More Fun

Here are True and Carmel exploring our creek in the bush behind the house. The creek is in the bottom of a ravine. The sun has come out again but nothing is very green yet. The weather is supposed to get warm today though, so I expect the leaves to appear very quickly. We had two days of much needed rain and that will help.


What the rain didn't help was the mud in the house situation. We went to the thrift shop and got rubber boots for everyone and as you can see, they were well used. I'll take them out and hose them all down today.

The Visit

Carmel and family landed on Monday night and we have been having fun ever since. Here is True enjoying the last little trace of snow the next day. It's strange that there is still snow in sheltered spots and the leaves are coming out at the same time.

Mother's Day

Cherie, our daughter, cooked a fantastic Mother's Day dinner for the whole family today. The big plus is that it was warm enough to eat outside for the first time in about six months. It was very sunny and most of us forgot to bring hats. Cherie scoured her cupboards and found several hats. I ended up with one left over from some party but I thought it was quite appropriate for Mother's Day wear.

Quick Quilt

I got frustrated with my Out of the Block Quilt. It looks too orange with the triangles on the sides. I'm not sure what color needs to go there . Maybe just more blocks and then cut square even if it goes through a block. That's how it is done in the book but I'm not sure I like that.


In the end, I put it to the side and started sewing scraps together and in only a few hours came up with this scrappy quilt top. Here are the reasons I love this technique.
1. There is no thinking involved. You just grab whatever piece is handy.
2. It goes together incredibly fast.
3. There is no matching at all.
4. It always looks great no matter what you do.
5. It gets rid of some scraps.
6. It is true to the original idea of quilting; making do and making something from nothing.
7. It's great to practise machine quilitng on because the mistakes won't show.

Really, it's a wonder I ever do anything else.

Annie's Sewing Center

Now that I have mostly Pfaff machines, the local Pfaff dealer has retired. The good news is that some neighbours of ours, Anne and Wolfgang Schaefer, have started a Husqvarna Viking dealership and will be servicing their machines on site. Too bad I just bought my Pfaff Grand Quilter and frame. They will be able to clean Pfaff machines but probably not service them. The good news is that the Grand Quilter and the Husqvarna machine are pretty well identical so I can get bobbins, needles and anything else I need for my machine quilting there. They also sell the Next Generation frame that those machines fit on. They are going to stock King Tut thread, which I hear is the best for machine quilting and are ordering pre-wound bobbins for me to try.
If you are in the Winkler area, drop in and see their wonderful selection of machines. They are at 915 Navigator Road, Unit 2C, which is parallel to Hwy 14 on the north side.
I am getting ready for our company so no photos today.

Yet More Blocks

Here is the current status of my quilt. It is certainly outside the block. At the top you can see the rejected overdyed blocks. They are just too dark. They will be useful somewhere else though, and are headed to my parts drawer which is getting pretty full. I will still spend some time working on the best arrangement and I have to make a few more blocks. I now have a choice of making setting triangles or just whacking it off to make a rectangle. In the book she does both (but not on the same quilt!). I will probably end up making at least a few setting triangles to see what that looks like. I may want to make it somewhat larger too. The blocks finish at 6 inches square but once they are sewn together, the whole thing is a lot smaller than when they are laid out on the design wall.

Yet Another Quiz

What Mythical Creature are you? Your Result: Elf Elves are skilled, intelligent craftsmen and warriors. An elf will devote his or her life to a certain trade, and thus become the best in the universe at what they do. Elves are commonly very quiet and reclusive, causing them to be shy. However shy, they are not naive and posess a great deal of knowlege and wisdom that seems to be inherited at birth. Elves are immortal, and very dedicated to nature. They walk in harmony with their surroundings, but are not wholely over emotional beings. Love is not thought of as deep or passionate for these creatures, but rather a pairing, or mating that is ultimately result in offspring.
Nymph
Siren
Vampire
Werewolf
What Mythical Creature are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Not sure how accurate this one is but I do like the immortal part!
I overdyed some of my connecting blocks but they came out much too orange. I rummaged in my stash a bit and found some more peach pieces so I'll use them and save the bright orange ones for another project.