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!!