Northumberland Hills Stitchery Guild Stitch Day and October Trillium Meeting

Last Wednesday, MaryK and I headed to the Elmhirst Resort on the NE shore of Rice Lake to attend the stitch day sponsored by the Northumberland Hills Stitchery Guild. 

It was yet another beautiful fall day. Upon arrival we located ourselves at a table near the windows overlooking the lake.

I'm guessing a lot of summer weddings take place down on that deck under the pergola.

There was a Show and Share table.

These Altoid tin critters were adorable in their little beds with a pillow, quilt, and scenery. Both are designs from past CrossStitcher magazines.

The woman beside me painted this beautiful watercolour

then was rendering it in silk appliqué.

Our day wasn't over yet. After returning to our respective homes, we had supper then attended our guild's October meeting that evening.

There was lots of Show and Share as well.

Siobhain's 'Joy' by AuryTM Designs

Cathy's wool felt appliqué 'Midnight Garden' designed by Karen Yaffe. 

Cathy also displayed a wool felt appliqué scene of Port Perry by Crane Designs.

Bev's spool stitchery (original designs) on Ribband perfectly fit the spools purchased from Richard Pikul at our October stitch day; and a biscornu designed by Embroidery by Olga.

MaryK's Mill Hill 'Floral Blue 1' - a Buttons and Beads kit designed by Debbie Mumm.

And her 'Christmas Folk' by Hands On Design from Jingle Ball 2024.

Jeanette's embroidered winter sheep scene from 'After the Snow', part of the 'Postcards from England' series by The Stitchery. 

Mary K's iconic 'Canada Sampler' designed by Stitchrovia.

And also from MaryK: little pillow with Jeannette Douglas' 'Autumn Bouquet' design; 'Float' by Plum Street Samplers; 'Sevillian Tiles' biscornu designed by SunStitchStudioShop; 'Sting Like a Bee' by Heartstring Samplery; and Tiny Modernist's 'Mouse's Pumpkin Pie'.

A Family Wedding

The weekend after Thanksgiving I attended the wedding of my grand-niece, Andrea and her beau, Chris. It took place at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and was a very intimate and elegant affair.

I drove there on the Saturday via Hwy 7 so I could drop into Paisleys Quilt Shop. Then I made my way to the Lord Elgin Hotel where there was a block of rooms reserved for the wedding attendees - right across the street from the NAC.

I made my way on foot to the Prohibition Public House for canapés and drinks after the rehearsal.  Chris' parents and a couple of his cousins joined my family and myself in the Dominican Republic for a week at Christmas in 2024. It was nice seeing them all again. After mingling with the families and enjoying some snacks and a beverage, I toddled back to the hotel for the night. The next morning I Uber-ed to Working Title Kitchen for brunch with my cousin, Jeannie. I hadn't seen her since her mother's (my Aunt Margaret's) funeral in 2015. We had a lovely time catching up on the major events in the last 11 years of our lives. Jeannie then drove me back to the hotel so I could rest up a bit before the 4pm wedding.

I made my way to the NAC at about 3:15. In the lobby, I spotted the sign showing where the wedding and reception were going to take place - upstairs in the Rossy Pavilion and O'Born Room.

Once up there, final preparations were being made for the ceremony.

The string duo played while we milled around and visited.

The weather was spectacular that day and the view northward from the second floor was stunning. Parliament Hill is beyond the distant crane. The Canadian War Memorial is more in the foreground and to the right.

Chateau Laurier Hotel just across the street to the north of the NAC.

Darryl, the father of the bride and husband of my niece, Rosa (aka Tay), was very excited and posed with me for a quick photo.

Rosa and the brother of the bride, Derek, emerged and also posed for photos.

Rosa and Ana are my sister's two daughters. 

My other grand-niece, Melisa, chatted with her husband, Will, and her cousin, Derek. Facing the other way is the groom's father, Paul.

After the ceremony (during which there were not many dry eyes) I got a lovely shot of the bride's train.

Chris and Andrea, the new husband and wife.

Down the hall, final preparations were being made for the reception dinner. The seating chart was on display. On the table in front, were pottery bowls hand-crafted by Jane, the mother of the groom, a skilled potter. They were our souvenirs of the wedding. On the bottom read 'A & C 10.18.26' The colour scheme matched the bridesmaid's dresses and even the theme of the wedding shower which we had attended the month before.

I was honoured to sit at Table 1 with the family. There were so many lovely touches - personalized menus with the meals listed that we had selected ahead of time. All the flowers and decorative pieces of fruit were fresh.

This is a better shot of the floral display that the couple stood in front of at the ceremony. It had been moved into the O'Born Room for the dinner. Being at Table 1, I was able to get some great shots of the bride and groom as we waited for dinner to be served.

I only managed to get this shot of dessert.

After the speeches, the music began. The bride had the first dance with her father.

Oh yes, and Veronica also attended the wedding!

The proud parents then took the floor and invited the rest of the attendees to join them. The music appealed to a multi-generational audience.

I even got a selfie with Ana and her husband, Shawn.

The whole event was so tasteful, meaningful, elegant and enjoyable. Formal, yet not stuffy. Everyone was so happy - both for the happy couple and for the opportunity for the friends and families to celebrate together.

It was an easy stroll back to the hotel for some quiet time after a very busy couple of days. 

The next morning, I started for home, arriving mid-afternoon. I baffed out for the rest of the day and had absolutely nothing on the schedule for the next day. Tuesday ended up being a pyjama day.

On Tuesday, Andrea and Chris flew to Japan for their 3 week honeymoon. 

And just like that the long-awaited event was over.

A Busy Week and It's Not Over Yet

Monday was the usual stitching morning; this week at MaryKs. I still have not turned on the furnace and it was a bit chilly that night so I lit the first fire of the season.

Scooter texted me from Japan (they're 13h ahead) so I sent him this cozy photo. With the sun streaming in my south-facing windows (dining/craft room, kitchen, family room) the house warms up nicely during the day. At night, once I'm rolled up in my duvet in bed, I don't mind it being cooler upstairs. I'm trying to see how long I can go before turning on the furnace. To avoid that burnt dust smell, I always install a new filter before turning on the heat or A/C for the first time. 

The next day was unseasonably hot; record-breaking in fact, with a high of 27C with the humidex factor. Tuesday afternoon, Jen1 came over for a stitchy afternoon and Katherine arrived shortly thereafter. Both Katherine and I had to change into cooler togs. We had an enjoyable time talking about music camp, EAC Seminar in St. John's next June, and stitching. I got a bit more done on the Spring Courier. 

After supper, Katherine and I headed to the band rehearsal where we were reunited with fellow 'band camp' folks, Dunc and Helen. After the rehearsal we went to Dunc's place relatively nearby for wine and more visiting.

The next morning was more visiting with my houseguest at breakfast and a while afterwards. Katherine headed for home before noon and I got ready to head to a medical appointment in Pickering. The clinic is in the Home and Design centre at Brock Rd and the 401 so after my appointment I popped into Fabricland to see if there was anything I 'needed'. 

I bought some fusible batting and fusible featherweight interfacing and a pack of wooden spools.

The spools have the hole big enough to hold embroidery scissors. The height of the part where a piece of stitching would wrap is just shy of 1 3/4". That's slightly shorter than the spools crafted by Richard Pikul but for the discounted price of $1.06 each including tax, I couldn't pass up the bargain. It was the only pack they had and I couldn't resist the 50% discount for members. Of course, I had to renew my membership since I allowed it to lapse after the Fabricland stores closed in Whitby and Oshawa. I was pleased to learn that the annual senior membership was only $20. So with the discount on the spools and other items, it almost paid for itself on this one visit.

I did more work on Mystical Lanterns - finishing the side half-lanterns on one side. 

I have 2 more crocheted so only need to do 9 more, plus one horizontal half-lantern for the bottom left corner. With all those attached, the blanket will be all squared up and I can figure out how I will do the border. The pattern calls for a few rounds of single crochet all the way around but I'm going to take a look at what others have done on Ravelry and see what inspires me.

Tomorrow I have my final appointment at the clinic where my dental implant was done. It's in The Big City but it's easy to get there via the $$$407$$$. This process was started mid-May. I've been back for one check-up since the surgery. My own dentist will install the new tooth next month.

Saturday I will head for Ottawa. I plan to make a little detour and stop at Paisleys Quilt Shop on my way into the city. I have learned that the cocktail party tomorrow night will be between 5 and 10pm so I don't have to rush at all. My cousin, Jeannie, and I will meet for breakfast on Sunday morning, then the wedding will be at 4pm that afternoon with the reception following. I'm staying at the Lord Elgin Hotel across the street from the wedding venue (National Arts Centre) so I don't have to worry about driving after the reception.

I'll start for home on Monday morning. Next week will be busy, too, with a stitch day at Elmhirst Resort on the NE shore of Rice lake with the Northumberland guild, another overnight visitor, and the fall Stitch North with Theresa Venette/Shakespeare's Peddler/Kitten Stitcher in Markham. 

And exciting news! The very popular Tilda Christmas fabric line 'Merry Little Christmas' is going to be reissued for 2017. Quilt shops that carry her designs will be taking preorders. Keep an eye out for your local shop.  I was really bummed out I didn't order any for last Christmas so am thrilled to have another opportunity.

Some of my favourite fabrics in this line:

So many cool things can be done with these fabrics.

And free downloadable patterns from Tildasworld.com

I emailed Quilter's Cupboard in Uxbridge and they will be taking pre-orders very soon with a 20% deposit and the balance due when the product is released, probably July 1, 2027.

Oooh! Can't wait!!!

Still Crocheting Mystical Lanterns

I was looking at other peoples' 'Mystical Lanterns' blankets on Ravelry and noted that someone found a pattern for the side half-lanterns. Originally I had planned to leave the sides wavy but seeing her finished blanket, I decided to do that too.

It did mean that in addition to the 22 side half-lanterns I needed to make 4 more top and bottom half-lanterns; all this before attaching the border.

I cranked out a couple of top/bottom and side half-lanterns out last night and attached some of them. the bottom left corner is what it'll look like when I've filled in all the ripples and corner.

These instructions are on Janie Crowe's blog but only in written form. Being primarily a visual learner I much prefer seeing the charts. I ended up finding someone's YouTube video which helped clear up a lot of the confusion but even she deviated from Janie's pattern.

I'm looking forward to finishing this but am already feeling antsy about not having something else planned to knit or crochet after this. I'll definitely be looking at more Janie Crowe patterns.

I still have the Sophie Scarf to complete, too.

Violet moved to her new home today at MaryK's. Here she is in her new habitat with MaryK's beautiful flower arrangement.

The next few days will be quite busy. My 'new best friend from music camp', Katherine arrives tomorrow. Jen1 is coming over for a stitchy afternoon, the K and I will head to band that night. K will leave late morning on Wednesday as I have a medical appointment in Pickering at 1pm. I can relax for the rest of the day.

Thursday, I'll pack for the wedding in Ottawa. I have an appointment with the folks who did my dental implant on Friday at noon. Then finish getting ready to head out for the weekend.

I hope to visit Paisleys Quilt Shop on my way to Ottawa on Saturday so I'll have to get on the road fairly early on Saturday as there is a cocktail party and rehearsal dinner that evening and the wedding on the next day.

I'll miss stitching next Monday because of my return from Ottawa. Tuesday I'll take it easy because early Wednesday I'm picking up MaryK and we're heading to Elmhirst Resort on the NE shore of Rice Lake for the Northumberland Hills Stitchery Guild's stitch day. Our own guild meeting is that night.  Next day I have a retirees luncheon then MaryK will spend the night here so we can again get up early to head to Markham for Stitch North with Theresa Venette/Shakespeare's Peddler/Kitten Stitcher. The retreat is over the three days but I have to head out early on the Sunday (these early mornings will be very challenging for me) to make it back home to head to Pickering for the band's Hallowe'en concerts at 12:30 and 1:00pm. MaryK will get a ride back to my place with someone to pick up her vehicle and head home later on the Sunday. 

Thankfully, aside from stitching and a dental appointment, I don't have a lot going on the last week of October until Kimat's Stitch Day on the 31st.

I am grateful that for now, the first three weeks of November aren't too packed with activity (yet). All this comes with wanting to do 'all the things'.

Some Little Things

I have been doing some housework in preparation for an overnight houseguest arriving next Tuesday. It's not really hard to do, there are just many other things I'd rather do. Regardless, the house will be somewhat presentable for my guest.

I passed the halfway point on my Sophie scarf. It occurred to me that I needed to weigh what I had knit and the remaining yarn so see where the halfway point was - where I'd start decreasing every 8 rows. 

Turns out, I had knit well past halfway and had to rip back to the halfway point (where the yellow stitch marker) is and rewind the yarn. There wasn't too much bad language (just the right amount, I guess). The blue stitch marker shows where I went from increasing every 6 rows to every 8 rows so will mirror that on the 'downhill slope'. My calculations are such that I'll only have a few metres of yarn left when I get to the other end. Fingers are crossed.

I did a bit more on 'This Bee's Got Knees'. Once I fill in the centres of the little orange flowers, the cross stitching will be done and there will only be backstitching (detail on flowers and bees) left to do. Then assembly. I really liked the colours in this piece. The pointy parts will meet in the centre of the bottom for a 3D block pincushion.

I really don't need another pincushion but this design was so dang cute, I couldn't resist.

I also did a wee bit more on the Spring Courier.

I don't have a single thing on my calendar for the next two days so will enjoy a hurkle-durkle tomorrow morning and do some serious goofing off for the rest of the day.

Oh yeah, and MaryK has named her kitty cat, Violet. I'll be seeing her at stitching on Monday and can give Violet to her then.