Sunday...

Hello!  I'm chuckling to myself.  What's the saying?  'Old habits die hard?'  I had announced that I would start up Sketchbook Sundays.  I am!  However, I have photographs to show you today.  I just have to.  Last weekend I did the All Beings Confluence workshop (see last post).  This weekend, I headed out with my camera and my youngest child to take in a good spring sunset.

I know when the skies are full of chunky clouds, the sunset will be worth it.  It's the clouds that catch all those crazy colours.

But look at this.
LOOK AT THIS!  This makes me so upset.  I know it's spring, and I know it's windy, but COME ON!

tsk tsk.

We drove more and soon the sun sank below the cloudline to bring on some good colours.

Fabulous, isn't it!?  I took a lot of pictures of my daughter taking pictures because, well, that's what moms do.  haha.

It was dusk soon - that time when it's difficult to get a good focus on things.  It feels like you are in between worlds and judging distance becomes difficult.

We pack up and turned around to head home ...

and THIS happened!

click to view larger

There were nine deer right in front of us.  They obviously didn't mind our presence.  One bolted, but the rest stayed to eat.  Our hearts melted all over the place. One by one, they hopped across the road and headed toward the river en mass.  How beautiful.  We drove so slow, and continued to see more and more and more.  We lost count.  We probably saw 3 dozen all total.  It was incredible.

and yes, I wrote to Martha to tell her.  : )

Happy Sunday everyone!

Sunday Snapshots

Photos from Gabriel Dumont Park on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon...

YES~  What a beautiful day, though it got SO windy that the river was full of whitecaps.

The kids had such a nice time waking through the fine, warm sand in their bare feet.  Did I mention it was windy?  60km/hr gusts was pretty crazy!  I had to hold these branches in place just to get a photo.

Up above the banks, I found this lovely spot to sit... and do nothing but enjoy the day.  I've been so busy busy busy with shows and commissions and teaching, it's been 24/7.  I can't recall the last time I took a day to rejuvenate.

: )

p.s.  2 more weeks until the Ceramics & Stitchery show in Melfort comes down!  Then it's off to Weyburn at the end of June.  I can't believe it's almost summer.

Happy 'May Long' everyone.  I hope you enjoy yourselves and get a bit of gardening done.

Things I Love Thursday

I love the way the land rolls by when you take a roadtrip.

I love that each image has the same sky.  Did you notice?  The clouds are the same but the landscape keeps changing.  : )  It's another reason why I LOVE the prairie.

... time to finish up that new batch of Prairie Postcards!  : )

Happy Thursday,

Things I Love Thursday

I love the changing of the guard!  A new season has officially arrived.  I sat in my yard over the weekend with my morning coffee and heard them coming!  ; )

First there were three...

Then there were five!  (I love odd numbers.)

* * * I LOVE that photo!!  I can't believe I caught it!  : )  I have never been able to capture birds until recently.

...AND THEN!

yipeeeee!

p.s.  I believe the groundhog is over-rated!

Agreed?

And another sure sign of spring...  When the air is warmer, the clouds are different.  The spring sunsets are back.  !  I took these ones last night.

This is from my favorite spot where I took the cattail pic I've stitched up several times.  It's essentially the same photo, but cropped a little differently.

I LOVE the next photo.  The sky is SO loose.  So full of water vapour and coloured sunshine.

I loves me some prairie spring sky. 

Happy Thursday everyone!

Sunday Snapshots

It's been a long time since I have done a real valid, outdoor "Sunday Snapshots".  Now that I'm out in the mornings with my pooch, drinking the morning coffee on the back deck in the warm sun, I notice beauty all around.

Here is "What's left of autumn after winter goes away..."

These are my Clematis in the morning sun.  xo

and down below it over the snow...

Quiet.  Pretty.  Waiting to be reborn.
It's an enchanting time of day and year.



***UPDATE - and now it has been snowing all weekend!   Enjoy the photos nonetheless.  Have a wonderful Sunday!  I'm off to Gardenscape this afternoon for the last day of the trade show.

Hand Stitching New & Old

This week, while nursing my own cold as well as my children's, I went 'uplugged' again and began to work on pieces for a new project.  I keep one inspirational file on my desktop that is full of personal photos just for handstitching ideas.  One in particular looks fairly straightforward, but will no doubt be a long haul to finish.  I'm ready.  I put cloth onto one of my scroll frames, marked the size I'd be working on, and began setting up the background and finding the right fibres for the job.

Call me crazy, but I had this in mind.  Look at all the stitches!  Can you imagine it?  It was spring and the new growth was there in the old.  I love the colors so much.  (click to view larger)

my photo:  new and old grasses

I did a quick sketch with colored pencils first.

I always keep my photo and sketchbook in front of me while I stitch.  I built up some colors first to help me know where the yellows and greens are placed once I start stitching.

no.  I'm not left handed.  : )

I stitched for three days and I'm still not done.

I stitched out all the greens.  Then I stitched out the yellows.  Then I over stitched the greens again.  Now I'm read to add to the yellows to create some blending.  Then I can start on the details.  WHEW!  Here's where it's at for now...

It might still look like a mess, but this is the building in progress.  I dropped a needle and as I went to pick it up, I noticed the underside.  I though it was worth a photo at least for interest's sake. : )

I'm careful not to waste my colors by taking the next stitch near to where I left the last.  A lot of my fibres were from Margot and replenishing is no easy task.  I don't feel like flipping my work surface to knot or tuck in all those threads, so I will do that later.

And now I'm off to finalize several Hallowe'en costumes!  Bring it on!  I have my sweet tooth ready.  : )
Linking to WIP Wednesday @ TN&TN.

Sunday Snapshots

Taken two nights ago...  Enjoy!

Yeah, I know that was a little crooked.  That's what you get when you're parked by a ditch leaning one way, and the clouds are slanted the other way, and the kids are jumping around in the back seat.  lol

Is it just me, or does everyone remember playing Duck, Duck, Goose in school?

The field was full of Canada Geese and duck families for as far as I could see.

It's like you could just reach up and grab a handful of cloud.

Check this out...  !????  SOMEONE didn't sleep last night when they arrived at their new home.  GOOD GOSH it's lucky it landed in the ditch and not through the windshield of another vehicle!  SHEESH! 

Double mattress & box spring. 

Happy Sunday everyone! : )

Sunday Snapshots

Remember the lovely crocus photos?  Enjoy these!  I've been saving them for today.  They are my 'quirky' photos.

Should I stay or should I go?

I had a tough time leaving!  

There were many wonderful photo opportunities as I approached the highway.

I think they were talking about me.  Goose #1: "Is she still staring at us??"  Goose#2: "Act casual."

And my grand finale... Crocuses and Cow Pie.  My friend Tara dared me to stitch this.  She has no idea...  I already did.  It will be in Thursday's USCAD class show on Campus. 

p.s.  ***NOT*** my footprint.

Happy Sunday!

Things I Love Thursdays

Oh how I LOVE when people let me in on fabulous things, such as a flax field in bloom... or the first crocuses of Spring!  I headed out to a cow pasture on a hill near my friend Patti's farm.  YES - I brought my camera.  I love the lichen!

Patti contacted me for this reason - the crocuses are out! : ) I love this next shot sooo much.  )

I love how blue the sky & water was, and how yellow the land...

I love how you have to look for crocuses... sometimes the best of them like to hide.

I love this last shot of the crocus in the sage... it's like a cup of sunshine  : )

What a beautiful afternoon!  Thanks Patti.  Happy Thursday everyone.