Santa is Running Late this Year

I've been working on these little guys today - I don't have much luck cropping pictures, so ignore what is above and below them please.




It's been a long time since I did any raw edge applique and it was fun. Next I'll get the Santas sewn down to make sure they don't go anywhere, then embellish them with some tiny bells.

My Stitch N Chat Group is having a Sew Day on Tuesday and I don't have a clue what to take to work on. I usually take something mindless as there are always lots of distractions with talking and checking on what everyone else is working on - oh, and eating - can't forget the eating, but I'm not planning to partake in any of that. I wish I had something already cut so I could just sit and sew, but nothing springs to mind.

Do you remember the TV series "Once & Again" with Sela Ward and Billy Campbell? They have been rerunning it lately and I'm hooked all over again. I've always been a fan of Sela Ward since she starred in 'Sisters' - I wish they would bring that out on DVD. George Clooney was on that show even before ER. Anyway, I digress. I've been taping Once & Again and I saw the episode last night when Lily's father dies and her brother comes to the funeral. Her brother was played by none other than Dr. McDreamy - Patrick Dempsey.

My baby has been very clingy today - I hope that doesn't mean he's getting sick. Maybe he just wants his picture in my blog - anything to keep him happy as you know we don't deny him anything!

Saturday Ramblings

They were able to get our furnace running well enough to last until Monday when they come to install the new one. Just think how much fabric I could have bought with that money. Maybe I'll have to go downstairs every so often and fondle the furnace but I doubt it would give me the same satisfaction as fondling my fabric.

I quilted and bound the Stash Box quilt.









We had a speaker at our Guild several months ago and she bound the majority of her quilts with striped fabric cut on the bias. They were really effective so I wanted to give it a try. I had some in my stash that I thought worked well with the colours in the quilt.



I used Superior's Lava variegated thread on this one. I really like this thread. It comes in some wonderful colours, quilts like a dream and looks great on the quilt. What more could you ask for?

If you don't waste enough time on the computer already, here is a site sure to entertain.

http://www.cutethingsfallingasleep.org/

Baby, It's Cold....

Inside. Our furnace died this morning and the repairman said the parts and labour to fix it would be about $1,500. Considering the furnace is 20 years old, he recommended we buy a new one. Wonderful - we just paid for a wedding, Christmas and now a new furnace...and people ask me why I don't retire! I'm just sitting here waiting for the salesman to come and let me know how quickly we can get a new one installed - soon I hope.

I finished the Quilt of Valour and it's all packaged up ready to go out west to a Canadian Forces Base there.

I just loaded this top which I finished at least two years ago. I liked the Circle Lord Swirls so much, I thought I'd do them on this as well.

The name of this pattern is Stash Box, but it reminds me of film strips so I may need to rename it.

Looks like I'm not the only person in the family addicted to the computer. Here's a picture of Abby checking her e-mail!

Swirling Around

I spent the night on New Year's Eve with Carrie, Samantha, Miranda & Charlotte - I've really missed those gals. Sandra gave me the movie as soon as it was released on DVD, but I didn't get around to watching it until now. I love a happy ending.

I've been anxious to try out my Circle Lord Swirls template so used it on the Quilt of Valour. It was so easy to use and I love the results. The hardest part of the whole process was getting a good picture.

The picture on the right is the truest to colour - the backing is red - not pink or orange as it looks in the picture.

This quilt is supposed to go to Sudbury now to have the binding sewn on, but I have contacted the volunteer there to see if she would mind if I attached it as it seems like a waste of money to mail it up there, then have to mail it again to it's final destination. It's a large quilt and it isn't light.

I spent some time last night cutting out some applique shapes for this tablerunner.

Yes, I know it's a Christmas runner, but I have a resolution to keep remember! I'm hoping that if anyone who reads my blog ends up as the recipient of one of my gifts, they will have as bad a memory as I do and won't remember seeing it before.

Highway of Heroes

In 2007, a stretch of one of our major highways was renamed "Highway of Heroes" in remembrance of our soldiers killed in Afghanistan. The bodies of these heroes are flown back from Afghanistan to Canadian Forces Base Trenton where a repatriation ceremony is held on the tarmac, and from there are driven on the Highway of Heroes to Toronto where the bodies are autopsied.

Thousands of people line the overpasses on this 172 km. (107 mile) stretch of highway - firemen, police officers, veterans, mothers, fathers and children. Yesterday, when temperatures were well below zero, was no exception, as crowds gathered to pay tribute to three more fallen soldiers. As the motorcade passes underneath them, they wave their Canadian flags, salute and often shed a tear.



I have been working on a Quilt of Valour today. The top was made by a small group of Canadian quilters on the Delphi Forum.

I got the back pieced today and embroidered a label for it. It's now loaded on Tillie and tomorrow it will get quilted. Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to make another one.

Here is a story NBC News did on our Highway of Heroes - since this was filmed, our war dead has risen to 106.

It Feels So Good

To finish something - it's been a while! I've had this little quilt loaded on Tillie for at least two months and I finally got it quilted and bound. All it needs now is a label and it's ready to go to the recipient. I'm going to call it "It's A Small World" as the dolls remind me of the ones on the ride at Disneyworld.


I'm not big on resolutions - I've been resolving to be thin for at least 30 years and it hasn't happened yet. However, I am going to try and resolve to start NOW and make gifts for everyone on my gift list for the coming year. I've seen so much inspiration over the last month on blogs and websites that I'm really inspired to get busy instead of leaving it until the last minute.



This song by the Goo Goo Dolls came up on my iPod this afternoon and I thought the lyrics appropriate for New Year's Eve. Happy New Year to you all and may 2009 bring you health, happiness and a little fairy to finish all your UFOs.

"Better Days"

And you ask me what I want this year

And I try to make this kind and clear

Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings

And designer love and empty things

Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words

And sing out loud

Cause everyone is forgiven now

Cause tonight's the night the world begins again

I need someplace simple where we could live

And something only you can give

And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive

And the one poor child who saved this world

And there's 10 million more who probably could

If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

So take these words

And sing out loud

Cause everyone is forgiven now

Cause tonight's the night the world begins again

I wish everyone was loved tonight

And somehow stop this endless fight

Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words

And sing out loud

Cause everyone is forgiven now

Cause tonight's the night the world begins again

Cause tonight's the night the world begins again

Handmade Note Card Tutorial

I needed to come up with a gift for our Stitch N Chat group Christmas exchange. Since there are 11 of us in the group, that meant 10 presents. I made these little note cards and gave everyone six. They seemed to be a big hit, as many have asked me how to make them, so I promised I would do a little tutorial. They are very easy, but time consuming and I'll warn you, they are addictive.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

8 1/2" x 11" card stock in colours light enough to write on and be legible

2 1/2" fabric squares

Wonder Under or Steam A Seam or fusible web of your choice

Double Sided Tape

Rayon Embroidery Thread (optional)

Crystals, Beads or Buttons for embellishment

Envelopes

Cut your 8 1/2" x 11" card stock in half, then half again to get a piece 5 1/2" x 4" (trimmed) and iron on your fusible web to this card.

Then take your 2 1/2" squares and lay them on point on your card - don't worry if they hang over the edge, just try and line them up. I started doing this with scraps of 2 1/2" fabric, but soon discovered it would be much easier to use a 5" charm pack and cut it in 4 - 2 1/2" pieces.

When you have finished laying your pieces on, it should look something like this. When you are happy with your arrangement, fuse the pieces onto the card stock.

This is what it looks like from the back. Then, from the back, take your rotary cutter and ruler and cut off the excess fabric. I also trim this slightly smaller than the original so it looks like it has a small matt around it once it is mounted. Keep all the cut off pieces as they come in handy to fill in holes on other cards.

Your card should now look like this from the front.

You are then going to stitch along each raw edge seam. I used a sewn out zig zag which I think gives it a nice look and used a rayon embroidery thread as it added a little sheen.

Here is what it should look like after you have finished the zig zag stitching.

Then I took one of my decorative stitches and stitched around the edge of the card. I tried using a satin stitch, but I wasn't happy with the results so I used a double edge stitch and it worked out well. This would be a great place to use some of the decorative stitches that never seem to get used - well, on my machine they don't get used.

Now it looks like this with all the stitching done.

Your next step is to take double sided tape and attach it to the perimeter of the back of the card.

Then take another 8 1/2" x 11" piece of card stock, cut it in half along the 8 1/2" side, then fold that piece in half to give you a folded piece that is 5 1/2" x 4".

Then stick the fabric card with the double sided tape to the front of the folded card.

I used hot glue crystals to embellish mine, but you could use buttons, beads, whatever is fairly flat and would easily fit in an envelope.

This is the finished card after the crystals were applied.

Add an envelope and you're all set!

I also added a little label on the back of the card just to give it a more professional look.

Now you know what to do with all those charm squares you've been buying that are still lying around.

Warning - Quilting Content!

Our cable has been out since early this morning so we haven't had any TV or Internet all day. I couldn't care less about the TV, but Leo wasn't too happy that he missed his football games. Having no Internet, however, caused me to suffer withdrawal symptoms all day.

I got busy and took some pictures for you. These are more tree napkins that I made for Sandra with penguins on them.

I also got some pictures of my 'deals' from yesterday. For someone who doesn't like Christmas, I bought an awful lot of Christmas stuff. This snowman is similar to the Santa I showed you a couple of weeks ago - he's a tea cosy but would look great just sitting on a table.

I just couldn't resist this tube Santa - the sample was adorable and he wouldn't take up much room.
This little kit came complete with all the embellishments and the hanger. The only thing missing is someone to sew it!

This is a very bad picture of the fabric I bought.


I'm a sucker for a panel - just can't resist them.


Looks like Ben can resist this one either!

I bought this to try a One Block Wonder.

Finally, I got this kit which included the book and fabric to make a table runner. This was my deal of the day at $15 for the book and fabric.

I also promised I'd show you pictures of the cards I was making before I got sick. I took some pictures today to do a little tutorial, but since this post is so long already, I'll save it for another day. Here is an example of what they look like.

Since I did my part to boost the Canadian economy yesterday, I'm off to do my part for the U.S. economy tomorrow as Sandra & I are headed to Buffalo.

I've Been Bad...

But it felt so good! My good friend Lee & I hit two quilt stores today that were having year end inventory sales and we did our part to give them less to count. If the battery in my camera was charged, I'd show you what I bought, but I've got it charging right now so I'll show you tomorrow.

I spent some time this afternoon trying to clean out some of my bookmarks and I came upon this embroidery design:

It's from a site called BFC Creations and I'm not sure how I came upon them. They have some beautiful designs but I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried anything from them? I have my concerns that something this dense might not lie as flat as it should when it was finished. Check out some of their other designs when you're there - they have some beautiful stuff.

Well, It's Over

And I'm not sorry. Christmas around here isn't always a happy time - we don't have the storybook Christmas. I tend to look back on past Christmases that were full of fun and laughter and excitement when the kids were younger and looked forward to Santa's arrival. At one time there were 13 around our Christmas table - this year there were 5. It's hard not to think of all those that are gone and also wonder if this may be the last Christmas for some that are left. My Mum will be 87 this year and my Aunt, who is like a second Mother to me, will be 82. Neither one are in the best of health.

This year also marked the first in 29 years that Sandra didn't spend Christmas with us and she was sorely missed. We did go over to Darren & Sandra's yesterday morning to open our gifts and it was so much fun watching the kittens. They were into everything and had themselves a ball. There was sadness too, though, as this is our first Christmas without little Elliot and he too, left a big hole in our hearts.

If you're still with me, I apologize for being so maudlin, but as Rian would say, I'm just keeping it real. Sometimes you just have to tell it like it is.

On a happier note, Santa did come through and brought me one of these:

Guess that means that now I have to cook!

From Our House To Yours - Merry Christmas

He's watching for Santa!