Creativity out of Chaos

The computer guy came at noon today. He played around with my machine and then went on the internet to find the download for my printer. Apparently my printer had not been downloaded correctly by the store. Then he played around with my camera. He had to go to the internet for that too. It seems that my beautiful camera is 'old'. What's up with that? At least the fact that my computer wasn't working had nothing to do with my computer skills.

When the computer guy left I tried to blog about my predicament. I couldn't get blogger to work. And even though my computer's problems had nothing to do with my skills, I was feeling very computer illiterate by that time. I felt tired and fed up. My bed looked very inviting. I could have slept all day. Then my sister phoned me. She convinced me to leave the computer for awhile and try my sewing machine.

So I didn't go back to bed. I went to my sewing machine instead.

It seemed to work okay. It was greasy and dripping oil, but I wiped it clean and started putting some little scraps together - my favourite past time. And I came up with this little journal quilt. It measures 8 1/2 by 11 inches. It represents the chaos in my life over the past couple of weeks. But out of chaos comes creativity. And I found it. I also found this catnip plant. It's just starting to grow. Spring is taking a long time to get here. But this little plant will grow and grow as the weather gets warmer. Mimi will be happy!

My Favourite Toys are Broken

Edit - This is the post I wrote yesterday. Blogger wouldn't let me post it. I had the computer guy here last night, but he couldn't get my new computer to do what I want it to. Another guy is coming today. I hope he can fix it. I want my old computer back!

The birds are singing in my backyard so I thought I would put a photo of them on this post. But I can't download them from my camera. So these will have to do. These are my indoor birds. They don't sing, but they provide hours of entertainment for my fur babies.I haven't posted in a long time. My computer was giving me headaches. It sparked and zapped me each time I turned it on. So I just left it on for several weeks because I was afraid if I turned it off I wouldn't be able to turn it back on. But that idea backfired on me. After an extremely heavy rain storm last week, the power went out in my area. My computer turned itself off and I could not restart it. I took it to the shop. They said that they could fix it, but it would cost me a lot of money and since it was an old machine, I decided to put the money towards a new computer. Trust me, this new computer is great, but now I have a new problem. This computer does not recognize my camera. So I can't download shots from my camera. I can't post any new shots.

Not that there are any. My sewing machine was in the shop last week too. They tell me it's fixed, but I wonder for how long. This weekend I am going to go to the Creative Festival. My DD is taking me. I hope to check out all or many of the brand names that will be there. I hope I will find a nice new machine that doesn't put me in the poorhouse. I want to get back to my TAW!

Please be patient with me. I will return as soon as possible. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. My scooter is not working either. I am under house arrest.

Blocks of the Week

Just wanted to show you some of my latest Block Party blocks. This first one is 'Honey Bee'. It is a 10in. block and it was last week's block. This week's block is called 'Pieced Tulips'. These are very easy to make. The instructions make a 9in. block. Because most of the blocks that folks are making are 10inches, I changed the centre strips and made a 10in. block. The centre strips are cut 2 1/2in. by 4 1/2in. The centre square is 2 1/2in.

Now it is a 10inch block.

I was having some more problems with my sewing machine. I couldn't figure out how come my pieced units were too big for the straight un-pieced strips. I measured several times and just couldn't figure it out. Until I looked at the needle. It was in the centre position, but in my machine that was a little to the right of centre. So I moved the needle position to the left of centre and got a better seam allowance. But it still isn't perfect. I am not going to take my machine in to have it fixed any more. Ever since the top jammed, I have been having problems. I think they are unfixable. Maybe I should be looking out for a new machine. Any suggestions?

Thimbleberries Day - An Apple for the Teacher

Today is the last Wednesday of the month. I decided to join Barb for this month's quilt-in, or whatever she calls it. Barb loves Lynette Jensen's quilts (and so do I) so she has proclaimed the last Wednesday of each month a to be 'Thimbleberries Day'. I have wanted to join in for a long time, but I had misplaced lost my Thimbleberries quilt. Yesterday, while looking for another quilt, I found it!!! Gosh, I love it when that happens! I started this quilt many years ago, for my DD. She is a teacher and I thought the apples on this quilt were perfect! Here is a small section of the quilt top. I still have some more of those apple triangles to applique. And a few more triangles to cut for the corners. This used up a lot of scraps from my stash. It is from Lynette's book, "The Thimbleberries Book of Quilts". I am going to work on this whenever I have a few moments. I would like to have all the applique work done by next month. Then I can add some borders and quilt it.

I also worked on my hexies today, but it was only to prepare my pieces. I have started a new section of the Wannabe Quilt and there is really not much to show right now. Plus, I put a couple of rows onto the TAW quilt. Then in the afternoon I went outside to get some vitamin D. We have had so much winter and today the sun was shining and the temperature was above freezing. It was so nice outside that I stayed out and cleaned up some of last year's growth in my raised beds. It was nice to work in the garden. I even took my coat off!

I passed by Mimi as I went outside. She was sleeping peacefully, but I heard her mumble, "Get me some catnip if you can find it".

Sorry Mimi. Everything was still frozen yesterday. It will take a few weeks before the catnip is up and ready for harvest. Do you want to come out and help me with the cleanup?

"Zzzzzzzz."

Hmmm. That's what I thought.

The Good

I have been suffering from cabin fever for the past few weeks, so I think I should tell you about the good things that are happening around here right now. On the kitchen front - The Home Depot is going to exchange the cabinets and give us the ones we ordered. So that's a good thing. It will take a few weeks, but at least things are going in the right direction.

We still have a bit of snow and it has been very cold this past week.

But today the temperature is going up to 2C. The next few days will also be sunny with temps above the freezing point. That should get rid of the snow and melt the icicles that are still hanging from my solarium. Another good thing! But even with the cold and snow, my early spring bulbs are making me happy. Here are some crocus and snowdrops that have defied the cold and snow of winter. Aren't they pretty? A good thing for sure! Another good thing is the package that came in the mail from Sew Sisters today. It contained my fat quarters from the Bargain Lovers Club. These were supposed to be here a couple of weeks ago. I even phoned the store to see if they had sent them. I was assured that they had and that our postal service was to blame. The owner asked me to wait just a few more days. And that is what I did and this is what was in my mailbox today. It was postmarked March 14th, so I guess the post office was to blame. I love the bright colours! A very pretty package of fat quarters and that is a good thing. And the fact that they came today is another good thing. Because today is my birthday! What more could a quilter ask for on her birthday? Tonight I am going to our guild's meeting. A quilting friend is going to give me a ride. And that is a very good thing! My final good thing is Oscar, waiting for me at the top of the stairs while I was outside looking at my garden. He always worries about me when I go out. He is so cute and that makes me happy too! A very good thing, don't you agree?

Spring in Toronto

I thought it was spring, but look what my world looks like after the snow we got yesterday. My DH was in the process of clearing the driveway, but it was coming down faster than he could shovel it.

This is what my yellow crocuses look like - totally covered in snow!

The roads were treacherous. Traffic was at a standstill. There was one accident per minute across Toronto. We fought our way through the mess to take some books back to the library, help my DD buy a new car and order a dishwasher for my new kitchen. Speaking of my in-progress-kitchen, Home Depot still hasn't called us back about the cabinets. My nephew and DH are going back there this afternoon. I hope all goes well. The cabinets are actually very beautiful. It's just that I am worried whether the particle board will be strong enough to support the heavy counter top. I want to get a lovely granite one.

I am tired of kitchen renovations.
And I am tired of winter.

Half Way Around the World - Yeah, I Wish!

Lots has been happening around here! My kitchen is still being worked on, but it is beginning to look like a kitchen again. This is the view towards the outside wall where the window used to be.


And this is the space where our breakfast area will be. The boxes contain cabinets. They are spread all over the house. The floor of the kitchen has to be put in first and it will take another week or so before it is delivered. The big, corner cabinets could not be brought inside without being uncrated. Even then it was touch and go. They had to be brought in through the front door because it is wider. The guys who delivered it were very careful not to scratch anything. I appreciate that. Unfortunately the Home Depot, where we ordered these cabinets, made a lot of mistakes. We paid for solid wood sides on the cabinets, but when we opened the boxes we discovered that they had used plywood or particle board instead. I have no idea how this will play out. My husband went over to complain and he hasn't returned yet.


I have been travelling! Well, not really, but I have been sewing a Trip Around the World. I have always wanted to do one of these. When I saw it on Wanda's blog, 'Exuberant Color', I just had to make it. It is halfway done. I used a lot of fabric from my stash. Many were from the category of 'what was I thinking'. But in this pattern every fabric seems to look okay. Now that I have boxes and cabinets and all kinds of stuff all over the place, I have no room to take a proper photo of this quilt. I will take another photo when it is all done. Maybe by then I can take it outside and photograph it in the sunshine. We are going to have sunshine, aren't we? Spring is supposed to be here now. So why it is snowing like crazy today?

And because it is Wednesday I thought you might like to see my progress on the hexie quilt. Just a few more blue hexies and this section will be finished. I still haven't figured out how these sections will all fit together, but I am sure I will once I have them all done.

Spring!

OMG! I haven't posted for a week! It's been busy around here. I seem to be forever dusting something!

I thought I would share my butterfly block with you on this, the first official day of Spring. The block is from this week's Block Party. It's easy and I think I will make more of these some day. We have rain today, but that's to be expected in the spring. Right? My crocuses are beginning to bloom and you can see my snowdrops on my header. There are a lot more out right now, but I don't feel like going out and getting wet. Last Friday I saw my first robin on the lawn. And this morning I heard them 'talking' to each other in the rain.


The kitchen is coming along nicely. The painter is in today to give everything its first coat of paint. I am staying far away from the kitchen. The smell is getting to me.

Camping in the Living Room

My sewing machine is home again! I am still not completely happy with the way it is sewing, but at least it works. They didn't charge me anything for fixing it this time. I wonder what that means? Maybe they did something wrong last time.

I finished the frog block from last week's Block Party. It's not totally symmetrical, but I am not going to change it.

I also worked on and finished this week's Block Party block. It's called 'Flying Squares'. It is a 10in. block. Since I don't feel as if anything is flying in this block, I am changing the name for mine to 'Global Unity' because it reminds me of the photo of four hands representing different cultures.

And just to let you know that my kitchen is still 'in progress', let me show you a couple of photos. The window is gone! I will have more cupboards there. This room has a sky light, so I really don't need a window and there was nothing to see anyway, except for my neighbours brick wall. I am going to make a couple of stained glass panels for the doors above the sink. They will be nicer to look at. The outside wall has been insulated. The electricity and plumbing have been roughed in and pot lights installed. The drywall panels are next. I have yet to hear from Home Depot about the delivery date of my cupboards. But it won't be long now.

It is strange to be without a kitchen. It feels as if we are camping in the living room. Our kitchen table and chairs are in there - also the fridge and microwave. All we need now is a big tent.

Yellow Flowers

It's still winter outside, but it is spring in my solarium. I bought these yellow tulips a couple of weeks ago. Yellow tulips are my favourite. They have been keeping my spirits up throughout this messy weather that we have been having - rain, freezing rain, snow, sleet. It's a mess out there.


I have also been working on my hexagons. They are all done by hand, so I didn't need my machine. And that's a good thing because it is in the shop again. Something is wrong with the needle alignment. I hope they can fix it. So here are my yellow flower hexagons.

This the section I have been busy with over the past week or so. I am really glad I have this project to work on because I could get very depressed with the weather, the mess of the reconstruction in my kitchen (my house is covered in dust) and having my machine give up on me.
Oscar likes it too. He is the only one who is not afraid of all the banging and sawing in the kitchen. He's a laid back kind of dude. And he stops to smell the flowers leaves.

"Meow!"

Death of a Kitchen

I have no kitchen at the moment. The reno guys came yesterday and tore the old kitchen out - everything(!) beyond the bare walls, right to the studs. As you can see the window wall has no insulation. That's the way they used to build homes in 1959 when my house was built. The contractor is going to install some in order to meet the codes that are now called for. The floor has been ripped up as well. New plywood is coming today to fix that.

The old fridge will be removed tomorrow when my new fridge is delivered. The new fridge will sit in my living room for the time being. The old fridge leaks and I don't want my broadloom damaged. I need a fridge because I don't want to have to go up and down the stairs for a coffee etc. during the day. (There is a full kitchen in my basement, but it is not totally functional at present.) It will be finished in the next week or so. Then I will have to start cooking again and going up and down the stairs. Been going out for dinner the past couple of nights. That was fun, but we can't eat out for the next couple of months. That's how long it will likely take to finish it. The cabinets have been ordered and will arrive in about 3 weeks time.

This is the view from the other side. As you can see, it is not a big space, but there is nowhere else to go - no walls that can be removed or knocked down. I'll show more when I have something to show. At least my sewing room isn't being compromised. (sigh)

Scottie and McTavish

This week's pattern on the Friday Block Party is 'A Scottie Dog'. I made two of them. One is in reverse so they can look at each other.

Today is Wednesday, I Think

My day has held a lot of stress for me. I had to meet with my financial advisor to figure out how I will survive on my pittance of a pension for the rest of my life. He thinks he can do something for me, but I have been hit hard by our tax man. It seems I paid too much into my RRSPs and now I have to pay them back- the tax that is. This is going to take a huge chunk out of my new kitchen fund.

Then my DD phoned me to tell me that she was in a car accident on her way to work this morning. She is okay, but the car may not be. The couple that ran into the side of her car are okay too. Can't blame this on our winter. We had the most beautiful day today. The sun was shining and the temperature was not too bad. There was no ice or snow on the roads. DD thinks it was her fault.

I have been waiting for the guy from Home Depot to call me regarding my kitchen cabinets. We are supposed to okay the deal and order them tonight. Then the destruction work will begin. I'm dreading that. Just more stress.

I decided to make my own pattern for the paper pieced camel on the Block Party this week. I am not very happy with the way he turned out. But maybe amongst many other blocks in a child's quilt he will look okay.


And something I told myself I wouldn't do.... I fell for the cuteness of the Henrietta BOM. (You can find it on my sidebar) I decided to machine applique the blocks so that they would not take too long to make. I still have to finish them.

I have no pictures of my hexagon quilt. I misplaced one of the fabrics and spent most of my day looking for it. The good part is, I got my sewing room tidied up. And I found the missing fabric, so I will have lots to work on this evening, while I stay up late to watch 'Off the Map' at 10:00pm.

A Whole Week Has Gone By!

Gosh! I just realized that I haven't posted for a whole week. It went by quickly, but I think that was because I had my Bernina back! It's all fixed and the tension is perfect. It just hums when I sew. I love my machine!

Let me first show you the fabrics I got this month from the Bargain Club at Sew Sisters. These look like Japanese fabrics, but they are by Northcott. Beautiful cottons in beautiful colours. I love the one with the bird on it. Don't you?


And here are the fabrics I received in January from the Bargain Club at Sew Sisters. Pretty pastels. Think a baby quilt is in my future. No time to start it now though. I have too many quilts to finish first.


So... having said that... here is a project I started last week. I know, I know! I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't help myself. It's a Trip Around the World pattern. I cut the fabrics last week, but I didn't dare start to sew the strips together because my old machine does not do accurate 1/4 inch seam allowances. This is going to have to be a WIP because I can't do much more than a few strips per day. But I love how it is turning out. I'll show you more as my work progresses.

And last, but not least is my hexagon Wannabee Quilt. In order for the end sections to fit, I have to add another row of hexies to the inside section. So that is what I am doing now. There are a lot of these little pink hexies to sew on. It will take me awhile before I have this part done.

But Felix doesn't mind how much is done or not done. He just loves a Quilt in Progress!

Another thing that is keeping me from sewing is my new kitchen. Well, it hasn't actually been installed yet, but I have picked out the cabinets and the colour of the counter. I have also bought a new fridge - a nice stainless steel one. It will be delivered in the beginning of March. I'll show you photos when I actually have something to show. This past week the contractor came and built me a kitchen in my basement. We had always intended to have a kitchen down there. It is part of a one-bedroom apartment we built. I have been using the kitchen part of it as my stained glass studio. So even if we never rent it out, I will now have a beautiful full kitchen in my studio, with a sink, cupboards and a stove and fridge. We are still waiting for the upper cabinets because they were out of stock. As soon as they are installed I will post a photo. The kitchen downstairs will also serve as my temporary kitchen while the main kitchen is installed. I'll keep you posted.

You Gotta Have Heart

I posted this block on the Friday Block Party this morning. Since I hadn't tried it out before I posted it, I thought I would give it a try this morning. I don't know what I did wrong. It may just be my machine. This old Jeans Machine does not do accurate 1/4in. seams. The pattern called for templates - which I hate! So I measured the templates and cut my fabric accordingly. The squares are 1 7/8in. The triangles were cut larger and then trimmed when the center of the block was complete. I had to make the strips around the heart larger than stated in the pattern. My block just wasn't big enough. Then I cut the block down to 10 1/2in. square.

More Mug Rugs

We have beautiful sunshine today. But it is extremely cold. With the wind it feels like -25C. It kind of takes your breath away. I just stuck my head out for a moment to throw some peanuts to the squirrels. Oscar thought he wanted to go out, but he changed his mind once he got to the door and felt the cold. Smart cat. And smart me too! I decided to make this an indoor, sewing day.

But my sewing machine is still at the shop. It has been serviced, but I can't pick it up until Saturday. So for now I have been playing with my fabric. I have had to use my old Jeans Machine (White). The seam allowances are not very accurate and it feels like driving an old truck instead of a quiet BMW. But it was okay for making these string hearts. I think I will make a small wall hanging using them. I'll finish it on Saturday when I get my machine back.
I also made a mug rug with one of the blocks. I have sandwiched it, but will wait for my Bernina to finish it.

And last, but certainly not least, is my chicken block for this week's Block Party. I designed a paper piecing pattern for it. Then I added the strips on the side. The chicken part measures about 6 inches square. This will also be finished next week.

Scrappy String Hearts

I just had to make a couple of these scrappy string heart blocks. They are so quick and easy and they only use scraps. I found them on Block Lotto and just couldn't resist them. I experimented with two blocks, but I am sure I will make more of them. But not this weekend because I will be without my sewing machine. It has to go in for a tune-up, so I will have lots of time to work on my hexies. Have a great weekend!

Valentine Kisses and a Mug Rug

I have not been working on my UFOs as I had promised myself. I have just been playing with my fabric. This is not a good thing because I really have to get out of this rut and actually do some real quilting. I did finish my February block of the Birdie Stitches BOM. (see my side bar) It's cute, but it's not a finished quilt. (sigh)


I also made this mug rug using a cat pattern I had downloaded somewhere a long, long time ago. It's kind of cute, but it also is not a finished UFO! This week's block on the Friday Block Party is a cute, fat chicken. I may have to make another mug rug, but not before I finish something else.

So now I am going to tidy up my sewing room and look for a UFO quilt that I can work on this month.

Groundhog Day

I made many hexies this week! And finished another section of the Wannabe quilt. I have five more of these units to make.

We are supposed to be having the worst blizzard of this winter. But if you ask me it's been blown way out of proportion. I don't see that much snow. Perhaps it is worse out in the real world and not what I see from my window.



Flights have been cancelled at the airport. Schools are closed. The Toronto District School Board actually closed their schools today. Do you believe that? This is unheard of! I phoned my daughter at 6:30am to let her know. She was ecstatic. She told me she was going to put her jammies back on and work on her report cards. Roads have been closed and lots of other things cancelled. It has stopped snowing now, but it looks bright outside, kind of like the sun is trying to come out.

And speaking of sunshine and shadows. Our resident rodent, Wiarton Willy predicted an early spring. He could not see his shadow. They had to have the event inside a tent because of the weather - a first in over 50 years. But if you ask me, no ground hog in his right mind would venture out of his burrow on a day like this and try to scratch his way out of the snow! I predict spring will arrive as it normally does, on the spring equinox.

Mimi certainly doesn't like the idea of waking up. Do you girl?

"Meow! Go away and let me sleep!"