In the Forecast...

Here's our weather forecast into next week:

Today and tomorrow

Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Conclusion:

• Little or no gardening.  :-(
• Studio work: indoors.   :-)
• When the lawn finally gets cut, I may have to use a scythe! 

It may have just let up...

It's been raining almost continually for the past 3 days and, much as we need it, right now I'm longing for some sunshine to balance it off. I don't know about you, but I seem to run out of energy more quickly when the skies are dark and gloomy. If's certainly easier to fall prey to my "demons" when the rain can't seem to let up. To compound the sense of darkness, the sun is already rising a lot later the past few mornings. I mean, I figure if I get up at 6:00 a.m., the sun should be there to greet me!

But enough Pity Party-ing. What have I been exploring to keep my spirits up? Well... something old and something(s) new.

First, in honour of the First Annual Sock Summit, which I'm not attending, I'm knitting...er...a sock! Sorry; no photo. It's a variegated greens-and-browns, the second of a pair, being knit up for C, a friend from church. She chose the yarn, which is always a nice thing -- knitting without having to buy the yarn, that is. Actually, this pair of socks is simply one of the five pair I have on the go.

Second, on Monday I went to a local "U-Pick" farm -- Billyco Junction -- for Saskatoons. A fairly new operation, their Saskatoons won't be ready until next year, but I did pick five pounds of strawberries! As a result,

This... Became this...

Which became this... And finally, these...

It's been a few years since I've made strawberry jam, and then, it was always from store-bought berries. The quality, the scent, the sweetness of these fresh-from-the-patch is so much better! And when the rain lets up...I'll be off to find similar bounty in the form of Saskatoons!

Third, on the quilting front, I've been playing catch-up with my online class, "The Quilter's Palette", from Annie's Quilting Stash. The main reason? Fear of paper piecing! Yep, I've tried this technique several times; I've attended

demonstrations of it, a full in-person class on it, and still...it makes my brain hurt! This time, though, the quilt I'm making is so gorgeous that I just had to sign up and give it one more try. I continue to find paper piecing a real challenge -- particularly the first 2 pieces. I get easily turned around and tend to transpose pattern pieces and fabric. This time, I took even more time than usual to figure things out, and ended up ripping out a few times -- and tossing fabric into the scrap bag! -- but I persevered. What helped most was the detailed notes I took from the class, combined with remembering the simple fact that the paper side of the piece is the wrong side. I've managed to finish one (of eight) "Sunburst" semi-circles and two (of four) pieces of the "Thistle Blossom Block" -- and I'm pretty proud of myself!

What's next? Well...I'm waiting for my painted Tyvek (R) to dry...and then it's off to apply some heat and some stitching. This is all part of my Lesson 1 homework for my latest online class: Tyvek Explorations at Joggles.com. More later!

How's Your Summer?

Mine has been very busy so far, with 3 guests between June 9 and July 9.

First, there was my cousin J from Scotland. I took him to see the Columbia Icefields near Jasper, where we walked on the Athabasca Glacier. I hadn't been there in years, so the Interpretive Centre, hotel and gift shop were all new experiences. We both learned a great deal, and were totally bowled over by the beauty of the fields. Now *this* is what is meant by "awesome"!

A week after J left -- he was touring north-central Alberta on a Rotary Friendship Exchange -- my friend, P, arrived from Montreal. Our friendship dates back to our university days, and she was one of the bride's maids at my wedding. Here we are in the beautiful butterfly garden at the Ellis Bird Farm, which is only a few miles from my home. My friend B joined us (she's taking the photo), and we enjoyed a delightful tea at the tea house there. Hint: The Saskatoon berry scones are to die for!

P was with me a week, during which we visited Sylvan Lake, Rochon Sands, the Bashaw

Farmers' Market (yummy tomatoes and B.C. cherries!), slept, read, walked and talked a lot. Although we e-mail and speak on the 'phone frequently, it isn't quite the same as having a face-to-face conversation with someone so dear. Between P and B, I'm truly blessed!

Another week flew by, and then I welcomed Sr. Jessica, SSJD, into my home. She is one of the Sisters of St. John the Divine, head-quartered in Toronto for 125 years -- but she's been living at St. John's House in B.C., and has become a dear friend and mentor. I took her to the bird farm too -- for a delicious lunch -- and she met some of the other critters there!

During her visit, she gave a talk at my church on the Sunday and the following day, led a Quiet Day that was very well attended. It was a gift to us all.

On July 9th, I took Sister up to Edmonton to visit Associates of the Order there, and got ready for the third annual dye-in weekend with my friends, the Free Spirit Artisans -- at C's farm west of Calgary. No photos to show you yet, but I'm pleased with my items over all, especially the parfait dyeing and rusted fabric.

In a similar vein, I finished my first commissioned piece -- a crazy quilt block designed to showcase a few of the hand-dyed silk ribbons available now at Addie's Creative Fabrics, designed by Annette of Nature's Colours in Red Deer.

Here's a wee bit of block detail. The ribbons were in 3 widths and 3 colours -- but just 1 of each. The

shop carries an absolute rainbow of them, in all three widths -- yummy! I do confess that the red ribbon -- only 2 mm wide -- was the toughest to work with. I managed to do some spider roses with it, though, and then some seed stitch. The laying tool was a must to work with it, as it was so narrow.

While I was dyeing fabric, my DD was returning from Nova Scotia, where she spent a week with close friends of hers who moved there last year from Edmonton (the former parents of my Diesel cat). During the visit, the gals got up to Shelburne to see the SAQA exhibit, "Synthesis", in which I have a piece. My DD was gracious enough to take photos. Here, she's indicating the size of the piece! I can't tell you the thrill of seeing my work actually on display in a gallery!!

I haven't done a great deal of knitting lately; we finally have heat this summer, and with 25C

to 30C days, it's been too hot to think about it -- spinning, too. I'm makeing my daughter the

"Sweet Tee" from Interweave Knits, Spring 2009, and am about ready to do the waist decrease. This is my second approach to the waist. The first time, I got about 6" finished (of 9" -- my daughter likes her tops longer than called f0r), and discovered I was knitting a mobius! AARGH!

This is due in large part to the fact that the garter stitch trim

at the bottom is knit back and forth before you join to knit the

body in the round. Sigh. To prevent a second occurance of this

problem, I got an idea. I pinned a pretty brooch -- one that had

belonged to my mother, I think -- on the garter stitch band to

hold the ends together and keep them from twisting while I

joined the round. Nice accent, don't you think? And useful, too!

I have now knit up past where I erred in the first place, and all

is well. If I can, I'll have the top finished so she can wear it back

to work in the fall.

Come October 1st, I'm going to be very busy with SAQA University's "Visioning Project", in which I am participating. It's a 12-month project designed to help SAQA members identify and accomplish specific goals. My goal is "to build a cohesive body of work that can be proposed to a gallery for a show". Consequently, I am currently trying to clear out of my studio all sorts of quilting and stitchery projects, to make way for this focus.

Another part of this process with be the development of a website, so watch this space for more about it in the coming weeks and months.

Winter Musings

1. How much snow could a snow-blower blow while the wind is blowing the snow?

You got it. My retired neighbour is out in the snow and blowing snow (-15C with a wind chill that takes it to -28C), blowing snow off his sidewalk and blowing a path across his lawn from front to back -- with his snow-blower! What's up with that?! (By the way, he just did my front walk too! Crazy!)

2. "Undo". It's a word I've been pondering awhile now. I began to use it when I was playing computer 'Solitaire' -- and then realized that in real 'Solitaire', "undo" or "do over" is against the rules. If you blow it, you blow it. If you see a mistake after you've made it, too bad. You can't go back to correct it; you have to live with it and try to play the reat of the game, to win, "as is". So why does virtual 'Solitaire' lack the same discipline? I'm just asking...

A Touch of the Lion

March is one of the most unpredictable months, weatherwise, in our Fair Alberta. If truth be told, March weather is unpredictable just about anywhere in Canada! This is what I saw today on the Weather Network:

"Weather Watches & Warnings: Mirror, Alberta

WINTER STORM WARNING: Red Deer - Ponoka - Innisfail - StettlerIssued at 4:26 AM MST TUESDAY 3 MARCH 2009
SNOW RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN...THIS IS A WARNING THAT DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS...LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS"

I feel sorry for anyone who has to drive today. Me? I'm staying in to knit and work on my latest art project. Just a hint: it involves fabric collage. I'm studying The Art of Fabric Collage by Rosemary Eichkorn to help me out. I've had the book for some time, but this is the first time I've been inspired to use the technique. Stay tuned!

On the knitting front, I'm lurking on the "Guernsey Socks KAL" on Ravelry. I've only just requested an invitation to Ravelry, and await the response, which should take another couple of days. I was put on to the KAL in the Knit-alongs section at Knitter's Review and because I have Clara's book and a stashful of sock yarn, I've jumped in anyway.

I say 'jumped' because right off the bat, the ribbing calls for single-stitch cabling. This is very difficult to do with a cable needle in the second round of ribbing on 3 dpns. Time to learn to (shudder) knit without a cable needle. In all my 48 years of knitting, I've never done this. Like steeking, cabling without a cable needle can be scary. Now that I have the internet, though, I sought online help, and found this excellent video on YouTube. I had to watch it 3 times and then practice doing the technique along with the knitter, but it was worth it. I'm now very comfortable with the process -- and very proud of myself!

What's next? Steeking?!

Hunkerin' Down

Snow. And blowing snow. Storm warnings south of here. Here -- mostly blowing. The walk I shovelled yesterday noon is now almost filled in again. That's okay, though. In this weather, no one's going to be visiting -- certainly not on foot!

I managed to get into Lacombe yesterday afternoon for banking, the Post Office (sent off a Christmas parcel), the Library (brought home a VHS tape and 2 DVDS), and groceries. I think now I'm home to stay...at least till Tuesday, when I am supposed to go in to Calgary. "Weather permitting" has become my current favourite phrase!

So yesterday evening, making it back just as snow and wind were starting up, I worked on a wee art piece -- this month's challenge for my art quilt group, the Free Spirit Artisans. The theme was "Favourite Book, Movie or Song". Can you guess what this represents?










Here's a closer view:

On the agenda for today: applique and a the start of a new pair of socks!

TTFN!