A Visit to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

 The Canadian Museum for Human Rights opened in the fall of 2014 in Winnipeg & we had been wanting to spend a day there & yesterday was the day. The museum cost 351 million dollars to build & took many years to complete.

 This red dress was one of the displays that I really wanted to see. This dress was worn by Mareshia Rucker of Abbeville, Georgia in 2013 in the first integrated prom for grads in Wilcox County High School.

 

 This display is 14 000 hand pressed fired beads made from Red River Gumbo. The artist is Anishinaabe Rebecca Belmore.

 

 Quote by John Diefenbaker.

 This display is in the Canadian Journeys to draw our attention to missing & murdered Aboriginal women.

 

This gallery was difficult to view & so I didn't quite finish viewing it. We decided to go back again as we just couldn't take it all in in one day as we found there is so much to view & to process.

Quilts for Charity

 Have spent quite a bit of time in my sewing these past few weeks working on quilts for the Agape Project.

 The Agape Project is coordinated by my friend, Nancy, who collects clothing & household items for needy families in the community.

 Sewed 4 boy quilts & 2 girl quilts for this project.

This is a good start towards the number of quilts I plan to sew for charity this winter. 

Thankful to the Lord that He has given me the desire & the love of sewing to help others.

My Christmas Gift

 Hubby asked me some time in December what I wanted for Christmas from him. I said that I would like a new lens for my camera. When I told him the cost of this macro lens & then I said that it was purely a want, not a need but that I would really like it. Well, he was a little floored with the cost of the lens & a few days later told me to order it & it would double as an anniversary & Christmas gift.

 So I have been practicing with this new macro lens & I must admit that it is a bit of a challenge. Bought my self some tulips to have some flowers to shoot.

 Tuesday morning the trees were covered with hoarfrost so it was a photographer's dream to capture a winter wonderland.

 It was quite bright outside so I did have some difficulty with finding a contrast in the background to showcase the snow.

 This is my Linden tree in my backyard & it's buds are starting to form. 

Spring is a long ways off so they better go back to sleep for a few more weeks.

 

I like the frost collection here. It was a most beautiful morning & by mid afternoon, the hoarfrost was mostly gone. Hopefully, this winter will bring a few more photographic opportunities.

Provincial Scotties 2015

 The provincial Scotties were held in my home town of Winkler this year. Hubby & I are not huge fans ( or knowledgeable) of curling but thought that it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the game as 3 grandchildren curl. So we bought passes for the whole event. There were 16 teams from all over the province competing for the win to attend the Canadian Scotties in Moose Jaw next month. It was 5 long days of sitting at the arena & I got a little side-tracked from time to time but overall, we both enjoyed all the games.

 Was very exciting to watch the 2014 Olympian Jones Team curl. They certainly are very skilled & know how to plan their shots.

 Grandies passing the time reading.

 Friday evening, grandson, Adam - 3rd from left, & his curling team, received a Fair Play Award for a bonspiel they attended in Winnipeg in December. The presentation was done just before the evening draw in front of a large crowd.

 After one of the games that Jennifer Jones curled, a dedicated Papa stood in line to get my pass signed by Jennifer Jones.

 At the final game Sunday evening, the 2 teams were piped into the  arena.

 Grandson Nick, holding up his sign to cheer on the Jones Team.

The Jones Team won the game. The Einarson Team certainly played very well & it was an exciting game. Was fun watching curling for 5 days & now I hear many pieces of fabric calling my name & it's time to go back into my sewing room.

Some January Projects

 I am totally involved in my January projects. A local quilt store started the new year with a 50% off sale & that gave me the opportunity to stock up on the fabric I needed for the projects that are on my list.

 

This single quilt was for a special order from a friend for her grandson. I used  fabric that has Tonka toys on it & then  coordinated it with blue & yellow &  a red inner border.

 This baby quilt is going my sister's co-worker who had a baby girl in December.

This quilt is for little Fredric, who was just born this week. His big brother, Leo, chose the racing theme as he had been told he was getting a baby brother.

So that's my start of January projects & still have 2 weeks left this month  to keep working on a list of projects that I plan to finish & then I want to sew some quilts for The Agape Project, the charity that I like to sew for.

Looking Back at 2014

 January

We enjoyed a 2 week trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Nice break from our cold, cold winter.

February

It was cold, day after day. A long winter.

March

This is part of the quilts I sewed during this long winter. Sewed 15 quilts in total for The Agape Project in 2014.

April
Enjoyed some time at the local greenhouse dreaming about spring & planting.

May
Celebrated my Mom's 98th birthday together with my sisters.

June
Celebrated my (February) birthday with a fun party.

July
Spend a night at this relaxing place with my travel buddy, Lois.

August
Really difficult month as we marked the 1 year anniversary of Barry & Zach's going to Heaven.

September
The sunroom was done & we enjoyed it for a number of weeks before the cold weather came.

October
We experienced a longer fall in Manitoba without frost & so the trees put on an impressive show with  colourful leaves. 

November
We enjoyed a few days in Fargo, ND & visited some of our favourite restaurants.

December
A spot of joy at Christmas - The Hallelujah Chorus sung in our church at the Christmas Day service.

2014 - another year done, a difficult year, only got through the year with the Lord's help.
He is Faithful.

Christmas Quilts

 Nick was very excited to get his quilt for Christmas. He told me later - "I didn't see that one coming!"

 Nick wanted a quilt with airplanes on it & I searched for the right fabric for several months until I found it.

Sigrid wanted a bed warmer so I made one for her. Here she is with it & Brandon.

I used various fabrics in earth tones.

 Katie also got a quilt made with polka dots in a chevron pattern.

 Katie with cousin, Abby & her Uncle Allen.

 Posing with their quilts.

This quilt went to Chris & Charlotte. It's a king sized quilt & the pattern is called "Box Step." 

Now everyone in my family has been "covered" with a quilt. The grandkids will receive another one when they are grown up. I have several already done & put away for them.