On the Road Again

It's been a wonderful couple of weeks.

The weather has been cooperative

and we took advantage once again to travel,

this time to the northermost coast of Cape Breton

to paddle this

as well as do a little sightseeing.

Plus, there has been plenty of yard work to do

and small home improvement projects,

altho' I have managed to get in a little sewing time.

I set up this small table topper as my 'to go project'

for our northern adventure

because the hexie quilt I've been working on

is getting too big to be a 'to go project' now.

This is only as much as I accomplished

due to the many distractions.

***

When my young friend in Houston announced  

that she was adding a son to her family in October, 

and was decorating his room with a nautical theme,

I began making his quilt

inspired by THIS post from Melissa

at Cornbread and Beans Quilting.

I just need to square it up and put on the binding.

And I finally finished Patty's 60th birthday quilt.

I'd appliqued these blocks while sitting with an elderly neighbor 

of my daughter's three winters ago, so her husband could go bowling 

a couple of days a week with his buds and take a well deserved break.

Only my second FMQ attempt, I was very pleased with the results,

although it isn't exactly perfect! 

(This quilt is living proof that I eventually DO finish what I start.

Little Sister, who's been waiting 6 years for her 

25th anniversary signature quilt,

will be glad to hear that!!)

That just leaves the label,

which is under construction.

It dawned a windy, wet, cool day today -

so there will be lots of quilty pleasure in my forecast!

Hope you have as much fun,

however you choose to spend your day!

~karen

A Love Affair

Ahhhhhh,

I am loving my new Janome.

This is UFO #3,

Flowers for Hannah

from the Sept/Oct 2009 issue of Fons and Porter's 

Love of Quilting Magazine.

I'm keeping it simple as I learn and practice on this colorful quilt,

a birthday gift for a lifelong friend.

My childhood was a gypsy's journey,

and acquaintances came and went,

but I've known this woman since the day she was born

in April of 1955.

A 60 year friendship deserves special recognition.

I love to make things for the people in my life

that I hold dear to my heart.

For Christmas this past year,

I gifted this wallhanging to The Ranger.

I copied it from one of his favorite prints.

It measures approximately 20" x 30".

Sew many things to make,

sew little time!

Back to work!!

I'm having a quilty day,

and hope you are, too!

xo,

karen

Into the Tobiatic, Day 1

How silly of me to worry about having time
to spend on my new sewing machine.
Our weather hasn't been the greatest!
This morning, it's 68 degrees and raining.  Oh, darn!
I'll have to stay in and practice my FMQing.

But lookie where I've been
when a stretch of nice weather was in the forecast!

It was my pleasure and delight

(ticks be damned!)

to have had the unique opportunity to do a little wilderness camping

in the SW interior of Cape Breton.

We were rained on a little,
but it was all just part of the adventure.

The Tobiatic Wilderness Area,

protected under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act

and designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve,

 encompasses over 257,000 acres of ultimate beauty.

Included in the Biosphere Reserve is Kejimkujik National Park,

the darker green area on the map,

with an area of 156 square miles.

(So yes, I had to do the math for the Tobiatic.  

257,000 acres equals 401.5 square miles.)

I hardly know where to begin,

or just what to say.
I was totally entranced.

The area is rife with landscapes influenced by glaciation-

outwash plains, eskers, kames, drumlins, and moraine ridges.
the last glacier passing through a mere 10,000 years ago.

These massive boulders, known as erratics, 

are strewn about everywhere,

including in the middle of the lake.

Evidence of inhabitants occupying the area 

date back more than 5000 years.

The Mi'kmaq Indians were present 400 years ago

when the first Europeans appeared.

Perhaps they pulled their canoes up into this very same spot.

Hope they watched out for the frogs!

Pickerel Frog
(Rana palustrus)

Green Frog
(Rana  clamitans melanota)

During our 13 miles of paddling

over two days,

there were little distractions around every bend,

We came across an active beaver's dam.

In the middle of one night, I was awakened by a loud

and mighty slap, splash, 

when a beaver felt threatened by something

lurking in the darkness,

and slapped the water's surface with his might tail

as a warning.

It was quite the awakening!

And even thought I didn't 'see' it,

it was exciting to hear.

Anyway, all along the shore of the lake were areas

showing slides in the mud 

used by the beavers to slip into the water.

So cool.

The Ranger waited patiently while I spent 

what must have seemed like forever

floating among the waterlilies

enraptured by all the dragon- and damselflies.

They don't mind sharing space.

Seeing a bear on an old logging road is one thing,

but being able to observe one REALLY in nature,

foraging along the shore,

was a whole new experience.

One more bear sighting, and I'll be able to declare 2014

as The Year of the Bear!

But at the moment,

it's The Day of FMQ,

so off to my new machine I go.

Have a great day

in your little corner of the world.

xo,

karen

Housewarming Giftie

I was so excited to receive

Loft Creations new Housewarming PDF pattern

from Connecting Threads' Gifty Galore Projects,

that, as soon as I downloaded it, I couldn't resist making one.

I didn't even stop what I was doing!

I just dug out my 1-1/2" strip bag,
dumped it onto the floor,

chose and cut my strips to length,

and fed the project right in with the block I was already chain piecing.

In no time at all, I had a finished block, 

and an almost finished house!

The possibilities are endless.

They scream to be fun and fanciful,

but my friend is a serious, no-nonsense gal,
from the prairies of western Canada,
who just bought a house overlooking the harbor.

So, I made her a fun, no-nonsense Housewarming Giftie!
The back is a pocket, perfect for tucking a card.

This, despite the distractions outside my sliding glass door.

Female Hairy Woodpecker-check out that tongue!

I also couldn't resist Stephanie's Prairie Tote any longer,

and it's next up at my sewing machine!
I'm auditioning fabrics now.
I love Stephanie's patterns and have purchased and made
so many of her 'creations' over the years,
that she has her own notebook on my crafts bookshelf!

A big thank you to Stephanie for keeping them coming!!

Crossing the Line

Time for a new post, eh?

(That's Canada speak!)

The good news is that summer has finally decided

to make an appearance.
Whew!!

The bad news is that the weather decided to change 

just when I picked up my new....

...Janome Horizon 8200!!

It's kind of difficult to stay indoors to play

when opportunities like this beg to be taken advantage of!

But I spent a few minutes each evening

getting my new machine set up and ready to go.

Now I'm practicing my FMQing so I can start my first quilt.

It'll be a small one!

I'm finding that I do great when I'm just working

on a simple sandwich,

but when I try to quilt something pieced,

my FMQ foot bogs down at the seam allowances,

making for some pretty jerky movements.

Aren't I supposed to be able to 'cross the line'?

I'll figure it out sooner or later.

Update:  A screw on the FMQ foot itself?

Who knew?

I always keep a project on the work table

so I can pass by, sit for a minute, and take a stitch or two.

Here are a couple of For Pink's Sake blocks

I constructed,

compliments of 

The Crafty Quilter

Between paddling and working in the yard,

it took me four days to put them together,

but they were so worth the wait!!
I love them and

I look forward to making them in a different color.

Four more owl pillows

sit patiently upon the craft counter

waiting to be stuffed.

Once completed, that makes 7.

Only 5 more to go.

This Mourning Cloak

(Nymphalis antiopa)

has been keeping me company most mornings

while I enjoy my coffee in the early morning sun,

contemplating my day's activities.

It's so rich and velvety looking.

I hope you are enjoying some rich and velvety

summer days!

~karen

For Pink's Sake

I became aware of this project

when visiting

Julie at The Crafty Quilter

this morning.

Another great blog hop,

this one in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

This is something we've all been effected by

one way or another.

I just happen to have an extra pink block

to donate to the cause.

and will be slipping it into the mail

when Monday rolls around.

(There are no mail services in Nova Scotia on Saturdays)

Any block 4" or larger would be greatly appreciated.

Mine is 8.5" unfinished.

I think I'll include a couple of strips of pink

in case she wants to make it bigger

by adding a border.

Read more about how you can donate HERE!

I haven't been doing very much sewing,

but did start a summer long service project of my own.

One day a week, I am going to work on Owlivia pillows -

no pressure, no stress.

My goal is to complete a dozen pillows

before I migrate South in the fall,

then donate them to our local RCMP Hdqtrs.

so they will have something in their patrol cars

when a call involves a child or two.

Here are my first 3.

My "to go" project has gotten too big

to go, so the few evenings I sit with a movie,

I've been working on this afghan.

Here's my neat little pile that sits at the foot of the couch.

This is for my friend, The Ranger, who DOESN'T 

migrate south for the winter months.

I couldn't find any coordinating yarn that pleased me,

so just went with brown.

I think it turned out okay.

Lastly, here is a UFO that I've committed to finish.

I'm trying very hard not to start anything new.

Hope you have a nice weekend!

Send me some sunshine, please.

~karen

A Bear-y Good Day

 

Whenever there is a break in the weather,

we try to go somewhere for a hike

or a paddle.

 

A few days ago, we headed to a mature hardwood forest.

As soon as I got out of the truck,

 I heard the ethereal song of a hermit thrush.

 

 

I remember the very first time I ever heard one sing.

It was so beautiful,

it stopped me dead in my tracks.

 

Have a listen!

 

 

 

   I had always been a backyard birder,

 but this was the defining moment

that turned me into a

birder-at-large!

 

As we were driving into this forested area,

The Ranger was telling me how,

the last time he was there, he saw a bear.

As he was relating his story to me,

I was watching along the edge of the forest,

looking for birds, of course,

and thought I could see the outline of a bear.

But the trees were so thick, I was sure my eyes

were just playing tricks on me.

 

He parked the truck a few minutes later,

and when we looked up,

what do you think we saw?

 

First one stepped out of the forest's edge, then another....

 

Black Bear

 

....not 75-100 yards in front of us.

Pictured here is the second one, a bit larger than the first.

Probably the mom; the other, perhaps, a two year old.

 

She did turn and face us,

but by the time I felt confident enough to quietly open the truck door

without scaring her off so I could step out to take a clear picture,

she was already ambling away, unconcerned.

 

My other photos, taken through the windshield,

didn't come out very clearly.

 

So, off we went, into the forest.

And exactly where I thought I saw the bear through the trees,

was sign that they had,

indeed,

just been there...

 

 

...foraging for a tasty treat.
Grubs, most likely.
 

We spend a lot of time in the forests all around Nova Scotia,

and this is a first for me!!

 

We also came across a lovely beaver dam.

 

 

The water level was right up to the top!

It was easily 3 or 4 feet high.

 

Birdsong filled the air and

spring flowers littered the forest floor,

with the promise of more to come.

 

It was, indeed, a bear-y good day in the forest.

 

Hope you've had the opportunity

to get out and enjoy a little of

Mother Nature's blessings!

~karen