Happy New Year!

I wanted to show you what I had done in 2013, but I am having trouble with my computer at the moment.
Hopefully I will be able to figure it out tomorrow when I have more time.

Wishing Everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year, 2014!

Five of the Coldest, Darkest Days of my Life

Last weekend we had a huge freezing rain storm.  It started raining before the weekend and continued to rain, very hard, on Saturday night. The ice built up on the branches of trees.  Large limbs broke off and made the neighbourhood look like a war zone.  My neighbour's gigantic elm tree started to break apart.

The branches fell into my backyard.  I was awake all night as I heard the huge branches fall, nearly missing my house.  In the morning my backyard was full of broken branches.

But the worst part was the electricity.  It went off at around 12:30am on Sunday morning.  From that time on we sat in the cold, darkness until late this afternoon.  Five days of some of the coldest winter weather and we had no electricity.  It was a traumatic experience!  I will tell you more about the storm later, but I just want to post this now so that I can wish everyone a very

Merry Christmas!  

We are expecting more snow and strong winds tonight, so more trees could knock more power lines down and my power may once again go out, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.  I don't like sitting in the cold and darkness.

I did finish a couple of stockings for two little boys.  They love super heroes and I have lots of super hero fabrics.  I did not have a pattern, but just made them up as I went along.  They are not quilted and are only meant to hold some gifts.  Luckily I finished them before the ice storm. The boys loved them!

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Baby It's Cold Outside

It feels like -19C out there today with the windchill factored in.  The snow that fell on Sunday night is still around.  It just hasn't been warm enough for it to melt.  We are supposed to get more snow on the weekend. Nice for getting into the Christmas spirit, but this cold makes my fingers ache and then they don't want to perform tiny tasks.  But I have to get on with my sewing.  Still working on the kids quilts.  I am at the sandwiching stage now.  Should be quilting them shortly.  I'll show them to you when they are completed.

Every time I get a little bored with the kids quilts I work on my Celtic Solstice blocks.  So many little pieces and so little time.  I have about half of them done.  Not going to link up to Bonnie's blog this week. Maybe next week when I have more to show.

I was clearing off my tables in the solarium so that I would have room to sandwich the kids quilts, when I noticed my Christmas Cacti in bloom right now.  Don't the colours look like this week's blocks for Celtic Solstice?  I love those colours.  These are my favourite Christmas cacti.

I also have a gorgeous Amaryllis is bloom right now.  I bought it a few weeks ago.  This is the second bloom on it.  So Christmassy, don't you think?  I love it.

Now I think I will make myself a cup of tea and head back to my sewing room.  Maybe put on some sewing gloves and turn up the heat.  Can't complain about the cold too much!  This is Canada after all.

This and That

The world has lost a very inspirational and great leader.  Nelson Mandela passed away yesterday at the age of 95, after battling a lung infection for many months.  Mandela fought against Apartheid in South Africa and spent 27 years of his life in prison because of it.  But he rose above it all and became South Africa's first black president in 1994.  He was a charismatic activist who won the world's admiration for his contributions to racial equality.  In 1998 he received the Order of Canada, the first foreign leader to do so.  He will be sadly missed.

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

                                                                                                 Nelson Mandela

He also said, "It always seems impossible until it's done".  And those are the words I am living by today and for the rest of this weekend.  Did you see Bonnie Hunter's next clue in her mystery quilt?  Those are tiny pieces!  But I have already make 5 of them, so that means I have 95 left.  

Doable, but not in the next couple of days.  Too many other projects to finish up.  I must get back to the super heroes quilts.  See you next week.

Have a terrific weekend!

Christmas Presents and a Celtic Solstice Mystery

I have been told that I don't post often enough.  So I apologize, but I have been busy.  Very busy.  But my followers are waiting, so here are some photos of my latest projects.  I am working on a couple of kids quilts.  Both of them will be Super Heroes - one a batman and the other a combination of super heroes. Here is the first one so far.

I still have to put a couple of borders on it.  Maybe a narrow yellow and then a wider one of the colourful fabric.  Not too much work.  I hope to get it done later today.

The next one is still in the planning stage.  I was told to make it similar to the first one because they will go to a couple of brothers who like to fight over things.  Well, there will be no fighting over my quilts!  And that's that!  This one will have a couple more fabrics in it.  Here is what I have so far.

Still a long way to go.  But these little quilts are easy, so I hope I will be done by the weekend.

I also succumbed to Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery quilt.  (click on the Celtic Solstice Mystery tab above her posts)  I was just going to download her instructions and start it in the new year.  But I couldn't help myself.  So I made some of the first blocks.  I am paper piecing them because I don't have the right rulers.  I like paper piecing, so it is not a problem.

I have about half of them completed.  For now I will put them aside and continue with the Christmas gifts. Bonnie will be posting her next clue on Friday.  I'll just have to wait and see what those blocks look like. Who knows, I may have to do some in between the Super Heroes.  

It is wet and ark today.  A good day to stay inside and sew.  Maybe then I will be able to post a little more frequently.  Have a nice Wednesday.