Behind, before

I caught a summer cold this last week which left me less than impressed because I had a spring cold as well as a winter cold.  I don't usually get colds so I am wondering if my immune system needs a bit of tweaking.  My DD is suggesting a 'cleanse'!  :o
 

 I, (we) have been concentrating on the yard.  The whole fam damily worked on it with time out for a few diversions.

Bike riding.

Kitten cuddling.

Ball playing.

Bird watching.

And counting our blessings.

The perimeter of the yard is just needing more compost.  The path through the bush has been reclaimed. It has one end at this arbor which needs some attention.  This week I shall work from this end and back around the house.  I need to keep my nose to the ground and my hands off the riding lawn mower as I seem to have fried the steering apparatus.  Hopefully the Rooster can fix it while the hot weather suppresses grass growth. oops!

There is a robin who has made himself quite at home.  He doesn't seem to feel alarmed by people and is rather a noisy fellow.  lol

Tomorrow I am taking one of my girls and we are off on a field trip to the Winnipeg Art Gallery where there is an exhibition.  100 Masters: Only in Canada, a truly historic assembly of one hundred works of art from twenty-eight museums in Canada and two in the United States, along with ten pieces from the WAG’s permanent collection.  The selection of the artwork is divided evenly between Canadian and non-Canadian works; among the loans there are fifty Canadian works and a combination of fifty European and American works spanning six centuries, from 1500 to 2010.   I know nothing about artwork nor these famous artists but I've been trying to study up on them so I can better appreciate what we will be seeing. ;)

This is the last week for the yard as I need to turn my attention to redecorating.  I've been experimenting with the kitchen design program from Ikea and it is also past time to get the front room back together again!

So, looking behind I definitely see bare ground and progress.  Looking ahead I see opportunities before me!

Race ya to Friday!!!

For the birds!

The group challenge is birds. Not wanting to do the obvious, I did bird eggs.

I thought I'd try a digital transfer on some of my hand dyed fabric.

I printed the image from my computer onto the Transfer Artist Paper with my printer. That went swell, except I forgot it prints reverse image. Not too much of a problem as the fabric was darker than the little bit of lettering.

I ironed it on and should not have stopped to take a photo as the colour is lighter after I continued removing the paper backing! ;^)

Then I thought to stencil a bird on the fabric. The stamp was great on the paper but a little bit indistinct on the fabric. I needed a bit of a coarser stamp with deeper grooves, I'm thinking.

It gets a bit softer with a wash but I was anxious to try stitching on it.

Nina no like! :( And when Nina isn't happy I tend to get a little crabby myself! ;)

Now it is possible that part of the problem is the tight weave on my base cloth. I'm thinking I may have to find another fabric much as I like the price and the feel. I may also need to experiment with some different needles.

So I have sat down to think about what to do next. And while I am thinking I shall probably begin to baste the first of two quilts that need quilting asap!

Please feel free to add some "what if's... ".