Passions & Pursuits

Happy May!

2012-05-01T08:18:00.000-04:00

This is what has been taking up my time lately...and it is nearing completion. Loved making all those pinwheels.

She is a girly girl and she will love this!

I love the month of May. It means flowers, planting, blossoms, mother's day, a daughter's birthday, moderate temperatures (here in Canada!) and beautiful smells in the air. Spring in my neck of the woods is always one of my favorite times of the year. I'm a "not too hot, not too cold" girl. So the temperatures in spring suit me just fine!

Bleeding heart from my window basket

Spring Pansy

Forget-Me-Nots

Spring, new life, new beginnings...lovely, yes? Off on my walk. See ya!

Another week...another quilt! And a path...

2012-04-30T08:22:00.000-04:00

Well I spent the weekend working on another quilt for one of my grandchildren. This one is very girly because the recipient is very girly!

I hope to finish it this week, ready for her when she gets here for her visit to Nanie's.

While I was cleaning up and organizing my mom's ipad, I came across some wonderful photos she had stored in her photo file. I snagged some of them...I'm always thinking about what can go up in a post on the blog...and here's one for today.

This photo says so much. I like pictures that show a path. I have photographed many pathways and there's a lot to be said for "the path". This photo also speaks to me about not walking the path alone. And we don't, thanks be to God.

The pathway is also well worn. Many have walked this path. Penguins that is...but in life, we are not the only ones walking the path we are on. Many have done the walk, are doing the walk. We are never alone in our journey.

Whatever your path right now, may you know the presence of the One who never leaves us to walk alone. That reminds me of a book I read years ago while I was on a certain "path". Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. I highly recommend this book.

I'm off for my walk. I'll take my camera with me. Never know what I'm going to see...and then I can share it with you.

Have a good day.

Where did my Boots go?!

2012-04-26T14:30:00.000-04:00

Don't you just love this photo? It was sent to me by a dear friend, who says it reminded her of me. I love the photo, but more than that I love the fact that I have a friend who knows me well enough to say, "This reminds me of you!" What a treasure to have such a friend. She has moved away now, but as it is with good friends, you don't need to see each other every day. Even if it's been years since you've had a chat, you can pick up just like you spent time together yesterday.
These boots remind me of my friends. Colourful, different, present, willing to add beauty to the world, and blooming where they are planted! We aren't in each others' back pockets, but we share things, as good friends do, and trust each other with our joys and sorrows. We are witnesses to each other's lives and that is a privilege I hold dear. Good friends are a blessing.

I had coffee this morning with one of my dear friends and we haven't talked in months and months. Yet we picked up where we left off, shared the happy and the sad together, and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company over coffee. She leads a very busy, sacrificial life serving others. I admire her so! How sweet is this privelege of sitting down with her for a slice of time!

This Friday I will meet up with a group of women who I've been blessed to count as friends for the past 20+ years. We will share, and laugh, and tease, and cry, and eat together. What joy! We call ourselves a book club, but actually we stopped reading books a long time ago. So we are the non-book club I guess.

And there is another group of women I treasure. We share while we are busy doing our craft. Sometimes we go on road trips, sometimes we just meet for coffee, sometimes we meet to do what we love. Hands are busy making while we share one anothers' lives.

And there are the women in my life that are part of my family. Mother, sister, daughters, grand daughters, sisters-in-law, daughter-in-law. They are special treasures. Over time as we witness each other's lives, we grow through good times and bad. Because they are family, there are different dynamics that come into play down through the years. Navigating those dynamics with each other takes patience, understanding, love, forgiveness, and determination. But it is worth it. I love and am thankful for each and every woman in my family!

Anyhow...back to the boots. Aren't they cute? I am going to go out to the dollar store and buy some little rubber rain boots, fill them with soil, plant them up and nail them to the fence. Every time I look at them, I will think of my friends and say a little prayer of thanks to God for the blessing of friendship.

How Many Trips Does it Take...

2012-04-24T18:53:00.000-04:00

Honestly! All I need is a change in the tap handles in my laundry room. I'm not a very fussy person when it comes to my house. Some people have to have the newest, greatest, latest of everything. Not me. I love old houses and all the vintage that comes along with them. Well, at least, I have loved these old babes. I've lived in a few! But I'm finding that my frustration levels are growing as I live in our present old babe.

Take today, for instance. Well, the last few days actually. Problem: I've got taps in my laundry room that are hard to "handle." (Sorry about that! :-)

They are hard to turn. I asked hubs to see if he could change the tap. "Go and get whachyawant" he tells me. So first trip to the home store sees me coming back with a shiny new tap that will be easy to turn off and on and even has a built in sprayer! Wow! Long story short...didn't fit. Back to the store for a pleasant interaction with the returns desk clerk.

As I go back into the faucet section of the store, a new idea breaks into my head! Why not just change the handles to the paddle type, like they have in hospitals, etc. I purchase the handles that are labelled "universal" and home I go. Hubs likes the idea and spends several hours trying to fit them on. Guess what. Don't fit. (Anyone who knows Hubs knows he would rather have root canal than do this kind of work.) He ended up in a mood.

Second trip back to the returns desk.Since I've exhausted this store's offerings, my next brainwave is to visit the big box store down the street from the first store. See what they have. Voila! I find another faucet like the one I already have, but instead of old style turney handles, this one has paddles for handles. The installation will require Hubs (who does not like to do this type of thing) to remove the entire tap, disconnect the water supply, squeeze into a tiny space to do all this (I can just hear the expletives now!!!) and try to use the tools he has which are not plumbers tools. Oh my.

Maybe I'll call a plumber while Hubs is on the golf course tomorrow. Think I will. Peace at any cost!

That's what has been keeping me busy. I'm thinking a brand new shiny house with everything custom designed to our tastes is in our future.

Stay tuned!

Another Finish

2012-03-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

This morning I'm thinking about finishes. I've finished a few winter trips, finished putting away all my travel stuff, finished putting away all my "new purchases!" and I've even finished a few quilts along the way.

Here's one. It is the after Christmas-still winter quilt. Love it!

Here is what I'm working on now. I designed it while down south and I love love love the colours. I was inspired by a copy of an antique quilt I saw in a cute shop I visit once in a while. I decided to do hearts out of my 4-patches. Stay tuned!

So since it is such a beautiful day, and since I need (badly!) some exercise, I'm heading out for a walk before the sun is high in the sky.

Sand in My Shoes

2012-02-24T22:25:00.000-05:00

On our way north on the interstate, we took a short detour and this is what we found.

We stopped for a half hour at most...we had a long trip ahead of us. But for just a half hour, I was at the ocean. Ahhhhh.

I stuck my feet into the surf. The flags flying by the entrance to the beach indicated "dangerous riptides and dangerous marine life." Needless to say, I didn't need to be convinced not to dive in. So I was content to let the surf cool my feet off.

There's something overpowering when you stand on the beach of the Atlantic Ocean. The colours are spectacular...as the sun peeks in and out from behind the clouds causing the water to change in colour from greens, to greys to beautiful blues. I could have stayed there for a week.

We didn't know this was just off the interstate. I'm glad we decided to venture off the highway and search for the ocean. It was a wonderful little treat to experience as we said good-bye to Florida.

And now we are in civil war country as we travel north to Canada. So much history in this huge country...I hope tomorrow brings more adventures. How could it not?

Coastal stop

2012-02-24T18:56:00.001-05:00

A Day in Savannah…

2012-02-11T18:09:00.000-05:00

Today I toured the Wormsloe Plantation, a 1736 Colonial Estate near downtown Savannah. It was created by an early colonist, Noble Jones, a common Englishman who was a physician, carpenter, and surveyor. The estate sits on land located near a waterway. He farmed his land, growing corn, turnips, potatoes, rice, cotton, oranges, pomegranates, figs, peaches, apricots, and mulberry trees for silk. This is the front gate.

The long drive in to the plantation is lined with old oaks that arch over the driveway. Do you recognize this from the movie Forest Gump?

Here’s another view, looking back toward the front gate.

All that remains of the original Tabby house built by Jones.

This path takes you from the ruins of the home to the gravesite of Jones, and it runs along the water’s edge.

Early colonists in Georgia didn’t keep slaves. They believed owning slaves made one lazy. Jones and other Georgians did eventually succumb to owning slaves and this is an example of what the slaves would have lived in on Wormsloe. The interior of the cottage includes a large fireplace for heating and cooking, a sleeping loft, and one room for living in.

Quite a day…walking by myself through the heavily forested plantation and thinking about what the lives of the people who had trod the same paths might have been like.

Waking up in Savannah!

2012-02-10T08:15:00.001-05:00

What a lovely, historical city! We've just arrived, had our first sleep here in a carriage house of an old, historic downtown home across from a beautiful park. The trees are laden with Spanish moss, the grass is green, the spring flowers are up and the magnolias are nearly in full bloom.

I’m off with my camera to discover the historical downtown area while my DH enjoys a beautiful Savannah golf course. And, of course, there will be a few stops at local quilt shops…
Have a wonderful day!

A Beautiful Day

2012-01-31T22:37:00.000-05:00

Amazing! This warm breezy weather at the end of January is unheard of.
Today, the weather is something to behold! Sunny, mild, and it is the end of January. Who knew?!

I've been watching the birds in my yard. They are hunting for nesting places already. Last year I watched out my kitchen window as little sparrows made a nest in the corner of my neighbour's roof where the eaves trough meets the roof. The little sparrows worked so hard every day, bringing bits of this and that to feather their nest. And eventually, the babies were hatched and mom and dad had the task of going back and forth with bits of food. Eventually the family left the nest.
Unfortunately, later on in the summer, I noticed my neighbour cleaning out his eves and stuffing wire mesh into the spot where the nest was built. I was sad...

Just this morning, I noticed the sparrows were back, perched on the roof where they built their nest last year. They were looking at the wire mesh that blocks the entrance into the corner of the roof/eve. I'm sure they will find another spot. I will, of course, place bits of yarn and leave some garden refuse around as I clean up this spring...so that the birds will have some extra bits to put into their nests.

Meet Rusty. I call him Rusty because if you look closely at his ears, they are tinged with rust coloured fur. He is new to our yard this year. I’ve never seen a fatter squirrel. Someone has trained him to beg for his food, and to come close to find it. He will come right up on to our deck when he sees us out, and he waits to see if we have a peanut or two for him. Doesn’t he look like the most polite squirrel you’ve ever seen?

Today he was enjoying the apple I put out for the gang. There are several very overweight squirrels in our yard this year. I am guessing someone’s bird feeder is not squirrel proof like ours is.

It is amazing what you see when you stand in one place for an hour or so and take pictures of those things that are within your eyesight. And I find it interesting to see where one’s mind goes when you are doing this exercise in photography. You see things you wouldn’t normally take notice of.

I am packing up slowly for a weekend departure on a month long vacation down south. We've never done this before, so we are really excited for the adventure. Lots of stops along the way and a wonderful grand-kiddie-filled destination! We are looking forward to lots of rest and relaxation...and I’ll be taking my camera, documenting our trip and posting as I go.

What will tomorrow bring?

The Red Pot

2012-01-08T18:44:00.000-05:00

It's time to put my red pot into service and make some yummy chicken soup. Besides, I'm fighting a cold and when I feel like this, there's only one thing that makes me feel better. That would be some delicious, comforting homemade chicken soup.

So first thing tomorrow morning, I'm off to the grocery store to buy an organic chicken, some carrots, celery, onions, and fresh parsley. I'll fry up the giblets, deglaze the pan with some white wine, add the chopped veggies, the whole chicken, cover with water, and let everything simmer until the chicken is cooked. I'll remove the chicken, pick off the meat, return the bones to the pan and then let the stock simmer for several hours.

By tomorrow night, I'll have some yummy, homemade chicken soup. Yum! Until then, I'll have to comfort myself with my hot water, lemon, and honey. I hate being sick.

Magic Moments

2011-12-23T10:03:00.000-05:00

This Christmas, we are enjoying our little visitors as they discover Christmas for the first time.

It is exciting to see Christmas through the eyes of little children. The sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas stay with us for a lifetime.

The little people here are enchanted with my Christmas Village. Especially at night, when we turn the lights on. They have each chosen their own "house" in the village. One is "C's" and one is "E's". So cute.

In the other room...known as the work centre where the sweet smells of Christmas are produced, things are a little chaotic...oh well...

I hope your home is filled with the sweet smells of Christmas!

A Divine Appointment

2011-11-17T19:47:00.000-05:00

A few years ago I came out of a Tim Horton's in Burlington and a street person asked me for money. I looked into his eyes and gave him some money, and asked if I could buy him some breakfast.

He declined.

Then he looked at me and smiled. He said, "I know you. You are Deborah Brown." I was quite surprised because I didn't recognize him. He said he remembered me and my husband from a certain church we were members of during the 80's.

He eventually told me who he was and I remembered him in his former days...a young professional, newly married, with a child on the way.

This man looked nothing like his former self.

As I conversed with him I realized mental illness had taken its toll and he now lived on the streets in Burington and the surrounding towns and cities.

He was estranged from his former wife, and his children.

I told him where we lived and told him if he ever needed something, to please come. He told me he wasn't allowed to do that.

As I left, I felt odd.

Yet I also felt I had encountered a divine appointment.

I'll never forget that morning when I became reacquainted with and old acquaintance, and a new burden.

Where in the world am I???

2011-11-15T12:37:00.016-05:00

What a busy fall!!! My daughter and her twins moved in for a week this fall before they took off to Florida for their winter stay. Immediately after that, I was off to Houston with my friend to the International Quilt Market/Festival. It was my first time at market and was sort of a scouting adventure for a business I'm thinking about. Stay tuned!

While at market, I met Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts, Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims from The Quilt Show, saw Eleanor Burns' at her booth Quilt in a Day, got a peek at Marianne Fons and Liz Porter from Fons and Porter...let me see...that is probably enough of the name dropping for now.

There were many classes to take, and I did my best as a first time festival attendee to take as many as I could. In Charlotte Angotti's "Let Me Surprise You" class we made an orange and black batik quilt.

I need to find a border fabric with pumpkins or something fallish. I know these are Halloween colours...but I am not really a fan of the goulish celebration...oh well, I know now that these surprise you classes at Festival are just that. I was surprised by the colour choices! But it was fun to sew all day and not have to worry about cutting or measuring. The kits in the class were laser cut by John Flynn. That quilt was probably the easiest quilt i have ever pieced because the pieces were exactly cut. It went together like a dream!

Other classes I took were from famed machine quilter Philippa Naylor from the UK; Paula Nadelstern's Keleidoscope method (Paula is from New York); a paper piecing feathered star class from Carol Doak; and last but not least, my favorite class and teacher - Pineapple Quilt block with Anita Grossman Solomon, whose books I highly recommend. She has a great blog too!

All in all, we had a blast. I recommend the journey to the quilting mecca for everyone!

Today, I'm on my way home from a visit to the Lily Pad in Florida. Talk soon.

Fabric Preparation

2011-09-19T09:09:00.000-04:00

There is a great tutorial on preparation of fabric for quilting on this blog. If you have the time, this blog is worth a look around for other tutorials. Enjoy!

orange balloon, horses in the parking lot and other neat things..

2011-09-14T15:08:00.000-04:00

This one is for you Madam Samm

Ever been in a balloon? Me neither, but it did look fun, especially after the hurricane blew through. (Read on!)

I saw these in the sky as I came out of the restaurant. So much fun! One actually landed in the field beside the road and dropped a guy and his bike off. He rode away down the country road, disappearing in the corn fields. Interesting mode of travel, the balloon...

Speaking of modes of travel...

I had trouble finding a parking spot. I eventually found one and had the exciting experience of shopping in an Amish hardware/grocery store. Wow. Lots of things there that were very useful. And the prices were good too.

Of course, I had to visit my favorite bake shop and sample one or two of these. I brought a package home for husband as well. He loves these!

While I was there, the hurricane came through, or the edge of it. Never seen rain like that before! Absolutely Biblical! End result...massive flooding in the area which delayed my journey back home.

Harrisburg was under water and the Susquahanna river overflowed its banks to the extent that the way home was blocked. I eventually got out...just meant another day of shopping. :-)

I'm back home now after a wonderful journey. Sometimes getting away is absolutely necessary...it just makes coming home all that more special.

I'm off to the quilt studio...to see what I need to finish, and what new trouble I can get myself into!

Talk soon,

Ahhhh...Finally Someone Turned the Heat Off

2011-09-05T11:20:00.000-04:00

...which means it is time for me to pull out the knitting basket. Don't you just love fall? I sure do. I like summer...but I love fall. I can finally open the windows in the house, air out the quilts, go for long walks, sip coffee without breaking into a sweat...and I could go on and on but I won't bore you to death.

Seriously...I used to knit all the time..before I discovered quilting back in the 80's. I was visiting a new blog today and was so inspired by what I saw that I am bringing this out to finish. Do you like it? It will keep me snuggly warm this winter.

Do you like the basket? I bought it at an outdoor market in Nairobi. It was made by the local women and it is made out of some kind of tree that they chew and make pliable for weaving. I bought a few of them. That was a trip to remember! And that's another day's post. The sweater pattern and wool are from Philosophers Wool...a wonderful place to visit if you are into knitting, or just like to dabble in it. Definitely worth the trip.

After my walk today, I 'm going to finish the pickles. I got started the other day and completed the pickling of the beans, carrots and cauliflower. I love doing this...haven't done it in years and it felt good to "put up" some of the garden's offerings.

Enjoy your holiday Monday. What will you do today?

A Walk Through the Garden

2011-08-25T08:13:00.000-04:00

I took a walk through my local garden centre the other day to see what was up...

The last time I was there, spring colours abounded. This time, it was apparent things were gearing up for late summer, fall type gardening.

Fall colours!

Fall wreaths ready to hang

A bouquet of fall offerings


A telling sign...fall is on its way!

I took lots of pictures. I'm going to load some of them into a colour generator so I can see exactly what colours are in the photo...a very useful tool for choosing colours to go into a quilt. I love using nature for inspiration.

If you have a photo you love and would like to see all the colours in the composition, possibly for inspiration for a quilt colour pallet, log on to www.cssdrive.com. Jinny Beyer also has a lot of information on her site about colour and quilting.

I'm a Winner!

2011-08-17T13:15:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful surprise this morning to open up my inbox and find a note from Madame Samm telling me I was a winner. I don't think I've ever won anything before!

I won a beautiful sewing basket stuffed with all kinds of goodies. I'm sure I can make use of every little thing in that basket. One can never have too many accoutrement for stitching and quilting!

Daily prizes by awesome sponsors...for quilters and non quilters alike.

I can't wait to get my surprise in the mail! Thanks Madam Samm! Go to the website and take a look around. Sew much fun!

Passions & Pursuits: Wantobe Quilters!!!

2011-08-11T10:19:00.009-04:00

Reminder! Check this out. Lots of goodies, great instructional tuts, great excitement! A winner every day during the week! And lots of new quilters too! If you are a wantobe quilter, this one's for you. Just follow the instructions that I posted here. Good luck!

Link below:
Passions & Pursuits: Wantobe Quilters!!!

Sunday

2011-08-07T23:31:00.000-04:00

Sunday today. Church this morning. A coming together of the Body of Christ. We celebrate Him together in the midst of our everyday, ordinary lives.

We sing. We listen. We pray. We read Scripture. We listen. We sing. We pray. We celebrate at the Lord's table and remember His broken body and shed blood.

A sacred morning.

Then we disburse. We go off into the world. Into the noise, into the rush, into the unsacred.

Sunday is always a day of contrasts. Going from the sacred space we created in a time of worship, then walking back into the everyday, ordinary life I lead.

Sundays interrupt the everyday, ordinary flow of life and remind us there is more. Sunday's blessing is that the Christ in me can be taken into Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday...

A Day of Quilting

2011-08-04T10:02:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh...a day of quilting with some special friends. Nothing quite like gathering with some friends and chatting and quilting. (except maybe having a day with grandkiddies :-) )

Hope your day is as pleasant as I expect mine will be. Make the most of your day, wherever you are!

Another Road Trip Adventure

2011-08-01T08:56:00.000-04:00

I think one of the highlights of my road trips has to be the drive down and the drive back. This time I needed some alone time so I took off to my favorite destination which is a 7 hour drive, give or take. I make sure I have something good to listen to. One time I downloaded all of Timothy Keller's sermons onto my Ipod and listened to a great series as I drove. This time I listened to Charles Price's "Abraham" series. Wonderful! And a great way to pass the time as I drive. The scenery was breathtaking, especially driving through the mountains in Pennsylvania .

I had a successful trip...should have stayed longer...wanna go back. So much I didn't make time for. I must make my next trip a week long.

Check out these two teachers. In my humble opinion, they are worth your time. They are not serving up the usual stuff.

Saturday Morning Coffee and Blog Hop

2011-07-23T15:08:00.000-04:00

It has been so long since I last posted...about a month.

I've been busy with little blessings

and my sewing machine. I've been working on 5 - count 'em - 5 block of the month type quilts. This has been the year for BOM. I think next year I'll take a break.

In between my BOM's I've been working on a quilt for one of my favorite charities...should get down to my studio today and finish the top so I can get to quilting it.

And in between all this, I've been sorting through my cupboards, trying to decide whether or not stuff should stay or go. I have a few friends who are doing massive clean-outs. It's good for the heart...and the mind, I think.

Come to think of it, maybe my stash needs a clean-out. I'm sure the ladies who sew the cancer quilts could use a donation.

I'm off to the studio...stay cool!

Wantobe Quilters!!!

2011-07-23T08:56:00.000-04:00

Calling all Wantobe Quilters?

"Hello friends and followers, I would love to welcome you

to a Wantobe Quilters Campaign over here.

They are having quilting supplies to giveaway 5 x a week for 12 weeks.

Supplies that will have you quilting

before you know it...From sewing machines to irons, to die cutters,

to mats, to rotary cutters, sewing baskets, scissors, batting, needles,

rolled sewing machine bags, patterns, books, magazines...everything

you could imagine to assist you in being a NEW Quilter.

Even if you are already part of this community you can win

quilting stuff too...Tuesday and Thursday are days for us..

All you have to do is give me your name and phone number

and email sew I can submit this to the organizer, because if you win

anything I can win something too.

All you have to do is be my follower and a follower

over at Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure....

That is all! There are over 49 Sponsors involved.

I am pretty excited to be part of this, sew should you.

I love being a QUILTER!

( p.s you will not be eligible to win anything if you do not register

with a blogger where you see this message)