Tag: Life

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A December Adventure

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A few months ago we discovered that a Finnish comedian, Ismo that we have watched on YouTube was going to be in Duluth this month. So we ordered tickets thinking that we would just keep an eye on the weather. We also booked our stay at the Inn on the Lake Superior where we always stay in Duluth.

The drive down was nice and uneventful, we don’t like to race but instead usually a take our time to explore a little.

This time I explored a new quilt shop in Two Harbours…I was greeted at the door by the sweetest little white pup and of course then enjoyed meeting the shop owner and exploring her beautiful shop!

Her shop is full of a lot of variety of new lines of fabric. Also for those who have been quilting for a while and remember the quilt shop in Castle Danger…those fabrics have been relocated to an area of this shop at a discounted price.

After arriving in Duluth we spent a little time at Costco before checking into the hotel. One of the things we enjoy about staying in Canal Park is the freedom of walking around the area. We had soup at Grandmas before setting off for the Bentleyville Tour of Lights!

If you are in the area it is well worth the visit! It felt truly magical and I felt an almost childlike awe in it all!

The next morning, I had enjoyed a visit with my friend Megan at Hannah Johnson’s quilt shop… I behaved and only walked out with a little purchase this time. This is a shop that I could spend hours in and come out with bags of so much fun!!

After a day of shopping around Miller Hill and Herman Town it was time to return to Canal Park, with the weather changing and now blizzard warnings in effect we decided to drive to have supper at Lucé Pizza… we love their classic.

A fun picture of a store front where we parked…

And we were off to the show, it was held at the Masonic Lodge just up Lake St on the corner of Second avenue…Megan had told me how beautiful this building was and it is. The show was fun and lots of laughs!

Ismo and I

With the blizzard warnings in effect for Duluth and the north shore for our drive home day it was a little hard not to worry…we enjoyed a swim and sauna before bed as we made the decision to head home first thing in the morning.

Leaving Duluth Wednesday morning the roads were snow covered with the wet slushy stuff and temps hovering around freezing and snow blinding at times it was messy…we thankfully followed a snowplow just past Two Harbours and then a transport to Beaver Bay. By then we had managed to get just a little ahead of the storm, and the roads were wet but fine.

We stopped in Grand Marais to watch the angry lakes high waves crashing over the shoreline, thankful that we would miss the worst of the storm and soon be home.

After unloading and getting settled back home I was happy to be back in my studio! One of the things that I picked up was the binding fabric for my Sunny quilt!

We are home in time for more snow which is fine as I have a lot to keep me busy in my studio and preparing for Christmas of course.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

December and Life

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Big News on the life front! We found our Christmas tree!

I guess we are just a couple of old souls as we just love having a real tree for Christmas.

Every year we visit the tree farm and carefully choose our tree. It will be set up and decorated before next weekend. I love the addition of light the tree brings to our home during the less day light days this time of year. 11 more days until Winter Solstice 😊

The owners of this tree farm we recently discovered have retired and moved…yesterday I met the new owner and am so happy to say that she is so excited about their new home and venture.

On the quilting front my days and evenings have been busy helping others finish their quilts!

This one is currently being quilted, and in fact is more than halfway finished. I pieced the backing for its maker, something that I offer for free to my customers and for the most part am taken up on the offer.

I also like to take the time to press each quilt top and backing before loading onto the Longarm.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

November Snow and Life

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Well we knew it was coming and we did make a point of savouring the last of the above freezing temperatures. This new view from the picture window will most likely be our reality for a while.

The hours of daylight are lessening with every day, making me increasingly thankful for my fun bright studio and the quilts that I am entrusted with to help complete.

This is one of the projects that kept me busy this week. I really do love the affect of a lot of background fill in this case circles and swirls…more about it in another post.

Liam will be 11 this month and is happily enjoying being in grade 6 and being in school. One of his latest accomplishments has been mastering the rubic cube! He was pretty proud of himself as he’s been working on that for several months.

In my free time I have continued to play with crumb piecing…

I have also discovered Minki Kim’s YouTube tutorials on her bag and pouch making. Have you checked them out?

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A November Treat

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We have really enjoyed beautiful weather this last week which for the beginning of November is such a treat!

Knowing that it won’t last long, I made it a point to use the clothesline and also to bring the winter boots etc in from storage yesterday.

On the quilting side of my life, I currently have a queen sized quilt on the Longarm. I often will work in the morning into the early afternoon and then spend my evenings quilting.

I left off last night with one more row to quilt…

With the temperature in the high teens yesterday (Celsius) and the weather forecast showing that is the last of these temperatures for a long time an outdoor adventure was in order.

I joined Liam and his Mom…my daughter for an adventure at a nearby park.

We have a high of 6C today and rain and snow forecasted for tomorrow.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

November

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At the beginning of every month it seems that Erik and I comment to each other how the previous month flew by…

October was no exception! It was a full month of preparing the yard for the upcoming winter while the weather cooperates. We did enjoy nice temperatures for the most part.

Somehow this summer we didn’t get out fishing! So early in October there looked like a promising day and Liam happily agreed to miss an afternoon of school and join us for some fishing! It was a fantastic day and we were rewarded with our limits of pickerel.

Jaxson came by for some driving lessons….

We even had some target shooting visitors!

October was a very busy month in my studio! My Longarm quilting takes precedence which has left little time for personal piecing. When time allows usually at the end of the day I have worked on my crumb blocks…I find it a relaxing way to play and to use up bits of fabric scraps.

Here’s a sneak peek at one of the last of the October customer quilts. It is one of two that will be fun to share after they are picked up.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Fun Memories and a Surprise!

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When I first began Longarm quilting for others the season of my life was busy!! I was raising 4 daughters on my own and had a full time day job. Needless to say my time was not my own.

I was so fortunate to have friends who really cheered me on and supported me in several aspects of my life. One was my friend Alva, who I have written about before. She truly loved quilting and she especially loved sharing what she knew with others.

She was never shy about trying new techniques.

My quilting group is happily meeting in person again and this week, some were reminiscing about the great programs that were once offered at our city’s first quilt shop. The owner Diana really did an amazing job with classes, clubs and programs!

The second shop, The Stash also offered classes and I remember Alva talking about her Colour Wheel class, showing me samples and about how to take it. I was interested but again there just wasn’t time for very much play.

Anyways, when I was getting ready to head to quilting group on Monday is was looking for misplaced book and came across a tote of Alva’s tutorials…

Alva’s Colour Wheel class was popular and it turns out it wasn’t only missed by me…it may be revisited.

Another treasure discovered was her sample from the Fractures workshop that we took together. Hers of course involved Poppies! She loved red and Poppies. Wouldn’t this piece look perfect on a bag!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure (part 5) Harvest Hosts

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One of the most interesting things of course with RV Travel are all of the great places to stay! We joined Boondockers Welcome before we picked up the Motorhome in Quebec and then upgraded to Harvest Hosts before our September adventure.

I have already mentioned our first Harvest Host stay…The Snowmobile Museum. Well our second HH stay was at an Apple Orchard… not far from Frankenmuth.

https://www.greenapplebarn.com

The owners were so friendly and accommodating, they encouraged us to explore which we did and of course purchased some yummy treats from their shop.

On the way home we stayed a second night at the KOA in St. Ignace Michigan.

Our last night was spent Iron River Wisconsin at the White River Winery. https://whitewinter.com/

After enjoying a tasting and visiting with the owner and staff and some purchases… we parked the Motorhome for the night.

We made good use of their trails, meeting up with a few side by side drivers along the way.

Before heading to the border we parked at the Marina in Grand Marais for lunch. The clouds were heavy and our drive home was wet!

We are always well prepared to cross back into Canada, including the Can app all filled in…something that is now discontinued.

We crossed easily and looked forward to being home.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure (part 4) Mackinaw and Frankenmuth

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Our arrival to St Ignace seems well reflected in the picture of me on the ferry!

Upon arrival we were told where to park the motorhome and the shuttle was there waiting for us. I had expected a little time to get ready for the excursion…

I do enjoy being on the water and chose that we sit up top and on the side. It was a fun ride that before arriving at the island we were given an up-close look at the Mackinaw Bridge.

The arrival on the island and off the Ferry was fun and definitely felt like we were somewhere different. There are no motorized vehicles on the Island which gave it a peaceful feel. Of course being a tourist destination it was a busy place and considering it was a rainy September day and still very busy I can only imagine how crazy July must be.

We enjoyed some hiking and the beautiful scenery.

After several hours exploring we were on our way back to the mainland and our campsite for the night. The KOA in St Ignace.

The next morning we left to cross the Mackinaw Bridge on route to Frankenmuth Michigan. It was a rainy day and being on the passenger side I could definitely see how high above the lake we were…

We spent a few hours exploring…

Erik was really interested in the covered bridge..it really is something how they are constructed!

We left Frankenmuth headed to Freeland for the night…our next Harvest Host stay…which I will share in my next post.

We spent the next day in the area exploring.

Frankenmuth is well known as a Christmas Town and we did visit Bonners and their amazing shop of all things Christmas Decor. We did buy a few things though I am more inclined towards less is more and sentimental hand crafted decorating.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure (part 3) Da Yoopers and Top of the Lake

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After leaving Houghton/Hancock we were off to check out Da Yoopers Tourist Trap! https://dayoopers.com

You would need to see it along with a good sense of humour, it was a fun stop.

Largest operating chainsaw

Our next stop for the night was our first Harvest Host stay in Naubinway Michigan. The Snowmobile Museum. https://www.snowmobilemuseum.com

The museum was really interesting, the staff were very knowledgeable as well. Also on a quilty note their local quilters meet there weekly as do their knitting group as the have a meeting room as well.

We purchased a membership in the spring from Boondockers Welcome and upgraded to Harvest Hosts for this trip. Harvest Host lists thousands of businesses that allow members to stay overnight. Two other couples were also staying the night and we enjoyed visiting with them.

After dinner we walked to the Marina. Naubinway is located at the Top of Lake Michigan.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure part 2 Houghton/Hancock and area.

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We left Duluth after our 2 night stay headed toward the Houghton/Hancock area.

The Upper Peninsula is known for its Finnish Heritage, so one of our first stops was The Little Finland Heritage site. One of the great things about travelling in the fall is how much quieter everything is the downside is that most sites move to self guided tours with the buildings closed. It was still a nice walk and fun to look around.

Look what I found!! I had read about the heart project but never ever considered finding a heart myself… this discovery truly put a smile on my face and Eriks as well.

Erik had done some research and found another Heritage site to visit which was fairly close to Houghton, though it was a little challenging to find.

The Hanka Homestead, we really enjoyed our self guided tour!

I have always loved these pumps and this one worked!
A love of tractors!
Smoke Sauna
The root cellar tucked away, that door was open and it was very cold inside on that hot day.

The house was locked up of course however I was able to peek into the windows.

Check out this clothesline!

We really enjoyed exploring this site.

And then we were on our way to find our campsite. We stayed at the Hancock Recreation Area Beach and Campground. Our site allowed us a view of the river as they call it there.

We spent the next day exploring. Starting off with a fun snack!

Of course I had checked for a quilt shop in the area and I was not disappointed!! I did add to my stash a little too 😊 and highly recommend this shop.