Happy St. Paddy's Day

Some green content for the day

creek is thawing

The wearing of the green, Irish blessings and drinking of green beer(not one of my favs) happens today! A sign that Spring is around the corner. Unfortunately I think I am living on a circle....no corners for miles and lots of snow that has to leave before we will see Springlike conditions.The creek in our backyard has opened up and is flowing. Two otters were playing on the snow and left their mark overnight.

golden retreiver/mountain goat!!

banks were almost my height 5'2",rain has taken them down

The snow has come off our garage too. To the point where the dog can get up on the roof (which is about 8feet high on the short side)




I continue to work on my tumbler quilt top, not working with green fabric today. I could/should be trying to finish the quilt above which would fit the theme of the day but a quilter must follow her moods. My mood says tumblers today!!

I have checked in with Kathy and slow stitching Sunday which for me will happen later this afternoon. A friend (who sells Sipology Teas) is having a tea party and I am taking along my hexies to stitch on while we enjoy a cup and some sure to be lively conversation!

Enjoy your day and the week ahead.

In the words of the Irish Rovers"may you be a half an hour in heaven before the devil knows you're dead!"

International or World Wide Quilt Day

We don't really need a special day but it is a good excuse and what is a girl to do but sew patchwork...of course after all the snow shoveling is done! We have had all kinds of weather since Thursday....rain, sleet, more rain and then snow!Not complaining because all this snow has to go away slowly or we will be building arcs pairing up!!!haha DH even made supper so I could keep sewing...I was in the zone !

The last few days I have been helping my sister make a baby quilt. I supplied the fabric, design ideas and the cutting and she has been sewing the top together. Mitered borders were added last night. I didn't even take a photo. She will be basting it here as well as quilting it on my machine. So hopefully I will have a chance to take a pic later.



        I know I should be quilting and finishing a project myself...but this is what I want to work on today. Tumblers that were left over from Bonnie Hunter's leader ender from a couple of years ago. I threw caution to the wind and just sewed the pieces together without worrying about placement and now trying to put them in rows without similar ones touching.....well let's just say the seam ripper isn't far away!!
Hope you all found some time to fit in some quilting today! Come visit tomorrow when I visit my friend Kathy and her slow stitching movement!!

Spring ahead.....cruel joke!!

March and I still love a snowfall

Spring ahead to warmer temps and Springlike weather.....NOT!!! Definitely a cruel joke this morning with freezing rain hitting the window hard enough to wake me. It has been switching from snow to rain and back again all day. Good reason to stay indoors and sew...well a nap did happen too!

basting hexies

After my last post, I have been feeling better although the cough is still hanging on.Thanks for all the well wishes I received. I hate being sick!! DH found a way for me to watch Canadian men's curling(we don't have TV anymore) so many hexies were made this week and sewn into diamonds for my quilt that has been a work in progress for many years....5 or 6!!This was my view that I missed putting in a post last Sunday. I was stitching along with Kathy and everyone else too!

tumblers getting put all in a line/row

In between waiting for matches to appear on you tube...I got to do some sewing. I made a tumbler quilt a couple years ago when Bonnie Hunter had it as her leader and ender challenge. Recently my daughter mentioned how she liked the quilt and could I make her one. Well, I had enough already cut to get started, only had to cut some of the muslin ones to keep sewing. So some time was spent sewing them up this weekend.
I have finished this large quilt that was a somewhat mystery quilt for guild. I have had the pattern sitting on my cutting table for a couple years and really wanted to do it. Being on the program for the guild, I brought it up as a project we could do and it was accepted. I took it a step further, summoning my inner Bonnie Hunter...I did string piecing on the background pieces. This used up a lot of scraps that would otherwise be sitting in my bushel basket still. It also added to the length of time it took me to do the quilt..but what character it also added.

my Sara Joe..aka Samatha Claire

I am checking in with my friend Kathy and looking at what everyone is slow stitching on today. Great to see some hand quilting happening. I love hand quilting and would love to have one on the poles but renovations are underway right now and it just isn't a good time for that. So I will have to settle for sewing and maybe some machine quilting!

Oh February....where did you go??

baggie scrap quilt-maybe another border??

Time does fly...want to keep it from going by so quickly? Get sick...that's right catch the flu and be sick for a week....it seems to last for a month. As I cough and hack...I write this post. This past week has been a long one with nothing to do but rest and sip tea. I had no ambition to do anything till later in the week and then it was only knitting. So I have made up time in the last two days ...sewing all afternoon. Yesterday I got one quilt top finished from a baggie of scraps that I found. Then last evening I  sewed together the blocks for a quilt I am doing for guild. It still needs a plain then a piano key border. Today I cut the scraps for the piano key border and started sewing them together.

bad weather+studio pic=seeing my messy room

But in the midst of all this sewing...I realized I didn't have a leader and ender that I could use....!!!So I dug into another box and found some tumbler pieces. Everything I was doing was put on hold so I could figure out where I was with those tumblers and where I was going. After some thought, I was back on track and more sewing was completed before supper.

Now this all sounds like great accomplishments and it is but only tops are getting completed. I really need to find more time to actually finish a quilt completely...there are a few waiting patiently for me to get busy!!

piano key border in the making

As usual today on this miserable rainy,wet, snowy day I checked in with my friend Kathy. Slow stitching is her thing and we can see what see has been up to and join in with her. She has been a busy lady this week. My slow stitching will wait till a bit later with a movie and some knitting. I am getting the hand quilting bug too. I so want to do some hand quilting. Wonder if I have a quilt to quilt...bahaha!!!

Catch up with you all later...stay safe and healthy!!

Ground hog day!!

Yes ground hog day was yesterday and whether he did or not...I think it will take till June for all this snow to melt away!

view out my front window

So while I am waiting and shoveling...I will quilt and hope for nicer days ahead. Don't get me wrong, I do love the winter and snow but the weather is either snowy or frigidly cold, there is no in between.
We have been doing renovations and another room is complete. So now I have some time to sew until my painting skills are required again.
I got new sub-floor in my basement sewing room so some cleaning and purging went on. That kept me busy all last week. I also found a few projects that were set aside and forgotten. I took one of those out and got to finishing it. I completed it in the "quilt as you go" method. As I was hand stitching the sashing last night....I remembered why I am not so fond of this method. Good thing it is only a small quilt. I am gifting it so no pics.So when I am done posting this, I will be making binding for it and that will be my slow stitching for today. Although not a football fan, I will be checking in with Kathy and her friends to see what they are up to today on Super bowl Sunday!!!
It is the time of year that I usually have a quilt on the frame for hand quilting. I am indeed getting the itch but with renos on-going not sure it is the right time. Maybe I can set one up to do in a hoop...yes maybe that is what I will do. Until then, I am sure I can find more projects to get to the next stage of completion.

BRRRR......it's a sewing day!!!

This was yesterday and colder today!

Yes indeed it is a cold one....-29degrees Celcius with -40 windchill...that is cold,  even indoors it feels chilly! So what is a girl to do...sew of course and if possible do lots and lots of ironing to keeps warm!!!!

so glad nine patches are done

I have been working on a project that requires lots of scrappy nine patches that finish at 3". That finally got accomplished yesterday and today I moved onto the string squares. I have to make almost 300 of them and I think I am only half way done! They do go together much quicker than nine patches but then there is the de-papering to do and a final squaring up so everything is good and square. It is a work in progress for sure.

string blocks lots of them

This past week was our guild meeting and I managed not sure how...to bring home a couple projects to finish. We have a donation table and on it I found some projects that needed a new home. They just jumped into my bag and now they are talking and wanting to be finished.So yesterday I started this one. I got it to the patches sewn together and haven't done anything else since.I was side tracked by the strings!

one of the orphans that followed me home

I found out this week that I was going to be a great auntie again. A little boy who was born a bit early and who will definitely need a quilt. I must get on that soon so he gets it before he is off to school! haha  He was given the same name as my DH so of course thinking that, there must be tractors on the quilt and I think I have just the fabric. More on that quilt in a later post!

My sewing room is a mess and too many projects on the go...it is time to get some of them finished and out the door or at least on the way to their new homes. I also took some time today to check in with my friend Kathy. Slow stitching will get done later this evening cuddled under a couple of warm quilts. Check in with her and all her followers of slow stitching Sunday.




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Happy 2019!!!

It's a new year...a time of new beginnings and thinking that anything is possible. With that thought in mind, let's go digging for those UFO, those projects that you have always wanted to do or just start a new quilt!! What are we waiting for? In the few short weeks of this new year, I have lost a cousin and two of my family's friends have lost family members...so there is no time to waste or put off for another day.

I was working on Bonnie Hunter's leader and ender project for this year and put the top together yesterday...now to find time to sandwich it and quilt it. I have also been working on  mini nine patches for a quilt we are doing as a bit of a mystery at guild. The ladies have seen the picture of the quilt but we will be giving them instructions bit by bit so they can finish the quilt by June.
I will be checking in with my friend Kathy to see what she is up to this year and her slow stitching Sundays! I don't have any hand stitching projects lined up as yet but I am sure they will come along as the year proceeds! Winter is usually good for one hand quilting project but with renovations ongoing in my house that might be a stretch,but it might also keep me out of DH's way!!

 It is my birthday today and at double nickels...or 55 years old, those socks just say it all !!! Here's to a day of sewing and hubby making supper!

Just a bit younger than 55 years