February Fresh Start

 It is now February, and I'm happy to put January in my memory.

We lost Gordo the English Bulldog on January 17th, he had touched our hearts in many ways. He was a sick puppy and is now where all good dogs go, Gordo is in heaven.

He was rescued by Donald and had a good life with him for 1 1/2 years of love from all of us.

Gordo was quite the character and we all smile when we speak of him or think of him. RIP Gordo. X

Now onto February, it is the leap year this year & I remember back in 1988 being very pregnant with the second son Mitchell, with a due date in late February and so relieved when he made his debut on the 18th of February not holding out to be a Leap Year baby. lol

February is also Valentine's Day & I decorated the dining room with some love.

The crow I made now wears red gingham & holds the velvet heart that Bill gave me one year for Valentine's Day.

The dining room bay window is the focal point for that special day with beadwork decorations.

These were purchased years ago at La Cache in London ON. The sale prices made them affordable and I would use them each year thereafter.

The beaded birds were purchased at the same time and I had purchased three hearts & three birds. 

The large silver hearts were a sale find at Urban Nest in Miramichi NB last year with their after-Christmas sale...I saw them as a Valentine's decor!

I put the heart-shaped Love that I made years back in the window, you can see the ice on the window from a sleet of rain that went through our area that day. All northeast windows looked like they had a stained glass texture that day, could not see in, could not see out!

This is a lumbar pillow I made from all the scraps from the William Morris fabric table runner.

The back is made of a light tan striped chintz from a sample package I had purchased many years back. I finished it with a zipper on the bottom for easy removal and did a binding in The Strawberry Thief fabric which matches my Pumpernickel placemats that I purchased at Parkland in Miramichi NB,  On The Square in Newcastle.

We've brought the two Louis XV chairs in to cozy the dining room up this winter. I do miss not having the sunporch, I would sip my morning coffee and enjoy the waterfront view. Winter migrates us inside where it is warm and cozy.

Here is the table runner that I made with Morris Co. fabric, I love all William Morris designs!

I added five inches or one design block more to make the length fit the table. This is a new free pattern on the Connecting Threads website called Labybrith Tablerunner, under the free patterns. www.connectingthreads.com

His designs have such movement to them, like a summer breeze. The Strawberry Thief is one of my favourite prints in red and blue, the scale of this print is the same as the placemats!

The gingerbread house is now finished & the roof is put the right way too! lol

I crotched four strands of roving in a loose chain stitch to create the icing effect.

And love the idea Bill had having a hinged roof, thank you Bill for being patient with me & bringing this to life! This is finished and ready for this Christmas!

Don brought me his Bulldog pillow & asked for the feather pillow to be replaced with a polyester one as his allergies are through the roof with feathers. So I pulled out my chintz sample pieces of fabric & made a dark red striped pillow for Valentine's Day!

Since these are sample pieces I had only enough for one side, so this side was done with Valentine's Day in mind too with a soft pink. The scraps were then used for a removable band to go around it!

The band can be used vertically or horizontally, this pillow is in the foyer on the bench.

When Bill comes home with the truck & backs up to the house, this is what happens each time!!

I thought it was beautiful to share with Valentine's Day just weeks away.

We say that his truck loves coming home! lol

Here is the progress on the Pokemon I Spy Quilt, I have two more rows to finish to bring all the 168 blocks together. This is truly a labour of love for Nicholas. xXx

Thank you for stopping by to visit. I hope you are enjoying your winter as much as we are. It is a very unusual winter in the northeast New Brunswick area but it's just the beginning of February & another 6 weeks of potential storms to come blanket us with the Canadian winter that we all know.

Stay warm and healthy and come for a virtual visit again.

Cynthia xXx

Long Overdue Post, Get a Cuppa, It's A Long One!!

 Today is the day to take the time to post! 

The days are moving fast and these days, some days I feel like I get up for my new day, and it is like a treadmill that does not slow down until night & I tire easily when it is dark.

Our Christmas holiday was wonderful having all the kids home and our Christmas Day was a very unusual weather day with our bonfire around the firepit. More walking paths through the woods were cleared & the meandering through the path is magical!

Putting all the Christmas away with the memories of 2023 was a job in itself. Here are some photos of those memories.

Our Christmas morning starts with the Pillsbury Christmas Tree made by Bill. It is a Christmas tradition carried over from his childhood.

Eva, his mother, would make it for their Christmas morning and is eaten with the opening of the gifts.

The stockings were all filled with different 'Santa gifts' and were brimming to the top for Christmas morning.

And to our surprise, Santa came to us too!

It was a full Christmas of many memories of our Christmas past for me as I decorated the tree.

Baxter & Bridget were looking for their SantaPaws gifts too! lol

Either Bridget's tongue is growing or her face is shrinking! So much excitement that morning...

SantaPaws had arrived & their toys were short-lived as they chewed & shredded them!

This is what it looked like before being shredded to have the squeaker removed.

Christmas dinner was with 10 of us and such a wonderful time had by all!

Our family and our friends Louis & Sandy from Miramichi joined us for dinner.

Namama's Christmas picks always make me smile and are on our table every Christmas.

The Christmas feast with family and friends this year 2023, is a fun memory for all of us!

These are photos that Nick took with his camera.

Our Christmas Eve family photo, furbabies included! lol Rexton the Manx cat, Gordo the English Bulldog, Bridget & Baxter the Boston terriers. December 24th, 2023.

So much excitement the day before Christmas!

Baxter on alert!

Rexton styling in her New Brunswick plaid collar scrunchie.

The full moon at the end of December lit the sky!! Nick has such a good camera!

The end of Christmas day had a beautiful sunset that Nick captured on the Miramichi Bay at our water edge. Thank you Nick for sharing these photos. xXx

The hooked rug Gingerbread house.

I saw this Gingerbread rug hooked house done by a friend & I too wanted to do one!

Once I rug hooked the four sides & the two rooves, Bill stretched it over plywood and hinged the roof to open. I'm not sure how to finish the inside or if I even will as it has many fabric pieces & corners to cover up.

Bill installed the roof upside down!! He then took it apart to correct the roof scallops.

I still need to add the 'side frosting' to the outer edgings for its display next Christmas. A nice winter project this year. lol, It is just nice to see it together & the frosting will be done with roving wool.

With all the cleaning & putting away, I noticed how the copper had been neglected.

I have used Brasso for years & it sure does the job! Here is just how tarnished the horoscope plates were.

I also used a surgeon brush to scrub at the recessed areas, they just sparkle now!

They were a thrift store find many years ago & since they were both mine & Bill's horoscope, it was meant to be!

Gordo has finally started sleeping through the night! He used to bark & want out but now he has the same routine as Baxter & Bridget and it is Rexton the cat that does her howling at 5am to wake us up to feed her!

This is a sample of the 6 1/2" unfinished block for the new quilt I am working on...

There will be 168 of those blocks done in many different colours!

In fact, 1,344 of these pieces will be sewn together to make the blocks that are then sewn into rows vertically and then horizontally for this I Spy Pokemon quilt by Primitive Gatherings!!

The dining room garden doors are being used as the design wall right now. Once this row is done it will be at the halfway mark. This is where my days have been going in my Kyrotime as I sew for many hours a day on it.

I also made a New Brunswick plaid banner from the tree skirts I made this Christmas, last year. 

And the smaller bits were made into a scalloped banner from scraps that would have been thrown out I can smile, knowing nothing went to waste from that project of two Christmas skirts, I made 4 mug rugs and two banners. Rose, my longarm quilter did such a beautiful job on the quilting too!

Each row takes about 2 1/2 hours of sewing, pressing, squaring, & deciding on the placement to do.

So for something different this year 2024, I'm going to learn to knit a pair of socks on 4 needles! My friend Marva is going to teach me this. My mom & cousin Ann used to keep me in loving hand-made socks but with mom gone & I don't think cousin Ann is doing it as much, I'm going to learn this art of making socks. Back to 'When was the last time you did something for the first time.'

Thank you for stopping by & I will be much better at posting.

Procrastination is the thief of time!

I'm wishing you a wonderful year of health & happiness!

Hugs and Love,

 Cynthia xXx