Stitching on a Sunday

I feel like I usually start my posts with a comment about the weather...so why should today be any different?

After a beautiful day yesterday, today seems blustery and grey. It's milder so the precipitation is rain instead of the white stuff. 

Seems like a perfect day for extra slow stitching time, a bit of book reading and continued de-stashing in the sewing room.

Yes, finally this week I began the ruthless process of packing up fabrics that I'm not in love with anymore. 

You see, the problem the last while has been that my newer additions to the stash have accumulated into piles here and there in the sewing room. I've known that I wanted to do a major overhaul, but it's difficult to make the time. 

My goal is to just take a half hour here and there to make progress. I have to say, I've already filled 2.5 of those large, clear garbage bags and it feels so good! 

These fabrics will find a new home and be used by someone else.


On Friday I went to the third of four classes at Quilt Junction on wool applique stitching....featuring little Sue Spargo kits.

Here is the block that I've recently completed...

This is the block we worked on this month...

Some of the stitches seem like they are going to be so difficult, such as the Pekinese Stitch that we learned this month. This is the stitching around the upper wings on the butterfly. Turns out it is super simple and quite lovely.

This mornings slow stitching was prepping the block for next month's class. All the pieces get stitched down with a fine, blind stitch.....

So, one of the reasons I took this class is that I've been stitching away at my Summertime Sampler BOM and quite enjoying it. Here you can see a block stitched as instructed using a blanket-stitch around all the pieces....which is quite nice....

....but when I heard of the stitching class being offered, I thought wouldn't it be fun to add some "Spargo" to these blocks!

Here is the Summertime Sampler block that I am currently working on...

Yup, I'm in love with the look of the stitches, and the process of figuring out which stitches to use!


I took part in the St. Patricks Day 5k down in Hamilton yesterday...such a beautiful, sunny day...not too cold, although there was a crisp breeze coming in off of Lake Ontario. Perfect conditions for me!

Here are Paula and I waiting for the starting gun...

Note to self....wear green next year! 

Paula runs a bit quicker than I do...typically by the 1k marker I lose sight of her. Yesterday I seemed to be always within 100' of her and the thought crossed my mind that she was having an "off" day.

Well, it turns out that I happened to run my fastest 5k ever! If it hadn't been a timed event I would have been sure my watch had malfunctioned!!! I'm still on Cloud 9 this morning :)

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. Hopefully you can visit with her today as she has a particularly interesting project to share with you.

Slow stitching.....and a glimpse into something else!

Yay.....it's March!....March always makes me feel good because we should start seeing glimpses that Spring will indeed happen once again.

I've done a bit of slow stitching this morning, as usual. For the past few mornings I've worked on my wool applique project, the Summertime Sampler BOM.

The first step is whip-stitching all the components onto the background...

Here is a previous block, so you can see how things look after the embroidery....although I can see I still need to attach some eyeballs to the birds...

I've been skipping the blanket-stitching lately because I have something else in mind...

I've been taking a wool applique class at Quilt Junction, where we are learning lots of cool Sue Spargo stitches to spice up our wool applique projects. Here is this past month's block...and, again, another block where I still have to complete the eyeball!...

I'm so surprised at how simple, but effective, some of these stitches can be! 

Also, I have to mention, when I posted the above picture on Instagram, I had a comment from Sue Spargo herself! 

So, my plan is to utilize what I am learning in these classes to dress up my Summertime Sampler blocks...should be lots of fun. 

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Now, just a glimpse of some blocks I worked on on Saturday. I'll explain more in a future post, but I just need to share pictures of these sweet blocks.

Here is a typical log cabin.....probably one of my favourite blocks....

.....but here are my two little log cabins shown in a way that you can see the scale of the blocks....

The finished size of these blocks is 1-1/4" !!!!!

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Now I am going to hijack this post for a completely different topic. I promise this will be a one-time thing....future posts will be all quilty-goodness.

A few months ago, completely by accident, I learned of a lifestyle called Intermittent Fasting.

I had, for a few months, been on Weight Watchers to try to slim down a little bit for my son's wedding in November. This experience helped me be more aware of my meals and I did lose a few pounds, but after taking a break for the wedding week, I never really seemed to get back into tracking my meals.

Mid-November is when I heard of IF....and I thought, what the heck, I'll try it through the week and take a break on weekends. Well, right from the get-go I have settled very comfortably into this way of life.

Here is the concept in a nutshell...

You eat how you like in a window of time through the day. A common window is an 8-hour one. That's how I started....only eating between 10am and 6pm. This is referred to as 16:8....fasting for 16 hours and eating only in the 8 hour span.

During the clean fast you only consume water, black coffee, black tea, green tea or unflavoured sparkling water.

I thought there was no way this could work for me, as I was one to typically get "hangry"....I'd usually eat breakfast at 8am and if lunch was an hour late I would get dizzy and very irritable.

To my utter surprise, I have not experienced this once since starting IF. I think it is because I am not starting the "engine" first thing in the morning. Believe me when I say, I do not feel hunger during my fast.

Now for some benefits....

People refer to this way of life (note, it's not a diet) as being full of health benefits, with a side effect of weight loss.

Well, I have not seen the scale move much, I seem to bobble back and forth with the same three pounds....but my body is changing, thats for sure.

Evidently during a fasted state, our cells experience something called Autophagy....a theory that someone has actually won a Nobel prize for in 2016. What seems to happen is that, while in a fasted state, our cells will work on repairing our body.

So, for me, even though there is not a lot of change on the scale, my cells are working hard at building muscle and bone.

The testimonials on the Facebook pages are amazing. One thing I see over and over again are peoples accounts of having reversed their Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, among other things.

I will certainly be looking forward to getting my blood-work done in a couple of months.

This is not a quick fix, but I will say that myself and a couple of others that I know personally can tell you we feel so good. I am feeling like my old self again in many ways....like I'm ten years younger. I have much more energy and I am getting so much more accomplished in my day. 

I could go on, but I know this has been lengthy already. I just have to say, what have you got to lose? This is terribly easy and it's free!

The only money I'd suggest spending are on two books. One is this one....

What a great title....sums it all up....you can eat the foods you've always loved, you just have to delay eating them until your "window".

The other book is by Dr. Jason Fung, a kidney specialist from Toronto. His book is The Obesity Code, and is a much more science-y book. A great read, but I'd start with Delay, Don't Deny as it reads like you're having a conversation with your girlfriend. I think, at this time, that it is only available on Amazon.

I'll end by saying that, of course, I have no medical training, so if this sounds interesting to you, have a talk with your doctor if you have medical issues. I hesitated to write all this, but I just had to, as I feel like I've stumbled upon some big secret to the fountain of youth :)

I won't write of this again....if you have something you'd like to ask me, you can email me at sandra.croley@gmail.com

Have a lovely Sunday!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Sunday stitching.....

It sure does feel like the perfect day for some slow stitching!

I haven't slept well this week....today I've been up since 3:00. I'm not sure what's going on, but I do know that it makes for extra stitching time!

The last couple of days I've been working on the next block of my wool applique...

The instructions for this pattern ask that you secure the pieces with a whip stitch using a single strand of matching floss, which is what I've done here. It's an extra step, but for some strange reason I'm liking it.

I think I'll hold off on the contrasting blanket stitch until after the next week.

I've signed up for a class at Quilt Junction that will teach different kinds of stitches for wool applique to get the Sue Spargo look.  The first class is next Friday and I hope to learn a couple of fancy stitches that I can incorporate into this current project.

I'll also have to remember to go shopping for some tiny beads for the birds' eyeballs!

Hopefully in my next post I'll show my progress on my temperature quilt. All I've done so far is take note of the daily high/low temps since January 1st since I've totally changed my mind on fabrics and am waiting now for something in the mail. 

Is anyone else making a temperature quilt this year? If you are on Instagram you can do some various searches and see all the ideas that are out there.

Have a nice day doing some stitching. I think I'll do a little prep-work for some applique before I go this afternoon to see Mary Poppins!!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. 

Sunday Stitches

I only had a little bit of time for stitching this morning.

It was enough time, however, to finish this block of my Summertime Sampler...

As much as I don't enjoy doing French Knots, I do like the effect of them on the Hosta.

Then I got a start on the dreaded binding on my nephew's wedding quilt. I know, I know, this is something that people enjoy, lol....the only thing I like is that it means for a completed quilt!....and that this one will be done in time for the wedding!

Now, to get ready for my outing this morning. 

I am going on a run with my friend to the Dundas Valley Conservation Area to re-run the route that is the Sulphur Springs Trail Run...even more special since my daughter and her girlfriend will be joining us.

I'll make sure to take some pictures. The first time I ran this trail was a practice run in the Spring...(I love this picture)....

.....and we came across a group of hikers taking a picture of their dogs....

So, you'll notice in those pictures, taken in April, the trees were still bare.

Flip forward to actual race-day a month later...

....everything was green and lush, a different kind of beauty from the month before. I also love this picture because it reminds me that at that moment I was quite choked up and almost in tears at the beauty around me. 

Today I expect yet another beautiful run with the leaves starting to change colour. I just hope we don't get lost! This time we won't have a seasoned coach with us, or a group of runners in a race to keep us on track.....but we'll have a map! Wish us luck!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Have a lovely day!

Sunday Stitches

Just a quick post today as I have to get out the door soon for a loooong run with my running buddy :)

Lately I've been stitching away at block #3 of my Queen's Crown BOM. I am doing this as part of the BOM programme at my local guild. We are taking it slow, doing one block every two months.

Out of a relatively small guild of about 35 people, there are about a dozen of us taking part in this project....so impressive!

I came to a stall on this block this morning as I feel I have to choose another fabric for those last two leaves to add a bit more visual interest. And see that little tiny leaf on top of the flower in the top right hand corner?...there will be three of them, but that fabric is just not doing it for me, so I will pick something slightly darker.

I'm finding working with neutrals to be very challenging!!

I'll have to make those fabric corrections later today, hopefully. In the meantime, I started on Block 2 of my Summertime Sampler...

I don't know if all wool projects are done this way....but this pattern calls for all the pieces to be secured with a whipstitch in a colour floss that matches, then the contrasting blanket-stitch will be done.

I thought this a bit weird, until I did Block 1 and found that I liked the process.

It feels awkward to "toot my own horn", but I have to share some excitement from this past week. Only because many of you saw my progress on my Down the Rabbit Hole over many months of Slow Sunday Stitching, mind you! :)

I entered my DTRH and my Happy Days quilts into the Norfolk County Fair this year, and both quilts did very well.

Here is Happy Days....which won Grand Champion in the machine-quilted category....

.....and, to my delight as a hand-quilter for so many years, here is my DTRH, which won Grand Champion in the hand-quilted category....

I even got pictures sent to me from my family members...

I am a very proud Slow Stitcher!

I really have to get a move on now. I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Have a beautiful Fall day!

Keeping up.....so far!

I feel proud of myself this week! 

I've actually kept up with the first month of my latest starts :)

I've already shown you the block that begins the Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day BOM called Fun on the Farm....

I'm still not sure if the piggy block needs some embroidery or not....I'll probably just call it "done" as it is.


I've completed the first block for the Save the Bees sewalong...

I like the embellishing on the Bees block. I think the petals could use a little something, but I'm not quite sure yet what that something is.

I've also finished the first block of my Summertime Sampler, I just need to get some little beads for the eyes.

I also learned something new this week, thanks to a quilty friend of mine. Here I am with my first garlic braid that I've ever done...

Why does this give me such pleasure?,.....I don't know!!!, but it does.

Today I am linking up with Busy Hands Quilts for Finished or Not Fridays and with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?.

Oops, I did it again....

Ok, I'm saying right now.....no new projects for the rest of the year!!!

I am such a sucker for sew-alongs and BOM's. I am reluctant to say, but I'd better just come clean.....I've started three more :(

(please don't laugh at me, I know you are)



First I'll show a picture of a block I completed for my Simple Folk quilt...

Every block that I complete for this quilt is my new favourite!

And now to the new stuff....which, now that I think of it, means I will have lots to share on many upcoming Slow Sunday Stitching with Kathy! (and, yes Kathy, I know you are chuckling to yourself, you enabler you!)

I began the first block for the Save the Bees quilt...which you can read about HERE. 

I began by constructing the flower-head OTB....meaning "off the block" as it's so much easier to handle....

I started to applique the bees wing and realised that I didn't like my fabric choice, so this morning I switched up to the first block of the 
new Eleanor Burns mystery, Fun on the Farm, a free BOM.

I couldn't resist this one and I'm thinking it's out of sentiment. Back in the day, Eleanor Burns was one of the pioneers in bringing us a quilting show on TV. This would be before learning our craft was made easier by the internet, classes in quilt shops, etc.

It's funny, back then I regarded Eleanor as perhaps a senior....now I'm thinking she was probably younger than I am now! lol, that thought is a bit shocking to me for some reason!

Here is my first block, almost done...

It's an easy start and you can still join in....it's only one block per month....come on, jump in, the water is warm!

....and my third start this week.....

I've seen this quilt done up at a couple of quilt shows and it always catches my eye. I finally gave in and ordered the BOM which will be mailed out to me on a monthly basis from a shop right here in Ontario, which is nice. 

So, I'll say it one more time....no more new starts this year. 

The End!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. I will browse through the other quilters that are linking up and I will not be led into temptation.