Fall Beginning

 

Well, the B-I-L and nephew came over this weekend and trimmed up my Forsythia and Rose of Sharon bushes and the nephew put the patio to bed. The weather has been so lovely it seemed a shame to do this so early, but on the other hand I'm glad to get this done. I still have several other fall chores before I'm ready for Thanksgiving - which isn't that far away - Yikes! Must get that Pumpkin bread made next weekend!

I decided to bring in my Boston Fern and see if I can coax it through the winter. I even had a fern stand in the basement, so why not try. I shook it up a bit so hope I haven't imported too many bugs into the house. Any hints on caring for these plants inside?

It was homecoming on campus this weekend, and for a change I was NOT on duty - yeah! Of course I did witness the inevitable car accident (in front of Costco) on Saturday. Seems to happen every year when there are so many visitors in town. 2 young blondes furiously texting mom & dad while 3 ambulances took away those who were hurt :(. This week was eventful for the Sew Whats as the partner of one of our members graciously cooked a full Indonesian meal for us all - oh Yummmy :) Thanks June and John !
My accomplishments for the week was to complete last week's POTC and a new one for this week .

I really like this one and think I may post it to Pinterest. The brown striped fabric was purchased as a binding for a previous quilt , obviously I purchased too much as I still have a couple of meters of it. Worked out great for this block! Well, that's about all for me.

TTFN

Sunny Sunday :)

It's another lovely sunny Sunday :) Don't know about you but I can't get enough of them. September is almost over (omg!) and it will soon be time to think about putting the patio to bed :(.

So, here it is my McKenna Ryan triptych. It's currently on my bulletin board at work and giving me a smile every time I look at it. I still need to get some labels on the two newest ones. I plan on hanging them in my front hall. That will be a first for me .... I haven't hung any of my own quilts since the 80's! Will be a nice change to have something of my own on the walls. Recently when doing my overdue spring cleaning - actually done in late summer - I found my temple rubbing from Thailand. I've been carting that thing around since the late 60's (omg!!), so thought it was time to get it framed and on the wall. Well, my framer is bogged down with too much work (lucky him), so I am anxiously waiting and waiting. I hope to give you a pic of this lovely soon. In the meantime, here is this week's unfinished POTC block.

TTFN

Win Win Win :)

My quilt guild does a draw for fat quarters and a door prize at every meeting. Well, I've been a member for close to 15 years and never won the door prize, and rarely win even a fat quarter :(. Last year at the last meeting of the year I finally won the door prize. Wellllll, guess what - I won again :) :). First meeting of the year and I won Nocturne - a kit with 3 packs of Moda 6" triangles (80 in a pack), the pattern and the backing - woohoo!! Nice win eh! Thanks to Judy Balint from Cornerstone Quilts who donated this prize. This will take a while to get done as I have soooo  many UFOs on my list.
My second win of the week was home grown. I made an arrangement with one of the teenagers in my complex - he can park (for free) in my "spare" parking spot in exchange for taking my garbage to the curb each week - woohoo! May not seem like a big deal for most of you lucky readers who have garbage pickup @ the end of your drive. In my complex we have to drag it uphill to the street! I figure that's a win win for both of us :)

The mater had a perm this Sat so the wait @ the hairdresser was longer than usual. That's ok as I have discovered this is a great place/time to piece together more POTC blocks. Here's the latest - I'm so addicted.
I finished the binding on my 2 McKenna Ryan cats, and showed them at guild. I'm not fussy with the picture our guild blog has of me (ok, don't go running over to the LFQG blog just to see it). I'm never comfortable with pics of myself :(.  Right now the hangings are on my bulletin board at work, so I'll have to take the camera into work to get a good pic of them - stay tuned!
That's all for this week, but September sure has started off well:)

TTFN

Summer's over :(

It's labour day weekend so summer is officially over :(. That also means - they're back (University students) !!! Ugh. My sister joined us and we took the mater clothes shopping on Friday, had the most fun picking  out a new outfit for great grand daughter Claire! Go figure. My sister also took the mater for her Saturday hair/brunch/grocery/pharmacy shopping tour, so I'm having a mini holiday before facing the gauntlet @ work - YEAH !

My addiction to POTC blocks hasn't fizzled out. Last week I showed you this unfinished block and promised to show you the fabric of origin. It's all put together now and I'm pleased with how it turned out. This week's stitching included 2 more POTC blocks ...

The one on the right and the one on the left are new this week. All three come from the same piece of fabric. Just goes to show you how different they can turn out, which of course is all part of the fascination of fussy cutting POTC blocks!!
Spent time yesterday machine quilting the last of the McKenna Ryan cat triptych. Hoping to get them done and bound in time for our Guild meeting on Thursday - starting the new year off with a bang! Wish me luck!!

TTFN

End of Summer & POTC Fun !

Thought I should show you the fabric along with the finished POTC block. I know when I've been browsing the web it has really help my creativity to see the whole fabric as well as the POTC block - it helps to see what was fussy cut! The one above is actually Christmas fabric, and I have fussy cut another block only using the red sections - so stay tuned!

Here is this week's block, only half sewn. Once I complete it I will also show the original fabric. And here is my progress so far ...

Gawd! I am soooooo addicted  it's a wonder I can find time for anything else!

 Speaking of anything else .... it's the last weekend of summer :(. I have a longish weekend coming up next weekend and hope to finally get started on quilting the Wild Flowers wall hanging. I MUST BE DISCIPLINED and NOT work on POTC all the time! Ha!

 

I also started a new book (haven't finished the last one yet - so what's new ..) Stalin's Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan. I was hooked right away just with the Prologue! Maybe I'll squeeze in some reading time next weekend, after taking the mater shopping. Oh - there's the buzzer, my Oatmeal Walnut cookies are done - oh yummmmm!
TTFN

I'm hooked!

I'm hooked ! absolutely addicted !! I have to admit I have done nothing else this past week! Looks like I'm a Lucy Boston POTC (Points of the Cross) addict!!! Aren't they lovely? (yes, I'm biased).

This one started out with a light blue hexie and a different green. So glad I decided to change them ou. Do you agree?

This black one was last week. It was my first "fussy" cut and my first stripe. Not bad but I will have to do some more experimenting. Interestingly, when I was collecting fabrics for this quilt I went with black, red, grey and white reproduction like fabrics. so far my blocks haven't really been in that theme. Ah well, I'm having fun and that's what counts. I may have to copy/cut more hexies - oh no!!

My garden is surviving - well sort of .... My lavender burnt to a crisp last week in all that heat/humidity :(, but my Hibiscus is coming into bloom so I'm happy :). Hope the lavender comes back to life next season , got my fingers crossed.
First week back to work = so so. Can't say I'm happy to be back at work, I could very easily not have returned, but good to be back into a routine. Enjoying the dog days of summer - lots of sunshine and today it's just right - sunny, warm but no humidity = yeah!!

TTFN

Wahhhh, Vacation is over :(H

 Wahhhhhh! How come you wait and wait and wait all winter long, then summer vacation is over in the blink of an eye? Yes dear readers, my summer vacation is over and once again it's back to work :( :(.

I had a HUGE  to do list, and this year I actually finished 99% of it - Whoopeee! I got the 2 McKenna Ryan cat wall hangings done, tops only- quilting yet to come.  I'm so pleased as these were on my UFO list for way too long! Hopefully I can get the quilting done this winter .... My quilting friends and I did our annual road trip (see last post).  I made it to the family picnic Pic below (L-R) Aunt Carol, the pater, second cousin Lynne, Aunt Catherine. It was a gorgeous day - lost of sunshine and just enough of a breeze. The picnic is now held in the Sarnia Yacht club so we get to see the water and lots of boats!

   

I got all my summer cleaning done, several trips to the Goodwill, and entertained twice!! My sister, the mater, niece and great niece came for lunch. Claire even sat in my high chair, a lucky $15 purchase @ Value Village, which usually just holds plants. I also had the Sew What's ladies in for an evening of fun. Last year I forgot to put out the deviled eggs, this year I forgot to put out the whipped cream! The flowers on the table are from my niece from our lunch the day before! Cake #3 (cake #1 was @ the beginning of vacation for nephew's Bday, cake #2 was a disaster, I forgot to put in the eggs - duh) was a yummy carrot cake, my first ever!

One of my quilting friends (can I call her a quilting friend when she doesn't quilt? but I usually see her @ the Sew what's, so I guess she a quilting friend), brought me this lovely tea pot. I use a teapot every day, and recently broke mine :(. She'd heard of my travails and gifted me this one Thank you Lu it's perfect !! I was entertained twice, take out for dinner by the pater and his partner, then out for lunch by the sister and B-I-L. Not bad!!

And finally, yes finally I got my sewing mojo into gear and made 1 1/2 Lucy Boston blocks!! The top one is done, the one laying down is half completed! I'm in love and totally hooked! Uh Oh - may not get those other UFOs and the one on the frame done for a while yet;)

TTYL,

Road Trip!!

It has become a summer tradition and a fun one :) Gathered a couple of quilt friends and do a road trip - Yippee!! We've been so lucky to have great weather, and this year was no exception - sunny and not too hot! We started off at Mount Brydges Sew Creative quilt store where I managed to find 2 "sky" fabrics,  just what I needed to finish off the last McKenna Ryan cat wall hangings. I also picked up a cute Bunnies fat quarter. Then off to Strathroy for a hour tour of their antique mart. Mibs was into whites - she found a nice pair of white gloves and a white doll bed. Meanwhile I left the premises with a drawer from an old treadle sewing machine!

Lunch at the Coffee Culture, then on to Wyoming to visit Stitchaire, a newish quilt store. BTW, that's Wyoming Ontario, a small village in SW Ontario. We all found something to purchase :). Susan got some cute Dr Who fabric to make a gift for one of her Geocaching friends, Ann found some lovely Red, Grey and White fabric for a lap quilt for her niece. Mibs and I got fat quarters.

I also purchased a fat quarter of Trailer fabric - you can see the fabric in this lovely apron they had a the front door. I gave Mibs the trailer fat quarter as a thank you for being our driver for the day. Mibs spends her summers commuting between home and her summer residence (a trailer).
This morning I've been following Simone (she who can not be touched) all around the house. It's Vet time and she must be tranquilized before she'll go in the carrier. It's traumatic for both of us but I managed to nab her and she's now in the carrier sitting quietly, and it's only 11:45! She'll be going in for her shots around 2:00. That's another day of vacation time doing chores!

I've spend much of this year's vacation doing family stuff and housework :(.  Last weekend we celebrated a nephew's 35th Bday hence the cake. I'll be making another next week as it's my turn to host our Sew What's group :). I have also been doing my Spring cleaning - I guess that should be Summer cleaning - FINALLY. Took out  9 bags of shredded paper this week and donated 3 magazine boxes of Quilting Arts to a friend. Have done 2 trips to the Goodwill, one more to go - Feeling very self righteous - or at least cleaner ;). Consequently not much sewing has been accomplished - yet. But I did manage to make up this sleeping mask. Recognize the fabric? It's leftover from the mater's wallet.

One more week of vacation time.  We're taking the mater shopping at the mall and off to do her driving test. Taking the pater & partner to Sarnia for the annual Family picnic, a lunch with the niece, grand niece, sister and the mater, and of course the "Ladies" of Sew What's - so next week will be busy busy!!

TTFN,

It's Summer vacation time !!

LOL ! I Googled quilter's summer vacation hoping to find a cute pic to post and look what I found! A pic of me from summer of 2009 in front of The Hobby Horse quilt store! Too funny!! So it's summer vacation 2015, and I spent the first day on the couch SICK ! NOT FAIR! I woke up @ 4 am Thursday with a spinning head - oh no! I've been dizzy ever since, and yesterday was the worst. I think I'm suffering from BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo). YUCK!  Today it seems to be getting better - I hope so as I don't want to waste any of my precious vacation time.

 I have a HUGE To Do list, and these 2 McKenna Ryan wall hangings are first on my list. They are 2  of a triptych, I did Clifford back in 2010 and always planned on completing the "set". well this may be the year (no promised ...)

I was going to run out to the local FL fabric store yesterday to partake in their 50% off sale for matching backing, and maybe get a nice curtain rod to hang these babies up - but couldn't get my head off the pillow :( . Next time!! Since it's summer I'm deep into reading

Am finding this one rather interesting - will let you know .... 
Should be a good TV vacation ... Last Tango in Halifax, Hell on Wheels,  Poldark and Crimson Fields

Hope you enjoy your summer vacation ...
TTFN,

I'm a Plumber ! Woohoo!

 I knew the powder room loo wasn't flushing properly, but didn't clue in until Friday night after work. Glad I looked as the brass lever disintegrated in my hand as I was examining the inner workings ... So Saturday morning off I went to local hardware store and guessed I was making the correct purchase. Once I figured out the "left hand" nut, I'm in business - Woohoo I'm a plumber!

Next stop was the quilt store to pick up just the right thread so I can start hand quilting my "Wild Flowers". Couldn't persuade my quilting friend to quilt it for me, :(, I understand her reluctance - she's newish to machine quilting, but she is doing such great work !! So it's hand quilting for me! I know, said I was "done" with this one, but after looking at it on the design wall I decided I needed to move one of the stems and add a few more leaves. Glad I did (can you see the difference?)

Last weekend my favourite local quilt store, Cornerstone Quilts and More, had a sale. On top of the 35% off she also gave back a gift certificate of 10% of the value of your purchase. Consequently I got my thread, and FINALLY some wonder clips, which everyone has been ranting about, using last week's gift from her. Thanks Judy!

A colleague at work lent me this book months ago. I'm a slow reader as I tend to only read in the summer on the patio, and this summer so far has been dull, rainy and chilly. None-the-less, just finished Life After Life, and I highly recommend it! Of course now I'm in that awful what to read next stage :(

TTFN