The end of 2019

December 28th 2019.

As we near the end of 2019 I thought I would share  9 of the projects I worked on last year. I was late starting. I was able about June to start to spend a space of time at my sewing machine, so lots were getting ready for Christmas show. In February when I booked my space for the show I had serious doubts wether I would have enough to show. But thinking signing up was encouragement to endevor to get well. Still doing physio but I have come a long way looking back to end of January. I have shared these pictures on my Instagram site and also Etched In Thread By Ally on FB.

i have just finished a commision for a lady for her husband but until she gives it to him am not able to share. But would like to share the threads that I used for it.

Also I made an apron for a budding baker for a Christmas gift and embroidered on my Embroiary machine on the pocket. It turned out quite well.

Here are a few more cards that I did this year and as I have sold out, my first project this year is to make more for my stock. And also I have a thread painting half finished so I want to complete that. Also in February I am running a couple of classes one for beginners a seascape postcard. And a intermediate class with thread painting of a larger landscape, so that should keep me busy.

Also there are a couple of things I want to experiement with so I will remember to take pictures to share with you.

Here are a few cards that quickly sold so want to make some more.

As one year ends and 2020 begins I would like to wish you Gods peace, health and happiness.

Bye for now see you next year.

Ally.

Merry Christmas from my home to your home.

December 23rd 2019.


I would like wish everyone a Merry Christmas and many blessings in 2020.

As promised, I would post the finished Alpaca that found its way to a good home.

Here are a few other projects that I have worked on.

My sewing buddies took a picture of the lap quilts that I donated to a nursing home to give to the clients that don't have  family or any visitors. They took photo before I had put on the binding and label.

I had an order of cards to do for someone who bought these at Christmas in Paris they liked them so much that they order another 14 to give as a gift a card then they could frame afterwards. She asked if I did speciality cards and I said I was thinking of doing that. I love to do thread painting but big projects are still a little hard on my shoulder if I sit at the sewing machine too long!! So I am learning to pace myself with short time spaces but the cards are not so time consuming.

I thought I would show you the commission I have just finished for a client for a Christmas gift but was unable to load more pictures. I think my poor old I Pad is telling me it is wearing out!! It is so slow now and the other day it shut down for a couple of days.

I don't think I will be in here again until after Christmas but I have a few things lined up to show and share with you. I hope this winter to play with different techniques in my sewing studio so hope I can share that with you.

May the joy of the season be with you and your as we celebrate Christ birth.

Christmas In Paris Kindred Spirit Show.

November 4th 2019.

Here are a few pictures of the show that I would like to share with you. My cards were nearly a sell out but a bit disappointed that I didn't sell as many pictures as last year.

Here is a picture of my Stand

Here is the picture of my card rack along with the notice of Just A Card that I displayed for people to read the little write up that started the challenge to shop local, hand made not mass produced items. Encouraging people to buy even just a card helps to keep small businesses a float in our communities.
I know for me when I visited the UK a year or so ago, Paul and myself went into several galleries and looked at the beautiful artwork of the local people. Of course with a restrictive luggage load and flying we were unable to buy a big item but I bought a card of the artist work to remind me of the visit. A card is always something one can use and I have quite a collection from different artists. So that is mainly what the sign is about.

My cards were a great success in fact I came home Saturday to pack up a few cards that I had printed of my photography of the Lotus and Lily farm we visited with our Australian friends while visiting Melbourne.

I was so pleased though my Alpaca thread painting that brought much attention and scritizing of by different people didn't actually get sold at the show, but got a message Saturday night that I had a buyer, was so pleased and was able to still show it with a big SOLD notice on it.

I hope the photo I have of it, will be good enough to have made into cards for another time.

In my next blog I will post it all framed up for you to see.

I understand from a few of you that follow my blog that you are unable to post comments I have gone into the settings hoping it may help, and that there will be a place where you can comment. Unfortunately I am not computer savvy and so by trying different option I fall on an answer. So if you are able to now make a comment but don't want to comment a little 👍👍, I would really appreciate.

All for now enjoy your day and keep smiling, because when you smile the world smiles back and it makes it such a better place. 😄😄😄

Blustery Fall Day.

October 27th. 2019

Today is blustery fall day' we had heavy rain in the night. I hear with the high winds that Port Dover and Turkey Point have,  that water is well over the pier and road.

I have been quiet on here for a few weeks as I have been busy getting ready for the show next weekend.

Here is a thread painting I have been working on and it is getting near completion. I will show it in it's rough stages so you can see how the picture builds up and takes shape. As you can see from the second picture I am working down the neck. This a rough matt I use to make sure I take the stitches to the edge and to give me an overall look as I stand back and view my progress.

If you remember I was away for a long weekend to Prince Edward County, and visited Carson Market Garden Center and he has Alpacas in a small enclosure.  Here is picture of them.

This year I have made a couple of cushions and thread painted a chickadee on a berry branch. They were a project that I was able to do in short spurts when my arm was still not able to take sewing for long periods.  Hope you like them let me know what you think of this new project.

And a close up for you to see the stitches. I appliqué the branches , berries and the different fabrics for the bird then thread painted on top. Actually this must be an earlier picture I took as I have now put a sparkly small bead for the eye.

Well that about it for today but will try and take a photo's at the show next week and post for you to see.

Enjoy the rest of our fall colours because with the winds the leaves are coming down fast.

Fall is here!AA

October 1st 2019

Fall Days

We are having some beautiful fall days, cool mornings and cool evenings, but lovely warm sunny days. In fact today was very hot but it has ended in a thunderstorm and some high winds went through, now a steady downpour.

A couple weekends ago I had a afternoon of art with our grandson, we sat at the patio table and soaked up the warm weather and painted. He has done a few paint along with Bob Ross on You Tube but this particular days he wanted to do a poppy

Another of his hobbies is building with his great tote filled of Lego. He has been working along some times on You Tube, but decided to design his own. It amazes me how his fingers work all the tiny little pieces.  The family are finishing the basement and he has been told he can have an area for his hobbies. I think it will be a great area for him to set up his things he has designed.

I too have been designing some new cards for my stand at our Christmas in Paris show, and I have join the "Just A Card" campaign. So my badge and little sign arrived last week.

Here are a couple of cards I have worked on. I am hoping to get some Christmas cards done.

Looking through my old photos the other day I came across a wall hanging I made for a swap for my Austrailan friend. We swapped some pieces of fabric with each other then we had to make a wall hanging representing fall, with a poem, hymn or quote about fall.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. And I would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving  for those in Canada in October and later in November for those in the States.

Our trip to Prince Edward County.

September 20th 2019

Our 51st wedding anniversary was Sept.7th and we decided to take a little trip to Prince Edward County. It was a lovely little break where I didn't have to think about meals. Unlike when we are at the trailer though it is a time away for R&R one still has to meal plan and cook.

The weather was good and we visited some friends we haven't seen in 8 years enroute to Prince Edward Co.  So the first night we stay at Coburg which us on Lake Ontario.

Then we went on to a lovely little AirB&B in Picton. Seeing it was early September after the school kids go back to school it was a little less crowded, as it is a very popular place in the summer. It has beautiful beaches, sand dunes and trees a very pretty area.

We visited with our friend and her son. Many years ago I babysat Carson, so it was nice to catch up with him. We often see in on City T .V. where he often talks about gardens and the outside. He has just opened a Garden and Market.

Our friend invited us to stay with her and we visited the area and of course Carson Garden Market. Another attraction was he had on loan three Alpacas and I was hoping to get some picture for future artwork.

I love how he has barn quilts painted on boards on his barn. All around Picton and Wellington, part of Prince Edward Co. one sees displays of quilt blocks. There is trail one can do and brochure that take you on the tour to see the quilt blocks.

Carson has written a book Vegetables, Chickens and Bees, it's a great book not only for the great gardeners but ideas for people like us that have sized down, to pots and boarders. He has a few receipes also. So I bought one and he signed for me. Here we are after we visited with the Alpacas.

This is one of the Alpacas, they certainly are characters. This one looks so aloof but I think they were more interested in the hay. Anyway watch these pages later as I hope to do a thread painting on him.

One thing I learnt, Carson says the fleece doesn't grow very quickly and so one shearing a year produces enough fleece for one sweater. Have you ever wondered  why a sweater made with soft Alpacas fleece is so expensive now you know why.  Also if you are allergic to wool you won't have this problem with Alpacas yarn as it doesn't contain lanolin like lambs wool.

Here are a few thread paintings I have finished since last I wrote, getting ready for the November show I am in.The first is a peacock butterfly photo taken by my brother, actually I have made two of these I gave one to Dave my brother and Karen on their 40th wedding anniversary, and the other kept for the show.

This last one I did I have called it "Sunset Over Lake Huron" .  Lake Huron is in Ontario and is part of the Great Lakes in Canada. I lived not far from there on Georgian Bay for 27 years and Georgian Bay flows into Lake Huron.  It is renown for its beautiful sunset which you can view over the water, so if you get the opportunity to visit it is worth seeing.

With this beautiful sunset I will leave you with this verse.

Psalm113 v 3

From the rising of the sun to its setting. 

The name of the Lord is to be praised.

After a long absence!

September 2nd

AFTER A LONG ABSENCE

I decided to try and get back into some activities that have been let slip as time has been taken up with physio and trying to get my shoulder unfrozen , it is coming. I had been pre warned it could take up to a year. After a time of being in one place ,I had to get it moving and now reaching 143deg and goal is 160deg so that is encouraging.

I have got back to my happy place and have been creating small pieces for the upcoming show in November, maybe not as much as I usually show but have to accept where I am at.

For those that don't follow me on my FB site Etched In Thread By Ally I will post a few of my thread paintings, over the next little while.

This is one I started in Australia while visiting my friend Barb, we had a afternoon of using our inktense pencils and blocks , then started on the thread painting. Needless to say it didn't get touch for a while as my shoulder was out of action.
It is a picture of Cornwall which reminds me of our time in UK when we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. There are lots of coves like this with the rugged coastline and crashing waves. I have a few more I would like to attempt, probably over the winter months when that white stuff is fluttering around!!

Here are a few smaller pieces that don't take quite as many hours to sew, so am able to sell in the shadow boxes at a reasonable price. All these will be at Christmas in Paris show in November.  These are made of a combination of fabric appliqué and threading with some hand embroidery as well.

We have a trailer at the lake and this year we have spent quite a bit of time there. With friends and family.
Where would summer be if we didn't spend it with our children and grandchildren.
Here are a couple of pictures of some of our activities.

Port Dover our little beach at the campground.

Great Wolf Lodge with 4 of the Grandsons.

                                              Nana Ally with all her grandsons.

THE GANG

We celebrated Luke's 16th birthday with the extended family what a great time we all had and the weather was perfect.

That's all for now. Hoping I can be more regular with my postings.

Enjoy the fall days.

Few more Pics of Austraila

April 12th 2019

Here is a Rosella they are very pretty birds and we saw quite a few of them. This particular one was quite tame and use to people being around. In fact a lady eating her French Fries often him one and he took it and flew back to the fence where he was just out of reach.

On a trip to the Quarantine Camp a few miles from Sorrento after the tour it was so hot we stopped for a ice cream at the tour centre and then walked down to the beach and looked what we saw struggling to get out of the in coming tide. Of course this old gal wasn't going anyway near but I got Paul to take a photo from above on the wall looking down on the beach. It must have been on the undergrowth on the wall and fall over the drop.

Here is another Wallaby which we saw in the undergrowth.

Enjoying our lunch at the little cafe around the corner from hotel, we really liked the hotel it was so close to the buses and train and underground for getting around. But it didn't have a restaurant no doubt because there was so many places one could eat around it.

This was the morning before my dreaded accident.

Here are few photos of mine that I am hoping to make into cards and also may try and do a thread painting of them.
Hope you have enjoy the pictures.

Animals and Birds of Australia.

March 14th 2019.

On our travels we saw many colourful birds. And we went searching for the Koala , though many call them Koala Bears in fact they are not bears at all. They are so cute to look at but apparently you have to watch if you hold them as their claws are really sharp.

The Koala loves to sit in the branches of the gum and Eucalyptus trees. They eat the leaves of the Eucalyptus trees. They are very sleepy creatures so it was good to see them looking around and not sleeping.

On our travels we didn't see any Kangaroo's on the roadside but we did see a few Wallaby's on the road side grazing. They like the Kangaroo are very unpredictable and can jump out at you any time so when driving and you see the warning signs you need your eyes on the road. We saw these mob of Kangaroos on the side of a golf course.

Here are a few birds we saw on our travels.  This cockatoo was high in the trees on our nieces and husbands property, he took me out with my camera and pointed them out to me. He did name them but I have forgotten their particular name as some have yellow crest and some don't. But they are very noisy very much like our squeaky Blue Jays.

Here is a Kookaburra sitting on a cut down tree trunk, they have quite the cackle laugh.

Here is a Lotus Pod after it has stopped flowering, I took quite a few pictures at the Lotus and Lily Farm. It was a great pity as it started to rain and so the pictures I took didn't do the flowers justices.

Here are a few more lily and lotus flowers.

Hope you enjoyed the photos of the animals, birds and flowers of Australia. I have a few more that I will post at a later date.

A few have asked how my arm was coming along. Just started into Physio and I know that with a lot of hard work it will come back. But at times it is very painful especially at night the pain wakes me up so I am still on pain meds. The muscles are telling me that I am working them and when I relax at night they seem to want to contract. They tell me it is not going to happen overnight, but a bit at a time. At the moment I can only just touch my nose with my finger but that is more than I could two weeks ago. My hand and wrist and elbow is moving so hoping to see what I can do to in the way of hand sewing.

During those wakeful hours in the dark of the night when everyone else is sleeping these words come to me, from Psalm 23 v. 2-3 may these words uplift you too.

i am back!

March 7th 2019

As you can see I am back, my apologies for the absence.  The outcome was I had to have a op on the 16th Feb with a plate and screws. So now the staples are out, physio begins.
So now I am beginning to feel I can get on the computer so the days won't seem so long. It is painful at times but not quite as it was in the beginning. I know from my first physio there is going to be a lot of hard work ahead. But my goal is to get back to my art work and thread painting.

How about coming on our travels around Australia, sit back in your chair and enjoy!

One of the places we wanted to revisit was The Great Ocean Road, Victoria. We had visited before but had travelled on our way back from our niece putting us on the wrong side of the road making it hard to pull over and see the vistas, so this time we stopped many times to take in the grandeur of the sea scape's.

This is called the twelve apostles, though  the weather was hot it is always windy there.

Here are some more beautiful views along the great ocean road.

I was amazed how many shades of blue the ocean had, such grandeur .

I am going to leave with a beautiful lily which I think you may see me at a later date attempt to thread paint.

Next blog I will share with you some of the Australian animals and birds we saw.

Until next time.