Home from Duluth

We came home from Duluth, Minn yesterday in a driving rainstorm but with not mishaps along the way so everything is fine.  I made some fabric purchases for some things I will be working on.  I already have 2 quilts that have to be quilted and a tablerunner to finish and now I am working on a Dresden plate.  I haven't decided yet what I am going to do with the finished squares, maybe I will make a quilt, but still undecided.

The Dresden Plate called for 20 blades but when I sewed them together there were too many to lie flat so I took out 8 and then I had to add 4 more colours and I ended up with 2 different plates.  NowI will just make more plates the same as these two and figure out what I will make in the end.

I started this for the class that I am taking.  You can work on any project and the instructors will help you.  This is something I have seen before but never attempted so I thought it was a good opportunity to try my hand at it and get some help along the way.

Peggy

Dandy Bag

I made a new Dandy Bag today but I forgot to take a picture so I will have to ask Christine to take one when she gets it.  The fabric is Black & White & Current by Color Principle for Henry Glass.  It is black on white and white on black.  I do this all the time.... I got the parcel all put together and then remembered that I wanted to take a picture.  I am not taking the parcel apart so I will have to rely on Christine.

Peggy.

Work in progress

I have 2 quilts that are going to be finished this fall for sure.  The halloween one has been sitting there for a few years and it is still not quilted.  As soon as Mike gets home I will have him help me spray it and sandwich it.  It goes so much easier with 2 people.  The other one is the one I have been working on for the quilt classes.  It is finished but I need to purchase the backing for it.  We are heading to Duluth in a week so I expect to pick it up at one of my favourite quilt shops along the way.  The border doesn't show up very good in the picture but if you click on it and enlarge it, the colours come through.

This quilt is pieced and appliqued.  The cats, and the apples are pieced and the bats are appliqued.  I want to get this finished so badly.  It has been sitting there for ever calling out to me so this is the time.  The binding is the same as the small first border.  I will post a final pictue when it is done.  Maybe this is the incentive I need to get going on it.

Peggy

Water Bottle Holders

I finished 2 more water bottle holders today.  These are so easy to make and really neat to have so that you are not carrying your water in your hand all the time.  These were made for my nephews wife and for my daughter-in-law's sister.  The fabric for the purple one is called "river rock" and it looks like a rock bed at the side of a river.  It was a fat quarter that I picked up at the local quilt shop.  If you spend over $20 and belong to the "Stash Club" then you get a free fat quarter of your choice.  Charlene likes purple so I thought that was a great choice for her and Beth likes green.  The green one is a Batik fabric that looks like leaves.

I always make the shoulder strap adjustable so that who ever wears it can make it the length that feels good on them. 

Peggy

Angel of Joy

I started working on some Christmas projects this week.  I was starting to feel the pressure since Christmas creeps up on us so fast.  I finished the Angel of Joy today.  The pattern is from Patch Abilities .  It was in the monthly mini's group but with new patterns coming all the time it is under Christmas.  This is the third one I have made from this pattern.  I was able to use fabric from my stash and I am really pleased with the way it turned out.  It is for my daughter-in-laws mother.  I sure hope she will like it, I think she will.  I used blanket stitch for the applique with gold and silver thread and the fabric is gold and silver. Too bad the dress isn't showing up in the photo as it is silver swirls on the white background.

Peggy

The last 6 squares

I finished the last 6 squares so I thought I would post them side by side.  Now the 'fun' part is arranging them so that I can put the sashing between them and then the borders.  I think they turned out pretty nice.  My young sister says I should call it a Kakabeka Falls quilt because the colour remind her of clean stones you would find near a waterfall.  Kakabeka Falls is a very large waterfall we have near here.  It is almost as high as Niagara Falls. I wish I had that kind of imagination.

Peggy

Squares for my Class

I have been working on my squares for my quilting class.  I have 7 done but I took a picture of 6 of them.  Just because it was easier to lay them out and arrange them.  There seems to be a lot of burgundy in these 6 but I am sure the other 6 will complement them with the browns.  Each square is different, and there are only 2 actual squares and a centre square, it depends on how you lay out the pieces when you finish them.  I have tried to use all the 8 fabrics equally so that there is a good mix of colours when I am finished.  I would like to get the last 5 done before next weeks class but I think that I might be a bit optimistic.  We will see.  I also have to go and buy more fabric this week for the sashing as I don't have enough.  I haven't decided my borders yet either as I want to see the final result before choosing more colours or some of the same for the borders.

Peggy

Another set of Placemats

I finished the 4 placemats with the poinsettia and the Christmas balls on them and the tablerunner.  The tablerunner is a new pattern.  It is a little different but I think real cute.  I think if I make the same tablerunner again I would make it longer.

I sit at night and sew the binding on by hand so it always takes me a while to finish things up.

Peggy

My sister's birthday.

The place mats were finished a while ago but I just completed the tablerunner and sent it to my sister Carole for her birthday.  The placemats were a kit so I had to purchase more fabric for the table runner.  She wanted something with flowers and I think this really did the trick.

Peggy

Taking a Quilting Class

I started a new Quilting Class today put on by two ladies who are prominent in the local Quilt Guild.  We were to choose any pattern that we wanted to make for this course.  I thought it was odd that we weren't all working on the same thing but it worked out really well.  The instructors came around to see what we were doing and helped out with selection of fabric and cutting.  Some of the ladies are new to quilting, they have only made one other quilt so they needed a lot of help.


I bought a book by Atkinson Design called "Confetti in the Corner".  I am finding it quite challenging as they give you the general idea and then you have to decide how to lay out the blocks.  The main block is made up of three blocks:  Chip and Dip, Confetti and a centre square.  Because I am make a sampler block lap quilt it was suggested that you purchase 8 fat quarters and then have a background colour and make the squares out of these colours.  It is up to you how you set the blocks up once they are made. 

I sat down tonight and did some colouring and decided how I would use my 8 different fabrics along with my background to come up with some sort of design. 

Here are the fabrics I have chosen.

 The background fabric above looks yellow but it is really a motled beige.  I wanted a masculine quilt when I was finished.  Hopefully I will post some squares as they are done.

Peggy

I was wondering if anyone reads my blog.

I can't keep it a secret any longer.  I have been busy quilting even though I have not posted anything here.  I am busy making placemats and tablerunners for Christmas.  If any of my followers, friends or relatives who read my blog would like a set for Christmas just let me know.   I have 3 complete sets made, one half made, and 2 still to be cut and sewn.  Each set has 4 placemats and a tablerunner to match. So lets see who actually reads my blog.  Leave me a comment.  I am anxious to see which ones people like.

This one is red cardinals.

These are cute little blue birds.  If you click on the picture it will enlarge for you to see it in full view.

Aren't they cute polar bears?

Each set has 4 placemats and a tablerunner.

This next set is almost finished.  As you can see I just need to sew the binding on around each one.  The table runner is half done and I will post a picture later.



I also have really pretty fabric with poinsettias on it and some playful snowmen.  I guess most of the fabric is wintry rather than real Christmas fabric.

Don't forget to leave a comment.

Peggy

At home

I finally arrived home on Saturday night at 11pm, that meant that I had been up for 22 hours.  After a nice cup of tea it was into bed without emptying the suitcase.  Things are back to "normal" whatever that is but I am still suffering from jet lag.  I am awake in the middle of the night and can't seem to get enough sleep.  By 8pm I am so tired that I fall asleep watching TV.  I am hoping that this only lasts a few more days.


It is very cool here at home, a lot cooler than it was in Ireland.  In fact it is cold here.  Mike has picked his garden and I processed dozens of tomatoes today.


I have to get some quilting done soon.  I tidied up my sewing room yesterday and then spent about an hour trying to decide what to make next.  I am making some small things for Christmas and I have a few things to make for birthdays.  I will post some pictures when they are finished.


Yoga starts tomorrow for the fall session and I am looking forward to see all the 'girls' again.  We are like a small family unit and it is nice to get back into the swing of things.  I have to get back to walking also.  I have been too tired since I first got home and today it was raining very hard.  Not a day to go out walking.

I am so glad that I took this bag with me to Ireland.  I carried it everyday with my umbrella, camera, water bottle and scarf.  It was small enough to carry and big enough to hold all the things I wanted to take with me for the day.  It was quite windy some day so I was glad to have my scarf to wrap around me.  Ireland weather is very unpredicable.

I hope to get some sewing done in the next few days and will post pictures when I finish something.

Peggy

Today we are in Malahide

On Thursday we took the local bus to Blarney and kissed the blarney stone.  After climbing more than over 120 stairs on a stone spiral staircase with only a rope handrail to hold onto we couldn't chicken out.

On Wednesday we took the train to Cobh which is the main emigration port following the great Famine of 1846-48.  Maritime history at the Queenstown Story - the major heritage centre in the town.  It is also the last port of call for the Titanic before it set sail for America and hit the iceberg.

The spire of St. Colman's cathedral dominates the sky.  The spire is 100 m high and it's tower houses a carillon of 47 bells- the largest in Ireland.  It is a huge magestic church on a hillside overlooking the town.  Again we had to climb up the hill to get to it, but it was worth it. 

We travelled by train to Malahide.  It was an all day trip but a nice train ride.  Today we are in Malahide and staying at the Grand Hotel.  It is a massive hotel with lots of corridors but a nice pub where we had dinner last night.  Our room wasn't ready when we arrived so she booked us in another and it has air conditioning.  The temperature today is 22 C.  The Irish keep saying that they can't believe the beautiful weather they are having.  We had rain one day out of the 2 weeks that we have been here and one shower.  It lasted long enough for us get our umbrellas up and it stopped. 

We toured Malahide castle today.  It is over 800 years old and has been inhabited by the Talbot family for the entire 800 years.  Rose Talbot moved out in 1975 and gave the castle to the town when she left.

We head for home and Canada tomorrow morning.  By the time I get home I will have been up for 24 hours because of the time change.  The worst jetlag is going back to Canada so I may not blog for a few days.

Peggy.

Cork City

We took the bus to Cork city today and have been walking around the city.  The bus ride was only 2 hours long through beautiful countryside dotted with sheep and cattle grazing.  Some of the roads were very narrow, hardly enough room for the bus and car to pass each other.  Then we drove on an super highway, so you never know what kind of a road you will be travelling on. There are areas here in Cork where there is a pedestrian walkway where no cars go so you can stroll the street without a care.

Tomorrow we hope to go to Blarney Castle, we are only here for one and a half days so we have to get in all we can.  We walked through an open market on our way here to the Internet.  Very interesting, as they sold meats, vegetables, baked goods, and fish and there was even a small cafe.

 Me at Ross Castle in Killarney and my feet in the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland.

Peggy

The Cliffs of Moher

When we were in Galway we took a tour of the Cliffs of Moher. Des our driver kept us entertained with his jokes and commentary as he drove the bus. We stopped at the Poulnabrone Dolman and ancient burial place on the Burren. The Burren is a vast waterless plateau of limestone hills and countless colourful flowers.

We stopped at a sheep dog demonstration where the border collie herded the sheep. We had lunch at Doolin with a lady named Peggy who is from St John, NL and lives on the same street as Joanne. She also knows Doris.

The cliffs were gorgeous and very windy. There is an area where people walk along the top of the cliffs which is very treacherous and they are trespassing on private property. Nine people have fallen to their death this year from this area, and yet there are still people walking up there.

Yesterday we went to the Ring of Kerry. Our bus driver was not as talkative as Des was but the trip was great.

In Killarney you see regular cars, jaunting cars (horse driven carriages) and tour buses.

One spot we stopped at - The Valley of the hidden treasure- was so windy it was like we were in a hurricane, but we were high up in the mountain and looked down on the valley.

I will shorten this as my session is almost up. The day was intermitten rain and sun with low lying clouds over the mtns. We finished the day walking around the town centre looking at stores and pubs. We had dinner at a pub and returned to the B&B around 8:30.

All is well here. Nice sunny day today. I should have left my coat at the B&B but the weather is very unpredicable so it is hard to say what the day will be like.


Peggy

Cliffs of Moher and The Burren, at the library and pages are blocked, will hopefully blog later or tomorrow

To-day we are in Galway

 Yesterday we were at the Marian Shrine at Knock.  It is a beautiful shrine set on 4 acres of land.  There are 5 churches.  There are 5 churches on the site.  The Church of Reconciliation, The Church of the Apparition, The Old Church, The New Cathedral and the Church of the Blessed Sacrament.  There is also a museum which tells the story of the people who saw the Apparition.  We spent 2-3 hours there and received 3 sacraments.  The town is very small so it didn't take long to see everything.  

Our B&B was quite close, about a 10 minute walk.  We had dinner on the main street at a small cafe and then went to the pub beside the B&B.  It turns out it was owned by the same people who own the B&B and their son was the barman.  His name was Iarla which was Gallic for Gerald.  

We check out this morning and when Kathleen found out that we had no car she drove us to the bus stop.  We were on the bus for 2 hours travelling to Galway.  We are in a hotel right downtown.  Everything is very close and there is a pedestrian walk way around to all we wanted to see.  We saw the bust of JFK in Eyre square, Nora Barnacles house (the wife of James Joyce), and St Patrick's Cathedral.  We walked along the bank of the River Corribe back to the city centre.  

We have booked a tour for tomorrow of the Cliffs of Moher.  I might have time to blog tomorrow if we don't get back too late.

Peggy

Donegal the pride of Gaul

We found the Catholic Cathedral of St Patrick yesterday and made a visit to the church.
We walked to the Donegal Abbey in Ruins.  The Abby dates back to around the time of the Vikings and is also a graveyard with graves dating back to the 1700's.  After walking around the town centre we had lunch at Magee's and enquired about a weaving demonstation.  Magee's is the largest weavers of tweed in the world.  A young salesman told us to return at "half 4".  We returned at the appointed time and Stephen took us to the demo room and showed us how the tweed was loomed, using a hand loom.  After he did a few rows Lynda gave it a try.  On the way out we saw a basket of peat and he asked us if we would like some so we each have a small piece to burn when we get home. 

There is a small cemetery on the outskirts of town dedicated to those who died during the potato famine.  We only got rained on once. 

Dinner was at Dom's.  I had a caesar salad with warm chicken and ham.  It was very good but the lettuce wasn't romaine but iceberg and leaf lettuce. 

We are travelling today to Knock to see the Marion Shrine where Our Lady, St. John & St Joseph appeared in 1879. 

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for Galway.  Will post more from there.

Peggy

Hello from Donegal

Yesterday was a travel day.  We took the train from Dublin to Sligo and then the bus to Donegal.  The weather is strange as it rains and then a few minutes later the sun shines.  Just enough time to get the umbrella out and the it is time to put it away again. 

The second picture is of the Donegal Waterbus.  We took a tour of the harbour yesterday when we arrived.  What a beautiful place.  The hills are all green and you can watch the tide come in and go out everyday.  Our B&B is a new place but quite a distance from the town.  We walked the first time but took a taxi after that.  We wondered around the town looking for a place to have dinner and finally decided on the Abbey hotel.  It was quite a posh place but decent prices for a meal.  She offered us a choice of two vegetables, carrots and cabbage.  We said we would have carrots only.  I had roast beef which came with mashed potatoes.  She brought the meal and then 2 side dishes of vegetables.  The carrots and more potatoes.  Lynda and I had a hard time trying not to laugh.  We didn't want to make a scene in such a posh place.

We visited Donegal Castle this morning.  It is very impressive and we were allowed to take pictures anywhere we wanted.  It is hard to see behind the trees.  One of the trees looked like a tamarak tree but I hightly doubt that it was one.

There is an old viking graveyard here which we hope to visit later today.  It is quite a touristy town here with many shoppes that sell souvenirs.  The town centre is situated around 3 streets that they call the diamond.  Most towns would have a square but this one is a diamond.

Peggy

Top of the Morning from Dublin

Day 2 in Dublin we spent going on the Hop-on-hop-off bus.  Walked through St Stephen's green and The Temple Bar area.  There was a large outdoor market in Temple Bar where we stopped for lunch.  Visited St Patrick's Cathedral and Grafton Street.  We did a lot of walking, and on the way back to downtown we stopped at a display put on by "Vickings"  We were tired and wanted to get back to Duke Street so we took an "Eco Cab".  It is a small carriage that is propelled like a bicycle and run by University Students.  He chatted away while he rode the bike and asked us where we were from and how long we would be staying.  When we stopped he took our picture in the carriage.  I will post a picture later.  

Since yesterday was Lynda's 65th birthday we celebrated it in style by having a few brews in Davey Bynes pub. Then we took the bus back to the area of our guesthouse and dinner at a nearby hotel.  We even had fish and chips.

Today we went to Trinity College and had a tour given by a young University student studying History.  He took us around the campus and pointed out the different buildings to us.  The tour was well worth while as the  buildings are just brick and mortar to the normal eye but he made it very interesting and informative.  After the tour we went to see "The book of Kells" an old manuscript from the 800's.  

Hopefully we will get to Dublin castle this afternoon.

Peggy