Another Angel Swap received!

I have been spoiled by my angel swap partner!  Maria has done it again and sent me this:

Angel Swap gifts

Now aren’t they lovely?  The long one is for needlework with pockets and pincushion and so beautiful!  The wider one is for pens or needles  on one side and I can put a book into it and tie it up!  I don’t know who you are Maria but I thank you so much for these gifts.  You do such nice needlework and now I can practice myself by using your example .  Do you have a website?  If so, I would like to know!

Now you may have noticed my new piece of furniture! .  We bought it last week and it was delivered today…an electric fireplace!

New fireplace

We had been looking for one for such awhile now but they were either the wrong colour or too cheap looking.  When we saw this one we knew that it was THE one.  We went home to measure the space and visualize it and made the decision.  I love it!  It heats too, already had it on and I am looking forward to this evening!  Just think at what Ican do at Christmas!  Stockings? Creche collection? Those other Christmas decorations?  I think that I will enjoy Christmas this year .

the cat

I couldn’t resist showing the cat! He likes the fireplace too! To the lefts are my dictionary box, making do until I get my endtables…hopefully this week!  There is still so much to do but it is starting to pull together.

Off to tidy my sewing area and work on my angel swap gifts.

Simple Saturday Rituals…

…even though it is now Sunday I thought that I would share my simple Saturday ritual.

Saturday errands

On Saturday we always do errands.  Top of the list is to go by the local “depanneur” (corner store/convenience store) to buy my Globe & Mail.  I love my Saturday Globe and I reserve it, hence my name in the corner. I only pick up a paper once a week and this is it.  I spend the next few days reading it from cover to cover, section by section and try to do the Suduko, kenken and Crossword puzzle.  It is a sign that I am too busy when I can’t get through the Globe.

On the way home from the errands, because since we live in the country, we do our grocery shopping and any other errand at the same time, we stop off at the cheese factory at the end of the road. The link that I gave is the little place at the end of the road.  When I say cheese factory, it is not a big building but a small artesian? place where they make cheese.  Cheese in this region is a mainstay and it is the above cheese we buy for snacking on and we can get the same cheese in a block. Oh, when the cheese has to be at room temperature to be the best.  Being English, I always tend to put it right in the fridge but have slowly learned to eat the warm cheese and IT IS so delicious.  The above cheese is called “curd” cheese and is salty and squeaks when we eat it .  The tradition here is usually on Sundays when everyone is out enjoying a leisurely car ride they stop by any of these cheese places and buy a bag of cheese with their pop of choice and a bag of chips (we don’t buy the chips) and then they eat while they drive.

A little bit of my world.  Is cheese a mainstay for you?  If not, what is?

New magazine in the mail today!

New Canadian Quilt magazine!

As soon as I knew that there was going to be a new Canadian Quilt magazine I signed up for a year’s subscription…at least to give it a shot.  I am definitely NOT dissatisfied with the first issue!  Quilter’s Connection Magazine is very good!

There are two projects that are calling to me:

Partridge pattern

It’s a Christmas wall-hanging with a rustic feel to it…plaids and buttons and felt!  I have just found Laurraine’s website and so want to make her teacup paraphanalia!  This pattern is definitely added to my to-do list!

And this one…

Tree Trimming Stitchery

FINALLY! A Stitchery in the Australian style IN Canada!  I don’t think that this will get done for this Christmas but I am definitely excited to plot and plan it!  The designer, Dougal Ann Walker lives in BC and has other patterns that combine stitchery and applique into quilting.  I don’t see a link for a website for her but I am on the hunt to check out her other patterns!

So my afternoon was spent with tea in hand, reading and dreaming of quilting delights!  What more can the doctor prescribe?   If you live in Canada, check out the newsstands!  A very good read.  If you don’t live in Canada, check out the magazine site!  And no, I’m not promoting the magazine

Off to stitch my slow-going needlebook!  I have changed material and feel better about it!

Slow Saturday and Sunday

It has been a quiet week-end here.  I have been working on my little stitchery and it is not turning out as I planned…but I am persevering!

On another note, my husband came home with this yesterday:

Raspberries, raspberries, raspberries

The farm down the road has rows of raspberries that customers can pick and they make the above goodies.  Lately my husband has had a raspberry craving!  I didn’t have pie yesterday but will have some tonight with a wallop of ice cream .  He brought me some raspberry jam and hopefully that will make me eat my breakfast because I haven’t been eating that meal lately …and on the right is the extra dough cut into slabs with raspberry filling…yum, yum, yum!

Here is my dining room now…it is coming along, at least the hutch has been put together!

Dining room furniture coming together

We are so not finished but it is coming together:

Husband's computer desk

Our main computer, husband’s, is right off the kitchen.  We bought the desk a few weeks ago and now it is set up.  So much cleaner.   The patio door will be changed along with the windows sometime in October, thank goodness!

Well, off for supper, Hubby barbecued.  After supper I am going to continue on with the stitchery.

This is what I am doing…

Stitching

I’m working on my embroidery skills and doing one of the Angel projects.  It is a needle holder and I am on the first step.  I’m using what I have in my fabric stash and enjoying the process.  I am relaxing in my chair and I really need to get a decent floor lamp:

Stitching chair

I need a floor lamp and an end table too.  I can’t wait to get all the renos finished but until then I am extremely comfortable.

Back to stitching….

So I found a pile of….

…

Upholstery Remnants

Yes, if you look closely, you can see Laura Ashley on some of them!  A few years ago a friend of the family gave me these fabric sample.  They are from a furniture department.  There was quite a bit of cottons which I washed up and added to my fat quarter collection.  These have been sitting in a pile in the corner and I always wonder what to do with them….I’m thinking that they would be nice to combine with stitcheries.  They only measure about 14 by 14, some is smooth and some is textured.  I went to the fabric store tonight (very small one) and got some textured cream and textured white cotton material so that I can start my first Angel project….I will be sure to show once I get started, like tomorrow, it’s all in the washer now.

Have you all gone over to Among the Gum Trees site?  I spent the better part of the morning participating in all the giveaways.  The nine Australian designers are going to have Christmas patterns on the site, starting in October.  There is so much inspiration over there!

Oh, and even though it has been sunny and warm over the last few days I thought that I would share a picture of the mountain in the front of the house:

Our little mountain

Do you see the little red tree?  That is always the sign that the seasons are changing, from summer to fall.

More of the mountain

FINISHED!

My Summertime Mini Quilt Swap quilt is finished!

Mini quilt

And here is the label:

Label

On the whole I am happy with the skills that I worked on with this.  I wanted to work on incorporating pictures and that worked out okay, but the buttons camoflauge a little melting that can happen, so be careful!  I really enjoyed the free motion quilting but I am by no means an expert.  I really hope the recipient is forgiving, but I am proud of myself to trying!  I liked the label, printing it out on iron on material and then adding it.  So, now I am going to go and see if I can get our special chocolate-covered blueberries and prepare the package.  I have to have the quilt out by the 21st and I am slightly ahead of schedule!

The only other swap that I had signed up before my stroke episode is the Stitcher’s Angel swap and I know that I can handle that!   I want to try a few of the projects.  I have yet to start but now that this seemingly major mini quilt is finished I can sit and embroider and I think that the doctors would agree….I gotta make sure that my hand/arm motricity is OK .

Last of the Scrappy Christmas blocks…

in:

Scrappy Christmas Block swap

Aren’t they nice?  Now I will make a few more of my own and I’m thinking that I will make a tree skirt!  Thanks Debbie, Donna and Jessie.

I am still working on my summertime quilt swap and it is almost finished.  I had so much fun practicing  my stippling and I am now on the binding.  I will post when completed.  Since I have to relax, the handsewing will be a good activity for this evening.

I had my husband drop me off at the second hand store last week and I found some more jars:

More jars

The one on the left is one hexagonally cool .  The one in the middle sure is interesting and I think it would be perfect for my knitting needles (yes J, I have a few ).  The one on the right is a type that I keep seeing and have started to collect.  I’m not sure what they were originally for but so far I have 7 and this is the 8th.  They are perfect for threads, ribbons etc…perfect for my room.

Well, off to finish my tea and make a lasagne for supper….at least I can still cook.

Sunday Site

There are so many neat sites in crafty blogland that I sometimes get so overwhelmed.  Instead of sewing I can spend hours just going though my blogline feeds.  I love it.

365 Days of Free Motion Quilting Filler Designs

Leah Day is so totally inspiring and generous with her talents.  She posts a new free motion quilting design each day.  I’m loving it.  I so want to get better at this part of quilting.  She gives tutorials and tons of tips….well tons…she started this blog in August.  She has even categorized the tutorials from beginners to advanced. Go and check her out!

Where I went on Labour Day (September 7th)

Tadoussac!

And I saw a whale:

The Whale

The Whale again

Here is another:

Here are some more pictures of our day 200km round trip:

Husband

Oh! It is our 22nd year wedding anniversary today and we are having a fondue.

Ferry

At the dunes

Me, on the ferry

A long way down to the dunes

The Pallisades