Come on over to my house the excitement is unbelievable....

I had a day straight out of a dark place that we are not allowed to go to.
My tension was off, thread and needles broke, my PCQuilter  went belly up. . What more could go wrong.................

So as Debbe said ( a wise gal, we all know) take it off the frame and sort out your woes. I did that and got the machine up and running, The prewound bobbin was full of knots - who knew. Then I reloaded my PCQ with new software and hubby and I said a few prayers. Mostly hubby because this equipment gives him hours of joy- ok hours of nag free time. The quilt I had been working on - now scrap because of it's problem stitching and a tear, - loaded I did a stitch test then tension check and pattern stitch out,SO far so good.

Tomorrow is boat day, after a day like today I am terrified of touching my equipment. Now is this a good time to blame it all on the weather, Things were going so well until we had a lightening strike and power failure I know it is payback for something .... I can think of a few things but I am not admitting  to anything!!!

Flip Flopping away

Look closely and you can see the flip flops and the stipple. Only two more passes and then I have to turn turn the quilt! Hmm what to put on those borders. SURPRISE!

In between

Laundry, floors, bathroom cleaning and mowing the yard . I get to play. Or should I call it babysit as I watch my automated quilter carreen through the motions. Great time to clean up my sewing room and do some computer work, I allow myself an hour of play before I have to get to serious work - like Ironing!

The quilt is a basket weave and I am top stitching it with a flip flop pattern, Sorry it is too hard to see on this particular quilt unless you come to visit

Car seat tent

I had a little quilt that I made and then had an epiphany! This had a minky backing on it and quite cute once I quilted it up . Now comes the lightbulb- why not cut it and make it into a car seat tent. These tents are all the rage, They cover the car seat held in place by the straps that clip onto the handle of the car seat. 

Now for those of you who are new to car seats and how they have evolved a car seat is not simply a car seat. The car seat  just doesn't sit in the car, it can be removed from it's base and brought into the house without disturing the baby's sleep. A lot of fancy strollers now have an adapter that allows you to clip the carseat from the car into the stroller, again not disturbing sleeping beauty.

The car seat cover known as a canopy of tent, keep the infact warm, but free and provides a hiding area from the outside world. Apparently it is a " must have" for infants, pricey and everyone NEEDS one. Well this old lady just whipped one up from a small baby quilt adding trim that I found in my stash and my prototype is done. I think that there would only be one revision and that would be handle placement

Time will tell~

Banana SPLAT nana

When I got to home sweet home and waiting at the local airport for my luggage to arrive I got more than I bargained for, A banana mashed into the backside of my luggage YUCK. I had a lovely friend come to pick me up and we did not want to hold anyone up. I wiped the sludge with a paper towel and then I managed to get the luggage in the trunk without touching anything.

Once home I created a detailed outline of the luggage travel with and without the banana flavoring, then sent it off to westjet in email form. A reply came shortly after $100 credit , YAHHOO

Tools of the trade

Imagine a whole heap of papertowels, LOL

I washed about 80 feet of glass this am, I used my secret potion- Water , Vinegar and dish soap. Mix well and squirt, then elbow grease like crazy so you would not have any streaks.I can see my reflection oh so clean. Now the big question is how long will it be before the birds ram into those glossy windows?

Those Pesky biters!

We arrived home on Tues and what a site. The house looked lovely from the road, the lady I hired did a great job and then it happened...... I went to the waterfront and my grass was knee high. I needed a goat,  The logs that lined the retaining wall washed up on the lawn when the water flooded over the lawn and pockets of leaves hiding  all around the property. The railroad ties that lined the top of the wall were imbedded into the yard. Grass growing around their resting spot . As Ben relocated them to their proper resting place the grass below was yellow and brown, matted and smelling of decomposition , I scraped and raked and reseeded. After a few hours of giving blood to mosquitoes I survived , they were down in numbers and the lawn was done!

Exercise does pay!!

Out for a walk on a different route, when I spied something blue. No one in site. Don't know who lost their 5er.  It was tucked into the edge of the curb, probably lost it's way from someone's front seat.  We will see if the owner can be found, if not McD meal for me

Only got one block ...

On my walk when low and behold I found a sign 2 FREE TREES, they are ornamental cedars of sorts.

Now planted in the back forty that my neighbor and I maintain, we are in the planning stages I have been cutting and splitting some existing plants and bits from others that I have in another garden, My adjoining neighbor has been able to secure some new plants to spruce up the area. Next spring I am going to plant bulbs!

Just to much to tell!

 I peered through the gates here remembering attending a wedding a decade ago here in the chapel, The wonderous gardens and green spaces surround this gem of history. I won't bore you but encourage you to click on the link below for the full history of this site that you just have to see for yourself .. one day

 http://www.stannsacademy.com/exhibits_and_events/index.php

St. Ann’s Academy is a testament to the dedication of the Sisters of St. Ann who were integral to the eginnings of education and healthcare in British Columbia. Now a national historic site owned by the BC Provincial Capital Commission, St. Ann’s remains one of Victoria’s premier landmarks surrounded by heritage gardens and greenspace to provide an oasis in the centre of the Capital city.

 Walk through the wrought-iron gate, along the drive, up the grand staircase and in the former school’s formal entrance. View the 1920’s era parlours then enter the chapel. Once Victoria’s first Roman Catholic Cathedral, it was built in 1858 and moved and added to the school in 1886. Like the many rural French Canadian churches it is modeled after, it has ornate altar and ceiling carvings, gold-leaf detailing, original oil paintings, stained glass windows and a 1913 Casavant pipe organ. The resplendent Novitiate garden at the side entrance to the Chapel has a geometric herb bed, perennials and a recreated 1925 summerhouse. The 1910 formal garden at the north-west corner of the property contains rare trees and the remains of a unique fountain.
The Public Works Department of the BC government purchased the building from the Sisters of St. Ann in 1974. Initially used as office space, the old wood and brick building suffered from years of minimal maintenance and was eventually condemned by the City of Victoria. The building remained closed for more than a decade as plans were considered for the redevelopment of the property. With the completion of the Victoria Accord, a redevelopment plan was recreated. The Provincial Capital Commission partnered with the BC Buildings Corporation to complete a two year, $16.2 million renovation of the 76,000 square foot building. A portion of the building (the Interpretive Centre) was restored to a 1920’s appearance while the majority of the building was converted into modern office space. The Ministry of Advanced Education leases the office space while the PCC operates the Interpretive Center, celebrating the history of this important landmark. The 1910 auditorium has also been restored and, along with 6 acres of grounds, is also available for public use.

Dockside ballet

These little tuboats line up in the Victoria Harbor at 10:45 on Sunday and perform the tugboat ballet, they swoon and sway to the beat of old show tunes. Unfortuanatley there were too far from where I was standing to get good pics of the ballet in motion . Click below to see them in motion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gI2lF7bbww

Thank you youtube!

http://www.victoriaharbourferry.com/