Freehand Friday - Kitchen towels for family and friends

The nicest gift that someone gets is the one that comes from the heart and home made.  So what is considered home made.  I guess you got the answer.  After coming back from Yellowknife, I thought it would be nice to send a thank you gift to the family and friend that entertained us while we were visiting there.  While my aunt was visiting a couple of weeks ago, she helped me get started with the sewing project that I had.  I showed her the kitchen towel that I can use and gave her three different fabric and she started cutting them and I did all the sewing.  Now it was time to place the design on each of the towel.  I knew I was going to add some letter (usually the first letter of their first name) and then add something flowery or kitchen items.  I looked through my patterns, papers, etc. and when I couldn't decide on what to use, I just started freehand design and it came out just right.  Of course what takes time is the embroidering of the design and then the letter.  The fabrics have very similar color scheme and design which is basically the fall collection.  It is timely because this is the first week of Autumn and I am hoping I could mail it to them.  After I finish this, I have another couple of towels to do for my cousin who were our hosts during our Yellowknife trip.  I have a perfect design for their towel but need to buy a towel to do the embroidery.  Here's the finished product and it's time to mail the packages and thank you cards.

Wrap Wednesday - Use of Pashmina

Does anyone still uses Pashmina?  I seem to recall before I retired in 2010, everyone was using it and for some reason I got a few that I received as gifts.  When we were in the process of moving, I had to give away some or maybe I sold them at a garage sale.  Anyway, I still have at least six or so.  While trying to reorganize the closet in my sewing room, I saw them again.  I was wondering how big some of them were and would they be big enough to cover the bed.  Of course, not the whole bed but just the width.  I picked a couple and iron them and tried them in our bed and in one of the guest bedroom which was upstairs.  The result was not bad.  When my sister was visiting last October she made us one for our bed.  I started calling them bed scarf.  She started a red one when she was visiting last May, unfortunately she did not finish it and maybe the next time she visits, she can finish it. Really there's no rush since that one is for our extra guest room downstairs.  Now are you wondering what I am talking about.  Aside from using Pashmina as a scarf, you might want to try using it as a bed skirt at the end part of your bed.  The only trick is that you pick something that compliments the color and design of the bed cover.  I think mine is ok.  What do you think?

Muddled Monday - A very mixed up post

Sometimes when I am trying to get ready to do a post, my mind just goes blank. What am I going post? I know I don't want to disappoint my few followers when they check my blog. For some it is all about finding out what I have been up to and for others I am guess they only stumble upon my blog because of a word that they were searching.  First, I am just showing a couple of pictures of my cousins cute dogs.  Their names are Ernesto aka Ernie and the other one is Lilith aka Lily.  When we stayed with my cousin in Yellowknife, we met her little ones and although they are noisy when she leaves home to go to work and when she arrives, most of the time these little pups are so quiet, just relaxing in the sofa.  Every once in a while they will cuddle beside Jeff wanting his attention and maybe a bit of scratching is involved.  I felt so bad one time when I had to scream at these little ones because they would not stop barking.  When I screamed at them, they stop and literally started shaking while trying to get up to the couch.  After I sat down, they started reaching out for a little attention.

My cousin sent this photo of Ernesto, she said he was missing me. 

This is Lilith, it's funny because I have a similar clip that I use for my hair.

Second topic is about the very famous native (First Nation) bread called Bannock.  When I was living in Yellowknife, we use to get this type of bread and it was so yummy specially when it's warm.  One of my cousin has a co-worker that made the bread for us during the dinner prior to our departure.  Last weekend I tried making them and although I use some recipe on Pinterest, the bannock came out just as fluffy and very tasty.  I spread a little butter and my home made rhubarb and strawberry jam.  OMG I could eat more but I didn't.

Finally, I would just like to share more photos taken during our road trip to Lethbridge. Hopefully your enjoyed today's mixed up post.  Thank you for taking the time to read my post today. 

Satisfying Sunday - A very special quilt

After 10 years of holding on to a few clothes of my son, I finally found the perfect way hang on to something of his at the same time it is practical and perfect for keeping me warm on the cold winter nights.  It all began when we were moving from San Jose to Vernon.  I didn't know if I was going keep all these items but an amazing friend of mine suggested that I take it with me and that when I am bored I should try making a quilt out of all these t-shirts and a pair of jeans.  Last week when my aunt was visit, I mentioned to her about my idea and she immediately agreed to help.  She asked me to take out what I have and she started prepping them for me.  We worked together and within a day

I was able to put all the pieces together.  The next day we went to Fabricland to buy the material for the reverse side of the quilt. Last Friday after all my chores were done, I started to pin them together, sew the border and now it's all finished.  I am so satisfied with the work I have done in a very short time.  And to think I had it for 10 years and only took three days to complete.  What an awesome way to have these as something to remember him by. I can't wait to use it when I am relaxing or taking my nap or just doing nothing.

Trees Thursday - Fall has arrived.

It is definitely not a surprise the some of trees have changed their colors. Technically fall begins tomorrow. So it is very fitting the I share all the latest photos I have taken during our trips and even at the golf course yesterday.  Although some of the trees in the Northwest Territories does not change at all, there were some that had bright red colors.  Of course it is very difficult to compare fall in eastern Ontario.  For many years when I lived there, it was one of my favorite time of the year.  Even my mother when she was alive, she would try and visit during mid September to mid October.  One year I took her to Ottawa and she was so happy to see all the leaves along the highway 401 going East.  Here in Vernon it is not as noticeable.  Where is your favorite fall getaway to check out the changing of the leaves?  I am sure the New England states would be awesome this time of the year.  In the meantime, you can just check out what I have to offer.

Sightings Saturday - Northern Lights

Have you ever seen the northern lights aka Aurora Borealis?  That was the question that my cousin asked Jeff when they were visiting us this past July.  Of course the answer was NO.  They recommended that I take Jeff to visit Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.  This was the city that I started my life in Canada.  It has been at least 22 years since my last visit.  Although I had lived there for 10 years, I knew that it would not be the same as I have heard stories of the growth of population as well as the booming industry of diamond mining, etc.  After my cousins left, we checked out airfares and soon enough we were on our flight to the land of the midnight sun.  The weather was blustery and cold.  Every night we checked out the forecast to see if it would be a cloudy night or clear night.  Our cousins gave us a complete tour of the city and the new developments.  We were invited for suppers at my other cousins place and both dinners were amazing.  One of my girlfriend made the special Filipino dessert for one of the dinner.  She also made some extra for me to take home.  Awesome. It is called Cuchinta.  This is one of those desserts that I probably eat once every 5 years.  That same Saturday night, my other relative ask if I wanted to take Jeff to the GOLD RANGE (a historical bar).  We did and we met some of her friends who she went to school with. After one drink we decided to head out to the special spot where we hope to see the Northern Lights.  And there it was.  We stood outside in the cold watching it move and formed different shapes. Only color we could see was something light green. This was one of the main purpose of the trip and it was fulfilled. The next few days we continued to be like real tourist visiting special places, eating at quaint restaurants and buying souvenirs for us and for others.  There were no other sightings of the great Aurora as the skies were cloudy for the rest of our stay.  In fact in snowed on our last night and on the morning of our departure that our plane had to get de-iced.  Here's some of the photos we took.

This was the parking lot of the legislative building, I thought the sky was more interesting.

A souvenir for our home which I bought from a vendor who was selling it for Peter Mitchell, a soap stone carver.

The famous house boats from the show ICE LAKE REBELS.

One of the painting at the Midnight Gallery and shop.

The famous golf course that holds the longest day tournament with a starting tee time at midnight.

Cuchinta by Syliva

I could not resist this one souvenir.  My BFF from Ontario wanted one too.

Wholesome Wednesday - A family gathering

It has been a year since we had a family gathering in Surrey, BC with all my cousins.  This year they decided to take a trip to get the experience of staying at our B&B.  Two of the cousins arrived on Tuesday afternoon which was perfect because it gave us time to get the house in order after our guests from California left.  We were able to have a good dinner with the first two who arrived.  One of them came all the way from the Philippines.  After dinner we begged Jeff to play the most favorite past time - MAHJONG.  Although Jeff sort of knew how to play, each time he gets asked, we would have to review the rules of the game.  I was shocked that we stayed almost past midnight playing the game.  The next morning, two more cousins arrived and by noon, the other cousins got to our home just in time for lunch.  They were all very happy with the meals that we serve and truly enjoyed their time in our entertainment room (pool table availability).  Unfortunately we had to leave the next day for our trip to Yellowknife.  We said goodbye and they stayed to look after our home while we were gone.  Upon our return, everything was in order, linens washed, and I found some surprise gifts on the table and three thank you cards.  My only regret is that we forgot to take photos of all of us because we were so busy catching up with stories and just having a lot of fun.  The only photo I took was the cupcakes I made for my cousin who was celebrating her birthday.  We had fun decorating her cupcakes.