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There has been a start on the embroidery on the landscape as you can see from this...
Now for the rant (feel free to scroll down to avoid the entire thing). Apartment life sometimes is a complete and total pain in the derrierre. Monday we received notice that the powers-that-be have decided that the entire building has to be fumigated for cockroaches. I know...yeww...but we haven't seen any in our unit. We have traps in several places so we'd know if there were. We won't mention the area in the building where all such things seem to originate! So.....we have to pull EVERY.SINGLE.PIECE.OF.FURNITURE out from the walls two feet so they can spray behind. We have to remove EVERY.SINGLE.THING out of EVERY.SINGLE.CUPBOARD. We have to vacate the premises for a minimum of six hours during/after the spraying. Oh, did I mention that both RC and I are dealing with sore backs (him from sciatica and compounded by his fall a couple weeks ago). Needless to say we will NOT be moving furniture and have had to throw ourselves at the mercy of the management who have arranged for people to come and move things for us. That will happen Friday...and then we have the weekend to try to get between everything to get to anything. Monday they spray...and then they're supposed to come back to put the furniture back, but no word on when that might happen. Then - there's a good possibility (if they find roaches on our floor/wing) that the entire thing will be repeated in 14 days. Oh, and did I mention we'll be trying to pack to get ready to leave on our trip on Thursday? Ain't no stress in MY life!!!!!
Because of having to spend the entire day yesterday packing everything up and trying to put it somewhere (anywhere!), I'm sorry to say there's only a couple links for you this time. However the first one should keep you amused for quite awhile.
- If you want to see eye candy galore, have a look at the AQS Worldwide Quilt Parade HERE. There just might be two or three of my pieces there! You can also vote for your favourites.
- HERE is an 'awwww' thing and THIS is another one.
Today's quote is from Dede Hawkins..."Never let your heart be so forgiving that it gets comfortable with disrespect"
- I found THIS article to be quite interesting.
- You might find something of interest HERE.
- Have a scroll through THESE amazing creations! And THESE too!
- THESE would make a great gift - easy and quick.
- THIS is a technique I've never seen before.
- Using scraps to make THIS would be fun.
- And THIS would be too.
Today's quote...
I doubt this looks much different to the casual glance but it's mostly all been quilted now. Next comes the embroidery!
- There are tons of free knitting patterns HERE.
- THIS intrigued me IF I were a paper crafter.
- Using scraps to make THIS would be fun (scroll down to see the final project)
- THIS is a lovely project for fall!
I took the rippit tool to the landscape because I simply did.not.like.it. The proportions were all off (at least in my uneducated in art brain) so I lobbed off several rows and now I'm much happier. I should have taken a 'before it was dressed up' picture with the old tractor but oh well. Here it is as it is right now with basting stitches ready to start quilting...
- I hate to admit that the much-dreaded stuff that falls from the sky is on the way, but perhaps making THESE would make it more fun. Or maybe THESE for your fall decor?
- THIS is one of the 'awwww-things'.
- I can't find who to attribute THIS to, but thought it was worth sharing.
- I had a lightbulb moment when I saw THIS - I am making one for myself, for sure.
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Prayers for Florida and anyone in the path of Helene
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I don't remember where I found this, but it's been waiting in line to be shared...
- When I came across THIS I immediately thought of Christmas gifts. Wouldn't it be lovely to give family members your favourite recipes? I know the internet has everything but not the nostalgia that comes with old family favourites.
- I know THIS would have come in handy a number of times for me.
- I know you can tell my thoughts are turning more and more towards that day in December and THIS might be a great gift for a teen in your life. And adding one of THESE would make it even better. There are more ideas HERE.
- THIS caught my eye too. Perhaps the fun designs could be used in other ways as well.
- I found THIS to be a rather interesting article.
- You might like THIS design for your fall/Halloween decor.
- I haven't shared an 'awwww-thing' for awhile so THIS fits the bill!
Today's quote is from Henry David Thoreau... "Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each"
Yes, most of you guessed the mystery 'bits' I showed you on Friday were the beginning of a new landscape as you can see from this photo...
The design is loosely based on THIS one by Anne Grossnickle Hines. Of course you know there's something else to be added!
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- THESE are adorable.
- THIS is a different take on a shawl - might make great donation projects for nursing homes or for someone undergoing chemo. There's a link there to click on for the pattern.
- Perhaps you might like to make one of THESE to store 'stuff'.
- THIS is another project you might like to make.
- THIS would be cute for your fall decor.
This made me laugh, so thought I'd share instead of a quote..
Yes, what do you suppose I have planned to do with these??
- You might enjoy seeing the quilt winners from The Lancaster Quilt Show HERE.
- Scroll down HERE to see some pretty amazing cardboard art.
- Have a peek through the gallery of THIS incredible artist.
- Perhaps you know someone who would like to have one of THESE?
Today's quote..."There are people who would love to have your bad days"
Yes, alas I don't have any pictures to share with you today. Two days spent putzing and spinning my wheels equals nada to share. So...you know what I'm going to do, don't you....
- I think THIS would be a great decor item for your sewing room!
- THIS would be a great stash buster.
- HERE is another idea that would make quick (and useful) gifts.
- Have a peek through the galleries of THIS artist.
- Those of you who are sane quilters might find THIS of interest (scroll down)
- HERE is something you might like to do for your fall decor.
- If you're a crocheter, better pour yourself a cuppa and gather up the breadcrumbs before you visit THIS link!
- I don't know if THIS actually works but it might be a fun experiment anyway.
- Unfortunately I can't find the credit for THIS, but I thought it was a great idea.
Today's quote..."People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full are missing the point. The glass is refillable
The latest landscape is done. No more stitching wheat, at least not for awhile!
"WITCH HOUSE - 2"
FOR SALE!!!
This is the photo kindly shared by Tracy Baker and used with her permission...
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- If you're handy with tools or know someone who is, perhaps you'd like THIS. I know I would, if only I had the space to put it!
- THIS might be a sweater you'd like to make (great use for scrap yarn!).
- I enjoyed reading THIS (might have to wait a second for it to load properly)
- THESE would be fun for your fall decor.
- You might like to see the items up for sale for the SAQA Benefit Auction and you can go HERE for that. Takes a minute to load! THIS explains the auction process.
Today the quote is from Andy Warhol..."Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make more art"
This has been a week where I seem to have been on the road pretty much all the time or at least the lion's share of every day has been spent outside the house. Needless to say I haven't had much time to spend in my sewing space so I'm in mid-go with several projects.
# 1
Of course is the landscape which hasn't had a
stitch added to it
#2
The beginning of a knitted scarf which is
planned to be a take-along project when
we go away next month.
#3
The current pair of socks (I usually have
a pair on the go all the time so I have a
quick thing to pick up when I have a little time)
- THIS is a really pretty fall project.
- Have a peek at the work by THIS artist!
- THIS is a cute project you might like to try. While I was poking around on her site, I discovered THIS too. I'm certainly nowhere near that organized!
- Have a peep through the galleries of THIS fabric artist (look along the bar at the top and click on 'Galleries' to be taken to several different ones).
Today I give you a quote from Mother Teresa...."Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more"
Today I am going to be missing in action but because I'm always thinking of you, here's a post anyway! I will be spending the day teaching another landscape workshop (be still my quaking knees!).
- THIS looks like a fun technique to try.
- And wouldn't THIS be handy (would make a great gift too!)
- THIS is another thing that would make a great gift (or for yourself).
I might have given you this quote before but it bears repeating..."Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing" (Oscar Wilde)
Forty five years ago yesterday Resident Chef made the ultimate sacrifice and married me. Poor guy had no idea what he was in for!
I am so over stitching wheat! Mind you, I love the way it looks but man it was time-consuming!! Now it's on to quilting the sky and then I can call this one pretty much done.
- Because this is a blog filled with randomness, how about playing with THIS idea! Why should kids have all the fun!
- Some of you might be able to make use of THIS.
- Read about THIS amazing artist and then check his gallery HERE to see some of his incredible creations.
- And have a peek at the work by THIS artist.
- THIS takes you to a pdf for a fun fall project.
Today's quote is from Monika Kristofferson..."If someone doesn't live with you, neither should their stuff"
I'm blaming the RC for this one! It seems we will be flying out to see our family again, only this time in October when the weather can be either warm or cold and no telling until you're in the middle of it. We pride ourselves on being able to travel with just one carry-on and a small bag (more like a large purse) and I knew there would be no space to pack a coat of any sort and I wasn't anxious to have to wear one on the plane either. What to do. A friend suggested a 'puffer coat' which compresses into practically nothing....lightweight and warm. The thrifties didn't yield anything (and not likely to in my size). So an online search ensued culminating in a skid to a halt when I hit the Eddie Bauer site. There was a coat - exactly what I wanted and in exactly my colour AND in a tall size too! https://eddiebauer.ca/p/38925403/women's-microtherm(r)-2.0-down-hooded-jacket?sp=1&color=Dark%20Mulberry&sizeType=Tall
But then...THEN....I looked at the price and just about fell off my chair. As I was dusting myself off the RC walked by the door and wandered in to see what I was hyper-ventilating about. He took a look and promptly told me to order the 'd-a ----' thing. Yep, I'm blaming him (but it sure is a nice coat and will be perfect for what I want AND it fits!).
- I'm not too sure about THIS but thought it was interesting anyway.
- THIS caught my eye (it's a paid pattern, but thought I'd share because I like that it looks quilted).
- Have a scroll through the incredible creations of THIS amazing artist!
- HERE is another fun craft to do in the fall.
Today the quote is from Henry Van Dyke..."Use what talent you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best"
A week or so ago I showed you the snowman gift bag I crocheted and now I have both the elf and Santa done. The elf pattern can be found HERE and the Santa is HERE. I still have to make the pompoms for all of them and have to muster some courage to tackle them. I don't have a pompom 'maker' so will have to look up how to make my own.
Over the weekend the RC and I made two batches of zucchini relish (if you want the recipe, let me know!) and one batch of plum jam (recipe is inside the box of Certo crystals if you'd like it). He put the relish in storage already but this is the jam...
- One day I dream of making THIS.
- Have a peek through the gallery of THIS amazing artist!
- Never can it be said that this isn't a full service blog as THIS will attest.
- Perhaps THIS might be fun to try.
This quote is from Mason Cooley..."Reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are"
Although there are days of stitching to do yet on this part of the landscape, I thought I'd give you a little glimpse of what I've been doing...
Methinks, by the time I'm done, I should be really good at making buillions and lazy daisies! You can also get a better peek at the sashiko stitching in the background.
- I think THESE would make a lovely gift!
- Have a peek at the creations of THIS amazing artist.
- I may have shared the work of THIS artist before but even if I have it's certainly worth checking again. Be sure to have a look at all her galleries!
- I enjoyed looking through THESE but the sheer magnitude of ends that would have to be sewn in simply boggles the mind.
Today the quote is from Pablo Picasso..."Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up"
ummm....hmmmmm.....busily hand stitching on the landscape but nothing worth showing you yet. Nothing else has been happening either b'cause my hands are complaining about trying to crochet too much with thick yarn and that happens to be what I'm wanting to work on.
so....how about some randomness from Chez Magpie....
- RC has been cleaning up his balcony garden because the tomatoes have all ripened at once. The lettuce was pretty much a dud all summer long and even the herbs didn't produce like they usually do. Right now there's only one pepper plant left and it's looking pretty sad so doubt it won't last more than another day or two.
- Got our first parking ticket. Sitting in our own parking spot at our building. The parking spot we've had for over 13 years. Apparently there was a mixup with the numbers and we got dinged. In the two weeks we've been waiting for the building management to sort it out, the ticket has gone from $65 to $100 - along with thinly veiled threats of sending same to a collection agency. Argh!
- Finally got the car 'repairs' stemming back to the hail damage last August sorted out and have received a lovely cheque from the insurance company. At first we had opted to have the repairs done but in the interim between the original estimate a year ago and now, the cost for said repairs has risen dramatically, and we were pretty certain that our car would be one of the many that the insurance was simply writing off (it's a 2016 RAV4) which would put us back in debt to buy another one - if we could even find one that was in good used condition. We finally decided we'd just not bother getting it fixed (our car is now lovingly called 'Dimples') and the insurance company was happy to pay us the amount of the original estimate. Works for us.
- Resident Chef had a very rare failure come out of his kitchen this week. He made what we thought would be a decadant dessert that involved a graham wafer crust and chocolate/peanut butter filling. Well....one issue was that the recipe called for melted chocolate to cover the graham crust which turned out to be harder than h-e-double-hockey-sticks to cut through. And the other issue was that it was just way over the top sweet. There was nothing for it but to bless the garbage and cut our losses.
- Have a look at the award winners HERE from the American Quilter's Society 2024 show.
- If you're brave enough to steal from the squirrels perhaps you could make some of THIS. I did a number of years ago and it was fun to do.
- I think THIS is so pretty!
- I love Lego so when I saw THIS it caught my eye.
Today's quote is from Winston Churchill..."It is better to do something than to do nothing while waiting to do everything"
The landscape is coming along. If you embiggen the picture you should be able to see that I used sashiko stitching for the grass area...just to change it up a little.
- If you like making your own jewelry perhaps THIS tutorial might interest you.
- HERE is another fun technique that looks interesting and easy to do.
- I would really like one of THESE but the question is...do I want to make it?
- Scroll down for the instructions to make THIS fun project.
Today's quote..."Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo"
