Road trip continued . . .

Standing at the little dollhouse (see previous post), and looking South, you see lots and lots of these oil pumps. There is so much development and exploration going on in this region of Manitoba and through into Saskatchewan right now and in some areas this has been a common sight for quite a number of years. Everywhere you looked there was either new ones being put in or dozens and dozens already pumping away.

Question: If you pump stuff out of the earth, do you need to put something back to replace it so that the ground doesn't cave in? Oil is one of the many layers below us, so how does this really work?

Do I really need to know . . . probably not - just a thought!

As we were driving along my husband started laughing, something had struck his funny bone, - obviously I had missed something of interest! On the way back from Weyburn he stopped and showed me this sign - it kind of contradicts itself, don't you think?

Wonder who Anni L. is? Hello, Anni!

What do you do in the car for three hours one way and three hours the other way? I bring a stack of past issues of my very favorite magazines and go cover to cover to cover. I took along the last issue of Quilt Sampler and I spent most of the three hours on the way there, inspecting every picture and re-reading every article for the second time. Honestly, I did read it when I first purchased it, but I obsorb more and see something new everytime I go through it.

I do get my money's worth when I buy a magazine!

I did survive (barely!) the three and half days of Municipal Convention . . . guess where I really wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing? Sometimes it is terrible having a creative mind and being trapped in a convention with 974 other people - wonder how many really wanted to be there?

Quilting this weekend . . . photos Monday? . . . we'll see,

'til next time,

M.

Looking to the past . . .

Whenever you head out on the highway you never quite know what you are going to see . . . You know the kind of thing I'm talking about . . . you're cruisin' along not really paying all that much attention to anything in particular and then . . . POW! - you do a double take and there it is . . . a DOLLHOUSE! Right there . . . on the side of the road - how weird is that!

On #2 Highway just East of Sinclair, Manitoba is this little house. At first glance you think "wow, this is cute" . . . "what a neat idea!" and then you drive around the house and read the intent behind why the house was recreated.

The creator has provided a driveway that comes off the highway and goes right around the house. This allows people to have a look and not even have to step out of the vehicle if they don't want to. Really a wonderful idea! The whole back of the house has been removed and replaced with plexiglass to allow the viewer to step into another time and place.

The photos above and below are pictures of the kitchen. All displayed in period furniture and painted a bright, cheerful yellow - you can almost imagine coming downstairs in the morning and having your breakfast in this kitchen!

The complete intent of the project has been imprinted on the backside of the house and is very, very interesting. It really touched my heart . . . these are the little houses that so many prairie families grew up in on the family farm. These were harsher times than we will ever understand and now they stand and wither away - almost unnoticed on the edge of the roads or tucked away among the stands of trees that we cannot even see. This was someone's home! Imagine the untold stories of happiness and sorrow that are held within the remaining walls.

The Dollhouse project was created by Heather Benning as an Arist in Residence project and was undertaken to reflect the period when the house was abandoned in 1968 using furniture of the era throughout the display. At some point in the past, this house stood alone on the bald open prairie and was so very typical for a farm house prior to the '60s. The landscape today includes the busy highway and a multitude of oilfield pump jacks that can be seen in every direction. One of the sentences in the imprint states "This Dollhouse is nothing less than a chilling monument to the decline of the prairie farm."

I think that the word "chilling" is so fitting.

This was a very cold, windy November day without a quilt in sight . . .

'til next time,

M.

Fabric, yummy . . .

It finally arrived . . .

my wonderful box full of fabric - what could be better! Who needs Christmas when you can find a most wonderful deal on fabric all by yourself? I guess it would be nice if someone else was paying the VISA bill next month . . . but, oh well, we can only wish for so much!

This stack of fabric is called Meadowbrook from Benartex - also in flannels. Isn't it wonderful? I purchased this to make a Maywood Studios pattern that is posted on their website - at least that was the plan . . . we'll see how that turns out. I do need to start working on my own designs again really soon - big plans are in the works and I need to start focusing on business again instead of all this fun I've been having for the past couple of weeks.

I now have the backing for my mother-in-law's quilt, so I will be able to get that all layered together and ready to quilt next week. Heading to Saskatchewan to visit family this weekend, so other than taking my big, big quilt (the one Shadow was sleeping on previously!) to hand sew the binding on, there will be nothing happening this weekend.

Good news came a little quicker than I was expecting - I mailed out my wonderful "surprise" package on the 5th of November and had the phone call the morning of the 20th!

So until I know more you'll stick with me, right?

I promise that as soon as things are finalized - you'll be the first to know!

Back to earth though . . . Monday is the first day of a four-day (government) convention in Brandon, so I'll be away at that, plus quilt group on Monday night - finished my blocks last night for the snowman/star block exchange we're doing.

I did get started on this naked little snow guy the other day, so we'll see how he comes along for one of the 2008 block exchange months - I think we do this exchange until April or May of 2008 - so I need to keep thinking of other blocks that will work. (his head really isn't cut off like that!)

Here is another piece of a block I've been working on . . . the turned edge technique from Southwind Designs - have a look for some of these patterns, they are quite fun to work on.

So far I have only played with this star, but the technique worked very nicely. This block will be handed in at quilt group to be used for the charity quilt that we will do after our block exchanges are all done. Everyone is supposed to hand in one or two blocks extra to be eventually made into a donation quilt for a charity not yet chosen.


I hope everyone is keeping busy and you don't have the snow covered ground that we have here in Manitoba . . . just means that I have to get used to all the cold temperatures again - I did pull out the old winter coat this morning . . . not very happy about that!

'til next time,
M.

Cleaning up . . .

Sometimes it is just enough! Enough mess, enough stuff laying around, enough with the UFOs!


And then you get unwanted help - what is it with cats and quilts - I think they smell the comfort or something.


I had just started to sew the binding onto this Judy Niemeyer quilt and along comes Shadow to plunk herself in the middle so that I can't maneuver the binding around all the wonderful scalloped edges that I need to. She doesn't look too happy to be having her picture taken either - that is the evil glare look.

This is a quilt that I made for my wedding, sent it out to be hand quilted and then it stayed in the bag for the past 8 years! Luckily I was bright enough to put the binding fabric away in the same bag so I was able to make the bias binding from coordinated fabric.

So now I have the binding to hand sew on this wedding quilt, on the witch quilt and I still need to finish a couple of snowman faces for next Monday's quilt group block exchange. My fabric package that I ordered from http://www.thousandsofbolts.com/ cleared customs on Saturday, so I'm expecting the backing for my mother-in-law's quilt any day now. Lots of projects on the go! It's always nice to have things falling into place - good to see the end is nearing for at least a few projects.

Keep in touch and have a great day . . .

'til next time . . .

M.

I disappeared!

Wow, how time flies when you have nothing to say . . . well, that's not quite true, I always have something to say! But time does fly . . .

. . . and speaking of flying . . . that's me flying over the moon. Really! It's me - kinda, sorta . . . My brothers used to always call me "Broom" because my birthday is on Halloween - I guess that's a better nickname than "witch". Anyways, this little quilt I've been working on is really, really neat - I love it! The only trouble is that Halloween is gone. I did manage to get started before Halloween but I really wish I could have had it completely done and on display.

I am in the process of doing the edge stitching around all the branches and stuff with invisible thread and then I need to decide how to quilt the background and all the black at the front. Help! If you have some suggestions let me know - I'd hate to wreck it now.

I love the way the fabric is looking so spooky - the colorful background looks so turmoiled (is that a word?) and the smokey black that I used adds to the mysterious, scary scene. I wish I had a straighter picture for you to look at - after I'm done with the quilting I'll try and take another one.

I can't wait till next Halloween now . . . the only problem is that I'll be another year older :(

Here is the other project from the previous post that I have now finished (with a few modifications of course!). This is a wonderful alternative to all those bags on the market right now - this is for decoration and I think it's going to be a wonderful addition to my Fall, Christmas and general Winter decorating scheme. Really nice pattern - one goof in the directions though, so if you decide to try it, let me know and I'll pass on the correction.

This little sheep is made from the same Kansas Troubles material as the bag (above) and I think he is a cutie! This is actually a little fabric postcard that the quilt group had a class in - he turned out as a "happy" project.

I will need to pose the Flowers Around New York quilt, the bag and the postcard together in one room and take a picture (once the quilt is quilted, of course!) - they're all made from the Bound to the Prairies fabric line and look so coordinated.

And, then there is my mother-in-law's quilt - the top is done and I am now waiting for a fabric shipment from http://www.thousandsofbolts.com/ that will include the backing for this project.

Have you visited this website before . . . Wow! The prices are great and they ship really quick and I love the fabrics they have! If you're looking for coordinated groupings, this is the place to go. I ordered 17 yards of flannel - can't wait for the postman!!!

Have a great day and I promise to not take so long between postings . . . (isn't that irritating when bloggers do that?!?!?!) But in my defence . . . I was busy!

'til next time,

M.

Back to Basics . . .

I'm sewing again!

On Saturday, the quilt club I belong to had a quilt workshop to make a "dilly bag", but Ramona (another member) and I decided we wanted to to do something different. Both of us had a copy of the December/07 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting and decided that we wanted to make the Season's Greetings bag on page 71, by Sherri Falls of "This and That". Ramona had actually ordered the kit which included all the fabrics as shown in the magazine. I wasn't that organized so had to do some digging around and came up with some leftovers from a Bound to Prairie quilt I had made last year (plus a couple of other prints).

I'm quite pleased so far with the results and I love the colors. The magazine shows the bag hung on the front door with Christmas greenery spilling out of it - very nice!

I have all the blocks sewn together and am ready to start quilting the top. This needs done before the bag is joined and the top and bottom pieces added.

But, . . . I started another project also . . .

Remember the previous post about Randy buying me some fabric . . . well I got the pattern written to the point where I could start testing it out and it is working wonderful!

(So far . . .)

As of this morning when I left for work, all the blocks are done and the centre plain squares are cut and two of the corner triangles are in place. The actual pattern is going to have applique added but this is the test part of the base quilt, plus I don't think what I have in mind for the applique would look very good on these Christmasy colors

It is going to be such a warm and cozy Christmas gift for my mother-in-law - she can't help but like it! I can think of a couple of more people on my Christmas list that would like one of these

. . . how many more weeks 'till Christmas?

'til next time,

M.

Happy Birthday to ME!

What a yucky day to have a birthday. It turns out that this is the busiest day of the year in my office and it gets so busy you really don't know whether you're coming or going.

As long as nobody yells at us, I guess it will be a good day. I'm not sure if I've mentioned much about my day job before or not, but just in case you didn't know - I'm the TAX COLLECTOR! Everyone (in my municipality) has until 4:30 p.m. today to pay their property taxes and if they don't then penalties will be added tomorrow. Some people really don't care about paying penalty, but 95% of the people really care. At the end of the day yesterday I printed out a report and there is still alot of money to come in today - I can't wait until 4:30 when I can come home and veg.

Well I guess maybe I won't be vegging much - all the little Trick or Treaters will be stopping by and I'm expecting them early because it gets so dark here really early. Love seeing those little costumes!

I should be handing out some of these little cupcakes! I made these for Quilt Group on Monday night because I was chairing the meeting and couldn't think of anything quilty to do - so I fed them instead. Aren't these adorable! Just a little time consuming but absolutely delicious.

Just in case you can't tell - they are owls!

My husband bought me some fabric! Well maybe not for me, but he still bought it. See the hint of a pattern under the fabric - that's a pattern I'm working and I'm going to test it by using these fabrics and make a quilt for my mother-in-law for Christmas. Gotta love those Nancy Halvorsen flannels - look at that red! Beautiful . . . I'll show you how it's going in a couple of weeks. Randy keeps asking whether the quilt will be for this Christmas or next year's Christmas present - I'll need to try and prove him wrong - I will get it done! (yeah right).

And . . . one final little piece of the outdoors. This tiny flower is hanging on through all the frosts, just a little bit of sun and very little moisture. It is one of those Fall Chrysanthum plants (I think) - I bought three plants, but so far just this one has flowered. When everything else in the yard is shrivelled up and dead, all the leaves are on the ground and the wind if howling - this little guy is just as cheery as can be.

Have a great day and keep your sunny side up!

'til next time,

M.

Fall Baking . . .

I know - it's a surprise to me too.

I baked something on Sunday!

Last December (or sometime around then) Kraft sent us a calendar. Every month of the year is a fabulous recipe and each one stares at you for one whole month.

Well, Randy and I were becoming quite tired of our "regular" menus and decided why not try each of the recipes featured in the calendar. That way we get to try something new (in most cases) and all Kraft products are easily found in our local stores - nothing really weird and wacky. Kraft also sends out a recipe magazine and when a new one comes we sit down and make out menus and grocery lists for a couple of weeks meals - it works great for us - we don't get sick and tired of the same old foods, prepared the same old way. You should check out their website.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=recipe&m=recipe/knet_recipe_display&u1=keyword&u2=apples&u3=**18*350&wf=9&recipe_id=95067

So this recipe is for the month of October and I followed it fairly closely, except for the almonds and it tastes great! The only thing different I would do is peel the apples - I'm not a big fan of apple skins. Of course my pastry is not exactly like theirs - they have had a lot more practice than me - but I bet it tastes the same.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all!

And . . . speaking of beauty . . . what do you think of this guy?

I call him my "Ghoul Guy" and he is hanging in the corner of my front steps. I think he is handsome in his own way . . . he certainly has presence - don't you think?

I hope the little kids won't be too scared of him - lots of other people have them also, I'm sure. He was exactly what we were looking for - the right height and width - he fits perfectly.

I hope your Halloween preparations are coming along the way you planned . . . I still have a few more things to do . . .

'Til next time . . .

M.

Planning . . .

Someone had once planned to make a bow tie quilt and a fan quilt.

They cut all the pieces from their stash, sewed a few together and then pushed them all into a little bag to be brought out another day.

Haven't we all done something similar to this?

The photos in this post are all courtesy of some good little planner from many years ago. I bought these little pieces, together with all kinds of other cotton fabrics at an auction sale. I think I paid $2.00 for a large box of fabrics - some are big pieces, some are small, some were scrunched up in big bags and some were partly sewn together.

What a little treasure trove to come across!

I have carefully gone through the whole box and pressed each individual piece and organized them all into little wicker baskets for future use.

The prints are amazing - some not so amazing - but others are fantastic.

Now I can be the planner and plan for my own bow tie and fan quilts that will incorporate someone else's plan. At some wonderful point in the future, I am going to go through my stash and put it together with this little stash and make a couple of beautiful scrappy quilts.

Any bets on how long it will take . . .

'Til next time,
M.

We're Getting Closer . . .

Whether it's Halloween, Winter or other exciting little projects - I think we are getting closer and closer . . .

Here we have a very scary, but cool, looking ghost and cat - I love the shadows they are creating on the wall behind them - I think that is what I find so fun about this picture - it makes me smile!

Here is a before picture of our backyard on Saturday morning before we started raking leaves for four hours!

I forgot to take the "after" picture when it looked so very nice and groomed - now it is probably too late because there were still straggly, leftover leaves still hanging out in the trees. They are probably this very minute dropping to the ground in little gleeful heaps just mocking my hard work. Oh well, I guess I can redo it all in the Spring before the grass starts to grow - something to look forward to . . .

Now we can move on the "fun" stuff I was working on this weekend - lots of little pieces of fabric and little buttons. I'll even throw in some pretty little paint chips for you to admire - but that's all I'm going to show you!

And . . . last, but not least, is my little snowguy (6 of them, actually) - still waiting for his final features . . . maybe next weekend?!?!?!?!

'til next time . . .

M.

Preparing for Halloween . . .

I started digging out some of the Halloween and Fall decorations over the weekend.

While we were shopping on Saturday I bought some of these little pumpkins that are so cute. I used to grow these all the time and then one year I forgot to save some seeds! I'm not too sure whether these ones have been treated to the extent that the seeds would be no good or not. Once the season is over I'll maybe have to investigate and see what the seeds actually look like inside.

I dug around in the basement until I found a basket that would work for a little display for the table and also found a bagful of pinecones, fabric leaves and other little Fall decorations.

All the stores are full of Halloween treats and costumes, so it must be time to get into the swing of the season and start the decorating. We even managed to get the Fall wreath on our freshly painted "red" door and it looks fantastic!

Once it comes down it will be time for the Christmas wreath - too soon to think about that just yet.

The little ghosts and pumpkins are so adorable! My daughter and I cut these out and painted them a few years ago - you really appreciate these kind of decorations every year when you bring them out - they have little memories attached to each and every one of those little faces.

I'm almost ready to send my little "secret" project away - hopefully by Friday and then it will be time to sit back and bite my nails until I find out what the outcome will be. I've been very busy with computer work, paint samples and little flowers. My snowmen are watching from not too far away - taunting me to come over and sew their faces and hats in place. Hopefully I'll be able to make some time for my little snowguys this weekend! It's either that or rake leaves - guess what I REALLY want to do?

Until next time . . .

M.

Autumn's Final Curtain Call?

Everything is soooooo dried out here! Finally getting some rain this morning and it is the most we've seen for months. The plants have pretty much said goodbye to Summer and are getting ready to hibernate for the Winter months. The weather guy even mentioned something about S..N..O..W - I hope it stays away from here for a while yet.

Look at the beautiful coppery colors in this photo. This dried up leaf was once a beautiful, lush, green frond on my fern. As a designer I do love looking at all the color variations and the subtle tones of a color. Wonderful!

Look very closely here . . . see the cobweb with the little fluffies stuck in it? This photo looks really neat when it is full size on my big desktop screen. Nature is so cool!

This branch is on my neighbor's tree and I found it very interesting that most of the berries were berry size while a few of them were almost like small apples. Not really sure what kind of tree it is but I loved the lines and the colors - red, oranges, greens and even a small hint of blue up in the sky.

Here is more proof that Summer is gone. This is a seed hanging from one of my Maple trees - look at the colors, tones and lines in this picture - it characterizes Autumn all in one photo.

And here are a couple of more photos from last Saturday's Quilt Show in Brandon. There were quilts everywhere! It took me most of the day on Sunday to put all the quilts away at home - at least it was a good time to pull out the Halloween ones and set them out for the Fall season.

I did manage to get six more snowman blocks ironed down, now they just need appliqued. I love that part as much as choosing the fabrics and playing with all the small pieces. We did our first block exchange on September 24th - lots of Star blocks so far . . . but I hear there are some snowmen on the way! As the stack of blocks grows from month to month it is going to be fun to lay them out and try to decide how to piece them all together to make a quilt top. I can't wait! In the meantime, I need to finish these six guys and start planning the January, February and March blocks (we're taking December off). Should I continue with the snowmen or do a couple of stars . . . decisions, decisions . . .

Till next time . . .

M.