Another Quilt Year Comes to an End

Tonight is our last Guild meeting for this year. We are having a potluck. I made some yummy deviled eggs to take with me. I also finished this little quilt for 'Quilts from the Heart'. The top is not very exciting, especially for a child, but this is the fabric I was given to work with.

The backing is cute though. Butterflies!

That's why I took a photo in the garden. There are lots of butterflies flitting around my flowers. The quilt is hanging on my wisteria vine. It's the only shady part of my garden that I have left. We cut down the dead peach tree and also a huge cedar that I planted a long time ago when it was just a seedling. We bought a new peach tree yesterday. I forgot to take a photo. Maybe I will later. Right now it is too hot to go outside. It's 30C and feels like 35C with the humidity.

Flower Garden

It's been over a week since I last blogged about something. Not much quilting going on, but I was very busy, busy planting stuff, that is. The temperature has been incredibly high all week. It feels like July. Lots of sunshine and humidity, but no rain! I did a lot of planting in my garden - and watering!

All the vegetables are in and the annuals have been planted in the front yard. I am trying some eggplant this year. Never tried to grow that before. I still have a lot of weeding to do, but that will have to be done slowly. It's just too hot out! Because we filled in our pool last year, I now have a couple of raised flower beds that need to be planted. Here is a picture of the iris I bought a few weeks ago. I didn't know what colour it would be, but I am not disappointed. This thing is beautiful! You can see the raised beds my husband made for me in the background. It will be much easier for me to plant things this way.


And here is a photo of my hexagon flower garden. These are the only things I got done as far as quilting is concerned.

Bloggers Quilt Festival, Spring 2010

It's time, once again, for Amy's 'Bloggers Quilt Festival'. I have chosen this quilt to show you. I made it for my mother several years ago. It's machine pieced, hand appliqued and machine quilted. Thank you Amy, for doing this once again!

I really enjoyed making it and hope to make another just like it soon.

If you want to see more quilts in the Festival, go to Amy's site.

No Quilting Got Done Today

We got a dose of summer today. The high temperature went to 82F (28C). That's hot considering that less than a week ago we still had frost and the furnace went on over night. I should have been busy quilting my UFO, but I heard the garden calling to me. I decided to go to the nursery and buy some tomato plants.

It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine and smiled to myself every time I looked at my purchases of tomato plants and marigolds that overflowed my scooter's basket and sat at my feet, ready for my garden.

As I was getting fairly close to home, I spotted my elderly neighbour, trying to cross one of the busiest roads in our area. She has been displaying the early stages of Alzheimer's lately. I haven't talked to her since last fall, but something about the way she stood and walked made me take a second look. I wondered if I should interfere with her outing or just mind my own business. She kept pushing the button for the 'walk' signal, but it never came on, so she just walked across on a red light. It's three lanes of traffic in each direction, plus a turning lane in the middle. Luckily there was no immediate traffic, but several cars had to slow down so as not to hit her. I decided her outing had just become my business.

"Howdy neighbour", I said when she reached the side of the road I was on.
She looked at me suspiciously and then demanded to know who the heck I was.
I told her, "I'm your next door neighbour. Don't you remember me?"
"Oh for gosh sakes! Of course!" she said.

"Where are you going?" I asked her.
She told me that she was heading to a mall that was at least 10km from where we were. I asked her how she was going to get there and she said that she was walking.
"Why that particular mall?" I asked her.
She told me that she lived there.

So I decided to really interfere. I invited her over to my house for some ice tea! I was hot and so was she and according to her reality no one was home at her house. We made our way slowly down the street, with her stopping to talk to her shadow several times and also to an imaginary dog, that apparently comes by all the time. I rode my scooter, while she shuffled along. We finally made it home, but she did not want any ice tea any more by that time. She was just glad she had found her house! She climbed quickly up the front steps when her husband opened the door. He told me she had been sitting outside in the back yard and must have gone for a walk.

I really hated to interfere, but if something had happened to her, something that could have been prevented by me helping her get home, I would never have been able to forgive myself.

I took my plants home and planted them in my garden. New plants, new growth, new life, new harvests. It was comforting to think about those things after witnessing the ravages of old age.

Yippee! It's Time for a Monday Update!

I love Mondays! Why you ask? Because on Monday everything returns to normal for me and I am able to do some sewing. Saturday and Sunday are usually so busy that I can't get any quilting done. Most of the time the only sewing I do is the hand kind when I watch television in the evenings.

So what did I do with my weekend? I made a 'flag'. My DD asked me to make one for her grade 8 class. They are doing a workshop for the rest of the school. Their topic is bullying. This is the flag that the students designed. I just made the letters and figures, DD helped with that. Then I stitched them down using a machine blanket stitch. I hope the students like how it turned out.
I also had a chance to work on my 'spooltjes' (klosjes). I now have a total of 129 completed. I did not take a photo of them. But here is one of my grandma's flower hexagon. I have made 30 flowers so far.
I know I said that I wasn't going to start anything new until I had finished another UFO. But I needed something to do during the day when I am inside and able to use my sewing machine. This is my new start. It's all done by machine. The blocks measure 4 1/2inches. I am just making a few of these every day. I am using every blue fabric in my stash. When I run out of blues the quilt will be finished.

SkyWatch Friday - Already!

A couple of sunrise photos from a few days ago. If you want to see more Sky Watch pics from around the world - and I know you do - go here. This one was taken just minutes before the sun rose above the horizon.

And in this one the sun is up. Nice sun, but it turned out to be a cloudy, hazy day.

On the quilting front, I have been busy with klosjes, hexagons and also my hand pieced and appliqued quilt. Will show you a progress report soon.

I Finished My UFO for May, but is it Mimi's Quilt?

I don't think I have ever finished a UFO so early in the month. I guess Mimi was sort of encouraging me to get it done. She can be very persuasive you know! This quilt was supposed to be for a friend and co-worker who was having a baby. I started it in 2004, but my friend ran into some maternity problems and decided to go home and stay with her Mom. I think her Mom lived in Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland. To make a long story short no one at my school knew where she was or when she would return. I put the unfinished top away so that I could finish it when she came back, but she never did. And she left no forwarding address, so there it sat in my UFO bin, for years. But now it is done! Yippee!
I'm not sure if it should become Mimi's quilt now that it is finished, although many of you thought that she should have it. She was very flattered by all the attention she received! And she really does love it!
But Felix likes it too. Only he prefers to sleep under things.


And then there is Oscar. He is happy in the cat bed I crocheted for him. I know he would love to sleep on the quilt too, but when Mimi claims something for her own, no one else will be able to get near it. Ever!

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all the mothers of the world a Very Happy Day!

Watching the Sky and Some Blocks

I went over to a friend's house for coffee this morning. I baked this scone to take with me. I had never baked one of these before. It was simple and delicious! I put some grated lemon rind and fresh blueberries in it.

I was watching the sky all morning. I wanted to ride my scooter to my friend's house, but I was afraid of rain. The clouds were moving in, but I made it home before the storm. In fact, just shortly after I got home the sky cleared and the sun came out!

For more SkyWatch Friday photos go here.

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Since it is already Thursday, I decided it was about time I did the last two blocks for the Friday Block Party. I mean, I sort of have to set an example. So here is the one called, 'Puss in the Corner 3'. It is a 12-inch block. Easy, peasy!

Then there is last week's block, 'Blazed Trail'. I really liked how this one turned out. As you can see, so does Mimi! It is also a 12-inch block.

Mimi Loves It!

I have been working on the UFO baby quilt. I thought I would get the top done today. But when I put it on my design floor, it wasn't right. Mimi likes it though.

Mimi - "Meow! I love it. It smells good!"

Perhaps I should have taken a better photo of it so you would be able to see it, but Mimi wouldn't get off. I have no idea where this pattern came from. I think it was in a magazine. Does anyone recognize it? It seems too small to me and I wonder if there was supposed to be a border or two on it. I decided I would just make a few extra blocks to make it larger, but I didn't measure correctly. But how could I? Mimi wouldn't get off!

Mimi - "I love this quilt! It's so soft and warm!"

I guess I am going to have to leave it until tomorrow. Maybe I can finish it then. That is, if I can Mimi to get off it!

Mimi - "Meow! Get me off? Not bloody likely! Meow!"

Edited May, 6th - I found the magazine this quilt was inspired by. It's on the cover of the McCall's, "Quilting", August, 2001 edition. I think I changed some of the blocks, so I am still not exactly sure what I was going to do with this quilt. It's sort of a 'design-as-you-go' right now, but that's okay. I love just sewing and designing and coming up with something new!

Nature Walk

I was invited to join my daughter's grade 4 science class for a nature outing in one of our local ravines yesterday afternoon. What a great time I had! The weather was perfect! And the kids were wonderful!

(Oh, look! It's a red-winged blackbird!)

They were polite and respectful of the flora and fauna they came in contact with. We saw frogs and snakes, snails and spiders, birds and bugs, woodland flowers and blossoming trees. They each had a little box with a magnifying glass top. If they were able to catch an insect, they could put it inside the box and look at it more closely. I was pleased to see how gentle they were. All the insects and spiders were set free before we left.

(Hmmm. I wonder. Is this an igneous or sedimentary rock.)

Everyone was exhausted, but happy by the end of the walk. We arrived back at school just as the dismissal bell was ringing.

(Doing a head count. Good! We didn't lose anyone!)

It's Going To Be a Busy Month!

April was a busy month, but May looks like it is going to be crazy!

I finished the dress I was making for my mother. The staff at her nursing home had asked us to buy her some dresses that were open at the back, kind of like a hospital gown. We couldn't find any, so I made her one using this pattern.
We took it up to her yesterday and she loved it! I didn't get a photo, but my sister did. If she sends it to me I will post it, but it really won't matter too much if you don't get to see it. It fit her perfectly, she loved it and the nurses were happy, so I think I will be making her several more in the coming months - as time permits, of course. The pattern says that it's a 2-hour dress, but it took me much longer.

I am also involved with an Apron Swap, but I will keep you informed about that. The next row of our RR is in the works. I haven't decided on a colour or blocks yet, but I am thinking about that.

Although no numbers for UFOs have been posted yet, for this month's challenge, I decided to finish my hand appliqued, hand pieced quilt top that I started a couple of years ago while I was in the hospital. It is screaming to be finished. Here is a preview.
And I have also decided that I will try to finish a baby quilt I started a long time ago. I seem to be using the fabrics for other projects and I want to have enough to finish this one. It is an easy machine pieced top and I should have no trouble finishing it. Here is a sneak preview.
As for my on-going projects.... the hexagons are looking good. And I have been able to make many more klosjes since I last showed them to you. I have a total of 106 now! Here are some of the newer ones.

Yes! I see a busy month in my future. There is also the garden which will have to be planted and tended to. And this afternoon my daughter has invited me to join her class on a nature outing. I just love nature! We will be going down to the ravine to look for animal habitats. I have no idea what that will involve, but it sounds interesting. I will drive my scooter down there to meet them. I'll try to remember to bring my camera!