I still get excited for the first snow of the year.  Here is a picture of our front yard just before I left for work this morning....."it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

Sadly, it was all gone by the time I came home...but it won't be long now!

Scandinavian Christmas Tree II - sneak peak

I had so much fun making the Scandinavian Christmas Tree for Mary Lou, I decided to make another...this one a Christmas gift for someone else (can't say who - they may read this and the surprise would be spoiled!)

So here it is ... partly done, still in the process of being quilted...  Again, I made it with materials I had on hand, so no extra costs involved.  I'm so proud of that, as well as the fact that it looks great!  

Stay tuned for the finished product...

Scandinavian Christmas Tree

I was looking around at other quilters' blogs & sites and saw a great pattern on VeryKerryBerry's site.  I downloaded it and immediately made it.  I am so proud of this one - I made it completely out of my stash!  Didn't have to buy a thing!

This is a gift for a friend (Mary Lou)...

12 Days of Christmas Quilt Along

I am so excited!  I was checking out other people's quilting blogs for inspriation and came across a 'virtual' quilting bee.  It looks so interesting and I joined - my first!  
It is called the 12 Days of Christmas Quilt Along (12 DoCQA), hosted by 12 fabulous modern quilters.  Each Tuesday and Thursday for a six week period a different quilter will post the tutorial for a different block. In the end we will have a wonderful new Christmas quilt, with quite the modern feel to it.  
While in Florida, I purchased the funkiest Christmas fabric by Michael Miller.  It is so non-traditional.  

Here is the link for what I have accomplished so far....stay tuned for the progress.  I am having a blast.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/basildonkitchens/sets/72157627819539855/


BTW - my daughter Melissa has been picked as the lucky recipient of this quilt!  

New Direction......

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to say that I am taking the blog in a new direction. I am doing much more quilting of late, so will be sharing more of my projects with you...

I will continue to (or resume) to keep you up to date on our adventures, so stay tuned.

Snow

Snow, Snow, and more snow......It has been snowing almost every days for weeks. The snow banks are getting higher and higher. Peter still loves to shovel snow by hand (the snowblower is old and harder on the back than a shovel). In the last week, the wind has been added to the mix. When it is not snowing, it is blowing and more shoveling in needed.

One morning the driveway was clear, so we thought that no shoveling was needed, but the car got stuck on Gun Club Road. The drifts that formed overnight, went right across the road. Peter shoveled a path to let me get through and to work. Just after that, the plow came by....figures! The drift just to the north of our drive was over 5 feet high. Every time the plow goes by it gets even higher.

That being said, it is very pretty out here. You actually want to drive around and look at the fantastic wind sculpted drifts everywhere.

Just another reason to love our little part of 'the county'. (picture below is Gun Club Road, just before the plow came by on February 12, 2011)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

We wish you all the very best for a new year. May it be happy & healthy and may all your dreams & wishes come true! :)

Well, I can't believe that January is half over! It is a winter wonderland out here, though we have not had as much snow as other parts of Ontario and the north-east United States.

The creek has frozen, thawed and now frozen again. The Bay of Quinte is also frozen over and fishing huts are beginning to appear, while we are warm and cozy in our little cottage.

We are listening to the coyotes at night and check the snow for animal tracks every day.

I have been quilting again lately and Peter enjoy reading and we have lots of movies to watch. It is a very relaxing lifestyle.

The days are already getting longer and soon we will be planning what to do in the garden.

TTFN - 'til next time