A New Year

Happy New Year - 10 Days Late! What can I say?
We are getting lots of snow this month. Looks as if I took these in black and white mode but I didn't.

The photo below, shows the actual amout of snow we got on the 8th. There was no wind so the snow just piled up where it fell. If this was Newfoundland, the wind would have created drifts piled up everywhere. Needless to say, I don't miss the wind from there.

This morning we work up to -16.7C. By 9:00am, it had climbed to 0C. It's been above freezing all day. In fact, the forecast calls for double digits tomorrow. I wonder how much snow will melt?
Stay tuned!!!

Snow Day

I just realized that it's been over a week since my last post. No, I'm not going to apologize! Life sometimes takes over. We have been working on a few new shimmer ornaments but three of them are an exclusive request for one of my buyers so no one sees them until things are finalized.

The Credit Card Holders are half completed. They would have been done today but schools were closed here due to slippery roads and Gale decided she wanted to hang out with grandma. We made a snowman, hugged a tree (Gale asked 'why' and I said 'because we can'), played with Lego blocks, watched a show . . . We had lots of laughs.

The Credit Card Holders will be taken to Devon House at the end of the month as I'm making a visit to St. John's on the 29th of January for a few days. I hope the weather cooperates as I also plan to attend the January meeting of the St. John's Embroidery Guild on the day I get there.

Our snowman wearing my cap and scarf.

Backyard tree

Spring Snow!

I wasn't going to mention anything about the weather here in Newfoundland BUT . . .  records have been broken for this time of the year! My brother, Don, sent these today of his place in central NL.

We didn't get this much snow here in St. John's!

This was yesterday!

Today - jeep (photo from a different location)

Today I signed my contract to teach at the Espanola Fibre Arts Festival in October. I've been asked to teach two classes of needle felting, specifically the Fibre Art Pendants. I will be posting more about the festival in a later post. Also check out the festival on Pinterest HERE. 

Enjoy!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

We are having a snow storm. At the moment (8:40am) it's blizzard conditions! Let's hope you got your Valentine's Day 'stuff' ready yesterday! I wonder if anyone received one of my heart shaped Fibre Art Pendants?

Enjoy the day wherever you are.

Here's a beautiful free pattern from Trish Burr: Grateful Heart

Snow

Today, we woke up to a wonderland of snow. There was no wind and the trees were just laden with it - so pretty. I'm not a winter person, but can appreciate the beauty of new fallen snow. The two snow photos look like black and white.

My back garden

The snow is still on the trees at dusk. I love the Christmas Tree reflected in the living room window.

 Now for a few links:

• Snow Art   
• Winter Flurries 
• Snowflake Quilt Pattern 
• Snowball Quilts 
• Snow Quilts           

Enjoy!!        

Fibre Lace Scarf

Today we woke to a bit more snow. Tomorrow it's suppose to be 13C. Go figure! That's weather in Newfoundland.

Here's the last of the Fibre Lace Scarves. I like this one a lot. Love the colours used on both sides.

Hand Stitchery!

When I got up this morning, the ground was covered in a soft blanket of snow! Yikes!!! And snow flurries on and off all day! That's much too early . . .  I'm not ready for this. In fact, I'm never ready for snow. Did I mention that I'm NOT a winter person?

Today was spent finishing up things for the Christmas Craft Fair, getting the mail and picking up the car at the dealer (snow tires were installed).

I've decided that I'm not going to dwell on the cold, but on stitching projects instead.Have a look at these:

• Jolly Wee Elf to knit
• Felted Gingerbread Ornaments
• Christmas Cross Stitch on Pinterest
• Primitive Christmas Stitchery
• Christmas Embroidery on Pinterest
• Christmas Bauble Free Stitchery

My hand stitched Charlie Brown Christmas Tree (original design) made a number of years ago

 

Spring?

Apparently Spring has arrived! You wouldn't know it by looking outside my window. So to Celebrate the arrival of SPRING, here are some colourful projects to view:

• Spring Pillow
• Get Organized for Spring
• Spring Mug Rugs on Pinterest
• Spring Mug Rug with Template (would also make a nice wall hanging)
• Free Sewing Projects

I can't wait for all this snow to go so we can actually enjoy spring.

Winter Weather

Yesterday I took photos of the garden before the snow came. It was forecast to be lots of the white, fluffy stuff but we got off fairly well. It's turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with a white carpet over everything. I don't know about you, but I can't wait until spring!! Off to Halifax in a couple of hours!

Periwinkle under the tree is so green!

Soft early morning sunlight.

Brrrrrrrr! It's Cold Outside . . .

On my way home this morning, I heard on the radio, that December was the coldest one since 1989. We had lots of snow too! Now the forecast calls for another 20 to 30 cm of the white stuff again tomorrow. Well, in keeping with the snow theme, I have found a few sites to visit. The many projects shown can be a springboard to doing something original. Think about it.

• Craftsy's has 6 snowmen related projects to see. Some great ideas there!
• Quilting Snow Ladies from Chickadee Hollow Designs
• Free Snowmen patterns  (these are cute) and Winter Quilts from Quilt Inspiration
• Snow Man quilt pattern from Free Quilt Patterns
• More Free Patterns HERE at With Hearts and Hands
• Snow Birds Rug Mug  from the Crafty Quilter
• Let It Snow free embroidery from Shiny Happy World
• Snowy Christmas Mantle Quilt from Happy Dancing Quilt (idea)

I just found the photo of this little quilted wall hanging that I made years ago for the Cabot Quilt Guild Auction. I called it "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree".  I added it here to show that small projects don't need to be complicated. To change this from Christmas to winter, position the tree to the side (omit the seed bead lights) and add a little snowman and / or some birds.
Enjoy!

Happy New Year's Eve!

What a difference a year makes! Last December was a mild one with very little snow. In fact, we had a green Christmas. This year, winter started very early with piles of snow and very cold temperatures. The thermometer below shows one of the very few days that was above freezing.

I am looking forward to 2014 and all that it will bring.  Last March, I decided to go wholesale with some of my small production art work (Shimmer Ornaments, Wearable Art Pins, Art Cards, Felted Ornaments and Greeting Cards). It was a big step for me to take as I had been resisting it for many years. However, it has opened up other opportunities. I was invited to the Atlantic Trade Show (ACTS) in Halifax so I will be going there the end of January. Then, the local wholesale show is in March.

Production work is taking up much of my time at the moment but I'm hoping to set aside some time to experiment with more surface embellishments. I have some copper wire that I want to play with as well as a small gel printing plate for fabric printing. My yarn stash is overflowing and my wool roving needs attention. I have a few new toys to play with in my studio! Who knows where all that will lead.

Thank you for following my blog posts and to those who leave comments. I may not respond to all of them but they are read and appreciated. Happy New Year! I wish you health, happiness, time with family, and lots of fun in 2014!!!

Enjoy!

December 2012

December 2013

First Snow

I guess you are wondering about the title! It's spring - has she gone bonkers! Not so. As I've said before, I often get ideas from reading other artists' blogs and web sites. Well, this post is about the art of Susan Brubaker Knapp of Blue Moon River. I have some of her teaching videos and book, Point Click Quilt. Instead of explaining about her piece, First Snow, please visit her site and read all about it. She wasn't permitted to share it until now. It's just beautiful!

Susan is a regular contributor to Quilting Arts Magazine and Quilting Arts TV.

Happy Winter!

Winter temperatures in St. John's have been up and down this year. One day the ground is bare and feels like spring is in the air, then we get a cold snap with lots of snow and freezing temperatures! That's life here in the mid North Atlantic. Whatever the weather, it's warm and cosy inside - just right for spending time working on quilting / sewing projects. This time, the focus is on snowmen.

Snowmen Quilt Patterns
Cutting Paper Snowflakes (think applique)
Cute Snowman
Red Work Snowman
Snowman Door Hanger
Starry Night
Snow (my post) and HERE
Enjoy!

Brrrrrr!!

Let's just say, until last night, we really didn't have any winter weather! Now we have piles of the white stuff. In fact, Environment Canada classified the weather as blizzard conditions. By the way, it's now raining outside - go figure. Here are a few ideas to keep you from getting too bored during those long winter evenings.
Enjoy!

Winter Pines Wall Hanging
Silly Snow Quake Pattern
Snowman Block
Snowflake Embroidery Pattern
Winter Colouring Pages (great for stitching)
Snowball Freebie
Crochet Snowman (scroll down for pattern)
Wintery Red Work
Snowmen Pins
Crochet Snowmen Hats
Snowmen Pincushions

Work in Progress - flowers

This is the last day of March and St. John's woke up to a snow storm! I can't believe it. But then we do live in the middle of the cold North Atlantic, so you can expect all kinds of weather at any time. I spent the day inside working on my art and wishing I was somewhere warm. You can see the flowers added to some of my pieces. Hopefully all will be completed by tomorrow. Then they will be matted and framed. I have black metal frames that are custom cut for these art pieces.

Looking out at the back garden - today!



Snow

Door Crown designed & created by Judy Cooper 1999

Apparently St. John's had 20cm of snow in just 6 hours! Wow! The hugh, fluffy snow flakes stuck to everything. By the time I cleaned my car off, I needed to do it all over again.

Here are some wintery quilted art pieces for your viewing pleasure:
Winter Snow Scene (the colours used are lovely)
Floral Winter Snow Scene
Winter's Quilt
Snow Barn (scroll down)
A Winter's Tale
Snow, Ice and Starry Nights (checks out the free patterns)
Birch in Snow
Snow melt: High Desert
Winter Quilt
Winter Beauties
Winter Wonderland
Winter Snowman