a little late tonight

My son Rick was here for a couple of hot dogs and a visit. He just left so that is why my blog is late tonight.
I did do some work today , embroidered one tea towel of my leaf series . Doesn't that sound important :>)) It is a red towel with yellow stitching.
Very nice!!!
Then I finished the other side of my tea cozy which has been sitting there for a month at least. But then my machine was out of comission when it was 2 weeks at the dealers and then there was the two weeks we had company and I did not sew at all. So it has been quite a while for" Me and My Shadow" LOL .
That took most of the afternoon , next there is fancy stitching to be done on the cozy but I will tackle that tomorrow.

We went out for lunch today at Boston Pizza. I said to Ray let's go to a restaurant before the HST kicks in tomorrow. Last chance to beat the tax man. LOL
And I went to London Drugs where I bought my camera because it would only let me use the internal memory and would not change over to the memory card. The guy was not all that friendly even though he wasn't doing anything. However he really didn't have a choiced so I told him my problem. He opened up the place where card was, did soemthing there and gave it back to me. I asked what the problem was and he said, wait for it,.... The card wasn't in properly LOL> He didn't even smile but I could see it going around in his head, "Stupid Woman" And for this she disturbed me! But I win, my camera works now :>))
I am going to start a list of things I need at Tom's . Whenever I go there I forget what I need. Does anyone else do that?
Buenos Noches folks.

Sewing and Knitting with friends

So much fun getting together with friends chatting, sewing, doing lunch and yes knitting LOL I did the Kitchener Stitch on the toe of BettyLlu's sock so one sock is done after a long time. We were not able to get together for the last month and that slowed us down. She can start the next sock and get down to the Partridge Stitch, just learned that name LOL. it stands for the stitch at the back of the heel, then turn the heel which puts her on the way to the toe.
I did more than knit though :>) I also appliqued my butterflies. Today's butterfly is so pretty ,now I just have to add the body and embroider the antennae.
Then it was off to Community Quilts where I sewed down the binding on a quilt for the children's hospital, chatted and joked around with my friends and got a promise from Lynn to quilt my heart quilt. Ha! She took it home with her so I'll probably get it back next week as she is going to a retreat and said she would work on it there. What a friend, I will be making her another pair if socks and she already has the wool in mind that she wants.
I took Betty home ans she made tea, she had little egg rolled sandwiches with a pickle in the middle. I do so love those and she had some great new little cakes too. I am just too spoiled these days.
Went to the doctor on the way hometo get some refills for prescriptions. Was I tired when I got home so took a nap....ZZZZ.
We had hot dogs for dinner and Ray had to go to the dentist to gethis root canal, another $750 but he needed it to get rid of the infection and pain. And he is not over with the dentist yet.
Now we are waiting for my sone to come in from Louisiana,his brother #5 son Matthew picked him up so who knows when they will get here.
Long and lovely day,what could be better.
Have a great evening folks.
Buona Sera.

it is finally done

Wow I finally gOt this little quilt finished but you know as we all do at times I am thinking maybe I should do some more quilting LOL and I just might, who knows. The binding which gave me such trouble yesterday went well today. I don't know if I mentioned in an earlier blog that I steamed this quilt and the blocks under the iron just shrivelled up. I did the best I could to straighten them out but it is not perfect. The Amish and God will be happy.
Ray and I went out this morning to look for some OTC items he needs and a bit of lunch.
Then I went upstairs to my PC where all my embroidery designs are stored . I bought some new ones from Emblibrary, so downloaded them onto the memory stick and then the accompanying instructions and thread suggestions. Emblibrary does such a fabulous job of making sure you can do the job well. They have project instructions and videos on how to do techniques. I love the designs too, they are wonderful. I am alwasy tempted to purchase and they do a great marketing job!! LOL.
Since tomorrow is my sewing day, I start the day meeting with my friend Pat for coffee before we go to the church for our first sewing group. It is all applique, no machines. Then off to Community Quilts, after that tea and cookies at Betty's. I haven't been for several weeks so I am really looking forward to it.
I have a doctor appointment at 3:00 . My son is coming from La. at 8:00 so you can see my day will be a long one.
Now that is my blog for tomorrow LOL....
I am off now for the night, have a good night everyone.

quilting tip

Where to put those pesky used needles either machine or hand needles. Mine are put in a used prescription drug container, saved for a while and then they can go into the trash and not stick anyone's fingers. Safe quilting :>)
I also use these containers for applique tooth picks that we use to needleturn our applique pieces . Other uses are for fine pins , select buttons for a specific project, and QTips that I use in my sewing area for spreading machine oil in parts I want the oil to go such as up the needle shaft on ocassion and picking up any extra oil in the bobbin area .
After yesterday's excitement we had a fairly quiet day today. Ray is still suffering from an infection in his tooth. we did go to Lenscrafter though as I sat on my reading glasses and broke the arm off them , my computer glasses were way too loose so they needed tightening and my new ones that I just got needed an adjustment. We had a coffee and cinnamon bun for a treat.
I started adding the binding to my Halloween quilt , will it never end
:>(..... Of course not ! As I am winding my way close to the end i discovered ,the ultimate sewing annoyance, no bobbin thread. And here I thhought to end it before I made dinner. Not about to happen. Ray said is there any rush on that one. Not really.. so I'll finish it tomorrow. My eyes were so sore so I am giving it a rest. It appears that I will have to take things easy with these eyes. Even the computer is becoming hard to see at times. Eye Strain? What do you think?
I am putting up one more photo of Chelsea and Dal Richards.
Have a good evening folks.
Takeit easy.

Dal Richards band

A wonderful event today down in Gastown. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm with a light breeze, my favourite kind of day.Gastown was full of people ,all the restaurants and pubs were full. The music of Dal Richard's band was the jazz of the forties which took me so far back in my life, a day of real nostalgia. There were people dancing the jive and jitterbug of the 40s , it was just the best and one old guy was dancing by himself and dancing well by the way . He kept gesturing to the audience for a partner and in the end he got several ladies to dance with him.LOL And my very talented granddaughter was playing a saxophone solo with the band. She was note perfect and so in rhythm with the music. She has an amazing self confidence and charm.
Dal Richards presented her with a $2000 scholarship to continue her music studies which she will be doing at Humber University in Toronto. It was her day and she was joyous.
We were all so proud of her and happy for her , her dad, mom, uncle and two grandmothers. It was such a beautiful day!!!
Ray was still too sick to attend today but I hope he will be better for next Sunday when she plays at the Jazz Festival at the Roundhouse.
And my camera kicked out at the precise moment when Chelsea was playing her solo. Now it won't even download to my computer so no photos :<(((
Bon nuit!

got it!!

Sewing machine is back where she belongs after 2 weeks away :>)) But we were so busy that I only got some embroidery done.
Ray has an infection that started in a tooth the dentist has been wroking on for a while. Ray is so prone to devastating infections that are nearly fatal that we are frightened at the word. I told my 4th son Jim today that he has an infection and he nearly jumped out of his skin. So Ray had to go back to the dentist for an examination and then had to get antibiotics to eliminate the infection. Because he has kidney disease caused by a previous massive infection he has to be careful that the antibiotics are not too strong. It is all a balancing act..
Between the dentist and the pharmacy it took quite a long while.
Then my oldest son Adam called to say he is coming up from Louisiana on Tuesday.
Then my 5th son Matthew called to say he would pick us up tomorrow noon to take us to Chelsea's concert where she is playing with Dal Richards band down in Gastown. I'll take pictures ;)))
Then of course we had to go to Surrey to pick up the sewing machine. So you see it was a busy day.
My life has been a whirlwind lately but I like that better than no whirl at all LOL>
Pictures up today are my childhood home which Heather bought from us in 1978 after my mom and dad passed on. So we can still go and visit Heather and the house LOL.
Then I added my leaf embroidery that I did today. I am in a leaf phase right now and plan on more leaf towels in the near future.
Have a great evening. :>)

It's 8:00 and it's late

I am a bit late writing this blog tonight as I had to watch The Mentalist. :>)
It was a grand day today , the weather was gorgeous, all the flowers were at their very best,the gardens so showy due to the rain and not too much heat. A day to be happy.
My friends Heather and Karen and I had a buffet lunch at the Vancouver Hotel . The buffet was delicious and the desserts were to die for mmmm. We then went to the Art Gallery to see the show of the drawings of French artists in La Belle Epoque, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet and others. These drawings and sketches are preliminary designs for the paintings and in them selves are not perfect but you can see the thoughts of the artists in preparation for the final piece of art. I do like these artists and have often enjoyed photos of their work. No photographs were allowed but any of these artists can be found on the internet of course.
And the news on the sewing front is good, tomorrow I can go for my sewing machine, oh happy day, I do have a few pieces to complete. I need to do some embroidery as well, another tea towel for Ray so he has more than one. He likes them.
I thought there was more to say but if there is I have forgotten what it was LOL.
So good evening folks - bon nuit mes amis.

out to lunch and doctors

In more ways than one haha.... But I did go out to lunch today with some friends from my Healthy Heart group. I do not go any more due to neuropathy in my feet and legs which keeps my off balance. Have you ever given a thought to where your doctor ranked in medical school. Some doctors are so good and others are useless. When I first got this neuropathy I could not find a doctor who was able to give me a diagnosis or an answer to my problem. One doctor whose only diagnosis was have your back aligned. That was his diagnosis for each and all ailments. That didn't take much thought did it. So I did get my back aligned and still do so on a regular basis but it did nothing for my feet. Did you think it would? HAH!!!
Then I asked my eye specialist if he could tell me what was wrong with my feet and after listening to my symptoms he said you have peripheral neuropathy and explained what that was. Now that was a DOCTOR!!!! I am forever grateful to him because from that point on I was able to get help.
After lunch I came home and slept, darn that is such a waste of sewing time. I did manage to download a couple of designs to the memory stick though so I am ready to go when I get the time.
Tomorrow I am going to the Art Gallery and lunch again. Such a socialite
but I do love my friends.
That's all folks-going to make a salad.
Good Night and have a good night.

soaps, scrubs,creams and misc.

Soaps, hard milled or soft milled, what is the difference? I looked on the internet half the day but did not find the answer to this question but I do know that hard milled soaps are usually fancy soaps that are made by perfumers and they last a lot longer than regular softer soaps that you buy in the grocery store . I use a scrub on my face to exfoliate my skin but only occasionally not daily. And I always use a face cream each morning so my face feels good for the day but at night I clean my skin off because I like it to be clean before going to bed. more than you ever wanted to know?
Ha I'll bet !!
Kathy came over and formatted my new embroidery machine ( the one she so generousy gave me, in case you have forgotten ) . Before she left we added some designs to both the Flash Card and the Memory Stick to see how they both worked.AND THEY DID :>) Then after she had left I got things ready to embroider a tea towel. The machine was fabulous. I did hear a funny noise early on but then realized it was the automatic thread cutter LOL. Something new and wonderful.
Kathy showed me pictures of what she embroidered when she got home. While I did one tea towel she did five of them. WOW!! I have alwasy been a slow sewer for some strange reason. But then that's okay, no need to criticize myself or make unreasonable comparisons. We are what we are !!
Tomorrow after I return from a luncheon with my Healthy Heart Group of ladies I plan to do another tea towel. I am making them for Ray. So far in his kitchen, that's right , his kitchen..... He gets the ones I make mistakes on so I wanted him to have ones that are Perfect , ya really LOL.
Off to add a photo or even two.
Have a great evening.

frustrating day

I was going to embroider today but spent most of the afternoon trying to get my flash cards and flash sticks, hope that is what they are called to work in my new machine. No luck but Kathy to the rescue.. She is coming over tomorrow to show me what to do.
I was also going to do some cutting of my animal skin 10" squares , I need to cut them into 4 - 5" squares. And I have some jungle animal heads too that need to be cut to size. Maybe tomorrow but it seems all my plans are falling apart lately. As my Scottish mom used to say " the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley" Robbie Burns I think.
My son fell down the stairs at his home and broke some bones in his face,not sure how many probably two, but he said it is not too bad. He is not a complainer so who knows. I'll see him on Saturday when he comes to pick us up for My granddaughter's solo with Dal Richards band in Gas Town. She will be receiving a $2000 scholarship too from Dal Richard's who is a jazz fan , to further her music studies at Humber next fall.
He says he looks like a chipmunk. I suspect I won't get a photo of him as he is very private. I on the other hand am a Chatty Cathy and tell all.LOL
Speaking of dolls my friend in Phoenix has recently bought or been given some new dolls for which she has been making clothes. Clever lady.I have some dolls too , one of which has been added to my blog quite a while ago, that would be Shirley Temple. I'm going to post another photo of some of my dolls because I have no stitching to post LOL.
Today I stayed up all day, no long naps so I guess I am on the mend. No relapses I hope.
Have a good night folks.
Buona notte...

Father's Day

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day.
A very quiet day here, we went out last night for dinner and had calls from our family here. Most of our family is somewhere else, Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec so it is just the two of us.
It was also another one of those days when I slept most of the afternoon. I wish I wasn't so tired, it has been a week now and I am fed up with this sleepiness.
There is much I want to do but can't.
My machine will not be ready for another week as my dealer is doing the servicing for all the local schools in his municipality. I should have kept it at home but did not know he was that busy.
For dinner tonight I made a nice plate of veggies, cheese, gherkins and salami. It was really a good treat.
I have a friend who lives in Kansas and we cannot reach her. There have been some bad storms over Kansas and another friend and I think that at the very least her power has been knocked out. Let's hope that is all.
Now I am thinking if I get the ironing board out I'll get something done LOL> But one can never underestimate the power of suggestion , can one?
So tomorrow out it comes.
My best to all, have a good evening!

monkies

I read in the newspaper today that monkies and people love to watch TV. Now what does that say about people or monkies for that matter. Do monkies actually know what is going on I wonder. Are people on the same plain as monkies, are we equally intelligent. It gives cause to wonder doesn't it. I had to laugh at the comparison. However we do associate ourselves and monkies in the science lab where we use monkies to experiment on in order to learn what would work on people. Maybe we are not far from them on the evolutionary scale.:>)
Nah just kidding!! I know we are miles ahead of monkies but still if we both love watching TV some things are equivalent. But then I had a canary that loved to wach football and a parrot that sang O Canada when she heard it or when she didn't hear it. Sometimes I think we underestimate our animal friends. I love them no matter what.
Still on the subject of monkies, in Vancouver there are quite a few Monkey trees or Monkey puzzle trees. When I was young they told us it was the only tree taht monkies couldn't climb or the only tree that only monkies could climb, I am not sure which. It is a good story but no where on the internnet did I find this story. However I did find lots of information on the care of these trees but I am not really interested as I don't have one . But two stories kind on interested me, one that Buddha sat under the monkey tree for years to contemplate and find enlightenment and Isaac Newton had his epiphany while sitting under one. Now take what you will from these two stories, I heard that Newton was sitting under an apple tree and the apple fell on his head making him contemplate the theory of gravity. Who knows, but apparently a monkey tree is a good placde to contemplate. LOL

still woozy

Had to cancel Friday, still woozy and shaky.I spent the rest of the day in bed once again. I sure hope this is the last one. I want to get on with my life. Thank goodness I love to read, books have been my saving grace through all kinds of life's hardhships and pleasures. I believe that is called bibliotherapy, something we can all do for ourselves. Reading stories of the lives of others can help you make sense of your own, can give you comfort and joy and relieve lonliness. That's the therapy part of bibliotherapy
The day was beautiful, sunny and warm!! No day to spend in bed but it was kind of nice and cozy with the sun shining in the window. That's the sunny side of life :>) Every cloud has a silver lining if you can find it LOL.
Enough of the weather report :>)
I musr call my dealer to see if he is close to doing my machine. He had a room full of machines to service but he has had it since last Thursday, That's 9 days and I want it home. Tomorrow if I feel better I am going to do some embroidery on my new machine.
Oh by the way I finished one sock and started the other.
Watching Criminal Minds so I'll say good night.

back to normal

We went out today. Both Ray and I needed adjustments to our new glasses. It was a bit of a walk but that is good for us.
Ray is jumping up and down, his toe cramped, oh that is so painful :>)
Still no machine so we took the ironing board down and put it away , it goes into the closet to rest but lives mostly in the living room. Sometimes Ray gets fed up with it, I was fed up too so we put it away. I hope my machine comes back soon so the ironing board can come out of the closet LOL and I can do some sewing.
Remember the little quilt that I steamed and it shrunk right up? Well Kathy suggested that I applique a pumpkin on it and I think that is a good idea but still need the sewing machine as the binding has to be machine sewn down.
It took half the afternoon to complete an insurance form for getting some money back from my prescriptions , chiropractors, podiatrist and eyeglasses. That should be a nice cheque. I had to get some forms off the internet and my old printer took a long time to read the forms and print them, then I needed to locate all the numbers they want, this card and that card, no wonder it took so long to complete but it is ready now for mailing.
I'm still a bit woozy so it is time to rest as my day was very busy.
Bon nuit mes amis.

another day in bed

No it isn't the flu , I know what that is. It is the pill Cymbalta, I guess it does not agree with my system. I have been up since 3:00 PM and now I want to go back to bed. Darn!! I hate wasting my days in bed.
I had a lunch date with three friends today and had to cancel, didn't think I could drive there. It was so disappointing but there is always the next time.
Needless to say there was once again no sewing , another Darn!! But I did some thinking LOL. I will complete two projects when my machine comes back, the barbecue apron and the tea cozy.
On the plus side one of my socks is done and the other begun.
Ray bought some local strawberries today and just gave me a bowl of them, MMMM they are fabulous, sweet and juicy. And with sinful whipped cream... well what can I say.
I love the fresh fruits at this time of year. When we were young we used to steal cherries off an old man's tree. He had Bings and we all particularly loved those , they are so big, black and juicy. He had to wait and watch for us kids trying to climb his tree. We didn't all climb at once though LOL. We managed to be sneaky haha. Once in a while he caught us and gave us a smack. All adults were allowed to do that in those days. Now he could have been sued!!
Time to lie down again. I pray that tomorrow is better.
Have a good one folks!

taking a sick day

Doctor gave me a new med yesterday , took one pill this morning and it will be the last one. I am still not feeling well so am taking the night off as that is all that happened today :>(
I'll be back tomorrow.

Happy day and sad thoughts

I had so much to be happy about today. I am the proud new owner of a Janome 350E Embroidery machine thanks to my dear friend Kathy. She made a great deal with our dealer so that I could have her machine as she had jsut bought the 11000 machine. I am so fortunate to have her as a friend. Not just for that though but because she is a wonderful friend in so many ways.
And I had great news from my cardiologist this morning, he was really pleased with my sugar and lipid numbers. I must be doing something right!! Also got a new prescription for my neuropathy . He said it would make a difference to the pain in my feet and legs. Now who wouldn't be happy ?
My sewing machine is still being serviced. I need to get some ideas on what I want to embroider on my new machine. I'll think on it overnight :>)
Remember the quilt I ruined with that shot of steam, Kathy suggested that I applique a pumpkin on that spot and make it an original. Good idea Kathy, I am going to do that. But first I have to sew down the binding.
I wonder what happened to the families of the 11 men that were killed when that oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, you never hear about them. I hope they are being taken care of by BP. My heart goes out to them in their grief.
It is so bad in the Gulf , the birds and animals are all suffering and dying. There is so little that can be done to help the poor creatures.
Bless all of you.
Bona Sera.

lovely day

The sun is out still and the day was beautiful.
I talked to my son in Louisiana and he said he was making my mom's mac and cheese . It was wonderful he said. Another generation picks up the ball!! Family recipes are the best. Good thing he has air conditioning since it requires a hot oven. We don't have installed AC so would never have the oven on on a hot day.
I wanted to sew again today,WAA no machine, definitley I'll call my dealer tomorrow after I get back from the hospital where I see the cardiologist. I sure hope my news is good one important reason is I want to go to Louisiana in October and need the doctor to say it is okay.
My number 2 and 4 sons were out hunting for bear on #4's camping property outside of Edmonton but they couldn't find him. There are friends and children who go there for a weekend of fun, barbecue and entertainment. So no need for a bear to attend the party haha. Rick is an accomplished hunter so Jim asked him to come up from Calgary to help him with the bear. He got permission from the Hunting and Wildlife folks to do that since there were kids involved. Maybe the bear was just crossing over the camp ground LOL. Personally I don't approve of huntng but sometimes it is necessary I guess. However I have no problem killing bugs so it is just a matter of degree I guess.
Going now to watch something on TV and to knit that sock, it is almost done Hurrah!
Have a great evening folks it is just so beautiful so how could you not have a good one.

remembering

Memory is a fickle thing. Sometimes you can and sometimes you can't. My memory is good for trivia or facts but names are an anathema, thank goodness folks are generous in their understanding. The other thing I have trouble with is words and my excuse there is that in the course of my long life I have accumulated so much in my brain that I figure it is like a rolodex that is so full it takes time to riffle through it to find the right word or piece of information. But I need, need to have a daily calendar to tell me where I need to be each day LOL. Who would have thought one would be dependent on a daily date book to keep us on track? But I never forget from a long list of birthdays whose birthday it is on any given day. What's that all about? Tomorrow is my friend Jan's birthday, I know she does not do computers but Happy Birthday anyway Jan.
I did give her a card too.
And yes it is true my granddaughter Mary got married to her fiance AJ and my granddaughter Meg is pregnant. It is all very exciting. Congratulations to both lovely ladies and their husbands.
My Janome 6600 is being serviced so no sewing going on here and wouldn't you know it I feel like sewing ,very contradictory. I could cut but need to be in top form to do that, too easy to make mistakes. I have some 10 inch squares that need to be cut into 5 inch squares but one slip and it's game over sonce there are just enough squares for the job. Morning or generally afternoon is my cutting time but not evening.
So I must knit that sock I started , it has been a while on just one sock and another to go. That will be my evening...
Have a good night everyone.

almost forgot

Good thing I remembered this blog tonight. We were away for the day down in Washington state. We have to use those new Nexus passes that we now have. It is a treat just heading down to the border and not having to line up for hours. We are just ike a pair of kids LOL. Some people just never grow up .
We just watched Criminal Minds another of my favourite shows. This one was about an arsonist, arsonists are very seldom caught. It brings to mind the time my ex husband set my car on fire in the middle of the night because he though I had no right to have a car which by the way I bought with my own wages. So I was without a car for the whole three years while I paid for a burned up one, and longer than that length of time.. This was in the early 60s and I did not have fire insurance due to my own ignorance. The fire marshal told me then that they knew it was him as did I but there was no way to prove it as all the evidence was burned up, a bit of irony there :>). My point is that while Criminal Minds is able to find an arsonist , in real life it is very difficult and most unusual to find one.
I wonder if that fire was because I am an Aries , a fire sign LOL. There I go being silly again.
That's all folks!!

money to spend :>)

Doesn't everyone spend $$$ when they take their car to the service station. My little yellow '87 Mustang is having a little oil leak, I hope it is little . We'll find out tomorrow what the cost will be.
But then we went to Michaels and bought some more yarn, stretchy pink wool for socks , recommended by the lady standing next to me in the yarn aisle. What could I do but purchase some. then there was the fat fluffy yarn for fat fluffy socks to wear in bed during the winter and some cotton to knit dishcloths.
As if that want enough my turquoise fabrics came. I won them in an on line Bingo game. I win that game often so much so I feel guilty sometimes. But this game I call so don't play. Some one else will win this one.
Well the garage just called and the bill will be $500, oh well I need that car and so not want another one. And not an oil leak but the rad and hoses need changing.
Kathy and I are going to a class tonight to learn how to make some kind of a paper pattern for a barbecue apron-father's day gift . My DH does not barbecue so it will need to go to mmy grandson who does barbecue.
I'll check in later tonight......maybe LOL.
Well you never know what will happen when you leave home, what a night. Son #2 Richard called to say his #2 daughter Meaghan, my granddaughter is pregnant, isn't that exciting, then his #1 daughter Mary called to say that she and her fiance got married today, Lots of wonderful news.
My #4 son Jim also called from Edmonton for a chat and I missed him.
We had a good time tonight at the class .
Kathy bought the Janome 11000 and made a deal with Tom our dealer to give me $500 for my 300E and she would give me her 350E in exchange for the $500, now that is a deal!!! Kathy is such a great friend. And I am a grateful one.
It has been a very full day so I'll wish you all a good night!

late tonight 10:00P

It was Guild night and I just got home. Thanks Kathy for the ride once again. I am fortunate to have such a good friend.
We had dinner before the guild with another friend, Barb. I wasn't too hungry so ordered a small Greek salad. Now the large salads in that restaurant are huge so I thought the small would be just fine. When it arrived I was stunned at how small it was. "You weren't kidding" I said to the waitress. She laughed, we go to her station every time and she has a good sense of humour. Good thing LOL. That salad was a joke. So I rordered a baked potato as well.
Guild tonight was a jumble of things, electing the slate of officers, and a jumble sale of good and books that people brought to the guild. One lady had these gorgoeus Japanese and Batik fabrics. I really wanted to buy some but I had not used the last pieces I bought from her so restrained myself. When I use them I buy some more. I did come home with some fabric though as one of the ladies gave me half of hers just because I said I loved it. That was so nice of her. I'll snap that fabric tomorrow and put it up on the blog.
It was a fun night!!!
There were some lovely Show and Tell quilts tonight and wouldn't you know it my camera was at home.
It was a good day, hope your day was as nice.
I'm off to bed, bon nuit. ;>()

how to make a mitered corner on binding

Dona, this is for you.

1.To make a mitered corner on the binding add a small pin, the kind used for dressmaking at a quarter inch away from the corner of the quilt.
Put/pin the binding on as you usually do and sew to the small pin. I use a dress pin because it is not in the way of the 1/4" foot, you can easily lift the phalange of the foot onto the top of the pin and sew to the pin. Leave the needle down in the quilt at the pin.



2. Turn the quilt so it is at a 90' angle and sew down to the edge of the quilt/bindingand reverse for a few stitches. Then cut the thread.



3. Take the binding and turn it straight up towards the edge of the quilt .



4. Fold it over and and bring it down so that it is even with the next edge of the quilt but leave it a bit higher than the first edge. I got this tip from Sharon Schamber and if it works for her it is good enough for me, plus it makes the corner full and you do not have to cut off the little triangle at the tip of the corner.



5.Sew the binding down at 1/4" from the edge with a few backward stitches to secure the binding. Continue on with your sewing and do the same thing at the next corner.



I put a bit of stretch on the binding to keep is straight and so it does not buckle.
Good luck.

Off topic as if that is new :>)

In the paper this morning there was an article on the " Little Adult Syndrome" regarding the trend towards making littel girls grow up way too early. This is done by the way they are dressed in designer clothes and little high heels, nail polish and makeup and the early onset of puberty as young as 9.
Suri Cruise was featured in this aticle. Now I have never had a daughter , was blessed with 5 sons, but noticed throughout my life that all little girls loved to dress up, paint their nails and lips and wear mom's high heels.
As for early onset of puberty, I heard a speaker talk on this subject at least 16 or 17 years ago so it is not a new phenomena. She said that the onset of puberty for girls has been gradually occurring at a younger and younger age since the early 1900s coincident with the use of electric light and television. I recall my mom saying she did not reach puberty until she was nearly 17, she was born in 1901 and lived in Scotland where it is always dark :>). I was born in 1932, no TV andearly to bed in Northern Manitoba where it is mostly always dark LOL and reached puberty at 13 1/2.
I think that speaker was right on in her assumption. Thinks about the birds, they lay their eggs when it begins to get lighter and hens can be made to lay more eggs with greater frequency if the lights are left on all the time.
So if you really want your daughters to have a later menarch , put them to bed early in a dark room and no TV .... Comments?
As for me I am going to finsih off my binding for tomorrow when I can get Lynn to sew the ends together. LOL

quilting today

I have to take a rest right now as I am having a hard time catching my breath. We did a lot of work this morning and then shopped at Market Place IGA for some individually wrapped weiners. Recently we are finding the packages of weiners have layers of white fat seeping out of the edges, not nice. UGH!!
Then the good part of the day, I quilted my little Hallowe'en table topper with the Snowball blocks. Mode 2 Stitch 31 on my Janome 6600 is a great stitch for that quilt as it looks like EEK!!! It is my favourtie stitch for quilting.
That took quite a while. After I made some binding out of different fabrics .One of my favourite bindings is multi fabrics all of lemons. It is on the fruit and vegetable quilt and I think I named it Market Place. I love looking at the binding even though the quilt is not a favourite of mine. After sewing the binding pieces together and trimming them I lay it all aside.
We bought some lovely looking lasagna at Costco the other day and tonight's the night, oh my how times change LOL. I pre heated the oven , then forgot all about the lasagna until Ray reminded me Haha. Now the lasagna is in the oven and I sewed today.
I want to make a little tutorial for a friend on how to make mitred corners on your binding. Tomorrow....
I had a great day, how about you!!! Tralala...
Hey my second son just called and wants to drop in , he and his wife will be just in time for dinner LOL. I am looking forward to their visit.

party time

Whoops yesterday I went to my teacher's potluck party,got home late and went right to bed as I was very tired. It was a great party though and we had lots of fun. One of my friends gave me 2 beautiful pashminas and a bead bracelet.
However earlier in the day I managed to get some of my Hallowe'en table topper quilted on my Janome 6600. There are two projects I need to finish, one is the quilt I just mentioned and the other is ........... Now what is the second one, my memory stalls LOL. Oh yes It is the tea cozy from my class last month. The next class is this coming week so I need to get it done. It is such a nice project that I want to make some for my teacher friends.
Today I did nothing in the sewing department but did go to my granddaughter's graduation ceremonies where she played and orchestrated and composed a lovely song. She is very clever in the musical arts. She was given $1500 in schlarships today. Good for her!! Chelsea is a fine example of hard work, diligence and devotion to her art. She is also an A student. Her next move is to go to Toronto to Humber University where she will study music of course.
On the way tot he university I saw a whole block of gorgeous lupins, they were a beautiful sight.
After Ray took me out for dinner which was nice since neither of us wanted to cook. We each had Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and salad.
Any more of my life story will have to wait for another day LOL.
Rest easy!!

short post I think

I don't think I will be on for long tonight as my eyes are killing me. I got new glasses about 2 weeks ago and my eys are very sore so back to the eyeglass maker I go and if they can't help me it's back to the doctor.
Not much going on here today except that we went to Costco and dropped over $200. Wow that place is getting expensive. There are lots of items that are no greater value that at some of our other stores and the lineups are bad. So from nowon I am going there only for the hot dogs LOL
After we came home my eyes were so sore I just had to go for a nap and by gosh I did sleep through a whole Willie Nelson CD almost, heard the forst two songs and woke up for the last two songs. Evergreen is the CD I have and it is my favourite, I play it often. I think I might even wear it out LOL.
Very non interesting day....
I have to get off this computer now.
Have a good one!!

There it's done

Did it , took all the pins out of my little quilt and repinned it, so now I can quilt it. That will be fun. Still need to change to my accufeed foot for the quilting but if I can't get it right then Ray will fix it for me. Thank goodness he can do everything. I am a lucky woman.
We went for a longer drive today to another city we haven't been to for quite a few years. We went into the mall and were totally lost, couldn't figure out why until the guide to the mall stopped her buggay and asked if we needed help. She said that the part we were in was a newer construction, no wonder we were lost.
I had to go for blood tests this morning and fasting was involved so we ate breakfast out and didn't need lunch.
On the way home we stopped at Quilted Treasures, it has been a long time since I was in that shop too. You know there is no way you can go into a quilt store and come out empty handed LOL But I am trying to downsize my fabric so I just bought a new blade for my rotary cutter. Also my latest craze Charm Squares. I have quite a few of them and have only opened two to use. One was for child's quilt for Community Quilts and the other for a bag that has not been finished SIGH!! I just stroke them and look at them, they are so pretty. and it satisfies my need to get something new, they don't take up much room either LOL.
After all that I had to take a nsp. Hahaha.
Take care folks.

unpinning

Ha That quilt I pinned yesterday has to be unpinned. ome out. I did buy some more batting on the way home from my sewing day.
And I did not take the heart quilt today as unfortunately the backing was a bit on the skimpy side , so that must be fixed wouldn't you say, maybe add another pice wither on the side or the middle.
For sewing today it was a basting job on the butterfly applique pieces. Then it was the community quilts pot luck. Oh such lovely food and so much of it. Unfortunately I was not able to eat all the items, so sad :>( but I managed some of them and they were very tasty.
On Friday there is another potluck, that one is my teacher group. It is a wonder I am not 300 pounds the way I party.. but life is great, isn't it?

No hockey tonight but the odds are not good for Philly according to the pundits, I really expected more from Chris Pronger that he could keep Byfulgien in line. But Anti Mieni is fabulous and he only gets $800,000 a year, you can bet that is going to change LOL. We pay $20 million to our overpaid goalie Roberto Luongo and he is either hot and not very often or cold most of the time. Another of life's lesson, it is not always the most expensive item that gives the most value. A Timex tells the time as well as a Rolex.
On that note it is time to ,pun intended. :>))