Thought for the day.

"Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special" Brian Dyson

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, productive and happy 2009. May all your dreams
come true - Shirley

Good morning!

The weather is not nearly as bad as it was that past 3 weeks. It is still cold but not bitter.

I finished binding and making the bag to hold 'The Three Sisters' so it is nice that it is done and I can go on with something else. I am debating what to start next - Seriously thinking of doing another wildflower quilt, using Alberta wild flowers in a fields, something like my
'Poppies and wildflowers' that I did last year. I had never done one like it before, and
I really enjoyed making it. The next picture for the series will likely be Mt. Rundle again as the one I just finished was a gift. I hope to do 5 or 6 of the Rockies over the next year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our 'little one' spent the day with us yesterday. We worked on some 'Art' with Nana, and then she went outside with Papa and played in the huge snow drift right outside our
patio of our condo. She played outside for an hour and the two of them came in
completed covered with snow. She is coming for a sleepover on New Year's eve so that
her parents can celebrate the New Year together. We enjoy having her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are taking a bit of a break on learningfa - we take the Christmas week off without
doing any classes, as everyone is so busy. I am looking forward to the classes we have
planned for 2009. One that will be very useful, is the beginner Quilting group by Deb- she will walk everyone through making a quilt from beginning to end and then follow up in the spring with instructions for quilting the finished top. There is lots of interest shown
for this class and I just posted it on learning fa.
---------------------------------------
Well, I think I will have another cup of coffee and decide what I am going to work on next.
Have a good day, everyone! Shirley

Thought for the Day!

" Count your blessings, not your crosses ------ Count your gains, not your losses -------Count your joy instead of woes, ----------Count your friends instead of your foes---------Count your health, not your wealth." Old Proverb

A Chinook arch arrived this morning!

which means a warm wind. The weather is now a great deal warmer. It is around 2 above C or approximately 32F. Much better after the bitter bitter weather we have been enduring here. I have posted pictures of Chinook arches previously but this one was really welcome-it is great to have the Chinooks in this part of Alberta - as it seems to give us a break.

I hope your weather, whereever it is bad, improves very soon.

Two of my recent works

I just finished a winter wall hanging for Debbie who is my 'daughter' (we decided l0 years ago that I was her second 'Mom" which is an honor indeed). I did this winter scene
with the mountains in it as she is now living up north and doesn't see the Rockies.
---------------------------------------------------------
I also finished the 'Three Sisters' as part of the series I plan on doing of the Canadian Rockies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shirley

Thought for the day!

'You can no more blame your circumstances for your Character, than you can blame the mirror for your looks" unknown

This and that

Good morning everyone! I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas! We did. Our
little grand daughter is the best age for Christmas and it was a joy to see her opening her gifts and welcoming us all. She was so sweet. It was very relaxing and the dinner was great.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today is our big shopping day, something like the day after Thanksgiving in the States, but not quite as overwhelming. The stores open early and it is a good time to pick up bargains.
Not for me though , I am quite happy to stay at home and work on a wall hanging.
=======================
I am reading a good book by Barbara Taylor Bradford - "The Heir" and I also have the following book for the same series "Being Elizabeth" I love her books.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally it is turning a bit warmer here in Calgary - thankfully. I don't remember a
long spell as cold as this one has been. It is still cold but when it is -28 - 30 C with a windchill at least l5degrees colder it is pretty hard to take. Hard on our cars, hard on the roads (as we got a huge snow storm which added to the problems) - oh well, that is what we get every once in awhile in this part of the world. It seems that all over North America the weather has been bad and flying a real problem.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have taken a hiatus for the Christmas season, from our Learningfa group but will be
getting a good start right after the New Year. We have some great classes organized and
I do hope you will join us if you want to take some of our classes. We will have a
new class ' Learning to quilt from scratch" where you will learn how to quilt from beginning to end. We will carry on with our Thread painting classes for those who are
signed up. We are also going to have a blogger l01 class, a 'make a little book' class.
I will be teaching the a landscape course, and that is just some of our classes. We will also be teaching repeats so do go to the group and join us.

Take care everyone! Shirley

Thoughts

" From Home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another. The warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other."
- Emily Matthews

Memories of Christmas eve,

So many happy memories of Christmas eve. When I was a child we sometimes used to go skating
on Christmas eve with all our friends, and then home for hot chocolate with marshmallows.----------


When I got into my teens, 6 of us used to walk through Mount Royal, singing Christmas Carols in front of the beautiful homes there. We did that every year until I finished high school.---------


Sometimes we would go to Church at midnight as there was always a wonderful Candle
lighting ceremony, and the choir would sing all the old Christmas Carols, with the
congregation joining in. Then they would finish with the "Messiah" I still get a shiver as that is such wonderful music and our choir was one of the Best I have ever heard..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I grew older and married, and had children, the memories are so sweet. I made the children
new pajamas every year, and we would sing Christmas carols, and tell Christmas stories. I remember one Christmas as a lonely time, as my husband was overseas with the Peace
Keeping forces on the Gaza Strip. He managed to get to Bethlehem though.----------

I still remember their faces when we decorated the tree. Now we see the same with our
Grand daughter. I do believe though that it was a simpler time - less stress, no credit cards, fewer expectations -
I think as we get older, our memories seem so perfect, and yet I am
aware that things weren't always as perfect as we remember. Isn't it great that we usually remember the good times at Christmas.------------------

I remember Christmas in New Zealand, with a barbeque on the beach and all our friends . Mussels, clams and so many wonderful fish. It was so different for us but many happy memories. I think of all
my friends in Australia and New Zealand, celebrating a 'summer' Christmas. I remember thinking I would love to be home for Christmas week, and then back to the wonderful weather!
--------------------------
I hope whoever reads this, will take a few minutes, and remember their Christmas eves.

Shirley
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wonderful decorations

I would love you to visit Debbie's blog and see all the wonderful Christmas quilts and
decorations she has, decorating her house. I especially like her Quilts hanging from the
balcony. She makes beautiful, whimsical Christmas quilts . She has such a great collection of different decorations. Her house
always feels as if Christmas is the greatest time in the year.

======================================================================
Thought for the day:

Grace Noll Crowell:

Let Us Keep Christmas
Whatever else be lost among the years,
Let us keep Christmas still a shining thing;
Whatever doubts assail us, or what fears,
Let us hold close one day, remembering
It's poignant meaning for the hearts of men.
Let us get back our childlike faith again.

"EMMA'S TREE"

"EMMA'S TREE" was made by my friend Miriam from Ireland, in memory of her daughter
Emma who passed away near Christmas a few years ago. The tree has spread all over the world, ad Miriam has shared the pattern and also instructed the class on my learningfa
group.

It is a reminder at Christmas of our dear ones and I thank Miriam for giving us
Emma's tree, to remember Emma and others who left us around the Christmas Season.

Thank you so much Miriam. Shirley

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to my dearest friend Deb. Debbie - I hope this next year brings you nothing but happiness and success . I am so glad you are happy in your new location in Athabasca, and I
wish you success in all your endeavours. You will always be part of my life. Shirley

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming!

and I am just as excited as our four year old Hayley, who is visiting us today. She was
given the presents she will keep at our house and is making a 'necklace' for Papa right now.
She informed me that I can play with her new 'beads' another day. What a precious, joyous, sweet little girl she is. Grandchildren are such a blessing!

She was n't too impressed with visiting Santa - and decided she would tell us about it
later! I will have to ask her mother how it went. She said she likes Papa better than
Santa. (which, as you can imagine, made Papa's buttons burst.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished the top of 'The three sisters, near the Bow River " which are near Canmore, on the way to
Banff. If you are ever on the Trans Canada Highway, heading to BC, when you get to Canmore, check out the 3 beautiful peaks on the left. I still have some leaves and branches to put on the large trees but will do them once I have the wall hanging quilted.

This is the first of a series of the Canadian Rockies.
I am giving Mt. Rundle, the Mountain in the tutorial I posted here, to
my good friend Wendy who introduced me to Wellspring and has been so kind.
Wendy dear, I hope you like it! I hope to see you over the Christmas holidays to give it to
you. Wendy visits my blog often!

I will do another Mt. Rundle for the series
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for the day
"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present and hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace." unknown author.

Thought for the day

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Children at Christmas

At Christmas time I believe the things that children do.

I believe with Canadian children, that a plate of cookies and a glass of milk will help Santa through the long night while he delivers presents.
---------------------
I believe with English children that holly placed in windows will protect our homes from evil.--------------------
I believe with Swiss children that the touch of edelweiss will charm a person with love -----------------

I believe, with Greek children that coins concealed in freshly baked loaves of bread, will bring good luck to anyone who finds them -----------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are only a few of the customs children believe in.
Children around the world have different customs, but always there is the joy of Christmas.

Speaking of postcards,

here are pictures of the front and back of my postcard bag. I enjoyed making this, and have used it a lot in the past 3 years. I used upholstery fabric and I used my own postcards, without putting a back on them. some have been done with timtex and some have just been quilted.

I received a beautiful gift today

Sharon, who won the landscape 'Serenity" sent me the most beautiful bag.
It is perfect to take shopping with me and I will treasure it. Great job,
Sharon, and thank you so much. Shirley

Thought for the day

"People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things.
When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success" Norman Vincent Peale.

Fabric postcards

are so much fun. Here are a few of the 350 cards I
have collected. (Hard to believe I sent one out for each of the cards I received! I have been asked to show them to different groups and they have been
so appreciated. We had different themes in the
Fabricart Postcard group that I started and if you check out the faces, there are four cards which I received from different members. I think the cards I am posting, show many of the different techniques the girls have used. They are my treasures. The first pictures are mine.
Click on the cards to see the close work! Shirley

Thought for the day!

"I live by this credo: Have a little laugh and look around you for happiness instead of
sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations. Even in your
darkest moment, you usually can find something to smile about if you try hard enough"
Red Skelton"

here are some more

Here are some more of the wonderful row and round robins. I know I haven't been able to put them all in but this gives you an idea of the great work these ladies do!-

Round & Row Robins

We have done some wonderful row and round robins in the learningfa group.
Julie has done a spectacular job of organizing these swaps. Here are two beautiful rounds. I hope to have some more to show you in the near future.

Thought for the day

'Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others
are often stiffened." Billy Graham

A SOLDIER'S CHRISTMAS - author unknown

T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE, MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY, WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO,IN THIS HOME, DID LIVE.--------------

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,------------

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES, OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,--------------

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
SILENT, ALONE, CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR,IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,THE ROOM IN DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED, AN AUSTRALIAN SOLDIER.--------------


WAS THIS THE HERO, OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES,THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS,WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.--------

SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE,A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOY FREEDOM,EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE-------------------

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER,HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE, IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT,A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES, AND STARTED TO CRY.-------------------------

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED, AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE, MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."----------------------


FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.I DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE,
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR,
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.------------------

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."----------------------------

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.-------------------------

"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

( This poem was written by an Australian Peacekeeping soldier stationed
> > overseas. )

Thought for the day!

"Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
Sing as if no one can hear you,
And dance like no one's watching"

Anonymous

MT. RUNDLE, Banff, Alberta

I finished quilting my wall hanging ! I still have to put on the backing, sleeve and binding.
I will do that today. I have also started making long narrow bags for each wall hanging so that they can be rolled instead of folded for storage and carrying. I am happy with this one.
I hope you all like it . I hope to finish it
within the next couple of days. As the weather is so bad I am not going anywhere so it is a good time to get some finishing accomplished.

Thought for the Day!

"Happiness is like Honey - you can pass it around, but some of it will always stick to you"
Author unknown

#4 Mt Rundle

I have continued to do a lot of thread painting on the distance bushes etc. Click on the pictures to see the closeup. I thread painted grasses and
some trees and bushes on the front island and put in the logs as well.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All I have to do now is square this off, and put borders on it. I have decided on a narrow
orange-brown, and a mottled grey for the borders, after much discussion with my husband Pat, who has a really good eye. When you pick a border fabric I try to pick a color that is in the picture and I try not to pick something that will take away from the scene, as you want the scene to catch the eye, not the borders. They should frame the picture not overwhelm it. -------- I think I will put in some more
shrubs in the island and make them a bit bigger. Also I have decided to add a few
more branches, although the trees are quite bare.
I will post a picture of the quilted, finished piece as soon as possible. I hope this little
tutorial is of some help. Shirley

Thought for the day

"You miss l00% of the shots you don't take" Wayne Gretzky

Mt. Rundle, Pt. 3

I chose a hand dyed fabric for my sky, and a pretty turquoise blue for the water. I used a
pellon stabilizer under the whole piece and then appliqued the mountain to the background. If you look closely you can see in both pictures how I thread painted the row of trees at the base of the Mountain. ----
I put a strip of pretty brown-gold at the bottom of the tree line and stitched it down at the top and bottom. I then picked a lighter
mottled beige brown, for the island in the
distance. I then auditioned a piece of fabric for the foreground island. It is not attached at this stage. I did some thread painting on the far island and put in some shrubs etc. I then
decided on the foreground island and will attach it now. I still have the foreground island and the dead wood to add but the picture is coming along very well. I hope to finish it today and will post the next steps tomorrow. I hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial. Shirley

Mount Rundle, part 2

I have my picture stitched to some grey fabric. I want to heavily thread paint the
mountain so I have decided to do it on timtex to avoid puckering. Cut the sketched scene
right below the tree line, leaving the mountain and the tree line, to place on the Timtex
( peltex) (the web you use to make fabric bowls). I laid the mountain on the web, and stitched carefully around it with a narrow zig zag so that the fabric, and the timtex are
stitched together.I then cut out the mountain. I took some dark green acrylic paint and mixed it with textile medium and, dipping my brush in water, I painted the bottom part of the mountain as shown (this gives the impression of the trees. I then started thread painting with the greys. I used two shades of grey, light and dark and followed the original picture. As you can see from the photo above, I thread painted the grey and then filled in the mountain with white zig zag set to nearly a satin stitch. I forgot to take a picture of the next step. I thread painted trees along the bottom of the mountain by using a narrow zig zag in a blue green thread - up and down the width of the mountain.
The zig zag gives the trees a more realistic look. You don't need to detail at all just use the
zig zag and fill in the strip (always going up and down) along the bottom. We are now ready to attach our mountain to our background. I will continue with part 3 in the next post.

Shirley

Mount Rundle, The Canadian Rockies

is the project I am working on now. I managed to get a lot accomplished yesterday
and thought I would put pictures of how I go from beginning to end when I make
a scene.--------------------------I would like to show you how to either increase or decrease
a pictures by blocking both the original picture into squares and then taking the size of picture you want and blocking it into the same number of squares. This is a picture of Mount
Rundle, in Banff, and I squared off the photo which was 8 x 11 " and then squared of an
piece of butcher paper l8" x 13.5.-------If there is a lot of detail you might want to divide the squares again into four on both pieces.
I then very carefully drew each square exactly as it was on the original, only in the larger
square on the butcher paper. Carry on doing that throughout the picture. I spent a lot of
time copying the Mountain and just sketched in the foreground. I then took a piece of
Press n Seal and copied it with a black archival pen. (I have used a fine sharpie but I am a bit leery about the ink seeping through the P & S.) --- Once I had copied all the lines onto
the press n seal I laid the P & S on a piece of grey fabric, making sure it is very flat. --I then stitched carefully along all the drawn lines. Once I had stitched the whole scene, I CAREFULLY removed the press n seal. A share pair of scissors helps with this. Make sure you get all the press n seal removed. Voila, you have your picture on your fabric.

I will show you how I continue with this wall hanging in my next post. Shirley



Shirley

Thought for the Day!

"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow". Robert H Goddard.

"Yesterday is gone, tomorrow never comes, Today is the day we live " My Mom used to tell me this all the time"

"Square Dance" was our latest class

and the quilts shown are the results. Cheryl taught this beautiful little quilt and the girls
really did themselves proud.

These quilts are all eligible for a draw in June. I think they are all so different and so bright and pretty. Judy, RoseMary, Arlene, Joan J.
Judith, Janet and Dee make them. Not in that order. We have some wonderful classes coming up so it should be a fun time after the Holidays.

here is the second 3 fabric wall hanging example

for my class which is coming up in January. I used a pretty autumn panel with grouse and added a ring necked pheasant which came with the panel. I then added some thread painted birches and shrubs in the bottom corner. This is a simple way to make a very nice wall hanging. Two completely different scenes using two different panels. They make great gifts.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have had a huge snow storm here in
Calgary, actually I think it is all over the
place as I know the Western States have
received it too. It is so bitter cold and will
remain that way for another 4 or 5 days.

I hope the snow pile holds on until my
grand daughter can come up and play
in the pile which is right outside our
patio door. It is nearly as tall as I am.

The roads are slippery so we will stay in
until things improve. That is one nice thing
about being retired.

I just baked some cinnamon buns and the house smells so nice - they sure do hit the spot with a cup of hot chocolate. I am so glad I have the preparations done for the class. The emails are ready to send out and I can go on with another project.

I am going to do some scenes of the Canadian Rockies ; I think I will do up a few in case
Well spring has another major fun raiser. It is the first time I don't have any commitment
for ages, so I love the feeling of being able to have no pressure and just being able to start something new, completely on my own, with no guidelines.

I have been busy sorting out the files and photos in the learningfa group. We have so much wonderful work in the photos and I don't want to delete any of them so I am sorting them into albums. I love our group, we have 350 people now and the classes are so successful. It is unbelievable the number of sign ups for each class - our blogger l0l class which is coming up in the new year has over 70 students signed up and the rest have between 30 - 50 signups. We have some great classes coming up in the New Year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

"I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show,
or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, and not defer
or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again" William Penn


"