Week 19 of 2024

A few projects on the go-

Started a new weaving project - a simple, plain weave, project to stay on the loom for the summer time (more tea towels).

I picked this tatting project up again (started in 2021), another simple project for the summer.

There was a hot 27ºC day yesterday for the temperature blanket.

Photos from Around-

Very exciting week for us - the chicks arrived!!

Cute little balls at the beginning of the week - 1 day old, 9 of them.

It's amazing how fast they are growing - 5 days old.

6 days old.

We have three different breeds of chickens - the gold ones are Cinnamon Queens, the black ones are Barred Plymouth Rock, and the grey ones are Sapphire Gem.

The pets are quite excited too.

Miss Maggie spends a lot of time laying by the cage, we are hoping she is just keeping an eye on her babies....

We have had high winds this week and lots of trees came down, Miss Molly helped with the clean up.

Today we had lots of smoke from forest fires in Northern Manitoba.

All the best!♥︎

Day 10 - Tatting

Last month I finished a piece of tatting that I started about 12 years ago (as a piece of handwork to take on a trip).

It is about 13" across. The pattern is from an old tatting pattern book. I used a very fine cotton for this one.

I started another piece of tatting too. This is also from an old tatting pattern book. This time I am using a #10 cotton thread (Knit Picks Curio in Copper).

All the best!♥︎

First Finishes of 2013

 I finished off a couple of projects that have been sitting around for quite a while.

A piece of tatting and an art doll. The tatting is a pattern that I have made a few times, in different weights of thread - it is such a wonderful pattern. This piece is 12" x 19".  The art doll just needed beads around the edge, she is about 6"tall.

The best finish for the new year is that we finished off a bathroom renovation. I wish I had a before picture - it was pretty sad. The bathroom needed renovating, and a little leak in the bathtub helped us make the move to renovate. I am so pleased! The only original thing is the cabinet, and we did all the work ourselves. This is our sons bathroom.

 This time last year I did some stash busting and made a string quilt, this year is starting the same way.

I cut strips for a log cabin.

Sixty 7" blocks pieced so far. I think I'll need about 150 blocks. The fabric is mostly reproduction.

I am using the Judy Martin technique from her Log Cabin Quilt Book, and it is working well.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Tatting Overview

Yesterday I mentioned that tatting was "mindless" and had a few comments.

It did take me awhile to learn to tat, but once I got the hang of it, it is really very simple.
(I am no expert. There are great resources online to learn to tat or to learn more about it.)

Tatting only take a few things - a shuttle (this style is my favourite - it is easy to hold on to), some good tightly twisted thread (DMC Cebelia is my favourite),

plus some sort of hook - I use this tatting shuttle that I don't like to tat with as my hook (I found that the hook kept getting caught for tatting), I added a piece of fabric (so it would be harder to loose) and it makes a great hook (I used to use a crotchet hook but kept loosing it).

Tatting consists of two half stitches that make a whole stitch. When you make the stitches the key is transferring the "knot" from the thread in the shuttle hand -

to the thread in the other hand - this was the hardest part of tatting when I started.

There are three stitches on my finger consisting of 6 half stitches. I am working on ring so all the thread is from the shuttle.

Tatting is made up of rings and chains - here is a chain, the thread comes from the shuttle and the ball for chains.

Here I am closing a ring by pulling on the shuttle thread. If I didn't transfer the knots, I wouldn't be able to close the ring. One of the most important things is not to make a mistake since it is very hard to unpick - especially rings (although it can be done with patience), so I always double check before I close a ring.

Joining of rings and chains is done looping thread through "picots" - a space left between stitches, shown in the above picture.

Here is the pattern that I am working on - it is made up of a large motif (the coasters) that when you join to others make great secondary designs.

I have made it before and I am working on two others (that's the book it is from). The white completed one is with #40 DMC thread (it has 7 motifs), the beige one is #30 Cebelia thread (this is the one that I take on holiday with me, because it takes no space to carry and I don't worry about taking it on a plane - it has gone to Italy and France), the pink one is #10 Cebelia thread. I found that the #10 thread is too big and I was going to get rid of it, but decided to make something with just four motifs (there are 3 so far, and I am working on the fourth). The beige one I will keep adding motifs to, so I don't know how it will end.

It is not like I need another doily, but I like to keep my hands busy (heaven forbid I sit still, plus it keeps my hands out of the chip bag!).

This is how I drew the pattern out. I find that it is easier to follow a diagram rather that a written pattern. This one is such a simple pattern to memorize, so I don't refer to the pattern any more, just count stitches in my head.

Can you tell I am trying to blog every day for the month of April - so I will be searching for things to blog about!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Stuff

Today was a day full of cleaning, laundry, exercising (something I am trying to do more of), luckily no cooking - there was leftovers for supper, but I did fit some hand work in.

I pieced this little crazy quilt together yesterday (another AAQI quilt) and finished embroidering the seams today, now to add the beads, buttons and all the fun stuff.

Also worked on this piece of tatting - this is more mindless in front of the TV.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Catching Up

Wow, it has been a while since my last post. Lots has happened.

Two weeks ago we (my husband, youngest son and I) along with my parents went on a vacation to Quebec and Ontario to visit relatives (my Mother's in Quebec and my Father's in Ontario). We had a good trip and it was wonderful to see so many relatives (some I hadn't seen since I was 9).

Here are a few pictures -

Quebec -

the church in St Gregoire, Quebec

my cousin's farm (with our rental car in the front)

inside the barn

he lives in a beautiful old home

angora goat farm - L'Angelaine

Ontario -

the view from my aunt's home

the next few are from Ottawa -

These statues represent Alberta's Famous Five who fought to have women declared "persons" under the law (October 18th, 1929), which was the start of equality for women in Canada.

we went to see The Lion King on our last night in Ottawa

at the National Arts Centre
it was amazing!

I haven't done any sewing for a few weeks -

I started working on my tatting again (it is great for traveling)

and when I returned home I started a pair of socks with the mohair I bought at L'Angelaine

On a sad note. The night that we returned home (August 3rd) my mother in law passed away. Four of her children had returned from her youngest daughter's wedding in Alberta the night before. When we arrived home my husband (the youngest of 7 children) went to see her, she recognized him, about an hour later she slipped into unconsciousness and passed away a few hours later. It was like she was waiting for her daughter to get married and her children to return home. She had been sick for a while and it was awful to watch her suffer. She was 84 years old. The funeral was yesterday.

Finishes and A Recipe

I have a couple of finishes this week.

I finished sewing on the binding of the log cabin table topper.

I decorated my house for Christmas this week and the table topper is a great addition to the decorations.

I also made a tatted snowflake. I used #10 Cebelia and two shuttles, it is almost 5" across. The pattern is motif #17, from DMC's Festive Tatting. It is probably my favorite tatted snow flake pattern.

I wanted to share this delicious recipe for caramel honey pecan bars I made today, . The mixture of honey and cinnamon makes this a really wonderful version of pecan bars. It always wins rave reviews.

It is from this cookbook. I think bars and squares are much easier than cookies (the recipe is on the cover).

Caramel Honey Pecan Bars

Crust -

½ cup pecan halves
2½ cups flour
1 cup cold butter, cubed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten

Filling -

3½ cups pecan halves
3/4 cup butter
½ cup honey
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup whipping (35%) cream

Crust - In a food processor, process pecans until fine. Add flour, butter, sugar and egg (I don't beat it before, although the recipe calls for it, and it works fine). Process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press evenly into a greased jelly roll pan (15" x 10" x 1" pan). Bake in 350°F preheated oven, until edges are lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes.

Filling - Sprinkle pecan halves evenly over hot crust (you can make the bars more attractive by turning all the pecans right side up). Set aside. In a large, heavy saucepan melt butter and honey. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, and boil, stirring constantly until mixture is a rich caramel colour, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in whipping cream, mixing well (be very careful of the steam created). Pour evenly over pecans.
Return to oven and bake until top is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack. Cut into bars (40-48 bars). The bars freeze well.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!♥