Hot Slow Stitching Sunday

Just before I started quilting

It is a warm one today. I have opened and now closed the windows to keep the heat out and am trying to figure out how to hand quilt my queen sized quilt on my lap. This is just the wrong time of year to be doing this but what is a girl to do?!?! I set a schedule for myself...two blocks a day. I started on Monday this past week  and by Tuesday I was behind already!!!!!oops!! I am using a nice 16" almost square hoop borrowed from a friend. It is nice, I can almost do a whole 12" block without moving the hoop!
Linking up today Kathy's Quilts and doing some much needed catching up!!Let's see what everyone else is up to!

Beautiful summery Sunday

Almost ready to quilt

It is slow stitching Sunday with Kathy and I will definitely be there as soon as I finish basting this quilt top that I plan on hand quilting. Got it half pinned last night and run out of pins...have to locate more today or I will be thread basting it.OUCH!!! With the warm weather we have been having our new to us Gazebo is proving very useful. I think I may find myself out there quilting a lot.









 Also got a couple little projects completed this week while not working or ignoring the wedding quilt (cause I couldn't find the right stencil to do the quilting design)I just know when it is the right one somehow!!
 The bag we made at our summer ending guild banquet. It was a tea and tote party.We received kits and created the bag and we served a light tea and finger foods supper. The needle case I received from the Guelph guild for helping with a workshop they put on. I was visiting my friend Barb who belongs to the guild. What a fun day!

Settling into Summer

peonies just before a rain

Even though it is summer I am trying to get things done...maybe a promiseI should make to myself. The weather has not been the best but not bad enough to have to complain. My flowers are growing. These peonies are in full bloom and I took this pic just before a rain that made them all fall down!

It is also strawberry season . My sister, niece, and I all went out the other day. Don't they just look delicious.

feathered star pattern...so many tiny pieces

Fons and Porter Sept 2012

I have been steadily working on a quilt for a wedding gift. I have got it to the border stage, so I thought I would show you how far I have come from that one block. I am hoping to baste it this week and start hand quilting on it.



I also completed another top. It was a pattern I found in a magazine and created a mystery quilt out of the pattern. Now if finishing these tops was as easy as doing the tops. argggg!!We also gained an addition to our yard. Behind this quilt we have moved in a 16' square gazebo. Yes we moved it from about a mile away to our yard. DH will do anything if it involves using his tractor. I for see many hours sitting out there next to the creek, hand quilting in the shade with no bugs. Ahhhh!!!
This has been a long entry so I will say good bye for now.

Just for Jeanne

front of house, needs to grow in more

can you tell two large pine trees use to be in the back

So guild year is coming to a close with many meetings ending for the summer. I belong to three guilds in my area and one goes through the summer months too. Today we had a potluck lunch for one of them and a final show and tell for the summer. They offered us up a challenge to start our 30th year off in September with a grand show and tell. So ladies get out those UFO and finish them up. My only decision will be which one to do....only have a dozen or more! Leaning heavily on the more !!!!!Five or six from this and last year's program alone...oh my !!!
So I have been busy outdoors.Garden and flowerbeds are in for the summer.One flowerbed had to be remodeled as two pine trees were removed and almost half of the flowerbed went with them.I have it to where it looks like it has been there for awhile and the plants are starting to bloom. It has perennials and annuals. I just love flowering type plants. Just waiting for the plants and weeds to grow now!! lol

bleeding heart at front of house too

But I jokingly said to Jeanne(a fellow guild member) today that all I would or could put up for pics were of DH tractor. Seems like that has been the ongoing theme around our house lately. Boys and their toys. So here he is enjoying time on his new to him machine!

big boy ...bigger toys

Summer Sewing Room

temporary sewing room

I don't know about you but for me starting a new quilt is always a daunting task. That first cut and I am off though. I realized the other day that sewing in my basement(where my sewing room is) was not going to be comfortable. It is very cool and damp down there in the spring so I have moved into my living room to sew, where it is a little warmer and I am still part of the world.

feathered star block

 I am working on a quilt for a wedding gift. Wedding is in August ...no pressure!!The blocks are 12" square finished so you can see by the photo those are very small 1 1/4" hst on the feathered star.It is crazy but sure looks good when the block is put together. One block done only 19 more to go!!! YIKES!!
I have finished the hand embroidery on another project. It was started at least 6 years ago. Now that the embroidery is done I can complete the quilt. I have some orange dragonfly fabric and some other scraps to make these embroidered squares into a quilt.The embroidering was what I was doing in the evening so now I am back to finishing up some knitting projects that I started in the winter. So although it is hand stitching day over at Kathy's Quilts...this girl is sewing on the machine today. Enjoy your day no matter what you are doing.

I'm Back.....

I just realized it has been a few days....weeks since my last posting. Well I think Spring has finally arrived and that means yard stuff to get done.We cut down some large pines last summer but it wasn't till last week that we removed the stumps. They were on the edge of my biggest flower bed so needless to say it created a mess. I will be able to remodel that bed when DH gets me some earth to fill the hole left by the removal!

Isn't it bright.

On the quilting front I just returned from my annual visit south to spend time with my two quilting buddies. Every year we attend a festival in their area. It has since been disbanded but there are still a couple of independent shows that go on. At one particular show I saw this quilt and it spoke to me. Now when I say it spoke to me...it said I must make one for myself. I didn't get the makers name or pattern (if any) but I do know what show it is from.These are not my colours and it is way too bright but there was just something I liked about it. So I spent the rest of the week buying and collecting bright colours cause I knew there were none at home in the stash!!!I won't use this exact pattern but like the idea of the colours and flowers.

I will get a better shot when it is all set up

Although it will have to wait, I have a wedding quilt to make for August and a sampler to make for a dear aunt after that. How am I to get these done when my sewing room is in the basement and right now is freezing cold? Well that brings up what I am doing today...moving some of my sewing room upstairs till the coolness of the basement is needed later in the summer.I usually hand quilt in my living room but with no quilt to hand quilt that room will become my temporary sewing room! What do you think? Bright, well light and close to the kitchen so I can be making supper and still get in a few stitches here and there!
I haven't even unpacked my purchases from my holiday...it will be like seeing it all over again! What fun!!
Have fun with whatever you are doing today!!

My Annual "May" Run

May run around here refers to opening of fishing season...but for me it is quilt sale and my road trip to see my two quilting buddies. We are known as the "fabric piranhas"!

My bounty from the quilt store

Yesterday three other friends and myself headed to my favorite local quilt store(two hour drive away) for her annual 50% off sale. I cleaned up, bought enough fabric for 3 quilts plus a couple of extra pieces that were to pretty to leave behind.
The burgandy,beige and thimbleberrie(upper right) are for a sampler quilt for an DH aunt.Dusty rose print(lower left) is backing for a whole cloth quilt with the darker for binding. The teal and beige(upper left) are for a wedding present, need a chocolate brown yet. I am making a feathered star quilt with that.The teal was bought for the front of the quilt but I might use it for the backing instead. The other little pile(lower right) is just pretty. The teals are what I am looking for the wedding quilt but there wasn't enough yardage but don't they match that floral stripe well. It was meant to be. I have more of the floral line that I can add to.
During our full day we even fit in a stop at a yarn store.
Next week I head south to spend some time at a couple quilt shows and shopping with the other two piranhas.I always come home so inspired and exhausted. I always feel like a kid in a candy store. There are so many quilts stores to see there and I haven't many in my local area. So now it is to get going and making these piles into quilts. I always have a hard time starting a new quilt...that first cut into yardage is intimidating!! But here goes.....