Some Scraps

Last week, I showed a picture of a new short project that looked like this ...

And here it is now ... almost done.

I will machine quilt it this week. Well, that's MY plan anyway lol. (I know I got the idea from someone's blog, unfortunately I can't remember who. Would this person please come forward so I can say thanks for the inspiration? Thank you.)

Behind every great quilt there's a story. Well behind this little placemat, there's a story too. For three and half months, I worked in a different department in another town. All the people were very nice to me. But when came lunch time, everyone left for their homes. Except me and one other girl who doesn't live nearby either. So we sat in the conference room and had lunch together most days. She is a sweetheart of a lady, just a few years younger than I, so we talked a lot, about nothing and everything. Living with her elderly parents, she feeds the animals (cow, sheep, chicken, duck, etc) before coming to work, everyday. By noon, she sits alone to eat. At the end of the day, she goes home to do farm work again. She said every now and again, a young man come to help with the cows and machinery. She really appreciates the help since her younger sister has fallen ill and her parents can't do it all anymore. My heart went out to her.

Now back at my regular job, I think of her a lot. So I decided to make a placemat for her. Maybe sitting alone in the conference room won't feel like such a "cold" place to have lunch in if she has the help of a scrappy "homey" placemat to cheer up the place.  What do you think ?

Anyway, that's what happened to some of my scraps this week. :D

I am joining Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework and Karen from Sew Many Ways for more scrap fun.

Joining Nicky at Mrs Sew and Sow for even more scrap fun.

Until next time ...

;^)

De jolis tissus

(Some Beautiful Fabric)

I got a squishy envelop this week all the way from France. It was sooooo loaded with goodies, I was bowled over. Just flabbergasted.

In a recent post, I mentioned that I didn't have 'WOW' green fabric and I had to remedy to that. Sweet Cécile from Patchwork Inspirations gave me a helping hand and shared a bit of her 'WOW' GREEN stash with me!  She is such a generous person that the envelope was filled with lovely 'WOW' fabric. I so love them. Have a look.

Yep! Thirteen gorgeous fabric. THIRTEEN!  My favorite number. (How did she know that?) Since GREEN is the colour for May and May is not quite over, I still have time to make my GREEN blocks for the RSC15. YEAH! Now, out of these wonderful GREEN scraps, I have to choose only 7 for my RSC15 blocks. Won't be easy!!

But WAIT!
That's NOT ALL that was stuffed in the envelope. It held a surprise. An inspiring surprise that tickled me pink!!

A quilt magazine from France called Quiltmania!!  I didn't know this magazine but I do like it now. It is so full of wonderful quilt patterns and interesting articles. (It is odd to be reading about quilts in French lol.) And a little purple card with some sweet words.

Thank you SOOOOOO MUCH Cécile. You are a VERY generous angel!  With the GREEN fabric, I will first make myself a mini as a keepsake of your friendship, then I will cut some piece for the RSC15. Yes! yes! I love this idea! Thank you, again! ♥♥♥


And this is all the GREEN I can share with you today ...



... but I can share some BLUES!  Care for more blues?

A regular 9 inches block for comparison sits on the left of the picture.

Until next time ...

;^)

Design Wall Monday or I'm up to my eye balls in Blues

It is my last day of vacation. Trying to do too many last-minute-things today, I think. My list seem to be longer than the day is ... as usual lol.


On my Design Wall I have a leader/ender project that is progressing pretty well lately.  Remember these?

I know, I know! That's not exactly what you want to see hehehe!

Have you guessed what I'm doing?

Little stars ...

Little swirls ...

they got bigger ...

They got together ...

If you said "Shakespeare in the Park" you are right on the money. I fell in love with that quilt the moment I saw it in an add in a magazine. I didn't know the name of it but I knew it was made by the very talented Judy Martin. Love her designs. So for years I hunted it down because I really NEEDED this pattern and bought fabric for it. (Didn't have Internet back then.)  I'm so please to finally see it grow on my wall.

I want it to look like a snow storm. (Oh MY! Did I say the 4 letter word? ) I'm using a lot of soft blues but some aren't soft enough to my liking so ... yes, I still have a lot of cutting to do as some of the pieces I've cut won't make it into this quilt. You can see my work station is invaded with little plastic bags full of blues.

The little stars and snail trails are now 12.5 inches each. I'm having so much fun I don't want to go to work tomorrow. Hehehe!

As I am taking my time to sew these triangles together, my leader/ender projects got a real boost. So, I decided to start another one. (!!)

Might not say much yet but it will be a very special little thing. It will have a post all to its self when done. (Yes, I know, I'm stuck in with the blues lately :D)

What's on your wall? Join us at Patchwork Times for some show and tell. I'll be there.

Until next time ... ssssMiLe and keep the blues away!

;^)

Triangle Love Affair

A very sloooowwww progress.

Sewing only one block at a time. No chain piecing for this. Too scare to mess up the block by sewing a triangle at the wrong place.

Auditioning triangles in plates. And I am still cutting some more!

Like the stars I showed yesterday, they too finish at 6.5 inches. Can you guess what I am making?  Tomorrow I will reveal what's on my Design Wall. :D

Today's Sunday though, so it's SLOOOOOOOWWWW stitching time!

More blue to sew!

Have a looooonnnngg way to go !!


I will also take the time to hop over to Kathy's Quilts and see all the wonderful projects linked to her blog. Thanks Kathy for doing this every week.

On another note, I am glad the retreat was cancelled. I didn't realize to which extend I was tired. I did a lot of catching up on ZZZ. That's something I wouldn't have been able to do at the retreat so it being cancelled was a good thing for me. Sometime things do happen for a reason. :^)

Until next time ... ssssSMiLe

;^)

Starting to look like something

Planning ...

Doing...

They measure 6.5 inches. Need a whole lot more !

Until next time ...
Keep smiling!

;^)

Trying to start something new ...

Today, I am off from work because I was to go at a quilting retreat. It was cancelled and I thought of cancelling my days off too but I restrained. I am in need of a vacation after all that training for the new job. So here I am trying to start something new but life still gets in my way.

My son missed his school bus this morning. Oh great. My second son (Curly) needs to practice driving so he drove us into town to drop off Sweet 16 at school, (with me in the passenger seat of course!) It took much longer with him driving but a Mother has to do what a Mother has to do!!

Got home and did some laundry and pre-washed some FQ. Then ironed some FQ. (Yes, it's another blue quilt :^D)

Now need to cut the same FQ and it got me thinking to the questions Karen (from Sew Many Ways) had asked on her post here. It is number 7 on my list. (the cutting that is, not Karen lol). She asked which parts of quilting to you prefer to do and which is your least favorite?

My number one is looking at quilts, getting inspired and getting the mojo flowing.

2. Piecing. Love to hear the sewing machine' motor humming and to see the little pieces getting bigger with each run under the needle.

3. Quilting. By hand that is. As with the sewing, it is one little piece at a time and it grows and grows.

4. Binding. It is my last chance at having the quilt all to myself. After that, I have to share it with others lol.

5. Shopping. I put shopping in the middle of the list because it is always mix emotions for me. I LOVE to shop!! Whether is it for fabric or shoes or watches or ... well everything except groceries really! But when I shop for fabric I always wish I had more money and that there were more fabric in my bag. LOL!

6. Making sandwich. Not my favorite but I can manage it because it is almost time to quilt so it is all good.

And the dreaded number 7: cutting!! What a CHORE! BeYuCK!!   >:^P


In order to go to the retreat I had no choice but to cut and cut some more.

All the different sizes in different fabric, all stuffed in little plastic bag with its letter on it. Piece A needs 72 dark and 72 light. Piece B needs 196 dark and 196 light, etc. :^{  I need more light pieces for this project.
And that is for one project only. I wanted to bring two projects just in case so ...

More time was spent at the cutting table. This one is flannel. When I found out that the retreat was cancelled, I've stopped the cutting frenzy!   :^D

So, starting with your favorite one, how would you number these quilt-making steps:

• Looking  for quilt inspirations, online, books, magazines
• Shopping for the fabric
• Cutting the fabric
• Piecing the quilt top
• Making the quilt sandwich
• Quilting the quilt
• Binding the quilt

What about you? Care to answer? Leave a comment and let everyone know. Just for fun. 

Since I am not at a quilting retreat, and I can cut my fabric whenever I feel like it, after publishing this post,  I will sit at my machine and just sew! And sew and SEW until I run out of pieces to sew lol. 

Hope you have a very quilty day too. 

(As I am typing this, Curly asked what we're having for lunch! Oh! I have to get the meals too?)

Until next time .... 

;^)

A Lovely Blog Award ... Oh MY!

What a week I'm having. A roller coaster of emotions! It is ending on a beautiful note though, as sweet Dasha from Australia, told me, a few days ago, she has nominated me for an award: A Lovely Blog Award.  OH! MY!! I am so honored and grateful, I am almost speechless. (Almost!!)

Dasha has a wonderful blog called Patching Pixies,where she shares her beautiful quilts, her lovely embroidery and her traveling adventures. Always so interesting to read. Thank you so much for the nomination Dasha. :^) (I'm still blushing!)

EDITED:

I would like to say "Thank you" to Marly from Marly's Quilts for nominating me for the "One Lovely Blog Award".  She is a charming lady from the Netherlands. Always love to see what she is working on and read which technique she has used to get it done. Thanks again Marly. ;^)

Now, the purpose of this award is for bloggers to nominate fellow bloggers, mostly newer, that they wish to recognize. The goal is to bring attention to blogs that we think are lovely and enjoy reading. We hope others will enjoy reading these blogs also. 

In order to accept the award, the nominated blogger has to do three very simple things: 

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to that person's post. 

2. Share seven facts about yourself. 

3. Nominate 10 other bloggers for the award. 

So here I go:

1. I've been quilting for 11 years and still consider myself a novice. :^)

Finding Nemo when it was new! 

2. I have made, so far, 32 quilts and none are on my bed!!  `8^o (That's a dirty secret!)

3. My very first attempt at quilting was an appliqued quilt which is still in pieces. :^(   I now know that I had ABSOLUTELY no technique. It took 7 years for me to try quilting again and decided to go with piecing. The rest is history. I would like to give the applique technique another try. I so love what others can do.

4. I love to quilt, paint, draw, crochet, and I am learning to knit.

Love to do paint-by-number painting except I have trouble following the instructions lol. (I thought I could share something non quilty.) I don't know what that white dot in the middle is. I should finish it hey?

5. DH and I have moved 7 times in 10 years. The before-last move, my DS1 was two and a half and DS2 was one week old. Then we moved again when DS2 was one week short of his first birthday. So DS2 was brought home from the hospital to a house full of boxes and celebrated his first birthday in a house full of boxes. I hate the pictures of those two events. They make me look like a very disorganized and messy person lol. (I know! I am the only one who cares about it lol.)

mug rugs

6. DH and I are left handed and our three boys are right handed. 

7. I am the seventh daughter (seven sisters!) from a family of 15 children (all from the same parents). I am the lucky thirteenth child. 

Okay! Enough about me. On to the fun part. :)
I now get to nominate 10 bloggers. (only 10?) Since this award is about lovely blogs, you will notice some that I've nominated aren't only about quilts.

So, in no particular order, they are: 

- Marly from Marly's Quilts  

- Kitty from A Left Handed Quilter  

- Laurie from Charmed Creations  

- Kathy from Cottage Garden Quilter  

- Ellen from Little Jewel Quilts  

- Cécile from Patchwork Inspirations

- Sue from North Winds Quilting  

- Lisa from Sunlight in Winter Quilts   

- Sandy from Sew ... This is my Blog

- Marie from QuiltBee

- Gayle from Mango Feet

Aaaahhh! So many others I wish I could share with you as my list is soooo looonnnng .... 

Feel free to visit these wonderful talented people, you never know, some might become your favorite too and please tell them I say "Hi!".

Again, thank you Dasha. This was fun!! 

Until next time .... 

;^)

One more thing I'll share with you.
My smileys always have the ^ because I do have a pointy nose à la Nicole Kidman as DH always says. See ya!  

It's green Tuesday

I am still alive and well. I haven't blogged for a little while because life got in the way. :)

I was so looking forward to my first quilting retreat that I had neglected many things in order to use all my spare time at the cutting board. That left me with nothing to show you. Yesterday, I was reading my emails and one was stating that the retreat was cancelled "due to unforeseen events"!! I was so sad ... I went straight to bed. :(

Today, at work, I found out that I didn't get the job! :(  I feel so hurt that I was not chosen. :(
Next week I am going back to my old job (which doesn't look so appealing now that I had the opportunity to work for this new place for the last three months!) BUT I still do have a job so :) its a WHOLE lot more than what some people can say.

Therefore, tonight, I will play with green. Green of envy of everyone who did go onto a quilting retreat ... green of envy of the girl who did get the new job?
Green is also the colour of harmony and sympathy. Yep, I do prefer the latter. So I will not envy anyone but myself. I will live in harmony with myself and I will play with green fabric!! :)

I have this pinned to my design wall but the lighting is not very good so let me bring it down on the floor and we might see it better.

Yes, that's better. They are my RSC2015 blocks.

I have also picked these greens and I've noticed that I don't have a lot of dark green and none are a "nice green". I will have to remedy to that next time I find my self at the LQS. :) For the moment, these will have to do and will become my RSC blocks soon.

I am linking up with Nicky for a Scraptastic Tuesday.

I hope tomorrow won't bring more bad news and may you all find some time to sew.

Until next time .... SSSSmiLE .... it looks good on you!

;^)

Slow Sunday Stitching and Take 21

First and foremost ...

TA-DAH !!!

"Take 21" is officially a quilt!! This is my DS1 's quilt for his 21st birthday ... which was last September. At least he's getting it before his 22nd birthday lol! 

 91 X 73 inches - machine pieced and 

hand quilted with leaves all over and two lizards ... for fun!

Here is the famous backing that needed some "last minute readjustment". You can see the "add-in" in this picture. 

About this backing, now that I am looking at it, the label I made for it a long time ago doesn't look very "comfortable" on it. It looks kind of out of place. I don't like it. It's too white on white. 

Since there is some of the binding fabric left, I'm thinking maybe I could make some hexies and circle the flower ? Yes ? Or add some green leaves ?

The top left fabric is exactly the same green as the dots in the backing. The fabric on the right is the one used in the quilt and the center fabric is just a touch less aggressive than the one on the right. (It doesn't bite your eyes out if you know what I mean.) Okay! What to do ? I will ponder over it as I'm getting diner's ready. 

Regardless of my decision, this will be my slow stitching project this evening, embroidering the names and attaching the label (that may have some more hexies added to it) to the quilt. That sounds like a perfect evening to me. 

I am linking with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. Join us and see all the lovely needlework projects people are working on. 

Until next time ... 

;^)