Carol's got her groove back!

I was in a hand quilting slump for awhile. I was having problems handquilting Black Cats Staring. I wasn't even enjoying the process. So then I took up my Delft Baskets piece to get back in the groove; even then it wasn't going well...what is the problem? I ditched the frame... I like that the frame keeps the fabric fairly taut, but what a pain to manipulate around...I finally said forget it! and all was well in the world again! I got my groove back!


I decided to quilt around the baskets instead of in the sashing because it is hard to keep a straight line against the plaid. You have a tendency to follow the stripes, but if your stripes don't line up perfectly, then you go off course. My stitches are not even, but I was improving by the end!

Anyway, I am back to quilting Black Cats Staring, and I am almost done. I have been handquilting and watching/listening to Margaret's vlogs on handquilting (see previous post). I highly recommend them!

On a funnier note, the next pic is me attempting Yoga from a book...I don't like to join classes where I exercise with other people, quilting is fine, exercising, NO! This is my favourite pose: the Corpse pose! heheheh. See, Suske likes to do Yoga too! I think she is better at it than me! She is particularly good at the Cat pose, too!



PS. Happy Canada Day!

Ok, 1 more thing, on extreme environmentalism from the late George Carlin

Delft Baskets

I have been playing around with my favourite Dutch fabrics. I have been making so many unusual wall hangings for the Guild challenge, that I had the urge to go back to something traditional. I've never made a basket block before. I got the idea from a Gwen Marston book I found at City Lights a used book store, Twenty Little Amish Quilts (1993). I had a heck of a time, though, there was something off in the measurements and I had to cut down all my centre squares a half an inch. The instructions said add 1/4 inch seam to template, but by doing so it made the centre square too big for the little squares. weird. But these things don't phase me anymore and a trim here or there is no big deal, I added sashing where there wasn't any, and anyway this is the result, Delft Baskets, I call it:


Spring has finally arrived. I know this because I refuse to wear gloves and my boots anymore, and of course the Thames river has flooded because of rain and snow melt. This photo shows the park behind the HMCS Prevost. As you can see the bicycle path has been completely flooded up to the base of the hill.

I like to use this sewer pipe as a guide to river depth. The first photo shows one of the lowest depth of the river, this was January.


This was March 31st:

This was April 1st:


So what is that 10 feet, maybe more? egads! They say this is the highest it's been since 1977.(I have since found out it rose 13 feet!)