November

Dreary November weather has descended on us this past week. As much as I love fall, I dislike a continuous stretch of dark days when indoor lights need to be on all day just to see what you're doing. Yesterday, despite a steady drizzle, I packed the kids into the van and we headed down the road to Thickson Woods. It's just big enough for them to run, run, run and get muddy and enjoy being outside a bit ... all within their hour limit. After an hour they want me to pick them up and carry them ... not happening. It was enough to get some fresh air in our lungs and the smell of wet leaves and pine needles into our senses. A few pics rounded out the adventure. My camera is not working properly (it won't take the photo!) so I'm reduced to using my phone. Some of the photos just didn't turn out nicely, but I got a few in the darkness :)

I like having the panoramic option on my phone!

There's not a lot happening out my way. Thinking of Christmas and working on knitted projects ... will show more on that soon. I'm making two of the daycare kids scarves to match their new coats. How wonderful it must be to buy a brand new winter coat every year. I have trouble finding winter coats for myself that aren't over $200 and will keep me warm when it's -20C. 

My neighbours are slowly adding their outdoor Christmas decorations to their homes. It starts suddenly around mid-November, when we're all shocked at how early the lights are going up. I hold off with the decorating until December actually arrives so that I've squeezed all I can out of fall first. 

I see we have one more leaf collection week with our municipal garbage. There are enough of my neighbours' leaves around my yard to warrant a few more bags to be put at the curb. My one neighbour continues to mow his lawn and have his noisy leaf blower going most days to get rid of every last possible leaf from his yard. I don't mind the more "relaxed" look of leaves trapped in corners and amongst the garden debris. It gives the bugs and the birds some measure of protection and food, and makes me feel just a teeny bit like I'm still living in the country living beside a forest where there wasn't much point in removing every single leaf.

Enough rambling. I've got to head over to the library this morning for "Fireside Storytime". Hopefully the large gas fire will be lit, as we all sit around together singing a few songs and listening to a few stories. It could be worse 😉

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy

Here's a couple of collages I made with the photos. Kind of neat.

Cushion Cover Complete!

Well I tackled the cushion cover again yesterday after my trek out to Mississauaga to see Dear O'l Dad. The stitching for the braid was unpicked and the new front piece cut out and everything sewn back together again! It's now finished, filled with a down cushion (20" x 20") and sits on my daughter's bed looking quite nice. I just think the aqua braid could have been thicker as it's sort of hidden when the cushion is plumped up. I like it though, and I think she was right with the darker fabric choice afterall 😉

The envelope backing turned out well. I thought I might have to add some buttons, but it seems to stay closed and not split open. The overlap there is 3-inches deep in case anyone is interested. I think I would add another half inch to an inch on the overlap if I made this style of closure again (or maybe add three buttons across the folded under section).

Glad to have finished this simple and quick project. As is normal for me, just getting started on something is half the battle. Once I get going on it I really enjoy myself and want to continue sewing!

The coral looks really nice with the aqua and teal embroidery in her duvet cover and the aqua on the walls.

Now that this is finished, I can once again concentrate on sewing & knitting for Christmas. I received some yarn in the mail this week for review! This is a new venture for me, but I'm really looking forward to making something with that. The colours are gorgeous in this pure wool by Noro. As lame as it may sound, I think I'm going to knit a scarf so that a simple 1x1 rib pattern will not have to compete with the gorgeous colours. There will be more on this soon. I first have to see if I can pick up just one more ball of this same yarn in a local shop to knit the scarf I have in mind. Three balls of yarn are not going to work.

Enjoy your Sunday folks! 

Snow flurries here today with a wicked wind from the north 

... and it was 17C just two days ago!!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Wendy

"Bye Bye Autumn"

Friday Night Sew-In

Sew I worked away in my kitchen at my sewing project ... a cushion cover for my daughter that I had promised, oh, sometime back in the summer. She had been getting her bedroom in order again when she finished university and moved back home. She is using the colours aqua and coral, which are nice together, but coral is difficult to find. When she couldn't find any coral cushions, I volunteered to make one for her. 

This is the fabric I used for the front ...

I got all pieces cut out and the back opening sewn, I'm making an envelope backing. 

I got the aqua braid stitched all around the edge of the front piece ...

... and had the back pieces pinned in place ... 

At this point I had to pick up my daughter from work at 10:00 p.m. Rather than working any further on it so late at night, I decided to leave it until today. Good thing. When I showed my daughter my progress, she informed me I was using the wrong fabric for the front piece.

This is the fabric I was supposed to be making it from ...

I'm writing this quickly this morning since I'm heading out in a minute to visit dear ol' Dad. When I get home, I'll have to rip out all the lovely stitches securing the braid and start on the front piece again. grrrr... 

This was me, joining up for Friday Night Sew-In with Sugarlane Designs. Enjoy your weekend!

Wendy

Friday Night Sew-In and Five on Friday

Well, tonight I will be joining in the Friday Night Sew-In party with some fellow sewing gals from down under. I have my project all set to work on, and will share what I worked on on Saturday morning.

For now I am joining Amy for Five on Friday* and sharing some photos of my walks in the woods with the kids. 

I did finally find more photos that I took at the beginning of November, and I also went on a walk again yesterday to a conservation area. Just some fall colours in the north end and the south end of my town.

Along the marsh boardwalk on November 1 ...

The bright colours of the maples had passed by this point, and we were left with the golden birch trees and the russet colours of beech and oaks along the marsh. The oaks look magnificent, and there are quite a few good sized trees here that are boasting their colours to perfection!

Further into the trail ...

More golden birch trees. I couldn't seem to get great shots of the birches as the sky was overcast, but bright.

Back towards the parking lot ...

There were more giant oaks along this path, and although it may not show up great on the computer, the colours were pure autumn! Love those oaks and the leaves just shake and rattle in the breeze.

Yesterday was the walk in the conservation area north of town. 

Along the laneway ...

We followed a graveled laneway which was either someone's private lane a long time ago, or a disused roadway. There is no information about it on the signs in the area.

The last burst of colour on a few young tamarack trees.

End of the line ...

This is where our walk ended :( None of us had waterproof boots on, so it was a quick about-face and trudging back the same route we came.

We walk under hydro towers that stretch all the way to Niagara Falls to the west ...

... and all the way to who knows where in the east ...

The map of trails (below), which weren't very helpful to us. We ended up at the bottom of the black dashed line, although there clearly were a couple of paths that worked toward the east part of the park, there was no marked trail on the map for this area. The "You are Here" dot is the beginning of the trail where I parked the van. I want to go back without the daycare kids and explore this area on my own. I will enjoy it better ... my little guys just didn't have the stamina for this walk today and it was painful dragging them back to the van....ugh...

Heber Down Conservation Area

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy

*At the time of posting this there was no link-up for Five on Friday ...

what's a walk at the marsh without having the beloved chickadees
come for a handout ;)

Enjoying the Warm Fall

Hey there ... I haven't been doing too many posts lately for lack of material I guess. I thought I'd just pop in to say "hello"! Our American friends are gearing up for Thanksgiving, but since we had our Canadian Thanksgiving way back in the beginning of October, it's all kind of moot to me now. I have been enjoying our beautiful fall weather though. It's been so warm here, usually hanging around 15C each day and so sunny! Today ... not so sunny, but still mild.

Apart from playgroups and storytime at the library, I've been taking the daycare kids into the woods for little adventures each week. I thought I had taken more scenic photos during our walks, but I only had a couple and the rest were photos of just the kids (which I won't post here, although they were really cute!).

This is at a conservation area just north of town. So pretty early in the morning with a slight mist in the air. The leaves are pretty much all on the ground now, making a lovely golden carpet. This is one little stretch I always admire, and I know I've shared photos of this spot before. It's the way the sun is just up over the hill in the distance, and the tall pine trees are dark in contrast leaning over the steep hill on the left. It makes you stop and sigh at its beauty.

Another very tiny wooded area is at the very southern part of town along the Waterfront Trail. This woods was saved through an effort of local people and is quite pretty. There are some big white pines in here towering way above us. These trees rival some of the white pines we see far up north in logging country. Many of these pines were logged in the early days and used for ship masts in England!

Later this week ... Friday to be exact ... I'll be joining some ladies in a "Friday Night Sew-In" run by Wendy B of Sugarlane Designs in Australia. I haven't decided what I will be working on just yet. I thought it might be fun, until I remembered that Australia is about 14 hours ahead of us here in Ontario, so I won't exactly be sewing at the same time. Oh well, I need more connection with people and this is one way to do it, right? Running a home daycare can at times be a lonely business. Here's the link for the November sign-up if you're interested in joining the sew-in yourself ... did I mention there's a giveaway? More details on this night can be found through the button link below.

Not much happening around here. We're planning our yearly shopping trip into Toronto for the first weekend in December. Something my family of four tries to keep going ... a happy tradition you know 😉 I've got "Christmas" on my mind a lot these days with projects I want to work on as gifts. I probably should have started on them a month ago, but I can never decide on what to make! I seem to work better under pressure anyway ... gets my creativity running rampant, then I never have time to complete everything I come up with!

Hope things are well with all of you ... I have been visiting everyone and enjoying seeing what you're all up to. A busy, but fun time of year. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy

Raven Dance

Playing around with my raven photos tonight.

... and a toadstool ...