Buttons.

We all love buttons, they come in every colour, shape and size. Our local quilt shop, The Sewing Cafe got a new button collection. The guardian of the collection is none other than, Ariel Buttoni. One of the friends of the creative family made her, original in colour and personality.

In the past nine years, many new budding sewists have arrived at the shop and learnt the art of sewing. Their abilities and confidence grew and they can create now to their hearts content, a tribute to passionate teachers with a love of what they knew and do well. From kids to adults, they have kept the craft alive and inspired the next wave and generation to keep sewing and quilting!

The wedding quilt got washed and it finished at 95 by 93 inches. It is on its way to the couple and it was finished just before the heat arrived. It was hand quilted with the final border machine quilted. This colour on the back is a sapphire blue.

Walking downtown this was the view that greated me along the path.

Workin progress.

Baltimore Oriole at the feeder. They and the hummingbird is having a lot of fun visiting the feeder. While we were away, the garden grew overnight.

The veggies are doing well, so is all the shrubs.

A joy to see everything take off and sprout at such a good pace.

Garlic planted in the fall last year.

Trying strawberries in pots, it has flowers on. Will need to move the pots where the chipmunks cannot get to the berries.

Made the binding for the wedding quilt.

Diane has been stitching and she has almost finished this one, At the Met. She is adding all the beads to it, before it goes to be framed.

Fun sayings on T-shirts.

Victoria weekend.

This past weekend we went to Point Pelee National Park. It has been on our bucket list since arriving in Ottawa many years ago. Every May the bird migration happens and thousands of birds arrive on the southern shores of Canada to spend the warmer months here. For birdwatchers it is an awesome experience, for the photograhers heaven on earth!

A swan family with their babies in the march from the broadwalk.

The point, the currents here are treacherous and no one is allowed to the end for good reason.

It is neat, to think we have been to the southern most tip of Africa and Canada. It was an amazing experience, we arrived back home with great memories, sore feet. We walked and craned our necks to see and spot birds, they were every colour of rainbow. A feast for the eyes.

The old homestead, saw a sewing machine inside throughthe window.

One the way we stopped at the local quilt shop, A Stitch in Time.

Fleece was chosen for hats for next winter that the guys want me to make. Bosal foam for straps and and other bits and pieces. A few fabrics which caught my eye, especially the acorn fabric.

Sunset over Lake Erie.

Orange.

Very little time has been spent in the sewing room, lots have been spent hand quilting a wedding quilt.

The fabric is a bright blue, yet it is not showing the true colour. Lots of quilting still to go.

RSC23 for May is Orange. Finding the way has orange in it, so these blocks got done. April was a very busy month and the purple blocks needs some more work before they can be added to the collection.

The weather has cleared up and walks on the nature trails is on our calendar. This is some of the local beaver ponds, last night we saw four beavers.

Two swam to each other and gave each other a hug or a kiss.

Wild violets growing along the path. Frogs was out and about too.

Bunnies have been in scarce supply, normally we would have seen lots by now. This is only the second one so far.

The garden is taking off too. The carrots are up, lettuce, onions, garlic and all the fingerling potatoes broke through the soil this past week. Beans have been planted, haricots with their beautiful orange red flowers, the hummingbirds love these ones.

Tulips are all flowering too. Spring is defintely one of our favourite seasons now.

Gardening and spring.

Wild apple blossoms. This tree grows randomly in the forest and we got a surprise when we came upon it.

On our walk this blue heron came flying overhead. In our back garden we have a woody woodpecker who comes to the feeder everyday.

Flowers are all bursting open with colours in every shade.

Canada 150years celebration tulips are still going strong, blooming and reminding us of a milestone we celebrated not too long ago.

Walking along the path of life, celebrating each and every sunrise and sunset.

Gardening and more.

The month of April flew by. The weather gifted us with a summer heatwave, rain and so much more. The sewing room got traded for the garden and outdoors. Spring is here with bulbs about to bloom. The daffodils are blooming already. The grass is green, the trees are budding and those who get blossoms is putting on some beautiful displays.

The veggie beds got dug over, more compost and soil added and they are all planted with seeds and bulbs. This year a mixture of onions will be tested, yellow, white and red ones. Kale is another one which has never been tried before, so we will see how that grows. Beans and other frost sensitive crops will have to wait for a bit, before they will be planted. The lawn got top dressed and overseeded, just before the rain.

Diamond set seventeen has been sewn for Tahoe. I am working on one set a week to get the last sets done. Also working on a secret project, which I cannot show here as the person reads the blog and I do not want to spoil the surprise!

Some handquilting on the while cloth quilt, it is ready to be turned down again, the last time I turned it before taking a photo.

The saying "April showers bring May flowers" is ringing true for us. We have had a lot of rain and some more in the forecast for the next couple of days. It was a month which brought us visitors from far and wide. We got to see a show (Harry Potter and the cursed child, at Ed Mirvish Theater). The effects was straight out of a movie and it was magical. For anyone who is thinking of going to see it, it is amazing. We said after, we could easily go and see it a second time!