The joy of books

 While my friend’s granddaughter was visiting for the summer, I asked what her favourite things were.  Animals and books!

I started a search for books and found this fabric at my local shop.  The Library of Antiquities

books by Timeless Treasures.

A lot of books are mentioned — old books — classics like 

Peter Pan

Little’s Red Riding Hood

Pinocchio

Sleeping Beauty

and then there was

this book.  

The Red Fairy Book.  Neither Nancy or I had ever heard of it!  When I got home I went searching because I love to dig and find out more.

I Goggled it.  I got a bit more excited because this would be a great book on my bookshelf.

To quote: ……   

"The Red Fairy Book" by Andrew Lang is a fairy tale collection published in 1890. The second volume in Lang's renowned Coloured Fairy Books series, it brings together enchanting stories from French, Russian, Danish, and Romanian traditions, along with tales from Norse mythology.” 

And then I found the book!!!  On the Indigo website!  I ordered it and it is so much more than I expected and the stories inside....WOW!

In honour of all my elementary school teachers that taught me the love of reading, we are making a donation of books to McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton this month.

I had the best teachers at Summerlea Elementary School on 48th Avenue in Lachine, Quebec.  Little Golden books lined my shelves and the Bobbsey Twins were my first chapter books.

Fall is in the Air

 September arrives this week and with that thoughts turn to cooler days, shorter days and those fabulous fall colours.  We get out our cameras and start snapping away.  For us, that is down in our valley

Fall means longer nights so I get out my cross stitch or knitting or hand sewing and as the television broadcasts our favourite shows I sit and enjoy myself.

This is one of my favourite pieces.

At the time, we were given a row to do, I believe every week.  No rush on it to get it done.  Do your row and put it away and then pick up something else to do.

When it was finished I added borders from fabric I had in the house and it was ready for the front door!!

I buy my Aida cloth from Along Came Quilting in Calgary, Alberta  https://alongcamequilting.com/.  As you can see they have a beautiful selection.  If you buy Zweigart fabric it is made in Germany and it is the best quality.  I always get 14 count............because the holes are easier to find!!

Cross Stitch | Handwork - Cloth & Canvas

I also buy my DMC floss from them.  DMC, made in France, in the factory where it all started in 1898.  It is the absolute best and after putting hours of work into my projects I'm not settling for anything else.

Where did I find this pattern?  It came from the Fat Quarter Shop.  Here's the link:

https://www.fatquartershop.com/autumn-nights-mystery-stitch-along-complete-cross-stitch-free-pdf-pattern

and it is affordable...............it's free!

Enjoy the cooler fall days.  Don a sweater and go for a walk or just sit outside and enjoy!

FYI

Sewing machine needles, pins,  needles will be going up in price.  I’m going to stock up as I use a variety of different needles from machine, to hand to embroidery to cross stitch!

UPCOMING EVENT

Time to return

 It’s been awhile and a lot has happened.  Slightly over two years since I've posted anything.

I have been busy.  I’ve done a lot of cross stitch, a lot of designing, a lot of knitting and sewing.

I'm back to making pillowcases for Ronald McDonald House down the road and around the corner in Hamilton.  Yes, basically that is how I get there.  A lovely drive on a pretty much empty road.  Sometimes we stop into the nursery coming home and pick up a thing or two.  Right now I'm waiting for the 'mums.  My favourite flower.

Anyway onto business.

I saw this fabric and instantly thought of Australia and Newfoundland.  Puffins, penguins and seagulls

and the cuff would be sand dollars.  I can tell you stories about all of them but those sand dollars???  Try standing in the North Atlantic off the coast of Nova Scotia until the tide is so far out you can find them.  Ankles were not happy with that cold water!!

The pattern I use is this one and this is the only one I've ever used.

20+ Free Pillowcase Patterns

So let's go with a series of photos.

First of all sew the cuff to the body of the pillowcase.  I always zig-zag after the straight sewing.  Then you pull the body through and yes it does work.

Then you press and you press well.  Make sure there is no puckering because you might regret it.  Ask me how I know.

Sew the long side of the pillowcase WRONG SIDES TOGETHER.  Then I trim away all the loose threads.  That isn't mentioned in the directions, but it avoids all the loose bits when you do the final sewing.

Let the directions in the pattern take you the rest of the way.  Once you start it won't take long to finish up.  I usually make one in about an hour.

This is it!!  The final products.  I love it and I have enough fabric to make more.

If you buy a meter of two different fabrics you have more than enough to make a body and a cuff from one fabric.  The second pillowcase will be a sand dollar body and "critters" cuff.

I found both the fabrics at two different stores because I had bought out 

Northern Sky Fabrics in Edmonton, Alberta

and I wanted more!!

I do believe 

Kawartha Quilting and Sewing in Bethany, Ontario                                                                                       may still have some.

I shop a lot online and every store I deal with and will mention here are fabulous to deal with.  This line of fabric comes from Dear Stella, based in New York City but probably gets their cotton from overseas where it is manufactured in India, one of the world's largest producers.

Have a lovely day.  I'm sewing today because my delivery date is the middle of September and in the meantime I have to get a quilt backing made, knitting to do and I saw this cute little cross stitch.  Never a dull moment.

Thirty

 Sorry

I have made a very big decision.   

For a very long time I have devoted my time and money and efforts

to make quilts for us, for our family members, but lately for

charity.

I have decided after a lot of thinking

to no longer quilt.

I have one baby panel downstairs and I will do that and gift it

to a young family I know and that will be it.

The cost of quilting is now beyond my budget.

Some companies are now charging over $20 a meter 

and I have to think a lot about that before I start a project.

I quoted someone $800 for a quilt and they nearly passed out.  I lost that contract.

I hope you have enjoyed the blog over the years.

I think now it's my time, to give to those that don't put demands on my time 

and

just to do things for me/us

Be Happy!

Another book

 to be returned to its owner.  A fabulous read …. again.   I won’t be reading another autobiography again.  There won’t be another great read like this one.

Th done great thing about this book is what I learned about the people that live here and call it home.  From the kids at Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School

To the Peace Tower in Ottawa 

I learned a lot.

What does it mean to be a Canadian?  I’m like Rick Mercer — I really don’t know, but I’m proud as heck to be one. 

I remember when Karl wrote home to his parents he was getting married.  His dad wrote back “to an American?”  I cleared that up very quickly.  I do get annoyed with people in this country for not being grateful they live here.  They could live in parts of Africa that are worse than poor.  One of the reasons Rick joined forces for Spread the Net…….no sorry you have to read the book.

From Calgary (with Jann Arden) ….. why a bear?  I could say because I could but you have to read the book and yes I’ve been to Calgary.

to Algonquin Park, this land offers everything.

Read, enjoy and be proud that you are Canadian

And that is Grand Lake in Algonquin .. yes I’ve been there too, on a cold winter day many years ago

Motivational Monday

 These baby quilts are being donated to Healthy Babies, Healthy Children.  An organization here in my county that helps Moms with their babies.  I made them up last year and I’ll drop them off next month to the guild I used to be a member of.

The only stipulation is……do not cover my label!  My granddaughter worked hard to make them 

I'm taking a week away.  It’s a short week because today is a holiday.  Family Day in Ontario, Louis Riel day in Manitoba, Islander Day in PEI and Nova Scotia Heritage Day—guess where?

Have a great week.  I'll be back.

There are days

 you really don't have much to offer.  I guess this is one of them.  So I am going to give you a book review 

My butcher was away on holidays and posted that this book was fantastic.  I posted—it’s going I’m

on my wish list.

He said, I’ll lend it to you.

I have ever read a book as funny as this or as Canadian!

Rick Mercer was born in Newfoundland and believe me the east coasters in this country are the very best.

The people from “the rock” have a sense of humour second to nine, kindness oozes out of them.  You won’t find folks like these anywhere else in the world, never mind Canada!

This guy was part of a television show on our national broadcaster CBC.

The show was called….This Hour has 22 Minutes.

I’m going to put some names up for you and if you are Canadian you will know them all

Alan Doyle

Seamus O’Reagan

Jean Chrétien 

Stockwell Day

Peter Mansbridge

Knowlton Nash

and so many more

If you have been fortunate enough to travel to our eastern most province here are a few places

Bishop’s Falls

St. John’s

Water Street

The Battery

George Street

Bosnia

It truly is an amazing place with amazing people

I really cannot recommend this book enough.  

It’s a laugh out loud book. 

It’s written for Canadians by a great Canadian.

To thank Peter for the loan of the book I made him a bookmark in his sports team’s colours.

I hope he likes it.

 

                                                 See you Friday.   I’m kind of busy this week

I had an idea

 after I gave my quilt away.  Make another one!

Many years ago—maybe before 1998–Karl asked what I wanted for Christmas.  I had seen rocker/glider chairs at K-Mart at our local mall and liked them.  To make a long store short, sometime over the years it got re-upholstered to a fabric I really liked.    

This chair was even used in our trailer in the summer months when we travelled.  It is the perfect chair to sit in and read while you glide away.  I love it and so did our Misty.

When it came time to select the fabric I took the cushion with me to get just the right fabrics.  That was last fall.  

I made up a pattern in EQ, I cut all the fabrics and there they sat.   A couple of weeks ago I decided to put it together.  No photo of the quilt, just the cutting instructions.  I checked the computer.  No quilt!  I hadn’t saved it.

I had to start fresh with what I had.  A redesign was done, sewing was done, reverse stitching was done.  It was absolute angst!

Finally it was in rows and on the wall.

Saturday I sewed the rows together and now it will sit here until I get some ambition and make a backing

This came up on my Instagram feed

 so last Saturday I printed it off.  If you are on Instagram, check out Shannon Christine Designs.  There are a few cross stitch that are free to download.

I pretty much stitched it out on Saturday night.  If I'm using white Aida cloth I don't stitch the white parts.  It's not laziness, it gives the cross stitch another dimension.  I cut the cloth 5" x 5"  and centred the Santa face. No I didn't use the colours she suggested.  Pretty much did with what I have in stock.

I had some red flannel in my "stash" so I cut a backing the same size as the front

then I cut a piece slightly longer but the same width, pressed it in half so it will be a pocket.  

Then I layered everything.  First the cross stitch right side up, then the pocket, then the backing, all right sides facing

You only sew on three sides.  Start at the bottom of one side, across the top, then down the other side.  Leave the bottom open for turning.  I sew the top two corners like this so it isn't so hard to get nice corners.  Trim away the excess.

Turn the backing to the front, but leave the pocket in place.  Stitch along the bottom of the ornament.  I stitched it three times, once straight and then two zig-zags across.  That should hold it nicely.

Turn the pocket to the back and you have a place for a gift card or money.  If you are giving this to a child, you could put in change because for some reason coins seem to count more than a bill.  You could seal it temporarily with some tape. 

All done!!  Yes, I'm making more.  

I also put these through the sewing machine the same afternoon.  Now to sew the hangers on.  I used pearl cotton for that because I have it in stock.

The heart one I designed myself.  If you would like it you can give it a screenshot but remember it is copyright.  Someone special is getting this on February 14th!!  

I finished the cutest

 cross stitch 

Of course I didn’t follow the pattern.  I sort of went astray and did the owl but not parts of it.  I also messed up one stitch on the left side but hey you’ll never find it.  I found the pattern here.  

When it came to stitching the leaves I couldn’t do what the pattern maker did so here we go again.  I had to do some fancy steps.  I used my “EDIT” in my photos on my iPad.  Here’s how you do it if you want to flip a design and you don’t need an app to do it!!

Take a photo of what you want to work on.  Mine were the leaves.  

At the top of the page is the word EDIT.  Click on that

Then you tap crop at the side of the page

Now look at the top of the page, on the left!!  It says Cancel and there are two symbols beside that.  You want the middle one. 

Now how easy was that and lo and behold you have a “flipped photo” and you can stitch your leaves in the opposite direction than the pattern called for.

All done and ready for whatever I’m going to do with it.  I’m thinking of just putting it in a hoop.  I’ll see it if have one.