Thursday, February 26, 2009

Can Winter Please End?

Okay, I try and give each season a fair shake, but some seasons are just being hoggy and not giving their time up. Mr. Winter, your time is up! Please leave and bring on Mrs. Spring. I am so sick of the snow and the snow pants and the mitts and the hats and everything else I have to put on. I want my sandals and hat and head out the door.

Today was fun, went to the church rummage sale and got to browse while my kids browsed for toys and we spent $5 and got a whole whack of stuff, that kept everyone happy for the rest of the day. I will probably take them back tomorrow, if Mr. Winter decides to bring on this horrible storm, as we won't be able to play outside and we only live 3 blocks from the church. Plus the inlaws are next door, so can probably squeeze a meal or at least a good snack out of them.

Worked out tonite with friends. It was more fun than working out by myself, not sure if the workout was as intense as I wasn't thinking the whole time, "get this thing done".

I am supposed to be training for a 10 km race the beginning of May, not really looking forward to that. Seems like a lot of planning, training, and hard on my already aching knees. But I will give it a try and see if I survive it. Then probably retire from that sport and find a new sport. Like to see how many chocolate bars you can eat without getting sick in one week. It would be an endurance sport... over a week. And not the crap chocolate, but the 85% cocoa chocolate. If you are going to do a sport, you should have the right equipment and take it seriously. I could probably find a few people to participate in this with me.

Or I could try the 'how long can you not exercise for' sport. This is a real test of an athlete. How many days can you not do any physical exercise. I will probably try this one immediately following the 10 km race. It may last all summer and if I am feeling like really mixing things up, I may combine it with the 'see how many chocolate bars you can eat in one week' sport. But let's not get carried away, I will have to focus on the blasted 10 km run for the next 8 weeks.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

NJS Here We Come!

My quilt got accepted into the National Juried Show in Saskatoon , hosted by the Canadian Quilters Association. If I was any more excited I would fly there and deliver it myself. My friend from our guild also got in, so it really puts Manitoulin on the map!



That pretty much made the day terrific. Plus the kids did some great skating, both able to stop now and we played outside and had a ton of fun this afternoon. Life is good.

Monday, February 23, 2009

It's Done, It's Big and I am Happy



Well, doesn't that make you think? I finished the president's challenge quilt last nite at 8:20 pm. Hung it up, took a few pics and took it down. I wish now I had logged all the hours I put on it, just for my own curiousity. Anyway, it was alot! And I can't even post a pic of it, as a few members of our guild read my blog, well, they say they do, and it is supposed to be a surprise in May. All I will show you is a little butterfly that is a part of my quilt! HAHA


What a satisfying day it was. I had a lovely massage, and my therapist, massage that is, said he would give me complimentary acupuncture next week to try and get rid of my shoulder problem. That is very exciting as I have never had acupuncture before.


I checked out the CQA website again, as neither my friend nor I have heard. And the website stated, "acceptance notifications will be done by Feb 20, 2009". So does that mean only those accepted will hear now? In the past, yes, I have been rejected before, I received my letter by the date given. So this is puzzling.


Regardless, time will tell.


Sunday, February 22, 2009

Shop Till You Almost Dropped

Went to Sudbury on the weekend.

Watched some girls play terrific hockey, same girls slid down a really steep hill, all in the spirit of the game and watched them freeze their tails off.

I did alot of shopping. Valu Village had some great deals, and I got organic food and natural cleaning supplies at the big grocery store.

Went to bed really late and am now super tired so going to bed really early
tonite.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Pond Hockey and Shopping

It does make you wonder how pond hockey and shopping coincide. A woman, or rather one living in a remote part of the country uses any excuse to go shopping. Even watching friends play pond hockey. It doesn`t matter that we only plan to get to one of their five games. We have signs and spirit, so that will make up for the times we were too busy shopping. .... now to get out the door......

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Keeping the Mind Alert

Have you noticed how kids don't miss a thing? Can remember stuff you didn't even know happened? I took a picture of their stack of puzzles that they like to do on a daily basis. I would think that this past time is a good tool for mental development in so many ways. I wish I had some good tools for mental development some days-)

Our guild meeting went very well, a physiotherapist friend did a talk on the ergonomics of quilting and I learned quite a lot and she was very well received.

I am sooo close to being done my president's challenge that I can hardly stand it.

I received my first no yesterday, my friend is unable to go to provincials, so I will not go either. And my second no should arrive by mail tomorrow. But on the upside I have been surfing out some running events around and may try and compete in some 5 km races.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Waiting Game

I am so not good at waiting. I am waiting for 2 answers this week. And my stomach feels as explosive as that fabric looks. Although it is a beautiful fabric isn't it? I am waiting to hear from CQA about my entry into the National Juried Show and I am waiting to find out if my friend will go to the provincial swim meet.

In reality, having a no to both is not a big deal. I still get some great feedback from CQA as to why my quilt wasn't accepted, and I don't have to figure out how to mail it. And not going to provincials means there is no guilt for lack of training and I am at home with my kids.

So in retrospect it is really a good thing either way..... but it is still exciting waiting.... I guess.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Fun in the Snow

The weather was perfect, the company was perfect, the day was perfect. We had a bonfire and roasted hotdogs. The kids slid down the hill, skated on the ice and fell asleep in 2 minutes at bedtime. That is perfect!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Think Pink

I have started the blocks for the skating wall hanging. They are small and fiddly. But am excited to see the finished project. She is definitely worth it. After watching her again last nite teach my children, the patience and smiles she has is endless.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Ice Day

Freezing rain kept us in for some of the day, but my boys were perfect all day long. I had a terrific day today. We baked cupcakes, cookies all for Valentine's Day. Well, there was some sampling done today. Below is a picture of what will hopefully turn into the skating wall quilt I mentioned in one of my earlier posts.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Oh Boy!

Cough and cold, is there anyway a day can be fun when one of your children has that? We shall see. Below is the rest of the material from BC.

I started working on a small wallhanging last nite for the boys' skating coach. It was late so didn't want to continue on my big project for fear of making a mistake. This wallhanging is in pink, so it was a nice colour change and I was working with very small pieces for it. I am excited to see how it will turn out. It is to be a silhouette of a skater on a very pink background. I have designed it myself. She is the very first teacher both my children have ever had in their little lives, and they absolutely love her. You couldn't ask for anything different about her.

I will post my progress on it over the next few days.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Feels Like Spring

It was so mild out today, that we played and played and played, and got soaked and soaked and soaked. But we had fun. My prairie points are on and I only have 2 more sides to attach the backing to. I am very pleased with the effect, considering it is the first time I have done this type of border. I can't post the finished project here, or even any more progress as it is a president's challenge for our guild and must be kept a surprise till May.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Colour My World

Nothing can be inspiring as colour for a quilter. These gems came in the mail the other day from my dear friend in BC. They were bought at Dianne Janssen's store. Which I believe is my favourite quilt store in the whole world. My mother who is a much more traditional quilter than I am, was taken with the fabric as well. I am very excited to use it in an art quilt. I have 4 projects on the go, 2 due in May and 2 due in March, so this will wait. But in the meantime, it will give me time to get out my sketch pad in the evenings and design a new quilt.


I showed my mom my pres challenge quilt, that I am working on and she was shocked to say the least. Shocked as it is so wild, or she didn't think I could do work like that, or that it was so original? Who knows, I didn't ask=)

Life is good when you can relax and quilt and that nothing is so bad that you can't focus on fun. I am blessed!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The End is in Sight

I have started the prairie points, the first part is easy, cut squares and fold and iron. One dilemma I am facing is do I have enough fabric? We shall see when we get them all ironed. I can't buy anymore as I purchased this stuff in BC or dyed it myself. Fingers and toes are crossed. The pres challenge calls for a complete border of prairie points, so there is not much room for imagination.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

February is Here


So much snow! We spent the afternoon clearing a spot on the lake, drilled a hole and it flooded our rink. We can't wait for it to freeze.

I am making my prairie points for my president challenge quilt and am worried I am going to run out of fabric. That will definitely be trouble. Time will tell. I haven't tried placing them around it. Still cutting and ironing and ironing!
photo by flickr.com