End of Summer......

seems to be coming soon. It is cold and rainy in my part of the world today..... and I am helping my daughter move into residence at college. She seems excited to be back at school.... my son will turn 18 in a couple of days... so we will celebrate this evening with a dinner out..... Looks like I will be at 100 posts soon... sooooo in keeping with tradition in blogland... I will have a giveaway on my 100th post.... stay tuned..... shouldn't be too long!!
Oh.... the vintage fabric has been spoken for and is on its way to Florida!

Thought for the Day
When summer gathers up her robes of glory, And, like a dream, glides away.
Sarah Helen Whitman

Great tutorials....

I found a great tutorial on how to make a little zippered pouch - very quick and easy..... and this is the disappearing nine-patch tutorial... that I still want to make... but haven't!!

This is another little quilt that looks like the disappearing nine-patch... it looks quite interesting too...

This link shows how to make a quilted wallet - it's quite cute!! Lots to keep everyone busy this weekend......!!

If you like Vintage fabric.......

I completed a small nine patch quilt with some vintage blocks that I purchased on Ebay a couple of years ago. I only had 20 blocks so I made 10 more (well, actually 11) from some vintage fabric that I also had purchased. The quilt is about 25 X 30 and will be a cute baby quilt.... or a table runner for my dining room table.

I used a piece of vintage barkcloth for the back - I think it must have been an old curtain at some point.... but I just love the fabric.

So....... I have some leftovers - a piece of the green fabric about 4" by 25" (it has a hanging sleeve on the inside made of muslin - but can be taken off) plus one nine-patch and some scraps of the fabric.... If anyone would like to have these please email me and I will send them to you.... I can't bear to just throw them out and I know someone will want them.... The fabrics are 40's/50's, I think.... These are the leftovers....

My 100th post will be coming up soon!! I plan to have a give-away.... seems the thing to do in blogland... so keep an eye out the next few posts!!

Thought for the Day

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.

Danny Kaye

UFO completion and Stitchers Angel Swap

I have completed another of my quilting UFO's - Cherry Hill Sampler.... I really enjoyed quilting this one as I did all kinds of doodling on it..... I think this will be a Christmas present for someone...... not sure who tho.....

This picture is of the back of the quilt and gives a better idea of the quilting..... show up really nice to with the red thread on black.....

I can cross this off the UFO list!!!!

I also completed my first project for the Stitcher's Angel group. It is an armchair caddy - the original pattern was for embroidery - but I did silk ribbon embroidery instead.... hope my partner likes it!

Today I am going to poke around the sewing room, clean up and maybe work on some nine-patch fabrics made from vintage fabrics.

Thought for the Day

If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down.

Mary Pickford

More Nine-Patch...

blocks have been received in my never ending quest for a civil war repro quilt... these are great - one from the US and one from Australia..... I believe I have about 16 blocks now - including the few that I have made........ and I am waiting for two more........ so the quilt is getting close to being "blocked".....

Thought for The Day
Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.
Aesop

"Another Little Quilt Swap"

I have started making the blocks for the ALQS swap......... I am really enjoying making the blocks because they are the same style of fabric that I love - Civil War repros... not allowed to say who this is for tho..... LOL. This is the first time that I have done a "quilt" swap and I am looking quite forward to making and sending this one.... and... receiving mine.....

4 months till Christmas!!!!

that is unbelievable.....!!! but here in my part of the country summer is starting to fade into fall. We have a few leaves that are starting to turn color... and the evenings are cooler - after the 30 degree weather we had a week or so ago that is a welcome break. I LOVE fall and am looking forward to the new season. We also get some nasty looking clouds - lots of days they don't turn into rain...The clouds usually pass quickly also - Our weather this morning is cooler with a chance of rain... perfect day for quilting!!!

I finished the quilting on the "Three Stooges Quilt" This will be a Christmas pressie for my brother-in-law. It is a small lap quilt - perfect for the couch. The quilting is just a plain meander..... good choice, I think, for a lap quilt.

I also made a quilted knapsack this past week. I made this pattern a few years ago and decided to make another one for myself. I just love it and now plan to make another couple for Christmas gifts. The pattern itself isn't that well-written, so it was a bit of a challenge for me.... but I think it turned out OK....

Thought for the Day

Treat people as if they are what they ought to be, and you can help them become what they are capable of becoming.

Johann von Goethe

Busy week for swaps.....

I had a great week receiving swaps!!!! The wonderful green fabric was received in a fat quarter swap... there is enough fabric to make a nice little bag....








The great scrapbooking stuff was received in a "scrappers" swap. I am fairly new to scrapbooking and these items will be a wonderful addition to my scrapbooking.

This was received in a summer bag swap. The bag is made from a plastic backed table cloth... very creative..... and... last but not least I received another nine patch in my never ending quest for a civil war reproduction quilt....at this rate the quilt might have enough blocks by the end of the year!



It's funny that they should all arrive at once... technically they should have arrived over a period of a couple of weeks... but it's like Christmas in August!!!

I also did some sewing this week and made myself a pair of pants... cool, roomy - made from a washable rayon batik... just for wearing around the house when it gets hot..... sooooo all in all, I had quite a nice week. It is soooo hot here right now - 30 degrees (celsius) and I am hoping that we get a good ol' thunderstorm tonight.... but it doesn't look like it will.

Something different

at the beginning of this past week, it was raining for a couple of days... so I tried something I haven't done for a long time... crochet. I had taken out a book from the library about granny squares..... this is my meager attempt... I think they are supposed to be more "square" in the edges.... but I redid the first one at least three times and got the same result every time.... well.... this will be a rainy or snowy day project... one of those things that I keep plugging away it...

Thought for the Day

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

Unknown

My sewing area.....

Since we moved in June, I have been rearranging my sewing area. It is a fairly big space but it had no storage so we had to get some cabinets for storage.
Also, because we live on the lake there are lots of "varmints" so that means that my fabric has to be stored in bins etc.... I now have a large sewing area with a cutting space, plus I have a stand up cutting space to the rear. This area also has a sink so that I can do some fabric dying.

The picture to the left is as you come into the basement. My quilting machine is on the other side of the room and there is lots of space for it. The picture below is looking out toward the lake and the door. I am quite happy with the way everything has turned out... although I still need to do some changing around with regards to storage.

I would also like to paint but I think that will happen next Spring or summer. The really nice thing about my new space is that it is about 10 degrees cooler than upstairs... so we have had 30 degree (Celsius) weather and I am nice and cool in my little retreat!

Christmas in July.......

Doesn't this look wonderful??? In a previous post I noted that I had won a Christmas in July give away on Bluebird Quilts Blog.... it came today... one of the hottest days of our summer!!! The card is adorable... and it was wrapped so nicely... and when I opened it I was overwhelmed.... the fat quarters are just my style!! and they were accompanied by coordinating floss......plus some buttons, a fabric eraser and some cute lip gloss. Thank you so much, Lyn!! This certainly brightened up my day!!

Thought for the Day
Kindness is the language, which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Mark Twain

Mail call.....

Great mail day today.......In this post I offered some free blocks... and eventually these were sent to Betsy in Florida.... today, i received this in the mail... made from one of the appliques that I had sent her... what a wonderful gift... Thanks, Betsy!! Since the quilts I made will be given away, this will be a great keepsake for me!!

In this post I won a pattern from Ocean Waves quilts... and it came today, too. It came all wrapped up in beautiful festive fabric with a little Christmas tree button. Check out Barb's great patterns..... I will post a pic of the wallhanging when I make it up! Thank you so much, Barb

Stormy weather......

These pics were taken in Calgary on Sunday.... the weather was just starting to get ugly... as we were preparing to leave... shows a great skyline tho..... which I do miss sometimes.... next time I hope to get the mountains in the pics..... I seem to miss those the most.....

Dog Show....

had a great day at the dog show on Saturday...... the weather was very nice, but it was not so busy. We raised about $100 for rescue. This money will go towards helping Benson see, or helping to pay for Chucks' surgery, or towards the many veterinary bills that rescue has. The picture at right is of the booth.... we did not have to share as the other group did not show up. The little boston terrier in the picture below is named Justice and he is from Idaho... apparently he won a number of prizes... and he was a lovely little gentlemen when he came by for a visit! Nothing like a representative of the breed to get people flocking to the booth!!