Make Tracks to Little Dear Tracks

Another of my favourite net places is Little Dear Tracks.  It is a sweet site fueled by the unique creative visions of Aimee Ray.  Aimee has published a number of books featuring her special doodle type embroidered motifs. She uses many embroidery techniques in her work and also uses applique, colour tinting and patchwork.  I've borrowed several from the library and I always find inspiration.  Aimee has an etsy shop called littledear.   This is her latest seasonal collection, The Holiday Motif Collection.






Aimee's blogspot is one of my favourite places to visit.  I think you should check it out especially if you enjoy free patterns and tutorials because it is one of the best banks available that I've found.  Her link is here:

http://littledeartracks.blogspot.ca/

A few examples of her offerings

This little free pattern is called " Patchwork Tree Hill" and as Aimee says, it is a great way to use up scraps and can be made bigger or changed about.




Isn't this sweet?  It is called " Flowering Antlers" and generous Aimee offers a tutorial for the five different embroidery stitches used for the flowers as well as a free download pdf.

I just love her latest little acorns and woodland creatures made with felt. Adorable is the only word to describe them.

 What a talented lady!

Walk Fast Or Freeze

Bundled up against the -25 degrees C (up from -35 C overnight)  and out on the woods trail through the property...I'm trying to get my daily dose of fresh air which nobody needs telling is good for you.  Just look at how blue that sky is.

And off we go...herself has to be leashed, sadly, because she will follow her nose into the next county to track a scent.

At this point I have to start moving faster to keep up which is good for me.
Rounding the completely snowed-in greenhouse there on the left below.

She's stopping to see what I'm doing, always a chance of a treat (Labradors love their stomachs!) but no it's a camera.  Rex never lets us out of his sight.

I stopped to look at this old tree stump, in particular to examine the fresh holes that something had dug in it.
I was struck by how perfectly round each hole is.

                                                  Just look at those ears...real beauties.

 I'm making this a faster walk than usual and not because of the cold.  A farmer in nearby Carp came upon a cougar in his barn this past week.  Luckily the cougar was able to exit without passing him or his horses.  Though there has never been a case in Canada of a cougar attacking a person, I'd be concerned about the dogs. Sightings of this cougar have come to light all around us.
But on this walk, just a few chickadees are the only other living things I spy.  Endless tracks though.
                                               
 Forty-five minutes later: safe and sound at home.

                             And snoozing in front of the stove.  Notice Murphy, the diva, claims the kitchen dog bed.

                              I'm tired but happy too.
                             And a bowl of  homemade ham and pea soup is so warming.

Godzilla Watching Over Me

Weather forecast showed snow before morning so I decided to make my way to daughter's house the night before.  That night I slept in the spare room where grandson stores some of his treasures.  On a shelf above me was his collection of Godzillas.  I should have felt very safe knowing that the various guardians of the galaxy were also looking over me.

It made me think of how lucky for me to have been with him long enough to see him move through these phases of his childhood.  I remember so well what an ardent Thomas the Tank Engine fan he was and how that phase lasted much longer with him than other kids.
  When he had to choose a Christmas gift this year for his new cousin, he picked a Thomas toy.  He gave it to his aunt and said," this is something from my childhood", sounding for all the world like he was 20 rather than 10.  But yes, he has moved far from Thomas and now loves all these action heroes and is always keen to add to his collection.
And I note the changes.  He gave a big whoop one day in the car when he spotted a Porsche; he could name the model to my surprise.  Just when did he learn about cars.   Sometimes he wears those hoodies the bigger boys wear.  Every time I see him he seems a little taller, a little more mature, a litlle different from who I am used to.

Selfish me feels sentimental about this.  Sigh.

Leonard Cohen Be My Man

The best thing about being around people your own age is you know each others' references.  For instance, you just have to say 'Suzanne takes you down' and some of us know exactly who we are talking about.  The man himself, Leonard Cohen, was considered so "cool" as a poet way back when I was in university the first time around.
This was one of my favourites and keeps showing up in my journals over the years.

But Leonard has endured a remarkable career as a singer of his poems.  His work is shared and enjoyed across the generations.  Who can forget K.D. Lang's rendition of his Hallelujah at the Vancouver Olympics. I remember a commentator at the time being almost speechless; he just said, powerful, over and over. I have it on a tape in my car and it never fails to stir me.  Here is a Youtube video of her singing it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oZN2eTgvVs

"I Just Want to Go Home and Knit"

So many of us identify with this quote, if not knit, then to embroider, quilt, crochet, etc. But I know I'm thinking about all things wool these days.


                                                        
 I guess the cold weather is to blame for that; it makes a person want to wrap yourself in something warm and cozy and wool is just that thing. Here are my legs wrapped in the afghan I crocheted last year.  It's early morning and I'm waiting for the house to warm up.

It also makes me want to work in wool. Last night I surveyed a number of crochet and knitting sites wondering if a pattern would jump out at me.  And yes, one did.  It is called Mistake Rib Scarf and I found it at wonderful The Purl Bee.  Of course, the appeal of this is also the gorgeous wool used, Mulberry Merino.

http://www.purlbee.com/



I've earmarked this one for now.
That's mostly because I have two UFO's on the go at the moment....my Shiny and Brite hanging and another embroidery that I will show you soon.  At least I've finally learned to organize them properly.  I like these clear plastic boxes I bought at the dollar store for that. It makes me feel I'm in control still.

And yes, I do have a couple of other boxes down in the basement.

Crazy Quilting, One of My Loves

I wanted to show you a few extraordinary examples of crazy quilts I've found on my internet journeys.

This teapot has been embellished with hand stitching, buttons and ribbons.  It appears on flickr and is the handiwork of Annie Whitsed.  It was featured on her blog, Annie's Crazy World in 2006 and I tried to track her down to say how lovely I thought this tea pot is, but could not find a recent address. But here is the link to her older blog
http://loopylace.com/anniescrazyworld/





I love the idea for this- to take an ordinary shape and let your imagination go.  Of course one of the beauties of this quilt method is that it also uses up some of those fabrics we all have in reserve.




A 'controlled' crazy quilt, circa 1880... the handiwork of Mary A.Stinson, it is silk and bordered by hundreds of morning glories, a flower I try to grow each summer. Mary was said to be a dress maker for Mary Todd Lincoln.  I would love to see this quilt; the sign where this was displayed said,
 "Keep Calm and Don't Touch". Someone knows what us quilters are like!
Here is a link to the National Museum of Women in the Arts  "Worktd By Hand" exhibit.


http://nmwa.org/exhibitions/%E2%80%9Cworkt-hand%E2%80%9D

Many  lovely examples of crazy quilts.




This method works very well for cushion covers and though this looks like a pillow it is actually much smaller; it is a sweet little pin cushion.  It was donated by the Tanner family to the Morrison County Historical Society in Minnesota, U.S.  I love the small design in the right lower corner featuring  Grandmother's Fan pattern.  One of my personal favourites.
This little piece highlights how effective decorative embroidery can be.
But really, you don't need to be an expert to tackle your own crazy quilting.  A few basic embroidery stitches such as herringbone, blanket, chain and daisy would be enough to give your own piece a crazy quilted look.

UFO's Can Be Inherited

UFO's 
This term in the needlework world has nothing to do with aliens, it simply means unfinished objects.  It seems that many crafters love to start projects but have a hard time getting them finished.  They languish on shelves, in drawers, or put completely out of sight in boxes. You can tell I am speaking from experience here.
Meanwhile, we just found this UFO belonging to my deceased mother-in-law.

Hubby discovered this partly needleworked Siamese cat in an old suitcase.  And it comes complete with all the wool which appears to be in immaculate condition.  Just begging to be finished.

 So it is true you can inherit UFO's too. And just like your debts you can also outlive them.  So who will inherit yours?  :)