Vee's Notecard Party

It's mid month again and so it's time for
Vee's Notecard Party. I've had a busy few days so I'm a little late to the Party! (What else is new?) Each month, participants select up to four photos (at least several which have been published previously on their blog) which they feel would make good notecards. Also, this month Vee suggested that we make a "Box Top" collage for the box of said notecards so you'll see that at the end of the post.
I have to say I struggled with selections this month. I haven't been out much with my camera lately... November does not inspire me....
Regardless, I have chosen four  images; they aren't as cohesive a group as I would like, but  here we go...

Do stop by to visit Vee here and see the other participants' work this month- there are some lovely selections.

Peace,

Linda

What a wonderful thing is the mail, capable of conveying across continents a warm human hand-clasp.  ~Author Unknown

Tutorial for a Quick Easy Gift

I made up this little item on the weekend, from directions a quilting friend gave me a few years ago. And then I thought, I wonder if others would like a little tutorial on how to make this cute little giftie item... Can you guess what it is?






 No, it's not a Needle Book... It's a Tea Caddy- for those who carry their own tea bags. Are you a tea drinker? If so, you might like one of these to pop in your purse or totebag, or you might want to make some for a few of your tea-drinking friends. It is very quick and easy, and holds up to six teabags.

All you need (other than your sewing machine, thread, marking pencil and pins) is three pieces of fabric and one button. Choose two co-ordinating or contrasting fabrics - your choice. Cut a rectangle measuring 9.5" by 12.5" from each of the two fabrics, and one piece 5" by 1.25" from either of the two fabrics.

First, let's make the closure tab. Using the 5" x 1.25" piece, fold in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and crease well. (I press it) Open up and fold each lengthwise edge in to the center (meet that creased line). Press again, then fold in half lengthwise. Your strip should now measure just slightly more than 1/4" wide by 5" long.

Topstitch the folded edges together- your choice to just stitch one side or both.

Bring ends together and stitch across to hold.

Place the two rectangles right sides together, and stitch all the way around with a 1/4" seam, leaving an opening of several inches for turning, about 1" from corner on the longer side.

Trim the bulk at the corners - I snip off the corner at a 45° angle, then trim just a bit more from the seam allowance on each side of the corner.

Now turn it right side out, through the opening, and press edges well all around, being careful to get right out to the seam. It should measure about 9" x 12". At this point, if you haven't already, decide which fabric you want on the outside. I chose the floral batik as my "outside" and the smaller design batik for the inside.

Take each 9" edge and fold in toward the center (inside) leaving a space of  1/4" to 1/2" in the middle.  This will form the pockets.

Insert the tab in the opening, centering it along that pocket, pin. Topstitch both ends, catching the tab in the stitching, to secure. Piece now measures roughly  6" x 9".

With a marking pencil, draw two lines straight across from side to side, dividing the long pockets into three equal sections, approx. 3" wide each.

Stitch on each line, through all thicknesses, creating six pockets.

Insert teabags. I left three peeking out here, so you'd know they are there!

Fold in half lengthwise, then fold up in thirds, from end opposite the tab. Mark placement for button on outside of middle pocket. It is important that teabags are in the caddy before you mark placement for the button, as they "fill it out" and it will be too tight if you placed button when caddy was empty. (Ask me how I know that... lol  Yep, gotta move the button on the first one I did...)

It's a little tricky to sew this button on, as you only are sewing through the outside layer- not right through to the inside of caddy. The finished caddy is roughly 3" square, thickness depends on your teabags.

That's it. You're done.  This is the first Blog Tutorial I have done, so if you follow these directions to make a Tea Caddy, I'd love for you to leave a comment and let me know how you found it- all constructive criticism and suggestions welcomed!!  I should have waited for a brighter day so I could have taken all photos outside, but wanted to get it done today and Ma Nature didn't co-operate, it was a dark dreary day so all photography was done inside. Not the best. Anyway, it's a simple little item for a gift and it doesn't take long. Just what we need these days. Christmas is only 36 days away. Just sayin'....

Peace,
Linda

I cannot count my day complete, 'til needle, thread and fabric meet.

Rainy Days and Mondays....

Today is dark and dreary, it's raining hard, and it's Monday. Ugh. I figure the only way to combat all that is to just hole up in my studio and sew, sew, sew!! Doesn't that sound like the perfect answer to such a  day?! Hubby is out now for the rest of the day, at his "Monday afternoon job", supper is planned and Oliver is napping (what else is new?) so I am going to spend a blissful afternoon at my machine. If I can get decent photos on this dark day, I'll be back a little later today with a tutorial for a quick and easy gift idea that you might like to try, so check back later. Until then - here's what I accomplished this weekend - well, mostly yesterday, as I taught a class on Saturday, so that pretty much shot the day.
I've been chipping away at making the many half square triangles I need for Jamestown Landing... I know, I know, I told you I have other projects I need to get to,  (they're still waiting...) but I just can't tear myself away from these beautiful (favourite) blues..... So I now have  57 Broken Dishes units together. Slow progress... but at least it is progress.... What does the tortoise say... Slow and steady wins the race...
Later today I hope to finish off the placemats I showed a few days ago, so you'll see them tomorrow, with my quick and easy method of finishing and turning.
And today is my oldest brother's birthday.. it's a big one.... you know - one of those that end in zero.... so I think I'll make him a batch of Nut Brittle... Happy Birthday Wayne!! Love you!!

Peace,
Linda

"Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied." ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859

Blogathon Canada Begins Today!

Today is the first day of Blogathon Canada. This is a week-long blog hop which will take you on a tour of Canadian quilters' blogs. It is organized by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop in Toronto. Each day you will visit a different province or area to visit the blogs of several quilters there. And best of all - there are wonderful giveaways! So check it out here each day to see who's featured for that day. Today we begin on the west coast in beautiful British Columbia with Holly and Heather. Tomorrow - the Maritimes!! Yay!! And if all goes as planned, you'll see a link to my blog, so I'm hoping you'll stop by tomorrow to visit me!! Don't forget to leave a comment to say Hi so I'll know you dropped by... I hope you'll have fun finding some new Canadian blogs, making new friends and entering to win some amazing prizes!!  What are you waiting for? Get going!!

Peace,
Linda

Our lives are like quilts - bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love.

Traveler's Rest

A quick book review today.. Traveler's Rest by Ann Tatlock is an easy read - perfect for when you want something fairly "light" that you can enjoy without a great deal of concentration. This is the story of a young couple, Jane and Seth, who are engaged to be married, until he returns home from military service in Iraq a quadriplegic. He wants her to go on with her life and forget him, feeling his life is now over and that he has nothing to offer her. But Jane is determined to honour her commitment to him, and although he seems ready to give up on them and on life, she is not. With the help of a retired doctor who volunteers at the Veterans Medical Center where Seth is in the Spinal Cord Injury Unit, Jane works through her conflicting emotions and the decision of whether to stick with Seth despite his protests or move on with her life. There's an interesting twist near the end that I didn't see coming...  Not in my Top10 all time favs, but fine if you're looking for a quick and easy  read...

Peace,
Linda

"What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a  tree, with flexible parts on which are imprinted  lots of funny, dark squiggles. But one glance at it, and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millenia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic." ~ Carl Sagan
  

Sew Much Fun!

I had such fun yesterday, with more sewing!! Hubby has been away for a couple of days and I spent almost the entire day in my studio. Bliss! I mentioned in my last post that I have several small projects to cross off my list so here is the first one. A set of four placemats which will be donated at Guild for Meals on Wheels. Each year we do Christmas placemats for them for the meal trays on Christmas Day. I have been wanting to try out this pattern- "Take Four" placemats, a Something Sew Fine Quilt Design by Cary Flanagan. If you cannot find this pattern at your local Quilt Shop, you can purchase it online and download it here. This is a quick and easy project and I can certainly see myself making another set or two (or three) of these! The tops are made from four fat quarters, and the pattern gives complete directions for two variations, plus simple directions for three more variations. In my books that's good value!!

Here are my four fabrics- two Modas from Kate Spain's Joy collection (2012), a beautiful red from Essentials by Wilmington Prints and a lovely darker green print from an unknown source (sorry- no info on the selvage). These four fabrics are stacked, trimmed so they are all exactly the same size and then you cut strips of several different widths through all four layers. Then you shift a few in the stacks and sew each set of strips together. Next you cut several vertical strips off the sewn sets, shift a few in the stacks again and re-sew. Sounds confusing, but really VERY
simple as long as you pay attention and keep things "in order". Accurate consistent seam widths and careful pressing assures good matches at all the seam intersections. I totally meant to take a few progress photos along the way, but I was having sew much fun with the process, I was on the final step before I remembered the camera. Sorry! I promise next time I make them, I'll take some "in progress" shots. Anyway, here they are. Actually they are not totally finished at this point - these are just the "tops". I need to find backing fabric, then they'll be sandwiched and quilted. I'll show you a photo when they are totally done, I promise!

Peace,
Linda

My Doctor told me to get more fiber so I went to the quilt shop for more fabric...

Thanglin' along....

It's high time I got back to sewing. My machine has been feelin' neglected, I'm sure. Now that the dreary grey shorter days of November are here, I'm settling in to my studio and the pile of projects awaiting me there.  I have three more classes to teach this month and several projects I want to make some progress on... Today I'll show you the one I have been slowly chipping away at...
You may remember that last May I was lucky enough to take a class with renowned quilter Bonnie Hunter. She calls the quilt "Jamestown Landing" and the directions are in her book String Fling. I knew at the time that the project would be set aside for a while, and even now, I have other more pressing things to get to, but I have been chipping away at "components" for this quilt. It requires 840 half square triangles, and you know me - I love using Thangles. So I've been "Thangling".. lol   I think I have about 310 made- so only 530 more to go!! It's pretty mindless sewing, doesn't require extreme concentration so it's great when you've got lots going on and you can just take a break for short periods of time here and there, sit down and do some straightforward sewing. I usually chain 5 pairs of strips together at a time,  which yields 30 hst's.

Next the hst's are sewn together in pairs,

then two of these are joined to make the "Broken Dishes" unit. I need 210 BD units. Yes. I have a long. way. to. go.

I have about 40 Broken Dishes units made - so only 170 more to go..... sigh....

In my next "Jamestown Landing post", I'll show you the stars that are formed with these units. But I want to make lots more hst's first, as I want a good mix of fabrics before I start putting stars together, so it might be a while before you see more progress on this particular project. I do have several other smaller projects I'll be sharing first... Stay tuned. Are you sewing today?

Peace,
Linda

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”  ~ Winston Churchill

Lest We Forget....

Let us never forget what our veterans have done for our country, and what our soldiers continue to do as peacekeepers around the world... Today is November 11 - Remembrance Day here in Canada, Veterans Day in the USA. Let us honour our veterans and pray for world peace....

I went to see the soldiers

I went to see the soldiers, row on row on row,
And wondered about each so still, their badges all on show.
What brought them here, what life before
Was like for each of them?
What made them angry, laugh, or cry,
These soldiers, boys and men.

Some so young, some older still, a bond more close than brothers
These men have earned and shared a love, that's not like any others
They trained as one, they fought as one
They shared their last together
That bond endures, that love is true
And will be, now and ever.

I could not know, how could I guess, what choices each had made,
Of how they came to soldiering, what part each one had played?
But here they are and here they'll stay,
Each one silent and in place,
Their headstones line up row on row
They guard this hallowed place.

~ Kenny Martin 

Peace,
Linda

“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.”  ~ John Lennon

November Personal Photo Challenge: Layering Texture

It's time again for Donna's Personal Photo Challenge. I missed it the last two months so decided I should make the effort this month to get on it! This month's topic is Layering Textures. This is definitely a challenge for me as I have never done this! Nope. I don't play much with my photos - pretty much what you see is what came out of the camera, except for perhaps just a little lightening or darkening and the occasional slight sharpening. I don't own Photo Shop or any other editing programs. I use Picmonkey, a free online service. So this is all new to me, but I decided to give it a shot. Why not? It's fun to play! And play I did. Any suggestions or constructive criticism is welcomed!
First of all, to choose photos to work with... How does one choose just one or two when you have thousands???  With Remembrance Day (Veterans Day in the US) just 2 days away, my thoughts turned to poppies so I found a simple photo of a single blossom, taken in July in Deb's garden.

  This is the original - poppy against blue sky. Pretty simple. Not a stunning photo.

First I looked at the exposure and decreased the brightness just a bit to darken the background slightly. Then I added a Picmonkey Paint background. I increased the saturation somewhat, then faded it slightly. Then I added a Bokeh effect and softened it a little on the blossom itself. And here's what I ended up with...

I liked it at this point, but it still was a little light for my liking so I went back to "Exposure" and decreased the brightness then brought up the contrast, shadows and highlights just a smidgen. 

 I like it better now. What do you think?

That really was fun (thanks Donna!) I guess it's good to give yourself "permission" to just play and see what happens. So I thought... why not do another? So for my second attempt I chose a simple sunset shot taken this summer at a friend's cottage at Maquapit Lake. Below is the original.

Again, nothing fabulous. It's not even in sharp focus. So I went to work. (I think I could really get into this.. it's fun. Donna, have you created a monster?) First I sharpened a bit. Then on to Exposure. I decreased the brightness and increased the shadows and contrast somewhat. Then I added Picmonkey's Water texture. Wow. All of a sudden, I had a more interesting sky- where did those "clouds" come from? Even though it's a "water effect" I think it worked in the sky as well - don't you think it looks very natural? The texture added more color to the water too, and perhaps at sunset you would not see as much blue and green there, but I don't think it's unrealistic, do you? In this case, I don't think the average viewer would even know I have added any "effects".. I've just used the texture to enhance the photo...

Be sure and drop by Donna's Personal Photo Challenge here and see what others have done this month. Thanks again Donna. I think I'll be playing with Textures more often!!

Peace,
Linda

"Texture is the most enduring and ubiquitous underpinning of form... certainly a calming, meditative and appealing world for both the eye and mind. " ~ Lynda Lehmann

The Shoemaker's Wife

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani was recommended to me by one of my  "choir sisters" - Alice was my roommate on our trip to NYC last June and she was engrossed  in this book on her I-pad for the long busride. She kept telling me how good it was, so I added it to my "Must Read' list as soon as I got home. (I have an ongoing list - do you?)
Trigiani is a new author to me. She is an award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker as well as penning a best-selling memoir on top of her fiction and young adult fiction. Where have I been - how had I not heard of her before? I thoroughly enjoyed The Shoemaker's Wife so I will be looking for more of her work when I am at the library!
I would categorize this story as historical fiction with a good bit of romance thrown in; a powerful story of strength and determination, love, the importance of family and the immigrant experience. It begins in the northern Italian Alps at the turn of the twentieth century. Life is difficult and money is scarce; the recently widowed Caterina Lazzari sees no other option but to leave her two young sons at the local convent as she knows she can no longer provide for them. Within the first few chapters the reader is captivated with the life of these two young boys Eduardo and Ciro, being raised by nuns who adore them. Their story is paralleled by that of the Ravanelli family of a neighbouring village who are also struggling to make ends meet. The death of their youngest brings Ciro and Enza Ravanelli together in a chance meeting as Ciro is sent to dig the grave. It is a meeting that neither forgets. Life takes a turn for both families and without knowing about each other, both Ciro and Enza emigrate to America to make a better life. I don't want to divulge any more of the story, but suffice it to say they both go on to "find opportunities" in Little Italy (in NYC) through hard work and perseverance. Will they find each other? Will they build a better life together in America? You'll have to read the book to find out...
I enjoyed Trigiani's writing. Her characters are well developed and three dimensional, her descriptions are detailed. I know some readers do not like a lot of description, but I do (when it is well done). The importance of family was an underlying theme throughout the book. Ciro longs for a family re-connection with his mother who he feels "abandoned" him, and his older brother who he dearly loves and misses. Enza dutifully works for years, sending money home to her family in Italy to help them build a home. Yes, this is the main theme/lesson/message... the importance of family. I like that.

Peace,
Linda

Bookworms will rule the world... as soon as we read one more chapter.

Novembrrrrr

November. Or should I say Novembrrrrrrrr.. That grey, dull, dreary, wet, cold, windy, yuchy month. Can you tell I don't really care much for November? The fall color is gone, the trees are bare, the gardens have all gone to sleep, temps are turning cold, there seems to be extra rain and wind, the darkness falls too early, the nights seem so black... sigh. I hate the thoughts of winter knocking at our door... I tend to "go into hibernation mode"... Yes, I can feel it coming on...
We set our clocks back this weekend. (I tried to set mine back to when I was 20, but it didn't work... lol) It's almost dark now at 5p.m. - that is just too early. I'd much rather have the darkness in the morning. But I don't make the rules...
What about you? Do you like November? It seems to be such a Blahhh month. So I am spending more  time in my studio (Yay!!) I'll be showing you very soon what I'm working on...
What are you up to these Novembrrrr days?

Peace,
Linda

"October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces."
~ J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Hallowe'en in the 'Hood...

Hallowe'en
~ Harry Behn

Tonight is the night
When dead leaves fly
Like witches on switches
Across the sky,
When elf and sprite
Flit through the night
On a moony sheen.

Tonight is the night
When leaves make a sound
Like a gnome in his home
Under the ground,
When spooks and trolls
Creep out of holes
Mossy and green.

Tonight is the night
When pumpkins stare
Through sheaves and leaves
Everywhere,
When ghoul and ghost
And goblin host
Dance round their queen.
It's Hallowe'en.

Do you decorate for Hallowe'en? Do you go for the scary?  The creepy? Or just for fun?  We have some awesome "decor" in our neighbourhood this year so I thought I'd share a few pics with you....
First of all I couldn't resist this "elegant" look - okay maybe it's not really Hallowe'en decor- just autumn decor - but this morning as I passed by Government House, the residence of our Lieutenant Governor, the sun was so lovely on those vines, and with the pumpkins on the steps- well I just couldn't help myself!

And you're right- this isn't really my neighbourhood, but it's close by - less than a 2 minute drive from my house, so I'm including it.

If you are scared of spiders, you might want to steer clear of this house- judging  by the size of that web, I can just imagine the size of the spider who must be lurking nearby....

Maybe this is him- he was down the street a bit- no doubt he's out looking for tasty little child-sized morsels to eat... watch for him if you're in the area.... after all he does have eight legs so he can probably run just as fast as you can....

Just down the street from us, our neighbour Greg (who obviously loves Hallowe'en and plans from one year to the next), went all out this year and created a pirate ship on his front lawn. I will have to go down later this evening to see it in action- the ship is supposed to rock gently from side to side as if it is at sea, there are guns on the side of the ship that will light up as if firing, cannons near the house that I think will "fire" or at least smoke, a treasure chest that opens (powered by a rotisserie motor), the sabres held by the "skeleton crew" will raise and

lower...... ummm, just wondering WHO is having more fun here.. the kids or the guy who spends weeks putting this all together???  And on top of this "display" on the front lawn, there is the graveyard up against the house which the kids must walk by to get to the front door. If they dare, they can enter the house and see the Pirate's Banquet all set up in the dining room, complete with bats circling over the dining table...
I stopped and had a chat with Greg a few days ago as he was working on set-up. I laughed and said he must spend all year dreaming up what to do next - he has had some pretty impressive "decor" over the years.. and he replied that last year, some kid said to him they thought it was time he stepped it up a notch, as he had used several "items" several years in a row... Imagine!! I sure hope that kid comes back this year to see what he

has in store for his visitors tonight. And no doubt he will get many trick-or-treaters as he is on the front page of today's newspaper and the caption mentions his "pirate-themed haunted tour". I'm not expecting many at my door. We are pretty dull, in comparison....
Happy Hallowe'en!!!

Trick or Treat!
Linda

"There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch." ~Robert Brault

Another Frosty Morning

Another frosty morning! This time I did jump in the car and head downtown, but alas there was no fog this morning on the river. (There was an awesome fog yesterday but I found out too late...) There was a heavy ground frost though so I hope you will enjoy a few more "frosty photos"...

My local readers can picture this- I was at the southside end of the walking bridge (old train bridge) taking photos of the bushes there and of the frosty grass and fallen leaves. An observer would think I was crouched down, ready to jump out and scare someone, but honestly- I was totally engrossed in my photography (down on my knees in the frosty grass, sort of "behind" the bushes). Let's just say I "startled" a few ladies who were out for their morning walk when I stood up.... Sorry ladies! I'm sure they thought this was an early Hallowe'en prank... Bwwwhahahahahaha........... Come back later for some Hallowe'en "decor"...

Peace,

Linda

Listen...

With faint dry sound,

Like steps of passing ghosts,

The leaves, frost crisp'd, break from the trees

And  fall. 

Adelaide Crapsey, November Night