Goodbye November, Hello December

This is my last post for NaBloPoMo and I am so glad it's over.  This doesn't mean that I won't be posting any more.  It just means I will only post when I have something interesting to report.  So stay tuned.

This is part 2 of Easy Street with Bonnie Hunter.  Wish I had her handy dandy rulers.  That would make things so much easier.  It took me half an hour to make these 3 flying geese blocks.  I need to make 128 of them I believe.  And I am only halfway through the 4-patch blocks.  Still have about 100 to make.  I think this quilt may end up in a bin like last year's mystery, Orca Bay.  Maybe when I am not so busy, like after Christmas I'll be able to do more on it.

These blocks are purple according to Bonnie, but I wanted to see what a turquoise one would look like.  I haven't totally decided what colours I am going to use.

Here is a photo of my white Amaryllis.  It is not as dramatic as the red one,  The red one had 4 or 5 flowers on each stem.  This one only has 2 or 3.  But I still love it.

Mimi has been sleeping on the heating duct today.  It is very cold out.  We were supposed to get a few centimetres of snow, but so far we have none.  You can see her feeding tube.  It allows food to go right into her esophagus.  I hope this doesn't gross anyone out.  She also has scratches on her nose, which she did to herself when we brought her home from the vet's office.  She tried to push her way out of the carrier and she scratched her nose on the metal door.  I have since made a little quilted pad for the inside of the door, to protect her from herself.

Her fur is getting nice and soft again.  But all she wants to do is sleep all day.  Oh, well, that is what she did  all day before the vet scuttled her butt, so I guess it's okay.

Second Last Post for NaBloPoMo

I've been procrastinating all day over this post.  I just don't have that much more to say this month.  Mimi is feeling much better.  This morning she found a small patch of sunlight in the living room and she rolled around on it for quite a while.  When she saw me coming with the camera she quickly ran away.  See, nothing has changed.  She is still the same cat.

I have solved the problem of feeding her through her tube.  It was almost impossible to hold her and administer her meds and syringes of food and eye drops etc.  So I decided I needed a sort of baby sling to help hold her.  I looked them up on the internet and found a video that showed how to fold a sheet into a baby carrier.  I tried and it worked.  Feeding times are so much easier now and I sometimes have a hand free to give her a little skritch here and there.  That way she purrs through her feeding instead of wanting to get away.

Remember when I said I needed to order some fabric online.  Well it finally came today.  I just love it.  Part of the order are 4 fat quarters of Scooby Doo fabric.  Here are two of them fussy cut for the centre of the blocks in the cartoon quilt.  Aren't they fun?  My DS will love these.  I hope he doesn't read my blog. 

Well, see you tomorrow for my last NaBloPoMo post for this month.  I am going to take a blog break after that.  I think I deserve it.

 

 

Flowers on Wednesday

It's coming along.  Still working on the white hexies.  This is my evening project, to work on when I watch television.

Not my only flowers for today.  I finally have some Christmas cacti in bloom.  A red one.

A pink one.

And a white one.

There are lots of buds on the other cacti too.  I will show you when they are in bloom.

Easy Street

Only four more posts to go for NaBloPoMo.  I am done.  I'm not kidding.  Blogging every day is not easy.  But here is something that is 'easy'.

I know!  I know!  I shouldn't be starting anything new.  I have so many projects on the go right now.  But I just couldn't resist Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street.  It's her new mystery quilt.  She claims it is easier than her last few mysteries.  We'll see.  Here are my first 30 four-patch blocks.  About another 30 are started and I have lots of strips cut for more blocks.  

Potluck at the Guild

We had our Christmas potluck tonight.  Lots of great food!

And desserts.  Lots of desserts.  Yum!

Friends, Food and Fun!  Enjoyed by all.

More Quilt Show

Here are a few more photos from the Ganaraska Quilt Guild's show.  The quilts were hung close together so it was difficult to take photos of the large ones.  This one was a Dragonfly quilt.  Lots of dragonflies in the fabrics and also in the quilting.

This one was bright and quite stunning.  I was only able to get a portion of it.

Here is part of an 'Amish' quilt.  I loved the little Amish buggies, all lined up

There were lots of wall hangings.  I love the tumbling blocks quilt.

A cute little duckie quilt.

I loved this log cabin with triangles.  I was only able to photograph a quarter of it.  I can see one of these in my future.

Mimi is doing well.  I have figured out how to feed her through her tube and she seems happy.We have an appointment tomorrow to see what the next step will be for her.  Thank you to everyone who sent good wishes!

Mimi is Home, for a While at Least

Today is day 24 of NaBloPoMo and I am really tired, but I have to give you an update on Mimi's condition, so here is my post.

The vet tried to extract Mimi's teeth yesterday morning.  Yes!  All 32 of them.  She has a condition that makes her mouth red and sore.  It is caused by plaque and can only be cured by removal of all of her teeth.  The operation was supposed to take 4 hours.  I was very worried about her because I thought she would not be able to stay under the anesthetic that long. But the vet assured me everything would be fine.  About 2 hours into the procedure the vet phoned me and said that he was going to take Mimi out of the anesthetic because her blood pressure was unstable.  I wanted to say, "I told you so", but you never want to get a vet mad, especially one who has your kitty's life in his hands, so I said nothing.

So they stopped the extractions after taking only 16 of her teeth out.  They inserted a tube into her neck.  I think it must go down to her esophagus.  I have to feed her through that tube every 4 hours. She is also on pain medication and an antibiotic and she has to wear a collar to keep her from pulling the tube out and scratching her mouth.  They kept her overnight last night and my DD went to pick her up this afternoon.  We have an appointment with the vet on Monday afternoon to see how she is doing.  She is home now and is roaming around the house happy to be back.  I am happy too. She looks better than I expected.  But she will have to go back and have the other 16 teeth pulled another time.

The reason DD had to pick Mimi up was because I was at a quilt show in Orono with Debra from Patchwork Sanity - A Woman\s Piece of Mind.  It was a wonderful show.  Quite small, but friendly and inspiring.  We had our lunch in their tearoom and ran into a couple of other quilters from our guild, which was nice.  We had a fun chat.  So in keeping with my philosophy of a picture in every post, I leave you with one of the quilts from the show.  This was a tiny miniature, but it was beautiful.

The Bags Were Given Out

The book bags I made were handed out to the kindergarten kids this week.  I was there to take photos of them.  Not any photo, because I didn't want them to be visible on the internet.  So I asked them to hold their bags in front of their faces.  Do you know how difficult it is to get that concept across to them?  As soon as they see a camera they just want to say cheese.


I took four or five photos of each class and still didn't have one where all the kids had hidden their faces.




And to keep them standing still, or sitting nicely on the floor, well, that was even more impossible.  So this is what I ended up with.  But they loved the bags and that is the main thing.


On a sadder note, I had to take Mimi to the vet last night.  And the worst part is they kept her overnight to try to re-hydrate her.  She has not been eating well lately and she only weighed 5 pounds.  So today I will hear from the vet as to what procedures they will perform on her.  She may have to stay at the vet's office one more night.  I could use some positive thoughts and hugs for both Mimi and myself.  Thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving

And a Wednesday flower on Thursday.

I finished the last hexie block for the inner border of the quilt.  From now on it is just going to be white hexies and dark blue hexies for awhile.

My Amaryllis is looking fantastic!  I staked it up rather
than transplanting it, just in case it didn't want its roots
disturbed.  Lots of red today.







I also want to wish all of my American friends and neighbours a very Happy Thanksgiving.  We already celebrated our Thanksgiving in October. So I am really happy that you celebrate yours so late in the year because it gave me the opportunity to watch 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' one more time last night.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Looney Tunes Quilt as You Go

I got my sewing machine working and finished a few more blocks of the quilt I am making for DS.

There are several more, but I don't have room to display them all at once.  They are 12.5 inches.  I will be putting a sashing in between the blocks when I join them.  Don't know what colour yet.  Hope the blocks will speak to me when I have more done.

Not Your Typical Tuesday

I know I promised you a better post today.  But... it started out as a typical Tuesday, but it didn't end up that way.  I was waiting for my friend to pick me up for our Tuesday morning quilt group.  I had a few minutes so I decided to sew a few more strips onto the cartoon fabrics for my DS's quilt.  But first I ran out of bobbin thread and then when I put in a new bobbin my fabric got stuck and I couldn't get it out of the machine.  I took the throat plate off and cleaned the lint out but I ran out of time.  I still have to see if I can get it to work.

The rest of my day was busy.  I rode my scooter up to the plaza and then spent the afternoon doing housework and cleaning up the kitchen.  Yuck!  I hate housework.  My DD came over after school and we went to Wendy's for a hamburger.  That was nice.  I don't usually get to go out on a week night.

My cat, Mimi is not feeling well.  She is refusing to eat.  I have to phone to vet tomorrow and see if I can get an appointment for her.  I hope it is something that they can treat.  She is getting old.  I'll deal with that tomorrow.

But now I have to fix my machine and hope that I can get it to work.  I have a lot of sewing to do in the next couple of weeks.

Here is my token picture, my newest Poinsettia.  Don't want to have two photo-less posts in a row!  It's just a small plant, but I love it!

A Post Without a Photo

This is a first for me.  I did not get a chance to take a photo of my progress today.  But I have been working hard on my DS's cartoon quilt.  I'll show you soon.  Thank you to everyone who sent me links and advice about ordering fabric on the web.  I have made some purchases and plan to make a couple more this evening.

Today's prompt for the 2012 NaBloPoMo is:
If you had to get locked in some place, overnight, alone. where would you want to be?

I would love to spend a night in a quilt shop.  A shop with lots of patterns and books and magazines.  How fun to spend the night planning new quilts and picking out fabrics.

Tomorrow I should have a more interesting post.  See you.

It's Official...

...Santa is here!

He arrived in Toronto today, as part of the Santa Claus Parade.  Oh, now, who is that big guy?  Another Santa?  Oh, no.  It's our Mayor, Rob Ford.  Put a beard on that guy and he could be Santa too!

Now that it is official my favourite radio station is playing non-stop Christmas music.  It's putting me in a Christmas stressful mood.  I am being reminded that it is just over a month until Christmas.  I want to make a quilt for my son.  For years I was collecting cartoon fabrics.  I tried to put a few blocks together today, but realized that I don't have enough fabric.  Did I actually say that?  I have tons of fabric, but not enough cartoon fabrics.  My DH took me to Fabricland this afternoon, but I couldn't find anything.  Does anyone have any idea where I can get some?  I have never ordered anything on the internet, but I think I am going to have to start.  Just hope it will get here in time.  Here is what I have done this afternoon.

I plan to cut the focus fabrics into 6.5 inch blocks and put some 2 inch strips around them.  I am using scraps for the strips and doing them in blue and red.  I will use the 'Quilt-as-you-Go' method to quilt it.  I am hoping for some more Star Wars, Scooby Doo, Road Runner and Wile E Coyote, Charlie Brown and other such fabrics.  If you know where I can get some, please let me know.

Another Amaryllis

While shopping today I found another Amaryllis plant.  This one will have white flowers and it was already planted for me.  How could I pass that up?  It's still small, but I will watch this one as it grows too.  I also bought that little Poinsettia in the background.  The coloured bracts are pink with a white patch down the centre.

The first flower of my red Amaryllis is totally open.  The stalks have grown very tall and it is top heavy at the moment.  I am going to transplant it or just put the whole thing in a heavier pot so that it can't fall over.

This and That

A sort of Free-for-All Friday. I'm just doing whatever turns me on today.   Although I didn't work on my little 1.5in. and 2.5in. squares, I did manage to finish all the blue scrappy log cabin blocks that I am going to need.

Now I can clean up the blue fabric and scraps and move onto the purple blocks.  And maybe put a few more together.

I made another towel topper last night.  These were Christmas tea towels that I bought a long time ago.  I think I only used them once - maybe never.  This one has a green top.  I also have a lovely ball of burgundy 100% cotton yarn to do the other half.

And last, but not least, is my Amaryllis.  I bought the bulb a few weeks ago.  I love these things!  It's been fun watching it grow.  Here it is, almost in bloom,

Almost.

Playing with Yarn

I wanted a change.  So a bit of crocheting seemed to be in order.  

One of the members of our mini quilt group was working on a towel topper last Tuesday.  I thought this would be a great idea to keep the tea towels off my kitchen floor.  She was knitting hers.  After asking her a ton of questions I decided to crochet mine.  So this morning I looked through my linen closet and picked out a little towel to practice on.  I did not use a pattern, but just did my own thing, based on the answers I had received at our quilt group.  I think it turned out very well.

I will probably do a few more of these, with a bit of tweaking to make them the way I want them.  I think a bigger hook would make it softer and more flowing, because it is difficult to see the image on the towel when it is hanging up.  Here is a shot of the little bear on my towel.  This is only half of the towel, so I can make another one just like it.

One Flower Wednesday

Not just one flower, but two today.  White hexies will need to be made to go between the coloured blocks.  Not looking forward to those, but they have to be done.  Here are this week's hexies,  in amongst the cranesbill leaves.  I must have had autumn on my mind because the colours of these blocks just scream fall!

I took this photo outside this morning.  The sun is nice and bright today, and even though it is cold, it doesn't really feel too bad.  These coloured leaves are so pretty right now.  There is almost no other colour left in my garden.  But these are fantastic!

It's Tuesday so I will Show You my Scrappy Logs

I have two rows of my scrappy log cabin quilt completely done.  And I am working on row 3.  This quilt is going to be very colourful.  Which I love!  I think I should have finished the top this week, but since I am making 70 blocks, I need more time.

Felix loves the colours too!  Actually he had just woken up and wanted me to go away and leave him alone.  He was not finished with his napping yet.  But as soon as I put my camera away and left the solarium, he jumped on the blocks. You can't fool me, Felix.  I know you love them.

'Meow!'

Linking up with Needle and Thread Network.

What do 40 Book Bags Look Like?

I have made a total of 40 bags for the kindergarten classes at my DD's school.  I may still have to make a couple more.  It all depends on how many kids need a bag.  But I have lots of fabric left over, so it won't be hard to make a few more.

 

 

 

But I am kind of glad that these are finished.  I can now move onto other projects, especially the scrappy log cabin blocks.  I love working on that project.

Remembrance Day

A New List

Not much sewing got done today.  We took a little day trip down to St. Catherines so my DH could make a delivery.  St Catherines is near Niagara Falls.  But we didn't go there.  The weather was not the best today.  It was dark and dreary and cold.  Occasionally a few drops of rain fell on the windshield.   We just enjoyed our lunch in downtown St. Catherines and then drove home.

Today my list is non-existent.
But now I have a list for tomorrow.


                              List

Make 2 more kindergarten book bags - yesterday I was able to make 3 of them
Make orange scrappy log cabin blocks
Work on the quilt-as-you-go quilt - I managed to complete 4 blocks this morning before we left
Prep more hexies - I always need more of these
Work on the challenge quilt

Thank goodness the laundry got done.  The dishwasher got emptied too, but it filled up quickly.  By tomorrow I will have to wash them and empty it again.

Because I don't like a post without a photo I will show you a pic of Felix.  Isn't he cute?

A List for a Busy Day

Lots to do today, so I made a list.  I don't usually make one, but today seemed to be good day for a list.  Hopefully it will keep me focused and on track.

                        List

Finish black scrappy log cabin blocks
Make 2 kindergarten bags - almost done
Cut backing and batting for log cabin 'quilt as you go' - some are cut
Prep hexies - 20-30 white
                   - 20 or more navy blue
Make orange scrappy log cabin blocks
Work on challenge - it is started, but needs more work
Do the laundry - one load is in the washer - another one is waiting
Empty and refill the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen

The black log cabin blocks are done.

But I still have a lot of stuff to do.  And, I forgot about the garbage cans.  I have to bring them in now that the garbage people have picked everything up.

Guess I'd better go back to my sewing room.

'Quilt as You Go'

I'm late with my post today.  DD came over after school and we made cream of broccoli soup.  It was delicious!  But it really cut into my sewing and computer time.  She just left and now my time is mine again.

I thought a lot about my Scrappy Log Cabin blocks today.  I decided to lay them out on my design floor so that I could see how many more I'll need.  I think I am going to make a quilt for my bed.  Is that selfish?  I am still using a hospital bed because then I can raise the foot end to relieve the pain in my legs.

I am getting bored with the quilt that I have on my bed right now.  But to make a quilt large enough for my bed, I would need to send it out to be quilted.  And I really don't want to do that.  So the answer seems to be 'quilt as you go'.  Here is the first row.  The finished quilt will measure about 56 inches wide and 80 inches in length.  That means I will need to make a few more blocks.

I'll do that tomorrow.

A Challenge

We, the Rouge Valley Quilters, have been issued a challenge by our president.  We are to come up with a placemat for a child, based on childrens' literature, songs, poetry or a fairy tale etc.  This has to be done by our November meeting at the end of the month.  Time is running out.  So I decided to work on it this afternoon.  I can't show it to you yet.  This is all I have so far..

I Got Nothin'

Having a bad day.  Laryngitis.  Woke up without a voice this morning.  How's that for ironic on a day when Americans have a say in whom they want for president.  I feel fine though.  No sore throat or anything.  But I am going to lay low today.

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt is:

If you were president of the United States, what would be your first act in office?
I would give out free fat quarters to all quilters.

I did not go to my Tuesday morning quilt group because one of our members is going through for cancer treatments and I didn't want to spread my what-ever-it-is-that-I've-got thing around.

I have no photo today.  Just can't be bothered to take one.  I have nothing to show you anyway.  But here is one last pic from the quilt show.  I took it because it looks like my Felix.

See you tomorrow.  

Hurricane Relief Quilts

They promised us sunshine today, but so far nothing.  It is cold and dark outside.  The temperature this morning was 0C.  That's windshield scraping weather.
I am spending my day sewing, baking and cooking.  Making bread sticks and simmering beef stew for dinner.  I have a lot of apples, so I might also bake an apple pie.  Also going to make some pizza dough in my bread maker for DD.  She wants to use up her left over cheese on some pizzas, so she will pick up the dough after school.

I made 4 disappearing 4-patch blocks for Erin over at My Patchwork Life.  She is collecting blocks which she will turn into quilts for victims of Hurricane Sandy.  I will mail them out tomorrow.

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt question is:

What are your thoughts about tomorrow's election in the US?
Since I cannot vote in their election it really doesn't matter who I want to win.  But many Canadians are leaning towards Obama.  I am sure he would win if the election was held in Canada.

Happy Sewing and keep warm!

Back to Standard Time and Some Quilts

We just set our clocks back an hour.  So what am I doing, sitting at my computer this early in the morning?  I have no idea, but I thought you might like to see a few more quilts from the Twisted Stitchers Quilt Show yesterday.  I am going to be very busy today, so I will post them now.  This way I won't have to worry about posting something for NaBloPoMo later.

This quilt was made by a wonderfully creative woman who served as President of our Rouge Valley Guilt the past two years.

The following are some bright quilts, which I love. and of which there were many.  Those Twisted Stitchers sure love colour.

I found these flowers very inspirational.  I can see a quilt like this in my future.

I have a few more photos, but I think I will save them for another time.  I need to go back to bed and recover the hour of sleep I lost last spring.  

See you tomorrow.