Shiney Ice & Fractured Hearts

 It was an icy winter wonderland here in northern New Brunswick last week.

                                     The views from the front porch were breathtaking!

 The weight of the frozen ice was making the birch trees take a bow again. I was amazed to see how resilient the trees were after the ice storm last year, not all took a bow, they snapped & broke!

 Bill wrapped the evergreens with some snow fence mesh & cable ties, that is a very good solution with the winds that we get at the shore.

                                  Mother Nature sure can paint a beautiful palette of nature!

 The backyard evergreens take a beating. See the difference, the left side is high & perky when the right side (NE) is heavy drooped with the ice?!

 Last winter we only last one branch from all the evergreens, with that heavy ice/snow.

From the dining room window, I'm happy to see the evergreens, everything else is winter white!

                      The view from the great room window, overlooking the Anniversary Garden.

 Bill & I both love every season here. It seems they move around the 365 day year, faster & faster.

 The backyard sure changes in the winter.  You cannot tell the grass from the water, only the breaker wall's rocks on the top let you know the location where it divides.

 The big cement urn will be flipped over in the spring & will overflow with plants once again.
The geraniums are resting in the basement & it's a pleasure to see green growing in the basement.

I love our evergreen that has its skirt all the way to the ground. I watch a squirrel & are they ever small here compared to Ontario squirrels, it runs under the tree & through the tree.
I worry about that squirrel as we also have several eagles that live in the area.
The weather here is unsettling, schools are closed again due to the ice. Today it is 2C tomorrow wind chill is -25C, weather is all over the map!

Some Sewing...

 I was going through the truck that Liz Vincent sent me & found this quilt top that she had done called Fractured Hearts.
I love the aqua tones in it & the hearts remind me of Valentine Day. So I'm going to machine quilt it on my machine.

 I remember hearing about a workshop doing this quilt. I love Liz's colour choice.

I plan on putting it on the back of the kid's deacon bench. I miss Liz & still can't believe she is gone.
I look through the neverending projects that she never completed & the quilt tops left to me that were never quilted,  & Liz was a longarm quilter too, never having enough time to finish her quilt tops.
I think of the nightmare I'm leaving for my family to sort out ... or I'll live long enough to get them finished & cleaned out. Either way, like the weather, life cannot be controlled, only enjoyed! 

One of my newest projects is doing a T-shirt quilt for my son Mitchell. I have many of his racing T-shirts from our 1/4 mile racing days & will put together a memory quilt for him. Competitive racing was a big part of our lives for over a decade! We travelled all over North America & met many fellow races. We made racing a family affair, even our Dalmatian dog, Nichele went with us! What a fun time we all had! Now a memory made into a quilt.

This is a mishap that happened when I was tracing last night. I used a micro 03 pen & did not like the look of a fold crease that I thought I had removed before tracing & sprayed with Mary Ellen's Best Press & when I hit it with the iron & moved the iron... it smudged!!
So I made another one as there are four to this pattern that will be made up of the 30's reproduction fabric. This pattern is from a Fon's & Porter magazine from 2005 called Sweet Susan.
I need to have some embroidery work to do & the 30's fabric is so spring/happy/colourful fabric.

 With such a mishap, this made it a perfect piece to experiment with pencil crayons!

 I had picked these pencil crayons up at an art store in London ON & never really used them till now.
I'm enjoying the result with pencil crayon rather than crayons that you have to heat set. The colour is more vibrant & it's easier to control as the tips are smaller to get into corners.
Another thing that I changed out was the order that the colouring was to be done first, then you hoop & embroid. I really recomend embroidering first as it provides a guide line/bumper line,  to stay in & colouring is easy!

 A piece of Jo Morton fabric was my starting point for colour as everything had been outlined with DMC 310 Pearle cotton #12. I will finish the colouring & then I'm going to use the Parisian colouring that I made a few years back to make it look more aged on the KONA fabric.
I'm thinking a wee cushion to put on the vintage rocking chair with some patchwork around it?

Rexton has been stalking me for her Temptation Treats, yes Cynthia I think your right when you call it 'Cat Crack'! She will literaraly trip me to get my attention for it! Must feed this cat or risk injury!

Thank you for stopping by on this wintery day for a visit.
For me, it feels good to know that in 55 days, spring will begin or that's the date the calendar says it will! March 20th & Easter is just a couple of weeks from that on April 1st. April Fool's Day has been put on hold this year. Old man winter is my visitor for a while yet, & Mother Nature is keeping him groomed for viewing!

Till then I'm going to try to sew my way through winter!

Have a safe week with this ever-changing weather we are all experiencing!
Cynthia

January Thaw

It is a true January thaw today & what a difference one week makes!

                          This was looking out the great room window last week & so cosy on the inside with the firebox burning. Bill enjoyed ploughing the parking area & our lane both here & at Eel River, he even took Baxter with him. Bridget didn't go because she doesn't listen to him & Baxter & Bill have bonded. lol

                                           Baxter & Bridget like to cosy up together...

                                                               Right on top of me!

 We are the 'pack' but they're getting quite heavy now with their resting weight. lol

 They're as big as they're going to get now & their personalities are so different.

 But when they are sleeping, they're so precious, sweet, & still. I love their nap times! lol

 Next month will be a year since they came into our lives & now,  I can't imagine not having them in my life.The Boston terrier breed is a great companion dog & my life is so full of these two!

 Old Tom now preferences to sleep in the kitchen & Bridget insists that he be the keeper of their toy when it is not in use. Tom's always waking up to toys in his bed.Other than that the dogs leave him alone to sleep most of his day. Tom will turn 20 years old this July!

 See this foot attachment?!! Well, it is for quilting! I've had this machine for 10 years & I never knew what this foot attachment was. I was looking up how to use the buttonhole attachment when I saw this foot & its usage!

 This has been by far my favourite sewing machine & now just one more reason to love it!
The machine came with 14-foot attachments & I've not taken the time to get to know them & their uses. Winter is supposed to slow one down, I've not had that time yet but learning this made me take time with the machine & use the newest foot attachment, I love it!


January Thaw

 I looked out the window today to see grass again & the melting made a chevron pattern in the yard!

I ran upstairs to get a more aerial photo of the chevrons! I miss not seeing the blue water, everything will be white for a few more months. This thaw has been great for the dogs, they are not very high from the ground & wanted out several more times than normal today to smell the ground again.
Like the saying goes, 'This too will pass.'

 When I was upstairs I stared at all the boxes for the stained glass area. Bill will arrive next week with IKEA units to store the glass & four adjustable tables for grinding & soldering work areas.

 With the dogs chewing habits & for the safety of the chairs, I had the guys move the wooden animal chairs upstairs. I'll see what the room is like once the shelves & tables are installed.

 I'm going to enjoy teaching & working in this room. Right now it is chaos, soon comes the change!

The Newest Sewing Projects

 I made this little pillow for the library sitting area. The plaid is our province of New Brunswick plaid & the antlers came to me after using a napkin.

 I traced it onto heat & bond & applied it to wool & appliqued it onto the pillow.

 Bill hung the stained glass find from  Home Sense, it has been with me for years now & has been one of the few pieces that have survived the Plaster Rock trip, to get here.
The Centennial plaid drapes were also installed, giving the room a cosy warm feeling from the burgundy plaid.

 It really brightens this wee sitting room up with the window being the width of the room.

 I have wanted to make these overalls for years & after seeing the price tag that comes on ready-made overalls, I was game to give the pattern a try.  I had this Ralph Lauren floral sheet fabric. I fell in love with the feel of the cotton & the pattern & bonus that it was a Ralph Lauren design. I think I paid $4 for the sheet, at the used clothing store a couple of years back. I was going to make a summer housecoat out of it.

 I know that people use muslin to make their pattern adjustments but I only needed one done to the pattern, so I thought before cutting into a more expensive fabric I would give this sheet fabric a try & I'm really happy with my new spring/summer relaxing overalls.

 The legs are wide & should be cool to wear on humid hot days when you want to be covered & protected from the sun & mosquitoes!

 The buttonholes went in like a dream, I did need a refresher course on how to do it though & bonus to me, finding the 'quilting foot'!

 The bedroom design with the 'Horsie Quilt' is nearly done!! Just the bench needs to be stitched & stapled together. Bill will help me with that.
Bev Hackett owner of Edge Squared Quilting Studio in Barnaby did a wonderful job with all the quilting done to this project for me. Thank you, Bev!!!

 Bev quilted with two battings between the flannel backing & the quilt topping, it is so warm to sleep under. The windows face the shore & that is also the north & do we ever get some nor'eastern's here!

 The euro shams were quilted also with the same quilted pattern as the quilt.

 These vintage horse lamps were my inspiration for my new bedroom design & when I saw the Equestrian quilted fabric collection from Toronto's Sew Sisters this summer, it was love at first sight!

                         
The quilted bench is the last piece to upholster & the ideas that danced in my head will be finished.


Mr Boots is loving the new quilt too, he feels all warm & cosy on the quilt & is the same colour so he is camouflaged into the quilt! lol
I just love my new winter bedroom collection! Thank you again, Bev, with all your machine quilting, it really looks great!

We are having a lot of rain today & freezing rain on the way. I don't feel safe on ice, walking or driving. Everywhere is having a strange winter.

Thank you for the visit & I hope you are surviving your winter, wherever you are.
It is as Joni Mitchell puts it in her song named The Circle Game, it's one of my favourite songs!
This is my 60th winter to come & go now, & spring will be here before we know it,  but tonight the house is making noises from the strong winds!  lol

Have a safe weekend!
Cynthia