Definitely overdue to post

Hello dear friends, I am definitely overdue in posting!!  I really do apologize but there hasn't been a lot going on that was worth writing about.  Some days, I am very boring... honestly, some days I don't do a lot.  But I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking.  We recently had Fathers day here in Canada (not sure when everyone else celebrates it), Dad and I and our friend Angele went out for brunch like we normally do and then last Sunday, my brother Robert and his son, Patrick came down to join us for brunch.  Patrick is a full head taller than me, he has to bend down to give me a hug... now before you start thinking that I am vertically challenged (short) I am 5 feet 7 inches tall (honestly) so now you have an idea how tall Patrick is!!  It was great to see them again, I am very fortunate that they come down often to see Dad. I know that he appreciates it.  I love catching up with all the good gossip that I hear from them. Recently my cousins Dad passed away, I don't really remember much about him except his smile and his laughter and to be honest what a lovely memory to have of someone.  Well, I am off to make myself a cup of tea and to pick up some stitching  so that I have something to show you.  Until the next time, remember that you are loved.  Big hugs, Louise

Doing lots of Nothing

Hi there, ever have one of those days where you do absolutely Nothing!  well,  I have been doing that for the past 2 weeks!  I have been downloading a ton of free e-books on my ipad and just reading to my hearts content... I will be honest, some of them were excellent and others.... well, I am glad they were free. lol  Last Sunday, my sister and husband and kids (all adults) came to Ottawa to have brunch with Dad and I.  okay they were visiting folks in Montreal and they decided to include us in the visit.  (Montreal is about 2 hours drive from Ottawa.)  So I made sure that we invited some of the rest of the gang to join us for brunch - we ended up being 12 people, it was great to see everyone.  I don't know about your family but I know that I don't always get to see my cousins, growing up I would visit my aunts and uncles and if the kids were there, great, if not... maybe another time.  So it was fun time for us because I hadn't seen 2 of my nieces in a couple of years and my nieces and my nephew were trying to figure out when was the last time they had seen each other.  We had a great time but sadly it was over way too soon.  Well, it is about time to get some stitching done, maybe I will start one of the ones that I got in Nashua... Toodles for now, take care and remember that you are loved.  Big hugs from me to you.  Louise

Some pics of the goodies from Nashua

I don't know about you but time seems to pass very fast these days.  It seems like yesterday that I was still working and looking forward to retirement and now... well, it has been 2 years already... oops, its 3 years!!  I retired in 2011, oh my goodness, I must be having a lot of fun because I really don't see the days flying by.  So I promised you some pics of the goodies from Nashua, sorry to be so late in posting them, we had some very cloudy days which is not good for my picture taking.  Ah, enough with the excuses, without further adieu, here they are, enjoy.

 
   

 

 

Some wonderful new designers that I met in Nashua

Hello everyone, may I start out by saying Happy Mothers Day to all of the wonderful Moms out there.  Well as I mentioned in the previous post, I met some wonderful designers at the show.  Now some of them you might have heard of already, like Karen Kluba of Rosewood Manor or Jeannette Douglas of Jeannette Douglas Designs but I had never heard of Julie Norton of J.Designs.  What a lovely lady, she has gone through a lot in the past year but her smiling face was right there to greet you.  She taught a couple of courses on Hardanger... oh my, they were lovely pieces.  Before I go any further, I have to tell you that it was a difficult decision trying to decide what courses I wanted to take because some of them were a bit pricey (for me).  I really would have liked to take her hardanger courses, her designs were very pretty... but I did manage to spend a few pennies in her booth.  I will have to take pictures of all the different patterns/kits I bought from everyone and then you can all drool.... lol.... I also met Beth Seal of Summer House Stitche Works  (I had never heard of her or her company before), what a delightful lady with some beautiful designs and yes, you guessed it - I spent some money there as well.  Then during a round robin, (4 designers came in with kits for us), I met Maureen Sorenson of The Heart's Content - she does beautiful work on 40 count over one!!  hmmm, while I can admire the beauty of it, over one on 40 count fabric is not really for me. I also met Jackie du Plessis of It's Fine-ally Finished, she was so embarrassed because she had forgotten the fabric for our kit so she had to run out and buy some envelopes so that she could mail us the fabric.  I can certainly understand why she forgot, she was a very busy lady at this show.  Tracy Horner from Ink Circles was also part of the Round Robin and I must apologize to the other designer because I can't remember who it was.... I must be getting old (ha ha).  Well wonderful friends, I am going to sign off, go take some pictures (it is a gorgeous day here in Ottawa) and find out who that other designer was - it will bug me until I figure it out.  Until the next time, Hugs, big hugs from Louise

Back from the Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, New Hampshire

Hello wonderful people, I'm back..... I know, I know, I just got back from Branson and then took off to go to Nashua.  Well, to be honest, I did unpack part of the suitcase, did the laundry and then re-packed it!  I had a wonderful time there, it was great meeting some designers, meeting new people.  My friend Janice and I had wanted to go to the Needlework show but every time we checked it out, there was anything that interested me.  I didn't realize it but you don't have to take any classes (I thought you did) and you can just go and stitch and meet up with some friends or do as I did and make new friends.  I have to tell you this story, I was coming back from my room and as I stepped out of the elevator I saw a lady who was pushing an elderly lady in her walker.  I just stood there, kind of laughed to myself and saw my mother and I.  When Mom and I used to go shopping, she would use her walker to get around and when she got tired, she would sit on the seat and hold her feet off the ground and I would push her around.  So being the nosy person that I am, I had to go over and introduce myself and find out if they were mother and daughter.  Betty (the daughter) and her Mom were laughing when I told them that they were a familiar sight and the wave of love that I felt when I saw them was wonderful.  Betty, I apologize but I can't remember your Mom's name.  These ladies were great, every time I ran into them (not literally), we would share a smile and a laugh.  Betty was also in one of the courses with me so that was great.   So what courses did I take, well.... I had to take the course on the History of Perforated Paper by Claudia Dutcher of Dutch Treat Designs.  I had met Claudia on the stitching cruise I took a couple of years ago and she is one heck of a designer and teacher.  She had brought with her some of her pieces from her collection of perforated paper, it was fascinating, some of these pieces dated back to the 1840's!!  Simply stunning and before you go thinking perforated paper ... that's not stitching... you might want to do some research and check it out.   I also took a course on Colour Play with Tracy Horner of Ink Circles designs. That was so neat, this lady is an engineer and likes things symmetrical (so do I) and she was showing us how to use some really wild coloured floss, and the way to stitch the design so that it appears as if you are changing colours but you aren't.  If you ever get a chance to take a course with either one of these ladies, Claudia or Tracy, I highly recommend it.  Both were informative as well as making the classes fun and interesting.  Tomorrow I will tell you about the other designers that I met.  Until then, take care, and remember that you are loved.  Louise

Back from Branson, Missouri

Hello there wonderful readers, well as the title states - I am back from Branson, Missouri. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had such a wonderful time at Cecilia's Samplers retreat last year (and the year before) that I decided to go again this year. My friend Barb wanted to go back with me and her Mom, Marg, decided that she wanted to join us as well. Whoohoo, another road trip for Weezie and friends. I love to drive so the thought of driving for 2 1/2 days was not a problem. The drive there was uneventful, seeing some green along side of the highways was great, the closer to Branson, the more green grass there was. Now just to explain a bit more, when I left Ottawa, my front and back yards were covered in over 2 feet of snow so I got a bit excited to see green grass and thinking that maybe spring was finally here! lol For those of you who were just as fed up with winter as I was, you can really relate to this.  Here is a shot from last year and look, some green grass..... I know, I know, you must be thinking that I am crazy, getting all excited over some green grass but winter was really long this year!!    We actually went down a little earlier than the expected so we decided to take in a couple of shows.  I had wanted to see "SIX" and "Doug Gabriel" last year so I was determined to see at least one of them this year.  Fortunately for me, both Marg and Barb wanted to see them as well.  "SIX" is a group of 6 brothers who not only sing but do all the instruments with just their voices - what a fantastic show.  I will do another post just about the show and with pictures about them.  We also got to see Doug Gabriel,  I had met him 3 years ago when we went to one of the local breakfast places and also met him last year as well.  He was just a regular guy out talking to people and inviting them to see his show.  So this year, we go out for supper to a restaurant called RibCrib and guess who is there.... Doug Gabriel... so of course I just had to go and talk to him.  He came over and talked to us and gave us a coupon for 50% off the ticket price for all three of us - gotta love that.  (I will do another posting about his show as well as some pictures of him.)  Getting back to RibCrib, if you are in Branson please be sure to have a meal there, the ribs were absolutely wonderful, the baked beans (one of their sides) were yummy!! The portions were huge, so we all had leftovers the next day for lunch.  I will definitely be going back there next year.... ummm, yeah, you guessed it... I'm going back again next year.  And on that note, have a wonderful day and remember that you are loved.  Big hugs, Louise aka Weezie.

Toy Shop is finished

Hello wonderful friends, first another happy dance for me.... I finished my Toy Shop late last night and I am so pleased. It is another Mill Hill beaded kit and it is part of my Christmas village as well as being part of my 31 day challenge from last year. So whoohoo, another one to cross off of my list ... but if you are like me, you've added a couple more to the list. lol So what am I now going to work on, welllll.... I promised my girlfriend Barb that I would stitch a teapot for her as her birthday present (I am so cheap). I am using Bejewelled (Crescent Colours, I think) on a lovely overdyed evenweave entitled Mint - we picked these up last year when we were in Branson Missouri for the Cecilia's Samplers retreat. I enjoyed myself so much last year we are going again this year! Can't wait. I have to apologize for not having a picture of the Toy Shop for you but you are not going to believe this, I couldn't find my battery charger for my camera. I looked upstairs, downstairs and even in the kitchen!! I have been looking for it for a couple of weeks and the worst part was that I was absolutely positive that I had put it back in my craft room on top of the computer - and it wasn't there. Now I know that I have a messy house but I do have certain spots that I always keep certain items - camera and batter charger are two of them. So yesterday while at my computer, I turn around and see a black spot on the floor underneath my sewing chest - yup you guessed it - it was the charger! a big sigh of relief because I really didn't want to buy another one. So when I get a chance I will take lots of pictures of the finished challenges as well as the goodies I received in Sturbridge Massachusetts. So wonderful people, until the next time, remember you are loved. Hugs Louise