March Project of the Month Completed

 I was visiting the Quilt shop in Newmarket and found this pretty fleece panel. It is a Thomas Kindkade panel called "Autumn Splendor". I have never made up one of these panels before, but I thought it would fast, fun and cozy. Next I went looking for the piece for the back and lo and behold, Fabricland had there solid fleece on sale for $5 a metre which was just enough for the back. You can see back down in the bottom left corner the soft grey-green which is the back.  Next I went to You Tube and found and instruction video on how to assemble.  My electric scissors came in handy. In no time, it was put together. I like to be covered up for my afternoon nap and this blanket will be just the ticket. 

While at Fabricland I bought a couple more metres of red and red and green plaid. I thought they might make a nice car blanket.
When I was a kid we always had a plaid, fringed blanket in the car. We used it for unplanned picnics or to cover up cold children on the drives home from whereever Mom and Dad took us.

Shadow and Friend or Foe

It has been a damp and rainy Spring day here at home. None the less Shadow likes to be outside. She is on the look out for backyard intruders. As I went to the stove to check on my BBQ Spare Ribs, here was the scene out the window. I grabbed a couple of quick pics.

Here is what she had up the tree, I can assure you the Chippy outsmarted her and got away.

Oh and the Ribs, baked potatoes, veggies and fresh Strawberries we had for supper were really good.

Mark Lipinski- Better than Prescription Drugs

Tuesday night my friends, Kelly, Margaret and I went to see a trunk show by Mark Lipinski . Mark is the editor and main writer for the Magazine, "Quilters Home". We had a ball, Mark told so many stories. He is a natural stand up comedian. We laughed so hard we had pains in our sides. I swear to you we could not have laughed more at Yuk Yuks.

The next day we took his class. It was great, a mystery quilt in which we learned how to: design a quilt, plan out where the blocks will go, and learned how to piece curves. Then make more blocks to complete your chosen design.

Mark likes to collect odd and shall we say irreverent quilt fabric. One lady in class had found some while shopping and brought him a piece. It was the hit of the day.

Here is a photo with the shop owner, Darlene from Country Concessions, in Cookstown. It is a great quilt shop with a huge selection of fabric, I am sure they are the largest in our area.

These are picture of quilts from others in the class.









This is my friend Kelly's. I love it, the batik is a fish print.







Finally here is mine, I absolutely hate it, however I am going to persevere and see what else I can add to the colour scheme (yellow) to soften it up.







As Mark was leaving we caught a glimpse of his license plate. Note the red flames around it that light up when he brakes.

Ready Set - Mark!

My friend Kelly and I are going to Mark Lipinski's Trunk Show and Workshop, Tuesday night and Wednesday. We are so excited. I intend to take my premiere issue of his magazine and have him autograph it for me if possible. Country Concessions intends to be open early and has a sale on his new line of Frabric "Krakow",and that is always dangerous for us. Kelly and I got together on Saturday to cut our fabric and put it into the required labeled baggies. Kelly brought a lovely ham and cheese Strata made with spinach that we put the oven as soon as she arrived and if filled the kitchen with the most amazing aroma. After we had lunch and finished out cutting we sat in the liviing room having fresh strawberries and tea while we watched Kelly;s DVD copy of  , a "Night in Rodanthe", a real chick flick. It was a really great day.

On a less exciting note. I have not been feeling up to snuff lately. I think I mentioned a while ago that this blog was a kind of therapy for me. Among other things, I won't bore you with now, I have what is call Peripheral Neuropathy. It is a tingling of the feet and hands (primarily feet), a kind of nerve damage and is accompanied by numbness and pain. I was at the neurologist last fall and prescribed a drug called Lyrica which I have been taking but I am overcome with such an array of side effects, not the least of which is a profound need to sleep alot and deeply, unfortunately it is only during the day. I sleep poorly at night because of the feet pain but I do sleep in the day and so much so that at least once a week. I can sleep about 7:00 am until noon hour. It is that horrible kind of sleep where you feel almost catatonic when you wake up and have to keep shaking your self awake.  If anyone has had any experience on this drug I would love to hear from you.

I am seeing the doctor soon and intend to ask him to take me of this drug.


I am really enjoying a book I am reading now,    Sisters Coice by Emilie Richards. It is a nice story with some references to quilting. Try one if you get a chance this series starts The Wedding  Ring.

Throw me a Curve - Mystery Quilt

My Kindred group met a couple of nights ago for a pot luck. It is always nice to get together for a gab as we sit around stitching after dinner.

I brought a Spinach Salad, so simple to make:

A large amount of baby Spinach leaves
Red Onion, slivered in half rounds- as much or as little as you like
A can of Mandarin Orange Slices, drained OR a cup of thinly sliced strawberries
1/4 cup of slivered Almonds
Kraft or Renees Poppy Seed Dressing, or a simple vinagrette.

Everyone Loves it.

Mark Lipinski is coming to town and my friend Kelly and I are going to attend his trunk show and the workshop. Here is the fabric that I have chosen for the Mystery Quilt Workshop. I hate Mystery Quilts. 
I much prefer knowing what it is going to look like. But I so enjoy Mark that I am willing to give it a go.

We were to choose three fabrics a Dark, a Medium and a Light. I am going to use the Large Blue Print as my Dark, the Orange as Medium, the yellow and green as light and the stripe will be an extra likely for the border. Stay Tuned.   

A Purse - February's Project

I finally completed this purse. The pin Yo-Yo pin is removeable. I think I like it, but I will make the next one a little larger.

Happy Quilting!