Taking Hubby Shoe Shopping

I wrote a while ago about the trials of replacing those essentials, Bra and Jeans. I did recover.

https://marykayhopkins123.blogspot.com/2017/07/ageing-indignities-not-for-feint-of.html 

But now I finally admitted the black 'sneakers' were not Summer fare and were getting a little tired,  not really suitable for dressing up or even going anywhere unless dressed in grubbies or jeans.

As I'm soon doing a road trip with the girls I admitted to myself.........It was time.

I hate shopping (and have mentioned it, out loud, a couple of times).

This morning, as I was sitting in the sunshine, finishing a third cup of coffee, Hubby offered to take me Shoe shopping. I looked at him fondly and gently said something like he was the last person who deserved to go shoe shopping with me. But he looked so crest fallen I added " If you really want to, I'm game."
(The first catch was I had to help him into his support hose. We're starting to make a pretty good team there.)
He has success replacing his 'dockers' periodically in Cambridge so he wanted me to try that store.

Understand that I cannot wear cheap shoes, not that I don't want to or don't think some of them are soooo cute....but I have big, misshapen 'old lady feet'.
I've had them since high school and they aren't getting better. When I can I default to men's shoes.

But they don't carry 'NICE' shoes in any men's department I know of. Maybe I just don't know the right stores.
We started out about 11 AM
It's enough to say 3 stores later, Hubby was having BP issues and a sugar crash.
I offered to drive home but he insisted in carrying on.... after we made a lunch stop at Timmy's.

We started going store to store on the route home. My ace in the bottom of my purse would have been a $ Bio-ped $ store. In fact I had been resigned to starting there.

Close to 3 PM we made our last stop......at a Shoe Per store.
Eureka.
The first pair.
(I don't think it was because I had tried on at least 50 unsuitable pairs and was desperate, or knew it was now a mission hubby was on.).
The first pair fit and didn't pitch or chafe.
They didn't cause searing pain in the ball of my feet or put my toes on fire.
I could actually WALK in them. I must have walked around the store twenty times.
They were wide enough.... and...feminine ....enough.

German made Rieker's
Sold.
What a Saint I live with.  💓

Time to Start something New.

After finishing all my Bears this Spring, I had a lot of false starts. Now I'm ready to begin using an alternative method for the basis of the piece. Having a few quilts to finish for my friends did help to clear the mind and aided in decisions made...
I dove in this afternoon.

It's going to be landscape, with trees in Autumn. Nothing new there but I wanted something different in the way of a background other than solid fabric or colour blocking covered with confetti. So I'm taking my inspiration from this project from last year, a purse I made using a pattern from Yoko Saito.

The body of the design was built from strips, one inch pieces of materiel.

They were run through a bias tape maker, woven together and then fused and stitched to the facing of the purse.
Same method here, but these will be primarily green.

It's also something I can stop and start at anytime.
I'm thinking this will be a big piece...3'x4'?
It will take some time.
After all it is summer.

Jelly Roll Quilt

This was a very quick finish.
A friend made this for her Dad.....Father's Day is just around the corner.

Very Red, White and Blue

this is a charming and cheerful Lap quilt I finished for a friend's sister. Though she lives in the states she's a Maple Leaf's fan, so that's what's quilted all over.

.

Group Challenge - Music

Under Mother's Piano

Back September last, one of my group gave us each, a baggie with 5 pieces of material.
With a little party game we chose the theme Music. The due date was our last meeting, the June meeting, the one coming up.

Like most, I put it away. A year is a long time.
The topic did come up a few times. Some of the group had finished their piece and others, like myself were still 'thinking'.

It was only recently when some of the chaos in my creative life settled, I decided what to do and then I spent a few hours on the internet looking for some drawing guides.


Music was very important in my childhood. It lead me to lessons and I played piano and violin all through High School.
And it began under my Mother's piano.

She was a 'concert pianist' grade and gave it up to marry and teach. But that piano was part of the sound memories of my youth and the hours I spend underneath shaped my tastes to this day.

Castle Rock - Final

It's a month since I started this at a SAQA workshop at Crieff and while it took a few days to get back to it once I was home, it's done.
Now I have to lay it aside a week for other matters. When I do get back to finishing the quilting, I don't expect the image itself will change at all.

Castle Rock - Day 17

Lots of diddly little branches.
Hmmmmm.....needs more.....................but the sunshine and the garden calls.

Castle Rock - Day 16

It took the morning to stitch down all the foliage at the bottom. I was going to net it but at the last minute I took it off and stitched the leaves individually.

The trunks were thread painted, and finally this afternoon I started on the canopy of the forest.
Another day should do it.

Castle Rock - Day 15

Even I have a breaking point.
I spent several hours this morning (as well as countless hours before) making fern and bracken fronds. Then.............I hit the wall.
Enough already!

So I took six charm squares I had set aside, cut them all up and literally threw them at the bottom.
All assembled. 😁

What's next?
Before the final quilting I need to thread paint the large trees, the add fine branch work on the horizon....and a little more diddly stuff as I come to it.
See you on the other side.

Castle Rock - Day 14

Lots of errands today so only a little bit......of little bits.

Ferns and 'twists' of cheesecloth.

Castle Rock - Day 13

Little bits and pieces.
Ferns and bracken and moss.
They all take....time and patience.