I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Day

http://badskirt.blogspot.ca/2010/07/edgestitch-foot-demystified.html#!/2010/07/edgestitch-foot-demystified.html

Sometimes we don't know how to use the feet on our machines. This will help with using the edge stitch foot.

 

http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.ca/2013/03/31-tinted-chains-click.html

 

Tinted Chains is the name of this block.

 

This issue of Grandmother's chosice is chock full of good information. There are block pattern and many other items of great interest. At least to me they are interesting. I hope you enjoy this site as much as I do.

My third son  Peter and his wife Judith came over for a visit this afternoon. It is hard to get to see him as he lives in Calgary and comes home for the weekend so he rarely goes out but today they came over and gave me 2 dozen roses for my upcoming birthday. They are so fragrant and are filling the apartment with this beautiful fragrance. Thank you Peter and Judith.

Today is my fifth son Matthew's birthday. We had a good talk on the phone. He took his birthday airplane flight this morning, he is the solo pilot and loves to fly.

Matthew and his wife Caroline.

 

He is also a sailor. Three of my sons are sailors and love the sea.  Adam was in the navy, Matthew was also in the navy and Richard had his own sailboat which he loves.

I had another family day, oh how I love them. It is too bad they have to be so seldom.

 

We stayed home all day today but so far I have done no sewing for weeks and weeks. I have been too busy. I need to negotiate with Ray for a day that I can stay in and sew.

Tomorrow we have to stay in because it is the cleaning lady day. And Tuesday Pat cannot come to sewing because she has a dental appointment. I have to check with Juliet to see if I can hitch a ride with her. Hmm I'll do that right now.  Done!

 

Now for another version of this block that I love  so much and this one is from Susan's blog ,Starwood Quilters. She calls it  Christian-Cross Block.

Beautiful isn't it?  I love the bright and cheerful red.

 

I love this lady with her sewing machine and  other sewing things.

 

This lovely block is a double friendship star and one that I like. Nice polka dot fabric enhances the look of the block.

Hey Adam you are looking good. Was this picture taken on this trip?

 

Adam  did the three of you get home safely. How was the trip?

 

Tee hee and hee haw!

 

 

Time to go folks.

Have a great evening!

Good night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another big day

Download now as a pdf pattern

Chisolm Trail.


http://pinterest.com/teribamert/quilt-nine-patch/
 Such wonderful nine patch quilts here, You will find great ideas for your own quilts.

Another big day of son fun LOL>
Adam came over in the morning.
We all went to London Drugs to buy me a READER Jean. It is just a reader to see if I use it or even like it. It was $100 . We went over to Timmy's for a coffee. No one ever has just a coffee do they? I had soup and a roll , Ray had a bagel and cream cheese. Adam is on the Dr. Atkins diet and has lot a lot of weight so he cannot eat carbs. He ordered a chicken sandwich without the bread LOL. They gave him his sandwich in a mug!. I sure laughed at that. He is good at engineering around things such as no carbs. Clever guy!
When we came home Adam set about getting my new reader to read. He did get it working. It took some time to do  and then to teach me what to do.
Then Adam helped Ray and me finalize our wills and get them witnessed. Aaron and Adam were the witnesses. Thank you Adam and Aaron for helping us with this job.
Aaron and little Adam  came over for a visit then they all went to Matthew's to view the video of Chelsea's concert.
By this time it was late so Ray and I went to TOPS for dinner. I wasn't too hungry but had the salad and Salisbury Steak the senior size.  Needless to say I could not eat all my meal.
It was another wonderful day and the last one for now. Adam, adam and Aaron will be leaving early in the morning for Louisiana. It has been a lovely week with this part of my family.
Richard and Ricky are somewhere in the south of Nevada, eating Marie Callander pie. MMM

The weather here for the past week or more has been spectacular, it was so warm today that people including me were out and about in bare arms, nothing more lol. It was very warm with a light breexe, my favourite kind of day. Spring is wondrous, new life breaking out in every corner of the land.

Daffodils. Yellow surrounds us early in the spring.

Forsythia. I think that is what we are seeing here, it has been shaped. Usually forsythia has wandering sprigs . The forsythia bush as everyone knows

Is sunshine arranged in bright yellow bows.

 

 

Potentilla or Cinquefoil.

 

Nine patches in stars ready to be sewn together. I had to use this bigger font. Why? Because I can read it better.

 

Such a nice quilt with pinwheels I think and somehow it makes circles as well........ I can't quite figure it out but sure appreciate the beauty of this red and white quilt.

 

I like this picture , the soft colours are appealing to me. The block looks like a 16 patch. People used to use these wicker prams. It is all so lovely and old fashioned.

 

That's it for tonight. Have a great evening

Good night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tonight

Tonight we went out with Adam JR. Adam SR.  Aaron and Sam To the rotating restaurant downtown.  The outer floor rotates and you can see the whole city as you revolve. It is such a lovely experience, thank you so much Adam for this beautiful night.

My dinner was lamb shank, I see Margaret saying yuck as she hates lamb. I love it .  Ray had the same thing . We had some carrots and a tomato with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese sprinkled on the top of the tomato and baked in the oven just long enough to set the topping. It was delicious. The lamb had great gravy too and I love gravy. There were excellent buns with butter. After dinner most of us had a coffee. We declined dessert as Ray and I can never eat dessert after a good meal. We though we might go there ourselves another time.

Taken from the restaurant, itis the old Sun Newspaper building, the one where I saw a window washer fall from and land at my feet when I was 18 years old. A pretty bad experience for me and he didn't make it.

Another view, this time a church. It was a pretty big building once and now is surrounded by huge buildings.

Adam was the host for dinner and Aaron is beside him ,well half of him is LOL.

Sam laughing at something, I think he was teasing Adam the younger.

And on the other side of the table...... Ray, me and Adam the younger.

 

Once again Adam thank you for the wonderful dinner,

 

Now I have to tell you I am so tired I cannot write any more . So it is off to bed for me.

Have a great evening..

Good night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cucumber

CUCUMBER SALAD IN A JAR.-
4 thinly sliced cucumbers
1-large sliced red onions
1-large sliced green bell peppers
1-tbsp salt
... 2-cup white vinegar
1 1/2-cups sugar
1-tsp celery flakes
1-tsp red pepper flakes
Put vinegar, sugar, celery flakes and pepper flakes in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 2 handfuls of ice until melted.
Place all veggies in large mouth canning jars (2 quarts or 1 half gallon jar)Pour mixture over cucumbers, store in refrigerator.
Will keep up to 2 months (Makes 2 quart jars)

Change of pace . Kathy B. put this up on Facebook . I thought it was a great idea and so now I am sharing this lovely looking salad with you. MMM.  Thanks Kathy!

 

Swirl those little center tags.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17YE82WZ9tw

 

This is a video on how to swirl the centres of a pinwheel block.

 

 

 

Block of the Day is another basket, this time the Cherry Basket. Who knew!

Download now as a pdf pattern

 

Pretty in green and orange on a beige background.

 

That's the goodies for today LOL.

 

This morning I had to go to the podiatrist for my regular check up and nail cutting. Dr. Lai said my Achille's tendon was inflamed so I have to get a prescription to rub on that area 3 times a day.

Then I asked about his boys and he said they were getting baby love bird tonight. They were all very excited about it. I tild him that at one time I raise birds and owned a pet shop. That led to a longer conversation about birds and their needs. It was fun to talk about birds.  Ray and I both love them but birds are noisy and would not fit in an apartment.they would wake up the residents at the first sign of daylight LOL.

 

After the visit we went over to Metrotown , it has been a while, . We went for a bite of lunch at Manchu Wok. Then we walked a good part of the mall for exercise ,not that anyone would call what we do as exercise. It is horrifically slow but still keeps the joints lubricated which is the best I can do nowadays.

When we left the mall Ray said let's go to Dairy Queen. Oh right!!

Ruin all that good walking and so we did. Go to DQ I mean. Bad Boudreaus. Or should that be Boudreaux.

 

After all that food we came home to rest. Ray fell asleep but I did computer stuff, email, Facebook, some blog bits, the I did some washing,3 loads,folded and put away. I made muself some supper not much , Ray said he didn't want any but after I ate he made a sandwich for himself.

I put all the dishes in the dishwasher. Oh my the arduous duties of an ordinary  housewife.

Watching the news right now.

 

This is such a good photo and such a great message too.

 

Isn't this cute? It certainly makes me laugh LOL.

 

Adam and Aaron . What is that coming out of Adam's  head, Seagrass?

 

Check out the cat LOL.

 

Haha who knows what a dog may think but this is as good as anything he might think LOL.

 

Richard in California . It took some doing to get him up on his legs for this picture and he says it is probably the last time he stands. But it is a goor photo of him. I think Ricky used his new portrait lens.

 

 Time's up for me folks. Have a great evening.

Good night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ladder

http://www.generations-quilt-patterns.com/jacobs-ladder-quilt-pattern.html

Jacob's Ladder  , four square block and half square  triangles make up the components of this block . Many design options can be derived from Jacob's Ladder. See some of those in the site listed above. Have fun with it!

 

Late getting back to the blog. I have been checking out my e mail and Facebook. This morning I went to the chiropractor for my fixer upper LOL. All went well as it usually does with Dr. Rai. He told me his three year old son had fallen off the playground slide and broken his arm. The doctor  put a full cast on his arm and that little boy did not even cry when the are was set.

I remember when my brother Peter broke his leg by falling into an excavation on the lot next door. The doctor came to the house, they did in those days, the 40s. My dad had to hold my brother down while the doctor pulled out his leg and set it back in place. Poor Peter who was about 10, can't remember exactly, screamed. I was so upset that they were hurting him. Now my memory fails me as I don't recall how they casted him, whether at home , or the hospital.

We went to the regular grocery store Price Smart  for some bread and apples. Good combo haha. Make an apple sandwich for lunch. LOL.

Then we stopped in at White Spot again for lunch. Mary, our guild president and Catherine came in and we had a good chat while we waited to be seated. Mary is a great lady and Catherine is Asian so does not speak English very well which is why she did not join in the conversation. Then Ray and I were seated , we ordered a BLT, both of us, coffee for two and that was it.

 

I have lost my completed blog once again. No idea where or how I lost it. Drives me crazy when that happens and I am too tired to do it over again.

 

 

 

 

good and bad all in one day

http://www.quilt.com/BlockOfTheMonth/1998/Linoleum.html

Linoleum Block found on Susan's site at Starwood Quilter. Thanks Susan. Take a look at Susan's site, there are many wonderful blocks there.  The name interests me as we had linoleum on the kitchen floor and bathroom floor as well in my mom and dad's house. It was de rigeur in the 40s and 50s for those rooms. Unfortunately it wore not too well and often tore so sometimes there were corners of the floor that had bare floor. I had it in several of my homes too. And that was in the 70s. Oh what the heck I realize that we have that flooring in our bathrooms here but it is not called linoluem though.

http://mariebostwick.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=43
Look for Writer's Block here on Marie Bostwick.com
We all suffer from Writer's Block at one time or another.

 

Shirley, thank you for your comment saying my blog made you smile. Good news for me :))
 

http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/mosaic-basketweave-placemat

Lovely crocheted place mats.
These blue and white placemats are so special . My mother in law used to say blue and white was such a clean looking colour combination. She was right!

Now isn't this a clever idea for knitters, and a recycling use for empty bottles.

 

I love hydrangeas and have them on my blog front page. Those are a beautiful blue, but I found this picture of gorgeous pink hydrangeas. I love them.

Our soil here is very acidic from all the rain . It is the acidity that produces the gorgeous blue colour. An alkiline soil produces this beautiful pink.

 

This beautiful young lady is my granddaughter Chelsea enjoying life as a free spirit.

 

These senior ladies are also out enjoying a good time nattering.

Life is good at any age.

I am a good example of that.

 

Richard left this morning to go on a trip down south with Ricky. It was so painful to see him this morning after his shower which left him completely worn out. He had a difficult time getting onto his wheel chair and I cried when I saw what he was dealing with and as he left. I think that this is probably the good times for him and the worst is yet to come for my dear boy.  I want him nearby so I can protect him but I can't even help him one little bit.  I am desolated at the tragedy of his disease and how it is crippling my big , strong son. Life though good can also be cruel.

 

Ray and I went to London Drugs today to buy replacements for our coffee maker and toaster.

 

 

 

Beautiful aren't they and they will certainly brighten up the kitchen.

I went to Fabricland today to look for a pattern of a child's apron. No luck but it was fun looking at patterns of little dresses.

I didn't buy anything.  Good thing we indulged ourselves on toasters and coffeemakers LOL.

Ray said why don't you make your own pattern. Sounds easy eh? Not for me though I'll wreck the whole thing. I may even make a wreck out of it WITH a pattern.

 

So it is time for me to go, no joke. It is so early but I started my blog way early so here it is.

Have a wonderful evening Folks.

Good night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

baby visit

Download now as a pdf pattern

Clay Flower Pot.

http://sewshesews.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/quilted-patchwork-bib-pattern-and-tutorial/

Good tutorial for making a baby bib.

Block in Pinks and Black

 Lovely block by Janet Wickell on

About. Quilting . This block has interesting colours.

 

We had a wonderful time this afternoon with Meaghan, Lewis and our darling Charlotte. She is such a great child who enjoys everything while she is here. She particularly loves our musical clock that plays the Beatles songs. Here are some lovely photos of little Charlotte.

Charlotte sitting on grandpa Rick's lap. They both look so happy.  Thank goodness that Rick had this chance to visit with Charlotte. Who knows how many more opportunities he will have.

In this picture Charlotte wanted a cookie and had to eat it at the table. She was happy with the candles, a new word for her.

Charlotte with one of my pillows. She gave me one to use too. That was so sweet of her. Here with Grandpa and mommy Meaghan.

 

Something she wants on the table, but we can't remember what.

Ricky is Richard's son and my grandson. He dropped by for a visit, it was great to see him.

Adam also dropped by to give Richard a book of daily devotions that a dear friend of his in Louisiana had asked him to give to Richard. That was a very kind gift from a very kind man.

I like this photo of Charlotte. She chose to sit in the chair and eat her chicken puffs from KFC from a bowl.

She chose her own outfit this morning, every one of her favourtie pieces.

This was taken with Ricky's new portrait lens.

Here she is with her outfit. Great fashion sense LOL.

Adam and his dad Aaron.  Aaron was over early in the day.I love having everybody here and coming over.

In the morning Rick went to the garage to have his tire fixed. A bit closer to lunch he called to say he was at the White Spot and would we meet him there. So we went to the restaurant and were met by the lovley lady who has been there for a long time. She is so pleasant. She said they were short of booths at the moment but I said we are meeting Richard and she said in that case we'll find you a bogger booth, one is just coming clear. We had a bit to eat. I was not really hungry. The lady recognized us as we used to come there with Sam.

After lunch Rick went back to the garage to see how things were coming along. He wheeled his chair down a hill. I was frightened for him but he made it. When he came home he said the tire was not ready and he would have to go back tomorrow.

Right now he is out with his friend Chris. He will be exhausted tonight as his day was long a busy. I am tired myself and so is Ray.

But it was a wonderful day .

So that is the day we had.

Time to go.

Have a great evening folks.