VIEW TO DECK AND BACK PATIO.

Mercy calls this our "outdoor living room".

OUR SOUTH SIDE GARDEN

Do you remember the SOFT SHOULDER signs at side of highways|?

YELLOW ROSES on back shed.

NIOBE CLEMATIS

FRENCH LAVENDER aka BUTTERFLY LAVENDER

I saw this in England in 2005 and found it this year at Superstore Ridley.

A beautiful day...

     Not only did I have my favourite garden slave, Denis,at my side

 but our eldest granddaughter, Brenna, came to have lunch and help me with my blog.

Shown here, with her lover Jesse.

     Mulching, transplanting, weeding, hanging up bird houses and signage, there's actually space between my plants!
     We lost our favourite clematis over the winter and our 25 year old Sand Cherry, too.

I wanted to replace the Sand Cherry with a Kousa Dogwood- China Girl and after many phone calls, located one and our beloved Purpurea Plena Elegans clematis at Vineland Nurseries, Martin Road, Beamsville.
http://www.vinelandnurseries.com

photo of our old Purpurea Plena Elegans...bought 2 this time...just in case...

Their motto is "Special Plants for Special Places"- our gardens of course.

     Brenna sits typing beside me, too many memories to recall of her and I together.
 This is another good one. More to come.

Esme's feet

There's something about a child's foot.
Shoes or no shoes.
Esme's feet still carry sweet babyfat and have a delicious mole.

Perfect.

Declan wanted 'flames'

BONUS JACKET...had imprints of 2 scary super heroes.

Snapped it up at Salvation Army Thrift Store.

Smiles n' Chuckles t-shirt yielded the orange dragon.

Unseen here is a Celtic dragon from a donated shirt of PaPa's that I attached to the right sleeve then used red embroidery floss to hand 'stitch'.

See  'other jean jacket'  back band...

I used it to draw in the bottom as it was a boxy cut.

Lots of 'messy' stitching in red .

Stitch then REVERSE stitch over and over in slashing design.

I used 3 strands of embroidery floss wound around sewing machine bobbin, put the jacket under my sewing machine needle with right side down.This gave me the embroidery floss on the 'right side' of the jacket. I skill I learned in Grade 8 Home Ec.Mrs Hansen Ryerson Public School.London,ON.

I can't find my car keys but ...

I stitched the flames in 3 colours - red orange and yellow.

I think he likes it !

                                                              


 His trademark smile.

'Rock' on left sleeve.

ELEMENTS

up cycled-vintage-jean jacket

pockets and back band from another jean jacket

embroidery floss

contrasting thread

pictorials from shirts and t's

iron on adhesive

seam ripper to 'mess up' edges of collar and cuffs

scary skull stuff

have fun

Jingles thinks clothing is boring

Jingles thinks clothing is b o-o-o-o-ring.

He prefers natural fur.

I think the self-cleaning element appeals to him.

Cute girl's jacket scored at Salvation Army Thrift Store.The red accent ribbon was already in place-bonus!                                                   

http://www.thriftstore.ca/central-ontario/locations

                                                                                  Mercy is the cute girl wearing it.

I admit to being a label snob.
The Gap,Donna Karan,Tristan and Isolde,Club Monaco,etc.
They're all there.

Don't get in my way on 50% off clothing day.

CUFF DETAIL

Sewing 'messy' makes errors into design elements.

ELEMENTS
used aka vintage jean jacket
sewing thread-contrasting colours
sewing machine
upcycled lace and doilies-washable
pictoral elements from shirts or t's-washable
imagination
cat critic

have fun

ZIPPERS ZIPPERS ...BROOCHES

Handsewn with quilting thread and I added a pin back.

 Upcycled these after Bev from ''Pike's Drycleaners'' gathered a stash of broken zippers for me.

Instant gratification.

They make cute gifts or as a gift box topper.

Chunky

Broken 'pearl' necklace repurposed.

BRENNA'S DRESSES GET A NEW LIFE

l to r

3 cousins

ESME age 6

wearing the dress our eldest granddaughter,Brenna, wore at Cait's (far right)parents' wedding.

MERCY age 9

wearing the dress Brenna wore at our youngest son Todd's wedding

CAIT age 7

wearing her 1st Communion dress

I think Cait is much more beautiful.

Don't you agree?

This was Cait's day.

Family gathered to celebrate at the church and at home afterwards.

A beautiful day.

Mercy and Esme

wearing Brenna's vintage dresses.

My love affair

My 'day job' is at a big box bookstore.
I love my books. and I love talking to customers about books.

Once in awhile I meet a special person.
Someone who is in concert with my ideas and ideals.
Today I was lucky to meet Stephanie.

How did I recognize our commonality?
Stephanie was wearing a lovely i-cord necklace and I couldn't help commenting.
I actually asked her if I could 'touch' it.
Wow am I bold?
She generously showed me the construction and I got to handle it,too.
Being a tactile person can have its moments.
You can follow Stephanie on her beautiful blog...jewelry, photography and lots to look at and think about.

http://stephanierehkopf.blogspot.ca/

Books about sewing and upcycling and oh the magazines...
Altered Couture, Belle Armoire, Somerset Memories, all by STAMPINGTON.
Enough ideas for a lifetime.

They inspire me to take chances, try new techniques,make bold with that rotary cutter and get my juices flowing.
When I am 'juicing' I find it hard to stop creating,sewing,crafting and go to work.
Lucky for me that I really like my 'day job'.
this one really rocks the upcycle ethic.

A really new magazine that I am addicted to is
Jeanne d'Arc Living


see also

http://jeannedarcliving.blogspot.ca/

and also on facebook.

French you ask ?  Mais non...Danish.
My Danish grandmother,Camilla Maria Larsen reads it over my shoulder,
figurativeley speaking, as she was born in 1864 and passed away in 1945.

Now distributed all over the world.

The translations are rather quaint but I hope they never become New York slick.



This is their new Recipe Collection.
I MUST have it.
Reminds of a quote on a daily calendar
'There is something that I want.I don't know what it is yet
but I'm pretty sure I won't be happy until I get it.'
I haven't found a local source for buying this mag.
 I have ordered it from B.C. French Vanilla

www.frenchvanillahome.com


Am I simply  mouthing platitudes when I say
'upcycle' and 'green' ?

I will be adding info on how we green our home every summer.
Hope you'll try some of our water saving and cooling tricks .

It's now 10:45 Eastern Standard Time and to bed I must go even though outside my window as I look EAST I see the fullest brightest moon...because
'Supermoon on May 5, 2012: Biggest full moon of the year '
Busy day tomorrow.

Red Admiral

Four lovely Red Admirals flitting through and on the Sand Cherry blooms.
What a lovely sight.
Too bad they're on their way north and just transient visitors every spring in Niagara.

"Red Admiral caterpillars feed on nettles (see, they are good for something!). At this time of year, the adults will nectar on any flower they can find such as fruit tree blossoms, dandelions and coltsfoot flowers. They are already busy laying eggs on the nettle; these will hatch and mature for a ‘born in Ontario’ generation of adults later this spring. In Ontario, there may be two or three generations per year. A few Red Admirals have been reported to overwinter in Ontario but the majority of the ones born in August and later migrate south. Unlike Monarch butterflies, there is no single overwintering location known. Every spring, a new population of Red Admirals migrates from the US."
"The Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) have arrived! One of our more common migrant butterflies, they were spotted in the thousands from Ottawa to Point Pelee and Muskoka. The strong winds blew them everywhere, but the determined little migrants held their ground."

by Antonia Guidotti, Entomology Technician ROM BLOG
Toronto
http://blog.rom.on.ca








.

Blooming Niagara. Our neighbour's Magnolia

Lamium in purple and yellow,

Clematis budding up on the south wall,

Roses showing life,

Daffodils replaced by showy red tulips,

Filipendula nodding in the sun,

Sand Cherry showing off with both blossoms and scent.

oh yes...

"Flower" (think Bambi)

trying to outwit my husband by burrowing under our veranda to create her den...

I upcyled this amazing jacket from Salvation Army Thrift Store,added under collar and cuffs from another S.A. find - crushed velvet shirt and back of the closet pants created the peplum.

Good day to all.

Living and working in Blooming Niagara Region gives me joy.
Fruit trees blooming then sunny warm days filled with the scent of ripening peaches,apricots,grapes,apples.
Fruit stands along every sideroad.
Flowers everywhere-from greenhouse to family gardens.

 I am a fabric artist creating clothing, accessories, homewares, jewelry for adults and children from
upcycled
silk,
cashmere,
wool,
linen,
cotton,
hemp
and many others the thrift stores offer.

watch this spot for my etsy.com address and tutorials.

It's a hobby turned to obsession.

 I cannot resist a lovely linen skirt (not my size)
or
an April Cornell tablecloth
 or
 a vintage silk blouse in an unflattering style but a dynamite colour.

It's all fabric to me.