Don't know what to call it.

Here is a preliminary photo of my latest piece. The circles are strips sewn together vertically. I have couched four different black yarns, including rat tail, along the lightest yellow strips. Now I'm in the process of adding some beads--a very nice mixture of black bead soup--over the yarns. I'll probably trim down the sides to be equal before I start to quilt it, and maybe the bottom too.

I actually got some sewing done today. I can't tell you what it feels like to finally get back into the studio and get some work done. I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow. I've been working on a new wall quilt. I basically have the top done now ready for beading. The quilting will be intense and likely take a fair bit of time. But even more exciting, I have ideas for at least one more piece percolating in my brain. it is such a marvelous feeling, and one I've been missing for at least 3 months. It's good to be back.

Snow is almost gone!

I can see most of the back yard and some of the front yard. The rhubarb is up--was probably starting to come up under all that snow! I got the bulk of my inventory done yesterday and then wasted time playing poker. With the two computers we can both play at the same time. I've been signed up for almost two weeks and was frustrated by losing and having to go through a whole rigamarole to get more chips--even if they are only play money. So DH used the lap top a couple of times and won a bit to get me going. But I won a little bit on Monday and had a good day yesterday, so now I have a stack of around $10,000 in play money dollars. It only costs $320 to get into a tournament, so this should keep me going for a couple of days, or maybe a couple of weeks!

Ran into a little problem with my newest piece and had to spend some time reverse stitching yesterday. I hope to finish the inventory this morning. I'm out this afternoon, at a meeting of the Tuesday Night Stitchers who Meet on Wednesday Afternoon. But then I should have all of this evening and all day tomorrow to work on it. Now I have an idea of another piece to make. This would be just a learning piece and never intended for show or sale. I've been skimming through the Quilt Art Book, and want to try two or three of the techniques described in there. So I'm going to try putting them all in one piece. Usually I shudder at people who try to put every technique they know into the same piece, but this will give me a chance to try these things, and no-one need ever see it.

Read in the paper this morning the Mt Redoubt, in Alaska, has been erupting since late March, and spewing very fine dust into the stratosphere. This is giving us spectacular sunsets, but my allergies have been causing me problems for about the same time. I wonder if there's a connection.

back to the real world

I've had three weeks of adventures, I've managed to get into the studio and actually start a new piece, but now life intervenes. I have paperwork to do for three of the organizations I belong to, and I have to price and tag all of the things I'm taking to the sale next weekend, as well as prepare a very detailed inventory in triplicate.

Even though I'm no longer working, I still see Easter Monday as a holiday. I guess the truth is that every day should be a holiday now that I'm retired.. It's not working that way--what went wrong?

But the snow is melting. Rain last night helped. I can see my Hellebore leaves, but no flowers yet. The street is almost dry, so my bicycle is starting to call. We're sleeping with the windows open again. Easter Monday should be called "Little Thanksgiving". We made it through another Manitoba winter.

Card games

Yesterday was quite an experience. DS and I played cribbage with his two childen, and it was sort of fun. Then he wanted to try to teach them the basic concepts of card games with "tricks" and 'trumps". So we taught them whist, first as a no trump game and then with trump. After we ate, we just wanted to have fun and played a game called "99". I didn't remember playing it before, but the children did. Fortunately it was simple enough, that my 4 yearold DGD was able to participate. She was absolutely thrilled. She couldn't do the math, but she knew when to grab a card off the pile, and the game was fast enough, that nobody got bored. I can see a lot of this game in my future.
Now I have a full day a head of me to spend in the studio. Leftovers for supper, since we cooked a turkey for yesterday. We had been worried as it looked like a tough old bird, and we had bought it from the Hutterites, but it was one of the best turkeys I 've had in awhile.

DH went to the little mall across the street today to buy a lottery ticket. When he got home he casually mentioned that he had been in the Giant Tiger store and had seen blackberries for $0.99/1/2 pint. Blackberries are very hard to find in Manitoba,and I like to use them when I make brambleberry jelly, so I ran over and bought 5 baskets. So "big Whoop" you say, so what? Well I always associate blackberries with my father. He used to pick them on Vancouver island, and once even brought home a milkcarton full of them to me here. So for the past few hours I've been thinking of my father and remembering the times we had with him and the sense of family that these memories always bring to me. A very bittersweet day. Both of my children and all of my grandchildren will be over for supper. Not the formal Easter feast that we might have tomorrow, but probably an informal buffet meal while we play games--a much better plan when there are children involved--and a much better family memory to be making.

Gimli

was fine. We saw two different potential facilities for our 2010 retreat. Both were quite expensive, probably to "ritzy" for our group. The one that offered the best options for minimizing lodging costs smelled bad--literally. While they have done some recent renovations, and the rooms were very nice, the whole facility had an obvious smell of mildew and old tobacco smoke. Worst of all the strongest smell was in the lobby--the first place you walk into. The site was beautiful, and they were willing to offer us some nice incentives. Too bad. When I got home I looked at the numbers for the other option, and still found it pretty pricey for our group. So I got onto the internet and "googled' conference facilities in Manitoba. I found a site for another facility in another town that had been at the back of my mind from the beginning. They had oodles of informaiton on the site and I was able to compare both amenities and costs ( recognizing that the costs will probably be higher a year form now) The food and lodging came in at less than half either of the facilities we had visited. Some costs that would have been covered in the other facilites( such as daily cost of a meeting room) aren't covered there, but still well within our means. So I passed the web site on to the other ladies involved, and we are going to go out to take a look and talk to them about our retreat. We need to have all the arrangements made by this October.

Then yesterday--ta da--I actully got into the studio. I was distressed to find that I just couldn't focus for any period of time--out of practise, Ithink. But I finished one of the quilt tops I found in my sorting, did a bit of difficult hand work that I have to pace myself with, and do just a bit every day. Then I actually got the fabric selected, and made some preliminary sketches for a new piece. I'm so pleased that I finally felt some creative juices flow. During the drive to and from Gimli, a friend and I spent a lot of time talking about creativity and the role of self image and self esteem in the whole creative process. In many ways she is further along this road than I am, and it's a treat to talk to someone at the same stage in the creative life or maybe just a little bit further along.