A Creative Week.

Once a month the Senior Centre holds a painting drop-in. I haven't picked up a paint brush since I got back from Spain so decided I needed this to get me kick started again.

It was lovely to immerse myself in watercolour again (not literally) and just have 2 hours devoted to it. There was just one other person there but I gather there are usually 3 or 4.

 

I have continued working on it since and hope to have it finished to take back to next months drop-in.

Heather and Don came down for a couple of days and spent one day down at Long Point, birding. Cedar Waxwing, photo by Don.

Grey Catbird. Photo by Don. They had their best sightings in the old Provincial Park.

Hooded Warbler. Photo by Don.

We were also treated to some magnificent skies (photo by Don), changing lake colours

and a rainbow. Also a large doe walked through the back yards, but no picture.

Friday I had signed up for a fused glass workshop at the Senior Centre. These were the examples.

There were dishes of coloured glass

on our tables and

a bin of glass shards to pick through (with gloves on).

We were given a piece of glass to use as the base and glue to stick our glass patterns on.

Unfortunately I wasn't in a very creative mood and just went through the motions. The instructor will now put them into her kiln, so they will fuse, and we will pick them up next week.

I have continued to work on the Paint Brushes rug hooking.

Ditch Lily after the rain. That might be an interesting painting challenge.

Rick has been working on Spellbound and she is ready for her launch next week. The fenders he uses on the dock are looking pretty disgusting, even though he scrubbed them last year. So we decided to see if I could make covers for them.

We found a polyester mesh at Lens Mills along with outdoor upholstery thread. Although not much of a seamstress I covered the 2 of them using my $80 Kenmore sewing machine. After taking this picture we replaced the white rope to tie them, with black. 

So, yes, a creative week: painting, photography, glass fusing and sewing.

 

2026 OHCG Annual, Oakville

 I picked Heather up in Ancaster and then we drove to Oakville, last Friday. Pam and Sue were already there as they helped the vendors get set up and also delivered all of J.J.s hooked pieces.

Trudi, Heather and I 

 

"hung" the J.J. Ruggers display. The sun from a skylight was streaming in, making it difficult to get a good picture. The two centre pieces were hooked by Pat Lawson (I think her sister designed the big one and I think Pat herself designed the one below.), unfortunately I didn't think to take a photo of the listing for our booth.

The next day I walked around the display with Pam and then again on my own. I walk around it in different directions as then I notice different articles. Below are photos of those pieces that caught my eye.

I would take a picture of the piece

 

and then a picture of the listing hung in the booth. "The Whale" was hooked by Bonnie Richards.

"Sunflowers on the Coast" hooked by Betty O'Toole. I thought this was an interesting composition with the foreground, middle ground and background giving depth without complexity.

"Georgian Bay Glory" hooked by Judy Payne. Love the colours.

"Azalea", a prize winner, hooked by Ingrid Hieronimous, designed by Amy Fortier.

This was also hooked by Ingrid and was listed as "Garden Gate" but the piece next to it was obviously that one so this may have been "Painted Rose" - a bit confusing when the numbers are put on incorrectly.

The reflections in this one work really well, every other row is a line of grey, very effective. "Three Fish Huts" hooked by Shirley Crockett.

The sky and water in this are beautifully done. "Come Sail Away" hooked by Liz Walker.

Liz also hooked "Sandbanks Pillow"

and "Sweet September Pillow". I really love how she hooks water and sky.

There were three examples of this pattern, "East Coast Boat", this one hooked by Helen Houghton,

this one hooked by Ellen Williams

and this one by Onna Erstikaitis. All were adapted from a picture by Sheila Rose.It was interesting to look at the different choices made and the impact they had.

Another prize winner, "Turtle" hooked by Alice Bespolko.

" Preston's Farm, PEI" hooked by Marge Bruin

"French River Wharf"  hooked by Karen Glover reminded me of the boat houses in Port Rowan (which might be a neat thing to hook)

"Medallion of Colours" hooked by Joanne Hipwell

"Millstream" hooked by Debbie Fabi.

Of course there were plenty of vendors with yummy wool and yarn, hooks and frames and other hooking paraphernalia. I had vowed to get no more wool and, for once, stuck to it.

Heather spent the morning assisting at a workshop where they made wool "lavender"

and I spent the afternoon in a workshop learning about the history of hand hooked rugs and how to repair them.

Heather, Sue, Pam, Michelle and I (and a random "hooker" who came along to make it 6 for the reservation) went to a Thai place for dinner. There was so much food we took some back to the hotel and ate it next day for lunch.

Heather and I shared a room. Each bed had 2 pillows that were soft and 2 that were firm. Never seen them labeled before. The next day the only thing we had to do was to take down the display at 3pm so the day was spent hooking and

 

viewing the display again. The Rowan Award is given to the rug voted by members to be the best in the show. "My Hooked Wallpaper hooked by Susan Grant.

There were just a few rugs that I hadn't noticed during my 2 viewings the previous day. "Inch Rug" hooked by Rachel Miller.

This is what I was hooking on "Create" designed by Carolyn Stich.

Weekend at the "New House" in Pakenham

I have been away from home the last 2 weekends and am now trying to catch up on my blog. So, 2 weekends ago, I traveled to Pakenham to visit with Mark and Emma and see the completed home they have finally moved into. It's a long drive, partly on the 407 and then, much more pleasantly, along Hwy 7 through Canadian Shield country and then the Ottawa Valley.

Up a steep gravel driveway, lined with large rocks

 

to their house in the woods.

Saturday was lovely and we were able to sit outside on the second story terrace when we weren't working on rearranging furniture, determining what could be sold (as it really didn't work in the new place, or there was no room for it) and organizing stuff. The main move had been completed and the house is very livable but there is a multitude of things to do when you make a move like this.

Jasper needing some ear rubs. The two dogs and the blind cat have all settled in really well and seem to approve.

  

It was decided that this couch needed to be sold and Polo decided he needed to have a "goodbye nap" on it.

I think the decision would have been different if he had been consulted.

Sunday wasn't such a nice day, back to winter coats, but we took the dogs for a walk, did some more organizing and did a major restock at Costco.

Mark made pizza and I videoed the process, start to finish, as I want to give it a try (just need to get some pizza flour and yeast next time I shop). He also has an outside propane pizza oven but an inside ordinary oven will have to do for mine.

Monday was the long drive back, stopping a few times to stretch my legs.

On the Friday, as I drove up, I had noticed that this lake (Silver Lake) had still been frozen over. The warm day Saturday resulted in open water by Monday.

When I got home I had a quick walk around to see the effect of Saturday's warmth on my garden. Hellebore in flower. 

As is the Heather.

Hyacinths starting to pop.

Lots of flower buds on the Lilacs

and buds on the Wisteria. I haven't had flowers on this yet and it doesn't look like I will this year.

I'm also waiting for the Ornamental Cherry Tree to flower. I transplanted it from Long Point 5 years ago and it is finally looking established but still no blossoms.