Since my last post, my world has been filled with even more sadness with the passing of our beloved cat Mr. Boots.
Mr. Boots had not been himself & had a stroke enabling him to move his legs & one eye, then a heart attack & he was gone.
He had such a long life of uneasiness with his original owner leaving for the west. Our son Mitchell had his work there & we found a home for Mr. Boots with our in-laws & one by one they too would die & his next forever home would be with us.
He would have Boris Loree in his life for a month & then Boris would die too, such sadness back in 2015 for us with Bill's mom's passing in January, then Boris in February.
He would then be introduced to a pair of baby Boston Terriers Bridget & Baxter & with two pouncing puppies he would attack both of them gaining control...life is controlled by love & fear, as my dad always told me. And those Boston's would fear & respect that cat until his last day.
Mr. Boots was 10 years old & will be much missed by many.
Baxter liked the sun & so did Mr. Boots, they shared the area together in his last days, very unusual behaviour for Baxter, he had so much respect for Mr. Boots.
The end of his tail at the end of his life.
I was happy & grateful that Bill was home with me. He would go out to dig a hole for him in a ground that was still frozen then go back into his office to work. Life would go on but by heart was so heavy & my eyes so wet from crying as I prepared my beloved Mr. Boots for his resting place.
I had some flowers from our wedding back in 1987, blue ones that were perfect for him. He now rests next to Tommy, our 21-year-old cat that we lost a couple years back.
RIP Mr. Boots, your paw prints are on many of our hearts as we miss you.
Rose called to tell me that the quilt that I finished for Liz was ready for pick-up & just in time for me to work on, how perfect to work on a quilt called 'Fractured Hearts'?!
Liz made this quite a few years ago & I'm so surprised at how well it fits into our winter decor!
These are not colours that I would have chosen until the velvet turquoise drapes were hung to warm the great room, then pillows were added & now this quilt!
And then I was photobombed by Rexton the Manx cat! Cats love quilts!
Rose had a new pattern with hearts in it & it gave it a try.
I really like the way the pattern enhances the heart pattern, nice job Rose!
A quilt that reminds me of the loss of a good friend & our fun times together quilting!
Remember this project that I did with YouTube? Well, I got carried away & used the turquoise binding fabric for the quilt. Oops!
Then it came to me to use the brown faux suede fabric & I was very pleased with the look of that outcome!
The texture was perfect with the velvet drapes & the dark brown leather furniture!
Funny how some things just come together by accident!
Yes, things do have a way of working out!
And that faux suede fabric was perfect to finish these Canada's nature pillows!
It is reversible too! Two pillow scenes in one pillow, bonus!
Christmas Carols Mystery Quilt Sew-A-Long
Wow, it is hard to stay caught up in this sew-a-long!
Each designer has given their all in their designs & this quilt is going to be stunning when it is complete.
Block #4 - By Gloria Parsons, Olde Green Cupboard with Rudolph!
Block #5 Kathi Campbell, Heart to Hand, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.
And now I have a day before the next block is released, this is a fun project that anyone can join in & do. Join the Facebook group "Mystery Quilt Sew A Long"!
Scrappy Sewing
I have been looking through old bins of scraps & found these blocks from Buttermilk Designs that I had made a few years back & had an idea!
I had made two blocks that reversed each other & that was the beginning, I would place one on each end to make a table runner! I love sheep & the primitive look & colours.
I had thin scraps from the 'Over the River' wallhanging quilt I made years back & some Thimbleberry Vintage Stitches fabric that would all come together.
I took the HST & made hourglass blocks to add more colour & interest to the sides of the applique design, then made mini Log Cabin blocks to create a center & finally added the border around it.
Now to quilt it up & place it on the dining table!
It was a fun Kyrotime & placed my mind into a creative mode, letting everything around me melt away as I tried to move forward through this COVID-19 time.
OOPS !!! I pushed the Publish button & I'm not done so here's the rest!
Last year's Twelve Days of Christmas, there were 12 decorations in 12 days!
This was the 12th & last to the set! I'm ready for this Christmas now!
An idea I had from a Home Depot visit with Bill was to use these rolls of fantastic colour & texture string, was to make a shopping bag. But once I started I like the idea of making a basket & two of those packages made nearly one basket. I just ran out near the top with the pink.
These baskets will be very durable & I think I'll be hanging & using them in my potting shed!
The birds are now back & are watched daily by Rexton in her cat perch!
She loves to be high in the air & jumps up there frequently during the day, either to look or have a snooze for the afternoon & sunsets there.
This photo was taken this morning, it is the last of the snow in the backyard & as The Wizard of Oz witch said 'I'm melting!' Yes, spring is in the air!
The front porch to our home announces spring with the Forsythia (aka For-Cynthia) wreath purchased in England at Pastimes in 2004 & Bill's idea of Pussy's in the Willows.
These cats were once in my sewing studio in London & made my heart sing just looking at them.
Each one is totally different than the other creating interest in their personalities. lol
The found nest from last year & the plastic egg adds interest to cats & waiting for the egg to hatch. They're guarding it! lol
Bill has been out all weekend working in the gardens & moving the gardens from around the potting shed as he gets it ready to move to the west side of the house.
The last of the backyard snowdrift from the view of my sewing room.
The last tail of it & last year last long into the month but with rain today & warm temperatures it should be gone but we're getting snow/rain tomorrow, so it may stay put but shrink a bit!
It sure is nice to see the water again!
What a difference a week makes!
Soon the daylilies will poke their heads through, showing there is life underground.
The tulips are coming up! Yes, I know SW Ontario has had theirs & many buds are out but here in NE New Brunswick, spring is slow & steady & wow, are we ready to see it!
The sunsets here are beautiful & family & friends go out with their cameras to capture them when they are here. The sunsets will be here for you again once life is more normal for all. Until then, Bill has been out capturing them!
And he is capturing the calm beautiful warm days too! The lawn is starting to have a green ting to it too, more every time after a rain. It rains every Monday here!
The Emerald green evergreens that the kids, Nicole, Nick, & Mitch, planted a few years back have survived yet another blistery winter here. The garden looks sparse & soon will come to life too!
We had big fuzzy bumblebees buzzing around this weekend & the frogs in the pond are singing day & night! Spring has arrived &by just going outside for a while, you can see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, & touch it! All of our senses are stimulated with nature & the wonder of this season!
The indoor plants are enjoying the longer spring days too!
Thank you for stopping by for a visit & I hope you too are enjoying this season & all it has to offer us through this difficult time in history.
Thank you to all the essential works & please stay safe. We have our three sons that are working every day out in the public, elevators are an essential service.
Stay safe.
Cynthia
It has such a summer feel to it with the Elenor Burns rose fabric border. I can't wait to see it on the bistro table that will be on the small porch of the potting shed!
