My Creative Works

June 9th

Thank you Alex of Zen Physiotherapy at 627 Dudley Ave for your help today!!! 👂 Pray it gets better too! Ryan, Dr's assisstant, said it may only need one visit and Alex agreed!

Well I did the complete balance and eye goggles tests, the treatment for my right side (ear with scarring from earaches as a child) and rechecked -- he thinks I'll be good to resume all in a few days. 🤞 I need to walk 15 minutes the next 3 days just to regain balance again then back to routine walks etc. I did not like it but noticed a difference before I left, no dizziness changing positions -- he does not think I'll have to come back unless a cold or fall triggers another spell and my home exercises don't work.  

I did walk up to Broadway, picked up Pat's gift of homemade hamburger soup, coffee at Tim's and bought a lady I've seen on the streets begging a cheese toast and coffee too. I was so thankful for my improvement I wanted to pass it on!!! 💞 Then on the way home noticed I was more steady and could even look at my feet without dizziness, still was careful! Taking it easy today.

June 10th

Well yesterday's relief of dizziness was a might short-lived. Early this morning I was restless tossing some and waking with slight dizziness upon turning. So kinda a quiet day with the girls getting a much needed border/binding fabric as I ran out of what was planned. Once that done we went to Boston Pizza for lunch, Edna and I sharing combo all-meat wings/salad, my appetite is still lacking. Then I ordered the pancookie dessert as my birthday offer from BP and us three shared! DUH I forgot to pass the phone to Sylvia or our waitress for this picture! Then home to relax.

June 10th

Thank you Brenda White for this so calming, lovely, subtle Hexagon PFA swap postcard that arrived today. I think they were stitched onto wool or a brushed flannel! The hand embroidery is so even and lovely. And the back so very neat, I cut the stamp and sticker off the plastic sleeve and glued it onto the back. Well worth waiting for from England! Thank you so much!

And look what I just found! Yes made by Brenda too, just not sure when the swap was.

June 11th

Well yesterday was a bit more iffy, but doing the exercise mid day it then improved.

This morning was iffy, not really dizzy, but I did the exercise early and feel lots better. Guess it's day by day!

Well today I treated myself!

See a month ago my iron started spitting brown spots, I cleaned it ages ago and it still acted up after cleaning again. My toaster is from the 70's and keeps burning things unless you watch closely plus not wide slots so a real pain. So today I treated myself to new ones, partially from a birthday gift card from family members!!! Thank you!

June 12th

I've found a lovely Geisha girl panel in my Oriental stash. This one I'm thinking of tracing various Sashiko stitches in various gown, headband and fan spaces, leaving her face, neck and hands as is.  

What do you think? Has anyone done this before, I know there were various presumed panels, but a do it yourself plan?

Well I can tell I'm feeling better and definitely on the mend as I spent most of yesterday measuring and figuring out fabric for a quilt back!  

AND today I actually SEWED on my BOM quilt project! It's been maybe a couple weeks or more since I touched it! Plus I'm dreaming up other projects! YEAH!!!!!

June 13th

Love this painting!!!

Yummy! Balsamic salmon and salad for lunch! I'm glad I'm feeling better and back to experimenting with tastes again! Also doing laundry and sewing. YEAH!!!

June 15th

Well an awesome day!!! Even got in a 1.5 km Sturgeon Creek Pathway walk with Edna plus Tim's coffee and muffins as a reward. Then over to have gyro supper with Sylvia and a visit too!!! Yep a totally good day after a so crappy week!!!

June 17th

WOW!!! The parade of the ACQ BOM quilts researched and put together by Jackie J and Lynda K was just AWESOME! Talk about the beauty in fabrics of the same pattern! Thank you to Barb F for the pictures. 12 besides the two samples!

My inspiration was triggered right after seeing Lynda's version, finally a plan for the pile of Orientals I'd gathered over the years. I found a scenic FQ that fit in for part of the large centre block, only variation I made to the pattern. 

Then I picked a larger panel and built up a backing, 5" wider than the front for hopefully quilting ease, basically two quilts in one - and mine! Not sure which I like best, the front or back? 

And here's Sylvia's top.

June 20th

Friday (20th) after a slow start and errands I picked up Edna for a short walk on partial shade in Bruce Park. 

AND GOSH it's 18 days and I'll be off to meet Leanne n Rod, from my jaunt to Sydney Australia, here in Calgary for our combined vacation!!! I'm really looking forward to the Rocky Mountaineer Adventure and pray it doesn't scare the BGSs out of me!!!

June 22nd

This weekend I spent time in between laundry purging my closet. Gosh lots of items in the back half I haven't looked at in years!!! OUT THEY GO!!! Then used pant hangers for my pants instead of folding them over the hangers in the front part. Lots of resting too as my hip didn't like all the standing! Next will be tackling my dressers!

Okay I think I may have missed posting some health reports. Seems all is good, but still hip back pain!

Anyways xrays say minor deteriation from a few years ago xrays on lower back and hip pain. No surgery at this time. I've been referred for physiotherapy and a hip cortisone shot, PanAm is late August, just waiting to hear from Legacy Sports Clinic for a date then I'll choose.

My bone density results came back good, nothing bad there.

My Dr's assisstant follow-up on the dizziness is no Ménière's, no ear infection, but probably inner ear imbalance. Advised I see a Vestublar Rehab Physiotherapist and I did June 8th. This seems to have improved and I've exercises to do if it returns.

Yes aging sucks, especially when I don't think I'm that yet!!! BUT I'm thankfull I'm alive and kicking!!!

Sept 16th

Hey, I forgot to post the ACQ Sept 7th sewing day results. Lately I've been playing with my 9" square I Spy blocks for MPQ ABC quilts. That day I sewed up 17 blocks. Today while at Edna's I sewed up another 12 blocks and forgot all about the leftover 9 sets pinned ready to sew from ACQ sewing day! AND wonder how many more blocks from the tray I've yet to sort out???

Edna finished off her last year's, I think it's called twisted ribbons, just in time to maybe quilt it at the retreat this year. It was a pattern that Adina had sewn up and passed onto Edna.

Walking to my car I noticed the Sturgeon Creek Portage Ave lights are out so guess that affected her Shaw TV and power flickered off a couple times while eating supper. Also look at the sky!!! 

Sept 17th

Here is Lori's write up on my 52 Scrappy Triangles quilt she custom quilted. It's naturey, simple and more me than the feathers I first thought of, so I'm pleased with her quilting. Thank you! This was also part of the $100 virtual retreat prize I won last year from MPQ to go towards any quilt shop or service!  

I just ❤️❤️❤️❤️ it and now to finalize my label and bind it! MY QUILT!!!!!

Rose Anne brought this lovely quilt in for some custom quilting. A few members of my local quilt guild got inspired to do some paper piecing and followed The Year of Scrappy Triangles blog post by Leila Gardunia. I saw some photos of this quilt as Rose Anne was working on it and had thought her chosen background was black, but it is actually a beautiful deep green! It is a lovely compliment to all the batiks she found in her stash.

Initially I thought feathers would be the perfect suggestion for the green strips, but I just could not get them flowing nicely to the inner green border. Everything I tried looked really awkward at some point. When I suggested the echo curve design for the outer border and the center strips, Rose Anne loved the idea and the rest of the design fell into place quickly after that.

The gold border received large curls, the inner green border an oak leaf and curl, and the paper pieced triangles received some branching curls. I always try to repeat motifs somewhere in the custom quilting so that the quilt feels cohesive at the end.

I used an olive green thread for everything but the oakleaf border. There I switched to more of a rusty gold thread to make it stand out a little bit more and add a bit of interest.

OMGG!!!!! Hope all are safe around there! 🙏

Today I started off lazily then kicked into motivation gear and successfully tatted and embroidered the rest of the evening! So I've some tatted butterflies and completed my PFA swap postcard top, now to work on the back and sandwich it together. 

Hopefully my newly serviced Janome will cooperate with the satin stitched edging! Jo do you recognize my source of inspiration for a couple of my seams? Yes I use it for some help! ❤️