Squares & Bugs

I can't believe my week of vacation is almost over and I've spent most of it sick. I did get a spurt of energy yesterday though and got my Boxed Squares sewn together.

I also pieced the backing fabric - it might be a bit busy, but the colours worked quite well and it's been sitting in my stash for quite some time.

While I was sewing my Boxed Squares on "Baby Ben" (it's cute and it's little and it's black, just like my baby),

I was doing some multi-tasking and stitching these little guys out.

I can't quite decide if they look like ladybugs or little aliens - maybe a little of both? There are 10 in the set, then I'll make a little baby quilt out of them - at least that is the plan.

The Jersey Boys

Sandra and I had been planning for some time to go and see The Jersey Boys in Toronto today. The show was fantastic and I would highly recommend it. For those of you not familiar with the musical, it is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.



The rest of our day wasn't quite as great as the show. Some of you may be aware that the City of Toronto's municipal workers are out on strike. While I realized this affected garbage pick-up, what I didn't realize was that all the city owned parking lots would be barricaded and picketed.

The weather today reached the high 90s with a heat index well over 100 - try walking in that with asthma!


Now for the rant....there was garbage everywhere - overflowing from bins, lying on the sidewalks and a lot of the bins had been wrapped so you couldn't put any garbage in them. These workers are striking in part to protect their policy of being able to bank and cash up to 6 months of 18 days a year sick pay benefits. In this economy they should be thankful they have a job, let alone one that allows you 18 days a year of sick days.

The Premier of Ontario refuses to introduce legislation mandating these people back to work - he is asking that we be patient. I guess it doesn't bother him as his limo drives him door to door wherever he goes. The majority of people in the province believe that these positions should be classified as 'essential services' and the employees not allowed to strike.

What a wonderful impression this must make for tourists. Toronto's tourism industry suffered badly in the SARS outbreak after 9/11. It's taken all this time to build it up but who in their right mind would want to visit a city with picketers everywhere and garbage littering the streets - piles and piles of it. It is a public health issue - the rats in the garbage will soon be as big as the political rats who refuse to put an end to this and legislate these workers back to WORK!

I'll get off my soapbox now, but every so often I just have to get these rants off my chest!

Regularly scheduled programming will resume when I actually have something quilty to show you.

Bathing Beauties

The weather co-operated and we had Stitch N Chat Chat N Eat outside today. Here are the ladies chatting:

Left to right Lee, Janet, Doreen & Bev. I neglected to get a picture of the others eating! See those eight feet in the pool - that is the most this pool has been used in 2 years! Just this past week we spent $500 for a new filter and yesterday another $500 for repairs to the gas heater. We call it the big hole in the backyard we pour money into. After writing the cheques for these repairs, both Leo & I have decided we will use it this year - but don't hold your breath for pictures!

I had a nice dinner tonight with some girlfriends. We try and get together a couple of times a year, but although I saw two of them at our Anniversary party, I haven't seen the other two for almost a year. We set up a bi-monthly dinner schedule in an attempt to keep in better touch.

You might notice I'm writing this at 12:25 A.M. I wish I could be like Mary and be productive on the nights I can't sleep, but I'm just groggy enough to probably screw up anything I might attempt to do. I'm back on some heavy duty pills AGAIN - and my all time favourite - prednisone. It's 'just' my asthma but I told the Dr. today that if it isn't any better when I see him again tomorrow, to get the gun ready. Enough is enough. I've spent hours reading everything I can find about asthma - triggers, treatment, prevention and unless I want to join John Travolta in that glass bubble, there isn't much I can do that I'm not doing already.

Ben had a ball today - literally - he had 9 people willing to throw the ball for him and throw it they did. Of course why wouldn't they - he thinks they all came just to see him!

Baking & Bookmarks

It's been busy around here lately, but not on the quilting front. Thursday night I went with the girls at work to a "Martini & Manicure" night at a local restaurant, Cucci. For $20 you got a martini and a manicure and the most delicious appetizers like scallops, bruchetta with cherry tomatoes and prosciutto, mushrooms and risotto coated in polenta then pan fried. I only wish I'd taken my camera to get pictures as the presentation was as good as the food. I'm now wearing "I'm a Princess, You're Not" - don't you just love the names OPI come up with.


Friday, Sandra and I made a trek down to Buffalo where she had a very successful day and I loaded up on all the Aveda products I love which are about a quarter of the price there than they are here. I picked up some more fusible fleece at Joann's in the hopes of making some more bags. There wasn't a line-up at the border either coming or going so it looks like the new passport requirement has cut down on the number of people crossing.


Yesterday, we celebrated my Mum's 87th birthday, along with Father's Day. The weather co-operated and it was a beautiful warm, sunny day.


In between all of this, I've been stitching these out:



They are free standing lace bookmarks and they stitched out beautifully. I thought they would be nice to have on hand when you need a 'little something' for a thank you. They stitched out so well, it has inspired me to do some more machine embroidery but I haven't quite decided what I'll do yet. Maybe the ornaments I bought about 2 years ago and have yet to stitch out?

Tomorrow I'm hosting our Stitch N Chat so I did some baking this afternoon. I really think we should change the name to Chat N Eat.

Boxed Squares & Fish

I haven't spent a lot of time sewing the last couple of days, but I did get all my boxed squares put together. Now I can either spend countless hours arranging and rearranging them, or I can just sew them together the way they are. I really need to do something about that guitar border - it's been there so long I don't even notice it anymore.

Leo got home safely last night and had a wonderful time. He brought some trout (yuck) and pickerel (yum) all nicely filleted.

He was near a place called White River which is the original home of Winnie the Pooh. I guess Winnie came from White River before he was taken to Winnipeg where he got his name. This is the statue paying homage to Winnie - what a cheesy statue - looks like something you'd find in a McDonalds!

I have no idea what kind of fish this is, but apparently it's quite the catch!

Here are Leo & Steve showing off their quota.

Then, we have the best picture he took of his trip. This is Cocoa who lived in the lodge they stayed at.

She's much cuter than any old fish pictures!

Sunny Sunday Afternoon

I made it through the week, but it wasn't fun. Retirement is looking more appealing every day. I did have some luck this week though - I won $135 on some scratch tickets.

I'm not a big gambler but occasionally I'll pick up some tickets when I'm checking out - notice the name - Lucky Dog!! I have $10 more here to cash in and of course, I'll buy more tickets with that.

Thanks to Bunny's suggestion, I found some ironing board covers on Ebay. I'd looked there before but I guess the size I have is becoming more popular so there are more covers available. I picked up two for $12 each and shipping was only $5 for both so I'm a happy camper. If you have to iron, what could be nicer than looking at these little guys while you're doing it.

I've been playing with some Bali Pops this weekend.

Aren't the colours luscious.

I'm really not sure why I buy quilting books. I spend hours and hours looking through them for pattern ideas, then nine times out of ten, I make something from Mary's site. The above pattern is her Boxed Squares - I've made it before and it's fun and easy.

Speaking of Mary, her sister Deb has a new DVD out on the Machine Quilters Resource site. It's longarm specific and while I haven't seen it yet as I just ordered my copy the other day, I know that anything Deb does will be brilliant! If you haven't already checked out her work, please do so as you are in for a treat. She is one talented lady - it must run in that family!

Another blog friend has just opened a new Etsy Shop this week with some of her gorgeous hand dyes for sale. Vicki has been making these amazing Color Palettes for the last couple of months based on pictures. They truly are eye candy and the fabric she has dyed is beautiful. Please check out Vicki's blog and you'll find the link to her new Etsy store there.

Mrs. Paws paid Ben a visit as promised and he is even more handsome than ever, or could I be slightly prejudiced?

He is missing his Dad but I told him just one more sleep and his Daddy will be home.

It's Almost Hump Day

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of quilting information that is now available to us online? It seems that not only stores, but magazines, forums and blog rings are all vying for our attention - and our dollar. It no longer seems enough just to subscribe to a magazine - now they want us to join their 'special' club for even more information and savings.

I admit I spend a lot of time on the computer. If I spent half as much time sewing as I do surfing, I'd get a lot more accomplished, but there is only so much information you can absorb. There are now quilting videos on You Tube - some of them just teasers to get you to buy the actual DVD.

My inbox is full of quilt store specials and blog ring deals. Yes, it's my own fault for signing up for some of these e-mails, and on a good day I delete them without even reading them. Sometimes, though, I am tempted by all the 'great deals' offered to me.

I'm not going anywhere with this, it's merely an observation.

On the work front - two days down and three to go. I've talked to Leo every day and he is feeling fine and enjoying the fishing. Nothing could appeal to me less than being out in the middle of nowhere, freezing my butt off surrounded by bugs, but if it makes him happy, that's all that matters.

Lazy Sunday

Inspiration and imagination have flown out my window, along with what little energy I had. I did absolutely nothing yesterday. I'm gearing up to work full time this week and I can't imagine right now making it through the week. Details on my pity party will follow :-)

I got up this morning determined to do something, and when all else fails, make a strippy quilt. It is mindless cutting and sewing and goes together so quickly.


It looks rather disjointed in this picture but it doesn't appear that way in the flesh. I have enough strips left to make another one, so maybe I'll get that put together this afternoon - if I can stay off the Scrabble board long enough to do it.

Leo left yesterday for a 10 day fishing trip. He used to travel a lot for his job, so I was used to him being away, but things are different now and I'll worry myself sick the whole time he's gone, especially since he is out of cell phone range in the middle of nowhere. He did get the O.K. from his doctors, so I have to hope that they know what they are doing.

Somebody needs a visit from Mrs. Paws.


She is coming on Wednesday and then he will be handsome and debonair once again. Right now, he just looks like he has bed head!

What A Weekend!

In my last post on Friday I mentioned we were going to a wedding the next day. Well, Friday night I got sick - really sick - and kept both Gravol and Imodium in business for the next several days. I know, too much information!

The wedding was in Niagara Falls and I've known Andy, the groom, all his life. How could I not attend his wedding? Somehow I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed and passed out in the car while Leo drove. I actually stayed in the car until just before the ceremony, attended the ceremony, then went back to the car to pass out again. I wanted Leo to stay for the dinner and I would just stay in the car, but everyone insisted he take me home. It was a beautiful wedding - what small part I saw, and here is a picture of the happy couple, along with my darling adopted granddaughters who were the flower girl and junior bridesmaid (it was their Uncle who got married).

This tin man statue really caught my eye - flowers and all!

Now, what I didn't tell you was that on Sunday our family had invited us to a country inn for brunch to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. When we got home from the wedding, Leo talked to Sandra and told her I was sick, but no offers were made to cancel the brunch or change the date. This made me slightly suspicious but I thought that perhaps they had invited another couple to join us.

So Sunday morning I drag myself out of bed again and try and look presentable for brunch. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat a thing, but somehow I just knew it was important that I be there. When we got to Sandra & Darren's, I was overwhelmed to find all our family and dearest friends there to surprise us.

This is Trudy, my matron of honour and her husband Lou and below is Shirley, my bridesmaid and her husband Gary.

Sandra & Darren did the most amazing job and I was so proud of them both and what they had done for us. They had the brunch catered and while I couldn't eat anything, I was told everything was yummy, including the made to order omlettes.

Check out the cake!

I really hate to post this picture as I look awful - there wasn't enough make-up in the world that would put colour in my cheeks that day and I didn't have the energy to put any on anyway. Here we are - 35 years later - where did the time go?

Finally Friday

I finished my girlfriend's top today and snapped this picture before I trimmed it.

We both bought a fat quarter bundle of this fabric - she did something with hers - mine is still waiting for inspiration to strike. If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you will see just how perfect her piecing is - there isn't one point cut off or one seam not butted perfectly. I used a new to me thread on this - Superior Poly Quilter . The colour was perfect for the top and I'm pleased with how it quilted.

Tomorrow we are going to her son's wedding, so I can take the quilt with us.

I made another cover for my ironing board today. It seems like only weeks ago I made one but I seem to go through these things like crazy. The last one I used upholstery weight fabric but it really didn't seem to last any longer. Maybe I need to try the Teflon coated fabric. Making these really isn't my favourite thing to do but I can't find any the right size for sale around here.

Does anyone know if there is a 12 step program for Scrabble?

Hump Day

Things went relatively well with Leo yesterday so hopefully that is another hurdle behind us. Thank you all for your good wishes.


After spending what seemed like forever on my blue & white quilt, I needed a little instant gratification so made this for my Mum for her upcoming birthday.


It has a pocket on the outside and two pockets inside and was actually quite simple to make. The fabric is a Christmas charm pack collection called Mistletoe Manor, but I don't think it screams Christmas.

I had to pick Leo up this morning at 6:30 A.M. which meant I had to leave the house by 5:45 A.M. I am NOT a morning person and these early wake-up calls are not my idea of a good time. I'm back to work tomorrow, so sleeping in until 7 A.M. will seem like a treat!

I quilted my girlfriend's other quilt top today but on the last pass, ran out of bobbins. I used to think pre-wounds were a waste of money - until I tried them. Now I'm totally hooked on SuperBobs as they last so much longer than any that I wind myself. I've also noticed I have much fewer tension issues with the pre-wounds.

While I was busy downstairs and Leo was trying to sleep, our cleaning lady was busy burning out the motor on our central vac. We discovered she leaves it on the whole time she is cleaning and today it was on for well over an hour. Looks like a Dyson is in our future - along with a new cleaning lady!

Blue Rover, Blue Rover, It's Finally Over!

It's finally done and I have the holes in my finger to prove it!

Here's a shot of the back where you can see the quilting a bit better.

I put a striped bias binding on it as I just love the look of stripes on the bias. Thanks again to Mary who provided the pattern for this quilt.

A lot of you have asked what I'm going to do with it. A couple who have worked for Leo for over 30 years are retiring in July. They are a salt of the earth couple who are moving back to Newfoundland to enjoy their retirement. I know they will appreciate this and it will give me a lot of pleasure to give it to them. Harry has always referred to Leo as 'Mr. Leo' which has always amused me, so here's what I put on the label.

Leo has hit another bump in the road. He had an angiogram this week and they found two major blockages so want to put stents in as quickly as possible. He is going back in on Tuesday for the procedure and hopefully will be home again on Wednesday. I sure wish we could get on a road that was less bumpy - this one's making me sick!

Boom Boom Pow

That's the song I can't get out of my head today. My friend Joan (the evil one that got me addicted to Scrabble) called one of our games the other day "Do Your Ears Hang Low". Well, ever since then, I can't get that song out of my head. I'm not sure if "Boom Boom Pow" is an improvement, but that's what's been going around and around all day in my head (there's lots of room in there).

I thought you might like to see a Cocoa update. She is getting to be a big girl and she's still only half grown.

See the jar of dog biscuits on the the desk - that was full a couple of weeks ago. Her owner teases us that he doesn't need to feed her as Gail and I give her treats twice a day when we have our 'Cocoa break'.

We do make her work for them though. We've taught her to sit, shake a paw, down and stay. She is so funny when she comes into the office - she runs right to the desk with the goodies and sits patiently waiting for her treats. She's giving Gail 2 paws here in an attempt to get the goodie quicker.

I'm still sewing binding on my quilt. 400" is a lot of binding......... What on earth was I thinking?

Let's Get The Party Started

"Get this party started on a Saturday night".....

I've had Pink cranked on the iPod today while I pieced the back for my quilt. I may have mentioned before that piecing backings is my least favourite part of the quilt making process. Since this top is 98" x 98" I needed almost 9 yards of backing fabric. There goes all that bargain white fabric I bought in Maine. Now I'm just going to have to go back!

Hopefully the next time you see this it will be all quilted and bound. Mary gave me some great suggestions for quilting so I'm all set.

I've also figured out how to feed two addictions at once.

Now I can play Scrabble on Facebook while I'm sewing.

I'm sick, I know.

My Weekend is Here

I took a vacation day today as I had an appointment at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto with a dental pathologist - who even knew there was such a thing? It took me just under 2 hours to drive in this morning for a 9:30 A.M. appointment and it took just over 30 minutes to drive home. Morning rush hour - you have to love it!

I was just glad the Tamils weren't demonstrating today so the road wasn't closed. If they had been, I would have run them over - honest! I think it's disgusting what they are allowed to do, but I digress.


I have a lovely disease in my mouth called Lichen Planus. If you click on the link, you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about it. Bottom line - it's painful and something you just have to learn to live with. I've had it for years, but when I saw a specialist about the arthritis in my jaw, he suggested I see another specialist to see if I could get some relief. I've been given yet another prescription so we'll see what happens.


Not wanting to waste my afternoon, I laid out my Blue Rover on the living room floor - it seemed to be the only place big enough to lay it all out.

I've tried to look this over with eagle eyes to make sure a block isn't turned the wrong way. It wouldn't be the first time I've sewn everything together then noticed a block or row was wrong.

This is one of the first quilts I ever made called Pointless Wonder. I was so proud of it until I noticed that the top row was on the wrong way - and worst of all, I didn't notice until the whole thing was quilted. Well, needless to say, it stayed that way and the recipient doesn't seem to mind.

Tuesday Ramblings

There isn't much blog worthy going on around here. I had a lovely Mother's Day - as usual, my daughter spoiled me with some lovely and thoughtful gifts. My son actually remembered, so that in itself, is something of a miracle. My baby gave me hugs and kisses.

I'm quilting two quilts as a favour for my girlfriend. I got one of them finished last night and just sent her this sneak peek.

It is such a pleasure to do her quilts. Her piecing is so precise - never a point cut off or a seam flipped. As you can see, I used my favourite, Circle Lord Swirls. I haven't decided what to do on her other top yet - maybe I'll try out my new 7 Treasures of Buddha template.

I've been engrossed in a book for the past week - Penny Vincenzi's "The Best of Times".

I think she is my favourite author - I love all her books and they are nice long reads - I'm on page 689 right now!

We had our bowling banquet on Friday night and a good time was had by all. Our team won $132 each - can you imagine how much we would have won if we were any good????

Santa Table Runner

I had a lot of enquiries yesterday for the name of the pattern for the Santa tablerunner. It is called "Topsy Turvey Santa" by Happy Hollow Designs.

I think it would also be cute if, instead of putting the faces on, you used the shape of the Santa as a Christmas tree then you could embellish it with beading, crystals, ric rac, etc. That's about as creative as I get.

Springtime & Christmas

I love magnolia trees. We have a small one in our front garden and it's in full bloom right now.

I took this picture through a screen window so it isn't as clear as it could be. I'd love to see the magnolias in Charleston when they are in bloom. We visited there a number of years ago while there were still a few left over blooms on the trees and they were the size of dinner plates.

From magnolias to Christmas. I finished this runner yesterday.

I just stitched in the ditch as I didn't think it needed a lot of quilting. Sometimes I think we longarmers feel the need to have everything quilted like crazy, and it really isn't always necessary. Of course, if I could quilt like some of my quilting idols, I might think differently.


Speaking of idols, it's almost time for American Idol. I've been recording it all year as I bowled on Tuesday nights, but bowling is over for the season so now I get to watch it live. I'm pulling for Adam, Danny & Alison for the top 3. I'd be happy if either Adam or Danny won and I'd also be happy if they got rid of Paula - she drives me nuts!

Someone Opened My Box...

And I crawled out... I tried some freemotion on this tablerunner. All I see when I look at it are my mistakes and things I could have done better, but I'm good at telling everyone else not to stress over it, so I'm trying to follow my own advice.

I'll even show you a close up:

Ruler work on a longarm is a lot harder than it looks - honest!

I got another little baby strippy quilt finished today and although I used a panto (Popcorn), I did try a new method of stitching it. I kept both hands on the left handle, almost like a joystick, and I think I'll be doing all my pantos that way from now own. I've tried it one handed but didn't like that, but this way seems to work a lot better for me than one hand on each handle and it is also much easier to see the laser.

While I was taking a picture of my quilt, I snapped one of my new panto holder that I got at MQX. I've always wanted one of these so when we saw them in a booth, both Lee & I grabbed one.

It felt good to get something accomplished this weekend. I didn't do a thing last week, mainly because I wasn't feeling good (I feel much better now), but also because a certain someone - JOAN - got me addicted to playing Scrabble on Facebook. I must have a very addictive personality - for weeks I was hooked on Pathwords, now it's Scrabble. I hadn't been near Pathwords for ages, when Joan very kindly suggested I join her in a game of Scrabble. I may never forgive her... She's just lucky she has such a cute little dog. His name is Casey and I lifted this picture from her siggie - isn't he adorable!