vintage lady lamp makeover

I have been so busy this fall, that means all work no play. Today I made time to play and here are the results. I had purchased this lady lamp , then stripped her down (ooh that sounds dirty doesn't it). I used a vintage night gown for the satin dress, and just happened to have a vintage hat the exact same color. I made her a shawl with lace from the nightie. And I gave her a necklace of pearls. She is ready to go to the ball, or to sit on a dresser in my extra bedroom.

Thrift Store Junk

Thrift Store finds!!!
My Saturday shopping spree was a success, I found lots of good Junk!! The aronp has oven mitts sewn right in, I think that will be very handy. I LOVE my speckled hen tea pot, and the hanging lamp will be perfect for my living room. O.K maybe I didn't need the crib sheets but I was on a roll. The lady figure and the
ribbon girl will look great in my extra bedroom.

fall fun

A bonfire party at my sisters home in the county was great fun, but unfortunately her Giant pumpkin has deflated, oops no Prize Winner at the fair this year.

Fall has arrived
I love the cooler weather, baking apple pies, and just about everything about fall!
The nights in Ontario are getting cooler and the leaves are just starting to change.
Curling up an the couch with a blanket and browsing my cook books for harvest recipes is a fun pastime, but there is lots of work to be done. AAwwwww what the heck, it can wait.

fun times

Fun at the Locke Street Festival.

busy, busy, busy

I have not had time to post lately, and this is why. HARVEST
every time I think my work is done, I fink more fruit or vegetables to be put down for the winter. Friends keep stopping by with more tomatoes to be made into sauce or salsa . I went down to the compost pile to dump some peelings and found black berries ready to made into jelly. I have a bushel of apples to deal with too. (Don't even get me started on zucchini)My work is never done at this time of year. I LOVE IT! the cool nights , the sunflowers, the fall fairs, it's all wonderful. But, I know that soon the weather will change and I will have plenty of time for my crafts and sewing.

Pretty Pillows

These are so pretty, I just had to post them. My mom bought them at a thrift store for .50 cents each. I think she got a bargain. They are needle point, trimmed with lace. Someone did a lot of work on these, and a good job too.

Change purse, good luck charm

I have not had time to do any new crafts, so I am posting these little things that I had laying around. I sewed them by hand, and they are a pouch, a special charm ,or for loose change.
I found a pattern for him in the book Omiyage. I have made many of the projects form this book, I would like to buy it, but they have it at my library so I just keep borrowing it .

Omiyage

Bestselling author Kumiko Sudo creates 45 exquisite handmade gifts in fabric, each with a flair that is uniquely Japanese. Easy-to-follow patterns, beautiful photographs, and colorful step-by-step drawings help the projects come together quickly­­--many in less than an hour. Whether they are created in kimono silks or in contemporary cottons, these tiny boxes, purses, decorative toys, incense pouches, and good luck charms all make delightful gifts.

Baptism favors

I made 40 of these favors for my Great niece and nephews Baptism. They are white chocolate covered marshmallows, rolled in sprinkles. The twins looked adorable. I couldn't get a picture of the boy because he kept crawling away.

Fun at the beach!! I love Port Elgin, The beach is beautiful , shopping is great, and the Queens Hotel has a 5 dollar, all you can eat fish and chips that can't be beat. This beach is part if the longest fresh water coast line in the world. The water is crystal clear , the sand is fine, and you can walk out for ages before it gets too deep.

Janes 50th Birthday

I have not had time to blog lately, we have been on holidays ,the weather has been great, and I have been having a ton of summer fun. It was our friend Jane's 50 Birthday and she LOVED the quilt that I made for her. Every-one was impressed with the pictures and captions that I printed on cotton, then sewed on the back . the quilt took a week to make, and the label with the pictures for the back only took a few hours. We had fun at her party, and we were still home by 8:30, in time to watch a movie. That's my kind of party, lots of food,a few drinks, lots of laughs , and home before nine.

Christmas crafts

Christmas in July

I made these ornaments by printing out a pics of a vintage lady and a Scottish dancer , I replacing her head with my daughters. On the vintage lady ornament I made an extra copy of the leg that is sticking out, so that I could cut off the original and replace it with one that can move. You can see the brad that I used to join it if you look close. I added a ribbon to the top, so that they can be hung on the Christmas tree or tied on a gift. I hope you can figure out what I did by looking at them, because I just read my instructions and they sound a little confusing, but it really is an easy craft.

Christmas Ideas

Thinking about Christmas Crafts,Three Sisters all in a row.

I found a picture of a can-can girl, cut her head off, replaced it with one of me or my sisters or my daughter, I added the heads by using a brad. I made extra copys of the leg that is in the air, and joined it on top using a brad. That way the head and leg are movable. I added a ribbon to the top, and gave one to each sister for Christmas as an ornament for their tree. Oh yea, I also made them hats and glued on a few feathers.

The Qiltmaker.

Quiltmakers-Gift
This is a wonderful children's book. I bought two, so that I can give one away as a gift, and one to keep for myself.(I will have a grandchild someday) The story is about a greedy King that needs to learn that happiness is found in giving not in getting . Great artwork too! I can't say enough about how much I love this book. I should be read to every child. There is even a book of patterns, so that you can make a quilt from the book .

Pa's Memory Quilt

When my Dad got old and very sick, he needed a blanket to keep him warm during his dialysis treatments. I made this blanket for him so that it would fit in his travel bag and be just the right size to cover him without dragging on the floor while he sat in a chair to have his treatments. I also made it to let the nurses see that he was not just a little old man. He was a veteran , he had six kids, he had lots of grandkids. That he was one special man. He liked it because the nurses and people walking by would make such a fuss over it. He loved that blanket!! When he got sicker and near the end, we put that blanket over him to comfort him, and us. When he passed away, we draped it over his coffin, and everyone loved to see all the old pictures. My Mom now keeps the blanket , I still have a little trouble looking at it, because I miss him so much, he was my buddy and we did a lot of things together. I was his favorite, and he was mine. He has been gone 2 years now and I am happy to remember all the fun times we shared, and glad we have this quilt to help us remember him with fond memories. (boooo hhoo, tears ,I'm ok I,m OK)I left one square empty so that all his kids and grand kids could sign it. I think each of my sisters wrote that they were his favorite, but they all know the truth, that I was and always will be his favorite.

I made this quilt in two nights, it was kind of a rush job, he needed it, and we didn't know how much longer he would be with us, so I wanted to get it done so that he could see it. I had to use manly colors which was not easy to find in my stash, , I sewed old buttons between each square to add a little style.

Tags: pictures, quilt

Dundurn Castle

This is the cooks garden One of the most interesting aspects of the recent landscape restoration project at Dundurn National Historic Site is the attempt to recreate Sir Allan MacNab's Victorian kitchen garden. We have just begun to recreate a garden which would have been recognizable to Sir Allen MacNab and his gardener William Reid.n at a Dundurn Castle.


We wandered around the grounds and a great fun , I Love to visit Dundurn Castle.

My friend Jane and I went on a tour of Cemetery, it was interesting. I must be getting old because we had fun.

Organize!!

I bought pretty jars and filled them with all my different kinds for flours and seeds and baking supplies . I think this will be a handy and neat way to keep all my stuff. I might need more jars. I hope this idea works !

McCalls Magazine

I also bought an old magazine,McCalls Needlework and Crafts Annual , it has lots of great craft and sewing and knitting ideas in it. here is just a sample of the kind of interesting projects it has. I also have another magazine, I will post some pics of that one too, as soon I get a chance.