My May Mayhem

May Mayhem Has Begun~~~~~~~~


Sorry for the delay in the last post for April but life had gotten in the way. As you can see via this post I've been everywhere & with my camera too!

 This is the confusion of the transition to the summer home out east...the parlour these days are filled with my 'stuff' awaiting to be loaded into the trailer.

                                                             Sewing stash included.

Spring Beauty


This morning's bouquet picking, from Nicholas's garden.

                                             Love the look of these frilly, two tone beauties!

                                             The Virginia Creeper has started its budding too.

 Nicholas's Magnolia tree that he's named Susan. He planted it 3 or 4 years ago & this is the fullest budding I've seen on it yet!

 What a beautiful colour that nature has to display, through the flowering process, can't wait till all are seen!

                                                And the fragrant smell that will come too.

                      These are the Costco purchases that will display a show of colour at the cottage.

                                                   I just drop them into urns & voila!

                                                   Herbs too for the kitchen garden.

                             Parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, & my favourite, basil. Yum

 For now they wait to be loaded into the trailer & I'm hoping that they survive the long trek.

Rexton,  Rexton~~~~~~~~~

 She feels that the dryer is the place for her! So many times I've nearly shut the door & turned it on !

 She jumps in so fast at the same time I'm unloading the washer, that I don't know she's there till I see movement under the clothes...

 One of these days Rexton!

    This weekend the bistro set came out & Tommy has been enjoying the outside these days.

He's really starting to show his 16 year old age in his white markings around his mouth.

'Little pig, little pig let me come in!' I've not allowed Rexton to be a outdoor cat here in the city or at the cottage. Here there's cars & at the cottage wildlife to harm her.
Tommy has always been an outdoor cat so be it. Rexton has been great at not running out when the doors are opening & closing.
I once had a Dalmatian named Nichele that would bolt out the door, at every opportunity & oh my what a job to get her back.

Special Purchase~~~~~~

I had the opportunity to purchase my girlfriend Cynthia's mother's downsizing of Ruby red, thumbprint king crown crystal!

I had purchased it to go with the Christmas dishes, Portmerion Holly & Ivy but had a pleasant surprise when it complimented Johnson Bros. Friendly Village dishes.

  And the summer blue & white dishes that will have a nautical feel to them with the adding of these elegant beauties! Thank you Cynthia for thinking of me & my vintage loves! I knew they were going to be special, when Bill just loved them too!


Sewing Update~~~~~

                              Bill's fishing quilt is back from Liz's & the quilting looks great!

 With the backing being fish, she worked a circular pattern - like the bubbles that fish make!

                                                   Rexton has a fondness for quilts too!

A Visit With Liz.

 

                                                Hello Liz! She's always happy to see me!

               She completed her lovely quilt top that I called her Cottage Rose Garden quilt.

                    This was her border, so pretty & fresh with the sashing in the cream colour.

 Liz & her husband Bob, live in a most interesting log house in a village on the Thames River. The gardens & wildlife creates such a pleasure to take in. I always enjoy the abundance of whimsical vignettes & was surprised that this one had wrens living in it!

                                           Bob makes all these beauties for the wildlife.

 

                           This one is for a squirrel! Bill's going to make me one...one day.

 This is the view from Liz's studio! It's the same Thames River I look at but she's on the north side & I'm in the city on the south side. Mine doesn't have a clear view like hers as she owns to the water, I've a bike-path in front, then the Thames River.

                                  Let's go down the hill's path to the river & view some flower beds.

 It's so beautiful at Liz & Bob's place & they both work hard on keeping it that way.

                       Everything is starting to have that green hue to is, it's about to burst with life!

                            Colour is starting to peek through with the spring flowering!

                                       Bob plants so many bulbs to have these beauties.

                                                Rows & rows of them, such a splash of colour!

                                                 And the grass has turned a lovely green too!

                                          Little surprises were to be found by just looking down.

                                                          More of Bob's handy work!

                                  This one really caught my eye, I think it's my favourite!

 The log house is on the top of the hill, these sights are seen through Liz's studio windows.

 The Weeping Willow sways in the spring breeze, it was a very warm day & the sun was hot.

Bob made & presented this Crossed Canoes quilt block to Liz for her birthday this year! Very appropriate as Bob is a competitive canoe racer & has traveled the world to pursue his passion.
Thank you for the lovely day Liz & thank you Bob for making us our lunch! :-P

Antique Finds~~~~~~

Sandy & I went to Woodstock to tour the One Of A Kind shoppe...all 4 floors!

I found a Bunnykins bowl, one that had firemen & a fire truck in it. I'd been collecting these for decades & had not seen this scene before. I thought it would be perfect to put away for Mitchell as he is now a volunteering fireman & enjoys driving the firetruck.

I gave my find to an employee to put with my other purchases, as he turned the corner, Sandy & I heard the sound of bone china hitting concrete. Our eyes were the size of sauces as I asked, "that's not my firemen bowl, is it?" As we turned the corner there it was in many pieces, yes that find was not meant to be. :(

But as we were touring on another floor I found another bowl! This one was a rare find as it had Barbara Vernon's name on it! She was the original artist, a nun that created & loved to draw for her father, he worked for Royal Doulton.
It is a very interesting read as she could only do this by candle light at the end of her day & the convent would not take a dime from the royalties on the drawings on these dishes that went on for decades! Google Barbara Vernon for the history.

                                        Always a happy scene shown through her drawings.

This is a the signature to watch for, she stopped her drawings in the 50's.

Vintage Tin~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vintage Tin Finds!

 

                                  These oil cans will be used in a vignette, near the quilt when I get it finished.

 They make such a neat sound when you push the bottom!

This on was made in Canada. :)

The top row is of oil cans & this was one of the finishes pieces I left at the cottage but I now have those cans to add to the enhancement of it!

 All the block are now embroidered! However I left several finished ones at the cottage, oops.

So many more pieces & blocks to sew to complete it...

 I'll do the finishing blocks at the cottage as I hope to have it done & quilted, for the Miramichi Quilt Show this October in Miramichi, NB.

 This was one of the hardest blocks to do, it has all those spokes!

Spring is here!~~~~~

 The weather is finally spring/summer temps, cool in the morning & night but quite warm with UV warnings of 7!

 I bring flowers into the house to enjoy, they're in just about every room I enter...

                      And a big smile when I see them! How happy is the yellow in the daffodils?!!

Well that was one of the longest blogs I've done in a long time! Sorry my my tardiness but I'm in transition of homes again. Once I'm settled, the routine will fall in place too!

Smiles are infectious, spread them!