Thread Head

Non-Sewing Week

2012-01-27T19:05:00.000-06:00

I took a break from sewing this week and enjoyed some knitting.

I have been knitting "Be Mine" socks from the book "2-at-a-time Socks" by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. The socks have a cable down the front and back that forms a string of hearts. It is fun to knit something that takes a bit of concentration. The pattern does have a lot of mistakes (the whole book is full of mistakes, something I forgot), but things went better when I downloaded the corrected pattern. Here is the link for corrections for the book if you have it.

I also started a simpler scarf. The pattern is from Ravelry - Fern Lace Scarf if you are a member, from The Craft Pixie. This is a really simple pattern that makes a beautiful design. I am using Maiden Hair yarn from Hand Maiden/Fleece Artist. It is so beautiful and soft, lovely to knit with. I am trying out my set of Addi Click interchangeable needles for the first time - they work really well. I find that knitting with circular needles is easier than with regular, straight needles. I am using size 4.5mm needles, and I cast on 84 stitches - to make the scarf wider than the pattern.

Back to sewing next week - I ordered some black thread to quilt the Granny's Hankie quilt and it came today.

A view of the bird feeder from my bedroom - sometimes they are so noisy.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Friday Night Sew In Results

2012-01-21T07:08:00.002-06:00

My Friday Night Sew In had an early start -

with Joan in Australia - Friday night there. Seeing her in her tank top made me forget how cold it is here!

I started sewing Winding Ways blocks - I cut enough for a large quilt. I am sewing the blocks together as I go. These are ~8" blocks, and I need to make 144 of them - 12 made yesterday.

I also did some knitting - heart socks in red wool!

Another wonderful FNSI - thanks Bobbi!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

EQ Block of the Month Quilt

2012-01-20T06:53:00.000-06:00

I finished the EQ BOM quilt in December, and now that it is on their blog, I can share it here.

The quilt is 35" x 41" (the blocks are 6"). I used cotton batting because I wanted the wallhanging to have an old-fashioned look.

I knew that I wanted to make an appliqué house block with the saying - Having someplace to go is home. Having someone to love is family. Having Both is a Blessing. - unknown, and thought that the EQ BOM blocks would go perfectly. The centre is 12" square

I used Aurifil #50 thread for all the quilting - lots of feathered wreaths.

Used my favourite Hera marker for marking the centre veins.

The past few days I have been cutting out the pieces for a Winding Ways quilt using the GO!, getting ready for tonights Friday Night Sew In.

It has been extremely cold here the past few days (-30C, with -40C wind chills).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Apple Core and Roses Table Runner

2012-01-17T19:38:00.000-06:00

I finished the apple core table runner (the binding took a long time to stitch down).

It is 52" x 16". It took a 20" square of fabric for the bias binding. I am so glad that I had posted a tutorial for Apple Cores, because I sure needed it for this project. You may think my tutorials are for you, but they are really for me to refer to!

Close up of the quilting - it was inspired by one of the fabrics Cotton batting, and Invisafil thread on top, Aurifil in the bobbin, with a #70 Microtex needle.

The appliqué is an original design. I do have a PDF for the appliqué pattern. If you would like a copy, you can email me (link here) and I will forward it to you. I am still working out how to post PDF's.

I used 33 Apple Cores cut with the GO!, but the appliqué design would work on anything.

I really like appliqué on a "monochromatic" pieced background. Here is another example of one I made-

This stool cover is made using a Tri-Recs ruler (there are more details here), and the quilting design is based on a design from Ivory Spring (Bird Feather Quilting Motif).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Little Pink Houses

2012-01-16T10:46:00.000-06:00

I finally accumulated enough pink fabrics (4 - I have boys) to make a Little Pink Houses quilt (the first concert my husband and I saw was John Mellencamp back in the late 80's). It is 16" square.

I designed it with EQ7. The blocks (this is the School House block) are 4" and I knew they would have to be paper pieced (foundation pieced). This is the EQ print out for it (I had moved the pieces around before printing, but they printed back in their original layout, something else to figure out on EQ!). I traced the templates onto vellum paper.

I knew that I didn't want to have to remove any paper from the back (after the string quilt), so I tried a "new to me" technique of paper piecing that my Mom showed me.
You don't sew on the paper, but fold it back before sewing,

and stitch beside it (I glued the first piece down with a bit of glue stick glue, and then added a bit more after adding a couple more pieces of fabric).

When the section is all finished you take off the lightly glued paper and you can reuse the pattern.

I have always avoided paper piecing, but with this new method I am definitely going to be trying more. New York Beauty here I come!!

I made four blocks,

and added 1" (cut 1+1/2") sashing.

Dreaded "Y" seams,

and mitred borders, more things I usually avoid.

Little quilts mean little stitches - micro stippling and mini serpentine feather border. I used Invisafil 100WT thread.

I also used wool batting because I wanted the houses to pop out. I did stitch-in-the-ditch around all the houses and border before free motion quilting.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Learning Something New

2012-01-12T20:30:00.000-06:00

I started machine quilting the table runner.

It's coming along well and I will show more of this and post a pattern when it is finished.

I used a white board to work out the quilting design - such a useful tool.

I have also been trying to figure out how to design a custom quilt with EQ7!

To enter the EQ BOM 2011 Challenge you need to send in an EQ file along with a picture of the quilt. When I made the quilt last month I couldn't figure out how to design a custom quilt and designed it the old way (paper and pencil!), not realizing I would need an EQ file. Found out this week that I do!
It is something I am definitely glad that I am learning! Did take quite a while to get to this point though!

A beautiful sunrise this morning, with such a bright sun dog.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Strings and Waffles

2012-01-08T21:48:00.000-06:00

It did create a huge mess and took quite a few hours, but

I did get all the paper of the string quilt!!! Netflix and Skypeing with friends helped.

I chose to use paper for the foundation instead of fabric because I wanted to keep the quilt light and thought that an extra layer of fabric would be too heavy. This will be a summer bed quilt for my son and I am planning on trying silk batting for it. The quilting will have to wait for a while - until there is a sale on batting.

I pressed all the centre seams in a spiral to reduce the bulk.

My next project is a table runner for someone special. I used the Apple Core die for the GO! and will add some appliqué.

I have been so pleased with the new waffle maker (Cloer form London Drugs in Canada) and thought I would share the recipe (this recipe comes from my BIL).

Norwegian Waffles

2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla (or 1/4 tsp cardamom or poudre douce)
2 cups flour
1+1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

With an immersion or hand blender mix the milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour and baking powder, when mixed add the butter. Let sit for 15-20 mins.

I cut the butter (I use less than the recipe calls for) up into small pieces and melt in the microwave until almost all melted. Then I stir it until it is all melted and put in the freezer while I prepare the rest of the batter. It is then cool and ready to be added.

You could probably replace some on the flour with whole wheat flour, although I haven't tried that yet.

This recipe does keep in the fridge for a few days. I make it the night before to speed things up in the morning - it doesn't take any more time than frozen ones in the toaster and tastes so much better. I like them best with strawberries and some maple syrup.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

12 Days of Christmas Quilt

2012-01-06T22:20:00.001-06:00

I finished the 12 Days of Christmas Mini Mystery Quilt (from the Temecula Quilt Co). Such a fun, quick project to make! I looked forward to 1:18pm every day to see what kind of block would be made with another piece.

It came out to 17" x 20". I used Civil Wars Chronicles fabric by Marcus Fabrics and wool batting.

Yes, I see the red swastika in the corner - my family wanted to know what it had to do with the 12 days of Christmas! How come I never see these things until I have attached the binding?! It would have been fine if I hadn't used two different reds for those pieces.

I free motion quilted an over all mini Baptist Fan, using Invisafil 100WT thread in the top and Aurifil 50WT thread for the bobbin, with a Microtex #80 needle.

This is the first time that I have tried a Baptist Fan.

I drew it out on a white board first to figure out how it would go. I couldn't figure out how to travel the pattern backwards and so I quilted each row individually in all the same direction - this made the quilt a bit twisted when I finished quilting (you can probably tell in the first photo that it is not "square"). I have now washed it and re-squared it - I'll see what happens when it dries.

I love the quilting design and will have to look into different ways of creating it, I think it looks nice on mini-quilts.

I have been working on taking the paper off the string quilt - watched 2 movies and Skyped with friends and only managed to remove paper from 30 of the 120 blocks!! I am sure it will all be worth it.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Sewing

2012-01-05T22:01:00.000-06:00

Thanks to every one for the kind words on the new look of my blog!

Finished up 120 string quilt blocks and it did put a dent in the stash bin!

I laid them out without much thought or planning (great/easy way to piece!).

I decided to keep the paper on the back until all the blocks were sewn together. Looking online it seems be a pretty even 50/50 split on when to take the paper off (before or after sewing the blocks together). These blocks are 7".

It was a bit like sewing a large paper bag, but all the blocks are now sewn together. I think taking the paper off is going to be the hardest part of making this quilt! Hopefully I made the right decision!!

Today was Day 12 of the Temecula Quilt Co. mystery quilt - tomorrow is the big reveal - can't wait. These are 3" blocks.

Record breaking +5C today!! Normal temperatures are -25C. The partridges were checking out all the feeders. Still 13 in the flock. Only 1 rabbit in the yard this year - the one that used to come up on the deck last winter is gone☹.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

2012 - New Year, New Look

2012-01-02T15:59:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

With the new year comes a new look.

The old quilts on the right side of the photo are ones made by a couple of great-grandmothers, a grandmother and an aunt, plus some of their photos and some of their quilting supplies (there is also a photo of my mother when she was young - she is now a quilter too, and recently gave me the Singer feather weight). The large photo is of my great-grandmother - Julienne Doucet - she is the quilter who made the appliqué quilt on the top of the pile - the photo and quilt are both from around the 1880's. The quilt in the background and the ones on the left are mine.

I have noticed that many people are talking about their plans for the new year. I think I am like so many people out there - we want to simplify, de-clutter, use what we have...

My goals are to use what I have, and to get rid of things I know I will never use. I will also be trying to accumulate less!
Last year it was spending less time on the computer and more time "doing" (plus finishing my UFO's) that worked for me. Hopefully I'll be able to say the same thing next year.

To start this year off I have joined Sew Cal Gal's Free Motion Quilting Challenge and decided to make the optional sampler quilt.

I decided to make the one that is 34" x 50", and all the fabrics are from my inherited stash.

The squares are 8". I have the binding all ready, and these are some Aurifil threads that I will use for the free motion quilting (I have already stitched in the ditch with the walking foot in all the seams - I didn't want to keep it pinned for a year).

The January challenge was by Frances Moore - it was practicing leaves.
I have quilted these kind of leaves before (here is my tutorial), but never so close together and curving around one another. I tried all different sizes to see what it would look like.

This was a fun challenge.

For this sampler quilt I used warm and natural batting (because I had a piece the right size).

I also used a Microtex #80 needle and the open toe spring action quilting foot.

I keep the feed dogs up when I quilt, but I set my machine for spring action quilting (the foot kind of "hops").

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Endless Strings

2011-12-31T17:42:00.000-06:00

I have sewn 44 - 7" string blocks and hardly made a dent in the string bin, I think the quilt may end up bigger than originally intended.

I am really pleased with how it is coming together.

These are the first 7 days of the 12 Days of Christmas (3" blocks) from the Temecula Quilt Co.

Thanks for stopping by and all the best for 2012! Happy New Year!!♥

Sewing Strings

2011-12-28T20:03:00.000-06:00

I have been sewing strings!

I never realized what fun these were to sew (now I see why so many people make them, and such a great way to use up scraps). I love piecing without much thought, very relaxing.

I started with an 8" square of paper cut from an old phone book. The 1+1/2" white strip is lightly glued with a glue stick. Four 8" blocks use 1 strip of fabric (cut the width of the fabric) with no waste.

The blocks are trimmed to 7+1/2" when all the strips are added (they will be 7" finished).

When I cut most of the strips the other day I cut them between 3/4" to 2" and later realized that I needed some wider scraps to make it easier when I came to the corners -

Luckily I had some more scraps left and found some wider ones! Yikes! I have decreased my scrap bins down to 2 from 3 though.

All kinds of fabric for these blocks - nice to see some old "friends".

I also started the "12 Days of Christmas" (a mystery mini sampler quilt) from the Temecula Quilt Co.
These are 3+1/2" squares (they will finish to 3"), today was day 4 (the four patch). Quick and easy!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Stash Busting

2011-12-24T20:39:00.000-06:00

For the past 3 days I have been cutting up fabric, trying to deplete my scraps.

I used the Rob Peter to Pay Paul die and the 3+1/2" Tumbler die for the GO!.

This is the RPTPP quilt kit. There are 128 centres (I inherited the off-white yardage, and also most of the scraps) and over 500 "melons". It should be a 70" x 84" quilt, although I might add a border.

This is the tumbler quilt kit. I am hoping that it will be a lap quilt. I will use it as another "leader & ender" project, alternating the off-white with the scrap tumblers.

I cut all the leftover pieces into 2" - 3/4" strips to make a string quilt.

My goal for next year is to use up lots of the fabric I have in my stash, having quilt kits all ready to go seemed like a good start.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Tumbler Quilt

2011-12-19T21:04:00.000-06:00

I finished a Tumbler quilt.

This is my first "leader & ender" quilt (thanks to Bonnie Hunter!). It was a quilt that got pieced without much thought - great way to make a quilt. It is 50" x 60".
I cut all the tumblers last March with the 3+1/2" GO! die and leftover fabric from the Thread Head Quilt Along quilt. I pieced 23 tumblers in a row, and this weekend I was surprised that I had sewn all the tumblers - 20 rows.

I pressed the seams in opposite directions (I have made a mug rug with tumblers and pressed the seams in one direction - ended up with intersections that were too bulky).

After I sewed the rows together I opened up the intersections and press the seams in opposite directions also,

resulting in nice flat seams.

I decided to use a meander quilt design (quilted on my domestic sewing machine). When I quilt this design I imagine sewing around pennies.

Free Motion Quilting on your DSM Tip -
If you are frustrated with attempting free motion quilting, and are using the plexiglass surround for your sewing machine, consider changing it to a larger surround (here is mine). Last week I quilted a wall hanging and thought it would be fine to just use the normal plexiglass surround. How frustrating!! The small quilt kept getting caught on the edges of the plexiglass. I realized that if I only had the plexiglass surround I would have given up on free motion quilting long ago.

I used a leftover piece of cotton batting, and had just enough of this beautiful fabric from my inherited stash for the backing. The quilt is all washed and crinkled now!
Time to cut up some more stash fabric for another leader & ender project.

Thirteen partridges under a maple tree - not a Christmas song but lots of fun to watch.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Friday Night Sew In Results

2011-12-17T14:56:00.000-06:00

I added the last border on the Granny's Hankie BOM last night.

The only change that I made from the pattern was to switch the fabric placement for the corner nine-patches (otherwise it would have looked like a four patch in the corner and I thought that it should match the sashing).

I can't believe that the quilt top is finished! It is a monster 102" square (yes, DH and DS are complaining, standing on stools behind it - what would I do without them!). Now I have to figure out how I am going to quilt it - that will wait until the new year.

I also did a bit of work on a piece of Romanian Point Lace. This is my own creation, and I will post the pattern once I have finished it.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Pattern and Copyright

2011-12-16T14:23:00.002-06:00

I finished knitting another hat.

I used 2 strands of wool for this hat (and for the first time ever made up my own knitting pattern - to get the right size for my large head!)
If you would like the pattern I have posted it on Ravelry and (fingers crossed!) here is a link to a PDF for the pattern -

Seed Band and Button Hat

I really made the hat to go with this beautiful button I bought at the Victoria Beach Quilt Show last summer. It is made by a local, talented artist - Pat (blog - fishwifetales) in polymer clay.

Even the back of the button is beautiful.

The following is a short rant (I could, and have had lots to say on the subject)!
I planned that this would be my first pattern on Ravelry, but someone took that privilege from me and put one of my other patterns on Ravelry, and even lifted a picture from my blog without my permission (something not usually approved on Ravelry). I had to write in and have my pattern linked to me on Ravelry. I don't have a problem with my patterns or pictures being used elsewhere, they are, but people have always asked permission. We all work hard and take great pride in what we create - common courtesy goes a long way!
Whew! That feels good to get it off my chest! Thanks for listening!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Finishing Some BOM

2011-12-15T21:56:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that almost a year has gone by on some blocks of the month I started in January! It seems like yesterday.

This one is the EQ 2011 BOM. I can't show you the whole thing just yet, but it is all finished. It is a 35" x 41" wallhanging. The blocks are 6" each, and were fast and easy to make.

I am adding the final borders to the Granny's Hankie BOM. I will finish the borders up tomorrow at the Friday Night Sew In. It is going to be such a large quilt, the blocks are 16". The appliqué blocks were lots of fun to make, and I am so pleased with how the whole quilt is turning out.

BOM's are such a fabulous way to make a quilt (I am thinking of designing one for the new year).

Yesterday I made two pillow cases for my sons, as stocking stuffers for Christmas (Shhh!) - I am sure pillow cases are what all young men want!! I attended a demonstration at the Victoria Beach Quilt Show this summer on how to make "Sausage/Tube" pillow cases - it seemed like a wonderful idea that I had to try it. It took me less than an hour to make these two. Here is a great tutorial for them I found on You Tube.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Rag Quilt

2011-12-12T20:07:00.001-06:00

I set aside last weekend to finish up the Granny's Hankie quilt top, the last instructions for the BOM were supposed to come out on Saturday and I am waiting to use the leftover fabric for some Christmas presents. Saturday morning I was disappointed to learn that the instructions are being postponed.

So I got out my GO! and the 8.5" square rag die,

and the flannel that I received from Marcus fabrics (fabric I was given because of some fat quarters that I purchased were too small),

and in no time at all I had cut all the fabric up.

I used a rotary cutter to cut the wool batting into 6.5" squares.

I had about 9 yards (I am guessing - I should have measured it before cutting) of 11 different fabrics from the Woodwinds line of fabric and the wool batting was leftover pieces.

I sewed two squares with the batting together by stitching an "X" through all the layers. I used a wavy embroidery stitch on my sewing machine to do this. All the stitching was done with a walking foot.

When I stitched the rows together I opened up the seams and moved the fringe out of the way the best that I could. I thought that sewing the blocks would be difficult with the pre-cut fringe but it all went together very well, just a few times the fringe was caught in the seam allowance.

This is when I had finished sewing the blocks together before washing.

After washing and drying the fringe has "bloomed". I had to empty the lint filter on the dryer quite often (I am surprised that there is a quilt left). It is 63" x 43".

This sure was a fast quilt to make and so easy (not one pin was needed!). I would definitely make a smaller version when I need to make a baby quilt. I have never made a rag quilt before, but I hear that cutting the fringe is the hardest part - the GO! sure made it all a snap!
It was very messy to sew - very linty (hard on the allergies), so I had a good reason to give my sewing room a good cleaning today.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Friday Night Sew In Results

2011-12-10T13:57:00.001-06:00

Last night I got an early start and finished up fixing flying geese blocks,

and got them sewn together and attached to a wall hanging I am making (it's a secret so I can't show much).

It is now all ready for machine quilting.

I also got the pieces ready for this month's Hop to It BOM -

This morning I sewed all the pieces down (machine applique).

Half way finished all the blocks now -

they are 12" blocks

Another productive Friday Night Sew In. The next one is set for Friday, December 16th.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Avoiding Unpicking!

2011-12-07T20:49:00.001-06:00

I have 76 Flying Geese blocks to unpick and remake (I should have double checked my measurements for the fast flying geese), but I seem to be finding other things do to instead!

I have been making more braid for a piece of Romanian Point Lace.

I started another hat. The last one was too thin and so I am making my own version with two strands of wool. Hopefully it will fit.

I decorated the house for Christmas.

My computer is going back in the shop tomorrow, so I should have no excuse to avoid unpicking those flying geese.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Catch Up

2011-12-03T19:25:00.001-06:00

My new computer has been in the shop for a week (hopefully all the problems are fixed!), so this is a long post - amazing what can get done when I don't spend time on the computer!!

I finished off the Dresden Plate quilt last Sunday (it is in my guest bedroom).
The quilt is 95" square. The fabric is Boutique by Chez Moi (for Moda) with Kona ivory solid for the background. I used Hobbs Tuscany Wool batting. The thread is Aurifil 50WT (in pink and ivory).

I had left lots of room for quilting. It is the first time I have quilted so much on a quilt, and with a plain background. The DP's are about 11" and the blocks are 14".
I free motioned feathered wreathes between the Dresden Plates. They are echoed and the centres have pebbling (like the dots in the fabric centres of the DP's). The Dresden Plates are quilted in the ditch around them and the centres. I also quilted a loose flower/feathered wreath over the DP's. There is my form of McTavishing (great link with video) in the background.

I did a serpentine feather border around all the DP's and then perpendicular parallel lines to the border.

The 2" squares in the border have a continuous line quilted on every side (I found it really hard not quilt more that the recommended 1/4" away from the seams at the centre - but got lots of practice).

The outer most line I quilted after I had attached the binding (thanks for the tip Wendy), so that the quilting would look even.

The only marking I did on this quilt was the lines for the feathered wreathes (using various size lids and a Hera marker - just leaves an indentation in the fabric), plus I also marked the centre of the serpentine feather border

It is all quilted on my home sewing machine (Husqvarna 870 Quilt). I like to bunch the quilt when I quilt. It was a real pleasure to quilt.

I usually vacuum out my machine after I finish a big project - for this one I did it twice. It always amazes me how much lint accumulates.

I worked on some blocks of the month too -

The November Hop to It one (machine appliqué).
For December Hop to It BOM Joan picked block #2.

The December EQ BOM.

Now that all the blocks are finished I am working on the final project (we are not given instructions for that and have to create something on our own).

These are the borders for the Granny's Hankie BOM (Novembers instructions). They went together so well, the instructions are wonderful.

I did change the pattern slightly -

The pattern called for 4 1/2" squares (mine are black) for the corner blocks, but I didn't like the results, plus it was different from the picture.

So I changed them to 5 1/2" squares, now it looks like it is supposed to.

I finished knitting a hat,

and started on a piece of Romanian Point Lace (the pattern is one I designed).

Finally!! this last picture shows all three quilts that are on the guest bed now! My first large quilt that I quilted on my sewing machine (Spanish Steps), the first large quilt I hand quilted (Orphan Block), and my last quilt that I machine quilted.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Dresden Plate Quilting

2011-11-24T18:47:00.001-06:00

It has been a busy week (3 days of volunteering). I am hoping to finish machine quilting the Dresden Plate quilt on Saturday.

There are 12 feathered wreathes all quilted and

the scalloped edge around the Dresden Plates. I wanted a really classic style of feathers for this quilt (I'll go into more details on how when I finish the quilt).

I am working on the background filler now (not such a classic style - for contrast).

I am using wool batting for this quilt. I bought it at the LQS for $75 for a King size, and purchased this King size package from Hamel's for $57 when they had free shipping last week (plus I saved a tax). I know where I will be buying batting from in the future.

The book I won from Wendy at Inky Threads came this week. She is having another great book giveaway until the 30th of November.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Friday Night Sew In Results

2011-11-19T13:39:00.001-06:00

My Friday Night Sew In started at 8.30 yesterday morning.

After I drove my youngest to school, I Skype'd with Joan (Joan at Leschenault) in Australia - so her (late) Friday night.
I got the freezer paper all traced and cut out for this month's Hop To It appliqué block, and Joan worked on her Granny's Hankie BOM block.

In the afternoon I started quilting the Dresden Plate quilt.

After free motion quilting around the centres, I quilted a feather style flower in a peach Aurifil 50 WT thread on the DP's.

All 25 DP's are now quilted, and I have started working on the background.

I also finished the socks I have been knitting.

They have such a pretty top. The pattern is "Traveler's Stocking" from the "Knitting on the Road" book by Nancy Bush. I made them with a kidmohair blend yarn from L'Angelaine - lovely and soft.

I started knitting a hat last night. The pattern is from Ravelry - a wonderful site. The pattern is Button-Tab Knit Hat and it is one of the free patterns.

Great Friday Night Sew In - thanks Heidi!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

New Shelves and New Look

2011-11-17T19:48:00.001-06:00

Not much sewing these past few days. My husband made me a book shelf to replace a "not so nice" cupboard in my sewing area. It was my job to stain and finish it - all done -

Yesterday I spent some time clearing out things in my sewing area (still have to go through bins of fabric in the storage room - but that is for another day and a whole other messy story!).

I even found a spot for my Quilt Along quilt on top of the shelves (it's too big for any of our beds).

I am really pleased with the new shelves, they have given my area a whole new look.

We had the wood in the garage for a few years now, so it was good to use it up, although now that I know what DH can build I have a few other projects I would like him to make!

On the table in the photo above is my Dresden Plate quilt - I pinned all the layers together yesterday, I plan on starting the quilting at tomorrow night's Friday Night Sew In.

The grey partridges where at bird feeder this morning. They are all so round. Lots of fun to watch, especially when they start running (I can't help but think of "The Partridge Family" intro from the 70's).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Three More Art Quilts

2011-11-13T18:49:00.001-06:00

I worked on three more art quilts this weekend.

They all have fabric painting on them, and are all about 8" x 10".

This one is one of the butterflies that I stamped on white fabric that I painted the background of first. I tried some thread painting (through all the quilt layers).

For this butterfly I traced around the stamp so that it would be the same size as the painted one.

I tried out some Metallic thread by Wonderfil. It worked very well (I tried both free motion and walking foot quilting). I found that it worked better with an Embroidery needle (#90) than with a Metallic needle (#80), and I sewed slower than I normally do.
Diane Gaudynski recently mentioned that when sewing with metallic thread the stitch length should be longer than normal to show off the shine of the thread (not a direct quote) and you can tell the difference.

This is the other painted butterfly with strips of fabric added log cabin style. I stitched on the butterfly with Invisafil thread by Wonderfil, and added some accents with the metallic thread. I also added some beads to both of the butterfly mini quilts.

I did some decorative stitching on the seams (all the stitching was done through all the layers) with Sulky Blendables 30 WT thread. It is such a beautiful thread, it has random colour changes and is perfect for machine embroidery and free motion quilting (it is a heavier thread and I like it for a simple all over quilting design).

This one is similar to the one I made last week.

I couched down different types of thread and yarn. I used Invisafil thread for most of the couching, but also the Metallic and Iris (the one with the decorative stitching) thread for a couple. The fabric has a heavy stabilizer added before couching.

More circles for the quilting (in Metallic, Iris and Aurifil).

I plan on making three more ini quilts (I will then have 10) before I send them all off to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Machine Quilting

2011-11-11T21:27:00.001-06:00

I machine quilted a table runner that my Mom made -

the pattern is Cabin in the Woods.

I did an all over leaf and loop design with variegated Aurifil 50WT thread.

My practice on the white board before I got started.

Here is another art quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (I hand stitched the binding down this morning while Skype-ing with Wendy and Joan - amazing world).
This one is 8" x 10". I painted the square, couched thread on it, pieced it and quilted it. I used Aurifil 50 WT red thread and the gold thread is a thicker rayon thread (Iris thread from Mexico).

I tried out a Frixion pen - it wrote beautifully on the fabric (I used a Staedtler circle template to mark the circle - thanks for the tip Wendy),

but when I ironed the quilt to get the lines out, you could still see a faint white line. I even tried water, and the eraser on the pen to try to remove the lines. I wouldn't use this pen on an heirloom quilt. It probably didn't help that the fabric is dark.

I finally got around to making this month's EQ BOM - November Novelty, just one month to go.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Playing with Fabric Paint

2011-11-09T21:29:00.000-06:00

Today I was playing with fabric paints.

For these ones I used watercolour paints (my children's old school paint) with textile medium on wet fabric. For each one I only used two different colours, but as they sat drying, different colours appeared. I heat set them. The butterflies are stamped with fabric paint after.

This one is painted with fabric paint on dry fabric.

I then couched embroidery threads down (with a special sewing machine foot) using different types of sewing threads, and zig-zag or decorative stitches. It is the first time that I have used this foot and it worked very well.

All ready for quilting. This will be a quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Finished Art Quilts

2011-11-07T21:44:00.001-06:00

I finished up the three art quilts I made for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (Michele has a great little video and pictures on her blog of the AAQI booth at the Houston quilt festival this year - they sold over 1000 art quilts this year!)

This is the one from yesterday.

This one has a picture that was made with Photoshop Elements (I copied a postcard from my Grandmother from the early 1900's and added some other photos) and printed it on fabric. I free motion quilted "Love" on the side - first try at writing in FMQ. It is 8" x 10+1/2"

This one is my favourite - I love the colours and I had so much fun with the free motion quilting. I used Invisafil thread for most of it and

I tried some rayon thread as an accent (this one is by Gutermann). I think I will be buying more rayon thread!
This little quilt is 8" x 10".

I finished stitching the binding this afternoon and I thought the spools of Aurifil thread were so beautiful - such pretty colours.

I have really enjoyed making these quilts and will be making more - they are a great way to try new techniques and are so quick to make (they have to be no larger than 9" x 12"). Great way to use up little leftovers too.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Art Quilts

2011-11-06T21:52:00.002-06:00

I am trying my hand at some art quilts.

My friend Wendy (at Inky Threads - she has a giveaway going on until the 10th of November) kindly gave me some fabric (haven't used it yet, but I will) and batting to make some mini quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. These are my first three.

I tried a couple with photo's that I created using Photoshop Elements. This one is made up of many layers - a sunrise from last week, a tree with the blue sky - the image of the tree has been removed from the picture, that is why there are those blobs, and the faint mottling is a picture of the bark of the tree. Plus I added an picture of some old keys that I have. I printed the photos on fabric with freezer paper, using my regular printer (the fabric is soft and pliable, better that iron on transfers, but not as bright).

This one is 11" x 8+1/2".

I tried some Laserbrite thread by Signature for the first time (I used a large metallic needle). I only tired it with the walking foot on my machine not free motion quilting - it seems hard on the sewing machine (lots of odd noises - I should have reduced the upper tension).

I used a french curve and a Hera marker to mark the veins for for the feathers. I find that the Hera marker works better when it has a guide to run against, the fabric doesn't "drag".

I used a white board and dry erase marker to try out different feather designs. A white board is a handy tool to have to practice free motion quilting designs before moving to the sewing machine.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Dresden Flimsy

2011-10-31T18:50:00.003-05:00

I finished piecing the Dresden Plate quilt.

It is 95" square (couldn't find a big enough place to lay it out). I used a whole jelly roll with a few extra squares cut from the leftover fat quarters to make the borders (they are 8" wide).
Just need to buy some batting and backing fabric, then I can get started on the quilting.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

A Winner and Borders

2011-10-28T20:24:00.003-05:00

I used the RNG to select the winner of the book

and Carla was the lucky winner. Congratulations Carla!
Thank-you to everyone who entered and for all the kind comments!

I have been working on the border for the Dresden Plate quilt.

I had bought a jelly roll on sale last summer and thought it would be perfect for the border.

I cut the strips in half and pieced them together in groups of two

and then groups of four.

I then cut them into 2+1/2" segments (there is that handy tape trick again!)

I am randomly joining them all together.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Dresden Plates

2011-10-27T21:35:00.000-05:00

I have been making Dresden Plates! The online information and videos for making them has been wonderful. They were much easier to make than I thought they would be.

I used the book and template by Anelia Belden (if you click on the "Google Preview" on the link you can view the book), but there are lots of similar templates out there. I decided to go with a template instead of a GO! die because I thought there would be less fabric waste (there was really very little).

I used 4+1/2" strips of fabric and cut up 11 fat quarters in no time at all. The fabric is Boutique by Chez Moi.

I decided on the "peak top" for the dresden plate blades,

and chain pieced the the tops.

When I was preparing to sew the tops I finger pressed the centre

to make it easier to line up the centre when I pressed the point (I did trim the seam allowance at the point and pressed the seam open).

The blades are sewn together starting at the end with the point. After it took a bit of fiddling to get the DP's to lay flat I realized that I had to sew a slightly wider seam allowance as I got closer to the centre when joining the blades. This seems to be a common problem even with the GO!.

I made the centers 2+1/4", using the freezer paper appliqué method (the stencil works great for appliqué circles).

I decided to appliqué the centres before appliquéing the Dresden Plates to the background square (easier to remove the freezer paper - I didn't want to have to cut the background square to remove the freezer paper).

I used a tiny zig-zag and 100WT thread.

It didn't take long to make the 25 DP's I needed.

Once again I used a tiny zig-zag and 100WT thread to stitch the DP's to the background square (I used a 14+1/2" square of ivory Kona cotton - finished size of 14").

I sewed the blocks together on point with setting triangles and corners (just because I preferred this look than to straight rows). The DP's are just over 10". I used large squares of fabric for the background because I wanted to have lots of room for quilting.
I am working on the border now.
The partially finished quilt top is in the spare bedroom, where I think the finished quilt will go. My oldest son told me it looked old - that is exactly what I wanted!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Tomorrow is the draw date for the book I am giving away.

Friday Night Sew-In Results

2011-10-22T15:26:00.000-05:00

Stitched up 5 more Dresden Plates last night. They just need their centres appliquéd. I got all the remaining DP centres ready for appliqué too.

Had a pair of Blue Jays at the feeder today.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Don't forget to enter my giveaway.

400th Post!

2011-10-21T16:02:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that this is my 400th post!

I knew that it was coming and thought I should do something special. Then I remembered that I have this book that I am supposed to pass on, but with everything that happened this summer I had forgotten about it.

If you would like to be entered to win this charming book, just leave a comment on this post and I will use RNG to pick a winner next Friday (the 28th of October). I will ship internationally, and please make sure

I have a way to reach you.

Now to get ready for the Friday Night Sew-In! More Dresden Plates,

I have 14 so far and I need 25 (they are 10").

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

The winner of the book is Carla! Thanks to everyone who entered.

Dresden Plate Mini Quilt

2011-10-17T19:34:00.002-05:00

I finished the Dresden Plate mini quilt (it is 16" square). I made it to hang on an old hanger,

in my mini quilt room (a.k.a. the laundry room).

I densely quilted the background so that the Dresden plate would stand out (I used wool batting).

I tried the Hooked Feather for the background -

marking the stem with a Hera Marker.

The instructions in the Hooked Feather book say to stitch the stem first from the top down and stitch feathers on one side, stop and tie off the thread and start back down at the bottom.

I chose to stitch one side of the feathers from the bottom along the marked line (barely visible). The hooks are made by stitching a small "c", touching the previous hook and stitching a large "C" back to the stem.

Next I stitched a few lobes at the top of the feather and then stitched down the stem marking.

I then stitched the "C"'s up the other side of the stem.

No backtracking and no starting and stopping.

I echoed around the feathers to make the rest of the filling stitches easier.

The rest of the background I filled in by "bouncing" (off the feather, the dresden plate or the edge of the quilt). I use this technique lots when I just have small spaces to fill in.

I cut out lots of blades for a Dresden Plate quilt

The fabric is Boutique by Chez Moi. I had bought a fat quarter bundle of 12 different fabrics. My plan is to make up the Dresden plates and then decide what to make with them (I was inspired by Dresden Plate images from Google).

I have made 3 so far.

My husband took a picture when I was cutting out the DP blades. I am enjoying my new sewing room.

The little moccasins on the wall are ones I made when my oldest son (he is now 20) first started walking,

they seem so tiny now!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Denise's Tip

2011-10-15T19:31:00.001-05:00

I forgot to mention last week when I was adding the sashing to the Granny's Hankie quilt, that Denise suggested in her instructions to place masking tape on the underside of the ruler to help with cutting the strips.

This was a fantastic tip (I just had to draw an arrow on the ruler to make sure I aligned the fabric on the correct side of the tape!). I used 2 layers of tape just to be sure that there was enough of an edge to get caught on the end of the fabric.

I cut all the sashing much quicker than I normally would.
Thanks for the tip Denise!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

New Feathers

2011-10-13T19:54:00.001-05:00

I am trying a new type of feathers - Hooked Feathers (no backtracking).

It is a pretty neat way to create feathers, but I am struggling with them (I keep wanting to create feathers the old way). I definitely need more practice before I quilt them on my next project.

I would like to make a Dresden plate quilt, so I made a test block to try out the Dresden plate template.

It worked really well.
I have done some "walking-foot" quilting on it and I will try some hooked feathers in the background.

The full moon this morning.

A young robin came for a visit this afternoon.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Granny's Hankie BOM Sashing

2011-10-10T20:35:00.001-05:00

This month for the Granny's Hankie BOM, the instructions are for the sashing. It was my goal for the holiday weekend (Happy Thanksgiving) to get the sashing all finished -

And I did. I was worried about the colours before, and now I am very pleased with how it is turning out. It is 63" square so far. There are about 20" of borders to add over the next two months (I think it is a 12 month BOM).

I am now all caught up on BOM's, first time since June!

Since March, when I cut all these 3½" tumblers (over 550 with the GO!) I have been using them as my "leaders and enders" when I sew. I am now over half way finished piecing the rows (23 in each row). It should be a lap quilt. The rows are about 55" long.

We put out the winter bird feeder this weekend and it has been fun to watch the birds (juncos, chickadees and sparrows).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Hop to It BOM

2011-10-09T18:31:00.000-05:00

I made the October Hop to It block (a few of us are making the blocks from Edyta Sitar's "Hop to It" book as a "block of the month" - please join us, it is a nice way to get the blocks made).

Here are the 4 blocks we have made so far -

Reawyn (from lovetostitch) is picking out the next block, and will announce it at the beginning of November.

Some geraniums are blooming under my grow lights -

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

EQ BOM

2011-10-08T19:22:00.001-05:00

I made the October EQ BOM block - October Opportunity -

a quick 6" block to make (and you don't need EQ).

A beautiful sunset this evening.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Granny's Hankie Block

2011-10-07T14:10:00.002-05:00

I finished the September Granny's Hankie BOM block -

I really like this block - the tulips, the colours and

I especially love the stems (made with bias tubes and presser bars)

All the blocks are now finished.

It was my goal this week to finish the last 3 blocks of this BOM! I did manage housework and cooking. but skipped exercising - oh well!

I did sustain a minor quilting injury - burned my arm on the edge of the iron as I was preparing the applique pieces!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Granny's Hankie BOM

2011-10-06T20:25:00.002-05:00

I finished two of the Granny's Hankie blocks (the colours don't show the best in these pictures).

This is the July Granny's Hankie block.

I love this style of flowers.

This is the August Granny's Hankie block.

Just the September block left to complete.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Granny's Hankie BOM

2011-10-04T17:04:00.001-05:00

I have been working on the Granny's Hankie BOM (trying to catch up with 3 months of blocks before the sashing instructions come out this weekend).

When I printed out Septembers pattern it came out much larger than the other months (even though I did nothing different). I didn't realize that until I had traced and cut out all the freezer paper pieces!

Now I have finished getting the pieces ready for August's block, I have to prep the pieces (do all the basting) for July's block and all the freezer paper pieces for the September's block are now the right size (I copied the pattern at 85%) - just waiting for fabric.

Off to vote in the provincial election!

Have a great day and thanks for dropping by!♥

Hop To It Block Finished

2011-10-03T21:10:00.003-05:00

I finished up block #10 of the Hop to It BOM (it is the 3rd block we are doing).

I have also been knitting socks. This is with wool/mohair that I bought in Quebec this summer. The pattern is Traveling Stocking from the "Knitting on the Road" book. I am knitting them the "two at a time" way (on one long needle) - it is easy to keep the pattern straight this way.

There seems to be an unusual amount of lady bugs around now - they are all over the place.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Hop To It BOM

2011-10-02T18:40:00.004-05:00

Today I started sewing the August/September Hop to It BOM

This one is block #10.

For October we will be working on block #11 (I used a random number generator to chose it).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Great Grandmother's Quilt

2011-09-30T13:06:00.002-05:00

This summer when I went to Ontario to visit family, my aunt very generously gave me a beautiful quilt made by my great grandmother.

It is 77" x 80", with 15½" blocks set on point.

It is hand appliqued and

hand quilted.

My great grandmother Amelia Mitchell Stephens (nee Etter), 1865-1962 (this picture was on her 97th birthday). She lived in Nova Scotia.

I don't know when the quilt was made, all I do know is that it won an award.
I also have a red and white quilt made by her - shown here.

I have it displayed with my other heirloom quilts in my bedroom (the other quilts have been featured in my previous show and tells).

Thanks again Aunt Carolyn!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Chicken Potholder

2011-09-27T17:15:00.000-05:00

Today I made a quick and simple project -

It is a chicken potholder from Barbara Brackman's "Moda Country Fair Blog Hop".
It was a fun project to make. The hardest part was finding two small dark matching buttons for the eyes!
If I was to make it again I would add a piece of light interfacing on both of the chicken body pieces, just to give it a bit more stiffness, it is very floppy. I did use foil batting (which is a bit stiffer than normal batting). I used the freezer paper method for the applique, and next time I would try making the wings separately and just tacking them on so that you could slide your fingers in them (my mum had a chicken potholder like that when I was young).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Update - Rosie has a beautiful chicken potholder in patchwork - another great idea for next time.

Henrietta Whiskers Finished

2011-09-25T20:09:00.001-05:00

I finished sewing on the binding for the Henrietta Whiskers quilt today.

It is 48" x 54". I used Civil War Chronicles fabric for all the applique blocks and other fabric for the borders.

I machine appliqued the quilt blocks (using the freezer paper method), and Invasifil thread in the top with Aurifil #50 thread in the bobbin.
The quilt is also free motion machine quilted (on my home sewing machine) using Aurifil #50 thread. I used cotton batting (because I had a piece that was big enough) with flannel for the backing (I intend to use it as a lap quilt).

I used a stencil, and pounce to mark it, for the border. It is really easy to free motion quilt this stencil design (I have used it before), and there are only a couple of areas along the design where backtracking is needed.

I love the birds in the border.

I am really pleased with how this quilt turned out (it is the first applique quilt I have made). Since this is the last free BOM that Anne from Bunny Hill Design is doing, I am glad that I participated. Thanks Anne!

I spent the day at a mini retreat with Myra and her quilt group - always a fun day, and such a welcoming group of talented women.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Another BOM Block

2011-09-24T19:41:00.001-05:00

Still working on catching up on BOM's.

Now I am caught up on the EQ BOM. This is September Soother.
I am always amazed how quick and simple these blocks are to make - they are just 6".

Siv Hege is having a wonderful celebration giveaway - be sure to check out her blog (before October 8th at midnight).

Speaking of giveaways - have you been following Moda's Country Fair Blog Hop? There are wonderful free patterns from many great designers, and fabric giveaway's too!!

I also started a photo journal blog - just one picture a day for a year, so easy.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Finished FMQ

2011-09-20T19:01:00.004-05:00

I finished free motion quilting the Henrietta Whiskers quilt -

I just have to finish sewing on the buttons -

and adding the binding. I'll have more details about the quilting later when the quilt is all finished.

Today I made challah bread for the first time -

I was pleased with how it turned out and will definitely make it again.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

FNSI Results

2011-09-17T09:25:00.004-05:00

Last night for the Friday Night Sew In I worked on the Henrietta Whiskers quilt.

I just had the applique in the borders to add.

Got all the pieces stitched down last night,

and this morning I finished off the hand embroidery. It is all ready to be quilted.

Another productive FNSI!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Pine Ridge Quilt Show

2011-09-16T18:43:00.010-05:00

Today I went to a wonderful quilt show with my sister and a friend. We also met my mother and some members of her quilt group there.
Here are some pictures -

a memory quilt

this one was a small wall hanging

apple core bag

this one was amazing

this one was one of our favorites

A great way to spend the day!

Off to sew for the Friday Night Sew In (still time to join).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Catching Up on BOM's

2011-09-15T21:23:00.004-05:00

I finished the last two Henrietta Whiskers BOM.

block 8

block 9

Many more BOM's to catch up on too.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Inspiration??

2011-09-13T18:52:00.002-05:00

I have been back for a week now and getting back into the swing of things.

I decided to move my sewing machine back into the basement (this is supposed to be my sewing area), to see if I would enjoy that more, bonus - the "mess" can stay out longer.

I have been working on the Henrietta Whiskers blocks. These are the last two blocks to applique.

I went to my parents home this weekend,

here is a picture of my Mother's quilt that I machine quilted earlier this year (it is on a king size bed).

These are three baby quilts that my Mom made with fabric I received from Marcus Fabrics (as a gift because some fabric I bought was not correct). The center one is made with the GO! baby tumblers (I machine quilted it in July). We are donating them to the Children's Hospital.

We have had some incredible weather lately. Last week it was 30°C, and tonight there is a risk of frost - oh well. Today was also so windy.

Good to be back! Thank-you to every one who joined me on my vacation and left me kind comments (with some wonderful suggestions).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

France - Day 12

2011-09-02T14:33:00.003-05:00

Woke up this morning to a bit of clouds, first time while we have been in Provence.

We took another trip into Fayence -

to the fabric store. Beautiful french fabric, but I couldn't justify more fabric. We really haven't bought too much this holiday. Just had a fantastic time.

The villa is appropriately named Villa Nirvana. We have had a wonderful stay. It is amazingly private here, so peaceful. The only noise we here is the gliders being towed up -

from the nearby airfield-

at the bottom of the valley.

The sun did come out for the day and it turned into another beautiful day -

The door on the shed is such a lovely shade of blue/purple. It is a colour we see every where here, almost the same colour as the sky.

This is the last day at the villa, and we have made the most of it. My oldest was swimming this evening -

We leave tomorrow. Flying to Paris and them back home to Canada on Sunday. The whole trip has been fantastic. We all are fine that we are returning home. Back to work/school/university/regular routines for all of us.

petit macarons

I think one thing I will be returning with is a little extra weight - the pasteries are amazing here!

See you next week! ♥

France - Day 10 & Day 11

2011-09-01T12:35:00.010-05:00

Yesterday we went to Tourrettes. It is a small hill town right next to Fayence-

a bit of a traffic jam

Today we drove down the coast -

To Monaco -

All the fancy stores-

and casinos in the distance

This is what we came to see though - my oldest child's choice.
The F1 Tunnel for the Monte Carlo Grand Prix (I think that is what it is called), we had to walk it too (along with lots of other people), hoping to see super cars (we did see a bunch on the drive to Monte Carlo).
The same son is also the one who bought shoes on the Champs Elysees in Paris!

the Mediterranean Sea was so clear

It was a very hot, wonderful, day. Only about 1½ hours away from the villa.

More time has been spent lounging too -

Just one full day left in Provence!
A bientot! ♥

France - Day 9

2011-08-30T13:16:00.004-05:00

Today we went to Grasse, a town famous for being the perfume capital of the world.

We went to the perfumery Molinard-

After we took a walk around the old village -

Another lovely day in the south of France!

Gloria asked me about the language, I speak french (my Mother is French Canadian) so I have had no problems (although the french is slightly different - yesterday I met some people from Quebec and they were much easier for me to understand). Lots of people speak English here. Last year when we went to Italy (we don't speak Italian) we had no problems. This year it has been very nice to speak and read the language though.
Gail also asked me about plans for the trip - we really are not planners (just the basics like getting there and some where to stay). We really enjoy experiencing different cultures rather than seeing all the sights. Renting an apartment or home is a wonderful way to experience a new culture, much nicer than staying in a hotel too (also more relaxing).

Thanks for joining me on our trip!♥

France - Day 8

2011-08-29T14:04:00.007-05:00

This morning I took some pictures at the house we rented Provence in-

the stairs leading to the pool

the pool

the bedrooms

the front patio

the view from the pool
The town in the distance, across the valley is where we went this morning.

Fayence, a beautiful little town set on the mountain side-

we are staying on the other side of the valley

The rest of the day was spent in the hot sun-

A bientot!♥

France - Day 6 & 7

2011-08-28T10:41:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we flew from Paris

We were 45 minutes late taking off. Someone missed the plane but their suitcase was on the plane. They had to take the luggage off and remove his luggage for safety. Plus they had to replace something on the plane too at the last minute.

to Nice in the south of France -

coming in for the first landing

suddenly there was something else on the runway and we had to quickly go up again and circle around for 10 minutes

the Mediterranean was so blue

the second landing was perfect

We rented a house 45 minutes NW of Nice, south of Tourrettes and Fayence-

with a lovely pool -

and stunning views -

Today we spent a hot day swimming and lounging by this -

Some pictures from our evening walk -

We are on the side of a mountain, so all the roads are very steep for us prairie people!

Tomorrow we might travel further a field.

France - Day 5

2011-08-26T13:27:00.012-05:00

Today started with a ride on the metro -

to the Jardins and Palais du Luxembourg - once a palace built between 1615-1627, now home to the French Senate -

The gardens were amazing. It was a cold wet day, it sure seemed like fall, especially with all the leaves on the ground!
Next a short walk to see the Pantheon -built in 1758 as a tribute to St Genevieve, now honors France's great dead -

Nearby St Etienne du Mont -

Because it was rainy we decided to try the Louvre again this afternoon - no line-ups!

the Mona Lisa -the picture is blurry because we were so far away

The Consecration of the Emperor Napolean I by J.L. David

The Card-Sharper by G. de La Tour

The Lacemaker by J. Vermeer

We have really enjoyed staying in Paris. I would recommend renting an apartment to anyone - you really feel immersed in the culture of a place this way. The Marias is a wonderful place, we are close to everything without being too touristy.

Between the St Paul metro station and the apartment on Rue St Paul (a 5 minute walk) there are 4 bakeries. We have tried them all (several times), they are all very good and amazingly to us always packed.

this one outside the metro station is our favorite

Tomorrow we fly to Nice, in the south of France!

France - Day 4

2011-08-25T14:15:00.006-05:00

Montmartre and Sacre Coeur today -

the Moulin Rouge near the metro station

we walked the back way and had a long walk up a steep road (hard to tell from the picture)

a windmill on the way

first glimpse of Sacre Coeure

the view of Paris from Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur from the bottom of the hill, we walked down the steps

back to the Metro we passed all kinds of fabric stores

this one was beautiful, it had a wall of buttons that was amazing

even a "patchwork" room (didn't buy anything - I'm travelling light)

for supper we had fallafels at this highly recommended spot on the Rue des Rosiers

Views on our evening walk -

A demain! ♥

France - Day 3

2011-08-24T13:37:00.007-05:00

Today we went to the Louvre (we didn't go inside -very long lines, the young uninterested men with us, and the fact that my DH and myself have been before - it didn't make sense this time).

We walked around the gardens -

L'Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Place de la Concorde with L'Arc de Triomphe in the distance

Next we walked in a shopping district -

St Marie Madeleine on the way

In the afternoon we walked around the Marais again -

the National Archives

to the Pompidou Center (a modern art museum - once again we didn't go inside - we just wanted to see outside the building). All the pipes, elevators etc. are on the outside -

the back

and the front

a fountain out front

A walk back to the apartment -

Rue des Rosiers

Another wonderful day in Paris! ♥

France - Day 2

2011-08-23T15:52:00.010-05:00

Day 2 of Paris started with a trip on the Metro (we have passes for the week, so easy) -

to the Tour Eiffel -

Then another Metro ride to L'Arc de Triomphe -

A stroll down the Champs Elysees -

of course with 3 men we had to stop at every car showroom on the way - this is the Citroen one (notice the cool dashboard)

every floor had a car on the red platform

an ice cream cart

In the afternoon we walked around Le Marias where we are staying.

St Paul

Hotel de Sully (my three men)

this is a mirror store - since 1826, all they sold was mirrors

Colonne de Juillet, honors the victims of the 1830 revolution. It is at the site of the Bastille.

The next few are from Place des Vosges, one of the first squares in Paris, it is surrounded by art galleries -

Next we walked back and then along the Seine -

To Notre Dame Catherdral -

Saw Love Locks on a nearby bridge -

On the way back to the apartment we stopped for ice cream on the Ile St Louise -

it is supposed to be the best in Paris (it was very good, didn't top last year in Italy though).

In the evening we went back to Notre Dame -

Another great day in Paris! ♥

France - Day 1

2011-08-22T13:12:00.005-05:00

I am on holiday for the next two weeks. Since we have free WiFi every where we are staying, I thought I would use my blog as a diary of my trip.

This is the road where we are staying in Paris. We are staying in the building with the big blue door.

These are views of the court yard from the apartment we rented.

Some of the streets in the Marias district of Paris where we are staying. We are about a block from the Seine.

A local bakery.

We rented the apartment in Paris from the Jeu de Clefs, it is well equiped and very handy to everything.

A bientôt!♥

More Stuff

2011-08-20T20:34:00.008-05:00

Not much sewing or blogging these days!
We leave for a two week holiday (in France) tomorrow and I just had a few things to add before we leave.

I forgot to say at the beginning of this month that for those making the Hop to It blocks we are making Block 10. Since I have not been doing much sewing, I hope it is fine that this block will be for August and September.

I did put together the EQ block of the month - August Amusement.

I also finished another mug rug with the free pattern (finished one thing this month for OPAM). I just had to do some free motion quilting and the binding.

The garden is still doing fine (lots of cucumbers this year) -

We have had a bit of rain this week, maybe the grass will come back to life. Last month was a record breaking month for the least amount of rain.

Hopefully in September I will feel like getting back into the swing of things (two family funerals in a 2½ week period gives a different perspective on life). The vacation has come at a perfect time for us.

Au revoir et a bientôt!♥

Catching Up

2011-08-09T19:33:00.009-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since my last post. Lots has happened.

Two weeks ago we (my husband, youngest son and I) along with my parents went on a vacation to Quebec and Ontario to visit relatives (my Mother's in Quebec and my Father's in Ontario). We had a good trip and it was wonderful to see so many relatives (some I hadn't seen since I was 9).

Here are a few pictures -

Quebec -

the church in St Gregoire, Quebec

my cousin's farm (with our rental car in the front)

inside the barn

he lives in a beautiful old home

angora goat farm - L'Angelaine

Ontario -

the view from my aunt's home

the next few are from Ottawa -

These statues represent Alberta's Famous Five who fought to have women declared "persons" under the law (October 18th, 1929), which was the start of equality for women in Canada.

we went to see The Lion King on our last night in Ottawa

at the National Arts Centre
it was amazing!

I haven't done any sewing for a few weeks -

I started working on my tatting again (it is great for traveling)

and when I returned home I started a pair of socks with the mohair I bought at L'Angelaine

On a sad note. The night that we returned home (August 3rd) my mother in law passed away. Four of her children had returned from her youngest daughter's wedding in Alberta the night before. When we arrived home my husband (the youngest of 7 children) went to see her, she recognized him, about an hour later she slipped into unconsciousness and passed away a few hours later. It was like she was waiting for her daughter to get married and her children to return home. She had been sick for a while and it was awful to watch her suffer. She was 84 years old. The funeral was yesterday.

Victoria Beach Quilt Show

2011-07-24T21:09:00.016-05:00

Back from the quilt show and it was a huge success!

Here are some pictures -

the one in the center was beautiful (the picture doesn't do it justice), it was a "quilt as you go" quilt
the partial one on the left has cross-stitch and needle point blocks of the provinces

this one was all hand appliqued!

this pretty one was made by my SIL's aunt

these two were made by my mother, the one on the left is "Glacier" from a kit she bought in Alaska. It has Swarovski crystals on it. The sales table is in front (I sold a lap quilt, a table topper and a bag).

the three Quilts of Valour quilts

this one was made by the QS organizer,

her work is amazing!
here are a couple more of her work
these quilts are from a quilter who recently passed away
this one was so beautiful! The colours bright and vibrant.

this was a raffle quilt (plus the third prize bag)
all 1500 tickets were sold!

this quilt hangs in the club all the time (my mother helped make it)

The pictures don't do the quilts justice. It was the Pine Needlers' first quilt show and every one was so pleased!

My three demo's went well. I was so nervous for the first one (my first time doing anything like that), but after that things got better. They were well attended (my mother had a dream that only two people came!) and they ended up being so much fun. I met some wonderful people!

There were a couple of vendors, and I bought this beautiful button (1½" square) made by a local artist - Pat.

The day my son and I arrived at my parents was so windy, I have never seen such waves.

They live along Lake Winnipeg. The water is so high this year.

Some one told me they were getting spam from my blog - does any one else have that problem?

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Applique Mug Rug Tutorial

2011-07-23T14:00:00.005-05:00

Here is a little mug rug with instructions for freezer paper machine applique.

For this 8"x12" mug rug you will need -

-Fat Quarter of fabric for the background and binding (a directional print fabric works fine)
-Scraps of 4 different fabrics for the applique and half square triangles
- Roughly 12"x14" piece of fabric for backing and piece of batting (I prefer the heat resistant batting for mug rugs but any low loft batting will work - not so "tippy" for mugs)
-Freezer Paper (available at the grocery store)
- Glue (glue stick and liquid school glue or Roxanne Glue-Baste-It
- Tools include pressing bars (not necessary but it does make stems easier), open toe embroidery foot for your sewing machine, small, sharp scissors.

From the background fabric cut a 9" square (it will be trimmed to 8½" when the applique is finished) and cut 4 - 3" squares for the half square triangles (HST).
From each of the 4 scraps cut one 3" square for the HST
From the green cut a 1¼" wide bias strip (roughly 4" long) for the stem

For the Applique -

Trace the three applique pieces (not the stem) on the dull side of the freezer paper. I also traced around some nickels and quarters to make some circles. Carefully cut all the pieces out.

Using the glue stick, apply a small amount of glue on the dull side of the freezer paper and stick the paper to the wrong side of the fabric.

Trim the fabric to ¼" around the shape (notice the shiny/wax side of the paper is up).
Repeat for all the shapes.

Run a small basting stitch around all the circular shapes and gather the fabric around. This makes pressing the seam allowance much easier for any circular shapes.

With the tip of a hot, dry iron, carefully press the seam allowance over the edge of the paper. The heat will melt the wax of the freezer paper and allow the seam allowance to stick to the paper.

For the leaf, press the points first,

then the sides. You can clip the inner curve to make pressing easier.

All the pieces are ready for applique, plus the 1¼" wide strip has been pressed in half (these instructions are for an applique stem without pressing bars. If you have them use the 9mm one to make the stem).

Place and pin the stem where you would like it,

I laid the other pieces down to give me an idea of where it should go.

Sew with a straight stitch, ¼" from the raw edge.

Press the stem over.

Now the sewing machine needs to be set up for machine applique.

Using a very small zig-zag stitch, with the tension slightly tight so that the top thread goes to the back slightly. I have a Husqvarna sewing machine and this is my setting. The stitch length is just slightly shorter than normal.

I use a 100wt thread (very fine) for applique. Invisafil by Wonderfil and YLI Silk are my favorite, but you can also use an invisible thread (in clear or smoke) or fine thread. With the fine thread I use a #70 Microtex needle. The top thread should match the applique piece and the bobbin thread should match the background fabric (I use Aurifil 50wt for the bobbin).

Stitch the stem down using the applique stitch. It should "zig" over a couple of threads on the applique piece, and "zag" off the applique piece. The sewing machine foot is an "open toe embroidery foot".

With matching thread and the tiny stitches it is very hard to see, but it is a very secure applique.

Next is placing the other applique pieces (the large circle and the leaf).

Using the liquid glue, place small dots around the piece on the seam allowance (I use a large pin or toothpick dipped in the glue).

Place the applique piece on the background (I use a ruler to weight it down and let it dry a few moments - this is usually when I change the thread on my machine).
You can use pins instead of glue, but the glue allows the applique piece to lie flat and it doesn't move.
On the back, carefully cut out the background fabric behind the applique, leaving a ¼" seam allowance.
Gently remove the paper (use tweezers if there are small pieces left). Repeat for the large circle.
Glue the small circle (flower center) and stitch around.
Remove the paper. When doing the applique method it is important to work the pieces in sequence (from the back pieces to the front applique pieces) and to remove the paper as you go. Trim the block to 8½" square.

To Make the Mug Rug -

With the 3" squares make half square triangles. Using one background fabric and one scrap fabric for every HST set. Draw a diagonal line on the back of the lighter fabric (with correct placement you can match directional fabric) and stitch ¼" on either side. Cut on the line. Press the HST open. Trim these blocks to 2½" squares.

The squares make 8 HST. Sew them in two sections,
and stitch on either side of the block.
Randomly applique the remaining small circles.

The mug rug is ready for quilting with the batting and backing. Bind with 2¼" wide strips of the fat quarter.
Another variation. Mug rugs are a great size to practice free motion machine quilting on,

and make great gifts.

I hope you find this tutorial helpful.♥

Here is the pattern-

This is on a regular sheet of paper. (Save the image and print it on a full size piece of paper - either with "Word" or a Print Shop type program - or ask a teenager/young adult for help - that's what I always do.)
If you have trouble getting this pattern, please contact me and I will email you a word document with the pattern.

All Set

2011-07-20T13:46:00.005-05:00

I am all ready for the quilt show demos (I hope!).

I am going to my parents tonight, Thursday we are getting all the quilts ready and late Friday we set up for the quilt show, all ready for the big day on Saturday!

Tropical flowers seem to enjoy the heat wave.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Nature

2011-07-18T17:33:00.006-05:00

I have been getting ready for my demos for the quilt show on Saturday (Victoria Beach, Manitoba, July 23rd 2011), so I can't show you what I have been working on until after that.

We have had a visitor in our yard - digging holes!

A Thirteen-Lined ground squirrel! We think it is a she too!! She is beautiful and not very scared of us.

We have been having hot (mid 30's°C, mid 90's°F), dry weather. The grass is dying but the gardens are growing well (with the help of watering) -

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥