cancer is a bitch ....a solelesss, mean bitch.
This Saturday , the mister's younger sister lost her battle with cancer.  she never had a chance....she was absolutely full of cancer.  bones. liver. lungs...she didn't even make it to her 60th birthday, which is next month....
This is the second sister-in-law I have lost to cancer.
Far too many of the mister's family is knocked to the ground with this disease.
A few from my own side of the family tree have been felled  by this horrible disease.  It makes me very sad...

Time to put up the Christmas lights...
The mister doesn't want to do the same old thing we always do.... a line of lights across the front of the house.   He wants to place them around the garage door this year.
I don't know...that means nails in the frame. I don't like that idea too much.
And I just bought all new hooks for the eaves trough! (big sigh).
We have a really big evergreen just beside the drive way...we could put the lights and decorations on that....or we could put lights on the deciduous trees we have.
I normally put curtain lights in the livingroom window, and the christmas tree is in the corner near the window.
As soon as I bring out the tree, MissT our cat, starts sitting and sleeping under it.
Last year I was still putting the lights on and I stepped on her..she was hiding under the tree....she wasn't happy that I didn't see her.
I have a tree that I bought at least 25 years ago.  I paid a lot of money for it at a boxing day sale at (now gone) White Rose.
 It still  looks great.  It has branches that look like branches, not wires wrapped in plastic.  I attach pine cones here and there to help fool the eye.
 The only thing missing is the scent...
And lights...I must put 700 lights on that tree.  But, it's a big tree....8 feet tall...with a base of 5-6 feet away from the wall.
When the grandkids were babies, I would cover the tree in toys.  Beanie babies, tiny teddies and tiny dolls.
Remember all the toys kids would get in a kids meal?....On the tree, tied with a ribbon.
So there was Grover, Cookiemonster, Kermit the frog, Miss Piggy...all sorts of kiddie stuff on the tree, including Wilie Coyote, Roadrunner, Shrek..Princesses and tiny little Cabbage Patch dolls, Tigger and Pooh.
If they wanted to play with the toy, that was fine, but we put it back when we were done playing with it.
Now,  the girls are past that...and we are trying for a more sophisticated looking tree.
I liked the toys....they were fun.

pin moor pin anchors

Have you discovered or heard of  "pin moor pin anchors"?
Leah Day(www.freemotionquilting.blogspot.ca) uses them all the time.

I made some ...
Mine look completely different, but then, I was using up scrap. 

This wasn't what I had planned to do.
I had planned on expanding my ring compartment in my jewellery box.

flexi-rods

 I went out to my nearest dollar store, he is an independent, not one of the big chains.  I wanted flexi- rods..I think that is what they are called, not perm rods... but those long foamy rods they use now for long hair.  I have curly hair, so I don't know about this sort of stuff....any way...he had them, I bought 2 packs..4 in a pack...only a few dollars.
I measured and cut and hot glued to some cardboard and made myself more ring roll for my rings.

Then I had these little pieces left over...about an inch long.


new ring roll

I threw them away....

I threw away the wires that were inside.

 I threw away the buttons that head the ends.

Then I tore a chunk out of my thumb on a pin....ouch!!!

I looked in garbage can and thought....hmmmmm.
 " I could cut up those and make some pin buddies"...
 I tried sticking a pin in them...and they didn't fall apart.
  It wasn't hard to insert the pin, but it didn't fall off either.


Add caption

The leftover rods were about an inch long with a hole down the centre, just a little too big and then there was that hole...I decided sideways was good enough.  I had enough width to insert the pin..so I cut them into slices.
The pieces that I have now are like Cheerios (a breakfast cereal)...a little doughnut with a small hole in the middle.
I took the second pac, took them apart and cut cut them all up.  Now a have a box full...enough, I hope...there are more curl rods at that dollar store if not.

Then, I thought....hmmm, and cut the shank off the button.  I could use both pieces for embellishment.


The wires I put back into the bag and as I was about to toss them, and I thought....
"Why not see what I could twist them into and embellish with them."

just a few
 

So I bent them (with small pliers) and shaped them...smashed and flattened them with a hammer..(and my finger)....lol!
Maybe,  just maybe ...I will put them on the ATC's (artists trading cards) I have to make for guild.  I coloured them with alcohol inks, then I took a drink can that I had cut up and tried to turn "coppery coloured" with heat and I used alcolhol inks on that.  I am gonna use that for my ATC's ...and I am going to work on them today!
After I clean up all the stuff on my table!

I still haven't really found my sewjo....
don't know why.............
I need to hem some pants that I bought MONTHS ago...
still haven't done them....and a pair for my son-in-law.
I put the right colour thread on my machine and turned it on....did some pinning ...tore my thumb......then did something else......hehehe...THE ABOVE!...
I haven't been idle....I've been playing with paper, trying to tidy and organise and reading a few book........
Tomorrow...I WILL turn on the machine , hem my pants, and sew some more.....if nothing stops me....

It's cold out today, the wind is blowing and snow is flying..well ice pellets really.
Out in the back garden is a rose...
a minature rose bush...
just one I bought a Walmart..
I planted it out side..
on the (north) west side of the house...
warm, warm sun in the mornings, but very cold winds when they are from the north
 dainty little peach coloured rose...

still blooming..........................

I think that I am going to have to have a second craft room.....
paper crafts and sewing crafts.
They really don't mix well,..... not really...
not in the same room...yes....no.......a big (for me) maybe..
Maybe my room is too small...
 Bits of paper, glue, paint, on my sewing/cutting table/ cutting mat, .....bad for the rotary cutter blade...
stuff all over the room....contaminate my fabric with ink, dye, whatever...
oh my gosh!...
 I need more space!. 
I go in my sewing room to sew and end up playing with paper,  paint or ink, crayons and pencils and punches...

The mister is retiring soon and I have my eye on his office space.....

I have a lot of crossover stuff from sewing to paper craft/cardmaking..ribbons, dye (do I want to go THERE again?), threads, buttons, fabrics, glue, paper..any , either, all,.. could be used for both crafts....and he has a lot of space that he will be clearing out.

   I ...

WANT..

 that...

 SPACE!!!

He has bookcases I have designs on....
hehehe...
he has Ikea shelving that I have designs on....
hehehe...
but we have a whole lot of his sh*t to move out and get rid of.  (oh my, I don't look forward to that!)

Maybe I should move ALL my craft/sewing/quilting stuff to the lower level (they don't call it a basement anymore!  It's the LOWER LEVEL)...
take over the whole room...
(want a Chinese inspired sofa?)
  hmmmmm ....
A good thought!
BUT.......
 I never really liked working in the basement...
I think because I didn't hear what was going on in the house...
but once the mister retires.....
he can keep an eye out...
( is that a control thing???)
Should I move my stuff?   (I'll be closer to the wine rack!)
   and
Why am I loving  paper craft so much lately...is it the beautiful stamps they have now,  the fabulous punches or the fabulous papers.....
or
is it instant gratification?
I am taking over the mister's space .......!!  LOL!

The World of Threads


By the time you read this, it might  be too late to see most of this show. 


It was a fabulous show....


One of the ladies,  Dawne,  from guild, co-ordinated this show (with a little help). 

There were installations all over Oakville and some in Toronto.
I hit some of  the ones in Oakville.
 I thought that a day would do, but it really wasn't long enough.
I picked up a friend and we hit the nearby gallery, QEPark as soon as it opened.  Then stopped for lunch.  ( we spent quite a bit of time at this one) And went on to the next one Joshua Creek, then on to Sheridan College
But, I did get to 3 of 5 (maybe more) of the installments in Oakville.
All works were fabulous!

Here is a pic of one called Mikey that really had to be seen!   So life-like.....

Mikey of Mallory by Marie  Bergstedt

The vest is crocheted, the shorts,  I think I remember,... knit....
and all the rest, buttons and beads!
 LIFE SIZED! 
Fabulous!  Absolutely fabulous!
The story behind this was...
The artist and brother were separated in childhood, the sister finally found her brother on the west coast and made this portrait of him.....



My friend and I walked around, marvelling at the ingenuity of the works.  There were so many indescribable works using a variety of methods, it was mind boggling..

This is paint....

laid out in strips,

 allowed to dry,

peeled up,

 then woven....

 

 

 

In another gallery there were felted works,


 like this cute little asian inspired flower

 

 

 

This woodland like piece...
 wood and felted wool

                                                                  

 

 

 

 

And this coral- like piece

 

 

 

and


a waterfall of fibres
 

 

 

 

and last but not least...

 

an amour-like suit of fibre. 

 

 

 

This was only a small sampling of what I saw...

and if you would like to see more,

 go to

 quilton.blogspot.ca...

my friend has put up a couple of smileboxes of pics she took at the show in previous posts of her blog.                                                                                                        

  

         

FABULOUS!!..   FABULOUS show!,

 Dawne...congratulations on a job well done! 

You could check out   THE WORLD OF THREADS website at www.worldofthreadsfestival.com 

           

 

As an aside...                                                                                                                

 

the mister and I are celebrating 46 years of marriage today...                                                                            yup!    46  years!                                                    

        

And they said it wouldn't last !                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Look at that. 
     Yes,
 that is a christmas pic on my heading...
early isn't it!
I searched for christmas quilts and this was one of them. 

It has been a while since quilt guild.  I didn't attend one meeting, we had an anniversary dinner, (35 years) and although I love to eat out, I find I sometimes get a rash from whatever there is in the food.  Sometimes bread will do it, cookies, crackers...quite often..soup!....it's some additive.  I just don't like to be out by myself in case it starts.  With allergies, you never know when you will be affected or how badly.  Yes, I carry an epipen with me at all times..even vacation, but not on the beach.....haha...no where to put it.
Sounds like everyone had a great time, though.
I went to my other guild meeting last week and we had a potluck.  Just sweets and savouries....good stuff!
We also had a speaker.  We were shown 8 quilts from Ailsa Craig's Quilts of Israel.
Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures.  And there I was with my camera and cell FULLY charged.  Oh well...
There was one quilt that we were shown called Women on a Balcony.  It created a visceral response in me, as the speaker told us of the quilter, and  the inspiration for her quilt,  (I believe it was based on a painting) she made this quilt because she had the same response...Anger...the women were dressed in burkas!   I wonder why we feel this way?   Because we feel the women are being repressed?...or because we can't see their faces, but they can see ours?
The quilts were fantastic.  Some very different ones.  Quilting has no history in Israel apparently, but is becoming popular.  Ahh, the influence of the modern world! haha
I just might get the mister to take a drive up to Ailsa Craig for the show.

unrinsed fabric with dyes mixed with water

So, today I "finish" with my little experiment.
I got dressed in black....all black.  And found my rubber gloves.
I've played with dye before and black is the colour to wear...lol
I decided to use different papers and some fabric.
I covered my laundry room table in plastic and newspaper first, then

high gloss photo paper

I took two pieces of PFD fabric and one sheet of white card stock, one sheet of  drawing paper, two pieces of watercolour paper, two pieces of prefolded notecard , two pieces of satin finish photo paper and two pieces of glossy photo paper.
I dampened the fabric, soaked one in ph-up.
I laid all but the photo paper on the newspapers.
I started with the (marker) alcohol ink.   Unimpressive....

satin finish photo paper

I sprinkled some of the jade green on the paper and fabrics....unimpressive also...the colour was yucky and the liquid was granular.   I tried the purple, it was grayish and grainy.

WELL OF COURSE IT WAS!!!!

The dye NEEDS water to dissolve!
I added hot water to the bottles of dye and alcohol....the colours bloomed in the bottle..a difference of night and day!.
I added a lot more dyes to the fabric and paper.
I didn't want too much or the colour would be mud.
I took my spray bottle and spritzed all the paper and fabric.....the colour changed immediately into the hue they are supposed to be.


fabric washed out almost completely

Now I wasn't expecting miracles...after all my dye are really old and probably "burnt out" (no good).

watercolour paper

I kept soaking the papers and fabric, trying to make sure all the dye I first put on was dissolved.  Any undissolved surface crystals of dye is a disaster waiting to happen...
I took out the photo paper and tried the dyes on that.
The paper curled and the dyes moved into the lowest areas.

dampened card

As I played, I noticed that the one fabric sheet that I had soaked in ph-up was really light coloured.  The dye was moving through the fabric and was now just on the newspapers.

I decided to rinse the fabric after about an hour and unfortunately, most of the dye washed out.  And so did the alcohol ink from the marker....so that's a bust

card stock (left half dampened)

The best looking was the watercolour paper. 
I took the fabric and paper and hung them all to dry.  The next day I went back to them.
Some paper is curled, so I will need to flatten it and
I think that the papers could use a spritz of gold or silver...something shiny! lol
This is definitely not something I will try  again....I might try the dye on just paper...


I just hope that I wiped up all the dye powder when I cleaned up and don't find it on my clean laundry...lol

drawingpaper (right half dampened)

I have been reading blogs and pinterest and watching videos.
I have been interested in some paper crafts for a long time, along with my sewing and quilting ....so of course the Internet is a great resource for all of our craft interests.  Everything that you could imagine is on pinterest...everything!
I have an eclectic assemblage of crafting materials.   Fabric, threads,  buttons,  ribbons, beads, fabric dye, fabric inks,  alcohol inks, paper, embossing powders, stamps, fabric markers, crayons, pastels, markers, paint sticks.   Crap!  You name it, I might have some. 
  Mind you some of the stuff I collected for the granddaughters to craft with. 
We've played with fabric markers, dye, fabric inks and alcohol inks. 
I read on-line that you can make your own alcohol ink using dye (I have some powered dyes, but they are old, really old....15 years old), or markers.
I thought that I would give it a try....
I took apart a dry blue marker and soaked the nib and guts ( very scientific name) in a small jar of alcohol for about 24 hours.
I put about 1/4 teaspoon  of dye in each of 2 small squirt bottles, one purple and one  jade green added some alcohol and shook it up.
Next day I checked my "experiment"  .....half of the alcohol in the jar had evaporated.
The colour was a deep blue with a halo of brown.
The dyes didn't dissovle at all.  The jade green was a yucky olive colour , the purple was a dull grayish purple.
But will it work?
I'll find out.......

Only a couple of days until Hallowe'en.  I have my candy all set.  I like to give out the little chocolate bars, and I like to give out the peanut ones.
Well, not really.....I LIKE to EAT the peanut chocolate bars..lol  And because I like to eat them, I put the box away and leave it unopened until the first trick or treaters arrives, otherwise, I would eat them all.  I only bought one box this year, so ...NONE FOR ME!...I certainly don't need it.
This is one of my favourite nights, can't call it a holiday.
I don't decorate the yard or put up a bunch of lights, or even hang hallowe'en quilts.
I have 3 little wallhangings that I put up in the fall, scarecrows and pumpkins.  That's it for fall decor, plus a fallish door wreath.

Hallowe'en is another story........hehehhahah..(insert spooky laugh here!)
I dress up my duct tape dummy (never used her for sewing!) in a witch's costume I made years ago.  At one time, it did fit me...lol....put a black wig and a scary mask on her....tape her hands to an old stick and she stands there stirring a pot (an antique cauldron and stand) made to look like boiling, steamy, frothy water, along with eyeballs and fingers.  I put flashing lights in the pot for effect...under the pot I have some sticks, some foil and red crepe paper and a flashing light to simulate fire.
I have an old iron aquarium stand that I cover with red crepe paper for blood.  I have a 3 vases full of eyeballs, spiders, and fingers ...along with a red candle and any other scary stuff that I have.
Last year the grand daughters helped with putting up the headstones that I have and making the lawn and house look creepy.
We have a longish (for this neighbourhood) drive and I stand in the doorway watching the little kids as they slowly come up the driveway, edging past the witch and her brew, just waiting for her to move.....but she doesn't .
I usually re-assure  the little ones, that it is only make believe.
But this year, we are expecting a big storm... a frankenstorm..(lol)...high winds and rain....we usually get the full brunt of the winds at the front of the house.   So...maybe I will have to put her inside the front porch.

Dreamcatcher

The night of the beautiful rainbow was guild night.  The rainbow was just a hint what was to come of the night.
We had a speaker come in from New York.   RaNA Merrill.   She is speaking at a few guilds in the area, getting a good tour of Southern Ontario .
RaNae Merrill has developed a method for making some very stunning quilts.  She calls them Mandalas quilts
The method is log cabin.... a twisted log cabin.  And they are paperpieced.  Very BEAUTIFUL quilts! 
She showed us many of the quilts she designed.


Spirals synergy

 

I didn't take pics because I find the ladies holding the quilts don't stand still and put them down too quickly.
BUT......here are a few pics that I gleaned off the net for you....
She had labels sewn on the front of all her quilts....ugly labels...just to satisfy the border.  The labels stated the the quilt were samples and not for sale....good thing they didn't make her write on her quilts with a magic marker, like I have heard another speaker  had done by a borderguard, or a huge "X" across the front of her samples, like another had done.  Apparently, she was told by other speakers to do this and leave room on this label for a stamp, just in case they wanted to stamp them.    These labels are removable...a good thing, 'cause like I said they were ugly and distracting.
She had her 2 books with her for sale.  And she ran out of her latest book.   She had her favourite papers  used for paperpiecing  for sale and "Add-a-quarter" and "Add-an-Eighth" rulers and a wooden seam roller.  She didn't have more of the seamroller, so I ordered one.
Neat little gadget, doesn't stretch the seams as you "iron" it.
RaNae also has a blog where you can see what she is up to, but I noticed it wasn't up to date.
http://spiromandalas.wordpress.com/
and a website
http://www.ranaemerrillquilts.com/home

EasterMandala

Easter Mandala is my favourite ....

I took her first book of the guild library last year..before I knew she was coming to our guild....she has a disc in both her books with the patterns.  I copied the disc (patterns) to my computer in hopes that I WILL try out this technique.  LOL...so much to do and so little time!



 

We have had some bonus days with the weather lately...
Some of the days have been bright and sunny then ending with a rain storm.
Thursday was one of those days...I spent the day at my daughter's house while she had some windows installed.  Just as they were finishing up the weather changed and a big storm hit. 
We had some high winds and rain.  Alot of the trees were stripped of their leaves as the wind ripped around the trees.
The guys (installers) then came to my house and redid the kitchen window for me.  When we had the windows replaced a couple of years ago, I told my mister I didn't want what he was planning on doing in the kitchen.  I knew the frame would raise the window high enough that I couldn't see out any more.....and good enough, that is what happened....sooooo....being in the window and door business and before he retires, I wanted that window changed again.
Now, I can see out....which I really need to do if the girls are out at the pool and I need to run in for something.
But, back to the weather.....I had guild that night and the storm was still around, just not right overhead. 
As I drove to our meeting, there was a huge, and I mean huge...as wide as the 4 lane road, a rainbow.  It looked like the road and rainbow were connected and I could eventually drive up it   Actually it was a double rainbow.  It was so bright it was amazing....and as twilight fell it slowly faded away.  It was a little erie, with one last section still so bright yet darkness all around.

Today is my sweetie's birthday.   66 years young!.  And in 5 months he is going to retire. 
I encouraged him to retire in the spring rather than the fall.  This way he can play golf in a short while and get used to being retired in nice sunny weather rather than in the  gloomy, depressing months of winter.
He can help in the garden, maybe grow some veggies.   His biggest job will be to clean out the garage.  He has so many window samples....they take up a lot of room...and his replacement can have them all. 
But he still has stuff from other jobs he has had....Time to turf it out! 
Ha! I might even be able to park in the garage!
I plan on taking over the space he has in the lower level.  He has had a home-based office for  over 30 years now and there is a lot of stuff to move out of there. When we redid the lower level, I made sure it was wired for both phone lines so I think we just might turn that area into our "computer room".
Anyway, Happy Birthday!

I AM in a funk...I have several friends who are ill... very ill.    My mister's sister has not been well.  She has had back problems....we found out on the weekend that it's cancer and she hasn't long.
The mister was planning a business trip and was going to see her today anyway.  We have been concerned about the fact she didn't seem to be getting better, so he was planning a business trip her way (he always stops to see her).  Now, he is going no matter what....business or not...he is taking the day to see her.  Cancer sucks.

Finally finished with the membership booklets for guild.
I got them printed, then folded and stapled them today.  My arm and wrist are a little sore from the stapling. Good thing I only have to do it once a year.
Now I can concentrate on getting some sewing done.  I still haven't got my sewjo back.  I have the next block all ready to go.  Tonight I am going to get at it if it kills me.
Yesterday I spent some time teaching Courtney to knit. She visited her other granma on the weekend and she also taught her to knit.   Courtney is doing okay!  Her mom bought her some eyelash yarn to knit with and a small ball of cotton yarn from the dollar store.  The eyelash yarn is a kit that included the knitting needles.  I told her "Use the cotton to learn how to knit".  Easier all 'round.

I was reading blogs today and a lot of bloggers are in a tizzy, and rightfully so, about the patterns they have developed being passed off as someone else's, no credit given  or in one case sold in someone else's Etsy store.  I can NOT blame them for being upset.  I try to give credit where credit is due when I post something.
I know how hard it is to keep up a blog... and to develop and provide free patterns and such, is a full time job!
And I am grateful to all those out there in "Bloggerland" that help keep me entertained...THANK YOU TO YOU ALL....Thank you VERY much!
Without you, the internet would be a sad place indeed.

Thanksgiving was a big hit again this year.  We had turkey and ham...and veggies...oh my ...lots of veg...and I cut back a little on the veg.  I didn't cook onions or carrots in with the turkey.  But we had broccoli, cauliflower, 2 kinds of squash, scalloped potatoes, and sweet potatoes......lots of fibre..lol....and lots of carotene(all those orange veg)!.  Cheese sauce for those that wanted it, gravey and cranberry sauce.
This year I got out the tiny slow cooker that I bought for my mother a while back and used it to keep the cheese sauce warm.  It worked like a charm.  I think next holiday, I might use it for gravey....come to think of it ..years ago I gave my mother-in-law an electric gravey boat.  I wonder if I have it?  I will have to find it.  Having the cheese sauce already hot saved me some time at the stove..
And this year, I wanted to be able to socialize with my son's new girlfriend...(really a grown woman).  A very  nice young woman she is too.  All that I care about is that he is happy...
And, oh my...is the oldest granddaughter becoming soooooo mature.....seems like last month she was a little girl and I was walking her to school!

I don't know....I still haven't got my sewjo back.  I am taking a break from writing a daily blog.   It is hard work! 
 Seems like I am not getting things done.
Well, I shouldn't say quite that....my attention has been drawn to something else.
I have been making some cards.   I bought a cuttlebug for embossing and have been spending a whole lotta time on the internet learning about this fab little machine.
I am supposed to be able to cut fabric with it too!.  I have a friend with a Accuquilt, I should have her come over, or I to her and see if her dies are compatible with my machine.  Both the machines are the same concept.
I was thinking of getting a cricut, but it was too expensive...maybe at a later date.   I am finding that I can't get the dies I want locally; I will have to order them on-line.  Probably cheaper too.

Time for a little vacation...so no blog for a couple of weeks

I got a gift yesterday from my daughter

                                           

                                                     What could it be?

 

A HAM BONE!

with lots and lots of meat still on it! 

 

To the soup pot, Batman!

So I cleaned off most of the meat, sauteed some onions, diced up some celery, carrots,

 

and a green pepper from my garden.

 

Everybody in the pool!

I'll simmer this until the rest of the meat falls off the bone, then I'll add potato and some split green peas......

Pea soup...yummy on a cool day or any day for that matter.  Now I need some bread...fresh made would be nice, but I tried last week to find dough I can bake myself.

Maybe I'll just get some fresh baked from a bakery.

Daughter dear wants a container of the finished soup.......that's okay...there is lots.

Everytime she buys a ham and she likes to buy these hams, she brings me the bone to make soup and share it with her.      

The soup is delicious!                                                                           

Block #71

Finally ....  I have been trying and trying all summer to get  block # 71 done in the FWSQ.  I don't know what was blocking me or why.  It wasn't a hard or difficult block, actually it was really easy, but I dithered about the colour...couldn't make up my mind...I leaned toward purples...tried blues..I would put it down a do something else.  Like making all those doll clothes for Courtney.  Now that was fussy!  I  hemmed jeans for Courtney and shortened the sleeves on her new blue pleather jacket by 5 inches..I did some sewing on the spiderweb...anything but work on that block.  I guess I just wasn't ready!
But now it's done and I can move on to the next block. LOL!

I really don't understand how one little block could and did block me..paralyse me... on to more!

I made 4 of these years ago for my sewing buddies....I gave one to my mother, when she passed away,  I kept it for me...hangs in the kitchen!         Of Course!

Gremlins again yesterday .....When I checked the blog it wasn't up and saved as a draft..   Boy I am going to have to watch it closely..........anyway

At guild my friend Jackie showed off her skills.....she has been busy this summer.
She called me a month or so ago and asked "Do you have the pattern for the 'Tulip Wreath'?".  I said "YES!".  I had actually kept the magazine that it came in...I didn't scan and save on the computer...glad I kept it because it would have lost in the crash....I scanned and emailed the whole pattern for her and she had this to show for it.

A lovely runner and some coasters.
She also showed and miniture wallhanging she had been working on.

Applique is her love...hand applique and hand quilted....beautiful!

I had guild the other night...I got everything ready and forgot the mags I had for door prizes on my work table...oh well...we had a lot going on tonight anyway.  I will draw for them next month.
We had a great speaker tonight...she has an in-home shop for notions.  She talked about all the notions she had and we could buy...which we all did!
I bought some stuff..a new seam ripper...this summer, for some reason I used my good seam ripper to pull the dried glue from the tip of the glue bottle.  So the next time I tried to use it ...it was all messed up.  Why would I do that!?  I have lots of crappy ones...so  I bought a new one.
I bought some needles and some pressing solution called best press and a couple of other things.
My lemon squares were well received, although I did bring some home.  I'm sure the girls will like them.

We had a lot of really good treats for break, and Jen, our new social executive (she makes tea and coffee, signs up members to make goodies) wants me to let you know what a good job she is doing ....lol  You're doing GREAT Jen!...lol

These are all charity quilts that were made by the ladies who participate in outreach.

I had to bake for guild the other day.  As I said before, I don't bake very often.  I usually buy something, get a rash from the additives, then swear I won't eat that crap again......except for Walmart's white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.  lol

So I really didn't know what I wanted to make for guild....or buy....  I have been cruising pinterest and found a recipe for lemon squares...Easy lemon squares...hmmmm...so I thought I would give the recipe a try. 

You use a angel food cake mix and a can of lemon pie filling.  Mix the two together and bake.  That's it!

I didn't have a can of lemon pie filling, but I have a a Sheriff pie filling mix and an angel food cake mix.  I searched and searched on-line, and didn't find any recipes or anyone else who used a package of pie filling.

I decided to give it a try....

First I cooked the pie filling, it took 2 egg yolks plus 2 1/3 cups of water.  I decided that I would whip the egg white and use them too.  When I cooked the filling I thought I would reduce the water to 2 cups and added a big squirt of Italian lemon juice. ( I like lemon).   I let it cool, then added it to the whipped whites, then added the cake mix.  Mixed it throughly and it started to puff up right away.  Poured it into a foil lined 9" x 13" pan,baked it according to the package directions.  It looked nice, smelled great!  I sprinkled powdered sugar over it.  And we had a taste.  

 YUMMY!  It's too moist for the powered sugar.  It just melted and you never knew it was there..Next time, I'll leave it off.

You might have missed some blog...gremlins caused this blog to be posted out of order and if you didn't scroll down...you missed Thursdays.
I really don't know...these gremlins are really screwing me up....I am getting so I don't want to write a blog in advance for fear that it will be posted out of order, which happened this week.  Everything was post-dated...or scheduled but came up out of order...yet the blog between came up at the right time...very strange...
I quite often will write a blog with a good idea of what I want to say, but will go back, spell check, add photos or other info...change things around..even change the date the blog comes up to add in another blog.   So when I talk about yesterday, it could have been last week.


TGIF....looks like we are in for some cooler weather.

Whenever it gets cooler I feel like cooking.  I want to make soup, I want to make homemade brown beans...start making bread again...I try to hold myself back on that...I love it too much and would eat it all.

The other day when I made leek and potato soup, I went out to get some bread dough.  I never got any...I picked up a two- pac of bread that you bake for about 8 minutes.  Even though I would have preferred to have a loaf that I completely bake, this was fine ....cause we ate the whole thing ...hot...with butter and the soup..

I also want to start cooking pork roasts with sauerkraut...crispy potatoes and squash, carrots.  Hmmm...all comfort foods.

I feel like baking...but I hold myself back...don't need the calories...

I used to make peanutbutter cookies a couple of times a week when I was a kid..I loooove peanutbutter cookies....we 5 kids would eat them all in a day..they were my favourite, but once I got married the mister isn't big on baked goods...except for blueberry pie and sugar pie.  My son is deathly allergic to peanut ...so..no more cookies or even peanuts in the house.  He's a grown man now.... so I have a jar of peanutbutter in the cupboard.  Courtney loves her PB&J, but we have to be very careful not to contaminate the house or Kevin cannot come home for a visit.

So back to nesting, cocooning..whatever they call it nowadays...lol

I made soup for dinner the other night from the leeks I bought.

Yummy..The mister really enjoyed it.  Daughter wants some too, so I set some aside for her

Guild tonight...

do I have everything ready?  I think so...

 Do I have everything I need?  I think so.. 

I have my box all set to go....I think..lol..ooops  ...almost forgot my library books!

I gotta bake today for tonight!  The exec's always supply treats for September.

I don't know what I want to make, though.  I have really lost my touch with baking..I just don't do it enough anymore.  I don't need the extra calories.

I need to take my camera!  I need the card for the camera out of the computer..

I have a few door prizes for tonight...some magazines and other stuff...can't forget that.

And I think I will need some money.  We are having a speaker tonight and she is going to demo notions and have some for sale..I am a gadget girl for sure!

I am amazed today...two posts posted ...both of them scheduled ..one for today and one for Friday.  Both of them dated...one today and one Friday....
So, obviously there are GREMLINS again today..and since you got Fridays post on Wednesday...there will be not post on Friday...
So, actually instead of one, two,post today...this is the third..lol....
Stupid gremlins....

I finally finished the blouse I was making.  It looked really nice on the pattern envelope, and on the model..I didn't realise how very low cut it was.  I will have to fix that. I don't like my bra to show....I don't care what the style is!
The instructions had me putting a bias binding on the armholes with the seam under the arm....ouch...I  moved that to the shoulder seam.  Nothing like having a lump under your arms to chafe.
I was glad to get this finished and start wearing it while we have nice weather yet.  Oops, too late ...rain called for all week long...

We have been eating some of the beans and potatoes I bought at the market.  Oh my gosh are they ever gooood.  Fresh veg like this make me want to take out the flower garden and plant veggies.  I usually only plant 2 or 3 tomato plants and one pepper plant. 
I farted around with my serger for a few hours today...the tension is off.  I made sure it was clean and threaded properly.  I always vacuum it out after each use.
My sister brought granddaughter Courtney another sewing machine today, she brought her a celery featherweight  last week, but it was so musty smelling that we wouldn't let her near it.  This little girl always has things go right to her chest.  And she already has picked up something at school, she's coughing like crazy now.

So, my sister brought her another one.  An older White.  A heavy mechanical machine.  One you can't adjust width or length on...  I cleaned and oiled it, wiped the case down and ran through all the stitches.  I could hear a noise...only on the widest swing to the left..

oh oh...what was that?   I thought maybe timing....I opened up and watched the bobbin area and I could see the needle hitting it and sliding past.  I thought ...timing..then I thought...hmmm...needle.  It wasn't in properly.  I fixed that and the machine almost purrs...I think Courtney will like this one.  Tomorrow after school I will have her practise threading it...winding bobbins and changing the needle.  Maybe I should let her hear how it sounds when the needle isn't in right.

I gave her some oil, needles, pins, thread and extra bobbins.  And some thread snips and a small ruler.

I picked up some fabrics when we were in Elmira.   A little general store run by Mennonites in a place called Floradale, with fresh baked bread and other goodies.  The mister picked up a couple of loaves of bread and a little blueberry pie.  Bread was great!  As good as mine used to be...and the pie was good too...very good pastry.  Good thing it was only a little one.

I bought some fabric....the last time I was in this store some fabric was downstairs and some upstairs.  They have renovated the upstairs by removing all the walls and putting in rows and rows of fabric. 
I would have liked to stay a bit longer.  I should have looked for some muslin.  I have a quilt top that I need some more for.  I find it's hard to come by now.

Of course I had to buy  some...my only regret was that I didn't bring more cash so I could buy more fabric.
Four of those fabrics are the same line, different colourways.  The other two are hand dyed blues.
Now I want to go sew.........