Spring Has Sprung!

 The weather is warming up & the snow is disappearing, just the large drifts are left to melt now!

I'm still battling this cough & have kept to myself at home, poor Bill is having rough nights with my continuous coughing.

I have no fever with this viral infection, with time making me a little better each day.

I've been walking the 800-foot laneway & was delighted to see all the pussy willows in the bud stage!

I made my first pussy willow wreath!

The wreath is glued together with the hot glue gun, and each pussy willow branch is glued ontoa grapevine wreath that I had made several years ago.

Pussy willows are the first bud of spring, soon we will be seeing the bulbs emerging from the ground.

The limelight hydrangea bushes are now uncovered from the snow & soon will have spring buds & will have life once more!

It was a large wreath as the base grapevine wreath was large, I like it on the porch were I sit on sunny days & work on sewing projects by hand.

The porch is colourful & has the look of what is to come, so much colour will start happening soon!

I put lilac-coloured woollies on the geese, and the dog sweater had wings added inside the cuffs.

It looks like this is Lucy the Goose's sweater & is no longer Baxter's dog sweater that never fit him.

Bill has been busy making bat boxes for the return of the bats this spring.

He even made wooden black bats for their home.

He put them on the back of his shop, the shop has a pond behind it & which will be an excellent food source with all the mosquitoes that come from that area.

Hopefully, they will make this area their new home.

It has several chambers in it to house many bats at a time.

Sewing Time...
 

I've been working on the Blue Basket borders, and this is what has been done so far. I'm working on the sapphire blue circles now then the fussy cut centers for the flowers will be worked on next.

Thank you for stopping by for a virtual visit. I am getting better each day but this cough is so annoying, I know it is viral & will need time to do its course & I'm not in my 30s anymore for that fast bounce back. lol Visiting me here keeps everyone safe & I get fresh air every day outside.

Spring has sprung! That puts an extra beat in everyone's step!

Stay safe & healthy as we enter into a new season!

Hugs,

Cynthia

Settling In For Spring!

 Look at the view I saw this morning!! The Miramichi Bay opened last night!

I can see the lawn & the deck railings are exposed, this happened very quickly. I hope that the St John River behaves itself & there's no flooding!

There is still ice in the water but it is open & moving with the tide now. The birds have come back & are very plentiful too. I had the pleasure of viewing nine robins the other morning!

Bill & I took a flight to Alberta to be with our middle son Mitch & DIL Nicole to spend Easter & Bill's special 60th birthday. The trip was wonderful & the weather was unbelievable too!

I told Nicole that I'm taking we weather home with me & it snowed the morning we left. lol

They live on a 10-acre lot & this is their view from the large front window! The grounds are beautifully landscaped with trees & hedges. This was their first spring in the new home & we were so happy to be there & share this beautiful property with them.

Bill & Mitch went quadding together on the laneway & into the fields.

Bill's 60th birthday fell right on Easter Day this year, so this trip is full of memories. I hope he gets his wish!!

Nicole & Mitch decorated the dining room after we went to bed, Bill had a surprise when he woke up!

Mitch & Bill had a very productive weekend building a mezzanine over Mitch's shop area for the storage of seasonal things. They also built a gazebo on the deck outside the kitchen/dining room!

They too have the wonderful composite decking that we have & I love it!

This Costco gazebo has shade curtains as well as mosquito/fly screening. Nicole said the flies are horrid in the summer. They are so looking forward to relaxing after work on the deck.

The weather turned nice upon our arrival & continued that way & each day the snow would melt & grass would be exposed...just like I'm seeing here now! I brought the weather home with me!

Bill sporting his Easter ears! They would look so sweet on Bridget & Baxter too! A sweet trio they are!! lol

Nicole is an outdoor person & I'm an indoor person, she dressed me warm & took me outside!

I have on her hat & boots, Bill's coat, & Mitchell's mittens. Those mittens were so soft & had fleece gloves inside them! I was cozy & stayed out & we went for a walk down the long laneway. I wish I had taken my phone(forgot it on the counter in NB!) The picture at the top of their lane overlooking the land was breathtaking, so different from the east coast landscape. Canada is beautiful from coast to coast, we are so blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

Nicole & I are inside the gazebo on one of the many sunny days there!

Remember the wedding signature quilt, it made it to its final destination!!

And it looks great in their front living room!

I was surprised to see the wedding quilt on the back of the sofa & Nicole said she liked it there. It made my heart sing seeing her snuggled under it on one of our evening chats late into the night.

We were all pleased with how it just fit into that room like it was always there. 

We had a wonderful time in Alberta and will see them again on Labour Day weekend.

I am currently nursing laryngitis & staying quiet to get my voice back. The coughing has been a nuisance though & Buckley's is helping me sleep better - Bill too for that matter having to listen to me.

Every month this year I've had to deal with some health issues. January, threw my back out - February had my first bout of Covid March - bursitis in my right hip & chiro for butting it back into position, April - laryngitis with coughing! May is hopefully my time to get back on track with better health!

Enough of that, now for some creativity!

The Blue Basket quilt center is done  & together. 

The sashing really came together well!

The baskets are not perfectly squared into the sashing as some of my corners were cut off. I thought that my seam allowance was good but not good enough. lol

I was short on fabric so I got creative & cut blue petals out from between the flowers. I needed 140 of those petals!

I did the Lori Holt way with the appliqued petals & I'll do it with the leaves too but the round seeds will be done in Dorr Mill wool.

I'm playing with the idea of the flower trio as the center of the 24 border flowers. For now, I'm going to get the leaves & circles sewn on, then see if it will look good or maybe a solid colour would compliment it more.

I've sewn the vine down with the buttonhole stitch in the same colour thread as the fabric & will do the same with all the petals.

I'm pleased with it so far but so many more hours are needed to complete the borders.

Piecing The Past Stitchers is starting another BOW sew-along called Dresden Picnic & I want this finished before I start that one in May!

It is a great way to use it up - fabric from my stash!

Thank you for stopping by & have a wonderful week of spring!

I'm so thankful that the grass appearing soon there will be bulbs coming to life too!

Hugs,

Cynthia

April Snow

 There is still April snow here, March came in like a lion & out like a lion and I'm hoping that April will be full of warm sunny lamb days! 

Sorry that I have not been blogging, I just don't know where the time goes but I'm back & here are some of the things I'm viewing & doing. It is still so wintery here with 60km winds today.

I'm so hoping that this snow will start to melt, this is a view out the bay window in the dining area overlooking the water that is still frozen but is starting to open up near & around Bay du Vin Island.

I can't wait to have my morning coffee on the deck...maybe next month. The warm April showers will help melt the snow but we don't want it happening too soon as that will create flooding.

It is with a heavy heart that our family heard the news that our grandpuppy Lois, Nicole & Mitch's dog passed away. She was lovely & Nicole had had her since she was a baby & over a decade of love for the two of them. I liked making her things to wear to work with Nicole in Calgary. 

This is one of her pink scarves that I made her as everyone thought that she was a boy dog. She was pretty in pink!

I had a tag with LOIS written on it & sewed it to one of her scarves, I made Nicole a matching scrunchie too!

One Christmas a few years back, I made everyone Christmas PJs & I made Lois a nightshirt with a pocket on her sleeve for her nighttime snacks. lol

It is always such a painful time when one of our family pets passes, our hearts are with our Alberta kids right now.

 Bill & I are going to spend Easter with them this year in their new Alberta home on 10 acres, it is going to be wonderful but there will be a huge void with Lois not there to greet us.

So sewing projects that I have been working on.

I did a western-style twin-size quilt for the Napan Agriculture Fair this August to sell in my booth.

I like the plaid on the borders & I added star blocks for the cornerstones. The backing is a lovely caramel colour with soft pink & blue flowers on it. 

I'm working on a square western-style quilt right now.

I had a 30s-style embroidery orphan block that I did several years back & made into a decorative pillow. I repurposed a couple of napkins for the soft ruffling around the outside of the pillow.

The pillow & felted Rexton look at home in the century child rocker.

I did some entertaining with a luncheon for a couple of girlfriends & cleaned off the entire counter, it has not been done for a long time so I took photos to prove it! lol

I live in our home & use everything including the counter for cooking, and cutting out fabric & it is the go-to place in the house too. This empty counter did not last long. lol

I made three quilted project bags with clear plastic fronts to see what it is that is in them. I also made knotted pulls for easy access to pull on the zippers. These are Lori Holt's ideas & her daughter shows how to make the pulls on YouTube.

I love this fabric that Sandy gifted me in my antique mercantile box & it shows thought beautifully through the front clear plastic. I crocheted a flower on the top again another Lori Holt teaching on her YouTube channel.

I will be selling some of these at the fair this August too!

I made this Minecraft one for my little friend for an Easter surprise, as you see it holds everything quite nicely! I quilted it with a 1 1/2" grid so this one will hold a lot.

This is the back of the project bag, I used a darker Minecraft fabric on it, I hope he likes it.

The Laundry Basket Mystery BOM is done, I really like this block & want to do the quilt one day.

This quilt will be done in blue and creams.

A little entertainment as I dressed our dog for St Paddy's day, Baxter is so handsome!

Does he not look so handsome in everything Irish! 

Bill is happy to be home again, he is travelling the world but will not go to China again, that one knocks the stuffing right out of him with the time change & jet lag. He is enjoying the wool New Brunswick tartan blanket that we purchased for $4 at Crystal's Emporium in Richibucto NB, a few months back, I love that place!

Another one relaxing in the great room with the firebox burning. When it is cold & windy outside the firebox makes it feel so cozy!

Bill cleared the lane to the She-Shed area which will be starting soon. You can see how much snow is in the woods still.

It was a beautiful sunny Monday morning with little wind in the woods. This is going to be a wonderful spot for our friends & family to enjoy their east coast visit. I love it here & want to share it with others that have busy hectic lives and just want to catch their breath & connect with nature.

Thank you for stopping in & again, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to be back here.

Have a wonderful Easter wherever you are & I'll meet up with you after the Easter holiday to tell you about our Alberta adventure!

Take care and wishing you health & happiness.

Hugs, 

Cynthia