Sep 12, 2016
So do you ever find when you go away even for just 4 days it takes longer to catch up on everything? Here it is almost a week gone by and I am finally getting to writing another blog post and feeling like I can start to catch up on everything now.
I was catching up on my Facebook reading this morning and although I knew yesterday was the 9/11 anniversary it hadn’t occurred to me that 15 years had gone by! Yes, I know just do the simple math but it is something I just hadn’t thought of. I can remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. It was early here on the west coast so a lot of us hadn’t even woken up yet. The news came on the radio when the alarm clock (remember those I use my mobile phone now) went off and that is when I first heard it. At first I thought I heard wrong and my ex-husband thought the radio announcers (who were prone to make jokes) was kidding but something about the tone of their voices told me otherwise. I jumped out of bed and raced to the living room to turn on the TV and there it was. Nope not a joke! It was very real.
Not much work got done that day. The TV in the lunch room at work got moved into the board room so that everyone got a chance to keep abreast of what was going on. This was before internet streaming was allowed on people’s computers at work. That day the six degrees of separation theory was put into practice for me. At the time I had a very good friend whose brother worked at the pentagon for years and only had just retired months before the plane crashed into it. In fact at the time he lived only blocks away. Now 15 years has gone by, the world has changed, or has it! As with anything bad that happens a lot of great things and good will happened as well. It does seem though that is one date where you ask someone if they remember where they were when they heard the news and they will be able to tell you without any hesitation. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news?
Anyway enough of the melancholy, it wasn’t actually what I was going to write about, but somehow it seemed appropriate. So now onto some pictures of a cute baby quilt.
Isn’t that pig flying over the fence sashing the cutest! This was just a simple baby quilt I quilted a couple of weeks back for a client. She wanted white thread and a simple all-over heart design so I used Superior Threads King Tut 993 Temple and used a white Superior Threads Masterpiece in the bobbin. I really love how simple all-over quilt designs make these wonderful simple baby quilts come to life.
I am still struggling to find the perfect spot to take good photos of the finished quilts. I have a friend who is a photographer who is coming over to help me tomorrow with finding the perfect spot both indoors and outdoors and give me some pointers on lighting. Yeah! I can’t wait.
Remember to sign up for my newsletter. I am currently writing about colour and how to use it in your quilts.
Happy Quilting
Click here to receive the free Inspiration Journal pattern and sign up for the newsletter
Sep 6, 2016
Well, Mom and I made it back today. The weekend was fun and we got to see lots of family we haven’t seen for awhile at my Aunt and Uncle’s 60th Wedding Anniversary.
Here is a picture of my Aunt and Uncle at the location where the event was held. Don’t they look great! I think they really enjoyed themselves and my cousins did a great job in organizing the whole event.
I created a memory quilt as a gift for them. My Mom told me there favourite colours were yellow and green so that is what I used. When Mom and I got to the location for the event guess what the colours my cousins had used for the decorations… yellow and green so the quilt blended in beautifully even though that was not planned. My Aunt and Uncle loved the quilt and I know they will cherish it. I can’t ask more than that as this one was truly a labour of love.
I chose to create a star in the centre of the quilt using my their wedding picture and then created log cabin blocks around the centre star with different photos during their life at the heart of the log cabin blocks.
I
I stitched in the ditch and around the figures in the photos using Superior Threads Monopoly thread and then quilted the rest of the quilt using Superior Threads Sew Fine 50 in colours that blended with the area to be quilted. I chose to quilt leaves around the log cabin again to go with the green and being they are organic looking. I chose a straight line design in the inner border and then did a fern design in the outer border that I learned from Angela Walters books and classes. I am really please with the way this quilt turned out.
Mom and I left Kamloops Sunday morning after having a great brunch with my sister, her husband, my two nephews and their partners/wives and my cousin and her husband. It was great fun to catch up with everyone. Mom and I traveled on to Harrison Hot Springs where we stayed at the resort for two nights. Sunday was a bit of a zoo at Harrison as the weather was still warm and the whole town was hopping with families out to enjoy the last full day of vacation before having to travel home on the Monday for the start of school today. We still managed to have a soak in the adult pool though, where it was a bit more sane.
Yesterday the weather turned and it was cold and drizzly. By 10:00 am the resort was looking quite empty and there was no one in the lake at all. Mom and I took advantage and got some swimming time in at all of the different pools at the resort as well as at least two nice soaks in the adult pool. Ahh heaven! The pools were all nice and warm even if it was darn cold when you had to get out! brr!
So now back to real life!
Isn’t he cute. He was left at the end of the bed for us to enjoy!
Remember to sign up for my newsletter. I am currently writing about colour and how to use it in your quilts.
Happy Quilting
Click here to receive the free Inspiration Journal pattern and sign up for the newsletter
Sep 1, 2016
Well lot’s of quilty things happening here but nothing I can actually write about as yet so will have to save it all for next week. Meanwhile what to write about today.
Well I am heading “off island” for the long weekend! That is exciting it’s been a long time since I have headed over to the mainland. The last time I was on the “Mainland” was April 2015 when a friend and I went to a quilting retreat at Sun Peaks which is a Ski Resort just north of Kamloops. We weren’t there to ski though just to sew. There was snow on the ground and it did snow while we were there and it is a very beautiful and magical place if a little loud (loudspeakers cranked out music from first thing in the morning until night in the little town square). It was a fun time.
August 2015 my partner and I went to Cortes Island for a week and that was a lot of fun but not sure you can really say we were going “off island” as we took two ferries to a very small island 4 hours north of Victoria. We really just traded a big island for a very little island. However, that all said Cortes Island is simply beautiful and if you are looking for a real getaway and want wonderful ocean views and peace and quiet then that is the place to go.
When you live on an island going “off island” or “off the rock” as some people call it is a big deal especially when it’s a long weekend (Labour Day) and a very busy weekend for BC Ferries. My Mom and I are heading up to Kamloops for my Aunt and Uncle’s 60th wedding anniversary and then we are stopping at Harrison Hot Springs for two nights on the way home. Tuesday is the first day back to school here in BC so we are hoping to avoid the last minute holiday Monday ferry crunch by enjoying some time relaxing in the hot springs instead of waiting for hours in a ferry lineup. At least that is the plan. We’ll see how that works for us.
It’s always fun to have an adventure, to step out of the everyday life and do or go somewhere different to get a new perspective on life. I’m looking forward to it and will share pictures next week.
Happy Quilting
Click here to receive the free Inspiration Journal pattern and sign up for the newsletter
