Rainbow of Colour

Yesterday I spent the day in my dye pots with my wool threads. It takes me awhile to get going but once I do I can't seem to stop. when my back starts aching I know I have reached my limit. It was a perfect day - to hang out the dripping threads...aged red, aged black, blackeyed susan, bee skep, Queen Anne's lace, lupine fields, pine needles and early settler's blue. The only thing you have to watch is not to get them tangled - my pine green was so intertwined that it took me an hour of patience to get it untangled. I thought I had perfected a method but I guess not.

I have been watching Gustav's approach to the US coast. I am sure it is terrifying for the people fleeing and also wondering if their homes will be there when they can return. I can't even begin to imagine what they are thinking. I would much rather deal with my foot snowfalls, we don't have hurricanes or tornados here. As I watch - it is a good opportunity for me to catch up on some punch needle. I am finishing up my next pattern - it is a bigger piece than I usually do - so lengthy to punch but challenging too in the colour choices.

Made one of my original pieces called Meadow Sheep into a pin keep and have that for sale on Lemon Poppy Seeds along with a doll that I made a couple of years ago and can now part with - MS Pear (pattern by Folkart by the Bay). If you love the extreme primitive look - than this is for you - all kinds of items to drool over on that site.

You will soon be seeing me on Primitive Gatherings - a new group of primitive artists I will be joining on October 15th. Please drop in on some very talented artists!

Working on a new idea which will combine mixed media - should be interesting if I don't flub it - but hey that is being creative. Just gathering my materials - too many ideas and not enough time. Oh the days I can devote to just creating will be the day I will be doing the really happy dance.

Been busy all morning - and I forget to eat - not that I can't lose a few pounds :) but it makes what I am going to eat so much sweeter. A really simple thing - toasted tomato sandwich but oh so yummy with those nice big field tomatoes, a slice of red onion, secret spices :), and Hellman's mayonnaise slapped on wonderful 9- grain bread. My mouth is watering - off I go. G'day..

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 :)

Dog Days of August

It has been a lazy kind of day. Started my day at 5:30 am with all the good intentions of getting some much needed things done. As the morning progressed the day got hotter - even more humid than yesterday and I am just not a summer kind of person in the best of circumstances. I wilt terribly in anything over 24 Celsius. So I could tell today was going to be one of those days. I did watch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics and thought to myself what am I going to watch now - your focus has been for two weeks on one thing. It was my background noise when I did my needlework. Since Fall is approaching and the days will get cooler I will make a place for myself in the breezeway with the radio on.


I love this time of the year - the blueberries are in the market- my favourite berry..especially good in a vanilla yogurt with granola on top, it's my standard breakfast fare. Tomorrow I will have blueberry muffins. They are easy to make and taste scrumptious.



Of course one must sample! and of course Roby is there waiting for his fair share. He has this look in his eye - Mommy please - how can one refuse :)

Isn't the Internet a fascinating tool? For children today it is an everyday item they use with such confidence. For my generation it is something learned sometimes very cautiously and with trepidation. I think I have adapted very well and have taken to it like a duck to water. I use the Internet quite a bit and today was one of those days where I was on the hunt for information.

I am planning to do some punch needle pincushions using historical quilt patterns, so off I went to find out what I could. There is a wealth of information out there and in my travels came across this website, The Quilt Index, which documents old quilts from long ago to more current. The sources come from private collections to museums pieces. Definitely worth a look!

I always wonder at how my taste for quilt design has changed over the years. When I first started quilting in the mid 8O's, the fabrics I chose were very modern in look as were the patterns. I bought a lot of batiks and Hoffman florals. Over the past few years I have fallen in love with the traditional quilt designs and the beautiful reproduction fabrics. My shelves are now stacked with those fabrics which I use to make pillows and other items to set off my punch needle or other needlework. A great site for reproduction fabric is Bonnie Blue Quilts.

Although I don't quilt anymore it is never far from my mind and I do appreciate a well turned quilt especially when it is hand quilted.

G'night....

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!

Still Hot Night

Sitting in the breezeway at 10:00 pm, watching the recap of the Olympics and our two medal wins today. The cicadas are making such a noise tonight - it is one of those hot heavy nights we have rarely been getting this summer. It reminds me of the days we spent up North in the mountains last September when you could hear a pin drop. The water was so still and glassy, any sound reverberated off the mountains. It was a place of peace and relaxation. This year I will have to make do with my small little island of peace on Queens Road.

Roby and I say good night.....lots to do tomorrow. Hopefully will have some new wool threads dyed and hanging in the breeze to dry. A tray of scrumptious blueberry muffins ready to be eaten while musing on some new projects to be started.

Wooly Angel

Look what the postman delivered today! She was waiting for me in a big red package and oh what a beauty she is. Thank you Sharon of Mustard Seed Originals. To see more of her wonderful dolls just click on Mustard Seed Originals.

I fell in love with her when I saw her - she is dressed in a beautiful soft fabric and has rug hooked wings and a beautiful hooked piece on the dress. She is all about the wool!

A beautiful sunset tonight as I type out this blog and at the same time watching the Olympics. Nothing like multi-tasking. I came across a wonderfully interesting site today which is all about women and the history of their lives and quilting called Women Folk.

I am a former quilter of 20 years and although I have given it up for rug hooking and punch needle, the design elements still interest me. I use those designs in my punch needle and still feel connected to the world of quilting in that way. I guess you could say I have built on my previous experience and have just taken a new path. My new punch needle pattern is called "The Blue Jug" and the background is made up of quilt blocks done in a small scale. Now to get it finished!

Yea Canada we now have 13 medals!! G'night....

Lazy Sunday!

Well all my good intentions went out the back door. Roby getting me up at 4:00 did not help. I do love early mornings - usually- but with the Olympics broadcasting all night on CBC it makes for very late nights. Mornings are my quiet time. I love to sit in the breezeway - listen to the birds chirping away with Roby at my side. It is like we are the only two living things ..then the bustle of the day starts.

early sunrise in Maine from my balcony

Did not bake my chocolate cookies or dye my wool threads or do all the other things I had listed in my mind. No I watched Olympics, cruised the web for 3 hours and worked on my Etsy shop loading up some new wool and checking out some of sellers out there. My they are a talented group of artists. What was the practical thing I did - cleaned out the freezer and every time I am so disgusted by the amount of food that gets forgotten and then thrown out. We keep promising ourselves to be more diligent - it is a work in progress!

I have been inspired by an artist on Etsy - to try something new. It will incorporate my punch needle which will be used to showcase the PN. We'll see how it all works out. Now I have to make the time. Still have one more commission piece to do and then start preparing for the forst show I am doing in November. I have no idea what to expect so it is a little intimidating.

Here is a sneak peak of one of my patterns that will be available in a couple of weeks. This was done for my sister who had a house built in the middle of the woods. The original now graces her front door. This was done using my hand dyed threads - Red Island Threads

They are waking up in China and the Olympics are starting up and I need to finish up my newest pattern...

I can't see myself posting every day so it will probably be about 3 times a week.

We won 3!

Well it finally happened - we won 3 medals overnight in the space of 45 minutes. There was much despair in the family that Canada was not going to come home with any.

Our family are big Olympic fans. The TV is on the CBC channel night and day during the two weeks. It is probably the only time I watch sports constantly. I am not a big sports fan except at the Olympics and that is when I get my fill for 4 years. Vancouver, Canada will have the winter olympics in 2010. That will be something to look forward to. Can't decide whether I like the summer or the winter games. What the heck I love it all! Congrats all Olympians...

Checking out the orchids to see how they are doing. They are such unique flowers. I have just started my orchid collection and getting into it slowly. I want to make sure that this is something I can grow - knowing my green thumb. Right now they are spending the summer in the breezeway where I sit and read and can admire them. The winter will be the telling of whether it will be a success or not - indoor heating can be very temperamental - especially in our house where I like cool temps for my sanity and saving the $$$.

Off to make chocolate chip cookies with Ghiradelli semi-sweet morsels.. a treat. Watch more Olympics and finish up some punch needle.

Where is the Sun?

We have had a terrible wet spring and summer has not turned out to be much better. If we get two days of sun in a row - we can count ourselves lucky. It has been a very wet 8 months!

I did manage to take a picture of these beautiful gerbera daisies that I planted in my window boxes. They looked pretty good then but are a little scarce in the flower department now. Lots of green but that is about it. I heard on the radio the other morning that "green" is what is happening in the gardens around here. I hope I will get some beefsteak tomatoes, which make up my favourite sandwiches. I am sure they will be scarce and expensive!

I am working on some new punch needle patterns. I have two winter ones done but I am just now finishing up some commission pieces so the patterns are on the back burner. I promised myself that I would make sure they were published by the beginning of September. The days just seem to fly by!

Did manage to make a trip to Maine in May - I just love the ocean. It is where I go every year to find my piece of calmness in the hectic days of my life. The ocean will definitely be the place I want to spend my later years when a job is not such a necessity.

The dye pots are being prepared for Sunday. I have 8 new colours of hand dyed wool threads that I did recently. You can see them on my website http://www.fullywoolyprimitives.com but I have a plan to do some background colours in light and dark in a one step process so that all the lights blend but there are subtle variances. It will be an experiment and if it turns out I'll post them here.

I made a pledge to my self to be more diligent in posting to my blog, but life tends to get in the way but now that things have settled down with the family I see more time on my hands.

Hectic Days

I have not been able to get to my blog in a couple of weeks. All my good intentions have gone out the door in the face of reality. My in-laws, both within two weeks of each other have had a medical crisis so poor Peter (only child) and I have been negotiating and finding our way through the mechanisms of caring for aging parents. If you have not done this before - once immersed you will become an expert. Thank God I have a friend who has helped by pointing us in the right direction, since she has just gone through the same thing.

My poor pup grabs whatever affection he can get from me in between running to work and hospital. Our schedule is definitely up in the air. So this morning I decided to take some time for myself, put a few thoughts to cyberspace and veg out before the daily rituals start.

I am finishing up an order for some wonderful pear and cardamom cameo soaps and filigree hearts for a customer who plans on using them in her Valentine baskets. I just bought a new oil - Rose Garden - that smells so much like a rose garden and reminds me of summer days when the air is laden with the scent of roses. That definitely has to be done up in my filigree heart soaps. I'll be selling those for sure on my website and ETSY.

In this time of turmoil I am finding much joy in working with my soaps and tomorrow it will be the dye pots - making up some spice pumpkin and herb garden wool threads. Have not had much time for punch needle though I do have a couple of designs worked up. I want to finish those soon for the spring season.

Here is my honey soy wheat bran soap layered and permeated with lemon and lemongrass essential oils. I just love the freshness of anything lemon. To the right is my strawberry cream soy soap all packaged up with butcher paper and pretty red fibre paper found on one of my excursions to the art store. These can be found at TDIPT Mercantile and PFATT Marketplace



I promised that I would show my sheep rug that was part of a challenge. I was so glad to be able to finish it on time before all this started happening. It certainly was a challenge but a fun one using up other people's colour choices of wool strips. I loved doing it and sometimes challenges are the best thing in order to get out of a rut. I have spent the better part of a year doing punch needle so this little exercise rekindled my first love of rug hooking. Thank you to Maria of PRHG for making this happen.

two sheep - hooked by Joni & designed by Maria

Roby has just been introduced to the newest member of our family (Gustav - the in-laws cat) and there was much growling and sniffing and a late chase up the stairs but all in all a successful introduction. Everyone is asserting their territory which is normal and we will all just have to be one happy family!

Baking Tradition

In our family the girls - two sisters and Mum get together at the beginning of December and have a Christmas baking marathon for a whole day. By the time we are finished I don't think we want to look at a cookie - between all the sampling going on. They all go in our freezers and come out when we want a little sweetie. Recipe - each person comes to the bakethon with two recipes and any special ingredients and as a foursome we get an assembly line going - add some laughter, Christmas music - some mishaps and a lot of fun makes a great tradition!

This morning I am visiting my FIL for the first time in his new place of residence. On Monday we had to put him in a nursing home so it has been a few days of sadness around here. I will be picking my MIL up and we will pay a visit laden with goodies (this plate of cookies being one). I am anxious to see how he is adapting to this change and hope it will not be too sad for all of us.

I was up with the birds this morning - well probably before the birds because I sure did not hear them chirping at 4:30am. What to do. Not tired enough to snooze until the day's activities start and hated to be unproductive so I started a new punch needle using a drawing by Lori of Notforgotten Farm. Very apropos for this time of the year - a primitive heart in hand with a key. I think this will become a pin cushion for my upcoming venue on TDIPT. Always trying to find new things to offer customers. My soap goes on sale on PFATT tomorrow along with a punch needle I mounted on a wooden hornbook. One of my most successful patterns actually - There is just something about sheep and quilt blocks!

Will be breaking out the dye pots tonight. Just get me going and there is no stopping me. I love seeing the colours evolve during a dye bath and then seeing all the wool threads hanging on racks is certainly very satisfying.

Off to start the day's activities....

My Dad & 1998

The weather is so weird these past couple of days. It is our January thaw and the abundance of snow we have received in December is melting like crazy. Some people are talking flooding but since I live on a hill I am not too worried. It certainly is easier to get up it than when it was snow covered. 10 years ago was the ice storm and that is all you hear on the radio and TV these days. It was a weather event I hope never to see again that struck a city that was totally unprepared. 10 days without power does something to your morale. Some people south of the city had to endure a month without power - could not even imagine that. There were stories galore that made the rounds but I have to say that the story of my dad and his street patrol has a place in my heart. Photos copyright Le Journal de Montreal.

My Dad (who has since passed away), was a WWII junkie who could not get enough of the memorabilia of WWII in the form of movies, books and other items he would pick up. He was a young 15 year old lad who joined the French Resistance and saw his share of the war. He never talked about it - I think there were things he saw that he preferred to forget.

So here is Dad in the middle of an ice storm with his army beret on - his fatigues picked up in an army surplus store - boots firmly planted on the icy road directing traffic over a concoction of extension wires running from house to house - side by side and across. A veritable tangled mess of wiring keeping homes warm and fridges running. Neighbours sharing generators and so much kindness was found those days. Unfortunately did it last? How quickly people forget. But for that short time -tales were made - people shared what they had, friendships were formed and my dad felt so important as people thanked him for his efforts as a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces - him at 68 :) but oh it made his day and he was so proud to be able to do his part in what was the Storm of the Century here in our city.

the young Bailoux clan with our dad - Michael, Lorraine, Ronald, Carole and me on the right -

I started off wanting to show you my soap all freshly cut and packaged but I have just had my Dad in my thoughts with fond memories these past few days with . So I wanted to put this short little story down on paper. Tomorrow I will show my soap.

Pretty Things

Cavallini notebook and butterfly stamps

Nicely textured paper

I treated myself to a trip to the local art supply store and took a browse down the aisles and found the perfect paper to wrap my soap in - some beautifully textured banana fiber paper. I think it will complement the honey, soy and wheat germ soap that I plan on having for sale on Jan 10th on Pfatt Marketplace.


Also came across some wonderful products by Cavellini - a beautiful set of stamps - butterflies and a notebook which I hope will inspire some very creative thoughts. I do love all their pretty things! My cousin got me interested in their product. She writes a wonderful blog which you should check out 29 Black Street.

Have finally dug the car out and took it for a run today with Roby in the back - he so enjoys a good car ride - just sits and watches out the window. Heard on the radio that gas was going up to 1.194 a litre so hurried over to the station to fill up. That is up .08 a litre -where is it heading to. Someone is making money off of us and I would like to know who! Out of my control so I just plan my local trips better and try to use less travel time. Helped this week that I did not use the car for 4 days.

Finally finished my sheep rug yesterday - I just love it and have not decided whether to sell it or not. May use it for a door topper ( a hooked rug placed over a door in the shape of a semicircle. Us hookers have to find whatever space is available :). I can only show a picture after the 6th - it was a secret challenge. Now onto other things. I want to do something with the bird paper I bought - maybe cover a box with it and put some hand painted distressed eggs in it - I would like to try some wool felted eggs with perhaps some decorative stitches using some wool threads I just dyed. The problem being there never seems to be enough time for all these things. I have to keep a notebook or I tend to forget all the spur of the moment ideas.

I entered a new challenge and this is for a big rug so must give that some thought as to what I want in it. I have some ideas but they are not all there yet. Definitely primitive and I am not sure if I want to relate it to my life as it was or my life as I want it to be. That probably did not make sense - or maybe just be whimsical and have fun with it. I don't know what I would do if I did not have these decisions to make. It keeps me alive in spirit with a zest of anticipation and wonder as to how things will turn out. I tell Peter that I am never bored and cannot understand the concept of boredom. My problem is I don't know how to slow down :).

Roby is here curled on my feet reminding me that he needs some loving pats and attention - so off we go - to bind my rug while watching a movie or two.

Snow - OK enough!

Roby eating fresh snow & my back deck.

My car and driveway buried under snow - no dog walking tonight!

Happy 2008! A new year - new projects - new thoughts - new beginnings. What a way to bring in 2008 - another winter storm. It seems like it has been snowing every day. Another 15 cm today. We cancelled our NY day activities as no one is out and about. The roads have not even plowed nor has my trusty little guy come to plow me out. Not that I plan on going anywhere. Roby just loves new fresh snow - he has been in and out about 20 times today just so he can lick away at the snow. Then he prances in all ready for a rub down with his favourite towel. Dogs are such creatures of habit. He constantly amazes me.

It was a day to stay snuggled under a quilt with a good book and finishing up some rug hooking. Have been fighting a cold - hate getting sick. There is just something not right about being sick on your holidays. There go all the plans. Never got to making the rugelach but will have to as the cream cheese is bought and it is pretty expensive to throw out - my thriftiness will just not allow that.

We had a wonderful feed of Chinese food although we had to wait an hour for take out - a very popular place and it did not help that they lost our order. I unfortunately have little patience and thought it poor customer service that they did not discount our meal for having waited an hour before they discovered it lost.

Soap plans are underway - just mulling about the recipe and the presentation - for me always an important part of the product. Off to rug hook some more - deadline fast approaching!