Sylvia's Simple Shots

The critters are starting to stir if they were here all winter.  Others are arriving backs from the southern climes.

The White Squill is a perennial flower that is one of the first spring flowers.

 
Got some news on Sunday that the leader of our quilting group is moving away.  I have volunteered with her on women's ministries for many years. 

They were able to sell their house and will be moving to be near their daughter.

She has liquidated most of her fabric stash.  She brought odds and ends that needed a new home so I was grateful to receive zippers, serger thread, a bit of bias tape and a small box of buttons.

I found the smallest red heart buttons in this box.  They certainly will come in handy for Macro Monday challenges.

Thanks so much for sharing.

We will have lunch with before she goes.

I am so glad to have my tax return done for another year.

Now that I am retired it is so much easier but I seem to forget that and procrastinate.

It took only a few hours and it was done.

I had time to have a walk around Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park with my friend which I had not seen in a couple of months.

The red wing black birds had not returned yet.  I missed their distinctive calls.

The Canada Geese were jockeying for the best nesting places.

The water is very low so I hope all the birds find places to raise their young.

I attended the show where my aunt was displaying here old car watercolors.  They turned out really well. There was over 50 artists on display.

I met my other aunt and her husband at the venue.  We went for a walk along the Sturgeon River while we waited for the reception to start.

I is for Innocent by Sue Grafton is book I finished this week.

It`s always nice to reaquaint myself with Kinsey Malone the private investigator.  She has new work digs and is taking on work on her own.

Lonnie Kingman has hired her to continue work which Morley Shine was doing for him but he died suddenly.  Kinsey thinks it will be just a bit of final work and all the information will be ready for the civil suit.

David Barney was acquitted of the murder of his rich wife - Isabelle.  He is now spending her money - thank you very much.  Finding Morley`s files a but unorganized she needs to retrace some of those steps and redo interviews.

David`s story seems to be corroborated by evidence that he is innocent. 

ReUsable Make Up Remover Pads - Gift

I put together this gift of ReUsable Make Up Remove pads for my grand niece. 

It is always good to reuse and reduce and this way the pads came be washed and reused for a long time.

They are made from 2 layers of flannel with serged edges.  I will link to the detailed post here. 

The mesh bag included is for laundering this small pieces of flannel.

I made a card in Elegant Eggplant card base with a watercolor layer topped with stars and a greeting.

The greeting is punched with the Modern Label punch and off set with a piece which matches the card base.

I used turquoise stars with a grey one to coordinate with the watercolor piece.

Sewing Project - ReUsable Make Up Remover Pads

In my research to make these ReUsable Make Up Remover pads it was recommended that they should be made in different colors.  

Some make up will stain the pads and so the person using them should have the opportunity to select the color that would work best of the make up being removed.

These were cut to 2.75" square to custom fit the container I selected to put them in.

I chose square because cutting circles wastes fabric and does not provide a good start and ending point.

The colors selected for the medium toned ones was based on the recipient of these.

Her favorite color is purple.  Each of these are backed with the same fabric as the the front.

It can be fun to mix and match fabrics if you want to create pads with funky prints.

The serger thread is grey on one side and ivory on the other with the needle threads being grey which mostly goes with all colors.

I don't really want to rethread this machine too often.

I did find a good video on how to turn the corners with the serger.

One reviewer suggested black for the removal of mascara because it stains for sure.

I made a stack of each variety.  Several reviewers were suggesting 14 which does 2 weeks for 1 week if 2 are used each day for different removals.

Here's a stack of black flannel ones.

I bought is box to store the pads. I liked the fact that there were 3 different compartments for the three colors of pads.

The compartments are a bit taller than wide which allows for some place for your fingers to access the pads, especially when the stack is lower down in the box.

The lid will keep them clean and dust free.

Most of the postings on line suggested that laundry bag should be used to ensure these small fabric pads don't disappear in the laundry machine.

I recycled a mesh product from IKEA into this laundry bag.

Love the color.

I added a cord as a tie and the turquoise disc as a closure was made with my sister during my visit.

You can see the details in this post here.

Serging the edges of 2.75" inches of fabric become quite tedious and it takes a lot of thread so I am not sure I will be making too many more of these. But as a custom gift it was the perfect thing.

Photo Calendar - 4x6 Fridge Calendar - 2023

I found I needed a small calendar in several places and decided to create what would have been my fridge calendar for 2023.

I found a calendar on line that would work.

I then selected one of my images and cropped to the size I needed to fit the top of the calendar.

I had them printed as a 4x6 pearl print.  Normally for fridge calendars I would have mounted them onto card stock but for this situation I just left it as a 4x6.

I chose a bokeh image a while back.  Very neutral tones which could have been mounted on almost any color card stock.

At least now I have a reference in my daily devotional book and my photo challenge binder.

I will have new software next year when I have to do this again.

 

Card - Retirement and Moving

 

I made a card for my friend who is moving away to be close to her daughter. She has had health challenges in the last few years.  Her husband has now retired and they are looking forward to a new life in this new chapter.  

I found a landscape graphic on line and a drew this composition from it.  I wanted to have a road into the distance with a prairie landscape as they move one province to the east.  They will be close to grandchildren and family. 

I drafted the composition with pencil and I used my Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  I started with a light wash of light blue all over the piece of paper. I then painted the horizon line of trees. I laid a light layer of Always Artichoke. Of course, I needed it to have a yellow field which can be wheat, canola, barley, etc. I created a brown color for the road and painted it.  I had to be patient and used my heat gun to dry the layers before I moved to add dark elements to the sky, trees, road and yellow field. I love the pink flowers along the edge of the field.  Here in Alberta they would be roses but they don't bloom when the fields are yellow but it's my picture so I put them in.  It needed to have a gorgeous sun and a blue sky. 

Once I had my painting I scored a sheet of Baja Breeze card stock into a half sheet card.  I trimmed the edges to make sure it fit into my envelope.  It needed an anchor so I chose a length of Taken with Teal velvet ribbon and a wrapped on the inside of the card and brought the ends to the card front and taped them down.  I adhered the painting with 3D foam tape to allow space for the ribbon.  I pressed the card under heavy books for a few hours.  I added a white half sheet insert onto which I wished them both a happy new chapter in their lives.

Card - Thank You with Bees

I made a card for my niece who passed along a great deal on a Janome Serger earlier this year. After a servicing it has been working really well. 

I wanted a card with warm tones. I found a bee graphic on line that I liked then transferred some of the elements to watercolor paper.

I watercolored the background in a light shade of Daffodil Delight. The image was painted with Daffodil Delight and More Mustard. Outlined the elements with dark grey watercolor and a fine brush.  I then created a few shadow hexagons around the outlined ones which I think worked out really well.

Once dry, I mounted the painting onto a Summer Sun card in the A6 size (just a bit smaller than half sheet size).  I placed a piece of narrow stitched grosgrain ribbon in Basic Grey around the inside of the card and taped the ends to be under the watercolor layer.  I added a Modern Label punchie greeting with a yellow offset with a grey greeting on white.  I watercolored the white punchie to be just a little less stark.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

 

I visited the conservatory this week.  It was pretty busy and one of the pavilions was not available so that cut my visit short.   Despite the closure of the feature pyramid, the others provided some color and flowers.  I am grateful that I can visit any time with my annual pass. There will be another visit soon!

The Canada Geese are back! 

It is wonderful to hear their honking in the river valley.  Pairs a vying for prime real estate to make their nests and have their young.

The are such iconic birds for Canada.  It is amazing that they can raise chick with being so far from water.  Water is down in the ponds this year and things are so dry.

Many times this means the top of apartment buildings and I am not sure how the little ones get down but life moves on.

Gorgeous blue sky!

I upgraded my internet service this week.  I had been living with a very old plan as far as speed and data limit.

With the Roku TV the temptation is to watch more internet content so I had to move with the times and get with the service that would move me into a new era.

I was offered a much better plan for very little more than what I was paying.  The price I was paying was too much for the service I was getting.  That is what happens when we get stuck in the old ways.

This should see me into getting more fitness content.

Sugar and Salt by Susan Wiggs is the book I finished this week.

Margot Salton has always dreamed of owning her own restaurant.  When she finds a space in San Francisco who is offering a shared commercial kitchen with the bakery next door it seems to be a good opportunity.  Ida Sugar along with her son Jerome owns the bakery next door. Margot and Ida hit it off right from the start.

Margot has learned cooking from her mother and the barbecue business from her mentor who took her under his wing when she needed a strong support.

When her past from Texas comes a calling she has to deal with it.  She is not sure that Jerome will still be around when he finds out her troubles.

The book has a good ending and it was a great read.

I have been enjoying this PBS British series on ROKU.

The practice is James Heriot's legendary practice now led by Peter and Julian.

They treat all animals from house hold pets, exotic pets, livestock like cattle, goats, sheep, and lamas.

There is always heart warming stories of these precious animals that are very important to their owners.

They are supported by a large team of other vets, vet nurses and admin support staff.  It is one big family.

I am enjoying it very much.   Nice hour of great content.

The hares in the river valley are brown!

The mornings are still very cool this week but things are looking up weather wise.

This guy was munching on the new green grass that is emerging from the dried bit on the forest floor.

These are quite skittish but I managed a decent shot.

I am so looking forward to spring and more light, more warmth.

Spring is here!

Cards - Birthday

A birthday card for my brother in law.

The card base is Soft Suede.  

I found a piece of watercolor background I made in early January that worked for a guy card.  

I followed a tree image from one I found on line with a dark grey marker.

I then watercolored the tree with brown that I mixed and a green which is a mixture of Always Artichoke and Garden Green.

I mounted on a scrap of black card stock leaving a small border all the way around. Adhered with 3D foam tape. A narrow strip of black card stock under the focal element.

The greeting is a SU Word Window punchie on a black Su Modern Label punchie.

 

I added a Stampin Up Modern Label punchie greeting to this sunflower card for my sister who has a birthday next week.

The sunflower was stamped with Memories permanent black ink.  I then watercolored it. I ripped the edge on all 4 sides.

I mounted it to one of my small handmade paper sheets in a warm yellow.  This was adhered to a white card with hot glue.

These are off in the mail this morning.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

We had the reception for the "It's a Tactile World" show this week. 

The pieces were from the Allied Arts Council and the Sculptors' Association of Alberta.

I loved the felted wool tea cup, the mobile of rice paper and a small ceramic vase with wax dipped nature. It is a great show and nice to have other artists share our space.

I added another Leslie Sansone DVD to my collection to offer me a lot of variety of routines for my areobic session.

I did some research about ones I would like and sure enough this one was at the thrift store this week.

I am sticking to a 30 minute areobic session as I want to add a walk outside as a warm up before the session and my regular shoulder and knee exercises following.  That comes to 1.5 - 2 hours of exercise activity a day.

Three Weeks in Paris by Barbara Taylor Bradford is my second by this author. 

Four girls attended the prestigious Anya Sedgwick School of Decorative Arts in Paris seven years ago.  They have been invited back to celebrate Anya's 85 birthday.  The girls had a falling out just before graduation and are unsure about how they will be received by the former friends. 

The four have flourished in their respective careers but some are struggling in their personal lives. Infertility, tragic disappearance of a lover, divided loyalties, and doubts about her work are some of the issues faced by the girls.  Anya wants the past conflict resolved before her party so she has arranged a get together to work it all out.

Once communication is restored the girls work on solving the problems they face. 

There are happy ends for each of the girls and a glamorous party for Anya.

I have started cooking pasta in my rice cooker.  What a game changer.  I no longer have to stand at the stove to stir and mind the cooking.  It's always whole wheat or whole grain for me so it takes longer. 

Pasta, water, and a bit of oil set it to cook and just check on it a couple of times during the time it is cooking.  

Loving it!

The Unfinished Garden by Barbara Claypole White.  This was a great read.

James Nealy has sold his business and moved to deal with the noise in his head. He has a plan to build a garden at his new house which will help him deal with his greatest fear.  When he meets Tilley Silverberg who has wonderful gardens and runs a wholesale garden business he believes she can help him.  She is not so sure.

Tilley returns to England due to a family emergency. The small village is pretty much the same but the characters involved prove challenging.  Her best friend, an ex lover, her mother, and suddenly James is in England too!

Once Tilley and James start working on a garden project together they come to see how they can help each other.  Very good book!

I was looking for some supports to raise the TV so that the music player and the DVD player could live below it.

These wooden crates were a great solution.  It adds storage as well which can be hidden but makes my exercise video readily available.  They will have to be sanded and oiled.

It's a Tactile Show - My Submission

It's a Tactile World is a joint show with the Sculptor’s Association of Alberta and the Allied Arts Council.  We received a good number of entries from our art club so I think this will be a great show.

The reception is Saturday, April 15th 1-3 pm.

My piece is titled - Alberta Skies. 

It measures 12.5" in diameter and is about 18 inches tall.

It was woven as an abstract but when I came to title it I rotated several different ways and hung it on the wall to see what spoke to me.

This presentation made me think of our blue skies, the yellow is for sure sunshine color, some of the blues make me think of water and the wavy frilly piece makes me think of wheat or canola fields.

I  kept the colors cohesive and I am happy with how it turned out.

This is my first attempt at a weaving project.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

 

Thanks to my sister who has a bird feeder outside her living room window I got the woodpecker and the chickadee.  The house finch was found on my walk outside in the river valley.  

I am so happy to be walking outside again.  The legs are strong and spring is here.

I finished this book a early this week - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce.  It is a companion and followup to her other book. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.  Queenie is in a hospice facing the end of her life on earth and Harold's letters and postcards start arriving.  Once the cat is out of the bag, everyone in the building is taking an interest.

She has support from her fellow residents and the staff also take in interest.

It's been 3 years since I read the Harold book so some of the details are a little fuzzy.  Would have been nice to have it to refer to but these days I read books and pass them onto the little library.  I don't hold onto them anymore.  It's okay.

Would recommend both of these books.  The author has a few more so I will keep an eye out for those.

The sutures from my tooth extraction came out on Thursday! I was so happy.  They were very loose and long and sometimes I felt I was going to swallow them.

With turkey on the menu for Easter it was a true blessing to eat normal.

The wound has healed wonderfully.

I am back to taking the stairs.  I started taking the elevator during the pandemic so I would not have to touch handrails. 

The stairs at my sisters' houses, the stairs here at home, the stairs in the river valley are all giving me the workout I need to key my legs and knees in good shape.

Wonderful feeling

Sophie's World by Joosten Gaarder was originally written in Norwegian and then translated to English.

I should have paid more attention to the tag line - A novel about the history of philosophy.  I would have been better prepared to read about ancient history.  It was very interesting.

I did not read all of this book.  When I got more than halfway and the philosophy continued I just went to the last 2 chapters and read those.

Sophie and Hilde are in different realms and share the same birth date. They try to figure out who is the other.  Teachers come along to help with the understanding of the philosophies and the history.

A different kind of book but very informative about ways of looking at things, religion in our world, art, and much more.

We celebrated Easter with as many of us that could attend.  My sister hosted.  It was the first celebration without Mom or Dad in attendance. We all brought sometime to share with the others.

We went through Mom's stuff which was all brought to my sister's place when Mom passed in January. There was clothes, jewelery, CDs and DVD's, and a bit more.

We each took what we wanted, then some was donated to second hand stores, some was garbaged, and some will be passed down to the grandchildren and great grandchildren.

We had to go through ALL the pockets.  We found little pouches of money, combs, and her name and address on little pieces of paper.

It brings closure. The funeral and interment was discussed 

Have a great week!

Sympathy Card - Serene WC

I made a sympathy card for friend's who lost their son unexpectedly a few weeks ago due medical issues.

He was in his 50's and passed way too young.

It has to be a hard thing to deal with - the loss of a child.

I used one of the backgrounds I made ages ago and added a river, trees, and rocks.

I mounted the watercolor onto black card stock then adhered it with 3D foam tape to a Soft Suede A2 card base.

I added a black sentiment punchie in the bottom right hand corner.

Tactile Weaving - My First Attempt

I first found the 12" bamboo embroidery hoop at the ReUse Ctr along with sunshine yellow wool roving for free.

That is when I decided Okay I guess I'm going to give this project a try.

The yellow cotton thread is what I used for the warp thread which is where the yarn and interesting fiber will be woven into.

With the ring being bamboo I did not feel it would take paint well so I decided to stick with the warm honey tone.

I started gathering coordinating supplies.

Wrapping the warp thread around the hoop went pretty well. 

There is math involved to figure out how much thread you need so I found that on the web somewhere.  I believe and odd number is best.  I had a few issues with 38.

I tied all the threads together and I wanted the focal point not to be in the center.  At this stage it is quite movable so I just moved it to the right a bit.

Here the warp thread is not tied.

I pulled together yellow, blue and white supplies together.

Some acrylic yarn, cotton thread, wool roving, wooden beads, wooden rings, some fancy yarn and long needles/crochet hooks to help me pull the weft through the weaving.

You will notice that I had not put the outer hoop onto this inside one which made it very difficult to keep my warp threads evenly spaced.

Things went a lot better once the warp thread had been evenly spaced and  the outside hoop was screwed tight.

Here are my first weft threads.  I chose to put some yellow cotton at the focal point.  It helps to make the warp thread disappear when it is the same thread in the weft.

I then started adding color in the navy yarn on the right hand side.

After that it was adding texture, color and resisting just wrapping all my weft fibers around the focal point.

The sparkly white yarn added texture and hid the warp threads nicely.

The yellow wool roving was luxurious and smooth which added a different texture to the weaving.

Loved that the wavy yarn was the same color as the roving.

I added beads in the weaving as well as on the hanger to add texture and color.

The wonderful grosgrain ribbon has recently been acquired as a leftover from some project - maybe from my niece.

I really wanted to hide the screw tighthener at the top of the outer hoop.

The ribbon was over 1" wide and with a bit of planning the solution presented itself.

The hanger adds color and height to the final piece.

All the pieces came together so nicely.

The piece I decided would hang so that required a bit of something at the end of the ribbon.

The large wooden ring was oiled to bring out the wood grain.

This added texture and color to the overall presentation of the weaving.

The white bead repeated the shapes and colors in the weaving itself.

It was sewn in place with some of the yarn in the piece which added to the cohesion of the elements.

I created a back for the piece to hide the knots and transitions between fibers.

I cut a piece of navy microfiber fabric just a wee bit smaller than the outside hoop.  I serged the edge to finish it off nicely.  I then hot glued it in place on each warp thread which will help those stay in place.

I have attached a credit label printed on fabric which has been hand sewn to this backing fabric.

I pinned the gallery's information tag with a safety pin.

The final piece will be revealed when the show opens next week.

Card Kits - Flowers

I volunteered to help my sister prepare card kits for my other sister`s daycare.

I first assembled the flower main accents.  Onto the yellow brad I placed a white flower sequin, then a yellow small silk flower, then a medium white one, then a pink bit larger one then a blue large silk flower.  I pressed the prongs of the brad apart on the back. I added a large Zot glue dot still on it`s release paper.

I selected the card stock to match the color of the flower accent.  Here, I choose navy blue.  The various kits feature red, green, turquoise, pink, and peach. The card base measured 11 inches wide and 8.25 inches tall. I scored it at 5.5 inches and folded in half.

I selected green plaid glitter paper to suggest the greenery for the flower.  I cut the plaid paper to 3.25 inches wide and 7 7/8 inches tall which allowed a full 9 scallops.  

The scallops were punched with a Martha Stewart border punch on both side of the strip of glitter paper.

I included a white insert measuring 5 x 8 inches and yellow envelope.

With the card already folded, the green glitter band is adhered onto the card front, the release paper is removed from the back of the flower accent and it is adhered onto the green plaid strip. The white insert is glued to the right hand side of the fold on the inside of the card.  I made 23 kits and provided 1 actual card sample and instructions for the staff. 

All put together, ready to deliver on the Easter weekend.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

We had regimental funerals for 2 police officers killed in the line of duty recently.  It was held at the arena where thousands of officers attended from all over North America.

One was going to be a Dad this summer and both were married.  A very sad day for our city.

The young man who killed them also shot his mother and killed himself so a tragedy all the way around.

Mental health is so important and it's hard to measure when one has slipped over the edge.  Help is sometimes hard to access on an emergency basis and comes too late for some.

It is important to take care of ourselves everyday.

With my sewing machine in a desk I take cutting work to quilting on the Mondays that we get together.

It's a great time to connect with like minded souls and see the projects are working on.  I had a good visit with a former work colleague who is looking forward to more time to sew later this year as retirement becomes a reality.

I cut about 20 unPaperTowels which remain unserged as I write this.  It will happen in due course.

This green polka dot flannel is gorgeous feeling.

The left overs will go to the make up remover pad project.

This is reflected sunshine that I see from my chair just about supper time these days.

It reflects off the windows of the huge apartment building which was put up a few blocks away in the last couple of years.  Construction did not slow down during the pandemic here.

I loved how it created stars through the trees.

Warmed my heart since it still cold outside with snow on the ground.

Everyone is asking when will spring arrive. I have say I am envious as I watch a couple of my regular Youtubers planting veggies and flowers.

Last week when I visited my sister she helped with the Reusable Make Up Remover Pad project by cutting circles for the ties on the laundry bags.

I can now go ahead and make the bags and get a step closer to the end.

I should test the bags out to see how permeable they are in the washing process before I get carried away.

I will work on that next week.

We cut the circles with the Sizzix red original 4 circle die.  The second smallest make the circles about 1.5 inches in diameter then I used a circle punch for the smaller holes for the thinner cord and the larger punch on the Crop-a-Dile for the larger cord.  Love the color.

These are a couple of books that I started in the last couple of weeks but just did not finish.  I debated whether to document them but it is good know that I touched these books and made an effort to read them.

This one was great!  The Aphothecary's Garden by Jeanette Lynes presents the life of  Lavendar Fitch who lives in Belleville Ontario in Victorian times.  She lives in her childhood home with a young man which she considers as a brother as he was brought into the home when he was a baby. Her mother and father have both passed away.  Her mother was a harpist and supported her husband in his Apothecary business. 

Lavendar loves her garden which she inherited from her mother.  She learned many things about herbs and remedies at her mother's knee.  She earns a bit of living by selling her wares at the train station - the garden flowers in the summer and evergreen wreaths harvested from the woods nearby at Christmas.  

A famous medium Allegra Trout comes to Belleville accompanied by Robert Trout who is quite disfigured. She conducts tea leaf readings,  tarot card readings all the while preparing for the major event of a Mystical Extravaganza to be held all hallow's eve - October 31st.

The town is a buzz. She influences the dress of the day when the ladies want the type of dress she wears, the shoes and hats she wears.

Robert buys all of Lavendar's flowers the day they arrive at the train station. Lavendar is grateful and is intrigued by this mysterious man. 

The story has some interesting developments and has a wonderful ending.  I really enjoyed this book. 

I have not looked up the streets mentioned the book but having spent some time in Belleville I am tempted.

This is a small piece of a wool painting I saw a the Art Gallery of Albert which I visited with aunt on Friday.  The gift shop had some pieces for sale but I am not sure they were by the same artist.

We went to see the Canadian Art collected by the Sobey family.  Many old pieces in the traditional styles. 

Three of the galleries were under installation so the amount of art was limited.  

We had lunch at a restaurant nearby L'Espresso Organic Cafe - soup and panni was very good.