Design Wall Monday!

Didn't do much this week, or should I say last week, so the  design wall looks the same.

Did some cutting for the 9 patch. I hang the 1.5 inch strips on this belt hanger I've got at a second hand store for a few dimes. It is handy but ...

 ... it needs some improvement like a better place to hang!

Also did some cutting for the nameless block and played the "Pairing Up Games".

Wonder if Grandma ever wasted so much time picking her fabric?

Maybe the pair to this fabric is still in the pile to be cut!

I played a little bit with little squares. Hopefully I will get this strip done in time for Part 4 of Lori's Cascadia Quit-Along Doll Quilt Mystery .

That's it! That was my week. Well did a lot of not-quilt-related things like cooking, baking, cleaning, taking pictures as son is receiving two certificates for last year best grades in math and science,

learning how to knit (not showing that yet), driving kids around, taking care of flu (darn thing doesn't want to leave!), buying winter things, because you know it's coming.

This is the scenery I had last week on my daily trip to work. (It is so beautiful though!) Lived in Canada all my life, survived Ice Storm 1998, but what happened in Buffalo on November 19th was awful. My heart went out for all those people stranded in the snow.

Hope you all have a warm week with time for a few stitches.

Enjoy!
;^)

Linking with Patchwork Times for more design wall inspirations.

Slow Sunday Stitching

It is getting late in the day but I decided to post anyway because I wanted to be part of Slow Sunday Stitching where everyone is making such beautiful hand stitched projects.  Looking at them gave me the jitters to do something too. :D
Not much to show as I am still working on "Take 21" for my DS#1 and all the blocks are the same.

Tiny little stitches make a beautiful quilt for my sweet boy.
I plan to enjoy the relaxing rhythm of hand stitching tonight and finish block 4-5. Monday and all its worries will come soon enough.

Linking with Kathy's.

Until next time.
;^)

Design Wall Monday

On my wall there is 21 nameless blocks (I still don't know the name of these) but I do love to make them.

so I made some more ...

Then I thought it needed some brighter colours so I made some more ...

The yellow ones are not very photogenic. They look better in person. My favorite one is the bottom left purple. Oh! it's pretty.

I also did 43 little 9 patch blocks ...

I have more then one project in mind for these. One quilt asks for 229 9-patch, the second is closer to 290 and the third quilt asks for only red and orange-y 9 patch about 245 of those for a grand total of 764! Oh my! I will be manufacturing these little blocks all winter long.  :D

Hope you don't get tired of seeing these. Joining all the other lovely projects on Design Wall at Patchwork Times.

To put the needle to the fabric is such a lovely way to end a day. May yours be pieceful too.

Enjoy!   ;^)

Slow Snowing??

It's Slow Stitching Sunday and the snowflakes are falling so ever slowly in my backyard.

I started to play with the Quilt of the Century again. I have neglected that one for quite a while. Time to get back at it. Row number 24 is completed and I did attached one diamond so row 25 is officially started.

Is the quilt half done ? Maybe! I am starting to be eager to finish it so it might end up shorter than first planned.

Hope you find some time to slow stitch too and to join us at Kathy's Quilt for a little inspiration and sharing some eye candy.  You can find some more at A Quilting Reader's Garden with Angie.

Enjoy the snow.  I ♥ the first snow because I know it won't last. :D

;^)

Bloopers

WARNING: Do not use heavy machinery (or sewing machine or ruler and rotary cutter) while under the influence of flu medication!

Sssssmile!!
;^)

Some interesting mending

At one point, I've said on my blog that my mending was done ... I lied!!    = 8^o

There is always something to mend!! A lot of it is caused by those pesky tags inside sweaters!  I hate them! They are not a piece of art, not inspiring, not even visible to other people. To top it off, they are made of the most scratchy fabric in town and most of the time, you can't remove it without making little holes in the sweater, especially the knitted kind (which I adore, btw.) Anyway! I will mend those sweaters too. (Sorry for the venting, but yes I do feel better now. ♪Thank you♫)

But I do have some mending that might interest you.

This little quilt is called "Almost Chief".  All HSTs done the hard way! I've found this pattern in a magazine back in 2007, that I've made in one day (remember the word "little" at the beginning? Okay.).  My back was stiff as a rod and driving me up the wall. I remember not being able to sit for any amount of time, (couldn't drive to work), standing up was okay for a bit but walking was better. Of course, the best position was lying down which I was completely fed up of. So I decided to cut up little pieces of fabric while I could stand, sew them while I could sit and ironed them up while walking in circle around the iron board and started the cycle all over again until I got myself a flimsy to reward my effort.

It's all cotton and measures 40 X 28.5.  As you can see it has a few, some, a lot of pointless points and uneven seams but it served its purpose: to keep my mind busy and off the pain. It is very cozy as I've used a piece of fleece for the backing. Recently I have noticed this,

Oooooh! :^{   HST needs some repair. More mending! Hopefully I'll find a little piece of this old fabric in one of the bins!

The next one belongs to my youngest son and I am NOT fixing it!

All the white fabric in this quilt is disappearing.

There's nothing left of this one. 

Even the flying geese have lost some feathers. This white fabric is the same my mother used for the quilt I showed you awhile back. You can find it here. Maybe there is something wrong with it? 

picture taken in 2005

It was made in the 2004-05 winter. It is only 10 years old and yet it is so used. 

The pattern is Bird's Nest but we call it " Finding Nemo". Can you see Nemo and his friends playing in the seaweeds? The white was representing the air bubbles but now it looks like it's all out of air! 

Even the boats on top and bottom are faded.  If I were to mend this, I'll be repairing this til death do us part. The reason for this abuse? He loves it too much. Even in the summer time, he sleeps with this quilt. Yes, yes, he sleeps on TOP of the quilt !! I wanted to remove it from his bed but he's having none of that!! On the other hand, isn't that why I made it in the first place?

So I'll keep making quilts in the hope that one day he falls in love with another one.

Now what to do with all of my mother's white fabric that I don't trust anymore?

String blocks!! 

Any other suggestions? 

Meanwhile, I will enjoy the beautiful sunshine we are having here today. Maybe tomorrow, it will rise and shine in your corner of the world. 

Enjoy! ;^) 

11

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we shall remember. 

They say one truly find the value of something only after it is lost. Many women and many men gave their lives so I wouldn't lose my freedom in order to find out how precious it is. 

Thank you! 

Design Wall Monday ...

... and I DO have one! A real Design Wall and not just a Design Floor. Yeah! Thanks to DH and a white bed sheet.

Some of these blocks were photographed with my son's iphone on a previous post and didn't make very good pics, so let's start anew.

With this one.

It is called Attic Window and I picked it up from the Quilter's cache site a long time ago. As you can see, I have to re-size the trapezoid pieces and also change one of the beige. I am not in love with this low contrast.  It is a flannel quilt that will have to wait a little longer to get done.

These were also photographed (badly) with the phone and some were added since then.

I got the block from Sue Garman's blog last year. (You have to scroll almost to the bottom of the page to see the quilt.)  I think it is soooo lovely.  Anyone knows the name of this block?  I keep calling it Sue Garman' antique block. Not sure she would appreciate that?!! Sorry Sue.

I started to put some 1.5 inch squares together to make some 9 patch blocks.

Yes, I do have a plan for these.  :c)

I also gave the string blocks a trial run. I like do these too.  (There's a story behind these which I will tell in another post.)

After making two, I realize that I don't have a lot of long strings. I'll have to remedy that. The star block is called Canada Star. I had no idea Canada had a star. I've learned it on Civic War Quilts blog a while back, so I made one  and ... well, not sure ... yet!

I started to play with this block (which actually was the first one of the lot) and I have abandoned it for Sue Garman's antique blocks. They are much more fun to do.   :c)

It's a Jewel Box block which I have been saving remnants of fabric for because it's been on my to-do list since the beginning of my affair with quilts. Unfortunately, another quilt took the lead. Isn't it always the case?

I am also boning shirts and I have learned something on Pinterest. You can make little pockets/bags with the cuffs of men's shirts to store little treasures, jewelry, medications.

It keeps my USB keys together and so much easier to find when I look for it. It is sooo simple to do. Have to make more of these. Love it.

And then Lori from Humble Quilts surprised us with a Cascadia  quiltalong MYSTERY doll quilt! Who can resist?  I caved!  :^D  Here is part 1.

Onto another note;

** The sewing room re-organizing is not completed but it is SOOOO much better. The shelves screwed to the walls were removed to de-clutter the house when we first put it up for sale. Since then, my stash was stuffed into bins. It is such a chore to pick fabric from bins. This weekend, while getting the house ready for winter, I decided to remove the books from the book unit and put THEM in the bins. I finally got my fabric in plain view! YES Ma'm!! It is so much easier.

Like I've said I am NOT done. I will refold these so it looks better... eventually!  Some bins will have to stay because this is all the space I have ... for the moment. DH has added another shelf at the bottom since this photo was taken.

** Didn't touch the Dresden plates blocks.

** No, the chair is not finished either.

** and I've got the flu. (Thank God for Tylenol!!) I'll be making soup (again) for diner ... maybe some pumpkin soup? Sounds good to me!

Linking to Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.

Hope you have a better day than I do and some sewing time too.

Until next time...



;^)

What time is it?

It's Slow Sunday Stitching time!! Yeah! Here in Canada, we turned back the clock one hour last weekend and it always takes me a few days to get use to it. Unfortunately, turning back time doesn't work on my wrinkles.  >:^{

After a busy week, it is nice to sit and stitch. But my week is not done yet.  First I will finish organizing my sewing room and read the instruction on how to play with my new camera. :D  I'll have new pictures to share soon and a re-organized sewing room too (but no new carpet! lol) On the to-do list there is also the wooden chair that needs to be finished too. (almost there.)

It will be good, later this evening, to just sit and stitch for awhile.  I'll work on the third block in the fourth row on my son's quilt.

 Linking up with Kathy and her friends for some eye candy. Hope you find some time to sit and stitch too.

Enjoy! ;^)