HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year

Let's work at being happy as the New Year begins :

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Mystery quilt continues

Started step 5 on the mystery quilt and have 96 of 600 required half square triangles-this seems insane but it is so fun to see the colors come together. Next clue out first thing tomorrow morning and it must be time to start putting some of these units together. I can't wait to see what it will look like.

Here is your happy thought for today:

Happiness is never stopping to think if you are. ~Palmer Sondreal

Let's be happy..................

I recently read about a person applying for a job to be a happiness blogger and I thought WOW what an amazing job. Next thought......why can't I do that so as we head into the new year I am going to try to post a quote or something to make you smile as smiling is one of my favourite things:

Here is today's thought

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. ~Mark Twain

On a quilting note I have most of step 1 and step 2 completed on the RRCB mystery quilt from Quiltville, it will be very interesting to see the final result.

Mystery quilt finally started

Finally gave in to temptation and started the mystery quilt from Bonnie Humter's website. There have already been 6 clues and no one can figure out how it goes together but should start soon as there are only 8 clues. I have all my fabrics selected and I started with clue 3 which is string blocks because they look like so much fun (and they are). We have to make 60 of these blocks and I have 8 done. I have attached pictures of the blocks before they are trimmed and they sure don't look like much but I love them after they are trimmed. Now I just have to pull the paper off the back. Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Hawaii pictures

As I mentioned yesterday here are a few pictures of December in Maui.

some surfers

one of the many gorgeous flowers I saw

It is so amazing to watch the sunset; it happens about 5:45 pm this time of year and it goes down so

quickly .....you can sit for 15 minutes and watch it move and then sometimes the colors after are breathtaking.

I hope these pictures give you something else to smile at as you make holiday preparations.

Christmas is almost here.......

Another month has gone by since my last post but I'm back. I spent an amazing 2+ weeks in Hawaii; Maui to be exact and it was great. It was our Christmas present to each other and we shared most of the time with our son and a week with my sister and her husband. We had a few rainy days but it was still so very warm that it was great and the rest of the days were gorgeous. I will try and post some pictures for your enjoyment.

Now home to spend Christmas with our daughter and her husband, Victoria came out today and helped bake and decorate. It is so great to have time together.

There is a new mystery on Quiltville that I am dying to start; but I have to finish some other quilts first and finding it very hard to control as starting something new is always so much fun.

I hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying the Christmas preparations. Take time to smile and enjoy all the blessing we have.

Craft Sale # 2 completed

Fri, Sat & Sun I had a booth at the All Sooke Arts and Craft Sale; while it didn't seem very busy I sold three lap size quilts plus a few pocket kleenex holders, potholders and snack bags so not too bad overall. Ruth kept me company and sold a scarf that technically wasn't for sale ( a different long story). Attendance at next years sales is up for debate but I have the chance to put a couple pieces in a gallery located at a local bakery for a month long art show so we'll see how that goes.

They were to be dropped off today but we were hit by a snow storm........that is not supposed to happen here. Snow storm only means 3 - 4 inches but considering we don't usually have snow it seems like a lot and with the humidity extremely icy especially on the hills which most roads are. It is also much colder than usual. So if they get the roads cleared and sanded tomorrow I will go drop the quilts off at the gallery. Wish me luck.

Craft sale - interesting experiment

My sister and I got a last minute chance to have a table at a large craft sale and although in the back of my mind thought why would there be a table available at the last minute without a waiting list but what the heck, you never know. So away we went for Friday nite and all day Saturday which was an interesting waste of time but fun to spend time together. Ruth sold a very cute little cosmetic bag and I sold a few kleenex pocket paks and snack bags but not anywhere near enough to pay for the table. Anyway, lesson learned and we will not go back to that sale although we got lots of compliments on wonderful quailty work for what it's worth.

Onward to the All Sooke Arts and Craft sale next weekend, the table was not too expensive and it is three days but we will see how it goes and that may be the end of craft sales. It would be nice to get back to sewing whatever i want for me and probably do some charity quilts. Everyone will be getting a cloth grocery bag with kleenex pak and potholder for Christmas :)).

Finally back to some sewing tonite, I had great plans to sew most of the weekend but my back had other plans. I raked leaves earlier in the week; you could say trying to pave the way to sewing time by contributing to outdoor work. Spent the morning Saturday dusting, vacuuming and various house cleaning preparing for guilt free sewing all afternoon. At lunch I felt a few twinges in my back which turned into muscle spasms by mid afternoon but thankfully after lots of heat; some muscle relaxants and 2 days of doing nothing it seems to be better.

Therefore, this evening back to the sewing machine and completed 4 shopping bags that I wanted to complete for craft sale in just over a week. There are always more ideas than there is time but I have completed a number of smaller projects with 2 rag quilts left to snip and wash so that should be easy to finish. Here is hoping it is a well attended craft sale (and it usually is) with lots of shopping getting done.

Craft Sale items completed

I'm on a mission to complete things for the craft sale in 3 weeks; I always have things started but you can't sell them if they are not finished so here are some potholders and three aprons that only need a couple of buttons sewn on and they'll be done. On to completing some snack bags that only need the Velcro closure and a couple of shopping bags.

Playing with design tools

As you can see I've been playing with the design of my blog; this seems bright and happy-let me know what you think.

I've been busy making potholders and one apron so far for the craft sale in 3 weeks. I need to get a few things finished and also make some tea cozies. I hope to make a few more aprons; will try to post pictures tomorrow.

At the retreat

We are here at the retreat in beautiful Sylvan Lake. Weather is fantastic; lots of sewing getting done and total overload of ideas. More info to follow when I get home.

Hope everyone is enjoying their fall.

Blue/yellow disappearing nine patch

Here is a picture of the quilt I was talking about yesterday which I finally found, it now needs to be quilted. It was so fast to put together as I used 7" squares for the nine patch so I only made 9 squares. This was made because of sale my friend Linda and I found and couldn't resist. It was a tube of precut blue 7" squares on for half price and we said if you mixed that with some yellow scraps we have wouldn't it be nice; so we swapped some yellow squares and started sewing and here it is. Now back to sewing machine to complete one with 4 1/2" squares.

Hello September

Here we are a new month and looking for a quilt top. I would like to use it as a sample for a quilt I am teaching. I know I saw it a few weeks ago but where was it?

After at least 10 containers a lightbulb moment; in the tub at the bottom of the stack of tubs. Why there? not sure but there it was. Now to put everything away, it really needs to all be pulled out and sorted again but I'm not sure where to start.

Anyway it wasn't meant to be a mystery what I was looking ; it is a yellow and blue disappearing 9 patch that I made at last fall's retreat. It was a wonderfully quick quilt top but it is now time for it to be finished. It was made from 7" squares so I only made 9 - 9 patch blocks - cut -re-sew and it is 58" square. I will post a picture tomorrow, this will make a good example of what else you can do with disappearing nine patch.

I also sorted a number of 4 1/2" blocks into light and dark to make another nine patch.

Another month gone

Here we are August 31, it has been a fantastic summer but never seems long enough. Spent the last 10 days camping and exploring this beautiful country of ours. Do you know how much noise a raven makes when it flies and all else is quiet. Amazing.

Found a huge number of lakes a few hours north of here....so beautiful. Explored logging roads and found great camping sites; no extra amenities but also no cost so it balances well. We have a camper with everything we need and look forward to going back.

Now to get back to sewing and real life. I teach my first quilting class in a number of years in only 3 weeks and I'm excited but don't feel ready. I also realized that my retreat is only a little over a month away and there is lots to do to get ready so here we go.

Busy never goes away

It seems there is always lots to do and even as you get lots done the list does not seem to grow shorter. But boredom will never be a problem. Packed everything in my sewing closet last weekend as we had company coming to stay and use spare room for a few days, had a great visit but scared to open closet doors as I may be buried in the landslide.

Made salsa today - it smells so good. Managed to unearth the mystery I wished never began from the closet and completed the top. This was one I adapted from a couple of patterns for my retreat last year. It was supposed to be a 3-4 hours project with a challenge. It ended up that it challenged people more than expected and so mine did not get finished although a few brave people did complete theirs. After I add a border - possibly in the next couple of days - I will post a picture. It actually turned out not bad.

Anyway better finish getting ready for outdoor craft show & sale next weekend. My sister is bringing jewelery she is making and some purses and my daughter is bringing her photo cards and some upcycled clothes so we will have more variety with my mostly quilted items.

Completed quilts

Where does time go? I posted about finishing a number of quilts almost 2 weeks ago and am finally getting around to posting some pictures.

This is a baby quilted started a number of years ago as a class sample - it will be soon going to Japan for my nephews baby Moka who is almost a month old.

This is strip Twist from Bonnie Hunters quiltville.com-very easy and fun to do. I will be teaching this at Happy Scrappers Club in Victoria this fall.

This is a small version of strip-twist to use as sample for class and show that you can do it two colors if prefer.This one is Vintage Santa's - another previous sample from the store which never got past the flimsy stage until now. It feels so good to get some thing completed.

Now I only have one more baby and Christmas Lights waiting for binding then on to quilting a few more or finishing tops; whichever yells the loudest.

Quilting Frenzy

I have been quilting up a storm lately, I have 6 quilts quilted and ready to bind and boy does that feel good. It will feel better when the binding is on....pictures to follow. Off to work now.

2 Quilts finished - YEAH!!!

Scott's Star

I have finished Scott's Star (Carolina Christmas from Quiltville.com) It was a mystery quilt before Christmas last year and I have delivered it to my son and he loved it.

I also finished , today my Double Delight (another Quiltville mystery). The top was completed within 4 months of starting which was a big accomplishment for me but then it had to wait to get quilted as other items seemed to take precedence. Anyway I started quilting it just after Christmas and then it had to wait patiently for binding which I started before we went away a couple of weeks ago.

I finished the binding yesterday and washed it today, it has turned out so lovely I am going to miss it. Early on although I liked the way the pattern was going I wasn't crazy about the pink but I was sure my daughter's mother-in-law would love it so I decided it was for her. I must admit over time the pink has grown on me and I'm thinking I might have to make another one....... It will be on its way to its new home in Ontario later this week and I know it will be loved and appreciated so all is great. Hope everyone had an enjoyable Father's Day.

Double Delight

Wine carriers

In these pictures there is one completed wine (or whatever you want) carrier. It's the white daisy and you can't see the hole where the bottle goes in very well in the picture but hopefully you get the idea. I will have to take another picture of it standing up with a bottle in it so you can see better. I appliqued with machine blanket stitch and really like it but if I want to sell these I thought it took too long. When we started painting the towels yesterday and had a light bulb moment and thought I could paint the wine carriers as well. The rest of the pictures are the painted wine carriers that now need to be finished but I love the way they look so far. If they don't sell they will make great gifts so nothing lost.

P S We finally have some sun today, YEAH!!

Hand Painted Towels

Here are the pictures of the towels we painted yesterday, I am so pleased with them.

Weekend Doings

Had a fun weekend and got lots accomplished for a change. Finally sewed the binding on my double delight quilt and have half of it hand stitched down. Vicky and Andrew came Sat afternoon and stayed til after supper tonite. It was a rainy and cool today so Vicky and I decided to do some crafting. I got out my paintstiks to show her and we had so much fun I pulled out the kitchen towels I wanted to decorate for sale and we finished them. While she did them I started on some wine carriers I had been planning to make and got 5 painted. I will post pictures tomorrow morning. I also finished 24 log cabin blocks for a swap I am in which I really wanted to get done so I can tidy up cutting area. All in all it feels great to get some things completed.

Victoria quilt show

Went to the Victoria Quilt Guilds show today at the Saanich Fairgrounds. It was a great show with some beautiful quilts as always, I forgot to take my camera so no pictures but take my word it was a great variety. There was an amazing variety from bargellos, dresdan plate, stack n whack to some amazing hand-quilted whole cloth quilts. Their was also some interesting challenge quilts including some wonderful art pieces. Overall it was a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon with my sister.

Quilting classes

Some exciting news today, I'm going to teach some quilting classes this fall at Satin Moon in Victoria so lots of planning to do. Brenda(shop owner) would like me to do a scrappy club and locker hooking maybe as a club. I have made quite a few scrappy quilt tops lately so now to get them finished and make a few new ones. I have given at least 3 really nice ones away but I am so looking forward to this. The main thing I have missed since selling the store is the people and the teaching so we will see how this works. Better get my notebook out as my brain is overflowing with ideas.

Garage Sale today

So the garage sale with craft tables was pretty good. It was pouring rain but I guess that brought lots of people in since they couldn't work in their yards. Quite busy for most of the day although it completely died after lunch. I had a lot of compliments and lots of people looking which i think is always good. Sold one lap size quilt so a successful day but sold none of the kleenex paks I thought would be so popular or the potholders but that's OK as I now have lots ready for the next sale or for the weekly country market I'm considering. I think the next step is business cards........

The other great thing today was Skype, my son recently told me to sign on and we could talk for free and that was neat and I think we will use it a lot but neither of us had a camera(didn't think i would want that) but today I talked to my sister who has a camera on Skype and it was so cool to see her while we were talking. She could show me her quilts and her house and it was great. It is so easy to use I will be looking for more people (and a camera).

Ready for sale tomorrow

Yeah, I finished the 8 potholders that I wanted and made 5 tidy totes for the sale tomorrow; it is a large community garage sale with an invitation to arts & crafts people so I'm taking mostly small inexpensive things and see what happens. It is from 9 - 2 and was only $10 for a table so I thought it was worth a try. Now to go sort through my 2 tubs of completed items and decide what else to take; I think there a few spring table toppers and some sets of placemats so it should be interesting. Wish me luck.

Other activities

When I'm not admiring the flowers I am getting some sewing done, recently finished these 2 baby quilt tops which now need to be quilted.

Then on Sat I found out about a large community garage sale next Saturday which will have a section for arts & crafts tables so I phoned and there was still some available so trying to finish some more small items such as pot holders, Kleenex pocket paks(see picture below) and hopefully some book covers(only have 1 done so far.

Don't know how come these pictures are here twice but I need to get back to sewing instead of sitting here so here they are.

flower pictures

apple and cherry trees

rhododendron
not sure what this gorgeous tree is but it is sure pretty
tulips and bluebells.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Here are a few of the pictures I mentioned yesterday, I absolutely love them.

Is it really a month since the first day of spring???

There are so many flowers open I am in color overload, what a way to go. Last year at this time we were back in Alberta by now so I only saw about half of our flowers, I will post some pictures tomorrow. Meanwhile I have been sewing quite a bit between working and weeding; this many flowers takes a lot work although Dave does most of it. Recently finished 2 baby quilt tops that are ready to be quilted and finally finished the binding on a large BOM that I started at least 10 years ago. It was a class we had at the store and I had the brilliant idea to make 2 at once; well of course only 1 got finished and one got put in a box for quite awhile.

We are not going back to Alberta for Dave to work this spring but hope to go for a visit in June for a few weeks. That gives me a lot more time with my sewing machine as I don't do as much when we go to Alberta because I can't take too much with me. Anyway I better go do something productive.

First Day of Spring

It is the first day of spring and it certainly looks like it here. These are some of the flowers in my yard, I am so loving these. They are early this year as a lot of these were just starting to bloom when we went back to Alberta last year the 20th of April so I really appreciate that I get to enjoy them all this year. I hope you enjoy as well.

Spring is here!!!

Just wanted to post a few pictures of the trees etc that are blooming. They are gorgeous and hope this gives some hope that spring is coming for the people still buried in snow. I feel sorry for you and am very glad I moved here.

Quilts almost finished

I am finally coming up for air, working like mad trying to finish some UFO's. Nothing quite finished but getting close so I decided to post a few photos to track that progress is indeed being made.

The top quilt is Buggles Bunny which just needs to be washed to complete the fraying. This is for my niece who is expecting her first baby this month.

The second quilt I am calling Scott's Star; it is the Carolina Christmas mystery from Bonnie Hunter's website Quiltville.com. I did not want it to be Christmasy so used blue where she had gold and then added the brown sashing. It is almost ready for quilting; I am leaving it in two long strips so it will fit on my quilting frame which is set up in the smaller size. Once the two pieces are quilted I hope to able to join them without to much difficulty.

Anyway, that is enough quilting for today (not really :)) but I need to get to work.

Happy Valentines Day

Hope everyone has a great day; it looks like the sun may shine here. It has been very warm but rained all day yesterday. Off to make waffles and fresh strawberry syrup for brunch and then hopefully sew for awhile.

continuing on UFO's

Been to busy working and sewing to post anything but feel like I may be starting to get ahead. Nothing actually completely finished but all 4 large tops that I quilted in January are trimmed and ready for binding. Binding is made for all except one so almost time to get them on. Between trimming I have been working on a cross-stitch I started more years ago than I want to remember. I am trying to finish it in Feb but we'll wait and see on that; also back to work on the Christmas Mystery quilt, it got put aside at Christmas and finally pulled it out today. I decided I would add sashing between the blocks and I finally bought some 2 weeks ago. Decided to figure out how wide the sashing needed to be and realized I haven't finished all the blocks so worked on that this afternoon.

In the next few days I hope to sew some binding on as it will make good hand sewing while watching some of the olympics-the cross-stitch takes too much concentration so I can't do that while watching TV. Let's hope our "I Believe" motto will work and Canada wins a bunch of medals. GO CANADA!!

Quilting like crazy

I am trying to finish a number of UFO's and continuing to sort and organize my sewing stuff. Since the beginning of January I have quilted Double Delight, Quilting Queen, Apple Cider Bears and now they all need to be trimmed and binding sewn on. I have the binding made for 2 of them. I have sewed the binding on a flannel quilt that I quilted last summer that now needs to be hand sewn. Last night in sorting and putting things away I found another small quilt with the binding half hand-sewed so I did some more of it; less than 1 side left to do and something will be completely finished.

In the midst of finishing I could not resist starting something new so a flannel rag quilt has been started for my niece who is expecting her first child in March.

I will post pictures when I get back to my main computer as they are not on the laptop.

Lost track of time-again

i thought I should check in and realized I hadn't posted since Dec 20-that is almost three weeks..... Anyway it has been busy; I have done a little more on the mystery quilt but it is currently resting. I saw a setting for it that used sashing which I absolutely love so now I have to find the right fabric for that. This quilt is for my son and he loved the picture with the sashing plus it makes a great size without a huge border.

He was here for Christmas for a week; he came on the train again which he finds much more relaxing and enjoyable than flying. Didn't do too much special except spend some great time relaxing together. He spent some time with his sister as well, it was great as they have become great friends now that they are adults.

Hoping to finish a few projects this month, I have pulled out a few quilts and am trying to find backings and bindings. Will post some pictures once I get going.

I also have been to the swimming pool twice this week for aqua-size so we will try to keep that up.