She Scores!!

So the big news .... (drum roll please!) is my New Car!! After 10 years driving the ugly brown F_ _ _ _ I bit the bullet and got a new chariot! It's a 2011 white Toyota AWD 5 door Matrix, with, ahem, a few bells and whistles! Woohoo!My second score this summer vacation is 2 East Lake chairs in perfect condition - except for their rather fugly upholstery .... Another big WooHoo! These came at the hefty price of $5.00 each! Ok, I know what you're thinking - just how many East Lake chairs does one woman need. So far I have collected 5 of them - they join the list of 8 pressback chairs, 1dainty dining chair, 1 child's pressback rocker, 1 pressback high chair, 2 wood vintage kindergarten chairs and 1 other diminutive child's chair. Ok, how many was that - 14? WOW !

Vacation Blind!

So I've been promising myself I'd make a Roman blind for my bedroom while I am on vacation. I have my bed up against the window as it's the only location which allowed me to get some decent sleep - Feng Shui don't ya know ... Anyway, I get intense sunlight late in the day in this window and the cotton drapes and cafe curtain were fading fast. I lucked out last year and found some yardage of the exact - yup I said exact fabric I used to upholster my East Lake bedside chair.
So, guess what I spent the last 2-3 days doing ! I even lined the darn thing! I put 1/4" dowels in the "pleat" to help it fold nicely - it's kinda stiff right now because of weight of the 2 fabrics. Here's hoping it lossens up.
I re-hung the long side curtains (red & white pinstripes) and the top panel on two new rods so the "look" is wider than before (sorry no before pic!) Anyway, that's how I've spent some of my first week off work!
TTFN

Fractured Zen

Before I entertain you with a story about my Fractured Zen, let me show you my beautiful Hydrangea!!! I actually remembered this year to pour on the special fertilizer this particular plant likes in order to get and keep white flowers. In past years this plant has started out white then immediately turned green. So, I'm very happy with this year's crop of WHITE hydrangea flowers! WooHOO!
So, a friend lent me her book, Fabulous Fractures by Elizabeth Esslinger.(Thank you SVA). Mother fell in love with this particular Japanese panel. Since I have been making door hangings for her, and she was whining about needing a new one .... well, you know what happened next. You need a minimum of 2 panels, 4 are better. You take the first panel and cut it vertically into strips every 1 1/4 in. Label each strip A1, A2 etc. Then you take the second panel, cut 1/4 in strip off the left side, DISCARD - do an Eleanor Burns thing - just throw it over yer shoulder and forget about it ;) Next, you cut the B panel into 1 1/4 " strips and label them B1, B2, etc.

Of course now you get to sew them all back together. A1 to B1, B1 to A2, A2 to B2 ... etc. This is the tedious part, however, the effect is rather nice - not sure my pics actually show how the panel becomes fractured (I have a camera, but am still very much just a photo amateur). So, on the right is the "finished" fractured panel and my auditions for binding. Since it was going to hang on Mother's front door it needs to be a smallish size. Trouble was - just about any of those colours would have looked just fine. I ended up, as you can see below with a plain (reads as a solid) mid green fabric, which goes well .
So, summer vacation is just around the corner ( next week! YEAH!!!) and I hope to get started on my No Squirrels Allowed project. This one is for my niece who is getting married next spring. Since I hand quilt and hand applique (I machine piece) it will take me a few months to complete. So, you can expect ongoing updates on this one for awhile!Cheers, and HAPPY SUMMER!

Happy Canada Day - Eh!

So, wildlife in the city for the long weekend. I've been experiencing lots of wildlife so far this summer (no complaints). First it was a visiting groundhog. Wouldn't have worried me too much except it was in the middle of the day - not a time when they usually travel about - and s/he came too close for comfort - right up on my patio. I shooed the kitties indoors and gently used the hose on the poor beastie, which, since it was a blistering hot/humid day may have been a kindness. Anyway s/he eventually took off to investigate other backyards. Fine by me.... Next it was a poor dead frog/toad. Found it one morning laying belly up on the patio, feet removed and gutted. OK, my kitties are indoors all night and I KNOW the poor amphibian was not there the night before. So who was responsible???? The weekend started with 2 baby rabbits on the front lawn and ended so far with 2 BIG horses walking past my patio on the public walkway. I was just finishing up Not Wanted on The Voyage and just knew that clop clop clop sound was unusual .... and then there they were! WooHoo! Haven't seen horsies in quite a while!
Above is the LAST purse I'm making for quiet a while - this one for my new friend B. Now on to more artistic/creative pursuits.
Happy Canada Day/July 4th everyone!

Purses!

So, now that I'm healthy again I turned my hand to sewing up Mother's birthday presents. It's a Simplicity purse pattern where you make the basic bag then a cover for it. In my case I chose to make reversible covers. The cover on the left is a lovely abstract linen - my local fabric store was having a buy 1 get 3 meters free sale ..... The reverse of that bag cover is a cotton duck beige stripe. Fairly plain but definitely functional for summer.

The next cover is one of my favourite summer fabrics with Turquoise and oral sun bursts. Then to top it all off I made the Haida print cover. So, one purse, two covers - both reversible gives mother lots of choices. I plan to make a dark charcoal inner bag for her soon so she can use the covers with that one later into the Fall/winter.
And, just to finish things off, here's a pic of the LOC I was involved with this past year 1/2 organising Quilt Ontario 2011. Great crew, lots of fun and lots of work!

TTFN

Cable Guy!

So, Tuesday last week started off with this guy - really... Not! But someone just like him, perhaps even a bit bigger came to my home and laid a nice white wire from the cable box to my house , and now TA DA ! I have full internet - EVERY TIME!!! I told them something was wrong ! He was very competent and very polite and very efficient, even though it was a really hot day. I set out a couple of bottles of cold water for him as there was a humidex alert! So now I have to wait 2-3 weeks for someone to come and bury the wire.... It's such a long process, but none-the-less I'm happier :)
By Wednesday I was feeling kinda punk. By the time I got home and trucked out - yes I mean trucked out (I used my new flatbed trolley - a good buy!!!)3 bags of garden debris and 1 recycle box I was exhausted and in extremis asthma wise. Thursday & Friday I was totally down for the count. Spent the weekend on the couch as I have no energy (makes sense, can't breathe =no energy) popping Ibuprofen for the head ache and puffers every 4 hours trying to get this under control. Unfortunately, I missed my deadline for mother's birthday (shhh, I sewing her some purses) and missed my only niece's engagement dinner party. Bummer!
I see the Doc on Monday, here's hoping she has some better drugs for me, and some good advice. So ladies, sorry, no quilty sewing news this week. I'll post pics of the purses next week with any luck!

Mice!!!

Ok, so just to add to the misery of the unjust parking ticket (are they ever fair?) this week I found two dead mice in my basement! YIKES!!! Yuck!!!! OMG! Guess that's what Simone is doing down there in the basement - chasing/killing mice! You'd think with two cats in the house the silly mice would know they have to stay AWAY!
Still having intermittent internet service (GRRR), I'm now up to three technical visits - the next one will be Tuesday for which I just spent 2 hours scalping the Yew bush in the corner of my back garden. The big dude needed me to "remove the plant" so he could get in the corner to give me a new line from the outside "box"to the house. Um, no, not removing 8 year old established bushes, am willing to trim the heck out of it, but not remove it. So, since I had dad's electric hedge trimmer (thanks dad) I did the Forsythia bushes and all 3 Wiegelas at the front. Phew!
Did a road trip to Stratford yesterday to see the musical Camelot! Fabulous - only issue was my friend walked me allover Stratford - Boy, am I out of shape ..... Uh Oh ....
TTFN

Parking Ticket!!!

Way to go UWO ! What an end to the conference .... We had just finished taking down the quilt display at the library and the other two ladies left. While I was in the library returning their parking pass the B from parking services gives me a $35 ticket! I AM SO PO'd!!!!!!!

Quilt Ontario 2011 is Over ;(

Well, after a year and 1/2 of planning and meeting after meeting ... the conference is over! I can't believe it, what a blurr!!! I have never before been involved in planning a national conference or responsible for a portion of a national quilt show. This was a new experience for me, and I enjoyed every minute (almost!) Above is the beginning of our hanging the show, and below is me (centre) and my wonderful crew! THANK YOU ladies and gent. If it weren't for all of you the Quilt Ontario 2011 Invitational show would not have happened!
Every year CQA/ACC has a national show. On even years it's a BIG show, and on odd years it's a small show - so ours was a "smaller" show. Well, all I can say is Thank Goodness it wasn't a big Show!
This red and white quilt was made by a member of our LOC (Local Organizing Committee). She's an award winning machine quilter and wanted both sides to be seen, so we hung her quilt without the drape! (pardon the fuzzy pics - I dropped my camera! Grrrr). I learned a great deal about organizing, planning a layout and hanging a quilt show. Two of the entries were smaller framed pics so I purchased a trifold screen and hung them from there. This worked nicely as it was more proportional for these pieces and gave the viewers' eyes a rest from all the black drape!
One of the biggest lessons I learned is that no matter how much you plan/organize there will always be something unforseen, a last minute entry, or a change of plans.
So, I guess the biggest lesson I learned was to be flexible and not sweat the small stuff (hey - where have I heard that one before?)

CQA/ACC Quilt Ontario!

So, last weekend three of us hung 8 local CQA Rosette winning quilts in the library where I work. Our Quilt Ontario conference originally was going to be in the building next door but got moved as that renovation is going on and on and on and on .... you get the picture.
We hung the quilts over the half wall on the mezzanine floor. They are safe from the public's curious fingers and fully viewable from the main service floor below! I thought it was a good idea at the time .... and the reaction from staff and the public has been tremendous!
I think we all forget just how beautiful quilts, especially Rosette winning quilts can be. We see them every month at guild Show-n-Tells, but most members of the public don't quilts all that often! So ladies, take a HUGE BOW and congratulate yourselves! Especially the ladies from our four local guilds who made these lovely quilts! we are thrilled andproud to display them.
Now, if I can just get the quilt show hung tomorrow that I'm responsible for I'll be happy and can relax. The pipe and drape guy didn't bring any S hooks from which to hang the quilts! I was told "Don't worry "He'll have everything you need" but no S hooks! Duh!!! Wish me luck!!
TTFN
P.S. I'm having internet issues with useless cable company .... so patience please if I don't post for a while.

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