Claire's Cellar Creations

Toronto Bound...What I Came Home To

2011-12-24T13:28:00.003-05:00

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

2011-12-21T18:25:00.014-05:00

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

2011-12-20T15:34:00.006-05:00

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!

2011-12-18T15:03:00.002-05:00

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

Snap Happy

2011-12-17T18:51:00.005-05:00

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

2011-12-07T09:00:00.004-05:00

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

2011-12-07T09:00:00.001-05:00

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

Orca Bay Part 2

2011-12-06T09:00:00.002-05:00

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

2011-12-05T18:26:00.006-05:00

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

2011-11-25T09:00:00.002-05:00

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

2011-11-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

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

2011-11-23T15:14:00.003-05:00

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

2011-11-15T09:29:00.013-05:00

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

2011-11-14T14:50:00.002-05:00

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

2011-11-03T20:40:00.007-04:00

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!!

2011-06-30T18:44:00.006-04:00

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

2011-06-30T18:34:00.003-04:00

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

2011-06-05T18:55:00.003-04:00

The quilt...

The culprit

IS THIS FIXABLE??

Isn't she lovely??

2011-01-18T14:16:00.005-05:00

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.

Melinda's Class 1

2010-10-21T21:58:00.005-04:00

What a fabulous class I had with Melinda Bula on Monday. She is so down to earth and downright funny. And, a great teacher. Check out her blog here: http://www.melindabula.blogspot.com/. I also had a class with her on Wednesday , which I'll post about later in the week. This is a picture of Monday's project...not yet completed, but oh so awesome I just had to share. "Coneflowers"

BOM

2010-10-21T21:37:00.017-04:00

Over the past several months, I've been working on several Blocks of the Month from various quilt shops.

These are called 'Ode to the Thirties' and are from "Sew Sisters Quilt Shop" http://www.sew-sisters.com/. We are given 3-4 blocks a month. I'm keeping up but with only 2 months completed I'll have to see. Aren't they gorgeous? And, you'll have to wait until it's finished before I reveal who it's being made for.....she reads my blog. Yes, there are two of the same, but I can't seem t0 delete the duplicate.

Super Bowl Sunday

2010-02-08T14:29:00.004-05:00

Well, after years of staying home and listening to arguments and just plain silliness, I spent Super Bowl Sunday at the Cockle Doodle Quilt Shop, sitting, sewing and....eating. It seems we do a lot of that there. Oh yes and we talked, of course. I met some new people and Sadie the dog....(shhh...don't tell her that, she thinks she's people).

I got the hanging sleeve on my Punkin Wall hanging and the button embellishments, but I left the eye balls at home. So, one of the pumpkins is missing his (can you spot him in the picture?). I hope to get that done tonight, as well as the label and an up to date picture. And, then it will be officially done! I can't remember when I started it...2 years ago? maybe. I did a bit of work on my 'Busy Little Christmas Elves' and got a lot of blanket stitching done on my 'Tisket Tasket' blocks.....I also got the most awesome backing for a bird house quilt that I have, which is still in the original kit. I don't even want to open it yet till I get some of these UFO's out of the way. When I was changing the blade on my rotary cutter, I somehow managed to slip the blade under my finger nail, yep gonna lose that nail. Pretty painful. My turn for feeling bad. I think Elaine wanted that fabric for the backing on her bird house quilt, but I bought what was left. She bought another fabric from the same line. I figure it's payback for the cookie tin she guilted me out of....just kidding, there are more where that one came from...ooops, now why did I just say that? I'll have to go and make sure the front door is locked. Seems Elaine collects cookie tins. Maybe I'll hide mine as well as lock the front door.

2010-01-27T21:35:00.001-05:00

I have had a wonderful 2 days as well as a wonderful weekend.Friday night I went up to my girlfriends' and stayed the weekend quilting some of my UFO's on her longarm....well, trying to....after wreaking havoc at her office for the past 2 weeks, 'Murphy' (as in "Murphy's Law") came home with her and tried wreaking havoc in her sewing room. The thread kept breaking, the serger wouldn't serge, the iron wouldn't iron...well, you get the picture, but after we chased 'Murphy' out of the room, things pretty well settled down. I did manage to get 2 queen sized quilts quilted and she got some jammies made for her grandchild and a friend. She treated me to dinner and breakfast on the Saturday and her boyfriend treated us both to breakfast on the Sunday. Tuesday started with a visit to the dentist for a broken tooth.....and from there I went to my oldest daughter's house, in Toronto. She took me to a deli for lunch and we had smoked meat sandwiches on rye....umumummm...heaven...we then went to the Textile Museum to see the display of antique quilts....ooohh they were soooo beautiful! And so very well preserved. She then made me a delicious dinner with a 'donut cake' complete with candles for dessert. Today (my birthday) was spent in a quilt shop at a class. It was a stashbusting class and I got the blocks put together, hopefully, this will get finished sooner rather than later....I came home to the sweetest, funniest rendition of 'Happy Birthday' on my answering machine sung by my grandson. I ordered in dinner and ate my favourite ice cream for dessert...Ben and Jerry's Tortoise Soup.....if you have never tried it, be warned, you can't eat just one scoop....I won't even tell you how much I had, but it was soooooo good. Tomorrow will be another visit to the dentist for another broken tooth (I'm thinking my teeth are aging faster than me)...I had a wonderful birthday stretched out over several days, spent with family, friends and fabric. What more could a girl ask for?

Birthday and a first finish for '10

2010-01-08T16:24:00.003-05:00

My youngest son is 25 years old today! Now just how did that happen?? Holy smokes!

I've also finished my first quilt for the year, one of many I am hoping. I just love the Bunny Hill Designs by Anne Sutton. This one is Strawberry Fields and what a joy it was to work on. She has a new block of the month starting called 'Snowbound' and it's free. I love the 'Tisket Tasket' she designed last year and hope to get that finished this year as well. So many projects, so little time.

http://bunnyhilldesigns.com/dynamic/?page=welcome

American Beauty BOM

2010-01-05T11:53:00.003-05:00

Jo-Ann at 'Cock A Doodle' quilt shop was driving me crazy with her blog posts http://www.cockadoodlequilts.blogspot.com/ about this quilt. I don't know what it is about this quilt, but it caught my eye and I was waiting (not so patiently) for her newsletter to come out, so I could sign up. Well, the newsletter is out and I've signed up. I've also signed Lucie and I up for a mystery class in April. They are always so much fun and the dinners are to die for.....

What a coincidence

2010-01-02T21:46:00.002-05:00

The 'daily puppy' is similar in colouring and size to my new puppy, Qtip. He is now 4 months old and a bundle of energy. He just go, go goes.....I'm sure there is some energizer bunny in him somewhere....At 6 weeks, he weighed just 5 pounds and the vet said he was underweight for his breed (mixed-I'm thinking black lab, husky, collie). At 10 weeks, he weighed 15 1/2 pounds, yes he is going to be a big boy. Don't be fooled by the innocence on his face, he is a puppy after all and into everything.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T19:16:00.003-05:00

I spent the night at my grandson's house, where he had a sleep over with 3 of his friends from school. They were celebrating his 7th birthday. Where did the time go? Children at that age are such a bundle of energy. They finally settled down about 11:30, but were up again at 8:00, what a way to ring in the New Year, with 4 energetic, wired boys! It's been a long time since I was up that late and even longer since I rang in a New Year.

The 'other' Cellar

2009-08-26T22:43:00.003-04:00

Angela over at The Country Cellar has some amazing goodies on her Etsy site. She also has a great sale going on to celebrate her grand reopening. Go here to check out her goodies http://www.thecountrycellar.com/ and tell her Claire sent you!

Lazy Summer Days

2009-08-22T13:18:00.005-04:00

Well, the Canadian National Exhibition started yesterday and in honour of Toronto's 175th birthday, admission was just 1.75. Did I go? No way! Too busy, and hot for me. To a lot of people, this marks the end of summer.

A few weeks ago I was at the African Lion Safari. These two lions have the meaning of 'lazy days of summer' down to a science.

Todays is my mums' birthday. She is 75....and she'll probably threaten to kill me if she reads this post....

The 1930 quilts are almost finished! By tomorrow night they will be complete. There is one more that the lady asked me to just tie, it's really heavy and made with wool and a tweed like material. I think I am going to back it in flannel with no batting and add a few buttons along with the floss. I think it will be a trunk quilt.

After the storm

2009-08-21T16:00:00.005-04:00

What a mass-hu-sive (is that a word?) storm we had late yesterday. We went on a bit of a mini quilt shop hop and within an hour of leaving one of the towns (Durham) a tornado touched down. This happened in several of the towns we visited. Seems the storm was just to the west of us all the way home. We got home just in time to make a quick grilled cheese sandwich and fill our bowls with homemade beef stew (I love my crockpot!) and then the power went out. And, the rain came down. And, the wind? That was the scariest part. I thought we were going to loose our maple tree in the backyard at best or the deck at the worst. It was just 7:30 and it was so dark out, it seemed like midnight.

My daughter bought me a rose bush for mothers' day and it has taken quite a while but here is the first bloom. Isn't it gorgeous? I am so glad the storm didn't damage the bush. After all that rain and wind, what a special treat to wake up to.

2009-08-19T21:52:00.010-04:00

It's been a busy, cool (as in weather ) summer. I gotten a few projects finished and twice as many started. Now, how does that happen?

A while back I posted about a lady at work who wanted me to make her some memory quilts from a few blocks and material found in her mum's basement. This is one of many blocks that I received. None of the centers were done and not one of the blocks would lay flat. Technically you can't call them blocks as they were not stitched onto anything (or can you?). I removed some of the wedges (shiny stuff, thin gauzy stuff, wedges that had peices added to make them the same size). Some of these blocks had 10 wedges, others had 12, still others had 15...what was the original quilter thinking? And, she stitched them together with BLACK thread!!! Most of this material was original 1930's fabric. The pic on the left is of the wedges after I sewed them. On the right, well, they didn't make the final cut. You can see the shininess on the dark green one. I really don't know what kind of fabric that is/was.

This is the final result, a bit hard to see, but I think you can see the wedges. The border has not been added to this pic, but it 3 inches wide and a 1930's print as well. I quilted a flower in the middle of each block, quilted the wedges along the top and the centre circles as well. I then added random white buttons on the sashing. I was asked to make 3 of them and then tie a quilt top after a backing has been added. I don't think I will add batting as the material is a really heavy wool suiting fabric.

Argh!! We have been glittered!

2009-05-06T23:24:00.003-04:00

Who invented glitter? Ethan was over on the weekend and we did arts and crafts.....and now there is glitter everywhere! On the dog, on the floor, on me, in the washer....did I mention it was everywhere? He wasn't being bad with it, but oh wow! At one point he went to check on the dog and added even more! And his dad and stepmother think it is hilarious! Guess what they will be getting in the mail? And the best part? We get to do it all over again next week. Grandchildren are so much fun....I'm treasuring every moment.
Ethan has a bottom tooth loose, so a visit from the tooth fairy is imminent. I sent him home with the 'tooth fairy' pillow my boys used. And, he has been fitted for glasses! Our little boy is sure growing up fast.

Where does the time go?

2009-04-29T19:28:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it has been 6 weeks since my last post. Some things have changed, some have stayed the same.
Lucie is home, came home late February. Life for us now is the 'new normal', whatever that is. Innocence has been lost, but with that loss comes a new realization of just how precious life is. Savour every moment.
I'm still working part time at a local coffee shop, cleaning, no full time job yet, despite 400 + resumes. My arthritis is particularly bad, especially with this cleaning job~~scrubbing floors, hauling garbage and cleaning bathrooms does nothing to help it. I work 2 days a week and it takes me the other 5 days to recuperate. For this I earned a degree?
One of my managers at work lost her mother earlier on this year and while cleaning out the house found some 16 quilts blocks, some hand stitched, some machine stitched. I have not gone through them all, but what I have seen are authentic 1930's fabric. The blocks are 'Dresden Plate'. She would like me to 'do something' with them for herself, her sister and her brother. She also found a lot of fabric~~4 large boxes, 7 or so green garbage bags. She would like to go through them with me and pick out fabric to make quilts for the 5 grandchildren (her mothers'). This should be interesting. I am excited to get started!
Not much else happening here~~I have been working on BOM's and a mystery quilt, but did manage to get 2 tops pieced over the weekend. Hopefully, I'll get to them in the next week or so and get them quilted.

'Summer of Sorrow'

2009-03-17T22:01:00.004-04:00

That was the name of the documentary that I watched last night. It was on the Irish immigration to Canada and documented one family's journey for a better life. I researched the Irish Diaspora in university and retraced my ancestors steps when I was in Ireland 2 years ago, but nothing prepared me for this...it was so sad....what a wrenching decision for this and many thousands of other families....stay in Ireland and face certain death from starvation and disease or risk an ocean voyage of 2 plus months in cramped, unsanitary 'coffin' ships and face an unknown future and probable death. You'll have to watch it next time it's aired.
Saint Patrick's Day...the one time of year, that I reflect on my ancestors and silently thank them for taking that journey into the unknown.

Banns are posted

2009-03-07T18:54:00.003-05:00

Well, the marriage banns are posted...seems this is a custom in England. To back up a bit, my 29 year old son is getting married in November to the love of his life...the word 'smitten' was invented just for them. She is an amazing young woman. Picture this, big tough solider, talking love and menus and seating and dresses....and when he speaks of her, his voice goes down a notch or two. It really is incredible to see and hear him. Who would have thought? Of course, when it gets right down to it, he is staying away from the dress shopping part....he says he is going to defend his adopted country the weekend the girls go dress shopping. Hmm...I wonder who is going to defend the country from him?

Cancer won't kill her...

2009-03-04T19:36:00.003-05:00

...but I might, or rather my driving. Last night I drove Lucie back to the Lodge in Toronto she is staying at while undergoing radiation treatments. Normally, driving in Toronto doesn't bother me in the least...unless I have a 'back seat driver' (or in this case front)....She took it well when I told to be quiet and let me drive....BUT...the worst part was yet to come...the street we needed to be on to get to the Lodge has no lane markings and it quite confusing..there are not even any solid lines, yellow or otherwise....I ended up going Southbound in the Northbound lanes...oops...okay both our arteries are clear now.....my husband tells me later on that the markings are above the street....this is a 5 lane street, in the morning there are 3 lanes going South (into the city) and 2 lanes going North. In the evening it is the opposite. I would have been fine if it had been morning....and yes there was a car coming right at us! Like I said, our arteries are now clear. And, yes she still loves me and is still speaking to me.
We were coming back from an enjoyable day out. We wandered through several malls, and checked out hand bags that we couldn't even afford to look at...(1000.00 plus), had a wonderful dinner at the "Rainforest Cafe"...we were warned by the hostess that there would be thunder and lightening about every ten minutes and 'noisy' animals, but we weren't counting on the animated animals. All in all a wonderful dining experience, and quite reasonable.
We then went to the quilt shoppe, 'Sew Sisters' for a class I was taking, she tagged along 'cuz I was driving, but it was good for her to get out. She sat and embroidered some blocks she was working on, and while I really didn't learn anything from the class, but it was so good to get out as well. (You can only see so many people when you are not working and are stuck at home). I am sure that I will learn something in the upcoming lessons. We are making a 'Neutral Quilt'...it is absolutley gorgeous, go here for a look http://sewsisters.blogspot.com/. You can also see the Block of the Month (Christmas) we are both working on. Yes, we are keeping ourselves busy.

It's Spring!

2009-03-02T18:19:00.003-05:00

And, our Mourning Doves are back! Every year they nest on the window sill outside the sitting room off my bedroom. It's been 4 years now. I don't think it's the same mummy and daddy birds, maybe their offspring? When I first saw them, daddy bird was trying to build a nest right on the sill. As it slopes downward, the nesting material was just falling off to the garden 2 stories below. He kept trying (silly man) and mummy bird, well, what can I say? She was giving him some kind of advice! I got a nesting box that one of my boys had made at Boy Scout camp and after filling it with twigs and grasses, they moved right in. That first year they had 2 babies. There was only one year that they didn't nest here. I really don't know why.
It's -26 C (-15F) with the windchill, but they are back and preparing their nest- a sure sign of spring.

Not Divorced...YET!!

2009-03-01T15:19:00.015-05:00

Well, my hubby and I spent the weekend cleaning the basement....correction...I did a lot of the cleaning and he spent a lot of time trying to get out of cleaning...at one point yesterday he took a nap...arghh!! He is a pack rat and hates when I throw out or give anything away. And, shelves and cupboards? What are they for? Put stuff on them? Why can't they stay in a box? I don't know how many times he asked me about the DVD's I was giving away..are you sure there are none of the kids on there? Are you sure?? The DVD's are going to Lucie's granddaughter and I'm sure that if there are family videos in the cases they will be returned. My 30 year old son is even worse. He just tosses stuff out of his room into a pile. Several weeks ago I asked him to clean it up. Well, yesterday I shovelled it into garbage bags...don't know what was in there, don't care...was that a work uniform I saw? The warranty for the computer? ooops, the charger for his phone?...like I said, don't care. The worst part of all that cleaning? When I moved a box, I found that the outside wall was leaking...guess what we will be doing in the spring? Yep, we're still married, but not speaking much to each other right now. And, he's just thought up an excuse to go out!
On a lighter note, I had a great time last Thursday and Saturday. Thursday was demo night and Saturday was Saturday Morning Sampler at my local quilt shoppe http://www.quilterscupboard.ca/ Table runners were demo'ed on Thursday night and the Saturday Morning Sampler is a row quilt. Last month I had to make 8-6 inch Churn Dash blocks, next month it's the Log Cabin block-same amount, same size. I'm doing mine in chocolate pinks..... Warning, sunglasses are strongly advised. These are 4 of the 16 already made. The Flying geese blocks are for the border-lots more to be made. And, yes they do have a right side, it just got cut off in the photo. :)

2009-02-03T21:30:00.004-05:00

This is my 28 year old son, Ash seen in Afghanistan in 2006. Somewhere in this house, there is a more recent pic, which I hope to post soon.

He is due to be deployed for his third tour in June.

Our prayers and thoughts will follow him.

2009-02-03T21:25:00.001-05:00

This is a pic of one of the quilts I completed in 2008. 'Viking Valour' was given to my husbands aunt, Sister Mary for no special occasion, just to let her know that I am thinking of her.

Way too long

2009-02-03T20:47:00.002-05:00

Yes, it has been way too long. In short, my 25 year old daughter moved out of the house she shared with her partner of 8 years and moved in with me with their 5 year old son. This was in April...in September, she decided that she had had enough of mother hood and left her son with his dad..her former partner....are you lost, yet? Well, dad had housing and finance issues and by October, he had moved into my house with the 5 year old....still lost? Don't feel bad, just think of what my 5 year old grandson is going through....yes that is him on my quilt that is getting pinned (August post).
In September, my best friend (that's her in my profile pic) was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was found during a routine mammogram, which she has every two years as there is no family history. Quite a shock! She had a lumpectomy the day before Christmas, and 16 lymph nodes were removed. The lymph nodes were free of cancer, thank goodness. Prognosis is excellent. With radiation, the chance of this cancer recurring is 15%. With chemo and radiation, the chance of it recurring is 13-14%. So, she had opted for no chemo. That was a very difficult decision and one we hope won't come back to haunt her. I have helped where I can, but her boyfriend has been a rock through it all (thanks Bill!). Radiation starts on the 17th of February.
So it is now a new year and I hope to post more regularly.
I am still actively looking for work, know anyone that is hiring?? It is soooo frustrating, with over 300 resumes sent out and...nothing....more on the hunt later....

Bears are pinned

2008-08-12T17:44:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted. I got a lot of UFo's completed! I'm going to count them when I am totally finished...there are 6 more pinned and awaiting quilting. This includes the top 'Shadow of the Bear'. Yes, the one I was having trouble with. What a busy month. The quilt shown is called 'Trail Mix', I can't believe how huge it is! Queen sized, aka 'driveway quilt.' My 5 year old grandson thought the white areas were stars and so he decided to go to the moon. He got part of his car seat, the top for my butter churn and away he went! What a delightful imagination that child has. That quilt is now complete and just waiting on a bed.

2008-07-17T21:00:00.001-04:00

This is my amazing dog, Hershey, brown lab and collie. You can see just a bit of the white on her right foot....it's quite funny, when we are out in the car and she sees cows, she barks and growls and paces...it's the herding instinct I'm told as collies are used for herding cattle. She is the gentlest of all creatures and loves playing with my 5 year old grandson, Ethan. It doesn't matter if he sits on her or plays with her toys, she absolutley loves him. When she has had enough, she goes into the 'green' room (formal living room) and sleeps. Ethan is not allowed in there, as I feel Hershey needs some space to herself. It was really funny as several weeks ago I heard Ethan crying in the hall and went to see what was going on....Hershey was in the green room, with ALL her toys and 2 of Ethan's and Ethan is not allowed in there. He wanted his toys and Hershey had them....there was no telling him about sharing.....

Busy weekend ahead

2008-07-11T21:38:00.002-04:00

Well, I finally challenged myself to finish several projects and clean my sewing room. The sewing room is clean! I took 8 projects in various stages of completion and stacked them on my ironing board. I have challenged myself to finish them by Monday night. This is in no way all of my UFO's.....I did finish the bear paw top and started and finished a Hallowe'en table runner. I know, I know you are thinking....that's 3 months away. Well, I wanted something small that I could finish in a day and the table runner was the perfect choice. Pictures will be posted, soon.
My 24th wedding anniversary was on Tuesday....and my husband forgot....there is not much marriage left to celebrate, but an acknowledgement of 24 years would have been nice.
My 5 year old grandson is taking Spanish classes for the summer...just half day and he will continue in the fall on Saturdays. After just 3 classes, he is reciting his numbers to 10. He is such a smart child. We spend several hours Wednesday night sorting buttons and choosing the ones for the Hallowe'en table runner. What fun we had!
Well, I have dinner dishes to finish up and then off to bed. It's an early start for me in the morning.

Just popping in for a quick 'hi'!

2008-07-08T22:18:00.004-04:00

The temperature outside of Toronto, Ontario hit 87.8 (31C.). The humidity was in the stratosphere, and there I was on a ladder picking sour cherries. I did manage to get 2 more quarts down before the rain started....yep, got a little wet as well. My 26 year old daughter, Paige lectured me for standing on a metal ladder in a thunder storm. hmmm.....wonder why? LOL.

The first borders are on the bear paw quilt, just have one more to add. And, yes, that one side was still too short...argh! Do you know how many times I measured that thing? And, the measurements were the same everytime? I even had my daughter measure it, with the same results....I finally broke down and added 2 narrow strips to that corner....not too happy having to do that, but it is now square and ready for the final borders. Hopefully tomorrow after work. I am so ready to move onto a different project.

My 28 year old son, Ash called from Ireland today. He is serving with the British military and had been on training exercises since the beginning of May. Communication with him was sporadic during that time. I am so glad I was able to talk with him today. He sounded so good and as he got to spend the weekend with his finance as well....that probably added to his upbeat mood. Come to think of it, he is always upbeat, loves what he is doing....

Work was brutal today...I think it was 'pick on Claire' day today....why? I really need to get a full time job and get on with my life...but full time work is proving difficult to find. I have resumes everywhere and some testing going on with various companies, but nothing solid yet. It would be appreciated if anyone reading this keeps thinking positive thoughts.

4:30 a.m. will be here before I know it, so am signing off for now.

Bears are sleeping...shhhh

2008-07-06T20:27:00.003-04:00

The class instructor was over yesterday, shortly after I posted. Oh, wow do I have a lot of work to do. She suggested taking off the borders and trimming the 'tails' off to a certain length. Originally, I didn't know what to do with them, so I sewed them in. As for the corner that just won't fit, she suggested moving the border down just a bit, which will then take a bit of fabric from the other end, and it should square up nicely. Key word...'should'....so I have spent the day removing borders, very carefully, I might add, as there are setting triangles that are on the bias...I'm glad I have a new can of spray starch....the borders are off. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Early this morning I was up making cherry jelly. I have made many preserves and jams, but never jelly, let alone cherry....it went very well. The jam has set and the jars sealed, so I consider that a sucess! There is a huge sour cherry tree out back and I try to get the cherries in and frozen before the birds get them all. Cherry pies, tarts, muffins and crisps are winter staples. This winter cherry jelly will be added to the list. My grandson wanted to taste the cherries and I warned him that they were sour. He said he liked things that were sour....so he picked his first cherry ever off the tree and popped it in his mouth....wish I had a camera....'way to sour for me, Nana'....as he is spitting it out. I assured him that the jelly had lots of sugar in it, so he could enjoy it on his morning bagel.

Bears 2...me 0

2008-07-05T20:22:00.000-04:00

Bears win!...for now….

I spent several hours this morning, taking apart the corner…again…and re-sewing it…I even added pieces of fabric to make it fit…it didn’t, so I am now awaiting a call from the lady who taught the class. Hopefully, we can get together over the summer and get this fixed…I really dislike when things don’t go together as planned. For now I am walking away from it, so I don't make it worse than it already is.

My eldest son, Simon is 29 today…now how did that happen? Seems like just yesterday he was a sickly, colicky baby weighing 5 pounds, with 3 holes in his underdeveloped heart….he cried and threw up 26 hours a day…well, it seemed like 26…what an amazing young man he has grown into. And, I am alive to talk about it!

Bears have me beat

2008-07-04T17:18:00.000-04:00

I've been reading blogs for a long time now and thought it was time I created one of my own.
I am a quilter and am taking a break from the "Shadow of the Bear", pattern by Trudie Hughes http://www.aaqg.org/winners2006/winners2006-i0019.htm a top I have been working on for quite some time. There is one corner that has me stumped.....one side was too short, I created another block, replaced it and it is still too short. so, I added a bigger setting triangle...still too short....it seems the more I try to fix it, the worse it gets....so I am taking a break....bears 1, me 0.