ONE OF A KIND FIBER ARTS

Hat and scarf for my Grand daughter.

2011-11-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

She arrived for a visit over the weekend (sleepover) and the hat and scarf I knit for her last year looked very small so 'we' decided I would do her a new set. This is what we ended up with.

She has started knitting - and has done 2 dishcloths and is working on a scarf - amazing.

ANOTHER KNIT ALONG SWEATER! LOVE IT!

2011-11-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here is another finished pullover from our LETS DESIGN A COAT OF MANYCOLORS which
we made on a wonderful knitting and crochet group - Knitting Paradise.

We are going to do another knit along in the NEWYear and there is lots of interest. These sweaters don't follow a pattern - we use number of stitches to the inch,measurements and ideas! I am so pleased with the way they are turning out. There should be 5 or 6 more finished in the NEW Year as well as a lot of new members starting.

We are also going to do a Knit along with a top down pattern (see my bomber jackets). so much fun.

Shirley

Another sweater from my Knit along group.

2011-11-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Look at the wonderful job Dana Kay did -- especially the yoke. She also put a hood on her sweater. some of the work coming out of the Knitting Paradise forum for this Knit along is absolutely wonderful. I am going to do another one in the NEw Year.

REMEMBERANCE DAY 2011

2011-11-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Today is Remembrance Day here in Canada and other Commonwealth countries, I believe.

Please take special time to remember our fallen heroes and the families and loved ones who
are carrying on without them.

Shirley

I am a proud Canadian and....

2011-11-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

-next week is the Canadian Remembrance day --

Lest we Forget

It is funny

how it took someone in England to put it into words......

Salute to a brave and modest nation - Kevin Myers , 'The Sunday

Telegraph'LONDON :

Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably

almost no one outside their home country had been aware that

Canadian troops

are deployed in the region.

And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of

the world, as

always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly

everything Canada ever does.. It seems that Canada 's historic

mission is to

come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete

strangers, and

then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored.

Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of

the hall,

waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire

breaks out, she

suffers serious

injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes,

there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped

glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again.

That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American

continent with the United States , and for being a selfless friend of Britain

in two global conflicts.

For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions one foot in

the old world and an address in the new one,

and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the

gratitude it deserved.

Yet it's purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom

in two world

wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10% of

Canada 's entire population of seven million people served in the armed

forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied

victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers

in the entire British order of battle.

Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright

neglect, it's unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular

memory as somehow or other the work of the 'British.'

The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began

the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the

Atlanticagainst U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships

participated in the

Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went

ashore on D-Day alone.

Canada finished the war with the third-largest navy and the

fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime

indifference as it had the previous time.

Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only

if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign in

which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching scrupulousness

which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a

separateCanadian identity.

So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving in

Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are

Canadian. Thus Mary

Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox,

William Shatner,

Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter,

Mike Weir and

Dan Aykroyd Michael Buble, Justin Bieber have in the popular perception become American, and

ChristopherPlummer, British.

It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian

ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakably

Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable

to find any takers.

> Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the

achievements of

its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely

unaware ofthem. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by

anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of the

world'speacekeeping forces.

Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest

peacekeepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six

on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia.

Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular non-

Canadianimagination was the sorry affair in Somalia , in which

out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment

was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self-

abasement for which,

naturally, the Canadians received no international credit.

So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and selfless

friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan?

Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac , Canada repeatedly does honourable things

for honourable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it

remainssomething of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for

which Canadians

should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost. This past

year more

grieving Canadian families knew that cost all too tragically well.

Lest we forget

Christmas presents

2011-10-28T21:23:00.000-06:00

I have my Christmas presents nearly finished -- and have enjoyed every moment ! It has been interesting to do knitting again after many years of fabric work. I hope to get back to my fabric landscapes and thread painting after Christmas.

We are both (my husband and I) doing very very well and I am so thankful that he has come through
serious surgery and is back to being himself again. I am swimming at least 3 mornings a week (water exercises) and after swimming a group of us have coffee in the condo clubhouse. Our kids live nearby and our 8 year old grand daughter is only l5 minutes away. Life is good. Shirley

Scarf Shawl.

2011-10-28T19:03:00.001-06:00

I used a size 15 mm (l9 US) needle and a size 7mm needle and did the 'condo' stitch for this shawl.

I then crochet a fancy border along the bottom two sides. It can also be worn as a shoulder shawl.

Lots of fun!

new slippers -

2011-10-21T18:31:00.000-06:00

I just finished these -- easy to make and nice and warm. I will wear them over my knitted worsted socks this winter as our floors always seem cold to me. I made the pair this afternoon. Pattern is a bit confusing but once you figure it out it works out quickly. lots of fun

here is some more of my fabric and thread painting work

2011-10-12T08:48:00.000-06:00

I got very interested in thread painting and also decided to fool around with photo shop and the first picture is a result. All these are l2" square pieces done on heavy web (timtex) Such fun!

I will be going back to doing these after Christmas once my knitting projects are finished.

Shirley

Some of my art quilts

2011-10-12T08:41:00.000-06:00

I have spent the last l5 years doing Fabric Art quilts and just this past year have taken a break and am now working on some of my own knitting designs. I am going to post a few of my quilts in the next while and I hope you enjoy them. Shirley-

Another " coat of many colors"

2011-10-10T08:47:00.000-06:00

Here is another finished sweater from my workshop on " Knitting Paradise"- We each figured out
our stitch numbers for our sizesl- and away we go! I am really happy with the way these are turning out. If you want to check out the forum the link is attached. I am having fun knitting for now but will likely return to art quilts sometime soon. I have some projects for Christmas to finish first.

If any of you are knitters you should join Knitting Paradise -- it is a great place and all problems are solved! (ask me how I know!)

Class I am teaching - first completed sweater!

2011-09-24T21:11:00.000-06:00

I have joined a wonderful knitting group called Knitting paradise and the girls liked the sweater I showed them that is my own design so I offered to teach one on line. This lady has never knit a sweater before and made this one within one week. I think she did such a great job. We are having fun and it is nice to get back into teaching again. There was no pattern -- they have to work out the size on their own and then from the # of stitches to the inch, they make a sweater - either a cardigan or a pullover to fit themselves. She is going to make one for her boyfriend as he liked it so much. I am very proud of how she just 'went for it'

drawings for a sweater I am teaching on Knitting Paradise

2011-09-18T14:14:00.000-06:00

ONE OF A KIND FIBER ARTS

2011-09-06T11:31:00.000-06:00

http://www.knittingtipsonline.com/home.html

2011-09-06T11:28:00.000-06:00

KNITTING LINKS

ONE OF A KIND FIBER ARTS: Finished my red sweater

2011-09-04T11:41:00.000-06:00

ONE OF A KIND FIBER ARTS: Finished my red sweater

Finished my red sweater

2011-09-04T11:21:00.004-06:00

and am quite happy with it. I used variegated yarn for the bottom portion this time -- so much easier than the intarsia method. I also just found a poncho I made last year. I designed 2 rectangles and put it together. then I crochet the neck. very warm.

My work over the past 5 years --

2011-08-28T09:33:00.003-06:00

First of all - I am thinking of all of you on the Eastern Seaboard and hope you made it through the hurricane safely.

I am still knitting and have been fortunate enough to find a wonderful on line group KNITTING PARADISE - I have posted my blog address on this site and some of them are visiting and are interested in my previous work .

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN MY OTHER WORK -- just scroll to the bottom of this page and click on

" older work" - go way back and you will see pretty well everything I have done for the past 5 years. I just checked out the posts and find it hard to believe myself the journey I have taken.

Some of the things I had forgotten. Thanks to my new readers for their interest and to my old

artquilt friends -- I hope to get going again soon but right now have Christmas Knitting projects I want to finish. Shirley

I finished another

2011-08-14T21:52:00.002-06:00

Underwater coral scene -- It is the first time I have worked on my wall hangings for sometime and it was fun to do this one. I had started it last year so it is nice to get it finished.

It is rough edged applique and thread painting, with some hand dyed fabric.

I hope you enjoy it!

My original designed sweaters. -2011

2011-08-01T08:08:00.004-06:00

I am still doing a lot of knitting -- I just finished a turquoise and brown short sweater for a friend of mine which achieved the 'western' effect (she is a rancher near Cochrane (near Calgary) and teaches riding - It looked great on her.

I also finished the cream sweater on the right for a friend who lives in my condo building. she is very tiny and it looks good on her.

Here is a pullover I just designed and knitted for myself -- our winters are very cold and I think I will get lots of use out of it.

I can't believe how 'grey' I have gotten over the past two years -- they have been difficult to say the least and it sure does show! Things are going well now though.

I seem to be into the 'sweater' mode and have yarn for a light weight

pullover which I will start once I finish a rose colored sweater like the western one above. It is for a dear friend who

has had a major trauma in her life recently.

We are finally having a nice summer -- it is hard to believe it is August lst already. We had a very bitterly cold winter, a rainy not pleasant spring and this past week has been much better.

I am trying to swim at least 3 times a week and feel more fit than I have for awhile. I lost some weight and am trying to keep it off --

A COAT FOR ME

2011-06-28T08:41:00.005-06:00

I love making these colored sweaters and decided I would make myself a long coat sweater.

I found a lovely soft olive green yarn for the yoke - so here it is. I am going to have to stop making these! grin.

I love being able to add colors when I feel like it and will have to figure out a different concept now that I have make 3 or 4 of these - mind you only two of them are here in town. I really like this one -- I am wider at the hips than top and finally figured out a way to work that in a drop sleeve coat -- and I added a collar as well as a Rice Stitch pattern on the yokes and sleeves.

When I am designing it sometimes takes me awhile to get it all figured out.

I incorporate crochet in all of these for the bands and if I need to adjust the width of the

pieces. I also always do a single crochet for the borders and collar - and then knit from that row. I then decide whether to crochet or knit my border. I am finding that a single crochet front border (both sides) is a bit stiffer and works best for this type of cardigan -- I also crochet the bottom border -

I am enjoying creating these knitted garments - I have been doing wall hangings for ll years and hope to get back at them but this is lots of fun for now.

We took a drive last week up to Olds Alberta and dropped in to one of the retreats I always

go to - This year, after all we have been through I felt I didn't want to leave my husband so he came with me and it was great to see my friends from Western Canada who I usually see each year.

I lost a lot of weight this past two years and am trying to keep it off (easier said than done) - so I have been walking a lot - here in the condo and just started walking with friends. My husband is doing exceptionally well and we are very thankful. It is nice to finally start getting back to normal.

I hope you like my knitted coats and sweaters! Shirley

Another one

2011-06-15T09:50:00.003-06:00

Here is another of the same design I did for a special person in my life -- her birthday is coming

up and I wanted to do one for her. I used a

grey mottled chunky for the yoke and sleeves. I hope

she likes it - it - she likes my hats so will do a hat in the grey I think.

I'm still knitting

2011-06-15T09:42:00.003-06:00

I just finished a cardigan in my 'coat of many colors' (my own design) -- for my sister

who lives on a beautiful lake in Ontario. I do hope she likes it. I love doing these

style sweaters as it is fun to play with the colors.

She is originally from the west and fell in love

with the Ontario autumn colors so I used a lot

of reds, oranges, browns etc. with a green yoke and lighter green border . I am thinking of doing a hat to go with it.

June lst! (hard to believe it)

2011-06-01T18:54:00.008-06:00

As you might know from previous posts on my blog -- I belong to a wonderful group

of ladies from all over the world -- that decided we wanted to set up a Challenge group

so that we could 'reach' and learn some new techniques. The latest challenge was

a self portrait -- and what great entries we got today. I went for a straightforward

self portrait using thread painting -- check out Challenging Ourselves to see what

the girls have done. This was fun for me as it is the first time I have opened my

sewing maching since last June - so it is nice to want to work on my quilting again!

I also finished another 'coat of many colors' for a relative's birthday only this time

I knit the yoke rather than do it in crochet.

the pattern is my own design and it is greatfor

using up my worsted yarn that has been lying around for awhile.

I am making leg warmers to go with it for next winter wear.

I love designing my own sweaters and it is so

satisfying when one of my designs works out well.

More sweaters

2011-05-18T13:43:00.003-06:00

I just finished a multi colored heavy cardigan for the evenings which can get quite chilly here

I am really happy with it . I crochet the yoke and the borders and knitted the colored intarsia pattern -- it is in knitting worsted and I think I will get quite a lot of use out of it.

I also made myself a pretty 3/4 sleeve cotton sweater with a cable down the front.

Hi everyone!

2011-04-30T08:19:00.003-06:00

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. We have had further visits to the hospital but things are under control and looking very good for us.

I haven't been able to get my sewing machine out as I had hoped - maybe this next week.

I have plans and hopes to join in the next challenge for our Challenging ourselves group.

We are to do a self portrait - I have started it and have decided what I hope to do and

hopefully will get it done in time. Life has been one long upset this past two years so

I am hoping we will have some 'down time ' now.

I have been knitting as you all know and during the past time since Pat was sick again and in the hospital and since, I have knit two cotton summer sweaters for myself. I design my own and

am reasonably happy with them. I have the front done on another one which I will post shortly.

-----

I watched the Royal wedding yesterday - she certainly is a classy lady - I quite enjoyed it.

-------

My heart goes out to all of you who were affected by the terrible tornadoes in the south.

I complain about the cold weather here and we have had a bad winter but it makes me

realize how lucky we are. I pray for all who have been made homeless and for the families of

those who lost their lives.

Challenging ourselves

2011-04-04T21:08:00.004-06:00

I was unable to join in the challenge in the Challenging ourselves group due to my husband's

illness but what a great job the ladies in the group have done for the 4th Challenge.

We have some new members and I do hope you will all go and checkout the blog showing the challenges.

This is a group we organized from members of the Learningfa group who wanted to

expand their abilities and to challenge themselves to try new things. I am so impressed with the different challenges and different results. The picture shown is done by my friend Margaret

Shipley from Saskatchewan who just joined the group. She is a very talented lady and I love her challenge! The subject was "Orange, purple and blue' check out the other finished pieces!

We take turns picking out a theme so check out the archives for the different challenges.

------

Speaking of my husband -- he is doing very well, slowly getting back to normal after major heart surgery and then having to go back the next day for repair to the first surgery. He is

doing better every day little steps at a time -- and both of us are very optimistic.

It is so good to have him home after 45 days in the hospital - (most of these BEFORE the surgery due to complications -- I have so much to be thankful for.

I am still knitting but got my sewing machine out yesterday and hope to make a basket as soon as a summer sweater in cotton yarn for me, is completed.

We had a HUGE dump of snow on Sunday - and what a mess! It is finally melting but they are expecting flooding as so much snow and quick melting today. I will be so glad to have spring arrive at last. We have our first robins and they are really shivering. Shirley

Isn't she sweet?

2011-03-31T08:58:00.002-06:00

She loves the clothes I make for her -- She

liked the ruffles and especially liked the

sweater with the hat. Both fit her perfectly and

she is 'going to wear them to school'.

It is a fairly nice day here in Alberta- although

a bit cloudy. We have had a terrible March and

hopefully April will be better and we will see

some spring.

I am a bit tired as my husband is having a lot of difficulty sleeping after his heart surgery. It is hard to believe that it is 6 weeks since he

had the surgery - but it is a slow improvement. It appears that sleep deprivation is quite common after major valve surgery so I am hoping he will be able to sleep much better in the next months. He is doing well aside from that. I am just thankful he is home with me.

ruffled top

2011-03-29T12:27:00.002-06:00

I made Hayley a cute little ruffled top for summer.

it has multi colored ruffles and really turned

out very well. It is crochet and I am really

happy with it. She can wear one of many

different colored t shirts and different

bottoms. Shorts, tights or pants.

It is quite simple - V stitchs throughout with

different levels of colored ruffles.

I hope you like it.

Latest projectsx

2011-03-20T12:00:00.006-06:00

I finished a worsted weight sweater for me - I embroidered flowers on the front. It is really warm and cozy and I got a lot of use out of it here in Calgary this past month or so.

I also finished a fancy sweater for my grand daughter. she wanted pinks and pretty colors and some sparkle so this is the one I made for her, with a hat to match. I used some eyelash pink sparkle as a highlight.

I also took a picture of her dancing in the multi colored sweater I made for her. She wore it all winter and loved it. I am having fun

designing these knits. I am starting one for myself with seed stitch and cables in a pretty red rust so I am managing to keep my

'creative juices ' flowing even though I am not doing art quilts!

I hope you like them!

I am back!

2011-03-18T12:07:00.004-06:00

I have not had a chance to post on my blog for the past 2 months as my husband was

having major heart surgery -- There were complications but he has arrived home and is

improving rapidly. As a result I am able to get back to normal after many weeks of

hospital visiting and lots of worry.

I have been doing a lot of knitting and no art quilts so hope to get back at my

artwork within the next while. Here are some of the 30 crochet caps I have made. They are

quite pretty and easy to make.

I also have knit socks, mittens and sweaters.

It has been a dreadful winter weather wise and I really am ready for spring after fighting the snow and ice every day on the way to visit my husband in the hospital.

The Rocky mountains are beautiful today as I can see them out of my studio window. It is sunny and the peaks are covered with snow. The sky is a deep blue and the scene warms my heart.

(for those who don't know me well -- I live in Calgary, Alberta not far from the beautiful

Canadian Rockies).

Challenges

2011-01-15T18:43:00.002-07:00

I hope you will check out the Challenging ourselves blog . There are a new group of

Favorite place (s) challenges posted today and once again the girls did a great job.

I was unable to join in this Challenge but am enjoying looking at the work the

ladies did.

Hayley's 7th Birthday

2011-01-09T21:46:00.004-07:00

My grand daughter had a birthday party with a group of little girls . They had a face painter and this is the result. Such a joy!

It is very cold here today - they had hoped to have a skating

party but the weather didn't cooperate. She phoned and said they

had a good time anyway. 7 years have gone by so quickly.

It is finished!

2011-01-09T12:57:00.002-07:00

I finished Hayley's sweater and it really looks

great on her. I made it plenty long so that she can be warm

while camping, or on cool days. It is multi colored -I used

worsted weight yarn and it has a drop sleeve.

I tried out l5 different stitches in the stripes and

it was fun trying to use different stitches for each color.

I have also made a few more hats as

a lot of people want one and have a pair

of worsted weight socks under way - finished the first one and am halfway

thru the second one. My friend lives

quite far north and I am doing about 3 or 4 pairs for her to wear in the winter.

I am also planning on doing a cotton

pullover for summer for myself.

I am really enjoying the break from my sewing machine - I have worked steadily on my art

quilts for l0 years without a break and so this is a really pleasant time for me as far as

my creative streak is concerned. I did some knitting and lots of crochet years ago and am

finding it interesting to try my own designs in different projects.

It is very cold here today - another winter storm arrived yesterday and there were some bad

accidents on the trans Canada Highway south of Calgary. We drove that road often when we

lived south of here and it is very treacherous as it is quite flat and the wind howls across the

highway and blizzard conditions make it very dangerous.

Pat and I are going to take it easy for the next week as the Christmas season and Hayley's birthday have been really busy. I am meeting a friend for lunch on Thursday but not much else planned.

Take care everyone! Shirley

Good morning!

2011-01-07T10:12:00.005-07:00

I am just back from morning coffee with my swimming exercise friends here in our condo.

We all meet after swimming and other friends from the condo meet us - we then visit for an hour or two. rather nice. I am enjoying the swimming 3 times a week and it is definitely good for me.

I am still knitting -- today is

Hayley's 7th birthday -

it is hard to believe - we are going out for dinner at a restaurant tonight and she will have her little

friends over for a skating party on

Sunday.

----

I am knitting her a very colorful original sweater (as usual, I enjoy designing as I go along) and it is looking quite good. I want it to keep her warm when they are camping and sitting around the campfire, or on chilly days --I have used about l5 different stitches on the rows and am having lots of fun with it. I am also still doing hats with the brim. It is amazing how popular they are and I am glad to say that the Christmas presents went over very well - in fact all the family girls have asked for another one. I am posting some of the new ones I have made .

2011 Calendar -My work is December!

2010-12-31T09:29:00.002-07:00

I just found out one of my wall hangings is in the about.com 2011 calendar (December)

I am very pleased and hope you will check it out. There are other pieces featured under the "Art quilts" as well.

http://quilting.about.com/library/pdf_files/2011_Quilting-Calendar.pdf

http://quilting.about.com/od/picturesofquilts/ig/Art-Quilts-Gallery/

more Christmas knitting

2010-12-17T09:25:00.005-07:00

I have finally finished my Christmas presents - and I hope the girls in the family will like them. It has been fun to do and helped me get over a hard time especially this past week.

It was a year ago on the l3th that we lost our son Rob.

I received a parcel from my friend Deb - a skein of merino wool and a skein of alpaca wool. So beautiful. I haven't decided w

hat I will do with it. The alpaca will definitely go into a pair of socks for

me and I am thinking about a lacy scarf. The merino will make a lovely hat to go with my leather coat! Dear Debbie - such a good friend.

The weather is getting colder but actually we have avoid

ed the terrible weather here in

Southern Alberta.

I imagine most of you are ready or nearly ready for Christmas. I hope , if you are

going away, that you will arrive at your destination safely. For those of you who are staying

near or at home, I hope your Christmas is lovely.

For those of you from around the world -- May you have health and happiness, whatever time of the year, or whatever faith you live by.

I think of the Christmas we spent in Whangaparaoa, New Zealand in the 70's on the beach with

our friends -- and our Christmas's in Arizona at Valle Del Oro where we made such wonderful life long friends.

I want to congratulate my dear on line friend Miriam Gogarty who designed 'Emma's Tree' in

honour of her daughter who died of cancer a few years ago. Emma's tree is being made by

Quilters around the world. Miriam presented the President of Ireland an Emma's tree. She

also contributes a huge amount of her time and knowledge teaching, designing and quilting -throughout Ireland. I am honored to know her. We share the loss of an adult child and it

means a lot to me to have her for a friend.

Christmas projects

2010-12-02T11:01:00.002-07:00

I have been knitting up a storm this

past while -- have done lots of hats, mittens, scarves and socks

for family and friends for Christmas.

I have also knit 3 sweaters so as you can see, I have been

busy!. I made the brown set for myself - I like

the caps with the brims - I designed a

crochet pattern which works well. The red hat and socks are

part of a set I did for my dear friend Debbie - socks, hat, scarf and mittens. She lives in Athabasca and it is even colder there than

here on the average - (North of Edmonton). The mottled teal and beige set is for one of my family members and the pink socks go with the sweater I did previously. I needed a break from thread painting and art quilts and these are my first times doing socks and

mittens although I have knitted and crochet for years. I am enjoying it very much.

I still learn a pattern and then change it - grin. Our weather is better -

we had a terrible week awhile ago and word was that we were one of

the coldest spots on earth -- (might have been a bit of imagination - but

it sure felt like it and it was in the paper as a fact!)

It has been nicer lately and we have even had some Chinook winds which

are warm winds from the west.

more knitting

2010-11-14T12:54:00.004-07:00

I designed a cap for myself that isn't as large as most of the patterns - I like it better for

me as I don't wear floppy hats that well. I think I will make up a bunch of different styles of hats and give them to a charity that needs clothes -- our winters are so cold here that warm hats, mittens, sweaters etc. are very welcome. They only

take me a little while so I think I will use it as a project for " Inn from the Cold" which works in conjunction shelters for abused women and families who have to leave home suddenly.

The blue hat I posted previously is much

larger and would suit a young person more than the red one does.

I have so many different types of yarn I think it would be a good project for my evenings.

Finished pullover

2010-11-13T20:39:00.003-07:00

Here is the finishes sweater and luckily it fit her perfectly.

I can now relax and decide what I want to do next.

I think I will start doing some thread painting as I have

some photos of some interesting subjects so I might just start one of them.

-------

They are warning we will get our first winter storm starting on Monday, so I guess winter is on the way. We have had a great autumn so far after a crappy summer.

-------------------------------

I have enjoyed knitting 4 (can it be 4 sweaters in the past two months?) think I will start doing some socks for

Christmas. It is years since I knitted some socks so have been checking the internet. I found a couple of patterns that look quite simple. I hope to advance into making some

fancy legs with the regular sock foot but I think I had better knit a couple of pairs first!

LATEST PROJECT, THIS AND THAT

2010-11-07T08:58:00.004-07:00

I am coming along with the sweater I am knitting for my dil - I finished her hat and the back of the sweater and am currently working on the front. The hat is crochet and I took a basic pattern and

changed it quite a bit -- The yarn is so pretty -- and I decided that I would use an overall pattern for the sweater.

It will be quite cosy and good for outdoor activities in our winter, under a coat or jacket. I think it will be good for camping too as they go camping quite a lot and the evenings are chilly.

Once I get this one finished I will open up my sewing machine and start a couple of projects I have in mind --I really needed this break and feel a lot of energy now that I have taken a bit of

a holiday.

I also have been doing water exercises 3 days a week and am feeling the difference.

I turned over my yahoo group (Learningfa) to Julie and Delia as I felt I had done what I could in the way of teaching my work. It is amazing we held 37 classes not counting my thread painting and some of my rough edged landscapes - over the past years- all classes are free and

it is amazing the great work the girls are doing. Debbie just taught us a watercolor quilt and the girls put a motif of some sort in the middle or side of the piece.

I will however do another thread painting series sometime next year. I am in the process of debating whether to change the format and do groups of 3 tutorials in one group - with signups for each group. Both the new owners are doing a great job and it is a relief for me to see how smoothly the transition has been accomplished. both are very talented and I know lots of new things will transpire on the group.

It is a lovely autumn day here in Calgary - sunny and not too chilly. I love the fact that

we get so much sunlight here rather than dull, cloudy days. I don't mind the cold that much when it is sunny! We didn't have a nice summer but October and the first part of November have been lovely. There is snow on the peaks of the Rockies and I can see them out my window.

We are going to take a drive up to Banff next week if the nice weather stays. I will post a picture of the finished sweater in the next week or two.

My latest challenge (knitting)

2010-10-24T08:42:00.005-06:00

has taken a lot of my time lately. I decided to knit something for the girls in my family, after I finished the two sweaters for myself. I just finished a pretty blue pullover for my daughter. I put a moss stitch pattern (one of my favorite knitting designs) up the front and on the sleeves like I did for my pink sweater. It is finished now and I am starting one for my dil in a lovely

soft heavier yarn which gives the feeling of heather when it is knitted. I found

a wonderful knitting book which was published in l984 which allows you to use whatever yarn and needles you wish to design your own sweaters either in knitting or crochet. It has been sitting around my library for years as it looked rather difficult to understand how to knit a swatch and

figure how to get the proper size. I spent the afternoon a few weeks ago reading it thoroughly and it is great. the size works out perfectly. The only disadvantage is that it gives very

plain patterns and you have to design your own additions, stitches, collars, different types of sleeves etc. I enjoy doing that so it works out well for me.

it is called "Sweaters in every guage" by Barbara Goldstein and was published by Prentice Hall in l984.

I doubt I will ever use a pattern again unless it is something that can't be worked into the instructions in this book. I think if I really worked at it I could adjust written patterns to it - I always 'do my own thing' even when following a regular pattern but I love it that I can pick out a yarn - use whatever needles I wish and figure out the guage with a swatch, then go to the

charts and figure out the stitch number. there are

different necks, sleeves, collars etc. which can be incorporated. I did my pink sweater with different sized needles and yarn than the blue one I am showing today and both turned out nicely --

----------

I just started one for my dil a few minutes ago in a lovely yarn by Red Heart (collage) and it is knitting up beautifully. It is heavier yarn so I am using larger needles.

It is a cool foggy morning here in Calgary - we have had a very nice autumn but it is starting to get pretty chilly. I imagine most of the 'snow birds' are heading toward Arizona, every year I feel homesick for our park there but life is good even though we don't go down any more. We still keep in touch with our friend in the park we stayed at for l0 years.

Well, I guess I shall read my morning paper and go shopping. Shirley

Sunhine awards

2010-09-20T19:22:00.004-06:00

I have been honored with TWO Sunshine awards from other bloggers who enjoy my blog.

Carol and Eileen have both sent me an award, and I do appreciate it. I hope you will visit both their blogs.

I am away for a couple of days and will post the blogs I will award the wonderful daisy to when I get home. It is an honor. There are lots of wonderful blogs out there and I will find it difficult to pick out my choices. thanks ladies. Shirley

KNITTED VEST

2010-09-20T13:58:00.006-06:00

I started out knitting a sweater, using a Norwegian pattern which I found on the internet.

I saw one finished and really liked it. I had nothing but problems with it and finally got

the front and back finished -- When I started the sleeves the instructions were poorly

written and after trying 4 times and even taking it to a knitting store - found out that

the whole sleeve pattern was incorrect. I trie

d to design my own sleeves, but with the

pattern on the whole piece , I found it more trouble than it was worth. I therefore decided to make a vest

from the back and front and actually I am quite happy with it. I crochet a narrow design around

the neck and sleeve openings and bought myself a black long sleeved t shirt to wear with it.

I decided to start another plain pullover with a seed stitch strip 3" wide up the center front -- it is well under way and I am going to get lots of use out of it. It is still only Sept. and we have had

a bit of snow already -- We have had a terrible summer - it is very cold out and everyone is

fed up with the bad weather. Especially as winter seems to be arriving early! I bought a

pretty medium pink and will knit it on the round.

I am enjoying my break from landscapes and thread painting and once I finish the 2nd

sweater I will get back at it.

CHALLENGE REVEAL two

2010-09-15T14:15:00.007-06:00

Today is the reveal for the second challenge of our group Challenging ourselves and once again there is lots of interesting pieces posted. Here is mine.

I painted the scenes with craft acrylics and then

did thread painting on top to highlight the pictures. I then did some beading .

I am enjoying the group so much and love looking at all the new work. I hope you will visit

the group see the side bar, and check out the

reveal today.

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I am working on a beautiful cardigan and it is slowly getting done. It has been a

long while since I knitted a pattern and found this one confusing. I saw the finished

cardigan in a wool shop here in Calgary, and tried it on and fell in love with it.

I decided to cut back on my art work for awhile and decided to do this sweater.

I find the pattern hard to understand but have struggled through it and have the

back and both fronts nearly done. I am so glad I stuck with it and I know it is

going to be nice when I finish it. I am not sure whether I am allowed to show

the pattern but here are the pieces I have finished. It is pattern l04 Garn Studio

September is here!!!!

2010-09-08T14:48:00.004-06:00

Unbelievable that we are well into September after a very cool, stormy summer. Our

summers are so short anyway that one like this past one makes the winter seem much longer.

We did manage a few nice days -- had a picnic with the family at one of the parks (one I used to visit when I was very young) for my

birthday, which was lovely. Such a good time --

I have made a big decision and have decided to retire from the Learningfa group which I started in 2007 - it now has over 400 members and is a very active good group- I know I will miss running the group but I really am ready. Delia Holst from Australia will take over the

art quilt classes and she is a wonderful artist so the group will be in good hands.

It is such a successful group, with free traditional and art classes, that I really wanted to make sure it is in good hands -- Julie runs the traditional free classes and Delia the art free classes so it should be

a smooth transition. Check out Delia's Blog (right side bar)- her art work is outstanding and I am fortunate that both these girls were willing to keep the group going.

I will still be teaching on my blog and for the group so I am not 'leaving' the group --

----

I have started knitting a cardigan and as it is years since I knitted by pattern, I am having quite a time. It is a Norwegian Pattern and difficult to understand even though I am using US

measurements. It is bright and pretty and I know I will love it when I get it finished.

I have done a bit of unravelling but am slowly getting there. I have always designed my own knitting patterns for sweaters but this one is so pretty I couldn't resist it.

Here is the link to the pattern (it is l04). I hope you can open it -- I tried a sample on a couple of years ago and it has been in my mind since then. I will be glad when it is finished. I wish I lived close to a really good knitter as I am sure it isn't as confusing for someone who follows patterns all the time! I will persevere though!

http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/drops_oppskrift_oversikt.php?drops=104

I have the back and 3/4 of one front done . The decrease for the neck should be simple but isn't and (I have done this type of neck before with no problems. It is just understanding

what they are saying ) I am seriously thinking of doing the neck my way rather than the pattern. grin.

Well, back to it. Shirley

Gifts for my nephew

2010-07-20T12:05:00.008-06:00

My nephew got married on Saturday and I am posting pictures of the gifts I made for them.

They are divers and photographers and have some Wonderful photos of different fish, and underwater coral. I decided to do 3 of their pictures for their wedding present. I completely thread painted each photo after transferring it onto a fabric sheet, placing the background fabric on a piece of heavy timtex, and placing the photo in the center. I then thread painted the whole photo. I made a set of three of their photos and then made the underwater landscape I posted previously. (Here it is again). I just heard from him and they really liked them. It was one of the most fun projects I have ever done - Their photos taken during their dives are

wonderful. All over the world - so interesting.

Retreat, Sylvan Lake, Alberta

2010-07-20T08:52:00.007-06:00

I want to show you some of the pictures from the Western Retreat at Sylvan Lake, in June.

I drove up with Verona (thanks Vee) and we had lots of fun. It was the l0th anniversary as Debbie and I started it in 2001 so we had a table set up with pictures and some of the gifts the girls received.

We have a large balcony in the gym and so it is great for show and tell. Some of the work done by these ladies is outstanding.- The one on the bottom right is a painted quilt I did in 2000 (my first quilt). The One Block wonder is Verona's isn't it a beauty? and the Beautiful black background flowers is Debbie's

I am home from

2010-06-30T15:36:00.004-06:00

Both retreats and learned that two retreats,one immediately after another is just too much.

I am taking a few days before we leave on a week's holiday into BC to take it easy and just

do what I feel like doing.

While at the retreat dear Debbie taught me how to make bowls using clothesline cords. I am

visiting a friend in her new apartment tomorrow and will take her this set as a housewarming gift- a bowl, 3 hot pads and a knitted dish

cloth -- I hope to make a couple more dishcloths tonight for

the set.

I have also made a set for my dil as part of her birthday present.

Once I get back I am going have to get my brain working on my next challenge with the Challenging Ourselves group.

I was so glad to get home -- we had two great retreats though and it was great to reaquaint with a my friends. It was the l0th anniversary of the Western Retreat and the pillow cases

I made for the anniversary with landscapes on them went over very well.

I will be getting back to normal with my blog and the learning fa group once we come back from our little holiday.

Shirley

Here I am again

2010-06-13T16:40:00.002-06:00

I have been working on some projects that I wanted to finish before I go to my two retreats next week. I am really ready for a break -- I missed one of them last year due to my son's illness and

I am looking forward to getting away. It has been a difficult year and it seems to have caught up with me a bit - so I will be happy to visit with my friends and get some 'fun ' work done too.

I am teaching a class of my miniatures (rough edged applique) and I am also ready to work on

another manipulated miniature - also have some binding to hand finish so I will have lots to do.

I doubt I will have a chance to post before I leave but will post some pictures of the show and tell and other retreat pictures when I get back. Shirley

I watched the ceremony

2010-05-31T08:54:00.003-06:00

in Washington last night and it really was wonderful. I was so impressed with the tribute to the veterans, and especially the widows of men killed in the war.

We are in Afghanistan too, and a neighbor of mine just lost her son. I was an 'army wife' for

20 years and my husband was in the United Nations Peace Keeping force -Gaza, Germany, Korea, and other parts of the world. I was so touched with the beautiful singing, and the tribute to the wounded and the men who have lost their lives. I thought the way they presented the two stories

with actors, was done exceptionally well. It doesn't matter if I am a Canadian we have been in Afghanistan since the beginning-- we are all

in the same boat during this awful war. I feel so much for the people represented by the

ceremony So sad for the wounded and the families left behind.

It was very well done -

===================================================================================

"In flander's fields the poppies blow,between the crosses row on row,

Which mark our place,

While in the sky, the lark still bravely singing, flies. Scarce heard among the guns, below.

We are the dead - short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flander's fields.

Take up the quarrel with the foe -- to you with failing hands we throw,

the torch - Be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with those who die, we shall not sleep.

though poppies blow in Flander's fields."

=======================================================================

This was written by a Canadian soldier Lt. Colonel John McRea in the first World War who died shortly after

writing it. If you are interested in reading the story behind it there is lots of information if you google it.

I hear that

2010-05-31T08:35:00.002-06:00

Ontario is having a heat wave -- I know how hot and humid it gets there. HOWEVER, we

are having lots of snow - can you believe it! We have such a short summer under normal

conditions that we don't need a week of rain and snow at the end of May!

I am so tired of it! We had a lovely month of March and since then it has been yucky!

Here in Alberta we get winds from the North as well as winds from the Pacific and if the two run into each other it means lots of bad weather.

Oh well, at least I am getting some work done. I am also getting ready to go to two retreats

starting June 17 I will be gone for a total of 9 days - I will be teaching my little humming bird

Challenge quilt (with the babies in the nest) as well as a little winter scene. They will learn to

do a l2 x 12 miniature which will be thread painted on fabric backed by heavy timtex-

One of the retreats (Western Retreat) I started l0 years ago and women came from all over.

We have made many lifelong friends from it., The other is another retreat which originated with the first one. Between the two we have over 60 people meet each year.

I am working on a series of fish studies from underwater deep diving. They are wonderful and will be given as gifts for an upcoming event. I am really enthusiastic about them and have the first one well under way. I really like doing the miniatures that are completely thread painted.

Well, off to the library and then back to thread painting.

Shirley

Jacket for my sister

2010-05-27T20:45:00.003-06:00

I decorated a jean jacket 4 or 5 years ago for Marj - it was a forest scene with tipis etc. a lake . She just loves it and has worn it a lot . She mentioned how often she wore it so I decided to do another for her. Here it is. It is very much like one of my scenes with a coyote in it and I know she will like it. I am going to put a winter birch tree on the front.She is in Ottawa so we don't see each other often. Thank heavens for the internet!

She is much taller than me so the jacket will fit her better than it does me! Shirley

Hayley

2010-05-20T09:59:00.004-06:00

We took Hayley out for lunch the other day, and we found some pillows shaped like a rainbrow trout - it was a foot taller than she was and she just loved it. I couldn't resist putting a photo

to show you.

She is growing so quickly, We look after her once a week and have since she was born so we have been lucky enough to be involved with her growing up. She changes so quickly.

--------------

I have had more issues with my mac - although I think I have the problems solved - for how long I don't know.

Yesterday I opened my blogs and there were no pictures or back

ground color on the blog s. It happened before and the mac

support person helped me get it back. About 3 hours later it was blank again except for the text - so I called them again. This time she walked me through quite a few steps and voila! there was the color. I just had all my data removed and there seems to be a glitch in it. Hmm- might end up having to buy another computer if it keeps on acting up.

---------------

Our Çhallenging ourselves group has chosen another challenge theme - 'FOUR ELEMENTS'

there should be some interesting reveals on this one. I have a few ideas perking around in my head. These challenges are REALLY a challenge.

I hope you will drop by our Challenging ourselves blog and see the results of the first challenge

"Hidden Treasures" Well, I have to head out for some errands. have a nice day! Shirley

Challenging ourselves reveal today

2010-05-15T21:38:00.002-06:00

There are now l5 'Hidden Treasures' in the Challenging ourselves BLog and I hope you will drop by and check them out. This is our first challenge and therefore our first reveal. I am so pleased with the variety of subjects and the beautiful finished projects.

We would love it if you check them out and comments would be very welcome. The address is on the side bar - of my favorite blogs. Shirley

My challenge piece, HIDDEN TREASURES!

2010-05-15T10:20:00.003-06:00

This is my challenge which was revealed today.

I decided it would work well, if I used baby Hummingbirds as the Hidden Treasures . It was fun to do.

I will be teaching this miniature, as well as two others at the Big Sky retreat in Olds, in June. I hope you will check out the rest of the challenges.

Challenging ourselves reveal today

2010-05-15T09:58:00.002-06:00

I would love it if you would go to the side bar and click on Challenging Ourselves - today is the reveal of our first Challenge "Hidden Treasures" The girls in the group (20 of us) are posting

pictures of their challenge and telling us how they decided to do their challenge, and what they did to meet the Challenge.

It was a 'reach' for all of us and I am soo impressed -- We have about 9 challenges posted and the rest will like come in today. I think you will find it interesting. I am so glad we set up this Challenge group - it is amazing how different people work. Check them out! Shirley

UNDERWATER CORAL WALL HANGING 2010

2010-04-29T18:33:00.003-06:00

I have had a great two days. I started this top yesterday and finished it a few minutes ago.

I will add a border (possibly 2) and then quilt it. This will be a class , but it is also going to

be a wedding gift - I have decided to do some beading as well. Isn't it a nice feeling

when you start something and it just happens, with no problem and the work just flows?

It is the first time that has happened since we lost our son so I am feeling really good about it!

====================================================================

Well! we have had the Mother of all spring storms. Rain, 8 - l0 inches of snow heavy wind, and really a mess. We never left the house. It is slowly passing. The only good thing about it is that the farmers desperately needed moisture so that will help. The roads

were blocked, accidents all over the place. Our summer is so short that we really don't need a storm like this in May! The whole Province from Edmonton to the Montana border was

affected and roads impassible. Now I hope summer will likely arrive. We were in Banff last week and it was 22 deg.

C (over 70 degrees F.) absolutely glorious. One thing about our Alberta weather it can change in an hour.

I have just about finished binding my winter Skating on the Pond, and have finished 3

fully thread painted manipulated miniatures so it has been a good time for me.

I am attending two retreats in June, as I do every year, so have started getting my

secret sister gifts ready and other things organized as well. I am really looking forward to it

this year.

Nothing much on tv tonight - but I feel good about finishing the wall hanging. Shirley

My first quilt - ever

2010-04-24T12:52:00.004-06:00

One day the quilt group in the park asked me to teach them how to paint on fabric. They wanted something southwestern, so I agreed. It was my first use of my 'little people' which I had designed for sets of cards etc. While we were in the class I casually mentioned what a great quilt they would make - one of the girls offered to help me make a quilt - all the rest agreed to help me. I had ABSOLUTELY no idea how to quilt, how to put a quilt together. I drew l6" x 20" panels and we picked out the sashing fabric. Eighteen of my friends helped us. Two close friends helped me sandwich each block with a portion of the sashing. l6 of my friends hand quilted a block each and when we got them back my friends showed me how to put the quilted blocks together. I then hand quilted the quilt - I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. That was the last year we were able to go to Arizona and when we got home I decided I wanted to make

another quilt so that I wouldn't forget anything. All of my hand painted quilts were 'quilt as you go' and all were hand quilted. There was a lot of interest in the quilts and there are three of them in the US - hmm I wonder if they are still being used.

I then put together a group of blocks given to me for running the first Western retreat - it was two sided and I learned then that traditional quilting for me was not nearly as much fun as using my own ideas for quilts or wall hangings. I will put a picture of the second and third quilt I made - one was given to my son Rob 9 years ago and he treasured it. I have it in my

collection - Shirley

Student's Southwestern wall hanging

2010-04-24T12:17:00.003-06:00

Last year I taught a class on learning fa - it was a southwestern scene and used some of my

patterns for southwestern 'little people'. Susan just posted a picture and as we are talking about some of the southwestern work - I decided it was fitting that I showed it. T here were some

wonderful wall hangings completed with this class.

I am going to take some pictures of my Southwest painted quilts and tell you how they evolved, tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying my memories of Mesa! Shirley

Pine needle baskets and clay

2010-04-24T11:52:00.003-06:00

This is part 2 of my southwestern art pictures. I learned to do some wonderful pine needle

woven baskets which I still have, while I was staying at Valle del Oro in Mesa -- In some cases I hand built some centers and

poked in holes all around the center circles -- Then I attached the raffia and started making the outsides. The long one is

a 'bun holder' - the larger is a hot mat -- the basket at the side

is a bit different. First of all I dyed my needles a brown - and used sliced walnuts put together with silicone - which gives them strength and a nice looking finish. I also incorporated some walnut slices in the ends of the basket.

As mentioned in my previous post, I loved doing the southwestern arts - and these are

treasures. I made quite a few at the time for gifts but made sure I kept one of each for me!

I hope you enjoy looking back with me. Shirley

Older work

2010-04-23T11:59:00.005-06:00

I was talking to my dear friend Debbie on the phone and she has taken up pottery and doing a great job.

I finally found some pictures of my clay and basket work to send to her and thought I would

put them in my blog. I think I might have shown them 2 years ago but here they are again.

I took a class using Arizona red c

lay and we made navajo indians on a wall. I did the two navajoh - but the third one ended up as Chief Chiniki an indian chief from the Morley band just outside of Calgary. He used to ride in the stampede parade with his beautiful head dress and

beaded outfit. I grew up watching him at the parade and some how he ended up on my wall.

I have to admit the wall means a lot to me. I also did a lot of other

types of clay work.

Two of the above are "southwest indian carving's which was interesting to do. You take a green ware vase raw -and using undercoating thinned with water you put l0 coats letting them dry in between each coat. Then you put between 8 and l0 thin coats of another color , letting them dry thoroughly between each coat. Then you put the last series of coats in a 3rd color. You let them dry for at least four days - then you carefully draw your design on your vase and start

scraping very carefully until you reach the color you want -- My first coat was black and turquoise and sand were my other colors. I scraped the black until I reached the next color and then scraped that way until I reached the bottom color. we then fired the piece and what you see with both the vases is what you get you can fire it to bisque and then either cover with a clear matt finish (not fired) or you can cover it with a matt or shiny glaze and fire it again.

I didn't use a glaze - I finished it off with a matt finish painted on. I loved doing them. I won a

ribbon at the Phoenix Art show which pleased me.

I loved going down to Mesa every year - there were wonderful areas for so many new arts that I hadn't taken before - My eyes were opened to a lot of wonderful new techniques. I wish I

lived closer to Debbie as I would join her pottery group. It was amazing the work that

came out of that pottery room. One girls made a 3 ft long crocodile made in 3 section which

fitted together so that it was able to be placed in different ways. It was really outstanding and

she really reached out of the box. So many memories of Valle Del Oro in Messa. I got my start in quilting and fabric painting there.

Our 55th anniversary

2010-04-22T09:51:00.003-06:00

was yesterday, so Pat and I decided a couple of days ago to go to Banff and spend some time

just soaking in the scenery. The picture here is Bow Falls right in Banff Town and although the ice has melted the falls are still covered with ice and snow. It is a lovely spot. We then went to the Vermilion lakes which is also in the Banff Townsite and took lots of pictures of Mt. Rundle with snow on the lake. It is one of my favorite mountain scenes -- and each time you go it looks different.

I am going to do another wall hanging ,Spring in the Rockies once I finish binding a couple of my newest wall hangings. Check out the header on the blog and you will see how beautiful it is.

It was a wonderful little trip and the when we got home last night Kelly (son) and family took us for dinner.

I really needed to get away and I could feel the stress leaving me on the trip. It is my favorite place in the whole world. Shirley

New BLog

2010-04-19T19:22:00.002-06:00

I hope you will welcome my friend Val who just opened her blog. Val and I are good friends.

She lives in Canmore and worked at the Sugar Pine quilt shoppe (anyone from Alberta or BC will know about the Sugar pine) and I met her at one of the retreats a few years ago.

I would love you to check out her blog and look at the quilt she made of her grand daughter.

She should be very proud of it. I have put her blog on my blog list.

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It was a gorgeous day and we took a drive - however, I FORGOT my camera and saw at least

4 scenes which would make great landscapes. oh well. Talk to you all later.

Learningfa Class projects

2010-04-09T09:29:00.005-06:00

We are having a very successful thread painting on going series and Delia from Australia

did this beautiful parrot. I taught how to do a robin and was so pleased that she took one of

the beautiful parrots that live in her part of the world. When we were in Oz about 5 years ago we visited a place just outside of Melbourne that had thousands of parrots. They ate out of

our hand.

Delia is in the same Challenge group that I belong to and an active member of our group. She can do anything - traditional and art quilts. She will be teaching the 'disappearing nine patch ' in May.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second picture is a Seminole patchwork wall hanging which was taught by Verona -

her wall hanging is lovely. It was a very successful class and I am showing you her

class sample. Verona does such gorgeous work. It was an extremely successful class.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bottom picture is the next landscape class I will be teaching in May- we just finished 'skating on the pond" the girls are working on theirs right now. This one is quite easy so I hope they enjoy it.

---------------

these are just examples of what we do in learningfa (fiberarts). So much fun. Shirley

Thread painted daisies

2010-04-09T09:19:00.002-06:00

were done by Teri in the learningfa group. She is taking my thread painting series and I was so pleased with what she did with these. She is keeping it and hanging it in her house.

She is one of our most active members and does very lovely work. Good job Teri!

#2 Manipulation

2010-04-05T08:59:00.004-06:00

I have nearly finished thread painting my second small wall hanging of manipulated fabric.

I am really liking the finished result here. I have about two inches of the border to quilt then will trim the outsides and satin stitch around it - I have another one I am anxious to get at.

This is fun --- I love thread painting and I have found I like the results of the manipulation.

I hope you like it so far. Shirley

Skating on the pond - continued #3

2010-04-01T12:06:00.003-06:00

I finished doing the landscape part of this piece, for a class I am going to teach on

Learningfa -- we have over 80 students signed up so I hope they enjoy this winter

landscape. Here is the finished top -- it now has to be bordered and quilted, but

the class portion is finished. I hope you like it. There will be lots of room for

variety as the student can go much simpler than this one so I hope the class goes well.

A landscape similar to this one was sold at the quilt acution for breast cancer a few

years ago at their auction and did very well. I have to admit I am glad it is done

as I like to do new 'stuff' rather than repeat - however it is great for a class and people

love the little skaters.

Skating on the pond (continued)

2010-03-31T20:33:00.002-06:00

I have the background all completed and the skaters ready to attach to the ice. I

will us invisible thread for the little ones and steam a seam light to attach them. It is looking

pretty good. I will be attaching a couple of similar scenes with less buildings and skaters so

people can choose their degree of difficulty.

New class

2010-03-29T10:34:00.004-06:00

"Skating in the pond" is a class I promised last year but life got in the way. I just lost all my data on my computer
and my class was one of them . I decided to do another one so that I wouldn't have to cancel the class. I am having
a lot of fun with it. I plan on giving it away as a Christmas present. I have started with the snow, and buildings- having
all the buildings and skaters ready to be added. This is one of my favorite classes so I do hope the girls enjoy
doing it.

It is a lovely sunny day here in Calgary, we had a chilly spell for the past couple of weeks but it is nice and warm now - a real spring day.

I will show you more of my 'work in progress' as I complete each section. I still have to put in 2 more buildings, snow mounds and some shadows on my snow. I also have to do the edge of the pond. Then will work on the pond and also a
mound of snow with some birches at the front. Lots of fun.

Shirley

My header picture

2010-03-26T17:58:00.002-06:00

shows a bouquet I recently received from Rob's ( my son who passed away in December) former wife. I was so
pleased with them. She is a very fine person and it was so nice to have gotten back in touch with her recently.

-------

I have been working all day in trying to find my class emails and other information after having my computer
'crash'. It has been a long day, but some of my dear friends on learningfa have sent me the classes they received
and it has made it much easier than having to re write the classes.

--------

Our weather looks as if it is going to improve a great deal this next few days. We got a showering of light rain and
then a wee bit of snow today so I am looking forward to the nice weather.

Easter is next weekend -- time does fly by. Shirley

Thread painting ...

2010-03-24T20:53:00.002-06:00

has been a passion of mine for the last 4 years- I was going through some of my old discs - trying to find photos I can
use for my Thread painting classes, as I lost a lot of information and I discovered this one, which was one one of my first
real attempts of doing thread painting of an original drawing. I remember the feeling of satisfaction when I finished it and framed it. I gave it to my aunt and as she is in Newfoundland - I haven't seen it on her wall. I hope you like it.

testing

2010-03-19T20:43:00.001-06:00

not sure if it is the blog or me but I have no background

I'm back

2010-03-18T20:39:00.003-06:00

Everything was wiped off my computer and am I ever having fun trying to get it back . I finally got in tp my blog.

I have been working on a manipulated photo which I printed on fabric and then thread painted and did a small amount of beading. here it is.

"COYOTES;

2010-03-07T17:33:00.003-07:00

are finally up on my wall. The wall hanging was a Valentines present for

my husband -- I guess it will be a St. Patricks gift too!

I was concerned that I made the coyotes too much like the background but

we were for a drive the other day and there was one along the side of the

road and you could hardly see him.

This was my first major project since we lost our son and it was very

thereaputic. The main thing is - he loved it!

Photoshop

2010-03-06T14:04:00.007-07:00

I played with photo shop all day yesterday and learned quite a bit. I had no

problem manipulating the pictures, however I am having problems saving the changes to the photos - especially putting them on the blog. I finally put it in my iphotos and then transferred it to my desktop with a jpeg format.

I know there is a much easier way so I am going to read about transferring pictures as well as putting the manipulations into the photo shop library.

It was lots of fun and I hope to use what I am learning, on one of my challenges. The attached picture was the original for the header manipulated picture. I hope to have more soon! (after I figure more out)

Another pillow case #2

2010-03-01T20:42:00.004-07:00

quilt carrier --- it is a work in progress and I am having fun doing it.It will be a Canadian winter

scene - I haven't decided what I will do with the

foreground but the back ground has the distant

trees attached to the background with a glue stick and I am starting to stitch them down.

The foreground is grey and will represent the water. I will do some white thread painting to show the frosty branches, and then will work forward to

ward the foreground.

I will put up more works in progress of this quilt, which will be quilted and attached to a pillow case to carry a quilt. Shirley

"Challenging Ourselves "

2010-02-28T19:21:00.004-07:00

I just opened a new blog which will be used for our new group -

20 of us have joined together to do challenges four times a year. The

new site will show pictures of works in progress and every four months

we will show our final challenge. We are busy working on our first

Challenge "Hidden Treasure" which must be finished by May 15.

http://challengingourselvesfabricarts.blogspot.com/

I am excited about this group as it is something I have wanted to do

for years.

WE WON!!!!

2010-02-28T16:28:00.003-07:00

What a wonderful ending for our Olympics! Our hockey team is so

much a part of this country and there was so much pressure on them to bring back the

gold. I felt the sadness in the US team and I felt for them -

however, they really scared us! I feel the win

really was the icing on our cake! We won more gold medals than any

country ever has even though we didn't win the most medals. I believe

that everyone in Canada watched the game if they possibly could.

Congratulations to everyone involved! Yippeee!

Here is my latest project .........

2010-02-28T13:59:00.003-07:00

I just finished making a 'quilt carrier' as a prize for

an upcoming retreat - It is a

pillow case that I hand dyed and then I added a

wall hanging that I made to the outside. I find these

are great quilt holders or carriers. I buy inexpensive

pillow cases, dye the background and then add a

quilted scene.

I used to paint something on the

actual pillow case but as I like doing the wall hangings,

I decided to do this one with a quilted rough edge landscape on it.

I plan on doing a couple more for prizes for different

things. I hope you like it.

==========================================================

We are sad up here in Canada that our Olympics are over tonight. I have

enjoyed them so much and our Canadian team did very well indeed. I believe we topped the number of Gold medals did very well in the overall medal count - We

are watching the Hockey game and as the whole country has awaited meeting the Americanswe are hoping that we can win a gold.

We are looking forward to the closing ceremonies tonight - Vancouver

has put their heart and sole into the games and all of Canada has been

l00% behind our olympians. I am very proud (as usual) to be a Canadian.I hope those who were able to visit during the Olympics will come back

as there is lots to see and do in this beautiful country.

I hope you all enjoyed the games as much as I did.

I am working on my.........

2010-02-23T09:12:00.002-07:00

Challenge for the new group we set up recently. 20 of us have started a challenge group and every four months we will draw the name of a theme and will

make a challenge - I am having such fun - and it sounds as if others are too.

Our Challenge isn't due until May and I plan on opening a blog so that we

can all show are challenges and show how we reached our finished challenge.

I will let everyone know when we are there!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What about those Olympics! I watched the skate dance finals last night and

was in awe of the beautiful dance our Canadians did. It reminded of some of

the wonderful skaters in the past - Their dance was so beautiful, and so

smooth and I think everyone lost themselves watching them. I have never

seen a more beautiful skating program and it seems even the judges saw that too. They train with the American Couple who came second and are

best friends with them. I have been so proud of our Olympians.

My nephew -- DAVE MERKLINGER

2010-02-17T12:00:00.004-07:00

Is the chief ice maker for the

Olympic curling.

He had done many of the world's tournaments and

this is his first Olympics- as chief ice maker. He was chosen to carry the

torch and loved every minute of it.

What a wonderful time for him. Canada is starting out with wins for both men and women and hopefully they will bring home a medal in Curling.

The men's and women's teams are both from Alberta so we are watching the games whenever they are shown. My sister and her family are all very involved with curling and we are all so proud of Dave.

I loved watching the moguls and the snow boarding - they are so quick and so brave!

It is too bad we don't have some of the snow that is falling on the east coast.

Paul Brandt - who is singing the National Anthem at the awards ceremony tonight is the son of a family friend of ours and is very very popular here in Canada and I believe he is known in some of the States. He decided early on in

his career to stay up here rather than stay in Nashville where he spent a couple of years. Decided he didn't want to go that route and came back to Calgary and

is now the top Western Artist in Canada. Very nice young man.

I hope you are all enjoying the Olympics as much as I am.

I am pulling for Apollo OOno, as well as our speed skaters today as well.

Shirley

Good day at the Olympics!

2010-02-15T20:28:00.003-07:00

We won the first ever gold in a Canadian Olympics last night. The men's moguls were won by a Canadian so we are all quite happy now. Also won a silver and a gold and had lots of close finishes.

The US is doing very well as usual. I was sorry to see Apollo miss the gold in the speed skating. I watched him on Dancing with the stars and he seemed like

a very nice young man.

They have been showing some wonderful pictures of my beautiful country.

Tomorrow is Alberta Day so there will likely be lots of nice shots of this area.

-----

I started teaching my 3rd series of thread painting - we started with a Robin perched on a pussywillow branch - the girls are doing a wonderful job. I am

really pleased with the results so far.

We will be learning how to do leaves, flowes, animals and then start getting information which will be used in doing landscapes. Trees, buildings, mountains, thread painting bushes -- Once we have that finished we will

do a wall hanging using the thread painted trees and buildings - the girls seem

very enthusiastic.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

2010-02-14T11:07:00.003-07:00

I hope you all have a lovely day. It is rather special for us as my husband (Bob aka Pat)and I

met 55 years ago tomorrow -- knew each other for 3 days -- decided to get married - shortly after I flew down to Camp Borden, Ontario where he was stationed

(Army) and 3 days later we were married. Needless to say, no one thought

we had a chance but it has gotten better every year.

I am so fortunate to have him - he is my best friend, my constant supporter and the love of my life!

I doubt if I would have made it through the past year without him being there

for me constantly -- He has 'loved' every art work I have ever done - and

I do so appreciate it. Shirley

OLYMPICS 2010

2010-02-13T16:37:00.003-07:00

I am feeling so sorry for the luge team from Georgia for the dreadful

accident. I feel so bad for his family. He was only 21 years old I understand. I know that the organizers, and all of Canada are devastated.

However, they have not cancelled - I understand they added some height to the

fence - and made some other adjustments.

I have been watching the l000 meter speed skaters- my they do a good job!

I am also looking forward to the curling - as my nephew, Dave Merklinger

is in charge of the ice making. He is our top icemaker for curling .

Dave is also an excellent curler and won the world

championship in l985. His sister Anne is a wonderful curler who just

retired. She is head of our Summer Olympic "Own the Podium" program

which is a program to improve our resources, and training for the

Summer Olympics. I am very proud of them both.

The venues for the winter olympics are here in Calgary and

at the ski hills around here. The cross country skiing area is in Canmore

(Canmore Nordic Center). Most of the venues we built for the 88 olympics

have been used. We have our olympic oval for speed skaters - it isn't far from our place, here in Calgary.

We are usually glued to the television during all the olympics.

I hope you all enjoy them too. The weather is not cooperating. None of our

weather has followed the usual patterns here in Western Canada-- much

colder and snowier here this year but milder than usual in BC.

WELCOME TO CANADA!

2010-02-12T12:29:00.003-07:00

The winter olympics start today - Vancouver is a gorgeous city and will be a great

setting for the Olympics. The opening ceremony will be starting in a few hours.

We held the Winter Olympics here in the 80's and what a great time we all had!

I send all the Olympians congratulations and I hope the games go well.

Shirley

My little artist

2010-02-10T12:04:00.003-07:00

Hayley spent 3 hours painting a wonderful ceramic horse. She amazed me as

she decided to use the primary colors and mix her own. I was surprised she knew how! She is very focused and ended up with a very pretty horse.

She is so focused for a 6 year old and is showing a lot of talent. (not that I

am prejudiced!) I think we have an artist here - grin.

Aurora Borealis

2010-02-04T12:20:00.004-07:00

I have been fortunate to see the northern lights quite a few times, especially when we lived in Edmonton. They are so unbelievable and so beautiful. I thought you might be interested in seeing some pictures that were sent to me - I am not sure who the photographer is - but they show the 'northern lights' so well.

I hope you enjoy them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am still working on my "coyotes" I have the bottom 1/3rd quilted and am

starting the sky right now. I should have it finished (the scene ) and will do the borders tomorrow.

My husband likes it - which is good as it is for him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My mind is still on the new Challenge and I think I have decided on

what I am going to do. I promised myself I will finish my WIP's before I

start - that will give me more time to think about how I will accomplish

my goal which is to get out of my comfort zone -

-------------------------------------------------

It is a glorious day today -- it is bright and sunny (we are fortunate that even though it can be bitter cold we gets lots of sunlight) I do much better in the

sunshine and feel quite down if I am in an area where there are a lot of cloudy

days, even if the weather is warmer. The snow is melting and even though it

is early in this part of the world, I feel spring in the air. I think about the

West coast and that the blossoms are starting to show - I love the spring in

Vancouver and Victoria -- I just am not fond of the rain.

They are busy getting ready for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Shirley

Challengingourselves

2010-02-03T20:19:00.002-07:00

is the name of our new Challenge group -- we have our own yahoo group and have chosen our first challenge --" Hidden treasures" - what a great choice. I think I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go with this. I had decided I wouldn't say much about what I hoped to accomplish, here. However I think I will post generally about my struggles -grin.

My goal is to branch out with my work. I have done so many landscapes of the Rockies, winter and places around where I live. I have decided not to go in that

direction - and hopefully do some of the things I have wanted to do over the years.

I am happy with my work, but it is time I forced myself to try new directions.

I have decided - especially for this first challenge that I don't want to change

completely - I prefer to use what I have learned over the years, but try new

ways to accomplish my goal or even change my goal still doing what I love to do.

-------------------------

We have such a variety of ladies signed up in this new group, that it will be fascinating to see what each of us ends up with. I think the subject is perfect for our first challenge - so many different directions we can go.

----------------------------------------------------

2010 My work Coyotes

2010-02-02T20:28:00.002-07:00

I finally finished the top of my 'Coyotes' It is

45" x 35" and I am glad to get the top finished.

It is the first one I have made for ll months so it is nice to know the creative part is finished.

I will machine embroidery and quilt it quite

tightly, and will put a variegated thread on the border. I enjoy the quilting just as much

as the designing - I haven't got a name for it

yet -- This one will be in our living room.

It has been a very good week for me.

2010-02-01T18:54:00.006-07:00

My grand daughter Hayley's 6th birthday! She had a wonderful time with her kindergarden friends at the Science Building for her birthday party. She is very aware of the universe and amazed my husband because she told him the name of all the planets! She is

such a joy for us!

=======================

We were talking on our Learningfa group about a wonderful challenge blog one of the girls had told me aboutArt quilts around the world . As the group was full, and as the idea appealed to me so much, I suggested that some of the girls on the learningfa group would like to start one of our own. Within about 30 minutes we had 20 people and after a lot of work, we have a yahoo group called "Challenging ourselves" and have chosen our first Challenge. We have Canadians, Australians, Americans and an Irish woman in the group - Some are traditional quilters, others have lots of Art quilt experience some have none and we really should have a variety of different challenges when we

finish them for May 15.

The first challenge is "hidden treasures' and there are no rules as to how we interpret the theme. I will post as I take this journey. I

have so many ideas of things I might want to do -- I want to try new things, but

to be honest - I think I will follow my own thoughts with this one - even if

I use tried and true techniques.

I hope to learn something about photo shop, but doubt I will ever really get

into doing abstracts as I love what I am already doing. I just hope I can come up with something that speaks to me - as that is what the new group is about.

We already have a waiting list but have decided to limit the group to 20 people.

Once we are near finishing our challenge I will open a blog so that we can show our pictures of each of the challenges and continue to do so for each new challenge.

--------------------------

Our weather has improved as we had a Chinook wind this morning which

causes the temperatures to rise very quickly. It makes a nice break and today a lot of the snow on the side roads melted. We have had a very large amount of

snow and the it will be great when the snow goes and the streets are cleaned. Oh well, this is Çanadian weather! It is hard to believe it is February already

and soon we will see our first robins. After this past year, I am looking forward

to a happy 2010 with no unexpected surprises.

Coyote wall hanging 2010

2010-01-25T10:51:00.004-07:00

My two coyotes are now attached to my scene. I am not going to post the whole scene right now. (It looks better when it is quilted) but I want to show you how I added the coyotes to the bottom forest.

Coyotes blend into the forest and I think they do here. It would be good if people, when they look at the piece, find the coyotes which are not too noticeable as that is the way you see
them in real life.

I am enjoying doing this wall hanging
it is nice to get back to normal.

I am also busy preparing a new set of thread painting workshops for the Learningfa
group. I have a large number of students signed up and will be starting the classes
in the middle of February. It will be ongoing and I will also be posting information and examples on my blog.

We really have had a tough winter here in Calgary -- it is snowing again and the roads
are treacherous. It is nice that we are retired and don't HAVE to drive anywhere. I t
never used to bother me to drive in winter. We spent 9 years in Arizona and I got away from winter driving - I really prefer to avoid it at all costs - grin!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is a wonderful class happening in learningfa right now. A One BLock Wonder quilt and the girls are having so much fun with it. I am looking forward to seeing the results.
It is one of the most fun quilts to do and each quilt is different - they are having so much fun.

Well, I had better finish putting the first narrow border on my wall hanging and cut the outer border. Then the fun part - the free motion quliting. I have 3 small wall hangings to finish binding, and a couple of round robins I want to quilt and finish.

I also want to double check my "Skating on the pond" which will be my next class on learning fa - see header picture. I have the class prepared but want to see if I need to add any more information. These 'chores' should keep me busy for at least a month or two.

Have a happy day! Shirley

Coyotes

2010-01-19T11:24:00.003-07:00

Here are the two coyotes I thread painted for a wall hanging I am doing.

I enjoyed doing both of them and hopefully they will add to my scene.

I am also including the original pictures which I copied onto a fabric sheet.
The larger coyote wasn't clear as far as the colors were concerned so I
checked out the smaller one and tried to approximate its colors. I have done many
subjects without the color guideline, but this is much easier and much more true to
life. I will continue working on the wall hanging and will show it to you when it is
finished. Shirley

Coyote

2010-01-14T21:21:00.005-07:00

I spent a couple of hours doing a coyote for my latest wall hanging today. I was really happy with the coat but I put the eye too high in the face. tomorrow I will cover where I did the eye and then thread paint an eye a bit closer to the nose, and put a 'cheek' in rather than have the line under the chin so straight. I have another one that I will also thread paint for
the same wall hanging.This one will be for us - I hope you like it. I really enjoy doing the animals from a printed copy of one of my photos or a photo in a magazine or a newspaper.

This one was one of mine , the second smaller one which will be further back was taken
from a photo in our paper. I printed them on the fabric and then placed it on top of
the timtex and thread painted using the photo fabric as the color source. I don't draw animals well (or faces and people) so I usually take photos instead.

The bear above was done the same way. Shirley

Each year .........

2010-01-11T13:37:00.002-07:00

the girls in Learningfa who finish class projects - put their name in for a draw for one of
my wall hangings. I do a lot of samples for classes as well as wall hangings for my own
pleasure - This year TERI MARX won my wall hanging "A summer Morning".

Teri finished two of the classes and is an active member of the group so I was
pleased to see her win. CONGRATULATIONS TERI - I hope you enjoy having
this wall hanging in your home.

We will be doing the 2010 draw in December.

MY WORK

2010-01-08T16:12:00.006-07:00

In 2000 I made my first hand painted southwest quilt -- I made a total of 5 - sold two and I gave the first one I finished (hand painted and hand quilted) to my oldest Son Rob.

2 weeks before he died he asked me if I would like to have it back and I said yes. I plan on getting it cleaned and will use it on our bed -- it means so much to me that he wanted me to
have it to remember him by. I painted it with acrylic craft paint and textile medium and hand quilted the quilt although it isn't quilted the way I would quilt it now.

===============================================================
The brown bordered quilt was made with my quilting group in Arizona - I painted the panels and they helped me put it together. It was quilt as you go. The other two pictures
are of the top and one of the side panels of the quilt that I kept. It is much like Rob's. I rarely paint my fabric any more as I enjoy the thread painting so much These are
amazingly, not difficult to look after - although I was worried that the paint would fade - not so, thankfully.

The orange bordered quilt (one of my favorites) was donated to the Crisis shelter in Strathmore in 2002 and they raffled it off - they made 4500.00 for their new shelter -- this quilt paid for their playground and childrens' room which really was exciting for me.

ALBERTA SCENERY

2009-12-27T17:33:00.005-07:00

We take lots of drives around Alberta (usually into the Rocky Mountains) and I want to share some of our beautiful scenery with you.Some of these show
our Skies, and most are of the mountains.

These photos were all taken on our short trips in 2009.

CHINOOK ARCHES

2009-12-27T10:40:00.006-07:00

"CHINOOK - "a warm dry wind that blows down the east side of the Rocky Mountains in
the winter -- Temperatures can change in a few hours up to 30 degrees."

The winds cause an arch in the sky and are seen in northern Montana and Southern Alberta.
We know that warm weather is coming if only for a short while.

I have seen hundreds of Chinook arches over the years and never tire of them as each one is different from the others. The wind pushes the clouds into an arch (often a perfect arch) and they are so welcome. Sometimes at sunset they are spectacular -see photo.

I am going to post some pictures of my part of the world for the next while. I live in
an interesting place -- on the west are the Beautiful Canadian Rockies, then the foothills and to the east are the prairies and ranch and farm land. I hope you enjoy my pictures of some of the beautiful 'arches'. Shirley

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

2009-12-25T09:47:00.004-07:00

My six year old grand daughter just phoned -- it seems Santa brought her a set of drums and an
mouth organ ! (I am glad they are at her house rather than mine!). She 'played for us
on the phone and I promised I would help her play a tune on the mouth organ. We are having a quiet family get together tonight.

I am finding this Christmas difficult, but that is to be expected -I know it will be easier as
time goes by. I hope to get back to normal this next while - teach my classes which were
promised last summer and do another wall hanging.

Our weather is so much nicer today - we have had terrible weather this past month-but today it is bright and sunny, not bitter cold and a typical Alberta Christmas. I wish I could
share it with my friends in the warmer climes. (Maybe they could send a bit of their
warmth this way.

We spent 2 Christmas's in New Zealand and I remember having a 'barbie" on the beach
with our friends - wonderful sea food right out of the ocean- pipis, clams, etc. It is
one of my favorite memories of our two years there.

Once again, have a wonderful Christmas everyone! Shirley

My dear friend Deb, who is

2009-12-22T11:47:00.004-07:00

like a daughter to me is celebrating her birthday today - (a very special one) .

Deb -- has been a big part of my life for l0 years and
and has been such a wonderful friend, especially this
past few months when things were very dark in my life. I wish you good fortune,
good friends, and all good things dear Deb. Shirley