Spring - just remembering.....

While Spring is only beginning to make an appearance here in Alberta- our dining room table has had a few bundles of spring flowers...We have enjoyed tulips, daffodils and iris over the last few weeks.
Somehow I have not been very productive in a quilty way.. Its not that I haven't been looking at fabric. I recently received an order from Hancocks as I did not have any grey or cream batiks in the stash.  I have a specific project in mind that required that I  using those colors..I am trying to order less from the US ( rising postal rates combined with a huge stash that is waiting to be used LOL) However Hancocks had a deal on shipping and they do have good prices in their clearance section of batiks, so I succumbed to the sale and ended up with some lovely neutrals as well as more kids fabrics for baby wraps.. I am very happy with the fabrics that arrived- now if I could only get on with the projects..
Recently my school participated in a district fundraiser for kids so I made some jewelery and coordinating scarves to be used in a silent auction.   
They raised a little money for kids and I got to play with some beads and yarn - a winning combination - don't you think?
 I have been reading a book about the importance of Play by Dr. Stuart Brown. One of the most striking points that come from the book is the importance of continuing to play all of our lives. Sometimes  I find it quite a challenge  to balance work and play- even though I know I feel better when I play- I admire those of you who can carve out play time on a daily basis... even if it is only a half hour a day. I am just not very organized about playing versus working, and I get distracted by things I find on the computer- email, pinterest and facebook not to mention my favorite blogs...
I recognize that reading blogs and checking out things on the computer is  a different form of playing - but then I don't quilt or knit or bead...It is quite the conundrum... How to do you balance your time?  Do you set a timer and say that is all the time you can use to do one thing or another? Perhaps you have another way to fit in time to create and play?
  
This evening I started out trimming these blocks- it is a bit tedious and so I have squared some of the blocks (if I put my head down and just trimmed it would go a lot faster).
 Over the past week I have cut bias binding for the 10 baby wraps that I want to get made over the next few weeks. I plan to get the wraps spray basted soon so that I can get some baby wraps quilted up..
However none of these steps, which are valuable parts of the quilt processes, make for a very interesting blog writing.
Recently we have had some family events - our grand niece, Miss A turned two. Here she is with her beloved flopsy earred bunny.

We also remembered the birthday of my husband's brother, David by having a lovely brunch at a local hotel. He would have turned 60 at the beginning of April. David left us far too early - He died suddenly in a car accident in 1975- a  young man not quite 22.

 

I pulled out this coat that hangs in a closet in our house- a treasured piece of clothing that belonged to Dave. It holds a host of memories for my spouse. Dave was a talented pianist who had eclectic taste in music. Here is a collection of some of his favorite bands from the early 70's ( the Band, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and Chopin's Piano Concerto) David took my husband to his first concert- Procol Harem playing with ESO ( Edmonton Symphony Orchestra). Inside the vinyl record cover is a ticket stub and program from that concert - more treasured memories. David was a gifted mathematican and a writer. He worked for Canadian University Press at the time of his passing.

 I did not know Dave except for my husband's stories and memories. When I created this quilt for Bruce's parents, it was important to meto include David in the family wall hanging.

 You can see David's photo in the top in the middle. This quilt recently returned to our home after Bruce's mother passed away last fall. For a long time it had hung over Bruce's mother's bed. Mars is laying on our family picture. Do you think she recognizes her family?

April is a month of birthdays-both of my parent's celebrated their birthdays recently so I will leave you with the spinning flower quilts from earlier in my quilting journey.

This quilt belongs to my father. It is called Dad's garden and is made of rich batiks. The exact pattern name escapes me at present, but is a template quilt.

 I created 4 quilts of this pattern - two that had vivid bright batik flowers( the batik quilts were quite similar) but the other two were more subtle and different from one another. It is so interesting to see how different a quilt can look when one uses different fabric combinations.

Quite the contrast isn't it? This one was very soft looking with a mint background and pale sashing between the blocks.

And the final variation with no sashing between the blocks and a beautiful print backing and border- The spinning flowers were all different fat quarter prints.

Life does seem to get full and maintaining my blog is sometimes a challenge. Thanks for joining me for a bit of reminiscing and helping me honor David's memory. 

My quilts contain my stories and my life's journey - yours do too.. I believe that the stories behind the quilts are often as interesting as the beautiful works created from the fabrics.

 One day soon I will have some new pieces to show you I hope.

In the meantime, I hope to find my followers list - it appears to have disappeared from my sidebar. I am still not sure if I need to change something so that I continue to have a list of my valued followers. I know that some of the google reader is disappearing soon . Some of the technical parts of blogging remain a mystery to me. The more I read the more confused I get... LOL

Wishing you lots of time to play so that you can feed your creative spirit.

 

Warmest regards,

 Anna

 

A Spring Break and a visit

It is spring time here in Alberta and we still have snow on the ground. The last few days of March have finally brought some melting to the big piles of white snow that fell over the last few months. This beautiful array of alstromeria has decorated our table for the last couple of weeks.
 I love the rainbow colors after all that white outside.
I have had the past 10 days off- a lovely break from the busy days at school. However, it is not that I have not been busy- au contraire- we had a very hectic beginning, with the arrival of our son and his fiancee from the east coast( about 4000 miles from where we live). We met them at my parent's home which is about 100 miles south of us.

This is a photo that was taken by either my mother or his girl- I like it very much- I miss his beautiful smile and this one fills my heart with joy when I look at the two of us together. Here is the four of us in my parent's kitchen- My folks renovated it a few years ago and it was one full space when the kids were home. My mother ( chef extraordinaire) cooked up a full turkey dinner( actually two turkeys) to feed the 20 of us that got together. The house was bulging with activity - there was one toddler, one five year old, two babies not to mention all the adults in the house. It was great to see so many of my family and to have time together, however compressed that it was.  One of the other highlights of their whirlwind visit was a lovely evening with some family that lives her in Edmonton. They also tried to fit in some time with some friends of our son. My husband went with the boys (Kev's best friend) to see the Star Wars exhibit at our local science center. It was a grand show that had lots of artifacts and props from the movies. The Star War exhibit finished up this weekend so he was lucky to get a chance to see it.
I love seeing my folks with our son and his fiancee. He loves my parents very much and I know that the feeling is mutual.The boy and his girl had come to start their wedding plans for next summer. The wedding will be held in Banff- a spectacular place to visit with the gorgeous mountain views. It is only the beginning of some exciting days ahead. Lest you think that I did not get any quilting things done well that would not be true... Kev and Rose were here  in the beginning part of the week. After they went, I found lots to keep me busy. I finished a couple of novels- one by Lisa Jackson (Wicked Lies) and the other by Kristin Hannah ( Winter Garden).
I got the mystery quilt ( the quilt has already been revealed on Quilt with us Connecting Threads forum) parts cut out and sewed the first part together. I still need to cut the strips into sections so that I can make the four patch blocks. I have barely got this quilt started but I think it will work out pretty well.

I pieced the next part of my blocks together for the Rock Candy purple quilt. My next job is square up the 120 sections so that I can piece the 30 blocks together. It is a pretty quilt but I am not sure that I am going to make it into a large quilt. I also tried to fit in a little beading as I have offered to make a bracelet or two for a fundraiser auction that is being held in mid April. Time goes all to fast so I need to get them finished for the auction.

Yesterday I had a new assistant( Dusty the dog) as I began to cut out 10 baby wraps. I tend to make them in bunches as babies seem to be coming in bunches. A friend at work commissioned me to make a couple and I know of three babies that are to born in the summer that will need a wrap.    Dusty all but disappeared in the pile of minkee... LOL
She does look somewhat pathetic doesn't she? All she wanted to do was sleep in her bed on the floor and the minkee fabric kept getting in the way..

So here is the pile of wraps waiting for me to quilt them together.. The scraps on the right will be turned into bias binding before I put the rest of the fabrics in the scrap box for other projects. Somehow the scrap pile keeps growing..

 I was a lucky lady recently ( actually I am lucky lady all the time) but this good fortune had to do with winning this lovely bracelet and earring set. Isn't it pretty? Do go and check out Elaine's lovely blog- she has recently returned from a trip to Florida- lots of great photos of a fun journey. .http://elaineakers.blogspot.ca/2013/02/time-to-beadbracelets-and-earrings.html
I also won some bunny buttons from Button Mad from an earlier blog hop giveaway.. They are really sweet buttons and will look great on children's clothing or some other fun project.
I return to school on Tuesday so I have one more day to get some more work done on projects. I will have some last bits of paperwork to finish. This school year has flown by - I can't believe we are soon in the last quarter of the school year. There is lots of learning to do but I can see lots of growth in my little ones at school.
 Happy Easter and Happy Spring....

Thanks for dropping by for a visit... Until next time be well..
 I am looking forward to sunshine and green grass..
My other assistant will be watching for it..
Warmest regards,
Anna

Possibilities and The Lost Blogger....

My my, it has been awhile hasn't it!! I haven't meant to disappear from blogland but somehow the month of February disappeared - I know that it is a short month but, for a short month, it was one very full month. This pair of roses with specialty tea, candles and my favorite magazines arrived at our house for Valentine's Day. I love the beautiful contrasting shades of deep pink and pale pink. They graced our table for over two weeks..

My sister and her daughter came to the city to do a special errand- find a wedding dress for my niece, so we got the opportunity to have dinner together. Dinner at Red Lobster was delicious,
 and it was so nice to spend Family Day with some of my family.

Later that same week I reached a milestone of my own- I have worked 35 years as teacher for my schoolboard. The board hosted a lovely evening of beautiful hors d'ouveres and music along with the opportunity to connect with other friends that had also reached some special milestones in their careers. My friend L. has worked for the district for 25 years. The program is full of special things about each of the celebrated years ( 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years). I feel fortunate to work with so many fantastic people who bring much to the children of our fair city.
Time for creating this month has been pretty limited- I have had lots of paperwork at school with some additional writing that happens only every 5 years.
Have I been quilting or creating this month- well not so much- this new quilt is just barely begun. The pattern is called Rock Candy and, while it is not difficult, it does have lots of cutting and the blocks will only be 8 inch blocks when they are finished. This pile of triangles need to be sewn, then trimmed and then sewn again. I had originally thought I might make a larger bed quilt but I am not sure now.. I haven't even managed to complete one block and I think if I want to make a larger one I would have to make about 72 of them. That is a lot of piecing that would need to happen... HMMM

In case you were wondering if I have had lost my desire to quilt well.. I signed up for a mystery quilt along that is happening right now on Connecting Threads Quilt with Us forum. Do you know this group?
Connecting Threads is a nice company out of Vancouver, Washington that offers very reasonably priced fabric, thread,notions and books. I have bought a number of books, fabrics, thread and batting from them. Their shipping rate is excellent to Canada, or at least it was the last time that I ordered from them in January. The shipping from other shops can be a large deterrent these days when ordering from a US company. Sometimes, when I get to the check out and add the postage, the cost is about 50 dollars more- enough to make me stop and decide not to place the order.

Speaking of possibilities- here are  a couple of possibilites for the mystery quilt. I went upstairs a couple of weekends ago to make some choices from the stash. Here is one that I came up with ...
  and here is another one, that I am thinking of using for the mystery quilt. Perhaps if I wait another week,I will know which way to go- LOL -not much of a mystery, but at least I will know if I like my color choices.
I also have some scarf knitting going on too. I haven't used this boa yarn before and its a bit of challenge to get started, but is so pretty when it does get knit together. It is also very soft...
This past weekend we went to the opening lecture at the Art Gallery ( Canadian Art from Hart House in Toronto) We followed the lecture with a lovely dinner with some other extended family. One of Bruce's uncles was in town for the Friar Brier, that coincides with the Tim Horton's Men's Curling Brier. It was a wonderful evening catching up with nieces and SIL, BIL but especially with our energetic uncle who came to curl at a bonspiel ( he is in his mid 80's) and our sweet grand niece, A., who soon will be two. Four generations always makes for a memorable evening.
On Sunday we had the good fortune to take in a game of the Brier (a big Thank you to our dear friends who generously shared their tickets with us )- The brier determines a national men's champion. The winners were a young team from Northern Ontario . We went to the Bronze medal game and it went an extra end.( The game usually goes 10 ends unless the score is tied and then they play an extra end). We had followed the round robin games all week long on the television, but it is quite a different experience when one sees it live.
We do have fresh flowers that are brightening our table- gorgeous Alstromeria - the pale pink with the bits of wine make a great contrast to the red purply blooms of the other.. If you are still here reading I encourage you to check out the quilt gallery winter blog hop.http://quiltinggallery.com/quilting-fun/blog-hop-participants-03-2013.asp Lots of wonderful blogs to check out and some great giveaways happening too.

Next week our son is coming for a visit- we are so looking forward to seeing him and his girl. It has been a year since his last visit.We appreciate our many conversations on Skype but there is nothing like seeing them in the flesh.. After they return home- I still will have some spring break holidays so maybe these possibility quilts will turn into some real quilting. I expect I might need some creative therapy after they return home.. I promise to return to the blog sooner this time.
Thanks for dropping by.. I always appreciate your comments, but most of all, the friendship that I have enjoyed from all of you out in Blogland.
We had some melting happening here in Alberta- perhaps Spring is just around the corner.
Warmest regards,
Anna 

The long days of Winter

January is one of those months that sometimes, seems to go on forever. Once January is finished, I feel like the rest of the year speeds on by.. This January has been particularly long and I have had my share of being physically under the weather. I am now on the mend.  Hopefully,we are soon going to be past the mid point of the long winter season, for which I am glad.  The snow continues to fall and the temperature dropped down into the frigid area of the thermometer earlier this week. Today it has warmed up some, which will make getting out and about this weekend more pleasant. One way my wonderful spouse brings spring into the house, is with flowers. These lilies were a gorgeous color and opened beautifully.

And what about these lovely purple tulips!!! Tulips are such happy flowers don't you think? They come in so many spectacular colors and this shade of purple is one of my favorites..

 This was a shared project as I did not piece this lovely quilt. It was made by a dear friend who decided that she no longer liked it when it was finished. Have you ever done that-got tired of a UFO project? What have you done with those UFOS? Do you keep them or pass them on to someone else?

Mars certainly approves of this quilt- It is a traditional block- I believe that it is a drunkard's path pattern and has lots of curved piecing it. Do you like to make traditional block designs- Dresden plate, Drunkard's path, Star blocks, Log cabin , Irish chain and other such designs? This past week there has been a fun blog hop called Dare to be Dresden. Sew we quilt  is a link that will take you to Madame Samm's blog hop. There were some wonderful Dresden plate patterned quilts and projects to view- some of them offered giveaways, and all of them shared some terrific blocks and variations of the Dresden plate pattern. You will be able to see some traditional creations as well as  modern intrepretations of the block. Check it out - I am sure you will enjoy the many beautiful projects.  By the way, the Dresden Plate was the first quilt block I ever made.

I love the floral fabric in this quilt. It is definitely a pink quilt with a mint green strip used as an accent in it. I used a polished cotton on the back. It quilted up quite nicely and I am sure it will be well used by its new owner. I still need to bind it and will probably use the mint green fabric for the binding. 

While I have not quilted very much this month, I have knit up a few more of the frilly scarves. They are so fun to make and it is quite interesting to see how the different yarns make up. I really like the nubbly yarn on the right and the soft twist and curly one on the left.

NHL hockey has returned - Wahoooo! For those of you who live in other parts of the world, Hockey is Canada's national sport. Our son played minor hockey growing up- attending games and practises both indoors and outside, was part of the fabric of our lives for about a dozen years. The snowglobe graces our table during the winter season. 

Each morning I start my day with a cup of tea- I love many different kinds, though my new favorite is ginger peach, when I am not drinking chai. This snowman cup is a real day brightener and makes me smile.

Winter and snowmen seem to be everywhere in my world just now. I am looking forward to February with some hearts and flowers to enjoy. Valentine's day is one of my school kids favorite times of year. They love making letters and cards for their friends.  And of course , they love the chocolate treats and candy hearts to read...

 As far as quilting goes, I have some new projects on the horizon and an old one that I want to complete. It is a cube quilt and has been in a bag for well over 5 years- I have made many rows of beautiful batik flag like shapes  but need to piece all those flags together to make cubes. I have had some difficulty getting my head around this project so I am hoping this time I will finally figure out how the pattern works. I am also intending to attend a workshop around the middle of February so do come back and see how I am doing with my quilting goals.

Until next time, stay warm ( or cool if you live in the land down under) ...

Warmest regards,

Anna

 

Three quilts and three machines... Happy New Year too..

At the beginning of January these lovely tulips graced our table. There is something special about tulips- maybe its that in the dead of winter I long for spring. This winter seems like it has been around for a long time. We have had a fair amount of snow and cold. I miss the grass and the flowers so tulips always make me feel better- that spring may return soon- even if it is only indoors.

 

While school returned this week- I did not after the first day- felled by illness that has kept me away from the classroom for a few days. I am feeling much better and will be ready to go again on Monday but it has been a rather strange week. Since my energy was minimal, I took some time to read blogs and one of my Aussie blogging friends posted about the beautiful forest in her neck of the woods. Here is a photo of my husband standing inside a tree in the Cathedral forest on Vancouver Island. My husband is tall( just over 6 feet and he disappears in the base of  these massive trees. It is protected and is a park of sorts that is about a two hour drive north of Victoria.

When I wrote last time, I shared the quilts that I delivered during the festive season. Here is my brother and his beautiful wife receiving their belated anniversary quilt.

And a view of it spread out on a bed - if it appears lumpy it is because Mars was hiding underneath as she sometimes likes to do..

This lovely lady and her husband were the recipients of the pansy sidelines quilt. We are checking out all the luscious pansy fabrics together.

I thought some might be interested in seeing this gorgeous pansy backing. It turns added so much to this quilt. It is such a stunning piece of fabric. Thanks again to my friend Linda(no blog)who generously shared this piece of fabric.

Mars was not too impressed when we interrupted her sleep to take photos of this quilt. Here is a frontal view of the quilt..

My friend, Sherry brought a piece of quilted clothing to show me- it is gorgeous and is made by another friend of my parents. Mrs. P. used an old sweater as a foundation to handquilt all these pieces to the front and back bodices of this sweater. Her stitching is beautiful- very neat and even - I have never hand pieced any thing so I marvel at Mrs. P's wonderful intricate work.

I mentioned last time that I received a lovely package of bags in the mail from Sue. I finally got a photo of the these terrific fabric bags- Aren't they pretty? I am sure that they will be filled with treasures next Christmas. Thank You,Sue If you click on her name you can check out her blog- it is a fun place to visit..
When we came back from my folks I finished the third quilt in the holiday. It graces our loveseat in our living room. It is hard to get a good photo of the colors as the quilt is quite red. I quilted around the individual poinsettia flowers in the border.

My husband found this lovely scarf at the Alberta Craft Council. It is silk and has a grain elevator on it- I love it. I am a prairie girl through and through and these elevators remind me of my childhood when the prairies I call home were speckled with them. They are all but disappeared these days. Bruce knows how much I love handmade things and this one is particularly gorgeous.

If you have visited before, you will know that I am a big rock fan. This beautiful piece was given to me as an anniversary gift from my husband. It is a piece of lapis luzuli and is a gorgeous deep bluey purple color. I love the antique like shape of the pendant with the lovely scroll work - sorry about the fuzzy photo of it..

The last thing I did in my sewing area last weekend was tidy up the many boxes of fabric scattered hither and yon around the small space. On Christmas Eve I worked on my three different sewing machines. Here is my babylock quilting machine( I can see I need to fix my bulletin board behind my table-LOL) It is a good quilting machine and I have quilted a king sized quilt with it without any difficulty at all. I put the pedal to the metal and can really motor with it. I hope to get back upstairs quilting one day soon so that I can get some more quilts finished.

Here is the other extreme - my little featherweight (vintage Singer 1947)I recently took it to the shop because it had a short in the wiring and gave off a good spark. I have it back at home and it is now working like a charm. Mars certainly likes to come and check it out no matter what machine I am using..

I have used this little gem the longest. It is nice little Elna 6003 that I was given around 2000 and still does the job. On Christmas Eve it was my finishing machine. I was able to blind hem the binding of the two quilts at the top. Three machines and three completed quilts over the holiday. I completed two of them in one day. Not bad for one long day's work - though I don't think I will try that again any time soon..

Are you still with me- if so- you can see how the beautifully the tulips opened and then drooped. They were glorious bits of spring for a few days..

And for a change of pace - some orchids- very interesting color - almost tan in color but quite pretty too..

As we begin a new year I wish you and yours time to create and find Joy in the daily bits of life. Live ,laugh and love joyfully in 2013. Until next time- be well if you can, Warmest regards, Anna