Slow Stitching - July 2025 - Week 1

My theme for the slow stitching piece for July is Social Groups. It represents the groups to which I have belonged over the years that created community for me. I participated wholeheartedly, contributed to the vibe of the group, and enjoyed those folks who shared the journey with me. Following K3NCloth Tales.

I chose a piece of white on white printed fabric and dyed it with Rangers Distress stains in various colors. I let it dry then rinsed it out to leave the mottled pattern you see.

Being on the volleyball team in high school was a big deal for me. Going on the bus for away games, have my favorite snack (Coffee Crisp), and a uniform which meant I belonged.

I was also in the church choir and I remember practicing from September to be ready for the Christmas concert.

I belonged to calligraphy group for many years. Attending monthly meetings, sitting on committees, taking classes, giving classes, and having social events at Christmas and in the summer. 

Slow Stitching - June 2025 - Week 4

Homes is the theme for my June slow stitching project. Following Kathryn at K3NClothTales.  

I had to wrap up this piece week. I continued the mountains in the westerly province.

I have added the houses I have lived in the easterly province.

We lived with my grandfather for a while in a hamlet.  We had a house across from the church a block or so from grandpa. Then we moved to another hamlet several miles away within walking distance of the school.

In the big city with the river running through it, I have lived in 8 different homes. They have included a room in a house, a mobile home, a few walk up apartments to a high rise apartment. I have owned a couple and rented others.

I created shapes from felt which I appliqued in the circle. The shapes and colors are based on names that will remind of these places. 

I will add the new one later this summer.

Slow Stitching - June 2025 - Week 3

I continue with my Homes theme for June in this slow stitching project hosted my K3N Cloth Tales. 

I used the running stitch in blue thread along the western coast line to represent the Pacific Ocean. It would have been nice to have waves represented for the water but I found that was too complicated for me.

I added more trees in the north of the westerly province.

I added the log cabin in which I lived the first 4 years of my life. Dad worked in a sawmill and my Mom chose to be with him. Several kids were born during that time.

I am enjoying this piece.

Slow Stitching - June 2025 - Week 2

I added the green triangle stitches for the forest in the north.  

I used the sheaf stitch with a dark yellow floss for the wheat fields my current province is known for. Lower down I used a brighter yellow floss and the button hole stitch layered very close together to represent canola fields in our province.

In the central city of this province I have lived in several homes. I created a zoom in circle in the base of the province to the west where I can add representations for these homes. This was done in blue thread.

I added purple peaks to represent the Rocky Mountains which span both provinces.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

This is the first time I found Foxglove in the neighborhood.

There were quite a few in a side flower bed.

I found this lovely light purple color and bright pink ones as well. 

I am so lucky to have neighbors who are flower growing.

The Cliff House by RaeAnne Thayne is a book I finished this week.

Daisy an Beatriz Davenport lived with their aunt Stella in Cape Sanctuary after their parents passed away.  She has provided a good home for them with all they needed.

Beatriz pushed the boundaries, got in trouble, married and had a baby way too young. Daisy was quiet, sensible, rational, and financially prudent.

They still live near each other.  Bea with her daughter Marisol. Daisy had married and her husband passed away after a few years and she was left his house overlooking the ocean.

The ex-husband returns with the man who saved his life and they each cause ripples in the these girls' loves.  Stella is surprise to find a man she gave up when the girls came to live with her has returned to Cape Sanctuary.   Most of the story lines were good. 

It was an exciting day on Wednesday June 4 2025 because I took possession of my new to me home.

I worked with a great agent who was with all the way through hoops and loops but we got there.

I have a lot to get done before I can move in.

Oh yeah, the Stanley Cup Final starts today as well.  

I know its going on but I don't have time for it. 

 

We will see what the final outcome is.

There were a few things I found left behind that were interesting.

Mirror tiles still stuck to the walls.  Many things were left on the walls when removed left a gluey mess.

A baseball, a guitar pick and even a 100 hundred dollar bill was found when the carpet was removed.

There was a lot in this place so I am not surprise not all of it left with the tenants.

There was not so great stuff left behind as well.

There was food in every corner of the kitchen.  

Most surfaces had oil, greasy spots, and evidence of cooking left behind.

The drip pans in the stove were just replaced rather than trying to clean them.  The clean up when I lifted the top of the stove was liquid, crusty, and totally disgusting.

Every inch of this place will need to be cleaned.

The possession date had been pushed back two days to allow for cleaning. I am not sure what was cleaned.

I am grateful the plumbing for the sinks was done.

I had the door rekeyed as well as the mail box key replaced.

Just a safety thing to ensure no one has keys laying around for my place.

I only received one FOB for the building so I had to purchase another.

Mark was nice enough to deliver one to me.

Great job.

This product was recommended by my sister to clean the not so clean tub.

Scrubbing Bubbles worked so well.

It is taking a lot of elbow grease and my right arm is very sore.

Lots of cleaning cloths, paper towels and cleaners.

The kitchen cupboards came out great after having a layer of oil and grease removed.

The laundry room had a layer of liquid laundry soap in the corner I scrapped off with a 9 in 1 tool.

I was very disappointed when I could not find a way to turn the shower on to rinse the tub after its first go round of cleaning.

After getting in touch with the inspector Colin he explained that it was a ring on the spout that diverted the water to the shower.

Who knew?  Certainly not me.

I tried it the next day after the second scrubbing session on the tub.

Success! Thanks Sarah and Colin.

I took all the baseboards off around that disgusting carpet.  

That was the preparations for the carpets to be gone.

The carpets are gone!

The adhesive and the gunk is also gone.

The crew of Joey and Mario did a great job.

On to painting before the crew comes back to install the vinyl floor.

The 2 man crew of Ben and Andre arrived early Saturday morning and we got to work.

I was just able to keep ahead of them to get all the glue off the walls where stuff had been stuck to the walls.  The grease stains on the walls from who knows what.

They will be back next week to finish up.

I am a hurting and exhausted person.  

Sunday is a day of rest so I can continue next week.

The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline was a book I finished before the insanity of this week started on Wednesday.

Vivian Daly, an Irish immigrant lived in New York in 1929.  Within less than a year of arriving there was a fire in their building and most of the family was lost. 

Vivian finds herself on a train heading west to find a new home.  She has several. Some where she is abused and some where the adoptive parents were loving and supportive.

Molly Ayer is 17 years old who has been in trouble with the law. She is assigned community service as a consequence.  She comes to help Vivian now and elderly widow go through the keepsakes and stuff in the attic.

They learn from each other and come to be family in a way. Great read!

Slow Stitching - June 2025 - Week 1

My Homes is the theme for my June slow stitching piece in the K3N Cloth Tales 2025 Comfort Coverlet project.

I have lived in a few homes in my life with a new on in the very near future.  Those have been in two provinces of Canada.

I drew the 2 provinces in outline on my 12x12 inch piece of cotton with a foundation layer of thin fabric. 

I invisible basted these layers together about 1 inch from the edge. This serves as a reminder to keep my art within that space.

I found a map online I could use for reference and drew the shapes by hand.

I chose two strands of a dark grey embroidery floss and the outline stitch. I went all the way around the provinces and added the islands on the west coast.

The big lakes are done in blue.

Looking forward to another month.

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 4

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May- Week 4.

I finished my Books square in the coverlet slow stitching project.   

I added the tiny fabric book that hold my favorite authors.  You can find the details in this post.

I added more vine along the top of the book case from the blue pot. 

I added texture stitching - tiny seed stitching around the book to hold together the tea dyed top fabric to the foundation layer. 

I chose neutral tones used in the piece itself. 

I love it!

Slow Stitching project - May - Tiny Fabric Book

I wanted to add a small fabric book to my slow stitching project in which I would write my favorite authors.

I started with a dark blue piece of fabric paired with a bit thin blue fabric. I handstitched the outer edge and turned it right side out. I top stitched the outer edge to close the slot used for turning.

I cut a piece of white cotton for the pages on the inside. Finished it measures 2.75" x 2.25 inches.

I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to get the words in the book.  I knew I was not stitching them.  I investigated adding sizing to the fabric allow me to hand write the words. Finally, I decide to use freezer paper on the back and a Micron black marker. That worked really well. I then hot ironed the white cotton to set the ink.

I added a small elastic closure on the right hand side and a tiny blue button on the front cover to hold the book closed. 

This book was stitched onto my books square for the May slow stitching project I am working on. 

Card - Flowers - Thank You

I made this card for my real estate agent who helped my purchase my next home.

She as been amazing. I paired it with a yellow flower potted plant and dropped it off at her office today.

Card base A7 in Stampin Up Crushed Curry.  I cut a layer of striped designer paper to leave a small border. I used a leftover scrap of card stock to put a band across the top third of the card.  

I used Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die to cut a Not Quite Navy flower, a Marina Mist medium and a Crushed Curry small one. Adhered together with a blue mini brad then adhered to the card front with double sided tape.

A white single insert and a yellow envelope and it's ready to go.

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 3

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - March - Week 3.

I continue to add elements to my books square. 

I have added standing books to the top shelf of the bookcase with a variety of colors. Again, the stitch is the outline stitch with 2 strands of thread.

Then, a set of books laying on the second shelf featuring nice colored covers.

I added a red vase with flowers on the bottom shelf. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I went looking for pelicans at Beaumaris Lake but found none.

I found other waterfowl.  Here's a Red Necked Grebe with it's mournful call.  There were several pairs on the water. Did not see any nests yet.

The apple trees were all in bloom as well as the cherry trees with their deep pink blossoms.

Great walk around the lake.

American Coots vying for territory.

There was a look of splashing, posturing, and charging going on.

As you can see in this shot the water was being churned and the flapping wings of the retreating male was he headed across the water.

There were several pairs of these waterfowl on the water.

If You Believe by Kristin Hannah.  This is about the 3rd or fourth book I've read from this author.

Mariah Throckmorton lives with her father Rass on a farm with an apple orchard. They grow apples and the harvest is a source of income for them.  Her mother passed away recently and they both miss her terribly.  Rass has posted a help wanted ad at the general store in town.

Mad Dog Stone has been wandering from place to place for many years. He takes odd jobs to earn money for the few necessities.  He answers the ad and appears at the farm.  Mariah runs the house and farm by rigid rules and with Rass getting older sees that hiring Mr. Stone makes sense. 

Mr. Stone and Mariah dance around each other for a while.  Pushing and pulling for who is in control. She should lighten up a bit and he should apply himself a little more. A young boy appears at the farm which Rass employs as his assistant for categorizing and organizing his archaeological finds. 

These three characters become a family under difficult circumstances.

After a lot of negotiations I have finally had my offer accepted for a new place to live in a small town east of the city.

Now the work begins in earnest.   Packing, moving utilities, renovations before moving in, and cleaning this place before I leave.

Working on contractors for painting, flooring and some plumbing to be completed before possession.

A walk to the Community Garden and Paul Kane Park this week.

The lilacs are in bloom and it strikes me as a bit early.

Their scent is lovely.

Pretty flowers.

Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohansesian is a book I finished this week. It is a historical novel. 

It has 2 story lines one in the 1915 and one in 1990's.  The first is set in the Armenian and Turkey war. The peaceful relationship between these 2 countries breaks down and many innocent people are killed and many endure great suffering. This tears lives apart.

In the 1990's Orhan's grandfather, Kemal, dies and leaves the family home to a woman no one knows. She lives in the USA and who is she?  Orhan travels far to find a ninety plus year old lady living in nursing home.  She had been a young Armenian girl during the war. She suffered great losses and Fatma has saved her life. 

The book has some surprises, the truth comes to light and the relationships are not what they seem.  Great read. 

My sister and brother-in-law dropped by for lunch while they were in town visiting my other sister and her husband who has been pretty sick. We always have pick up an drop off items when we connect.  

They picked up Wendy's on their way over. The linens had been sorted through that morning and the tablecloth had been set aside for packing. I sent a red tablecloth to my niece.It may the last time they visit at this place.

Chair Repairs - Broken Spring

After pushing my recliner back last week I heard a funny sound.

I did not find the broken spring till the next morning.

What shall I do about this?  Not a hassle I need with everything going on.

I called a local store which sells this type of recliner and asked for their service department.  I was asked to email a photo and they would get back to me.

The lady referred me to a link of Amazon but it was not exactly the same as what was broken.

I don't shop on line so I started sourcing a spring locally.  

I found this set of springs at Rona.  The length is about right but it is bigger in diameter. Should be 1/2 inch instead of 3/4 inch.  Also the hooks on each end don't quite match in placement.

For less than $10 I was willing to see what I could do with these. 

You can see wire at the bottom on the photo which will feature prominently in the solution.  I tried just hooking the ends to the 2 points in question but the closer one would not stay on the peg. I tried several things that did not work.

I needed something stronger than my first attempts.

The wire I am sure I picked up on a morning walk a couple of years ago.  Never know when something will come in handy.

By creating the loop for the pin on the chair I was able to address the fact that the hook on the one end was in the wrong direction.

As well, I could twisted the loop once it was on the pin to tighten it which kept in place.

This works well.

You can see that with the wider diameter it curves a little bit but does not obstruct any vital functionality.  Works for now.

 

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 2

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May - Week 2.

I continued with my books theme this week. 

Added green leaves with vines in single thread to the vine along the left hand edge. I used a variety of green colored thread. 

I added a book to the top shelf featuring a green edge, gold oval and green star in the center. It's cover facing out.

Then, a clock to the middle shelf in gold thread with black hands. 

Then, glasses to the bottom one.  I need those to read. Very important.

The embroidery is all done with the outline stitch. 

Card - Thinking of You - Watercolor

A card for a friend who received a tough diagnosis recently.

It is important to know that people care and are thinking of you.

I just painted a quick watercolor of water, earth and trees.

The flowers in the water don't jive with the pine tree in the dirt but I wanted a bit of color and pretty.

This was painted with my Winston Newton travel palette.

Trimmed to fit on a 5x7 ish sized card in the portrait orientation on a True Thyme base.

A white quarter sheet insert and an ivory envelope.  A bit of a write and a stamp an it will be on it's way.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I managed to catch the eye of this American Robin up in a tree one morning this week on a walk in the neighbourhood.

Construction on every corner is making getting nature shot a bit difficult as well as driving in this area a zoo.

Photography has been hit and miss among the buying a place activities this week.  I hope those will conclude soon.

I joined 3 of my aunts to attend this art show at Harcourt House this week.

Diana Ohiozebau was born in Leeds, England and raised in Nigeria. Much of her work is on an African fabic called aso-oke. 

It has shine and ravels easily.

There were traditional fabric included in many of the painted pieces.

We headed down the street for Vietnamese food which was delicious and there was enough for supper.

I finished this book on Saturday early morning. I have not been sleeping well.

Project Hail Mary by Any Weir is a fantastic story.  A save the planet Earth scenario arises and Ryland Grace a school teacher is recruited to work on the space project that will send astronauts to Tau Ceti to find a way to reverse the solar dimming on our sun.

Ryland is voluntold he will be on this mission when an accident kills 2 of the astronauts who had been training for this critical mission.  

When he arrives he finds himself alone as the other 2 people on the ship have died during the passage.  He encounters a alien ship on a similar mission as his, so they partner to find the answer.  Since Rocky is a spider type beings many accommodation need to be made. He is a great engineer and can create many wonderful things to enable the success of the mission.  They save Earth and Erid.

A real page turner and it was hard to put it down at times. Recommended by my brother in law.

I attended the Grand Opening of Heavy Metal Place on Saturday.  The new home of the Spruce Grove Art Gallery and Allied Arts Council.

The weather was great as we stood outside then we were let into the wonderful atrium. Very crowded then the Brett Ryan arena was dedicated then we could view the High School show hanging on the walls. Barry was carving in the courtyard. 

It has been a lot of work for the staff and volunteers. I have not been able to participate as I have been busy getting a place to live.

Talented young people using a wide variety of mediums created art for us to enjoy.

Love the paper collage camera.

The celestial piece connected with my recent finishing of the space book that morning.

Watercolor is always my favorite medium with blue and yellow my favorite color combo.

I hope to be able to participate in the Open Arts Competition later this year.

The Wishing Jar by Penelope J. Stokes is a book I finished this week.

The Wishing Jar is a family tradition with a magical legend attached. It has been in the Quinn family for generations. It sits in a place of honor in a cabinet .

Abby is the mother of a teenager Neal Grace who is acting up. Her mother Edith has suffered a stroke and feels she has become a burden to Abby her daughter. 

The Quinn family motto - "Purity of Heart, Faithfulness of Soul".  

The Neal Grace comes to see her grandmother in a new light, Edith finds the strength to move forward and Abby find romance.  Great book

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 1

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May - Week 1.

I chose books for my May coverlet square.  I read a lot. I generally get my books from the Thrift Store, library book sales or the little Free Libraries in my area.

I started with a bookcase in brown thread.  I added a plant pot in blue on top with a green vine travelling along the left hand side of the square. 

I added a Little Free Library structure in the bottom left and corner in blue with bright books inside.  I added grass near the base of the library.

The stitch used is the outline stitch. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My first trip to Patricia Lake in the Griesbach neighbourhood.

There were a number of waterfowl about.  The weather was crisp but lovely.

Here is a beautiful Red Wing Blackbird hanging in last years' bulrushes.  I expect the couple is working on nest building and he is being protective.

I took a browse through the St. Albert Painter's Guild's Spring Show.

So many pieces of beautiful art.

A lot of mediums represented.

I met my aunt who had pieces in the show for lunch at the seniors center before our walk through the art.

An Orphan's Wish by Molly Green was the book I finished this week. 

A beautiful wartime story set in England in 1943.  Lana has lost her fiance to the fight with Germany over the seas.  She accepts a temporary position to teach children from the local village as well as the orphanage nearby.

One of the children there is not an orphan but the son of a German operative cooperating with the British forces. Priscilla has lost her parents and is adrift emotionally dealing with her grief.

The German man comes to visit his son and Lana catches his attention.  She is quite aware of him as well but he is the enemy who took her love so she is reticent to get involved.

Wonderful story and great read.

I headed over very early on Monday morning to have my say in this country's election.  The polling station was held in a church and they served goodies on our way out.  That was nice.

With that done, I headed out for my regular walk around the neighbourhood camera in hand.

The car was headed for his test later today.

My first Uber experience since the car had stay overnight.

A friend and I headed out for a supper out.

I have not eaten at this restaurant much but it been twice in a few months.

The food again was delicious and leftovers made another meal.

The car passed his compression test and had its software updated to warn if the engine is showing signs of the breakdown of the sealing rings.

Another ride with Uber to go and pick up the car.

R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton completed this week.

Kinsey is hired by a father to is keep an eye out on a felon daughter released from prison.

Bad habits are hard to break and when temptation of thousands of dollars appears Reba could not resist.

Then the owner of the money is motivated to get his money back.  Force is not out of the question and someone loses his life because of his association with Reba.

Another great book.  

I will soon have read all the books in this series.

Cards - Butterflies - Charity

Another few cards for I Win charity.

These are the last of the clear butterfly stickers I bought yesterday.

I chose Stampin Up Glorious Grape cardbase in A2 size and added a layer of watercolor background cardstock.  Not sure when I created this but it works well.

Added a strip of gold non shed glitter card stock across the top third.  Mounted the sticker onto the glitter.

I added a SU Small Oval greeting in coordinating colors and added a bit of purple around the edge to tone down the white.  Mounted with 3D foam tape.

Blank white quarter sheet insert.

I used the left over scrap of the watercolor background card stock on this Glorious Grape card base set in the wide or landscape orientation.

I added a non shed gold glitter corner on the right hand side of the watercolor layer adhered with double sided tape.

I mounted the butterfly sticker in the opposite corner.

The banner greeting was perfect for the space left by the shorter background layer.  It is mounted with 3D foam tape.

A white quarter sheet insert was added.

The final butterflies were warm toned so I turned to my favorite Stampin Up color - Summer Sun.

I dug in the origami paper envelope and found a burnt orange piece, cut it to size and mounted it to the card front.

I chose a scrap of paste paper in blue and cut to 2.5 inch square and mounted the butterfly to it. I added a strip of gold glitter to the bottom.

A SU Modern Label punchie in the same blue paste paper with a Word Window greeting in orange glued to the front.

A white quarter sheet insert was added.

I chose Summer Sun card base again with a bit brighter orange origami paper for this card.

I added a Pacific Point strip of card stock then mounted the butterfly onto it.  I like that the tips of the wings show off their bright colors.

I added a bit of non shed gold glitter card stock on the blue strip.

The greeting is the same blue card stock punched with the SU Modern Label punchie  with an orange Word Window greeting.  Mounted with 3D foam tape.

A white quarter sheet insert.

Another 4 cards for this charity.