a new year .......

Happy New Year!

the best is yet to come 

 

snow .....

The big storm left us with only 5-6" of snow but the wind blew it into big drifts - other locations got more - highways were closed - lots of snow removal has been happening - more snow is on the way.

 I have a collection of snow people that I usually put out for December and January but this year they're all in storage.  Earlier this month the local thrift store displayed these little guys - of course I had to have them and would you believe the sum total of all this loveliness was $5?  The little guy at the front is so sweet with his dangly legs.  Santa is a hook but we're not allowed to put anything on the walls here -  next year he won't be laying on a shelf I assure you.  ^^

in the meadow we can build a snowman ....

oops ....

When I tea dyed this - actually it was coffee and vanilla and smells good enough to lick,eat, drink - the red thread ran .... but I like how it looks.  Don't you love it when an oops becomes something you really like.  This thread is one I use frequently but it ran on this piece - must have needed the exercise. ^^

I stitched this as busy work and haven't quite decided if it will become a cushion band or a tray runner or something else - stay tuned.  Obviously, it's not something I can give away since it looks like something went awry but it suits me.

There is a snowstorm on it's way for Christmas Day and Boxing Day and that's unfortunate for those who have to travel.

it's not what you look at that matters...

it's what you see

 

it has arrived .....

Winter, yule, winter solstice - whatever you call it has arrived .... if you're wondering how we've celebrated in the past you can read about it here.  

For the occasion I stitched this cutie from
 Primitive Hare .....

Do you see what I see -  it's stitched on 18ct - I haven't stitched on anything but 14ct for years - I must have my second sight.  ^^ 

Back in the late 90's I was living elsewhere and was a volunteer at one of the local personal care homes - I loved it.  One of the ladies who lived there, Dolly, was an avid reader and I mentioned to her how amazing it was for a lady of her age (late 80's) who did so much reading and didn't need eyeglasses - her response was "oh, I've got my second sight".   I didn't understand then but have an inkling now of what she meant.  Oh, the stories I could tell about my time spent at this PCH - it was a lot of fun! 

even the darkest night awakens in sunshine

hoo's this .....

How could I resist this Christmas owl.  Woudn't it make a cute package tie-on and/or tree decoration?!?!  You'll find the pattern here. 

And how about this cute stocking from here ...

 Have yourselves a merry little Christmas ♪♫♪

if christmas isn't in your heart

you won't find it under the tree

mail

 Our talented sweetheart of a DIL made this beautiful card for us .....

This cutie from Claire arrived in the mail a few days ago .....

    
Charlie Brown's Christmas tree or a palm tree after a hurricane? ^^  I couldn't use it for it's intended purpose but some day it may be just what I need for a card or tag.

The only thing missing is smoke rising from the chimney .....

it's the most wonderful time of the year

it's beginning to look .......

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ....

This is an ornie for someone special - it's a Lesley Teare design - it was finished before we moved
 whilst I still had  all the bits and pieces to do sew so. 

 I attached these small ornies (from Cross Stitch Crazy - 12/16) to a very simple card.   I usually line the envelope but with most of my supplies in storage that wasn't possible.  These are for two ladies in our new community (and province) who were incredibly helpful, patient and pleasant whilst we were trying to get our driver licences and auto insurance - there was a deadline and it was a squeaker.  ^^

 Wouldn't this holly look super as a gift/package tie-on .... here's the link.

I'm joining Kathy for Sunday Slow Stitching.

We now have lots of snow thanks to a snowstorm/blizzard
a couple of days ago.

those who don't believe in magic
will never find it

Christmas stitching .....

Since I can't do any sewing  
I've been doing some Christmas stitching ....

 Christmas thyme was found on Pinterest - I liked it - thought about stitching it all in red - decided not to - am pleased with my decision (this doesn't always happen) - I don't know what I'll make with it yet - perhaps a cushion cover - perhaps not - I stitched tried to stitch the words so that they looked primitively done - I thought about colouring in the shapes - decided not to. 

Believe is a Plumcute design - replaced the felt applique with stitching - pieces were a bit small for my clutzy fingers - the original is really cute - would make a nice jar/cushion wrap or tray mat.

The reindeer and tree is Gail Pan's contribution to Winter Wandering - stitched it in the colours she suggested.

These are not as white as they're showing up in the photo - my plan is to antique all of them.

Winter has arrived - we have snow - it was very late arriving this year.

Home for the holidays is a cushion cover I made a few years ago and all is calm and all is bright is a cushion wrap that I made last year.

I'm linking up with Finish it up Friday and  Kathy . 

sometimes the wrong choices 

bring us to the right places

a finish for Christmas ....

Here's a Christmas finish.  The pattern is from  Quilts by Cheri  I modified the size and used my favourite  fabrics - dropcloth, ticking, burlap plus a few other scraps. ^^  It was a fun make at the cabin this summer.

The other day when I was out for a walk I met up with a  chubby Jack Russell out on his own - his feet were cold - it was a busy street - he wouldn't come to me.  On my return he was nowhere in sight and I hoped for the best - I stopped in at the hardware store and there was the little fella - he'd gone that far and slipped in when the door opened and was recognized .... they were keeping him safe until his 'dad' showed up.  Aren't people wonderful?!  In the store the little fella came over to me and we introduced ourselves.  ^^

life is a one time offer .... use it well

lucky me ....

Lucky me to be chosen to receive one of Andrea's Christmas RAKs.  

This is the beautiful ornament and card ...

 

I'm thrilled to bits and my keepsake box is growing. 

 It's already hanging on the tree.   

 Thank you Andrea from the bottom of my heart.

how you treat people tells all

 

a Christmas unfinish ....

I haven't decided how I'm going to finish this one but most likely it will become a mini quilt or a cushion cover - it's a design by Theodora Cleave .    It was coffee stained to age it and I'd like to keep the wrinkles - it was something I worked on at the cabin.   I am very fond of Theodora Cleave designs. ^^

Just the other day when we were out and about we drove through a small town and I spotted a quilt shop - these are few and far between in our neck of the woods - and my fella promptly pulled into the first vacant parking spot.  ^^  Of course, I picked up a wee bit of fabric and this piece is what I think I'll use with the stitchery - it's not as pink as in the photo and the shades of red look good with the variegated red used for stitching.  I liked the prim look of it ....

I recently read the long range forecast for this winter - it's not good so here's hoping they're wrong.  They were wrong with most of the summer forecast so there is hope.   By the way we have no snow here yet. ^^

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for some SSS. 

do the right thing even when no one is looking - it's called integrity

taking advantage .....

We took advantage of the unseasonably mild weather this month and one of the places we visited more than once was Lake Manitoba Narrows which is commonly referred to as the narrows.  The views of this big lake are awesome.  These photos were taken at the marina although everything has been put away for the winter.  The best view is from the causeway but there's no room to stop.

 the purpose of life is to live it

getting ready to mail .....

Here are a few things that I'm getting ready to mail ....

  Love is by the little stitcher ;  the bird is a  Luli design.   I  love the red mouse and believe me it would have been very easy to keep for myself.  ^^  And how could you not love the quirky moose - another one that I'd like for myself ... 

We've just had a spell of record breaking warm weather and enjoyed every minute of it.  Best part was all the sunshine and no precipitation.  The forecast says snow by next weekend and I think I'm okay with it.  

 "I'm ready, my Lord" - Leonard Cohen

exploring ......

Alas, this is the first time in 12 years that we've had to deal with time change since we've been living in those parts of Canada that don't have DST ... I really wish the entire country would stay on standard time year around.

Since we're having beautiful warm and dry (yes, dry) weather we've been exploring our new surroundings .....

one of the quirky oaks at Dauphin Lake

Turtle River flowing into Dauphin Lake - the river is very  high for this time of the year and would you believe that all this water will eventually flow past our cabin

Turtle River Cemetery

beautiful poplars

 Makinak - you can see the foundation of the old school on the left

also at Makinac - possibly an Anglican Church

a lovely view 

these horses called out to me when I was taking pix across the road but when I approached the white one was bashful

a beauty in it's day and still is 

these are jackpine

if only it could talk ...

makes one wonder about the family that lived here or was it actually a small barn

 at the cabin

where the calendulas (and sweet peas) are still blooming
 

 Dauphin Lake 

 Makinac United Church est. 1910

beach combing on Dauphin Lake

 this is the Manitoba Escarpment, locally referred to as 'the mountain' - 

beautiful Riding Mountain National Park is found here .

keep smiling .... it makes people wonder what you're up to

rained for a week ....

I kid you not, it did rain, and a lot, for an entire week and it has rained more since but not nearly as much   There were many farmers still harvesting their crops and that came to an abrupt standstill.   Anyway, we toughed it out at the cabin and with a wood stove to keep us warm it was easy to endure and I must admit that we likely found more to do there than we would have in town in our tiny apt.  I've whined mentioned before that I have limited resources at the cabin for stitching and/or sewing but I kept busy with the few designs and threads that I did have.  I've tried stitching from a chart on the laptop but find that difficult - ageing eyes and all.  These are all small designs but enjoyable to stitch; some will be used for cards and others have no plans just yet....

Clockwise the robin is a Lesley Teare Design, the three song tags are Claire's Creation, the sunflower stitchery is from My Red Door , autumn is a Happiness is Cross Stitching design, and the robin with the stocking is a freebie from one of the cross stitch magazines (no designer's name given).  Can you tell that I love the European Robin - it's so pretty with it's vibrant red breast.  Today I'm linking up with Kathy for Slow Stitching Sunday.

This is what many of the fields look like .....

 

The wet, cool weather was also a good time to try out a recipe for Doukhobor Borscht  - it was delicious!  

what feels like the end is often the beginning

the finished pocket ....

Here's a photo of the finished pocket that I had mentioned here......

With reluctance we closed the cabin for the winter.  We draw our water from the river so the water line needs to be pulled out before freeze up.  This year the river is VERY high so we made good use of the chest waders.  Since we now live so close to the cabin we can visit quite regularly  and it's because we live nearby that we were able to stay there this late in the season - it was quite a treat.  Before we left I filled a suet cage with peanut butter balls made with all sorts of goodies and the chickadees were enjoying the treat along with several blue jays - sadly, I didn't get a good photo of them.    

life is short ... smile while you still have teeth

time for tea .....

Last month Lynn B had a giveaway and I was the lucky winner!!!  I love mini cat and was delighted and honoured to have a mini cat that Lynn had stitched herself.  The heart shaped charm at the top says "handmade with love" and there's a sweet teapot charm at the bottom; she also designed and made the gift bag and card - a very talented lady.  How cute is this .......

Thank you Lynn.

out and about ...

Just a few photos taken in cottage country  - enjoy .......

The spots in the middle photos surprised me - it wasn't raining but the humidity was high ... kind of amazing what the camera picks up.

live your life and forget your age