The eve of a new year

 I wanted to get in one last post for this year. To say thanks for all the support and kind comments on my blog over the past year. It was definitely one I will never forget. My blog is a place I  write about my life, feelings and even some days my quilting endeavors. Posting regularly was somewhat  of an issue for me as I wasn't quilting and therefore didn't have much to share. This year was all about getting through each day and surviving to the next  one. Grief will do that to you but I have managed with many friends, family and fellow quilters for support.

With that in mind. This Christmas I gifted many quilts to family as a thank you. It took many hours and almost a box of tissues to write cards to accompany the quilts to their new homes. My hubby was always saying I should sell my quilts but they were priceless to me. But giving them to family just seemed like the right thing to do. Now the closet has some more room for the new quilts that I am going to make.

So today's task, is to find a new pattern that I want to make and start a brand new quilt. Yes I have UFO but New Year's day will be for starting anew! What are your new year's resolutions and what are you planning on doing this year?

Wishing you all a Happy New Year's!

The snow is coming!!

Yes that is excitement you hear in my voice...snow is coming, a storm is on its way! Does anybody else get excited to watch it snow. Can't have a white Christmas without it!!

stuffy's quilts

Yesterday I finished machine quilting a quilt of valour and two small stuff animal quilts. Did all this while listening to Christmas music. Did you ever notice that Christmas songs are very sad, maybe it was just the mood I was in. So I decided I needed to switch it up and I made two small quilts from bits and pieces that were laying around. These little quilts will be paired with some stuff animals I have and then shared with VICARS(a victim response team)who gives them to children when needed. Besides little quilts are quick and fun to make too. It was just what I needed to be a little creative and actually finish something in one day! Might make some more today too.

Slow stitching will happen later as I get to sew down the bindings on these quilts. For now going to go to the sewing room and create!!! This little stuffed swan needs a quilt. She even talks to you when you squeeze her. She says "do you swan to be my Valentine"! Check in with Kathy and see what others are up to today in preparation for Christmas.

 

Thinking and sew and thinking some more

 Nine months seems like a long time but when you have lost someone it seems like an eternity and also it feels like yesterday at the same time. They say grief is the result of loving someone then I feel like I will be grieving for a long time to come. Grief shows up for me in the strangest places...today it was while I was on his 4 wheeler driving through the bush where we tap trees and collect sap to make maple syrup.

So here I am now allowing myself 10 minutes of tears and then putting on my big girl panties and getting on with my day. Why 10 minutes you ask? Stephanie a friend of mine(who is also in the same boat as me) told me it is a good thing. Cry, think, grieve, give yourself 10 minutes to feel those feelings and then move on. If you stay in the vortex of sadness longer it is much harder to recoup and move on.

So writing is helping too. As I have said before this is my blog of my life and you get to read about everything! My weeks are busy but the weekend is my down time. So Friday and Saturday I have been machine quilting and finished it last night, even put the binding on. That will be my
slow stitching with Kathy later today. I also made a smaller version for a little doll with the leftover pieces.  My pooch wanted in on the picture taking!I have two more quilts in line to be finished. My plan is to pin baste one today and get the backing ready for the second one too.

Once that is all done, I can move onto thinking about Christmas. We don't have snow yet so getting in the mood to do any shopping is hard. But I know once I start, I will get in the spirit of the season.

 

When life gives you lemons

 It is an old saying but so true, it is all in what you do with those lemons! Life and family is ever changing and the challenges that go with that are sometimes overwhelming. But I sit, relax and try to figure out what is best for me and my sanity and then do that.  I figure if I am not happy or well, I cannot be of any help to anyone else. So with that said, I took up curling this Fall on the insistence of a friend and curler Cyndy. So I curl 3 times a week, a day of sewing and an afternoon of knitting and the week is full. Being away from home means not a lot of quilting is getting done there. 

this quilt is basted and needs quilting

I have slowly gotten back to hand quilting. It is slow because it is quiet time and I think. I think of all that could have been and all the things my hubby and I didn't get to do. It is a place I don't like to visit too often. I am trying to stay positive and do the things that make me happy.

I have been working on two quilt tops for Quilts of Valor (quilts for our injured soldiers) that will get finished this month. I need batting to be able to sandwich them and I will get that next week. I have a quilt pin basted and it needs machine quilting. Then it will be onto other projects. I haven't been doing too much sewing or knitting for Christmas. I haven't even thought that far ahead as yet but should start soon.

our 1st taste of snow

I continue to look in and see what Kathy is up to. Slow stitching Sunday blog posts are always full of inspiration and Kathy's humor that makes me smile. My slow stitching happens usually in the evening while watching TV.

Winter is coming and I awoke to flakes falling yesterday and this morning there is a white covering all over the ground. Those first few snowfalls make me excited like a kid at Christmas.

 

"Fall"ing Behind

 Seems just when I think I am getting things under control and getting into a routine...life comes along and turns things upside down. Things are always coming up after the passing of a loved one. Things you forget about that suddenly need tending to. Seasons are changing and with that yard work has to be done, gardens cleaned out and house and yard readied for the winter. I have read that the snow may come early and stay so doing all this sooner than later has got to get done!

Wild Women Weekend

bleeding and not sure how

needs one more outer border

I was away for a weekend with some friends and we got in lots of visiting and some sewing. The weekend was far too short, we need to plan for a longer visit next time. I gifted them each with a lap quilt that looked like a spool of thread. Well it was the top and they have to finish them for our next time together! I also started working on quilt for another little person in my life and I worked on it yesterday and got to the last border. Today I will put the last border on and sew up the backing and maybe get to basting it for machine quilting. While working on the quilt yesterday all of a sudden there was blood. I was bleeding and not sure why or how...think I nicked myself with the cutter, never felt it. Got to love those sharp blades!

Today is slow stitching Sunday and my slow stitching will happen later this afternoon. While checking in with Kathy this week, I see she has received the quilt I finished for her. The top was sewn by Kathy and she adopted it out(she wasn't in love with it). I told her I would finish it and she would love it!!You can read about it here and here! (you can also see what Kathy is doing today!)

Have a wonderful week leading up to Canadian Thanksgiving weekend!

Quilting Season!

memory quilt #1

 Yes quilting season is in full swing.  My garden is about half empty with only things left that will handle cold temps or frost, which we had this morning!

memory quilt for aunt

The wait is over and I hope you are as excited as I was when I delivered the memory pillows and quilts that I made for my aunt and cousins. They only asked me to make pillows but there was so much fabric from all the shirts left, that I added some of my stash and 4 lap quilts were created.

memory quilt #2

memory quilt #3

I had a fun sewing day on Thursday with my friend Natalie. Well she sewed and I cut fabric. That fabric should have been sewn yesterday while I zoomed with more quilting friends. But alas I started on a new project. Carol from zoom suggested a pattern from Missouri Star magazine. It was a large spool of thread. The pattern made a large almost double bed quilt. I did a little math and came up with a lap quilt. Then made two. I would like to make a couple more as they are very easy to whip up. The thread part is a jelly roll race( I used 20 strips instead of 40). The borders are added on and before finishing the top and bottom ones you snowball the corners for the spool top and bottom! Easy peasy!!

2 of 11 pillows

thread spool quilt top

Remember this blog is about me, all parts of my life.  It has been seven months since  my husband passed away. I am finding that keeping busy is the best way to keep my mind occupied. So today I cleaned up the yard a bit, piled wood and  raked pine needles. The months seem to have flown by and now here I am entering into  Fall with Summer almost behind me. Soon the white flakes will be falling! But before they do I have some travelling to do. I am going on retreat with some friends. It should be a fun time at the "Wild Women Weekend"!! I will definitely post more about that weekend later. There may even be an appearance of "Flat Kathy"!

This girl deserves an evening of relaxation which by chance included my neighbour Tony bringing me supper. He made a delicious stew! So now the evening ahead will include feet up, hot tea, knitting/crochet and the end of the nascar race that I was too tired to finish watching last night! But before that I will be checking in to see what Kathy is slow stitching on today. My slow stitching is crocheting a afghan that I want to get finished and sent off to its new owner.

Now I have to get packing and sorting what projects I will take, there are only five more sleeps!!

backyard visitor

Quiet Weekend

Barb,me,Louise, Kathy in the basket

The piranhas have gone for another year. We were so lucky to be able to get together. What started out as  friends sharing in my sorrow became a good week of therapy for all of us. Right up till the last minute before they left, we were into things. The water pump that waters my gardens wasn't working and we tried to fix it. But in the end, needed some brute strength to get it working again...enter my brother-in-law. Barb was also finishing up with some rust dyeing that she started the day before. It turned out pretty good for the first try. I just wonder how the fabric will hold up after vinegar, water, salt and all that rust. But it does look interesting! 

posing near the dreaded water pump

rust dyeing as our background

Flat Kathy

After the bustle of the past week, it has been a very quiet weekend. The house is empty and the giggling and laughter has ceased. Miss my friends but you can read about more of our adventures here and here. Kathy from slow stitching Sunday was not able to join us, but  we had fun with her in a "flat Kathy" version that joined us wherever we went.

This is the project that I worked on all week. Those squares finish at  1 1/2", what was I thinking. Now I have to do more designing to make it bigger for a finished quilt top. The background I see now should have been more of a solid but it is for a little girl and I think she will like it anyways!

sparkling heart

Today between rain showers, humid sunshine and tornado warnings, I will be knitting away on a baby blanket. I have one more week before it is needed. Can I meet my deadline?

I will also be checking in with Kathy and joining in with some slow stitching and seeing what everyone is up to. Fall is just around the corner, the start of quilting season!!

More adventures with the piranhas

General Store for tickets

and LCBO for supplies

striking a pose

bridge adventures with my dog

my toes for Bear and Fox

 Well there were so many good times happening, that there just wasn't enough time for blogging. So today I am playing catch up. Tuesday was sewing and playing in the creek. I have a small creek that runs beside my house and it is always good for a photo op! Louise's daughter owns Bear and Fox Apparel and we were setting up some "not so staged" staged photos for her website! It was fun to go stepping gently in the creek among the gravel, stones and the little creepy crawlers. You can tell by the looks on our faces we were having fun and enjoying the cool water on such a hot day.

a good sport

On Wednesday this good looking dude stopped by. He was helping to clear my yard of some unwanted lawn tractors and such but we told Flat Kathy that he was the stripper here to entertain. He is entertaining but with his wit and  lively banter not his dancing!!He was a good sport and let us take his picture! He also let us visit his farm and got to meet his little visitor. I had met this little girl last week and thought it would be a fun thing to do when the girls were here. We even got to feed her. It was the perfect thing to do to end our week together. On our way home, we stopped by a lot that I have a garden on and found that a moose had taken a stroll through it. His hoof print covers as much as a 6 1/2" square quilting ruler. That is a big one!!

moose track

sunbathing at the creek

Louise and Barb have gone home and I can't thank them enough for coming to visit. Many long chats, laughter and memories of my dear husband shared. It was great to share this time with them and feel like old times when in reality it is a new world for me. But we will see each other in one month for another retreat  with a couple other girls. I will be doing some travelling to get there so stay tuned for that and what adventures we may experience, because I know with these girls.....fun is sure to follow!

Adventures of Flat Kathy

Welcome Flat Kathy

 Although we miss having our other piranha friend Kathy being here with us in person, we had fun with our Flat Kathy and showing her around town. Yesterday we went to my local quilt store. We met two new doggie friends and supported the store with many purchases! I finally got to spend my gift certificate from Christmas.

sitting in the sun

at the quilt store

a little boating anyone

local farm for corn

dipping her toes in the water

After that we were off to the lake. My DH's family has a cottage on a hydro damn and we stopped for some sunbathing by the water(well Flat Kathy did). Then onto the local corn farm to purchase supper. We stopped by the graveyard to say hello to my hubby too. All this visiting  and we were home for lunchtime. Then the sewing began. It has been very hot here and the afternoon sun falls on the roof of the sewing area but we pushed through. There were short naps had in the afternoon as well which allowed us to stay up a bit later and enjoy the coolness of the evening.

This morning we wake to the coolness and it feels wonderful. With the day ahead I am calling for a Pajama Day. We will get busy right after coffee/tea and pancake breakfast. Stay tuned for more adventures with the piranhas!!

Friends are the bestest

lilies in my garden

 I have checked another first off my list. It has been 6 months since my hubby passed away. Six months of living and trying to get through life one day at a time. When you think that you couldn't be apart for more than a week or two and now months have past...it is  a milestone to say the least.

introducing "Flat Kathy"& Bucky

But with that sadness comes a little sunshine in the form of two friends who are here to visit and enjoy  a little  sewing/quilting time together. Enter Barb and Louise, two of the three Piranhas. We are missing and sorry that  our third person Kathy was not able to join in the fun with us. But just so she doesn't feel left out we will take our "flat Kathy" that we made, on our weekly adventures with us!

It is very hot and humid here (there will be under boob sweat happening)today and so slow stitching Sunday will be in the gazebo(per Kathy's request) after supper when it is cooler.

Barb's project

So till then here is what we are all working on. I am making a quilt for a little person in my life. They don't know so  I won't mention names. Louise is working on a batman quilt for her grandson and Barb is working on some panels that will be the center of medallion quilts for her great neices and nephew.

I will be checking in with Kathy and her slow stitching followers later today when I have some down time. Happy stitching ladies!

Louise's project

my project

Summertime summertime!

 How is it that it has been almost a month since I posted on my blog. Sorry to my friends that check in regularly that there hasn't been anything new, it doesn't mean that I haven't been busy.

ingredients for supper last night

The garden is growing and starting to finally produce things that I can eat. Beans, lettuce and zucchini are all growing well. The raspberries are also in abundance. I feel like the Forest Gump of raspberries. Raspberry jam, frozen raspberries, fresh ones on ice cream  or in pancakes! I haven't baked with them but I am sure that will be happening soon. Possibly raspberry zucchini loaf or cake.

In the sewing room I finished machine quilting the 3rd of  my secret project. I am hoping to be able to reveal the project by the end of August or beginning of September. But it must remain a secret for now!

farm themed quilt

I took a little break to make a toddler quilt for a special new great nephew. I gathered all the farm related fabric I had  and added a few others that could pass as farm fabric.(well ladybugs and dogs can be on a farm) It came together in three days just in time to be picked up and later that week delivered to the little fellow. I received a pic of him with his quilt and to say he was excited, is not over stating things!

I am getting excited for August as I will have two of the three and maybe all three Piranha friends here for a visit. (Kathy hope this isn't the first you are hearing of this)We were forced to miss last year due to Covid. I am also in the planning stages for another retreat in late September. I have to get this visiting in before the snow flies and I am not so willing to drive anywhere.

Today for my day of relaxing slow stitching, I will be working on binding a lap quilt. I first have to sew it on the quilt so some machine work will be required. I will be checking in with Piranha Kathy to see what she is slow stitching on and what others are up to this long weekend here in Canada.

 A potted plant from friends is blooming and putting on a great show. I hope flowers are blooming and brightening your day wherever you are today!

Summertime....

 Be careful what you are doing, you miss one week, turn around and it is July. Before we know it, those little white flakes will be falling again!

It has been a productive week. The fourth of my secret project is well on its way to being a finished top. I also completed the machine quilting on a lap quilt. I just have to sew the binding down by hand. And those knitted socks I was working on with a June 30 deadline...they got finished and on June 29!        Horray me!! My UFO knitting basket is getting full, time to clear out more of them also.

The garden is growing but somethings are taking their sweet time...good thing I don't need to make pickles this year because my cucumbers don't seem to be doing too well. Should have lots of tomatoes and peas!!

I had a zoom day yesterday with some quilting friends. We connected in the morning and found out what each was working on. We met again after lunch and then finished the day at 4. By then we could see if we actually got anything accomplished or not. I was working on units for a block. I sewed one up and didn't like how it looked. It was good timing as I asked the girls and got lots of advice as to what to do. So last night there was a little more designing done and with the units I have I can make the layout of the blocks a little different and use up  what I have. I can even use the extra pieces that I cut too many of. I haven't shown these quilts but will have lots of pictures to show once they are finished and delivered.

Today I will be checking in with Kathy and see what slow stitching she is working on. I find that Sunday afternoons are the perfect time for some slow stitching....while watching the Nascar races. I became a fan after my hubby started to watch the races. It was something we did together and I look forward to the races on Sundays. It reminds me of him and makes me smile.

One thing leads to another and another!

It has been a week! First I discovered that the dehumidifier didn't shut off when it got full and overflowed onto the floor in the basement where most of my sewing things are stored. Nothing was harmed because of it but I had to lift the subfloor and dry the area out. With this being done, lots of things were moved, gone through, reorganized and purged. It feels good to clean and eliminate. OMG I have so many projects to get finished. Not only that but so much fabric that needs to be used up. I have a mountain of patterns that I want to make as well. There is no time like the present to get busy but first I must clear the tables of the projects I am already working on. 

Pink blobs are going to be roses

While going through things I found a couple small things that I had set aside to do "some" day. Well I brought them upstairs and got busy with them yesterday. I had a Redpath sugar bag hanging as a wall hanging in the basement sewing room. I decided to open it, cut it in half and make two  dish drying towels. I also found a small piece of cloth with a cross stitching center so I am making a small doily like table covering. I hemmed the edges and am also doing some cross stitching on it! Been  a long time since I did that.

I am also trying to finish a pair of socks for sockapalooza challenge from Sweet Yarns store in Sudbury. I thought I should have been able to get two pairs made in a month but I will be lucky to get one pair finished.

my socks half done

All of that and I have two quilts in the middle of being hand quilted. One in the frame and one in a hoop. I am determined so today there will be lots of slow stitching happening in my little corner of the world. It has been raining since Friday. A nice gentle rain to soak in and the garden has come to life. But this also means indoor time to get things finished. That is what will be on the agenda today after the homemade sourdough bread is done being baked. I have time this morning to check in on
Kathy and her slow stitching Sunday post but will have to return to visit with everyone later as I am posting early this morning! Something that almost never happens!

Have a great week everyone and maybe check out your sewing room for some long forgotten treasures that need to be finished!