Quiet Saturday morning

 I'm still home, writing.  I managed to snap a photo of one of my companions out here...the hummingbird who sits on the jade plant out on the deck...

It's usually when the feeder is occupied by some of the more noisy birds, tussling for position, that this one will sit and watch.  It's been hard to catch it in a photo because it doesn't sit for long, and I'm usually clumsy and loud about getting the camera ready.

Finally I got the photo by leaving the camera set up on the table, pointed at the jade plant so that all I had to do when my friend arrived was to reach over, push the 'on' button, then the shutter.  A little grainy from the zoom, but there it is!

 Couldn't stand it last night anymore.

After a day of writing I just had to get my hands on those rocks!  I played until it was too dark to see what I was doing.  It's a good thing I stopped, too, as there's one there that's sitting too proud and will have to be re-set.  No amount of pounding with my rubber mallet will get it to sit lower on that corner, so, biting the bullet, it will get pulled  today.

I love how the river rocks give way to the flagstone.  Soft edges meet hard corners.  And all the colours in the stone...it's amazing.  I can't wait to get it all in so that I can clean it up a little and let the colours glow.

As usual, this is going together in an kind of unorthodox way.  I figured that this sand is all pretty hard packed because we walk on it all the time, it's been under that piece of fake grass you can see folded up to the side.  As the rocks are not all the same thickness, there's not a lot of point in me excavating everything to the same depth before putting the rock into it.  I've been working with my line level to ensure that the walking surface is flat and level (slight grade toward where the lawn will be, as I want it to drain that way), and scraping out the area for each group of rocks as I go, putting sand back in and pounding the heck out of it when I need to, and pulling more out when the rock sits too proud.  It's a slow process, but very satisfying.

The final shot here is of the area toward the driveway, across the front of the house.  I want the stone to continue across in a walkway through here.  The idea behind this is that it will be easier and tidier for mowing maintenance - and I think it'll just look good.

Well, I should get back to writing - er, writing what I'm supposed to be writing!

Happy Saturday,
Lisa

Watching the grass grow...among other things...

 My fellas are all still away, camping up in Nakusp with friends and family.  I'm here at home, watching the grass grow...and writing like a madwoman.


I'm working on something kind of special, something that I've been involved in for over a year and half...and before that there was at least 1 and maybe 2 years of background consultation and research done by one of my colleagues in this endeavour (who is also my friend).


There are 6 of us writing and preparing a training course that will be offered through Selkirk College this fall, in their CE (Continuing Education) catalogue.  It's a Home Share and Respite Care course to train people who would like to work in those capacities with people who have disabilities.  The Province is moving away from group homes as a housing model, and toward Home Share which is a really good option for many people.  At this time there is not a lot of training available for people who would like to do this type of work, to share their home with a person who has a disability and support them in their daily endeavors, and we are hoping, respectfully and humbly, to fill that gap. We've formed a small company called ShelterGuides.  We're in the process of building our website, and of filling the Moodle (teaching/learning content management system) with our coursework.

Writing the curriculum is an interesting experience.  We're doing everything collaboratively, mindful of the different draws and claims that exist on each other's lives.  We initially joined together not knowing each other, or not knowing each other well - but through this process have become friends.  I'm amazed by the intelligence, strength and experience that each of these women brings to the table.  It's phenomenal.


 So, I'm sitting here, out on our deck, with my dog and the crazy hummingbirds.  There are so many birds right now that it feels dangerous sometimes to sit here...I realize that I have a lot of faith in their reflexes, that they won't actually skewer me with their little beaks (at high speed)!  There have been a couple of moments that have felt (to me) like close calls...those pesky birds are probably buzzing me for fun, then going off to laugh about it...

It's pretty peaceful.  I mean, aside from the crazy birds.  The grass is growing, the dog is snoring.  I'm typing.

Yesterday I took time out to go and get rocks...thanks to our neighbour and his kick-ass trailer.  We moved a ton...yep a ton of flagstone from the rock yard near Salmo to here. 

This morning I went and bought a mason's chisel and maul, and tried my hand at splitting one of these bad boys...and, although I definitely have lots to learn, I think I'll be able to split some of the thicker ones down to approximately the same thickness as the others before setting them in to the patio area.

But I'm being very good, very disciplined.  I'll get my piece of the writing done before going out to play with the rocks.  I promise.

:)
Lisa

Hummingbirds - quilted at last!

This has been a long time coming. For those who've been following this blog for a while...it's finally quilted!


This was a tough one to do - I was putting it off, imagining different quilting treatments, thinking of this, of that, when all I had to do was put it on the machine and start quilting.


Once I got going, everything seemed to fall into place. I had the right colours of thread (o happy day) and the machine is running beautifully. Since upgrading to the new APQS foot I've found that there I've got so much more control while using templates...which comes in handy for stitch-in-the-ditch.


Most of this quilt was done freehand. I only used templates for a few little picky parts (around the Hummers). My current favorite templates are the Sew Clear MiniCurve and the Sew Clear MiniTri! They're what I've been using with the art quilts as well.

Originally, there were to be Angelina Fibres on this one, in the flowers, but they just didn't look right with the rest of the piece. I may still add a couple of beads, here and there, but I think that'll be it for embellishments.

Please pardon how dark the photos of the bottom of the quilt are...I don't know how to get the light to be even enough to make that part of the quilt show it's actual colours. The top part of the quilt is actually as light as it looks in the picture, The fabrics have a subtle gradation that gives a bit of an optical illusion in photos.


So, now the binding... what colour?

Lisa

More about the Hummingbirds

My sister made the LONG drive from Kaslo today with her lovely kiddies to come see us for the day. I got to return her NY Beauty quilt to her and pick her brain about the final borders for this little quilt. Here's what came of that!

Thanks to everyone who gave input on an earlier post...as you can see, we've kind of split the difference - the lightest green is in the top right corner, echoed with a little lighter colour in the lower left. It's almost imperceptible in the photo, but the bottom border is a little wider than the sides, which are a little wider than the top. It's only a smidgen of difference, but it does add a little more weight to the bottom while keeping the top airy and open. We talked about no borders at all, as an alternative, but finally decided that we liked it better a little contained. It just makes it look a little more finished.

Now to QUILT this baby! I'm really looking forward to the next piece here, with the embellishment and quilting. I don't know if you can see it in the above picture, but I've already started chalking in some guidelines!

For a customer right now I've got this gorgeous piece of Chinese Silk on the machine. I'll trapunto some of the areas for her, then she'll make it into a duvet cover. I think it's going to be sumptuous and beautiful. I'll post a pic if I can, once it's done.

Happy stitching!

Lisa

More hummingbirds

So now, about those borders....

decisions, decisions. Which is better? I have to say, for once in my life, I'm leaning right.

Any input? Please comment if you like.

L

:)

Little bits of progress

Here it is again, the Hummingbird quilt. Slowly but surely it's coming together!

Last night and this morning I spent some more time piecing this challenging quilt - it's an evolving process, one that finds me inventing techniques on the fly. The biggest challenge met (and conquered!) today was an irregular angle set in seam. amazingly, it worked, and the quilt top continues to evolve FLAT. The top bits were not all that tricky - more of a training ground for this work at the bottom getting the different leaves attached and making the transition from blue to green. The quilt is coming out somewhat bigger than originally intended, but I'm not sure that it could have been done on the originally planned scale. It's already 26" wide and about 41" long. It'll be a little bigger, yet, I think, before all is done.

A little later today I'll get back to quilting my sister's NY Beauty quilt. I'll post a picture of my progress as soon as things start to come together. It's beautiful - lots of colour and contrast - truly a joy to work on.

L