Here comes the sun

Spring has truly arrived here and our apple trees were filled with glorious blooms

 This is a flowering crab , ornamental which the birds enjoy the fruit in the fall .

A little closer look at the pretty blooms ...

Next to the crab are three apple trees that bear lots of beautiful apples but the past few years have worms .
 We have had a few days of sunshine and nice temperatures so yesterday I tried something I had not done before , Sun printing . I have wanted to try this for such a long time but I live in an area where it is almost always windy but yesterday the wind was almost nil so I grabbed the chance .  Now my wrist was somewhat a problem in this process as I had wanted to use my seta colour paints but no way could I get that top off . What did I do , well I have some cheap acrylic paints that have a flip top so I figured this is just an experiment so lets see if it works . I took a piece of plain cotton and watered down the green paint then made my fabric damp  with a spray bottle (not easy either ) , then I painted the fabric all over with the paint using a foam brush , then I  took my gathered leaves and placed them on the fabric adding paint on top to hopefully hold them down while the paint dried . I left this sitting in the sun for an hour or more and when I returned I knew things had changed as the leaves were all shriveled and I could see white underneath. Want to see ?

Isn't that cool , the maple leaves worked well , the smaller leaves not as well . I will be doing this again sometime and want to gather some ferns which I love ! I can't sew but I can still experiment :-)
 Thanks for the visit and have a great day.
hugs Sheila

My thoughts are with the families

As the mother of an RCMP officer , it is with great sadness that I heard of the loss of three of their officers in Moncton New Brunswick and the injury of two more officers who are now recovering in hospital . Thankfully just after midnight the suspect was apprehended without incident and without further injury to anyone . I can only imagine the anguish these families are feeling and my thoughts and prayers are with them as well as all RCMP officers who are grieving with them . I think it is at times like this that we become aware that these men and women lay their lives on the line each and every day to keep us safe and we need to thank them more often , don't wait until something tragic happens .  I am so proud of Rob and all he does within his RCMP organization , he loves his job and takes it very seriously and I know today he is hurting along with all other officers in this country and beyond . Stay safe Rob , we love you .

Why not sign up

Today is the last day to sign up for Canadian Quilt Talk fabric postcard exchange , the theme is maple leaves to celebrate Canada Day but you don't have to be Canadian you just need to make and send a postcard . I signed up want to see my postcard?

I know you are wondering how I managed to make a postcard with a broken wrist , well the truth of the matter is I didn't make it now, I made it quite a while ago , you see I have a small stash of postcards already made just waiting for the right occasion to send it off . When I read about Brandy Lynn's exchange my first thought was , silly, you know you can't join in, but then I had a rare lightbulb moment and thought maybe , just maybe I have one with maple leaves and lo and behold I did . I did ask Brandy if this would qualify since it also has an oak leaf but she was fine with that , yippee , I almost feel like I am back in action ;-) So hey if you want to make a new friend and get some great mail don't hesitate head on over to the above link and sign up , you will be glad you did and you might even recieve this card . Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

 hugs Sheila 

More of the quilt show ...

Thistle quilt guild presently has a membership of around 56+- so we are not a big guild in numbers but big in heart . Throughout the year we have many workshops which are mostly taught by our own very capable and talented  members .

This mini quilt along with the next few photos resulted from a workshop by Linda Hubbard who travelled from New Brunswick to give us a wonderful trunk show then a minature class the following day . This log cabin quilt was done by Anne M .

Another one by Gloria , please note this is only about 12" square.

more minatures , sorry I am not sure who made them.

and another

and a couple of more :-0

This group of Spring Garden wall hangings was taught by Kate , very fun workshop .

Some seasonal work.

This one is rather interesting since it is made of silk ties . gorgeous , save those ties girls !

A little twister fun , don"t you love those happy colours .

Everyone loves a log cabin , Carol made this for her grandson.

Joan did a great job on this modern quilt !

Some scrappy quilts

Pretty modern colours .

Seems this is the last photo I took, certainly not all the show but  a glimse of what our members have been up to . Thanks for coming along for the tour . Have a great day.
 hugs Sheila

Not today

You know sometimes we don't get what we wish for and no matter how much you want something it may not happen  the way we hope . You probably know where I am going with this , my visit to the doctor today did not go as I hoped , oh the cast was removed but after careful examination and X-rays a new cast was placed back on my arm with two more weeks added to this misery . I am very disappointed but I can tell you that the discomfort I  had just getting a couple of X-rays kind of prepared me for the news . My fingers are still swollen some and there is still lots of bruising so that should have told me things aren't healed to the level they need to be to go without a cast . It has been a long six weeks but I got through it so I guess I can do two more , what choice do I have . Hey I have learned to do things with my left hand I never thought I could , you just do what you have to do and get on with it the best way you can :-)
 In life we have many people influence us in different ways and learn valuable lessons along the way

                                                   My cousin , grandfather and grandmother
 As a young girl I was blessed with a grandmother (paternal) who I greatly admired , she was a tiny lady with plenty of spunk , a hard worker , a self taught midwife who in her time birthed a lot of the babies born in town when a doctor was not available . She was also an accomplished seamstress and I can remember sitting beside her as she treadled  away on her machine . My dad told me she often cut out pictures of clothing from magazines and would then make  them without the aid of a pattern . I admired her quiet way , her soft spoken voice , her long flowing grey  hair  she neatly wrapped into a perfect braided bun at the back of her head . She was a wise person who had knowledge of concoctions she would make up from herbs or wild plants and heal people of illness . I was only around 8 when she died  suddenly but she had a huge impact on me . Just recently I had the very good fortune to have made contact with a cousin of mine who just happened to have photos of my grandparents as well as my aunts and uncles . I was over the top happy about this as I had no photos  at all of my grandmother or my aunts .

                              Uncle Russ, Aunt Mammie, Aunt Margaret and Uncle Henry
My aunt Margaret and uncle Henry lived next door to my grandparents , they had no children of their own but they became like grandparents to us and were the most loving couple . They loved each other and they loved all children as their own . When life was tough that was where I would head knowing there would be a big hug and reassurance all would be ok and I always believed aunt Margaret , she was so special and uncle Henry was a big tease and would have you laughing in no time . They both provided what we all need , unconditional love , never judging you , always encouraging you and most importantly always there for you . I am not sure why I am sharing these photos today , maybe because I need to think of those who brought me great comfort in tough times , maybe I need that hug from aunt Margaret and that healing hand of Nanny and maybe I just want to share these very special photos with you .
 I will share more quilts with you tomorrow today I just need time to be thankful for the positives in my life like my loving husband  .
 hugs Sheila