Stories on a winter day

It's a dreary day here.  Winter has arrived.  We have snow on the ground and it is here to stay, although there isn't much of it and the temperatures outside haven't been more than -10 at night and just below zero in the day.  But the sun doesn't shine at this time of year and people (and dogs - especially my dog) just want to hunker down.

When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were here last month they had a specific goal, which was to meet the youth who have been involved with building mountain biking trails on a local mountain.  The youth are mostly First Nations and the trail building has been important to them as them go through their teenage years, both for something to do, work at, feel involved in and proud of and for the fact that the trails are internationally known now as world class mountain biking trails.  You can read more about the trails and the youth in the article here or you can watch a trailer for a movie made about the trail building and the youth here.

There was a rumour that the Duke and Duchess were going to ride on the trails and there were bikes ready and waiting for them, but instead they went by car up to a certain spot on the trails where there was a meet and greet with the youth and their families.  Then they drove down to the road/railway tracks by the water and the youth rode down and met them there.  This is where I saw them and got to listen to their conversation with the youth and grab that great photo of Kate.  (See it here)  While the couple were at the meet and greet a few of the grandmothers and mothers of the youth asked for, and received, hugs from their Royal Highnesses.

I've heard that the Brits were appalled.  And maybe some Canadians were too.  But after there was a letter to the editor in the local paper that painted my town in a very negative light, a friend decided to make some bumper stickers.  We are all chuckling.

You might notice that I have fixed (I hope) my problem with the photos rotating.  It was a setting in my camera that fixed it.  Sorry for blaming you Google.

I received some lovely hexies for October from Helen in Britain.  I hope I haven't offended her - or any other Brits - with my tongue-in-cheek humour about the royal couple.  There were vary gracious and lovely in my brief couple of minutes experience and I have added respect for them.

I am collecting stamps as I want to decoupage them onto something - I'm not sure what yet - so I was thrilled that Helen sent the letter with a number of stamps on it. 

I have made fourteen more of my little postage stamp blocks in the last week.  63 - 37 = 26 left to go.  And I have another thirteen ready to sew.  Progress!!

That's all for today.  See you next week! :)

Janet 

A wee bit of sewing

I started to write "a wee bit of snow"...  We did have our first snowfall yesterday, about two inches worth, and I thought it would stay around for a while.  But the sun came out this morning and before I could get a nice photo of the fluffy whiteness it was starting to melt away.  There will be ice on the road tomorrow morning.

I have managed to do some sewing in the last week.  I am determined to finish the postage stamp quilt this year.  Since I decided that it needs three more rows, I have to make 63 more of those 2 1/2 inch blocks.  So I have been sorting scraps, and cutting and matching.

I do hope that someone can tell me how to turn my pictures in Blogger.  For some reason it always turns them sideways.
Anyway I have made 13 blocks - 50 more to go!

And I have my swap hexies for October done.  These are going to Jenny in Queensland, Australia.  I loved making the one with the raindrops falling on the flowers in the centre hexie.  I admit it is a bit busy though.

That's all for this week.  Not bad if I do say so myself!

Janet 

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi everyone,

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada.  I have been having an allergic reaction to something all day and took Benadryl and slept.  But I was at my friend Linda's yesterday for a delicious Thanksgiving feast - turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, yams, Brussels sprouts, beets, pumpkin pie and cheesecake.  And lots of friends to party with - there were thirteen of us for dinner.  And seven dogs.

Last time I posted I was at a quilt retreat.  I worked on these Union Jack blocks.  I am doing this quilt as a quilt as you go, don't ask me why, it just seemed like it would be easier.  I am going to use a dark blue sashing between the blocks but I decided they have to be at least two inches, so I am going to have to figure out a way to add batting to them.  So I have made it more challenging for myself.  Well I like a challenge.

I received these blocks in a Canadians Quilt swap.  One is missing from the photo because I have to do some repair on it.   At the retreat I cut the batting and backing for the blocks and got five of them quilted.

My other major project was my postage stamp quilt.  Here it is all put together.

And then I decided I need three more rows.  So I have to make 63 more blocks.  These blocks are 2 1/2 inches before adding the sashing.  I plan to FINISH this quilt this year.  So I have been diligently cutting pieces for my blocks.

You may have heard that we had a visit in my little town of Carcross from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.  Although I wouldn't call myself a "royalist" as we say in Canada to indicate people who are enamoured with the royal family, I wasn't going to miss this opportunity to see them.  I didn't have a conversation with them specifically but I got a fantastic photo of Kate while she was speaking to my friend's daughter.  The little girl was overwhelmed as you can see in the photo.

That's all the excitement for this week.  I am now working two jobs for the next month.  We are having an election in the Yukon and I am a returning officer.  I figure I'll have some moments to sew here and there and we are going to have a mini retreat when it is done.  Yahoo!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Janet 

Good morning.  I am still here!  It is so difficult to get to blogging sometimes.  Too much of this going on these days.

That was last weekend.  This weekend I'm at a quilt retreat in beautiful Haines Junction!

 Here are my friends Linda and Marg, diligently working while I play. 

I finished up my hexie flowers for Lin for August and second round hexies for Jennifer for September

Both of these flowers are blue although the ones on the left look almost black in this photo.  Lin asked for dark blue floral petals and light blue floral centres.

 

Jennifer asked for second round hexies in any colour. 

 

I'll have more to show tomorrow. Time to get back to sewing!!

 

Janet

 

My Pincushion Parade

As I mentioned yesterday, Ida, at My Sister Made Me Do It is sponsoring a Pincushion Parade.  Entries can be made up until September 15th and there are prizes, :-), so be sure to join in.

I have an embarrassment of pincushions.  I wasn't going to show them all, but then I couldn't decide which ones to leave out.  So bear with me as I show them off.

First up is Goldilocks, the princess.  And as can be the case with Goldilocks, or even with princesses, this one has no actual duties.  It just looks pretty.  I received this one in a pincushion swap.

And then we have the chair.  Another one that has to spend it's life looking pretty, and showing off some fancy pins that I was gifted.  This one was a present from my friend Nancy.

Another one that I received in a swap.  This one is so intricate that it has to be on display, I mean look at that detail!  Well it does hold a token few pins.

Another one received in a swap.  Isn't this the best!!  It  lives by my sewing machine and sometimes has a heavy burden and other times only a few pins.

This little pincushion log was my mother's and was made either by her or by my sister.  I should find out which it was.  I use it for needles mostly.

I found this lovely little basket, complete with pins, at a garage sale.  My friend wanted the lot of sewing gear that it was in.  She paid $2 for all of it and let me have the pincushion.

The chicken is my main man.  He gets heavy use and is much admired when I take him to retreat.  He was a gift from my friend Dahn.

Another one from a swap - who knew that I participated in this many pincushion swaps!  This one lives on the side of my design wall and gets lots of use.

I acquired this beautiful dressmaker's form at a gift exchange at a retreat.  The exchange was one of those where you can steal gifts from others and I had to work hard to hold on to it.  Unfortunately it is not very stable.  It is top heavy and tips over easily.  So I don't use it much.  One of these days I'll find time to figure out how to add some weight to the bottom.

I do have one pincushion that I made and it was a labour of love.  It also isn't very stable as I didn't put enough lead shot in the bottom of it.  One day I'll fix it.  In the meantime my granddaughter likes to make designs on it with the coloured pin heads.

And the pièce de résistance is this fantastic creation that I received in another pincushion swap.  What a labour of love! The little bird nest and baby birds are hand made out of Fimo. and the whole thing is 3-D.  I don't remember what I made and sent, but I'm sure it wasn't this wonderful.

 So there you have my "perfectly pleasing" pincushion parade.  I hope you enjoyed seeing my fun collection.

Please check out the other collections over at My Sister Made Me Do It blog.

Janet

A Fall Outing

Hey my lovely followers!  I'm back, after a long absence.  Life just gets ahead of me sometimes....

We had a lovely fall outing today, featuring fish and berries.  Although it looks grey, and it was windy and cool, it was still lovely weather.  The fall has to be my favourite time of year in the Yukon.

We canoed with some friends into a series of small lakes, high up in the mountains.

We ate lots of food, caught three trout and picked berries galore.

Here we have an array of blueberries and mossberries, and just a few cranberries.  Yum.  I hope you had a great labour day.  I'll be back tomorrow to post pincushions for Ida's Pin Cushion Parade!

Janet

Friday Night Sew In report

Wendy extended Friday Night Sew In through Easter Monday,but I am still managing to post late.  But I am here and I sewed - those are two big accomplishments!

I did a little bit of hexie sewing over the weekend, starting with two sets of twelve 2nd round hexies for Kris, who was my swap partner for March.

Then I put some of my own second round hexies on to a couple of flowers.

I'm on a bit of a green roll.  :)

Please stop by Wendy's blog to see what others got up to for FNSI.

Janet 

52 Week Photo Challenge - Ice Cream

It is a good thing that I am attempting to keep up with this photo challenge, otherwise you may not have heard from me for a couple of months!  I certainly have done very little sewing lately.  Ah well, the busyness will slow down sometime soon and I have lots of sewing adventures lined up for April!

The word this week is ice cream.  Being lactose intolerant, I have a love/hate relationship with ice cream.  I love how it tastes, but not how it makes me feel after the taste sensation is over.  However, about a year ago I discovered coconut milk based ice cream.  It is almost as good as the real thing.  The texture is a bit more akin to a sherbet, but the flavours are delish!

Here is one of my favourite flavours, Cherry Amaretto made by So Delicious.  YUMMY!

What flavour do you love the most?

Please check out Shaz' blog to see how others interpreted the word of the week.

Janet 

52 Week Photo Challenge - Heat

Hello fans and visitors,

I seem to have missed a week in the photo challenge...  Life is moving at a very fast pace right now!

Well, the word for this week is "heat" and I have an easy subject for my photo.

Next to the sun, this is my favourite heat source.  Of course we aren't using it these days because the insurance company won't let us - too old and not certified to today's standards, they say.  It is a darn good stove though and kept us warm for more than twenty years.  I can't remember how the circles on the side came about.  I think one of the kids pressed a frisbee or something similarly circular against it when it was hot.  Now it hold my aloe plant (sad looking little dumpling), the egg shells that I grind prior to throwing them in the compost, and the dog's toys.  Oh, and the copper kettle that was a gift from my aunt and uncle, both deceased.  

I think I need to do some dusting.... 

Please check out the other photos of "heat" on Shaz' blog.

Janet 

Week 3 of 52 Week Photo Challenge

The word for this week was "yoga".  I had big plans for this word but my yoga practice should have cued me in that I shouldn't make so many plans.  So here is my simple yoga photo - my home yoga studio.

Here you see my pink yoga mat, my blanket - for putting under my knees when they start to hurt from too much kneeling on them, my block (a dictionary works quite well), and my yoga instructor.  

If you are looking for an on-line yoga instructor, check out Adriene at Yoga with Adriene.  She is lovely and has the perfect balance for me of hard work and fun in her videos.  And most of them are free.  

Please check out Alshas Space blog to see what other photogs found to depict "yoga".

Janet 

Photo Challenge Week 2 - Bread

Hi there everyone and happy Sunday!  Well it is Sunday here anyway and a glorious, sunny, warm Sunday it is.  I hear it is - 40 in Ontario and there was a big blizzard going on in Newfoundland when I talked to my daughter yesterday.  Not here!  -2 and sunny and there were fantastic northern lights last night!

The word for this week in Shaz' photo challenge was bread.  I wasn't too sure how I was going to get a photo of bread as we aren't eating bread right now and we don't have any in the house.  And I forgot all about taking a photo during the week when I was in town and could have gone to a store and taken a photo.

So this morning I had to go to a short meeting at some friends (well really closer to acquaintances than friends) about the art and craft show that we are organizing next Sunday in my little town and I took my camera along just in case they had a loaf of bread fresh out of the oven, or sliced on a cutting board that I could nab a picture of.  Well they did have a loaf of bread, and it looked homemade and yummy, but it was in a plastic bag in a breadbox on the counter.  So I asked if they would mind if I took it out of the bag and took a photo of it.  They looked at me like I was a little nuts and asked me why....  But once I explained they were very cooperative and even told me about how the bread is made and said they would send me the recipe.

So, here is bread, made by my friend Rob.

Be sure to check out the other bread photos over on Shaz' blog.

Janet 

52 Week Photo Challenge

Shaz from Alsha's Space blog is doing the 52 week photo challenge again this year and I thought I would join in.  I haven't been taking as many photos as I would like and this may encourage me.

The word for week one is "red".  I have hummed and hawed about what to take a photo of that was red.  Then today my two girls who live close by put on a lovely party for my birthday (which is tomorrow).  We all had a nice ski and then lots of food.  The cake was a pièce de résistance.  I told DD # 3 that I wanted a cake without sugar.  Well the cake wasn't totally sugar free as it had some maple sugar in it, but it was really lovely.  Coconut cake with whipped coconut cream topping and berries.  It was beautiful and fits the bill for a photo of red.

What does it mean to me?  That I have a wonderful family and great friends and that we can share fun times together.

And that I am very lucky!  I only wish that my Newfoundland family could have been here.

Janet

Friday Night Sew In

I did manage to do a bit of sewing this weekend, so I do have something to show for my Friday Night Sew In report.  Yay!  I am finding it difficult to get any sewing done these days.  But I keep trying.

For Friday Night Sew In this month I completed my December Canadians Quilt block for Lisa.  Better late than not at all....  Edited to add - the tutorial for this block came from blossom heart quilts blog

I also spent lots of time outside this weekend.  Our temperatures are hovering around 0 C.  So warm! It looks like spring in my little town.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and got some sewing done!  Please go to Wendy's blog to see what others accomplished for FNSI.

Janet 

Friday Night WITH Friends

At this time of year in the Yukon it is dark and cold.  Now I actually like cold weather - it is crisp and clean and healthy feeling, but it sure sucks the energy out of you.  After a lot of -5 C to - 15 C our weather finally plunged to normal levels of cold for January so it is -15 C to -30 C now.  The cold makes everything very beautiful too, with ice fog and hoar frost and sun dogs - or even moon dogs - featuring prominently along with the Aurora Borealis.  Here is what I get to look at when driving home from work at 3:30 p.m.

And here is how beautiful the trees look with a hoar frost coating.

These pretty pictures are leading up to my excuse for not getting much done last night at Friday Night With Friends.  I was just tuckered out what with the cold weather and working all week.  I managed to finish putting a second round of hexies on one of my flowers for my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  And I basted a bunch of green hexies for the next garden path.

A productive night despite my lack of energy.  I'm off to check out what the rest of the friends got up to.  

Janet  

Friday Night Without Friends

I wasn't sure whether January 1st was going to be the night for Cheryll's Friday Night with Friends or not.  And I guess I was too lazy to look it up. I just sewed instead.  And it turns out that she had postponed it to the second Friday of the month, so as not to interfere with people's New Year's Day fun and excitement.  I guess I didn't have any fun scheduled, except for some sewing.  I am scrambling to catch up actually.  It's a new year and I haven't finished all my swap items from last year!

Well I got two things finished on Friday night, even without any friends....

My hexies for Mary for December in the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap.  She asked for bright colours and solid centres.

Then I whipped up (it actually took a couple of hours) this paper pieced block for Jan in the Quilting Block Swap paper piece group.  Jan asked for blacks, oranges, greys on a white background for this block.  I think she must be making a Halloween quilt!

I still have two blocks to make for 2015, both for the Canadians Quilt bee.  Hopefully I get to them next Friday, when it really is Friday Night with Friends.  If you want to sew along with us please go to Cheryll's Gone Stitchin' blog on Wednesday to sign up.

I'll see you on Friday! 

Janet