sew tubes

I sewed and cut and pressed but my output was very limited. I got very tired so now I am sitting.
I cut the wide strips and sewed the tube, then cut the pieces  at 45" angles. I was under the impression that the tube would give me eight pieces. NOT. It gave me seven pieces . I am thinking that WOF is not as long as it used to be. One fabric I had bought in 2005 when I was in Kansas and Iowa.   I bought it in Kansas, it was longer than the other two, but now that I think about it the other two were also bought at the same time haha.

I chose to use the three fabrics on the left.

I did something else today too, sat at my PC and looked through my photos, I only got to 2007  but it was so much fun. Little Adam was so small and cute in the photos I saw and many of them brought back memories of trips I had made. New Orleans, Grand Canyon, friends in many places and lots of family members. If you hold your photos on your computer you should take the time to go through them for a very special trip.
I am feeling rough right now almost as if I have the flu or maybe it is from the fungus in my mouth, it is very sore. I could not eat breakfast this morning, too bad as Ray made scrambled eggs, toast tomatoes and cucumbers.  I ate a small part of it but could not handle all that he gave me.
We did not go out today, do you believe that LOL.
Back to the machine and I sewed the tube and cut the 45" angles.

Sewing the tube, down one direction , turn it over and sew down the other direction to give the tube balance.

Looking into the tube.

This is how the block will look when it is sewn, below is the block for which I only got three pieces from the tube. Note how the centre is not the same as the one above.

This is the centre.

Anyway off for now.

Have beautiful evening, it is so lovely tonight. Go for a walk. :))

Bon Soir.

Another ailment

Hmm I am in trouble again. My mouth has a fungus caused by the antibiotics. It is not nice. This morning we went down to the pharmacy and the pharmacist told me it was a fungus and I would need to go to the doctor for a prescription. I know I have mentioned this before but it seems that I have these emergencies  on the weekend when the doctor is unavailable. Thank goodness though we have a walk in clinic. We went to the clinic and the receptionist said that it would be 2 hours  before we could see the doctor and if we wanted to go away and come back in two hours it would be okay. We chose to do that and went to the grocery store to do our regular Saturday shopping.  We had enough time to bring it home and get things put away.
Back to the clinic where we waited another twenty minutes or even more waiting for the doctor.  It was one of the doctors we had seen before when Ray was sick with Poly Mialgia Rheumatica. He said I know you to Ray. Not bad since he sees so many different patients at the clinic. He said it was a fungus and prescribed the appropriate medicine. Back to the pharmacy where they filled the prescription.
The blog is late tonight because my computer was not working very well. It was all black and I had trouble getting it back to working order.  Don't ask what I did to fix it because I have no idea LOL.
I had read in the paper that the market at the Westminster Quay was reopening. It had been a successful market quite a few years ago and Ray and I went there every Saturday for our veggies. Then for some reason it stopped being a viable market and eventually closed down.
It was a lovely day today so we decided to check out the market.  It was not fully occupied but there was a huge grocery store that had many different items in it, items we had not seen in the regular store. We walked around the store for a bit and then went outside. There was a great dog sitting out there and we talked to him for a bit.

What a nice boy this is.

Same boy , I forget his name though.

Then we walked down the Quay and admired the river.

And the flower baskets.

I did fine that the tutorial for the tube blocks was wrong . The wide strip was not 4 1/4" as described in the tutorial but should have been advertised as 4 1/2" and the two strips at 2 1/2" should have been noted as 4 1/2" when sewn together.  So if you are interested in that block those are the measurements.
Tomorrow I plan to do that block and I will add some pictures of fences.
Time to sign off folks.
Have a great evening, what is left of it.
Dobre Vecer

tube blocks

tutorials.missouriquiltco.com  
 Type this one into your browser and watch some magic happen. I am amazed!!
But I must warn you that the measurements given are WRONG so don't try it with these measurements I have an ALERT out to a friend who is doing this to see which measurements she is using.
My sewing machine did have a bit of a work out today. I fixed a Tee , it was hemmed with that filament thread, at least that is what I call it, The thread comes off and just lets loose all along the seam.  It has been sitting there for a while and I was just not into sewing. But that tutorial inspired me even if it was wrong LOL. After all the time , 7  months, it just upped and worked. Ray took my car out to gas it up and it worked too after 7 months of idleness.

Jean says I need to add Ray's boats to my blog,so that will be my pictures today. I did have them on the blog once but it was a long time ago so today I'll take two pictures of the two ships he has done.

This is the first one Ray did, it is called Uncle Sam. He had it for several years before he tackled it and it too nearly a year to complete.

This is The Mayflower and did take Ray a year to do. I love the work he does, it is finicky and often the pieces aren't there so he has to make his own.

Kathy and I went to the movies today. I chose the movie Bad Teacher and I would not recommend it to adults , it is a very juvenile movie with lots of swearing,  sexual innuendos. and simulated sexual acts. The plot is very thin , the most redeeming factor is the elegance and beauty of Cameron Diaz even though what comes out of her mouth is neither. If none of this offends you then go for it. Its appeal is to  juveniles who love this sort of thing. There were some elements of comedy. Cameron Diaz can be amusing. Anyway I am glad I only paid a senior's rate. 

Aren't these dish cloths pretty? I have been knitting up lots of these so that my pile gets higher, I sent 6 of them to David in Phoenix, These almost replaces them

Ray cooked a half a salmon for dinner tonight along with a baked potato and cucumbers, tomatoes and black olives in oil and vinegar. It was so delicious. We discovered that if the lemon is warm the juice just runs out when you squeeze it.

That's it folks!

Have a great evening.

Good night!

"Life's tough..... It's even tougher if you're stupid." John Wayne

no pics taken

I did not feel like taking any pictures today. No dogs, no flowers, no fences. It got to be just too much trying to take them on the fly. Not to say that there will be no photos today. Never! I have some great ones of the little Quebec great granddaughters. And would you believe it on my facebook page today the first 4 messages and photos were about dogs Haha.

Jolie Anne isn't she cute.

Daddy David with his two beautiful  daughters Catherine and Emilie. They are really adorable, les petites Quebecoise.

Cousins, the elder one is Hailey on the left and Catherine on the right. They are good friends. Catherine always poses for the camera. I think she has a career there LOL

We met Sam for lunch today and had a great visit while we ate and drank coffee. We always have such a nice time with him. He said he had a gift certificate for Grandpa at a hobby shop so that Ray could buy another  ship kit. Those kits take him nearly a year to make but he so enjoys them. Like we quilters he likes to do things and he is good at it.
We came home around 2:00, then Rick called to say he had taken Peter to the airport and could he drop in on the way home. We love drop-ins so of course we said yes. We just had coffee together as none of us were hungry.It was a great visit and we were very happy that he came over. Of course we talked politics, we always do. Stretches your mind when you chat with Rick about current events as he is so up on things. So are we LOL!!!! As usual we are impressed with ourselves haha....
I had a plan to do a bit of sewing when I came home but as it happened that didn't happen .  Hmmm two happens in one sentence.
I'm slipping...
But and it is a big one, on Tuesday Ray is going out with his uncle Dick for coffee. Dick is just a year older than Ray in case you were wondering. So after the clinic at 9:30   I can come home and hopefully do something. But I will need to make up my mind on what to do before Tuesday because I don't want to waste my time thinking :))

Time out ladies.
Have a gorgeous evening!
God nat.

the lady presides

Another picture from Ione. I rarely see a cat as most cats are indoor cats these days. They are too valuable to let out for coyotes to attack. And many like my sister live in apartments and it is easier to keep the cats inside. This is beautiful cat but he/she looks kind of put out. Her name is Emily,love the name as one of my great granddaughters is Emilie.

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2011/07/starry-eyed-quilt.html

Check this quilt out I just love it and it has instructions too.
We went to see Dr.Warner the urologist  this morning. He wants me to go for urine tests every 2 weeks for a while. He said if the infection is not finished then we proceed to the surgery which is  a four hour operation. So we watch and wait once again. I am going for the test tomorrow. I feel good so hope I am good :))
The lavendar beds are in full bloom right now and they are so lovely to see. Have a look  :))

We went to the Lougheed mall after going to the doctor. It is a bit out of our way so it was nice to see something different. We walked all around the mall and I found to my disappointment that the lovely little store which carried such neat things, ornaments and stuff, I guess you could call it a "bits and pieces" shop LOL, was no longer there. Another nice shop gone and the big ones are still around. We have seen that so many smaller shops have disappeared .The rents in malls are horrendous and the little stores cannot pay them.
Will and Kate made an unscheduled visit to the town of Slave Lake which had suffered such devastation from forest fires. They were "royally" greeted again with cheers and smiles. They are such a caring young couple.
Lunch time came around while we were there so we sat in a small open restaurant. I have always liked that little place. We had Shepherds Pie and it was delicious but I could not believe how much the price had increased.
AND today I had an uninterrupted nap.  I needed that one since my night sleep is always interuupted.
Did you see the dust storm that swallowed up Phoenix and surrounding districts. It was stunning . It just rolled over the whole area. I have a friend who lives in Surprise, close to Phoenix. I pray she is all right. Can you ever imagine what you house would look like after that storm.


My sewing machines must have seized up after all this time sitting unused. I must get started on something. I need to make two baby quilts.

Time out :))
Have a great evening especially if you are fortunate enough to be outside .
Buenos Noches.

bits and pieces

You'll have to bend your head to view this wonderful piece which was made by Ione . It is her Elf Countdown Calendar with 24 pockets and is like an advent calendar.It refuses to stand upright on my page though LOL. Ione took a class for this at the Satin Moon quilt shop in Victoria . Isn't he wonderful?

Clinic day today . Ray stayed in the car to clean it , not that his car is ever dirty LOL. I think he has had it with watching the nurse change my dressings LOL.It has been a week now since I have been off the antibiotic, I go to the specialist tomorrow morning. My sons are calling to see how I have fared this week. So far all is well!!

Have you noticed that the prices for everything has skyrocketed. Malwart used to be a hundred dollar trip , now it is 150 dollars.  I know that we did buy a bit of extra but so......Oh well I did say I wanted to be broke when I died Haha. At this rate I will be! Mr. Sam will own me.Haha.

We always go to Wendy's for lunch after shopping at WM as it is close by. I usually get the baked potato but this time ordered the spicy chicken for a change.  It was okay.

Rick's dog Remy ,it is very hot out there in Abbotsford so poor Remy is sleeping it off.
Marg came over this afternoon to give me a book by Gregg Olsen. Close Than Blood is the title but I have to finish The Sins of the Borgias. It is a hard read and in the first person which  I am not particularly fond of.

I saw a really neat video today of a technique to do a Lasagna quilt.
It was on a site that you can get to by  clicking on this,

http://www.quilt-video.com/2011/02/18/jelly-roll-quilt-race-lasagna-quilt/

Be sure and look around at the other videos in this site. Remember the napkin tutorial that I put on this blog a log time ago, it is on one of the videos listed. Anyway It is all fun.
I found the On the Job photo that I have been looking for for days. Here he is.

What a great dog, he goes to work every day. His owner said he has 40 pictures taken every week.

Ione says she hopes to take a photo of a dog on her travels so I can put it up on the blog. I say great, I shouldn't have to do all the work LOL.

I'm just about done for the day, wish me luck at the urologist tomorrow. So far so good.

Have a beautiful evening if you are out and about , the same if you are in.

Noswaith dda.

Summer is here

What gorgeous weather today, not too hot, just perfect.
I am stumped at what to say tonight, my mind is a blank. However I did take a photo of Eddie's White Wonder Dogwood. You can see what I mean when I say is is more like a bush than a tree.

Also I was able to get those photos off my camera after several days of trying so I can put up the photo of the dog who works on construction haha. He was such a patient dog as he sat down on the job while the men worked . Dogs are pretty smart that way LOL. Sorry I cannot locate his picture.  I don't know where it went.

We did a good walk around the mall this morning and did a bit of shopping, not much though just some soap that Ray likes at Winners. The walk just tired me out as this is actually three malls in one and it takes some time to do the whole mall. Well at least it takes ME some time to do the whole mall :))) but it is exercise and helps to strengthen my legs.
There have been several bear attacks lately as the bears come down from the mountains to seek food and fine they are living in conjunction with people. One elderly native woman was killed just a few days ago. It is tragic that the bears are so active and dangerous at this time. And it is not just the females who are dangerous but the males are angry too. I think we have moved so far up the mountains into the bear territoryand the bears are coming right into people's houses looking for the food they can smell. It is a problem for both  animals and humans.
I sure wish I could get some initiative  to get to my sewing machine , I don't have a room just a table ,  I thought cleaning the table would whip me into some kind of shape, Maybe I need the actual whip LOL.
My son Richard and his son Rick like to go sailing. Here is Young Rick standing on the deck.

Looks pretty nice doesn't he. I like this photo.

I sent the package of knitted cloths off to David and Gail today. I sent it by air, $9.00 for a small package. Canada Post is very pricey these days.

It is time for me to go. I spent so much time looking for that photo to no avail.

Have a lovely evening folks.

God Aften.

July SBS

Out for a sunning,she takes the right things along to avoid a sunburn.

C:\Users\Mary\Pictures\plaid-quilt-along-part-one.htm

This is one of the best looking string quilts I have ever seen. Usually I don't care for them. This is part one of a tutorial, it looks like fun.

 I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.
For me they are the role model for being alive.

Gilda Radner 
Great quote!

Patiently waiting for his owner.

I said there would be more about the Dogwood tree.  Because the Dogwood Nuttalis is so sensitive to transplant there have been attempts to discover a way to create a hardier plant. In 1955  Henry M. Eddie first propogated a hardier variety that was more amenable to being transplanted. I had not heard of this one until sometime in the '70s when we planted one in the courtyard at school.

It is different from the original in that the flowers are smaller and do not have the curled brown points at the tips of the flower. It also grows in a manner that is more like a bush than a tree,being more rounded in shape while the Nutallis is a taller variety and the flowers are sparser on the branches. I do prefer the original Dogwood . Below is a photo of Eddie's White Wonder Dogwood.

We had another full day, first of course on Sunday is the housework and washing, then we went to London Drugs for a few items. I bought some eye liners and a lip liner along with a new lipstick to replace one of the colours I love that had to be thrown out. My those things are expensive. I didn't think they had gone up so much in price. We had to purchase some Salmon Oil pill. I like the pure Salmon Oil not the mixed one with mackerel and other fish oils so it is a bit more expensive.

Then I talked to the camera expert because I was not always happy with my photos but he took a look at the ones on the camera and said there was nothing wrong with them. I guess if I am standing still instead of taking my photos from a moving vehicle they aren't that bad LOL. He did show me a trick though. If you focus on an object and press down on the shutter button half way and continue to focus the lines will come up around the focal point and then you press down on the shutter button to complete the shot.I am going to try that. One trick at a time!! Maybe I'll get some more tips another time. Mind you it is necessary to stand still to implement this trick LOL.

What a cute little guy I said , the owner said no, she's a girl and her name is Lily. She must be a young puppy says I ,the fount of all knowledge DOG. No said the owner she is 6 years old. Boy I think I'll keep my mouth shut from now on. Not very likely you say LOL>

Lily was very busy with her cookie so it was hard to get her face.

She is a mix of Pomerian and Chihuahua , very tiny....

After we got home Marg came over to show me her new toy, an  iPod- games only ,which Karin gave her as an early birthday present. Her birthday is in September. Marg loves it. We had some fun trying it out.

out for the day

http://www.akinator.mobi/

A challenge , have fun!!

Grocery shopping early in the day then off ot Crescent Beach for the second time in a couple of weeks. It is my third son Peter's birthday tomorrow. Why am I blue here? Oh well It is a change from all the other blogs. That little aside, aside, we met Peter and Judith for lunch at a restaurant we have gone to before. Lo and Behold , it was closed. A Saturday , a long weekend and the restaurant is CLOSED!!!  Who would ever think that would be the case. So Peter said well let's go up the road for fish and chips. Off we went to the fish and chip restaurant only to find out that they only served from a window. We had gone to this one before too and they had indoor seating service. Again off we go , Peter far ahead to make sure that our next choice which was right on the beach was open for business. Peter waved us onward and our third choice was successful. So successful that the place was very busy but they did have one table for four outside on the deck. So fish and chips it was. Peter and Judith started with a marguerita and it was so pretty I almost ordered one myself. But I knew it would be too strong for me . Haha Almost any alcoholic drink is too strong for me. Judith had shrimp cocktail  and the rest of us had fish and chips. It was a lovely visit , a tasty lunch and the weather was fantastic.

Happy birthday Peter !!

Dog and his man out enjoying the day at the beach LOL.

 What a day to be outside. So we decided to carry it on and went to Peter and Judith's home in White Rock. We were introduced to their new dog Guinness. He was a delight and we certainly enjoyed the visit with him.

Guinness, cute eh!

I was very tired when we got home and lay down for a nap.

We were both really stuffed from lunch and didn't have any dinner. Anyway it's better to eat your largest meal at noon and have a smaller one for the evening meal.

I had planned to take a picture of our native Dogwood tree . The tress must have lost their flowers recently. The Dogwood Nutallis is indigenous to British Columbia and a very beautiful specimen.
This tree is a very sensitive plant and survives in the shade of other taller and fuller trees because it is thin skinned and does not do well in full sun. Sunburn maybe LOL, likely. It is not easily transplanted, there is a huge failure of transplanted Dogwoods. The Dogwood is the tree symbol of British Columbia.

Flowers of the Dogwood tree.
 There is also a lovely dogwood with beautiful pink flowers.Tomorrow , more Dogwood news :))
Have a beautiful evening folks.
Buenas Noches.

Beauties and the Beasts LOL

Bob and Buzz and we had lunch together today. Here are the photos.  The two beauties with huge smiles.
And the two beasts with bigger smiles, making fun of my picture taking LOL.

Seriously though we had a fun visit. Bob and Buzz just got back from Reno. They stayed at the Atlantis and also the Peppermill. Change hotels, change your luck guys?  Next they are going to Wendover which is a small town in Nevada with a few casinos, maybe five? I'm not sure but my sister Marg went there a while ago and she had a good time so I expect B&B will enjoy themselves too.

We went to the mall a bit early and took a look around the pet shop. Since I have not been able to get my dog fix lately I took in the occupants of the pet shop and took pictures there. Ray said they might not like you taking pictures of  their dogs , my response was then they need to tell me that and I'll stop. But the dogs are really cute, of course they are.

Scots wha hae..... I sweet little Scottie, but black is so hard to define any features. Adam once had a lovely Scottish lassie called Bonnie. I loved that dog, she was such a darling. I have heard that Scotties can be testy but Bonnie had such a beautiful nature.

Now here's a challenge.

Hmm he insisted on turning his ,ahem, back to me so I took that photo.  Seems I take a lot of rear ends LOL. But the flash got his attention as you can see in the next one.

Now what was that?

The only thing we bought today was bread at the bakery in the mall.

Then we came home and sat down in front of the TV.

It is now 4:00 and I think I'll clean off my sewing table. For the past 6 months I have not had the energy to tackle that mess :))

Actually when I got down to it the table wasn't that bad, so I tackled another hot spot, a small table and I threw some stuff away but still cannot bring myself to trash some fabric pieces. I keep saying I'll take them to the guild. Maybe I'll get up the nerve to get rid of them this summer.

AND then I had a shower and washed my hair, oh how lovely~~~~~. It has been a long time for such a luxury .

Time to close and go for dinner in the kitchen LOL.

Have a lovely summer evening.

Kalispera!