Much happiness!

Sunday again....time for a bit of slow stitching.

First I have to share something I discovered only because Fall is here....I was walking past my young Catalpa and spotted a perfect teeny nest. For some reason it made me smile, maybe because, little did we know it all summer, but a little family was nesting in our little tree.

So, I've been finishing up the first border of my Flower Garden quilt. Here is a picture of the pattern.....

It doesn't really give instructions on the preferred method on doing the six-pointed stars, but I figured English Paper Piecing was the way to go. I haven't done any English Paper Piecing in a few years, even with the hexie-craze that's been going on the last couple of years!

I have actually made a quilt using EPP many years ago in my past as a hockey/baseball mom. You can get a lot of handwork done during practices and the half hour before game time!!!

I find it very satisfying doing this and with the results.

Here is one of the two stars, front and back....

So pretty!

Then appliqued onto the border....

....and the other.....

I had considered removing the paper before appliquing them on, but opted for doing the applique, then snipping out the background behind the stars....

 ....and with the paper removed....

....and, voila!, the top border of Flower Garden in all it's glory!!!

I just love it!!!

Now for the next three borders, lol.

One of my precious quilting friends offered to do us a favour at our wedding this summer. She greeted the guests and had them sign signature blocks that she had pieced. It was a hit! I just got them back this week and will plan to make them into a quilt on my Christmas holidays.

Here are a few....

I was looking at them with fond memories of all who helped us celebrate our marriage, when I came across this block...

What the heck??!! Was it a family member writing something in some kind of mathematical code???

When my husband got home, I showed him and it had him stymied, as well.....for about five minutes.

Then he had a brainstorm that it may be Korean since we had Korean friends attend the wedding. We googled Korean language, and there it was! Brilliant!

I just saw my friend yesterday and was able to ask her the words and she told me, " Much Happiness". So sweet!

Have a visit with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts to see what others are stitching on today!

Have a great day and much happiness!

Killer Curves

Yesterday I had the opportunity to be in a class taught by Ruth Kennedy from Fergus, Ontario.

She taught last year at the Haldimand Quilters' Guild last year but I was unable to go that day, so I was so happy when she spoke again at the Norfolk County Quilters' Guild and set up the same workshop!

Ruth has developed a technique called Curved Piecing. You would think the work is applique, but it is not.

Here is the block I completed in the class.....

Ruth was very generous and concise in her teaching. We learned a lot of valuable information from this workshop. Most of us had not had experience with using invisible thread in our machines, so Ruth made sure we all had one-on-one attention in making sure we had our stitch just right!

She also made sure that this pattern had what she called a "killer curve" so in future projects we can go forward with confidence!

I think I'll piece four more blocks to get a tablerunner made, like this one of Ruth's.....

Here is a picture of Ruth Kennedy holding up another creation....

She had many pieces to demonstrate how she has used this technique. Ruth is thrilled to have been asked to be a teacher at Quilt Canada 2016. If I remember rightly, I think this piece in the picture will be what will be taught in that class. So any of you going to Quilt Canada next year, I recommend this class....Ruth made it all so do-able!

And, of course, there was a lot of fun and laughter,......and homemade brownies!

Have a great day!

Where did Summer go???

 I swear it feels like we were enjoying lovely Summer weather just a couple of weeks ago!.....and, yet, I drove thru' two snow flurries yesterday!

I guess that's Canada, lol, and the different seasons are one of the reasons I love it....but I could have done with a bit more Summer.

Enough about that!!

Another thing to be glad about being Canadian is our right to vote....                                                           

After such a long campaign, I think it will be an interesting day tomorrow!

I wanted to make it up to Waterloo yesterday for their quilt show.....but I had plans that were awesome!

I was asked to join a group of women that enjoy a weekend cottage retreat together regularly. They invited me to share some of what I know about hand-applique. I had a great assistant in my friend, Terry, and we had such a fun day. So much fun that I forgot to ask the women if I could take a couple of pictures :(

I'll have to remember six months down the road to ask if any of them have stuck with this peaceful hobby! I think I'll guess 4 out of the 6 of them, that would make for a successful class, I think.

Today I have to finish up a quilt that will be heading off to Houston this week. Hopefully three hours will do it, then I can enjoy the rest of the weekend with perhaps a trip to Waterford for their Pumpkinfest. I've never been....and honestly don't really think it will happen today, but we'll see.

Of course, I started my day with a little bit of stitching. This morning I was determined to change-up the flower in my Auntie Green's Garden that has bothered me. Not fun, really, having to go back and make a change, but I feel better now.

Here it was before....

....and after.....

Actually, seeing the pictures now, the original wasn't so bad maybe, but it's done now....no more changes!

Have a visit with Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts to see what others are hand-stitching today!

Have a great day!

Everyone loves a mystery....

Everyone loves a mystery! Well, almost everyone.

I'm referring to mystery quilts. I have taken part in many and have had a good time. Some in a workshop format and others online.

I do know there are many of you that don't like a mystery....that giving up on knowledge of what the outcome of the project will be.....and that's ok!

Many of my mystery quilts have been thanks to Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville. Her mysteries always begin at the American Thanksgiving (so around the third week in November) and continue with weekly clues til the end of the year. So, soon she should be revealing the colours and approximate yardage needed this year.

Her quilts are quite awesome, but, be forewarned, they involve a lot of piecing in each segment. On the other hand, the instructions are very well-written and the quilts go together beautifully!

Here is mine from last year.....

No borders yet :(

I have to admit, it is hard for me to keep up sometimes since this always happens at my busiest time of year, what with customer quilts needing done for Christmas and Christmas itself.

This week I told myself that I will not start the next mystery unless I get this last one done. Well, that's not going to happen in time, I just know it!

In the midst of thinking this over, don't I see a post about another mystery starting soon! This one seems more achievable....maybe!

Check out this blogpost by Temecula Quilt Company HERE. It seems she does a mini mystery over the first twelve days of December. I'm in!!! All of a sudden I feel better about letting myself off the hook for the Quiltville mystery! (Famous last words!)

I hope others will try this little mystery with me. Although, a word of warning, by the sounds of it these will be teeny blocks, which definitely does not mean easier!

I'm looking forward to the weekend.....I have been invited to teach an applique class to a group of women who are on their regular cottage retreat. Fun! The only glitch at this point is the possibility of snow!!! What the heck????? I sure hope this cottage is heated! lol

Have a great day!

Creative Choices

Well, I'm dragging my self around here this morning to start the day. The pups and I made a midnight trip to the airport to pick up my DH from his weekend getaway. I'm glad that I have a pretty easy day of it today. I'll pick up my quilts from the Fairgrounds and continue on to a guild meeting. I'm looking forward to sitting back and enjoying the afternoon!

One thing I do like to do at the beginning of the week is organize in my mind the quilts that will face the longarm that upcoming week.

This week one of the quilts in the queue is a Blooming Nine-patch made by a friend of mine.....

Hmmm, fuzzy picture, but maybe you can see that a lot of beautiful batiks were chosen for this quilt. Batiks are not something I generally work with, but I can appreciate them!

It's beautiful as a batik quilt, with many different batiks giving a great effect to the design.

But then, in the midst of all these batiks, is this groovy fabric.....

Wow! That fabric choice, in my opinion, just makes the quilt sing! I think most of us wouldn't have even considered that fabric to work well with the batiks....I don't think it would have occurred to me, at least.

That one fabric takes the quilt to the next level. Most of us quilters are ones to follow the pattern, buy fabrics that "go" together and are pleased with a nice outcome. Then you get the person that just has that extra "tweak" in their creativity. These are the fibre artists!

I'd like to know the process of introducing that fabric into the quilt.

Was it the first choice, and all the batiks were picked to co-ordinate?

Was it a happy accident of a fabric just being nearby in the choosing process?....an "ah-ha" moment? But if that's the case, I think it still takes a creative mind to recognize the happy accident and go for it!

Hopefully this artist will chime in in the comment section and let us know how this rebel fabric came to be included.

Have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

When I look on this past year to what I am thankful for I have to say I'm still overwhelmed at the generous spirit of my friends and family and how they were hugely instrumental by the sharing of their many talents on helping us host the most wonderful wedding day.

I'm looking forward to a nice dinner today. I'm still uncertain on who will be here or not....the number seems to change by the hour! For some reason, I'm wanting a delicious homemade apple pie. I haven't made one in a few years, and, after many years of trying to master pie-crust (why was it so hard???!!!), I do think I do a fairly decent job of apple pie. Why, then, have I had the idea of changing it up and baking the "best apple pie EVER"? Well, at least that's what this Pinterest recipe claims! Gotta love Pinterest. We'll see how it turns out!

I've had a bit of time to sew this weekend and spent some time on a Christmas present. This quilt is made using the Quick Curve Ruler by the people at Sew Kind of Wonderful. I've never used this ruler/technique before and was a bit nervous, but it's going well! I'm at the part where I'm squaring up the blocks and still wondering if they will sew together nicely. Here are a few blocks up on the design wall....

The pups woke me up early this morning and I feel like I'm dragging a bit, but I put the extra time to good use by working on the binding of a quilt that will be shipped off to Scotland this week.

  After 35 years of quilting, this is the first "t-shirt" quilt I have made. It's actually made of baby clothes and will be Sofia's first big-girl quilt! I've always heard that clothing made in the UK is of high quality, and you can really feel it in these wee baby clothes! We bought the setting fabrics at Quilt Junction in Waterford and it looks adorable. I wish I was going to be there when they open up the quilt in Fochabers!

Here's a picture of the early morning crew....all I needed was another hour of sleep, guys!!!

 Looks like it will be another beautiful day to take in a Fall Fair....I think the people who run these Fairs must be very happy with the weather this year....I'm sure it makes for good attendance!

Seems like a nice morning to visit with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts to see what other people are stitching this morning!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Ribbons!!!

Well!!!

I had so much fun with my Circles this past year. I purchased the pattern at QuiltCanada2014, so there is a sentiment there. I thoroughly enjoyed the applique process (big surprise, huh??? lol). And I had so much fun quilting it, using a lot of techniques I've learned the last couple of years with some world renowned quilters!

Now, to top it all off, my Circles has won at the Norfolk County Fair....First Place in it's division and also taking Grand Champion for Machine Quilting! What a glorious end to this quilt's journey!

Here it is with it's big ribbon....

....and here are a couple of close-ups while it was being quilted.....

I had three other quilts entered in the Fair this year. I thought three may have a chance at ribbons and the fourth would be iffy. Well, the iffy one actually won a prize for hand-quilted crib quilt and my Home Sweet Home didn't place at all. Lol, I always forget about Home Sweet Home but entered it since it had had such high interest in my last trunk show!

Here is the one I entered as a crib quilt, Raise the Barn Roof High. I entered it there because of the size....it was either that or "wall-hanging" and it doesn't have a sleeve so I was afraid it would get disqualified in that category. It is a small one, perfect to put on my lap while I'm appliquing in the morning!

I was a bit surprised that it had ribboned since I was trying a new quilting technique on this one. I was very happy with the technique and the results but didn't really know how the judges would like it. I guess they liked it well enough!

This is my Sunburst quilt. It also received a ribbon, which I am proud of. I hand-pieced the main blocks in this quilt over 10 years ago and just this past year I got the quilt together.....mainly because it was involved in a UFO challenge. I also used many techniques recently learned while quilting this quilt.

Earlier this week, I published a blog post trying to figure out whether or not to continue Auntie Green's Garden or bring it to an early finish.

I have something to admit. After seeing my Circles hanging there with it's beautiful ribbon, I do have a dream to do well with a hand-quilted quilt. I think Auntie Green's Garden is the one I will focus on in the next year, as I would really like to hand-quilt this one. So, some of my other many, many projects will have to be packed away for awhile so I can concentrate my early morning sessions on this quilt!

Well, I'd better be off to work...it's a short day today as I will be taking a class at Quilt Junction in Waterford later on today!

Have a great day!

Pushing myself over the hump....

It was an early start to my day today. I think the pups are having an adjustment from having stayed at my friend's kennel on the weekend. Oh well, it just means I had a couple more hours to spend at Auntie Green's Garden!

I think I'm needing a bit of encouragement.

Here is an image of what the completed quilt should look like.....






Beautiful, isn't it???

....and here is a picture of my progress so far....

So, you can see that I have a large floral border to do now. I'm pleased with the part I have started on. My goal is to have this quilt done and hand-quilted by this time next year.

 I do love the outer border, but I have to admit that this morning I started to waver. I have been working on this quilt for a while now, which is fine, but part of me would like to call it done. I'll perservere, though. Especially after seeing the picture of the finished quilt to remind me of how much I like it!

 I really am one to not want to rush a project (usually!), I do like to enjoy the "journey" as much as I like to see the finished quilt.

Ok, now that I've written this post about my doubts on this quilt, I feel better and know that I will carry on!

Have a great day, and hope to see you at the Norfolk County Fair which starts today....I'll be wandering the quilt section in case you're wondering!!! lol

Sunday stitching

We just returned from a lovely getaway to Stratford this weekend. We are a bit early returning, I think, because the weather wasn't conducive to strolling about the town. We sure had enough of the wind on Saturday!

We've never stayed in Stratford before but this weekend was our "mini-honeymoon" to take in a play and stay at the historic Parlour Inn. Here's a picture of it....so beautiful!.....

An added bonus was that it was barely a few minutes walk to the Avon Theatre, where we saw a production of She Stoops to Conquer. I had never heard of this play, even though it is a classic comedy from the 18th century.


The theatre was beautiful, the actors divine and the costumes were absolutely wonderful!!! I would definitely want to repeat this experience again another time.

I didn't bother taking any stitching with me thinking I wouldn't miss it, but I have to say I feel a little out of sorts not starting my day off with my regular routine! I will definitely, in the future, always leave home with a little project packed away!

This afternoon, after a trip to Simcoe to take my quilts to the fairgrounds, I will be taking a bit of time to catch up on my Sunday stitching that I missed this morning. Today I'll be working on my Auntie Green's Garden as I realize that if I want it to be done by this time next year for the 2016 Fair, I'd better keep at it on a regular basis.

I'm liking the little flowers that are being added this week.....

Hmmm, it looks better in person, really it does!

Have a great day, and hope to see you at the Fair!

TGIF !!

 As I write this post I can see out the front window and, man, is it ever a strong wind out there today. Whenever the wind comes in from this direction I think of it as Mary Poppins weather!

Another busy day...haven't got half the things done that I wanted to!

I did manage to get to Red Red Bobbin with a dear friend so that we could pick up this month's installment of their Block of the Month. We were hoping not to be too long, but, wouldn't you know it, they were so busy! Good for them!

I've been going over my entries to this year's County Fair. Making sure all the marks and lint are removed and tags attached.....

I wouldn't have to be so prepared except we are heading out on a min-honeymoon this weekend. We are on our way to Stratford to stay in a fancy hotel, see a wonderful play and have an exquisite dinner! We've been so looking forward to this! I've never been to the theatre in Stratford and have high hopes. Hmmm, wonder if there's a local quilt shop????

So, as we're away the quilts must be ready to be handed in right away when we get back. I can't wait to see all the quilts hanging on display at the Fair....I'm sure I'll see a lot of work by friends and acquaintances.

My only concern the next couple of days are Cooper and Minnie. I hope they don't think I've abandoned them :(    Oh well, this is something they will have to get used to from time to time, right? Still, that doesn't make me feel any better.

Hope you're having a great day!