Happy belated New Year 2016

I haven't posted for quite sometime because I forget to.  I did make and complete a couple of projects for Christmas gifts.  I quilted the Mexican Star top and gave it to Nicole for Christmas because it was purple and I made a Winter Wreath tablerunner for Ruth my hairstylist.  Job well done for a change.  Forgot to take pictures of them of course.

I have some customer quilts to complete but Christmas, my mother's frequent hospital visits, appointments and my rotten cold have thrown me for a loop and I can't imagine ever getting caught up.  

My DM has been panelled for a spot in a personal care home, yeah.  She will hopefully get a spot by the end of the summer, then clearing out if all of her junk begins.

I have to say that I am so glad I did not do the mystery quilt this time around.  I knew I was going to be too busy and when the colours were announced I knew that I did not want a quilt in red, gold, gray, black and neutral.  The quilt revealed is quite hideous.  I like most of the ones that did not use her colour choices so much better because I do not like red and gold together unless green is there to neutralize the combo.  Eggs and ketchup, yuck.  Happy I did not waste my time.  I am hoping she will come up with an autumn coloured quilt for the mystery one year.  I will keep my fingers crossed.

I wrote to the company that distributes self threading needles because there usually is only one needle in each package that doesn't shred the thread and I could not find it in the package I had.  Well, they kindly sent me all of the loot in the photo following.  Lucky me.  I will never run out, I hope.

That is it for me.

Happy quilting.

Easy Street done.

My 'Easy Street' quilt , pattern by Bonnie Hunter, is done.  This was one of her mystery quilts from a couple of years ago.  I finally quilted it this summer with a pattern called sticky buns and finished binding it last night.  I wish I had put a border on it but it would have been way too big for my bed.  I want to make some pillow shams to match since there is not pillow tuck room.  I also need to make a label for it.  I just have to find the details to include on the label.  Photo below.

Next up is quilting the baby quilt for the neighbour and then I just found out my doctor is expecting in November and since she has been so good to us and my mother that I felt I must give her something and a baby quilt is one of the best gifts as far as I am concerned.  I saw a cute easy one on Pinterest that I may use as inspiration.

Happy quilting.

My potato reveal.

It started out to be a nice cool morning yesterday, after the above 30 degree weather we had last week.  I decided it would be a good day to harvest the potatoes and have them for supper.  My 

DS and his girlfriend were coming for dinner.  I was surprised by the outcome, there were more potatoes than  I expected but less than I had hoped.  They had scab too which disappointed me so I can't really store them.  I think we can eat them all up this week.  What a difference between fresh potatoes and store bought, very crisp when cutting up to cook.  I have since learned that I should not have used manure in the buckets, so next year I will get better soil and look for specific potato fertilizer.  The experiment was fun. 

I managed to sew the binding on my Easy Street quilt.  It does look nice on the bed however I wish I could have put on a border.  It would have been way to big for my bed if I had.  I am sure I will get used to it being borderless.  One more almost finish.  

There is a baby quilt on the machine for the neighbour's first grandchild that needs to be quilted.  I have to change the backing because the fibres pop through with the stitching.  I may just quilt zigzags on the domestic machine and call it done.  Don't know yet.

Next up on the machine will be a fall themed wallhanging for the hallway.  Hopefully it will be done before Christmas, lol.

Happy stitching.

First UFO a finish of 2015

This quilt was started in October of 2000 at a class taught at a now closed quilt shop called The Old Cotton Shop.  I finally put in on the machine in December meant as a Christmas/Birthday gift for the DH.  It took awhile to get it quilted because of the holidays and it was time consuming due to all of the thread colour changes.   It is done and on the bed, yeah.

I have some customer quilts  I am working on right now but once done I will get started on another long time UFO.  I have a lot of quilts in the queue for quilting plus my niece is having a baby in April so a couple of baby quilts are in my future to make.  One will be a rag and the other who knows.  

I have a couple of on going scrap quilt projects on the go.  I am paper piecing a 'Wild & Goosey' project.  I don't know how big it will get because I am just going to use the batik scraps I have on hand and I will keep on going until they are depleted.  I need to make at least 196 three and one half inch paper pieced squares for a throw size and I have only completed eight so far.   The other scrap paper pieced project is a 'Pineapple Crazy' quilt and that is using even smaller pieces than for the W&G.

I also have charity quilts to get started working on but they can wait.

Better get at it.

Happy quilting

Happy New Year 2015 !

It looks like a cold and sunny start to the new year.  I have been playing with fabric this morning working on putting the mystery quilt together.  The reveal was posted last night and I really like the layout.  I spent a couple of hours last night finishing up one of the steps so that I would have everything  ready to put together if the reveal was posted at midnight.  I was still downstairs sewing when it was posted but my iPad was out of juice so I did not see it until I went upstairs to bring in the new year with DH.  I did not have the energy to go back down and start working on it.  I need to download another audiobook to keep me company while sewing and I will most likely spend the day sewing.  

As well as finishing up the clue for GI, last night, I pieced the triangles together for the first border of CS.  It looks not bad.  I do think I will donate it to St. Amant or somewhere.  It is way too bright for me and I think a child would love it. 

Trying to add the Grand Illusion graphic button but of course I can't figure out how.  I will try on the PC because the iPad gives me grief when trying to do anything other than read posts.  

Happy Quilting. 

Christmas has snuck up on me again.

Of course I am not ready but I have a week to get caught up.  I am trying to quilt a quilt for a gift for my DH.  He has complained for years that I have never made him one so this is my chance, especially since I don't have any money of my own to buy him a gift.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can get it done. 

I have been busy trying to set up my Christmas village.  I saw a picture on someone's blog a couple of years ago where they had set up their village under their tree.  I thought it was a great idea especially since we really don't have gifts to put under the tree anymore.  I also like the fact that the tree doesn't look empty after Christmas.  

I think it turned out great.  I smelled like a locker room after but it is done.

Happy quilting

Finally some decent weather and 37 baby quilts.

Ha

     After such a long cold winter we are finally enjoying some warm double digit temperatures however things are not well with our little family.  DS has been struggling with bi-polar disorder, not properly diagnosed, and it has spiralled out of control.  He has been highly delusional these past few days and it has gotten worse with a desire to commit suicide to stop all the thoughts and feelings.  We took him to the crisis centre twice and they sent him away.  We finally had to call the police to take him in and after a whole day of my DH sitting with him there they admitted him to hospital.  I pray with all my heart they can help him.  He is highly paranoid right now and the bizarre things he has been saying scare the hell out of me. He has a long way to go before he is well enough to go back to work if he still has a job.  We will worry about that later, he needs to get well first.

Since this blog is supposed to be about quilting I better include some of that in my post.  The Thelma Wynn project has ended for the year and we had the tea on the 15th of May.  I have posted a few pictures of the quilts I made/donated.  One day I will get the hang of adding pictures to my posts but since this iPad has a mind of its own I doubt I will ever get there.   Some I quilted and some were tied by one of the ladies in the group that does not sew but likes to help out.  I made 37 quilts this year, three bibs and several burp cloths.  I am tired so I packed all the leftover fabric away for now and quilted a customer quilt for a change.  

     Another of my longtime customers, that no longer drives, wants a couple of quilts done.  DH, the dog and I will do a road trip and pick them up.  The customer is in her late 80's and she lives in one of the lake communities so we don't mind the trip since it is a nice area to visit.

I am hoping our son is recovering by then so we can take time out and not have to worry about leaving him alone.

More pictures.

Happy stitching.