My Life as It is...October Finishes

This is the sunrise this morning at the end of Chloe's walk. It was just a beautiful morning and has turned into a beautiful day.

Tony has finished phase one of the painting and I just love the colour. I tried to get a picture close to the true colour of the walls and this is pretty good. It is kind of a golden brown, depending on the time of day and light coming in.

We had a very stressful week as Tony left his new job. It was not working out at all for a variety of reasons, and as he was still in his probationary period, it was mutually decided that is was best if he leave. It was a bad situation, so it is for the best, but he is shell shocked and struggling with it.

October finishes were not stellar for me. The month started out so great, but I peaked when I started my new job. So...here they are. Above is my attempt to finish "Darcy", a Schnibbles pattern. I got the blocks put together, but that was it.
Next is the two small wallhangings that I got a good start on, but again, not complete. I have done the satin stitching, but there are more finishing touches like buttons and a fringe for the snowman's scarf that need to be done.

I did complete my Beach House fabric quilt top and show it in this posting . I also did complete my Sassafras quilt top shown on this posting. In all honesty, after the 15th of the month I spent maybe two hours actually sewing. I did do a big clean up on my fabric- and tomorrow I plan to finish organizing that, and then decide what to do for November. How can it be so close to November??? How did that happen?

One of my November projects may just be my Quilt Along nine patch- I have a lot of catching up to do on that. I am trying to get into a routine with evening sewing and my new job, chores, dinners, etc. It has only been 2 and 1/2 weeks, so I shouldn't be hard on myself, but I have been extremely tired at night and not very ambitious...so that changes this week! That is my first project to complete for November- just get into a new routine...

Just Treading Water

For the Charming Girls Half Pint Quilt Along we are making 9 patches, and Kelly has asked us if we are swimming in 9 patches. Well, I'm not- but I am treading water. The strips are sewn together and I have started cutting and putting blocks together. You can also see my Schnibbles there ready to be trimmed up - that is one of my October projects waiting to get done...It may take me many evenings to get this done, too. Tomorrow night is date night with Tony and we are going to see Rascal Flatts at the Saddledome. So, I keep on cutting and sewing and I may be swimming by the weekend!

Moving Day and My Winnings

This is Happy Neil on moving day. I took the day off work and we drove across Calgary to pick up his moving truck and then I followed behind him back to his old place to load up the truck. We had good helpers and got everything done in record time. The condo is very cute and just the right size. It is in a great part of Calgary- walking distance to downtown and very close to restaurants, bars, coffee shops etc. He is also happy as he got two job offers (on moving day) from two accounting firms to start his articling for his CA next fall. So he will chose one and start with them in September.

I had a very busy and tiring week getting used to working again. I got no sewing done at all, and am really feeling the need to get in my sewing room. Hopefully by later this afternoon, and if not, most of the day tomorrow. Tony is golfing again, and I will do chores in the morning and quilt in the afternoon. This working for a living really sucks, and gets in the way of my time in the sewing room. But it does pay for my hobbies, so shouldn't complain!!!!

I did get very lucky this week and won a draw done by Kelly on her Charming Chatter blog for the CGQC. I am just so thrilled and excited as this is a lot of fabric and brand new "stuff" at that! If you read the whole post there is a picture near the end of the fabric I won. I can't wait to see it and then plan what to make with it. Thanks so much, Kelly!!!!!

Cleaning House

This is the pond this morning as I left for my morning stroll with Chloe- you can see the ice forming- very sad as the birds are pretty much gone for the season.

This is the pond at the end of our walk looking very fall like and even though it has been warmer the last couple of days, the ice is still not melted.

My son who lives in Calgary has purchased a condo and I offered to lend him my Rubbermaid containers to use for moving. He was over Friday night and so I dumped three containers to lend him. Two of them were full of fabric, and not sorted at all. So I spent yesterday afternoon sorting through it all, and shaking my head wondering "what was I thinking?" with some of the fabric I have kept over the years. It was a real trip down memory lane as I came across fabric that I made shorts for my kids when they were little, and some fabric from the second quilt I ever made. That quilt actually was for my son and I must have made it about 15 or more years ago. But I also kept some impossibly small pieces (smaller than 1.5 inches) and am not sure what I had planned for them. My next door neighbour is a quilter so when I had Chloe out for our afternoon stroll I knocked on her door and told her to come over and pick through anything she wanted. She is making a fall quilt so was looking for oranges etc.

After she was gone I sorted into two piles- a pile for anything 5 inches wide or bigger, and scraps. The bigger pieces I sorted into colours and will find somewhere to store them with easy access- with the plan being to actually use them!

The pile of scraps will be put on the Greyhound bus and sent to my sister in law in Ontario. She is a wonderful quilter and uses lots of smaller pieces in her work so I am very happy to pass these on. I have been planning on sorting through this fabric for so long, so I was forced into it by offering the containers to Neil. The third container was full of batting so it will get used up, small pieces and all.
So today, back to quilting and enjoying the time in my sewing room. Tony has gone golfing- yes there are still some courses open and he knows them all! I don't quite get the joy in golfing in the rain wearing long johns, but I know he doesn't get cutting fabric into small pieces and sewing it back together again!

October Tag

For October Joan, our hostess has asked us what kind of shoe suits our personality most closely. Well one (yes, one) of my weaknesses is shoes, so how could I possibly just pick one? I definitely am the Hippie as I do wear shoes like the Birkenstock around the house- much to my family's dismay (and yes I confess, with socks in the winter). Then I am also an Easy Going type as I prefer not to let the small stuff get to me, and am for the most part pretty casual and fun loving. But...I love to get dressed up, so I am also the Classy One- I love heels and always nab some good ones on the sales racks. I don't wear them much so try to get classic styles, that I can wear again and again. But let's face it, I haven't met too many shoe sales that I didn't like!

Snowy Sewing Day

This snow is what we woke up to this morning. It was another day of commuter chaos in Calgary, and I was glad to be at home.


I finished the Sassafras pattern today and with Dana's help, chose where to put the appliqué. I deliberately left it looking kinda folk arty and used a machine blanket stitch around the appliqué and I am going to call it Funky Folk Art Flowers. I have made it for a gift to be given after Christmas, and I think I might add just a 2 inch dark brown border before it goes to the quilters.



Next I am finishing the appliqué on my little snow man wall hanging. I will get that done today and it will just need the binding and finishing touches added- there are some buttons to put on his hat etc.I hope to get the applique done tonight and do some hand stitching later when I watch some TV.

Tomorrow is back to reality for me- back to work and a new job and different hours, different people etc. I imagine I will be quite tired for a few days and have planned ahead to have hand sewing on stand by for those nights I am tired. If I try to cut out fabric or even sew blocks together when I am tired, it can be a disaster, so better safe than sorry. I sure will miss this time I had the past 2 or so weeks, and will again look forward to some time on the weekends to relax and recharge.

Making Progress

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! We are having our extended family celebration today and Tony's sister's home. There are usually 20-25 at these functions- all my nieces and nephews (9) are adults now, and some married with their own families, so it can get very complicated. With divorces, and in laws there is often more than one dinner for them to attend. I look forward to the wonderful turkey dinner and a brisk walk afterwards...

As you can see by my first picture we are going to paint our home. I have been choosing colours this week, and have decided on a Benjamin Moore colour called Great Plains. We get lots of light in our home and can go with a darker colour. Also Chloe likes to lie against walls so a darker colour is more practical. So Tony is prepping this weekend, and the process is beginning...What a decision- I had several colours in mind, but one was too green, one was too grey...you know how it goes.

I am making progress on my projects for the month and also just about have my fabric for the Half Pint Quilt Along cut out. I start my new job on Thursday so want to have some semblance of organization before then, so I can attempt to get a couple projects completed. My husband always asks me why I get stressed out over a hobby- and it is true- I set goals and get stressed over not meeting them...just like Joan, our hostess for this month at ouvrages d'une acadienne here http://ouvragesduneacadienne.blogspot.com/says, there are no quilting police coming to my door if I don't complete everything. So, deep breath, and just try enjoy the time I have left to focus on quilting.

I have a ladies retreat weekend coming up in early November and it is with a group of ladies that I go away with twice a year. They are scrapbookers and card makers, and when I go in the fall I make my Christmas cards. I am in the process of designing that card now so that I can have all my supplies ready and with me when I go. I attempt to scrapbook but am never happy with the results, so just have to keep at it. I will also take some pictures with me to work on some scrapbooking pages and get some advise from the experts.

What Do You Think?

As you can see my professional quilt holders were not at home this afternoon, so I have pinned the quilt to my design wall. I am not going to count this as a finish for CGQC yet as it doesn't feel finished to me. According to the pattern, there are no borders but I think especially as this is gift, I'd like to put borders on. I do have Beach House yardage and thought I would use the green dots for a 2.5 inch border and the green floral for binding. The blue is backing. It is a busy quilt and the picture doesn't do the colours justice. The green is quite limish green and very pretty, especially with the other colours. The borders would make it more of a quilt size for the back of a couch or the for end of a bed that she can pull up if she is cold in the night. I just need advise on what to use and where...

It is snowing and blowing and I have not even taken Chloe for her afternoon walk - I have to dig out my winter coat to do that, and that is just depressing. Dana's car is in for a winter tune up, changing to winter tires, etc and as far as I am concerned- just in time! I am going to take Chloe and walk up to get the mail, and then jump in a warm shower or tub after. If I don't come back, call the Mounties. They'll need their shovels!!!

Thanksgiving Recipe and Fall

I have been doing the change over from summer front door and mantle to fall. With the snow, I feel like I should be adding Christmas decorations, but that will come soon enough...My door wreath was looking a little ratty so I added some sunflowers, and it looks new again. I would like a new camera though- I have a small Sony and it just doesn't do the trick anymore- maybe for Christmas!

Our host for the October CGQC has asked us to post a Thanksgiving recipe. Since I am Canadian and we will be celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend this is one of the dishes we will make.

Honey Roasted Vegetables

12 small red potatoes
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons lime juice
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup olive oil
2 zucchini cut into quarters
1 red pepper
2 large onions cut into 1/2 inch pieces
6 cubed sweet potatoes
6 carrots cut into 2 inch pieces

Make a marinade of honey, lime juice, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. Whisk well and marinade cut veggies for 15 minutes in 2 large zip lock bags. Make sure they are coated well.
Lay coated veggies into a sheet pan or glass dish (9X13) and bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy!

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Run for the Cure

These are the steps in my completion of my first completion for October for CGQC. Since the blocks were already done it was a simple completion. It is a borderless quilt, so even better! This will be a charity quilt to be used in fundraising. And...as you can see my helper was on hand for the completion. Thank goodness she is there, as she is the official comfort tester and quality control, and it does seem quite comfortable! See the progression- as the quilt gets bigger she just follows it just to make sure...such a funny girl.


This is what it looked like when we left home this morning at about 7:30. Yes, snow! We had about a 30 minute drive into Calgary where the Run for the Cure was. We volunteered at the water station, but oddly enough water was not a big seller this morning...



This is after about 75% of the runners and walkers had completed the run- not much better and a nice chilly wind! It is very touching to see families running for family or friends and the camaraderie is wonderful. We treated ourselves to a warm drink after and can enjoy the rest of the day close to the fireplace.

CGQC Quilt Along

I made the decision to join the Quilt Along only if I did not have to purchase fabric...and I don't! The background fabric has to be at least 10 years old that I bought on sale for about $3/metre and the blues and greens (Kona Bay fabrics) for the squares were fat quarter purchases from about 5 years ago. I have always thought that I would like to put these together, so here we go! I am going to make the larger quilt as I seem to have the fabric for it. So, I am done my week one challenge and can move on to finishing or starting one of the many projects I have in mind for October.

I am so excited to have almost 2 weeks to sew, sew, sew! Housework has never been my first love, although my house is clean and neat, I don't obsess. With a dog like Chloe we deal with a LOT of hair, and every quilt I make gets given away with a little bit of Chloe attached. I feel very reflective today and thankful that a job offer came my way so quickly, but also that before that job starts I can just feel free to enjoy my time. I have a husband and kids that think I am a little crazy with the quilting, but they are supportive and that is what counts.

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the fall weather!

October Projects

This is one of the projects I plan to finish for October for the Charming Girls Quilt Club.It is a little Schnibbles that has been cut out and feeling neglected. The fabric is Peace on Earth.







This is more old fabric that has been made into blocks for months and it needs to be put together. The pattern is Strip Search by GE Designs, but I am not sure of the fabric. I think a Buggy Barn fabric. Maybe someone is able to tell me.






Next is Beach House fabric made into blocks and the pattern is Candy Bar Road. This is going to be a gift, so it is another that needs to be put together.












Next is fabric called Buggy Barn Bloomers that I have had at least 3 years. I know I moved it to the place we live in now, and we have been here 2 1/2 years! So I am going to use a pattern from Quilts and More Summer 2009 called Creme Brulee. It is a simple Rail fence pattern with pinwheels thrown in.










Next is the blocks I made in September for Sassafras. They need to be put together and there is also appliqué on the quilt top that I will do.








Finally, I have two small wallhangings to be started and completed, so I thought I'd start with the Christmas one. I belonged to a wallhanging of the month group and have not completed even one of these.




So I am attempting a lot in October. I did get a new job and am starting October 15th, so I have 2 weeks to get a lot of this done. Not impossible, right? Good luck everyone on your projects!