Weekend Adventures, Happy Dances & SBQ

It's been a gorgeous weekend here in my little corner of the planet. Friday took everyone by surprise though when in the late afternoon it became extremely dark (my solar lights came on a 4:30 in the afternoon because it was so dark) and very, very, very windy. I turned on the weather channel to discover that there were actually tornado warnings for my area and also for the areas where my parents were cottaging and my in-laws living. The heavens opened and deluged us with almost 1/2 " of rain in minutes. Then as suddenly as it appeared, it moved off. Lots of trees down or with large branches missing. We didn't lose power, but much of southern Ontario did for quite a while. Since then the weather has been gorgeous - sunny, warm and not too hot. I guess we're getting something back for that wretched Friday afternoon!

This weekend is a bit of a special weekend for the city of Brampton, where I live. It's called Open Doors Brampton and many of our architecturally interesting and historic buildings are open to the public free of charge. We rounded up the boys and spent some of yesterday touring our original courthouse and jail and our local Armoury. Here's a picture of the jail (currently undergoing some outdoor renovations). The jail also houses an art gallery that is presently displaying some amazing artwork done by local high school students. There are some talented students out there. I'm jealous - I can't draw stick people!

You can almost make out me and the boys in the picture too. DH is a bit of a picture-a-holic and we were all a bit annoyed with his endless 'stand together and smile' requests! LOL!

I did squeeze in a bit of time since I last posted to finish off two little projects that I've been working on. There was so little left to do on them that I just sat down and finished the darned things....

First we have my Small Spot Sampler by Timeless Designs:

Small Spot Sampler Copyright © Timeless Designs

Stitched on 32-count Belfast Vintage Linen - Autumn Field from Zweigart using a combination of Anchor and DMC.

For some odd reason I was procrastinating on the little row of eyelets. I like doing eyelets and am able to do them easily and fairly evenly, yet I drag my feet when it's time to actually do them. Silly, isn't it?

My second happy dance is the piece I wrote about in my last post, School Treats by the Trilogy.

School Treats Copyright © The Trilogy

Stitched on 32-count Vintage Antique Ivory from Wichelt Imports Inc. using a combination of GAST and WDW.

I really enjoyed this piece, but can't say anything good about the fabric itself. It felt like cardboard in the hands and was very stiff to work with. It actually has bends in it from the Q-snap - I can't recall ever having that problem with a fabric before. I have to admit, I'm kind of a Zweigart fan when it comes to fabrics. :-)

Finally to wrap up, here's this week's SBQ suggested by Ish (http://ishsuth.wordpress.com/):

What has been your most challenging project and why?

The permalink to this post is: http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/06/sbq-challenging-projects/

Hmmmmm - this is a hard one to say really. I've done a large variety of projects in my time using a variety of techniques. I can't pinpoint one that has been the most challenging as they all have had their challenges. I still vividly recall the wedding sampler piece I did for my BIL & SIL that I still refer to as the piece with the da** doves. It just about drove me loopy with all the shades of white/gray & BF. But maybe the truest answer to this question is that it'll be the project I haven't started yet..... I'm dying to try making a temari ball (I think I've collected at least 5 different books on the subject and many, many web links)... That will be the most challenging project, when I get around to it.... :-)

Back to the models!