Seize the Day Quilting

Now I'm Happy!

2012-01-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

I couldn't stand it anymore. I've moved my sewing room back upstairs into a beautiful sunny room, and I couldn't be happier! I am very lucky to have this room, and don't know why I had the need to move downstairs a few months ago. I was worried that this is the first room you see when you enter our home and come down the hallway, but now I think, whatever!! I can shut the door when we have guests.

I have my little reading alcove where I can also do some handsewing. I see out the window and watch TV here.

This extra desk is for cutting or for my card making/scrapbooking. In the box underneath is fabric I have listed in Kijiji. I decided after moving some things over the years from 3 homes, that if I haven't used it by now, I never will. Time to ~~get rid of it~~ find it a new home.

I've even got a few treasures up on the wall, and some of my angel collection set up, so it is looking like 'home".

I feel my creativity coming back, and can't wait to get back at it.

Have a great week!

Snow Day

2012-01-15T11:32:00.002-07:00

I think if this were a school day, the kids might be off today. This is what we woke up to this morning:

It was very windy and so it doesn't look deep in some areas, but when I walked Chloe it was halfway to my knees. It is also cold as our frozen storm door attests.

So what is a girl to do on a day like this???

Maybe some of this:

Or some of this:

I also plan or doing some reading as I've got Stephen King's newest downloaded in my Kindle app on my iPad, and a "real" book by Michael Connelly (one of my favorite authors) sitting waiting for me to pick up. And best of all, leftovers for dinner, so no cooking.

My dream day!

Random Thoughts and Musings

2012-01-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Some things never change...sleeping dogs....

Messy yet organized sewing spaces....

2011 was not a great year for me. I have battled some depression and work related issues, and am hoping some things DO change....and that 2012 will be a year of change and good things. The optimist in me says "things can only get better" and the pessimist says "yah, but when?" I don't make resolutions, but I believe in goals, and one goal I set for myself is to be up for the challenge of a brand new year. So here we go!

We brought in the New Year together at home catching up on Boardwalk Empire episodes, but we had dinner with 6 friends and ended up with these leftovers. Yum! Guess we are having Chinese again tonight!

That is it for the musings, and here is my random thought...

Why, you say, would she show a picture of dog poop on a paper napkin? Well actually it is a peaunut butter macaroon, and it is frozen. My favorite! And did you know frozen Christmas baking has no calories? A well known fact...

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Chloe's Play Date

2011-12-10T12:16:00.001-07:00

Chloe has a play date, but doesn't quite get it.

This is Maggie. She seems to have taken over Chloe's job- begging for food, and cuddling with Tony.

This is Chloe being needy and jealous. She has been on top of me since Maggie came over this morning. They really don't pay attention to each other, and neither has had a nap all morning, so they'll be tired tonight. Maggie will be with us for the day, so maybe they'll socialize some as the day progresses...

Have a wonderful weekend!

Day Off

2011-12-07T16:58:00.001-07:00

What do you do when you have a day off work? Right now until the New Year I am off every Wednesday, and this is pretty much how I try to spend my day. Catching up on my reading...

Look at those sandles and socks...no wonder Tony calls me his sexy quilter!!! Of course I also had on my black fleece jacket that is covered in threads...

Thinking about making another wreath. Thinking was the operative word with this today.

Started cutting out a new project.

Pressing some strips for a WIP- my scrap project, Whirligig.

And working on about 3 other projects on the go, including a queen size quilt for my son, and putting the flimsy together on Stella Blue.

All in all a good day- not a lot done, but at the same time I feel like I accomplished a lot. And I even made dinner...

Snowy Sunday

2011-12-04T10:34:00.001-07:00

We headed into Calgary last night to attend a fundraiser. Tony's cousin and her husband adopted 2 girls from Haiti about 12 years ago, and have become very involved with providing clean water for Haitians. So we drove through a snowstorm to get there, and had a very nice evening. Saw cousins and spouses that we don't see often, and walked out 12 bottles of wine richer. The deal was for everyone to bring a bottle of wine and then be entered to win 12. Five or six couples won 12 bottles! We got a mixed bag of wines, 4 whites and 8 reds, and quality ranging from "quaffing" to "special".

We are set for the Christmas season now!

I have most of my Christmas decorations up, and love the warmth it gives the house. I have mentioned in previous years that I collect Santas, and generally add to the collection every year. This year there is no new one yet... but over the next few weeks there will be.

This is a guy added to the collection a couple of years ago. I used to put him outside but he kept blowing over, so now he has a special corner and greets our guests as they come in the front door.

This is a bad angle picture of my mantle... oh well. Looks much fuller than the picture would indicate and the santas are bigger than the picture would indicate...I have never professed to be a photographer...
good thing, too!

This is our day here today- and it is still coming down.

So I plan on designing my Christmas cards. I love red and purple for Christmas, so am going with that theme this year. I have an idea in mind, so hopefully the idea and the reality mesh. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

Hope your Sunday is a good one!

Why Do I Blog?

2011-12-03T12:37:00.001-07:00

I have had blogger's block over the past several months, and have just not felt like I had much to share. I've never been a prolific blogger anyway but now I am down to just a couple of posts a month.

I started reading blogs several years ago when my creative sister in law started her own blog. I thought I could do that and it might be a good way to kinda keep in touch with friends and family in Ontario- they could read my blog and know what I was up to. Mostly it has been a quilting blog, and now over the past few months, I've not written much at all. I read many blogs, most of those quilting blogs, and everything from Barbara Brackman and her history of quilting to The Bitchy Stitcher who makes me laugh. I enjoy reading about everyone's creativity but seriously- where do people find the time to not only be so creative, but to write about it every day as well? This is not a criticism of anyone, but don't you wonder sometimes?

I work almost full time. I am a wife, mother, doggie mother, and a volunteer. I love to read and play Suduko. I am a card maker and poor scrapbooker. I keep fit. I visit with friends and family. I also love to quilt, and time spent in any kind of quilting pursuit is when I am most relaxed and happy. (Note to Tony- second only to you, hun.)

So, in answer to my own question, I blog to share my creativity, and hope that I might write about something interesting, but I don't always have anything quilty to share. I plan on sharing a few more parts of my life, and not just talk about quilting because although I tell people "I am a quilter", I am much more than that.

And in order to not have a pictureless post, I will share this:

Tony with his girlfriend. I am a very understanding woman.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Birthday Girl

2011-11-19T14:26:00.001-07:00

Chloe turns 8 today, and as you can see she is partying it up.

She was one when we got her, and she has just been a joy to us. She is funny and loving and just has a great disposition. After we lost our first dog, it took my husband 4 years to decide to get another dog, and we have never regreted it. Well...maybe a little, like when we travel and we have to pay for her to go to the doggie kennel....

Today it is a very cold (- 22 Celcius with windchill) so it is a stay inside day. I got my baby quilt layered and pinned, ready for the machine.

I keep my pins in a little antique candy bowl type of thing. It was my grandmother's and I think it is just beautiful.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Struggles

2011-11-16T09:35:00.001-07:00

Ever since I moved my sewing room I have been struggling with sewing time...the new area is in our basement in an alcove near the TV area. This is a good thing when I am home alone as I can see the TV from the sewing table. But in the evenings when Tony is home there is usually sports on- hockey, baseball, golf, football, MMA, you name it. Not what I would normally watch. Not only that but I can't listen to music or a book because it is too close the the TV area...so yes, I am selfishly struggling... So, I've had a stern "talk to self" and am learning to live with it. I am using my iPod for music and books. I use my laptop to catch up on some TV shows, turned down low, or if I'm not moving about too much with a head set. It won't be this situation forever as the plan is when Dana leaves, I move into her bedroom. Not sure when this will happen but that is the plan.

I have finished this flimsy for a baby girl called Sarah Maureen. I wanted to see if she was a boy or a girl first, so have finished this in record time. The plan this weekend is to get it pinned and quilting at least started.

The picture doesn't do the colours justice but is lovely and soft for a baby girl. The back will be pieced from an assortment of scraps form the scrap cupboard.

I'm also still working on Whirligig as a leader and ender project. I am making good progress and am loving the scrappy look as I am not obsessive about not placing like fabrics together. This will be quilt for us in the TV room as the ones we use now are looking pretty ratty.

Today I am going to be home alone all day (my day off this week) so the plan is to figure out what to do next. I imagine keep on keeping on with Whirligig, piece another flimsy, and start a new project. Yahoo!!

I'm In Love

2011-10-29T11:21:00.000-06:00

I bought the newest edition of Quilt Sampler, and have fallen on love with this quilt.

It is so my style and it just so appeals to me. It must have 3,000 pieces, but I have to make it!

I am going to substitute the orange with red, and make it from my stash. I have lots of reds, browns, and blue/greens that I want to use.

What I am working on is this.

This is Dana's pink and black quilt with some progress made....I have a black containment border to put on first, and then a wider pink border to add after. I think I may have just enough fabric to made a pretty pillow or two as well.

I am also working on Whirligig, another Miss Rosie/Carrie Nelson pattern. I have made this from Thimbleberries scraps, and can't wait to see how it turns out.

For now I have just squared up 180 hourglass blocks to become a part of a larger block. Boy, my wrists and back find it harder and harder to tolerate long hours of cutting and trimming.

Really today should be spent reading documents, but I am finding creative ways to avoid that...I am president of our condo association (136 villa style condos) and we are rewriting the by-laws. I have the first draft from the lawyer to read...as well as a new insurance policy, and a contract renewal for our property management company. We have a board meeting on Thursday so I need to be able to talk about all this "stuff" by then. Wish me luck!!

Tomorrow afternoon is going to be my designated quilting time...

Have a wonderful weekend.

Reality Sucks

2011-10-20T20:15:00.001-06:00

Here we are, back from vacation. Fall has arrived and since we left 90 degree weather, it seems so cold here even though it has been a fairly mild fall.

We went to our place in Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), Mexico and had the best time with great weather.

The beach there is so large and you can walk for miles. I think we saw a different sun set every night.

It happens so fast you have to be ready with your camera.

It just doesn't look real, does it? Anyway after 2 weeks away, it does feel like a dream. It was good for the soul to be away somewhere we love to be, and spend all that time together.

Now back to reality...

Beautiful Fall Day

2011-09-25T15:51:00.000-06:00

We decided to head into Calgary today and visit with Tony's Mom, but also to head out on one of our favorite pathways for a long walk. The walk is around the Glenmore Reservoir and takes us (at a good pace) about 2.5 hours. We brought a picnic lunch and took turns carrying the back pac. It was very warm, and I had a sleeveless top on and was quite comfortable.

Who wouldn't love these views?

There were lots of sailboats out and it got quite windy by the time we were done.

I just can't remember when the leaves turned. Seems we woke up one morning and it was done. So pretty though!

By the time we drove home the wind was out of control and poor Chloe was cowering in our master bath. When she is afraid she hides in there between the toilet and the tub...go figure. She is laying here beside me now, just shaking. Poor baby!!

Have a great week!

Changes

2011-09-20T17:01:00.000-06:00

This used to be my sewing room.

This is what it looks like now...

It is now an office/reading/TV area. I still have to "finesse" the area, but my beautiful sunny sewing room is a thing of the past. We decided to move the office in and the sewing room out as it is the first room you see when you walk through the hallway into our home. I had problems keeping tidy, and it always bugged me to look in there before guests came over. I guess it didn't bug me enough to keep it neat, but still it bugged me that other people would see my ~~mess~~ creative area.

So downstairs every went. there is an alcove that wasn't being used for much, so here is my new sewing spot.

This area also needs to be finessed, but for the most part will stay the same. Usually guests don't go into our downstairs, so it can look like I have a lot on the go (and I do!), and I won't worry about it. I have a desk for the machine and a larger desk for cutting and laying out of blocks etc. The big thing I will miss is the windows as there are no windows, but the walls are painted a cheerful yellow toned cream (I know it looks very yellow), I have all my creature comforts. I have my music, radio, and a good view of our big TV. Chloe doesn't know what to think yet-she doesn't like change- but I am sure soon she'll come down and lay on a quilt on the design floor!

Back To Reality...or Back From Vegas

2011-09-11T10:59:00.002-06:00

We are just back from our annual(ish) trip to Vegas, and boy am I glad to be home. I managed to get sick there, whether from the air on the plane, or the constant air conditioning, I'm not sure. I tried my best to keep up, but was exhausted when we got home. I still have quite a cold after week, so am trying to rest as reality and fall schedules start tomorrow.

We had fun, and saw lots, shopped, golfed etc. I truly believe that Vegas is the best place in the world to people watch, and we did lots of that. You can see anything and everything!

We sat and had margaritas on this outdoor pub, and tried to decide where people were from and what their stories are.

Tomorrow Dana is back to school for her last year of nursing, and Tony and I are are both back to work, into our regular schedules. My part time schedule will be easing into full time over the next few months. Luckily we have another vacation planned soon to our place in Mexico, and then nothing until the late spring, probably.

We are having beautiful late summer weather and it is still too hot to do any quilting, so I will continue to work on other ongoing projects. When it cools off, I will have lots of tops to quilt.

On a more sombre note, I am thinking today of those who lost their lives 10 years ago, those who survived, and their families.

Have a wonderful, thankful week.

Saturday

2011-08-27T11:19:00.002-06:00

We had a beautiful morning to walk Chloe this morning. And she was full of beans, jumping and happy, happy, happy to be outside, as this blurry picture indicates!

The sun was just coming up:

And, isn't this cute? Tony's Mom gave us this tea trolly, and I wasn't sure what to do with it. It isn't really my style, but I wanted to use it somehow. So it is in the TV room downstairs, with a few quilts and family pictures. Also if we have guests over to watch a movie or game, it can be opened up on both sides to use as a sideboard for food and drinks.

Have a wonderful weekend! More on the quilting front another day....

Almost There

2011-08-22T19:13:00.000-06:00

Well here it is Monday and I made it through the weekend. I read lots, and enjoyed the weather, taking Chloe for her long walk in the mornings before it got too hot. Now, let me clarify, hot here this summer has been mostly under 30C or 80F, but when you are a Golden Retriever, that is plenty hot! I sat on the deck to eat lunch and dinner, and just generally relaxed. I got lots accomplished in the sewing room, and have prepared my mother-in-laws lamps for spray painting.

This is the quilt top that had the one block (in the middle of the quilt!) turned the wrong way...it is now fixed and ready to be quilted. Yesterday I put the backing together, but it is too warm to quilt any tops right now.

I had no quilt holder at home to help me, but wanted to take a picture outside. These colours are very true and it is one of those simple quilts that is easy to make and looks great. The pattern is from Camille Roskelley, and it is called Piece of Cake (2).

Most of us here in Alberta don't have, or feel we need air conditioning except for a few weeks a year. Yesterday I put the binding on a lap quilt in anticipation of doing some handsewing in the evening, but it was so hot doing that job, that I just couldn't wait to get it done. So, no more of that until fall. My sewing room gets very warm, as it is west facing, and has lots of windows.

The blocks for the baby quilt I am making from 3 Sisters Aviary are done.

So, these go in the line up along with Dana's pink and black quilt and Stella Blue to be made into a flimsy.

Have a great week.

Weekend Plans

2011-08-20T12:36:00.003-06:00

Last night when I went to bed I thought I might be getting a cold, but today I am sure...I am drinking tea, and hot water with echinacea, and hoping I can fend this darn thing off. Tony is away for work in northern B.C., and hoping to golf today and tomorrow. This is longest we have been apart, and I'm not liking it. The bright side is that we have a vacation to look forward to. Dana will be home from her vacation, and ready to look after the house, and we can head out.

So today:

walk Chloe-check
have breakfast, coffee, read the paper-check
sweep, dust, vacuum-check
water my plant pots, and my neighbours, too-check
read email, facebook and google reader-check
~~fix quilt top that had the block turned the wrong way~~-check

have lunch on the deck in the sun-check
~~finish Aviary blocks for baby quilt~~-tcheck

~~get on the treadmill~~-check
work on blocks for Whirligig-to be done
sit on the deck in late afternoon with a glass of wine and my book-to be done
sit and watch recorded shows after dinner and hand sew bindings-to be done

As you can see Chloe has her day well planned, too:

sleep/repeat-check

All in all, a good day. Hope yours is as well.

What's New?

2011-08-17T11:24:00.000-06:00

Summer is winding down, and even though I haven't had little kids going back to school for years, it is still the same feeling. I see all the back to school sales, and the parents out shopping with their elementary school age kids, and I feel nostalgic. Go figure...Dana does head back to 4th year nursing in a few weeks, but she doesn't need me for any help in preparing for that!

Our summer was very busy socially and I had very little time to sew or make cards. Now, I can feel that I have more time, and am excited. So, this is what I am up to:

THIS is the easy peasy quilt I have been working on as one of my leaser/ ender finishes. Unfortunately I had two side borders on before I realized on block was turned the wrong way.

Now it is sitting on my footstool waiting for me to watch TV and unstitch. ARRGGHH!!! The frustrating part is that I checked it before I started with the borders, and of course it is not a block on the bottom row, oh no! So this lovely will be shown on a better day.

I have started a scrap quilt to use a lot of my old Thimbleberries fabric. I am making another Miss Rosie quilt called Whirligig.

As with all Carrie Nelson's quilts there are many pieces, and many flying geese. I have all my geese made and will start squaring them up today.

As a leader/ender project I am making this pattern called Split Decision with Aviary by 3 Sisters. I have had the pattern and fabric for quite awhile, and decided it would make a beautiful baby girl quilt.

I have several baby quilts to make, so this one should be done in lots of time.

This weekend I am going to put Dana's pink and black quilt top together, and also my previous Miss Rosie finish, Stella Blue. Both will go to the quilter as my back cannot handle quilting anything much larger than a twin size quilt. Saving my pennies for that!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

P. S. Blogger is not letting me post this...says I can't use "&" in my labels. Do you see any & in my labels?? OK, I've taken the labels out and will try again.

Odds and Ends

2011-08-15T18:38:00.002-06:00

Just before Tony's Dad passed away in June, his Mom who has been in an assisted living facility for several years, decided that she wanted to start giving her treasures away. She had made a list years ago to state who gets what, but she wanted to distribute the gifts while she is alive. We had a family dinner, and then some of her things were distributed. Tony and I got this beautiful tea pot:

and this cute silver dish. I need to polish it up and decide how to display it.

My favorites items are this beautiful round table and the two crystal lamps. I am letting them sit for now as I think about how to incorporate them into our home. The trim on the lamps is brass and I am thinking I can spray paint them silver.

We are very grateful for her generosity and cherish the items she gave us. She has always been the best mother in law I could have asked for.

We also got a 25th wedding anniversary gift, brought all the way from Ontario to Alberta. It was our 25th last year, and my girlfriend in London, Ontario had commissioned her sister to make this for us.

My friend's son was traveling to Calgary, so we met up with him, and he brought this beautiful gift. It has taken me a week, but I think I have decided where it will go.

I could not get a setting on my camera to take a good picture of this. Even on a cloudy rainy day the light is too strong...anyway this is a small northeast facing widow over our fireplace. It truly showcases the colours in this beautiful stained glass all day. Now I need to get a few small glass items to place up there with my newest addition to the "Sunflower Collection".

Tony is away for work for 2 weeks, back on August 26. I don't think we've apart for 2 weeks before, and it will be a long 2 weeks, definitely more so for him. It is just me and the dog, as Dana is away for her summer holiday for another week...I will post some quilting finishes as I will have lots of time to sew.

This is Chloe's sad face after Tony left this morning. Oh, wait is that just a tired face??

Have a wonderful week.

Pink and Black

2011-08-04T20:33:00.001-06:00

So in the last week, Dana's pink and black quilt has gone this:

to this:

The orange looking pieces are not that orange in "real life", but made out of a batik that seems to photograph orange. I am doing a narrow black containment border, and a wider (probably 5 inches) pink border with pink binding. I have enough fabric to make a couple of pillow cases, too.

Now they are lined up in rows, and ready to be sewn together.

That won't happen for a few weeks as the social calendar is very busy the next 2 weeks. Tony will be gone for 2 weeks straight on a business trip, so I will have lots of evening time later in the month...and lots of time to think of the next projects...

Have a wonderful weekend.

Quilting Again

2011-07-27T11:59:00.001-06:00

Well, I am back in the sewing room and it feels good! I am off today, and will be again on Friday. This will be a long weekend in Canada, so I will have a four day weekend.

I have many things on the go, so the multitasking is in full gear. New quilts to start, blocks and quilt tops to be made.

Bindings to be attached by hand.

New quilts to cut out, and blocks to be squared up.

And on my design fridge, the first block for Dana's pink and black quilt.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Rest in Peace, Mike

2011-07-24T09:34:00.000-06:00

My father in law went into the hospital 2 weeks ago with kidney failure and passed away a week later. He was 90. Just this past Friday was the funeral, so it has been a long 2 weeks for my husband's family. But the funeral service was lovely, and the reception after was a celebration of his life.

What I will take away from the day was the number of people who did not know Mike who came to the funeral and reception simply because they knew one of us, the family members. I was very touched to see these people and it sure made me realize how important it is to show respect that way. I will always remember seeing those friends there, and the kindness they displayed by taking time out of their day to come to the funeral as it is something that is not easy to do.

Thank you friends, and rest in peace Mike.

Lazy Summer Days and Goofy Gopher Watch

2011-07-08T09:06:00.000-06:00

We have been having some lovely weather lately, quite warm and sunny. Chloe finds the heat quite difficult, and likes to lay on the hardwood floor in a cool spot after she's had a long walk.

When she's not trying to cool off, she's on Goofy Gopher Watch. We have large sandstone rocks behind our condo that seem to house gophers, and she can stand on the deck and watch, hoping to catch a glimpse of movement. She doesn't move a muscle and can stand there for hours, just watching, and waiting. She is just so goofy as I am sure if she actually got a chance to catch one, she'd run away.

I am almost done all the pieces for Dana's quilt, and am now pressing them in preparation to sew them into blocks.

This was to be my year of "not joining"anything- quilt alongs, swaps, etc...well I have caved, and in order to jumpstart that mojo that seems to be slowly returning, I have decided to make blocks from the Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt book. I am not officially joining the group, and won't post on flicker, but these blocks appeal to me. In the past I was a big fan of Thimbleberries and Kansas Troubles, and have lots of scraps, so this is an ideal way to use those scraps.

I am not sure where this will lead, but I am a big fan of these traditional blocks. If it helps get that mojo back, then I am happy. I am loving all the blocks I am seeing on the blogs and also love seeing the fabric choices. The more "modern" fabrics look just so great in traditional blocks.

Have a wonderful summer weekend!

Where is it??

2011-06-29T13:55:00.000-06:00

Can you help me find it ? It seems I have temporarily lost my quilting mojo. Not sure where, or why, but I just have not had the desire nor inclination to work on anything. No desire to start a new project or cut out a new project. No desire to mindlessly sew strips together, nor lay out Stella Blue again to get her ready to put together...not sure why either. I was going to join Kelly and Carol for the sew along, but just couldn't get motivated. I ordered the Farmer's Wife book to join in with that quilt along, but because of the mail strike in Canada that was just settled this week, I have not yet received it. Good thing, as it would have been gathering dust.

This has happened a few times before, and the mojo always comes back, but I think I may have to force this and go into the sewing room, and TAKE CHARGE! This shows no signs of ending...

So, here I go...into my sewing room...wish me luck!

Long Time, No Post!

2011-06-22T10:40:00.000-06:00

What have I been up to? Quite frankly, I'm not sure, but I know I've been busy. I am reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and am about 1/2 way through it am hooked! I've got it on my e-reader, so take it everywhere...I have borrowed it from the library and only get 2 weeks with it, so I have to read lots. Not a problem!!

I have finished (except for the binding) the baby quilt I was working on.

I also got one of my Schnibbles quilted, and binding on, ready for the hand sewing.

Chloe went to the groomers for her summer haircut- and has been just very needy ever since. I know she hates it, but she is so hairy that it just becomes impossible in the summer to keep her clean and neat. She is also much cooler. Now, if summer would just come...

Now she looks like a Lab, not a Retreiver. And she was cold when were watching TV the other night, so she snuggled under several quilts to keep warm.

This is my new reading/hand sewing area in my sewing room. With a limited amount to spend, I got new storage and a very comfortable chair from IKEA.

My husband figures he will never see me again- everything I need is in this room now.

Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!

Can You Say Chaos??

2011-06-13T09:13:00.000-06:00

My sewing room is in chaos. I have not done a thing in there since last Wednesday, except pile things on the sewing table and ironing board.

There you see the pieces for Dana's pink and black quilt all ready to be made into blocks, the baby quilt done except for the binding, a Schnibbles in the process of being quilted, and even clothing that needs to be ironed. This morning before I go to work I need to get in there and clean up, so tonight I can accomplish something.

I may even iron those pants....

Baby Quilt etc.

2011-06-01T19:28:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday was my birthday which was spent pretty quietly as on Sunday Tony ran the Calgary 1/2 Marathon. He jumped up on the curb to hand me his mitts and I didn't even get a good shot of him. This is him running away! His time was 2:02 which he was happy with, but says if he had known the time was so close to 2 hours he would've sprinted to get in under 2. For sure, me too!!

Then after we went to the annual Lilac Festival, a very big event here. Several blocks (about 15, I think) are closed to traffic for the day, and people just wander up and down, searching for something to buy, eat or drink...it was very busy, and we only stayed about an hour as you couldn't even get close to the tents.

This week Tony is gone for the week, and I am working 4 days- off on Friday. I have been working on a baby quilt for my hair stylist. When I see her in June it will be last time for a year that she cuts my hair!! Yikes- she has been doing it for 5 years, and I am very scared about going to someone else.

I am auditioning border fabric, and will do a very narrow containment border in one colour, and a wider border in another. Just sure which yet. I'd like it to be about 40" square- an infant quilt, perfect to have for the stroller.

This being Wednesday night (guilty pleasure night), I am off to walk Chloe and then watch the Real Housewives of O.C. WOHOOO!

Have a wonderful week.

My Town

2011-05-27T14:47:00.000-06:00

Okotoks, like many small towns is built on a river and of course the railway tracks run through it. We have had rain since Sunday and heavy rain for the last 2 days. And then there is the spring snow run off from the mountains to contend with.

This is usually an RV campground that is packed as it is right on the Sheep River. Today it has been closed and soon will be underwater.

This is the road between the campground and the river,

and this is the kiddy park close by.

We took a few photos from one of the bridges in town:

Then we drove down to the library which in the best of times is close to the river. The library is about 25 feet from these sights.

We do not live near the river, but there is the worry and concern for others, and for my beloved library. I will check it out again tomorrow to see what is happening. The word is that the rain is supposed to stop around midnight.

Blogger Difficulties

2011-05-26T09:48:00.000-06:00

It is a dull rainy day here and this is what we will be facing for the next few days.

So today I am going to work on Dana's pink and black quilt, and 2 baby quilts I have started.

I have no pictures of the baby quilts yet, but hope to get lots done in the next couple of days. I need to finish one by June, so other projects are on hold.

I also planned on catching up on my fav blogs, but turned the lap top off in frustration. I tried leaving comments and found I was showing up as an Anonymous blogger. I will try again later to visit, and leave a comment. I hope this post gets published...

Off to meet with my personal trainer- a Mother's Day/birthday gift. Sounds very pretentious to say "my personal trainer", but he has me back on track and I am feeling more motivated to have regular work outs.

Stella Blue-Almost

2011-05-16T19:46:00.000-06:00

Here she is laid out. I am going to play with the alternating red/gold stars, but other than that it is ready to number and get ready to sew together.

Because of my quilting incident late last week, the sewing of the quilt top will likely wait until Thursday. I won't be overtired, and I plan to spend the day in my sewing room as I found out today that I have a nice long weekend coming up. I am off from 4:30 pm Wednesday until 8:00 am the next Tuesday morning! Yay!!

One of Those Nights!

2011-05-11T21:10:00.000-06:00

I sewed 12 of these partial star blocks together like this...

However they are supposed to look like this:

Oops!

I just know that some nights I am too tired to be doing anything more than reading or watching TV. Tonight was one of those nights! I am off to bed to read, and watch Real Housewives of OC, one of my guilty pleasures...The unsewing can wait until tomorrow.

Making Progress

2011-05-09T18:17:00.000-06:00

The blocks for Stella Blue are coming together slowly but surely.

Now there are 49...

And the larger stars are getting made- need 16 of these...

I am sewing the larger stars and the filler stars, and hope to have the quilt top ready to lay out by the weekend.

For Mother's Day we took Tony's Mom to brunch and our son Neil met us there. Dana couldn't as she was on her hospital practicum rotation. Neil gave me these orchids:

and Dana got me this beautiful soft grey sweater:

I had a lovely Mother's Day and hope you all did too.

Have a wonderful week.

Spring

2011-05-01T16:55:00.000-06:00

We took a walk this morning trying to take advantage of what we hoped would be a beautiful day. There is a reservoir fairly central in Calgary that we walk around several times a year, and I think it might be about 17km or almost 12 miles to walk the loop. It started out pretty chilly but was just a beautiful morning with the sun shining and the feel of spring in the air. There is snow in the pictures as much of the area is shaded, but the forecast for this week is warmer, so likely it will all be melted in a few days.

Tony has spring fever and had to wear shorts.

There is still a lot of snow yet to melt on those mountains in the distance.

It took us about 2.5 hours to do the loop and then we had some lunch and went to check in with Tony's Mom, and see how she is doing. She is in an assisted living facility and is 89. She took a bad fall earlier in the week and is still a bit shaken.

I am still working on Stella Blue- several hundred flying geese to make stars...lots of trimming. It is starting to come together as I have made 10 or so stars, so more on that next week.

Have a wonderful week.

What Makes You Smile?

2011-04-23T11:55:00.001-06:00

I am a sunflower nut. They make me smile. I love their colour and the way they turn towards the sun. Have you noticed my banner? That sunflower hangs in one of our hallways.

I have to control myself when I see anything with sunflowers, but here are a few sunflowers that always brighten my day, summer and winter.

A spot to drop keys etc...

This is on my mantle with the family pictures

Part of a quilt I made years ago

In my kitchen

for my patterns

for my coffee or tea

I drop my jewelry in here. I bought this Puerto Penasco, Mexico

in my window

I bought this in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Cocktail napkins for my guests last night

Spring Flowers from Sunny

2011-04-20T09:56:00.000-06:00

On the weekend Sunny of Quilting Dreams and I were emailing back and forth about our dreary weather here in Alberta and the fact that she has tulips and other lovely spring flowers to enjoy, and I just had snow...I told her I love tulip magnolias, and she said she'd send me some.

Last night I was on Google Reader catching up with the blogs I follow and I saw her blog with the title "For Anne". And there they were- tulip magnolias! She stopped on her way to work to take a picture for me, and was even late for work...

Thanks Sunny for this bit of spring. It made me laugh to see the title and it brightened my day to see the beautiful spring flowers.

And Yet Again...

2011-04-17T10:01:00.000-06:00

No, this is not the picture I posted earlier this week. THAT snow melted, but here we are on Sunday morning with more...unbelievable!!

Friday morning I sat here basking in the sun, and now more snow!!

So, this is the weekend for piecing and ironing.

These are all ready to be ironed, and then squared up. Sounds like I need some mindless TV, and a few pieces of licorice.

More, Again....

2011-04-14T06:47:00.000-06:00

It's like the song that never ends...or the gift that keeps on giving....

It rained before the snow started so the commute into Calgary will be difficult today. I am glad I work in town and also that I don't go in until 10 a.m. today.

Weekend Plans

2011-04-09T10:10:00.000-06:00

I have been working full time in my new job for a few weeks as my boss has gone off to get married in Costa Rica. So...I am three weeks in at this job and am on my own...it seems to be going well, but you don't know what you don't know right?? Tuesday of next week I will be back to my usual 1/2 day hours. Then again for almost the whole month of May I will be working full time as she takes a honeymoon.

Consequently I have been doing very little sewing and am feeling the need. Tony has gone to Fairmont, British Columbia this weekend to golf as their weather warms up and dries up before ours, so the courses are open. I am going to enjoy the weekend and plan to sew and also to get a few new projects cut out. The weather is supposed to be the best we have had yet, so long walks with Chloe will also be on the agenda. Doesn't this look like a dog who can't wait to go for a long walk??

I have started making Stella Blue from a kit made up for me by Kelly at Cotton Charm Quilts a year or two ago. There are lots of Flying Geese, one of my favorites, so plan to get right into it today.

I also have a good start on Dana's pink and black quilt, and intend to get this pile done this weekend.

The past few weeks I have been too tired to sew, so I continue to work on cutting scraps into useable pieces, and then storing them

Many scrap quilts are in my future...

Have a wonderful weekend. What will you be doing?

New Schedule

2011-03-25T12:07:00.000-06:00

This morning I woke to fog and thick frost on the trees. It is just below 0 and it almost noon and the frost has not yet melted. It is a dull dreary day with no sign of the sun, so this will be an inside day sewing, reading and catching up on paperwork. I do tend to procrastinate on the paperwork.

I have just finished my second week of my new job and I am exhausted. I am one of those people who thrives on a schedule, so anytime my schedule changes it takes me forever to adjust...just like a two year old...I have not been sewing much at all- just doing some cutting of fabric scraps into 2.5 and 5 inch pieces.

I have been working on a couple of charity quilts. These blocks are ready to be sewn into rows, and will make a fairly large lap quilt.

This morning I started Dana's pink and black quilt. Lots of split units to make!!! That is my afternoon unfolding before me...

But should I save this little cut off triangle? It will trim off to a 1.5 inch HST triangle, and I hate to waste the fabric.

I took this picture (not to endorse this wine as I have not tasted it), because of the cute label. I love sunflowers and I may try to pull the label off just to save it...We belong to a group at our local wine store called the Wine Station and we get 6 bottles of wine every 2 months to try. They have always been "new to us" wines, and we have only had one red that we didn't like at all. Couldn't even use it for cooking it was so bad. Love the label on this one, so hope it tastes great too. Tony has been gone all week, and arrives home around dinner time tonight, so we may just taste this tonight.

Have a great weekend, and since I am having a rather lazy day, this quote is appropriate...

There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day.

Alexander Woollcott

Last Week

2011-03-13T12:24:00.000-06:00

I was very lucky this past week as I had 3 days in a row off and although I did some sewing unfortunately I had other things that had to be done as well. But I did manage to get Dana's quilt cut out.

Even though I am not a pink fan, this looks just lovely and the pinks are an assorted choice of lights and mediums, so I am looking forward to sewing this up.

I changed the pattern and have decided to us Barbed Wire from Scrap Basket Surprises by Kim Brackett. I am making it longer and wider to fit an extra long double bed. The pink will be the burgundy in the pattern and the black batik will replace the lights.

I continued work on two or three charity quilts and also got lots of 5" squares and 2.5 inch lengths cut from my small scraps.

This is the box full of scraps and below is my cutting table while in progress.

I am now sorting them into containers and of course lights and darks. I have some mediums that I am not sure where to store. Depending on what they are used with they could be a light or a dark.

I am quite excited today as I am starting a new job tomorrow, and hope it will be the job I am going to retire from. My last two choices in administrative work did not work out, mostly due to workplace bullying, so I am hoping this is the one...It is going to start out part time- 4-5 1/2 days a week, and then morph into full time over the next year. It is administrative which is what I have done most of my life and it only takes me 10 minutes to get to work. How great is that??

Have a wonderful week and enjoy every moment.

Stitchin' Weekend

2011-03-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

I was reading That Girl That Quilt blog and saw she was sharing a tutorial or project that could be completed on a weekend. I liked that and even though I said this would be a year of "not joining" I decided that I would check this out. I decided to try her method of making HST's and this is what I ended up with:

It is made from Thimbleberries scraps and it is ready to be quilted. It is about 50" long and I will put it sideways across my dining table as it is too short to go lengthways. I got this all done yesterday afternoon.

Then this morning I decided I need to do something about this creative mess...

I am working on that this afternoon. I realized yesterday that the Thimbleberries fabric I have had for many years is no longer to my taste, so I am going to enter it into the general scrap population- it no longer needs to be in it's own container.

This is a lot of Thimbleberries and I will use it for scrap quilts and quilt backs. Nothing wrong with it, just not what I like any more.

I do like to tidy up after each project but sometimes the lines blur when I have more than one thing on the go.

I might even get to vacuuming my sewing room today.

I've Had Enough!!

2011-03-06T10:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was another cold day, and I decided that I needed spring in the house. So I got out some spring decor and said "%$&* you!" to winter. However if you look at this picture, you can see that I am completely delirious and delusional...

I put up my sunflower sun-catchers...and there is no sun... and the snow is still there.

And the poinsettia that Dana's boyfriend gave me at Christmas (thanks Drew!) continues to bloom and grow:

I think not being able to take a warm winter vacation this year has sapped any Canadian winter endurance skills that I might have possessed, and made me a crazy(ier) person.

I might just go to the tanning salon today!

Are You Mommy's Girl??

2011-03-03T19:07:00.001-07:00

I seem to ask Chloe many times a day..."are you Mommy's girl?" This is the response I get...'but of course I am, rub my belly!"

She is laying right in the doorway to my sewing room (the carpeted area), just keeping an eye on things and hoping I will lay fabric on the floor.

I finished the flimsy made from Maison de Garance, the pattern from Moda Bakeshop. It is meant to be a queen size quilt but I didn't put the 8 inch border on and it is a good lap quilt. It is for our home and the colours match perfectly.

The binding will be in dark brown just to try to tone down all the red...Love the red!!!

Hope you are having a great week.

CGQC Finishes

2011-02-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

I realized this morning I had not posted about any January/February finishes. Below is an almost finish...I just need to add the pieced borders for the sides and then the flimsy is done. And in keeping with my 2011 goals this will be added to the "'to be quilted" list and not put away in storage.

These are two small quilts that I have blogged about before and I finally got them quilted and the binding on. I hope to the the hand work this week. I am working on just quilting in the ditch or straight line quilting. It will be a work in progress for awhile. I really want to do some stipple or curvy quilting so have some scraps ready to practice on and I have been watching some how to videos etc...

I did get a good start on finishing (??) the quilt from a CGCQ quilt along. This is my high tech way of keeping the blocks in order to sew the rows together. I number them and then put them on this piece of cardboard that I can keep right beside my machine.

These half square triangles are left overs from the quilt at the top, so I am making pinwheel blocks with them and will add some kind to alternate block to make a small quilt. As you can see I have my high tech cardboard waiting so I can put thee in order and chain sew these babies...

Today is Dana's birthday- 23 !! Wow - how can I possibly be old enough to have a 23 year old (and an almost 25 year old!!)? Seems like just yesterday I was 23-well maybe not yesterday...

Have a wonderful week as we get closer and closer to spring. (That would be the eternal optimist in me saying that, as it supposed to be -18 here tomorrow.)

What the...???

2011-02-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

We have the same service provider for internet, phone and cable. Yesterday they were having an "issue" and we had no connections for most of the day...Wow! What did we do before we had internet and 4,000 channels to watch? Now of course Google Reader has 250 items for me to read, but I did get caught up on my email. My laptop will be crawling into bed with me tonight so I can catch up with all my bloggy "friends". I did however finish reading a book on my eReader and started another.

I have many quilt tops completed that I have promised myself to quilt up and finish this year. I bought a sewing machine specifically so that I can quilt most tops myself, so I have been practicing. I am not always pleased with the results, but it is a work in progress and hope that I will improve.

This is what I am working on:

This is from a quilt along that I did late last year from Amy's Creative Side. This is in the line up to be quilted.

This is also in line to be quilted, and I plan to hang it in our dining area for spring/summer.

The deal is to start a project I have to finish two projects. I can work on them simultaneously but nothing new will be started until the older ones are completed. Yay me!!!

Wish me luck...

Tony's In Palm Springs, and I'm Not...

2011-02-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can tell Tony is off with the "boys" on their annual pilgrimage to warm weather and golf. Apparently it is very warm there, and there is no snow...not that I'm jealous... I don't golf but wouldn't mind some of that warm weather.
Here at home we have Chloe on full alert guarding the house while Tony is gone...

It is "warmer" here today and Chloe loves to keep on eye on the comings and goings of the dogs in the neighbourhood, so I leave the door open for her. I feel so safe when she is keeping guard like this!

This is how my stress filled afternoon is shaping up. I did the groceries this morning, and all the other errands and can now relax. I will do some bindings this evening watching my guilty pleasure HGTV. I have some shows from earlier in the week that I PVR'd so I will order out dinner and get some hand sewing done. Life is good!

Colours

2011-02-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

What is your favorite colour? I feel stuck in a rut with colour as I really do have colours that I don't care for, and find it hard to quilt with them. Apparently the colour of the year is honeysuckle, and I have to say I would wear this colour (in moderation) but quilting with it would be a different story.

Dana wants a quilt with pink and I have purchased the fabric for the quilt but have put off cutting it out. I have made quilts with pink before but it is just not my first choice...but I must get a grip...this quilt is not for me, so get over it!!

The fabric is beautiful and the pattern is Miss Rosie, so it will all be good...but give me some brown and red and blue and I am a happy girl.

So time to step out of my quilting box and start cutting out a pink quilt.

More Cold and Snow....

2011-02-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

Since we live in this part of the world we are used to cold winters, but really, it seems never ending this year. Last week we had a few days of above 0 temperatures, but it is cold again and snow is expected. I think spring is on everyone's radar...This poinsettia was given to me by Dana's boyfriend at Christmas and is growing like crazy. And rather than thinking of Christmas when I look at this I choose to think of Mexico where they grow wild....think warm!!!

This week I had a stomach flu that side lined me for a couple of days, but am feeling better today.

I laid the almost finished quilt out to take a picture and of course had the chase our girl off...she was ready to settle right in.

So I have to put the borders on but am debating as the pattern has very wide borders on either side of a pieced border and I am not fond of wide borders. I think I will do a narrow containment border and then that may be it. That keeps it at lap size and that is the size I want.

These are the smaller HST that I have after making the large HSt for the above quilt. A small hanging quilt or table topper will be the end result of these.

These are the blocks I sewed as leaders and enders for the above quilt and this will be a charity quilt. It is made from an older Red Rooster fabric and I am using a pattern called Four Patch Flip from Heather Mulder Peterson. They are now pressed and ready to be sewn together.

What will you work on this week?

Liebster Blog Award

2011-02-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

I got an email on Sunday from Sharon at Camp Gramma telling me that she had nominated me for a Liebster Blog award. I did some research and this award seems to have originated in Germany, and it is an effort to bring recognition and exposure to blogs/bloggers with less than 300 followers. This is what I found translated from German on the internet:

You have been tagged and want to participate?
Create a post by you reinkopierst The Love Blog & the image posting instructions (= the text you are reading). You should also link to the blog of the person who gave you the award & they inform per Kommetar in her blog that you annimst her the award and the link of your award leave some posts. Then you are thinking about you 3-5 favorite blogs that you link in your team as well and the owners of each post by Kommetar - function will inform that they have been tagged and here ebfalls angibst the link of the post, in which the declaration is.

Dear bloggers: The aim of this action is that we bring unknown, good blogs to light, so I would love any blogs ask for items that already have been 3,000 readers, but talented beginners and people who blog but has been a while, but still not known.

Certainly not the best translation, but you get the drift.

The purpose is also to pay it forward and nominate 3-5 other blogs with less than 300 followers. I follow about 100 blogs on Google Reader, so the choice is difficult. Many are the larger blogs with sponsors but most are small blogs like mine.

My nominations are:

Karen at "Of Quilts and Other Musings"

Carol at "Brown Quilts"

Mary-Frances at "Outside the Line"

I like the creativity and humour of these ladies, and you will too.

Day Off

2011-02-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

I am off work today and was very glad I did not have to venture out as we are in a deep freeze. This was the view out my sewing room window this morning. Very frosty!!

When I am making blocks that must be just so, I lay them out on cardboard one block at a time and sew. In between I do some leaders and enders. This is part of one of the blocks I was working on today.

This is what the next block looks like after two dogs ran rampant in my sewing room.

Chloe's boyfriend Frankie (a very small dog- about the size of her head...) came to visit this afternoon, and I didn't get the door shut in time. They are like five year olds- they just want to run- in and out of every room, up and down the stairs...

Now she is exhausted and napping and I am tidying up!

Another Snowy Sunday

2011-01-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

After looking outside this morning to see this...

I decided that it would be a day for this...

*this is where i would insert 2 photos, but blogger is not letting me...*

photo 1- picture of a comfy chair in front of the fireplace with my library book, and a new quilting magazine

photo 2- picture of a block that I am going to work on today

Sure hope you like those photos! And now I see that I am getting an error message "An error occurred while saving", and it won't let me preview...I think I'll cut my losses, and post this to see what happens.

Have a wonderful Sunday and enjoy the upcoming week!

Progress

2011-01-27T07:03:00.001-07:00

The quilt is laid out,and of course Chloe has been sleeping on top of it, especially in the afternoon sun.

I am still playing with the layout a bit. I am off work today so am going to start putting the blocks together. Oh, and my crazy lucky square that I posted about here is right in the middle block.
It is going to be warm here again today- about 10C or 50F. We have had so much snow that it has not disappeared, but the warm weather is wonderful, after weeks of sub zero temps.
Enjoy the rest of your week!

Lazy Day

2011-01-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

We seem to be having a lazy day here...

Some of us at least...

After the house cleaning and usual weekend chores, this is what I am going to work on.

The quilt is ready to be put together and so I will lay it out today on my design floor. This will prompt Chloe to move from the couch to the design floor. Guaranteed.

I Couldn't Do This If I Tried

2011-01-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

I was randomly piecing lights and darks for HST's and ended up with this beauty! I didn't realize it until I was pressing and came across this one. I couldn't have matched the patterns better if I had been trying to...this deserves a shining spot in the quilt.

Sunny Sunday

2011-01-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful sunny day here, but still extremely cold. The wind chill makes it about -28 Celsius, so I prefer to view the day from this angle...

I am working on making 96 HST, and good progress has been made.

With the method the pattern designer has used you start with a light and dark 5 inch square, mark your sewing line, sew and cut. You then have one HST for the quilt and 2 triangle pieces you can use to make smaller HST for another project.

These are some of the smaller "left over" pieces and am sewing together as I go and will some kind of wall hanging or lap quilt with. One pattern- two quilts- gotta like that. All the HST will be sewn together today, and I think I will plan what to do with the leftover HST right away and keep the momentum going and finish them both together.

This year I am making both kids a new quilt for their beds as the original quilts I made them are at least 10 years old....Dana has picked her pattern and colours. Neil is not a guy who cares much about colour, design or anything like that so I can just pick for him...

For Dana I am making the cover quilt called Crackling Palms, and enlarging it for her bed. The black will be the background, and and the pinks will be the whirling palms. I am using some scraps and some new fabric for this. No time frame for this, just sometime in 2011.

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy every moment!

Windy Wintery Weather

2011-01-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

We have had the most amazing (not in a good way) days of weather. We woke up Saturday morning to snow and extreme winds. That continued until into the night last night. Now the wind has died down and it is very cold. The wind blew so hard that our walking pathway behind our home is impassable and poor Chloe has to do her business quickly and isn't getting her usual long walks.

That snow is waist high and I can imagine it will take the town workers some time to get that plowed with the mini plow...I don't think the actual accumulation was that much, but the wind was incredible, causing white out conditions. We drove into Calgary Saturday night for a dinner with our son, and drove home after with our four way flashers on the vehicle. Sunday we did not go out, so I did some of this:

I cleaned my pattern and book baskets and have a pile of books to donate to the local library. I hope they will take them.
Tony was supposed to head out "on the road again" but with all the highway closures he worked at home today and will head out tomorrow. He was heading into one of the worst hit areas, so hopefully by Tuesday it will be better.
I am making 96 HST triangles and have a pile on the ironing board to iron, so that is my task tonight. Tomorrow after work, I will be making more...hopefully will feel progress by the end of the week...and a picture worthwhile enough to show.
Have a wonderful week!

Word....

2011-01-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

Kelly our fearless leader of the Charming Girls Quilt Club has challenged us to choose a word that we would like to use during 2011 to remind us of something in our lives, or how we want to live. We'll revisit the word periodically to see if it still resonates. My word is going to be Moment:

1. A brief, indefinite interval of time.
2. A specific point in time, especially the present time: He is not here at the moment.
3. A particular period of importance, influence, or significance in a series of events or developments: a great moment in history; waiting for her big moment.
4. Outstanding significance or value; importance: a discovery of great moment.
5. A brief period of time that is characterized by a quality, such as excellence, suitability, or distinction: a lackluster performance that nevertheless had its moments.

I chose this word because it reminds me to enjoy life as much as possible, and to live in the present. Enjoy those special moments.

New Years Plans

2011-01-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

I am not a big believer in New Year's Resolutions. I like to keep notes in a little book that I keep on my nightside table. These notes can are often what I call plans for things I want to do- a new work out schedule, a quilt square I am designing, books I want to read, and sometimes promises to myself, for example, to be kinder, or pay it forward etc. I do this all year round, so don't feel the need for improvement just in January- apparently I need it every month of the year!
One thing I have written in my book of plans is to make both Neil and Dana a new quilt for their beds this year. Neil will not be interested in choosing patterns or colours at all, but I imagine Dana will, so I am starting to look ahead to those projects.

On that thought, here are some things I have been doing today and plans for upcoming quilts.

I am caught up with the blocks for the Layer Cake quilt along- did both today.

This is an upcoming project that I have planned with many little pieces. It is from a Fons and Porter magazine that Tony gave me for Christmas. I am going to use Collection for a Cause- Hope and I hope I can handle all those HST's. I will cut it out and use the HST's for leaders and enders, so it won't seem like so many...sure...

On the finishing projects front, I laid this out today and have it ready to sew together. This was from a quilt along on a blog that I have lost the name of, and it just used a jelly roll to make 80 blocks I believe.

Also I am in the process of cutting out a Moda Bakeshop pattern by Konda Luckau of Moose on the Porch Quilts blog fame. It takes 2 layer cakes and I am using Maison de Garance again. I love this fabric- the colours, the patterns. Drool.....

These plans will keep me busy for awhile as other projects percolate in my head. I am working part time now in a home dec store and will have a bit more time to do some quilting and that makes me very happy.

And the Winner Is...

2010-12-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

A quick note to say that the winner of the Mill House Inn Jelly Roll and Layer Cake is Luv2Kreate. I have emailed her to let her know, and get her address, so Congratulations! Thanks to all who entered.

Is This Allowed in Your House?

2010-12-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how this evolved...when we first moved into our home Chloe was not allowed up on any of the living room chairs or the couch. She can lay on the couches in the TV room, but was not supposed to be allowed up in this room. Now over the past few months if one or both of us are in the room reading she will lay on the couch. But she got busted this morning as it appears that she also lays there when no one is home...she looks pretty dopey and must have been very comfortable! She didn't hear me come in until she heard the camera turn on.

Over the past week things have piled up in the sewing room, so today's plan will be to re-organize and plan future projects. I find that I get very antsy if I don't have sewing time as it is my therapy and gives me calm...so today I'll be happy to get in there, even if it is just to clean. We are having a small get together tonight and I need to clean house and prepare some food as well. Busy day ahead, but a good kinda busy!

Boxing Day Mountain Style

2010-12-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope it was a good one. Ours was great fun, Tony and I and all the "kids". Lots of food, wine and laughter. We ended up with just 7 of us, and had an excellent dinner and great family time. This morning I did the turkey broth and stripped the meat, and turkey soup is now frozen for quick dinners.

Today was very mild here, a bit overcast, about 6 degrees C or over 40 degrees F. We headed out to the mountains but because it was so overcast the clouds covered most of the mountains. We had a great hike but were overdressed and I ended up carrying my mitts and scarf, and opening the zip on my coat.

Not much snow out here- we have more in town.

We have a very social week coming up and I will not have any sewing time until next weekend...Tony gave me a quilting magazine in my stocking though, and I did find a pattern that I have to make in 2011.

For those of you who entered to win the fabric prize for my 150th post, I will make the draw on Wednesday. Thanks to all who entered, and good luck!

One Moment (2)

2010-12-24T06:00:00.013-07:00

As I sit here at 6:00 a.m. Christmas Eve morning, up before everyone else, this is what I see from my perch on the couch, and I count my blessings. Soon I will need to get moving as we are hosting Christmas dinner tonight for our kids, their partners, and assorted friends. There will just be 8 of us, but that is so special to me to have everyone home and together. What a wonderful blessing.

Another blessing has been all the bloggy friends I have had the pleasure of "meeting". I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and thanks for your friendship.

Charming Girls Goals-November/December and 150th Post

2010-12-23T13:23:00.001-07:00

I really didn't think that I completed any of my goals until I looked at the original post and realized that I completed almost everything. The only thing I did not complete was quilting 3 small quilts and I will get to that in the next few weeks. Not bad for such a busy season and making Christmas gifts as well.

This is my 150th post, so am going to give away this:

Mill House Inn Layer Cake and Jelly Roll. The Jelly Roll has been unrolled, but it is all there...Just leave me a comment and I will draw a name after Christmas.

House cleaning is on the agenda for the afternoon. Can't wait....

One Moment

2010-12-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

This morning I wandered into my sewing room, essential coffee in hand, and look what I saw outside the window!

There were about 6-8 of them, all fairly young looking. The first deer was the biggest and he came across the street quite boldly. The others followed but were skittish.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but they were coming fast and I was trying not to scare them. They went between our home and the neighbours place, so I ran to the back but don't know where they went. We have seen a lot of this gang in the last few months as we have quite a few fruit trees, and they have been feasting on the apples and choke cherries. They are just so beautiful, and they absolutely just made my day.

Stop to Catch my Breath...

2010-12-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

The parcel to Ontario to my family (parents, 2 brothers and one sister in law) will be in the mail today...might or might not make it I guess. This is one quilt...

This is another...

Mug mat...the mug is already wrapped.

My husband and I give each other the gift of time, especially now that he is traveling so much. Hopefully that starts with going to a movie this weekend. That has always been our tradition. The kids need clothes, so they just want gift cards so they can buy what they want. Both have been students for so long, and now with Neil starting a new career, clothes are always needed. So, for me the rush is just about over and next week will be low key with planning Christmas dinner and the grocery shopping that goes with that.

I just finished reading this book and sure enjoyed it. It keeps you guessing and of course the hero is dark, with many fears and doubts...intriguing to the end if you like a "who done it".

I am now back to working on non Christmas items, swearing (literally) that next year I will start earlier...I should maybe look at my Charming Girls list to see if I actually finished one thing on that list!

Odds and Ends

2010-12-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I was going through my cards looking for bits I could use for gifts tags, I can across my stash of cards my friend Rhonda has made for me over the years. I decided it was time to put a couple in frames that I had laying empty in the closet.

Isn't this sewing machine awesome? All her cards are made with a technique called Iris Folding, and they are just beautiful.

This was my birthday card this year, with the letter A in the middle surrounded by 9 patches.

So I framed them and put them up in my sewing room window (top left) as they should be on display, especially with the quilting theme.

I got 28 gift tags made from old Christmas cards to give as gifts. They were fun and easy. I have lots of scrap booking paper so will make some for us to use closer to Christmas, after my "to be mailed" gifts are done....

My helper was once again snoring on my design floor- I always have to re-press my pieces before I sew them together....

Prize #3

2010-12-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

This came in the mail on Monday. I won a prize on the Bloggers Quilt Festival from Where Women Create. It had many treasures in it including Christmas stickers, beautiful writing paper, a water bottle, a bracelet, soap and best of all, 3 copies of the magazine Where Women Create. It is just a beautiful magazine full of articles on studios where many creative women work. Gorgeous eye candy! Thanks so much Amy and Where Women Create!!!

What have I been up to with all my free time??

Christmas cards are made- yet to be addressed and mailed....

I am also working on using old Christmas cards to make gift tags. I use card stock for the back, and stamp To/From on the back. I'll punch a hole in the top and add some thin gold ribbon for tying.

I have several quilts to bind so have a feeling I have a TV marathon coming up... I have been PVRing The Good Wife all season so may start in on that.

What are you working on?

What's Up??

2010-12-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

This has been a better week for me and as the week progressed I have been feeling better about my job situation and starting to sleep better. It is amazing how a bad situation can affect your well being...Anyway I have been busy, and started working on all the piles of things in my sewing room.

I have my Christmas cards in progress, cutting all the pieces first. I will have these made early next week, and in the mail a day or two after that. I only make about 25 cards these days and generally just send them to people we won't see over the Christmas season.

I am attempting to make an ornament wreath. I love purple with red for Christmas, but who knew it would take SO many ornaments??? Wow...I hope to have this done next week as well, and I think I'll hang over the mantle.

We are off to Edmonton today to Tony's company's Christmas party. Then tomorrow we have friends coming for dinner so need to be back in Okotoks by 2ish so I can clean and Tony can prepare the meal.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mistakes

2010-11-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

Once quite a few years ago I made a beautiful turqoise, blue and purple square in a square quilt for my brother in Ontario. I took the newly quilted top into the LQS (now closed) to get binding material. Turns out I had made a mistake and turned one of the blocks the wrong way. It had not been apparent to me, but when the quilt store owner "kindly" pointed it out to me I was mortified. Then I thought, well for Pete's sake I'm only human.... Well, I've done it again- on the third block for the Layer Cake Quilt Along.

This was not apparent to me until I took this picture...Yikes! Well I have no more of this fabric and won't buy some just to correct this "slight" mistake. So it stays that way...I can say I am practicing Liberated Quilting, right Carol? My sister in law is a fantastic Liberated quilter, and she knows I'm not so she may get a laugh out of this....

Today I cut out this (Domino with Fandango), and worked on this...

The pattern by Green Fairy Quilts called Strippin' Time with an older fabric called Charisma. I needed the bright colours to cheer me up, and it has helped. Now maybe I can get back on track, and get those Christmas cards made...before Christmas....

Sidetracked

2010-11-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Every year in November I start with the best of intentions to make Christmas decorations, cards, gifts, etc....and it seems every year the same thing happens. Rather than dealing with the mess on my quilting room floor, I step over it or around it.

Chloe is waiting for me to get in there, and get to work. but this month I have been sidetracked and distracted. I started working on a quilt that wasn't even on my "to do" list, just because...but starting Monday I will have lots of time as I made a very difficult decision to leave my job. I loved the job but the environment was poisonous and I was tired of dealing with it every day. It was starting to poison my personal life and I refuse to allow that to happen. I will be looking for another job, but maybe not right away. I am feeling a little emotional and wrecked, so crafting and quilting will help. It is my therapy, and I really need it right now.

Here's to a happy healthy productive week!

Prize #2

2010-11-24T18:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday in the mail I got this package from Kelly at Cotton Charm Quilts. I won a $25 gift certificate and added a couple more things to the list, and this arrived in the mail yesterday.

I plan to use the Blessings to make the Oso Schnibbles, maybe mixing it with some scraps. Sweet Spot and Imagine are still in the planning stage....

Blogger is co-operating tonight so I can show you my second block for the Layer Cake Quilt Along.

It is very very cold here, and difficult to be out and about. Driving is still not that great either, so tomorrow is a sewing day!

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! Have a wonderful time with family and friends, and appreciate what you are truly thankful for!

Snowy Cold Weekend

2010-11-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

My sewing room gets cold this time of year (see the snow outside??), so I keep an old black fleece jacket in there to put on when I am sewing.

This is what it looks like after a couple of hours in the sewing room. Birds could build a nest with all the threads and fuzz....a sign of an afternoon well spent. Blogger is not cooperating today so can't show you what I was doing, but it was block two of the Layer Cake Quilt Along. Maybe next time it will let me upload that picture.

We have been hibernating this weekend and so in keeping with the weather I put this up today and have slowly started putting winter (not quite Christmas) decorations up. Have a great week everyone and keep warm!!

Prize Received

2010-11-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I had Tagalong Schnibbles on the floor to baste and my helper was working hard as you can see...Tony had to offer treats to get her out of the way so I could get this done. She gets in those awkward sleeping positions that don't seem comfortable, but judging by the snoring sounds coming from that direction, it must have been fairly comfortable.

Last night when I got home from work I was exhausted having driven to and from work with my hands gripped to the steering wheel. We had about 10cm of snow Monday night and it had rained before the snow came, so driving was treacherous. I like my job, but dislike a lot of other things in the work place, so I was ready to relax, and maybe read. I went to the mailbox, and my first of three winnings was in the mail. That cheered me up right away!

Sunny from Quilting Dreams sent me this wonderful box full of treats. Chocolate, of course, along with 3 fat quarters of Kansas Troubles Wrapped in Paisley, a pattern called Birds and Flowers, a little gingerbread man Christmas tree decoration, and a lovely handmade card. And, it was all wrapped up in a beautiful fabric bag. Wow!! Thanks so much, Sunny!

I had a terrible sleepless night so might crawl back into bed and try to catch an hour of sleep before work. The drive will be bad again this morning as there was more snow last night. Can't wait for Friday!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2010-11-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

The theme For November/December in our Charming Girls Quilt Group is Christmas traditions, recipes, stories etc. today I will pass on a funny story from when my kids were little.

I am sure that most of us who have children have run into this issue. When Santa came to our house he always put his presents under the tree, and the other gifts from family and friends were moved to either the dining room table or couch. The year Neil was 4 he ran into the living room, looked under the tree and then over to the other presents and exclaimed loudly "Look Mom- Santa has the same wrapping paper as us!!" I covered that bloop by saying that there must have been a sale on this paper and Mrs Claus ended up buying the same paper....the next Christmas Santa used different paper...That was the same year that Dana got an ear infection on Christmas Eve and Tony had to take her to Emerg at about 11pm. I still can see her sad little face as they went out the door to the hospital. Luckily she got antibiotics right away and she felt somewhat better the next morning.

This week I bought myself a new toy.

Next to quilting my favorite thing to do is read, and I have wanted one of these for awhile. What I really want is an iPad but I am waiting for the prices to go down on those. So in the meantime I got my reader, and really look forward to using it. I can borrow ebooks from the library so have put myself on the wait list for a few books. I am sure the main usage for this will be when we travel so then I won't have to take 5-6 books when we go to Mexico. Especially now that we pay extra money for heavy bags when flying.

Hope everyone has a great week and lots of creative sewing time!

I Will Buy a Lotto Ticket

2010-11-08T19:23:00.001-07:00

This week for sure I am buying a lotto ticket as I won again in blogger world. I won a swag bag from Where Women Create for displaying my quilt on the Blogger's Quilt Festival on Amy's Creative Side. I am so thrilled and can't believe I won again! I will post on the contents of this swag bag when I receive it.

November/December Charming Girls Goals

2010-11-07T14:16:00.001-07:00

This is the time of year that time is most tight, so goal setting is important to me, but I can't over set the goals as I know that the next few weeks before Christmas will just fly by.

I plan to keep up with the Layer Cake Quilt Along. Here is my first block. Done

I am going to get the hand sewing of the binding done on my Verna Schnibbles quilt. Done and given to the bride and groom.

I am going to quilt this: No, not done

And I am going to baste and quilt these two: Basting done, quilting not so much...

I am going to make my Christmas cards and some gifts. No pictures for those yet...Done

Then my usual goals- spend time with family and friends and continue to keep fit. We are going to try to get away somewhere warm for Christmas, so that means bathing suit weather...

I Should Buy a Lotto Ticket

2010-11-06T15:13:00.000-06:00

In the past few weeks I have won 2 quilty prizes from other bloggers. I won a surprise gift from Sunny at Quilting Dreams for wishing her well on her 100th post. Then yesterday I got an email from Kelly at Charming Chatter to say I had won a $25 gift certificate from her store Cotton Charm Quilts. I am going to go shopping right away and use that gift certificate. I may buy a lottery ticket for the draw tonight...

This morning Tony and I drove into Calgary to just wander around the 17th Ave area and have some lunch- a nice leisurely morning. I am not a shopper but I bought myself this pendant.

It says: the secret to staying young is live honestly eat well drink wine laugh often and lie about your age. I love it and think that is pretty much my motto for life. But, I don't lie about my age as I believe I have earned every wrinkle and roll.

Now off I go to do some fabric shopping and spend my gift certificate. Have a wonderful weekend!!

Charming Girls September/October Update

2010-10-31T11:38:00.005-06:00

I had to go back to my list of plans for this 2 month period and see what exactly I had said I would do- that's how far off my goals I think I am...

Prepare some meals for Dana and I that can be unthawed in the morning for dinner that night. Tomorrow I am going to roast two small chickens to make soup as well as make some black bean soup and freeze portions in small containers. I will keep this up on a weekly basis as living on popcorn and hummus with crackers can only be an option for so long...Done and continuing to do this. I am often on my own for dinner as Dana works afternoons at the hospital, so frozen soup is a great option.

I have 40 of 90 blocks made for my Serenity king size quilt for our master bed. I plan to get 50 more made Done

Finish quilting this quilt top. I haven't been able to quilt a top for years, but now that I have a new machine there is no excuse. Also this one will will be completed, binding and all. Done

this one as well...Not completed but it is next up into the machine.

continue to work out 4-5 times per week. Yes

design my Christmas cards so I can make them in November Done, just need to find the time to make them

spend time with friends and family whenever the opportunity presents itself Yes

read as much as possible. I leave work on my lunch hour just so I can read. If it is nice, I sit outside and if it isn't nice, I walk to the local Mcdonald's, order a tea and read. No one minds that I bring my own lunch, it seems. Yes

get the borders on my Jelly Roll Sampler done

make Tagalong Schnibbles from Wiscasset Done- it is ready to be basted, probably this week

So it seems I accomplished way more than I thought I did. Now to set goals for December/January...

Bloggers Quilt Festival

2010-10-30T10:26:00.001-06:00

This is a wonderful festival that Amy of Amy's Creative Side organizes. I love to browse in awe at all the beautiful quilts out there and marvel at the creativity. This will be the second entry I have placed in the festival. My quilt is made from a kit that I purchased at Fat Quarter Shop several years ago, and I am so glad that I bought it as it made such a beautiful quilt. It is made from one of my favorite fabric lines of all time-Chocolat by 3 Sisters and the pattern was deigned by Miss Rosie but printed by the University of Moda for this kit. Is this beautiful fabric or what??

The quilt finishes at 80X80 and hangs in my front entranceway as there is a long wall coming into the living area. it is almost too big to take a picture of...I had to stand on a chair to get this picture.

I love this quilt for many reasons. I am in love with the fabric and wish I had more of it. I am also a big Miss Rosie fan, so making a quilt with wonderful fabric and a great pattern was a pleasure...The colours are perfect for my home and I get many compliments on it.

Please browse the awesome beauty of the Bloggers Quilt Festival (you can get there by clicking the button on the right side of my blog). You will be amazed and awed by the beauty!

Mojo

2010-10-24T10:25:00.000-06:00

Don't you find that sometimes you just have no quilting mojo? Mine has been missing the last few weeks., and I am not sure why. I was dreaming about projects last night and I woke up this morning feeling very creative, so it is back!

Yesterday I managed to finish the last of my 90 blocks for the king size quilt for our bed. I have not laid it out to see how it looks as that will require a day when Tony can take Chloe for a long walk to so I can work without her sleeping on top of the blocks. I also have to save so I can take it to the long arm quilters as it will be just too big for me to even think about quilting. It is a spring/summer quilt anyway, so it will be my goal to have it on our bed by the spring...

I am going to start making some Christmas gifts today since I am feeling creative. I have some ideas but no patterns or drawings, so we'll see what happens!

Have a wonderful week.

My Weekend so far....

2010-10-16T11:46:00.001-06:00

We had snow here yesterday...not lots, but enough to scare us and remind us that winter is on the way. Too bad...
We went to a wine tasting last night with some friends and made friends with a couple of fantastic new (to us) wines. The theme of the night was Spain and we had a different kind of tapas with each taste. We bought a white and a red to have at home for special occasions. These are not quaffing wines, but wines to savour with a lovely meal. It was a fun night and I learned lots. My taste buds were off because of my cold, but the wine and the food still tasted great!
This weekend is not too busy so I have a little of this planned:

and a little of this planned. My nose was a mess from blowing for so many days so I went to Shopper's Drug Mart to look for a cream that wouldn't burn my skin. The helpful lady recommended Zinc cream- as in baby's bum cream, and it works great. It makes my nose white so I have to remember to wipe it off when I walk Chloe!

I have to do a little of this as Tony was gone all week, and the basket is piled high.

But, I plan to do lots of this!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I Have Been Given This Day...

2010-10-13T10:41:00.000-06:00

My cold is in full force and I am not wanted at work...I got sent home yesterday but will be back at it tomorrow. Since I work in a doctor's office with lots of elderly patients, it is not a good idea to be snorting, blowing and sniffling all over the place...I plan to read and sleep and browse.

I am also going to design my Christmas card. This is a free day so I hope by this afternoon I feel like doing this. For all you Basic Grey lovers this is Basic Grey scrap book paper called Dasher that I think is 2-3 years old. I have used it on cards in the past and will use it again this year as I'd love to see it get used up. I won't show the finished product until my cards are mailed, but I will be able to cross it off my "to do" list.

Hope you have a great, creative day!

Happy Thanksgiving Canada

2010-10-11T15:07:00.000-06:00

It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, with today being actual Thanksgiving Day. This room is one of the many things I am thankful for and today the sunlight is streaming in the windows. It is not terribly warm outside but the sun is wonderful.

Like most families we had our family dinner yesterday at my sister in law's home. I love turkey dinner but the gravy and mashed potatoes are my favorite. I have been sick and spent the day yesterday on the couch but pulled myself together to go out for dinner- and I have to be really sick to lose my appetite, so I did really enjoy the lovely meal. I just have a cold so it will pass eventually...

This morning Tony headed out "on the road again" about 5:30, so I decided that my back was too sore to lay around all day again, so I needed to do something standing up. What better than to cut out a new quilt? I am using some fabric that is several years old called Full Sun by Willowberry Lane for Maywood Studios. It has wonderful yellows and greens and even better, lots of sunflowers.

This is the pattern I am going to use -"Flight of Geese" from Quilts and More, Fall 2010. It is just made up of big Flying Geese blocks and will showcase the fabric beautifully. I should get it all cut out today and my back is feeling better already.

Hope all my Canadian friends had a wonderful long weekend and lots of fun family time.

Run for the Cure 2010

2010-10-03T12:11:00.000-06:00

Awash in a sea of pink...we had a beautiful fall day for the Run for the Cure 2010. We volunteer every year and we have been at the water station for 2 years now, and I think I like it the best...although last year it snowed and not many people wanted water. This year we went through twice as much water as last year...we did hear there were 10,000 participants, so will be interested in hearing the final tally.

This is what I added to my volunteer shirt- for my aunt who passed away several years ago and a friend who died earlier this year. I don't want to add another name to this list.

Tagalong is done and ready to be pinned. You can see Chloe to the right with a frantically wagging tail. She trying to get Dana's attention as there was food involved...

Jelly Roll Sampler is also ready to go the the quilters- too big for me, and too hard on the back. So it gets put away until I can spend the money get it done.

My helper was back in the sewing room last night, testing out a quilt top. I had this out to get some batting and backing organized for it and she took over. It can wait...

Layer Cake Quilt Along

2010-10-01T16:03:00.000-06:00

I am joining the Layer Cake Quilt Along beginning in November with Moose on the Porch Quilts. I am going to use a Maison De Garance layer cake with an accent fabric that I purchased on sale from Connecting Threads. I think this Maison De Garance is my favorite French General fabric so far, and I can't wait to use it. I had a lot of fun making the Jelly Roll Sampler, so thought I'd join in for the Layer Cake surprise!

I've made good progress on Tagalong Schnibbles- and even more since I took this picture last night. Now I almost have the strippy borders done and on. I love this fabric line (Wicasset) with the blues, reds and slighty olive beiges. This will be a table topper for us as the colours are perfect for our place.

My helper was MIA from my sewing room today, choosing instead to lay by the deck. She looks awfully relaxed and was not at all interested in quilting today.

Fall, Again

2010-09-30T10:43:00.000-06:00

I finished adding a few things to a purchased wreath and added it to the little display on the mantle.

In the meantime Chloe was guarding the house for intruders...

This is a table topper I made with a panel (also a number of years ago). It is kinda my own design in that I cut the pictures from the panel, made wonky blocks and added inner borders etc. This is on a coffee table in the great room.

I like to be positive and count my blessings as much as possible, so this is a "fall themed count your blessings" comment. I work in Calgary which is about a 20-30 minute commute each way. It is an easy drive as most of it is highway and not a lot of fighting city traffic. In the morning I take the main highway as it is faster. Coming home after work I take the "backroad" through our western foothills and ranch lands. It is just a beautiful drive and I appreciate it every day. This week I saw two amazing things, and of course no camera with me...
First I saw a huge buck with the biggest antlers running through a field, pausing and then jumping the fence to my right. It was so graceful and effortless, and I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
Then the next day it was a warm sunny day and as I was coming up a hill I could see a silhouette of several people in their cowboy hats on horses. As I approached the yellow field and the blue sky made this a picture perfect view, and it would have been a stunning picture. I slowed and could see it was 4 young girls on their horses practicing barrel racing in their field.
I really don't care that it is a longer drive as the beauty of this drive is so worth it. There are mountain views, and right now with the blue skies and the golden fields it is spectacular.
Enjoy the beauty of your fall.

Fall

2010-09-25T17:32:00.000-06:00

Like many people I love Fall. Part of it is the weather, and part is the colours we decorate with- the rich reds, oranges, yellows and how they look all pulled together.

I got most of my fall decorations out today and love how they look. I bought a wreath on sale at Michael's but it is too bare, so I am gluing more leaves and flowers on to it, so will have it up on the mantle tomorrow. I tried to take a picture of Chloe basking in the sun at the front door but she moved as I took the picture and refused to pose...

I have had a lazy week- not feeling too well, and fighting a fluish coldy thing, so tomorrow I plan to regroup and get some sewing done. I slept for over 2 hours this afternoon so I am feeling much better...

Hope you are having a great weekend.

I'm Boring Today

2010-09-20T19:26:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine and I used to email each other on a very regular basis. Sometimes we'd start or end the post with "I'm boring today". That would just mean "hello- don't have much to say".....That is how I have felt all week, so have struggled with just what to post about. Fall has hit us full force and I am in my winter mode, hunkering down in the evening with warm clothes. We have had a couple of hard frosts and snow is predicted for tonight. Sigh!!!! I keep falling asleep in front of the TV, so I need to snap out of it!!! Time to take action!!!!
As Tony is gone into northern Alberta all week, and Dana is on evenings at the hospital, I am by myself every evening. That in itself is daunting, so I decided action was called for. I am taking on one chore every night. Nothing earth shattering but something to give me my second wind, so that I don't feel so tired and can take advantage of my sewing time. So for example I am going to organize the important papers filing cabinet, and take some books to the used book store for credit. I also have a hair cut tomorrow evening and a dentist appointment Thursday after work. The sewing time will come after the chore is done, so that is the motivation.

This was my chore for tonight- label all my fabric containers. These are projects waiting to be cut out....

Tagalong is coming along...love the Wicasset fabric- those reds and blues are great. I am finishing squaring up the blocks tonight.

Oh, look you can see my reflection! Just noticed that...This is Park Avenue by 3 Sisters and I have started a quilt along from the Fat Quarterly blog using a jelly roll. It is quick and I wanted to do something that would show this beautiful fabric off. There are 80 blocks to sew, so I have been chain piecing like crazy.

This will be my week, in a nutshell. Soon it will be Friday and Tony will be home, and I will feel like I accomplished something this week. Maybe not so boring after all!!??

I Need a Wife

2010-09-11T11:34:00.000-06:00

OK, I admit it. I got very spoilt when Tony was not working for a year...not in the monetary sense, but in the fact that he did the housework, cooking and errands. I just had to go to work every day...Now not only is he back at work, but is on the road all week. I have to run my own errands, AND cook AND clean. Well, the last two weeks have been an eye opener for me in many ways. I realized how much I appreciate Tony for all he does/did. I also realize just how much I did when he was working (I work full time as well). Like most of us, I shouldered the majority of the duties around the house, and now we have come full circle. Please don't think I am whining...well maybe I am a little...I just have realized although last year was a tough one in many ways it was pretty terrific, too. I think we got closer in our marriage and I also think we now know we can get through anything as long as we have each other.

My big issue is when I have to do this:

when am I going to have time for this:

and this????

The pile of fabric loveliness was purchased from Nicole at Sister's Choice Quilts when she had a stash buster sale a week or so ago. I love this line of fabric (Leaving the Century/Barbara Brackman and Terry Clothier Thompson). I made my niece pinwheel quilt from it quite a few years ago and have always regretted not having more of it. Now I have lots and will need to make plans for this. It will be a quilt that I keep just so I can caress this fabric every day.

Now, off to vacuum, and let me tell you with a Golden Retriever, not vacuuming is not an option.

September/October Goals

2010-09-05T16:59:00.001-06:00

It sure feels like September here today- cool, rainy and just unpleasant. I don't want to believe it is September as we have not had a warm summer yet- we've only had day above 30C/80F. But such is the weather card we are dealt for where we live...

My September/October goals will include a few finishes in keeping with our bi-monthly theme "Quilting the Quilt". Tony will be gone every week for the foreseeable future, so I hope to have the energy after work at night to dig into these projects. My weekend sewing time will be less as we will want to spend our limited amount of time together. The goals are:

Prepare some meals for Dana and I that can be unthawed in the morning for dinner that night. Tomorrow I am going to roast two small chickens to make soup as well as make some black bean soup and freeze portions in small containers. I will keep this up on a weekly basis as living on popcorn and hummus with crackers can only be an option for so long...

I have 40 of 90 blocks made for my Serenity king size quilt for our master bed. I plan to get 50 more made

Finish quilting this quilt top. I haven't been able to quilt a top for years, but now that I have a new machine there is no excuse. Also this one will will be completed, binding and all.

this one as well...
continue to work out 4-5 times per week.
design my Christmas cards so I can make them in November
spend time with friends and family whenever the opportunity presents itself
read as much as possible. I leave work on my lunch hour just so I can read. If it is nice, I sit outside and if it isn't nice, I walk to the local Mcdonald's, order a tea and read. No one minds that I bring my own lunch, it seems.

get the borders on my Jelly Roll Sampler

keep up with my Mystery Quilt- so far I am ...

make Tagalong Schnibbles from Wiscasset.

My (our) Journey is changing somewhat with Tony working away from home most of the time, so I/we are trying our best to make the most of it and also make it work for us...We are lucky he found a good job and one that will afford us more travel opportunities and evenings out together. We are very blessed and I plan to make the most of this new Journey. I think that is my biggest goal (adjustment) over the next two months.

Christmas in August Sewing Party

2010-08-27T20:21:00.004-06:00

3:45pm
Done! I have enough sashing fabric for binding and backing. I will turn it width wise on the table when I use it, not as I photographed in the lengthwise. This was a very easy project - 6 nine patch blocks cut width wise and lengthwise and rearranged and then sewn back together. Don't you just love the purple with the Christmas greens and reds? So pretty. Hope everyone had a great day! It was really nice to connect with people I hadn't "spoken" to before. Now I will jump in the shower and have a glass of wine before we head out for dinner. The icing on a perfect day- life is good!

2:30 p.m.
Break time for lunch, and a trip to the gym with my daughter. The flimsy is almost done and a good one to accomplish in a day.

10:30 a.m.

Nine patches are together, ready to be cut into 4....coffee is gone and have switched to water. How is everyone else doing????

8:30 am

I have my nine patch blocks laid out- looks very yellow in this picture, but is definitely not this yellow...

I have my snacks and channel changer close at hand, and I am ready to go !

Tomorrow I am participating in the Charming Girls Quilt Club Sewing Party. We are to make something for the Christmas season, and I have chosen to make a table topper, the pattern from Moda Bakeshop. It is a bigger project than I want, so I am going to downsize it to fit my table, as the 48X48 size is too big and too much to try to do in one day....now I am off to decide what fabric I want to use. See you tomorrow!

July and August Accomplishments

2010-08-27T19:38:00.000-06:00

It is Friday night and I am tired, so rather than re-list all my goals for July/August, I have edited my page with the list of goals. I did really well, only missing one goal....here they are. I had said I would do some scrap booking and card making but have not managed to do that. The really sad thing about going back over these goals is that it means the summer is really just about over. Yikes!! We have had really lousy weather this summer, so I am hoping for beautiful warm September.

I got my fabric from Kelly at Cotton Charm Quilts yesterday so I can now put my Jelly Roll Sampler together. This is the layout I am going to use. I've got the sashing cut out and hope to get it together this week.

Tony starts his new job on Monday and will be gone for almost three weeks, just home on the weekends. He goes to Edmonton for the first two weeks then up to northern Alberta for a trade show the third week. I will get lots of reading and sewing done but it will be lonely....

Very Good News

2010-08-21T11:54:00.000-06:00

The last year has been a series of ups and downs as Tony has been unemployed. Over that time frame he worked every day to try to find a job suitable for his skill set. He was offered some jobs that were entry level positions and he decided that at his age he wanted/needed to wait to find the "right fit". We got very good news yesterday as he was offered that job and after a series of emails negotiating salary, vacation time etc., he has accepted a position. To say we are relieved and happy is an understatement, but I honestly don't think it has hit us yet. He starts August 30 and will be gone for two weeks for training, and the job will actually entail him being on the road about 50% of the time. The good news is that I will have lots of sewing time and every weekend will be like a honeymoon. The bad news is that Chloe and I will really miss him. I am very proud of him for working so hard to find the right job, and I hope it turns out to be the one worth waiting for. Today he is golfing and he plans to golf like crazy all next week before he starts his new job.

I love summer clothes, but honestly my ironing quadruples in the summer. Today I need to tackle this pile so I have clothes to wear to work next week...

Then the sewing machine is ready to go!!! And I may nibble on a few pretzels....

My first blocks are made for the Mystery quilt, and are awaiting Monday's instructions for the next step.

I have 9 blocks made for the sampler quilt from Amy's Creative Side blog. I really like this Prayer Flag line- lovely colours and patterns, but I had to Google prayer flag as I didn't know what it was. I will now look for fabric n my stash to use as sashing and borders.

Leftover pizza for lunch, friends coming over for dinner and my husband has a job! Life is good!

What Have I Been Up To?

2010-08-14T18:11:00.002-06:00

Last weekend I decided I needed to take stock of what I have on the go- completed flimsy's that need borders, backing, binding, and quilting. Chloe had to lay on top of almost every single one. For some reason she loves fabric and quilt tops and is more than happy to sleep and drool on top of them. I guess they smell like me. I measured each one, determined what else I needed to complete it and wrote it all down. I need to save for batting as most have binding and I have lots of fabric I can use for backing.

This is the beginning of my king size quilt made from Martinique. It is super easy to make and I love this fabric- have I said that before?????

I have my Mystery Quilt caught up and ready to go for Monday as I believe we will be putting the blocks together. It is made from scraps and I love it already. I have tried to use mostly reds, blues, golds and a green binding.

And. last but not least I am making a sampler quilt made from Prayer Flag. This sampler quilt is from Amy's Creative Side. The blocks are large and her instructions are terrific. I have block 5 and 6 underway as well, so imagine I should complete this this week.

How's your week been?

Jelly Roll Sampler

2010-08-07T10:45:00.000-06:00

Our next door neighbour is having a garage sale this morning so it is essential that Chloe monitor and keep an eye on things. She'll be able to tell us at the end of the day how many cars dropped by....

I have laid out my Jelly Roll sampler and have decided to go with a sashing layout as shown on Moose on the Porch quilts.

I am going to use cornerstone blocks in each corner of the sashing. I am going to use a variety of the fabric rather then just one fabric in order to use up some of my scraps.

I won a Jelly Roll and Layer Cake of Rural Jardin from Kelly, our fearless leader of the Charming Girls Quilt Club a few months ago and this is what I used to make my Jelly Roll Sampler. I ordered the sashing and border fabric this morning from Kelly's Cotton Charm Quilts, and to my delight they were on sale!
I won't receive the sashing and border fabric for about 2 weeks so will continue on my quest to finish projects and sew more blocks for my king size quilt.
Enjoy your weekend!

Catching Up on a Long Weekend

2010-08-02T14:00:00.000-06:00

We went out to the mountains again this morning and even though it was a cloudy day the light was perfect for picture taking. It is so calming and we have found a place we just love to go back to and the vegetation is different every time.

There wasn't a soul in sight, and it is so good for the soul....

I am caught up on my Jelly Roll Sampler blocks, and it is almost time to put it together. I just can't wait to see how it is going to look.

My Charming Girls quilt along flimsy is done- a little different due to lack of fabric. I am ready to pin it and quilt it in the next few weeks.

I am also working on the king size quilt for our bed. It is easy sewing and a joy to work with this beautiful fabric.

Life is good....

Rhonda

2010-07-29T19:25:00.001-06:00

This is my good friend Rhonda (on the right). She is the type of person who is welcoming and warm and when we see each other- once every two years- it is like we have just had coffee together the day before. We were roommates back in the 80's and in each others wedding party, so we "go back". We are from the same small town in Ontario, but now she still lives in Ontario and I live in Alberta. She is very artistic and makes the most beautiful folded paper greeting cards. She is a loving wife and mother with a wonderful husband, and has four (mostly adult) boys.

Rhonda has been researching a therapy called Liberation Procedure, and she and I want everyone to be aware of this procedure as it is not currently available for MS patients in Canada. Rhonda has MS and would like to be able to undergo this procedure. It is basically non-invasive angioplasty, to correct the medical condition CCSVI or chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency. It was discovered and named by Dr Paolo Zamboni. The condition is a narrowing or blockage in one or both of the jugular veins and/or azygous veins in the neck. Dr Zamboni believes that CCSVI may be responsible for many of the MS symptoms. So much so that his own wife who has MS was the impetus of his research and was one of the first persons to be Liberated. She has remained symptom free since. Many Canadians with MS go abroad to have the procedure, at a high personal expense. What Rhonda and many of her fellow Canadians and MP's have been doing is lobbying the federal and provincial governments for the chance to have scanning and correction/Liberation Procedure now, with the results and follow ups to be used for government research. With every day lost, the potential to become further disabled grows.

Rhonda means a lot to me so I try to follow info in the media about CCSVI and Liberation Therapy. Here is a Facebook page of interest. Also please sign this petition if you can.

Relaxing....

2010-07-25T11:34:00.000-06:00

We are having a beautiful weather weekend, and it seems like it has been a long time coming. This morning on our doggie walk I was able to wear a sleeveless top with no jacket at 8:30 in the morning. Very unusual for here. We saw a Mama duck and her babes in the pond- so cute, all following her.

Yesterday we had a little party at the gazebo in our neighborhood to celebrate Neil's graduation/birthday and our 25th wedding anniversary. We had just a great day getting ready in the morning and setting up at the gazebo. We had some family and friends and it was just a lovely time. We made salads, and Tony BBQ'd hamburgers and smokies, and we had cake for dessert. Very low key, but a wonderful time. Our actual anniversary date is July 27th, and we plan to celebrate with a nice seafood meal just the 2 of us next weekend.
Tony has gone golfing today and I plan to get caught up on some projects. I have a block to do for the Jelly Roll Sampler quilt and also my Mystery quilt is starting to come together, so need to get that caught up. But since the weather is so beautiful, I also plan to relax on the deck and read as well. My idea of the perfect day!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-07-17T10:30:00.000-06:00

You can't tell by this picture that our lives have been hectic the last few weeks with no sign of slowing down...this is Chloe practicing her guard dog skills. Life has been busy for many reasons- work, socially and we have also been researching businesses in an effort to perhaps start or purchase or own business. We have a wedding to go to this afternoon, and won't get home until tomorrow, and then we have an Okotoks Dawgs baseball game in the afternoon and then a BBQ in the evening for dinner. Then back to work Monday morning...

I did get a start on Serenity made with one of my favorite fabrics, Martinique. It will be a very easy one to make, but definitely won't get anything done this weekend. I have also kept up with the Jelly Roll Sampler (although I didn't make the latest block exactly the same as the pattern), and with the Mystery Quilt as well. Sometimes even five minutes in my sewing room is just so good for the soul!

That brings me to the topic of the month with the Charming Girls - Self Care. I have worked out for years- starting back in the day with terry headbands, leg warmers, and shiny tights. Yikes!! When our kids were really small (they are only 19 months apart in age) I volunteered at the downtown Calgary YMCA. In return I got a membership. I used to book my kids into "kiddie care" and head off for a workout as many days a week as I could get there. The parking there was all meter parking and it was always tight trying to get a workout in and then a swim with the kids in the 2 hours that the meter allowed. I will never forget the kindness of a meter man (yes, really a kind meter man!) as I came running to the car within seconds of the meter expiring, carrying Dana (4 months), two bags, and trying to get Neil (just under 2) to run with me. As you know two year olds often have special ways of expressing their opinions, and that whole scenario was happening too. When the meter man saw and heard us coming, he looked up and said "lady I just can't give you a ticket- it looks and sounds like that is the last thing you would need right now." I was drenched in sweat from the stress and must have looked so desperate he felt sorry for me! So, no ticket, and both kids fell asleep on the way home. And of course have never encountered such a kind meter man since. But I do still work out at home as we have a treadmill and I use a variety of tapes, weights, exercise ball, etc. I still laugh at the memory of that day, though, and remember the kindness of that gentleman.

July/August Priorities and Goals

2010-07-04T18:26:00.001-06:00

Our purpose for our Charming Girls Quilt Club is changing somewhat, and I like it! We are setting goals bi-monthly and adding some other goals or priorities in there. I like that because as much as I would love to sit at my sewing machine all day every day, I have to go to work every day, and with life's other obligations, quilting has to be put on the back burner sometimes. Our theme this month is Self-care, which I think for most women is a "learned skill".
For July and August I plan to :

strip and paint 2 night stands and a dresser done
continue to work out 4-5 days a week- I get up at 5:30 a.m. to fit this in my day. done
make 3 cards and one scrapbook page not done

finish Quilt Along quilt done
blog about a very special friend with MS and her new political activities to get a treatment called CCSVI allowed in Canada done
put together a celebration for Neil's grad/birthday and our 25th anniversary done
keep up with the Jelly Roll Sampler and Mystery quilts that I am making done
clean all our windows on the inside a (since they were cleaned on the outside it is much more apparent this job needs to be done!) done
start making the King size quilt for our master bedroom done

Since we are basically empty nesters we are very good about dates, so I don't have that on my "to do" list. We walk together all the time in the evenings and weekends, and go to on average about 3 baseball games/week in the summer. We watch movies, and TV together, and just generally enjoy spending as much time as possible together. I guess that is why we are celebrating 25 years of marriage....

I have a couple of funny stories about my quest for learning Self Care when the kids were little. More on that another time.