a favourite shade of blue

a favourite shade of blue

Thursday, September 30, 2010

a bit late

Company's gone but Jim is still here. Marianne and Gus got here around 4:00 and we had a great talk  and got caught up on lots of family news. Then they took us out for Chinese at Mr. Ho's tonight so we have definitely had our share of Chinese food for some time. I hope to  stay away from restaurants for a while. I have gained 2 pounds on this diet LOL  
Someone  jimmied the lock on the driver's side of my yellow Mustang several years ago so I have had to open my car from the passenger for all that time. Fortunately it has a lock /unlock button on that side so I could get my side unlocked. Jim said he could fix that so yesterday he go the new locks and today he changed them so now I can get into my car on the left side which is the right side ;)) I am happy with my locks and my son. Jim is one of those people who can fix anything so it is great to have him here. He is leaving tomorrow though and won't be back on this trip, I'll miss him.
 Marianne loved my little redwork quilt and the embroidered towels. I think I'll make her a set of towels for when they come back from Thunder Bay. It will make her really happy.
I put the ironing board away for the day but tomorrow out it comes.
Whoops The Mentalist is on so I'll get back to you!!
Hurrah!! Socks are done.  Now to begin a new pair. Haha!!
These commercials give me time to write but the interruption makes it hard to keep on track.
Tomorrow I want to embroidery three more blocks of the redwork and that is what my solution is to the 10 blocks, to repeat two of them. Of course I won't get three done in one day but maybe by Sunday I can have them all done and put together.
Saturday we are having some more company, Carla, and granddaughters Katie and Meg are coming for dinner. They are passing through on the way to Sechelt for Mac's send off ceremony. Lots of visitors and lots of SOS calls. It has been an interesting timec
Have a good night, I am going to read my book, The 19th Wife,a  most interesting  union of  history  and fiction.
Bonne Nuit.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

cleaned up my sewing

Jim arrived last night around 12:30, we were in bed but he has his own set of keys so we never worry about him waking us up. We went to the newest Costco in Burnaby. We took a long long drive because we got lost in the wilds of Burnaby , finding roads we had never seen before  and going down more dead ends than I thought existed. But it was an adventure , we finally found our way back to Canada Way and backtracked to come in the other way. Jim wanted something at Costco, but Ray and I did not want to get lured into the Costco game and spend more than a hundred dollars. We used to get away with that amount but the last time it was nearly $150. And we are proud to announce we walked out of Costco with nothing. We spent $00.
Since Adam and Lisa will be here tonight we changed the bed and I had to put all my sewing eauipment away for the day and maybe the week , that depends on how many  people will be here this week. No sewing unless it is some applique. I am down to the toe of sock 2 and almost done with the decreases. Another hurrah!!
I had my back treatment with my wonderful chiropractor this morning, it was a good thing as my back was way out of alignment and he fixed me up for a while. Old backs tend not to behave well.:<(
Ray's cousin called tonight and invited us out for dinner tomorrow night. We haven't seen them for about 5 years so that will be nice. They want to go to Mr. Ho's for Chinese food and we were there tonight to take Jim for his birthday dinner LOL Marianne told us that Rays' cousin in Thunder Bay found his wife dead on the floor of the bedroom when he got up in the morning after a night on the couch. 
I said to Ray that Mr. Ho should give us a discount as we have been there three times in the past two weeks. Haha.
Time to go Adam and Lisa should be here soon.
Have a good evening. Bon Soir.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

dozy at 6 :00

3 hours later than usual :>)). I did complete sewing on the sleeve of my Hallowe'en quilt. I sure love this piece, it was a pattern from a Fons and Porter magazine. How often do we actually do the designs in the magazines we buy. I have bought so many magazines and seldom do the patterns but interestingly enough the ones I have done number among my most favourite quilts. So maybe I should do more of them. :>)
It took me all of my sewing time today to get the sleeve done. Funny the top of the sleeve  took up most of the time , I guess because the needle had to go into the binding and also because it was black on black-very hard to see. the bottom seam was black on white much easier to see .Lynn asked me why I didn't sew the sleeve while I was sewing on the binding. Have no idea why not . Perhaps because I don't make the sleeve until after everything else is done. Must try it the next time.
I have decided to make another row of three more Sunbonnets, even though I have to duplicate two of them.  This on the advice of much better quilters than I.
Lots of fun today, Betty Lu finished her socks  this morning after grafting off the last 12 stitches to make a lovely toe. She was happy , she plans to wear them when she goes to Maine on Monday. She asked if I felt happy   she was finally finished , but I said good teachers are happy when a student finishes what she started so that was what made both of us happy.
At Community Quilts there were some lovely finished pieces , my favourite one was a big blue and yellow quilt that I think will be going to Honour House where veteran's families who have been injured in Afghanistan can stay while their soldiers are in the hospital or getting rehab. Our group are making quilts and pillowcases for this project.
I bought a tin of Purdy's chocolates because I loved the tin. I shared them with my morning sewing group , they got the chocolates and I got the tin LOL
Jim will be in tonight at midnight, he is driving down from Edmonton and got a late start which is why he is getting here so late.
And Adam will be here tomorrow night at 8:30. They are going back to their dad's , which is a house owned by Adam and Sam, mostly Adam, to arrange for a garage sale of s lot of his stuff and to prepare for a memorial service.
Another wonderful day, I wish you all a happy life too. There is nothing in this world as wonderful as friends and family.
Have a great evening!
Kalispera!!

Monday, September 27, 2010

embroidered towel TIPS

Do you have embroidered towels that wrinkled up when  you washed them?  Do  you not know how to make them look good again. This is what I do with my embroidered hand towels...  I gently  pull them using both hands,  one on each side of the embroidery , so that means from the right side to the left side to give the embroidery stretch. Then I do the same from top to bottom, one hand at the top and the other at the bottom and pull to give it stretch top to bottom. My hand towels such as the Hallowe'en scarecrows which have been on this blog a couple of times still look great!  Try it , you'll be happy with the results.
I got all the rows of my redwork Sunbonnet sashed, spent a good part of the afternoon making some more sashing and pinning it on. Tips on pinning, make sure that when you put a pin in  one seam  it meets the seam on the other side. I spend more time tryng to make this work LOL but it makes the seams come together.   You need to put the pin in straight too. If it is crooked then it might not sew straight and the seams will not line up. From my lips to your ears , well eyes :>) Do not take my word as Gospel just try it, if it works great , if not it must be your fault haha... still have to decide what to do about the 10th block.
Jim called and said his rrommate was in the hospital with congestive heart failure so he would not be here today as planned. But tonight Tom, not my dealer, is stable and Jim will come tomorrow.
Did I tell you that my friend Helen gave me her serger and I was too afraid to use it. Another friend said she was taking her serger to the repair shop to get it threaded, Well what a good idea that is.  I may just do that but then Tom, my dealer, has a class for sergers so I should take that one. I have never used a serger at all but think it would be good when you make pillowcases. Have I ever made them, well a few times for the kids , but am thinkong of making some for Community Quilts if I can get it right.  Help Ione :>)!!
Watching Hawaii 5 0 for the first time in decades, haha not the same show just the same title and location. It is starting out well. Exciting! an car ramming, a gun fight , an abduction and a theft. All in the first 5 seconds.  Hard act to follow. :>)
Take 55!! I won't be back tonight.
Have a good watching evening folks.
Bon Soir.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

English Paper Piecing

http://sunshinescreations.vintagethreads.com/2007/03/tutorial-on-english-paper-piecing.html
and other great stuff. This site will teach you some great things especially Hexagon paper pieces and how to put them together. There are other tutorials on this site as well.  Take a few minutes and check it out, maybe you'll stay a while.
Because... I have done nothing all day as far as sewing is concerned- nothing.
Sam called at 8:30 to see if we wanted to go to Richmond for breakfast. Ray was in the shower, I was still in bed waiting for him to finish. Then I take my Actonel pill because you have to stay upright after taking that. I asked Ray if he wanted breakfast, he said fine , so I called Sam back and accepted the invitation. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the IHOP in Richmond. It was good and so nice to see Sam. He is trying to sell his house but some people are having troube getting financing, It is difficult for young people to buy or to sell.
Did I mention that Rick got a doggie bag for what was left of his steak at dinner last night. Guess what the doggie box is still in our fridge LOL.  Doesn't everbody do that one haha.
I made soup for dinner so we didn't eat the steak  tonight either. Too bad we don't actually have a dog. No way Rick is coming in from Abbotsford for leftovers haha.
We came home from breakfast to finish off our housework, went up to the bakery for bread , check out the store  but because they are renovating that store could not find what we wanted. We came home after that and for some reason both of us were tired so we both had a nap. Mine lasted 2 hours. I can't believe it. Sometimes I think we do way too much given our age so the nap is a good thing.
We are watching the news and the debacle that is the British Commonwealth  Games. It is too awful for the Indian people who are angry with the organizers and the Indian government for embarassing the country, this  according to Jas Johal.
Maybe tonight I'll start to add that sleeve instead of knitting. I did quite a bit of knitting last night during the game so that sock should be done this week some time. 
I found some pink TP while grocery shopping yesterday. Carla loved it so I gave her some :>) WE do exchange weird things. She gave me some flowers and things from her garden. Told you she was a sweetie...
Have a great evening.
Boa Noite

Saturday, September 25, 2010

company came but

didn't went yet. We are watching the football game BC Lions against Calgary Stampeders. So far we are ahead but don't want to count on that after the last game when we were ahead all the game and lost in the last few minutes. How can that happen?  :>)
We took Rick and Carla out to The Keg for dinner to celebrate Rick's birthday which was in July LOL. He has been away working in Calgary and then spending any free time over at his father's while Mac was ill. So it was a treat to see both him and Carla. Rick gets so excited over the football game,it is fun to see him  enjoying himself so much!
Ray and I started our day by going to the grocery store and when we got back home we did some of the housework and laundry.
But then I worked on cutting more strips and making more sashing, -whoops an injured official on the sidelines, looks like a broken leg. How awful!!!
But I did get all the sashing cut and sewn I think. However I still need to make three more blocks for the last row.  And then I made the sleeve for my Hallowe'en wallhanging. Since I won't be able to go to my Tuesday sewing group, Jim will be here, I will sew it on at home. I had planned to do it on Tuesday at the church but that won't happen this week. Adam and Lisa are coming on Wednesday evening and I have a class that night too , so may have to miss that too. I love my groups but love my sons more ;))
I am a doting momma!!
Do you finish the things you start or are they sitting in a drawer somewhere. I have to say I keep at it until I get things finished  because I can't allow myself to not complete what I start. That makes it seem like I take forever to get anything done and that's right. I don't have new projects to talk about until the current one is done. So putting up with my sashing comments is a very kind thing to do ....
My  skins pieces are cut though and ready to sew,  I can hardly wait to get it started.
A touchdown for us hurrah ,score 28 to 3.
Good evening all.

Friday, September 24, 2010

a gentle day

We had a lovely gentle day today, I got up late so that made us behind a bit but for some reason I didn't care.  We went on a gentle shopping tour , first for lunch at TI' Horton's where I had a lovely potato soup and half an egg sandwich plus coffee. Was good....
Then to London Drugs to buy an 8 gig stick before Jim gets here and can help me put my pictures on it.  Mary helped me put all my embroidery designs on a memory stick and it worked. That means I can look at them down here on the laptop, saves me from climbing the stairs. Jim is coming on Monday to attend his dad's memorial ceremony. And today was his birthday so I called him and we had a good chat, he is easy to talk to.
We did a bit of grocery shopping at Price Smart. I wanted some chicken for soup.
We went across the highway to Michaels and I found that lovely gray yarn to make some socks for me.  I am third in line for socks LOL.
That was our gentle shopping day.Very nice. When we got home I did some sewing on  the sashing, oh the pinning, it takes longer than the sewing but nearly all the corners were good, just a couple off a bit. I might just leave it at that instead of taking it all out. I'll see how much it shows. Sometimes I haven't got the need to be perfect  ;>0
I stillneed to make another block as the last one is on the wrong side of the fabric so I can't let that go.However there are only 10 blocks and I have decided to make 2 windmill blocks for the side blocks on the bottom row.
For dinner I made chicken and rice with mushroom soup, one of my favourite dishes. However I had to use brown rice , no white rice, and it took so long to cook. Ray didn't like brown rice much so next time it will be  white. I'll get it tomorrow. Then I made a chicken soup and it goes in the fridge until Sunday when I'll put some tortellini in it. Too early today for that as by Sunday the tortellini would be the size of golf balls LOL.
After dinner I actually did some more sewing and got the sashing on for today. I have been really busy all day and part of the evening so I feel free to sit and watch TV without doing any more work. Maybe some knitting.
Have a  warm, cozy evening everyone.
Hasta luego....

Thursday, September 23, 2010

sew and sew

I did not sew last night as I promised but today I managed to get another line of sashing and 9 patches. I pin a lot and that takes some time to get those corners to go together, but it is worth it as they do meet in the end, or in the corner if you will. ;) I have to add these smiley faces so you'll know it is a joke haha. I joke around a lot you'll notice. It became necessary to make another piece of sashing to get started on the next row,but then dinner intervened and I am not back at it. I don't seem to do well in the evening as far as sewing is concerned.  This afternoon  I  was going along fine and Ray gave me half of a big apple, that took my energy and I fell into the famous afternoon slump, nodded off and fell alseep . He has got to stop feeding me. I think that slump is sugar related but maybe not as I ate the apple. I like an apple in the afternoon and always had one when I was working. Still do quite often. 
I got my socks turned and all the reducings finished so it is in the home stretch. Lynn will be happy when they are done as Fall is here and she gets cold feet. We all get cold feet in the winter don't we? I have to make a pair for Katie and then a pair for me. So far this is my knitting agenda for Fall.
Whoops The Mentalist is on and I have to watch it. I'll write during the commercials.
I took my books back to the library this afternoon and took out three more , all new authors so I don't know whether I will like them. I have been trying out new authors lately to see if I can add to my favourites. It has not been too successful other than Shirley Tallman and she had written only four books. I booked the other two that I have not read so they should come up soon as there was no line up for them.
I just finished Fire and Ice by J.A. Jance, I like her books. For years I read her books and always thought she was a man because of the way she expressed herself through her male detective, so I was really surprised when he turned out to be she LOL. No pictures of the author for a long time.
That reminds me of a book that my sister and I wanted to find. We went around to every book store for nearly a year, did not know who wrote it nor the title so we weren't very successful given that all we could tell them was about the two main characters and some of the plot. One day I was looking through my own library of books , lo and behold there it was. We laughed so much about that year of looking. It was James Patterson and I think the book was Kiss the Girls or Along Came a Spider.
Done folks....
Have a good one. It's dark out there already.
 Bonne nuit.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Early bird gets the worm

Whether he/she wants it or not ;) So here I am doing this blog early, earlier that usual. Why?- because I want to do some more sewing before I get too tired to get up off my chair.
 Imeant to add these two photos last night but the battery was dead. Iones gorgous floral quilt of 9 patches and squares and Nancy's wonderful quilt of mom's doing housewor in the 40's or 50's. Can't quite remember which but I do remember my mom doing housework this way. Anyone recall the vinegar bottle with a sprinkler head to dampen the clothing, no steam irons in those days. i used that vinegar bottle myself when I was newly married. This quilt is a walk down memory lane...
Ray and I went for a walk at the mall and looked around at Sears for a pair of jeans for me. But they were doing a lot of repairs in the store so we went to the Bay and I found what I wanted there , a nice pair of elastic waste jeans. If they fit okay I think I'll get another pair.
We had some tandoori chicken , rice and curry. I had that last week and the chicken was fabulous so I expected it to be the same today. Not!! It was all dried out and difficult to eat. Should have taken it back but shoulda, woulda, coulda, yada, yada ;)
I sewed this afternoon, put the triple sash and nine patches together. I am not a great fan of 9 patches despite new quilters are told it is the easiest block to make. In my opinion there are way to many joins for a new quilter. It was the block I started out doing when I began to quilt and I nearly quit insteand of quilt. However even now I find it difficult to get all those pieces in the right place. But I did get one row of three triple bars and 4- 9 patches together and then sewn to the top row that I put on the blog the other day. Also I cut the extra threads off my little blocks from last night and removed the stabilizer. The last thing was to cut out a strip to make a sleeve for my Hallowe'en wallhanging. So lots of work done but still a bit more to do  to make another row of sashing and 9 patches.
We got a call from Quebec just before dinner from Lynn asking about her aunt, no new news yet, Ray will be calling her tomorrow. He calls every couple of days. I might call her shortly myself before it gets too late in Manitoba. Just did, her voice is very rough but she was happpy I called her. She is too good a person to have this...
I made my world famous :>) macaroni and cheese  for dinner tonight. Early in the afternoon when we got home I made the macaroni and the cheees sauce, put them together and stuck it in the fridge until time to cook dinner. Wow it was so delicious, not very good for one's heart and weight  but very good to eat. I make my sauce from scratch ,the only help I had this time was the shredded cheese that I bought ready made at Safeway. Saved me a big step as shredding a big block of cheese and a few extra knuckles is a hard job. LOL  I bought the old cheese which is what I always use and I would use that cheese  that again.
That's it ladies and gents if there are any gents reading this blog LOL
Have a great evening....
Buona Sera.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Seven to Ten

That was my day, got up at 7:00 and was on the go until ten tonight. Mostly the bits of my day were the same as every Tuesday but this evenogn Kathy and I went to an embroidery class. I thought at the time we both had this one aced and wondered about taking classes, then I realized that what a class does for you besides relating to other people is it gives you inspiration to do more projects and it makes you happy.  We worked on a little Hallowe'en wall hanging. The designs take a bit of time and there were three of them so that was all I got done.  But it did inspire me to get started on another one using the great designs I have in my files.  I need too to put a sleeve on the Hallowe'en hanging that I made earlier in the year.
Ione was not at Community Quilts today as she had to go for a pedicure haha . Now I ask you, On a Tuesday? We missed you!
The traffic this morning was horrendous  even the racoons could not cope and two of them were lying in the middle of the road. Also the skunks have been very active of late smelling up everywhere. I would hate to be the car that hit them. Vancouver is really a zoo, there are lots of wild animals around town . :>) Cats and dogs too....
I took some photos today and then the battery in my camera gave up so I won't be adding them to the blog until tomorrow.
I'm tired and my brain is too tired to think of another thing to say. LOL
So have a good rest of the evening.

Monday, September 20, 2010

sewing machine illness

You will really enjoy this one. I took my machine to Tom's because it had issues as I mentioned in a previous blog. Haha it was the user who had issues. First Tom  told me the needle was in backward, then  he said it was a serger needle, guess that one came from the serger Helen gave me. Tom said throw those needles away if you can find them. I will really have to look in the drawer that holds all my needles LOL.  Couldn't find any serger needles so I wonder where that one came from.
There is an embroidery class tomorrow so I bought a bit of fabric for it and took the supply list as Carol said they had lost internet and phone so she asked me to send a copy to Kathy.
Then my friend Clairee and I went for lunch at an Indian restaurant because she can't find one where she lives in Washington state. Well we were in Surrey after all. LOL  We did got o a very nice place and had the buffet lunch. Great food, a bit tingly but good. I loved the Raita which is like a cucumber salad dressing and the salad was lovely and fresh. I love the colours of a good salad, red tomatoes, green lettuce and white cucumber and whatever else there is  .Desi Junction is the name of the restaurant along 120th and 80th, not sure of the 80th .
When we started out I took the wrong lane for the bridge to Surrey and had to retrace my steps, can I call driving a car retracing steps?  And when I got home I left my cane in the car and did not notice it until I was staggering in the hallway. Too many mistakes today for some eason, I am almost afraid to try and sew. Maybe a nap is in order......
And the nap was good.
I forgot to take my camera so missed out on a photo of Clairee, I have one from a couple of years ago but that is upstairs  in my photo albums.  I am in the process of downloading all my designs and photos to a memory stick. So far the designs are done and now gone from my computer. Next the photos , but they will have to wait until I get another stick!
Have a lovely evening even if it does rain.
Bon nuit.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

I can hardly keep my eyes open

So tired after working all day. After housework , laundry , shopping for dinner and making the dinner it finally got to me. Mary and Albert are here until tomorrow and I made them barbecued ribs and chicken for dinner. I make my own barbecue sauce, it is so tasty. The ribs and chicken went into the frying pan to brown because that makes the sauce very delicious .We had mashed potatoes and canned kernel corn ,and a large slice of tomato with a daub of mayonaisse, to augment the meat dish.
Albert just came back from Tim Horton's with a med coffee for me , Oh wonderful man LOL.
I should really write up the recipe for my barbecus sauce but I do not like writing out recipes. Maybe when I have a bit of extra time. Isn't that a laugh!!
Mary helped me with my laptop as it has been misbehavng. She is always so good to me. I just wait until she comes over for a visit.
Tonight we will put all my photos and embroidery designs on a memory stick. No sewing today but tomorrow I take my 6600 to Tom to fix  up.
I am sorry but I'm having trouble thinking of anything to write for now so I will close off for a few hours.
Huh! I'm still awake if not alert. Watching the irreverent Simpsons  will do that to a person. Sometimes TV is a wasteland , not an originalthought this.
We decided not to do the photos because I am too exhausted so you will have to put up with my whining about being tired LOL.
Now we are watching The Glades,  I really like lead in this one, he has an interesting voice, a very sexy guy and easy on the eyes!  Now that makes for a good hour. And as the title suggests it takes place in Florida. I enjoy any film that takes place in the sunshine state as the light is so good and it is easy to watch.
Well boring is as boring does folks :>)
Nighty night. Rest easy!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Shirley Tallman

A new author for me,I have read one book of hers and so enjoyed it that I read a second one. She writes of Sarah Woolson a forthright  and fesity attorney of the nineteenth cantury when women did not become lawyers nor anything else other than wives and mothers. Society did not allow for anything other than the search for a husband. Sarah does not want a husband so is an anomaly in her time and place. She lives in San Francisco with her parents and siblings. Her mother is anxious for her to get married and at 27 it is almost too latefor her  to find a husband. She helps and takes as clients the downtrodden and poor women who have no representation in the court of law.
In the process she solves the mystery and murders that take place and for the accused who have no attorney that will represeent them. In the book I just read The Russian Hill Murders she takes on a Chinese cook as a client at the request of the powerful Tong leader and defends him from the accusation of murder. It is her first criminal trial and she meets opposition on nearly all sides. She has at the same time another client, a young mother  who is in dire straits and Sarah attempts to make her life more fruitful , safe and happier.
The setting and the time period make this story very interesting as it is well researched and appropriate to the times. The story has a exciting twist at the end  and keeps you reading until then.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

it rains in Vancouver and the wind blows in Calgary

Rick says he felt a cold wind today in Calgary and it is as cold today as it is in Abbotsford in December. Hmm I wonder how Katie is in Fort McMurray.It's good to be here LOL
Ray went for a MIBI at the hospital today . We got there so early in the morning, before seven. I missed out on 2 hours of my regular sleep which means my eyes don't even focus and I reel from one wall to the next. I waited in the cafeteria and had a coffee and muffin at Tim Horton's but that did not even help. I did manage to plow my way through my newspaper and then I went back to where Ray ws being photographed , sat there and watched the pictures roll out but they didn't tell me anything LOL.
When we got home there was an undeclared message , meaning no one answered the machine, actually 2 of them but one said blocked message so I just deleted that one. The other was from Ray's eldest sister who is over 80. So we called her back and she had phoned to say that she and Ray's sister in Winnipeg had been diagnosed with bone cancer. They were very upset of course. We called Marion and she was very upbeat about it but she is always a happy cheerful person. She said that it was curable, I told you she was an optimist.
Later in the day that Blocked Call showed up again , i decided to answer it this time and it was our niece and she told me what was going on with her mom. She said to call her sister in Winnipeg and I did that. It sure does not sound very positive to me, not did it to Heather. Marion will be having an MRI in early October and then treatment can begin. Ray is very tired and I had a nap too so that was most of our day. Oh we had to go and pick up the cheesecake I ordered for the potluck tomorrow evening.
No sewing, almost finished my book on the San Francisco Nob Hill murders. That's it folks!
Have a good one!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

machines are moving around

My computer laptop is misbehaving tonight and so did my 6600 today,  We are so addicted to machines that it is hard on us when they misbehave. Laptop is performing  okay now. Thank you laptop LOL. 6600 is another matter , it is resting now, waiting to go see Tom next week. The needle threader is not threading , the scissors are not cutting and it sews a very bad seam. It is a good thing  I am relatively close to my dealer.
We were out so early this morning that we were home by noon. I started sewing right away, first cut my sewn strips into 1 1/2" pieces for the nine patches,that took a bit of time as I cut for 14 nine patches.  Spray starched the redwork blocks and was disappointed the see that they wrinkled up so I had to really press them out. I added the triple sashing to the side of Row 1, that was when the machine went wonkers and started eating up the fabric and sewing awful seams. Fortunately that was the last strip but then i had to take the machine apart, clean it out, change the needle. That made the seam a bit better but tomorrow I'll take the plate off and clean it all out completely. Just did that not too long ago . Maybe I should change out the thread and put in a full bobbin. That should work. I took photos of the work today, so I'll put them up.
I sewed for four hours straight , a record time for me.
In the morning paper there was an article on Ryan Reynolds , a Canadian actor. The first time I saw him was in a film with Sandra Bullock, The Proposal. I thought she was a bit old for the romantic lead with Reynolds but I came away from the film with an interest in Reynolds although I went to the movie to see Bullock who is a fine comedian and I like her.
Anyway the film in the newspaper was called Buried and takes place in a coffin buried under the Iraqui desert. How horrible!! the concept is so dreadul that Reynolds says it took a huge emotional toll on him. I guess so! It is not a film I will be going to.
After the machine fiasco I went back to my knitting while I was watching Murder She Wrote, a form of comfort like Macaroni and cheese is a comfort food LOL. Got the heel turned, picked up the stitches along the gusset and knit the first round without decreasing, then decreased on the second round. Neater that way. I hope to get at that last sock so I can start on a pair for Katie. I do not start a new pair until the current one is finished.
Good evening ladies, Rest easy.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

If it's Tuesday

A long time ago I saw a movie If It's Tuesday It Must Be Belgium. It was during the time when most of America's youth were touring Europe. I was too , even though I was not a youth at the time.:>)  It was a memorable trip and one I have thought of many times. So oftimes Tuesday recalls that time to me. Silly isn't it.
This Tuesday at quilting I taught Betty Lu how to knit the back of the heel on her sock, the Eye of Partridge. Of course we had to  un knit some and redo it once but that was not bad , it could have been more than once. LOL.
I basted my butterfly pieces and then the long process of getting it on the background in the right places. There has to be a better way . Maybe I need to draw the  design on the fabric but hate to put pencil to the fabric. However I  will give it a try. That might help make it easier to  get started. So I did get the pieces on and managed to get one wing appliqued. One thing I am in no hurry , just need to have something to do on Tuesdays and eventually I get a quilt done. Takes time though, some times a long time. But this quilt is not for anyone in particular , UNLESS my granddaughter has a girl. She and her husband do not want to know what sex the baby is until it is born , they want to be surprised. She had her Ultrasound this week and said it was hard not to ask what the baby is but restrained themselves. Now that takes will power. Our other granddaughter in Quebec knows her baby is another girl. They are both due in January 2011.  Of course it couldn't be 2012 could it.
Not much going on today at Community Quilts except some outdoor spraying to baste some quilts. Very little quilting and binding. Lots of people were not there. 
We left early to go to Betty's for tea.
I was up quite early so when I got home I  had a two hour nap if you can believe that. It was good!!
Ray made hot dogs for dinner, now we are just watching TV. An older Criminal Minds, I really like this show but there are no new ones on at all lately. I am getting very bored with TV. But as we live in a apartment there is really no where else to go. I do not sew in the evening, make way too many mistakes and have to take it all out, so that is useless. Sew I'll knit now.
Have a lovely evening. Bon Soir.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Sewing sew much day

I sewed for several hours today which is really good for me I am proud of myself LOL.
appliqued pieces need to be made ready for tomorrow. So I set up the pieces for three more butterflies, that will keep me busy for a few weeks as I only do the applique on Tuesdays. There were quite a few red and white strips sitting on my sewing table waiting to be joined :)  I sewed for 2 1/2 hours putting these strips together , they are  red and white . They were  all lined up on the ironing board and Ray asked me if I was making an American flag haha, what a sense of humour.
Also I bought some more adorable embroidery designs, little ballerina girls.
That is my sewing work for monday. I often wonder when I see that people have made a quilt in one day or even a top in one day  how they do it. I cannot do a lot in a day and unfortunately want to do more than sew so I guess that's the reason.
9:30 -isn't that late to get up in the morning but that is when I arose. Adam left here at 3:30 AM as his plane left at 5:00 AM for Lake Charles. He sure needs a return to his normal routine if even for a few weeks. He and Lisa will be back here on September 29th for the  ceremony for his dad. And for the garage sale of all his stuff.
Sam called this morning to see if we were available for lunch and we were. It was a very long lunch as Sam had so much to say aboout his grandad and what it meant to him to be there for Mac. And how he was impacted by other members of the family. It had a huge effect on him.
After that we came straight home, I answered all my mail and then began my sewing adventure. I never seem to get to my machine until between 2:00 and 3:00.  But I love to have a full life.
The sun is still shining through the leaves of my special tree and casting amazing shadows on the window and I am done for tonight.
Have a great evening folks.  Buenas Noches.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

A nice day

I need to retract my statement about slapping the bread, You can tell I have never made bread LOL. Jean tells me that  if I did that I would have a pancake, haha. So much for my baking knowledge.
The thingie for going over the humps or thick parts of a multiple seam is called a hump jumper and then there is a jean-a-ma-jig that does the same thing. I know this to be true because some very clever women on my Janome list told me so!!
I did get to cutting my sashing strips today and was just going to sew them when Adam walked in but I  did get that small amount of work done.  Adam told us about what went on the last few days of Mac's life, not a good story but we wanted to know. Ray has been so good throughout all this with Mac, he has supported the kids all the way.
I made some chili for dinner, made some changes to my original recipe, added a bit of macaroni and 2 cut up Italian hot sausage and made some rice and asparagus as the side dishes. However I don't think it was necessarily a big improvement.
Ray did the dishes and later Adam and I went out for a coffee and a long chat. I love talking to him he has some wonderful observations, he is a very clever man. But so am I LOL clever,not a man :>). We seem to agree on many things and think that it is because we are both eldest children so have an exaggerated sense of responsibility. Not always a good thing but definitely good in a tough spot.
Other than that my day was washing and cleaning in the morning. We do that every week so that it never gets out of hand.
Oh I went to the bakery to tell them about the bread. Ray threw it in the garbage but I told them anyway. They gave me another loaf. I think Ray does not like me to complain but I am never rude just tell them what happened. It works for me and I do not have any trouble with people.
A nice quiet day. A good day, we should all be so fortunate!
Have a great evening whatever is left of it.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

shop 'til you drop

Do you go grocery shopping for 3 1/2 hours?  NO!! We do LOL. Our usual shopping went well , we stopped at Tim Horton's for cpffee , bagel and cream cheese. Then to our usual bakery for bread. We have had trouble with Safeway bread as there have been large holes in the bread. We went to the bakery for bread and that bread when we opened it for supper had big holes in it all the way through the loaf, useless. I will return it tomorrow. I remember when I used to bake cakes that I slapped the pans on the counter to get rid of the air holes. Don't bakeries know about that these days. I am very irritated with the incompetence of so called professionals. It is costly and time consuming to have to take things back
My friend Buzz told me that there was an Italian butcher where we could get real hot Italian sausage. Go down Boundary Road just a little past First Avenue she said. We saw nothing there but Ray thought he used to deliver to a meat shop on another road. So down that one we drove and there it was. Bosa Foods. Loads of Italian stuff and full of people. We wandered around for a while looking at all the good food, bought a kilo of lovely ground beef and a kilo of hot Italian sausage. There that is the 3 1/3 hours gone. We did buy other things as well but I won't bother you with my full grocery list LOL.
I thought I would finish that heavy black apron from the class last June.  Kathy lent me a little plastic gadget that is supposed to lift the corners so that they would be easier to sew. Well I could not get it to work and Kathy the needle went into the gadget. I got it out but I am sorry. It is just a small hole but I am looking for one on the internet. I'll check the Janome site for one and maybe they will have a video of how to use it. :<(
After a few broken needles and a few warnings from my machine to stop sewing and fix things, I finally got it done including the straps....Whew!! Now just the embroidery to do.
That was it for today, no nap, no embroidering and no sashing but the apron is done. No more UFOs.  :>))
Tonight I'll knit, my knit time has been limited lately but on the second sock I am down to the eye of partridge which is the back of the heel. I am just trying to educate you LOL.
Time's up, take the rest of the night off :>)
Have a good one.

Friday, September 10, 2010

2 sick to sew

Bad day today , not feeling at all well. I went to the doctor and then to the pharmacy to pick up some drugs. Then I came home and lay down for a couple of hours. So really I have nothing to report as I did nothing today. Oh well, maybe I can talk  about my sewing areas. I do not have a sewing room , my sewing machine sits on a table , a new table by the way that is made for my machine, in the second bedroom.  I love this table, bought it at Tom's for a very nice price. ....  So I sew  and quilt in that bedroom . My ironing board is set up in the dining room area and has to be taken down periodically when we have company. It is a bit crowded in that area and men with big feet would just fall over it. Ray and I are careful as we are used to it being there. The 350E lives on a desk in the master bedroom but some out to the dining room table when I am embroidering , more room for the arm to move around. I cut on the ktichen counter, just the right height for me and my cutting mat LOL.  I store my fabrics in  dresser in the master bedroon and boy is it full. In the top drawer of the desk is more fabric.  Then in the small bedroom there is more fabric in plastic boxes along with all the magazines that I cannot throw out or give away. I have a box of magazines by my chair too. Threads for embroidery are in the desk and some are in the bookcase in the small bedroom. Other things are in that bookcase too. Ray says I have quilting stuff in every room in the apartment. My rejoinder is if I had a real sewing room it would all be in one place haha.The second bedroom has a bed in it because as you all know it has a revolving door , people coming and going LOL.
There ,you can see anything is possible and it is not necessary to have everything all perfect to do what you want to do.
However I  think about what I want to sew every day and today I thought about sashing, tomorrow I will do something about it  :>))
Kathy went to Tom's to work on a wonderful bag, the squares were done on her Janome 11,000. It has bigger hoops than mine so she is able to make bigger blocks. Tom had a sample bag last night and it was gorgeous. I can hardly wait to see Kathy's , it won't be done until the next class in October.
There, done, even if I had nothing to report LOL. Some people can talk about nothing....Others read sohere is a site for gentle mysteries. http://cozy-mystery.com/
Have a lovely evening,

Thursday, September 9, 2010

class tonight

Kathy and I went to Tom's for S&Q club tonight   . We have so much fun there, Tom is a comic and keeps everyone happy and laughing.  Kathy is such a good sewist and gets her stuff done very quickly while I on the other hand take forever and need to unsew far too often. We were making Humbug bags from a material that was plasticized so we could not pin and I am a pinner, so of course the plastic cloth slipped around and had to be done again. But with Tom and Kathy's help I finished the big bag and was on my way ot finishing the little bag. Then for heaven's sake I put the zipper in backwards. Oh the crying and gnashing of teeth  LOL.  Everyone was packing up and going home so I  packed my things away , I'll get at that little one tomorrow. It was fun though and I learned the way to do a humbug bag. I had seen them before and thought they were kind of cute. Hmm I just noticed my thumb joint is hurting, that means I worked too hard :>))
Earlier in the day Adam took Lisa to the airport as she needs to get home to her parents , then he came back here for coffee and talk before he went back to his dad's where he is cleaning out the Augean stables , ugh!! But he is a hero!
Sam called to talk about his grandpa, they are all calling here to talk to me about him. Strange isn't it Or maybe it's not.
After Adam left  Ray and I went out for a muffin and a walk.  When we returned home I cut some 1 1/2 strips for my three  strip sashing and actually sewed six strips. Red, white, red and then white, red white for the nine patch.
 Ray had to go and see a heart doctor , we thought for a stress test, but he wants to do a MIBI, so he has an appointment on the 16th at the hospital. Always something , but he doesn't think there is anything wrong.
We just went from one thing to another today but I love being busy, I call it good exercise LOL.
It makes you tired too so  that you sleep well. Lots of pluses. So go for it, keep busy !!
Have a good night and sleep well.
Bon nuit.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

dinner @ Ho's

Adam and Lisa took us out to Mr. Ho's for Chinese dinner and oh it was so good. We had five dishes but we all loved the garlic ribs. They always come loaded with garlic and we  laughed that we all now were very stinky. Not too bad for three of us but tomorrow Lisa will be sitting next to some poor soul for five hours on the plane back to Louisiana.
Then Adam goes back to Sechelt to take care of his dad's stuff. He was a collector, may I say  hoarder, if one can speak ill of the dead, so there is a lot to get rid of. Think a huge garage sale!
Although I do love having them stay for the night and visiting with us I had to miss the first guild meeting tonight. I hope it was fun and that someone will fill me in on the news.  Kathy? LOL
I talked to all five sons today. Adam is here, I called Peter and Matthew. Jim and Rick called me. It was a good talking day. Matthew said his son , my grandson Ryan has his first girlfriend. We are all happy for him. Ryan is 16, very quiet and shy,  this is so sweet.
I went to the hairdresser this afternoon  and she told me she was going to Viet Nam for a visit .  Despite having gone there for years. I had no idea that she was Vietnamese. The shop was full today of people who were not there to get their hair done and it was so, so full with the  Vietnamese language.  Everyone was very happy.   There was a tiny long haired Dachshund visiting the shop too, he was so cute. Don't little dogs just bring a smile to your lips?
We went  to Costco this morning for a few items and we bought just a few items , that was 99 dollars and cents. The usual hot dog stand was closed for renovations, what can they
 do to a hot dog stand I wonder. Too bad I really looked forward to one of their hot dogs, we always have one when we go there.
I also went to the library to pick up a book and take back a couple.
No sewing today as you probably figured out.
Adam is taking Lisa to the airport early in the morning, then coming back for coffee so i know I will be up early.
Have a lovely evening ladies.
Buenas Noches.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Good cookies

My friend Betty makes such good cookies and she serves tea with them. After all day working our fingers to  the bone sewing beautiful stitches Betty serves up such treats ;))
We   had a new member join our morning group today and she and I had been on the same SBS list on the internet at one time. Sometimes life throws up  interesting coincidences. I look forward to talking to her again.
My day has been so good that I am still smiling. Sewing pretty fabrics is sure to bring a smile to your face. I finished that pretty coral/peach block today except for the antennae. Then I began another but didn't like the fabric I chose- way to insipid, so I need to check my stash for a replacement. I hope there is something there LOL!!!
Community quilts was fun too, I had a good talk with Mary about the Catholic church.  She has a priest she really admires, it was interesting to listen to her talk about him and the church.
Ione was back , nice to see her again. She is such a fun person.There were not too many there today, maybe back to school had something to do with that although we are all beyond school age kids. I always suffer a bit of nostalgia on the first day of school. But it doesn't last too long :>))
When I got home Ray said  Adam  had called, he called back later and said he and Lisa would be here for a while tomorrow night. Rick called later to say that Lisa's mom had been taken  to the hospital and put on life support. What a dreadful time for the two of them. I pray for them to be strong and they are.
Later on Lynn , my stepdaughter , called and we had a long chat, part of which was how much Isabel loved the pink heart quilt. Lynn said her nephew saw it and wanted to borrow me for his grandmother LOL Apparently he and his wife are expecting a baby too. Babies all round for this family.  LOL.
Lynn then talked to her dad and said she had hit the stepmother jackpot when he married me. How sweet. She makes me feel so good, what a blessing she is.
Enough family stuff!!!
Have a great evening!
Bon soir!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Big news

On September 9th Embroidery Library is putting my Hallowe'en , towels on the Showcase. I am happy about that. I'll put them on my blog tonight. They are cute and up in my bathroon already even though is isn't even close to Hallowe'en. And tomorrow I plan to wear my pumpkin carriage tee shirt :>)
Today I went to lunch with my friend Irene, we have been friends for nearly 50 years ,I value my long time friendships so much. Soon my friend from Sequim will be visiting here and we'll get together for a day. We have been friends for 65 years, life is so wonderful isn't it.
Sew I did sew today, finally finished the tiny quilt for the hospital. It was deciding what to do with the borders that slowed me down. Making quilting decisions takes me a while. But in the end I just did free motion . I am getting better, if I practice more I might even be good then I can learn to quilt leaves LOL.
I cut a few more squares and ironed some fabric, pinned up the 1/4 inch seam on an old project, a barbecue apron. It was a class that I never completed, the fabric is a very heavy twill, I think,is  so not that easy to deal with. I had some 1/4 inch tape that seemd to be sticky on both sides , so I applied it to the edges and turned the edges over twice, then pinned it down. I hope I can get this one off my machine soon. :>)
Ray made a wonderful salad for dinner, it was a work of art so I took a picture. He is very clever with presentation. And the food tastes wonderful too. :>)
I hope you all had a great day too.
Good evening ,sleep well.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

I am a work horse :>)

I am so tired tonight from cutting,cutting,cutting 5 inch squares for my  animal skins  quilt. It was fiddly work because  I had to carefully cut the heads of the animals from the surrounding fabric so the measuring was very finicky .  There was another set of fabric  that I thought would work so I cut some 5 inch squares  from that piece but the biggest job was cutting all the Sunbonnet Sue blocks into 9 inch squares. That took  so much careful squaring up so that the embroidery was equal on all four sides. One block was embroidered on the wrong side of the fabric. GRRRR!!!!
 However there are options. As I mentioned in an earlier blog there are 10 blocks which presents a conundrum. So I can eoither redo the block making sure I have the right side or I can make a Giant 9 patch, three ,three and three with triple sashing between the blocks . That sashing  was my intention anyway .

So sewing over for tonight. In the morning we did the usual cleaning, laundry and then went to Safeway for prescriptions. Have you ever noticed that when you go to Safeway for nothing it costs you $50. Amazing that :;)
In the morning paper today there was an article on Methosilioma , which Mac died from, a cancer caused by asbestos. The paper said there is a tsunami of older people who worked in asbestos conditions that are passing away. Nothing can be done for them sad to say . They worked in mines , ships, garages and other manly jobs as it were in the days of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. And there is no helo for them after they turn 65 from Work Safe B.C. . The irony of that one is most do not present symptoms until after they are over 65. Good government isn't it. Not there for the people I'd say.
So good night and sleep well.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

it's over

Mac passsed away peacefully this morning.  It has been a long struggle for him and for my sons and grandchildren who have been with him throughout the long vigil.

Friday, September 3, 2010

a warning

I embroidered a  knit tee shirt today, and have a couple of pieces of advice for you.  I first encountered an embroidery machine at my friend Gail's home in Phoenix AZ and fell in love!!!
She is a great practitioner of this art and taught me things that I should have remembered. Gail embroiderd a design on a tee shirt and she put two pieces of stabilizer under the shirt along with a floater. Now that was truly a great idea. Well I forgot all about that  trick. I was really excited to find a tearaway in my stabilizer stash And used just one piece on my knit shirt. What was I thinking ;) I did use the clear on the top though so give me points for that one . Because there was only one sheet of stabilizer the design tended to clump and I was really disappointed when the design did not fill in all the spaces. So I have extra white spaces where there should be thread. Fixable ? Yes!  But  I have to go and purchase some fabric pens to colour on those spaces. Another thing I think is a problem when doing knits is the stitch count. This design had 25,000 stitches approximately and it over stitched a bit too much. I learned  these two things today. We need to learn about these things to improve our embroidery. At least I do.
However I did another trick to kind of flatten it out. I sprayed it with water then put a tea towel on it and added a wooden  cutting  board on top of that and then a bowl full of packages of jam to add a bit of weight. and it turned out okay except for the white spaces. Picture coming. :>)
I also cut out some of the animals print pieces, all I needed I think. But we'll see later when I get down to it. Still have to cut out the animal heads I have and/or the animal pictures I showed you earlier in the blog. It will be an issue trying to get 5 inch squares out of that though as they are not swaure. It may be possilbe to cut and then sew some black in the parts that are not 5". It's a  thought.
That was a good part of my day though earlier Ray and I went out for some curried chicken and Tandori chicken. We had not had that before but I loved it. It was so tasty and the chciken was sweet and juicy and just  fell off the bone. And that was in the food court. Who knew?
I bought a new shirt, I'll take a photo of it and Ray bought 2 new shirts. So we had a good day:>)
Have a great evening!!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

I need four hands

I said to Ray today that I was doing four things at one time. One was embroidering 2 blocks, oh maybe I need five hands ;),  I was also doing three loads of washing, whoops , well you all get the idea. Then I had my cutting tools out to cut the animal prints, didn't do a good job of that , only 2 squares done , I am too tired to do that job. Tomorrow.....  And what was the fourth thing?  I cannnot remember., not to worry.
We had to come in early from our usual goings around  as the rest of my new bed was due to arrive between 2 and 4. I did buy s new wallet for my money at the mall. I had a littel one that carries a few cards and it has a hook to hokd the billd. However the hook was so loose that my bills feel out all the time. Not a agood thing as it is easy to lose the bills that way.
I mentioned yesterday that I like seeing the deer at the side of the road even though I know thye can be very dangerous whne they jumo into traffic.  I am a freak I guess as I like Canada Geese too. I mentioned that other folk saw them as a big nuisance. In the paper this morning there was an article sbout municipalities petitioning the provincial government for assistance as they say they are being overrun by deer and Canada Geese who befoul the parks  and other urban amentiies. Someone asked that citizens be able  to hunt with bows and arrows within city limits. I can just see that one.
More big news. At the annual PNE there is a new craze, deep fried butter balls. Now I ask you!!
I did embroider two more of my little girls, the one I did on the wrong fabric that had to be redone and the last one in the series. As I mentioned before there are only 10 designs and I like 12 to make a quilt. . My thinking is that I could either do two more of the designs I have or do two pieced blocks for the corners at the bottom of the quilt.. I want to do the triple sashing with the nine patches in the corners. So what do I do. another two designs or piece a couple of red and white blocks, thinking of a pair of pinwheels. Any suggestions?
Kathy was right in suggesting that I use a Topstitch needle to prevent my thread from breaking.. I took her suggestion and my embroidery today was  just fine, no thread breaking. Thank you Kathy.
I am watching the Mentalist , I like this show. It makes writing a slow process though LOL
Hurricane Earl is heading for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. When I lived in Nova Scotia we were under a hurricane watch but it slipped out to sea and there were only the big waves that came in but no wind. Still it is a scary thing. My son Adam was in Lake Charles when Hurricane Rita came ashore, lots of damage with that one. Then there were the last two storms a couple of years ago one of which was Hurricane Ike. .. Living in Louisiana there is always the danger of being washed out to sea in a big hurricane.
That's the news flashes for tonight.Oh no here is another one. Ray's sister just called to say that his other sister is in the hospital because she can't walk. She lives in Winnipeg.
Rest easy. Bon nuit.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

a sad time

Mac's doctor suggested to him that he, the doctor, remove the IV fluids and allow the dying process to proceed at a more natural rate. Mac agreed. It should be from 2 go 5 days. I have so much trouble believing this has happened to him, he was always so strong. Four months ago he was a vigoorous active man and now this. All his family are there with him. Not me as I am s far removed from his family now but I still am truly unhappy about this. It is life of course. Time takes us all.  Ray has been very patient about my concern for Mac. He has lost a brother and sister to cancer and has had it himself so he gets it. I won't mention Mac again until it is over. Thanks  to all of you for listening to me.
Ray and I went to the states again, it is so nice to have that Nexus pass. We went right on through the border , the regular line up was a 45 minute wait. Coming back across was the same thing. I Isure am glad we took  he time to get these passes. Along the way we saw some deer in the ditches , two of them it was just their ears and eyes peeping over the top of the hedge. I know many people are annoyed with the deer but I get a kick out of them. Deer were the only critters that we saw today except for a brown dog. He was very cute too.
I thought about sewing today, that was all.
Did I ever tell you that I belong to an On Line Bingo group. Something tells me I did but a new game just started and I have three calls out of three. I am so lucky   in that game.  The fabrics are Safari fabrics and I am going to do an African skins quilt soon, real soon. As soon as I finish the redwork Sues. If I win those it will be so nice to use on my quilt.  I am excited to get started on it.
The Heart quilt arrived in Quebec  today , Lynn called and she was so excited about it. She thought it was gorgeous. It has not gone to the baby yet but will pretty soon.  She liked the froggie things too. That was so fast, we just mailed it.
Time to sleep, well it is a bit early but it is time to cease this blog for tonight.
Have a good rest.  Buenas Noches!