Did you?

Did You? Well did you? Come on - fess up. Did you get up in the wee hours and watch the royal wedding? I had absolutely no intention of doing so, but my aging bladder woke me so what the heck, I was up anyway .... What does this have to do with Piecework? Well, interestingly enough - this month's focus is Lace, and there is a lovely article about Carrickmacross Lace. I believe Kate's wedding gown had some handmade Carrickmacross lace. Nice coincidence. This is my first year subscribing to Piecework.
I heistated with this subscription, they had a real problems getting my address correct, and that was even before I received the first issue! None-the-less, I have enjoyed the issues since that start-up problem, which I blame on an incompetent employee. The editors, on the other hand, obviously know what they're doing! The first issue had an article about Russian Lace Shawls and the history of Silk, the second discussed natural dyes for Reds, Purples ad Blues. The third issue talks about historical knitting and now an issue on lace. Combines two great interests of mine... history and handwork, what can be better!

And not to make this an Interweave free advertisement, but here's my other subscription's recent issue ... another great magazine. Although, I must admit I spend more time examining the pics than reading the articles! Too busy with CQA/ACC Quilt Ontario 2011 planning/organizing ... It's coming soon!!!!
TTFN

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone. Well, I survived another "holiday" weekend. Pretty lucky really as I managed three dinners - I made Turkey for myself, mother and a couple of friends, was invited out to a yummy Ham dinner at a friend's and leftover Turkey tonight - woohoo! Can't complain about that! My Daffodils and my Fosythia all decided to blossom this weekend - so I'm having a yellow weekend. Mother nature decided to cooperate and we've actually had some decent spring weather. Now , if only I could convince the bossy librarian at work that we are not her personal slaves just 'cause we work there (some people never get it - duh) - and just once get a supportive comment from the step monster (don't hold yer breath!)- I'd have a real good month! The pics this post are my new patio planter. I once told my friend how I hate birthdays as my birthday was always an occasion for family fights. Consequently she surprises me with unbirthday gifts! Looking forward to sitting on the patio with plants in this one ! THANKS!

TTFN

April Showers

Well, the sun has finally graced us today. When I finally get this post complete (Rogers so-called Wireless is once again being a royal PAIN) I will go for a wee walk. Above is this month's fabric postcard, and I'm proud to say looks not half bad considering it all came from my scrap basket! What else have I been up to ?? Below is a wee purse/pouch thingee I made for our upcoming conference (we, the LOC are all making one). The mesh pocket will hold a conference name tag, and the colours are meant to match our conference, Quilt Ontario, logo colours. I chose to do some beading in the shape of leaves, as our "theme" is tree related, and we're doing leaf baskets for the door/table prizes.
Other than that I am trying to relax, stay sane and not beat myself up for another episode of retail therapy. I know I know - it's my $$ so I can do what I want, but I had promised myself the last time to never, never do it again. HA! Ah well, that's what income tax rebates are for - right?
TTFN

Lions and Lambs & Quilt Shows

So, last post I extolled the glories of Spring - and jinked us all! I guess March came in as a Lamb and is going out as a Lion! This past week has been grey and snowy and cccccold and yucky! So, blame it on me, it's all my fault! Sorry;(
On the other hand, the season for quilt shows has begun and a couple of friends and I traveled to the Exeter Heritage Quilt exhibit. Excellent. (pic above not from the show as I forgot my camera!) What I liked the most about the show was the wee drive, the day was lovely and sunny, and seeing the heritage quilts. Helped put my collection of vintage/antique quilts into perspective.
The sun is out today, so I hope to go for a wee walk and enjoy the bright cold weather. Have a great week everyone!

TGSHS

Thank G Spring Has Sprung! For the cats and I it was a too long winter! Ok, I know what you're thinking .... I just jinxed it and now it will snow again (shhhhh!) All I can say is my Daffodils have sprouted in the back garden, and Simone is out wandering in the sun and trying to chase Robins :)
I must be getting old or something, but this year I found it really difficult to acclimatize to DST. I am either sleeping when I should be quilting or wide awake when I should be sleeping! Oh No! Consequently I have nothing to show-n-tell/report to you about my stitching. But hold on, it will come back. Happy spring everybody!

Lessons Learned/Re-Learned

Well, last week I chatted about reading instructions, and the lesson I re-learned was that no matter how many times I read the instructions, my AAD (age attention deficit) will kick in and I will impulsively jump in where no woman dares to go ... and end up unsewing at least once!

This week I'm chatting about other life lessons I have re-learned! This past week was Septimana Horribilis for me (Horrible Week - for those who's Latin is a bit shy). It started off with a simple, private e-question that lead to a public "surprise" answer. OK, I have my big girl pants on, but didn't need to start the week swallowing that one. At work the next day I was again "surprised" at a committee meeting which led to added workload and another committee involvement (like I don't have enough?!) Wednesday was spent eating crow and making amends for the Monday surprise. Thursday was guild meeting where I distributed an updated Stitch-n-Bitch address/schedule. One of the participants bemoaned the list as it didn't quite suit her ....! Lesson re-learned = NEVER volunteer to be the organizer 'cause ya can't make everyone happy (sometimes nobody)!
Also on Thursday I sent off a quick blurb about copyright and quilting (I had been asked about it the month before), only to have my submission queried. I'm pretty sure what I sent was an OK article, so the question stung a wee bit. Lessons re-learned, proof read twice (at least) before hitting send, and never never write another article for the newsletter!
Just to top the week off - this is what we woke up to on Friday ... Lesson re-learned = Spring never comes fast enough!!
P.S.: I've heard a few people agree with me about volunteering.... The best carrot for getting volunteers and keeping them is to treat them with respect and appreciation!

Luck of the Irish to you ..

Happy St. Patty's day everyone! Just in case you thought I had abandoned this project - au contraire .. but since I hand quilt, including hand stippling, this one took awhile. None-the-less its done. Woohoo! If I were to make it again, and I very much doubt that, I would use darker green squares in the outer corners, and a higher contrast neutral between the inner background and the outer background (yes, they are different fabrics)
So, what else is on the agenda? Well, still grappling with what to make for the upcoming Quilt Ontario Invitational show ... hmmmmm. Have lots of ideas - that's not the problem, indecision is the main problem! It will be smallish, whatever it turns out to be. Wish me luck!
Below are this month's fabric postcards .... more Irish, yes, that's right - I'm GREEN all the way!
TTFN

Purse lessons!

So - guess what I spent my weekend doing :) ? Learning/re-learning life lessons and making purses ... I learned that some people think it appropriate to foist their food choices on others (yuck). I learned that my family issues aren't unique, communication aka respect, or lack thereof, are ubiquitous. And I learned that I definitely CAN'T READ INSTRUCTIONS!
I think my grade 1 teacher correctly identified this life issue of mine and she was correct!Knowing my predisposition to jump right in ... I spent two separate evenings reading the instructions for the Simplicity pattern above. Amazingly enough - that didn't help! I still managed to make three important mistakes - and consequently did three sessions of unsewing.
I also left two important items out, a key ring and the bag bottom, and forgot the "hint" I was given before I started = DO NOT USE
elastics, as instructed. Never mind, I learned, and I did get the project completed and am reasonably happy with the results. Above is the inside black bag over which you can attach either the brown Haida print, or the funky pink & turquoise outer bag. All in all I am happy enough with the results to offer a bag to mother and to plan another bag - or two - for myself! Woohoo!

Have a great week everyone!
TTFN

Plumbing

Well, I finally had to bite the bullet and call in a plumber.... the hot water tap in my upstairs bath changed from a drip to a full stream! Oh No! So, after a week of running up and down 2 flights of stairs to turn the water on/off, and, after 3 1/2 hours with a very chatty plumber I have a new tap (woohoo!) no drip, cut off values upstairs, and the taps in the rest of the house have all been repaired. This should keep us going for a while. I chose a "high" faucet so Iris (the cat) can sit in the sink and drink to her hearts content without having to be a contortionist.
So, what's new in the quilting side of my life? Well, I'm currently working on a three leaf clover door hanging for St. Patrick's day. It starts with 3 basic 9 patches, and I am proud to say all came from my stash! When it came to the backing I have to admit I was at a loss, so made a quick trip to the local fabric store where they had a lovely clover patterned fabric - ta da!!
Hoping to have this one done for early March - wish me luck!

Tea Anyone?

Whilst moving the jam cupboard into the dining area last week I rediscovered a number of tea cups. Lovely as they are .... when will I ever use them? Some have wee cracks and some are just showing their age - who isn't? - and stained - again, who isn't? So, I have pulled them from the cupboard and moved them up to the sewing room. Why you ask? My plan is to make more teacup pin cushions ..... maybe to sell at the "Toonie Table" at our next guild show. Hmmm, that gives me a year and a half, I think I can make that deadline!

What else has been happening? Well, I did manage to make the lining for my new dining room drapes, and I was good to myself and denied two requests on my time - sorry ladies.
TTFN,

Upset and Discord ...

I moved some furniture on the weekend. Nothing much, just one jam cupboard, but that involved moving the litter box - now in the basement!. The furry ones have let me know their disapproval. Simone has been whinny ever since, and Iris decided to hide! Here she is in the wicker basket which sits under my sewing table and is supposed to hold fabric, but right now holds the dear one. Cute ain't she? I was sewing on the final border before the binding on my BOM at the time of this sighting!
What else am I working on???
Well, I have resurrected a whole cloth wall hanging that I started oh
about a year - maybe two years ago! I got the "kit" many years ago at the other guild's yearly auction. I thought it would be fun to make just one in my lifetime. It is pre-stamped and the markings are supposed to wash out when I've completed the stitching. Unfortunately the cotton used is extra fine and stitching it is real hard going (probably why I stopped working on it before). None-the-less I am tenacious and will finish it - eventually!
Wish me luck!

I've been Tagged!

I've been tagged !!! Oh no - what the heck does that mean .... what on earth do I have to do ? Ok, deep breath, relax, calm down, I can manage this one ... What is it all about? Well, to copy my tagger "its purpose is to spread the word about smaller blogs", so, here's the rules:

1) Tell your readers who tagged you ...Regan
2) Add a link to their blog ... from Floating on a Quilted Cloud

3) Award 3-5 bloggers who you think deserve this award.

• Barbara Cheesman @ Embroidery Overlaps because of her wonderful free form embroidery
• Joanna from Things Handmade because I LOVE anything with lettering and love how she recycles things and incorporates them into her embroidery
• Cynthia @ Kyrotime because she's a guild mate and her blog is real new! :)
  

Inform them and post directions to your blogspot. Please don't tag people who already have 300 followers. The goal of this award is to get more publicity to blogs that are good, but not so well known.

What else have I been up to? Well, I've been making black velvet book worms (filled with rice) for the library!
That's all for now ....

Snowy Sunday

So if you're wondering what I'm up to .... I'm hand quilting a Baptist Fan pattern on the outer borders of my Tisket-Tasket BOM. I've always wanted to quilt the Baptist Fan pattern and now I am! Only problem is it looks so good it's making my outline quilting of the blocks look pretty puny. Oh No! I may have to do some hand stippling - or maybe try my hand (pardon the pun) at McTavishing! I just borrowed a book on that from the guild library!
It's cold outside and the snow is blowing a wee bit so I have decided to spend another Sunday in the kitchen. Not a bad idea and quite productive!I started the morning by getting a beef stew together in the crockpot ... so that should make a good dinner. Next I made a batch of banana walnut muffins for next week's coffee breaks. Now, what to make for lunches next week? Hmmmmmm.

On Dec. 23rd my favourite aunt had a surprise 80th birthday party . The mater and I decided we would attend, so bundled up and drove
the scary 402 (it was closed for three days the week before due to snow...) The day turned out lovely, nice to see lots of the family for a HAPPY celebration. Unfortunately the first week of the new year was another trip back, this time for an aunt's funeral. It was expected but still sad. Here's hoping family "stuff" is all over and I can get on with creating.
I'm still indecisive as to what to produce for the Quilt Canada Invitational show. I must admit I'm rather intimidated, but as the show coordinator feel somewhat obligated to submit something! Have lots of ideas, that's not the problem ... decision and execution is the issue. Wish me luck!
TTFN,

Happy New Quilting Year!

I don't know about you but I'm always invigorated at the start of a new year or a new project. A couple of years ago I discovered the sweetest book ever - with a beautiful white Persian cat. Well of course it took my fancy and I had to have it. I now use it to hold my list of UFOs, WIPs, and Wanttabes as well as clippings of fabulous quilts other have done which I find inspiring. So, now that it's the new year I really must sit down, look through my binder and determine this year's projects! I see I did manage to complete one wannabe items from last year - TaDa!!!! I actually finished the sewing room cross stitch! I think someone gave me this as a giftee (can't quite remember), none-the-less it cried out to me. I started it early last January and finished it before the new year this year! Woohoo! Now I really need to decide if I will frame it or not, and if I do where on earth will I hang it?
What else did I do on my two (2) weeks vacation? I finally, yes finally made myself a rotary cutter carrying case! I used up scrap strips from the last baby quilt, - Robyn Pandolph's Canadian Cottage fabrics. I even managed to insert a magnetic closure! Well, I still had some leftovers ... so waste not want not ... I made a matching thimble holder and a needle case. Take note - the wee scissors have a scissor charm and the thimble holder has a thimble charm - how clever of me - don't ya think?
So how about this new year? Well, once again I promise myself to NOT BUY FABRIC (insert uproarious laughter here) - except that gift certificate I got for Christmas ....
If I enter the guild president's challenge this year I promise myself to NOT COME IN THIRD (to the person out there who doesn't "get it" that's called having a competitive spirit and wanting to better yourself - not complaining! - You know who you are...)
Anyhoooo that's all for me so far this new year! My Tisket-a-Tasket is on the frame, so you'll be seeing it soon. My other resolutions this year is to NOT take any commissions, to have fun at the CQA Quilt Ontario 2011 conference and to NOT STRESS OUT!
TTFN