So This is Christmas ...

I hope it was a good one and you have good stories to tell. For me, not so much. On the 19th of December, DS2 got the intestinal flu, and two days later DS3 caught it (he's home for the week, what a week he had poor thing!), then DS1 caught it too. I walked around the house with a can of Lysol spray and wipes, trying desperately to keep the germs at a minimum. When DH started to show symptoms, I knew it didn't look good for me. We cancelled all outings. 

In preparation for the Holidays, I had cooked and baked so I could just enjoy the boys and sewing. Now, I'm stuck indoors with sick people still coughing their lungs out and none of them can eat anything but chicken noodle soup. Thank goodness for the freezer. 

Before the awful 19th of December, I did finish a top! 

Paper Chain quilt inspired by Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting. 

This quilt is heading to Quilts for Survivors in 2024. They asked for quilts of 48 X 64 and this one measures 50 X 67. I hope they accept it anyway. I'm planning to make another one to give to them, not like this but with 2" squares again. 

My friend Anne is moving (downsizing) so she gave me lots of fabric, once again. She asked me if I wanted her serger machine. Euh! Yeaaah! 

She still had the instruction book and everything else. I've never worked with a serger so that will be a new adventure. 

♫ ♪ ♪ On the second day of Christmas ... ♫ ♪ the weatherman gave me ... a snow friend!

He was quite a charmer too, wanting hugs, winking, and all. 

But then, my husband showed up and ... well ... 

my snow friend took off! ⛄ Bye, bye! 

I will do a recap of 2023 along with a list of (hopeful) projects for 2024. The first item on that list is a job! 

May all be well and bright at your place. May Health and Joy be your guardians in the new year! 

Take care all. 

Picture taken on Christmas day. Yep, sometimes we don't have snow. 

News Flash: I'm sick too! 😩😷

Take care. ;^)

Scrap Basket and Mending Quilts

It took a long time but I got the mending done! Whoop Whoop!

Some of you might remember my Kitchen Party quilt. My son (the third one of the name) had it on his bed. During a visit to his place, I noticed how used the quilt was. 

The yellow fabric must have been of poor quality because it is the only one that disintegrated. Sigh! Some emergency repairs were needed. 

I made a block using some lemon prints because the first block was obliviously made with a "lemon" fabric. It was hard to hand-stitch the block on top of the old one and sew through all those fabrics where all the triangle points meet. 

I have just noticed that the new broken dish block doesn't face the same way the others do. Oh well! All I need to do now is to quilt the repairs. DS will be happy to have his quilt back. 

On to the next quilt. 

This quilt is on my bed. DH's corner of the quilt has been abused by his beard. Time for repairs, I just can't procrastinate any longer. 

I was lucky that the fabric from the curtains was big enough to cover both sections. (Sometimes the quilt is placed upside down on the bed, so both ends need repairs.) The bonus about this: the quilt now matches the curtains. It is a quilt bought at Sears about 15 years ago. One day, I'll stop making quilts for others and have one of my own on my bed. Some day! 

I played with bits and bobs sewing them up to make yardages. 

Here's my finished brown scrap bag. 

Side A with cats and a lone wolf. 

Side B with deer by the stone wall. It is lined with a soft brown-lined ivory sparkled with pink roses. 

I had three ziplock bags of brown scraps so I made a big scrap basket, so much so that it isn't half full. On the left side, you can see the bottom. The tiny little bits are in a plastic bag. I like to keep them separate from the bigger pieces. It is easier to locate them when I make crumb blocks. 

I'll be joining Joy for her Table Scrap Challenge. Although I haven't used any letters (it's an option, right?) I did use lots of table scrap. Winner!

After all was said and done, I found these parts that equal almost half of a basket. No wonder it took me such a long time to sew this one. Ha! Oh, well, I now have parts for a brown crumb quilt. 

Bonnie K. Hunter started her annual Mystery Quilt this morning. In an attempt to resist starting something new, I occupied my mind with Lori's (humble Quilts)  QAL Parsonsfield. I know, I know, it is still starting something new but this one is small and it's so cute. It won't take long to do. I want to have a few finishes before embarking on a big project, you know what I mean. So here's where I'm at. 

The centre is made. 

I thought the red roses would look nice beside the centre's navy blue flowers but after seeing the photos, I'm not so sure anymore. Another "Oh well!" Too bad. 

My leader-ender is Paper Chain Block. 

And that's it from me. 

Have a great weekend, everyone. 

;^)

P.S.

I found this site and thought you might like seeing it too. Cindy Needham makes hexagons out of old laces and handkerchiefs. Gorgeous and inspiring! Enjoy.

Joining these talented ladies 

Joy for Table Scrap Challenge 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Wendy for Peacock Party

Preparations ... Decisions

It is fun going to a quilt retreat, but the preparation is stressing me out.

In Canada, Thanksgiving is next weekend, so we picked that weekend to do a retreat. We are leaving on Friday and back on Tuesday, October 10th. Same gang, same place as in February, and I just can't wait! Gosh! I'm like a child in a ToysR'us store. I want to bring EVERYTHING!

Need to cut more 2" squares for these two projects

On the first Tuesday of every month, we have our group Artisanat meeting, so that's next too. I want to bring a few things for the show and tell. I need to take care of that also. 

Part of my show and tell on Tuesday.
Not in love with the last one left corner. It might get replaced.

To top it all nicely, my youngest son is at home until Tuesday. Whatever I cook or bake for the retreat or their weekend without Mom, DS3 asks if it's for him. Bunker! I'm going bunker, and I love it! 

Anywho! Need I have to say that not much sewing happened this week? 

Although I did play with fabric. I'm cutting everything and anything that comes my way, haha. 

This is just an inspiration I spotted on Elm Street Quilts back in 2020 before we abandoned everything to make masks. (Remember that sh*t?)

Yeah, I might bring that one too... in case I get bored. 

That's all for now, friends. 

Have a great week. 

;^)

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

More Than Just Red

I've been busy sewing up some red scraps. But not just the reds got my attention. Let's check it out. 

Four Irish Star blocks were added to the 3 I did at the beginning of the month. 

Two bright reds, one orange-red and one purple-red. 

Sorry for the dark photos. The weather is very temperamental lately. The sun shines intermittently and so is the rain. Taking pictures outside is slightly better than in the basement. 

After the stars, I worked on my red Friends' Favourite blocks. 

I ended up with 12! The top right block is black with red dots. It doesn't show well here. 

Then, all the RSC blocks for the month of July were done. I decided to finish one project: Scrap Jar Star. I really love this quilt so it was easy to work on it. There were 3 blocks missing and while I constructed these blocks, some blocks were produced as leader-enders. 

Three 25-patch blocks for the Irish Star quilt ... 

... and eight more Paper Chain blocks. 

Scrap Jar Star needed one yellow block with a multi-coloured centre. 

One dark green with a multi-coloured centre 

and one dark blue that turned into a rainbow block 

A day was spent working on the sashing (and leader-enders) and Ta-dah!  Scrap Jar Star is a top! 

Again, sorry for the dark photos. I will switch the orange and the yellow blocks in the corners. The two orange ones are in the same row and the yellow ones are on the same side of the quilt. Why didn't I notice that before? Anywho, now I just can't "unsee" it. 

I will add a white border. Not sure if I have enough of the fabric used for the sashing and there was none left at the shop. I've ordered another white print online. The waiting has started. 

You might have noticed a dark spot in the bottom right of the Paper Chain picture. It wasn't my foot. Here is the full picture. 

Raven made sure the wind wasn't disturbing the blocks. He was so cute. 

Now what? All is done for July with plenty of days left. Maybe Jacob's Summer will finally have the attention it deserves. 

It was an awesome week. Praying to have another one just like that. I'm hopeful that your week was amazing too. Enjoy! 

;^)

Visiting these lovely ladies' blogs this week. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

What Can I Say?

First, I want to thank everyone who left a message on my last post. I appreciate your help, suggestions, and recommendations. They have boosted my confidence to tackle this job. Thank you. 💓

At work, a supervisor said something to a new employee on probation, that sounded like a threat. This new employee is too kind or too shy to defend herself so I did for her. I did such a good job that the supervisor took my comments as a threat. Guess who lost her job? Yes, yours truly. What can I say? I can't stand injustice and the abuse of authority. I have a very big mouth, big enough to get my foot in it, and I know it, I've done it before but I can't help myself. I can NOT be the kind of person with her mobile phone, just standing there, recording the event and not getting involved. I'm still very upset about the whole situation. Yesterday, I found out that others have gotten involved in the incident after I was sacked. I was so happy to hear that. That supervisor will learn not to mess with social workers!

Besides running in circles in my head, I did a little bit of sewing. Nothing much as my brain is still reviewing the conversations, over and over and over and over ... 

Some of this got done  ... 

... a little bit of that ... 

... but mostly, I'm working on this one. 

Don't feel bad for me. I'll get back on my feet again. In French, I say: "Mon nom est Joe Meilleur, si ça ne fait pas ici, ça va faire ailleur." I don't know if you have that saying in English, but it would go something like this: My name is Joe Best, if not here, it'll do somewhere else. I believe things happen for a reason. Something better awaits. 

Meanwhile, my sewing machine is waiting ... 

Let's enjoy it! 

;^) 

Visiting these lovely ladies' blogs. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Red July - Happy Canada Day

Oh! Finally, the long weekend is here. Can I get three days of sewing? I doubt it but I'm not greedy, I would settle for two days, hahaha. 

Let's see what happened in my sewing room this week.

I did a few more Paper Chain blocks for a donation quilt. These blocks finish the third quadrant. 

There are 8 blocks in each quadrant. (Quadrant is used loosely here.) I have to stop using purple as the corner block. It's becoming a problem. 

I also worked on the Irish Star quilt. Look at this gorgeous red-wine-coloured fabric my friend shared with me. 

It is so rich it is almost Royal! Just a wee bit left and I will carefully use it in another quilt I want to keep for myself. Yes, the Friends' Favourite quilt! 

Two more stars were done; only 4 more to go. I want some vibrant reds, a purple-red, and an orange-red for those. So the hunt is on. 

Today, I am auditioning some scraps for the Scrap Jar Star block. I found these scraps this morning. Let the fun begin! 

Have a lovely red weekend everyone and a Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians. A Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans on the 4th. 

Enjoy it but stay safe. 

;^)

Visiting these lovely ladies this weekend.

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

Sarah at Confession of a Fabric Addict

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Detour - Quilts for Survivors

I make quilts because I love to. I did a quilt for my Father and Mother In-law a few years back. It's the only quilt that had a purpose; all the other quilts never had a specific reason to be done. It was always just because I can. Until now. 

This week I wanted to work on my Paper Chain quilt, inspired by Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilts. Then I saw Marie's post about Quilts for Survivor, (you can see her post here.) and my plans made a detour. 

I perused the organisation Quilts for Survivors' website and I was very inspired. The quilts are sent to survivors of the residential school system and other trauma. It is a Canadian organisation and has its roots in my own province of Ontario. 

They accept donations of completed quilts, tops (48 X 64") or lap-size, blocks of 16.5", and supplies or monetary donations. They ask us to avoid any travel-related or school-related fabric and nothing religious. 

So I had a good, hard look at my blocks and removed all the undesirable prints. 

I will make building blocks of 2 X 4 like this one until I have enough to make a quilt. It will be my first contribution to this great cause but not my last. 

Have a great weekend. 

;^)

Joining 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Sarah for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop! 

Too Many Quilts Are Calling My Name! (Plans for 2023)

Can you believe that I forgot to mention Spinners in my last post? After all the trouble I had with this quilt, I managed to forget it. So let's add it here. 

The block was proposed by Border Creek Station as their Stash Buster Challenge block for 2021. 

It was included in my RSC2022 blocks whenever Angela called a colour I wanted to include in it. Then, Raven had an infection, and suffice it to say some blocks got stained. :^(  I've repaired some but there are still a few more to go. It is now considered a UFO. If you want to see the Stash Buster Challenge block for 2023, click this link.

Also not mentioned in the last post are the placemats I did as part of the Table Scrap Challenge hosted by Joyful Quilter. There was a theme picked each month too. 

 Thanks, Joy, for the fun challenges. ;^) Using up scraps is always fun. 

Okay, now on to 2023! Hopefully, I won't forget any. (I'm really getting forgetful in my old age ... or is it the wine?)

I did four different blocks for RSC2022. Although I love the way RSC works, it isn't always easy to integrate blocks that need a multitude of colours. So many of those quilts are calling my name that I decided to work on them this year, and I will join Angela for the RSC2023 whenever possible. The Rainbow UFO Challenge is still on and my list is done. This year, I give myself two months for each UFO. A month goes by too fast for any real work to be done. (Hopefully, I will be allowed to work from home. If that happens, I'll have more time to sew and maybe finish something. Yay!) 

I won't repeat the projects from past years mentioned in my previous post. The following are the new temptations projects. 

Irish Star

Twinkling Scrap Star (I don't know the name of this block; if anyone knows, please share. Thank you.) 

Friends' Favourite (found on Fiona's blog BubzRugz)

I call this one Friends' Favourite because it was made by a friend who altered it from a larger block her friend had made. She shared it with another friend of hers who shared it with me. 

After making these blocks, I realized that the border is actually the sashing. Oops! 

Aah! That's better. (Not in love with the double zero piece here. Hrmph!)

Idaho Square Dance (Bonnie K. Hunter from her book Addicted to Scraps.)

None of the Log Cabin blocks are done. 

Paper Chain from Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilts

I love this one as it uses more coloured fabric than white/neutral fabric. And who doesn't have a bazillion of 2" squares? 

Crooked Creek and Around T Time are on the backburners for now. 

You might have noticed that I am still working with very small pieces. Fun! It might have occurred to you that none of my projects need 9-Patch (97 done in 2022) and very few HST blocks. They will nevertheless still be my preferred leader-enders. Someday, I'll get to those quilts! 

In case you've lost track of all the projects, here's the Summary: 

1- Scrap Jar Star (Sew-Along with the Joyful Quilter. Care to join?)

2- Star Bloom 

3- Irish Star 

4- Twinkling Scrap Star

5- Friends' Favourite

6- Idaho Square Dance 

7- Paper Chain

Now, my expectations aren't very high. I understand that this is my list of future UFOs as none of these quilts will be finished this year and that's okay with me. I just need to get them out of my mind. Any questions? How will I manage all this? Only God knows. 😂

With this, I wish you all a colourful stash of fabrics to play with, a closet full of UFOs, more ideas than there are hours in a day, sharp blades, bobbins that remain full, and plenty of finished projects. May good health and laughter accompany you throughout the new year. 

Enjoy! 

;^)

Spending time with 

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Angela at So Scrappy 

Frédérique for Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!