I got nuttin'

 I'm at the stage of spinning my wheels whilst I consider what I will attempt to do next.  I need to spend some time perusing photos to see what inspires.  My knitting is definitely yawn-worthy because it's yet another pair of socks.  I did, however, spend far too much time drooling my way through several different online shops searching out some fabric enhancements which will be turned into fodder for the Christmas box and lit a small flame underneath my credit card.  I know I swore I didn't want to buy anything unless I absolutely have to and I should have tried harder to make do from my stash but in the case of what I want to make I need yardage and my stash doesn't have much and what I do have isn't a suitable weight.  

- For those of you who thought I was a tad out to lunch for using teabags, go and have a look at the amazing creations of THIS artist!  (thank you Sherry for the head's up on this one)

- Sometimes it's the simple things that can give joy as THIS will attest.

- I know THIS is supposed to be an Easter project but there's no reason it couldn't be for anytime throughout the year.

- I like THESE!

- HERE is another idea that might come in handy!

Today's quote..."Just be a good person.  Love who you can, help where you can, give what you can"

Introducing!!

 "Teabags and Rust"

FOR SALE
SOLD!

measures approx. 25x20"
and is inspired by this 
photo by Dale Stewart
(and used with his kind permission)

This one involved all sorts of new-to-me techniques - using tea bags; printing my own fabric using lace as the resist; dyeing cheesecloth and stitching with it (I've actually done that before); using washaway stabilizer to help create the dimensional grasses; and several other things I did that were different.  

- I found THIS to be quite interesting.  I don't felt my projects but seeing this means I might just attempt it!

- You might find THIS a fun thing to try.

- I thought THIS was an awwww-thing.

- I found THIS article of interest, even though I'm not an actual quilter.

Today your quote is from Galileo Galilei...."I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use"

Happy Easter!

 

- THIS looks like it would be a fun process.

- I don't know who to credit THIS to, but thought it was pretty enough to share anyway.

- THESE were fun to look through.

- THIS is a fun project you might like to try.

- Once again I'm pointing you to a 'pay' design, but I thought THIS was just too cute not to share!

- THIS would be cute for your Easter decor (and wouldn't take too long to make)

Today your quote is from Helen Keller..."Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light"

Two days

 Two days of having other commitments in the afternoons means I haven't progressed very far on the landscape and so really don't have anything to show you.  So...you can guess what that means, can't you....

Perhaps to allay your boredom with links, how about I share a recipe from the Resident Chef?

- I know it's not Christmas and I risk incurring your wrath by pointing you towards something that is Christmas-y, but...if you want to try your hand at making THIS, you'll need time to collect the raw materials.  

- Some of you might be interested in making THIS

- Have a peek at the amazing creations of THIS artist!

- You might like to make one (or more!) of THESE.

Today's quote..."There are four very important words in life: love, honesty, truth, respect.  Without these in your life, you have nothing"

Well, lookit that...

 Over the weekend I did some work on the latest landscape and I am happy with it.  The eagle-eyed among you will notice the used teabags forming the sky.  The even more eagle-eyed might notice that your writer mucked about with some lace, paint and a brayer to create the grass background.  And...if you embiggen the picture you might be able to catch the texture on the tree.  Oh...and have a look at the grasses (remember me showing you that in one of my previous posts?).  Oh yes - and there's the area below the grasses which is dyed and stitched cheesecloth.  Now I'm busy embroidering more grasses.  

- THIS takes you to a PDF for a really cute EPP'd basket.

- Have a look at the incredible works by THIS amazing artist!

-I try not to point you to too many 'pay' sites, but THIS one is amazing so I couldn't resist.

Today the quote is from George Orwell..."However much you deny the truth, the truth goes on existing"

Two more!

 I just finished knitting two more hats for the Christmas box...

Pattern is the same as the one I showed you the other day.  There might be a couple more of these done before Christmas but now I'm switching gears to socks because I have a commission for four pairs that the buyer wants for Christmas.  Those should take me awhile to do.

- I suspect THESE are AI-generated but aren't they spectacular? (scroll down to see what I mean)

- THIS is a different take on the log cabin design.

- I thought THIS was really pretty.  If I had nice curtains that would lend themselves to it, I'd be making some.

- Maybe one day I might make one of THESE.

Today's quote is from  Elie Wiesel...."We must take sides.  Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim"

Some of you guessed

 Some of you guessed what I showed you the last time, or at least what it might be used for.  What you saw is a bunch of tea bags that are being used in the new landscape I'm creating which will be based on this photo by Dale Stewart (and used, as always, with his permission)...

What you saw is tea bags drying on plastic after having been coated with Konnyaku to strengthen them.  You'll have to come back to see what I'm actually doing with them!

And...I played with creating this...

Two layers of dissolvable stabilizer with snippets of threads, burlap bits and assorted 'stuff' that reminded me of what I was going for.  Stitched and then the stabilizer was washed away.

- Here's a little 'did you know' tip (that I, obviously, didn't know until now!)...to find the right side of a fabric, look at the selvedge edge...the small pinholes are raised on the wrong side.

- Have a peek through the portfolios of THIS artist.

- For some reason THIS project caught my eye.

- If you have some seeds to share, perhaps making THIS to hold them might be fun.

This is your quote of the day...

I thought you needed a smile!

Progress, on more than one front

 The hydro crews are working miracles in their efforts to get power restored to so many areas.  God bless the crews that came from other provinces and areas to help out.  We're now hearing the sounds of wood chippers and chainsaws which are another sign of progress.

At home, I've managed to finish the latest landscape which was based on this photo by Dale Stewart and used with his always kind permission...

Introducing "Foggy Morning"
measures approx. 29x25" (click on picture to embiggen)...

FOR SALE!

And....whatever do you suppose this might turn into??

- Most of THESE are 'awww-ism's'  (scroll down)

- There are some good tips HERE for cleaning your sewing machine.

- I rather like some of THESE and they don't look hard to make.  Dusting them, however, would be another matter!

- Oh! - THIS is such an awwwww-thing!!

Today the quote is from Stacie Martin..."We should be lifting each other up and cheering each other on, not trying to outshine one another.  The sky would be awfully dark with just one star"

Cleaning up

 The hydro crews are still working at restoring power in some areas and the clean up is ongoing.  Pretty much every house we drive by here in town has a mound of tree limbs waiting for crews to come along and deal with them.  It will likely take several weeks before it's all cleared away.  Luckily the second storm wasn't nearly as bad although we did have a few hours of ice pellets and snow mix.  Our power stayed on so we were among the lucky ones.  Some people have power but no access to internet or tv.

I spent my time (when I wasn't huddled beneath blankets) working on the latest landscape and the embroidery to this point...

AND....big excitement when the UPS driver delivered this....

I won one of the giveaways celebrating Donna's 16th blogiversary and she sent me all these goodies!  There's a book she wrote about counted thread embroidery, one of her sampler patterns, along with some beautiful DMC threads, a packet of tapestry needles, and a project bag.  Lucky me!!   Thank you Donna!!!!

- THIS is a cute redwork quilt design you might like.

- HERE is a nice Easter basket that would be fun to make.  Not only for Easter either!

- THIS is an awwww thing.

- I thought some of you might be interested in THIS.

Here is your quote..."Don't leave anything for later.  Later, the food gets cold.  Later, you lost interest.  Later, the day turns into night.  Later, people grow up.  Later, people grow old.  Later, life goes by.  Later, you regret not doing something...and you had the chance"

From crashing to sawing

 Sunday and Monday we heard a whole lot of cracking and crashing as limbs and entire trees came down due to the load of ice.  Now we hear the sound of many chainsaws as people deal with the aftermath.  All in all we had over an inch of ice in about 24 hours.  We were extremely fortunate that there was no wind or it would be doubtful if we'd have power for days.  As it was, we lost power twice - once for over five hours and the second for just over 24 hours.  Luckily the RC and I have lots of blankets and wearing multiple layers of clothes helped keep us warm.  Luckily, too, we have a can opener and could scrounge things like cold beans in our pantry.   UPDATED NOTE: They're saying there's another ice storm heading our way, although not supposed to be as bad.  If I disappear for a day or so, you'll know the power has gone out again.

- THIS would be a great use for an orphan quilt block.

- If your ironing board is looking a tad sad, perhaps THIS tutorial might be useful.

- If you're looking for some fun small quilt designs for spring, have a look at THESE.

Today's quote is from Maya Angelou..."Every storm runs out of rain"

Hunkered down

 We certainly had an interesting weekend which centered around a huge ice storm.  Our power went out at 7:30 Saturday morning and, due to the heroic efforts of our hydro crews, came back on around noon.  Thankfully it stayed on but keeps flickering on and off.  Other areas haven't been so lucky and they are still without power.  There are trees and lots of limbs down in the park just across from our building and more falling and by all reports there are lots more down around the area.  

This is the view from our balcony looking towards the river.  You might be able to see one downed tree on its side (to the right in the photo) and another root (middle of pic) with the tree in the river itself.  The next two pictures - a brave little woodpecker chipping away at the ice coating on the suet feeder....

.... and this is what greeted me when I opened the bedroom curtains.  Not a great picture but it was taken at a distance.  You might be able to make out the thick coating of ice on the tree.

Update  to add....been through 2 power outages.  Latest for just over 24 hours.   Had over an inch of ice on our balcony.  Trees and power lines down.  God bless our hydro and emergency services!  Will visit you all once we're sure our power stays on.

My efforts towards elbows up

 After several starts and rippits, I managed to convert a pattern for maple leaves into a hat that I know my family will like better.  The original pattern is THIS one which I changed by using the ribbed pattern for a brim from THIS hat that I know our family likes.

- As a coffee lover, I couldn't help but drool over some of THESE.  

- If you're a fan of granny squares perhaps one of the designs found HERE will inspire you.

- I thought THIS was a fun design.

- HERE is a tip you might find of use.

Today's quote is from Maximillien Robespierre...."The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant"

Design flaws

 

This is me.

(for those of you who get offended easily, you'd best move right along)

I have reached the conclusion that bras HAVE to have been invented by a man.  A diabolical, sadistic, and brain-dead man.  No woman in her right mind would design such a thing.

To explain....your writer has rather large 'girls' so really should wear one of those instruments of torture.  She also has 'Arthur' in her shoulder which means that the normal contortions required to do up a bra no longer apply.  So...she has to do up the instrument and then attempt to wiggle into it by putting it over her head.  That means much wiggling and floofing in an attempt to settle the girls in place.  Meanwhile, at the backside of the enterprise things are rolled up (and cemented thereby) which requires yet more contortions to get unrolled.  THEN....to compound matters (and here's the real design flaw)...the strap unsnaps itself from the back of the instrument and sproings away, striking your writer in the mouth, who by this time is uttering words not the least bit lady-like.  There's no hope of reaching behind to reattach the sproingee - so - after much more wiggling and uttering sweet nothings, said instrument is removed.  The sproinger is resnapped and she begins the entire enterprise again.  Why, I ask you, does said instrument have the sproing-ee strappy thingie do-upper (very technical term, only found in a Funk and Wagnall's tome)  at the BACK when it could just as easily be at the FRONT?

Now before you offer up interesting suggestions like maybe try a front-loading instrument or (horrors) a sports bra....those have all been tried and pronounced dead to me.  Front loaders mean that there's a huge 'hole' in the middle of my front...handy for holding a salt shaker, but looks absolutely disgusting beneath clothes.  Sports bras (see above for description of contortianisms, only multiply them ten-fold).  Going instrument-less is always an option but tucking 'em into my pants is a whole 'nother element of pain.  

Yep, had to have been a man....

- Have a peek through the galleries of THIS artist.

- HERE is a quilt design that would be nice to make and use as a fundraiser for breast cancer.  I know the link there takes you to a paid pattern, but thought I'd share it anyway.

- There are some cute free designs HERE.

- I rather like THESE - something a little different for Easter.

Today's quote..."We seem to live in a world where the intelligent must keep quiet so that the stupid will not be offended"

Foggy progress?

 As you can see I've made some progress on the latest landscape.  I'm striving for the effect of fog but not sure how successful I've been.  I still have to finish working on the tree and it will have some 'bits' of fog added too.  Then it will be on to the embroidery.

- THESE would be cute to make for Easter!  And THIS too.

- There are some really nice block designs HERE.

- THIS is a cute little item that would serve many purposes.

- I think THIS is intriguing.

- THIS is an awwww-thing.  While you're there, scroll through all her amazing free designs found HERE.

Today's quote...