Happy....

last day of November!!!! Well, tomorrow the countdown to Christmas begins.... I finished my two prim santa's - ready to go????. well, that's a secret!

A special thank you to Lori.... she is a sweetie - she knows why!... and I am sure lots of you know it! She has a great Etsy shop, too; so, if you need any special gifts for Christmas, make sure to stop by her shop.

I participate in a lot of swaps and have been pretty privileged and lucky to meet some great people. Every once in a while, tho, someone doesn't come through, and I just put it down to bad timing. I have been reading a lot about this lately, as there seems to be an abundance of swaps going on in "blogland". So, my thought for today is for those of you who just don't bother to come through and who just don't care if you do. You are missing out!

Thought for the Day
You can never do wrong when you do right.
Rabbi Shmuley

UFO'S and.......

I have had a busy week, but before I go on about my week, just a quick note to remember all those who have served our Country - Lest We Forget.

Yesterday I received my quilt from ALQS - the quilt is the Virginia Reel and it is from Elizabeth, from Virginia!!... I just love it... plus all the little goodies. It's hanging in my studio where I can see it every day.

The ice is beginning to form on the lake, so it is a real good time to get busy on my UFO's - which is what I have been doing the last few days. We have two little muskrats that like to come and play everyday on the ice. The lake should be frozen by now, but we are having unseasonal weather at the moment. Hopefully we will have winter soon, because without the snow the lake will be down in the spring.

I spent the weekend quilting my "All Things Christmas" by Bunnyhill Designs. I just had so much fun.... I just have to add some buttons and bows and it will be done - my 2008 Christmas quilt!

I also have been wanting to make a sock monkey for the longest time..... so this is my first one - has some festive clothing..... my niece collects them and I thought it would be a nice Christmas present.... and I finished a small wallhanging done with crayons, and finished 3 wool applique ornaments - so I am on my "UFO completion" way....

Thought for the Day

I'll wear a little poppy,

As red as red can be,

To show that I remember

Those who fought for me.

Time Flies....

Gosh... time sure flies when the weather gets nice!! We finally have spring weather and I have spent the last few days planting a few flowers and cleaning up the yard... Of course, I managed a bit of sewing also....I made two blocks for a guild charity quilt - these will be the last blocks for the year - and I managed to finish my All Things Christmas Quilt. This is a block of the month class that I am teaching at Traditional Pastimes in Calgary. It is an adorable quilt and I can't wait to quilt it.

Quilting Weekend....

Returned yesterday from a wonderful retreat weekend - I got lots of sewing done - all in the peace and quiet beside the Bow River at North Bow Lodge. I finished my son's high school graduation quilt - it is a simple machine applique done in oriental red and black. The quilting is simple in the center, but in the borders I quilted Chinese words - Peace, Harmoney, Happiness. I am quite happy with the quilting and think that I will put the Chinese words on the back with an explanation as to what they are. He is the last one in the entire family to graduate!

I also completed the blocks in my "All Things Christmas" machine applique quilt - I am quite pleased with them - and now I have to button hole stitch the blocks. The border also has an appliqued scalloped edge . The class I am teaching at Traditional Pastimes is coming along very well. Most students have completed the blocks and are learning to applique.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Rudeness is a weak person's attempt at strength.
Casey

TEACHING A CLASS...

I am currently teaching a Block of the Month Class at Traditional Pastimes in Calgary, Alberta. The pattern is All Things Christmas by Bunny Hill Designs. The quilt is a mixture of pieced blocks and applique - our class is going to machine applique the blocks rather than hand applique them; but, the pattern has such big shapes that the blocks would be easy to hand applique. Most of the fabric being used is from a line from Moda called Roman Holiday... it is a really cute line of fabric that does not have traditional Christmas Colors and has a real folk art look. I generally like to pick my own fabrics for quilts - but I just LOVED the way this quilt turned out with Moda Fabrics! The class is running for four sessions and I have decided to make the quilt along with my students because I really love the little quilt so much. What really made it easy is that the shop has kitted the entire quilt - so each block has the fabric all ready to go PLUS Traditional Pastimes also includes a list of what fabric goes with what block or applique.
I finished Block One, Block Two,and Block Three but haven't done any of the embellishing yet on the blocks.
That is done easier after it is machine quilted so that the quilter (who will be me) won't catch any of the embellishments. Stay tuned over the months to see how this little gem is progressing.