Summer = Porcupines!

 Yesterday was the first day of summer & the porcupines were out in numbers!

This is how we knew just that!!

Bill was taking the recycle bin down the lane (the one I describe as 'three-city blocks') when Baxter disappeared into the woods quickly.

He never came out when called & Bill continued to call, when Baxter appeared he had his head down as he had his nose where it didn't belong... on a porcupine!!!

Yes, he was quilled!

Look at that poor nose, mouth & cheeks!

We had never had to deal with this issue. I had had friends that did but never us!

He was so sad & riddled with pain from all the quill jabs.

Bill took the needle-nose pliers out & began to remove them but could only get one side done before Baxter would not have anything more to do with this!

He did get some out, but so many more would have to be removed with Baxter being sedated. 

We placed the cone on him so he could not rub them into anything.

Baxter was so brave at what had happened & Bridget was wanting all the attention on her. She was put in her crate, with all the chaos of the quill removal.

I gave Bill a bowl of water to place the quills in so none went astray on the foyer rug as he & Baxter battled until we knew he had to be sedated to remove the rest.

Baxter is sedated & resting. The vet removed all the quills from his face & the ones in his mouth.

Baxter also got a shot of antibiotics to help his system from any infection.

He is doing well today & has already gone for a truck ride with Bill.

I used the foyer floor for a design wall for the 'Baskets at the B&B' quilt top. I kneeled down to pin it together & did way too much for these weary knees & I now have bursitis in one knee. 

It is so frustrating having such a sound creative mind & a failing body!

The holder now holds my Allium heads & I really like this look! Do the bottles look familiar Bev M? Yes, those are your grandkid's pear juice bottles! lol

A beautiful summer colour!

This is block #3 of the Summer Mystery 2022 with Laundry Basket Quilts. 

I made four blocks & didn't like the low contrast in colour when they were put together. This is my finished choice & I like it so much more!

The one on the left was my first choice, not a good one & the one on the right is my second choice...

I will use the 6 1/2" blocks that I didn't use for the mystery quilt for another project.

When I saw this tin I immediately thought of the house that our son just bought & will take possession of it in September. 

We are over the moon that he & Leslie will be moving to Miramichi NB!

And the basket quilt just needs the border attached to it & it's off to the longarm quilter.

The Bumble Bee quilt is back & I need to sew the binding on it & get it on the bed, it is now summer & I made it to be our summer quilt!

This 'Baskets at the B&B' has been a kit I've had since 2009, finally done!

OMGoodness I saw this fabric & had to get it for Bill's summer PJ bottoms!

It's the Star Wars new series called The Mandalorian.

I was able to have just enough fabric for a long pair of PJs & a short pair of PJs. Bill can now retire his flannel bottoms until September when the evenings turn cool & the first frost is upon us.

I usually put a button where the belly button is, it helps to be able to dress in the dark & know front from back. lol, I used the selvage edge with the writing on it.

The fabric was a Camelot fabric which is a Canadian-made textile & the Disney character is adorable!

Garden Views Around The House

Take a walk about & enjoy the salt water breeze!

Backyard, it is so beautiful in the summertime!

Anniversary Garden 2022

Bill's metal garden, no watering needed! lol

It's located on the west side of the house next to the Potting Shed!

The gardens are so lush after all the rain we've had & no frost at all the whole month!

Bill's shop garden on the west side.

The east side yard garden exploded with this beautiful iris arrangement!

Thank you for visiting!!

I hope you enjoyed your walk around the garden to calm the mishap of poor Baxter Loree. He is doing so much better today with all those quills out of him. He has let us know that his leg hurts where he had the sedative shot & the antibiotic shot. He is recovering quite well though & I hope that he will not chase any more porcupines!!

A few more photos of mini iris batches on the east garden at the dog's fenced pen. 

It was a doggie bedding day & I love to hang everything I can on the clothesline.

The last of the Bleeding Hearts.

It really is a wonderful time of the year, it is our shortest season so we try to take it all in when it arrives & takes our breath away with all the beauty it has to offer!

Enjoy your summer wherever you are!

Cynthia xXX

Welcome Mid-June

 Summer is next week & what a wonderful taste of an early summer we have had!

There has been no frost this month in the NE next to the water, the gardens are beautiful as are the lush green lawns!

The Lily of the Valley is just gorgeous this year & so plentiful too, I think they look great in this holder that Bill made me last year!

I started a Connecting Threads kit from 2009 called Baskets at the B&B. I've wanted to do it for years & when I was gifted that same quilt kit ... I gifted mine to a girlfriend that was having a birthday & enjoyed transitional quilt patterns. She was over the moon & finished in a few months, that was several years ago so I started mine & will stick with it until it is done & ready for the longarm quilter.

I wanted to share with you fellow quilters how I use used dryer sheets for my back as a stabilizer while I work a machine buttonhole stitch around the handle. 

It's easy to cut away & I leave on any too small to cut areas to be sandwiched into the batting/backing.

Oh pretty colours that I worked into a small miniature granny square quilt, I'll talk about that later. lol

Back to the basket's handle, see how nice & stable the stitches are with the stabilizer used on the back?!

I had several friends saving me their used dryer sheets & the size was perfect for the back to do the handle!

So happy to use something that was nothing once used, it has a new purpose now after its use!

Here's one of the many 9" baskets that will make up this quilt. They will be done in several different colours with green blocks between them!

I've been watching Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet lately & she was demonstrating the granny squares by using her coloured yarn to match her quilt fabric. 

Then I remembered I had a small yarn collection from a yarn shop that closed in Richibucto several years ago & used that with a small 2.5 crotchety hook to keep the scale in a miniature scale.

You can see these wee yarns are only 3" tall & they're 100% cotton too!

I was pleased with how they turned out with the white crotchety cotton borders to bring them together.

I'll put it with the Luna Lapin collection to build on making rooms maybe this winter!

A little shot of pretty for you to view again! I wish you could smell the fragrance from those sweet bell flowers!

Bill was gone for a week so I made this Bumble Bee quilt with the layer cake by Riley Blake called My Mind's Eye - Honey Bee. Rexton is always photo bombing my floor shots!

I was tired & went to bed... not looking at the center of the quilt where I had made a mistake!!

I will say I am a professional seam ripper & took it apart to make it right.

I added a 8" border of the bee damask fabric in black & white. The backing is black with small white polka dots.

I added a checked sashing then the border, I love how it reads damask until you get close enough to see the bees!

This will be our new summer quilt & I'll use the light polyester batting to keep it light!

Here's Laundry Basket's Summer Mystery Block one at 6 1/2". I did not like how the bottom fabric read so I seam ripped it & redid it with another colour choice.

Here is the change & Block #2!

Block #3 was released today & I'll post that one next.

Looks like a bumble bee!!

I needed to play with colour! & use my arthritic hands with differnt tools.

And look at the colour in this quilt I made for Donald's 45th birthday this month!

I love the quilted movemnt in the quilt, he loved his quilt!

I appliqued unicorns into each corner & yes used dryer sheets to stablize the unicorns as I blanket stitched around them.

The fabric had a glitter to it adding to the magestic mystery of this beautiful animal!

The blue was KONA's colour for 2019 - I saw a Tiffiny Blue or a Birks Jeweler blue, either way it reads richness & the longarm quilting was gorgeous on it!! Thank you Rose!

Back in 1977 I made his quilt from my hospital bed all hand sewn into cathederal windows, then whipstitched an eyelet border around it. I never knew it was quilting, I found it in a book called Golden Hands & it had great instructions & I had 3 months of hospital time on my hands.

Back then they were called cot covers & used in babies large Gendron buggies.

I found it comforting that as time has moved on that gorgeous blue has remained as my go to for him.

Enjoy your 45th birthday son, you are covered with my love! xXx

This is homemade Lemon Curd that we use on blueberry muffins, plain cake, or just enjoyed by a teaspoon or two to taste. Each jar has the juice of two lemons, pucker power for sure but the butter sweetnens it! I make & freeze it but it doesn't last long once opened! lol

Well thank you for stopping in for a visit on this beautiful summer day on the north east coast.

And a Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there this Sunday.

I miss Dad, he was quite the character, he could be a grizzley with a heart of gold. 

He would be so happy that the whole family is in the elevator business across Canada.

Cheers Dad!

I'm everything I am because you loved me. I love & miss you.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, wherever you are! 

Cynthia xXx