A return to Flowerville

It's been such a busy couple of weeks. I haven't been able to find any time to prep some applique work.

I have completed all four bunnies on the two borders of Down the Rabbit Hole...

....and completed the embroidery on this Life is Beautiful block, which just so happens to be read Life is Beautiful...

Life is Beautiful happens to be my go-to project when I have no applique ready to work on. 

My secondary go-to is the Flowerville blocks, so that is what I worked on this morning for my slow stitching...

I had an exasperating time at my local Canadian Tire store this week while I was getting an oil change, emission test and winter tires put on my car. As I sat fuming in the waiting room I was distracted by the tile work on the floor and thought it would make a great quilt border...

...but I can't even begin to figure how to do the math on it!!! Maybe I'll have to sit with a piece of graph paper one day and figure it out.

We had an errand to run this week and decided to check out the RetroFestive shop in Oakville. It was a blast...if you can, check it out!

My goal this month is to finish the applique on the bunny borders for Down the Rabbit Hole. Each of the two borders gets a tulip in the middle and some random flowers around the bunnies. So, not too much for December when life is so busy with Christmas coming up very soon!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching and with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal.

I'm going to take this opportunity to direct you to Yvonne's blog post for today at Quilting Jetgirl, entitled Why I Quilt. I found it quite thought provoking and hope you do, too :)

If I wasn't already in the Christmas mood, I would be this week. I have my two guild meetings.....one will have a catered turkey dinner and the other a huge potluck lunch! Bring it on!!!

Have a wonderful day...hopefully with some slow stitching of your own.

Stitching on a Sunday

Another Sunday morning with some peaceful stitching to start the day. This week just flew by!

My Life is Beautiful embroidery had come to a halt because I couldn't find my thread....luckily I happened to find it, by chance, and could finish off this block, which took way too long...

....and I was able to start the next block.....

I would have liked to be working on the next rabbit for Down the Rabbit Hole, but it wasn't quite ready yet. I have one of the four leaping rabbits completed....

I like him! 



We've had a sudden cold snap around here. Can you tell.....

I swear sometimes that Minnie thinks we got a fireplace just so she could snooze in front of it!

I thought this was a nice picture to take on the trail in Port Dover yesterday, but looking at it all I can think is that leaf-less trees have come about too quickly this year!...

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. Have a visit to see what others are working on today.

Stitching on a Sunday

For me, yesterday was a slow, lazy day. I don't think I've had a day like that in a long, long time.

It started with a feeling of accomplishment in my Saturday morning running class, but it sure did kick my butt for the rest of the day!

So, along with some slow stitching this morning, I actually got some extra stitches done yesterday.

I'm working on these sweet little blocks for the next part of my Midnight at the Oasis...

Although, after reading the post over at Kathy's Quilts this morning and seeing her Life is Beautiful progress, it's made me want to get back to my own.

This block has literally been on the go for months...

I think it comes down to the fact that I just don't like it! This block will be a priority in the next week, just so I can put it away and get to the next one.


Next week is the Around the Bay Race in Hamilton. Back in September, a couple of weeks after I started my Learn to Run class, I signed up for the 5k portion of the race as a goal.

I've started peeking ahead at weather reports for that day, knowing that things could definitely change in the next week. When I checked yesterday, it said it would be 6 degrees Celcius....not bad! Today I check again and it says 11cm of snow....what the heck???

Maybe I'll stop looking and wait for the day to arrive to see what it brings!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching, and with Cynthia over at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh, Scrap!.

Inspiration

Today I am feeling inspired.

What a wonderful feeling. 

It's wonderful for exactly one reason. Even though I've been a quilter since I was 19 in 1980 I still can feel inspired by other quilters. Inspired to take the next step in my hobby. 

It's such a great feeling to know that, for me, quilting doesn't get old....there is so much to explore.

I have known quilters, just a couple actually, that have the attitude that they have done techniques a certain way for years and it works so why try new things. Honestly, a lot of times, this attitude shows in their work....sorry, just my opinion.

This week I read a blog post by Steph over at Dawn Chorus Studio entitled Thinking About the Process of Improv Patchwork.  Her current quilt, Fete, is one of my favourites at the moment. I commented to Steph that the idea of Improv Piecing is intriguing to me, but makes me nervous of how to go about it. She gave me a pep talk and recommended a book that would help me understand.....so Santa has a copy ready for my stocking so I can try something new in the New Year!

So, this morning, as usual I check in on Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts. What a timely post she has written. I hope you can take a moment to read it, as I find it especially inspiring to me today and maybe you will feel the same way.

Kathy also mentions a blogger whom I've never heard of, so I checked her out.....The Bitchy Stitcher. More very inspiring words today!!!....and so true. I don't know how many times I've heard quilters lament on their work. So disheartening. Please, if this is you, take a few minutes to read this wonderful post today!

Wow, lots of words today and not many pictures! Let's rectify that with just a couple.

I thought I had finished all of my hearts for my Quilty365. I figured on sewing the final ones onto the flimsy on Saturday. Well, I realised that although I had prepped a heart for Hallowe'en, I had not actually finished it. Here it is, the final heart.....really!...

.....and then a few stitches in a Life is Beautiful block....which I love, as cherry trees hold a lot of sentiment for me....

Today I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching and with Cynthia for Oh,Scrap!.


On a personal note, here is something that I hope can inspire you!

A year ago I was in a lot of pain. My doctor had prescribed Percoset, which alarmed me at how much I liked it so I stopped that, and I was going to ask him if I could possibly get a Handicapped Parking Pass. 

This year, after making many changes in my health, I've been in a Learn to Run class....and next Sunday I'll be running in my first race....a Santa 5K in Hamilton! It all seems so surreal to me! I have never been an athlete in any sense of the word!

So hopefully I'll have a picture to share next week of that big event!

For now, here we are on Saturday morning enjoying the beautiful morning....

Have a wonderful day!

Sunday Stitching

I'm pretty well caught up with my daily appliqued hearts and have had no opportunity to prep some more applique.

Luckily there is always my Life is Beautiful for my "in-between" times...

....so that is what I am working on today.

It's always good to have many projects just waiting for a bit of attention, isn't it!?...haha!

I never feel that this embroidery is pushing for attention....it's purpose in my life is to just be there when I need something a bit different to work on. I'm sure one day it will become a beautiful quilt.

My stitches on these blocks are not always the prettiest, but they are always the best I can do on a given day....and that's ok.


Like I've said, my Quilty365/Year in My Life will be soon done and the question of borders for this quilt will come up.

I came across two fabrics the other day that I'm sure I bought over ten years ago, thinking they would make a nice border....some day.

I've auditioned them in this picture....

I'm not sure if they are perfect or if they look dated. Opinions are most welcome!


I've switched up my "leaders-and-enders" for the time-being. I have almost 400 of my  5" Nature's Neutrals blocks waiting to be transformed into a quilt...

 ...so I am going to sew them together into "fours" to make them more manageable on the design wall. (An idea that I remember from a friend, thanks!)

I'm sure by making these neutral blocks my leaders-and-enders they will go together in no time! To find out about what leaders-and-enders are all about, you can read about it here at Quiltville.com.

We're in the middle of a baby boom around here lately. Our fifth grandchild, and second this year, was born this weekend! 

Meet Rennick...

....and now we wait patiently for the New Year, when we will welcome the twins into the family!

I am linking up with Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts to see what others are working on for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Happy Mother's Day!

There is actually another applique block and a pieced block for this month!

Here is what I have so far. There are a few more wreath blocks to do and a number of simple star blocks. They will be fillers and we have til October to get them done on time....no problem. (ahem!)

I'm loving working with with the Tula Pink fabrics on this HappyDay BOM. They are very happy and jolly.

Along with working on my Happy Day block this morning, I put some slow stitches into my first Rowdy Flat Library Quilt block...

There is still a bit of a "bubble" on the toile bit. I've done it twice and don't know how I can do it better....and there is something else I'd change up....but, I'm calling it okay! This will be a very pretty quilt!

I read Kathy's blog this morning and she is showing progress on her Life is Beautiful quilt. She's really moving right along with it, and has done some of the piecing, as well.

Her post inspired me to put my blocks up on the wall and take stock...

Not bad. I wish I as a bit further along but it's okay. This was always meant to be a go-to for when I didn't have some applique prepped, or as a take-along when needed. 

I've realised that I don't have many "finishes" this past year, but what I've always stood by is that it's the journey of my craft that appeals to me....the end product will come....one day. In Kathy's post she says, "the process of creation is just as important as the end product", so I know that she understands this also. 

On as side note, we have been enjoying our start to Tai Chi this last couple of weeks. It can be a bit overwhelming if I start to think about all the "moves" that are to come....but then I take on the same philosophy as my applique and quilting....enjoy the journey and the end result will come....one day! We just have to have trust in the process, since it seems to have worked for many others who enjoy Tai Chi.

I'll be linking up with Kathy at Kathy's Quilts to see what others are slow stitching today. 

I'm also linking for the first time with Judy over at Patchwork Times to see what is on others' design walls!

Have a wonderful day....and....

Mushroom Log log...

We're trying something new in the garden this year....we've purchased a Mushroom Log! Here is our Log on Day One....

If it is successful, it will sprout Shiitake mushrooms for 4-7 years (basically as long as the log lasts, I guess). My brother-in-law are both giving this a try.

In this picture, you can see the arrows pointing to little circles on the log...

This is where holes have been drilled, mushroom spores place in the holes and then plugged with maple syrup. All we have to do is keep it in a shady spot and perhaps put water on it if there are drought-like conditions.

We got the logs from Eden in Season. The young man who runs it will from time to time makes deliveries throughout Southern Ontario. 

It will be interesting to see if it works out or not!

I just had to take a picture of this sign of Spring...a rabbit and some birds sharing what they could find under one of the bird feeders...

As for "slow" stitching this week, I've been getting some embroidery done on the current Life is Beautiful block....

...but then....I hate to admit it, a project that has been waiting it's turn for after a couple of my bigger projects are done has pushed it's way to the front of the queue. I just couldn't resist doing the first bit of it. 

It's called the Rowdy Flat Library Quilt by Susan Smith. 

I hosted my applique group this past week and I'm blaming starting this quilt on seeing an old applique buddy who has been a big influence in my quilting life. Well, I guess I can't really blame her, it's my own doing, isn't it???

Here is the beginning of Rowdy Flat...

I did the first mow of the backyard yesterday. At one point I felt a bit overwhelmed...I think it's the first summer with none of my children home to help with the outdoor responsibilities. Then I looked at the bright side. I love my property and it's so nice to be out in the beautiful weather taking care of it. I've also wanted to be more active and this is great exercise...to be out walking the lawnmower, breathing in the lovely Springtime! So no, no complaints here!

This past week has been so busy and flown by. I really feel that it will be a very slow day....stitching and recuperating. I am so very lucky to have a past-time that does so much for my well-being.

I'm linking up with Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts to see what others are stitching at today.

Have a lovely Spring day!

Niagara, quilt shops, wineries!

We had a nice little mini-holiday this week to Niagara Falls. The weather didn't co-operate but it was nice to get away for a bit and have some fun.

I don't quite know how we packed so much activity in such a short trip. We stayed in a hotel right in the centre of Clifton Hill, where most of you probably know is all the wax museums, restaurants, touristy stuff, etc....as well as the main attraction...

We had dinner at Antica Pizzeria. I ordered what I'm pretty sure was the best lasagne I've ever had....I highly recommend it! 

Somehow we managed to squeeze in three quilt shops.

The first was The Quilting Bee in Fonthill. I wish I had remembered to take a picture with one of the knowledgeable staff there. Her name is Crowley with a "w"....so I always feel like I'm in a Dr. Seuss book when we greet each other with a "hello, Mrs. Crowley" and a "hello, Mrs. Croley". 

I did take a picture of a quilt that I hadn't seen before since I wanted to show it to one of my "horsey" friends...

Quilt shop #2 was Stitch in Jordan Village. It's such a unique shop....for quilters and knitters. The owner of the shop actually designed the quilt that I have had accepted to Quilt Canada this year. She is a bit photo-shy, so I took this picture instead...

On our way home on Friday we stopped in St. Catharine's at quilt shop #3, Kindred Spirits. It was nice to see their new location (actually in the same strip-mall as before, just a larger shop), as well as my friend's daughter, Amy, who works there. I asked if she'd strike a pose with the Farm Girl Vintage quilt that was on the wall (it's the one in the left corner of the picture)...

I am also working on my own Farm Girl Vintage with a group of friends as a support group. We are doing two blocks a month. I've been very happy with mine, so far, especially my polka-dot background fabric...

A couple of weekends ago I was in Quilt Junction and the first thing I saw was this fabric...

I thought it was perfect to throw some of this in with the red polka-dots....but I don't really think it works, after-all....

I'm not sure if it's the background "cheerio's" that don't work, or my choice of fabrics???? Any opinions are most welcome! I really think I have do re-do these blocks. 

What would a trip to Niagara be without some visits to a couple of wineries? We have some favourites in the particular area of Jordan/Beamsville/Grimsby....I think referred to as the Beamsville Bench. 

Our favourite by far is Kacaba. We didn't go there this time, we wanted to try a couple that we hadn't been to before. 

We came across Cave Spring in Jordan Village. They had a lovely Reisling (my favourite), which isn't surprising as most of the wineries on the "bench" have great Reislings...I think I've been told that it's the limestone in the area. 

We met Meg, who agreed to a photo (excuse my "hotel" hair...nice and poofy...usually from the shampoo in hotels...this time very little water pressure!)...

Then we came across quite a new winery, Redstone. They also had a nice Reisling...a little sweeter that I usually like, but still wonderful!

Of course, I did take a bit of stitching with me....my latest block from Life is Beautiful. Not much accomplished on this block since last time, but still nice to put a few stitches in while I was away!

I think I was a little optimistic, since I actually had another block ready, too. I just hate the thought of being left with nothing to work on if the opportunity arises!

Oh well, that one will be ready to take along to guild this week!

This is the time of month to check in with Audrey at Quilty Folk. She will have people linking up to see progress on Quilty365 circles. As I've shown before, my circles happen to be heart-shaped.

On Saturday I got another row of hearts sewn on...which makes 9 rows of 15, so far....135 hearts! I still have three more completed and four more to get started on to be up-to-date....not bad!

I've referred to this quilt as "A Day in My Life"....but I think more appropriate will be "A Year in My Life"....so that is now the working title.

The photo represents 4-1/2 months...so over a third of the way through! 

When you visit Audrey at her post, she mentions an interview she did with Stephie Boon at Dawn Chorus Studio. You can see the article on her at Stephie's blog HERE. The blogpost is a good one and Audrey's quilting-ways really resonated with me.

Today we celebrate our hand-stitching with Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts . I started an online BOM with Sarah Fielke of Australia this year called Happy Day. There have already been some highly challenging blocks and piecing methods. The blocks are released on the last day of each month and I was happy to see that we are just doing two applique blocks this month. So, right up my alley!

This morning I put the final stitches in the bird block....

Sarah had a different method for making the narrow legs on the bird which I was happy to try. I'm all for trying new techniques and I liked this one. As this post is seeming to get a bit lengthy, I think I explain it another time!

Since both my projects today are of a scrappy nature, I'm also linking up with Cynthia over at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh, Scrap!.

It's quite snowy and frigid looking outside today...I heard a weatherman say we may have more snow in April than we had in December! So, a perfect day to hunker down with some quilting and maybe a bit of a good book later, too!

Have a good one!

Happy Easter!

It will be a busy Easter Sunday here today.

For the first time we are hosting an Easter brunch. I'm quite looking forward to it, as it means creating a different sort of meal than usual....thank goodness for Pinterest!

There was not much time to prepare through the week as I had two custom quilts to work on. 

One went fairly quickly and was a lot of fun to work on. It's a baby quilt made by a friend of mine for her first grandchild...due in mid-April. Well, babe had other things on his mind and came early, and thankfully all was well.

The quilt feels very organic and has a lot of movement and energy...love it!

The second quilt was much different and soooo pretty, I love the fabrics! The pattern is MetroScope by Sew Kind of Wonderful...and my friend is calling it Metro Retro!

I tried to remember on this one to take pictures through the quilting process...

The pups have gotten used to their little bed in the studio and are usually keeping me company...

As for my applique....this week I can finally say that the lower border of FlowerGarden is complete! I appliqued the final couple of pieces this morning with my coffee.

Even the teeny circles that I had been dreading that represent the water in the fountain. Not perfect but not bad!

I'd better get in the kitchen and try to get started on my brunch recipes...I'm so looking forward to it, I hope everything works out. There are two recipes I haven't tried before...but my family is familiar with experiments!

Hmmm, now that the FlowerGarden border is complete I think I'll have to spend some time later preparing the next bit of applique. I think it's time I re-visit my Auntie Green's Garden. 

I am tempted to just do a bit of stitching on a couple of Life is Beautiful blocks. 

I'm inspired by Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts. She is working on her Life is Beautiful this week and has even started to assemble a few blocks. Check it out, and you will also be able to see what others are slow stitching on this Easter Sunday. It's funny, even though this weekend may be busy with family get-togethers, we still find a few minutes for our peaceful past-time! 

I'm also linking up with Cynthia over at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh,Scrap!, since my FlowerGarden is scrappy. 

Have a wonderful day!