Quilting and Gardening . . .

(Note: This post was created yesterday, but it wouldn't upload until today - I've got it figured out now! The Microsoft Customer Support (Nadia) saved my day and gave such wonderful directions on fixing my problem).

Lovely Sunday! A bit of this and a bit of that . . . couldn’t ask for more – except more days like today.Stopped over at Bunny Hill today and Anne was explaining about this new Windows Writer that she discovered quite a few months back. Of course I’m always curious about new-to-me stuff and have spent huge portions of today trying to figure this all out.

I’m finding this just a little time consuming trying to get the right things to show up in the right places, but I think I’m catching on to this. There is some very interesting things that you can do with the pictures and fonts that I couldn’t do before this . . . so that is fun in itself! Before I started mowing the grass this afternoon, I hit to the perennial garden with the camera to see what has been sprouting out there. WOW!! Look at all of my beautiful flowers.

These little rains that we’ve been having have made everything come into bloom or just about ready to burst into bloom – even the weird ones.

Some only last a day or so and others will bloom for another week or two – those darn poppies are here today and gone tomorrow type of plants – gotta catch them when you can!

I did squeeze in a little quilting early in the morning and later in the afternoon. Started a little appliqué project and continued with my little half-square triangles – these are sooooooooooo adorable and little and I can’t wait to see how it goes together. There are at least four different layouts that I’ve thought of so far, so we’ll just have to wait until all the blocks are done and then I can play with them to see what looks the best.

When you’re using colors that are so nice and bright and that you really like, it makes the whole process so much fun!

‘til next time,

M.

So . . . what are you up to?

Turned out that I had a couple of sick days at home this week and was able to start a new little project.

Here is a little tease . . . don't you love those colors? So bright and cheery - just what a sick old gal needed to cheer her up!

I also got to play with my new Omnigrid 96L ruler to cut these fancy little triangles - yes, that is a little Honey Bun strip you see there! Did you know (I'm sure you did) that there is only 10 strips in one of those little honey buns? So that makes designing a pattern using just them a little more challenging . . . luckily this Spring Magic line matches white background fabric very nicely.

These blocks are from a workshop that I took quite a few months ago and you may remember my desperate search for the cat fabric. At our retreat a couple of weeks ago I managed to cut out some more of the drunkard's path shapes and yesterday I got to lay them out on the floor to see what design I could come up with. Now to get out the pins and start lining things up . . . this will still be awhile before it becomes anything.

Make sure and stop by QuiltQua to see how you can get your name in for this beautiful package of fabric. Love these colors!

And while you're out and about in blogland checking things out, why not also stop by This 'n That Fabrics to check out their fabulous prices on fabrics. You might just find something for your next project or to finish up a UFO!

Have a great weekend.

'til next time,

M.

Progress . . .

Oh! . . . what a great feeling to finally get a few things accomplished.

This Drunkard's Path quilt is from a workshop I attended a few months ago . . . remember the circles being sewn onto squares? Of course this still isn't finished . . . but the blocks are finally sewn together - and I LOVE IT!!!

It looks so old-fashioned in that grannie-could-have-made-it style - meaning "my grannie" . . . not that I'm a grannie . . . not by a long shot!

I did purchase some border and binding fabric quite a while ago, but now that the blocks are sewn together I have decided that I want some of that darker blue to use in the border to separate the strips. So now I'm on the hunt for a sale on that.

Can't wait to quilt this one and put it through the washer and dryer to see whether it still strikes me as "grannie-like". Could be months . . . but this is second from the top to get quilted - Myra will remember which one is first on the list!

This is the completed Blue Meadow Designs Mystery Quilt - finally! All washed and dried and unbelievably cozy - I LOVE THIS ONE TOO! It matches our sofa perfectly and . . .

someone else really likes it too. That green matches those little mischievous eyes, don't you think?

I'm not sure if you can see it clearly in this photo or not, but to add some interest/texture to the quilt border I added a folded fabric flap between the two border strips. I think I cut it 2.25" or 2.5", folded it and pressed it and then attached it at the same time as the last border. Gives it a bit of interest . . . I'm also thinking of doing this with the Drunkard's Path and the dark blue fabric I'm looking for . . . nice effect, I think.

Ah! Here is the completed top for my Summer Baskets BOM from The Quilt Patch in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. I have had quite a number of bloggers email me requesting more information and how to order this pattern/kit, so I have contacted The Quilt Patch and they are more than willing to put together the pattern and/or kit for anyone that is interested. So give Shelley a call at: (306) 692-3360 or visit their website to see what other great patterns they offer.

This one, I'm afraid, must be third on my "to quilt" list, but hopefully before the snow flies.

Block six of the A Tisket, A Tasket BOM from Anne over at Bunny Tales is now complete after a second go at it. Stupid, stupid me . . . slap myself silly . . . I had the background fabric wrong side towards me! Mind was obviously somewhere else - at least I hadn't gotten too far along before I noticed my goof.

And . . . I finished the embroidery on Block Five of the Bunny Hill BOM.

So now I have the one BOM completed (except quilting!) and I'm all caught up to the Bunny Hill BOM (at least for a few days!), so I have pulled out two other ongoing projects and even started a new one today. Don't want to get bored you know . . . I'll take some pics of the progress and get back to you . . .

Enjoy your day,

'til next time,

M.

I'm late, I'm late . . .

. . . but really it's never too late to report on a good time. Is it?

Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday a group of seven quilters got together to work on a variety of unfinished projects. This was what we will called a "practice" retreat because the way we set it up was that we all headed home to our own beds each night. I think the whole weekend cost about $21.00 each - not including my mileage of course and the little bits of food donations from everyone. The facility was wonderful - lots of light, lots of room, exceptionally clean (I think we might have left some threads behind!) and the kitchen/eating areas were perfect.

Mae had this little kit given to her and she whipped this up on Sunday morning. She also completed a number of paper-pieced projects that she had on the go.

Karen made a ton of 1/2 square triangles and then started laying them out - I heard her mention something about hidden blocks in the layout . . . I think I see a couple of pinwheel-type blocks in there.

Marg worked on sewing the binding on this quilt ALL weekend - it is huge! It is a raffle or donation quilt I believe - sounded like there was quite a number of ladies involved with the making of it.

Sheila is making a quilt/duvet cover for her granddaughter and the fabrics are pretty eye-poppin'. I love the stripes, dots and checks all mixed together and of course the colors are fantastic. There's lots more to do on this one - applique is the next step after all the blocks are prepared.

This is a quilt that Sheila finished up from one of the workshops we took a couple of months back. I worked on mine as well but was busy taking photos of all the other projects I forgot to take one of mine.

Gail was working on some dazzling paper-pieced pattern and I think the finished quilt will be outstanding - I hope to see it finished by the time we schedule another retreat.

Joan was our official "bag lady" and this was the first one she made over the weekend - I think it is gorgeous! Love the black and white.

I was asked to prepare a few demos for the weekend and this was one of those - a little camera case made using this pattern - Here. Sure beats the camera knocking around in the bottom of my purse without a cover! I think this turned out great. The only change I made to this pattern was that I wanted to demonstrate how to make a covered button and of course I didn't want a huge buttonhole on my pretty little camera case, so it is just decoration. There is a small snap sewn to the inside to hold it closed.

A little zippered pouch - made using this Here pattern. Freaked out a couple of gals when they saw the zipper . . . but really it is soooooooooooo simple to do - give it a try, it doesn't take very long. The only change I made to this pattern was that I wanted mine to be quilted so that it had more substance to it. Just cut four of the required size rectangles and sandwich some Warm & Natural between two pieces and channel quilt using a 3/8" or whatever foot you have in your stash. The rest of the instructions are the same as written.

. . . and - a little wool hat pincushion made from the June 2005 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting or by clicking Here. There were no changes made to this pattern when I did the demo - a very quick and satisfying little gift idea or for you to keep on your sewing table.

We had such a great time that we've already chosen another date in the Fall and plan on meeting on a regular monthly basis as well. Can't wait!

'til next time,

M.

Vacation - Final

There's nothing prettier than a Spring wedding!

Wedding flowers are "to-die-for" and just beg to be photographed. The colors were fantastic, as was the whole wedding.

Some little people feel that weddings are just down right boring and should be viewed from a variety of different angles. Kaden is the bride's son and some day this photo will no doubt come back to haunt him in a big way.

The wedding was held in a little church that has received "Heritage status" . . . such a tiny, well maintained building that also included the attached reception hall. How convenient for everyone - there was no travelling to this part of the city and then another . . . everything was held in the church, in the reception hall or on the grounds - it was perfect. The photo shows one of the views through the church window . . . I loved all the views from everywhere while we were in Kelowna.

As we started our trek home we stopped in to visit a friend of mine who had moved out to Creston last year. Syd and her husband have settled right into their new lifestyle and we were treated to homemade pizza with asparagus and mushrooms. And speaking of views . . . I believe the most beautiful view I saw on the whole trip was from Syd's front yard looking towards the mountains . . . I think I was so awestruck I forgot to even get my camera out! It was an absolutely beautiful, unhindered vista that was absolutely amazing. (Syd - if you're reading this - step outside and take a picture for me!).

The Cotton Tree Quilt Shop has a shop in both Cranbrook and Fernie, but the Cranbrook shop wasn't open when we left town, so it was the Fernie shop that saw my smiling face.

Lots and lots of fabric, patterns and little packages of fabric to see.

Lots of Moda fabric just laying about . . . didn't they know that there was still lots of room in my trunk?

As I headed to the counter to pay for my selections, the gal looks at me and says "Oh, I forgot to tell you that all fabric is 25% off today." Well that sent my day into a tail spin . . . couldn't she have told me sooner??!!?

So with much restraint I limited myself to a few fat quarters (for a new project I thought of) and a layer cake. By this point in the trip I was starting to watch my VISA climbing quite dramatically . . . so restraint was definitely in order.

Next stop was at the Frank Slide site - very fitting I suppose as it was one of the most miserable days of the trip I think . . . rain, snow, and lots and lots of wind. But I did manage to get a few pictures of this site where such devastation happened so many years ago.

Can you imagine the whole side of a mountain coming crashing down on top of a town and burying it? So many lives were lost . . . it must have been difficult for what remained of the town to pick up and rebuild their lives . . . but that is what they did and the town has been resurrected to the West of this site.

One more quilt shop stop - The Fabric Addict in Lethbridge, Alberta.

All I can say is WOW!!! If you're ever looking for a particular fabric or pattern, make sure you contact these ladies. There was so much stock that once again I was overwhelmed, but any questions I had about specific lines they knew whether they had it, used to have it or never had it. This was once amazing shop and I spent way longer than I should have in there just because there was so much to see.

I even found the fabric that I could only find online in New Hampshire . . . these gals had it! So remember to bookmark this little shop and if you need something give them a call. They were telling me, as I was paying for my goodies, that they will be moving into another shop later this year that will be twice the size of what they currently have. So they will be able to spread out and provide even more selection!

I found two charm packs that I was looking for . . . seemed like a small purchase but I was a happy camper and these two little packets happily joined my other loot in the back seat.

The mountains were getting further and further away by the time we hit Pincher Creek where all the wind turbines are located. They were strategically placed on every available ridge there was and taking full advantage of the very windy day.

After the mountain scenery, these little hills were really anti-climatic . . . actually kinda boring.

And then we hit Moose Jaw, and you know you're in Saskatchewan when the scenery becomes a very, very flat landscape. The afternoon was spent in Weyburn with my Dad and step-mom and then we gladly walked through our own door to a couple of very happy gals. Two weeks of having various babysitters popping in and out of their lives was more than they could take.

It's so great to be home . . . now I can settle in to getting some of my projects back on the work table . . . maybe even finish a few between lots of kitty-hugs.

'til next time,

M.