Some Finishes

I feel like I have my life back.  I’ve been semi-productive and it’s nice to have some time to myself again.

Here is my bright simple quilt done with my favourite Circle Lord Swirls. 

While Ben managed to stay out of this picture, I noticed his tuggy didn’t!

I love striped bias binding and decided to put stripes on the back too.

The colours look way off on the stripes, but you get the idea.  Here’s a close-up of the binding.

On Saturday I took a workshop on circular appliqué and I’m really pleased with my results.

It’s about 16” x 16” and you quilt it as you appliqué – with a straight stitch.

I really enjoyed doing this and can see more of them in my future.  We also got the pattern for a miniature Wedding Ring so that’s what I’m trying next.

I’m off tomorrow to a Shop Hop in the Niagara Peninsula.  There are only three stores, but they usually have nice patterns as a give-a-way. 

I Must Be Sick

I pre-ordered an iPad ages ago as I was totally convinced I HAD to have one. Then, on Wednesday night, I cancelled my order. Cleaning out my Mother’s house has affected me more than I realized but I started thinking that all this wonderful device would do was help me spend even more time on a computer. I have a desktop, I have a laptop – why do I need another one? I must admit my decision was also influenced by the fact that I couldn’t load EQ into it, nor could I run my embroidery software from it. Oh, well, I may change my mind, but for today I’m happy with my decision.

This is what I accomplished this week.

It’s McKenna Ryan’s Berry Christmoose. This has been sitting in a drawer for at least 4 years - I'm sure it's glad to see the light of day. I haven’t quilted it yet and I intend to add some bling with crystals on the tree lights and star.

I also got my simple bright quilt quilted – here’s a preview but I’m working on the binding now so I’ll post a picture of the whole quilt when it’s finished.

We’ve had record breaking temperatures this week and our air conditioner decided to die on us last weekend. We had a new one installed yesterday so last night was the first night it’s been bearable in this house all week.

I didn’t sleep much though – I’m excited about picking up my new car today!!!!

My Trail is Over

Here it is, the completed Trail Mix.

I put a flange on by the binding. I’d done one on the inner border before, but never one by the binding. I like the look it gives the finished border and since you apply it after the top is quilted, it doesn't get in the way of the quilting, like one on the inner border does.

I used the panto Vibrance to quilt this but I had trouble getting a good shot showing the quilting.

I attended a baby shower last Sunday and I knitted this blanket for the baby.

The baby’s Grandma is a quilter, so I knew she would be making a quilt for the baby, so I thought something knitted would be welcome too – in case you’re wondering about my colour choice – they know it’s a girl!

I haven’t decided what to start working on next. Heaven knows I have enough things to pick and choose from. I’m also sitting on my hands trying not to order this:

I swear when it’s slow at work it costs me money! It’s been VERY slow lately, so I’ve had nothing but time to surf Ebay, Etsy, all the Quilting Forums and blogs. Someone on the APQS forum just posted this. It’s called Lovebird Lane and it’s a Block of the Month. I need another Block of the Month like I need more fabric, but I’m very tempted to order it.

I almost forgot to tell you my BIG news! I won the most improved bowler at our bowling banquet last Saturday. My average improved by 22.6 pins over last year and I won $125. Every member of our team won $157 each for our placement in the league (and we were in the middle – I’d like to know what the top place teams won). That would more than pay for this little quilt – right?

I’m Getting There

This is the first day in a long, long time that I haven’t felt the need to go and work on clearing out my Mum’s house.  It’s all done!  The For Sale sign went up on Wednesday night and there will be an Open House on Sunday.  I hope I don’t have to resort to burying little statues in the front lawn in order to get it sold, but if I do, hopefully Rian can remind me which one I have to buy :-)

I’ve been working on my Trail Mix this morning in between loads of laundry and I have the top together.  This is a very bad picture as it’s all wrinkled but I didn’t feel like moving stuff out of the way to properly lay it down – there is only so far I’ll go for my blog readers!

I still have 3 borders to go on and I think I have them picked out.  I know scrap quilts don’t appeal to everyone (Joan!) but I’m happy with how this turned out.  I think the secret is to look at the overall effect, rather than concentrate on the individual fabrics.

When this is done, I’m hoping to spend some time with Tillie.  There are a number of tops that have been patiently waiting to be quilted so I hope I can get to them soon.

Monday Musings

How did it get to be May?  Why is it over 80 degrees in my sewing room?  Well, I just solved the heat issue and turned on the A/C. 

I’ve finished all the blocks for my Trail Mix and started putting them on my design wall.

The jury is still out.  One thing I can tell you is there is one hell of a lot of piecing in this baby!

I found this when I was cleaning out my Mum’s house.  It’s a Singer 328 but I haven’t tried it yet.  I’m sure it hasn’t been serviced for over 20 years.

I could never understand people that had more than one sewing machine but I may have to eat my words as there are now 4 in my sewing room – no wonder I don’t have any room in there!

Every spring when we open our pool we have some visitors.  I’m not sure if they are the same ones every year, but they always show up and have a little swim, then take off.

Leo took this picture – I guess he doesn’t know how to use the zoom on my camera!  Anyway, hope you can see the ducks.

Turns out my memory isn’t as bad as I thought.  Dorothy IS from Waterford and is familiar with the old Train Station.  She also asked me why they call the quilt I’m working on Trail Mix.  I have no idea, other than it is a mix of fabrics with a trail running through it???  That’s my answer and I’m sticking to it.

Trail Mix

Seems like all my spare time lately has been spent trying to clear out my Mum’s house to get it ready to go on the market. It certainly has made me think twice about the things around here that I keep.

I have been stealing a little time to work on this Trail Mix Quilt from Better Homes & Gardens Scrap-Lovers’ Quilts.

So far, I’ve made 32 of these:

and 38 of these:

and 44 of these:

I still have 24 Double Nine-Patch blocks and 42 Nine Patch blocks to do. Nothing like a quick little quilt to whip up – NOT!

I love other people’s scrap quilts, but I’m not sure how this is going to turn out. No matter what anyone says, I think the nicest scrap quilts are controlled to a certain extent – whether it be by colour or fabric period, etc. This one is a little bit of everything, so we’ll see what it looks like when I start to put it together.

Lee and I did a not so local Shop Hop a couple of weeks ago and this was one of the stores on the tour. It’s called Quilt Junction and is located in the very small town of Waterford, Ontario.

The store is located in the old railway station and had one of the nicest selections of fabric that I’ve seen in a while. I’d never been there before, in fact, I hadn’t been to any of the stores on the tour. I’m not sure why, but I have a feeling this area might have been near Dorothy’s old stomping grounds.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Fiskars! I bought these snips quite a few years ago and they weren’t cutting as well as they used to. Since I’d heard they had a lifetime guarantee, I followed the instructions on their website and sent them a picture of my snips.

A week later, a brand new pair arrived in my mailbox. Now that’s service!

Hold Onto Your Seat – Quilting Content

I did some quilting last week and it felt so good.  This top has been lying around for quite some time – I ‘think’ it was supposed to be a disappearing 9 patch but I didn’t like it, so added some sashing and cornerstones.  I’m still not crazy about it, but it’s finished.

Since it was such a busy quilt to begin with, I just quilted Baptist fans on it.

I’m not sure what possessed me to make this one.  It’s so not me but I really seem to be into mindless these days and they don’t get much more mindless than this.

It’s just on my design wall which is why it looks all wrinkled at the bottom.

Leo got some beautiful flowers this week and I thought I’d share some of the blooms with you.

This hydrangea is just gorgeous.

He also got ‘flowers’ of a different kind.

These ones were good enough to eat!

I’m Walking on Sunshine

Leo’s heart surgery went well on Thursday and the surgeon is very pleased with his recovery. He was in a lot of pain on Friday, but yesterday he was up and walking and his pain was minimal. They are hoping he can come home on Tuesday. To say I’m relieved would be the understatement of the year.

This surgery has been hanging over our heads since January and I think I was dreading it even more than Leo as I remembered what we went through with his last surgery almost two years ago to the day.

It’s onwards and upwards from now on. My Mum is settled into her new residential care facility and soon Leo will be home and get stronger every day. I feel like the weight of the world has finally been lifted from my shoulders.

I couldn’t have got through this last six months without the help of my family and friends – one friend in particular. Lee has been with me every step of the way and I don’t know what I’d have done without her. Being an only child, I’ve learned to try and handle most things by myself and I’ve never been one to ask for help. Lee never asked if I needed help, she could just sense it and was always there for me.

When we got home from Leo’s angiogram at almost midnight in the freezing cold, she was sitting in our driveway ready to give me a hug. She walked into the waiting room on Thursday and sat with Sandra and I until we got news that things were O.K. She listened to me moan and cry almost daily when I was trying to deal with my Mum.

I’ll be honest – I’ve never had a friend like this before. Most people (myself included) tend to say if you need anything, anything at all, just say the word. I never did say the word – I guess I considered it a weakness if I couldn’t manage myself. This has given me a whole new perspective on friendship and I will no longer just offer – I’ll look for a need and I’ll try and fill it. Thank you Lee for not only being my friend but for teaching me the true meaning of friendship.

If you’re still hanging in here with me, I do have some cute pictures to share with you. Here are my grandkitties enjoying their dinner.

Left to right we have Lucy, Miles and Abby – and notice none of them have their elbows on the table – I have such well behaved grandkitties!

Darren also got this great shot of one of the bunnies in their backyard.

Do you think this is the Easter Bunny?

Production Line

I spent a very enjoyable day on Monday doing nothing but quilting.  Poor old Tillie has been sadly neglected lately but she performed perfectly for me and I got these three little strippy quilts done. 

Molly had to check out the back to make sure my tension was perfect!

I know a lot of people who are expecting this spring and although these quilts are so simple, they are what I call ‘happy quilts’ as they are bright and colourful and bring a smile to your face.  I used three different pantos on these – the first one was Sprung, the second Bubbles and the third Vibrance. 

Completely unrelated, I watched the movie “My Sister’s Keeper” last weekend and what a letdown.  I’m a big fan of Jodi Picoult’s books and this movie was based on one of them.  Talk about taking poetic license – they completely changed the ending of the book and for some reason it really infuriated me.  I’m so glad I had read the book before I saw the movie.

We have had absolutely gorgeous weather here all week – perfect weather for walking my baby – and we’re headed to the park right now.

Stacked Posies

I’ve really been trying to get out of my quilting slump - honest.  It has taken me more time than I’m willing to admit to get these stacked posy blocks together.

Then I tried to decide if they would look better on point?

I e-mailed my friend Joan and she didn’t think the dotted fabric was working, so I re-thunk (I’m sure that’s not a word) the whole thing and decided I’d make a wallhanging, instead of a quilt as I am getting sick of the sight of these tiny little 3” square blocks!

This is as far as I got yesterday, then while at work today I came up with an even better idea and this is what I’m doing with them now!

They are officially a UFO and I have no regrets.  Life is too short to spend time on something that just isn’t working!

It Can’t Be March – it Just Can’t!!

If you are still hanging in here with me, I commend you as there sure hasn’t been anything remotely resembling quilting going on around here lately.

I did get away to Dallas for a few days but the timing of the trip was all wrong. It had been planned before all hell broke loose around here and I should have taken the monetary loss and just cancelled – we live and learn.

There were some good times, though, and this beautiful girl and I shared a walk around the neighbourhood every morning.

We also spent a lovely day out in Rockwall at a friend’s house on the lake.

This is the view from almost every window in her home.

The pictures I am going to show you do not do justice to the beautiful work that Louise does. This embroidered quilt is magnificent and – are you ready for this – this is the first quilt she has ever made!!!!!

Louise is now working on a second quilt, made from dupioni silk and it is going to be every bit as gorgeous, if not more so, than her first one.

There is nothing I hate more than someone who does beautiful work like this AND she’s organized!!!!!

Not a pile of anything in site – and just in case you were wondering, her drawers are all tidy too!

Here we are at lunch at Gloria’s.

Left to right – Margaret, Carol, myself, Louise, Ann & Lee. Poor Ruth was cut out of the picture by the waiter.

Margaret and Carol are also extremely talented. Margaret can make just about anything without a pattern and Carol has done some beautiful heirloom smocking, as well as quilting.

You can’t spend time around these gals and not be inspired – so stay tuned!

Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night

I’ve been going through what are quite possibly the worst couple of weeks of my life and unfortunately the worst isn’t over yet.

The short version is my Mum has mixed dementia/Alzheimer's and is in hospital waiting to go into a care facility.  We also found out that Leo needs triple by-pass surgery as soon as possible so we are waiting for a date for his surgery.  Enough said.

I haven’t been able to concentrate on much anything but I have produced a few mindless items.

I made these for Sandra for Valentine’s Day.

They fit in perfectly with her obsession with penguins.

I also managed to do two more baby quilts.  I love this fabric so much, I don’t know what I’m going to do when the bolt is finished.  This pattern is from Mary’s website. 

Our Retreat Group was asked to donate a quilt for a fundraising auction at the place where they hold the retreats.  Grace donated a beautiful king sized top and I volunteered to quilt it.  I could kick myself that I didn’t get a picture, but I was anxious to get it finished and on to the next person for binding.  I’m sure someone along the line will get a picture so I can share it then.

For those of you puzzling over my post title, it’s a Bon Jovi song which goes something like this….

Hey man, I’m alive, I’m taking each day and night at a time; I’m feeling like a Monday but someday I’ll be Saturday night……My life’s a bargain basement all the good shit’s gone!

Seriously though, we WILL get through this and things will get better.