Merry Christmas

Another Great Christmas lots of news things as you can tell by the Chaos. Far more than we really need. Mom loved her Red and White Christmas Twisted Log Cabin and I loved the Double Wedding ring my husband bought me. Merry Christmas to all of you, and your families.

PLEASE NOTE: I finally finished A UFO.See you in the New Year

Gift Given

We gave my coworker Eleanor her retirement party. Lots of food, a guestbook, a beautiful photo album for her to take with her, a great ipod, gift card for music and the quilt. She was thrilled with all of them. Eleanor and I are the two in the office who watch coronation street religiously so I will miss our morning updates but I sure wish it was me who was retiring.

Retirement Gift

One of my co-workers is retiring, her last day is Christmas Eve. One of the gals at work talked me into making a signature quilt for her and I had thought it would be a small wall hanging size. However I failed to calculate the size, thinking I would wing it. Now it is the size of a small lap quilt.

I still have to sandwich and quilt it but believe me it will be very simple (in the ditch). I do not have time for anything else. As you can see it is all blue (my stash) and muslin with the exception of one Maple leaf square. Eleanor is moving to England on Christmas day and I thought the red maple leaves would remind her of Canada.

Snow Storm

We were hit with a huge wtorm yesterday and according to the weather man "it ain't over yet"

New bathroom

Here are pictures of our completed new bathroom. It feels like I am in a hotel not my home. I'm sure I will get used to it.

My sewing room

I thought that I would post a couple of pictures of my sewing room. It is a bit of a misnomer because I have been sewing (lately) in our dining room. Being upstairs I feel like I am away from the action and also in the winter it is cold upstairs so I am alway bringing down sewing suplies and ( always way to much stuff) Anyway I was upstairs yesterday did a little tidying of the sewing room. Thought now would be good time to post. Ah please don't say if this was tidy I hate to see what it look like before.

Below is a photo of my inspiration wall. It is picture of my Mom and Dad when they were first married and then after 50 years. Also a couple of my Mom's baby pictures.

Bathroom Reno

We are having our bathroom renovated I do not like only having one other bathroom, which means I have to get up in the night and come downstairs to use the bathroom Here are a few of the befores.

Yikes what a mess!!

............................and now for the rebuild!

I will post a picture of the completed job next week.

Orangeville Quilt show

Here are a few of the Lovely quilts that I saw at the Orangeville bi-annual quilt show put on by the Dufferin Piecemakers. It was really lovely and they had a great selection of vendors there so much so that I left some of my money as the show.

Busy Painting

It has been a while since I have posted anything. I always think that I have nothing that interesting to talk about. Over thanksgiving My Mom and I painted and fixed up my family room. I have pictures of the before and afters although I forgot to take a picture of the room before I had dismantled it.

The white and plum with floral border has been replaced by a lovely coffee with cream cream colour and the couch and chair slip covered with dark rusty red. I am going to clean up the end table and spray them black, if we have a good weather day when I am off work.

Quilt Show - Bobcaygeon- Harvest of Quilts 2007

Last weekend Mom and I went to the Quilt show in Bobcaygeon, ON. It is held every two years and is called "Harvest of Quilts". It is held in a Settlers Village and features old and new quilts haning in Barns, in the one room school house, the old church etc. you get the idea. It is beautiful. They have a great selection of Vendors, a place for luncheon or picnic tables if you want to bring your own. I particularly like the mix of old and new quilts.

I photograghed so many but two particularly caught my. I am sorry that I did not get a detailed shot big enough to show the name of the

the second maker. (sorry) But I like them so much I wanted to share them with you. I immediately came home and ordered the book to make one. Have a look!

The Name Game-

The Name Game ( stole this from Dorothy)

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)Suzie Focus

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)French Vanilla Chocolate Chunk
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
D-Gra

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Red Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Ann Peterborough

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)Gra-Da

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Black Coffee

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)Cliff Herbert

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Dune Goodie

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )Grace Stewart

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)Astell Allegheny

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Christmas Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + "ie" or "y")Apple Jeansie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)PB Toast Maple

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)The Applique Lighting Tour.

Another Great Day!

My friend Kelly and I spent Friday together. As usual our idea was to sew. However we began by planning our next trip to Quilt Canada 2008 in Newfoundland. This involved reading every class they were offering and narrowing down the list we might be interesting in taking. Then going on- line to look at flights to Newfoundland and there cost. By the time that was complete, it was time for lunch.

I made us a nice lunch of homemade chili, Crusty rolls and for dessert fresh peaches and ice cream.

We did spend some time working on a project. Kelly and I have both been making Baltimore Album quilt blocks. I say that because heaven knows, if they will ever turn into a quilt. We both thought it would be a great idea to make a block holder, so we set out to make a pattern in one of Ellie Sienkiewicz last book, Baltimore Elegance.

Kelly also spent some time showing me how to use EQ to design quilts. Oh great more time on the computer and less on actual sewing. (I just heard Mark Lipinski on a podcast talking about buying fabric as buying the dream of making a quilt, where you do or not) I guess I belong to that camp.

I can only who you a picture of the fabric I selected because frankly we did not get far enough to show you much else. We plan to complete the block holder next time we get together.

Latest Read

I have been off work this last week and I've been reading, sewing and crocheting. My latest read is one of the Shenandoah Album Series of Quilt Fiction by Emilie Richards. I recommend them all. I started with the first one Double Wedding Ring, then The Endless Chain, next is The Lovers Knot and finally Shooting Stars.

I have also become a fan of The no-end-insight Ripple- Along Blog. I have taken out a huge box of yarn that I have had more than 15 years and started crocheting. I have completed one baby blanket and started on a second. I like making baby things because they work up quickly and I can always donate them to church or some other cause for fund raising.

I hope to have some picture of my Quilt progress shortly.

Enjoyable Read

I spend the entire day in my jammies reading Jennifer Chiaverini's newst book, "the Quilters Homecoming". Kelly gave it me for my birthday and I really enjoyed it. I love reading books that have quilting as part of there storey line. I have read all of Chiaverini's and am now working On Emilie Richards Shenandoah Album series.

Fabulous Friendship Friday

I spent the day with my dear friend Kelly. I cleaned my house for her arrival. (Always a good reason to have company)

She arrived early with Tim Hortons Coffee and lunch prepared. We sat at the kitchen table with our coffee and talked about our plans to attend Quilt Canada in Newfoundland next year. Then we took a drive down to a local quilt shop that neither of us had been to for a while. The store is called Country Concessions, Cookstown and has a huge selection of fabric, a little retail therapy you know. We arrived back at my place and had Lunch. Kelly had made a lovely Ham, spinach, egg and cheese Strata,( yum) and for dessert Angelfood cake topped with fresh fruit and cool whip. How fabulous is that? We spent the afternoon, watching a Linda Franz CD on her Quilted Diamonds. We talked about quilts more than doing any stitching but what a great afternoon. I felt refreshed and revived after a day with my dear friend. On our next sewing day together Kelly and I are planning on making block holders for our Baltimore Album Blocks.

Quilt for Breast Cancer

My kindred group, "Friends in Stitches" likes to have a project on the go. It is usually something that will be donated to a charity. This is our latest completed quilt. We named it "Bali-Ho" but the real pattern name is The Puzzler, which was in a fall issue of Quilters Newsletter magazine, I think sometime in 2005. One our group found the pattern and we pooled all of our Batik fabrics. One evening we had a cutting party and then devided up the blocks and went home to sew. We did make a few changes to the original pattern. Our is a quilt-as-you-go. We are going to enter it in the local quilt show this fall and then it will be donated to "The Quilt" a Canadian group who's Auctions quilts for Breast cancer support. http://www.thequilt.com/ Our guild also contributes a quilt annually. I can tell you we are very proud of this, It is so beautiful in Bali's.

summer season

here is a photo of the Summer season Tree in full bloom

Quilt Show - Waterloo

Last weekend my friend Kelly and I went to Waterloo to see the Ontario Juried show. There were an overwhelming number of fabulous quilts to many to for me to show you all of them but I would to share couple of my favorites. These two are the work of Renske Helmuth, both were winners. The details and workmanship are fabulous.

a tale of two seasons

What a difference a few months can make. When I saw this picture I love it and decided that I would take once of each of the four seasons, and perhaps have them mounted on a canvas or transferred on to fabric and use them as a centre panel in a quilt. Notice the birds next in the tree. It has not been inhabited this year but was last.

Quilt Canada-2006

Last year I attended Quilt Canada 2006 in Ottawa and took a fabulous two day class with Margaret Van Erve on crazy quilting. It is a just begining but here is the pillow that I started and finally completed for my husband's birthday. I very much love the stitching.

Goodbye Gift

The weather has been beautiful this week. The sun shining, warm days and cool nights. Just the way I like it. I was home last weekend to visit my Mom. She and I get a long like sisters so she is a joy to spend time with. We had 3 great days together.

I belong to a small quilting group, "Friends in Stitches", we get together to sew, chat, eat you know how it is. Late last year one of our group moved to England. They do not know how long they will be there, so they are renting a small flat, much smaller than the big home they had here in Barrie. We wanted to give Mary something to remember us.

One of our group had an idea from something she saw in a magazine. The project was to make a small quilt that would sit on your desk and could be changed be seasonally like a calendar. The quilt is made with a small pocket on the top of the back. The pocket then goes over the top of an 8X10 clear acrylic picture frame. It is used as a stand for the quilt. We like the idea. It was small enough to pack and display in a small space and large enough that we could express ourselves.

Each of us made a small square using a technique we are known for and something that would mean something special to Mary. I love Redwork and Mary collects Teddy Bears so that was perfect. My friend Kelly does beautiful applique , Margret silk ribbon, you get the idea! Anyway Kelly the put the whole thing together, using Maple Leaf (Canada) fabric for the border and there is a special label on the back. I think it turned out beautifully and it who doesn't have time to make a 3 inch square. Mary loved it.

Art? or Not

Feeling a little under the weather today. I have a terrible headache. After a couple of naps and some Tylenol I decided to try my hand at tissue paper art. I had it in my mind that I wanted to create something out of tissue on canvas. So here is my first try. I was mainly using this a trial to see how the colours came out applied to the canvas, using mod podge. I was thinking I could cut out pieces and make a "quilt" on canvas, if I like the technique.

The colours are very vibrant. I think I like it!

I'm Back

Thanks so much to Debra who got the Quilt Studio Webring on to my page.

My mom, hubby and I went to Ottawa over Easter to see a Senators game and visit a cousin. We had a fabulous time. My cousin, who works for the Senators took us on a tour of the ScotiaBank Centre and into some of the boxes. He took out for a fabulous dinner and we had seats in the fitfh row, for the Senators vs. Pittsburgh game. The next day we went downtown to see some of the fabulous museums and the parliment buildings. Here is Mom, Hubby and I.

On the last morning of our long weekend get away we met my cousin and his family for breakfast. We brought all of them some small gifts. As it was Easter I made my cousins wife a funky chicken pincushion. As it turned out she love chickens and has her kitchen decorated in that theme. I was pleased because I really do not know her well and was struggling for something to take her .

I used a couple of log cabin squares leftover from another project, some felt for the comb and beads for the eyes.

Stack and Whack

This photo is of a Stack and Whack Quilt that I made (pattern by Bethany Reynolds). It hangs on the wall in our spare bedroom. It was the floral print that I was first drawn to. When I made this I wanted to pair it with a sage green. However when I took the class the instructor suggest something more bold, hence the dark blue. Good thing too, because it is really a much better contrast.

I have curtain rod that hangs behing the bed so that I can change the quilt I hang behind the bed to variety.

New Quilt for bedroom

Here is the new quilt that I have just completed. It was a free pattern from Quilters Village, I found it on the McCalls site and loved it. It was very easy to put together. It was machine quilted by Colleen Dodd, of Elite Quilting in Bradford. Her work is beautiful and very reasonable too. I love it. I used one fabric as the main colour and then went through my stash to find other fabrics to help pull it all together. I used the main fabric to make table toppers for either side of our bed. I have enough left over to make a lap quilt. As I have my tv in the bedroom I always like to have a nice lap quilt to cuddle in while I watch tv.