Another Preview

These previews are coming so fast. I worked really hard on all of these projects in the last year and I am so excited to see them finally in production. I contributed 5 designs to this publication and it should be available this month. I love the other projects by the other designers too.

This fun and funky new publication [Martingale/That Patchwork Place] will make its debut in October. There are lots of great designs that your crafty friends will swoon over. They are many little designs that include a tote bag, pincushion, pillow, coasters, and six quilts. The little projects are really quick and you be able to make them in no time. I hope that you like them too.

Sew Exciting!

Here's the first of three previews. This is my first scrapbooking book and it should be available in December. It is available from Martingale/That Patchwork Place. I am going to be doing a Schoolhouse Presentation at Quilt Market in Houston. I'll have the details soon.

Thanks

Thanks to Liesl [http://disdressed.blogspot.com] for inspiring me to do this. The photo doesn't do it justice. [It has been gloomy here the past few days]. She made a wonderful miniquilt a while back and offered the remnants. I always wanted to make one of these but with life, handwork was pushed to the wayside. I've been working on this for about three nights and will continue to make it longer. I started piecing the hexagons together and got carried away because I was having so much fun. My pieces are more random and Liesl's are beautifully pieced to form little flowers. I will make one of those soon. In making this piece, I realized that I miss handwork. A lot. When I first started quilting, I only did handwork. Then with time constraints and deadlines, I had to find other ways to put the samples out there fast.

Wish You Were Here

The marina here in Pembroke is very relaxing. The water, the clouds, the trees and the entire view is relaxing. There's a terrific marina with a long walkway and a park for kids to play.

Pembroke is situated on the Ottawa River. Across the way is the Province of Quebec. One can just sit at the end of this part of the boardwalk, have a picnic and watch the boats come in and out of the marina. Can you tell that I am getting lazy and not even thinking about work?

That's it for the touristy photos and then onto a few previews soon. I promise.

Around Town

I have been in Pembroke and Toronto, Ontario Canada on and off for the past few months. It has been nice and relaxing [perhaps I am in denial of the looming deadlines and the entire fall season] but we also have a house closing at the end of the month.

I have been wandering around Pembroke these past few days in between some work. Look at these fabulous murals. They're on the buildings in the downtown core. Aren't they marvelous? Of course, there has to be one with hockey.

I love the colors in this one and it's so cool how the artist incorporated it into the side of the building.

Most of the murals show the history of the city. Lumber and forestry are a big part of the history of the city.

I can't imagine the work that went into putting these up. It would have been interesting to watch the entire process.

Some interesting tidbits:

1. I think that the actor Tom Green, ex of Drew Barrymore, was born here.
2. I was not born here.
3. Pembroke is the site of the first street lamp in Canada and the first town to have electric power for commercial use.

I drove into Manhattan this weekend and didn't even park in a lot. That's how brief it was! I needed a quick fix because I am in a suburban slump. It has been hot and I haven't been motivated much in the past couple of days to get a lot done. Plus, I'm feeling a bit of the carpal tunnel pain right now.

So, I drove in and stopped off at both Purl stores [knit and patchwork]. It was just enough of a breath of fresh air to get myself back on track. There was a lot of color to inspire and lots of fantastic textures. I bought a few little things and even made one bootie last night for my friend Elena's baby who's due in a couple of months.

I hauled around my new purchases in this new bag. Though it felt like 900 degrees outside and this bag is made from wool, I just couldn't resist carrying it around. I made it a long time ago but didn't finish it [still needs a lining] until this past week. The pattern is from my iKnit booklet but I wanted to make it in Cascade Magnum in a funky shade of kelly green. I love it! The flower is from Tinsel Trading in the city. Have you ever been to that place? Oh my, I nearly died on the spot the first time I walked in there. So many beautiful things and so much history.

Stop and Smell the Roses

Sigh! Aren't these flowers gorgeous? My mom has a green thumb [and it, unfortunately, did not rub off on me]. Someone gave me one of those climbing ivy plants once and I think that I killed it in record time! I really tried hard to keep it alive but I think that the plant only lasted a few days.

I went to Hoboken yesterday to visit one of my dearest friends, Fe. She's from Toronto and we worked together in the pharmaceutical industry years ago. She was visiting her niece there and we had a great afternoon. I have lots of acquaintances but a few close friends. She's definitely one of them. I love having friendships where I can just pick up a conversation at any time, whether it is days, weeks or months, and it just seems so seamless. Oh, we can talk, laugh and complain for hours on the phone too! It was nice to stop and spend some quality time just doing nothing. [something that I haven't a chance to do much of lately.]

Home Again

Happy Canada Day! Happy Fourth of July!

I just returned from Canada over the Canadian long weekend. If only I was an eighteen wheeler! See that very empty right lane? That's just for trucks! Clear coasting. Well, what was normally a 1-hour drive to the border at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge turned into a 3-hour drive and wait. I took some photos with my cell phone. It was a gorgeous day and I loved looking at the puffy clouds. When we were young, my Dad would take us on a car ride and he would ask us what we saw in the clouds. It was fun and of course, time would fly playing that game during our ride. For some reason, we don't get those cotton candy-fluffy clouds much around here in NJ.

So much has happened in the past month that it is somewhat surreal. One month after my father passed away, I was back home again at my grandmother's side. She passed away a couple of days after I left. She was a special person and she holds a place dear to my heart. We lived with my grandparents for a long time and she took care of 14 people [great-grandparents, aunts and uncles] in one household! I will miss you, Jo Pau.

We also sold my childhood home and I was there going through my belongings. It was sad but also really fun to go through my old things. Lots of little treasures and I'll show you a few in next while.

I want to thank everyone for the kind and supportive thoughts as my family has gone through these tough days. It has really helped knowing that some great people are thinking about us.
We appreciate it greatly.

Despite the tough times, there have been some good things too. There have been a couple of previews of my new books. I am so excited about the end of this year. I'll finally be able to talk about my work! Whoo! Whee! For those who know me, they know what a struggle it has been to keep things under wraps. I cannot even wait until Christmas Day or my birthday if someone tells me that they have a present for me. I practically nag it out of them. So the moral of the story is, DON'T TELL ME!