More time for piecing...

Hmm, I seem to be getting a bit more time for piecing lately. I know it's from me changing up my daily schedule and I'm liking the productivity!

I usually have some progress on my handwork...and that goes for this week, also. I have finished this block for my Simple Folk...

I wish I hadn't fallen so far behind on  Simple Folk, which was the Sarah Fielke BOM for 2018. Especially since the first installment for 2019's BOM  is being released in the next 24 hours.

I also sat down after work yesterday for a coffee break and some hand-piecing on this week's block for the Hand-Pieced QAL....

I am happy with block #2 of the Harry Potter QAL hosted by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts. This block is Hermione. It's not too late to join in on this one!

(note to self....clean the lens on the camera so as to get clearer photos)


I've been working at my Border Creek Mystery. I think this will be a bright quilt!

I've been dabbling with some Dear Jane blocks. This one has been on my bucket list for a very long time, but I've always struggled with tiny blocks. I think I'm ready (really????)...and now is a good time, as there is a sewalong beginning in mid-February on Instagram, so there would be motivation and accountability (really????).

Here is the block on the design wall so you can get an idea of "scale"...

Now it's time for a bit of an abashed confession...I seem to have two more "starts" looming in my near future. I'll go into that at a later time.

For now, it's time to make the long commute to the longarm. Believe me, on a frigid day like today, I'm even more thankful to be able to stay indoors. 

Stay warm, stay safe!! xo

Today I am linking up with Susan at Quilt Fabrication for Midweek-Makers.

Today's design wall.....

Today I thought I'd share a picture of how my design wall is looking. Last weekend everything had to come down and now it seems a bit refreshed for some reason.

It also reinforces what I know....that I can never seem to resist a sew-along! Surely I'm not the only one?....lol, I know I'm not!!!

I'm still loving the temperature quilt (along the top of the picture) and am looking forward to February, when I'll start adding a second row.

The large block on the right is a new sewalong called Miss Lizzy Blooms. The blocks are 18", nice and big and cheery.....there will be one block per month.

Below that are my first two blocks for the sewalong offered by the Canadian Quilters Association....#52blocks52weeks. I'm using my 30's prints because after all this time I still really love them.

There are a number of my Farm Girl Vintage blocks on the wall. Doing eight blocks of that quilt is my One Monthly Goal for January and it looks like I may be able to accomplish it. This was a sewalong a couple of years back and I'm sorry that I fell off the rails on this one because it results in a pretty sweet quilt.

My "braid" is on the design wall to remind me to get back at my I Am Enough quilts.....I'm pondering this being my goal for February.

And, finally, there is my Harry Potter block!!!

I love it!

This is the very beginning of a quilt-along that Lorna is offering at Sew Fresh Quilts....we've just started, so a great time to join in!


A quilt that has fallen by the wayside is my Simple Folk quilt. It is a BOM that was offered in 2018 by Sarah Fielke. 

I don't know why it's been months since I've worked on it, but I did prep a block a couple of days ago and have been poking at it.....I still like it and want to keep at it. I wonder if it's back on my radar because Sarah's new BOM starts next week????

So cute!

And, a bit of a tip here.....you'll notice that I fussy cut the bird in such a way that the pattern in the fabric will kinda represent an eye where the bird's eye should be?....well, that was a design choice instead of having to applique a very small circle/eye. I was going to use the opportunity to try to use the Appliquick tools that I bought a long time ago....but I chickened out once again :(


Today I am linking up with Lorna for Let's Bee Social (hopefully we'll see a few more Harry Potter blocks!), and with Susan at Quilt Fabrication for Midweek Makers.

Well, it looks like a messy morning out there and I have to get ready to go out in it. Hopefully you get to stay inside and do a bit of sewing!

Gratitude X3

I've had a nice start to my day with a bit of slow stitching.

It's going to be a busy Summer day, so I am always grateful to the peaceful way I begin each day.

Today I put the finishing touches on a block from my Simple Folk quilt....the block was from a couple of months ago, I just never got around to doing the heart....

.....and, yes, I do know that it turns out looking like a fancy, old-fashioned rubber glove! lol...

That didn't take long, so I continued on with a bit of binding....

I am grateful to seeing a friend's binding on a similar quilt....it turned out to be the perfect binding for mine!.....absolutely perfect!

Can you see that I've used the word "grateful" twice already....not on purpose. But I did listen to a podcast this morning while slow stitching....it talked about trying to say three things that you are grateful everyday. Evidently, this can help change your outlook on life, which I've heard before but always seem to forget. Maybe I'll have to set up some kind of reminder until it becomes a habit.

I will gift this quilt to my grandson at his 13th birthday party today. I am not happy whatsoever with this quilt in the end, but I'm sure he will love it...and I'll make it up to him in the future with another quilt, I am sure!

Here is Kirby, after a race he ran with me this Summer, which I don't think he'll ever do again! I am very grateful to have this young man in my life, xo.

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

Another Beautiful Summer's Day!

It's another hot and humid weekend. I've had a bit of applique-time this morning, will have a bit of breakfast as I write this post and get outside to do a bit of yardwork before the day gets too hot.

I also have a bit of unexpected planting to do. We made our way to a local garden centre on Saturday to get a gift card for my son's upcoming birthday. So nice to get him something he really wants since I find it difficult to come up with birthday ideas for grown "children"! 

I thought that if I saw a nice phlox on sale I'd buy one for my own garden. Well, we found a phlox, a butterfly bush and a beautifully coloured echinacea. Garden centres are just as dangerous to visit as fabric stores!

Hmmm, the picture really doesn't do this one justice as it is quite a deep red in real life.

I had a few days this week where I didn't have the time to prep any applique and had to resort to some embroidery. I have to say, it's nice to have the embroidery as back-up, but I much prefer to applique.

I did finally get started on another block for my Simple Folk quilt. 

Sometimes I take a few moments to baste pieces to the block which will need other pieces stitched under it. I know I could use fabric glue, but the basting only takes a few moments and I do prefer it.

Most times it is vines and stems that are basted down. This block has a stem and an urn that I basted...

I love the flower on this block!

Today I am linking up with Kathy to see what others are doing for Slow Sunday Stitching. Kathy is working on a sewalong that actually starts tomorrow (which I am also going to do, lol).

Stay cool and enjoy the day!

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!

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!!

Let's Be Friends - a new sew-along!

There is a new sew-along starting July 1st from Border Creek Station called Let's Be Friends. There will be two blocks issued per week....you can read more about it HERE. 

My LQS will be offering a weekly support group, or Show and Tea as she puts it. Sounds like fun....I'm in!

There are kits available for this sew-along, but I'm going to shop the stash. I have just the right amount of background fabric that was rejected from a previous project, which you can see HERE.

For my other fabrics, I will use 30's reproduction prints. I think it will work....I'll find out after the first two blocks this week!

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I've been trying to play catch-up this week when I've had a spare moment or two.

I'm a bit behind on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I think I have three sets of bird blocks to do.....and I had a couple of months worth of Squared Away to piece. 

I'm almost ready for the July colour when it's revealed, I just need one more pink block. Here is what I've accomplished this week....

I am doing three blocks per colour and the blocks finish at 7".

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I was happy (and surprised) to come across these little blocks...

I had looked all over the place for them in April when I intended on making a small mat out of them to donate to the draw at our Quilt Show in May. Of  course, they were tucked away in the proverbial "safe place"!

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I couldn't resist starting a new block for my Simple Folk quilt...one of Sarah Fielke's current BOM's.

I've had a couple of other applique pieces on the go, but I also think I was stalling on this one because a few of these blocks will include a bit of "pieced applique" bits, which I found a bit intimidating.

It turns out that the process was easy-peasy and I like it!.....

Here are all my blocks, so far, on the design wall....

I'm quite pleased with it. There are two things I had wondered about changing, but decided to let be.

Then, when my husband came in to look at the blocks up on the wall, he pointed out one of my doubtful bits on his own! I think that decides the issue for me....I'll have to correct it. Most of the fabrics really pop, but in the top block the purple "teardrop" shapes really blend in a little too much. I think I'll be much happier in the end if I fix them.

I tend to not overthink my quilts too much, just go with the flow. But, when the need arises, I have no problem going back to tweak things just a little.

I'm also not fussy on my fabric choice for the swans. I'll let that one go a little longer and see how I feel later.

In my neighbourhood we are bracing for an extreme heat wave over the next several days. At some point I need to cut the grass out front, but other than that I think I'll be spending a bit of time in the sewing room....sounds like a plan!

I am linking up with Confessions of A Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?. Have a visit and see what others are working on today :)

Have a lovely day and stay cool!