Bunny Love

A Christmas gift I have given myself has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. For the past two years I have been working on a commission piece that was ordered and I agreed to do. In the beginning she wanted and angel painted on a door panel of a Grandmother clock. Her idea changed and she decided that she would like a whimsical bunny of some type. Well.... trying to get into someones mind to see what they see, if often not easy. Anyone that knows me, knows how much I have struggled with this piece and as one of life's lessons learned......I have to paint what I love and not what other people want painted.

This panel is long and I have had a hard time trying to fit her into my lens, so I will show her in bits and pieces.
This Grandmother clock stands about six feet tall. The top holds a painted working clock face and below is a cupboard with shelves inside and this bunny panel sits inside the cupboard door panel. I have one of my own that sits in our recroom and inside holds many movies and DVD's and right now my panel is a snowmom and her child decorated for Christmas. The panels can be easily changed from one season to the next and they make a nice conversation piece.

The next thing is the delivery and hoping she will be happy to finally have this back and that she likes my whimsical bunny idea.
I have to wonder what it was that inspired me to finish her. So many times I would sit and do bits here and there, but for the most part the interest was gone. Like some projects I guess, in the beginning you are excited to start them, but then you lose interest and they sit in closet until one day you either finish them or throw them out.....at least in my case.

So after all this time of this panel looking at me......she is FINISHED!!! I just need to shout that to the world from the roof top........
FINISHED!!!!!!!!

In The Hoop

Confessions of a stitcher.....I have a total of nine stitching projects on the go as of today. There are hoops for each one, a zip lock bag holding each project and threads neatly tucked in a small tote bag ready to take with me on the go. I also have a major cross stitch picture that I am working on and two hand quilted table runners. I never seem to leave the house without my stitching tote, but I have been known to leave home without my purse.
I have finished the twelve days of Christmas ornaments from Annie Downs pattern featured in this years Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts magazine. The pattern makes a beautiful wall hanging with some applique and hand quilting. I am thinking I should have it finished by next Christmas.
It wasn't long ago that I had all of my embroidery hoops empty and in search for something else to stitch....I think I got carried away. And lastly a picture of this years advent calendar I made for my son filled with some sweet treats and holiday fun.

PIF Friends

My "Pay It Forward friends" are Nancy from Patchwork Penguin, Bev C from Kainga Happenings and Shelley from Angels Come To Play. Some very nice ladies with lovely blogs.
I have been busy with my huge back load of "to do list" and finishing up a few Christmas orders that came in last week. I am also trying to make up a few gifts for family this year, and trying to finalize Christmas plans. There will be family for dinner and traveling and visiting and time spent together. The holidays are always a busy time for me, but fun.

I started to take out a few decorations, but mostly Christmas things that I have painted in the past.
They always bring back memories and fill the house with my tiny treasures. This is a small wooden box painted on four sides with funny little Santa's. There is a wood top as well and I made it for a candle to fit inside but some how it always seems to get filled with candy canes and treats. A new candle box is started but I doubt that it will be finished in time for Christmas this year.

Pay It Forward

JoJo from Home Sweet Home has posted a PIF and I have joined in the fun. The Christmas season is the perfect time for giving and sharing.
So, how does this work?
Well, for the first 3 people who will post a comment to this post, I will make you a lovely handmade gift each. But you must have a blog yourself, and be willing to pass the "Pay It Forward" concept on. So you will then have to put it on your blog and make three gifts for other people.
Let's spread some happiness and have some fun!!!
So the rules state that I have 365 days (ample time) to make a gift in. I am more than happy to send something internationally so everyone is involved!
What better way for everyone to join hands around the globe and share our crafty goodness!!!!
So..... get typing, leave a comment and even if you aren't in the first three...it doesn't hurt to start your own chain of PIF's.

I have seen many PIF's around blogland and loved the idea, but this is the first one for me. This will be wonderful to share something homemade and the time of year is perfect!!

A New Doll In Town

A new Christmas doll is finished and what fun she was to make. Her face is painted, she has a wool coat, a painted candy cane and a Christmas tree so now she is ready for the season.
She carries a hand stitched star and has laces on her painted boots.
Her inspiration came from an older Australian Homespun magazine design by Melissa Duncan.
I have many more stuffed body pieces ready to put together, so I will probably be making a few more dolls for Christmas.
I have so many unfinished Christmas projects started from previous years, that have decided to try and finish a few of them this week. Never seems to be enough time to make everything I would like to make for Christmas, but I still have time......right???

Pillow Talk

It has been a busy house around here this last week. Not to much sewing or painting finished to show you. Everything is in different stages, but soon to be finished. I made a couple of pillows over the summer and tried using some wool felt on this one with an embroidered verse that reads "The Kiss Of The Sun For Pardon, The Song Of The Birds For Mirth, One Is Nearest Gods Heart In A Garden, Than Anywhere Else On Earth." It sat outside on the garden bench along with this red bird. Embroidered from a Barb Smith pattern from Theadora Cleaver called "Nesting Time".
Many more pillows are stitched and ready for some stuffing, all with a Christmas theme. I like to have them tucked in special places around the house, they seem to finish off my decorating for the holidays.

Going Home

The weekend found me taking that long drive back home to see my Mom. It is not long in distance at all, but long for me with the memory of that early morning phone call that sent me home 3 years ago. That day was the same as this Saturday with cold rain in the air, yellow leaves falling around me and the dark sky. This week will mark 3 years since my Dad slipped from this earth, with very little fuss at all really, it happened so quick with no warning at all that it left the rest of us stunned. This is the time of year I think of Dad the most.....his favourite time of year with all the colours of the trees is what he loved to paint the most.
Last year at this time my Mom was ready to let go of some of his things. The day was spent packing and folding clothes from every closet and dresser. The year before I spent time cleaning out his class room at the college where he was teaching art. I was not sure what this year would bring, but I knew it would be another bit of mt Dad being packed away.
Her list of chores were long, seems that when I think about how much goes into maintaining a home to keep it running smoothly there is always alot of jobs to be done. Jobs that Dad kept up with like every man of the house, but things she cannot do herself. So there were 4 sets of leaking taps fixed, furnace filters changed, sheds cleaned out, stain glass pictures hung, a new vacuum bag installed and 3 floors vacuumed, a fridge cleaned and many other odds and ends completed which was a full day's work.
The end of the day came as a surprise when she mentioned she would like my Dad's studio cleaned out. This was no easy task because I knew it was full. We always called it "Dad's messy studio" and trust me, mine is no different. Untouched for three years, the last painting still on the easel, paint tubes and brushes everywhere, 4 hours later the job was finished. Instead of sending his things to different places like in the past, these things came home with me.
Maybe it is the soul of the artist, but these are the things that connected the two of us together. The hours spent talking about art and working and painting together were the best times for me, we did what we both loved to do....... together.
It is my conclusion that when we lose someone, we don't lose them all at once, we seem to lose them in bits and pieces. Slowly but surely.
The scent of my father is gone from that house, no keys hanging at the back door, no shoes on the mat. I sit in his chair everytime I go home, and I always have the same feeling. I am absolutely stunned to find nothing where something has always been.

Thinking Christmas

Earlier this week I spent the day with a group of ladies that I have been painting with for the last 15 years. Every Thursday morning we would get together at a small studio back in the woods on a country farm owned by a local artist. We would spend most of the day together doing what we all loved to do. Although each of us are artists and we each paint in very different styles, we do seem to inspire each other.
I haven't painted with them in quite sometime, but it felt like I picked up exactly where I left off. Somehow their life stories seem still so familiar, it felt good to be with them again.
When I came home, I started to bring out some Christmas pieces that I have finished in the past. Knowing Christmas is not that far away, I wanted to get started on something new, so it will be finished in time. I am still deciding where to begin, as this process always takes me the most time to figure out. It also seems to early to be thinking about Christmas and it is had to get into the spirit.
This piece I did a few years ago, painted on a small metal tree. Old Victorian Santa, with cardinals, pine cones, flowers and holy.

Thankfulness

As the long weekend approaches and I realize today is Friday, I have to wonder where the week has gone. In a few hours my guys will be home for three days and family plans will begin. A turkey dinner with all the extras for Sunday and visits with Grandparents tomorrow, another canoe trip down the Thames river to see the changing colours of the trees. The weather is going to be warm and sunny so I am really looking forward to this time together.
Every year it is our family tradition to tell each other what we are thankful for as we sit around the dining room table filling ourselves on turkey. I know that my son will say he is thankful for "This Turkey Dinner" as it is the same every year and I know he says it because it was what my Dad always said and it would make him laugh. I believe every year something is new on my list of "thankful" and while everyone waits for my list to be finished so they can eat, they moan and groan and sneak pickles while I am not looking. That is why it is tradition! But this year I will remember to add in "friendship". A special friendship that goes beyond any other. The really good friendship that you treasure so much and work hard at keeping it just right. The kind of friendship that I believe only comes around once in a life time. The friend that would do anything for you and would say she never does enough. The friend who I can talk to for hours and hours and it feels like no time has passed at all. The friend who has enriched my life so much and wouldn't believe it even if I told her over and over. So along with being thankful for my health and my husband and son, family, our home, our love.........I am thankful for her friendship.

For all my Canadian friends, have a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend!!!

Warm Heart

A sunny and bright beautiful day for fall weather. Don't get me wrong, there is a chill in the wind that makes you remember to take a nice warm sweater with you. Many signs of autumn show up here in my small country town long before the leaves change their colour. Pumpkins line the farmers fields bright orange down every gravel road, fields of sunflowers shine their bright yellow and slow moving tractors pulling wagons filled with tomatoes slow me down on the two lane highway. The local apple orchard is now open, it is what I look forward to the most. Down the back roads, follow the homemade signs and you will find this small family business. No one is ever there, you can just help yourself and the sign reads "please put money in the tin box on the workbench inside the garage". An honor system that I am sure you would never find in the city. I will be back there many times, as I can never have enough apples around here.

I love how this morning the sun glowed off the water of Lake Erie, as I could see bits and pieces of the lake between the farmers trees in the backs of their fields on my way to the city. The sun's rays fell from the sky and sat at the water's edge. My Dad always use to say that the rays were the staircase to Heaven....that makes me smile.
It is a weekly ritual for me to travel into the city to pick up supplies and groceries and run small errands. With the price of fuel and the time it takes, you don't go everyday.

I managed to finish sewing on the binding of my fall quilt this week. The quilt is a project that I have been working on the last two years, a gift from the Mister for Valentines day. (I know...I am so lucky). It was a difficult one to hand quilt because it is made from soft flannels on both sides. The pattern is called "Warm Heart" and the fabrics are from Thimbleberries. It sat for along time in the closet until I decided to tie this one so I could finally use it. I am happy with the way it turned out, it is so heavy and warm and the colours are my favourite. Just in time I would say, possible frost warning for tonight.

Bed Of Roses

I really liked the fabrics in this new bag. I started and finished it yesterday in between other daily chores. I think it will be a great bag for my small crochet and knitting projects to take with me wherever I go. It has six outside pockets to hold all of my supplies and hooks, maybe an extra stitching pattern too....you never know what you will be in the mood to work on away from home.
I like how this works in one piece, the bag is the lining, so there are no raw side seams showing, and no extra lining to add in at the end. The fabrics are by Ro Gregg, called "Bed Of Roses" quest for a cure. I was thinking that they would make a nice Christmas gift filled with goodies for the crafty ladies on my gift list.

All In A Year

It had been along time since I had worked on any cross stitch. The last time I can remember was in my first apartment when I had left home and couldn't afford a T.V., and maybe a few after that. Sometime about a year ago the bug hit me again and I could not put it down. Many hours of counting threads making sure it would all line up in the end. As you can see I need a lot of frames and some pressing to do. I love the saying on this long one, it reads "Teach Us.....That We May Feel The Importance Of Every Day...Of Every Hour As It Passes."
I still have one I am working, and a new Blackbirds design I can't wait to start. So many projects and never enough time to do every one that is on my mind.

Pretty In Pink

It was a little windy out today to be taking pictures of my new quilt top, but there is something about quilts hanging on a clothesline that I just love. Each star block is made from assorted pink fabrics and a white background, joined together with rows of running squares matching the inside boarder. I need a nice piece of material for the back and some batting and I can get started with the hand quilting, something I am really looking forward to doing this winter.

Blue Bird

It has been a busy time around here with the thoughts of autumn around the corner. Many jobs left to do in the yard to get ready for the winter ahead. I have been a busy bee working inside the house doing a lot of jobs that have been let go. Sometimes I feel like I will never be caught up, but it sure feels good to get some house cleaning done.
The weekend brought three days of rain which meant I had some time to do some stitching, and a little baking and some soup making as well.


I love working on this linen. I decided to try some small cross stitch patterns with the dark blue DMC thread instead of red like I always do. I really like how it looks so far, but it is not finished yet. There will be perfectly matched love birds with a boarder of hearts and swirls. I am not sure what I will make in the end, but I was thinking of a needle case and maybe a pin cushion??

September 9th 1998

It was a day like I have never known before nor have I known since. I was awake before the sun came up, sitting on the edge of the bed ready to go. A warm breeze and the sounds of the birds early song came through the windows. I had been packed for weeks, knowing that only days away I would have you here with me. I laugh to myself when I think about your Dad that morning, standing in the closet talking to himself, trying to find something to wear. I was calm...... he was anxious.
This day marks the day they said you are two weeks over due. This day they will take you from my belly and put you in my arms.

Today I held you, today I felt your soft skin against mine, today you wrapped your little fingers so tightly around one of mine, today I will never forget.
You are the poem I dream of writing, the masterpiece I long to paint. You are the shining star I have waited my whole life for with hopes of a life fulfilled.....You are my child, now with all things, I am blessed.
Happy 10th Birthday Sweetheart....I love you so much.

Sugar Plum Spice

Here is my new angel, her name is Sugar Plum Spice. I just love this gal and she was so much fun to make. As you can tell she hasn't missed to many meals. Pattern is designed by Debra Gardiner. She measures about 20 inches long,with a weighted bottom and pencils make up her long legs. Tea stained muslin body, soft patchwork, and a star applique on the front to finish her off. I think I will be making more of her in the future.

Another Noah And His Ark

This is a small trunk that I finished awhile back. Noah and his ark sits on a curved top with the alphabet and an animal to match running around the bottom on all four sides. Many hours of painting and added detail to each if these little guys. Can you see the eyes glowing in the ark's windows?
There is a white pelican that sits on the ark and is under the "P"......that's for you K.M. (I know you love white pelicans) and an orange Kitty under the "K" for Furgus (we still miss you). There are lots of elephants for D.S. because she collects them and Gerry the Giraffe because he sleeps beside my son every night. The rest of the painting was filled in bit by bit. I even found a little giraffe knob for the front of the lid.
The Noah blocks from my last post will be finished into a small wall hanging and I think it will look nice on the wall above this trunk.

Somewhere today I read that there is 115 days until Christmas ...... could that be right??
I think some new painted Santa's will be next.....and new snowmen too!

Noah's Ark

I have been having a lot of fun stitching up Lynette Anderson's free Noah's Ark designs. The cute little patterns appear once a month on her web site. There is a link on my sidebar where you can find her blog and wander through her pages of beautiful stitching and quilt designs. September brings a new month and another little critter to stitch, the blocks are adding up fast only six more to go.