Reminiscing

Isn't that what December is for, well the last few days anyways as we await the New Year!!Over at Meadow Mist Designs they are encouraging bloggers to look back over the past year and sum up their blogs. Things learned, quilts finished and anything else quilty!

So I am attempting to chime in with my own view from my studio. This is the year we finally got to redoing where I sew. It was a living room(we also have a family room). I would hand quilt on the large frame in this room and use it in the Spring when the basement(where my sewing room was) was too cold. One year I just never moved back to the basement and am loving being on the main floor where I can see outside. I have laminate flooring now so no lost pins and office chairs move way more smoothly, sometimes too fast!!You can visit my studio pics here.

With the COVID hitting in March...I was thankful for my hobbies. They kept me busy and many items got started and completed.

keeping for me

whole cloth quilt I gave away

I finished my Frolic mystery in early January and also joined in a quilt along with Edyta Sitar. That one got finished and quilted straight away. Carla over at Quilting by the River is just finishing up a quilt along. I was one of  her pattern proofer so I got a bit of a start on the quilt. I did mine half sized. So instead of 9" blocks, mine are 4.5" blocks. That one is ready to be sandwiched!

In the mess that we call lockdown, social distancing, or just staying home and staying safe, I was able to finish hand quilting two quilts. One I gave away and one that I am keeping for myself.

class I was to teach

Eydta mystery quilt

quilt for Kathy

6"wonky stars

6" log cabin

I have also been doing lots of scrap quilts. A mini log cabin was completed from the scraps that made these wonky stars. Seems there is a never-ending supply of scraps.

Time at home meant I had time to clean, purge and just simply find out what I have. Many UFOs were found and this particular one I have had for probably more than 12 years. You can read the full story here. I still have the quilt till I get to see my friend Kathy.

So to sum it up, I made 12 quilts, 2 bags and one duvet cover. Gave away 6 quilts, kept one and one quilt and one duvet to be delivered. I also started 4 quilts that aren't finished as yet. WOW this even surprised me!! I am hoping that this year will be just as productive...with being in lockdown right now for two weeks...it is a start!!My hope is to get more of the UFOs in the basement finished. Some of them have been waiting for over 12 years so it seems this is a good year to clean them out!! Good luck with all you have in mind to get started, quilted and or finished!

Quiet Christmas

 The big day has come and gone! But at my house Christmas is going to last a bit longer. My daughter was coming home on boxing day but because of the provincial lockdown it wasn't going to work. So we will get together in January or February. I told her I would leave the tree up even if I had to decorate it for Ground hog's day or Valentine's Day!! So my hubby and I will have a second Christmas then!!

As life gets back to our usual routine....yesterday I decided to tidy up my sewing studio. It was long overdue!! I still had things hanging around from guild(which has not happened since last March). I figured it would be good to clean up and see just what I have in UFOs or other things that needed tending to.

I found 2 quilts that are in parts or just blocks from guild classes, a snowflake quilt that needs to be sandwiched and quilted, small  nine patches that I have been sewing as leaders and enders and while putting things in their rightful places, I came across this small wall hanging that just needs sandwiching and finishing. I know I didn't make this wall hanging, I think I rescued it from the charity table at guild. It came with 4 pieces of binding...I just might need those two smaller pieces to finish the binding!

wall hanging to finish

Sooo...I have no reason to say I have nothing to do, I just don't know where to start!! I think I will start small and go from there. A couple friends and I are starting a nine patch/log cabin quilt. One of  the friends(Pearl) wanted a leader and ender project. I found one for her! Another friend (Mallory)has already started with the nine patches. I think we have even coerced a couple other quilters into joining us!!

It is slow stitching Sunday! Wonder what Kathy is up to? With needle and thread or maybe knitting needles I will check in and see what everyone has been up to. For those reading in Ontario...enjoy your lockdown, find something fun to do!! Everyone else hope you are safe and healthy! 

Christmas completions in the home stretch!

 Raise your hand if you are all finish and ready for Christmas? I don't see many hands and that is okay, it means we are all crafters/quilters who are working like Santa, down to the last second. I am no exception, I started a project yesterday with the hopes of having it finished and under the tree by Thursday!! no pressure or as my daughter says "good thing you left lots of time to do it"!! It is a pile of cut pieces and some strip pieced sections waiting for me to get busy today! I also have some knitting that needs finishing...those gifts might include knitting needles if I don't get them quite finished!! haha

parts and pieces just waiting

But before sitting down to that there were some driveways that needed cleaning out. We got a dusting of snow last night and it continues to fall. I love watching it when it is snowing those large fluffy flakes with Christmas tunes playing in the background!

I will have a tea break later and will check in with Kathy and all the slow stitchers to see what everyone is finishing up today. It is a great source of inspiration to see what everyone is working on. Not that I need any more ideas...I need time to complete everything!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a healthy and safe New Year!

P.S. Mr Snowman is still standing but has obtain a sign now!! I am thinking of adding a small tree with lights....will see if I have time this week!!

Oh how time flies

 Wish I could say I have been so busy sewing, quilting and knitting that I had no time to blog...but unfortunately that is only half true! There has only been knitting happening in my world. I decided this was the year that I was knitting for everyone. I have over half of the things made that I wanted to make and there is still enough time to finish the rest. I cannot share pics as yet because the recipients will know!!Shhh Christmas secrets!

We got our first significant dumping of snow last week...almost 12" or more! On Friday after shoveling and my daily walk...I decided it was the perfect day to make a snowman! I am young at heart and that is all that matters...no judging!!I took one pic (even got the dog in it) and then he got an upgrade yesterday with a new sign, a new hat and a dusting of snow!

Today is a day to stitch away the hours...maybe a couple Christmas movies while I knit up the remaining gifts. I will also be checking in with Kathy and seeing what everyone else is spending their Sunday doing!!

New month, new beginning!

binding going on

 November is the start of the wintery months in my neighbourhood. We had a cold but nice day yesterday for all the trick or treaters. Hubby and I sat outside for a few hours to handout candy. We don't get many visitors on Halloween so it was an early evening.

Today I set my mind to finishing machine quilting a single bed quilt I started the other day. The quilting got done and the binding started and then it was time to break for race day! Nascar's final playoff  race was today. Yes I have become a fan. I have a few more turns to do and the binding will be on as well. Then it is trim the quilt and hand stitch the binding down. I thought this would be my slow stitching but instead I was knitting. I am starting my Christmas knitting and am in the middle of a project. I only hope that I have enough yarn to finish it!! Yikes because I don't have enough time to rip it out and start again!!

Kathy's rule is needle, thread and slow stitching to quiet the mind. That is what I will be doing. Join Kathy and the others that are slow stitching today!

on my bulletin board to remind me

This week I received a thank you card from a young girl. I donate quilts to a young person's mental health ward at our local hospital and the card was from one of the recipients. It was a nice surprise to find in the mail as I had just dropped off three more quilts for the ward. It is sad to think that they are needed but I am glad that they are bringing comfort to these young people.

Loads of slow stitching

border with vines and other pieces ready

 Yup loads of slow stitching is in my future. I have finally settled down to finish this quilt. The top is pieced and the last large border has a vine, leaves, flowers and some birds. I have already put the centers on the 44 flowers and have been cutting out the rest of the pieces. The vine is pinned onto the border fabric and I will be sitting down to stitch this afternoon and watch nascar racing with my DH!!(that's dear hubby not Denny Hamlin although cheering him on too!)

quilt top without borders

I am trying something different with this quilt. I didn't want to attach the border and then have to applique with the whole quilt on my lap so...I have sewed the mitered corners of the border together. Laid the vine and pinned it and now I will only have one join in the vine. The pattern definitely didn't say to do it this way!! I will have to be very diligent when I finally sew the borders to the quilt and pin them to death so they fit perfectly!!I have been working on these borders and applique pieces for a few days. OMG it is taking longer to do the border than the whole rest of the quilt.

                                                                                            I have fit in time to visit  Kathy's blog and see what everyone is working on these days. Being her Northern Blog stalker...I must do my job!! haha  We were not able to get together for our annual Piranha retreat but we will definitely be making solid plans to do it next year...maybe even two visits to make up for this year!! 

Enjoy your week and whatever it holds in store...Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt colours should be coming soon. Anyone joining in on the fun? Before I can sit down and stitch today, there is homemade chokecherry wine that needs bottling!! So many things to do and I just want to sit and stitch or knit!!

Getting this day started

 It has been an early morning for me. Hubby who is a volunteer fireman, has been out at a fire all night. I woke up and he wasn't home yet so there was no more sleeping happening so here I am!

boardwalk McGregor Park

my neighbourhood on my walk

It has been a busy and productive week. Sewing day with two friends...social distancing of course! I have been working on a new baby quilt and  helping a friend by proof reading a new pattern she is doing as a sew along. With it being a short week because of Thanksgiving, it didn't take long for Saturday to arrive!!

We got our first taste of winter weather yesterday...rainy with a bit of slushy stuff fell. I prefer these pics from Thanksgiving weekend when we visited our daughter.

I will have lots of time today to sit with a coffee and check in with my friend Kathy and see what all the slow stitchers are doing. I will not be attending my annual quilting retreat which starts later this week but that won't stop me from quilting/sewing and hopefully getting some projects finished!

sunrise Monday morning

Lake Huron

beach finds

This is a block from the baby quilt. It is 4 1/2" unfinished, yes that makes that nine patch 1 1/2 " finished....isn't it cute!! Do you see Eeyore in the corner? This fabric has Pooh characters all over it!! I hope to have it finished this week!

Have a great week ahead and I think a nap might be in order later today!!

I'm back!!

some pickling 

 I  can't believe it has been a whole month since I blogged. I am going to have to pull up my socks!! It has been a busy month and things are finally starting to settle down and get into winter mode. The gardens are empty except for some potatoes and all the pickling is done!!(thank God)!! We alo fit in a week of camping/fishing with our daughter and her boyfriend. So now I am ready to get back into my sewing room and settle down for the long winter ahead!

A good start for that is a friend has asked me to proof her newest pattern and sew it up in my colours. Nothing like jumping in with both feet...quilting math will get you started and make you want to continue. The proofing was done last weekend and then I couldn't wait to start on the actual quilt. The quilt is called "Marquise" by Carla Alexiuk whose blog is Quilting by the River. She used Studio 180 rulers so things are all squared up and sewing is easier and more accurate. It took no time to get the sewing done (once I got to it) and today I finished the borders so I could show the finished top. I think this top was meant to be as I had just enough of the blue and gold fabrics to put them where I wanted. With the Canadian theme of the quilt(there are words to the national anthem on the blue and cream fabric) I think this quilt may become a donation to Quilts of Valor. You can contact Carla through her blog for more information or if you want to buy the pattern. (shameless plug for a friend)

finished quilt

sample shot of block

The knitting needles have been calling. A few friends and I have started meeting again to knit. We are a small group so not to worry. So I started my Christmas knitting on Friday. It is going to be a slow project as it is really challenging me to keep the correct stitch count going! It will be my VERY slow stitching for this afternoon when I join Kathy and others in taking some quiet time for myself.

But right now I have a sewing room to tidy up and get ready for the next project. I think a new clue came out this week for the Morewood Mystery and I have two projects from last year's guild to finish. No lack of things to do!!

September...ahhhh!

 The rush of summer vacation, visiting relatives, or just relaxing in the sun is over really before it even began. It has been a strange summer I am sure for everyone. In our area we are trying to be as normal as we can with a few exceptions because of Covid. This past weekend we got together with DH's family for a corn roast and we took our trailer to have a weekend camping trip. The rains came and went all weekend but yesterday was a beautiful sunny day(just in time for us to leave)

tried to find a pretty photo spot

In the sewing room...there has been slow to no progress. I am finding it hard to stay motivated to sew. I can do lots of hand stitching or knitting but sitting at the machine..not so much. Now I have spoken of this before and had many others agree with me. So I am hoping that with the Fall weather approaching that will change. I did persevere and finished this top this past week. I going to blame Kathy on this one. When she was here visiting last year at this time, she was making these free form stars from scraps. I fell in love with them. She was using scraps but I decided I could do them with 2 1/2" squares. I had hoped that that would clean out a box of squares that I had been cutting, saving and wanting to use. NEVER MADE A DENT!!

Closer view

Deciding on sashing and borders was a bit difficult as I don't have large pieces of yardage. So I improvised and used two different fabrics.I plan to bind it in black or  black with small white print to keep in the gray/black theme and offset the bright colours of the stars.

Although I am a day late, I am still joining in on Kathy's slow stitching and sharing my finished top(it still needs quilting). I am spending today stitching hexies into the main body of a quilt. Terrible headache due to shifting weather patterns has me not wanting to do much but sit and rest and stitch! That is never a bad thing!!

Mini holiday

 We took a couple of days and went to visit our daughter. She had arranged for us to have family pictures taken that was a Christmas gift for me.It was a fun mini holiday. I also got to meet my friend Louise's newborn granddaughter. With all the Covid rules in place, I was happy to just get to see her...but I was able to hold her too just no kisses or snuggling!! Apparently it is an "older" lady thing...wanting to see and hold babies. What do these young kids know!! haha

Other things don't stop just because you are gone for three days. The garden kept growing and producing and I have been in pickling mode once again. This picture shows today's work, pickled beets and some from the other day ...more dills.

On our drive this week I got in some knitting and the evenings gave me time to make these hexie diamonds. Any other time....I was sleeping or sitting with my poor tired feet up!!

With a coffee in hand, I will be checking in with Kathy and the ladies and looking for some inspiration to get sewing. I have heard from many and they are all saying the same thing...blame Covid!!

Have you seen my quilting mojo!!

Yes my mojo seems to have disappeared and I don't know where to look for it or some inspiration. I have been knitting and working on my hexies so not totally useless. I did do one afternoon of sewing on these cute little wonky scrappy 6" star blocks.(these are also Kathy's fault/influence) I think I almost have enough to put together a quilt top.

There has also been lots of fabric petting going on. I went searching for fabric for a mystery that Kathy has enticed me with. I thought I had the perfect fabric but they said no directionals. They offered a sneak peek and I took it...yup no directional so back into the stash to find something else. I was a member of a fat quarter club and I have many so I wanted to use them up and also didn't want a beige or white for the background. So I went in search of a background fabric that had 4.25 meters. I found this dark tealish blue with black swirls. Now how to contrast the other colours...make them pop....black to gray with a bit of white! These fabrics have been sitting on my ironing board for a couple of days and I still like them so today there might be some cutting happening. This is for the Morewood mystery. It is a monthly mystery and it isn't too late to join. So far we only have fabric requirements and cutting instructions that can be found at their website.

fabrics for mystery

Pickling and baking happens as I continue to reap the benefits of our garden. Some things will be in the garden way into September...lots of squash and zuchinni.

With  a coffee in hand I will be checking in with Kathy and friends this morning. Can't promise that any slow stitching will get done today but always fun to see what others are doing. Maybe just maybe something will spur me on in the sewing department. Have a fun day and a great week ahead.

Quilting Hiatus

flower bed 1

cone flowers

hens and chicks

It seems as though that is exactly what has happened. I have not been in my sewing room for well over 2 weeks. I have worked on my hexies while fishing with DH but sitting at the sewing machine...nope!!

Now to explain...of course there is always an excuse reason! One of my closest friends became a grandma again. So of course I had to make something but she is a quilter as well so I leave quilts to her. I have been in knitting mode instead.  I will be delivering them next week and hopefully will get a peek at the new little addition!

purple poppy

But today is for me...to get back into the sewing room and find something to do?! Really what I mean is figure out where I left off on any given project that I might want to work on. I am posting a day late to join in on the slow stitching with Kathy. But know I was busy with a different kind of thread and did check in to see what everyone was doing...and get some inspiration.

Hollyhocks

pots of portulaca

So I decided that this post will be a view of my gardens. The other day I went out and took pics of all the blooming flowers and one of the continuing to grow gardens(we  have 4 gardens in various places).

Pickling(dilled beans) has begun and also the zuchinni loaves are being made and frozen for the winter.

Sorry about those little white squares and rectangles....posting pictures in this new format has a bit of a learning curve.

Get moving Monday

Fall themed donation quilt

I have had my days mixed up this past weekend..I kept thinking it was Monday and Tuesday for some reason. So now that it is Monday...time to get some things accomplished and get my studio table cleared off.

Yesterday was so hot and humid here you couldn't hardly breathe. Even with the fan going, the only relief was to head to the basement 

but when you did come back upstairs it was worse. Rain is in the forecast so we can only hope it will cool things a bit.

snowman challenge

snowman backing

I got two quilts machine quilted and bound this past week. My new Juki is making this process so much more enjoyable although machine quilting is still not my favourite thing to do! Binding finishes will be happening this week. The Fall coloured quilt was a "just let me sew quilt"! It was a get it done quickly and once the top was finished I wasn't sure how about an outside border...so after thinking and consulting my friend Natalie....bind it and be done!! I was clearing out an "ugly" fat quarter package but through making the quilt with the perfect background colour, it grew on me! The snowman quilt was a challenge for guild although with this year as it is...it is now a donation quilt. No yardage was harmed in making the backing for this one...but lots of fat quarters were cleared out!!The binding was made from some fabric that I know is over 29 years old!!

I just wanted to do piecing this week as a break from all the other things. I had some small wonky stars cut out and ready to go. They got sewn up quickly and then I spent the afternoon and evening picking out more pieces to make more stars. They are so cute and I think I have many more to make to have enough for a quilt...the blocks are 6"!

wonky stars

Although I am a day late, I did look in on my friend Kathy and her slow stitching Sunday crew! Thinking and blog writing was just too much for my brain to handle yesterday. So I am joining in today instead, cooler heads and temperatures prevail!

I want to wish my baby girl a Happy 29th birthday(this past Saturday) hope you had a fun party!!

I ammmm meltingggg!!

This is suppose to be close to Northern Ontario...land of cold, snow  and cooler summer temps. We have been in and out of a heatwave with lots of humidity...I just feel like a puddle some days. We had a good storm go through this morning, 11am looked more like 9pm, it got so dark!

It is good for the garden and we are starting to enjoy the fruits(veggies) of our labour!

snowmen don't make it cooler

whole top

I am in the new project mode. This week I finished the top of a challenge from guild. It was suppose to be handed in for June but guild meetings have been cancelled. So I will have it finished for September hoping we will be able to meet again! We got the pattern and could use whatever fabric but the large blank space had to tell the theme of your quilt. So this past week I was embroidering snowmen. They do look cute although they are a bit washed out and not as vibrant as the rest of the quilt.I used the leftover fat quarters to make the backing. I didn't have enough of the black for the outside border so cornerstones were all that was needed to make it work. Just using up what I have.The challenge snowman quilt will get basted this week and machine quilted but I really wanted to do some piecing.

This morning I was on mask duty for hubby and I. It will be mandatory this week to wear them in stores or businesses in our area. We have had one all along, although we haven't been using them, we were just keeping our distance from people when out!

I have also cut out strips for a scrappy donation quilt. I have the urge to sew up a quilt, one that I can get done fast and feel like I am accomplishing something. I found these fat quarters while looking for something else. They are not the prettiest so they need to be cut small!!I also found the perfect background fabric to go with those scraps...tune in later this week hopefully for a finished top!!

Kathy mentioned on her blog the other day about a mystery (Morewood Mystery)starting up  at www.MeadowMistDesigns.blogspot.com. Looks interesting with not much fabric required to start. I will be stash diving so I can play along. It is a monthly mystery starting July2020-April 2021.Kathy you are a bad influence..you enabler!! haha

I will also be reading Kathy's blog today(as all good stalkers should do) to see what everyone is slow stitching on. There has been lots of time for slow stitching...my hexies have been getting lots of attention.

Have a great week ahead!

Heatwave and another finish!

hexie in process

It has been a hot few days. I open windows in the evening and early morning to cool off the house and then close everything back up. That worked for the first few days but then it just got to humid and hot. Luckily we had a good storm and the temperatures have dropped and I can begin to cool the house again. With all this humid weather the gardens are doing well...at least something likes that kind of weather!

I have had little ambition for big projects so my hexie quilt has had many pieces added to it with a long way to go yet! I also finished a lap quilt which has a funny story.

Pick you a daisy

Many years ago(over 12 years I think) Kathy of Kathysquilts blog fame donated a UFO to her guild's program "adopt a UFO". She figured she would never finish it. A mutual friend of ours adopted the quilt and later gave it to me to adopt. It has been in a basket, moved 120 miles to our new home and has been in another basket. I thought it was time for it to be finished. I always told Kathy that I would finish it so nicely that she would want it back but she doubted it!! I always knew what I wanted to do and last week I started to see my vision come to fruition. Two days were spent gluing edges of the appliques, then sewing the appliques down on the top and preparing a backing. Then it stalled again because of the heat! Yesterday, I pin basted it, machine quilted it, squeaked out enough binding from one of the backing pieces(I did a patchwork backing) and completed the binding last night. The petals are a little fluffy because I didn't want to use steam a seam product on them or spend the time to hand applique. This will be a donation quilt to some organization. It is finished and I think it is fun and some little person will love it. My plan is to give it back to Kathy and let her decide where it will go to live!!Hope you like it Kathy!!

Today's plan is to see if it is going to rain or not and if it stays nice...we are going fishing!( my hexie bag will be with me). Slow stitching will be making more diamonds to fill in the holes in my main top(see the pic above,Belle is being so cute near the quilt) so that soon I can get it finished as well. I have been working on this quilt for over 7 years...it is time!!

So I will be checking in with Kathy and her slow stitching day to see what everyone else is working on. I have noticed a lot of cross stitchers joining in...seems to be a resurgence of this craft.I might have to dig out one that is partly done and I haven't worked on since moving here(12+years ago) Have a great week and stay healthy and cool!!

And that's a wrap...or a finish!

One month, 25 days(but who's counting) and the quilt I have been hand quilting is done and off the frame. That was the easy part apparently. Yesterday I started the binding and knew I would have a bit of an issue but OMG it was the first time I have had so much trouble putting a binding on.

how it looked on frame

While the quilt was on the frame, the outside border got stretched a bit(I use crosswise grain borders). This left the outside of the quilt on the two long sides a bit wonky! While I was sewing the binding on, I got puckers in the border. I ripped it out twice and then decided to hand baste the border to the batting. I helped a bit. The worst part was  in the area where I had to join the two ends. I should have made that join on a side that wasn't wonky. I realize that now.

In my head I could hear Angela Walters saying "a finished quilt is better than a perfect quilt" or whatever that line is she says! I have decided I will be keeping this one for myself anyways. I just love all the quilting in it. With no helpers to hold the quilt, the best I can do is the front lawn and climb on a chair on the deck. I did however get a couple good shots of the quilting as the sun was setting the evening I took it off the poles.

quilting on back

more of quilting on back

So today after getting the binding all on and in place that quilt was set aside and I worked mostly on my hexie quilt. That was a lot of slow slow stitching for today. I now have a permanent hole in my one finger and oh does it hurt. So thimble is needed for any hand stitching even binding.That was my playing along with Kathy and slow stitching for today.

finished quilt without binding

Check in with Kathy's blog and see what everyone is doing to keep busy. We are doing well in my area and I am hoping that by summer's end if not before we will be back to regular life!! Take care!