Saturday, December 29, 2012

Done and Dusted!




Well, 2012, you're done and dusted, soon to be in the memory books.  What will the New Year hold for us all.

Here is my Personal List from 2012.

1)  The end of the world didn't happen on December 21st, 2012.

2)  I didn't gain any weight this year ( but sadly,  didn't lose any either!)

3)  Everyone in the family is healthy, not so weathly but at least, maybe abit wiser.

4)  I still have mostly mousey brown hair although, for some reason, when I get a hair cut, there are all these silver threads on the cutting cape.

5)  I finished all my hooking projects and don't have a thing on the frame.

6)  I have started reading again via my ereader, and will be reading even more in 2013.

7)  I learned how to do needle felting and quite enjoyed it.

8)  When it comes to my wish last year for fewer senior moments, in fact, these moments are actually, on the increase.

9)  My gratitute for blessings is closer to being where it should be but definitely needs ongoing care.

10) I tried hard to remember that the things that are stressing me out in 2012, won't matter in 5 years. let alone 10 years.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Merry Christmas to All

From my little house to yours,








Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Why?

I am still in shock and asking over and over, why, why, why?  How can someone hurt anyone, let alone, little children who will never walk the earth again.

From my small corner of the universe, out in the middle of the North Atlantic, my heart goes out to Newtown and all the people who are asking the same question as I.  Why?

Thursday, November 29, 2012

It's Beginning!





Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later but we have had such a great, warm fall that I was hoping, it would last forever!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Needle Felting!

In the lovely package I received from Kim was a delightful little needle felting project.  I have often wondered about this craft but never have attempted any.  On youtube, I found some great videos on how to do it and started the project.



It is far from expert but for a first attempt, I think it turned out quite well.  I didn't use the quilting needle to add a running stitch as the manual suggested, preferring the muted, softness of the fibres.  I really enjoyed it and think this is another great fibre craft.


Monday, November 26, 2012

Suddenly

My little world has suddenly become white; in fact, overnight, it turned from muddy brown to glistening white.  I guess it had to happen as it is almost the end of November.




Here is the second seasonal mat for the entrance and looking at Frosty's face makes me smile.  If you look closely, he has a little heart pinned on his scarf which is my mom's and that also makes me smile!

I used beads for his eyes, glittery wool for his top hat and sparkle gems for his buttons and in some of the snowflakes but this doesn't show up in the photo.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Where in the World....

have I been? 

Taking a break from my blogging and of course, life has a way of getting in the way of other things.  My own health issues as I have been off work for some time and also, more recently, Maddy had acute pancreatitis which was completely unexpected and a surprise.  News is, she is fine now!  By the way, we have tracked her illness to either the chicken strips or the sweet potato treats which continue to be sold to the public, even though, they have been attributed to pet health issues.

I had won a prize from Kim at Millie's Mats and it arrived a couple of days ago and of course, Maddy, just had to check it out!






Here is the completed mat of Buddy which I did over the summer for my mother and didn't post before now.


This picture reminds us of the happy times Buddy spent here in Newfoundland in the summer!

Over the next few weeks, I am going to work on my blog, bringing some freshness to it as I found myself getting quite stale and redundant; same old pictures of the garden and ice in the bay!




Monday, September 3, 2012

So Soon??

I guess we are all saying, where did the summer go? It has been a beautiful summer in the western area of NL. I can feel the subtle changes already and have even spotted some leaves changing colour.

 Here is a little mat I just completed. It is part of a four mat series of small welcome mats for my front door.  Each one will highlight the four seasons and of course, the first is the Autumn Harvest.

Monday, August 13, 2012

IT HAS ARRIVED!

Out of the blue, I received a voice message from Bruce Bolivar. I had ordered a triple cutter way, way back last year and when I didn't hear from Bruce, I put it on the back burner, thinking it would never come. But it did, TODAY! The cadillac cutter with #5, #6 and #8 cut.

Of course, being a Gemini, I couldn't wait to take her out for a spin. It was like cutting butter; smooth and silky and the wool strips were perfect little worms.

 I love it!

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Mat Teaser!


Here is my summer mat teaser! It is a small mat of my mom's schnauzer, Buddy, who passed away a couple of years ago. I don't want to spoil my mom's surprise of how it turns out, so this is just a portion.

The summer is just whizzing by, and look, it's August tomorrow already. I have been enjoying the lovely weather, but I can already see and feel the subtle changes!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Summer Update!



Well, it has been just over one month since I last posted. The summer is going along, now in full swing and we on the West Coast of NL, have been enjoying wonderful weather. We are not baking like the rest of Canada and the mid west USA, but it is hot and dry for us, often in the mid 20s.


I just finished my Weezie mat and I must say, I did capture Weezie's face perfectly. She is looking right at the camera with soft eyes. Sometimes, during the hooking of this mat, I would put my frame down on the floor beside me and when I would go to get up, it was almost as if Weezie was there on the floor waiting for me. We all miss this special little friend and I think of her often.

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather and taking some time for yourselves.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Time to Reflect!

I haven't been posting much lately and after more than three years of regular blog posts, I am silent and don't have much to say right now. My blogging has always been restricted to my hooking projects, my garden and my part of the world. I am going to grant myself that space, the time to reflect and permission to take a breathe and exhale. I look in most days to see what my dear blogging friends are doing, and I see that others are pausing over the summer.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Missing in Action

I can't believe that so much time has passed since my last post but it has. Life is evolving as usual and I am not missing in any action. The garden is starting to come alive and it is spring time here on the west coast of Newfoundland. Here is my next project. I am onto my next little fur baby in my collage of six, dear Pee Wee or as we always called her, Weezie. She was a darling Jack Russell with the unusual markings of black and white. She was a rescue dog who spent the first few years of her life, trying to stay alive in a barn near Montreal with 50 or so other dogs of various breeds. Weezie was adopted by a family who kept her for only one year and then, back for adoption. By the time, we adopted Weezie, she had no stability in her life and was frightened of people and everything. We had five wonderful years with Weezie until she succumbed to kidney disease and at least, in the scheme of things, she finally had her forever home. This is my favourite picture of Weezie and my hooked version.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

All Done!

After many months, Aunt Bert's Daisy Garden is complete and off the frame. It is a large mat (26 x 50 inches) and I will be doing a whipped cord finish. Although I used Cara's inspiration, I did add some elements of my own.
It is a mixed media piece with wool yarns, roving, wool strips, and I used metallic ribbon around the dragonfly.
I really like Cara's (of The Grumpy Goat Gallery)whimsical approach to art and I hope I have done her original piece justice.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Before and After!

Maddy is a broken coated Jack Russell and if you have ever seen a box of small Milkbones, there is a little Jack Russell on it that looks like her twin. We still have some snow on the ground, but there is a change in the air and the birds are much more vocal, so it is time for our first spring time job, Maddy's haircut; and here is the big reveal....tah dah
Wowwww! Where did Maddy go???

Sunday, March 18, 2012

My Weekend Fun

Maddy, here, telling you blogging pals of my mama of my great weekend. My friend, Dozer, visited for the weekend and although, he is 4 times my weight, I gave chase when he dared touch my binkie, Blue. I almost had him but by that time, we both needed a rest.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Chasing the Sun

No robins yet but sunny days and very cold nights are typical of our North Atlantic spring.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Signs of Spring?

Only in my dreams. It has been extremely cold these past few days but at least, no snow for the moment. The only signs of spring are the dragonflies on my mat. I used a metallic rope in a shimmering purple to outline the dragonfly and then, filled in with a lovely mixed yarn.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Dog Gone It!

Well, here is Alice's completed mat, Abby, her brother's Labrador. This picture doesn't do it justice and the shaping in the black coat is much more visible than what is showing. Unfortunately, blogger doesn't support my old browser and today, I had to update to Google Chrome and the new look in the blog. Here is hoping that it works better than it used to.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Adding Dimension!

I took a creative stitching course sometime ago and I learned a nice technique to add dimension to elements in rug hooking.

I decided to rehook the daisy and add a 3D effect.

First you outline the area using wool yarn and work the next row(loop) higher and each subsequent row, higher than the last.


Once you have finished filling it with loops, it should look something like this depending on the shape of your element.



Take a small, sharp pair of scissors and cut each loop. Yes, cut each loop apart and trust me, it doesn't fall apart.


Then, you can use fingers to fluff up the yarn. Once your wool yarn is fluffy, you can shape the element with scissors. And there you have it.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Next?!


Aunt Bertie's Daisy Garden has been on the Cheticamp frame for sometime. Now and then, I work on it but mostly, it just stares back at me, almost asking, when I am next?

It is a very large mat and with so many shades of green, I have struggled with it.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Maddy Complete!


Besides talking about the weather, my internet was down for two days, two very, very long days. I never realized how dependent I have become on it. I couldn't send emails, I couldn't listen to Coast to Coast on internet radio, I couldn't watch Netflix, I felt disconnected.

After two calls to Bell Aliant, I am re-connected and feeling better. In the meantime, I did complete Maddy's little mat. It looks just like she does before her spring haircut, little lion dog, mane and all.

Now, working on Aunt Bertie's Daisy Garden, while watching Netflix. How do you spell, relief?

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Frozen!


Coast Guard Ship cutting a channel in the Bay of Islands February 3.



Snow Squall February 5


You know it's mid winter in Western Newfoundland when the ice covers the Bay of Islands and the Coast Guard is out, cutting a channel for the ships.

While the rest of Canada enjoyed reduced snowfall this year, we had ours early and it's already deep. But February can be our worse month and one year, I counted 26 days in a row where it snowed at least 5 cm every day.

The good news is 2012 seems different and although, we have had a couple of days of flurries, it has been calm. The light seems brighter and the air warmer, can it be that we are at the end?

Of course, you never know in Newfoundland as the weather can turn dirty in a blink of an eye.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Inspired!


After a lengthy debate with myself and much researching on the internet, I got myself an ereader. As you can see, it is a Sony PRS and I made the decision about Sony over Kindle and Kobo because of its versatility in downloading ebooks in various formats.

I must say, I am enjoying it and there are so many books available and I can even access public libraries. I used to read so much when I was young, using a flashlight under the covers but over the years, I have dropped off in my reading. My ereader sure beats balancing a flashlight on my shoulder in the middle of the night!

On the rug hooking front, I am almost finished Maddy's mat, and will post a picture upon its completion.

Inspiration is defined as "breathing in the spirit" and part of being inspired, is finding joy in new things!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Winter's Beauty!


I took the camera out with me today as I walked around the yard, looking at winter's beauty. It was still and quiet but for the cries of ravens in the snowy trees.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Cookie Monster!


Maddy is our little Cookie Monster, so it was very appropriate to surround her with cookies! I did the snow in two yarns at the same time; one is pure white and fluffy and the other, an icy blue, and less fluffy.

Maddy's name is done in a beautiful sari ribbon which I bought at Deanne's store last summer. There is sparkle in the ribbon and quite lovely sheen to it.

On the weather front, we are laden with snow at the moment and more coming tonight. But nothing better than the stillness and quiet which comes with snow and enjoying the comforts of home.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!


New is the year, new are the hopes and the aspirations,
New is the resolution, new are the spirits and..
Forever my warm wishes are for you
Have a promising and fulfilling New Year
Here is a wish that the coming year is a glorious
One that rewards all your future endeavors with success..
Wishing my heartfelt and prosperous blessings
To you and yours.

May your world
be filled with warmth,
joy and good cheer...


Happy New Year!!