Jumping January!

Wow, January was a fast month & it ended with a good northeastern snowstorm. It is a good one!

Bill spent his day plowing out our property & the apartment's & friends' property & was ready for a hot lunch/supper every time he returned inside.

The invested time & money for this equipment has been a real blessing for us living here as we age together with both of us having arthritis. Oh, they say the 'Golden Years', we say the 'Rust Years', the movement of the body is the key to staying 'oiled'.

We are out of our lockdown again & I'm happy to get my hair done on Wednesday, my appointment was the first of the lockdown & the top of my hair is 'glow white' with a 2" growth. My hair is my time that I truly enjoy getting done, I started having white hair at the age of 16 & now it is 100% white, not grey, not salt/pepper, white! So the light blonde is just a tone of warm colour to frame my ageing face.

This was our family photo taken a Christmas & as you see we are all together, a very special time as it will not happen again for two years. The kids will come to visit on their own but not the whole family cluster until Christmas 2023. 

This was our last family photo with Aunt Alice from Montreal joining in with us at Easter 2019.

I love my family so much & hope to have Aunt Alice here in the warmer/Covid safe visit this year when some of the kids are visiting. 

I've been doing some more sewing...those that know me, know that is my happy place to be & create.

I worked on a 2010 kit by Robyn Pandolph called 'It's Snowing Trees'. I saw the hearts & immediately thought of a Valentine table topper!

I did not start it until this quilt top was completed & I was awaiting the backing arrival from Connecting Threads.

The white squares are a Robyn Pandolph fabric, I've never seen her do a nautical print as she is a southern girl from Texas.

I did enjoy working with her fabric design & Kathy Shimitz's Maryland fabric line. I love how the two married together beautifully!

I also got creative with Edyta Sitar's free pattern from her website patterns & used up some more of the 2 1/2" squares with it. I did wool handles & used a whole package of beige rickrack to add a cottage charm to the little runner.

Photobombed again by Rexton!

Here's the little runner & it fits perfectly on Bill's bedside table!

With an orphan block from the quilt, I made a small accent pillow with fabric on one side...

And crocheted a granny square to fit the other side with a zipper closure on the bottom!

See where the colour combination came from for the pillow?!

OK, back to the table topper!

It was done with a quilt-as-you-go technique & I reversed the other side for a St. Patrick's Day table topper! It was done with metallic fabrics to add to the pot of gold feel!

I had purchased this fabric a Joanne's in Flordia, the year we visited Liz & Bob at their place.

It was one of those precious fabrics that were hard to cut to pieces but the four large 16" squares were a perfect showing of this fun fabric!

The 44 round red dots were done in wool as the others that I prepared from the kit seemed flat & I wanted the red bright.

The green metallic border is a Christmas fabric that works beautifully with the print, mimicking the movement within it.

Bridget was getting into the Valentine spirit too! This tulle collar was designed for one of the geese on the porch but the storms are too heavy right now.

Baxter was so jealous of Bridget that he too wanted his photo taken. lol

And she sat patiently awaiting his photoshoot on a warm Valentine mini quilt.

A little Boston terrier distraction to make you smile! 

I changed out the cornerstones that were to be whimsical stars to my embroidered potted willows & I used up some of those red fabric dots around them!

It was a few nights of stitching the stems & leaves from the pot & was so worth it to add texture to the corners of this topper! The pot & stem are done with wool scraps too!

I left the cornerstones plan but did use a metallic thread in my bobbin to add more glitz to the back.

I really was glad to see this fabric used in a project that will be used year after year now!

Here is the finished table topper on the dining room table!

I pulled out some Valentine decor & just love how the red warms the room up!

The Dalmation paper puppies have been with me for years when we had Nichele our girl Dal for 13 years. I had had two other Dalmations before her, Oreo & Sparky. Bill purchased Nichele for me as a surprise & what surprised him was how stubborn that gorgeous dog was & she was to be my last.

Boston terriers would fill our hearts now & they are true companion dogs with personality!

Look out the window, see the railing? The snowdrift on the deck is now two feet above the railing!

I left the Restoration Hardware birch lights & wreath up & decorated the garland for Valentine's Day!

The beaded ornaments are from La Cache in London several years ago. I would go later for the sales as it is a pricey store to purchase from having such unique products. Three birds were purchased there...

Two resin/metal cupids with roses & a heart locket that I still have not put our small facial pics in yet!

So sweet, they usually hang in a wreath but this is so fitting for them!

Cupids, roses, & hearts! Happy Valentine's Day to you!!

I'm working on a BOW called All Around the Neighbourhood - A Sampler Quilt but I can only show the blocks on the Fabric Cupboard Sew-a-long site. I'll post a photo of the finished neighbourhood when it is done!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit!

I hope you are warm & cozy this winter season wherever you are.

I'll post more Valentine decor around the house, you saw the dining room today. ;)

Wishing you a great week & health & happiness always!

Cynthia xXx

Settling In For Winter

 Winter has arrived & Bill is enjoying his new tractor's snowplow, he says he feels guilty with the heated cab after not having one as it is so enjoyable working now, in the cozy heated cab.

Christmas has been all put away for another year & the snow is starting to pile up only to reveal the loveliness of joyous spring. I love that season too, I think next to fall it's my favourite!

I did some hand embroidery of a Kathy Schmitz pattern. I did it twice as I wanted to see colour in the one & the mono-black on the other. It reminds me of an old photo I once saw of my mother that had colour added to it, she was wearing a plaid suit coloured in that blue.

I like them both!

Here is the black one finished with the black rickrack around it.

Rexton is on the cat bed that I ripped out & did a runner instead with the yarn. I could not get the sides to stay up in the bed but I loved the variegated red yarn & it does have some cozy wool content in it for warmth. She has claimed this bench with all the morning sun as it floods the foyer.

I saw this pattern of Edyta Sitar & envisioned it in the Kathy Schmitz Maryland fabric. I cut the yardage in 2 1/2" strips for the nine patches & alternated the 6" blocks with a solid mottled black & anchor white background fabric.

Bill loves it & I do too! It has a masculine nautical feel to it so I think the boys may like it too!

I was surprised to find this anchor fabric by Robyn Pandolph! I was used to her soft florals so this was quite a surprise for me & it was just the contrast fabric I needed for this project!

This is one of our family photos from Christmas, I sure miss having them all together. It will be another two years before we are all together again. I wish I had smiled more in this pic!

Everyone else is perfect!! 

The sun is so warm when it shines & Baxter & Bridget(with her stuffy) are enjoying it!

You can feel the days changing as the sun is coming up just a little sooner & the day is lasting just a little longer. Winter is in full force moving towards spring!

Rexton enjoys the sun on my lap with my dark navy pants & wool vest. Hard to believe she turns eight this summer. She has never warmed up to the two Bostons as she did with Boris Loree, she just tolerates them! lol, Bridget loves to lick her face & she finds that to be wet & disgusting.

Cats rule - Dogs drool, this little stumpy Manx knows that!!

Thank you for stopping in for a visit & I hope you too are staying happy & healthy through this pandemic. I stopped listening to CBC radio as it brings my spirits down with all the Covid talk that we are learning to live with. It is life & we need to do our best to stay healthy through this pandemic as we enter another year.

I'm on a two-week lockdown until January 31 & will be doing another quilt that is in the queue of my to-do-list. 

Thank you again for listening to my rant, something I did not want to do but Covid is like a song that never ends. 

Stay safe.

Cynthia

Hello! 2022 Begins!!

 Hello, 2022! 

It has arrived at such a fast pace & the times we are living in our fast-changing world with a virus that just keeps on spreading to humans & animals.

It is comforting knowing that all epidemics come to an end until a new one develops.

This has been going on since the beginning of time & now we have science to help sort it out. The youth of today don't know the polio epidemic that we baby boomers went through & it was a vaccine that set that right. And I believe that this Covid 19 will be stamped out with the vaccine & boosters that are needed to navigate our way out of this pandemic.

Enough on that daily topic!

The house has been put away and the kids are all away at their homes across Canada. They are all back to work again, some from home, some out in the elevator world maintaining & inspecting elevators. 

It was so good having them home for the week of Christmas & it will be two years before we are all together again.

Good Bye 2021 - Hello 2022!

Baxter is puzzled at all the going on's with putting Christmas away!

He loved the attention of having the five kids home & now it is just Bill & I with a lot of Christmas to organize & pack away.

I have a love for china & textiles & a loving understanding husband that doesn't get in the way of my passions for colour & design through the seasons. xXx

We have had 37 Christmas's together & each item of Christmas tells a story & holds a memory.

He sure looks happy putting them all away! lol

This handsome boy is happy to have a routine with Bill & the 'truck rides'. 

He has an understanding of a very large vocabulary of words & will come out of nowhere when he hears keywords like - going, truck, mail, apartment, shop... Baxter is very clever & eager to be with Bill when he ventures out.

The picnic basket that resides on Namama's hutch year-round has taken on storage of the mouse & squirrel family that I made several years back.

Neatly tucked away for another year!

My newest crochet pattern is making Rexton a new wool basket to sit on my desk.

I'm using two strands of wool on it, my favourite Briggs & Little wool & a chunky red & white yarn, mixed with a solid red yarn.

I'm glad I increased the size of it & I know she finds it warm & cozy. It is nearly finished for her & I'm going to line it with faux sheep fur in white. The whole basket will be washable but she doesn't get dirty as she's an indoor cat. But the hair that she can shed come summer is full of dander!

I made a new white button wreath & was shocked at how little my button jar went down!

I use a large glass BICKS pickle jar for button storage it was just above 1/2 of the jar!

The glitter that comes off the buttons is impressive & looks elegant with the dark green wool behind, I did quilt the outer part of the pillow & the interior of the wreath. 

I'm still thinking about how to finish it, so for now I have just draped it over another pillow.

Years ago back in London, Bev & I did this pattern & I never finished putting it together until now.

After making Kathy Schmitz's quilt, I had an idea with the leftovers & used the swagging for the border. I loved how it turned out! It too is not finished & has been draped over another pillow. I need to pull out my black cording to see if that works with this one.

The center block is embroidered on a quilted natural coloured muslin.

I enjoy embroidery & will start a few pieces for next Christmas by Crabapple.

This has got to be my favourite bag!

I made it a few years back in a spring bag &  Christmas bag... now a winter bag!

It is a Susie Stuklis pattern from her March 4, 2017 blog, she called it a QAYG HOBO BAG

www.susie@susies-scaps.com 

There is no measuring other than the 52 - 5"x5" blocks & her tutorial instructions a very good!

I've had this bonjour label that I've been saving & what a wonderful way to say hello to 2022!

bonjour - hello!

The bag is light to carry & very roomy inside!

The pockets are a good 9" size too! 4 - 5"x5" squares sewn together!

I had epaulettes from a 511 coat that one of the guys had purchased.  I used those to keep the pockets closed & wool corners for more useable durability.

I also added another pocket to accommodate my sunglasses for easy reach.

Everything is quilted & lined with cotton making it light & durable!

I enjoyed carrying this bag around this holiday season so much that I wanted it in another fabric!

I carry useable tote bags & my large wallet in them. Another bonus is the tie at the top to keep pickpockets out of your purse. It was a bad year last year for me to lose my wallet that way... once bitten twice shy!

Same bag pattern with different fabrics. I love my new 2022 back!

Goodbye Christmas bag, I'll be seeing you in 10 months! 

A photo to make you laugh as you are visiting today!

Bill wearing his wooden shoes & scarf that he was gifted from his Amsterdam visit last month.

He cannot sneak around like a ninja in those shoes! I have since cut the scarf diagonally to make neck scarves for Bridget & Baxter to wear. The cookies that he brought home were delicious too!

Bill has since developed shingles on his chest & back, everyone has since told us of the shingles vaccine that both of us were unaware of!!

I'm trying to get an appointment with the clinic to get one, Bill however has to wait one year after having shingles to get his. 

He has turned the corner & is on the mend. Life has so much stress in it these days & he's told to reduce the stress & get good sleep. lol Anyone that has had shingles knows that this is nearly impossible but each day it is getting better.

This too will pass. xXx

Thank you for stopping in for a visit to see what we are up to.

It is now winter here & snow is starting to make its appearance until spring when it will start to thaw.

I love seeing the seasons & each one with its own beauty but spring & fall is my favourite!

Wishing you health & happiness always!

Cynthia