Hogwash!

My raspberries are ripening like popcorn into an overflowing bowl. It's a good year! Popped one in my mouth last night and got a mouthful of wasabi. It seems that some bugs taste like wasabi. I'm not keen on those bugs.

Our groundhog is back! He/she is adorable, but likes to sample the salad bar rather than stick to one (and only one) squash like our last hog. The Lee Valley motion sensor water squirter is going back out! We are now keeping an eye out for the little rascal. It's called the 'Hog Watch'. It comes out as hog wash. After we admire him (so cute!) we gently shoo him away from the garden. You may roll your eyes now.

Sisters Week is over. We had a great time (what goes on during sister week stays....). The Fundy tides are amazing, and the valley has endless numbers of things to do! Mmm, lobster in Hall's Harbour! I made a sister week bag (Annika Market Bag) for everyone. I had another project planned, but it was NOT going to happen this year. Next year perhaps. It's all ready to go.

I like the bag pattern. It goes together in a sensible manner. The handles actually end up on the fold - and such a simple step makes it all more practical. You can line it (I did) or not. I embroidered both sides so a lining was tidier. The Great P designed the sister week logo for me. I don't do design software yet and she had just had a workshop. The other embroidery came from Urban Threads. They have great sales and monthly freebies!

Aren't we beautiful? 

Four days last week saw me at a Husqvarna Dealers Retreat, again in the Annapolis Valley. I've not sewn with a HV before and was a bit concerned I wouldn't like it. However, if you just assume a new machine works in a logical fashion, you seem to be correct - and things went very well. I had a Topaz 50 to work with. It's an embroidery machine aimed at beginner to middle enthusiast embroiderers. It's a bit slower to stitch things out and the screen you work with is smaller. Other than that it does a beautiful job and handled some pretty big tasks. For the bucks it's a bargain.

I accidentally embroidered some bag handles to the back of my work. That little machine just purred through all the 'extra' fabric. Usually you can hear a problem as it happens. I didn't, and the embroidery was just fine! The bag will be requiring a rescue. I have some handle strapping at home, I think. It will be good as new, and a testament to 'machine over stupid owner'.  I also put an embroidery stitching out of alignment. My fault. Don't leave clips where they shouldn't go. However, even with that little screen and fewer positioning tools we (it takes a village) got it back perfectly to finish a rather lovely piece of work.
















But look! Great embroidery on one side, thick strap on the other side! Impressive!

It was a dream come true weekend for a sewer. Compare it to hopping on an endless wine tour bus that just keeps on pulling up to another wonderful discovery! So much expertise in a room! So many things to discover! Wonderful people and wonderful fun. We started officially at 9 am (most people were early) and ended anytime after 10 - including a few midnights. No, you didn't have to do any of it. You just couldn't stop! You might miss something! You were dying to see how that would turn out! We even ordered our meals delivered to our room. Sewing heaven!