Sunday, August 17, 2008


It's Sunday evening and thus I am a bit late posting my weekly
blog entry. But we weren't moving too quickly this morning
after a long day out yesterday, and a late night getting home
after a party at a friend's house. We're not able to party
hearty as much now as we use to when we were young and
foolish.

So here is this weeks progress on Gate With Lantern. A tree is
slowly growing in the backyard, and the spaces where the lantern
and the gate's arch will be stitched in are showing, if you look
carefully. I'm not getting as much stitching time in as I might
have expected considering we're on holidays, but then again
that tree has lots of different shades of green to sort through
and stitch. We'll see what the next week brings.


The latest issue of Victoria magazine arrived in the mail box
last week, and was warmly welcomed. Especially since the
previous issue never arrived. I sent an email to the company
to let them know, and they answered a few days later to say
that they'll be sending me a replacement. We'll see if they
really do or not. It'll probably take awhile to get here.

This issue features articles on Quebec city, which is
celebrating it's 400th birthday this year, and Montreal.
I've not yet been to either city, but perhaps someday.
The streets of old Quebec city are breathtakingly
beautiful, as is the province of Quebec itself.


And there is a tribute in the magazine to the late, and much
beloved, author and artist Tasha Tudor. Above is a copy of
the cover of one of the many books available detailing the
life, and lifestyle of this extraordinary woman. I have so
many books about Tasha, and I've been a great admirer of
hers for many years, after learning about her through the
pages of the old Victoria magazine. I was deeply saddened
to learn of her passing in July, though she lived to a good
age (92) and was in her home in Vermont with her family
when she died. If ever someone could be called an great
inspiration, especially to young women, I would certainly
count Tasha Tudor as one of them.


This week the mailman was especially good to me. Guess
why. I had several stash orders come in. I know, I know,
so what else is new?? I think I've mentioned before here,
I'm weak. So what!! I also have fun!! So....

I placed my first order with Sassy's Fabbys a while ago, and
it arrived this week. Six cuts of 13 x 18 fabric, in different
colours. The blue and the pink will be used to stitch a couple
of Debbie Draper designs that I have. The others will no
doubt come in handy for other projects. These are cool
colours, and the fabric seems nice to handle, so we'll see
how I like them when it comes time to stitch. The picture
sort of looks like a slice of battenburg cake, doesn't it??


And part two (or was it three???) of an order from Mary
Kathryn (you remember??? E I E I O??) also arrived this
week including the lovely chart and thread above, and a
new needle keeper.


And these four charts, a couple of which were on sale. I
know there's a SAL going on for Little House Neighbourhood
and the design looks gorgeous!! Nicole at Carolina Dreams
is one of the participants, and she's a stitcher of LHN and CCN
designs with incredible talent, and her piece is so gorgeous!!
Linda at Litla Skvis is also stitching that design.


And here's a very bad picture of this months Bit's n Bobs
delivery from the store of the same name. I think you'll
have to take my word for it....the thread colours are
fantastic!


The party that DH and I went to yesterday was for our
friends 25th wedding anniversary, and was an open house
with a pool party afterwards for the younger guests. It was
a great day weather wise, which was a big relief for them
considering the weather that we've been having lately. We
had a nice thunderstorm roar through here Friday night
around dinner time which had the lights flickering....but I
digress.

Our friends (Pete and Terry) have a wonderful
backyard, which overlooks a ravine and has a large in
ground pool. Terry loves to put her plants in unusual
containers and also places all kinds of whimsical ornaments
around the yard. It's so much fun walking around, trying
to see everything she's done. In the above picture the
stripped plant container is actually an old ceramic kleenex
box cover turned upside down. She also has old cookie
jars, tea pots and pots and mugs with flowers and plants
growing in them.


And Terry collects Barbie dolls. The fancy ones, as well as
the regular dolls and their accessories. Pete has just about
finished decorating a room of their home, which is now the
Barbie room.

The walls are a rich, deep dark red, which required at least
eight coats before it looked right, and just about drove poor
Pete around the bend in frustration. The cupboard door in
the room is black, and that cupboard is stuffed full of Barbies.
Terry is slowly buying these cabinets from Ikea and will
use them to display as much of her collection as she can.
There were tours going upstairs all the time during the
party because everyone had to see the Barbie room. The
women were ooohhhing and ahhhing, while the men just
shook their heads in amazement.

**************************************************

Last week we took a day to drive down to Simcoe Ontario
to get new white wall tires for the old Buick. It was a two
hour drive there, and two hours back, with a stop for
lunch while we waited for the new tires to be fitted on the
Buicks rims. We didn't drive the Buick down there though
because DH didn't trust the old tires he had on her to make
the trip safely, so we just took the old tires on the rims.
The weather was sunny for the trip down, but we got
rained on (of course) during the trip home, and it was
quite a downpour, so it was a good thing we didn't take
the old Buick.

**************************************************

Update on that horrible propane explosion of last weekend.
Sadly one employee of the company died in the blast.
Even sadder, while working behind the scenes with the
equipment one of the firefighters, a thirty year veteran who
had turned up at the fire even though he was supposed to be
on his vacation, was found dead of what was probably a
heart attack.

Cause of the blast is still not known, and there's not much
left of the depot for the experts to pick through. Some
homes near the propane business were severely damaged
from the incredible shock wave caused by the blast, and clean
up of the area is going to take some time.

**************************************************

Some finishes of note that I saw last week during my blog
travels: Staci (Snippets and Stash) had a pin keep finish for
a Brightneedle design, and another finish as a long tasseled
pillow which is a Carriage House Samplings design. Staci
is an amazing finisher. And Glenda (Life, the Universe and
Stitching) finished an incredible blackwork design called
Elegant Ironwork, which is just beautiful.

And go visit Cathey at Pumpkin Patch & Co. and answer
the question she's posted there for her latest post. I
think it's a great way to get to know who's reading
your blog. And folks, Cathey's a sweetheart. Go see!

So I'm going to go post on her blog, and here's your chance
to do the same on mine. Pass it on!!

1) As a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! And if we've never met, leave me a comment about your favourite post that I wrote and why it was your favourite.

2) Next, re-post these instructions on your Blog (if you have one) and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your Blog and leave one about you :o)

Have a really terrific week everyone. I'm so glad you took
the time to visit here. Happy stitching!!

Cheers!!!

10 comments:

stitcherw said...

Nice progress, Gate is really taking shape, I love the colors. How sad on the explosion, to lose two lives on top of the damage, just tragic. Love all your new stash. I don't have any of Sassy's fabrics, but I've seen several people write how much they love them. I'll enjoy hearing how you like them when you start a piece with it. Patterns and fibers were wonderful too. I don't have LHN's Neighborhood yet, but it is on my list.
Sue

mainely stitching said...

What, pick just one memory from all the wonderful, rich, fascinating blog posts you've offered us through time? No way! It's not possible!

And speaking of rich and wonderful posts, this one is fabulous! Wow, a Barbie room. I have got to remember to pass that along to the DH when he comes home from work. We are bursting out at the seams here, so a room dedicated to Barbies will get a very typical European male reaction, I'm sure. ;)

Lots of great new stash! I've not tried Sassy's fabrics, but I hear about them a lot. I'm trying to work through my stash, and having fun with my food dyeing experiments. LOL.

Your garden gate is looking great. I love that tree! I hope I have a chance to do some stitching today ...

Speaking of miserable summer weather, we have rain and thunderstorms forecast for EVERY SINGLE DAY this week. I'm mildewing. I can't take Nicky out in this weather because of his cast. Ugh! But maybe it will be a beautiful winter? LOL!!

staci said...

I didn't know Tasha Tudor passed away this summer...I have one of her books and have read several others. I found her so intriguing and inspiring!

Looks like you've been keeping quite busy and love your new stash too! Thank you for your sweet, sweet mention of me~~you are too kind!

Sonda said...

Isn't it so typical that you go on holiday and think you'll have SOOOO much time for stitching and then you don't get a lot done! I like your progress so far. Can't wait to see the finish!

About that fire, every week in the US at least one firefighter dies of a heart attack or in a crash. Sometimes more than one. It isn't the fires that kill 'em. Well, most of the time anyway. It's kinda sad.

That picture from the news reel was pretty spectacular.

That Barbie room looked as if it were really neat. Thanks for sharing a pic. Have a good stitching week.

Pumpkin said...

Ohhhh, your piece is progressing so nicely :o)

I wonder if that's the magazine that I used to get years ago. Old Quebec IS very nice and you'd love it :o) Just walking the streets and looking at the architecture is enjoyable enough.

Now that's some stash!!!! Sassy's fabrics are gorgeous and I'm waiting for a special piece from her now. I see that you bought The Needlework Shop and I just started it tonight! I was going to start My Needle's Work but I'm still debating about the fabric. LH Neighborhood is going on my want list ;o)

That must be some Barbie collection! Although I shouldn't talk because I have, or used to have, a HUGE collection of Breyer horses. I think I might be down to 100 now but it doensn't take long for those things to take over your house. LOL!

That is so terrible about the explosion :o( I'm so sad for those families.

Would you STOP making me blush! ;o) DH would say I'm anything but sweet. LOL!

I'm glad that I have come to know you over this short period of time :o) How could I not get along with someone who loves cross stitch and books! ((((HUGS))))

Mary Ann said...

Hi, I wanted to let you know that I enjoy reading your blog! Your posts are fantastic and I figure any one who enjoys stitching and reading must be okay!! : )

samplerlover said...

Hi Judy, sorry I'm late. Haven't been able to sit for long on the computer as I have done my back in. Haven't stitched for a week, that's how bad it's been.
I love the cover of your new Victoria. I will get mine probably early October. I new that Tasha Tudor had passed away as I saw something about it last month in Victoria's newsletter. I always thought that she was quite fascinating. I have one of her books called "Tasha Tudor's Garden". Every now and then I like to get it out and have another look.
Your stitching looks lovely and is really taking shape. And what more stash LOL. I'm s t i l l waiting for Hestera Harmer to turn up from the US. I have the linen and half of the threads. I just need the chart to work out the rest. I am doing it in DMC. Silk threads are too expensive out here.
My Aunt and Uncle leave next week to come to Canada for a few weeks. They have been a few times before and really love going there. Apparently my Uncle is getting sick and tired of my Aunt packing and unpacking her clothes. She doesn't know whether to put clothes in for cold weather or hot weather.
Anyway back's going again so I had better get off and hobble around for a little bit. I hope you and your DH have a lovely weekend. - Sandra.

Rowyn said...

Gate with Lantern is looking lovely.

I love all your new stash. It's always fun deciding what to buy and then enjoying the anticipation of it arriving.

Dani - tkdchick said...

Judy I look forward to meeting you this upcoming weekend and seeing your WIP in person! Don't forget to bring some finished and WIPs to show off! I'm not sure if Kathy has e-mailed you or not yet to let you know that I'll be picking you up at the train station Friday night since I have to drive through to get to Kathy's.

Can you e-mail me so we can clear up details? tkd_chick@hotmail.com

samplerlover said...

Hi Judy, I'm glad that your lost Victoria turned up. They are such beautiful books. I have also been buying Romantic Homes over the last couple of months. Not in the Victoria category but still nice. Isn't the way though, we you go through a book and for some reason or another you have missed an issue, you find that everybody is raving over the missing issue. You think to yourself "Oh Darn".
Don't mention the back, it's a right pain.(pun intended). I have suffered with scoliosis since school. What with that and a couple of nasty falls, no wonder it's up the creek. I have 2 things wrong with me - back and knees - if I got rid of both of those I would probably be a 2 foot midget who liked to stitch LOL.
Don't know in Canada my Aunt and Uncle are going. They have been there quite a few times. It's one place they love. My Sister has been there as well and loved it. I think she was going to go there again, but seems to be going to England and Europe at the moment.
Found an interesting web site this morning with a lot of lovely freebies. I don't know if you have visited there before = the site is called Cross Stitch Happy Blog. There are 2 really nice scissor bags with hummingbirds on them. Very pretty.
Hestera is a funny name isn't it. I suppose it is very old English. Around that area there are a lot of Philadelphia's. I noticed I have a couple in my family tree, but unfortunately for me there is only their married surname. Don't know if they are Quakers as there was a couple of Quaker meeting houses in Sussex and I also found out that Philadelphia is a Quaker name that is usually given to the eldest daughter, so who knows. Hestera might be the same.
I suppose if I really wanted to know I will have to subscribe to Ancestry or something. I have used up my freebies.
It's a beautiful day here at the moment, although I think we are in for another cold spell. We get Southerlies which cools everything done. I suppose you would get Northerlies, which I imagine would be like a blast from a very large freezer.
Anyway have a lovely week = Sandra.