November is slipping away...

my colours for the mystery,changed grey to green

December starts tomorrow...are you ready yet!?! Well I know I am not, where does the time go!? Without the snow(we only have a  hint of white on the ground)it just doesn't seem like the Christmas season yet.
But it is that other season...MYSTERY QUILT! Yes Bonnie Hunter has begun her mystery. I had good intentions on the weekend but alas only got to finalizing the fabric choices(all from my stash) and cut a few strips. Today I will start the cutting of the triangles for the first clue.I will be joining her Monday link party to see what is happening and who is also joining in on the fun.

Twisted Christmas quilt

Most of this week was spent finishing up a quilt top from a class I took a couple of weeks ago. I was zooming along.I had just enough background for the quilt until I realized there was an error in the pattern. Now I was short 10...2 1/2 squares and couldn't find anymore of the same fabric. Plan B....I used different squares in the center of the quilt(the black ones) and followed the pattern for the rest of the quilt. Now to decide what to use for backing and this one might actually get finished for THIS Christmas!
Also on my plate have been these two bears...aren't they  just adorable. I feel like they are watching my every move in my sewing room. My friend Bernadette gave them to me and I will make a small quilt for each of them. Then they will be given to a guild member who will hand them out to children in difficult situations. I have done this before with smaller animals and they were must appreciated. I have scraps from some other friends and there is just the right amount to make the pattern I want...now you know it was meant to be.

making bear paw blocks

Although I am joining a day late, there was some slow stitching done yesterday while watching quilt cam and also last evening while watching Netflix. A very interesting documentary on Tesla, a very intelligent man who was wise beyond his years. He was credited with many inventions including AC electricity and harnessing the power of Niagara for electricity. But he was not a businessman and so he lost alot of his money because others took/bought his patents. I didn't recognize his name but he was in the company of great and powerful men like Westinghouse, J.P. Morgan, Marconi, Edison and even Einstein. That was my "learned something new today" for Sunday!!
Hope everyone has a great week...getting all those Christmas presents sewn up!!

Well hello ....I'm backkkkkk

It has been over a week but life really did get in the way and some things were not even in my control. A week ago we had a storm  blast its way across Ontario, leaving in its wake downed hydro lines and communities without power for the day or some the whole weekend. Once the power was back up(we had ours late Friday night) we realized that our computer wouldn't turn on. OOPS!! So I had to wait for DH to get a new power supply for it before I could blog again. Now that that it fixed, here I am!!
Also my daughter was home for a couple of days for hunting season. It is the last week of deer season with the rifles. So  as a family  we spent a couple of days together with no luck, not even a partridge which I missed. We are hoping the archery season will be more fruitful.
So now with things at a slower pace I can sit down and write a blog post and catch up on everything.
I have been busy too at the sewing machine.The day the power was out I did a lot of cutting in preparation for when it was restored. Some of that hasn't been sewn as yet, maybe this week. I managed to get three quilts machine quilted in the last week. One is for charity and the other two are for a friend who had twins in October...shhh don't tell her!!(hmm she might read this) I will show pics of them once they have been delivered.
So for slow stitching sunday with Kathy, I will be doing binding and enjoying live quiltcam with Bonnie Hunter,it has been awhile!!
We had our first dusting of snow this week too...Guess that means winter is on its way. Anyone else started thinking of Christmas yet....yikes!!!!
For those following along, the finger is healing nicely and showing no signs of needing amputation. But the nail is slow growing out and in order not to catch it on anything and rip it off(causing untold language and pain) I am forced to wear a bandaid on it daily. A small price to pay I guess.
Enjoy your week and whatever quilting or stitching you are enjoying!

Left in the dark!!!

As a matter of speaking, I am in the dark! The hydro was off from 9 am till 3 so what is a girl to do? Whatever it was, it was going to be slow!!!

BEFORE

I added labels to two finished quilts, finished stitching together a Christmas ornament we made at guild last week and then I spent the rest of the afternoon cutting fabric. I have been cleaning up my stash, taking all the little bits and anything less than a fat 1/4 out and chopping it into 1 1/2",2",2 1/2", 5" and then whatever is left for the string bucket.I did cut a few triangles for a 4 patch project I am working on too.It doesn't look like much but that is 4 hours of cutting. This is a very time consuming job but this was a good day for it...couldn't do anything else!!!

AFTER

The week ahead is planned out as long as I get my butt in gear and get this done!! I think though for tonight it is movie night and joining Kathy with some slow stitching on my hexies. Wonder if I will ever be done with that quilt? My life has been made easier by getting a fiskar cutter for the hexie shape from my friend Jessica. Now I don't have to keep reusing the papers endlessly. They do get a little "bent out of shape"!!!
A progress report on the injured finger. You can see what happened here. It is much better, a little tender still and of course I keep hitting it on things which instantly reminds me. I am extra careful around my knives these days too .....to say the least!!
Have a great week!! Happy November 1....how did that happen!?!?!?

Slowed me down a little....

Yes I was suppose to be sewing but I decided to make banana bread and you have to have nuts...right? Well I wish now I had skipped the nuts because while I was chopping and talking to my mother who stopped in to visit...I tried to chop my finger tip off. Lucky for me I have strong nails and the knife didn't get to the skin. It is tender but I have to say for a quilter, that was the finger to cut if I had to cut one...I can still sew, cut and stitch hexies.
So while trying to keep my finger out of harms way further..I have finished those paper pieced blocks and the table runner is done. My daughter will love it on her table at Christmas.
Last night at guild, a member Suzette was cleaning house and gifted to me five cross stitched blocks, pattern for an embroidered wedding ring quilt and a VIP panel of a goose which I made into a bag today.
Those curved pieced blocks that I have been working on, you can see some here. After several emails and some missed phone calls my "fabric piranha" friends came through for me. They were able to find the fabric and secure enough yardage for me. Big thanks to Louise and Barb and their delivery person. I know my daughter will be so relieved that there will be enough fabric now!!
After all that, I have to set those blocks aside and get busy on two baby quilts. They are almost completed flimsy, they just need an outside border and then they have to be quilted. I thought I had a couple more weeks but they decided differently and they were born this past Sunday. Can't wait to deliver them to the sweet princesses. I will post pics  once they are both done.
This evening will find me bundled up against the cold and rain and sitting in the treestand, hoping for my chance to come along. Wish me luck!!

One down ...one to go!

That is one hunting season down one to go!! Moose season just ended and so did my week alone. So now it is back to making supper, cleaning house and having hubby home!
Not that any of that is going to stop me....I am on a roll and I need to be! I have a few projects that have to get done this week and in between that I have monthly blocks from the guilds to complete.

ok so I have more to do!

Yesterday I took part in a workshop for paper piecing. I knew how to do it but thought a day of sewing would be fun. Who would have thought making four  8" blocks would take more than a day to complete. I got about 1/2 of the components made. So today I will try to finish them up so I can show it on Wednesday at guild.I am making 5 blocks instead of 4 and it will be a tablerunner for my daughter.

I completed two more blocks in our curve block of the month. But I have come to the realization that I don't have enough background fabric. This required immediate attention. So emails were exchanged and my friends Barb and Louise are coming to my rescue and will purchase more for me. I bought the fabric this Fall while on a quilting weekend with them and the store is in their neighbourhood!
I have been sewing on my newest machine this week and it is so smooth. You can read about my newest "herd" member here.
So for today slow stitching will have to wait till this evening.  I usually get a hour or two and get a few stitches into my hexies.
Check out what others are slow stitching today at Kathy's blog.

Happiness is.....

Outside our sewing window

Looking at the lake

Well happiness is many things today! We had our first taste of winter over the weekend. This made for a chilly weekend.
Although another quilting retreat has come to an end for me, it was a very successful weekend despite some minor issues with the place we were staying at.
I finished one machine quilted large lap quilt. I received some mentoring from a long arm quilter who was there and who was sure I could do this. After doodling on paper for a couple of hours, I started on the real thing. Lucky for me the fabric is busy and the thread is a very close match. I am happy with the finished product although there is lots of room for improvement. Did I mention machine quilting free motion is not one of my favorite things to do!!

my table mates

large sewing room

I had begun with a warm up of a smaller quilt that I was making for a friend for her dog. I think Chester will love his new travel blanket. After all that machine quilting...I just wanted to piece and sew on my featherweight. So on I went...pieced together two baby quilts and a few curved pieced blocks. That brought me almost to the end of the retreat. It can't be over, I still have projects to do!!!
Sadly packed everything up and headed home. Little did I know what was waiting for me.

While I was away DH and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. Yes I was away!! But for several years before that he was away moose hunting so I figure ..turn about fair play!!!
Sitting in my living room/sewing room was a 301A sewing machine in a cabinet that he had found, bought and drove 3 hours there and back 3 hours so I would have it to play with this week while he was hunting. What a great surprise and what a sweet man..I think I will keep him!!!

I would like to send a little shout out to the previous owner...Barb. Thanks for parting with your machine...please know that is has a good home and will be so loved. I have named her(all my machines have names) Jiji....after all she was found on Kijiji!!!

curved blocks for my daughter's quilt

for Chester

machine quilting

large lap size quilt

After all this, I did get in some slow stitching for a Sunday with Kathy. I have lots of bindings to do after this weekend. So a quilt,  netflix, and a few hours and one quilt is done and another started.

So my plan for this week is sewing, playing and more sewing. That's my happiness is......

Almost ready!!

So excited...tomorrow is the day we leave for retreat!!! My friend and sidekick Susan got here yesterday and we have been very busy. I had to put her to work helping me get all my projects ready. Well I had most of them ready but needed to pin baste two smaller quilts. Tomorrow I only have to pack up the machines...yes two! My big machine to machine quilt and my featherweight to piece with...I just love my little machine! I am taking a couple baby quilts to do the tops, a bag, quilts to quilt and a box of scraps in case I run out of things to do. I also have along with me my tumbler-leaders and enders!
Of course the camera is packed too so if you aren't there, you will be able to see what we were up to!

This is at the door, loading up and we are on our way! See you on Sunday!!!