Back From Boston Massachusetts

Bill was attending the ASME (American Society Manufacturing Engineers) code meetings in Boston & I love Boston, so I went with him as he had 2 days of no meetings. That meant that I had time in the lovely Double Tree Hilton to do some stitching. I chose to do a summer embroidery that was done by Moda probably a decade ago. The panel had 12 - 10" summer squares.

The colours I'm using reminds me of watermelon & watermelon is the taste of summer, well I do say the same phrase with lemon meringue pie!

With left over flannel backing I underlined each of the 12 blocks stitching them & then serging them -  now ready for embroidery.

And a skein of each variegated colour from my trip to the Czech Republic last July, now a project to use them on. I think it will look fresh, yummy, and summery.

Let the stitching begin...

I was able to get some stitching done in the airport & am so happy that small under 2" blades are now allowed to go aboard with you. I use to use the cutter on the dental floss container.
More stitching was done in the hotel room & the open foyer that offered excellent pure light for perfect stitches. :-)

Block One

 Block Two has a sweet squirrel on the lawn chair

 Block Three, reminded me to pack my boots for the east so I too can work on the garden


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Now for some touring---

 This was my hotel view looking to the right. This building was the original building for Coca Cola factory,  way back when & the hotel was built out of it. Somewhere across the river was the old Polaroid factory, this city had some of the major manufacturing industries in its day.

 I never tiered looking at the view of this bridge

The wildlife was entertaining to watch

 Looking straight on at one of the most very active cities I've ever visited!

 So many scullers, rowers, joggers, & cyclists

 The weather was beautiful on the day we arrived. The sun made the water sparkle as we watched the rowers, Bill had a laugh at the one fellow in the 'motor boat' with a yelling horn telling the rowers that they need to row faster!


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 We went to Marblehead to see if we could find the house that was the inspiration to us on our home.

 After walking over up & down the meandering area, we never saw it. We even went to the local realestate  office to make our inquiry. She had no idea however & sent us in the direction to walk in the area of homes that looked like the styling of our quest.


 Even with it being garbage day, the streets were beautiful with all the spring buds in full bloom & the colours of the flowers just awed our visual on this walk.

 The over the door headings really caught my eye, it would...it could be made quite easily & be installed over the front door, even with the stain glass transom

 The houses are very close to the road making  them attractive to view

 Blooms were hanging over fences & the colours were gorgeous

 So many door overhangs to inspire ideas

 Some with colours to highlight the detailing

 The door was also done, with the red box & recycle box to match ---not really just a coincidence

 Oh look! another overhang! So many ideas to go back home with. :-) for my 'Honey Do List' lol


Upon our ride back to Boston we went through the town of Lynn, established in the 1600's!
It made me think of my girlfriend Lynn who was looking after the little man, my Boris Loree the Boston Terrier.

Now off to the airport---

 Boston is not an easy city to get around & I was so glad that I did not have to do it!

 This city had so many interesting architectural designs to view. Old mixed with new, I really enjoyed seeing the past with the present & visual pictures of the future building still to come.

While waiting for our plane & hoping to get out earlier on a stand-by for an earlier flight a storm moved in with thunder & lighting.
An announcement was made that everything is on hold & all workers outside were to come inside till the storm pasted, it was quite a thunder & lighting storm!

 Looking out on a deserted airport, almost surreal.

 The clouds were heavy on the cityscape

 To the left of the picture is the ventilation system to the underground roadways, which are everywhere! If you weren't going under a road you were going underground through the water, it was quite the trip of travel!

 The downpour ended & we were called up for our stand-by call. Yes we were on the early flight home to Toronto & made it home before midnight to London!

This Old House circa 1916

Last winter I received a letter in the mail addressed "To The Resident" inside was a note from the granddaughter of the house that we live in. She thought we would like to see what it looked like in the 1930's, before it had its second story added in 1949.

 This house was built in 1916 & in a few years will be a century home.

 Here it is in the mid eighties

 This is a photo from Marblehead Massachusetts taken in the early 1990's. Bill & I were down in Boston doing a elevator trade-show & stayed in the lovely village. Walking one night after supper I took photos of this house, with plans of modelling our home after it.

This is it after the siding was put on...

Years later here it is finished. We've already started to replace the upper windows, the kids would leave the bedroom windows open & if it rained the crank out windows held the water & rotted the frames. We joke it call it 'Our Money Pit' or 'The Song That Never Ends' however it is the homestead, our home - one that we've raised four children from.

Creative Headboard Covering

I needed to put a headboard covering on my new lacquered brass bed. My husband Bill has the habit of touching it at night & I didn't want the lacquer to be damaged by the oils on his hands.  So I used the tablecloth from the April Cornell 2000 set & had Liz quilt it for me.
The backing was of the Canadian Maple Leaf plaid from our 1967 Centennial year celebration plaid, it also matched the blackout drapes in the bedroom.

 Here's the tablecloth on the bed - used to keep the cat hair off the duvet cover. It was a lot easier to wash the tablecloth than remove the duvet & was the cover weekly.

 Here's the headboard cover on it's Fall/Winter side, the colour really warms the room. I fastened it with three ties on each side to match the binding going around the headboard cover.

 This is it all put together with the pillows out front & the drapes co-ordinate the flow & warmth of the plaid. Bill & I once stayed a few days at Glen Eagles in Scotland on business & it was decorated with all different colours & textures of plaid, such a cozy feeling.

 This is a close up of Liz's Maple Leaf quilting. It truly compliments the Canadian Maple Leaf plaid.

 Here's the headboard covering turned over to its Spring/Summer side, light & soft in colouring.
I've placed the Vintage Stitches quilt on the end of the bed, here's a close up of that wonderful pattern I spoke of...

 Such an old look with some sweet sayings...

I just love this backing, it's my favourite so far and the nautical theme enhances this bedroom for Bill. Bill gave up so much of his passions back in the mid 1980's when he was a scuba diver & raced sailboats across Lake Erie. I'm hydrophobic and yes I live up on a hill in front of the Thames River in London, the same area that in the 1930's had floods go through windows of homes & ruined many  houses  & now here I am soon to be living in front of Miramichi Bay in Hardwicke...which will be getting a breaker wall installed this year. It is lovely to look at from a distance for me, I just don't want to be in it.

Marjorie Duizer Workshop 2013

This weekend was a full one, mine was to attend a rug hooking workshop & Bill & the boys were to load the 50 foot trailer for the move out east.
This is how my day unfolded...

The workshop was called 'Achromatic Hooking' - hooking using the grey scale with different hues & values or a monochromatic scheme.

For the workshop I made two dozen lemon-poppy seed cupcakes to have with the lunch break.

YUMMY lemon-poppy-seed cupcakes

 Everyone was doing the black-grey colour scheme or sepia scheme from old photos of family & homes. I was going to use what I had...leftover yarns from the polka dots on the Stoneware Horse rug.
It was enough for a chair pad done in a monochromatic blue.

50 Shades of Grey. LOL

 More achromatic black to white shades - with all the grey's in between!

 Sepia shades, oh my such a lovely feel of hand to these beauties.

 My shades of blue yarns.

 I love working with Briggs & Little yarns.


Marjorie Duzier`s Work

 Finished samples of our teacher,  Marjorie Duizer.

 How effective seeing everything as a black & white photo. Those are real black glass beads around her neck! very clever.

 I really liked the look of this one, it has The Group Of Seven feel to it.

 This was my favourite, Marjorie always wanted to do a hexagon shape to a hooked rug, very effective. The colour enhancement was so rich surrounded by the red.

 My teacher Marjorie & I. What a fun time & I was learning lots from the day. I just hope I can remember everything that she had shown us.

 Look at how full our tables were. Creative minds are seldom tidy!

 It was a full class and a fun filled day for all. I was surrounded by so much talent & creative ideas.

 At the end of the day, here is my hooked chair pad. The scalloping is done in the chain stitch that Marjorie taught me. The chain stitch on a round project stops the work from being  wavy and makes the work lay flat on a surface. Good to know when you work round projects! I had a wonderful day rug hooking.

The guys had a very hard working day & they too had to be creative with my fabric...
Did I ever tell how I know I'm a fabric fiend... my ears should have been burning with what my sons & husband where saying!
I did get the china cabinet empty for them, now to get it out!
They managed & I know it was a good thing that I was away.

My upset sewing studio, husband Bill pondering how to get out. lol

This is going to be a VERY FULL 50 foot trail! I do love my creature comforts, you`ll see how lovely the cottage will be. It does look look like chaos though. And the guys when I saw them after my workshop sure had an earful for me. They could not tell me of their adventures without laughing with all the stories. I love them! Best of all - they love me.

 Father & son time after a long day of loading the trailer, Nick was having his computer time at home to settle himself after such a full day.
The guys had a very hard time in my studio...Sew Much Fabric! I was also told that it will be `the last time the black leather sofa bed will be moved!`

In a few weeks it will be your turn Mitch to join our adventure. The truck & trailer are waiting for you & you too will have fun unloading this very full load. It will be a convoy!