Settling In & Sewing

The weather has still not brought snow but it is cold & windy. Last week there was an unusual day with stillness, no wind & the view of the reflection of Bay du Vin Island on the glass like water was beautiful. I grabbed my camera & the pups & out we went!

 Baxter & Bridget just love to run in the backyard, Baxter is the faster runner of the two.

                       To get a closer view of the island,  I had the telescopic lens on.

 It just doesn't show what I was seeing or feeling in the stillness of that day.

                                   There was a duck enjoying the still water though! lol

 Baxter-Loree will soon be a year old next month & has really come into his own.

 Bridget-Loree will have her birthday next month too & she is a bossy one with Baxter.

When they are outside though, the tables are turned & Baxter chases her everywhere!

 Look at his hind legs, they are springs! He can sprint faster than any dog I've ever had!

 Bridget knows he will chase her & stays at the breaker wall by the shore.
I gave up on the two & headed for the house.

                              And upstairs in the stained glass studio, I spy with my little eye...

                                Rexton! She was watching us from the second story window. lol

 I made Bridget a new coat out of a baby sleeping bag & trimmed it with some Dalmatian faux fur.

 Baxter just could not leave her alone for a photo of her wearing her coat.

                                    These two are so playful when you put clothing on them.

                                        Making a photo opportunity nearly impossible! lol

                                                      Finally! Bridget open your eyes! lol

                                                               Such a pretty pup in pink!

                                                    Yes, Baxter, you're a handsome pup too!

Very nice!

                                              Bridget put your tongue back in your mouth!

                                                Yes, your frowning & showing your teeth!
                                                         I can see you've had enough! lol

 I had to take a double take... Rexton you're in my cupboard on the summer wall hanging quilt!



My Audience Being Patient

                             This trio loves being in my sewing room & all over my cutting table.

                                        This day though, they could smell something good!

 I had a few wee scraps from Bridget's coat, not too big but not small enough to throw out, so I made a couple of Dalmatian mice for the cats,

Tom had the right idea! Mmmmmmm catnip,

It gave me joy watching him.

I left this mouse with him.

 And the other was given to Mr. Boot's, he wasn't too keen on it,

 Rexton loved it!

 She played with for awhile & then napped. lol

So, so many flying geese to make this flannel nautical quilt, off to the longarm quilter next week! 

 And this beauty is done too! The outer border is all metallic & looks so regal in real life. It was done with a panel in the center & then I bordered it with friendship stars all around it. Yes, it's a girlfriend of mine, that is a huge Snow White fan. lol
I've also been rug hooking some of my Christmas gifts, will show those on Christmas Day.
I've been finishing the Santa that Elizabeth gifted me with several years ago. This year it will hang up as a finished wall hanging.

 I was now thinking of a burlap bag filled with miniature toys in it, rather than the wreath?

And snowflakes, in different sizes, all around the blue background. I'm going to sew glass beads on for the eyes too. It is all about the details!!

I love Christmas and the house is starting to have patches of Christmas in it.

Kathleen & David surprised me with this beautiful tree & Santa! She said it was 'So Cynthia'. Thank you, it does go with the 50 shades of grey throughout this house! LOL
I added a pair of Chickadees that I have been making from felt & wool, they are all hand sewn in front of the TV at night.


And this is what my foyer looks like whilst I'm creating!

 These two play outside my sewing room most of the time & have been trained to NOT go upstairs, they are doing very well!

 Picking up their toys after playtime is not on their 'to do ' list! lol, I'm thankful that it is their toys they chew on, however, my AVIA jacket now has the pocket chewed out of it, do to me leaving their liver treats inside the pocket. I train them with treats when we are outside listening to commands.
My bad, I should have hung the coat in the closet rather than leaving on the monkey chair in the foyer.

I decorated the great room staircase with faux evergreen, it looks so good on the white railing!
And yes that is a Christmas scene on the TV! I used YouTube with a three-hour tradition song list & it was wonderful!!

I also played with a free pattern, yes free, from www.connectingthreads.com it used charm squares & works up fast. I love miniature quilts for just that reason.

The squares are to be bowties but with my fabric choices, they look more like goblets or wine glasses! I will try it again later in different fabric choices.
It is a Mari Martin pattern called November Little Quilt. It was fun to do!

Thank you for stopping by & seeing what I've been up to. I'm getting very excited about Christmas & seeing friends & family throughout the season.
I must make a trip into town to get the raisins to start the soaking of them in rum, for my Christmas Rumballs,  Namama's recipe, now our Christmas tradition.

Hope this seasonal spirit grabs you soon if you don't have it already!

I like to smile as I look at people in public, & watch as it is so contagious & wonderful, to see someones frown...get turned upside down! Try it, it feels good!

Love doesn't make the world go round,
but it certainly makes the ride worthwhile.

Have a great week this week, you deserve it!

Lest We Forget

Today is Remembrance Day, a day to remember and be thankful for all those that have given themselves & their life, for the wonderful country of Canada. Thank you.
My dad was too young be a war veteran but I have photos, somewhere in my many moving boxes & bins, of him working at the Malton plant, helping with building the Lancaster Bombers. My grandfather also worked there. Next year I'll share those photos.

I made this banner a few years back & planned to make a French one too, but not this year. It will be for the Golden Age Club in Baie-Sainte-Anne. Lest We Forget. I am so thankful for the country that I  was born into & for those that made it what it is, strong & free.

Oh, Those Hexi's!

 

I have worked this piece into an odd shaped small runner.

It is from leftover fabric from a quilt that Deb & I did together a few years back called Crazy Stars.

My girlfriend Cynthia was always working hexi's & I thought I'd give it a try... oh, my!

It is not an easy undertaking but I did find it relaxing to hand stitch.

It fits nicely in my dough bowl & I don't think I'll be trying that project again anytime soon. I lined the back with a flannel & it will be used as an accent piece for the quilt. That quilt also had a lot of spin-off pieces made from the scraps, a square table topper & a pillow too. It all started with the orphan blocks!

                               Here is the pillow that the last orphan block was made with.

 Rexton is perched on her cat tree & is watching TV! I've never had a cat like her!

              Another block is madE for the patriot quilt, it's a mason jar with sunflowers.

                                                              Just six more blocks to go!

Something New!

My girlfriend Marva is teaching me how to knit on four needles! Something I have always wanted to learn. It is very odd working in the round when all I knew was the flat, two needles!
I now get the chance to use my hand turned knitting bowl made by Gary Miller & was presented to me for Christmas a couple of years ago from my Thursday sewing girlfriends, Bev, Lynn, & Deb.
It's being put to good use & I love it!!
This knitted piece is for the cement goose Lucy's neck. It will cover the camouflage duck tape, LOL duck tape on a goose! Lucy fell or should I say, 'was tripped by my garden hose'  & her neck broke, exposing the metal rod going through her neck! The duck tape worked & I just cover it with a scarf or a knitted dickie.

Have a great day & remember a moment of silence at 11am for those that are no longer with us & the reason why. Lest We Forget.

Thank you for the visit & I hope your November is a safe & healthy one. We are the blessed ones!

November Begins!

The weather is so windy today & the temperature has dropped, more seasonal now. The weather has been great for the Fall this year & now we must buckle down & get ready for winter. Bill is installing our snow fences today. The drifts by the shore are so high & the wind takes them right in front of our garage. He's going to try to lower those drifts for this year's snow.

 Bill took captured this November full moon this morning. It was yesterday's full moon & Nick's birthday too! I hope he had a 'howling time'.  Happy 27th birthday Nicholas!  lol

 Sweet sleeping Rexton really suits the pillow I put in her bed, it's a Mary Engelbreit design that reads, IT'S GOOD TO BE QUEEN... LOL

 She awoke & protested the camera noise, pushing her paw out as if to say, 'Stop!'.

 Then she just rolled over & rested to back paws on the pillow, to remind me that the queen puss was resting! lol, I'm so glad that I brought her home with me, her three years ago. She has such a personality & knows it!

 Baxter & Bridget got a new pillow to do their chewing on. They're not too sure of the fully insert & only allow their bellies on it.

 I thought they looked so cute like they were saying their prayers before eating.

 The new trick is to keep them off the couch that they have grown accustomed to. With the wet snowy weather just around the corner, they need to stay down & off the furniture. Providing their own spot should be the answer.

 I had Baxter & Bridget out for a good run the other day, the weather was so beautiful, in the low 20's!

 Baxter has really taken on the personality of a runner, he loves to glide through the woods at top speed, Bridget just can't keep caught up to him.

 This is my favourite spot on the property, it's at the opening of the laneway & has always gotten my attention each year.

 It has an old dead tree in the background, with a red berry bush in front of it.

 And off to the side is an evergreen. The play of these three colours & textures always makes me smile!

I remember a few years back, bringing these berries inside to decorate a grapevine wreath.

 Nowhere else down the laneway has such a combination & it's perfectly placed for my liking, just as you turn to see the house.

 I have also noticed that the evergreens are loaded with pinecones. It keeps me wondering what this winter will bring.

 This is our waterless pond! It was a dry summer here & it's the first time I've ever seen the bottom of the pond!

 The pups are loving the new smells in the pond & went into it to investigate,  I watched from a distance.

 An action shot of the two of them, in the center of the photo, Bridget being chased by Baxter.

 Bridget still being chased by Baxter! lol That tree is usually half covered in water!

 Another angle of the bank of the pond. I wonder how all those frogs & toads will make out?

 Moss is now growing where water once was. Baxter stands long enough for me to get a photo of him.

 The propeler is still attached to the tree, I thought that wind & time would've taken it down!

 I usually forget that the woods are out there for us & the puppies just love running through them.

 Here comes one now, they move so quickly through the tall grass.

                                                   Bridget looks like a rabbit in this photo! lol

                              She's trying to figure out how to get back over the stream opening.

 Last Easter Mitchell started making a tree bridge crossing, it has settled into the earth & is more solid now but...

 Bridget just jumps over the opening, I'm hoping that we don't have to deal with ticks this year.

 So far so good, I check them regularly & touch wood & whistle, none so far.

 Our woods need a good cleaning as it has not been done for decades! I know some old wood must stay for the animals however a person cannot walk anywhere inside those woods!

 Nicholas & Bill made this pile of wood for one of our bonfires, too windy these days for a fire.

 This is my lily that wants to bloom again! I don't think that is going to happen though, we'll see.

                     The five buds look pretty though & our weather this Fall has been so nice!

 After their walk these two like to have a drink out of the fountain that's located on the porch.

 Bill has since disassembled it & put it away until next spring. A new season will soon be upon us.

 I took this photo off the TV, it was the movie Alias Grace a Margaret Atwood book & she also helped with the movie series. She spoke of the quilt she made for herself, The Paradise Tree & spoke of the fabrics & meanings of them that she stitched into it.

She spoke of the snakes she placed into it, I thought the whole design was beautifully done & just wanted to share it with you.

I've been working on the Summer Blog quilt & hope to have it done by Christmas!

Six blocks are missing & I'll be making those in-between the Christmas sewing. I thought that I could keep up with the pace of the 'block a week' but again... life got in the way! lol
It is a really nice piece,  with cotton & all the applique is wool. I'll show more progress of a block a wee & it should be done by Christmas!

Thank you for popping in for a visit & I hope you too are enjoying the weather before the 'snow fly's'!
Mitch & Nicole, my Alberta kids, I know your shoveling already! Love you & will see you at Christmas!

Have a great week everyone!

I keep thinking of my saying... If Not Now - When?
 I'm going to put that saying,  on a pillow or wallhanging. And start my diet!

Riddle~~~~~~

What is always coming but never gets here?

Tomorrow!!!