Rosebud Garland in Make Modern #55

I am thrilled to finally be able to share a design that was accepted in January of this year for Make Modern issue 55!

Our own Sweet Autumn Clematis was stunning again this year, and when one of my sweet neighbours, Mary Beth, exclaimed about it, she said hers was wonderful this year too, climbing all the way over a wooden trellis. When I was thinking of good places for a photo shoot for my project, I thought her trellis might frame the runner perfectly. And wow, did it ever!

W-EVdnesday #3 - Range

I'm so happy to hear that these posts are helpful! Thank you for your comments and observations and questions. Today I'll talk about range. Many people believe that you can't go very far in an EV. While it is true that we now stop more often when we are travelling, I do not mind this. We've found we're not as exhausted when we arrive at our destination as before when we didn't take breaks.

Stopping for Pup Cups at Starbucks is never a bad idea!

Our car has a range of 500 km. Just as with ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles, range is dependent on a few factors: wind, speed, what systems you're using (AC, heat) and ambient temperature. Where EVs differ from ICE vehicles is that they get less mileage on the highway and better mileage in the city. We've found with our car if we're tootling around in the city we see a 560 km range; on the highway on long hauls, it is around 430 km, depending on the above factors. Note that that's cruising at 120 kph.

Gratitude #78 Glimmers

I readily admit that I have had a bit harder of a time lately in some ways finding those 'Glimmers', moments or sights or thoughts that give me a glimmer of happiness. Being grateful, however, has become a habit, and it does lead to a happier human. You can find more grateful posts at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color.

1. This one makes my heart sing! About a year ago, an Etsy customer, Wendy in Boston, messaged me after she'd bought my pattern, Grace, asking if I thought she could reverse the pattern to make two quilts that fit together, like a friendship necklace, she said,  for her niece's twin baby girls. I loved the idea and sent her a colouring sheet in reverse image. It is now a part of your download for the pattern. She sent me this photo last week!

The twins are now about ten months old. Wendy did the smooth-edge heart. Instructions for the smooth or jagged (broken) heart are included in the pattern.

DrEAMi #76

Welcome to another month where we share our 'squirrel' projects, those projects that get stuck in our brain and won't rest until we Drop Everything And Make it! Happy Full Hunter's Moon too.🌕 With a partial eclipse to add to the spookiness.👻

An oldie but such a goodie, especially as Halloween is in a few days! I got bitten hard by a squirrel this month.

W-EVdnesday #2 Charging Stations

Today's post is about charging. Probably the biggest reason people tell me why they aren't getting an EV is that, "We aren't there yet," when it comes to the infrastructure needed to charge electric cars. However, what you have to wrap your head around is that unless you are going on a trip, or your apartment or condo does not have charging stations, rarely if ever will you need to go to a public charging station. 

It's true that if you get off the main highways here in Ontario, your chances of finding a fast charger take a nosedive. However, along the major ones, for example the 401, they are plentiful and fast, at every OnRoute rest area. The other thing to consider is that major highways go through or very near major cities, and not far into a major city you will find fast chargers. We look for Canadian Tire stores (these are hardware, outdoor, home and garden major department stores) where Electrify Canada (our preference) and Flo chargers are.

 

One of our several free charges we’ve had over the past  1.75 years. I posted it on Instagram with a thank you any tag to Electrify Canada and they responded☺️

Not all Canadian Tire stores have EV chargers, but many do. Last year when we travelled to the Catskills, we found that Walmart had several Electrify America chargers in their parking lots. This makes such sense to have chargers at shopping centres! You plug in, head into the store, hit the washroom, grab something to eat or drink, and by the time you get back to your vehicle, it's probably about ready to take off again.

Quilt Tales for the Heart and Mind Presentation

I  am pleased to let you know that my 'inaugural tour' as Cathy dubbed it, was a resounding success.

Isn’t this absolutely wonderful? This little cushion sign was made by Cathy in Port Perry as a gift for me. 

Here is the other side:

Beautiful work, beautiful message on both sides! I love it so. And she knows me well: in my favourite colour.

Scrappy Rainbow Stars Quilt

It's amazing what a little pressure or incentive, or both can do to get a quilt done! This is one of three of my RSC 2023 quilts, yet another attempt to put a dent in the strings (it didn't). The free tutorial to make the 16" blocks is here.

As you can see, I had a good time quilting it.