Mommy Daughter Day on Saturday

Haven't done any minis lately but Friday I decided I would try to put my chandelier kit by Phyllis Tucker together. (Sorry, Phyllis, but I can't make head or tail of the instructions.) I've got some of it done:

but it's very frustrating and I don't know when/if I'll finish it. I might need to work out something with Hoanie who does incredible chandeliers!

Anyway, Saturday was Mommy/Daughter Day. This time we decided to go to Fort Edmonton Park to see Edmonton through the years 1846, 1885, 1905 and 1920. Many original buildings have been moved from their original homes to the park.

We entered into the railway station where we enjoyed the music of two banjos and a tuba. While we waited for the train to take us to the Fort, I checked out the Railroad Club's display - this huge room filled with scenery and trains. Oh, so impressive!

We were advised that the York Boat from Winnipeg would be arriving at the Fort at noon so after taking the train to the Fort, we walked down to the bank of the Saskatchewan River.

This young man in the foreground was awaiting his father's return to the Fort after the four month trip. (He later played the fiddle in the Fort as part of the welcoming committee.) In the background you may be able to spot some of the gentlemen from the Fort who will announce the arrival at the York Boat with musket fire. (They warned us about the first volley - but not the second. LOL)

In the distance

Sir George Simpson was aboard this York Boat. (He always travelled with a piper who announced his arrival.)

One of the women of the Fort was VERY enthusiastic about the return of her husband. It was a very wet welcome home!

 We returned to the Fort and checked it out. (Leanne has been there almost every year with her students but this was only my second visit.)

I won't go through everything by era/building but it's all quite fascinating and many of the buildings are original.

The Northern Alberta Wood Carvers had three of its carvers there in the fire department with samples of their work. Absolutely incredible! Some beautiful buildings that were about 1/48 scale. Their photo gallery is here.

We left and stopped at Michael's for a look around. I didn't find anything myself but Leanne found a great 3' tree for her classroom for $5.00 and a couple other things for 80% off.

Headed over to Home Depot and picked up some wood for a project Leanne is working on for school (still no wood hardener for Joanne) then stopped at Costco to pick up the Lego Advent Calendar for GS Jonah.

Then went to Lingnan for dinner. We were there right at 5 so the service was quick. The food there is absolutely fantabulous - would recommend it to anyone!

Leanne took this picture of me.

Home about 6:30. Leanne picked up my paint-stripping heat gun and took a look at the Quilt Shop, Music Room and the Christmas Shop. She declared the quilt shop my best work (although she thought the Art Gallery was a close second) then laid claim to the Christmas Shop. And that made me feel good! (Although when it came to my workroom, she said that she would just call Joanne and "hand her the keys".)

Today, I took the left-over food from Lingnan to my Mom - who, at 91, had been canning and much appreciated not having to make dinner.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

DS Shirley and BIL Grahame brought over chinese food yesterday to celebrate our Mom's 91st birthday. Had a great time!

Shirley brought me a great box for minis that she picked up for me at a garage sale. It originally held a doll and cookies. As it stands, it's 20 1/2" high, 11 1/2" wide and 6" deep. I think that I'll remove the inner dividers and put it on its side. Has the plexiglass front which is a bonus!

We got talking about Christmas presents. We're all of an age where there's really not a great deal we need or want. But Shirley mentioned some LED lights she had bought for their trailer at the lake. Thought they might work for some of my roomboxes so she brought in the ones she had bought earlier in the day. They're 12" long and only about a half inch thick (and come in a pack of two for $22).

So we tried one in the music room.

It was too wide for the music room but would work really well in the three room roomboxes I bought from Jane and Paul's estate.

Edmonton Miniatures Show and Sale

MINIATURE ENTHUSIASTS OF EDMONTON CLUB invites you to take part in their

18^th ANNUAL FALL SHOW & SALE

Sunday, September 21, 2014

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Executive Royal Inn

10010 – 178 Street

Edmonton, Alberta

T5S 1T3

Dealers, so far, are:

DEALER LIST 2014

Another World Miniatures (Linda Maddaford, Bev Perret)

1:12 scale fine furniture, blown glass, silver, findings, fabric and lace, silk ribbon and accessories some 1:48 scale accessories, findings and kits.

Bits by Barb (Barb Striethorst)

Flower kits, assembled flowers, landscape supplies, German laser cuts, food items

Cheryl Hartlen

Miniature tartan afghans and placemats, slippers, etc.

Connie Stitt

Handcrafted plants and flowers in 1:12, 1:24 and 1:48 scales

Hoanie Yong

Chandeliers, books, Christmas trees, ornaments, other misc. items

Janice Crawley, IGMA Fellow

1:12 ceramic dishes, Toby Mugs, figurines, tiny porcelain dolls (1” – 2”)

Judy Mitchell

Various handmade items in 1:12 and 1:48 scales

Lilliana Olson

Large dollhouse (empty), variety of miniature items

Linda Austin

Miniature wheel-thrown pottery (all scales) and assorted miniatures

Little Day Miniatures

Handcrafted miniature food

Luba Barnes

Miscellaneous miniature items in 1:12 and 1:48, magazines, furniture

MiniLAND, VICTORIA

Full line of roomboxes, furniture and accessories

http://www.miniland.ca

info@miniland.ca

MS. MINI (Sherrill Bedu)

1:12 and 1:48 scales porcelain dolls and accessories, furniture

Needleart Treasures by Rosalle

Crocheted accessories for the mini home

Pat Jackson

1:12 dolls

Patricia Makarowski

 Furniture and accessories in 1:12 scale, some 1:48 scale.

Teresa de Simone

Sherri MacRaild

Handmade Hallowe’en, Christmas and other items in 1:12 scale

 I'm really excited about our lineup of dealers. We have wonderful dealers in almost every category  and price of miniatures

It is always a great pleasure to have Alex from Victoria MiniLand with his excellent selection of almost everything miniature. You can always contact Alex ahead of time to ensure that he will bring that special "something" that you need/want.

From Saskatoon, we have Linda and Bev from Another World Miniatures who bring beautiful fine furniture and accessories, beads, findings, fabric and lace. 

Janice Crawley is back with her 1:12 ceramic dishes, Toby Mugs, figurines and tiny porcelain dolls.

Tomorrow I'll tell you more about the rest of our dealers. (Good things coming.....)

New Dealer at Show and Sale on September 21, 2014

MEE is pleased to announce, not only a new club member, but also a new dealer at our Show and Sale.

Hoanie makes lovely electrified chandeliers (pictures used with permission):

Hoanie's seller ID on ebay is kailusky66. You can see her current offerings at  http://www.ebay.com/sch/kailusky66/m.html?_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1

Looking forward to getting to know her better.

a few new things

My bottle of Scotch! This is a particularly precious piece to me. It's 2" tall so is more 1:6 than 1:12 but it was a gift from DS Marie so....

Joanne and I went to Dollarama and I picked up this great wire. 9 feet of 26 gauge wire in 12 colours. Don't know yet what I'll use it for but I'll think of something someday. (LOL)

Yesterday, Joanne, Sunni and I met Lorry at the Enjoy Centre to celebrate a belated birthday with Lorry. It had been a while since we had been at the Enjoy Centre so we were thrilled to see all the Fairy Garden items that were available. You have to have a good sense of scale to use these things...not to mention big bucks for most of the items. Some things I saw there I could buy for 99 cents elsewhere were 8 or 9 dollars.

On the other hand, I did buy "The Thinker" by Rodin and Venus for $8.00 each.

MEE summer get-together

Each summer, members of the club get together. Usually it's at the home of a member who welcomes the club to see her treasures.

This year, Sunni arranged for the club to meet at The Little White Schoolhouse in St. Albert. It was of particular interest to miniaturists as it is also the home of Lorna Naves' Dollhouse. Lorna was a long-time member of MEE and a founding member of St. Albert Miniature Club.

A staff member from Le Musee Heritage met us there and Sunni made arrangements for club records concerning Lorna and her work to be transferred to the museum. Lorna was well-known for her needlework carpets and there are several beautiful examples of her work in this house.

In addition to viewing Lorna's house, we spent some time making trees. We were fortunate to be able to borrow a tree-making machine from the Edmonton Railroad Club.

Unfortunately, I did not get any decent pictures but I did find this wonderful video on Youtube that shows you the machine and how we made our trees. The video is over 25 minutes long but it's very interesting. (You could only watch the first couple minutes to see the machine itself.)

Erika demonstrating.

We used twine rather than the rope in the video. We had quite an assembly line going. Someone would cut the twine in 5 to 6" strips and others would separate the strands. As the strands were separated, people took turns using the machine to make their trees.

The trees would be taken out, sprayed with black paint, then trimmed to shape. They would then be sprayed with hairspray and dipped in a cake pan filled with the chopped foam.

 Because of the heat and wind outside that day, there were a few problems with adhesion. The size of our trees (1:12 scale) may have been part of the problem.

Another way to do this is to spray the bare tree with spray adhesive then add the flocking.

My basic tree (about 14" tall) sprayed with paint but the flocking to be added.

Sunni brought in a bunch of branches and moss to share and make bushes/trees.

Lorry brought some lovely mailbox kits with plants at the bases that some members worked on.

We started at 4 p.m. and about 6:00 p.m. we stopped for a picnic dinner supplied by the St. Albert members. We ate that upstairs in the classroom that contains Lorna's house and members shared their memories of her. Then we were back downstairs to finish our projects.

Jennifer and Hoanie joined us (with their daughters) as new members. Lovely to meet them.

What a wonderful day! Thanks, Sunni!

Quick note re the quilt shop

I would have liked to have mentioned this yesterday about the Quilt Shop but blogspot was throwing a hissy fit and I finally gave up on making any changes.

Other than the quilt on the right wall and the counter on the right hand side (and everything on/in it), everything in this shop was hand made by me.

Which makes it one of my absolute favourite pieces!

The Quilt Shop is finished!

Yesterday I hung the quilt on the right wall. I had hoped to hang a miniature of the quilt that DS Carol made for Mom but although I had a great picture of it, it just wouldn't print in the colours that were vibrant enough - too washed out - so I decided to go with the quilt that I bought at the last Winnipeg Gathering.

Made some rolls of batting today and it's finished!

The outside of the box is covered with fabric.

The room with the lights on.

Left side

Right side

Back wall

With table in place

Quilt Shop boxes

First, I made a simple box for the quilt box trims:

 Here it is in place:

 Then I started on the box for the spools of thread:

This was a "by guess and by golly" thing so I didn't take measurements - just went by the seat of my pants:

I took a small sheet of 1/16" and glued four uprights on it:

that would fit the two different sizes of spools:

Because they would be at an angle, needed to have length on the left.  (Actually, if you're planning on doing this, the top piece should be at a right angle.)

 The top pieces have been trimmed and a back piece glued in place.

 Then it was painted:

Given another coat of paint, then the areas were given a coat of Miniature Moveable glue and the spools of thread put in place.

And put in place on the back shelf of the room.

Sorry. As I said, it was "by guess and by golly" so I just did it and didn't do it as a proper tutorial.

Megan and Carter's projects

Here are MUCH better pictures!

Love the glasses on Carter's bear!

Love the basket of candy canes and suckers on the mantle! Beautiful job by Megan!

Quilt Shop update

While the young people were here today, I actually managed to get a few things get done on the quilt shop:

Pleased to get so far....

Flowers

These are the RL flowers that Megan and Carter sent me tonight. I especially love the sweet peas (my favourite) and the gladioli are wonderful (my second favourite)!

Thank you SO much!