Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

The Mitten Tree

William refused to wear mittens a few weeks ago.  But it was still rather warm so it really didn;t matter.  But as the snow came and the temperature dropped, I knew he needed something warm on his hands.  So I made him a pair, and he wore them each time he went outside.  They were black and white and I called them his zebra mittens.  He liked that.  (Sorry no photo)  Then my DD noticed that his wrists were cold,.  She asked me to make him a pair of mittens that would go all the way to his elbows.  I did and I hung them on my little Christmas tree.  The reason I did that is simple. 

At the library where William gets his books they had a Mitten Tree.  Patrons were asked to hang a pair of mittens on the tree.  Their tree was based on the book, The Mitten Tree.  It's a cute story about an old lady who knitts a pair of mittens for a young boy who didn't have any to keep his hands warm.  The mittens on the library's tree will be donated to a shelter.  Hats and other warm things were also asked for. 

I had made several pairs of mittens and hats over the past year.  My DD asked me if William could have them to hang on the tree.  I eagerly obliged.  He took his task very serious loved it.  Now he wants to hang all kinds of things on my tree.  I also finished a pair of socks that I started a long time ago.  I thought they would keep his feet warm this winter.

I took them off the tree to photograph them.  By the time I got around to taking the photo my tree was full of decorations.  Now I have a new task.  The mittens I made were to go over his coat.  That's what I thought anyway.  My DD wants a pair that will go inside his coat.  She's quite demanding.  LOL   But I still have some time before Christmas.  So that is what I will do.

Dutch St. Nicholas Party

Day 18

We went to the Dutch Sinterklaas party this afternoon.   William met his 4 cousins there.
He had a great time.

More Dancing Leaves

Day 17

I have been making more leaf blocks for the quilt I showed yesterday,
I want to make the quilt bigger.

Working on Autumn Dance

Or trying to........

Day 16

I worked on this quilt this morning.  Then William came over.  That was the end of my sewing.  His mother has parent/teacher interviews today.  So I am looking after him.

These are only a few of the strips that need to be sewn together.  I have several more to make.  I will do that tomorrow.  

Having William here is like having a cat around - a very active cat.  Within a few minutes he had totally destroyed my layout.

Maybe when he is not here tomorrow I can get some serious stuff done.

A Flower for Wednesday

Day 15

A Prayer Shawl

Day 14

I finished the prayer shawl and took it to the church this morning.  It will be blessed and given  to someone who needs it. 

A Day of Rest

Day 13

Felix is still not well.  I am very worried about him.  My DS was here this morning.  He offered to take us to the vets.  But he is a math instructor at Centennial College and they are on strike right now.  I was afraid we wouldn't be back in time for him to go to a meeting.  Felix seemed a little better today.  I hope I can make him well with some good food.

Also, I had a migraine today.  So not much got done. either on my sewing or on anything else.  But while looking for some brown scraps I found the maple leaf quilt that I was working on a few years ago.   I am going to take it to my quilting group tomorrow and maybe get some advice on how to finish it.

I don't think I have much more to do.

Hope tomorrow will be better.

Sunday Slow Stitching, Or......

Day 12.

Was planning to do some stitching on my hexie quilt today.  I got some white pieces ready, but now I don't know what to do.  My Felix is not well,  He is having trouble walking.  My husband is not home and I can't drive.  So I am just sitting here watching him sleep.  Here he is in better times.

He looks so sad.  Poor Felix.  

Remembrance Day

Day 11

A Taste of Winter

Day 10.

It's cold out.  The temperature went down to -10C last night and felt like -19C with the wind.  It also snowed and caused hundreds of accidents on the slippery roads.

I am calling my slippers Justin.  Not Justin Bieber or Justin Trudeau.  But 'Just in Time' to keep my feet warm on this cold day.  It is still -8C out there.
I saw these slippers on Linda's blog, The Crafty Gardener - 'Cozy Feet' a while ago.  I used to knit these for everyone in my family.  I got the pattern free from Patons when I was a Guide leader.  I must have given the extra ones I had away.  After all, they were free and I thought I could get more if I needed them.  But that was not to be.  They are no longer available.  Thanks to Linda, I was able to make them.

It's Getting Cold

Day 9.

I sewed a few more leaf blocks this morning.  Green this time.  Tomorrow I will tackle a few more.

It is getting cold here.  We are supposed to get snow and freezing rain.  I went out into my garden this afternoon.  Before it got cold.  The sun was shining and it was actually nice.  I picked a huge garbage bag full of kale.  I have no idea if it would have survived the snow storm, but I didn't want to take any chances.  I also picked some green tomatoes.  I think I will fry them up for dinner.

Tomorrow looks like it will be a cold, indoor day.  Guess I'll get some sewing done.

At the Fair

The Royal Winter Fair, that is

That's what we did today, on day 8.  My DD, William and I took the GO train to the Exhibition grounds.  So much fun!  We saw horses and cows; goats and sheep; pigs and llamas; ducks and geese and baby chicks.  William had a blast.

He fed the goats and sheep, giggling the whole time as the animals tickled his hands.  We watched a milking demonstration and a dog show.  We saw the cows being judged and horses being groomed for the horse show.  It was like a great day on the farm.  

No sewing got done, but there is always tomorrow.  See you then.

Tuesday Morning Group

What day is it?  Oh, yeah.  It's the 7th.

I attended my Tuesday morning group today.  What a terrific place!  We quilt and knit or crochet or just talk about the world and ourselves in it.  Here is one of our members showing others some photos of her family.  It's like we are a big, creative family.  What a fantastic place to unwind and get suggestions and advice on our projects!  We also have tea and every week someone brings some yummy treat to share.  Tuesdays can't come fast enough for me.

It was a cold journey, travelling along Lawrence Ave. on my scooter.  I was glad when I was home.  I spent the afternoon, curled up in my recliner with my knitting and a cup of hot coffee.  I worked on a pair of slippers which I will show you as soon as I get them done.  And I hope that is soon.  We are supposed to get freezing temperatures by the end of the week and I want to keep my tootsies warm.  We are also supposed to get some of the white stuff.  Yuck!  Our first for this season.

Talk to you tomorrow.

At the Library

I did not get very much done on my hexie quilt yesterday.

Still lots to do on this one.

Today the weather was cold, but it wasn't raining.  So I went to the library to return my books and to take some new ones out. 

I also went to the bank, did some shopping and got my hair cut,  So it was a busy day. 

Slow Stitching - day 5

I am working on my hexies today.

Day 4 - Addicted

Today is day 4 of Nablopomo.  I think I am addicted to these leaf blocks.  I made a few more.  I just can't seem to stop.

It is cold today.  There was frost on the car's windshield this morning.  Our fall days are gone.  Winter has arrived.

...........3rd Day Continued

Just a bit of creativity to show you.  I have been working on a prayer shawl for the last few days.  This one is kind of fun.  It uses up all kinds of leftover bits of yarn.   Several of us at the Tuesday morning group are  making them.  Here is the photo I wasn't able to download this morning.

These odd balls of yarn have been in my yarn stash for a long time.  See that ball of Baycrest yarn?  It is probably over 30 years old.  Baycrest stopped selling this yarn, but when they did, they would have it on sale for 68 cents a ball.

This afternoon I went to the zoo.  Wheeltrans picked me up at 11:30 and dropped me off at the zoo before noon.  Today was National Sandwich Day.  Did you know that?  My DD went to Subway and bought some subs at a two for one special.  She brought them with her to the zoo.  It was a delicious treat.  William had a turkey sub with cucumbers and lettuce, but no mayo or any other sauce.  He claimed it to be very yummy!

We spent the afternoon at the zoo.  It was cold today.  But fun.  We are members of the zoo so we can go any time.  William's favourites are the birds, fish, butterflies, frogs and other reptiles.  He also has a special place in his heart for the giraffes.

Day 3 of Nablopomo

I am having trouble with my camera.  I wanted to show you a little prayer shawl that I am working on.  But I can't get my camera (or my computer) to cooperate.  And I have run out of time.  Wheeltrans  is picking me up soon.  I am on my way to the zoo,   I will try again later.

Pinks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

This is day 2 of the Nablopomo.
I have been working on my pink blocks for the rainbow scrap challenge.  I completed 7 of them..  There may be some more somewhere in my mess of a studio.  I'll find them when I stop looking specifically for them.

I have a few more colours done.

So I have 19 blocks all together.  I don't know what this month's colour is; or if there even is a colour.  But I have never made any gold or yellow blocks.  They were the colour for the summer.  My computer wasn't working at that time.  So I think they will be this month's project.

Now going to put away my pink scraps.  Got to be able to get into my studio, you know!  Talk to you again tomorrow.

Nablopomo 2017 (National Blog Posting Month)

I am needing to get my mojo back.  So I am going to try and blog daily throughout this month.  I know it won't be easy, but........

So here is my first post:
William was a fire fighter for Halloween last night.  Here is a photo of him.

  Today I am making Osso Bucco in my crock pot.  Wish me luck.  I have never done this before.

BOO!

Shell out!  Shell out!  The witches are out!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!

Have a frightful one.

A Little of This and That

I haven't posted much lately.  That's because I didn't have anything to post.  But I have been busy.  My DD asked me to make some small bags for her Reading Recovery kids to put their books in when they take them home.  So here they are.

I also made some fabric balls.  These are done with pentagons.  My sewing machine is still not well.  But these balls can be made by hand.

And some dish cloths and a scrubby.

On the weekend my grandson celebrated his 3rd birthday.  The theme was Thomas the train.  My DD made this cake for him.

Isn't he cute.  She found the instructions on the Internet.  William loved him.  I went to my.Quilt Group this morning.  It was cool but it didn't rain.  It did feel like fall though.  The trees are changing colours.  Not as much as in other years.  Our weather has just been too crazy!

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'Some Bunny Loves You'

A baby quilt for a special baby..
I made this quilt a few months ago.  It had to be ready for the baby's shower back in June.  My machine was giving me problems and I didn't know the baby's name.   So I never got the label put on and I forgot to get a photo of it.  But now that we know it is a healthy baby girl, I asked for the quilt back so that I could put the label on.  (No quilt is complete without a label, you know)  And, since I had it back in my hands, I took the opportunity to get this photo too.  But those aren't my hands. Thanks DD for holding it up for me.

A Day at the Zoo

Yesterday was a very hot day!  Not just for a summer's day, but especially for a day in September, after fall has already arrived.  The high was 32C but with the humidity it felt like 40C.  We needed an escape.  So we went to the zoo.  That is not really an unusual destination.  You see, we are members of the Metro Toronto Zoo, so we go often.  I take Wheeltrans and my DD drives over with William.

Here he is studying the map.  What shall we do today?  He wanted to see the giraffes, but we never made it there.  There were too many distractions along the way.  Because it was so hot, we went to the splash pad, which had been opened for the day, especially because of the heat.

We battled thousands of people to use the equipment.  I took this photo with my telephoto lens.  It was very difficult to get a good picture with so many people in the way.  But here is William just coming off the slide.  That's his favourite!  The rest of the time he was kind of a blur as he 'flew' back over to the stairs to go up again.. I love to see him having fun.

Today will be another scorcher, but I think I will stay home and do some sewing.  I'll try to post something quilt related in the next few days..

Kaffe Fasset Hearts

I was getting kind of bored doing the little white hexies for my colouful hexie project that I showed you a while ago.  So I decided to switch  to Kaffe Fasset fabrics, just to keep things interesting.  I am doing hand appliqued hearts and machine sewn nine patches.  I found some light yellows in my stash, so I am using that.

This project is going to take me a long time.  But that's okay.  I am in no hurry.  I love hand applique and my machine is giving me woes.  It keeps jamming up and stopping on me.  And also, the light doesn't work any more.  I may have to buy a new machine before too long.  Anyone got any ideas as to what I should get?

Some Baking

I planted some zucchini plants this spring.  They are producing well.  I also planted a striped variety.  It grew under the others and one of the zucchinis was missed.  It just grew and grew until I got this:

It's huge.  I don't know what I am going to do with it.  I did have some smaller ones that are delicious in salads and as vegetables.  They also bake into delicious cakes and loaves.  Here is a zucchini loaf I baked yesterday.  I usually put nuts or raisins into the mix.  But this time I used mini chocolate chips.  We'll have to see if it is as good as the others,

Then, because the kitchen was only about a 100 degrees, (LOL) I baked a lemon pound cake.  Also haven't tasted this one yet, but it smells heavenly.

Today I am going back to my sewing.

Colourful Hexies

I needed something to keep me busy during the hot summer months.  But those hot months never arrived.  We had lots of rain though.  So I worked on the hexies when I couldn't go out. This is what I got done so far.

It's all made out of scraps.  And a large piece of white on white that I found in my stash.  This should keep me going for some time into the fall and maybe even into winter.

At the Zoo

Well, that last post was easy.  A little too easy.  I am wondering if I can do that again.  So here is another post.  I became a member of the Toronto Zoo a couple of weeks ago.  I think it is the best thing I have ever done.  I love the zoo!  And William does too.  Here he is looking at the huge fish in an aquarium.

Gosh!  Those fish are almost as big as he is!

A Picnic in the Park

I finally have a new computer.  It's a laptop and I am learning how to use it.  Everything is new to me and I am a slow learner.  So this is sort of a test.   My DS came over last evening and showed me how to download the photos from my camera.  It really wasn't very difficult, but I could never have done it on my own.

This is William in the park.  He is sitting on a picnic quilt I made a few years ago and waiting for someone to toss him a ball.  

Happy Canada Day

I am proud to be a Canadian.  But not so proud of all the things our country has done throughout the past 150 years.  The Japanese who were living in B.C. and considered themselves to be Canadian were not treated very well during the Second World War.  Our native peoples have also had a bad rap.  From residential schools to having their lands taken from them.  They were here first, bat that didn't seem to matter.  'O Canada our home on native land'. 

In the 1920's there was an advertisement in one of the Maritime newspapers for the sale of a slave.  And we thought slavery only happened south of the border. 

The Chinese built our railroads.  In the 50's Italian men were recruited for the construction industry. Jews were often discriminated against.  We begrudgingly allowed a boatload of Tamils onto our shores when they had no where to go. 

And now the newcomers.  Will they be treated alright.  It seems that way so far.  But who knows what will happen in the future. 

I immigrated with my family in 1957.  I was almost 9 years old at the time.  I didn't want to leave The Netherlands - my grandparents and aunts and uncles and my school friends.  I thought I would never see them again. 

I spoke no English and had to attend a new school.  Everything was new to me.  I thought I would hate it here.  But then I saw the stores.  You could buy a gallon of ice cream and keep it in the fridge.  This was new.  We never had a fridge in Holland.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 

I learned to speak the language without any problems.  I was able to go to the library and borrow books.  That was exciting,  I made new friends.  It was all good. 

We became Canadian citizens three years later.  Now I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world.

I was working on a few red and white quilts for Canada Day.  But they didn't get done.  I am also busy putting the finishing touches on a couple of baby quilts that have to be done next week.  I also have a few flag pillows that I am working. on.  Also, not done.  But I did manage to go to Sheridan Nurseries last week and buy a couple of flag plows.  Here they are.  I love these things.

Yes.  I am happy and proud to be a Canadian.

 

When Life Gives You Rain

Our weather is crazy.  Rain, rain and more rain.  Everything is flooded.  The Toronto Islands are swamped.  Sandbags everywhere and still the water in the lake continues to rise. There are gigantic carp swimming in the baseball field.  Ducks have taken over as have the Canada Geese.  Rouge Beach at the end of Lawrence is flooded.  If you go there don't expect to get a parking space.  The water has overflowed and the whole park is a swamp.  It's the same everywhere.  I am straining to keep my garden alive, not because it is dry, but because it is too wet.  My plants are rotting.

But with all this rain. I have been busy in my sewing room..  I am making two baby quilts that I can't show yet.  One has to be done in the first week of July and the other one should have been completed in March.  I'm working on it.

Also working on a red and white quilt for Canada\s 150th birthday.  I found it when I was cleaning up,.  It was originally meant to be a wheelchair quilt, but my mother has since died.  So I decided to make it a bit bigger. 

I thought I had completed required number of blocks, but then it seemed as if I didn't have enough.  I knew they were somewhere in that mess of a sewing room of mine.  So I spent the day yesterday cleaning up and low and behold, I found the missing blocks.  I think I will make a few more and make my quilt even bigger.  But then I will have to have it quilted by my longarmer.  I hope she can do it before the 1st of July.

I have also been working on a scrap quilt.  Little 1.5 by 3.5 scraps.  I thought I had millions of them, but now I have run out.  Time to put this baby on hold until I have some more scraps.

 

And another ongoing scrap project that was in my way.   More on this one later.

 

 

 

 

And here is a scrappy Canadian Flag.  I saw this on Pinterest and decided it had potential.  Don't know what though.  Any ideas?

 





 

As you can see, the sun was shining when I took these photos.  But the sky was thundering and the rain was pelting down.  Like I said, "Crazy weather".