Spring, Surprises, & Trains, Planes, & Automobiles!

This is going to be one of my longest posts this year! Make a tea & settle in as I take you through one busy week of  my travels on trains, planes & automobiles. lol  But before all that I was enjoying the spring like weather in London ONT. I took wee Boris for a walk & investigated what all the noise was about in our neighbourhood. Demolition of the old Victoria Hospital has begun! 

 The site looks like something out of a war zone!

 On the upside you can see the buds beginning on the trees, on this zoom shot.

 The park is beginning to come to life as the hospital fades away in this chaos of change.
High rises will grace the city's outline soon after the 'out with the old...in with the new!
This neighbourhood sure has changed since my summer arrival in 1980.

 I was in my garden & picked these bulb flowers, purple hyacinth's & gorgeous yellow daffodils What joy it is to look upon spring colours after this very long winter.

 And the plant that Sandy brought over weeks ago is still thriving, I was sure that it would not like being with me but look at it! She said it was an easy plant to look after, I'll have to ask her what it's called again! I hope it survives the trip to the cottage as I plan to pack it up to go with me.

 It's so perfect it look artificial! lol




Bev's Birthday! Surprise!!

 Bill picked up a pashmina scarf for Bev on his last China trip, she just loved it! & I made her a quilted runner with matching rugmugs.

 Lynn is such a techie with her phone! Deb showed us more of her hidden talent! She really is an artisan of many mediums.

 These are my weekly quilty/crafty girlfriends, always busy with something.

 Bev was quite surprised to see the vintage tin that she wanted to buy but put down & went somewhere else in the antique mall. Well Deb saw it as an opportunity to get Bev what she wanted & she purchased it! When Bev went back later that week...she was disappointed that it was gone.

 And oh so surprised to see it reappear on her birthday! lol How sweet is this wee nursery rhyme tin?!!

 Lynn made Bev a Art To Heart Santa bottle cover..HO Ho Ho! Was laughed as it came with a 1/2 drank Sprite bottle too! lol

 Lynn got a surprise from Deb, as she was presented with a hand painted folkart snowman.

 Didn't I tell you she had hidden talents! I knew that she painted on canvas but not on wood, what a pleasant surprise but then again you never stop surprising me. I could do a whole post on this woman & her talents! I'm glad she's in my circle of friends!

 Thanks for taking our picture Gary but WOW I'm so short... one of these things is not like the other! lol
Happy birthday Bev, many more!


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Trains...I took the train to see Bill in Brampton, the day before my Calgary flight in Toronto.
Again he had flowers for me! I told him I leave the next day but he told me that maybe I would visit him more if he had flowers for me. More than handsome & handy, he's so thoughtful too!

I put the love embrace figurine in front of it. A very surprising thoughtful gift from Mike, Carrie, & Catherine for our 25th anniversary a few years back. What a wonderful world we live in with all the love & thoughtfulness we receive!

As my dad use to say 'Tickles the cockles of my heart'.

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Planes....I'm off to the Pearson Airport to my flight to Calgary.

During the flight, whilst Jack Ryan, I was enjoying a Mento candy & OMG there was something very hard, very wrong with the candy. I took it out of my mouth to investigate & yes my worst nightmare was happening!! It was a large filling the size of a pea, with a piece of white tooth attached! My tongue verified the horror I was feeling. What was I to do?!! I looked at the pea sized piece, placed it in my glass case & thought about it. I was not in pain so this was a good thing but my plans for the trip were going to have to change. The flight was late due to hard winds but it was good to be back on the ground with this dilemma. All I could think about was that two days ago I had my teeth cleaned & I jokingly ask the hygienist to not loosen anything! 

It was good to see my son Mitchell, & I love the Calgary Airport! What a delight to travel through. Here are some of the interesting things I saw. 

 This is huge!! To show the scale of size, I should have stood next to "Big Head".

 How creative is this sculpture?!! I could not believe what I was seeing upon closer inspection of this moose. Make my day!

 What a huge change from the Toronto Pearson Airport!

 Calgary's welcome sure is rejuvenating with all this outdoor activity.

Emily, our goddaughter, would be right at home with the horses here! She's an equestrian rider in Virginia USA, a very disciplined sport .

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 Mitchell said this was a good map to show the populated cities within Alberta.

 Mitchell & I next to the horses, see the scale of these bronzed beauties!

 It was one of those awe moments going through that airport. Stunning!

 A ceramic sculpture for the eyes to take in too! Front side...

 Backside of the sculpture.

Mitch was early for my flight...my flight was late & he had waited in that airport long enough.

 He took my luggage & waited whilst I took all these photos...I'm coming Mitch... As the doors opened & I walked outside..

 Yikes! Snow & lots of it.

 I had heard talk of this as we were flying & saw the whiteness upon the landing but all was forgotten with my awe moments going through the airport & seeing all the sculptures. I had even forgotten about the gaping hole in my tooth, now hoping that the cold air would not cause pain. It didn't, thank heavens!

We went to the Elnora Saloon for dinner & Mitch was greeted by his friends. We all had a wonderful steak dinner & I was delighted that my tooth was not going to ruin my trip. I called the dentist as soon as they opened back home & was told to not worry since there was no pain but get help there if there was. Life is good!

This is Coral & Mel, I'll be staying at their home for this trip & now we're also welcomed for our Christmas trip this December too!

This is Paige & Buddy, Paige was a rescue dog, how cute are they?!

This is my bedroom for the week! How at home am I going to be?!!!

The nook has a wingback chair a great lighting to work on my sewing project of the Vintage Tin.

Mitch helped clear the table, with  full canine attention. lol

This is a cross stitch that Coral had made for her kitchen, very appropriate indeed. :-)

Then the next day Coral took me to Three Hills, a town south of Elnora to a  Chorus from the Pine Lake Singers & A Quilt Show, followed by sandwiches & dessert. This would be the first quilt show for the Boomtown Trail Quilt Guild, they are now one year old, with a membership of  18 strong & always looking for more to join...they even asked me!

Some of the members of the guild.

They made their banner after having a  Joan Statz Workshop. Bravo & this quilt is only a year old!

 Pine Lake Singers entertaining, they looked so attractive in their white tops & pink flower brooches &  black bottoms. So coordinated. :-)

Here's a close up of those brooches worn by all, very pretty.



Now on to the quilt show! Here's a viewing of what I saw...

 This was made from a panel, then sewn into blocks, voila!

 Someone likes paper piecing!

 This was my favourite quilt! I've had this pattern for years & now I really want to start it. I love squirrels, I Goggled to see how long my Squirrel would live & it stated 15-20 years...oh my at ten years old now, he's only 1/2 way around his block of life! lol
Maybe this is the quilt to rejoice his longevity, anyway no hurry to make it but I do love it & voted for it for viewer's choice!

 

 Very pretty & delicate, this garden quilt. Chairs held smaller quilts & pillows on display.

A stack & whack kaleidoscope, the black really set it off!

Close up of the block above.

 Bloom where your planted...how true.

Pussy cat faces wallhanging.

 Sampler quilt in red/black/ & white.

 Such talent in this guild, a lovely woven texture quilt.

 This railfence quilt made me hungry...for Neapolitan Ice-cream. Yummy  :-_)

 An Asian quilt done in metallic fabric.

 Skinnies designed & made by a fellow guild member, Shauna Case of Alberta.

 A cute teatime, teapot hanging quilt.

 Look at the colour of this quilt, so modern  & fresh with the colour choice.

 Another Shauna Case design. I'd like it for the summer cottage!

 And another...

 And another, each one reflecting a new theme to the season!

 A sampler done on point with the Irish chain running through it.

 Log Cabin design in the design!

 The wise old owl, how cute is he?!

 This was interesting & look complicated.

 A Dresden plate quilt.

 A Bargello quilt.

 The maker of this quilt did a 'likeness' of all the members of the ' Dress Club' similar to a book club that meets once a month but they but money in a pot & draw. The winner of the monies is to buy & wear the 'new outfit' to the club the following month. The maker of this quilt is on the righthand side of the quilt with the green background. Oh the things I'm learning on this trip...A Dress Club!

 The same artist from the Dress Club, made this girlfriend one. lol

 This is the kit from the Joan Statz workshop. WOW! love it.

 Since this was their 1st show, those that have done a show know the work that goes into one for the quilt hangers & set up.

 This was the Boomtown Trail Quilt Guild's fundraiser for -  Stars Air Ambulance. I bought several tickets to this cause...and for a chance to win that quilt!

 Simplicity of summer colours, it was snowing on our way to the show! Yes nearly the middle of May & its snowing here.

 More spring/summer feeling, bring it on!

 Lots for your eyes to take in...

 These owls were so cute, look at the bottom one in the nest.

 If there would have been a prize for a colourful quilt ... this one would have aced it!!

 The center was paper pieced by the earlier lover of paper piecing that i Mentioned with the batik quilt.

 Songs done, quilts viewed & voted upon & the eats & treats were yummy too!

 It was not a huge room but beautifully decorated with quilted items. A most enjoyable afternnon, thank you Coral for taking me to your guilds first quilt show. I really enjoyed myself & seeing the talent that you all have!

 And these two quilts tied for viewers choice!! My favourite Autumn Squirrel Quilt & the Joan Statz workshop quilt, called Country Quilts,  both were gorgeous!
Thank you again for the afternoon Coral! Sew much fun!!

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 Are you done your tea? I'm just over 1/2 way through my sharing of excisions, best get another cup or heat that one up. lol

Another road trip, this time with Deb, she's the owner of a fundraising company called Mixing Spoon in Elnora Alberta. She had some deliveries to make & asked me if I cared to join her.
She's also a knitter & a member of a group of knitters called The Twisted Sisters. She had been out to a meeting the night before our road trip & asked the owner of Custom Wool Mill if she could tour me.
So now I'm going to share that our with you. It sure was another awe moment for me!

 Here's Deb at the wheel & here we go...

 I had awoke to snow, every morning, for days after my arrival but today had beautiful blue skies.

 In the distance to your left,  you can see the mountains of British Columbia & they're still very heavy with snow. They say this is not good with rain as it creates to much water to fast & flooding usually takes place. Today is a beautiful day & as the deliveries come to an end...the fun will now begin with the tour of Custom Woolen Mills...

 This is the sign but look behind the sign & the changing Alberta sky, the solid blue is now fluffing up with white puffy clouds.

 We have arrived!

 Down the long laneway to the mill. Fen the owner lives in the house on the left, she truly lives & breathes her work.

Fen's House.

Here's the shop, the door is open...let's go in!

    

 The first room has the washing area in it, 600 to 800 pounds of wool is washed daily & dried daily. This will give back at the end of the full process, give or take about 300 pounds of finished wool.

 This is a very hot & humid process as the fleece is washed & rinsed, then dried.

 Today's dye colour is red, in the center  vat, is filled with hot dye, soaking clean fleece...making red yarn. Fen had opened it for me to peek inside, what excitement for me to see such a large scale  process!

 The wool is in the white box & is moving through, there's a lot of noise as these machines do their job.

 This is the rinsing cycle for the fleece.

These are the industrial size, gas powered driers for the clean fleece.


Now Fen takes Deb & I upstairs for a view of the rest of the mill.

 How great of a view is this carding machine?!

 It was truly another one of those awe moments for me!

 This is Fen's daughter doing her job, this is a family run business.

 The machines in this area are noisy too.

 Those are all the white bobbins, getting ready to change to another colour.

 This machine was still for the picture taking but would be starting up soon.


Got the mill bug yet? If not wait till you see this process of making socks!!

 In this area socks are made and a sock can be knitted in 3 1/2 minutes on this machine!

 They come out in a long scarf like style, joined together with some nylon rows. Then the sock is cut at the nylon row.

 After the cutting, it then will be serged at the toe.

 She gets a handful of socks & takes them to the serger...

 Where the toe is then serged from the wrong side. There's a tool  that's just perfect for turning them inside-out & right-side in...I never took a picture of it but she did tell me how much she loved that gizmo.

And Voila! Cleanly serged toe.

 This is the sock knitting machine. Everything in the mill is belt driven by electricity.

 This sock has a hole & will be recycled back in the system to be knit again to perfection.

 You can tell where the sock knitting is by the orange chains. These links can be added or subtracted depending on the length of the sock, ankle is short, mid calf is longer.

 There's a machine for the ladies socks & a machine for men socks.

 Now the mill tour is finished...LET'S GO SHOPPING!

 The Kaleidoscope A Wool Shoppe.

 How western & rustic is this shoppe?! Fen, the owners dog is there to gladly greet you too!

Fen was there to greet us again & explain any questions that we had.

 What a delight to find felted clothes made & ready for sale.

 There's dyed wool for knitters to purchase.

 A kaleidoscope of colour & toys that would delight any child.

 Things for sale are all handmade by Canadian artisans, Deb is one of them & other members from the Twisted Sisters.

 More items, just when you think you've seen everything, something else pops up. lol

 Above the clothes are all kinds of felted animals.

 Hats, headgear, & mittens to look at.

 This was my purchase, a double pocketed vest for the cottage & oh so Canadian with the maple leafs felted on the front...

 And back! And a hood too! This will keep the cold wind off my back.

 Thank you Deb for taking the time to take me to the www.customwoolenmills.com
I learned a lot more about the making of wool... yes Bill, I still want to have sheep , for the wool, not for eating. lol


An evening with Deb, her husband Frank, & daughter Lena. Bill, Mitch, Diesel, & I were invited to supper on their farm.

 Diesel is watching the gun target practice, the noise from the shooting doesn't bother him in the least.
He's such an outdoors dog.

 Bill & Mitch with there guns.

 Diesel, I miss that grand-puppy, not his hair shedding at this time of year though!

 Lena & Frank -  Lena had done the best, in the target shooting! You go girl!

 Frank aiming at the target, way down the yard. Did I mention that his daughter Lena, had the best shot?

 Look at the tufts of fur coming off Diesel, his spring shed is happening by the handfuls.

 Mitchell is in his element out here in Alberta. He's holding the rifle that he won at a Ducks Unlimited Dinner. It really is beautiful & has all kinds of embossing on it & is a work of art.

 Thank you Frank & Deb for your gracious hospitality & Deb, thank you for that enlightening day at Custom Woolen Mills Ltd.


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Now for another adventure day with Coral. She took me to The Beaver Creek Mercantile, a quilt shop downstairs & a antique shop upstairs...oh the fun we had that afternoon!

 I purchased my first crock! I wanted a souvenir & this fitted the bill!

 It was made in Medicine Hat Alberta. :-)

 Oh the flesh was weak with the fabric, here is my Alberta purchases. The Robyn Pandolph pink roses & the black/white flannel check were on sale!

 The chickadee fabric really talked to me, I can't wait to put it to work on a project, in the new dining room.

These Jelly Rolls were only $15 a bag & I've never done a Jelly Roll quilt! This is for a cottage project this summer.
Well you had quite the read on this blog & I want to thank you for stopping by. I'll be posting more about this trip. Did you know that Three Hills, Alberta, has an IDA Pharmacy that has fabric in it? I didn't either, stay posted, I'll be blogging about that next!
Have a great day & smile at someone, it's infectious...just do it & watch & see! :-)