Block 2

I made a start at the next block for my crazy quilt over the weekend.  I'm still not sure about the colours I'm using for the embroidery but I'm looking on this project as a learning curve.  Hopefully I will learn to use colour schemes that are not my norm and that I might just grow to like them. 

Below are the colours I pulled from my stash

using the Color Tool as my guide...

Resident Chef has started his garden and has a few tomato seedlings bravely trying to grow in the window sill.  At this point who knows if we'll be able to track down enough potting soil to put them out on the balcony, but here they are for now...

And...because I talk about my beloved Resident Chef so much, perhaps you'd like to see him...

This is a really difficult puzzle so it will

keep him occupied for awhile!

And, instead of a quote today....

Stay safe, stay well.

The yellow block is done (I think).  The colour scheme isn't one I would normally use but it's an interesting challenge to make myself think outside the box.

and closeups...

The next one I will work on is green and I must say the colours the Color Tool is suggesting are NOT what I would ever put together with it.  I'm going to go with it though and see if I can get past my pre-conceived notion of what's right.  Stay tuned!

Last time I promised I would tell you about a couple of the other 'tools' I am using for this particular project.  I have two different sets of templates that I can use to mark stitch placement on my seams.  One is from Sharon Boggon (look HERE) and the other set is made by 'Creative Impressions' (look HERE) and were created to accompany Kathy Seaman Shaw's book 'Stunning Stitches For Crazy Quilts'.  The templates don't need to be used along with the book however.  I use them as they are but also combine them in various ways to come up with my own designs.  It's hard to get a decent picture of the templates...

'Creative Impressions' set on the left, Sharon Boggon's on the right

Today your quote is from Pema Chodron..."Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know"

Stay safe - stay well.

Pondering

I have been working on doing some prep for a new large-ish crazy quilt project I have planned to do for awhile. The bedspread we have on our bed doesn't reach the floor because we have the bed up on blocks in order to have storage beneath and we use a quilt/throw to hide the clutter  well organized area beneath.  I pieced the blocks awhile ago and now is the time to start working on them.  Here is the selection as they look right now...

My original plan was to set them on point but that is quite possibly going to change as I go along and quite probably will mean I will need to create more blocks. The original plan was also to embroider them quite simply with only one or two colours of thread (probably black and white).  Now that we are staying home, I have changed that plan and have now opted to use a triadic colour scheme for each.  In theory, my original idea was to do a sort-of colour study anyway, so going triadic is a further extension of that.  Changing my colours somewhat is primarily because I know I will get thoroughly bored with only working in one colour for the embroidery.  Because this is going on our bed I don't plan to add any heavier embellishments (buttons,etc) which goes against my magpie nature!

Some of you may wonder how I am choosing my triadic colours and I have to admit I'm not smart enough to figure that out on my own but instead rely on a wonderful thing called the 'Ultimate 3-in-1 Color Tool'  (updated 3rd edition) by Joen Wolfrom.  

Picture from Amazon.ca and found HERE.

I use this color tool a LOT and highly recommend it (no affiliation with the publisher OR Amazon)....it's available through other sources as well - just Google and you will find them if you're interested).

I decided to work on the yellow block first  simply because it's one of my least favourite colours.  From my stash of embroidery floss I pulled this selection of colours, using the suggestions from my Color Tool.  

Here you can see my block mounted on my frame and one of the seams underway.  The frame is one I made from PVC pipe from instructions found HERE.  

Next time I will tell you about a couple of further tools I am using to help with my embroidery process on these blocks.  

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Resident Chef is a man of multi-talents; he not only cooks, he cleans, he vacuums, he does laundry.  And no, before you think I have the perfect slave, I DO help with the cleaning!!  Self isolation means no access to a hairdresser, so he changed hats and had a go at mine.  I figure nobody's going to see me for quite awhile so what could possibly happen that wouldn't grow back in short order (I was just careful not to sneeze!).  I think, if the word gets out, he might just be able to make some money at this!  Here's proof positive....

That's the pile of hair he removed

And as you can see I don't look any scarier than
I normally do!

I think I'll keep him.

Today's quote..."The first to apologize is the bravest, the first to forgive is the strongest, and the first to forget is the happiest"

A finish

Over the weekend I finished the church

landscape...

FOR SALE!

This one measures approx. 33 x 25"

-

Ready for borders

I think this landscape is ready for borders and finishing now...

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Question for you.....do you use washaway stabilizer?  If so, what brand works well?  I have some 'Unique' and it will not dissolve no matter what I do.  Obviously not what you want after you've spent several hours creating something and then can't get the stabilizer out!!  Over to you....opinions please....

*********************

Today's quote...."Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not obsess.  Just breathe and have faith that all will work out for the best"

Stay safe, stay well.

A tale of woe (or how to increase blood pressure)

A Rant -

of epic proportions

First of all,  thank you to my incredible and very smart son who was kind enough to let you all know I was in over my head.  He deserves a medal!

OK - here goes - (please feel free to just move on by this blog - my feelings won't be hurt).....

1.  Our tv is old.  It's creaky, like all us ol' folks get.  She had issues with her picture sometimes but bravely soldiered on....until yesterday afternoon when she threw a hissy fit and went to the tv pasture in the sky.  Well then.  

We're told we're supposed to stay home...but....with no tv and no means to get the latest updates and news?  And a husband who loves his tv?  Sigh.  Into the car...and cough up the bucks for a new 'Smart' tv.   Which, said the salesman, was 'simple' to set up and implied that any moron could do it.  (hmmm....obviously he doesn't know me......)

2.  Carted home, unpacked and undertook to set it up, only to come to a screeching halt when it asked me for my 'wireless connection password'.  Sure.  I can do that.  If only I knew what it was.  I keyed in Every.....Single.....Password I have ever used (and a whole lot I haven't) and nothing worked.  So....phoned the cable provider who very kindly told me (after going through a series of tests) that I would need to call the 'router' company, and gave me the proper phone number to call.  

3.  Called....and was put on hold and forced to listen to their advertising blurb for their wonderful incredible amazing offerings....over and over....for over an hour.  FINALLY, a real live guy appeared and proceeded to have me unplugging, replugging, poking, proding, waiting....rinsing and repeating....the router (picture your Magpie up and down off the floor because said router so happens to be on a shelf beneath my computer desk...I'm too darned old for this!!).  After nearly an hour of this he managed somehow to kick me off the internet (at which point I pushed the panic button, called my son on the cell phone... and had him post the message to you).  Upon being told that the internet had gone poof - the guy had me doing more poking and plugging and finally the phone call got dropped.

4.  Insert a string of swear words that would curl your hair....and probably that of most of your neighbours too.

5.  Called back....on hold (listening to the same blurb and, I might add, not believing a word of it this time!!).  In the meantime Resident Chef was on the cell phone talking to our son who proceeded to tell me to try a couple of things....one of which, wonder of wonders, was how to actually...get this....CHANGE my password!!  Which was ALL I wanted to do in the first place and didn't involve ANY crawling about on the floor, plugging and unplugging.  At this point I hung up on the idiots from the router company and went with my son's advice.  

6.  At least two hours on the phone with him and he walked me through getting a new password (which, I might add has been written down and is in a safe place) and the rest of the tv set up, including figuring out how to get our Netflix working....all from nearly four thousand miles away.  I tell you, this guy should be working in tech support - he's brilliant!  

Seven...and....one....half.....hours....
I....will.....never....get.....back....

7.  Well after midnight I fell into bed with my internet back and a tv sort of working.  One more phone call this morning to the cable provider to get the final picture quality issue fixed and we're up and running.  

8.  I did not even THINK about the fact that said 'Smart' tv has the ability to let me run internet through it....I don't want to know.  I can only imagine the furor THAT might cause!

There, that's my tale of woe in a nutshell...

now my achy body has to recover from

all the exercise it got getting up and

down off the floor and crawling round 

behind furniture

and

we have to learn which buttons to

push on the remote (now two of them!)

Extreme thanks (and huge hugs)

to our long-suffering son,

who deserves all the accolades he

can get.

The end.

MIA for the foreseeable future

Hi there!

MA/Magpie/whatever you would like to call her (Believe me, I have referred to her as many other things than that!) will be offline for a few days. She got a new TV and now cant get her internet working. (This is her son btw... yes, the smart one).

I am sure she will make a post the second that her internet is back!

Stay tuned!

A bunch of nothing (or maybe something?)

A short discourse..

on the virus concerns...

this blog is, and will remain (hopefully)

a place to come where it won't be discussed.

It's there....

we're concerned...

life goes on.

Wash your hands.

'Nuff said.

Updated to add this....we all need to maintain our sense of humour these days and when I came across this I laughed out loud and thought you might find it amusing as well...

Unfortunately I can't give credit to the artist - if anyone knows,
please leave a comment

Resident Chef celebrating completion of the
Christmas gift from #1 grandson

A tree!

I'm working on the tree at the moment....

Your quote of the day..."Don't be afraid to start over.  This time you're not starting from scratch, you're starting from experience"

Minuscule Amount?

I don't know if you can see any change here but there actually has been....

Today's quote..."Be nice to crafters.  We have enough creativity to make your death look like an accident and due to a lifetime of hot glue gun burns, we leave no fingerprints"

A teeny bit of progress

Over the weekend I got a little more done at the latest landscape.  Flirting with the time period in creating these that I feel the only thing I should do is chuck it because it looks butt ugly.  So far I've managed to work through that period in a landscape creation and it's been okay but I do second guess myself a lot.

Your quote for today..."How cool is it that the same God who created mountains and oceans and galaxies looked at you and thought the world needed one of you too?"

And so it begins (again!)

The beginning of another landscape....

For some reason the spire looks crooked, but

in real life it isn't.  

And the quote of the day...."This is a story about four people named EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY and NOBODY.  There was an important job to be done and EVERYBODY was sure that SOMEBODY would do it.  ANYBODY could have done it, but NOBODY did it.  SOMEBODY got angry about that, because it was EVERYBODY's job.  EVERYBODY thought ANYBODY could do it, but NOBODY realized that EVERYBODY wouldn't do it.  It ended up that EVERYBODY blamed SOMEBODY when NOBODY did what ANYBODY could have done"

Wasted days (and wasted nights?)

Oops -
don't blame me if you now have

the Freddy Fender song playing

in your brain!

(brilliant idea on my part 

because now I'M stuck with it!!)

At any rate, the entire reason I went off on this particular tangent is that yesterday was quite simply one of THOSE days where I got nothing done except for doing errands.  The only saving grace out of it all was that we got our income tax done and we're getting a tidy little sum back.  Pays to turn one of 'those' numbers on my last birthday and get bumped up into the old farts league of deductions.  Woo hoo!

So....no pictures of any progress to show you on any front.  Had a project in mind and scuttled it in favour of being practical.  I had thought of turning one of my orphan crazy quilt blocks into a neck roll for our bed.  Brilliant plan, until I remembered that I don't like making the bed in the first place so why would I want to add another pillow to the mix that I would just have to deal with twice a day.  OK - put that idea on the back burner and turn my thoughts to contemplation of how I will create this.....

This is a free domain photo I found on the internet - at least from all the research I've been able to do it appears it is.  I don't normally use images from the internet for fear of them NOT being free domain but I love this wonderful old church so much that I decided to chance it.  Stay tuned!

Instead of a quote, I thought I'd share this with you instead....

And now - for a little change of pace...

How about a doll?

She will be going to live with

my friends granddaughter.

Pattern could I suppose be called my own 

because it's been cobbled together from several

commercial patterns until I came up with

what I wanted.  

Today's quote is from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee..."Knitting is a boon for those of us who are easily bored.  I take my knitting everywhere to take the edge off of moments that would otherwise drive me stark raving mad"