AND THE WINNERS....ARE!

I put all the names in a bowl, I had 27 names of my friends of the past year who commented on my blogs and entered. I know it's not very many, but I so appreciate what was written each and every time.

Here are the winners...Anya, Caron, Trish, Karen, Lindsey, and Crispy. Please send me your addresses and I shall get to the post in the next few days and mail your gifts.

I hope you enjoy them. There is no grand prize winner, and I have the gifts put together and the 6 names will go into the bowl with the 6 prizes and that's how you get your prize.

Have a Happy Easter Weekend.

LETTERS, LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS!

This was the easiest quilt I've ever made. It was a panel that I bought ages ago and just couldn't decide what to do with the back.

Well it was decided when I saw the yellow check fabric I got from Mary. Perfect and I put it together yesterday. 4 bobbins is what it took to stipple this in yellow. Mary was over the moon happy with this. It's for a baby shower she is going to.

I hate to harp on the weather, but lordy, it's just awful! We've had more snow. Not a lot but just enough to make it slushy when walking in the park...with dogs, they get really wet. I took a ball to throw and it ended up picking up snow and it turned into a little snowball. Talk about a confused dog!

My friend Dawn has returned from Florida. Great! I'm happy to have a luncheon partner once again. We meet every week before we go to play bridge and do girl talk. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Planning my Easter dinner has become almost a daily chore of lists of what to do and what to have. It's decided...prime rib, roast potatoes, green beans, and of course sweet potatoes. I always make a cheesy brocolli casserole for any family function. Also for desert, pumpkin pie is on the menu as it's my sweetie's favorite, but what else has not been decided. It's looking good for now.

Today is bridge day.. I'm looking forward to it.

MY GIVEAWAY.

When I decided to do a giveaway, I think I forgot that there should be rules for entries.

Here they are.

1. You must have blogged here in the past year.

2. Let me know if you like selvages or not as I won't draw your name in that prize.

3. You only need to tell me once, because I know most of you.

4. Tell me what kind of quilter you are...hand or machine.

That's it, easy and simple. On Friday, I will draw the names of 5 and will contact you. Ok?

When we go to the cottage, we spend 6 months there. We leave in May and return in October.

The weather can get pretty hairy in October, so we start preparing for the "any day" situation for returning.

I think the most favorite spot at the cottage is the deck. We do everything there to the point that we pull chairs from everywhere when there is a gang for the weekend.

It's south facing vista gives such an expance that lots and lots of photos are taken from that spot. I have a telephoto lense and often take photos of the kids doing their water antics, which turn out well as spontaneous pictures often due.

The old deck was 8'x10', this one is 10x 40' and goes across the front of the cottage. When my sweetie designed and ultimately built the deck it was with the thought that the deck would be just what it turned out to be. The focal point to get together when it's "the season". It's perfect.

I do all my hand quilting there..You know finishing the binding.

I can't wait....

A GIFT FOR ME AND SOMETHING FOR YOU TOO.

My friend Mary went to visit her daughter in Peterborough the other day. Knowing how much I like fabrics and colours, she came home with all of this stuff. I already know what I am going to do with the yello check. It's going on a baby quilt that I have been "commissioned" to do. It's the perfect size check and I should have it finished in no time, as it's a panel that I bought last year and it's got this yellow in it.

The other one that she got is black and yellow. My goodness it is really bright! I am going to make a black yellow and white printed quilt and will use this for the back of it. It's pretty wild as you can see.

Now this flowery print below is actually 2 sheets the same colour and size.

I am going to make a quilt out of the two tops. I am going to add green on the sides etc to make it large enough to throw over Mary's bed at the cottage. The sheets are doubles, and the bed they use is a queen. It's so very bright and cottagey for their (as Mary calls it) bunkee.

I know that lots of people use only cottons, but my quilts are fun to make, easy too and I am just still practicing getting better and better at what I do.

The little print below is also a gift from Mary and I have plans to use it as the back of a quilt I shall be making from left over fabric from my grandmother's stash.

I need to make something with her fabrics and it has been suggested by a friend that I make simple squares and just put those together in a quilt. The fabric is fairly dark, but can take some red and I have lots of red left over from my red quilt that will someday be finished.

I am going to have a giveaway.....It's for those of you who have come to visit me in the past year, have kindly posted lovely notes and kept me going all this time.

I know that lots of people enter giveaways just to see if they can win, but I would like to thank those of you who have been kind enough to visit me and given me encouragement.

I have a lot of selvages which, if you collect them, let me know as you will then go into that giveaway...Other than that, I have "stuff" and am looking forward to picking 5 lucky winners to celebrate my having reached 100 blogs, and also for having a year in blogging.

Easy right and there won't be too many entries, but if anyone has blogged me then they are eligible...

THE WATERFALL

Each spring when we open the cottage the water levels on the lake are always high. That always means a trip to the waterfall at the end of the lake. It's the first trip the grandkids take because the trip itself is an adventure in Nana (me) docking the boat up against the old waterlogged floating pine that rests on the bank of the lake. I always get all the kids ready to grab a branch, and while holding a rope, at least 4 ropes are needed as it's hard to grab ahold of the shoreline tree branches, and tell them to hang on and pull the boat in, while I lift the motor, and try not to scratch the boat (ok, it's a bit scratched) and with everyone excited, we reach land!

The trip up to the waterfall is always full of oooooooohs and more oooooooooohs as we can hear the roar of the water coming over the rocks. We have many photo opps here and the kids just love climbing over rocks, tree limbs and crossing the top of the falls to come down to a level where Nana can take pictures of her darlings.

This is two of the boys just elated for having done the deed of the big climb up the waterfall and down to the big rock with the water just roaring behind them and they were just happy little cousins together at last after the long winter of not seeing each other!


This waterfall by standards of, well Niagara is a stream in comparison, but it's our Niagara each spring. There are always a lot of cottagers who come to the falls in the spring with their children and we all share this adventure, sometimes 4 or 5 boats will be tied to each other as there are so few spots to secure boats.

By June, the falls are a mere trickle of the past month and the black flies have come to the lake and only a few people go there till the season warms to kill off the black flies.

Being on and island, the breezes keep the flies away from us and it's like night and day from shore to islands regarding the pesky black flies. We couldn't bare it on the shores of the lake during May and June to work outside let alone sit on a deck and enjoy the day. But on the island we sit, read, sip our coffees and love the life at this little spot that we cherish.

When we bought the cottage, it was one of the first quetions I asked...you know black flies and the response was that out on the islands, there were very few...we believed him. And it's true, we can work with virtually no bug spray till dusk, when the mosquitos come out and the day ends.

Right now, there isn't anyone venturing out on the ice at the lake as there is some big things happening. There is lots of thick ice, open water in some spots, there has been heavy rain,then snow...everyone is awaiting the mid 60s temperature where one day there is ice and the next, the lake is open again and we all arrive to start the season.

Can't wait....