Once upon a time...

“The Avenue” finished during covid, machine pieced, hand appliqued, machine quilted by Heather Stewart. The pattern is by Louise Pappas, Australia. I loved making this quilt!

Where did it go! February 2019 was such a long time ago. So much has happened…or not happened! Life has changed. I now have two new knees! The first one was done in November 2018 and the second one was done in January 2020! I survived, I am without pain which is a blessing. I have a wonderful surgeon and great help at home thanks to Peter and my family.

Beautiful old wallpaper, I just love the surprises we find, the joys of an old house!

Now where to start? Way back in March 2019 we went to Sugarloaf, Maine for a week with Kate, Nick and the boys. What a great trip down memory lane for me. I had not been back to Sugarloaf in 50(!!) years! It certainly has changed a lot. While I couldn’t ski, I enjoyed hearing all about the adventures everyone had each day. We had rented a beautiful log house in the woods, big enough for all of us to be very comfortable.

We had a wonderul family of Cardinals join us this spring. They made their nest in our holly bush right outside the diningroom window so we could watch their every move. Sadly only one baby survived.

I have been quilting quite a bit and especially through the last 6 months, I finished 5 projects that were on the go from quilts to wallhangings and I started a few new projects. We adjusted to a new norm of life here in our little town feeling grateful for having everything (almost) in walking distance. We were grateful when we could have our family “bubble” and see Kate, Nick and the boys more often. Plans for Andrew, Christy and the kids to come home (they moved from Calgary when it was -40 in January 2019 to the Cayman Islands where it was +40!!) were cancelled as was a trip for us to go there. Hopefully some day travel will be easier and safe but for now we rely on FaceTime and What’s App!

Another finish, “Pies and Tarts” on a windy day! The circles are sewn using the English Paper Piecing method. It is hand pieced (EPP), hand applique and machine pieced. it was machine quilted by Heather Stewart. It is a Sue Daley pattern though I sewed it together differently from her original pattern.

I am enjoying participating with some other quilters using Zoom online regularly. It is great to see and talk to them. Our local Guild will have their second Zoom meeting next week, our first was our AGM in June. while not perfect it is great to have this option to look forward to.

Work continues on our old house! Like so many people we are renovating again, this time the third bedroom has been gutted, the old wood chip insulation(not!) is gone, new insulation done and now Peter is working on the new drywall. A bit of hurry up and wait for the “mud” to dry but in between there is always golf!

I am going to commit myself to being back here every week or so. I am sure I can find something to write about or pictures to share. See you soon!

November!

Well, how did that happen? I sure have been away a while. It was a busy summer that just flew by so fast. We happily celebrated our daughter's wedding in August which meant our son and his family came for the wedding and a holiday. It was wonderful having them here with us and having everyone together for such a joyous occasion.

Despite the state of the Canadian dollar we could not let November go by and without a visit to Maine and our dear friend (and quilter) Jo Diggs. We had perfect weather, visited our favourite quilt shops and wandered the old Port. We spent a wonderful day In Lowell, MA at the New England Quilt Museum. The exhibit of applique quilts was one of the best exhibits I have ever seen. If you are ever in the neighbourhood be sure and visit this gem of a museum.

I didn't get much quilting done or projects finished. The weather was really hot and humid this summer. We went almost 3 months with not much rain to speak of, thank goodness we are no longer on a well though we were still very aware of our water usage. I am back on track now working away on my "Pies and Tarts" quilt. It is a hand project, I am hand appliqueing the EPP circles on to the background. It is a great small project to take with me to my bee or meetings or to work on in the car.

My local guild, the Mahone Bay Quilters Guild had our bi-annual quilt show during the Scarecrow Festival. It was one of the best yet and we had a wonderful attendance with people from all over. The members once again showed some exquisite quilts, it was hard to pick a favourite.

At our Quilt Mafia gathering in November, Laurie shared her work in progress for her Halifax Explosion project Hope and Survival.

Last week the "Quilt Mafia" gathered again at Gaspereau Valley Fibres, a wonderful location near Wolfville and easy for all of us to get to. And it is near Avonport Discount Fabrics for those of us who are avid quilters! It is always so inspiring to get together with this group of women, seventeen of us made it, we were just missing two members! It was a beautiful late fall drive across the province for me, a grey day that was made brighter by the wonderful yellow/gold leaves still on the trees. Almost everyone brought something to share and everyone brought something to work on from stitching to knitting to quilting and piecing. It is a wonderful old building with lots of shelves of glorious colours of yarns. Many years ago the building was a garage/mechanic shop. There are wonderful rows of old drawers lining two walls, apparently the handles of the drawers were handles from cars!

These drawers would be great in my sewing room but I would need a much bigger room!

Been Gone Too Long!

The Nova Scotia flag flies proudly in the Robson backyard, it snowed almost everyday we were there.

The last couple of months have flown by. We had a trip west to see our Calgary grandchildren (and their parents!). It seemed to take two weeks to get ready, then another two weeks to decompress when we got back plus I came home with my winter cold which took the wind out of my sails for a while.

Marcus and his BMW!

We usually go west later in the spring once the golf season has started and it usually coincides with the Heritage Park Quilt Show but this year we went for Molly's March Break which meant we had a whole week with Molly everyday. Great fun and adventures to Monkeyshines (the children's bookstore), Ikea, a few quilt stores and a wonderful trip to Lake Louise.

Andrew and Molly at Lake Louise

Peter went skiing three times with Molly at Nakiska, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. Molly has been doing the Nancy Greene Ski program for a couple of years now and is a pro on the black diamond runs - pretty impressive!

Pretty impressive for an 8 year old!

Molly loved the "cupcake" house at Lake Louise! There was a lot of snow in the mountains.

We went to a Calgary Flames NHL game (they won!) but sadly they didn't make the playoffs. Marcus is a going concern at 2 1/2! Constant chatter and on the move! Give him a hockey stick or a car and he is happy! And like Molly he loves his books!

Life in my quilt world has been busy too. My local Guild just hosted their 14th Extraordinary Quilter weekend with Ana Buzzalino from Calgary. She was a wonderful teacher and brought a huge pile of quilts to share with us at our Dessert Party. You can read about it here.

The after floors are done and before paint shot! I'll be back soon with more house renos and quilt stuff!