Saturday, June 28, 2014

Wonderful Life Full of Surprises!

I awoke the sun shining this morning & a fantastic view too!

 The blue sky & water, well I cut the grass yesterday & there was no dew last night. With the warm weather now upon us, hopefully the grass will slow down its growth.
 This is my bedroom view.

With a zoom, this is the neighbours yard. Six motorhomes/trailers have arrived for the long weekend. I hope in time my friends with trailers come for a visit to my shoreside. Gorgeous weather this weekend!

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The Farmer's Wife Quilt has begun! Liz thank you for the book & patterns! Yours is truly a work of art & since it took you 2 years, I feel confident that Paulette & I will get it done in that time frame too. How's it going Paulette? Send me photos of your blocks, I'm looking forward to seeing your great colour choices for this quilt project, such a happy palette.
I'm really enjoying the read of the Farmer's Wife, it's all done in the 1922 era but so parallel to the country life versus the city life! Peer pressure without electronics, just everyday wholesome living on the farm. Julia I think of you & your husband as I read the stories.

 Here's block 1 - Attic Windows         Block 2 - Autumn Tints
 Block 4 - Basket Weave         Block 3- Basket  OK 4 done of the 111 blocks! Yes that's why it takes awhile to finish this quilt & no two blocks are the same!

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 My new umbrella stand!
 Last week Elizabeth surprised me with this umbrella stand! She said it just belonged with me at the cottage. I love it! Thank you my friend!
The umbrella stand is now located at the front door, holding walking sticks & umbrella's. Yes it does look at home there.

Life is so good for me & then today I get an email that just says 'Happy Anniversary' & this picture!!!

It's a sewing table that I've been drooling over at The Red Door Antique Shoppe.  www.reddoorantiques.ca The sewing table is 140 years old! It has all the original finishes & it's such a unique piece! I knew I had a lot of antique furniture, some still in storage & Bill is always tongue lashing me on my furniture hording!
Remember our move to the east? That's just a sampling, I love furniture that has history or a story to it. I use to purchase furniture from as far away as England!

Thank you Bill for feeding my love of antiques, namely this beautiful sewing table! I love you! After 29 years you can still surprise me! Happy 27th Anniversary to me! :-)
My Soul-mate! It's a wonderful life!


Thanks for stopping by & have a great Canada Day this week!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

A Night in the Forest ; -)

The Night in the Forest is finally done! It's off to the longarm quilter tomorrow. I'm hoping that the Heat & Bond is not a problem for her as it feels real stiff. The moon, stars, squirrels & rabbits are all done in the recycled wool, I never used the Heat & Bond on them as the fabric was thick & it was hard to stitch down, specifically on any bias cut area.
Christel is the longarm machine operator but her talents don't stop there! She owns & operates her own plane too! On Sunday morning I heard her circling around the cottage & to my surprise it was her!! She took a photo of the cottage, oh my it's so torn up from all the things that went on last fall & now with the windows & door & insulation & siding...next year is going to be such a year, I can feel it! Love this photo Christel!! Thank you!
Great picture Christel! 
The lawn doesn't look as big from up there! lol

Now for some more finishing!


The old front entry system has been removed & this is where the new front door will be installed.
Boris just loves the attention he gets from all the coming & going on these days.

Installed & the glass is frosted inside, making the cleaning very easy!
It's so much brighter now, I just love it! Thanks Hank & Albert...now for those 15 windows. :-)

The entry system is done, the five windows are now going to change. The front window is two rooms, bathroom & laundry room. The upstairs window on the left is two rooms too! Top of the staircase & bathroom window, a very import window right now as it is the only window that opens on the 2nd storey! Soon all windows will open & the breeze that will move through this cottage, no A/C unit will be needed! The front of the cottage is so torn up too! I'm not doing much till next year, after the dust settles I'm going to plant some colour.


My friend, Virgine died last year & I never went to her resting place till now.
My neighbour Margie makes flower saddles for tombstones & I asked for a pink one for my dear friend. It sure looked good on the headstone, nice work Margie!

                                             

                                     Before...


                                     After! :-)

God blessed me having you as my friend, I love & miss you Virgine.


Well it's been a full week & it's not over with yet. I'm getting so excited as Bill's back from China & will be visiting me soon. It's going to be our 27th wedding anniversary & I think we're going into town to have a Chinese dinner...not like he's use to, remember those 'chicken fingers'?!!! LOL 

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Food, Fun, Finds & Finishing!

Summer has began & these beautiful fragrant lilacs give a showing of what is to come from Mother Nature! I brought this bush out east several years ago & it blooms more & more every spring.
 I just love the smell & texture to these beauties!
:-)
The texture of the flower is so soft & lovely.



Something New To Me!

While in Miramichi last Thursday, I was shopping in the new Giant Tiger, which is Canadian owner & operated. Whilst in the checkout line I was chatting with the clerk & another woman customer behind me, expressing how happy I was to see parsnips in the produce section. I use parsnip & potatoes together & whip them into a creamy mixture...really good as a topping on Shepherds Pie. They both said they'd never heard of it...however, both told me how delicious  carrots & turnip were done the same way.
 I started obsessing about such a dish. That night, my girlfriend Elizabeth was popping by for a visit after she shopped at the Co-op & asked if there was anything I need. Well, I didn't need anything I 'wanted' a turnip, that one puzzled her & I told her why. She too said it was a delicious combination & to add a bit of brown sugar & butter to the mixture. This must truly be an east-coast dish, everyone knew about it but me ! And the next day I tried it...    

 I cut the turnip & carrots up, about the same size to cook evenly.
Cooked them till tender, drained, whipped them up adding a bit of milk, butter, maple syrup, salt, & pepper.
OMGoodness!!!
The colour of the carrots took over but the flavour, OMG it was like none other that I had ever tasted, it was so good & something that I will try again & again. I froze what was not eaten that night.

 I also made corn muffins, the days have been a bit chilly here so the oven going on, takes the chill out of the kitchen & what a great supper I had that night! Your never too old to try something new!...

Or maybe NOT!

Bill was in China last week & was out dining with work his fellow worker & family. This dish was ordered, 'chicken fingers' yes these are the feet off the chicken!! A very desirable delicate dish in China, the babies teeth on these. They did not allow wee 5 month old, Lucas the pleasure that night as Bill was skirmish about that dish. You see it's all in the culture, I'm going to stick to my 'root vegetables'. Now when I hear 'chicken fingers' I have a new visual on those words! lol
You will too! A whole new meaning to ground 'beaks & feet' in processed chicken nuggets. lol

 And still on the food for thought, I've started a 'kitchen garden', here's some basil that I've already been picking the leaves off to have with my spaghetti sauce.

 And some thyme & spicy oregano.
 I'm going to keep them inside for a bit longer then transplant then into a flowerbox to continue to grow for the summer. I'm not much of a gardener...however I do love to eat.  When i was young, my father use to tell me "I may have been born in Hungary but you were born hungry!" how true. lol
So with the the garden theme I saw this Jean Wells wallhanging 38" x 38" & would like to make it, maybe this summer or next.  I'm having such a good time with my sewing machine & the buttonhole/blanket stitch...so much faster than hand sewing & my fingers are sore from the hand stitching I've been doing on my Vintage Tin. I was never taught with a thimble & find them so cumbersome to wear.

Sew, with that was my intro into the sewing....

My girlfriend Liz has done this quilt. It's a design by Nellie Holmes & Christine Baker of the Upper Canada Quiltworks, it's called A Night in the Forest & will finish at 63" x 81". Liz,  in about two weeks had it all but the binding done!! Well I'm still working on mine...

The 35,  9" x 9" blocks are now done...
This was frustrating, even with washing the fabrics, with the heat of the iron when pressing the colour would run. The green is such a saturated colour, too many blocks to worry about that! I'm hoping with a colour catcher cloth it will all 'come out in the wash'. I'm going to launder it after it's been completed...fingers crossed, my wish will come true & all that will be gone. You can't see it from the six foot rule!


Here it is all sewn together & the cardinal birds machine appliqued on. Now a black sashing & the final border. On that final border, at the bottom more animals are appliqued on, squirrels :-) rabbits :-) & mice :-(  You'll see next post when you stop by.


 Now some fun!

Elizabeth was on KIJIJI & found a listing of wool free to a good home, was I interest? Free?? yes!! I went to pick it up, the woman was moving to PEI & didn't want to take it with her. It was like Christmas going through her stash!! I thanked her & invited her to visit our rug hooking guild. She said she & her sister just may whilst visiting this fall. I hope to meet this generous woman.

It's from wool clothing that has been recycled & bags of cut worms too! What fun for years to come!

More fun in the find...

The Newcastle's thrift store had a find!  I found this sweet little sign for $1.50, it was so familiar to me. Not just because I feel at 'home' here in the east...
It's so familiar because...
I've stitched it! Yes hand stitched it, a couple of years ago! What a complimenting piece to add to the tabletopper, same primitive saltbox houses!

Now onto finishing!


Four of my five studio windows face north-west & the setting sun in the summer is so intense & hot. There's five windows that I didn't have enough fabric or blackout lining for last year. This year I found yardage that I bought at a neighbourhood yardsale many years ago with every intention to make drapes but there was not enough fabric for that project...till now! I needed a minimum of 8 meters of fabric to do the studio windows.
This is my one east window with its make do blind & drape. Kind of has that Anne of Green Gables pigtail feel to it! lol

Here are the other four, beautiful view of the grass & water but oh too sunny on the evening's sunsets.

The beginning of lined roman shades. One done...four more to go this week. Bill arrives a week tomorrow & my plan is to have them done & have him install them for me. :-)
Handsome & handy that husband of mine!


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More Finds!

Anne of Green Gables, I fell in love with her as a child when I read her book series...


I found these Catherine Karnes Munn pictures at the Goodwill last winter, how perfect for the cottage are these! It's a product of Canada & was originally purchased from the Knob Hill Gallery Inc., in Fredericton NB. It was much like one I purchased at a thrift store years ago...

Yes! the same artist. On the back it states "Through her paintings, she creates nostalgia and pulls the viewer from the hectic pace of today to a more peaceful era of the past." This one was done for the Anne of Green Gables souvenirs in PEI.

Another one of my loves...
I purchases her from the Value Village, years ago...

This is a dollhouse that my husband Bill put together in the 90's. I painted & wallpapered the exterior/interior.  Our granddaughter Samantha & niece Olivia spent many a playtime staging the house & characters. Both in their late teens, I still hear the memory of laughter from those girls as they delighted in simple play with this house.

I found this trellis of roses in England at a miniature shoppe near Norfolk. I was nearly hit by a car crossing the road because I was looking the wrong way!! Some places have notices on 'which way' to look...I know why!
 
Here's the inside of the wee house. I leave the furniture out & let the kids stage the furniture pieces & in the upstairs, just leave Anne waiting inside till the next child comes to play.

Thank you for stopping by on this long post. I hope you enjoyed your visit to the east coast, it sure feels like home to me!
Summer has finally arrived, enjoy each day of it!
It has to be the shortest of seasons but oh so warm & colourful!
Have a great week! :-)

Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.





Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Positive Progress

I was at Jean's this Sunday & we picked Lily of The Valley for inside our homes. Such a wonderful fragrance & pretty little white bells.

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An awe moment!
My 'boys of summer' Diesel & Boris

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Now onto the 'progress'.
This is the cottage back in November 2012. Jean was tiered watching us move about getting dimensions on rooms & windows, for our return the following May 2013.

May 2013 arrived & so did we! With all our building supplies & many gallons of paint. The very large window was removed & double garden doors were installed.

Now this year 2014 so much more will get do. Today the first of the new sixteen windows was installed today. This gaping hole is the large window removed, this is the  same window that's behind Jean, sitting on the couch, in the first photo.



 The window opening was cut even higher to accommodate the new window.

 The new window is installed. During the installation an ant nest in the walls was discovered. I had ants last year but I thought that I'd gotten rid of them! Surprise 100's of them & the wood under the window had to be replaced due to the wood rot. I knew this was going to be a bigger job than expected, I'm just glad that this should be the last summer of ants for me! I sprayed, sprinkled fossil flour & made borax & sugar & placed it in empty pop cans around the foundation of the house. Boiling water over their nests will be next, these are pests that I want gone!


 Here's the new window, well really six window to this unit! You can see how much bigger this one is from the top of the window peaking through. I'll have the curtain rod raised after the trim has been installed. 5 out of 6 of the windows open!! Non of the old ones did, this is going to be so good getting a summer breeze going through the room!

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Penny Candy Quilt
 The quilt is done & hopefully tomorrow it will be off to Kyrstal, the long-arm quilter.


I think this quilt has a real 30's feel to it & being called Penny Candy, I remember my 'penny candy' purchases, in the 60's. My grandpa would give me a dime or nickel & off to the store I would go to get a 'boodle bag' for 2 cents & some penny candy. The dentist loved me! I had so many fillings growing up & I'm sure the penny candy had a lot to do with it! lol
How summery this quilt is & will look good on the guest bed or draped over the couch, it has that summer look to it. I've not seen too much of summer but then again it's not summer till the 21st.!

Thanks for stopping by & do stop by again to see more 'summer progress' as it unfolds. :-)