Halloween or Christmas?

Look at what we woke up to this morning!

Is it Halloween or Christmas?  The leaves are still on most of the smaller trees and shrubs and the branches are weighted down with the heavy, wet snow.

The sun is coming out so hopefully it’ll all be melted in time for the trick-or-treaters tonight.

Our house is even more in a state of upheaval since the last photos I shared with you.

But one of the positive things about moving is the purging!  I ♥ to purge!  It’s been five L-O-N-G years since I last went through my things…back to when I was still designing and teaching painting…so you can just imagine the stuff I’m getting rid of.  Virtually all of what you see stacked in our living room in the above photo is going to be sold at auction on the 27th of November.  And this is only the tip of the iceberg!

We’re drowning in a sea of boxes!

Everywhere you look there are boxes…and plastic bins.

We’ve made different piles of boxes…those that the movers will be taking and those that we’ll load into the van to take with us when we travel to Nova Scotia in two weeks for the house closing.  We’ll be taking most of the fragile, breakable stuff with us rather than chance it to the moving company.

Poor Mac.  He just doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.

He’s finding it more and more difficult to find his way through the maize of boxes and doesn’t stray too far from our sides.

But on the bright side…thirty days from now this will all be over and the three of us will be living in our new home waiting for the movers to arrive.

Then the unpacking will begin.

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

I’m Going On A Diet…

A stash diet!!!

I figured that while I still have lots of enthusiasm and energy, I’d start packing up my studio.  Although I’m no where near finished, I have managed to pack all my fabric and folks…it’s major confession time…

I think I have enough fabric to open a small shop!  Yikes!  If I am still quilting by the time I reach 100, I’ll probably still have some fabric left over.  Is there a group called Fabrics Anonymous in Nova Scotia because I think I need help?  *wink*

The hoosier is empty.

The second cupboard is also empty…

And I’m working on the third and final one.

And I haven’t even started with the bins of wool.  Gulp!  By the time the packing is over, I think I’ll be drowning in a sea of boxes.

And the boxes that you’re seeing here contain only fabric and batting.  Yikes!

Our house is in a total state of disarray which I am NOT used to and it’s making me crazy.  But I keep on telling myself that it’ll all be over in just five short weeks and I’m refusing to allow myself to even think about the unpacking at the other end.

The moving company rep is stopping by later this morning to drop off more boxes and tissue which we’ll need in order to pack the breakables.  I’ve set goals for myself and I hope to have my studio completely disassembled and packed up by the end of tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

I don’t know about you all but when I’m under a lot of stress, my creative juices completely shut down.  Needless to say that since the packing started, I haven’t been designing, sewing or even stitching for that matter.  However, every time I pick up something to place in a box that either I’ve made or that I received as a gift, a warm and fuzzy feeling comes over me which helps to keep things in perspective and get on with the task at hand.

To take my mind off the packing…if only for a few brief moments…I’d like to share with you something that I designed and made just a few short weeks ago.

This is my “Wool Crazy Sampler Pincushion”.  Keep an eye out here because as soon as I can free up some time, you just never know what my next post will be about.  *wink*

The boxes are calling…

Happy Stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Raggedy & Friends Block 4 – Addendum

Hi everyone!

Thanks to your astuteness, you’ve made me aware that I forgot to include the layout diagram for Block 4 in my initial PDF file so I’m including it in this post.  In the interim, I’ve amended the original post and PDF to include the diagram.  I think that maybe I’ve packed some of my brain cells in one of the boxes but I’m not sure which one so please accept my apologies.

Please click HERE and a new shift of cyber faeries will take you back to PDF land in order that you may download the ‘stray’ page.  *sigh*

Getting old is bad enough…but getting old and having to pack for a long distance move is kinda taking me over the top.  Sorry!

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Raggedy & Friends – Block 4

40 days until the B-I-G move…but who’s counting?  *wink*

But that’s not why you’re here today, right?  You’re here because it’s the 20th of the month and you’d like me to get down to business and link you to the PDF file for Block 4. 

Well, let me show you the photo first.

Click HERE and the cyber faeries will magically transport you to the PDF file.  Please remember to click the blue download button in order for the file to open.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And now Ann & Andy are telling me to stay focused, get my hiney in gear and to get back to the task at hand.

I’m sure looking forward to the time when things will return to ‘normal’.

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Some of This and a Whole Lot of That!

Mr. Painted Quilt, Mac, our Westie and I are about to turn the page and will soon be starting a new chapter in our lives. 

We have been talking for some time now about moving and about three weeks ago, decided to take the bull by the horns and do something about it.  I won’t bore you with all the tiresome details but the bottom line is that we purchased a house in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. 

The house is 175 years old and was originally built by a sea captain.  Decendents of the family retained possession until 1946 when it was sold to someone outside of the family.  We will be the fifth owners. 

The dwelling sits on 3 acres of land, high on a hill which affords an amazing view overlooking the Annapolis Basin which drains into the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean.  Because of it’s proximity to the ocean, the climate is considered ‘moderate’ with a hardiness of Zone 6.5, equivalent to that of North Carolina.  I’ll be able to plant things that would never survive the winters of eastern Ontario.  Woo hoo!

As you can see from the photo, the house is huge.  It has five bedrooms, two living rooms which was a common feature in houses of that era, a separate dining room and two full bathrooms.  It even has a huge walk in pantry!  It is in wonderful shape given it’s age and all the major updates have been done…plumbing, wiring, siding, windows, heating, etc.  Of course there are things that we would like to change but promised ourselves to live in it for at least six months before deciding what we want to do…excluding painting and and the removal of what little carpeting there is covering the original wood floors.  I’ll probably bore you to tears with before and after pictures over the next year but I want to document all the changes as we proceed.

When we returned from Nova Scotia on the 3rd of October, we listed our house for sale and it sold in less than a week.  We will be taking possession of the ‘new’ house on the 15th of November and the closing date of our current house is the 30th of November. 

It goes without saying that the next six weeks will be a blurr packing, selling things that we don’t want to take with us and arranging for movers to take our belongings the 700+ miles.   So please bear with me because you won’t be seeing or hearing too much from me until after the move, but I’ll try to stay in touch. 

I’m two months ahead with my FFF’s (First Friday Freebies) and the Raggedy & Andy BOM’s will still be posted on the 20th of every month.  As a matter of fact, I published October’s FFF while we were on the ferry crossing the Bay of Fundy between Digby, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick.  Isn’t wireless internet amazing?

The water on the return trip was a bit choppy.

Pictured here is one of the typical fishing boats docked in historic Annapolis Royal, about 10 minutes from where we’ll be living.

Mr. PQ taking Mac for a walk on the grounds of the motel where we were staying in Digby while house hunting.

This is a view from the motel grounds to the docks during low ride in Digby.  Can you see the scallop boats in the distance?  Digby is world renowned for it’s scallops and I can attest to their yummy-ness…just ask me!  *wink*

Today is also the 15th of October, the date when those who participated in the Fall Into Fall giveaway announce their winners.  At the outset, I would also like to thank those of you who entered the giveaway and also to the many new Followers who decided to accompany me in my blogging journey.

Mr. Random Number Generator selected number 9 which happens to be Julie as the winner of my Ode to Halloween wallhanging.

Congratulations and I hope you like it!

Guess I’d better get a start on my packing, huh?  Horrors!

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Wool Crazy Round Robin…The Finale!

My baby has found it’s way home.  Actually, it’s been home for about a week but I’ve been playing with it on and off during that time adding the last finishing touches and I finally finished it this morning.

This is how it started out.  I created the base, appliquéd the crow and then sent it on to Karen.

Karen added her magic by creating the pumpkin tree…

and then sent it on to Paulette who continued with the Autumn theme.  Isn’t this scarecrow to die for?

Paulette then sent it on to Lori, the last stop in the round robin before coming home.  Lori added a darling black cat sitting in a pumpkin surrounded by acorns and oak leaves.

The round robin for my pincushion base was now complete.  All four participants including myself had contributed to the design.  Lori then returned it to me to finish.

After adding some additional elements and fancy stitching to fill in some of the open spaces, I completed it this morning by creating a pocket to stuff with crushed walnut shells then blanket stitched around the perimeter to seal it closed.

Ta da!  May I present my round robin pincushion!

Don’t you just ♥ it?

I can’t tell you how much fun this was.  The four of us were committed to getting the job done and in a timely manner.  I now have a one-of-a-kind pincushion that combines the talents of three dear friends and fellow ‘wool crazy buddies’.  Thank you so much Karen, Paulette and Lori…from the bottom of my  ♥

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Overdue Thanks

Is it just me or is time getting away from everyone else too? 

My intentions were to publically thank my friends for their very thoughtful gifts and RAKs but somehow either time or a tutorial or a FFF or the next Raggedy & Friends block or a giveaway just managed to sneak in and take over.  Today I’ve decided to MAKE the time to share with you some of the wonderful and thoughtful gifts that I’ve recently received…and in no particular order.

In one of my “conversations” with Janet, I happened to mention how much I loved the ribbon embroidery project that she had talked about in one of her posts and how it was something that I’d always wanted to learn.  The next thing I knew, I received two packages from Australia containing the following…

Six books on ribbon embroidery.  Thank you soooo much, Janet!  I even used one of the basic stitches on my Autumn wool crazy pincushion.

A while ago, Stephanie hosted a String Challenge and I offered to donate one of the prizes.  Melanie won my crazy quilt pumpkin and she then sent me these in return…

Autumn themed fabric and an embroidered tea towel all the way from the UK.  A thank you for a thank you.  How cool is that?  Thanks a million, Melanie!

Then last week and just out-of-the-blue, I received these beautiful hand embroidered, bluework tea towels from Susan in New England.

Thanks, Susan.  I will treasure these always.  And if you’re hungry, pop over to Susan’s blog HERE to see what she’s been cooking.  I wonder if there’s enough left for all of us?  I can smell the aroma from here. 

And last…but by NO means least…there’s my friend Darlene.  Darlene just recently posted about trying her hand at making scissor fobs and lo and behold, they could be seen all over blogland, including overseas! 

Here is what arrived at my house…

A gorgeous scissor fob…

A tin notions box…

And some colored lanyards because I mentioned that I could only find the black ones here.

My heart just sings every time I look at my notions box containing my most favorite sewing goodies.  BIG thank you hugs to you my friend.

Blogging friends are very special people. 

If any of you are thinking about starting a blog but have put it off for whatever reason, please reconsider.  For me, the world has become a much smaller and most wonderful place.

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

The Fall into Fall giveaway is open until the 15th of October.  If you are interested in reading about and entering my giveaway, please click HERE.