Giveaway

Just wanted to let you all know about the wonderful giveaway of 12 FQ bundle of Cloud Nine Simpatico.  Be sure to enter here http://maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.ca/2012/12/a-fabric-giveaway_14.html as the draw is Monday.

It's Starting to Feel Like Christmas Here

Hi Everyone, I have missed everyone so much.  Is Christmas coming together at your house?  I got out my treasured Santa I made many years ago. We put up the Christmas tree yesterday and our daughter came over with wrapped presents to put under it.   Her Golden Retriever, Hudson, was so cute, and I didn't take any pictures of him.  He loves all the fluffy Christmas stockings and handmade stuffed items.  He helped himself to a handmade reindeer ornament and claimed it as his.  Even growled if you got to close to his treasure.  He flipped a few hats around and bunted the the snowman door decoration to make the bells jingle.  He just seems to know when the tree and lights go up it means good times and lots of treats.

Here he is in his favorite spot in my sewing room catching a little nap or maybe his tummy just feels too full.  Do you like my quilt display rack?  I saw this on the Internet somewhere.  Rods were placed under the table top on 1 or 2 sides and you hang quilts or tops.  It also hides all the storage totes under the table.

Backtracking a bit, the Craft Show I went to in November was really great.  I sold quite a bit and one of my bigger quilts, actually, a sofa or bed topper done in blacks and taupes.  The day went by quickly but boy was I wiped by the time I got home.  It took a few days rest to get moving again.  Here is a snap of my booth at the end of the day.

I am feeling very much in the Christmas mood.  I started this little bed topper to keep toes warm.  I saw this in Connecting Threads and they used their rose manor prints but I didn't have time to order the kit.  Anyway, why do I need to buy new material for every project...just go check out those 6 or 700 2 1/2" squares we cut out of scraps.  The main part is together and I am working on the two borders consisting of holly and a nice bow.  I am happy with how it came together so well and a great practice session of sewing accurate 2 1/2" squares together!

The binding will be done in the blue striped print.  It's been quite some time since I have done any applique.

Well I am off to work some more on these holly leaves.   I am going to link this to Leah Days FMQuilting.  Have a great week.
 

Big Giveaway at Contemporary Cloth

Contemporary Cloth is having a big Sale for all day Monday and three giveaways.  Here's a link if you are interested. http://blog.contemporarycloth.com/giveaway-free-shipping-20-off-orders/

Moving Slowly Along

My new hip is just amazing and there is no longer any pain.  This hip feels like it has belonged to me forever, not just one month.

I am registered for a Home Base Business and Craft Fair November 24 here in Swift Current.  At last count there are 83 booths so it should be a wonderful show.  It is quite some time since there was a local Christmas Show of this size and I think the public will be pleasantly pleased with the different booths.  Please join us if you are in our area.  Location is the Stockade, in the Exhibition Grounds from 10-5.  A one day show only.

I am up to my eyeballs in sewing.  I will give you a sneak peek in a few more days.  My stamina is still a little low but things are starting to come together.  Sorry I am so slow getting pictures up but will have some new surprises soon.

Thank you to those of you who have been checking in on me and I hope you are enjoying some more sewing time.  My thoughts have also been with each and every one of you affected by Storm Sandy.  I hope each day brings better times.

Back In Gear

It has been a bit more than a week of recovery and I thank all of you that check in for new updates.  You are such an important part of my quilting ventures.  It is quite an amazing process of getting an artificial hip...3 weeks today....I have absolutely no pain of any kind and just have weakness in that leg.  I am already getting around in the house nicely with a cane.  I am faithful to my exercises as they say they help reduce the pain and strengthen the leg.

I haven't done very much sewing as I couldn't sit for very long and it takes time to get all those drugs out of your system.  I had the hardest time last week to make a pinwheel...just couldn't get the thought process right.  That is all cleared away now.  I do not do much  in seasonal themes but I did do a couple "Hint of Christmas" pot holders.  They still need a bit of quilting to finish them off.  I love the little sign "work for freezer space"! 

I am booked in for a Home Base Business Trade and Craft Show on November 24th.  I paid my fees but wasn't totally convinced I could be ready for this but I am doing really well so I am getting excited.  We have moved to a larger venue and it is only a 1 day event so I am anticipating a larger turnout.
I am putting together a child's quilt from a panel I had.  I am calling it tossed alphabet.  Here I am laying it out for a preview and I am pleased how well everything is fitting together.  I thought I would add squares of the pinwheel fabric set on point across the top and bottom of the banner.  I think I should expand that green outside border to maybe 3".  That striped will be the binding done on the bias.  Any thoughts you might have as to this layout are certainly welcomed.

The original panel was finished with a blue border...do any of you think I should go that route?
Please feel free to leave suggestions and comments that will help me improve on my project...I love to hear from you.

I am linking this post to Freemotion Quilting by the River.
 

Catching Up

Thanks all you readers and followers who have dropped  by over the past couple of weeks.  I just need to catch everyone up on what's happening on my sight.

This past Monday, October 1, I had a complete hip replacement and got home today.  I am feeling very well and I am getting around good, with the aid of a walker and not much pain.  I had a phone call for my surgery two weeks ago, so to make it brief I was in a whirlwind getting ready.  I need to rest for a week and then maybe I can get back to doing some sewing.  I want to wish everyone here a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

UFO Update

I haven't had a post this week because I have been very busy with garden produce and quilting, but it has been a fun week.  My new UFO sofa topper has had a lot of work done.  I did some rippping of FMQ, don't you just hate doing that but it had to be.  My color of thread that looks stunning on the black, didn't show at all on the greys so I ripped out the quilting and used a navy and all is well now.

I did some pine boughs in one square and when I was done, I realized I had just done thread painting and it was fun and looks great.  I have never tried thread painting and didn't practice this but I am not going to be over confident as the next time I try to do it, it will be a big flop.  Just a lucky day!  Here is a close up of the stitching.

 

My bare tree on the right is upside down and this was one of the blocks I had to redo.  I must thank those of you that left comments and suggestions.  I used each one and I am so pleased with how it is coming together.  Leah's UFO posts are just so great and I have never before had such responsive support.  Now, I am going to see what everyone else is up to this week.

UFO Drawings

I certainly appreciate all the feedback I received today and tonight I have done some drawing.  I made an exact size block and have drawn some leaves, etc. on it.  Those 2 blocks "square in a square" are the ones giving me problems.

Sorry it turned sideways.  The leaf vine is my border up each side.  I seem to loose the maple  and oak leaf every time I put something around them. The center squares aren't very big.  So I tried this:

I ignored the center square and filled the bigger square with a leaf.  I was also wondering about replacing the fern with either a dead tree or a pine tree.  What do you think?  I could maybe find a stitch to fill the maple and oak leaf similar to what I did with the plain leaf.  I appreciate any feedback you wish to offer. 

It's UFO Sunday

I can't believe it is Sunday again and time to pull out a new UFO.  I finished my 2 projects from last week but didn't take time tonight to do pictures so I'll post this on Linky Tuesday at Freemotion at the River.

This new item is a sofa topper that I started last fall.  I was planning to take it to my craft show but the amount of quilting didn't fit into the time slot I had to finish it.   The first picture is the overall quilt and please excuse the fold lines as this has been put away for a while. The colors aren't showing up that great but are done in black, greys, taupes.  It is made up of the same block turned different ways and then side borders.

Here is a closeup of one block.  I have done the leaf and my feather looks more like a leaf than a plume.  There are also some loopy loops and a narrow strip of ribbon quilting.
Here is my dilemma, what do I put in the borders around the squares?  Should I do leaf designs in all the areas?  I like the leaves I have done and may add a maple leaf in one of the squares.
When I get the quilting figured out for this one block, should I repeat the same quilting in all the blocks? The narrow strip on the side is a border that I was going to do leaves on a vine.
 

A Feather in my Bonnet

I have met this lovely lady Dora who is a fabulous quilter and we share a love for vintage machines and using our treadles for FMQ.  Dora made a wonderful tutorial here and I told her I wanted to give it a try so I did last night.  I started out by drawing out the design on paper, I always do it on paper first as it just helps my brain absorb it more.

Sorry about it turning on it's side.  The inside center is the trickiest for sure but with Dora's wonderful pictures, it was very easy to follow.  Then I moved on to the real thing.  I made up 2 sample blocks and I think my first attempt is the best.  I was being distracted trying to do the center better in the second sample and it ended up a lot more wobblier so it tells me I need some more practice before I enter this on any quilt.  If you go to Dora's blog, you will see her lovely quilt finished with all the beautiful plumes.  Thanks Dora for the great tutorial.

Annie was just excited to perform last night and is sitting ready for some more action

 

Leah Day's Quilt Along

How is the last summer holiday of the year going?  I hope you are enjoying family, sunshine and all the other wonderful things that come with summer.  We are already starting to see signs of fall, summer is so short for us in Canada.  I do certainly enjoy the fresh vegetables coming in and I have done some pail pickles, 10 big quarts of dills, today 2 batches of pie dough for our prairie apples and a batch of tomatoes sauce to use in cassrole dishes so it has been busy so far but I am thrilled to have some veggies for those cold winter months coming.

I am been sorta following Leah Day's Quilt Along all summer and trying many of her quilt designs.  It has certainly helped me improve my skills quite a bit.  Now, every Sunday is going to be UFO day and I sure can use this!  For this first week, I am pulling out this twister wreath that I made from a tutorial on the "Quilting Board".  I suddenly became ill and ended up with surgery so this got tossed to the UFO bin. 

I don't have a lot to finished it so I think it is a good first UFO finish.  I did micro stippling on all the white sections on my treadle.  That was a lot of fun. I have stitched 1/4" inside the twisters but need to do the pink ones and then the borders.  I plan a big rose/burgandy bow at the bottom of the wreath.

I have all the straight line quilting done on my string wall hanging.

 

And look at the stitching on the back.  I used different sized squares for the centers but the stitching almost makes you dizzy.

I really like the white/black sashing.  This is not my original design and for the life of me I can't find the gal who made this to give her full credit for a great wall hanging.  I am going to bind it in a black/white binding, a bit darker to frame the whole event.

I have spent more time than I should have on the "Back to School Blog Hop", any of you doing this?  While browsing around other blog sites I came across this darling Quilt Along called "Hello Sunshine".  I am just puttering with these right now but they are so darn cute it will be hard to leave them alone.  There is a new block each month and you can join in here.  Here is a sample of the blocks and my first sunshine.

I can't quite decide if I will make this into a quilt or a Quiet Book.



 

Jane's Quilting: School Daze with Giveaway

Jane's Quilting: School Daze with Giveaway

Quilting Lodge Blog: Quilter's Blog Hop Party Giveaway!

Quilting Lodge Blog: Quilter's Blog Hop Party Giveaway!http://samanthashouse.blogspot.ca/2012/08/back-to-school-blog-hop.html

Back to School Blog Hop

Did you know it is only a short time before all the kids are back in school?  A hush comes over the streets where we live and we know summer is over, gee so short.  But to ease into fall there is a terrific Back to School Blog Hop here where you can enter for lots of giveaways.  I just found a wonderful Canadian quilt shop FlareFabrics with great prices and Free Shipping in Canada.  I just love their line of modern fabrics so click on the above and go have a look and don't forget to enter the Blog Hop.

New FMQ Design

As you all know, I am constantly practicing FMQ and trying new designs.  This week I finished up a small charity quilt that will go to our Palliative Care Unit.  There are so many good FM Quilt Alongs on the internet now, like Leah Day and Oh Fransson.  I follow them and try out many, some I can do and some are too challenging.  I used a new petal leaf design from Oh Fransson on this quilt and I am pretty pleased, need more practice.  It was quick to do and blended the strips.  Here is my finished product.

I need to get some pickles done up and the tomatoes are coming in fast.  Harvest is in full swing and Canadian farmers in Manitobia, Saskatchewan and Alberta and having bumper crops.  Chat with you soon.

Fun Fabric Friday

Has anyone been stashing up on good fabric sales.  I did, and today 4 packages arrived. WooHoo!  The sale is still on over here at Quilt It Shop.  This is their annual big inventory sale and I think it is terrific at $4.50 and $4.00 a yard on all inventory.

The bundle on the left is creams and neutrals for some pillows/place mats.  I got 2 baby panels and the center bundle are some coordinates.  The panels are 24" wide so need to add something.  Third bundle is for a modern quilt with a grey background fabric.  I am going to a Christmas Craft Sale in late November so I am sewing for that.  I love all the fabrics I received and it was like Christmas in August for sure today.  Also, the shipping was terrific too so go see what they have.

Christmas in August

Just catching up on what everyone is up to.  I finally have a small item finished to show you.  This table runner is done with Christmas scraps so I am calling it "Christmas in August".  I am liking how it turned out and I have been wanting to try some circular quilting and this seemed like a good project.  I did rows spaced 1/2" apart and staggered the circles across the runner.  I didn't get a real good picture to show the design and the quilting but here goes.  The design is the small twister ruler.

The circles weren't that hard to do as I thought I might end up oval not circular but it all went pretty good.  I would like to try a bigger item, like a baby quilt.  I have no idea how far experienced quilters space their circular lines so if anyone out there can provide some insight, I would love to hear from you.

These photos are again taken in my flower garden.  I spent several hours last week cleaning out some of the expired flowers and moving some pots around.  It's good to be back online after our modem gave up on us leaving us for several days with no TV and no Internet!  Hope you are having a wonderful week.

Just a Funny Story

I don't have any new finished items and am struggling with some FMQ issues on my vintage machines. 

I do have a cute story that you might enjoy.  My hubby is in charge of the garden and we have a nice Nanking Cherry bush really loaded with berries that are very tasty.  Of course, our friendly robins, black birds, sparrows and anyone else living near by comes to check on whether or not the berries are ripe.  One day he decided he was not sharing and we own a rubber motion activated frog that we got at the Dollar Store which he mounted on a stick so that when the birds shook the branches around, this frog croaks 2-3 times.  There has not be any birds to speak of testing out this new feature.  Even the dog gets all disturbed when it squawks and wants to find it and kill it!  I picked the berries on the weekend  and left quite a bit for us and the birds to eat.  The berries are still there today.

Another annoying bird we have is Doves.  They try to nest in our evergreen so last year my thinker hubby installed a big rat trap on a board mounted on a stick that he pushed up inside the evergreen.  We never killed a bird with it but I will tell you when that thing went off with a terrific bang, everything evicted the tree.  So we got the Doves out of the evergreen but they just moved to the front yard tree which hangs over our car where they could poop all over it any time they wanted, like all day long.  Yesterday my hubby washed the car and today it is has about 6 big globs of Dove poop on it.  This afternoon I am hearing croaking sounds at the front of the house so the frog has moved locations.  I wonder what the mailman will think if it senses him walking by?  Anyway, we are having a lot of fun  with the frog and maybe he would even scare a burglar away.  Hubby makes me smile every day.

I am off to the Quilting Board to see if anyone has a solution to my problem.  I will try to get some pictures of works in progress later today.

I am having a few problems writing posts lately but I can post a picture so they are coming first.  How was your weekend?  Ours was splendid, couldn't get any better with family, pets, sunshine and food!  I made this little baby quilt from 2 charm pacs of California Girl, oh how I love that fabric and I could make another of this pattern, just so much fun with a modern flair.  I used the 3" twister ruler.  I FMQ using a free style pattern on my trusty antique machine. Hope you enjoy seeing this finished.

I have been doing a lot of this.....sitting in the shade near my flower garden.  It is a great year for roses that are blooming to their fullest in a vast array of color .  We have had very little wind, even when it has stormed, so the blooms are lasting well.  I don't have any new projects to report on and still doing string blocks.  I think I have about 10 left.  It is always so much fun to start sewing them together.  Hope you all are having a great weekend.

We are experiencing just a tad bit of Heat the last few days and it feels very HOT and HUMID to us drylanders, he, he!  It is a good time to stay indoors with a fan nearby and do some sewing.

As you probably know, I am so addicted to string quilts and I am always on the lookout for a new style as inspiration.  Here is one I found lately with som white and black center strips.  I am making this a skinny quilt to use as a wall hanger or bed topper.  If I don't like how it progress, I can just change the layout and it will be a throw.  Either way, I know I am going to love this one.

This will be 4 rows across by 8 down but I only have 9 blocks done to do a sample layout.

I did this baby quilt strip style from baby jungle fabric that I have had since maybe 2007.  I get so much inspiration from Mary on Scrap Quilting that it is a daily stop to see what's new.  Such a generous lady quilting most of the quilts for the Heart String Quilters charity group and always sharing finished quilts highlighting the quilting as well.  Here is the start of my strip quilt.

The humidex and temperatures are lower today so we are going to BBQ steak and have a good supper.  I have just about had my fill of sandwiches for a while.

Hi, how are you enjoying your summer so far?  I have had some time off from blogging and quilting to enjoy some much needed outdoor time, I am sure you understand.  Here in quiet Saskatchewan, we are thinking of those of you dealing with disasters and the severe heat throughout Canada and the US.

Today I came across and wonderful blog "Quilting by the River" that you can fin HERE.  She does a Tuesday Linky Party so if you would like to join it and meet lots of new blogger just jump over to her blog to find it.

I'll see if I can find any interesting pictures and be back later.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, I sure had a productive one while we snuggled indoors for 3 days of rain.  Today there was enough sunshine to get out doors and take a few pics.  Here is my retro picnic table cover to match my umbrella.  I am very pleased with it considering all I had was a newspaper for a template.  Here is the link click to go to the tutorial for this really cute table center piece that I used to make my bigger version.

Everyone used to make jokes about my umbrella, well now it is right in fashion so I thought a table cover would be nice.

Rainy Day Finishes

It is 12 noon Saturday here in Saskatchewan, the fireplace is lit and we have already had 1 3/4" of rain this morning so I figure this is a good day to get some projects finished up.

Up first on the list is a little lap charity quilt I made last year.  I have been experimenting with new quilting designs and have one I am feeling quite good about using  and this little quilt seemed the right project to debut it.  Sorry for my picture quality today, I have no where in the house to take good pictures.

Here is a close up of the quilt design.  A couple little wiggles but it is coming together well.

Next I put the binding on my retro spoon and fork wall hanging that was a project over at Stash Manicure.

So now I am on my third project....my retro picnic table cover.  I am just doing some final adjustments so it will lay flat in a circle and then some backing.  I will post it finished on the table when the sun is back shining and a link where you can make a cute circle table mat.

It is rather fun to have a day like this once in a while and no point pouting about the rain.  I 'll be back when the sunshine comes out.....they say Tuesday!!!

Hi, are you enjoying sunshine, hope so.  I received this adorable quilt from my April Doll Quilt swap partner.  I forgot to take a picture of what I sent her.

Then for May the theme was Crazy Quilting.  I am not good at this stuff and it really stressed me out but I managed to get this together for my partner.  I have to link you because again I forgot the picture.http://www.quiltingboard.com/member-swaps-round-row-robins-f11/may-2012-doll-quilt-swap-theme-quilty-chaos-crazy-quilt-deadline-noon-est-4-30-a-t186552-81.html

And this is what I received from my partner.

I really love the flag and it will be on my table for our July 1 Canada Days.

Hope things are going good for you this week and we will chat again soon.

I have been missing far too long and when I read my last post, gee there was a few good weather days in there.

Here are a couple pics of the tree being cut.  Our house is on the right.  That machine has a 145 foot bucket and I should have been out there quicker because they were half way down the tree.

Now I have more sunshine in my favorite corner of the yard and where I have my favorite flowers.

I had the best surprise ever for Mother's Day.  My DH, bless him, bought me a quilting magazine and a chocolate bar!  I was overwhelmed that he would actually purchase a quilt book because there is quite a selection but he did a great job.

We had a couple days above 20C in May and then this arrived last week and is expected to end tomorrow....I have not been a happy person!  We started by packing planters into the garage 3 nights.  We finally left them in there and also hauled out blankets and covered other plants and strawberries.  When they announced snow, I quit covering and this is the mess we looked at yesterday.

Hi everyone, how's your week going?  Celebrated DH's 70 birthday on April 6, along with it being Good Friday and a full moon.  I have seen more bad calving weather on this date than I care to remember.  The day went well and he was busy with phone calls from family.  We had a great turkey supper and watched the final World Curling Game and Canada Won, Yaa!  Weather is slow to warm with clouds and threats of rain/snow.  This week we got a big tree between our house and the neighbor's house removed.  Many $$$ but glad it is done.  Spent a couple hours cleaning flower beds and that was about it.

I just wanted to post a picture of the little quilt I made for my partner in March.  I know for sure she has now received it.

I have this pattern to make full size 40"x40" but thought if I could do a miniature size, the full size would be a breeze.  It wasn't that hard until I put the machine needle through my finger and it wanted to bleed for 2 days.  I am happy with the outcome and I hope my partner enjoys it.

I don't have any other pictures ready as I am still waiting for good sunshine picture day.  Hope it is tomorrow. 
Tomorrow is Friday, hope everyone has a great weekend.

Hi everyone, well what we thought was spring is now winter againnnn....just not as bad as Edmonton, Alberta.  They have probably had close to 1 foot of wet stuff in the last couple days.  But here, well it has been a bit wet, however, it is going to be very cold for the next couple days....like -5C.  I see buds starting on the fruit trees and the tulips are almost budding so those temps will put an abrupt end to those flowers.  Oh, well, we can only hope everything survives and to keep my mind off of this terrible weather, I have been busy like crazy in my sewing room.  I need a bright day to take pictures but I will show you what I have done lately.

I saw this pattern for a chicken door stop. I had made the little chicken pincushion several years ago and recognized the door stop was the same pattern only made bigger. My first one was of 2 1/2" squares of nice brights. I found a charm pack of them and cut them into 2 1/2" squares. Then I took some iron pelon and made my own grid. Laid out my squares, ironed them down, sewed them in place and voila.....my chicken door stop

Here is a picture of how I sewed the squares together and inserted a zipper in the bottom so I can add weight.

The second one I made is a little smaller and for one of my good friends that is so generous in sharing her scraps with me.  I made it using mostly strips and I gave it to her for Easter.  They were really fun to make and mine guards my kitchen door and is so perky and bright colored.

Next I was part of the March doll quilt swap.  This is they quilt I received from TN, USA

I really love the border fabric she used and she must know how much I love scrappy quilts because it couldn't be more perfect.  Of course I wasn't so speedy and she hasn't received mine so no picture of that today.  I had an extra couple days delay when I put the machine needle through my finger that continued to bleed for 2 days, not on the quilt fortunately.  And be darned, I almost did the same thing again today to the same finger....I so got my quilting gloves on.

Today I am finishing up a baby quilt made using the "twister 3 1/2" ruler.  I used 2 charm packs of California Girl and I tell you this is such beautiful fabric I want to make more things with it.  If you get a chance, buy as much of it as you can and it will be sold out over and over.  Picture on my next post.

This is it for today!  Please drop by again soon and I'll have more pictures to show.  Have a great weekend.



I have been away far too long, sorry!  To start things off,  I have my Lorex quilt together and basted so it is now ready for quilting.  I love how it turned out.  It is a good size too, 70x86".  I have my quilt design picked out  an up/down lines and shapes for bark.  I can hardly wait to get started.  Here's a picture of where I am at.

I have my March doll quilt to finish up and get in the mail.  It is something new and I love working on it.  I have such an interesting partner, Fay Baldwin who lives in the US and I have the nicest friend and neighbor, Fay Baldwin.  How cool is that....to have 2 great friends with the same name!

We have had a week of incredible weather +19C....woo hoo! Spring is here!  I was out walking every day making myself somewhat stiff and I could have a morning coffee on the south side of my house in the sunshine.  You have to go through long winters like we have to appreciate sunshine but don't forget the sunscreen.  Well that is all I have for today so enjoy spring and sunshine wherever your live.

I belong to a Doll Quilt swap over at the Quilting Board and I received 2 quilts last week.  The first was from my partner Linda in Ireland who sent me this lovely Celtic Knot along with a magazine and a coin purse.  Just look at the beautiful fabrics in the coin purse, fabrics sure differ from what I see in stores in Canada.  We were suppose to tell something about where we live and I did an elevator with a border of wheat for Saskatchewan. 

My second quilt was from Leslie in WI for February.  Her mini log cabin is so outstanding with the dotted background she used.  I made a mini Pineapple Quilt and bordered it with a black/red fabric.

I also got a new camera for my upcoming birthday.  It's a Cannon and quite an upgrade from my little Kodac.  I am doing a lot better learning this camera than my first digetal.