....and now for some reverse applique....

It's an absolute perfect Summer weekend in my neighbourhood. Nice temperatures and low humidity. I could take a few months of this!

Today Kathy at Kathy's Quilts talks about doing some stitching outside....I think that's a great idea and I'm working on the perfect little block for it, as there are no applique bits to blow away in the breeze!

I've resurrected my Dutch Treat blocks. I really should try to get these going more often, even to do two blocks per month would keep this quilt moving along nicely. Hmm, maybe I'll put a reminder on my calendar!

Here is the block I finished this morning.....

This block is called Poirot....it makes me smile because I've always been an Agatha Christie fan and the block really does seem to be a nod to Poirot's infamous mustache.

I started on the second block that I have prepped...

I guess you can't see much of what it will look like. The tracing is quite faint with my new favourite marking pen and even my basting stitches are blending in.

Yes, I think it's a good idea to put this on my calendar! I am glad to see a little improvement in my fiddly reverse applique on these two blocks. It has helped to spray starch the top fabric, it seems to reduce raveling. 

This weekend has been one of the first in a long while that we haven't been busy so I'm taking the opportunity to finally paint my dining room. I just need to get the second coat done today.....it's looking super!


I am linking up with Kathy today for Slow Sunday Stitching.

100 Days 100 Blocks....again!

The Summer days have been passing by so quickly that it's been difficult to sit down and do any posting here.

In 2016 I took part in a daily sewalong on Instagram to make the Tula Pink City Sampler quilt. I enjoyed it so much and love the quilt... I was so tempted to join in again last year but resisted the temptation....so proud :)

So, this month they started again and I was back and forth....then Day 1 came and I jumped in. There are 100 simple but awesome blocks and we are supposed to post a block a day for a 100 days. You can see all the wonderful blocks on Instagram using the hashtag #100days100blocks.

Here is my quilt from 2016.....

This time I am challenging myself to be very subtle with just a little bit of colour once in a while. Here are a couple of my blocks....

....and here are the first 20 blocks all together....

I think it's going to work!

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 We've had a nest of barn swallows above the front door for the past while...what a mess! We did try to deter them at first, but they won and set up camp.

The baby birds took many days of perching like this before finally getting up the nerve to fly the coop...

In this picture you can see one of the baby birds and it's momma or papa on a branch not far from our front door..

This morning I finished the next block in my Simple Folk BOM. I think I'll take a break for a couple of days and do a couple of my Dutch Treat blocks.

That's all for today....gotta get going to get my car checked out. For once, in a long time, we have absolutely no plans for the weekend so you know what that means!!!.....I can finally paint my dining room. I'm so excited!

Today I am linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?.

Almost a real quilt...

I'm spending some time today sewing the binding down on my grandson's birthday quilt...

I know people like doing the binding, but I'm not one of them....but it does mean the quilt is almost finished!

I tried quilting it with wavy lines which seems to be popular lately and I do like the effect. I don't know why it's such a difficult thing for me to do though! The last third of the quilt certainly doesn't look the same as the first third....I think I was finally catching on to how to make it look a bit better. I find it hard to make the wavy lines look "random".

Once it's done I'll give it a wash with some colour catchers to see if I can get rid of the marks on the quilt, of which you can read about HERE.

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I hope to find time today to do some prep-work for more applique. 

I finished another block this week for Simple Folk.....

I was a little nervous of the execution of this block, but I love how it turned out in the end!

This week I also tweaked a couple of blocks that were bothering me. I switched out the purple leaves on the upper block that seemed to blend in too much, and I changed my swans. I'm much happier with the results....

On a gardening note.....I think this is our second year attempting to grow garlic, if not our third, and we finally have success!

How funny though....I'm not one to like pictures of myself but this garlic made me so happy I think it really shows in the picture :)

A nice harvest, and will try to grow more next year.

This week I'll watch some YouTube videos so I can learn to braid the garlic.

Today I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Have a wonderful Summer's day and try to stay cool!

Out, out damn spot!

The last few days I've definitely felt out of sync with the universe! I'm pretty sure it's not a full moon right now, so I have no explanation.

After working on a client's quilt yesterday, I mounted my grandson's birthday quilt, hoping to take time to get it done this week.

This is the one where I had a problem with some kind of stain on the quilt, which you can read about HERE. I'm not sure the mark will come out in the wash, so I figured I'd sew a label to the front of the quilt to cover it before quilting...just in case. 

Do you see what I see?....here, take a closer look....

Hmmm, I think it's more noticeable in person....the indigo fabric is running! I'm sure I washed these fabrics ahead of time. A friend of mine is going to give me a couple of colour catchers so I can wash the quilt after it's done....here's hoping for the best!

So, I have the quilt all ready to go, and now realise that I have to get a small quilt done for someone first.....so after I write this post I'll make my way to the sewing room to take this quilt off and hopefully get a fresh start with it later this week.

It's one of those weeks where I just would like to curl up with a bit of applique and ignore responsibilities! 

I did have a wonderful experience last weekend....my son and grandson ran the Smugglers' Run with me....

It was hot, and the trail is highly technical, but we had a lot of fun! I say the same as I did last year after that race....never again!!! lol

Today I am linking up with Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social and with Susan at Quilt Fabrication for Midweek Makers.

Have a good one!

One Monthly Goal - July

Just thought I'd do a quick post today so I can declare my monthly goal for July.

I've had this UFO languishing in the sewing room long enough...it's time to make it a real quilt!

This is my Nature's Neutrals, which was part of a block exchange....

....it's actually folded in half, so it's much bigger than what you see here.

All that is needed is two more rows of blocks to be attached to one side, then quilt it. I'm looking forward to quilting it as I am going to try a new-to-me variegated thread.

If it gets bound in time for the end of the month, that will be a bonus, but not part of my goal.

As an added challenge this month, I'd like to tweak two of my Simple Folk blocks, since I'm not going to be happy 'til I do!

The blocks in question are the very top one and the swans. Not only do I not like the swans, but there was something weird about the fabric not wanting to needle-turn quite nicely. I'll be much happier when they are re-done.

I am linking to Elm Street Quilts for OMG - One Monthly Goal.

Have a lovely warm day!

Sunday Stitches

It's the perfect day to sit a bit and poke away at some hand-stitching.

 Yesterday I prepped the next block for Simple Folk and it's one that is working up quickly....maybe because I'm a bit under the weather and I was able to do a bit extra sewing. 

Here is the block I've almost finished from the other day...

All that's missing is some small circles that need to be done just above the flower but I haven't decided on colour yet, or if they will actually fit! I think my flower is a bit closer to the top of the block than it should be.

Here is the next block....what will be a "heart in hand"...although I think it's actually a glove....

.....and there will be a cuff....

....which will have more diamond shapes and then trimmed down to size.

I was a bit frustrated doing my stitching this morning....not my best work and I'm putting it down to not feeling well. I'm not going to beat myself up about it, it's my best work at this time and that's ok.

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In my last post, which you can see HERE, I talked about joining in on a new sew-along hosted by Border Creek Station, called Let's Be Friends. You can read about the sew-along HERE.

I had a plan all figured out, but now seeing the block, and the fact that it will be the same block repeated throughout, my original plan doesn't work for me anymore.

I will think on it today and give it a go tomorrow. At the moment I'm leaning toward a totally scrappy look, including the background.

I keep thinking of how much I like the look of my Year In My Life quilt and am drawing from it for inspiration....

Today I am linking up with Kathy Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching. We are in the middle of a heat-wave....a perfect time to stitch a bit and read what others are working on.

Happy Canada Day!!