Mystery Quilt.....Christmas is coming

I should be Christmas baking & decorating but all I want to do is sew. Did some more aqua/teal string blocks this week and started clue 4 which in my colors is orange strings, they are turning out awesome. I can't wait to see how this is going to go together. Tomorrow morning Christmas decorating although we won't put up the tree until next weekend. Then some baking and maybe I can sew while things cook LOL. I did finally do some shopping today and don't have too much to do but I am excited to have a large part of my family together for Christmas. My Mom is coming and we haven't spent Christmas together in a number of years and she hasn't seen her grandkids(they are 27 & 30) for probably 10 years. She will also meet her grand son in law who happens to be from the same hometown(the world is such a small place really). I can't believe it is only 2 weeks away.........................

Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.
~William Wordsworth, 1806

Mystery quilt update

Orca Bay continues; so far I have 62 quarter square triangles completed. I have all  the triangles cut( I think) a lot of halves sewn so it should come together quite quickly if I could stop making step 2. I am totally addicted to string blocks and loving these little guys; I have 49 of them done. My HST will not take long either as I have all the strips cut and using a ruler similar to Bonnie Hunter's suggested Easy Angle makes them go very quickly. I have always loved using Thangles and never thought I would switch but this ruler makes them very accurate. You still use the same size strip as with Thangles and no paper to rip off. I have 48 completed. 2 more evenings until next clue I should be close to caught up but if not.......oh well......
Now off to bed so I can get up for work tomorrow.

Orca Bay Mystery quilt

So far I am loving this quilt, another great mystery I'm sure. I am way behind on step 1, I have all the strips cut; a stack of triangles cut and a few made just to make sure the size is right.

I am using black as my neutral just to see how it works.
I have also started step 2...I love string blocks and these little guys are soooo cute.

.

Maybe I can get caught up before step 3 on Friday

My 1st quilt

Bonnie Hunter has done a post about your first quilt and has invited others to share (using her new "linky" thing) I love that she calls it the "linky thing".
Anyway my first quilt is not a thing of beauty but was a long time in the making. I think I started it when I was 10 or 11. My Dad had made me a hope chest for Christmas where you stored things for your own first home and I decided to make a quilt. My mom had always sewn all our clothes so there were lots of scraps to use including velvet and poly/cotton. I cut squares and sewed them together and then after a few rows it got put away for a few years. I then cut new squares and sewed some more rows apparently in a different size but added the rows anyways. It was going to be twin size and when I get engaged I decided it should be queen size.
In the spring of 1977 before I got married my mom helped me pin it to a quilting frame made by laying 2 x 4's on sawhorses in the basement and my fiancee(still my fantastic husband) helped to hand quilt it. We used an ice cream pail lid as the template to draw half circles ; what a memory. Now I have to go find a picture to post here :). Here is the link to the other first quilts on Bonnie's page http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2011/11/first-quilts.htmle

And here we are a day later....................

Quilt 1 done; Quilt 2 almost-great weekend

So among other weekend activities which included making 3 pots of applesauce (=13 jars) I finally completed my dark string quilt with rail fence type sashing and nine patch cornerstones. I added smaller string blocks as the border-will have to take a picture when I get my camera back. It is 92 x 102 and I also got the back made. It is sort of like a large nine patch using up a number of pieces of fabric that have been aging for a long time as well as a couple of newer pieces. I had a great cat print that I hadn't decided what I wanted to use it for. I didn't want to cut it too small and lose the cats so now I have used the whole piece as a portion on the back of quilt that is going on our bed, I thought that was a good solution.
I also have completed my RRCB top; just need to stay stitch around the outside edge and complete the back. Wow it feels great to have that done and I love how it turned out with the pieced border. I will complete that tomorrow night so i can send both of these quilts back to Alberta with my sister-in-law for my niece to quilt as they are too big too fit on my quilting frame. Now I can pre-wash my fabrics and start Orca Bay sometime this week........................can't wait.

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

New Mystery Quilt

So............................I couldn't resist. Bonnie Hunter started a new mystery quilt today. Everyone has been talking about it for weeks and I keep thinking no,no,no. I'm just finishing last falls mystery RRCB and I have a number of quilts under way including 2 new Bonnie ones I just started at my retreat a month ago.
I have done 3 of her mystery quilts so far and they turned out fabulous so here I go again. I've been wanting to do a brite quilt on a black background so I am going to use orange, turquoise and purple on black( I think) for Orca Bay.
My niece Cathy and possibly my SIL Betty are also doing this quilt. Check out Cathy's blog for her progress http://CathyTomm@blogspot.com.


"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think.  Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.  ~A.A. Milne


I wonder if eating Honey is like quilting, there is a moment before you start when the anticipation may be the best moment........what do you think?

Finally sewing again

Since I arrived home after my quilt retreat my sewing machine has not been turned on until tonite; that's 10 days. I thought I would sew last weekend but dh decided it was time to paint the bathroom which we have been planning to do for quite awhile. He had built a wonderful new cabinet to put in there and we bought a new mirror months ago but we needed to repaint when we removed the old medicine cabinet. It turned out fabulous and I love it.
On Sunday my daughter and son-in-law came to visit with my girl's best friend who was visiting from Alberta. Hadn't seen her for awhile and they just celebrated a significant birthday 3 days apart. Her friend's husband flew her out for the weekend as a birthday present which was fantastic, thanks John.
Anyway back to sewing, after a lot of frogging(rip it rip it) of pieces I sewed together at the retreat. I discovered the center triangle was cut to large and they didn't fit together properly so I have trimmed and finally sewed some back together.

Here is 1 block - I think it will be great.

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.  ~James Openheim

Hi Donna I'm back

So after a long break I find out some people have missed my posts. Let me tell you a secret if you don't follow or at least comment once in awhile I do not know you are there.
It has been very busy since my last post. I have started a new full tie job back in the accounting industry. My part time at home accounting job ended suddenly the end of July so after a month and a half off (which went to fast) I'm back full-time in an office in Langford.
Summer was great with lots of camping; some sewing, some gardening and lots of sunshine.
Attended the Prairie Hens Quilt Retreat which I host in Sylvan Lake last weekend. This was our 10th retreat with 49 great women in attendance. It was great fun with lots of sewing, lots of talking & lots of eating although we missed Charlotte who was to sick to attend. Hope you are getting better Charlotte and we will see you next year.
Hopefully in the next couple of days I will download some pictures to share.

Also back to my happy thought for the day....hope it makes you smile.

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

Guess What??

This is not a quilting UFO and I'm having fun playing with pictures. I always wonder where people find the cute pictures on their blogs.....Duh! look on the internet.

Anyway I have been madly working on UFO's; after sorting them in February and neatly filing them away I realized although they were all sorted with matching backings etc they were still not any closer to being complete.

As I am temporarily unemployed I thought I should take advantage of my time; I have said for years "If I only had a couple of weeks that were not holiday but just me time I could get a lot of things completed" and so I began last week.

I have quilted 3 wall quilts and 2 tablerunners and have binding on one tablerunner. Tomorrow is binding day and then I will post some pictures.

Happy thought for the day:

Remember that happiness is a way of travel - not a destination.

Roy M. Goodman

Another finish - almost

Today I decided it was time to work on something I could actually finish. Last year I participated in a Raw edge circle swap so I pulled out the blocks and sewed them together, it was quite small so I added some sashing & corner stones and here it is so far.

I am going to try and quilt it tomorrow. I am gathering some quilts to donate to Blanket Slave Lake. The ladies who attend my retreat in the fall will also be donating some blocks to be made into some larger quilts for this cause.

Summer finally arrived

Summer finally arrived and I have been outside and not posting anything, not doing too much sewing either but picking away at things.Still continuing to work on RRCB - the latest mystery from Bonnie Hunter @ Quiltville.com. It is waiting for one more seam across the center and the border which is made except for the corners.

and a scrappy quilt made of string blocks with sashing and 9 patch cornerstones. I have added another row to the side and the bottom since this picture. I will be adding a small border and the small string pieced

blocks all the way around in an attempt to make this queen sized.

I also completed a denim/flannel frayed edge quilt for my daughter that is just waiting for me to wash it, need to take to a commercial washer so the lint doesn't clog my washer (ask me how I know this happens :))

I don't know where my picture went after it was sewn together but this gives you the idea. I will post pictures when washed, turned out great, still my little girl even if she turns 30 soon.

"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going to fast-you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. " Eddie Cantor

continue latest project

So onward I go not knowing where it will end. I made some half square triangles and added to 2 ends of the project I started last night to make it no longer square. Think I will add another plain border next--maybe of the cream. I should have my camera back tomorrow evening so I can post a picture.

My son has arrived for a week long visit and I hear him & his Dad returning from a walk on the beach so I better go. Maybe more sewing tomorrow if they go fishing.

I get to go shopping in the morning to help my sister buy a sewing machine so that should be fun. Her machine is 27/28 years old and it will be fun to show her some of the new options although she doesn't want to spend too much.

Happiness thought for the weekend:

All I can say about life is, Oh God, enjoy it!

Bob Newhart (1929 - )

back to some sewing

After a few very busy weeks with my work we got away camping for a few days which was a much needed break. I have so many tops which need to be finished and a few ready to be quilted, should I be starting something new? Why not?

I could not resist any longer and dug out a kit for an octagon table center that I won somewhere a few years ago, it went together so fast but I really don't need any small table topper and not really my colors so let the fun begin. First I squared it up and added a border and now I have used all the fabric that came with the kit and I want to make it bigger. I found a cream and a pink that go quite well and then the light bulb turned on. The green looks really familiar and I went digging and found that I had bought a half meter of the exact same green print; how lucky could I be. Now to decide what to add; I'm thinking some type of pieced border. I don't have my camera until the weekend when my daughter brings it back but maybe I will have a picture to post by then.

I am little behind on my goal to post a daily happy thought but let's get back to it:

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne

Another Great giveaway

There is another great giveaway here on the island. While the last two were accuquilt Go Baby's this one is for the Slice Fabrique which is really neat. I have seen it demo'd and it has a lot of variety in a small machine.

Head on over to Natasha's Blog for a chance to win an awesome Slice Fabrique Cordless Digital Design Cutter give away. You can buy cards with about 20 different shapes on them, AND there are different sizes on each card. Unlike the GO and BABY GO you can only cut 1 at a time but so many choices
http://joyofquilting-natasha.blogspot.com/2011/06/oh-my-goodness-i-have-awesome-giveaway.html Good luck!

There is also a link on Natasha's site for her sisters blog where there is a companion giveaway., check it out.

I don't think my link to Natasha's is working so here it is http:// joyofquilting-natasha.blogspot.com

Another Go cutter giveaway here on the island

Check this out a http://quiltingalongthegorge.blogspot.com. Good luck.

Accuquilt Go Baby giveaway

I have just entered a draw for a GO! baby with three dies, if you want to check it out go to http://vickibquilts.blogspot.com and leave a comment. Good Luck.

New background

Thought I would change my background for something to do, leave me a comment. Let me know what you think.

Since it has been awhile I thought it was time for a new happy thought :).

Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life.

- Buddha

2 finishes......almost

With organizing well under way I had to take a break and sew some more. Half way through the Bonnie Hunter mystery roll roll cotton boll I got distracted by the string blocks and started making dark string blocks. I was then inspired to sew them together with a pieced sashing as seen on a few blog sites; one being Julie K quilts and one being A Quilt Complex.

Here is a picture as I started

I got 30 blocks made and a few rows completed and went looking for something in my sewing room; can't remember what but an older UFO(can't remember when it began) started yelling at me. So out it came and for a few weeks it has been coming together. Got the center completed last week and then it was supposed to have a 5" plain border with fabric I no longer like so back to the drawing board. And here is what I came up with and I LOVE IT!!!

Finally after finishing the above earlier this evening I decided I better get the rows to the string quilt sewn together........here it is

I really like the way it has turned out and I thought it was done but DH likes it so much he would like it to be Queen size, no problem to make more scrappy string blocks but I have to see if I have enough of my cream sashing.

Feeling very productive so next I better get back to the RRCB mystery, I think I have enough blocks made so now to lay them out and start sewing rows.

Back to organizing

"and another one gone and another one gone and another one bites the dust" .....that is another day gone since I posted.

2 days after the last post I took these pictures of a few of my sorted tubs; I love looking at them and i can actually see what I have.

Don't they look great. Not sure how long they will last but hopefully since I can see it all i should be able to pull only what I need.

Since these were done I have sorted red, white & cream ,yellow & orange, batiks. Now I have just a couple of mixed up containers to go.

These contain 1/2 m or larger pieces {mostly washed} and then I have a container(or two:)) of fat quarters and everything else is being cut into usable scrap pieces which have their own containers for each size.

Hope spring is coming soon for everyone, the flowers are all starting to bloom and Dave had to cut the grass for the first time the other day(not complaining).

Laughing is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one spot.

Josh Billings (1818 - 1885)

Organization fun

I've been busy sorting and organizing my fabric and strangely enough really enjoying it. I did one tub in January and loved the way it looked so the last couple of weeks I do some every few days. I will take some pictures and show you soon.

I am making sure all my bigger pieces of fabric(.5m or more) are washed as I seem to have developed allergic reaction to unwashed fabrics; this may not be new but I was blaming it on other things and it has become apparent it is the fabric. It is not a serious thing I just get slightly stuffed up and a headache so might as well avoid that.

It is so neat to revisit your fabric and remember what you have; as it is washed I am folding it all the same size and placing it in my rubber maid tubs so I can see all the different fabrics I have; sorted by color. Anything smaller than 1/2 m I am sorting into a fat quarter container and cutting the rest up for my scrap system(aka Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com).

Happiness thought for today:

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour. ~Author Unknown

Since I have been a few weeks I thought we all deserved another one:

Cheerfulness is what greases the axles of the world. Don't go through life creaking. ~H.W. Byles

Spring??????

Ok, so I rushed it posting spring photos.....Here is what we woke up to this morning:

A taste of Spring

Spring is on the way. Here are some pictures of the flowers in my yard poking their heads up and a few are blooming. Hope you enjoy:

Bailey had to have her picture as well..........

mini iris

primula, crocus, hellebora(christmas rose) and lots on dafffodils and tulips getting started.

Happiness Quote for the day:

~ Happiness is not having what you want, it's wanting what you have. ~ Anon

Liebster Blog Award

I got a Liebster Award from Cathy at cathytomm.blogspot.com. Cathy is my niece, thanks Cathy for thinking of me. I am to pass this award on to three blogs I like and they should not have more than 300 followers. This way we can promote some good blogs that are lesser known.

I have tried to pass this award on without success so I have told Cathy to present it to someone else. Meanwhile please check out Cathy's blog - she is a long armer and fibre artist/quilt designer with some very interesting posts. And she does great snow-dying among other dying techniques.

Please check it out and leave a comment---we all love comments.

Update on my mystery

So I'm working on my mystery I showed you yesterday. I have added borders to the sides with the four patches that were already made and I'm adding a small blue border to sides only to make it wider. I have decided to then add borders of the dark small cat squares with pieced blocks in the corners so we'll see if it all works.

Happy thought of the day:

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. ~Frederick Keonig

I really like this one as I think we all need be grateful for all we are blessed with :)

My own mystery

In digging out UFO's I have found this project, I love these Funky Cats......but I can't remember what I had planned if I had a plan???

The centre right now is 53" x 28" so i know I want to go wider for sure. I think a lap quilt for me is what I wanted.

I found a stack of twosie's which I have made into 4 patches, there are 25 of these but now to the drawing board as I'm not sure what I'm doing next.

Here is a picture of what I have, there is a lot of fabric so I can go quite a bit bigger.

I am open to any suggestions.

RRCB mystery

Finally downloaded pictures off my camera so here is a few blocks of my mystery quilt; I am loving it so far but it has a ways to go.

I have totally fallen love with string blocks-I'm making dark ones now when I should be finishing these.

Quilts to be completed

I have just found out how easy it is to put a list on my blog, I was thinking some complicated app was needed but Sandra from Australia kindly told me to look for 'list"....DUH too easy.

I have just listed a couple of items so far, I recently updated a spreadsheet I had started a couple of years ago. I also added to the list and the number of projects is overwhelming so maybe if I list them here where I can't ignore them I will get some done. Quite a few only need binding, lots are ready for quilting and there are some which started as smallish samples when I had the store that I now think need to be added to to make them a usable size. Once I figure the best way to breakdown the list I will add more. Meanwhile back to tidying the sewing area so I can get back to sewing.

Todays thought:

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Be Happy

I realized I have missed my happy thought the last two posts........... So here we go:

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet. ~James Openheim

And food for thought:

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne

Have a great week..........

I had great plans to spend January cleaning my sewing room storage, getting things organized etc but I can't seem to stop sewing long enough to do that. I am still working on the latest Bonnie Hunter mystery from Quiltville.com. There are a lot of small pieces but it is turning out fabulous, I had decided awhile back (probably when we found we had to do 600 HST) that I would make half size which I think will be still quite large. I'm guessing 65 to 70" square but now I am liking it so much I may keep going and then I think it is close to king-size.

It has a number of string blocks which I had so much fun making and love the way they are turning out. They were all made with neutral/light strips and now I am playing with med/dark string blocks and planning quilts I could make.

On top of this I taught my Happy Scrapper Club how to make Pineapple Blossom yesterday, I made 2 blocks while demonstrating so then came home and made 3 more and added another row to my quilt since I hadn't quilted it yet, It is now a more usable size.

So tomorrow I will begin my list of UFO's and try to spend some time tidying(after work).

A few of the quilts I have on display

These are a few of the quilts I have on display for the month of January at Satin Moon Quilt shop: First is "Falling Leaves" and the 2nd picture is of the back; seemed like a good way to make my back big enough and it used the extra pieces I had left.

This one is "Sunrise" and is a disappearing 9 patch made with 7" squares so went together very quickly. Falling Leaves above is also a variation of disappearing 9 patch with alternate blocks set on point.
This quilt is one of my favourites. It is called "Moonphases" and made me fall in love with batiks.
The last quilt is "Twistin Around" and is scrap twist from Bonnie Hunter's site - Quiltville.com.

Thanks for having a look.

Guest Artist

Guest Artist sounds interesting doesn't it, It's Me! and I still can't quite believe it. I am the featured guest artist at Satin Moon Quilt Shop in Victoria for January. I dropped off 13 quilts earlier this week and the attended the show "opening" today which was interesting. The quilts will be on display for the month of January. Anyone in the area could drop in and have a look. During the opening I just wandered around the store and answered any questions people had about my quilts. I was glad to have my sister with me for moral support and all went well. I will post a few pictures tomorrow when I get back to my desktop computer.

Thought for the day (week) :

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.

Eddie Cantor (1892 - 1964)