Dead Trees, new project

When I first moved into my wee abode I immediately embarked on some landscaping as relatively none existed. Having been an apartment dweller for way way too long/aka a closet gardener, I opted for shrubbery and ornamental trees rather than tons of flowers, of which I knew little. Also, I wanted to get the "bones" of the gardens established as quickly as possible, and not knowing the soil conditions, sun disposition etc I felt it prudent to start with the basics. So, in went two Caraganas, several Weigelias, a red Maple, a "Burning" bush and a Lilac.
Above is my first failure! Waaaaaaah. We're well into June and this thing is dead. Ok, there are two, maybe three wee branches which have flowered and not yet leafed, but the main part of the tree is just plain dead! Well actually, if you break off a branch it's still green inside .... so is there hope? Calling for opinions from all you horticulturalists out there!
I can't even chalk it down to a hard winter, or too soggy a spring .... as other Caraganas in the neighbourhood are in full leaf by now - just not mine! As you can see from the pic it was planted in front (but away from) a furnace exhaust pipe. I had hoped that I planted it far enough away, but suspect this is what has killed my poor Caragana!

So, now that my car has eaten all of my extra dollars for this year and all prospects of any kind of vacation away, even for one or two days, has completely and totally vanished, I guess I'll spend some of my precious three weeks off from the daily grind (aka job) digging out this corpse (sound of funereal dirge playing in background). I'm now toying with the idea of some kind of iron or stone sculptural piece to go in it's place. Hmmmm, this will involve shopping in garden centers, architectural salvage yards, antique places. Hmmmm, things might actually be looking up!
Whilst waiting for my friend to complete the quilt top she wants me to hand quilt for her, I have decided to get at this whole cloth pre-stenciled large wall hanging I scooped at the year end auction in my previous quilt guild. And, I only paid $3.00 for the kit! This should keep me out of trouble for the next month-month and 1/2, so this is good. Everything but the batting was included in the kit, so stay tuned!

Summer Tablescape!

TTFN

Weekend of Firsts !

Well, it was a weekend of firsts! Friday evening Simone, the sweet but untouchable kitty - I believe her new name should be Simone the inscrutable Siamese, came downstairs and played with mummy. Didn't last long, only a few minutes, but none-the-less a really good sign.

Saturday I finally got the Steam mop put together. Nothing like a whole lotta procrastinating .... I've only had the thingee for oh about 4-6 weeks! Anyway, I spent the afternoon searching all over the house for my favourite screwdriver, finally found it right where I last left it ... erggggg, then put the blasted thingee together only to discover the wonders of steam mopping your floors. Woohoo! Try it - you'll like it!
Later that same day whilst decompressing on the wee patio I glimpsed my first butterfly of the season - WooHoo! Oh the joys of having a garden, no matter how small. I also managed to complete mother's birthday present, a door hanging. I spent over a week attempting to find a suitable border fabric, but none of the colours worked - at least in my eyes ... so I chose to go with no border just a binding. Finally finished the hand quilting and got it bound.
Sunday I baked a rhubarb crumble from scratch ... ok, ok, I know that's not something one usually brags about .... but I'm not domestic - never have been. So, this was a milestone! Thanks L for the rhubarb!!!

TTFN




P.S. Simone the inscrutable Siamese came down for breakfast this morning!!! Another first. Maybe this will be a week of first?

Green Eyed Monster

So, sweetiepie Simone has returned home, and the proverbial green eyed monster has reared it's ugly head. Amazing! She was only gone for a day and a half ... but Iris (not so sweetiepie) decided the house was hers!!! Simone is currently cowering under the bed in the spare room as mommy won't let her in the basement. Perhaps this is a good thing as she needs time to be quiet and heal, and I'd rather have her on a floor I frequent where I can at least talk to her, albeit from another room.
I have a friend coming over tonight to help me with Simone as I need to remove the medication patch from her right shoulder --- update, update - Dinner went off without a hitch, but getting hold of Ms Untouchable was another story .... to be expected mommy now has several puncture wounds/swollen fingers and a sore arm from the necessary Tetanus shot. Friend went home unscathed (luckily) and poor Simone has retired to hiding behind the quilt stand in the spare bedroom. When she eventually re-appears will let blogland know. Here's hoping she doesn't hold permanent grudges!

On the craft front ... I've made major progress on mother's door hanging over the weekend - BTW wasn't it a glorious weekend? Lots of time on the patio stitching and stitching and stitching. I also managed to make it out to one of our local Quilt stores which is closing it's first location in favour of the second, and consequently had a 50% off sale!

Yes ladies, you read correctly I said 50% off!!! Now I know this goes against the grain (pardon the pun) 'cause I vowed to buy no more fabric until all my UFOs were completed (yeah - right) ... but then again, 50 % off! The catch 22 was that you couldn't ask for a fat quarter cut you "had" to buy a meter - oh hardship!! So, with patterns in hand for my next major applique project (see below) I dutifully spent dollars and got myself all supplied up! Wish me luck!!!

Maggie Walker's Cats in the Garden

TTFN

Gadzooks!

Ms. Iris in Carrier

So, Simone baby is scheduled to go to the Vet for the big snip snip (spayed and shots) this Thursday - wish me luck getting Ms. "untouchable" into the cat carrier, which is why I dragged it up from the basement last week, re-assembled it and put in her cat bed and favourite blankie .... only to have Ms. Iris sleep in it all day Saturday!!!!
Granted , Simone did played with - or rather taunted Iris most of the morning through the vents in the carrier, so perhaps all was not lost - maybe she has/will get used to the thingee and not get tooooo toooo hysterical when I affix the door, then capture her inside in anticipation of the morning car ride to Dr. Blue Cross. Let's hope so! Now I know some of you out there are against de-clawing cats. Iris, when she came to me was already de-clawed, so I am considering having Simone de-clawed (front only). It makes for a happier mommy, and both furry babies are indoor cats - ALWAYS, or at least until mommy can afford to fence in the back yard! Here's hoping the spaying will calm Simone down and perhaps - just perhaps she'll become touchable, that is IF she ever forgives me for sticking her in the carrier and taking her away!!!

What else did mommy accomplish this past weekend? Well, I made my own version of the Spoonful of Sugar Loyalty Card wallet. Now, as usual my first attempt was just a wee bit too small and my loyalty cards didn't fit ... so I made a second one and watched my seam allowances a bit more carefully - and ta da! Oh boy oh boy - another quilty/fabricy thingee - woohoo! What else? Well, I managed to spend loads on $$$ at the grocery store, and I was somewhat domestic and steamed then froze a whole bunch of Asparagus in prep for next winter. Of course it meant I had to re-arrange the now overfilled freezer - but hey - as Miss Scarlet once said "I'll never be hungry again. ..."!


TTFN

The Quilted Jacket

The Quilted Jacket

So, I've been sitting on - no, not accurate - I've been procrastinating with this pattern for approximately 4 years - ouch!
I'm not a seamstress - I've never taken any, and I mean ANY real sewing lessons. I never took Home Ec or 4H or any of that domestic stuff... which is why I've been procrastinating. I really can't sew a lick, which is why I'm best known for applique - you don't have to be accurate - you can be more creative in applique. My piecework in quilting is never 100% - my seams always go wonky and, as Kaye Woods would say - I'm a pointless person! None-the-less this past month I finally plucked up my nerve with the encouragement of my friends in our quilting group and got down to business.
As you can see I finished the jacket, and .... drum roll please .... it fits!! I even managed to make button holes with the machine's auto buttonholer. Now for me that is a real accomplishment!

The pattern called for 8 fat quarter - I've been collecting them for 2 years now, I have lots and lots left over ;). It was also supposed to have raggedy seams, but I chose to leave the seams on the inside, and, since I wasn't into the raggedy look I actually bound the seams with bias binding made from the leftovers of the 8 fat quarters. I got some white flannel with pink, blue, yellow and green polka dots for the "batting" and spent a week machine quilting the fabric.

Having proudly taken it to our last get-together to show-n-tell imagine how red my face was the next day when I noticed that the left sleeve was only 1/2 quilted! YIKES! What the heck? How could I??? In my enthusiasm I finished off the whole jacket without completing the quilting! So, last night after work out came the dreaded unsewer (aka seam ripper) and , as you can see below , I proceeded to quilt the remaining 1/4 section of the left sleeve, re-sew the sleeve, rebind the sleeve and re-hem the sleeve! Phew!

TTFN

Spring Vacation !

So I'm just coming off a one week spring vacation. The weather was great and I accomplished - oh - about 60 % of my to do list - not bad eh? One of the things on my list was to make a canvas liner for this wicker bag. So, off to the infamous W store for another meter or two of the somewhat funky canvas ..I then had to figure out how to fabricate the planned liner ... hmmm .... after a couple of days on the patio, enjoying the sunshine, CBC radio 2 and some good wine I finally had a plan! Of course, as with all good plans, things did not go swimmingly and there were some alterations along the way (I am an intuitive sewer, not an educated one). Along the way I invented a few new techniques (or maybe not) and finally got the thing done.
Back at work now and none too soon! Simone has gone into heat (mommy procrastinated too long in getting her fixed ...) and she is now howling for all the neighbourhood to hear! YIKES! According to all the websites I've read this could last 4-6 days then I'll need to rush her off to a Vet that rumour has it will fix her up right quick in one go. Yeah, but oh my aching wallet!

TTFN

Always a Bridemaid

So, last night was challenge night at the guild, the theme this year was Canadian, aka anything with a maple leaf. So at last winter's shop hop I noticed this kit and thought - hey, that would be good for Canada Day as one of my door hangings ... and bonus - it will work for the challenge! So after piecing the maple leaf I got another brainstorm and decided to add the silhouette from another pattern with trees and a Mountie with his horse. A Mountie, for those readers who aren't overly familiar with Canadian culture, is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) person and they are famous for their musical ride.

So, I pieced together the border from the leftover red squares, found a piece of white with red maple leaves for the back, then bound it in black. I hand quilted (yes ladies, it's hand stippled!) and it only took me a month, not like last year's challenge which took me 3 months! All in all I'm pleased with the results and happy to at least win - ok ok - it's third prize for the second year in a row. I was feeling kinda bad since I used a kit for the challenge, but hey - the person who won first prize used a kit (I think I recognized it), so what the heck! ... Maybe next year I'll move on up to second prize?

TTYL

Star Trek and Chain Letters and Shop Hops Oh my!

Last week, after two weeks of serious deliberation, and definitely against my better judgement I once again weakened and responded to the 2 chains letters sent to me. Why ? umh, err, well, that's the cruel magic of these pernicious missives ... I know better, I had previously resolved to never never never again be dragged into one, and then ....

To all the recipients of my momentary weakness please feel free to do as you wish. Some may reciprocate, passing it on and enjoying the opportunity to share. On the other hand some may want me dead, and to those here is a link to a certificate of Chain Letter Nullification; sorry.

Please, no comments, email epistles or other repercussions. Just take it in stride. Chain letters, unless specifically requesting money or issuing physical threats, are not illegal and thus no more harmful than forwarding unwanted e-jokes or spam-like emails re psychic encounters or alternative cures for cancer, etc etc. etc., and haven't you all been guilty of one of those???
Pay it forward and use the purple charm squares in some charitable project. Now there's an idea!
On a more interesting note ... this past Thursday my friend and I experienced the new Star Trek flick.WOW Now, I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool trekkie, but I have been known to enjoy many episodes of whichever version. I was away living in West Africa when the original series played, so for me these shows were always reruns. None-the-less, I have seen all the movies, my favourite is The Voyage Home. So now I might just have a new favourite!!!

This past weekend two child-free women, aka myself and a good friend, spent Mother's Day weekend on a local Shop Hop tour - woo hoo! For those who've not experienced a shop hop - you get in your car and drive miles and miles around the province (kilometers and kilometers) visiting "local" quilt shops, seeing what's new and exciting in all their stores, spending money on fat quarters and getting a free wall hanging/table runner pattern. My friend was justifiably complimented at each stop on her wonderful "mini-me" japanese print fabric bag and managed to win 3 (or was that 4) door prizes. I was called Sunday @ 6 pm as the winner of a door prize from Quilters on the Square. Woohoo!



TTYL

I'm Blind ... I'm Roman Blind!

Ok, ok, I'm not actually blind .... but I did make a Roman blind this weekend for my spare bedroom and I'm rather proud of my efforts - woohoo! The back 2 bedrooms face east and always get the morning sun ... which makes them very hot in the summer, so this should help!

It all started when I found some cute (read cheap) cotton canvas like material in the big box W store. Hey, that would work fantastic as a liner for the wicker carryall I have that has lost it's straps and I now want to use for the summer with my little blue cart I drag to work everyday. So I bought a bunch - it was on sale - I don't remember how much, probably 2 meters, and took it home. After rediscovering the shopping bag a few days/weeks later, I took a good second look and thought - hey, this would make a fabulous Roman blind ... so now you see how my mind works .... and why so many of my projects morph into other things ....

fabric pre cutting & sewing

Well, as if I didn't have enough to do this weekend .... like have brunch with mother, get haircut, grocery shop for the month, banking for the month, finish seeding the dead grass areas on the front lawn, finish spring cleaning the house, laundry, work Saturday, re-pot the plants I've been rooting for the last 6 weeks, fertilize plants @ work and top up with soil, respond to those 2 purple charm square chain letters (PLEASE stop sending me chain letters), play with the ever so patient (thank god the kitties still love me!) Iris and Simone, load/unload the dishwasher, finish that library book that's overdue, get to the 3 week old ironing, etc., etc., etc. .

None-the-less I merrily went about creating a Roman blind for the spare bedroom. Now that it's completed I realize there are probably much easier methods to create the same effect, but then again, how do you know that until you've made the first one ?
So, after sewing on the horizontal (yes, I know, usually the tape is sewn on vertically, but not this tape, no... that would be too normal...), inserting the 5 wooden dowels, discovering the dowels were 1/2 " too long, breaking off that darn 1/2" 5 times, deciding I had just enough left-over beige piano trim that would look just lovely on this blind ...Blind on sewing counter with piano trim pinned

Then determining how to attach the darn thing to the window, then finding the board for the header, sawing it to fit, 3 times - Yes, I know, measure twice, cut once ... but I didn't account for the extra space needed for the 2 L brackets, then I forgot to account for the screw heads holding the L brackets in place (planning beforehand was never my strong suit, I'm much too spontaneous for that ... or is it AAAD Age Activated Attention Deficit), and finally, YES finally getting it all in place!

Phew! I'm exhausted, but damn - my new Roman blind looks good!

finished product!

Too bad I don't have anymore windows where I can use another blind!

TTYL

SPRING!

AT LAST! Spring has sprung - yahooooooo. Took long enough to arrive and now that it's here I'm pressed for time (what else is new) - so much gardening and spring cleaning and sewing and visiting with friends and sitting on the patio and quilt shows ... I'm exhausted already!

Speaking of visiting, this past week was another interesting chapter of my wee quilt group.  Did I mention that I am the happy recipient of another ---- YES another of those purple charm square chain letters ! - Actually, make that two (the same chain letter TWICE!) Does this mean I'm popular ??? Oh No! I hate chain letters, but on the other hand I also hate to disappoint .... what's a girl to do???? Please ladies please - No more chain letters!

My Spring Garden!

TTFN