Vacation - Day 1

Who'd have thought that we would run into road construction so early in the season? Surprised us! We had just nicely driven into North Dakota when we came upon some very industrious road workers doing road repairs.

Of course, as the official map reader, if we got lost or took a wrong turn anywhere during the trip - it would be all MY FAULT. Not really though . . . Randy was pretty forgiving with my map reading abilities . . . he even scratched his head a couple of times as to the map being nowhere near the way the actual physical place was. He's still trying to figure out how the road numbering and street addressing is done in some of the towns, counties and cities we drove through.

First stop was Devil's Lake, ND and I was required to choose only one of the quilt shops - what a dilemma! How do I know I chose the right one?!? Anyways, I chose Rose's Stitch and Sew and thought the shop was wonderful . . . spent way too much money, but managed to stroke two of the things I was looking for off my list and purchased a book and some fabric as well. I completely forgot to take a picture of the store front and that is why I'm showing you the front of their newsletter. Lots of classes and information.

Just South of the town of Devil's Lake is this fascinating stretch of water - frozen water - for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see. The water appears to only be a couple of feet lower than the road surface and you have to wonder how wet the road gets when it gets really windy in the summer.

In between interesting sights along the way, I managed to make all of my little snowmen cheerful. I know the one in the bottom of the photo appears to have a deep frown going on, but really it does turn into an impish grin shortly after the photo was taken. After these guys were all safely tucked away, I brought out the knitting needles and finished a pair of slippers and started on a second pair. I hate travelling and not accomplishing something along the way - I even worked in a few hundred pictures of various interesting and not-so-interesting things!

Here is the second quilt shop we stopped at - Designer Fabrics in Carrington, ND. I found some wonderful "scrap bags" for $3.95 full of wonderful prints in varying sizes. Some pieces were almost as large as a fat quarter, which I thought was fantastic! Good pricing. I think I also bought a book or two here and a couple of yards of some background fabric.

We did get home on Saturday, on schedule! This was the scene that we woke up to on Sunday morning . . . lots of sticky, wet snow that was packed in everywhere by the strong winds. Really glad we decided to come home all the way and missed the worst part of the storm. Driving in that would not have been very pleasant.

Can you tell I love books? Here is the collection I got on this trip - three Whimsical books, a jelly roll book and a charmer book. Can't wait to try some of these designs! Even though I know I shouldn't right now - have to rein in my enthusiasm for a while.

At one of the quilt shops (we stopped at 6!) I bought a lovely collection of Whimsicals fabrics. I found these in the "sale" section of the store and felt like it was Christmas - finding fabric I really like . . . plus a sale! Now I have the books and the fabric - they can join the stack of other lovelies that are sitting in my sewing room tempting me. Someday . . . soon . . . I hope . . . I will get around to each and every project that is waiting.

Check back tomorrow for "Vacation - Day 2".

'til next time,

M.

On Vacation . . .

We're all settled in here in Sioux Falls, SD. I have visited five quilt shops on the trip here and have one more to visit today. The old VISA is getting quite the workout!

I have taken tons of pictures but the converter thingy decided it needed formatted and I have no idea how to that. The how-to book is safely at home!

We have visited lots of malls and even have tickets tonight for comedian, Jon Reep's show. Should be a hoot!

I'll get some pictures posted on Sunday or Monday when I get back home and settled in.

Hope everyone has a great weekend,

'til next time . . .
M.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is having a relaxing and wonderful long weekend and celebrating Easter in your own special ways.

I couldn't pass these little lovelies by when I saw them. What a glorious, cheerful glimpse towards Spring!

The yellow one is mine because that is my favorite color. The salmon colored one is my daughter's posie - her favorite color is pink but this is as close as I could get to a pink one.

I need to find out whether or not I can grow these wonderful daisies in my garden. Must be time to get out the gardening books and seed catalogues don't you think?

'til next time . . .
M.

Snowman Saga continues . . .

Who can resist these little fellas? They are so adorable!

Here we are in March and I'm still designing snowmen. I think there is one more month of this block exchange and then it will be time to lay all the collected blocks out and try and put it together into a quilt that will be unveiled in June. Can I do it? We'll see . . .

My ironing board is covered with all of these bits and pieces - but what a great way to use up the smallest little bits left over from previous projects. I'm using little triangles that are so small you have to wonder why I kept them in the first place. Feels good to be frugal!

We're heading back to Winnipeg this weekend and taking the Easter supper to the kids. Everybody gets Friday off, so that will be our "dinner" day. We'll be back home on Saturday so my plan is to get these snowmen completed by the end of the weekend. I have a meeting next Monday night and we are taking a few days off to do a bit of travelling. We'll be leaving on Wednesday the 26th and returning on the 30th or 31st. I'll have the camera with me and hope to stop at a couple of quilt shops along the way, so I'll have some pictures for you when I get back.

I hope to get a couple of posts in before I leave, but if I don't you'll know where I am . . .

'til next time . . .

M.

Saturday's Workshop . . .

Look at these interesting shapes! Little trees that seemed to take forever to cut out and all these other tiny, tiny pieces . . . and I didn't lose any! How remarkable is that. The colorful tablecloth doesn't help much in showing you all the things that were going on here, but trust me - it was lots of fun.

This demonstration was for the McKenna Ryan art quilt technique and there were eight of us trying it, one teacher and one quilter working on a UFO. Bev thought the eight of us moaning and sighing over these small pieces was quite humorous.

Humorous! Maybe we were, but this is my finished quilt top by the end of the day. I thought it was a very satisfying day - nothing more to do to it but complete the outline quilting and some stitching in the clouds. I like these kinds of workshops where you can bring home a completed top - I'm not a big homework type of person. If the project doesn't get really close to completion, it will more than likely end up as another UFO under my cutting table.

Those cheerful little chickadees are full of good humour and I can't wait to get this one finished. I already have it basted and ready to quilt . . . now I'll need to check my schedule for the rest of the week to see where it is going to fit in . . .

'til next time,

M.

Big City Weekend . . .

Saturday night we stayed with my daughter and Sunday we checked into the Fort Garry Hotel. Our room was only on the third floor, so not a very majestic view to show you.

This hotel was built in 1913 and is currently listed as a National Historical Site. The architecture of the building is fabulous and there are displays scattered throughout the halls and lobby of historical tidbits from the past. I found these very interesting - tied right into all the historical research I am doing for our municipal anniversary.

Even the furniture in the room was of the older vintage - not pristine by any means, but it blended very well with the building.

The mezzanine level overlooked the lobby area and the beautiful woodwork and carvings that surrounded the entire area were wonderful to see.

We nicknamed our room the "blue room" and even though it wasn't very big, it was definitely cozy and very comfortable.

Until about 5 a.m. when there was some very strange russling noises coming from the corner. Upon inspection there was found to be nothing out of the ordinary. We jokingly referred to the noises as our mouse friend. Later in the day I mentioned this to my daughter and she said that had to have been the ghost of the Fort Garry - supposedly this was something we should have known about before staying there!

At least he or she was a friendly ghost!

'til next time . . .

M.

Done! . . .

. . . the first round of 2000 tiny, little squares. Now I can move on to the big appliqued borders - maybe next week.

Last weekend didn't quite work out as planned - thanks to a huge allergy thingy that happened on Sunday morning - after that there was no thought given to quilting. Just getting going again was all that I was thinking about and that didn't happen until about 8 p.m.

With all the little blocks done, sewn together, adjusted and then attached to all four borders - I can now look towards planning the details for the next border applique. So far I am really happy with the way the quilt is turning out, except the fact that it is taking forever.

This part-time quilting and designing is driving me NUTS! There seems to be more and more things taking up all the available hours of the day - maybe once this 125th Municipal Anniversary is over at the end of June, I will once again be able to concentrate on what "I" want to do. I know everyone has all these time demands - how do you all handle this??? Are you as nuts about it as me?

We are also heading into Winnipeg this weekend to visit kids and Randy has a meeting to attend on Monday - so I'll be doing the girly thing with my daughter on Monday - coffee, shopping and eating! Just what I really need!!!!

I was looking around trying to find something of interest to photograph today and my eye caught this poinsettia again. I have never had one that has lasted this long!

I also have a white one at the office that is doing even better than this red one. Has anyone out there ever had any luck planting them outside in the summer and have them flower again for Christmas? Let me know what I have to do to accomplish this. I appreciate the help.

'til next week,

M.

More fabric love . . .

More fabric came in the mail - I'm loving these little orders! Remember the jelly rolls I got a couple of months ago? Well then, of course, I needed some yardage so that I can actually make a quilt with it all someday. After I had the jelly rolls it was much easier to see what fabrics I would want for the accent and borders - I'm going to match up a lovely cream fabric for the background of this imaginary quilt.

The fabric under this tin also came in the same shipment. Beautiful cream patterned background and look at that wonderful shade of green - perfect! Plus the dark brown print for one of the borders to frame the whole fabrilicious quilt.

Now if I could only decide exactly which pattern I was going to use for each of these collections . . . life could be simpler sometimes . . . so many decisions! In the meantime these little collections are sitting there providing inspiration to me as I work away on . . .

. . . 2000 of these square-in-a-square blocks - well, maybe not 2000 - it just feels that way. That is what I have planned for today - more little tiny blocks. Maybe, if all goes well, I can start planning the big borders later today - they will be all applique, so I guess I better enjoy the straight sewing I'm doing right now.

It's been a busy week again with more work meetings and then yesterday I finally made it over to teach the EQ class - had three wonderful students and we all had a great time. Every time you use that EQ program you learn something different. If you've never tried it out and have the opportunity, you should most definitely give it a try.

Sew, sew, sew . . . I'm off to finish my little, tiny squares . . .

'til next time,

M.

Sewing away . . .

Ah . . . neatly folded fabrics . . . all ready to be ripped apart for another project.

Leftovers are wonderful aren't they? Where will they end up . . . nobody knows. I love my leftovers - most times though I don't have any particular plans for them - they'll just be on stand by until I need them.

The pineapple foldy thing is part of the demonstration that we had a couple of Saturdays ago. It turned out quite nice and was a very interesting technique - there is no batting used in the quilt as there is the extra weight of all the fabric. A strip is sewn onto a foundation that is all marked out with lines and then the strip is folded back onto one of those lines, pinned and then you carry on all around the block sewing a strip and folding it back, etc. Very nice!

But of course when it is a demo piece you never know what kind of fabrics to try or how big the piece will end up. This is only the one block of the four blocks we prepared for, so I still need to make another three blocks to finish a possible cushion cover.

This is the other block that was demonstrated to us, which also turned out quite nice. A little more time consuming getting the fabric laid out and cut on the angle but it was worth it when you see the perfectly matched points! I'm glad I used the same Christmas fabrics in both samples so that I can now finish them both as cushion covers and use them this December. Or . . . maybe as a nice Christmas gift?!?!!?! Now didn't that work out great - I have some of my Christmas gift giving already figured out . . .

'til next time,

M.

I've been . . .

" Smacked!"

What a surprise I had when I went blog surfing at noon hour yesterday to find that back on February 8th I had been smacked by the wonderful little blogger from Australia Life's Just a Ferball. I love checking out her site to see what is going on "downunder" and what projects she has on the go - thank you, Fer.

In the words from "the original smoocheree":

So, the point (and I do have one) to this post is motivated by my desire to hand some of that love and kindness back around to those who have been so very, very, very good to me in this bloggy world. My hope is that those who receive this award will pass it on to those who have been very, very, very good to them as well. It's a big kiss, of the chaste platonic kind, from me to you with the underlying 'thanks' message implied. I really do appreciate your support and your friendship and yes, your comments. ... Mwah!

So I am going to share the blogging love with these wonderful people -

Myra and Cori at blue meadow designs - you get mega stars for being my sounding board for the last few years and for all of the great feedback you give me - Thank You!

Anne Sutton at Bunny Tales - who so kindly answered my many questions! I love her blog . . . all those little bunnies all over, the pink everything and especially that little adorable Chelsea (and I don't even like dogs!). Anne's fabric lines are absolutely wonderful - if you haven't checked them out yet visit Henry Glass Fabrics.

Sandi Henderson at Portabellopixie - who also answered many, many questions. Sandi's fabric is fantastic also - check out Ginger Blossom in stores near you - it's just starting to hit the market right now. Sandi's site is full of wonderful photos and gorgeous kid's clothing - where were some of these fabrics when my kids were little?

Vivian Love is a wonderful machine quilter from California who is always leaving wonderful little comments on my blog. Check out her site and see some of the wonderful designs she creates - I wish I could send some of my unfinished quilt tops to California . . .

and I am also extending this "smack" to everyone who visits my blog. Thank you!

'til next time,
M.

Bits and Pieces . . .

Here we are - half way through this week and I'm just getting around to posting!

I've been on a bit of a sewing streak that has been good for the soul . . . finishing a few quilt tops that have needed done for quite some time. I am still not going to show you everything though, some of the ones I have finished will not be shown for quite some time to come.

This is the quilt that I was working at around Christmas time that was using the leftovers from my mother-in-law's Christmas present. I ran out of some colors and ended up having to purchase the lighter print for the border - but then it looked so plain that I needed to use up even more scraps and make stars in a bunch of different sizes, plus little circles scattered about. I like it . . . it is bright, fun and happy - just what everyone needs through the winter months. At least I'm seeing this as a "winter" quilt, not just a Christmas quilt, and plan to have it out all through the cold months next year.

I still need to take some photos of the demos that we worked on through last Saturday's workshop - quite fun and interesting. Yvette was a wonderful teacher and I have once again developed a greater appreciation for pastel quilts. The quilts that she brought to show us were so pastel and . . . almost calming. Can a quilt create calm? Somehow there were a couple that were just that. I need to get together some pastels and sew up a bed quilt - maybe it would help me sleep at night.

I know my camera wasn't set right the other (early) morning when I took this little picture but I thought I'd share anyway. These are all little items from my mother's sewing cabinet that I have created a little memory shelf of. I always think of her when this catches my eye - some memories are good, aren't they?

Who doesn't like roses? I know it's long after Valentine's Day, but I just had to share these beauties. Everyone knows that you are supposed to get red roses for Valentine's Day but my husband knows that I have a preference to yellow roses, so he threw one lonesome one into the bunch - what a wonderful little addition.

'til next time,

M.

Quilting . . . finally!

Due to really bad weather this past weekend, I was able to stay home both Saturday and Sunday - what an unexpected bonus!

So the house received it's little bit of cleaning on Saturday morning and then I headed to the sewing room. The above photo shows two projects that are currently being worked on. The light green strips and appliqued stars and dots are for borders on one of my quilts that I was working on back in December. I'll show you the whole thing once I sew the borders on.

The little view in the upper right hand corner is a new pattern that I'm still working on . . . seems like forever! I did get some more applique done on this project as well.

What a wonderful weekend . . . I'd like more like that.

This little quilt (above) is also one of those new patterns that is sitting around staring at me - I put some pins in it this weekend - I guess that's closer than I was last week to finishing it. It is part one of a previous glimpse I gave a couple of weeks ago of the part two piece of this quilt pattern. Pretty fabrics, eh?

This is my first commercial quilt pattern called "Sipiweske", of course!

My daughter was home last week and she is curled up under there somewhere - hiding from the camera . . . she comes by that honestly.

'til next time,

M.

Winter Blahs . . .

You know what it's like - everything seems to take too much effort and it's easier to just not do it. I shouldn't say everything . . . there have been moments in the last few days when there has been that little glimmer of achievement . . . but mostly just still blah.

I have taken some pictures, but not of quilts and when I started this blog it was supposed to have quilt pictures. I haven't had the opportunity to sew in the last month it seems - maybe that's why I'm so blah - I'm in withdrawal or something. No sewing this weekend either, unless I can squeeze some in on Sunday.

I'm off to Carberry to do a little teaching - sorta quilting, but not really. I've been asked to impart my very limited knowledge of the EQ5 program - thank goodness they didn't want to know anything about EQ6 as I'm still working on learning some of it's newness. So that is what I've been trying to do this week is brush up on some of my EQ5 skills so I don't look like a complete nerd on Saturday.

I've also been working on my final homework assignment for my Photography Class. Now some of that was fun and interesting and actually got my husband, daughter and her boyfriend involved as well. One of the assignments was "graffiti" and one was "water". As soon as I mentioned graffiti to my husband he instantly knew where to go (how? I didn't ask!).

So last Saturday, down on the wrong side of the tracks, right next to the rail yard in Brandon, many a graffiti pictures were taken. On the side of buildings, chasing trains and on garbage containers - it was really quite fun to have everyone focussing on finding just graffiti - something we usually try to ignore. Amazing stuff on the side of railcars though! What language is that anyway? I hope it isn't a bad word!

The "water" part of the assignment was something that we just kinda stumbled on. We took the car to a car wash and low and behold the underside of water drops on the sun roof are really quite neat. Plus then we went grocery shopping (got a few stares here!) and quite unexpectedly the sprinklers came on the vegetables as we were bagging some lettuce. The very fine spray that misted onto the various vegetables was awesome - have a look next time you're grocery shopping.

So that's about it for my week . . . sorry I've been a little amiss this week with posting . . . I'll try and get back to some quilting soon.

'til next time,

M.

Happy February!

Where has January gone? Wow, that seemed to go by in a flash . . . so many things going on, I guess I didn't really concentrate on the calendar days. But, that's a good thing here in Manitoba - who wants to concentrate on all those cold and blustery days?

After planning on attending two quilt workshops in January, turns out I had to cancel out of both because of my surgery. Therefore I have had nothing quilty to blog about for the whole month of January. I had hoped to get to the sewing machine this weekend, but turns out my daughter is coming out from Winnipeg tonight to spend the weekend with us. Her 24th birthday is tomorrow, so we will have to do some girly things like shopping, drinking coffee and whatever else we can dream up.

I hope you all have a safe and warm weekend,

'til next time,

M.