Friday, 7 August 2026

More Fun Time

In Canada, we had a long weekend (August 3rd). Yeah for some time off. And then, my supervisor surprised me with the rest of the week off. What??? Believe me I ran out that door before she could change her mind. WhoopWhoop! Vacation time!!

I decided to drive south. South as in Cornwall, Ontario. My friend Pink lives there and we haven't seen each other in WAYYYY TOO LOOOONNNGGG. What joy she is! A balm on my overstressed system. A reboot was what the Doctor prescribed and she is the best one to help me accomplished that.

And we went shopping! Oh no! Yes, I did bought a *few* things. Haha. 

I'm sorry but in my excitement of being in a fabric store I forgot to take pictures. :^( 
We went to Auntie Em's Quilting. My sewing friends go there but it was my first time. A lovely little store. 

The purchases: I bought a Mystery bag of 10 fat quarters. I thought it would enhance my stash (like it needs enhancement??!!) to finish some projects. To my surprise, the bag contained this: 


Ten matching fat quarters. This is a quilt in itself. So I guess I just *accidentally* added another project on my to-do list, lol. 


This Sewing Tote kit came home too. It has the hardware and the zipper included. I'm sure I can find some fabric in my stash for this. I will have to purchase the foam stabilizer and fusible batting it requires. 

Then, Pink gave me some fabric too. Oh MY!! 

Lots of fat quarters here too. So generous!! Thank you so much sweet friend. 💗


What else have I done? Hand quilting. It is so pleasant. 


You can see that I'm now on the third row. Whoop Whoop! So much time to sew when one is on vacation. 


I switch the chair to the other side of the frame. Since I'm left-handed having the window on my left side caused me to work in my shadow. Now it is so much brighter. 

My friend Lucie opens her garage during the summer for her quilty friends to gather and enjoy some SEWcializing. We were 7 quilters in her garage on Wednesday. I'm planning to go again as she does this every Wednesday. 


I had so much fun there too. Of course, I bragged about my Parking Spot plate that Pink gave me on Saturday. (Yes, another gift from Pink. 💕) 


Lots of jokes and comments were said about that one, lol. 


Lucie assembled her batik quilt. It was a kit she bought a few months earlier. Planning the borders now. 

Michelle worked on her Delectable Mountains using 1.25 inch strips. 

Françoise did the binding on another baby quilt for my drive. Isn't it a gorgeous one? 


And these are the other baby quilts that were ready for me to pick up. 






I didn't bring my sewing machine but worked on an old project turned UFO. Lori from Humble Quilts did this quilt-along back in 2023. It's Parsonfield. 


I did a heart in the centre and some straight lines on the diagonal. I was there for the social part of the gathering much more than for the quilting part, lol. I brought everything I needed except for my scissors. Sigh! How can a quilter forget the scissors?? Lucie lent me hers. 


They have a little heart for the tip so they don't pierce her sewing bag. It's so cute! 

Some photos from my *Bucket Garden*. 

Mint and radishes. This is the second batch as the first batch of radishes drowned. It's so wet here. 

The beans took hold of the patio table's leg and won't let go, lol. I'm not expecting a big harvest from that one. 

Bucket full of carrots. 
The sweet peas are not liking the wet summer we're having this year. Or is it my poor gardening skills that is killing this plant? 


Cucumbers. I might harvest some of that. Fingers crossed. Well, at least I tried. And yes, I will try again next year. I believe it's time I weed out this garden bed. Lol. (it's a hose, not a snake.) 

Raven is very happy to have me home all day. It's funny how he sleeps exactly in the same position that I do. 


I'm heading back to the office on Monday, but my intentions are to enjoy this weekend to the fullest. What about you? 

Okay, just one more picture because it is so cute! 




I will visit these talented ladies' link-party this week. See you there.
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Alycia for Finished or Not Friday
Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching
Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

20 comments:

Joyful Quilter said...

Wow, nice surprise! Sounds like you took advantage of the time off and had lots of fun - good for you!

Sue said...

great I Spy quilts for your baby quilt drive

Vicki in MN said...

You had the best kind of vacation with quilty peeps! Quite a haul of fabric too, whatever will you make? Great show and tell;)

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Your weekend with your friend sounds delightful! I love that mystery bag of fat quarters - they're really pretty. Cute parking sign, too! Fun to see what everyone was working on at the sewing garage - the baby quilt with all the florals is gorgeous!

Theresa J Johnson said...

Love all the quilts! Your peas are probably too hot. They are more of a spring plant. Looking forward to seeing any of your produce, as I am thinking of gardening in buckets, too.

Jeanette said...

Sounds like the perfect way to spend a week. Love the parking sign. I hope your get some produce from your garden. Aww Raven is gorgeous.

Fiona said...

Yay for time off to catch up with friends and get sewing done.... looks like you have made the most of it....
Hugz

TerryKnott.blogspot.com said...

What an awesome gift of extra days off! You sure spent the time in the best way possible!! Love the purchases and gifts as well as the projects you shared. Lots of fun is truly ahead of you!

Lin said...

What a great bonus week you had! Great purchases and gifts. Your friends have some beautiful work and the baby quilts are lovely. xx

Nann said...

You know how to make the best of your time off! The no parking sign made me chuckle.

The Cozy Quilter said...

What a wonderful week off, spending time with friends and sewing and shopping together. Nice additions to your stash too. Pretty baby quilts.

Sue said...

Hooray for vacation & all that socializing & quilty fun. Love that parking sign!!!! You got some very fun donation quilts from friends. Awesome!

Astrid said...

Nothing better than some extra days off to visit a dear friend and go to a quilt shop together! Your mystery bag FQ's are beautiful and the sewing tote looks great! You'll be busy! Wonderful gifts, I love that parking sign! Pretty baby quilts. How wonderful to turn the garage into a sewing room for friends!

Cherie Moore said...

I love your Parsonfield quilt! How lovely to have an unexpected week off and to get to visit Pink. That Parking sign is great, lololol!

T Holzer said...

It’s great to meet a fellow Canadian as I am from SK. The garage sewing together is a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing!!

Angie in SoCal said...

What a great quilty week you had! Love those baby quilts and the parking side is hilarious! Might make a quilt with that sayings. Blessings,

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Well GO you!!! you sure made the best of this last week - what fun, and great goodies you brought home.

Bonnie said...

It sounds like you really enjoyed your time off. And how fun to hit a quilt store new to you. It sounds like you had a great time at the quilt gathering also. It's fun to have some sewing friends.

Vivian said...

Okay, a surprise vacation week, two mini quilt retreats and a mini shop hop?!? Lucky you! Both retreats look like fun and fun projects got worked on. Any time stitching whether by hand or machine is a balm to stress. Good luck with the gardening! I too feel like it has been a challenging year weather-wise. Hmmm, I rarely have success with radishes in my garden bed (I get lots of leaves which I have a great soup recipe for but rearely the "fruit"). Maybe I'll try growing them in pots/buckets.

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Great week indeed! I enjoyed all your show and tell. The garage door is see thru?