SEEDING SUCESS AND EGG QUILTING!

How is it possible that it's already Wednesday, and only a week before the end of February?

I'm happy about the last bit - as I just want the winter to be over - but like someone reminded me yesterday - March is often our worst month for snow and really lousy weather.

No matter - I am looking way further along than March.  I'm thinking about late April, and early May - and beyond!

I did manage to get all Geranium seeds sewn on the weekend - and much to my surprise - seeds that were supposed to to take 12-14 days to germinate are up.  So far all but 3 are through the soil.  I think I can safely thank my hot steam registers for this occurrence, as I have the seed trays sitting on a foil pan right on the registers, so not only are they getting light and heat from being in the south facing window, they are getting heat from below.

The pansies, are not nearly as advanced, because they are germinating in slightly cooler temperatures and also under a dark cover of a heavy towel - but they too are popping through the soil - very slowly.

So today I am going to start some perennial Bee Balm or Monarda-Didyma, which also is supposed to take 14-21 days to germinate... I guess we shall see.  I love this plant, but have never been successful growing it in my former yard in the city - so I am hoping it will grow out here... fingers crossed.

Also today I am fooling around with a sloppy project - and having a total blast.

I am "quilting" some eggs to be used as decorations on my old window for Easter.

I have done this sort of technique using paper napkins and large goose eggs, years ago when I used to  make the elaborate eggs with my Mom  and our "egging friends" - but never have I done this with small chicken eggs and fabric.

To my surprise it is working out really well - and I think they are going to be a very pretty decoration.  

This would be a great project to do with children -  I would be happy to do a little tutorial here, if anyone is interested... let me know!

So I am going to have a bit of lunch, then get on with my seed sewing and egg quilting!

Whatever you are doing today - enjoy doing it!

Till next time!

IT'S FRIDAY FINALLY!

Oh boy!  I can't tell you how happy I am that it is finally Friday!  In particular - Friday with nothing planned for the upcoming weekend.  It's been three weeks since I had a free weekend, and I am so looking forward to it.

Okay - contain your excitement Dale - they get it!

The reason I am so excited for a clear slate weekend, is that I am going to be designing some new mug rugs, new for 2019 - and making some of my other designs to put up for sale in my Etsy shop which I am working on.  I will also sell from here - if you see anything you would like, just leave me a private message on my Ernadales Face book site, or message me here at the top of blog page ( I hope it works - I just added it).

So here is the new design that has got me excited.  I cut this and laid it out yesterday, but then I kept waking up in the night thinking about the crazy thing.

So first thing this morning I went up to the studio and appliqued it down using black thread - and I totally loved the results. 

This will be quilted into a mug rug now, and I will add the ties and daisies at the neck last.

The I needed to do another - so I did this one...

 I won't tell you how many more I have cut out, but you know what?  I still love the shoe one the best!    Next is some evening gowns - without apron's of course.

I also finished cutting and laying out the yellow truck.. now to start appliquing it down.., the fun part!

So I think I might be having a great weekend in the studio, this weekend..

I also sewed my first seeds for spring yesterday.  I seeded 25 Mammoth Mix Pansies, which are now sitting in a tray in the south sun, with a heavy thick towel wrapped around them, as they germinate best in heat and dark... of course they would have to be different.  Once they are up, then they want it very cool - so they will be going into the nook where it is bright but cooler...

Tomorrow I am starting three colours of Geranium seeds.  I have never grown these from seeds before, and I understand they are quite tricky to get started.

First you soak the seeds between two layers of wet paper towels in plastic bags for 2-4 days until they sprout.  Then you plant the sprouts in jiffy pots and put them under lights for 24 hrs a day for the first 3-4 days or until the first leaves start to show.  When that happens you cut back the light to 16 hrs a day, and after 6 weeks they can be transferred out to larger pots.

So tomorrow I start this process, in hopes that I actually will be successful with these seeds.

What are you up to this weekend?

I hope it something you love doing - or perhaps you are just spending time with those you love...

Whatever it is - have a Happy Weekend - and if you are like us and have an extra long weekend due to a holiday Monday.... 

Then enjoy!

TRYING TO GET THINGS DONE!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Share the love!

We had one nice day, and today we are back to skin freezing wind chills - like one local man put it this morning as we were once again clearing snow in front of the Post-Office - "Welcome to the Winter from Hell."

It may be that, but no one can ignore the increasing amount of daylight happening every day.

Now that there is more natural daylight in the studio, I have been able to work on a few projects for gifts.  I made a few mug rugs - which I haven't done for quite a long time.

I managed to finish five so far...

 
 

 


 and I have a couple more in various stages of completion, like these two, as well as a VW bus,  a couple of vintage campers and one yellow truck!

While I was clearing off the cutting table, I came across a few projects that I had started last year - and a couple more that were started even before that.  So I have them out on the table waiting in line to be finished as soon as the mug rugs that I am working on, are finished.

This one I really want to finish soon - it requires a lot of hand-stitching and layering of fabric.  This is just the first layer.  It will be very dimensional when it is done.   There will be a hand-stitched shooting start in the dark blue area where the rabbit will see it.  The rabbit will be embellished, as will be the moon.

There is still a ton of work to be done on this little wall hanging.

This piece is going to stay in my home where I can see it often.  It is for all our loved ones now gone; for those I love whom are still here and are suffering from disease, life's cruelties and disappointments, and for those who are living far from me, that I don't get to see very often.


It felt good to be working in the studio, and I realized that I have missed it very much these many months that I have not stayed up there more than a few minutes at a time.

I haven't really been in the right frame of mind to do much up there, I have been struggling with a few things and I have also been hurting physically with some pretty major pain issues.  But hopefully I can continue moving forward from all that, and get myself healthier for spring.

I have managed to stay on track with my plan to loose weight.  So far I am down 10 lbs, which really does feel wonderful.  I have a long way to go, but I am determined to get it off and this time keep it off, with a lot of help from this season's garden fresh home-grown vegetables.

There is much to look forward to just around the other corner.  Good health, gardening season, being able to be outside all day long; enjoying guests throughout the summer months, and hopefully some day trips with Gary - and the camera, of course.

Tell someone you love them today - tomorrow waits for no one.

RISE AND SHINE!

If I was a rooster, I think I would be crowing!  Morning is here - Rise and Shine!

It is so worth getting up early when a person can start their day with a beautiful sunrise!  It is one of the things I love most about living in the country - the sunrises and sunsets are incredible, and I can see them unobstructed by just walking out my door and going to the corner of my property.

These photos were not taken there - these were taken from the back loading dock at the Post-office as I was setting the garbage out early Monday morning   I opened the back door, saw the sunrise, and ran back to my coat pocket for my phone.  I think it's time I started carrying my SLR with me to work every morning, don't you? 

I don't know about you, but seeing something like this in the morning, really charges my batteries.  I can just feel the energy of the morning, from a wonderful sunrise such as this.  

I'm not the only one who feels this way -  As I was walking home that morning, the birds were so noisy, and busy - they too were recharged with this early morning light.

A new morning, a new day, a new beginning each and every day.

Do we even know and acknowledge how lucky we are to be given this new opportunity every morning?   

I think we tend to take it all for granted,  disregard it -  if we even think of it at all.

We need to do better than that.  We need to break our own selfish patterns of doubt and negativity and give each new day a chance to be a better one than the day before.

The new day is a fresh start - lets embrace it!

Have a beautiful day everyone!

ARE WE TURNING A CORNER?

After many weeks of extreme cold weather, the professional weather people are telling us that we are about to turn a corner towards more "seasonal" temperatures, and perhaps maybe even a glimpse or two of the coming of spring.

Dare we be optimistic?

I really want to be, and in a way I am rather hopeful, as the light seems to be coming back into our days with an amazing show of strength.

Even though it has been so cold ( -31 when I shot these photos) - I just had to get outside and try and capture some of this gorgeous light, and in particular, how the light made the new snow look like a beautiful art canvas.

Take a look...

This is a little corner of my yard.  The reflections of the hedge is like a beautiful painting on the snow.

This is a deep ditch that runs along a small highway near town.  The little foot bridge over the ditch is usually the prettiest part of this ditch - but not on this day....

My neighbour's back yard always has some seasonal ornaments - the Canada Geese appeared in fall and now have become part of the canvas of winter.  Look at the colours in that snow - how pretty is that?

The birds love this tree in another neighbour's yard.  It is usually covered with Jay's and Cedar Waxwings, as they feast on the frozen fruit that is still on the tree.

The new snow is so white that if not for the shadow of that fir tree, you have difficulty even seeing the snow. 

I don't know if the weather persons are right about the return of more normal seasonal weather, or not - but I do know, these days ahead are going to be filled with new images for the camera to capture, every day.

Bring it on!

WHATEVER THE WEATHER MAY BE!

WHATEVER THE WEATHER MAY BE

by James Whitcomb Riley

"Whatever the weather may be," says he -  

"Whatever the weather may be,

It's plaze, if ye will, an'  I'll say me say, - 

Supposin' to-day was the winterest day,

Wud the weather be changing because ye cried,

Or the snow be grass were ye crucified?

The best is to make yer own summer," says he,

"Whatever the weather may be," says he - 

"Whatever the weather may be!

"Whatever the weather may be," says he -

"Whatever the weather may be,

It's the songs ye sing, an' the smiles ye wear,

That's a-makin' the sun shine everywhere;

An' the world of gloom is a world of glee,

Wid the bird in the bush, an' the bud in the tree,

An' the fruit on the stim o' the bough," says he,

"Whatever the weather may be,"  says he - 

"Whatever the weather may be!

"Whatever the weather may be,"  says he - 

"Whatever the weather may be,

Ye can bring the Spring, wid its green an' gold,

An' the grass in the grove where the snow lies cold;

An' ye'll warm yer back, wid a smiling face,

As ye sit at yer heart, like an owld fireplace,

An' toast the toes o' yer sowl," says he,

"Whatever the weather may be," says he - 

"Whatever the weather may be!"

***

JUNK JOURNAL IS FINISHED AND REVAMPING MY CHANNEL!

It has been a very long spell of extreme cold weather for a lot of us here in Canada, and indeed around many places in North America.  Along with that our area has had a lot of snow over the past week or so.
I shovelled snow for six days in a row - something that is seldom done here.

I have always said that I love winter, and really - I do love it - but this winter started early when we still had not yet even enjoyed fall, and it has been harsh and nasty, so I am more than ready to see it end.

But, in the end - we don't have control over this thing we call weather, so the only option we have is to enjoy it.

I have been considering doing some vlogging in the future, especially during the summer when I can be taking video outside in the gardens.  To this end, I really needed to smarten up my YouTube channel, so I am working on that now.  I have changed my channel name to "Whatever The Weather May Be".

Two reason for that name -
One - that the title encompasses the way I view life, in a basic kind of way.   That is - no matter what the weather is - my life has meaning, a purpose, and I have things I love to do, and will do.  There is a season for everything in life - and I embrace that!

The second reason for the name change, and maybe the best reason, is because I so love a poem with this title, by Jame Whitcomb Riley.

So I will be including more video as well here on my blog from time to time, starting with one today.

If you read my last few blogs, you will have seen that I decided to try my hand at making a journal... a junk journal, to be precise.  I have finished my first one which is going to Zhanna for her 9th birthday, but I have a hankering to do more, so I think now I will start one for myself - a gardening journal.

I really enjoyed this project, and I was able to utilize a lot of things that I have in my studio.  I see these as a great way to use up things I have on hand, without having to invest in even more crafting supplies.
 
Having said that, most of the materials I used for my journal, were common things that we all have in our homes -  I am not one to buy supplies for a craft just because everyone else is using them.

There are lots of video's on YouTube that walk you through the process of creating the journal, and also creating some of the embellishments for inside the journals.  If you think you might like to give this a try - check out some video's - but really - these are so easy, even a child could do them.

So here is my little video show and tell on my first Junk Journal.  Clearly I need more practice on taking video's - but that too is a learned skill - so bear with me.

Have great weekend everyone - stay safe and warm...



https://youtu.be/cSeL_fGQya4