The French Have It

 

During the summer months,

I reside in a French Acadian community.

 

It was suggested that I translate my dresden plate word circles

 

 

into French and place them in the local crafts store.

 

Here is my first one,

a wallhanging,

ready to be quilted.



(20" x 20")





It translates to: 

Whatever is lovely,

fill your mind with these thoughts.

 

I embroidered the saying and appliqued the dresden plate

to a linen napkin I picked up at the thrift store for 50 cents.

There was enough left over after cutting to use as a border,

and to make some Monograms by Jenny of Elefantz

for lavender sachets for my friends.

 

It's already layered and basted,

and I've started machine quilting it,

very slowly,

with my new walking foot.

 

I'm a little frustrated.  My machine is ancient,

but I absolutely love it.

The needle is permanently in the center.

But when I hook up the walking foot,

the needle is to the left of the center of the foot.

It is making it difficult to see what I'm doing

and to do what I'm seeing!

I'm sure I'll adjust

with practice.

 

So far, so good.

 

Slippery Slope

 

I don't know if I have the appropriate words

to describe this latest hiking adventure.

 

But after a long and arduous climb down

a forested, muddy, slippery trail,

this is what I heard and saw.

(Keep in mind, I'm NO videographer!!)

 

 

There were a few moments during the climb down

that I was outright scared

and didn't think I could continue.

However, with The Ranger encouraging me

every step of the way,

"Spread yourself out like a spider.",

was I EVER rewarded for my bravery.

 

Photo compliments of The Ranger

It was virtually a tropical rain forest,

right here in the middle of Cape Breton,

 

 

lush, green carpets of moss,

 

 

the foliage dripping from the moisture...

...warm, dark, humid, musty...
You know,

if Robin Hood stepped out from behind a large fern,

 

 

it wouldn't have surprised me in the least!



Photo compliments of The Ranger



Other Worldly

Photo compliments of The Ranger

Only three quarters of a mile from the beginning of the trail,

it took 1.5 hours to hike back to the truck,

the climb up being much faster than the climb down.

 

Looking at the pictures,
I can't believe I was really there!



Keeping Up

The sun is finally shining on my parade,

so I'm not indoors sewing today!

Just popped in for a bite of lunch.

However, I do have things to share today.

This Pieced Block #3

from One Piece at a Time

of her Jingle Belle's BOM.

Applique Block #4 pieces are cut out,

and construction is ready to begin.

Can't believe I'm actually keeping up!

eHere is a quick peek

of her previously posted blocks.

I started them in TX

and managed to

stay organized

and pack all the fabrics used,

knowing I had more scraps,

here at home,

to pull from as needed.

Not the greatest picture,

but at least it confirms

that I do more than

stalk birds, butterflies,

and dragonflies.

I also finished a comfort quilt for a friend diagnosed with luekemia,

just a 16 patch scrappy quilt, perfect for a man person.

It's headed to the long-arm quilter, a very sweet lady

who has just acquired a machine, and has agreed to 'practice'

on my comfort quilt for free!



Pollinator Week

You all know how I feel about enjoying and preserving nature.

No need for me to reinvent the wheel when

Michelle did such an awesome job

sharing this very important information.

 

I know most of you love your gardens.

Take an extra minute to visit  Michelle's post

to learn more!



 

The Sun is Shining Somewhere!

 

With more rain in the forecast,

it doesn't look as though I'll be getting out very soon.

(How much 'guilt free' sewing can a girl do?)

So, I thought I'd revisit some earlier sunny days

during my recent visit to Florida.

 

 

I was quite enamored with this little killdeer

who sat religiously on her nest,

rain or shine.

 

But one day, as I walked past her, she was stretching her legs.

 

 

When I looked 'killdeer' up in the bird book,

it said they generally have 4 blotchy, spotted, brownish eggs.

So, I zoomed in and looked all around the rocks

where she made her nest,

and lo and behold,

 

 

I know, I know, they are difficult to see.

I'll try zooming in on them a little.

 

 

Still hard to see, but that's the point, isn't it?

Mother Nature designed the eggs to be camouflaged.

 

But she didn't give the poor little killdeer much common sense.

They aren't very discriminating where they build their nests.

 

 

This one is in an empty trailer lot

inbetween the 2nd and 3rd trailer on the left.

Silly birds!

 

 



 



BlogLovin

I'm told I need to do this
so people can find me in the future.

I'm not sure, but here goes.
(It's kind of scary.)
But if Carrie is ready to take the plunge,
so am I.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

 

I put a button on the sidebar, too.

 

I made cookies to sell at the first Farmer's Market of the season.

Here's a peek.  I looked at several online, then picked my favorite

and went from there. 

 

And my centerpiece.

 

 

Like the tacky tissue paper?

Up here in the boonies, there aren't any stores

that carry shredded, crinkled tissue paper,

so I had to 'make do'.

 

Have a great day!

~karen



 

 

Bloggers Meeting Bloggers

 

I'm still around!

It has been rainy, windy, and cold

since my return to Cape Breton.
 

But the sun was shining today as I traveled
with fellow quilter/blogger,

Lesley, from The Cuddle Quilter,

to the most delightful little quilt show.

 

 

Sheila, at Sheila's Quilt World,

belongs to this quilt guild

and she had some beautiful pieces on display.

I felt so blessed to finally meet her.

Sheila gifted us each with beautiful mug rugs!

Thanks, Sheila!!

 

 

Here are Sheila and Lesley, admiring one of Sheila's wallhangings.

 

But, wait!  It gets even better!

 

 

Linda, from Scrapmaster,

drove up from Halifax with her family to meet us there!

Here she is showing us a new bag she made

and brought with the intentions of filling it...

and fill it, she did! 

Linda also won one of the door prizes!

 

After a most delightful chat over tea and treats,

we said our goodbyes, with promises to meet up again one day.

 

Four bloggers in one day!

Can't beat that!

When I got home, I could not wait

to share.

 

A special thank you to the lovely Lesley

for encouraging me to join her,

and for driving a little bit out of her way

to bring me all the way home,

safe and sound.