get a facelift and it will be returned on Tuesday. I asked after 10 yrs for the needle threader to be replaced. My eyes just aren't what they used to be and I have been placing a piece of white paper behind the needle and praying that I was able to thread the bloody thing in the first 20 tries. I have even removed the needle, inserted one of those threaders through the needle, put the needle back in the machine. Talk about being cheap.
The quilt shoppe where I bought the Janome 6600 has great fabrics, but so expensive compared to Fabricland. The price with my discount is about $10.00 per metre. I have some fabric in my stash, but not enough to make some more "male" type of quilts.
I wish there were lots of fabric stores here in Canada, but it is very limited. I may use online buying.
Obama is going to be president of the US. What an historical event. I remember when John Kennedy was elected the first catholic president. That was also an historical event.
As I said earlier.....what a day.

YELLOW QUILT TO BE NAMED

So here is my last quilt that I finished last night I really enjoyed doing this one. I tried a wavy stitch from the new machine and I don't know whether this is considered "quilting" or not but I did it anyways. Sometimes I look at these creations of mine and they are just my own, so why can't I do what I want to finish them.

There is a bit of a booboo at the finishing on the back. the fabric didn't quite meet the edge so I am going to put my patch there. Yes, I am posting my mistakes. I can't figure out how that happened because I thought I had lots of edges left over. I am not going to do that mistake again.

Yesterday we cleaned up junk from the basement and took it to the dump. Jerry, wanting to go to Port Perry dump because it is "cleaner" than the Pickering one, first drove us to Goodwill for donations, then on up to Port Perry, the scenic route because we weren't in a hurry. Well we arrived there and the sign said "Closed Mondays", so we then drove past our house to Pickering and dumped the load for $8.00, not bad at all. But we took 2hrs 15 minutes to do this and another 15 minutes of driving we would have been at the cottage in all the time it took us to drive around. We had Wilson with us, so when we arrived home, it was like we had been on a long trip. lol. We are not returning to Port Perry to dump again I can tell you.

I have not decided what my next project will be, so today I am going to try to get inspired. Yeah right, Jerry is starting to build the shelves now that we have cleaned up enough to make more mess.

It is going to be a lovely fall day, probably one of the last days of Indian summer that we will have. Nature has a way of lulling us, only to descend with storms when we least expect it.

And Kelly, I know that was you that posted on my Wilson blog, I did laugh as you did too.

Wilson the Wonder Dog

This is our 3 yr old westie, who rules the roost and as Kelly says, "the child we never had" Jerry being my second husband and no children but many dogs over the years.

However as we say to Kelly, that if she treated us like Wilson we would do the same to her as we do to him.....lol to Kelly.

He is a great dog and is very patient when I am sewing at the cottage. He will wait for a long time before he makes me crazy to play with him. At the cottage we can't go for walks like we do in Whitby. He and I will walk a few cottages over then back, which is enough for him to get a good run. He still likes his toys and specially any toy that has a squeek in it. He doesn't destroy them and just loves to play catch.

I am finishing up a quilt which is another lap quilt and last night while hand sewing the binding, Wilson wasn't happy because he couldn't get on my lap. Tough, quilting comes first. I haven't named it yet, but tomorrow when I post the photo of it, hopefully someone will suggest a good name, knowing I like ice cream names, or fruit names.

I am going to call for my sewing lessons on the new machine this week. I am getting the hang of it and am loving it very much. I am also taking in the old Janome to get cleaned etc. It seems to be a tension problem.

Oh,, I hate a day such as this, the rain came in last night, blew leaves all over the back yard, about 200 of them since our trees are so new that there is hardly anything, but it means that the weather will get colder and then the snow will come. We are expecting a few warm sunny days this week, so it will be hard to go to the basement and sew. But today, dark and rainy, I am going to sort through more "stuff" as I am decluttering.

SUNDAY MORNING

This photo was taken of a granddaughter, Courtney and her friend Doug doing crazy dives at the cottage 2 weeks before we closed in mid October.

The water was about 60 degrees, which is really cold and they jumped in and out for ages doing this kind of stuff. I took this with a telephoto lense from the deck.

These two along with Jeremy also water-skied most of the day. They did wear wet suits for skiing because the breeze at 22 mph was kind of cool.

Ah the young, they feel nothing but joy and doing wild stuff.

Today, the change of time "fall back" I am going to wake up at 5:45 for ages until my body clock gets used to it and then we will return to daylight saving time. I wish it stayed daylight saving all year round. So for the next few weeks I shall be up so early that even the birds won't be up.

Today, being sunday, we are going to go to the basement and work on the new area for my sewing area such as it will be. Jerry is not going to get fancy with this. I just want to be able to put my fabric etc on some shelves to keep the area neat. I am sick of the bins and they are always so messy looking.

MY DECK

This is where I do all my hand sewing in the summer. On the deck at the cottage. It is always peaceful there and swarming with the hummingbirds that I feed from 4 feeders. Although I must say with the weather this summer being so wet and all, my little hummers were a bit scarce compared to other years.

This sitting place is where all our gang and guests love to sit in the morning have coffee, eat cereal and play cottage game of "Madd" which is a variation of Sorry I think but with more agressive moves. This is the place and we can all enjoy the magnificent views from this deck.

Now that winter is coming, with this place being on an island, we have left it for nature to do its thing for the winter. The water drops about 4 ft, and the winds will howl, and the winter birds take over. We could hear wolves howling the week before we left. It was very eerie but we were blessed to hear them. There is no one there now, all the cottagers have closed their cottages for the winter, and as the water slowly rises again, the ice will come and with it winter.

THE FUNICULAR, DESIGNED BY JERRY

The "funicular" called "the lift" by those of us who are in awe of Jerry's design and building of same this summer has saved us so much of the lifting and carrying of our supplies up the 32 steps to the cottage landing.

Jerry designed this over the past winter, and for weeks he would say "look at this" and show me this scale drawing of the lift.

He had it built in pieces locally, designed the motor etc, don't ask, and then we transported it to the cottage and he built it over the summer, between the rain storms we had during the months of July and August.

It carries about 1500 lbs and the whole project was designed so that we can stay at the cottage longer as we age.

There has been so much interest in it on our lake and maybe he will build a couple more. It made the carrying of my stash which was in a big bin much easier to load in the boat to take back to Whitby.

My new sewing machine weighs about 30 lbs, so carrying it up next summer will be a charm.