kerrykatiecakes

I finally managed to get my ArtBra finished for The Way to Women's Wellness . This is entitled "Leggo my Gecko" and is dedicated to my wonderful new in-law, Cheryl.  She has battled breast cancer with courage, grace, good spirits and a sense of humour and this is what I was trying to reflect in the bra.  The front is done in dupioni silk and the bra is lined in cotton batik which also covers the straps and sides. The front of the bra is further enbellished with leaves and roses and, of course, the gecko!  lol If you look closely at the gecko you may recognize this week's buttonhole stitch variation on his backbone - so now you know why this week's BAS looked all crooked and wonky!

WANTED! REWARD OFFERED! As you can see, I am ready to take matters into my own hands vis a vis the beaver problem.  The Beavers are continuing to plague the campground as they build their home bigger and bigger. I have nothing against beavers personally - I would be one of the first to stop and take a photo if I saw one.  Recently, however, I have started to feel like if I saw one I would take the boots to them!  Just look at the devastation they are leaving in their wake. It's very frustrating to see them taking down these good size trees and then only stripping the branches and taking them away. 

Okay, I know this is an absolutely terrible picture and it looks like I was drinking when I stitched this one!  I actually had a reason for wanting my version to be graduated small to large to small again.  More on that in a later post!  In the meantime, here is Week 54 - two rows of buttonhole stitch with the legs facing each other and overlapping into each other's space.  Hmmmm... not describing this well but I hope you can understand what I'm getting at!  Sorry to have been so long getting back to the BAS again - no excuse other than taking a long time to get settled out here at the lake.  I will try to do better at being consistent.

My friend Gerry suggested I add an antique glaze to the white pansy button.  So, the photo on the bottom is the button as I originally showed it and in the one on the top I have painted it with a mix of instant coffee and, once dry, glazed over it again.  What do you think?

I took a couple pictures of some yellow headed blackbirds out of the trailer window this morning.  They look pretty wet and miserable don't they?  Well, I know how they feel!  We have been having a downpour since I woke up this morning - after five hours I am ready to call it quits!  And I have at least five days more of this to come according to the forecast! I can already feel cabin fever setting in.  It is cold and wet and muddy as all get out.  I am afraid to try to take my truck anywhere in case I get stuck in the mud and this is just the first day of this!

I have been playing around some more with buttons and I guess what I am doing is basically decoupage.  In refining my method, I have decided that I prefer to sew the button in place first.  Then I use masking tape to attach pieces of aluminum foil under and around the button to protect the fabric.  The two I have been working on are for Carolyn's Pansy RR blocks. This first one was done on a green button to match the colours of the block.  Since I don't have my printer out here this summer I have been limited to what images I have been able to find in some of my expendible books.  So, I found a pansy and fussy cut it out.  A layer of of the Fimo glaze went on the button and then the pansy went on top of that.  I added a couple more layers of glaze and then decided that I would like to add some glitter.  Then another layer of glaze went on top of that.  I think I like how this one turned out. This is the second one I am working on for the...

You have to run on over to Bitter Betty's blog  and see her first great giveaway!  She is giving away the iron dreams are made of.... very posh..... the kind you lust after but would never buy for yourself.  While you are there check out Betty's blog - it is one of my favs.

Well, my first - but not last! - AAQI quilt went off to them in the mail today.  I am very curious now to watch and see if it goes for sale or auction, what kind of price it fetches and whether it makes it into their exhibit or not.  I would be thrilled with that but am not expecting it.  I can't share pictures right now but will later on. I have been receiving some wonderful mail lately!  Since I only get home once a week to pick up the mail, it is so nice to find lovely squishie envelopes waiting for me.  I receivd all these goodies from my Secret Sister on a sane quilting (as opposed to crazy quilting) group I belong to.  So many fun goodies and great fabrics! Of course, the handmade items are always the best - look what she made for me.  Isn't this sweet?  I think I forgot to show off the last Secret Sister package I received from this wonderful mystery lady and I really have to cause it had another lovely handmade item - ...

I finished up this Sweet Pea fairy block - I blogged about the circle of sweet peas I did a couple posts ago.  It has headed off in the mail to its next destination now.  I ran out of sweet pea ideas.  I did a little bit of SRE - the red sweetpeas in the corner.  After that some violets seemed to sneak their way in - oops!  I played again making another button - this one has a little Dover clip art on it and you might recognize an Avon earring next to it!  lol  Other than that it was seam treatments and some butterfly charms, and the trailing bit of purple trim.  My muse must have been out mowing grass or something because she didn't seem to be around to help me with this one.

Well, here I am, back at the lake for the 4th summer now working as a campground host.  Basically what I do here is .... everything!  lol Since I am the only one working here I do everything that needs to be done for this 100 site campground.  I collect the camping fees, enforce the rules (or try to), pick up litter, haul trash to the landfill, keep the outhouses clean, sell firewood, mow the grass, dig out firepits, do minor repairs, etc.  All the physical work does me good I think but ask me after a busy long weekend and I might have another story to tell! lol Also, I live out here in my trailer at the lake for four months of each year while I am doing this.  No housework or cooking to speak of and long evenings without the television for distraction.  So, I have lots of time in the evenings for stitching, reading, etc.  Right now I am getting ready for the first big weekend of the year next week - the May 24th weekend.  So, I am furiously...

I am presently working on a sweet pea flower fairy block and this is the motif I have done on it. I used a pattern from the A - Z of Embroidered Flowers and it is about 2-1/2 inches in diameter.  It took me the better part of two days, lol.  I used the tracing paper method of transferring the pattern, doing the stems and tendrils in stem stitch.  Then the leaves and flower petals were outlined in stem stitch.  After that, I went back and used satin stitch to fill them all in.  Covering the stem stitch with the satin stitch gave it a nice edge and a bit of padding.  It was all done in one strand of DMC cotton floss.  

This is MacBeth - one of the litter of feral kittens we rescued from the woodpile in the yard.  I suspected it was MacBeth who had a liking for my varigated perle cottons (I have lost about 10 balls now) but this time I caught him in the act.  This kitten is too clever by far!  I had barely got in the house and set down my stitching box, turned around and caught him with one. 

Well, I am back at the lake for my 4th year working as a campground host.  As you can see from the photo, it is not ideal camping weather!!  It has been storming all week since I moved out here for the summer with high winds (100 kph), rain, sleet and now snow for the last two days.  It is so quiet!  The up side of this is that I am getting lots of stitching done! One of the good parts of coming to the lake is seeing the return visitors.  None of the campers are here yet but I was greeted on my return by the meadowlark singing his heart out.  Also, I have a wonderful pincushion I keep in the trailer to use in the summer and she feels like an old friend when I take her out to use. She's a bit of a troll but as you can see from her bracelet, she is comfortable that her inner beauty shines out.  She was really beautifully made by Connie and I was fortunate to receive her in a swap at CQI about five years ago.  She is still a favourite of mine and I ...

Nicki Lee of Raviolee Dreams is having a great giveaway  to celebrate her 100th blogiversary!  Just look at these goodies! So head on over to Nicki Lees blog and enter! And while you are at it, give  Nicki's Etsy shop  a visit and see all her beautitul lace for sale!

My husband and I have been working on an unfinished project now for awhile and I would like to share it with you.  I have been looking at all the pictures again and think it would be fun to see where we started and where we are now.  Some time ago we left our life in the city and bought an abandoned prairie church sitting on two acres.  We knew if we kept living in the city and driving out to work on it on weekends we would never complete it or move in so we moved out to the country with no power, water or heat and set to work.  Here is a what the outside looked like when we moved in. We are still not done - I said it was a UFO, right?  But here is a photo of where we are now on the outside.  This summer will hopefully see us finishing up the outside by putting up vinyl siding, eavestrough, finishing the front porch DH started last summer and then it is on to landscaping at last! He built a balcony on the other side of the house so I can sit out there and...