New Year's Eve

The year is coming to an end and I am going to finish it in style! While DH is out playing guitar at a party I will relax and get in some slow stitching hexie style! After all isn't having fun and bringing in the new year your own way what it is all about!And I can do it in my comfy PJs!!

Hexies are my party partner tonight. I wonder if I will ever be finished this project. It has grown a bit from the attached picture but still I keep stitching away. I have two quilt shows coming up in the next two years...maybe that is something to aim for! 

Do you make a list of things you wish to accomplish in the new year? If I did, I think finishing up the many UFOs would be at the top.Second would be the many quilts that I would like to make. Those ideas that have been lurking in the back of my mind.

slowly growing

I am checking in with my friend Kathy and all her friends for slow stitching Sunday. I am a little late but let's see what everyone is up to!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Here's to finishing old projects, starting new ones and keeping our families always surrounded with our quilts!

Here I come...sewing room!

A little doll with her new dolly

the cook and her sous chef

With the holidays, packing and travelling, I have missed being in my sewing room. While we spent Christmas away at our daughter's house, I did get to knit and do some hexies to fill in the time between games, meals and visits but now for the hum of the machine to fill the air!
Now that the Christmas rush is over, I welcome the chance to sit in quiet and enjoy some sewing.
I did make a couple of things this year as gifts. They were all enjoyed I think

I am teaching a class in a couple of weeks so this will be the first quilt top on the agenda. That's right haven't even made the quilt for the class yet!! yikes!!After that I will try to catch up on Bonnie Hunter's current mystery quilt. I was almost caught up and with the holidays, I have fallen behind again. But remember ...it's not a race!!

Ugly sweaters? I think "seasonal"

Lake effect snow storm

So as the holidays end here's to fun times with family (DH bought us all sweaters)and not so fun times( the drive home was very snowy for part of the ride)open lakes in the winter are not a good thing! We eventually drove into sunshine and very cold temperatures. It's so good to be home!!

Checking my list

Christmas cookies

The shopping list is done and wrapped well that is except for groceries. Now this week I will be packing and getting ready to go visit my daughter for Christmas.I did a full day of baking yesterday and now it is all put away except for this box which Hubby and I have been munching on today.

in the middle of clue #3

With everything that is going on...there is still time to fit in some sewing. I have been trying to catch up on the clues on the mystery at Quiltville. I am in the middle of clue #3 and #4 came out on Friday. It will get done one way or another.


Today I will be slow stitching along with Kathy. I am working on a binding. I didn't think I would have this quilt till late January. But I received a call from my long arming friend and she had the quilt finished.

2 year challenge is done!

This was a two year project for me. It started as a challenge in American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I liked Edyta Sitar's sample and so I started sewing little four patches together.That continued into 2016 and in 2017 I started adding the triangles. I was still doing that in October of 2017.  There was a lull in November as I tried to decide on the small sashing colour and finally a friend suggested red and it just popped.Then once that was done, it didn't take long to finish the quilt top and send it out to be quilted. It was far too large for me to attempt and with all those seams, I was not hand quilting this one. My long armer did large plumes in the columns. Once I got the quilt back I decided to quilt on either side of the red sashings. I did it on my machine. It was the finishing touch I think. The quilting on this quilt is wonderful and gives me a terrific reversible quilt.

back of quilt showing the plumes

So tonight I will be cuddling under it and finishing the binding. With temperatures at -29 Celcius this morning...cuddling is a necessity.

I would like to take this chance to wish everyone that visits my blog a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Here's to lots of quilty things under our trees and to more quilting in the new year whether it is starting new projects or finishing UFO's!
ENJOY

Winter wonderland

early last evening

That's what it looks like outside my door. The snow started on Wednesday and hasn't stopped. We have nearly 12 inches or more! Now it really feels like Christmas! I never get tired of the view of my creek!

I have one more little project to finish for Christmas but that will get done I am not worried.Then there is baking and Christmas cards to send out. How I wish I was this ready this early every year!
So with everything ready I have time to do some relaxing sewing. With Bonnie's clue #3 out, I will be doing it while using Clue #2 as my leader and enders or vise versa!!!

paint chip challenge

This is what I have worked on this week. My paint chip challenge is almost done. It just needs borders which will be piano keys(so that will wait till the new year). I have made this doll for a friend. I have made a couple of them. This one in this pic was my daughter's when she was little. I had to find it in a keepsake box of toys so I could remember how to make her. She is probably 25 years old!!!

daughter's doll  NOT dog's chew toy

new doll

 This afternoon while DH is out, I will be sitting and relaxing and enjoying some slow stitching and watching some Christmas movies(which he doesn't always like) I will also be joining Kathy and looking to see what everyone else is up to.

Getting in the spirit of the season

Now that it is December, I am allowed(at least at my house) to play the Christmas tunes!
So I broke them out of storage yesterday and listen to all my favorites while I sewed away the afternoon. Last night I also decorated the tree. It feels too early but I know the next couple of weeks will go by so quickly.
This year I only have one little project to finish for the big day. I am not putting pressure on myself this year and it feels so good!
I have been working on my tumblers again along side a paint chip challenge we have at guild. You can read more about the paint chips here.
I am still plugging away and stitching  on these blocks. I am on the last one and then I will put them into a quilt but that won't happen till the new year. This will be my slow stitching today as I join Kathy for some quiet time.

Day of rest.....

blocks for paint chip challenge

said no quilter EVER this close to Christmas!!!It has been a crazy busy week, two guild meetings, trip out of town for one day and scheduled doctor appointment with my mother. I sure could use just a day to sew. Hmmm...but there is laundry and floors that need a little tending to first.

Today I will be working on my paint chip challenge for guild. We were to chose three paint chips and use them to pick our fabrics. We were allowed to have a fourth colour for our background. Although it is winter I went with a Spring theme....thinking of daffodils and crocus with bright blue skies!

blocks waiting to be made

They start with 3" finished nine patches and then 2" logs all around.

fabric for On Ringo Lake Mystery

So if I get these done today I can start on my Bonnie Hunter mystery. I should be well practiced as the first clue is to make 3" finished nine patches...haha!!!I will be doing nine patches in my sleep soon!

 I will also be joining my friend Kathy for some slow stitching later today. Although I am not knitting like she is trying to do(keep at it Kathy, practice practice practice)...there are some slow stitches that I need  to complete!
Have a great Sunday everyone!

Guild day

Yes it was guild day today and I did a presentation on squaring up blocks. It went quite smoothly unlike the start of the day. We ladies were all ready to start our meeting but were unable to get into the building...no keys!!!

Swoon blocks

After a few phone calls and talking to the superintendent of the building, we were able to get a tenant who lives in the adjacent apartment building to open our hall for us.(the hall and apartment building are joined) Thankfully the rest of the day went much better.

I have finished these two quilts too. They will be donated to the Children's Mental Health Center at my local hospital. I made these quilts in memory of a friend who passed away recently. I believe that she would have loved them being donated there.

Metro hoops

Tomorrow I am playing chauffeur for a friend and we are going shopping to one of my favorite quilt stores and lunch!! Sounds like a fun day...I only hope the weather co-operates!!

The snow has arrived!!

coffee looking outside

The last two days we have had snow and now my neighbourhood looks like a winter wonderland.So that also means back to the routine of shoveling everyone out and then I can sew. Only problem is once I sit down after being out in the fresh air....I just want to fall asleep!!!Oh well an afternoon nap is a good thing!!

slow stitching with Kathy today

So this is my view from my sewing room window today. My favourite coffee mug and working on some binding. That is my slow stitching for this sunday along with some embroidery that I will do later this evening.


I have been working on my tumblers, trying to get them to a point where I can use them for leader/enders for another project  that I have to start as part of another guild challenge. These tumblers are my nemesis these days. I precut a lot of the pieces over 1 1/2 years ago. It seems that with the design I have created, I am going to have enough pieces to make a second quilt!!! OH boy!!

tumblers coming closer to a design

fabrics for the mystery quilt

And like I don't have enough projects on the go....this week Bonnie Hunter will start her annual mystery quilt...On Ringo Lake! I have my colours all picked out. I am staying with her colours as I had lots of batiks in those teals and corals...add in my favorite chocolate brown and I am set to go.

It is a busy week ahead two guild meetings and a shopping trip with a friend and another friend coming to visit for one of those guild meetings. By Friday(release date for the mystery) I will be ready for some sewing.
Have a great week everyone!

Snowy Sunday

my back door

We woke to a winterery wonderland. We had snow on Friday but more fell this morning and the grass is covered and the shovels are out!

four patch

I am excited today because I just finished this quilt top. I have been working on it for two years. The four patch centers were the start of a leaders and enders projects I started in 2015. The retreat I was at in October had me finishing the patches and getting them into columns. I dragged my feet for a couple of weeks trying to decide what colour to use to separate the columns. One chat with my quilting buddy Mallory and red was the winner. A little deep stash diving one evening and I found the perfect piece of fabric. This is a big one 90x97. It is definitely going out to be quilted, I am not attempting this one!

3 from class, one I already made

Belle's new bed

tumblers,starting to join them together

I finished the three bags I started for my class the other weekend and my dog Belle has a new bed.Today I am trying to figure out a pattern so I can complete my tumbler quilt. It was a Bonnie Hunter leader and ender from a couple of years ago.Tomorrow I have a UFO day at our guild and this will be the project I am going to work on. Bonnieholics are joining together to send prayers and thoughts to her on the passing of her father in law. May he rest in peace.

It has been a very productive hunting season in the sewing room but now it is my daughter and my turn to try our hand at deer hunting. She is home for a week...so I get to visit and spoil her for a week. We might even get in some Christmas shopping one day!

It is going to be a busy week as my local little quilt store is having a sale too. I am hoping to find more fabric to add to my pile for Bonnie's Quiltville mystery-On Ringo Lake that will be starting later this month.
So many things to do and there just doesn't seem to be enough time to get it all done. All this and joining Kathy for some slow stitching this week. She wanted to know about lighting while we are working/quilting. I have the same Ikea light as she does and two different Ott lights. I even have found a LED light bulb for my sewing machine. What a difference that made when I put it in. I use whatever light helps with the current project I am working on.
Have a great week ahead and come back for a visit to see how much I got done at the workshop tomorrow.

Workshop and teaching

my pillowcases

Yet another workshop at our guild. Our guild only meets once a month but we make up for that with all our workshops throughout the rest of the month. Yesterday three teachers taught 4 projects. On the agenda were pillowcases, a tote bag, iron caddy and a jewellery travel case.I was teaching the tote and in between group sessions, I was able to get three pillowcases sewn. It was a very productive day for everyone in attendance.

three students and their totes

Kathy(standing)our trooper of the day!

Just as a reminder to us all, one of the members showed up today with a cut finger. She had done an oops the night before with her cutter. But with a little nursing from my fellow teacher, she was undaunted and joined in on the workshops yesterday. Way to go  Kathy, hope your finger is doing better!

Today I am game to go! I was very tired after my busy day yesterday and just manage a bit of embroidery last night. So this morning....I will finish my totes that were my steps for teaching the class. I have three of them at various stages of completion. After that I have a dog bed to finish and a quilt to machine quilt.
That should fill my day fairly well and because the lighting isn't so great in my sewing room since I took over the living room, I will spend the evening working on my hand stitching/embroidery. I will also be linking up with my friend Kathy and her slow stitching Sunday back to basic with a needle and thread...no machines!!

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Where did that week go?!!

cross hatched and binding on

I keep trying to be a better blogger and then a whole week goes by! I have been doing lots of things but I don't seem  to get anything finished.Well I did quilt my table runner which was a class I taught a couple of weeks ago. It will be ready for the holiday season to put on my coffee table in the family room.

180 mini churn dash blocks

dog bed cover to be

Then began the long road of half done things. I finally finished sewing 180 - 3 1/2" churn dash blocks for an upcoming class I will be teaching. They can rest for awhile.This is code for... I haven't chosen a colour to be the alternate square that goes with them.
 Moving on I also cut out the pieces for a simple small quilt which will become the top of a dog bed. Yes a dog bed!! It will match the quilt I have already made for our dog Belle.

4 patch onto the next step

I have squared and trimmed the panels of four patches that I have been making for 2 years. I thought I had chosen the other fabrics for the quilt but yesterday I had my mind changed again. I went deep stash diving last night and came up with this burgundy colour. I think this is going to look great.Do you ever keep putting off a decision like fabric choice? I have come to realize that if you are putting it off....it means that you haven't found the right fabric yet!!

one bag done, 3 to finish

Lastly I worked the other day on step outs for a bag I will be teaching this weekend. It is a simple one but does require a few steps to finish. I have three in various stages and I hope to get them all finished this weekend after class is over. There are three other small projects being taught on the same day.

On top of all this Bonnie Hunter has released her colour choices for this year's up coming mystery quilt.I am so doing this one. I have been collecting beach, sunset, and water batiks for awhile now with no particular plan for them. So now I am finally going to use them. I may have to search out some brown batiks to go with all the others but that won't be so bad! Besides there is a sale at my LQS in s couple of weeks...good timing!

I once again have another week of quilting/sewing ahead of me as hubby heads out hunting again. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have more finished things to show for my efforts!
Happy sewing!

Teacher, Teacher!!!

runner needs quilting

Yesterday was a teaching day for me at guild. I was giving aid and answers for a Christmas table runner. It was a great group of ladies and the day went by too fast.
I am hoping to have mine quilted and finished for this week's meeting. I can't have my students finishing before their teacher...can I???
It is a week of sewing ahead for me as DH is off hunting for the week. I have a head start because he left early too. I have a quilt basted and ready to be quilted for the Quilts of Valor.Also there are several projects that need completing for the upcoming program at guild. But this week I picked up some hand embroidery and can't seem to put it down. So I will quilt by day and stitch by night. My sewing room doesn't have upper lighting so this plan works great for me!

embroidery in progress

My cousin ask me to put some embroidered blocks together into a quilt for her mother in law. The mother in law's mother did the embroidery. You can see that quilt here But there were some blocks that weren't finished, I asked if I could complete them for her. They have been sitting in a pile for awhile now and I have started them.It is very relaxing to hand stitch away the evenings on them. This is block 1 or 6 and I know I will get sidetracked along the way..but here's hoping they can get finished in the early new year maybe!!!
So between binding and embroidery that is what I will be hand stitching on today and joining Kathy slow stitching Sunday group.

Stay in touch and see what other things/projects I might get done this week!!Happy Quilting.

Quilt retreat!!

my view for the weekend

It seems I was on the road again...this time headed for my annual quilt retreat. This year marked the 10th year we have been doing this.Although we have changed venues a  few times and faces have come and gone over the years...we still manage to get a good group of ladies together and have a fun weekend. I am not going to say we got lots accomplished (if you have ever been to one, you will know what I mean)but sewing was done and projects got more work done on them and some were even  completed.

6 strips of 4 patches just waiting to be finished

I only took three projects with me. They were all started but required lots of sewing so I only got to work on two of them. I have been sewing 4 patches with added triangles for 2 years and they finally became long strips all sewn together. They just require alternate strips and that top will be done. It is a UFO for this year's guild challenge so keep an eye out for that one!
I also took 2"squares for a small churn dash project that I will be teaching later this year. The churn dashes finish at 3"(small yes but aren't they the cutest)!I got to play in that box of 2" squares that I have been cutting up for years now.
It doesn't look like much but that was all the sewing I got done in 3 1/2 days of quilt retreat.

3" churn dash blocks

binding done

 I also got the binding sewn on a lap quilt that my friend Susan quilted for me on her long arm.She brought it along with her to deliver to me. Hmmm...so I guess I did get something finished!!

5 years ago but not much has changed

This week also marked 30 years that I have been married to my best friend Ted. It is also the first year in a long time that we have been together for our anniversary. He was usually moose hunting or I was retreating or we were both gone. Although I was at guild for the day (as president I couldn't miss it) and he had council meetings.It was nice to be together in the  evening to mark this milestone. Days march on though and he is off to the bush for hunting season or as I say quilting season!!(with cereal suppers)not really!!!
So once this is posted I am off to the sewing room to get busy!! UFOs need finishing, projects for future classes need making and as a quilter there is always that new project that you would like to start. Have a fun week!!

Going Places

shop hop buys

playing with my camera

That is where I have been and not in my sewing room. I spent last weekend shop hopping my way to my friend's house for the weekend. The shop hop was on my way so why not. Five shops by lunchtime is not bad. I found some little goodies along the way too. It is hard to see in the pic but a deal on fat 1/4...buy 5 get 3 free!!! I also stocked up on my whites for background...love white tone on tone.I also bought a couple pieces with yardage as they just called to me!! haha

sunrise in southern Ontario

During the weekend I went to a local fall fair and my daughter's town Pumpkin Festival. I am not really a festival going person but it was a fun two days and I got to spend time with people I love!
I drove home early 6:30 am on Monday morning and this is the sight I got to watch. Of course it was pretty but once it cleared that horizon....I was looking for sunglasses and ducking behind my sun visor.
This weekend here in Canada is our Thanksgiving Day. My hubby's family will be getting together on Monday so that means the whole weekend to sew and get ready.  Ready, ready for what you ask??
It is quilt retreat time for me. I will be gathering projects and packing patches with good intentions of finishing things. I do have good intentions...but I am also realistic! I will be happy to get a bit further on whatever projects I take with me. I know I have lots of samples that need working on but this is suppose to be relaxing and no deadlines so I will be looking for fun things to do, things I want to sew on instead of things I need to sew on! I am sure I will have more on this in the coming days. Check in and see what I might be taking along and see if I can finish anything!!!

Hello September!

4"blocks,mini inside 2"

The unofficial start of quilting season is here! In the spirit of the season, I have been busy. I joined in on the Temecula mini Monday over the last month or so and this top is the  result of that. The sixteen patches I didn't really like in my quilt so they went into another one. These will be teddy bear quilts that get paired with a stuffed animal and give to a charity for delivery to a special little someone.

16 patched front

I am also gearing up for the new guild year and I am on program so that means that I have lots of samples, workshop examples and blocks to get ready. The blue and green blocks from this last post, you can see them here are for our BOM. There was a lot of flip and sew which meant lots of little odds and ends that were put to good use to make two more teddy quilts.

16 patched backing

Under my needle today was some hst which were made into pinwheels for a Christmas runner that I will be teaching in October.

These pieces are all just flimsy still which means I need to dust off my quilting machine and get busy. If you know me at all...you will know that machine quilting is not my favorite part of the finishing process...but it has to be done!

In between all of this sewing I have been doing leaders and enders. I have finallly finished all my four patches 450 with triangles added. Now for the next step.

more teddy bear quilts

Yesterday we had an all day UFO sew-a-thon at guild and I spent the day sewing tumbler pieces together. That is another leader and ender that I started and it just needs to be done ....soooooon!!!

Parts for a Christmas runner

Next week guild meetings start for me...my first as president!! Exciting and terrifying at the same time.