Sunday Stitching, Show and Tell

Happy Easter!

I've taken a break from blogging this past month. It's been a forced hiatus as I have been taking steps to de-stress my life a bit. Not that blogging has ever been a chore, or stressful, but it felt like something I could put on hold for a short while.

I've also taken some of my quilty projects off the to-do list, in an attempt to simplify life. I do have to admit, though, to another sewalong beginning at the end of April, lol. 

I wish I could somehow fit a relaxing activity like yoga or pilates into the mix, but at the moment it doesn't seem to be happening. Luckily I have my morning slow-stitching....which I often refer to as my "yoga". 

Since I was last here in blog-land I completed my Hand-piecing Sewalong. I think I'll try to get this one basted soon so I can do a bit of hand-quilting when the mood strikes me. It is 26"square and I contemplated adding a border, but I think this will be it.

I've also completed the fourth and final block from the wool applique class that I was taking at Quilt Junction lately. I learned a lot of cool stitches and am happy with my blocks. I think I will sew these together and make a small, decorative pillow.

On my to-do list tomorrow will be to do the prep-work for the next block for my Queen's Garden. In the meantime, this morning, I worked on my Tula Nova EPP....which is normally saved for "away" stitching...

I'm a little behind in my Harry Potter QAL. I did get the "Dobby the House Elf" block completed, but then it was given away and I'll have to make another....which kind of sucks, as it was a difficult block with a couple of issues ( not issues with the pattern, issues with my piecing! ) ...

Dobby was an intricate block.....then came the Hogwart's Express block!!!....it was even more-so...and in the end it did not work out well. 

There's a big, fat error in the piecing....which I can live with. What you can't see, due to the magic of cropping, is the uneven edges to  my block....so much so that I don't think it will be fudge-able when it comes to joining it with the other blocks. Also, I think I will change the numeral 2 in the block so it looks less like a backwards 5. 

Here is a reminder of the previous blocks....

In my quest to organize and de-stress, I am trying something called a Bullet Journal. As someone who enjoys working with lists I think this may be a good thing, who knows. If any of you uses a Bullet Journal, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.


It's been an early morning for me...I find that happens when there is a lot to do to prepare for a family gathering. We are having most of the family over for an Easter lunch.

 I'll be trying a couple of new recipes, one being a crust-less quiche...I hope it works out! 

On Saturday I made something ahead of time, to free-up some oven time for today. This bread was something my mother would often make. It's made with a sweet dough and when it comes out of the oven you put jam in the creases of the braid and a thin icing on the humps. I have to say, I'm impressed with the results, even though the flavour of the bread is slightly different from what I remember of my mom's. Of course, I had to test it out by having a slice (or two)....

That's all for now....have a wonderful day. I hope it includes a bit of slow stitching.

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching, and also with Elm Street Quilts for the Hand-piecing QAL Finale.