The perfect meditation

It's Sunday and I decided to take a bit of extra time today to do my applique. I'm starting to feel a little bit of stress lately, so to sit at my Auntie Green's Garden, for me, is the perfect prescription for some down-time.

I've been working on stems and leaves for a couple of days, so after a bit more of the same, this morning I also did a bit of OTB (off-the-block) work and picked up a flower to work on. When I was picking fabrics for this section of the quilt last week, I was finding myself looking longingly at my Fassett scraps and wondering if I could sneak a few in. I decided I just couldn't mix the look up by incorporating these scraps.....but, I over-ruled myself in the end and got a couple in...

I'm so happy for another reason! I don't have as much time to piece as I would like, but I had set a goal for myself this week to finish the top of my oldest UFO.....and I did it! This one has been on the shelf since 2004 and now it's complete. I hope to have it quilted up nice for the May guild meeting as it is part of the guild's UFO challenge.

While I was sitting at the sewing machine working on this quilt, I thought of how a couple of things had made my sewing a bit easier over the years. One is the "Gypsy Sit-upon"....I have problems with my lower back, and sitting on this while sewing has made life so much more comfortable!

Another gem of a tool is this, a stiletto made for me as a gift from a dear friend. Helpful in so many ways, I will have to thank her again for such a thoughtful gift.....and it's pretty to look at too!

Looks like a beautiful day out there....perfect for shopping around for window trim??


To see what other people are poking at today, have a look at Kathy's blog over at "Kathy's Quilts".

Oh, I almost forgot! Last year I was fortunate to be able to attend my first Quilt Canada in St. Catharines. The experience was everything I had hoped....even though it took a few days to recover when I got home! The other day I saw a posting that Quilt Canada 2016 will be held in the Toronto area, venue TBA. I think I'm going to start saving my pennies!


Have a great day, and I hope it includes putting a few stitches in one of your own UFO's!

I'm ready for April showers, lol

All I have to say this morning is.....ARRRGGHHH!!!!!!

This is the scene outside my window at the moment....

 I mean, at the end of March I can deal with a flurry or two, but this is snowing! I guess I can be thankful that we haven't had a blizzard this month, which we all know can very well happen at this time of year. Hope I haven't jinxed us!

I worked on a nice quilt this week. It would be what I call "light custom". It had a nice freehand design in the main body of the quilt, a sweet inner border treatment and a fun feather in the 8" outer border. I am happy with the results.

Here is a picture of my inner border. I love quilting this and I love how it looks.....

I was thrilled with the outer border. I quilted a "hooked" feather, which is probably my favourite feather to do and to look at. It's a bit technical to try to explain here maybe, but usually I do a feather in the border by going around the quilt three times....once for the spine, once to feather up one side of the spine and, finally, once more to complete the other side. For some reason I did it differently this time in a way that's "new to me" but I know other longarmers have been doing it a while. I was able to complete the feather in one pass around the quilt, and it looks awesome! I'd say it cut the time  of quilting it out by at least half and doesn't compromise the integrity of the feather at all. Love it!

I finished up by quilting a "beadboard" on the outside edge of the feather.

Have a great (snow) day!


P.S. I'm going to add to this by saying that I'm going to "link" this post over to a blog by Gemma at  Pretty Bobbins. Have a look and enjoy her take on Modern quilting!

Auntie Green's Garden

Yesterday I finally took the time to prepare some applique pieces for my Auntie Green's Garden. I haven't touched this project in months which makes me feel bad since it's supposed to be my main project!

Here it is waiting to be worked on again. I have even had all the little freezer paper templates cut out and ready. I guess the worst part of applique for me is the prep work. I just want to get to the part when I can sit down and poke at it!

After what you see in the above photo is complete, there is another final border to be attached of another neutral fabric. Then......more applique!

I still love the quilt and am glad to have sat with my morning coffee and stitched at it once again. It's one of the more difficult pieces I've worked on, as usually the background I work with is "block" size.....anywhere from 6" to 18" perhaps.

This has a lot more size to it so it's a bit more of a slow-go for me.

I thought I'd share the tip/technique that, for me, improved my work and made applique more enjoyable for me.

I've tried most methods of hand-applique....freezer paper on the top, freezer paper on the bottom, glue, liquid starch, removing paper afterwards by cutting a slit in the back of the piece, soaking the block to loosen the glue and remove the paper.....etc.....

These are all great methods.....but not for me. As I've said before, I can't stand all the fiddly prep-work! Some of the above methods, I have to admit, may even give more precise results in the end.....but I'm in it to enjoy the process and hopefully it pays off in the end!

What helped me a few years ago was a book I purchased called Applique the Piece O' Cake Way.
The book has very good directions and pictures. What I learned that most improved my technique was their instruction on circles (the bane of my applique!) and finger-pressing.

I like to do traditional needle-turn applique. I start by taking a freezer paper pattern, pressing it on to the front of the fabric and tracing around it.

I cut around it leaving a scant 1/4" around and snip any curves. I remove the paper and fingerpress on the drawn line to make a crease. Hopefully you can see that in these two pictures....

I pin the piece onto the project then proceed to needleturn. The cotton fabric "remembers" that crease for a long time...I can't remember it not doing so!  So, as I sew along I just swipe that seam allowance under easily  with my needle.

.....and, voila.....

It might seem scary to some people to try this, but I say why not give it a try? It's not difficult and you will only get better with practice!

Have a great day!

Sunday Stitches

A nice peaceful beginning for a Sunday. I've started a new block in my Life is Beautiful project.

Hopefully I can spend an hour preparing some kind of applique today...I have nothing ready, which is so unusual for me!

Check out Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching post today for a peek at what other hand-stitchers are up to today!

I had another picture I thought of sharing, but have decided it's a bit too graphic. I went to watch my oldest two play in a hockey tournament yesterday. I haven`t seen them play in a few years, so it was enjoyable and brought back memories of my "hockey mom" days.

I remarked during the game that it was disturbing to see them all out there with no face-masks or neck guards, which all these young men would have grown up being used to wearing. I also commented that I bet they all had there "cups" on.........aren't eyes, necks and faces just as valuable as the nether-parts????? Oh, well...just a mom's point-of-view!

Of course, now that I said that, doesn't #2 son get cross-checked across the mouth/chin!!! Down he went on his hands and knees for a few minutes and when he stood up I was sure he must have a brokenn nose. Nope! One tooth and another half  tooth broken off and stitches required across the chin. He was thoughtful enough to send me a pic from the emergency room.

I think I'll stick to watching the little ones play their sports.

Have a lovely day!

mmmmm...meatballs!

We had yet another successful Pinterest meal last night. It is called Chicken Meatballs in a Cream Sauce and can be found HERE. The nice part of the "cream" sauce is that I substituted the sour cream with greek yogurt as the recipe suggested could be done and you'd never know the difference!

 I have to say that lately anytime I need sour cream I've been using greek yogurt without a problem. The recipe turned out fantastic...the only thing we did was add a bit of Chicken Bisto since our sauce didn't thicken up quite enough.

In the end, yummy results....will definitely make this one again!!!













It's a quiet Saturday....nothing urgent needs doing. This weekend my two oldest are in a hockey tournament nearby and since it's been a long time since I've seen them play, I think I'll take in a game this afternoon.

I've also been poking around in the sewing room. I have decided that this is the week to tackle what is probably my oldest UFO.

In February 2004 I attended a small quilt display at a church in Jarvis. An antique quilt caught my eye and I was dazzled by it. Funny thing was that that Spring I bought an issue of a quilt magazine and there was a version of the same quilt, called Sunburst!

I got right at it and hand-pieced the nine Sunburst blocks very quickly. They went together beautifully! Then.....nothing! Who knows why I couldn't get the setting blocks done and get the quilt together. It has sat on the shelf  all these years....just occasionally having a look and promising myself that it would be done "one day"!

Well, for the second year, I've had this project on my guild's UFO competition. Didn't even look at it last year.

When I booked to go on retreat in January, I was determined that this project was coming along with me. I have to say, I did pretty good....the nine-patches pretty-well got done! 

Today is the day to get the components up onto the design wall with full intentions of sewing it together this week....and here is how it looks ....

The beige is actually the design wall. White background fabrics will go in-between the nine-patches.

Within the week I'll post a picture of the top....all done!!!

What's the Word of the Day????

Spring!





Today we welcome Spring....those words just bring a smile to my face!


I like many colours for many different reasons, but I think my favourite is the green colour of  Weeping Willows as the leaves first start to come out. To me, the fresh, pretty colour is the epitome of the feeling of Spring.

There's also the sight of  cherry trees in bloom. So pretty! Cherry trees are very sentimental for my family for many reasons/memories. I have missed our trees that died in 2008. Last year Iain bought me two new trees to plant in our backyard. I posted this picture lately of the snow covering half the height of one of trees...

We'll soon see if the trees "took".....I hope so! Maybe we'll see some pretty little blossoms soon!

It was quite a day yesterday....I think I came close to breaking a finger on each hand....luckily just bruised. I also had coffee with a new friend and got to know her a bit better. I bought myself a pretty piece of jewelry just because you just have to do it sometimes, right??  And, seeing the "empty nest" in the near future, doesn't life throw a curveball and land one of my birds back home. Although, as my children know, they will always have an open door here. It just hurts to have one of your own in turmoil....but we all know that.

Another milestone yesterday was this...

My last circle to applique! All the blocks are now done and ready to trim. I'm kinda excited and wish I could just have at it today! A lot of times it takes a bit of agonizing on how to quilt a quilt....but this one has been speaking to me for a while and I'm looking forward to getting it on the longarm....hopefully in May. I'd like to have it done and added to the repertoire for my next "trunk" show!

With this morning's coffee, I worked a bit on some Urban Owl blocks....

Have a great day....and take time to do the "happy dance" for Spring!!!

Funky Cats

Yesterday Cooper found a place to curl up while I was working away at the longarm. I keep this little chair handy for when wee ones pop in for a visit.....

I was working on a cute quilt with a cat theme. These kaleidoscope blocks are constructed with pre-cut pieces from a website called Avalon Bloom.

Here is the quilt....

.....and here are a few of the blocks...

I don't know if you can see....but I had the perfect "cat" quilting design!



I've always thought it would be a nice idea to have a couple of  baby quilts made up and on hand for last-minute gifts. Well, I'm thinking I may order a couple of these kits for that purpose. I've quilted a few of these up in the past and they always seem to work up so nice!

Have a great day!

Cooper's first spa day!

I dropped Cooper off in Hagersville at Country Paws today for his first experience at the groomer's. I was so nervous for him! I thought he would be so nervous in a strange place. Meanwhile, when I picked him up they commented on what a brave pup he was, so at ease with the process and the other dogs. Yay! He looks awesome....but is totally pooped out from the experience....he's been fast asleep since we got home!

It's so hard to know what to feed a pet. I like to use a good quality food. At Country Paws they explained that they believe Cooper has a food allergy. There are so many opinions out there on what makes a good dog food...between the pet store, groomer and vet, who know what is best!!?

Here's a picture of my lovely Cooper after his outing today...

We had a lovely day on Sunday witnessing the christening of my grandson. So many people came to watch the service and eat lots of good food afterwards.....a good time had by all! There were so many comments on how gorgeous my little man is....all I can say is it's no surprise, Croley's make good looking babies! lol.....maybe a little biased, but Grandma's are allowed!!!

Today I finished working on a small wall-hanging for Lana at Quilt Junction in Waterford. Lana asked that I keep it simple, and I have to say that that's what suited this quilt best!

It's a pattern called "Cold Winter's Night", measuring 34x50,  by a Canadian designer, Susan J. Jensen of Quilted Escapes. It is done in Northcott fabrics and is being sold as a kit at Quilt Junction.

Have a great day!

Friday the 13th

Well, it's a better forecast today than last month's Friday the 13th. I think there will be a few more bikers making the trip to Port Dover than in February. I think the only other one this year is November, so not a great year for the enthusiasts.

I started my day working on my "Circles"...

I only have about ten more of these to do and then the quilt can be assembled. It's funny, when I have a custom quilt to work on, it can take days for the quilt to "talk" to me....but as I come to the end of this project ideas are swirling around in my head and I can't wait to be quilting it! I'd like to have it done for June. I am doing a trunk show in June and it would be exciting to have a new piece to share.

I tried to get a nice picture of Cooper this morning to share and while I was I found that he had borrowed one of my completed Circle blocks and hid it under the hassock.I'm so glad I found it before he "loved" it some more!!!

I'll take another picture of him Monday after his first visit to the groomer. I don't think he'll get much of a haircut, I just want him to get used to the idea of going. He did go to the vet this week and was weighed in at a whopping 4.6 pounds!

Well, off to the longarm for me...I hope to be done work by lunchtime today so we can go shopping for bathroom tile. Yup, we've decided to do the bathroom! Time to ditch the old avocado green tub that I can never quite get to looking clean....yay!!!  I knew it would have to be done "one day", and that day has come.

Have a great day!

Urban Owls Update

One more day closer to Spring.....love it!

Today with my morning coffee, I decided to get a bit caught up on my Urban Owls BOM. I recently pieced 6 blocks and they all need circles appliqued to the centres of the blocks.

I have three of them done (upper right of photo) and perhaps tomorrow morning I'll do the other three (lower left). As I put the quilt up on the design wall, I realized I haven't sewn a narrow border on after the flying geese....something to catch up on later today possibly.

I also still haven't gotten around to appliqueing some bumble-bees to the original middle block. Looking good so far, though, nice and colourful and also a bit bigger than I imagined!

Then next block in this project is an interesting-looking one, I don't think I've seen it before....Queen of the May. Here's a picture of a picture of the block (I haven't done it yet)..

The pattern says it's a popular block....I guess in Australia where this pattern originates? Maybe other people are familiar with this block, but it's new to me and I'm looking forward to it. Two of these blocks are needed for the quilt and there are acrylic templates to use in the construction. 

Yesterday I had fun quilting this lovely, peaceful-looking quilt. It was done by quilting flowing, breezy lines in the sky section and watery lines in the lake. Very nice quilt to work on, and made me dream of the weeks to come when I can enjoy my backyard again!

Have a great day!

Let the melt-down begin!

Last summer we planted two new cherry trees. I think they've been buried in snow up to 2/3rd's of their height, I hope they've survived the winter. Here's how one of them looks as of Saturday....this will be my measuring stick to the upcoming melting of the snow!

As usual, I'm starting my day with a little handwork. I think I will be taking it easy today....I've been denying for a couple of days that I was coming down with whatever it is Iain has had, but today I have to admit I'm definitely ill. So maybe I have an excuse to sit and enjoy my applique or embroidery.

This little block is almost done. It's from my Life is Beautiful project. I'm liking that by the time the piece is complete, the inspirational message really sinks in. I'm also loving the use of the variegated floss. This also happens to be the project that Kathy is working on on her blog, Kathy's Quilts.

Check out Kathy's blog today so you can see what other people are stitching on on this first day of Daylight Savings (yay!).

Spring is definitely on the way....I can feel the yearning to be able to enjoy my backyard in the evenings!

Have a great day!

Every quilt finds a home...

There are some people who make a quilt when the need arises. There are some who make quilts just for the sake of it and know that someday that quilt will find it's true purpose.

I am of the second ilk. I don't know how many times a quilt has turned out to be perfect for something that just "comes up". A while ago I made a quilt top from a Nancy Rink design. I'm pretty sure I ordered her hand-dyed fabrics to do it with, as well. I'm sure this was more that seven years ago, maybe as much as ten.

I finished the top.....the it just hung in the closet. I don't know why I never quilted it...no idea.

A few months ago, my local church group approached me and asked if I could make them a quilt to help raise money. I said "no"...I really didn't even have time to do my own piecing!....but I did tell them that I had a few tops hanging in the closet and would be glad to quilt one of those up for them! They agreed, and today I delivered the quilt to them and they were quite pleased!

So this is an example of a quilt finally finding it's true purpose....it took a while, but it was perfect for the situation and that makes me very happy. I truly wanted this to be an out and out donation, but the ladies were insistent that I take something....so I agreed to accepting enough to treat three of us to lunch at Twisted Lemon on Saturday. I'll make a reservation but have a sneaky feeling I will have to cancel....there's a bit of bug going around the house :(

This morning I changed things up and started my morning with a bit of embroidery on my Life is Beautiful quilt. My stitches aren't quite what they used to be but it's all about the journey!

Coming in like a lion?

Well, it's March (yay!) and it seems it will come in with a storm today. That's what they're saying anyway. The weatherman is calling for snow, ice pellets and freezing rain....sounds like a day to hunker down and hide away in the sewing room!

The only problem with that is that I have a guild meeting this afternoon, and I was really looking forward to going. I'm making a nice Greek orzo salad right now to take for my lunch. Oh well, I'll make a choice in a couple of hours whether to venture out or not.

I also had a guild meeting last night in Hagersville. One of our members did a great presentation on the uses of a couple of rulers. One of them was the Creative Grid Pineapple Ruler which you can see HERE. She did a great tutorial and by the reaction of the crowd, I'd say we were all impressed and wanting to try this method in the future.

She also showed us a way to make a "microwave fabric bowl". This was an easy but ingenious idea of making a bowl from fabric and batting to hold a bowl of food in the microwave. When the food is cooked/warmed you hold onto the fabric to remove from the microwave, thus avoiding touching the hot bowl/food. Love it....and will try it!!!

Actually, I've just googled fabric bowls and come across this on youtube...HERE. I haven't watched the whole thing but it looks similar to what we were shown last night. I wish now I'd taken a picture of LM's bowls last night!

I had a client pick up a quilt yesterday. It was fun to quilt since I got to use a new-to-me panto design that I hadn't tried yet called "Gecko" by Willow Leaf Design.

Here's a picture of part of the front of the quilt. I'm sure that the picture doesn't show the quilting, but you can see how her choices of fabric really went with the gecko theme!

Lovely shades of tan and blue! Here's a close-up of the back and hopefully you can see the gecko design. I like how it turned out and the stitching-path of the geckos.

Well, I don't think that shows up at all! I think my next goal will be to learn to take better pictures for blog purposes!.....and to remember to take pictures, period!....lol

Have a great day....and stay safe!