Spring Startitis!

 

Living up here in Canada -- a good day's drive NORTH of the border with Montana -- I always feel like Spring arrives on March 1, even if Mother Nature disagrees.  This year, She has been undecided, and has sent mixed messages.

Today's been rather grey with that wonderful thing known as "mixed precipitation", and some fog, and Totally Grey Skies -- so I've spent it inside with all my favourite 'makes' and thought I'd catch you up on all things creative around here.  My objective is to Take Your Mind Off All the World's Foolishness...and just share some colour, beauty and art/craft goodness.  One day at a time, Gentle Readers; one day at a time! 🩷

Over at Deanne Fitzpatrick Studios, we're still in the throes of "March is for Makers".  I say "we" because every week day at 2 p.m. Atlantic Time, (rug) hookers from all over the place gather on Zoom -- via DFS -- to meet, greet, hook on our mats and share ideas with each other.  

Even those of us who are rather introverted and prone to Zoom Fatigue have participated.  

Alas, this was a Special Event and isn't a regular thing for the Whole Wide World.  We've been having a great deal of fun -- found friends who live near us (surprise!) or whom we've met at conferences/retreats.  A place where Canadians, Americans, and folks from the UK (rarely farther afield at the moment) can gather, laugh, tell stories, share our backgrounds and our love of the rug-hooking craft -- as well as our love of knitting, spinning, quilting and stitching because, of course, most of us are 'multi-craftual'.  None of us want this to end, so...we'll see what sort of challenge this poses the Studio for the future!

As for hooking, well...I've been focusing on what one of my friends calls a "Dreamscape".  I mentioned it in my last post in which I showed my initial sketch and a tiny start of the hooking.  Since then I took it to this:

And then, joining the 'hook-ins' almost daily...well...today, it's finished, though still on the frame:

Pussy Willows, Cat Tails
(c) 2026

I confess I'm not sure about framing it and putting it up for sale -- would it have any takers?  I've been accepted into the local Encore! Art Show & Sale in mid-April...any thoughts?

I've also purchased two online classes from Deanne -- one on 'Working Big' and one that's a "Sea Garden Abstract".  Both, I think, will be valuable -- though my 'Sea Garden' will have morphed into a prairie...Stay tuned for more!

Of course, aside from hooking, I continue to Knit Every Day.  It's tough to break a 65-year-long habit! 😉

I continue to enjoy my 'Train Knitting' and the Sylph Cowl is slowly getting longer.  My Spring Start-itis began when in my last post I showed you my cast on for the Sea Haven Pullover, a pattern by Jennifer Shiels Toland that I won from the "Recreational Knitting" podcast (thanks, Karen!)  I continue to love this pattern!  I'm now past the yoke patterning and finished the short rows yesterday -- my first attempt at German Short Rows.  Not hard to do but a bit challenging in that they are less visible than the "wrap-and-turn" version. 

Here's a couple of progress photos taken earlier today:

The wee red marker identifies the front...and indicates that from there, I have to knit 1 1/4" before I can split for the sleeves.

See the blue arrow? That's the German short row section I accomplished this morning (my first experience with those).

Having mentioned that I have Spring Startitis, I must let you know that today I also cast on stitches for a cardigan -- a pattern I've had in mind for a Very Long Time: the Shades of Spring Cardigan from Sara Louise Greer.  I apologize, as it's no longer readily available.  That just shows you how long I've had it in mind. Sigh...

I've decided to knit it in a rather colourful variegated yarn from deep stash, and even made a swatch (!?! Who? Me?!?).  So far...I've just cast on for the back so there's really nothing to show you.  Stay tuned for further reports!

In my quilting studio, I satisfied some of the 'Spring Staritis' by making the March Block from A Quilting Life.  You'll recall that I'm trying to stretch my Canada 150 fabric for a red-and-white version.  This is what the March block looks like:

Methinks I'm going to be even better at making points match -- in stars or elsewhere -- once this BOM is over! 😉

Speaking of 'matching points' well...Bonnie Hunter.  I swear, having made her mystery quilts (and some of her "Addicted to Scraps" blocks and "Leaders and Enders" projects) -- she is pretty much single-handedly responsible for my ability to make (most of) my points match in any given pieced quilt!

And yes, I'm on the last part of this year's 2026 Mystery quilt, aka "Lupines and Laughter".  This design was inspired by Bonnie's trip to Iceland in 2025 -- where, it seems, lupines are found in abundance.  I don't have to go that far north.  They are among my favourites spreading through my meadow/flower beds.  This was a natural for me and I've enjoyed every minute.  And yes, all fabrics have come from my stash.  

Quilt top, inner border, 1st outer border

Close-up of 1st border, attached to top

As I'm making this top at 75% of the called-for size, it took a bit of...adjusting...but it worked!

This is going to be an "almost 40" gift for my son's partner -- her birthday is in August -- so I'm hoping all will continue to proceed accordingly between now and then!

And then there's stitching -- where the Spring Startitis is really taking hold!

My work on the "Little Acorns SAL" from Modern Folk Embroidery continues...but I've started a slight move away from Jacob's recommended sections.  I'm on the third section from the top -- but according to the pattern, it's supposed to include two parts - the one on which I'm stitching and a second that's a good 80+ rows down in the charts.  Seriously?!  Neither my brain nor my 73-year-old eyes is prepared to do that. So...I will finish the current section this month and move forward in an Orderly Fashion! Ahem! 😉

I've set that aside for just a bit, though, given the State Of The World, and have turned again to "Disagree" from Rebel Stitcher.  I showed this in my last post, and have made significant progress thus far, as it's been almost a focus piece.

BUT

Last evening I discovered A Problem.  It's taken me close to the finishing point of this piece to discover that I may have (inadvertenly!) stitched it the wrong way on my fabric.  OOOOOOPS!!!

Yep!  See that blue arrow?  And the gap near the right side of the hoop?  There's only about an inch (!!) of fabric to the edge.  Sigh...

The lettering will work out fine; the motifs I'll adjust accordingly...and it will likely become a small hanging or a pillow or go into a project bag.  It's only for me -- not a gift.  I've never let perfection get in the way of 'Good Enough'!

And what about stitchy Spring Startitis? 

Yes; there is some!  First, I finished the "Winter" section of the Seasons from the long-ago pattern from Elsa Williams, so I am ready to start "Spring" -- because I'm doing it all on one piece of aida -- it's a kit from when dinos roamed the earth...

Back-stitch, etc. -
I'm rather chuffed!

And then...well...my Newbie of Choice is inspired by the hue and cry that went up in my home town (southwest Quebec) and family back in the day, and still (for me) marks the Actual First Day of Spring:

The robins are here! The robins are here!

The Robins are Here! -- Brenda Gervais

I confess, I got such a kick out of this that I had to kit it up and I'm ready to stitch -- even though the weather is still a bit too cold and so The Robins have yet to arrive here. It will be my Spring Start this weekend!

There's pretty much no waterfront to cover, Gentle Readers, as it's too early to spin outside and there's no gardening happening up here for some time.

Over at Nina Marie's, she's making a gift for a friend, which has required her to dust off her sewing/quilting skills.  Have any of you been challenged by that?  You might just go over and give her al hug.

Meanwhile, I light a candle for our troubled world and hope all involved in assorted conflicts will find That Eternal Light SOON.

A bientot!

May I Have a Word?

 

I've been blogging in this space since February, 2003 -- but rarely, if ever perhaps, on New Year's Day.  And I've not chosen a "Word of the Year" for a few years now.  Last year I chose a word almost daily through January, sharing them on Facebook, but this year...

This year I just felt inclined to write a few words about the Word of the Year I've chosen for 2026:

Enough.

That's it -- plain and simple.

I don't know about you, Gentle Readers, but even though I live a pretty quiet, blessed rural life out here on the rolling prairie, and even though I had many memorable, gentle, lovely, creative days throughout 2025, I'm tired.  As regular readers will know, I've been tired for a while -- fed-up tired.  I even wrote about it in this space in August, and I thank you for your understanding and kind comments back then.

After all, I don't live under a rock or deep in a cave; like you, I live in the real world, and it seems to me that in the last several years I've been aware of more tumult and angst, anger and power-lust -- and protest against all that since I was a teenager growing up in the nineteen sixties. While I'm thankful for those protesting what's going on, most days it really seams as though "the wrong is oft' so strong".  Protest takes constant work, energy and creativity, even if all the best you can manage to do -- like me -- is to sign petitions, publicize public activities, and write letters to your elected (but not, personally, voted for) representatives.  

It's been exhausting, demoralizing, and sad -- juggling all the events, fear and anger...and so I've decided ENOUGH.  

However, that's only one aspect of the idea of 'enough' for me. 

I've also got enough:

• Not wealth, but enough to pay for shelter, heat, light and food, with some left to give away;
• Enough fabric, fibre and floss to keep creating well beyond life expectancy; and
• Enough ideas and project plans and starts and works-in-progress to keep me inspired, and my hands occupied, so that my mind, heart and soul are fed.

Given that I've had more than enough of the news -- at home (some) and abroad (far too much), but because ignorance, for me, is not bliss -- I've been curating my intake, and am now paring it down even further, even in my craft-viewing, choosing to skip parts of podcasts that are...well...meant for an audience of fellow-citizens of a particular country, and not for those of us who live in other lands, who celebrate other holidays or have a different focus -- knowing -- or at least, hoping -- I can return when the season of a particular celebration is over.

In my quilt studio, the "Keep it Out of the Landfill" project continues, with progress on the Bonnie Hunter 2025 Mystery quilt.  I've finished the first three clues now:

In the photo above, the tray in the centre shows the 2nd clue, which I managed to ignore until I'd done clues 1 and 3 (!) At the time I took the photo, Clue 2 was still under construction, but it's now finished as well. 

Speaking of quilty finishes, in my last post I showed you my "finished" top from the Block of the Month for 2025 -- from Sherri at "A Quilting Life".  I was contemplating adding a border simply to unify it, and this week, I did just that, using one of the fabrics that's in some of the blocks:

Shown here on my bed, it's not quite twin-sized; it's just a rather large 'throw'.  I may send it out for quilting, as between the size and the pattern, it would be tricky to quilt on my domestic machine.

I've enjoyed making Sherri's BOM projects -- I've done both 2024 and 2025 -- they keep things moving and create a bit of a challenge.  However, Sherri has said her 2026 project will be a tribute to the 250th Anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.  I may look at the first block and if I can do it in "Canadian Colours", I might give it consideration, but I make no promises!

Last but not least, my friends M & S sent me a kit of sorts for Xmas, hoping to steer me towards 'Slow Stitch' of the contemporary kind, rather like visible mending but creating an original, meditative piece.  Alas, while I like the idea of Slow Stitching, and I've tried it a few times, I just really don't enjoy it.  Still, there I had in front of me a small 'quilt sandwich' -- a random patchwork top in a pretty palette of pinks, blues and purples, sandwiched with a thin batting, on a plain grey backing.  

It was expecting me to do something with it -- so I did.  When I first started showing my small art quilts, people used to ask me what to do with them.  Were they hot pads?  Cushion covers?  That used to irritate me mightily, but this pretty piece, well -- it certainly wasn't wall art.  So...much (I expect) to my friends' disappointment, I cut it into two squares, quilted each simply with my sewing machine (pink thread, no less!), bound them -- et voila! Two new hot pads to replace 2 of mine that were well over a decade old and looking much the worse for wear!

They're pretty; they're fresh, bright and serviceable -- and the process was strangely satisfying.  Works for me!

In new-ish knitting, the "Sylph Cowl", which starts of my latest "Warm Things" box, is moving along.  

Pattern: The Sylph Cowl
Designer: Jade Sapphire
Yarns (held double): Austermann 'Marina' in 
colour 45 - "Grape" and Universal Yarn
'Odette' in colour 106 - "Concord"

It's knit flat to 26" and seamed to make a long, deep cowl.  Both yarns are from stash -- long stash. 😊

Inspired by the "12 Days of Cast-on", I've cast on another cowl -- red and white colour-work -- but it's too early to show you any real progress. 

This morning I cast on the "Crooner Socks" from Nancy Wheeler. Again this year I'm trying to keep up with the Ravelry 'Socks from Stash' group. The challenge for this month is "Striping, but not self-striping", and the group's moderators have confirmed that this pattern will fit, so  I'm doing these in a royal purple for the main colour and a baby blue for the contrasting "stripes" -- using up more stash of course!

In my stitching, I finished "Wintertime" -- the wee stitch from Cathy Jean at The Victoria Sampler, and had an "almost-fully finished" afternoon, turning it and two other smalls into pillows -- they just have to be stuffed:

Top Left: "Wintertime" by Cathy Jean of
The Victoria Sampler;
Top Right: "Chubby Ewe" by Jeannette
Douglas; and Bottom Centre: "Harvest Virtues
by Thea Dueck of The Victoria Sampler

I think the largest of these is about 5" square, so they're just perfect to put in a bowl or prop on a shelf.

As I decided to interpret the "12 Days of Cast-on" rather loosely, I'm including in it any new starts, no matter the craft --such as these recent ones in my cross-stitch repertoire:

• For my Xmas Day start, I chose "Joy" from Carolyn Manning Designs -- her, "One Color Wonder" series -- which I'm stitching on 28-count "Splash" from Picture This Plus, using Wild Flowers cotton, colour #001 -- "Sandstone" from deep stash, 1 strand over 2 fabroc threads:

Working on a deep blue-green is a new experience but I'm rather enjoying it.  Also, I usually use 2 strands of floss on 28 count but this particular floss is a bit heavier than a strand of DMC, so I find that a single strand is sufficient.

• On Boxing Day (Dec. 26), I started "The Light of Winter" from Brenda Gervais (With Thy Needle and Thread), which I'm stitching on 40-count something -- can't find the label, but I think it's Platinum from Zweigart -- using DMC floss, 1 strand over 2 fabric threads:

• On December 29th, I started a third new piece: "Rejoice" from Lila's Studio.  It's a free pattern at the time of this writing, and I thought it would be a good way to celebrate the season -- and to rejoice that 2025 would soon be over! 😉

I'm working this on 32-count Lambs Wool, a fairly stiff fabric, using the called-for DMC, one strand of floss over 2 fabric threads.  The photo above shows my progress as of last evening.  I chose to do the top border in gold rather than in the blue called for, and switched out the gold of the flowers for blue.  Given that the letters are in blue, I thought this would be a better balance...but that's just my opinion, of course! 😊

And today, being January 1, 2026, marks the start of the 2026 SAL from Jacob of Modern Folk Embroidery.  I've never participated in an actual SAL -- and not one of Jacob's.  I had in my stash a beautiful piece of 40-count fabric in "Platinum" from the July 2025 'Traditional' fabric club offering through Roxy Floss/Evertote, so I ordered the paper pattern and enough Roxy Floss -- in "Pippy" -- to do it.  Yesterday I printed a working copy of the first 2 pages (left and right top) so I could start, using the "map" suggested by Jacob in the pattern book.  Once I get this blog post up and running, I'll be in my stitching chair, making a start!

Does that mean I've abandoned my 'Sunday Stitch' habit? Not at all.  I'm really enjoying my current project, "1000 Hills" from Plum Street Samplers.  Here's my progress as of the end of December:

Each little motif feels like a finish in itself!

NOTE: If you're also stitching this sampler, or if it's in your 'plans' collection, the link to the Plum Street post about it -- shown above -- also has a Big Bold Errata notice about one of the symbols used. You  might want to make a note of that! 😊

There are two other fibre crafts I work on from time to time: spinning, which I prefer to do outdoors in warm weather; and rug-hooking.  I've taken a few weeks away from that, but I did manage to finish the little pattern, "The Two of Us", designed by Deanne Fitzpatrick, in time to send it to Peg in Montreal for Xmas.

While the above photo was taken before the piece was trimmed, blocked and bound, rest assured all that was done, and I sent it off with a note giving options for hanging.  She was totally delighted with it, and I'm sure she'll find a good spot for it in her home.

My 2026 plans for rug-hooking centre on landscapes.  I've received Deanne's new book on the subject as well as some more worsted-weight yarn especially for the purpose, and have decided to use these to finesse my skills in that genre which, truth be told, is my favourite.  It's time to crack open the book, mount some fabric on my frames (large and small) and get to it.  I'm hoping that as the fatigue of 2025 wears off, I'll stay upbeat and energetic enough to make several new pieces, and apply for a booth at the Lacombe Encore! Art Show and Sale in the spring.

For that, Gentle Readers, I will need your good thoughts and prayers for energy, patience, and the willingness to keep procrastination at bay!

 

And so I close with a wish for you and yours -- for all of us -- to have a safe, stable, creative and contented year ahead.  Linking this now to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday...on which she's posted a good reminder as we head into this new year.  

Until we meet again...A bientot!

Quilt Repair

I've been meaning to share this for a while, and kept forgetting -- so I'm doing it today because it's been on my mind!

More than two posts ago, I had a quilt repair adventure.

I confess I don't do much quilt repair -- including of the quilts given me by my late Aunt Alice Rennie (1907-2002) and her mother, my paternal grandmother, Maria Flood McIntosh Rennie (1875-1961).  

I have several quilts Aunt Alice made for me as a young woman -- a Log Cabin, an embroidered quilt (from a kit with printed fabric), a Dresden Plate and others.  One is a throw-sized piece, complete with Prairie Points on 3 sides, that is (of course!) in pristine condition!  It will outlive the planet, I expect!  Another is a double-bed quilt she made for my husband and me after I supplied a great deal of the fabric -- scraps left over from my making garments for me and my daughter back in the 1980s -- a mix of cottons and poly-cottons.

As a girl, Aunt Alice made a coverlet in red and white (a coverlet is a quilt without batting) which I've given to my daughter, and later in life, my husband and I commissioned her to make a double wedding ring quilt for my parents (2nd marriage for each), for their 25th wedding anniversary (1982) -- I got that one back when my mother moved into assisted living and no longer owned a double bed (1997 or so).

I also have a quilt that Grandma Rennie made for me that was given me just before she died, and I have something even more precious: a crazy quilt block she did as a 'practice piece' in 1894.  She dated it, and embroidered her maiden name initials (she was about 17 at the time, and didn't marry my grandfather until 1903).  I've had it 'preservation framed' and it hangs in my sewing studio.  The one she made for me when I was a girl has some holes in it; I don't use it, but keep it safe in my linen closet; it's a pink-and-white nine-patch variation.

I have repaired none of these, although many of them have worn pieces or bindings with worn spots.  I haven't dared.

That said, back in May the owner of our hamlet's local "vintage market" approached me with a quilt someone had dropped off to sell.  It really wasn't sale-able -- it was stained as well as worn -- but she liked it and decided that if the worn blocks could be repaired or replaced, she'd keep it for herself.

When I examined it, I came to the conclusion that the top was made long before it was sandwiched and quilted.  The top's fabrics were cotton, maybe from the thirties or forties or later but definitely before the age of synthetics.  The blocks were a good size -- 12" or so, finished; they were 9-patch blocks composed of half-square triangles, lights and darks.  There was wide sashing between them, and a wide border -- all of which was a white, somewhat heavier fabric -- possibly an old sheet.

The top was enveloped over white polyester batting.  The batting had thin and lumpy spots but the backing was pristine -- and the quilt was tied with acrylic yarn at the corner of each block and in the centre square of each 9-patch; in other words, very sparsely quilted.

It reminded me of stories of an old quilt top done by a grandma, found by a young grand-daughter or great-gran, maybe around age 12 or so, who asked Mom to help her quilt it, sometime in the late nineteen-sixties or early seventies when that awful batting was becoming popular.

I told the market owner I would do my best to repair it.  She supplied me with some old gingham aprons to cut up for the blocks, and off I went.

There were 3 blocks that had completely disintegrated -- two in one row and one on the other end of the quilt.  I began by taking out the first and making a sample, which proved to be too small. (I can do math but I muffed it this time!)  

First old block removed

Two more old blocks removed

And here are the new blocks:

First new block -- both from aprons
provided by the shop owner.

Second new block - the floral is from my stash 
of inherited cotton fabric and the
green is from one of the aprons mentioned above.

Third new block - my recycled fabric
The plaid is from an old shirt; the other
from donated cotton fabric.

I had to use a combination of machine stitching and hand-stitching to insert them into the top, in order to avoid taking the entire thing apart altogether!  There were inset seams that I could only do by hand!

There were other blocks that needed hand-done repairs because seams were split.  Can you tell where the split seams were?

Once all the new blocks were stitched into the quilt and the others repaired, I put new ties in to replace the ones I'd removed for the repairs.  I didn't add any new ones, as that would have spoiled the look of the original top.  These ties were wool though, rather than acrylic yarn.  Wool is better for tying quilts because it felts when washed, thus staying tied through time.  That said, this quilt will probably be washed only gently by hand, and left to dry in the sun, given the age and overall condition of the top.

All in all, the work took about 15 hours to complete, not counting the new block I made that was too small.  I took all the materials -- including that block -- back to my client, and we negotiated a price for my time.

It was an interesting adventure, but I'll admit I don't want to make it a focus of my quilting going forward! 

Since my last post, I've finished another top for a give-away throw quilt, and have made progress on my socks and cross-stitch, but I'll leave that for another day.  In the garden there's been a harvest of a bumper crop of raspberries, with more waiting in the wings, so I'll leave it there.

Over at Off the Wall Friday, Nina Marie has finished her first hooked rug -- a new-to-her passion I share, as you well know, Gentle Readers.  So...have a great rest of your weekend and off you go -- to knit, to crochet, to quilt, to cut fabric, to hook fabric and yarn, to stitch into linen or aida cloth, to repair quilts or make new ones -- wherever your hands and your mind and your fancy take you!

Until next time...a bientot!

A Month of Making

There's a lot of 'making' going on! 😁

Yes; I'm still here, and I'm still making -- but in the past month I've been challenged by the need to a) make sure I care for my body -- especially my arms and hands, which this winter were  plagued by aches and pains; and b) make time for sharing what I've made and am still making.

In terms of the former, I found that a major culprit re: my hands -- especially my dominant right hand -- was with computer work.  I dug out a wireless keyboard and set it up so that I didn't strain my hands reaching up to type on my laptop's keyboard, and I got myself a new mouse pad with a wrist support.  That's been a game changer!

I've also been making time for stretches, especially for my arms, shoulders and hands.  Doing that, and pacing myself with respect to arm/hand challenging yard work (digging flower beds, lugging bags of topsoil, mowing the grass), has made a big difference!

Moreover, I've been pacing myself with certain activities that aggravate my hands, which means my knitting is being done in sprints rather than marathon sessions.

As a result, I've finished another LOSY (Left Over Sock Yarn) hat for the give-away box, and have managed to finish one of the pair of Garden Fence Socks I wanted to complete this month.

Pattern: Garden Fence Socks
Designer: Nancy Wheeler
Yarn: Tanis Fibre Arts
Blue Label Fingering
Colour-way: Teal

I won the pattern in the Sox-a-long 2025 challenge for March -- and I'm really enjoying it, even if I can only do 8 rounds (two pattern repeats) at a time.

Friends of mine are about to become grandparents for the first time, so yesterday I cast on the "Little Coffee Bean Cardigan" designed by Elizabeth Smith.  I'm knitting it in a single colour -- more teal! -- using Berroco Pure Merino from my stash, and I'm going to put only one button on it, at the neck.

Yes, I have more knitting WIPs on my needles than I care to admit, but the sock and the cardi are my focus projects for now.

Speaking of focus, about 3 weeks ago, a mobile home a few blocks down from me went up in flames -- likely due to an undetected smouldering grass fire that found a great source of fuel and BANG! exploded.  The three dear folks living there, and their dog and one of their two cats, made it out -- with the clothes on their back, and their vehicles (parked at distance from the blaze) but nothing else.

It's a mess, but the community has stepped up to help with temporary shelter, and gifts of thrift-shop clothing etc.

And I had a quilt top ready, so I quilted it up and passed it on to the neighbour who knew the family and would get it to them.  It measures about 54" x 62", so is a comforting throw-sized piece that I could quilt myself:

Pattern: Easy Breezy
Designer: Bonnie Hunter
from her Leader/Ender projects

This is the second one of these I've made; the blocks are small so it takes some time to gather enough for a decent throw, but once they're together, they create a cheerful, colourful, scrappy quilt!

My other quilting focus has been on finishing the "Old Town" quilt (another Bonnie Hunter design -- the 2024/2025 mystery project) for my son, and yes, I got it bound and mailed off to him earlier this month.  He's delighted to have a new quilt and told me he loves the colours and patterns of this one:

Here's a close-up of the quilting, which was done by the good folks at Quilting from the Heart in Camrose, Alberta:

Speaking of QFTH, yesterday I took the Celtic Knot quilt top up there so I could pick out backing fabric and talk to them about quilting it.  I'd roughly measured it at 112" square but in their larger space, they re-measured it at 116" square!  

Here's what the top looks like, spread out on my lawn in 'flimsy' form:

And yes, they'll quilt it -- they can get batting that's more than wide enough!  So...I bought 4.75 metres of 108"-wide backing, and they helped me split it into pieces so I can make it wide enough.  Once I've done that, my daughter and I will meet up there to pick the over-all quilting pattern (no need for custom work on this one) and thread colour(s).  Stay tuned for the results!

What about stitching focus?

That's a bit tougher to pin down.  I've tried to be disciplined; really I have! 😉 But it's a challenge when I see so many wonderful projects going on floss-tubes!

Here's the update from my last post:

• I've finished the stitching of the Flanders Fields Biscornu from Heartstring Samplery -- but haven't taken a photo! Sigh...
• I finished "Chubby Ewe" from Jeannette Douglas Designs:
  
  
  
  
  

• I started and finished the May bouquet (Block of the Month) from Thea Dueck at The Victoria Sampler:

• I finished -- and fully finished! -- "Hope" from Modern Folk Embroidery:

• As "Hope" was my "Sunday Stitch", I've started a new one: "Proverbs 31" from Plum Street Samplers:

• And I've made progress on two other pieces -- one might refer to them as "les pieces de resistance" in light of the current state of the world:
• First, "Disagree" from Rebel Stitcher, which I'm doing on 40-count Vellum from Picture This Plus, using one strand of 12-wt Sulky variegated thread, over 2 strands of floss. I've actually done a great deal more on this, but the photo below is the last one I took:

• Second, I've also made more progress on "Ruskin's Penguins" from Modern Folk Embroidery.  Again, I've done more on the top of that border, but haven't an updated photo.  It's pretty dense stitching, 1 strand over 2 fabric threads on a 40-count 'Traditional' fabric from Roxy Floss Co's Fabric Club (Sept. 2024 installment) and Roxy Floss in "Gomez" (black) and "Betty White" (white, of course! 😉):

But that's not all!  The greatest blessing of this past week is that I finally put burlap on my new Cheticamp frame and began to hook a new piece!  I'm working through Deanne Fitzpatrick's "Playful, Joyful Rug Hooking" course, which has whetted my enthusiasm.  

I began by drafting a '3-line landscape', and hooking the foreground:

Then I filled in that foreground:

My original thought was to put in either a gravel road or a field of canola...but then I thought, what about water?

I liked it, so I kept going!

The working title is "Jewels in the Water".  I'm thinking I'll move into the background with low, rocky foothills below the sky...but I'm letting it 'percolate' for a bit.  Stay tuned! 😁

As I mentioned at the top, the yard and garden have also had a great deal of 'focus' in this last month.  To whit, 

• I've planted my 2 raised beds: a cherry tomato and 2 hills of zucchini in one; and green beans, leaf lettuce, basil and dill in the other.
• I put out my bedding plants in pots -- my over-wintered geraniums with my favourite lobelia; and my brown pot of bacopa with impatiens; and
• I've added some sedum and pinks to my perennial beds.
• My wildflowers are coming along, though the grass and dandelions hide several of them from view.  I don't mow the "Meadow" until June, so I've had to put stakes in to mark the spots where daisies, hollyhock, violas, wild geraniums and Alberta roses are sprouting -- I don't want to mow them down when the time comes!
• And I've added some marigold seed and poppy seed to a couple of bare areas, which I fortified with fresh topsoil and mulch.

With all those dandelions, I've made one batch of jam, and have picked another collander-full of blossoms for a second...

But the most lovely thing on sunny afternoons now is to sit outside with a book or some stitching, listening to the ornamental fruit trees as they hum with bees...

And with that image for you to savour, Gentle Readers, I'll bid you farewell for now.  As usual, I'll link this post to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  This week she highlights the "3 Laws of Art", with which I heartily agree.  Make.  Make again.  Just keep making -- however you do it, create beauty every day.  It brings light to life!

A bientot!