Year's End

This has been a year of up and downs. My mother passed away the first week of January. Although she was almost 92 years old, she was in reasonably good health. She passed away very suddenly and it came as a big shock to the whole family. It meant a fast trip over Holland for the funeral. Then in the beginning of June I spend a week in St. John's, Newfoundland for Quilt Canada. This was the second time I was teaching and it is always fun, but very tiring. Next came the wedding of Shawn and Emily. It was a big party with a big tent on the front lawn of her parent's farm. Here is a picture of the couple in front of the canola. The whole farm was put in canola and everybody hoped that the weather would cooperate and it would be a sea of yellow around the farm. And it did work out. Right now the couple is back in a cold Alberta. Then in October we were given the opportunity to buy another farm with a big, almost new house. It did not take us long to decide, and 3 weeks ago we moved in. At first it was very strange, but we are starting to get used to it. As you can see, Laurence has been busy putting his collection of farm toys away. And yes, I'm aware that he is, like most farmers, color blind when it comes to farm equipment, is it big or small. Most farmers favor a certain color and in our place it is green and yellow. We had a lovely time over the holidays. First a day with family, then a day with friends. There was lots to eat and we had a lot of fun. For some, it was just too much and they needed a rest. We have had the strangest weather over the last week, from snow to rain the gale force winds to ice. Christmas Day and Boxing Day were fine, but Saturday it started to rain and with the high temperatures the snow and ice disappeared very fast. There were a lot of wet basements. We were fine, because our house stands on a small rise. Then Sunday more hard winds and at times no hydro. But things have improved. The weather is cold, but clear , the hydro is back on and the Internet is working. I'm still sitting in our farm house. With all the repairs there still was no time to hook us up. And yes, it is still cold in here. We did clean the house and it looks like we have the place rented out too.Time to find a warmer place. Wishing everybody out there a very Happy 2009!

Christmas

It is cold in the old house. The computer is still here, so this will be short and sweet. Other years I love to make a lot of floral arrangements, but this year I just did not have the energy . I saw something like this on t.v. and it was easy enough to make a few. I put a round piece of fabric (found at Len's Mills in Hawkesville for a few dollars). I put it around a pint canning jar and puffed it out some. It is held around the rim with an elastic. Most of the greenery is from around here, the carnations I bought. It was fun and easy. I have been working on some sashiko . My plan was to do some piecing in the center, but when I went to the store for more fabric, it was all gone. So my second plan was to use some of the koi fabric I found during our move. It fitted with some sashiko around it. This is the full width of the fabric, about 13 inches I like to put co-ordinating fabric on the back and found a small piece with really small fish in the right color. But this will be it. Tomorrow Jeanette and Tony are coming. I will have to get cleaning and cooking. And then we will have company for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. For both days we will have smaller groups then we used to have. Wishing everybody beautiful Christmas and all the beast for 2009

Papercut blocks

The day we moved it seemed that each a certain role. One of my friends is involved with interior decorating and she walked around with an electric drill to hang things up. Once my Hoosier cabinet was in place she decided that it was the place for my Hindelooper and Workumer pieces. My mother grew up near the town of Hindelopen. This is a small town in the north of Holland with a very distinctive folk art, developed over the centuries. I still remember a room in a grandparents house,full of painted furniture. Now I do not have any large pieces, but over the years I gathered a nice collection of smaller items. They were scattered all over the house, but this looks much better. On the bottom shelf is stoneware from Workum, a town close to Hindelopen. This mostly brown and green pottery has been made for centuries, but a few years ago the factory closed. Over the years my parents would bring smaller pieces over. A few of the larger flower pots have returned to dust, because they do break easily. We are slowly getting used to our new house. But the computer is still at the old house, so while I'm doing this in the cold, hubby is packing the last of his John Deere toys. Tomorrow I'm going to Ikea for 2 more glass fronted book cases. That should do it Than it is up to him to get them all on display. I did have to make a few samples for my new Papercut workshop. I will teach that one in the new year at Greenwood Quiltery. I promise to update my list for the next year soon. At the end of January I will teach 4 workshops for my guild. This will be the start of another quilt for the Mennonite Relief Sale. This time it will be a very traditional one with paper cut-outs. and these samples will be used for the workshops. It's getting too cold here. We hope that we will have our new installation soon.

Finally.....the move

Saturday came with overcast sky but no snow. By 9 the gang was here and the move started. The (clean) cattle trailer came in very handy. While the guys were bringing the big things over, the rest of us put things away. It worked like a charm. By 12.30 most of the furniture was in place and it was time for lunch. provided by my friend Lois. And as is the habit of the lot of farmers, you have to have a good rest after you eat, so it did not take long or all the big chairs and couches were taken. By 3 in the after noon things were in place. We were lucky with the weather. Soon after we were finished,it started to snow. When we went back at 5 to get Riley, our dog, it was nasty on the road. We were worried about her. She has been here on the farm for over 10 years. She never is on a leash and can go where she wants to. Now we are closer to the road, so we have to watch her. I even have her on a leash for our walks. But I have to say, that she is adapting very well. We took Sunday as a day of rest , but by Monday all those boxes around started to bug me. Except for all of Laurence's farm toys, the boxes are empty. This is what the quilt room looks like. It does not show it here, but there is lots of light. In the beginning of the new year I will order cabinets for the wall on the left. Once those are in, it will look less messy. But I drew a small block yesterday and I'm back in the applique business.

What has not moverd is the computer. We have talked to an other Internet provider, but he is very busy. It is not as easy as in the city. So for the time being ,we are keeping it at our old place, where it sits on the floor. And that is a cold floor, so this is enough for today.

Still more moving..... and more snow

On Monday I removed the sheers from the window in my new quilt room. Besides that the walls were painted a much lighter color. What a difference it made. I can see much better . I will still need a light over my table, but another window is not necessary. We are still moving things by the carload. But on Saturday we will have help from friends and all the big items will be moved. All we hope for is decent weather. Then it will be on to the unpacking. Right now I cannot find anything. We needed a measuring tape and we have several, but none are to be found. I took this picture through the window of the room in the previous picture. Still more snow coming down. This afternoon we had a new washer and dryer delivered and we were very glad, when the truck made it back to the road. I made this small quilt a few years ago. It is hand appliqued and to get the greying in the back ground I used netting for the first time.I appliqued a few trees, put netting over that area, appliqued more trees and put another layer of grey netting over the trees. Than I appliqued the rest. It is machine quilted.

Now back to some more packing. Next thing on the list are my "good" dishes. For somebody, who can be clumsy at times , that can be stressfull.

The new phone will be installed on Monday. We will need another Internet provider, who has been phoned, but has not made a appearance yet.