January in Ontario

my pup & snow

 The snowy month of the year is staying true to its reputation. At my house yesterday it was -39! I stayed home warm and snug in the house cleaning. I have been cleaning and purging stuff with lots of encouragement from my sister. She braved the cold to walk the short distance to my house to help out. I forgot to take a before pic of my kitchen but will definitely take a couple shots after the renos are finished. Today I was in my sewing room clearing and cleaning. Moved everything and oh my the dust bunnies!! It doesn't matter how many times your vacuum or dust. I found many UFOs, projects I would like to do, some cross stitch projects I had forgotten about and lots of scraps!! Will show the after pic once everything is back in place...stay tuned!

before cleaning

next month's quilt project

pine burr

This week was guild meeting. I showed the quilt that we will be working on next month. I worked on it in September when I was in the Bruce peninsula with some friends. Pics were so perfect with Lake Huron as the backdrop. This quilt looks difficult but actually is pretty easy to construct and put together. At the meeting the group was given a kit of precut fabric for a block called pine burr. It was a challenge for most but I think everyone enjoyed trying something that they would normally not do.

I spent Friday with my friend Natalie and her long arm machine. The guild made blocks in the Fall and the blocks were sewn together to make charity quilts. We made 3 for charity and the fourth one is the one we were quilting on Friday. So I have yet to put binding on it.

One more thing that I have forgot to post about. My annual dump of spools that I have emptied over the year. Not so many this year due to the time I took away from sewing all summer. Hope that my little bucket will be much fuller next year.

I am on a roll

And when I say I am on a roll it definitely isn't in the sewing room. This is my second blog post and I am pretty proud of myself.

This week there has been lots purging and cleaning of my house rather  than sewing. It is time for me to do this but I am doing it only when I feel like it or if my sister comes over and eggs me on. No pressure. One car load of clothes, coats and other household things has already left and I feel lighter already.

I wish I felt that lightness in my sewing world. I have a few deadlines that are fast approaching. It is my own fault of course. I will get to them all.  Guild meeting is Tuesday and it is my turn to show a project that I will be teaching the following month. With all that comes fabric requirements, step outs and necessary steps to complete the quilt. I think it will be fun. I will show a pic of the quilt in my next post. A little sneak peek, this is what we will be working on at guild. So much fun to put together. I am attempting a feathered star tonight, wish me luck!

It has been like a snowy crystal ball here today with the snow falling . I spent the morning outside cleaning up the snow from last night. My dog loves the snow but loves walks with mom more.
Happy shoveling to my southern friends. Up here in Northern Ontario the snow is still pretty to me as long as the snowblower keeps working!

The beginning of a New Year

 Happy New Year and I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday.

I feel like I need to introduce myself and tell  a little about myself as I have been absent for far too long. I couldn't believe, when I looked, that it has been 1 1/2 years. Much too long! Maybe that should have been a clue for me. 

As most of you know I lost my hubby in February of 2021. Life goes on  and and it did and so did I or so I thought. After 4 years it all caught up to me and life stopped for a couple months this Spring. Grief isn't something you go through but something that is with you for the rest of your life. I am learning to allow the grief in because where there is grief there was a great love. I truly believe that and hope sharing my story will help someone else.

So with that all said it took me a long time to get back into sewing. I did do embroidery when I finally felt like doing something. That lead to hand quilting and slowly I am getting back to my hobbies. There are days when I just want to sit and do nothing and other days when hand quilting gets me going and I don't want to stop.

 I have a few deadlines of projects that I have to get done. Nothing like a deadline to get you moving. First up is a baby quilt made from a great grandfather's shirts. A little hard as I don't know if it is a boy or girl. After that memory bear, finishing a quilt for a friend that her mother started and repairing 2 quilts that my grandmother made. Add to that some work for my guild, I am part of the program committee and samples have to be made.

I am trying to make this year a positive one and year of small changes that will move me forward. Not with leaps and bounds but baby steps. So come along for the ride with me and see what is going to happen!