Down the rabbit hole - many times today!

Oh my-- I have a few things to learn about knitting, but that's OK. What I noticed was the number of large loose sweaters in the store on Salt Spring. Oversized chunk sweaters are back!

My hands will get used to it! 

OK -- here's a hilarious story about knitting sweaters. When I was young -- very young, OK, young, in my late teens, I knit a sweater for my then boyfriend, who was a large guy, so it took a lot of knitting. I forgot about that sweater. He tracked me down one day a couple of years ago through my quilting - his sister is a quilter, and he came across my blog. I don't remember all the details. 

Anyway, can you believe that he kept that sweater all that time? And the sweater is still being used? OH MY GOD -- I guess that is someone who appreciates a knitted sweater, but it wasn't made with great yarn, so I can imagine how pily it is. 

Amazing what you can find on the blog when you go back and search. Here is the blog post about my early days of knitting.

I was first and foremost a knitter, and then got into quilting. That story about Rod's sweater is hilarious!! That was TEN years ago!!! It seems this trip has triggered many memories from 10 years ago. 

And I will say that I've become a slug. No walking - well, very little, no cares about the number of steps I get in a day, and sleeping? I just got up! This summer has been the summer of little walking, and I need to get everything caught up. I haven't even entered any steps or mileage since July!!!! Am I done with the excessive walking? I don't think so. Am I done with the medals for The Conqueror? I don't think so, but I need to get my mindset back. That trip to Africa just changed so much!!!

Anyway, I'll make it happen - whatever that is, and I'm not worried. But I do need to get those stretches in. 

I was looking through Dillon's pictures from the other night at Capilano Suspension Bridge, and here's a better one of the cliff walk. You are NOT walking beside the cliff -- it goes out. That makes me think I could do the one at the Grand Canyon. I'll wait a bit before I venture down there, but wouldn't that be fun?

The cliff walk

Good grief - the next thing you know, I'll be skydiving! OK - I have jumped out of a plane - twice, but that was many, many years ago!

Here is M's magnet collection from her travels. Hmmm -- we don't seem to have as many, but they were much smaller and less elaborate in our day! What's hilarious is that in the first picture in this blog post, look at the fridge!!!! 

M's magnet collection

I went outside to take a picture of the view, and this hummingbird just popped out of nowhere to feed at the feeder. They are fascinating to watch. And he was pretty happy to hover in the air and show off his skills, and then he landed on the feeder to get a drink. 

The resident hummingbird

This is the view from their second-floor balcony. It's a beautiful spot to be sure. The trees in the distance are located in Stanley Park. 

The view

And they get to see the barges go by to get to the dock in North Vancouver. On a nice day, I would be sitting on the deck and just watching the world go by - literally as the cruise ships go by as well. The weather is pretty decent here - it was cloudy yesterday, but we did not have any rain. And it's relatively warm - I'm happy! 

A container ship

Bear, M, and I had a walk along the waterfront, which is just a couple of blocks from their house, and yes -- I would spend a lot of time along the waterfront as well. It really is stunning and such a different life from my forest back home. I'll take the forest over the water, but I could easily handle the water as well. And there are plenty of trees everywhere for forest bathing! 

Bear and M

Then, for something to do, we went to the Vancouver Public Library! Yep -- the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but she went for some books on creativity that looked pretty interesting, while I went somewhere else. But first, we checked out the rooftop deck on the 9th floor, and then looked briefly at all the floors on the way down. The place is enormous and would be a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. 

The Vancouver Public Library

Of course, I went to the quilt section and WOW!!!! I could have browsed all afternoon. While they have a lot of technique and standard books you would find in a public library, they also have a great selection of historical quilt books. OK -- I would take some of those home if I could! I know I have a great deal of those types of books at home, and many of them are ones I already own, but there were a few!!!!

The quilt section

I took one out so I could browse for some ideas. More of an art book based on the next assignment I have to get done. 

As we were driving back, we spotted this on a condo construction site. HMMM -- are those balconies sticking out, or is that a construction thing? They have bizarre buildings here, and they seem to try to outdo the one beside it. 

Balconies? 

Then, over the Lion's Gate Bridge, which I rode my bicycle across in 2010, I was totally terrified. It was my first big bike trip, and we started at UBC. As I saw the bridge looming in the distance, my heart was in my mouth!!!! But I made it, and I survived!!!

The Lion's Gate Bridge

Well, I certainly did not make any bones about my fright in that day's blog post. Here's the link. You won't find it on this blog page because at the time, I was using another platform!!!! Oh dear -- do not go down a rabbit hole with that. But I really should pull off that Arctic trip and make a digital book out of it with the pictures in the right place. 

And here is Mr. Snuggle Pants sleeping on the couch!! His ear still isn't perfect, and you can tell it's dirty from the grim collected by the ear drops. But he's doing just OK. and so happy to be with Dillon and M. As much as I would like to dognap him, this is his home. But he's welcome to visit any time!

Mr. Snuggle Pants

Now, my blog posts about a brand-new Husqvarna Viking sewing and embroidery machine are being posted on QUILTsocial this week. Here's the link to the first one. It is the Husqvarna Viking Designer Topaz 65, and wow—I love it. There are so many things you can do with an embroidery machine. 

Day One -- Meet the Husqvarna Viking Designer Topaz 65

Oh my - I went down a rabbit hole and listened to all the videos!!! Yep -- I made some pretty decent videos explaining the features. And here's the thing -- all the Husqvarna Viking embroidery machines have similar tools, so if you have a different Wi-Fi-enabled Husqvarna Viking machine, you may want to check out those videos!!!!

I'll post more links tomorrow. 

I also had dinner with my SIL, who lives in Vancouver, so that was a good visit. Yep -- the entire trip is a lot of coming and going. We have a lot in common and discussed her upcoming wedding plans, hiking, reading, etc. Yep -- next year is also going to be an interesting year!

Oh my -- I'd better get myself together here, or M will think I have died!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

If only......

If only there were more hours in a day, I'd be in good shape. How many more hours?  Two or three?  Personally, I'd like more than two or three!  Did you know that there are ways to find time in your day?

• If you spend a lot of time looking for things - then get better organized. 
• Evaluate the major things you do in a day and ask yourself if those are the things that you really want to do while the things you would love to do sit waiting for those extra hours?  
• Things like errands?  Do you really need to do them?  Can they be done online or not at all? Can you bundle them up so you spend one hour a week and do all the things in one area of the neighborhood? 
• Are you doing way too much for your kids? We tried to make M pretty self sufficient at an early age.  Laundry? her problem and other things.  Why?  She needs to learn and I'm not doing her any favors by doing those tasks so I have less time for myself. 
• Volunteer for a group that you get no satisfaction out of?  Why bother then?

You know - there are all kinds of ways that we can find lost time in our lives, but because most of us aren't selfish, we continue to do those things that we don't want to do.  It's time to get selfish!

I'm not sure where that came from!  I've pretty much done the above already so I'd be hard pressed to find more time, I just need to priortize better.  Should I read a book or should I sew?  I want to do both, but I have to choose.  That's hard!

Anyway, I guess that was to say that I missed yesterday's post because there were a few other things more important that had to be dealt with and they took priority.

I'll be reading and sewing today. I've got a ton of sewing to do, but I do want to finish that Anne Perry book.  Who really is the murderer?  She's a very good author and I love the Inspector Monk series.

I think you remember a while back I posted a picture of a kit that I had purchased from a shop who was selling a quilter's estate items.  It's a jewelry case.  Not that I really have time to be working on it, but I wanted to at least get the first step done.

Jewelry case kit

The kit is absolutely complete!  Right down to the snaps needed.  The cover of the kit is textured with texture magic. While I didn't need to do this, I thought why not?  So I marked all the grid lines on the texture magic this morning and picked the thread.  My goal is to get this part of it done today and see what I can manage for tomorrow.

Texture magic is marked and ready to sew

I've got bags to make, huge quantities of fabric to cut, blog posts to finish, quilts to quilt and well - it's going to be an exciting weekend!  Totally all about ME!!!!   The only thing I need to do is go to the bank to deposit a cheque which I can't do on my phone.  I could, but US funds cheques have to be done in person.  Hey, bank people - we need to change that!

I have no classes, no commitments, it's just me and the girls this weekend so it's going to be a super exciting time!!!

 I know several people who recently crossed off a bucket list item of traveling to the northern part of Canada. Shirley made it all the way to Tuktoyatuk which is a very remote part of Northern Canada bordered by the Beaufort Sea.  When I went 7 years ago, the only way was by boat or plane. Now there is a road. in the summer. That's exciting news for that community. The sad news is that the ice house which was such a cool place to visit is no longer open to the public because of the permafrost thawing. That is very sad!  Let's just say that our weather is becoming a very hot topic these days.   (here's a link to my old blog and the day that we visited Tuk).

Laura got to visit Yellowknife in the NWT. Being a quilter, she made it to the Quilted Raven and scooped up kits for the row by row..........................   (Shirley is also a quilter and also made it to this store!)

Laser cut kit for row by row

And a plate................

License plate for row by row

Thanks, Laura!!!!   Hey - I think I was supposed to get something from M, but that hasn't happened yet!


I'll have to do a count of the kits and plates that I accumulated for 2017.  It was significantly less than previous years which is good!

On that note, I'm out of here.  I'm going to finish enjoying my tea while I sneak in a few more pages of the book and then it's off to the studio to see what kind of damage I can do today! And I'll sit on the deck with the girls while I do that. Enjoy the morning and then get to work!

Have a super day!

Ciao!

The FLATS are back in town

Why or why do I NOT read my e-mail?????  

I have been contemplating upgrading my Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Premiere for a long time, but just didn't do it. Well I want to edit a video and I cannot load it into Photoshop Premier. I thought perhaps the new version would make a difference.

Yesterday I went to Staples to get the software. I arrive only to find that the day BEFORE, the bundled software had been ON SALE. How could this be????   How come I did NOT get notification????

Well -----------------when I got home - look what I found..................OK - can't do a screen shot and bring it into blogspot - however, the deal ONE DAY ONLY - $79 for BOTH. Normal price - $189.  CRAP CRAP CRAP. ONE DAY  - I missed the great deal by one day!!!!!   And this was the title of the e-mail.......

Extreme Deal Alert (do not miss out)!  


Guess I will be paying more attention to my e-mail in the future!!!!!!




Oh - and of course they were COMPLETELY sold out so I couldn't even buy it if I wanted to. Wait a minute - there are other stores around here that sell that software. So yes - I went to Best Buy (did an internet check on my phone - Future Shop had the same price) and both stores was $10 MORE than Staples.

Then home to install the software. Did I think to shut down all the other software on my laptop. NOPE - so of course the installation hung and finally by 8:30 PM - I had all the software installed and ready to play. Still couldn't load the video - appears to be another issue than the software (more of an operator error - I think).

But after watching a webinar the previous night on Photoshop and digital scrapbooking - I created this............

Yes I know in the scheme of digital scrapbooking this is MICKEY MOUSE stuff, but I got the canvas size figured out, how to colour the background, import the pictures and resize them and add the title. Oh let's not forget the LOVELY and creative composition. And how about those PHOTOS - impressive!!!!!!

Anyway, I was very pleased with my efforts. These pictures were taken off Salt Spring Island (while geocaching) just before my bike trip to the Arctic.

Now we need to go with more sophistication, journaling, better titles - OH YES - ANOTHER hobby. WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH ME??????

And while I was searching through that folder of pictures, I came across these pictures which I do not think have ever been posted.

Let me give you a bit of background. When I went on my first long distance bike trip in 2010, I asked my friends to make a FABRIC FLAT of themselves. There was a pattern on the internet and they made their flat. The idea was that I would carry the flats with me on my bike, so they could "experience" the trip and my friends would be with me every pedal of the way.

Here is the first group - they are still at my house here
From left to right - Judy, Gayle, Daphne and Margo (cool shades!!!!)

Flo (with shorts AND long pants and a dress for the evening!), Nolan and Gabrielle (Karen's grandkids - Judy was going to babysit!!!!!)

Carol with a complete wardrobe AND a quilt and pillow. The white rectangle is her thermarest!!!!    She goes for comfort!!!!!

I mean they really went all out.

There are TWO more - Ronda and me. Since I was doing both of those - it took a while for them to join the rest of the group.

When I arrived in Vancouver a few days before the trip, I took my bike to Salt Spring Island to visit my aunt and uncle. Hi Aunt Yvonne!!!!!!!    We visited a few shops and of course the girls were PRETTY excited. The first stop was in Victoria to Satin Moon Quilt Shop. This is one of my favourite shops in BC.

Satin Moon Quilt shop  (notice Ronda and I are STILL not there)

Oh look - there is the card from the store - good idea for remembering where the picture was taken

See - there is the card

And this is what I bought - a package of blue/green fibres assembled by a LOCAL artist. My goal was to buy something at each store I stopped at and buy one thing that was "local" or pertinent to that area.  

Then we drove up the island to catch the ferry from Nanaimo. Of course this meant that we had to drive through Duncan which also had a quilt shop.

The store is called Creative Quilting and I bought a batik FQ with an owl on it

That was all the shopping for that day. Back to Salt Spring where I finally finished Ronda and my flat.

That is Ronda in the back row in the middle and I'm right beside her in ORANGE. HEY - do you recognize that flat??????

Here they are sitting on the front step in Salt Spring

 Now there is a quilt shop in Ganges on Salt Spring Island and of course, the flats HAD to go there as well.

The flats in STITCHES on Salt Spring Island

Ah me with the flats. Don't look at that tan on my arm!!!!!    Just look at the muscles!!!!!!

I bought a pack of Transfer Artist Paper here. While that is NOT local, it very much represents the artsy nature of this store. It used to be VERY traditional, but Salt Spring is a VERY artsy community and home of Treenway Silks as well. 

Then back on the bike and the ferry and back to Vancouver.

Here are the flats crowding my bed in the dorm at University of BC

Before leaving Vancouver, there was a shop close by and I took the girls (and Nolan) for an outing

And my BIG purchase here was another batik FQ with mountains, trees and elk  The Cloth Shop

And here they are trying to crowd me OUT of my tent. And Carol is tucked safely under her quilt

 The next shop I got to stop at was Sew n Sew Fabrics in Campbell River. There was NO TIME to get the flats out. I was riding with someone else and was NOT going to search out the store. However we rode right past it and I ran in - said to the SHOCKED store staff - GIVE ME SOMETHING that is from your area. Well - I did pay for it, but that was the fastest I had ever been in a quilt store - probably FIVE minutes tops.

Another batik FQ  - this time with west coast Indian images - fish

There were several other quilt stores along the way, but I did not get a chance to visit any of them. We arrived in town too late. I have to get faster on my bike to avoid that in future!!!!!


We arrived in Port Hardy early enough to visit the local craft/hobby shop.

I bought TWO packs of beads - green and blue

Then we were on the ferry and arrived in Skagway, Alaska. Fortunately we arrived in the morning and the quilt store used to accommodating the traffic from the ferries and cruise ships was OPEN.

Here is my bike in front of the store

And the girls behaving themselves

 Now in case you are wondering why there are NOT more pictures of the flats - have a look at the next picture

The flats were bundled in a plastic bag at the bottom of that red bag and all that stuff on the ground was on top of the flats. It took a bit to get them out and then get them back in. Too bad because I could have had a LOT of fun with them. Next time - I need something smaller. 

They did NOT have FQs at this store. Had to buy a half meter of batik with bears 

The next place of interest was in the quilt store in Whitehorse.

The well behaved flats

Of course - I was getting restless of NOT buying much and there was so MUCH good stuff at this store.

Bought a pattern and a panel with FIREWEED screen printed on it. The fabric in the back (also a batik) - not sure if that was purchased here. But I also got a small square of batik with the store info on it. 

Close up of the pattern - northern lights (which we did not see), but I have seen them many times as a kid

That was it for quilt stores. I did manage to pick up a few other things as we searched out creative places during the rest of the trip.

The Inukshuk charm was bought in Inuvik, the dream catcher key chain - hmmm - I don't remember

There is a pin from Inuvik, the diamond buttons were purchased at the knitting store in Dawson City or  was that Whitehorse, a pin from the Yukon and a wolf key chain from Dawson City

Green fuzzy yarn (might have been Prince Rupert), stickers with  First Nations images (some craft store in the north) and the feather - found that on the side of the road. 

I don't think I took a picture of the girls in Inuvik, but they basically stayed in the bag for the trip.


Hope you enjoyed that trip down memory lane and NOW you know the story of the FLAT on my design wall.



Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!