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.

Not over Yet!!!

Fall is coming

With it being Labour Day weekend in Ontario, it is also the unofficial end of summer as the kids head back to school next week.It was a beautiful warmish day yesterday so I was able to mow the lawn and do outside jobs which was good because today is cooler and rainy! A good day to be inside sewing, I think.

Four o'clocks I think

Mixed flowers including poppies

I did slip out in between rain drops to get some pics of my yard. The garden is slowly being used up. Beets, dill pickles and I have frozen some peas and beans. We had frost on friday and saturday but my coverings saved the plants for a few more weeks!Luckily most of my flowers are against the house and are still alive, untouched by the frost. They are so happy looking and so is Belle our golden retriever(don't you think)!!

Our Belle

I have been working this week on these blocks of the month for the up coming year. I am on the program committee so must have them done ahead of time.Today I will be working on the nine patches that go with them. The layout will come later in the guild year. As I have said in an earlier post here....I have already named this quilt "under the influence". It was my friend Barb who gave me the green fabric which is my background and she and her sister Louise who convinced me it would work. I was unsure at the time...but it is growing on me!
The one other project I have to complete soon is a table runner for a class I will be teaching in October. It is a Christmas one...so I am having a hard time getting in the mood to do it!!

BOM how about that green background

 I have been finding the evenings long with no hand work to do....ya right!! So I started a pair of socks for me. I have so many knitting books with socks and I keep making the same pattern so I am testing my knowledge of knitting and trying something new!! We will see how that works.So although it is slow stitching Sunday at Kathy's house...I will be in the sewing room sewing away on these nine patches and hoping to have them done today! Hop over to Kathy's blog and see what she and her followers are  up to.

Nothing but tail lights!

Good bye!!!

Yes that is all I saw as my friends/quilting buddies left yesterday morning....just tail lights leaving!
We had a fun and somewhat productive weekend. We also got in some shopping, a visit to my local Fall Fair and many walks around town.
Before they left we took pics of everything we worked on during the past weekend.

Barb was making stars

my BOM with a green background

Louise's baby quilt stars, embroidery and quilted maple leaf

Barb's other finishes

My quilt top that needs borders..maybe

It was definitely an awesome weekend but then again good friends, good wine and good food!! How could you go wrong except there just wasn't enough days. We also missed having our fourth Piranha Kathy, with us. We hope she was resting and healing after her fall. One of us took a fall too but it isn't funny yet and she isn't ready to laugh at it so we aren't allowed to talk about it yet. Kathy ask Barb maybe you can compare booboos!!!

Well summer is almost over and now it is time to start thinking of the start of guild years for me. I will be the President of one of my guilds and I am on program for another guild. This makes for a busy year. So samples have to be made and classes to get ready for. Watch the blog for those to start happening. The BOM I worked on this past weekend are the first of many things I have to do. So I better get at it!!!

Under the influence!!

Have you ever gone to a retreat and been coerced or influenced by the other attendees? Now this is not all bad...but lottery tickets have been bought and won on and tomorrow I go to collect more winnings$12!! I am not normally a lottery ticket buyer but my enablers were hard at work.

Today we went to a couple of quilt stores. There were some purchases made of course for future projects. We are working hard to get our projects done but our time together is coming to an end for this year.It is late as I post this so more pictures will happen tomorrow when there is better lighting. They will show all that we got accomplished this past weekend during the Fabric Piranha Retreat!!