Birthday Celebrations, Shopping, Pinterest Pages, Jackie's Meditation Moment

 Order of business from the last post, Beth's cake was officially a Chocolate Filled Kahlua Tiramisu Cake from Rock Recipes. This cake is delicious and surprisingly light. 

Tony's birthday celebrations continued Saturday night. It included a wonderful and fun limo ride to Quebec. We did the same thing for his 80th, some of you may remember. We enjoyed oysters and the four course Table d'hote meal at the Gatineau Sterling and it was delicious. Here is the Salmon Tartare. Most of our main dish, steaks, came home with us.

I gave myself a haircut the day before. It didn't take long. And I figure it couldn't be worse than the last one to cut it...the sad professional. And I want to show you my summer dress I wore to the dinner. Very light and loose (a must for me these days) with a lining. It is the Coral Pattern Ruffle Midi Dress from online Northern Reflections and was half price...still available HERE. I should figure out how to properly take selfies!

I wore Mom's charm bracelet..oh, how she loved jewelry and these kinds of outings so much. So I had her with me, so to speak.

I'm happy and grateful to be continuing my summer fitness regime, I guess you could call it. Several have asked how it is going these days. This summer it includes the elliptical trainer in the basement. I go down first thing in the morning and listen to music on my ipad. I aim for 20  minutes but have to take breaks, not because of my breath, but my leg muscles burn. I usually use just the left arm to give it a workout too. Then I get a little swim in late afternoon before supper. It feels so refreshing and of all the fitness type things I do, swimming is my favourite. Not that I'm a great swimmer; I'm not... don't do the front crawl just the breast stroke. Somewhere in late morning I take Ned out for his walk before it gets too hot. In summer this is less than brisk, let's say. It's more of an amble and we stop to smell (and sometimes photograph) the flowers. I hate heat and humidity and have so much respect for you folks who work, exercise, play, etc. in it. The only two things that are constants in my fitness...I like to change up the method of exercising to keep me motivated and certainly never overdo. Lol

Here is Ned at the top of our driveway; he'd been smelling the swath of wild flowers Tony kept there for the bees. Now fading.

Three Pinterest Pages to Note

I enjoy looking through this Pinterest page collated by Marci Patch...Quilts By Cheri.  Cheri Payne was a wonderful improv primitive quilter. There is a photo of her sitting on the floor surrounded by piles of fabric scraps. In front of her is a design she is creating, literally making order of chaos. I've stitched a couple of Cheri's fall/Halloween designs.

Sheila Barfield Quilting Ideas Pinterest page is full of wonderful patterns, many free and lots of eye candy. If ever stuck for an idea, have a look and you will find inspiration for sure. 

Alejandra's Embroidery page is full of embroidery ideas, patterns and techniques. I keep saying I'm going to try Sashiko stitching for instance. On my bucket list, I guess you could say. 

Below is one of my favourite Flosstubers, Jackie, whose channel is called Comfort Stitching. She has a lovely voice and offers a short stitcher's meditation at the end of her episodes. It's been so popular she made a video of just that and I've returned often to listen and take a quiet moment to slow the breathing, ease the thoughts, etc. I invite you to give it a try if there is a time when you need a "moment" to calm yourself. 

Project updates next time. And summer news too. Hope your week is off to a wonderful start!

Quilting Updates, Rucking, This Weeks' This and That

A frozen mystery meat is thawing on the counter. It must be meat as it's really heavy. Time will reveal what it is and what I can make for supper with it. Any frozen mystery gems at your house?

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week is bed and breakfast or luxury hotel? I don't have a preference but I don't think I've ever stayed in a luxury hotel. I'll stay anywhere that looks nice and safe. I spent two March holidays in a condo on a Florida beach and found that to be wonderful. All the amenities, beach almost at the door, surrounded by fellow Canadians also in a holiday mood, but didn't have to talk to anyone unless you wanted to, of course.  When I get my blood pressure checked, I visualize the pelicans (which I'd never seen before and was fascinated with) diving and rising from the sea that I watched while knitting on the beach. The word Bliss comes to mind. Probably some of the most relaxed holiday moments for me ever. What about you? 

I've slow stitched more scrappy Applique Pieced Hourglass blocks. So easy with the 5 inch squares pack all ready to go. This is the first time I've used such precuts. Just realized this is a great RSC super scrappy project too. 

In the sewing room, more work on the Bramble Blooms with three sides sewn on. And two more rows of the Panama Pyramids have been added. One row gave me such grief but I managed to get it done. 

I was disappointed to read that Quiltmania has suddenly, it seems, closed down. As you know I took part in several of their free SAL's and had subscriptions to their magazines at various times over the years. I have a lovely stack of them. They brought a unique world wide perspective to the quilting world that will be missed. 

You are going to shake your head when you hear the latest thing I'm trying out exercise wise. I didn't know it had a name but of course it does. It's called rucking and you can read about it HERE. I've put clothes in the bottom of my backpack and then bar bells to wear on my walks. I'd started light with just 10 pounds which really I hardly feel so I'm going to add more weight. The overall goal is to get back into the shape I achieved during my 69-70 year. That was when I wanted to face age 70 in the best physical shape I could muster. Since then I've experienced stress which can certainly side track personal goals. All is calm presently- well calm-ish- and also, knowing my heart is in good shape means there won't be a better time to resume this goal- fingers crossed. 

I heard from many of you about the Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls recipe I shared in the last post. They are called Buckeyes-such a fun name, in some states and there are slight variations in the ingredients. 

And wow to the news that many folks already knew about that use for castor oil! Thank you, J, for pointing me to THIS SITE that has 6 pages of moisturizing products that contain castor oil! 

Meanwhile, I'm on the hunt for a chocolate bar that is low in gluten. I'm sure some of you will have ideas about this. I've tried several health bar types but they don't taste all that great to me.  I wonder how Kit Kats fare in that department because I like them for a treat now and then. I just found out Cheerios are gluten free (mostly), something I never knew. I guess if you live long enough, you know it all. The tricky part would be what gets remembered. 

Hope your weekend is wonderful and your stitching fingers will be flying!

Happily linking with A Quiltery, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Kathy's Quilts.

Embellishing Corner Stones, A First Capture, Delicious Simple Food

Though I hear these frogs every spring- you can't not hear them as their sounds have been likened to  chain saw or motorcycle loudness levels- I had never ever seen one, let alone gotten a photo till this summer. One day I took a photo of a strange looking, very tiny frog/toad sitting on a hosta leaf in the back yard.  I found out I'd captured the somewhat reclusive Spring Peeper frog when I looked it up later on. Finally and Another first for me. I like those ET like toes and the way his markings all line up.

These are of the Crucifix species named so because of the cross on the back. 

Here is what was bouncing around in my head this morning...and me achieving none of it to date. 

 Look up an aloe based face serum...I have a belief in the natural stuff. Any suggestions?

Cut 18 inch blocks for the largest of the Laundry Basket Quilts Monarch project butterflies. I need 9 of them and my largest template is a 12 inch and I hate fiddling with my new rotary cutter and trying to cut these large pieces...put off for almost two weeks now as a result. Get that done this week - maybe.

Get in more obedience training with Ned. We have an enthusiastic trainer coming once a week to train us and Ned. He has the basics down pat which is good. However, we specifically need just one thing...for him to come when called no matter if he is on the scent of something or not. I'm not sure that is achievable but she thinks so. 

Last Look

Finally, all done and dusted is my Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt, my July OMG at Elm Street Quilts. This was so enjoyable, a learning experience in some ways and all done on time thanks to it being a QAL.  Link Here to the pattern in Sandra's Etsy shop. The hand quilting was enjoyable and I added many more lines than I first thought. 

The back...It will be a cosy lap quilt for someone.
                                        

Just for fun, I embroidered blanket stitches around each corner stone. And you can see the sashing fabric really does show up in real life which I was never able to show in photos for some reason unbeknownst to me!

Something I am achieving...

Every year I forget what great exercise swimming is. The whole body gets a workout while being supported. Since exercise also is a mood booster for me, it is definitely a win win. I am enjoying my daily swim more than ever this summer and pushing myself to work a little harder while in the pool. 

For my lunch today was this below...I am still practicing Intermittent Fasting which works well for me as I'm not a breakfast eater. Having porridge for lunch is a usual choice for me. This time with fresh apricots from younger daughter and home made honey a friend makes from older daughter. 

On that delicious note, I'll end this post. Hope there is something delicious in your life today!

Happy to link up with The Quilt Schmilt, Quilt Fabrication, From Bolt to Beauty, My Quilt Infatuation, Quilting Patchwork Applique, Wendy's Quilts and More, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework and The Inquiring Quilter. 

Thursday's Three Free Patterns, Halloween Talk, Sharing Quilt Backs, Special Video

 Autumn turned this maple tree into quite the marvel. 

Now those limbs are bare. And for a short time, we will enjoy our golden leafy carpet under foot on our walks.

Someone asked...yes the Swedish BungyPump Walking poles are fabulous in my opinion. You do get a workout- I can feel my heartrate rise, and I do believe my upper body and arms are getting stronger.  I usually spend 15-20 minutes walking  with them as many days of the week as I can get in. Not affiliated in any way.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was a favourite costume of ours. All I remember is having face masks as kids.  Those made of a stiff plastic like material that made your face overheat and sweat so much. Not pleasant. I always wanted a rabbit as in those days, my nickname was Bunny. No fancy treat bags either, an old pillow case to carry about. Gosh it all sounds like Olden Days doesn't it especially compared to the Halloween animatronics items available today. 

Speaking of Halloween, I went to see Halloween Ends with older grandson and I enjoyed it for what it is. I did not find it scary. Fun to see Jamie Lee Curtis again. 

I will not be able to meet my OMG for October, that is hand quilting Plaid Tilda. However, I am pleased with how much is quilted and how it is looking. It's over 3/4's of the way finished. I haven't shown the back before. I'm happy my stitches are catching the fabric through those layers okay. I like these pretty fabrics.

Remember the Super Scrappy table runner.  The hand quilting on that is done.

And I'm likewise happy enough with the stitches...here's the back as well. Not perfect, by any means! I'm no Gretchen or Karen! I could go on there with naming wonderful hand quilters. Check out Sunday's Slow Stitching party post at Kathy's Quilts and you will see lots of wonderful hand work including Kathy's!

Time for Thursday's Three Free!

Linda, the Texas Quilt Gal, alerted us to this free Mystery Autumn Stitchalong from Joy at Days Filled With Joy. Every Friday for 4 all together, Joy will release an embroidery pattern, free for a limited time. 

I'm sharing this idea because I just don't think of fussy cutting motifs enough or using fusible applique either for that matter. And the projects those techniques could be used in are endless. This one below is part of the free cache at Connecting Threads and is called Acorn Park Triptych. I love little scenes like this. Perfect for small scraps for a pin cushion or needlebook maybe too.

Gay at her wonderful Sentimental Stitches site shared this lovely free pattern called Friendship.  Available as a PDF download.

Interested in applique basic techniques? Erin Russek at her blog, One Piece at a Time, is sharing a series of posts showing how to applique. Her instructions are very clear with large photos to follow along. She also has a page of free patterns with tutorials. Great stuff!

I am ending this post with this wonderful video from Karen at Just Get It Done Quilts called My Dutch Textile Tour.  Karen and her mother went to Holland to visit the grave of her grandfather who died fighting to help liberate Holland in the Second World War. Along the way they visited several textile and quilt shops. While I had tears in my eyes during some parts, I also was thrilled to see the Petra Prins shop, which as Karen says, was like stepping into Quiltmania. 

Hope you enjoyed your visit here today and maybe found a little bit of inspiration-there are so many talented folks sharing their skills with us. What a time to be be a stitcher!!

Great to be able to share this post with Quilting Patchwork Applique, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Stitching Stuff,  Sum of Their Stories and Kathy's Quilts.

Best Birthday Gift, Garden Pinks, Tinned Fruit Talk, Hand Quilting Challenge, Majesty Adieu

Another week and September is moving along. Early morning walks in noticeably cooler temperatures.  Darkness also closing in earlier in the evenings. I don't mind this and Ned says he loves it. I too love the changing of the seasons.

Autumn brings pinks and mauves to the garden...hardy sedum bearing heavy blooms these days.

A visitor snapped through the old sewing room screened window. Hydrangeas touched by colder temperatures turning pinkish.

And another taller variety of sedum...

I buy a lot of fresh fruit which I enjoy but it is quite expensive. I also rarely buy mango or pineapple. Apparently the nutritional content in tinned fruit is good. From one of my favourite online reads, The Guardian, comes this article... Tinned Can Fruit Recipes. I did notice one day at the store that fruit mixtures are changing and I bought several of these that contain added chia seeds. I found them sweet but this will do well during the winter when fresh fruit is not the best quality here. From Delmonte

 I promised to show you my best birthday present. Warning...these are dorky! They are Swedish BungyPump Walking Poles. I came across them online and was intrigued by their promise of giving an upper body workout as you walk and they do! The ends of the poles compress with a resistance of almost 9 pounds each time you press them into the ground. 

My arms are weak so I really like the idea of improving their strength. Here is a link if you'd like to read about them yourself. Someone asked: Yes, I'm still  using my Cubii just about every night...if I've been swimming and out and about on my feet a lot I skip it but that's the only time. 

I'm working steadily on my Karnak Hanging.  I hope to have it all quilted this week and be ready to make binding decisions.  It was a challenge to keep these quilting lines as straight as possible. With that in mind, I had to move to our dining table to lay it out and keep it all nice and flat while stitching. This has worked well and I'm happier with the stitches.

I have been adding stitches to my Jack Rabbit too.  I just love this green.  It is DMC 3347. It would be nice if I have everything stitched except for the part I need more floss for. A Try To Do this week.

I am very saddened by Her Majesty's death. As part of the Commonwealth of Nations, all of Canada is mourning her loss. I admire her determination and stamina...she was working up to two days before her death...at age 96, when doctors say she would have been in pain. I think if she had a motto it was One foot in front of the other. It is all inspiring to me.

She warranted her own post written by me back in 2016 when she was photographed by the famous Annie Leibowitz.  I've added it to the side bar for you to take a read if you like. Aged 90 here with the youngest grandchildren and her great grandchildren.

We have more rainfall warnings for today while so much of the world is experiencing drought. If only we could share it around. August was our wettest recorded since 1893!

Sharing this post with Texas Quilt Gal, My Corner of the World, Wendy's Quilts and More, Creations, Art, Quilts, Whatever, Alycia Quilts, Kathy's Quilts, Floral Friday Foto and True Blue Quilts.

Basket Case Embroidery, Panama Pyramids in Pinks, Garden Blooms, The Chucklings- Episode 2

A bouquet from the farm garden

 Summer is moving right along. I've gotten a good swim in most days so far and it is doing my body good. A lot of the achiness has left me and I'm sleeping better at night. I think that being in the water is therapeutic in many ways.  I swim with more energy when I listen to music. Since I don't have a fancy phone, I have my music downloaded on a device called a Synyn MP3 player that I wear attached to a small floppy hat. I got all the music I needed on YouTube.

 I discovered this during that process. That after about 2005, I know very little of the musicians and groups or the popular songs. Most are unrecognizable to me. I do know some of the biggies like Adele and Ed Sheeran but, by and large, not many more. So my music is quite dated like myself. :D  Here is Perfect,  the song of Ed's that I listen to.

I've continued with some EPP stitching several nights this week.  Have this many more of the Panama Pyramids made - this time in pinks. Such relaxing hand work. Stitching enough of these for a quilt is on my for now Forever To Do List. Luckily I love the whole process which I'm getting to move along a little faster. 

I've also finished the blanket stitch embroidery around all the flowers in the Basket Case hanging

and made a little sandwich of it ready for quilting. I used my kitchen island to do that. To do this weekend -get a start on that hand quilting. It will be simple just around the baskets and blocks I think.

This straw chair was one we found at a thrift store and quite cheap as it is in so so condition. I bought it because I thought it would look nice by our front door during the summer. The little bird house is a model of the home Hubby lived in during his teen years when they emigrated to Ottawa from England. 

        

Our veranda needs repainting. So many things need attention and our summer To Do list is lengthy. Sigh

The Spirea bushes are in bloom. There are many of these bushes around the property, all pinks. The bees like them.

Thank you for the warnings about groundhogs! So far they've not chewed any of the planted things like the flowers or hostas. They seem to prefer the wild stuff. I've found two holes, one under the pool house and another in a window well at the back of the house. I now picture a sophisticated underground tunnel system under the back garden.  We do have a humane trap that just might need to be used to move one or two. 

Meanwhile, there is lots of space for them to spread out...our 11 acres back on 20 untamed ones behind us and 8 to the left.  And the folks on the other side have very deep overgrown back yards, for the most part so thick we can't see their houses except for a glimpse of one in the winter when the leaves are down. 

Ned was despondent for a day when Petey went back home. Dogs really do have feelings. Luckily for him, Daughter brings Abbey and Petey over late afternoon just about every day for a ball play on the side lawn. Now Ned is back to his old self and enjoying a daily episode of the The Chucklings.

There is entertainment value in them at least.  He silently watches till he tires and sinks to the floor. :D

Stay safe and enjoy all the sweet little things you can jam into your day.

Linking this post with Texas Quilt Gal, Brian's Home Blog, Floral Friday Foto, Life in the Scrapatch, Creations. Quilts Art Whatever, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Alycia Quilts and Quilt Fabrication. 

All Time Best Thrift Store Find, Scrappy Table Runner, Crocheted Olympic Bouquets, The Beautiful Butterfly's Ball

 Time to share with you all (if I haven't done so already; my memory for past blog items is fuzzy) my very best bargain from a thrift store.  I was told the set had just been brought in from a farm house about to be sold. The sugar was still in the sugar bowl. This is Petit Point by Royal Albert, a pattern discontinued in 1997. 

 I paid $130 for the set and at the cash got a 10% reduction for spending over a hundred dollars there.  I examined the pieces well, checked the backstamps, etc. because it all seemed too good to be true. But to my untrained eye, it looks to be genuinely Royal Albert. 

There are 20 dinner plates and I imagine this was to accommodate large family dinners which is a nice thought. Both my mother and mother in law had Petit Point for their good dish set so I know what these pieces cost. And of course, they are the perfect dish pattern for a cross stitcher too! 

I finished my scrappy table runner- one nights' stitching to sew around the binding, and am pleased with it.  The extra hand quilting is so enjoyable on a small, manageable piece like this. I washed it to remove the washable marker lines and dried it in the dryer. I really like the crinkly kind of feeling hand quilting gives a piece.

And you can see I received my Cobble Hill Dogs jigsaw puzzle and have a little start made. I like to photograph items on this table right in front of the patio door window-brightest light in the room there. 

I saw this article and was intrigued...Hand Crocheted Bouquets at the Beijing Olympics.  Over 1200 hand crocheted bouquets were handed out to the athletes and dignitaries at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. 

Lucy at Attic 24 has shared a number of tutorials on how to crochet flowers to create wreaths. That link will take you to her post about flower motifs to stitch a Japanese Flower scarf. And here is a book on Amazon that is close to what she could not share for copyright reasons. 

Japanese Crochet Motifs, Volume 4  The scarves are really beautiful. (BTW, Yuletide is finished and put away for the season. I'll show a photo next fall.) 

I enjoyed this documentary about Eleanor Roosevelt while cross stitching on Sunday.

 I love all the First Ladies and I always felt Eleanor to be special. It is wonderful when people use their fame and fortune for the good of others. 

To do this week 

Continue my outdoor fitness...with the trails clearing, I can jog more safely on them. This always makes me feel better physically and mentally...nothing of an exercise nature comes close. Someone asked...yes I'm still enjoying using my Cubii very much. 

Shopping Around

Since Neddy chewed my old house summer sandals which I loved, I must look at ordering a new pair.  They were Crocs, but since so many of you mentioned Keens when I was boot shopping, I'm going to check them out. 

I've been exploring the patterns of Susan Smith, the Australian quilter and designer. Her quilts have been used in movies and her online site is Patchwork on Stonleigh. She has several wonderful new patterns like this one...The Butterfly's Ball. Do you like it?

I remembered I still have the patterns to make Susan's famous Stonefields; yikes!

Garden shopping. I have a tendency to procrastinate and things sell out really fast here and are not replenished...stores move right on to the next seasonal event. So I mustn't let that happen this spring. Does that happen where you live?

Lastly and highest on my TO DO list...Get my OMG for March, the Hazel's Summer Wildflowers hanging, finished. Thank you all so much for answering/commenting on the question I posed in my last post.. It was very helpful to me as I have no stitching friends here to bounce things off. I have worked out a compromise which I'm hoping will be done and ready to share in my next post just in time.

I hope your week is not off to a wintry start like ours. I hope you are all safe and satisfied with your life this last Tuesday morning of March, 2022.

Linking with Texas Quilt Gal and the others joining the TO DO party Linda is hosting. Also linking with Life in the Scrapatch and Inquiring Quilter.

 

Advent Calendars, Snowmen Runner, Christmas Lights and Yarn Temptations

 It is the dark days before Christmas, as it used to be called and I do wish the sun would shine more. Hubby has mild SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and now has his special light turned on whenever he is at the computer. But we are barrelling towards the shortest day of the year and then the lengthening of each day will begin again. I keep reminding him.

We are being warned to stay home, not go out except for necessities and then use grocery pick ups- just like back in March.  But we have been good about staying in to ourselves all along anyway...the odd trip to Walmart being the exception. The Brits are getting vaccinated so it will be interesting to see how that goes. I am very hopeful and in amazement at what these researchers have accomplished.

Daughter gave us before Christmas gifts with the message that we had to open them right away. They are advent calendars. Mine is the Clinique one which was all I used for many decades of my life. Such a fun way to try out new products. 

Hubby's is Godiva chocolates and my, he's loving it especially the truffles. 

And Murphy's from Abby is special bone shaped biscuits and she loves them. So much so she got ahold of the box and completely 

mauled it trying to get them out. Deck the Howls With Cookies

I've been pretty good at doing my floor exercises. Every second day and first thing in the morning. Lots of leg work and planking. My core is sadly weak. I remember well all the sit ups and push ups I used to be able to do. Sigh  But my resolve is still strong to face 70 in the best shape that I can muster.

A number of you liked my Santas Here but mentioned they are now covering up my quilting. Well, truthfully I never thought of that till I'd placed them all there "just so"- what was that, some kind of brain glitch!  Then I figured I would change it up the next day.  That hasn't happened. But a few other touches of Christmas are here.  I do love the lights.

We had another sprinkle of snow overnight.

We did get back at the wood stacking with three loads each of the last two days being moved. Here we are about half way through this load. More stacking to do. We've moved about half of this pile now. 

I have another table runner to finish this week. I made the cute Turkey block for the center which I thought appropriate for this time of year and put the embroidered blocks on each end so they would not get covered. 

Look what's tempting me. A bag of "yarny goodness" as Lucy at Attic 24 calls it. 

But I must stay strong and keep working on  Basket Case, Fans and gifty table runners this week.  Next time I'll share my WIP's list, yikes!

Hope you all have a marvelous, productive week and do your best to stay safe.

Also  marvelous to link this post with Home Sewn By Us and Our World Tuesday.