Canada Day

This weekend is a long weekend in Canada. It is our Canada Day Holiday tomorrow. I love short weeks, getting up without having to rush around. I wish the specialty coffee shops were open, however I understand that everyone needs a break and one day without a green tea latte isnt going to hurt me. We don't generally plan anything for our weekends. We have a motorcycle so if the weather is good and it sounds like it is. We will ride somewhere thru quiant little towns and villages and grab a bite to eat at some little out of the way place. That is my favourite part of riding. Seeing places and restaurants that we wouldn't normally drive to in a car. Their is fireworks at our ball diamond on friday night and my husband and I will go over to see them. I like that we can just do what feels right for the moment. No set plans? What is your plans for the weekend?

New Mixed Media Work

Lately, I have been doing a lot of painting. I took a mixed media art course and really loved it. These are a few of my pieces that I have been working on.

What have you been working on lately?

Happy Mother's Day

(My mom on the left, me and my aunt Marlyne)

Sunday is Mother's Day and I have made a decision this year to really get to know my mom. I know that may sound a little weird, however I feel like I know my mom and her little habits and her personality. I have never up until now taken the time to ask her what were your dreams, hopes, favourite moments in life etc. So last Sunday I took my mom out to lunch and asked her. My mom had children young, she was 17 when she had my sister and left home when she was 14 because her life their was not great. She met my dad when she was 14 and they have been together ever since 50 years later. They went on to have 7 children ( 5 girls and 2 boys). Unfortunatey two of the girls died. One at birth and one at 16 months of crib death. My mom was pregnant for just about 9 years straight. Her whole life was and still is dedicated to her children. She is the greatest mom I could have, and I know a lot of people say that. I mean it. When I asked her what did you want to do for a career when you dreamt of your life, she said I would have liked to have been a teacher. I was surprised at first. I had never heard my mom say this. And although she doesnt think so , she has been the greatest teacher. Always patient, and kind. I also learned that she also would have liked to play the piano and possibly take ballet lessons. My moms health is not the greatest and she will now never know these dreams. It taught me a lesson I will never forget and that is to live your dreams now, dont wait until tomorrow. I plan on many more get to know you moments with my mom and am excited to get to know the girl inside the women. I love you with all my heart and soul. Happy Mothers Day Mom.

Versatile Blogger Award

I feel like a bit of a dork. I was looking at my blogger stats ( which I didnt know existed) until today, and seen something called referring url's when I clicked into it I realized these are blogs that have referred back to me. What an amazing blogging community. I seen that I received the Versatile Blogger Award from Les Quilts . What an amazing and lovely thing to do. This is the lady who made me the beautiful pin cushion , scissor holder, needle holder and chocolate for a swap. So now it is my turn to pass along the award to the blogs that I feel are worthy of a mention . Here are the rules.

The Versatile Blogger Award Rules.

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Tell 7 things about yourself that others must not know about you.
3. Pass along the award to 15 newly discovered bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers to let them know they have received the award.

Drum roll Please..............

My 15 Versatile Bloggers Awards Are........

Cara Quilts

Future Girl

Kelly Rae Roberts

Sweet Water

Michelle Allen

Sparky Jones

The Farm Chicks

Christy Tomlinson

The Rusted Chain

Angellz Wingz

Arianes Crafts

Ryan Walsh

Cozy Little House

Alice In Paris

Madame Sam

all of these bloggers truly do contribute to the blogging community and are wonderful ladies and gentleman. I hope you look at their blogs and follow them. I have taken courses through them and I follow each and everyone.

Now 7 Things about me you maybe don't know..

1. I have an addiction ( to magazines that is) My husband calls me the magazine queen.
2. I don't have any children of my own, (well Sam, however he is a fur baby).  although I do love them.
3. I have two step daughters
4. I have three step granddaughters and 1 step grandson and another one on the way.
5. I am way to young to be a grandmother of any kind so we are trying to come up with a name for the kids to call me.
6. I have a photographic memory.
7. One of my favourite things to do is sit at the Second Cup coffee shop with a Chai Tea Latte on Sunday mornings read and people watch.

Thank you again Leslie. This has been fun.

Blessed

A couple of months ago after the disaster in Japan one of my fellow bloggers The Rusted Chain put these beautiful necklaces up for sale and offered to send part of the proceeds to their relief efforts. I ordered one  and received it several weeks ago. It came in a cute box with a little bow and was very pretty in person. I do feel blessed in my life, although it hasnt gone smoothly their have been a lot of bumps, I am so grateful and thankful for this life. I choose to see the bright spots. One of those is all the great blogs and people who write them. Enjoy your day.

Workshop Girl

I just started this great workshop put on by christy tomlinson it is called She Art Girls. It is a 3 week on-line course doing mixed media art. I know I am a quilter and a fabric lover, but sometimes you need to do other things to be able to think outside the box. This is my first girl and I plan on making three in total. I would like them to hang in my bathroom. I hope it doesn't look to busy. It was fun to do, although a little messy with stamps, inks paints etc. This piece is on a 8 x 10 canvas.

My New Pincushion and goodies....

I wasn't in the greatest mood friday ( which fortunately for me doesn't happen very often). However it sure changed in a hurry. My husband brought the mail home and to my delight this was in one of the packages. I participated in a pincushion swap and I got the good end of the deal. Not only was there a beautiful pincushion, but a tiny holder for my embroidery scissors, a needle case with my initial stitched on the front, and not one but two chocolate bunny bars and a lovely handwritten note. It was such a joy to open, I felt like christmas. I only wish that Linda would have included her blog address so that I could link up to her. If your out their and reading this please forward your address and thank you so much for making my day.

Ice... Ice.... Baby

I consider myself in reasonably good shape, however I started a new workout class last night and woke up this morning with a pulled shoulder muscle and two popped ribs. So I was at the chiropractor this morning and on the lounge chair all day icing my back and shoulder. I have another new class tomorrow night. I might have to take it a little easier. I was hoping to sew today and do some screening, that won't be happening. Looking forward to quilt guild tonight a lady is speaking on her history of art quilting. I should have lots of photo's for you tomorrow. Enjoy your day .

She Art Workshop

I am signed up to take this new workshop over at Christy Tomlinson's Blog. I am so excited. Even though I am not a mixed media artist I thought it might help me be more creative in my quilting. I think its good to look outside the box for inspiration. It starts April 11th for anyone wishing to get in on it. She is also having an art journalling workshop which I would like to do as well, however  I want to get through this first. I worked on this little project over the weekend. Their was a tutorial for it in the Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine. If you have'nt read this yet you will want to . They truly have some of the best magazines out their.

Pin Cushion Swap

I am doing a pin cushion swap over at Cara Quilts. My partner that I was matched up to is a more modern quilter and had requested something that wasnt to fru fru. This was really tough for me as I am linen and lace, I like the modern quilts however it is not my strength. I made this one originally and is backed with  Amy Butler fabric .

 When I completed this I thought it might still be a little to fru fru, so I made the little Japanese girl.  I hope she likes it. I know she doesn't follow this blog, so I have no worries of ruining the surprise.

This is incredibly Sad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJCJ1UzxBr8

This is about a dogs loyalty to another dog in the midst of the disaster in Japan. I wish I knew how to help them. I don't understand how people can stand by and film this. They wouldnt just leave them if it were two children.

Bird Embroidery Panel

This panel is available on my etsy site. http://www.madrebello.etsy.com/. I have embellished with embroidery for a quilt I am making. These panels are 18 x 22 inches and great for bags, quilts, and other projects. Leave them plain or embellish with beads, embroidery etc.

Tree Quilt

This is a quilt I made several years ago. I appliqued the tree part onto the squares as it was easier then trying to inset the triangles into the blocks and inset the trunks. It was a fun quilt to make and sits on the back of our sofa always ready for anyone who needs a little warmth. I machine quilted it with an all over squiggle pattern. It was the first time I had machine quilted anything. It was a big job, however worth the effort. The pattern was from a quilting magazine , however I'm sorry to the designer it was several years ago and I dont remember exactly which magazine.

Bird Design Part 2

This is the second bird I have designed for my quilt. I have a total of 12 designs in all. 6 Birds and 6 Hearts. I made this bird into this bag. I will show you the whole quilt when it is done. I have 5 blocks finished only 7 more to go.

International Women's Day

My Mom on the left and my Aunt Marlyne on the right ( two of the greatest women I know)

Today is my first day of volunteering for my local Women and Children's Crisis Centre. I will be teaching the women and children the basics of sewing, crochet and embroidery. I am so excited to get started. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time and I hope to continue to do for a long time. I think if you have the means, have a safe roof over your head and are lucky to have a wonderful supportive husband like I do , you know how fortunate you are. It just takes that one good or bad relationship to change things drastically in your life. I haven't always had life as good as I have it now. I have had those relationships that were not great and didnt make me a better person. I am so thankful for every little thing in my life and I love to volunteer. It is true that you get far more out of it then you would expect. I enjoy seeing people happy even if only for a moment. I do a bit of volunteering with my husband through his Rotary Club and I always meet great people who support and love the community. I hope the women enjoy their day as much as I am going to.

P.S. Happy International Women's Day.

New Designs

Well I did it. I opened up and posted on my new etsy account it is http://www.madrebello.etsy.com/ . I am so excited to hear the feedback and see what is possible. I have designed 12 blocks in all, however I am only showcasing one today.

This is the hand screened block 18 x 22

This is the purse I made with that block. Their is another block on the other side, however I will save it for next week.

These blocks are all designed and handscreened by me. Their is 12 in total so you could quite easily make a quilt from them. I have 6 different bird styles and 6 different heart styles.

Please let me know what you think

PlayDoh

This is when it first comes out of the pot

This is when it is Kneeded

If you have ever bought playdoh you know that a) it can be expensive b) I am not really sure what it is made of  and c) kids have it all rolled into one colour very quickly. I follow a ladies blog over at Cinderberry Stitches  and she posted a recipe for Play doh. (she also does amazing embroidery patterns)  It works like a charm. It took me less than 5 minutes and is soft and pliable just like regular playdoh ( and if they eat it it wont hurt them). I am taking a bunch over to my niece, she just loves the stuff.

Meet Sam

 This is our dog Sam. He will be 8 in June and fast becoming a senior even though he still asks like a teenager. He is a poodle mix. He is the funniest dog. He has so many personalities and just loves, loves people. This is him smiling at Christmas.  ( sorry the picture is a litle blurry) .

This week I will finally have photos of what I have been working on and my etsy shop opening . I hope you enjoy what I am about to share with you.  See you Friday if all goes well.

Weekly Book Review

I am an admitted book addict. There I said it. I regularly shop Amazon or Chapters looking for the latest and greatest in craft books, magazines, books on business etc. I thought I would share with you my weekly review of books I currently own. This book is called The Creative Entrepreneur and although I am not that big into art journaling, I have to say if you take your time and read through this book you will be startled at the results. I was taught to do a typical business plan when I started my business and it was really tough and boring to do. This book is a creative way of doing a business plan without all the boring stuff. I think you will enjoy it. I am going to start reading it again to see how I have changed  my views over the past year. Let me know what you think?

Twilight Sighting

I have blogged about this a little, however I thought I would elaborate a bit. Several years ago, my business was asked to be in the gift bags for the 2008 Night Time Emmy Awards. I make organic and natural skincare products. My husband and I flew to L.A. and spent several days in the gifting suite meeting some of the up and coming stars. I met Ashley Greene of Twilight fame and several other stars. Edita and her husband from dancing with the stars. I still continue to make the products, however I realize that sewing and quilting is really my passion.

Ten Things I Love

In lieu of Valentine's Day , I thought I would list the 10 things I love.

1. My Husband
2. My Mom & Dad
3. My Dog Sam
4. Chai Tea Latte's From Second Cup ( I don't know, but I think Second Cup is a Canadian Thing)
5. Sewing
6. Embroidery
7. Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate ( We have the greatest Choclatier in Stayner, about 1/2 hour drive)
8. Fabric, oh touching, sewing it, making it
9. Chapters & Amazon.ca ( Both great spots to buy books)
10. Magazines ( my husband calls me the magazine queen).
11. I know I said 10 , however I can't end without saying you for reading this.

Enjoy your Valentines Day with whatever or whoever makes you happy.

Some New Things I'm Working On....

I have been working for the past year on a block of the month that consist of 12 blocks that I designed and screen printed. I heavily embroidered the print and this is a small sample of  one of my blocks. I am so happy to see the fruits of my labour finally coming together. I approached my first quilt shop yesterday and they want to use all 12 blocks for their block of the month starting in April.

Christmas Quilt for Mom

I know its February, however I finished this quilt for my mom for Christmas and I am just getting around to sharing the photo's. My mom is one of my favourite people in the world. She was born to be a mom. Always thinking of her children and grandchildren first. I have made a number of quilts over the years and yet never seemed to make one for her. This was the year I decided to make what I call "My Quilt of Many Colours". I used Robert Kaufmans Hard Candy strips and sewed them in strips and then cut them into 2 1/2 inch blocks . I had never had someone else quilt my quilts for me before , however I dont expect to be quilting them with my sewing machine anytime soon. I used a local lady who did a fabulous job.

It's Been a While...

Hello to my fellow readers and bloggers. It has been a while since I blogged, however I am going to do my best to be consistant with my writings.

Recently I recieved a disc from my aunt of old pictures of my mom and dad and aunt's and uncle's growing up. It is so interesting to look back and see the similarity between family members. I look like my mom, my cousin looks just like my aunt and so on. Almost every picture of my mom she is pregnant. She had 7 Children so it makes sense. The old car, the bee-hive hair and the colouring of the photo are priceless to me. I think she looks so beautiful and carefree.