One Monthly Goal - October

I think I have lofty goals for October....but why not try???

I will have two goals for October. The first one is to finish hand-quilting my Shimmer quilt. 

I was poking along quite nicely on this quilt pre-Covid, as I had hoped to have it done in time for the Norfolk County Fair....but when that got cancelled this quilt was quietly forgotten.

I've picked it up again this past month and have made some good progress...and now I just want to make it a One Monthly Goal so it can be done.

 I've been quilting with my favourite thread, YLI, in Coral. I think I was always one to use white or cream thread back in the day. About 15 years ago I attended a lovely quilt display at a local historical house, Cottonwood Mansion. I was surprised to see some of the vintage quilts quilted in bold-coloured thread....dark brown and red are what I specifically remember. Those quilts really made an impact on me, and I think I've used colourful threads ever since.

I've also been using an air-erasable marker to mark the quilting design....love it! The only problem is that the more humidity is in the air, the quicker the mark disappears! At this time of year the mark disappears almost before I can get the motif quilted. When I use the same marker in the dry air of Winter, the mark may last the whole day.

So that's my first goal....to have this quilted and bound by the end of October.

I'm not sure about accomplishing my second goal, as I do seem to have more time to spend on hand-work than piecing by machine. 

I'm just starting a Snowflake quilt, using the fabrics I won during last month's One Monthly Goal.

I didn't make a photo-copy of the first page of the pattern, but this picture may give you an idea of the quilt...

Mine will be a scrappy version, not the 4-colour version. I did take a bit of a sew-therapy afternoon to get a start on this quilt.

Here is the first row of blocks laid out on the design wall...

....and I couldn't resist sewing a few blocks together. They went together surprisingly quickly...

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal. Hopefully I can reach my lofty goals for October. It would be great to have the Snowflake quilt ready for use in December!

One Monthly Goal - August Finish

My goal for August was to complete my Halo quilt top.

This was a quilt that I started a couple of years ago then stalled on. I'm glad that I came across a Halo sewalong on Instagram that helped motivate me to get back at it. We were to do two blocks per week....easy peasy.

I'm so happy that I accomplished my goal...

When it came time to sew the blocks together I used a method of organizing the blocks that I learned on a retreat last year. 

Normally I would gather up all the blocks for the first two vertical rows off of the design wall and sew them together, then gather up each subsequent row and sew it on. 

This method, instead, has you get all of the blocks carefully stacked in a pile waiting to be sewn together.  It's a bit scary, but it works! Thanks to SS for teaching me a new trick!

And, of course, I just had to put a few stitches in....there's just something special about the very beginning of a hand-quilting project.

I'm using Hobb's wool batting, which is like quilting through butter, and Wonderfil Spaghetti thread for big-stitch quilting. For someone like me that has spent 40 years working on traditional tiny stitches, this kind of quilting is taking some concentration. 

I love everything about this quilt....I wish I'd had the patience to make it a bed-sized quilt, but I settled for a lap-sized quilt :(

Meanwhile, I've been a bit behind in the Summer Sampler 2020 sewalong. One block is released each week. The theme this year is blocks that are constructed in a manner easier than they seem. They are all quite unique and are looking good up on the design wall.

In the picture above you can also see a narrow peek of my Leaders and Enders blocks. I've been keeping two little containers near my sewing machine...one with 1" light strips, and the other with 1" dark strips. I'm really wanting this to be a full bed quilt so I imagine I'll be working on it for a while!

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of a bouquet of roses from our garden. They are really starting to flourish (it's a fairly new garden), and they have suffered a little from a couple of heat waves we've had this summer, but we are getting some spectacular blooms.

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal - August Finish, and with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?.

Peaceful handquilting

I thought I was finished with making PPE. 

I haven't made any masks, but I've sewn scrub gowns and many scrub caps. I liked the fact that I was helping out in a way that we sewers can, but I was happy to be done with it.

Then I went to the dentist this past week to have a tooth repaired. The dental assistant had a home-sewn scrub cap on and I commented that she must have a sewer in her family...but, no, she bought it off of Marketplace online. That got the conversation going....on how the dental office were now looking for more of these caps. 

So, what's a quilter to do??? 

When I try the caps on they kind of make me feel like I belong in Little House of the Prairie...

It was quite an eye-opener, seeing the new protocol they are utilizing at the dentist. I feel sorry for them....but I was glad they were able to fix my tooth.

My Slow Sunday Stitching consisted of sewing buttons onto the caps that I've completed. The buttons are to hook the mask elastic onto, to help avoid constant friction on the ears. My son, who works in a hospital, says the buttons are a "game changer". I have four more caps to finish off today....then I'm done!....lol, we'll see.

Like I said, I haven't made any masks, but a good friend of mine made me a nice one...

...can you tell that she is a running friend???

After I finished sewing the buttons onto the caps I picked up some hand-quilting that I haven't touched in months. This is a pattern called Shimmer...

I'm using Coral YLI quilting thread which is showing up nicely on the front and on the back.

I always seem to forget the feeling of peace that comes over  me as I hand-quilt. In these stressful times I should make more time for quilting as I do look at it as my yoga.

I had wanted to have this one ready for the Fall fair this year...but in all probability the fair will be cancelled for 2020.  Here's my opinion....maybe they could reduce the fair this year to just agriculture/animal displays and the Homecraft displays. I'd better keep stitching on this quilt "just in case".

A couple of years ago I started working on Jen Kingwell's Halo quilt. I think I made two blocks and stalled. A couple of months ago I spotted an Instagram sewalong for Halo and figured this is what I needed to get me sewing on this UFO.

Here are my blocks, so far, not necessarily in their final spot...

My kind of quilt....full of jolly scrappiness!!!

Everyone's gardens seem so wonderful this year. For me, I was overcome at the beauty of my Wisteria. I've never seen it so lush and full of blooms...

....and the aroma was just as wonderful.

That's all for now....I'd better get at the last few scrub caps and hopefully make some progress on my Bonnie Hunter Unity quilt....which is intended to be a birthday present for my grandson who will be turning 4 next week. I've given myself an extra week lee-way to get this done. Hopefully by the next Slow Sunday Stitching day I will be working on the binding!

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

Slow stitching....

Some early morning slow stitching going on here this morning...as per usual. 

A little earlier than usual as I have to be on my way soon to Niagara Falls for a race....looks like a beautiful day for it, too!

Here's the best picture I could take yesterday of the Falls when we went down yesterday for my race kit...

....and here's a picture of me yesterday trying to rock a red lipstick....I figured if I could be confident enough to do the red lip, I would be a confident runner today!....

This morning I've been working on my Chapman Coverlet blocks (since I haven't been able to take the time to prep other applique).

I love these little blocks, they are 2.5" unfinished and use up my scraps nicely. I pulled this project back out this month as it is a perfect one to work on during travel. I went to Scotland this month and am happy to say I loved every moment of it. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and I think if I didn't have family ties here I would definitely become a Highland girl.

I know it may look like a hot mess at the moment but it will be glorious when it's done. To me, it will be representative of what a quilt means to me....a cacophony of colour (I love alliteration!).

This week I also managed to put a few quilting stitches into my Shimmer quilt, which had been put aside as it was a bit warm to work on during the Summer...

Here are a couple of highlights from our trip to Scotland...

I love the castles we saw. This is Doune Castle. I wonder if it looks familiar to any of you? As the sign says, it was featured in Game of Thrones, which I've never seen as I don't get the channel, but I'm told I would enjoy it. 

It was also used for Monty Python and the Holy Grail....when I was in the small gift shop as we paid our entrance I asked if there were there any coconuts for sale, lol....and the answer was yes! 

And, for you Outlander fans (like myself), it represented Castle Leoch in the TV show.

The headphones that were available to narrate during touring around the castle actually had Terry Jones (Monty Python) and Sam Heughan (our Jamie) as narrators. 

I'm just posting this picture because I like it so much. It is Urquhart Castle, overlooking Loch Ness...

...and Loch Ness itself, so beautiful...this one taken at the charming town of Fort Augustus...

I did do a 10k race at Loch Ness / Inverness while I was there...so exciting! I admit to a couple of tears at the starting gate as I thought of my Granny emigrating from Scotland 99 years ago...

(best race logo, ever!)...

Well, that's about all I have time for this morning! Have a wonderful Sunday and I hope you can take time for some slow stitching of your own.

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. Check it out to see what others are working on today.

A little bit of applique and a little bit of handquilting....

I truly didn't think it would be such a long gap between this post and my last one.....the days slip by so quickly sometimes!

Today marks the 7th anniversary of Slow Sunday Stitching hosted by Kathy at Kathy's Quilts. Every week she invites us to share the projects that we are stitching away at. 

Lately I came across the new quilt published by Kim McLean, called Animal Album. I had no interest in starting a new applique project, but I just love Kim's designs and I finally caved in....thinking I'd get the pattern and it would be a new start for 2020.

I've completed two of Kim's patterns and loved both of them. I told myself it's ok to just work on one block...just one! 

Kim McLean's are "a little bit much", as I overheard a woman say once when she was viewing my Stars and Sprigs at the Fair a few years ago...and as I began this block I've realised, once again, that I really do like quilts that are "a little bit much"!

The blocks are 18" and there are still a lot more pieces to go on block #1.

This week I also started hand-quilting a quilt that was part of an online sewalong that just wrapped up, called Shimmer...

I love that I can baste quilts on the longarm. Back in the day I would pin quilts to the wall-to-wall carpeting that I used to have in the living room and spend a few hours crawling around the floor basting them. This is so much quicker and easier, and a service I love to provide for my hand-quilters.

Then I just had to sit down and put those first lovely stitches into the quilt. I wondered which feeling is better....those first few stitches quilted on a quilt....or the last few? I don't think I know the answer, both are pretty good!

My favourite thread and needles....and my new thimble, ready for action...

....and who'd a thunk it....I can't use my beautiful new thimble to quilt with .... it will have to be only used for applique :(

I wrote about my new silver thimble in my last post, which you can find here. 

I bought it at the quilt show hosted by the Genesee Valley Quilt Club in Rochester, NY. I do have a few more pictures to share with you from this wonderful show.

I always love house quilts. This one was beautiful and you can see in the close-up one of the "pictures" that were quilted into the background...

I like when we can see different quilters' interpretations of the same quilt. Especially nice when the quilt is from one of my favourite designers, like this one designed by Sue Garman...

This one is my favourite...

The following quilt was their raffle quilt...I haven't heard from them so I guess I didn't win. It's probably the most beautiful raffle quilt that I've ever seen at a quilt show. I also love the extra effort they put into the beautiful feature around the edge of the quilt...

I always love a good scrappy quilt. This one really caught my eye, I think the blocks are 3 or 4"....

I'm thinking it would make a good "leaders and enders" block. I made one up to try it out. I cut a 3.5" square, sliced it in half and and inserted a strip...

I seem to remember someone once being hesitant about attempting a scrappy quilt, worrying about how everything would go together. But I also remember hearing how each of the fabrics are usually in your stash because you liked them at some point, so they should be wonderful together in a scrap quilt!

Today I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. I hope you have a moment to visit with her to wish her a happy anniversary and maybe visit with other slow-stitchers.

Have a lovely Summer's day!

Beautiful quilts and a silver finger...

It seems like the perfect morning to spend a little extra time with some hand-stitching.

 It's a bit grey outside and I've had a lovely couple of days away and feel relaxed, refreshed and peaceful.

On Monday evening I will be presenting the next section of our BOM, Queen's Garden, and I'm almost finished the embroidery part of the blocks...

I was having a bit of trouble marking the lines for the embroidery on this type of fabric, when I thought of my Hera marker, which did an excellent job. Can you see the marks on the lower leaf?...

Here is the quilt so far...

There's still some embroidery to add. I'll try to catch up on that over the Summer. 

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Friday and Saturday we went on a little road-trip to Rochester, NY. 

My husband had come across a big quilt show there put on by the Genessee Valley Quilt Club and suggested we go down...I guess he's a keeper, after-all :)

It was quite the event, held in the Rochester Institute of Technology, a venue that was 70,000 square feet. I think it may have been the best quilt show I've been to. 

Here is the picture I took of the event on the first day...

I didn't realise until the next day that past the furthest bit of the picture was another half of the show! There were 700 quilts and 60 vendors. I was surprised at the amount of quilts that were somewhat new to me....and that a lot of the vendors were selling items that I'd never seen before. 

Since this is Slow Stitching Sunday, I'll stick to showing you mostly handwork that I saw at the show.

A lot of quilts had this "hand" attached to it...

I thought it meant "keep your hands off the quilts"...but it was to indicate a hand-quilted item.

 There were more than usual that were hand-quilted. The most fantastic and my favourite was this one...

Here is the Best in Show, also hand-quilted...

This one is not done by hand, but I love that the applique is done on a background that has been pieced of diamond shapes...

Then there is this fantastic quilt. All of the letters on the quilt spell out the words to the song, Morning Has Broken. Truly fantastic.

I was lucky to see someone selling some of the same type of fabric that I'm using in my Queen's Garden, so I picked up a bundle to add more interest to my quilt...

I made a couple of other purchases that I'll save for another post....but I will show you one more.

There was a woman at the show who is a silversmith and she had a booth filled with the most beautiful thimbles and chatelaine's. I was positively drooling over the thimbles....but made myself walk away and think about it so I wouldn't make an impulsive purchase (yay, me!)...as the thimbles were a little on the expensive side.

I thought it over until the next day when we were returning to the show and convinced myself that I did indeed deserve such a beautiful thimble. After-all, it's like a piece jewelry and art...and something I would use each and every day, right????

I was looking at the thimbles that were open on the back and had lovely filigree work over the fingernail area. It wasn't until I was almost ready to make a purchase that the silversmith had me try it out on a bit of quilting. Well!....it turns out I use a part of my finger that was more toward the fingernail to do the pushing....not protected at all by these beauties! Even the silversmith was surprised. I'm glad she had something to test on before I bought one and returned to Canada. (Although, they come with a lifetime guarantee, so I could have switched it out later)

I ended up with a fully enclosed thimble, which I quite enjoyed breaking-in this morning with my applique...

When my eldest grandson was about 4 years old, he would ask permission to try on my "silver finger"....and proceed to walk around the room carefully balancing my thimble on his tiny finger.

Now I am happy to truly have a real silver thimble and I will use it with great pleasure.

I could show you a lot more to inspire you from this wonderful quilt show, but I'll save some for another day. 

This show is held every two years, the first weekend of June. I'm sure we will go back again!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. I think I'll sit with an extra cup of coffee and see what everyone has been up to this week!