Feathering the Nest

Another windy,snowy day so the snow is drifting and piling up.

 A perfect day for feathering my nest.

Homemade chicken pie in the oven with a lovely deep red cranberry sauce for supper.

To splurge, a double chocolate cheescake.

Next week I will think of calories.

Dr Who on the tele - one of my favourites.

Not to waste commercial time but read a book "The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold".

And having started the book had to finish it.

A don't put it down book!

The first part - horrifying,

the second frustrating and

the last part tissue in hand and tearful.

Yet it was hopeful, enlightening and very loving.

The next few days project is to finish the piece above. I have been doing some cross stitch lately and really enjoying it. The pattern above is one of Stacy Nash's available through a club I joined with Country Sampler. We get 4 different designs a year exclusive to the club. This one I hope to finish as milady's dear pillow and post it on Pfatt Marketplace.

A lovely poem I found on Willow Manor blog (link on the side) that I thought was perfect to start the new year.

To laugh often and much,

to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,

to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends,

 to appreciate beauty,

to find the best in others,

 to leave the World a bit better,

whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

G'nite, Joni

Baking Day

It was one of those days. Cool crisp air, falling leaves and the smell of wood burning stoves. A typical fall day before the snow starts flying. I love the changing of the colours. It is a ritual to go for a drive and see how many different colours of red, burgundy and yellow you can find. This year I stayed home and did some baking as the weather was overcast and it looked like rain. It was just one of those days to bake! Maybe next weekend will be a good time.

I go through a process of re-organizing my counter space - out with stuff I don't use and clear up lots of room to perch baking sheets of cookies and other baked goods. I am lucky that I have lots of counter space and also a wooden side table that gets laden with cookies come November. That is peak holiday baking season in this house .

Today I made some caramel pecan gingerbread cakes and some peach scones. Tomorrow I have rugelach planned (a cream cheese pastry filled hazelnut or almond paste). The dough gets done tonight and refrigerated. I then roll it out in a circle, spread the paste and cut into 8 wedges that are then rolled into a spiral. Probably my most favourite pastry.

 In between bouts of cooking I have a sit down with a good book and a cuppa of tea. Right now I am reading Kate Atkinson's Case Histories. A page turner of a mystery.

Next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. It is not as big a holiday as in the US but we still like to have our turkey and pumpkin pie.

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and from South, come the pilgrim and guest,
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored,
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?

- John Greenleaf Whittier

Off to have a peach scone and start working on a piece for listing on PFATT the 10th of this month. Of course it will have to be Hallowe'en related :)

Good nite.. Joni

a public domain picture

A Typical Day

I think summer has finally arrived – hot and humid and the AC is on. The heat saps me and in order to do all my wool projects – air conditioning helps. I also dye wool at this time of the year and a hot stove with simmering water just needs cool air.

My pup loves it when I sit outside with him – so yesterday AM when the air was still relatively cool I sat and he prowled the perimeter of the property. He showed the cats who was boss by herding them and made sure everything was A ok in his world. What would we do without their funny faces and happy smiles!

So I walked around and took some pics of my flowers – a good reminder that yes I can grow something. Once tried a vegetable garden and that was a terrible disaster. It probably had something to do with the black walnut tree I have growing in the yard. Learnt years later than you should not plant a veggie garden near this type of tree. Don’t know if it is true or not but hey it was a good excuse rather that say my green thumb was sadly lacking in green.

Yay! I am almost finished the MIL socks. I get to the end of the foot and think about what luscious yarn I am going to use next. What part do I like best about knitting socks? Hmmm… I get confused with the cast on and doing the joining – there invariably is a gap but I read about a little trick where you switch your stitches the first and the last and it locks the round. It’s just trying to make sure your cast on stitches don’t twist. The leg and all those variations in stitches are a delight. I love lace knitting! The heel is pretty routine though I vary the finish – but it is really a cast off and then a cast on. The foot itself is the longest part – round and round we go but then I try to carry the pattern down.. and dare I say it the toe – Ok I have a thing about toes – the Kitchener stitch scared the heck out of me – but it really does have a beautiful finish – seamless. Now I am getting the hang of it. It demands full concentration and absolute quiet. Peter gets hushed with “I’m doing the toes – shhhhhh” and Roby gets a cookie to put him in heavenly bliss. Done!! The second sock is always faster – you know what to expect with the peaks and valleys of the whole construction.

What was waiting in my e-mail box yesterday was an announcement from The Loopy Ewe for a wool sale. Ahhh…immediately click to the site – the credit card was whipped out and I am now a happy owner of more Dream in Color Smooshy Yarn ( delectable colours) and yes more sock patterns. I think I am seriously addicted to socks.

I went through my stash of The Gentle Arts cotton overdyed threads and reacquainted myself with their colour palette. Just gorgeous and the names are especially wonderful. I especially love their line of Shaker colours. I have been mostly designing with my wool threads (Red Island Threads) but thought the next design will be done with these instead. I have drawn the design out and will show it tomorrow – actually a couple I am looking at. But the one I want to try first is a cat on a crazy quilt background with cascading flowers. I love flowers in borders that contrast with linear elements. This one I will punch needle and then translate to a rug. I want it for in front of my favourite chair.

I use my rugs. At first I thought – hmmm no way – but they are durable and I do them in linen which is much sturdier. I laid one on the floor as an experiment – as you know I have a Sheltie and what do they do but herd those fluffy wooly 4-legged creatures. I have seen what he does to a ball of wool. I thought the cats could be bad but oh no – this ball of wool travelled the whole house – chewed and scattered to the four corners of the house. Lo and behold the rug has survived with nary a pulled loop and he is best friends with it. His bone (not a real bone –yuck) gets dropped on it, barked at, picked up and dropped at another location to be sniffed and chewed. Now does this look like the face of a rug chewing pooch?

Well I’ve had a good chat and I am off to do what needs doing for the day.

Have a great one - Joni

There is a time to be born and a time to die.
A time to laugh and a time to cry,
but there never seems to be enough time to knit

Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit, either. ~Elizabeth Zimmerman

My Mom

Mom and her kids - 1969 (L-R, Lorraine,Michael(the baby),Ronald, me (with the braids) & Carole)

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"
"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."
The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."
Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."
"Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life."
"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
"You will simply call her, 'Mom.'" - unknown

Lady of Shalott

I am totally engrossed in my latest read, "The Illuminator" by Brenda Rickman Vantrease. It's a wonderful tale that takes place during the late 14th century at the time of the feudal lords and on the eve of the Renaissance. Where books are a rarity and owned by the wealthy churches and are illustrated with such rich colours, symbols and gilt. Hence a glorious story of an illuminator and the love, faith and treachery he encounters.

And to make it even more interesting for me there are details of raising sheep, shearing the wool and going to market. Not really surprising though considering sheep played an important part in the livelihood of the manor. There is your wool connection (All About Wool). :)



I love the cover of the book - a painting by Giovanni Bellini, Woman at the Mirror. 1515.,
which brought to mind a painter that I really like -John William Waterhouse whose obsession with Tennyson led to a series of paintings he did of Alfred Lord Tennyson's (1809-1892) poem The Lady of Shalott. A Victorian poem loosely based on medieval sources.

I am halfsick of Shadows - 1888

Water Effect

This is a painting I used as an inspiration for an applique pictorial quilt that I drew up. I am afraid it will never be a quilt but there is hope that it will be a rug. It will be my challenge piece. I drew it up while listening to one of my favourite songs - The Lady of Shalott by Loreena McKennitt. She is a hauntingly powerful singer who never fails to amaze me with her vocal abilities. The music you heard when you came to visit me here is her Lady of Shalott. Her song inspires me to get that drawing out again and see if I can't make it into a hooked rug. It will be my Christmas holiday project where I spoil myself and do some of the things I never seem to have time to do.

G'night..J

PS Susan, I know you are not fond of music on blogs - but I think you will make an exception to Loreena :)

Ocean Breezes

I have been thinking of the Maritimes a lot - it is my home away from home and a place which I love. This is the time of year we normally go, so it is in my mind. It is again a hot and still night. Poor Roby is flaked out on his back in much appreciated air conditioning after his walk.

Bath time tomorrow...my furry rug xxoo - you can just see his head peeking out :)

Thinking of the Maritimes and a much wanted ocean breeze on this hot muggy night brought to mind my first hooked rug I did which certainly captures ocean breezes. It is designed by Deanne Fitzpatrick and if you have not been to her site - you need to go and look at her gallery of quilts. She is one of my favourite artists and lives in Amherst, Nova Scotia not far from where my husband's family - the Black family has lived all their lives in Sackville, New Brunswick. Her rugs depict Maritime life and her portrayal of people is amazing.

I hooked this rug using all hand dyed wools and some roving for texture in the sky. It was very ambitious on my part having never done a rug to take on a sky using so many different wools while the ground amazingly uses only one hand dyed wool with lots of variation. This is one of my favourite rugs as it combines my love of quilts and a feeling of things past. I like to think of this Maritimer hanging her quilts on the top of a hill overlooking the ocean catching those wonderful sea breezes.

I came across this poem while reading about Maritime rugs...

19th C. CANADIAN RUG RHYME

I am the family wardrobe, best and worst of all the generations from the first,

Grandpa's Sunday-go-to-meetin' coat,

And the woolen muffler he wore at his throat;

Grandma's shawl, that came from Fayal;

Ma's wedding gown, three times turned and once let down,

Which once was plum but now turned brown;

Pa's red flannels, that made him itch;

Pants and shirts; petticoats and skirts;

From one or another, but I can't tell which.

Tread carefully, because you see, if you scuff me.

You scratch the bark of the family tree.

Good night!