Good News

Over at Patchwork Times, Judy has a link up for "Good News Thursday". 
Well, my good news is that it is now Friday...woohoo!
And I have a few other bits of good news to share...
the robins are back! Of course I have let them know that I am not happy that they are returning so LATE this year! I have been looking for them for weeks, and wondering what is taking them so long to saunter back into town (they mentioned the daily "below zero temperatures" and the snow).
But I love waking up to their songs in the morning, so all is forgiven!

More good news....the colour of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is green...yum, I love green and miss it so much over the winter! I have been digging around in the scraps and pulling out bits of bright spring green to sew something this weekend.
Also...I found the first season DVD of "Call the Midwife" at the library, so I am having a marathon tonight, and maybe a little hand quilting if I can tear my eyes away from the show!

Votes For Women Wednesday

This week has seen some progress on my Votes for Women blocks. I have completed 3 more blocks but for some unknown reason, I skipped block #23!? Strange!! I'll go back and sew that one, but until then, you can see my most recently made blocks.

Here is Block #22 Jack's Delight. I am delighted with how my variation of this block turned out!
It was very interesting to read about the female archetypes and the use of "humour" in maintaining the status quo.

This is block #24 called True Blue. Of course I had to use some blue fabric and like how this block turned out.
What is a "true blue"?
Barbara Brackman said:
The term blue-stocking was an insult, although many women wrote they were proud to be blue. The word implied a woman who read, who wrote (for publication, horrors!), who discussed ideas, literature, philosophy and history, who valued conversation over cardplaying.  The subtleties of the insult changed with the generations but the negatives were that a blue was unfeminine, unattractive, slovenly, pretentious and a freak of nature. 

I am proud to admit that I am part of the ranks of the "True Blue" women - freak of nature that I am! LOL
I also finished block #25 called the Carrie Nation block...so pretty with the red fabrics. What an interesting woman Carrie Nation was! Reading about her reminded me of my Aunt Lottie (short for Charlotte)  because both Carrie Nation and my Aunt Lottie were about 6 feet tall, which was considered to be very unusual back in the early 1900's. 

My Aunt Lottie towered over most people. In this photo you can see how much taller she was than her sister and her parents. I wonder how she found clothing and shoes to fit her back then? 

Aunt Lottie was my favorite aunt as a young child (actually she was my Mother's aunt and my "Great Aunt"). She taught me to walk tall, stand up straight, and to be gentle and kind. She also was my only crafty relative and she spent many hours teaching me how to knit. She knit mittens, slippers and sweaters for the needy, and although she didn't have much herself, she was always making something to donate to missions. Aunt Lottie died in the mid 1970's and I still miss her.

Subscription and April UFO

Gail requested that I add the email subscription option to my blog, which I was able to figure out how to do. The new subscription box is on the right sidebar if you want to try it out, although I admit that I don't really know what it means! I think if you subscribe then you will get my blog updates in your email inbox?  I usually struggle to stay up to date with reading my own email, so personally I wouldn't want blog updates in my inbox, but if that sounds like something you would enjoy, sign up and let me know how it works.

I have been reviewing my list of UFO's and have decided to make my April UFO goal to sew together my "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" mystery blocks. They haven't been worked on in almost 2 years because I really couldn't find a way to make the top into something I like. The fabrics and blocks have been sitting in a pile for one whole year. But no longer! These blocks have finally communicated with me, and we have come to some agreements.... no string pieced units, on pointe layout, with sashing, and possibly cornerstones. 
By the end of April, they will be a finished quilt top!
You can see more blog posts over at the April goal setting party - click here.

Happy April 1st!

BeAttitudes is a finished quilt!

March's UFO is DONE!

Phew...that was a tough one!
This is my BeAttitudes quilt (pattern by Nancy Halvorsen).
The blocks were a BOM that I started in 2008, so this quilt took almost 5 years to finish. 
I didn't enjoy the machine applique technique, but I forced myself to finish it, and it will probably be my one and only machine appliqued quilt! 
The machine quilting went fairly quick once I got started.
I don't like how the blocks puff out under the large applique chunks, because I couldn't quilt over the applique (way too thick with layers of fabric, fusible, batting and backing).

But anyway, it's done and I'm so thrilled to have this quilt finished, and to have one less UFO! 
This photo shows the machine quilting a bit.
Maybe I should stitch some rain drops coming out of that watering can?




I have to show a close up of the Easter bunny block because today is Easter, and because it was one of my favorite blocks in this quilt. 

I finished hand stitching the binding today...Easter is the perfect day to finish my BeAttitudes quilt!
To see more finished UFO's this month, hop over to the Lovely Year of Finishes Link up.

Hand Stitching

Happy Easter!
I hope your easter treat to yourself will be to enjoy some hand stitching time today...and maybe a few chocolate eggs too! I hope to be sewing on a quilt binding today! I really want to finish my March UFO today...wish me luck!


I enjoyed some hand sewing this week on my "Votes For Women" blocks, and was able to finish block # 21 called Parasols and P.R. 




It was a challenging block for me to applique, and it's a little odd looking, but it's DONE! Done is way better than perfect!





Then I started another block that I wanted to sew by hand...block #29 which is a seven point star block. I am hoping that the centre will fit together better than if I machine pieced it. There are also lots of "set in" seams on this block.

BTW...did you check out the hand stitching link ups last week?!? 
Debra and BillieBee introduced me to a new (to me) website called Echinops and Aster.  There is a stitch-along going on there and there is a wonderful list of hand stitching resources. If you missed it, you really need to check it out - click here.
Link up your blog post below and showing us what hand stitching you hope to treat yourself to on this Easter Sunday.

Scrappy Saturday - Orange

I missed the scrappy saturday posting last week, but this week, I'm on it!  It's the last week for orange, so I finished a couple more orange crumb blocks for my crummy rainbow quilt, bringing the orange total to 19!! I was surprised to note that I now have more orange blocks for this quilt, than any other colour...wierd, since I rarely buy orange fabric! Where are these scraps coming from?!? 

I also finished up a few more leader/ender Alamo stars with my orange batik scraps. In the last 6 months I have sewn more than 60 of these blocks and I still adore them, so I will keep making more.
Wow...that blue one really stands out like a sore thumb! I either need to make more blocks with that blue, or throw that one out.
Hop over to SoScrappy and check out the other orange scrap projects. Wonder what the new colour will be for April!?!?

What I am working on

A little bit of sewing is going on around here.
I finished the scrappy binding for the scrap quilt I started two weeks ago. It is wound around a tube and ready to stitch to the quilt, but I have to quilt it first. I really want to work on finishing that one, but am forcing myself to work on my March UFO.

I finally realized what my problem was that was interfering with progress on this UFO. I didn't want to add another border! Duh! I was fussing around and unsure, and finally it hit me that I want a light border, and then a red binding.
So now I am pin basting it and hoping to quilt it this weekend.

Stitch Me Up Blog Hop

Welcome to the "Stitch Me Up" blog hop!
I love to hand stitch, and I host a "Slow Sunday Stitching" linky party on Sundays for hand work bloggers. Sew... this blog hop has been perfect for me!
My "Stitch Me Up" project incorporated the flower designs from Bee Tree Designs, and a quote from one of my teenage clients (who said that she heard it in the movie called "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".

I don't love how my project turned out (sad face). 
The colours aren't right, and the background fabric is too mottled to showcase the stitchery. Also there is too much empty space, and the finished stitchery doesn't fit into the frame I bought for it.
But I really do like these flower curlies...aren't they so cute?!?

I have been wondering if I might like it more if I hand quilted a grid in the background . 
Any other ideas?
I have enjoyed visiting the stitching blog posts so far and want to thank Madame Samm and Jane for another fun blog land adventure. Check out these wonderful blogs today to see more hand stitching projects!

MONDAY MARCH 25th Beverly @That Other Blog Betty@That Other Blog Stitches to Sprinkles   Stitch Duchess' Crazy and Sane Quilting World Bejeweled Quilts by Barb Kathy's Quilts Mountain Delights  Tea and Quilts      Charlottes Creations Quilt Obsession The Slow Quilter Cali Quilter Little Pieces of My Life

Sunday Stitching

Ever since I saw the cute spool pin doilies over at Quiltville, I have been trying to make one for my treadle so that the thread spool won't wear the decals off over the years of use. I could use a plain old piece of felt, but that would be boring! 
Bonnie even posted the pattern on her blog, but there is one problem...I don't know how to crochet!

I have had a couple of lessons from patient friends, but I must admit that it's a challenge. These are my first two attempts, but they are too big, so either I need a different needle or different thread. I will keep trying!
What are you hand stitching this week?
Link up your blog post below and share your project.

TGIF - Let's start something new!

Made it to Friday! TGIF
And I'm planning a new quilt!
Debby Kaffunger is hosting a mystery on her quiltaholics site mid April. I haven't sewn one of her mysteries for a long time, so I am looking forward to sewing this one.
If you belong to her quiltaholics yahoo group you can get all the preliminary details.
The problem (for me) is that it's a 2 colour quilt, and I can't do a 2 fabric quilt (too monotonous to sew and I know I will lose interest), so I will have to go scrappy!
Here is the Kansas Troubles collection I'm thinking of using for this mystery. I have lots of the lights, but I'm think I might have to take out the mustard and the red. Any suggestions?!?

Spring is here!

Spring has sprung - on the calendar only! 
The weather is still very much winter here... cold, blustery and snowy. I haven't spotted one single robin yet this year! 
And I have been procrastinating on my UFO report because I have not made the progress I had hoped to by mid-month. I only have the first border on so far. I want to add one more dark border, baste, quilt, and bind it in the next 10 days! 
I will "Be positive"!
To see more mid-month UFO reports, click here.


Another new beginning to announce is the Stitch Me Up blog hop. 

Hop over and visit the many beautiful embroidery projects. 
My day to post is Monday, so I sure do hope I finish my project by then! I am working on it...slow and steady, just like a turtle!
Happy Stitching!

Votes For Women Wednesday

I am making slow progress on my Votes For Women blocks. 
I enjoy the new block challenge each week, and love to see how each quilter makes their block unique (visit the Flickr page to see the wide variety of blocks being made). I am a few blocks behind those being currently posted, but will catch up soon!
This week I worked on Block #20 Memory Wreath.
It was a simple block to make and I enjoyed searching in my reproduction fabrics to pick out pieces to use.
The story that was posted with this block about militant suffragettes was very interesting to read.
The next block is applique and I'm going to give it a go and see how I do! Wish me luck!

Finished Quilt Top!

TA DA! A finished quilt top measuring 54" x 66"!

I couldn't decide if I preferred the rectangles placed vertically or horizontally...it is a fun block no matter how you place it!

Also couldn't decide about half blocks, or a contrast fabric, or leftover scraps in the alternate spaces at the top and bottom...you can see which option I went with and am pleased with how it turned out. I am now working on creating a scrappy backing and binding, and am giddy about clearing out this old stash fabric (making room for new!). 

This will be a donation quilt for my guild's collection and I am pumped to get it completely finished by the April meeting. 

And perhaps I am procrastinating working on my UFO!?!?

Design Wall Monday #11

What a great day on Saturday with my quilt guild friends! It was such a treat to sew all day! I used up a lot of old stash in this quilt (win for me) and I think a little girl would like it (win for her). I have the blocks together but haven't ironed it yet, so will show the top later in the week.
Hop over to Patchwork Times to see more design walls today.

S L O W Stitching Sunday on St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
We aren't Irish, but like to pretend we are so we can join the parties and eat green food. I finished hand stitching the binding on a little tabletopper just in time for the celebrations at my house today. 






My regular readers will not be surprised to read about what I will be working on today...the same thing as "forever"!  

I am happy to report that I have finished the hand quilting in block #6 of my "Journey of a Quilter", which means I have now finished quilting 2 of the 9 blocks. Parts of other blocks have been worked on, since I started in the centre and am working my way to the outside of the quilt.  The texture of the quilting is so enticing, I keep running my hands over it and admiring the stitches...can't help myself! 
What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blogpost and share your progress below.

March 16th - National Quilting Day!

Friday Night Sew-In was a success! 
I got 4 more crumb blocks sewn in the colour of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.
These blocks will join the baggie of blocks that I showed on my design wall in January - click here to see them.

And today is National Quilting Day! How wonderful that I get to spend it at a mystery quilting class! Such a sweet treat for me! My quilt guild is hosting a "past presidents mystery" event for the guild. I spent part of last evening cutting up the fabric for the mystery and picked these springy colours to work with. Happy Quilting!

"Beat the Winter Blues" Winners

The "Beat the Winter Blues" blog hop is over. Hope you had time to visit some of the blogs. I enjoyed meeting some new bloggers and reading about how people are surviving enjoying the winter. There were 116 entries for my draw for the winter and spring stitchery patterns. The winners are...
Pins and Needles won the Easter Sampler by Bird Brain Designs and Nita is getting the "Let it Snow" pattern by Crabapple Hill. Thanks for playing along! 
TGIF! I'm sewing tonight and can't wait!

Good News Thursday

I enjoyed a little hand quilting with Bonnie Hunter on QuiltCam the other night. Bonnie has been having technical difficulties with the server, which she has been working on solving, so the sound and video were periodic. But it was still fun to be quilting "with" Bonnie (whom my kids refer to as my "pretend friend"!! LOL). 
I also tried out a very special thimble that I bought that has a cute little bird on it. 

It quilts nice stitches, but I am hesitant to use it much because I love it and don't want to wear it out! 
Judy over at Patchwork Times is having a linky party for sharing good news. 


My good news is that I am making time to sew and have "Friday Night Sew-In" (although I don't know if Heidi is having a sign up anymore) so I will be stitching Friday night AND I got into a guild class to sew a mystery quilt on Saturday. So that is a lot of fun sewing ahead for me to help get through to the end of this week! Hop over to Good News Thursday for more good news.

Votes For Women Wednesday

Work has been continuing (in between other projects) on my Votes For Women quilt blocks. I am up to block #19 but it was a very hard block for me to sew! I had triangles all over the place and had to be able to focus to even get the layout working. This was not a "late at night because I couldn't sleep" kind of a block to sew!

For some reason, it made sense to me to sew some flying geese blocks together, and then to try to build the block from the centre out.
But that didn't work because I ended up with this mess..
and a bazillion "set-in seams" to sew, and I can't do those without a nervous breakdown.
Okay, I settle myself down and tell myself in a stern voice:
"You have been quilting for over 20 years. Of course you can do set-in seams! Just try." 

So, I tried for a couple of hours, but then I realized my block was turning into a bowl shape because of all the handling of the bias seams, and because of all the unsewing and trying again... and the seams were not even close to matching up. 

Then I tried to decide between throwing the whole thing in the garbage and starting again with new fabric, or unstitching the triangles and starting over again with these pieces. Because many of these triangles were from a little candy charm pack, I really wanted to use them, so I unstitched every single seam I had sewn and started again with a different construction plan, which was... ahem... actually posted on the blog for anyone who chose to actually read the instructions!

And tada!

Here it is...representing literally hours of work...and an object lesson on the importance of reading instructions...I present block #19 called "Old Maid's Ramble". Appropriately named because you will be an old maid by the time you finish sewing the thing!! LOL
The next block will for sure be a piece of cake!