May Round-Up

I am glad that I signed up for challenges at the beginning of the year - they are really motivating me.

For the May One Monthly Goal I wanted to finish two mini quilts, and I just got the second one finished today!

This is what I made with the Stay at Home Sampler blocks from the Temecula Quilt Company on Instagram. The quilt is 20"x30".

The other is this Thimble Quilt I talked about last time (14"x25").

Since we are still staying home because of COVID 19 I am choosing to do things that I really enjoy, so both of these quilts are finished the same - small inner border, large outer border, and the machine quilting is the same as well - meander in the centre, loops in the inner border and hooked feathers for the outer border - real comfort sewing for me.

Thanks for the motivation Patty!!

For the May OPAM I finished five projects!

The above two mini quilts, two pairs of handspun socks, and a little orphan block wall hanging.

Both pairs of socks are toe-up, two-at-a-time, 58 stitches, on a 2.75mm needle. I used up every bit of handspun for both pairs of socks. Dyeing the fibre, spinning the yarn and knitting simple socks are definitely some of my favourite things.

I spun up yarn for a couple more pairs of socks-

This one might be a bit thick for socks and work better for slippers.

This one is a rainbow gradient.

This little wallhanging was made with some of my orphan blocks (so I am counting it towards the WOOFA Challenge too). Our son was experimenting with making little hangers for embroidery with his new CNC plasma cutter, and I wanted to try one out (it works well, just needs some design tweaks). It is 5"x14".

Thanks Kris and Cheryll for the motivation too!!

I mentioned last time that our son had made a CNC machine for the plasma cutter, so lots of metal has been cut recently (he did have a week off while waiting for a replacement part to be delivered). His is selling some items -

Mainly little birds of his own design.

This is a velociraptor from a pattern he purchased (he is selling the cut pieces as a kit - permission to sell came with the pattern)

He has also cut out a few other things from pictures online

 This is my favourite - a design by Jack Willoughby, it just needs a red marble in its mouth.

It is 12" high and 23" wide.

 This is one I spray painted.

Even though I had to wear a wool hat this morning (just above freezing temperatures), summer has arrived and we have been gardening!!

The perennial garden is doing well.

The vegetable garden is planted, and things have started sprouting.

We put in a new little area at the back of the yard (our son made a Torii Gate last year and painted it orange last week).

The apple trees are blooming beautifully.

A Baltimore Oriole.

All the best!♥︎

March Goals

Time to plan projects for this month.

For my One Monthly Goal for March I plan on weaving tea towels with this kit from Jane Stafford Textiles - it is the Country Renaissance Boucle Tea Towel Kit.

I started March 1st getting the warp ready, and have started weaving. The kit makes 9 towels.

I also plan on finishing the Mystery Gnome that I started last month,

and I want to finish this Inkle Loom band weaving project that I started last year. This was my test piece for the new loom. I want to make some braid, to make loops for the tea towels, so I need to get this finished and off the loom.

This past weekend I packed up my sewing room because basement renovations have started!

Since my sewing machine is temporarily packed away, for my WOOFA project this month I plan on getting pieces ready for the appliqué border for the Pieces of Time quilt. 

Photos from around- 

 Beautiful frost this morning

 All the best!♥︎

February Round Up

February was a good month for me to finish a few big projects.

At the beginning of the month I finished a Pineapple Quilt (only took 4 years!).

I started this handspun tunic early last year by cleaning and preparing the wool. Spun the yarn over the summer, and started knitting it at the beginning of September.

I also finished knitting a hat out of some handspun yarn that I had dyed with indigo (this one had been my take-along/car knitting project).

I was really pleased to have started and finished weaving some fabric for my Mom in the month (especially since we were away for a week). 7 yards of fabric! 

I used up five of my orphan blocks (not the orphan block quilt I want to eventually make, but nice to use up some of the blocks) to make a table mat for my cousin (we stayed with her in Quebec). I am counting this one towards my WOOFA challenge too.

I had a couple of little finishes this month too-

 a tiny needle felted mouse

and a Valentine pincushion. 

This month I completed all my monthly goals for OMG, worked on two of my WOOFA Challenge projects, and finished 7 projects - 4 counting towards OPAM.

All the best!♥︎

February Plans & More

For my February OMG (One Monthly Goals hosted by Elm Street Quilts) plans I had wanted to finish my Pineapple quilt, but since that was done so quickly I had to think of something else. I finished a few projects recently - they were easy decisions because they were all almost done. Now I don't know what to do (this seems to always happen to me - I should finish more things, I want to start something new...).

One thing for sure is that I am going to finish this sweater this month. I just have the ribbing to finish at the bottom (I hope to use all that ball of yarn).

This month I also want to make a table centre for a gift (I'll start that today), and I want to start a weaving project (fabric yardage for my Mom to make dinning room chair seat cushions, the wool is supposed to be here next week).

For my February WOOFA Challenge I want to add a few more blocks to my Orphan Blocks-

Here are the blocks I have so far. I don't really know what to do with them - I want to make another bed quilt with them, but I don't need anymore bed sized quilts. I just know I would like some more appliqué blocks, so that is what I plan on for this month.

When I was deciding which WOOFA project to work on next I also looked at my Bali Medallion Quilt-

I really don't like this quilt top. I think it is the dark section around the clamshells. I don't know if I should just get rid of it; just quilt it as is; add more blocks around the edge (continue the medallion) in the hopes that I will like it more, maybe with some more dark fabric to balance it; or do I unpick the centre and try something else there. The blocks around the edge are from the first 365 day quilt a few years ago - I like those. I enjoyed sewing the clamshells, and like how the edges are not cut off. I would really like to put it away for good, but it isn't improving with age.

What would you do? What do you do with quilt tops you don't like?

Photos from around -

I tiled bathrooms, painted doors, and varnished baseboards in January, and now that our bathroom renovations are finished I thought I would show them off (I love seeing pictures of other homes).

This is the before of part of the little bathroom at the back door.

I don't have a before picture of the shower, it was disgusting - no one needs to see that.

One of the reasons we bought this house was that it needed renovating.

And after.

The medicine cabinet on the left was made by a great uncle.

 This is the before of the main bathroom. There was just about 30" between the sink vanity and the bathtub, and there were two large linen cupboards (which to me was odd. Because of the kitchen reno's we were able to convert a hall broom cupboard to a linen closet). We reconfigured the space by removing the two small closets in our bedroom next door. We moved the vanity back, and moved the wall with the linen cupboards in. That way were were able to use that space as a walk in closet in our bedroom. We also moved the main door for the bathroom over, to have more room for the new tub.

Before of the two small closets in our bedroom, with the bathroom door in the middle

the door on the left is to our bedroom

 After photos.

I like the other bathroom white, but I still haven't decided about this one yet, I might paint it a colour soon.

This house had so many colours in it that I just needed a break for a bit.

 The walk in closet in our bedroom.

There is a big shelf, high in the closet, to store quilts, better than in the bathroom.

I really like how there is a door to the bathroom from our bedroom.

It is an ensuite without having another bathroom to clean.

 The rest of the bedroom.

 I'll end with Molly showing off some of her new big girl teeth - she is 4 months old now.

All the best!♥︎

Pineapple Quilt Top

The WOOFA Challenge is amazing! I am working on my third of seven projects I hope to finish this year (quilts that have been languishing for years!). It helps that it is winter on the Canadian prairies, I don't work outside my home, we will be renovating the basement later in the year, so I won't have  a sewing space for a while, and I am determined to finish these quilts.

Here are my Pineapple Quilt blocks laid out - once again with so many different fabrics it is hard that the same ones aren't side by side. I rotated a few blocks and did my best, but I am sure when it is all finished I will spot two of the same fabrics together.

First four rows sewn together. I really don't know why I didn't finish this before!

All the best!♥︎

Finished Flowering Snowball Quilt

I finished the Flowering Snowball quilt.

It is 72"x84", 12" blocks set 6x7. This is a quilt that I cut out with a GO! die, about 5 years ago. 

I think I kept putting off finishing it because I didn't know how to quilt it. It turned out much better than I hoped. I was thinking of selling the die, but now I see more potential.

I quilted open heart feathers in the cream sections and citrus peel, and an echo in the print sections.

The batting is Hobbs Tuscany Cotton/Wool blend (80/20). It was lovely to quilt, light weight and not at all stiff.

It was free motion quilted on my domestic sewing machine using Essential Pro from Connecting Threads, a 70 weight polyester thread, for the top and bottom. I haven't used this thread much, but my machine seems to love this it.

I have a Husqvarna Sapphire 870 Quilt sewing machine that is about 10 years old. It has always had an issue with the bobbin case, mainly when free motion quilting. The original machine I bought was replaced within the first week because it was even worse.

I think it has something to do with the top thread passing around the top of the bobbin case, sometimes it seems to move the bobbin case out of alignment. It seems to be fussy about what thread I use too.

I end up having to take the bobbin case out and putting it all back together. No big deal, but the last quilt I free motion quilted (my Mom's quilt), I took apart the bobbin case about 25 times. Normally I take it apart a few times when quilting a project. This time I didn't have to take it apart once! It was a joy to quilt.

This knitting isn't mine, but I did the cast-on, and the kitchener graft to finish it.

It is the Obsessio Cowl by Laura Nelkin, knit by my Mom. 

I cast-on another one (a provisional cast-on, on a spare interchangeable cable) for my Mom to knit. This cowl will be for me. I have a white one I made years ago, and before we had a puppy I wore it all the time (now my clothes have to be sturdy, and puppy proof). I bought the two skeins of yarn - a silk and mohair blend, in Japan, to make a lacy brioche cowl, but when my Mom accidentally shrunk her original cowl, this made more sense. It is such a light weight, warm cowl.

Photos from around -

Woodpecker on the peanut feeder.

Molly running like the wind on her track.

Bonding? Well at least Maggie isn't running away.

All the best!♥︎