Shop Hop Treats

I have to show you some of the goodies I found on the Goose on the Loose Shop Hop last week. It is an annual shop hop with 6 quilt stores to visit in one day. It is a lot of driving, which is perfect for visiting with my friend Louise.
We have attended every one over the last 10 years, and it was wonderful to have sunny, warm weather this year (no snow!)
I was relieved to find that the shop hop did not have a featured project this year, because that meant I would not be starting another UFO! Each store had a ruler demo, and since I am not a ruler collector (thankfully!) that was not tempting to me in the least.
But the fabric and the thread .... oh, that was tempting!
Here are the purchases:
I found this wonderful little collage piece to hang up in my office. 
I was searching for red and light fabrics for my Life is Beautiful project. I was trying to pick reds that were on the darker side, and not too orangey. 


I only found a few light backgrounds, so will have to keep looking for more of those.






I was happy to find a 5" strip collection of a few of the new Sweetwater line called "Elementary". They didn't have the darker fabrics from this line, but when I find them, I'm sure I'll be buying them! I don't know what these pieces will be for, but I'm sure the right project will come along!




A cute little fat quarter... just "because".
And two threads that I need. The dark blue is a 12 wt for my next hand quilting project (can't wait to get that organized) and the light blue is for quilting my Scrap Squad quilt. I wasn't liking the thread I had picked out so I hope I like this one better.
It was a wonderful day and the perfect way to usher in some spring weather... finally!

Design Wall Monday

The same thing is on my design wall as has been for the last month. It's the UFO project for last month, which was extended into this month. The on point border is finally finished!
I had to extend the side borders by 1.5" so I put in an extra square on each side hoping it is not too noticeable.
I am happy with it and may add another 1.5" blue border before starting the quilting.
To see more design wall posts, hop over to Patchwork Times.

Slow Sunday Stitching - Happy Mother's Day

This week just passed in a blur and there wasn't nearly enough time for sewing. I was able to finish another embroidery block for my Life Is Beautiful project, and have started the next one.

Life is Beautiful block #7

I had a great time on the shop hop on Friday, and was able to purchase a few things to add to my fabric stash. I found some red fabrics to create the blocks for the Life is Beautiful stitcheries to be stitched to (photos to come this week).








On the drive home I was distressed to see this little calf at the side of the road, on the wrong side (road side) of the fence. What to do about this little creature? I told him to get over in the field and stay with his Mom, but he was tired and confused. 
It made me think of those who are not able to be with their Mom/child on this Mother's Day. I wish all of you a Happy Mother's Day and hope you are being treated to a day of appreciation and relaxation. And to those who have lost their Mom or their child, I am sending you big hugs. I plan to see my Mom later today, and will make sure to give her lots of love and appreciation, and to be thankful that we can spend time together today.

What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and share your plans for mother's day stitching.

Goose on the Loose

Today is the annual Goose on the Loose shop hop. Actually the shop hop started yesterday, but my friend Louise and I are shop hopping today. We have participated annually for the last 10 years. Click here to read my report from last year. It is our treasured time to enjoy great conversation while we drive around to the quilt stores and see all the new tools and fabrics. It is so much fun and we have been looking forward to it.

I am happy to report that everything I bought on last year's hop, I have used!  However, we won't mention that I haven't quite finished the shop hop feature quilt from last year... it's still a UFO. It got stalled with a block mistake, and there it has stayed in a box since last summer. See that star block on the bottom left? The inside of it is upside down and is still awaiting the seam ripper. 

I sure do hope the Shop Hop doesn't have a project that I really like this year, so I don't start another UFO! Wish me luck!

Paper Piecing Challenge

Sometimes great ideas are way more of a challenge than any "sane" person should take on! I had a brainwave to add a paper pieced sting ray block into my newest Scrap squad project.

I paid for the pattern, had my son download and print it for me (ugh... I can't figure out how to get my old computer to talk to the new printer) and tried to figure out how to organize myself to sew.
I got all the fabric scraps from the stash and got ready to sew.

Wowzer - this is the hardest paper pieced pattern I have ever tackled! Check out how some of the pieces are smaller than the eraser of my pencil! And there are almost 80 pieces in this 9" block! 
What was I thinking?
Sometimes I am my own worst enemy!

100 Blocks Magazine is out!

I forgot to share on my blog this week about the newest issue of 100 blocks magazine! It's my all time favourite magazine ... you know the one you keep beside your bed to read when you can't sleep, and then you dream all night about the new quilts you plan to start?
I have found several blocks in this issue that I thought would be great for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Check back here on Saturday to see if I started yet another project! LOL
You can click here to start reading the 100 Blocks Quiltmaker posts and sign up for a chance to win the giveaways! You are going to have to hop fast if you're just joining in, cause we are already at day #3!! 

Loving the 1950's

It is so/sew fun to be sewing on a vintage sewing machine while watching TV shows about the 1950's. I am sewing rows of log cabin blocks together on my 1952 Singer Featherweight.  I enjoy getting a video of an entire season of my favourite shows from the library and watching the episodes while I sew. (Yes I could join the new century and get Netflix, but the library is free, which means more money for fabric!)

One of my favourite shows is Call the Midwife, which is a British show about a group of nurse-midwives and nuns who help the poor in London in the 1950's. My favourite character Chummy has been seen many times sewing clothing and making alterations on uniforms on her hand crank Singer.
Also lately I have been sewing while watching the third season of the Great British Sewing Bee. For some reason it is easier to location season 3 episodes than it was for season 2. My favourite episode so far this season can be seen on YouTube here. The sewists (don't you just love that word?!?) are using beautiful Featherweight sewing machines, and complaining about them the whole time. They are the easiest machines to use, but the sewers are familiar with complicated computerized sewing machines, and can't figure out how to work the old ones! LOL! 


Here is a good laugh... "never approach sewing with a sigh or lackadaisically...

And when you sew, make yourself as attractive as possible". 
I am laughing hysterically now!
Excuse me while I go and do my hair and put some make up on! LOL

Design Wall Monday

Yep... it's Carolina Chain blocks still on the design wall. 
I am finally getting a grip on the border and making some progress. It took me quite a while to figure out the corner blocks I liked the best, and then I struggled with the math for the side borders. 
Everything looked like it should work on the paper, but then somehow it didn't translate to the fabric! 

And sewing the borders together like this doesn't help!! 
Honestly, what is going on here?
Focus... focus!
To see more design wall postings, hop over to Patchwork Times.

I will have to put this project as my "UFO of the month" for May, and hope that it is easier to work with this month. Hop over to A Lovely Year of Finishes to see more finished UFO wishes for this month.

And I didn't even do any binding in the month of April, so I can't enter Julie's Binding Blitz. Clearly I need to pull up my socks and get in the sewing room! I also have a Scrap Squad quilt that needs to come together asap, and it is being a "problem child" too.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Slow Down!

It's Sunday, which means it is time to slow down and do some hand stitching. It has been such a whirlwind week that I haven't even had time to visit the hand stitching links from last week. I look forward to some time to relax today, to visit blogs, and to review my memories from the week. Sometimes life passes in such a blur that you don't even remember what you've done (or maybe that's just me??)
This week I have been preoccupied by my guild's quilt show, sewing hanging sleeves, submitting the quilts, and then volunteering at the show and seeing all the amazing quilts. I was also happy to learn that I won two ribbons.



The first photo shows the miniature quilt ribbons from the challenge. I love this display because my challenge quilt (pattern by Camille Roskelley) is sandwiched between two amazing quilts made by two wonderful quilting friends - Marilyn Watson above and Cheryl Wallace below! 
I was struck by the thought that their pieces look so relaxing and calm, and mine looks "intense". I think it's because of the way I quilted it... that owl looks menacing! But the friendship stars are "containing the threat", so maybe the intensity fits my theme and I should say that I meant to do it that way! 
Anyway, the owl fabric is in the other quilts too, but they used it so cleverly that you can hardly notice it.

And my second ribbon was in the small wallhanging category. This is Cascadia - which you might recognize from a sewalong by Lori at Humble Quilts. I love this quilt and use it as a cover on top of one of my sewing machines. 

So today I will be relaxing with my thoughts and my stitching. I hope to finish the quilting on my Always Home wallhanging.


What are you working on today? We would love to see your hand stitching project! Link up your blog post below and share your progress.

Scrappy Saturday - Green

The scrap colour this month is green, which is perfect for May sewing. Green is just starting to appear in my neighbourhood, and the sunshine this week is helping the grass and plants (and humans) come to life again.

I have been sewing more little 2.25" Alamo Star blocks as leader/enders, and here are my newest green ones. I enjoy deciding what to put in the centre (it really doesn't take much to entertain me!)  Sometimes I put the background fabric in the centre (as in the bottom two blocks), sometimes I put the star point fabric in the centre (as in the purple block) and sometimes I put a totally random square in there (as in the top left block). 
Hop over to SoScrappy to see what other quilters are cooking up with their green scraps.
After sewing a bit this morning, I am off to day #2 of the quilt show. Yesterday was great fun, and my unbiased opinion is that this is a terrific quilt show! And because this is green month for the Rainbow Scrap quilters, I will show you one example of my fellow quilter's brilliance and creativity.


This quilt display is from a "special interest" group project - the quilters started with the photograph in the centre, using it as the inspiration for their quilts. (If you click on the photo, you can biggie size it and see more details).




And here is my Journey of a Quilter! I am so happy to have it hanging at a quilt show put on by the people who have inspired my quilting journey, and surrounded by quilts they have made. 
Today I feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many creative people!

It's Friday!

And you know what that means! I won't have any time to quilt today because after work I am off to see the quilt show (details here) and see my babies quilts hanging with their friends!
Last night it was so nice to just relax when I got home from work and join Bonnie for QuiltCam. I enjoyed some hand quilting, and made more progress on my Always Home wallhanging.  It is 2/3 finished now, and most of the bottom block is quilted too. 
I am now quilting the borders and starting to taste the sweetness of an impending finish. It's about time, since this project was started in 2012! Maybe I'll be sewing the binding for Slow Sunday Stitching - fingers crossed!
Happy Friday! See you at the show!

April UFO

This darn UFO is almost a quilt top. It was a good effort but is taking so long in the designing stage. I added a 1.5" blue border, and then put the extra block parts on point. I didn't have enough blocks to complete the border it wanted, and I am still scrounging through the scraps trying to stretch them to make enough blocks. 
Also, I have not figured out the corners yet. Slowly chugging along... chug, chug, chug...

Good Enough!

This project is much closer to becoming a quilt, so I have decided to call the effort "good enough" for this month. I will put this UFO on the top of the "to do" list for May, and maybe more progress will be made.

And guess what? Bonnie is doing Quilt Cam tonight and I'll be getting out my hand stitching. Why don't you grab a project to work on, and I'll "see" you there at 9 pm.

Quilt Show Prep

This is what I was doing when I got home from work yesterday ... sewing hanging sleeves and labels on the back of quilts for the quilt show.
I was really annoyed with myself for leaving this job to the last minute, especially the labels. It really doesn't take much time when you sew a label into the binding. And I strongly believe that every quilt should have a label, so why don't I do that when I am finishing a quilt? 


**Note to self: when you are finishing a binding, tuck a little label in the corner.... you know you want to!



Today everything is done and here is the pile of quilts ready to go. I am hoping in the car to drive them over to the tireless committee that is collecting the quilts. It's like dropping your children off at the babysitter and hoping all will be well!
Be good, and I'll see you at the show on Friday. 
(Yes, I am talking to my quilts!)

Life Is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful block #6

I have finished stitching block #6 for my Life is Beautiful quilt. Every time I finish stitching a block I say to myself "this is my favourite one so far"!

And this week my quilt guild is pulling off another miracle. They are building a show of amazing quilts! It really is a miracle when so many people make the effort to work together, to take an empty room and fill it with an incredible display of quilts. It is being held this Friday and Saturday in Guelph, Ontario, so be sure to come if you are within driving distance. Prepare to be inspired! Details are here.
And of course I am sewing on the hanging sleeves, which I always leave to the last minute and then am mad at myself for doing that! But still, I do it every time!

Design Wall Monday

It's the last week of April and my UFO of the month is still on the design wall in pieces. These are Carolina Chain blocks from Quiltmaker magazine. Looking at a quilt layout on a computer screen is always a good idea before sewing it together... I just noticed there is one block that is sideways. It's easy to fix at this stage!
I am making the leftover blocks into a border. I put them on point and am framing them with blue because it was the only batik dot fabric that I had enough of to do the job! It's very close to being a finished top and that's my goal for this week.
To see more design wall postings, hop over to Patchwork Times.

Slow Sunday Stitching - Hand Beading

This is a long post today with lots of photos so be forewarned! I took a beading class this week with Anne Marie Desaulniers. I used to do a lot of beading on fabric in the past and I have made many beaded quilts. But recently I have been enamoured with hand embroidery and hand quilting, and had gotten away from my beading. This class reminded me how much I love it and hope to incorporate more beading into my hand work. 
Here is my finished bead encrusted piece which I am calling "Killarney". It measures 2.5" square and contains hundreds of beads (mostly sizes 8, 11 and my favorite size 15) some watch gears, a cabochon made by Anne Marie, some stones, and other treasures I found in the bead box.
Here are the steps we went through following Anne Marie's instruction...

Step #1 Select a base size for the project and a foundation fabric. This is a piece of my brother's shirt.

Step #2 Select a cabochon and some coordinating beads. Attach cabochon with peyote bezel.

Step #3 Audition colours, found items, and beads, and cluster them around cabochon.

Step #4 Start to sew down the parts you know you like. Listen for the story that is developing.

Step #5 Fix things that you don't like. I added a piece of a brown shirt behind the watch cog.

Step #6 You don't have to know the whole design, just stitch down what you know you like.

Step #7 Create movement with lines of beads.

Step #8 Audition beads in open areas.

Step #9 Have fun and try some specialty beading stitches.

Step #10 Continue to add design around cluster.

Step #11 Do the grunt work and fill in all the edges with size 15 beads.

And voila... you have magically created an intuitively beaded story! These steps make it sound easy, and I have to admit that it really is not. You mostly have to "get out of your own way" and learn to listen to your own inner creative voice. You can take a class with Anne Marie and make one for yourself if you live near Toronto, Canada - click here for more information about her classes.
What are your hands creating this week? Link up your blog post below and share your project with other hand stitchers around the world. We love to see what you're stitching!

Scrappy Saturday

There wasn't much progress made in the scrap department here this week.
I have sewed up a few purple scraps - one lonely Alamo star was finished, and one pumpkin seed block was finished. But many more seed blocks were cut and prepped for hand stitching.  I am reminding myself that every bit helps and I look forward to some time for hand applique to finish these seed blocks.
To see more purple progress, hop over to SoScrappy.

UFO Update

Only one more week is left until the end of the month! My UFO of the month is making some progress, but much too slowly.
I finished sewing 42 Carolina Chain blocks with the scraps I had, so the quilt will be 6 blocks across and 7 blocks down, plus a few partial blocks left over. I am pondering whether to put the leftover blocks on the back or make a border.
It looks like I may need to alter my goal to make this into a quilt top by the end of the month, instead of a finished quilt!


I didn't remember that there is a Spring Shop Hop happening this weekend in my area. I hope to have time on Saturday to at least hop to some of the shops. 
So much fun to be had... so little time!
TGIF!

Antidote for Cabin Fever

You probably haven't suffered from a severe case of cabin fever if you don't live in a part of the world where more than half of the year is spent mostly indoors because it's too cold, dark, rainy or snowing to go outside for long.

Don't forget to look up!

According to the Urban Dictionary, cabin fever is defined as "a type of hysteria brought on by spending too much time indoors". Hysteria might be a bit of an extreme description, but at this time of year I do start to feel a bit desperate to get outside and enjoy some sunlight and fresh air. And we all feel a little giddy when it is not pitch dark after supper!! This was my view while I was sitting in my backyard stitching the evening away earlier this week. You have to get outside while the sun shines, because yesterday it was snowing again. Ugh.

That's okay, because I have a perfect antidote for cabin fever... learning new beading stitches with Anne Marie Desaulnier and the Canadian Embroiders' Guild. I put stitches in hundreds of beautiful beads and feel so much better. I am almost finished my project and will post more photos when I get a chance to take some. If you are tired of the weather where you are, surround yourself with colour and beads and fabric, and you'll feel much better 100% guaranteed!