Monday, November 14, 2016

I had a great weekend on Texada – good friends, good food, and lots of stitching.

On the 40 minute ferry ride over to Texada we watched a couple of hump back whales as they were making their way south, perhaps to Hawaii. They were huge! I’ve seen Orcas quite a few times, but these were my first hump backs. The ferry ride home was a completely different adventure. The winds were howling and the rain was pouring and I wasn’t sure the ferry was even going to run, but it did. The waves were huge out in the open water and they were crashing over the windows of the upper deck. Apparently some vehicles were moving around on the car deck but nothing hit anything so we were all able to drive off when we docked in Powell River. Although I didn’t feel any motion sickness, it was definitely the roughest crossing I’ve ever had.

I can’t show you any of my weekend stitching as it was all Christmas related. I finished the tops of four cards on Friday and I did a bit of cross stitching Friday evening. Saturday I worked on a series of five gifts, which were all finished to the point that I needed my better machine for the appliqué. Sunday was another cross stitching day but we packed up shortly after one so it wasn’t a full day.

I have, however, had a full day of cross stitching today and I’m doing my happy dance because I have the centre panel stitching all finished. I’ll take it to the bee tomorrow and see about adding some borders and a backing. I still have charms left to do but Stacia, Deloise and I thought if I got the centre done I could send packages of charms as they were completed, as long as I had more charms done than the number of days before Christmas. I still have some work to do concerning what is going into the Advent Calendars this year; I’m aiming for something completely different so it may take longer than usual to get that sorted.

I’m off now to get my bag packed for tomorrow’s bee.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

It’s time to pack another suitcase; I’m off to Texada Island for the Guild’s fall retreat. I spent a lot of time this past week choosing and cutting fabric for my projects. I think the only way any Christmas gifts are going to be made is if I do them this weekend. I have more packed than I can possibly get done, but even one or two finishes will make me happy. Any extra spare time I’ve had this week has been spent working on my cross stitch project.

We always do a “Friday Night” project at retreat; we are given a supply list but we don’t know what we are to make. I read the supply list and, although I could have pulled the fabric from my stash, it called for a couple of zippers and some fusible products that I don’t have. Given the two zippers I expect it will be a bag or pouch of some sort so I decided I wouldn’t participate. My Friday night project will be more work on my cross stitch.

Saturday night includes a Strip Poker game – playing for strips of fabric! The colours were to be lime green and black and I don’t have any of those colours in my stash. So, again, I’ve decided not to participate; my gamble will be whether or not I get my cross stitch done before the end of the month.

Since our trip to Houston I don’t feel bad about not purchasing new supplies. I’m anxious to get my Christmas projects finished and my quilt show entries completed. After that I have a new plan for finishing up some works in progress as well as allowing me to start a few new projects. I’m more motivated than ever to concentrate on my own work rather than participating in projects that aren’t on my lists. To that end I’ve even started unsubscribing to some of the blogs; they are just too tempting with “free” patterns, new books and new tools.

I’ve been back at my knitting in the evenings. Elizabeth requested more mitts so I have one pair finished; the headband to match is almost done and I think I’ll have enough yarn for a scarf. I’m using up some of my yarn and I almost have a bin emptied!

Now I’d better pack up my cross stitch, make my appetizer for tomorrow’s supper and pack a suitcase.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

It has taken a few days to get back into the routine of “life after the show”. It was a wonderful few days spent with Stacia and Deloise; we could have enjoyed our visit anywhere but the fact that it happened at an International Quilt Show made it so much better. Even Alex was impressed when I told him the vendor area was the equivalent of nine (yes 9) football fields. No wonder we had trouble keeping our purchases under our allowable limit for getting back into Canada duty free!

The quilt exhibits were absolutely amazing; it was like walking through an art gallery. They were so amazing that I was able to enjoy them for their beauty knowing that I would never make anything that came close to their beauty. There were a few favourites though and I did get some ideas from them. We saw demos and tours by some of the exhibitors, and I can’t even begin to describe the samples we saw in almost every vendor’s booth.

It was interesting that all three of us were drawn to the same vendors. My purchases were mainly kits for wool felt embroidery and “regular” embroidery (no doubt a reflection of the redwork class I just finished). There were a few new tools that came home with me, and I have a couple of new techniques that I’m anxious to try. There is no way I can show you my purchases, but here are just a few of my many favourites from the show.

Monday, October 31, 2016

I had a bit of work to do in the office this morning, and then I had several errands to run. It is amazing how much time a few stops take; it was noon before I arrived home. I stopped at the dollar store for some goodies for the girl next door, then on to Walmart for a few items I needed for my trip. After that there were some groceries we needed, and I had a parcel to get in the mail. My final stop was at the bank because I had a Cranberry Hall deposit to make. It seemed everywhere I went there were line-ups.

I stopped in at the clothing shop as well. In my mind (because I haven’t actually started packing) I knew what I was going to take – some sweaters and scarves, and a couple of pairs of dress pants. When Pat and I looked at the weather and realized how warm it was going to be I decided I needed a couple of blouses to replace the sweaters. I found a few on sale but most of her summer stock has been replaced with winter wear.

While I stood in line at Quality Foods I spied a display of poppies. I put $5 in the bucket and picked a poppy. I know how bad I am about losing poppies so I pinned it to the inside of my bag, but the pin was sticking to the outside so I pinned it to my sweater (under my jacket). Less than half an hour later when I was home and taking off my jacket I’d already lost it! I shook out my coat but couldn’t find it; Pat checked the car and, fortunately, I’d lost it there. I don’t think I’ll take it to the States with me; I think they do a Memorial Day at a different time.

We leave for home on the morning after the time change so that will add another wrinkle in our plans. Not really a wrinkle I guess as Stacia and I are used to changing time but we’ll have to be sure any wake-up calls from the hotel are at the new time and not the old. Even though Deloise doesn’t change time I’m sure we can trust her to keep us on track; we’re depending on her not to lose us at the convention centre!

This afternoon I’ve been cutting fabric for my Farmer’s Wife quilt; I want to baste the pieces while I’m on the bus, the ferries, the plane and in the evenings in the hotel. The basting goes quite quickly and I’m sure I have more than enough for the return trip. I’ve also added a bit of cross stitch into the mix – the charms for the Advent Calendar.

Now I must get busy packing. I’m also hoping to finish my monster book tonight so I can take some lighter material with me tomorrow.