Being related has it perks ...

I hope that everyone had as lovely a Christmas, full of joy and cheer, as our family had this year!

Here is this years Christmas Tree. Unlike most other Christmas Trees, our Tree has a few, special "sparklers" on it than many other people's Trees don't.

While it looked better before the presents were opened, (but I didn't think to take a picture of it on Christmas Eve) it's not just our tree I'd like to share, but the beautiful Ornaments that adorn it, which are very special to me!

Here, I've hung my 4 Beaded Ornament Cover ornaments that Marie has given to me, for the past 4 Christmases.

I wanted them to hang all in one place, so that I could get them all into one picture. This way, you can see them all in one place.

You can click on the picture to get a better look at my ornaments, then click your BACK button to return to my Blog.

This is the Beaded Ornament Cover Marie gave me for Christmas this year! It is so very lovely.

No doubt, she saw me eyeing it one evening, while over at her house visiting a few months ago.

Some of you may recognize this ornament, or have one similar to it? The only place you could have gotten one of these beauties, is as a gift from Marie Alton.

That's right ... each of these lovelies are an original work of art made by, none other than, Marie Alton; SRE Deluxe Stitcher / Designer Extraordinaire (and Beaded Ornament Cover Maker as well)!

One ornament cover ... 3 different looks.


All I did was change the colour of the ball under my ornament cover, and voila!
A whole new look! Just look how this ornament cover changes with a different coloured ball underneath it!

The ornaments that adorn my tree get prettier every year. As the sister of their creator, I am blessed with an exquisite, new Beaded Ornament Cover to put on my tree, every year! I think this year's makes 4, so that's 4 years now that I've received a new ornament cover for my tree!

While Marie did not make the glass ball part of the ornament, she makes the awesome beaded cover that glorifies the plain glass ball, turning each into a work of art and wonderment.

These are the most beautiful Christmas Ornaments I have ever had the pleasure or honor of putting on my tree.

I look forward to dressing our tree with these exquisite creations because they are the most mesmerizing decorations I have. Everyone who comes into my home at Christmas time, notices them, and then everyone wants to own one for their own tree.

Knowing full well that my Christmas present from Marie will be, yet another gorgeous ornament cover to hang on my tree, I am giddy with anticipation, and can't wait to see which one she has selected to give me as my present!

"Did she give me the one I told her I liked the most, or did she even remember which one I liked the most because I couldn't decide which I wanted more! I couldn't choose, they were all so beautiful!"

What most of you don't know is that Marie shows me each one of her incredible creations, after she has finished it, and when I go over to her house to do stuff with her, I get to see each new ornament cover, as it hangs anew in her Studio, awaiting the next Christmas Season.

Marie gives me (what she considers to be) the prettiest Ornament Covers for my Christmas present, then she gives her friends the others that she's made!

See what happens with you're related to the person who makes these pretty things? And again, all I did was change the colour of ball underneath the ornament cover and it takes on a totally different look!

What Marie may not realize ... is that while she may consider some of her Beaded Ornament Covers to be prettier than others, each of these lovely innovations she has painstakingly beaded, is mesmerizing!

Each Beaded Cover is bewitching in their own way, and each is exceptional, in that each has captured the love and passion she puts into their creation, with endless hours upon hours of seemingly tedious work. Marie spends great deal of time crafting these endearing jewels, just to bring a little more light, a little more beauty, a little more happiness, and a little more joy in to someone else's life at Christmas time.


Someone else; someone like me ... her Sister, who you'd think would get the 'left-overs', she begifts her finest creations. I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful sister!

While she may give me what she considers to be "the most lovely" of her adornments, I would be honored to own and display any of these endearing creations my sister has made!

I look forward to each year's Christmas present from Marie, just to see what new jewel she has bestowed upon me this year. Thank you for all of the beautiful things you've given me for Christmas, Marie! They will forever be cherished by me, and as the years pass ... my children, to hang on their trees to show their children what a wonderful artist their Auntie Marie is! I Love You!

Stitch <3

Christmas Stockings To Share ...

(You may click on any of the Photos to see more detail, then hit your BACK button to return to my Blog)

I've been having a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas this year, as someone very near and dear to my heart, my beloved Aunt Bea, is very ill, and it pains me that I cannot be with her right now.

But ... I think I am finally starting to get that Happy Holiday Feeling!

Some magic must have happened last night, or a Pixie came into my house and sprinkled Angel Dust on my head while I was sleeping, because today . . .

I just feel like Christmas itself!!! Isn't that just so special!?

Anywayz, I just thought I would share our family Christmas Stockings with all of you out there.

December of 2002 was our first, official Canadian Winter, away from the 27C temperatures of Christmas in Phoenix, Arizona. Come to find out, this was the worst Winter Haliburton had seen in the past 35 years!

Figures, eh? The year we move from the dry, balmy climate of Phoenix, to the humid, bone-chilling temperatures of -40C in Haliburton, our first Winter back in Canada; can you get more extreme than that? Nope. I don't think so.
I thought it would be nice to celebrate our being safe, back home in Canada, away from the threat of terrorism & War in the United States, by making new Stockings for the whole family.

While doing a little Christmas shopping in town, I thought it would be nice to have Stockings for the kids with their names on them, so I thought I'd see how much it would be to buy them, and then just embellish the their names on the front with gold or silver glitter glue.
I picked up one of the beautifully appliqued Stockings that were piled high on a display table, thinking that when I turned over the price tag, it would cost about 10 bucks. NOT!

I was floored to discover that (although wonderfully embellished, detailed with beads, jewels and gold thread) each Stocking cost from $19.99 to $24.99 each! Knowing these lovely Stockings would totally blow my Christmas Budget, I decided right there on the spot that I would make my own Christmas Stockings this year! After all, it's what I did for a living ... make pretty, embroidered and embellished lovely things of all sorts, shapes and sizes.

Even if it meant staying awake, sewing at my machines until Santa came and went ... everyone would have their own Christmas Stocking that Christmas!

Business at "The Stitchery" was booming by the time Christmas came around, and my workload had literally doubled over night, when the townsfolk discovered that I had the ability to embroider anything I could create on my computer screen.
My Business Card from
'The Stitchery'

As with every festive Season that comes upon a Seamstress, people were coming out of the woodwork to have the names of their loved ones embroidered on items of every kind. Whatever surface my customers could find to have a name embroidered on, I embroidered on it.

Everything from Jackets, Shirts, Back-packs, Hats, Scarves, Baby Blankets, and Tote-All's, right down to a Family Heirloom 100% Cotton Throw, which had been turned into a Named Heart Keepsake Wall-Hanging, with all their Grand children's names embroidered on it!
Back to my story ... I lucked out and found one Stocking that was reduced as it was last year's stock, marked down to $6.99, but there was ONLY ONE. But, since I was making the Stockings myself, all I needed was one - as an example, and at least I now had a patten to cut the rest of the Stockings from. Knowing I had plenty of colourful, sparkly, festive fabric at home with which to make a great many Stockings, I took my one 'Stocking' home, and began to create.


My Embroidery machine is also my Sewing machine, so I decided to embroider all of the names on the Stockings, like an assembly line, before I'd assembled them so that once I had finished embroidering all the names, I could switch my machine back over to the sewing machine, and assemble all of the Stockings at once, without having to switch back and forth between the two machine functions. Certainly did save some time.
 I started with the kids' Christmas Stockings, because if I didn't get all of the Stockings finished before Santa arrived, at least the kids would have theirs' hanging for Santa to fill Christmas morning.

There was a great deal more applique work on the kids' Stockings than I had counted on, after I'd completed the first Stocking.
There was all of the outlining of the Holly leaves and Holly berries, with gold metallic embroidery thread, two leaves on the foot of the Stocking, and 3 leaves on the Stocking topper, embellishing them, and appliqueing all around the edge of each leaf, sort of in a way to join the two pieces together, to enhance the top of the Stocking and to hide the seam as well. I had also used a piece of flat, gold ribbon to divide the white felt from the burgundy Velour of the bottom piece of the Stocking.I used burgundy, cotton Velour for the front of the Stocking, and almost the same colour of doubled cotton flannel. I made sure to wash all of my fabrics to ensure that in the event they had to be laundered (for some unforseen reason in the future) they would not shrink and twist out of shape. I used white felt, embellished with gold sparkle dots in a grid pattern, for the top of the Stocking, finishing off the top of each Stocking with winter-white, polar fleece, to give the illusion of snow sitting on top of the Stocking.


Although I tried to make the Stockings as uniform as I could, each is just a little different in some way, so each Stocking is 'an Original' work of art, made my Mummy/Aunt Cathy. I hope our daughters, and my niece and nephew, will keep and cherish these Christmas Stockings, and hang them up in their homes, when they're older and have children of their own.
I decided to stitch our names in white because the names stitched in red (see Stocking at Right), just didn't give it enough of a contrast. I thought the white stitching would pick up the white from the top, and show off the bright red of the Poinsettias. Next, I used a band of winter-white polar fleece to finish the tops, and to make it look like there was snow on top of the Stocking.
It just seemed the perfect thing to finish off the top with. I also made the loop with which to hang the Stocking from the polar fleece, as it was quite durable and strong.

I cut each of the Poinsettias petals from bright red felt, then I appliqued them on using a solid red rayon embroidery thread line, all around the outer edges of each petal. I then used metallic gold embroidery thread to make and embellish the veins of each petal, and make the sepals as well. I found some festive cording (that I have no idea where it came from), to divide the white stocking topper, from the green sock body, covering the seam that joined the two pieces of fabric together.

No more strap!

My daughter was so pleased with this light cotton, jersey print Cami I'd made for her, she just HAD to wear it to school for 'picture day'.

To think that my daughter would rather wear a top that I made, than any of the gazillions of new little tops she's purchased over the summer months at 'Stitches' or 'The Mall' ... Well, it just makes a Mom proud!
The Photographer who took her picture neglected to tell her that her bra strap was showing, and took the picture anyway, without correcting the situation, the Dumb Head!

When the $56.00 worth of pictures finally arrived, my daughter burst into tears upon pulling them out of the envelope when she spotted the dreaded blue bra strap sticking out from beneath the pink, stretch lace strap of her new top!

Well, because her bra strap was showing, her "pictures were ruined!"

Drama, Drama, Drama! Why does there always have to be so much Drama with Girls?!

Mom to the rescue!!!

Armed with my handy, dandy, photo-manipulating programs, I was able to correct this faux pas, and remove said pesky blue bra strap from the photograph. Becky was so pleased with the results, all tears have completely subsided, she loves her pictures, and there is peace in the land once again.

Now that I've corrected them, all I have to do is print them out! Good thing I just got some new ink cartridges for my printer! Looks like I'm going to need them.

A thought just crossed my mind . . . What the hell am I going to do with all the lovely, but bra-strap offensive prints from the photographer? They clearly show said bra strap, so they won't be going out to family members with the Christmas Cards! Thank God for Paper Shredders, is all I can say!

I got my Paper Shredder for Christmas 3 years ago, and it is still my most favorite Christmas present, evar! Except maybe for the present I just busted Santa trying to sneak into the house this evening!

Just as I hit the top step from the basement, Santa was bringing a giant box through the front door, and in plain view for me to see, as the door closed behind him, was a brand new MASSAGE TABLE!!!

But, THAT'S another Blog! Suffice it to say that this latest Christmas present is right up there with my paper shredder, on my list of best evar Christmas presents from Santa!

Anywayz, back to the pictures ... what made this job easier was that we bought the 'Full package' which comes with a CD containing a jpeg. of all the pictures taken, as well as those they'd cropped, turned to Black & White or Sepia'd, and of course, the original shot.

Since I am able to alter the photograph into Black & White, Sepia and a great many other effects with the programs I have, all I really have to do is correct the two colour originals, then apply the photographic effect that strikes me at the time.

So, here is a picture of one of the little tops I've made in the past while. Man, I'd like to kiss the person who invented the Serger!

Who'd a thunk it?

Hello to all of you out there in Blog land! Sorry it has been a while since I've been, but I'd been quite ill for a number of weeks, then both my daughters got it as well! While we still have remnants of the heavy chest cough, we are pretty much back to our normal selves.

Well, in not having been here for a while, I just thought I'd share something that came about while spending some quality time with my two darling daughters early this afternoon over a cup of tea.

Would you believe that this picture was actually taken today? Oh, yes!

It is not a picture from someones Gramma's photo album, but one fresh off the camera today!

And, the 'Gown' this young lady is wearing ... is really just two lace shower curtains creatively draped and tucked to resemble the kind of gown my youngest wants me to make her for Graduation this Spring!

Well! Who'd a thunk it, eh? While my darling daughter, Becky, was playing dress up, trying to show me the type of dress she wants me to make her, I started taking pictures so that I could remember, and make a dress that would please her once it was completed.

I downloaded the image from the camera, switched the colour version to 'Sepia', and Voila! Picture of a young woman in a lace gown from 150 years ago!
And to our right, is the original shot that I took, minus the background as I didn't think that anyone really needed to see the bookcase behind her, piled high with things that don't yet have a home, and the mounds of winter footwear at her feet, so I cut them out of the picture, to keep the eye on the main subject of the shot, 'The Gown'.

It is actually quite funny that she chose to play with these lace curtains as I had just laundered them to turn them into a long, beaded, lace jacket to be worn over an ivory, stretch satin gown I had just fashioned.

No one has seen this Gown yet, nor even knows of it's existence; it is to be a Christmas present for someone, and I was hoping to have the lace coverlet finished in time to package the two as a set for Christmas, but with 3 weeks to go to the big day, and very little of my holiday shopping done, it's going to be a close one!

I hope to cut and serge the basic jacket tomorrow, so I will give you visual updates of the project as it is coming along. As for the train? The train will be on the jacket, not on the dress. I have designed the lace jacket in such a way that when you place a hook in a hidden eye near the empire waist at the back, the train actually becomes a bustle at the back of the gown, that can be worn either long and flowing gracefully along the ground, (depending on the weather, of course) or pulled up into a bustle at the back, for a 'period' type of look.

I hope the vision I have in my mind's eye, is what will result after I've stitched this baby together tomorrow!
All prayers are welcome!

Until next time ...

Be Well & Happy Holidays!
Cathy <3

I am The Moon

Cathy ... You are The Moon
Hope, Expectation, Bright Promises

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry.

This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition.

You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You? Take the Test to Find Out!

Wow! I am "The Moon"! Who'd a thunk it? Thanks, Marie! That was pretty awesome! And fun! I'm not really surprised with the accuracy of it, as yours is dead-on, Marie!

I wonder how old the whole Tarot Card realm is.

Later that Day ...

Well, having shown this to my youngest daughter, Becky, she wanted me to find out what Tarot Card she was, so we did the test, and here are her results:

Becky, You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you.

The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularly when it comes to your moods.

Well, I guess to be fair, I will have my eldest daughter, Emma, do this test after she gets home from school, and will put up whatever Tarot Card she turns out to be.

PS: Well, I'm sorry to say that we never did get to find out what Tarot Card Emma is, but when we do, I'll be sure to update this Blog! :)

A Letter Written... Not Yet Sent ...

I tend to write 'Letters' and never mail them. Usually it's because I am upset, or had my feelings hurt, just need to blow off some emotional steam and tell people what I REALLY THINK. Then, a day of two later, I re-read these 'Letters', and usually end up burning them, or placing them in my desktop file folder simply marked "LettersWritten.NeverMailed". I am still on the fence as to whether or not I will send the one I have pasted below; every bone in my body wants to Fax this letter directly to her desk Monday morning.

So, any and all comments, good or bad, would be appreciated. The saga continues:

On August 21, 2008, my husband and I were to attend an 'Intake Interview' with ODSP (Ontario Disability Supports Program). As many of you may know, my body is broken and I cannot maintain full-time employment due to these disabilities. Believe me, I'd much rather be out Teaching College at a reputable institution, than sitting on my ass watching TV, crocheting or sewing.

This meeting is ODSP's way to go over your income with a magnfying glass, and find a way to reduce your monthly support cheque ... in any, way, shape of form they are able. God forbid I should live too high below the poverty line!

It has long been my suspiscion that it is because my husband is an American, that we have had such a hard time in gaining permanent residence status for him in Canada, but what happened at this meeting will forever be burned into my memory banks as the straw that made me actually believe it was true. I was so upset by what went on in this meeting that I was actually unable to regain my composure, forced by emotion to flee in tears ... and I'm not a cryin' sort of Gal; if you know what I mean.

I think the letter explains itself, but if there are any questions, I'd be pleased to answer them. Here goes ...

Sybil: (Name of staff member changed for protection - Mine!)

The information on the following pages from Immigration Canada's web site may help clarify this situation for you. Immigration Canada have deemed me an appropriate Sponsor for my husband of 15 years, to achieve Permanent Residence Status in Canada, after 3 laborious years from the date of our initial application.

Now, after six (6) very long, poverty stricken years, we have finally achieved “tacit approval” from Immigrations Canada, and without hesitation, you would rather put my husband's status in jeopardy, by accusing me of fraudulent behaviour where my ODSP benefits are concerned, in being a Sponsor to my husband while collecting ODSP benefits?

Rather than welcome my American husband into Canada, and congratulate him on finally being legally able to work in Canada to support our family after 6 emasculating years, in the manner he had provided us while living in the United States, it is easier for you to think me a criminal, than be happy that we would actually be able to stop living on the goverment dole to support my family.

The simple fact that he is married to me, a Canadian Citizen, should gain him immediate status in our country, regardless of his nationality, providing he was not a criminal, nor contagious in some way. That would be the human thing to do, in order "to keep families together", as Immigration Canada's website would have you believe. But that’s just not how we do things here in Canada anymore - not when it comes to Americans.

While you would have me believe your job is to serve me, as voiced in your well-rehearsed diatribe, "to make sure you are collecting all of the benefits you may be entitled to". What a load of garbage! The fact of the matter is that your job is to make certain I am paid as little as humanly possible, according to the governmental legislation and guidelines as set before you by the previous Harris administration, that the present administration is scrambling to restore some semblance to it's former dignity.

My experiences in dealing with ODSP these past 5 years have been erroneous at best. According to my Appeals Tribunal Mediator, I spent 2 years on Welfare, appealing an application for disability benefits that initially, should not have been denied given the mountain of corroborating medical evidence submitted with my application. Shame on you! It insults my intelligence you would have me believe otherwise.

When we meet again for our rescheduled meeting, I fully expect you to take away anything and everything you feel you can, all in the name of saving the Ontario Government money. The provincial government give me money to support my children with one hand in the form of CCTB benefits on the 20th of the month, then they take it back 10 days later with an NCBS deduction from my ODSP support cheque.

I truly believe it is because my husband is American that we have had such a hard time getting him permanent residence status in Canada. Your attitude and actions Thursday only served to reinforce that belief. Prosecuting me for "Benefits Fraud" would certainly do the trick to keep one more American out of Canada, and make 3 Canadian Citizens homeless upon withdrawal of my disability benefits, regardless of the fact that I have repeatedly proven my disabilities to your office.

Were my husband any other nationality in the World (and I say this without prejudice) he would have been welcomed into Canada with open arms, and put on governmental support to help him learn to speak english, how to negotiate in our society, and make the transition smoothly. The prejudice we have experienced, my children included - being teased mercilessly at school for being 'American', NOT ALL Americans are George W. Bush!

After living in the United States for 14 years, 6 years ago, I was proud to move my family to my home of Canada, as the United States went to War with Iraq. I wanted to move home the day after 911 happened, but there was no possible way we could afford to move at that time. This was my chance to move my family home to safer soil, away from the horrors of events such as “911”, and the terrorism that plagues the United States.

In the Fall of 2002, both my husband and I lost great jobs, with a combined income of $128,000.00 US for the 9 months we worked. Having lost our entire income, we then lost our beautiful home we lived in for 9 years, our friends & neighbors, our pets, our Savings, our healthcare, our 401K Plan, our life insurance, our cars, and our self-worth shortly thereafter. We sold everything except that which we could fit into our car to finance our fuel to drive across the 2 countries, from Phoenix, Arizona, to start a new life near my beloved family I'd missed so much, in Haliburton, Ontario, Canada.

We had hoped to rebuild a wonderful, new life, safe in Canada, without the feeling the fear that strikes your very being to the core as F16 war planes circled low in formation over our homes and our heads ,while my children played on their swingset or swam in our pool. I see now, how very naive those hopes and dreams were, as they have been dashed at our every turn by some branch of the Canadian Government.

Given the financial hardships we have faced, the heartache of a 2-year separation from my husband - and the children their father, taking into account the emasculation of my husband by not being allowed to work to support his family (for 6 years) like an honourable man does, and all of the grief our family tolerated in having to deal with the nightmarishly impersonal and bureaucratic entities of the ODSP, Immigration Canada, and Revenue Canada ... since my return, I am almost embarrassed to call myself a Canadian. This sure isn't the tolerable, understanding, warm-hearted "Canada" I remembered as a younger woman.

All because I married an American.

Sincerely,
Catherine A. Ross

cc: Mark Holland, M.P., Ajax-Pickering

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Quote from Immigration Canada's website:

You may not be eligible to be a sponsor if you:
· failed to provide financial support you agreed to when you signed a sponsorship
agreement to sponsor another relative in the past
· defaulted on a court-ordered support order, such as alimony or child support
. received government financial assistance for reasons other than a
disability
· were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any
sexual offence—depending on circumstances such as the nature of the offence, how
long ago it occurred and whether a pardon was issued
· defaulted on an immigration loan—late or missed payments
· are in prison or
· have declared bankruptcy and have not been released from it yet.

Article from "The Star"

Undoing Harris-Era red tape will assist Disabled
Mar. 23, 2006. 01:00 AM
JEFF SCHLEMMER

Recently there has been extensive coverage of the inordinate delays, and arbitrary rules, that plague Ontario's disabled when they seek disability benefits. In fact, the situation is considerably worse than so far reported.

In addition to the long delays in first processing applications, approximately 80 per cent of applications are erroneously denied. That forces the disabled person to appeal the decision and typically adds another year to the delay.

The reason so many applications are improperly denied is that in 1998 premier Mike Harris fired all of the licensed doctors who reviewed these applications for the province. He replaced them with clerks with "some medical background."

These clerks are, as one might expect, not nearly so good as licensed doctors at determining the prognosis for these disabled applicants. But Harris was no fan of the medical profession — he once remarked that "nurses are as obsolete as hula hoops, and could be replaced by cheaper `candy stripers'" — and appointed a veterinarian, Dr. Duncan Sinclair, rather than a doctor, to chair his Health Services Restructuring Commission.

The system, as it existed prior to 1998, was known as the Medical Advisory Board. The doctors who served on it were local and in many cases would know the treating doctors whose reports formed the basis of the application.

The new system, known as the Disability Adjudication Unit, was centralized in Toronto. At the same time, the province changed the application forms, making them much more complicated. The forms assigned numeric values to the questions and the theory was that the clerks would simply tally up the totals and determine whether the applicant was disabled.

It turned out, however, that diagnosing disabled persons is actually not so easy, and that doctors, with the benefit of medical school and residency, are better at it than are clerks.

Prior to 1998, there were relatively few appeals from decisions of the Medical Advisory Board doctors because they were good at separating the truly disabled from the malingerers.

After 1998, appeals went through the roof, to the point where they now take up the bulk of the time of Ontario's Legal Aid clinic lawyers, who have been forced to turn away increasing numbers of vulnerable Ontarians as legal-aid funding has been frozen these six years past.

Harris also cut many of the supports that helped Ontarians at risk, such as the Vocational Rehabilitation Services program, which retrained injured persons so that they could get back to work.

He also cut many social worker agencies, which helped mentally ill Ontarians stay independent. As a result, these persons were no longer able to become re-employed and were forced to apply for disability benefits.

Harris also dramatically increased the paperwork and red tape involved in administering the disability benefits system, all in the name of fraud control.

Of course, there never was much evidence that disabled persons committed much fraud, but the system now conducts essentially a full audit of each disabled person every year, complete with extensive documentary reporting requirements. Each local office is also required to conduct a staff-intensive investigation function, called the Consolidated Verification Process, that saps significant resources away from serving the disabled in a timely way.

The challenge for the McGuinty government is to get back to administering this system with intelligence and efficiency instead of the right-wing ideology it came to be based upon under Harris.

The Liberals must recognize that doctors are not easily replaced by clerks and that the hunt for fraud among the Disabled makes as much sense as the hunt for Weapons of Mass Destruction. It is time to reallocate scarce staff resources and get back to serving the Disabled in a timely way. It should get rid of much of the new red tape Harris instituted.
Jeff Schlemmer is a lawyer and executive director of Neighbourhood Legal Services (London & Middlesex) Inc. in London, Ont.

Tapestry Sofa Throw Jacket

I call this "The Tapestry Jacket", for obvious reasons. This was also a sofa throw, but the tapestry pattern work on it was just spendid! Again, a lady who came in to pick up her altherations paid me $250.00 for this Jacket. She too, was amazed at the way the pattern worked out for the overall garment.

These pictures were taken with natural light,


These pictures were taken with a flash.

To see the detail, although these pictues are small, click on the picture to see it full size so you can examine the detail of the fabric.

I think I'm out of jackets. I'll have to post pictures of other things I've made for clients and my family.

Nope, I lied! I still have two more sofa throws that have yet to become Jackets ... one day!

Be Well,
Cate >3

Sofa Throws Jackets ...

Okay, Ladies and Gentlemen ... Here they are!!! More Jackets for your perusal!

Some were created from 100% Indian Woven Cotton Sofa Throws I purchased on sale at Stedman's in Haliburton, other from I've made from beautiful upholstery fabric that screamed:

"Make me, Make Me, Please, Make Me into a Jacket!". Yeah, fabric does talk to me. I don't know if I should discuss this with my Doctor or not ... probably NOT! LOL

I call this the "Aztec Jacket" ... another one of my most proud accomplishments!

I think this one tested every technique and trick I ever learned or saw in a video, as well as sewing, then ripping, then sewing and ripping again. That's another way to learn ... especially how NOT to do something again!

An to top things off ... This Jacket was Stolen!!!



If you see this Jacket, please inform the person wearing it, that their Jacket is stolen merchandise, and should be returned to me!

While holding my household effects were being held as Ransom, when I came with a Police Escort to collect my belongings, all of a sudden, my ex-landlady had absolutely NO memory of ever seeing this jacket.

Yah, after this woman with whom I lived for 8 long weeks, spent 3 hours mooning over how well I had designed it ... and how well I had been able to cut the pieces so as to enable the front and back to be one whole piece - without having side seams to disrupt the print of the Throw I'd made it from ... she was so awe-inspired by my finished product, she went to and purchased fabrics similar to the ones I had used ... but, she has no recollection of having ever seen this Jacket.

Anyway, should you see a person wearing this Jacket, you have my permission to inform them that they are wearing stolen merchandise.

Now ... This is the "Tiger Jacket" ... First Version ...




After having finished it, once I'd hung it up to take a gander at the finished product, it just looked like it was 'missing' something. So, as we sewing people tend to do when we are not satisfied with what we had seen in our mind's eye, that doesn't quite match the finished product ...

I took it apart, added a black velour cord around the neckline and lapel, and made it look like this ... The Second Version



I thought it looked much 'smarter' after inserting the black cord around the collar and lapel edges. No sooner had I finished it, a regular client came in the door to pick up some alterations I had been doing for her, she saw the jacket I had literally just finished - hanging on the dress form and paid me $220.00CAD for it! Not bad for a $7.00 Throw from Stedman's, eh?

Now, on to "The Upholstery Fabric Jackets" ...


I came across this awesome piece of upholstery fabric in Lindsay's Fabricland and, that's right, you guessed it, I saw a Jacket!

Again, I was able to match the patterns so that they flowed through the garment seamlessly, as if they were woven to match exactly for what I had in mind for it! T

he beauty of this Jacket, causing it to be quite warm when necessary is that this fabric had a lightly, rubberized backing, which would stop the wind from blowing through it, as well as give it extra support, make it hang nicely on the body, and keep it's shape, regardless of the type of wear it was subjected to once purchased.

Well Stitchers! That's it for now. I do believe that I have a few more to come, and will post them as I get to them!

Be Well!

It's Up! It's Good!

Now that I've finally set up my Blog Page, as to how often I'll get back to it? Well, that all depends on how hard I have to wrestle my kids for control of the mouse and keyboard! Come to think of it, now that the girls are finished school, they aren't in bed until well after 2 am, which means ... they sleep until Noon! As long as I'm out of bed by 8 am, I should be able to get 4 hours of quality, uninterrupted computer time in, before they're feet hit the floor!

There's nothing worse than feeling your 13-year-old's warm breath on the back of your neck as you type. Or, better yet, have her perform something similar to the 'pee pee dance' nearby, just because she wants to sign in to Messenger, 'hang' and IM with all the friends who have now fled the streets, and taken up residence behind the family computer.

Sadly, we only have one computer at present. It is obvious we need at least 1 more computer. I recently considered mortgaging a laptop and desktop package from MDG (for less than a dollar a day!), but having just purchased a new, used car (that has two more payments on it), I think I'll put that buy on the back burner, for now. Maybe I'll be able to save some cash through the Summer and buy the new computers just before the girls return to school. That would be pretty 'kewl', especially if I didn't have to finance the purchase at all.

One of my sisters is convinced there are 3 books inside me, just waiting to be written. She likes the way I tell a story and thinks others would enjoy reading what I've written. With a laptop of my own I could travel about, able to write whenever the whim strikes. My memory is not what it used to be, so it would be great to be able to start typing as the thoughts came to mind.

Yet another sister showed me the 'reconditioned' laptop she bought for $300.00. It's a snappy little Dell unit with more memory than my desktop machine. And, by the look of it, its in great shape, but it only comes with a 90-Day warranty. While that may work for me, knowing the way my kids handle electronics (cell phones, game boys, etc.), I don't know it would be such a good idea to buy them 'reconditioned' laptops, only to have to replace them 3 months down the road!


I'll just have to play this by ear for the time being.