Take time to breathe ....

This year, I've been taking the time to enjoy some of the celebrations that take place in my town during the winter holiday season. 

 It was a gorgeous night for a walk. The sky is clear, the air is crisp ... a perfect night for a holiday parade!

Tonight was our town's annual firetruck holiday parade. Firetrucks as well as other vehicles are decorated with lights and various holiday decorations and parade around the area ... What a lovely night for a parade!

What fun ... Enjoy! 

Catch you all later. Cheers!

It's the most wonderful time ....

 I love Christmas! I love everything it represents, Santa Claus, kindness, hope, miracles, beauty, generosity etc... It's a magical season. It's also a time when most of us think of those in need and share our wealth. I love that too about Christmas!

I have quite a few favourite Christmas movies that I like to watch. One of my new favourite Grinch movie is the one with Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch. 

Don't get me wrong, I do love the original version and it will always have a special place in my heart. But this version tells the story in a humorous way. There are so many lines I like in that movie. Give it a watch, you might enjoy it too. 

On a Whoville note, I do have my tree up with my favourite ornaments. I like this tree somewhat bare. It puts a smile on my face every time I see it.

I love that the Grinch hangs around! ;)

I've been enjoying my Advent Calendar. I love every stitch marker & progress keeper so far. It's fun to open a window every morning.

Ok, I'll admit, I don't always think of opening a window every morning ... but when I do, it just makes it a bigger treat! ;)

What do you like about this season? 

Thanks for stopping by. Catch you all later! Cheers

Many moons ago

 I've been thinking about my life, my experiences and what I enjoyed most. More specifically, what do I want to do with my life .... what is my next path.

Photography came to mind. I attended Dawson Institute of Photography many moons ago. This was back in the days where digital photography was just coming on the scene and much too expensive. I loved the whole process of photography, from shooting to developing my photos. I spent many hours in the darkroom. 

My camera and meters were all precisely gauged to the zone system. I'm a black & white kind of gal. I love the beauty of this medium. 

Many moons ago, I attended the Calgary Stampede and took this photograph of this beautiful soul. I do not know her name, nor have I ever met her. And yet, I feel that I have an inner knowing of her ... her strength .... there's an innocence about her.

I found this print a while back and took a picture of it. Not sure why I keep going back to it. There's something about that picture that speaks to me .... speaks to my soul. 

It's been a rough few months, with many challenges. Perhaps I'm looking for a time in my past when it was peaceful ... a time where all that mattered was photography and capturing the beauty around me.

Perhaps it's time to brush the dust off my camera and start taking photographs again, in black and white. Sort of wished I hadn't gotten rid of my darkroom equipment. Digital, although convenient, just doesn't seem to cut it for me. There's something about watching a print develop that is satisfying ... soulful.

Thanks for stoping by. 

Peace

We could certainly use more peace and love in this world.  

"If you have a choice between being right and being kind, choose kind" Wayne W. Dyer

Namaste

December already

 Wow, time is just flying by. It's a blur at the moment. I do love the month of December. There are so many wonderful celebrations to be had. 

This year, I forwent my annual Harry Potter Lego Advent Calendar and went for a knitting theme. Back in late July I purchased, from my favourite yarn shop in PEI Fleece and Harmony, the Flirefly Note Company celestial advent stitch calendar.

I love anything having to do with a celestial theme. This was a must for me.

December first is finally here. 

The stitch marker is lovely. Looking forward to revealing a new surprise until the big day.

Do you enjoy advent calendars? If so, what is your favourite on? 

Catch you all later! Thanks for stopping by.

Plugging away ....

The weather here has been lovely. We even have a blanket of snow! 

I've been knitting away on the Storm Sweater by Petite Knit. It's an easy knit ... the pattern mainly consists of strategically placed knit and purl stitches. 

This is what it looks like once you have joined the front.

I did manage to finish the sweater ... well except for the collar. With everything presently going on in my life, I'm just not in the mood for anything complicated or requiring thinking. I've put it aside until my mind is uncluttered. So close and yet .... lol

On another note, if you like reading about sheep farming, Adventures in Yarn Farming by Barbara Parry is a wonderful book. 

The pictures are lovely. She touches on all aspects of the processing of fleece from shearing to dying. She even includes different projects.

That's it for now. Thank you for stopping by my little corner in cyberspace.

Cheers!

Inspired ...

 Way back in 2015, my friend Cheryl from Australia had sent me a box of Aussie yard that I blogged about here. 

I have been waiting for the right pattern for this yarn to show up. Yea, it's been sitting patiently ... waiting! Well that day finally came. On August 8, I casted for this project.

The pattern is from a Danish designer ... Storm Sweater by PetiteKnit. It is available here. 

I love this designer! Her designs push my comfort zone. The construction of this sweater is nothing that I have ever seen. Her instructions are clear, making it easy to follow and learn new technics. 

The sweater is worked in the round but you begin with the back and connect accordingly. 

At this point I am ready to work on the front. As I mentioned, an interesting way of knitting a sweater. I'm certainly enjoying pushing my comfort zone. 

Aside from knitting/self-care, I have not been up to much. Not sure how the weather has been in you area, but here, in way up New York state, I can see Canada from my house, it's been quite a wet summer. It certainly makes it easy to stay home and knit. I'm enjoying my quiet life. 

Thanks for stopping by. Cheers!

Churn Dash Sew A long

Donna from Chookyblue blogspot is hosting a Sew-A-Long and I thought I would join in. Heck, you must have read yesterday's BREAKING NEWS! lol

I decided to open EQ8 to work out the layout. I am not that fond of EQ8 but it is what it is. Sometimes updates are not always a good thing. I've owned EQ for numerous years, since EQ2 ... let's just say I had to update due to Apple's recent change in their system ... we'll leave it at that.

Back to the quilt. The suggested block size is 9 inches ...

I love small blocks and have been thinking about doing a 6 inch block. I'm going for the crappy look. This is what the layout would look like. 

That's a lot of blocks to piece ... but so pretty. I do like small blocks, they require smaller pieces. It would certainly put a dent in the scrap fabric stash. My bins are overflowing!

Now, this is what the quilt would look like with a 9 inch block ... less blocks to piece!

A different look, but pretty none the same.

Well, I guess I have some thinking to do. 

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Chookyblue zoom .... zoom!

 Friday evening well into Saturday morning, I had the wonderful opportunity to catch up with these lovely ladies.

Always a treat to chat about life the universe and quilting. It's so inspirational! Even more so since I seem to have found my quilting groove! I also got to meet Swooze for the first time. 

Thank you Donna for hosting theses wonderful zoom get together!

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Creative therapy

 After a summer break, our Sew we Gather group is meeting in mid September. I decided that I needed more fabric ... yea I know. Have you seem my closet? In my defense, I do not have a wide variety of Kim Diehl fabrics, especially backgrounds .... time for some shopping.

I stopped by the Fat Quarter shop and bought some backgrounds, Butter Churn Basics. Of course I couldn't resist and started to look around ... you know how that goes .... down a rabbit hole I go!

I ended up getting a fat quarter tower of Gratitude and Grace as well as some yardage of other lines. Look at that gorgeous package.

Oh ... and those fabrics! 

So delicious! I just love them. They certainly get the creative energy flowing.

Bought a new Kim Diehl book ... Simple Friendship II co-authored with Jo Morton

I feel inspired! I think it's time for me to start a new project!

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Chookyblue Zoom time ....

 On Monday, I had a wonderful opportunity to zoom sew with quilters from across this beautiful planet. It was great to meet new quilters. We chatted as we worked on our projects.

Wow! Looking at the picture and noticing how long my hair is .... Covid hair I guess! lol

Gosh, I came on at 2:00 pm and left around 10:00 pm EST. I worked on an EPP project, Star Quilt. As you can imagine I managed to get quite a bit sewn ... Progress is a good thing! 

Voila!

I've been plugging away. I'm really enjoying working on this project.

Hoping you are finding time to relax and work on your favourite projects. Catch you all later! Cheers!

Chookyblue's Zoom Sewing

 This early morning I had the wonderful opportunity to join Chookyblue and other like minded quilters for a Zoom Sewing Gathering. Given that I finish work on Fridays at Midnight, it was the perfect time to log on and get to know some wonderful quilters.

I poured myself a drink .... It's 5 O'clock somewhere ... and joined the gathering!

I had an early coffee date with friends in the morning ... So I stayed till 2 am .... I probably should have stayed later, as I was to wired to fall asleep. lol

Thank you Donna for allowing to join. I enjoyed chatting with everyone.

Thanks for stopping! Catch you all later! Cheers!

I'm in love .....

I have fallen in love with Marie Wallin Designs ...... I recently purchased her book Gentle

And plan on knitting the cover project ... Primerose. It is such a gorgeous sweater. Marie wore it during her Instagram chat 4 and I fell in love with the design and colours. So I ordered the yarn kit as soon as it was back in stock at The Woolly Thistle. The fourteen (14) different colours are absolutely delicious.

This is quite the project and I'm getting cold feet ... so I thought I would start with the Poppy Scarf ...

A more manageable Fairisle project for a first try. 

I ordered my yarn from Black Sheep Yarns in Canada. They had all the twelve (12) different colours colours I needed in stock. I cannot wait to get the yarn.

Hope you are all doing well and keeping healthy! Catch you all later! Cheers!

Self awareness ... Self acceptance ...

How is everyone doing? I do hope that you are finding time to connect with loved ones.

As I mentioned in a prior post, I am using this time to get to know my self better ... becoming more and more comfortable with who I am, working with the areas that need some attention. Self awareness is not always easy ... actually, rarely is it. It's takes patience, gentleness and courage to face ourselves.

You might ask, "why am I bringing this up?"

Well ... A few days ago, I came face to face with my imperfections. Some of you might not know but, I'm a perfectionist! I know, it comes as a total surprise to you! lol ... Not in an obsessive, compulsive sense, but more in a need to continuously improve upon myself; striving to become a better version of myself.

I set high standards for myself and work towards achieving those standards. I don't always succeed, but I learn from them. In my mind, it's really about what you are willing to live with. Can I live with that mistake in that quilt? Sometimes, it's a yes and sometimes it's time to take out the seam ripper!

I started a new knitting project. I needed something mindless, yet beautiful, to keep me occupied. I purchased the kit from my favourite yarn shop in Montreal, (Espace Tricot) on line of course, as the borders are closed. The pattern is called En Voyage by Espace Tricot and can be found on Ravelry ... It's a free pattern.

Photo from Espace Tricot

I began knitting, checking my work as I knitted along, making sure I was doing my cables properly...

It wasn't until I was into my second skein of yarn (that would be over 275 yards) that I noticed a mistake .... in the beginning of my project! I'm missing a cable row, making the V shorter than the others.

Well, as I looked at that mistake I started to tear up .... not from my having noticed my mistake so far up into my work, but from a position of total acceptance ... completely surrendering to my imperfections! It was such a wonderful feeling ... so liberating!

After I finished savouring the moment, I thought about unravelling my work to correct my mistake ... which would not have a been a big deal for me .... but I chose to leave it as is, serving as a joyful reminder of this beautiful moment of total surrounding.

I am now five (5) skeins into the project ... and just loving how it's turning out.

I'm using Scout yarn by Kelbourne in Charcoal Heather. I love that yarn and am planning on knitting another shawl in Navy Heather for someone special! ;)

What have you been up to?

Thank you for stopping my little corner in cyber space! Stay safe and healthy, both emotionally and physically.

Cheers!

Show & Tell ...!

Saturday morning, my friend Diane texted me and said:

"Do you feel up to an outdoor chat? I can walk over to your place and talk outside. I have some show and tell."

It was a gorgeous day ... perfect for sitting outside .... I'm game ... So we had a Social Distancing Show & Tell.

I set up two chairs ... 6 feet plus apart, of course ... while she walked over.

We both subscribe to the Primitive Gatherings wool box ... during this isolation, she has been working on the various projects from the boxes we've received.

Check out the cute pincushion.

Hum ... inspiration to get mine done! lol

The last show and tell was the project she's presently working on.

Diane does beautiful work. She is such an inspiration.

I so miss our weekly get-together with our group ... Our Saturday coffee Shoping time! Sigh!

Later that day my friend Gina stopped by to drop off a quilt .... and brought me a sweet care package.

It was wonderful to catch up with friends on quilting, life the universe and everything else. That day was just what I needed !

How have you been maintaining some social time?

I do hope you have found ways to keep in touch with your circle of friends, those you care about. Social distancing does not have to be total social isolation. It's important to connect ...

Keep healthy, both physically & psychologically. Cheers!

Getting down to some serious baking ...!

During these times of social isolation, I find that I have more time to keep up with my Instagram account ... checking out what all my favourite bread bakers have been up to. By Sunday, after watching Martin Philip and his Son making pitas ... link here I became overwhelmed with inspiration and decided to get down to some serious baking business ... time to make some pitas

I used the Golden Pita Bread recipe from the King Arthur site and started my mise en place. Then in no time I'm ready to bake ... Okay, the wine might have helped pass time a bit quicker! lol

After a period of rest and a bit more wine, it was time to bake those pita ... check this out! Pouff!

They didn't all puff up ... but hey! It was my first first time making pitas They are quite touchy and it is a science to get them out of the oven in time before they dry out.

Voila the finish product ...

All in all, they turned out pretty good. I will admit, they are easy to make and are so delicious. With practice, I'll get pita baking down pat.

What have you been up to?

By the way, King Arthur Flour Instagram account has some wonderful baking videos. You might want to check them out at

Thanks for stopping by my littler corner in cyberspace. I do hope you have been keeping safe and healthy. Cheers!

Wool Box surprise ....!

I subscribed to a bi monthly (every other month) wool box from Primitive Gatherings. I figured, who doesn't like a surprise! I enjoy working with wool and Primitive Gatherings designs ... win win situation!

The surprise comes in a lovely box.

Not to ruin the surprise, I'll show you the second box I received.

Lots of fun stuff to work on.

Fast forward to today ..... I am about to receive the January box and I haven't touched the three (3) boxes I've already received.

Goodness, perhaps I ought to do something about it. So, to calm the practical me, I started the main project that was in the November box ... Winter in Wisconsin

Such a cute wool mat!

What have you been up to?

Thanks for stopping by. Catch you all later!

I've been looking for my mojo ....

I had lost my quilting mojo .... Along with my blogging mojo! I just could not get into the mood. In other words, I was in a funk. There had been so many changes in my life; I was overwhelmed with it all.

Oh, don't get me wrong .... they were all necessary changes, but as you all know, just because it is a wanted change it does not always make it easier to deal with the new. Thankfully, I have some wonderful supportive friends. 

Penelope had been sitting in a box for the past seven (7) months .... un-assembled. As a matter of fact, her room had become one big dumping station. 

It was my friend Nancy who said "We need to put Penelope up." 

You see, given that everything in my life is pretty much "up in the air" for now, I didn't feel it was practical to assemble my longarm, only to dismantle it a bit later. What if I move again? Let's face it, I've moved twice already in the space of six (6) months.

But Nancy insisted, "Even if Penelope is up just for a month, she still needs to be set up. You need to have a playdate with her" ... and she was right.

So, I got busy cleaning out/organizing the dumping room.

Once done, Nancy and her DH came over to help me assemble Penelope. She was up in no time.

Although I had nothing to machine quilt, somehow my mojo was awaken and my creative juices started to flow. I had the desire to work on some quilting UFO.

Thank you Nancy ... you are right ... with Penelope up, it makes all the difference.

Stay tune as I channel my new found mojo!

Catch you all later! 

Coming to my senses .... just a bit!

The other day, I fell in love with this cute little quilt called Have Yourself A Quilty Little Christmas by Lori Holt from Bee in my Bonnet.

This woman has cuteness overload going on. Everything she touches is cute! I fell in love!

Pulled out from my stash this fat quarter tower, Little Joys by Elea Lutz, that I have been safekeeping for quite some time, which actually turned out to be a half yard tower .... Bonus ... and started dreaming planning!

Not sure what happened next, but I decided to clean organize my Quilting Studio closet. I had a few empty bins from Fibre's closing and thought I would use them to store unfinished wool and hand embroidery projects. Well .... It didn't take long for me to realize that I had bins overflowing! That certainly put a damper on things!

So, the dreaming stopped and I decided to work on the many projects that needed my attention.

Next time you're inspired to create .... DO NOT organize your quilting studio closets!

Catch you all later!

Scrap quilting .... cutting one, two, three quilts at a time!

I am presently working on the flying geese quilt I mentioned back on March 23, 2017. The goal of that quilt was to use up my 1930's scraps.

So, I started by pulling out my bin of 1930's scraps and began cutting.

It took me quite some time to clean that bin out because, as I was cutting for the flying geese project, the thought occurred to me that I could make a bag of one (1) inch squares from the left over scraps for another 1930's project that I'm interested in making ... Isn't this how every quilter's mind works?

Because of the number of pieces I needed for the flying geese quilt, it became apparent that scraps were not going to do it. I needed to cut into my stash .... resulting in more scraps! So much for wanting to reduce my scrap load!

To make this project less daunting to piece, I created 17 bags of 100 rectangles and 17 bags of 200 squares. This way, when I'm ready to stitch out the blocks, I can grab a package of each and voila, I'm on my piecing way!

Once I had cut up the 5,100 pieces of fabric I needed for this quilt ... being in the cutting zone ... why not start cutting for another project?

So, I pulled out my Lori Holt stash .... Such happy fabrics!

And started cutting for a pattern from her Scrappy Project Planner - Happy Trails Quilt

BTW, this is such a great planner! It is so happy and as you know I'm all about happy! lol

So there you have it! A piece of how my mind works .... hum ..... I am all over the place! SQUIRREL!

Catch you later!