Flowers all around us.

Hello everyone,
It has been a while since I last posted. And the weather has really changed for the better. We have had quite a wet Spring and now we have gone into summer it seems.  We notice on our way down to our trailer at Lake Erie that the farmers are now haying which seems early but as they say make hay while the sun shines!

Also the gardens have popped with colour with all the flowers coming out. I was in our friend Bill and Sylvia's garden taking some flowers and hope to use some of the good photos for my thread painting.

 

Can you just see the bee on this Allium?

And these beautiful Iris, I have the miniature ones that come out in the early spring and it is good to see a pop of colour.
On our travels I came across these beautiful poppies and as we whizzed by in the car I made Paul turn around as I happened to have my camera with me as they go over so quickly and as they say you snooze you lose. So more subjects to keep on hand for some future thread paintings.

I have been busy this week with my inktense pencils and blocks on some background pieces that I am hoping to thread paint. In fact today I have started sewing on them so thought I would show you in the rough so to speak and will post again when I have made a bit of progress with them. So here are three scenes of around Georgian Bay. And for those that like art a lot of painters have painted this area, Tom Thomson and his friends have lots of oil paintings of this area.

The three on the right are painted with inktense blocks and the one on the left is a photo printed on fabric. These are the four that I am working on right now. So as I progress I will show you some more of what I am doing.

On another note this week I have been arranging my sewing studio and have now got some of the swaps that I have received from some of my on line friends. I have yet to do my postcards hoping to make a wall hanging with pockets to place these postcards in so until I get that done they won't be on my wall.

Here is a close up of the swaps some of my friends on LOAQ will maybe recognise their pieces.

Wishing all the Dads a Happy Fathers Day. Think of my Father often and some of the advice he gave rings in my ears at times. 

Glad to say that my dear hubby has been a great Dad to our kids and just this weekend this lovely photo was taken of him he was unaware of it being taken and I think sometimes those photos are the most natural. So I would like to say thank you to him for being a great Dad and Papa.

As I write this our time for going to Newfoundland is fast approaching our family from Hong Kong have arrived at Shallop Cove and we hope to join them for ten days soon along with our Grandson from here.So hope to have some pictures of our travels to share with you at a later date.

So bye for now and I hope I can write another short blog before I we go.

Ally.

Rainy Day!

May 25th 2018

Rainy Day.

Today we woke to a steady downpour not cold but a dull dreary day.
I thought after I got finished my errands a good day to post on my blog. Sorry to say as yet I don't have the receipe that my daughter promised to send onto me so I could post for you all to try. But maybe by next time I post I'll have it to share.

Thought I would share with you a friend who bought the Black Eyes Susan thread painting picture sent me a picture of where she has the picture displayed and I think it looks very nice in it's new surroundings. She said when she bought it I have just the place for the picture and I have been looking for awhile. So here it is don't you think she has a lovely setting for it.

Also this week I have been working on a few more postcards and hopefully I want to get my Etsy shop up and running soon.  Especially as these postcards are for Fathers Day.

Yesterday we had our Son fly into Pearson Int. Airport on his second time in command as Captain
and it is always lovely to catch up on the family news and what our grandsons have been up to. He showed us some video of Rory swimming at a gala and he is doing very well with the swimming
and was quite accomplished at quite a few different strokes. They went on a cruise earlier and went on a sail boat and Rory jump off the side of deck into deep water, Duncan was in the water but they seem to just love the water.
Not being very computer techy I asked our son to help me to download a couple of family pictures that I want to frame and he showed me how to download onto a stick.
So here is a family picture of them. Rory will be 9 in June and I can't believe the twins will be 4 in July, where does the time go.

We are hoping to go out with our other grandson who is great pals with Rory to Duncan and Leigh's 

summer home in Newfoundland. So later I hope to put some of the photo's I take on this trip, so you can see this wonderful Province that has wonderful scenery, which I use in my thread painting.

Here is a picture of our daughter and family. Her husband is a wonderful cook and loves to try out different dishes and she is the cake decorator in her family.

Lucas is our eldest grandson and graduates from grade 8 and will be in high school in September he is really looking forward to it. This picture was taken last summer in Hawaii. Lucas is growing so tall and has passed his Mom in height now. Owen is the youngest and is 6 months older than Rory so I am sure they will have a fantastic time together. 

We have been spending time at our trailer as yet our back garden can't be finished as there are some grading issues so it doesn't look like we'll have a deck and fencing this year.

We just planted a Sand Cherry Tree in the front garden our neighbor and myself went out to choose we had set our heart on a Japanese Maple but for the position where it was to go, it probably wouldn't have survived as too much sun and wind.

I am sure everyone is looking for summer days ahead.

We were so shock of the news coming from Manchester England. And our hearts and prayers are with the people that have been affected by this awful carnage.

So I will leave you with this little message.

Ps.46 .1

God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

Ally.

Mother Day Open House Sale.

Hello again,

The last few weeks have been busy getting ready for the Mothers Day Open House Sale.
I was invited to join with six other artisans in a open house that is held yearly the week before Mothers Day.
So thought I would show you a few photos we took of the display of peoples work.

Barb the hostess that opens her beautiful home to show off our beautiful wares for sale, is a potter and she does beautiful work. And has a studio of her work and also a studio where she does her work.

Here she is with the pottery she makes.

The nice thing about the open house there was a nice variations of work to show that would meet everyone taste.

The Jelly Girls that sale their jams, jellies and sauces at the St Jacobs Market, near Kitchener was there and she proved to be very popular. She had a section where you could taste her wares and they were really yummy.

The sign lady was very popular.

And the jewellery with semi precious stones wire wrapped and sea glass were just beautiful, ready for gift giving for Mothers Day.

Hand made chocolates and candies something for everyones taste, nicely presented in beautiful wrapped boxes. I bought some for my daughter in law who likes chocolates for her Mother's Day and Son took it back to Hong Kong for her.

Cathy's table had everything someone could use for decorations in their homes some nautical boats on driftwood and for the customers who are building a fairy garden many items for that. Very colourful display.

Etched in Thread was there and I enjoyed every minute of the weekend. I sold some of my thread paintings and chatted to people who had never heard of thread painting.
Here is my display.

This past Sunday after the show, we went to our daughter and son in laws who put on a Mothers Day
Supper and our son Duncan flew into Toronto on a flight that he was in command on so it was a good time to be all together. We so enjoyed it. Not only that our son in law is an excellent chef and our daughter works very well together with him, she did a lovely salad, which reminds me I must get the recipe off her and maybe share on here.

As Mother's Day approaches it makes me think of my Mother though she has since passed away. When I think back to growing up with five children it sure kept her busy and it is good to remember back to the time we all spent together on picnics, holidays at the seaside, blackberry picking the list could go on.
Happy Mother's Day Mum.

And to everyone out there who is a Mom,Auntie a friend to someone special Happy Mothers Day.

Quote for the Day.


I would like to share what one of the signs that was being sold said.

To the WORLD
you are a
MOTHER
but to your FAMILY
you are our WORLD.

Back from Travels.

Hello again.
It has been over a week since .I last wrote, we have been away for a while for a little break.

We went to Georgian Bay, to a little town called Meaford.

For those that aren't familiar with the area, the pictures I want to share with you are of Georgian Bay and area.

Georgian Bay is situated off of Lake Huron and we were on the southern shores of Georgian Bay.
The Great Lakes of Canada have Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. So we live nestled in Southern Ontario with the surrounding Lakes not a long drive from us.
So the picture I am sharing today of Georgian Bay are connected to Lake Huron. The other day I shared pictures of our campground and that was by Lake Erie. We lived on Georgian Bay, in Thornbury for 27 years emigrating from England in 1977.

Thornbury and Meaford are a great area for fishermen as the salmon fishing will be starting soon.
Also this area is in the snow belt so skiing is very popular at the Blue Mountains.

This is a picture of the bay at Sunny side beach a popular area for cottagers, and boaters etc.

This is another little beach and a stream that feeds into the lake.

We had a wonderful time with our friends it sure was good to get away for a break. Usually we take a winter trip but our plans for going to the UK we had to cancel because of Dr. appointments and procedures. But we are hoping to be able to go to Newfoundland to visit with our grandsons at their summer home  at end of June..
I am going to say Boys will be boys as they find a big comfy chair.!!!!

Here is a few more pictures these are of the bay at Thornbury and the mountain is in the background.

I am hoping I can use some of the photo's I took for my thread painting.

And here is a couple of thread paintings to finish with. One of the Hibiscus and the other is a thread painting I have painted the background with inktense pencils then embellished with thread. It is of Georgian Bay nearer to Parry Sound, taken from a picture I took in my photo collection.

Hope you have enjoy the photo's of Georgian Bay and be sure to ask if there is any questions, would love to hear what you think of our beautiful countryside.

Quote for the week.

When God sees you doing your part, developing what He has given you, then He will do His part and open doors that no man can shut.

Tuesday,April 11th 2017.

Tuesday 11th April

The days are beginning to get warmer in fact today is about 18C so quite pleasant even without a light jacket.

We decided last year to put our trailer on a lot on the shores of Lake Erie, so managedto find a site in July so we had a couple of months before close up. So now we are looking forward this month to opening it up and spending some time there. It is beautiful surroundings and the park over look Lake Erie and there is a small private beach that our grandsons can use when they come to visit. Also one can store a boat if you want to fish.  We had been towing our 5 wheel for about 6 years but we beginning to find that the traffic seemed heavy in Florida and other places and with a rig of 30ft plus the truck when people cut you off or wouldn't let you in it was beginning to feel a hasstle so it was time to change and we loved our trailer so didn't want to go smaller so that is why we decided on the site. Also we have a Son and SIL that are pilots so we get priviledges with them and so can travel by air.
Anyway thought I would try and put some pictures of the campground and surroundings.

Here is the boat launch area and people can put their paddle boards on the racks they have.

The beach is not that big but they groom the sand which is nice as sometime if the wind comesoff the water it brings in sea weed. I say that but of course it is one of the great Lakes here in Canada,

We went down one day in the fall after everything had closed up and it was a lovely bright day and made it into a little trip with a little fabric quilt store shopping. I managed to get a few pictures I think I can use in my thread painting.


I wonder if others have a time keeping their sewing rooms tidy, I seem to get one job finish and then into another and so my progress on my sewing studio is slow but it is coming. And once I have got the hang of this Windows 10 I hope that I can download my pictures more easily right now I find it a bit of a pain. Wonder is there anyone out there that has the new windows 10 and are you finding hard to adjust from windows7 . I guess that is when I know I am getting older I try to resist change!!!!

This blog has been a bit late it seems to have been a busy couple of weeks. We are anxiously waiting to see the surgeon to find Paul's date for surgery hoping it isn't another long wait. This problem has been going on since Mid Nov. but glad to say he is comfortable now the stent is out. We have our tickets booked for Newfoundland and taking our grandson to be with the other younger ones when they arrive in June we hope to be there by June end in time for celebrating Canada's 150 birthday.
So we hope this op will be well over before our holiday.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter.

On Easter Sunday we can celebrate"He is Risen indeed"

A Few More Thread Painted Pictures.

March 27th 2017.

March is coming to an end and we are wondering if it is going to go out like a Lion or a Lamb. The weather has been so up and down cold winds for a few days or quite mild weather I think my spring bulbs will be quite muddled, with the conflicting temps.

As I mentioned I have a new laptop and it has a different Windows system to what I am used to and it has been quite a learning curve for me, not being very teckey!!! Now there is a new word for the dictionary!! So the pictures I have on my I pad I have not been able to download onto here but we will keep trying.

Here are a few pictures that I have that you may not of seen.

This is a thread painting I did of the Bridge to Skye, Scotland. It was a photo I took in 2015 when we went to Scotland and we had a lovely trip in the train from Dingwall it was beautiful day weather wise as we left with a bit of scotch mist in the air but as we traveled westward we ran out of the rain and it turned into a beautiful day. On the way home we ran into the rain and apparently it had rained all day where we had rented the cottage.  Hoping that one day we can return, some lovely memories and it was like going back in time as we had visited with an  aunt and uncle when we were children over looking the beach that we would play on as kids.

Here is a thread painting I did last year of my Black eyed Susans I was very please with how this one turned out. Sometimes some subjects work better than others. I find if I am doing thread painting on my photo's it is better if the photo doesn't have too much subject. Less is better. And that also goes with the thread painting knowing when to draw the line and stop sometimes one can over do it then it spoils the effect you are trying achieve.

 

This is a thread painting of The Three Sisters, mountains in Canmore.AB. It is just beautiful mountains and the scenery is spectacular.Believe it or not but the photo was taken in late June and still snow on the mountain range. We rented a Cruise Canada Winnebago to take us to all the beautiful and wonderful sites. This was the year we went with my brother and wife and the two guys shared in the driving, so this gave them each a chance to see the wonderful scenery.


I hope that you enjoy the pictures and I promise to work on the ones of my sewing studio so hopefully by the time I post next time I will have solved the problem.

I have been working on a few more thread paintings to go with my stock as I have been invited to take part in an open house in May with 5 other artisans, I am really looking forward to seeing the others work. The lady that hosts it is a beautiful potter and I love her work. So maybe at a later date I will have some pictures of the Open House. So I keep busy and I am so fortunate to be able to spend time at what I love doing. For many years while in business with my hair salon I would think one day when I am retired I would like to garden more and do quilting and such. Then I found thread painting and I got really sucked in with it, it is so additive!!

Please feel free to ask any questions it is always good to hear from people and I too love to hear about others adventures.  Maybe one day when I have my photos sorted on this new laptop I will be able to take you on a trip via my photos our adventures in Australia.

I know we all have responsibilities of one thing or another but I thought this quote is right even if it is only 5 mins in one day.

Always find time for the things that make you feel happy to be alive.

That's all for now see you in April.!!

Day in the Sewing Room.

March 17th 2017

Happy St Patricks Day

This week in Canada is March Break, where the children have a weeks break from school.
We had a visit with our two grandsons for three days along with their dog Maggie Mae. But poor Maggie was sick the whole time she was here so it was a lot of cleaning up and a busy time. We took the boys swimming, played chicken foot and Kings in the corner. We had hoped to also go bowling with them, but Maggie was so poorly that we ended going to the vet with her, so bowling didn't happen. Something to do next time. But by the time they went home Maggie was beginning to pick up after she got medicine from the vet.

On Thursday a friend joined me in my sewing room, she asked me to help her get started on a quilt throw.  She came with her lovely fabric from Northcott. This year Canada is celebrating its 150th year anniversary so Northcott have brought out a line of fabric to celebrate.

Here is Janet and myself cutting the fabric. As you can see the motives on this fabric relates to all the provinces across Canada.

Sorry this picture isn't very clear but you can see Janet sewing away in my sewing area. I have just had a new sewing studio made it is 12x18 so much bigger than my other room. So this is the sewing corner, where two of my sewing machines are set up. One for ordinary sewing my 6600 Janome which Janet is using, and my old faithful the machine my Aunt Betty gave me a White a real heavy machine for my thread painting which is always set up so is ready to go all the time. Notice on the wall my new sign I made at the last Kindred Spirit Retreat.
You will see I am still trying to get the room how I would like it, still a work in progress but we are getting there.

I wanted to add more pictures of my sewing room as a few of my friends want to see it. And also I would like to show the progress made on her quilt. Right now I am trying to figure out how to load the rest from my I pad to the lap top.So probably finish the remainder of this blog another day. So keep an eye open for your notice.

The quote for today is:-  To practise any art, no matter how well or badly,
                                        is a way to make, your soul to grow.
                                        So do it.
                                                                   Kurt Vonnegut.