SNAP THAT

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday it was a beautiful, bright sunny day.  Today it is very dull, overcast and raining.  Apparently it is the calm before the coming storm.  Our summer is pretty much over but it was a good one. Soon I hope to have some good Fall photos to share. As I mentioned the other day, the transition to Fall is always a very busy time here and this year is no exception.  I didn't do much quilting for the last week as I'm feeling too tired.  Instead I concentrated on rest, reading and enjoying connecting with friends. Yesterday I combined a bit of food shopping with coffee schmoozing.  I hadn't planned on shopping but there were some good deals on beef.  That doesn't seem to happen very often these days so I bought some steaks and a roast to divide into several meal portions. I was also able to get together with a dear old friend who is a year older than my mother.  Though my friend is now completely white haired, she is still as vibrant

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 Would that there be peace in the world so that the killing of innocent people like in Pakistan and Kenya can be ended.  The World Day of Peace (September 21) has passed. But each of us can still all do our part for peace in this world; through prayer, through awareness, through understanding one another and supporting one another. Shalom

 “When I get a little money, I buy books. If any is left, I buy food and clothes.”  ~ Erasmus I'm still feeling tired and sneezy this week from the cold I'm fighting.  Even so I've spent a  lot of time doing things I love as I recover.  Working on the two quilts as Christmas gifts saw me not only cutting, sewing and ironing but also running errands to purchase fabric and new blades for my rotary cutter. I also modified two t-shirts into camis for my mother as I can't find any to fit her that don't have spaghetti straps. When I needed or wanted a break from sewing and quilting, I spent some time on my other favourite hobbies, reading and catching up with friends. Newest second hand book acquisitions this week cost a  grand total $3 (Canadian) and include: ~ Tower of the King's Daughter (Outremer #1) by Chaz Brenchley. I'm not sure about reading this one as I found out it is actually the 2nd book in a series. ~ Bel Canto by Ann Patc

 “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.” ~ Abraham Lincoln My nephew's quilt is nearing completion and that makes me happy. This is a snuggle size quilt for one person. I would like to make more time to work with my hands. I find it relaxing.  But as I do it so seldom, I tend to do it to excess  as I don't know when I might do it again. I still have to quilt it and I haven't decided whether to do it by hand or by machine.  I will only do a "light" quilting job so that the finished effect is more or less, reversible.   This throw has has a nice loft making it extra cosy. I'm joining up with  I Heart Macro for this post. BREAKING NEWS :  In sad news, there was a terrorist attack on innocent citizens at an upscale mall in Nairobi, Kenya yesterday. See more here .  Please pray for the government and security to get the perpetrators and bring security for their citizenry and tourists.

I'm already missing summer, lol. This day in July was one of the hottest days of the summer months in Vancouver. I took several shots into the direction of the sun. I was trying to capture the shimmer on the water. I'm joining up with Skywatch Friday this week. Why don't you have a look at the various skies from all around the world.

A quilt is something you make to keep someone you love ... WARM! Quilting Quote ~ The Stitching Cow Hello friends, Since I posted about the quilt I am making for mom here , I've had a lot of wonderful suggestions about colour choices for borders. I wish I could try them all because I know they would all look wonderful. In the end I selected a brown inner border and a red outer border. I'm glad that some of you also suggested this combination of colours. I also did some on line research looking for more of the sunflower fabric but I didn't have any success.  While I did find the fabric it was in a different colour way.  I even called the out-of-town quilt shop where I purchased the fabric in fat quarters to see if they had any pieces left.  They did not. So I went out and bought the brown and red fabrics for the borders yesterday. I spent some time cutting the pieces and sewing them to the quilt top. Here is a lengthwise view of the end result ready for quilti

 One yard of fabric, like one cookie, is never enough! Quilting quote from Stitching Cow Hello friends, I wrote here about my next project. I've decided that quilt will be for my nephew.  I'll make it in the same style as I made one for my mother (see here ).  It will be a bit larger for snuggling on the sofa while watching television. In the meantime I've selected this bright sunflower fabric from my stash for my mother's quilt. It will be larger than the other two I've made her so she can use it this winter as a cover up on her bed. I wanted something bright and sunny for her and something that would blend with the colours of the standard quilts provided by the residence. I purchased all of fat quarters over the past year and a half or so at different places. I really love the sunflower print and have been looking for more on line to no avail. I cut out many of the squares and came up with the layout above.  Far too small.  So I have to a

I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men. ~ Lao Tzu It has been a very long time since I made a post about what I've been doing to save money lately. The last post in August, was about curbing my impulse buying and doing without. If you'd like to read it, you can find it here . Curbing impulse spending is one of the best ways to save money and ensure you don't rack up more credit. I know this isn't always possible and some of us are more disciplined than others. I am an impulse buyer and if someone in my family needs something, it is always my first instinct to try and provide it. I still try to do that but now I carefully consider the purchases and timing of them.  I also have an insti

Our lives are like quilts - bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love. Quilting Quote from Greenfairy Quilts.   My next project.... I made a start with cutting the fabrics. My apologies for the colour and quality of the next photo.  My night lighting is very poor. This quilt will be for my mother or my nephew. I haven't quite decided yet.  I do have fabric and quilt ideas for several more quilts although I still have to purchase the batting and backing fabrics.  One of the quilts I have in mind will definitely be for my nephew. Originally I thought to make it for his birthday but that date has passed. I will likely give it to him at Christmas.  I'm still new to quilting and I'm realizing that I would save a lot of time both in cutting and in finding coordinating fabrics and colours if I simply bought pre-cut fabrics.  I'm also finding that a lot of the new patterns I've been admiring are designed to be made from pre-cuts (jelly rol

I've just returned after a long 3 days away. I was moving my mother for the second time in the space of two months.  You might remember I moved her from one facility to another in early July.  At that time there was no room available on the ground floor which she had requested.  Parts of the ground floor were closed to residents due to flooding and it has taken two months for all the repair work to be done.  So this week was the 2nd move and I'm glad it's done.  I found the move from one floor to another to be more difficult than moving from one facility to another. Even though I was better rested this time, the move was still a chore. The temperatures were still very hot at over 30 degrees celsius so that made errands and moving rather draining.  Thankfully the residence has fairly good air conditioning. Even at that it was even too warm indoors at times.  Just imagine what it would be like without air conditioning! I spent the first day moving from one floor to a

Everyone must have felt that a cheerful friend is like a sunny day, which sheds its brightness on all around; and most of us can, as we choose, make of this world either a palace or a prison. ~ John Lubbock  Today started off cloudy and threatening to rain. (I didn't get a photo of the cloudy sky for comparison). I was getting together for breakfast with a friend from Alberta, who if I am lucky, I get to see once a year. Last year it was coffee and muffins at my home. This year it was breakfast out. Her treat. We dined, drove around, then dined some more. I forgot to take photos of the food. Well it wasn't much.  She had a BIG salad. I had clam chowder soup and a fresh Caesar salad. It was the first time I've had Caesar salad without the romaine lettuce leaves being torn into bite sized pieces. But the capers were certainly nice! The day turned  out to be sunny and warm. The scenery from my chair was spectacular. I lo

I managed to catch a beautiful light in the sky a few days ago. Linking up with Skywatch Friday . Have yourself a beautiful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

I finished my expanded reading goal of 28 books last Thursday. I can't help myself, I've picked up another book. A friend and I were going to go out to the local annual fair.  When she heard how I sounded this morning she suggested I stay home instead and have a good rest.  I seem to be coming down with congestion in the chest. I took her advice and it gave me a chance to begin a slow read of my new book. The new book I've had on my shelves for a long while. It is called, Salt by Mark Kurlansky. It is a book all about the history of salt and how it has shaped civilization.  Did you know that wars have been fought over salt; that salt has been used for currency, or that in 1930, Ghandi initiated a salt march to overthrow British rule in India? I also found it interesting that "sal" is the Latin word for salt and that our "sal-ary" derives from the word "sal" because soldiers used to be paid in salt. The word "sal-ad" also der