Project variety

Some things have been finished and other things have been added to my list of things to sew and knit.

I have a lot of this yarn. It's one of those jumbo balls.

I'm trying out various free baby hat patterns on the internet. Three little hats in three evenings.

The embroidery is getting there. It's just taking time.

I did manage to cut and sew nine little receiving blankets. They are all pre-washed so therefore, pre-shrunk. I have more flannel that I need to cut up and hem.

While looking for some broadcloth to finish off the binding for the baby quilt, I found (buried under a pile of fabric) a laundry basket filled with flannel. Totally forgot about them. I will be hauling it out to see what there is to add to Patric's rag quilt - still on the list.

And now, on to food...

I make smoothies almost daily. This one has fresh raspberries, plain yogurt, a banana, some almond mild and skim milk.

Yesterday, I made kale chips. My son Eric was over and helped me eat some. I had a bag of pre-cut kale and so it was a matter of rinsing it in water, shaking off the excess and tossing a bunch with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper and some chili peppers (flakes). I then arranged them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, baked at 350F until crisp (15-20 minutes.) It took three pans full till the bag was finished and most of it got eaten right away. The chili peppers just add a bit of spice.

I'm off to work on getting some sewing done so I can cross stuff off my list. 

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network.

Busy, busy, busy and more gifts

I am certainly busy with many different things.

I need to make a belt for my daughter. She liked the dress but wanted a belt like the other dresses had. It needs to be about a metre and a half. Luckily, I didn't throw these scraps away. The fabric has a bit of spandex in it so it's not good for quilts. Too tight a weave too.
Update: Done

This was a curtain panel I purchased that was 80" long and I wanted to make cafe curtains that are 31" long. I need to cut it in half so that the pieces are identical with enough to hem them.
Update: Done 

I have flannel yardage that I want to cut into receiving blankets for my charity of choice, the Silent Children's Mission. So far, I have 4 little hats too. Apparently, the hats are in demand. I wish I had more time.

The baby quilt needs binding.

My online crazy quilt class has taken a back seat so I really need to move on it.
Update: Still working on it.

There are a few other things that I need to get done but these are just the ones at the top of the list (at the moment.)

And now on to my gifts. More, from my other two daughters. I am blessed.

My middle daughter Maili brought back a Marimekko table cloth from Finland. She and her boyfriend Casey really liked their Scandinavian trip. I did also get a Sibelius CD from my pen pal but I forgot to take a photo of the cover. Kiitos Satu.

This arrived in the mail yesterday. I had asked my eldest daughter Laila, to make me a book of Patric photos since I have Luc books. I was expecting a 4" x 6" book but this arrived. It's about 8.5" X 11" and look what she included.

A photo of Patric on his quilt with the words "Patric's Baby Quilt made by Mummi." It has photos of his first year, right up to his birthday. 

Precious.

Irish gifts

Just because.

My littlest one is living in Ireland at the moment. Both she and her boyfriend are missing Canada and family. Apparently, she lives around the corner from a quilt store - but one where you have to notify the owner you would like to visit. I had asked for fat quarters - I always ask for fat quarters whenever my little ones (they are all over 30) go travelling. Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't. A lot of times there aren't any fat quarters to be found. This time, however, there were.

Fat quarters and coasters. Love those fabrics and they will show up in a quilt for either Luc or Patric.

And there was not one but two of the colour catchers. I still have some left from when she sent them to me from Britain but these are always very handy. We here in Canada for some reason cannot get them. I have no idea why.

I'm off to finish something. Once it's done, I'll show you.

Just a little Jeopardy Quiz

While watching Jeopardy just now, a wonderful game show where three contestants have to come up with a question to various answers, there were two men and one woman who didn't know who this man was.

 I don't have the photo that was shown so I'll show an unsmiling one and ...

a smiling one.

The Jeopardy answer was that he (photo) followed Jean Chretien (maybe that threw some of them.)

Give up?

I'll give you another hint.

 How's this? 

Or this?

http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng

 Answer - or rather, Jeopardy question: Who is Prime Minister Stephen Harper?

BTW, Prime Minister of Canada, that is.


Added note: Stephen Harper has been the Prime Minister since 2006 - so he is not a new face.

Oh yes, one other thing - the host of Jeopardy, Alex Trebek, is Canadian.

Pretty streets

I love looking at the different ways the Business Improvement Area (BIA) groups spruce up the streets.

 The summer plantings are so pretty.

I really like the concrete pebbled planters on the sidewalks.

 Sometimes the owners of buildings take it upon themselves to spruce up their little space in this city.

 Here's a much bigger but not as attractive a planter.

Pretty hanging planters are found along some of the streets.

 The hanging planters come in all sizes and the flowers vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

 I had fun sitting in the passenger seat looking at all the different flowers...

and all the different colours.

More concrete planters.

Sometimes there is a tree in the middle of the planter.

Trees of all size are surrounded by very pretty flowers.

 Different flowers in different neighbourhoods.

I like the height of those long plants (I have no idea what they are.)

Wonderful lime green accents. A feast for the eyes.

And the last photo. Too bad they don't de-weed around the planters.

These were all taken on major streets where there's lots of traffic.