Racing Towards the Finish Line

 I don't know about you, but when I get close to finishing something, all I want to do is focus on that one project until I cross the finish line with it.  Sometimes there's a deadline involved -- and sometimes not.

In my last post, I'd finished a number of things and was close to finishing others.  Over the last three weeks**, I've made more progress, so I decided it was time to share.

**By the by, how did we arrive at December already?!

As of yesterday (when it was still November), I'd finished the 'Caribou Mountains Hat' for my neighbour's wife, using the same yarn (Diamond Luxury Baby Alpaca Aran) in a different colour:

My friend Joyce in the UK has received her cozy cashmere chemo caps and is wearing them with pleasure, as she reports it's quite chilly there now.

I'm almost finished the first of the 'Woodpile Socks' for my friend Brenda, as I'm nearing the end of the toe decreases -- and will be finished with that today:

The Pinwheel Strings quilt top got quilted and bound -- and now lives in its new home with a neighbour:

I started and finished cowls -- one each for two friends of mine.  Here's one of them, modelled by the lovely 4 litre ice cream pail... 😉

Pattern: Simple, Yet Effective Cowl
Designer: Tin Can Knits
Yarn: Heidi's by Hand Trail Merino Worsted - Skein 1

Here's the other, lying beautifully flat on my coffee table.  I just love the texture in this one!

Pattern: Simple Simon Cowl
Designer: Hanna Illuzzi
Yarn: Heidi's by Hand Trail Merino Worsted - Skein 2

And I finished a tiny cross-stitch sampler that will also be given away -- probably matted for framing or putting on a stand:

Pattern: free from Colorado Cross-stitcher 
Floss: all DMC floss - 2 strands over 2 threads
Fabric: a scrap of 28-count even-weave fabric

I also finished a little gift for some dear friends in Ontario, who moved to a new home there about a year ago.  They're Jewish, and their 48th anniversary this year happens to fall on the first night of Hanukkah, so I finished this little pillow for them.  They called the other evening to say it had arrived safely and they were delighted to find a spot in their living room for it:

Pattern: one of two "Jewish Pillows"
Designer: Mani di Donma
Floss: All DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads
Fabric: 32-count Weeks Dye Works 'Wild Flax'

I think all of us could use a bit of shalom in our lives just now, don't you agree?

What's left to finish?  Well, aside from those "Woodpile" socks, I'm still plugging away at "Nevermore" from Lila's Studio -- and very focused now, because I'm on the last border.  

Less than 1/2 the last border to finish!

Close-up of the bottom border

I panicked briefly as I began this last bit, because I'd finished the called-for colour ("Lagoon" from Gentle Arts Sampler Threads) and couldn't get any more quickly.  I found the right match in my stash -- "Chesapeake" from Weeks Dye Works -- but it was getting low too!  What to do?!  Blessedly, my LNS -- Cabinet of Curiosities in Stettler, Alberta (yes, it's related to "my" gallery, Curiosity Art & Framing in Red Deer) -- had two skeins of DMC 500 that is a great match.  I bought 'em both!  Now to get it finished, pressed and laced to mat board so I can mail it off to my nephew and his new bride in B.C.  They can frame it themselves, to suit their (ahem!) unique taste.

On the quilting front, a few weeks back a friend gave me a small bag of scraps, so I decided to challenge myself to use the limited quantity therein, and the limited palate, to create something to give back to her.  Et voila!  I managed a "Funky Logs" table runner:

I used my own stash for the backing, batting and binding; otherwise, the blocks were made from only what she gave me.  I presented it to her yesterday, knowing she's a 'matchy matchy' sort of quilter; she was rather amused -- and I hope she'll find a place for it!

I've finished making all the hexagons for the One Block Wonder quilt top, but have set it aside for the moment as my brain's not yet ready to tackle designing that finished top.  The other challenge with design right now is...lack of a design surface.

The 'design bed' -- the long twin bed in my guest room -- is currently difficult to access because of the number of items that have had to be stored away in there to protect them from The Kittens.  And the photo above showing the table runner on my studio's design wall?  That was the last item to be put on there before Sylvie Kitten (the black-and-white feisty one) lept up on it.  I'd caught her trying this more than once but one day, when I wasn't in the house, she brought it down completely!!  I'm now pondering how to refurbish it and remount it.  (It's a slab of blue foam insulation covered by Thermolam, and is a good 20 years old.)

This means that currently most of my 'designing' is being done on my cutting table or my ironing board.  To that end, I've turned my attention to using up more stash in a new quilt top to give away.

I'd bought a kit of nineteen-thirties reproduction fabric back-in-the day -- again, probably almost 20 years ago.  It was intended to become an English paper-pieced project -- some sort of Grandmother's Flower Garden or something.  Anyway, a while back I decided I'd never make that.  I even gave the hexies and the pattern to the local charity thrift shop -- but I kept the fabric.  

This past week I found just the right pattern for it -- "Add It Up", a free pattern from "Quilts & More" that I found on AllPeopleQuilt.com.  It's been a wonderfully soothing pattern to work on -- even with a typo in it that called for 89 background (white) squares -- when it turned out to be 189!  

Here are a couple of progress photos:

At the top: background rectangles.
Centre tray: print rectangles, Block 'A' units.
Bottom tray: Block 'B' units

On the cutting table:
more Block 'B' units ready to assemble

I don't have enough of the fabric to make the wide borders for the top, but have found some options in my stash that will suit; I'll pick one when the time comes.  Meanwhile, I have the rhythm of the nine-patches to thank for a certain amount of peace of mind this week.

Order out of chaos: that's my on-going mantra!  

Yes, there is art work I could mention. I've got pieces in an online gallery hosted by Artists in Canada, and invite you to visit between now and December 10 for the current group show and sale, entitled "Regional Differences".  I also have holiday-themed items showing in the Curiosity Art & Framing gallery in Red Deer -- and I invite you to visit the gallery in person or check out my offerings HERE.

But Advent has arrived, a time in my faith practice for reflection and prayer, even as I might join in on the trend to knit or stitch or otherwise make something material each day from now through Christmas.There is much to ponder and pray about: for comfort, for peace (far and near), for sanity, for civility, for generosity, for understanding, for caring -- for hope.

I leave you with those prayers for your own homes, families and friends.  Until next time...a bientot!

Okay, I'll Bite

I've had quite a bit on my plate in the last couple of weeks, so I've been trying  find  ways to procrastinate other things to do.  The Gremlins of Planned Obsolescence have been happy to help.  

On Monday, my drip coffee pot died.  I don't know how old it was, but I've lived here for 13 years and it's the second replacement in that time.  It's predecessor was from a thrift shop, so I can't fault it for not lasting -- but neither of these lived up to the quality of the 23-year-old one I brought with me from my former home.

On Wednesday, my not-quite-10-years-old clothes dryer died.  Well...maybe it's only ill and needs a part.  I'll find out for sure when the appliance repair man (yes, they still exist and this one happens to be a man) comes on Monday afternoon.   I'm hoping the machine is down, but not out just yet!

As for the coffee pot, my friend C. lent me one till the local hardware store gets in its shipment, expected about a week from now.  C. didn't want me to have to resort to instant coffee while I waited -- bless her!  

Other things to do have included quilting, binding and wrapping the little quilt I showed you in my last post (sorry, no photo of it quilted) -- it and one other out-of-town Christmas gift will be mailed early next week.

And I've been working on C's Christmas gift (no photo -- she might be reading this!); it's coming along nicely.

Advent began on November 28; in addition to attending an Advent Retreat for which a local small group has formed on Zoom, I've cast on a pattern for socks, broken up into just enough units to get a pair finished on Christmas Eve.  

I'm making them in "royal purple" -- the long-time liturgical colour for Advent, even though now blue is often used.  As of last evening, the leg units were finished.  It's ready for today's section: the heel flap.

Pattern: Countdown 
Designer: EdithABDesigns
Yarn: Bernat Sox in "Purple Hot"!

The first patten section was a bit tricky -- I didn't understand the directions, so after a couple of failed attempts, I contacted the designer.  Edith's a nice woman in Germany, and it turns out that essentially, the intended instruction was lost in translation.  Once she clarified it, I had no problem.  Can you see the wee butterflies in the section right after the ribbing (on the left)?  So cute!

On the quilting front, it's been a combination of art exhibiting and scrap quilting.  The Lacombe "Under $100 Art Market" ran from November 25 through 27.  I volunteered for cash duty on the 25th, which was a lot of fun -- but exhausting!  Even though there was masking and a certain amount of distancing kept, I've not been around that many people in a long while, and I found I'm not used to it!  

I believe in "Art for art" -- that is, when I sell something, if I can find something affordable, based on how much I've earned, I'll buy a piece of art from another artist -- generally someone who uses a different medium.  I managed to sell a few items at the "U $100" sale, so was able to purchase a mug from a young potter whose work there I admired -- "The Beagle and the Alchemist".   

It's my new favourite coffee mug.  (Shhhh!  Mustn't let the others in my collection hear my admiring sighs.)

In a few hours I'll be making my way to Curiosity Art & Framing in Red Deer, where I've just finished a stint as 'Featured Artist' -- but where it's still on exhibit for the next few months at least.  Today I'll be there for guests at a Christmas Reception, and will be bringing with me three more small pieces -- framed -- that didn't sell at the U$100 market:

Abandoned: Alaska - (c) 2018 
5" x 7" x 1/2", floater frame

Between the Woods and Frozen Lake - (c) 2018
5" x 7" x 1" in deep floater frame (can stand or hang)

Canoes on Cranna (Lake) - (c) 2017
5" x 7" x 1/2", floater frame

The gallery's a fairly small space, so it's operating under the REP program (Alberta's name for a 'vaccine passport), meaning that attendees have to show proof of vaccination.  They also have to wear masks except when enjoying refreshments, and try to keep distance while viewing the art and talking with the staff and the artist(s).  And the owner's opening up the big back framing studio for refreshments and perhaps some more art on display, so that should make distancing somewhat easier -- I hope!  I'll be there from 3 to 5 p.m.!

In the ongoing work of the Keep-It-Out-of-the-Landfill Project, I've got the better part of a new top finished.  I find that making string blocks very calming (as you know), so I got to it and finished the 98 blocks I needed for Bonnie Hunter's Basket-weave Strings pattern:

The dark green fabric you see in the photo is for the setting triangles and corner blocks.  I've now managed to assemble the central part of the top -- and I'm really pleased with it.  

Currently it's about 51" W x 58", but should finish closer to 62" x 69", with a 1 1/2"-finished inner border and a 4" outer border.  I've chosen a butter-yellow solid for the "zinger", and may repeat the dark green as the outer one.  We shall see...

With neighbouring British Columbia hit by both fires and floods this past year -- and still coming out from under -- I've decided to keep plugging away at my scrap stash to make tops -- some the size I can quilt myself, others that will need the help of a long-arm quilter -- getting them ready to send away when they're ready to be received.  I have "more stash than cash", so that's how I can help...

Now that "Basket-weave" is almost finished, what's next?  

I've been keeping an eye on the clues for Bonnie Hunter's 2021 mystery, "Rhododendron Trail" and, well...today, with the release of the second clue, I went down that procrastination lane rabbit hole too, printing off the intro and the first two clues.  I already have a stack of solids from my inheritance that should be just right...

So...I'm off to get 'gussied up' to go to the Christmas Reception...and will leave you again with the link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, wherein she proceeds to embarrass me...you'll have to read to find out how... 😉

Have a great weekend!

Waiting, Wondering, Working

The Seven Deadly Sins and 
The Four Last Things
Hieronymus Bosch (ca. 1450 - 1516)

It's the Season of Advent...a time of waiting and wondering about the meaning of life; to whit, death, judgment, heaven and hell -- also referred to as "The Four Last Things".

Christian eschatology is pretty heady -- and heavy -- stuff!  And as the days in this hemisphere get shorter and darker (literally as well as figuratively!) I've decided that spending too much time contemplating such things is not a particularly good idea for me -- at least, not this year!

So I've turned to Fabric, Fibre and Floss Therapy.  It keeps my hands and mind occupied, and soothes my soul.  😊

My weeks are punctuated by hours of work at The Shop, and my days are filled with knitting, stitching and quilting -- mainly, but not exclusively, focused on Christmas gifts.

My son's socks are finished -- as I showed in my last post -- and my daughter's pair is 50% complete.  My neighbour John will soon have a pair of grey "How Quiet Mitts" to match the purple ones I knit for his wife.

And I stumbled upon 3 embroidery patterns a couple of weeks ago -- ones I'd put away years ago -- simple and fun, and not yet done!  So...I'm making them up as gifts for various friends.  Alas, Gentle Readers, some of them read this blog so...no photos!  No peeking till Christmas!  😉

What I can show you is what I've been playing with in the fabric department.  Since the quilts for the latest family of refugees have been finished and given away, I decided to try to sort out the remains of my scrap box, calling on  Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's System for help. 

As a Born Organized Person, I tried to incorporate this some years ago, and got side-tracked by what were -- at the time -- Far More Interesting Things to Do.  So while I have a collection of zip-lock bags with some semblance of a Carefully Cut & Curated Collection of Scraps, the rest of my scraps have been gathered in a deep cardboard box that could have been called "Mount Scrap-More"! 

"Enough of this!" I told myself, and dumped it out on my studio floor:

"Mount Scrap-More"

Now...look at that carefully, eh?  See the sharp corner at the top right of the pile of scraps?  Let your eyes follow to the left and down to the right toward the floor.  Maybe you can even see the ridge along the top of the pile.  That's the sign those fabrics have been stuffed in that box for far too long! 😆

The remedy?  Well, for the past 10 days or so, almost every day, I've been taking a handful of those scraps and dealing with them: ironing them to get out the folds and wrinkles, and then cutting them into squares or rectangles in some of Bonnie's recommended sizes -- ones I know I can use for future charity quilts.  I stack them in Light/Medium and in Dark piles, and put them in labelled zip-lock bags.  Though I'm determined to keep as much as possible out of the land fill, anything that's too tiny or too narrow to sew with successfully has been tossed.  I resolve to keep this up till that pile has been eliminated!

In addition, Bonnie has announced her 2019 Quilt Mystery, this year entitled "Frolic!", with colours that are not only right up my alley, but also in my stash.  So...I am following along and have finished the first clue:

True to form, bit by bit this Fabric Therapy has calmed me...along with the aforementioned knitting and stitching.  All of this ironing, cutting and piecing gives my mind time to ponder art pieces to make in the New Year.  Earlier this week we had some of that powdery, sparkly snow.  When I went out to clear the walks and fill my bird feeders, I was struck by the beauty of it on the trees, just waiting to be captured in stitch:

And one more thing on the art quilt front: this week I received the photos from my daughter that she took last month -- beautiful shots of the quilt I planned to enter into the SAQA all-Canadian exhibit, "Colour With a 'U'".  The online entry process opened December 1, and on December 4, my entry was in.  Done and dusted!  Now to wait...notification is in mid-February.

While Gina was here to take the photos, we took a tour around my new lot and she tried to get photos of the birds -- who didn't cooperate.  She did manage to take some wonderful shots of my Miss Pookie, though, so I'll end this post with my favourite one...and a link to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend...

Starts and Stops

A couple of weeks ago I wrote in a bit of a panic, about all the Christmas knitting I had on my needles.  Well!  I'm here to tell you that progress has been made!

I've turned the heel on the second of these socks, and am well on my way down the foot.  The finger-less mittens are finished and in the mail.

My nephew's scarf is in the mail (sorry; I forgot to take a photo!)  And...the long hooded cardigan is farther along.  There's only 6 1/2" left to knit to get to the top of the hood!

And what of those boxer shorts?  Well...not yet.  But their construction is on Monday's 'do now!' list.  Really!

I've set aside work on the On Ringo Lake mystery quilt to play with some of the painted paper I made recently, and have come up with a piece that emulates the work of the wonderful Deborah Boschert.  In her article entitled "Developing Meaning and Exploring Shapes" (See Quilting Arts magazine for Oct/Nov 2018), she states that part of her process involves "incorporating personal symbols" into her pieces.

Up to now, I've not given serious thought to what personal symbols I might have in my life.  That said, I realize much of my work incorporates moons and trees, hills, roads and fence posts -- aspects of my environment, in addition to that wide sky I love so much.  In my Scotland series I explored echoing archways found in the ruins of an ancient abbey in Melrose.

Abbey Echoes I (C) 2018

Abbey Echoes II (C) 2018

But I've not thought of any of these as personal symbols -- despite the fact I love everything about them.

One of the symbols that's important to Deborah is the bowl -- and she's made several pieces incorporating simple bowl shapes.

And that's the shape I explored this time 'round -- inspired in part by Deborah's work, yes, but mainly by the words of Canadian singer-song-writer, Steve Bell, in the first book of his Pilgrim Year  series, the one that delves into the Christian season of Advent.  It's a season of preparation, of waiting for the arrival of God Incarnate, the miracle of the arrival of God in human form as a vulnerable wee baby, at Christmas.

In his essay for the First Week of Advent, Mr. Bell writes, "So when we consider the Christian season of Advent, what is the content of our waiting?  How are we to prepare?...How do we ready our lives to receive the gift of Christ...?" (emphasis mine).

The words echoed in my mind: '...the content of our waiting'.  The idea of 'waiting' as a vessel that contains our prayers, thoughts, feelings, spiritual preparations.  And what kind of vessel?

A bowl.

Content of Our Waiting  (C) 2018
Under construction!

Partially quilted, it's on my design wall, waiting itself for the rest of the quilting and then, I think, some hand stitch.  And ya know, when I look at this piece, I see the hint of some of those elements I mentioned above: tree/grass/crop shapes, rolling land shapes, fence post shapes and natural colours -- green, muddy grey-brown and rusty brown, white-off-white (we have snow here).  There's a certain horizontal symmetry to it too, despite the fact that this piece is a rectangle in "portrait" orientation.  

Maybe -- just maybe -- my personal symbol is the prairie landscape.   

While I chew on that idea for a while, I'll leave you to link up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday, and wish you a warm and happy rest of the weekend!

It Happens Every Year

...around this time.  Between the Third and the Fourth Sunday in Advent.  No, I'm not talking about 'Ember Days' (for those of a Christian liturgical persuasion).  I'm talking about the edges of 'Christmassy' feelings -- some nostalgia, some sweetness, some anxiety, some delight.

I start to listen to Christmas-themed music -- everything from "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby" on the vibraphone to "Oh Holy Night" sung by Celine Dion/Johnny Reid/A Major Choir Somewhere -- take your pick.  One of my favourites isn't a standard...it's from a Christmas Special made for television at Christmas 1984.  That's right.  It's so long ago that my now-married son was...well...only a few months expected, and had a good six or seven months to go before arrival (he chose six)...

Christmas Without You

Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers

I watch the dancers in that video and remember the jive steps my Sweetie and I were learning in the mid-nineties before...well...before he had no legs to stand on...

I remember the year I took my son to see the full production of Handel's Messiah with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.  He was a newly-minted bass-baritone, learning the "Hallelujah Chorus" to sing at his high school's (ahem) "Holiday Concert"...and he wondered aloud, as we stood for that part of the Oratorio, "D'you think anyone would mind if I sang along?"  Little did we know that within a very few years there'd be a "Sing-along 'Messiah'" that would have fulfilled his wish...and that there'd evolve something called a "Flash Mob" which would have people singing it outside a concert hall setting altogether...

Handel in the Food Court, 2010

I dig out the creche and put part of it up on my buffet -- just the stable, the shepherd, a lamb and a donkey, for starters.

I get out all my Christmas card paraphernalia -- cards and stickers, return address labels, stamps, my favourite pen, and even -- in Momentous Years, such as 2016 -- compose a Christmas Letter, which I proceed to modify slightly for each household to which I send it.  This year Hanukkah and Christmas fall together, so I decided to add personal Hanukkah letters to my husband's family.  The ones to the U.K. and Spain were sent last week; the ones to the U.S. and Eastern Canada -- for the most part -- went out this afternoon.

I bug my kids about who's spending Christmas where.  As of "press time" this has been resolved!  Christmas Eve in Edmonton!  And Christmas Day!  And maybe a bit of Boxing Day too!

We need all the Light we can get this year, don't you think?  That's why on Christmas Eve at my daughter's home we'll light her Hanukkah menorah and mine, and say the prayers together -- mother, daughter, son, daughter-in-law, so that we might bring as much of the Light of this celebratory Season alive as we possibly can!

I plan (and sometimes execute) Christmas Baking.  This year, it's my Annual 5-Minute Fudge (from my "Fun to Cook Book" produced by Carnation Evaporated Milk (R) and a newbie -- "Cracker Candy".

I'll share some at church at our Annual Anglican Church Women-hosted Parish Christmas Dinner after our Lessons and Carols Service; some with my neighbours; perhaps some at The Shop; and some with my kids, and maybe there'll be some left to share with friends to whose home I've been invited for Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day.

I try to Knit Faster.  And sew faster.  Yes...the Annual Christmas Boxer Shorts are under construction again, along with -- this year, as in every few years -- Christmas Pyjama Pants for both my daughter and my new DIL...

I wrap parcels for mailing, which inevitably means that I have a duel-to-the-death fight with the packing tape.  **!!@@@**!!  Still, I managed to get the last two out-of-town gifts in the mail this morning, including one I can show you -- because the recipient knows it's coming...

And I figure out how many days I have left to finish all of the aforementioned tasks before Christmas Eve.

In the midst of all the muddle, some evenings I even manage to stop, to light a few candles, to pour a wee dram and sit quietly in the candle-light, pondering what is, for me, the Reason for The Season...

Blessings to you and yours, Gentle Readers -- for whatever your Reason for Celebrating The Season in this dark time of year up here in the Northern Hemisphere, this dark time in world history -- may we each BE the Light we want to see in the world.

For a Sunday in Troubled Times

Hanukkah - 4th Night

This year Hanukkah coincided with the very early days of Advent, the ever-shortening days here in the Northern Hemisphere...and a week of troubling, vitriolic rhetoric from Canada's dear old neighbour to the south.

This week brought the first Syrian refugees to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, people who have been living in camps for years.  I can't quilt fast enough...

These events have also given opportunity for personal reflection on the Way of the World and one's role in it.  In my quiet time, I found this prayer, which seems to sum up my pondering so perfectly...and I share it with you now.

From A Book of Uncommon Prayer by Kenneth Phifer (The Upper Room, 1986):


I Am Not Sure of Love

O Lord, I live in a world of angry men and women.
I am often angry myself at threats to my values,
   at brutal disregard for the institutions I hold dear.
Where do I belong in such a world?
Where does the Lord Jesus belong?
Is love weak,
    too weak to be creative?
Is compassion sheer sentiment?
Is this a time to be hard and tough?
My emotions tell me so some of the time.
Then at other times I see Him moving
   amid the shadows of history.
I see Him angry, too,
   at evidences of injustice
      and mistreatment of His fellow men.
I hear Him lash out
   at self-righteousness and complacency,
I watch Him at last,
     when anger is done and the sharp words said,
   stake His life on love and self-sacrifice.
I behold Him die and hear Him say,
     "Father, forgive them
     for they know not what they're doing."
And somehow, O God,
   deep inside me I know love is not weak;
     it is I who am weak.
Love is indomitable and irresistible.
Hate is weakness.
Vengeance is futile,
   and violence is self-defeating.

Help me, for it is hard
     to stand by what I do know deep inside.
It is so much easier to curse
     than to bless,
It is easier to pronounce maledictions
     than to pronounce benedictions.
It is easier to shout others down
     than to sit down with others.
It is easier to be loud
     than to listen.
O God of all people,
    Who does not separate us into good and bad
       but into loving and unloving,
  I need Your help lest I tear things up.
You have offered to help me, I know,
   and I hold back.
Can you push a little harder?
I want to be more loving,
   and I am afraid.

Hear my prayer.
Make my commitment to love
   more than good intentions.  Amen.
 

Working Away

I've made a vow to look at my work week this way:

• Sunday (Sabbath) and Monday: off;
• Tuesday - Wednesday: in the Sewdio;
• Thursday: at The Crafty Lady in Lacombe: and
• Friday-Saturday: in the Sewdio.

Still and all, some days it feels as though I'm wading through molasses!

On my "at home" days (T-W, F-S) I also build in a 30-120 minute jog...just to keep the body trim enough to keep goin'!  And then there's preparing/doing blog posts...and homework for my online classes...

Classes?!  Yes..indeed-y!  This "semester" I've signed up for three:

1. Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society - with Prof. Karl T. Ulrich at U. Pennsylvania, via Coursera -- which is tuition free -- and which is guaranteed to stretch and expand the brain of the "Artiste"!
2. Honouring Saints and Ancestors: An Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance; and
3. Birthing the Holy: A Celtic Spirituality Online Retreat for Advent.

My current routine is thus: 

Julie

• Up for Morning Pages and prayer/devotions by 6 a.m.;
• Online again after breakfast by 9 a.m. Julie Nasrallah and "Tempo" in the background;  
• Break for lunch and a walk to the Post Office;

• Into the Sewdio in the p.m., generally listenint to my fave,

  

  Tom

  Tom Allen;

• Break sometime between 4 and 5 p.m. to go for a jog.
• Eat dinner.
• Catch up with correspondence and post online as needed in the early evening (like, now!)...

Tim

Then to bed with a hot drink (coffee) and a book and some jazz (CBC's Tonic, with Tim Tamashiro) by 9 p.m.

What's not to love?  

I agree; it's the Perfect Life...but that doesn't mean I get away without giving myself a Good Swift Kick every once in a while!

Like I said above...sometimes I feel like I'm wading through molasses!  I know what I need to do.  I know what I want to do.  BUT...

Therein lies the rub -- and St. Paul:

For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... (Romans 7:15, NIV)

The last couple of days I've been prodding myself to do what I NEED to do...and I've managed to make headway!  

I'm working on The Door Quilt.  All of the panels have been pieced and quilted.  The top two (one red, one blue) are together.  The bottom two (both green) are together.  Each section has been quilted (Praise the Lord and thanks for Ann Petersen!)  Once again I have turned to my Craftsy class, "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine".  I followed a combination of "Split Batting" and "Splitting the Top" and came out a winner!

The process involved seaming the two back sections together, and trimming the batting so that the two would meet up:

Butt the batting together and stitch with a wide herringbone

Overlap the backing; fold in 1/4"; press; pin; blind hem.

Now that all of the background (top and bottom sections) is assembled...the central motif must be drawn out and applied.  Trapunto is involved, as is separate quilting...and then applique.

Some may think that "Advent" was my most ambitious piece, involving (as it did) Jude's wonderful boro weaving/stitching technique.  But no...This one has required even more thought/care/time...So...please be patient and please...

Stay tuned!

"Advent" - (C) GMB

P.S. I am linking up to WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network...even if this work extends beyond Wednesday...

Rem-EMBER-ing

Image courtesy of "fish eaters"

Today is the Third Sunday in Advent.  In several Christian traditions -- including the Anglican, of which I'm a part, the Advent Ember Days are observed this week.  "Ember" in this case doesn't refer to the coals of a dying fire.  Rather, it stems from the Anglo-Saxon word ymbren, meaning a circuit or revolution (ymb = around; ryne = a course, as in running).  In a nutshell, the Ember Days, which occur four times in the church year, are a Christian honouring of the meteorological seasons.  (Think Vivaldi, aka The Red Priest.)

The Advent Ember Days are intended as a reflection of Winter, a season of hope -- because despite the cold and snow, we await the arrival of the One Born in Bethlehem, whose Resurrection fills us with hope.  They are also a celebration of the Annunciation -- the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to Mary to inform her that God had chosen her to be the mother of the Christ -- and the Visitation, Mary's subsequent visit to her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with the child who would grow up to be known as John the Baptizer.  

Between the Third and Fourth Sundays in Advent (or sometimes the week prior -- shortly after the Feast of St. Lucia (aka St. Lucy)), there are three designated Ember Days for fasting and reflection: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  Wednesday and Friday are traditional fast days in the Church; why Saturday was added is a bit complicated, so I invite you to read about it HERE.

All this is to say that I'm taking some time away from the computer -- or, more particularly, the blog.  I'm going to spend this time instead in personal reflection and examen in preparation for Christmas.  I'll be reading e-mails and maybe sneak a peak at Facebook from time to time, but quietly.  Quietly. "See" you next Sunday.  Have a blessed week!  In the meanwhile, pour yourself a cuppa, sit back, and enjoy...

"Winter" from The Four Seasons

Antonio Vivaldi

Running time: almost 10 minutes

P.S. And while I'm away...'Word Verification' is ON.  :-)

PIP Wednesday

Yes, "PIP" -- for "Play in Progress".  It's been snowing steadily for the past 90 minutes or more and is forecast to continue for the next little bit -- so I'm playing indoors today.

On the left is a small, inexpensive plastic loom, which I purchased for the upcoming Advent Quiet Day at my parish church.  The day is about 'the work of our hands', and consists of reflections on the spirituality of handwork.  There will be a bit about handwork in community, so I thought it would be fun and interesting to have a small project to which participants could contribute -- something simple that could be done a bit here, a bit there throughout the four hours or so we are together.  Lori at The Crafty Lady has been working wonders on a small table loom -- but that would be quite an investment for a single day, and I wasn't about to bring home yet another fibre addiction! LOL!  So...she suggested this small 'potholder' loom which can be used with especially-cut jersey-knit fabric loops or with any scrap yarns.  I opted for the scrap yarns.  What you see on the loom is some slightly fluffy Patons Diana acrylic that was donated to us by the family of a now-deceased member of our congregation (Alice, your sweet knitting spirit lives on!)  It's in such a shocking shade of pink that no one in our charity group has been inclined to knit with it, so I thought I'd try it out here.  I've warped the loom and figured out how to use the hook, so now it's tucked away, ready to be used on Saturday.

That process was a very satisfying little play time for me this morning. Now I've moved on to the other items in the photo, of which you can see only a bit, because they are Christmas gifts.  That's all I'm going to say about 'em, too.  :-)

May you have great fun at whatever you're doing today!    Meanwhile, I'm linking up with PIP WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network.

'S No Mystery; It's Monday!

Today's a bit of a snow day for me.  We had a small storm roar through yesterday afternoon and overnight, so the roads aren't ideal for travelling just yet -- and I have a good 5" deep by several feet long and wide to shovel, just to get out of my driveway.  Maybe we'll see the Lacombe County plows today...and maybe we won't.

It's just as well; I have lots I can do here, given that my usual Monday in Lacombe has been cancelled.  :-)

First, I have a few Flying Geese Units to finish up for my Easy Street mystery quilt.  I've made 100 of the 128 required, but those last couple of dozen (+/-) will be finished in no time.  Here sit the finished units (lower left-hand corner), cuddling up to the four-patches from Clue #1.

Then I have some more gift knitting to do...and the inevitable stitching on my Final Assessment Piece for the C&G.  I worked some more on it yesterday afternoon during Bonnie's Quilt Cam, but need to track down some more green floss.  I may just go back to the sample and play with some silk ribbon I have that's the right colour and might work well in the foreground.   If I do, I'll take photos and share that later on.

And then there's the Advent Quiet Day to prepare for.  I need to make another batch of muffins for the attendees, and to write out my portion of the reflections so that what comes out of my mouth on The Day actually makes sense! LOL!

Best get busy!

Oh...and I'm linking this up to Bonnie's Mystery Monday link-up over at Quiltville.  Have a great day!

Little Earthly Good

Ever heard that saying? "She's so heavenly-minded that she's no earthly good!"  (said with disdain and eyes rolling, most likely.)  Well...to some extent that's how I've been feeling since mid-week.  Last weekend's intense spiritual experience found me up on the mountain top, and I've been hard-pressed to descend into reality, lest the joy desert me.  We humans!  How little we understand about the work of the Spirit!  I decided (at last) to pray for a return to balance, and since yesterday, little by little, I've been getting back to my routines, punctuated by restorative naps each afternoon.  :-)

Pookie Report:  My wee kitty (not as 'wee' as she used to be) is now...ahem...an FF (Former Female), having been spayed on Thursday (in a snowstorm)...She came through with flying colours.  When I got her home around 4 p.m., she was up and about immediately, playing with her favourite toy (the plastic pull tab from a frozen OJ container) and getting into everything, per usual.  To look at her, you'd hardly think she'd just had major surgery!  She has been sleeping a touch more, and welcomed my early-to-bed plans last evening, but other than that, she's been her usual self.

In the C&G:  I'm taking this week off, and will get back to it...stay tuned.

Is there knitting?  There's some Christmas knitting going on, but this week it was interrupted for the making of a long narrow "prayer scarf" for my friend P, whose husband is recovering from triple by-pass heart surgery.  The pattern is the "Barn Swallow Scarf" from the book, Wrapped in Comfort: Knitted Lace Shawls  by Alison Jeppson Hyde (Martingale and Company, 2007).  It's simple and pretty, but very narrow and in the yarn I used (Estelle "Watercolours", 50% Mohair, 50% acrylic), curls at the sides even with the eyelet border.  This photo was taken before I finished, washed and blocked it. Surprisingly, it took less than 1 ball (50 gm = 160 metres) for a scarf that's over 60" long which I decided was enough, seeing as P is shorter than my 5'2",  It washed nicely and is now blocking, but I couldn't get the eyelet border to open up.  Perhaps it will when it's dry.  I have 2 more balls in this colour-way (and a bit from the first ball), so given it's capacity to go and go and go, I'll likely make another scarf (wider) or perhaps a shawlette with it.

In the kitchen, you say?  Incredulously, yes.  I'm not that fond of cooking, but the low-sky, grey, snowy, blowy weather yesterday brought on the creation of a slow-cooker full of chili and a dozen applesauce oatmeal muffins, made with applesauce I'd put up and frozen from the apples I picked in August.  Now they're in the freezer, pending use in December (see below).  I had chili for supper last night and lunch today and have another couple of meals left yet.

Any exercise?  In between knitting, cooking, reading (another Deborah Crombie novel featuring Inspector Duncan Kincaid and his Sergeant, Gemma James), napping, catching up with the blogs I follow and writing thank-you notes for last weekend, I've been working out with a shovel.  The snow finally stopped this morning.  The sun came out, the sky is blue -- and I at last managed to clear both my back walk and driveway, and my front walk, for what I hope is more than 5 minutes.  This is the view looking east from my back stoop toward my garage and the empty lot beyond, and showing a section of shovelled sidewalk -- just a fraction of what I cleared.  :-)

Though my walks and drive are now clear, there have been no plows out (we're 'done' by the County), so my alley and the side-street that leads to the highway are both under 6" - 8" of rutted snow.  I want to get to St.Cyprian's for the Remembrance service tomorrow a.m., but we shall see. Maybe the snow angels will be out yet, eh?

Last but not least on the "heavenly-minded-but-earthly-good" list is the drafting of the program for an Advent Quiet Day that I'm leading at St. C's on December 8.  Entitled "The Work of Our Hands", it's been inspired by the book Knit One, Purl a Prayer: A Spirituality of Knitting by Peggy Rosenthal (Paraclete Press, 2011).  The day (10 a.m. - 2 p.m. with brief breaks for snacks -- the aforementioned muffins -- and lunch) will consist of a series of reflections on the calming spiritual effect of various types of repetitive handwork, from knitting, crochet, spinning, and embroidery, to beading, weaving (table loom), card-making, mending (buttons, darning, hemming), jig-saw tending, photograph sorting, Christmas card addressing, gift wrapping and the like.  Once I get the rough draft completed, I'll forward it to my priest for vetting as she will be helping me with the structure and presentation.  I'm hoping to prevail upon one of my singing buddies to bring her guitar and help out with a song or two as well.

So now...I'm thinking a short walk while the sun is high, followed by a nap, and some work on that draft..."See" you later!