You're the Creator

This is post number 100 on my blog today.  I wanted something special for it, but all I really had planned was a book review tomorrow.  But then this plum fell into my lap over at the Piece O'Cake blog!  It could not be more perfect.

This is your world, you're the creator
Every day is a good day when you...

You can also download the song for free, or name your own price, here.   Happy creating everyone!

Back to Normal, Hopefully!

I just have a little point-and-shoot camera, it's the HP Photosmart R817, but it certainly takes great macro shots!  This is a new Black-Eyed Susan that we have in our garden.  It was planted two years ago, and this is the first time it has bloomed.  But boy, has it bloomed!

I think these late summer flowers are my favourites.  I'd love to get some cosmos too, but I think our yard is too shady for them.  We only get sun at the very end of the day.  It is great light for photos, though.

Our basement is pretty much sorted, now.  It is actually better than it was before, because we took out some old built-ins, and now I have more room for my stash!

I've also finished the new website for my quilt guild Rouge Valley.  Check it out here.  I'm trying to stop tinkering with it now, and get back to this blog on a more regular basis.  It was a fun project, though.  I realized yesterday that at least with the website done, I can feel that I accomplished something over the summer, given that I haven't been able to quilt at all.  My online friend Anna Maria Salehar calls the work on her website "electronic embroidery," so maybe my work on the guild website has been "electronic quilting."  ;)

It is certainly nice to be back to normal, anyway!

Flood Finds

Here's a couple of old, old UFOs that were unearthed by the flood in the basement. I think I bought them in the winter of 2002/03 when I was visiting Toronto, before I moved back here.  They are limited edition cross stitch designs from Lizzie Kate, Clara and Henry O'Hare:

They probably have not seen the light of day for 8 years until now!  I knew they were there but I've not been keen to finish them.  Henry was already done:

You may have noticed that I changed the colour of his fur.  The pattern calls for quite a dark, steel grey which I thought was just too cold.  Except for the fur and the backstitching, which are done with solid coloured DMC threads, all the rest of the stitching uses The Gentle Art's Sampler Threads.  I remember that I was pretty annoyed when I bought the kits, only to get them home and find the threads weren't included!  I'm sure that is part of the reason they have been buried in a hole in the wall for eight years.  I think I was holding a grudge!

But there is no reason not to finish them now, so I've made a start on Clara over the past two days:

It does not get any easier than this!  But I can use something completely stress-free these days, so they're a good pattern for now.  And you can see the hand-dyed threads are nice.

Pink and blue are not my favourite colours, so I think I may make these into pillow covers and sell them through my quilt guild at some future event.  They were meant to be stand-up ornaments, but all the charms and other doo-dads that came in the kit have not done well over time.  I don't know what possessed me to buy them in the first place, but I guess I was probably desperate for a project during my vacation!

Other UFOs have come to light as well, but I'm not sure if I'll be taking them on too right now.  Soon it'll be cool enough to start quilting again, and I am SO keen to get back to that!

Thanks to everyone who asked about my Dad.  He is being monitored right now, and they may adjust his pacemaker if necessary.  Hopefully he will take it easier from now on!