I wonder if your head is spinning like mine. Each day is like the blink of the eye. I'm no sooner up and starting the morning when it seems I'm closing drapes and shutting the house down again. Perhaps that is a good thing as it means I'm busy which I feel I certainly am.
Outside, the world has come alive and so quickly it seems. It's always a pleasant surprise how much colour there is this season of the year. Even the Dandelions are so welcome. I'm calling this one "Me and My Shadow".
And here are the pretty Primroses. I don't know what you would label those colours, but they sure are vibrant.
And my elderly Lilac tree is in bloom too.
I promised I would show you my latest fitness device. It is called a Rebounder and is one of those home trampolines. What's really surprising me about it is I thought I'd be able to jump forever on it- what fun!- but no, I do feel the exercise part of it as it raises my heart rate quite quickly. A mere 7 minutes is all I'm managing right now.
I'd been swimming every day too which is wonderful but rain with thunder has sidelined that exercise the last three days. I'm not heating the pool and like last year, I do believe the cold plunge part is good for me.
My stitching fingers have been busy too. I put the totally hand stitched Lone Star Medallion quilt on the wall for a photo. I'd backed it with a white fabric that was a sheet...Tommy Hillfiger actually, so a good quality. It was fun getting it all appliqued but then fiddly getting all the points and dips joined neatly to the backing. I measured and each diamond is exactly 43 inches which amazed me considering all the little hand stitches in this project and how it's been mauled with all the handling for each step along its journey too.
I'm also working on the table topper Primrose Flowers piece. More hand quilting which also involved decision making. After trying two templates I had on hand, I settled on drawing a little mod flower shape and that's what I'm using for the quilting lines. This should not take too long.
For the backing, I used an old sheet from way back in the day that is still very sturdy and perfectly suits this project. I actually remember the Mod Flower craze back in the late sixties. It wasn't my taste but I did have one align dress with flowers on it.
That black thingy there is my magnet; I wave it around my chair and in the sewing room all the time as I'm always worried about the dogs and pins.
I've been waiting a long time to get this library book below and finally it is my turn. It's material obsessiontwo by Sarah Fielke and Kathy Doughty.
I love how Sarah creates these wonderful and surprisingly large quilts with hand piecing and mostly in her lap. There are two particular quilts in this book I've admired for a very long time and would love to make and the patterns are there for me to copy. That's one of the things that gives me a little leap of joy these days. Here is Sarah talking about one of them, Jazz Hands, which is pieced with that kite shape there.
I'm continuing my summer plan to spend less of my free time on the computer. As a result, I'm definitely spending more time outside- gardening, walking, swimming, etc. and inside- stitching, reading and scribbling. So far, it is the garden that is definitely benefitting the most from this plan.
My Phoebes have fledged. I think there were three little ones this year. It's very difficult to get a good photo as this nesting spot is very tight to the overhang and hidden slightly. I thought of getting a step ladder but I didn't want to disturb them. Pretty sure there are three there. What do you think?
On that very hopeful note, I'll end this post. Oh yes, before I forget again, this is also my summer of dresses. I've had great luck at thrift stores finding a few for summer. I'll share the latest next post. I hope your summer or your winter is off to a wonderful start.
I blinked and it is May now. We had one summery day amid all the coolness and it is still flirting with overnight frosts. These Daffodils always open too soon and, in their shady spot, don't get to really shine like they should which is a shame. I should move them and the bunch behind there that didn't get to open at all this year.
Yesterday, Friday, it was this temperature below when I got up and -1C with the wind gusts. It was -3C overnight so it warmed up. I've put away my heavier coats and winter boots but kept out my light quilted parka knowing full well a Canadian summer takes its' time ramping up. Someone said at least we didn't get a big snowstorm in April like we usually do. I'm waiting till all the critters crawl away from their winter hibernating spots before beginning the big garden clean up. After Victoria Day and as close to June as you can make it is the suggested time to plant here in the Ottawa Valley. But locals say after the first week in June has passed is even better as overnight frosts can be sneaky.
Steady stitching has brought What Remains is Love to this nearly finished stage now. Mom loved flowers and birds so I added extras. She also was a big dog lover so I've included a couple of them too.
I used Brenda's book for these extra little designs. I hope to include a little book motif too perhaps over on the left near the blue bird as Mom also enjoyed reading very much.
I stitched several Quarter Dresden blocks using pink backgrounds. My stack of these blocks is growing.
I'm rereading this book of Margaret's (a friend mentioned she was reading it and I remembered enjoying it so checked it out again). I'm especially interested in what she has to say about fellow female authors.
Nature pleases me, especially seeing the way May is coaxing all the wild things to do their spring thing and open up. Seeing tiny buds that contain a future leaf, flower, or maybe a branch is miraculous to me.
And I like the spring colours too like this pretty shade of green especially paired with that orange/red.
I'm glad observing these tiny things up close still hold my interest and captivate me in a special way.
Sometimes the new life is sharing limbs with these old rustic looking buds- preserved tiny treasures.
The weather folks have forecast this will be a warmer and more humid summer than usual here in the Ottawa area, perhaps even hotter than the record breaking heat of 2023. Therefore, I've decided this will be the summer of dresses. I have several and am looking to buy a couple more. If I had the will, I would sew a few of the kind that I like these days...over the head, shapeless, loose and colourful...and with a pocket. If you know of any like that to buy or a pattern to sew one, please let me know.
I hope you are well and enjoying whatever season it is where you are. Take Care All!
We were plunged back into Christmasy looking winter on Saturday. It was beautiful outside in my woods.
I tramped about while the dogs ran madly around, sniffing new tracks here and there. The air was so cool and fresh and enjoyable. Below is the woods at the back door with a glimpse of the old tree house.
This Wednesday morning is cool, windchill making it -18C but the sun is shining so another very pretty wintry looking day. But staying this cool means no melting today.
I've been trying to choose which of my quilt tops to get to the quilted stage. I found this one using pretty coloured wool appliques and decided it would be first up. I've picked a colourful backing fabric with the same colours as the lively flowers. Sadly this photo is not showing the gorgeous colours well. This is Laura Heine's pattern and her website is here at Fiberworks.
I plan to hand stitch simple lines around each of the motifs.
In the sewing room, I've been sewing more Flicker blocks in the March RSC Reds. This is such a great simple pattern to use up scraps.
Here is the audio book I'm listening to presently, Rabbit Foot Bill. I like Helen's straightforward way of telling a story.
Listening is a convenience when in the sewing room and makes me feel good because I'm multitasking. I've tried to get Andrew Lownie's book about the utterly disgusting royal, Andrew (but yet I want to read it). There are hundreds of people in line for it.
Online inspiration lately...
Kathleen Tracy is generously offering another of her very sweet patterns to made a mini in March. HERE is the link to her free pattern. It involves little houses which are very hard to resist. Kathleen's Website is Country Lane Quilts if you'd like to check out her other free patterns.
And have you seen the little films being posted by Typewriters Voices on Facebook. I'm captivated by them and the words of wisdom too.
I made the 3 Ingredient Apple Oat Bars that kept popping up in my online feed and love them. The recipe, if it can be called that, is just 2 cups of diced apples, 2 cups of oats, 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I diced the apples very small, mixed it really well and pressed as hard as I could into the pan. Baked for 25 minutes. I let it cool completely but, as you can see, mine didn't come out very cleanly. Maybe when it gets to set up overnight.
It was declicious with this wonderful honey yogurt from Costco.
I hope your week is going well in spite of how the news is always unsettling these days. I'm so envious of the wonderful spring bursting out all over for some of you and love to see your garden photos.
*The mug was the thrifted find in my last post. As the owner/Nana of two Labs, it was a given it was going into my cart!
We had sun in spurts yesterday but today we are back to a white world out there both sky and landscape. It has continued to snow a lot- small flakes but they add up. The saying at home was "small snow, big snow" and when the snowflakes were large...."big snow, small snow". This has been a winter of small snow building up. The dogs love it all of course. I'm so happy that having obedient Petey, who comes when called, join us has meant Ned stays close too and no longer needs to be on a leash. This certainly helps his fitness.
I have a Cardinal pair who are regular visitors to the bird feeders. I notice them every evening while I'm getting supper. The female has such delicate colouring with reddish tinges throughout the wings and head.
I noticed the male is turning redder and I looked it up. Sure enough, this is the time of year he gradually becomes more brilliant ahead of the breeding season coming up.
I just have the quarter moon pieces lodged there...now that is a Newfoundland usage of that word for you. I used it growing up when you want to put something somewhere temporarily and will move it later or pin it down. Perhaps everyone used it for that too. I'm wondering if I should make these quarter circle pieces a little smaller and show more of the blades.
I've also been working on my Snowmen project. I'm trying to give each a little more personality and I thought of using the calendar months as a way to inspire embellishments. Like the baby snowman there with the giant candle...I so love embroidery and applique!
In my plan this week was to prep one of my flimsies for quilting. I have a few as you know :) and here it is Wednesday and no decision about that has been made. Sigh
I'm 100 pages into this book and enjoying it very much. Lots of food/baking chatter that is very beautifully written. The premise in a nutshell is seventy-seven year old, lifelong baker, Jenny, decides to try out for the British Bakes tv show contest.
We are survivors here at the Wooden House...yes we made it to Costco and home again safe and sound. Tony is still getting his new glasses sorted and other than a scary ten minutes when I lost him and thought I'd have to get help, it went well. Turns out he'd left the agreed upon spot where he would wait for me and went off in search of socks- not part of the plan. What's the big deal he said when I lucked upon him.Thankfully, wearing his fur Mounties hat on his 6ft 4in frame had enabled me to spy him amongst the busy noontime crowd. And, indeed, in the end, it certainly wasn't a big deal and he got new socks.
And we also treated ourselves to the Costco carrot cake with cream cheese icing. It is very tasty and goes well with a big mug of tea.
On that delicious note, I'll finish this post. I'll respond to LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's recent prompts in my next one. BTW, I'm so happy LeeAnna has a beautiful new dog!
Take care all of you and thank you for your lovely and helpful comments.
I'm feeling a little drowsy this morning sitting here by the fire. I've just mopped the whole upstairs because we've had a lot of activity here. It's been a trying week because our furnace quit working and what a time to choose to do that during these very cold days in February. I'm thankful to have Brad who helped me with getting wood up from the back basement door for our fireplace...that is quite a trek. The little heaters we also used were okay but it was really nice to be able to keep a fire burning.
We've had to go in and out for appointments too which has all kept the dogs and me off kilter. But thankfully, in the end, we just went four days without a furnace. I didn't realize putting in a new furnace would take so long. The two guys were here for five hours which drove the dogs mad- they wanted to be with them! Of course, they had to remove the old 21 year old furnace first which took up some of the time. Thankfully the new system is working fine so far, and, fingers crossed this episode is now history.
I'd found this book below and want to read it. It's a book where writers who knit or try to share their stories about knitting. I always knew Barbara Kingsolver did but I didn't know Sue Grafton did. Turns out there are a lot of writers who knit and more that would love to. Here is the Amazon link if you'd like to read more about it. It would make a great gift.
Kate at the Last Homely House still interests me and it's the perfect kind of show to have on while knitting. I don't have to follow any instructions or such and the tv room was also the perfect spot this week as I could keep it warm in there with a small heater. Isn't the winter sun on these colours pretty.
I've also been working on my Quarter Dresdens project. Now I have more of the working parts kitted up all ready to stitch together so I feel better about it. I'm still using mail flyers, the flimsy ones, for template material and an old cookie tin to keep them in.
I've decided to use more colour in the scrappy EPP blades; I know white is the colour of the year and all but so many in white got boring to me.
I'm using dark greens, the RSC February colour, for these backgrounds and one is looking lighter here than it really is and other darker. Sigh
Beth gave me three embroidery kits for Christmas. The Puffin is Newfoundland's provincial bird so it makes sense I finally embroider one. It's from Hook, Line and Tinker whose link is HERE if you'd like to check out their other cute designs.
I get so many Chickadees at my feeders and love them. I wanted it to be Canada's national bird but it lost out to the Canada Jay, formerly the Gray Jay. This is a sweet little kit from Nest Embirdery. Their link is HERE where there is a gorgeous bumblebee I'd also like to stitch.
And as well, this kit by Wendy Williams that I'd mentioned to her quite a while ago that I liked. Now I don't have to order it. I've admired this one for a long time and you can check it and others equally beautiful at Flying Fish Kits.
Stitchy gifts are the best, aren't they!
I'm feeling a bit tired but a good tired, if you know what I mean. The kind you feel when you've moved your body. We've decided to treat ourselves to a lunch out at one of the very old restaurants in a nearby town. They make good pork souvlaki there and that's what I always have. They make their own dressing for the Greek salad, something else I'm fond of. Would this appeal to you?
This is a painting by William Kurelek called "Balsam Avenue After Heavy Snowfall", 1972. This area of Toronto just had a huge snowfall so I imagine the present day residents doing just this. Shovelling snow is certainly something all Canadians are very familiar with. Do you like the way William used pops of colour here in what otherwise would be a drab background?
We have an extreme cold warning this morning. It is just -23C but there is a wind making it feel like -34C. Be assured I wear all the gear for our walks so I'm quite comfortable and so far I've been able to stick to the 30 minutes of fresh air morning and afternoon. Tramping about makes me feel so good and, of course, the dogs love their runabout.
Speaking of which, I have three dogs for the weekend. We are looking after Abby, Ned and Petey's mother. Her family is off to a hockey tournament in North York which puts them about a 35 minute drive from Balsam Avenue. They are very busy but it's fun busy which is great.
Meanwhile, our busy is completely different but we are managing the ups and downs. Tony's CT scan got postponed because of weather so that is now next week. Thank you all for the very good wishes about that. I'll keep you posted. But while speaking of these things I must mention our stitching friend, Coni, who is the Spinster Stitcher. I've been following her since she began her blog in 2008, through the loss of her much loved little dog, Stewy, and her kidney transplant journey. She is very ill again just now with a perforated colon. She now has a colostomy so her journey towards good health continues.
I've been busy stitching. I finished the house on What Remains is Love and have the large central flower almost finished. I chose a slightly brighter red than the called for to make it stand out. I also turned the house into a one story just like the house I grew up in. I had to unstitch the middle of the leaves. I thought the colour looked too light against the outline colour; I'll look in my floss collection to find a colour that blends better.
I'm enjoying that crossword book and though rated medium,some of the clues stump me. I go back and forth between despairing because I can't remember something I think I should know to feeling awesome because I did remember something. Do you do crosswords? This corresponds with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt for this week. As you all know, I also love jigsaws too and will be getting one out soon. Meanwhile, I find it relaxing to do an online free Jigsaw almost daily from Jigidi. I'm working my way through the Winter section favouring puzzles that feature birds or cosy houses in woods. I also do 7 Little Words and enjoy that challenge very much.
Back to Cross Stitching, Alice at Rabbit Girl Crafts has links to 9 Free Winter cross stitch patterns to download plus she offers her own free patterns too.
I mentioned I was alarmed about my scraps. Thank you, S, for sending me a photo of this easy unnamed patchwork block to use up scraps without a whole lot of measuring and cutting. She seems to know me well :). I am testing it out and like how many old scraps this can use. Is that a good enough reason to make a quilt??? This is one of those stitch and flip blocks and I haven't been able to find the name. If you know it, please tell me. So I started with blues for the last of the January RSC. Now that I have them all together like this, I'm seeing butterflies.
I was given several stitching kits for Christmas. I must share those next time. Today I'm working on Snowmen and making more fans for the Dresden Quarter Blocks. I never have to cast about for something to do here and I love it all. Hobbies are tried and true remedies for worry.
Hope you are similarly happily busy with all the things you love.
It seems to be all about the weather here in the winter months. Saturday,when I went out with the dogs, the temperature was this with a wind chill of -34C.
But the sun was shining and I could feel its warmth on my face. That was so nice while on the pond throwing the ball for the dogs. Then it warmed up and here in winter, that means the snow comes. We have a few more centimeters on the ground and it's still snowing. The school buses are not running this morning so another snow day for most kids. Here is my backyard winter wonderland taken through the window just now.
Yesterday's weather was a good excuse to stay cosy all day in my fleece top and polar bear fleece bottoms.
Enough about the weather, on to more important things like stitching.
When I'm watching YouTube, sometimes a video suggestion will pop up and I'm so glad this one did. That was how I found out about Becky Goldsmith's tiny baskets. I remember when some folks were stitching these in a project called A Tisket A Tasket and that would have been many years ago. I decided to give them a try mainly because I need to use up more small scraps. The pattern is free. I just love stitching these tiny baskets. And Becky's video featuring the tutorial is just wonderful.
I learned something brand new to me. And that is you can wet fabric to get it to turn/fold a little like at the top of the handles. That actually works. What a great scrappy project and I'll be matching up with the colour for the monthly RSC colour while I stitch more of them. They are 3 inches and while they stitch up quickly, they are a bit fiddly.
I have to be careful not to get obsessed with stitching them.
I have the Blackbird Designs Christmas Tablecloth almost finished. The three pieces are joined but I have some minor stitching I want to do like add more embroidery to the leaves on the right side, for instance. Then I'm going to retire it for this year with the hope and plan of quilting it next fall in time for Christmas.
LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt last week was about using planners/calendars. I always have a yearly calendar type book to write in and note appointments, etc. Here is last year's and my newest one that I bought at a thrift store. Yes, it was totally baffling to me why a 2026 book would be there. It was obviously brand new with the Winner's tag on it and one of those finds that makes me think they are there just waiting for only me to come along.
We've added The Pitt to our nighttime viewing and are enjoying getting to know the characters. I can see why it won two Golden Globes. Any of you watching?
My week is filling up with appointments including another CT scan for Tony. I am very thankful this can be done at a local hostpital so we don't have to drive into Ottawa especially with all this weather. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to write a comment on my posts. We both read them and take encouragement from them.
