Autumn in the Backwoods

I suppose it isn't nice to laugh at our poor dog but she is certainly a leaf magnet.  One of them almost covered her eye but she waited until I took the picture and then tried to shake it off.  Of course, when you have that much hair, someone has to help with the grooming.
Her hair is like velcro.  Whenever she has been outside, she is festooned with  twigs, burrs and other plantlife.  I probably should have her trimmed but I do like her long hair and she is good about getting brushed.
Our pets certainly provide us with a smile, don't they.  No wonder they are good for our blood pressure.  Except, of course, when they insist on getting into trouble.  I am not sure what is going to happen to our Christmas tree this year.  Last year, when she was only a few months old, we put the tree on a table.  This year, we have an artificial one and its height determines its place on the floor.  I have visions of chewn decorations.  Oh, well, there is nothing wrong with having no trim on the bottom half.
Blessings

My Mystery Quilt

It is a lovely, crisp day here in the woods.  The sun is shining and there is a bit of frost on the ground.  I had to put on my winter coat when I took Heidi for a walk although I didn't need a sweater under it.  Silly as it may sound, I love the look of the leafless trees against the sky.  I can see all their tiny, spiderlike branches that are normally hidden as well as the birds who stop to rest from their continuous search for food. 
Our wood pile is getting bigger although Roger is spending most of his time now in hunting.    We will soon have to think seriously about removing snow from our driveway but the forecast tells us that we don't have to worry about it right away.
I have been spending my free time getting ready for the craft sale this Saturday.  I have completed the mystery quilt and am doing some touch up work on other projects.  This is the first time I have entered this sale so am not sure what the customers will be looking for.  Sometimes the only sales you make at these events are from the other vendors who walk around the tables while waiting for the customers who have gone somewhere else.  This sale has been held for a number of years so that tells me it must be successful.
The photo that you see  is my version of the mystery quilt.  I decided not to do the kitties around the border because I couldn't find my white marker pen.  I think I may do this pattern again but make it larger.  I am looking forward to seeing your project.
Blessings.

Mid Week

I am running out of title ideas.  Maybe I will just start using the date.
Yesterday was a special day.  Some women who I have known for many years came over for lunch and a visit.  There is something unique about being around people who you have known for a long time.  You, of course, share a lot of memories but it goes much deeper than that. Old friends are those who have seen you at your best and worst.  They have seen your failures and triumphs. They have cried with you and laughed with you, sometimes all at the same time. You can accept their help and their advice because you know it is extended with love.  Neither time nor distance weakeness a true friendship.
I have and am blessed to have so many wonderful women be a part of my life.  Without them, I am sure I would not be the person I now am.
I hope you all can say the same.
Blessings.

Journalling

Do you keep a journal or diary?  I have been in the habit of doing that since I was a teenager and it is a good way of keeping track of when certain things happened.  It is unseasonable warm here today and I was wondering what the weather had been like last year and found that it had been much the same.  I remember that it was fairly cold on Rememberance Day but had forgotton that we still hadn't had any snow.  If I had looked back farther to 2007 when we were in Edmonton, I am sure I would have found that it had been much colder.
I also discovered that we picked our little dog up a year ago yesterday.  It is amazing to look at her today and remevber the tiny, white fluff ball she had been.  We had to drive quite a distance to get her and I made sure I brought a large towel for my lap, paper towels for mishaps and some water as well as a tiny harness and leash.  All very necessary items when you are transporting a puppy..
We hadn't picked out a name for her yet so on the trip back my husband and I kept thinking of names while I tried to stop the pup from crawling all over the front of the car.  She wanted on my shoulder, on my husband's shoulder, the back of the car seat-anywhere that was higher than where she was.  I was beginning to think we had got a kitten.  All that climbing did give us a name though.  I had read the story of Heidi, the little Swiss girl that lived with her grandfather when I was a child and it seemed appropriate to name a climbing dog after her.
Shortly after receiving her name, Heidi let us know why she had been trying to get to a different place.  I shouted at my husband to 'pull over' and I gingerly got out of the car with the dog.  Roger came over to take the leash while I cleaned up.  Thank goodness I had brought supplies.
Since then she has provided us with a lot of laughter, exercise and love.  Of course there is also expense, irritation and inconvenience but she is well worth it. And she still loves to climb.
If I hadn't kept a journal, I wouldn't have been reminded of Heidi's homecoming or the anniversary of another event that happened the day prior. 
By November  of 2008, we had moved into our new home and had all our services except the phone and internet.  I had been calling Bell regularly since August and was getting increasingly frustrated.  When my mother died, I had to use my cell (which kept cutting out) to talk to my family in England about arrangements.  Every time I called Bell, I got a different excuse and a different installment date.  Finally, On Nov. 7th, we got service.  The following week my internet was hooked up.  Happy day.
I don't write in my journal every day unless something momentous is happening but, when I do, I like to record the weather and anything that might be making the news.  I keep it in my bedside table and often pick it (or one of the two previous ones I have done since being married) up and read back over past events.  It does help keep things in perspective to see how my life has changed over the years.
Blessings,

Peekaboo Party-last installment

Good morning.  I am up and around earlier than I expected so thought I would get todays posting done so you can see the suggestions I have for finishing or changing your quilt.
If you haven't read Wednesday's post, you may still want to do that as I have a couple of quilting hints in it.

Top stitching: one of the problems that people have with quilting is deciding how to do the top stitching.  I am certainly not an expert.  My quilts tend to be either stitch in the ditch, shadow quilted or stippled with the majority being the last method.  For this quilt, however, I found that diagonal stitching works quite nice.  I started in the top upper left corner square and following an imaginary line across to the bottom right, I stitched diagonally from point to point across each square.   Because the quilt is a rectangle, you will end up on the right side, fifth square from the bottom.  I moved over four inches and repeated the process going in the opposite direction ensuring I was going from square corner point to square corner point.

I did not include the borders in this part although, of course, you can.  Because my quilt has kitties on it, I cut out a template of a cat and am going to trace that around the border and stitch.  You could do this for whatever theme you chose.

Another top stitching method you might like to try relates to the border stitching I just mentioned.  Sometimes you can find some very simple pictures in a child's colouring book that can be used as templates.  If I wanted to stay with the cat theme, I could have found a large picture of a cat, made a template and traced it onto the quilt top.  I then would have top stitched the quilt following the traced lines.

To difficult to mark the top of your quilt?  Use the back.  You can trace your pattern on the back of the quilt and then sew.  Remember, if necessary, to change your thread so that your top stitching colour is in the bobbin.

Changing the quilt size.  This is a very easy pattern to adapt.  You can add more rows vertically and/or horizontally.  You can increase or decrease the block size.

Did you use any variations in your quilt?  If so, tell me what they were or, better yet, send a photo.  I would like to show off your quilts so please send pictures.

Next month, I am going to have some ideas for quick or last minute gift making.  In January, I will be posting something completely different that I hope you all will enjoy. (May do it earlier if I can't wait!)  And, if you liked doing the mystery quilt, let me know.  I would be pleased to do another one in the New Year.
Blessings.

This and That

Welcome to the newest members.  I think I will have to do some sort of milestone project later on.  Not sure just what the goal should be-six month mark, 25 members?  Will have to think on that.

Just some random thoughts today.  Yesterday, my husband was out hunting.  It was a miserable day.  We had rain and snow and a mix of both.  I, of course, was in my studio sewing away and looking out at the back of our property when I saw a movement.  You guessed it; a deer.  Roger never saw anything all day.

Handquilting Frames:  I don't watch very much television and, when I do, I like to keep my hands busy.  Lately, I have been trying to improve my hand applique (and finish a project I started over 30 years ago) so have been wrestling with various sized hoops to hold my work. I really wanted some kind of frame but it had to be foldable as we are a bit short on space.   The  frames in the quilt magazines are nice but too expensive.  Last night I tried out something that was posted in an one of the on-line groups I subscribe to (or it may have been a mag. hint).  It works great.  I put the quilt in the largest hoop I have, placed the 'top' of the hoop on  the back of a kitchen chair  and the 'bottom' rested in my lap.  It can be turned easily, is simple to move to a different area of a quilt without undoing a bunch of clamps or pins, and stores beside the couch.

Pining a Quilt:  Here is an idea of my own.  I have read of various methods of securing quilt backing before pining but the easiest method I have found is using butterfly clamps.  I am not sure that is what they are called but they can be found in stationary stores, are black and have 'wings' that fold back to be used as handles to open the clamp part.  Get the biggest ones you can find, spread your fabric on the table, place clamps on fabric and one side of the table.  Move to opposite side, pull fabric taut, clamp.  Repeat on other ends.  If your quilt is too big for the table, you can still use this method, pin the surface that is on the table, move quilt and then repeat. Much easier on the back than doing it all on the floor and your resident fur child won't be walking or sleeping on it while you work.

Are you working on the mystery quilt?  How are you doing?

Blessings.

Fur Family

A number of the e mails I have been reading lately have been about  furred family members.  I have always loved dogs and cats.  There have been very few years of my life that have not been graced by the company of either furry friend and usually both.  My first dog was a black lab mix who, not very imaginatively, I named, Blackie.  I was about two when I chose him from a litter and he stayed with us until we moved when I was eight.  I never did know what happened to him.  Was he abandoned, taken to another home, put to sleep?  I never forgot him and never had an answer to my question.  By the time I asked my father, he couldn't remember.
We had various other dogs and cats while I was a home but the first that was my very own was Lady, a very intelligent mixed breed.  She was a pretty dog about the size of a spaniel and the markings of a collie.  She was the smartest dog I have ever owned. (Sorry, Heidi but it is the truth)  She lived to be almost 20 and I thought I would never get over having to put her to sleep.  A stray tortiose shell cat, Morris was already part of the household and she missed her companion as well.  A few years later, I got Missy, a Maltese.  They both lived to a good age and then joined Lady.  And I once again grieved.  My son brought me a lovely little orange kitty, Sandy, which helped. When I married and moved west, Rick took him back into his home and he grew into one huge cat. 
In Edmonton, we took in another stray who we named Pascha which gradually changed to Tascha.  Tascha was a real gentleman who never pushed but always was there to give a cuddle when it was needed.  He used to wait by the door when I came home, walked on a leash and would sit and come on command.  We were blessed by him for pver 18  years but when we decided to move east, we knew the trip would be to hard for him.  We had him cremated and his ashes and photo sit where I can see them when I wake up.  His photos are everywhere and I still find strands of his white hair on my fabric.  It has been over a year and I still miss his dear face.
And now we have Heidi, a very energetic and stubborn westiepoo.  Not, perhaps, the best choice of dog for  an aging couple but she seems happy and healthy.  I know the day will come when we will have to do what is best for her and send her on her way.  Until them, however, I will enjoy every minute that we have her although a little less when she chews up my shoes.
Blessings