A Sad January Day

Last Friday my husband Bill & I went to visit Eva,  his mother, to find her dead on her sofa. The corner stated that she had an acute heart attack. Last July she had lost her husband, her soul mate, to cancer & I think the lonesomeness just broke her heart.
It was the first time in 75 years that she was ever alone, she had her cat Mr. Boots. Mr. Boots was our son Mitchell's cat & when he moved out west to Calgary five years ago, Mr. Boots moved in with his Grandma & Grandpa.
 Now with the pets here he is not alone but is lonely.
I watched him brush up & nestle into Eva's leather purse as it was sitting on the floor next to Bill's  chair, where he had been  gathering information from her wallet & just laid down beside it. My heart ached as I knew he was familiar with her scent & must be missing her so much.
He would meow out loud at Eva's place & did the same here for a day, now he has settled in & I've even got him purring when I pick him up & cuddle him.
Mr. Boots is huge, he weighs in at 20.8 pounds! Boris was afraid of  him at first but now they do tolerant each other. Rexton is the one with some issues & has turned into a bully, chasing that very large 8 year old down the hall. My jaw dropped, if Mr. Boots ever turned on her...oh my! he has the right of weight, twice her size!
Each day is getting better with all of the pets as time has a way if working things out.

RIP Eva, your Mr. Boots will be well cared for.

 He's big, bold, & beautifully marked in black & white. He fits right in with Rexton & Boris!

 Bill if your viewing these photos, furniture is safe, with the help of Nick, I cut the front & back claws!

                             I think as time goes on these two are going to be good friends.

                                                               They are both food driven!

 Mr. Boots on the left, with tail, Rexton on the right with his stub tail, they look like they're related!

                                    Rare shot of  'togetherness', they're both food driven! lol

 There's a lot of black & white in the home decor & now even more with one more pet! lol

He's looking to jump on the counter, a habit that we're working on breaking right now. I'm amazed how high he can jump being  a heavy 20 lbs. You sure hear him coming down the stairs.

It's been a sad time for our family right now but with past conversations, I had with Eva, her heart was so heavy missing her beloved John. No more as they're together now.

Thought for this week.

Family, like fabric, has neat seams and frayed edges.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit this week.
We are all born with expiry dates, you just never know when. So live each day to the fullest!

 Gone but not forgotten, I will miss you Eva Marie Richardson!

Fairies Are Done

I've finally finished embroidering all the Autumn Fairies & have started to put the pieces together.

                                                This is the fairy jumping into the leaves.

                                                                The dancing fairy.

                                                            The wee fairy elf flying on a leaf.

                                                                   The painting fairy elf.

                                              The painting fairy, she was a lot of embroidery work...

 The inside of the leaf dress had a lot of veins to work in it. I love the photo copy transfer for such detail that would be very hard to copy through a light box.

                                         The whole wallhanging will be done in batiks.

                                                 I've been auditioning different colours for the border.

I've got to go purchase some Heat n' Bond for the rest of the project, for all the leaves that are added after it is quilted.

This fairy has been with us for years & will be a statement piece with the wallhanging as I put together a vignette of fairies, when the quilt is done. Right now she sits on top of a bookcase, reading her book.

Old Tom Cat, was doing what cats do best, sleeping in the sun in the bay window. lol

This is Bill having fun with doing a 'selfie' of us on the plane in Orlando. They boarded us on the plane then we sat in our seats for nearly 2 hours at the gate waiting for baggage handlers to get our baggage loaded. There was a nasty storm the night before & a lot of planes were still on the tar mat, making a huge shortage of airport staff. Bill had fun & we were happy with just having each other. ;-)

We stopped to have breakfst at one of my favourite places in the USA, Cracker Barrel & Bill laughed when he saw this sign...he wouldn't purchase it so IU may have to make him one out of fabric! lol

Thank you for visiting & I hope you have a warm week where you are, it's so cold here & a even colder chill factor is added in.  I look at it as preserving oneself in the cold! lol

Rejuvenation

With the start of the new year of 2016, one always has the sense of rejuvenation. All is new & new start on a new year has begun.
Bill had the North American elevator code meetings to attend, he is a chairman to the board now & asked if I'd like to go too. I've had the laneway plowed out twice this year...hummm  YES, I'll go!!!

My husband is a die hard fitness guru & me...well I'm a blood type B+ & it is documented in the Live Right With Your Blood Type, that B+ persons don't like to sweat hard. We like yoga & Pilates, and yes I like both of those as Donna, my instructor knows. lol
So today I went to the gym at the Marriot, in Clearwater Florida, I thought I'd treadmill then shower & have breakfast. When I went down to the gym, I was happy to be the only one, then more joined in the treadmill fun & soon there were three of us, like hamsters in the wheels running.lol
Only I'm a walker not a runner, so I increased the incline & finished a 2.2 mile walk this morning.

 This is the front view from the hotel...

This is the view of the back, from the patio door. Oh so tranquil & I find it warm & comical that locals are wearing scarves & mittens. This dream will end for me this weekend when I land back at the Pearson Airport in Toronto.

Till then I'm going to take in the sights & sounds of this mystical place called the Marriott! lol

 When Bill is in his meetings I was embroidering this small wall hanging piece by Bird Brain designs.

 Yes, Simple Pleasures are Life's Treasurers! Now when I get back I'll put it together for hanging.

We also went to Brookville, FL to visit our friends for lunch & Liz & I went into Joann's, where I discovered these variegated beauties in perle cotton.
With our Canadian dollar at an all time low shopping had to be very selective, I was pleased to get these at $2 USD, still cheaper than Micheal's in Canada.

Thank you for stopping by & I hope your warm & cozy wherever you are. I'm still trying to embrace winter, after 1/2 a century of winters, would think it possible?!! lol

In just a few months, one of my most favourite, rejuvenating seasons is just around the corner!

Dalmatian Cover & Spring Dreaming

I've settled in Ontario for the winter & will go go back home with the spring thaw. Everyone is announcing an early spring, I sure hope it's true. I've been looking at all the UFO projects here & the ones that I brought back to work on, so I must buckle down & stay focused.
It will help make the time go fast & ward of the homesickness, so far so good!

Rug hooking can hid all the marker marks, this is my sketching of the design in my head as I designed the chair cover from the center design.

I finished the rug hooked chair pad that I made from the shading class in Richibucto NB.

                                      It looks great on the chair from the thrift store find!

I played with all the left over wool worms the the project until they were gone. then I used my favourite yarn, Briggs & Little to finish it off. I just need to put a backing on it & voila! A UFO done!


Dalmatian Cover

The hooking of this project brought on another project to do! Time after time I was scratched, poked, & picked by the barbs around the frame, so a cover was needed...

A cover for my rug hooking frame, here is how I did it. ;-)

I looked for a dense fabric & found one of my faves, a piece of scrap from, the synthetic Dalmation fabric I had used years back, making a baby's hat & coat. I love Dalmations !!! & have had over 20's of enjoyment with them. Their dots just make me happy & their powerful happy tails have damaged many a fragile item on a coffee table or whipped my leg making me yell from the pain of the lashing!

I loved the soft feel as my hand glided over this fabric, reminding me of their velvety texture of fur. The Dalmation fabric it is!
I would also need a lining & batting to protect the synthetic fabric from those nasty barbs.
I used the width of the 60" fabric & cut & pieced the lining to that length.

The lining used was a poly/cotton & I zigzagged the batting to it, then added the Dalmatian fabric. Your top showing fabric is to be cut 3 1/2" wider than the 5" poly/cotton-batting piece. You'll need that to use for your 1 1/4" elastic casing, you'll not want the added bulk. I used 1/2" elastic as the thickness would need a strong elastic to hold the gathered fabric.

Center the lining & pin casing down, this is easier to do before it's sewn into a circle. Leave a couple of inches unpinned at the ends. Sew the end pieces together to make a circle, take the time to sew the seam down at this point. Hindsight...I did not & had to open the seams to push the pin through as it was caught up on the seam!
Sew the casing down, leaving an opening for the pin to go through with the elastic.

                                        I used a zigzag stitch to stitch the casing down.

Then using my 40 plus year old diaper pins! Yes, those pins came with a locking device on them so you can push & not have them open. Only those that diapered their babies with 'cloth diapers' would be familiar with these diaper pins. lol
Bill is so funny always announcing that  I still have everything I ever owned...I don't have the things that don't have memories or function to them, they've been given away or recycled at the Goodwill.
I am glad to have those diaper pins for applications like this though!

 See how my joining seams are not stitched down...that will come to haunt me later! lol

 With on side stitched & and opening left, put a pin to remind you where the opening is!
Sew the other side the same way, also leaving an opening for the elastic to go through the casing.

                                                           All done...now the elastic...

                The elastic length will be several inches shorter than the diameter of the frame.

 Place it on the frame & pull evenly till you have it fitted on the frame. Not so tight that you cannot get it off the frame though.

                    Keeping the elastic even & the fit wanted, pin in place & remove.
                 Sew elastic together & stitch the casing closed by machine or by hand.
                                                                 It is done!

 No more scraps from the barbs for me! I'm just wondering if those 'dots' are going to drive me crazy?! I'll let you know after I'm done with 'This years Santa'. I'm starting it now so I have a head start on Christmas this year! lol When I was looking at the finished cover I laughed & thought of my Grandma Haynes that would always have a steering wheel cover made of lambs wool on her steering wheel. You just don't see those on the steering wheels any more, do you?! lol

Spring Dreaming ;-)

I know it's January but my senses need spring! I planted these hyacinth bulbs last November & look at them now! I can't wait to smell that sweet smell of spring.
When I planted them I was not wearing gloves & when I opened the pack of bulbs within one minute I was soooo itchy on my throat, jawline & earlobes! So if your ever opening bulbs be sure to wear gloves with this type of bulb as some people are sensitive to the powder they give off.

                                              Yes, it looks like a spring showing of bulbs!
I can't wait till spring, if all goes well at the Carroll Cottage, there's 346 bulbs that will be blooming this spring. How exciting is gardening...thank you Heather for introducing me to this wonderful world of bringing things to life! Spring has a whole new meaning now.

Thank you for visiting & I hope the rug hookers find the tutorial on making the cover useful. I'm missing my Thursday, fellow Miramichi, rug hookers already, from the Lion's Center.

Thought for the week by Leonard Nimoy...

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.
                                                                                                                                   

Sarnia Ontario - Awesome!

 This weekend Bill & I met with our eldest son Donald, also known by Donny, by me. ;-)
He lives in Sarnia & services the elevators there, he told me of the Masterworks from the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in the city's art gallery last summer.

OMGoodness, Heather & I had tea in The Beaverbrook House,  his boyhood home, in Newcastle New Brunswick & now I'm viewing this art collection! I really am living a dream!

We arrived early & Bill took my photo in front of the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery in Sarnia.

Here is the timeline of this legendary man.

 

If you get the chance to see this it is so worth it, the exhibition ends February 7th 2016. The entry is free & a free will donation is accepted. What a beautiful gallery & the coffe shop across the street is a great place too!

 Donny & I in front of Salvador Dali's Santigo El Grande, 1957, oil on canvas 407.7 x 304.8cm
The curator told us that a better perspective of the picture, reveling more, if one would lay down on the ground in front of it. Yes Donny did & saw another angel! What a powerful piece!
Thank you for joining us Donny, what a fun day we had!
When he was young, Donny grew up with me finishing a 4 year program in art at Bealart in the early 80's. I majored in textiles & minored in sculpture, so he too has an appreciation for the art world & the beauty that can evolve through it.

Thank you for stopping by for this historical, cultural visit!