2018 - The Year of the Blur

Mama loves you Dilly boy

2018 began with a bang. I came down with a horrible flu that knocked me for a loop. I was in bed for a week and it kept hanging around for what seemed like months. By the time I recovered, it was tax time which takes mounds of time to finish.

Our boy, Dilly, was just getting ready to celebrate his 12th birthday when our lives took a turn for the worse and he unexpectedly passed on. He so wanted to stay with us but his little body just gave out on him. We were so blessed to have him for as long as we did. He survived a liver shunt birth defect and encephalitis at aged 3. We sure loved that little man and decided to not pursue getting another animal. In fact, we even gave away our chickens and chicken coop to allow us time to come and go unimpeded. It had been many years since we were able to travel so we made the most of it and traveled to Alabama to see family. Flying isn't quiet as fun as it used to be and I forgot how tired you get from the whole process. However, once we arrived, our excitement about the adventure gave us a burst of happy energy. It was my first time visiting New Orleans, Alabama, and Mississippi. We also visited parts of Florida. Alabama is beautiful and the people even more so. I cannot express sufficiently how refreshing it was to hear people wish you a blessed day and see how much pride people have for our country and veterans. I still have a tender spot for the Foley area and the people living there.

 I know there is no merit to bad things happening in threes, but it was definitely a tester of me when I was called for a federal jury duty a week before we were to travel to Alabama. I was told when I called that I could not request a date change. In Multnomah county it is never a problem to make a change, but apparently Federal courts are not as accommodating. Because the trial could be extended past the day I needed to fly out, it was a stressful time wondering whether I would be called.  Thankfully, the night before when I called my juror number was not needed. Whew....our trip could proceed with me in it!

The other thing that happened is that I was rear ended by a guy driving a Maserati. Okay, that's a first in a couple of ways. I've never seen one in person and definitely never have been hit by one. The thing is...I was sitting at a dead stop waiting in line to get into a quilt show. The line was long and everyone was waiting. How do things like this happen. He wanted to brush it off as no damage but when the estimate came in, the damage to my car was over $1200. So much for no damage. It was a pain getting his insurance to step up but thankfully the shop I went to (Mackin's Auto Body in Gresham, Oregon) really did above and beyond their job and got it done. Mackin's Auto Body has secured any future business from me, but I hope I never have to visit them again!

I've not visited my travel adventure projects at all this year, but I gave myself the okay to keep going or call it the end. I believe I must finish at least one more since I have it all designed and the fabric pulled. We'll see how 2019 goes.

Remember how I said we were not going to be puppy parents again. Well, our stamina sure is strong! We succumbed in September and welcomed Bowdee (pic below) to our home. He is a Maltese/Shih-Tzu mix. I believe he looks more Shih-Tzu than Maltese and is definitely much different in body than Dilly which was a Maltese/Poodle mix. We forgot how much work it is having a puppy but all in all, he is the most loving, kind boy we've ever had. That's saying something because Dilly was Top Dog all the way. I wish the two of them could have known each other and played. We know it would have been a hoot watching them play.

Introducing Bowdee Jak

Terry Knott finished one of her souvenirs and I promised to showcase it because it is beautiful. This is her souvenir for Canada, and I love her extra detail she added. Terry's souvenir is larger than mine which I really like too. Check out her handmade Schatzi (definition: little treasure) at the bottom of it. Is that just awesome or what! I'm wanting to make one for myself!

I wish you peace and love and good health through the Holy-days and throughout 2019!

And here's a sign I took a picture of in Florida. Great reminder to myself to enjoy 'today' for there is no tomorrow guaranteed.

Another Oregon Souvenir finished!

Terry Knott's Mt. Hood View -- Oregon Finished!

I just had to pop in and do a quick share of Terry's finished Mt. Hood -- My View, which was Oregon's souvenir. Isn't it just perfect? For detailed, up-close and personal pictures of it and her marvelous quilting, click HERE. You really don't want to miss seeing them.

The world quilting travel adventure has been such a wonderful journey. I must get back to the itinerary soon so we can continue traveling the globe.

Dressed to Impress -- The Flamboyant Hoopoe's first show

I purposely have not posted a finished picture of the hoopoe because I wanted to get a picture of it hanging at the NW Quilting Expo show. I love how the pieced background turned out because it really does give me the feeling of a misty sky.

I took Esterita Austin's Luminescent Painted Illusion two-day class so I didn't have much time at lunch and after the class to really take my time and look at all of the quilts, but what I did see was fabulous. There were so many talented artists reflected in this year's show. Esterita's class was insanely fun. Even though I struggled with the painting, she was able to keep me on track with her calm demeanor and fun personality. I highly recommend taking any class she offers if you get the chance. I'll post a picture of my project once I get it quilted.

I picked up my quilt yesterday and read the judges comments. I haven't entered many quilts into shows but one of the main reasons I have started doing so is for the comments. I'm at a point where I need to know how to get to the next level so getting suggestions on how to do something better or what I didn't do well is really appreciated. There were three judges that signed the sheet, and their comments were:

• Pieced background is well done and a great addition to piece
• Very successful composition
• Fabrics are well chosen to depict imagery
• Head feathers are excellently done
• Very good piecing and applique technique

While they didn't specifically say anything against my piece, what they didn't say may be of help to me for future projects. There were no comments on the machine quilting so I'm thinking that maybe that is an area where I need improvement. I already know that machine quilting is my weakest link and have really quilted a lot this year in an effect to improve. 

I'm presenting machine quilting The Lady, and she has stretched me greatly. 

Ordinary or Extraordinary? Part 1

This past year my focus has shifted into making more fiber art and fewer traditional quilts. I still love to work on traditional, usable quilts but I find myself being pulled more into making art in ways that allow my soul to sing and embracing the itch that is scratching from within myself to be let out. My World Quilting Travel Adventure was my own test to explore myself from within. To my surprise, I overcame my fear of writing and designing, and most importantly gained an inner strength to do things in unconventional ways not caring or thinking/worrying how it would be perceived by anyone other than me. It is a freeing experience and one I encourage you to do as well.

My next push is to create good art consistently. I'm no Picasso or Mozart, but I can become good at my art and occasionally I may just create great art. Finding yourself and your own work is a process and it's hard work. Trust me when I say it is completely worth the effort if, you are in the same place as me, and want to make art because it is simply what you must do even when your work has become hard and you are unsure of where the next step will take you. You must push yourself.

Or as Gene Fowler stated: "Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead."

If we were able to speak with some of the famous artists throughout the generations, I would imagine them telling us that we must push through our uncertainties and actually make art to get better at making art. Crazy sounding I'm sure but think about it. How many unfinished projects do you have hanging around? Okay, I won't disclose mine and you don't have to disclose yours, but if you think about it, if you are serious about your art, you must finish your art so that you can move on to the next piece. Thus, the World Quilting Travel Adventure began and I began creating. It has helped me by starting the adventure because it has pushed me to finish so that I can share it with you and so that I can begin the next piece. My next goal is to proceed at the speed that I want. However, I also own a small business that demands normal business hours and spending time with my family is very important to me. So, I've begun carving out slices of time and actually scheduling it on my calendar so that I make sure to get in studio time. I may not be able to delve in with abandon yet, but carving out appointments with myself allows me to have time I would not have otherwise have had.

This will be an ongoing discussion with myself and you as I learn. I hope you will share your journey with me and others so together we can all grow.

Last but not least, please enter your art into as many shows as possible. Also, please think about other places where you can share yourself that is outside the quilt show venue.

Extraordinary Art is made by Ordinary People like you and me. 

I entered two of my souvenirs "View from my Window" and "England's Tea Room" into our local quilt show. I was delighted to see ribbons hanging on both of them. A big thanks to Terry Knott for her wonderful lesson on properly making a hanging sleeve.

Are you enjoying our travels? Australia anyone?

These past many months, we have really racked up the airline miles with our World Quilting Travel Adventure. We have visited Oregon, Hawaii, Canada, England, and Israel and had absolutely no jet lag whatsoever!

I've had a great time designing and creating each of the souvenirs for you. Sadly, I've heard from only a few of the 28 original folks who signed on to travel with me, but I am happy that a few of you continue to let me know that you are making the souvenirs and are enjoying our visits throughout the world. I  may cut our travels short but for now, I am planning to continue our journey as planned.

I'm on the homestretch of machine quilting my Israel souvenir. I always underestimate just how long it takes me to machine quilt. I did finish quilting the hoopoe yesterday but it took me days to do him. Yep, I'm definitely a turtle quilter. I have the branch left to quilt and then I'm ready to square it up and put the facing on. This one will not have a traditional binding because I don't want the binding to detract from the piece.

However, I have been thinking about our next destination and ideas have been bouncing around in my head like crazy. I have to make myself stop thinking about it or I would never finish this souvenir! When you get close to finishing a project, does your mind start to drift onto the next project before it should? Come on....I can't be the only one....can I?

It will be a while before you get to see anything or receive the pattern, but I've decided that we must ALL go to Australia! This country is so diverse that it was hard for me to narrow down just one area to study, but I found it and you are going to love, love, love it or let's be Australian and say this next souvenir is going to be fully sick! LOL I am loving learning some Australian English Phrases.

Let's go sew!

LOOK Hoopoe Sighting & FREE TQS shows

Sorry for a bit of blur but you can only imagine my excitement at the hoopoe sighting while watching the Jungle Book movie! I ran to grab my phone and obviously couldn't hold my hands still. But isn't it great! I told you hoopoes are awesome birds. Even the makers of the Jungle Book think so.

Here's another photo of him with his wings spread a bit. What a marvelous bird.

But wait! There's more.  Remember back a post or two when I recommended Grace Errea and that she was a guest at TQS. If you are become a member of TQS, you can learn a lot from hundreds of teachers from around the globe.

Well, you can watch all 200 plus shows for FREE starting on the 17th and going through the weekend. TQS is celebrating International Quilting Day and are opening up the classes for everyone! And, there's even more. They are giving away a ton of gifts. Go HERE to enter the contest and get ready to have a weekend of bliss watching as many shows as you can take in! There will be many winners so you might as well get in on the running.

And, please don't forget to watch Grace's show first! Click HERE to quickly go to it.

Hoopoe Construction

Building my Hoopoe

Building the hoopoe was so much fun and I hope you enjoy building yours as much as I did. What you see above is me checking the layout for my next section. I cut the biggest part of the black on the wings in one section and then carefully cut away the sections in your pattern that say CUT. Initially, I was going to cut each of those sections individually and I had an aha moment and thought it would be much easier and nicer looking to have fewer units. This made the gluing easier as well. The only thing I want to caution you here is that these pieces are very narrow and fragile so when you remove the freezer paper, be gentle so you don't distort the fabric.

Freezer paper on wing fabric

What you see is the freezer paper cut precisely. Once I ironed it on I 'roughly' cut it out and applied the glue. After the glue dried and I ironed it to make it clear, only then did I cut the fabric out exactly following the pattern. This allowed me to keep unnecessary glue off of the front of the fabric. Grace doesn't do this but I am not as gifted as she is and really needed that fabric buffer.

Body parts! Ready for glue.

Don't you just love those feet!!!  I do.

Dried glue

This is what the glue looks like when it is dry but hasn't been ironed yet. Once you iron it, it turns clear and has a plastic appearance. Remember you can still remove the glue at this stage before ironing by simply brushing it off with a stiff bristle brush. Once you iron it, it is permanent and cannot be removed.

Please share with me your progress so others can be inspired too.

Hoopoe Supplies

I've been a bit obsessive about the hoopoe. I've tried to learn everything I can about it to bring it alive in my eyes and heart. I can't remember another time when a bird has captivated me as much as this bird. Perhaps it is the thought that I cannot see one in person that has driven me to such a lengthy study. Whatever it was, I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now, some history on this souvenirs process of construction. As I've mentioned before, I am pushing myself to try many different techniques in these souvenirs. With that in mind, whenever I learn of something that I've not done before and if I find it interesting, I am ready to try it out. You can never learn to much and you can choose later to continue a process, change it up and make it your own, different version or abandon it completely for another.

If you get public broadcasting where you live, please watch for Quilting Arts, Season 18, Episodes 9 and 10. The artist's name I watched on TV is Grace Errea. She demonstrated her way of doing heat-set applique and also randomly pieced backgrounds in the two episodes. I was captivated watching her and knew I just had to try her way of raw edge applique. She mentioned not liking regular fusible products because the finished project was really stiff and that other methods allowed the fabric to fray too much. I love having control over a project and deciding which projects need to be stiff and which ones do not. So if you can watch those episodes, you will understand why I got so excited to try out her technique.

Grace has also been a guest on The Quilt Show. Click here! You do have to be a member of TQS in order to watch the show, but I will admit to you that it is the best $42.95 you can spend on yourself because every two weeks, you are introduced to new artists and shows plus you gain access to a block of the month that would cost double the cost of the yearly membership. Needless to say, I love TQS and have been a member from its inception.

Or, I found a very short You-tube video where she blazes by really quickly showing her building...wait for it.... a BIRD! How perfect is that? If you want to learn more about Grace, her website is HERE.

Okay, here are some pictures of some of your supplies:

Insulation board - side a

Insulation board - side b

Insulation board cut in half

Insul-Bright

Wrapped Insulation board with Insul-Bright

Painter's drop cloth 2 mil

Liquid Thread

Make sure you do not buy Liquid Stitch! It is NOT the same product. This product is made by Beacon and is called Liquid Thread.

More pictures later showing construction.

Welcome to Israel! World Quilting Travel Adventure

Welcome to Israel!

Hey, we made it! And you are going to love our visit to Israel. Did you check out the virtual tour that I posted earlier? It is amazing and if you haven't checked it out yet, please do. Don't forget that you can 'look' anywhere by moving your mouse and the camera will look with you -- up, down, front, side to side, and even completely backwards. It was so much fun. Someday, my husband and I would love to have our feet on the ground and walk the route where our Lord and Savior, Jesus walked.

But until then here are a few known and little known facts about our next destination, Israel.

1. It is well known that the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, but what is less well known is that it is 850 feet lower than the next lowest place, Lake Assal (a crater lake), in central- western Djibouti.
2. The Dead Sea is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. People can easily float in the Dead Sea due to its unusually high salt concentration. It is nearly impossible however to dive into it.
3. Nine out of 10 Israeli homes use solar power to heat water.
4. There are over 100 sushi restaurants in Tel Aviv making it the city with the most sushi restaurants per capita after Tokyo and New York City.
5. Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world.
6. Israel has the highest rate of entrepreneurship among women and people over 55 in the world. Is it just me that thinks that is fantastic!
7. Israeli banknotes have braille markings on them.
8. Israelis consume the third most amount of vegetables and sweets in the world.
9. Israel is quite technologically advanced. It is considered "Silicon Valley East," the world's second-largest creator of IT software and systems.
10. There are more cellphones, bookstores, laptops, and museums per capita in Israel than in any country on earth.
11. The worldwide green revolution began in Israel a century ago. More trees per acre have been planted in Israel since 1900 than in any other country on the planet. 
12. Water-saving drip irrigation was invented in Israel.
13. Every citizen when they turn 18 are drafted into the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). There are some who are exempt or excused due to religious reasons, however, many do serve. Boys are required to serve three years and girls two years. I personally think this is awesome and believe that service to ones country is the true meaning of citizenship. 
14. In spite of its large media presence, Israel is very small. You can run across it from east to west in two hours and north to south in nine days. The area is 8,550 square miles.
15. Israel's form of government is Parliamentary Democracy. The Capital is Jerusalem and the major river is the Jordan.
16. Israel has the highest levels of bird traffic in the world with over 500 million migrating birds crossing its airspace! WOW.
17. In 2008, Israel chose the Hoopoe as its national bird during the country's celebration of its 60th anniversary.

As soon as I saw a Hoopoe which I had to learn how to say...click HERE, I knew it had to be our next souvenir. The more I learned, the more personal the souvenir became. This post is going to be a little longer because I just have to share more about this magnificent bird with you so you will feel as connected to the hoopoe as I do.

First, hoopoes are stunning birds with their flashes of black and white combined with a liberal dash of pale orange, offset by long, sabre-like bills and topped with an extraordinary headdress that appear like fans. They are also known as butterfly birds because of their back and forth fluttering way of flying.

They have many unique sounds depending on their mood and what's going on. Here's a few links for you to click on so you can hear and see:

• Normal calling. I love watching his/her movements and the sound is lovely, soft cooing "oop...oop...oop.
• Mama feeding her young. Hoopoes nest in holes and are particularly fond of old wood.
• They love dust baths and sun bathing.
• The are monogamous, but their bond with a mate only lasts for a single season.
• The males are extremely territorial and make calls continually to advertise his ownership of an area. 
• Hoopoes have a tremendous predator defense. When threatened, hoopoes have a smelly surprise for their enemies. If alarmed, a hoopoe releases a fluid that stinks of rotting meat from a specialized gland above the tail. Even the young ones have this ability to protect themselves. It is believed that this foul smell also acts as an antibacterial agent and deters parasites. I know I wouldn't want to be sprayed with a rotting meat scent. And here I thought skunks were the worst scent!
• Hoopoes love grubs and include many different species of grubs that we consider pests such as the processionary moth making hoopoes a protective species in many countries.
• Unfortunately, in Morocco hoopoes are traded live as medicinal products. This is unregulated and has become a threat to local populations. 

Birds add life, sound, and color to our lives. Spring seems right around to corner here because I am beginning to hear many bird songs each morning and throughout the day. Watching birds is a natural way of releasing the pressures and issues of the day. I cannot imagine a world void of birds. Birds have been used as indicators of the state of our environment for years because of their sensitivity to habitat change. Usually a drop in bird populations is the first indication of an environmental problem. 

We as stewards of our wonderful world must take care of it and even the smallest form of life or we endanger the entire structure of our planet. If birds can live on our planet, we, humans can live as well. 

I still have to quilt my souvenir that I designed for you. I'm not sure how others design their creations but for me it has been a hands on, get down and just start meddling until I get in a zone. The zone is sometimes pretty illusive and I must fight and struggle to stay the path. I'm definately not a fast designer and that's okay. Our trips are not set in stone to be monthly. Some may take longer and some may happen faster. I'm just glad you are joining me on the journey!

I'm nearly done writing the instructions and will get them emailed as soon as possible.

May I introduce you to: Dressed-to-Impress -- the flamboyant Hoopoe!

Dressed-to-Impress - the flamboyant Hoopoe

Israel is our next destination -- Are you coming?

I hope you answered a BIG YES to traveling to Israel with me!

Oregon has been dealing with the craziest, most awful winter storm that just will not go away (snow, ice, damaging wind, rinse and repeat). Freezing rain has been forecast for today so here we go again. I've been stuck in the house for over a week and getting a bit stir crazy because even though I don't have to get out, the fact that I can't makes me want to. LOL

February is quickly approaching so I thought I'd better get myself in gear and start the next souvenir for our trip. In February we are travelling to Israel. Israel is a place I have dreamed of visiting for many, many years. I may never ever get the chance to be there in person so I'm diving in with both feet and including it in our next World Quilting Travel Adventure destination.

The drawing part is finished, and I will be choosing fabrics and starting putting it together this weekend. I'm so excited to share it with you! The anticipation of seeing what you do with each souvenir is wonderful and fun. I love when you share with me. Please check out the link above that shows some of our traveler souvenirs. Please add your link too even if you aren't finished with it yet! 

I have no regular work for the rest of today so I'm planning on working on the border for a quilt that has been on my design wall for much too long. Put it this way, if my quilt was a fine wine, it would be time to drink it! The quilt pattern was designed by Sue Garman and was part of a block of the month at The Quilt Show. I redesigned the center block, ribbon borders and all cornerstone blocks to fit my theme. It took me a long time to choose fabrics that fit my 'old Christmas' theme and then to make all the redesigned areas. The doves were much harder to do than I anticipated, but I love them. Sue passed away before I could post finishing pictures of it, but I think she would like it. Here is a link to Sue's version if you would like to see it. She really was a master designer. I did not know her personally, but I really miss her being here on earth with us. 

Here's a few progress pictures. This quilt will be finished this year God willing.

And this is where I am now. I still have a swag border and a couple narrow inner borders to do but I see the end is near.

England Souvenir is finished

England Souvenir Finished

I finished it! Did you notice the something else added? I couldn't help myself and added tiny half pearls and it was just what it needed. I'm happy. I hope you will enjoy creating your souvenir as much as I did.

Close-up 1

Close-up 2

Welcome to England! World Quilting Travel Adventure

Welcome to England!

It's time for England and I'm happy that we have arrived!

There are so many wonderful tidbits of England that it was difficult to choose so few.

1. Big Ben is not actually the name of the clock, it is the name of the bell which is inside the clock.
2. In the year 1945 a large flock of starlings landed on the minute hand of St. Stephen’s Tower (Big Ben) which made the time of the clock go back by 5 minutes.
3. I visited several places trying to make sure about this next fun fact. I understand that there are more chickens than people in England. Okay, for those that don't know me, I am the crazy chicken lady so this tidbit had me smiling ear to ear.
4. The River Thames that flows through London has over 20 tunnels and 200 bridges.
5. Throughout the years, London has been under many names, during the Roman Invasion it was called Londonium… it was also called Ludenwic in the Saxon times.
6. Back in Shakespeare’s day, mattresses were fastened to bed frames by ropes; by doing this you were able to pull the ropes which would make the mattress tighter, therefore making it firmer to sleep on hence the saying “goodnight, sleep tight.”
7. England is 74 times smaller than the USA, 59 times smaller than Australia and 3 times smaller than Japan. England is however 2.5 times more populous than Australia.
8. One of England’s quaintest traditional events is the cheese rolling competition in Brockworth, Gloucestershire.
9. The world’s first public street lighting with gas was installed in Pall Mall, London in 1807. In 1812, the London and Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company became the world’s first gas company.
10. The oldest zoo in the world opened in England, in the city of London in 1828.
11. Shoelaces were invented in England in 1790.
12. There are over 300 languages spoken in England.
13. English people consume more tea per capita than anybody else in the world (2.5 times more than the Japanese and 22 times more than the Americans or the French). 

I love tea whether it be hot or cold so it only made sense that the souvenir had to tea related. The process of making it is as important as drinking it to me. For the past several years, I have been a student of tea and have loved learning how different types of tea are made and where they are made. Did you know that half of the world now drinks tea! If you would enjoy learning more, go HERE. Another fun thing about the Tea Journey folks is that they have a JoJo Club! Now how fun is that. I felt so special seeing my name that I may have to join and get custom teas delivered to my home each month!  I learned about the magazine from a Kickstarter campaign that I participated in. I can hardly wait until the summer of 2017 to get my special, smart tea brewer.

Yay----I only have the binding left to do and wanted to get this out to all of my patient travelers. I will email the pattern tonight so keep a eye on your mailboxes!  :)

Now, can't you just picture yourself walking down a path and seeing the Tea Room sign beckoning you to come in out of the cold for a nice, soothing cup of hot tea! Ole England how I desire to someday visit you in person.

England Souvenir

Anyone want to go to England with me? World Quilting Adventure -- Passport Required

England Souvenir by JoJo Hall

I'm going against my own rules again. LOL. I seem to do that a lot, don't I?

Our next stop on our quilting adventure is England!!! I'm sharing a picture of the souvenir my traveler's will be receiving once I've written the instructions and finished the quilting on it. It was so much fun to make and I had to make myself stop because I kept thinking of more things to add to it. I may have to add some fun hand stitching once I complete the machine quilting. And, my sign post is screaming for some embellishment. I also have a few points on the post that will have 'welding' spots so stay tuned for what I have in mind for it! Are you excited????

I will be working off my Thanksgiving calories for the next several months but it sure was yummy and relaxing spending time with my best friend and husband.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Let's make Hexies!

March 2015 BOM - Arabella - Designed by JoJo Hall

Have you joined the hexie craze? No? Well, I'm here to remedy that right now. In case you are a new visitor to my blog, I'm a bit enthusiastic over the hexagon shape. So much so that I designed a block of the month and taught it at a local quilt store in 2015. It was so much fun seeing each student's monthly blocks.

Our souvenir for Canada is the perfect "dip your toes" hexie project. There are only 10 hexagons to make. I have videos for you to watch on knotting, basting, and joining hexies. The videos are posted them on my website HERE. Note: there are many ways to baste hexies: glue baste, through the paper and through only the back. Choose the method that you prefer. For me, I prefer through the paper.

Here's our finished souvenir.

Sewing map

After appliqueing hexies, prairie points & stitching

After trimming batting and backing

Sewing binding on

Love Clover mini clips!

Front view before stitching down back

Welcome to Canada! World Quilting Travel Adventure

Big, Beautiful Canada!

It is impossible for me to select just one area of Canada to visit. Canada is definitely a destination that my husband and I both will visit someday. Since we live in Oregon, we will most likely visit by driving up through Washington and into Canada. We are parents to a 10 year-old baby dog that cannot be boarded due to an ongoing illness so travelling is pretty nonexistent unless it is fairly close and we can bring him with us. 

Seeking out tidbits of interesting facts about each destination is so much fun. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I had fun finding them.

1. Did you know that Canada is the second largest country in the world! Wow!!! In case you are wondering, Russia is the largest with the United States coming in at third place.
2. Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world at 243,977 kilometers – 151,600 miles.
3. Canada has six time zones.
4. Half of the country is covered with forests. That means that one-tenth of the world’s forests are there.
5. Almost half of the population in Canada were born in other countries.
6. I understand that dog food is tax-deductible in Canada. Could that be true, and if yes, how wonderful!
7. Canadians like to finish a sentence with the word Eh. For some reason, that makes me smile!
8. Baseball fans have Canada to thank for the baseball glove. It was invented in Canada in 1883; However, hockey and lacrosse are Canada’s national sports.
9. There are a lot of smart people in Canada. Their literacy rate is over 99%.
10. Canada is home to 42 national parks, 167 national historic sites and four marine conservation areas.
11. There are a lot of HAPPY people living in Canada! Thirty two percent of Canadians are very happy, 55% are quite happy.
12. It appears from the research I've found, Canada is a bilingual country with French and English recognized as the nation’s national languages. Isn't that wonderful. I wish I would have learned another language. 

One phenomenon that occurs in Canada that I must see in person before I leave this planet, it the aurora borealis, which some also call the Northern Lights. Regardless of what it is officially called, I must see it in person someday. 

Here's my inspiration for our souvenir from Canada,

Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights

Isn't it beautiful!!!!

Now my first stab at creating the souvenir was a bust. I researched all kinds of information about the colors, sky, movement, etc. I guess the gases in the atmosphere can reflect a whole rainbow of colors. 

So instead of trying to be so literal (my left brain trying to take over!), I allowed myself to 'see' differently. This seeing allowed my right brain to drift and slowly allow a general idea of the souvenir. Sounds crazy I know, but I am not a person who can plan out the project BEFORE doing it. I have to just jump in and create with just a general feel for what I'm going for. 

Allow me to introduce you to my version of the aurora borealis.

JoJo Hall's Rendition of Canada's Northern Lights

Isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen! I had such a great time creating it. It's a perfect hot pad size, but I doubt I could ever allow anything to sit on it. At least not just yet.

Now, things you will learn if you follow me on this one:

• How to draft any size hexagon you want.
• How to make and sew hexagons (videos will be available). If you have never played with hexagons yet, I hope you will give it a try. There are only 10 little ones and they sit on one big one!
• How to make Prairie points!
• How to sew binding on a hexagon shape that doesn't have 90 degree angles.

Normally, I post this post and at the same time, I send the pattern to the travelers. This time, however, I need a little more time to get the instructions out of my head and into the computer. 

What that means to you if you are just reading this post is that you have time to request your passport and jump on the plane. You must submit a comment below telling me you want to come along. Leave your email or I cannot send you the instructions. Also, please become a follower of my blog.

Just as a reminder -- check out the top of tab, Travelers Souvenirs. If you have finished a souvenir, please add a link to your page so others can be inspired by your art. Thank you Karen for being the first brave soul to post a link. Now, who is going to be next!

Link up is now working!

I am the worst at trying to be perfect. Do you struggle with the perfection gene too? Don't get me wrong. It's great to want to do the best I can do, but it can become an obstacle when I continue to critique myself to the point that I stop creating. At that point, perfection becomes a doorstop. I've tossed the doorstop into the garage where it can't mire me down. Won't you join me in kicking it out of your studio. 

I have one more embroidery order to finish today and then I will be back at our next adventure. I came up with a new idea that I think will be fun for you and me. It will be small and should go together quickly. My biggest issue is that I fight the BIG. My travelers have shown me that small is not just okay, it's wonderful. That is not to say that I will not occasionally go for a middle size, but my goal will be to stay small. Let's see how I do! LOL 

Link ups are ready for YOU! When you finish a souvenir and have posted on your blog about it, would you please add your link to it? At the top of my blog is a new tab called Travelers Souvenirs. Please add the actual page link on your blog that has the souvenir. This way visitors won't have to search for it on your blog.  

The longest they will allow me to be able to keep the link up open is 30 days. So each month, I will add a new Link up. The previous Link ups will remain so you can browse through them when you are in the mood for inspiration. I get a lot of inspiration from seeing your work so please share your finished souvenirs with us!

Okay, I better get these jackets done so I can get to the next souvenir. Stay tuned!