Toronto Bound...What I Came Home To

Our house is going on the market early in the new year (very early). The carpets needed to come up and be replaced and the wallpaper needed to come down. Before I left for in Alberta, I asked my husband to do this job.

I got home just after 2:00 a.m.. The flight was late, my internal clock was still on Alberta time and I needed to be up at 6:30 in order to make a 9:30 appointment in Toronto. I just wanted my bed!

Look what I came home to:

My bed is under there somewhere....everything ended up on the floor. It's even worse now.

Alberta Bound part 3

My son introducing me to his son

Nana loves

My daughter in law Maylin, son Aaron, grandson James and me (or is that I?)

I don't know whose facial expression says more, Aunt Marcella's or James'

Alberta Bound, Part 2

Well, the quilt got finished...halfway through the flight.


My seat mate was surprised I was let on the flight with needles and scissors, but they confiscated my mousse and water. Go figure!



I minored in English in university, this person obvioulsy did not. Look closely, shoddiness like this irks me to no end. You would think that the fabric company would have seen this and not sold it. After all, we pay a good price for fabric. Lesson learned, I'll make sure to double check next time I buy this line (or any line for that matter). Good thing it is on the back of the quilt.

Alberta Bound!

...but first, James' quilt needs finishing....at the airport!

Snap Happy

What a fun pattern this was to work with! Lucie lent me her templates for a project we are working on and I made her bags to put them in. There are quite a 7 templates in each set and the project calls for 6 sets.....it was so much fun, I made a few for gifties as well.

More grandson sweetness

Rememeber the chalk writing in my front porch from November 23? Well, here is one more. All is right in my world. I am blessed.

Bibs for baby

Are these not the sweetest? Very non traditional colours. As parents we all know you can never have too many.

Orca Bay Part 2

I'm keeping up with the mystery, but falling behind in the posting picture department. These little cuties are 3.5 inches unfinished. It's not too late to start!

Christmas Moose

Every year around this time, I trace my grandsons' foot and both hands. After fusing it on a background, I blanket stitch it. This becomes a moose (really!). When he is 18 or ready for college, whichever comes first, I will put the blocks together for a quilt. Of course, they will be embellished with eyes and a nose after quilting. Mine/his is done in plaids, as this is a more 'manly' colour. The first blocks are 12.5 inches (and 2 moose could fit comfortably). I'm thinking, after this year they will need to be a bit bigger....that child sure has biig feet! He loves to 'shop' in my fabric, so some of the colour combination choices are all his.
The tradition will start for my newest grandson, James this year.

Orca Bay

Using the Triangulations (Brenda Henning, out of Fairbanks Alaska) http://www.bearpawproductions.com/index.php program took me about 3.5 hours to complete 224 blocks. Wait a minute!! I counted, recounted and counted some more. Still came up with 223. I looked in the larger garbage bin, where I had been throwing the triangulations papers, but nope not in there.

hmmmmmmmm......Well, I put them in a bin and hoped the last one would show up. Well, sure enough, I found one half under my pincushion. Okay, I am now at 223 1/2 . I know my math is bad, but I CAN count. Well, my seam ripper fell into the smaller garbage bin and what did I find?? One more. The count is now 224 1/2. Extra is always good, right? Then, I cleaned up my sewing table and moved the sewing machine. Hiding under there was one more. 225 1/2. All is right in my universe. It's the little things.

Northern Wilderness Blocks of the Month

In September, I signed up for the Northern Wilderness Blcok of the Month. To save on postage, I receive two every month. They are gorgeous done in batiks. A company in Alaska called Northern Threads Designs designed this quilt, which will finish at 73 x 91. Here are the first six photos. Aren't they just yummy?
http://www.northernthreads.net/c-742-northern-threads-designs.aspx

Forget me Not Dragonfly Eagle

Pine Trees Moose Raven

All's right in my world

It's a mum thing. When you have children, you worry about them. When they have children you worry about them. My oldest grandson (he's 8) hit a bit of a rough patch a few years back and I worry a lot about him. Is he happy? Is he getting what he needs? Well, when I came home from a sewing class 2 weeks ago, this is what was chalked onto my doorstep....I worry less now. I am blessed.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll

This is one of Bonnie Hunters' (Quiltville) mysteries she had on line last year. RRCB was a gift for friends of my daughter. They received it just in time for thier 4th wedding anniversary. The first thing Shelley said when she saw it was "oooh, I just love brown!" Good thing , because there is quite a bit of in the border.

I needed a lot of neutrals for the strings. Bonnie says if it reads neutral, put it in there, use it up! If you click on the picture, you will see a millennium fabric in there, yes it's tiny, but it read neutral and fit, there are several more of those fabrics in the quilt. And, yes that is a herd of cows in there as well! (Well, the background was neutral!)

My daughter had the biggest laugh saw this sock monkey in the quilt, Dan's parents brought his monkey (from his babyhood) to the wedding. It wasn't as cute as this sock monkey (can you say ugly?), but how's that for coincidence?

Happy Anniversay

Happy 2nd Anniversary Kerry and Ash. Ash, I know you won't be reading this in Afghanistan and it's a shame that you are so far away from Kerry, but I am so blessed to have both of you in my life. Lovies mum.

Welcome to the world

James Serafin was born on November 1, 20011 (11/1/11), in Calgary, Alberta, weighing in at a hefty 8 pounds, 12 ounces, and 23 inches. His dad is my third son, Aaron. James is my second grandson. All are well. The blue knitted blanket is the one my son came home from the hospital in 26 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long. The one underneath James is the underside of the quilt I made for him (I don't know why the parents have it inside out). It arrived last Saturday, just in time for his Tuesday birth. I am anxiously counting the days until I can hold him (26 more sleeps)!

I told you they went that a way!!

Well, the same sister quilter who issued the UFO challenge laughed when I told her my sewing room looked like my son and his infantry troop went thru it. Here's proof and it's no laughing matter!

I think if you click on the picture, you will see some of the troops maneuvering through the pile.


What are they doing on my ironing board?

I wonder how long it will take me to clean up the mess? hmmm

Dear Aunt Lucie-a note from Qtip

Ever have one of those days when you are trying to finish something in time for a deadline? For the past few years, a sister quilter challenges us to finish up to 15 UFO's in a six month period. Well, the challenge started in January 1 and was to end on June 30. Well, it was June 29 and I was on number 12. I really wanted to get this wall hanging done. After all, it had been to England and back again in 2009 and still was not finished. Of course Qtip had other plans ( yes the same dog you see in the previous post.
Well 'he sent' a light hearted note to my girlfriend knowing that I was stressed and mad at him. The monsters he refers to? Fabric with monsters on them which will be put in a quilt next week when Lucie visits. Enjoy the moment:

Mum gave me a bath.....and I smelled so good too! Fish guts and other delightful stinks. A bath! The nerve! I don't like baths, but she mumhandled me into the sink and covered me in baby shampoo. Baby shampoo! I'm not a baby. And, then she had the nerve to complain about my weight. hmmm....67 pounds is not a lot of weight to carry, is it Aunt Lucie? I carry it very well. I told her the monsters made me roll in it, so she threw them into the sink as well. What light weights they are, she lifted them with one finger, but they are scary, so the scariness makes up for their lack of weight.Now mum says her back hurts. Well, no one made her put me in the sink. But, I got the best of her, I shook myself off all over the clean laundry....I thought of that myself....no monster encouragement needed there, speaking of which, I wonder where they went......oooh, I hope they are not down the drain, that's an even scarier place, I heard mum flushes spiders down there....well, I'm off now to roll in dad's bed, his sheets need changing, so it's not like they are clean or anything....especially not after I finish in there! lovies qtip :)

Stay tuned for more antics....

hmmm

The quilt...

The culprit

IS THIS FIXABLE??

Isn't she lovely??

Look what my son found at a garage sale in the UK and brought home here to Canada. My research is preliminary, but from the serial number it looks like she was manufactured in 1882. What excellent condition she is in, obviously she was well loved. If anyone has anymore information on this beauty I'd love to hear about it.