A tad late......!

How's the weather in you neck of the woods? Goodness, Mother Earth has been quite active this year! I do hope that this blog entry finds you all safe and healthy!

I finally finished a quilt that I had planned on having done before this Easter. I'm a tad late! In fairness, the top had been pieced since April 2 and was loaded on Penelope awaiting patiently but...... I could not carve out some time to machine quilt it. On a positive note, I like to think that I'm ready for Easter in 2012! ;o)

La voici....!

The pattern is called Rabbits Prefer Embroidery by Bunny Hill designs.

Once again, I use the Moda French General line called Rouinerie! I do like that line. The reds are so sweet.

I also took the opportunity to practice my free hand feathers. They are not yet at the level that I would like them to be, but good enough to leave them be! ;o)

Thank you so much for stopping by! Enjoy the moment! Cheers!

Small but meaningful...!

I would like to share with you my last project for Jo's Little Women' Club. It is a small quilt that became therapeutic for me. You could almost say, it was a method for mourning a dear friend.

You see, I started this project the day my friend Cheryl left the bonds of earth. Yes, on that very day! So in her honour, I have named it Stone Patches.


The pattern suggested that I hand embroidered 4 (four) of the ladies, but I chose to high-lite only one! Her name is Cheryl! ;o)

It's a cute little project! Scrappy!

I even used a couple of hour glass squares from a previous project! Yea, scrappy!

I must admit, I am enjoying working on these small quilts. They make gorgeous accent pieces in a room.

I have picked a winner from the post Things that make you go Hawwwww! Thank you to all those who posted. I enjoyed reading your entries.

The Winner is......... drum roll please...........!

Kimberly of numerous blogs! So I did a inimimimanimo and picked her blog My brown bag Studio to link too! ;o) Kimberly, please e-mail me with your mailing address so that I can get the hand made notion holder out to you.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Cheers!

Farmers Wife Part 2...!

I'm still playing around with Picasa. I think I've figured out how to do a slide show as opposed to a movie! Not sure it's the way I want to go but........ here goes! lol

I plan on finishing this quilt in 18 months. Seems like a reasonable goal, don't you think?!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Cheers!

10/07/20 - I did have a lovely slide show made however Picasa is no longer supported by Blogger.

More Civil War stuff .....!

A while back I had blogged about a quilt I had made out of the book The Civil War Sewing Circle by Kathleen Tracy (post may be viewed here). I find her new book so inspiring! There are so many projects I could make out of that book!

Anyway...... I completed another quilt!

A Soldier's Cot Quilt.

I did use up some scraps making this quilt but frankly, I created more scraps than I used! lol

Have you noticed how scraps just seem to multiply? Just when I think I've got a handle on the scrap situation, more show up! lol

Given that I'm visual, I need to see the fabrics in order for me to use them. What that does is only create a messy sewing room! lol Seems I'm continuously cleaning fabric off my cutting table! sigh!

Oh well, it's not like they're ugly scraps or anything! lol

Thanks for stopping by! Keep well!

Farmer's Wife Part 1

I thought I would share with you a quilt I started on January 7. 2011. I've been searching for a way to show you quilt blocks that I've been working on without having to post a gazillion pictures! lol Picasa seems to be working for me at the moment, I think!

It is allowing me to create a movie, which is much better than the alternative. I am looking for a way to create a slide show! I think I'm getting there!

Anyway, the blocks are from a book titled The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird. Each block, and there are 111 blocks, was inspired from letters submitted by women for a contest offered by the Farmer's Wife magazine back in 1922. The question they had to answer was "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in the light of your own experience, want her to marry a farmer?" The entries are fascinating to read.

The quilt is being offered as a block of the month at Fibre Junction.

Given that the creator of this sampler quilt chose to hand pieced this project, hence templates are offered, I have taken on the task of writing the rotary cutting instructions.

As a bonus, I get to make this quilt! ;o) Well, okay, I'm testing my written instructions! lol

Well, that took me all day to figure out! lol

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Older but new to me.........

Have you seen this book?

Fat-Quarter quilting by Lori Smith, published in 2009 by That Patchwork Place! It's a somewhat of an older book, but a must have in my opinion!

What a great book! Every time I look through it, I feel inspired!

It has both hand applique and machine pieced projects! All are lovely!

All small projects, allowing you to use up your scraps! You know, those small pieces of fabrics that you cannot bare to part with! ;o)

I love this book so much that I have tailored a hand applique class that I am presently giving at the Shoppe, Fibre Junction.

Every month, I work on a technique that is associated with a quilt in the book.

Last month's project was.....

Birds in the air!

This quilt to me is what I consider a "made do" quilt. I used all scraps!

Well, except for the background, which I needed a fat quarter, the fabrics comes from my hand applique scrap bin!

The binding is a left over from my Rural Jardin quilt! I had just enough left to bind it!

What a great feeling to be using scraps! I feel so efficient! lol

The Birds in the Air quilt was a great exercise in working with what I have. I will be the first to admit, it is so easy to be inspired by new fabrics! My mind goes wild with all the possibilities. However, the challenge, for me, is working with what I have in the scrap bin! Talk about pushing the comfort envelop! lol

Thank you so much for stopping by! Enjoy the moment! Cheers!

Things that make you go haaaaaaaw...!

There are items in my life that represents a certain state of mind.

Take my latte for instance! This to me is relaxation!

Of course it must be served in my special cup, otherwise it's just caffeine! lol

Seriously, I make myself one of these, and it's an instant relaxing state of mind!

That cup is meaningful, some would even think of it as sacred, as it brings on a certain state of mind, a state of being. It is not any different when it comes to quilting.

I also have special tools that assist me in "being" in a quilting state of mind. One of which is my thimble.

Sadly, I lost my special thimble more then 2 (two) years ago. I checked everywhere. I cleaned my car, took everything apart. Nothing!

I have been waiting, patiently and not so patiently, for this special thimble to show up. When it was time to discard our other car, that too was taken apart and I do mean apart, nothing. The thimble never showed up! :o(

Having waited more then I could bare, continuing my search high and low, I broke down and bought myself another thimble!

I loved my last thimble so much that I purchased the exact one!

You cannot imagine how happy I was when I found it!

I bought it from Silver Thimble Gifts! They have a very nice selection of thimbles! However, I was too attached to my old one to consider another model.

So now.....

I sit with my special notion holder, housing the tools that make hand applique so relaxing for me and work away.

Quilting is a way for me to get away for the daily stresses. When I do hand work, I'm in my own little happy place! My tools are just a means for setting me in the right frame of mind.

Do you have personal tools that you like to use for certain quilting work? I'd love to read about it. Leave me a comment and I will have a draw. The prize? A unique notion holder made by my husband Stephen.

Perhaps, the loss of my thimble was the reason for my not doing much hand applique, something I dearly love. I have certainly been busy with needle and thread since the arrival of my new thimble! Stay tune for show and tell! ;o)

Thank you so much for stopping by! Oh, by the way, I have picked the winner for the mass production half square triangle fun post. Jane from quiltsmiles! I know where to find you! ;o) You will receive a notion holder! But hey, you can still leave me a comment and if I pick your name, I'll think of something else! ;o) Drawing will close on April 16, 2011! Cheers!

Things have settled a bit....!

My world is slowly going back to a somewhat state of normalization. There are still a few things that need tending to but.... in the grand scheme of things, life is good.

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day for us people wayyyy up north! It was a perfect opportunity to go out and take a picture of a quilt I have recently finished. I am thankful that I did not procrastinate, as today would not have been ideal. It is SNOWING! Ah... the month of April, always fooling us weather wise! lol

Back to quilting! Yes, things are getting started and some are getting completed!

One of those completed project is a from a pattern called Snow Sparkle by Edyta Sitar designer of Laundry Basket Quilts.

The border and large snowflakes are from her Moda fabric line Let it Snow Favorite Batiks by Laundry Baskets Quilts. The nine patches and side triangles were made using a variety of batiks from my stash. Always a nice thing, as it makes room for new fabric! ;o)

I love the way the quilt turned out. However, what I love best about this quilt is having the opportunity to use a backing fabric I purchased many, many, many moons ago.

Or would that be many, many, many mooooooooos ago! lol

I just love this fabric! The colours are vibrant and the wintry scenery..... oh so sweet! I still have a couple of yards left!

It's funny how one can remember where a fabric was purchased. I guess it really made an impact! lol I bought the yardage approximately 6 years ago at Keepsakes Quilting! It has been patiently folded away in my stash awaiting the perfect quilt to back it with! A match made in heaven! lol

Well, thank you so much for stopping by! I do hope you are enjoying your day! Cheers!

A tribute to a dear friend...!

Today is a sad day for me! A dear friend of mine "slipped the bonds of earth to touch the face of the creator"! Adapted from a poem by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., from the Royal Canadian Air Force WWII.


Two weeks ago, I was given the personal task of finishing her first quilt, which she made in 2006; I was to machine quilt it and bind it. It was the only quilt she wanted to keep for herself. It was my desire to complete the task in time for her to enjoy before her passing. It was an honour to be asked to do this and what a pleasure it was to be able to lay it on her while she was able to enjoy her creation. I love you Cheryl. Thank you for being a dear friend!

Goodbye my friend, you will be sadly missed! See you on the other side! ;o)