This past month has been very busy and any spare moments I've been stitching on the very large "Heaven and Nature" sampler that I've been working on for Teresa Kogut. I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of December and with a couple more stitching days, I should make that deadline. She wants to release it with the other 3 and several other charts at Market (fibre arts trade show) in Nashville in early March.
I got the tree up relatively early this year and did some decorating around the house.
At the end of November, Poppy, Barb, and I went to St. Thomas ON (20 min south of London ON) to see Arne and Carlos who were at the event sponsored by The Little Red Mitten. We got up bright and early so we could shop at Stitch-It Central at their new location on Hamilton Rd in London. We used to stop in to shop when they were in Ingersoll, just 5 min. off the 401 but their new location is brighter and fills the vacuum created when Thread and Eye closed last year.
We then visited another quilt shop not worthy of mention and dropped Barb off at her class in St. Thomas. Poppy and I then ventured back up to the 401, then Exeter Rd to shop at Len's Mill Store near the corner of Exeter Rd and White Oak Rd. We then decided we needed a wee nap so we drove back to St. Thomas to check into our hotel. We were assigned adjoining rooms (I probably requested them when I booked it a while back) so it was almost like having a suite. The beds were the most comfortable hotel beds we'd ever slept in.
After picking up Barb, Jen rolled in to join us after her stitching day in Sarnia visiting a long-time friend. We went to Bella Jack's for a delicious Mexican dinner. Then back to the hotel for show and tell - the purchases we had all made this far.
The next morning we arose to an ice storm so we chipped off our vehicles and headed to the beautiful, renovated, historic train station for Arne and Carlos' talk. We got there early to get a good seat for the 10am event only to learn it had been rescheduled for 11am but their website hadn't reflected that. Grrr - we were not amused. We then learned that it was going to be further delayed due to a busload of knitters from the Toronto guild being stuck in traffic on the 401. At that point we decided to go shopping at the yarn show and out for a snack at Timmies. When we got back, we got a good table inside the venue. Before the Toronto bus arrived, Arne and Carlos introduced themselves and signed autographs and agreed to photos.
Carlos was very intrigued about how I had the calendar (I had purchased it in Bergen, Norway when we were there a couple of years ago) and even took a photo of one of the recipes in it. I believe it was the Lussekatter (Saffron Buns) recipe which appeared in their latest video podcast. They actually record the episodes well in advance - usually 16 on a weekend four times a year so this recipe wasn't the exact one they used but it was almost identical to the one they did for the podcast.
Their presentation was very entertaining. They talked about how they got into the knitwear design business and how their book about Christmas Balls catapulted them into fame - especially in Scandinavia. When we were in Norway, we even saw their lines of wine in a liquor store. The boxes have images of their knitting projects.
They now have a couple of lines of Regia sock yarn and travel all over the world giving workshops. They've also published several books on knitting and Scandianvian tradition and lifestyle. They had been away from home since September 24 - touring all over North America - back and forth over the Canadian/US border and wouldn't be back home until December 10. That is a LONG time to be away from home. They are pretty sick of heavy North American cuisine.
Another topic they discussed was how they obtained an abandoned train station (for free) and made it their home. Most of their episodes are filmed there so any who have beheld them have seen lots in interior and exterior views.
They had to cut their talk short because they were scheduled to teach another class in the afternoon so we started for home. The weather conditions got worse and worse as we approached the GTA but we got Barb dropped off and I made it home by 5pm. Poppy had left her car at my place so was able to just get in and head home. Jen drove home on her own.
It was such a fun weekend, we are investigating alternative lodgings for our guild retreat. There had been so many complaints about the food the last few times we went that it was time to find somewhere else. We're now looking at a lodge near Rice Lake for our spring retreat.
Back at home, I've had the usual flurry of activities. One of our Christmas traditions is to attend the annual THEE (Tyrone, Hampton, Enniskillen, and Enfield) farmer's tractor parade.
After the parade, Alexa, Skip, and I enjoyed Mexican food at Mexico Lindo in Whitby.
Zumba is over but Christmas festivities have started. Shelley hosted a lovely Christmas potluck luncheon for some of the retired ladies from my old school. Then last Saturday night, Skip and I ventured into Scarborough to attend a Christmas handbell concert. A gal I knew from sorority days in university posted the notice on Facebook and we thought it would be fun to go - and perhaps make it a Christmas tradition - since we no longer support our town band (politics once again raised its ugly head).
 |
| Debi let me try one of the handbells. |
Debi also plays the oboe and has recently picked it up after a 40+ year layoff since highschool.
Others who attended that we knew were Margie and Bruce Alexander and Lorna. It was a lovely concert and also featured Caitlin McCaughey, a very gifted professional singer.
 |
| Geri, Margie, Lorna, and Debi |
Last Wednesday, Barb, Jeanette, Marilyn, Yvonne, and I attended the Christmas Market in the Distillery District. It was a chilly day but we all dressed in layers. It was lots of fun strolling around and doing some shopping. I bought a German Christmas candle thing with the twirling angels that hit little bells as they go around. It's powered by the heat from the little candles. I also bought these awesome extreme ear muffs. They keep both sides of my head warm - perfect for outdoor events.
After she was finished work, Poppy met us for dinner at the Hotpot Restaurant near Church and Front Sts. Then we all headed for home on the GO.
 |
| Geri, Jen1, Barb, Poppy, and Jeanette. (Marilyn was across from me).
That brings us to this week. Monday was our regular stitching morning. It had been cancelled last Monday becasuse of the bad weather. Joanne Minnis gave us all project bags that she had made. I continued to stitch on the Kogut project.
We had a small group out on Tuesday night at our spinning/knitting/crochet group. Jen4 has invited us to her place next Thursday for some fun and festivities.
Yesterday was Scooter's 26th birthday and he'll be coming out to Whitby later this afternoon. It's Skip's 75th birthday today so we'll be celebrating by taking him out to a very nice local French Restaurant - Nice Bistro (Nice - like the city in France). It's French French so should be a very tasteful and cosmopolitan evening.
Thanks to those of you who have been messaging me - wondering if everything is OK here. Yes, we are fine. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we'll be able to spend some of the winter in south Texas. Skip's having a visit with his dermatologist next week so we'll know more then. Our hope is that he's done with needing any more treatment but if he does, we should be able to take it with us when we go south. At least that's the current plan.
I have been very interested in the impeachment hearings south of the border and am glad they are getting on with things quickly. Then we still have to hear about the election for another year. It never seems to end.
That pretty much brings us up to date. Once I get the "Heaven and Nature" sampler done for Teresa, I'll be back to blogging regularly. Thanks for hanging in there with me. In the meantime, I encourage you to watch some YouTube video podcasts. Here are some I recommend:
Arne and Carlos
Fruity Knitting
Creative Whims by Teresa Kogut
The Real Housewives of Cross Stitch - Priscilla and Chelsea
Kitten Stitcher
Saltbox Stitcher
Ginger Gerald Stitcher
Happy Holidays to you all!!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment